40Chapter One
Meetings and Threats
Before you go off judging us, I'll have you know: we don't remember a single thing. Everything about the incident, from the bombs to the toxic gas, we don't remember a single thing. So, I guess you can say we're not guilty. Or maybe you can say...we're not innocent. But hey, it's all in the eye of the beholder is how the saying goes.
People can say that we are psychopaths and maybe we kind of are. What we don't remember doing was really horrific, so we don't blame people for thinking that we are. But, we both want you all to know something that is dire to know before you go on reading thinking that we are heartless and have completely lost it there is only one word that might not make sense now but it may later;
OBSESSION
"You two have to strip down," the guard informed us.
Bridgette and I gaped at him in open mouthed shock. Tonight has been blow after blow. It's all so surreal, like one of those delusional dreams you have one night, only to wake up not able to remember it. Perhaps it's the complete absurdity of the situation that makes my mind to be all messed up scrambled eggs. Whenever I'm faced with stress, whether it be a test or whatever, instead of being logical, my emotions do the exact opposite of what everyone suspects they would. I get super happy and giggly. You can tell that I'm stressed when everything just seems to be one, humongous and hilarious joke to me.
Bridgette says I've really got to work on that, before people think I'm insane. And Bridgette is so totally right. Because in intense settings such as the infamous Arkham Asylum, I can't afford to look even the slightest bit insane if I ever want to get out of here.
Which is why, I completely hate myself after this.
"Oh that's hilarious!" I darkly chuckled. The guard seemed puzzled and turned to give me a stern quizzical expression. And this, just fueled me even more. The giggles poured out in a delicious stream and I relished in every second of my inappropriateness. "Well aren't you a pervert? I've heard of stuff like this happening before, but I never-" another burst of delighted laughter, "thought it would happen this soon!"
"Yeah sir, we're kind of out of your league also," Bridgette winked and I laughed even harder.
Now this is why she's my best friend! Ever since in kindergarten when we performed our signature prank on jerky Andy Biggins (classic apple juice spill to make him look like he peed his pants) we've been inseparable. Our friendship is as strong as steel, as thick as blood. It's survived through elementary, middle school, and high school, and honestly if a friendship can survive through all the public schools, that's a sign that it's written in the stars! We've toughened through it all! We had our world turned upside down...but we managed to endure through it. That's why we're now roommates, both of us because it helps with the expenses for college. For me though it's mostly because I absolutely can NOT stand being alone, and for her...I don't know. Her reasons for rooming with me may just be because we're best friends.
Our schedule is a collage of knitty-gritty business (studying is a total killer), and fun. Weekends are usually a blast, because there's always enough friends to scour up for a game night or an adventure across town. And today had just started as one of those days. Nothing amazing, or nothing horrible. We both had a day off work, and with no classes to go to since because of the pipes bursting we decided to go roam Gotham! It was going to be a blast. I was talking Bridgette into going down to the hospital and donating some blood for a free donut, and then later on we could hopefully swing by a shoe sale, maybe go to a club after. We're just two normal girls, honestly. Two normal girls, living two normal lives, and dreaming two normal dreams. Everything was going amazing. Until...we both blacked out.
Don't ask me how it happened. One moment we were laughing about something, fixing to go down and ride a bus, when...everything went black. I couldn't see anything, think anything, or feel anything. It was as though I was suspended in absolute nothingness. It was terrifying and for a moment, I could've sworn I was dead. But then, after what felt like eternity, I woke back up to shrilling sirens and flashing red, white, and blue lights. Bridgette and I were passed out in front of a totally annihilated building, people missing half their bodies were strewn everywhere, and orange flames licked the night sky. It was chaotic, like we woke up in hell. For a moment I was screaming hysterically in absolute horror when I happened to look down and noticed...there was blood on my hands. There was blood on Bridgette's hands also. And we were lying in the middle of this absolute bloodshed and we were completely unscathed. Not a single scratch. That's when the fear and gnawing suspicion settled in. As the police pulled up, I was dissolved in a fit of incurable giggles and we were standing there looking completely guilty.
But just because I can't cope with those emotions doesn't mean anything.
Just because I was laughing in the middle of a crime scene with dozens of dead people, doesn't mean that I was guilty.
The guard in front of us sneered at Megan and shot me a dirty look at what I said. He reached over to the table behind him and shoved two orange jumpsuits, plain grey sports bras, and underwear at us unceremoniously.
"I don't want to be here all day, so you two better strip and put these on before I make you wish that you were one of the people that you massacred." His voice only held steely venom which went to show how many times he's done something like this.
