Title: One Step Short from Insane
Summary: Voices begin to ramble inside of Batman's head. But when they start to influence his mind and change him, the League must find a way to get the old Bruce back.
I believe there is a fanfic out here with an idea similar to this one, but I didn't steal anything. I promise. :)
Disclaimer: I obviously don't own anything.
XXChapter 1: The Birth of InsanityXX
"Yoohoo! Batsy Baby! Wake up, you big sleepy head!"
All he could see was black, a dark abyss of nothing. He was telling his eyes to open, but they refused to budge. They seemed heavier than before, almost impossible to lift. A horrible ache attacked his head, like it was beating it with a mallet. The room was cold, bringing a chill to his sore body. This wasn't right. None of it could be right.
He heard the excited voice call out to him once again.
"C'mon, Bats! Time to get up!"
It sounded distant, like a quiet whisper, like a dream.
"We can't spend all day! Quit dilly-dallying and get up!"
The voice didn't sound right. It just wasn't normal. It sounded a little too happy, unnerving, maybe even insane.
Batman's eyes shot open as the thought entered his head. Before him, he found green hair, a snow white face, and a disturbingly huge smile lined in bright red, but everything was upside down… literally. Batman's feet were bound together by a chain that hung him from the ceiling by some sort of pulley system. His hands were secured behind his back as well. Gazing up (which was really down), he could see his long, black cape billowing beneath him, and below that was a (Batman blinked to make sure none of this was a delusion) colossal vat filled to the brim with hot, bubbling green chemicals. The tip of his head had to be only a few feet away from the dangerous liquid. Batman stared back at the grinning Joker, who was standing on a bridge above several other large vats of acid.
The madman leaned over the metal railing to get as close to his rival's face as he could. His menacing smile didn't diminish a bit. In fact, it only grew wider. Beside him, several burly henchmen in clown masks stood guard around the criminal. All were armed.
"Why, hello there, Batsy!" the Joker hollered across the vast room. "I made a surprise for you, but I think you already know what it is!" He began to cackle loudly.
"What do you want, Joker?" Batman called back, even though it was obvious all the crazed clown wanted was his adversary's demise. The hero tried to buy some time, all the while struggling in his restraints, trying to find a way out of this mess.
"Oh! I'm hurt!" he yelled back, placing a gloved hand over his heart and attempting an innocent look of disappointment. "After all these years, you've forgotten! And you're the one who made me too!" The clown gave an exaggerated gasp of shock, then began laughing harder than before.
Batman tried to steady himself from the swinging chain. "What are you talking about?" he demanded sternly. Once again, he already knew what the criminal was talking about. It was just for the sake of stalling him, but he wasn't discovering any quick ways out of the trap.
"Why, it's my anniversary, of course!" the clown announced, throwing his arms in the air with excitement. His henchmen just stared emotionlessly at their boss, who continued his rambling. "And I've decided to celebrate! So here we are, back to the place where it all began! Where my insanity was born! Hahahahahahahaaaaa!" He once again leaned over the railing toward his captive.
"Didn't you do this last year?" the Bat questioned, as his chain continued to swing over the steaming container of acid. "You did it last year," he repeated, "with that television crew. You pushed that reporter into the vat. Don't you remember?" He cringed as he was beginning to feel lightheaded. His body continued to sway back and forth.
The Joker nodded with his huge smirk growing. "Ah, yes!" he exclaimed. "I do remember. What's his name? John? Jack? Jack Ry? Jack Riding? Jack… Oh, whatever! Something like that!" The Joker waved it off then grabbed hold of the railing once more. "It was that yellow man with the green underwear. That creepy guy."
"The Creeper," Batman corrected.
"Yeah, that guy!" he exclaimed, snapping his fingers. "Well, anyways, that whole fiasco won't happen again. And this year is different. As you can see, it's only me," he pointed a finger at his chest, "and you, Batsy!" He then pointed the finger at the upside-down Bat. "Doesn't that sound like loads of fun?!"
"Wonderful." His words dripped with sarcasm.
The Joker once more began to guffaw uncontrollably. His laughter rang throughout the immense room, growing in volume as it echoed.
"That's great, Batsy," he finally chuckled after getting rid of a few more giggles and wiping his eyes. "I'm glad you're just as excited as I am! And guess what?! I'm going to spend the rest of the day with you!"
Gritting his teeth, Batman tried to subside the nausea due to all the blood rushing to his head.
"I mean, it was so hard trying to pick what to do for this special day," the Joker continued to explain. "I was trying to choose from throwing a big party at good ol' Arkham or maybe even bringing a nice big cake to the cheery folks back at the Gotham Police Department." The clown prince of crime clasped his hands behind his back and began to pace back and forth across the bridge. "But then I thought about you, Batsy!"
"Is that so?" Batman questioned. His hands felt around the rough chains, which were so thick and impossible to break. He gritted his teeth in frustration.
The Joker nodded furiously. "Yes sir! And when I thought about you, I knew that I just had to celebrate this oh so grand day with my dear ol' Batsy! No one else would be just as fun as my Batsy! Not even Harley! Doesn't that make you feel special?"
