Once Robin got everything figured out, he left to do a mission for the Bat. I figured it would do me some good to take a nap. Even though I had just woken up, I wanted to be out of here and the only way for my body to heal was if it was rested.
However, I became restless. The one time I wanted to relax, naturally was the one time I couldn't. With all of these tubes in my arm, I was practically restrained to this hospital bed.
In all my restlessness, I began thinking. The whole reason I was in this place was because of Doozie, the gang leader. I was on a mission for him and I never returned. I wondered what he thought of me and if he had ever let Jimmy, the one he suspected to be betraying him, off the hook, or even replaced me with him.
Then, the Joker. Everything happened so quickly, I doubted he was done with me. But this led me to wonder something else. Why go through all the trouble of keeping me alive while holding me hostage just to poison me with spoiled food? I couldn't wrap my mind around a conclusion to that. I knew the Joker was insane, but he surely wasn't stupid. There must've been some reason for all of this- for keeping me alive, for taking me to his home. I mean, he revealed his hide out to a victim. The only thing to do after that is poison me, I suppose. That's what he did after all. Even so, it still boggled my mind.
Robin came across my mind as well. He was just a kid, fighting bad guys all while trying to impress the girl he likes. To be so abnormal he sure was…normal. It seems his life was a lot like mine, filled with tragedy and mishap. But he still had normal teenaged boy worries. I wish I could've done what he had; made something of all those tragedies and mishaps, rather than recreate them for other people who were innocent like I was at one point.
And then, of course, Ginger. The girl I might've married if things would have played out right. I never knew I had so many underlying feelings for her until a while after her death. It's weird how death works. At one point they're here and then the next, they no longer exist. Yet the universe still goes on like it was when they were still a part of it. I hate death so much, I tried to ignore it. All the while, I had no idea that no matter how much I ignore the fact that my parents and my girl no longer are a part of this world, that doesn't make it any less real. I'm no less incomplete ignoring their deaths. I'm just as alone as I would've been had I accepted it. I even believed ignoring it was accepting it. How foolish of me.
"Wake up," I heard. I opened my eyes, never realizing they were closed and saw the old butler, Alfred. "I need to do a few tests, Master Vincent."
"Did I fall asleep?"
"It appears so," he replied. "If you don't mind, slipping this under your tongue." I let him put a thermometer under my tongue. After a few seconds it beeped and he removed it. He looked at the screen and then wrote something down on a sheet of paper inside a file.
"Everything okay?" I questioned.
"Your temperature is a couple degrees below normal. Shall I fetch some more blankets, sir?" he asked.
"Oh, no. I've always had a low temperature," I explained. "I've never known why."
"But it is normal, correct?"
"Yes, sir." Alfred then jotted something else down.
"When you first arrived I took your temperature and it was low then like it is now. I was afraid you were dying," he said.
"It worried some doctors when I was very small, but every test always came back normal. I guess I'm just cold blooded," I smirked. He did the same, not realizing how true a statement I had just made.
"If you don't mind, I'd like to take a swab of your cheek."
"I don't mind," I said. "What for?"
"The infection was in your blood and I want to make sure it doesn't appear in your saliva. Master Robin said your blood was looking very healthy when he checked it a few hours ago, though."
"Can I ask you a question?"
"Of course," he said, pulling a large Q-tip from a plastic container.
"How come you call everyone master?"
"Well," he began, "I am a servant. It's very respectful and it shows I understand my position. Open your mouth, please."
"How long have you been Batman's servant?"
"Quite some time now. I couldn't imagine serving anyone else at this point," he spoke, swabbing my cheek and then sealing it in a plastic bag. "This will only take an hour or so. I'll be back shortly with some fresh linens for you."
"Thank you," I said. Alfred left, and when he did, I noticed him pull a particular rock that seamlessly formed into the wall. After it shut though, I lost where it was at. However, I knew the general area. I decided while everyone was asleep or out tonight, I would finally find out where I was and then, if lucky enough, find a way out.
