Nightmare in Arkham
Chapter 26: "Rosebud" (Part 1)
Inside a dark hallway of a police station, seated on a black wooden bench that was placed directly under a tiny wall-lamp that hung a few inches below the ceiling (which was the only source of light that was offered in this melancholy environment), was a young, solitary eight-year-old boy. A winter cap concealed the boy's face as he sat alone in near darkness. Every so often, a police officer would occasionally walk past the boy without giving him so much as a sideways glance. To the child, these officers might as well have been ghosts, for he wasn't even aware of their presence. Likewise, the child may very well have been a ghost to them, for the boy was completely silent and the only sign of movement from the boy came from the tears that fell like raindrops down his cheeks and from his fingers as they allowed the white pearls of the necklace he held in his hand to slide down the string where they would collide with the one before it. The noise made by this action was only a tiny "bump" that was almost inaudible in the deserted halls but to the boy, each bump sounded like the clash of gunfire.
Batman and Ivy had been riding through the streets for nearly an hour now. There hadn't been much dialogue between the two of them for the majority of the time. Ivy's thoughts continued to drift out the window on days to come, the hardships she was bound to face, and the hopes that she could overcome them. Every so often, Batman would shoot her a sideways glance to see how she holding up. He wanted to say something to her, maybe tell her that he was proud of her or that he truly was sorry for her loss. But he knew she needed the silence. She needed time to collect her thoughts, Lord knows she must have had ten million of them circulating through her mind. They drove past the hospital just as an ambulance sped into the emergency entrance. The ambulance halted and a team of doctors rushed out and unloaded a gurney with Alice Johnson lying motionless on the mattress. Batman and Ivy passed without noticing.
-As they drew nearer to Arkham Island, Batman looked at Ivy and, with his vision nearly completely focused on her, he noticed something tucked away behind her ear.
-"What's that?" He asked Ivy curiously.
-Ivy jumped at the sound of Batman's voice then gave a faint chuckle. "What's what?"
-"Behind your ear."
-Ivy looked confused. She reached behind her ear and her hand found the Poker card that she had placed back in the spot she had found it but was too emotionally stricken to think much of it at the time.
-"Did Harley give that to you?" Batman asked. Even though he had seen the card earlier as well, he didn't think much of it either.
-"No, it was…" Ivy's voice trailed off and a wave of perplexity washed over her, "…It was Dr. Johnson," Ivy finished as if she were questioning her own statement, "She gave me this while I was locked up in a red prison cell."
-Batman looked at Ivy confused, "A red prison cell?"
-"Yeah, I was trapped inside, alone for…oh, I don't even know how long."
-"What happened?"
-"Well, I don't really know. I was in such an emotional stupor and all I remember was the sound of glass breaking, then Dr. Johnson was shouting my name and shaking me. I looked at her, and she had this look in her eyes. It was sort of like the look a mother gives a child when she's trying to clean their wounds, ya know: kind of a mixture of sadness and comfort because they feel helpless knowing they can't rid their child of their pain but they want them to know they're safe in her hands and she loves them?"
-"I see."
-"Anyway, she hands me the card and tells me that Harley actually gave it her but she knew that if Harley were aware of how soon she would…" Ivy stopped for a moment.
-Batman started to realize what had happened. "Ivy?" He said with a bit of urgency in his voice, "What happened then?"
-"Then…all I remember was feeling like I was starting to die, but I didn't really care because a part of me wanted to. And Dr. Johnson started shaking and slapping me while screaming for me to wake up. Then next thing I knew-" Ivy was cut off when Batman abruptly screeched the car to a halt. The inertia caused Ivy's body to jerk forward until it was stopped by her safety belt. The card flew from her hand and landed on the dashboard.
-"Hey, what gives?" Ivy said as she brushed strands of her rose-red hair out of her face. When Ivy cleared the hair from her eyes, the first thing that met her gaze was the flashing of the red and blue lights. They had just crossed the bridge leading to Arkham Island but a thick clutter of police cruisers blocked the entrance and the grounds were crawling with policemen.
-"Wow, I've seen the place swarming with law enforcement but never like this," Ivy said not believing what she was seeing.
