Nightmare in Arkham
Chapter 14: "Breakthrough"-Part 1
-By now, Barbara Gordon's emotions had been shattered. She had watched everyone and everything she ever cared about die around her in a nightmare pool of blood and fire. She was ready to submit. Even death seemed like it would provide a massive relief from this suffering. Because now, all Barbara could do was close her eyes. Otherwise, she would be forced to gaze upon Gotham City as it now lay in ruins. The bodies of the people Barbara had fought so hard to protect were scattered all around and whenever she would look in their eyes, she would see the same pleading fear that she knew was etched onto her own face. She couldn't scream anymore, she was too emotionally strained to do so, and there wasn't much use anyway. So now she just calmly and despairingly begged, "Kill me, please. Just end it. I'm ready to die." A tear slowly ran down her face.
In the real world Batman was outside of Barbara's room in an argument with Alice.
-"What do you mean 'we can't give her the Hypnocil?'"
-"Exactly what I said," Alice said bluntly, "Look, believe me, I wish it were that easy, but you have no idea what kind of harm that drug can do if it's taken the wrong way."
-"Can it do any more harm than what that dream stalker's doing to-"
-"Shhhh! Keep your voice down" Alice whispered, "And yes, believe it or not, it can. This drug is actually illegal in some parts of the country because of what it does when it's taken wrong, like when the person is already dreaming for example"
-Batman closed his mouth and decided to let Alice explain. "When this drug is taken while the user is still awake, it works like any other sleep medication. But if it's slipped into someone while they're already asleep; it doesn't just kill the dream from the inside: it kills the brain as well. Meaning Barbara will spend the rest of her life like this" Alice motioned to Barbara's unconscious body from the doorway.
-Batman was dismayed. Then, she'll be in pain no matter which option we take. "So what do we do?"
-"There's only one thing we can do: We have to drag her out of the dream world. That's the only chance she has. When I saw him in the dream world, he told me he was 'saving her for last'. And he has quite a large hit list".
-"Who else is he targeting?"
-"Me, you, my patients, and her."
-"So how do we find him?"
-"Oh trust me, he'll find us. And when he does, we find Barbara."
-Alice looked up and her eyes caught sight of someone slowly walking toward them. Batman noticed and turned around to see Gordon slowly making his way toward Barbara's room. He stared straight ahead but didn't seem like he was actually looking at anything. His expression was filled with worry and his eyes filled with fatigue.
-"Her dad?" Alice whispered to Batman, who nodded.
-When Gordon made it to the door he slowly walked past Batman and Alice, he didn't even seem to be aware of their presence. They watched Gordon as he slowly turned toward his daughter as he walked past the foot of her bed and took a seat beside her. Then, he kept his eyes fixed on Barbara as if anticipating her to awaken at any given second.
-Alice entered the room and slowly made her way toward Gordon, keeping her eyes on him and his daughter the whole way. Alice stopped right beside Gordon and stared down at Barbara. After a few moments of silence, Alice said to Gordon, "From what Batman's told me, you have quite an amazing daughter, Mr. Gordon". Gordon didn't respond but gave a faint nod.
-"I know what you're feeling. I had a son named Jacob a long time ago" Alice took out a small picture from her coat pocket and held it in front of Gordon. In the picture, a younger Alice was shown smiling to the camera with her arms wrapped around a smiling, eight–year-old boy with thick brown hair. "He was the best experience of my entire life. But then one day" Alice fell silent. She closed her eyes and swallowed the memory. "Well, your kid's different. Your kid's still alive. And that means she still has a fighting chance for a breakthrough. Don't lose hope on her. From what your friend's told me about her, she would fight to the bitter end. And I'm sure that's what she'd want you to do as well".
-After a long silence Gordon finally spoke, "Ya know, Dr. Johnson, you remind me so much of her: you have the same hope and optimism that got her as far as she's gone these past 25 years. And if that's true, Jacob was lucky to have you as a mother".
-Alice smiled at Gordon and placed a hand on his shoulder. "Thank you" she said. Alice then looked at her watch to check the time. Her group meeting at Arkham was only an hour away. She thought it best to start making her way back so as not to be late. She turned to the door, expecting to see Batman, but he had disappeared. Alice was stunned; she didn't even hear him walk away.
-"He tends to do that a lot", Gordon said to her, almost hinting a touch of humor in his voice.
Alice sat inside of a large room in Arkham Asylum. There was a big circle of empty chairs that stood around her. Alice's chair was the one closest to the exit in case any of the patients decided to cause her any harm. Meanwhile, Dr. Leland would be sitting inside of a separate room with cameras that monitored each individual patient and allowed her to see which one was ready to attack. Then, with a push of a button, she could send a team of guards down to the room and have the patient restrained before any serious harm could be done to Alice.
