Chapter 1
Gotham Central, January 2018.
The Red Queen
The Bat Signal loomed in the night sky. The Red Queen watched it lovingly before she jumped up and reached to try catch it in her palm from her perch on the roof of Gotham Superior Courthouse.
"Gotham, Gotham, Gotham. No one's gonna saave you toniiiight." She said in a low croon.
She scanned the trembling city as it's people's screams scratched and tore at the city's seams. The Red Queen touched her lips with her index finger before inserting the digit into her mouth so that her knuckle pressed against her tongue. She bit down hard and her eyes rolled back into her head as the coppery taste of blood filled her mouth. Eventually she eased her jaw off of her finger and let her bloody hand fall down beside her hip.
"You will never gag me again." She whispered to the city below her, her eyes ablaze with hate. The Joker walked up beside her and she returned his wicked smile. The Joker's green hair gleamed in the moonlight and his red lipstick had started to smudge across his cheeks. Joker turned to look at The Red Queen, threw his arms out in a flourish and laughed.
"HA, HA, HA, HAAAA." The man's laughter still made her entire body tingle with excitement.
"All the city pets are in the building-" Joker held out his hand to help her off the ledge of the building and she took it gracefully. "But some of our friends are being rude!"
The Red Queen shrugged, her knights, bishops and rooks were in place. The Royal Flush gang patrolled the streets around the Courthouse. Victor Szazs flanked the building, shooting anyone, civilian, law enforcement or villain that approached while faceless thugs kept patrolling under Szazs and the Gang's orders.
Joker laughed again as Harley approached them from behind and her doll like voice curled around the Red Queen's body like a hand caressing her skin. "It's Freezing on the north side and plants are coming innn on the south side."
The Red Queen grinned and Harley propped herself up on the ledge that the Red Queen had been standing on.
"Well a little gardening will kill the weeds and a few fires will light up the north. Gotta melt the snow and all that." Joker chimed and The Queen grinned.
"Arkham and Blackgate inmates will join us soon." The Queen said as she looked over the city again.
Joker laughed, drawing their attention once more. "This is Gotham's wake up call... Let's hope they don't answer too late-"
Harley giggled. "Or it will be their last."
The King and his two Queens looked over the city for a long moment before she spotted vines; ugly vines.
"Ivy is ruining our front lawn. Gonna go prune, just grab me something pretty and silver with lots of sparkling diamonds while I'm busy, if ya don't mind." The Red Queen leaped off the roof.
Joker watched her fall. "Let's go find those diamonds-"
"And for me?"
"Oh baby, you're gonna be pickin' them out!"
Gotham City, January 15th 2017 Helena Redwood
It wasn't as hard as she thought it would be, walking into a room filled with a hundred people or more, her mask firmly in place, tied around her head.
It felt serene and unnatural. The thought of a gag in her mouth felt more natural now. People chattered and glanced at her. They muttered a few comments under their breath before returning their attention back to their drinks.
A waiter offered her champagne and she took a glass, nodding her thanks before searching the floor for the only person at the party that she knew.
Despite wearing a white mask, Bruce Wayne stood out like a prince at a gaudy ball; the lavish luxury never matching the high quality of his suit, his shoulders wearing the material llike a second skin.
Helena approached him without thought, her lace and coal knee high dress matching the steel in his heart like the dark side of a coin.
"Bruce..." The name rasped up her throat, tore at her vocal cords and yet it felt sweet against her lips. The champagne helped when he turned to look at her, his gaze striking her inner her core.
"Helena, it's good to see you, when did you get back?" He left the crowd devoid of the knowledge that she'd been released from Arkham. He also knew exactly when she had returned to Gotham society.
"Three weeks ago." It had been hell, now she understood madness like the mask on her face. "Finding a decent dress in Gotham is a mission these days. Especially if you're planning on dazzling the famous Mr. Wayne. A jacket just would not do."
His eyes moved briefly over her body, lingering on the six inches of her thigh that her dress and boots failed to cover. His gaze returned to her face and hardened before he took her arm gently, steering her towards the dance floor. "Helena..." He started, his voice almost kind or perhaps she was imagining it. "Have you started work again?" Another detail he already knew.
"Yes." She answered simply as he steered her around the dance floor. She had loved dancing once but now that she had learnt a new way of 'dancing'; the polished floor before her was unattractive and empty, like the people that swayed on it. Helena pulled back as Bruce tried to pull her in closer. "Enjoy your party Mr. Wayne." She said and stepped out of the hands he had tried to slip further down her body.
"Come see me tonight, after the party." He said into her ear and she giggled softly. "I won't and you know it." She whispered back. "Your company sent me an email stating that you had a job offer for me. I'll see you first thing in the morning at your offices."
Bruce's expression didn't change as she declined his offer but he seemed satisfied that she would be at Wayne enterprises in the morning.
