Your Cell is Ready

Ch. 32

Nowhere to Turn

The radio was blaring and Joker was driving along the interstate, singing to some death metal. He rather enjoyed the genre as it appeared to describe him relatively well. Every hour or so he would glance into the backseat to make sure Gabe was still alive. His breathing remained steady and that was good enough for Joker. It was near daylight when they crossed the border out of Pennsylvania. It was another two-hundred or so miles to their destination. After driving for so long, Joker made a pit stop for something to eat and ordered something to go in addition to filling up the tank. Then he was on his way again.

The hours flew by and finally at long last: the ruins of Gotham city. The corporate offices were mostly rebuilt and a brand new town hall was erected. However the neighborhoods where the general population lived were still barren. At least the city council was intelligent enough to clean up all of the mess to allow for civilians to rebuild. Hotels have been placed near the brand new buildings to give employees a place to stay while they began to work again. Joker drove through the streets until he reached a more familiar neck of the neighborhood. It looked like the factories were fully functional and he pulled up along side one. Since there weren't any abandoned factories available for temporary housing, Joker decided he would steal an employee r.v. While the workers were indoors, Joker busted the window of a nearby trailer and reached inside the door to unlock it. Then he hot-wired the vehicle before returning to his car to drag Gabe out.

He stuffed his son into the back of the trailer and tied up his hands and feet using fishing line. It appeared as though the owner of this trailer was a deep sea hobbyist. The fishing line was very tight and cut into Gabe's wrists. Blood trickled down his fingertips, but he remained out cold. Joker was able to hook his car up to the back of the r.v. using the cables in the back and he drove the vehicle off. Now that he had something to stay in, he decided to put his new plan into action. With an oversized grin, Joker drove the trailer across the thick forest of industrial corporations until he found one that brought back many memories.

"Ah...here we are. And look! It's all brand new and functioning!" Joker said excitedly as he parked the trailer. With a sadistic laugh he climbed out of the vehicle, dragging Gabe out behind him. Then he lifted the kid up and back over his shoulder and headed towards the factory. It was after closing hours so Joker had to use an old technique of shoving his foot through a glass door. No alarm went surprisingly. Since there were so few citizens in Gotham, there probably was no point in having a security system at this time. A map on a nearby wall showed him his location and where to go from there. He stumbled in the dark until he reached an elevator. While waiting to ascend upstairs, Gabe stirred a little bit and groaned.

"Ah you're awake! Welcome back to the land of the living my boy." Joker laughed and entered the elevator once the doors opened.

"W-what? Where...?" Gabe mumbled.

"It doesn't matter where we are, only that you are here and daddy is going to make it all better."

Gabe shook his head, "Huh?" He tried to move his arms both found that they were tightly tied together behind his back. The same with his legs and feet. "Put m-me down..."

"I'd prefer that you were alive my boy."

His father was making jokes, not a good sign. What sinister plot did the lunatic have up his sleeve?

"Whew! Smell that?" Joker asked.

Gabe sniffed the air and the stench nearly churned his stomach. Sulfur. "Ugh..."

"Don't have a reaction now kiddo. I left your meds in the trailer."

Trying to understand what was going on, Gabe looked around but all he could see was the lengthy hall after Joker stepped out of the elevator and his long hair dangling in his face. He tried to struggle but Joker held his legs tightly.

"Cut it out," Joker barked. "We're nearly there."

"Nearly where?" Gabe asked. His question was answered the moment his father kicked open a lab door and they were both greeted with a bright neon green light.

Joker grinned and peered at the enormous containers waiting before him, "Brings back memories." He then carried Gabe inside and found a metal stairwell leading up to a platform lined with guard rails. "The old recipe still reigns!" Joker said when he caught a glance of the chemical components written on the side of a tank. When he was hovering just above a vat he let Gabe down to his feet and propped him against the rail, "I've never told you how I got my handsome looks did I?"

"I have a sneaky suspicion the tank below us has something to do with it."

"Absolutely correct my boy! It was somewhat of an accident, at least that's what my records showed in Arkham Asylum. I still think I was pushed, but who's complaining now? I like my lovely complexion. Anyways kiddo, I've decided that I just don't like your attitude lately and it 'pains' me to have to do this."

"Then don't!" Gabe shouted.

Joker's hand clasped his son's chin and he yanked him forward until they were face to face. There was no smile gracing Joker's lips. "You force me to do this."