Megan's giggles got a little strained and I gave the guard my best glare. "I can make you like one of the people you think we killed if that's what you want," I hissed at him, feeling those familiar stinging angry tears come over me. Don't get me wrong- I don't know if we were the ones that actually killed all of those people and blew up that building. By the way the police found us, with everything pointing to us, that made me feel nauseous and, well...shocked. I was on the constant defensive since the police arrested us. I mean who wouldn't be? And on top of that, I couldn't help a lot of my sarcastic comments from tumbling out which probably dug us deeper than Megan's deranged giggles.
I've been trying to keep myself from decking anyone that kept accusing us without hearing what we have to say. That was one of the things that annoyed the hell out of me- people not listening or refusing to listen, and also people that are completely wrong in their reasoning. I'm the kind of girl that is actually really nice and happy normally, with the polite smiles and playfully teasing voice. But, when you got me mad or irritated there is almost no stopping me. Especially when it came to Megan, who is sometimes blissfully ignorant to the horrors of the world.
"Just put them on and don't give any trouble or I'll have to do it for you," The guard said a vein bulging on his forehead.
Megan laughed, her voice having the slightest waver as she grabbed the clothes handed to us and said "Of course sir! If you'll just turn aro...," a wave of mirth overtook her and she was unable to continue as the angry guard turned around.
We both hurriedly changed out of our blood encrusted clothes and I had to concentrate really hard not to throw up at the sight of them.
"We're done," I said curtly. He turned around and with each hand grabbed us by our upper arms a little too tightly. He lead us out of the room we were in and ushered us towards a small group three people in the long white coats of a doctor, and four other men in guard uniforms.
"What do you want to do with them, Dr. Arkham?" The only female in the group asked the man that was slightly taller than the other two doctors when she noticed us being lead to them. She looked at us with mild curiosity.
The man called looked at us and I saw a flicker of disgust in his eyes when we were presented before them. "I want you to put them in cells in the C wing," he said grim finality in his voice.
"The C wing?" The other male doctor with blonde hair and brown eyes asked dubiously. Megan was about to break out into another wave of giggles when I gave her a warning look. While she managed to keep them silent. I could see her shoulders shake with silent nervous laughter. I tried to keep my face blank of emotion as I forced my tears of anger and now panic down, I wasn't sure what the C wing was but by the way the blonde man and the woman were acting- it wasn't a good thing.
"Yes, the C wing." The man snapped.
"Of course, ," The woman said as she reached into one of the pockets of her coat. The blonde man followed suit and they both pulled out capped syringes filled with clear liquid. The woman approached Megan while the man did the same with me, and they uncapped the syringes of a mysterious substance. "I'm sorry," the woman apologized. "But the first night is always the hardest and we find it's easier for new patients to be administered a mild sedative to help them sleep. The rest of the patients in your wing are currently at group therapy so you will both meet them in the morning when you're awake," She gave us both a kind smile that did little calm me. And before I could pull away like I wanted to, I felt the needle slide into the vein in the crook of my left arm. I instantly felt drowsy.
The guards then moved to flank us and started to lead us away and the blonde man told them, "You might want to go fast; I don't think you guys want to carry them to their cells."
"Yes, sir," came a voice and they picked up their pace to lead us down the winding corridors. They stopped briefly at a metal door and in a panel to the right of the door typed in a password that my tired eyes couldn't make out.
When we were lead in I noted the glass windows that acted as doors to the cells so that you can see everything that went on in them. They were currently all empty. My eyes were starting to droop and I became more sluggish as they lead us further in. I heard Megan sleepily mumble something but I could hardly think straight myself.
I gratefully dropped myself onto the thin mattress in the cell when I was pushed inside it. Before I slipped into grateful darkness I heard one of the guards chuckle and say, "They got in with the big time crazys. Must of been something big to get them in here for their first time."
"Meeeeeegaaan," a familiar voice sang at me eerily.
A shot of fear went through me. That sounded like-
"Oh sweet Megan," the voice cooed. "I told you to be careful."
I stirred suddenly and now there was no denying it. I knew that voice! It was a voice that made me both want to sing, cry, and...and scream. Why was I hearing it? This wasn't happening. It couldn't possibly be-
"Ah!" I screamed, bolting up in the cot.
