Dane studebaker



center-134089900center8450693BY: Dane StudebakerBY: Dane Studebaker-3937005055870TABLE OF CONTENTSPRLDE: Breakout---- 11. Contacting the Authorities ---- 32. The Only Thing There Is To Fear ---- 93. A Villain’s Betrayal ---- 134. The Plan Is Launched ---- 165. Finding the Right Man ---- 206. A Side-Affect ---- 247. The Arkham Maximum Redemption ---- 288. Along Came a Spider ---- 339. Hunting a Villain ---- 3510. The Final Showdown ---- 40PSTLDE: Aftermath ---- 43PRELUDEBREAKOUTThe Dark Red Knight just captured Jokerine from slaughtering New Gotham officials, but the night wasn’t over yet. He had to drop him off at Arkham Maximum Security Prison before returning home. “A.L.F.R.E.D. contact the warden, tell him I’m bringing Jokerine in,” the Knight said to his AI butler, “Of course, sir, contacting now…he says there is a warm chromeslate cell waiting for him.” “Thanks, A.L.F.R.E.D.” he said. “You know you are very predictable, Red?” Jokerine said, “Just a little anarchy and you’ll be just like me…” Strange, he thought, it’s never been this easy, what are you up to? “Sir, you are now approaching Arkham Maximum.” A.L.F.R.E.D. said.As, he entered with Jokerine, Aaron Jones was waiting. “Hello, Dark Red Knight, commissioner is inside, he’s waiting for you. “Alright, be cautious with the prisoner, he was very easy to capture this time, keep an eye out.” the Knight said. “Of course.” Jones said. The Knight walked inside and saw the commissioner in the warden’s office. “Thanks for taking care of him, we almost lost the mayor and more to that freak.” the commissioner said. “Yeah, I was wondering, why was it so easy?” Through the window, he saw that Jokerine was smiling manically. He then attacked the guards and broke free of his chains. “Lock down the prison! Jokerine is attempting an escape!” the commissioner said. Jokerine replied “An escape? Oh no, I am staying right here.” Suddenly the doors to the cells opened and all the prisoners were free. On the speakers a familiar voice spoke, “Alright, everyone is free, and I want my cash.” It was Assassin Zero, a fallen cop who after the Knight attacked him for killing Crime’s men, became Crime’s right hand man. “Now, can I go free?” he said. “Not just yet. Well, Red, are you ready to be wowed?” Jokerine said. “Stop this now, and I’ll let you live.” The Knight said with his serious level at an all-time high.The Clown King of Mayhem replied, “Aren’t you forgetting something? I can’t be killed!” DRK then said, “Except by me.” After a second of thought, Jokerine then vanished into the dark shadow behind him. I have to stop him, before he releases an army of goons on New Gotham! The Dark Red Knight thought to himself.CHAPTER 1CONTACTING THE AUTHORITESThe island has been demoted of contacting the outside world, so the cops thought they were on their own. They thought that there was no hope left. All except for the Knight, who wanted to make sure that the commissioner had some cops to back him up. “There is still a way I can contact the precinct for you, commissioner,” the Knight said with hope in his dark eyes, “The cell tower on the top of the main building was smashed but the old radio is still up and running in the old watchtower on the southern side of the island.” But there was one thing the Knight forgot…the Watchtower is now under the careful eye of Assassin Zero. He had to get past him to get to the top floor of the tower to access the radio and contact the NGPD. “I have to get going now, before the grounds are crawling with goons and criminals.” The Knight said quickly. While on his way there, A.L.F.R.E.D. gave the Knight a map of the island so detailed, some of the locations he didn’t even know existed. “Sir, here is the detailed map you requested. Also, the cameras have picked up traces of Assassin Zero in the watchtower that you are heading to. Should I contact Master Tarantula?” A.L.F.R.E.D. said.“No, I’ll deal with him, there is no need for Michael to throw himself into this right now.” The Knight said.Now for those of you who don’t know, Michael T. Kellerman a.k.a. Tarantula, is the Knight’s partner in crime fighting along with Lady DRK and A.L.F.R.E.D. He turned out to be an orphan like the Knight is. The Dark Red Knight met him one night a few years ago when the Knight was hunting Marvel Jest, a super-mutant that also has a crush on the Knight. When the Knight was overflowed with goons, Michael happened to be walking by and freed the Knight from their grasp. He then took the young Michael under his wing to become the leader of the mini group Teens United, a face for all young superheroes, Tarantula.But enough about Michael, let’s get back to the Knight. He finally made it to the watchtower, but to his dismay, found Assassin Zero’s soldiers all over the grounds. He decided to test his new HS Scanner (Heat Signature Scanner) to see where the boss was. He found him guarding the radio on the top floor. I have to find a way to draw Zero out of there, so I can drop in and signal the precinct. He then silently dropped to the back of the tower where one soldier was standing guard. He tried to signal his crew, but the Knight was too quick, he took him out without blinking.The Knight then entered the tower without thinking. Soon he was crowded by many of Assassin Zero’s soldiers.Assassin Zero clapped slowly, “Well, well, well. Look who it is men! It’s the powerful Dark Red Knight.”The Knight replied, “John, I didn’t expect you to sign on with a maniac like Jokerine. I though you worked for Crime.”