Batman RPG Part 2

[The Guitar Slayer]

Hello, people. The new storyline will begin here. There a just a few loose threads to tie up and continue on. Have fun. Here's a rundown of the characters:

Heroes:

The Guitar Slayer: Batman/Bruce Wayne
Bird Boy: Robin/Dick Grayson, Commissioner Gordon (temporarily retired)
Barb Gordon: Batgirl/Barbara Gordon
BleuUnicorn: Alfred
watsonlives: The Grey Ghost/HARDAC
AndreaBeaumont: Angela Beaumont

Villains:

redDragon: Joker
SLIPKNOT: Scarecrow
BleuUnicorn: Harley Quinn
Bird Boy: Two Face

[Bird Boy]

OOC: Lookie here..the first IC post of the R-P-G.. :D

IC (Robin/Dick Grayson):

Tuesday, June 21st
2:30am

It's been almost a day since we were all at Andrea's funeral..it seemed surreal. Seeing Angela and Bruce just stare at the coffin was, to say the least, a bit heartbreaking. But now, here we are, Bruce and I, swinging across rooftops like nothing happened.

We land on the top of the Jolly Jack candy factory--just oppened 2 weeks ago, and now there's talk of some drug dealing going on in it. Bruce and I hover over the window, staring down into the light-filled room below. Several packages of "flour" sit on the table, and several guys in business suits walk up to the stash. Before I know what's happening, Batman's going through the window and lands on the table. snapping it in two and delivering several punches.

I land down next to him and take out a guy trying to sneak up behind us. I swirl my leg around and put him on the floor in a heap. Police sirens already fill the air--they must've been covering this place as well.

Within 5 minutes, everyones taken down..all either bleeding or knocked out cold. A bullet rings out from above, and we both look up to see a guy on a catwalk, holding a briefcase--probably the payoff.

We both shoot our grapples up onto the catwalk, and begin to go up.

We hit the ceiling within 20 seconds and Batman's all over the guy. The gun falls down with several clanks, and Batman's fist hits the man once in the gut, and then once in the jaw. He's knocked out cold after the uppercut to the jaw, but Batman begins to raise his fist again.

He stops midway and then lets go of the guy. The man thuds against the metal and Batman wraps some of the rope around his legs. He ties the rope around one of the rails of the catwalk and then lets the man go down, before the rope finally ends. The man wakes up with a jolt and begins to squirm. Police enter the building and his squirming stops.

