Chapter 20: The Arkham Lullaby
Batman's grip was rough as he tugged the groaning form of Harley Quinn off the floor.
All her precious goons were lying injured and unconscious around her on what had once been the electrified floor of the penitentiary, she being the only one he'd spared the hits.
It wasn't because of chivalry that he had let her stay awake, but rather the curious small slip of paper he swiped from the neckline of her revealing outfit.
"Hey-hey! Hands off the merchandise! That's my party list!" she yelled at him angrily.
"Be quiet" he growled as he examined the dirty list.
It consisted mostly of names many he knew well from his rogues gallery though many of them were crossed out.
· Selina Kyle (Catwoman) - #717 :(*Crossed out*
· Harvey Dent (Two-Face) - #514 :(*Crossed out*
· Jervis Tetch (Mad Hatter) - #413 :(*Crossed out*
· Basil Karlo (Clayface) - #792 :)
· Waylon Jones (Killer Croc) - #211 :)
· Oswald Cobblepot (Penguin) - #349 :(*Crossed out*
· Arnold Wesker (Ventriloquist) - #883 :(*Crossed out*
"Why the smiles next to certain names?" He showed Harley the list as she got to her feet with a huff.
"You're the detective you tell me. NARHG!" she roared in fury as she lunged at him, only to land back on the floor with a heavy thud as the Bat lazily swept her back down. Keeping her arm in a painfully twisted lock, he quickly pulled out his cryptographic sequencer and scanned her hand print.
Once it was in the system, he was quick to shove it's owner into a nearby cell, the bars of which shut on her even as she reached out to claw at his face.
"Ngh! You won't find Mista J!" she snarled as she shook the bars "He's got a secret lab in the gardens and-oh crap!" she cursed herself as she quickly shut her mouth.
"Yep, I know" Batman allowed himself a small smirk of amusement at the villainess's stupidity even as she cried out desperately.
"Just you wait he'll get me out you'll see…you'll see." She trailed off into tears.
But Batman didn't wait around to watch her dissolve into a nervous wreck as he put a hand to the com unit in his cowl.
"Oracle. Harley is, hmph, subdued and I have her prints scanned" he snorted derisively.
"So you can find the secret lab in the gardens?" the feminine voice of Barbara Gordon, aka Oracle, spoke in his ear.
"Yes. Harley's been everywhere on the island. So I'm calibrating the scanner to only show the most recent ones with traces of chlorophyll"
"Okay listen, be careful" Oracle said warningly in his ear "I rerouted a Wayne-Tech satellite to show thermal scans on the island. The gardens are showing up hot. Something bad is happening there"
"I know" Batman growled as he scanned the area and followed a trail of Harley's handprints across the room and out a nearby door. "Is there any word on Mina Poole's whereabouts"
"Negative on that" he could hear Oracle tapping away at her computer keyboard "but I have a hunch Joker must've found her again. I've snagged some of the footage from the Arkham mansion security cameras. Looks like Poole was snatched up by Jervis Tetch only a few minutes after you saved her from Crane."
"and where is Tetch now?" Batman frowned as he quietly slunk in the shadows of a darkened hallway.
"Yeah, there's the funny thing. Poole managed to get the jump on him and escaped on her own leaving him trapped in one of the smaller rec rooms. There's footage of her locking him in and yelling at Joker on a screen, but after that everything goes dark and switches to a looped feed."
"When was this?" Batman frowned. If she'd been yelling at Joker, wouldn't he have seen Joker's message on one of the security televisions?
"While you were looking for Doctor Young and her notes on the formula in the Mansion." Oracle sighed.
"Joker must've hacked the cameras and snatched her while I was busy with Zsasz and Young" Batman muttered to himself angrily. Just what was Joker playing at? Why was he so invested in obtaining this one person?
True he had his suspicions, suspicions that other Arkham inmates like the Riddler also seemed to have.
But it couldn't be true, could it. There was no way Joker could've ever…
"Send me the scans of the gardens. It's time I got to the bottom of this"
Mina stared up at the decrepit ceiling above her head.
She knew it well, she'd only been in here less than two or three hours ago. Or was it more now? She turned her head to look at the nearby wall. It was just midnight, nearly five hours since she'd first woken up in this derelict room.
But unlike last time, she wasn't alone.
Joker was sitting beside her, his tall lanky form positively bouncing as he pressed a button in his hands.
Close by there was the sizzling of electricity and a muffled grunt of pain from where a young man with dark hair, pale skin and the letter J branded into his cheek, writhed as the taser electrocuted him again and again, each time with more power.
