I realize that the last chapter, though it was very fun to write, may have seemed a little rushed. Here is chapter 9, it took awhile to complete and I hope you're satisfied with the results, please enjoy and make sure to comment! Thank you!
Chapter 9: Justice and Vengence
I awok in my bed with a migrane to kill a bull and a hurting...everything. It hurt severly to even get out of my bed, as I moved my muscles tightened and burned. I could feel the welts and bruises on every part of my body. I winced with every twitch and jerk, my skin felt like it was on fire and pulled taught.
"F-fuck!" I screamed in an exasperated groan. My body ached beyond comprehension and it was nearly unbearable to turn on the shower. I screamed and pulled my arm away when the hot water brushed my damaged skin. "Shit!" I sighed and undressed myself slowly, wincing and cursing with every movement. On the wall of my shower was a device I had Rex install for when I wanted to communicate with someone while taking a shower, believe it or not I needed that more times than you may think. "Rex you fuckin' genious," I groaned as I dialed a number on the water proof keypad. "Shit!" I screamed stepping into the shower. Every drop of water felt like a bullet against my bruises and cuts. I fell to my knees in the shower and screamed bloody murder until I heard the dial tone on the handfree phone. I covered my mouth with a hand and tilted the showerhead down so the water wasn't touching my body.
"Hello?" Came Kainan's voice from the speakers.
"K-Kainan...hey man what's...up?" I asked trying not to sound like I was getting something shoved up my ass.
"Hello Damian, do you need something?" His voice was apathetic as always, some wouldn't believe we were friends.
"Yeah...shit...I was just won...wondering...if you had painkillers that could numb the pain of a freshly amputated limb..." I thought about that and added in quickly. "Not that...I have one, of course...just in pain...right now." Kainan was quiet for a moment then he replied.
"What did you do this time?"
"I...well..." I laughed and gave the story I told myself I'd tell him. "Fell down a...flight of..shit...stairs in the penintentiary." I groaned a bit but regained myself upon his response.
"I see, you fell down some stairs and now you need powerful painkillers...for that?" Kainan's voice let me know he didn't buy it but I played it out like I had rehearsed in my head.
"Yeah, I made sure to hit...every fucking stair...on the way down," I laughed hoping for remorseful gulability at least once from Kainan. "Got anything...that will take affect immidiately and...ow...can put a buffalo to ease?"
There was silence on the other end. I waited for a moment hoping he didn't hang up. "Are you in the shower?" I heard him ask. I groaned and said.
"Yes."
"How are you talking on the phone and taking a shower?"
"It's a wireless hm radio-sorta-thing that Rex installed in my shower."
"Hm, I must think to get myself one of those."
"Just ask Rex, look! Do you have them or not?"
"Yes, I'll be right over, I'm in the Medical Facility at the moment, and I had to speak to you about something anyway."
"Thanks Kainan," I said gratefully clicking the "End" button on the keypad. I took in a deep breath and moved the shower head up so to let the water hit me. You've never heard a grown man scream like that...
It wasn't long before I heard the door close in my apartment and a knock on my bathroom door. "C'min," I groaned knowing he wouldn't be able to see anything behind the black tinted shower door.
"My god are you still in the shower?" I heard Kainan say as he entered.
"Yeah, you know me I take long showers."
"Yes, I half-expected you to be asleep in it when I got here." I heard the sound of bottle of pills clatter on the counter. "There you go, they're very heavy painkillers, and highly addictive." I heard him lean up against the counter. "Be sure to take only one every three hours. That's it. Understand?"
"Yeah, will they stay in affect the entire three hours?" I asked through groans.
"No," he replied to my dismay. "They only last about two hours and fifteen to twenty minutes."
"Great, so that's forty to forty-five minutes of agony for me," I said over the noise of the water.
"Yes, I suppose so. I have something I'd like to ask," he added.
"What's that?"
"The stairs you fell down? They didn't happen to be huge, green, and have the temper of a rabid bull elephant would they?" I cursed to myself and groaned. "Because those are the sort of steps I've always seen you falling down."
"Shut up," I snapped. "And yes they were."
"Mmhmm, kind of figured," he said in the same apathetic tone.
"Listen don't tell anybody, please," I pleaded. "Especially not Lilly, Stone, Rex, and especially Gorian." There was silence for a moment where I actually thought he'd left, but he said.
"Perhaps I should tell them. You'd lose your job and that just might teach you a lesson about tampering with the inmates." I could hear a sharp tone to his voice, he was pissed in his own way, or concerned, which I doubted.
"Please Kainan I made a connection with him, I got him to listen, I got him to talk, and more importantly I got him to talk!" I groaned.
"Was this before or after he used your face as a punching bag?"
"Ugh...after..."
"Impressive, I could've sworn with how stupid you tend to be it would be before."
"Look, I got him to laugh, then we talked until I left. I got him to talk to me, you can't turn me in, please!" Silence again.
