Nightmare in Arkham

by Speilberg

Freddy Krueger is back and he's moved to a new neighborhood where fear and chaos take up most of the population. The only things standing in his way are Batman and an old survivor who has also moved into Gotham. After Freddy marks Batman and the villains of Arkham as his new prey, it's a battle between the masters of fear and Fear, himself.

3. Chapter 3: Claw vs Claws

Nightmare in Arkham

Chapter 3: "Claw vs. Claws"

-As the first crack of dawn began to form over Gotham, Selina Kyle opened the door to her small apartment room holding a gym bag. She had been out all night. For she, like Batman, also had a secret identity: Catwoman. Catwoman operated very similarly: she was a masked vigilante who wore a costume designed after a creature of the night, which is when she usually sprang into action. The only problem was Catwoman was also a criminal. She was one of Gotham's most professional thieves and had broken into nearly every bank and museum within the city limits. But most of her crimes were committed with the goal of aiding animals. Catwoman was a die-hard animal lover and anyone who abused or mistreated animals could definitely look forward to feeling this feline's fury. But Catwoman also committed crimes simply because she enjoyed the thrill of the cat and mouse game (where ironically she was the mouse). But it wasn't just the police that she loved to have on her tail; she was absolutely thrilled to have Batman tailing her. This was primarily because Catwoman had deep, sexual urges for the Dark Knight and Batman shared these feelings. The only problem was Batman was a crime fighter and Catwoman committed crime. So their relationship had to be put on hold for the time being. But this did not matter to Catwoman. She had "almost got him" more than once and, sooner or later, she knew the two of them would ride through the night together as either a hero duo or a villain duo (probably both).

-As soon as Selina stepped inside of her apartment she called out for her cat. Her cat, Isis, was usually lying on the couch when she came home but, surprisingly, she was nowhere to be seen. Selina was too exhausted to think anything of it. She would always leave the window open, just a crack, in case Isis ever wanted to get some fresh air. She loved Selina too much to leave and never return and she never wandered too far from the building so Selina was sure she was fine.

-Selina walked across the living room into a small hallway behind the couch and walked into the door at the end of the hall into the master bedroom. She tossed the bag containing her costume onto the foot of her bed and looked up at her window. Just as she had thought: the window was open just enough for her cat to get in and out of the room. She was probably off chasing some mice on the rooftop.

-Selina stripped down until she was completely nude. It had been a rather disappointing night: She must have hit at least nine banks that night but Batman never showed up. A few police officers gave chase but only a very small handful. And losing them wasn't even worth calling a "challenge". In fact there barely seemed to be any police around the city at all that night.

-"Something really big must have gone down last night", Selina said to herself. "Oh well, I'm sure I'll hear about it soon enough".

-Selina walked into her bathroom, stepped inside the tub, and turned on the shower. She had been out all night and, contrary to most cats, Catwoman lovedwater. Nothing relaxed her after a night on the town like a nice, warm shower to wash away the exhaustion, sweat, and the occasional blood off of her mind and body. It also helped her relax after a night like tonight when she spent the whole time throwing herself into the ocean and not getting a single bite from any game.

-Selina allowed the water to rush down her short, black hair, down her back, over her naked buttocks, down her legs, and onto her sore feet. After she spent a few moments enjoying the warm flow of the water over her body she grabbed a bottle of shampoo and squirted a small amount into her hand. Selina set the bottle down and rubbed the shampoo into both of her hands before scrubbing it into her hair. As she did so she allowed the water rushing out of the showerhead above her to rain down on her open chest where it flooded over her boobs. Selina loved the feeling and let out a soft, pleasurable moan as the warmth embraced her body. Selina washed the shampoo out of her hair as her sharp fingernails scrubbed out what little remaining soap was left behind. Then came her favorite part. Salina grabbed a bar of body soap off the side of her tub and soothed it over her entire body. The cleansing lotion felt wonderful on her arms, legs, stomach, back, boobs, buttocks, and private area. After her entire body was lathered to her liking Salina stepped backing to the flow of the water and all she had to do was put her arms out and relax as the water covered her entire body in a blanket of warmth. As the soap started to wash down her body Selina let out a long sigh of enjoyment.