"That's our exit cue" I say, looking around for Batman, but he's already left. I shake my head and shoot another grapple through the roof, and give it a tug.

~~~~~~~~~~

We land on a roof a few blocks away from the candy factory. Batman said he heard screaming down this way, and I'm inclined to believe him--this isn't the best part of town..then again, most of Gotham isn't all that great. The lady screaming is the usual--just a mugger trying to get some money.

I land down and smack the gun out of the guys hand and then drop kick him. He lands on the ground, and I turn to look at the lady who's shaking with fright.

"It's all right, he's down" I say. Her eyes go wide--wider than they were before-- and she continues to scream at the top of her lungs. She pushes me out of the way and runs down the street, as fast as she can in high-heels.

I climb up the ladder to the roof and stand next to Batman. He's not even moving--just standing there. One of these days he's going to break down, and I hope I'm not there to see it. I open my mouth, hoping to talk with Bat-no, Bruce- a bit about the funeral.

"You know" I start, but before I can finish the Bat-signal hits the clouds. "Great" I mutter. Batman's already on his way towards the signal, and I follow suit.

END.

OOC: nothing much, just somthing to start..

-BB

[Barb Gordon]

IC: Batgirl

7:30AM

I thumb through the newspaper, not really reading the articles, just skimming, as I eat breakfast. I sigh. Not much to do today besides some filing and data input over at the GCPD, that'll leave me just about the entire afternoon to do anything. I wonder if Dick's busy...I realize I'm on the obituary page, and my eye easily finds the name it was looking for.
~Andrea Beaumont~
That's who the Phantasm was, that's all I know though.
I fold up the newspaper without reading whatever it said beneath the name, tossing the paper into the trash. I wonder who attended the woman's funeral, besides the daughter that is, can't recall even getting her name...I still feel so bad for her. I drum my fingers against the table top, glancing over at the phone. Dick's bound to be up now...

[BLACKHEART]

“Terror Spreads Chapter 1”
8:00 AM

After another restless night in Gotham City’s nine-to-fivers are getting ready for another day of the rat race. While they rush around trying to get ahead in this world the other half of Gotham sleeps after another night of conflict. While each part of the machine runs we visit the other side…

The Terror House
8:24 AM

There’s no rest for the wicked…

I greet my employees of fear.

“We had a glorious night. Phase one of our plan is ready to be set into action. Like a plague of madness it will spread thru Gotham City till everyone is infected by our virus.”

I pause and extend my hand out to my henchmen.

“Where’s the profit in that?” I ask them. I look towards one of my henchmen who is my computer expert. “Did you obtain the files I asked for?”

He responds, “Yeah boss. I got records. I got bank accounts. I’ve got all online credit card transactions you asked for. I’ve been tracking Gotham’s spoiled rich for three weeks.”

“Excellent” I respond while clinching my fist.

“The problem with today’s madman is that he doesn’t think for the future. My fear gas isn’t cheap and it takes money to produce it. I have my three pets in the basement to amuse me.”

My henchmen smile. I look towards them with a sinister smile. “Phase one: The Infection is ready to be implemented. You know what must be done. Now prepare yourself for the first wave. I will exploit the fears of Gotham’s elite swine and use it to turn their fortune five hundred companies into fronts for my criminal operations. We will all be set. Then we will be able to ensure that every bully will pay for their actions.”

I watch as my henchmen prepare to deliver flowers, cards, and various other novelties to a select group of Gotham’s elite.

“The only thing Gotham has to fear is Scarecrow himself hahahaha!”

8:45 AM
The wheels of motion have begun to turn

I watch my henchmen embark on their journey that will trap businessmen in a web of their own fear. Caught by their worse phobias and reduced to little children sucking on their thumb afraid to make a move.

[The Guitar Slayer]

3:00 AM

I have done a relatively good job for tonight. Prevented a drug deal from going down, caught not only the buyer but the seller as well...I stand emotionless by the side of the catwalk. No rush of adreneline, no satisfaction whatsoever. What good did I do? There's still thousands of pounds, possibly millions, of illicit drugs in Gotham. I just caught 5, 10 pounds of it by chance. This effort seems very pointless and bleak indeed.

I hear the police and silently exit out of the building. I hear Robin say something, but I'm already not there. I land on the roof and walk to the edge. I stop there and look down the side of the candy factory. How easy it is to step wrong here.

I hear a scream. A nice loud one, too. She's not injured...yet. I turn to Robin, who's trying to catch up to me. "Did you hear that?"

"No..."

"I did. Three blocks east. Let's move."

As we near woman, I see the mugger poking at her with his handgun. Robin immediately swings down into action. I stay frozen.

I know that woman.

I've seen her before. And she's seen me before, as she continues to shriek even after Robin has taken care of the mugger. She throws a glance up at me, then takes off. If I could only place the face...my senses tingle a bit as I feel something much more menacing.

Robin comes up to me, a bit miffed by the woman's reaction. He starts to say something, but the Batsignal hits the clouds. I fire off a grapple and head toward it.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
4:47 AM

I pull up to the Cave and get out of the car. I had met Gordon concerning the Scarecrow's escape. Thus far, he was quiet, as usual. The Scarecrow was a patient man. He could sit on an idea for weeks without any action.

Oddly enough, something else disturbs me more than his disappearance. I still can't remember who that woman was. I'll have to run a search on the computer. The curiosity is killing me.

Alfred takes my belt. I talk to him as I tug off my cowl. "Is Angela ready yet?"

"Yes, Master Bruce. She is leaving tomorrow on a British Airlines flight. My cousin's niece will pick her up, and she'll stay with them for the time being."

"Did you tell them that..." Just then, Robin pulls up. Alfred understands what I was going to say, and nods.

I go over the crane, key in some information about the woman, and allow it to search itself. For now, I'm turning in. I'll see the results in the morning.

[AndreaBeaumont]

"Laying Old Matters To Rest"
2:57 a.m.

I pace the halls of Wayne Manor in my light blue nightgown with white embroidered flowers. I run my finger tips down the wood molding of the ornate walls of house. I come to the top of the stair case and look down at the material I'm wearing. I rub it between my thumb and index finger. Mum gave it to me on Christmas of last year.

I snifle slightly and grab the handle of the bag I'm holding tighter as I descend lightly down the staircase. I walk into the kitchen and sit in the middle of the cold marble floor. I pull a trash can towards me and open the bag carefully. I pull out the contents one by one. Looking each article of clothing or knicknack over carefully then placing it in the empty garbage can methodically. I pull out a soft nightgown of... hers..Andrea's...my mum's. I run my hand over it memorizing it's feel. Something wet falls and comes to rest on it leaving a small darkened spot on the material. I realize I'm crying as more tears slide down my face and find their way onto the night gown. I bring it to my face and breathe in it's smell...her smell. I smooth my cheek with it and cry softly into it. Oh god...I miss her so much. Just knowing I can't run up to her and feel her warm embrace when something goes wrong. She'll never see me grow up, never see me graduate from high school, never see me marry, never see her grandchildren.

"Oh mum..." I cry gently, "Why'd you have to go? What do I do now? I miss you so much! Who'll be there for me now?"

I can't believe she's not here holding my hand and telling me everything's going to be alright. It seemed so wrong to put her body in that box and into the cold dirt 6 feet below the surface.

"Dammit Mum! What do I do now?!"

I sob into her nightshirt and abruptly pull it away and toss it in the garbage. I quickly empty the rest of contents piece by piece into the can. I finally pull out reminants of her costume and stuff it down into the can. I then pull out my suit and pause for a moment looking it over. I go to put it in the trash but something stops me. I consider it for a moment and place it back in the bag. I reach in and pull out a small jewlry box. I open it and a lullaby she used to sing to me plays softly. I reach in and pull out a silver chain with a pendant on it. It has the infinity symbol on it is studded with small diamonds and has a slightly larger saphire in the center. Both hers and my birthstone. I place it around my neck and pull out a silver ring with a saphire set in the center. Silver swirls crawl up the side of the ruby to hold it in place. I slip it on my ring finger. It looks aged and antiqued as does the necklace. I close it back and place it back in the bag as well. I pick back up the bag and close the trash can's lid and place it back from which it came. I make my way back upstairs and set the bag down in the room. I take one look at the bed and realize sleep won't be coming for my tonight and pace down the halls again letting misery and depression envelope my body and soul. I leave tomorrow...to start a new life...leave this all behind...but where do I begin?

[Bird Boy]

IC (Robin/Dick Grayson):

The distant ringing of the telephone opens one of my eyes. Geesh..since when did the sun come up so early. The phone rings a couple more times before I hear Alfreds voice, althought a bit faded, pick up with his usual cheery "Wayne Residence".

I push myself up out of bed and open up the door to see if I can tell who's on the other end.
"Hello Ms. Gordon! No, I'm sorry. Master Grayson isn't up yet..he was up late last night...." Alfred stops and then starts again ", partying" Alfred continues the conversation as I fumble down the steps, hopefully reaching the kitchen before he hangs up.

I slide over the floor slightly, catching Alfreds attention.
"Ah..he seems to be up now Ms. Gordon. Here he is"

"Thanks Al" I say, taking the phone. "Hey Babs, whats up? Yeah...uh huh..yeah I heard about that. Sure, you can come over. Great! Sounds good. Talk to you later!"

I hang up the phone, and grab a piece of toast on my way out.
"I'll be gone for awhile Al, going to a early movie with Barb--probably'll catch some lunch after that. Later!"I say, running up the steps.

I go into my room and open up the closet.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I tap the desk with my fingers, waiting for the doorbell to ring. I begin to bounce my leg up and down, waiting for that blasted doorbell. I get up and head towards the window and pull the curtain back. Barbara's walking up the steps, and getting ready to knock on the door. I jump over the couch and stand in front of the door. She knocks once or twice and I stand there waiting...for what, I don't know..

She rings the doorbell and I finally open the door.

"Hey! Ready?" I say
"Yeah." she replies "Say, why were you standing behind the door for so long? I heard you" she says, raising her eyebrow.
"uh...I didn't want to seem to..uh...boy you look nice!" I say, trying to end the awkward situation. She laughs and shakes her head, while flashing one of her smiles..ah..her smile. I begin to smile back at her, and we're there for another 3 minutes, staring at each other.

"We're gonna miss the show time" I say, breaking our eye contact.
"Oh! Yeah..right." She begins walking down the steps towards her car.

END.

OOC: dunno what I posted that for...more character developement! I tell ya..I love that good ol' developement.. :p

-BB

[Barb Gordon]

9:00AM

IC: Barbara Gordon/Batgirl

I blush as Dick and I break eye contact and make our way to my car.
"So what are we seeing?"
Like I really care what movie we're seeing!
"Uh, I honestly can't recall the name. But it's got action."
I reply with a grin. We get into my car and head off for the movies. We chat idly on our way to the theater, and I doubt either of us could recall later just what it was we talked about during that ride. I paid for my own ticket before he had a chance to.
"Babs!"
He cried out, his face falling.
"I wanted to buy your ticket."
he finished, frowning. His fallen face makes me giggle.
"I'm sorry...."
I begin, but he shakes it off with a smile.
"No problem, I'll just buy the popcorn."
"Works for me!"
Loaded with popcorn, cokes and candy we shuffle into the theater and sit down in the back row. Someone, boy do I wish I could thank them, had left the arm rest up that was between our seats...neither of us set it down. The movie started.

OOC: forgive the short, random like post...my brain is fried for the night.

[The Guitar Slayer]

IC
5:52 AM

I lie awake in my bed and stare at the white ceiling. Today, at 10:30 AM, Angela leaves. "What a wonderful way to deal with a daughter...send her as far away as you possibly can.

It's for her own good. I don't want her to worry...

"YOU don't want to worry."

My argument is interrupted by the creak of floorboards. I had told Angela to go to bed and try to sleep when I first came up, but obviously that advice hadn't worked for either of us. A brief shadow travels across the light under the door. A minute and a half later, it disappears starting from the opposite direction. She's pacing.

I roll out of bed and shrug on my robe. I wait until the shadow has passed again before opening the door quietly. I turn to watch her make her way down the hall. Reaching its end, she whirls on her heel and starts her journey back. She sees me and jumps a little. "I-I-I didn't mean to wake you." Angela meekly walks over to me.

"I wasn't sleeping. It's okay." I place a hand on her shoulder

Angela takes on an aged look like the one her mother developed after years as the Phantasm. I see my mother's jaw set and her brow crease. "Dad...Bruce....it's never going to be 'okay' again."

I cannot answer that. Who can? I wrap my arm around her shoulders and begin to walk the halls with her.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
8:30 AM

The ride to the airport is quiet. Alfred decided to stay at home, so I took one of my more common cars out to drive Angela to the airport. We both wear dark sunglasses so as to not be recognized by anyone.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
10:15 AM

The plane is boarding. Angela stands there, jacket over one arm, suitcase in the other hand, waiting for me to say something. I scan her face for one last time...I don't have any pictures of her. I hear a sniffle, and I find that it's me. Angela puts her bag down and squeezes me as tight as she can. "Take care of yourself," she says.

"Isn't that my line?"

"I said it first."

I smile a little. "Call me if you need anything...especially if you want to talk. I can be there in a few hours..."

The loudspeaker drones for boarding again. Angela sighs and mumbles something. Clearer: "Goodbye."

I echo, "Goodbye."

I watch the rest of the scene play out in slow motion. Angela picking up her case. Turning away. Giving her ticket to the woman at the boarding gate. Looking back at me. Waving. Myself numbly waving back.

And then she's gone.

[BLACKHEART]

“Lock-Stock-And-Barrel”
8:50 AM

My henchmen have left to spread fear into Gotham City’s elite as the wheels of motion turn.

I sit in my chair made of old rotten wooden with skulls acting as the armrest.

“I can’t wait to see what the suits of Gotham’s leading corporations will come up with next. What break though in technology will Wayne come up with next? HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA! Once Decidophobia sets in things around this waste hole will finally get interesting. As those rich bullies find themselves afraid to make a move I’ll be there to reap the rewards.”

My evil and sexy henchwoman asks, “If they are all afraid to make any big moves then how will you make money on the stocks?”

The ignorant question angers me.

“Don’t you think I’ve thought of that?”

I stand up so that I face the eye candy. I put my leg hand on her chin and grip it tightly.

“This batch of fear toxin will last one-hundred and sixty-eight hours. This time next week the bullies will become their old selves. They will be ready to push around the little guy with their juggernaut corporations but instead of greasing their pockets I will be the one who will become filthy rich.”

I raise my right hand, which is holding a skull, and push it towards her face. It emits a green gas causing her to choke.

“Welcome to the world of Spheksophobia HA HA HA HA HA HA HA!”

The girl begins swinging at the air and then she begins scratching at her skin as tries to fight off the flying invaders. She digs and digs at her skin ripping it off of her face and arms. I watch as she rolls around on the ground struggling against the wasps that her mind has created. I watch as her blood flows across the wooden floor. As her blood soaks into the cracks and as she finally stops moving I kick her to the side.

“No longer will big business push around the little guy. The tide of fear has turned thanks to the only true master of fear, THE SINISTER SCARECROW!”

9:00 AM Wayne Enterprises

At the office of Luscious Fox a man wearing a red suit with gold tassels brings a certified letter that only Mr. Fox can sign for. Fox steps out into the hall and greets the man. They shake hands and the delivery boy gives him the letter. He says, “Thanks” and returns to his office. He retrieves his letter opener from the top drawer of his desk. He opens the top of the envelope and slides the letter out. He opens it and begins to read…

“You all stare, but you'll never see
There is something inside me
There is something in you I despise

It itches, it seethes, it festers and it breathes

I know you're all tired of the same old bosses
Let me tell you how it's going be
I'm going kill anyone who steps up in front of me

It itches, it seethes, it festers and it breathes

Your afraid you’ll get what you want

What is it?”

The letter appalls Fox. It finds it totally useless and wads it up and tosses it right into the trash.

9:05 AM Stone Electronics

Stone Electronics is Gotham City’s leading supplier for business computers and personal pc’s. William Fence started out as a nerdy geek with too much free time on his hands in college to a multi-billionaire. On just another day sitting in his dorm room he came up with a program that changed the way computers process information. It made it simple so that the Average Joe could do it. Now his company Stone Electronics has cornered the market on all kinds of computer software from business programs to video games.

William Fence is sitting in his office when his secretary buzzes him and informs him of an important letter that has arrived for him. Expecting to read about his billions of dollars he takes the letter from his secretary and dismisses her rudely. He rips the letter open with an arrogant smile and reads….

“You all stare, but you'll never see
There is something inside me
There is something in you I despise

It itches, it seethes, it festers and it breathes

I know you're all tired of the same old bosses
Let me tell you how it's going be
I'm going kill anyone who steps up in front of me

It itches, it seethes, it festers and it breathes

Your afraid you’ll get what you want

What is it?”

He crumbles up the paper and laughs while throwing it out the window. He walks over to the window and screams out, “YOU’LL NEVER TOUCH ME MAC!! I’M KING OF THE WORLD!!!”

9:30 AM LevyKeibler

LevyKeibler designs plastics that are used throughout our everyday life. They have found ways to make plastic support just about anything. They have big contracts with the government and NASA.

A deliveryman arrives and is greeted by the receptionist. He gives her the two letters. One for Scott Levy the CEO and Vice President of operations Stacy Keble. Simultaneous in their offices Stacy and Scott open their letters wondering who wants them to develop plastics now. Dollar signs appear in their eyes but are soon washed away with…

“You all stare, but you'll never see
There is something inside me
There is something in you I despise

It itches, it seethes, it festers and it breathes

I know you're all tired of the same old bosses
Let me tell you how it's going be
I'm going kill anyone who steps up in front of me

It itches, it seethes, it festers and it breathes

Your afraid you’ll get what you want

What is it?”

The two shake their heads in disgust and throw the letters into file 13. (The trash)

All the major board members of these three companies are hit with the same letter. Each of them found the letter disturbing.

11:30 AM Wayne Mansion

A deliveryman visits the home of rich Playboy Bruce Wayne. Just returning from the airport Bruce is met at the gate by the deliveryman. He gives him the letter and Bruce opens it immediately.

He reads it…

“You all stare, but you'll never see
There is something inside me
There is something in you I despise

It itches, it seethes, it festers and it breathes

I know you're all tired of the same old bosses
Let me tell you how it's going be
I'm going kill anyone who steps up in front of me

It itches, it seethes, it festers and it breathes

Your afraid you’ll get what you want

What is it?”

[BLACKHEART]

Read a comic book sometime

And now I have returned to further refute your statement. I am too morbid? What do you expect from someone playing a character that dresses like a scarecrow and murders people with a cycle? The Scarecrow character, which you don’t seem to know too much about, is the personification of fear. He uses the moniker “The Master of Fear, the Sinister Scarecrow” not “The master of loll-pops and candy canes.”

“I've confered with MOST of the other RPG'ers and they pretty much feel the same way I do”

Could you expand more on this? Who are these people you conferred with? I have got no notification saying I’m doing anything wrong.

Furthermore I’d appreciate if you have a problem with me if you would contact me via private messages instead of cluttering up this RPG thread with this nonsense.

I am killing the RPG? Why because I am active and involve people and force them to respond instead of sitting on their can and watching the tumbleweed blow by?

Could you please expand more on how ridiculous my posts are?

Like my opening statement, “Read a comic book sometime.” The characters motivations are revenge and creating wide spread fear. You could read anything featuring the Scarecrow. Might I suggest his teaming up with the Joker from Knightfall. How about his appearances during No Man’s Land? Maybe you would like to see the Scarecrow trap people in a house and bring their worse fears to life? Then you could read the Gotham Knight’s team up with Hugo Strange. If you would like issue numbers don’t hesitate to ask me.

I don’t appreciate your calling my stories ridiculous. I find that insulting. I don’t make posts on an open forum with my opinions on how silly your story is.

“1. Have you ever WATCHED a batman cartoon? Because if you had you would realize you're taking Scarecrow's persona and totally corrupting and twisting it around into something almost too...morbid.”

I could ask you this same question. Since when does Bruce have sex? I also find this question insulting. I’m almost wondering why you are able to get away with this post the more and more I read of it. Your words are highly flammable if you get my drift.

What’s satanic about my character? The skull weapon he uses to gas his victims? If I had a scanner I would scan you a page where he used a weapon just like this. In fact everything I do has somewhat been established in the past with this character. I borrow this and that such as the skull weapon.

As far as I am concerned your post means that I am doing my job. I’ve created a world of fear and unrest.

[Nightwing]

The subject of what's what with characters issues, especially of this magnitude is something that should be discussed privately. Then, if need be, actions would happen from there (the need for an RPG team 'meeting' of sorts to be scheduled, etc), but regardless let's keep the story going.

[The Guitar Slayer]

Okay, boys and girls, the show is over.

This is the type of thing that should have been handed in a private message. This is also why we say in the rules that respect for all members should be present. AndreaBeaumont has been severely warned. She may have had a point regarding what Slipknot based his character on (comics vs. cartoon), but her presentation completely nullified it. She also did not consult with 'most' of us.

Like I said, this situation is over. We can proceed as normal. However, I think the mods will agree with me that this will be left up as a reminder that this kind of thing should not happen and will not be tolerated.

[TimTwoFace]

OOC: Wow, my first time here. Eeeeep. Just so everyone knows, Bird Boy has been gracious enough to let me try my namesake on for size; hopefully I don't suck. :)

IC: Two-Face


June 21
(1:52 am)

It's been about a week since I got here. A week. A week since my last taste of freedom. A week since I last saw Grace.

Grace...

"GiVe It Up, It'S nEvEr GoNnA hApPeN."

Bah. Why do I even listen to you? Oh, right. I have no choice. You'd think that after all my previous incarcerations I'd be used to this place. A week in Arkham is NOTHING comapared to what I've endured here before. But no, with Grace out there, all alone, hospitalized and all, I can't help but worry. That makes time go by even slower when you're alone.

"yEaH, hArVeY, yOu BiG wUsS. qUiT yEr DaMn BeLlYaChInG aNd GeT yOuR bUtT oUtA hErE."

"Quiet."

The voices. The voices. There were only two, but that was enough to drive me mad. Both of me. But then again, in a place like this, sometimes your worst enemy was your best company.

"yOu ReAlLy ArE a LoSeR, yA kNoW tHaT, hArV? i SwEaR, wHy Do YoU tHiNk We'Re In HeRe? AgAiN?"

"I said, quiet. I'm thinking."

"yEr AlWaYs ThInKiNg! ThAt'S wHy We'Re StUcK iN tHiS dAmNeD pAdDeD cElL. yEr ThInKiNg AlWaYs LeAdS tO sEcOnD gUeSsInG, aNd ThAt AlWaYs LeAdS tO uS gEtTiN cAuGhT. dAmNiT hArV, bE iMpUlSiVe FoR oNcE!"

I jump up from my kneeling position to confront the other voice in the room; of course, I'm still the only body in here.

"hAhAhAhAhAhA! wHaT a DoRk."

"I need to get out of here."

"nO bUlL! fInAlLy SoMeThInG wE cAn AgReE uPoN!"

Arkham, infamous for having a revolving door system of turning out so-called "healed" people onto the streets as quickly as the cops and Batman and his farm team bring them in. I'd known that for years. Right back to when the Joker, Poison Ivy, Scarecrow, and all of Gotham's first few freaks were admitted nearly a decade before. I'd seen it all, first hand, too. Heck, the District Attorney has to keep his eyes on this sort of thing.

Man, the Joker seemed to escape from this hell-hole on a weekly basis. How'd he do it?

"I dUnNo HoW hE dId It, EiThEr!"

Hey, I was thinking privately here.

"PsHt - I cAn HeAr EvErY sInGlE tHiNg YoU sAy. AnD tHiNk. QuItE fRaNkLy, It'S gIvInG mE a MiGrAiNe."

Grace...Grace. I need to see you. I can't live without you. I need to get out of here. Make sure you're alright. I can't stay locked up in here forever.

And that's when inspiration hits.

"aBoUt TiMe, HaRvEy!"

I run the length of the room and bang my unscarred fist against the unscarred half of the glass that seperates me from the main corridorr of the high-security wing.

"Hey! HEY!!!!!" I bang the glass repeatedly for about two minutes; the various inmates around me stir.

"SHADDUP IN 'DERE! I'm tryin' to sleep, here!" Scarface yells.

"Merciful heavens, what is all that racket?" Jervis whines with his pillow crushed over his ears.

"Good God, Harvey, shut up before you make a fool of yourself." Oh Pam, you always were the blunt type, weren't you?

I keep looking down the hallway, past all of the other cells, right to the very end - the one with the door about as thick as that of a bank vault. I can see a beady pair of eyes staring back; in fact, if memory serves correctly, they never have stopped staring. Ever.

"wHaT, yOu ThInK bOlToN iS gOnNa HeLp Us OuT?"

No, but it's worth a try.

Even though my cohorts are getting restless, my banging doesn't stop, though. Not until one of the orderlies approached my cell.

"What's going on here?" he demands.

"What time is it?" I ask.

He pulls back his sleeve to reveal that he isn't wearing a watch. "Sorry, I don't know, Dent."

"tHe MaN aSkEd YoU wHaT tImE iT iS!"

I hush myself. "Sorry, I---I just need to get out. Stretch my legs. I haven't left this cell in a week. A WEEK. Can you fathom what being cooped up in this cell for SEVEN DAYS is like? Come on, let me talk to Dr. Bartholomew. Please."

"NoW, dAmNiT!"

The orderly ponders the idea. "Sorry, you know I don't have the authorization. Besides, the Doc at home...it's the middle of the night, for Pete's sake. Wait 'til morning and I'll see what I can do."

His passivity doesn't surprise me, but it'll suffice for now. "Thanks." As the white coat whisks himself down the corridorr, I press the scarred half of my face against the glass and stare to the bank-vault cell again. I nod my head. The pair of eyes blink. Here's hoping, Harvey. Here's hoping.

"YeAh, HeRe'S hOpInG yOu ShUt ThE hElL uP fOr OnCe. OnE oF uS nEeDs To GeT sOmE sLeEp ArOuNd HeRe!"

-Tim

[TimTwoFace]

OOC: Oh, Joker and Harley are in Arkham, too? I figured that only the untaken villains were locked up, and Joker, Harley, and Scarecrow (played by some of the others here) were out and about causing terror. OK, thanks for the update, Bleu!

-Tim

[Kylewayne]

June 21st
(1:30 am)

Catwoman

The trendiest nightclub in Gotham, dark, noisy, not well light and women dressed as sluts while bouncing up and down to the music. Also known as the meat market of Gotham. Every one who is out looking for fun and is looking for a one night stand ends up there. Outside, the line is long. The bouncers, tall, rugged, handsome and beefed up select their "clientele" . If you have the look ... then you're in and a part of the so called " In-Crowd".

The music is blaring but soon all eyes soon drift to the door as a GORGEOUS YOUNG WOMAN enters. She's in her mid-twenties wearing black Gucci sunglasses, a stylish Valentino leather halter top dress and to top it all off, Armani leather knee high boots. She doesn't look like she belongs, but feels right at home. She sits at the bar, orders a drink. and scopes out the club. She catches a handsome man staring at her. She smiles at him, and signals for him to come over. He looks surprised, but shyly makes his way over. "Let's dance" She says. He looks surprised as he escorts her to the dance floor. "I don't bite." She tells him in his ear as she licks his earlobe. "I only scratch" She adds after a long pause. He just smiles and can't believe his luck.

While dancing so close to him. She wraps her right hand around his neck With the left hand, she wraps her arm around his waist. She pulls him closer to the point where their bodies are stuck on each other and moving to the beat. "Your place or mine?" She says grinning. He looks at her with lustful eyes as she kisses him on the lips, long and passionate. "Who ARE you?" He asks her. She grins. "Your fantasy coming true"

At the appartment. I smother him with kisses while he carries me to his bedroom. As he lays me down. I notice a piece of paper on the dresser with the info: Pier 17, June 24. I make a mental note of it and file it away to memory. As he come on top of me and start pulling on my shirt. I wrap my hands around his neck. With my claw-like nails, I scatch him gently on his back. I grin at him while he is continuing to undress me slowly. I count to 10 in my head and that is when he passes out cold. "It's about time" I thought to myself. The poison on the tip of my nails worked wonderfuly. "Sorry, honey, but a gal's gotta work." I immedietly start collecting in a bag his valuables and his collection of pricey cat statues. The mother load is hidden elswhere but soon will be mine. For now I am content with my find. Before I leave I fix my clothes and leave the building as I came in disappearing into the night.

OOC: Ok, the next post will be toned down and in the first person :) Was the only way I could think to bring her back in a cat like way :D Forgive! *humble bow*

[The Guitar Slayer]

IC:

11:30 AM
Wayne Manor

“You all stare, but you'll never see
There is something inside me
There is something in you I despise

It itches, it seethes, it festers and it breathes

I know you're all tired of the same old bosses
Let me tell you how it's going be
I'm going kill anyone who steps up in front of me

It itches, it seethes, it festers and it breathes

Your afraid you’ll get what you want

What is it?”


Crane has made his move. It's my turn next. I paste my patented "air-headed playboy" look on my face. "Wonder who this is from?" I turn to the delivery man, as if for help. He shrugs, but there is a gleam in his eye. There's something disquieting in that.

I tip him and then turn to enter the manor. I occupy myself temporarily by paying my respects to Alfred's flowers. Once I hear the truck drive away, I allow my face to return to its normal state. I examine the letter carefully, but not closely. No powder on the paper or in the envelope. Paper feels normal...I hold it up to the sunlight...Gotham Paper Company watermark, the usual.

As I lower the page, I note that the red ink has smeared onto my hand...

Of course. Intradermal penetration.

Terrific.

Just terrific.

I contemplate what the hell I should do with this. Analyze a part of it and develop a serum for it, of course. But what of the rest of it? As long as it has been untouched by humans, it's still potentially active. Burn it? No, I don't know what the reaction of heat and this chemical will have...it could spread through the smoke. Don't want to pollute the water, so giving it a burial at sea is out of the question....this reminds me of the time Dick killed the class pet...where to put the corpse....

I'll try irradiating it. If I can hook up the generator directly to the microwave again, it should work. I'll just need to buy another microwave....again.

I carefully open the door with my other hand and creep inside. I close the door silently behind me. Alfred hears me anyway. "Master Bruce, did Ms. Angela...?"

I cut him off, rudely....the ink has made it into my bloodstream. "She's fine, I'm sure. I need to go down to the C..."

"Hello, Bruce." A young female voice interrupts me. Barbara Gordon stands in the doorway behind Alfred. "Dick and I just got back from the movies."

As she goes on, I impatiently listen and watch myself turn into a panicky mess. The paranoia and fear begins to seep into my system. "I can't let any of them get infected! Especially Barbara....Jim would never forgive me if she....what about Dick and Alfred....if they get infected, I'm really in deep waters. Oh, God, I bet Lucius already got a similar letter, probably the same for the competition too.....I gotta check my stocks, make sure everything..." My rational mind speaks before it is smothered to death by the hysterics. Your stocks? Why would that come into play with your panic unless Crane planned it as so?

I get impatient as Barbara comments on the movie, recommending it to me. I can't bear it anymore... "Excuse me, I have to take care of something." Her face falls slightly then moves aside. She stares at me with a perplexed look on her face.

