[b]Thanks. Now back to Azumi and a few others, mostly centering on her perspective, but other authors will be in where their respective characters to write talk. Thanks to The Doctor for the enigmatic figure's dialogue.

[center]Chapter 5: A History of Violence[/center][/b]


Azumi tensed up, reaching instinctually for her handgun as she turned. She didn't need more trouble. Her mouth spoke before she really saw the person. "Who are you, and why are you watching me?"

There he was. His armor looked oddly similar to that of Ezio Auditore in a sense, albeit with a red hood and white mask that was painted red for the bottom half and had a breath filter on said bottom half, a katara blade attached to each of his gauntlets. There was body armor on him, white with a red cross painted on, red armored plates over his arms. His skin looked dark under the mask if the little she could see meant anything, but the woman did not care that much. Not as he spoke. "We are known by many names. But you will come to know me as Azrael, loyal servant of the Order of St. Dumas, Interference."

She frowned at that. He knew about them? Well, she supposed someone would, anyway. Best to ask him what he knew about other things before she left, so she could get a good look at this world. Without Batman's help, she would need to work on what to do. Not to mention she needed to figure out how to decrease Crane's credibility. "So you know who I am. Big deal. Tell me what you know about anyone else."

Azrael was silent for a short time, and then nodded, as if considering her worthy to hear whatever information he knew.  "The most important thing you should know is about the warring factions within this city of crime.  The bird and the diseased clown have gone to war, both feuding over their precious poison, the one that they believe will make them stronger, especially for the clown.  Only poison could cure one whose soul itself is poison.  The next is that the gunman who never misses has come to Arkham City, and will be chasing down his targets, one of which is close to you.  Also, take advantage of the crow, for he will be at ends with the enigma.  His mind will be clouded by frustration.  Lastly, there is the strange man, who believes he is orchestrating everything, but is merely a puppet guided by a greater master."

"..." Azumi remained silent for a few moments. "It's kind of hard for me to quantify how little help you just were, aside from some basic information. I'll figure things out, but thanks for the advice. Now I--"

There was not another word from this man, who raised one katar, carving into the roof, smoke coming up before she could speak. Instinctually, she activated her omnitool on her left hand, beginning to scan the weapon for a schematic...

...nothing. He was gone, the smoke rising to nothing, a glowing symbol on the ground. Fantastic, really.

[i]Well, that was pointless,[/i] she thought. Momentarily she wondered why she would scan it at all, but dismissed the tool. She could get some leeway with Rikka if she got her a real weapon, after all. And she didn't have training with it yet anyway. In any case, this "Azrael" did have the right idea. She would need to play Scarecrow, not to mention anyone else here [i]and[/i] get Batman himself to decipher those words if she couldn't do it herself. She just hoped she could get in contact with him here.

As she changed her outfit (as quickly as she could, doing her best to ignore the [i]freezing[/i] cold in this winter night) and put her ODST armor in her etherspace pouch, she thought on what there was in the message. Okay, Two Face was one player, but they also had Cobblepot and the Joker in a turf war over TITAN, since this was her known Scarecrow's universe. The Joker was "diseased" somehow... and would that mean he would have Quinzel with him? She would figure that out soon enough. She needed a map and a plan. And the rest still needed work to figure out.

As she did dress, she heard some inmates down below, not taping the conversation as she had the one with Azrael.

"I can't [i]believe[/i] you dropped that pistol."

"I ain't going down in those sewers! That Croc freak is down there! He ate Scarecrow, he can kill us!"

"That guy was a weakling. Go down and get it."

Interesting information that she would also ask her mentor about, but first she had to avoid freezing to death or being caught. Within seven minutes, she was gone, on her way to get some form of map of the city and find out respective locations of both of the remaining gang bosses.