-Batman had a bad feeling about what was going on. He told Ivy to stay in the car and before she had a chance to respond, he exited the vehicle and raced toward the asylum leaving Ivy confused and alone.
After sitting on the bench for what felt like a complete, frozen moment of eternity, a policeman appeared before the child and slowly knelt down to meet the boy's catatonic eyes. The officer was a young man in his late 20s or early 30s. He had dark, orange hair, a pair of glasses, and a neatly trimmed orange mustache. The officer gently placed a hand on the boy's arm.
"How are you doing, son?" He asked sincerely. The boy did not respond.
The officer sighed, "I know you don't feel like answering me, God knows if you can even hear me right now, but it's the only way we can catch the man who did this."
The boy broke down sobbing. "It's my fault! It's my fault!" the boy cried, "I could have saved them! But I just watched while…while-"
"Shhh," the officer whispered while taking a seat on the bench next to the boy and placing an arm around his shoulder, "No son, don't blame yourself for what happened. This wasn't your fault, not at all. It's this damned city. This concrete jungle is infested with predators. But I promise you: we'll find the one that did this. I swear on my daughter's life, justice will be served."
The boy didn't pay any attention to the officer's words. And even if he had, they would have done nothing. He knew nothing would bring back Thomas and Martha Wayne; his world was gone.
"Why? Why did he do it officer?" the boy asked through his tears, "I never even got to say goodbye."
The officer was silent as he tried to think of how to answer the child.
"I don't know," the officer replied, "but please, call me Jim."
In Gotham's Medical Center, Jim Gordon's daughter was silent she looked into her father's eyes. She could not believe what he had just told her, but at the same time, she felt like a huge weight had been lifted off her shoulders.
-"So, you knew this whole time?"
-Jim nodded.
-"Why didn't you-"
-"Because I knew you'd quit. I knew every time you would try to seize the opportunity to make a difference in this community, all you would be thinking about is how worried I must be."
-"You shouldn't have to have such a heavy burden hanging over your head, " Barbara said, "especially while you're risking your own life."
-Jim smiled, "But don't you always worry about me when I put myself in danger."
-"Yeah," Barbara replied.
-"So why haven't you ever asked me to stop? Why haven't you ever pleaded that I turn in my badge and gun and maybe get a nice, safe little job at a coffee house?"
-"Because…because, I know that's not who you are. I know it's your passion to protect people."
-"As is yours', Barbara. This is who you are, and I have no right to deny you your call to passion. You're my daughter, but you're not my little girl anymore."
-Barbara was overcome with emotion, so much so that she tried to crawl out of her bed in order to embrace her father…forgetting that her legs were inoperable.
-She slipped on her hands and fell back onto the bed letting out a pained yelp as she felt a jabbing sensation in her lower back.
-Jim rose from his chair almost involuntarily to his daughter's side. Barbara was grimacing in pain and Jim's heart sank when he looked into his daughter's eyes as she was reminded of her paralysis.
-"Take it easy, honey," Jim said with tears in his eyes, "take it easy. I'll get a doctor, they'll bring you some pain killers and-"
-"No," Barbara protested as she gently grabbed her father's arm as it was reaching for the pager, "I don't want to be injected with anything right now. I don't want to risk falling asleep. I want to stay awake."
-Jim began to weep, "Well, what can I do? I don't want you to be in pain."
-"You can stay with me," Barbara said holding her arms out for her father. Jim wrapped his arms around his daughter and held on to her like her life depended on it. She could here him crying silently by her ear.
-"No matter what, I will do everything in my power to get you through this. I love you, Barbara."
-"I love you too, Daddy," Barbara replied returning her father's embrace.
Selina Kyle found herself fighting to stay awake. She didn't know if it was because she was just exhausted or because one of various pain killers the doctor's used on her was beginning to tire her. She slowly reached for the pager next to her bed, grimacing as the cuts on her arm slightly burned from her movement. Finally, her finger reached the button on the side of her white cotton bed and a red light flashed on.
-"Hey," Selina said into the pager, "If anyone can hear me, I could really use a cup of coffee."
