What Ails You

"What Ails You"
General Information
Episode no.	Episode 4
Directed by	Chris Rieser
Written by	Patrick Kevin Day and Lauren R. Mee
Original air date	January 23, 2018
Episode Chronology
← Previous	"Fractured Mask"
Next →	"Same Stitch"

What Ails You is the fourth episode of Batman: The Enemy Within. The episode follows Bruce Wayne/Batman as he tries to stop the Pact, whilst uncovering the true intentions of Amanda Waller and The Agency. At the same time, "John Doe" finally makes a decision about his future. The episode was released on January 23rd 2018.

Plot

Depending on who Bruce decided to give up as the mole, the episode will begin in either of the following ways.

• Blame Catwoman
• Take the Blame

Arriving at the Bodhi Spa, Bruce begins the raid by knocking out the receptionist before he can call SANCTUS security. As he leads the Pact through the Spa, he subdues a number of other employees to prevent them from raising the alarm. Arriving at the elevator to the base, Harley Quinn uses Catwoman's googles to gain access. On the way down, John takes a photo of the group to "mark the occasion".

Arriving at the base, Bruce falls behind to contact Waller, giving her the order to send her agents into the facility, and helps the Pact past a number of defenses. He can also prevent Bane and Mr. Freeze from killing a number of employees. Upon arriving at the lab's entrance, Bruce is separated from the other members by entering the room whilst they battle another of its defenses. Using the opportunity to attempt to destroy the LOTUS virus, Bruce unlocks a number of the terminals, though is quickly caught doing so by Quinn.

As Bane breaks through the doors, Bruce activates the fire failsafe, setting off the destruction of the incubator. As the Pact finally break through, he engages Bane whilst Freeze and Harley extract the vials. When Bane finally subdues and tries to kill Bruce, John attacks him, forcing the brute to let go. As Freeze attempts to flee with the virus, Harley betrays him by smashing the vials, taking the last one, and leaving him trapped in the airlock. After she leaves, Waller and the Agency arrives, subduing Bane whilst John is able to escape.

Still trapped within the cryo-chamber, Bruce is able to free himself by hacking the EMP generator and releasing a pulse to shutdown the device. Successful, he informs Alfred of what has happened and heads to the Bodhi Spa to stop the Pact as Batman.

Upon arrival, he finds the aftermath of the group's carnage has left both employees of the spa and SANCTUS dead, along with a number of bystanders. Finding the elevator to the base, he is able to enter with a survivor's retinals and informs Waller on what has happened. After finding the lab's entrance, he finds Catwoman is still alive and hears how the group were urged to kill at Harley's behest. After either asking her to help him or telling her to leave, Batman enters the lab and subdues the men on guard.

After making his presence known to the Pact, Batman engages Bane and Mr. Freeze in a battle, whilst Harley is either subdued or battles Catwoman. Eventually cornered, John attacks Freeze to stop him from killing Batman, allowing the vigilante the opportunity to restrain Bane. In a fit of desperation, the brute injects himself with Venom and continues to battle him. Batman eventually destroys the incubator, subduing Bane in the process, though is too late to stop Freeze from getting his hands on the LOTUS virus. As he attempts to escape, Harley knocks the vials out of his hands, stealing the last one, and seals him in the airlock. After she escapes, Waller and the Agency arrive, during which John escapes. If Catwoman fought with Batman, she makes her escape, promising to see him again.

Whilst the Agency clears up the lab, Bruce/Batman contacts Alfred, telling him to get Tiffany to Wayne Manor. Talking to Waller and Avesta, they talk about the impact of SANCTUS on the Agency and their plans to capture Quinn. When Avesta suggests talking to Freeze, Waller tells them not to and her intentions to use SANCTUS's equipment to help the Agency's operations. After the director leaves, Bruce/Batman decides to go through with Iman's suggestion and, after she distracts the agent guarding the scientist, takes a bioscan of him.

Having been infected with the virus, Freeze promises to tell Bruce/Batman Harley's plans if he lowers the temperature in the airlock in the hopes it can slow down the effects of LOTUS. Regardless of whether he agrees, Freeze reveals that it is not a bioweapon but an experimental restorative agent. Having learnt of its effects from Riddler, a former test subject, each member of the Pact planned to use it to cure their various problems, such as Bane's addition to Venom and Nora Fries' illness. Telling Bruce/Batman that they could create a non-fatal version using the deceased's blood, Freeze tells him to go back to the Old Five Points to retrieve the samples. After leaving Freeze to be taken by the Agency or complying with his request, Bruce/Batman leaves to do so.

