Nightmare in Arkham
Chapter 22: "Belly of the Beast"
-The man walked down the streets of "Crime Alley" like a zombie. His clothes were soaked and ripped to the point where they had become unrecognizable. His black hair was shaggy and unkempt. On one side of his head was a massive, bloody contusion and he also had a series of smaller bruises covering other parts of his head and body that looked like they had come from a blunt instrument. The man groaned as he shuffled down the street toward the lights of the city. He was completely unaware of the vehicle speeding toward him, even as it blared its sirens.
-The ambulance driver did not see the man until he was less than 10 feet in front of him and by then it was too late. The driver made a sharp turn with the steering wheel and the vehicle struck the man with the left side of the fender causing the man's body to smash into the windshield. As the man's corpse flew through the air and landed in the street the ambulance sped out of control, turned on its side, and slid down the street until it collided with a concrete fence.
-Dr. Thompkins rushed out of her home and stopped in the street, gazing dumbfounded at the scene. She was about to turn around and run back to her home to call for assistance but was halted when she heard the doors to the ambulance open up behind her. Dr. Thompkins turned and saw someone slowly crawl out of the open doors. The person slowly rose to their feet and starred at Dr. Thompkins.
-The doctor's eyes widened in horror. The person was a woman with a body riddled in scars and as Dr. Thompkins looked into the woman's face that bore what appeared to be four claw marks, she immediately recognized the woman as Selina Kyle.
-"Mother of God!" Dr. Thompkins said under her breath.
MEANWHILE…
-Alice sat alone in her office with her arm still wrapped in a cast. She had not been sleeping well the past few days. Not even the Hypnocil had been helping her. She looked in a mirror that she had placed on her desk and saw she was carrying luggage under her eyes.
-"Christ," Alice said annoyed, "I look like an old woman." She placed the palms of her hands on her forehead, closed her eyes, and gave a long sigh.
-When Alice opened her eyes again, they slowly wandered to a small, framed picture that she had sitting beside the mirror. In the picture, Alice was in her High school graduation gown. Standing next to her was a tall, athletic-looking young man with brown eyes and light brown hair. He was also dressed in his graduation gown and he had an arm wrapped around Alice's shoulder as she gave a wide smile to the camera. As Alice starred at the picture nostalgically, she slowly started to smile. But at the same time, a tear fell from her eye. There was a knock on Alice's door. She gave a small startled gasp before drying her eye.
-"Come in."
-The door opened and Dr. Leland slowly entered holding a pizza box.
-"Hey hun, I just picked up some dinner, in case you were hungry."
-"Oh God, that sounds fantastic."
-Dr. Leland walked over to Alice's desk, took a chair, and pulled it up beside her. The two doctors ate in silence for few moments.
-"Thank you for this Joan. This is just what I needed."
-Dr. Leland gave a faint chuckle, "Yeah, you and me both." She looked at Alice's cast. "How's your arm doing?"
-"It's getting better. Turns out it wasn't completely broken in half, just severely fractured. They said it was gonna be a while before I could use it again though."
-"I'm really sorry, Alice."
-"What for?"
-"Everything that's happened these past few weeks. Jervis, Harley, your injury. Nobody should have to go through so much hardship in so little amount of time."
-"Oh, don't be sorry. Bad days don't work off a fixed schedule. And there's plenty of people who go through much worse in even shorter periods. Believe me, I've seen it happen."
-Dr. Leland nodded, "Yeah, I guess you're right." When Dr. Leland turned her head, she noticed, for the first time, the picture on Alice's desk.
-"Is that you, Alice?"
-Alice looked at the picture. "Yep, that's me and my fiancée at graduation."
-"Your fiancée? Dang, you got lucky. He is fine," Dr. Leland said with a smile, "How long have you two been married?"
-"We…we never had the chance. He died soon after that picture was taken."
-Dr. Leland's smile faded, "Oh…I'm sorry I…what happened to him?"