=====

[i]Sionis Steel Mill, Eastern Arkham City[/i]

Coughing, Joker sits in his chair, keeping watch on his little toy soldiers.  Ever since he got back from his travels abroad, and after TITAN began doing it's dirty work on him, there wasn't much he could do himself.  Yes, he could order the occassional death of his flunkies and enemies, and he might have shot one or two himself, but he knew damn well that he wasn't himself anymore.  That's why he sent Harley over to Freeze, the old ice-pop.  He knew that the iceman was smart, smart enough to find a cure.  But ever since Freeze went silent, he's had a few scary thoughts.  Maybe he would die tonight... but if he did, it wanted it to be one hell of a party.  He wanted everyone there.  Harley, Fish-Breath Cobblepot, Flip-Flop Harvey, Freeze... and the guest of honor.  Batman.  Thinking about his nemesis, on how his blood was flowing through the Dark Knight, poisoning him, he stands up as a smile crosses his face, and he laughs until he begins to cough and hack.  As serious as Batsy was, he made it fun.  Otherwise... it'd just be boring.

"Mistah J!  You know you should be sitting down!"  Harley immediately comes down to the control room, nudging him back into his chair.  "Don't worry, Harley's gonna make everything better for you.  Just sit back and relax, okay, sweetie?"

"Not now, Harley.  Can't you see I'm..."  Joker pauses.  Something just ran past one of the hidden cameras.  "Harley, would you move?"  He slowly grabs a remote by his feet and aims it at the monitor banks overhead.  He clicks and one of the monitor rewinds before playing again, revealing a figure running past.  He rewinds it one more time, and plays it in slow motion.  His lips curl into a bit of a stronger smile.  "Harley?  It looks like we have an uninvited guest in our little home.  Be kind and give him the red carpet treatment."

"Sure thing, Puddin'."  With that, she hops down from the control room and begins to rally the troops.

Joker sits there, before coughing once again.  "I hate being called Puddin'."

Back outside, the Wraith leans against one of the many buildings that made up the Sionis Steel Mill.  Considering the name of this place, she honestly considered it to be something other than the terrible funhouse theme that it was saddled with.  The Joker's own sick touch to it.

[i]"Well, well, well...  Looks like we have company.  Boys, make her feel welcome."[/i]  Harley's voice blares out from a number of speakers all around the Steel Mill.

A few doors open up as a number of masked goons run out.  Some with pipes and bats, some with shotguns and assault rifles... and one in particular wielding a sledgehammer in his single hand.

She stands there, a smirk hidden beneath her mask.  She speaks, her voice modified, deeper, a man's voice.  "Eight on one?  Hardly seems fair."

[i]"You know what?  You're right.  Get some more out there!  Mistah J wants him dead!"[/i]  Harley's voice goes shrill for a moment.

"If I wanted to fight, I'd have already gotten inside and tore you apart.  But I'm not here to fight.  I have something you want."

[i]"Do ya, now?"[/i]

"I know where you boyfriend's cure is."

[i]"Yer lyin'.  I know you are."[/i]  However, before Harley can launch any more cutting verbatim at Wraith, another voice cuts in.  [i]"Give me that, Harley!"[/i]  Hearing something (or someone) hit something hard, a small bit of laughter rings through the speakers.

[i]"So, what's this about my cure?[/i]

[i]Time to go to work[/i]  "I know that someone's been working on a way to fix you.  Ever since your fiasco at the asylum, you haven't felt like yourself, have you?    You felt disgusting, tainited... sick.  So, when you arrived here, you knew to find someone who could fix you up, maybe bring back that smile to your face."

A bit more laughter from the Joker.  [i]"Funny.  Or it would be if I thought you had a sense of humor.  But look at you.  Wearing black from head to toe, a mask... I'd say your one of the Bat-Brood!"[/i]  A pair of chuckles.  [i]"Which makes me wonder why you'd tell me where my cure is."[/i]  Gasping, he chuckles again.  [i]"You found out, didn't you?"[/i]

"What?"

His laughter begins to resonate, but it is soon tempered with coughs.  [i]"You don't know?  Ooh, that's rich!  See, I had a little flying rodent infestation earlier.  Being the kind man I am, I set him free... but not before giving him something to remember me by."[/i]  A few laughs come out from the speakers.  [i]"See, I need that cure, and I needed him to do my dirty work.  So, what better way than to use my condition as a strength!"[/i]

"You poisoned him."  The voice is seething.