I brush past her, keeping the letter away from her behind my back. I hear a creak behind me, and I whirl around to see Dick making a grab for the letter with one hand, sandwich in the other. "Love letters, Bruce?" he teases.

"No. Business," I reply roughly. He is slightly taken aback as I steamroll past him without further explanation. I begin to get tunnel vision as I head to the backdoor to enter the cave from the outside.

Alfred, concerned, follows behind me. "Sir, what...?"

I whip my head back to look at him. "Business, none of yours." He starts up again. I'LL TELL YOU LATER!" I bark at him angrily. He steps back with a blank, unreadable look on his face.. I've never spoken to him in that tone before. I see Dick and Barbara in the background, staring at me. I slam the door shut behind me and make my way down the hillside to the cave entrance.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

12:30 PM

After putting samples of ink into the computer for analyzation, I nuked the rest of it with the microwave. I threw the microwave in with the other hazardous waste I make when doing my experiments. I'll get rid of all of it through Wayne Tech. There. It's shouldn't cause any more problems.

I think I need to sell....

Why are you thinking about stocks again?

I have a feeling that this is going to be a bad quarter...I should really sell and put that 20% with the rest of it in bonds or something...

I've taken three showers. It's not working.

I think I've succesfully isolated myself for the day. Alfred is definitely not coming down.

[Barb Gordon]

11:37 AM

Barbara Gordon

I stare after Bruce as he takes off away from the three of us. That was odd, I wonder what's wrong. Something was definitely up, and had to involve that letter he was holding. Dick, not to mention Alfred, seemed really taken back from his tone. I loop my arm around one of Dick's, grabbing his attention with a smile.
"I'm sure he's fine."
I say falsely.
"Thanks again for the movies."
Dick finally pulls his attention away from where Bruce exited.
"Uh sure. I had a great time, Babs."
He finishes with one of his trademark grins. I blush.
"So, should I be heading hom or.....do you have anything else in mind that we could do?"
Alfred chooses that moment to silently disappear down a corridor. I love that man and his great sense of timing.

[TimTwoFace]

IC: Two-Face

June 21st
NOON

Dr. Bartholemew never came. It's not a long weekend is it? No, of course not. Geez, you just can't trust some people.

"Alright Dent, get a move on. Lunch time."

The orderly lets me out of my cell, but only after another two have violated the sanctity of my lair and cuffed me at the wrists and the ankles. Without a word I am escorted down the hallway towards the lunch hall and rec room of Arkham Asylum. Even Big Bad Harv isn't jumping in with his running commentary today.

"DoN't BoThEr Me - I'm SlEePiN' hErE."

I walk by all the now vacant cells - everyone else must already be in there eating. The only one still in his cell is the Joker, and that's only because he's practically gone comatose after his last run-in with Batman. Oh well, he brought it upon himself, whatever he did - it won't dissuade me in the least from following through with my plan.

"yEaH - aNd WiThOuT hIm LaUgHiNg AlL nIgHt, We ArE fInAlLy GeTtInG sOmE pEaCe."

Hey, I thought you were asleep.

"AhHhHhH, sHaDdUp!"

As I reach the end of the hallway, I swing past Lyle Bolton's cell encased in titanium steel; I cast a glance through the peephole, and see nothing. Good. He must be in the rec hall as well. It's all going to plan.

* * * * * * *

OCC: I'll post the next part tomorrow when I have more time.

[BLACKHEART]

The Financial World of Gotham City

1:00 PM

I sit in my chair of the dead made with the bones of those bullies who have offended me in the past. The remote control rests in my right hand with my finger placed over the channel up button. I watch the news caster talk about the rumblings and speculation of the collapse of several local companies.

“With the recent stock market movement of several local companies such as Wayne Enterprise and LevyKeibler one has to wonder what’s going on in Gotham. Could the weakening of the global economy strike so hard here at home? Thousands of shares in these companies were sold today. Everywhere we looked someone was selling stock in local companies. Let’s go live to Nancy who is live at the Gotham Stock Exchange” says the reporter.

“Well Bill there are mumblings around here that suggest the problems lay in the heart of these companies and rests on the hands of the board of trustee’s. We tried to get a word with Luscious Fox but he declined to comment on the situation. We don’t know what’s happening here.”

The sound fades out as I pick up a phone and begin to dial.

“Mr. Walken I talked with you a few weeks ago about becoming a client of yours… Yes that’s right. The paper work is done? …Great. I want to buy as many shares as possible in the following companies… …Wayne Enterprises, LevyKeibler, and Stone Electronics. Money isn’t a question… Yes I am fully aware of the situation. Would you like me to take my business elsewhere? …Good then begin buying.”

I hang the phone up as the sound on the TV comes in loud and clear.

“There is a lot of families counting on things getting better before everything hits rock bottom.”

“HAHAHAHA” echoes throughout the room as I stand up and make another calling to another agent to buy more stock.

I use 10 different agents. With each comes a different name and a different story to help keep the authorities or even worse the Bat from catching on to my master plan.

More to come...

[Bird Boy]

IC (Dick/Robin):

"So, should I be heading home or.....do you have anything else in mind that we could do?"

Alfred walks away as Barb finishes her line and slips down the corridor. I look down at Barb, who's using one of her beautiful smiles..man I'd love to spend more time with her..but I gotta figure out what's bothering Bruce..

"Barb..I'd LOVE to do something else-"
"Great! like what?"
"Uhhh..well, see..I was gonna say that I had to go figure out....uhh..well,see..." I say, rubbing the back of my neck and looking down at the floor, trying to think of a excuse that sounds plausable. I look back up to Barbara who has a disappointed look on her face...which just turned into a rather nasty look.

"Ok. Maybe later" she says, with a tone of snide-ness in her voice.

"Barb, really, I would like to--"
"Sure." she says, and turns and marches out of the kitchen.

Great move Grayson. I go over to the nearest wall and pound my head on it for making a fool of myself when I hear the door swing open again. I turn around to see Barbara with a puzzled look on her face

"Uh..I forgot my purse...what were you doing?"

I stand with my mouth open, not really knowing what to answer with. "Just...pounding my head on the wall...yeah.."

She lets out a small smile and turns back out of the kitchen. Well at least that situation didn't end THAT bad...I hope.

12:46 PM

I walk down the damp cave steps and shoo a few bats out of the way before I enter the cave. Bruce is at the batcomputer with Alfred standing beside him. I slip into the vault silenty for a second and slip into my outfit, in case we need to leave immediately.

I walk out, pulling up one of my gloves and holding my mask in the other hand. I stop next to the bat-chair and wait for Bruce to say somthing.

END.

OOC: All I could think of..

-BB

[TimTwoFace]

IC: Two-Face

June 21st
12:10 PM

Arkham Mess Hall/Rec Room

Once the door closes and is locked shut six times over, the white coats finally let me go. My shackles fall to the ground, and finally, I'm free.

Sort of.

"yEaH yEaH - jUsT gEt Me SoMe GrUb."

Shhhh, Harvey, you know why you're here. Lunch is just a cover. You're here for information. I scan the room for my target, but I don't see him - yet.

"Hey Harvey! Over here! I saved you a seat!" Edward hollers, waving his lanky hand back and forth. Hmph. Ever since we teamed up that ONE TIME he thinks he's my best friend or something. Geez - I've half a mind to just ignore him and keep on going.

And he saved me a seat across the table from Pam, too. As strange as it sounds, he just wasn't thinking, was he?

I take a tray of brown and orange schlop, but I'm not really hungry; a cup of coffee and some half-n-half is all I'm really craving right now, anyway. I quietly seat myself to Edward's right and divide my pile of mush in two; when you're eating food this rotten, you've gotta pace yourself.

Everyone is staring at me.

"You know, Harvey," Jervis says from down the table, "you kept us quite awake with your incessant ranting last night."

"Yeah!" Croc smashed his fist on the table; all the trays and plates jumped; I spilled my coffee into my lap. That's gonna leave a mark. "For the first time in ages that damned clown finally shut up for the night, but then you were out there spoutin' off about somethin'."

I cringe at him, and try to ignore it as best I can. Pam looks over at him and sneers. "Knock it off."

"No! He thinks he's all that, and I've had it up to here with 'im." Croc pushes himself away from the table and shoves the Ventriloquist out of the way and roars in my direction.

"You're just still ticked that he beat you in a hand-to-hand fight, aren't ya?" Edward steps in, hiding behind my body. I just keep looking forward, trying to enjoy my meal. Trying, but failing miserably. "I mean, first Batman takes you down, then Bane takes you out, and even Harv here, by no means a physical powerhouse...heh. I wouldn't be surprised to see Baby-Doll take you out someday..."

Croc leans in closer and snorts his hot, humid, and absolutely RANK breath through his wet nostrils and across my face. Edward nearly collapses as he cowers, but I remain virtually still. "GeT a TiC-tAc, BuDdY." Shut up, Big Bad Harv, you're just gonna get us in trouble here.

"What did you say!?" Croc roars.

"Sit down," I say calmly, "shut up, and eat."

"I sAiD yOuR bReAtH fReAkIn' ReEkS!" Damn it.

Croc slams his fist into my face, and I fall back into Edward, roll off of the bench, and onto the floor. With a facial swipe of my left hand I realize that I'm bleeding from the nose and the lip. Damn, that guy packs a punch.

"YoU'rE dEaD!"

Oh, just stop antagonizing that idiot! Nothing good is gonna come of it! I snort, blowing blood bubbles through my nose, still with a shocked expression on my face. Croc raises his fists high above his head in a "HULK...SMASH!!!" pose, and after a taking a moment to growl and wheeze, throws his hands downward. I close my eyes.

"OhHhHhHhHhHhHhH sHhHhHhHhHhHhHhHhIiIiIi..."

An extra second passes. I cautiously open my eyes and slowly come to realize that someone else's body is standing above mine, restraining Croc's body along with a couple of whitecoats.

"Bolton?" I say, shakily from the ground. He takes my extended hand and hoists me up to my feet. "Uh...thanks."

"No problem," he says, turning his back to me and walking away. "Besides, we have planning to do."

I grin to myself and follow his footsteps.

* * * * * * *

OCC: Man, this is taking a while to write. :)

[Bird Boy]

(The following message has been posted in the Worlds Finest RPG, Batman RPG (Part 2), and the Batman Beyond RPG (Part 3))

Some of you may/may not know that Cyndy (BleuUnicorn) has left the BB RPG due to time and college. However, Cyndy didn't honestly want to leave the RPG so there was a bunch of behinds the scenes stuff (we talk to 90% of you all on AIM so chances are you know what we're talking about..lol). ANYWAY, She wants to rejoin the BB RPG, which is fine with the MODs of this board, but we need to ask the members as well.

Cyndy rejoining the BB RPG will cut down more on her time--meaning her participation in ALL of her RPGs (WF, Batman RPG and BB RPG) will also be cut down. Now the way I see it is (I see it btw, not how you will see it, just how I see it :)), school has basically started for everyone already and our times all been cut down. The delay will only be slightly noticeable, and heck, maybe she'll post more than us (wouldn't count on it, but, hey... miracles DO happen. :D *runs from flying objects that Cyndy is flinging*).

Ok then...so everyones input is appreciated on this--and hey, while you're at it, post a IC post.. ;)

-Joseph "Bird Boy"
On behalf of the RPG Mod Team

[Kylewayne]

June 21st
(10 am)

Catwoman/Selina Kyle

I woke up at 10:00 am and couldn't go back to sleep. I didn't want to get out of bed yet either. I just stayed spraweled out in my king size bed. A girl with my drive gets very lonely at nights but the thrill of hunting for goodies keeps me content. I turn to the side and hug my fluffy pillow. I spot Isis on the nightstand staring at me. Behind her is my antique mirror.
My eyes just stayed fixated on my reflection.

"I look so much like her" I say to myself. But if she saw me now or even lived to see me now. I do not know how she would react. I feel an emptyness inside me, a dark part of me that tries to stay hidden ...locked up. Maybe IF things were different at home then perhaps I wouldn't feel so...blah

I remember when I was a little girl, my dad made me believe that people could get what they wanted if they wished hard enough for it and long enough and were good enough. How naive I was believing there were angels watching over us, considering our wishes and dreams, and when the time was right, the angels would grant us our wishes.

Now, in my mid-twenties, I lost faith in dreams and wishes. All that believing in fairytales coming true was a buch of crap. Instead of waiting around for dreams to come true. I took matters upon my own hands. I wanted a fancy lifestyle, so I got one. I did whatever it took to achieve one.
I feel a small speck on my cheek. Funny, I didn't even notice it. I wipe it away, and forget about it just as quickly. I'm strong. I don't cry. And I have work to do.

OOC: I'm cool with Cyndy coming back and being a slow poster. My schedule is hectic to but I'll try to post as often as I can.
If anyone has a problem with Uni' slow pace of posting they will have to answer to me..hehe :D

[TimTwoFace]

IC: Two-Face

Location: Arkham Asylum Rec Room
Date: June 21st, 12:30pm

I see the men in white coats hauling a now-tranquilized Killer Croc out of the room to God-knows-where. The quicker I can forget him, the better...but damn, my jaw hurts.

"ThAt'S gOnNa LeAvE a MaRk..."

Bolton and I saunter over to the far wall and look through the grill overtop the window, into the vacant Arkham courtyard.

"Don't think I didn't notice you last night," he says. I nod, but don't make eye contact. I just look out the window, trying to appear casual. "Let's cut to the chase. What's your story?"

Ah, the direct approach. Good thing, too. Lunch hour is nearly over. "I need to get out of here," I murmur huskily under my breath.

"Yeah, join the club."

"My fiance is in the hospital." Well, ex-fiance. Doesn't matter. Whatever she is, she's an excuse to get out of here; without her, I'd get no sympathy towards my cause. "I need to get out of here to make sure she's alright."

Lock-Up stands still, his eyes ever watchful of the outdoors.

"She was shot. By cops. COPS." My chest starts to heave from just recounting the horrible incident. "I mean, come on, you've had it in for Gordon and the rest of the GCPD for years now. You've got a score to settle, don't you? I figured we could help each other out." I jab him in the arm to grab his attention. "You know Arkham better than everyone else here - you designed all the security systems used in this place. You must know of a way out. Come on, whadaya say?"

A couple seconds pass; someone breaks out in riotous laughter behind us. Sounds like Jervis beat Edward at chess. Again.

"I could have broken out of here the day I was first brought in if I wanted to. The only reason I stayed here was so I could keep an eye on the rest of you psychos." He took a heaving breath, his arms still crossed.

"Hey, Lyle, NEWSFLASH!" I step between him and the window, barking in his face through a forced whisper. "Your presence here has meant NOTHING. NOTHING! Arkham's as much of a revolving door prison as it was before you arrived. Nothing has changed at all. You could be doing a lot more good on the streets of Gotham." Still nothing. "Besides, Scarecrow's on the loose. We all know how you absolutely love him."

"Uh huh."

"Yeah, I bet he's trash-talking you right now."

"Hmph."

"Batman's had no luck in bringing this guy in. Neither have the cops. They're useless." I swallow and stroke a hand through my pink-and-purple hair. "You're the only one the citizens of Gotham can count on."

"ALRIGHT EVERYONE. FIVE MINUTES LEFT OF LUNCH HOUR."

Damnit. This can't wait a second longer. "And I promise to pay you handsomely." He c.ocks an eye and looks down at me; I hold out my mottled blue hand. "Do we have a deal?"

He doesn't shake my hand, but the almighty dollar speaks once again. "Deal." I half grin, half sneer at his acceptance. "But I call the shots. See you tonight." He begins to walk away.

"When?" I whisper.

"10 o'clock." And he is willingly escorted out of the room.

Ahhh. 2200 hours. Now that I can work with.

[TimTwoFace]

OCC:

Not to whine or anything, but is anyone participating in this RPG any more? I see a lot of the other ones moving along, but this one seems pretty dead. Is everyone just busy with school right now?

Oh, and do we have an up-to-date list on what characters are taken?

-Tim

[Bird Boy]

OOC: I swear, I'm gonna try to post in all of the RPGs I'm in this weekend...

and as far as I know Tim, the characters taken list is up-to-date..

-BB

[AceOfKnaves]

OOC: Okay Tim, you got what you wanted. I'm in now. :D

IC:

12:49pm


I look out from the plane's window, watching buildings and homes roll by.

For once I would've liked to take a complete vacation, with no calls or contacts from my department.

Oh well, I guess there are some downsides to being promoted. But the intake is much nicer, and that is something to be glad for. It's so hard to survive in Gotham these days, not inculding avoiding all the weirdos.

Reading the letter I got from my partner, I sigh, glancing over the brief information about.......Scarecrow.......

Wonderful, all I need is some sicko who has Wizard of Oz issues.

I place it back into the envelope, tucking it neatly into my jacket.
Why did the department call me for this, when they have Batman?

Leaning against the back of my seat, I shut my eyes, trying to imagine I am still on the beaches of Florida.

Retirement sounds very good right about now...

[AceOfKnaves]

IC:

1:21pm


Throwing my keys onto the counter in my kitchen I kiss for my cat.
"Here kitty kitty....Alphador, where are you baby?"

My big black and white long hair comes tearing around the corner.
"There's my fat boy....has Auntie Alaina been taking care of you?"

I pick him up, having to use a little bit more effort to do so,
"I think she's been taking too much care of you. You must've gained about 10 pounds."

I feed him, and throw my clothes on the couch as I head for the bathroom. A nice hot shower is what I need.

Listening to radio as I rinse off my hair, I hear something about the stockmarket....I click it off, I never much cared for wallstreet.

I dry off, and head for my bedroom, shutting the door quietly so I didn't disturb my now sleeping cat.

After I am dressed, wearing a white button up shirt, brown slacks and my black and blue jacket, I grab my badge and gun from the dresser, and head for the front door.

"Oops, almost forgot." Putting my keys back into my pocket, I walk into the hallway of the thirdfloor apartments, making my way to the stairs. I never liked elevators.

______________________________________________

1:47pm


I change the radio station in my car, it was tuned to that stockmarket news break. I was tired enough, I didn't want to be lulled to sleep by talk of money. I didn't have enough to care.

Pulling up to the station, I turn off my engine and slowly make my way up the steps to the entrance.

Jessica Miller, my partner, comes rushing at me as soon as I step through the door.

"Have you heard?"

I look at her in confusion,
"Heard what?"

She folds her arms,
"God Renee, do you even listen to the news?"

Standing there in silence I wait for her to explain,
"The stocks are dropping like crazy, it's making some of us here wonder if we should sell ours. Maybe the Gotham CEO's who have been dropping all of their shares know something we don't."

"Is this something the department is investigating?"
I ask expectantly.

"Well, no. It's just the talk around the office today. No one seems to be able to talk much about anything else."

"Well, then it doesn't concern the police. If you'll excuse me Jessica, I have to talk to Peters."

She continues, still trying to perk my interests,
"Scott Levy just sold all of his shares today."

I stop walking...
"Scott?"
Scott and I were friends years ago, before he realized he was too important for the little people.
Shrugging my shoulders, I pretend not to care.
"What he does with his money is his own choice."

"I thought you two were friends."

I turn back to look at her.
"Note the key word there, WERE....I have work to do."

She grabs my arm,
"Please Renee? Just talk to him. The curiosity is just killing me."

I look back at her smiling face.
"All right all right!"

Turning back from the direction I came, I head back out to my car.
She's lucky she's my partner.

_______________________________________________

2:03pm


I pull up to his building, looking skyward. It was a lot bigger than I remember.

Talking to the receptionist, I have to flash my badge to see him. She points me to the third elevator, I hate elevators, and tells me it's the 19th floor, to the left, at the very end of the hall.

The two metal doors slide shut behind me, the car slowly making it's way back down to the lobby. I'll use the stairs on the way back.

I knock lightly on his office door.
"Scott?"

Hear a faint,
"It's open."
I walk quietly inside.

"Hello Scott."
He turns from his paperwork.
"Renee!" Getting up he comes over to hug me. Standing back, he smiles.
"How have you been?"

I'm shocked he remembered me let alone my name.
"Tired...just came back from vacation."

He leaned on his desk, nodding his head stupidly as I spoke, he doesn't really care.
"Where did you go?"

I sigh, seemingly speaking to myself,
"Florida. It was supposed to be a three week deal, but I was called back for police business."

"Tough break on that."

His secretary buzzed him,
"Sir....you're 2:10 appointment is here."

"Thanks Suzanne.....well, Renee, it's been lovely chatting with you, but I have all kinds of things to do."

"Actually, Scott, I came here to ask you a few things, see how you were feeling, and if everything was all right."

He looked taken aback by that question,
"Of course I'm all right...."

I shift my weight to my left side,
"Well, it's just that I've heard about the stock problems..."

"Problems? There are no problems! Really, I would love to stay and chat with you Renee, but if you'll excuse me."

And at that he left me in his office. Standing puzzled and a little upset. Did he just blow me off?

I was about to leave when I noticed something in his waste basket. A paper that looked like it had blood on it. Picking it up by the corner, I unfold it. No, it's just ink, but what is says is slightly alarming......

“You all stare, but you'll never see
There is something inside me
There is something in you I despise

It itches, it seethes, it festers and it breathes

I know you're all tired of the same old bosses
Let me tell you how it's going be
I'm going kill anyone who steps up in front of me

It itches, it seethes, it festers and it breathes

Your afraid you’ll get what you want

What is it?”

I pull an evidence bag from my pocket, and slid it in. I don't think Scott will notice if I take this...

[The Guitar Slayer]

12:45 PM

I've ripped the speaker phone out of the Batcomputer and dismantled it. The urge to call my brokers is ridiculously strong. Alfred wasn't too happy when the intercom upstairs squealed and shattered a few champagne glasses he was washing. He has come downstairs and has stood behind me silently for about ten minutes now. I quietly bring the analysis on the letter up on a side screen and allow him to read it. He sighs. "You should really express yourself more clearly. May I suggest a course in modified sign language?"

Why hadn't I thought of that? "Yes, Alfred...." Now all is well in the world regarding my butler. I hear Dick fighting with the residents of the cave and making his way down. He stops at the foot of the stairs and watches Alfred and me carefully. Smart boy; doesn't know if it's safe or not.

I turn in my chair to him. "Scarecrow is at it again. That letter I refused to let you see this morning had ink laced with his fear potion. So far, it's only made me nervous about my investments..."

Alfred interrupts, "It's made others nervous as well. Other major CEOs in Gotham have sold their stocks, including your main competitor, Master Bruce."

"Scott Levy..." Levy was all business, no hesitation at all when it came to making money. "What about Wayne Enterprises?"

"Every member of your board is begging for an emergency meeting, including Mr. Fox. The situation has caused the market to plummet, devaluing your shares to..."

This time I interrupt him. "Don't tell me any more. Even if this goes down horribly, I still have well over 80% left in my bonds. Set up a meeting with the shareholders for this afternoon at...." I can't think of a good meeting time. This is usually Alfred's department.

"2:30 it is, sir." Alfred bows and goes upstairs. I say a "thanks, Alfred," at him as he goes. I turn back to the computer to bring up the search I had done the other night.

Dick comes over and plops himself down on the medical table. "Date over?"

"Yup. Thanks, Bruce."

"No problem. Remember that woman you saved the other night?" I ask as I envision the nasty face he's making at me. I turn to him and he nods. "Here's her profile."

Dick reads over it and instantly makes the connection I did. "She's one of Crane's ex-henchwomen, one of the first he employed. Wonder what she did to become a test animal?"

"My question, precisely. We need to find her, give her an antidote to whatever formula Scarecrow gave her, and get her to talk...and hide her as well. He doesn't take well to stool pigeons. Go look for her this afternoon. I'll join you later this evening. I have the financial crisis to deal with."

Dick looks at his watch. "You have three hours til the meeting."

I show him the Crane's clock. "Two. Your watch is off by an hour."

Dick adjusts his watch. "Wonder how that happened..."

[TimTwoFace]

IC: Two-Face

June 21st
2:30pm

Location: Arkham, of course.

I sit in my cell. Kicking at the floor. Fogging up the glass pane and playing tic tac toe with myself. "HaHa, YoU lOsE, hArVeY!" Damn, Big Bad Harv is good.

"Guard!" I shout, rapping on the glass with my fist.

"Oh damn it," I hear Ivy groan from her cell down the hall. "He's gonna start ranting again."

A few seconds later, the no-name man decked out in a white coat is at my cell. Now that's service.

"There a problem, Dent?"

"No, just wondering what time it is."

"Uhhh, about two thirty. So."

"Thank you," I nod. "I was just checking."

"cOmE oN, sPeEd Up ThE tImEtAbLe HeRe, BuDdY! i'M gEtTiNg AnTsY!" Shhh...quiet or you're gonna blow this.

"Riiiight..." the man says, eyeing me strangely, meeting my gaze. He leaves a few seconds later after my returned stare becomes too intimidating.

Excellent. That means only seven hours until 10. 2200 hours.

I swiftly take the two-step jaunt back to my lumpy cot and reach under the mattress for the few blunt pieces of cutlery I had snuck out of the rec room that afternoon. I've already double-checked to see if they were still there this afternoon - I must just be nervous. Everything must be perfect. Absolutely everything.

"OhH, i CaN't WaIt - My HeArT iS bEaTiNg LiKe CrAzY! tHe MuRdEr! ThE mAyHeM! tHe MaLiFiCeNcE!"

Because, if not, I know I'm gonna fry for this.

Mr. Bolton, you had better know what you're doing.

[TimTwoFace]

OCC: OK, it's just that with everyone at school the RPG was at a bit of a stand-still, so I was kinda hoping to get my story up and running, that's all.

-Tim

EDIT: OK, I edited the post. Now it works better.

[AceOfKnaves]

OOC: Thanks for the welcome Bleu!!! And I LOVE your new Avatar!!! As for the time set of the RPG, as of now I am backing up a bit to accommodate your request. :D


IC:

1:00pm


As I pull into my parking spot at the station, Jessica is already power walking in my direction, holding a large stack of papers and folders.

Tossing Scott's letter into my glove box before she reaches the side of my car, I glance up at her, producing a false smile. I really didn't want to talk with her right now.

I roll down my window, avoiding eye contact with her....I can't lie convincingly if I look at someone.

"Well?"

I clear my throat, "He was in a meeting. His secretary said she'd inform him that I had stopped by."

Jess looked as if I had just socked her in the face. "Oh....all right..."

She started to leave, making it half way back to the stair before she spun around, jogging back to my side. "Here's the file you wanted...Peters said that you should start at Arkham."

Arkham, now there's a joke. If I had a dollar for every time some nut-ball had broken out of there, I'd be richer than Bruce Wayne.

Speaking of nut-balls, I look down at the file sitting in my lap, the front sporting big black letters, 'Crane'.

I start to say thanks, suddenly realizing that I'm alone out here. Jessica had gone back inside the building, probably trying to pretend to be interested in REAL police business.

Chuckling lightly to myself, I restart my car, and slowly back out of my space, this time heading for Arkham...

______________________________________________

1:06pm


I pull my badge, and the folder Jessica had given me, from my jacket as the receptionist asks for authorization papers.

"GCPD, huh? We had a few of you poking around just after Crane had escaped. Why are you coming back now?"

I don't answer her, instead I leave my gun in the safe by her as instructed.

She buzzed me in, releasing me into the world of the mad. I haven't even begun to walk by their cells and I already feel small shivers.

As I reach the holding block, I pass many criminals that I have heard of, but never actually seen. Each gives a slightly different reaction to my passing.

I finally reach the clear pane infront of Scarecrow's old room.....using the key that the lady in the front had given me.

Looking around I see nothing out of the ordinary.....and give up quickly. I really want to get out of here.

Taking large strides I head back down the darkened hall full of psychopaths......then stop.

I look long into his cell, staring at the motionless form in front of me. For one brief moment, I pitied the Joker.....

Turning back to leave again, I look in one last cell. I freeze, my heart skipping a beat. His gaze had met mine as I passed him, and followed me until I stopped.

I knew him.......TwoFace....

[BLACKHEART]

2 PM

I sit in my chair surrounded by TV monitors. Each TV is tuned in to another news program giving different angles of the collapse of Gotham’s financial world. Each program offers their perspective one what’s going wrong with the big companies that call Gotham home. Graphs and charts plot the plunge in stocks for the major corporations in Gotham.

Thick black curtains keep the sickening sunlight out of my room. A dead stoic look wears across my face like a dying rat caught in a trap. I reach to my left and pick up an hourglass. It’s made of old rotting wood. Carved around the glass is a wooden snake. There are various nicks and scratches on the glass and wood. I hold the hourglass up in the air in front of me. My eyes lock on the grains of sand. My arm extends outwards as far as possible. I turn the hourglass over clockwise and slam it down on to the table in front of me.

A sinister smile of chaos and destruction brightens my dark dying face.

I buzz one of my lackeys into the room.

He enters a few minutes later, “What’s up boss?”

I look at him with great displeasure.

“Look around you” I say pointing my staff towards the TV sets. “The black curtain falls bringing fire from the sky. With Gotham in grave danger there is only one thing that can save the local economy from collapsing on itself. Only I can prevent the failure of Gotham and the total collapse of the local economy. Just as I saved you. I am Gotham’s only savior.”

I extend my arms outwards.

“When the sand runs out all will return to normal. Then the stocks of Wayne and the other bullies of Gotham will sky rocket. Market insiders will be flabbergasted. What could have saved Gotham’s big business? What could have prevented these big bullies from financial ruin?”

My lackey asks, “Why you want do that boss?”

“You simpleton. Step outside and look at the big picture. The stocks I’ve purchased will bring great wealth and my visions of global fear will become a reality. I’ll start with this rotting sitting. Gotham is begging for a savior. From the poor homeless waste that lines the streets begging for change to the junkie strapped to a bed in the local hospital. They all need me. They all need to be saved. Purification…” pause “Purification.”

I move closer to my lackey.

“The more money I make the more fear I’ll be able to produce and spread. You are my chosen messenger.”

I extend my right arm and open my palm to slap him in the forehead.

“You came to me because the world of bullies has stoned you constantly. You know what it’s like to be pushed down and stepped on by someone who is bigger. You graduated from Gotham University with at the top of your class. You should be leading a research division at Wayne or LevyKeibler. Instead you were working at McDonalds looking for your savior. These bullies turned you down because you were a nice guy. Where did being a nice guy get you? You spent many Saturday nights at home alone playing on the computer while life passed you by. Why the other guy got the girls. All your life you were pushed around because someone had more money than you, because they were bigger than you, because they could. Never again my friend.”

I put my arm around him.

“I’m sending you into the world. I will use my influence to obtain you a job Wayne Enterprises. There you will mix my chemicals with their products and they will be mass produced and spread throughout the globe. Causing chaos in the stock market was only the first phase of my master plan. Now you’ll help our cause of world fear. When we are done the masses will know one name… The Sinister Scarecrow the master of fear and the savior of the world.”

I pause to let the mental midget take in what I’ve told him.

“Paul do what it takes. Clean up and purchase a suit. You have a job. You have a place…”

I put a few hundred dollars into his pocket and push him out the door.

I sit back down in control center, flip the channel to monitor the bullies I’m keeping locked down in the basement. Their antics of fear amuse me to no end.

[Bird Boy]

IC:

2:48pm

I put my mask on and stare out through the starlite lenses, making the cave appear slightly darker than it really is. I walk over to the batcycle and swing my leg over it. "You got any info on this girl?" I ask as I turn on the cycle.

"She lives in the Apartment Complex on Grey Street. Apartment B"

I nod and rev the engine on the cycle and push forward. I slide over the thin line out of the cave and exit. Trick is to not look down..and you're safe.

I break through the air and feel the bright sun hit the back of my neck. I lean forward a bit more, slowly merging with the bike. I push it well above 70mph and blow some of the dead leaves, that have been knocked off the trees due to the brief snowstorms last week, off the road.