-"Car crash."
-"I'm sorry Alice," Dr. Leland's eyes turned toward the picture, "he looks like he was a good man."
-"Yes he was. He was the one who got me through High school after my brother died."
-"What was your fiancée's name?"
-"Dan," Alice responded. There was a silence and then Alice felt her eyes start to moisten. She raised her hand and wiped them with the tip of one of her fingers. Dr. Leland noticed this and put an arm around Alice's shoulders gently giving her arm a tender rub.
-"You wanna step outside? Have a cigarette?" She asked comfortingly.
-Alice smiled, "No thank you. I'm actually trying to quit. Those thing'll kill ya."
-Dr. Leland snickered, "Did Harley say that to you?"
-Alice smiled, "Yeah."
-"She'd tell me that every time she saw me with one in my hand."
-"She was a good kid," Alice said.
-"No doubt about that," Dr. Leland responded.
-Dr. Leland reached a hand into the pizza box but felt nothing. She and Alice both looked at the box and were surprised to find it empty.
-"Holly crap!" Alice said surprised, "Did…Did I really eat that entire thing?"
-Dr. Leland laughed, "Not the whole thing, I'm pretty sure I had two slices."
-"Christ! I'm sorry Joan I-"
-"No worries Alice. I'm just glad to see you're feeling better now."
-"I swear, I'll buy you lunch tomorrow."
-"Alice, it's fine, really. I wasn't even that hungry anyway. Besides, you looked like you needed it more than I did."
-Alice smiled, "Yeah, I guess since I haven't really thought about food I sort of came down with the belly of the beast."
-Dr. Leland stood up, stretched, and took the empty pizza box off the desk. "You sure about that cigarette?" She asked.
-"Yes, thank you Joan."
-Dr. Leland started to walk out of the office but she stopped at the door and turned back to Alice.
-"I'm glad you came here, Alice. You've been here less than a month and yet you've had more progress with the patients than anyone else had in a year, especially with Harley. I wish you could have gotten more time with her but in the time you did have, you changed her in ways I thought I would never see. You are the strongest woman I have ever met and I know Dan would have been proud to have you as his wife."
-Alice's lips curved into a wide smile, "Thanks Joan."
-"If you ever need anything, you know who to talk to. Keep up the good work." And with that, Dr. Leland closed Alice's door.
MEANWHILE…
-Just as the Mad Hatter finally got his head back on his shoulders, the double doors flew open and sent the Hatter flying across the room. His head popped off as he landed.
-"What the hell happened?!" Freddy angrily demanded as he entered his control room.
-"N-Now boss, we can explain…" The Headless Horseman stammered nervously.
-"Don't bother!" Freddy irritably spat knocking the Horseman aside, "I give you imbeciles one job, one job, and you let a wounded child escape! Christ! My newest recruit actually did a better job than you morons. At least she actually instilled fear in her prey."
-The Mad Hatter's body had found its head and was in the process of reattaching it a second time when he asked, "Say, where is the Bridesmaid anyway?"
-Freddy stopped and looked around as if realizing for the first time that his female minion was absent.
-"I don't know," Freddy answered indifferently, "She's around here somewhere."
-He turned back to his minions. "But let's not get off track; you two morons have a price to pay!"
Freddy extended his blades and the Horseman and the Hatter both backed away in fear.
-"Wait, let's talk about this. We...We could make it up to you," The Horseman said nervously. Freddy kept coming.
-"Yes! We can deliver you the next victim. We can prove to you we mean business."
-Freddy laughed as his two creations backed up against a wall cowering in fear. "You think I'd trust you with securing a kill? You couldn't even handle someone who was already half dead. What the hell makes you think-" Freddy was interrupted by the sound of a beeping noise. He turned to his screen and stared at it for a few moments then turned back to his minions, a wicked smile plastered on his face.
-"Okay, you two want a chance at tackling some big game? You got it. This should be fun to watch."