"If you're planning to drown me, get it over with!" Gabe shouted with a surprising confidence. He expected his father to wring his neck, but instead he heard the clown burst out laughing.

"Dense tonight? So unusual for you. I'll assume it's the spores talking. I'm not going to drown you kiddo..."

Gabe waited for his father to finish the sentence, but found himself being grasped by the neck and lifted off his feet.

"I'm gonna restart your life!" Joker screeched and he cackled.

Before Gabe could protest, Joker tossed him over the side of the railing and he was free-falling towards the sickening chemicals. Something struck Gabe in the head and knocked him near unconscious once again. He felt himself splash into the tank and slowly began sinking. His skin was on fire and his clothes were dissolving along with the fishing line. He never felt anything like this before and he screamed into the liquid. A great deal of chemical traveled down his throat, causing a major burning sensation and he could no longer scream. His eyes squeezed themselves shut trying to stop the pain.

Above on the platform, Joker was enjoying the show. His son had sunk into the liquid and now there were some bubbles floating upwards and popping once they reached the surface. He casually strolled over to a control panel back on the ground and he twisted a release lever, causing the chemicals to drain out. Then he skipped merrily back up the stairs and watched the chemical quickly disappear down the drain until Gabe's body finally appeared, unmoving and covered with a film of green slime. Joker leapt over the railing and grasped the nearby ladder leading into the tank. He cautiously approached his son and knelt down next to him to check for breathing. He pressed a hand to his son's chest and felt nothing at first, but moments later Gabe started coughing profusely and spitting out green sludge. Then the poor kid retched and spilled his guts out all over the floor.

"I remember doing that," Joker said, amused.

Then poor Gabe turned onto his side and stopped moving again. At this point his father took off his jacket and placed it over his son's body before gathering him up and carrying him to the side of the tank.

"Gotta wake up kid, I can't climb out of the tank with you unconscious."

A very groggy and ill Gabe did what he could to assist Joker in climbing out. It took the better part of an hour but they made it up. Then Gabe collapsed on the platform and peered up at Joker, "Who the hell are you?"

That was strange, Joker didn't remember being completely clueless after his own chemical bath. This must have been a side affect or maybe it had something to do with him hitting his head on the way down. He watched as his son tilted over into a heap on the floor. "Oh well..."

The trek to the outside was long and difficult with a half-conscious being slowing you down. Once he had Gabe in the trailer, he pushed the kid inside the shower stall and turned on the cold water. Green sludge began rinsing away but his son's consciousness wasn't returning. He decided to leave the kid there to rinse while he drove the trailer to a more secure location.

Joker drove several miles away from the factory and decided to stop for another meal. He would have to go to the next town since restaurants in Gotham have not reopened.

In the shower stall, Gabe slowly came to and he was at a loss as to where he was. His head was spinning and he threw up once again. The cold water running down his skin washed away all traces of the chemical waste and any vomit that he yacked up. He leaned against the wall, not wanting to move anymore. At some point he felt the trailer come to a stop and he just remained in the stall, nearly falling asleep gain. It seemed like only a few seconds went by when he heard a set of giggles and something touched him. He blinked several times before looking up and seeing a blurry figure standing before him. The moment Gabe laid his eyes on the figure, they backed off and squealed.

Joker had returned with a bag full of food and a large drink. His son would need to hydrate himself before he became sicker. And trying to get some food in his system would replenish some lost minerals. He was about to check Gabe's vitals again when his son peered up at his, looking him directly in the eye. "Holy fuck..." Joker cried when he saw his son's face. "You look like a fucking demon!"

"Huh?" was Gabe's only reply.

"Never mind. Think you can keep down some food, kid?"

"Um..."

Joker knelt down and pulled a sandwich out of the bag and held it to the kid's mouth. Gabe opened up slightly and bit down, tasting a little bit of roast beef and italian bread. He swallowed the food but refused another bite when offered. However Joker wouldn't let him avoid drinking some water. When Gabe fell asleep again Joker removed him from the shower and laid him on the bed in the back of the trailer, dressed him, and returned to the driver's seat. With a look of triumph, Joker sped off towards the interstate in the direction of New York. He needed to nurse his son back to health and see what kind of affect the chemicals would have on his mental stability. One could only hope that Gabe would be a bit unhinged.