Her dress rustled around her knees as she bowed to Bruce Wayne, a smile on her face, her stiletto leather boots gleamed in the golden light. "Good evening, Mr. Wayne." Her eyes glinted with madness as she stood up and turned to leave. A waiter offered her another glass of champagne which she took, throwing the drink back before placing the glass back on the tray, the door was opened for her before her boots hit the street.
Fifteen months ago (Arkham)
Helena
There was nothing left, her brain buzzed with electricity while her teeth bit down on the leather gag between her teeth. The white bed behind her back was hard. She could hear the machine whirring, spinning before it sent another jolt straight into her brain. They didn't even need someone to hold the electrodes anymore. She giggled behind the gag, laughing between jolts before screaming, her eyes rolling back into her head as the electricity sparked against her temples. Another laugh rang in her ears and she giggled again through the gag. The laughter came from the man that always played in the back of her mind.
The electrodes were removed from her temples by a nurse and the gag taken from her mouth, she tried to bite the fingers as her teeth were freed, her eyes wild. Her head was strapped down against her bed and she was wheeled back to her cell.
"Hey Mr. Madness." She called, giggling again as the doors slammed closed in her face, her hands curled around the bars. That laugh rang through the wall again. "What do you fear most?" She received another laugh.
"Nothing darlin'" His answer made her giggle again. "What do you fear most?"
"Nothin'" She replied with another giggle, her smile stretching from ear to ear. The sound of gas filling their cells made her chuckle and slowly, she went to sleep. The image of a scarecrow flashing before her eyes just as he had loomed over her three months ago in an abandoned factory.
Two months later (Arkham visiting room)
Bruce Wayne
Watching her being brought in on a strapped white bed nearly shocked him, what did shock him was her red hair, long as the night, matted and tangled like thick ribbon behind her head, a few strands were caught in the gag they had placed between her teeth. Madness glinted in her grey eyes. The straight jacket she was wearing was dirty with sweat and coated with dried food. An IV now kept her alive as they'd given up trying to feed her.
She lashed out when the gag was removed, despite the fact that the fingers removing the gag were safely out of reach behind her bed.
Her body was quickly snapped back into place as the leather restraint around her chest refused to let her move an inch from the bed.
He watched as she giggled, her head lolling back as she looked up, her hair now hiding her gaze from his own but her smile reflected her mirth.
"Helena." He said sharply and her head snapped back up as she looked at him through the thicket of her hair. Bruce stood and approached her slowly.
"Careful, she's a biter." A guard warned in the background but he ignored the man and walked towards the bed. She stared at him. He could smell her and he approached her, nothing of her natural scent remained as it had been replaced by body fluid and dirt.
He reached forward and slowly curled her red hair behind her ear. She looked at him, her expression suddenly docile until the moment when she jerked her head to the side, spit flying through the air. He grabbed her chin and shoved her head back firmly against the bed causing the room to go silent with tension.
"You're not going to bite me." He growled lowly before removing his hand from her face and stepping back from her bed. He left then. She cackled behind him as he left before the gag was replaced between her teeth.
Six months later (Arkham low security ward, June 2015) Helena
Helena sat quietly on the floor, they'd removed her straight jacket and let her comb her hair and brush her teeth. She'd been given clothes and a little note book with a pen. A new psychiatrist had been assigned to her by Bruce Wayne after his last visit. The doctor was saying something but she was ignoring him, drawing slowly and humming instead. Her voice was breathtaking.
"Helena, Helena." The voice called her and she looked up from her book, her grey eyes were soft as she looked at the man in front of her.
"Yes, doctor?" She asked softly.
"You're being released today, do you want Bruce to come pick you up?" He asked and she thought about the possibility before slowly shaking her head.
"No, just call me a cab, I'd like to go home, please." She said with more confidence and the man nodded.
"You'll be going back to work soon, I'm going to recommend you have a month off before you return to work."
"I want to start on Monday." She replied and went back to her book. The page behind the one she was drawing on had meticulously designed weaponry blueprints drawn across it.
Her psychiatrist was quiet for a moment before he nodded, knowing how stubborn she could be and how boredom would only damage her mind frame. "I'll write the note anyway but Monday should be fine."
She nodded and stood slowly to her full height of seven feet and met the doctor's gaze full on. Her eyes reflected intelligence and excitement. "I think I'll give my sister a call." She said with a grin. "I'd love to see her."
Her sister had not visited her once while in Arkham. "Go on then, I'll see you again in a week's time."
Helena nodded and strode out of the room, the guards drooled over her now-a-days but her mouth was dry.
Present (Gotham City, January 16th 2017) Helena
The leather chair she sank down into before Bruce and a few other of the board members were seated, was surprisingly comfortable but their gazes were not. She was wearing a grey three piece suit and skirt which rode up as she crossed her legs. The board members were discussing the job she'd be undertaking for them at Wayne Industries. Her gaze firmly affixed to Bruce before a contract was shoved under her nose.
