Well everyone, the time has finally come! Time to break out of Arkham! Will Jonathan be able to fully explain the situation to Delilah, or will he continue to keep her sheltered from it for a bit longer?
I just want to add a quick trigger warning for a brief discussion about sexual assault.
With that, happy reading! :)
Chapter 7: The Breakout
Jonathan rushed over to Arkham just as the sun was beginning to rise. He needed to get down to the rogues to make sure Delilah was okay. He felt slightly guilty for not seeing her during her first day there, but making sure his plans were in order, along with maintaining his typical schedule, didn't leave any extra time to check on her. Thankfully he had only told one guard about her staying in Arkham so he had little doubt about her safety. Once he arrived he heard the other guards talking loudly, saying that something happened to Lyle Bolton, the head of security, last night.
Son of a bitch.
Jonathan approached one of the guards, a short, stout man that he didn't personally work with. He was talking to two other guards.
"Good morning, sorry for intrusion. I couldn't help but overhear that something happened to Mr. Bolton last night?" He asked, raising his eyebrow as he questioned the guards.
"I don't know what the fuck happened, I wasn't even here. But someone saw blood trails on the floors in the maximum security wing near the rogue gallery, and no one's been able to find Lyle since. What if one of those freaks got out somehow and hurt him?" One of the guards replied, visibly shaken.
"If something like that could happen to him then it could happen to any of us. If there's another breakout I'm just staying home; I've known too many good people get injured or die during them." The guard continued, shaking his head.
God damnit, one night? They couldn't behave themselves for one fucking night?
"I'm so sorry to hear about that, Bolton's a good man. I'm sure someone will find him soon. I'll try to do my best to keep my eye out for him." Jonathan replied sympathetically, knowing the chances that Bolton was still alive were slim to none. "Before I go, do you happen to know where Anthony Garcia is? He's also a guard in that area, maybe he'll have some answers."
"He's actually right down the F wing, sir."
Jonathan didn't bother replying as he stormed down the hallway, barely able to keep his anger in check.
Absolutely no one should have gone near the rogue gallery last night. Whatever they did it's because someone let Bolton go there, and whoever did is definitely going to pay.
Am I finally going to be able to play with some new test subjects?
Yes, I think you will.
As he looked down the hallway he saw Garcia standing alone, shaking slightly and looking down at his pager. He quickly approached the man and pushed him against the wall, glaring at him intensely.
"Good morning, Garcia. How are you doing today?" Jonathan sneered, observing the man's heart race.
"I-I'm fine Dr. Crane, how are you?" Garcia stuttered, struggling to be able to look Jonathan in the eye.
"Oh, I'm fine. I had a nice drive and got to see the sunrise. But I did find out some rather unfortunate news on my way in here. Do you have any idea what I may be referring to?"
"Ah, ah no s-sir, I-I don't think I do."
"You don't? Are you sure? The one thing I hate more than a snitch is a liar, Anthony. I'll give you one more chance." Jonathan felt his grip on the man's arm become tighter and tighter as he struggled not to just bash his head in right there.
"F-fine, you're right! Bolton's gone, he went to the rogue gallery last night, I-"
"He what?!" Jonathan nearly lost it, his mind racing. "I gave you one task Garcia, and that task was to prevent anyone from going down there. And what happened? The first fucking night Lyle goes down there! Now, he normally never goes down there, other than when he occasionally brings the rogues to and from my office. Obviously no one was going to my office last night. So, answer one question for me. Why did he go down there in the first place, hm? I hope you tell me the truth this time, for your own sake."
Garcia shook as Crane glared at him, his fear unmistakeable.
"I-I was on my way out last night, so was he. I was c-coming out from the r-rogue gallery hallway and Lyle asked me why I was there, since I'm usually not there. I-I panicked, I tried not to answer but he grabbed me. I couldn't lie to him, I told him the girl was down there and I had to check on her. He must've gotten the idea to see for himself, I, oh God I'm so sorry!"
Jonathan closed his eyes for a second to let what he just heard sink in, slightly shaking in anger. He took a deep breath, then spoke.
"Does anyone else know?"
"No, no one else was around, and I don't think he told anyone else."
"Good. Well, thank you for informing me about this. But I can't have someone on my team that's untrustworthy. That certainly won't do."