"Hmm-he-he! Had enough yet my Jaybird? No, how about some of this?"
Jason Todd writhed his teeth biting down hard onto the wooden stick wedged between his teeth to stop himself from yelling in pain as another jolt of electricity passed through his body. His hands were bound behind his back, as were his ankles so he couldn't do anything to rip the small conductive cords that tied him to the Joker's torture toy.
He glanced sideways at Mina, who had turned dazedly around to meet his gaze her lips still curled slightly in a smile. Despite her higher immunity to it, the laughing gas she had inhaled earlier had yet to make its way completely out of her system. Hence why she had all her limbs and even her body strapped down to the medical gurney she lay in.
But he could make out the anger in her dark eyes as she looked up at the madman that had imprisoned them both.
Joker caught the look, his smirk dropping slightly as he mock pouted.
"Come now Darling, why so serious? You've got to admit it's funny watching bird boy squirm."
When Mina didn't say anything and just continued to glare up at him, he chuckled.
"Oh I know, you're grumpy because you're tired. I mean it is way past your bedtime isn't it? Don't worry, I know just the thing to help you sleep"
He cleared his throat and opened his mouth and began to sing in a raspy voice.
Hush little Darling don't say a word,
Daddy's gonna kill you a bat and a bird,
He pressed the button to the taser and giggled maliciously as Jason tried his best to not squirm and failed miserably.
And if that bird and bat ain't dead,
Zsasz is gonna paint all of Arkham red,
Again he pressed the button, and again Jason writhed in agony.
And if Zsasz can't get his mark tonight,
Scarecrow's gonna give 'em one hell of a fright,
He put down the controller and stood to his feet, towering over both his prey as he strode towards a metal case that was now sitting nearby in the corner of the dirty floor.
And when scary Johnny's had his treat,
It'll be time for big ol' Croc to eat,
Mina felt her heart hammer in her chest as he knelt down beside the box and clicked it open.
And once the Croc has stuffed all his chow down,
Ivy's plants are gonna wreck this town,
He giggled as he pulled out what appeared to be a syringe, filled with venomous green.
And as she lets her babies loose,
Riddler's gonna leave us all little clues,
Riddler…I wonder where Nygma is in all this mess? Mina wondered despite her terror. She had to admit she was surprised not to have heard hide nor tail of him in Joker's big plan. After all he'd recruited most of the other Rogues for his party-
And in the middle of all this fun,
The loons are get out for a run,
She gulped as Joker turned back towards her, flicking the air bubbles out of the syringe as he stalked across the room.
And Harley's gonna get it on tape,
While Bane squashes Bats head like a grape,
Joker paused in his steps to look down on Jason, kicking him roughly in the shoulder as he passed him by. His mouth smiled but his eyes were all burning wrath and retribution as he sang:
Then to give the naughty bird another big scar,
Daddy's gonna beat him with a big crowbar,
For the first time since Mina had met Jason, she saw fear flash briefly over his blue eyes. But it was quickly squashed down by anger as he struggled against his bonds. But it was no use, Joker was now back in his spot beside her body as he ended the song in a low hushed voice.
Then we'll both run wild and free,
And my darling…hihi…you'll belong…to me!
Mina shivered in disgust, shutting her eyes as he trailed a lone finger across her brow, sweeping away the stray strands of now filthy pale blonde hair from her eyes as he held up the syringe.
"What are you doing? What are you giving her?" Jason had spat out the wooden rod from his mouth as he stared aghast at the syringe.
"Freedom, my boy. I'm giving my little darling freedom." Joker smirked evilly as he carefully swabbed a spot high on her arm with alcohol leaning down to whisper into her ear. "Everything I've done, I've done for you. And now it's time for you to take your place by my side."
"What about Harley?" Mina winced as his hot breath fanned her face horribly.
Joker rolled his eyes. "oh little Harley might think she's the Queen, but you…you're my Darling Ace. My number one. You trump all the other cards in my deck. And it is high time you joined the game"
"You bastard don't you dare-" Jason struggled trying his best to launch himself at the clown prince of crime, only to fall hard on the ground and struggle up to his knees. Joker ignored him as he straightened up and positioned the needle above her skin.
"Now stay still Darling. This might sting a little" he hissed.
"NO!" Jason roared but too late.
Mina didn't even have time to prepare herself as the syringe slid into her flesh, the green Titan within swiftly disappearing into her bloodstream.
Edward Nygma, aka the Riddler, was troubled.
