A/N: Aye, been awhile since I heard from the reviewers. Must be waiting for this story to pick up... Oh, by the way? IT DOES. I warned that Scarecrow and Hatter would only be cameos but, before people bitch about OOCness from them, KEEP READING THE STORY. Besides, isn't it worth getting to see a few other cameos from some of Batman's rogues? I would LOVE to do a Mr. Freeze in Jump City story...
On a lighter note, for those of you who have had hangovers, doesn't it just suck? Imagine how these kids are gonna feel... at least the bed's warm.
The Watchman
---
The next day comes to the teens in the form of both surprise and shock. Surprise, to be sure, coming from the fact that as the waking world comes into their eyes, what was once a lonely bed in a far-from-home house, has now become harbor for two young souls, adrift in a sea of chaos...
Purple eyes open, gazing at the ashen-colored walls of this little safehouse bedroom. Through the haze spreading in those orbs, Raven thanks Azar that the light coming in from the window isn't in her face like back home..
A heartbeat... Make that two...
Green eyes, groggy from a short-time asleep, struggle to regain focus. The floor hasn't changed colors from the other night, has it? And since when did things become so goddamn dark and purple, bluish...
Two heartbeats, one bed...
The young woman, with her cheeks feeling red, feels warmth between her fingers. And not just her fingers either as inspection continues. Wrapped around a slender waist are a pair of unusually green arms, fingers interlaced with pale skin..
A whisper. "What the hell?"
The young man, mind starting to reel in panic at the realization... If his arms would move, he'd be sure he'd be recoiling them back in terror of the person in his arms... Never mind how good it honestly feels, that's the last thing that needs to be considered at the moment.
A nervous reply "Ditto.."
Of course, that's when a painful reality of life sets in for both: Hangover!
As if on queue, a double groan is heard from the two as the pain registers... Whiskey, softer only because of chasers, makes it next-day presence known. Wise is the person who prepares for this feeling.
"Gar?"
Groaning reply back "Yeah Rae?"
"Why are you holding me... and why do I feel like I'm going to die?"
Rolling away from Raven, Gar falls onto the cold, hard floor with a thud. Light entering his vision, the pain is amplified multiple times over. "Fucking light! GO AWAY!"
"I'm gonna kill that Irish bastard..." Raven curses, holding her head with both hands. "How many did we?"
"Too many.." Gar replies quickly, shooing away the light with no success.
"And why were we cuddled in bed?" she asks now, tone rising through closed eyes.
"Too many.." Gar answers again.
Of course, its doubtful at the time neither would care about their arrangement mere moments earlier, now's not the time to worry.
"This is just great!" Raven curses, sliding her legs off the bed. "How are we supposed to go to Arkham like this?"
Shrugging, Gar suggests "Part of the job. We'll pick up some aspirin before we get there."
"Figures.. Shitty day this is gonna be."
"Could be worse.." Gar suggests, reaching for his coat.
BANG BANG on the door, baby.
"AYE! Y'TWO BET'R BE A'WAKE! GOT A'DECTECT DOWN 'ERE WAITIN' FOR THE LOT A'YA!" Someone yells through the door, not helping the headache at all.
"I'm gonna seriously kill him.." Raven mutters before his words sink in. "Did he just?"
"SHIT!" Gar curses, rushing around to change into his kevlar suit and coat. "We fucking overslept! C'mon Rae, we ain't got time to bitch!"
Raven finds herself, painfully, running about, getting ready. Not pained enough to yell back "I'm not bitching, Gar!"
"Calling it for it is, sue me!"
As she slides on the holoring, she warns him "I would but you don't have anything worth value."
Gar finds his ring and slides it into place. Under his coat now appears a black suit with purple tie "You're right, I don't. You can have this coat then."
"I must be the luckiest girl in.."
"Hey, be glad you fell asleep. You almost were." Garfield manages a joke as he walks out towards the door.
"Oh you did not just.."
---
Down in the bar, empty of patrons in the morning, Someone stands by the counter talking to a dark-haired woman. Her hair matches her winter coat, offsetting the tan slacks below. The cold chill outside, evident from the frost on the window, matches her expression perfectly.
"C'mon Renee! Ah swear it on me mackie's life, I do! It to be m'fault for t'em bein' late, honest!"
Detective Montoya, however, isn't in the mood for the Irishman's quirks. "Someone, shut up. I know its your fault! You probably got them drunk just like those three tourists from Star City last week. You keep your shit up and.."
"'Ey, I offered ya an' ye pals a'pint on t'house for that! Only ye t'be the one turnin' it down." Defensiveness is often the best offense... Or so he'd believe.
"I don't drink with criminals."
