Let Me Be My Own Super Hero
I am laying on the hard ground. My lip is bleeding, but I do nothing to staunch its flow. How could he? The thought repeats over and over in my mind, like a broken record. I am unable to move. Unable to think of anything else. Unable to feel anything else but the broken feeling inside. He had asked me to run an errand for him. Pick up this hostage here. That sort of thing. But he was acting a little off from usual. Well, if that's possible. His standard is way off the charts of another person's. He walked me to the black van door. Told me to get in the back. Told me another one of his crew would be driving. I did as he said. I always do as he says. Then he went up front and said something to the driver. Or so I thought. The car shot forward, and I bashed my head into the seat in front of me. "Hey, can you slow down a bit?" No response. "Hello!" No response. I climbed to the passenger seat up front. "Listen! Buddy, are you deaf?" I looked at the man driving. But he wasn't. A bullet hole was strait through his clown mask. I panicked. I looked down at the gas pedal. The man's foot was tied to a brick. And the brick was on the gas. I checked the speedometer. The van was going 90 mph. It was a miracle the other cars were dodging us. A joker card fell out of the head board, into my lap. I snatched it up and read: "I've noticed some changes coming over me since you came into my life. I've been reminded what it was like to be part of a couple. I flipped it over. To care for someone who cares for me. It's the first time in recent memory I've had those feelings...And I hate having those feelings! Love Joker".
I stared in disbelief at the card. "Puddin loves me!" I screamed happily. I looked up just in time to see the car smash into the side of a brick building. I flew forward, the air bag luckily catching me. Pain exploded through my body, particularly my torso and left leg. Through the shattered glass and debris, I dragged myself from the wreckage, and lay face down in Robinson Park. How could he? And now, here I am. Damaged and on the verge of loosing consciousness.
~Flash Back~
Harleen pulled up to the intimidating gate's of Arkham Insane Asylum. Her little red Toyota grumbled and roared a bit as she shifted to park. What could she expect from a ten year old car? It ran, and that was all that mattered. It was her first day of internship, and Harleen was already running late. Getting out of her car, she hoisted a large backpack onto her back (full of provisions for the day) and set off to the gate entrance. A speakerphone was attached on the upper left hand side of the gate. "Proceed to security!" A gruff voice commanded over the intercom. The gates opened mechanically, and Harleen walked forward, giving a nervous skip as one of the rusty hinges squeaked. After the agonizing hike up a steep hill, she reached the asylum. She checked her watch. 7:25. "GAH!" She screamed and ran through the rotating doors. She was twenty five minutes late! What would her supervisor say? With a loud RIP! Harleen flew out of the rotating doors with a giant tear in the pant leg of her blue scrubs. Looking back over her shoulder as she ran to the elevator, she saw a blue piece of cloth wedged between the doors. Jamming the call button, Harleen tapped her foot anxiously, waiting for the elevator to come. Just play it cool. You had a flat tire. The elevator was five floors away. NO! Not good enough…you're mom was sick, so… Two floors. Your car got hit by a deer! The doors slid open and she was facing her supervisor, along with all of the other interns. Fuck my life. The old man that was her supervisor looked down at a clip board he was carrying, then up at Harleen. "Ms. Quinzell, how good of you to decide to show up." Harleen froze. "Deer. Car." Was the only excuse she managed to spit out. The man smiled and walked briskly out of the elevator. The interns jogged slightly to keep up. "And this is the entrance of the building. Fascinating. I know." Harleen shook her head and caught up to the last pair of blue scrubs in the line. "Hey, I'm Harleen. Uh…what are we doing?" A nervous looking man turned back to her. He had bad acne and was sweating slightly. "I'm Melvin." His voice was high. "We're just getting a tour of the facility now." Harleen smiled her thanks. So she hadn't missed THAT much. It wasn't like anyone was going to remember the places they were being shown anyways. She jogged along, wondering what else they would do today. Melvin came to a sudden halt, and she ran into him. They both stumbled out of line. "Sorry!" Harleen said. Melvin shot her a dirty look. She looked around the interns to the front of the line, and saw the supervisor was stopped by a man in a white jacket. They were talking about a patient. "Yes, you simply must show your interns him! He's in top security. Just came in last week. Strangest case I've ever seen. Broke out of his strait jacket five times already." The supervisor raised his eyebrows. "Five times! Well, sounds perfectly dangerous. We'll check him out. Thank you, Jarvis." He turned to the group. "Children, we're going to check out one of our newest patients in top security. Now remember our rules for interns? Don't talk to the patients. Don't touch them, and certainly, don't take anything they say seriously." Harleen frowned at this. It didn't seem right. How was she supposed to help cure someone, when she wasn't allowed to take them seriously? They ran up seven flights of stairs, to the top floor. This floor was gray and cement. Guards were positioned at every corner, armed. They walked down a long hall lit with florescent lights. Glass holding cells were on either side of the walls. It made Harleen feel more paranoid then usual. Men and woman leered at them through the glass. Some waved. Others growled. One actually barked madly when they passed by. Finally, they reached the last cell. Four men stood outside, guarding it. The supervisor flashed them his ID, and they were permitted to observe the man inside. Harleen looked in. He sat there, on a chair, in the middle of a room. There was nothing else in the room. His hair was rumpled and dirty, and his makeup was almost off. A little red lipstick remained on his cheeks, and some black still encircled his eyes. He was in a horrible orange suit, and the top half of his body was covered by a white strait jacket. Harleen looked in disgust as the interns pressed themselves against the glass, like people viewing an animal in the zoo. This man was a patient, not a polar bear. He seemed to have noticed Harleen's view of what the others were doing, for he let out a mad cackle. It sent shivers up her spine. The man stood up and pushed his metal chair across the room so it was right in front of the glass, and he sat down. A couple of interns pulled back at his bluntness, but others looked fascinated. Harleen rolled her eyes. They should be helping this poor man, not gawking at him. After several moments of silence he said, "Should I do a couple of back flips?" Harleen had to stuff her fist in her mouth to keep from laughing. No one said a word. The man looked at her and seemed to show her a small smile before returning his attention to the onlookers. "Who wants to kill the fat one?" He nodded to a large female standing by the supervisor. She turned pink. "You see how he tries to distract you from himself? See how he's just turned your attention to Amy?" The man stood up so his nose was slightly touching the glass. He was eye to eye with Melvin, who looked strained. "You're frightened." The man said softly. No one breathed. "I can see it in your eyes. They tell me everything, Melvin. I know all about you. I can see your thoughts, emotions, and yearnings, all from your eyes." Melvin blinked slowly. Sweat beaded on his brow. "Coward. You're weak." His voice was growing louder. "You're not good enough. Never will be." The man's lips twisted into a cruel smile. "Why so serious?" The supervisor intervened. "All right, that's enough for one day, everyone, back downstairs, NOW." Harleen gave the man one last look. He winked at her and nodded his head.
By the time they reached the first floor, Melvin was still shaking. "My name. How did he know my name?" He asked horrified. Harleen giggled. A group of interns crowded around Melvin all turned to glare at her. "Maybe it was your name tag." She said shrugging innocently. Melvin looked down at the shinny plastic tag on his chest. Some color went back into his cheeks. Harleen grinned. Idiot boy. But that man in the cell…he was something else…something foreign…
~End of flash back~
A pair of green feet swim into view. I know someone is speaking to me, but it just sounds like an incomprehensible wave of noise. Suddenly sirens fill my head. Two arms scoop me up and began running with me. I'm not struggling. I don't think I could if I wanted to. Everything is becoming more and more distant. And all at once, there is no more.