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The familiar harsh alarm sounded overhead, the rotating lights casting a red hue over the concrete room as the heavy metal door slid open along its railing.Four men – judging by the number of voices that could be heard down the dark corridor – seemed to be making their way up the from the depths of the compound and seemed to be the cause for the door’s alarm. “- Penguin lost this round though.” One voice was saying.“Bet the Joker was pleased.” Another one observed.“Bet Cobblepot wasn’t.”“You think he’ll actually stick to his own rules?”“Fat chance.” Someone guffawed.“It’s gonna be a blood bath.” Another muttered gravelly.“And we’re gonna have front seats.” One of the men cackled, and then they were laughing a cruel merciless laugh that bounced off the concrete walls.At this point they were close to the now-open doorway, the alarm - still spinning, though its siren had now muted – illuminated them in red. There were indeed four of them, all of equal size and wearing similar armoured uniforms, two of them leading the way in front - guns cradled in their arms though they showed no signs of thinking they might need them – and another two following on behind hauling something of reasonable weight between them.What this weighty object was became clearer when the first two armoured guards finally stepped through into the relatively small room beyond, and then moved to either side of the doorway to allow the other two men to enter with the body they carried.It was a girl – unconscious or dead by the limp way she hung – that was now dragged forward. She was suspended only by the guard’s arms hooked under her own, her ankles scrapping lifelessly across the rough concrete underfoot until they pulled her to a stop in the centre of the room.A cold wintery gale blew through the wall opposite made up of enforced metal bars. The street beyond was bleak and dark, the overcast sky just visible between the roof of the compound’s overhang and the buildings behind.“Bitch still outta it?” A figure in front of the bars asked gruffly, nodding to the girl. He was slightly bigger than the other guards – possibly owing to the added armour he seemed to sport – and his uniform was accented with bright orange unlike the other’s blue. He had been waiting impatiently for them, and he wasn’t about to linger any longer. Even with his extra padding, the frost still bit at him.“Yes, sir.” The guard furthest to the right, answered obediently.“Her funeral.” The large guard muttered, turning now to the door in the bars behind him, eager to get this done so he could return to the depths of the compound and the limited heat it provided. It wasn’t warm there by any means – hard to heat concrete - but it felt a damn site better after being stood out here.“Yeah,” One of the men guffawed again in agreement, his breath curling visibly in front of him, “Remember what happened to the last chick?” He laughed, “- Barely took two steps ‘fore they got ‘er!” He cackled like this was the funniest thing in the world. “Found the body in an alley day later - barely recognise ‘er!” He claimed.Some of the men smirked at this, others remained sober. “She’d better ‘ave a good pair o’ legs on ‘er.” The man on the right of the girl agreed, glancing down at his burden. “Or not,” He admitted with a shrug.“All the more entertainment for us if she keeps going though!” One of the other men pointed out with a wink to the rest.“Hate when they just disappear.” Agreed another guy, “’s like when ya favourite TV show gets cancelled!” He grinned.“Strange ain’t gonna wanna waste his time on this one.” The larger guard informed them in a bored tone, ending their jeering as he punched in the code onto a number pad by the door. The gate beep at the successful combination, then the lock sprung open and he yanked the door open. He might not appreciate the men’s gossiping, but they were right, and both he and Strange knew it – the girl would be dead before dawn.The opening of the door seemed to be a signal for the other guards to now walk forward with their quarry, pausing just before the door when the higher man held up a gloved hand. He stepped in front of the girl, studying her for a moment, before abruptly pulling back an arm and striking her with a sharp slap to the cheek, snapping her eyes open.“Morning, my dear.” The man leered down at her. “You’d best be thanking me for that – least now ya stand a shred of chance…” He muttered cruelly before taking a step back again and gestured for the other guards to continue on.They obeyed without question, hauling the girl forward again. She made several attempts to scramble to her feet – to offer some resistance against the men, or at the very least stop her raw ankles being scraped along the floor any further - but her legs were almost completely numb, and the guards offered her no aid.She was escorted the short distance to the doorway and then shoved roughly through and out onto the damp street beyond, easily losing her balance without their support and collapsing to her hands and knees on the rough tarmac.“Welcome home!”“Hope you know how to run!”The shout and jeers behind her were followed by a chorus of malicious chuckles as a loud clang of metal telling the girl that the door she had just been pushed through had now been firmly closed on her back, trapping her out here on the street.She flicked her head up to shift the hair that had fallen over her face, glancing around her immediate surroundings to gain some sort of bearings.I might have still been slightly dazed from whatever had happened to me – and confused about a lot of things – but I was under no illusion as to where I was as I stared up at the dark metal arch that towered over me, the emblem of Arkham City outlined hauntingly against the grey sky.