Part I: Rebecca Robinson is left to face Gotham's worst Halloween ever. One ex-Robin and one dead-Robin are running loose in Gotham with their own goals and agendas. Rebecca's mind isn't the ideal one to begin with and with a history like she has... Will she be able to survive without loosing her sanity or her life? What will happen when Clown Prince of Crime wants his toys back and even Scarecrow can't stop him? Will Rebecca end up just being a toy to dead man's legacy?
Chapter 4 - Joke is rated M
Romance will be slow burn. (And I do mean slow.)
Contains detailed description of graphic violence, strong language and descriptions of mental illnesses and self-harming.
Broken Toys
Chapter 7 - Decoy
Decoy: (noun) A person or thing used to mislead or lure someone into a trap.
I've been left alone. Both Nightwing and Robin abandoned me all by myself with the Joker victims. Robin left Henry Adams, the only victim who hasn't shown any symptoms this far, guard this place. He is allowed outside his cell unlike me and the victims but not outside the building. I know he is supposed to be the only sane one left in this room but the guy still gives me the creeps. Something about him is oddly familiar to me but I can't place my finger on it.
Adams ignores the rest and focuses on the Batcomputer. He has been typing and clicking something for several minutes. Finally a blonde woman appears to the screen. I recognize her to be the one and only Harley Quinn despite her looking slightly different than I remember. Her hair is still blonde and in pigtails but her clown-makeup is subtler and she has updated her uniform.
"Mrs. Q, this is Mr. J. Come in. Over." Adams tells to the screen. That rings alarm bells inside my head. Mr. J? That can't mean…
"Hearing you loud and clear, Mr. J." Harley answers.
"My infiltration remains utterly flawless. Operation Puddin-Break is a 'go'." Adams continues as back of mind keeps yelling at me.
"Yippee! How are my babies?" Harley seems to have very twisted idea of what she calls babies. I wouldn't include adult psychopaths to that category but each of us on our own, I figure. I have more troubling problems at hand.
"They are in rude health, my dear. All dying to meet mommy. Now, you remember the plan, don't you?" Adams asks. I consider to tell him that Operation Puddin-Break is the dumbest name I've ever heard but my survival instincts warn otherwise.
"Yeah. I really don't want to hit you over head, though. It's gonna hurt." Harley says. Since when she has felt bad about hitting anyone. God, she is starting to sound like B.
"We've been over this you little knuckle-buster! It's the only way to convince Batman that I'm to be trusted. You do want to kill him, do you?" Adams asks going from zero to hundred in seconds. The professor has went full on murderous.
"YEAH! Okay." Harley excitedly shouts.
"Ohh, ackatash! Bird-boy is coming. See you soon. Mr. J, over and out." Adams shuts the screen. I glance around but see no sign of Robin. He turns around and smiles to me. "Is my plan B spying on me?"
Fear strikes me still. Only one person has ever called me their plan B. Adams has fooled everyone. He has symptoms, more than that, he has the whole fucking sickness. Suddenly I realize where the familiarity comes from. He looks like older version of the Joker.
"I see you have made some changes to yourself, Becky. You used to be so beautiful. Why are you covering your beauty, honey?" Adams or the Joker asks. Instinctively I touch my scars on my face.
"We have a problem, plan B. You," He points at me. "know something that you shouldn't know. And you, "He points at me again with a nasty streak. "always used to talk too much. Some things never change." He smiles at me. He is obviously on his element when he threatens people.
I find my voice. "I won't say a thing. I promise. Pinky promise?" My whole body is shaking badly and my voice is filled with pure terror. I try to tell myself that this is only an echo of the real Joker but his face flashes over Adams'.
"Oh, pinky promise you say? Didn't I crush your pinkies? Maybe you need reminding, you ungrateful brat." Adams takes his time coming closer. My stomach drops and I swallow loudly.
"Everyone has to play their part, plan B. Your part is over. I've got a better plan than you now. Time to leave the stage, Becky. The curtain is about to fall." Adams opens my cell door. His hungry fingers close around my throat.
That brings life back to me. I scratch his eyes causing him to loosen his grip. I bring my both legs up and kick him to the chest as hard as I can. He is forced to let go of me and we both hit the floor, me gasping for air and him laughing.
