OMG I can't believe how long this has took me to update! To keep it short my laptop got a virus and I've not been able to work on the chapter, and because of this the chapter sounds...in certain places rushed and not really great but I wanted to give you something as I've not been able to get it out of my head for weeks!
But I hope you like it all the same!
Jen-Jen
Batman doesn't kill, and though the path the Dark Knight glides down is the right Filly couldn't let the thought of punching Victor Zsasz until she left a perfect hole in his chest out of her mind, it gave her pang of delight. It was as if the asylum and its inmates were finally having a chaotic effect on her. Jumping over the obstacles in her way she made it to the doors of the mansion not caring if she was heading into the deepest depths of danger in her own mind she was the most dangerous thing running around the mansion.
Batman had taken care of the two snarky thugs at the front entrance but he hadn't managed to unblock the door so she went up towards the vents and crawled into the next room, jumped down from the high platform and looked around the area she was in.
Filly looked at the wounded thugs lying around her, some were clutching their heads or lying perfectly still but their bodies in strange contorted positions; a couple of the henchmen began to stir and she had no time to deal with these poor rank scum. Dashing towards the door that lead to the library she went inside and collected her composure, instead of going down Batman's path she decided that she'd get Young's notes, Victor would have to wait.
She approached the library doors and opened it just as dramatically as Batman would and the thugs still didn't notice. They all made their complaints about the task Joker had put them on, but she also noticed how some of them just began to rip out as many pages as they could for pleasure and that really left a sting in her.
She could either fight them all or climb up and cause a great mighty destruction. "Hey! What you doin' here?!" shouted one of the thugs. Busted.
Filly gave him a little smirk and ran forward with her fists up about to punch him. But instead she jumped and her feet caught the henchmen's face and he fell backwards and Filly's hands grabbed on to the railing and she pulled herself up.
"That's right girlie run!" they heckled her from below as she made her way to the top, she managed to rip off the vents and get to the chandelier. With a wicked grin she grasped a batarang in her hand, took aim and threw it. Using her power she watched the scene in slow motion over the barrier, the seconds of the beautiful chandelier falling, the cries of the goons who wouldn't escape the collision, the singing of the broken glass and the horrid thud of the unconscious criminals. The sight and sounds gave Filly a sick, pleasurable satisfaction. Laughing she jumped down still using her power and sort of floated gently to the ground and landed in front of the two hostages.
"Filly? Untie us, now before the bomb goes off!" screamed the guard. Filly gave no indication that she heard the guard but she approached the large gift box, waited three seconds then the large boxing glove leaped off but it missed her.
"WHAT?! NO! You spoiled Batman's birthday present," cried out the Joker, "I can't give him another exploding cream pie like last year!" he finished with a dark, giggling chuckle. Not your best material Joker.
Three tallies to the good side I suppose.
She ignored the two hostages and hunted for the book that Young hid the formula which did take long. Smiling she made her way to the exit but a hand grabbed her arm forcefully which she didn't like. The guard looked completely confused and scared behind his tough exterior, he asked what was going on and she kept it brief, "Stay here, nowhere in the asylum is safe but you stand a better chance just staying put."
"What's that you've got there Horsey? No! Not the formula! What am I going to do? Who can help me now?" there was a small pause then he started again, "What's that? How about out old friend Zsasz. Hmm I did bump into him on the way back from the Gardens, where no doubt he was acting out some twisted fantasy. Maybe he could get her talking. Hehe I think he probably can! Great plan Filly!"
Leaving the library behind her she ran straight for the warden's office, there were no more distractions save a couple of thugs which she dealt with effortlessly. Then something wet dropped on to her hand. She made the mistake of looking up and several more drops landed on her face. She wiped her eyes and cursed herself for rushing; she only just remembered that once you come out of the library you were back under Scarecrow's spell.
Well I'm not going to run this time. Bring it.
