Nightmare in Arkham:
Chapter 19 "Held Close to the Heart"
Dear readers: I apologize for the long time that it took to get this chapter up. This one was actually my greatest challenge because, aside from school and work, this was the first chapter that I had come to in quite a while were I wasn't sure how I was going to continue the story. However, I think I have come up with a good piece in which to keep things rolling. In the event that a chapter takes a while to show up don't fret. The story is not over until I say it's over.
Inside of a dark dressing room, Barbara Gordon sat slumped in a chair with her arms bound with rope behind the chair. Her mouth was still forced open by the fake smiling teeth that had been placed in her mouth and her face was covered in tear stains and her eyes were bloodshot red from her crying as she was forced to look at her reflection in the mirror that stood before her. A woman stood behind Barbara in the shadows brushing her hair while humming, "Here Comes the Bride".
-"Oh, sweetie," the woman said in calm, soft voice while gently brushing a tear from Barbara's cheek. As she did so, she left a blood smear on Barbara's face. "I know how excited you must be to finally become joined together with your true love". Barbara sobbed through her gag.
-"Oh yes," the woman said cupping both of her hands gently onto Barbara's cheeks, "you are one lucky woman". The woman let go of Barbara's cheeks and slowly walked into the light that was being emitted from the dim bulbs that lined the frame of the mirror. "I was almost as lucky as you once. But love can be just as cruel as the people you give it to. Here's some free advice honey…" the woman said calmly. She turned around and revealed herself as the broken corpse of Harley Quinn. She still had a gaping hole in her chest from where the Joker had shot her and now it also sustained the damage that had been inflicted by Freddy. "…Never let a man steal your heart; hold it close and give it to him willingly". Since Harley no longer had any lips, her jaws simply opened slightly as the words escaped her mouth. As Barbara looked into Harley's black, beaded eyes that looked as lifeless as the eyes of a doll, a blanket of shock silenced her screams.
MEANWHILE…
-Bruce Wayne stood a top the podium inside of the Gotham Cathedral next to a large portrait of Harleen Quinzel that was adorned in flowers. Alice sat on a wooden bench in the front row aisle weeping with a hand to her face. Her other arm was wrapped in a cast that was colored black and red and crossed over her lower chest at a bent angle. She was dressed in all black and had tried to hide her tears with black sunglasses but was too distraught to fool anyone. Dr. Thompkins sat beside Alice rubbing her shoulder comfortingly. Sitting next to Dr. Thompkins was Alfred, who kept his eyes glued onto his employer at all times. Dick Grayson and Jim Gordon sat next to Alfred. Dick and Jim both remained silent as they held their heads down in sadness.
-Selina Kyle slowly walked down the main aisle and took a seat on the bench right behind Alice. She looked at Alice as she wept and then to Dr. Thompkins, who returned her gaze with heavy eyes and a slow shake of the head. Selina's gaze drifted toward Bruce Wayne. She noticed instantly the pain in his eyes. He looked like he had not slept in days (no doubt because he was hard at work arranging Harley's funeral service). Selina wondered why Bruce would have gone through so much trouble all for someone who had wronged him and so many others in the past. But, at the same time, she felt glad that he did. Harley may have been a psychotic nut-job but she didn't deserve to die the way she did. Then, as she looked at Harleen's picture, Selina began to wonder what Harley could have been like had it not been for the Joker. She looked so innocent in the portrait; so natural, so ambitious. She looked like someone who had goals of her own, other than aiding someone in fulfilling theirs and maybe Harley could have taken that path again. But now, nobody would ever know for sure and the thought brought a tear to Selina's eye.
-As the attendants sat in their places, the doors to the cathedral opened. Everyone turned to the door and Dr. Leland slowly made her way down the aisle as she wept in pain. Following behind her were all of Alice's patients. Each of them was formally dressed in black, even Killer Croc, who rarely wore a shirt. Mr. Freeze had what looked like a diving suite under his black attire that was actually a freeze suite that enabled him to walk around without his containment.