I heard him sigh. "Fine, but I think you should keep away from him for awhile. In fact I think you should take the next three days to stay in your apartment, but I know you won't listen to me. You never do." I laughed...or groaned with pain...one of those two.
"Do you ever listen to me?"
"You never have anything intellegent to say," he replied jokingly, but still in the same voice. "Next time you want to do something stupid, go play in a highly radiated freeway full of speeding cars, you'll get less bruises that way." I heard him open the door to leave when I stopped him.
"Hey Kainan." I heard him stop. "What did you want to tell me?"
"Oh yes, we've got a new inmate coming." He thought a moment. "Well, he's been here before but technically he'll be new when he gets here."
"Who?" I asked intrigued.
"Harvey Dent, or Twoface as the media so idiotically calls him."
"Why did you wanna tell me that?" I asked confused.
"The Batman is bringing him in personally," Kainan replied.
"Oh," I replied simply. "Why would I care?"
"He'll be stopping by the Psychiatric Ward to drop him off. I figure this would be a good time to talk to him about what happened to Carmen." I got a twinge of pain hearing her name. And this time not from the bruises. He said her name so carelessly, like she was still alive and doing well. Like he didn't know her death was one of the worst things that ever happened to me.
"I won't talk to him," I said aggressively. "I have no reason to."
"I'm sure you think that's right," Kainan said shutting the door behind him. I turned off the water and stepped out of the shower. I heard him close the door. A flood of anger swept through my body, released by a single devastating punch to my mirror, cracking its surface and forcing a few shards to fall into the sink below.
"FUCK!"
...I walked through the mansion corridors staring at some of the pieces they had behind glass. I stared at an article from the cat burgaler Catwoman when my thoughts were interupted. "What the fuck happened to your hand?" I heard Stone ask. I turned and saw him eating an ice cream cone.
"What?" I asked unable to understand him through a mouth full of sweets.
"What the fuck happened to your hand?" He repeated.
I lifted the hand I used to punch a mirror. I had wrapped it masterfully in a bandage and gauze after I had struck the mirror. I'm not sure why I didn't think anyone wouldn't notice. "Oh, I punched a mirror."
"Why?" He asked licking his ice cream cone, and making a mess.
"I got angry."
"Why'd you get angry?" I glared at him. "What? Just wonderin what got you so pissed off is all."
"Just got angry."
"Kay," he replied walking up to the glass I was standing in front of. "Catwoman huh? That bitch is hot."
"You met her?" I asked looking back at the mask beneath the glass.
"Once. Back when I was part of Gotham PD. I tracked her down to an alleyway and cuffed her but she got away." I cocked an eyebrow and looked at him. "What?"
"Nobody's ever gotten away from you."
"She did."
"You let her go didn't you?" I asked with a sly smile.
"Yep," he replied simply eating more of his ice cream.
"Why?"
"She was hot," was all he said before he walked off.
I laughed and shook my head following him out of the building. "What are you doing today?" I asked stepping up beside him. My brother was taller than me by three to four inches and had much broader shoulders.
"Patrol, that's why I was in the mansion."
"Patrol? Patrolling what?" I asked confused.
"The Island dumbass," Stone said with a mouthful of ice cream. "I sometimes get sent on patrol."
"Why?"
"Never mind."
"No wait, why are you on patrol all of a sudden?" I asked with a smile.
"Don't worry about it," he replied getting a little irritated.
"You're being punished aren't you?" I laughed, pissing him off further. "You did something wrong and now you're bein punished!" I laughed aloud, some of the other guards patroling the courtyard looked over and smiled.
"Shut the fuck up," Stone said shoving the ice cream cone in my mouth. I almost choked on it! I spat it out and rubbed my mouth with the sleeve of leather blazer.
"Dude your tongue was all over that!" I spat punching his arm. "That's disgusting!"
"Hey I told you to shut up!" He retaliated punching me in the shoulder. I screamed like hell and fell to my knees grasping my shoulder like the arm was about to come off.
"FUCK!" I screamed with drool escaping my mouth and pooling on the floor. Stone bent down and tried to help me up.
"Shit dude," he laughed. "I barely hit you."
"Fuck you! I hate it when people say that, you know that's bullshit!"
"I barely hit you!" He repeated laughing. "When did you start becoming a pussy?"
"That's the arm I used to hit the mirror dude!" I lied, making up a reason other than Croc beat the shit out of me so I'm soar right now.
"I thought you hit it with your hand?" Stone asked stupidly.
"You hand is connected to your arm," I snapped throwing a subtle blow at his intellegence.
"Fuck you dude!" Stone said cocking his fist back.
"You do it and I'll tell Lilly you had sex with an inmate a year ago!" I threatened him.
"How did you know about that?" Stone growled.
"Rex has access to all the video feeds remember?"
"You shut up she was hot and coming on to me!" Stone said.