It wasn't just because the Batman was finding all his little clues littered around Arkham Asylum, (oh how he hated that obviously cheating thug to the ends of hell and back). Nor was it because the Joker didn't see fit to invite him to be a part of his grand party, though the lack of invitation did sting tremendously.
No. It was because he was troubled about a certain young woman with white blonde hair, a pale sharp face and piercing black eyes.
Why do you even care?
He asked himself as he leaned back in his chair to look up at the multiple computer screens broadcasting live feed from multiple locations across Arkham Island.
She's just a kid. A brat. Sure she can be useful against the Joker…but…
He paused, drumming his fingers on his arm rest, as the memory of their last meeting floated across his mind.
"Don't friends wish each other best of luck whenever they up and go for new horizons?"
"Damn you kid! Damn you!" the Riddler cursed as he brought his legs down from their resting point on his desk and leaned forward.
"Now, if I were a mad clown, where would I keep the most precious thing in the world to me?" he muttered, chewing his tongue as he concentrated, fingers flying over the keyboard.
The Joker might've been a genius (even Edward had to admit the clown's mental prowess), but even he could not surpass his technological brilliance.
"Where are you hiding little conundrum?" He muttered distractedly to himself as he scanned the multiple feeds behind his purple tinted glasses. "Hmm…he wouldn't keep her in the mansion with that idiot Zsasz still lurking around. Can't be in the penitentiary with dopey Harley because her behind was just handed to her by the king thug. The gardens aren't too secure either…. Wait a moment, secure. That's it. Daddy dearest must be keeping you very close to his chest indeed which must mean he's keeping you at his party venue. Ha!"
Riddler grinned victoriously as he pulled up several security feeds from the intensive treatment to fill up half his screens.
"Come on, come on kid. Where are you?" he mumbled as he quickly siphoned through feed after feed, until finally his eyes spotted a familiar head of long pale blonde hair, strapped to a gurney while a mad clown with green hair stuck a syringe in her neck.
"That bastard clown" Riddler's teeth grit hard, anger flashing over his green eyes as he watched the Joker pull away and Mina's body begin to convulse horribly.
Riddler was used to seeing people getting tortured. More than half his riddle games involved a torture of some kind to its participants. Yet watching someone he was fond of writhing in pain…wasn't quite as fun as he'd thought.
"Oh Joker, Joker, Joker…" he hissed as he pulled away from the keyboard to glower at the screen "You really should know by now that it is unwise to pick on my friends"
Pain…that was all she felt. Like millions of knives were stabbing every millimetre of her skin. They burned where they touched, carving her up from the inside out.
She screamed, but all the sounds around her seemed to be muted so she didn't hear it. She could feel herself crying and yet somehow, she couldn't.
Cold gloved hands held her down against whatever she was lying down on, bruising her scrawny already damaged arms as the waves of agony died down just as quickly as they had hit.
She lay there, her mind swimming as her very bones ached at the very idea of existing.
And yet as she tried to open her eyes, there was sound just blasted into her ears.
Loud voices and soft whispers from far away, drowning every thought from her own mind. Two of them were especially loud above all the rest and neither belonged to her.
"It worked, I can't believe it worked! Hi-hi-hi! My Darling Darla you'll soon be exactly how you were meant to be-"
"That bastard! That fucking bastard how could he- when I get out of these bonds I'll fucking kill him!"
Her eyes finally peeled open and she winced as artificial light hit them hard.
"Finally" the sneering voice of Joker hit her brain as he loomed over her…without moving his lips from his sickening grin.
But…how?
The first thought in Mina's mind was hazy as she struggled to suppress all the other voices in her head. It was like listening to white noise with the volume turned up to the max and trying to block it out. But no matter how much she dimmed the noise it was always there.
"Aww, come now Darling, don't fight it. You know you want it. The power, the strength-"
But she wasn't fighting it. She had been too tired to fight both physically and mentally. And yet she could feel the rest of her body, though in agony, was still the same shape and size as it had been before she'd been injected.
She could hear Ghost-no-Jason Todd's voice seething as he struggled on the floor.
"What the hell is going on? Why hasn't she transformed? Was it Titan? Was it something else? For fuck sake what did that bastard do?"
"Hmm…interesting…very interesting…" Joker smirked down on her, again not moving his mouth as the words hit her brain along with an image that she did not remember even thinking about.
The image of a woman with pale green skin and vibrant red hair-
"Boys! Get in here now!" Joker's bark pierced through her head, though unlike before he had opened his mouth to be heard.
There was the thundering of feet as four of Joker's thugs all rushed into the room, two of them flanking the door with guns as the others stood at attention before their leader.
