Disclaimer: I do not own the rights to any Batman character in this work. I only own Carmel and any other made up characters throughout the story.
After what felt like an eternity, Friday finally arrived. It's a strange feeling knowing that a massive prison breakout was going to take place soon. That the place you've recently called home will burst in chaos and that some people probably won't make it through the night. Yet, I had to accept that reality and brace myself. But Scarecrow did his best to prepare me for the upcoming circus.
"All the cell doors will unlock, freeing everyone here. I want you to get up and shut your door immediately. That will keep you the safest," he explained to me.
It was determined that I should not participate in the breakout because I was only a week away from serving out my sentence. That meant I could get out without having to hide from or dodge the police when back in society. Well, for now.
After returning from lunch on Friday, I found Deathstroke and Killer Moth in Scarecrow's cell, quietly discussing something. Upon noticing my presence, they stopped talking and looked at me before returning to their respective cells as if nothing had happened. Hm, I wonder what that's all about.
I wandered into Scarecrow's cell. "So what exactly am I to do once I'm out of here?"
"There will be a car waiting for you," he calmly explained in his monotonous voice. "It will take you to my base."
That settled it, then. I was not going back to being a prostitute and was definitely going to work for Scarecrow, although it seemed I didn't have a choice in the matter. I wasn't complaining, really. I hadn't had sex in seven weeks and I did not miss it at all, to be honest. That was one of the nicer parts of my incarceration.
"Well, what about my apartment? And all my stuff? And my car's definitely in the pound by now." I hadn't worried about these things during my time at Arkham, but now I was so close to release that I had to start considering.
He nodded his head. "Indeed." He procured a pencil and some paper. "Write down your address and details about your car. I'll see what I can do."
I had absolutely no idea what that meant, but I could tell that this was not one of those things to press him on. "Okay, thanks."
"And Carmel? Be safe tonight."
"Oh you do care," I mocked.
He averted his glance from me to the floor. "I just…have invested too much in you," he quickly replied.
That's about as close to endearing as he could get.
No matter how much I had prepared for the moment, I was not ready for the breakout, and certainly unprepared for how it started. It was around 10:00 when the intercom went on.
"Hello patients! This is Dr. Joker speaking. After intense consideration, I have decided the best treatment for everyone is some fresh air," the Clown Prince of Crime crowed. "Now go wild and have a good time!"
With that, loud clicks indicated that all of our cell doors were now unlocked and they slid open a bit on their own. Despite the breakout, the lights did not come on, leaving our cellblock fairly dark.
"It's about time!" I heard Killer Moth exclaim. "Now let's blow this popsicle stand."
"W-w-what's going on?" a fearful Kirk asked.
"It's a breakout, Doctor," Deathstroke answered. "Are you planning on escaping?"
"N-No, not me!"
"Then you better shut your cell door, Kirk. That will relock it," I called out to Langstrom. "That's what I'm doing." I got up off my bed and clicked my door shut.
"Thanks, Carmel." I heard another click, indicating that he had followed my advice.
Scarecrow walked up to my cell. "I'll see you in a week. Stay away from the cell door." I could tell that he was tense, undoubtedly about making it out.
"Got it," I responded.
"Let's go, Scarecrow. Gotta beat the rush," Killer Moth said. "See ya around Carmel, babe."
I laughed. "Can't wait, Drury."
"Nice meeting you, Doc," Drury told Langstrom.
"It's been educational," Langstrom replied.
"Good luck with your research," Scarecrow told Kirk. "Let's go Drury." And just like that, Killer Moth and Scarecrow left our cellblock.
I could see Deathstroke sitting in his cell, meditating. "You're not leaving?"
"Nope. Still waiting on a job," he replied without opening his eyes.
That seemed strange to me, because a breakout seemed like the perfect time to find him for a job, as everyone knew exactly where he was. "Fair enough," I replied anyway, shrugging it off.
Then, I heard some loud yelling and a few gunshots. "It has begun," the assassin remarked.
Some thugs came running through our cellblock. "Freedom!" one hulking one yelled on his way through.
That was how it went for a while. Lots of patients and thugs running through, paying no attention to us. Fine by me.
My thoughts wandered to Dr. Crane, wondering if he was going to make it out. I knew he wasn't very quick, but it seemed like Drury was going to wait for him. It was certainly strange indeed that I found myself caring about him, a confirmed killer and supervillain, but maybe that's what Arkham does to you.
