Chapter 7:
The Joker ran forward and started dancing around in psychotic glee. I gasped quietly as I noticed the bodies of two men; one questioner and one guard. They were breathing, just knocked out. The joker said something that I couldn't quite make out before laughing hysterically and prancing out past what was supposed to be one of those blue fences that hurt a lot on contact. Impossible! Those doors are supposed to repel him. Someone's in the data base, that's the only explanation, and they're helping him. I don't see why though; anyone who wears that colour scheme is most certainty a freak. Oh well, at least I know what Catwoman said about my fascination with fashion was correct. "Ladies and maniacs, I apologise for this interruption to your regular entertainment. Up until a few seconds ago, I was going to kill everyone in the room and then watch cartoons but then ... well ... you know how I do love a captive audience!" I shivered as the words made me feel just sheer ... what is that word? Scared word. Frightening word. Terrifying word. What is it? Um ... apprehension? No, ... fear! That's it, fear. Make that number ... I've lost track. Let's have this as number ten on my list of remembered words then?
The Batman had, by this point, burst through one of the glass viewing stations and made shards of glass shower everywhere on the floor below. The inmates bluey gate thingy had also gone down and the idiots, too stupid to live in my opinion, were now attacking the dark knight like rabid dogs. They were, of course, beaten half to death by the Bat. He looked like a tall, dark and brooding type. Strong yet silent, that sort of type you know? He's a weird one too, I mean why would a grown man dress up as a Bat? It sounds a little crazy to me ... ah irony! He's fighting to take down someone just as crazy - if not more so - then him. I would giggle but it's just not the time right now you know?
"I'm just warming you up, Bats! Fresh from Blackgate Correctional Facility, with a combined sentence of 752 years. Ding, ding, ding, ding, ding! It's round 2!" yet another round of inmates were released from their cells as the Bat started working them over. Selena started to pull at my foot and whisper in a voice that I knew was a weak cover over her fear, that we had to go now. I heard her grumbling as she started to shift her body enough so that she could turn around a little. It was so cramped that it took a few moments or so, meaning I got to hear the last bit of the Joker's 'pleasant' escape speech. "Sorry, Bats! Gotta run, I've got places to go, people to slay!" I bit my lip to keep from crying out in fear, this man is psycho! Completely do-lally psycho! And we're now stuck here in this prison with him. Crap, utter crap.
We turned and headed out of that area of the vents before crawling towards a new location. We crawled for about ten minutes before Selena spoke. "We need to get out, and quickly. I ... I know Joker! He's not a friend of either of ours and if he finds us then ... you don't want to know! The next grate we pass that leads into a room should be good. The vents are not a good thing to be in around Joker; especially with his Joker Happy Gas. We'll make it on foot, get outside and then cross the river somehow. I don't usually leap towards water but if Joker's the alternative then fling me in!" I nodded and shared her fear privately. Gas is hard to evade, especially in confined places like vents that would be optional places for it to be placed. I've just met Joker and already I'm running for my life. God knows what Selena is thinking right now; knowing him a lot longer then I have. We'll have to either swim or capture a sea vessel that will provide safe passage.
I heard a murmur from the tanoy that I couldn't make out entirely but I got the jist that Joker is the leading master of Asylum right now. Shit! "Selena? Who's currently here in the Asylum?" I asked after a thought occurred to me that we're stuck. In a madhouse. With a bunch of hardened villains. And I don't even know which!
"The Joker obviously is here. I talked to - ok swore at - Riddler two days ago in the Narrows, in the city's slum area. Zsasz is here too and probably slaughtering some innocent doctor right now. Scarecrow is here; which is a problem as I stole a few ... well a lot of money off him about a few weeks ago so he's pissed at me again. Killer Croc is hiding in the sewers yet again. Poison Ivy is in the bowels of the Penitentiary but she's a friend so isn't as much a problem. Clayface is here so watch your step. Scarface is present and currently boxed up in the Main house. But Mr. Freeze is chilling out in the City alongside Penguin. Harley Quinn is somewhere in the city; moping over the capture of Joker though I think she's going to be very pleased with his escape. Bane's out somewhere as well but it's all been quiet on that end. Two-Face is thankfully out of the picture as he's in the city along with Calendar Man. That's all I think!" She stated in an almost familiar tone like this was nothing new in her life to be so close to so many killers. I can't imagine living like that; so close to danger and death. How does she live with it?
"Isn't Harley Quinn that sidekick of Joker's? Could she be responsible for him escaping? Particularly considering her history." I had been told of the Harley Quinn from watching TV and listening to the gossip of the guards who patrolled near my cell. She's supposedly the lover of Joker, who used to be a Questioner here at Arkham Asylum so I suppose she knows this place like she knows herself. She's psychotic enough to help the Joker anyway.
"It's good that a few of your memories are returning Hailey, and yes I think that it is possible that Quinn is helping Joker but right now we don't have the proof to support that theory. Now I think I see a light ahead, stick with me kid and don't leave my sight!" she scrambled forward and I stuck behind her as ordered. She breathed out gently before taking a peek inside the grate to analyse the room for danger. Seeing none; she kicked at the grate twice, knocking it loose before pulling it to one side. She climbed out and stretched before becoming me to join her. I looked at the room and quickly deduced that this was an office of some kind for one of the Questioners. It looked very luxurious, with padded chairs and heavy drapes that made the room feel comfortable yet boring. Selena went towards the desk and swiped one of the glasses off it. She threw the half-consumed contents into a nearby plant pot before using it to listen outside for trouble. My stomach growled inside me as I noticed an untouched cake still in its wrapper.