The nightmare began with blood dripping down the asylums old walls, there were cries and screams from within the woodwork, all the dark history absorbed, so many tortured memories never able to find peace. From up head the goons who were knocked out before were being smothered in blood, they groaned and slowly got themselves on to their feet. It wasn't a terrifying sight but her stomach almost couldn't handle it. The blood demons came running towards her, each footstep blood flew off them making the goons look more like zombies.
A war like cry escaped Filly's lips and she readied herself for the first attack. Zombie number one lunged himself at her trying to grab on to her clothing but he hadn't sent himself far enough and just missed snagging on to her clothing. She laughed at his failure, she enjoyed watching the scum make fools out of themselves. She kicked the fallen bloody goon hard in his shoulder with such force she managed to pop it out of its socket. The next goon took a large swing aiming for her head but Filly saw it coming and casually stepped aside and watched him twirl around confused and all she did was trip him over and stomp on his leg until she heard a crack. The final two goons were just as easy to get rid of; a brutal to the stomach so that the internal organs are heavily damaged and a punch to the spine making sure that you're in a wheelchair for a very long time.
"Is that all your nightmare can throw at me!" she shouted, her voice echoing was her only answer. The seconds ticked by and nothing was happening, she smirked but a spider crawling sensation went through her body knowing that something was going to happen. And the terror did happen. The doors at the other end of the hall opened with a loud crash and coming towards her was a river tornado of blood.
"Well that's fantastic" as the floods of Hell rushed towards her she ran in the opposite direction her speed was incredible but the river matched her and nipped at her heels many times. The corridors ran on and on, never ending, no doors or turning left or right. Her stamina couldn't last much longer and as her legs carried on she tried to think of a way out of Scarecrow's grasp. In Batman's Scarecrow challenges he worked his ways through obstacles but had to hide from Scarecrow's vision, and at the end Batman would use the Bat Signal to defeat him. Well hiding would be fairly easy but Filly was pretty sure she wouldn't have the Bat Signal to help her out.
The corridor was coming to an end at last but she knew that there would be no door and she'd be slammed into the wall by the blood and the impact would likely break her bones. But she had an idea. A silly idea but there was no other option. She could hear a cackle from behind her, laughing at her as if she was already defeated. Only a few more feet from the wall Filly kicked her legs up and began to run up the wall. Gravity would be her hiding place. The blood bashed into the wall as she began to run back along the huge ceiling, she tried not to look down too much. Running as fast as she could she ended up back in the main hall, it looked as though nothing had happened but she was sure that the nightmare was still raging on. Hiding back up at the platform above the door she lay flat on her stomach and was silent.
It seemed as if hours went by until someone showed up, and to Filly's disappointment it wasn't Scarecrow. Batman came running in all his glory and turned to go into the library looking for Young's notes; she went into her pocket and grabbed hold of the formula and studied it. She wasn't any good at chemistry and no idea what it meant only that it should be branded with a stamp saying BAD!
The sound of a door opening caught her attention and saw Batman walking in the direction of the warden's office but it was time for him to face his second nightmare.
Filly jumped down from the platform, she followed and watched Batman go through his hallucination, she wondered if he really knew what was going on or if he ignored all the voices until the gunshot. Just thinking about it made the back of her neck stiff and soon enough there was a flash followed by a the loudest bang she had ever heard, then Bruce was on his knees.
Her heart felt as if it had been stabbed with an icy spear. In that moment all she wanted to do was wrap her arm around his shoulders and comfort him. She didn't see him as a young boy, only a man whom all his life needed more than a butler and few friends to get him through the days. He needed a family, sure he has his Bat family Barbara Gordon, Dick Grayson and Tim Drake but he's lost so many. Bruce needed a normal family.
The Dark Knight would never cry, she glanced at his face and saw the pain of the memories but he got back to his feet then he went through the door to defeat Scarecrow.
