(Ladies and Gentlemen, Boys and girls. I give you, Arkham Hill! This is my sequel to "A Dark Knight In Arkham City" Sarina may be up against her greatest challenge yet. I hope you guys like it. I know it seems I wrote it really quick but after I came up with the plot this all came naturally. I kinda feel bad posting it so soon. Anyway, This whole plot idea was inspired by a really weird dream. Well, I hope you guys like it! Please Read and Review! And let me know how I can make it better! K thanks! Enjoy!)
Chapter 1
"This is Vicki Vale, reporting live on the scene of the most recent murder. This looks like the work of 'Jack'. The one and only Joker copycat." Vicki Vale reported on the flat screen. I sat on the couch with my feet on the coffee table. Alfred hated that. A bowl of Captain Crunch was in my hand and I was still in my PJ's. It was early in the morning. Probably 5 ish. I couldn't sleep. I had another one. A dream. Starting a few months ago, I kept having these strange dreams. Each and everyone one of them about my dad. Last night I dreamt we were jumping on a trampoline together. Laughing, having a good time. Then all of a sudden the trampoline turned into a pile of dead babies. Joker chuckled evilly. I tried to scream but all I could do was giggle uncontrollably and just keeping jumping. After I woke up, I didn't want to go back to sleep. So here I was. Eating cereal and watching TV. I was supposed to get up for Batgirl training in an hour anyway. What really bugged me was that these dreams started around the same time this Joker copycat started up. It must have something to do with my dreams. I just knew it.
"You're up early." Bruce smirked in my ear. I jumped. Mr. Wayne was sitting next to me in his PJ's. Red silk with his initials on the breast pocket. I stuck with my usual t-shirt and sweatpants.
"Yeah, I couldn't sleep." I replied with a sigh.
"So you decided to watch the news?" He questioned. He was right. I wasn't much of a news watcher. I usually stuck with cartoons.
"Who do you think this 'Jack' character is?" I inquired . "You know, that Joker copycat."
"Is that what this is all about?" Bruce asked. "The lack of sleep and Vicki Vale? You hate Vicki Vale."
"No…." I muttered. Bruce sighed. He rubbed my back.
"C'mon. A good run around Gotham'll cheer you up." He smirked as he stood up.
"Oh joy." I muttered. He smiled as he yanked me up off the coach.
"Go get changed." Bruce said.
A few miles in and I was starting to get tired. I had done this run many a time, but today I just wasn't up for it. We were almost to the other side of the city. Bruce was still keeping up a fast pace. I was slowly falling behind. My feet just couldn't take it anymore as I stopped to take a breather. My lungs were on fire. Why was I so tired all of a sudden? I had been doing this for well over a year, yet I was acting like it was my first time at the rodeo. My hair was starting to fall out of my ponytail. I stood up to quickly fix it. Only to notice the infamous Arkham Hill. I froze. So this was it. After Arkham City closed they had no idea what they were going to do with all the crazies and Blackgate prisoners. So they built Arkham Hill. They moved all the bodies in an old graveyard on the top of Strawberry hill and created this monstrosity. Bruce explained the design to me. The above ground levels were used as a prison. That's where they stuck all the Blackgate thugs. However, the floor below was where the super villains lived. Riddler, Killer Croc, Poison Ivy and all their psychotic friends. This place looked even darker and gloomier then Arkham Island. I was expecting a flash of lightning to shine in the sky and some scary music to play. It was like a haunted mansion on Scooby Doo. Just worse.
"Pretty creepy isn't it?" Bruce asked. Apparently, he fell behind to talk to me.
"You can say that again." I laughed. "Looks haunted."
"If they didn't just build it a few months ago I would think it was." Bruce chuckled. He had a point. It was only a couple months old yet it looked like it had been around for centuries.
"So far no one's escaped. Let's keep it that way." I smirked as I started jogging off. Bruce followed suit.
I crashed on the couch as soon as we got home. Well….that was exhausting. Why was I so tired today?