"Ugh..."

His stomach lurched and he rolled off the mattress to scramble for a garbage can. Poor Gabe retched several times, but nothing came up. His stomach was empty from lack of food for the past two days. After a few minutes, he stopped and hovered over the can to be sure he was through. Then he realized that he was no longer in the trailer. He couldn't see very well and crawled back over to the mattress. From what he could tell, he was inside of a bedroom and carefully pulled himself up into a standing position. He was thirsty and light-headed.

Over the next thirty minutes, Gabe continuously rubbed his sore eyes trying to regain his lost vision. It appeared to be helping but the soft flesh felt very raw and burned when he touched it. When he was able to see his hands a bit more clearly, Gabe glanced around the room. It seemed so familiar to him but he didn't know why. The desk to his right had a small lamp and what looked like an inhaler resting upon it. He picked up the small red tube and canister and read the label.

Gabriel Johnston
ProAir HFA
Albuterol sulfate Inhalation Aerosol

He dropped the canister back on the desk and saw another item nearby; a cellphone. He picked up the phone and realized it was dead. It needed to charge. He figured the cord on the side of the desk was the charger and plugged it into the phone. Then the screen lit up and the AT&T symbol popped up on the screen. As soon as the phonebook was loaded, a series of text messages appeared. He pressed his finger on the screen and opened the first message. It was from someone called Willow.

"When do you want to meet for our next date?"the message said.

He scrolled to the next few messages and they all ranged from "Are you in trouble again?" and "Where are you?"

Who was this person? Gabe put the cellphone down again and slowly made his way to the door. He pushed it open and stumbled down the hallway until he reached the staircase. Descending was hard and he almost fell but caught the railing.

It was a bitch, but he eventually made it down into the kitchen and leaned against the sink having suddenly felt nauseous once again. He closed his eyes and turned on the faucet to splash some water in his face. The cool water felt really good and the trace amount that trickled into his mouth was swallowed without any bad repercussions. He sighed and turned the water off. A jacket on the countertop caught his attention and he picked it up. Who's was it? Not really caring if he was invading someone's privacy he picked up the coat and rifled through the pockets. He felt something jagged in one of the pockets and grasped it, withdrawing the item.

He looked at it curiously. "A bird?" It was a small ceramic bird painted white and gray. It's wings were partially spread open. It looked as though it once had a partner because the head was twisted in such a way where another bird would be cuddling with it. He placed the bird back into the pocket and dug through the others. A wallet came out of the interior pocket and he opened it, finding a driver's license. There was a picture of a young man with long brown hair and green eyes. His skin was lightly tanned from lots of time in the sun. He read the name Gabriel Johnston and the birth date below it.

"This is-"

Before the thought could pass through his head, he was interrupted by another person in the room.

"That is you, or should I say, was you."

Gabe turned his head and saw that strange looking man standing in the kitchen doorway. "You again. What's going on? Where am I? Did something happen to me?"

"You can say that," Joker replied. He then approached his son to get a good look at him. "You still look sick."

"I feel like shit. By the way, who are you again and why do you look like a clown?"

Joker would have been insulted if this were anyone else but he humored the kid, "People refer to me as Nathaniel Douglas, but you have always referred to me as dad. My lovely looks are the result of an accident."

"Dad? Well...okay. Why can't I seem to remember anything that happened before two hours ago?"

"A side effect of your little accident. It happened to me too. I barely remember my life before my little swim in the tub. All of my life's story in kept locked away in a file at Arkham Asylum. But you needn't worry about that." Joker slipped his arm around Gabe's shoulder and escorted him to the living room, "We have a lot to discuss."

Two hours passed by and Joker answered every one of Gabe's questions but made sure to leave out some dire information that Gabe would have known before his change. Anything pertaining to Sera and Gabe's little girlfriend was purposely changed or cut from the story. So his son would be under the impression that he was the result of a fling with an old girlfriend who ditched Joker, saddling him with a son.

"I'm sorry, I'm still really foggy," Gabe admitted.

"I wouldn't dwell on it son. Some memories are best forgotten. At least you know your name and where you live. That's important."

"What did I do before my accident? Did I have a job?"

Joker grinned, "You are pretty handy with tools and a gifted electrician. You were building tanks alongside me in the basement and wiring in the attic."

"Large tanks? How are we getting the money for all this work?"