“Well you thought wrong, the Clown King of Mayhem promised me a good sum of money in exchange for helping him release and keep the prisoners on the island.”Then the Knight got an idea, “Well since you captured me, you can reveal my identity.”“Wait, what? Just like that?” The Knight then nodded. “Okay then, men, remove his mask.”At that moment, once they set their fingers on the helmet, it released a sleeping gas so powerful, the only thing that can prevent it from making someone succumb to it is the Knight’s mask itself.“Oh, sorry, did I forget to mention that if anyone besides me touches the mask, it releases a sleeping gas?” The Knight said. “You…I’ll…get…you…for…that.” Assassin Zero said before he passed out.Now for why the Knight went there: Activating the radio. He was heading toward the steps when a message went on the TV in the watchtower.“Hello? Zero? No? Red, are you there? Pity. I thought that good for nothing assassin would deal with you once and for all. Well, anyway, just to let you know MJ is on her way, treat her nicely and DROP DEAD!” Jokerine’s message went until the feed was cut.Oh, no, Jean is coming. This will be interesting. The Knight thought to himself. As I explained earlier, Jean Quinzell or Marvel Jest (Jokerine calls her MJ), has a deep crush on the Dark Red Knight. Her dreams started when the Knight visited the base of the villain team X. The Knight came face to face with her and she dropped to the floor, love-struck. She and the Knight never came close except when they almost became a couple, but Jokerine got in the way and the Knight forgot that that ever happened.So, when she was on her way to the tower, the Knight set up his car to protect the entrance of the tower, but apparently he gave the codes of the car to Marvel Jest.She approached the car and spoke, “Jean Q. Access level Bravo. Code number: 11548961.” The car then turned off.“How did Jean get Bravo level codes?” The Knight said puzzled. “Do I also have feelings for her too?”The Knight didn’t have enough time to answer his own question when Jean came through the door. She was backed up by plenty of Jokerine’s goons.“Men, leave us now.” She said to the men and then turned to the Knight. “What are you doing here? He plans to kill you! Come with me, we’ll leave the island, hide in the shadows…”The Knight stopped her, “Jokerine knows you’re scent more than mine, he’ll find us faster than Blue Lightning. It’s a huge risk that I don’t want to take. Sorry Jean.”Jean replied without haste, “Then I’ll help you defeat him. There’s a holographic projector in the Medical Bay. If you can get that, I’ll help you.”“Okay then, you can help me. Wait a minute, wouldn’t the Medical Bay be turned over to Hallows’ Eve?” the Knight said.“Yes, I think so. She’ll try to get in your head. Don’t let her.”“Not to mention her boyfriend, Colossal. He’ll be guarding the door, this will be easy.”“Don’t sound too sure about that. I think the last time I saw him, he was bigger than earlier.”“I’ll figure that out while it happens.” The Knight then started to head out.“Good luck,” she started to say as he closed the door, “Wade.”CHAPTER 2THE ONLY THING THERE IS TO FEAR…After the Knight left Jean to protect the Watchtower, he went toward the other side of the island to enter the Medical Bay where he guessed that Hallows Eve was stationed at. He spotted a pack of goons protecting the North Gate, among them was Jokerine’s right hand man, Black Hole II. Black Hole’s powers are no longer with him so he signed on with Jokerine to try and regain that strength.“Alright men, the boss says that the Knight will try to go this way to get to Hallows Eve, and make her talk about his poison.” Black Hole said.Poison? What are you up to Eve? The Knight thought.As silent as a fox, the Knight crept over the gate and dropped down to the other side. He saw the Medical Bay over the large collection of criminals. “They all look fear-induced. I think my guess about Hallows Eve being here is correct,” The Knight said, “I should take caution, make sure that I don’t get affected also.”The Knight really did want to make sure that didn’t happen. The reason: Eve’s poison has a bad history behind it. Hallows’ Eve was once a respected scientist working in the field of medicine. One day, she created a toxin that brought someone’s worst fears to light. The United States Army wanted this toxin to use in the battlefield, but she did not. She activated the toxin while a general and his battalion was there. The general turned into the elusive Fear-Monger, and she transformed into Hallows’ Eve.The Knight spotted a huge creature inside the Medical Bay, and he was guarding the holographic projector. He had to find a way in there and defeat the monster to get the object Jean needs. After looking for a weak spot, he found his entry point: the south chimney. He knew that the chimney would lead to a collection of ductwork and the room that he is looking for. He started to hear a conversation in the Visitor’s Room.