"We'll leave it at that today." Bruce said as he walked to the kitchen. Hmm. Must be a light day. I looked at the clock. It was seven in the morning. Time to text Tim. I pulled out my phone and quickly sent Tim a 'hi' smiley face. A few minutes later he texted me back. Within the next forty minutes, I was all prettified and he was on his way to pick me up for breakfast. We stopped at Dunkin Donuts and got a couple bagels and some coffee. We stopped in an abandoned parking lot to eat in peace.
"How's your coffee?" I asked.
"Good. Yours?" He questioned.
"Good…." I replied. We were silent for a while.
"Okay, I can't take it any more!" Tim groaned. "I'm bored!"
"Me too!" I added.
"Why don't we go to park?" Tim suggested.
"We went there yesterday." I sighed. "How about the mall?"
"No thanks. I spent all my money on last weeks shopping trip." Tim replied. "My girlfriend made me buy her a fifty dollar dress."
"You could've said no." I snapped.
"No….I couldn't of." He replied. I rolled my eyes at him.
"Sometimes I wish someone would break out of Arkham so we had something to do." I groaned.
"Me too." Tim laughed. We chuckled for a little bit.
"Why don't we go to the arcade…again." I groaned.
"Yeah. We can play Batman the video game and PRETEND the Riddler is reeking havoc on Gotham." Tim replied. I couldn't help but laugh at him.
It was late when we got home. Well passed my curfew. Like I even had one. I beat my own High score on the batman game. I was now in third place. First place was BWayne558 and close behind in second was BarGor19. Gee, I wonder who they could be? Tim was mad that he was stuck in fourth place. Oh he was such a dork. However, I can never beat him at dance dance revolution. Me and Tim said our goodbyes as I walked into the house. Alfred greeted me at the door.
"Good Evening Sarina. You missed Prime Rib for dinner." Alfred informed me. I practically kicked myself. I love Prime Rib! I gave that up for an over priced burger and three day old nachos? Alfred smirked at the horrified look on my face. "Gotcha. We had veal." I rolled my eyes.
"You're so mean." I giggled. I started to walk up the stairs.
"I saved you some of the veal. It was divine." Alfred called.
"No thank you Alfred. I ate at the arcade." I replied as I rushed up to my room. I bumped into Bruce in the hallway.
"Are you going to bed?" He questioned.
"Yeah. I sleep. Did you not know that?" I smirked. He smiled.
"Well you haven't slept much lately." Bruce replied.
"It happens." I sighed.
"Joker copycat?" Bruce asked. I didn't respond. "Sarina, it's not the Joker and you know it. Your father's dead."
"I know I know." I assured him. "But…..It doesn't….feel like he's dead." Bruce put his hand on my shoulder.
"Get some sleep." He said as he walked to the bathroom. I walked to my room. Little did Bruce know, I wasn't going to sleep. It was 6 months to the day. The day the Joker died. Tonight…..I was going to visit his grave. Gotham had decided to honor him by burying him on the side of the freeway. Bruce would NEVER approve of this midnight trek. That's why I had to sneak out. It was going to be difficult. How do you pull one over on the world's greatest detective? Well, I had been planning it for weeks. I had recorded myself sleeping the other night. And I bought a mannequin at the mall last week with Tim. I told him it was for a school project. Anyway, I put the mannequin in a pair of my PJ's and put a blonde wig on her. She looked just like me! Well not really. I tucked her in the bed and turned on the recording of me sleeping and slipped out the window. I used my grappling hook to climb down the wall. Hopefully Bruce would be none the wiser. I slipped into the garage. I could take my BMW. Or…..I could test drive Bruce's new Harley Davidson…..hmm…
I sped down the streets on that motorcycle. Feeling like I owned the whole town. It's an awesome feeling. After a long drive late at night without a motorcycle license, I finally arrived at…..Joker's grave. There wasn't much of a marker. It was a wooden sign. "Here lies the Clown Prince of Crime." Hundreds of obscenities were scribbled all over it. I knelt down in front of it. That's what you're supposed to do, right? I felt like a dork but…I was going to pay my respects.
