Nightmare in Arkham
Chapter 7B: Victims: Part 2
-The entire campus was buzzing with sirens, red and blue flashing lights, jumbled dialogue from the massive crowds that formed outside Barbara's dorm, shouts from GCPD officers for people to "stand back" and "clear the way", and the cries and screams of the girls that lived in the dorm that had been in their rooms when the tragedy struck. The dorm had been stormed by the canine unit who went through every room searching for any kind of weapons that could have been used at the scene of the crime. People who had been in the dorms were being questioned by a handful of the officers on stand by. The only thing that displayed more power and noise than the crowd was the rain that poured down over the crowd that was occasionally joined by thunder and a crack of lightening.
-Dick Grayson sat beside an ambulance car shaking like a jackhammer with his eyes wide in shock and tears streaming down his face. His body was drenched in rainwater but the cold from the rain was weaker than the terror running through his mind. Suddenly, he saw a dark figure appear out of nowhere in the corner of his eye. Batman dropped to his knees and grabbed Dick by his shoulders.
-"What happened?" Batman asked sternly but with a clear tone of desperation.
-"I…I swear, I don't know. I left her alone for five minutes at the most and when I got back…OH GOD! What if she had spent all that time alone with those…,"Dick grabbed handfuls of his hair in both of his hands and slammed his head against the ambulance while screaming in despair.
-"Listen to me, Dick. You have to think straight. Her life depends on it."
-"I have to see her! I have to know how bad it is!" Dick stood up and tried to run toward the building but Batman held him back against the ambulance.
-"There is nothing you can do for her right now. You need to tell me what you saw."
-Just as Dick opened his mouth to speak he and Batman both heard a commotion coming from the direction of the dorm. They turned and saw 2 medical officers, covered by bright yellow ponchos, wheeling a stretcher out of the building with Barbara lying limply on the sheeted mattress with a giant regulator covering her mouth and nose. A third officer stood by with an umbrella trying to keep Barbara's unconscious body from getting soaked while being transported to the emergency vehicle.
-"GET OUT OF MY WAY, DAMMIT! THAT'S MY DAUGHTER!" shouted a male voice somewhere in the crowd. Batman and Dick both saw Commissioner Gordon plowing his way through the crowd, pushing and shoving and throwing aside anyone or anything in his way. When he reached Barbara he placed a trembling hand on her head as if it would somehow help her regain consciousness. One of the doctors took him by the arm and tried to lead him away so they could load her into the ambulance but he fought him every chance he could. A few more officers stepped in and they were able to successfully hold Gordon back as the medical doctors wheeled Barbara right past Dick and Batman. Dick could only gaze in heartbroken agony at the sight of Barbara lying motionless with absolutely no emotion in her face as she weakly inhaled oxygen through the regulator on her face.
-Gordon came running as fast as he could toward them. He grabbed Dick by the shoulders. "Dick! Please! I beg you! Tell me what happened to my daughter, please!" he frantically pleaded with tears pouring from his eyes. It was hard to distinguish the tears on Gordon's face from the raindrops racing down his cheeks but the pain in his eyes could not have been any clearer. Dick could not speak. He tightened his eyes shut as much as they would compress and began weeping. He shook his head and could only muster in a weak, scratchy whisper "I don't know".
-Gordon slammed Dick against the Ambulance. "What the hell do you mean 'You don't know'?! You tell me what happened to Barbara right now, or so help me-"
-"Jim!" Batman shouted. Gordon turned toward him. "I already talked to him. What you need to do is get in the ambulance with Barbara and stay by her side." Batman turned his attention to Dick. "Dick, I want you to go with Gordon. I'll rendezvous with you back at the hospital".
-One of the doctors overheard the conversation. "Eh, sorry pal, strict policy: only family members are allowed to ride with patients. The kid's gonna have to-" Gordon grabbed the doctor by the collar of his coat. "Listen you, I'm the commissioner, that's my daughter, and that kid saw what happened to my daughter. He comes with me, understand?" The doctor nodded his head nervously and Gordon released him and the doctor ran to the ambulance. Gordon then dropped his head down in despair. Batman came up to him and placed a hand on his shoulder.
