Arkham…I still do not feel safer here with the increased security. In a house full of madmen, it is difficult to pinpoint who will try and kill Calendar Man. As I walk through the halls, a hush falls over the inmates like some crippling fear. But it is not fear. It is the silence that is the most horrifying thing in Arkham. That is when you know something is not right. I walk into the medical ward to see Calender Man, whose real name is Julian Day, hooked to a few IV's and resting on a hospital bed. He twitches a bit as I approach him but it is not the fear of me. He sounds weak.

"Hello… Batman. What brings you… to Arkham on such a fine… day?"

"Why do you want me to protect you even if you were trying to kill yourself?"
"I…didn't mean to kill myself. I just needed to attract the attention of the guards. So much screaming here they tend to zone it out. I just need you to protect me..."

"From who, Julian?"

"You're the detective, you figure it out."

The thing about the rogues I face is that, even when on the brink of death, they will not give me the satisfaction of giving up any names. Even if they are the names of the people trying to kill them. Today, I am tired of their games. I rip one of his IV bags off and dump out the remaining blood. I find various chemicals around the ward to create my special blend of sodium pentothal, or truth serum for the non-scientifically inclined. What makes mine so special? It hurts—a lot.

"I don't like to do this, Julian, but I need to know who is trying to kill you."

He tries to fight it and I can see the pain in his face under his façade of calmness.

"You know, Batman, there is a reason I never wanted to escape here. It was always so safe. So serene. But now I see the insanity in this place. The horror. I want to go, Batman. I want to be free. It isn't safe here anymore."

He is rambling; I need to get him focused.

"Why won't you tell me?"

"Because it is a code of honor among criminals. We keep each other's identity to the death."

"You still hold onto that ridiculous idea when this person is trying to kill you?"

"There are some things you will never understand about us, Batman. Sure, some of us have ridiculous gimmicks but beneath that there is something much deeper that only we can understand."

"So this isn't a GCPD officer doing this?"

"Now that would be telling. Besides, the clues were all over the crime scenes."

"Like what?"

"Something so small that even the mighty Batman could miss them."

I think back at the crime scenes. What could this clue be? There was nothing out of the ordinary…and that is possibly it. Something so ordinary that it would be missed.

"He left his calling card all over the place but I will not tell you what it is. I have too much fun watching you squirm."

"If you are so secretive about him, then why does he want to kill you?"

"Because I am worthless."

"What does that have to do with anything?"

"Everything. Look beyond us, Batman, beyond the gimmicks. What are we in the grand scheme of things but pawns in an eternal game of chess?"

I hear the sound of numerous doors opening. I try to dissuade the worst in my mind but it is never that case. I peer out of the medical ward to see something has gone awry. All of the cell doors are open.

"He'll do anything to get me. Anything. Do you see that now?"

I turn to the guards.

"GET CALENDAR MAN OUT OF HERE!"

The doors to the medical ward start to buckle as I try to brace them with my own body. The alarm did not go off so the doors had to be opened electronically from the inside of Arkham. The guards and the doctors place anything and everything they can get their hands on in front of the doors. Free from acting as the door's lock, they take Calendar Man from his bed and try to hold the IV's. The never-ending frenzy of inhuman groans and screams continues at the door. There is no telling whether the killer is among all of these madmen. Each one of them most likely a killer of someone else but they are not the ones I want. I turn to one of the doctors.

"IS THERE ANOTHER WAY OUT OF HERE?"

"There isn't any!"

I check to make sure. The windows are barred, possibly electrified. Check. There are no other doors except for those into operating rooms. Check. The main doors have over a hundred maniacs trying to come in. Check. There is only way out of here. The main doors.

"EVERYONE STAND BACK!"

The doors splinter. Furniture falls towards me. Over a hundred maniacs against me, a few guards, a couple of doctors, and a fellow rogue who has not seen any action in a decade. It almost seems unfair. I ready my utility belt as the insane hordes come in full force. I look back to my training, everything else comes easy. I'm ready.

The first wave straggles in. Most are already weary from being the first to claw in. I take out a few smoke bombs and toss them towards the front. They are easily disposed of in their erratic attempts to get to me. I toss a few at each other and they topple like a sandcastle. Whoever planned this made sure that all of them would be heading towards here. Even if I use all the batarangs and smoke bombs in my utility belt, there will still be more floors in Arkham that would try to get in here. Worse, the floors that contain my most nefarious rogues like Zzasz or Joker. I cannot take them all down. If I do, I will not have enough strength to take Calendar Man into safer havens. I search for a break in the steady stream of madmen as the second wave approaches.

It takes all my strength to take care of this wave. There are too many that are too fast and too strong. They aren't weary like the first wave was. I tie many up and the guards club the rest. It is too much. I would not be able to withstand a third wave. I see a break in the second wave. I grab hold of Calendar Man and run off, dropping my last smoke and flash bombs to clear my path. I look back to see the bodies of the doctors and guards that restrained Calendar Man. All sulked down to the ground like ragdolls. I head down the stairs and think of everyone else in that medical ward. The doctors and the guards…they are all dead. I couldn't save them. There were just too many…too many…I try to think of how I could have failed them when a large blunt extinguisher slams me in the back of the head. I fall and lose all of my muscular control. The pain is searing. I try to look up in my hazy view to see Calendar Man looming over me.

"The mistake you made Batman was to still protect me even when I was doomed!"

From the hazy view I can see that he is running on a disjointed plane. I try to walk but my legs do not work with me. I see him in the corner, stopped, frightened like a deer in headlights.

"Hello, Joe."

"Trying a last desperate attempt to avoid the inevitable, Julian?"

He doesn't answer.

"Why did you bring, Batman, Julian?"

"He just came, Joe. I couldn't help it. He won't bother us."

"Never mind. Did you mark this date on your calendar, Julian?"

"Yes…yes I did."

"Then you know it is your time to die."

"Yes…"

"The one day you never wanted to occur…"

"Everyday is inevitable."

"Agreed."

BLAM! Calendar Man drops to the floor, his skull blown wide open and his face blown off by the high caliber magnum. The same gun as…he runs off. This is no time to lose focus. I chase after him. I hear more guards rushing up the opposite staircase, containing the pandemonium in the medical ward. Down the stairs and through the courtyard I follow him to a beat up Volkswagon Beetle. He drives off, past the wide open gates. I spot the license and cue up my car. He isn't getting away this time.