Deciding to go as his civilian identity to prevent Harley from doing "something drastic", Bruce takes Iman to help him investigate. If he chose to sacrifice her during Riddler's game, the Batmobile briefly shuts down her hearing aids after detecting surveillance tech within them. Conversing about Waller, Avesta reveals that she had intentionally let the Pact steal Riddler's body and that she was doubting her place on the Agency. She also shares details about Harley's father and reveals that his mental health problems were caused by hereditary genes within his side of the family. As they arrive at the destination, Iman asks whether Bruce questions his methods as Batman and whether she should remain at the Agency.

Upon arriving back at the Pact's lair, they discover someone else has already been there and stolen the samples. If Bruce gave up Catwoman as the traitor, he discovers her cage empty, though expects that he won't see her anytime soon. Upon investigating further, Bruce finds evidence that the Agency have been in the lair and realizes they have stolen Riddler's blood. Whilst investigating the criminal's body, he also takes a bioscan to help simulate the effects of LOTUS. After finding enough evidence, Bruce and Iman realize that Waller had ordered the blood to be stolen so that she could create her own samples of a useable LOTUS virus. Hoping to blackmail Quinn and the others to work for the Agency with it as an incentive, she had ordered a taskforce there to make sure no samples remained, in the hopes that Quinn's desperation would allow her to cooperate.

Upon hearing a noise in Harley's office, they investigate to find a drunk John at the desk. Having had his feeling for Harley broken by her betrayal, John complains about his seemingly one sided friendship with Bruce and how his life is seemingly finished. However, Bruce is able to convince him to tell them what happened, including an eyewitness account of the Agency's sabotaging. Deciding to locate Harley for Bruce, John leaves to track her down for Bruce. If he tries to follow him, John points a gun at them and flees, revealing it to be empty. Believing she knows where Waller is storing Riddler's blood, Avesta leaves to track them down whilst Bruce returns to the Batcave, asking Alfred to run a simulation of LOTUS's effects.

Upon arriving, he finds that Alfred has fallen unconscious, though is able to wake him up. After ensuring he is fine, Bruce finds out that though LOTUS can cure the body of certain problems, it only causes more harm by damaging the chemicals in the brain. Realizing that Quinn will only make her problems worse by using the virus, Bruce is contacted by Avesta and told that she plans to destroy samples of Riddler's blood. After either giving her the go ahead or asking her not to do so, Bruce helps Alfred out of the cave to call a doctor to see him. Depending on whether he told Tiffany about his identity, the follow will happen.

• Don't tell her
• Reveal your identity

After calling for a doctor to come to the Manor, Tiffany joins them in the parlor and asks Bruce the severity of Alfred's incident. She also reveals that the Agency had approached her after the incident at his office and offered her a job with them. Depending on how the conversation plays out, she either decides to accept their offer, having found it hard to work at Wayne Enterprises after her father's death, or learns that Bruce is Batman, if he objects to her joining and listens to Alfred's demands to tell her the truth. Regardless of what happens, John contacts Bruce to tell him where Harley is hiding, forcing him to leave Alfred and Tiffany to investigate.

After calling a doctor to come to the Manor, Tiffany joins them in the parlor and asks Bruce the severity of Alfred's incident. She also reveals a suit she had designed, in case she was needed in the field, and a gun for Bruce. After he reveals his refusal to use guns, Bruce tells her to be considerate of his moral code in the future. Moments later, John contacts him to tell him where Harley is hiding, forcing Bruce to leave Alfred and Tiffany to investigate.

Arriving at the location, a disused carnival outside of Gotham, Bruce investigates the funhouse, where Harley had set up as a base. As he investigates further, he discovers John in a room, surrounded with the bodies of Waller's agents. After listening to his claims of killing in self defense, Bruce finds a number of holes in the story, including a number of gunshot wounds on "bludgeon" victims. Depending on dialogue, John's trust in Bruce can be either increased or broken. It is also revealed that he has deduced that he is Batman, with him touting out the evidence should Bruce deny it. Desperate for Bruce's trust, John tells him that Harley is planning to hold the Gotham Bridge hostage for Riddler's blood and offers to help him capture her if he believes his story. Depending on dialogue chosen, the following will happen.

