First fight with the Arkham Knight

Batman spun and found the Arkham Knight rushing toward him. He started to raise his hand in defense, but the attack was too sudden, and the Knight was moving too fast.

He landed a jab to the face. Batman took only a moment to gather his wits and avoid a second hit, but as he leaned down, the Knight slammed him with his elbow to the back of the neck, in the space between where Batman’s reinforced cowl stopped and his cape began. He knew exactly where Batman was vulnerable.

His stance revealed that he knew how to box—his left foot was forward and his left arm extended. He held his right arm close to his body. Both arms were up, his fists close to his chin.

The Knight waded in again with an uppercut to the jaw.

“Come on, Batman. Why aren’t you fighting back?” His tone was cheerful, taunting. “I always knew I’d be able to kick your ass from here to Sunday, but I expected a little resistance. Don’t let me down.”

Batman held up an arm to protect his face, and the Knight moved in—just as he’d expected. His rear hand crossed in front of his body and slammed the Knight with a right cross to the face. But at the last moment the Knight turned and Batman’s fist grazed his cheek instead.

“Boxing 101, Bruce. Do you so disrespect me that you’re treating me like some sort of amateur? I’d be embarrassed if I were you.”

“Who the hell are you?” Batman said.

The Knight laughed. “Getting under your skin, aren’t I? I know your tech and I know your fighting moves, too. And lest we forget, Bruce, I also know who you are. Not that it’s much of a secret now, is it?”

Batman went low, then jabbed his knee into the Knight’s gut. His opponent fell back but quickly regained his balance.

“Good try. Of course, I’m fully armored, something you should have always been. But you wanted the common rabble to see part of your face, didn’t you? To know that you were human. It’s funny, Bruce, part of you wanted to inspire fear in your enemies, but at the same time another part of you wanted to connect with people. I’m sure Crane would love to do a psychological profile.”

The Knight moved in quickly, pummeling Batman with a series of hard jabs, only half of which could be deflected.

“With a partially open mask, the good guys might catch you smiling, so they’d know you were on their side. And the bad guys would see you scowl at them, then hear you speak through that ridiculous voice synthesizer. You wanted to sound so dark and growly that they’d be scared of you.

“Well, it might have worked for them, but not for me. I’m not the superstitious, cowardly kind you’re used to dealing with. Your words—not mine.”

The Knight dove low and drove the heel of his open palm into Batman’s nose, under his mask. He felt bone break and saw blood shoot free.

“That had to hurt. Good.”

Batman lunged for him, but the Knight jumped, somersaulting over his head, then came down behind him. He slammed the back of Batman’s skull with his foot and sent him sprawling forward.

Then he was on the ground, with the Knight standing over him, holding a gun.

“What do you want, Knight?” Batman asked. “What’s this all about?”

“I guess it’s all about seeing you suffer. Isn’t that reason enough?”

“Bang,” he whispered as he squeezed the trigger. The bullet struck Batman in the shoulder, between plates of his suit’s armor. “Less than an inch of uncovered space, and I hit the target. I’m as good with a gun as I am with my fists.”

Fire shot through Batman’s shoulder and he grabbed it. Even through his glove he could feel blood pouring from the wound. The pain was sharp and growing, but he couldn’t give in to it.

“Why are you doing this?” he gasped as he staggered to his feet.

“We’ll get into the whys and wherefores another time,” the Knight replied, putting the gun back in his belt pouch. “Yes, there will be another time. Killing you so soon wouldn’t be at all satisfying. Scarecrow and I want you to know we’re better than you. That you can’t possibly survive against us.” Without warning, the Knight waded in again, pummeling Batman’s shoulder, keeping his wound open. Batman felt the arm go limp. He needed a few minutes to regain his strength, so he backed away.

But the Knight followed. He leaped and landed a martial-arts kick to the kidneys. Batman doubled over in pain.

The Knight stepped back, then swung again. Batman raised his arm to deflect the Knight’s blow, but the punch got past it, and knocked him to the ground. With an exaggerated sense of the casual, the Knight walked over and smashed him with his boot.

“Oh, we send in the mercenaries and weapons guys with orders to kill, but we know you’re better than them. We know they’re only sparring partners, getting you ready for the big boss fight.”

The Knight stepped back again, and pulled out the gun from his pouch.

“You see,” he said, aiming carefully, “we want you to fear that your helplessness will ultimately destroy the city you swore to protect after your parents were senselessly murdered. Yeah, I know about that, too. Does it scare you that I know everything about you, but you don’t even know my name?”

He lined up the gun sight, then squeezed the trigger again. This time the gun didn’t fire.

“Bang!”

Then he leaned in close and put the gun barrel under Batman’s chin, against bare flesh.

“We’re better than you, old man. And we’re going to keep playing with you and proving your ineffectiveness until we’re tired of the game. But we won’t kill you then. We’ll make you watch as we burn Gotham City to the ground and we kill everyone who ever meant anything to you.

“And then, when you beg us to kill you, too—and you will—we’ll bury you on Gotham City Island with only your head showing, and you’ll be forced to stare at the remains of what was once Lady Gotham, as you slowly and agonizingly starve to death.”

Batman said nothing. He glared at the Knight, waiting for him to finish his speech.

Feel good for now, he thought. Build yourself up. Your fall will be that much more satisfying.

The Knight stood up again and started to leave.

“Goodbye, old man. The day of the Gotham City good guys has officially come to an end.” He gave a quick bow, and then walked off into the dark.