Nightmare in Arkham
Chapter 9: "The Lead"
-Selina Kyle sat on the couch in her living room with Isis curled up in her lap. She had decided to call it an early night, for she was completely satisfied with the amount of excitement she had: seeing Alice kick some ass, humiliating Batgirl, breaking into Arkham, and outsmarting Poison Ivy was a hell of a lot more than what she was expecting. Now it was time to relax at home while her leg wound continued to heal.
-As she was flipping through the channels on her television she found nothing of interest to watch. So she decided to turn to the one show that she knew would at least keep her attention: the evening news. She was sure to at least see her Arkham misadventure (and what fun it would be to see the look on Ivy's face from her own TV). However, the story being broadcasted was much bigger than Selina's little break in.
-Summer Gleason stood outside of Gotham's medical center with a microphone help up just beneath her chin. "A tragedy tonight here in Gotham as one of its local residents has been brutally attacked in her sleep," A picture of Barbara Gordon appeared on the screen, "At around 11:00 pm tonight, 25 year old Barbara Gordon, who is the daughter of the police commissioner Jim Gordon, was found inside of her dorm room at Gotham university with what seem to be four stab wounds inside of her back. She is still alive but in extreme critical condition."
-"Oh my God," Selina said to herself in disbelief.
-"As of yet, no suspects have been named in the incident but there was one piece of evidence found at the crime scene." A picture of the red and green cloth appeared on the screen, "This torn article of fabric, which is believed to be a part of the suspect's clothing, was recovered by the police after it was found clutched in Barbara's fist. Anyone with information regarding the owner of this cloth, or who may have information regarding the cloth itself, is advised to contact this number at-" Selina paused the video with her TiVo remote.
-"There's no way…" Selina said to herself as she slowly got up off the couch. Isis moved to the cushion next to her. As Selina walked to the screen she stared in disbelief at what she was seeing. No, there's no way it could be him. Selina thought to herself. But the longer she stared at the cloth the more familiar it looked to her. It looked exactly like the sweater that monster from her dream was wearing. She'd recognize it anywhere after that night. And then Gleason's words, "4 stab wounds", rung inside of her head. She remembered the claw that thing used on her in her dream.
-Selina looked down at her leg, which was covered by a thick, white bandage. Despite the thick layers of tissue covering her scars, the blood underneath still showed through. It showed the full outline of the 4 slashes beneath her dressing. Selina looked back at the cloth and this time she was not so sure of her remark. She changed out of her nightgown, put on her coat, and headed out the door.
MEANWHILE…
-"And you're sure that's all you saw?" Batman asked Dick Grayson as he sat slumped in a chair in the hospital break room.
-"Yes. I swear" Dick said with a mixture of frustration and fear "It happened almost instantaneously. I left her for no more than 5 minutes and when I came back she was sleeping peacefully, like she was when I left, then suddenly she just jolted up gasping like the air had been sucked out of her".
-"And that's when you saw the wounds in her back?"
-"Yes"
-"And you saw no one exiting the room when you returned? No signs of forced entry? Nobody suspicious walking the halls?"
-"No. Everything was just as it was when I left".
-"And you didn't hear any screaming or sounds of a struggle?"
-"No".
-"Did Barbara say anything to you that seemed out of the ordinary prior to the incident?"
-Dick paused. He sat silently for a moment, thinking. "Before we went back to the dorm…"
-"Yes?" Batman asked.
-"…she told me she had been having nightmares about children saying that someone was 'coming for her'".
-"Who?"
-"I don't know. Barbara wasn't even too sure about the name"
-"Did she have a description of the person?"
-"No."
-"Dick, this isn't getting us anywhere."
-"Well what do you want me to say?" Dick exclaimed angrily "You think I like the fact that my girlfriend has just been paralyzed and I don't know how it happened? I want to kill the bastard who did this! I want to burn him alive! I want to-"
-"Dick! Calm down. I know this is hard. And, believe me, I'm just as angry as you are. I want the person who's responsible for this to spend the rest of his life rotting. But we need a lead. We need something to point us in the right direction. Now are you sure there is nothing else?"
-Dick started to calm down. He fell silent and went back into deep thought. Then he remembered. "Right before Barbara blacked out, she tried to tell me to 'warn someone'. 'Warn Al'".
-"Warn Al?" Batman asked.
-"That's what it sounded like".
-Batman stood up. "Alright Dick, I'm going to go check on her right now. In the meantime I want you to think hard. Maybe sometime alone will help you clear your head".
-Batman slowly turned and walked out of the room. Dick sat in the chair with his forehead resting in the palms of his hands. "Warn Al. Warn Al" he repeated to himself trying to make sense of it.
-As Batman exited the room he heard a female voice call his name. He turned around and saw Selina Kyle walking up to him.
-"Selina, well this is a surprise".
-"I heard about Barbara. How is she?"
-"Stable, for the moment," Batman replied with a frown.
-"Is there any chance I could see her? It's really important".
-"I suppose so? But why?"
-"I need to see her wounds."
-Now Batman was really confused. "What is this about Se-"
-Selina put her face extremely close to Batman's and said very sternly "I might be able to help you. But I need to see the damage first".
