[The anticipated Part II of House Arrest! It's the conclusion to the Bolton story arc and the beginning of others. Be warned, you may have a love-hate relationship with the way this chapter ends.]
[Song Suggestions for Chapter 30]
'Heathens' by Twenty One Pilots (There's no set scene for this song, but I feel it fits the mood of the chapter. So, feel free to listen whenever you want.)
'Everything Must Change' by Ólafur Arnalds (I guess you could say this is the general background music when no other song has been assigned)
~ 'One Way Or Another' by Until the Ribbon Breaks (Joker's underlying theme throughout the chapter)
'I Don't Want to Set the World on Fire' by the Ink Spots (listen at the end when Amber's opened her locker)
Chapter Thirty
House Arrest Part II
May 18th, 2013
Saturday Night
When the Joker found Amelia lying unconscious on the floor and Amber nowhere to be seen, he didn't have to be Edward Nigma to figure out what happened. He knelt beside Amelia and jostled her arm. "Wake up," he growled. Her eyes didn't so much as flutter when her fist shot up and clocked him under the jaw. The Joker fell back, hand going to his injury, and a thousand and one methods of torture going through his head.
Amelia sat up and fixed her mis-matched eyes on him. "No touch-touch," she reminded him.
The Joker grumbled under his breath as he too sat up and fixed her with a glare. Today was not the day to test him. Especially right now when a certain nurse wasn't where he'd last left her. "What happened?" he hissed through clenched teeth.
"The ogre –,"
And that was definitely the wrong thing to say. The Joker let out a growl and pulled at his hair. He wanted to tear something apart with his bare hands, to kick it in the gut until it bled from the mouth and made those wet, coughing sounds that he loved so much. But there was nothing in the hallway, not even a bulletin board or a sign that told people where they were going.
Amelia watched the Joker scream and thrash about for a few seconds then tilted back her head to work a kink out from her neck when her gaze landed on an air duct just above her. An idea began to bounce around. She couldn't reach the duct because; A – she was very short. B – she was still feeling a little disoriented. And C – she had spent a majority of her energy crawling around through all the other air ducts. She'd need some assistance. And the only person to provide her that assistance was currently spazzing out on the floor of the hallway.
Amelia snapped her fingers under his nose. "Hey! Look at me! Two seconds, just two seconds." The Joker's tirade stopped short in surprise at the shorty's audacity to snap her fingers in his face. "I'm gonna need you to pick me up because I can't get up there," she pointed at the duct overhead, "– so you're going to pick me up and put me in that and then I'm going to go after your lady – nurse person – lady person – lady who's a nurse. I'm going – going into the air duct and you're – yeah. Sound good? Can you do that? Can you pick me up and put me up there and please don't hurt me while you do that? Don't shove me into the duct because that is not gonna make me move faster – it's only gonna make me a little sad and slightly scratched up. Yeah?"
The Joker bared his teeth but picked Amelia up and set her on his shoulders so that she could easily reach the duct and begin to unscrew the metal filter. When it fell to the floor, she tucked away her screwdriver and wrapped on the Joker's head with her knuckles. "Okie-doke." The Joker, still angry, wasn't exactly concerned with how he got Amelia into the duct and might have ended up shoving Amelia in. "Ow!" Her echoey yelp of pain managed to further snap him out of his rage-induced stupor and he looked up on tip-top to peer in after her. "I said no shoving! Phft!" A sudden burst of glitter poofed into the Joker's face. Thankfully, he knew by now to expect such a thing around her and shut his eyes the moment that she turned around to acknowledge him.
Amelia leaned in close and said in a voice that she assumed would be assuring, "I'm going to get her, okay? Don't be angry. Chill the heck out. Hey, can I borrow this?" And before he even knew it, she reached out and swiped at his face paint and rubbed it on her face. "Camouflage!" she declared happily, and completely ignoring the flaring nostrils and heaving chest of the man only seconds away from murdering her. "Here we go!" She proceeded to shimmy her way down the duct. The shimmying caused a lot of racket and made the Joker wince.
"Stop making so much noise!" the Joker yelled. He decided to set aside his inclination to kill the girl for the time being and focus on getting his nurse back.
"You're the one making noise! You're yelling at a duck – duct – wait, there's a duck in here? Hold on, wait – no, that's me. Sorry! Never mind. This is not a duck…. Quack."
"Stop quacking!"
"Sorry, sorry. Oh! Wait a second!" She shimmied back towards him and grabbed the front of his shirt with a very intense and earnest look on her face. "I'm giving you my only bottle of purple glitter. This is only for uses that are important. So, just put it in your pocket and as you're going that way it'll drop out onto the ground so I can find you if I need you, but don't use all of it 'cause it's all I got. Okaaay?"
The Joker met her anxious look with a flat gaze. "I will protect this purple glitter with my life," he deadpanned.
Amelia very reluctantly released the bottle into his hands. "Just bring it back halfway full, I have a project I'm working on with it. Okaaay?"
