Running out of Time
Something's wrong. Batman thought as he came to. He was sitting in the Batmobile. But he wasn't driving. So why was the car moving? And why were his wrists handcuffed in front of him?
Looking off to the side, he saw Batman driving. But there was something different about this one. He was much smaller, leaner. What was going on?!
Everything seemed to blur and the next thing Batman knew, he was strapped to a gurney and being wheeled down the hallway in Intensive Treatment. He was going to the elevator.
But Quinn, Joker and Batman were following him. Zsaz was pushing the gurney. The Scarface puppet was on the television screens, reciting the rules. "Get me out of here!" Somebody from the cells next to him called out. It sounded like Cash.
"Shut up!" Quinn yelled off to the side, holding her semi-automatic on her hip. "Can I keep him, sweetie? I'll walk him and feed him, I promise!"
"Just need to check your prisoner, my dear." A cerebral voice came beside him…Crane? Batman watched as the Scarecrow walked in front of him, holding his clipboard.
"Yeah, but be quick. He doesn't look too good." Quinn snapped.
"No, he doesn't, he hasn't been the same since his parents' death. We should really be gentle with him." Was this some kind of out of body experience? "What makes you tick Wayne?" Scarecrow mocked as he looked him over. "He's all yours, my dear!"
Batman looked at himself. Or rather, the leaner and smaller version of himself. "Get me out of here!" Batman found himself pleading. But the doppelganger didn't respond. Instead, he pushed up his cowl, revealing himself to be…Marjorie.
No.
No…his greatest fear come true…
"Oh goody, Mr. J! We're ready!" Quinn clapped.
"Let's get this party started!" Joker pulled out a pistol and fired at Batman. The last thing Batman saw was Marjorie smiling grimly at him.
A flash of light. He was back in Intensive, unstrapped. Marjorie and the others were gone and he was standing before the broken elevator shaft. What had happened…Scarecrow…it had to be.
Marjorie said that Croc's lair was in the basement, beneath the elevator shaft. Good thing Quinn destroyed it earlier.
Before Batman jumped onto the elevator cable, he put a grapple gun down and hid it just out of sight. For Marjorie. She'd be coming after him. He just knew it.
Finally…I made to the front of Intensive Treatment…God…I panted, leaning against a wall. The pain was back. Searing, blinding pain. Endorphin shot…I took the tube out of my duster coat pocket and jabbed it into my arm. Ouch! Within seconds, I felt much better. Ah…
"Marjorie?" Oracle came over my earpiece. "You should really rest…your pulse and temperature are spiking."
"No. Not until I help Batman." I stayed in the shadows, looking for some way into Intensive other than using the front doors. Just then, I saw an open vent, the damaged cover was beside it. Perfect. That's how he got in. Crouching down, I crept inside. "Where is he now?"
"He's climbing down the elevator shaft in Intensive."
"Hasn't he ever heard of the elevator?" I asked, slipping through the corridors. Fortunately, they were all deserted.
"Quinn blew them up earlier."
"Wish I had been there to see that." I mumbled dryly. "God knows how much I hate them." I finally reached the shafts. Sure enough, the only thing there was the cable. So how was I going to reach it? I couldn't jump that far…something caught my eye…
A grapple gun, hidden behind a support beam. Batman…he left it for me. He must've. I picked it up and aimed at the cable. It shot out, gripping the cable. Within seconds, I got pulled off my feet and went flying at the cable. "Oh God!" I gripped the cable tightly, hyperventilating. I made it. Hooray. Now to climb down.
"Are you ok?" Oracle asked.
"Yeah, had a bit of a scare. Forgot how powerful these grapple guns are. Batman left one for me." I said as I shimmied down.
"Are you sure he didn't drop it?" Oracle asked.
"It was hidden, Babs. Why else did he hide it unless it was for me?" I said, getting closer and closer to the crushed elevator car. I saw the emergency hatch open. He's probably by Croc's lair by now.
Hold on, Bruce. I'm coming.