"Keep an eye on my dear Darling for me. I just need to pop out to the garden for some fresh air. Oh and while you're at it, feel free to play with the punching bag on the floor. I daresay you could all use a workout" he added sneering down at Jason, who was still kneeling on the floor arms and legs bound. However he had not lost the angry spark of defiance in his eyes even as Joker's goons turned on him gleefully and raised their fists to strike.
Amidst all the thudding of flesh and grunts of pain, Joker turned back to Mina, stroking a finger along her jaw gently.
"Now you just sit tight sweetie. Daddy's going to visit an old friend. I'll be right back don't you worry"
"I'm not" she rasped, her throat so sore it felt as if she was breathing through fire.
She watched the Joker leave the room as quietly and smoothly as a cat, smirking victoriously as he met her eyes.
It wasn't until he'd closed the door behind him and she caught sight of her blurred reflection in its metal coverings that she saw a glint of red from her eyes were.
It wasn't the typical red from when you cry and make your eyes sore, but a venomous red ring around a black pupil and surrounded by an equally jet-black sclera.
I look like a demon from the pits of hell.
She stared at her eyes in her reflection. They were so dark in comparison to her skin, which she noted was paler than death. She knew from her studies that she was partially leucitic but now that she looked at herself in this dim light, she could see her skin had taken on a deathly chalky hue, not unlike the skin of the madman that had just left through the door. Her lips however, were still a faint natural pink and her hair still pale blonde, but that was little comfort to her when she looked once again at her full reflection.
"What the fuck…what did he do to me?" she breathed.
"Oy, keep quiet" a thug thudded a heavy hand on her gurney only to cry out in alarm as she looked up at him with her black and red eyes.
"What the fuck-!" he backed away terrified, bumping into one of his fellows, who was about to growl angrily at him, only to also yelp in shock as he caught sight of the pale woman's nightmarish eyes.
"Holy shit! Just what did boss do to this broad?" he spluttered as his hand dropped from where it had been raised to punch at Jason's face.
Now's our chance.
She heard Jason's words in her head though his torn and bleeding lips made no move to utter them.
"But how-" she mouthed only to wince as suddenly the ex-boy wonder sprang into action.
She didn't know when or how he'd managed to undo the bonds around his legs or hands, let alone think of how to escape, but within two seconds he had leapt to his feet and had broken one of the thug's necks with his bare hands.
There was the click and rustle as the two door guards raised their guns and a blast as they fired, aiming only at Jason. But he was still too fast for them. He quickly took the other goon next to him and pushed him in the path of the bullets as a human shield which he then literally threw onto the two men, but not before snagging a gun from his belt and firing a bullet at each of their heads.
There was a squelching sound and the splatter of blood and brain against the wall, but Mina didn't even bat an eye to the violence.
It never really bothered her. Blood and gore. If it wasn't her own…or the flesh of one she cared about.
At once, unbidden an image of a sweet mousy bald woman laying dead on a pavement, skull smashed open and bleeding-
No! don't think about that. Don't think about that at all
She forced herself to scowl as she felt something warm beside her. It was Jason, undoing the straps that held her down on the gurney.
"Come on get up" he murmured as he yanked her by the shoulders to sit upright.
"Your bedside manner sucks" She muttered as she let him pull her up.
Her head swam a little but other than that she was able to right herself as he carefully maneuvered her legs over the side. Her ankle throbbed but the swelling seemed to have gone down thanks to the cold pack strapped onto it. Her arm on the other hand was still painfully broken and still wrapped tight in its sling.
"That's it, up on your feet woman" Jason murmured as he dragged her up to stand shakily.
"the masks" she mumbled pointing down to the ground "Take a joker mask. Put it on, disguise-" she coughed on her sore throat.
Jason nodded, and while he was impressed she still had the sense of mind to think on her feet, he was reluctant to pick up one of the filthy clown masks let alone touch them.
Yet they had no choice if they both wanted to escape this hellhole alive and in mostly one piece.
God I hope this works.
He said without speaking again, though his lips instead chose to mutter.
"here…you too. oh…" he gulped as he realized with a horrific jolt that he had pulled a mask over her head with a grinning clown face, while he pulled on a sad clown one over his own.
"You bastard" she muttered angrily.
"Sorry" he made to take the mask off but she just swatted him away.
"Just leave it and let's get out of here"
She made her way towards the wall and felt around for the elusive crack.
But it wasn't there.
"It's not in this room, even though they all look the same." Jason grunted as he prized her from the door though in his head he said.
"Joker obviously figured out how she got out first time which means-"
"We have to use the front door" she mumbled finishing his sentence out loud.
