Batman's Journal: Harley Quinn's Revenge

It had been a few weeks since that whirlwind night when all the shit went down in Arkham City - and when I say all the shit, I mean ALL the shit... Seriously, if you could think of an insane, character-defining moment (short of finally breaking the sexual tension with Robin) it happened that night.  There were the exciting and potentially deadly battles with Two-Face, Penguin, Mr. Freeze, Ra's al Ghul, Mad Hatter, Deadshot, and Clayface.  But to top it all off, Talia al Ghul - my beloved and one hope of a healthy and committed heterosexual relationship - murdered by the hand of the Joker, whose actions also led to his own untimely demise. To say that things haven't been the same since would be the understatement I've ever put in of my journals.

I had been back to Arkham City a few times since that night, mostly to tie up some loose ends related to Riddler and Hush, or for the thrill of beating up some random henchmen.  I might have punched a couple of thugs much harder than I had to, which I'm not proud of.  But I didn't have a real mission to complete in there until I heard from Commissioner Gordon about a group of his cops that Harley Quinn had kidnapped.  It seems that her grief over Joker has fueled her resolve to become a criminal mastermind in her own right, and she's pretty effectively organized the remainder of Joker's forces.  And she has no lost love for me, apparently holding me responsible for what happened to her "Puddin'".

I figured the best place to start looking for clues of the cops' whereabouts would be Joker's old Steel Mill - that is, what's left of it after the Protocol 10 strike that nearly took me out, were it not for Catwoman's timely assistance.  The main chimney was still spewing out smoke and the door by the cooling tunnels was locked shut, forcing me to access the facility a THIRD different way: through the gigantic hole Strange's missiles blew in the roof.  While making my way through Joker's old office, I saw something rather off-putting: a cradle, in which Joker's Scarface doll sat, littered with negative pregnancy tests.  These results contradicted one that I remembered seeing during my previous explorations, but perhaps the emotional burden of Joker's death was too much for her baby.

Looking down into the loading bay I could see a group of Harley's henchmen lining up for "Piñata Time" with a cop precariously dangling from the large motorized chain.  I had to act fast, because the thugs were fixing to find out what the cop's insides were made of - "And we'll be real disappointed if it's not candy" one of them shouted as he prepared to take the first swing.  It was no problem clearing the room, but the cop informed me that the rest of his crew were not being held in the Steel Mill.  I had to make my way back outside and find something to lead me to them.  Luckily one of the cops had dropped his radio out front, from which I could isolate a DNA trail.  It reminded me of tracking the League of Assassins across Arkham City, except with a lot less jumping over rooftops.  I tell you, no matter how many times I use it, this hyper-advanced forensic technology never gets old.

The trail led me to Harley Quinn's secret base, which was housed in the Sionis Industries Shipyard.  The security was surprisingly advanced, operating on a three-part code system, which was pretty sharp for Harley to come up with.  What wasn't too sharp was that she entrusted the code to three henchmen, who are notorious for telling me everything I want to know given a little... intimidation.  The first one was hanging out with some unarmed thugs, which meant I had to place my blows carefully during combat to avoid knocking him out before I got the information from him.  The second one had a gun and was patrolling an area with some more armed thugs - but a Freeze Blast on the one I was after allowed me to clear the rest of them without incident.  The third one was isolated on a high ledge, covered from all directions by snipers with high-powered rifles.  Taking out the snipers first allowed me easy access.

Once I got the code and headed inside, I found one of the cops held in the warehouse by a group of thugs, all equipped with sniper rifles.  They were patrolling around the rafters and it was a difficult task to get high enough to take one of them out without being spotted by the others.  But once I took out the majority of them and the last thug went down to ground level to check on the hostage, I unleashed the full fury of my Glide Kick Takedown.  I might have executed this move a little too close to the wall (see picture).... but he's not gonna bother those cops again, and that's the point.  I mean, it's not my fault that Sionis industries used subpar construction methods while building their shipyard, right?

After I cleared the room, who should emerge from a hidden door but Harley Quinn herself, surrounded by another group of thugs.  She didn't waste much time in conversation before pulling out an oversized novelty pistola and taking aim right at the cop next to me.  I had no choice but to dive in front of him and put my kevlar-reinforced armor to the test for the first time since Two-Face took a pot-shot at me in the courthouse.  I knew the armor would protect me, but the shock to my system was too much, and I went unconscious for a while...