-Selina emerged from her bathroom wearing a "Hello Kitty" nightshirt and a pair of leopard-skin underwear with purple skin rather than yellow skin. As she sat down on the side of her bed she brought one of her feet up and rested it on her knee. Even though she had not done much running that night just the act of jumping of over roof tops and landing on solid concrete did a number on her feet. She started rubbing the sole with her two thumbs.

-"God, where's a man when you actually need him. This is no job for a woman" Selina said to herself, annoyed.

-After a minute she put her foot down and repeated the same process for the other one. After her feet were soothed out to her liking Selina pulled them up onto the bed, laid her back against the pillow, pulled the covers over her body, and closed her eyes.

-As Selina rested on her bed she heard the sound of a cat meowing outside.

-"There you are, Isis" Selina thought to herself.

-She did not get out bed or even open her eyes. Selina knew the window was open so all Isis had to do was slip under it. But the meowing continued. After about 3 meows from her cat Selina opened her eyes. Isis was indeed at the window but the window had somehow been shut.

-"Hmm, that's weird", Selina said to herself. She got out of the bed and started making her way toward the window. Isis continued to meow.

-"Okay, baby, okay. Keep your fur on. I'm coming", Selina said to her cat. Selina reached the window and saw that even though day was starting to break it was still unusually dark. Selina opened up the window and took Isis into her arms.

-"High sweetie", Selina said to Isis in a motherly voice while planting kisses on her head, "What have you been doing all night? You been chasing rodents again? Mama tried to get some rodents to chase her but they were too busy-" Selina was cut off when something very peculiar caught her eye: Down in the ally, under a dim light, there appeared to be three children skipping rope as if it were broad daylight. Where are these kids' parents? What are they doing out in the middle of a nearly pitch dark alley way alone? Do these kids have death wish?

-Before Selina could call out to the children she felt something on her body. It was a warm, wet sensation under her breasts where she was holding Isis. Selina looked down at her cat.

-"Isis, did you just pee on me?" Selina asked, annoyed, as she held Isis in front of her.

-What Selina saw made her eyes shoot open so wide that if they were to get any wider they would pop out of her head, her mouth dropped open into a huge gape and she let out a loud, horrified gasp. Isis had 4 deep slash marks running down one side of her body. The slashes looked like they had come from an animal claw. Selina almost threw up. She closed her mouth as the bile started to rise in her throat and this caused her to jerk her body to the left and cover her mouth with one hand. Isis fell to the floor and died in a pool of her own blood.

-Selina's breath caught in her throat as tears began to well up in her eyes. Suddenly she heard a dark, sinister laugh that sounded like it was coming from outside. Selina instantly rose to the window and peered outside. The children were gone and in their place was what appeared to be the silhouette of a man. As Selina stared at the dark figure she noticed a puddle of red liquid on the ground next him. It was dripping from his right hand.

-Selina grinded her teeth in a rage and darted toward the foot of her bed. As soon as she was fully clothed Catwoman leaped out of her window into the dark ally below. The man was no longer there but the blood was. Catwoman cringed at the sight of it. As she turned her head she spotted a shadow walking down another ally.

-"Hey! Stop where you are, murderer!" Catwoman screamed before sprinting after the shadow. But by the time she had reached the end of the corner the shadow had disappeared. Catwoman looked up just in time to see something disappear over the rooftop above the alley. Wasting no time Catwoman hurled her whip at a steel barricade along the staircase on the side of the building. After giving the whip a good tug to make sure the barricade would not give way Catwoman pulled herself off the ground and hurtled herself onto the top of the staircase, released her whip, and leapt onto the rooftop. The figure was nowhere in sight. There was no stairway on the rooftop for him to retreat inside the building so he had to be on the roof somewhere.