"Yeah…" Jason looked at her, eyes widening. "Did you just read my…"
She nodded quietly as she murmured: "Titan. It must've mutated my genetic code on the cellular level and activated a dormant meta-gene"
"You don't seem that worried about it" Jason narrowed his eyes at her as they stepped over the bodies and carefully pulled the room door open.
"Dr Young and I both speculated that the Titan formula might have a different effect on meta-humans. It might even amplify their powers tenfold depending on the concentration of the dosage. That's why Joker wants to go to Poison Ivy…she's one of the most powerful bitches in this joint that can wreak the most havoc if she's pumped up on Titan" Mina explained as she hobbled through the door and out into the dingy corridor, which thankfully was empty. She heard the door shut behind her and felt something cold get thrust into her uninjured hand.
She looked down to see a slightly dirty black gun.
"Just in case" Jason murmured as he prepped his own gun at his side and stepped in front of her protectively. They slowly stalked their way down the corridor keeping their eyes pricked for any sounds.
But all was quiet.
"Well, look who's discovered our secret lab" Joker smirked as he saw the big bad Bat stalk in through the once secure door.
All around them the light was an eerie green and the air was warm, all so that the precious venom plants below the glass panels under their feet could grow like they needed to.
"Since you made it this far, let me show you what I've cooked up" He chortled as he pressed a button and had the bridge behind the Batman's door suddenly collapse and lower behind his back, blocking off all immediate chance of escape.
Batman wasn't fazed. He was however apprehensive as he saw the mad clown pull out a gun like contraption from the inner pocket of his purple tailcoat.
But instead of aiming it at him, Joker instead turned it on the two large thugs that had been assisting him with moving his supplies.
His laughs filled the air as the men clutched at their bodies which had be gun to convulse and stretch as muscles bulged and skeletal forms expanded. Both men gave bestial roars as their spines jutted out from the skin on their backs like hardened dorsal fins, their eyes now glowing as green as the toxic plants beneath them.
That should keep the bat busy. Hi-hi-hee!
Joker giggled to himself as he skipped off to the safety of a locked door and made a dash for it.
As he ran he shot at a couple of the guards and orderlies that had taken refuge in the aviary, his mind racing as he mulled over his latest discovery.
He always knew his daughter was special, she had always been able to metabolise toxins faster than the average person, even when she had been but a little girl. But to have such a strange reaction to Titan…all the other test subjects he'd tried almost always briefly transformed into gigantic monstrous brutes. And yet…
He remembered the black and red eyes that had stared blearily up from that pale face.
He quietly slid into a side passageway, his leer growing excited. If his theory was correct then perhaps Ivy might be useful tonight after all.
He hadn't wanted to use her in the beginning. All her nauseating talk about her beloved plants was enough to drive even him bananas…but if he could give her just a little bit of Titan…then maybe…
"hihihi! This is going to be FUN!"
Mina was thankful Jason was a much larger build than her, for the couple of times Jokers goons crossed their paths, they ignored them both, or merely grunted and nodded in hello only to him. If they did notice Mina, Jason was quick to cover for her, saying she was beaten by Batman in the penitentiary brawl led by Harley. As many of Joker's men already sported several similar injuries, no one questioned them further. In fact she sometimes got some sympathetic comments.
From all the voices she could hear rattling inside her head, she could at least tell that no one had yet discovered hers and her partner's disappearance from their cell.
That was until half an hour into their walk.
They had just about turned a corner when they heard a shout from a few corridors behind them.
"Spread out quickly! They can't have gotten far"
"Crap, that's twice that fuckin' broad's escaped. Joker's gonna have our heads-"
"This way. Quick" Jason grabbed her arm as he dragged her down a set of stairs which led to a dead end.
"now what?" Mina hissed, fingering the trigger of her gun as she heard the footsteps of several heavy men grow louder and louder.
"Now we go dark" Jason pressed a finger to a brick in the wall. There was the soft grinding of stone and Mina turned to see a slab of the wall part to reveal a darkened passageway behind it.
She quickly hobbled through it, Jason literally at her back as he closed the passageway behind her, pulling out a small flashlight from the utility belt he'd stashed under his jumpsuit. But Mina found to her surprise, that she didn't really need it. She could see quite well in the dark. The light was just annoying on the edge of her vision.
Still she let him use it, after all he clearly needed it more than her as they wandered into the darkness, far from prying eyes.
Ivy…Why am I not surprised to find you here.
Batman's scowl deepened as he approached the green skinned temptress.
She was sitting at the base of a dry fountain with four wild horses carved out of stone at the top.
