A/N: Thank you everyone for your reviews! ^_____^ And thank you DCJ for helping me find the song at the end of the chapter. ::Hands out cookies to everyone.::
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"Sometimes I… Question the rationality of my actions. And I'm afraid that when I walk through those asylum gates… When I walk into Arkham and the doors close behind me… It'll be just like coming home."
-Arkham Asylum.
~*~*~
Running down the deserted old hallways, Bruce Wayne, aka Batman, was finding that every single room he checked was empty. It was like no one was in the building but him, him and Joker.
"Five minutes left, Bat brain." Joker screeched over the speakers then laughed.
He slowed to a stop in front of a large wooden door, the last door, and threw it open.
"Four minutes left." The recording of Joker's voice laughed over the speakers, Bruce approached the box finding it attached to a bomb and his eyes widened in fear.
~*~
"Why don't you just break it down with that… metal thing… on your hand?" Jack suggested touching the wall again, "It feels just like regular ply wood or something."
Logan furrowed his eyebrows and pressed his ear against the wall, "I do that and I get electrocuted," Logan frowned pulling away from the wall, "They've got this whole place wired."
"That'd explain the lack of metal around here…" Jack tugged at his collar then folded his arms over his chest, "So how're we going to get out?"
Logan looked down at the kid, who was about a foot shorter than him, and smirked slightly, "Haven't got a clue."
~*~
-*-Drip-*-
-*-Drip-*-
Kitty eyed the growing rusty color puddle and frowned.
-*-Drip-*-
"That is the loudest dripping sound I have ever heard." Hayley muttered rubbing her temples.
Virginia grit her teeth together, "You're telling me, it's driving me crazy," She hissed pressing a hand to her shoulder, "I wonder how the other's are doing…"
~*~
"I'm so cold…" Rahne shivered wrapping her arms around her knees.
Jean nodded in agreement but kept quiet.
Rogue snorted glaring at the two sitting curled up on the floor, "You two are pathetic." She frowned searching for some way out of the dingy little cell they were locked in.
"Give it a break Rogue," Jean hissed angrily, "We all know that you're just as upset, so why are you keeping it to yourself?"
"Because I'm not perfect, Jean!" Rogue snapped, turning herself towards Jean as she involuntarily balled her fists, "I'll never be perfect like you!" Her voice held such venom making both Jean and Rahne shudder.
"Rogue," Rahne climbed to her feet and approached the now trembling female, "Rogue it's okay," She said soothingly pulling Rogue into a hug, "It's okay."
"No it's not," Rogue sobbed dejectedly into Rahne's shoulder, "They're gone. The Professor, Scott…" Her voice cracked as she spoke, "And what about us? Are we going to die too?"
Rahne shook her head gently rubbing Rogue on the back; she bit her lip in thought then sighed when she couldn't come up for an answer for the outsider.
Jean watched the two numbly. Perfect? She wasn't perfect. She thought pulling her knees up to her chest, truth was, she was far from perfect.
~*~
Graydon Creed stared up wide-eye with terror at the white face, red lipped, green haired clown grinned down at him. He vaguely remember reading a 'Batman' comic book when he was younger, when he was free from his father's abusive clutches, and the face staring at him right now gave him a very bad feeling in the pit of his stomach.
"I heard ya got some mutants in this here place." Joker sat back in the chair and spun around in it laughing.
Creed aloud his eyes to wander over to his two guards laying on the floor, both laughing hysterically with tears streaming down their swollen red faces.
"You and me could have a great partnership here," Creed averted his eyes back to Joker, who now had his feet propped up on the table, "But…" He said singsong letting his feet falling to the floor again as he stood back up, "I don't really like partners, or you." He grinned pulling a gun out of the pocket in his pocket.
"W-wait!" Creed managed to choke out, "Let's make a deal!"
Joker grinned, "Ohh!! I used to love that game show!! Let's play!"
Creed racked his brain for something, anything, "I'll let you have full access to the Sentinels in exchange for my life."
"Woo!" Joker cackled, "Sentinels? I think I'll pass; I already have everything I need. Sorry." He said pulling the trigger, Creed screamed expecting a bullet but instead got a lungful of purple gas.
He coughed and sputtered a few times before cracking up into a fit of laughter.
"Ta!" The Joker waved tucking his gun back into his vest as he walked out of the room.
~*~
Pulling himself from the burning rubble, Bruce rose coughing from the amount of smoke that had managed to get into his lungs. He glanced around at the wreckage and scowled, Robin was still alive and worse, so was Joker. But he had seen Robin fall into the vast of acid; he had even killed Joker with his own two hands. So how was it possible that they were both still alive? What the hell happened!? Portals weren't entirely out of the question, he had been through his share after all, but it was still highly unlikely.
At the moment, that was the least of his worries, right now he needed to find Robin and the others.
~*~
~Just another lonely broken hero
Picking up the pieces of my mind
Running out of faith and hope and reason
I'm running out of time
Running out of time
Trouble always
seems find
A way to live inside my mind
My haunted head and me remain alone
Underneath my masquerade
A simple man who's so afraid
I try to find a light to guide me home
Momma please just hold me tight
Feeling so afraid tonight
Cause your the only one that really knows
Just another lonely broken hero
Picking up the pieces of my mind
Running out of faith and hope and reason
I'm running out of time
Running out of time
Fighting for my sanity
Many nights of tragedy
Got to leave my Wretched ways behind~
-Ozzy Osbourne Running Out Of Time
~*~
A/N: Please Review!!! ^___^