Despite the bravado Casey put on when she realized she would be going into Blackgate with Gordon during a full-on riot. She chewed on her lip nervously as they got closer and closer to the prison. Some of the worst criminals were locked up there—well now they weren't—and that included the Joker. And she remembered what she saw from the cameras the at the Royal Hotel. She knew he was a dangerous man.
And I'm going right in there.
"This is Captain Gordon," Gordon spoke into his radio. "I need someone on the inside to secure the main gate. Repeat, I need someone on the inside to secure the front gates to Blackgate Prison. Can anyone hear me?"
"We can probably count on the Batman being there," Casey remarked. "If there aren't any guards left, I can bet you he's our only defense."
Gordon clenched his fists around his steering wheel harder. "I know," was the only thing he said.
"Prison Officer 4-7 to Captain James Gordon," someone said on the radio. "What is your ETA at Blackgate?"
"Yes," Gordon hissed out in relief. "About five minutes. You getting those gates open?"
"Be ready by the time you're here."
"Casey," Gordon said suddenly.
Casey snapped to attention. "Yes?"
"The system will be down at Blackgate and I know you know your way around the system given how you knew about certain happenings there early tonight."
"Your point is?"Her stomach shriveled into a little ball. She had an idea what he was saying...
"I want you to help get the system online, anything that can give us an edge over the criminals in the prison. If we can get the placeworking, we can get them back into their cells and start restoring peace," Gordon explained.
"That is something I can do," Casey admitted. "If you just leave me in a nice corner or something, I can work some electronic magic."
"Good," Gordon said and they pulled into the front gate. They scrambled out and Gordon addressed the men waiting for them. "SWAT is on their way, what's the status?"
"Criminals are all over the place," one told them. "We had to evacuate a lot of areas and a lot of people are still trapped inside."
"Do we know where the Joker is?"
"He's in the panopticon," a younger security guard spoke up. His blue eyes darted from Gordon to Casey. "I saw him head off that way when I was helping some doctors out."
"Good. I'll head that way. You two," he looked at the older guards, "stay here and wait for SWAT. And you," he finally looked at the youngest of the three. "I need you to come with me." He also motioned for Casey to follow him and she did.
The inside of Blackgate was an absolute mess. There were mattresses and toilet paper strewn about. Papers were all over the floor and green paint covered the floors and the walls. Someone drew smiley faces, Ha ha ha's, and various other graffiti with the paint. And in some places, guards were hung up on cell bars, dead.
Casey fought the nausea rising in her throat at the sight of the dead guards. She covered her her mouth with her hand and looked away. Instead, she tried to focus on her task at hand. "Is there someplace with a computer or something? Like a security room?"
"Yeah, there's one this way." The guard pointed down a hallway. "This hall will also lead down to where the Joker's holed up."
"Good," Gordon said. "Take Casey there. I'm going to head for the panopticon. And Casey," he fully addressed her. "Under no circumstances are you to leave that room unless I'm there or take off your vest. Do you understand?"
"Yes sir."
"Good." He looked at the officer. "Stay with her and keep her safe. You have a gun?"
"Yes," he said.
"Good. I'll see you after all this is over. Remember Casey, get the system up and get it up fast."
"I'll try," Casey replied. Gordon nodded briefly and headed off further down the hallway while the officer led Casey into a side room filled with several monitors and computers.
"What's your name?" She asked as she booted up the computer.
"Adam Jenkins," he replied. He had to be only a few years older than her. He nervously ran his hands through his dark hair. "Can you only believe this is my first month here?"
"Yes," Casey replied bluntly. She didn't have time for pleasantries. Not while Gordon was heading toward a mass of criminals with only himself and his gun.
"My wife told me I should take it for the meantime until something better came along. If I knew this would've happened, I would just said I could be unemployed for a few more months. It's not big deal," Adam rambled on.
"Adam," Casey looked up from the computer, "no offense but can you please shut up? I'm trying to concentrate and I'm already a big bundle of nerves."
"Sorry," he said hastily. "I'm also nervous too, in case you couldn't tell."
"I can tell," she said. "But I need to focus on this."
"Well what's happening there?" He asked and sat down next to her.
