Disclaimer: I (obviously) do not own the rights to any Batman characters in this work. I only own Carmel, Chuck, and any other made up characters throughout the story.
I guess that I have Batman to thank. It was him, after all, that put this crazy series of events into motion. Of course, it was not like he was trying to make a positive change in my life, but he did nonetheless.
Alright, let's get this out of the way first. I was a prostitute. Damn good one, if I do say so myself. Girl's got to make a living any way she can in the shithole known as Gotham City. So yeah, it was inevitable that I ran into the criminal underworld quite a bit. And that's exactly what got me into trouble.
I was on a job at the Royal Hotel when I met the Batman for the first time. Charles "Chuck" Grey was my client for the night, and I was hoping that this was going to be a good cash night for me. You see, I had been told that he was a lieutenant in one of Gotham's gangs, so I assume that he was loaded. Anyways, he had thrown me against the door of his room as we were making out. He quickly got my shirt off, and was making quick work on my bra. Before he finished, though, he stopped to reach for his key. Next, he slipped the card into the door and we headed into his room, shutting the door behind us. But we were sure in for a surprise, as Batman was sitting in a chair, waiting for us.
"Fuck, it's the Bat!" Chuck yelled. He reached for the door, but his hand was hit by a batarang before it could reach the knob.
Batman moved towards Chuck, pushing me out of the way onto a bed. With one slick move, Batman had him by the neck, raised off the ground. "Let's talk. About Black Mask. Where is he?" Batman barked.
"I don't know…what you're…talking about!" was all Chuck able to get out.
"Don't lie to me. Or I'll break every bone in your body!"
It appeared that the threat was enough to get him to talk. "Okay, okay. I know he's running out of a warehouse down in Chinatown! That's all I know, I swear!"
"Good." Batman took Chuck and smashed his head against the door, knocking him out cold. He then turned to me.
"I could just take my money and leave right now and pretend I didn't see anything," I offered. Sensing that was unlikely, I went ahead and put my shirt back on.
Batman walked over to me, slowly and menacingly. Suddenly, he pulled batcuffs out of his utility belt. "Prostitution is a crime," was all he said as he cuffed me to the bed.
"I always thought you must be into kinky stuff," I shot back.
He merely glared at me. He then pressed a button on his wrist comlink. "Cash, I've got two people for you to pick up at the Royal Hotel, Room 995."
"Any leads on Black Mask?" the voice of Aaron Cash asked.
"Got one now. A warehouse in Chinatown. I'm on my way." With that, Batman threw open the window and dove out.
He certainly knows how to make an exit, I thought.
About twenty minutes later I was in a car and on the way to the police station with Chuck.
"Where…where am I?" he asked as he regained consciousness in the car.
"We're in a police car. They're taking us down to the station," I told him.
"Shit. You didn't make it out?"
"Batman cuffed me to the bed," I replied.
He nodded. After a pause for thought, he continued on, "Ever been to jail before, kid?"
"Can't say that I have."
"Then you're in for a treat. I'll show you the ropes, sweetheart."
"How kind." Actually, I'll probably need some help.
Soon we were at the police station, getting booked. "Says your name is Carmel Ocean. That right?" a cop asked me.
"You got it, handsome," I answered, trying to be as sweet as I could be. He probably gets this a lot, I realized. He didn't even respond, confirming my thought. I watched as he filled out a form detailing my information, gleaned from my driver's license. Shit, my car's going to be parked at the hotel for a long time. Hope they won't notice.
Age: 24
Height: 5'7"
Weight: 144lb
Hair Color: Blonde
Eye Color: Green
"Those numbers aren't exactly accurate. I'm like 139 pounds now," I explained to the cop, trying to get some sort of reaction from him. He only glared at me and finished filling out the form. The cop then took my fingerprints and mugshot and confiscated my purse, which included my phone and keys.
"Alright, you're all set. Off to Arkham with you," the cop told me.
"Arkham? I'm not insane!"
"All new prisoners are being sent to Arkham after the fires at Blackgate," said the policeman.
Now that he mentioned it, I did remember hearing in the news of said fires. A few days ago, there had been a breakout at Blackgate and part of the prison ended up being set on fire. Black Mask had been reported as the one behind the breakout. Of course. That's why Batman was looking for Black Mask, I realized.
I was then escorted to another police car, where I found Chuck waiting for me.