"She had Paranoid Schisophrenia! And Multiple Personality Syndrome!" I laughed finding a wierd amusement by his response.
"And triple "D" Tits!" He countered with a stupid grin.
"Shut up dude you're so wierd!" I laughed as we walked into the next building on his patrol. "So seriously what did you do to get sent on patrol?"
"I fucked that inmate again last night!" Stone said laughing his ass off. I joined in and we walked down the hall howling in laughter.
As I wiped my eyes of tears from laughing so hard I bumped into someone and fell on my ass. "Shit!" I screamed as the bruises started to burn, now knowing the pills only worked when nobody touched them. "S-sorry man, my mistake." As the hand was put down to help me up I noticed it was covered by a shiny black glove. I grabbed it and looked up to see a masked face as well. "B-Batman!" I screamed getting to my feet and backing away from him.
"Ah there you two are!" Lilly said with a smile. "I was hoping you would stop by today so I could...What the hell happened to your hand?" She screamed running over to me and grabbing it.
"OW!" I screamed as the appendage burned from her grip. "Easy, I hurt it punching a mirror."
"You're an idiot," Lilly said glaring at me. "Anyway, Damian I'm sure you've heard of the one and only Batman." She moved aside so I could get a full look at him. As usual his attire was of all black. His cowl was pulled tightly over his head and his cape was draped around his body so he looked like a floating head in a black dress.
"Yeah I know him," I said less than politely. "What is he doing here?" Then I recalled Kainan saying he was stopping by to drop off Twoface. "Where's Twoface?" I asked quickly.
"Locked up already," Batman said in his deep very cool voice. "I brought him twenty minutes ago and once they finished the paperwork he was sent to his cell."
"Batman's already brought in four people today including Mr. Dent," Lilly said with a smile.
"Yeah, cool," I said apathetically. "I think I'll go and speak with Twoface real quick." As I went to move Lilly caught my wrist.
"Actually I was hoping you could see Batman to the door. He's got a lot of work to do keeping Gotham safe and all." She smiled at me but I frowned. "Damian," she said squeezing my wrist tightly, I winced from the bruises. "Go."
"Alright!" I said wrenching my wrist from her grip. I looked at Batman who merely stared at us. "This way." I said leading him down the hallway. As we walked side by side in silence I noticed that Batman and I were about the same height, though he was much bulkier than I was. We continued our trek down the corridor, which I noticed went on FOREVER!
"You're her brother correct?" Batman said breaking the silence. I nearly jumped out of my skin not expecting him to say anything. He didn't look at me just kept staring ahead.
"Yeah," I said looking forward.
"She's a good Warden. She's got this place running like Quincey Sharp never could. You should be proud of her." His voice was the same tone everytime he spoke, it showed no emotion, no concern, happiness, sorrow, nothing! He was like Kainan only manlier. "She's worried about you," he said breaking my thought process.
"Who? Me?" I asked stupidly.
"Yes, she's afraid this line of work is getting to you. That your past is too full of holes for you to function stabely." I looked at him and gritted my teeth.
"My past?" I asked with growing anger.
"Yes, your past experiences with crime. You're parents' murder, the muggings and bullies you've endured, and you're passed encounter with Victor Zsasz." At that point I stopped walking, he stopped when he noticed, and looked back at me.
"You remember?" I asked with shaking fists. "You remember my confrontation with Zsasz?" I looked up at him with tears in my eyes.
"Yes," he said simply. "You were being held hostage by him. He put you in the hospital."
"Do you remember...her?" I asked, a tear running down my cheek.
"The young girl who died, yes," he confirmed without a single sign of remorse on his face or in his voice.
"HER NAME WAS CARMEN!" I screamed getting the attention of staff members at their posts around us. "And she wasn't just some girl! She was the love of my FUCKING LIFE!" I screamed with tears racing down my face. "She may've just been some girl to you but I fucking loved her you son of a bitch!"
"Dr. Rykotsu please!" An orderly nearby said trying to calm me down.
"SHUT UP!" I roared at her, causing her to quiver from me.
"Dr. Rykotsu, I must ask you to calm down," Batman demanded in the same monotone.
"FUCK YOU!" I screamed looking back at him. "She's dead because of you! She would be here, with me! Making me happy! I would be married to her if you had just found us sooner!"
"You're lucky I found you at all," he said in a calm but blunt tone. "Nobody saw you two being abducted-"
"I wasn't abducted asshole!" I growled through gritted teeth. "I went after her! I tried to save her! Where the fuck were you?" Batman only stared at me, which pissed me off even more. "Where the fucking hell were you goddammit!"
"Responding to another crime being commited by the Riddler," he replied simply.
"Fuck you! How could you remember that far back? Huh!"
"Because I put him through the same thing when he came to Arkham with Zsasz and the Riddler," came a voice from behind me. I turned to see Gorian standing behind me. Lilly appeared from behind him with a worried expression on her face.