"There's extensive damage to the system. But for now, I'm trying to concentrate on the area where the Joker is. I can get the cells and the lock-down doors online. At best that will help us isolate some criminals until more backup gets here but it's a long shot."
"How so?"
She pointed to something on her screen and pulled up whatever working cameras she had left, showing him the damage. "It's would be nearly impossible to fix all this behind a computer. A lot of things are going to need a manual fix but since we can't leave here, I have to make do with what I have."
"But you can fix stuff, right?" Adam asked nervously.
"Of course I can. It just might take me a while. I'm a programmer and analyst first. Not a mechanic. So anything I want to try and fix, I need to reboot and hope that works. Otherwise, I have to fix it from scratch and that's no simple task. And I might only have minutes."
She typed in a command to reboot the doors and after thirty seconds, a voice came on speaker: "Cell doors online."
"That's something," she said as Adam whooped. "Now let's see if I can get the lock-down doors to start working."
"I thought those engaged the moment the riot started?" Adam asked.
"They did," Casey admitted. "But if I can get in control of them, I can choose to engage them where I will. I can cut off the prisoners while opening a path for SWAT. Get it?"
"And ruin all my hard work?" A third person cut in. "Well that's not very nice, is it?"
Casey and Adam jumped and wheeled around. There was no mistaking the long, leather, purple jacket, the white face, green hair, and red lips. Leaning against the door frame was the same man she saw being put into a cruiser at the Royal. The man who was dressed up like a macabre clown: The Joker.
And he was pointing a gun at them.
Hesitantly, she put her hands up. Next to her, Adam did the same. How did he get here? What happened to Gordon? What about Batman? Hundreds of questions and scenarios ran through her head,all of them bad.
The Joker motioned for them to stand with his gun and they did. His eyes darted from Casey to Adam. "Tsk, tsk. Someone's been naughty this Christmas," he said mockingly. "And you know what happens to naughty children on Christmas?" He pointed the gun at Adam.
BANG.
Casey screamed as a spray of blood came out from Adam's head. His eyes were wide as he sank to the floor, unmoving. Oh my God. Oh no, please, no. She looked back to the Joker with frightened eyes, almost crying in terror when she saw the gun was pointed at her.
"And you're the one trying to undo my hard work here," he giggled. He took a step closer and Casey took a step back, her hip hitting the desk. He peered at her before he broke out into a wide grin, showing off all his teeth. "I remember you!" He practically sang out. "You were at the Royal!"
Oh sweet merciful Jesus above she was going to die. Casey tried to swallow the lump in her throat but her mouth had gone dry.
"Ooh, I was so hoping we would meet again," He said in a tone Casey didn't like.
He motioned at her with the gun again. "Take it off," he said.
Casey swore her heart stopped. She eventually managed to choke out, "W-what?"
The Joker grinned again. "The vest. Take it off."
Gordon's words came back to her: "Under no circumstances are you to remove your vest." And Casey would follow that order but she never expected she would be face to face with the man—monster—who orchestrated tonight's events.
With trembling hands and a silent apology to Gordon, she reached for the velcro straps holding her vest together and undid them. She allowed her vest to fall to the ground joining Adam's lifeless body.
"Good girl," the Joker praised and sauntered over to her. The tip of his gun went under her I.d. badge so he could examine it more closely. "Kay-see... Wilson." He dropped the gun away from her put he put his arm around her shoulders and he pressed her uncomfortably into his side. He smelled of gunpowder and leather, Casey thought briefly before panic began to set in from being so close to him.
"Take a walk with me," he said.
She had no choice but to follow him as he had a steel grip on her. "Such a shame you would try and stop all this," he was saying as they walked down the hall. "It took so much hard work to get this to go without a hitch. Why, even the Batman came out to play!" He said all this conversationally like he didn't have a gun to Casey's side.
She felt numb. She felt like she was slowly slipping away, like her mind was just going somewhere else. Maybe it was the shock. Maybe she was finally losing it after everything that happened tonight. She didn't know but she was jolted back into her body when he prodded her ribs with the gun, hard.
"Now, now. Pay attention, Casey," The Joker reminded her. "It would be a bad idea for you to get distracted. That's how people get injured. And you know safety is important!" He giggled again and Casey fought a shudder but lost her battle. He laughed again, no doubt he felt it.