[i]"No, not just him!  See, I took the liberty of donating my blood to a number of hospitals all over Gotham.  By this time tomorrow, all that will be left of those with my blood are a number of dead bodies."[/i]  He proceeds to laugh again.  [i]"So, are you still going to tell me where my cure is?  Or are you going to let Gotham rot because you want petty vengeance?"[/i]

[i]Stick to the plan.[/i]  "Scarecrow has it.  He stole it from the person you told to make it."

[i]"Scarecrow?  That skinny bundle of hay and fear?"[/i]  Again more laughter, this time tempered with hacks.  [i]"There's one problem with that, Bat-Might.  Scarecrow's been missing for a year and a half.  And since he's shown neither straw or mask since that night at Arkham Asylum, I tend to think he's leftovers from Croc's feeding binges."[/i]

"Are you certain about that?  If you keep your ear to the ground, you'll hear things.  Things about people vanishing and turning up dead by heart attacks."  Wraith stands there.  "If I were you, especially in your condition... you might want to take this seriously."

[i]"Seriously?  [b]Seriously?[/b][/i]  The Joker hacks a bit more, obviously miffed at that word.  [i]"You really are part of his Bat-Brood.  He and his brats can't take a joke!"[/i]

"Maybe because you really aren't funny.  Joy buzzers?  Laughing gas?  Chattering teeth?  They're lame tricks that only work on little kids.  Try for 'A' material.  Make a face, drop your pants, do something outrageous.  Maybe then I'd laugh, but because you're so pathetic, I doubt I will."


[i]"I'm not hearing this..."[/i] He seems to be getting irritated. Good.

"Not a comedian, I'll tell you that. Probably why you can't get a real laugh out of the Bat, isn't it?"

[i]"Shut up.... shut up!"[/i] That's good, keep it going, keep him distracted...

Reaching into a pocket, the Wraith extracts a few smoke bombs.  They weren't much, but they would work well in a pinch like this. "The real reason you keep coming back, keep trying to get to him, is he doesn't even talk back, right? He wouldn't know a good joke, would he? Even if you had one, you pathetic piece of crap. Alright, I'll laugh. But not because of a joke, Rather, it's actually kind of sad." Then came a chuckle. A soft one, but one nonetheless, developing into more slowly.

[i]"Why you miserable...  [b]Kill him[/b]!"[/i]

Taking those words as her mark, Wraith stops at that instant, drops the smoke bombs, obscuring the area.  Her VISR switches over to allow her sight in the dense smoke.  She moves quickly, hearing the sound of the one armed man's hammer striking against the asphalt where she once stood.  It is soon followed by a large number of gunshots, fired wildly.

=====

[i]A few blocks from the Gotham City Police Department, Amusement Mile[/i]

The whole situation of narrowly missing gunshots and running out had been harrowing, but riling him up had been worth it, and forced off his aim besides. Plus, one victory was good for her. Not to mention one right here under her right foot, the sole on his right cheek as he struggled to get out. This Joker henchman had been caught off guard easily enough, the use of her wakizashi's blunt side and an improvised throw sending him down on his back before he even knew what hit him.

"G-get the hell off me, freak!" he screamed up at her.

Her altered voice, masculine, spoke coldly. "Radio station frequencies accessible in this district. Let me know all of them." As he opened his mouth again, she sighed, lowering the blade for him to see it. "And please don't lie to me. I only just got the last of your allies' [i]blood[/i] off my face."

"G-Gotham FM!" he shouted. "Four fifty by eight fifty! J-just don't hurt me!"

"Thank you." Without warning, she raised her foot, then stomped on him with her knee, [i]hard[/i]. Only then did she stop, kicking him aside and putting her sword away before activating her omnitool. Currently, it was picking up nearby surveillance footage, audio and video. Maybe she...

[i][b]BOOM![/b][/i] The explosions were clearly audible, and she turned, trying to find what the source--

"The Wraith" dropped flat to the ground, narrowly avoiding the falling wreck of a Gotham FM helicopter, spinning wildly out of control, the back and propeller on fire!

"Mayday! Mayday!" The shout came, nigh inaudible, then the explosion about four blocks away. There was silence.... then her omnitool picked up on the local audio again, this time that of the same woman who had been heard within, obviously very distraught.