-"Come out you coward! What's wrong, defenseless animals are no trouble for you but you can't handle me?" Catwoman shouted into the night. She ran toward one of the edges and spotted the figure walking behind yet another corner below.

-"I've got you now" Catwoman exclaimed angrily. She leapt from the roof and landed feet first on the ground. When she turned the corner the figure was gone but she did come across something: the three children she saw earlier were now skipping rope in the ally. Now Catwoman was confused. She concealed her whip so as not to scare the children off but kept a hand close by it in case that sick fuck decided to come after the children next.

-"Hello?" Catwoman called to the children. They did not respond. Catwoman began slowly walking toward them.

-"I'm not going to hurt you" Catwoman assured the children as they continued their little game. "Listen to me kids: there's a very bad man somewhere close by, he's going to try and hurt you so you have to come with me now. I'll keep you safe".

-As Catwoman came within 3 feet of the children they started singing a song: "1, 2, Freddy's coming for you. 3, 4, better lock your door. 5, 6, grab your crucifix. 7, 8, better stay up late. 9, 10 never sleep again."

-As Catwoman starred confusingly at the children as they sang, a terrible screeching noise, like iron nails scraping against a chalkboard, rang out behind her. When Catwoman turned around the figure was slowly walking toward her scraping his hand against the wall sending small sparks flying through the air as he approached. The figure chuckled the same way it did at her window. It was still hard to make the silhouette out but it appeared to be a man wearing a fedora hat.

-"Hold it right there!" Catwoman yelled at the figure. But it kept coming.

-"I'm not going to let you hurt these children you sadistic bastard!"

-Catwoman turned toward the children to tell them to run but, much to her surprise, they had vanished. Catwoman returned her gaze toward the figure, which continued its slow approach.

-Catwoman grabbed her whip and cracked it against the ground causing a sharp, lightening noise to echo through the alley. The figure was un-deterred. It continued walking until it was just a few steps from the shadow's edge.

-"Alright then, come out and show your face so I can rip it off." Catwoman demanded as she took a fighting stance with her whip raised in the air ready to strike. However, this was a demand Catwoman soon regretted.

-The figure stepped out of the shadows and made every last grotesque feature visible to her. It was indeed a man, or at least that's what Catwoman thought it was. Catwoman studied Isis' attacker intently taking in every detail.

-Okay, whatever this thing is, it wears closes like a human; but who the hell wears a fedora hat with a Christmas sweater? And that face: if this thing is human then he must have had one hell of a freak accident. Wait a second. Oh great! Just what Gotham needs: another super freak. Why Gotham? What is it about this particular city that makes it a hot spot for rejected horror movie monsters? No matter. This one's stay isn't going to be long.

-As Catwoman stared at the monstrosity that stood before her, Freddy raised his right hand and flicked his fingers out causing the blades to "shink"from being rubbed against each other.

-Catwoman's gaze broke and she took a step back, her eyes now focused the figure's hand. At first she could not make out what she was looking at. It looked like a giant claw at first glance. But as Catwoman stared at it longer she saw that the "claw" was actually a glove with what looked like 4 knives attached to the fingertips. Then, much to Catwoman's horror, she noticed the knives were covered in blood.

"Now, there's a pussy I'd love to sink my fingers in," Freddy said with a perverted grin, "I just hope you're better than that tiny one back there." Then he rubbed his bladed fingers together creating a series of sharp, scraping noises.

-Without hesitation, Catwoman lashed her whip at him but he simply stepped aside and grabbed the cord as it wisped past. Catwoman jerked her arm back hard trying to recover the whip for a second blow but the Freddy's grip was stronger than she anticipated.

-"Kinky," Freddy said with a smirk before giving the cord a violent tug that, much to Catwoman's surprise, sent her flying off the ground where she landed on her back right beside him.

-Freddy brought his clawed hand up and started to bring it down in a stabbing motion but it only took Catwoman a second to react. She bended both of her knees and pushed off the ground with both of her hands launching herself off the ground like a spring. When Catwoman pushed herself up she kicked the Freddy's arm away before it made impact and landed on her feet.