-She waited 30 seconds but there was no response. She reached over again. "Hey, is anyone there?" No response. Great, Selina thought to herself agitated.
-After another minute Selina's eyes felt like they weighed 20 pounds and she struggled to keep them open. Eventually her eyes fluttered shut. Selina made one last effort to stay awake by mumbling and singing gibberish to herself, thinking that if she could keep herself talking she could at least remain awake while resting her eyes. Suddenly, Selina felt a cold blast of wind on her face followed by a snorting noise.
-She very slowly opened her eyes to the sight of a pair of flaming yellow eyes starring back at her. Selina's eyes shot wide open and she gasped in shock and backed away. The pain on her back and glutes stabbed at her, but Selina tried to ignore it as she continued to back away from whatever was looming over her. Eventually, she found herself cornered against a tree only a few feet from the creature.
-Standing before Selina, like a dog hovering over a fresh piece of road kill, was the Nightmare Horse that Barbara had stolen from the Horseman. Selina watched helplessly as the black beast approached her, it's flaming hooves leaving scorch marks on the earth with every step.
-The horse stopped mere centimeters from Selina's face, its enormous muzzle breathing cold air on her flesh. Selina kept her eyes closed waiting to die, all she felt for over two minutes was the horse's breath and occasionally a drop of spittle as it silently whinnied and snorted in her face. Selina slowly opened her eyes and the flaming gaze of the animal once again burned into her. But the horse did not seem like it was intending to harm her…yet.
-The horse seemed to be investigating her, much like how a dog sniffs someone or something in order to determine if it likes them or not. So far, the beast had not tried to trample her to death, or burn her, or eat her, so Selina considered that a plus.
-The horse leaned in closer to Selina until its lips were nudging against her face. The feeling tickled her and she began to snicker a little bit. She gently raised a hand and gently stroked the horse's snout. The horse moved its head to Selina's arm and began sniffing it. Eventually, it started trailing its way up her arm, sniffing vigorously. As the horse's nose continued to explore Selina's body, she began to notice that the horse seemed to be attracted to the places where her scars resided. Then it finally hit Selina.
-"You smell his scent on me, don't you?" She said with a chuckle. The horse snorted in her face again and then slowly turned so his side was facing Selina. The horse's profile looked like a black shadow with eyes made of fire, but despite the ghastly appearance of the steed, Selina couldn't help but admire how majestic it looked as it towered above her in all its glory. Then, slowly, the horse crouched down until its massive bulk rested on the ground. That's when Selina noticed the saddle on the horse's back.
-Well that's convenient, Selina thought, maybe a little too convenient. Where was the horse's rider? Was it Freddy in disguise? If it was, then this was a pretty piss poor attempt to look inconspicuous. After a moment of thought, Selina had considered the odds and decided if this was a trap, she was pretty much screwed no matter what: she could either crawl and hobble her way through the nightmare realm until Freddy came after her or she could get on the horse and die anyway.
-Well, if I'm gonna die, might as well do it while getting back on the horse, She thought to herself.
-Selina slowly and carefully rose to her feet and approached the horse. It turned and looked at her causing her to stop for a moment. After a second or two, she approached again while it was still looking at her seeing how it would react.
-"Just take it easy big fella, I'm not going to hurt you." The horse remained calm. It even seemed to be confused as to why its master had not already saddled up.
-Selina gently stroked the horse's neck as she climbed on its back to make sure it knew she meant it no harm and when she was finally sitting firmly in place, the horse rose to its feet. Then suddenly, Selina noticed something strange happening around her body.
-Something was starting to materialize over her and before she had time to panic, her costume appeared on her body. The suite was still shredded but was still strong, as it was made from material that was designed to withstand rips and tears even as severe as the ones Freddy had inflicted. The dry blood that had been collected in her bandages showed through the tears like the markings on a wild cat. It looked gruesome, but surprisingly it wasn't as painful as Selina would have imagined, she even thought it looked kind of cool.
-Now feeling less vulnerable, Catwoman smiled as she turned to the horse.
-"Alright big fella, lead the way," She said. And with that the horse let out a satisfied "neigh" and began trotting through the dark woods.