The Joker refrained from rolling his eyes and settled for placing a hand over his heart. "I swear by my green hai –," Whoa, let's not get too serious now. "I swear by my giggles I will."
"Okay…Cool." A tiny whimper escaped her as she gave the bottle of glitter one last glance then quickly turned and crawled away.
The Joker looked at the bottle in his hand and scrunched up his face. "How did she get the purple glitter? I've been looking everywhere for this stuff!"
*[I've never interrupted the narrative before, but I felt this wouldn't have the same comedic punch if I put this at the end of the chapter. So I apologize, but I felt I just HAD to include this little side-note of something that the real-life Amelia, my friend Amy, said when we were bouncing ideas around for what her character would do in this chapter.]
{Amy – IRL: "Do you realize that the moment – cuz like right now everything is on lock down which means the A.C. is most likely turned off because it's on a power grid system – so the moment the A.C. turns on – Do you realize how much glitter is going to shoot out of those vents?! 'Confetti! It's a pa-rade!'"}*
Cash had his group make a quick stop at the holdings room that kept the patient's effects at the time of their incarceration and had them wait outside as he grabbed a couple of items that he knew would assist them on their mission. Harley did a happy dance when Cash handed over her over-sized, highly colorful mallet. "Oh, baby, Momma's missed ya!"
To Ivy, he gave her one of the lesser powerful lipsticks that could briefly control the mind on anyone she kissed. To Harvey, he lent him his own baton. "I expect you to hand these things back to security once this is all over," Cash warned them sternly. He knew it was a long shot but what else could he do at the moment?
Once they were at the door of the security base, Poison Ivy made quick work of kissing the guard stationed outside it senseless and he passed out in seconds. Harley gave two thumbs up to her friend, grinning from ear to ear. "Way ta go, Red!" she whispered.
Cash signaled for Ivy and Harley to back away and stay against the wall while he and Harvey took up a position on both sides of the door. "Alright. In three, tw –,"
"Achoo!" Harvey sneezed loud enough that it echoed throughout the hall.
"Dang it, Harvey!" Pamela hissed.
Cash immediately kicked open the door and tossed in a smoke bomb he'd liberated from the holdings room. He took cover and pushed back Harley who was ready to hurl herself into the room and start whacking the men inside with her mallet. There was a muffled boom and smoke issued out just as bullets began to fly. Soon the gunfire became sporadic and coughing was heard.
"Now!" Cash hollered.
"Ayeeeeeee!" Harley yawled, mallet lifted high as she ran past everyone into the room.
"Get 'im, kid!" Harvey cheered.
Cash hurried in after her. Through the quickly dissipating smoke, Cash could make out four men inside dressed in the riot uniforms associated with Bolton. Harley whacked two of them down in one swing and Cash fired at the remaining two. "Hey, we make quiet the team, don't we, Cashy?" Harley said with a wink.
"Don't even go there," he chuckled. He stuck his head out the door. "Harvey, Ivy; you two keep watch out here while I find out what's going on with the security system."
"Sounds like something Nigma would be good at. Why didn't we bring him along for this?" Harvey asked.
"Great idea, Harvey. Let's bring in the techno-genius so that he can memorize how to hack the asylum's system and we'd have to install a completely new system which would cost us millions of dollars and put us at risk of break outs while the system's being put in."
Harvey shrugged. "Sounds like a good idea to me."
Cash rolled his eyes and slipped back inside to see Harley about to press a big red button that she absolutely did not need to press. "Don't touch that!"
"Oh, come on, Cashy!"
"No! Step away from the buttons!"
….
Joan peered out from the bathroom door and listened carefully for the sound of voices. Gatsby squeezed in next to her. "You know, the men's bathroom doesn't look this nice."
"Shhh!" Joan hissed, lifting a hand to push his face away, and resumed her vigil. Either there was no one out there or they were playing the quiet game better than Gatsby was.
"Joan, I've been holding it for almost twenty minutes. Do you think it would be weird if I used the bathroom in here?"
"Would it get you to shut up?"
"Yes."
"Then you have my blessing; just shut up." As Gatsby vanished behind on of the stalls, Joan turned to Dr. Arkham. "Stay here with him for a minute while I check the coast is clear."
"Be careful."
Joan slipped out of the bathroom and tiptoed to the corner. She eased her head around the edge of the wall and scanned the area. It was empty. Hurrying to the exact spot that Gatsby had discovered he could get a signal, Joan pulled out her cellphone and dialed for the police.
"9-1-1, what's your emergenc –,"
"This is Dr. Joan Leland. There's an invasion happening at Arkham Asylum. They're using signal jammers and have guns. Send police, signal Batman – do something!" Joan whispered urgently.
Something poked at Joan's back. "Hang up the phone now." Joan was unable to hear what the operator was saying to her as she disconnected the call. "Put the phone on the ground and turn around with your hands up." She stiffly did as she was told and felt her insides tense at the sight of two men dressed in riot gear and helmets with a lock and chain emblem on the sides aimed guns at her.