"Ah, that is where things get interesting. Gabe my boy, your day job is a handyman. Your night job is a criminal."

"Pardon?"

"No joke kiddo. You and I have been on many heists together and enjoyed every second of it."

"I did?"

"Of course. We've had great times together!" Joker gave a hearty laugh, but frowned the second he saw that Gabe was not sharing in the happiness. "What's the matter?"

"Does that mean you're a criminal too? Who are you really? You don't seem to carry the name 'Nathaniel' very well."

"My professional name is Joker. If you must know a dire piece of my history, then my original name was Jack Napier. But that name no longer has any ties to me. You will refer to me as Joker or dad while everyone else uses Nathaniel. Now then, on to more important matters. Why don't we take a glance in a mirror."

"What for?"

"Well you do want to see yourself don't you?"

"What are you talking about? I look like this don't I?" Gabe held up the driver's license.

There was no response other than a big grin and Joker stood up from his recliner. He headed towards the bathroom with Gabe in tow and switched on the light. "Have a look." Joker gestured to the mirror and stepped aside so Gabe could see his reflection.

What Gabe saw in the mirror shocked him. Staring back was a deathly white skinned human with long black hair and eyes to match. No longer did the brown haired, green eyed young man in the driver's license exist. Gabe's mouth fell open and he wasn't sure if he wanted to scream or throttle someone. He touched his face, not wanting to believe it. Then he studied his eyes again. They were eery looking especially with the red rims surrounding them, much like Joker's black ones, however the only real difference is that the red appeared to be trickling down his cheeks, resembling bleeding eyes. "I look like...like"

"A demon. Kiddo, you're scarier looking than I am. If your new face doesn't freak out the public, then I have no idea what would. Having no whites in your eyes or irises is pretty insane." Joker laughed and patted his son on the shoulder, "You've got to be hungry. C'mon, we're going for a late night run." Then Joker's nose suddenly scrunched up, "After you've had a bath of course."

An enormous bag of wrappers lay on the floor next to Gabe's bed and he was finally feeling like himself again, at least in terms of physicality. He used to turn his nose up at certain fast food chains but Joker insisted getting something in his stomach. The initial bite was rough but he forced it down and then when he realized he felt better after eating, he wolfed down two more burgers and a large cup of green tea. He skipped the french fries which his father took. Everything stayed down. Gabe looked at the clock; one a.m. There was no way he was going to sleep after having been passed out for nearly forty-eight hours.

Gabe reached for the cellphone on his desk. It was now fully charged and it appeared there was a new message. He pressed on the touch screen and opened the text. It was from Willow again. Who was this girl?

"Gabe? Are you still alive? I'm starting to worry. Call me when you can okay?"

Whoever she was, she was certainly persistent. Maybe he should call her. This girl might have answers to his questions that Joker couldn't provide. As he contemplated sending back a message, Gabe had a flash of memories quickly rush through his head; something about that bird in his jacket pocket. He blinked and touched his temple. "What the hell was that?" He peered down at his phone again; the message still staring back at him and dropped it back on the desk. He'll think about it. Right now there was too much going on and he really wanted to try and settle in with his new body before dragging anyone else into his problems. Still it was nice having someone worry for him. Minutes later, he couldn't ignore the messages any longer and he took the phone once again and responded to Willow's message.

"I'm fine. Just going through some rough patches. Don't worry." He pressed send and tossed the phone aside. The chances of an immediate response was slim at this hour but he would probably see something in the morning.

Willow heard her phone buzz in the middle of the night but was too far out of it to check who was calling. She ignored it and went back to sleep. The next morning she'd climbed out of bed, showered, and dressed before remembering the message. She practically squashed her phone while checking her inbox.

"I'm fine. Just going through some rough patches. Don't worry."She repeated the words and did not believe it in the least bit. After Gabe's story she thought something horrible was keeping her friend from seeing her. She didn't have his address so she had to figure out a way to get him to come to her without his father knowing and she started a new text.

"I want to see you very badly. Can we please talk somewhere in private without your father finding out? I don't want him to hurt you again."

Minutes later she was surprised with a quick response.

"What do you mean 'hurt me again'? I need to be honest, who are you?"

Willow gasped; clapping her hand over her mouth and suddenly felt a world of hurt. He'd forgotten her? Or was this some sick joke? She dropped her phone on the floor and began to cry.

To be continued...