“Colossal, watch the door, the guards at the North Gate think they saw the Knight enter the Medical Bay.” Hallows’ Eve said quietly. She then heard a noise in the ducts. Colossal heard it too and started to punch the ducts that he could reach. Eventually he got the one the Knight was in and both laughed.Hallows’ Eve started, “I can’t believe you actually got in here. There is plenty of things in here that you might want…which is it?”She started to spray the Knight with her toxin, hoping that he would reveal what he wants. He almost pointed at the projector, but instead pointed at a flower that Eve was testing on.“What, the flower? You want the flower that has the poison in it? Colossal, smash it to pieces.”Colossal then grabbed the flower and threw it at a goon outside. The Knight then passed out from overexposure and woke up again in one of the cells in the Medical Bay. I have to find a way to get out of here. But how? The Knight thought to himself. He found a loose hinge in the door and attempted to knock it down. After plenty of tries, he kicked the door out of the wall, but accidentally captured the attention of Colossal.“Hey, someone’s up. How about I give you a special breakfast…a face full of fist!” Colossal said.“You sound, and look, different, Colossal. What did she do to you?”“She gave me a new look, and a new life. Now I will end yours.” The fight started very brutal when Colossal threw a boulder directly at the Knight. Our hero retaliated by slicing Colossal’s leg and rendering him immobile. The Knight was quickly grabbed and thrown to the ground. Colossal then activated a button on his pack and he grew to an enormous size.“So that’s what Jean was talking about.” The Knight said as he dodged Colossal’s first attack.Colossal was now what his name says, a colossus. He was about three times the size of the Knight, and had a fist as big as a small car. He knew that this was the poison that Black Hole was mentioning. He had to find a cure or else Jokerine might release an army of super-strong soldiers on New Gotham.In order to get out of there, he threw a smoke bomb, dashed to the Visitor’s Room, grabbed the holographic projector, and left the Medical Bay to go back to the Watchtower.CHAPTER 3A VILLAIN’S BETRAYALNow I know that some of you are suspicious of Jean’s devotion to the Knight’s plan. Let me prove you wrong. This is what happened at the Watchtower while the Knight was at the Medical Bay.After the Knight left, Jean told the goons to stand guard at the door to “protect it from the Knight” and other reasons. The only person who didn’t fall for it is Jokerine, who thought he saw the cameras record a conversation between Jean and the Knight. He wasn’t too happy about that. So he sent a villain to capture her. He actually sent a villain who should not have been released: KRMPUS. KRMPUS is an android that is only programmed to do one thing-kill.Jean knew that he was coming due to her powers of reading minds. She started to set up a barricade over the door and then thought that it would only hold him, not keep him out, so she started to gather some weapons that Assassin Zero’s army left on the ground and got ready for her guest to come.After 5 minutes she heard a knock at the door. A very loud knock. It was KRMPUS.“Little pig, little pig, let me in.” The deranged android said. “Let me in or face my wrath.”“You’ll unleash your wrath anyway.”“You’re right, I would do that. And I will.”Jean was armed with an array of weapons, including the one that Grenadier killed KRMPUS Mark I with last Christmas. She was ready for anything he did.After a bunch of noise making, KRMPUS finally knocked down the door, but he didn’t see Jean anywhere. Just then, Jean leaped out of a shadow and started to shoot KRMPUS with the gun, but it had no effect on him.“Don’t go to the Naughty List, come back to Jokerine. He is worried.” KRMPUS said.Apparently, KRMPUS had a vile of the poison Colossal had in the last chapter. But instead of turning him into a hulking behemoth, it leveled up his armor to become a giant version of himself.