Batman lifted up the emergency hatch at the bottom of the elevator car. The frayed cable hung on below. He saw the opening to the basement just out of reach. Now, if only he could make it…
Swinging, he jumped and landed. But something felt wrong. The place began breaking apart. Marjorie called out to him as the Bat signal went up…here we go again.
I reached the car, finding the floor's hatch open. Sitting down, I climbed onto the cable. Here we go, Marjorie. I aimed the grabble gun at the shaft opening. Three. Two. One…I fired. This time, I was prepared and jumped, landing on the ground. Yes! I did it!
Now to find Batman…I walked slowly, keeping my eyes and ears peeled. I didn't have far to go…Croc's lair was just at the end of the hallway…
Come on, Bruce…Batman pushed himself forward to the Bat signal, feeling exhaustion creep over him. God…how much fear toxin had he ingested?
He collapsed. "Come on, Bruce." Marjorie's voice came up from behind. "You've got to keep going. Come on!" Batman felt somebody push him up. Prodded by Marjorie, he made his way to the Bat signal. Both of them pushed the light upon Scarecrow.
"No!" There was a blinding light. Batman came to in the sewers. He was holding Scarecrow by the neck.
"You've ingested enough toxin to drive ten men insane! What are you?!" Scarecrow screeched. He raised his hand high into the air, the needles glowed.
"The goddamned Batman, that's who!" Marjorie? BANG! A gun fired from behind him. Scarecrow screamed as the glove apparatus on his hand shattered. Blood spilled everywhere.
No…Batman thought as he let go of Scarecrow, falling to his knees. He watched Marjorie fly after Scarecrow, pummeling him mercilessly.
God…don't let her become what I became…without hope. Without anything to look forward to besides sleepless nights and endless guilt…
All my rage came out. The bastard was going to pay for what he did to Sam, Batman and me. Because his Freddy Kruger glove had been destroyed, I knew he couldn't hurt me or anyone else again for that matter. I punched him, kicked him and threw him everywhere.
"Stop! Stop!" Scarecrow begged.
"That's what Sam begged." I hissed, grabbing him by his throat. The man was so thin and bony he practically weighed nothing. He practically felt like a rag doll in my hands. I held him by the throat over the rushing current, looking at him coldly. God…revenge would be so sweet now…
"Marjorie…what are you doing?" Batman's weakened voice came from behind. Batman…Bruce…he needed help. If I took out Scarecrow now…I'd lose Bruce. Scarecrow would've taken somebody else I loved just as he had tricked me into taking Sam.
And like before, I would have myself to blame. Except this time, it wasn't too late.
I threw Scarecrow at the wall, sparing his life. He gasped in fright and pain. "You're not worth my time."
Batman felt himself slipping away. No…I failed Marjorie again. I'm sorry Sam… "Hang on." Marjorie? What was she doing?
His glove slipped off and part of his body armor got pushed up, revealing his arm. "Don't give in. Not now." Marjorie begged as a sharp pain hit him. A cold rush coursed up his arm and through his body.
Everything became clearer, sharper. The antitoxin was taking effect. Marjorie was smiling at him, her face dangerously pale and her eyes turning a pale green. She came for him. Marjorie came.
There was a shuffling noise as Scarecrow got to his feet. His uninjured hand held a burlap bag over the running water. "If either of you move…then Gotham will experience madness for over a hundred years!"
"Don't drop that!" Marjorie hollered.
There was a loud swimming noise. Uh oh…SPLASH! Killer Croc jumped out of the stream, grabbing Crane and pulling him down to the murky depths. The bag dropped harmlessly on the ground.
"I'm coming for you Batman!" Killer Croc growled, the sound echoed through the dank and malodorous sewers.
I rolled down Batman's sleeve and slipped his glove back on before he stood up. He was ok. "Hopefully Crane will give him something to choke on…" At once I felt weak, too weak to even feel the pain anymore. My knees gave way.
"Marjorie…" Batman caught me. "Hold on. Don't give up on me. Don't you dare give up on me." I felt him carry me away from the sewers, putting me down gently into a corner. No light fell upon it. If anybody was dumb enough to come down here, at least I wouldn't be seen.