Another man wearing the same outfit as the other two appeared from behind them and joined in aiming his weapon at Joan. The one who'd been speaking turned his helmeted head in the newcomer's direction. "Where'd you go; the bathroom?" he asked testily. The newcomer simply shrugged. The speaker sighed and shook his head. "Whatever. Grab her phone and cuff her."
The newcomer lowered his weapon and took out a pair of handcuffs from his belt as he walked to Joan. He titled his helmeted head at her then slapped the cuffs on her wrists.
"Where's Dr. Arkham?" the speaker demanded.
"I have no idea."
A toilet flushed. The men turned to look in the direction it came from and Joan rammed the heel of her shoe on the newcomer's foot then ran at the other two with the hopes of knocking them down. She managed to make them stumble at least. "Run!" she screamed.
The door to the bathroom flew open as Dr. Arkham dragged Gatsby along with him. Gatsby struggled to keep his pants up. "I wasn't able to wash my hands!"
"After them!" The speaker hollered. Joan lunged and wrapped her arms around the legs of the second man. He tripped and hit the floor hard enough to knock the air out of him. Joan knew she was caught, but she'd give them hell as long as she could to allow for Gatsby and Jeremiah to escape. She flailed her arms and legs at the two men who were still standing, and they struggled to keep their footing. They certainly couldn't get a good aim either.
"Enough of this!" The first man grunted. Joan felt something strike her on the back of the head and then everything went black.
…..
As another guard tower exploded from Zsasz bazooka, Gretchen and Mark took cover behind some cars and narrowly escaped being hit by the Batmobile as it came screeching to a side halt. Gretchen noticed the sound of gunfire from Bolton's lackeys had died off. "What do you think he's going to do now?" Mark asked in an awestruck whisper. Before Gretchen could answer him, the Batmobile fired off two small rockets at the asylum's entrance and debris exploded out towards them. Gretchen and Mark leapt over the hood of a car in the nick of time. Only a slight dusting of dirt and smoke coated their hair and clothes as they peered over the hood at the gigantic hole where the front doors used to be.
"You know, I heard the guy never just uses a door," Mark said in a low voice. "Guess it's true." The cockpit of the Batmobile opened and the cape-clad vigilante clambered out and rushed for the entrance. "Think we should go in after him?"
The sound of gunshots, male voices crying out, and fists striking flesh followed. Gretchen jutted her chin at the entrance. "Du zuerst."
Mark sunk lower behind the car. "No thanks. I'm good."
….
Amber knew that the moment she opened her eyes it was going to hurt, but instinct kicked in and so did the pain. Her head throbbed from the bright lights assailing her vision and gradually subsided as her sight adjusted and she became aware of tight pressure around her wrists. Lifting her head, which set off the pain again, she found her wrists were cuffed and she was lying on the floor of a white-tiled room with chains attached to the walls. And she wasn't alone. Commissioner Gordon, Summer Gleeson, and Mayor Hill were all gagged and lined up against the opposite wall, hands chained above their heads.
"Nice of you to join us, Nurse Johnson. Though, I should call you Prisoner Johnson now."
Amber looked to the dimly lit corner on her left to see Bolton emerged from the shadows, decked out in an intimidating black body armor suit, gloves, combat boots, a mask that covered all but his eyes, and weapons strapped all over him. Chains and locks accentuated his suit. On a lesser built man, the metal probably would have weighed him down, but it didn't appear to phase Bolton in the slightest.
"Bolton," Amber acknowledged.
"I go by Lock-Up now," he informed her. The cloth covering his mouth pulled up in a self-satisfied smirk.
"Oh, so for the past week?"
The smirk vanished. "It'll catch on."
"Mmmmh."
Bolton stepped forward and grabbed Amber by the small length of chain between her cuffs and lifted her to be eye level with him. Bolton must have forgotten how tall she was and figured on intimidating her by height difference, but the tips of her toes were barely off the ground. Amber noticed the tell-tale eye-twitch of annoyance when she met his gaze.
"Once you find out what pushes a person's buttons, you've got them right where you want them," the Joker told her as he lazed on the bench and soaked up some sun on a rare sunny day in Gotham. He acted as though he were relaxing in the park instead of the gated and highly guarded courtyard of Arkham Asylum.
"How so?" she asked, observing the other patients enjoy the outdoors.
The Joker sat up with a grunt and looked her in the eye. "Because then you can use it against them. People can easily be manipulated if you know their weakness. Love, fear, jealousy, anger, pride, greed… They're all weapons. You just have to find out which one will do the most damage."
"…That's messed up, Joker."
"You say that, but didn't you do something similar to Zsasz when he had you by the throat?"
Amber said nothing. The Joker grinned and laid back down on the bench, hands behind his head, legs crossed at the ankle, eyes closed. "Face it, peaches; when the chips are down…everyone's got it in them to act messed up when their life depends on it."
"And what's my weakness, Mr. Know-It-All?"
The Joker gave a breathless chuckle and opened his eyes as he gazed up at her. "That's an easy one, peaches. You've got a big heart. Probably too big for your own good."