Confused, I took in my surroundings. I didn't recognize any of this. Wait, no. No, no, no! It was as though I had woken from a nightmare only to realize that I was living in one. I was in a prison cell. Breathing became hard as I looked frantically around and everything came back to me. The blacking out...the murdered people...us, me and Bridgette-becoming prime suspects. NOOOO! I yanked up the lumpy pillow I was resting on earlier and sank my teeth down into it, letting out a horrified scream. Constantly, I kept on repeating to myself: that this wasn't happening and that it's all just a dream. But I knew it wasn't. Dreams weren't this crisp in detail, they were always blurry around the edges. Usually you aren't self aware that you're just strung high in a delusion, you're ignorant to the fantasies going on in your head. But now I was aware. I knew that I was in a stark white cell, on a crappy cot, and in front of me, my cell was blocked off by glass. And through that glass across the dark hall I thought I could see someone with a wild tangle of green hair sleeping.
No, no, no, no, no, no!
"AAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHH!" I screamed, recognizing that person immediately. "Bridgette wake UP!"
To the cell on right of me, there was an infuriated shout and a loud crash. My heart leapt to my chest and I swung my legs over the side to run over to the wall desperately. "Bridgette, is that you!?" I cried, tears springing to my eyes.
"Yeah dork, why didn't you just come over here to wake me up!?" she shouted at me through the cell. yet even though I could tell she was angry, a surge of relief ran through me. Everything was so messed up, so completely strange and twisted, that I needed some foundation of normalcy in my life so I'd not snap. While everything here is wrong, wrong, and wronger, at least I know that my best friend is in here with me. We've been through so much together...at least that legacy doesn't end here. I'm not completely surrounded by psychos. Finally, Bridgette groaned in annoyance at my dead silence. "What do you want?" she asked me, in a softer voice.
My chin quivered and I ran a hand across my wet eyes. "W-w-we're in a cell Bridge," I informed her, my voice cracking.
The other side was silent as Bridgette slowly took this in. In that moment I felt my heart shatter. What had we gotten ourselves into? Or more correctly: what did people think we got ourselves into? Memories of my behavior earlier came back in an unwanted flood and I nearly collapsed then and there from distress. Oh my goodness...what have we done!? Now we're the ultimate culprits for this heinous crime, and who was going to believe our innocence plead? We were so absolutely and irredeemably stupid!
After a while, Bridgette spoke. "Yeah...I guess we are."
Frustrated, I bit hard down on my lip to keep the insane giggles at my bay. After the hole I've dug us into, I could not lose myself in another wave of hysteria! We had to get out of here! But everything seemed so bleak, so lost, so dark like the shadows of the moon. Already I could feel myself sinking into this stupid depression that I automatically loathed.
See, this was why my body's automatic reaction to stress was to lose myself in giggles. It warded off the sadness and made my inner sun shine for just a few milliseconds longer. If I painted a smile on my face and laughed everything off, the pain magically started to ebb away... My personal antidepressant: if you're not happy, fake it. And eventually, the joy will start to sink in and take hold. But joy wasn't acceptable in Arkham Asylum. Joy was the very thing that could push me over the edge if I let it, the same thing goes that sadness can drag me under. Everything has to be in precise moderation until we can get ourselves out of this mess.
A person could go insane from being in here.
Allowing a single tiny "Ha!" to slip out of my lips, I tightly swallowed down the knot choking up my throat. "What are we going to do?" I whispered brokenly.
"A good idea would be to go to sleep," a sultry voice suggested and a shiver ran down my spine.
"P-p-Poison Ivy?" I whimpered.
"That's me darling," the voice responded tiredly.
A moan shook my body before I could help it. I knew it. I knew that we were in the C Wing, the place were infamous, murderous, villains were kept. This was filled with villains that I used to write articles about. This was so bizarrely cruel. Of course, I wasn't ignorant to what the officials thought we did, but this seemed drastic to me. Couldn't they have gone through some background checks with us firsthand? Surely a small look at our combined histories would make it clearly obvious that we aren't capable of doing something as terrible as what happened back there! Neither of us have anything remotely close to a criminal record- the worst that we've ever done was accidently run over Miss. Jenkins cat when we were practicing driving around. That was the closest we've ever come to murder and I cried for weeks because of it!
"Actually, uh, Ivy dear," a voice drawled from across the hall and I stiffened up. "Your name isn't P-P-Poison Ivy. That's two syllables too many." And the voice cracked up into a reel of delighted laughter.
Tensed up, I slowly turned around and saw across the hall- the Joker, sitting up on his bed, staring at me with the most amused sneer I've ever seen. The Joker...was across...the hall from me... That drew the line.