-As Alice was sitting in her chair, she heard the door open behind her. She turned around and saw Harley entering the room.
-"Hey Harl" Alice said with a smile, "You're early".
-"Yeah, I know, I wanted to be sure I could grab a chair next to you"
-Alice patted the first chair to her left, allowing Harley to have a seat, "We'll come on over and get comfy".
-As Harley took her seat, Dr. Leland watched from her cameras. She was both fascinated and happy with how much of an impact Alice had made on Harley. Out of all of the inmates littering Arkham, the one that Dr. Leland always had the most hope for saving was Harley. This was mostly because she was Harley's mentor when she first interned as Arkham and felt the 2 of them were starting to become friends…until the Joker happened. After Harley Quinn was born, Dr. Leland had all but given up any hope that Harleen Quinzel would ever return. But after a few years, Dr. Leland realized that if she couldn't bring Harleen back, maybe she could make Harley a better person. She almost succeeded until a misunderstanding over a dress caused her to fall back into her routine. But now Alice had come along and made more progress with Harley in one night than any of the doctors had in years. "It looks like there's hope for you yet, kid", she said with a smile.
-Dr. Leland watched Harley and Alice talk and giggle like a pair of BFFs gossiping at the mall for about 15 minutes before a guard entered the room announcing the arrival of the other inmates. Her smile faded.
"Show time," Alice said aloud.
-As Harley and Alice looked on, Penguin, Two-Face, Riddler, and Killer Croc stepped into the room. As they passed Alice, she noticed them looking at her out of the corner of their eyes before taking their seats in the chairs across from her and Harley. Harley glared at them angrily. Then Alice heard a loud footstep from behind and when she turned around there was a hulking giant that stood almost seven feet tall with bulging muscles entering the room.
-"Hello Dorrance," Alice said to him.
-The hulking man smiled at her and in a thick, South American accent replied, "The pleasure is all mine, Dr. Johnson."
-After he took his seat Harley whispered to Alice, "I thought his name was Bane".
-"I like to address my patients by their real names, if they don't protest against it".
-After Bane came in, the guards wheeled in giant glass containment. The inside of the containment had ice cycles frozen to the ceiling and it was visibly freezing. The containment had a venting system that controlled the temperature inside and right now it was set to subzero. There was also a small megaphone on top of the containment that allowed the person inside to communicate with the people outside. The person inside was a tall, bald man with icy blue skin.
-"Good afternoon, Victor".
-"What's good about it?" He asked in a robotic voice
-"Ok, well, is this everyone?" Alice asked
-"Not quite" said the guard, "We had a little escapee brought back to us last night".
-As Alice looked at the door and Poison Ivy casually strolled into the room.
-"Red!"
-That's Red? Alice thought to herself, More like Green. This must be the plant woman. Alice starred in utter amazement at Poison Ivy's supernatural appearance. She looked like something straight out of a science fiction movie.
-"Red, come sit over here. That way I can sit between my two bestest friends!" Harley said motioning her to the empty seat to her left.
-Poison Ivy smiled at her. Then she turned her gaze back to Alice and saw her starring at her dumbfounded.
-"You keep starring at me like that, I'm gonna have to start charging you extra" She said bluntly.
-"Oh, right, um," Alice looked at her roster "You must be…Pamela Isley. That's a really pretty name".
-"That name is dead to me" Poison Ivy replied, "The name's Poison, Poison Ivy. And trust me: you don't want me under your skin," she said with her eyes narrowed on Alice.
-"Geez, Red, lighten up. She's just trying to be nice," Harley said to her.
-"Yeah, yeah, let's just get this over with", Poison Ivy said taking her seat next to Harley.
-"Alright, Miss Johnson, just call us if you need anything", the guard said as he closed the door.
-Alice turned back to her patients. "So, how is everyone doing today?"
-"About the same as the past few years" Two-Face said, "Miserable, angry, and on the brink of losing our minds."
-"I'm assuming you've all heard about the events of last night".
-"Heard about it?" Riddler asked, "I barely got any sleep because of it".
-That's really nice "If any of you have any thoughts, words, feelings, anything that you'd like to express regarding the incident, feel free to do so. I know this isn't an easy thing for some of you."
-None of the inmates said anything.