“Now, now. Don’t look so worried. This is only the first chapter of many. We are legion!”At that point, a bunch of KRMPUS ELVS were released on Jean. She managed to back them off, but still had to take the big man down. She was able to damage his armor before running out of bullets.Now what? She thought.She then got an idea. She loaded a bullet from every gun in a drone and sent it at KRMPUS. He tried to fend it off and succeeded nine times. He then fell at the tenth try.She decided to kick-start the scientist part of her and examined the poison. She found out that the concoction was to activate the “level-up” part of a super-mutant’s body. It only worked on KRMPUS because the operator of the robot happens to be one. Then Jokerine came on the screen, and he didn’t have his smile on…“Jean! Why are you working with that hero?” he started, “He might betray you and throw you in jail.”“If he did, it would be because of you.”“Oh, no, no, no. It’s because of the things you’ve done.”“In the past. I have changed now.”She then turned off the TV and told the goons to go back to Jokerine.It was now known throughout the island - Jean Quinzell is a fugitive from the new Warden Jokerine.CHAPTER 4THE PLAN IS LAUNCHEDThe Knight has returned from the Medical Bay with news for Jean. Although he doesn’t know that she just found out. He arrived at the Watchtower confused at the scrap metal that mysteriously got on the floor.“Jean, are you here?”Over the radio, Jean came on, “Yeah, I’m in the radio room. Come on up.”When the Knight arrived he saw the head of KRMPUS attached to a wire in the computer. Jean was downloading the files from his database.“How did you get KRMPUS’ head?”“Jokerine knows that I’m helping you. He sent KRMPUS to kill me, but I deactivated him before he got the chance.”“What do you hope to accomplish by downloading his files?”“I thought we could use this to find out where Jokerine is on the island.”“So you think him and KRMPUS have gone face to face?”“How else would he have sent him? Oh, I forgot to mention, he had some weird liquid that he plugged into his back.”“Did it transform him?”“Yes, how did you know…?”“Colossal had some too. I had a brawl with him at the Med Bay. You were right about his size.”“I thought so. Did you get the holographic producer?”“Yes, here you go.”She grabbed the producer, set it down, then picked up a camera.“Say, cheese!”“What was with the picture taking?”“I need a picture for the producer to work. Here, let me show you.”She put the picture into a slot in the back of the machine and then put a collar on the Knight.”“What’s this?”“You’ll see. Just wait.”She turned it on and a holograph of the Knight showed up so well, it looked like he had a clone.“Wave your hand.” Jean said.He waved and the holograph waved at the same time.“So this reads my actions and makes it look like I’m in another place?” The Knight said.“Yes, it does, and here’s how we are going to use that.”They started to hatch a plan. They knew all that they were going to do, when to do it, how to do it, and where to do it. Here is the plan: 1. Find Jokerine’s hideout and break-in. 2. Find him and use the holograph to trick Jokerine to thinking the Knight is on his way in there. 3. While the Knight has him distracted, Jean will hack into the main computer and activate the experimental Inmate Magnet in each of the cells. 4. Free any captured cops and save New Gotham.Just then, something came on the computer, a screen with KRMPUS’ face on it!“His head was a Trojan horse. Wait, KRMPUS doesn’t just hack computers…Jean! Get down!Then, everything went silent. The head of KRMPUS blew up and tossed the Knight and Jean out the window. The Knight has a healing factor, that’s his super-mutant ability. Not Jean’s.Jean was lying there like a dead fish, but not dead, only in a coma. The Knight felt sorrow, a feeling he has not felt in a while. He decided to see if there was a certain criminal on the island he could capture and make restore Jean to reality. There was such villain: Firestarter. Firestarter was a renowned scientist working in the field of volcanic science. One day, he took a trip to a volcano and a splash of lava scarred him for life. He is elusive, but easy to trick. The Knight knew that he had to be on the island.The one question is, where.CHAPTER 5FINDING THE RIGHT MANThe Knight was now hot on the trail of the supervillain, Firestarter. He knew that he must be near one of the boiler rooms in order for him to be able to take his suit off or he will die. So that’s where the Knight is heading.“A.L.F.R.E.D., I need you to locate the boiler rooms on the island, and find the hottest one of them all.”“Yes, sir. Locating now... Firestarter is in the Prisoner Interrogation Wing, 2nd floor, and first door on the left.”“Thanks, heading there now.”The Knight soon found out that Firestarter had employed many of Jokerine’s goons to guard that area. Among them was Black Hole II, and a handcuffed Tarantula.“A.L.F.R.E.D.! I told you not to put Michael into this. Now look!”