• Believe John
• Don't believe John

If Bruce chooses to believe John, the two head over to the Gotham Bridge to stop Harley, who is now in the midst of a standoff with the Agency. Unable to meet the demands due to Avesta's tampering with it, Waller is forced to let Bruce and John through to help negotiate Harley's surrender. When Bruce tries to negotiate with her, he is unable to get her to surrender and only makes her more volatile. Knowing it will only get worse, John asks Bruce to let him try. If he agrees to let him through, John is seemingly able to get Harley to hand over the detonator, though his actions cause Waller to become suspicious and order her agents in. Depending on Bruce's action, the following possibilities will happen.

If Bruce is able to trust John and prevent Waller from sending her agents in, Harley is subdued and handed over to the Agency. When the director tries to get him to hand over the virus, John refuses, believing that she will only use it to create more trouble. When Waller turns her agents on him, John attacks them and releases a smoke bomb to disorientate them. Fighting through agents sent to capture him, Bruce is only able to watch John detonate Harley's bombs and attack Waller. As he escapes, John promises to bring the Agency to justice and that Batman will help him. The episode ends with Bruce failing to stop John as he escapes into the night.

If Bruce chooses not to trust John by letting him negotiate with Harley or allow Waller to send her agents in, he takes the detonator from Harley and threatens to blow up the bridge if they don't back off. Feeling betrayed, he berates Bruce for his decisions and calls him dangerous. When the Agency captures and tries to execute Harley, John detonates the bombs, destroying part of the bridge and frees her in the chaos. As they make their escape, John and Harley kiss and jump of the bridge, laughing as chaos ensues. The episode ends with Bruce trying to stop them, only to fail.

If Bruce choses not to believe John, he decides to take his place beside Harley and makes his escape. Though Bruce chases after him, his way is blocked by a trap set up and is forced to let him go. With no other option available, he contacts Alfred to give him an update on the attack on the Gotham Bridge and decides to deal with the situation as Batman.

Arriving as Harley makes her presence known to the Agency, Batman decides on how to draw her out and engages her in a fight. After subduing her, he listens to her demands and threats to destroy the bridge with a bomb. As Waller moves in to capture her, Batman stands in her way to prevent the situation from escalating. Despite Harley's demands for Riddler's blood, the Agency is unable to meet it, due to Avesta's tampering with it. Now desperate, Quinn threatens to destroy the bridge, forcing Batman to try to either steal the virus or get the detonator away from her.

Regardless of the choice, John arrives on the scene, indirectly releasing the bombs and causing Batman's attempt to fail. Professing his loyalty and dependency to Harley, John takes the detonator from her and sets off the bombs. As the bridge collapses, Batman tries to save as many people as possible, but is caught in the blast. As he recovers, John calls him responsible for the carnage and kisses Harley, who is smitten by his actions. The episode ends with John and Quinn, laughing at the chaos they have created, successfully escaping whilst Batman tries to stop them.

Cast

• Troy Baker as Bruce Wayne/Batman
• Anthony Ingruber as "John Doe"
• Enn Reitel as Alfred Pennyworth
• Debra Wilson as Amanda Waller, Computer
• Emily O'Brien as Iman Avesta, Agency Female
• Valarie Rae Miller as Tiffany Fox
• Laura Post as Harleen Quinzel/Harley Quinn
• J.B. Blanc as Bane, Agency Male, Dying Man, Goon #1
• Matthew Mercer as Victor Fries/Mr. Freeze, Spa Worker
• Laura Bailey as Selina Kyle/Catwoman, Civilian
• Keith Szarabajka as Receptionist, Goon #2
• Robin Atkin Downes as The Riddler (Not Voiced)

Gallery

Images

Batman fights Bane and Mr. Freeze

"John Doe"

"John Doe" & Harley Quinn

The Pact

Trivia

• This is the only episode where it is possible to not suit up as Batman, but complete as Bruce Wayne.
• This is the only episode where both James Gordon and Renee Montoya are absent.
• The title of this episode refers to how "John Doe" is finally starting to lose what remains of his sanity and embrace his inner darkness.

Previous episode:	Next episode:
"Fractured Mask"	"Same Stitch"