Weapons, her speciality. She paused for a moment before she sat up then stood up against the desk. She had three blueprints which she spread out on the table before the men. These were weapons nothing like Gotham had ever seen before.
They leered over her designs and she sat back down, her eyes watching the men quietly. Only Bruce remained seated.
"Double what you're offering me." She said after ten minutes and smiled. "Then these and more are yours to manufacture." The men sat back down and she cocked her head quizzically at them.
"Bruce?" They asked finally.
"Do what the lady asks." He answered simply without breaking her eye contact. "And leave. I'll finish the process."
Helena stayed in her seat, her designs remained splayed across the table.
"These designs..." Bruce started and she grinned like a cheshire cat.
"Could cripple humanity, be careful with them, Mr. Wayne." Her voice sang softly through the room.
He nodded and she stood, moving to stand alongside the man's chair. He then stood and slid his fingers over her left cheekbone. "I'm sorry I didn't come see you sooner." He whispered and she hummed, closing her eyes as she pressed into his touch. His hands were rough, bruised and calloused.
"Did you miss me?" She asked softly but she knew he wouldn't reply. Instead he kissed her against his body. He smelt of aftershave and a new suit.
"Only at your penthouse Mr. Wayne, fetch me."
She whispered and stepped back from his chair. She walked out, leaving the designs on his desk. She was taken to her office by Bruce's secretary, a copy of her contract conveniently moved onto her desk. She checked the small print and the amount of money due to her before signing it and started rearranging her office.
By the time it was four in the afternoon, Helena had already began on a new design and was pouring over her blueprints when her secretary knocked on the glass door of her office and she nodded briefly. "Mr. Wayne wants to know if you need someone to take you home."
Helena shook her head just as Bruce came into view. "I'll see you tomorrow Brenda." He said just as he stepped into her office. The secretary quickly disappeared from view.
"Are you confusing the staff now, Bruce?" Helena asked before looking down at her blueprints again.
"I'm here to fetch you." Helena sighed and looked up at the man.
"I don't want the staff knowing that you're taking me home." She stated simply, her eyes narrowing at the man.
"They won't."
"So I'm the only woman you pick up at her office door?"
Bruce seemed to smile. "No."
Helena smirked. "Don't do it again." She said and grabbed her bag, taking her new design with her. "Wayne Manor?" She asked and he nodded.
Helena sighed, knowing what she was getting herself into. She left the office with Bruce Wayne.
"Miss Redwood, it's good to see you again." Alfred's voice had a certain timbre to it that made her smile.
"Thank you, Alfred, it's good to see you too."
Alfred nodded and held the door open for her and Bruce before he got into the driver's seat and started the car.
The car ride was awkward and long. Helena sat upright and rigid, her gaze on Bruce as much as his was on hers.
"How was your business year in Gotham?" She asked casually while her grey eyes studied his face. He seemed more tired than usual but she only saw that in his eyes.
Bruce didn't answer and she suspected he had much more on his mind.
"Your time in Arkham-"
"I was declared sane-"
"I know."
Helena sighed and watched the man closely. "I haven't dreamt about him."
"Scarecrow and Joker?"
Helena nodded, no fear clouded her eyes. "Scarecrow... and Joker"
Bruce nodded slowly before he gazed back at the woman sitting next to him. "Do you blame the Batman?"
His words sent a shiver down her spine but she kept from grinning. "The Bat saved me."
Bruce seemed satisfied with her answers and sat back to watch the road in front of him. "What have you prepared for dinner tonight, Alfred?"
"The young lady's favourite; veal." Alfred and Helena spoke the last word together, the latter of the two grinned excitedly.
"Oh god Alfred, I haven't had that dish in ages." She said, her cheeks growing flushed with excitement.
"Well then, I hope you enjoy tonight's dinner-"
"It will be sublime." Helena smiled sweetly before she moved from her seat and kissed Alfred on the cheek. "Thank you." She said excitedly to the man before she looked back at Bruce who was truly smiling for the first time since she'd seen him again.
Dinner that night was served on a long, rectangular table devoid of anything except for cutlery and candles. Helena smirked as she looked over the dining room, her eyes watching the billionaire seated before her while music played in the background.
They had just ended their meal which consisted of silence and a discussion about work. Bruce's escapades and the new year also came up. No one mentioned her time in Arkham.
Helena looked around the room once more, her grey eyes shining. "You really want to get me into bed with you tonight, don't you?" She asked, her head cocked to the side, her red hair sliding over her cheek.
Bruce didn't answer, instead he stood and offered her his hand. "Would you dance with me?" He asked.