-"I'll help any way I can. But the only way we can save her is if we both keep our heads clear and stay by her as long as it takes." Gordon nodded weakly. "Come on" Batman said leading Gordon by the hand to the ambulance. Gordon stepped inside first. Before Dick stepped in he turned and looked at Batman with sheer worry in his eyes.
-"She's going to pull through. At this point the doctors can do more for her than any of us."
-Dick nodded. He stepped inside the ambulance, closed the door, and it sped out of the driveway blaring its sirens. When the ambulance was out of view, Batman slowly walked toward a tree. His mind was riddled with devastation and anger. How could this happen? How could this HAPPEN? I took her under my wing promising I would protect her. She trusted me. Jim trusted me. And when his daughter needed me, I wasn't there…just like I wasn't there for my parents. Batman clenched his fists as a loud flash of lightening filled the sky. In one violent swing he punched a hole inside the tree.
MEANWHILE…
-In one violent swing Alice punched a hole inside of her heavy bag. She wore a grey sports bra and a pair of long, black sweatpants. Her body was dripping with sweat but she continued to strike at the heavy bag in a warrior pose as Sinead O' Connor's I Want Your (Hands On Me) played from an old record player in the corner of the room. As the song drew to a close Alice began punching around the bag as it spun in the air and finished with a violent kick that broke the bag in half. Alice then brought her hands together in a prayer position, closed her eyes, and took a deep breathe in through her nose before letting out a long exhale. When Alice opened her eyes she was gazing straight at her reflection in a mirror on the far side the wall and was pleased with what she saw. "Fuckin A", she said with a smile.
-There was a knock on the door. "Alice? You in there?" Harley called from the other side of the door. Alice shut off her music.
-"Yeah, come on in Harley." The door opened and Harley stepped inside wearing a white fabric bathrobe that went down just past her upper thighs, her hair had been dyed back to its thick black and red color, her makeup was fully applied and covered the bruises on her body, and her lips had been given a thick patch of black lipstick. When she saw the broken punching bag on the ground she stopped and her eyes widened in surprise as they wandered back and forth from Alice to the bag.
-"I think your bag's dead," Harley stated awkwardly.
-"Nah, it's taken worse beatings. You're looking fabulous this evening. Did you find everything okay?"
-"Oh God, yes! Thank you, I feel like a human being again!"
-Something about Harley's words did not sit right with Alice but she was glad Harley was feeling better.
"Oh, yeah, um, the bathroom's all yours' now. I even left you some hot water."
-"Thank you. Perfect timing too. I just finished up my workout, as you can see…" Alice said motioning toward the bag, "…I probably smell like cheeseburger meat."
-"Really?" Harley asked enthusiastically. She quickly walked up to Alice and ordered her to "Stand still". Alice didn't even have time to respond because Harley was on her almost instantly sniffing down her arms, shoulders, and hair. Alice was a bit shocked at the action, but mostly because she did not know how to react. "No, you smell more like…like…" Haley took a long whiff of Alice's hair "Cigarettes! Oh, stinkeroni!" Harley opened her eyes and saw the awkward expression on Alice's face. "Oh! I'm sorry Alice! Sometimes I just-"
-"A bit touchy-feely, are we?"
-"I'm awful sorry! It's a force of habit. I just can't help myself. Sometimes I need to use other senses besides 'sight' to get a clear picture, and 'touch', 'taste', and 'smell' are the ones I like the most. Please don't be mad! I just naturally do stuff like that when I'm around someone I like!" Harley pleaded.
-"I'm not mad. I just wasn't expecting it, that's all. You're fine, really, just give me some warning next time".
-"Okay! I'm gonna hug you now!" Harley warned before quickly taking Alice in a tight bear hug.
-"Oh, Harley! Don't, I'm filthy!" Alice said giggling.
-"Yeah, I know, but filth never looked so good on anyone."
-"OH! You are such a sweet-heart!"
-"Thanks," Harley said as she released Alice. "You may wanna give the cigs some thought though. Them things'll kill you ya know."