"T'ATS ONLY A'RUMOR AND YE TO BE KNOWIN' IT! Show me proof, t'at ya do, t'be provin' I to be criminal!" Accusations! Bullocks!
Tapping her fingers, she warns him "Gun smuggling, gun running, boot legging, illegal alcohol production, profiteering. Damn it, Someone, I need my other hand to keep counting!"
"ALL UNPROVEN!" he counters.
"Oh? Did we forget WHY you were kicked out of the ol' country? How about arming rebels AND conspiracy to overthrow the government of the Northern Irish?"
"I.... o'kay, ye t'be havin' me t'ere.." Defeat is a taste worse than warm Guinness...
"Someone, just drop it already.." Gar suggests, holding his head as they walk down the steps. "She had you beat at serving minors alcohol."
"UN'GRAT'FUL LOT, T'WHOLE OF YA!" Someone bellows, stomping out of his bar and towards the back room. Although not one to run from an argument, its not an argument if its an "unfair" three-on-one.
"So he did get you two drunk last night, huh?" Renee offers as the two approach. The question is obvious from the expressions on their face.
"He's lucky I don't beat his head in.. I want him to feel this headache.." Raven groans.
"As much as I personally would enjoy that, we have a schedule to keep."
Garfield opens the door for the two before following them out into the cold, and otherwise painful, light of day.
---
After picking up some aspirin on the way, Gar can't help but wonder something.
"Who did you say you were, Ms.?"
"Detective Renee Montoya. I work with Gordon in MCU."
Eyebrow raised, he asks "I think I heard about you. Question said Gotham had a rather interesting detective in its payroll."
"You mean the crackpot without a face? Yeah, I've met him before. I thought Batman was a crazy..."
The sarcasm in her voice is thick enough to fill the car many times over.
"Hey, don't judge before you get to know someone. I thought he was crazy too.." Gar offers then smiles "Then I found out he's worse."
"When you work with nutcases like Someone and half of Gotham's whackjobs, you start to wonder just how bad this place is becoming. I'm just hoping I don't turn out as crazy as them."
Gar throws back a laugh at this, one that forces Raven to elbow him in the ribs for upsetting her headache. "Yeah, I don't think you'd wanna do the whole blue trench coat and no-face thing either."
"That's not even funny."
---
Finally, after a long drive across Gotham City, the target comes into view: Arkham Asylum. Against the blood, red sky, the ominous manor looks more like a haunted mansion. Of course, ghosts can't hurt you like half of the inmates inside of the building past the old, rusted iron gate..
---
The trio enter the building and immediately Raven clutches her head.
"You ok Rae?" Gar asks sympathetically.
Eyes closing, her fingers focus around her chakra. "There's a lot of negative emotions in this building... I can feel it all. I'll be ok, its just really intense."
"Are you sure? I don't want you to.."
"Gar, I said I'm fine. Lets find out where this cure is and get the hell out!"
This little outburst scares Gar for an odd reason. Frustration is one thing but her voice seems to indicate... fear? Is this place so full of evil and pain that even she..
"C'mon kids, we don't have all day." Renee warns, walking up to the receptionist. "Detective Montoya with the Major Crimes Unit. We're here to interview Jonathan Crane and Doctor Tetch regarding an ongoing investigation."
The receptionist produces an audio device, turning it on.
"Security code please?"
"Authenticate: CM27815." the detective announces into the machine.
"Verified: Renee Montoya." The device beeps back
Gar tilts his head a bit at the sight. Montoya looks back at the two and informs them "Standard issue these days. Can't be sure who's coming in or not... Its an trial program for the new facility they're building to replace this one."
A pair of "ah" follows from the teens.
---
As they descend into the bowels of Arkham, Gar looks out at the inmates through protective glass. Their evil smiles force a scowl onto his face... Rapists, murderers... sodomites... sadists... child molesters... cannibals even... The lowest forms of scum this world has to offer... and they haven't even reached the "Rogues" section yet.
For Raven, however, each criminal feels like an assault on her senses. Waves of hate radiate from their bodies, pounding against her psychic defenses like the surf against seawalls in a hurricane. Fear, loathing, regret, anger, lust, more hatred... its enough to make a psychic want to kill themselves... but Raven isn't a normal psychic..
And as they reach the Rogues, the list reads off like a who's who that happens to be missing a few spaces...
Killer Croc roars in delight at the sight of the two, flanked by Montoya. He screams through the glass at Gar, threatening to crush him with a rock for looking like him.
Poison Ivy, bored look on her face, trims her beloved rose as they pass. Gar's eye wanders to her for a second, bringing a wink from the plant-woman.. a wink that Raven quickly snaps him back from..