In the waking world, Poison Ivy sat silently in the Bat-mobile. Now alone, she began to feel a sense of uneasiness. She had spent a long time alone with her thoughts tearing at her and now, without Batman's company, they seemed to be clawing at her again. She was also starting to wonder how Dr. Leland would react when Ivy walked through the door. Would she even want to help her? Would Batman be able to speak up for her and convince Dr. Leland that Ivy was ready to open up? Eventually, Ivy's thoughts and the irritating flicker of the police lights in her eyes began to drive her crazy. She tucked the Poker card into the breast pocket of her red button-down shirt and stepped out of the car, making her way toward the asylum.
-As Ivy began to walk past the parked police cruisers, she heard a loud click that made her stop in her tracks. "That's as far as you go, murderer," a gruff, male voice said from behind her. Ivy turned around to see Harvey Bullock standing almost within arm's reach of her with a pistol aimed right at her head. Ivy's eyes filled with fear.
-"Now, take it easy-"
-"Play time's over freak," Bullock interrupted, "You've got a lotta debt and a lotta lives to pay the city,"
-Ivy felt a cold stab in her chest, "I…I know, that's why-"
-"Shut it," Bullock ordered, "Hands on your head, down on your knees, now."
-Ivy was scared. This wasn't the first time she'd been confronted by Bullock but this was certainly the first time she saw him without half of his mind thinking about food and completely fixed on taking her down. And the look in his eyes, a burning glare like a cowboy confronting his rival in the town square, told Ivy she probably wouldn't be able to rely on any of her mind games this time.
-As Ivy stood frozen in place, Bullock lost his patience. He jerked his hand toward ground and fired his gun just a few inches away from Ivy's foot. Ivy gasped in shock and flattered backward.
-"I said now!"
-When Ivy regained her balance, her "fight/flight" instincts took over and she began to run.
-Bullock grabbed Ivy by her arm and tried to force her onto the ground. Ivy struggled and cried for help. In the hectic struggle, Bullock lost control of his rational thinking and, in moment of rage, took out a baton and struck Ivy up of the side of her head.
-Ivy staggered a few steps before falling to the ground; a trickle of blood ran down the side of her head.
-At the sight of the blood, Bullock sobered and he froze in place, letting out a startled gasp. He didn't realize how hard he had struck the plant woman.
-Dizzy but still conscious, Ivy staggered onto her feet and began running as fast as she could away from the asylum and toward the city.
-Bullock didn't chase after her. Instead, he looked at his baton and saw a small, algae green stain on the tip.
-"Shit!" he cursed himself, then, he ran toward the asylum.
Ivy had ran across the bridge connecting Arkham Island to the mainland. Her vision was shaky, her head felt dizzy, and her motor coordination was becoming increasingly difficult to control. She also found herself feeling extreme sensitivity to light and sound: the street lights burned her vision like the sun and the sound of the cars honking on the road rang in her ear like a jack-hammer causing intense headaches.
-There was no contradiction that Ivy had a concussion. She knew she had to get to a hospital quickly or she would pass out. Although Ivy was disoriented, she could still see clearly enough to where she was able to retain her sense of direction. Gotham's Medical Center was nearly a mile away and Ivy knew she didn't have much time. She sprinted as fast as her weak legs would carry her through the streets of Gotham.
-As Ivy trudged deeper and deeper in the concrete jungle of Gotham City, her mind seemed to slip in and out of an illusion of Ivy running through a dark forest. She would hear the howls and screeching of animals before her vision would cut back to the city and she would see people running and screaming in fear. She would bump into a tree and then awaken to the sight of a street light or wire post. Ivy paused to get her bearings. Through her double vision, she could just make out a few yards of sidewalk stretching farther into the city and the lights of the hospital in the far distance. Ivy took a deep breath and sprinted toward the street. Before she could cross the street, however, a black mustang screeched to a halt in front of her path and she slammed into the side of the car.
