Title: Miserable People
Rating: M for violence, strong language, and sexual content.
Summary: In Arkham for her own mistakes, a perfectly sane, but troubled woman battles her way through Arkham Asylum under the reign of the Joker.
Dedication: Valerie, Sarah, and Seven-of-Storms. Love ya'll.
Please Enjoy!
She had told them it was self-defense, except that was only half true. She had come home from work that evening, tired and irritable when she heard an unfamiliar noise in the bedroom. Walking in, the first thing she saw was long blonde hair cascading down what was unmistakably a girl's naked back, rocking and moaning until they finally realized they weren't alone.
She recognized the blonde's face and immediately grew sick, backing up toward the door. "She's a child," she said breathlessly. "She's practically still a baby."
The blonde girl gasped and rolled away, clutching the sheets to her bare breasts while her lover scrambled to recover his boxers. "Liesel! Wait, Liesel! I can explain!"
But Liesel was already running. It wasn't bad enough he had cheated on her, but the girl wasn't even sixteen yet. With any luck, the girl's parents were home in their apartment across the hall, completely oblivious to their minor daughter's deflowering.
Liesel fled up the stairs, but her boyfriend had already snagged her by the ponytail and began to force her back down the steps. Liesel screamed furiously, drew back her fist and socked him directly in the gut.
Down he tumbled, ripping a fistful of her dark hair as he went. Liesel never forgot the sickening crack of his skull against the last step, and how shrill were the screams of the neighbor girl. So yes, it had been to protect herself, yet she felt dimly that he deserved to die anyway.
The prosecutor spun a story of a jealous, scorned woman with a history of violence that intended to kill her adulterous boyfriend while her own lawyer tried to persuade the jury that the worst punishment she deserved was a maximum of three years in a state mental facility.
After painful testimonies, shaky evidence, and many long hours in court, the verdict was finally decided and the punishment was set: Two to three years in Arkham Asylum for the Criminally Insane.
Six months in, she has already established a "lone wolf" reputation. She kept to herself and showed no interest or aggression toward anyone to stay under the radar, and in return, the others let her be. Liesel allowed herself one companion- a schizophrenic woman from Munich only a couple years older than she. Monika, she was called, had an odd facial tick and was prone to babble in German to avoid reprimand from guards and orderlies.
Liesel and Monika spent their days in the recreation room playing chess and conversing in German, generally ignoring the other patients, not that they ever approached the two.. During the first few weeks of her incarceration, she received exclusively one-on-one sessions with Dr. Leland until she proved that she wasn't a danger around others and was allowed in group therapy.
"Sie argern mich." Liesel would always grumble to Monika over their daily game of chess. "I swear, if I have to listen to those whiney little bitches again, I'll throw a friggin' chair."
Monika twitched and moved her pawn. "Du sagst das immer. Why don't you ask to stay in ze one wiz Leland?"
Liesel slid her bishop, taking out her opponent. "I tried that. She's just going to stick me with your group starting today."
"Today, ja? I will look forward to spending for time wiz you." The German moved again. "Checkmate."
"Oh, du schummelst!" Liesel jeered, grinning wolfishly. "Das ist nicht fair!"
Monika only twitched again and flipped her the bird.
XxXxXxX
Every day was astonishingly routine, even from a prisoner's point of view. Wake up, pills, breakfast, individual therapy, more pills, lunch, free time, group therapy, extra free time, dinner, pills, lights out, begin again. Everything was exactly the same from the bipolar's tantrums to the whiney narcissist's rants.
Any kind of change was to be embraced. Monatany, however, was to be expected, lest one risk the disappointment of dashed hopes and a beating from a security guard. Liesel always kept track of the most subtle of daily changes including phonecalls from her old friends to the delight of a long letter from her parents. Today, there was to be none of that sentimental crap, but a simple adjustment of schedule that would have greater impact than one could possibly predict.
She was, of course, the last patient to be escorted to therapy, and resented the guard for drawing attention to her when she entered Dr. Leland's room.
"How nice of you to join us." Leland said, smiling pleasantly. "Please take a seat. She nodded at the orderly who too that as his cue to leave and let the door swing shut behind him.
Liesel sighed and dropped into a plastic blue chair between Monika and a tall man with neat brown hair and glasses. With one glance, she judged by his confident posture and cocky grin that this man was probably a whiney tool. She threw Leland a dirty look, but it went unnoticed as she stood and cleared her throat to begin the session.
"Good afternoon, everyone. As you've all noticed, we have another group member, Liesel Meyer. Liesel," she swept her arm in Liesel's general direction, "Would you like to tell us about yourself?"
She cocked her head impatiently. "Six months, I've been here and you still think I want to share? Lady, you know damn well by now that I ain't social."
Leland sighed adjusted her glasses. "Then I'll just do it for you." She sat back down ,clearly annoyed. "Miss Meyer here is a classic case of manic-depression with violent mood swings. Although she has been admitted for such a condition, she has been remarkably well-behaved, especially considering her record."
"Well don't jinx it or anything." Liesel mumbled.
The bespectacled man beside her smirked. "What is on your record, exactly? Pick too many flowers, doll-face?"
Someone giggled from across the circle but Liesel didn't bother to look. "I killed my boyfriend after I caught him sleeping with a fifteen-year-old neighbor girl."
The giggling stopped and the man beside her tilted his head in curiousity. "I see. So instead of spending the quarter of a century you deserve in an actual prison, your attorney weaseled you in her for a couple years."
"In a nutshell." she agreed.
"So how'd you do it?"
"That's enough, Edward." Leland cut in sharply. "Does anyone have any more appropriate questions for Miss Meyer?"
