(( Wassup everyone? Sorry it took forever to write this chapter. I was out of town for half of December and iv been busy with New Years and whatnot...but I promise I ain't slacking off! BIG THANKS to Sunrise Phoenix for help with who is in the cell's around Tai. I needed the help hahaha))

For what seemed like forever, the guard led Tai through Arkham's many passageways and staircases. A few times, their progress was stopped due to other guards restraining an inmate or taking their time moving out of the way. Some of the inmates themselves looked at the cat human through the glass windows or barred doors of their cells and jeered him as he passed, clearly showing their disgust or curiosity at the newest arrival.

Tai suddenly bumped into something solid and quickly looked up, noticing he had walked into the guard that had been his native guide through the unknown building. The guard sneered at the new inmate and pushed him ahead, making him stand in front of two large metal doors with a small sign on the top that read "The Rogues Gallery". From within the passageway, the sound of a laugh echoed from the door and though it was muffled, it sounded twisted and evil.

"Well? What are you waiting for, Christmas?" The guard shoved Tai through the doors roughly, making him growl in response. After a few feet, the doors were shut, and the inhuman huffed as he looked around. Sensing something watching him, he looked up at one of the security cameras and glared at it, baring his teeth so whoever was watching would know that he didn't appreciate this whole night whatsoever. But at least he was alone and it was quiet.

...Or so he thought…

As soon as he turned back to start walking down the so-called "gallery", he realized that he was far from being alone. Every cell seemed occupied with people and things of all shapes and sizes that only the imagination could create and they were all looking at him, observing and sizing him up. Tai didn't bother to meet any of their eyes or say anything; he knew better then to make any enemies on the first day by looking at them funny or something. The inhuman looked up as he neared an open cell a ways down the passageway near the middle of the room, noting with a frown that it was probably his.

A couple cells before his own, the sound of a coin being flipped cut the silence, followed by a mumble of annoyance as the coin rolled into the path ahead of Tai. He stopped momentarily to pick up the coin and looked over at the cell from where it had come from. As soon as Tai saw the man's face, he recoiled from surprise.

"What are YOU lookin' at, feline?" the two-faced man growled, the normal side of his face glaring as the other disfigured side stayed almost motionless.

Tai regained his senses and opened his hand, the coin softly placed in his palm, heads up. The disfigured man looked at the coin and narrowed his eyes before snatching it out of his hand, growling as he continued to glare at the inhuman until he was past his cell, the sound of the coin being flipped resuming.

Eventually the inhuman made it to the open cell and heard the door close automatically. As soon as the doors shut, noise had returned into the gallery as if everyone had waited to see what he would have done on his first day and now had lost interest immediately after nothing happened. Ignoring the voices, Tai walked over to the cot that he would soon be sleeping on and tested it with one of his hands, frowning at how under stuffed it was. The pillow was hard as well, but he figured it would just be something he would have to get used to.

"Hey, new guy! Over here!"

Tai turned around and he was greeted by the smiling face of a girl with blonde hair pulled into pigtails in the cell across from his own. Her blue eyes locked with his and the smile fell from her face as she stared at him in awe. "Golly…the docs weren't kiddin' about ya looks. You're a pussycat from head to tail!"

Tai felt himself be taken aback by the surprisingly friendly gesture the girl was giving him, even if he didn't know whether or not it was a compliment or an insult. And he was also surprised at how she knew about him being here, though he figured it was due to the news being spread by other inmates and the other doctor's daily gossip.

Before he could make a reply, the girl grinned again, "So, you got a name that isn't cutesy or somethin'?"

Tai nodded and smiled slightly as he bowed in respect. Her enthusiasm was infectious.

"My name is Tai. Pleasure to meet you, Miss…?"

Harley smirked at his bow, "Name is Harley Quinn! And don't worry about bein' formal and whatever, just call me Harley okay?"

"Alright then, I will remember that" Tai sat down at the wall so he could face his new "roommate" and was about to consider a conversation with the woman when a voice cut off his thoughts.

"One minute in the looney bin, and you have already made a friend…how touching."

Tai looked at the right of Harley and realized that the cell wasn't empty; laying on the bed facing the opposite wall was a man dressed in a green business suit and hat. "But let The Riddler ask you something: Why was the cat thrown in with the dogs, when apparently it did not belong?"

Another voice from the cell next to Tai on his right groaned, "Not now Riddler…I'm actually trying to get some rest for once and your riddles are keeping me awake ."

The Riddler looked over at the cell and frowned. "Oh come now, Cobblepot! I'm asking our new friend here, not you." He turned his body, as well as his gaze, to Tai and smiled. "Don't mind the feather brain. He's always cranky when he hasn't stretched his wings for a while."

