Not Quite Human

Thinking

Alternate Personality/Mask Speech

Speaking

Chapter 11: Showing off the suit

I held my head in my hands and groaned. I couldn't just go back in there, he had my taser. I looked up at the clock and sighed. I hope he doesn't do anything with it in the next hour. If he does I'm screwed. I called a taxi and left my guitar and coat in the office. The sun was just setting as I got home and I climbed up the side of the building, I didn't want anyone to know I was home yet. The apartment was empty and I sighed. I trashed Randi's room looking for my suit but I finally found it under her bed. Slipping into the metal and material felt like slipping back into my own skin. I slipped some baggy clothing over it and slid my mask and claws into a backpack. I wasn't about to get caught so I stuffed some music books and material over them and sighed. I really hoped I could get away with this.

I took another taxi to Arkham, I wasn't about to use all my strength to run there. I stopped along the way and picked up some candy, I didn't know how long this was going to take. I made it inside without anyone batting an eyelash, the security here was terrible. I grabbed my name badge from my coat in the office and changed in one of the nearby women's bathrooms. I left the backpack stuffed in one of the air vents and jumped to the ceiling. I was half afraid it wouldn't hold my weight but surprisingly it did. I crawled into a nearby air vent and closed it behind me. Clicking my mask on, I slowly slid along the vent hoping that I could find Strange's office. If I was going to do this I wanted leverage.

I thought I was lost; I spent the last hour sliding through what seemed like the same vent over and over. I found a vent opening and peeked out. I was two halls away from Strange's office. Taking my chances I pulled myself from the vent and crawled along the ceiling hoping it wouldn't change to metal. Strange's office door was open but the light was off. I climbed inside and fell to the ground near his desk, almost silently. I started searching for Scarecrows mask and found it in one of the drawers. I heard a rustling from the corner and dropped down until the desk hid my body.

"No one can take this from me. I am the Batman! I am the night!" Strange walked out of a small room adjoining his office with a batman costume on. He opened the window to let some air in. He did a little twirl with the cape and adjusted his glasses before peeking out into the hallway. I crawled around to the window and slipped out into the twilight. Running alongside the building was easy, getting back in was the hard part. I ended up heading to the rooftops, avoiding the gaze of any snipers, and jumped down the first vent I saw. I could smell fresh paint and I hoped I was in the music wing.

The vents were easier to navigate as they had more openings and I could peek out from time to time. I found my classroom and snuck out onto the floor. I felt like I was on a one way ticket to admittance here as I peeked out into the hall. There were a few guards milling about and I stood out like a sore thumb against the white walls. I took my time and sat in my room until it was at least eleven. I may or may not have fallen asleep under my desk, who knows. I lifted my mask and rubbed my eyes, I probably should get a move on. The ceiling wasn't metal so I took my time crawling over the practically blind guards. I slipped my name badge into the lock and the door to the gallery opened up. I waltzed inside and was met with a wolf whistle once the door closed.

"Oh my, my. That is a sight for sore eyes." I looked over at Edward who was standing up against the glass of his room. A giant grin was on his face and I shook my head.

"Sorry Edward I'm not here for you." I saw his face fall.

"And who are you here for then? Who has stolen my little firebrand from me?" His hands had curled into fists as I pulled the Scarecrow mask from a pocket in my suit. "Him! That straw freak stole my suited beauty!"

"Last time I checked Edward we weren't an item. Unless there's something you're not telling me?" He spun around and limped to his bed and sat down. His eyes were still ravishing my body and I sighed before walking down to Jonathan's cell.

"I don't think I need my coin to make a decision on this one." I turned to see a man staring at my ass. Half his face was actually pretty handsome and the other half looked scarred and monstrous. I quickened my pace and made it to Jonathan's cell; he was lying on his bed staring at the ceiling. I tapped on his glass and he sat up, his eyes about popping out of his head when he finally took me in.

"My, my. Now what could have brought you here? A new rogue looking to make a name for herself maybe?" He smoothed his hair and sauntered to the glass before leaning against the metal wall on the side.

"I'm just here to get back what you stole from me." I held up his mask and his eyes went wide.

"My mask! How did you get that back?" He scowled and I lifted my mask until he could see my face. I saw his blobby form stiffen and I was pretty sure he was shocked.

"I'd like my taser back Jonathan."