Amber ran over all that she knew about Bolton and her interactions with him through her head and came up with an answer. Authority and intimidation. Bolton thrived on being viewed as intimidating and the authority over others. So, if she were to strip that from him…
"Face it, Bolton; this whole takeover is nothing more than you throwing a temper tantrum because you got caught doing something you shouldn't have."
"These so-called patients are animals! They deserve to be treated as such!"
"Okay, just remember it was you who said that when you get locked up in a cell here by the end of the night."
Bolton growled and threw her across the room. She skidded to a stop against the wall next to Commissioner Gordon. She scrambled to her feet and faced Bolton. "By the way, where did you get all those chains? Like, did you go out and buy them or did you already have them on hand? And if the latter, that brings up sooooo many different questions that I'd rather not think about because…gross."
Bolton was practically shaking with anger. "I won't tolerate such disrespect from a prisoner," he snarled.
"Then how the heck have you survived all this time?"
Bolton's gloved hands balled into fists. "You and the Joker are so insolent!"
"That's just another way of saying, 'witty and brilliant', right?"
Bolton quickly closed the distance between them and delivered a punch that knocked Amber onto her side. The room tilted and spun. Bolton crouched and lifted her by the shirt. "Keep the jokes, comin'. I'll show you a new meaning to the word 'punchline'." Amber barely managed to smile but it was enough to set Bolton off again. He raised his fist to deliver another blow when Commissioner Gordon used the leverage of his chains to lift his legs and give Bolton a double-footed kick to the head. Bolton snarled with rage and dropped Amber in favor of punishing Gordon but was interrupted by the radio attached to his hip.
"Lock-Up, sir, do you read me?"
"What is it, Carlton?"
"We've got a situation, sir. Batman's inside the building and the guard towers were taken out. I also can't reach anyone in the security base."
A low growl rumbled in Bolton's chest as his grip tightened on the radio. "Send a team to the security base and make sure the gate is covered! I'm on my way!" He leveled his gaze at Amber and pointed at her. "This ain't over, Nurse Johnson. I'll be back."
"Terminator-wannabe," she muttered loud enough for him to hear. Bolton stormed out of the room and slammed the door shut. A lock could be heard sliding home, then all was quiet. Amber immediate stood to her feet and wobbled a bit from the dizziness. "Thanks for coming to my aid there, Commissioner," She said as she removed the gag from Gordon and moved on to do the same for the others.
"You're not going to accomplish anything by antagonizing him like that, Miss Johnson," Gordon warned her.
Amber smiled and opened her left hand to reveal a key ring. "I might have to disagree with you there."
…..
Zsasz let the bazooka slid from his shoulder and gave a pleased whistle as he surveyed the damage. "Yeeep. I think we're good." He set aside the weapon and rolled his shoulders to loosen a couple of kinks. "Time for me to bounce."
"What? Really?" Katherine asked, sounding a bit too disappointed for Nigma's liking. Did anyone ask him if he wanted to help blow up the guard towers? Nooo. The hitman acted like Katherine was the only one there!
Zsasz double-checked that his knife was properly strapped to his thigh and his guns loaded. "Yeah, I've got somewhere I have to be, but, uuuuh…" he looked her up and down then gave her a cheeky grin and a wink, "if you're ever out of Arkham I'll be sure to find you." Zsasz approached the fire escape ladder and stepped onto it. "And it won't be because I was paid to." He flashed her another grin and suddenly he dropped out of sight. Katherine rushed to the ladder and looked down in time to see him finish sliding down the rails and land on his feet on the pavement. He looked up and waved at her before jogging away.
"You're blushing," Nigma remarked from her side.
Katherine flinched and touched her face. "What?"
"You're blushing…profusely."
Katherine scoffed. "Phfft! No, I'm not, why – why would I be blushing? You're blushing! Let's get off this roof already!"
Nigma silently stewed as he led Katherine and Katlyn to the stairs. He didn't let his mood affect him for long though. After all, Victor Zsasz had left the asylum. Nigma wouldn't have to worry about the assassin being around his girlfriend anymore.
…..
Amber finished unlocking Mayor Hill's chains and he gave her a grateful smile as he rubbed his wrists. With everyone free, Amber knew they needed to come up with a plan for how to handle Bolton when he returned, which could be any minute.
"Okay," Gordon began, "here's the plan –,"
The door opened and three of Bolton's lackies came in with a barely conscious Joan. Everyone froze. "Hey, uuuh, aren't you guys supposed to be chained up?" one of the men asked.
"Were we?" Amber asked. "Cause we're perfectly happy with our hands being free. Nothing more annoying than having a itch you can't scratch cause your hands are cuffed."
"I don't knooow," the man said, sounding uncertain. "I mean, I haven't known Lock-Up for too long, but chaining up the prisoners kinda seems like something he'd be a stickler for."
"Well, like you said," Amber went on, "you haven't known him very long, sooo –,"
The lackies dropped Joan unceremoniously on the floor to raise their weapons and aimed them at Amber and the others. "Yeaaaah, I don't think so."
"Dang it," she mumbled.