"Endorphin shot…duster pocket…" I felt my shaking hand move to the pocket where I kept it. Batman took my hint and took out the tube. He stabbed my arm with it. There was a sharp pain and a warm numbing sensation. "That feels so much better." Batman pulled my coat closer around me before turning away, back to the lair. "Sure you know what you're doing?" I asked.
"I have to be."
Batman returned to the entrance of Croc's liar. First to find a way back…he remembered what Marjorie had said. He put a sonic emitter on a tube on the wall. Then set a trap for Croc…he put some explosive gel on the floor. That should do it.
Now how he set the computer to track the spores. The nearest one was five hundred yards away. Batman walked to the end of the tunnel. There was no walkway on the water. Instead, there were floating crates. He was going to have to walk carefully, lest the sound waves give his location away to Killer Croc.
Marjorie…don't give up now…
I was falling in and out of consciousness. I didn't have much longer…but I didn't regret my choice. Batman would've surely gone insane had I not stepped in and helped. Maybe even…
"Marjorie?" Oracle's voice came in my ear. "Marjorie, your vitals are freefalling."
"Tell me something I don't know." I mumbled. God, I'm so cold…I shivered, yet dripped with sweat.
"Thank God…Batman's getting the spores for the antidote now." Oracle sighed. "Marjorie, talk to me, just talk to me. Stay with me."
"About what?" I asked, my eyes were beginning to blur.
"Anything…tell me how you met Bruce. Tell me how it happened."
She was trying to keep me on the line. "It was a fundraiser for the G.C.P.D. Widows and Orphans Fund, three years back. I went with Sam and the others from Precinct 13 to support it. It was a charity raffle. Bruce had offered a date with him as something to bid for. I put in a ticket, thinking that even if I didn't get it, at least I could say I bid on a date with Bruce Wayne. I got it." I began laughing, remembering how it happened. "I didn't learn until later that Sam and some of the other guys had chipped in additional tickets in my name. Just so I could have a shot at winning it. Bruce and I clicked right after that…"
Batman came upon the spores at the end of the tunnel. Yes. He made it. Using a Batarang, he chopped down the green sac. He scooped as much of it up into a vial as he could. It wasn't nearly enough, he needed more. He recalibrated the computer. There was another spore sac, three-hundred yards away this time. Batman began slinking through the sewers again.
Hold on Marjorie.
"Now it's your turn. Tell me about meeting Sam."
I could just see Oracle smiling nostalgically. "I was taking some paperwork to Dad at the G.C.P.D. office. He was in a meeting, so I agreed to wait outside his office. That's when I had the feeling that I was being watched. It wasn't a bad feeling, anything but. I looked up and he was smiling at me. It was his big brown eyes and warm smile that won me over. Then he said, 'Hey, do you know how much a polar bear weighs?' I shook my head and he replied back 'Enough to break the ice. Hi, my name is Sam Wilde.' I thought it was cute and we started talking after that. By the time Dad's meeting was done, we had exchanged phone numbers and set up a date."
I felt sad, hearing that. I owed it to her. She needed to know what happened the night I killed my brother. But would I be strong enough to do it?
One more sample. That should be enough. Batman thought as he recalibrated the computer one last time. This time, the spores were a hundred yards away. He crept through the sewers. Water dripped. It was quiet. Too quiet.
CRACK! SPLASH! Croc jumped out of the water. He rushed at Batman. Calmly, the Dark Knight threw a Batarang at the shock collar. It made contact, sending sparks everywhere. Grabbing his neck, Croc fell back in the water. Batman began walking again.
"I will get you, Batman!"
He knew Marjorie was still alive. Oracle would've said something if she wasn't…but he knew he was running out of time.
"Marjorie, you're quiet. Is something brothering you?" Oracle asked.
I had to do it. Now or never. I took a deep breath. "Barbara, there's something I should've told you a long time ago. Now don't get mad at your father or Batman, they promised to let me tell you. Because I felt then and still feel like I should do it." Oracle was silent. I wiped a couple of tears from my face. "It's my fault Sam died. Scarecrow didn't kill him. I did." I began to cry.