[i]"Hello? Gotham? I don't know if you can hear me. My news copter has been shot down, crashed down [b]somewhere[/b] in Arkham City. We [b]need[/b] help."[/i]

[i]...well crap,[/i] Azumi thought bluntly. [i]Well, off I go...[/i] She started running, jumping to buildings, grabbing windows precariously, climbing, rolling. Nothing was too close together except a few street lamps that she just barely made, not like she had much of a choice to get down anyway save diving into the freezing water. As she went, she continued to listen.

[i]"I am now stuck on one part of the old Gotham Freeway, in what looks like a turf war between--"[/i]

There was a gunshot audible. Azumi could even see the red laser sights from her position. The cause was obvious, and made her go faster as the woman gasped.

[i]"What the hell was that?!"[/i] Another two shots shocked her more, though. [i]"Oh God! There are snipers! They're all around my position! I see what look like inmates moving in on us!"[/i] A grunt somewhere. [i]"Please! Can anyone hear me?! Send help!"[/i]

Finally at a nearby roof. Azumi snuck up behind two of the Joker's snipers aiming down at the burning husk of a helicopter, crouched... and heard the two snipers talking. She decided to designate these two "Target 1" and "Target 2".

Target 1 spoke first. "This b**** is [i]mine[/i]."

Then Target 2. "Don't speak too soon. Joker will be [i]pissed[/i] if we screw this up."

Target 1 again. "What're you talking about? No way am I gonna miss a shot at putting a bullet through that annoying reporter's face."

Then the radio again. [i]"This is Vicki Vale! I repeat, this is Vicki Vale! If anyone can hear this, please! Help me!"[/i]

On the last word, a hand came to the side of each of the snipers' heads, and she slammed them together, the sickening crack masked by the sound of more gunfire as their laser sights turned off and they slumped to the ground, unconscious.

[i]"Gunfire has ceased from Dini Towers. I can no longer see the snipers on the roof of the apartment building."[/i]

Another laser sight was coming her way, but she was already climbing up, looking over in her VISR mode, seeing the man, and raised her right arm. Looking down her personal targeting reticle... [i]pwip[/i]. The near-silent dart fired out of her forearm launcher, across the freeway and straight into the chest of the one who had been aiming at her, knocking him off of his feet. He wasn't knocked out, though, just knocked down for the time being. Good for a distraction.

She went around the side, seeing two more on a lower level, and took out a smoke bomb, one of those she had gotten from her Batman. She aimed low, and threw it, dousing that roof in smoke, making the two shout in surprise. Dropping down, she grabbed both of their heads, slamming them into the roof before kicking each of them hard to knock them unconscious.

[i]"It appears that the snipers covering my position from the southeast are gone. The roof of the Kirshen building has gone quiet. Either they've all left, or someone has taken them out."[/i]

She saw the man getting up across the way again, a green top hat visible a ways behind him, around an air conditioning unit. The dart launcher was aimed again.... and the next one hit the sniper in the ankle. With a shout, he actually fell straight forward, slamming his face into the roof and getting knocked out.

Vale spoke once more, now calm. "The Wraith" could see her now, backing away from the helicopter's wreckage, as she turned off her VISR. Light skin, short blonde hair, a brown skirt suit and brown boots showing some of her upper leg, talking into a microphone in her right hand. [i]"This is Vicki Vale, reporting on events live in Arkham City. If anyone can hear this broadcast, send help. I am running out of time. My pilot..."[/i] She looked to the wreck. [i]"...is dead. I need help."[/i]

Azumi was about to answer... when she saw him coming, this universe's Batman. He glided in, landing next to Vale, and raised some kind of device. Putting a hand around her waist, he let two wires come out, the lines supporting them as the line launcher carried them away.

She sighed with relief, but sat down, listening, testing her omnitool. She had it active and orange, and tuned in to the station she had heard earlier from the goon, turned it to a vocal feed from her straight through to the broadcast as she listened, noticed them landing, and spoke in the masculine voice.

"You'll be safe now. Stay out of sight."

[i]"Who are you? Any chance I could get an exclusive?"[/i]

"No," she said. "Stay there and be quiet." And with that, she kept going and changed her frequency back to local broadcasts. She had to move to make sure she could get out of sight again to change for the next stage.