"Gorian asked him the same questions eight years ago. We were all worried about you and we were all put through a lot of sorrow from Carmen's death," Lilly said walking up to me. "I was still part of the Psychiatric staff when it happened and Gorian was just an average guard at the time." I wiped the tears from my eyes as Gorian added.
"He came in eight years ago carrying both Riddler and Zsasz in with him. When we found out you and Carmen were the victims I freaked out on him just as you are now. It wasn't a good thing to do and I was put on probation for it, just as you will. Now calm down." Lilly grabbed my shoulder, which was badly bruised, though at this point I couldn't feel anything but the knife that was stabbing me in the heart.
"How am I supposed to calm down?" I growled looking back at Batman. "You're supposed to be a fucking hero! You were supposed to save her! Why didn't you save her!"
"I was too late," Batman said softly. "For that I am sorry."
"You're sorry?" I asked incredulously. "You're sorry? No! No, sorry is you accidently took someone's best shirt, sorry is you kiss someone's best friend, sorry is if you actually fucking saved her! That's sorry! I should've died! But instead you saved me! FUCK YOU!" I turned and walked passed Lilly and Gorian shedding a river of tears in my wake.
As I made it in my apartment in the mansion I slammed my door and punched it, denting its frame. I screamed and flipped my coffee table in rage. I went through my apartment punching the walls untill my rampage lead me to my room where I fell to my bed. I screamed again into my pillow and punched the wall beside me. I turned on my back and let my breaths come in heavy spurts. I groaned and laid my arm over my eyes.
"SHIT!" I roared one last time before I calmed myself down and tried to clear my mind. My face twitched as I felt a warming sensation on my cheek. I opened my eyes and realized my hand was bleeding severely. I cursed as I realized I'd been striking objects and pieces of my wall with my injured hand. As I unwrapped it I cursed to find that it had swollen up a bit. "Fuck me," I cursed softly wrapping it back up.
I walked into my kitchen and retrieved a large plastic bowl from my cabinets and proceeded to fill it with a bunch of ice. I took it into the living room, trashed since I flipped my coffee table, and sat down on the couch, dipping my hand into the bowl of ice. I cried out when the cold wet temperature of the ice brushed up against the lacerations and bruises but once my hand numbed I relaxed.
"Damian!" Rex said from behind my door. I thought I might shit my own heart, it scared the crap out of me. "Damian can I come in?"
"Why can't you people leave me alone when I'm pissed?" I shouted towards the door. There was silence.
"I can open this door if I really wanted," was all that came from behind it.
"Ugh! It's unlocked!" I said laying my head back. Rex entered and paused looking around.
"Dude, your decor looks like shit," he said walking over and sitting next to me. "What happened to your hand?"
"Punched a mirror," I replied.
"Why'd you punch a mirror?" He asked.
"Because I got...dammit how many times am I gonna have to say that?" I said glaring at him.
"You okay?" Rex said reaching the point of his visit. "I heard about you screaming at Batman." He smirked.
"What?" I asked noticing the subtle twitch on his face.
"I just realized that'll be, like, the only time I'll ever get to say that in my life." I looked at him with a confused expression. "How many times do you say So I heard you screamed at Batman today. To someone." He laughed aloud and I couldn't help but join him.
"I'm fine, I got all my anger out on the furniture," I assured him.
"Yeah...poor coffee table..."
"He had it comin'," I said looking at it.
"So young..."
"Shut up Rex," I said with a laugh. I leaned over and smelled him.
"What the hell are you doing?" He asked.
"You smell like freon, did Freeze's AC break down again!" I asked shocked by the repetative task put forth for my friend.
"Yeah," he said simply. I cocked an eyebrow. "What?"
"Yeah? You were so perplexed by that before now you're just...yeah? " He shrugged and said.
"You shouldn't be so rash when you talk to someone like Batman dude," he said with a concerned tone. "Seriously I know for a fact that guy can take you in two, easily."
"I'm not afraid of him," I muttered bluntly. "As far as I'm concerned Batman's just as much to blame for her death as Zsasz." Rex stared at me, his expression was disbelief mixed with a bit of disappointment.
"You don't really mean that...do you?" He asked. He was hurt by my words, I could tell. "I mean, Batman saved your life."
"But he let Carmen die," I said calmly. I had let all my anger out ealier and had no ill will towards my best friend. "I know others don't see that as I do but it's true. Think about it in my perspective man, what if I had died and you had lived. What if Zsasz killed me and Batman saved you but he was only just too late to save me. How would you feel?" I waited for Rex's response quietly.
"Zsasz wouldn't've made it to Arkham," he said seriously. "I would've bashed his brains against the floor and pulled his heart from his chest. I would make sure he was alive to watch." I smiled a bit but looked down at my feet.
"I believe you..." I said somberly. "I wish I had half the strength you did..." Rex furrowed his brow and put his hand on my shoulder, I no longer hurt physically, only mentally and emotionally. "Maybe I could've saved her if I did."
