Nightmare in Arkham
Chapter 5: Heroes and Criminals
-Robin and Batgirl had been in charge of patrolling the city for a little over a week now. Batman had become consumed by his research in finding out what caused Scarecrow's death. But, of course, he could not leave the city unguarded. So he enlisted the help of his 2 most trusted alias: Dick Grason, also known as "Robin: the Boy Wonder", and Barbara Gordon, daughter of Commissioner Gordon, also known as "Batgirl". Robin and Batgirl patrolled opposite areas of the city checking in on each other's status now and then.
-"Hey, Babs" Robin called through his bat communicator. Batgirl shrugged in annoyance. "Dammit Dick! You know I don't like being called that. At least not while on duty".
-"Sorry", Robin answered, "I was just checking in. There's not much going down on my side. Anything to report on yours'?"
-"Nothing I couldn't handle; just a common thug or two", Batgirl replied. "The city's been surprisingly quite since Scarecrow…you know".
-"Yeah, I know what you mean. B-Man hasn't been himself lately either. Have you noticed he seems a bit…depressed?"
-"What else is new?" Batgirl answered.
-"No, I mean more depressed than usual. Like he's lost a close friend or something."
-Batgirl was puzzled, "Are you saying he's mourning Scarecrow's death?"
-"It looks that way. Seems weird, huh?"
-"I guess; it sure wouldn't be my first reaction if I found out my worst enemy was gone for good but I never would have taken him for someone to celebrate their demise either".
-"Yeah well, with how slow things seem to be moving now days I almost miss Scarecrow myself…almost."
-"Would you feel better if Isent you a motivation letter before your next football game?" Batgirl asked jokingly referring to the BTAS episode "Fear of Victory".
-"HELL NO! Oh wait, I mean, if you do it…please don't mention that again."
-Batgirl chuckled with amusement. Suddenly, a gruff stern voice interrupted them from the other line. "Batgirl? Robin? Come in Batgirl and Robin."Batgirl and Robin both froze in surprise. Batgirl was the first to answer.
-"Hey, Batman, what's up?"
-"How goes the research?" Robin asked
-"Still inconclusive. How are things looking in the city?"
-"City's been surprisingly decent this past week" Batgirl replied.
-"Yeah", Robin exclaimed, "It's actually kind of scary. I'm can't shake this strange feeling that something big is getting ready to go down some time really soon".
-"That's what I'm trying to avoid. In the meantime I want you guys to continue patrolling the city for at least one more week. If anything big does come up I want you to contact me immediately."
-"Understood", Robin said.
-"Good", Batman replied.
-"Robin out", Robin said before signing off.
-Batgirl was about to follow suite when she realized something she had been meaning to tell Batman.
-"Hey Batman, I just realized, there is something I thought you might be interested in hearing".
-"What is it"?
-"Apparently, Arkham just got a new doctor".
-This caught Batman's attention. "A new doctor? How long ago?"
-"I just found out today. She started sometime this week. Her name's Alice Johnson. Apparently she specializes in helping people by helping them come to grips with past trauma from early stages in their life, like childhood-early adulthood experience."
-There was a "click" on the other end of the communicator
-"Hello?" Batgirl called into the communicator. There was no answer. Batman had signed off. Batgirl turned her gaze back to the city. Suddenly something caught her eye. It appeared to be someone scaling the side of a building. Batgirl took out a pair of binoculars and peered at the scene about a half a mile away. The building was a Natural History museum. Batgirl turned her gaze to the figure climbing the side of the building and, sure enough, she saw Catwoman. Batgirl lowered her binoculars and smirked. "Finally, some action!"
-Catwoman was just a few feet from the top of the building. She had a small sack hanging over her shoulder that she was planning on using to steal a valuable cat's head statue. She was not planning on staying long, not just because she only wanted to attract some attention for a thrill chase, but also because her scar on her leg had not fully healed and still hurt like hell when too much pressure was put on her foot. She could still move swiftly through the city but not with a heavy load weighing her down.