=====

Some time had passed since Azumi had saved Vicki Vale, longer since she had seen the Joker and his crew. The large canister of TITAN was down there, near a sign for one "Solomon Grundy", whoever that was. She decided to talk to her mentor about it, hoping this would go transworld if necessary.

She was currently back in her ODST armor in this alley, and began to speak into her in-helmet Bat-communicator, knowing she was out of sight of most if not all of the henchmen, and trusting her HUD radar to work. "Batman, you know who this is," she said. "I'm in Scarecrow's universe, in one 'Arkham City', trying my best to help with some things. I met one 'Azrael', and need to know some things here, and for you to know some. First, my questions. See if you can decipher some names out of this."

She played the audio from her conversation with Azrael again, not bothering to say it again so as to avoid misinterpreting. Once it was done, she spoke.

"Azrael here seemed to know quite a bit. Cobblepot, Dent, and the Joker in a turf war and a war for TITAN, I assume. Yeah, I saw Dent in a courthouse here. Was out cold last I checked. Quinn is also here, and in charge of Joker's crew from what I see due to him being in less than stable condition. Probably due to TITAN. But anyone else? I'm following the order on screwing over Scarecrow, for the record. He's out in the streets, but hasn't had long enough time to plan, so I think the people really in charge are more of a threat. I hear the name 'Strange' from random people, but can't make sense of it. Come with the name, I suppose. And someone controlling him... Something to figure out. Last, that gunman who never misses who's after someone I care about... Let alone him knowing anything about me being creepy, but the only one who could be on his list of targets who I know is... well... you. Can you get me all information on the people I specified? Feel free to send me the files directly to VISR. Over." She decided to add that last one so he knew, not just her training.

[i]"That's no problem.  I'm already in Arkham City myself.  I've got a few chores I need to do, as well, so I'll tell you what I know so far and send any pertinent information to your VISR."[/i]  The Dark Knight's voice comes through clearly.  [i]"You are right about the turf war between Joker and Cobblepot, and about the race for TITAN.  I'll make sure that all of the containers of TITAN inside Arkham City walls are taken care of."[/i]  A quick pause fills the communicator.  [i]"Be careful when dealing with Crane.  His fear toxin isn't something to be taken lightly, and he will not appreciate any problems that come his way.  As for your unknown people, I can only give you my guesses.[/i]

[i]"For your gunman, I would suspect Deadshot, aka Floyd Lawton.  He is an expert marksman with all kinds of firearms, so I suggest you avoid his sights.  As for Strange, I can tell you that's Hugo Strange, a psychiatrist and the warden of Arkham City.  He has no powers, but he knows who I am.  As for who's pulling his strings, I don't have any conclusions to that, save that it's someone with a large financial backing, enough to silence most nay-sayers."[/i]

[i]"At this point, I'm dealing with my third TITAN container.  After that, I'm heading over to Penguin's hideout.  Cobblepot's got one of my enemies trapped there.  Victor Fries, a scientist specializing in cryogenics and medicine.  He's the likely choice to finding a cure for those afflicted with TITAN.  I'll need his help in finding that cure."[/i]

Silence. He was here? Well, that was awkward. Still helpful, though. "Alright, I'll let you know if I run into anything. Just about Fries... Try to keep him stable. We'll need some allies out here. Oh, and I found a canister of TITAN, a big one, a tank, down in the subway under the museum. Try not to go to that one too fast, alright? I have something I'm trying to plan over here, and it could help to still have use of it. I can use my omnitool to scan necessary information, and that tech hacker to get into what I can. If you need help, I'll stay in touch."

With that, she cut off, looking up. A sigh. This would be tricky again, but not too bad. She jumped, climbing up, up, up, up to the top of the roof... and stopped, hanging. A Penguin goon, in his winter clothing with the animal drawn on the back in silhouette, was taking aim at... someone. She had to move, now, and get information. While he was looking and starting to take aim, she climbed up, crouched as she came over to an air conditioning unit next to him.

Her back was against the air conditioning unit before she stood swiftly, grabbing the henchman in winter clothing as he started to fire the rifle at... no, it was probably her, couldn't think about that, had to just concentrate on staying safe. In any case, she pulled him back up against the air unit, slamming him into it and holding him up with one forearm, pressing her combat knife against his midsection, whispering. "Penguin. Tell me where the [i]hell[/i] he's hiding, [i]now[/i]."

