Whispers in the Dark: Arkham Asylum

~Eleanor Wayne's POV~

Okay, let me back up a bit. Batman had just stopped Joker's scheme at City Hall that involved Gotham's current Mayor. I arrived to deal with some donation affairs with Wayne Enterprises and Arkham Asylum.

Just before he was taken to his cell in the Asylum, Joker broke loose and took control of the entire facility. Now, it's up to Batman and I to stop him before he hurts anyone beyond the island.

Batman and I followed the hallway, trying to chase after Joker. As we turned a corner, security guards laid dead along the path. My heart burned in anger.

"Everywhere that madman goes, death is sure to follow." Batman muttered under his breath.

My hand balled into fists. I can't believe I grew up with the psychopath of a man. But, I was very young, I didn't know any better.

Suddenly, the alarm sounded, as we ran. The female voice alerted, "Warning. Security breach in level B3. Warning. Security breach in level B2. Warning. Security breach in level B8. Warning Security breach in level B1."

A group of inmates arrived and tried to attack us, but Batman and I took them out with ease. We came to a two-way fork. The left one lead to a locked door and a security guard regaining consciousness, the right lead further into the hallway.

Batman and I walked to the security guard. He looked at Batman and asked, "What happened?"

"Joker happened. You're lucky to be alive." Batman answered.

"He must've gone this way." The guard replied, pointing to the door behind him, "Door's jammed. I'll try and get it open."

Then another voice spoke from the guard's radio, "We need help in Pacification. I repeat, we need backup in Pacification. Can anyone hear this?"

The guard tapped his radio and replied, "Can you hear me? I'm with Batman and Eleanor Wayne. Hello?"

"Where are they?" Batman asked.

The guard pointed down the hallway, "Back down that way. Do you need help?"

"No. I work better alone." Batman answered.

The guard was about to argue, but his radio went off again, "Zsasz is free! Oh, God. He's got Mike!"

My eyes widen with shock. I recognized the voice on the radio. Zsasz?! Celestia help us all.

Then there were screams and silence. The guard spoke into his radio, "Franklin, can you hear me? If you can, help's on the way."

I quickly grabbed Batman's hand and lead him down the hallway, toward Pacification.

Near the corner of the hallway, Batman activated his comms, "Oracle, can you hear me?"

"Loud and clear. What's up?" A voice spoke from the other side.

Oracle, or Faith Hannah Smith, is Commissioner Sheamus' only daughter. She an Alicorn Eponian, and the daughter of Princess Cadence.

Yup. Commissioner Sheamus and Princess Cadence are married and proud parents.

Faith used to fight crime alongside Batman, Nightwing, Robin and I, as Batgirl. But, an accident, involving Joker, rendered her paralyzed from the waist-down and the loss of her wings. So, now she hides in secret and became the crime-fighting information broker, Oracle.

"Good to hear from you, Oracle." I greeted with a smile, then went serious, "Joker's escaped custody. He's running free in Arkham."

"Do you two need anything? Is my dad still there?" Oracle asked in genuine concern.

"Sheamus is safe. Joker is not far ahead. We'll stay in contact." Batman assured.

The door ahead opened, allowing us entrance to Patient Pacification Chamber. Two officers were at the gate, shouting at someone.

The Pegasus Eponian officer, Zach Franklin, noticed us coming and called, "Batman. Over here!" Batman and I approached Officer Franklin. He sighed in relief, "Thank God. It's Zsasz. He's got Mike. He's strapped in the chair. Zsasz has totally lost it."

"Wait here." Batman told him.

"You can't. He'll kill Mike, if he sees anyone trying to get close." Franklin argued.

"He wont see me." Batman assured.

"I see anything that looks even a little bit like a bat, and this guard dies. Do you hear me?!" We heard Zsasz shout from the chamber.

Electricity followed and a loud scream of pain. Zsasz means business.

Victor Zsasz is another criminal in Gotham. An Earth Eponian. He's well known for killing women and keeping a tally by leaving scars on his body. I think he's trying to imitate Jack the Ripper, but with his own twist.

I looked and saw the office door was open. If working alongside Batman has taught me anything, it's that criminals and henchmen hardly ever look up or below.

I grabbed Batman's hand and lead him to the office part of the chamber, which was set on a second floor and above Zsasz's head.

Batman looked around and patted my shoulder, "Good job, Miss. Wayne. Now wait here. I'll deal with Zsasz."