"I have no idea what you are talking about." He quickly spat out. I lifted his mask between my hands and a soft popping sound was heard as my claws tore into the fabric. "Stop that! You're breaking it!" He hissed.

"Give me my taser back or I'll break it in front of you." He stiffened then moved to his bed and pulled something black out.

"Take the damned thing!" I saw him holding out my taser with a shaky hand. I opened his door with my name badge and took the taser from him. I handed him his mask and he clutched it to his chest and stroked it. "I will end you for this." He hissed at me again.

"Now Jonathan you know that it's really me you should fear." I smiled big showing fang. "After all there's so much more I could do to you then you could ever do to me." I closed his door and lowered my mask. I couldn't read his face; he had put a blank expression on. "I'll see you in class tomorrow, behave." I slipped the taser into the pocket in my suit and started walking to the main hall.

"Oh my word! Miss D is that you?" Jervis was gaping at me from his cell. His eyes huge and his frame shaking.

"Yes it's me Hatter, relax I'm not going to hurt you." I lifted an eyebrow as he promptly fainted, a trail of blood dripping from his nose. Adjusting my mask to cover how awkward I felt I marched to the door hoping that no one else would say anything.

"Well hello woman of my dreams!" Oh hell, Joker had seen me. He was fixing his hair and tugging his orange jumpsuit into an almost presentable position. He had a giant grin on his face and I half wondered where he got all the makeup from.

"Keep dreaming Joker." I swiped my badge and the door opened. He held a hand to his heart as if I'd shot him.

"Oh I will. You've given me enough to have a whole year of sweet, sweet dreams." He cackled loud and shrill and I could have sworn I heard a collective groan from the other Rogues. As the door shut I jumped to the ceiling and into another vent, oh I was so loving all the vent crawling.

I slipped back into the women's bathroom and pulled my backpack from the vent. Thankfully the candy hadn't melted and everything inside was safe. I slipped the baggy clothing over my suit and exchanged my mask for my glasses. I tucked my claws away on the bottom of the bag and trudged to my office. It was nearly one in the morning and I was far too tired to go anywhere. I sat down at my desk and laid my head down; just a quick nap would be nice.

"You know you can sleep in the medical wing if you're going to pull an all nighter." My head snapped up as Doctor Jordan waltzed into the office. I rubbed the sleep from my eyes and made sure I hadn't drooled all over the place.

"Morning Doctor Jordan, I wasn't aware of that fact. I'll try to remember it for next time." He just chuckled and pulled some files off his desk before heading back to the door.

"Try not to do it too often; don't want a brand new doctor to burn herself out." He flashed a smile and was gone. I stretched and winced, falling asleep in my suit probably wasn't the best idea. I pulled out my map and decided to shower before I punched in. Thankfully I had the shower to myself; I washed the suit without taking it off. Weird but very effective. I slipped into my baggy clothes again and trudged to go punch in. At least I could get some breakfast before the day goes to hell.

"Oh hello Miss D." I snapped back awake and saw Jervis setting his tray down next to mine at the table. I rubbed my eyes and held back a yawn.

"Morning Hatter. Are you doing alright?" He blushed and kept his eyes on his food. I looked down to make sure my suit wasn't showing and it wasn't.

"I'm fine Miss D. It was just quite a shock to see you in that state of dress." He shoved what looked like an egg colored glob of food into his mouth. I looked down at my plate and decided I should probably eat my food instead of sleeping over it.

"I didn't mean to shock you like that Hatter, just needed to get back something that had been taken from me." I ate my eggs and sighed, they'd gone cold.

"When Edward said you'd had an outfit I pictured more of a blue dress, and maybe a white apron over it." He trailed off staring into space.

"I don't think I could pull off a dress like that Hatter." I choked down the rest of my eggs and sipped my lukewarm coffee.

"Oh I think you could." His cheeks were pink and he shoveled more of the soggy eggy blob in front of him.

"Is this seat taken?" I looked up to see Edward slipping into the seat across from me. He had a smirk across his features as he poked at his food.

"Morning Edward." I started poking at my oatmeal.

"I do hope you're not planning on changing your suit. I quite enjoy it as it is now, although it could use a little more green on it. Just my opinion." He shoveled some kind of meaty blob into his mouth and I nearly spit my oatmeal out. How the hell can they eat that? I don't even want to think about what it looks like.

