Chapter 25: Betrayal

"Do you think you can remember the layout or do you want me to draw it out?" For once Leena's voice was completely serious.

"I have visited Arkham before, Leena. I've got it. You're going to have to hope they're keeping the Joker in the solitary ward like you're predicting, though. If it was too badly damaged in the explosion or I can't find him, this isn't going to get far. And I'll still need a policeman to get me past security." Andi hesitated, then decided it wouldn't do any harm to ask.

"I need a gun."

"Hmmm… lemme think… no." Harley twirled her pistol like a pro, even though Andi knew she probably hadn't so much as touched a gun before the Joker had broken her. "I don't wanna give you any chance to hurt J. Sorry, darlin'."

"Look, if I hurt 'J' before I got back here, you simply wouldn't have to give the Batman a cure! I'm not going to touch him, but he'll be protected by the police and if you want me to get in, you've got to give me something."

The pistol stopped its spinning and Leena tapped her chin thoughtfully with the barrel. Ivy's foot slowly came off Andi's chest, allowing her to sit up, but the scientist's hands remained firm on her weapon and she watched Andi closely. "And what's to stop you from shooting us as soon as you have the gun? You could just do that and then give your friend the antidote. No thanks."

"I wouldn't shoot—"

"Not to kill, maybe, but if you had to, you'd put a bullet through our knees or something," Pam shrugged. "I don't hold it against you Andi. I'll do the same to you if I have to, it's nothing personal."

Andi sighed. It had been a long shot anyways. No pun intended. She cleared her throat.

"How do I know you two are going to keep your word?"

Pam's lip curled into a grim smile. "Don't trust us anymore?"

"No."

"I'll just tell it like it is then." Ivy looked Andi straight in the eye. "There's nothing I can do to prove that I'm trustworthy. You and I both know that. And he's not my friend like you or Harley, so there's no particular reason I want him alive. But you like him, Andi. And if he's that important to you—"

"He is."

"Then I'm willing to help him for you. I'll give him the cure if you do what Harley wants. I swear."

Andi just stared, as if she could pull the answers from her friend's eyes if she looked hard enough. After a minute, Pam shrugged. "Take it or leave it, Andi. But just remember one thing: you and I might be on different sides now, but even so, have I ever lied? To you or to anyone else?"

Andi grimaced. They both knew the answer to that; Pam had always been the brutally honest one of the trio, outspoken to a fault. She looked up to Leena, who was sitting on a lab table now, swinging her legs back and forth. "And you, Leena? Why should I trust you?"

"Hey, I don't want him dead! Mr. J likes having Bats around to play with." Harley gave an exaggerated shrug, then swooped her arm up and over her head to look at her watch. "Speaking of which, you should do this soon if you're gonna do it at all. I don't know how much time Batsy here's got left."

"What do you mean 'how much time?' Those council members are still alive and they've had the toxin in them almost twenty-four hours now!"

"We-ell," Leena bit her lip like a guilty child, "I mighta given him a bit of an overkill on it."

Andi closed her eyes, then opened them to glare at Pam. "You've concentrated the toxin? Are you out of your mind?"

"The anti-toxin will work just as well on it," Ivy said. "As long as it's administered regularly to a person, you just have to wait for the bacteria to get taken out by the immune system. This dosage just acts quicker. It's more of a weapon this way; unless someone can get the cure within three hours, they'll be damaged for life. Four and they're dead. This way, if I ever need to actually kill someone in the future, once the antitoxin is out there, I'll have this available."

"Future? As in you're not going to stop with this? What is your—"

"Tick-tock-tick-tock," Leena chanted, "I'd say Batsy's already had this in his system for fifteen minutes. That's a twelfth of your time right there! Hurry up!"

Andi stared at the needles, an idea flashing into her mind, another piece of the puzzle snapping into place. "Let me have a dose of the poison then. You say it'll make a good weapon, and you two must have inoculated yourselves by now, so I can't turn it against you."

Ivy stared at her disbelievingly. "Ten seconds ago you were high and mighty about these, and now you want me to give you one? What gives?"

"I figure…" Andi sighed, tried to quiet her conscience. She had to do something. "I figure you're going to be distributing the cure soon anyways. And I've got to do this. I can't allow myself to be stopped, no matter the cost."