-Just as Catwoman was about to grasp the top of the building with her hand, she heard a loud shout in the distance: "Hold it right there!"
-Startled, Catwoman turned her head toward the noise and saw Batgirl flying toward her on her grapple gun.
-"Shit", Catwoman exclaimed annoyed. She lept from the building and used her whip to grapple herself onto a street light and swung herself over the street onto a balcony outside of an apartment building. Batgirl pursued her repeating the same process but by the time she made it to the balcony Catwoman had already disappeared onto the roof and made her way onto another building. Batgirl leaped onto the top of the building but Catwoman had already disappeared.
-Catwoman moved through the ally ways like a panther prowling through the night jungle staying far from the rooftop so that she could stay hidden in the shadows. After about 2 minutes of running from the flying mouse girl Catwoman stopped on a balcony to rest.
-"Goddamned flying rat", Catwoman said to herself irritably, "this poor starving kitty needs food and she has to swoop in and steal my meal ticket. Someone outta lock her up for cruelty to animals".
-Catwoman leaned her hand over to her side to rest it but, in the process, accidentally pushed over a garbage can, which fell into the ally below. When the can hit the ground the loud clanging noise was accompanied by the painful, frightened screams of a female voice. Startled Catwoman looked over the balcony to see what she had hit and saw in the pale light a young girl with black tear stained make-up running down her eyes. Her hair, which had been dyed black and red, had started to fade into a light blonde color and it looked like it had not been washed in a week. She wore black and red skin tight shorts that looked more life underwear than actual pants, a red and black top that just barely covered her chest and showed off her mid-section and 2 thigh high stockings 1 red and 1 black. All of these articles of clothing were torn and filthy and the woman seemed to have pale white skin covering some parts of her body while the rest of it was plain Caucasian skin. The woman was covered in scars and bruises and the first thing that popped into Catwoman's mind was that it was just another street prostitute that frequented the various slum parts of Gotham but it did not take long for her to realize who she was looking at. "Harley", Catwoman whispered to herself.
-Harley ran out from under the catwalk terrified. She shot her head up to search for who ever attacked her but Catwoman remained concealed in the dark. Normally Harley would have dropped a bomb in the alley and blasted her enemy out but the 7 days she had spent on the streets left her tired, weak, depressed, and frightened. She did not want look for trouble and she sure as hell didn't want trouble to find her. She ran off toward the safety of the lit streets while Catwoman watched in the shadows.
-Catwoman was usually very sympathetic toward people in Harley's current situation, especially women. She was once a lost, scared, and broken soul wandering the dark streets with nothing to help her survive but her own instincts. She would try to be as strong as possible and would fight without mercy but there were times where she felt over-whelmed and tired and wondered which night would be her last. And she new this was a common cycle with Harley. She knew all about her relationship with the Joker. She knew how he would constantly kick her out onto the streets and leave her wandering like a frightened kitten. But Harley was not on Catwoman's good side for 3 reasons:
1. Harley tried to kill her
2. Harley constantly tried to kill Batman
3. The fact that Harley could act so high and mighty when she had the Joker to hide behind but wound up reduced to whimpering child while she was on her own was just pathetic to Catwoman. When she was Harley's age she spent most of her life fighting for herself with no one to back her put and she became one of the most notorious criminals in the whole city as a result.
-Catwoman silently scoffed as she watched Harley run away whimpering like a coward. "You don't belong in the Underworld, kid. I suggest you get out before you hurt yourself". Catwoman then lay back against the wall and rested.