"One more ride together, huh?" he asked.
I however, was not having any of that cheerful shit. "You seem to be unfazed that we're going to Arkham Asylum?"
"Meh. I've been there several times. Once you get the hang of the place, it becomes pretty easy to navigate."
"How have you been there? You're not insane."
"Arkham has the best security, sweetheart. The city's been putting dangerous, but sane, criminals there for quite some time."
I remained silent for a while, trying to comprehend the events that had happened over the last hour. But after some time, Chuck began again, giving me the most important information he had given yet.
"There's one thing you should know. In Arkham, there's only one way to survive. And that's by joining one of the big guns."
"What do you mean?"
"Arkham houses the worst of the worst. All of the serial killers and rapists that you could think of. The guards…they don't care what happens to you. If someone dies, it's just one less mouth to feed."
"How lovely."
"In order to keep yourself safe, you'll need to be under the protections of one of the supervillains. That's the only way."
"Gang protection? I don't buy it."
"If you don't want to end up lying on the ground being penetrated in every orifice, you'll do it," was his grim response.
I laughed, thinking he was joking, but his face remained solemn. The seriousness of his previous statement told me that he wasn't lying, and that protection is something that I would actually want. "Fine, I'll just join you in Black Mask's gang."
He laughed. "It's not that simple, dollface. Black Mask doesn't take women in his crew."
I shot him a look. "You've got to be kidding me."
"Nope. Everyone has their own requirements for their gangs."
Sighing loudly for emphasis, I continued, "If that's the case, I'll join the Joker's team then."
Once again, he laughed. "Lady, you are hopelessly naïve."
The next half-hour was really a blur for me. Apprehension sunk in as we came closer to and then arrived at the Asylum. I was escorted in and brought to a waiting area. I had to fill out some forms and, I think, a psychological test. Someone mentioned that I was here for six months, which didn't seem too bad at the time. I had to wait some more, but I'm not sure for what.
Finally, I was brought into a room where a security guard was waiting for me. On the table was an ankle bracelet, and he immediately set to work to putting that on.
Once it was all set up and calibrated, he said to me, "You're all set now."
I looked at him confused. "Don't I need my prison jumpsuit?"
The guard laughed. "Nope. Here at the Asylum we don't really care that much about apparel. Forcing them to change into jumpsuits might anger some of the more…unstable inmates. So we don't bother."
Suddenly, I wished that I wasn't wearing such a low cut shirt and short of skirt. Of all the nights to be arrested, it had to be with this outfit. Having nothing snarky to say, I let him lead me off without another word.
The guard took me deep into the facility and then down an elevator. He then escorted me down a few hallways, until finally we reached a cell door.
"Good luck," the guard told me, and then unlocked the cell door. I stepped in and he locked the door behind me. "Choose wisely," I heard him say as he walked away.
I was on my own now.
I wandered through the halls, trying to find the room that Chuck had told me to head to. Prisoners roamed the area, eyeing me as I went by. I was determined not to make eye contact with anyone. Finally, I found the room I was looking for: the recreational room.
The room was huge, full of sofas and pool tables, all having seen better days. The white paint on the wall had peeled pretty badly, adding to the whole decrepit theme. Well, this looks just lovely.
I didn't have much time to take in the room, though, as my attention instantly focused on the people in the room. Seated around the room were several of some of the most famous criminals that Gotham City had to offer. I tried not to stare, but it was hard not to, because I was basically starstruck to see them.
All activity in the room had stopped after everyone noticed my presence. "Who are you?" a large-muscled thug asked me.
"I'm Carmel Ocean. I'm new here." That was enough to send the thug off. Having heard my answer, several of the villains themselves got up and came over to me. This was the moment that I had prepped for with Chuck. I was now going to choose which supervillain that would become my employer, or at the very least, my protector while I was in here.
The first one to say anything was the Joker. "You would make an excellent clown princess. How would like working for Uncle J?" he asked, with a sickly sweet smile on his face.
However, I was not going to fall for his tricks. Chuck had told me everything I needed to know about the Joker.
"He doesn't normally take female accomplices. Harley Quinn tends to get jealous. Last girl I knew of that worked for him ended up being tortured and killed by Harley. If I remember correctly, Harley crucified her in an empty tank and then filled the tank up with water to drown what was left of her. Joker thought it was funny, so probably not a great idea to work for him. He usually isn't even around for the selection, but you never know. Stay away from him."