My thoughts were interrupted by another announcement. "Attention: all patients wearing security jumpsuits should be restrained immediately. Preferably permanently," the Joker called out on the intercom, cackling afterwards.
"Kirk, how are you doing?" I called out.
"F-Fine, I guess. Freighted," he called back.
"It's all going to be okay."
"But what if they try to kill me?" he asked, panicked.
I laughed. "Kirk, why would someone in here try to kill you? No one knows who you are."
"Exactly!" he replied fearfully. "Oh God, here come some more."
I was doing much better than Kirk was, as I wasn't feeling really afraid at all. I actually found it interesting to watch everyone run by, a sort of people watching. Yet, that would change when he arrived.
Stepping into view in front of my cell was none other than the Mad Hatter. Shit, the one guy I didn't want to see.
"Hello, Alice," he began, grinning at me.
I decided to go the "asleep/dead/I don't know what but I was sure as hell not talking to him" route.
"Come on, Alice, I know you're in there. I've come to set you free," he purred.
I was creeped out for sure, but I must say that I wasn't terrified. Clearly, the Hatter had haunted at least one of my hallucinogenic experiences, but I found myself eerily calm. It was then that I realized that all of my exposure to the fear toxin had probably dulled my fear. I'm glad I'm getting something out of it.
"Alice, come out, don't pout, Alice. Once you come out, we can go play. Oh, do come out, Alice," he whined.
"Fuck you, Hatter. I'm not Alice," I told him.
"I'm waiting, Alice. Don't make me come in there and get you." Suddenly, he reached his hands into my cell, causing me to jerk.
I was already as far back in my cell as possible, but I would have loved to go back even farther.
"I love you Alice, don't you love me?"
For some reason, I decided that I was going to use my pillow as a weapon and beat him until he left. Here goes nothing. However, when I reached for my pillow, I felt something underneath it. It was a small, burlap pouch labeled "For Emergencies" in cursive. I grinned devilishly, knowing exactly what the pouch contained. Scarecrow had really come through for me, and I was genuinely touched that he was looking out for my well-being. This was coming from the same guy who seven weeks ago at hardly protected me at all. So much had changed, myself included.
Deciding to take a page out of Harley's playbook, I changed my demeanor. "Oh Hatter, you're my hero! I have a present for you to show my appreciation," I said, trying to put on as seductive of a voice as possible.
"Oh goodie Alice!" He clapped his hands together excitedly, woefully unaware of what I had planned.
I moved up as close as I was willing to get. "Here you go," I said. Immediately, I threw a pinch of the fear toxin in his face.
"Ah, what's this?" he called out as he backed away, rubbing his eyes.
It did not take long for the toxin to take effect. He looked at me, and then started to back away. "No, no, not Alice. She's covered in blood. No no! Noooo!" he screamed. Terrified, he ran off.
I almost felt bad for him. He feared someone killing his Alice, yet in the end, it was he who often killed the girls he styled as Alice. But I did say almost. "Good riddance you creepy bastard," I called out.
I thought that was the end of my troubles for the night, but I was gravely mistaken. The next hour saw a lot of thugs and patients running through, sometimes the same ones coming through again. Some of the patients clearly needed help and would shriek or growl at my cell as they passed by. But I felt pretty safe in my cell. However, things got bad when a pack of real crazies hit our cellblock.
First off, they were crawling on all fours, which was a bit unsettling to say the least. After tromping through, they came right back, giving me a better look at them. They had blood scattered on them, particularly near the mouth, which indicated to me that they probably taken a chunk out of some poor guard.
But the real problem was they decided to target Kirk. They stayed in front of his cell, growling and yipping, trying to claw their way in. I have no idea why they went for him instead of me, but maybe they sensed his fear.
"Carmel!" he called out. I couldn't exactly see what was happening, but it was clear that they were harassing the good doctor. "Carmel, they're not going away!" he cried out.
"Stay in the back of your cell," I called out.
"I am! Kind of freaking out here!"
"Keep calm Kirk! They can't get to you!"
"But what if they can?! Carmel, I'm not feeling so well!"
I figured that Kirk was having an anxiety attack, but that was only partly the case. "They'll go away soon," I said, trying to calm him down. "Hey, go away you fuckers!" I called out, trying to draw their attention to me.
"I-I don't think so. They're-aah!" he called out in pain.
I ran to my cell door, trying to see what happened. But those creatures were still on the outside, clawing at the bars. "Kirk?"
"Carmel, I c-c-can't," I heard him say.