Batman chose not to answer. The non response made the clown shrug.
"So, anyways, I sent an invitation, and of course you couldn't refuse! I mean, you couldn't just let good ol' Commissioner Gordon fall from a building, right?! Then again, it wasn't really Gordon, and Giggles here," he placed an arm over one of his henchmen's shoulders, "took care of ya'!" Another laughing fit came and went. "And now here we are! Back where it all began! Sorry I couldn't decorate a bit more. It was on such a short notice. Hahahahahahahaaaaaa!"
Grunting with even more frustration, Batman struggled in his restraints, trying to escape. His many attempts were futile, and he knew his next few were going to fail as well, but he kept trying to escape anyways. He tried calling to J'onn, thinking that maybe the League could help this once, but no one answered. His hand automatically reached for his belt just to find that it was missing. Joker guffawed with amusement.
"It's not there, Batsy!" he called out. "I know you too well!" The clown held out his hand, and in it was the utility belt. "I'm making sure you stay for the party!" With an overjoyed holler, he flung the device into a boiling vat, where it slowly sank.
"Well, anyways, Batsy," the criminal replied while rubbing his gloved hands together. "Let's get over to the main event, shall we? Y'see, I wanted to do something amazing for this anniversary. Something…" He paused to search his mind for the right word. "…Something extravagant. Yes, extravagant." Menacing cackles bubbled from his mouth.
Batman was mentally cursing.
"It wouldn't be extravagant if I just shot you. That's not even funny! And why would I wanna kill you anyways? That'd just end all the fun we have all the time." The jester leaned out over the rail even farther. "Y'see, Batsy, I don't wanna kill you. I never have wanted to. Deep down inside I love the pain you bring me." His hand went up to his heart. "That's why I keep coming back to ya'! So I don't see why all these lunatics out there try to murder you!"
"So what are you trying to accomplish here?" Batman asked.
"Why, to drive you insane, Bats!" The Joker laughed harder. "That's all I've ever wanted to do. The greatest goal of my life, and now I've found the perfect time to do it! I just wanna drive you insane! Just as insane as me! Hahahahahahaaaaa!"
Joker's captive clenched his teeth even tighter. "You're sick, Joker," he growled harshly.
After a long fit of giggles, Joker answered, "I know. I know I am, Batsy." He flashed his evil trademark smile. "And now you're going to be just as sick me! Hahahahahaaa! Pull the lever, boys!"
At the end of the bridge near the door, a huge thug pulled at a large metal switch. As soon as it clicked in place, Batman could feel himself being lowered down toward the bubbling, green chemicals.
"Good luck, Batsy! Hahahahahahahaaaa!"
The pulley system was slow, but Batman could already feel the heat of the acid. His face began to sweat. The end of his long cape went in, sizzling as it did. The liquid slowly began to eat away at it as it came even closer to Batman's head.
It seemed that the Joker looked at his victim with pure pride, as if he was imagining at just what he was creating. "Ooooh! You're almost there! Just a few more –"
The Joker's taunts were interrupted as a flash of blue and red burst through the ceiling, raining down dust and debris. Everyone inside coughed as they squinted through the cloud of dirt.
"Oh-ho! Well if it isn't the Big Boy in Blue!"
Batman looked in relief as he spotted Superman floating above the bridge. J'onn must have gotten his call. The Flash suddenly materialized to the bridge's right, and Wonder Woman flew down through the hole Clark had made.
"And you brought friends too!" the Joker exclaimed with glee. "Oh, this is one fun party. Don't you think, Batsy?" He threw a glance at Batman. "What are you doing standing there?! Get'em, boys!" he hollered.
There had to be about twenty thugs in the building, and they charged to the three heroes like ants running to invade a Saturday evening picnic. Gun shots and war cries rang throughout the room…
…And Joker kept watch of his victim, smiling with pride, waiting to see what would happen.
Batman cursed when his head was only about a foot away from the acid. He glared at Clark, who was busy with about ten henchmen.
"Superman!" he hollered.
"Don't worry! I'll get you!" the Man of Steel called back. He flew up into the air but was stopped when his cape was grabbed at. A bullet collided with his forehead and, of course, bounced of, but it didn't fail to temporarily stun the hero. Superman was reluctantly pulled back into the fight, leaving Batman literally hanging. Diana and Wally were in the same predicament.
"I don't see why you're so frightened, Batsy," the clown called out as he rested his chin on the metal railing of the bridge. "I mean, it's not so bad being crazy! Look at me! I turned out just dandy!"
The top of his head sank into the liquid, and Batman grunted as the burning heat attacked it. It was like diving into Hell itself headfirst. The chemicals reached up to his forehead, and that was when he began to yell in pain.
"Batman!" Diana's voice called out in fear, but he couldn't see her. Joker's laughter could be heard in the background.
Squeezing his eyes shut, Batman sank down until the top of the liquid reached his nose, then his mouth, then his chin, then his neck. He tried thrashing in his restraints, trying to get free, but it was useless. There was no way out.