"You've got to get over this man," Rex said. "It's been eight years since that happened. Hell I was still working as a mechanic in Metropolis when that shit happened. Stone was on the GPD as a Sargent." He smiled and said. "You shouldn't let the past hinder what you do in the present. It's like my grandfather said, What doesn't kill you today only makes you stronger tomorrow." I looked at him.
"That's from a Kanye West song," I laughed.
"Dude my grandfather told me that long before that retard made that song," he replied with a laugh. "The past shouldn't hinder what you do in the present," he repeated smiling at me. "All that matters is what you make of yourself in the future. What you do in the future. It doesn't matter if you rob banks or save lives, as long as it's what makes you feel whole inside and out. Whatever makes you feel like you're life is worth living man." I looked at him after the inspiring speach and smiled.
"Thanks man, that...that means a lot, really." I hugged him and stood up.
"Where you goin?" He asked standing up after me.
"I'm going to go and try to make myself feel whole again," I replied with a confident smile. "Inside and out."
"Alright man, just make sure that act of confident reprieve doesn't include banging an inmate again," he laughed. "You and Stone I swear to god."
...I walked out of the Mansion and headed for the Penetintiary. I wanted to talk to Croc about what I had planned, and to see how he was doing. I couldn't begin to figure out why, but I was worried that the moment we shared last night was just a flook, like he would be back to his old self today and want nothing to do with me.
I walked through the corridors of the building, now that I had completely memorized the intracate labrynth of hallways it was much easier to avoid anybody I didn't want to pass by, such as Penguin, Scarecrow, and Zsasz of course. I passed by a cell for my daily riddle and found Edward Nigma was standing in front of the bars as if waiting
"Hello Edward," I greeted him with a smile. His reply wasn't what I expected at all.
"Let's cut the small talk shall we Doctor?" Edward said. "Tell me would you, Two convicts are locked in a cell. There is an unbarred window high up in the cell. No matter if they stand on the bed or one on top of the other they can"t reach the window to escape. They then decide to tunnel out. However they give up with the tunneling because it will take too long. Finally one of the convicts figures out how to escape from the cell. What is his plan?"
I was a little disturbed by the aggression in his voice and said. "Are you okay Edward?"
"Answer the goddamn riddle Doctor!" Edward snarled with impatience. I was highly disturbed now. However, I didn't want to upset him even more so I thought on it for a moment. I recalled hearing this one before and, considering what a foul mood he was in, I certainly didn't want to get this one wrong and risk losing my friendship with him, no matter how shallow it was. "Hurry, hurry now Doctor it is highly essential that you answer the riddle now think goddammit!" I ignored him for the moment thinking hard on where I had heard it rather than where the answer had come from. Then I recalled something quite nerve-racking. Carmen had told it to me so long ago!
I knew the answer...
"He will keep digging until he piles dirt high enough to climb out the window." My tone was somber when I thought of Carmen but was snapped out of it by Edward's next words.
"Very well, next riddle, What work can a sculptor never finish?" He asked in a hurried attitude. "C'mon, c'mon!" I recalled that one too! I heard it someone before and again, it was from Carmen. It was a trick question, the fact that the man was a sculptor was irrelavent. I quickly gave the asnwer.
"His Autobiography, no one can finish their own!" I announced.
"Good, now you have about five hours to figure this one out, it is far more important that you do than the others," Riddler said grabbing his bars and pulling me by the collar so I was up close to him. I was afraid he was going to hurt me, but instead he quickly whispered. "What are the two things that tie these riddles together?"
"HEY! NIGMA LET HIM GO!" Two guards rushed down the corridor towards us. Before they reached us Nigma added.
"How will these two simple riddles save your life?" With that he released me and back away from the bars as the guards finally reached us.
"It's fine," I assured them stopping them where they were. "Carmen told me them," I replied to the Riddler.
"Very good doctor!" Edward replied, his tone a bit more chipper than before. "The second reason! You must figure them out, they could save your life! They could save you quite the hardship. Two simple riddles, what is the second way in which they are connected?" He smiled at me. "What's the time Doctor?"
I looked at the guard since I never carried a watch on me. "Five-eighteen, why Nigma? Are you threatening the Doctor's life?" I looked at them and said.
"You may leave, I wish this to be a discussion between Mr. Nigma and myself." They looked at me suspisciously. "Please." They looked at each other and nodded.
"If you need us Doc, you know where to find us," the other said with a concerned tone. I smiled at their kindness and concern and nodded. As they left I looked back at Edward.
"Four hours and forty-two minutes Doctor, figure it out in that time and it could save you a lot of hassel and possibly your life." And with that he turned away from me. I knew that was his way of saying he would tell me no more and I left for Croc's cell.
...I approached the doors and asked the Guards to let me pass, where I was greeted with a denial. "What?" I asked incredulously.
"Captain Rykotsu has instructed us not to let you into Jones' cell under no circumstances unless he or the warden are accompanying you. Captain's orders!"