-"Tell me about it", Alice said rolling her eyes. She looked back at Harley. "Tell you what, kido, why don't you go make yourself at home in the living room? I got movies down there and I'll come down and join you as soon as I wash all this funk off me".
-"K! Don't wait too long though!" Harley exclaimed happily as she danced out of the door. Alice couldn't help but chuckle to herself.
-About 30 minutes later Alice had stepped out of the bathroom wearing a white bathrobe like Harley's. She could hear Harley downstairs laughing like a hyena. Alice chuckled to herself. "What is she watching down there?"
-Alice descended the stairs smiling with curiosity to see what could have possibly shifted Harley's mood so greatly since she had picked her up off the street. However, when she reached the bottom of the stairs and heard a line spoken from the film, "Hi Alice! Wish you were here!", her smile faded.
-"Hey Alice, come over here! This is hilarious!" Harley called to her patting an empty spot on the sofa inviting her to come sit with her. The "movie" Harley was watching was actually a home video with four teenagers (one male and three females) palling around in the grass by a large fountain. There was a nerdy African American girl with big glasses and an inhaler, a tough looking girl with long, curly brown hair who wore accessories stubbed with spikes, a blonde girl who had giant bags under her eyes, and a young greaser looking boy who was the blonde's girlfriend.
-Alice starred at the TV in mute silence. It had been years since she had seen this video. She just could never work up the nerve to do it. Alice could feel her emotions slipping away. She did not want Harley to see her cry.
-"I…I…I have to use the restroom" Alice said with a shaky voice. She turned and speed walked up the stairs. Harley watched her and suddenly her happiness was replaced with a feeling of concern.
-"Was it something I said?" she asked herself. Harley got up and made her way to the stairs. She stopped at the bottom of the staircase and called "Alice?" There was no reply. She made her way up the stairs. "Alice, are you alright? Come out and talk to me, please." As Harley made her way down the hallway she peered inside of room a room that had the door cracked a tiny bit to see if Alice was inside. Instead she found a giant flower display with roses, gardenias, petunias, and a heart shaped wreath with a message that read "THE MASTER OF DREAMS YOUR SOULS WILL KEEP". Right in front of the wreath was what appeared to be a thick notebook that was covered by the flowers that had been placed around it. Harley approached the notebook, and taped on the cover was a group photo of Alice along with the 4 teens from the video. The notebook was filled with dozens of photographs taken of Alice and the four teens throughout their childhood all the way up to their late teens. Suddenly, Harley was struck by the realization of why Alice walked out. "Oh God," Harley whispered to herself, "Alice".
-Alice scooped up a handful of water from her bathroom sink and splashed it over her face. She hoped the cold water would ease her emotions or, at the very least, mask her tears from Harley. "Come on Alice. Keep it together, just for tonight. That girl's just been through hell and you need to be strong for her," She silently pleaded to herself.
-"Alice" called a voice from the doorway. Alice turned and saw Harley standing in the doorway with concern filling her eyes.
-"Oh, hey Harley" Alice said trying to keep her voice from shaking.
-"Are you okay?" Harley asked.
-"Yeah, um…I just um…felt kind of light headed and I needed to splash some water on my face. Go back down stairs, Harley; I'll be back in a sec-" Alice was cut off when Harley brought her arm out from behind the wall and held the notebook in front of Alice. Alice gasped and fell silent. Harley slowly entered the bathroom and placed the notebook gently on the countertop.
-"Alice, I'm so sorry" Harley said with every once of sincerity she could muster. Alice's voice was caught in her throat and the inside of it felt like it was being squeezed really tight. She knew she was going to break. She could already feel the tears forming in her eye.
-Harley held her arms out wide open and motioned Alice toward her. "Come here, Alice". Those words seemed to break whatever little resistance Alice had over her tears. Her face tensed, her eyes shut tightly, and a sob was let loose from her mouth. She threw herself in Harley's arms and grasped her as tightly as Harley had done her when they sat on the sidewalk. Alice's pain was no longer under any restraint. Her face was buried against Harley's shoulder and she cried in silent but erratic weeps. The tears ran down her face like a waterfall and Harley could feel the warm, salty droplets soak onto her bare skin. Harley wrapped one arm around Alice's upper back while her other hand gently stroked Alice's long hair.
