I am nothing but sorry for not updating this story sooner. I had lost my motivation for this story. But a kind review and a couple favourites got me going and I slugged and slugged and finally finished this chapter. It is a little shorter than I wanted but I really couldn't help it.

Thank you for your support. My hearties love to Puja and WinchesterGranger without whom this chapter really wouldn't have been finished.

Also, this isn't beta-ed so any mistake you find is mine.

All my friends are heathens, take it slow
Wait for them to ask you who you know
Please don't make any sudden moves
You don't know the half of the abuse

-Heathens (Twenty One Pilots)

Commissioner Gordon was sitting in the café sipping a decaf coffee reading a report on the deaths that have recently happened in Arkham. It was well past midnight when a rustle of fabric caught his attention. Batman was sitting opposite to him now.

"Arkham was on yellow alert on Thursday and the last time checked the status changed rather abruptly," Batman simply stated.

"Why, hello to you too. Me? I'm fine. Spending my time working," Gordon said sarcastically.

Batman gave a wry smile at that. "And I do know you caught this petty thief who was robbing this very café by splashing your extra hot coffee on him last Friday."

"Keeping tabs on me, are you?"

"I keep tabs on everybody. And everything."

"Then the odd deaths in Arkham must have come to your notice too?"

"They did. Which is why I am here."

"I don't have much intel one it. Except the fact that Dr Hugo Strange is behind this all," Gordon said looking down on his coffee and stirring it with his spoon. "This smells distinctly of him. I suggest you rather look this up right at the source at Arkham. I am sure they would provide you with the information re—" Gordon looked up only to find the seat before empty.

"And I'm talking to myself. Again."

The Batmobile raced down the street tearing through the night. The visor of the mobile was showing the various footages from the CCTV cameras of Arkham. But it wasn't too accurate. It seemed that after the riot that happened three months back, somebody had tampered with the cameras in the women's wing. Every time something odd was recorded, the camera flickered and the footage got blurry. The staffs, these days, are so lax about the security.

It looked like he would have to take a personal interest into this. But that'll be tomorrow. He had other things to look into tonight.

"Is that another letter?" Harley asked when an owl came to Hermione that day.

"Yes, it is. In fact, it is an invitation to Astoria's baby shower," Hermione replied passing the invite around for all the girls to read.

"Looks like a private party," Selina commented.

"And I hope you won't steal anything from the manor. There are many hexes and curses around any pretty babble you might find there. They could kill you by shrivelling your inside or the famous Black blood boiling curse," Hermione said offhandedly.

"Oooh! Blood boiling curse sounds interesting!" Harley replied clapping her hands.

"It does what it says?" Pamela asked.

"Absolutely! Or else, it wouldn't be called a blood boiling curse now, would it?" Hermione replied and walked to her side of the room. Their cells were fused together and now it always was a luxurious suite that housed the four of them. They got along like houses on fire. With a dash of crazy. They were more friends to her than Lavender, Parvati, Ginny, Harry, Ron ever were.

"So you'll go to the baby shower?" Selina asked.

"Yes?" Hermione replied questioningly.

"So when are you breaking out of Arkham?" Harley asked rocking back and forth in her place.

"As soon as I kill that doctor. He is not good for this place. He has insidious motives," Hermione replied bringing the basket of muffins that had come along with the owl.

"So, soon?" Pamela asked.

"Soon."

Hugo was at his wit's end. Hermione Granger was unlike any patients he had ever encountered. She was medically sane but there was a side of her that was uncontrolled, that motivated her to kill people. But somehow, he just couldn't tap into that part of her. It was way too closely guarded. She almost lost control- given the recent killings she had done. They were accidental, but it's killing all the same.

There was a part of her psyche that followed her morals. Hugo twisted his wrist to check the time. It was well past midnight. He wouldn't be able to give his specialized treatment on Granger without the help of the orderlies. This would be the only chance Granger shall get. If she responds positively to it, well and good. Otherwise, he'll wash his hands off this case. With that thought, Hugo got out of his office to rest for the big day coming up ahead.