Ivy and Harley exchanged glances. After a minute, Harley shrugged. "It's your medicine Red. But I want Mr. J back soon."

"Fair enough." Pam turned her back on Andi, holstering the gun. Andi wanted to take the chance to go to Bruce, attack Pam, something, but Harley started pointing her gun at random things and making shooting noises like a kid with a toy. Andi got the message and stayed still.

"Alright, Andi. Here you go." Pam handed Andi a disposable needle, rather like those carried by diabetics. "I don't think you need to learn how to handle these?"

Andi rolled her eyes. "Med student over here? I could give you lessons."

Ivy grinned and Harley gave Andi a wink. And somehow, despite the crazy make-up, despite Bruce on the floor and Andi about to jump from citizen to criminal, she suddenly felt as if things hadn't changed a bit, as if everything was right. The three of them setting off to try something insane and world-changing. No different from any other day when you thought about it.

Then Pam reached a hand down to help Andi up and it all came crashing back. No different. Right. Everything was different. It was all wrong. Pam and Ivy, Harley and Leena. Were they the strangers or was she?

"Hey. Good luck," Pam said. "I mean it Andi. I don't want you or him hurt."

Deep breath. Was it still possible to like Pam? Was it possible not to? "Thanks," Andi muttered. She cast a final look around the room, at Bruce on the floor, at Harley carefully removing a glove and cleaning her nails, at Pam's serious expression. I can do this, she promised, I WILL do this. Somehow.

Andi made her steps calm, almost sauntering, as she walked out of the greenhouse.

"Miss, this a secure area that needs authorization to be accessed—"

"It's alright, it's alright Harris! I know who this is, let her in." Gordon motioned the other police officer aside and ushered Andi into the back exit of Arkham Asylum. He placed a protective hand on Andi's shoulder and led her down the hallway. "Sorry about that," he muttered as soon as they were out of earshot of the door, "When I got your phone message I assumed you'd be at the front of the building."

"That was the original plan," Andi said, "But security was so tight there I figured I might have more luck in the employee entrance. Do you have a place we can talk? Privately?"

Gordon gave her a considering look. "This way."

Andi had visited Arkham several times with Leena, and had always thought it wasn't nearly as grim as legend made it. Now, though, it was not only grim, it was positively menacing. The dingy fluorescent light made everything seem harsh, too clear-cut, yet somehow left the impression that there were shadows to hide in. No windows, no color, nothing but rows of thick metal doors with who knew what behind them. Just my imagination. This area isn't even used for the dangerous inmates. Andi reminded herself. "The doctors?"

"Most of them never came into work today—Dr. Arkham has the place running on minimal staff. A couple are sticking around for the patients, but the less here, the less people we have in danger. And the less chance one is being paid or bribed into helping the Joker out. They let me have one of the empty offices too."

The Joker doesn't need a doctor to help him. He's got me. Andi spotted yet another policeman at the intersection of two hallways. More who were patrolling, two at each corner… they went up a flight of stairs, to the offices, and even then there was a jumpy looking policeman that Andi didn't recognize. "Security's pretty tight, huh?"

"As tight as we can make it without tipping off the public," Gordon said with quiet pride. "It helps that no one knows the Joker's here except those we needed to tell. I've had plainclothes on the streets all day hinting that he's at Williams Medical. They've got a riot going on over there but we're safe here. For now. It'll get out eventually, but all we've had to deal with were maybe half a dozen people who even suspected." He stopped at one of the offices and unlocked it, ushered Andi towards one of the chairs.

The occupant had obviously tried to improve the room with potted plants and pictures of family, but to Andi it still seemed enclosed and stifling, a dim, dirty prison. She perched on the edge of her chair and had to focus on making her hands stay still.

"Gordon, I'm here as a favor to our… mutual friend. He couldn't exactly waltz in here himself, so he asked me to come. He—he wants me to tell you that he's got a plan."

"Good." Gordon pulled off his glasses and started polishing them on his shirt. "Because I sure as hell could use some support in this."

"Well… there's a catch. His plan involves… letting the Joker loose."