-"Don't you ever even think that being strong for someone means never showing your true feelings. Believe me, it does things to you."
-After a while Alice slowly calmed down. Harley stopped stroking Alice's hair and rested her hand on the back of Alice's head and pressed it firmly against her chest just under her rested her cheek on top of Alice's scalp and slowly rocked her back forth. Harley never thought that in a situation like this she would be the one offering comfort, especially to someone as physically strong as Alice. Usually it was Red who did stuff like this for her.
-What would be the next thing Red would do in this situation? Oh yeah.
-"You wanna talk about it?"
Alice nodded slowly. Harley smiled down on her.
-After a short time Alice and Harley were sitting back on the couch with the room lit by a single lamp on the side of the couch. After Alice calmed herself, she had told Harley about the tragedy that struck her all those years ago. She told her about how she lost her brother, her fiancé, her teenage son, and all of her friends. She told Harley how she could barely keep her emotions in check and how she would look for fights with common thugs and criminals. She told Harley about how she almost became everything she despised because her anger nearly consumed her. She had pretty much spilled all of her emotions and weaknesses to the Clown Queen of Crime.
-It became apparent to Harley that Alice's worst fear was becoming like her. This thought saddened her. What would Alice think of her if she knew the truth? Would she throw her back in Arkham? Would she hand her over to Batman? Would she still want to be friends? The last question was the one she feared the most. And it started to make Harley wonder if she really was as evil as everyone claimed she was. Maybe if I try and help Alice, she won't think I'm evil. Maybe she'll even want to be friends if I tell her about Mista J and me.
-"If you want, Alice, I'll sit and watch the video with you. If you laugh I'll laugh with you. If you cry I'll cry with you. If you get angry I'll get angry with you. I find even the most depressing of situations to be somewhat enjoyable when you have someone with you to share it with". Alice looked up at Harley and smiled at her. Alice nodded her head, her face saying "Thank you, Harley".
In the video, the tough looking girl asked the greaser, in a joking tone, what exactly it was that he puts in his hair as the group lay beside the fountain. Alice gave a faint smile at the remark. There was a scene where the greaser was lying on his back like he was sleeping and the blonde girl tried to hit his crotch with a mallet only to have him spring awake and greet her with "HALO BAAYBA!" which caused Harley to cling to her sides as tears filled her eyes from the laughter.
-Harley and Alice both sat on the couch giggling. Alice actually felt a sense of happiness from hearing her friends' voices and seeing them alive again and she was able to smile and chuckle and even laugh a bit at the video while Harley laughed like she was watching a quirky sitcom. However, she would constantly shift her eyes on Alice to see if she showed signs that she could no longer take it.
-The blonde and the greaser approached the fountain and each of them tossed in a coin. "Aw shit, I don't have any change. Hey, Sheila can you help out a poor girl in need" The tough girl said to the nerdy girl, who was now holding the camera.
-"Sorry, Debbie I used mine up last week".
-"Oh yeah, what did you wish for?"
-"Don't tell her, Sheila", the blonde girl said, "or else it won't come true".
-"It already didn't", Shelia replied putting the camera back on Debbie "I wished Deb over here would give 'Dynasty' a rest, but we all know that's not gonna happen". Debbie playfully stuck her tongue out at the camera, making a face at it.
-"Alright, Supergirl, I'll spot you on this one since I'm such a nice guy" the greaser said to Debbie handing her a penny.
-"Rick, you rock", she said, "See that, Sheila? Rick knows how to treat a lady. And someday I am going to find you-" Suddenly Debbie screamed in terror and dropped the penny having just noticed it had a tiny fake spider glued to the back of it. As Debbie swore at Rick and tackled him to the ground and the 2 wrestled like a couple of children without a care in the world Harley and Alice both busted out laughing
-The blonde girl spoke. "Alright, well Alice, I'm making this last wish for you. It's a bummer you couldn't be here with us today but just know you're like a sister to us-"
-"She is my sister" Rick said while on the ground.
-"Don't remind her," Debbie said while still on top of him.