She was stroking a plant of hers lovingly through her green fingers, but Batman could see that the skin was unnaturally pale, even by her standards. The gardens might have invigorated her a little, but she was still not at full strength yet.
"It's alright my darlings. Now, now. My poor darlings" Poison Ivy cooed to her thriving plants, which twitched as the Dark Knight approached them.
"Yes I know he's found us, but I won't let him hurt you. I'll kill him first" she sneered as she turned to face him.
"Ivy" Batman addressed her, slowly and carefully "I now Doctor Young mutated these plants to produce Venom"
"Yes" Ivy's lip curled with satisfaction. "And I heard through the grapevine that the evil woman and her little garden weed assistant, paid the price"
She chuckled maliciously, but Batman wasn't in the mood for joking around.
"I need you to help me create an antidote" he said and wasn't surprised as she narrowed her green eyes.
"Why should I? Let Joker have his fun. I'll enjoy watching you squirm."
There was a rustle of leaves and Batman's hand quickly snatched at a point just beside his head. He gave the vine, for vine it was, a deadly squeeze, crushing the tip of it so that some of its juices ran over his glove as he squeezed the life out of it.
Ivy cried out in pain as she heard her baby's shriek of agony, doubling over onto her hands and knees from the sheer strain of it.
"You've been in the dark too long" Batman strode forwards, looming over her like a gigantic shadow as he growled "Every plant on this island will get the same, unless you co-operate"
"There's a plant" Ivy panted, glaring daggers up at the Dark Knight as she looked up at him "Growing deep in Arkham Island, only it can counter the effects of this Titan strain"
"Where can I find it?" Batman asked swiftly.
"Oh, in Killer Crocs' lair. You didn't think it would be easy, did you?" Ivy smirked as he turned his back on her satisfied with her response.
Yet as soon as he reached the door, he hesitated to look back at her.
"Go back to your cell. Or I'll be after you next" he growled and her smirk grew as she sat up languidly on the ground.
"And I'll be waiting."
"Arkham Asylum was originally the grounds for a Victorian mansion." Jason explained, his jaw tense as they crept along the darkened tunnel. "old houses like that used to have secret passageways for servants to use, or for the rich fat pigs to use as an escape route if they were in danger, or just wanted to hook up with other girls behind their wives' backs. When Amadeus Arkham converted his home into the Asylum he expanded on some of the passages, using some of them imprison patients he hated the most while he tortured them. Some of them are just below the grounds outside while others go deeper and connect into the old sewer network."
"Well, he sounds like a lovely, charming fellow." Mina snorted, narrowing her eyes at him. "if they're so secret, how do you know so much about it?"
"Back when I was working with Batman, we had heard rumours of secret passageways in and under Arkham Asylum. We figured the rogues were using them to escape undetected. But no matter how many times we searched, Bruce and I could never find them and believe me we combed every inch of this place whenever we could." Jason's fingers clenched over both his gun and his flashlight in anger, and Mina knew he too was remembering the face of the Vigilante they both hated so much.
"So how did you find it?"
"Same way you did, earlier. Sheer dumb luck" Jason murmured softly as they turned a corner and found themselves in a passageway lined with moss and green. "Watch your step, the plants make it slippery"
"Geeze I hadn't noticed" Mina rolled her eyes as her injured foot almost slipped on the mossy stone tile beneath.
Jason quickly helped her right herself, carefully leading her over to a large pile of bricks from where some of the ceiling had caved in above their heads from the tunnel above.
"We should stop here for a second." They both sat down on the pile, Jason allowing himself a heavy sigh as he sat down beside her. He looked just about as tired as she felt as they sat shoulder to shoulder, his flashlight bathing the space around them with a dim white light.
"I'm sorry" he murmured into the corridor. "I let Joker get to you. Right after I promised you I wouldn't"
"Oh, don't start blubbering like a pussy. It doesn't suit you." Mina growled derisively, red irises glowing creepily in the half light. "Joker would've gotten me whether you were there for me or not. You just put the spoke in his wheel"
Despite himself Jason allowed himself a small smirk at her, which fell immediately as she said:
"You were Robin"
It wasn't a question, only a mere statement, and yet he could feel the anger burning behind those eerie red and black eyes.
"Was being the operative word" he spat as he averted his gaze. "Joker kidnapped me while I was on a solo mission. Hid me here for over a year. Tortured me, practically ripped my mind and body apart bit by bit. Turned me into his little chew toy. By the time I got out, Batman had long since replaced me."