"This way," he said as he led her down another hallway. Numbly, Casey thought she had seen this hallway before but she couldn't remember where.
"Ah, so many memories here," the Joker sighed. "I was hear earlier, giving Commissioner Loeb his sentence."
And then it clicked. They were heading towards Death Row where the execution chamber was.
And it was then Casey knew she was going to die. Panic overtook her. She pulled away from him and tried to make a break for it. But he wrapped his hand around her upper arm in a painful grip and brought her back to his side. "That was naughty," he scolded.
"Pl-please let me go," Casey begged. She was so scared. Her entire body was trembling and she was sure he could feel it.
"Let you go?" He said, astonished. "But who would I have for company? Oh no, my dear. You're staying with me."
"Freeze!" She heard someone shout and hope rushed back to her like a breath of life. "Let her go and put your hands in the air."
In one fluid movement the Joker spun Casey around with his arm like they were dancing and pressed her into his chest. His free arm wrapped around her own chest, keeping her close as he turned to the police. Casey could see Gordon, the Warden, and a few other officers pointing guns at them.
"Now, now boys. Wouldn't want to hit lil' ole Casey here, would you?" The Joker asked playfully as he pointed his own gun at them. And then he fired, hitting an officer.
Casey screamed and her ears rang. She wanted to clap her hands over them but she couldn't reach. Not with the Joker pinning her arms down.
"This is Captain James Gordon in Blackgate Prison," she heard Gordon shout in the distance as the Joker backed up, shooting at the officers and dragging Casey with him. "The Joker has us pinned down in death row. Requesting reinforcements! Repeat, this is Captain James Gordon requesting reinforcements! Pinned down on death row at Blackgate! He has a hostage!"
Casey squeezed her eyes shut. She didn't want to see—she didn't want to watch as the Joker murdered the people trying to save her. The Joker fired a few more shots before he put his down down and focused on dragging Casey. "Come now, the festivities are almost done!" He laughed in her ear and her eyes snapped open.
Instead of the execution chamber, he pulled her into the chapel.
The chapel? What were they doing here?
The Joker finally released her only to shove her in the direction of the altar in front of the pews. She barely managed to catch herself. Behind her, the Joker laughed without restraint.
"Oh what fun!" He said in between laughs. "I've never had a Christmas this grand!" He turned his grin towards her and Casey wished she could back up but she was trapped. "Wouldn't you agree?"
He advanced on her. "Come, come, don't be shy! Speak up, Casey!"
"I," Casey started. Her eyes darted towards the chapel door. Could she run or would he shoot her in the back? Her hands shook and she clenched them shut. "It'll be one everyone will remember," she finally said.
He smiled widely—how can he smile like that, Casey wondered—and laughed again. "Yes they will, won't they?" He leaned in closer to her so his nose was touching hers. Her terrified, blue eyes were locked with his green—so very green—ones. "Shame you won't get to see the rest," he whispered to her.
She vaguely registered hearing something clatter to the floor. But then she felt a strange sensation around her neck. She lifted her hands to her throat and found something barring her way. He had his hands wrapped around her throat, choking her.
Casey tried to speak but she had no air. She tried to breathe but the air wouldn't reach her lungs. She gasped out, trying to breathe as she clawed at his gloved hands. Her knees buckled and she sank to the floor, the Joker following her, keeping his hands on her throat.
She was dying. He was killing her. She was going to die and the last thing she would see would be his face. That white face, red lips stretched in a maniacal grin—he was enjoying this—and those green eyes. Her hands fell away, weak. Black spots appeared in her vision and her head swam.
The sound of horrible laughter echoed in her ears and her vision went black.
-x-
Batman emerged from the cell block where he fought Bane for the last time. He left Bane hanging upside down, feebly talking about finding the Batman. The secret Bane found out was long gone. He would never remember Batman's true identity. He and Alfred were safe again.
But Batman couldn't dwell on that. He heard Gordon's call for help. He was pinned down by the Joker in death row and the Joker had a hostage. He needed to hurry.
"Master Bruce, can you hear me?" Alfred cried through the comm link.
"Yes, I can hear you Alfred," Batman replied. "And thank you for the help with Bane."