"Let me inside I wish to speak with my patient, now!" But they were adamant. I was about to start yelling when a voice came over then intercom.
"Let him in boys, he'll be fine with me in here." It was Lilly! She was behind the door to Croc's cell. As instructed, the Guards unlocked the massive steel door and allowed my entrance. As I entered Croc's cell I saw Lilly standing in front of the glass in the middle of a conversation with him. They were talking!
"Ah, Damian, I was just talking to Mr. Jones here how you used to give me a mental analysis when we were kids, you remember? You'd do it every Friday after school." She and Croc laughed harmlessly. Okay, so it's one thing to have Lilly in Croc's cell, but they're laughing at me...TOGETHER? "He was so cute Waylon you should've seen him, he would sit me down on the couch and pull a kitchen chair beside me and he'd have a little clipboard and he'd actually write down everything I said. He'd ask me, 'How was your week? It's okay I'm here to listen.' It was adorable!" Croc laughed...genuinelly...with her. Seriously it wasn't a fake laugh I could tell he was getting a kick out of my childhood stupidity.
"Damn Damian you were born to be a fuckin' doctor weren't you?" Croc laughed shaking his massive head. "I gotta say, it doesn't surprise me from what all she's told me throughout the years." My mind almost exploded from my skull.
"Throughout the years?" I looked at Lilly who only smiled the sweetest smile I've ever seen. "You two have these little chats all the time?" I asked about to pass out from all the 'Holy Shit' moments crashing on me at once.
"Oh yeah," Lilly said smiling at Croc. "Back when I was still a Psychiatrist I actually used to interview him myself, ya know why?" I cocked an eyebrow.
"Cause you're you?" I said with an awkward chuckle.
"Because he reminds me of you," she said with a smile to both of us. I looked at Croc and his mangled maw twisted into a grin. "I'm not allowed in his cell anymore because Gorian says it's dangerous but I know Croc wouldn't hurt me, would ya Croc ol' Boy?" She winked at him and he chuckled.
"Don't push it."
"Oh hush, you know you love me too much," Lilly said winking at him again. And for a moment, I could swear I saw him blush. "Anyway, I'll tell the guards you're allowd in here, Gorian has alotta pull, but not more than this lady!" She pointed both thumbs to herself. It waas good to see her acting like she did when we were young. I looked at her with a small smile.
"It doesn't bother you that I come in here?" I asked her with intrigue.
"Nope," she said simply. "Just don't let the other inmates know, I gotta make sure I scare the shit out of them, but Croc here, he's cool." She looked at him and smiled. She crossed her arms and said. "And I'm assuming you learned a valuable lesson about walking into the cell, right?" My eyes widened in horror.
"You told her?" I shouted at Croc a little louder than meant.
"Told me?" Lilly laughed. "I told him!"
"What?" I looked over at Croc.
"She told me that if you ever walk into my cell I should give you a good reason not to." He smiled at me and glanced over at her.
"Yes I did, you should know better than walts right into a crazed maniac's cell. What surprises me the most is that you did it twice!" She and Croc laughed in unison, you've never seen a face get redder than mine was at that moment. "Anyway," Lilly continued through tears. "I'll let you two get to talkin, I got...ugh...paperwork, to take care of." She shook her head and kissed my forehead as she passed me. "You boys play nice." And with that she stepped out and closed the door behind her.
"She told you to beat the shit outta me if I ever went into your cell?" I asked.
"Actually she told me to scare the ever-living fuck outta you and I took it from there," he gave the worst and most diabolical chuckle I've ever had the honor of traveling down my spine. I shook my head and asked the question that was bugging me the most.
"Why didn't you tell me you and Lilly go way back?" I asked crossing my arms and smiling at him. "That would've helped me greatly."
"Our first interview I didn't know you were her brother. Plus I hate people, Lilly's just kind to me, she's the reason I got my own fancy cell. This mother fucker is bigger than Bane's!" I laughed knowing he was masking how much he really liked her. "I hated you when I first saw you, when she told me you were her youngest brother I told her I wouldn't kill you unless you really pissed me off."
"That's...nice?" I said with a cocked eyebrow.
"Hey, if you weren't her brother I'd've bitten your head off as soon set a fuckin' foot in my cell." I cocked an eyebrow, I realized long ago how lucky I was to have Lilly as my sister, but now I really appreciated her being who she is.
"Look..." I muttered. "I want to apologize, for what I said last night, about you being alone and all..." I looked up and noticed a strange expression on Croc's face.
"Did you just apologize to me?"
"I've done it before," I replied confused of his expression.