Before they knew what was happening, one of the lackies turned away from Amber and the other prisoners and fired off a few rounds into the chests of his cohorts. Amber flinched and stepped back while Summer let out a scream. The bodies collapsed to the floor, thankfully not on top of Joan, and the remaining man tilted his head at the corpses. "Hmmm," was his muffled response. Amber recognized the voice instantly.
"Joker!"
The helmet came off and faded green hair spilled out. His white face paint was nearly smeared all off, but the black around his eyes was still present. He grinned at the shocked faces staring back at him as he hefted the gun to rest on his shoulder. "Hiii," he greeted them.
Amber was so freakin' happy to see him she ran over and barreled into him with a hug that made him stumble back. Now it was the Joker who seemed a bit shocked at the warm welcome but recovered by clearing his throat and stepped back. "Let's get you out of here – Ack!"
A buzz of electricity was heard as the Joker's body stiffened and he fell to his knees revealing Bolton behind him with a tazor gun. He smiled cruelly at the gathering in the room. "Now the fun can begin."
….
The Joker was fitted with a shock collar and the remote never left Bolton's hand. Commissioner Gordon, Summer, and the mayor were returned to their chains with the addition of Joan, now fully awake, while Amber and the Joker were cuffed together and shoved on the floor in the center of the room.
"What you're about to witness, ladies and gentlemen, is the true nature of a criminal."
"Eh, what was that, Lyle? Can't hear ya with that silly mask covering your mouth," the Joker taunted.
Bolton pressed the remote button and held it down for several seconds. The Joker's back arched as he fought down a scream. Bolton released the button, bent over to be eye level with the clown and took off his mask. "Clear enough for you now?"
The Joker, chest heaving, locked gazes with Bolton, smirked, and lifted a shaky hand to give him the 'ok' sign. Amber gripped her knees tightly to prevent her hands from visibly trembling.
"As I was sayin', Mr. Joker here has shown to have a soft spot for Nurse Johnson, even going so far as to prevent her from coming to harm. Some might confuse this as a sign of humanity. But you'd be wrong. This woman is nothing more than the Joker's currently favorite toy that he'll dispose of the moment he gets bored or something better is offered."
Amber's eyes flicked over to the Joker. The Clown Prince of Crime didn't so much as glance at her but there was a tightening of his jaw, as if he were clenching his teeth. His right fingers drummed on his leg. Most would have mistaken that as a nervous tic, but Amber knew better. Think faster, Joker.
…..
Amelia followed the intermittent dashes of purple glitter down the hall until she came to a door where two dead bodies were sprawled out in front of it. There was a tiny, grated, window high up on the door. Even standing up on tiptoe, Amelia couldn't look through it. She removed the helmet from the closest body and stood on top of it. She grinned when she saw Nurse Amber inside but frowned when she saw the ogre was also in the room along with the Joker and a few others.
The Joker appeared to be wearing some sort of collar around his neck. Stupid ogre! Couldn't even tell the difference between a vampire and a werewolf! If he wanted that collar to work on the Joker, he should have used a necklace of garlic, duh! Ugh, whatever; moving on.
Amelia noticed the ogre turned round and ducked. But by adjusting her view, her eyes caught sight of the vent in the ceiling. Amelia grinned and whispered, "Pounce, pounce."
….
Bolton crouched in front of Amber and the Joker unperceptively stiffened at the proximity. The ex-Head of Security glowered. "I told you that eventually he'd turn on ya and that I'd be there the day he does. Today's that today, Miss Johnson. Today's that day. You may think that cause he tried to rescue you from me, he cares about ya?" Bolton shrugged. "Maybe he does a little. But there's one thing he loves above all else and it ain't you, sweetheart." His dark eyes flicked to the Joker. "And he knows I'm right." They shifted back to her briefly. "And I'm gonna prove it to ya." He focused on the Joker and held up the remote and the key to his cuffs and collar. "Your freedom for Nurse Johnson."
Amber's heart stopped. She didn't dare look at him. She knew what choice he'd make and didn't want to see the indifferent look on the Joker's face as he took the keys because despite everything she knew about the Joker being a man who served only himself and cared for little else, deep down, a small part of her had begun to think that maybe he cared a little.
"Heh, heh, heh," the Joker chuckled. "You still don't get it, do you, Lyle?" Bolton's brow furrowed. Amber dared to steal a glance. The Joker wasn't even looking at the keys or remote. He was staring straight at Bolton with a look of such utter contempt that it sent a shiver down her spine.
"You think you got me pegged? You think you know what kind of bait to dangle in front of me?" He giggled and it turned into a low growl. "You have nothing to offer me!" He leaned closer until there was barely any space between he and Bolton's faces as he screamed, "I can leave whenever I want!" He erupted into mad, mocking laughter that was briefly broken when he rammed his forehead against Bolton's nose and broke it once again. Bolton fell back, hand over his bleeding nose and the Joker continued to laugh and laugh and laugh.