Suddenly all walls I built up crumbled down and I threw back my head, joining in Joker's laughter with some of my own. It felt so deliciously wonderful to wipe that obnoxious frown off my face and smile again. Being unhappy is absolute torture, I can't do it for too long, can't handle the stress of not laughing at absolutely every single small thing in the world! Something in the back of my head told me that this was wrong, that I never reacted like this before, but it couldn't be helped. It all slipped out of my control in the most joyous matter!
"Megan?" Bridgette asked worriedly. "Megan, you've got to pull yourself together or we'll never get out of here!"
"You'll never get out of here anyways, regardless of whether or not your giggling friend manages to pull herself together," a crisp male voice stated matter of factly. "Once you're thrown in here, it's highly unlikely that anyone will come back to yank you right up again." It was Scarecrow. And from the sound of his voice, I'd guess that he was right across from Bridgette.
Through the wall, I could imagine Bridgette's shoulders stiffening and I giggled out of sympathy for her.
"Unless, of course, you've somebody from the outside!" Joker cackled and I laughed too, even though it wasn't that funny.
"Mistah J, be careful with what you say!" a female voice warned him and I automatically placed it as Harley Quinn.
Man, it was so terrifying, just how many notorious villain's voices I was hearing, that I couldn't help but laugh even more.
"You're right Harley, better watch my words, ha ha ha," he darkly chuckled. "Anyways!" he ceremoniously announced. "Johnny-boy here is right, you see. Two nutcases like you won't manage to bust out of this joint unless you crawl the concrete walls yourself!"
"We're not insane," Bridgette responded in defiance. "We're going to have a trial."
"Trials for people like us are mostly for show, dear!" Joker clapped. "All smoke and mirrors you see."
"It won't be that way with us!" I shook my head with a wide grin. Forget the reason for why I was smiling, but I was! "We're innocent."
"Ooh, haven't heard that plead before," an intellectual voice smirked. It was the Riddler. Great, another nutjob! "Riddle me this, what has long dark brown hair, comes in sets of two, and is as red-handed as and his fear obsession?"
"Ooh, ooh, I got this one!" Joker exclaimed excitedly. "It's both lovely Megan and Bridgette here!"
"Correct!" the Riddler responded. "I'd congratulate you for that success if weren't so painstakingly easy that a kindergartner could do it."
"You know our names?" Bridgette asked with a hoarse voice.
"You guys were plastered all over the news, doll!" Harley proclaimed loudly. "I've got your faces down to the very last eyelash!"
I took a pause in my laughing to gulp. Plastered all over the news...now all of Gotham can decide whether or not we're guilty. My heart pounded in my ears and I couldn't breathe for a moment.
"Not to mention that you two have been shouting each other's names all night," Ivy added in grumpily. "Can everyone go back to sleep? I want to get some rest in before-"
"BREAKFAST TIME PRISONERS!" a masculine voice bellowed and white lights suddenly blinded our eyes.
Physically I winced, shielding my eyes from the violent glare. Dots danced before me for a bit before my sore eyes started to slowly take in the bright light. Well that was painfully sudden. It was as though they used the sun for a light bulb. My corneas buuuurned.
"-it's time for breakfast," Ivy lamely finished with a note of sourness. "Oh well, first night is always hardest for the babies I hear."
I was still cowering from the stinging light when suddenly my cell gate beeped loudly, and the door swung open for a burly guard to stand there. "Mornin' sleeping beauty," he chewed his gum and marched forward. Before I could respond, my arms were yanked down and there was a precise click. Horrified, I looked down to my wrists and found them once again trapped by silver handcuffs. The cool metal caused an instant layer of goosebumps and I felt this sick sensation of shame. I never thought that I'd be wearing handcuffs as an accessory, but here I was. Two days in a row. The saner part of me wanted to frown in disappointment, but the bigger part, the slightly less logical part, just giggled nervously.
"Well this totally clashes with my outfit!" I boasted.
The guard gave me a confused look. Minutely shaking his head, he looked down and muttered under his breath, "Crazy."
A part of me felt as though I had been slapped. My friends had jokingly called me that before, but when we were having fun. Something told me that this man wasn't saying it teasingly though. Whatever. He's wrong! Checking to see whether it was secure, he instructed me, "There. Go outside and line up with the others."
Thankfully he didn't touch me when I made my way outside. Frankly, I don't know what would happen if someone touched me. When I'm on high edge like this, there's no being able to trust me. A simple touch on the shoulder could result in either a high pitched giggle or my biting off someone's hand. This is why I can't be stressed. It's just bad, with a capital B.