"You mean the whelp, Tim Drake?" Mina's shoulders relaxed a little as a memory of the younger man's shaved head and ever so helpful smiling face filled her head.
"Drake" Jason sneered, the name leaving a bitter taste on his tongue. "You met him?"
"He was there when your ex-boss gave me that new apartment. He's the douche that installed the security system. Apparently, he's a tech wiz of some kind"
"Of course, he is. And I'm betting he's also the Teacher's pet?" Jason rolled his eyes.
"Oh yeah…" Mina nodded.
There was silence as they sat there, side by side. Not an awkward kind of silence but a calm comfortable one.
Despite her anger and fear at her desperate situation, Mina couldn't help but relax a little as she slouched where she sat. How long had it been since she had the peace of mind to not think about surviving for just once in her life?
"Why did you come for me?" she murmured, eyes shutting tiredly as she leaned her forehead into his warm solid shoulder.
"Pardon?" Jason looked down at her, surprised by the sudden contact.
"You could've sent someone else to fetch me…or you could've just left me to the wolves. Once Joker got to me I'd have been of no use to whatever you're obviously planning"
"On the contrary, you're the most useful person I've met so far in my mission" Jason muttered not quite meeting her eye.
"And your mission is?" she glanced up at him questioningly.
"To kill the Batman. Make him hurt…as I did…teach him the true meaning of suffering. Him and the Joker." Jason's hands clenched tight over his gun.
"And what role do I have to play in this grand scheme?" she pulled away from him as a powerful thought of his flashed over her mind's eye. It was of that very gun in his hands, shooting at a point between the Batman's masked eyes at point blank range.
Then the image was gone as he turned to look at her face, his eyes a blazing blue fire. For some reason it cut through the tirade of thoughts that kept droning on in the back of her head as she focused on his free hand that had just reached up to push back a dirty white blonde strand away from her face.
"You're Joker's daughter. His darling baby girl. But you also want him dead just like I want Bruce dead. You're the only one who understands what it would take to kill them both, and you'd probably be the only other person out there with the balls to act on it and probably pull it off." He murmured softly.
"The balls yes, the resources, no" She muttered darkly, leaning into his touch ever so slightly.
"You say that and yet you were able to deduce his secret identity after only being in the same room as him a few times." Jason quirked a brow, fingers stroking through a lock of hair. "Even without your powers, you knew how people thought and how to manipulate those thoughts. These new powers are just…augmentations of gifts you already possess. Gifts that can be useful with the right training-Ahg!"
Jason winced as her pale slender hand grabbed hard at his wrist, her nails digging into his skin so hard they punctured the skin.
"What do you take me for? Another Harley Quinn?" Mina snarled delighting in the small tendrils of blood dribbling down his hand as she leaned in to hiss against his face "You think you can sweet talk me, make me fawn all over you for your help? Slave over you and hang onto your every word for the hope it might lead me to the promised land?"
She could hear the surprise in his mind, but felt her insides crawl a little as she also felt his admiration as he smirked
"On the contrary I'd be disappointed if you had fallen for it" he carefully prized her grip off him, keeping her free hand trapped in his so she couldn't use it to attack again.
"When I started on my mission, I figured out that I'd need help realizing my vision. I don't want a Harley or a Robin. I've trained under batman for so long that I think too much like him, I need someone by my side that wouldn't do that. Someone who's skillset would compliment mine"
"And I do that?" she frowned in confusion and Jason nodded.
"No matter what our training, at our cores, I'm a soldier and you're a scholar. I break peoples bodies while you break their minds -"
"Yeah-yeah we're practically Yin and Yang, I get the picture" Mina sighed body deflating again. While she was still mad at him for lying to her, she was too tired to act anymore on it.
She just wanted this horrible night to end, preferably with Joker and Batman both dead and her getting out of this accursed hellhole once and for all. As if guessing her thoughts, Jason too sighed and leaned into her so that his cheek rested on the top of her head.
"You aren't the only one who's tired" he mumbled as she shot him a suspicious look, though she made no move to separate herself from him.
"I just want to shower, eat then sleep in my own fucking bed" she murmured eyes shutting even as she thought of the soft mattress back in her flat.
"Hmm" Jason hummed in agreement, the vibration oddly comforting as it ran through her body.
It helped dim the ever constant voices of all the thoughts she could hear, now buzzing around in the back of her head.
Yet, as many of the voices dulled down, one began to grow louder.
It was that of a woman, angry and very familiar.
That murderous meatsack! That destroyer of all decent green life.
"Oh great" Mina groaned into Jason's shoulder.
"What is it now?" Jason muttered darkly as he finally pulled himself away from her.
