Ashes of Arkham 1

[b]We bring to you a fanfic canon to the forum based upon the game [i]Batman: Arkham City[/i]. Due to the length and expanse of this time in this particular game, let along the often separated nature of all Interferences involved, Gregzilla, Sorin, The Doctor, and Mr. Z have all decided to simply write this in a chapter format, with Adri filling in for Sorin. Also, due to both his rather lengthy and frequent absence and the character's importance to the plot of this game, we are assuming that the Joker returned to his home universe of the Arkhamverse and played out the intervening months, albeit Enlightened by his experiences to some degree (though, obviously, no more sane than before his departure).

This first chapter will be written by Gregzilla, Adri, and The Doctor. With no further adieu, we give "Ashes of Arkham".

[center]Chapter 1: Stealing Beauty[/center][/b]

Death.

The man carried his brother out of the barren wasteland, both only clothed in black cloth over their shoulders wrapped around their bottom halves, tears running down the living man's face, staining his black beard. Ravens flew away from them, off into the distance behind him, possibly disgusted with his act.

A dirty hand reached to the side of the frame, pulling the painting of "Cain & Abel: The Duality of Man" aside like a door inward to reveal a safe. The hand belonged to a man in a gray prison jumpsuit, the words "ARKHAM CITY" printed on the back, and the entire left side burned to blackness, a full-head mask on with the same effect and a white other side.

"Look what I found!" the inmate called to his allies.

"Don't touch it, man!" another similarly clothed inmate warned. "He'll kill you!"

Four more were close behind them, two masked, another bald but for a black mow hawk, and the last with a full head of black hair. The near-bald one asked the full-haired one. "How long 'til the boss gets here?" He moved toward the masked ones in front.

"He'll be here," the one with full hair grunted back.

One of the other masked ones had to ask a question. "Riley says he saw the Bat. Is he here, too?"

"In [i]Arkham[/i] City?" the one with full hair asked. "Why would he come here? You guys just need to chill the hell out."

A crash of glass surprised them, made them all group together, fists up, ready to fight. "It's Batman!" one called.

"Sorry to disappoint you, boys." The woman came in on black heels. She wore a black, form-fitted latex suit, including over her hands and feet. There was a zipper up most of the way up her front, but it stopped about half to three quarters of the way up intentionally, leaving some of her exposed, but nothing explicit, just enough to tease. The whole collar of the back came up to her neck, with a black hood over her head with cat ears on top over her head, just showing a bit of her black hair over her forehead. Playful green eyes glinted as she grinned slightly, thumbing the whip on her right hip.

Professional thief Selina Kyle, more commonly known by her alias of "Catwoman", flexed her fingers a bit, some metallic claws coming from the fingertips. This was going to be easy.