The Riddler, appearing to be lost in some form of mental war with himself, merely smirks at the two as they pass. "And I thought I liked green too much.."
Raven's nerve nearly shatters as they pass by Scarface and the Ventriloquist. "HEY! Check out the ass on that one! Meathead, turn me around, she's walking away!"
Gar, in an odd move himself, reaches out and squeezes her hand in support. Despite her rage, his look of resolve is enough to bring her back from the impending rage.
As they pass by Mr. Freeze, the former doctor remarks almost emotionlessly "Another doomed love in this insane prison. Enjoy love now, children.." Gar gazes at the man as they walk by "The winter freezes more than just the air.. it will also freeze your hearts."
And finally, after walking through the valley of fear, as Gar would jokingly think of it, they reach a cell prepared for this interview. Inside, both Crane and Tetch sit at a chessboard, both out of costume, bickering over something.
"I'm telling you, Crane, for the last time, tea is better than cake!"
A snort of disgust comes from Crane's throat. Still raspy, despite the corpse mask, he replies "And you a mistaken fool. Cake is obviously better than tea."
\
"Are we interrupting?" Renee asks, not caring about their argument in the slightest.
At the sight of the trio, both Tetch and Crane stand to their feet. On their faces is a mixture of both fear and nervousness.
"What trick is this? Why have you brought children?" Crane asks, fist balling in anger.
"Are you toying with us, Montoya?" Tetch counters, glaring holes at the woman before him.
The three enter the area now and close the glass behind them. Confident that no noise can escape, Gar checks to see if anyone else is watching. Satisfied, he removes his ring and transforms into the sight of the Watchman.
Unprepared for this, Scarecrow finds himself actually backing away in fright. "You!?"
Raven removes her ring too, returning to the goth mage so well known on the West Coast. "Both of us, Scarecrow."
"Crane, you know these two?" Hatter asks, not knowing who the pair are.
Smile turning evil, Gar's face appears wolf-ish like his night confronting Blue. In a growling tone that even sends chills up Montoya's spine, Gar asks "What's the matter, doc? Don't you remember your friend Beast Boy?!"
"You're not Beast Boy!" Crane counters, holding his chair up in defense. Raven, however, rips the chair from his hands with his mind.
"Don't even think about it." The chair suddenly is crushed under the weight of her mental power.
"Incredible..." Tetch wonders aloud, hand to his pointy chin. As Raven turns and looks at him, the intrigue disappears into fright as her eyes glow white.
"YOU have some explaining to do, Mad Hatter!"
As she speaks this, however, Gar grabs Crane by the collar and flips him onto the table. The impact surprises all of the room's occupants.
Growling into Crane's face, Gar warns dangerously "She's fucking right, Scarecrow! Do you know what your little drug has put ALL of us through?!"
Coughing, Crane replies "I told you I cured all of you during my last visit!"
"We don't mean what happened months ago..." Raven warns "We're talking about the dust you sold Slade years ago! What kind of nanotech device did you put into THAT batch?"
Hatter tries to keep from gulping but fails horribly. "So it finally took effect, did it?"
Raven lifts him psychically off his feet and floats him over to face her eye-to-eye. "Oh, we did. And guess what? We're NOT happy about it."
"So, Doctor.." Gar hisses into the sweating face of Jonathan Crane "Why don't you tell me a little story about what you were planning in that little dust of your's three years ago?"
And as the interrogation begins, the sound-proof glass does its job of keeping all noise from escaping.. That doesn't prevent the screaming from happening in the first place however...
---
"It wasn't our idea, mind you." Hatter relents. Bruised and beaten, the confession begins after nearly a half-hour of threats, physical abuse, and one lesson in gravity from Raven..
"As your robotic friend guessed, I'm not one to use technology in my experiments. Who needs digital devices when powders can produce.."
"GET BACK ON TOPIC" Gar fiercely warns, restraining himself from striking the doctor again.
"The order came from a former mercenary working in Jump City. Slade Wilson asked us to produce a fear powder that, in the event a cure was found, would linger in Robin's system."
"It was an odd use of technology considering the turn of the century.." Hatter admits. "But nothing I could not handle. The nanites in his head would attach to various lobes in his brain, the medical knowledge being provided by Doctor Crane here, and would stimulate them. The result would be an over-dose of fear AND the creation of a nanotech "parasite" if you will. If the powder was cured then the parasite would eventually drive him insane."
Gar's fist, already in a ball, begins to shake. "So you're telling me all of that aggression he's had since that day has been influenced by YOUR machines and YOUR dust?!" he points at both in emphasis.
"Technically yes." Tetch remarks.