After a moment, I continued. "A report came over dispatch that Scarecrow had escaped and was pumping a new batch of fear toxin throughout Arkham. District 13 was sent in to help Batman take him down. I still remember Sam and Tom telling us to stick together and to never leave our partners behind. Sam and I got paired up together and were sent to clear the elevator in Intensive Treatment. That's when I saw Scarecrow. I had a clear chance to grab him. I ran after him, ignoring Sam's pleas to come back. He followed me into the elevator. It closed and we began descending.
"We were trapped in there. I turned and saw Scarecrow there, holding his needle hand up threateningly. That was it. I had to do something. I emptied my Beretta into him. He kept crying at me to stop, wondering what the hell I was doing. But I kept firing, thinking that he was bluffing. Then the fear toxin wore off. I hadn't shot Scarecrow at all, but Sam. He died in my arms. I still have nightmares of what happened." I was sobbing by this point. Yet I felt so…cleansed. Like a huge weight had been taken off my shoulders. "Batman came and gave me the antitoxin. I woke up in Bruce's arms. That's how I knew who he was…afterwards…I put in a transfer to Arkham, I guess to atone for what I did. I was never going to let Scarecrow hurt another person again. Bruce couldn't take that…we fought and…well, that was the end of us."
Oracle hadn't said anything. Was she crying? Was she angry? Not that I blamed her. "I wanted to tell you this so many times. But I was always afraid of how you'd react. I know you may never forgive me. And that's ok, I don't think I deserve forgiveness after what I did. But I want you to know that I am so sorry."
XXXXXXXX
Batman had collected the final specimens and activated the sonar transmitter. The entrance was six hundred yards away. Nothing he couldn't handle.
He was about three quarters of the way there when it happened. SNAP! CRACK! The crates behind him began to break. Croc was following him. Time to run. Batman began running. He jumped over gates. The yards counted down, but Croc was keeping up. He turned a corner. Come on, Wayne, hurry up!
Batman jumped onto the solid ground in front of Croc's lair. Batman was almost to the end when a gate fell down, blocking him off. He was trapped! But the trap was still set. He took out the detonator.
Croc began running. Batman had to time it just right…Croc was right over the gel…now! He pressed the button. BANG! The gel blew, concrete broke and fell apart. Croc fell through the hole.
"I will kill you Batman!" Croc yelled as he tumbled into the blackness beneath.
Take a number and get in line, as Marjorie would say. Batman thought as he raised the gate and crawled through. Marjorie…?
"Oracle? Is Marjorie still…?"
"She's alive, but barely. I don't think she could hang on much longer." Oracle sounded upset, like she had been crying. Had Marjorie confessed what had happened to Sam? "Bruce, hurry."
I'm coming Marjorie…
I was so out of it that I didn't hear Batman blowing Croc into oblivion. I heard footsteps coming closer to me. It was so familiar. "Sam? Is that you?" Rolling over, I saw Sam walking towards me. He was smiling gently, just like he always had. A glow surrounded him and for some reason, he was wearing a long blue cloak over a formal suit and a matching blue fedora. A medallion dangled from his neck. Is this it? Am I going to die? "Always knew you'd come for me."
"Marjorie? Marjorie, Batman's almost there, don't you dare give up…" Oracle pleaded.
"Sam…? Is it time for me? I wish it wasn't. I can't leave Bruce. Too many people have abandoned him. Please, Sam. Let me live. After all the shit we put each other through, I still love Bruce and I want to spend the rest of my life with him." I felt myself crying. "That is, if he'll take me."
Sam knelt down beside me, still smiling. A warm gloved hand stroked my temple. My pleas hadn't worked. It was time for me to go. "Forgive me." I said, holding out my arms. He picked me up, holding me close. As I looked at him, he faded away, leaving Batman in his place.
I was still alive. I had a second chance. I thought as I passed out.
Batman checked the Batcomputer in the Batcave. The first batch of antidote was almost ready. "How's it going?" Oracle asked over the comm link.