"You want to go halfs on the cake?" I asked her quietly so she wouldn't become to angry with me for interrupting her task with such a childish question. She looked back at me, smiled softly and shook her head before returning to her job. I near choked it down in excitement, since it was so different to the usual foods I get here. I have had cake before, but only a very small one as a luxury while I was still trying to gain a few pounds. We don't eat the most flavoursome of foods here, rather it's pretty bland and boring. This cake was rich and well made, with fruit inside of it - not bananas - that I didn't recognise. I only wished I had more of it.
"Hailey, there's about three inmates outside in the corridor. They're distracted at the moment so we would normally be able to take them but one of them has a gun so it's too risky to take them head on. I'll use the vent to creep into the corridor and pick them off but for now I need you to find a place to hide and stay there till I come back, ok? Stay here, stay quiet and stay alive kid!" She pounced back into the venting system and I admit that I felt a little left out but what could I do? I'm not the most powerful of people here or the smartest; in fact I'm quite weak so I would just get in the way. Selena can handle herself if she's what the media depict her to be.
I looked around to find a hiding spot as Selena said I should. Under the desk is an obvious choice but if the guards get in here then that's the first place they would look. I went to the filing cupboards and found that if I dragged them into specific locations then there was a small, unnoticeable gap behind them that I could hide in. I did so quickly, and stayed absolutely still just in case my raised heart beat gave me away.
Time ticked by agonizingly slow before I heard the creak of the door and incoming footsteps. My breath caught as I struggled to keep from shaking. Is it Selena? Or an enemy? The former is more likely. I never should have escaped! I never would have ended up in this place had I not of taken the stupid option of escaping. I bit my lip and tried to keep myself still.
"Hailey? You can come out now; they're all knocked out!" The reassuring voice of Selena echoed in the room and I breathed out loudly in relief. I wiggled my way out of my hiding place and saw her standing in the doorway, slightly out of breath. She nodded as she caught sight of me in confirmation that I was ok before signalling me to follow her. I did so without comment but I made sure that I had the knife firmly in my hand just in case. I wouldn't kill anyone but I can cause a few injuries that would hold them up.
"Warning! Security breach in Level B3!" The tanoy played in urgency as we dropped out walking pace in favour of running through the halls with weapons primed on any threats. I passed a sign that said we were at level B5, two levels below B3, so I was keen on getting out of here before the Joker turned up with a mob of his henchmen as backup.
"We're on level B5, Selena, we need to find an elevator!" I called from behind as I passed a rather fetching looking picture of the warden himself. I suppose pictures aren't very life like after all, since he does not look like that in the slightest. She quickened her pace and though I did keep up with her, I admit I was very tired in the attempt. Perhaps I'm just not used to long distance running like this from being cooped up in that tiny room of mine. Yes, that must be the reason. "Warning! Security breach in Level B2!" yet again the tanoy blared along with warnings on levels B8, 1, 6 and 4 as we passed a sign saying that the elevators were around the next turn. My legs ached and my breath was heavy as I struggled to keep pace with her but as we turned I saw that there was another thing to trouble about; specifically a group of henchmen numbering around eight in number. Two were armed with shields, one had a gun and the rest had pieces of steel pipes to bludgeon someone with. Selena grabbed her whip from her belt and used it to knock over the one with the gun while I used my current forward momentum to hand-spring myself towards two other goons and knock them out with a definite double punch to their heads that really did hurt my hand. I then hastily ducked to avoid a pipe that one of the men had thrown at me. Really! How rude!
"Warning! Security breach in Level B5!" You don't say! I deflected a crudely jabbed piece of pipe with the blade of my dagger before using my other hand to jab in sequence areas that quickly made the inmate go numb and falls over. Three down from me and four from Selena. That makes seven; one more to go. unfortunately, this one refused to go down easily like his companions and had a riot shield that deflected any attack that we both tried to make. Selena, seeing this, preformed perhaps one of the most extraordinary yet so simple techniques to disarm the man. She waited till the man thrusted out with his riot shield before pouncing up and landing delicately on the rim of the shield with, what I must say, surprising grace. However, this utterly stunning piece of acrobatics was quickly ended by the fact that she decided to claw the man and nearly kill him. A few inches to the left, and he would of bled out instantly.
"What do you think you're doing! You could of killed him!" I shouted at her in a rage that I had not experienced before. It was a confusing feeling, anger, and it made me ... almost feel like there was nothing else between me and hurting the thing that had made me so furious. But I had restraint. I can't kill her. She knows things about me, things I don't know or remember yet. I need that Intel. Without it, I'm flying blind. Also she has impressive skills with that whip of hers and good fighting prowess. She's currently useful but not for long. I can't let myself be distracted by her, to be drawn in to her charms. It's me against the world now, and I can't side with no one except myself. Any other course of action will eventually make me weak. That weakness in result would cost me dearly later on. I must put away personal preference. This woman may say that she's my friend, and at times I may actually believe her but she's a killer - or an almost killer - and I can't forget that. She'd probably turn on me instantly to save her own skin ... probably.
"Nice to see you're returning to your old self. Relax, I know what I'm doing kid! Now come on; we've got an elevator to catch!" her voice was arrogant. Don't fall for her tricks Hailey, if that is my name, she'll kill you instantly else. I stepped into the elevator cautiously, and found it to be very simple in design. Two televisions were fixed into the opposite sides of the cage we were supposed to stand in but they only showed little messages from the old warden telling us to 'obey the rules' and 'keep in line'. Very happy guy, the warden. The elevator looked safe enough, so Selena punched in the level we needed and we were off climbing levels. In a metal cage. Over a abyss. Ok, now I'm thinking this isn't a good idea. If who ever let Joker through the security gates and let his goons out of their cells figures out that we're escaping, we'll be in a lot of trouble.