Batman took Selina upstairs to an empty room. Harvey Bullock and two other cops stood inside the room with them. As Batman and the officers stood by silently, Selina sat at a small table peering at the crime scene photos. Eventually Selina came across the photo she had been hoping to see. The photo showed a close up of the four giant holes in the back region. Blood was oozing out of each of them like water trickling from a tilted cup. There were tiny pieces of flesh hanging off of the roof of some of the holes and fragments of bone were exposed on the one over the spine. The muscle was clearly visible in all four holes, especially in the ones in the center where the impact seemed to be the greatest. The holes themselves were all spaced about two inches apart and were only a few centimeters wide but what really struck Selina about them was how perfectly aligned they were.
-Selina turned to Batman.
-"On the news, they said that a red and green cloth was recovered at the crime scene. Do you or any of the officers have it with you."
-"We didn't find any cloth" one of the officers stated confused. He turned to Bullock. "What is she talking about?" Bullock just shrugged his shoulders
-Batman took out the bag he had given him and placed it on the table beside Selina. She picked up the bag and peered at the torn article inside. There was no denying it: this was the exact same piece of clothing from her dream.
-"What is this about, Selina?" Bullock asked annoyed.
-Selina placed her leg up on another chair and pulled up the sleeve of her pants revealing her scar. She then removed the bandage and exposed the raw, bloody slashes that looked almost as severe as Barbara's wounds. Bullock's eyes widened at the sight of it and he turned his head in disgust.
-"A few days ago, I had a dream where I was attacked by a man, this horribly disfigured man. He wore a red a red and green striped sweater and he had a glove that had 4 giant razor blades attached to the fingers. I fought him off, but he scratched my leg as I was doing so. And when I woke up I had this on my leg."
-"Did the man have a name?" Batman asked curiously.
-Selina was silent as she recalled the nursery rhyme the children sang.
-"Actually…I remember there were 3 children in the dream who did say a name."
-"Children?" Batman asked sounding even more interested in Selina's story.
-"Yeah. Right before I was attacked, there were three children singing this song that I guess was supposed to be a warning that he was approaching."
-Batman's eyes widened.
-"What was the man's name, Selina?" Batman asked seriously.
-Selina tried to remember the song. Batman and the officers kept their eyes focused on Selina awaiting her reply. Bullock rolled his eyes in frustration.
-"Alice!" a voice exclaimed from the doorway. Batman, Selina, and the officers turned and saw Dick Grayson standing in the doorway.
-"Warn Alice! That's what Barbara was trying to tell me. She probably meant the Alice at Arkham."
-Just then one of the officers' radios sounded and Officer Montoya's voice spoke from the other line.
-"Guys, get out here now! There's been a murder!"
-The officer immediately grabbed his radio. "Where at?"
-"Arkham Asylum. We have to move, now."
-Batman was the first to leave. He dashed out the room and down the hallway and the officers ran close behind. Bullock followed behind them, for his weight would not allow him to move very fast.
-Selina sat down in her chair and suddenly something clicked in her head. She stood up and ran as fast as she could with her hurt leg, leaving Dick behind standing in the doorway. She was hoping to catch Batman before he left but by the time she reached the lobby and headed outside he was already speeding down the street while the officers trailed behind.
Alice arrived at Arkham just as the body of Jervis Tetch was being wheeled away in a stretcher. Alice watched in sadness as the stretcher containing his body was loaded in an ambulance, the doors were slammed shut, a medical officer patted the back of the truck signaling he was free to go, and the ambulance sped away blaring its sirens.
-Alice entered the building and headed to the lounge where she knew Dr. Leland was waiting for her. When she opened the door the first thing she saw was the chess table, where the pieces were knocked over and the board was covered in blood. There was also a book that lay open on the table whose pages were also stained red with blood. Three officers stood by, taking pictures and examining the table for hidden evidence. Alice turned away from the table and saw Dr. Leland sitting on a couch next to it. She had both of her hands placed on her forehead as if she had a bad headache. Standing right in front of her was Batman. Alice was struck by a sudden feeling of confusion when she saw Batman. But as she stared at him she came to an unpleasant realization.
-Oh Great! Another 'hero' Alice thought to herself annoyed. Although she did notice this one seemed vastly more serious than the other one.
-Alice approached Batman and Dr. Leland and Batman turned his head to her. Alice froze in place as she peered into his vacant, ghost white eyes. She was not scared but felt uneasy as she met the Dark Knight's gaze. Dr. Leland soon noticed Batman was starring at something behind her and she turned her head to see what it was and saw Alice.
-"Oh Alice, thank God!" she said getting up off the couch.
-"Joan, what happened?"
-"I-I don't know. I left Jervis here for a few minutes to deal with a problem in the cellblocks and when I came back I saw that he had fallen asleep. I walked over and shook him to wake him up and then his head rolled right off the table."
-A chill ran through Alice's body. "Oh God, Joan. Do they know how it happened?"
-Dr. Leland shook her head.
-"That's what I was hoping you could help us with." Batman said.
-Dr. Leland turned to him. "Oh, Alice, this is Batman. He's our city's top detective."