"I trust he's down for good this time?"
"He's secure. And it appears the TN-1 Bane took damaged his memory—permanently."
"Does that mean he won't be revealing your identity?"
"Looks that way."
"Glad to hear it, sir. And the Joker?"
"He's still on the loose—but not for long," Batman growled. Everything that happened tonight. It all boiled down to him. And Batman would make sure it would end with him.
"This is Captain Gordon at Blackgate Prison requesting immediate medevac!" Gordon's voice filtered in through his cowl. "Warden Joseph has been shot. Repeat, Warden Joseph is down."
"EMT chopper en route," He heard the dispatcher reply back. "ETA fifteen minutes."
"Tell them to hurry up!"
Fifteen minutes would be too long. He had to move quickly. He climbed up a ladder and took the quickest shortcut back to where the riot had been thickest.
To his luck, he found Warden Joseph tucked against a wall, holding his side. "Where's Gordon?" Batman demanded as he approached.
Warden Joseph only wheezed, "S-sniper!" He pointed down the hallway weakly.
Batman's head snapped to where Warden Joseph was pointing and he caught a glimpse of a sniper before heavy footsteps sounded behind him.
"Would ya looks at who's back for more?" The newcomer laughed. It was Killer Croc. In a quick flash, he had Batman by the throat, dangling him in the air.
Batman did not have time for this. "I've had enough of you for one night," he hissed.
Croc laughed again. "Not yet you haven't," he sneered.
He had to act quickly, there was a sniper aiming at him. But when he heard the pop of the rifled, it hit Croc in the arm, missing him completely. Croc dropped him in surprise. "Screw this," He snarled. "Want the Joker? Take 'im."
Killer Croc left through the elevator as a mass of prisoners filtered into the hallway. Gordon, who had knocked the sniper down at the last second, climbed down a ladder to join Batman. "Help me keep these guys off the Warden," Gordon said and raised his fists.
Batman was only too inclined to help.
Gordon wasn't a bad fighter. He didn't have the finesse of someone trained considering how he moved but he had power. Batman could respect that. He liked it when someone didn't rely on only their gun. "You fight well," he commented after the last prisoner fell.
"Had a rough childhood," he said stoutly. He hurried over to the Warden and pressed his hands against his wound. "Joseph, they're on their way. You're going to make it."
"Where's the Joker?" Batman didn't pause. He had to keep moving.
Gordon looked up at him and then jerked his head at the door on the far end. "He went through that door, towards the chapel."
"Thanks."
Gordon looked back to Batman. "And there's another thing. He's got Casey." With his free hand, he punched the ground. "Damn it, I shouldn't have brought her."
Casey. His jaw clenched and he made his way to the chapel. She already had been caught up in so much tonight. She didn't deserve to be threatened by the Joker. He saw what the Joker was capable of. And he wouldn't let her fate be the same as all of the Joker's victims.
He remembered seeing her for the first time, her eyes wide in fright as Anarky threatened her, that ridiculous hat, and how she blurted out everything that came to mind, clearly nervous around him.
But most of all, he remembered her thanking him and telling him she was on his side and she knew Gotham needed him.
And she's in danger because of me, he thought heavily. Casey wouldn't have gotten into all that trouble if not for him.
No. He couldn't dwell on that. Casey needed him now. He couldn't think back to all the fights from the night and pity himself. He had to stay in the moment. People were depending on him.
He approached the chapel, steeling himself for whatever was to come. She better be alright, was his last thought before he entered through the chapel doors.
What he saw made his blood boil.
Casey was splayed out on the steps of the pulpit, unmoving, and the Joker was kneeling above her with his hands around her throat. The Joker looked up when he heard him approached and started laughing. "Oh Bats," he wheezed out, not noticing Batman storm towards him, furiously. "What a night!" He removed his hands from Casey's throat and stood up just as Batman reached him.
Batman grabbed him by the collar, picking him up. Fury encased him. How dare he do this to all those people? How dare he do this to Casey?
The Joker seemed to think this amusing because he laughed again, spreading his limbs into the air. "Fresh off a kill and back for more, eh?"
Batman lowered him closer, only marginally. "Bane's still alive," He gritted out.