-Harley rushed out of the alley and into the streets. The streets were nearly completely empty. There was an occasional passerby but by now most of the city's inhabitants had returned to their warm, safe homes while Harley was stuck wandering this lonely concrete jungle. The thought made Harley sad and she started to sob softly. The night air was quite frigate and she had no coat; she didn't even have sleeves. Harley folded her arms over her chest and walked on rubbing her forearms trying to gather even the faintest comfort of warmth. The tears running down her face burned in the freeze in wind. As Harley walked along the dark pavement she passed a young looking biker thug who seemed to be no older than her; if so 5 years at the most.
-He whistled seductively at her as she passed. "Hey baby, nice wardrobe" he said before chuckling at her. Harley averted her eyes and continued to walk forward. The thug watched her but did not try and follow.
-As Harley continued to walk another thug walked out from behind a wall, this one considerably older and much taller than the one she just passed. "Well, well, well, what have we here". Harley took a step back in fear. When she backed the first biker was right behind her and she bumped into him. Harley shrieked in fear and backed up against the wall of the building that stood beside her.
-"Whoa there, babe. Take it easy", the first biker said to her calmly, "we're not gonna bite ya".
-"Yeah, a couple a nice gentleman, like us, why we'd never think of doing such a thing". Then he placed a hand on Harley's head, much the same way the Joker did to her, and said rather sinisterly "We just wanna have a little fun and you seem like someone who knows how to have good time". Harley's eyes widened in fear and a tear ran down her cheek.
MEANWHILE
-Alice drove down the dark street of Gotham in her 1988 convertible with the roof down allowing the wind to rush through her long, red hair, which helped her relax after her work. Dr. Leeland was not kidding about the inmates. She had never seen anything like the creatures that she had spent the last week getting to know during her daily sessions. The majority of these inmates didn't even seem human. That hulking brute they called "Bane" could have very easily crushed Alice between his fingers if he pleased, that desolate frozen soul who used be Victor Friez was like an unfeeling android and had the voice to match, and that strange birdman called "Penguin", though he was quite intelligent and well spoken, still resembled that of an animal in that he would swallow sardines whole, squawk like a parrot, and waddle like a penguin. There was also mention of a plant-like woman who was supposed to be held up somewhere in Arkham but Alice had yet to see her. There were a few seemingly human people but even they seemed to have the mindset of a monster. The "Riddler" had the mind of a super computer yet he seemed to relish the idea of destroying the "weak and stupid". The one called "Two-Face", from what Alice was told, used to be one of the most respected politicians in the whole city until a tragic accident turned him into the morbid creature he was now. And then there was the "Mad Hatter". He was, ironically, the easiest for Alice to communicate with. This was largely because he took and instant liking to her because her name was Alice but he would always try and get uncomfortably close to her whenever he could. Dr. Leeland had to make sure to keep watch whenever she had a session with him but even when he tried to get close to her he remained unusually tame. According to the Hatter this was mainly because he had felt severe depression upon losing his dear friend Jonathan Crane, which was the subject of most of their sessions. But as monstrous and inhuman they seemed Alice never saw them as anything other than what they truly were: human beings who had lost their way in the world. And the state of these people made giving them a new life even more crucial for Alice.
-As Alice drove her car through the night city the song "Wonderland" by Natalia Kills blared from her radio as she sang along to the lyrics: "I'm not, not Cinderella
I don't need a knight, so baby take off all your armor, You be the Beast and I'll be the Beauty, Beauty
Who needs true love as long as you love me truly?
I want it all, but I want you more
Will you wake me up boy if I bite your poison apple?
-Suddenly, Alice was startled by a figure as it dashed across the street right in front of her. She slammed on her breaks and quickly noticed it was a young girl running as fast as her legs would carry her and trailing her were two men. At first Alice could not tell if the woman was being chased or if all three of them were running from something. Alice immediately shut off her music. With the roof of her convertible open she heard one of the men shout, "Come back here you bitch!" This answered her question: the girl was in danger.
-Harley sprinted down the long stretch of pavement narrowly dodging traffic as she ran across the street. Her lungs were burning and she did not know how much longer she would be able to hold out. She was surprised she had been able to run for as long as she did. The bruises and marks on her body started to ach from the excess amount of strain Harley was putting on her body and she knew that soon she would tire and those thugs would have their way with her but she was determined to last as long as she could.