I made it out to the bright hallway and blinked in the light. Against whiteness was a bright collage of colors. Somehow, without even having on their elaborate costumes, they still managed to look like they spawned from a rainbow. There was redheaded Ivy, sneering Joker, makeup smeared Harley, inquisitive Riddler, bored Crane, and then...the Mad Hatter. His eyes were roving aimlessly around the hall as he twiddle his thumbs when suddenly- they landed on me.
"Alice," he breathed excitedly.
"What?" I wrinkled my eyebrows.
"Alice," he just repeated. "Care to join my tea party?"
Confusion swept through me. Fear nudged in the back of my head, but it was replaced by a nervous giggle. "No thank you. I have a current appointment with some cafeteria food."
Bridgette came out of her cell and I walked over to her, making a place next to her against the white wall. "Ready to go to a delightful prison cafeteria?" I wiggled my eyebrows at her.
She fixed her hazel eyes on me with a puzzled expression. Lightly she scoffed and started forward again. "Doubt it."
'I cannot believe this is happening' I thought, my brain barely able to process where I was sitting and especially what they called food. I made a face at the mass of whatever it was and couldn't help saying, "I have this awful feeling that it's gonna get up and walk off the tray,"
"Then you better eat it before it does," came the slightly annoyed voice of Poison Ivy. I looked sideways to her sitting on my right, my lips pulling down slightly in a frown. I turned my attention to the other people at the table to see what they were doing with the 'thing' on their tray. Across from me the Riddler (Edward Nygma) was eating and looking at me with a slightly raised eyebrow, and across from Megan who was sitting to my left was Scarecrow (Jonathan Crane) who was examining my facial features like he was lasering into my thoughts. I shifted in my seat, feeling uncomfortable under their scrutiny.
I turned away from them and watched Megan poke at her 'food' experimentally. Her hysterical laughter had died down and was left only with an insane grin on her face. She looked at me for a second and to her other side where Harley was watching the Joker wolf down his food like he was a starving animal. Past them was Hatter and a few others, but I didn't pay much attention to them. Once again she poked the mass on her plate, shrugged, and took a large bite. She seemed to be thinking for a second after the first bite and then promptly took another.
I looked at her in disbelief my lips parting slightly in disgust and I felt the blood drain from my face. "That's disgusting," I moaned.
She blinked at me. "Just try it," she said, giving me a bright smile that I guess was mostly over the shock of being with deadly criminals. I turned my attention back to my tray, I could now feel not just Riddlers and Scarecrows stares but everyone else's. Is my disgust really that interesting? I eyed it warily but picked up my utensil and got a small bit of it off of my tray. I almost went cross eyed examining it, then hesitantly put it in my mouth. I instantly gagged at the taste and had to force myself to swallow.
"That's terrible! How can you eat that!?" I dropped my utensil and pushed the tray away from me.
"Ah, ha ha ha!" Came the the Jokers cackling laugh. "Guess you aren't cut out for Arkham life are you, doll?" I sent a scowl his way and he laughed even harder.
"Masochistic clown," I grumbled, my scowl deepening when I saw the smirk on Riddler's face.
"I suggest that you try to choke it down," drawled Crane as he looked at me with his cool blue eyes. "You'll regret not eating it later." And just to emphasize his point, he took a bite and swallowed before he could taste it.
"Hmmm. No." I replied. "I'm not eating that. And I can't really see why you care either."
"I prefer my potential test subjects in perfect health." He said, giving me a cool look.
"Oh well, then I'll get right on that. I've always dreamed of being injected with fear toxin," I said sarcastically, rolling my eyes. Why am I so calm? I should be screaming, terrified, to get away from these people but here I am giving the food sidelong glances and bickering.
"Ooooh, I like you!" said Harley who was practically bouncing in her seat.
Crane leaned forward, tongue darting out to wet his lips. "I will watch you scream in fear," he said "You just made yourself my number one priority."
"And how did I accomplish that, pray tell?" I questioned, wow first day and I've already dug myself into a hole. I clenched my jaw to keep it from quivering, false bravado is all over me right now.
"That spark of fear in your eyes when I told you you would be one of my test subjects. I crave to see more of it," His eyes darkened as he said that sentence, I considered running away. But, no, I stayed seated and didn't look away.