~~~~~~~~~~~

2:56pm

I dismount the bike and stash it into the alleyway beneath the apartment building. I throw some of the trash bags around it so it's less conspicious, and begin climbing up the fire escape. I find apartment B and look in. Sneaking around would be alot easier if it wasn't daylight..

I pull up the already open window and slide in.

"Laura? Laura Dempesy?"
"Who's there?"
I pause...great, I was hoping to look around first.

A person emerges from the bedroom, still clothed in the same outfit from last night. Looks like she slept in it..

"You! What are you doing here? and how'd you get in?" she says, a bit taken aback
"I wanted to ask you a couple questions. I know you used to work for Scarecrow..and he's been drugging alot of people lately. You might be--"
"I'm fine. Please, get out"
I stare at her and then take a quick glance around the room. I spot a similar note to the one Bruce recieved and then move towards it. I reach out my hand when a glass vase hits at the edge of my feet.

"I said get out. Leave. I'll call the " she says, reaching for the phone. I pull a Batman and exit through the window before she looks up again. I hear a distant "police" as I climb down the fire escape.

I uncover the bike and take out my communicator. "Bruce. I found her and her apartment..she had a similar note on her desk..like the one you had. Do you have a antidote yet?"

No response. I begin to try again until I remember that Bruce is in the meeting..great. I mount the cycle and make my way back to the cave.

END.

OOC: All I could do..

-BB

[TimTwoFace]

IC: Two-Face

June 21st
3pm

"Three o'clock and all's well!"

"sHuT uP! sHuT uP! fOr ThE lOvE oF aLl ThInGs HoLy, ShUt Up!"

Time is moving as slowly as molasses already, and I really, really don't need Fugate announcing the time every sixty minutes. And there are still seven hours to go. I clench my fist and pound it on the glass in frustration.

"MaYbE yOu ShOuLd CaTcH a FeW wInKs, HaRv. BaBy PrObAbLy NeEdS hIs ReSt BeFoRe HiS bIg AdVeNtUrE aHeAd Of HiM tOnIgHt."

No. No sleep. My mind is too busy for sleep. Both of them.

My clenched fist still rests against the glass; as I take a deep sigh, release my hand, and let my fingers trail down the glass through the fog my heated breath has caused. I forcefully push myself away from the glass in vain hopes of invigorating myself, but no such luck - I'm bored out of my skull.

I'd play a game of solitaire to keep myself occupied, but you just don't know how annoying it is to have someone always looking over your shoulder as you play, doing a running commentary on how awful your strategy is.

"YoU oUgHtA lIsTeN tO mE mOrE oFtEn, BuDdY."

And that's when it hits me - that woman that came through Arkham earlier. I didn't know her too well, but I recalled seeing her around the GCPD Headquarters back in my District Attorney days. Rene Montoya, that was it - apparently one of Gordon's most trusted accomplices. I could overhear quite a bit of what she said; she was in Arkham, investigating the Scarecrow break-out. Usually I wouldn't make a big deal of this, but like I said, it's been a slow day - I need soemthing to keep my mind busy.

"I dOn'T tHiNk It'S yOuR 'mInD' tHaT's In CoNtRoL, bUdDy!"

Shut up. I love Grace. I only have feelings for Grace - not just any ol' woman that comes strolling through these hallways.

She did cast quite the long glance into my cell, though. Hmmmm...

Perhaps after I break out of this joint, a slight change is in order. I think I can use this to my advantage.

"Three-fifteen and all is well!"

"I sAid ShUt ThE hElL uP, fUgAtE!"

-Tim

[The Guitar Slayer]

OOC: I have no clue how companies buy stocks back or any of this finacial stuff...so I'll fake it. Forgive me in advance.

IC: Bruce Wayne/Batman
2:30 PM

Wayne Enterprises

I patiently wait for the room to calm down a bit more before I start the meeting. Mr. O'Reilly, Ms. Bishoff, and Mr. Markov take note of my silence. Luscius finishes sorting through the meeting agendas and slides them down the table. I take note of the nervous sheen on his forehead.

There are a few moments of dead silence. I clear my throat. "I do believe you know why I've called you here today...."

I don't even get through the introduction before I am interrupted. "Mr. Wayne, the stocks are plummetting. We've already lost more than 35% of the overall company's worth, and the day isn't over yet!" Markov bellows down the table at me.

Bishoff adds to the din. "Most of our employees put their faith in you, and that includes most of their money. They want out before..."

"Before the stock market crashes? So they can transfer it out to cash, as well as the rest of their funds? And as a result of the hysteria and the masses crowding the counters, so the banks can close? I don't think we want a repeat of the 1929 crash, especially in Gotham in this modern day," I drone at them.

Luscius swivels in his chair to me. "Mr. Wayne, your many of your employees' futures ride on the stock options offered to them at Wayne Enterprises. You make the decision whether to buy them back as the executive officer."

"I know my duties, Mr. Fox," I fire back.

His lips go into a tight line as he struggles to control his temper. O'Reilly wipes his balding head with a sweat stained handkerchief. "To be blunt, sir, you can choose to go down with the ship. We, however, would like to be able to put our children through college without government aid. You couldn't understand this..."

I tune out to my own world while O'Reilly continues. He's right, you know. You don't understand. Andrea had enough money set aside to put her through any university. You don't understand his concern over the children because you don't have any regard for your own.... I shut out my devil's advocate come back into the real world.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

3:35

The meeting has dragged on for a while. I've exhausted almost every argument I have to throw at them to convince them not to sell out. They finally come up for air, and silence ensues. Luscius clamps and hand on my shoulder and requests that I see him outside the board room.

I follow Luscius out, and the second the door closes, he lets me have it. "Are you high, Bruce?!"

"Pardon?"

"We're losing more money that we can't recoup. The company is going down, and you're taking everybody with you. You selfish son-of-b****, your pride is in your way, as usual. I've tried to cope with it over the years, but when you put others' lives after your own and abuse your power, I can't take it. Bottom line..." Luscius runs his hand through his thinning hair. "I'll hand my resignation if you don't buy back those shares. I'm sorry, but I refuse to be a part of this."

Scarecrow's ink has done its damage to even my loyal right hand man. I sigh, examine my shoes, then answer. "Alright. I'll tell them now with one condition." Luscius nods grimly.

We reenter the board room. The board of directors eyeball me and wait. I clear my throat. "Due to the overwhelming proposal, and to prove that this will only be temporary, I agree to buy back the stocks personally." They all gasp. They officially think I've lost it now.

"Bruce..."

I put up a hand to stop Lucius from continuing. "I also agree to sell it back to you at the same price I brought it from you."

They stare at me. Astounded and dumbfounded. They are speechless. "Any objections?" I glare at them from my standing position. Empty space. "Then it is done. I will become the sole owner of Wayne Enterprises effectively immediately. Meeting adjourned."

The members of the board file out. O'Reilly turns back to me to make a final parting shot. "It's your funeral, Wayne."

I now stand alone in the room. I look at the picture of my parents on the wall. They return my gaze soullessly. I shrug on my coat and head outside. The street runs past me as fast as it can without flipping over. I am assimulated into the crowd.

"Bruce!" a familiar female voice rings out.

I turn to see my pursuer. "Selina, how are you?"

[Kylewayne]

Selina Kyle/Catwoman

12:00 pm

I finally drag myself out of bed and walk to the closet. I model some pieces of clothing for Isis and the rest of my furry hairballs. I ended up wearing a Chanel suit with the skirt just a bit above the knee. I might as well shop in style. Anywho, it's a beautiful day outside... better take advantage of it. Besides shopping always cheers me up, it always does. Especially when I worked hard to get my money *grin*

3:15 pm

*Grumble grumble* My stomach has just reminded me that I haven't eaten anything since I woke up, not even breakfast! I think I got enough goodies for one day. My two hands can't carry any more bags. Let's see, two pais or shoes, earings, 5 pairs of dressy shirts and camisols, pants , belts, lingerie... Ummm, yeah I think I'm done for the day. For a second I just realized how much money I spent on one afternoon. Do I feel guilty? I don't think I do? I shoe away that silly thought.

Walking away from the mall, a beggar stops to ask me if I can spare some change. Since I was in a happy mood I gave him a 50$ bill. Hey, I'm not heartless after all, I say to myself. I can be GOOD when I want to. As soon as I finished that thought. I spot Bruce from far away. I pick up my pace and yell out his name hoping he hears me. "Bruce!" I say in a cheery voice. "Long time no see." I say smiling at this point.

[TimTwoFace]

OOC: OK everyone, I figured that, since Lock-Up is rather vital to my proposed Two-Face break-out, I've got dibs on taking his character for the time being. He's not a particularly popular choice so I don't think anyone will mind. If you do, get to me before I get my hopes up. :D

Anyhoo...

IC: Lock-Up

June 21st
3:30pm

What Dent said is right. My intelligence is being wasted here. I not only installed but created EVERY SINGLE SECURITY FEATURE at Arkham, and it never keeps anyone in for more than a week or two. How am I supposed to keep everyone in check if I can't rely on all my equipment? I can't. Not from within here. I just have a little slot in this door that keeps ONE HALLWAY under my supervision. Granted, it's the maximum security wing, but half the time it's half-empty. My skills are being wasted here.

And I gotta get out of here.

Thing is, I've had ideas to break out of here for ages. I know this asylum like the back of my hand. Every nook, every cranny. Every square inch caught on surveillance, every area that is hidden in shadows. I know about it all. I could have realisitically broken out of my cell any time I chose to - I just didn't see the need. I've been so blind.

The Scarecrow - oh, Professor Crane, my personal favourite - is out wreaking havoc in Gotham, turning the stock market into a three-ring circus. He must be stopped. On the newsreports I haven't heard anything out of the cops about where Batman is in all this. All this time I thought he'd be a great partner for me in cleaning up this town; I guess I was wrong there, too. It's all up to me now.

"Three-forty-five and all's well!" The Clock King bellows from within his cell.

"sHaDdUp In ThErE, yOu PaNsY!" Harvey hollers back.

I sigh. I'm breaking my own moral code here. How can I assist a felon - a mass murderer and true psychotic, at that - in breaking out of my prison? It's a necessary risk. Like I said, I could have left my cell at any time (with a little creative ingenuity), but as soon as I got into the hall, the guards would be on me in no time flat. Let's be realistic here - twenty guys with guns versus one guy with nothing on him but the clothes on his back? I'd never make it out of here.

No, I NEED a true psychotic to assist my escape. And since the Joker is (thankfully) in traction, I'll go with the next best thing. At least Dent is a little more honourable and stable.

"hEy HaRv, KnOcK kNoCk."

"I'm not playing."

"I sAiD, kNoCk KnOcK!"

"Geezus, shut up, we need this time to think."

"WeLl ShOoT tHe KiDs AnD dRoWn ThE nEiGhBoUrS! I'm JuSt TrYiNg To HaVe A lItTlE fUn HeRe! CoMe On!"

*SIGH* OK, maybe stable isn't the right word. But I need him anyway. Unfortunately.

Six hours to go. I hope he - or they - don't get me killed.

[AceOfKnaves]

IC:

3:04pm


I slide back behind the wheel of my car, slamming the door as I pull the seatbelt from behind my head. My hand strikes the dash board in front of me as I utter a row of cursing. Why did I react like that? Am I actually afraid of some sideshow freak behind glass?

I turn the key in the ignition, feeling slight relief from the low hum of my car. God I'm pathetic! I was just handed the biggest case that I've received since my promotion, Jonathan Crane a.k.a. The Scarecrow, master of chemicals mixed into FEAR toxins, and I'm fearing caged criminals! I run my hand over my face, pop my car into reverse, and back quickly out of the visitors parking space.
I watch Arkham slowly shrink as I speed away.

_____________________________________________

3:12pm


Pulling back into the station parking lot, I quickly stuff the letter I stole, er um borrowed from Scott into my jacket, and step out of my car.

I pass many smiling faces on my way to the door, but avoid any comments they make by nodding my head, or pretending not to here them.

Making it back to my desk I toss the letter into one of my far drawers, trying to concentrate on my assigned job. I sigh, who am I kidding? If Batman can't find him, what makes me think I can?

"Find anything Renee?"
I look up at my smiling partner,
"No, nothing. Hey can you do me a favor?"

She nods at me,
"Sure."

I open the drawer to my left, pulling out the bagged piece of paper.
"Take this down to Rick at the lab. I want fingerprints found on this thing."

Looking at me oddly she takes it from my hand,
"What is it?"

"A letter that was in Scott's-"
I stop, forgetting that I told her I hadn't seen him.
Her mouth opens slightly,
"So you did see him!"

A guilty look covers my face,
"All right, yeah I did, but he wouldn't talk to me. Left me standing there in his office, I felt like such a heel."

She looked almost hurt,
"Oh, okay." She walked towards the lab, giving me a slight stare down before she entered it. Great, now I have to apologize later.

I run my hands through my hair, picking through the papers regarding Jonathan Crane. There are several physiological profiles, mugshots, last known addresses, etc. Plenty of places for me to start an investigation.

My eyes fall onto a small folded sheet of paper on the corner of my desk. I open it up, Jessica's hand writing. It was a list, after a few minutes of really looking at it I figured out what she was getting at. In alphabetical order was a column of names, all business men or CEO's from major companies. She just wouldn't let it go. A small paragraph below it read,
'Peters said that if you and I wanted to check this out on our own time, he wouldn't stop us. Come one Renee, please?'
I roll my eyes, and crumple it up. She's impossible.

Writing notes onto a small notepad, I finish up, grabbing my keys and heading back out of the door. A hand clutches my arm,
"Wayne Enterprises is selling out as well. This is just too strange to ignore Montoya."
I look down at my short blonde partner,
"I've got a real investigation to conduct remember? Jonathan Crane? This has nothing to do with the Scarecrow, so drop it...okay?"

I pull away from her, and head out of the door, sometimes I wonder about her.

[TimTwoFace]

IC: Two-Face

June 21st
4:30pm

The suspense is killing me. I hate waiting. I really do. I'm losing my focus and getting too antsy to get out of here. I'm going stir crazy. I'm...

"ShHhHhHhHhHhH! i'M tRyInG tO hEaR sOmEtHiNg!"

"Huh?"

"ShAdDuP, i'Ll ExPlAiN iN a SeCoNd."

I press my ear to the cold glass cell window and hear two of the guards talking at the end of the corridorr.

"...and I just hope the new guy is gonna be able to cut it here."

"Hey, give him a break, he worked at Blackgate for three years already."

"Yeah. Blackgate is not here. You know as well as I that this place is...different."

"Oh come on, he's gotta be able to cope with this place. I managed."

"Yeah, Lenny - and if I recall, you balled your eyes out like a little girl the first night Joker tormented from his cell."

"Hey man, it was a tough time for me - my wife just had that c-section and the last thing I needed to hear was a story about liking to cut up little kids."

"Maybe. But as I said, you gotta be a strong guy to make it in this place. I give Carl a week in this hell hole."

"Care to put a little money on this?"

The guard looks through his pocket. "Sure, all I have on me is two bucks."

"Cheapskate. But...OK."

"hEy!" I pipe up.

One of the guards comes down the hallway. "Yeah, what do you want, Dent?"

"I want in on the bet. Put me down for two bucks, too." I grin, and my voice drops. "I bEt NoNe Of YoU wIlL mAkE iT tHoUgH tHe ReSt Of ThE nIgHt."

-Tim

[Barb Gordon]

OOC: Just like to pop in here after not posting for such an unbelievably long time! Worse yet I'm still not posting into the story with this post! Just giving the heads up that I've just been swamped with college, studying and what seems like endless papers and midterms, not to mention work. But besides that, I just didn't keep on top of this RPG in terms of just reading the new posts, so I'm quite lost on where we are. I'll be doing some heavy duty catching up this coming weekend to throw myself back in here, hope you'll bare with me.

~Barb

[TimTwoFace]

OOC: Well Barb, it's OK. I know you're busy with school and the post-contest. :D Anyhow, I'll shed light on my storyline from where we left off...I'm still trying to break out of Arkham, but with Lock-Up's help.

That's about it. :)

-Tim

[BLACKHEART]

I'm going to edit this post into a roleplay tomorrow. I wanted to make a few notes after waiting:

My next roleplay (tomorrow) will be putting things back into place so that big business can get rolling again and I can make money from the stocks. I will put things back into order and the effects of the toxins will wear off.

Also, about buying stocks. You would have to buy the stocks back from the person who bought them. The person who bought the stocks would decide whether or not they want to sell them and for how much.

[BLACKHEART]

6 PM

I stare out my window as the clouds consume the sun and darkness fills the sky. Heavy rain begins pounding the window. Lighting strikes in the distance. A beautiful display of nature’s fury lights up the dark red sky. The thunder that follows shakes the foundation of the home.

The sands of time run out and things back in the big vicious corporate world of Gotham return to normal. A collective sigh of relief falls over Gotham with no one knowing what happened to them. The heads of Gotham’s biggest corporations scratch their head and ask, “Why? What?”

Big shake-ups occur in the boardrooms. Jobs lost, lives shattered by the stock market crash. The road to reconstruction begins now.

LevyKeibler announced today that they would be adding a new trouble shooting division that will look for ways to improve on the way they conduct business and cut out properties and techniques that are costing the company millions. They also announced that there would be twenty lay offs as the company begins to rebuild.

Gotham waits to see what the other companies will do to bounce back after being hit.

And the news coverage never ends…

I do a quick run down of the stocks I own in Gotham and smile.

“Terror isn’t cheap!”

I turn off my computer and return a call from one of my brokers. He left a message on my voice mail informing me that a party was interested in buying my stock in Wayne Enterprises. Another of my brokers leaves me the same message.

[Barb Gordon]

OOC: I'm not posting a time on this because I figure it'll fit best wherever. I'll add a time perhaps once I can tell where it best fits.

IC: Barbara Gordon

Dick is so adorable. Really, when I came in again for my purse the last thing I expected was for him to be banging his head against the wall...over getting me a little upset. Almost makes me want to hug him, almost. But I swear, sometimes he's just so secretive, there are so many things about him that I have yet to figure out. I sigh, of course I'm not being entirely fair here...I mean, I do run around as a masked vigilante, and how would he react to that? Perhaps I could call him up again an apologize for being a little harsh with him. I would go to dinner with him except I just got off the phone with dad after promising to have dinner with him tonight. Currently I'm hanging half way off my bed upside down, a random little habit I've done since I was a child I think. Dad used to always joke and say I looked like a tomato with the blood rushing to my face and all. Flipping over and completely on to the floor I wait a moment for my head to clear before grabbing the phone. Snatching my old and worn teddy bear from the edge of the bed I hold it close as I wait for the other end to pick up.
"Dick?"

[AceOfKnaves]

IC:

6:02pm


I toss my car keys onto the counter, taking a much needed break from my investigation. Plopping down onto my soft couch, I take a deep breath.

I always felt more comfortable at the Police Department than I did at home, but I didn't wish to be hounded any longer by Jessica.