The days were blending in for Hermione. The same old, same old. Wake, eat, talk with her new friends, amuse one's self, eat, read books, mandatory counselling sessions by Dr Hugo personally, come back, eat, talk, sleep.

So, so, so boring!

Hermione looked down at her hands- they were quivering. Random sparks shot out of the tips of her fingers. Her body temperature was getting higher. She felt feverish without being weak. She felt like she could take on the world and come out unscathed. She hadn't used her magic for anything major recently and now she was restless. She was full of unspent energy and magic without any release in sight. If she remained as it is, she'll explode. Literally.

"Are you okay, girl?" Selina asked concerned about the way how Hermione sat quietly in her favourite seat.

"I…I don't think so," Hermione answered dreamily. Oh, Merlin. She was slipping into fever-induced delirium. But how? Fever didn't rise this fast.

"Mio, you are—" Harley approached Hermione and placed her hand on her arm when she hissed and flexed her hand back.

"What's wrong?" Ivy asked worried about Hermione.

"She's burning up. Like, burning from the inside. Slow roast burning," Harley provided the descriptions.

"We need to call an orderly. Now!" Ivy ordered. Harley went near the bars of their modified cells and shouted for an orderly.

"Here," Selina handed Harley a baton. "Bang this and get an orderly here."

Harley nodded and started banging the bars of the cell all the while shouting out, "Hey, orderly, orderly, orderly! Come here, orderly, orderly, orderly!" Then she added in a normal voice, "My friend is burning up here! I'm pretty sure she'll blow up these cells. I can't wait for it. Ever since she's been admitted life has certainly gotten exciting. Otherwise, it was so bORing. Hey, orderly, orderly, orderly!"

Selina poured a jug of chilled water over Hermione's head. But it promptly evaporated away. No one dared to touch her. They were crazy not brain dead.

Hermione had clenched her fingers into a fist and was trying her best to control her inflated core. She should have been exercising her powers more. But didn't she do her usual exercises of complex transfigurations? And Animagus meditations? She did all that and more. Every night she was exhausted to the bones. Because that was the only way she could go to sleep. But how did this come to be? She would have noticed the signs of her core's sudden growth. She would. Gods, she was feeling so hot.

Hermione was panting and by now her body temperature had started to char the fabric of her seat slightly. Selina and Pamela shared a panicked look. This was not good. The matter was already out of their hands. Hermione's present temperature could not be bored by any normal person. But then again she wasn't a normal person, was she?

Hermione was yet to show any movement other than the irregular pants she let out. Her body was wound up and tight with a pulled back bow. The arrow was all that was remaining to be released. Given the powers Hermione exhibited on a regular basis, it was a good guess that she could kill them all, Selina guessed. Maybe Pamela could survive but plants die after being burned away. It had come down to fight or flight now. Selina knew which one she would choose.

Pamela knew what was going to happen. If it didn't pose her a threat then Pamela would have waxed poetically about it. From the symptoms Hermione was showing, it seemed as if she was going into her chrysalis stage. She was preparing to become more. Pamela just hoped she survived the process. It was lovely to have a good friend.

"Nope, I bang and wailed and shouted and screamed and cried and banged some more. Though not the thing that I wanted to bang but bang I did. To no avails, I am afraid," Harley replied after her enthusiastic efforts for straight fifteen minutes. She turned to look at Hermione, who was sitting in her now charred seat, her muscles clenched to their limits riding something out that they couldn't guess. "Looks like we need to activate our protection shells."

"Protection shells?" Selina questioned from the farthest corner of the room.

"Mio and I had a chat some days ago. She said when she would break us out of here, the baddies could use tasers on us or the tranqs. Damn, she hates tranqs. So she created these," Harley went over to the chest of drawers and pulled out a pouch from there. Then she pulled out a couple of transparent balls filled with aquamarine blue colour liquid with magenta patterns swirling in it.

"What are these?" Selina asked suspiciously.

