Chapter Two:

The Escape

"Ethan has past the point of no return... Now...only Clayface remains..." Bruce sighed depressingly as he sat in the batcave, starring up at his computer monitor. During those six months for Bruce...it was life changing. Joker had escaped and kidnapped Ethan Bennett, whom has been best friends with Bruce ever since middle school years, and the clown introduced the detective to unstable chemicals. Joker done this horrible scheme out of anger and hatred toward the police and the rage of all of his failed attempts to bring Gotham to its knees. When Ethan -- or now to be Clayface -- was captured, many medical scientists have tried all sorts of medicines to try and bring back the human...but failed. Clayface was thus held at Arkham for his condition...unfortunately, he later broke loose. No one has heard of the creature since; obviously, he was 'laying low' until the heat was off. Bruce had never given up on Clayface though. Even as we speak, the young billionaire is still striving to come up with a cure for the clay monster. No matter what it took, Bruce is determined to bring his former childhood friend back.

Bruce turned in his chair as he heard Alfred come down from the private elevator and into the batcave. "Still putting all your time into this cure, Sir?" Alfred asked curiously, and a little surprised as well. Without a word, Bruce nodded. Alfred walked up to the young man and put a hand on his shoulder in a comforting manner. "I am sure you will find a cure to Detective Bennett's affliction."

Bruce still seemed very solemn about this. "I wish this was easier said than done," he replied tiredly, putting a hand to his head in frustration. "Joker may look half-witted, but he's far from it. I know every time he makes new chemicals...he makes it very difficult so no one can find cures for them. People look at the Batman as a man with a cure for anything that Joker throws at them...but I'm not. It gets more and more complicated with every new chemical formula. His gases and concoctions get more dangerous every time he uses them..." He slouched in his chair ever so slightly. "I believe...this time around...he won. I just...can't find a cure for Ethan...Clayface..."

"This is rather surprising to hear this from you," said Alfred, his tone shocked by Bruce's words. "You never gave up hope for a cure when the Joker kidnapped and exposed the citizens to his chemical bath. On those days, I have never seen you more determined than ever to help them." He took a step away from Bruce; about to do his chores of tidying up the batcave. "I know the young Hathaway boy is very grateful for your actions, and so are many other citizens that were cured by your medical efforts." Alfred watched Bruce turn back to the computer monitor. "So I say, Master Bruce: do not give up on detective Bennett." Bruce remained silent. "Well, before I attend my chores of tidying up this cave..." he handed Bruce a very festive looking card. "Mr. Hathaway has invited you to his sibling's party."

Bruce examined the card. On the front it said, 'You're invited to--' he opened it and the rest of the sentences were inside, 'Adam Edward Hathaway's 10th Birthday Party!' He looked over the address. "'Dave and Busters...'" He repeated the card's words. "I think I've heard of that place..." After a few quiet moments in thought, he continued, "Yes, I remember: one of my coworkers at Wayne Industries invited me to his daughter's party. I canceled though; I had...other matters to deal with that night..."

Alfred remembered, "I, too, remember this, for those were the nights the Joker decided to impersonate you as the Dark Knight."

"This time...I don't intend on missing Eddie's party," Bruce said somewhat determinedly. "I'm not going to let Eddie, Shaun, or the rest of the family down."

Alfred nodded to this, "Very good, Sir, I'll make the call to Mr. Hathaway now that you are attending the party." Then the faithful butler left Bruce to go back up to the Wayne manor and make the call to Shaun Hathaway.

A small smile came onto Bruce's face. "I wonder what to get Eddie for his birthday..." he wondered. "Maybe I should call Xack for suggestions..."

Instead of calling Xack though, Bruce decided to visit her apartment complex and ask her himself. Besides, he knew this would be a good time to check up on her and make sure the girl is doing alright. He remembered the day that Xack was finally released from Arkham Asylum...as sane. Xack's doctor, Dr. Bagley, had called both Shaun and Bruce to see him. "Even though she's being released, I would very much like you two to keep an eye on her," Dr. Bagley had told the two men. "I have recommended her to take therapy sessions, but she disagreed to. I know Miss Hathaway is a very nice girl, and I don't want to see her back at Arkham again under any circumstances; so please, just check on her every now and then...when you two get the chance..." And that's just what Bruce is doing now.

Alfred pulled up to the complex and Bruce exited his limousine to see Xack. When the man entered the building, Alfred slowly drove away; knowing that Bruce would probably be at her place for awhile.

Bruce walked up a couple flight of stairs and just as he came up to Xack's door, a hefty man immediately left her room. He had seen this man before... It was Tom, the apartment maintenance guy. Tom tipped his hat for Bruce. "Mr. Wayne..." he greeted, but then went past the rich man to go back to his own apartment room. As Bruce turned around to Xack's door, he saw the girl standing there in the doorway.

"Um...hi..." said Xack quietly, waving shyly. "Tom was...just fixing the air conditioner again. For some reason...it just doesn't want to blow out cold air." She now looked up at Bruce. "So...what are you doing here?..." The two were silent for a moment, and Xack noticed why. "Oh, geez -- I'm sorry. Come in..." she gestured courteously for him to come into her apartment, and as he stepped inside, he couldn't believe just how clean the place is.