"Hey!" Harley pouted angrily. "I was talkin' to him first, leprechaun! You can't just barge in on a conversation like that, that's rude!" Her eyes closed tightly as she stuck her tongue out at him…even though he couldn't see it.

"Will all of you just zip it?" The cell from Tai's left thumped as something heavy hit against it.

"Why don't YOU shut up, Croc?" Cobblepot squawked. "You weren't even involved in this from the start!"

And then they were all arguing: Harley, The Riddler, Penguin, and Killer Croc. Their voices echoed through the gallery and others soon joined in…some wanted to shut the others up for a bit of peace and quiet while others egged on the argument to apply to other inmates for a bit of fun.

Tai on the other hand simply closed his eyes and tried to drown out the voices as he felt himself begin to meditate. Meditating always seemed to help calm his mind when he needed to keep his senses together. Since he was a child, he had learned that finding the balance in everything helped you see clearly and feel the harmony of the universe. True, to some it was just something to joke about, but to one who understood the meditative state…

Before he could get further however, the sound of a bell going off jostled him from his mental state and Harley's voice tugged him back to reality.

"It's time to eat, wake up pussycat!"

The inhuman blinked a few times before standing up and looking over at the now open cell door. Harley stood waiting for him and smiled as he made his way out cautiously.

"Relax, they are letting us out for some exercise and nourishment." Her voice sounded happy about getting out of her cell, but her face told a completely different story.

"You don't seem very thrilled about this." Tai looked around as the rest of the inmates of the Rogues Gallery made their way through the passageway toward another set of doors on the opposite side of the corridor. The assortment of figures he saw stunned him; The man with the months of a calendar tattooed on his head. A man with a black skull for a face. A man carrying a wooden puppet dressed as a mobster. A living scarecrow. These were just a few of the strange beings he was going to come across.

"Yeah let's just say the food ain't all that great. I have had better slop then what this place is cooking." Harley's tongue stuck out in disgust. "But hey, if ya gotta eat, you gotta eat, right?"

Tai felt himself be pushed slightly to the side by a man with a large top hat. "Yeah, I know that feeling all too well." He as the man with the large hat looked back at him and quickly looked away when he had caught a glimpse. The way the hat on his head stayed up there was quite intriguing.

Losing interest, his gaze looked once again towards Harley's direction, but she was nowhere to be found. Searching the row of inmates for her, he spotted the blonde talking to a red-headed woman that looked like a living plant. The woman and Harley laughed at something the red head had said, and then they disappeared into the crowd.

As he waited in line to get the daily dose of the supposed gruel this place had to offer, Tai noted that the cafeteria was a big place. Looking past some of the inmates that stood ahead of him, he sniffed at the smell of the awaiting food and gagged a bit, feeling bile rise into his throat. Harley was right to not look forward to mealtimes…

Picking up his tray, he looked at the chef and then back at the food, wrinkling his nose as it sloshed into a bowl and served to him. The chef showed no emotion as she finished, looking at the next one in line behind him when she was done.

"Talk about service with a smile…" Tai grumbled to himself as he went out of line and looked for a place to sit. All around the room, benches and tables were nearly full with inmates eating, talking or doing some other random thing they thought was normal. In a corner of the room however, there was a table with the other half completely empty. Sighing with relief at his luck of not being around too many of these strange individuals, he made his way to the table and sat down quietly.

The others at the end of the large table were apparently in the middle of some heated debate and Tai couldn't help but listen in. He didn't like to eavesdrop, but the inhuman knew that in this place the main daily gossip may be what keeps him alive and conscious of his surroundings. The conversation he was hearing at the moment was not at all interesting, but here and there he had picked up interesting information about the others in The Gallery. He had learned that the walking scarecrow (or Dr. Crane as some called him) was indeed a doctor before he had turned to a life of crime, and that the portly Penguin was one Oswald Cobblepot, a rich man in Gotham that always had something hidden in an umbrella or two he always carried. The rest of the info gathered wasn't much, but it was enough to help him figure out faces to names and who he should and shouldn't talk to.

He suddenly felt a presence come up and as he turned his attention away from the hushed group, the man with the ridiculously large hat was standing there across the table . He smiled at Tai in a friendly manner before clearing his throat, "I-I'm sorry, is this seat taken?"

Tai shook his head and began to study the man in front of him as he sat down. He was actually shorter then Tai remembered seeing him in the crowd, but he suspected that it was due to his rather large hat. His red hair seemed to lie across his face at one side, and he brushed it out of the way as his other hand reached out toward Tai in a handshake manner.

"Jervis Tetch."