In the dream world, the black horse reared up on its hind legs neighing wildly and kicking its front legs through the air as if it were under attack. Catwoman was thrown from the horse's back and she landed hard on the dirt trail letting out a pained yelp as the impact sent a shockwave of pain through her scars. The horse touched back on the ground and fled into the woods with the speed of a burning star racing across the sky.
-Catwoman slowly eased herself up on her elbow and she saw Poison Ivy cowering on the ground. Her face was buried in her knees and her hands were covering the back of her neck. She looked like an armadillo rolled up in ball trying to hide from a vicious puma.
-"Ivy?" Catwoman said with a startled voice. Ivy shot her head up at the sound of the voice and was shocked to see Catwoman lying right beside her.
-"Selina? What…what are you doing here?"
-"It's a long story," Catwoman said trying to stand. The pain from being thrown off the horse was still riding through Catwoman's body and she grimaced as she tried to stand.
-Suddenly, Ivy's shadow loomed over her. Catwoman shot her head up and saw Ivy towering above her with what looked like a scowl on her face. Catwoman was in a fragile state and the last thing she wanted was Ivy's wrath.
-"Alright, look," Catwoman said, "I'm sorry about the whole leaving you in Arkham trick. It was a lousy trick and I swear I will make it up to you. But right now, there are much bigger problems that you and I are in the middle of so -" Ivy held a hand out to Catwoman.
-"Just forget about it, Selina."
-Catwoman was astonished, "You mean, you're not going to try and kill me?"
-Ivy shook her head. "There's been too much death already. I just want to move on from it all."
-Catwoman looked at Ivy, scanning for any traces of deception in her eyes. Catwoman could read people like a book and she was usually a pro at determining when someone was about to stab her in the back. But Ivy was either the best actress Selina ever met, or she was completely serious, because there was not a trace of resentment or deviance in her eyes. She reached up and took Ivy's hand and Ivy eased Catwoman to her feet.
-When Catwoman was on her feet, she gave Ivy a solemn look and said, "I'm sorry about Harley. I really am."
-Ivy smiled at Catwoman and drew her in for an embrace. Catwoman flinched in pain.
-"Ow, ow, ow, be careful, be careful," she whisper yelled.
-Ivy was startled, then, she looked at Catwoman and finally realized the strange patterns she saw on her costume were multiple bleeding wounds.
-"Jesus!" Ivy said dumbfounded, "What…how…when did this happen?"
-"Ivy," Catwoman said with a suddenly serious tone. Ivy looked in her eyes and saw a cold look of fear and intensity in them. "The Joker didn't kill her," Ivy was silent for a moment.
-"What?"
-"The Joker didn't kill Harley. The man who killed her is the same one who did this to me."
-"Who was it?" Ivy asked with the sound of anger starting to surface.
-"A man named Freddy," Catwoman answered, "And he didn't just kill Harley. He killed everyone: Scarecrow, Mad Hatter, it was all him."
-Ivy was about to answer when the sound of a familiar voice silenced her.
-"Puddin?" The two fem-fatales froze in place, "Puddin, please answer me."
-Catwoman looked at Ivy and saw the look of false hope in her eyes.
-"It's her."
-Catwoman shook her head, "Ivy, no. Please listen to me. That isn't Harley. You have to list-"
-Ivy moved Catwoman aside and began racing in the direction of the voice.
-"Ivy, don't go! It's a trap!" Catwoman tried to run after her but the pain was too excruciating. "Son-of-a-bitch!" She swore to herself as she staggered after her friend.
In the real world Batman was examining the disemboweled, impaled, and charred corpses of Killer Croc, Penguin, and Mr. Freeze. Dr. Leland was curled up in a chair wide-eyed and shaking like someone who had just drank a large up of coffee and washed it down with an entire can of Monster. Next to her was an ashtray piled with over a dozen cigarettes that sat next to an empty pack, and she was puffing away on her last one.
-Batman turned to the doctor and when he called her name she jumped, letting out a startled scream.
-Batman walked over to her and asked, "Where is Dr. Johnson?"
-Before Dr. Leland could answer, Bullock ran into the room panting.
-"Poison Ivy…she…I tried to…and she…and then-"
-All eyes turned to Bullock.