That wiped the smirk from the Joker's face. He reached into his coat and pulled out the heart monitor. It beeped steadily, showing them both that Bane was alive and well. The Joker glared down at him. "Now that's not funny." He slammed the monitor down to the ground and aimed a punch at him.
Batman reacted before the Joker even had time and deflected but the Joker's other hand flew out and punched him in the face. And with his other hand, he pulled out a gun and pointed it at him. "All this—all this rage. All directed at me, and for what? You know if you'd actually let me finish a sentence, you might learn something. You might learn that we're not so different. You might even learn something about yourself!"
"You need to learn to shut up!" Batman snapped back. The anger was back and it was coursing through him.
In a split second, Joker's finger tightened on the trigger and Batman knocked the gun out of his hand and swiftly sent him flying back into the pews.
"Is all this for you or for me?" Joker continued. "You must know that I'm a lost cause. But there's still hope for you. Yes. I've go great hopes for you. So c'mon. Don't stop now!" He bounced up and down, preparing for the fight. "Casey even had hopes for you. High hopes."
The anger surged through him again at the mention of Casey's name and Batman landed another punch to his face. He grabbed a hold of him and threw him again, slamming him into the stain glass window.
"You just can't get it through your thick skull," the Joker continued as he grabbed two shards of glass. With a wheeze as he struggled to get up, he shouted, "WE BOTH EXIST BECAUSE OF THEM!"
Batman was beyond having enough. "Give up!" He roared right back. "You've lost!"
Joker swiped at him, Batman deflected and punched him. He tried to stab him with the other shard but Batman countered him with a jab to the ribs and he dropped the glass.
All the rage Batman had contained throughout the night came loss in a torrent. He punched Joker repeatedly, over and over again. He was so sure that he broke several ribs, maybe even his jaw but he didn't care. He wanted him to suffer.
The punches only ended when Batman uppercut his jaw and the Joker landed on the altar. The Joker laughed again as Batman took hold of him and raised his fist, ready for another beat down.
"That's why you do it, isn't it?" The Joker giggled weakly. "You like the way it feels. It's what you need."
Batman snarled and punched him again. He picked the Joker up and slammed him down onto the floor.
"Come on, baby!" The Joker taunted. "Beat me 'til your knuckles bleed... And why quit there? You know there's only one way to stop me."
And then Batman's hands wrapped around his throat, squeezing the life out of him. But the Joker only continued to laugh and laugh. This was the man who killed innocent people, Batman reminded himself. He murdered Loeb, the bank teller, the guests at the Royal, Executioner, Casey...
Casey!
He glanced up where Casey lay. In the commotion he had forgotten about her. She was still unmoving but it was like he heard her in his head. "And you and I both know he's the only one who can get this guy without getting innocent people killed!" Her words rang through his head. Casey believed he was a hero because he never killed anyone.
Even after everything, he could start killing now. He risked his life to bring Bane back to life. He couldn't—wouldn't kill the Joker. With the last ounce of his strength, he lifted his fist and punched the Joker square in the face, knocking him out cold.
It was over. A moment's respite came over him before his eyes landed on Casey's prone form again. He knelt beside her. "Casey!" She wasn't breathing.
He sprang into action. He only had minutes to resuscitate her before she was gone. He put his hands in the center of her chest and started compressions and counted. After thirty compressions, he tilted her head back, opened her mouth, and pinched her nose shut. Carefully, he leaned down and pressed his lips against hers and blew air into her mouth. When her chest rose, he quickly started the chest compressions again.
"C'mon, Casey, breathe!" He ordered after her blew into her mouth the second time and started more compressions.
"No matter what my bosses say about you, I think you're really what Gotham needs." Her voice came back to him.
"I swear I'm not doing this on purpose," Casey blurted when he had gotten her free of Deadshot's grip. Her eyes were large and her face flushed. She must've been terrified. Never did he think he would meet her again like this.
"I think I just put my job on the line for you."
"I would've opened that fire door for you."
"Breathe!" He shouted one last time.
As if she heard him, her eyes sprang open. Casey bucked in his grip, gasping for air and coughing violently.
He knew he should give her space—give her air—but his arm wrapped around her shoulders, stilling her and pulling her into him. "You're okay," he said as gently as he could.