"Yeah...on the interview tapes," Croc reasoned with sigh. "I thought you were just...never mind...it's fine, don't worry about it." He turned around and walked away from the glass. I took time to scrutanize the large miracle of human nature. His skin shined in the lights of his cell showing every individual cell clearly to the human eye. In his cell he didn't wear a shirt, I could see his spine was lined with a row of scales that closely resembles a real crocodilian's. His body structure was odd in the way that his stomach was thinner and leaner than his shoulders, which arched and continued into his head. When he stared walking back with a cigarette clamped between his teeth I noticed more about him I hadn't before. I noticed that on certain spots he had thick dark green scales potruding from his body like spikes and that he did in fact have ear holes which were visible on the sides of his head.
Then my eyes landed on the shock collar around his neck. My eyes filled with sympathy at the sight of the glowing contraption they used to silence the large inmate. "What?" he asked seeing my face.
"How bad does it hurt when they shock you Croc? If I may ask of course."
"Bad enough to shut me up for a second or two," Croc said tapping the collar with a large black claw. "Why? Getting ideas?"
"I hate that fucking thing," I said through gritted teeth. "The guards are no better than fuckin animals, using that thing to control you, if I had the key I'd remove it from you now and..." I trailed into silence looking away from the device.
Croc stared at me in silence. "No wonder the inmates like ya so much," he said lighting his cigarette. I cocked an eyebrow and looked up at him.
"What do you mean?" I asked confused.
"Most of the inmates around the penitentiary don't say bad things about you. They say you might be one of the only doctors around here that understands us, that wants to understand us." Croc exhaled and smoke coursed from between his gnarly teeth.
"Who said that?" I wondered a little flattered.
"Ivy, Quinn, Nigma, and a few others," Croc replied blowing smoke from his small nostrils.
I smiled and turned my back on Croc. I blushed slightly thinking of the inmates and wanting to thank them for their kind thoughts. I thought about going by each of their cells to talk to them, Ivy, Harley, Edward...Edward! The riddle!
"Shit!" I said remembering what Edward had said. These two simple riddles could possibly save your life. I thought about them. The prisoners and the sculptor. "What do they have in common." I thought about the prisoners' method of escape, building up a pile to reach for the window. I thought of the pile first, pile of what?
"You zone out a lot," Croc said behind his cigarette. "What're you cursin about over there?"
My immediate thought was a pile of bodies. Could that be it? Or was that too simple? The answers had to be linked. Could someone be making a sculpture be made out of the dead? A pile of bodies? I turned to Croc. "What time is it?"
He pointed behind me. "There's a clock on the monitoring system over there behind ya." I turned and saw that I had been here for a little over an hour now. This meant I had little more than four hours left to figure out the riddle.
"Shit, Croc I have to go." And with I found my way outside the cell and back to my room at the mansion.
...There I wandered through my living room and kitchen thinking as hard as I could on what they meant. I had figured out, much to my horror, that the prison escape riddle meant just that, a prisoner was going to try and escape. I thought about the answer to the riddle and wondered if it was literal. Was this prisoner really going to try to escape that way? I highly doubted it but with the Riddler ever detail must be thought over with the upmost scrutiny. After every detail of the first riddle was examined as closely as possible I started on the second.
"The sculptor has nothing to do with the answer..." I said aloud. "But he can't finish his autobiography." I thought about the kick I got from hearing it from Carmen. How did he know she told me? He even told me that was the first connection between the two. "What does the autobiography have to do with an escaping convict?" I muttered to myself. "Why would my life be threatened by an inmate wanting to write a biography of himself. No, no, no, dammit Damian that sounds even stupider out loud." I paced through my apartment, loosing my mind over the answer that just wouldn't come to me.
I considered going to the Riddler to see if I could ask him some questions and slip a hint from him. I shook my head hopelessly at the thought. "There's no way he'll fall for that, not when it comes to his riddles." I groaned and sat on my couch, thinking of Carmen. Her soft pretty face and that beautiful smile. I thought about the night we made love for the first time and the dates and evenings we shared together.
Then, almost like a bullet, I shot upwards and bolted from my room.
...I ran through the courtyard of the asylum and made my way to the penitentiary. I walked through the doors and passed the guards who stared at me as I ran down the halls. I checked my watch, it had taken me over four hours to come up with the answer to the riddle. I followed the routine pathway to Nigma's cell. As I turned the corner I could see his cell down the hall. I made my way to it and stopped to catch my breath as I came up in front of it.
"Edward...I know...I know the answer to your riddle! It's..." I looked at the cell in front of me but it was empty. The Riddler was gone! I looked around for a guard but none were present at this part of the penitentiary. "Hello? Edward?" I looked around cautiously. Was I wrong? I thought to myself. Was Edward really trying to warn me about his own escape attempt? I was greatly confused. Why would he tell me? Or at least give me a chance to find out? Was it a test of my intellect?
I looked around and began walking for any of the staff, well those who would still talk to me after my little incident earlier. There weren't any guards around and it was really starting to get to me. "What the fuck is this? Why isn't anyone doing their fucking job?" I stopped when I heard a noise down the hall. I looked around at the cells and noticed something disturbing. All the inmates were staring at me. They watched me closley, most of them with a goulish grin on their faces.