-Catwoman had resumed her nightly escapade, having given Batgirl the slip, and was moving silently through the dark shadows in the streets when she heard a loud scream close by. Catwoman hurried through maze of the alleyway she had been moving through to lay low from Batgirl and soon spotted Harley who had fallen to the ground across the street. 2 men were upon her shortly after and one of them grabbed her by her hair and slammed her against the wall while the other pulled out a switch-blade and held it to her throat. The ears on Catwoman's mask had been designed to give her enhanced hearing, like a jungle car, and across the street she could clearly hear the men threatening Harley if she did not give herself up to them. After a few seconds of debate Catwoman's consciences caught up to her and she knew that as much as she didn't care for Harley she would not be able to live with herself if she let a defenseless woman get violated when she could have saved her. Catwoman flicked out her claws and ran silently out of the alley ready to pounce on the 2 gangbangers but before she could make it across the street a car screeched to a halt in front of her, blocking her path.
-"Shit!" Catwoman exclaimed as she jumped back into the shadows. The 2 thugs turned around in surprise. Alice exited her vehicle; still wearing her work clothes, and shouted, "Let her go, now!"
-The two thugs looked at each other in confusion and then back to the middle aged woman who just arrived on the scene.
-"Don't make me tell you twice!" Alice shouted at the 2 thugs.
-The thugs just snickered. The tall man took a few steps toward Alice while the shorter one kept Harley pinned against the wall with the knife to her throat. "You a cop?" asked the taller one, "Show some ID and maybe well consider it".
-Alice reached into one of the holes in her lab coat and pulled out a karate black belt. "How's this for ID? Now leave. I'm not going to tell you again".
-The shorter thug laughed in amusement, "Oh man, this is great!" He then motioned to his partner, "Hey, what say we make this a double date. You take the super girl over there and I'll keep this lovely MILF entertained" he said turning his attention back to Harley, who could only tremble with eyes wide in fear.
-"Touch her and I'll impale you through the mouth with a steal rod".
-As the taller thug began to approach Alice, Catwoman continued to watch from the shadows. "Well this should be interesting," she thought to herself.
-As the thug got within 3 feet of her he stopped and took out his own razorblade and held it out to his side. "And what will you do to me?" he asked threateningly.
-Alice did not move. She just kept direct eye contact with her opponents. After about 5 seconds she tossed her black belt into her car and fastened her long hair into a ponytail to keep the hair out of her eyes while the thug looked at her to see what move she would make. She reached into her coat again and took out a bandana with the Japanese Rising Sun flag symbol on it and wrapped it around her left hand. She then turned her gaze back to the thug and calmly responded, "Take your best shot and find out".
-The thug raised his hand and thrust it at Alice attempting to slash her but she quickly dodged the blow and caught the thug's arm and in one quick motion she slammed her elbow down on the thug's arm and it made a loud cracking noise. The thug screamed in pain and dropped the knife. Alice then kicked the thug in the stomach causing him to bend over in agony after which Alice delivered another kick to his hip right on the pelvis sending him crashing sideways to the ground.
-Catwoman and the shorter thug both stared in shock and amazement at Alice's skill. The shorter thug rushed to his partner's aid but not wanting to make the same mistake, he took out a larger knife (the shorter one was better for threatening than for killing) with a 1-foot blade and rushed at Alice while her back was turned. As if anticipating the attack Alice quickly took off her work coat in one quick motion and threw it over the second thug who slashed it as it landed over his head. The knife did not cut all the way down, as the coat engulfing his head disorienting the thug, and he started to blindly swing at the air through the rip made in the coat. Under her coat Alice wore a dark brown leather jacket, a grey under shit that showed off her mid-rift, a pair of blue jeans that were torn in several places at the thigh, a black belt subbed with small, silver spikes and a strange looking electronic device attacked to it, and a black bracelet that was also stubbed with spikes but these were bigger and pointier. As the thug began to get close to Alice she took the electronic device from her belt, aimed it at the thug, and it shot a stream of electricity at the thug. The thug flailed as the current raced through his body. After 5 seconds Alice shut the device off and the thug fell down stunned.