-"You caught Poison Ivy?" Dr. Leland asked with a touch of hopefulness.
-"Well…not exactly-"
-"I brought Ivy here," Batman explained, "She was going to turn herself in," he turned his gaze toward Dr. Leland, "She realized the mistake she made and wanted to come back, to turn her life around."
-Dr. Leland gave a light scoff, "So, where is she?"
-"Runnin downtown with a gash up the side of her head," Bullock replied sounding embarrassed. His tone then turned defensive, "I thought she was still on the loose and I tried to bring her in! I thought she was tryin to make a run for it, I didn't realize I hit her that hard! Hell, I wasn't even aiming for head, I thought maybe a good slug to the shoulder or somethin would slow her down or-"
-"Or you could have came and got me!" Batman retorted angrily. Before Bullock could say anything else, Batman stormed past him nearly knocking him to the ground and rushed outside of the asylum. Dr. Leland ran after him.
-Just as Batman pushed the front doors open, his communicator gave off a "buzz".
-"Yeah," Batman answered.
-"It's Robin, you need to get down to the hospital right now."
-"What's wrong?"
-"Someone just dropped Poison Ivy off at the main entrance. It looks like she suffered a concussion and she blacked out."
-"Alright, I'm on my way."
-"Oh, and I thought you might also want to know, Dr. Johnson, ya know, the Arkham doctor, she was just brought in as well. She's unconscious, too. They're saying she tried to O.D on sleeping meds."
-Batman's eyes widened, Oh sweet Jesus! She went in alone? He thought to himself. "Alright, I'm coming right now." Batman signed off.
-"I'm going with you," Said a voice from behind Batman. He turned around and saw Dr. Leland standing in the doorway.
-"No, this situation is far out of your control. Besides, they need you here."
-"God dammit! What good am I here? I don't know anything about what's been going on but Alice does, I know it! And if this situation is taking the lives of my patients then it's my responsibility to get it under my control."
-"Then go wake up the ones who are still alive."
-Dr. Leland looked confused, "What?"
-"It's the dreams. The dreams are what's killing your patients."
-"What…that's nuts. How could dreams be-"
-"Listen, it's a long story that's going to take time that we probably do not have. Wake up the remaining patients and when I get back, I will do everything I can to end this once and for all."
-Dr. Leland looked at Batman silently for a moment. Despite how absurd the explanation to the recent deaths sounded, she could see in Batman's eyes that he was serious. She slowly nodded her head and went back inside and Batman hopped into his vehicle and took off down the road.
Within the dream world, Ivy rushed through the dark forest now almost completely out of breath. She could still hear the calls of Harley's voice in the distance.
-"Please! Puddin? Someone please answer me!"
-"Hold on, Harley! Red's coming!"
-"Red?"
-Ivy froze in her tracks. Hearing her friend say her name again brought a feeling of warmth to her chest. She was nearly shedding tears.
-"Yes! Yes, it's Red! I'm coming for you! Just stay where you are!"
-Ivy raced faster, and faster, until she came to a clutter of vines and burst through them like a bullet…and found herself standing in her freshly restored Eden.
-For a long time, Ivy stood with her eyes wide and mouth agape at her surroundings. Everything was just the way it was before, even the massive Elm tree that was the memorial to her children.
-"This is impossible…how can this be?" Ivy took a few steps into her home, feeling the grass under her feet with every step. Then, as she drew closer to a red and green colored leaf, she placed a gentle hand on it and brought it to her face, feeling its life on her cheek. She truly was home.
-Completely lost in her joy, she ran toward the edge of a small hillside and flung herself over the edge, rolling in the fields of grass and laughing like a child on a spring morning. When she reached the bottom, she found herself under the elm tree next to the message she had spelled out for her children. She moved her head to the left, and sitting beside her in the grass was a bright yellow rosebud. Ivy looked at the flower with a wide smile, and she imagined her daughter, Rosie, lying next to her in the flower's place.
-"Mother Nature, you've come home!" the child said with joy.
-Ivy took the child's imaginary hand and said softly with a tear running from her eye, "Yes, I'm home. And I won't ever leave you alone again."