"Hi…..dad. It's me….Sarina." I said. "So, I know you want me to be like you but….it's just not gonna happen. Really, it isn't. I'm batgirl now and it's gonna stay that way. I hope you enjoy burning in hell…or whatever." I sighed. Something flashed in the corner of my eye. Something….silver. What was it? I crept up to it and pulled it out of the dirt. It was….no. This couldn't be here. How could it be here! It was that silver Joker card from Arkham Asylum. This couldn't be here. How? Before I could ponder this subject more, I felt something sharp in the back of my neck. I collapsed into a pair of arms. I tried to look at the person's face But everything was blurry. I couldn't even tell if it was a boy or a girl. With that….I lost consciousness.
My eyes felt like sandbags. I tried to pry them open but they were practically glued shut. Everything was blurry. After a few minutes I was able to open my eyes. And to be honest, I wish I never opened them. I was in a lying in a ditch in the middle of the woods. My hair was a mess and my clothes were covered in dirt. What the hell happened last night? I tried to pull myself up but I fell right over. I was just so dizzy. I had to get back to the mansion. But…where was the mansion? After about an hour of practically crawling through the woods I ended up in my own backyard.
"Oh thank god." I sighed with relief. I hurried to the back door. Tripping all the way there. Bruce clearly knew I was coming. He opened the back door. Oh god. I'm in for it. I was right in front of him. I closed my eyes expecting to get screamed at, but he just hugged me. As i tried to fall back I ended up falling into his arms. Bruce carried me inside and put me on the couch. He placed me down gently, as if I would break.
"What happened?" He snapped.
"I don't know." I replied. "One minute…I'm on the freeway next minute…..I'm….I'm in the woods looking like this."
"Why were you on the freeway?" He questioned. I bit my lip. Whoops. I guess the cat's out of the bag.
"I….was going to see my dad's grave." I answered.
"Sarina." He groaned.
"I'm sorry." I replied meekly.
"It's fine…..it's just….." Bruce didn't get to finished his sentence. There was harsh banging on the door.
"Gotham City Police. Open up!" A rough voice snapped. Alfred opened the door. A dozen cops barged into the door. They rushed up to me and forced a pair of handcuffs on me.
"Sarina Gibson, you're under arrest." He snapped.
"What?" I questioned, shocked. I think my voice slurred a little but I couldn't tell.
"Under what charges?" Bruce demanded.
"Under the charges of murder in the first degree." The cop snapped.
"What?" I repeated. I was forcefully dragged to a cop car. "I didn't do it." I definitely slurred on that one.
"You have the right to remain silent-" One cop started reading me my rights but I didn't listen. I remembered what Bruce said. Close you eyelids really tight and take deep breaths. He says that's what helps him after he was drugged. I took his advice and...it actually worked. I was wide awake now. My words weren't even slurred.
"I didn't do it! I swear!" I shouted. Kicking and screaming. Yup, I was back to Normal all right. Bruce was trying to talk some sense into the Cops. They were convinced I had murdered someone.
"Shuttup 'Jack'." Another guard sneered. Jack? Wait….they think…that I'm the Joker copycat?
"There's been a mistake." I snapped. I tried to convince them of this the whole ride to Arkham Hill. They yanked me out of the car. "What about my trial? My lawyer?"
"All in good time. Until then, you're stuck in Arkham Hill. Scum bag." A guard snapped.
"So guilty until proven innocent? Who's paying you?" I questioned.
"We'll ask the questions!" Another guard snapped. God, why was no one listening to me? Was this a dream? They forcibly dragged me inside the treacherous building. The inside looked a lot like Arkham Asylum. Except, jail cells lined up against the wall. It was Arkham City all over again as the prisoners called out to me. I wasn't focused on that. I was too busy trying to convince the cops there had been a mistake! The men lead me to an elevator. I kicked and dragged my feet the whole way.
"Where are you going?" I snapped.
"You thought you would be up here with the regular prisoners? Ha! You're going right down there with the crazies." The cop replied. Oh no. Oh no oh no oh no. This was even worse then being stuck with a bunch of horny inmates. But….the crazies? They're gonna stick me down there with all the people I've dedicate my life to stopping? See….this doesn't sound good at all. As the elevator door opened, I actually sighed with relief. Batman stood before me.