-The two monsters sighed in relief. "Oh thank you! Thank you!" The Mad Hatter exclaimed happily. "So, who's the sorry chap whose about to have their beauty sleep interrupted?" He asked with confidence.
-Freddy pointed his index blade toward the screen. The two monsters looked at the screen to see their challenge: Killer Croc. The Mad Hatter's look of confidence faded.
-"Oh bollocks," he said regretting his decision.
Killer Croc opened his eyes groaning as he lifted his heavily muscled body off the ground. A drop of water came down on his head.
-"Hey, what the-"
-When his vision fully adjusted, he saw that he was inside what appeared to be a sewer system.
-"How'd I wind up here?"
-Killer Croc rose to his feet and began walking through the tunnels. The tunnels were lit by a series of dim lights that hung from the walls and ceiling that cast an eerie green color on the surroundings. Croc was not afraid, for he was used to this kind of environment. But the fact that he still didn't know how he wound up here gave him a feeling of uneasiness.
-For a long time, the only noises that could be heard came from the drops of water as they fell from the roof of the tunnels and the sound of Killer Croc's feet as they splashed in the trail of water that flowed along the ground. But then Croc began to hear something else.
-In the distance, Croc began to hear a child's voice. He froze in his tracks and listened. Croc couldn't quite make out what the voice was saying but it sounded like it was telling him to "turn back".
-Croc began to sniff the air in an attempt to pick up the scent of whoever was calling out but was surprised to find that he could not pick up any scent. This caused him to right off the mysterious noise as a trick of the wind. He stopped momentarily, waiting for the noise to cease. When it did he continued onward.
-For as long as he had resided in Gotham, Killer Croc thought he knew the sewer system inside and out. But now each twist and turn brought him to a location that looked almost exactly like the last. This began to annoy the reptilian man and he decided to make his own route. He turned toward a tunnel that was closed off by a set of steel bars and easily bent them apart with his bare hands. But as he proceeded down his new tunnel he was both stunned and annoyed to find himself back in the exact same spot he had just come from. And yet the tunnel he had just gone through was right behind him with the bars still pried apart.
-Killer Croc gave and annoyed growl before running at full speed down the sewer system randomly aiming for any tunnel that would lead him out of this continuous maze of annoyance. After making another turn, Croc stopped in his tracks and starred in bewilderment at what stood in front of him.
-Right on the edge of a tunnel that ended in a drop hanging above a vat of deep sewer water were five children (the same children that appeared to Harley in her dream). The children stared blankly at Croc until Kristen spoke: "Go back."
-Croc was dumbfounded.
-"Get out of here while you still can."
-"W-What are you doing down here?" Killer Croc asked.
-"We came to warn you," one of the boys, "He's coming for you."
-"Who? What is all this? How…How did I even get down here? Who are you?"
-"There's no time to explain," Kristen said, "Now leave before it's too late!"
-"And how exactly am I supposed to do that? This place is a freaking maze!"
-Just then, Killer Croc felt the ground begin to shake beneath him. Croc staggered as he fought to keep his balance but the children stood perfectly still. Then a loud flushing noise sounded in the distance and a massive flash flood came rushing toward him. Before Killer Croc had a chance to respond, he was engulfed by the flooding water and swept away. The water sent Killer Croc out of the tunnel and plunging into the pool of sewer water below. Croc smacked down on the water's surface and was sent spiraling like a rag-doll down through the abyss. When he opened his eyes he saw that the water was red, as if he were swimming in a giant pool of blood. Then Croc remembered the children.
-He darted his head in all direction searching for the kids knowing they had well under two minutes before they drowned if they weren't dead already. He swam toward the bottom furiously but the pool seemed to have no end. Croc started to lose the light from above and had no choice but to move back toward the surface. He looked down and that's when he saw the giant maw racing for him.
-Croc instinctively made a quick dash out of way, narrowly avoiding the crushing jaws of a 20-foot alligator. Killer Croc watched as the tremendous reptile straightened itself in the water and used its whipping tail to propel itself in a tight turn as it prepared for a second pass.
