Chapter 5:

We hit out at the same exact moment.

The events happened like clockwork. I guess I must have been a fighter in my old life but definitely not the usual drunken bar brawl one. My hands moved automatically, not to traditionally punch the guards but to jab certain places rapidly giving them very little chance or time to react or counter. Each combination was timed perfectly and led to each guard being either paralysed or simply knocked out so in the time of about five minutes, I had disabled each and every one of the guards surrounding me without drawing a single drop of blood. Which, of course, draw the obvious question of; what the hell am I?

The other prisoner Catwoman had also defeated her set of guards with what I somehow recognised to be an expertly conducted combination of martial arts that were seamless and aerobically fantastic. She looked around at the unconscious guards at our feet before casually swaggering towards me with a look that told me she was very full of herself. Swaggering, funny word that. "New patient in the Intensive Treatment lobby, all non-essential staff to vacate the area!" The tanoy played as she pulled me into the 'Patient effects' room. She closed the door behind us and locked it as I looked around to see if the contents of the room were of any use to me. A load of lockers were positioned in the room, with little numbers inscribed on them detailing which patient it belonged to. My eyes travelled across the numbers till they came across one that allured my interest.

Inmate 2013

Yes, that's me. Names are funny.

She leaned against a locker and studied me intently for a moment before smiling as if amused by some sort of private joke. "You know, you could have just called me! It would of been a lot easier then this whole breakout attempt here!" this left me very confused. I have a feeling I know this woman, this Catwoman, but I don't know exactly the terms of our relationship.

"What are you talking about?" I haven't spoken since I woke up and then only a few explanation of swear words that I suppose never leave you even when you're mind goes 'pop' and does a runner. My voice sounded alien to me and very harsh on the ears. I guess not using it makes a voice sound like that. I cleared my throat and repeated the question in a more composed and clearer way.

"Oh yeah, the Amnesia thing! You know I kind of hoped that it was just an act but now I see you in person ... well don't take it personally but you look like crap. I suppose I better re-introduce myself! Hi, I'm Selena and I'm the woman who's been saving your sorry behind every time you get in shit that you can't get out of! Oh, and you're name's Hailey by the way if you didn't know!" Ok, so I have a mother now? A villianess as a mother, joy! I suppose I like my name, it is kind of quirky after all, but now's not really the time to laugh.

"Hailey? H-A-I-L-E-Y? And you're Selena, my mom? No offence lady but you're kind of young!" She looked around the late twenties/ early thirties and certainly not the age to have kids my age. The doctor, Susan, estimated that I was around the early twenties in age so it seemed kind of strange for such a young woman to have a kid as old as me. Especially considering her occupation as a criminal.

"Well, not biologically, but I am the woman who's got you out of more trouble then you could possibly think of so I suppose it's sort of the same. ow, I'd love to keep swapping stories but for now we've got to escape this hell-hole! Any ideas?" Great, foster mom to the rescue. With no plan, no backup and no idea for escape. This just keeps getting better and better.

"No, I was rather depending on that grate in the hallway for an escape while you divert attention and get captured yourself!" my tone projected to her my spite and bitterness over her unprepared state. What do we have? About twenty minutes before the guards wake up or shrug off their bruises to call for help? If we're luckily that is!

"That's kind of cold, Hailey!" her voice was disapproving but slightly, very slightly, amused by my callousness. She moved closer to me with an almost pitiful attempt at staying angry.

"Welcome to the madhouse!" I looked back at the locker and studied the lock on it. It wasn't very secure, with an easily crackable lock that could be picked by even the most stupid of thieves. She gave a small chuckle beside me at the comment as the tanoy yet again came on.

"Alert in Intensive Treatment! Category 9 patient in transit. Pacification system active. Shoot to kill permissions granted!" Category 9? I'm only category 3 myself, so it's probably one of the more bloodthirsty of inmates. One that is dangerous enough so that if he get's loose, he could kill on a mass scale.

"Sound's like they're moving one of the big boys! Croc probably, he's always making them jumpy!" She pushed me gently to the side and took a hair clip from her head. I moved across slightly out of her light but not so far that I couldn't see what she was doing. Her hands were nimble and within seconds, broke the code with a rezoning click. I pushed the door of the locker open and looked inside. Inside was an outfit of sorts, with a colour scheme of red, white and black. The main body of the outfit was a black catsuit with a small crimson red tutu around the waist with white ruffles that was purely cosmetic. Around the legs were holsters for what imagine must be for 22 caiber automatic handguns of course missing from the locker, along with similar holsters for two deadly sharp daggers that were identically missing. There was also a pair, long red leather gloves, black boots and a simple hair-band included in the outfit. I put it on, grateful to be out of the annoying orange prison clothes they had made me wear, before using the hair-band to tie back my greasy, almost slimy feeling hair into a knot that I normally see on a Questioner. Slightly messy but adequate I suppose for practicality. The costume was an eerily perfect fit, so it must be mine after all!