Suddenly, their ears popped as if there was a pressure fall. As if synchronised, they turned their heads to face Hermione who had now straightened up and sitting calmly in her chair. Hermione looked at them with a maniacal look in her eyes.

"This place is about to blow," Hermione crackled.

Harley promptly popped a ball in her mouth and chewed on it. As it burst, she quickly swallowed it. Her face twisted in a grimace. "It could do with a better flavour. Can't say I like the bitter orange flavour," Harley shuddered as she said that.

Selina and Pamela stared at her for a moment when they started feeling a faint vibration in the air around them. It felt as if the very air around them was trying to compress them. Pamela didn't second guess and ate the offered ball. She too shuddered and made a face.

"Yeah. Not exactly a likeable flavour," Pamela commented.

Selina didn't want to take this risk. Pamela was impervious to poisons and Harley was insane. But she couldn't deny that the temperature of the room was reaching an intolerable range now and Harley hadn't dropped down dead yet. She shrugged and popped in the ball and gave a bite. The shell burst and her mouth was filled with a sweetish yet bitter…oh! very bitter flavoured liquid. Selina quickly gulped it to free her mouth so that she could wipe it clean when the shell dissolved in her mouth and left a sweet orange taste. But the bitterness didn't go away entirely.

Selina took empty gulps to ease the annoying taste that lingered on her tongue when she felt slight tingles spreading all over her body. She looked down at her hands and saw nothing new…except the minor glint on her skin. Hold on! Why was her skin glinting in the light?

"See? It feels like you are wearing a skin fit raincoat," Harley giggled as she poked Pamela.

"Yes, witch indeed. Crazy but witchy," Pamela added with a small smile.

A loud siren sounded as the alarm started ringing.

Harley looked at Selina and lamented, "Maybe, we should have burnt something. That would have brought the guards earlier."

Pamela placed her hand on Harley's shoulders and flicked her head towards a corner. The walls of their 'suite' were flickering. It seemed that Hermione's magic had finally gone insane too.

"We need to stay away from Hermione. Who knows how the magic will affect us once it explodes," Pamela explained.

The other two nodded in consent and went up to stand in the farthest corner of the room.

"Poor Mio. She must be in pain. But no pains, no gains," Harley consoled herself.

It wasn't too long before the charmed objects in their 'suite' started returning to their original form.

"Hey, I liked that chaise!" Harley whined when her 'chaise' turned into a regular mattress.

"When Hermione's fine again, she'll make you another," Pamela consoled her.

"You think so?" Harley asked.

"I know so," Pamela assured.

The three of them watched as their slice of luxury turned into tattered bed sheets, stained walls and lumpy mattresses. This reverting back happened before the orderlies came barging in. Then…it was a pin drop silence. The three women shared an uneasy look- Hermione was sitting like a statue in her seat unseeing and unresponsive. They then noticed the five people who had barged in weren't orderlies but the security. The nurse was standing behind them with an injection in hand ready to be used as well accompanied by… was that Dr Hugo Strange himself? In flesh?

'He hadn't bothered himself with them before,' was a thought that ran through the three prisoners mind.

Hermione sat up straighter and they felt the pressure in the room rise. They turned to look at Hermione who mouthed, "duck" at them. Selina, being the jumpiest one, grabbed the hands of Pamela and Harley and jumped to the floor. What followed that was a series of sonic explosions and the crash and bang of the things and people hitting the wall. The three of them kept crouching on the floor as the bits and pieces of the plaster and an odd metal kept hitting them. Pamela once cried out in surprise when a shrapnel hit directly on her face but didn't injure her. She ran her fingers over her face to check and saw it was unhurt.

"Oh, so that's what it does. Like a very nice raincoat," Harley commented but no one heard that.

Selina and Pamela were, instead, looking at Hermione who had now collapsed on the ground, unconscious. The orderlies who were out of the range of the explosion filled in and the nurse who apparently was unscathed injected something into Hermione. The doctor then barked some orders and Hermione was carried away from the cell.