"Please, please Dr. Crane, I'm so sorry! He forced me to-"
"Did he hold a gun to your head, Mr. Garcia?"
"No, no sir."
"Ah, and you have the means to defend yourself. So I'm thinking this wasn't force, this was you being weak. You're done."
Before Garcia could respond, Dr. Crane whipped out a sedative and plunged the needle into his neck, watching as Garcia slowly slipped into unconsciousness. He took a deep breath in as he dragged the unconscious man's body down the hallway and into a private laboratory. He tied him up and gagged him before exiting the room.
This'll have to do until I can get him to my personal laboratory. It's such a shame.
I'm going to have fun with this one! The weak ones have delicious screams.
Once he exited the lab he quickly snuck over to the rogue gallery, careful to not let any of the other guards see him. As expected, he saw a faint blood trail outside the hallway door. He shook his head and paused to push his glasses up as he stepped through the door.
Only Oswald was awake, looking at him quizzically.
"Good morning, Jonathan, you're usually not here this early." He spoke groggily.
"Yes, you're right. But special circumstances have made it necessary for me to be here."
"Special circumstances? What do you mean?" Oswald asked, already knowing the answer.
"Oh, I don't know, maybe the fact that Lyle fucking Bolton came here last night, and now the other guards know he's dead?! Maybe that's why I'm here so early, Penguin, to clean up this fucking mess!"
Jonathan replied, shouting by the end. Everyone else woke up startled, looking over at Jonathan. Delilah peered over at him, her eyes wide and her body shaking as he yelled at them.
I've never seen Jonathan this angry before! God, I hope he doesn't hate me!
"Good, I see you're all awake. Can one of you asshats please explain to me why Lyle Bolton is dead?!" He shouted, not caring how angry he got.
"There's a perfectly good explanation for that." Edward replied, standing up. He wanted to try to calm Jonathan down as much as possible so he would not frighten Delilah, but judging by the terrified look on her face he could see that ship had sailed.
Jonathan walked quickly over to Edward, getting in his face.
"Oh really? You have a perfectly good explanation for why the head of fucking security is dead? I can't wait to hear it! Enlighten me." Jonathan sneered at him.
"Enough! It's my fault he's dead Jonathan." Delilah called out softly, breaking Jonathan out of his rage.
"Delilah, you don't have to defend them. It isn't your fault." He replied, walking over to her. She stood up and looked into his eyes, unable to hide her fear.
"Yes, it is. L-last night while I was sleeping I-I felt a sharp pain in my neck. I woke up and saw a figure looming over me and a sedative in his hand. He spoke to me and I knew it was Lyle…. he was straddling me. He told me that one of his friends told him I was here and h-he couldn't leave me here, but then said I looked so….so helpless and he couldn't resist. He told me to lay back and enjoy myself like a good little girl or he'd get rough. I tried fighting him, I bit his hand but he just s-slapped me and almost choked me. As the sedative kicked in I couldn't fight anymore and felt him touching me. If it wasn't for Edward and Joker coming in and getting him off of me, I-I don't know what else would've happened. So if you're going to be mad at anyone, be mad at me. Me being here is why this happened." Delilah's voice broke as she spoke, and silent tears slid down her cheeks as she recounted what happened.
Jonathan's face softened as he felt like he got punched in the gut, his heart breaking for her. As he looked at her he noticed faint hand marks and a small hole on the side of her neck, confirming what had happened.
"I'm so, so sorry Delilah. Only the one guard was supposed to know you were here. He told me this morning that Lyle confronted him and made him tell him you were here. But this is my fault, I made the decision to have you stay here. And for that I'm so, so sorry. I'm sorry I yelled like that too, I lost my temper."
He opened her cell door as she rushed into his arms, hugging him as she continued to cry. After a minute or two she stopped, stepping back.
"It's okay, I can imagine it's stressful coming in and knowing that. I'd be mad too. But please, don't be mad at any of them. They were just trying to protect me." Delilah said, looking up at Jonathan with soft eyes.
"I just wish I'd heard him before he even got into her cell." Edward growled, feeling like he let Delilah down.
"I only have one question." Jonathan said, turning to face Edward. "How did you and Joker get out of your cells?"