"What?" Her boss jammed the glasses back onto his face and stared fiercely at her. "Taylor you can't be serious! He's never given in to terrorist demands, he wouldn't start now with—"

"It's what he needs Gordon. The situation's under control, but I need you to trust him. He wants you to give me the pass number to the Joker's cell and let me get him loose."

"I…" Gordon paused and Andi felt her heart lift, but then he shook his head. "No. No, Taylor. Tell him if he wants to break the Joker out he'd better do it on his own because I am not going to back down on this."

Andi saw the glint in Gordon's eye and swallowed. That was it then. She took a deep breath, tried to hold back the emotional roller coaster her mind was riding, but something must have shown in her expression because Gordon cleared his throat. "It's alright, Taylor. I'm sure he'll understand." His chair scraped back from the desk and he came around to pat her awkwardly on the back. "Come on. I'll escort you out and…"

She saw the opportunity before she processed it. She had a weapon. Gordon was in arm's reach. Bruce needed her. Andi's arm seemed to jerk with its own life, fingers slipping the needle cap free, twisting behind her to slap it into the large vein on the back of Gordon's hand. Her thumb moved on the syringe cap.

He stared at her for perhaps five seconds, then hunched over his hand, gasping. Andi wondered whose gaze showed more horror. His or hers. She had an agenda though, and she made herself react first. She turned around, seized Gordon's gun and radio, stuffed the gun into her belt behind her jeans, and shrieked. She yanked the door open and shouted, "Get in here! Quick!"

"Miss? What is it?" The officer had his weapon drawn, but lowered it when he saw it was just the two of them.

"Gordon! He's got the disease. At least I think he does, he just started doubling over and—" Andi didn't need to fake the near panic in her voice. She needed to get a grip on things, but her mind kept seeing that needle going in, and Gordon had sunk to the floor now, glasses askew, and she couldn't make herself calm down. One chance. She had to do this right. One chance. She'd gone too far to back out.

"Alright, Miss, it's alright. Just let me look at him." The officer stepped into the room, holstered his weapon. The second he'd shut the door, Andi whipped Gordon's gun out and pointed it straight at the man.

"Don't even think about going for it," she hissed as the officer darted a glance at his own pistol, "I want your hands on your head."

The policeman's eyes went wide but he obeyed slowly. Andi kept the gun leveled at his face.

"Taylor…" Gordon swallowed past the pain and Andi felt bile rising in her throat. Don't think about it, don't think about it… "What are you doing?"

"Whatever I have to." Andi was shocked at how steady her voice was, how her hands didn't tremble on the weapon. Did that make her more or less of a monster? "Tell me how to get to the Joker's cell Gordon. Give it now, or your officer gets a hero's medal for being shot in the line of duty."

Maybe Gordon wouldn't have said anything under normal circumstances, Andi didn't know, but he was bewildered, pain ridden, and one of his men was being threatened by a gun. He closed his eyes and slowly recited "Men's ward. Room 302."

"You're a terrible liar." Andi cocked the pistol. "The real location this time."

Gordon groaned, and Andi could sense more than see the fight go out of him. It was everything she could do not to tell him the truth, why she was doing it, what was really happening, but there was no time and she didn't know that he'd help her anyways. "Solitary confinement. Floor six, room fifteen."

"And the code to his room?"

"18-73-90."

Andi whispered the number sets to herself, then cleared her throat. "Turn around," she instructed the officer. He hesitated, but when Andi narrowed her eyes and clenched the pistol tighter he obeyed. Andi flipped the gun around and, hands gripping it like an axe, hoping the gun didn't discharge in her face, brought the handle crashing into his occipital ridge. The officer's legs limpened and he crashed to the ground, bashing his chin bloody as he did. Andi pulled his gun, radio, badge, and taser off of him, then checked for a pulse. Faint, but still there. He'd live, but she needed a disguise if she was trying to walk anywhere in here without Gordon.

With a sigh, she heaved him over and began undoing the buttons on his shirt. Modesty seemed rather pointless with everything else that was happening. Her main concern was the time it was taking and that the clothes were too baggy and long on her. That might clue someone in. She adjusted as best she could, cuffed the man to the leg of the desk, then turned to go.