When the door closed Filly stayed behind and the nightmare feeling left with the dark hero. The atmosphere changed and returned to its usual state. All her feelings of anger also returned; she was mad that her second hallucination wasn't are frightening as the first, she wanted a challenge and she never really got one. Just wait until I get my hands on you Scarecrow.
Sitting quietly waiting, the Dark Knight ended up coming through the door exactly seven minutes later and doing manoeuvres and throwing things at nothing. It was cringe worthy watching him but she knew what he was going through; she was just used to seeing it on a screen.
Batman went all the way up into the bell tower and any second now the mansion bell would crash down and cause a little destruction. Filly found a safe place, curled herself into a ball, closed her eyes and waited for the impact. The whole building shook as it bashed into one side then into the other and finally landed, the echo of the bell was almost deafening.
Filly heard the swoop of Batman landing to the ground, she got out of her safe place and ran up to him, and "Are you alright?" she asked.
There was a hint of a smile, "Of course. Are you?" Filly nodded, "I found your prints on a book in the library, the book held Doctor Young's notes, tell me you have them."
"No, I destroyed them."
"Oh there you are. I've been waiting for you, listening to Zsasz make the good Doctor scream while you played around in Scarecrow's world. How was it this time? Learn anything about yourself? Oh, tell me. Pull up a seat. Talk to me! I'm all ears." Batman went up to the class cabinet and scanned in Catwoman's gear as he listened to the Joker, she made a mental note to try and speak to the Riddler at some point, she didn't want to forget about him, "Actually, that reminds me I could of sworn I heard Zsasz cutting her ears off. Certainly sounded like it."
Filly clenched her teeth together, Batman returned to her side and went straight to the door and she followed behind him; her eyes got her first glimpse of the serial killer and her blood boiled.
"Stay where you are Batman and little girlie! Listen to me carefully," Young was screaming out, "Come any closer and I'll paint the room crimson with her blood."
Carefully crouching beside Batman she watched and admired how calmly Batman assessed the situation, he pulled out his batarang, a couple of moments passed and before Zsasz slit the Doctors throat he threw his weapon and no surprise it hit the killer and knock him out.
Batman went into the Warden's office main area, Young began pounding on the killer's chest screaming at him. Filly scanned the room for a weapon, there was glass on the floor, the batarang had bashed a screen monitor once it took out Zsasz.
"We saw Bane," said Batman helping Doctor Young up, they began walking over to the safe and Filly saw her chance. Picking up a large glass shard she crouched over Zsasz picked him up by the neck and held the glass under his chin.
Doctor Young gasped as she saw Filly and Batman turned round, he took a few steps forward but Filly dug the glass into the monsters skin, not drawing blood but close to it. Batman stopped and stayed silent, Filly looked up at him.
"How do you do it Batman? How can you let them live?" he didn't reply, she didn't really believe he was going to answer her, "You don't know do you, I mean, you know killing is wrong but sometimes you have to wonder what life would be like if they were gone...I bet much happier."
She held the glass shard against tightly that her own blood started to run but one wrong little move and the glass would cut deep through the skin and the demon would bleed to death.
"If you kill him you're no worse than him," Batman simply said, "And I know that you aren't a killer. You saved me from Bane tonight, put down the glass Filly."
"You know I let Harley Quinn escape."
"She would have got free if you had tied her up anyway, she has a habit of doing that. Don't let that make you think you're a bad person, I've seen plenty of bad people and trust me, you're not one of them, you are one of the bravest."
Hearing something like that from Batman was just unreal. She imagined her reaction if she was only a gamer girl instead of a character. But she felt like a fool. Filly threw the glass shard to the side and groaned, avoiding eye contact with Batman she got back to her feet and turned away from the Doctor and the Dark Knight and shed a tear or two in embarrassment. Her heart battered against her ribcage as if it were a bull crashing into a red target, now that she felt calmer the realization began to settle in. If Batman didn't stop her, she would have did it. Even though this might be a game right now it's very real, you would be a killer in two worlds. What was I thinking?!