He was feeling even more lightheaded. Holding his breath was starting to burn at his lungs, so he had to inhale, but when he did, he could only feel even more burning and pain. The acid was burning his skin and seemingly seeping through it to attack the rest of his body, even though only his head was submerged. He was screaming. Screaming so hard that it felt like someone was yanking his throat out, but he couldn't hear it. The adrenaline pumping through his head was much louder. The pain was unbearable. It felt like thousands of claws were tearing at his face, ripping it away. His eyes felt like popping out of its sockets.
And then the pain abruptly ended, and he stopped struggling. The burning and lightheadedness had left, but it didn't make Batman feel any better. In fact, he felt worse. He knew he had to escape, that it wasn't safe down here, but at the moment he didn't care. There was no point. No point at all. His sanity was going to die in this hellish pit. He couldn't see anything. There was just no longer anything. No longer any up or down. No left or right. He wasn't even sure if he still existed. There was just a pit of dark nothingness. Nothing else.
But there were voices, many of them. They were talking, whispering, and shouting to him. Some were quiet, and some were loud. Some were soothing, and some were harsh and taunting. But all of them were directed to him. Only to him.
And then there was the laughter. The booming laughter that rang above everything else. It was ominous, menacing, but above all insane. The insane, crazy laughter of a madman. The kind of laughter that always had blood behind it. It was the Joker's laugh…
…But Bruce could hear his own voice cackling insanely along with it.
XXXXX
Clark had rounded up Diana and Wally as soon as J'onn had filled him in on the predicament Bruce was in. He had burst in when Bruce's head was only a few feet away from the boiling liquid, but Joker's thugs wouldn't let him rush straight to him. Turning his head, he could see that Wonder Woman and the Flash were having the same problem. Turning his head the other way, he could see that the acid had reached Batman's shoulders and that he had stopped struggling.
A few more bullets bounced off the back of his head.
"Enough!" he yelled, throwing a few quick punches and knocking about four or five crooks unconscious. The Man of Steel grabbed hold of the few thugs that were left and hurled them off the bridge away from the huge vats of acid toward Wally's direction. "Flash, take care of these guys for me!"
"I got'cha, Supes!" The young hero disappeared in a blur to his new task.
Superman finally lifted off into the air and toward's Batman's hanging figure. By now, the acid had reached his chest. Joker's voice called off in the distance.
"Hey! Leave him alone! Why don't you crash someone else's party?!"
Pulling at the heavy chain, Clark managed to hoist his teammate out of the chemicals, finding that he had lost consciousness. But he was still breathing. Behind Clark, more shouts echoed, including Joker's.
"Hey! Let go of me you little-"
Superman smiled as he heard Diana's voice as well.
"You're not going anywhere but Arkham, Joker."
XXXXX
"Bruce."
Opening his eyes once again proved to be quite a task, but he struggled to pry them open.
"Bruce."
He felt dizzy, and his head seemed to spin. Bile was forcing its way up his sore throat.
"Batman? Are you okay?"
Bruce finally managed to pry one eye open, and then the other. It took a while for the room to come into focus, but it did in time. He was lying in a bed. The ceiling and walls were all metal, and the white lights above seemed to shine too brightly. The medical bay of the watchtower, of course. He always seemed to end up in this room somehow.
"Are you okay?" the monotone voice repeated. Bruce turned to find J'onn standing beside his bed. Clark was at his side.
"Y-yeah," he finally stammered after blinking a few times. He managed to get himself up into a sitting position and rubbed his unmasked head. "I'm just still a bit lightheaded."
The green-skinned martian nodded and put on a slight smirk. "That's understandable." Looking down at a clipboard he was holding, J'onn asked, "Do you remember anything?"
Staring down at his white bed sheets, Bruce nodded silently. "Yes, a little," he finally replied. "I remember… The Joker, and the vats of acid. Then Clark crashed through the ceiling with Wally and Diana…" He paused, unsure of what came next. "I don't remember anything after that…" His voice trailed off.
J'onn nodded and turned to Clark. "That's right when he goes into the acid, correct?" Superman nodded.
Bruce continued to study the two with questioning eyes. "Is there anything wrong with me? What happened?"
Clark turned to answer him. "You were partially submerged in the chemicals. Thankfully, you weren't submerged in enough or long enough to do any damage." Flashing a smile, he added, "You're not insane or anything, if that's what the Joker was saying."
Bruce answered in a nod and stared at the floor in thought.
"You should get some rest," said J'onn. "You've been out cold for a day." The martian turned to the door, and with a nod, Clark followed.
"We'll inform everyone that you're alright. They've been worried, y'know?" Clark called over his shoulder.
"Oh," was all that Bruce could say.
The two heroes finally flipped the lights out and walked through the door, which swished shut, leaving Bruce alone in his room.
Oh, but you're never alone, Brucie.
XXXXX
To be continued…
A/N:I just noticed that pretty much all my JL stories have a scene in the medical bay of the Watchtower. Isn't that weird? :)