"Feisty, I love it." Adams is rolling on the floor. I get up to my feet and run past him. He grabs my ankle and drags me down. I hit my chin but now is no time to think about such things. With my free leg, I kick his hand until he frees my ankle and I crawl away. As fast as I can, I get to my feet and run towards the elevator. When I get in I push the button frantically so the iron rack would close.
Adams is still in the main room, laughing his ass off. It's like he has never seen anything this funny before. Thankfully the rack closes and separates us giving me an opportunity to fall to my knees.
"You are aware that Harley's men are closing in right now, right?" Adams laughs at me just before the elevator starts to move up, leaving him behind.
I lean my palms to the cold floor trying to steady my breathing. One problem at a time. I got away from Adams or the Joker or whoever he was. He knew things that only the Joker would know but I can't worry about that. You got away. That's the important part. Never look behind, only forwards.
The elevator doors open and the fresh air of Gotham waves through me. I stand up and walk to the rain, closing my eyes and facing the sky letting the water clean my sweat. The Gotham air has never felt sweeter.
Now, I need to get away. As far away as I can. Fuck Nightwing, fuck Robin, I've been held as prisoners way too long. Time to have some real fun. B can choke for all I care.
My insides were boiling. Head psychiatrist on Arkham Asylum was secretly killing patients like nobody's business and his little sidekick was cooking dangerous TITAN formula and I was the only one aware what was going on. Well, not the only one but most likely only sane person who knew. To top that all off, Strange was mind controlling the warden, Quincy Sharp, with Jervis Tetch' techniques.
What could I do? I just couldn't walk to the asylum and ask what was going on. The intel that I gathered indicated that if I did that, I would end up being the next test subject on Dr. Young's tests. That didn't sound like a desirable option to me.
I considered going to the police. I had all the evidence hidden inside my small apartment. However, going to the police was a big risk. Gotham Police force was notorious of its corruption rate. It wasn't as bad as it used to be but if Strange had his men inside GCPD I would be dead meat. Writing me out would be too easy, I was only a teenager with a questionable reputation and even though I had evidence some powerful men like Strange and Sharp could easily talk their way out of it, taking be down while they did it. Most likely they and Young had some fancy lawyers who would either buy their way to innocence or push me to jail. Maybe even both.
One option was going to Batman but how the fuck would I do that? Tape a paper-bat to my flashlight and shine it to the sky and hope for the best? I doubted that would work.
While I worked, I cleaned up the medical wing of the asylum. This was the building that I disliked the most on the island. For some reason I had always hated hospitals, must be some trauma connected to my brother. Besides, Medical Center had a weird energy and reminded me of a horror movie set with all the broken tiles and gargoyles. The atmosphere made me jumpy.
Killer Croc used to be held in hire until he broke out and ate couple guards while at it. He had been moved to Intensive Treatment but I avoided his old cell all the same. It smelled disgusting and I had passive aggressively denied to clean it up for weeks now. No other staff member seemed to be willing to do it either so it stayed rotting there and luring flies to feast on it.
"Becky? How nice it is to see you again." The voice startled me. I was sure I was alone. The voice was easily recognizable though.
"The Joker?" I asked. I walked towards the voice's source trying to see if anyone was with us. I found no-one.
"Here, Becky." Finally, I saw him. The Joker is tied into a bed in a corner of the big room. He seemed badly hurt. Most of him was covered in bandages but his bad condition didn't seem to bother his mood. He was smiling widely to me. "Did you find anything interesting?"
How did he know? Did he guess? Did someone tell him? Was I in trouble?
"It's okay. My eyes and ears are everywhere." He looked at me curiously, like a teacher observing their student.
I edged closer to him, squeezing a mob with my both hands.
"Don't be scared, Becky. It's only your uncle J. I wouldn't hurt you." He smiled dangerously. I knew he had hurt plenty of people before but my legs carried me closer to him all the same.
"Do you want to hear a secret, Becky. It's real juicy one." He winked at me.
I threw all my caution away. "Sure. What is it?"
"You have to come closer. No-one can hear it." He explained to me. I looked around us, still seeing that we were alone but did as he said. I was only one step away from the Joker.
"Don't be shy, Becky. I'm all tied up. I couldn't hurt you even if I wanted." He reassured. I took the final step.