-"I'll start" Harley spoke up, "Jervis was such a charming man. He was funny, polite, a true gentleman. And when I found out today that not only he had pasted away, but the good Dr. Crane as well, I felt sick to my stomach. I remember how I would say hello to Dr. Crane whenever I'd pass him up, whether it be in the lunchroom, on our way back to our cell, or when Batman was hauling one of our sorry butts back into Arkham. But I guess, in a way, it's kind of a good thing. I know neither of them would have wanted to live without each other. And now, they're both together forever, in a much better place, out of Arkham, away from Gotham, maybe even in their own private wonderland".
-The other inmates remained silent with the exception of Penguin. Penguin blew into a handkerchief and tearfully replied "Beautiful, miss Quinzel, simply beautiful! Not even the great John Donne could have written such a heartfelt Valediction Forbidding Mourning".
-"Oswald" Alice said, "Do you have any fond memories regarding Jervis and Jonathan?"
-"Well, Dr. Johnson, I cannot say that I was very close to either of them. But I can most certainly relate my past youth, as well as my current endeavors, to those of our fellow friends. I know how Jonathan must have felt in his youth: lonely, bitter, and constantly tormented by the physicality of his being, never knowing friendship or love, only cruelty and ridicule. And Jervis, our hopeless romantic. I know how it feels to strive to be a true gentleman, how one must feel when they've finally found the one. The one who loves you for who you are, the one who makes you feel that the cold, bitter society you've loathed since childhood, may very well have reserved a secret paradise for you alongside your dearly beloved," Penguin's tone turned resentful, "Only to find that it was all just another one of life's cruel jokes in which you were the punch line".
-Harley gasped silently after hearing Penguin's speech.
-"All I wanted from her was a little friendship. That would have cost nothing, not a dime, but I should have known she never truly loved me. For who could ever love a beast?"
*-"Hurts, doesn't it? But there's just one part of your sob story that ain't no exaggeration for me: I am a beast!" Killer Croc snapped resentfully, "You sit over there bitching and moaning about being mocked by your appearance. Well get a good look at me, bird boy" He said holding his arms out displaying his entire reptilian physique. "Ya think I wanted to be born a monster? Ya think I never wanted to know what love was? I mean hell, you're rich, I live in the goddamned sewers. Society may have shit in your face when you were a kid but they still shit in my face, and in my own home!"
-Penguin glared at Killer Croc, "Yes, well, you have much of yourself to blame for how people look at you".
-"What the fuck did you just say?!"
-"You heard me. At least I actually tried to fit into society, even after the way it treated me. And you know what, I actually did gain more out of it than I was expecting. I actually went semi-straight and I was able to open up my own establishment and earn an honest living. And I even met some very respectable people in the process who didn't mock me. If I remember correctly, Croc, you even had a chance to go straight. I heard all about your escape into the forest and how those sideshow creatures took you in. If you had just taken that opportunity you wouldn't even be sitting here with us. But, from what I heard, you turned on them just as quickly as you would have anyone else".
-"I was being myself!"
-"So you're saying you're just as ugly on the inside as on the outside?" Alice asked. Killer Croc froze and turned to her. "Don't you see, it's not your appearance that's making people fear and hate you, it's your actions?"
-"I don't think I remember asking your opinion, doc".
-"Oh well, you got it. And it's not my opinion; it's the facts of life. You claim that society is treating you like a monster, that you're the sole victim. But the truth is, you're only half right. You have every reason to be angry at how people treated you before, and I don't blame you for lashing out either. But from what you've just stated about you 'being yourself', it sounds like now you've accepted that you are, in fact, a monster. And if you keep acting like a monster, that's how you're going to keep being treated, simple as that".
*-"And so what does that make me?" Bane asked. "I was never given a choice, I was made to spend every single solitary moment of my life fenced in behind iron and steel, constantly on the alert, never able to find any rest. Does that make me a monster for the crimes I have committed?"
-"Yes, it does".
-Bane was surprised by the remark. "Well, please elaborate. This should be quite interesting."
-"I understand you developed remarkable skills during your time in prison; skills like superhuman strength and a superb intelligence that was just as high as your strength. Why didn't you use your gifts to help the world? Why did you choose to claim dominion over the criminal underworld?"
-"How dare you? What do you know about being a criminal? Have you served your entire life isolated from the rest of the world? Were you deprived of the opportunity to make your own decisions? Well I was. The life of crime is all that I have ever known, thanks to my father".
*-"Oh don't get me started on fathers", said the Riddler, "You wound up getting super powers on account of your dear old dad. All I ever got from mine was a black eye, a broken nose, and a permanent regret for wasting so much of my life trying to please him. To this day I have the answer to nearly every question the human brain could conceive. But the one question I could never answer was why my father hated me so much. I got straight As in school, I landed a job that was more profitable than his at the age of 16, but the more successful I became the more he tormented me. He would always call me a moron, or say that I cheated"
-"And I'm guessing that's where your fascination with riddles came from: to gather every bit of information as possible and prove your father wrong?" Alice asked.