Bolton's eyes quickly flicked back and forth from the Joker to Amber. "Maybe I did get you wrong, clown. So how about I try something that's worked before?" Pulling something free from the back of his utility belt, he pushed the remote button and sent the Joker spazzing to the floor. Taking advantage of the Joker's inability to move, Bolton grabbed hold of Amber's hair and jerked her towards him. Something wrapped around her throat and then he was shoving her away.
Amber sat up and glared at Bolton. He smirked back at her. She looked back at the Joker to see how he was holding up, only to find he was staring at her…or more specifically, at her neck. Reaching up, Amber felt her throat and froze when her fingers brushed against a shock collar. The corner of the Joker's mouth quirked up in a humorless smile. "Hmmm. Shocking turn of events."
"Always with the jokes, clown," Bolton grumbled, standing to his feet. He pointed at the remote in his hand. "Those collars run on the same frequency of this remote. You do something I don't like; she gets punished too."
There was a static filled squeal as the speakers in the rooms corner came to life and a gravelly voice spoke out. "Bolton! This ends now!"
"Ah, Batsy," the Joker sighed happily, "you reliable party-crasher. What took ya so long?"
"Shut up!" Bolton barked. He raised the remote threateningly and the Joker moodily licked his lips but stayed quiet. Bolton turned and approached the speakers. "Can you hear me, Batman?"
"Yes. There's also a camera to your left."
Bolton lifted his gaze to the opposite corner of the speakers and found a tiny orb cam that nearly blended in with the white ceiling and walls. "Then you know who I have in the room with me."
"I do. Let them go, Bolton."
"Can't do that, Batman. These are dangerous criminals. True, only one of them is a killer, but the rest are just as guilty for allowing him to walk free."
A tiny, glimmery speck floated in front of the Joker's face on its way down. Focusing his attention on it, he discovered that it wasn't a lone speck, but several others. They landed on the floor in front of him. He touched one with his finger and brought it closer to his face, glitter. He looked up.
From between the slits of a vent positioned over the top of his head, Amelia waved at him and held a screwdriver up for him to see. The Joker smirked as he lowered his gaze. Stretching out his index finger, he tapped Amber's hand until she looked at him. He lifted his eyes upward. Amber seemed a bit perplexed, but she slowly raised her eyes to the ceiling, carefully tilting her head.
Amelia was already finished unscrewing the vent cover and setting it aside. Amber dropped her gaze and side-glanced at the Joker. He wiggled his brows at her and grinned.
"The time has come to cleanse Gotham of the real criminals," Bolton was saying. "You apprehend them, Dark Knight, and Lock-Up will put them away. Together we can make this city safe again."
"By kidnapping innocent victims? I don't think so."
Bolton's free hand clenched into a fist. "If you're not part of the solution, then you're part of the problem."
"Oooh, Batsyyy!" the Joker crooned. "Do I have any reason to be jealous? Like, I know we're exclusive archenemies, but I'm feeling a bit ignored. We never talk like we used to, why the silence?"
"Shut up!" Bolton shouted, turning from the camera so that he faced them once more.
"Whoa, chill with the hostility, Lyle. Why so snappy? Oh! Oh I get it now! I can't believe I didn't think of it when I first saw the outfit!"
"Think of what?" Bolton growled, taking a step closer.
"You were trying to emulate your idol! Batsy, I think we've got a fan here!"
"What!" Bolton took another step forward.
"Yeaaah, I can see the poor attempt at a resemblance to the Dark Knight motif. Must be a big let down to know he doesn't appreciate it."
"That's enough!"
"Nothing like having the one you look up to the most kick you in the face. And I mean that literally, Lyle, 'cause he tends to be like that when you go toe to toe with him."
"I said that's enough!" Bolton swiftly closed the distance between them but stopped just short of being under neath the vent. He held up the remote. "You just earned Miss Johnson a free electric shock therapy session, clown."
An animalistic growl erupted from the Joker's throat as he lashed out with his uncuffed hand and grabbed hold of Bolton's bullet proof vest. He pulled just as Bolton's thumb pushed the button. Pain arced through Amber's body with such intensity that she nearly blacked out. It was over in seconds, as Bolton's thumb slipped off the button when he tripped and stumbled forward from the Joker's pull. The Joker leaned to his right, using his body to push Amber along with him and vacated the spot that Bolton now occupied in their stead.
"And what did that accomplish?" Bolton asked sardonically, aiming the remote at them again.
"Slaaaaaaaaaay!" screamed the young woman that hurtled down from the ceiling and crashed directly onto Bolton's head and shoulders. They went down in a tumble of limbs and the remote skittered across the floor.
"Amber, the keys!" Joan yelled, seeing them also glid across the tiles. Amber lunged for them, the Joker quickly adjusting his direction to follow suit. She snatched them up and identified the key that would unlock her cuffs. "Hold still," Amber ordered the Joker and within seconds the cuffs dropped from their wrists.
Bolton felt something sitting on his chest and lifted his head and shoulders to look. The little rat-girl grinned impishly at him. "Bless yourself!" She raised a cupped hand to her lips and blew into it. Glitter shot directly into his eyes and he cried out as it stung his eyeballs. He swiped at the girl and she leapt off him and out of his reach. His vision was blurred, and tears streamed from his irritated eyes.