The Joker smile widened to impossible heights. He waved his finger for me to bend closer so he could whisper to my ear. I hesitated but lowered my ear close to his lips.
"You should retire." He whispered.
"What?" I was taken back. I didn't know what I had been expecting but not that. Maybe something closer to biting my ear off but no. It wasn't even funny.
The Joker rolled his eyes like I was retarded. "Next week something big is gonna happen. It will all of those little secrets you dig up so nicely. Truly something to die for." He giggled.
I straightened my posture and looked at him with a confused expression. Before I could ask any questions I heard the elevator go so I backed away to continue my cleaning my head spinning from all the new information.
Back at the airship Arkham Knight is talking to a light-brown haired girl. She is wearing all black suit with many knives but her most noticeable weapons are a dangerous looking bow and arrows.
"I'll take the job but it's going to cost more than you think." The girl says. She looks relaxed, sure of herself but it is difficult to be sure when most of her face is hidden under black mask. Only unnaturally green eyes and a high-ponytail are not covered by the mask.
"I'm going to kill the Bat. I think I have enough money to pay you." The Knight doubts.
"I don't want money." The girl says, not skipping a beat.
"What do you want then?" The Knight questions.
"Something far more valuable." The girl demands.
The Knight wants to ask more but his communicator demands his attention.
"So we have a deal then?" The girl asks.
The Knight hesitates but agrees. The girl could cause trouble but nothing that he couldn't handle or assign Deathstroke take care of. "We have a deal. Now go. There is a life that I need to take."
The girl has disappeared. An old trick that the Knight knows far too well.
The brunette glides through air with help of her sleeves that remind raven's wings. She lands gracefully on top of a tall building and takes a small device out that looks similar to a smartphone.
It shouldn't be too difficult to locate the target, the girl thinks. He has stayed in his nest most of the night but the Knight gave her the first location to start of. First destination, the clock tower.
The girl pushes some buttons and sets off. She jumps to the ground in middle of a group of rioting thugs. Too easy, the girl smiles. It takes under a minute to kill them all.
"Who are you?" The last man asks, terrified.
"I'm going to kill you anyway. Does it matter to you to know your killer?" The girl says, holding the man still with a knife.
"I could become handy to you. I could go around Gotham, telling everyone that there is a new name in town. You would be feared." The man begs.
"I don't need help of criminal scum." The girl slits his throat. "But since you asked so nicely; I am Raven by the way."
Raven wipes blood from her hands casually. She steps over the dead body calmly, clearly unbothered by it. His life or his friends' life doesn't matter to Raven. Gotham is full of people like this and they all need to die. Criminals aren't even humans. They deserve to die. No shades of grey, only black and white.
Raven moves to a side alley. Her motorcycle is waiting for her there. No-one was able to steal it. Or, Raven sees a fried corpse next to it, died trying.
She triggers the bike. The engine runs smoothly causing Raven to smile. She has some work to do and it is easier with a working vehicle.
It doesn't take long for Raven reach the clock tower. According to her intel, it should be abandoned and the tower sure looks like it. Raven can't see anything special about the place but this is supposed to be one of Batman's allies' bases so Raven finds her way to the roof. She takes out the phone-looking device and locates the secret entrance which leads to a normal looking room. Just as she is about to give up her device beeps indicating a secret button near the stone bust. After some analyzing, Raven opens the statue and it starts to scan her.
The light changes from blue to red and Raven hears a clicking sound. She tries the door and then the elevator but the place is under lockdown.
"Shit." Raven curses out loud. She should have seen this coming. Of course Batman would have some security to protect his and his allies' hideouts. How could Raven be so careless, so stupid?
Remembering her training, Raven sits down in middle of the room, facing the elevator. She crosses her legs and closes her eyes, beginning to meditate. She knows her life isn't in danger, perhaps this is even good for her. There is three possible futures for her. One: She will be held as prisoner in here. Unlikely but possible. Two: Someone will check why the alarm went off. Most likely option and the most useful for Raven. Three: She would be forced to call backup. That would be unnecessary. She has been taught everything that there is need to know about Batman and his allies. Someone will come. There is no way to escape this place. She is forced to wait.