I turned from them and started my trek down the dark corridor." I wondered with every step where the guards were. I groped my pockets for my cell phone and brought it out. I searched my contacts and called Rex's cell phone. "C'mon, c'mon pick up, pick up!"
"Hey dude, where the hell are you?" Rex said in a fluster when he answered.
"In the penetentiary, what's going on? Where are all the guards?" I asked picking up my pace when I heard how frantic Rex sounded.
"A riot broke out in the courtyard a minute ago!" Rex said. "All guards are here trying to contain all the inmates. Dude you need to go back to your room and stay there until we get it all taken care of. All of the psychatrists and doctors working late have been instructed to seek refuge in the mansion."
"Alright, I'll head there now, meet me in the lobby."
"Right man, on my way."
I pressed the end button and pocketed the phone. "Shit," I cursed heading towards the exit. There was a sudden chill that ran down my spine. I turned around and saw a shadow moving down the hall straight at me. I backed up a bit and watched the shadow inch towards me. "W-Who is that?" I called out growing panicked from the dark circumstances.
"Who am I?" An all too familiar voice chimed in from the darkness. "I am God! I am here to give you what you want." My eyes widened as my vision grew blurry. "Don't be alarmed doctor...I am the angel of your dreams. Your guardian angel!"
Zsasz shot from the shadows and tackled me to the floor. I screamed for help but it was muffled by the inmates screaming and whooping at the entertainment. Zsasz's wicked laughter drowned out all other noises. "NO!" I screamed as his hand launced towards my neck. In a frantic panic I grabbed his wrist and halted the bladed tip of a shank fashioned from some unknown object. "Get off me!" I screamed holding him at bay. "God no!"
"Cutting, cutting, cutting, cutting!" Zsasz chanted the same word repetitvely and slashed at me with his blocked hand. I closed my eyes as tears fell down my face. It was a nightmare come to life and I couldn't think straight. I merely cried and screamed as Zsasz's horribly mishapen weapon inched closer to my face. "Cutting, cutting, cutting, cutting, I will give you your mark!" He laughed wickedly, like the cackle of a hyena. "Just like that little slut! You will be posed just like her! Just like your little FUCKING BITCH!"
In one instant I felt something snap inside of me. My blood boiled in my veincs, my pupils diolated, and my hand clenched his wrist like a steel trap. Zsasz howled in pain as the bones in his wrist cracked under my grip. "I will cut you!"
"I'll fucking destroy you!" I roared back in rage shifting my leg and kicking him square in the gut sending him flying backwards. The inmates roared from the turnout but I ignored them only concentrating on the monster I was going to kill! "For Carmen! You fucking monster!" I reared back my leg and shot the tip of my boot straight into his ribs and followed it by mounting him and cracking his cheekbone with a heavy strike with my fist. Strike after strike landed on his face and neck, tears streaming down my face.
Zsasz soon retaliated with a slash with his weapon, cleaving the skin on my forearm. I roared and fell backwards, giving him a chance to straddle me and dive the tip of his shank at my eye, which I redirected with a fist to the weapon hand. He snarled and hissed throwing a punch at me with his shattered wrist, damaging it even further. He laughed at the pain and took another stab at my chest. I wriggled my leg free and punted him off of me. I dove onto him and began striking any part of him my fists could make contact with.
Zsasz was brusied and broken but he kept coming. I gritted my teeth and absorbed every blow that made contact and bruised my scarred flesh. "I will cut you! I have a spot for you doctor! You will be posed! Just like your little whore!"
"You fucking animal!" It was the straw that broke the camel's back! Even over the blood thirsty cries of the crazed inmates cheering at the conflict I roared in an animalistic fury! I launched myself onto Zsasz and grabbed his jumpsuit by the collar and delivered a heavy punch straight to Zsasz's jaw. Zsasz laughed over the roar of the crowd, angering me greatly.
I was blind with rage! I reared back and screamed into his face. "This one is for haunting my every fucking nightmare!" CRACK! The fist fractured his jaw. "This is for what you've done to me!" BAP! It struck his nose, cracking it and shoving it to the side. "And this is for CARMEN!" CRUNCH! The blow struck Zsasz on the temple knocking him out cold. His head hit the hard floor with a horrid sound. I felt Zsasz's blood dripping down my face, it was thick and smelled metallic. I released Zsasz's collar and stood over him clenching my fists and standing amongst the excited inmates who cheered my name, pounding against the bars and glass screens before them.
I looked around and was swallowed by the cheers and calls of my name. I smiled evilly and stuck a fist in the air. I roared furociously to the audience, recieving a vivid and voistrous uproar in my honor. I laughed and looked down at Zsasz. "Batman fights for justice," I voiced darkly so everyone could hear. "I fight for Vengence!" And with that I delivered one final kick to his head and made my way to the exit. Refreshed, satisfied...Reborn...