"Turn around." Amber reached for the Joker's collar, but he swiftly plucked the keys from her fingers, grabbed her shoulders and shifted her back to him so he could get at her lock. The first key didn't work, the second one did. He held it separate from the others as he handed them back to her and knelt down so she could reach his collar. Once he was free, the Joker jumped up and grabbed the gun he'd stolen from one of Bolton's lackies and aimed it at him. The moment the gun was cocked, Bolton's half-blind fist swings stopped. Amber froze in the middle of unlocking Gordon's chains.
"Go ahead," Bolton rasped. "Shoot me. Show her what you're really like outside these walls."
The Joker grinned. "You say that as if she's clueless." He pulled the trigger. Amber flinched at the sound of the gun going off. Bolton dropped to the floor. Summer Gleeson screamed. "Oh, would you put a sock in it, lady?" the Joker groaned at her.
"You just killed a man in front of me!" Summer shouted.
The Joker tilted his head to the side and squinted at her. "Did I?"
Bolton let out a pained moan and clutched at his bloody right leg. Amber sighed in relief. Not for Bolton's sake, but over the fact that the Joker hadn't killed someone when they were defenseless. She resumed freeing the others from their chains.
"Why?" Bolton asked through clenched teeth.
The Joker sighed and walked over to him but kept just out of the man's reach. "'Why?' Why didn't I kill you? Oh, Lyle, Lyle, Lyle," the Joker sighed, sounding almost mournful. "If you had a sense of humor, you would know the answer. See, a joke's not funny when you have to explain it to someone. But seeing as how you lack a sense of humor; I'll help you see the funny side. See," the Joker licked his lips and gestured about the room, "you spent years keeping us locked-up in here. And by not killing youuuu…" the Joker chuffed and grinned, "now you get to experience it from the other side of the bars." He clicked his mouth at him and stood over him. "Ain't that somethin'?"
"Are ya'll just going to ignore the fact that I just took down the bad guy with freakin' glitter!" Amelia piped up from where she sulked in the corner.
"Is that what you used on him?" Gordon asked in disbelief.
Amelia held up her nearly empty bottle of glitter. "Yep. Glitter; not just for crafting. Strong stuff." She pointed accusingly at Joan. "Ya'll told me I couldn't have any glitter and then ya'll tried to take it away from me. Ya gonna let me have glitter now? Can I get it in different colors? I'm just sayin'. I just saved the day with glitter. I just want that noted. I want people to understand – saved the day by glitter. Edward Cullen would be so proud! Can I get a cookie for this?"
The Joker chuckled as he approached her. "You get all the cookies. Aaaand…" He reached into a side pouch from his riot uniform pants. "As promised, firecracker." He held out her bottle of purple glitter – still halfway full. Amelia gasped happily and hugged it close.
Commissioner Gordon picked up the discarded handcuffs from the floor and put them Bolton while Amber walked over to check on Amelia and see if she'd hurt herself from the fall. It was sometimes hard to tell from the young woman's seemingly endless energy. Amelia held it up for her to see. "Nurse Amber, look, look, look! It's still full of glitter! I can make soooo many projects with it!"
"That's great, Amelia. You feel okay? Do you hurt anywhere?"
"My butt hurts."
"I'm sorry about that."
"Anywhere else?"
"Nah, I'm good."
"We'll still need to have you check on in the medical ward."
"Will I get a cookie if I do?"
Amber lowered her voice to a conspirative whisper. "Even better. You'll get a lollipop."
Amelia's eyes grew large. "Take me to the medical ward!"
"Commissioner Gordon!" hollered a man's voice with a heavy Brooklyn accent.
"In here, Bullock!" Gordon hollered back.
Several sets of rushing footsteps could be heard nearing the door. Before several cops appeared within the door's frame, Amber couldn't understand why a certain detail kept niggling at her. The door was already open. She didn't get much of a chance to ponder on it as several guns were suddenly being aimed inside the room. Only for them to slowly lower in confusion at the sight of Bolton cuffed on the ground, a young woman with maroon-colored hair hugging a bottle of glitter, the city's most popular anchorwoman huddled in a corner and muttering, "Miami, Florida," over and over, and no apparent danger in sight.
"Everyone okay, Commish?" Bullock asked.
"I think so. Miss Johnson, do you need medical attention?"
"No, but the Joker could probably…" She trailed off and looked around. He wasn't in the room. The door was already open.
"Oh crap," Gordon murmured as he too realized that the Joker was no longer among them. He barked out orders to his men to search the premises and Bullock handed him a radio to direct the others to do the same.
Batman, after signaling for the GCPD for backup, providing a way in for the police and taking down most of the immediate threats stationed along the way, disappeared, and let the police take over. Though there were several of Bolton's men found hanging upside down all throughout the building.
The asylum was slowly being reclaimed as more of Bolton's lackies were captured and carted away. Aaron Cash had managed to regain control of the security system and radio channels and was helping direct the police to parts of the asylum that any invaders were occupying.