-"We all love you", the blonde girl continued, "and we all wish you the happiest of days". The blonde then tossed her coin in the fountain.
-"Wow, you have such wonderful friends Alice". Harley told her as her laughter subsided.
-"Yeah, I sure did".
-"I wish I had friends like that".
-Alice turned to Harley. "What kind of friends do you have?"
-"Well, except for Mista J and this woman named 'Red', I really don't have any friends. In fact, I don't think I ever had friends".
-"Were you shy of people? I can totally relate to that. If it weren't for my brother, I would have been completely alone, probably up until 7th grade when I met Sheila. The only reason I was able to talk to her was because we had matching personalities".
-"You were a nerd?" Harley asked surprised. Alice raised an eyebrow (not angrily).
- "Not that there's anything wrong with that! It's just, I never would have taken you-"
-"It's alright, Harley, I know. Sometimes I can't believe it either".
-Harley sighed in relief. "But, to answer your question, no: I was not shy, quite the opposite, actually. I would have loved to socialize and be as close to everyone as I possibly could."
-"So why didn't you?" Alice asked.
-"My mother," Harley said with a tone of resentment, "My mother never let me have a life of my own. After my dad left her alone with my deadbeat brother and me she took all of her anger out on me. Even though I was four years old at the time, she forced me to focus all of my time on books, studying, and work. If I strayed to anything that didn't fall in those categories she would go ape shit: "OMG! Why don't you just leave now! Go be a bum, like your bastard father and your brother! You're never going mount to anything!" Harley exclaimed in a mocking tone.
-"Oh boy", Alice said, "Do I know how that feels. After my mom died, my dad made friends with the bottle and everything was my fault after that. I never cooked right, I never dressed right, and I never dreamed right according to him. He completely destroyed my self esteem and that made me incredibly socially awkward among my peers, hence why I was so shy".
-"Same here", Harley continued, "By the time all my peers were forming cliques, relationships, and police records I was being kept a prisoner in my home. My mom home schooled me and hardly ever let me out of the house. I thought things would get better when I went to college, but they didn't. I had no idea how to interact with people and they avoided me, ridiculed me, or tried to take advantage of me. My senior year of college I had discovered a fascination with psychology, particularly with the criminal mind. I decided to intern at Arkham, and that's when I met Mista J".
-"Mister J?" Alice asked confused.
-"Well, his real name is 'Joker' but I give all the special people in my life super cute, super exclusive nicknames that only I can call them. Would you like a nickname?"
-"Oh, sure! Wow, I've already become someone special in your life?" Alice asked flattered.
-"Yeup. Did I here you say your last name is 'Johnson'?"
-"That's right…"
-"From this day forward, you will be known as 'Mises J'." Then Harley clapped her hands together rapidly while whisper cheering.
-Alice chuckled. "So…tell me more about my husband, Mista J, I mean Joker". Alice said remembering "Mista J" was for Harley's use only.
-Harley sighed romantically, "He was the smartest, cutest, funniest, and most charming angel I ever met…he was the only one I ever met, but still. And our backstories were almost completely identical: he was raised by a single parent who abused him when he tried to be happy and funny and joyful and he never had a childhood".
-Harley's tone grew angry. "And now all he wants is to make the world laugh; to find his way in a world who just doesn't get the joke. But that creep Batman always beats him to a bloody pulp, locks him up in Arkham like a frightened puppy in the pound, and tries to come between my Puddin and me. And…and…"
-"You released the side of you that you'd suppressed since childhood. You fully embraced the real you".
-"Exactly!" Harley said excitedly.
-"And how's that working out for you?"
-Harley opened her mouth to respond but stopped short before she could answer. As she thought, she realized that since then she had been a failure to the only person who ever showed her any love. She wound up on the streets cold, broken, and scared. What had she to show for it all? She was a nothing; a loser.
-"I…well I…I don't know" Harley said defeated.
-Alice took Harley by the hand. "I want to show you something".
-Alice brought Harley upstairs to the room where she destroyed her heavy bag and took her in front of the mirror she looked in. She turned Harley toward it so that they were both looking at each other's reflection.