In return, she kept coughing and gasping but her hand grabbed onto his arm and squeezed for dear life. "I—" She choked out. "I—"
"Take it easy," he told her.
Her eyes sought his and they met. "Four times," she coughed out, "thank... you." She tried to smile but another coughing fit overtook her.
He allowed the tiniest of smiles to slip through. She was going to be fine.
"Casey!" Gordon had arrived. He rushed to her side, stepping over the Joker. "You alright?"
"She needs medical attention," Batman informed him. "She was almost asphyxiated."
Gordon clicked his radio on and spoke into it, "this is Captain Gordon. I need a medic in the Blackgate Prison Chapel right away."
Gordon glanced behind him at the Joker, still unconscious. "Any one of my guys would have killed him," he commented.
Batman let go of Casey, releasing her into Gordon's care. Gordon eased her back down onto the stairs, giving her room to breathe. Batman picked up Gordon's fallen gun. "This city deserves better than that." Gordon stood up as Batman handed the gun back to him.
The officer slowly took it. "You know, my daughter thinks you're a hero." Behind him, Casey coughed. But Gordon pointed the gun at him. "But I still have to bring you in."
Batman shot him an irritated look. After everything, he thought he had an ally in Gordon.
"Gordon—come in! What's your 20?" Someone called over the radio. Gordon looked down to answer and Batman took the opportunity. With one last look at Casey, he disappeared into the shadows and left.
-x-
"But I still have to bring you in," Gordon said with his gun pointed at Batman.
If Casey could, she would remind him of everything Batman had done for them over the night but she was focused on breathing. I'm alive, she thought, I'm truly alive because of him. She leaned her head back and took a deep breath.
She looked back up to see that Batman had gone. Next to her, she heard the sound of handcuffs clicking and to her horror, the unconscious body of the Joker was only mere inches away. She tried to scramble away but her body wasn't cooperating, she was still weak.
"Take it easy, Casey. He's not going to hurt you." Gordon correctly guessed what sent alarm through her. "Medics are on their way. Just rest."
Medics arrived not soon after. They hooked her up to some oxygen and placed her on a stretcher. When other officers arrived to take the Joker away, Gordon accompanied the EMTs. "Where are you taking her?"
"Gotham General," one replied. "We'll run tests, make sure there's no serious damage and keep her under observation."
Casey closed her eyes, breathing deeply. She felt tired. The events had finally caught up to her and she wanted nothing more than to sleep. She wondered vaguely if Batman headed back to wherever he lived to rest or if he was back out on Gotham streets fighting more crime.
Whatever the case, she felt safer already.
-x-
Gordon got back into his car after he made sure Casey was transferred into good hands at the hospital. Barbara had given him a comm link shortly afterwards saying he needed to talk to him. And Gordon knew exactly who she was talking about. "Batman?" He said hesitantly into his radio. "It's Captain Gordon. Some convicts from Blackgate Prison escaped and I would appreciate your help. If you find any, can you give me your location?"
There was no response but Gordon was sure Batman got the message. And as an afterthought he added, "She's okay by the way. She's settled in at Gotham General. They're keeping her for a while but they told me she'll make a full recovery."
Still no answer but Gordon set the radio down. The law-abiding part of him didn't want to trust the Batman but the man in him wanted to. He saw what Barbara and Casey saw in him. He knew now that Batman did inspire people, he showed them that there was hope yet for Gotham. They could take the city away from the corrupt and give it back to the good.
There was a change in Gotham now. And Gordon could only hope it would be for the better.
-x-
And that concludes Arkham Origins! I really enjoyed writing this chapter and Casey's confrontation with the Joker.
I actually talked with a friend of mine who is in the medical field and it was medically accurate for Batman to revive Casey with CPR instead of the shock gloves, i.e. a defibrillator.
So, this is the end of Part One. Part Two will start soon and I will continue it on this story because I don't want to create different stories. We'll delve into more characters as they come out to face Batman. I'm going to try and include Cold, Cold Heart and Blackgate later on. No promises for Blackgate though.
And one last thing, has anybody been watching Gotham? I'm in love with Eddie on that show. So adorable. Just need to know if anyone else have those same sentiments.
Reviews, favorites, and follows are love! See ya in chapter nine for part two!