Batman and Young carried on their conversation from before as Filly tried to get over what she almost done completely forgetting in the next few seconds there was going to be an explosion and the Doctor was going to die. The blast took both of them out but Filly was far enough away from it that she wasn't hurt.
Then a thought occurred to her. There was a chance she could save Young. Filly may not have liked her but too many had died already tonight. Quickly rushing over to Doctor Young she dragged her away from the destroyed safe and gave her mouth to mouth. She thumped her heart four times, gave her air, thumped again and the doctor left out a quiet gasp and her eyes shot open like a camera shutter. Sensing Harley Quinn getting closer Filly pushed the doctor down on the ground and tried to keep her still.
"Young," Filly said through clenched teeth, "Play dead."
The scared Doctor nodded frantically and did what she was told, Filly prayed the Joker wasn't watching at that moment, she rushed up into the small library above the office and waited until Harley and her few goons passed with the Warden. The next few moments passed rather quickly, Harley wasn't long in the other area, she was already dragging the Warden back while Batman got back to his feet and took out the thugs.
A few minutes later once Batman had stopped talking to Oracle, he left the Warden's office. She was sure that if Batman had used his detective mode he'd of realized that Young was still alive and she was hiding up there. But he left quickly and she returned to Young, "You can get up now."
Young slowly crawled up from the floor using the wall as support. The Doctor looked terrified but it was Filly's own fault, the scared woman had witnessed her almost killing a man and was almost blown to pieces. But Filly was in no mood to be nice, she kept to the point of what she was going to say.
"I should give you over to Bane, he isn't too pleased with you." Young stared at the floor, Filly wondered if she even felt bad for him.
"You'll sneak off this island, go back home and pack your things, cut your hair and dye it, change your name and get far away from Gotham. If I ever sense you coming close to the City or the asylum, I promise you I won't be this kind."
"Where…is Bane?" she asked her voice shaking.
"Swimming in the Arkham waters still I think; he and Batman had a bit of a tumble. Now leave, sneak out of here and find a boat, I don't care if you even have to paddle, the asylum is going to kill you, Joker, Bane and Poison Ivy have you in their bad books."
"Poison Ivy wants me dead?" the doctor's eyes widened and her jaw dropped slightly.
"Well not at the moment but in an hours' time she'll be told what you did to her baby plants. You destroyed her plants and hurt them with your venom projects, she ain't gonna be too pleased. Now enough chatter, goodbye Doctor Young. I'd wait in here for about ten minutes then go, the asylum is going to be hit badly and you've suffered enough for one night."
And with that Filly walked away leaving Young behind, she hoped that the Doctor knew just how luck she was.
The Joker suddenly began talking through the intercoms, "There you are Filly! I was beginning to wonder where you went. Left the Batman's side? Going on your own path again. I don't think you should check the dead doctor's office…oh wait a minute that would be an excellent place to start!"
Thanks Joker…what sort of secrets did she have about me.
Clearly the Joker knew something, he imagined him being in her office, the Doctor would leave for a moment but he'd get a good chance to snoop about. Getting there was no problem, but she didn't really enjoy going through vents all the time.
Dropping down into the office the first thing she did was go on to the computer, a lot of folders and files were password protected, she managed to guess a few but others were more difficult and she couldn't get through. Young had links to almost all the villains so she figured that there must be something about her mentioned.
Filly was about to begin searching her name but something completely different caught her eye, it was a relatively old newspaper with coffee stains on most of its pages sitting in an open drawer, but the front page was mostly filled with only three words 'WHO IS GLITCH?"
Glitch. She had never heard of this Batman character before, she turned to page three and read the article on this mystery friend or foe.
Yeah the last part is just so bad, once I get a replacement laptop I promise errors will be fixed. But please drop a comment/review, need help with extra inspiration!
Until next time :D