-Bruce Wayne was startled to see the inmates from Arkham walking toward him. But what startled him even more was, not only their civilized demeanor, but also the emotion that each of them displayed: deep, undeniable sadness. Edward Nigma and Bane held their heads down with a large frown drawn onto their faces. Penguin was bawling into his handkerchief while Killer Croc was desperately trying to fight back tears. It was hard to tell what was going through Harvey Dent's mind but when he and the other patients reached the front row and took their seats on the opposite side of the aisle as Alice and the rest of the attendants, Harvey stopped and looked up at Bruce. It was then that Bruce saw the tear marks on Harvey's face from his crying prior to his arrival.
-"Bruce…" Harvey said in his normal voice from before the accident. Bruce's eyes widened after hearing his friend's real voice again after so many years.
-"Yes Harvey?" Bruce responded.
-"I…I just…" Harvey cringed with sadness for a moment, turning his head and closing his eyes as he tried to hold back more tears. When he opened his eyes, he was looking straight at Harleen's picture. The sight of it caused the tears to fall from Harvey's eyes. He turned back to Bruce with the tears still visible on his cheeks. "I just wanted to thank you for doing this. She was a good kid," he said before taking his seat.
-After the priest of the church gave Harleen her final blessings and prayers, each of the funeral attendants had their chance to stand up and share their feelings and memories of Harley and the impact she had on their lives. Bruce was at a loss for words to hear some of the things the Arkham patients had to say: each of them claimed that they had come to realize just how much of a valued part of their lives Harley was thanks to Dr. Johnson. In the past week, she had made a family out of them and, to many of the patients, Harley started to feel like a "baby sister" that they never had. And they claimed that, for the first time, they finally understood what it really feels like to lose something they loved and it also made them realize just how valuable Jonathan Crane and Jervis Tech were to them.
-When it was time for Bruce to speak he claimed the only memory he had of Harley was when he saw her, for the first time, without any makeup. He claimed that it was such a beautiful image because, even though he knew he was talking to the same coot that had caused the city so much mayhem, he felt like he saw a "new Harleen", one that was actually trying to find the right path in a world that she just couldn't understand, nor could it understand her. And when he heard about how one of Harley's "bad days" took its toll on her and landed her back into Arkham, he realized maybe Harley, as well as all of the other famous criminals in Gotham, were all just fighting against the bad days that they constantly had to face without anyone's help. He began to think that, in spite of the reputation that they had earned from the media, each of them still had a chance to turn over a new leaf and find their place in the world. Bruce ended his speech with: "If there is anything that we can learn from someone like Harleen Quinzel, it's that we all must look for the best in humanity."
-When Bruce spoke those last words, everyone in the aisles began to cry. But the ones who were crying the hardest were Dr. Leland and Alice. However, they were crying for different reasons: Dr. Leland cried with sorrow because she had thought everything that Bruce had said about Harleen but now the chance to help her had been shattered, but Alice cried with a touch of joy having heard someone who shared her exact same views on society.
Sometime later, everyone was standing inside of the lobby of the church socializing. Some of the patients in Arkham were laughing with each other as they remembered the good times with Harley, some of them were even talking with Dr. Thompkins and Gordon and they even went so far as to wish his daughter well. Alfred and Dick both looked at each other in disbelief at how well behaved the Arkham villains were being.
-"It's like they're not even the same people anymore," Dick said to Alfred.
-"Indeed, this Dr. Johnson must possess superb psycho intellect. Either that, or her 'temperamental side' may have been strong enough to scare them all straight".
-"What about my temperamental side?" Alice said from behind Alfred and Dick causing both of them to jolt in surprise. When they turned to her, Alice giggled a bit, despite the red tear marks on her cheeks.
- Dick put his hands up and tried to explain, "Oh no! We didn't mean-"
-"Calm down kid, I'm just messin with ya". Alice extended her good hand. "I'm Alice…"
-Dick took Alice's hand and shook it. "Dick Grayson, and this is Alfred".
-"Charmed," Alfred said taking Alice's hand and kissing it. Alice smiled at Alfred's gentleman introduction.
-Dick looked at Alice's cast. "So, what happened? You punch through a wall or something?"