I didn't need anymore distractions from her or that stupid letter....speaking of which.

Picking up the phone, I dial the lab and wait for Rick to answer.

"Hello."
I just seemed unable to escape her today.
"Jessica? Where is Rick?"

She pauses,
"He's finding treatment!"

I sit up from my resting position,
"What is it? What's wrong.....What did he find?"

She begins to ramble, rubbing her correct assumptions in my face,
"He said that the ink used on the letter is non other than a toxin that's introduced into the bloodstream by contact. He was certain he'd come in contact with it, so he's seeking medical help."

I place my hand on my cheek,
"Is he?"

She sounded reassuring,
"No, he's fine. Nothing seriously abnormal yet is what he told me over the phone."

I sigh,
"Thank God."

There was silence for a few seconds before Jessica cleared her throat.
"Renee..."

Listening mindlessly I answer her,
"Yes?"

"He also said that the chemical's base ingredients resembled that of another creator's. Just so happens to be the one you're looking for."

I freeze,
"Jonathan Crane?"

"Mmm hmmm."

My mouth hangs open for a minute before I speak,
"Don't jump to conclusions Jessica, I'll be there as soon as I can."

I slam the phone down, and rush out the door.
Why would Scarecrow send a frightening letter to Scott?

[Bird Boy]

IC (Robin/Dick Grayson):

3:21

I recline on the sofa and fumble for the remote. I know it’s around here somewhere. I reach down into the seat cushions and pull out a wallet. Well, at least I know where it is now. I put my missing wallet in my back pocket and continue the search for the remote.

I pull down the last cushion, revealing, unlike most other couches, nothing. Looks like Alfred was just in here cleaning. I put it all back and sit back down on the spongy couch and look over at the coffee table. I pull out a magazine with Bruce’s face plastered over the cover. I laugh at the title of the magazine, “Millionaire Weekly”, and toss it back down..I don’t need to read a hokey article about a guy that doesn’t even exist—it’s only been Batman lately.

I get up and head to the kitchen, shuffling through the cupboards looking for something to snack on. I hear a distant ringing, and after discerning it upon the third ring, I pick up the phone. Before I can say “Hello?” a familiar voice pops over the phone.

“Dick?”
“Hey Barb. Sorry about earlier, I had to finish something”
“Oh? like what?”
“Oh it was nothing..”
“Nothing? What about having to ‘figure out’ something?”
“Uhhh..” I stutter, but stop when I hear Barb laugh on the other end.
“Honestly Grayson, tell the truth once and awhile”
“Ok” I say, blurting out the first thing that popped into my head, “I had to get you your present.” Crap, now I have to go get her present. “And, I wanted to make reservations for us tonight..for dinner.” I quickly jot down what I just said on a piece of paper for future reference.
“Dick..” Barbara begins
“No, don’t say anything. We’ll talk later tonight, over dinner. Pick you up at 6?”
“Six it is..bye”

The phone conversation ends and I hang up the phone. I push open the kitchen door to see Alfred standing in front of me, with a rather surprised look on his face. He must’ve been right there when I popped open the door.

“Heh, sorry Al! I gotta run though. I have things to do”
“Very well. Will you be taking your motorcycle?”
“Nah..I’ll take the Viper”
“Very well. I’ll let Master Bruce know where you went and with what”
“Thanks Al! Don’t know what we’d do without you.” With that, I bolt out and down into the garage.

I find the black with silver pin-striped Viper and hop in. The engine turns on and I speed out of the cave.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I walk through Macy’s department store, looking for something Barb might like. I pass the lingerie section with a very brief glimpse and shake the thought from my head. Nope.. not going there..

I browse the perfume department but find nothing—same goes for jewelry and the clothing department. I ponder asking an worker, but all they’ll do is try to get me buy something she probably won’t want. I wander out of the store and into the rest of the mall, passing several clothing stores and a lone arcade. I duck in there for a second to check out the latest games, which I find to be rather pathetic.

I walk around the mall for another hour, before I glance down at my watch, with the hands pointing to 4:46…and I haven’t even made reservations yet! Gift Certificate? No..that’s lame. Pet? No, when would she have time to take care of a dog, what with her night job and all. I let out a sigh and plop down onto a bench, looking over at the other happily smiling people. Wish I could be smiling..

I spread my arms over the back of the bench and try to rack my brain for the twentieth time. I really got myself into a mess this time. I get up and walk out to the parking lot, find the Viper and get in. I drive away, back towards the manor.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I walk up the garage steps and back up into the manor. I immediately pick up the phone and dial the number of The White Dove, hoping they still have a reservation…

“I’d like to make a reservation”
“I’m sorry, we’re all booked up till next week”
“Does it help any that Bruce Wayne is my legal guardian?”
“Why..yes. Mr. Wayne has a standing reservation here every night. If he’s not using it—“
“He isn’t.”
“Then there is a spot open by the window, looking over the rest of Gotham. What time should we expect you?”
“Six PM.”
“Very well”

I hang up the phone, sighing that I was at least able to get that done. Still in a mess about the present. An idea pops into my head, and I immediately turn around, running back into the garage.

END.

OOC: What’s the present idea? I have no idea, which is why I ended it.. :p be back later with another post! :)

-BB

[The Guitar Slayer]

OOC: [blows dust off of RPG] (Hack, hack) Long time...well, it's time to come out of hibernation.

IC: Bruce Wayne/Batman
3:20 PM

"Selina, nice to see you!" I smile for the first time in several days. I almost immediately wince as I see the slight puffiness around her face. The last time I had seen her, I had knocked her out cold. Fortunately, she didn't know I did it. Bruce is still in her good graces as Batman is the biggest bastard alive...

"What have you been up to lately? You haven't been around the last couple of days," she coyly asks. "Hopefully nothing too bad."

"Uh..." I doubt that running around at night in tights and randomly clubbing women in leather suits is on the right side of the law. Selina laughs as I flush a bit for my act. I decide to get the spotlight off myself. "Well, you see to be helping the economy," I observe, as she struggles to keep her grip on 6 different shopping bads.

"Well, it's not as if it's in any trouble..." She stops at my amazed look.

"Selina, have you see the papers? The news? Listened to the radio?" She steps back and I realize I'm going a little hysterical. I compose myself and continue. "There is a slump going on, and a lot of high up people are panicking. I think it's over nothing, but the way people are making it out..."

Selina frowns and looks toward the digital stock ticker that streams past the building across from us. Her eyes widen at the numbers. "Oh my....Bruce, I can't lose much. Do you think I should...?"

I shake my head. "Don't worry about it. I know the stocks will bob back up. Besides, even if something does go wrong unexpectedly, you have a rich friend you can depend on." I turn on my lady charmer smile.

She nods. "David was always very good to me."

"David!? Larraby?!" I balk. That man was known for his entourages of women and for being a "sugar daddy." Don't tell me Selina had slipped so low as to be...

She wears a devilish smile and cackles at me and my horrified shock. I wipe the look off my face. "Very funny, Selina."

"It is, it is." Her Cheshire Cat grin remains as she goes silent. We stand in the street for a moment just smiling at each other. She snaps out of it as one of her bags begins to tumble down to the dirty street. Selina grabs it just in time. "I better get moving or else my contribution to the economy won't make it home safe. It was nice to see you Bruce."

A wave of depression washes over me. Someone else is leaving. I mentally smack myself and remember who I was at the moment: Bruce Wayne, carefree fool. "Say Selina, I have a standing reservation at the White Dove. Meet me there at 6 for dinner?"

She is mildly surprised, but very pleased. "Alright, but..." Her eyes narrow slightly as she continues, "No cutting out of there early."

"Yes, ma'am." Well, I can see Jim in about an hour or so to get some more information. I can't make a move until the Scarecrow does, and Bruce Wayne has been banished for his office for awhile. I should be able to keep that promise...I hope.


OOC: That White Dove place is gonna be pretty crowded....;)

[Bird Boy]

OOC: sorry it's been so long...

IC (Robin/Dick Grayson):

I walk out of the store, both presents in hand. This is gonna be great. I continue out to the mall and out into the parking lot. I get back in the Viper and make my way back to the manor, and gaze down at the clock. I got 45min to get ready..I think I can make it.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

5:43

I finish tieing my tie and then stand in front of the mirror. Perfect. I open up the door and find my way into the main room and wait for Barbara. I lean back on the couch and pick up a magazine before I realize I told her I'd pick HER up.

I jump up and speed down into the garage. I randomly pick a set of car keys and use the remote to signal which one I took. I slide into the Aston Martin and quickly pull out of the garage. I'm really cutting this close. I look over at the passenger seat to make sure I still have the presents with me..and there they are. Good..if I don't screw anything else up, it should be a good night..

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

5:57

I knock on Barbara's apartment door, which opens not even 10 seconds later, with Barbara in the door way. Wow..

"..nice dress" I say, starting to stare. I snap out of it and lift up the present. "heh, sorry. Here." She takes the package out my hands and motions for me to come in. I walk in and shut the door behind me, and watch her open the gift.

"Wow! It's a ....frisbee?" she says, surprise in her voice. I don't blame her...
"Yeah! it glows in the dark too. It was on sale--only $1.99! I figured you might like it" I say, flashing a grin. She looks up at me and then back down at the frisbee and then back up at me.
"Oh! And I got you this.." I say, pulling out another wrapped box. She takes it from my hand and unwraps it, rather hastily. She pops open the hinged, black velvet box and lets out a small gasp.

"Thought it'd look nice with the frisbee" I say, giving another one of my grins.
"It's beautiful" she says, pulling it out of the box. "here" I say, moving over and taking the necklace and putting it around her. "Now then, how about some dinner?" I ask.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I open up her car door and she steps out, with the sun hitting the diamonds in the necklace. I wonder if Bruce will notice the large charge on the credit card. I sweep the thought away and shut the car door, and begin walking up to the entrance. A employee opens the doors for us and I stop at the desk.

"Reservation for..?"
"Uh, Wayne" I say
"I'm sorry, Mr. Wayne already checked in"
"What?!" I say, raising my voice. "But..when?"
"About five minutes ago. I saw him myself sir. I can send someone to go get him for you,if you like"
"Yes..please do" I say, and then look over at Barbara "Hopefully it'll just be a moment"

END.

OOC: And yet again, all I could think of :p

-BB

[Barb Gordon]

Anybody know what time it is?

IC: Barbara Gordon/Batgirl

I don't think I've ever spent so much time getting ready for a date before. Was this even a date? Something a little less, a little more? I wasn't sure, but here I was curling my hair and then slipping into one of my newer dresses. Cute and simple, it was a strapless, midnight blue dress that cut off around my knees and flared a bit from the waist and down...with a low back too. With that I had a small matching hand bag and heeled sandals. Dick didn't look too bad himself when he came to my door. Devilishly gorgeous as always, with the same lock of hair in his eyes. I was quite tempted to whap him over the head with the frisbee. Okay, so it was kinda funny, as I bet the look on my face was as well, he just loves being the kidder. But the necklace, I certainly didn't expect anything like it, so elegant and beautiful. I had to keep myself from glancing down at it every other moment.

-----------

"Hopefully it'll just be a moment."
Dick said, glancing over his shoulder at me and flashing his trademark lady killer smile. I could see he was a bit tense though, it was easy to see it in his eyes. I smiled back, eyeing the frisbee that I'd held onto in the passenger seat.
"You know,"
I begin, a smile turning up one side of my mouth. He gave me a questioning look,
"What?"
"Well if there's a problem with reservations, that's no problem."
He followed my gaze to the central park of Gotham just a block away.
"We could always do something else...."
He looked at me for a moment, then caught sight of the frisbee still in the car. His grin broadend.
"That's a possibility."

[AceOfKnaves]

OOC: Around 6pm....I think...at least, that's where I am at the moment. :) BTW, that's a very CUTE storyline between Dick and Babs! Aw.. :D


IC: Detective Renee Montoya

6:10pm


I park my car for the fourth time this day at the station, flying out from behind the wheel and barely taking the time to lock it.

Jessica's waiting for me at my desk, reading over the case information, and sitting ontop of some of my paperwork.
"Up."
I say, plucking the pages from her fingers.

"Sorry."
Her look is undefinable, ranging closer to an expression of smug accuracy.
"How's Rick." I ask.

She shrugs,
"We don't know yet, but I was heading down to the hospital a little later if you wanted to join me."

I release the case file back onto my desk,
"I can't, there's something I need to look into at Arkham."

Her eyebrow raised,
"And what's that?"

Placing my hands on her shoulders, I shove her over just a bit so I can get into my drawers,
"It appears that only two people know everything there is to know about the freaks and criminals in this city, and Batman can't be called before dark." I smile.

Her puzzlement seemed only to grow.
"Who are you talking about?"

"Lyle Bolton."

She half smiled, not knowing the sincerity of my response.
"Lock-Up?"

I continue,
"Well, yes, he's also known as him, but I've always thought that by calling a psychotic individual by their criminal name just enhances their need to be that person."

She rolls her eyes,
"Whatever.....want me to come with you? That place is scary enough when you're surrounded by armed guards."

I shake my head,
"No, it's fine. I was in there earlier, no problem." Man was I a liar.

Pulling a few things out of my desk, I walk hurriedly for the exit, ignoring Jess as she begins another conversation.
"Hey Montoya!"
She calls.

I spin around, looking at her a little impatiently.
"Yeah?"

She grins,
"Good luck."

Slightly waving my hand at her, I continue on my path towards my car.
Good luck, huh? I'll need it...

_____________________________________________

6:23pm


"You again? From the way you took off out of here the first time, I thought you wouldn't ever be back here. Sometimes I think I shouldn't be here myself. Haven't been here that long, but I'm told I won't stay that long either..."

I look at her, feeling a little uncomfortable that she was sharing things with me. She continued, talking about her children and husband until I flashed my badge again and rushed through the door.
"Thanks!" I call back at her.

Her voice still floats from the room behind me as I walk down the dark hallways, making my way passed the cells. My eyes stay focused on Lyle's room, avoiding contact with any other criminal in that place. The last thing I need is to chicken out again.

I see them all out of the corner of my eye, slightly watching every one of their heads turn as I try to sneak by them. I can't imagine how boring it is in here, this was most likely all the action for the day.

Stopping in front of a large steel door, I knock on it lightly, swallowing roughly.
A large set of eyes appear at the slot in the door, staring me down.
"Lyle, Lyle Bolton?"

[The Guitar Slayer]

OOC: Aye, caramba. Well, I think I've figured out a way to break up Bruce's date. Have fun at the White Dove, you two.

IC: Bruce/Batman
6:10 PM

"Mr. Wayne?"

I look up from my glass of wine at the head waiter. "Yes?" I sound very weary . Selina is late, and she's the one who got on my back about not skipping out. Probably doing this for revenge or something.....

"There is a Mr. Grayson who wished to claim your reservation. I had to turn him away for the time being."

A suspicion sneaks into my mind. "Did he have a redhead with him?"

"Yes, sir."

Another suspicion enters my brain. "Did she have....a very nice piece of jewelry on her person?" I brace myself for the answer.

"Yes, sir." His eyes widen. "Do you mean, sir, that they have robbed---"

I wave my hand. "No, no. Not at all. It was just a matter of curiosity. I'll come with you." I stand up, and with the waiter protesting and telling me to sit down, I make my way to the front of the restaurant. Dick is a dead man. I'll allow him a last supper, though; Barbara probably has no clue what's going on.

I reach the front desk and scan the lobby for Dick and Barbara, as does the waiter. "I swear it, sir, that they were here but a moment ago. Perhaps they went outside."

I walk up the street into the cool night and find my ward and his elegant date.....playing Frisbee in the park. Barbara has removed her sandals and darts about attempting to catch some of Dick's high speed tosses. I watch for a moment or two, then rumble. "Richard Grayson."

Dick turns three different shades of white, pink, and red as he recognizes my voice. He trots over meekly, like a dog caught digging up the yard. "Hi, Bruce. How's the date going?"

"She's not here yet. How's yours?"

He rubs the back of his neck anxiously. "Uh...good."

"How does Barbara like her present?"

"Well, we're having a lot of fun with the Frisbee, as you can see...." He laughs nervously.

"I mean the expensive present she was wearing when you tried to claim my reservation." Dick remains quiet for the time being.

Barbara, noting the situation, decides to come over and save him. "Good evening, Bruce. I'm sorry we interrupted your date tonight. We didn't know..."

"It's quite all right, Barbara. My date hasn't arrive yet, but I don't think she'll mind a few extra guests." I see Dick nearly pass out with relief out of the corner of my eye. "Gather your things and we'll head inside and order."

Barbara puts her sandals back on and collects her purse from the side of the fountain. "Dick, give me back the necklace, please."

Dick looks puzzled. Uh oh. Not a good sign. "I thought you had it."

Barbara shakes her head. "No, I gave it to you so I wouldn't lose it." Dick hasn't been able to find a matching pair of socks for three years, and she gives him a necklace to watch over. "I gave it to you along with the purse."

"Wasn't it with the purse?" She shakes her head again. I sigh dramatically as Dick scratches his head (figuratively). "I don't remember putting it down..."

"Check your pockets, Dick." I watch as he roots through his pants, jacket, shirt, inner jacket, and dinner jacket pockets. Nothing. "It's probably on the ground somewhere. Help me look." Barbara, in her new dress and all, goes down onto her hands and knees and searches frantically for the necklace.

I grab Dick by the collar before his knees hit the ground. He coughs and straightens back up again. "How many digits in that price tag? Three?" He looks at me guiltily. "Four?!" This time he nods. "You better pray that I let you out of the house again after this."

For fifteen minutes, we scour the park, looking for anything shiny. Lots of tin cans, a few earrings, and a crack pipe, but no necklace. Dick bolts upright suddenly by the pond. "I left it by the fountain!"

Barbara hears him and races to the fountain, with me close behind. She feels around the bottom of it. "Nothing. There's a suction system here, so the necklace might have gone through. It could be on the the top tier, now," she says as she gazes up at it. At 5'3", she's too short to reach it. However, a man my size would have no problem....terrific.

I scowl at Dick as I take off my shoes and socks. I step into the icy fountain and stretch my arm up to reach into the upper tier. I find the necklace right where Barbara expected it to be. I take it down carefully. It is a very nice necklace. Barbara steps up to take it from me. She turns back around, but slips on the slick concrete. Her head is sure to be cracked open if she lands.....I catch her in a bear hug as she falls back, and then I freeze as I hear a shrill voice.

"Bruce! How could you?"

Oh, ****.

Selina finally arrived.

She stand there, angry and hurt as she sees me in the fountain with the commissioner's daughter. I know exactly what she saw from her angle behind us. She saw me give Barbara the necklace and then pull her toward me in an embrace. I'm at a loss for words. "Selina...this isn't what it looks like." I see Dick and Barbara flinch in unison as I try to hand Barbara off to Dick. I step out of the fountain and walk toward Selina, barefoot. I wobble a little bit on the slippery concrete, and she takes it that I've been drinking as well.

"No way, Bruce. You blew it for the last time. I'll give you credit though....you almost made it to the date this time!" Selina turns around, and departs. I'm left standing in the middle of Gotham Central Park, slightly damp, barefoot.....

I'm going to kill Dick.

To top it all off, I see the Batsignal go off over the police station. Dick has been given a temporary reprieve for the time being. I paste an all-too-civil smile on my face. "You two enjoy the dinner. I don't want to be a third wheel here, you know."

"Oh, Bruce..." Barbara bites her lip, truly sorry she disrupted my evening.

I turn away and limp to my car with my shoes in hand....
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

6:50 PM

"Evenin', Jim." Gordon jumps as I greet him. After making a quick stop at the Cave to collect everything I had regarding the case (including the antidote, which I had tested on myself first), I had arrived at the police station.

"I wish you'd stop doing that and disappearing when I'm talking to you." I stay silent. "Batman?"

"I'm here." I hear Gordon sigh, and I step into the light. "What's the news on our theory?"

"So far, your idea fits. Every board member of every top company in Gotham received an envelope. The only one not affected by it is Bruce Wayne. He's losing a lot, but he's not budging...he's buying, as a matter of fact."

"He's my guinea pig for the antidote," I answer...it wasn't a lie... "It seems to be working so far. However, it appears that the toxin does wear off by itself sometime between 24 and 48 hours as it exits the blood stream."

Gordon nods. "One of our lab techs was infected this afternoon. After we hospitalized him, he would start talking about selling and buying a house somewhere."

I look at him carefully. "Where did he get the letter?"

"Montoya found it at Scott Levy's..."

My brow furrows. "This is the first time I've heard of second-hand affliction; after it has contact with a human, it usually goes dormant. I'd give him the antidote to be on the safe side. Whatever Scarecrow plays with to concoct this stuff has a nasty kick to it itself." I hand Gordon a vial, clearly labeled with all instructions. "What about Montoya? Is she all right?"

Gordon shrugs. "I don't know. She was supposed to be on vacation, but we called her back. She's been in and out all day."

"Where is she now?"

"I think she left again. I'll ask her partner for you..."

I'm already off the roof and plumetting toward the parking lot. I fire off a grapple and swing down. I see a fit, female figure in the parking lot. Recalling my information on the police force, this is Montoya's partner.

"Jessica."