I nodded and crouched behind the fence of the balcony, as Batman used his grappler to hop across the gargoyles, that hanged above the chamber. He got behind Zsasz and delivered a gliding kick. The kick knocked the switch from Zsasz's hand and him to the ground. Batman finished the job by giving Zsasz a punch to the head.

I quickly climbed down and grabbed the switch for the chair. The gates were shut down and Officer Franklin and the guard ran into the chamber.

"Someone, put this animal back in his cell." Officer Franklin told the guards.

Then, the screens in the room switched out of the security and showed a woman adjusing a camera, "Can you hear me? Is this thing on?"

I recognized the voice in seconds. Doctor Harleen Frances Quinzel, now known as Harley Quinn. She used to be Joker's psychiatrist, but ended up supposedly Joker's girlfriend, but he just uses and abuses her for fun. And she likes it and understands why he does it.

Harley Quinn is an Earth Eponian with tremendous strength and stamina, often mistaken for Metahuman. Blonde mane and tail, styled in pigtails. Blue eyes and light tan fur coat.

Harley backed from the camera and we got a good look at her. She changed her old harlequin uniform for a strippers version of a nurse's uniform. She even traded her black domino mask for a dark blue one. She kept her white face paint.

"Oh, hiya B-Man. Harley Quinn here." She greeted with a wave. She gave a twirl, "How do you like my new uniform? Pretty hot, huh?" Then she realized something, "Oh, I got something to show you!"

She walked off, then returned, "One second, B-Man." She walked out of the camera's view and Warden Cinch appeared, tied to a spinning chair and gagged with duct tape over her muzzle with a drawn smile on it.

"Ta-da!" Harley walked in again, "I'm now subbing for the old lady. Old Cinchie's never been happier." She walking in front of Warden Cinch, "In case you ain't figured it out, today's the Joker's big homecoming, and you, B-Man, are the guest of honor."

"You have one chance to surrender, Quinn." Batman told Harley with a glare.

"Tempting, Bats. But, no dice." Harley answered, walking over to Warden Sharp's chair, "Now the inmates are running the Asylum. Well, technically, they're Joker's goons shipped in from Blackgate, but you get the idea. Bye-bye for now." Then she whacked the camera and the image became nothing but static.

Then Oracle's voice spoke up, "Batman, Nightshade. You picking this up?"

"Oracle, we're here." Batman answered.

"What's wrong?" I asked.

"Arkham Asylum just vanished off the network." She informed us.

"He's in control of the security system. He's probably isolated it from the grid." Batman explained, referring to the Joker.

"That's not all he's done. All police feeds are reporting he's planted bombs all over Gotham. Says he'll detonate them, if anyone sets foot on Arkham Island." Oracle added, "It's being suppressed at the moment, but the story will break any time now."

I scoffed, "He's lying. It's just a diversion to keep people away."

"How do you know?" Oracle asked. Batman gave me a surprised look.

I shrugged with a small smile, "It's me, remember?"

The conversation ended and Batman and I started looking around the chamber. One of the guards tried to reopen the gate, but to no avail, "The room's locked down. I can't open the gate. We're trapped in here!"

"Try the radio. Control should be able to shut down the gate." Officer Franklin instructed.

I looked down and noticed a ventilation grate, that lead into the ceiling and out of Pacification. I snapped my fingers with a smile and tried to pry the grate loose.

I heard Officer Franklin ask, "Miss. Wayne, what the heck are you doing?"

"Harley was never very bright on traps and exits. Luckily, I know this place like the back of my hand." I answered and successfully removing the grate from the vent.

Batman looked and smiled, "You never ceased to amaze me."

I smiled back, and Batman started crawling into the vent. I quickly followed after him.

Oracle spoke through the comms again, "Batman. Nightshade. I'm patching you into the guard radio feed."

Then the comms started sounding like gunshots and loud footsteps. A male voice spoke up, "Steve, more Blackgate prisoners. By the boiler."

Another voice asked, "Who's that behind them?" Then grimaced, "Oh my God... It's Joker! He's free! How'd he break out?!"

Then there were louder shots, and silence. Oracle spoke up, "Sorry. Feed's down. Comms are up and down like crazy. It's not good. I'll keep trying."

Batman and I were able to find the exit of the vent and, as expected, found ourselves at the fork of the hallway. The security guard got the door open and ran down the hallway, which lead to Decontamination.