-"Well, aren't we observant? I'm sure you must know everything there is to know about being hated by your own family" The Riddler responded sarcastically. Alice did not show signs of anger but she did ball one of her hands into a fist after hearing the Riddler's words.
-Harley was about to open her mouth and yell in Alice's defense but Alice spoke before she had a chance. "So, Edward, where was your mother in all this?"
-"Well, Dr. Johnson, if you must know, I never had a mother. I guess she decided to play it smart and get away from my father while she had the chance. I never had a single female companion in my life until after I graduated college and met Julie".
-"I remember reading that in your files. The two of you created a device that would enhance the human mind".
-"No, I invented it. And I had no intention of allowing my genius to be bought and used by someone else and so she sabotaged my work and ruined me. Then she made millions off of my work, all while claiming she understood me."
*-"Oh, stop whining, Nigma", Two-Face said, "You're not the only person to be backstabbed by a woman" he said turning an eye to Poison Ivy. "And if you think that's bad, try getting backstabbed by the justice system. Try having everything you've fought for, everything you believed in, just explode in your face"
-"How do you think I wound up here?" Riddler asked defensively.
-"Because you don't listen to fate. To you, everything is based on facts; everything is aligned in straight path because you think you know everything. Well, you don't know shit. Fact has nothing to do with anything" Two-Face took out his coin and flipped it, "Now chance, chance is everything. Whether you're born or not, whether you live or die, whether you're good or bad. It's all arbitrary".
-"When did things become arbitrary, Harvey?" Alice asked.
-"Use our real name," Two-Face demanded irritably.
-"I did. And it seems to me, that anger is what's been driving you all these years. Anger and guilt."
-"What are you getting at" Two-Face growled
-"It was anger that drove you to defend yourself when you were bullied as a child. It was the guilt from defending yourself that gave birth to your other side, as well as your desire to defend other people. And, from what I've heard, it sounds like it was anger that brought your other side out again. It happened right after someone betrayed you, if I'm not mistaken".
-"You mean, after someone tried to kill me," he said angrily turning directly toward Poison Ivy. Poison Ivy was startled for a moment, "Ya think you're doing the right thing by defending yourself, defending the ones who can't fight back, and instead of praise and respect, I was given the kiss of death from someone I actually loved and this!" He said pointing to his deformed face. "But if there's any good to come out of being spit on by the ones you love and protect, it's the gift I was given: the sound of truth" Two-Face finished with a flip of his coin, which dinged loudly as it was tossed in the air.
*-Poison Ivy began to chuckle and then started to laugh. "What's so funny you bitch?" Two-Face said angrily.
-"You're hypocrisy, that's what. You sit over there talking like a victim, a hero who fought bravely and was denied a happy ending. And you actually have the balls to name me as bad guy? You took hundreds of lives that I loved almost more than anything. And for what: a half-assed attempt to try and keep freaks like you and I off the street, an attempt that's failed miserably I might add".
-"You tried to kill me because I trimmed away a few weeds"
-"They were my children!" Poison Ivy snapped angrily, "They were my family, they were lives that couldn't fight back. And you killed them, just like the scum you fought against to protect the lives you considered 'innocent'".
-"God, my old self was stupid. How could I have allowed myself to fall for an insane monster like you? You're probably more of a monster than any of us. You don't know anything about human emotion".
-As if a switch had been pulled inside of her, Poison Ivy fell completely silent. Her face looked like she had been stabbed in the chest. She sat motionless as Two-Face's words rang inside her brain.
*-"You all make me sick," said a robotic voice from across the room. Everyone turned to Mr. Freeze.
-"All of you are under the delusion that you know what 'hurt' is. And yet when someone shows you their love you shatter it like a fragile snowflake. I only had one person ever show me love, and the world that you are currently a part of took her from me and turned me into this desolate, empty shell of man. You all believe that your lives are nothing but a Shakespearean tragedy. But here you all sit, fully capable of feeling joy, still able to bask in the warm beauties of life…"Mr. Freeze paused for a moment and took out a small snow globe with a young woman dancing in the center and stared at it nostalgically as he continued
-"…while I am trapped here; a prisoner in a cursed cell ice and flesh, no longer able walk on a summer's day with the hot wind in my face and a warm hand to hold. I am immortal in this state; and yet I have no greater desire than to end this cursed life." Then he looked up at Alice bitterly.
-"And you: you sit there with even less pain than any of us, a free soul able to come and go as you please, standing above us like a supreme being silently judging us while leading us to believe you are our salvation. You don't even know what pain is."