"That didn't take long." Raven opens her eyes when she hears the visitor. To her surprise she doesn't see Batman. Instead she sees Nightwing towering over her. He is a newer vigilante but should not be underestimated.
"Look who we have here." Nightwing leans casually to a shelf near Raven, smirking at her.
"Senior Boy-Wonder." Raven nods. "But where is the Junior."
"Am I not enough? I have to disappoint you, he isn't single." Nightwing answers.
Raven gives him an unamused look.
"But lucky for you, I am here to take you to custody." He says not moving.
Raven tries not to roll her eyes. "As if that will happen."
"Nice to meet optimists. They are so rare around here. But you aren't from here, aren't you?" Nightwing captures her with one smooth move but Raven frees herself effortlessly.
"Realist." She fixes. Raven knows she has to show enough resistance so he doesn't suspect anything is wrong. Despite not Raven giving her best, she is still impressed by Nightwing. Batman trained him well and there is a reason why he works solo nowadays.
"A for effort. Too bad I was better." He smirks while holding Raven as a captive. Five different ways to break out come to Raven's mind but she can't reveal all her cards yet. She needs to stay patient.
"What is it with me finding all these girls today?" Nightwing asks himself out loud.
Despite the Joker's warning I decided to come back to work. I was nervous. It had been exactly a week since our little talk but nothing out of ordinary had happened yet. The Joker had broke out shortly after our meeting but Batman hadn't brought him back yet. It was now or never, I figured.
I switched to my regular work uniform when I heard an announcement from the loudspeakers: "Batman is bringing the Joker in. All free guards, go to the Intensive Treatment now. Dr. Young, you are needed immediately. Rest of the staff, continue your regular duties."
Two guards walked past me talking something about how the Joker tried to kill the major and how Batman stopped him. Apparently it was on the evening news.
I had a bad feeling about this.
I continued my normal work schedule. As per usual, I started cleaning up the fucking place. Penitentiary wasn't as bad as the Medical Center but the whole island gave off that creepy horror movie vibe. Right around now, Whistler was supposed to come and give me my next work to do, usually bringing meds to the patients but she was nowhere to be found. I continued cleaning warily when I heard someone coming. I turned around, expecting seeing Whistler in her tight bun but instead my eyes found a blonde woman in a revealing nurse outfit running past me. She was clearly in a hurry.
"Harley Quinn." I said before I was able to stop myself.
Harley turned around, just noticing me. "Oh, sweetie pie. You shouldn't have said that. Now I have to kill you. You are not in Mr. J's party list."
"You don't have to kill me." I said quickly, somehow not afraid. "I'll be quiet. I didn't even see you."
Harley looked at me skeptically.
Crazy idea came to my head. "Besides, no-one would believe me anyway." I looked at my toes, hoping for the best.
"Aww." To my surprise, Harley was ruffling my hair. "I used to be like that too. Trust me, kiddo, I know how it feels. When everyone looks down on you and no-one respects you. Things will get better. Your time will come. For me it was my Mr. J rescuing me and setting me free. Your turn will be soon. But let me give you some advice first."
Harley bended closer to me. She was definitely not tall, but taller than me. "This is a cruel world we live in, ruthless. But you can beat it if you don't hesitate to use everything that you got to your advantage when you have the chance."
I stared at her, pondering her words.
"Maybe I don't have to kill you. I see great potential in you, kid." Harley said. Her delicate hands wrapped around my throat, shutting air off. I tried weakly to realise myself but my limbs became too weak for any resistance.
"Sorry. This is the only way, sweetie." Harley's voice echoed around my head when I lost consciousness.
A/N: Okay, couple things. First: This story will not have fast updates because I am really busy and kind of lazy. Second: Thank you for all those who have left a review. Without you, I wouldn't continue this. Third: Raven is a new side character. If you have read my other story (Mad Night in Mad House) forget everything that you think you know about her. The main character in that story shares their alias name with this Raven and they have a similar costume but other than that, they are completely different characters. I just happen to like ravens. Thank you for patience and please leave a review.
Knockout: Don't worry. Glad to hear that. Hope you still continue to read this. Sorry for taking this long to update.
xXSherlockianGirlXx: Thank you. Your review motivated me to write more. I really want to finish this story so I am grateful for you helping me find my motivation.