"Ivy. The Bat pissed her off. I can hear her whining in my head. And she's getting worse."
"To be fair, it doesn't take much to tick her off." Jason snorted rolling his eyes to the ceiling "just accidentally trample on a piece of grass she grew herself and she'll blow her top"
And even as he said this they heard a loud voice yell out over the speakers from the corridor through the hole in the ceiling.
"I want him dead! I won't let him hurt my babies again!" Poison Ivy yelled over the speakers, before Joker quickly took over gleefully.
"I can't believe you left poor little Ivy crying in the garden. She looks so sad"
"We should get moving" Jason quickly stood up, grabbing Mina by the hand to pull her to her feet, only to have her thrown aside roughly as something huge hurtled towards them.
"LOOK OUT!" Mina yelled as the mass of green suddenly struck down between them, nearly crushing her good leg.
Jason flew backwards as the force of the gigantic monstrous mutated plant literally made him fly backwards through the air, while Mina fell backwards in the opposite direction…on the other side of the vine.
"I gave her a little titan" Joker's voice pierced the air as the tremors around them slowly came to a stop.
"Gotta say the results are a little different. Shall I give her another? I think she wants it"
"Shit! JASON-" Mina yelled but no sooner as Jason tried to lunge forwards to grab at her, did another great big vine strike down, this time through the wall on the side. The impact was such that it caused some more of the roof to cave in, both on his side of the divide and on Mina's.
"Well they don't call you Ivy for nothin' do they dear?" Joker chortled on the speakers "I was hoping for a forty-foot killer plant, but you don't always get what you want, do ya?"
"Mina!" He called out, coughing as the dust cloud cleared. He scrambled over, his heart sinking as he saw a great pile of bricks and stone now had fallen about the vines, leaving only a small gap through which he could see.
He quickly climbed towards it, eyes widening at the sight he caught in the dim light.
Mina was still, thankfully alive, but she wasn't alone.
"Let me go!" she struggled hard against the figure, who was tall, but gaunt and wearing a burlap sack on his head stitched to a breathing mask.
"Scarecrow!" Jason yelled through the gap, eyes flashing as Scarecrow himself looked up.
"Oh, a friend of yours my dear? I'm afraid he's going to have to wait his turn." He grabbed Mina by the scalp with his free hand, quickly holding up his syringed glove to her exposed neck.
"If you dare move from your spot boy, I won't hesitate to inject her with all four doses."
"Do that and she's sure to die Crane" Jason spat through the hole, but the mad doctor only shook his head and chuckled wickedly.
"Your right, such a dosage would kill a normal person. But now that Joker's fed her some Titan…well…who knows what might happen?"
"Ja-Ghost don't! just let him have me and get yourself out of there." she yelled, catching herself just in time.
"But Mina-" Jason tried clawing at the plant trying to move it but already she was being dragged away into the darkness.
"I'll be fine! GO!" she yelled as the darkness swallowed both her and Scarecrow. "GO!"
"MINA!"
Jason's voice carried all the way into the passageway, but all Mina could focus on was the small tune Scarecrow was humming under his burlap.
A tune that set her teeth on edge as she remembered another voice singing different words to it barely an hour ago.
Hush little Darling don't say a word,
Daddy's gonna kill you a bat and a bird…
The tune of the Arkham lullaby.
And there you guys have it, Chapter 20 is up. a lot longer than previous chapter but i'm pretty happy with how it went. It took me a while to make up the lyrics to the Arkham Lullaby, as making up rhymes is tough for me. You gotta sing it to the same tune as "Hush little baby, don't say a word, momma's gonna buy you a mocking bird" and it was hard sometimes getting a similar sense of rhythm in each couplet.
anyways so Jason's finally out in the open as himself, though bats still hasn't found out. but unfortunately Mina just keep slipping out of his grip. I figured his relationship with Mina is one where he respects her because he sees her as a mirror of himself, and wants her on his side.
It was pretty hard coming up with the effects Titan would have on Mina. as we saw with Ivy, Titan has a different effect on Meta-Humans than normal humans and i wanted to play with that idea. Then there was the issue of what powers Mina would have. It took a long time but I figured Telepathy would suit her the most, as she is already quite adept at reading people already. This would then just make her telepathy more of an extension of her already existing traits instead of just something random like pyromancy or being able to fly. However it probs will be some time before she can gain some control over her powers because she can do so far is hear everyone thoughts 24/7 but do nothing with them.
Anyways enough with my ramblings. If you enjoyed please continue reading and reviewing.
till next time your Author,
FuzzyBeta