-Alice remembered Harley's remark "I feel like a human being again" and saw that she was trying to avert her eyes from the reflection."Harley, what do you see when you look at yourself?"
-"My reflection."
-"No, no. I mean, how do you see yourself? What is your interpretation of you?"
-Harley looked uneasy. "I…Well Mista J-"
-"I don't care what 'Mista J' sees; I asked what you see".
-Harley looked in the mirror but could not stand the sight. She had never actually thought about what she thought of herself; all that mattered was what her Puddin thought of her. And he thought she was a worthless, pathetic, stupid, ugly piece of trash (but he still loved her!). But if that's not what Alice wanted to hear, maybe she could tell her what society saw her as. It was, after all, not far from the truth. "I'm…I'm a monster. I'm dangerous. I'm a certified nutso wanted by the law in 12 states. And…and…and that's it. I'm the worst thing on this planet", Harley said with despair.
-"Alice…there's something you need to know about me-"
-"I already know, Harleen". Harley was shocked at hearing Alice use the name she had abandoned long ago. She jerked her head toward Alice with her eyes wide and mouth agape. "Dr. Leland already told me everything, and you're still in our filing system".
-Harley was at a loss for words. She knew this whole time, and she was still so kind to me?
-Alice gently turned Harley's head back toward the mirror.
-"All those photos in the notebook used to cover this entire mirror" Alice exclaimed, "because I could never stand looking at the reflection. I would hide it behind my friends and family. But as each of them died I took down the pictures because I knew that I would never be able to hide behind them again. It wasn't until after Rick died that I understood something that my friend Sheila had told me: 'Mind over Matter'".
-"What does that mean?" Harley asked genuinely curious.
-"It means that no matter what people say something physically is, what matters is what you believe it is. Everyone, even my own father, told me that I was a loser, a nobody. And so that's what I saw myself as. But when I saw my reflection for the first time in years, I could not have been more proud of what I saw: the "loser" turned out to be a badass who became stronger through tragedy".
-"But doesn't it still hurt?" Harley asked.
-"Of course. It never stops hurting. All of the physical pain in the world wouldn't even hold a candle to the pain of losing someone you love. But while most people would see a tragedy like that as the end of a story, I saw it as the end of mine at first, but now I see it as my beginning."
-"Mind over Matter!" Harley exclaimed like she finally understood.
-"Exactly". Alice replied. Then she turned back to Harley and cupped the side of her face in the palm of her hand motioning Harley to face her.
-"Harley, whatever people may have said you were in the past, whether it was true or not, as far as I'm concerned, if you're capable of showing fear, thinking about other people's feelings, comforting people when they're in pain, staying by their side and laughing with them to make them feel better, taking an interest in someone's well being other than yours', and admitting your faults and your past mistakes, then you're nothing more or less than what I am: a victim, a human being".
-Harley felt like the air had been sucked right out of her lungs. The only time she had ever felt happiness like this was when she was with Mista J. She never thought anyone could be this selfless, especially not to someone like her. She felt like every bit of happiness she had lost over the past week had just returned in one giant mass. "That is…the nicest thing anyone has ever said to me! Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!" She screamed before tackling Alice down on the floor and giving her a long, giant kiss on the side of her cheek. Alice laughed as she felt Harley's lips press deep onto the side of her face. When she retracted her lips Harley left a giant, black lip print in the shape of a heart on Alice's cheek. Harley's face hovered about an inch over the back of Alice's head and she started sniffing her hair. "Oh Alice! You're hair smells so nice! What is that?"
-"I don't know!" Alice said through her giggles, "Why don't you take another whiff?" Harley obeyed and nestled her head deep into Alice's hair to the point where she was touching Alice's neck.
-"Oh!" Alice yelped, "Harley, be careful, I'm ticklish!"
-"Ohhhhh, are you Misses J?" Harley responded mischievously with a devious grin.
-"Oh God, please have mercy!" But Harley dug her nails into Alice's side causing her to buck her hips and squirm as she cackled like a hyena, which, in turn, made Harley do the same thing. The 2 may have been victims in the past, but in that moment, they could never have been happier.