Before I had a chance to answer, the Penguin stepped in. "No, love, you don't want to work for the clown. You'd like working for me. I can set you right up in the Iceberg Lounge. You'd fit nicely, I'd wager."
This I knew was true, as Chuck had told me about how the Penguin operated.
"The Penguin takes a lot of female accomplices. Loves to have bimbos and prostitutes at his side or in his club. Therefore, it's pretty easy to get a high-paying job, if you like that kind of work. The closer you get to Penguin the better off you are. Might be your best option."
"Working for the Penguin represents your lowest base of mental capacity. If you perhaps wish to maximize your cranial usage and intellectual capability, I suggest that you work for me," a new voice called out. Unsurprisingly, it belonged to the Riddler. "I'm always looking for new employees in my ongoing endeavor to beat and utterly humiliate the Batman."
"The Riddler has been known to take female accomplices. He pays the best, compared to everyone else. However, being a Riddler minion doesn't get you the same amount of respect as being with other supervillains. Also, Riddler can be frustrating and annoying to work with. But hey, if you think you can take it, it's a good financial option."
"Oh piss off, Nigma," the Penguin barked back.
"Did I mention that's he's a vicious, tacky bully?" the Riddler offered.
"Don't work with them, join Two-Face. He's twice the man that they are!" another voice called out. I gathered that he must be one of Two-Face's lieutenants. It appeared that the duality-obsessed gangster was not currently incarcerated. Chuck had told me that Two-Face takes female accomplices, but usually in twos, so he can pair them up, keeping with his duality theme. Working for Two-Face would be another bimbo heavy job, so I was told.
As the Penguin shot some nasty words at the Two-Face Lieutenant, I looked around to see who else was in the room. I spied the Mad Hatter in the back of the room, eyeing me with a lecherous grin. There was no way that I was going to work for the Hatter. Chuck had warned me that the Hatter was obsessed with blondes, as he thought each one was Alice. Apparently, those Alices usually wound up dead. So yeah, not working for him. Poison Ivy and Catwoman were in the back as well, chatting with each other. I was told that Ivy only took male accomplices and Catwoman works alone, so there would be no female supervillain for me to work for.
"Child, do not be swayed by this wicked men. God still loves you and calls for you to join him, to join us, in purifying the world," Deacon Blackfire chimed in. Chuck had said that he accepted any and everyone, but that he led a cultist group, so there was no leaving…ever.
Blackfire's statement caused many in the room to laugh, including the Joker with his trademark laugh.
"I am in need of a new apprentice. Allow me to become your employer," the semi-robotic voice of Mr. Freeze called out, silencing the rest.
"Mr. Freeze takes females, but expects them to work in the laboratory with him. He's trying to save his wife, whom he is devoted to. The good news is that means you won't have to worry about him hitting on you. Always a plus."
"So, what's it going to be?" the Joker asked.
"Indeed. I am eager to hear your decision," the Riddler added.
"Don't choose those bloody wankers. I can make all your dreams come true," the Penguin said with a chuckle.
Truth be told, I wasn't really sure. I had been planning on going with the Penguin, but now I was having second thoughts. Perhaps working for Freeze would be better for me…
But just then, out of the blue, a new voice spoke. "I'll take the child." Heads turned to see who had just spoken. Everyone was surprised to see that the voice belonged to the Scarecrow.
Chuck had told me that Scarecrow has never taken an accomplice, and based on the reactions of the other supervillains, they were under that impression too.
Scarecrow stepped forwards, closer to me. He reached his gloved hand out towards me. The other villains stepped back, unsure of what to do with this unusual situation.
To be honest, I don't know why I agreed to join the Scarecrow. Perhaps it was a heat of the moment decision for me, or that I felt special, because Scarecrow didn't normally take help. But whatever the reason, before I knew it, I accepted. I reached out and took his hand, the most fateful decision of my life.
Hey everybody! Thanks for reading this first part of A Nightmare Fantasmic! I am very excited to introduce this piece, as I'm experimenting with some different styles of writing than I'm used to. As of now, I won't be updating super frequently, as this piece is currently serving as something to work on while I have writer's block for A Veritable Maelstrom. Regardless, feel free to review and let me know what you think, as your reactions will influence my work on this one! Thanks again for reading!
See ya real soon,
The Mustachioed Academic