-This time Killer Croc was ready for it. He was not afraid, for he had wrestled gators for a living. The alligator began making its way toward its quarry, gaining speed as it drew nearer. However, just as the gator was about rocket itself toward Killer Croc, he was struck from the side by a second gator.
-Killer Croc was sent horizontally into the gator's jaws. However, Killer Croc's massive bulk, coupled with his thick hide, protected him as he was hit with a bite force of over 2000 PSI. He grabbed onto the gator's upper and lower jaws and pried them open. This caused the gator to become disoriented and it tried desperately to shake itself loose from Killer Croc's grasp but Killer Croc retained his grip.
-Finally, the gator went into a death roll (the moment Killer Croc was waiting for). As the gator spun wildly to shake itself free, Killer Croc released the reptile's jaws and, before it had a chance to stop rolling, he slammed both of his fists down on the gator like a sledgehammer. The blow struck the reptile directly on the spine, snapping it in half. The crippled gator stopped moving, save for the agonized twitching brought on by the involuntary spasm of its muscles, and it slowly began to sink to the bottom. Croc began to swim to the surface to gather air in his lungs but he had forgotten about the first gator.
-The massive carnivore appeared above him, a black cloud of death hovering in the blood-red sky. The gator shifted its body downward and began to dive straight toward Killer Croc. Killer Croc was undeterred and as the gator increased its speed so did he and the two reptiles charged each other on a collision course from which only one would emerge the supreme crocodilian.
-After a long moment, the gator erupted from the surface of the water trapped within a pair of thickly muscled arms. Then Killer Croc burst from the water letting out a victorious roar as he held the gator above his head like trophy before wrapping one of his arms around the struggling gator's throat and snapping its neck. Killer Croc then body slammed the dead gator back into the water with a mighty slash and sent it plunging to its watery grave.
-Croc then began to take in large breaths of air. Normally he could hold his breath from 15-20 minutes but the underwater brawl had drained a large supply of his oxygen and he felt a little fatigued. But before he could fully catch his breath, the water began to spiral into a whirlpool and, despite Killer Croc's efforts to fight the strong current, he was sucked underwater yet again.
-Killer Croc made a dash to the surface but was horrified to find that the surface was gone, replaced by roof of solid concrete. Croc tried to beat his way through but it was to no avail. He began to panic not knowing how much longer he would be able to hold his breath. But then he saw his opportunity.
-On one of the walls there was now an underwater tunnel. Croc swam as fast he could toward the tunnel hoping to God it would not deliver the same results as the maze he had just gone through. He swam with all of his might, accepting that this would be an all or nothing attempt.
-As Killer Croc drew closer to the opening he was sucked inside through some kind of vacuuming force that quickly shot him through a long tunnel and out of a drainage pipe where he landed on a dry metal catwalk that hung over a canal system housing putrid green water.
-Killer Croc coughed up water that he had swallowed and slowly rose to his feet.
-"God, I never thought I would be so happy to be out of the water," he said to himself. He then continued to walk forward.
-After he had walked for a short amount of time he saw something fly across the ceiling and disappear into an aqueduct. Killer Croc froze and stared at the aqueduct waiting for the figure to emerge. While he was distracted, the Headless Horseman attacked from behind.
-He hurled his scythe at the reptilian man and Killer Croc just barely managed dodge the blow. However as he moved out of the way of the oncoming blade, he found himself teetering on the edge of the catwalk about to fall into the water. Killer Croc fought to keep his balance. But he inevitably failed.
-The Headless Horseman rushed him, this time from the front, and kicked the reptile in the stomach (his primary weak spot) and he was sent plummeting into the dirty canal with a big splash. Croc surfaced spitting out water that had seeped into his mouth. He opened his eyes and gazed upon the Headless Horseman.
-Killer Croc was startled to see the headless creature that now stood before him.