Tai peered at the man's hand before taking it, realized he only had one glove. His gaze then went back to the hat and he only took his eyes off it when Jervis spoke again in a cautious and nervous manner, clearly suspecting that Tai was up to something.

"I-Is something wrong, sir?"

"Sorry. It's just…your hat is very intriguing."

Tetch's worry disappeared and was replaced with a grin. "Ah! I see you have a liking to it?" He seemed rather excited about the fact that the newcomer had taken notice and took the hat off, sitting it on the table in front of him. "I have always liked hats and other headgear since I was a child. This one especially is one of my favorites. It doesn't have as many doodads and bobbles as my other hats but it certainly keeps me warm and secure in this dreary place."

"So what did you get inspiration from?" Tai tried to take his eyes off the hat as he spoke, "The Mad Hatter from Alice in Wonderland?"

Tetch's eyes lit up and his grin widened, "Why yes, that is where my inspiration came from! For a cat, you are more well-read then I thought…then again the Cheshire cat was fairly witty and devilish to a point."

Tai was about to make a reply, but he was cut off by the sound of something heavy trod up next to Jervis, the air around them suddenly growing a bit cold. A man in a metallic cryogenic suit thumped onto the bench, the cold seeming to ripple off of him.

"Hello Jarvis. I see you have met with the newcomer."

"Indeed I have!" Jarvis smiled at the metal man and nodded at Tai. "Tai, this is Victor Fries; or as Gotham has cleverly called him, Mr. Freeze."

"Pleasure to meet you," Tai responded as he reached for the food again. He figured he may as well try it before it got too cold, especially when Mr. Freeze was around. Picking up his fork, he lightly poked the food cautiously as he continued to look in Fries' direction.

"How long have you been in Arkham? I don't remember you being here yesterday."

Jarvis spoke up, "He just arrived today. For what though, I have no idea." His raised an eyebrow in Tai's direction and frowned a bit, clearly curious and suspicious.

"Yeah, what'cha do to get in this joint?" Harley had now joined the table along with the red headed plant woman, who sat down next to Tai on his left while Harley took the right.

At this point, Tai had forgotten the food as he stared at the small group that had gathered to quench their curiosity. For a few seconds, he was speechless as he tried to figure out what he should tell them. The truth would have sounded ridiculous to a group of super-villains.

"What's the hold up, tiger?" the plant woman's voice was soft, like a rose petal in the rain.

"I am also quite curious as to how you ended up here." Fries leaned onto the table, his arms crossed. "It is not every day we get a new member to our Rouges Gallery."

"I have no idea why I'm here." Tai finally shrugged

"What do you mean you don't know?" Jarvis and Harley asked at the same time, both apparently confused and a bit secretly disappointed by his statement.

Tai was about to reply when a ringing sound went off over the intercom and a gruff voice issued that the mealtime was over. In only a few seconds, everyone stood up and had begun walking back towards the hallway they had come from when they first arrived. Back at the table, Fries had stood up silently and had started on his way while Jarvis stood up while picking up his hat.

"We must continue our conversation later," he stated, "Ta-ta for now, Cheshire cat!"

Tai blinked; it wasn't even the first full day in the asylum and he already had a nickname.

Harley meanwhile was still in deep thought about Tai's response as she sat there, leaving the plant woman to roll her eyes and get up to try and lead the blonde back to her cell. Seeing Tai sit there, she smirked and put her hands on her hips as she waited for him and her friend.

"You coming? Or are you going to go play with some string and a mouse?"

"I don't think I got your name." Tai ignored her remark as he picked the fork back up and had brought some of the food to his mouth.

"Name is Poison Ivy. And I wouldn't eat that if I were you; I don't eat what they serve here but even I don't know or trust what is in that slop."

"I'm used to taking risks," He put the food in his mouth and started to chew it slowly. It wasn't as bad as they made it out to be, unless they hated how chewy it was. He took a few more bites and then pushed the plate away, getting up to follow behind Harley and Poison Ivy.

"Huh? Wait about risks for what?" Harley had finally snapped out of her deep thinking and looked around at what was going on, confused as to how Ivy had gotten her up and walking without her realizing it.

"I don't see why you all made a big fuss over the food. It wasn't that bad."

"Wait for it." Poison Ivy still had that smirk on her face.

Right as the plant woman had finished speaking, Tai felt his stomach suddenly go a complete one-eighty. The food wasn't bad going down, but now he felt like it was slowly eating his insides. Whatever the cooks had put into it was clearly not approved by any health inspector beforehand. He clenched his stomach in pain and growled.

"I warned you didn't I?" Ivy chuckled at him and walked into her cell, turning her attention to some plants that needed watering . As the cell door closed, Tai could have sworn he had heard her talking to them.