"I think the red suits her, don't you Edward?" Jonathan dropped his tray next to mine and sat down next to me. I didn't like how close he was but I would have to touch him to move him.

"Could I have your toast Miss D?" Jervis was eying my toast and I held a slice up for him. He grabbed it and groaned as it touched his tongue.

"Could I have some toast too?" Edward pouted and I gave him my last slice. His green eyes lit up and he at the toast as if it were the last slice he'd ever have. The large bandage was gone off his nose and just some small white strips held his nose in place. I tried not to focus on the mottled purple that covered his face.

"You really shouldn't be feeding them." Jonathan sighed and I looked over at him. He looked jealous. I held up a slice of bacon and I could have sworn I saw him drool.

"Want some bacon Jonathan?" He grabbed my hand and ate the meat right from my fingers. I paled as he began sucking the grease off my fingers before dropping my hand as if nothing had happened.

"Jonathan don't touch what isn't yours." Edward was seething.

"Oh bother." Jervis even looked upset, his cheeks pink and his eyes narrowed. "Don't you touch Miss D."

"Here you go guys." I had lost my appetite and I handed Jervis and Edward the last of my bacon. They inhaled it and I stood from the table. "I'll see you all later." All three men were silent and stared at me as I walked off. I groaned and rubbed my eyes once I was free of the cafeteria.

The walk back to my office was thankfully short and I slid my guitar on my back and grabbed the amp and backpack. I might as well go see if I could plan something for them to do today. I marched through the Rogues gallery and tried to ignore Joker. They were all silent but the weight of their eyes on me was heavy. I sighed in relief once I was back into my empty white room. I dropped the backpack next to my desk and slid my guitar off my back. I set it up against the wall and set my amp down next to it. I slipped the taser into one of the desk drawers and looked around the room. I froze, the vent cover hadn't been put on all the way and was slipping slightly. I checked to make sure that no one was coming before climbing the wall and fixing it. I checked to make sure it was on fully before dropping back down to the floor.

"Well that was interesting." I turned around to see Jonathan leaning against my desk. Jervis and Edward were pulling out chairs and all three of them were unchained.

"You all are early." I looked up at the clock, they weren't supposed to be here until after three. It wasn't even noon yet.

"We all traded our recreation room time for this, so you've got us for most of the day." Edward just shrugged and sat down near my desk.

"You are quite talented Miss D." Jervis spoke quietly as he sat down with his hands in his lap.

"Oh yes and very limber." Jonathan was staring me down as I walked over to my desk.

"Please take a seat Jonathan." I motioned towards the chairs and he slowly moved towards them. "It's a little early but I guess you could have them now." I opened my backpack and pulled the sweets out.

"Oh I do love chocolates!" Jervis nearly jumped for joy as I handed him his sweets. Edward began eating his as soon as the package left my hand. Jonathan took his but grabbed me by my shirt and lifted it, showing my suit still on underneath.

"I do enjoy the sweets that you need to unwrap first." He leered at me and I slapped his hand away.

"Back off Jonathan." I marched back to my desk and sat down. He was slowly eating his licorice and never took his eyes off me.

"Oh I do feel like dancing now." Jervis had finished his chocolate bar and looked like he was buzzing from all the sugar.

"So D, are you planning on stopping by again tonight?" Edward had finished his pixie sticks and was licking the sugar from his lips.

"Probably not, why?" I sighed as Jervis had started dancing around the room in a hyper state.

"Just thought you might like to take a moonlit stroll with me. Maybe somewhere nice, like the beach or the park." Edward was grinning and I looked at him.

"Last time I checked you were stuck here Edward." I lifted an eyebrow.

"Oh I was, but you just gave me the incentive to get some fresh air." He grinned big at me.

"Oh I don't think she'll be available tonight Riddles." Jonathan licked his lips, his teeth black from the licorice. "She'll be spending most of the night screaming with me."

"I will end you if you so much as spray your fear toxin in her general direction." Edward was on his feet and glaring at Jonathan.

"Oh who said anything about her screaming in fear?" He stood up and waved his licorice at Edward.

"Oh look Miss D the white rabbit has come to take me to tea!" Maybe giving Jervis sugar wasn't the best idea. I felt another headache coming on and I wanted to start throwing cars again.