I heard a couple of loud thuds against the wall. "Kirk?" Then, I heard the most horrific screech I'd ever heard. "Kirk, what's happening?"
Suddenly, I saw the cell door blast out of its spot, taking the creatures with it, crashing against Deathstroke's cell door. The creatures went scrambling away, and then I finally realized what had happened. "Kirk?" I called out one final time. I heard a few more screeches and then it appeared.
Stumbling out of the cell was a hideous creature that can best be described as a human sized bat. Flapping its wings, it turned itself towards my cell, giving me a full look at the Man-Bat.
There was not a trace of Kirk left in this furry beast. Just a gigantic bat that had the remnants of Kirk's clothes on. He was huge and terrifying and all I could do was scream. This was easily the scariest thing I'd ever seen.
That screaming, of course, triggered the Man-Bat's sensitive hearing. It started to ram its body against my cell door. Based on what had happened to Kirk's door, I knew the creature could get in.
Oh my God, this is how I die. Eaten by a giant bat.
No fear toxin could have prepped me for this. I started screaming uncontrollably terrified of Man-Bat. Let's just say it was a low point for me and not dwell on it any further.
Suddenly, I saw a body fly in and hit the Man-Bat, tackling it. I realized it was Deathstroke, who started to wrestle with the creature. The two struggled, with the Man-Bat screeching the entire time. Man-Bat got on top, and then, deciding it had had enough, took off down the hallway, flying away.
Deathstroke was left on the floor with a few cuts and bruises, breathing heavily.
"Are you okay?" I asked, breathing heavily myself.
He laughed. "Are you kidding me? That's the most fun I had in months. Just like wrastling a gator."
"Good. I guess the serum was still potent," I numbly stated, still shaking.
"And it was triggered by fear and anxiety. Probably good Crane didn't give him any of the toxin," Deathstroke agreed.
"What's going to happen to him?"
"No idea. But I'm guessing he's going to make it out of here in that form."
My emotions were a wreck. I was still in shock from Man-Bat as well as crestfallen for Kirk. Top off the anxiety this night had given me, and I was worn out.
Deathstroke came in and sat on my bed with me, trying to help me calm down.
"Deathstroke, I…thanks for saving me there."
"Call me Slade. We're at that level, kiddo. And no problem. Just doing my job."
"Your job?" I asked, confused.
"Well, I wasn't exactly truthful earlier. I did get a job today. But it was from Crane. I'm getting paid to make sure that nothing happens to you over the next week until you get out."
This was truly a surprise, although maybe it shouldn't have been at this point. So that's what they were talking about earlier. "Really?"
"Hey, I figured it was an easy job, but I didn't think I'd be dealing with giant bats."
"Wait, then why didn't you stop Jervis?"
He chuckled. "I figured you could handle him on your own. And I was right."
I punched him on the shoulder. "You son of a bitch! I could have been hurt," I answered, not really upset, but feigning anger.
He knew it too. "I wasn't going to let that happen. I never fail a mission. Besides, I had a personal investment in this one."
"Is that so?"
"I've enjoyed having you around, Carmel. You brought some life to our otherwise dull cellblock. Gonna miss you kiddo."
Again, I was touched that he thought highly of me. He really did seem like a good guy, although I knew he had a kill count in the hundreds at minimum. "I'm going to miss everyone here too," I said, finally calming down.
"I'll be by to collect from Scarecrow, so I'll see you then. I mean, I like you, but not enough to do the job for free."
"Wow thanks," I sarcastically remarked.
"No problem," he said with a smirk. He got up. "They should be taking control back pretty soon." He started to head back over to his cell.
"Slade?" He stopped. "Thanks again. It means a lot to know you care."
He nodded his head and went back to meditating in his cell.
About ten minutes later, armed guards stormed our cellblock, locking Deathstroke's door, where he was patiently waiting. Not too long after, the intercom announced that the building had been recaptured and that prisoners were being returned to their cells.
All in all, the breakout had lasted about ninety minutes. Yet, hundreds of prisoners had escaped. I would hear that about fifty personnel had lost their lives in the chaos. Neither Scarecrow, Killer Moth, nor Kirk were returned to their cells, so they all had made it apparently.
I went to bed that night more exhausted and drained than any other time that I could remember.
Hey there everybody! Thanks for checking out the story and hope you enjoy it! With any luck, we'll be leaving Arkham next time.
See ya real soon,
The Mustachioed Academic