"I don't want to dance." She whispered but took his hand anyway. He pulled her out of her seat and grabbed her thighs, shoving her up onto the table while kissing her hard. Helena smiled between kisses and moaned as his lips moved down her body.
Arkham (3 months after admission) Helena
Something crashed in the cell next to hers and Helena jerked awake in her bed. The straps kept her pinned down but she struggled anyway. Her gag had been removed. "Mr. Madness?" She called out to the cell on her left and received no answer; only silence. Harley cackled in the other cell to her right.
"Harley, Harley, Harley. How are you darling?" She crooned in response and the other woman hummed in return.
'I want to dance." Came the reply and Helena grinned.
"Dance with me." She let out a soft, almost loving response.
"Come over here, Doctor Red or sing for me, little Dahlia." Harley sang. Helena giggled.
"I'll sing for you." She growled, her head lolling off to the side as she thought of a song, an old one she had known as a teen. She let the music flow over her, singing like a bird only to cackle between verses.
Joker was brought back in and she kept singing, lust shining in her eyes as the green haired man was wheeled past. He winked at her and she grinned manically back. Desire for freedom and destruction filled her chest.
"Mr. Coleson, Mr Coleson!" She called sweetly. "Could ya please let me off the bed, I can't feel my arms. Mr. Coleson, I'll sing you a song!" Her voice was sweet as a rose. She repeated her promise until the orderly stood before the bars to her cage. He raised a brow at her.
"You keep the jacket on and I'll put you in the center cage but you know the cost of that." His voice disgusted her.
She just nodded, her eyes dowy. The guard moved into her cage and released her from the bed. His meaty hand was wrapped around her arm then she was shoved out of her cell and into the main hall. Two gates later, she was in a cage made of bars and electricity. Coleson dropped his pants and grabbed her hair, pulling her mouth towards his crotch. Her eyes met Joker's before she opened her mouth. Two minutes later, screams could be heard from the center of the room as teeth sank deep down into his groin.
Guards came running, their tasers ready. Helena was shot multiple times, blood dripping down her lips and chin, she screamed, curling up into a ball on the white floor. When she could move again she spat out the man's flesh; Coleson was still screaming.
She was returned to her bed after another jolt from the taser and two minutes later electricity shot through her system again and her head lolled on her neck. She lifted her head and looked at the guards standing before her and smiled. "What?" She asked in a doll like voice and giggled loudly.
Joker and Harley joined her and the entire floor was filled with their mad laughter. The whole prison fell silent.
Helena started to sing once their laughter had died down. "I will break, into your thoughts with what's written on my heart, I will break, break!"
Joker cackled and grabbed the bars, Helena could hear Harley dancing and humming along next door.
Arkham City, the docks, 2015
Helena
Helena's heels clicked on the concrete floor as she strutted out of the shadows and into an abandoned warehouse; the door screeched as it slammed shut behind her. The bat signal was drowned out by the warehouse shutters, only dull lights supported any form of visibility in the middle of the giant building now. A large, splinter riddled table sat between herself and the Joker. Two of his thugs flanked him.
Joker grinned and Helena smirked back as she took her first step towards the green haired, red lipped man.
"Ya got what I wan' Red?" He asked in a low, breathy croon. Helena kept walking before she stood opposite Joker, her back hunched over the table and her hands stretched across the edges of the table. Her skirt stretched over her thighs. She rolled her head back and her hair fell over her shoulders.
"You got what I want, Mr. Madness?" She asked in a singsong voice and Joker smiled. His thugs brought her the bag of money while she unraveled the weapon design she had done as per the Joker's request. "You should be able to manufacture the toxin." She said with a smile and slung the money over her shoulder.
"Good doin' business with ya, Red." Joker said with another grin, the silver in his teeth gleamed in the yellow light.
"Sure." She said, tilting her head in respect before turning to leave. She paused for a moment before turning back to look at the Joker. "Just, a curious question, why is Scarecrow outside the warehouse?"
The moment the words left her lips, the entire warehouse was filled with Scarecrow's toxin. Helena coughed, her eyes bulging as the hallucinations took over. One of Joker's henchmen grabbed her and shoved her against the floor, holding her down. The Joker moved to kneel over her, his blue eyes and stark white skin was a blur before her as a haze clouded her vision.
Joker smiled, placing a hand over her mouth, the man's hand had a red painted smile on his hand. "Don't make a noise, Red. It will aaaaall be over soooon." Joker released her mouth and pressed a cloth over her lips and nose. She breathed deeply and the laughing gas filled her lungs, mixing with the toxin.
Helena's nails dug into the flesh that held her down, she bit hard into Joker's gloved hand as her eyes rolled back into her head. She started to convulse, spit frothing at her lips as she writhed on the floor. Joker stepped back, watching the woman lose all humanity. "Sleep tight little bird." His laugh; a slow but dangerous, 'HA, HA, HA...' rang in Helena's ears as he walked away.