"Where do you think they are taking her?" Selina asked as she took in their cell which was blasted apart. The walls facing the outside were blown away; the section where Hermione was sitting had caved in. The guards and the nurses who had been unfortunate enough to come into the explosion region were lying crumpled on the ground.

"She did some good amount of damage," Pamela commented, lightly nudging the fallen people.

"Magic sounds a very frisky thing," Harley added, to which Selina nodded in affirmative.

The doctor suddenly came back in and looked at the three of them and nodded to himself. "You all are unharmed?" he asked.

The three of them just nodded in response.

"Good," Hugo said and snapped his finger. Soon, five more people came in and point black shot, Harley and Pamela.

"What the hell! What the fucking hell?!" Selina shouted as she scrambled to run the other way. She didn't see a tranq hitting her back and promptly fell down as the tranquillizer shot started working immediately thus making her feet go numb first.

Selina was picked up in a fireman's haul and was hanging off the shoulder of a guard. She knew her friends were getting transported in the same way.

"You four have tested my patience for so long," Hugo commented as he talked to Selina. "I tried to give Hermione Granger to submit right away. But oh no, you've tested my patience. You have proved the world that you all are so expendable. But to me, you are inDISpensaBLE."

That was the last thing Selina heard before darkness claimed her.

The first thing she heard some was the whirring of the machines, a constant beeping and the undeterminable buzzing. Hermione tried to blink the drowsiness away but her head lolled to her right. Maybe a quick nap would be good. She was about to fall asleep when a sound near her made Hermione look up.

Pamela, who was tied to the stirrup table, was struggling against her—whatever those were—rather violently. Come to think of it, Hermione's arms and legs were tied to the table too. Oh, wonders of wonder, she was tied to a vertical table. And cushiony too. So not a table. Then is it a chair- like the ones her parents had in their dental clinic or those creepy chairs like in a gyno's clinic?

Hermione shook her head as if that would dispel her weird train of thoughts. She looked around and took it the activities happening- Pamela struggling, Harley giggling, her beau grinning, Selina scowling, that handsome Scarecrow frowning—Hold that thought. What's the Scarecrow doing here? And Harley's beau?

"Good to find you awake, Ms Granger," Hermione's counselling doctor said cheerfully.

"What's up, Doc?" Hermione sassed and smiled like Bugs Bunny did- all teeth and mischief.

"You had an episode a couple hours ago. Do you remember that?" Hugo asked, ignoring Hermione's enquiry.

"Wasn't an episode. More like an allergic reaction," Hermione answered curtly.

"Reaction to?" Hugo asked, looking interested.

Hermione leant forward, as much as her restrictions allowed and smirked, "Wouldn't you want to know, darlin'?"

From across her, Hermione heard a dark chuckle that pleased her to no ends.

"I'm sure the electric shock would suffice enough to loosen your tongue," Hugo snarled.

"Take your time, Doc. I ain't going anywhere," Hermione replied cockily.

"Don't worry, Mio," Harley shouted, two 'chairs' away from her. "The electric shocks feel like a tickle in the brain. I love it. It makes me laugh so much!"

"Sugar, you are making me nostalgic of all the times we played," the green hair guy said.

'What was his name again?' Hermione thought, trying to recall, 'Something to do with a joke or a clown.'

Hermione didn't get to ponder more as the nurses there attached all sorts of wires and small sticky things and the main headdress for a head reboot. Hermione didn't protest. After the sudden core expansion due to the infusion of the wand core in her arm in the afternoon, Hermione knew she could handle a pesky machine trying to electrocute her. She was confident that a simple Lumos would be able to burn every machine in the room to a crisp.

Suddenly, Hermione felt as if someone was watching her. She looked up and saw Jonathan 'Scarecrow' Crane looking at her intently. The nurse came between them to put four more restraints around her. When Hermione hissed at the tightness of the restraints around her calf, she chanced a look at Jonathan's eyes and saw his pupils were blown wide. Somebody was getting turned on by seeing her get tied up.