-Alice chuckled, "Close enough".
-"Master Dick and I were just talking about what a smashing job you've done with your patients. I never dreamed I'd live to see them this tame. What's your secret".
-"No secret; just a pair of open eyes, ears, and arms."
"Hmm, Indeed," Alfred said looking at Alice's cast.
-"You work for Mr. Wayne, right?" She asked Alfred.
-"That's correct Miss, for over 30 years I've worked for his family. He's like a son to me". Alice nodded her head before she turned to Dick.
-"And are you his son?"
-"Adopted son. He took me in after my parents died".
-"He seems like a very respectable man".
-"Oh, you have no idea, very few people are aware of just how noble Master Bruce truly is," Alfred said to Alice.
-"Well, after he did all of this, I think I have a pretty clear picture".
-Alfred and Dick both looked behind Alice. Alice noticed this and she turned around to see Dr. Leland slowly making her way toward her. Her face was still wet from her tears and it looked like she still had plenty more to shed. She stopped in front of Alice and looked at Dick and Alfred. She said hello to them and they returned the greeting, albeit solemnly having taken note of her sadness. After looking Dr. Leland in silence for a short moment, Alice opened her one good arm to her and wrapped it around Dr. Leland's upper back as she wept on Alice's shoulder. After the embrace, Dr. Leland looked at Alice with tears running down her face.
-"Alice…" she said with a tightened voice.
-"What is it Joan?" Alice asked sympathetically.
-"I…I just wanted to tell you how sorry I am that things turned out the way they did," Dr. Joan stopped and cried silently for a few seconds before continuing, "but I wanted you to know…she didn't want to run away".
-"What do you mean?" Alice asked.
-"Harley didn't run away by choice. That bitch, Poison Ivy, kidnapped her. I saw her right before she left. You should have seen how upset she looked". Dr. Leland reached into her purse and took out the Queen of Hearts card. "She asked me to give this to you," Dr. Leland said handing the card to Alice. Alice's mouth slackened in surprise as she slowly took the card. "Look Alice…" Dr. Joan tried to speak but her voice grew more and more shaken as she spoke but she still tried to sound strong for Alice, "…if you need anything…anything at all…" Dr. Leland broke down crying again and Alice wrapped her arm tightly around her.
-"I know, Joan, I know," Alice said as she wiped a tear from her own face. After a short time, Dr. Leland dried her eyes and after she and Alice said their goodbyes Dr. Leland walked away.
-"You were really close to Harley, weren't you?" Dick asked.
-Alice nodded. "The funny thing is, I knew her for such a short time and yet, she felt like a daughter to me".
-"For what it's worth," Dick said, "I know how it feels to lose someone you care about".
-"So do I," Alice responded, "The pain never really goes away but it gets better in time. It's going to be a while, but eventually, I'll be able to keep moving forward. After all, the night's always darkest just before the dawn."
-"Very good Miss Johnson, spot-on," Alfred replied, "That's exactly what I told Master Bruce after his tragedy".
-Alice turned to Alfred, "His tragedy?" She asked with interest.
Bruce Wayne sat in the front row of the altar with Dr. Thompkins sitting close by. He kept his eyes fixed on the portrait of the woman that he had failed to save. His face was riddled with despair.
-"You can't blame yourself," Dr. Thompkins said to him.
-"I could have saved her," Bruce responded sadly.
-"You did everything you could Bruce, you just weren't able to get to her in time".
-"No, I could have saved her years ago. I could have saved her from taking the path that she chose. I could have prevented that sociopathic lunatic from brainwashing her. I could have stopped this whole thing before it started".
-"Bruce, you know you can't think like that".
-"But it's true".
-"Stop it!" Dr. Thompkins shouted. Then she continued calmly, "No one can save every human being. I couldn't give you an estimate of how many people I've tried to save but failed. But I keep doing my job because I know I have the power to save lives, even if I'm not always successful, and so people depend on me to continue doing what I do best. You've saved more lives than any doctor in this entire city Bruce".
-"Did I tell you that I also took one?"
-Dr. Thompkins fell silent, "What do you mean?"