She jumps and whirls around, gun in hand. She lowers it slightly as she see me. "What do you want?" she asks, not unkindly.

"Where's Montoya?"

"Why do you need to know?"

"I know she handled that letter to Scott Levy. Your lab tech is in the hospital because of it. The ink could have penetrated her skin as well."

Jessica's eyes widen as the realization comes over her. "She went to Arkham to speak to Lock-Up about Scarecrow."

I lock eyes with her. "Did she seem all right before she left?"

"I guess..."

I leave her standing there. I have to get to Arkham...I don't know what kind of secondary effects the ink has. Knowing the Scarecrow, they could be fatal.

[AceOfKnaves]

OOC: It LIVES!!! :D And by golly, I have a storyline to work with now. ;)


IC: Detective Renee Montoya

6:57pm

Lyle had been little or no help to me. His answers no more than two words. The most I got from him was a dark stare. Somehow I got the feeling he was attempting to put the fear of God in me.

Finishing up a couple of notes I close my small hand held pad, and slide it back into my pocket. Well, this was a complete waste of time.

I tug on my jacket, noticing that one of my sleeves had found a way to roll itself up past my wrist. Flattening it out, I straighten up and head back down Arkham's long dark hallway of the insane.

I'd almost convinced myself that if I didn't look at them, the small pang of fear wouldn't effect me. I was seriously mistaken.
I could feel their eyes, digging into my skin, seemingly searching my entire soul. I really hate this place. I almost feel sorry for the crazies that we send here.

The sound of my feet hitting the floor was obscenely loud, echoing off the cells around me. That mixed with a few threats, and of course haunting mindless laughter.

Stopping one more time in front of Scarecrow's assigned holding pen, I step back in, realizing that I'd left the door open last time I was here.
The smell of these rooms always gets to me, giving off an almost mold filled aroma. I can't imagine staying night after night in this place, listening to my own mind.

I rock on the back of my feet, scanning the room a couple times before turning to leave.
My knees almost buckle at the sight in front of me. But it isn't possible....

Jonathan Crane stood in the doorway, blocking my escape. His face twisted in a sickening smile, mocking my fear.
I stumble backward, tripping over a blanket that had been left on the floor. My head cracks against the steel framed bed, causing my vision to fade for a moment or two.

Forcing the world back into focus, I rub the back of my head, searching the hallway for the Scarecrow. To my confusion, there's no one there.

Wobbling out of the holding chamber, I scan the area, but again, there was no one but patients in sight. This place must have me worked up over nothing.

I gather up as much sanity as I can before starting to walk, trying to figure out what had just happened.

The sleeve on my jacket had pulled up again, so I feverishly pulled it back down, wishing I had a stapler to keep it there.

I sigh, "Calm down, Renee."

I was about to put my hands back into my pockets when I noticed a small cut on my finger. Strange, I don't remember getting a paper cut...


_________________________________


7:00pm


My car idols loudly at the stoplight, drawing my attention from a large bug flying annoyingly close to my window.
I tap my fingers on the wheel, growing impatient with the red gleaming in front of me.

The back of my head aches, nagging at me to massage it. I would later, right now I need to concentrate on the road.

Mentally I fought with myself on whether to head home for a while, or go right back to the station.
My cat needs to be fed, so I'll head home just for twenty minutes or so. Besides, there are a few old newspaper clippings that I can look through about Scarecrow, you can always make use of those.

Only a couple of minutes passed before I was parking in my spot, locking my doors, and climbing what seemed like hundreds of stairs to get to my apartment.

I jingle my keys as I open my door, calling my cat with my typical baby talk voice.
"Kitty Kitty Kitty."
He greets me with a swarm of meows, and a continuous purr.
"I'm glad to see you too."

Taking a couple moments to open up a can of soft chow, I pour it into his bowl, pat him on the head, and head for my room.

The light typically burns out as I flip the switch.
"Beautiful."

I quickly grab my old scrapbook and head back out to the living room. Sitting on the chair, I flip on the lamp next to my chair, and fold my legs underneath me. This is going to be tedious.

My eyes skim over the headlines, this book was all categorized by the criminals themselves. This was Joker's section, of course the first part of the book.

Flipping further back I land on the first article, "Mysterious 'Scarecrow' Terrorizes Gotham City".
I turn a few more pages, finding nothing that I didn't already know. This is pointless.

I was about to shut the book when a certain picture caught my eye. It was a close up of Jonathan Crane, grinning grotesquely at the camera. A large chill crept up my spine. I just don't understand how people like him get off on fear and death.

A cold sweat broke from my forehead, twisting my stomach in the urge to vomit. That was sudden.
I swallow deeply, trying to keep the feeling from growing. I can't get the flu now, I'm knee deep in this mess.

The phone on the table beside me rang loudly. I reach for it, trying not to sound ill when I say hello.

"Renee?!"

My voice comes out cracked "What is it?"

"Are you okay?"
I think for a minute, trying to figure out why she'd called.
"Yeah, I guess so. What's wrong with you Jess?"

She begins to babble, talking about things that are drowned out by an odd ringing in my ear.
"Hey Jessica? I'm not feeling to well, I have to go. I'll see you in twenty minutes."
I hung up the phone as she tried to say something else but I was too involved in the article inside of my scrapbook.

To my horror the picture sitting my lap began to grow, the hands reaching out for me.
I make a yelping sound as I hurtle the picture, along with the book, across the room.

Snatching my keys from the counter, I grab my coat and leave, noticing an insistent burning coming from the paper cut on my finger.

I take a close look at it, the urge to throw up getting stronger as the realization comes to me.
"The letter."
I had handled it all day, it had even infected Rick. That's what Jessica was trying to tell me about, but I couldn't concentrate on her voice.

My stomach lurched, releasing what was left of my plane breakfast onto the stairwell as my blood turned cold.
Rick had touched the ink, but I...I needed to get to the hospital.

My feet searched for the first stair, and made their way quickly descending. In seconds my left foot bent sideways, relieving me of my footing.

The world spun as I flew towards the stairs, landing in a painful rolling position.
As I finally came to a rest at the base of the stairs, the walls around me began to melt into themselves, dripping and moving towards me.
"It's not real....It's not real..."
I continued to repeat this as everything darkened, my fear swallowed by pitch black.

[The Guitar Slayer]

OOC: Wooo....final a concrete plotline!

IC: Batman
Arkham Asylum
7:00 PM

I sweep into the Asylum. The employees let me pass with no questions, just a few nervous looks. The criminals within recoil with slight terror as I pass. I pause as I pass the Joker's cell. I hear Harley "hmmph" behind me as I look over my handiwork. I march on toward Lock-Up's cell.

I rap on the door. His eye widen a bit then return to normal as he waits for me to speak. "Was Montoya here?"

He remains silent. "The female police officer. Did she speak to you?" He's never going to answer. "What did you tell her?"

"Nothing." He tries to intimidate me, but I return the icy glare right back at him. He's telling the truth though, and that's as much as I will get out of him.

I turn away and head toward the exit. I cast a look into Harvey's cell. God, I missed him. He seems preoccupied with something...fixated on the clock...probably waiting for a midnight snack or something.

I head out to the car. I head toward her apartment, just to make sure she is home and in one piece. If anything, I'll administer the serum to her to ensure she won't "freak out." Speaking of which, I also better make a housecall to Laura Dempesy.

I park the car under Montoya's window and climb up the fire escape. I open the door and slip into her lighted apartment. "Montoya," I call out. No answer. She's not home ...but her car is parked outside. I cautiously open a few closet doors. No terrorized cop in there. I hear a confused meow come from the floor at my feet. What is it with cats and me?

I find the source of light to be in a small sitting room. An album full of completed cases with all the press releases rests in pieces on the floor by the window. The window sports a crack across the central pane. I kneel down and turn over the first clipping I see. A head shot of the Scarecrow staring right at the camera as he attempts to get out of officers' grasp. I note the presence of a small spot of blood on the corner of the paper...well, there's where the ink entered her system. I follow her trail of tripping, stumbling and pushing out her front door...she didn't even lock it

I sneak out her front door and walk down the stairs carefully. My jaw tenses as I see vomit on the next landing down. I lean over the railing to see what rests at the bottom of the stairs.

Renee Montoya. Broken and battered by her own fear.

I run down the stairs and avoid the blood and vomit as I go. I finally reach the detective as she sits on the line between consciousness and a dazed dreamland. She mumbles her mantra, "It's not real" over and over again.

She's taken a nasty crack to the head, lost whatever she ate that day, broke a few fingers on the way down, and probably sprained her ankle in the initial fall. I take off my cape and wrap it around her tightly. I'm going through these things like an Italian through an antipasto.

I carry her around the corner to the car and load her in. I inject the antidote into her neck. That should take effect almost immediately.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

7:53 PM

After getting both Montoya and Dempesy into the hospital (the latter had regressed to raving psychotic), I head back out in the car, waiting for the next call that will surely come.

[AceOfKnaves]

OOC: Poor Tim, still waiting for 9 aren't ya? :)

IC: Detective Renee Montoya

7:39pm


The air feels painfully cold against my eyes as I open them, focusing on the white tiled ceiling and bright florescent lights.

I swallow, trying to moisten my throat enough to speak to the woman wrapping sanitized gauze around my fingers.
"H..how did I...I get here?"

She jumps a little painting a large smile on her face as she realizes the source of the voice.
"I didn't know you'd awakened dear. You took a nasty spill down a flight of stairs. Broke your right hand, and most of the fingers on your left, not to mention the left ankle. I don't think you'll be walking on that for a couple of weeks."

She didn't answer my question. I was pretty sure, but I'd been delusional, and saw a horrific image with red eyes. I knew it hadn't been what was actually there, and was almost certain he'd saved my life.

"Did someone call 911?" I ask her.

She shakes her head, "No, you and another woman were brought here by the Batman."

The Batman. I hated when people added THE to the front of his name. I suppose it just makes it sound more like a title than a name, and I'd like to think of him as human.
I continue to pry answers from her.
"Another woman?"

She nods, "Yes, but her name escapes me at the moment. You were both hallucinating and incoherent when he brought you here though."

No kidding. "When can I leave?"

Pausing, she thought for a minute,
"That's not my call hon. That's up to the doctor."

"May I please speak with him? I have previous engagements that I can't break."

She chuckles, "He'll be here any minute, but I don't think you'll be released for a day or two."

I wince lightly as I lift my left arm to rub my face, the IV line pulling at my skin. This is just great, and was almost certainly going to put a hold on my investigation.
"We'll see about that."

"Whatever you say." She says, laughing lightly while leaving me to my huffing.

I scan the bruises and scrapes all over my arms, and with further searches, my stomach, legs and feet as well. My left ankle is dressed in a bleach white wrap, seemingly three times it's normal size. I assume that painkillers keep me from feeling that at this moment in time.

I'll have to remember to thank him for helping me here, and because the images of Jonathan Crane and melting walls were now gone, he probably provided me with a cure for that as well.

I once tried to train myself what to do in that situation, and had convinced myself I was ready to handle it, but the chanting of "it's not real" and the attempt at serious concentration on the world around me had not helped one bit. I still lost control of reality, and was scared out of my mind. I became one of those many GC statistics that have had to rely on a masked vigilante to remain alive.
For some reason this really bothers me. It's nothing against him, really, but I feel so disposable when I can't pull my own weight.
Sometimes I wonder if the police of this city are more in his way than anything else. Would Gotham be better if we just laid down and died?

I mentally scold myself. Of course not, we've helped him plenty of times. He just seems to be a lot smarter than our donut munching staff, and I commend that.

Pulling the IV from my wrist, I place my thumb over the hole, and rise from the bed, tugging at attachments to all kinds of machines.
I have too much to do to stay here, waiting for some doctor to tell me I'm sick. I know this. I'll live.

___________________________________

7:43pm

The nurse that'd been in my room yells at me, being the only one to know that I didn't belong out of bed. I resist the urge to wave at her before letting the door shut and hobbling down the stairs with a small black cane. I had found it accompanied by my clothes in a large metal closet by my bed. My fingers painfully clutch the end as I go stair by stair.

You'd think in this circumstance, I'd be afraid of steps. I fly down them anyway, almost killing myself on the way.
Wow, there's the pain in my ankle.

Pushing open the exit door with my shoulder, I hear the nurse and someone else descending the stairs. I don't have long to hail a cab and get the heck out of here.

I whistle loudly just in time to catch one on it's way, leaping in just as the woman and an orderly come out onto the sidewalk, sighing in defeat as I grow further away in a vehicle.

I feel more like a criminal than one of the good guys.
Leaning back in the seat, I tell the driver my address and relax. I'd rather heal at home. I'll head back to the doctor's later to get some painkillers, aspirin wasn't going to do the trick with these.

I smile at myself, realizing how stupid I'm being for leaving the hospital. Battered and broken and I'm worried about the Scarecrow.

The car slowly comes to a stop while I'm off in my head, the driver looking at me expectantly.
"How much?"

He looks at the counter, spouting out five eighty like I should have known.
I hand him the money, and get out, watching bitterly as he drives off. What a jerk.

It hits me after he's gone, but I should have stopped at the store first, my cat's food is running dangerously low. He might pop a vein if he doesn't eat. Fat little thing.
I decide to walk, it's not that far, and maybe if I walk on my ankle, it'll get better. I heard that somewhere. Some moron must've told it to me.

My eyes jerk around, watching all the little movements around me. I like to be aware when it's dark. I don't need to be a victim twice in one night.

"Shouldn't you be in the hospital?"
The voice makes me jump, almost falling on my butt from the pressure I put on my foot.
He grabs my arm, keeps me upright.
"Thanks, again." I continue walking, knowing that Batman's following me, but I can't hear him. He's better trained than I.

"How are you?" He asks, his tone almost emotionless.

"Alive, thanks to you." I really am trying not to be bitter at myself about it.

"They released you?"

I chuckle a little, "Yeah, something like that."
I stop, remembering something that I had forgotten to give Jim, but was mostly intended to help further the investigation, and in my condition, I will be delaying it.
Reaching into my jacket, I pull out my note pad, holding it out to him.
"The last four pages are men that you might already know. I had a friend of mine run the names of the people that were buying the stocks when they were crashing, and with some inside help, narrowed it down to at least one person each company. But they don't match. All different, and that was expected. All the stock brokers are different too. I never got a chance to check the numbers that are in the broker's files, and I most likely won't."

He lightly takes it from my hand as I continue,
"I can't much be of anymore help to you, but you seem to do fine anyway. Good luck, Batman."

I almost catch a smile on his face,
"I doubt you should be walking."

I shrug, "Nothing I've never dealt with. Thank you, for everything." And with that I continue my walk to the store, feeling his gaze for a minute before he vanished from the streets.

Gotham really does need him.

[The Guitar Slayer]

IC: Batman
8:12 PM

I watch from my perch as Montoya heads into the store to buy catfood for her obese feline. I know she escaped from the hospital. She is a very determined woman. I follow her home to make sure she gets there in one piece. I stay there until she turns off her lights and heads off to bed. The painkillers and the events of the evening have worn her out.

I turn my back to her window as I turn on a penlight to read through the papers she gave me. Seems like Scarecrow is having an identity crisis; he's operating under at least fifteen different names. That, or his henchmen are growing in number. I'll get to him either way.

There is no name under Wayne Enterprises; I bought back all the stocks first. However, there is probably only one person in the company that didn't sell...and that's the man to tail. I head down to the car to do some computer work while the car drives around the city.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

8:45 PM

Still no signs of trouble in Gotham. Yet. However, I have discovered that the amount of stock bought up by the various Buyers X is directly proportionate to the company's profit and number of directors on the board. Scarecrow would have made quite the killing if Bruce Wayne had lost his head.

Now, to find Buyer X in Wayne Enterprises and trace him back to the broker. He's most likely known to the broker by an assumed name and a fake address, but there must be some way to contact him. By monitoring the phone lines and using the celluar phone scanner, there should be no problem finding him.

It seems all too simple.

That disturbs me.

The scanner in the Batmobile squeals and shrieks for a moment. Finally, a frantic voice filters through. "Calling all Gotham ambulances: there has been a poison outbreak. Listen for your following assignments..."

My God.

It has all come together.

The ink leaves the first person infected relatively unharmed, just paranoid enough to sell all they have. The secondary contact leaves the victim ill and delusional, as Rick and Montoya were. Third...Laura Dempesy or worse.

How many businessmen and women went home and kissed their children goodnight?

How many secretaries handled the letter before it got to the person it was addressed to?

A flashback pops into my mind. The person who gave me my letter wore gloves...it could have bled through....

Just like anthrax, it could go anywhere.

I gun the engine and drive like a madman back to the Manor to pick up more supplies for the antidote.

And while I'm busy synthesizing more antidote, the Scarecrow changes his name a thousand times and moves a thousand places. He'll sell a bit at a time, making himself a billionaire in a few days' time.

Ingenius, Crane. I believe I am in check.

But I assure you, this is not checkmate.

OOC: Have fun, folks. And remember, as of 10 PM, Two Face is a fugitive with Lock Up. Time is everything now, so post with times at the top of the post.

[AceOfKnaves]

OOC: I know it looks dumb, but there's plot going here. ;)

IC: Detective Renee Montoya

8:38pm


I jerk awake, horrible dreams wracking my brain, and the sound of the phone ringing scaring the heck out of me.
I stumble out of bed,
"Hello?"

It's Jessica,
"Renee? Are you...I heard that-"

I cut her off,
"I'm fine. Don't worry about it."

She pauses,
"Uh, I was um, wondering if....no, nevermind. You were just through so much."

What is she guilting me into now?
"What are you talking about?"

She loudly swallowed,
"Well, I have to take a teeny bopper to Arkham, and I can't find anyone to come with me. Most of the other officers are out scouring the city. There's been a poison outbreak and well, while all the other officers are dealing with riots and panicking people, I was stuck here taking a guy named Moe to the loony bin."

I sigh,
"I was sleeping Jess."

She pleads,
"I know that, and I really sorry. You sound awful, but..."

Giving in I agree, telling her I'll need ten minutes, and she'd better be outside my house by then. She instantly promises, and hangs up, her giddiness sickening. Sometimes I hate that woman.

____________________________________

8:57pm


Jessica finishes signing papers as I clutch my cane, leaning with a small wince on my face. She better remember this, she owes me one.

She waves at the guard as we head out the side door, turning back to me,
"I didn't realize you were this bad Renee. I wouldn't have asked you to come if I'd known. Why didn't you tell me?"

Because you would've picked at me until I was nothing but bone,
"It's no big deal. Let's just get out of here, I'm feeling paranoid again."

She smiles,
"No problem."

We start our small hike to her car, my eyes jerking slightly with the stars. I stop, feeling slightly ill.

"Montoya?"
I smile at her,
"It's nothing." I feel for my gun as we continue, wondering if it's something that I should be carrying in my state...

[TimTwoFace]

OCC: Yep, sorry Selena, but I'm waiting for 10PM (2200 hours) to hit before I break out, not 9PM. I wanted to make it 2:00am but at that rate, I wouldn't be posting my escape until 2004 at this rate! ;) Let's do some filler material, shall we?

IC: Two-Face
June 21st
9:22pm

"Oh GoD, yOu JuSt LoVe To ToRmEnT mE, dOnT'cHa!?"

Security seems extra tight tonight, no thanks to Dr. Bartholomew and his cronies. Both that latino chick cop and the Bat have swung through Arkham tonight; they must know something is up. Each time they went directly to Lock-Up's cell without giving me or anyone else a second look.

"WhAt, YoU tHiNk ThIs Is A pOpUlArItY cOnTeSt Or SoMeThIn', HaRv?"

I scowl. "No, you idiot, I think he's onto our plan of escape! He never goes to Lock-Up's cell. Never. Why else would he go there?"

"hElL iF i KnOw. WhY dOn'T yOu JuSt AsK hIm?" Cough. "JeRk."

I should. Sure, the orderlies might overhear but they're as dumb as a post when they're keeping their post, so I doubt they'll catch on.

"Hey! Bolton!"

"Harvey will you shut up already!?" Pam shrieked from her cell across the corridor.

Oppositely, Lock-Up was in sight through the slot in his door, but remained silent.

"Ya GoTtA bE mOrE fOrCeFuL, lIkE tHiS. wAtCh AnD lEaRn FrOm ThE mAsTeR." And, taking a cue from the lovesick clown across the hallway, I clear my throat. "A-he-he-he-he-hemmmmm...Yo, pUsFaCe! I'mA tAlKiN' tO yOu!"

"What the hell do you want, Dent? I'll be stuck with you enough later - I don't want to put up with you any more than I have to."

I spoke under my breath. "SeE? WoRkEd LiKe A cHaRm."

"Whatever," I retort to myself. "Talk to the nice man already."

"We HeRe - HaRv 'N' i - WeRe JuS' wOnDeRiN' wHy YoU wErE hAvIn' So MaNy ViSiToRs ToNiGhT."

"Hell if I know."

Harvey banged his fist against the glass and pushed his voice back into his throat. "Bull! They KNOW something is up, don't they? Come on, confess before we do this thing so we don't end up in the chair or something."

