Yay, another chapter in less than a week!
I thought I'd give some time to evaluate how much traffic this story gets before posting this chapter. After reading the first chapter again to understand from a reader's POV, I can see why there aren't a lot of followers/favorites on this story after just one chapter since the previous chapter was short on details and a bit rushed. Just like me who excitedly put up this story after only a day of just writing the first chapter alone. Though I'm glad that there are some of you who are interested to see where I'm going with this story.
I hope more readers are drawn because of this chapter and future chapters I'll be posting. I feel like I'm really focusing on detail right now rather than dialogue so bear with me for those of you who wants more dialogue. I want to try and blend characteristics so that I have a better idea of what certain characters would say in certain situations.
Enjoy!
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Punches are flying through the air only to come in contact with a hanging training bag. It's been a few more weeks since that day at the town gym. Not long after her little show at the gym, rumors started circulating around her like crazy. Elena Gilbert can kick ass. Good thing no one knows that it was her that day at the gym. Everyone in town believes it was some random high schooler. Although she fears where these new developments are coming from, Elena can't help but feel relieved. Now she can defend herself and at the rate she's going, she'll be able to fight vampires up front.
Beads of sweat is built upon her forehead the more she trains in the dark room that was once Alaric's apartment since he started living with her and Jeremy at their home. Glints of sunlight enters the room and pools over the rapid moving woman. Her once tan skin has considerably paled in contrast to the sunlight. Her hair that which was a gorgeous darkest brown, now shows a more noticeable dark red that shines brightly against the sun rays.
After having the rush of fighting that day at the gym, Elena worked endlessly with Alaric to figure out a workout routine for her. Especially what with whatever is happening to her has given her more benefits than consequences so far. If there ever comes a day where she fights by instinct, it would be difficult to explain to her friends how she's capable of fighting when she barely knows basic self-defense. At least this way people will believe that she's well-trained should a conflict arise. It was hard to feign off Alaric's confusion and suspicion over how quickly she caught on to training. Thankfully, it was normal for Alaric nowadays to be more interested in drinking since the death of her Aunt Jenna which helped distract him. Elena admits to feeling some guilt over using her dear guardian but she doesn't want anyone to know what's going on with her any time soon.
Elena stops punching the training bag, finding herself a bit irritated. Her thoughts sent back to the dream she's had the past few nights.
She was walking through a hall that had nothing but grey. Grey walls, grey floors, even the patients in the building wore grey uniforms all except for the guards and doctors in the building, who wore black uniforms and the custom white coat. Elena followed behind her doctor, cringing at the loud noises the inhabitants are making. She had just arrived in Gotham City, New Jersey via train. Gotham City is the most dangerous city to live in from what she has researched online. There are so many crimes happening in that city that there's a rumor that the city is run by criminals which turned to out to be false. Nearly half a decade or so ago, the crime rate in Gotham City started to decline as rogue vigilantes appeared to save the day. Though she feels the vigilantes are a bit sketchier than the villains since they all go by codenames.
Elena was one of the few patients in the building that still has their sanity in Arkham Asylum. Arkham Asylum is notorious for housing the criminally insane but what most people don't know is that Arkham Asylum is still a place for treatment which is why she's here. Elena wants to get treated for her hand tremors that even after several CAT scans, many doctors didn't find anything physically wrong with her. Not even the local therapists in Virginia could help her. They all thought her hand tremors could be healed by accepting her parent's death but that didn't work either. Just when Elena was about to snap after receiving the same and repetitive diagnosis, one of her doctors suggested a doctor at Arkham.
Although, he did warn her about the possible dangers she might come across and people she might face but Elena took up his advice and called the doctor he recommended. Thankfully, Arkham has a joint treatment program for mysterious cases like her hand tremors. Her Aunt Jenna tried to stop her from going when she heard about Gotham City's reputation as well as Arkham Asylum's. But Elena needed this and she reassured her aunt that everything was going to be fine.
She can hear the doctor talking to her, giving her an overview of special protocols for her to follow so that no mishaps occur between herself and other patients particularly the insane ones. Unfortunately, patients like herself have to pass through the cells of said criminally insane to get through the area made for treatments. Even though Elena has her fears after hearing stories of the people kept in the hospital, she tries to get a glimpse of some inmates. Her eyes widen a bit as some leer and jeer at her while others are stuck in their own world of crazy.
Suddenly, her doctor came to a halt and Elena almost bumped into her in the process. But before she could speak up, her doctor has moved them off to the side. Her gaze falls upon a group of guards, leading someone down the hall – and to their cell, she assumes. Understanding dawns on her that this must be another patient falling under the insane category of the asylum. As the guards came closer, she was given an opportunity to see the patient they were escorting. Elena keeps her head down, not wanting to attract attention but she couldn't help herself. Her eyes flickered up and caught a pair of piercing, greyish-blue eyes.