-"The Joker's dead. He pushed me over the edge. I…I lost control and-"
-"Don't tell me your actually beating yourself up over that. You ended that reprehensible scum's rein of terror for good".
-"At the cost of someone's life".
-"How many lives has he taken? And after what he did to Harley, I would be surprised if you hadn't done it".
-"That's not the point. I'm not supposed to allow myself to fall to that level. I swore I would never allow myself to dive into that place. And on top of that, Ivy's in a comma because of me".
-"What?" Dr. Thompkins asked both surprised and confused.
-"She suffered a heart attack after I put her in a state of emotional distress. Her life is now in danger because of me!"
Before Dr. Thompkins could say another word, one of the side doors opened and Alice walked in. She looked at Bruce and slowly made her way toward him. Dr. Thompkins sat down as she watched Alice's approach.
-"Hi" Alice said to Bruce.
-"Hello, Dr. Johnson, is that correct?" Bruce said back.
-"Alice," she answered, "I just wanted to thank you for everything you've done. You have no idea how much this means to me".
-"Of course," Bruce said.
-"I met your son and butler; they're very nice people".
-"Oh, well I'm pleased you were given a chance to meet them. Ya know they really admire your work and-"
-"They told me about your parents". Bruce fell silent. "I think it's absolutely remarkable how someone who experienced something so tragic at such a young age could have made such incredible strides in life. Believe me Mr. Wayne I know how it feels to lose a family. But there's something I want you to promise me that you'll do no matter what".
-"Certainly Alice".
-"Hold onto the ones you have. The funny thing about tragedy is that it makes you realize just how lucky you are to still have people who remain at your side. Alfred, Dick, Dr. Thompkins, they're all wonderful people and you're lucky to have such a strong family. Hold onto them and never let them go".
-After a moment, Bruce smiled at Alice and hugged her, taking care not to hurt her injured arm. "Thank you, Dr. Johnson".
-"You can call me-"
-"I know, but when someone does their job, I like to address them formally".
-Alice smiled at Bruce's remark. After bidding him farewell, Alice walked out the doors and back into the lobby. She then gazed out at all of her patients and she knew that, since her family was gone, they were the ones she had to hold onto. Alice took the card that Dr. Leland gave her and put it to her chest as she silently vowed to protect her new family.
MEANWHILE…
Within Barbara's nightmare, she stood at the altar tied up right to a hand truck as the Mad Hatter proclaimed, "I know pronounce you man and wife! You may now carve the bride!" Mad Hatter then tossed the Joker a rusty knife and Barbara's eyes widened as she shrieked in horror.
-"Oh this?" the Joker said to her, "Don't worry, this won't hurt at all. It's just a little procedure I came up with that will make it so that you and I will always be smiling naturally. You don't actually need these to make you smile, do you?" The Joker asked as he removed the false teeth from Barbara's mouth.
-"HELP ME! SOMEBEDOY HELP ME!" Barbara shouted desperately.
-"Oh, fine, I'll have the Bridesmaid do it to me first so you'll see how painless it is. Bridesmaid, get up here!" Harley, or the Bridesmaid, got up from one of the benches and blindly hobbled over to the Joker and Barbara. "Be a dear and slice off my face, would ya?" The Joker asked politely.
-"Sure sweetie" the Bridesmaid said in a sweet, soothing voice. She took the knife from the Joker and plunged the tip into the Joker's forehead. Blood spurted from the wound as the flesh was ripped apart but the Joker took no notice of his injury.
-Barbara screamed in terror as the Bridesmaid cut across the Joker's forehead. The skin made a gritty noise as it was ripped apart. Once the cut was made all the way across the forehead, the Bridesmaid dug her finger's into the open wound and pulled down, tearing the Joker's face completely off like a piece of wrapping paper. When the Joker looked up, the sight of him caused Barbara to throw up as he stared at her with his bare, blood caked face that was now nothing but muscle. As the Joker had explained, he now bore a permeate smile since the skin around his mouth had been removed and his bulbous eyes that he now had, thanks the removal of skin around them, added to his morbid grin.