Dr. Arkham and Gatsby were found safe and sound. Gretchen Whistler's husband, Jason, had been anxiously waiting for hours behind the blockade the police had set up and after demanding incessantly that he be allowed to pass and find his wife, the cops got clearance and let him through. He barely made it halfway across the parking lot when he heard his wife's voice cry out, "Der Schatz!" He looked towards an ambulance parked off to the side and saw Gretchen throwing off a blanket and running towards him. They met in the middle with a strong embrace and many an observing cop suddenly found that they had something in their eyes, or their allergies were acting up.
The patients were placed back in their cells and Amber demanded from mayor Hill that the assistance her charges had provided not go unrewarded. He promised that some kind of a reward would be given but it would take some time. He asked that she provide him with written suggestions to his office since he was a bit out of his element as to what would be an appropriate reward for those who were in incarceration for being criminally insane.
At the end of the night, it was discovered that the Joker and Victor Zsasz were the only inmates who escaped in all the chaos of the invasion.
"It's really too bad that Zsasz guy had to escape so soon," Katherine lamented inside her cell just before lights out. "He was a lot of fun."
"Helping him load a bazooka doesn't exactly strike me as fun," Nigma commented sourly. "The asylum's better off without him anyway. And for that matter, it's best for you and me too."
Katherine sat up in her bed and looked into Nigma's cell. "How so?"
"The man was blatantly flirting with you!"
"So, what if he was!"
"'So, what'? 'So, what'?!" Nigma also sat up in bed and met Katherine's gaze. "You're my girlfriend!"
"Funny how you remember that now and not when you were totally okay with kissing Katlyn."
"Oh my – not that again! I thought she was dying!"
"You're such a hypocrite!"
"Okay, everyone!" Amber announced, entering the corridor and clapping her hands for attention. "Time to call it a night."
She made her way down the cells, bidding each occupant a goodnight, starting on her left side with Caleb, followed by Nigma. She paused at the Joker's empty cell. In the two years that she'd been at Arkham, the Joker hadn't broken out for any period longer than a few hours. There'd been the time during her first Halloween employed with the asylum. Then there was the time all her charges had broken out together to give her 'Get Well Soon' cards. They'd voluntarily returned though.
The Joker was known to be a master at escaping Arkham Asylum and came and went as he pleased. It just didn't hit her until now that he wouldn't be there to wish goodnight. Shaking off her momentary gloom, she moved on to the next cells until she ended with Harvey Dent. Turning around, she made her way and wished a good night to those on the opposite side. She stopped short when the second to last cell was also unoccupied.
"Uuuum… Where's Crane?"
Amelia bolted up from bed. "Oh crap!"
…
It took them two hours to get Crane out of the air ducts. He complained about it the whole time. Once he was returned to his cell, the man heaved a great sigh and collapsed into bed.
"Sorry I forgot about you, Crane!" Amelia hollered from her cell. "Got busy saving Amber and the Joker's butts!"
Crane lifted a tired arm and waved away her concern. "You're forgiven, my dear. If you'll just allow me to sleep for the next twenty-four hours, I'd greatly appreciate it."
Amelia nodded furiously. "Yeah, okay; cool, cool."
With everyone now safely tucked in their beds, Amber turned out the lights and headed for the employee locker room. She felt incredibly tired and felt that God would more than understand if she missed church the following morning and stayed in bed. She'd just entered the locker room when Joan called out her name and hurried in after her.
"After everything that happened, I almost forgot…" She fiddled with something in her hands. It was a card-sized envelope. "It feels so awkward to say this after everything you went through, but I bought this card and had all the staff sign it during the beginning of the week." She held it out to her.
Amber gently took it from her. "What is it?" she asked, opening the envelope.
"…It's a birthday card."
Amber's eyes welled up as she took in the sight of the festive colored words printed on the face of the card and opened it up to see signatures covering almost every inch of the paper. Some people had even included small notes.
"There was going to be a cake too, but…"
Amber hugged Joan tightly. "Thank you," she murmured weakly.
Joan squeezed her back. "Are you going to be alright getting home?"
"Actually, I could use some company getting home."
Joan nodded and smiled softly. "I'll get my stuff." She stepped away and walked to the opposite end of the room, out of sight, to retrieve her things.
Amber wiped at her eyes with the back of her hand and clumsily turned the dial of her locker. She managed to open it on the first try and felt her heart stop when she saw a peach lying innocently within her locker. There was a scrap of paper tucked underneath it. Pulling it from beneath the fruit, Amber slowly unfolded it. 'Happy birthday, peaches,' was scrawled in the center accompanied by a hastily drawn smiley face. And she couldn't explain how, but she was pretty certain, that the peach and the note was the Joker's way of apologizing.
(Well, what shenanigans do you think the Joker will get up to now that he's free from Arkham? How do you think Amber's going to handle it? What do you think of the changes happening in certain relationships? Let me know in the reviews; I'm dying to hear from you, Dear Readers, about this chapter! Until next time.)