Okay, short note: I have NEVER read a single Batman comic book (laugh all you want to, I think it's wierd too.) to I've had to pluck the villains (I own none.) from a mix of the new movies and the old. Read on and you'll see what I mean:D
Ravens and Crows.
,, Miss Scarrow?" Raven looked out between her char grey locks, two deep amber eyes glaring at the world.
,, What?" she hissed, hugging her bag tighter. She had decided she didn't like the guard; he was a real pain in the neck. To him, she was just another basket case.
,, There in ten minutes." he announced and placed a hand on his service gun, as if to prove she shouldn't try anything.
,, Well, cancel the order for the château Lafitte, then." she growled, baring her teeth in a hiss. She slumped back against the cold iron wall of the armed car she had been chained in, almost two hours ago. She was beginning to feel like a very lonely cow, on its way to the butchers. She was pissed.
Gotham had always been a... tough city. Some people shot, some people died, some got their drugs on time; the fucking circle of lies. Or was it life? Raven always forgot. But lately, the overgrown bat with the hot car had decided that things needed a change. The indirect effect of his do-gooding was, that the Gotham prisons pretty quickly got crammed up. Gotham was a really tough city. And now, there was lack of bunks in the cells and too many murderers got jammed in the same cell. And so, when Raven finally had been presented to the judge, an obese man, fattened from his good life up on the top, there had been no more room. And, as a part of some new program the shit-for-brains mayor had invented in a rush of antidepressants, Raven hadn't been sent to a bigger jail out of town, oh no. She had been transferred from her comfy cell at the police station to Arkham, institute for the criminally insane.
,, But... I'm not insane." Raven argued, but nobody was listening.
,, How long do I have to be locked up in that shithole?" Raven asked the guard, grumpy but curious.
,, Till they find you another place to stay." he answered.
,, Shouldn't take more than... A year, year and a half maybe." Raven thudded the back of her head into the wall.
,, Tally-fucking-ho, then. I mean, year and a half with rapists and cutthroats. A dear diary moment every second, I figure. " the rest of the trip was spent in silence, Raven's sneakers tapping the tune of Join The British Army against the floor, whistling slightly along. Her bag was lying beside her and her cuffed hands were resting behind her head.
When the van pulled up in the grey courtyard, Raven grabbed the sports bag and got up, head bent so it didn't connect with the roof of the vehicle. The doors were opened and she looked out, eyes squinting from the pale sunlight. It looked directly depressing.
,, Sorry, this isn't my hotel." she tried, but she felt the guard's gun connect with her spine between her shoulder blades, and she stumbled out into the yard.
,, Hey...!" she yelled, spinning on her heel and looking knives at the guard. He just glared down at her, weighing his gun in one hand.
,, When I get out of here, I'll track you down and slit your knee joints with a spoon." she hissed lowly. The guard tried to look cool and unaffected, but Raven could see him turn pale. She grinned meanly and he grew slightly paler. Then the doors were closed and the van drove away out of the gates, Raven catching the last glimpses of freedom before they swung shut. Then a nail tapped her shoulder and she turned. A woman, a little shorter than Raven, stood and smiled at her, a little too stiffly. Her lips were huge and painted red, the same colour like her dyed hair, which was cut just above her ears and smelled of chemicals. She was wearing a white nurse's uniform with pastel pink, blue and yellow cats and elephants on it. She smelled like formaldehyde and nail polish. Raven hugged her bag closer.
,, Raven Scarecrow?" she asked, her voice sounded like that of a mouse.
,, Scarrow." Raven corrected. The woman lifted a red eyebrow, painted on with eyeliner and consulted her clipboard.
,, Oh, then office must have made a mistake." she took a ballpoint pen and crossed something out, most likely the word 'Scarecrow', and wrote Scarrow in its place.
,, You see," she chittered on as she led the way into one of the four buildings, all meeting each other at the corners to form a square.
,, we already have a Scarecrow, so it's an easy mistake. But, you must admit, it would be funny; Raven, like a bird, and Scarecrow, like something you use to scare birds away with." Raven rolled her eyes. She already hated the place.
,, I'm Rozetta." the red mouse-lady continued and led Raven up some stairs.
,, But you can call me Roze. Everyone around here does."
,, Everyone around here is a mental case." Raven said and straightened up as they walked past some cells, each of them with two prisoners in. They all looked blankly back at her, a thick translucent plastic door separating them from her. She shuddered, not knowing if their empty stares were from the drugs they were force-fed or they just all looked like that.
,, I'm not."
,, 'course you're not, pumpkin." the red mouse-lady Rozetta said, clearly letting it show she didn't believe Raven. They walked through a set of doors and into a small office, with pictures of kittens and flowers in neat little frames on the walls.
,, Here we are, first stop." Raven felt like she was five years old again and the nurse were leading her down the hall to the dentist.
,, Now, what's your sizes?" Rozetta asked and pointed to Raven's clothes, her sneakers, her slightly oversized jeans and her greasy, grey t-shirt.