Her featureless face mask probably made him very nervous, because he did blurt it out, louder than she had, audible. "T-the museum! Iceberg Lounge at the back like he always is! That's all I know, I swear! Please don't kill me!"

She was glad for the information, but wasn't going to let him off easy. "Thank you. You've been very educational." She head butted him hard, and he went limp, dropping to the ground as she let him.

Unfortunately, as she sheathed her knife, she did hear a familiar voice.

"That was gonna be my target," said Jessica Mireu as she walked over, dismissing her Lightning magic. In the midst of practicing with her new equipment on her own, she had been about to use the man for more target practice, until the ODST grabbed him and interrogated him. With her thief vision goggles that she now depolarized, she had been able to see her through the armor, recognizing her by the sound of her voice (she knew it wasn't Catwoman again, by the hard tone she used). Truthfully, she wasn't all that happy to see her, not after the bad memories from the incident with her mirror self.

As such, with a frown, she had to ask, "What are you doing here?"

"Work for someone." Technically, this wasn't wrong. She was working for three someones, herself included. "I never thought I'd have to see that face again, either."

[i]"Azumi, I have a lock in on something you'll need,"[/i] came the voice of K1-R4. How had she gotten her frequency this far off, even off world from her? Whatever helped, though. [i]"From the sound of what's around there, there's a double dose of vaccine for the TITAN poison just in case you're captured, not to mention a cure for Bruce. Best to take it. I'm uploading the location now."[/i] The location did come...just around the corner of another air conditioning unit on the same roof. Convenient.

Jessica could barely hold back a flinch in response. She did understand why; whatever the Mirror Jess had done to her had made her completely snap back in The World That Never Was. However, she didn't want to be associated with that psychotic doppelganger, and so, having not heard the sudden voice of the AI, responded thus,

"Look, I know what happened wasn't all happy daisies. She might have been me from another universe, but I am [i]not[/i] the same as her! Whatever she did to you, I wouldn't even think [i]twice[/i] about doing! So don't confuse me for that b****!"

"Does that change the fact that she wore your clothes? That she had your face and look? Regardless, it's best to go get the vaccine I just heard about. From an... ally, in any case. Considering I find dying a horrible death by torturous blood poisoning rather unattractive of a proposition, I think it's best if we both get. Wait here and don't try to turn on me. I'm on guard this time."

The soldier was aware she was being completely unfair, but this was the [i]last[/i] person she wanted to see. Emotional confusion throughout her mind, between attraction and hate, betrayal and self-betrayal. She simply stomped over around, and saw it. It looked like a smaller version of a UNSC supply drop. Good enough. She scanned it with her VISR, getting what she could... okay, that's good. She took two of the syringes, and came back, holding out one to Jessica. "This is to combat possible blood poisoning later. We can inject together on three. I'll need the last one for my friend."

Jessica scowled the entire time, biting back her tongue for now. She wanted to keep arguing that she was nothing like her alternate, but she knew that words weren't going to cut it. She was just going to have to prove it by showing it to her. Without another word, she just took the syringe, holding it over her wrist while waiting on the soldier's word.

Azumi looked around first, checking to see if there were any snipers around. Okay, there didn't seem to be any waiting for a possible surprise attack. She removed her helmet then, holding it under one arm, while she raised the hand holding the needle to her neck, ready to inject.

"Alright...three."

And with that, the neko and the ODST injected the syringes at the same time.

The soldier staggered a moment, almost instantly feeling her eyes start to close, feeling off balance. She tore out the syringe, throwing it aside. "Kira, you b--"

Wait.

The AI hadn't insulted her, hadn't called her by last name only, hadn't done anything but help her. This could [i]not[/i] be Kira. And therefore, this was [i]not[/i] a vaccine.

The soldier stumbled forward, landing on her hands and knees, the helmet hugged to her chest. Who could have done this?

Wait just one more moment. That hat.... the green... how could she be so stupid?

"Damnit..." she whispered... and lost consciousness, hoping that at least this Jessica would realize that she did not intend this in the slightest.

[u][center]6 Hours to Protocol 10[/center][/u]

[b]Please review. Hope you guys like this one.[/b]