“I’m sorry, I just told him where you were, he must have left to see if you were okay.”The Knight did have a failsafe just in case this would ever happen. He activated an electricity emitter on Tarantula’s symbol and knocked out the crowd of goons. He now had a safe way of getting down to the Prisoner Interrogation Wing.He entered with extreme caution due to Firestarter’s love of traps and cages. He accidentally triggered one and had to leap out of its general direction.“Hello, Dark Red Knight. I saw the footage of KRMPUS’ Trojan horse idea. I’m guessing you want my help to restore the woman’s health, right? Right. Come on up and we’ll talk.”The Knight then saw an elevator door open on his left. He went into it and pressed the 2 button. He knew that there was no turning back now.Suddenly, the elevator started to drop- it was another trap.The Knight started to charge a leap to be able to get out of there. He was almost to the bottom when the floor started to melt. He had to jump now.He was able to leap a good bit before having to use his grapnel gun to get to the top floor, where Firestarter was waiting.“Come in, come in! Take a seat, my good friend.” Firestarter started.“I just need you to fix her, no need for anything else.”“Of course! Bring her to my workplace. I’ll help.”“You seem awfully na?ve about this experience.”“I don’t really care what is going on out there, I just want to feel like a doctor again. Thanks for giving me that chance.”“I’ll say ‘Your Welcome’ if you cure Jean.”“All right then, just sit back, and watch me work.”Firestarter took off like a frenzy, quickly figuring out that she was in a coma, and there might be a way to get her out.“Excuse me, but you have a healing factor, correct?”“Yeah, what concern of it is yours?”He then grabbed a syringe and plunged it into the Knight’s arm, the Knight was confused.“What was that?!”“I am taking a sample of your blood.”“What for?”“This.”He then approached Jean and placed the syringe in her arm, and transplanted the blood there.“Now, in a few minutes, she’ll be back to her old self.”“Thanks, I mean it.”“Why do you feel attached to this woman?”“Honestly, Firestarter, I have no idea at all.”“I have no idea either, do you have any other requests?”“Yes, do you know where Jokerine might be?”“Absolutely, he’s in the island chapel. He thinks he’s protected there.”“I’ll prove him wrong.”CHAPTER 6A SIDE EFFECTIt wasn’t long before Jean woke up from her slumber. She saw the Knight across the room.“Hi.” She started.“Hi.”“What happened?”“KRMPUS’ head blew up, knocking you into a coma.”“Only a few hours have passed.”“That’s because Firestarter helped me bring you back.”“Wait, hold on. Firestarter helped you?”“He saw the footage of the explosion and wanted to help.”“Another question. Did he tell you where Jokerine is hiding?”“Yes he did. He’s hiding in the prison chapel.”“I’m pretty sure all the goons are collected there. We will need more than two people.”“Do you happen to know where the prisoners are being kept?”“There in the Visitor’s Center in the front of the prison. Why?”“I know where we can find some help.”Then the two decided to purposefully get themselves captured. But, if they went as themselves, they would be taken directly to Jokerine instead of the prisoner cells. So the Knight gave out two cop uniforms that he found. He knew that if they see two cops, not two superheroes, they will just capture them instead of taking them to Jokerine. They were ready.They arrived at the doorstep and knocked. A big thug answered.“Hey guys, we got more prisoners.” He said.“All right, bring them here.” Another thug said.The thugs threw them in the only one cell they constructed.“Mike! Mike, where are you?”“Do you think that they have some dude named Mike in here that can help us?”“Mike is Tarantula. I saw him earlier.”“Oh, that guy.”“What? Do you despise his presence or something?”“He punched me in the stomach two months ago.”“He didn’t know that you were in the middle of rehabilitation.”“Sure, he didn’t.”“Why is he not here?”Little do they know that he is at a secret holding cell directly underneath them. He was sure that the Knight was going to save him, even if the Knight didn’t know where he is.Michael had a plan. He stared to claw out a rock from the cell he was in. Once he got a small rock, he threw it at the ceiling, the Knight heard it.“What was that?”“It sounds like a message from Mike. He’s underneath us.”“How do you know it’s him?”“It’s a trick I taught him. He throws a rock at a section of wall to communicate. He says ‘Help’.”“How are we going to get down there?”“With this.” The Knight then pulled out a laser cutter and made a hole in the floor. “Come on! I see his cell.”The Knight then tried to pick the lock that was on Tarantula’s cell. He was quickly interrupted by the arrival of Black Hole.“Hello! I see you are trying to free the hero, Mr. Wayne. Why are you even on the island anyway? Visiting old friends, maybe a talk with the commissioner…who we’re holding hostage.”“What!” He tried to leap at them and got grabbed by two thugs.