"God," Lock-Up retorted, saying more than he had previously all night, his voice rising, "pull your head out of your ass, you self-centered punk. It's not always about you! You're really paranoid, you know that?" Then it fell. "If you must know, they were both asking about the Scarecrow. Happy?"

"AnNnNnNnNnNnD?"

"I told them nothing. They can't intimidate me."

"Oh." I take a step back and rub the back of my neck. "So are we still on for tonight?"

"Yes. And never say that again. You're starting to make it sound like a date." Lock-Up pulled his face away from the slot in his door just far enough so only his eyes could be seen in the darkness.

I step back from the glass and look at the clock. 9:24pm. Man, this is like a date - I feel like I'm 16 again, asking Grace out for the first time. Man, was I nervous - I was pacing all about the house and flipping that damn coin to cool my jangled nerves. Just like tonight. If only I had a gun - that would help out immensely.

"YeAh, HaRv. WhEn YoU aNd BoLtOn Go OuT oN yOuR bIg DaTe, YoU nEeD tO gEt SoMe PrOtEcTiOn." He laughed to himself, and I just groan and wait.

[AceOfKnaves]

OOC: DOH!!! Don't I feel like a dip! It's okay Timmy, I'll fix it! :o
Although now I do feel like a moron. :D


IC: Detective Renee Montoya

9:40pm


Taking another sip of my coffee, I sit on a dinner booth laughing lightly at Jessica's embarrassing story of how she once hit the Mayor of her home town in the face.

Somehow she'd talked me into stopping for a late snack before taking me home. I don't completely regret it.

She stretches, covering her mouth as she starts to yawn,
"Aaahhh, oh, sorry, only got a couple hours of sleep last night."
She sighed, "And I have at least two more hours of reports left to do at the station."

I pull out my wallet, throwing a few bucks on the table, waiting for Jessica to do the same before I attempt to get up.
She searches her pants pockets, jacket and shirt.
"My wallet....I must've left it on Ted's desk when I filled out those papers."

I grow annoyed. Ted is the main night shift guard at Arkham.
"Let me guess, you won't take me home first."

She gives me a small pout. No one would ever guess that she's 25.
"It'll only be a minute. He doesn't work again until next week, and I don't trust him to put it in a safe place."

I sigh loudly,
"Fine, but I'm staying in the car."

She nodes,
"Fine by me."

It's not a surprise that she's an only child.

_____________________________

9:58pm


We pull into the same spot as before, Jess hopping out of the car with keys in hand.
"I'll be right back."

I fold my arms into a tight pretzel,
"You'd better."

Sticking her tongue out at me, she jogs to the door, almost too far for me to see. She stands there, hitting it with her fist. Ted opens the door after a minute or two of pounding, and she heads inside with him.
After about five minutes, I realize this will take more time than I'm willing to wait, and I'm feeling claustrophobic in this little Sudan.

I push open the door, taking my time to rise from my sitting position.
This cane isn't working as well as it should, though maybe if I knew how to properly use one, it would be more efficient.

Before I reach the steel exit, Jessica's smiling face pops back outside.
"He's such a nice guy. We have a date this Saturday."

I cock my hip, wishing that I hadn't come with her afterall.
"Amazing, can we go?"

She nods, humming loudly as she keeps with my slow pace back towards her car.
All I want to do is go home and sleep.

[TimTwoFace]

OCC: Hey Bleu, I haven't seen you around in ages. Are you still participating in this? I need to know if Harley is gonna play into this break-out attempt or not.

IC: Lock-Up

June 21st
9:57pm

It's been about forty minutes since Dent had stopped pestering me about our plans tonight. Thank God. I really don't know why I'm helping him. He says he'll help me bring in the Scarecrow once we're on the outside, but I highly doubt it. He is a man of his word, but only if the coin allows him to do so. I really can't trust him if we're only going to be on the same page 50% of the time.

Then again, the more people we can take along for the ride, the better the chances at least I'll get out alive. He's bloody psychotic, and someone like him could come in useful; I'd pick the Joker, but damn, he's just nuts.

I peer through the slot in my cell, staring down the main corridor of the maximum security wing of Arkham. There, at the other end of the hall, I can see two cards standing at either side of the door. All along each side, there are many panes of glass, each with their very own criminally insane psycopath on the opposite side. Maybe we should take someone else with us, just in case...someone who wouldn't be a liability. Someone that could be another human shield. Maybe the Joker's carcass could be useful, after all.

He always did escape this place more than anyone else. Getting him out of the picture would make my job a lot easier.

I can see Dent pacing about in his cell. Two minutes until lights out. Two minutes until showtime.

Damn, this had better work, or I'm gonna kill Dent myself.

-Lyle

[TimTwoFace]

OCC: OK, at last, my break-out sequence begins. I'll be doing this in parts, though. Feel free to interject with stories from other parts of Gotham, as long as my time scheme isn't messed up. :)

IC: Lock-Up
9:59pm

"All right everyone, get into bed, your lights are going off in five...four...three..."

The so-called "guards" march up and down the corridor, knocking on each glass window into each cell, a warning to the evildoers encased within. No one responds with anything more that a ticked-off grunt to this little disturbance. Even Dent has shut up. Finally. Probably the calm before the storm.

"It's all good Ted, everyone's in their cells and accounted for."

But not for long. I'm staying in my dank little hole until the lights are actually off. I work best in the dark, anyway.

I turn around in my cell, letting down my guard of the corridor for just a second, to retrieve the metal fork and spoon I swiped from the rec hall this afternoon. This is my way out. So elegant, yet so simple.

This damn hole really IS a revolving door, and tonight I'm going to prove it to the world. Again.

"Hey, Dent."

I turn my head around and burn a gaze through the cool air of the hallway to Two-Face's cell. One of the orderlies is peering inside. Damn it, I swear Harvey, if you blow this for us...

"Good to see you finally calmed down in there." The guard chuckles to himself and twiddles his fingers as he marches back down the hallway. Two-Face says nothing. Good. Maybe he can actually hold back those emotions of his after all.

"Lights out."

"Lights out!"

And the lights go out with a dying hum. Only the pale moonlight filtering in through the foggy skylight adds and light to the hallway of the damned. This is the type of night upon which crime is meant to be committed. And I have to get out of here - get out of here to stop it.

10:00pm

I've been in this cell every night for the past three years. Three years, four months, and fifteen days to be exact. I know its every weakness, and could have escaped almost too easily in that time. I equiped this dungeon with its current security systems, remember? For example, I know that the wall in the back left corner of my cell is weaker than anywhere else; after a little chipping and digging with the spoons I've heisted from the rec hall over the years, I've managed to wear it down to next to nothing. All it takes is one solid punch to the concrete and it'll shatter and splinter. Piece of cake.

Then there's the reinforced steel wall behind the concrete. That's a tough one to crack, believe me. But I know of a segment in the back corner where a pipe holding electrical wires passes in between walls. Some of those wires control the locking mechanism to my cell door. And now that I have my trusty fork, breaking out should be child's play.

A few seconds of complete silence tick by. I swiftly slam my fist into the weak portion of the wall; a loud, muffled thud errupts in my room as the wall shatters around my bleeding knuckles.

"You hear somethin'?" one of the orderlies asks rhetorically.

"Sure did." The other orderly gets up and slowly moves down the hall. "I think Lock-Up is up to his shadow-boxing with the wall again. Can't blame the guy for wanting to keep in shape."

"Too bad you don't do the same," the first orderly says. "Look at you, you're Marlon freakin' Brando." A chuckle.

I just ignore it and search for the metal pipe in the darkness...feeling...feeling...GOTCHA. I grip both my hands around the long, thin metal object and bend it slowly with a squealing metallic grind. The pipe bursts, and, bracing myself, I jam the fork into the electrical wires. The current buzzes through me for a second, gluing my jaw shut, and then dies completely.

The crap I have to put up with in order to save this city from that fear-inducing idiot. You'd better be ready now, Harvey. It's showtime.

"Hey..." the orderly says, now at my door. "Bolton, shut up in there, we said 'lights out', and that means you, too." The orderly turns around and starts heading back towards his post; at that moment my heavy cell door slowly swings open with a blood-curdling squeal.

I slowly step out of my cell and, following so-called "guard" towards the pool of moonlight on the floor.

"Everything all right?" the guard at the door calls.

"Yeah, just fine. I got him to shut up good."

My arms reach into the light, grab him around the chest and mouth, and with a quick twist, I crack his neck and hug his limp body against mine, squeezing the life out of it completely.

[TimTwoFace]

IC: Two-Face
June 21st
10:01pm

"ShOwTiMe!"

I don't know how he did it, but Lock-Up busted out of his cell. The hallways is pitch black - I didn't see his door open, but I sure heard it. It made my spine shiver.

What I did see was a nameless guard walk down the hallway and get pulled back into the darkness, never to be seen again. And that's when the party started.

"What the hell is going..." the guard said, and at that moment, Lock-Up, dressed in his torn asylum gear, stepped into the light. I pressed both halves of my face against the glass to see the show. Man, that guy's messed up; his hands were covered with blood, as was his shirt, and he was smiling. "Ted, we need back-up in the maximum security wing, I repeat, we need back-up." The other guard - I recognized him because he was the one still breathing - was calling over the phone to his supervisor. "There's been a security breach in the maximum security wing. Lock-Up has escaped from his cell!"

Lock-Up walks up to my cell. "I'm not the only one that you need to worry about, buddy." He bodyslams through the window pane and it shatters, shards of glass raining down upon me. "Shall we?"

"AlLlLlLlLrIiIiIiIiIiIgHt! It'S pArTy TiMe!" I shake myself off and jump out into the hallway to stand at Lock-Up's side, grinning and panting. The guard further up the hallway curses to himself and, at that instant, the lights are turned back on and the door opens and more guards charge into the corridorr behind him.

As I usually do when faced with such odds, I run - and run I do, right down towards Lock-Up's cell, until I trip over the dead guard's body, hitting the ground jaw first. I grunt to pick myself up, and that's when I aimlessly place my hand down on his hip - and feel his holster. And then everything feels allllllright once more.

A number of the guards have already attacked Lock-Up, and he's putting up a good fight, considering four of them are holding onto his arms, waist, and back. Without a second thought, I fire a shot into the back of the head of the guy holding Lock-Up's back; he instantly falls to the concrete and is stomped upon by his valiantly fighting comrades.

I can hear the inmates chanting, supporting us, begging to be let out to join in the fun. It pumps up my spirits even more.

Lock-Up spins around to shake one of the guys off of his arms; he is sent flying through the air and smashes sideways through the glass barrier to Harley Quinn's cell. I can hear her scream. Wakey wakey, Doctah Quinn. As soon as he rids himself of that nuissance, more guards pounce on him and manage to tackle him to the ground.

"Harvey! Get off your ass and help me! SHOOT THEM!"

I plant a few seering hot bullets into a few white coats running at me and, while kicking and stomping, I manage to blast a few guys in the head and shoulders. Hey, even if I didn't make it outa here, might as well do our best to decimate the white-coat population while I had the chance.

I grab Lock-Up's arm and hoist him to his feet, out of the pile of bloody bodies. "You OK there?" I grunt, spitting a wad of phelgm accidentally.

"Yeah, I'm fine, so let's..."

"HOLD IT RIGHT THERE." I freeze. So does my muscle-bound friend. I pull the trigger of my gun - and, what do you know, it's empty. "Neither of you are leaving here tonight unless you want to be pumped full of lead." It was Ted. The head supervisor of the guards in the maximum security wing. I'd run into him enough - usually during my readmittance - to know that voice anywhere. "Now return to your cells."

I roll my eyes. He won't shoots us. I know he won't. Us asylum folk are SPECIAL. We're CRIMINALLY INSANE. That makes us not responsible for our actions and, therefore, they aren't allowed to kill us, even if we cause a rampage like this. Those are the rules. Yeah, they suck, but they all knew that before they even took the job here, right?

Geez, they're about as insane as we are.

"I said return to your cells. NOW."

My shoulders droop - for a moment - and then I growl, spinning around, and plant my blue fist into Ted's mouth. As he staggers back, I do it again, this time in the gut. And then a knee to the chest, which pretty much takes care of him so I can cast him aside. And then I take his gun, just for protection. "We're leaving," I grunt, staring down at his body, curled up on the cold floor, shuddering in the fetal position.

CRASH!

I whip my head around and see Lock-Up punching through the glass of the Joker's cell. "Hey!" I shout as he ventures inside, "just what the hell are you doing?"

Lock-Up re-emerges from the darkness with the Joker's already broken body in his arms. "We need him for protection." I can hear the Joker wheeze as Lock-Up exits the cell, opens the entrance to the corridor, and passes through to another sector of the asylum.

I run to catch up, my gun at the ready. "Hey, we didn't talk about bringing HIM! HE WASN'T PART OF THE PLAN!"

[AceOfKnaves]

IC: Detective Renee Montoya

10:02pm


The distant sound stops us both in our tracks.

"Did you hear..." She starts to run, headed back for the door as quickly as she can.

"Jessica wait!" I try to keep up with her, but with no success. She reaches the door before I do, but with a blind fury she's already beating on it. It only opens from the inside, and Ted's not answering her pounds.

"Ted?!" She slams her fists harder into it, giving up for only a moment, before starting to run around the back.

"JESSICA!" I yell, but she won't listen. Tearing the gun from it's holster, I try to follow her, but am stopped by a sound behind the door. It sounded like a yelp but...
I place my ear against it, trying desperately to hear what's going on.

Something clangs, releasing the door from it's locks.
I fall hard onto the ground, scrambling to quickly get a grasp on my gun.

My eyes gaze upward, but I can't concentrate on what's in front of me, the shape of it moving and shifting around in the blinding light behind it....
I'm seeing things, but I thought...thought that Batman had cured me...

Pushing myself backwards on the ground, I get enough distance to rise up, and clear the sight of what's in front of me.
No, i-it can't be.

I hold up my weapon, fully willing to open fire if he moved.
"HOLD IT, LYLE!"

[The Guitar Slayer]

IC: Batman
Gotham Memorial
10:03 PM

The belt radio buzzes as I clean up my slight mess in the hospital lab. After an hour and a half, I've managed to create enough of the antitoxin to handle the first wave of victims that will soon flow in, thanks to the Scarecrow. I sent half of it to Gotham General on the other side of town. Already I've seen several of my company's secretaries come in, seeming a little tipsy, but otherwise in one piece.

I pick up the radio. "What?"

Alfred puts on the voice synthesizer to hide his telltale accent. "Batman, the alarms went off in Arkham. There is a breakout. "

"How many?"

"Two...at the moment. I cannot see the hallways well, but I can hear it through the cameras." I had hotwired a feed from Arkham into the Batcave's monitors several years ago, so I was able to keep fairly close tabs on all of the usual suspects.

"Recognize any voices?"

"Three distinctly."

He had only said two people before.

Of course. Harvey and the fixation with the clock. I check my watch. 10:05....military time...22:05...he broke out at 22:00 hours. Already I'm walking down the corridor toward the car near the emergency entrance. "What about the other one?"

"We'll have to go back a bit, but I'm sure I can match it. There have been gunshots fired, sir."

"Where in Arkham?" I exit out through the sliding doors and move quickly as an ambulance pulls up. The EMT yells to the doctors that race behind me something about poison.

"Maximum security wing, sir." I watch as a young girl is wheeled out on a stretcher. Her father, a tall dark man with a mustache wrings his hat in his hands. The girl is crying as she flails about. I lock onto the man's face.

He's one of the window washers in the financial district. I've seen him clean my windows. He's an immigrant from South America with his wife and two young children; I remember overhearing him talk to his partner....Already it starts.

I shift my stare to the little girl. She has an unruly shock of red hair. An image of two redheaded women flashes into my mind. Fire, snapping, hospital beds, IV tubes, panic, fear, blood, spatula, graveyard, death, departure....

The doctor says something to me, but I don't catch it as I leap into the car and drive like the hounds of hell are on my heels. "Alfred, interrupt whatever Dick is doing to Barbara and get him to Arkham immediately."

"Yes, sir. Two officers already on the scene. I do not know the state of Arkham's security force." I hear the loud crash and tingle of breaking glass. "A third patient has been broken out. He's being carried over a shoulder by the larger of our first two fugitives."

The lightest person there would be Scarecrow, but he's already MIA. Most of the others would be ready and willing to get out of there and wouldn't need to be carried. But there was one who couldn't get out under his own power...and there was only one other inmate who could carry a grown man like that. I floor the gas pedal.

[TimTwoFace]

OOC: Ahh! GS is already on my tail! Hey hon, don't catch me yet - Selena and I have a big tussle planned at Arkham, and, if Batman arrived, it wouldn't be until after I'd already taken off with Lock-Up. Just so ya know. :)

-Tim

[TimTwoFace]

IC: Two-Face
June 21st
10:02pm

Alarms are ringing. Shots are being fired. Loud footsteps. I can hear the screaming for our hides. The screaming to ward off death.

Ahhh yes, I love malificent mayhem.

Lock-Up uses himself as a battering ram as the two of us charge down the hallways of Arkham towards a secret side entrance that he claims he knows about. "YoU'd BeTtEr Be RiGhT aBoUt ThIs, Or ElSe."

As we pass by the occasional guard, I make sure to give him a quick sock to the jaw or bullet to the brain, just to keep 'em off our tail. Better safe than sorry, right?

"Harvey, this way!" Lock-Up shouts, throwing his arm in the direction of a doorway at the end of another long dark corridorr. He slowly chugs down the hallway with the Joker, his human shield, draped across his body; he giggles a little bit, still a bit logy, but loving the utter madness nearly as much as I do.

"CoMe On! CoMe On! MoVe It, LyLiE!" I quickly speed past his hulking frame, seeing the steel door at the end of the hallway with the emergency exit sign lit above. And this certainly was an emergency of the highest degree. I slam my body into the door repeatedly, trying to bust through, but it's locked tight.

"Idiot," Lock-Up mutters, pushing me aside firmly. He grapples the door and, with a twist of his wrists and a quick shove, it swings open.

I stare in astonishment at his talent. "MaN," Big Bad Harv jumps in, "yOu MuSt Be A wHiZ wItH pIcKlE jArS."

"There they are!" I hear the voice behind us; turning around, I see a sea of white racing in our direction, shouting and hollering. I could really care less. I shoot a warning shot directly in their direction - see one of them go down - and exit through the door with Lock-Up in tow.

"PhEw, ThAt WaS a ClOsE oNe!" I jump out onto the cold grass and run my hand through my sweaty hair, neatening it back into place - at least on the right side, anyway. Lock-Up shoves the door closed again to ward off the lynch mob on our tail, and joins me on the Arkham lawn, blocking my view of the city in the distance.

"Heh heh heh...you two think you're so s---smarrrt..." the Joker groans in between painful gasps.

"HOLD IT, LYLE!"

We look to the left and, what do you know, Rene Montoya and her partner are standing there, aiming their guns at us. Man, they were quick. Gotta respect her for that.

"Lyle Bolton, you are under arrest," Rene mutters through clenched teeth. "And don't you think I won't shoot because you have that clown draped across your chest."

"Hey Rene, there's someone else there with 'im," Jessica says, noting another pair of feet behind Lock-Up. Awwww damn, that's me. Well, I never thought it would be easy. "Come out into the light, whoever you are."

"DaMn It, HaRvEy! I kNeW tHiS wOuLdN't WoRk! NoW wE'rE gOnNa GeT bUsTed - AnD wE dIdN't EvEn HaVe OuR fUn YeT!"

"No," I calm myself, "I can handle it. Follow my lead." With my hands raised, I shuffle in my paper socks through the wet grass to stand at Lock-Up's side; I really get a kick at watching the expressions on Rene and Jessica's face drop when I step into the light. Sometimes it pays to be a freak. "Ah heck, you caught me, Rene. And without Gordon's help, too. Good for you."

Rene's face changes and she immediately returns to business. "I see the gun in your hand, Harvey. Drop it." I do what the nice lady says; what else am I supposed to do. "The Arkham guards are going to get out here any minute. We're just going to play a little bit of the waiting game."

"Rene, I -" I lean forward, trying to plead my case.

"Don't move a muscle, Harvey."

"yEaH, wOrKiN' lIkE a ChArM, sMaRt BoY."

I continue with pleading eyes. "But what about all we've been through, I mean -"

"That's ancient history, and I'd prefer to keep it that way." Her glance narrows down the barrel of the gun; it seems like it's aiming directly for my heart.

"Hee heee..." the Joker sputters and coughs from his dangling embrace around Lock-Up. "And...all this time I thought...all those things you said about you 'n' Montoya were...hee hee...just a bunch of lies..." And he winks. At her. At me. And he giggles with a wheeze once more. And Lock-Up just stands there, stone cold as usual.

"Rene, screw this, I'm cuffing them now," Jessica says, backing up towards their squad car, still aiming her gun at the two of us.

"Jessica, no! We're waiting for back-up."

But Jessica has already returned to the squad car, retrieving a pair of hand cuffs. Rene, with her vision distracted, gives me the opportunity to shuffle forward a bit. She sees me move and growls; I instantly stop, and Jessica cautiously makes her way over to myself, two pairs of hand cuffs in her hands.

"Jess, get away from them."

"Chill out, I'm handling it."

