Cripes, am I glad you showed up, Dr. Tarr. I never considered reasoning with it. 
Gotham by Midnight #3 is an issue of the series Gotham by Midnight (Volume 1) with a cover date of March, 2015. It was published on January 28, 2015.
Synopsis for "Chapter Three: We Become What We Fight"
Detective Lisa Drake is no fan of hospitals, but all the same, she and Jim Corrigan are on a case at Gotham County Hospital, where a Dr. Patel explains that one of the isolation ward's patients is expressing strange symptoms. Not to mention the fact that her shadow seems to have a mind of its own. Dr. Patel had thought she had smallpox. All the tests had indicated as much, which is why she was placed in isolation. The patient's records show she was vaccinated, which begs the question of how she got it. Even as the detectives are watching the video feed from the woman's room, they can see her shadow suddenly rise up and turn on her.
Years ago, Lisa had accompanied her friend Fred to a drug deal, but instead of taking their money, the dealer had insisted that they pull a job for them. Fred was being promoted for his efforts in dealing the product to college students - but first he'd have to prove they could trust him. All he'd have to do is fill the cop they had in their trunk with bullets.
Now, Dr. Tarr complains that Sgt. Rook must not disturb him from his work while he sifts through the Midnight Shift's records for Internal Affairs. Tarr and Sister Justine are busy trying to interpret the strange language they had discovered being spoken by the children who had encountered a ghost on their last case. He comments that while Sgt. Rook seeks to uncover the truth, so does he. Despite his complaints, though, Dr. Tarr is called away by Corrigan to have a look at the patient at the hospital.
While they wait, Lisa prepares to enter the patient's room, while Jim remains behind - just in case what's inside gets out. Dr. Patel accompanies her, and hastily approaches the patient to calm her. Unfortunately, the shadow takes notice of him, and despite their protective suits, it reaches through to him, and his body is rotted away inside it, infected.
The shadow finds its way out through the window in the door, and Jim has no choice but to make a run for it, just as Dr. Tarr arrives. While the two continue to evade the shadow's infection, Lisa checks Dr. Patel's body, and confirms that it is not smallpox. It just looks like smallpox. Worrying about the number of casualties that will occur if the shadow continues to infect people, Jim tries desperately to keep control, and prevent The Spectre from getting out.
Those years ago, Lisa suddenly pulled her own gun, revealing that she was an undercover GCPD officer, and this was a sting operation. Even Fred had been taken by surprise. Despite getting the drop on the dealers, one of them managed to sneak up on her, teasing that undercover cops are supposed to have partners to prevent that from happening. In response, Lisa let out a screech that dropped her attacker to his knees. She then shot the dealers dead, leaving only Fred alive.
Lisa attempts to reach out to the patient, wondering if she can do anything to control its behaviour, but the girl seems not to be able to. While Jim struggles with the Spectre, Dr. Tarr opts to try communicating with the shadow using what little he has learned of the ancient, otherworldly language. The shadow introduces itself as Ikkt, and asks Tarr a question about Gotham - but he doesn't understand enough of the language to know how to answer the question. In the meantime, Lisa suggests that she might be able to do something by shining a light on the shadow. As she does, she promises the patient that she will survive - even though she has no idea what she's doing.
Back then, Lisa arrested Fred and rescued Jim Corrigan from the back of the dealers' car, introducing herself. She warns him not to tell anyone what he saw her do to the dealers, and he agreed, explaining that he was investigating them because their drug was made up of ground Sidhe bones. Despite her prickly reluctance, Jim suggested that he could help her understand what she really was, and offered her a job on the task force he'd been putting together on the Commissioner's orders.
Fortunately, the light from Lisa's flashlight burns away the shadow, and Jim confirms that it has stopped terrorizing patients. Unfortunately, they will still have to go through quarantine to be sure they aren't infected, and Dr. Tarr intends to do some work to prevent the patient from falling victim to the shadow again. He points out that the name Ikkt that it had given him is one of the names that was on their list from Sister Justine. This means Gotham is under attack - and the next attack might be more than they're ready for.
Appearing in "Chapter Three: We Become What We Fight"
Featured Characters:
- The Midnight Shift
- Det. Jim Corrigan
- Det. Lisa Drake (Flashback and main story)
- Dr. Szandor Tarr
- Sister Justine
- Lt. Weaver
Supporting Characters:
- Sgt. Rook
Antagonists:
- Ikkt (First appearance)
Other Characters:
- Dr. Patel (Dies)
- Jenna
- Fred (Flashback only)
Locations:
- Gotham City
- Gotham County Hospital
Items:
Vehicles:
See Also