We stared at each other challengingly, waiting for the other to back down. "I hope you like disappointment ," I said his name mockingly. "I will not be one of your disposable tests. I want you to know one thing though," my lips curled into a smirk. "That's not the only way to make a girl scream." I sat up straight and stood. Just as I did one of the guards came up and told our table in an annoyed tone that it was time for us to go to the Rec. Room. 'Dear Lord! What has gotten into me? Did I honestly just say that?' I instantly regretted my decision to say anything
"Bridge!" Megan said in shock, her eyes widening. The guards then lead us in a single file line towards the 'recreational area'. The whole time I could feel Crane staring holes in the back of my head.
"It seems as if you have a death wish," Riddler said in front of me slowing down to walk next to me much to the annoyance of the guards. But, surprisingly they didn't say anything. "It was very stupid and bold of you to say that to him, now he'll be even more adamant."
I looked at him curiously, "Are you warning me or just trying to scare me?"
He looked thoughtful for a moment. "Riddle me this; What is a seven letter word in which you take out four letters and you're left with one." He was completely ignoring my question .
I sighed and considered his riddle for a moment "Someone," I answered.
He looked a little surprised and...irritated. "Correct, don't think the next one will be so easy." I gave a satisfied smile happy to get it correct for some odd reason. I sidled a look at him and took in his reddish-brown hair and his evergreen colored eyes. "You're smarter than I thought you were," He mused thoughtfully.
"Is that implying that I look stupid?" I asked him indignantly. In the back of my mind I yelled at myself, here I am talking to a dangerous criminal. And not even five minutes ago I had told the SCARECROW a sexual innuendo. I probably do have a death wish. And yet, I show no signs of stopping.
"Guards. Guards!" Came a feminine voice calling out for them to stop. "I need to take..." She paused for a moment and glanced at the file she had in her hands "Miss Paige in for a session," The guards looked at her blankly she sighed and pointed to me. One of the guards grabbed my by the elbow to the woman that had called out for them to stop. I would be lying if I said I wasn't shocked.
Before I was lead away Riddler said with a smirk on his face. "I wasn't implying that. I was saying not very many women like you are intelligent." His voice had a 'I know everything' tone. My cheeks flushed scarlet trying to figure out if that was a compliment or an insult, as I was led away with the doctor.
"I'm sorry to have cut away from your rec. time," She said "But, now is the only time that I could squeeze you in,"
"But, what about Megan?" I asked wouldn't they want her too?
"Oh, she isn't getting her first session till her doctor is assigned after the trial. You will get your permanent doctor then too. We just need to ask you some questions before that."
"Why am I being questioned now?" I asked confusion written all over my face as we came to a door that had the Doctor's name on it.
"Because our specialists have determined that you are the more dangerous and the essential 'leader' of the pair of you," she told me as I was pushed down in a chair in front of her. The guard then walked out to stand by the door with another guard I had seen when we walked in.
"And how did you come to that conclusion?" I asked her. "Megan could be the 'leader' just as easy as me," I used air quotes around the word leader "AND what does that have to do with me getting an early session?"
She ignored my first question "This is our procedure when a group is brought in."
"This place is so weird," I muttered under my breath. Everything about Arkham had corruption practically screaming from its walls. Almost as much as the police station.
She looked up at me "What?"
"Nothing." I sang sweetly, trying to cover up my previous statement.
She pursed her lips for a second then said. "Well let's get right to it then. Why did you blow up that building?" Her fingers pressed play on a silver recorder next to her as she asked the question. And she poised a pen over a pad of paper in front of her.
I frowned "To tell you the truth Dr. Leeland, I don't remember."
"You don't remember why you blew it up. You just did it." She said trying to clarify.
"No," I sighed "I don't even remember going over to that building. The only thing I remember about that night was coming to to the sounds of sirens. And I would bet you that Megan would say the same thing."
She kept a fairly professional face on as she wrote something down though I caught the flash of bewilderment. "Does that mean that you took drugs before the incident that caused you to forget?"
I stared at her in disbelief. "I have never, will never, and don't plan on EVER taking drugs!" I said angrily "And by asking that question I assume that you think that I would have given them to Megan as well!" I shook my head trying to calm myself down and with a voice quieter but no less angry I said "I would never let Megan or myself have any contact with drugs. I assure you." My defensiveness was surprising, I said that like I was Megans mother. No wonder I was considered the 'leader'.
"Do you really not remember, Miss Paige?" she asked. She scribbled something furiously on her pad of paper. She stared at her notepad, "I didn't mean to upset you I had to ask. We did a tox screen on you remember? There were no drug traces in yours of Megan's systems." I relaxed a tad remembering when they took blood samples to test.
"Has there ever been a traumatic event that could have caused something like this to happen?"