“Yes! We have the commissioner captured and shackled. Even the Knight can’t save him! Boys, take Mr. Wayne and his girlfriend here to the cell on the right.”Their plan had failed, Tarantula still imprisoned, and the Knight and Jean are captured. What else could possibly go wrong? Wait…there is one thing.CHAPTER 7THE ARKHAM MAXIMUM REDEMPTIONThe Knight has failed his mission. The commissioner is captured, and he has failed the city. He has to find a way out of the cell. He knew that there was something familiar about this cell…it was the prototype cushion cell, made by his company, that blocks all types of damage to the cell. He also knew that it didn’t work, he could just punch his way out. He did just that and did the same to Jean’s cell.“Would you have any idea about where they put the commissioner?” The Knight said“They could have taken him to Jokerine, to the chapel.”“We don’t have enough muscle to make it to the chapel yet. We need to help Mike, now.”So they started to pick the lock and free Mike. They were sometimes interrupted by legions of goons, but eventually succeeded.“Thanks guys, wait, why is Marvel Jest here?”“She is helping us out, Mike. Don’t try anything.”Tarantula saw the serious look on his face, “Yep. I got that down.”“Good.”Mike then turned to Jean, “Why is he acting like that?”“I think he’s mad that he got captured by a group of random thugs.”“I hope so.”The Knight started to interrupt, “We need more than this.”“More than this what?” Tarantula replied.“People. We need more people in order to defeat Jokerine.”“I am really confused about what is going on here. How are we going to get more people when we’re the only heroes on Arkham Maximum soil?”“We are going to go to another villain for help.”“Another? When have you…”Jean interrupted his statement, “Long story, I’ll talk with you about it later.”The Knight then headed to an area in which there are no speakers for Jokerine to be heard, the New Gotham Penitentiary that was on the island, but not used. The Penitentiary was supposed to be New Gotham’s prison, but then the super-mutant villains showed up and the city needed a bigger, stronger prison.“Who are you looking for?!” Tarantula asked.“Nicholas Sionis.”Nick Sionis, also known as Crime, is the main crime boss in New Gotham. He is hard to negotiate with, but helps basically anyone as long as it benefits himself. The Knight has a plan to make a fake deal in exchange of help from Sionis.“I am going to ask him to give me soldiers in exchange for ‘a free pass out of prison’, which actually will be a straight throw into a cell when this is over.”“He’ll come back for revenge, Wade.” Tarantula stated.“I’ll be ready.”They started to travel to the old site of the Penitentiary, but ended up surrounded by some of Crime’s snipers.“Stay where you are or we will shoot!” a thug yelled.“Get on the ground!” the Knight screamed.The snipers started shooting at the heroes. They weren’t able to kill any of them, but one skimmed Tarantula’s hood.“Jean, do a mind blast!”Jean’s super-mutant ability is to be able to control minds and release a mind blast so powerful, it could make a thug fall from 500 feet away!When she released a mind blast, all the snipers were knocked off their perch and were thrown to the ground.“Good work, now we can get inside.”They started to walk in and saw makeshift signs pointing towards different areas in the Penitentiary.“There are three signs. Torture, Main Hall, and Private Quarters. We will each take a path, Mike, Private Quarters. Jean, go to Torture, I’ll go to the Main Hall.”“There could be surprises waiting for us in each of the rooms.”“Then be ready.”The group then parted ways to find out where Crime was hidden at. In each of the different rooms, unbeknownst to them, there was a canister of the poison, known as Xtreme, ready for use.Jokerine’s plan all along was to bribe Crime to inject the Knight with Xtreme so that he could control him and make him destroy New Gotham for him.The Knight entered the Main Hall, Crime was waiting.“Hello, daring traveler! What brings you to my humble home?”“Nick, I need soldiers, in exchange for you getting out of jail free.”“No, I have gotten a better offer from Jokerine, inject you with this.”The Knight looked dumbfounded at the fact that Crime had a vile of the poison.“How did you get that?”“Jokerine had a whole stash. I just grabbed one. But wait, what if it fails? I should test it.”He pressed a button on a console and a gate came out with one of the Knight’s fellow heroes, Spider Gold, trapped inside.“Ben, stay still, I’ll save you.”“Not so fast, Dark Red Knight.”He then shot Gold with the vile, and since he was a super-mutant, he started to transform.“No. Why do I keep failing to save the innocent?”CHAPTER 8ALONG CAME A SPIDER“Ben! You need to snap out of it!”The hero known as Spider Gold started to mutate into a monster unlike the other Xtreme monsters. The Knight had no idea what to do. He didn’t want to hurt him, but he had to try to break him free, no matter the cost.