-Alice walked over to the thug and removed her coat from the man's head. "Bug Zapper" Alice exclaimed, "great for fending off roaches, even better for putting maggots like you in their place". She then slammed her fist into the thug's stomach causing him to role on his side in agony. Alice then backed away and said, "If I remember correctly, you 2 were just leaving, right?" The 2 thugs rushed to their feet and ran off as fast as they could. Catwoman looked on from the shadows with her mouth wide open in an amazed smile. She was about to walk out and congratulate Alice but was cut off again by the arrival of Batgirl as she swooped onto the scene from the sky. "God dammit!" Catwoman irritably whispered to herself.
-Alice turned around surprised by the sudden appearance of the masked heroine and took a fighting stance incase she had to defend herself again.
-"Hey! Take it easy, I'm here to help" Batgirl exclaimed.
-Alice eased up a bit but still kept a defensive stance incase she needed to fight. "Who are you", she asked both suspicious and confused at the same time.
-"I'm Batgirl"
-Alice looked at the strange, young woman before her. She studied her dark outfit complete with a black cowl, rubber gloves, black combat boots, flowing red hair, and the yellow symbol of a bat on her chest.
-"What kind of help?" Alice asked.
-"Well, I heard screaming coming from somewhere around here along with what sounded like a like a fight breaking out. Are you okay".
-Alice eased up. If this strange girl were going to try and hurt her she would not have shown concern; in fact they'd probably be fighting right now. "Yes" Alice said calmly, "there was a small inconvenience but it's been resolved. What exactly are you doing, if you don't mind me asking?"
-"I'm guessing you're not from around here?" Batgirl asked.
-"No, actually I just transferred here about a week ago. I was told this city had quite a few strange characters running around, no offense".
-"None taken. Well, I'm Batgirl. I guess you could say I'm part of a secret night patrol police force. I help protect the city from the badstrange characters".
-"I see, and how do you do that?"
-"Well…I patrol the city and if anyone, or anything, is causing trouble I deal with them personally". Catwoman scoffed to herself at this remark. Alice started to grow a bit suspicious.
-"Well, I can assure you the problem has been dealt with but if you still want to help-"
-Batgirl turned her head and she noticed the young, terrified girl on the ground with her face buried in her knees.
-"Oh God, is she okay?"
-"I was just about to ask her the same thing. Some creeps pulled a knife on her and I fought them off. That's what the commotion you heard was."
-Alice turned to the young girl and slowly walked over to her. When she reached her she knelt down beside her and placed a gentle hand on her shoulder. "Hey honey, are you hurt?" The girl didn't respond but as Alice continued to look at the girl she almost instantly noticed the bruises covering her body. Her eyes widened and her mouth opened in shock. "Jesus", Alice whispered, "Did those men do this to you?" Still the girl remained silent. "Do you need to see a doctor?" This time Harley mewled while shaking her head while her face remained buried in her knees.
-Batgirl approached them. "Poor thing's scared to death" she said to Alice. Batgirl knelt down beside the girl. "It's alright, you're safe. We're not gonna hurt you. We want to help you. Why don't you look at us?" Batgirl placed hand on Harley's head, which by now she had come to associate with someone about to attack her. She shot up her head, eyes wide with fear. Now able to see her face Batgirl suddenly realized who the girls was. "Harley?!"
-Harley scrambled to her feet and started to run. She didn't get far; Batgirl was upon her after about 15 feet. She grabbed Harley by the shoulder and tried to hold her steady as she struggled to get away. "Harley, calm down!"