Her breath got caught in her throat and a shiver runs up and down her spine. She was fascinated as the patient is a unique character. Elena has never seen someone like him before. Although he's kept in a straitjacket that didn't stop her evaluation on his physical appearance. His pale skin makes a stark contrast to the tattoos on his face and she a hint of another tattoo peeking out underneath the straitjacket. The dark circles around his eyes has them appear more sunken in at which Elena realizes that he has no eyebrows. But the teenager didn't mind. She found that his lack of eyebrows didn't take away the draw she feels toward him. Also, his lips are the darkest shade of red she's seen on anyone. She wonders if the man wore makeup but she doubted it which levels up her interest in the man.
He stares back at her the whole time as he comes closer and closer, his eyes glinting devilishly. She doesn't realize it but her mouth parts as if breathless at the sight of him. His mouth curls into a smile revealing his teeth grill and her grip tightens around the strap of her duffel bag as her heart threatens to burst out of her chest. She snaps her mouth shut to withhold her gasp and a warmth wash over her. It's only after he walks pass her form that his intense gaze leaves her. But Elena is frozen in place, left staring at a grey wall. She's replaying the look she just shared with the man and she gulps back the saliva that built in her mouth. She snaps out of her thoughts as the voice of her doctor tells her to follow her at which Elena acts as instructed.
The two of them walk towards one end of the hall where it was highly secured if the password encrypted door and guards standing by it were anything to go by. As the doctor entered the password, Elena made one last glance over her shoulder. She manages to see the back of his head full of green hair before hurriedly turning back around in case her doctor notices. Elena follows her doctor through the door unknowing of the piercing eyes that followed her form as the owner of said eyes turned down a corner of the hall.
The dream confounded her because it took place in Arkham Asylum and she would have mistaken the dream as a memory if it wasn't for the fact that she doesn't remember meeting that green haired patient on her first day at Arkham. She tried searching the internet when she woke up from that dream a second time. That man must be a criminal if he was incarcerated in Arkham like in her dream. Elena wanted to verify for herself whether or not the man is real. But when she went to type on her computer, her hands froze above the keyboard. Her eyebrows furrowed in confusion and she tried to move her fingers again with no success. She would do this at irregular intervals the rest of the day and the next, certain that she was losing her mind but the same cycle of her frozen fingers continued.
She doesn't understand what's going on with her but at this point, she is sure that something didn't want her to find out the identity of that man. Elena may not know much of what's happening to her but her guess is that man means something to her. Whether it was good or bad doesn't mean much to her as it would have before she lost Stefan, who is still god knows where. Despite her personal issues that she's currently dealing with, Elena is still searching for her boyfriend but has only been able to catch the tail of Klaus's victims. Although she hasn't admitted it to herself yet, there is a small chance that Klaus could be forcing Stefan to create such carnage. She shook her head to push those thoughts out of her head.
Elena gathers her stuff and leaves Alaric's apartment with another bag filled with more training weapons such as guns and knives. Another thing she's gotten into is knife throwing and shooting guns. Throwing knives was a bit difficult to learn but she's getting better with her aim thanks to watching some videos on YouTube. Who knew you can learn how to throw knives via the internet? Now the gun shooting was interesting. Elena used a shotgun once before as well as a makeshift stake gun but she managed to get a hold on some of Alaric's hand guns a while ago. She bought some shooting targets and pinned them onto tree trunks in the woods a while ago. Surprisingly her aim wasn't as bad as her knife throwing. But what was even weirder is that the weight of a gun in her hand felt familiar, comforting in some ways.
But right now she's not on her way to practice her aim in the woods. That's on her to-do list for tomorrow. She's making her way towards the Salavatore boarding house to check on Damon, who has not been as involved for the search for Stefan as she'd like which is making her slightly suspicious. Plus, she needs to be at the boarding house anyway before Caroline arrives. Rather prepare herself for what's to come from her neurotic friend when it comes to planning Elena's eighteenth birthday party.
~.~.~
I've decided that I don't think I'll write out complete TVD episodes because I feel like that'll take away the focus of the story that is Elena's journey of self-discovery along with her relationship with the Joker. Maybe I'll write scenes from certain TVD episodes but only those that'll make impact on the character and her mysterious transition into who she was while with the Joker.
Also, I'm trying to come up with some ideas for Elena's criminal name. I'm trying research on it because I don't want to use "Harley Quinn". It was unique for that character but not for the character I'm making for Elena. But I'm coming up blanks of what Elena's criminal name should be. If anyone has a suggestion, leave me a review.