Hermione didn't move her eyes away from Jonathan as her mouth was gagged in case she bit her tongue during their 'treatment'. Hermione smirked smugly as she saw him trying to keep down the groan. He licked his lips and kept staring at her. He took her-inch by inch- from her head to the toes and then from her toes to her head and repeated it again. Hermione could help but feel empowered from being able to get such a primal reaction from a man.

It's so good to be bad.

"The machine is ready, Doctor," a random nurse prepping the machine announced.

Hugo smiled sinisterly at Hermione and nodded his head. A nurse rubbed alcohol on Hermione's arms and injected something in her veins, then stepped back and nodded.

"Initialising the treatment. Patient 7842/B under electro treatment. Charging up. And…start," the nurse shouted.

"MMMMFFFFFFTTTTTT!" Hermione shouted from behind her gag.

The nurse immediately switched off the machine in panic; the patient wasn't supposed to react before five minutes into the treatment. Hugo let out an exasperated sigh and waved his hand to let the nurse know that the gag needs to be removed.

Hermione immediately started coughing and spat out, "Uurgh… horrible taste. Pffffttttt." She blew raspberries to get rid of the foul flavoured saliva in her mouth.

"I believe you wanted to say something," Hugo seethed. Even he didn't know why he was entertaining her insane request. Maybe it was the fact that Hermione and he both knew that she wasn't insane enough to be sent to an asylum. Or maybe the fact that Hugo wanted to know how she managed to not go insane despite his well thought out treatments.

"I get why us four girls are here. But why these two?" Hermione jerked her head at Joker and Jonathan.

Hugo sighed and removed his spectacles. Tapping the temple tips of the specs, he replied, "They are disposable samples. They are a menace to the security of this place anyways. Commence the treatment now," he said with finality.

With the gag in place, Hermione concentrated on transfiguring it into something tasteless not caring that the electro treatment had begun. Five minutes, ten minutes- no effect. Everyone stared at Hermione in surprise.

Only Harley whined. "I wanted to go first." She pouted. Hermione smiled apologetically.

"Your turn will soon come. Maybe like old times, I'll be the one to shock you," Joker leered.

Harley gave a giggle of pleasure.

Hermione seemed to be locked in a stare-off with Jonathan while the nurse cranked the volts up.

Nothing happened.

"How is this possible?" Hugo raged, coming in front of Hermione to shout in her face. He pulled off the gag rather harshly off her.

"If I tell you, I would have to kill you. Or worse, marry you," Hermione replied nonchalantly, though her eyes held the promise of retribution for his slight on her person.

Hugo merely looked at her, puzzled. There seem to be more secrets to uncover about this woman. She didn't turn up in the database, her life was confidential- they needed the permission of the Head of the Police Department every time they tried to check; her secrets had secrets.

Hermione rolled her eyes. "You know what? I'm tired being tied up. Instead of being treated for an episode, as you quoted, I am tied up and being electrocuted. What the fuck do you think you are doing?"

"It's my own type of treatment. It will enhance the innate skills in you. Now that I think of it…" Hugo trailed off and made his way towards the machine controlling her electroshocks. He fiddled with it-while Hermione saw from the corner of her eyes, the nurse shaking his head in negation to whatever Hugo was saying. Hugo pushed the nurse out of the way and cranked the machine on high. Hermione deduced it was the highest setting possible because that was the only time she felt a slight tingle against her skin where the sticky sticker things were attached.

Following the first tingle, it felt a static spread throughout her body- the prickling and tingling sensation overwhelming her. She felt her magical core strum inside her, rejuvenating her and filling her with more power than she had ever felt. She could feel the radio waves around her, the steady thrum of the electricity running through the wires, the subtle nude of Pamela's plant power against her and even Harley and Selina's normal energy core. She could discern the energy around her. Even the light energy!

Hermione was busy staring at the harsh light of the fluorescent tubes. Satisfied that something was happening to Hermione now, Hugo moved on to her 'friends' and was busy pricking them with needles and putting the sticky stickers on them to electrocute them.