"Batman! Tell them I'm innocent!" I shouted. He grimaced at me. Not good.
"It's you lucky day, scum bag. Batman wants a little chat with ya. The guards threw me into a nearby office. Batman followed me in and locked the door. "B-man! You gotta spring me!"
"I've been working on that." Batman replied. "The police is convinced you're the killer. They refuse to let you out of their custody. They think you'll skip town."
"But I'm not the Joker Copycat!" I defended.
"I know you're not. But I have an idea." Batman said. I raised an eyebrow. What was his plan this time? "I've seen the evidence against you. It's pretty strong. Your DNA has been matched up at every crime scene. You're obviously being framed."
"Ya think?" I snapped.
"I'm going to work on finding the real 'Jack'. I need you to stay here and get as much intell as you can." Batman continued.
"You want me to stay in this hell hole?" I panicked.
"It's only temporary." He soothed. "You need to gain the trust of the other inmates. They'll probably know more about this Joker copycat then anyone else."
"Let me get this straight. You want me….to befriend Gotham's most fearsome villains?" I questioned.
"Basically." Batman replied. "Tell them you really are 'Jack'. Convince them you're a cold blooded killer."
"I'm not exactly the cold blooded killer type. I'm a 17 year old girl!" I snapped.
"Just sell it! I know you can. Especially if your mother backs you up. She'll believe you." Batman said. Oh shit…..my mom was here! I had to live with my mom while Batman tracked down the killer. This just gets worse and worse.
"I can't do this…" I muttered.
"Yes you can." Batman consoled. I looked down at my shoes. This just might be my toughest challenge. Apparently it was my job to convince everyone I was a killer. I better start working on my acting skills. "Oh and Sarina?"
"Hmm?" I asked as I looked up.
"I'm sorry." He sighed. I was about to ask him what exactly he was sorry for when he punched me in the face. I screamed. That was the hardest punch I had ever gotten. And I knew it was one of Batman's lighter punches.
"Ow…" I moaned on the verge of tears.
"I'm sorry. These cops think I'm roughing you up a little." Batman elaborated. "Don't cry. Killers don't cry."
"I'll try to hold in my tears." I replied angrily.
"Good girl." Batman said. "Now pretend you don't like me." He smiled. Bruce was coming out a little. However, Bruce Wayne quickly disappeared as he grabbed the collar of my shirt and shoved me out of the room. "She's all yours." He spat at the guards. They pulled me up and led me down a hallway. There was a shower area nearby. They shoved me into the room and threw in an asylum jumpsuits. Arkham Hill was printed on the back. "You've got five minutes." The guard snapped. Knowing them, they'd barge in here if I wasn't done in five minutes. I quickly changed into the suit. God….it was tight. It showed off my curves beautifully. I was kinda digging it. But orange was so not my color. Before I knew it, I was dragged out of the changing room. They took me down to the darkest corners of the asylum. A long hallway stretched before me. Filled with cells. A cell was opened at the hall. I assumed it was for me. I looked around at my neighbors. Riddler looked at me as if I were a puzzle. Poison Ivy smirked at me. Bane grimaced. And Dead shot winked seductively at me. As I was thrown into my cell, I glanced at the person across from me.
"SARINA!" My mother squealed. She was pressed up against the glass. My cell slammed shut and the guards walked down the hall.
"Shhh." I snapped. She looked taken back. "Don't blow my cover mom. They can't know our…..secret."
"Why not?" She questioned. "The whole world should know!"
"Harley, when I want people to know, I'll tell them. Deal?" I questioned. She sighed in disappointment.
"Deal." She mumbled. Sitting back down on her bed. I sat down on my bed. It was nothing like the one back home. The sheets were egyptian cotton and the mattress was as soft as a cloud. Here, the mattress was lumpier then….well…..everything! The sheet…was not a sheet. It was a piece of paper.
"Oh Sarina…we're gonna be together forever." Harley giggled in her cell. "Forever…and ever…..and ever."
She sighed dreamily.
I gulped nervously.
BTW: My profile picture is kind of how I imagined Sarina. (After you review) you should go check it out and see if she's anything like you imagined her.