I opened my mouth to deny that anything had happened but my words caught in my throat as I remembered Her. I closed my eyes and forced down my emotions bubbling up inside.
"There has," she confirmed "Can you tell me what happened?" She asked.
"No." I stated "I... can't" I can't do this right now.
"If you can't tell me I can do nothing to help you Miss Paige." She said.
The stress I had built up in the last twenty-four hours finally burst out and onto poor , the stress from the night before, meeting dangerous criminals, and now the not so buried emotions of what happened a long time ago. In a quiet voice in the back of my mind I said 'Sorry!' And it felt as if I was pushed to the back of my mind able to see clearly but not in control of my mouth. It was terrifying.
I stood up angrily "I WILL NOT TELL YOU ANYTHING ABOUT EMILY!" I screamed at her standing up and slamming my fist on the table. I didn't hear the door opening and the guards stationed at the door coming in. "YOU HAVE NO RIGHT TO ASK ABOUT HER! NO RIGHT!" And that is when I felt a needle poke into the side of my neck and everything went dark.
Open mouthed, I stared after Bridgette's back as she retreated out the door. Instantly I was swarmed with a rush of full-fledged panic. This time a smile wouldn't cover it. Now...I was alone. With evil criminals. Again my heart started drumming at the speed of light, as loud as millions of roaring sirens. I couldn't stand this. I couldn't be alone. I don't want to be alone, I can't, I can't, I can't!
Suddenly I couldn't care any less about how it may seem to others. As I stood there awkwardly in the middle of the room, staring after my friend, I decided I had to talk to someone. Anyone. I didn't care how dangerous they were, what ended up to me, I didn't care about any of the consequences. Being lonely is the one this that can push me to edge, and I'm not falling over today!
After the door slammed closed I spun on my heel with a determined huff. And found everyone staring after me. Confused I wrinkled my eyebrows, taking in all of their intense stares. Even Harley seemed interested, smacking some gum as she twirled a strand of fake blonde hair around a slim pale finger.
"Is there something on my face?" I asked them all curiously.
"Just taking in the Beauty surrounded by a horde of Beasts," Joked answered snidely.
"Hey, I object!" Harley protested.
"Oh, I wasn't talking about you snookums," he teased and squeezed her thigh, which looked like it hurt. Harley barely winced when she concealed it with a flip of her hair.
Sometimes, when she acted like this, a completely devoted girlfriend that would follow Joker's every whim and will, it's easy to forget how murderous she was. She was like a coin, one side of her was all giggly and lovey-dovey, while the other was sadistic and cunning. If anyone got in her way she wouldn't hesitate to kill them, not for one second.
"Oh," I said awkwardly, my face turning scarlet. "He, he, thanks I guess."
"Oh Alice," the Mad Hatter begged. "Will you please come play with me?"
I looked over to where I heard the sound of his voice and found him sitting cross legged on the ground, fumbling with a plastic tea set that I don't know how he attained. Rocking back onto my heels, I stared at him with a tilt of my head. Chewing on my bottom lip, I considered this. He was on the news a lot. I knew for a fact that he had these hats that he would manufacture, and then unleash them on Gotham to mind control the unsuspecting citizens. Lots of people used to talk about him when I interned at the newspaper, but since I hadn't really paid any attention, I didn't know much else about him. Perhaps unwise on my part, but I had good reason. Watching (or even listening) to most of the news was only for those who wanted to have their days ruined for them, and I didn't have enough giggles to make up for it.
It was sad really... It used to be my biggest dream to be a reporter. Like Lois Lane from Metropolis? But what's the point of going out and capturing stories as horrid as the ones that spread through Gotham like putrid sewer air? I want to write stories that make people smile and feel warm inside like a blanket has been wrapped snug around their hearts. There's not enough stories like that here.
"Um," I scratched my head after a while of silence. "First off, my name isn't Alice, it's Megan. Like, Megan doesn't really sound like Alice at all, so I'm kinda confused how you think that's my name... But whatever. And secondly, I-"
"Don't," Ivy cut me off with severe finality.
Perplexed, I blinked at her. "Don't do what exactly?"
"Don't accept his play request," Crane filled in for me, staring down at the screws of his glasses like they held the key to life. "You'll only fuel his delusions on."
Oh. So even the crazies knew that they had delusions. Interesting... "Hm?" I raised an eyebrow. "Care to elaborate, sir?"
Crane lazily blinked up at me. "You honestly don't know?"