-With Freddy caught off guard Catwoman landed two successful slashes across his face and chest before kicking him in the stomach. Catwoman then struck Freddy on the back as he leaned over in agony causing him to fall down.

-As Freddy rose, he lunged his claw at Catwoman trying to stab her in the chest but her quick reflex foiled his attempt again.

-Catwoman grabbed the Freddy's arm and pinned him against a wall face-down. Catwoman pressed her forearm across the Freddy's back to hold him against the wall and, with her free hand, plunged her fingers into Freddy's back causing him to scream in agony. Catwoman then raked her fingers to the side in a slashing motion while releasing the Freddy from her other arm causing him spin around facing her.

-Without giving Freddy a chance to react, Catwoman swiped her hand across his face and used the momentum to spin her body around and deliver a kick to the back of his causing him to fall flat on his back. Catwoman then stepped on the Freddy's gloved hand pinning it down while stepping on his chest with her other foot. Catwoman then leaned down close to the Freddy's horribly disfigured face and sneered at him.

-"First law of the jungle freak: a lion needs two claws to catch its prey," Catwoman said while holding both of her hands in front of the Freddy's face. On the tips of all 10 fingers Catwoman had tiny needle like spikes. They were no where near as big as Freddy's knives but Catwoman knew exactly how to put them to use and the small size made them easier to maneuver.

-Freddy just smiled wickedly at her and said, "That may be true, you're not in the jungle, princess. You're in my world." Catwoman looked at the Freddy confused.

-"What are you talking abo-", Catwoman was cut off after she took her eyes off Freddy.

-Her entire surroundings had changed: she was no longer in the alley but on a catwalk in what she could only guess was a giant boiler room. The walls were all crimson red, chains dangled from the ceiling, fire spewed out of the dozens of furnaces that littered the room, steam clouded the room in a hazy mist that slightly hindered her vision, and the whole room was unbearably hot. Catwoman knew she couldn't have been in the room for more that 20 seconds, yet her body was already starting to drip with sweat.

-A drop of water leaked from the ceiling right above Catwoman and it landed on her face and sizzled once it made contact with her wet, bare skin.

-"OW!" she shrieked raising a hand to her face.

-Freddy took advantage of this and abruptly jerked his hand out from under Catwoman's foot and slashed the calf muscle on her other leg. This weakened Catwoman's hold on him allowing him roll out from under her foot. Freddy rose to his feet behind Catwoman and grabbed her crotch in his gloved hand while using his left hand to grab her in a chokehold.

-Catwoman was left in a moment of shock from the feeling of her leg being scratched, the metal knives slowly rubbing against her pride area (THIS WAS NOT A PLEASURABLE FEELING), and the sudden constriction around her neck. Catwoman let out a surprised gasp.

-"Mmmm, looks like this kitty's in heat."

-In all the years Catwoman had put up with the lecherous scum that tried to lull her with one perverted move after another she had never felt so violated. She felt like she had been raped by this thing's mere words. First he killed her cat and now this? There was no question about it: this thing had to die.

-Catwoman slammed both of her claws into both of Freddy's sides. This caused him to lose his grip on Catwoman's throat. She jerked away and, just as quickly, turned back around and began slashing viciously at the him.

-"YOU FILTHY"(swipe)"PERVERTED"(swipe)"SADISTIC"(swipe)" CAT-KILLING"(swipe)"ABOMINATION!" Catwoman then kicked Freddy in the face causing him to fall on his back once again.

-"That was for me," Catwoman stated angrily. She then raised her whip. She was going to lash this monstrosity until there was nothing left but bones which Catwoman would feed to the stray dogs in the various alley ways in Gotham (after she figured out where the hell she was now). "And this is for Isis."

-Just as Catwoman was about to rain down her lashes on Freddy she was abruptly startled by a loud beeping noise. She disappeared from the boiler room leaving Freddy lying on the ground, puzzled.