"Yea, Eddie, I didn't think about it last night but how'd you get us out?" Joker asked, furrowing his eyebrows.
Edward sighed deeply as he went over to his cot. He pulled out the little black box he'd shown Delilah the day before, pausing before let Jonathan see it.
"I can pull you in but also push you away. I keep objects stuck to me, although I am not sticky. What am I?" Edward asked, earning a light giggle from Delilah.
"For fuck's sake. Let me guess, a rope?" Jonathan sighed, not having the patience to truly ponder Edward's riddle.
"Not a rope, Jonathan. A magnet." Edward replied, showing him the box. "I made it after the last breakout. Truthfully I've only used it a handful of times to get some exercise, but, as recent events have shown, you never know when this could be useful."
Jonathan took another deep breath, trying to keep himself calm.
"Well, good thinking Ed. Keep it just in case." He replied. "Also, Joker, where pretell, have you hidden Lyle's body? No offense to you Ed, but I'm assuming Joker handled that part."
"No offense taken, although I was certainly tempted to do it myself."
"If you let me out, doc, I can show you. I'm sure you'll have to get rid of that pretty quickly." Joker chuckled as the doctor approached him.
"I really have no choice about that, so fine."
Jonathan quickly let the man out so they could locate Lyle's body and dispose of it properly so no one could find it later. Before they left Jonathan turned back to the rest of the rogues and Delilah.
"Please, for the love of God, don't cause any more trouble. I already need to handle this and can't manage any other surprises."
"Yes sir!" Everyone replied, some chuckling.
Good lord. Jonathan thought, quickly sneaking Joker out of the room.
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As Jonathan and Joker left the room Delilah went behind the privacy curtain to change out of her pajamas. She could hear the other rogues talking, but couldn't distinguish what they were saying. All of a sudden she heard laughter, particularly from Harley. What are they all laughing about?
She opened the curtain and shrieked, seeing Edward standing in her cell, arms crossed and smirking at her. "Hey there, Deli-"
Before he could finish Delilah playfully slapped him in the face, then bent down as she laughed. The rest of the rogues laughed along, as Edward donned a fake look of shock on his face.
"I come in to say hi and this is how I get treated?" He asked, unable to contain his own laughter as he sat down on Delilah's cot.
"If you come in without announcing yourself then yes, it is." Delilah chuckled, sitting down next to him.
"Fair enough. I'm glad you seem to be doing better Miss Davis. I'm glad I could do my part to help you yesterday, although I wish I had been able to intervene quicker."
"I understand, I really appreciate that. You did so much, and that I can't thank you enough for. If there's anything I can ever do for you please let me know."
"Be careful, Miss Davis. You are still talking to a world-class supervillain, after all."
"You don't know me. Maybe I have a dark side that you don't know about." Delilah chuckled as Edward smirked at her.
"If you have a dark side I'd absolutely love to see it. If I had to picture your dark side it'd likely be something along the lines of keeping a library book past due or not paying a parking ticket." Edward laughed.
"Hey! I'm not that much of a goody two shoes. I've broken rules before!" Delilah protested, leaning closer to Edward.
"Oh, really? What kinds of rules have you broken? I'm dying to know." Edward smirked, eagerly awaiting her answer.
"Well, when I was in college I drank underage, and I took alcohol from my parents' place a few times to bring to school. I also smoked pot a bit in college. Oh, at one point my friend and I almost got caught and we evaded a cop!" Delilah said, laughing as she remembered that story.
"Really? What happened?" Edward laughed.
"I was with an old friend of mine and we'd already shared a weed brownie, and we were rolling up a joint to share as well. We kinda messed up because we did this in public. Gotham's one of those cities where no one really cares what you do, so we figured it wouldn't be an issue. Besides, it was a nice spring day, perfect walking and smoking weather. So we were walking and had just gotten the joint rolled. My friend took a hit and when she exhaled we noticed a cop nearby. His head kinda whipped around and he immediately saw what we had. My friend shoved the joint in her pocket and we booked it. I didn't even turn around but I heard the cop running after us, screaming at us to stop. I think he chased us for five or six blocks before we darted into an alley, hiding behind the dumpsters. We saw him run past, and waited a few more minutes. We finished the joint before going back out to the park. Thankfully we didn't see the cop after that." Delilah giggled as she recounted the story.