"Nice threads, you always had good taste with clothes!" Selena's voice was casual as she examined the numbers on the lockers. So I know fashion now? What next? A sudden talent to draw using my toes ... now that I think about it, I might be able to since I can walk on my hands. Ok, moving on before I creep myself out even more!

"Where did this come from?" I asked her, since I wasn't so sure with timelines due to the whole MEMORY LOSS thing! Honestly I didn't know what to think about my previous self right now apart from the fact she was seriously had a few screw loose to dream up an outfit that looks like it was designed by a three-year old. Psycho it is ...

"I think you made it just after your first kill? I watched the footage of it on the cameras in the first guy's office and you were wearing your old uniform in it with the exception of a few gashes and a little ... blood. You must have changed after that. It was scary Hailey, I've never seen you so angry before ... even when you were the 'White Rabbit' you never went for the kill. You always used those mystical kung fu mumbo jumbo powers of yours to knock out your attackers even if they were shooting at you!" I am not a killer! I can't be ... I've ... I've been framed. It's the only explanation I can think of. I would never kill, that is my code. My law. My promise. But someone is trying to make it seem like I have and when I find that person, then I'll give him over to another who'll work the guy over a little for daring to try and make people think I would break my ethics. Selena must know someone who'll have that skill set, and I know that the inmates of Arkham got here because many of them know exactly how to break a person physically, emotionally and spiritually. However, this 'mystical kung fu mumbo jumbo' is the real issue at the moment. I need to find out exactly what I did to those guards and maybe that'll tell me a little of what I was before all of this. A clue if you will to the riddle of my past.

"What the hell did I do to the guards?" I watched her closely and noticed her body freeze uncomfortably for a few split seconds before she regained her composure. She's obviously nervous and doesn't want to talk about this, why?

"Not now, Hailey! Later! Now where's all my little weapons? Let's see! my locker? Let's see! 'Patient artefacts weaponry' ... Inmate 1940 ... ah yes here it is!" She walked around the lockers before I heard the satisfying click of a locked door being successfully picklocked by everyone's favourite house cat. She came out and fixed some clawed gauntlets, bolas, and a whip to her belt before passing me the missing weapons from my outfit. Two daggers, two fully loaded 22. caliber guns and one weird-looking computer thingy that appeared to attach to the wrist using a leather strap on the back. I pressed the scree experimentally as it came to life to show a small yet detailed map of my location including little dots showing heat signatures. I had no clue, of course, of how to work the damn thing other than that so I ignored it all together. Don't want to find out it has a self destruct do I?

"Good, all suited up and ready to go. I suppose now, you'll be calling yourself 'The Queen of Hearts' instead of 'White Rabbit' like before but oh well? You'll be looking good anyway!" thank-you for the compliment but why is it a bad time to talk? I just disabled a whole group of men without drawing blood and you're not giving me any answers, that doesn't make any sense!

Then noticed her pulse was higher than normal, while sweat droplets were falling down her forehead and her eyes weren't meeting mine. All indicators that this is a touchy subject. I can't ask right now, I need this woman to get me out of here first. Then I'll ask. Obviously she's hiding something from me so I'll find out when it's a better time when we're not hiding in at a madhouse with numerous bad guys itching to kill or who knows what else to us.

"Intensive Treatment lower floors are now at level Red Alpha!" the tanoy interrupted my hard stare at her as I, almost by instinct, look up in fright. Red Alpha? I've never heard of that code. Sounds like trouble though, maybe a new inmate being dragged in or making trouble for the guards. I looked at Selena for her opinion, being the more experienced of us both and the least brain-damaged.

"Jokers being moved here after his little fiasco at the Mayor's office. I trust you've followed it? He didn't even put up a fight, and to me that's seems a little fishy!" fishy, fish, cat's eat fish! Get it? Oh that's a gut cracker, that really is. But Joker's being moved here? That's ... troubling.

"I've followed it but I didn't know that he had been caught so quickly!" That look she gave me was very strange as if she's trying to see how I would react to this twist in the plan. Why is that? Is she testing me? Testing how I react under pressure? interesting.

"Yeah, he's caught alright. Now come on! We need to find a way out of here!" Ok, calm down and don't ask any more questions. I need to pass her little test if I want to get out of this place alive, and then ... then I'll question her by hanging her off a building by her leg to see if cats really do land on their feet.

Or on their heads ...