"Would you put on high too, Doctor? I want what you gave to Mio," Harley requested in a baby voice

"Yes, yes," Hugo answered absently and moved on the other patients.

"Yaaay! Puddin'! It's my turn now," Harley squealed merrily.

"You better now put those on me, Doctor. I'm not one of your experiments," Joker snarled at Hugo, not paying attention to Harley's exclamation.

Hugo looked up from the chart he was perusing, he smiled an all teeth smile and replied, "My hospital, my patients, my rules."

Hugo went to the table and pulled out an injection filled to the brim with a red liquid.
"You wouldn't dare!" Jonathan shouted, "Not here in such a confined space!"

"You don't worry about that, Mr Crane. I have all under control," Hugo replied, false sweetness dripping off his voice.

"That's Doctor Crane for you," Jonathan seethed.

Hugo merely gave a snort and pushed the needle into Jonathan's veins a little no hard for comfort. Jonathan just hissed in discomfort. He chanced a look at Hermione who still had a dazed look on her face. Who knows what stuff must have been injected into her?

Jonathan felt the ripping of his muscles and heard the tearing of his clothes. The concern for his clothes was his last conscious thought.

The nurses pressed some buttons and some restraints attached themselves around now rabid Jonathan who had turned into something that was best described as a humanoid scarecrow.

"Holy Merlin on a pogo stick! What has he turned into?" Hermione gasped in shock as her eyes fell on the Scarebeast the first thing after she woke up from the magic high.

A skeletal figure with muscles hanging off it and feet that looked like the uprooted tree roots. It had no distinct face- just a set of jaw full of jagged teeth and a pair of glowing red eyes.

"I've heard this avatar is called Scarebeast," Selina answered who was wriggling in her bindings trying to get as far as possible away from the threat.

Hermione let out a frustrated sigh. "Okay, water is overhead now."

"On the contrary. It's perfectly under control," Hugo replied in admiration, "My personal monsters ready to devastate the world."

"Beg to differ," Hermione muttered.

"How is it that you can talk even now? Your brain should have been fried by now." Hermione saw Hugo's assistant comment, from somewhere far down the room, in an awed tone.

"Sorry to disappoint. Tough nut and all that rot," Hermione replied snappishly.

Hugo motioned the nurse to drug her again when the injection flew out of the nurse's hand and pierced the needle in the nurse's neck. The nurse promptly fell in an unconscious slump.

"I did love to play but I'm on time constraint. I expected the episode to happen later nevertheless…" Hermione trailed off as she jumped off the chair to which she was shackled to.

"How?" Hugo asked in wonder stopping a moment to see the impossible happen before his eyes.

"Doctor, witches have magical powers." Hermione winked. "And now that I've told you, I'll have to kill you. Our laws, you see."

"Witches? Are they enhanced humans? Like Pamela here?" Hugo asked, his curiosity taking the best of him.

"You talk too much," Hermione snarled and leapt towards Hugo.

Hugo found himself rooted to the spot while Hermione sauntered towards him like a panther moving in on its prey.

"I've seen how you charm people away with your words. You think you know how to find person's raw nerve, don't you?" Hermione asked him as she circled him. "If you hadn't tried to use your tricks on me, I would have let you live. But…"

Hermione waved her hand at him and whispered, "Imperio."

Hugo felt his mind go slack and there was a voice inside telling him to claw his own throat out. He shook his head as if to dislodge the thought but the voice kept on telling the command persistently.

'Come on. You know you can claw it out. It'll be good. As soon as you do it, your mind will stop hurting.'

'No! How can I hurt myself?!'

He tried to fight it off. He was the master of his own body. His mind was the greatest weapon he had. His most prized possession. He was not going to let it be controlled by anyone- enhanced human or not. He started fighting against the command. His arms were already loosely wrapped around his throat. He could feel sweats dripping off his temples as he tried to gain control over himself again. God, he was starting to develop a ferocious headache.