-THIS is your top detective? Alice thought to herself in disbelief.
"Batman, this is-"
-"Dr. Johnson", Batman interrupted "I know. I've heard a lot about you. How you have a passion for helping those in need. Well, I need your help. And so do a lot of other people."
-Alice crossed her arms and raised an eyebrow preparing to hear the same bullshit she heard from Batgirl.
-Sensing Alice's thoughts, Batman turned to Dr. Leland and saw how her mind was full from the events of the evening.
-"You can go outside now. You've done enough. I'll take things from here."
-"Thank you, Batman," Dr. Leland said before stepping out of the room. Batman then turned back to Alice, whose expression had not changed.
-"Dr. Johnson, I know you don't agree with my methods. But right now someone's life is in danger. And many others might be as well. I want to do everything in my power to save them. But I need your help to do it. Will you at least hear me out?"
-Alice starred at Batman silently for a moment letting his words register in her mind. He seemed to be feeding her the same line Batgirl had fed her about her endangering innocent lives by her refusal to side with her. She could have asked him to show his face to her. To stop lying to everyone around him with his false identity that he was clearly only using to hide his own hypocrisy. But something about this one seemed different. Even though he was not being completely true by hiding himself it seemed his words, which was the only thing not hidden by his costume, were sincere. Then she remembered how she told Harley that admitting her faults is part of what made her human. This man did admit his faults, he spoke to her professionally rather than like an impersonator, he asked for her help rather than demanding it, and he seemed to genuinely care about the lives he was claiming he was trying to save. She nodded her head.
-The two sat down in a quite area and he told her about the attack on Barbara Gordon and the faint warning that she tried to pass on.
-"Why do you think she was referring to me?" Alice asked.
-"Well that's the problem. I don't know. But I have something that might answer that question."
-Batman reached behind his cape and took out the bag containing the cloth.
-"She was holding onto this when she was found. If it has any significance to you then maybe you could help me determine what she was trying to say." Alice picked up the bag and looked at the contents. At first she did not know what she was looking at but when it finally registered in her head her eyes widened and her entire body became tense.
-No. It can't be. Not after all this time. Okay, calm down. Maybe it's not what it looks like.
-"Dr. Johnson?"
-Alice turned her head to Batman. As he looked into her eyes he detected traces of fear.
-"Did you say that…Barbara had children in her dream?" She asked.
-"Yes…"
-Oh God. "Were the children, by any chance, skipping rope while singing?"
-Batman remembered Selina's story.
-"I was told they were singing, yes, and I actually heard from someone else who had a similar dream not too long ago. She told me the children were singing a song about someone 'coming for them'."
-Alice's heart was beginning to race. She dreaded the answer to the next question.
-"This person, the one who the children were singing about…" Alice froze and closed her eyes praying the answer would be no, "Was it a horribly burned man with a dirty brown hat and razors on his right hand?"
-Batman was surprised at how specific Alice was. But before could answer he was interrupted by someone calling to him
-"Yo Bats."
- Alice and Batman turned and saw Harvey Bullock standing in the doorway holding a donut in one hand and a donut box in the other.
-"That Selina chick stopped by and requested this be handed to you."
-He placed his donut on top of his box and reached into his coat pocket. He took out a piece of paper but as he took it out his donut slipped onto the floor.
-"Eh, 10 second rule," he said as he leaned down to retrieve it.
-However, as he reached down his box opened up and his donuts spilled onto the floor.
-"AH Com'n!" He exclaimed angrily. He dropped the paper on the floor and leaned over to retrieve his delectable treats. Alice rolled her eyes in disgust at Harvey's incompetence. She walked up to where the paper was dropped and picked it up herself.
-She started to walk back to the table but froze halfway when she looked at the paper. As Batman looked on, Alice's entire body began to quiver, her skin turned pale white, her eyes and mouth hung open in absolute horror, her breath was caught in her throat, and her heart began to beat so loudly that Batman could hear it from a few feet away.
-"No. No!" Tears began to run down Alice's cheeks. "NOOOO! Not again! It can't happen again!"
-Bullock jerked his head up in surprise and Batman stood up from the table and quickly started to make his way to Alice.
"Dr. Johnson! Dr. Johnson! Calm down!" He pleaded.
-"What they heck is wrong with her?" Bullock asked as he watched Alice without a clue as to what to do.
-Alice started screaming "Jervis! Jonathan Crane! My family! They were all-", suddenly, Alice froze again.
-"What is it Alice? Tell me!" Batman pleaded.
-"Okay, I'm gonna go get some help up here," Bullock said. But as he was leaving the room he noticed there was a donut he had missed. Alice broke free from Batman's grip and ran to the door. Unfortunately, she was so stricken with hysteria that she didn't notice Bullock bent over in the doorway and she tripped over him. Alice's head slammed against the wall and her vision started to blur away and she slipped out of consciousness.
-"Oh Man! Somebody, get a medic up here!" Bullock called running down the hall.
-Batman looked at the ground and noticed the paper lying just beside him. He picked it up and written on it was his lead. It was just one, single word: "FREDDY".