The four-tuned tone played as the woman's voice spoke, "Warning: Decontamination Room. Toxins detected."

Batman and I quickly arrived and saw through the window. Multiple guards, officers and inmates were inside and the room was filled with a deep green gas. They were laughing and collapsing to the ground. Joker Toxin.

An armored shield rose and covered the window, "Warning: Decontamination Room. Area sealed."

"What is that stuff?" The guard asked.

"Joker Toxin." I answered in a low and angry tone.

"Listen. The room is full of poison gas. Anyone caught in there is dead." Batman explained.

I looked through the sealed window and looked above the gas cloud. I saw a few survivors unable to move. "I see survivors above the cloud." I informed Batman.

"Are you gonna get in there and help them?" The guard asked.

Batman looked up, then looked at me, "Miss. Wayne, wait out here with the guard. I'll take care of the toxin."

"Be careful, Batman." I answered, as he used his grapple to enter the ceiling.

Once he was gone, I sat down against the window, thinking about this escape attempt. Something doesn't feel right about this whole thing. If Joker wanted to escape, he shouldn't have cut Arkham Island from the grid and mess around with the security feeds. It feels like he's trying to get to someone that's on the island. Or something...

"Something on your mind, Miss. Wayne?" The guard asked, breaking my train of thought.

"This isn't just a simple escape attempt. Joker's been planning this for a while." I answered.

"How can you tell?" He asked me.

Before I could answer, the sound of fans reached my ears. I stood up and the shield lowered. The four-toned tune played and the voice spoke, "Attention. Air purity is now at normal levels."

Then Joker's laugh echoed from the speakers. The woman spoke again, "Attention. Decontamination Room access is now permitted."

The door unlocked and opened. I entered the room and met up with Batman. The room was covered in green spray paint, canisters of Joker Toxin and dead victims. Anger burned in my heart. Joker is gonna pay for what he's done.

Batman and I arrived to the other end of the Decontamination Room, green spray paint arrows and dead guards were leading the way.

Joker's voice spoke from down the hallway, "What are you waiting for? I'm so close, you can almost taste me."

Two Blackgate inmates tried to take us by surprise, but Batman and I took out one each. We followed the arrows down a hallway, to a door with Joker's face on it.

The door opened to reveal Joker on top of a large, iron and steel cell, close to a balcony and with nowhere to run.

Joker saw us and smiled, "What took you so long?"

Batman threw a batarang at Joker, but Joker ducked before it hit him. Joker laughed at Batman's attempt to warn him.

"There's nowhere to run, Joker. We will find you." Batman told Joker.

"Oh, I'm counting on it. Just not yet!" Joker replied.

He stomped his foot and the cell opened. Batman pushed me back, as a mutated, monster of a man, around the size of Bane or Killer Croc, exit the cell and glared at us.

"Oooh, he's a big one." Joker laughed.

I stepped back as I stared at the monster's glowing pale green eyes. My vision started to cloud over with darkness as a vision came to my mind.

*Vision*
Within the darkness I saw a portion of Gotham City behind a reinforced wall.

Criminals, crime-lords and gangsters were all inside and raging war on each other.

Joker's laugh echoed and the city was engulfed in flames.

The smoke of the flames weren't their normal charcoal black, but a murky green, like a haze or a... Gas....

A glowing green dragon emerged from the flames and cried to the moon.

The moon's craters moved and formed into a scarecrow-like face on it.

Then, everything went black again.
*Vision End*

"Eleanor, look out!"

I blinked back into reality, to find the 'Titan' charging toward me. Quickly recovering, I grabbed a ball of blinding powder, threw it at the Titan and jumped out of the way. The Titan was blinded by the powder and charged into the wall, that was behind me. He turned and swung his large arm around, trying to attack me or Batman.

He recovered by his blindness and threw his fist at the ground twice, in a fit of frustration. The Titan turned to me, then clutched his heart and his head. Like he was in a lot of pain. He backed away, toward Joker, holding his head, then after two powerful pumps from his chest, the Titan's eyes stopped glowing and collapsed on the ground.

Dead.

"Well, that was unexpected, wasn't it? Oh well." Joker sighed, then muttered to himself, "Note to self: Need stronger test subjects." He looked at Batman, "Seeing as how I'm feeling generous, I'll give you this one for free."