-"What in the hell-" was all he had time to say before he felt the water around him begin to move violently. Croc looked up just in time to see the Horseman give him a farewell solute before he was carried away in a violent stream of rapids.
-Croc's body was violently slammed into the concrete walls of the tunnel system as he was once again tossed around like car that had lost control on an icy road, completely at the mercy of whatever appeared in front of him.
-Eventually Croc's flailing arms caught onto a metal pipe sticking out of the wall. As he tried to hoist himself up he felt something knock into his head.
-It was not a hard impact and Croc ignored it the first time. But whatever hit continued to do so in rapid successions and Croc irritably looked up to see what it was.
-Seated on a catwalk that was perpendicular to the canal was the Mad Hatter. He was using his pocket watch as a yo-yo, throwing it at Croc's head then retracting it back on its chain.
-"One little monkey sitting in a tree, teasing Mr. Crocodile: you can't catch me!" He shouted with amusement. He threw his watch at Croc again but this time he caught the watch in his jaws. Killer Croc bit down on the chain and swallowed the watch whole then grabbed a hold of the chain with one hand.
-"Along comes Mr. Crocodile, STEALTHY AS CAN BE!" Croc spat back as he gave the severed chain a violent tug that sent the Mad Hatter plunging into the river where he was washed away screaming in horror.
-When Mad Hatter was out of view, Killer Croc attempted to climb out of the water and eventually he was able to pull his legs out of the rushing current. He then moved one of his arms over to the catwalk and grabbed a hold. He tried to pull himself up but his weight and his exhaustion made this a daunting task. Every time he would try and raise his body, one of his hands would slip and he would fall back down clutching the edge for dear life.
-Killer Croc reached for the ledge again but this time, instead of grabbing onto the edge, he decided to hurl his arm over it and establish a grip further back on the catwalk thinking it would make it easier for him to climb up. Before he could grip the catwalk, Killer Croc felt something grab onto his hand.
-Whatever was holding onto him started to pull Killer Croc effortlessly over the edge and safely onto the catwalk.
-"Gee thanks," He said with gratitude, "For a second there I thought-" Killer Croc was cut off when he saw what had taken a hold of his hand: Freddy's glove.
-The glove stayed levitated in the air as it clung to Croc's wrist while Croc stared at it in confusion.
-Suddenly the glove let go of Croc's hand and flew backward toward its owner as he stood pressed against a wall on one side of the catwalk.
-When the glove reattached itself to Freddy's hand he slowly took a few steps toward Killer Croc as he stared wide-eyed at the dream stalker.
-"Didn't your mother ever teach you any manners?" Freddy asked Croc, who remained silent. "It ain't nice to stare."
-Killer Croc continued to stare in mute silence, completely dumbfounded by the monstrosity that now stood before him.
-"HA!" Freddy shouted while extending his chest forward. Killer Croc was sent flying backward by an invisible force that caused him to crash through the concrete wall.
-Outside, Croc landed on the ground, bouncing twice as the rain beat down on his body. When he lifted his head, he saw that he was now in a massive quarry. There was a deep chasm that housed a massive reservoir. He turned around to see Freddy casually walking out of the hole, coming to a stop a few feet from him. A flash of lightening shot across the sky casting Freddy's silhouette against it in the pouring rain.
-Killer Croc bared his teeth with rage and shot to his feet, hurling his fist at the nightmare man.
-Freddy leapt into the air, dodging Killer Croc's blow, and landed behind him. Freddy thrust his blades at Croc's back but the tips got stuck in his armored hide.
-Croc turned around and grabbed Freddy's arm as he was attempting to free his glove. Killer Croc lifted Freddy in the air by his right arm and he bit down on Freddy's wrist, tearing the hand clean off.
-Freddy screamed in agony, "No! Not my hand!"
-He reeled back starring in horror at the bloody stump where his hand used to be.