Edward also laughed, feeling surprisingly proud of her.
"Wow, running from the cops, using illegal drugs in public, drinking underage. Who would've known?" Edward asked, laughing along with Delilah.
"Have you done anything else questionable? Because as of now you're at the same level as most young kids in this city. I think it's cute." Edward smirked as he noticed Delilah glare at him.
Delilah sat in thought, wondering how she could best catch Edward off guard. After about a minute she looked back at Edward and grinned. She quickly peeked outside her cell, making sure no one else was watching them.
"Well, what about kissing a world class supervillain?" She whispered softly.
"Wait, wha-" Edward stuttered before Delilah kissed him, gently biting his lip and running her fingers through his hair. He quickly composed himself and began kissing her back, placing one of his hands on her waist and pulling her closer to him.
She wrapped one of her legs around his waist, moving herself so she was now straddling him, never breaking the kiss. He moved his other hand to pull her hair roughly, exposing her neck so he could softly kiss and bite the exposed skin. She bit her lip to hold in a moan to not alert the others to what they were doing. She moved back to kiss him softly again, then broke the kiss, looking into his eyes.
They each breathed heavily, trying to be quiet. They looked at each other for several seconds, trying to understand what just happened. After about a minute Edward spoke.
"I like the rule breaker in you. I hope to see it more often." He smirked as Delilah blushed deep red.
"I'm sure you will, Mr. Nigma."
Suddenly they heard a pair of footsteps approaching the hallway. Delilah quickly moved off of Edward so he could rush back into his cell, shutting himself back in just as Jonathan and Joker arrived.
Delilah avoided looking at Jonathan, unable to control her blushing.
Jonathan looked quizzically between Edward and Delilah's cells, noticing her blushing and the small smirk on Edward's face as he let Joker back into his cell.
"Well, it looks like Harley and I aren't the only two lovebirds around here, Jonathan." Joker chuckled quietly so only Jonathan could hear.
"Quiet, Joker. This isn't any of your business."
"Ya better move quick, Jonny. I wouldn't wanna see you lose your chance."
Joker chuckled as he went back into his cell, laying on his cot and smirking at Jonathan.
Jonathan's eye twitched as he turned to walk over to Delilah's cell. Once he arrived she rushed over and looked up at him. He noticed that she was blushing and hid his grimace.
"Are you okay, Dr. Crane? I'm sorry again that you had to clean that up." Delilah asked, shuddering as she recalled what happened to Lyle.
"I'm fine, I'm glad I could get that taken care of. But I actually do need you, you're scheduled to work with me today and it would look suspicious to the other staff if they didn't see you."
"Oh of course, I almost forgot! I'll get myself ready then come on out." Delilah smiled, going behind the privacy curtain to finish getting ready.
As Delilah went to finish getting ready Jonathan turned back to Edward and walked over to him slowly, keeping himself quiet. Edward walked up to the bars of his cell, meeting Jonathan's gaze.
"I don't know what you're planning, but hurting her in any way is severely against your best interests. I'd rethink some of your actions here, Ed." Jonathan growled, glaring at Edward, guessing at what happened when he'd left.
"As it so happens, Jonathan, she made the move on me. And besides, I think you know as well as anyone else that I only have her best interests in heart. Last night certainly showed that. I hope you do too." Edward met his glare and held his ground.
"Fine, but don't forget our arrangement here. I can do this with you, but I can also do it without you."
"And you think I'm unable to break out on my own? Funny."
The men continued to glare at each other until they noticed Delilah emerge from the private portion of her cell. They held their breath as they noticed her outfit; an emerald green suit with a white shirt underneath and black kitten heels. Her hair was semi-wavy, flowing across both of her shoulders, and her makeup was soft.
"Is this okay? I wasn't sure how professional the green would look but figured I should go for it." She questioned.
"Yes!" Edward and Jonathan responded in unison, unable to stop staring at her. Delilah blushed as she noticed their reactions.
"Awww, you're all so cute!" Harley squealed, grinning as Delilah giggled and blushed again.
Jonathan quickly let her out of her cell and let out a deep breath, ignoring Harley's comment.