-"Leave me alone!" Harley shouted.
-"Not until you tell me where the Joker's hiding".
-"I don't know, now just go away!"
-Batgirl pinned Harley against the wall, "Bullshit! Listen to me; I will let you go if you tell me where he is. Lying is not going to-"
-Batgirl was cutoff by a sudden jolt of electricity. She fell to her knees screaming in pain. Harley looked toward the direction the shockwave came and saw Alice clutching the machine she used on the gangbanger. Harley ran toward Alice and hid behind her.
-"What the hell do you think you're doing?!" Batgirl shouted at Alice as she got back her feet.
-"I'm protecting a defenseless, injured human being from a crazed masked lunatic that's what" Alice said to her still aiming the Bug Zapper at Batgirl in case she tried to attack Harley again.
-"That 'defenseless human being' is dangerous! She's harboring the most deadly criminal in this entire city! Now get out of my way or I'll lock you up with her!"
-Alice chuckled. "So this is how you 'handle' protecting the city? Just throw on a costume, call yourself a 'hero', and then just assume that gives you the right to do what ever the hell you want because you think it's justified?"
-"Lady, are you deaf? I just said that woman is dangerous!"
-"I don't care!" Alice snapped at her, "She's not a threat right now and I have no way of knowing if you're as dangerous as you're making her out to be. If you want me to stand down then show me a badge or an ID. Give me some documented proof that you have the authority to take this girl into custody and I'll stand aside"
-"How do I know you're not the dangerous one. I already know who dangerous that woman behind you is and all I know about you is that you're taking her side. For all I know you could be working with her. So you show me some ID first. Because, guess what lady, the police in this city are on my side and I have higher connections I can contact if things get out of hand. So why don't you show me something that warrants you carrying around a giant teaser and beating up street crooks."
-Alice smirked at her. "Gladly" she said. Alice picked up her work coat from off the ground, took out her ID, and held it in front of Batgirl. "See? Right here: Dr. Alice Johnson. I'm a licensed doctor at Arkham who works with dangerous criminals. I strive to protect innocent people too and that includes the asylum inmates because from what I've seen, especially from the ones at Arkham, they are all victims too. And what you're doing is making things worse. Did it ever occur to you that by singling these people out with no legal right to do so you're just strengthening their belief that the world is against them and in doing so you entice them to keep lashing out at innocent people?"
-"Listen to me Alice, that person right behind you is not a victim. She's working for the most evil human being on the face of the planet. I'm talking about a man who loves watching things burn, explode, and die because it's all one big joke to him. She knows where he's hiding and the longer you stand in my way the more lives you're possibly putting at risk"
-"I already told you how to get me to stand aside and yet you still haven't done it. So, how about it? If it's really that serious then stop risking people's lives and show me some ID and she's all yours".
-"Alright that's it!" Batgirl reached for her batarang with the intent of disarming Alice of her teaser then bringing bothof them in, Alice for interfering and risking innocent lives even after being told the consequences and Harley for reason already explained. However, before she could reach her belt Batgirl heard a loud, cracking noise followed by a sharp, stinging pain on her ass.
-"OW!" Batgirl screamed and spun around to see Catwoman standing behind her smiling with her whip in hand.
-"Hello kitty" she purred to Batgirl while winking at her. Batgirl looked down and saw that Catwoman's whip had ripped a hole in the rear end of Batgirl's pants exposing her "Hello Kitty" underwear. "EEK!" Batgirl shrieked and covered her butt with her hands as her face flushed red with anger and embarrassment. Alice laughed in amusement.
-"Well, hero, you gonna catch a real criminal or are you gonna let me get away so you can harass an alleged criminal?" Catwoman asked Batgirl.
-Batgirl turned toward Alice. "This isn't over" she assured her. She then started for Catwoman who had already started making her get away leaving Alice alone with an exhausted Harley clinging to her waist.