"Andi…" Gordon moaned, barely lucid at this point. "Why?"

The same question she'd asked Pam when she'd been left in the apartment, incapacitated by pain. Andi gritted her teeth. "I don't know," she muttered, hating herself, "I don't know."

She pulled the door open. "You'd better have told the truth Gordon. Otherwise I'll come back here and get it out of you more painfully. This officer was the only one in earshot and I doubt you'll have much luck trying to move with that in your system. Believe me, I know what it feels like."

There weren't any guards actually inside the hallways of the isolation ward. The lack was eerie after the huge numbers outside, but considering the legends floating around the police station about the Joker's escape from MCU by taunting Detective Stevens, Andi supposed Gordon didn't want to allow him near any of the officers. An obvious overcorrection given what she was about to do.

Andi was glad though. She'd wasted enough time talking her way past the two guards on the doorway outside the hall, and it was really only a matter of time before Gordon and the other officer were found. And her nerves were on the verge of shattering. All she could tell herself was to keep moving, to not look back, because if she did, if she thought about the trail of bodies she was leaving, Bruce and Gordon and that other policeman…

The Joker's room was the only one occupied, dead in the middle of the hall. Andi crossed to it, stiffening her fingers to keep them from shaking as she punched in the number. Eighteen… seventy-three… ninety.

The door buzzed, then clunked open and something leapt at her. Andi slammed into the wall, the Joker pinning her wrists before she could move for her guns, grinning down at her. "Took ya long enough. I was expecting Harley though."

Andi's panic disappeared as she stared up at his insane, mud colored eyes. This man, this bastard, had hurt her friend, broken her mind, turned Leena into Harley, a parody of the woman she'd once been.

She'd kill him. She'd turn the tables and she'd make sure he—

'Don't let him do this to you.' Bruce's voice was like a breath of chilled air on the back of her neck. Andi shuddered, and suddenly she was back in control. Absolute and utter control. She knew what she had to do. "Harley sent me. She's waiting for you and I can take you to her."

"Hnn. Why should I care?" Utterly disdaining her weapons, the Joker turned his back on Andi and strolled towards the door. Andi had to run and grab him by the arm to keep him from going too far, in sight of the little window at the hall door, and he turned to her with a smirk. "Well? Ya gotta do better than that if you want me to come. Why should I go find Harl when she couldn't even come find me?"

She had to get the Joker back to the greenhouse. And Harley wasn't interesting enough. Andi could think of only one other person who was. The words slipped from her mouth before she quite thought them through. "Because she's with the Batman."

That got his attention. Of course it did. She saw the way he edged his tongue along the back of his scars, pursed his lips. "The Bat-man?"

"You need me to get to him though." Andi steeled her spine and met his eyes. She refused to show fear in front of this creature. "So you'd better have a good idea for getting us out of here because I've used up all my ingenuity getting you out of that cell."

"Really?" The Joker seemed delighted. "How, uh, sweet. But ya know it wasn't really worth all the trouble."

"Why n—"

The explosion knocked Andi onto her face, blew all sound from her ears. Her body tensed, fingers digging into the concrete, screaming without sound as the ground, the walls, the air shook. And then everything was still.

She raised her head and, when nothing else detonated, tried to assess herself. Nothing felt more than bruised and she didn't think she'd hit her head, but there was a ringing in her ears so loud that she couldn't hear anything else. She pushed herself up, blessedly not dizzy, to see the Joker leaping and dancing as chunks of ceiling continued to patter down on him like stone rain.

He turned to her, mouthed "C'mon," and when Andi didn't move, caught her by the sleeve and dragged her towards the door.

Author's Note: Hey y'all, I know I said last chapter's was the last note, but this is just a quick notice to say that I've set up a fictionpress account for the short story I wrote and it should be up in two days once the mandatory 'wait period' is over. I'd love to have your thoughts on it when it's up! The style's a little/lot different from my long stories (snark and humor instead of... well, this), but I'M proud of it. The link is in my profile and my username's the same.

Also, Go Spurs Go! You can beat them Grizzlies! EDIT: Um... turns out you can't. Wow. Never thought things would get so bad I'd have to cheer for the Mavs...