"Don't know what?" I wrinkled my nose at him. That's when it popped in my head and I laughed. These people cracked me up! "Oh, you're talking about the mind-control hat things? Please. I hardly doubt that he'll manage to build a high gizmo gadget on the whim and plop it on my head before I even manage to sit down."
Crane raised an eyebrow and opened his mouth to say something else when Mad Hatter interjected with a high strung voice. "Aliiiice, come plaaaay. The hare will hop away soon if you don't come over!"
Annoyed, I spun on him. "Hey ya know, for an insane person you're incredibly thick-headed. Say it with me: Megan. Meeeeeeegannnn."
"He won't pay attention to you," Riddler sighed.
"Why?"
"Because, he decides to delve in this fantasy where he lives in Wonderland. In order to compensate for the harsh truth of reality, he tries to find himself an Alice for his Mad Hatter. But eventually his fantasies are crushed as his make-up Alice turns out to fail his expectations, and he typically ends up brutally murdering them in a bloody fashion," Crane filled in matter of factly.
That's when I felt it again. The fear. Poop, not again. I can't let it get to me! Not here in front of people who would do nothing but laugh as I fall into a dark pit of terror. So before it could affect me too much, I let out a deluded laugh. "Oh...haha, gory! But um," I looked at Mad Hatter, "I don't wanna play with you right now. You know...cuz I value my life and such."
A devastated look came over Mad Hatter as he frowned at me. "Oh Alice," he whined miserably. "They always take you away from me." Something about me felt uncomfortable then, as if despite the horror story I had just learned of him, guilt could somehow make an appearance amongst the fear. He looked like a poor child that had gotten their beloved ice cream scoop an encounter with concrete. It was pitiful. But... But I couldn't feel sorry for him. He was insane. And insane people are bad. Again I let out a nervous titter and then strolled over to Crane where he had reclined with a book.
"Hey," I said above him. Dryly he looked up to me and gave a blink as his form of recognition. "Why did you say that to my friend Bridgette?"
It may have been a trick of the eyes, but I could've sworn the right corner of his mouth quirked up for the slightest millisecond. "Say what to her? Many words were spoken in that situation, other than your friend's threat."
"My friend's..." I blinked angrily and shook my head. "You threatened her first! You deserved that, Crane. Regardless of your mental stability you can't go around threatening people with your fear gas!"
Suddenly something in those eyes of him changed. All boredom seemed to leave him in a moment and there was this frightening new clarity inside him. A cruel smirk pulled up his lips as he took me in. In that moment, part of me just knew with a sinking feeling that this was terrible. A thrill of fear washed through me. Strange, but...he seemed different. In the briefest span of a second he seemed to have become someone else entirely.
"I can do whatever I want to your friend," he seethed. But it didn't sound threatening, there was no malice in it. It was just calm, matter of fact. He spoke of it as easily as one would talk about the weather. "She's now my subject."
My mouth fell open. What!? Since when did that creepy relationship develop? The thought of how he could talk about Bridgette like she was a toy made me infuriated. The nerve of that creep. But before I could delve into this anger further, suddenly something cool washed over me. An eerily calm emotion took over and suddenly I was drifting away. The world seemed hazy around the edges while Crane was in pristine focus. My mind felt far away as I observed him. Out of nowhere, words twisted in my lips, spilled out without me thinking about them. "Do you want to hear a poem Crane?" my tongue moved without my control.
Scarecrow blinked, and smiled wider. "Love to."
"Good," my eyebrows arched up for some reason. "There was once a scarecrow named John.
He was quite the terrible con.
But then, he messed with my friend,
and that was his end,
and alas our Gotham thrived on."
Scarecrow grinned in joy. "Is that a threat?"
The idea horrified me, but my mouth once again moved out of my control. "Oh, its not a threat," my lips moved. "Its a promise, freak." Now I was absolutely horrified. I didn't want to say that! I didn't want to threaten anyone, but here I was promising to kill Crane! Probably the last person I wanted to harm, if I ever became twisted enough to harm someone. A sickness rooted in my stomach, and then the coolness lifted off me like a light breeze.
Something changed and he was Crane once more. Lightly he sighed under his breath and rose to a stand. "I see. Pretty girls shouldn't make threats, Miss Lane. Especially when they can't follow through with them."
A sigh of relief came out of me. Good. He didn't take me seriously. Not even I did. But before I could say anything, the Rec room door slammed open. Standing there was a burly guard and slumped against his side was... an unconscious Bridgette.
Somehow, I instantly knew what had happened during that session. A wave of nausea hit me.
Emily.