~John's POV~
Bruce led me through the winding halls of Arkham Asylum, putting a comforting hand on my shoulder whenever we needed to come to a stop. It was outside of visiting hours, albeit no one batted an eye as they witnessed this well known billionaire walk with a much younger man through the different areas of the facility.
Yells and cries echoed in the distance as we walked, as orderlies made their journeys from place to place with sullen faces. There was no words between us or the people around us, but there didn't need to be. Any noise would have been uncomfortable and so I kept my mouth firmly closed and bared the heavy atmosphere.
I moved to walk up the stairs instead of standing in the elevator, as the busier my muscles were, the less time I had to think. That had been my idea when I devoted hours each day to exercise or long runs around Gotham, pushing myself until I was on the brink of throwing up. And sometime even further.
No one had stepped forward to talk to me about it, but Krishna had been spending more time with me recently, and Damian had a little less cutthroat with his choice of words toward me. It was empty, I knew, but I still reacted positively toward them, as it really wasn't their fault I was feeling like this. No, the one at fault was locked inside these very walls, the one I dreaded to be in the same building with.
Bruce and I climbed the stairs to top level, to an area that had a warning reading RESTRICTED in such alarming text.
"Sir, I'm going to need some ID." a male guard reported to us, stepping forward from his post at the door at the end of the stairs.
Bruce nodded and pulled it from the lapel on his blazer. I followed his lead, removing the identification from my pocket and flashing it at the guard. He gave a satisfied nod after a fairly lacklustre response at realising this older guest was Bruce Wayne, practically a celebrity, but I supposed this place got a lot of visits from celebrities.
Some of them stayed locked up too.
The guard stepped aside and unlocked the door, allowing Bruce and I to pass into the hallway that stretched before us. There was a click as the guard on our side closed the door behind us, and if I had been talking, I would have swiftly shut up here. I almost held my breath passing by the cells, as the inmates stared at us with glee or disdain, and some took to banging on the glass, which only served to bringing up the volume of noise.
Nevertheless Bruce was unfazed, and kept us walking at the same pace looking straight ahead. He knew his way around this area as we turned a corner, and found ourselves outside of a room. It was labelled Interview Room 1.
I put a hand on the older man's muscles arm. "You stay here, I'd rather do this by myself if that's okay." I murmured, looking him in his blue eyes.
He nodded with no change in his expression. "Go ahead, I would have only come in if you were fearing for your safety, but clearly that isn't an issue." he replied, a friendly smile growing. "I'll be stood here for as long as you need."
I pulled him in for a hug, something he wasn't expecting, but accepted nevertheless. We drew away less than a minute later, and he patted me on the back.
"Go on, lad, go face her." Bruce added, before sending me off toward the door.
I opened it and closed it quietly behind me, finding a small bland white room with a metal table and chairs in the centre, guarded by one female guard. Sat on one said metal chair opposite to where I was standing was the little figure of my sister.
"John?" her voice pleaded, as a genuine smile grew on her lips. "I can't believe it you finally came to see me!"
It had been just over two months since my sister Fox had been found guilty of first degree murder of Oswald Cobblepot, and had the book thrown at her by the law, many of which in the court had been previously on Cobblepot's payroll. Bruce Wayne had managed to snag her an insanity plea due to the shear deterioration of her psychè at that time, and that was how she had been dumped here at Arkham.
It had taken me months to brave up and go see her for some reason unbeknownst to me. She was my sister, why would I not want to see her? I couldn't answer that myself, and I mentally sighed.
"It's good to see you Fox, you're looking well." I commented, being as friendly as I could as I sat down on the chair on the other side of the table to her.
She seemed erratic in her repeated behaviour she indulged in in front of me, such as the fidgeting of her hands and feet under the table. Due to a more consistent set of meals she had put on some weight and looked healthier in that manner, however the locking of her up here was taking a toll on the appearance of her skin, most notably the dark circle under her still bright eyes.
She gave a little giggle. "You're looking... expensive." she responded, glancing up and down at my clothes.
I hmphed to myself. "I still don't know how to dress as you can see. Bruce-" I started.
She cut me off. "Bruce Wayne? You're still hanging around with Bruce Wayne." she interjected, her voice much more mellow.
I paused to recollected my words before nodding. "I live at Wayne Manor, there'll be a place for you too when-" I started before getting cut off once again.
"When I finally come to my senses and get declared sane? When I finally decide that I was wrong for pushing away hotshots like Bruce Wayne and sit down for a barbecue with the lot of you?" she laughed, her voice heavy with mocking. "Face it, Johnny, that's never gonna happen."
I sighed. "If this place didn't lock you in the same room as that witch I'm sure you'd be recovering a lot quicker." I muttered.
She raised an eyebrow. "That witch? I suppose you're referring to Dee, the one person that seems to be supporting me no matter what I choose. Unlike you who didn't visit me until now or Mr Wayne stood out there. Believe me if you think ripping me away from her will help me recover then God knows what I'll do to you or those precious little Waynes when I get out of here."
My brow hardened - this is what I had been afraid of. "Listen to yourself, Fox, you're talking about harming your own brother. Don't you see how bad that sounds?"
She burst out with a laugh, before covering her mouth with her narrow hand. "Does blood family really matter, when you use us as an example? I mean I don't think dad cared about harming us even though we shared genetic material. And look at you: prioritising your fake Wayne family over your real family!"
I tried to but in but she continued over me.
"Don't try to tell me different, because why else would it have taken you this long to see me? I mean, don't get me wrong, I'm not heartbroken, but I just hate a hypocrite."
My lip curled. "Oh yeah? Well didn't you say how badly you hated crime and now you went out of your way to commit it?"
She stopped laughing and grew serious. "I killed the Penguin, the biggest dirt smudge on this city since the Joker. Is anyone genuinely sad to see him go? I don't know man I think I did a service to this city, I'm just locked up because Penguin's men still feel they have to sit by the bastard's side."
I didn't reply and silence fell between us.
She let out a quiet sigh. "Truth is I thought I hated crime and gangs, whilst it was my father that was polluting those things for me. Crime isn't necessarily negative, at least not anymore."
I scoffed. "Don't you see how much you're turning into dad? It's sickening."
She fell silent and looked down at the table. "I don't wanna be like him, it's just trapped in side of me and I can't control it. I- I don't know what to do." This was the first rational response I'd heard from her, and I sighed empathetically.
"They can help you here, Fox. Like help you get rid of that part of you forever."
Her face fell into a more negative expression which she shot at me. "No... they'll just use that as a tool to take her away from me."
"Fox, she's bringing out the bad parts of you-"
"I won't let them! I won't let you! Why can't you just fuck off and let us be happy?!"
Her voice reverberated off of the white tile walls, and I winced. A sudden hand came up to grasp at me, but my trained reflexes meant that I could duck back in time.
She devolved into erratic screaming and incoherent yelling and so with a glance toward me the guard seized her, and administered a shot of sedative. This calmed Fox down quickly, and she sunk back into her metal chair.
"I think it's best if I take her back to her cell." the guard commented as she drew back.
I gave her a nod, and sighed. As the guard began to unlock the girl's chains, I turned on my heel, and walked away from her. I would come back later, visit as much as possible and try and get her back on her feet and happy. I'd seen a glimmer of the original Fox in there, and I didn't want Dahlia to crush that last speck of hope.
I left the room without a further word.