Meanwhile, with another wave of her hand, Hermione immobilised every attendant present there. Seeing her friends frozen like statues, Hermione chuckled and gave another wave freeing them of all their restraints- magical and otherwise.

Hermione had to work a little more on Scarebeast but the normal dragon stunning spell worked well on him. Scarebeast stumped in his place, stunned for the time being.

Harley squealed in joy and jumped towards Hermione to give her a bear hug. She didn't stop there- peppering Hermione's face with kisses.

"You are the bestest, bestest, bestest person ever!" Harley proclaimed loudly and she remained clung to her like a barnacle on a ship.

"And what are we? Chopped beans?" Pamela muttered, though there was a wide smile on her face.

Harley grabbed Pamela and initiated a group hug. Somehow, she snagged Selina into the group too. Never had Hermione felt so included. It really didn't matter that these people were stably functional only on their best days. Those days were rare and far in between.

Suddenly choking broke the lovely moment and Hermione turned to face a now blue faced Hugo.

"Oh gods," Hermione grumbled and waved her hand at him. The effect was immediate- Hugo started pulling at his thorax with all his strength. It was an extremely grotesque and fascinating to see at the same time. Hugo's blunt fingers tried to claw it out now.

"Doesn't feel right to be the one on the receiving end of manipulation, does it?" Hermione taunted him, still standing in the embrace of her friends.

"What is going to happen to him?" Selina asked, looking at the grotesque event unfold.

"He'll kill himself," Hermione replied apathetically, her eyes fixed on Hugo as if watching an experiment taking place. In some way, it was. She hadn't used Imperio on anybody ever.

Hermione looked at Hugo and willed him to try harder and harder and harder.

Hugo was screaming inside his mind. He couldn't make any sound except for some primal groans and muffled screams that managed to escape from his already damaged throat.

Hugo's thorax was completely in his finger's grasp and he had pulled it way beyond what should have been physically possible.

"Get on with it now, will you?" Hermione snarled.

Then with a mighty heave as if Hugo suddenly possessed super strength, Hugo pulled his thorax off his person.

The result was horrible. Blood splattered on everyone in the projectile area. Hugo stood there with his thorax in his hand, blood gushing out of his exposed throat. Some choked croaking later, he fell on the floor pooling the floor with his life force.

"This is an entertainment I'd steal to pay for," Joker crackled.

Hermione tsk-ed, "Such a waste of good blood." Not caring she was covered in blood, she dipped her fingers in the small puddle of blood and started drawing archaic symbols on the clean floor a little away.

"Now this is witchy," Pamela commented.

Harley was busy explaining Joker who and what Hermione was.

"What about these people?" Pamela pointed towards the statue like nurses and orderlies in the room.

"As soon as I am out of here, they can do whatever they feel like," Hermione replied, giving little hops to go over the symbols. "Oh, and mind the runes, please. I will not be held accountable if you ruin it."

"And your admirer?" Selina asked, looking at the unconscious Scarebeast.

"I'll drop him out of here. After that, I don't know. I'll go with the flow," Hermione answered.

"What's so special about them?" Joker asked looking at the symbols with morbid fascination.

"It's my offerings to Gaia. If all goes well, this place shall be taken over by Her at her own pace," Hermione explained.

Pamela smiled, pleased about the turn of events.

"So, what's next?" Harley asked.

"Let's blow this place away," Hermione replied with a smirk.

And the place had blown away. What Hermione hadn't expected that a part of the confinement cells to blow off allowing the other inmates to escape. Hermione was not happy about that. But Harley had promised her that they would take of it.

So, Hermione was, currently, sitting on the edge of the two-storeyed, an abandoned building near the border of Arkham watching the escapees wreak havoc on their fellow escapees. Pamela was in full-fledged Poison Ivy mode; her favourite orchid was blooming along the walls of the houses and the animated branches systematically wrapped the escapees and brought them near her to get them kissed. It was almost funny seeing them become 'zombie in love' from just a kiss. Silly them.

Harley had faithfully freed Joker and now they were in a jeep mowing down the people who were unfortunate enough to be in their way. Selina was off doing whatever Selina did. The Portkey on her made sure that she would be there by the time when they would need to leave.