“Ben, listen! You are Spider Gold, not this monster Crime wants you to be. Break free of it!”The monster was silent. The Knight knew he couldn’t reach Gold inside, so he had to punch his way out.The following battle was so brutal, most of the goons in the room looked away in fear. The monster, known as Demon Gold, was a fraction of Ben’s psyche that he keeps locked away. The thing the Knight is fighting now is a manifestation of that part.Jean entered the room in horror at the discovery that Demon Gold was attacking the Knight.What happened next changed the Knight’s thinking about Jean’s powers forever. She released a mind blast, but, it was more powerful and more focused. She aimed it at Demon Gold, and actually blasted the concoction out of him.“Uh…What just happened?” Gold started.“You got hit with a vile of Xtreme, Jean knocked it out of you.”“Who’s…?” He paused for a second, “Well, hello. I’m Spider Gold, what’s your name?”The Knight started, “Don’t worry, Jean. He’s always like this.”Spider Gold then said, “What is going on here?”“Jokerine has taken control of the prison. I plan on taking it back.”“How can I be of assistance to you?”“I thought you’d never ask.” The Knight then told him about their plan. He added a part that Ben would play in it and he knew that he was ready to take on whatever was thrown his way.CHAPTER 9HUNTING A VILLAINAfter gathering supplies to start heading towards the chapel, Jokerine came on the screen.“Hello, everyone! Warden Jokerine here! I come to tell you that I will be moving to another facility in the prison. ‘Where?’ you might ask. Well, I’m not going to tell.”The screen then went black. The Knight started, “We need to find out where he is going. Now.”Tarantula thought that if they were able to find Black Hole II and interrogate him, they could find the location of where Jokerine is.“I have an idea!”After telling them the idea, the Knight thought it could just work.“Good idea, Mike, but where could Black Hole be at?”“He is at the Main Penitentiary. That is what some of the goons said over their radio.”“Then that’s where we are heading next.”They started to head towards the Main Penitentiary. The Knight thought it was a trap. The rest didn’t, though, and he dropped the idea.“Are you sure it isn’t a trap? It seems suspicious how Black Hole isn’t with Jokerine.”“It’ll be fine. If you are so sure it is a trap, send someone in first and if you hear something besides them, then we’ll go rescue them.” Tarantula replied.Jean then started, “I vote for Spider Gold.”“Hey!”“You deserve it.”“And why is that?”Then they got in an argument that attracted the attention of some of Jokerine’s gunmen.“We have you surrounded. Surrender now, or let there be blood!”The Knight decided to test out his new comms hack. He tampered with his mask’s voice recognition to sound like Black Hole II. He then said to them, “Go on break, or I’ll break you.”The thugs were tricked, and they left. Now the Knight and his friends had a way to get inside.“We need to be stealthy. Jean, take this grappling hook so that you can swing past rooms with guards in them. We don’t want to make Black Hole leave. That goes for all of you. Whatever you do, don’t let any guards know you are there. Black Hole will lock himself in his office and we won’t have access to him. No access, no interrogation, no Jokerine.”“Yes, sir.” Tarantula said.They started to make their way into the building. They entered a room in which goons we’re surrounding the grounds. They then used their grappling hooks to get to a vent on the other side of the room.“If we get in easily, how do we get out the same way?” Jean asked.“After we interrogate Black Hole, we can leave any way we want.” The Knight replied.They stumbled upon a room saying ‘Main Hall’ even though the only main hall on the island was in the Intensive Treatment.“Jokerine is changing the look of each of the buildings, to throw us off. I have a map of the island, so I know where we are going.”“So, you know where the office would be at?”“Absolutely.”They then discovered that Black Hole put up two signs that said “Office” and the Knight scanned the signs to see which one they should follow.“They both go to the same place, but the one on the left goes straight to the office, the other goes through the Cell Block.”Then Black Hole came on the speakers, “I know you are here, Dark Red Knight. I don’t want you coming through my office just yet. I want you to look at the surprise I have for you in the Cell Block. Go on, take a peek.”The Knight then relented and headed toward the Cell Block. He opened the door to find pods all around the grounds.Black Hole continued, “I had Hallows Eve set up some goons with a little kick of FEAR-3, a new poison she was working on.”The goons came out of the pods glowing green and filled with fear. They started to gain more muscle, and started to lose their grip on reality. When they looked at the Knight, they saw something else, something too horrifying to put into words.The Knight had to act quickly in order to get past these new goons powered by fear. He asked Jean to place a psychic bubble around a bullet and for Spider Gold to boost it with a web shot. It worked and all the pods and goons were knocked down, defeated.