Joker walked toward the edge of the cell and stretched his arms out wide. My eyes widen in shock and memory. He's done this a few times before.

"Knock me off, I dare you! End this, pull the plug, stop me once and for all!" He told Batman.

Batman grabbed a batarang and was ready to throw it. Quickly, I grabbed his arm and stopped his throw. Batman looked at me and pulled his arm out of my grip. He remembered his vow and withdrew his batarang.

Joker laughed and stepped away from the ledge, "You're getting too predictable, Bats." The cell started to rail back, "Well, I'd love to stay and chat, but I have a party to organize. I've got guests flying in from all over Arkham. You'll see."

Two large doors closed, cutting view of Joker and his sinister laugh and smile. I rubbed my arms in discomfort and sighed in worry. Whatever he has planned, it's not gonna end well.

"Are you hurt?" I heard my father ask me.

I shook my head, "I'm alright." Then I looked at Batman, "You?"

"I'm fine." He answered, then asked, "You froze for a moment. What did you see?"

I rubbed my arms, "I saw Gotham behind a wall. Destruction. Fire. Death of hundreds..." I closed my eyes to stop the tears from the thought of what the vision meant.

I felt my father pull me into a tight embrace, "It's going to be okay, Ellie. I wont let it happen."

I hugged my father back. For the sake of the citizens of Gotham, I hope he's right.

Then we heard a voice mutter from behind a gate, "Aaah... My head."

Batman and I released the hug and saw the unconscious guard regain consciousness. He saw us and called, "Quick. Get in here, before more of them come!"

The guard leaned over to the gate switch and shut the gate down, "Batman. Miss Wayne. I'm over here."

Batman and I entered the control room. Batman turned to talk to the guard, while I tried to use the computer to see where Joker was going.

"They came out of nowhere! I dragged Jerry in here, powered up the gate. Must have passed out." The guard told Batman.

"Joker went through that door. What's on the other side?" Batman asked him.

"We call it 'Extreme Isolation'. Only way in is via the transport system." The guard answered.

"Open it." Batman instructed.

The guard nodded, "Not a problem. I just need to call another cell."

He walked over to the controls and tried to call a cell from Extreme Isolation, but it wasn't responding. Even the screen on the computer went static.

"Something's wrong here. The main security loop is locked." The guard informed Batman and I.

Then, through the static of the television, a very familiar face came into view, "Having a little trouble up there?"

"Joker." Batman growled, as the face backed for good view.

"You were expecting maybe Two-Face?" Joker asked.

"There's no escape, Joker." Batman told Joker.

"Silly Bat! I don't wanna escape. I'm having way too much fun. I even have you and Little Nellie Wayne here to keep a smile on my face." Joker answered with a chuckle.

"Not for long. Whatever you're up to, we'll put an end to it." I told my former adopted father.

"Really? We'll see. Ta, ta." Joker said, as he was about to leave, then something came to him, "Oh, I forgot to say."

He turned to screen to show a security footage, "Just in case you were planning on following me, I've arranged a little insurance." Commissioner Sheamus was attacked from the behind by Officer Frank Boles, "Smith is on his way to Harley, as we speak."

My hands balled into fists of anger, and Batman growled, "Officer Boles."

Joker laughed at the footage, then turned to the screen, "If I see any of you two trying to follow me, he dies. Harley is looking forward to it. Maybe I'll film it and post it on the internet."

With that, the screen returned to its static image.

"The transport system is down. Best I can do is open the door you came in. Sorry." The guard apologized.

My fists tighten as my anger burned. I closed my eyes and took a deep breath, calming myself down. The first thing Batman and I have to do is get Commissioner Sheamus off this island. But, to do that, we have to find where Boles took him.

Batman and I left the room and Oracle contacted us, "Batman! Nightshade! What's happening?"

"Joker's escaped. He's sealed himself off." Batman answered, then added in a sad tone, "He's got your father."

"Dad..." Oracle gasped.

"Don't worry. We're getting him back." Batman assured her.

"Okay, I know. But.." Oracle started, but I cut her off, "Faith, we're getting him back! Joker will not win. We won't let him!"

"We're starting where he was taken." Batman explained, "An officer, named Frank Boles, attacked him. If we find Frank, we'll find your father."

"Bruce. Ellie. Hurry, please." Oracle answered.

With that, we shut down communications and made our way to the Holding Cells.