"So, today we're seeing a couple of inmates, as usual, then we're having a session with Edward. His session will be the last of the day. Understood?" Jonathan asked, trying to keep his reaction to her outfit under control.
"Yes Dr. Crane." Delilah responded, waving goodbye to everyone as she started to walk out.
Jonathan stayed back for a second, leaning over to whisper to Edward.
"Before our session please go in and collect Delilah's things. Now that I know you can get out of your cell it'd be much easier to have her things prepared before we leave. Give her things to Harley and tell her where to drop them off. I have the most faith that she'll actually bring her stuff to us without getting caught." Jonathan ordered.
"Aye aye, captain. As you wish." Edward replied with a smirk.
Jackass.
Jonathan sighed as he walked out with Delilah, eagerly anticipating the end of the day.
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Thankfully the rest of the day went on without issue. The sessions with the other inmates occurred without any unusual incidents, no one approached them about what may have happened to Lyle Bolton, and none of Falcone's men came around. In ten minutes their session with Edward would begin, and at that point everything would move very quickly. Jonathan knew that about 15-20 minutes into the session Joker would begin the breakout. Once the breakout was enacted all hell would break loose. His primary objective was getting himself, Edward, and Delilah to his car before the other inmates got out. In order to do that they needed to move quickly.
He looked over at Delilah, hoping she would eventually understand the chaos of today, and accept the explanation he would give her. He had to figure out a way of explaining everything to her without having her freak out, which would definitely take some planning. She suddenly stopped what she was doing and looked over at Jonathan, noticing that he was looking at her.
"Is everything okay Jonathan?" She asked, hoping she was organizing his files correctly.
"Yes, of course. I'm just getting into the habit of watching over you, making sure you're okay." He took a deep breath before speaking again. "I just wanted to say, I'm truly sorry for not being there for you last night. I only told one guard that you were here so you would be safer. I trusted him not to say anything, and I'm ashamed of what happened." He looked away, unable to look at her. This kind of feeling was really abnormal for him and he didn't know how to process it.
It's because you liiiiiike her, don't you Jonny boy?
Be quiet!
Delilah approached him and sat down next to him, looking at him as he turned away from her.
"Hey, that wasn't your fault. I don't blame you, or Edward, or any of the other rogues. Hell, I don't even blame the guard that told Bolton that I'm here. He was an intimidating man, I'm sure that guard didn't willingly give that information up. The only person I blame is Bolton for being such a pervert. He deserved what he got, and I'm just thankful he won't be able to hurt anyone else now. Again, it really wasn't your fault. I know you would've helped if you were there. Also, you're the main reason that I'm safe right now. I'm not being attacked by Falcone or his thugs, and that's because you're taking a huge risk and helping me. So, if anything, I should be thanking you. You've done a lot for me the past few months and I'm eternally grateful." Delilah smiled as Jonathan turned back to her, meeting her gaze.
"Once we're able to get you out of here I want to be sure you'll trust me with the next steps. I don't want to have to keep you here forever, but once that happens things are going to change a lot. I need to know that you trust me before we move forward." Jonathan said, looking deep in her eyes.
Delilah paused, trying to understand what he truly meant as he spoke.
"A lot has changed, I know that, and I'm not foolish. I know things likely won't go back to normal, at least for a long time. I'm prepared for that, and if there's anyone I trust to keep me safe in all this is you. So yes, I trust you."
They looked at each other for several seconds before moving closer, their legs slightly touching.
"Jonathan, I know you aren't stupid, and it's probably pretty obvious that I like Edward. I don't know how to reconcile that within myself honestly. But I, I've noticed over time that I….I like you too. And that's probably a pretty bad thing to tell your former professor and current boss, and I'm not fully sure why I'm saying it, but everything is turning upside down and I don't know when I'd get this opportunity again so I -"
Before Delilah could continue Jonathan kissed her, pulling her face closer to his as he did so. She gasped, then closed her eyes and let herself ease into the kiss, pulling him closer to her by his shirt. Her heart was racing as they kissed with an intense fervor, moaning softly as he bit her lip. He smirked as she moaned, pulling her hair to make her moan again. He took advantage of her moaning and licked her bottom lip, slipping his tongue in. Their tongues danced against each other as the kiss deepened. After a few minutes they broke apart, breathing heavily as they tried to catch their breaths.