Scarebeast was…scaring people. He had managed to get out of the restraints, out of the lab and into the foray of the battle. It was a sight worth seeing a proper monster in action.

Hermione swung her head, looking at the Tempus spell cast on her wrist. Portkey time was T-minus half an hour. A little more fun for her friends and then off to England. Harley and Joker had opted to stay here; Selina and Pamela wanted out…she just didn't know about Jonathan.

Hermione was busy wondering when she heard a slight thump behind her but she didn't bother to turn to acknowledge the interloper.

"It's not what you think, you know?" Hermione tried to explain.

"Then explain," a very gruff voice demanded. Hermione knew perfectly that no human voice could be like that. It was clearly manipulated by a device.

"Dr Hugo Strange wanted to turn us into his customised monsters. So, I got them out. I became friends with the girls here you see," Hermione was telling Batman as they both looked down at the carnage that was going on down below. "And I would think that you would prefer if the really terrible psychos were offed. That way the city becomes a little more secure."

"That's what jails are for."

"But I've read the reports about the frequency of breakouts at Arkham. The criminals spend more time outside of Arkham than inside. Take Jack for example. He's barely in the jails of highest security for more than six months."

At Batman's blank stare, Hermione let out a huff. "Of course you don't know his real name. Joker. Joker's real name is Jack. Don't worry. He didn't tell me that. I just found out. Besides, I would be crazy if I believed any word out of his mouth."

"You are not like the others."

"If you believe me, I was wrongly committed here. I just got a little too dangerous for people in power."

Batman didn't say anything more. He was chattier than he usually is with this strange woman who kept her eye on whatever was going on not letting things get out of hand. As far as he could make out, her allies were making sure that no other people made out of the boundaries of Arkham. Despite the good work those escapees were doing, he couldn't let them roam free in Gotham. He took a step to jump off the building to take control of the situation going down below when someone pulled him back his cape.

"Hey, what do you think you are doing?"

"They are criminals. They—"

"So are you. You go beyond the protocols of normal police jurisdictions. That makes you a criminal too. Just because you catch the bad guys it doesn't make you the good guys. Maybe to some, but you are a criminal in my eyes."

Batman merely snarled in response, "I do not cause harm to the civilians!"

"Neither would they. I take their responsibilities. You will never see them again in Gotham again. I swear. Just let them finish this job. We'll be off."

"And I am to take your word for it?"

"You have no other way. None of your fancy toys shall work against me. So why don't you," Hermione twisted her wrist to check the time, "wait for ten more minutes and then you'll see if my words stands or not."

Batman pulled out his stun gun and pressed the trigger but, like the woman before him said, it didn't work.

"What did you do with them?" he asked pointing out his gun.

"Electronic goods react with my…aura. They tend to go bad," she replied flippantly.

"Where will you take them?"

"Somewhere normal people can never find," Hermione smirked at him. She turned to face the last people standing and shouted, "Oi! We'll Portkey in few moments. Gather around." And she got and jumped off the building.

He saw that woman appear near her 'friends' and handed them something. Before he knew it, Batman found Poison Ivy, Catwoman -even Scarebeast- and that woman had disappeared from the place. The escaping prisoners were all contained in…cages while Harlequin and Joker were still on their joy ride. He did better take care of the present problem. He would deal with them later.

Diagon Alley, Magical Britain.

A lazy afternoon in the magical Britain was blasted apart in chaos and clamour. There were monsters roaming the streets of the Diagon Alley. Literally, monsters. A monstrous scarecrow, a Devil's Snare like woman, a fairly normal cat…woman and—"

"Hermione?" the Auror, who had arrived after the alert was generated, stood dumbfounded.

The monsters all stopped their rampage for a moment. They stood right behind Hermione like her bodyguards.

"Miss me, Harry?"

Yes, I meant it to be open ended.

Yes, some outtakes shall be posted as soon as they are done.

Review if you please.