"It's taking much longer than I anticipated. But it'll be enough for Fries to mass produce." The four vials near the computer filled up with green liquid. It was ready. Batman attached one of the vials to the jet injector. He put the other three into his utility belt.
Marjorie was resting on a made up cot, still. Green veins snaked across her face and her breathing was shallow. She was almost out of time…Batman unbuttoned her shirt and injected the antidote into her neck. Marjorie gasped but didn't awaken. The antidote was immediately beginning to take effect. The veins were fading away and her breathing was growing deeper. She was going to be ok. She was going to live.
"Batman?" Oracle asked.
"I got the antidote to Marjorie. She'll be ok."
"Good…Batman…Marjorie told me what happened to Sam."
God… "Don't be angry at her, it wasn't her fault…"
"No. Not that at all. Dad told me what happened, after Marjorie and I got into that nasty fight. She still blames herself, doesn't she? I know it wasn't her fault."
"I know." Batman stroked Marjorie's hair. He heard her confession to Sam, no doubt a hallucination brought on by the TITAN poison.
How she still loved him.
And he still loved her.
The first thing I heard was the sound of rushing water, almost like a waterfall. It was cool, crisp, damp. The pain was gone. Where am I? I opened my eyes. The Batcave?
"How're you feeling?" Batman asked me.
"Much better. What I wouldn't do for a good cup of coffee right now though." I moaned, sitting up. That's when I noticed that my shirt was undone. I looked at Batman.
"I had to inject the antidote into your neck." Batman explained as I redid the buttons.
"I'm not saying anything." I said. My hand touched his exposed face. It was warm. But I needed to see his face. Batman didn't object as I pushed his cowl up, revealing Bruce's face with its cool blue eyes and dark black hair. "Bruce, I know this is going to sound really awkward, but I love you. I didn't realize until I was dying how much you mean to me. I want to be with you."
"Marjorie…" Bruce sighed.
"I know what you're going to say. 'We can't be together because I can't protect you from all the people I fight.' But can't you respect my decision?"
"There's more to it than that." Bruce looked away. "You saw what being Batman did to me. I didn't want that for you. The real reason I didn't want you to join Arkham was because I was afraid you'd become like me, walking the fine line between justice and vengeance. When that mugger killed my parents and I made the choice to fight crime, any chance for a normal life was gone. I didn't want you to throw away your life."
I looked at him, finally understanding everything. "Bruce, look at me." Touching his cheek, I turned his face to me. "You've done so much for everyone else. I think it's high time someone did something for you. I know that I want you to be part of my life. And I want to be part of yours. You think we can't live normal lives. But have you ever thought that we might not be normal people? Let's carve out something for us. One that involves our promises and yet each other." Bruce was silent. "Well, aren't you going to say something?"
"Thank you, Marjorie Wilde." Bruce said. He kissed me. Shocks coursed through my body. I hugged him, returning his kisses in kind. Bruce caressed my scalp. I rubbed his hair. God…I've missed this…
CRACK! SNAP! A loud rumbling echoed throughout the cave. Rocks began tumbling down. Batman grabbed Marjorie and they jumped off the platform. Using a grapple gun, he pulled onto a walkway. They watched in disbelief as large vines erupted out of the cave walls. The vines wrapped themselves around the Batcomputer, destroying it and other equipment.
A hushed silence fell over the group. Batman held onto Marjorie. "You ok?" He asked, stroking her hair.
"I will be as soon as my heart rate drops back to normal." Marjorie chuckled. "Guess Ivy got her fingers on some TITAN."
"And now we've got to stop her and Joker." Batman said, leading the way through the cave.
"We…?" Marjorie asked, surprised. "First time I've ever heard you say that to me."
Batman looked back at her and smiled. "Never leave your partner behind, right?"
A/N: Yay! Some action between Marjorie and Batman (finally!) I've been waiting to write this chapter for a long time now…if Marjorie's vision of Sam sounds familiar to some readers, it should…fresh baked virtual chocolate chip cookies to the first person who can guess which DC character Sam resembles!
I'm still waiting for more ideas for the Arkham City sequel…any ideas what you guys want to see in the sequel...?