,, Uhh... I don't really know..." Raven said.
,, Well, no sweat." Rozetta smiled, or maybe the plastic surgeries had condemned her to an eternal grimace like a smile.
,, I'm great at guessing sizes and all." she opened a metal closet and pulled out two sets of deep orange prisoner's uniforms, two sleeveless white tops, five sets of underwear of the most un-sexiest kind (Just a statement, Raven wasn't expecting to score.) five pair of white socks and one pair of white sneakers.
,, There, these should fit." she said and shoved the clothes into Raven's arms, causing her to drop her bag. She sat down on her knees and placed the uniforms on the bag, then lifted the whole thing back up.
,, Now, should I show you where you are going to live?" Rozetta asked.
Like you'd let me walk around on my own. Raven thought, but she followed without saying anything, hoping that Rozetta would take the hint and stop blabbering.
,, This isn't really such a bad place, once you get used to it." Rozetta blabbered as they walked past another row of cells, where the more "simple" of the maniacs were; murder, murder and bloody murder was all they cared about. Huge, bullnecked men with tattoos, and small, skinny types, balding and greying, all eyes on Raven as she walked by.
,, Wooohoo, guys! New tits!" someone yelled and a choir of not so very nice or polite shouts followed it from the other men. Raven tried to ignore it and walked faster, Rozetta walking in front of her, totally oblivious of the shouts. She pushed a button in the wall and the next set of doors opened; this hall was filled with women, their cells holding crying, wailing or silent creatures in two and two, starring at Raven with the same eyes as the other men; some insane and lustful, some blank and dead. Raven didn't like the thought of her, living with one of those shells, but luckily, Rozetta led on. But then...
,, Where is my cell?" Raven asked.
,, Oh, we found you a nice and empty one, don't you worry." Rozetta led Raven up some more stairs, through five halls and into a new corridor. Here, it was eerie and silent, and the cells each held a single prisoner. Not two to share one, that would have been too dangerous.
,, Oh, hi Joe." Rozetta said to a tall, blond keeper and stopped to chitchat, leaving Raven alone in the silent coolness of the hall. Her wrist hurt from the gnawing cuffs and she hoped they would be removed soon. She held her bag and uniforms tighter and leaned back against the wall, biting her tongue and thinking confused thoughts. Although, she wasn't leaning against a wall, but the clear plastic door of a cell.
Two hands slammed against the door and Raven dropped her belongings in shock. Someone, the owner of the cell and the hands, giggled insanely as she turned and faced the person who had scared her; a man, face twisted into nightmarish features from thick scars, running from the corners of his mouth up to his ears, giving one the impression he was always smiling at one. His hair had a strange, washed out green colour, like he had sprayed in green for a single night and hadn't bothered to wash his hair properly afterwards. He grinned at her.
,, What's happenin', hot stuff?" he asked, sounding like he was quoting something he had heard somewhere. Raven didn't answer, she just sat down and gathered her ugly wardrobe, folding it neatly and placing it on her bag.
,, Not a talker, eh, sugar lips?" he went on, Raven concentrating on her socks and chained wrists.
,, So, what did you do to get in?" he asked, voice conversational and friendly , even though Raven could feel it was a charade.
,, Murder? Arson? Shoplifting?" Raven got back up and glared at the mental case, her whiskey golden eyes glowing like embers.
,, Did ya' cheat on your boyfriend?" he asked and licked his dry lips. Raven just glared, arms dangling down her sides and chained together in front of her.
,, I mean, don't get me wrong, I'm sure he was sleeping with Jennie and Tony had been sending you all those long glances lately and you probably felt so unloved, after that whole deal about your cousin and her kidney, I won't judge you." he held up his hands in front of his chest, like a catholic saint might do.
,, You can talk with me, and don't be afraid to cry; even though all your friends says he isn't worth a single tear, it doesn't mean you're not hurting." Raven suppressed a dry laugh; this guy was far off the chart.
,, And if you should get lonely..." he offered and leaned closer to the door, hands resting on the plastic as if he was trying to push it down. Raven lifted her chained up hands, which were now fists, and slammed them hard into the door, scratching the material with the cold metal of the cuffs. The guy just sniggered and leaned closer.
,, Don't you worry, hon', we'll soon be together. I don't care if your family wouldn't understand, you're all that matters." Raven slammed her fists and the cuffs into the door again, wanting to be on the other side and wipe that grin of the clowns face.
,, Wanna know how I got these scars?" he asked, excited like a child.
,, Raven." the mouse voice of Rozetta sounded behind her. Raven was at the same time happy and scared to hear that Rozetta sounded uneasy; happy, because it was a reaction. Scared, because if something was so insane that it penetrated Rozetta's shield of sticky-sweet ignorance, Raven should be scared too.
She turned. Rozetta and the blond man, Joe, were standing in the middle of the hall, both looking at Raven like she had broken an expensive vase.