-"Now it's time for yours'," the Bridesmaid said to Barbara.
-"No! No Please! Don't!"
-"Hold still, honey, or I'll wind up poking you in the eye". The Bridesmaid brought the knife to Barbara's head made a small cut as Barbara sobbed in despair. However, before the Bridesmaid could finish the job, a loud scrapping noise filled the air.
-Everything in the room froze in place except for Barbara, the Mad Hatter, and the Bridesmaid. The Headless Horseman burst through the doors. "Come on, the boss is calling us".
-"Oh fiddlesticks! And just when we were getting to the good part! Oh well, come on Bridesmaid," Mad Hatter said as he took Harley by the hand.
-"What? But-"
-"We'll finish up this little game when we get back. When the boss calls we answer, no exceptions".
-"Oh okay".
-The monsters all ran out of the altar room and into the dressing room where they leaped through the mirror. Barbara was puzzled as she stood alone in her nightmare. The Joker had completely frozen in place as if he were nothing more than a statue and the knife remained suspended in the air with the tip of the blade still in the process of cutting through Barbara's flesh. Barbara could see the blood dripping from the tip…but she felt absolutely no pain at all.
Inside Freddy's lair, the prison that Barbara's body was encased in gave off a bright flashing glow and the three monsters came crawling out of it. However, they were startled to find that they were not in the boiler room setting. They were inside of a large control room that looked to be part of an insane asylum. There were various stairways and catwalks that stretched over a deep pit that had nightmarish looking maniacs running amok like demons in the pits of hell.
-"There you freaks are", said a voice from behind the monsters. They turned to see their master standing behind them.
-"What? Where?" asked the Bridesmaid, "I can't see anything". Freddy chuckled with amusement.
-"Whatcha call us for boss?" asked the Mad Hatter.
-"Why, to show you my finished project," Freddy said, "Ya see, after that bitch Alice decided to spoil the fun by taking the dreams out of my children's heads, I came up with a way to put the dreams right back into their heads". Freddy turned to the Mad Hatter. "Thanks to you, I was able to create this," Freddy said motioning toward a large circuit board whose vectors looked like they were arranged in the form of a city map. Jervis' card had been mounted right in the center of the board. The board was hooked up to various cables that emitted blue electric currents that fed into the screen that displayed Freddy's victims.
-"W-What is it?" asked the Bridesmaid.
-"This, my dear, is the stuff nightmares are made of. You see that thing in the center?" Freddy asked pointing his index blade at the card. "That card was designed to control people's minds. It can dictate everything that goes on inside of someone's head, including their dreams. So I used some of my own nightmare powers and combined them with the technological brilliance of our beloved Mad Hatter", Mad Hatter smiled and blushed, "to create a second dream world! A world where everyone has dreams…my dreams. Think of it as a sort of private 'Wonderland'".
-"OH YES! YES! OH GLORIOUS PLAN! FADOULS PLAN! OH CALLOOH CALLAY! CALLOOH CALLAY!" Mad Hatter proclaimed with excitement.
-Freddy smiled at him evilly. "You like it huh? Wait til ya see the Wonderland for yourself. Follow me". Freddy walked toward a set of steel doors with his nightmare creations following behind. He stopped in front of the door and threw both of his arms into the air causing the doors to fly open leading to a large balcony under a sky of dark, smog filled clouds. Freddy strolled over to the edge of the balcony and stood on the railing with his gloved arm pointing out toward the landscape.
-When his monsters reached the edge of the balcony and peered out, they beheld the sight of what appeared to be an entire city that had been taken over by Hell. All of the buildings were covered in rot and decay, many of the buildings had signs with blinding lights emitting from them, there were massive funnels that reached to the sky and spewed fire and smoke into the air, a giant steel fence barricaded the city making it seem like a prison ground, rain drizzled over the decrepit slum as if the heavens themselves were saddened by the mere image of this horrid wasteland, and there was not a single speck of life to be found anywhere.
-Freddy turned back to his minions and shouted with pride, "Ladies and gentlemen: welcome to Arkham City!" Then he let out a loud, victorious cackle that echoed through his new nightmare domain.