As Xack shut the door behind her, locking it up so no one else would be able to get in, Bruce walked up to the girl and asked with concern, "How have you been doing?" Bruce frowned when Xack dismissed him.

"Psht, I know why you're really here..." Xack said coolly, narrowing her dark eyes at Bruce. She plopped herself down on her black couch. "You...you got an invite card to Eddie's birthday..."

Bruce nodded and seated himself next to her. "Yes I did...is that a problem?..."

"I wish it was about my birthday... Doesn't anyone care about me?" "No...no problem," Xack answered back softly, squirming around on the couch uncomfortably. A harsh cough came afterwards.

Bruce cleared his throat, knowing that this situation was becoming rather awkward. "Listen, Xack, I did want to come by and see how you are. I care about you..." He saw the girl have a wry little smile on her face, but she still didn't look at him though. "Also...I, uh, I don't know what to get your brother for his birthday."

Xack gave out a slight chuckle of amusement. "Um...well, I know one gift you can get him..." She suddenly fell silent to make sure Bruce was listening. "Eddie loves Pokemon, so you should buy him, like, lots of Pokemon crap -- well, he does really want the first season of the show, which is really hard to find..."

Bruce thought on her suggestion. "Yes...I didn't think about that... Thank-you Xack."

The girl shrugged her shoulders as if it wasn't such a big deal. "I'm just glad to help out...any way I can," she replied back somewhat cheerfully. Then...a thought came over her. In her head, she saw the Joker's devilish grin, and his red eyes glowing back at her. His sharp, yellow pupils almost burning a hole into her. "Are you going to be mine this time?" She could hear his voice -- his words... "I...I saw Joker the other day..." Xack announced almost shamefully, as she knew Bruce was against it.

Bruce was not at all thrilled to hear this. "You're still visiting Joker?" He asked with anger rising in each word said. "Haven't I told how dangerous and sick he can be?"

Xack rolled her eyes at him. "Yes, I've heard this lecture before -- please...don't be like my dad. He went on and on about things he's told me about tons of times!" She breathed out heavily; she was getting angry as well. "It's just...with Joker...I have so much in common with him. I know it's hard to understand, because of the way he is... It's actually easier to talk with him...than with you..." Xack bit her lip gently as she watched Bruce sniff with some resentment. "But, um...getting past that... When I saw him yesterday...he...said some disturbing things--"

"Like what?" Bruce interrupted.

Xack fidgeted with her fingers nervously, "Well...he said to me...that he's going to escape...and come after me again..."

This was no surprise to hear. Bruce had heard this a few other times from Xack. It was no shock at all for Joker to make idle threats to come after people, because over half the time, the clown doesn't keep his word on it; not even when it came to the girl. For the past months, Bruce had noticed that Joker didn't seem interested in Xack anymore. The twisted criminal kidnapped Ethan, tried to make the city die of laughter, and the crazy man even tried to impersonate Batman...but all failed. Overall, none of it involved Xack in being captured by Joker. "You have told me this story several times before..." Bruce reminded her calmly. Xack couldn't believe that he wasn't taking her seriously. "I believe Joker just wants to scare you." He suddenly stopped and saw the worried look on her. "If Joker does happen to escape again, I'll keep an eye on you...from the distance, of course. Jokers doesn't know where you live...right?..."

"Um..." Xack turned her body away from Bruce. "Yeah, he does. When Joker wanted the city to die of laughter... Right before he released the gas, he sent a 'present' to me, and inside was a gas mask; he also left a little card, saying -- like, 'If I want to see you laugh, I don't want you to die laughing' -- um...yeah, something like that..."

Bruce smiled reassuringly and patted Xack's knee. Even though he forgot for a moment that she hated to be touched, but she wasn't the type to remind people. "Please don't worry, Xack. As I said, this is just an attempt to scare you. If he did ever escape, I'm certain it won't have anything to do with you."

Joker cackled softly through clenched teeth as he sat at a table and drew with markers wedged between his toes. He flipped his head back so the dreadlock hair would not shield his eyes from the drawing he was trying to do. That sinister grin never left his face as he continued to doodle on the paper in front of himHis eyes wide, and a crazed look came over him, as if he was possessed by something. "Kidnap cops -- tried that. Turn people into cards -- tried that. Gas Gotham for not knowing comedy! -- tried that. Be Batman 'cause he gets all the attention around here! -- tried that!" He stopped his doodling to pause in failure. "Why don't any of my plans ever work? They're ingenious. They're comedy. They're my ideas, and I'm the smartest one here!"

Joker growled quietly as he heard cackling from a certain approaching person. "So much for being the 'smartest', eh screw-loose?" The Penguin laughed as he leaned against the table Joker happened to be working at.

"Shud-up, birdbrain!" Joker snorted back at Penguin, "I don't see you coming up with anything worthy of getting us out of here!"