Woah.
Woah is right, Jonny boy. She's softer than I thought she'd be. I think I like this one a lot more.
They took a moment to collect themselves before Jonathan spoke.
"I'm glad you told me about your feelings, Delilah. I can't quite explain it but I feel similarly, and I have for a long time. I didn't want any of that to disrupt our relationship, but seeing how everything's changing so rapidly it's best to air those things out in the open. As for Edward, that'll just have to be figured out in time. But for now I think it's just about time for our session with him. You stay here while I run to get him."
Jonathan said, straightening out his shirt and making sure his hair wasn't messy. As he left a light blush crept over Delilah's face as she grinned.
I can't believe I was able to kiss both of them in general, let alone on the same day? What's happening in my life?
She felt astonished realizing they both seemed to like her. Normally she would be a bit worried about their intentions, especially Edward's, but for some reason she trusted that their feelings were genuine. If anything positive was coming out of this whole situation it was that.
Jonathan and Edward returned soon after, preparing for their session. Each of the men seemed tense as they talked, but Delilah figured it was just because they both realized they each liked Delilah.
I wonder if Jonathan told Edward that we just kissed? God, I hope this doesn't ruin things completely.
They continued with their session, with Edward and Delilah occasionally throwing light-hearted jabs at each other. Suddenly the alarms blared and Delilah jumped out of her seat. A familiar cackle echoed throughout the asylum and Delilah's blood ran cold.
Joker?! What the hell is he doing?!
"Good afternoon, ladies and gentlemen! How's everyone doing today?" Joker cackled as Delilah's heart raced and her eyes widened.
"I've been doing well, thanks for asking, but I've been feeling pretty stir crazy! Isn't that right Harls?"
"Right Mistah J! I almost forget how good it feels to breathe fresh air!" Harley responded, giggling along with the Joker.
"You know what? You're right! I'm sure the rest of our friends would love to get some fresh air too! So I have a proposition for you all. I'm going to open up all of your cells, and you all just run like hell! All I ask is that if you see some of our patients in the guard uniforms, take them down for me? They're especially dangerous, as you all know! But the ones in the white coats or suits are fine. They try so hard to help us all out afterall! Now, have fun kiddos!"
Joker continued to laugh as the alarm continued to ring. She heard the clanging of metal as the cell doors opened.
Delilah froze as she looked between Jonathan and Edward, having no idea what to do.
"Okay, it's time! Let's get out of here." Jonathan said, rushing to grab his briefcase. Edward quickly grabbed Delilah's hand and dragged her out of her seat, silently telling her to run with him.
"Wait, what's happening?!" Delilah cried out, her pupils dilating as fear overtook her.
Mmmm, that delicious fear, it's so intense!
"It's a breakout sweetheart. We need to run like hell and get out of here before the other inmates see us. We don't have time to freak out, let's go." Edward responded, not giving Delilah time to speak before practically dragging her out the door, Jonathan emerging soon after. They all ran as fast as they could as the alarm continued to ring and they heard shouting and the sounds of running echoing throughout the hallways. Thankfully the office area was near the main exit so they quickly got out of the asylum.
"My car's over that way, let's go!" Jonathan shouted, running over to his car as Edward and Delilah followed him. Delilah turned back and saw several inmates running out the door. She screamed as they arrived at Jonathan's car. She and Edward got into the back seat as Jonathan jumped in front, throwing his suitcase in the passenger seat before starting the car and peeling out of the parking lot, leaving the asylum behind in the distance.
"What the hell is happening?! Where do we go now? How is Edward going to be safe, since he's a wanted criminal? What's going to happen to the others?" Delilah questioned, her heart beating out of her chest as Jonathan drove away.
"You'll see, everything is going to be okay." Edward reassured her, putting his arm around her shoulder.
"But wait, it's not okay! There was just a breakout! Now where am I going to hide from Falcone? Are you going to get arrested? What's going to -" Before Delilah could ask more questions she felt a sharp pain in her neck. She didn't notice that Edward had a syringe filled with a sedative until he had used it on her, quickly throwing it onto the floor of the car and looking into her eyes sympathetically. The sounds around her began to blend together as her vision faded into black.
"I'm sorry to do this, but you'll understand later…."