"But the program responds to his own body's chemicals and mental reactions. The more that section of his mind is invoked, the more the parasite deteriorates his control over it. Aggression, anger, fear, jealousy... all traits found in young heroes. I'm amazed he's lasted this long.." Crane remarks, once again delving into a medical frame of mind.
"You're both truly sick human beings.." Raven spits, acidic as a cobra.
With a pair of gloating smiles, the two stretch their arms out "Hence the asylum! Our home away from home!"
Gar stands between both, swiftly backhanding both with a wide stroke. "Assholes, you both deserve the fucking chair! Tell me how to cure this parasite of your's before I see what makes both of your minds tick, first hand!"
"There isn't one WE could give you." Hatter remarks. "It's probably too late anyway, its been so very long."
Gar leans into his face, promising in a horrifying voice "Then I hope you're the praying kind... If its too late to save him, I'm going to transform into a bear and eat you alive."
Even Raven seems shocked by that promise, seeing a darker side of his personality than she would have expected. Shock, however, has no place on her face as she too leans towards Crane and warns him "And you know just how much trouble I can be... Your little fear-cure gave me more control than before.. I could kill you in this form OR one more cruel than your pathetic corpse costume."
Both men pulling back in fear, they exchange a glance and reluctantly decide to divulge some very crucial information. No honor amongst criminals..
"We weren't suppose to reveal this to you..." Hatter begins..
"Considering the man who made us swear.. He has the curse but.." Crane adds.
"WHO!?" Gar shouts, startling all four of the other members.
"TWO-FACE!" Hatter yells, startled by the high-pitched voice he replies with. Covering his mouth, he seems more ashamed than embarrassed.
"Two-face? How did he get the cure?" Renee asks, finally entering the conversation.
"We don't know who asked him to but he found out where Tetch and I stashed the cure. Before you dragged us in, we found out he broke into the safehouse we kept it at and took it for himself! If you want to try and save that little brat, find Two-face!" Crane pleads.. the assault on his psyche is brutal enough.
"You mean the only chance we have to save Robin.. is in the hands of a monster that might destroy it on a coin flip?!" Gar asks, not liking this idea at all.
"Essentially.."
Turning to Raven and Renee, Gar asks quietly. "Give me a minute with both of them, alone. I want to make something clear to them."
"Just wait a minute.." Raven warns
"That ain't gonna happen.." Renee agrees.
However, both suddenly stop as Gar eyes both of them with cold, dead eyes and a stare that could make even Joker stop smiling. Voice rattling across the room, he warns them "They won't be harmed.. physically..."
Despite their fear to the contrary, Renee finally relents and manages to pull Raven out of the room with her.
As they depart, Gar grabs both of them by the collar. Surprised, they both shout for help as he lifts them up and slams them hard against the back wall.. evil smile on his face...
"Let me tell you just how you'll die if you both lied to me..."
---
A few minutes later, orderlies are rushed into the cell as both Tetch and Crane are seen screaming, begging for mercy and release. Garfield watches with lifeless eyes as the two rogues are dragged from the cell, back towards their holding areas. Renee and Raven can only stare in awe as Gar exits the room with a blank expression on his green face.
"Detective?" Gar asks, voice even and direct.
"Yeah?" she asks, still slightly unnerved by this change in attitude.
"Give our thanks to Gordon. We couldn't have found this out without him."
She smiles a bit despite the situation. "He'll be glad to hear it."
"Have fun in there?" Raven asks, a smile no where near her face.
Fangs protruding from his evil grin, Gar smiles down at her "Not as much fun as what'll happen to Two-Face, that's for sure."
---
a/n2: Ok, that chappie was a little odd considering I'm REALLY tired at the moment. S'crow and MH might seem OOC here but, considering they've been strongarmed by someone (not giving away the details there) into shutting up, of course they'd be scared when an angry Gar and Raven showed up. But now.. the fun part comes up... I finally get to bring my second favorite DC villain into the story: Two-Face! I blame him for me using a 50cent piece at work, flipping it to decide booze decisions, and other weirdness.
Trivia:
- Garfield's comment regarding Montoya and Question is an omage to the Question series where Renee eventually becomes the Question after his death. Thought it would be kinda funny to toy with that idea a bit.
- Scarecrow and Hatter arguing over "Tea or Cake" is a reference to the comic "Long Halloween", good read (basis for Dark Knight). There's a REALLY funny picture on Deviantart between these two, motivation perhaps?
- Code cm27815 is a tribute to the reviewer of the same screename. Couldn't use it directly as a person, why not a code... ALSO as a in-reference to Return of the Joker when they said they built a newer asylum (new technology used at the old site first).