“We need to get there, now!” The Knight said.He noticed that a metal wall was starting to cover the door to the office. He threw a grenade and blasted the wall off of the door, allowing him to get in.“How are you going to torture him?” Jean asked.“You’ll just have to wait and see.”The entered the room, and to a very frightened Black Hole.“Where is Jokerine?!” He started, “Where. Is. He?”“You can’t make me talk.”The Knight then shot a bullet at his hand. “Yes. I can.”Black Hole turned to Jean, “You see how your friend here acts? Do you really want to ally yourself with him?”The Knight shot another bullet at his foot, “Talk. Now!”“Try me.”The Knight then slammed him to the ground and punched his ribs.“Okay, stop. Jokerine is going to the Intensive Treatment lobby. Please…stop.” Black Hole then passed out.“Now we know where he is. Let’s go.”Jean then asked, “Did you have to torture him so much?”“It was the only way to make him talk.”Jean then thought, He never acted like this before. What is Jokerine doing to his mind?CHAPTER 10THE FINAL SHOWDOWNThe Knight has had enough of Jokerine for one night. He is ready to do whatever is necessary to stop him.Tarantula started, “So, what is our part in this ‘final showdown’ of sorts?”“You all stay outside. Jokerine is mine.”“But what if something…”“He. Is. MINE.”The Knight charged into the Intensive Treatment building and knocked out and or killed all of the goons in his way. Firearms, or unarmed, the Knight didn’t want anyone in his way of defeating Jokerine.He entered a room with Jokerine sitting on a throne of corpses.“Red! So good to see you alive and well. I was hoping that the no-good hired help, Black Hole, would give away my location. Now, I can show you what I’ve been waiting for all night!”Jokerine pulled out a weapon that had a flask of the Xtreme formula inside it. He aimed it at the Knight.“You look tired after all that happened today, let’s wake you up!”The Knight got shot with the flask, started to transform, and then stopped. His healing factor was stopping the transformation! He then reverted back to his normal self and looked at Jokerine.“You will never use me, or anyone else, as your toy anymore. We end this here and now.”“Not so fast, Red.”Jokerine then shot himself with the weapon and started to change into a super strong creature.Outside, Jean could sense that something was wrong. She could feel that the Knight was hurt. She could also sense that Jokerine was coming.Then, Jokerine smashed through the front door of the Intensive Treatment building and stumbled upon the group of heroes before him.“MJ? What are you doing here?”“Helping him.” She pointed at the Knight.“Too bad.” He then slapped the three heroes and knocked them out.The Knight wasn’t too happy about that. He broke free of Jokerine’s hold and landed in front of him.“Come on, give in. Transform and you might be able to beat me.”“No. I will not transform. That is what you want.”“You’re right.”They started to battle and what a fierce battle it was.They went at it for a long time before the Knight knew, fists wouldn’t defeat him.He pulled the trigger on a grenade and held it in his hand, and started to punch Jokerine.“I will never let you win. Never.”The grenade exploded and knocked all the concoction out of Jokerine.The Knight then freed the commissioner and had a talk with him.The commissioner started, “I knew that you would defeat that filth.”“It was easy. I just had a little help from some friends.”“Are you sure Marvel Jest has reformed?”“Yes. She has.”“Don’t get all fussy, I didn’t mean anything rude.”“Good. Do you mind if I take them back to my base for medical treatment?”“Sure. I’ll see you next time.”“You too, old pal.”The Knight then transported the three heroes to different places. Spider Gold went to the Heroes United Infirmary, and Tarantula and Jean went to the Fortress, the Knight’s base of operations.About two hours later, Jean woke up.“Hi, again.” She started“Hi, again.”“What is this place?”“The Fortress, my base. And your new home.”POSTLUDEAFTERMATHThere was yet another evil forming back in New Gotham. A mysterious man was having a conversation with the mayor.“Mister Mayor, I want you to accept my offer for this new facility. After the recent riots at the Arkham Maximum prison, there will be no place for these villains to be kept!”“I am not sure I should. That would mean blocking off half the city!”“It is only for the best.”“I’m not sure.”“You can and will do it.”“I can and will do it.”The man started to leave when the mayor asked another question.“I didn’t catch your name.”“It’s Hugo. Hugo Xavier.”Copyright Destiny Comics 2016 ................
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