,, Now, don't you make enemies on your very first day, sweetie." Rozetta said. The clown behind Raven chortled.
,, Raven?! Hello, Mr dr., Sssscccaaaarrrrccrrroowwww...! I found you a bird...!" he shouted to someone in the hall maybe, most likely in his head. No one answered anyway. Raven spun around and hammered her fists against the door.
,, I don't care about your fucking scars, Pennywise, but if you don't shut that maw in a hurry, I'll add some new to your collection...!" she threatened, fists still resting on the plastic where they had connected. Pennywise beamed back at her.
,, Now, sweetie, don't you make any enemies on your very first day." he said and Raven almost flung herself at the door. Then, two strong hands grabbed her arms and she was yanked away from the grinning clown, and Rozetta walked up in front of her.
,, Now, Raven, that wasn't very nice." she lectured, then turned to the clown.
,, Joker, you promise to be good to Raven, she going to stay with us for some time." "Joker" didn't answer, he just smiled at Raven who, in burning return, glared back. Rozetta bent down and picked up Raven's things, and walked further down the hall, Raven getting wrenched along by Joe. As they passed the other cells, Raven caught glimpses of the inmates; a red haired man, breathing on the plastic of his door to write question marks in the condensing breath, a pale, blond woman who walked around her cell like a tiger might do in a small cage. And... a man, slightly lanky in appearance, with dark brown, dark as rich chocolate, hair hanging moderately down over his eyes in a boyish manner. He was wearing his orange boiler suit oddly, like it was too big to fit his slim figure. As Raven was forced along, he lifted his hand in a smooth move and brushed away a few loose locks from his eyes, which were a penetrating blue. And then he gave her the subtle hint of a smile. Not a haha, you're insane, too or woohoo, guys. Fresh tits smile, more like so, you're locked up here too? but, he was insane and Raven shook the feeling off her. Two cells further down, in the opposite wall of where "Joker" and they lanky guy were, Rozetta stopped and pushed a button and the plastic door to the empty cell opened. Rozetta walked in and Raven was shoved after, the keeper Joe standing in the door like a security guard, arms crossed over his chest. The cell was simple; white painted brick walls and a solitary light bulb, dangling from the ceiling. There was a bed, the ugly, metal bed with white sheets that was used in hospitals, standing bolted to the floor up against the right wall, and a small window, with heavy, white painted bars in the wall opposite the wall with the door. Rozetta began unfolding a set of the asylum uniform and put it on the bed with Raven's bag. The other set and remaining socks and underwear got shoved under the thin pillow. Raven walked to the window and jumped up, grabbed the bars with her chained hand and dangled above floor level, looking out on the bleak view of the courtyard.
,, I paid for an ocean view room." she said, Rozetta and Joe ignoring her completely.
,, There, pumpkin, I thinks that's all for now. You change into your new clothes; there's lunch in half and hour." Rozetta said and looked like she was going to leave. Raven let go of the bars and dropped to the ground, turned and faced the leaving nurse.
,, Aren't you forgetting something?" she asked and held her chained wrists up in front of her.
,, Oh, thank goodness you reminded me, pumpkin. I was just about to leave." Rozetta said and pulled out a set of small keys, the ones used to handcuffs and freed Raven of her chains.
No shit? Raven spat in her mind and glared, rubbing her sore wrists and watched the two persons leave, the plastic door shutting after them. In the door, Raven saw now, were a small circle of holes above where she could not reach. Air holes, like in the lid of a jam jar with an interesting insect in it. Raven sighed.
She walked over to the bed and sat down, feeling every little piece of the metal under the thin mattress. She dragged her bag closer and began emptying the contents; pencils, paper, a few worn down paperbacks, some money and a pencil sharpener. There was no table in the cell, so she put the things down under her bed, along with the bag. Then she looked out of her plastic door and stated, that there was no cell opposite hers, only empty wall.
Good, at least I can get some privacy. she thought and pulled off her t-shirt, sneakers and trousers and stood for a moment in the cell, freezing in her underwear. She walked back to the bed and pulled on the white top and crawled into the uniform, which fitted her almost to perfection. The upper part of the boiler suit had short sleeves, like a t-shirt and a rubber band sown into he waist to hold it up. Raven made sure the trousers were tight, then she let the remaining part of the uniform hang down behind her, walking around in her top. She sat down once more and pulled out a worn notebook and a well-chewed pencil, and flickered through the pages, until she found where she had left of. And she began to write. A letter.
A voice wailed through the halls and made Raven break the point of her pencil. Joker was laughing, maybe he had found a particular amusing spider, or maybe he just found the whole thing so absurd laughing was all he could do. Raven sighed and placed the notebook and the pencil under her mattress, so she knew they were relatively safe. Her feet were cold, so she pulled on a pair of socks. Then she lay down on her back on the bed, resting her head on her hands, and stared up at the concrete ceiling, counting cracks and cobwebs.
Suddenly, jail sounds really good...