-With Freddy's severed limb still in his mouth Killer Croc struck Freddy with his forearm and sent him sliding across the soaking wet ground. Killer Croc then leapt in front of Freddy and grabbed both of his legs. With a violent jerk, Killer Croc spread Freddy's legs apart and the bones snapped like a pair of tree trunks. Freddy let out an agonized scream.
-Then, as Freddy looked up at his adversary, Killer Croc swallowed Freddy's entire hand whole, knives and all.
-As the hand passed down Croc's gullet, he looked back at Freddy and said with a menacing smile, "I sure hope the rest of you tastes better."
-Croc leaned in with his claws raised and teeth bared ready to tear his broken prey to shreds. But then Killer Croc stopped. His eyes had caught sight of something that made him give a wide, toothy smile: sitting just a few paces beside him was a giant rock (the biggest he had ever seen).
-Killer Croc turned his gaze back onto Freddy and gave a devious laugh, "This is gonna be fun."
-Then he walked over to the massive boulder and, with all of his might, lifted it high above his head. He then walked back over to Freddy and stood in front of him ready to crush the dream demon. But then a loud noise caught Killer Croc's attention. It was a loud ticking noise.
-Killer Croc turned his head in all directions looking for the source of the noise as it grew louder: Tick-Tock, Tick-Tock, Tick-Tock.
-When Killer Croc's eyes turned back onto Freddy, he saw the evil grin on his face. Then, much to Croc's surprise, Freddy rose back onto his feet. The Headless Horseman and the Mad Hatter then stepped out from either side of their master's back. While the Horseman's expression was impossible to see since he had no face, the Mad Hatter wore an evil smile just like Freddy's.
-"Your time is up, Crockers." Mad Hatter said deviously as the pocket watch within Croc's stomach began to tick louder and louder.
In the real world, Alice stepped out of her office and began to walk toward the exit of the building. As she passed by the cellblock, she was startled by what sounded like a muffled BOOM.
In the dream world, the giant rock fell from Killer Croc's arms and landed on the muddy ground beside him.
In the real world Alice walked down the hallway of the cellblock to investigate the noise and was horror stricken when she saw the massive blood smear on the glass door of Killer Croc's cell.
-"Oh God, Help! Someone HELP!" Alice screamed as she ran to Croc's cell and hastily slid her key through the panel. As the door began to open, Dr. Leland came running down the hall accompanied by two guards.
-"What is it Alice? What's wrong?" Dr. Leland asked with urgency. Then she turned to the cell just as the door opened and was horrified by the sight of Killer Croc staggering on his feet moaning in agony. A fountain of blood was pouring from his mouth.
-"OH GOD!" She exclaimed. She turned to the guards, "Both of you get some medics up her stat! Code Blue!" The two guards rushed off to find help while Dr. Leland rushed into the cell in order to help Alice tend to the mortally wounded Killer Croc.
-The two doctors grabbed Killer Croc under both of his arms and tried to lead him out of the cell but, as they moved the patient, something happened before their eyes that caused them to freeze in sheer terror.
-Four invisible cuts slashed their way across Killer Croc's belly and then his stomach burst wide open. All of Killer Croc's internal organs and intestines, which had all been reduced to a soupy mush, spilled out of his belly like water from a drainpipe. When Alice saw the slashes, she felt as if a train had just struck her as the realization of what just happened hit her.
-She said with complete horror and disbelief, "But…I gave him the Hypnocil."
In the dream world, Freddy reattached his gloved hand back onto his wrist, smiling maliciously as Killer Croc's hollowed out body fell backward off the edge of the pit and disappeared in the dark water of the reservoir leaving a scarlet red puddle on the surface of the water.
-"Tick Tock, the Croc has croaked," the Mad Hatter said triumphantly.
-Freddy nodded his head, impressed by his minion's competence in securing the kill.
-"Not bad, not bad at all," he said, "Just promise me one thing."
-"Certainly boss," Mad Hatter said joyously.
-"Leave the one-liners to me."