Robin's Journal: Harley Quinn's Revenge

It had been about two weeks since Batman charged into the Arkham City facility and did his one-man wrecking crew routine, resulting in the deaths of the warden Hugo Strange, his beloved Talia al Ghul, and his arch-nemesis The Joker.  I knew it must have been one of his most challenging adventures, but I didn't understand the full scope of it until I read his extensive chronicles of the experience.  He sure went through a lot and accomplished an amazing amount of heroic feats in a single night!  But these journal entries help remind us that behind that gruff exterior and the molded plastic and kevlar costume, he's only human like the rest of us.

The emotional toll must have been pretty severe, cuz the big guy hasn't quite been himself since then.  Not that he ever really opens up and discusses his affairs with the rest of his superhero "family" - except for the occasional chat over one of Alfred's famous afternoon teas - but lately he's been brooding even more than usual, something I didn't think was possible.  I mean, this guy's devoted his entire existence to coping with the traumatic loss of two of the most important people in his life, and now to have it happen again?  I realize we're not talking about his parents, but who's to say that Joker and Talia don't mean as much to Batman as Thomas and Martha Wayne meant to young Bruce.

Needless to say, he's been taking this whole situation pretty hard.  So when all of a sudden he went missing without any sort of contact for two days, Oracle and I started getting worried.  We always had a hunch that Arkham City was involved in some way, but it wasn't until Barbara learned from her father that he had enlisted Batman's help to investigate a group of cops kidnapped by Harley Quinn that I decided to head in to check out her new base of operations at the Sionis Industries Shipyard.

She certainly had a full complement of armed thugs guarding the entrance, and all dressed up in new, Harley-specific garb.  I really like what she's done with the four-diamond motif, and of course you know I'm a fan of the red and black color scheme.  The makeup with the tears is a little much - I know she's in mourning and all, but couldn't all that time her henchmen spend in the makeup chair be used for something more productive, like training or planning?  I guess having a well-developed identity is just as important for a supervillain as having competent followers.  Plus it just makes them that much easier to take them out, as long as you don't count all the trouble it takes to wash the residual face paint off my gloves and cape.

Rather than deal with the armed thugs outside, I slipped silently in through a skylight and began a thorough search of the area.  I spotted Harley through a window claiming that she had some kind of plan for the kidnapped cops, which was perfect because it meant the cops would be kept alive long enough for me to search for Batman.  These supervillains' taste for the dramatic does help to keep the overall death toll down - a lesser criminal would probably have executed the cops on site - but it does force us heroes to use all our ingenuity to navigate their elaborate traps and schemes.

A large part of that ingenuity is our impressive complement of gadgets and equipment, all of which I had to employ to make my way through the twisting steel maze of the shipyard.  Of course I had some explosive gel (which I spray in the shape of a stylized "R" instead of the Bat-signal) and my Bullet Shield (an extension of my handy staff) was useful in getting past automated gun turrets and vents spewing molten hot steam, since I didn't have room in my utility belt for a Disruptor or some Freeze Blasts.  When I snuck up on some henchmen standing across a large body of still water, the only way I could traverse the distance was with my Zip Kick, which combines features of Batman's Batclaw and Line Launcher.  When I target a henchman with it, they remain stationary, while I fly through the air towards them, using my momentum to deliver a powerful attack.  Sometimes being a welterweight crimefighter has its benefits...

But before I took out that group, I stopped to listen into some of their idle conversation.  Seems like one of the henchmen had some aspirations to take over Harley's operation, but the others challenged his qualifications - not based on lack of skill or ruthlessness, but on the absence of a clear gimmick.  They made a good point: an effective supervillain not only needs the skill and intelligence to run the business aspect, but also the charisma to attract followers.  While I hate the guy, Penguin has a persona that I could see people joining up with - not so much "Turkey Man" who got his name by murdering his family on Thanksgiving because of an overcooked main course.

As I opened the door to the warehouse, I came upon a group of henchman standing over an object that I never expected to see in the hands of anyone but my boss: Batman's utility belt.  Although to be fair it wasn't in anyone's hands, since none of the henchmen had the nerve to touch the thing - it had apparently sent 50,000 volts through the unlucky sucker who removed it from the Caped Crusader.  While I was mercilessly pummeling the thugs, one question kept flooding through my mind: how did Batman end up without his belt?  I may never know.....