There was a brief silence before a strong Brooklyn accent broke the peace. "Hey, haven't I seen you somewhere before? Oh- oh thats it! You were in that fight club in the Narrows! I went there to do some recuitin' for my Puddin', and you turned down the offah."
Liesel searched the face of the pretty blonde for some recollection of that event. "Yeah... weren't you wearing some jester getup and a ton of face paint?"
"A streetfighter? I had a feeling you weren't the intellectual type." Edward scoffed.
"You shut the hell up." Liesel said. "If you're so damn smart, why are you in here too?"
Before he could reply, Dr. Leland interjected once more. "Yes, Liesel actually has degrees in history and art, and I believe I read somewhere that you're fluent in German, yes?"
Liesel nodded. "Ja, das stimmt." She turned to Edward and stuck out her tongue when Leland looked away.
The blonde asked how long Liesel had been a professional badass.
"I've always been a fighter, but I didn't start taking it seriously till after my first job." she paused, hinting that she wasn't about to elaborate when Monika leaned over and playfully smacked her on the shoulder.
"Don't leave us hanging, hmm? Where did you work?"
"Oh, this haunted house thing. Long hours, physically exhausting, but my god, was it fun. The fighting was purely for self-defense because some people would go to deliberately pick a fight with us. Totally worth it though. I mean, I got paid to scare the shit out of people!"
"Satisfying, isnt it?" said another man beside the blonde.
Liesel hadn't noticed him until now. He was brown haired and bespectacled like Edward, but a good bit shorter and dangerously underweight. His pale blue eyes were the only spark of life on his bored face and she immediately felt uncomfortable under his stare.
"That's putting it mildly." she agreed. Inciting fear in another was something she had found immensely pleasurable, but it never amounted to sheer cruelty. Satisfying? Maybe. But it was always entertaining at the very least.
Dr. Leland moved the session along for nearly an hour, though Liesel hardly spoke for the remainder. Monika and another schizophrenic man had the spotlight, allowing Liesel's mind to drift off to a land where the chocolate was free and the meds didn't make you feel like crap.
XxXxXxX
Free time went by all too quickly after that. Monika was on a seperate meal schedule, so Liesel always ate alone. Today would be no different, she assumed, though none too wisely. She was only halfway through her season-less mashed potatoes when someone from behind began to tug at her long, wavy tresses.
"Hey, dyke. Ya miss me?"
Liesel grimaced, the already dull food growing more and more sour in her mouth. "More than I care to mention, Frank."
Officer Frank Boles only snickered and brushed a strand o hair behind her ear. She tensed, expecting the usual filthy comments that accompanied this type of come-on. She could always fight back like every instinct screamed at her to do, but that would only land her in solitary for a good week. No sense dirtying her "good record."
"How's about you and me have a little date after lights-out tonight. Your cell sound good? I promise to behave."
"Oh, how subtle. I mean, Jesus, Frank, why don't I just buy you a whore instead? A nice one with a sweet boob job." She spat at him.
His arm suddenly whipped out and he grabbed her by the chin, pulling her face up close to his like he was going to kiss her. But he only sneered, exhaling horrid breath that stank of stale cigarettes and weak spearmint toothpaste.
"Don't push me Meyer. I know where you live." He took a moment to let the "joke" set in before he burst out laughing, spitting on her cheek.
She kept silent and dug her nails into her thigh hard enough to draw blood, hoping the pain would distract her rising hatred, but Frank was already through with the harassment. As he walked off to his post, Liesel sat with her eyes closed, quietly counting backward in German.
"Acht, sieben, sechs, fuck, not another one..."
The blonde girl from group- Harley Quinn she was called- sat gracefully on the bench opposite her. Liesel frowned but said nothing, hoping Harley woud do the same. Wish denied.
"What a creep. How come ya didn't split his lip like I know you coulda?"
She shrugged, pushing the last of her peas around her tray with a spork. "One of these days, I will."
Harley grinned. "Pow! Right in the kisser!" she cheered, swinging her fist in the imitation of a right-hook. "He'll get what's comin' sooner than ya think."
Not that she actually objected, but that sounded like a legitimate threat. Liesel forced a weak smile sensing that Harley wasn't about to leave anytime soon. "You sound pretty sure of yourself."
"When my Puddin' comes back, we're gonna throw him a big 'Welcome Home' party! Frankie is in charge of the confetti." Harley squealed, pigtails bouncing.
She only nodded, not sure of how any of that involved Officer Boles. "Uh huh... anything I can do to help?"
"You'd probably be good for keeping out the riff raff."
Liesel expected an answer like that and smirked. "What, like a bouncer?"
"Yeah, except our biggest intruder looks more like a giant, flying rat."
Second free time was chiefly spent alone since Monika was eating dinner at this time and wouldn't see her again till breakfast. She always read during this time, a privilege only extremely good behavior and well-established trust could earn. Today's book was To Kill a Mockingbird- a particularly old copy with a worn-out spine and dog-eared pages. Liesel hated that, but tried to enjoy the classic novel anyway, trying to make the solitude more tolerable.
Harley was not present as well, and was likely to be in individual therapy, but someone else from group shared the room with her. The blue-eyed man she had only spoken to once that day sat on an otherwise empty couch with a book of his own. He really was terribly thin to the point of being frail, but there was a certain meanness to him that suggested he wasn't the least bit ill, but rather capable and deadly. He might have been attractive if he didn't have an expression of perpetual boredom making him out to be extremely unapproachable.
Not wanting to be caught staring, Liesel returned to her book, unaware that her prior focus now surveyed her with his own hateful intentions.
A/N Thanks for reading! Please review and let me know what you think!
German Translations:
Sie argern mich: They annoy me.
Du sagst das immer: You always say that.
Ja: Yes.
Du schummelst: You're cheating.
Das ist nicht fair: That is not fair.
ja, das stimmt.