Penguin scoffed, "What do you mean 'us'? If anyone's getting out of here, it's me -- not you." He examined Joker's drawing with half closed eyes, as if he was only somewhat curious, "So what you drawing there?" He asked uncaringly.

Joker gave off a few, low-key chuckles as he used his other foot to shove the drawing across the table for Penguin to see. Penguin took up the piece of paper in his chubby, little hands and looked to see what the crazy clown drew. He raised an eyebrow at the art of Joker...or, could it be even called 'art'? What the 'classy criminal' saw was red smears all over the paper, and...is that Batman in the middle of all of it? Joker giggled childishly, proud of his piece of work, "Do you like it?" He squeaked, his voice rising to a high-pitch. "That's what Batsy would look like if he was 'sliced-n-diced' by me! Hee, hee...HA HA...HAHAHAHAAAH!" Penguin covered his ears as Joker let out his pent-up laughter that filled the entire recreational area. The other patients protected their ears as well.

As Joker's high shrills of happiness died down, Penguin scoffed at him once more, "Yeah, yeah, yeah... You can draw yourself killin' the Bat, but so far, I don't see that happening..." Joker shot a dirty look at him.

Joker threw down his markers on the table and perched himself up on the chair. "It seems you and I have a little problem...don't we, Pengy?" He stated in his high, innocent-like tone. A wide grin came about on his face once more.

Penguin flashed his monocle at the clown, "Yeah, so what's it to you?" He questioned gruffly. "You got any ideas of how to get us out?"

The clown chuckled, "And why would I tell you my great ideas?... Aren't you the one who just said you rather go by yourself?..."

Penguin snorted, and turned away, "Fine, have it your way, clowny!" And Joker watched the chubby, little villain practically wobble away from him.

Joker, himself, hopped off the chair and made his way on over to the couches, for he felt the need to watch some TV; after all, he had nothing to do until later in the evening where he could plot his escape... As he sat there, cross-legged and bonded, a woman who sat in a lounge chair close by, starred curiously at the odd clown. This particular patient had long, blonde hair, light hazel eyes, and a fair face, and had bandages all wrapped around her forearms. Her gaze never left the Joker. When he still didn't seem to notice her presence, the woman left the lounge chair and sat on the other end of the couch. Joker briefly took a glance at this woman and groaned irritably. "What do you want?" He wondered, already sounding annoyed.

The woman patient, named Alyssa, scooted herself closer to Joker and said in a scratchy voice, "I heard you're looking for a sidekick..." She smiled eerily when he turned his head her way.

"Hmph." Joker starred at her hard, "And who told you this?"

Alyssa shrugged, "I heard you talking to yourself yesterday...about wanting some 'sidekick' of your own..."

"Eavesdropping, huh?" Said Joker, half amused, half angered. "If I wasn't tied up at the moment, I would strangle your skinny neck for listening!" Alyssa didn't seem frightened by these words, for she's heard this numerous times from him. She merely blinked at him with sullen eyes. "Besides, I don't want you as a sidekick. I don't even like you. I hate you..." He barred his jagged teeth at her before turning back to the TV. Alyssa 'hmphd' as well before she got up and returned to her lounge chair. As Joker eyed all the patients around him, the thought of being trapped crept back into his mind. "I'm getting out of here... This asylum is so dull!"

With that...Joker waited quietly in his cell until late in the evening. How the orderly are so gullible. It didn't take long for him to take action. "A little acting, and I'll be outta here in no time..." He made horrible coughing sounds, and by hearing his Xack do this around him a few other times, it really paid off when it came to pretending to be seriously ill. Within a minute, an orderly practically threw open the cell door and crouched down to the clown's level to make sure he was alright. Instead of sobbing about how sick he wasn't, Joker stopped his unwell behavior and smiled wickedly at the aiding orderly. Before the man had time to realize what Joker was planning, the clown grabbed his head by the feet and thrust the man hard to the floor. Immediately when his head hit the hard floor, the orderly went unconscious. "And I only thought Batman had the peanut brain!" Joker got to his feet and ran out of his confined room. He maneuvered around in his jacket for awhile before he finally got his arms free. Joker cackled with glee as he threw the clothing off of himself. "Go to the hideout...and change out of these tacky clothes -- eeeww!" All the patients in their cells could hear the echoing of Joker's psychotic laughter as the clown himself escaped the asylum.

JOKER ESCAPES ARKHAM ASYLUM. WHAT WILL THE CRAZY CRIME CLOWN PLOT THIS TIME?

Penguin snarled, growled, and tore up the newspaper he read the next day of Joker's escape from Arkham. The other quiet patients at the recreational center gazed at the criminal with tired eyes. "That screw-loose is gonna get all the press before me! That's not fair! He always gets on the news, but me? -- Nnooooooo... Penguin never gets any air time!" He crossed his little arms and grumbled some curse words under his breath. "I got to get out of this place...and do me a crime people can read about in newspapers." He snickered as he started to think. "Now...what can I do that will get the peoples attention around here?..."

Author's Note: Well...I'm really hoping the story is starting to get a little bit more interesting. As the chapters go by, the story does get more darker and sinister... Well, I still hoped you enjoyed this anyways.