-Selina shot up from her bed breathing heavily. She looked around and saw that she was back in her room on her bed. When she calmed down she realized the loud buzzing was her alarm clock. Selina shut off the alarm and sighed in relief.

-"Meow".

-Selina shot her head up and saw Isis lying at the foot of her bed. Selina could not describe how happy she was to see her.

"Oh, Isis! Come see momma baby!" Selina cooed with her arms stretched out. Isis got to her feet and walked over to her master's out stretched arms. As soon as she was within reach Selina scooped Isis up in her arms and held her tightly to her chest kissing her head repeatedly. Isis purred with delight.

"Momma just had a bad dream. Someone hurt you; but I beat him up! Nobody mess's with my baby!" Selina cooed to Isis while scratching the top of her head (something Isis absolutely loved). Selina then took Isis in another tight embrace and she nestled into Selina's chest with her head resting just under Selina's chin. Isis then started to purr on Selina's chest giving her a warm relaxed feeling.

-After lying down with Isis for a few moments Selina decided to get out of bed. She leaned her feet over the side of the bed still holding onto Isis. When she placed her foot on the ground and put weight on it Selina fell back on the bed in pain.

-"Ow!" Selina shouted. Isis fell from her arms and landed feet first on Selina's lap. Selina raised her leg up forcing Isis to move onto the bed beside her. When Selina looked at her right leg she saw that there were 4 fresh, deep slash marks across the side of her lower leg just above her ankle. The cuts were still bleeding.

-"What in the world?" Selina asked herself as she stared dumbfounded at her scars. Selina sat on the bed confused and speechless. Then she remembered in the dream that thing scratched her leg. But how could I have a scar from my dream?.

-Eventually Selina calmed herself and reasoned that maybe she had scratched her leg on something in her sleep and she saw it in her dream as someone attacking her. Isis may have even done it. Although the marks looked way too big to have come from a cat's claw. Regardless, Selina was not afraid. Weather last night was dream or not Selina had not met a freak yet that she could not handle (except for Batman of course). Selina looked back at her leg.

-"I'v heard of dreams scarring people but this is ridiculous," she chuckled to herself.

Back in the dream world Freddy rose to his feet. His scars and wounds from his fight with Catwoman already healed. "This might be tougher than I thought. These little piggies actually have some fight in them." After a moment of thought he chuckled to himself, "So I guess I should start with the weakest link. Although, I should probably get the lucky bastard to be my messenger boy first. Too bad Scarecrow isn't available. Oh well, he's serving a much grander purpose." Freddy lifted his shirt to reveal a frightened face sticking out of his abdomen, screaming in torment.

-Freddy lowered his sweater and turned toward a wall. He then flicked the index finger from his glove at the wall causing it split open revealing the screen that he had used when he first came back to life.

-"Let's see now."

-Freddy began searching through his list of potential victims but most of them seemed to be near Catwoman's level. If he wanted to get to those people he needed someone weak, someone he could use to spread his presence in Gotham, then it would be easier for Freddy to invade his victim's thoughts.

-It was a common misconception that in order for Freddy to successfully strike down a victim that victim had to be completely afraid of him. This was partially true. The truth was Freddy simply needed his victims to be in a state of emotional distress and not be able to think straight. It was easier for him to do this when his victims were angry, confused, sad, scared, etc. But in this city, emotional distress seemed to be something that most of his new prey had learned to live with….or so they thought. Catwoman obviously was not as mentally unstable as a lot of these other weirdos but even they seemed to embrace whatever made them what they were. This could prove to be a challenge…Freddy loved the idea.

-After a few moments of searching his list something on the screen caught Freddy's eye.

-"Yes", Freddy wickedly spoke to himself out loud, "Yes, perfect. This one even has the same mind set as some of my old prey: stupid, naïve, and vulnerable." As he continued to watch the screen he chuckled and said "You are the weakest link, goodbye bitch."