'Redemption'
Arkham left the League of Shadow's compound and was sent by Henri Ducard to
That night there was fighting in the streets of
But it was strangely quiet as Arkham approached the
"Ah!", Jarrod
said. "It's about time. I want to show you something,
Arkham's heart sank. "They can see us", he whispered.
"No!", Jarrod
laughed. "Tempest won't look down. She's afraid of heights", he said.
"And The Phantom?", Arkham asked.
"The Phantom is working for us", Jarrod
replied. "Look at them", he continued. "They can only kill one
another in hand-to-hand combat."
"Why?", Arkham asked curiously.
"Luthor's got them programmed like gnats", Jarrod
replied. "They have these things in their heads that control their
thoughts. You might say he gave them a sense of honor."
"Are we still here to meet Tempest?", Arkham
asked.
"Oh, yes", Jarrod replied. "The
Phantom is having a little fun...but we control his programming now. When
Tempest defeats him he's going to shoot her with a stun gun. Tempest will fall
over the side and into those nets over there."
"Ah", Arkham replied. Arkham was disgusted by Jarrod's
methods, but he kept his feelings secret. They watched the fight above until
finally Tempest tossed the Phantom onto the floor.
Jarrod eagerly looked above. Arkham saw that Jarrod was still distracted and punched him in the face.
Arkham then grabbed a grappling weapon and shot it at Tempest's leg. A chain
shot out and chained her to the tower.
Instantly Jarrod's men attacked Arkham, and
restrained him.
Jarrod's mood soured for a moment. But then he looked
up and saw the Phantom rush at Tempest. They fell over the side, with the chain
breaking from their combined weight.
Tempest clung to the tower. The Phantom fell into the darkness below.
But then, from out of nowhere, a civilian reached to help Tempest. Agent
Blackheart stepped forward, with bloodshot eyes, and raised his weapon to shoot
the man.
"No", Jarrod said. "Please trust me my
friend", he said to Blackheart. "She will fall."
Blackheart trusted no man, but he believed Commander Jarrod,
because for as long as he knew Commander Jarrod he
was never wrong. Blackheart lowered his weapon.
Tempest fell from the tower into the nets below. Jarrod
smiled, and then turned and shot Tempest with a tranquilizer. His men removed a
body from a bag. Jarrod took Tempest's ring and put
it on the body. His men threw the body over the side.
"What was that?", Arkham asked.
"A gift", Jarrod replied, "a clone,
from Lex Luthor."
"The Phantom", Arkham muttered. "You let him die. And now you're
going to turn this conflict into an all-out war."
"He didn't make the cut", Jarrod replied
casually.
"What the hell's going on here", Arkham asked plainly.
"A new alliance", Jarrod replied
carelessly. "The League of Shadows and the Legion of Doom will now be working
together. The world needs order, Arkham, and Luthor is the only one with the
power to impose that order."
"You're mad", Arkham said despondently.
"But isn't that our goal? Isn't that all of our goals?",
Jarrod replied as he looked to his men.
"What about Henri Ducard", Arkham asked him. "He'd never approve
of this."
"Henri is just the voice of Ra's al Ghul", Jarrod
replied. "He's a puppet. My orders come from Ra's himself. The new
alliance will ensure the League of Shadows survives. Now our future will be
very different."
"You think you can make Tempest work for you?",
Arkham asked sarcastically. "You think you can control that thing in her
head that Luthor uses to control her? Do you even have an idea how it works?", Arkham asked.
"I know exactly how it works,
"We should kill him", Blackheart said plainly.
"He's no longer one of us. We'll leave him for Luthor," Jarrod replied.
"Very well", Blackheart said without hesitation.
"It looks like I have a date", Jarrod said
as he walked toward Tempest. They picked her up and wrapped her in an overcoat.
"Looks like she's had a little too much to drink", he joked.
"Time to go, gentlemen," Jarrod said to his
men, and they left.
(Photos, top-left: Christian Bale as "Arkham", bottom-left: Indian
actor Emraan Hashmi as
"Blackheart", center: Sean Bean as "Commander Jarrod', right: Lizzy Caplan as Tina Greer/"Tempest")