I try and look as sheepish as I can, holding my hands out, trying to force out a tear if I can. Once Jessica nears me - stupidly, right in Rene's line of fire - I thrust out a knee and belt her in the stomach. She falls forward into my body, dropping the cuffs; I grab her body and press it against mine, standing behind her. I fight for her gun and press it against her head, grinning back at Rene.

"Stupid, stupid chick-a-deeeee..." the Joker grins.

"NoW," I say from within my throat, "yOu'Re GoInG tO lEt Us PaSs, Or YoUr PaRtNeR's HeAd Is GoNnA bE pUmPeD fUlL oF lEaD."

Rene's face doesn't change a bit, though I know she's cursing inside for how innocent her partner is. Obviously she hasn't been around Arkham long.

"Rene...shoot him..." Jessica grasps as I tug on both her arms behind her back.

"Harvey, let her go, or I'll -"

"ShOoT tHe HoStAgE!" My inner voice yells. And, just like that, my finger automatically tugs on the trigger and sends two shots into Jessica's skull, then clear out the other side with a few chunks of bone and fleshy wads of skin. "HeH hEh," I say as her body droops in my arms, "TwO sHoTs To ThE hEaD. If YoU aSk Me, It CoUlDn'T hApPeN tO a NiCeR gIrL."

Rene screams and shoots; I dodge behind Lock-Up and the bullet grazes his arm, barely. "ArEn'TcHa GoNnA hElP mE oUt HeRe, BiG bOy?" He slowly shakes his head.

I peak out from behind Lock-Up's massive frame and shoot wildly with Jessica's gun at her partner. And then I hit her - in the shoulder. She goes down, and I make sure to pounce on top of her, too. Kicking her gun away, I hold her down in the wet grass by her shoulders and look into her eyes.

"You're good, m'dear, but you're not good enough. And you really oughta pick yourself a better partner next time." I cast a glance over at Jessica's body behind me, now soaked with red. "I kinda miss Bullock, you know. Not as nice to look at, but hey, I'm rather partial to his name." I grin. "You're not saying anything."

"Monster..." Rene scowls.

"No no..." I coo, reaching my hand into her pocket, searching, searching, searching...aha. A set of keys. I return my search until...oh...oh yes, there it...I can feel it...so smoothe...that's it...her eyes bulge as I retrieve my hand from her body, holding a shiny nickel in my hand. "It's not quite a silver dollar, but it will do." I flip it into the cool night air and watch it arc back down onto Rene's chest. Heads. "See? I play fair." I take her gun and toss it over the steel Arkham gate into the woods on the other side. "Toodle-oo." I pat her shoulder twice, get up, and look back at Lock-Up, still standing stoicly. "Let's get outa here. And leave the clown."

Lock-Up all too happily lets the Joker's already broken body fall onto the ground and continue to internally decompose. He lands across Jessica's body and, between gasps, introduces himself. "Oooo, hello sweets, pleased to meet you down here..."

"I really don't need him hampering our style." I run towards the squad car with Lock-Up close behind. I climb in. "You comin'?"

"No," Lock-Up says, looking out at the city, "this is where we part. And if I ever come across you in my city, I'll kill you." He disappears into the woods. Oh well, whatever, I'm free. I put Rene's keys in the ignition and pull away from the madhouse, leaving Rene alone with her partner and a psycho, sweet-talking clown between them.

10:07pm.
END

[redDragon]

Tuesday, June 21
10:07pm

HAHHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! What pain! It sure makes me glad I'm insane! And even if I was sane I'd have gone crazy with pain! Heeheeheeeheeeeee!

What a lovely romp it was! Being broken out by ol' Lyle and Harv! Such a warm gift to someone in pain.

Well this is no fun! Laying on a corpse! They might mistake me for one too! I crawl, very slowly I might add, must have broken a few more ribs on the way down!

What shall I do? Wait for Batsy or some guard to find me? Or shall I attempt to inch my way to some place to recooperate? Decisions decisions! That would explain why Harvey likes that coin so much!

OOoooo the pain! Its tickling my sides! HEHEHEHEHEHHEHEHEHHEHEHEHEHEHE!

Well lookey here! I've inched my way a decent amount! Tree line is so far away but I am the mighty Inching Joker! With my mighty Inching powers I shall rule Gotham! I start to giggle.

Inch eh? I should make my own ruler! The Joker Ruler! Perfect for measuring everything exactly the length you want it. OW! Stupid branch! What does it think it is smacking into my face like that!

What thoughtful gift can I give to Lock-Up? After all he gave me this wonderful gift! Something his style of course! Something painful, very very painful! HEEEEEEEHEEEEEEEHEEEEHEHEHEHHEHEHEHEHHEHE!

[Barb Gordon]

IC: 6:50pm (don't worry, I'll catch up, hehe)

I turned and scowled at Dick.
"Nice going."
I say icily. He baulks at my glare, throwing up his hands.
"I'm sorry Babs, I really am! I had NO idea Bruce was using his reservations for tonight, he didn't say a thing...I..."
He sighs deeply, shoving his hands into his pockets. I finger the necklace that's once again resting against my skin. Unclasping it I move to give it back,
"I shouldn't keep it."
I reply. I instantly regret it as I see a pained look in his eyes.
"It was a gift."
he says softly. He grabs it and puts it around my neck again.
"a gift Barbara. From me to you...please keep it...unless you don't like it."
He's so close I can feel his breath against the upper part of my neck.
"No--"
I turn, but perhaps in the wrong direction....his mouth is dangerously close.
What the hell are you saying, dangerously close?!
the voice in my head echoes back to me. That's what you've wanted all evening...isn't?
oh shut up.
"..It...it's beautiful Dick. Thank you."
He grins, almost feral looking in the night.
"I'm glad."
He replies, voice still soft.
"Now what should we d--"
I can't even finish my sentence as Dick make the slightest move to make his mouth connect with mine. Seconds tick by....and keep on going....

~Barb

[Bird Boy]

IC: Robin/Dick Grayson
10:06pm

My gloved hand slides over the grappling hook on the back of my belt and I pull it out, positioning it for the top of the nearest building. I press the button and the sharp metal prongs shoot out towards the buildings decorative statue, wrapping around it in a quick swirl and sending tension down the line. I give a quick tug and I'm pulled forward, feeling the warm summer night air on my face and blowing my cape behind me, and while I'm going up toward the building the last four hours wander back through my head...

"..It...it's beautiful Dick. Thank you."
I smile and reply with a "I'm glad.", in a lower voice than what I'm accustomed to using. Our lips connect within a second of ending our conversation and is ended five or six seconds later by a teenager passing by and his "get a room!" comment. I can feel Barbara's lips forming into a smile and we pull back, with our foreheads on each others. By now we're both smiling,ready to turn around go back into the restaurant. I hold out my arm and Barbara slips her arm inbetween and we continue across the street.

I pull myself up onto the ledge, coming out of my slight daze and begin winding up my grappling hook for the next building. I think about the brief kiss we had in the park and smile again--it's truly been a great night...until this Arkham breakout happened anyway. Think they'd take one damn break so I could have a little fun---last thing I wanted to do tonight was blow Barbara off again, but because of this break out I had to give the old "I got to go..Bruce needs me" excuse.....again. Sometimes I just want to blurt out "gotta go barb, Batman needs Robin!", it'd open up another world between us, and also cause more problems..

I shake my head and fire another line off towards Arkham.

END.

OOC: I'll be back later..I just wanted to post a bit :)

-BB

[AceOfKnaves]

IC: Detective Renee Montoya

10:06pm


As soon as the tail lights of the car vanish from my sight, I let out a cringing, painful gasp, the torn flesh on my shoulder causing violent shudders. The bullet hadn't gone completely through, and is still lodged excruciatingly in my body.

Moving to my left side, I roll as well as I can to a position that doesn't cause agony for me.
I gag, the pain, gore and anger all adding up for an effective sickening finale. It plays again and again in my mind, her face, collapsing in on itself. She'd wanted me to shoot him, but I'd...I hesitated. Why?! I could have...

But she hadn't listened to me, I tried to stop her. She had been foolish, stubborn and unprepared for the freaks of this facility. It angered me that she had been at detective status, her fathers rank in the political structure getting her all the leverage she needed to succeed. She was headstrong and reckless, and it had cost Jessica her life.

I shut my eyes, fighting off the nausea and debating on what I was going to do.
I hadn't wanted to come back, if we had just gone back to the station then she never would have been executed by Harvey Dent....no, not Harvey...TwoFace.
As I lift my eyelids, a glare from something close seizes my attention. I guess in a way I owe my life to that piece of tin. Wrapping my fingers around it I clutch dirt as well as the nickel, in my palm.
I fight back the urge to cry, the grief for my friend, among other things, attempting to show it's face.
A large dark stain was spreading around me as I lay there, waiting for either shock or death, though at this point they both have the same outcome.
I have to get up...
After another pain induced yell, I find a way up onto my feet, wobbling slightly before catching my balance.
Holding out my left hand, I stare at the coin for what feels like forever, the weight in it increasing with each new thought that entered my head.

How could he do this to me?
How could she have been so stupid?! I'd always told her to be wary of the insane at Arkham, NEVER try to handle them yourself.
I TRIED to warn her, she wouldn't.....no, I can't, it wasn't just her. I shut my eyes, forcing the idea out of my mind. I didn't mean it to turn out like this....I didn't think he'd actually kill her.

Replacing the five cents into my pocket, I clear my mind and limp towards the two motionless heaps in front of the doorway. _
I ignore the twang in my ankle, that injury seeming so minor to me as I grasp my arm to keep it from loosely swaying around.

I almost feel pity for the Joker, being taken from his cell against his will and tossed carelessly on top of the mess that now carried the name Jessica, but he seems to be quite amused by something. I'll find someone inside to come deal with him.

I manage to navigate around them, stepping into the building with more drama filled sights. Dead....more death. I bite down hard, desperately trying not to sob, many of the murdered consisting of friends. Continuing on, I muster up enough energy to yell out,
"HELLO?"
A few of the injured guards move, but wouldn't be of any help if they'd wanted to be.
This was looking more and more dire by the minute.
"Ted?" The only name I can think of right now, all the rest seemingly disappeared as an odd cold spreads through me. This isn't good.

Leaning up against the wall, I take large, deep breaths, trying to bring feeling back into my body. Pain is better than nothing, if I do go into shock I might not make it out of this alive.

Resting quite a bit of my body on the structure next to me, I head steadily towards the office, hoping that this was pointless and someone had already called for assistance, and that I won't have to wait much longer.

I fall to one knee, trying desperately to fight the darkness creeping at the edges of my eyes.
"Damn you Harvey..."

Footsteps echo around me.
"Renee?"
I turn, seeing a battered form that sounds like Ted, but looks to be near death.
"T-ed." I sputter.

"Oh my God." He helps me to my feet, cautiously avoiding my shoulder. "Are you-"

I cut him off, trying to take the attention from myself.
"What happened?"

He shook his head, trying to come up with an explanation.
"I don't know. As soon as the lights went out, they broke through their cells."

"Broke through?" Lock-Up, he was the only one out of the two of them with the strength to do such things.

"Yeah, he busted through Dent's room after he'd released himself from his own, then grabbed the Joker from his bed. Harley Quinn's glass was broken, but she remained still. Probably out of shock."

Joker?
"The Joker's just outside. He dropped him once they were clear of fire."

He nods, heading off in the direction that I had come, with me following slowly behind, trying to tell him what else lay outside. Ted and Jessica had been friends since childhood, recently bumping up their status to dating.
I had to tell him before...

"Oh GOD." I hear him from down the hall, the sound of the voice tearing through my heart. I'm too late.

By the time I reach him, he's on his knees, sobbing with an overload of emotion.
"Ted...I...I'm so sorry."

He cradled the lifeless body in his arms, drowning out the sound of my voice with his own grief.

I reach down for him, trying to console him about something that I myself hadn't come to terms with.
"TwoFace. He-he shot her before I could react."
Then it hit me, something that should have been obvious as soon as we left the building.
Where's Joker?

My eyes follow what appears to be a wide trail. He'd drug himself, but there was something else. I walk over out by the woods and closer inspection reveals small, delicate feet prints, but who would be-
I answer my own question, and move as fast as I can back towards the asylum.
With Lock-Up, Joker and Harley out in the woods, there would be five of Arkham's residents roaming the streets of Gotham.

This had to stop. Arkham was not the place for these criminals, and as long as Batman continues bringing them in, that's where they'll go. It ends now.


Headlights hit my eyes, stopping me in my tracks. Are the police here?
I shield my eyes. No, it's him.
Before I can react, a wave of dizziness sweeps over me, the bullet inside of me finally taking it's toll.
"Batman-" I manage before dropping to my knees, and collapsing with a yelping thud onto my side.

For the first time that night I break down into tears, and with my eyes stinging, I loose sight of the world.

[Bird Boy]

IC (Robin/Dick Grayson):
10:10

I climb up through the wooded area near Arkham, trying to be as quiet as possible. Somethings moving in these woods and if I had some decent light I could probably figure out what it is...

My foot goes forward into a small hole and I stumble forward, with my chin cracking a thick, dead branch--at least I hope it was the branch. I pick myself up again, happy that Batman wasn't there to see that. My hand goes up to my chin and rubs it a second to make sure--yup, everythings in order there. I look forward and quicken my pace--I can hear sirens in the distance as well as more rustling of branches and early-fallen leaves. I start to run, not caring about my stealth anymore till a bright light flashes in my eye and stays--the light lowers itself to reveal a dark silhouette with glowing eyes.

"Took you long enough" Batman says, and quickly turns around. "The ambulences are already on their way, and I'm leaving. Stay here with Montoya till they arrive," Batman pauses to lift out a small beeper "a bike is on the way for you. When they get here and take Montoya, follow my trail"

"Where are you going?"
"To find the escapees"

Batman turns, jumps in the Batmobiles cockpit and drives off. As always, he leaves me here to attend to the sick and wounded...

The corner of my eye picks out a person coming out of the woods and my hand quickly takes out a bat-a-rang and throws it at the shape. The person slips out of the way and bounces off the tree and falls into the moonlight.

"Batgirl" I say in a slightly disgusted voice--at least I have company till the ambulences arrive.
"I heard about the breakout--figured you could use some help"

An ambulence pulls up after Batgirl finishes talking and immediatly stops with medical personel rushing out and into Arkham. The guard on duty leads them inside and another rushes over to Montoya and calls for a cot. The area is cleared within minutes and as soon as the last truck leaves, the batcycle comes up.

"We better get out of here before the cops arrive--I'd rather not have to answer any questions, especially since I wasn't here when it happened" I take a helmet off the bike and toss it to Batgirl "Hop on and hold on" I mount the bike and lock onto Batman's trace signal.

[BLACKHEART]

Thoughts of a madman:

Frozen in time on the outskirts of Gotham lays rest to a dead amusement park. It has been many moons since the park had seen the light of day. It has been a while since children ran up and down the boardwalk playing games and riding the rides. It has been awhile since this dead park has brought life and enjoyment into men and women of all ages.

The rusty park door swings with each gust of wind.

Rats have taken over the dark abandoned buildings of the park.

Birds have built nests on the highest peaks of the roller coaster that once thrilled millions each summer.

Just as the park had lain dormant for years I too haven’t been seen in Gotham for a while. I’ve been lying low since riding the stock market and draining Gotham stockholders of millions.

After liberating this cold hard cash from the hands of Gotham’s biggest bullies it’s time to put it to use. It’s time to give back to the community.

Several months ago I purchased the amusement park under a pseudonym.

The rebirth of this park has begun as construction crews are busy day and night rebuilding and restoring this amusement park.

Details to come…

[The Guitar Slayer]

IC: Batman
10:07 PM

"Batman-" Montoya groans as she falls first onto her knees, then onto her side, her face twisting in anguish. I pop open the hatch and jump off to the side, landing in a crouch and slowly edging my way toward her. I do wear Kevlar, but let's not tempt the fates here. Once I the coast is clear, I cover the last of the ground rapidly.

Montoya lies emotionally and physically broken on the ground for a second time tonight. She sobs uncontrollably, managing to squeeze out the names "Jessica" and "Ted."

I open the trunk of the car and take out an emergency blanket and wrap her in it. I place her inside the Batmobile for the time being until I figure out where everyone is...was...and how this happened. I lockdown the controls and close the door behind me, her cries going almost mute as the glass muffles them.

I move down the side of the building toward another's cries. This one is deeper, masculine, and fading rapidly. I turn the corner sharply and look down the way.

A man slumped against a wall clutches at a limp body as he slowly joins her state of being. Maybe there is still a chance....

As I approach, he doesn't hear me. I am stopped short by the identity of the woman. It was Jessica, Montoya's partner...I had just talked to her a few hours ago...Her head was shattered open by a perfectly placed bullet. Her blonde hair is now stained a deep crimson and the last of her blood drips down a few matted strands. It's hard to tell where her bleeding ends and his begins. It takes me a moment, but I recognize Ted. We've seen a lot of each other over the years, between loading and unloading the Asylum's patients.

Ted blankly stares up as he realizes he is going. "Don't wait. Don't wait..." His eyes stop weeping, and his grip on Jessica loosens. His dark head goes down as his muscles go limp.

I've been frozen for minutes after their deaths...I know there was nothing I could have done. The image of a dark haired man and a young red-haired woman dying together...spiritually...the abyss? Physically...what's yet to come?

I never want to see another red-haired girl. Ever.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Robin finally arrives. "Took you long enough," I say and quickly turn away from his eyes. The haunting sight of Ted and Jessica and his last words have drained me of all color. " The ambulances are already on their way, and I'm leaving. Stay here with Montoya till they arrive." I had carefully taken Montoya out of the car and had given her a sedative. She was all cried out for the moment and just sits on the side numbly.

I take out a tracking receiver and hand it to Robin without looking at him. "A bike is on the way for you. When they get here and take Montoya, follow my trail."

"Where are you going?" He tries to see past the shadows and the cowl, but I don't let him.

"To find the escapees," I jump into the car without another word.

I watch as Rene Montoya's fragile figure grows distant in my rearview mirror. Once it is out of sight, I gun the engine and I'm off.

OOC: Psssst....where are you going?

[TimTwoFace]

IC: TWO-FACE
June 21st
10:06PM

Just minutes after I had embedded two bullets into that blonde chippy's skull, I was in her partner's squad car and racing down the perfectly groomed driveway of Arkham Asylum, towards the city. My city. Gotham City.

"HeH hEh - I gOtTa HaNd It To Ya, HaRv. WhAt Ya DiD bAcK tHeRe ToOk A lOt Of MoXy. ThErE mAy Be HoPe FoR yOu YeT."

I don't love death. I don't crave murder. I'm not like Mr. Zsasz or Mistah J or any of those other freaks that sleep just inches away from me each night. But I'm not scared to do what I have to do to get what I want.

"YeAh, So WhAt'S oUr TaLlY aT nOw? 216, rIgHt? AwEsOmE. wHo ArE yA pLaNnInG tO oFf FoR #222?"

We'll see, we'll see. Only time will tell.

Montoya's stolen squad car carries me out of the dense wood that buffers Arkham from the rest of the comparatively sane city. That's when it hits me - I need to ditch this car. Fast. It's probably got some type of tracking device or something.

Besides, that Batmobile will undoubtedly come racing this way any second, hoping to intercept me. I hang a sharp right, side-swiping a few cars and hitting a hydrant or two, and spring out of my car, heading for the nearest alley. Let's just hope this one isn't a dead-end, like they all seem to be in this city.

I can't destroy the car. Blowing it up would only draw more attention. I have to do the rest of this on foot. I crouch down over a manhole cover, partially covered by some loose garbage bags with spilled refuse, and brace myself. Clutching my fingers through the holes on the cover, I use all my strength to raise it off the ground and allow myself to slip through.

"DaMn, DuDe, It StInKs DoWn HeRe. NoW i SeE wHeRe CrOc'S sMeLl CoMeS fRoM."

Damn, this is gonna stink. But it will have to do. I crept through these sewers before after Grace first met me at the hospital after my accident...Grace...I'm coming to see you, honey...just don't expect me to be dressed formally or anything.

[AceOfKnaves]

IC: Detective Renee Montoya

10:12pm


My head moves lightly with the jerking ambulance, barreling down the road with flashing lights and an extremely obscene noise.

All around me are voices, but what they're saying is beyond me, all sound filtering into low mumbles.

I look up at one of the paramedics as he pulls my shirt away from the wound.
"We're almost there ma'am, just try to relax." A small needle prick in my arm sends an odd fatigue through me.

I strain to hear before loosing consciousness,
"Once they get the bullet out of her, she'll be fine. I need to stop the bleeding, hand me th-"
I let my body go limp, glad to know that I'm not dying after all.

You won't get off that easy Dent. I won't let you...

[Kylewayne]

IC: Catwoman/Selena Kyle
Day: June 21st
Time: 9:30 pm

That Bruce! I knew it was too good to be true. He always breaks our dates and now him and Barbara Gordon. Argh! Well two can play this game! I say to myself with bitterness.
I grab my little address book from my bag and start dialing David Larraby’s number. I’m sure he won’t pass up an opportunity to be with me. Besides he can come in handy at times of need. *cattish grin * Isn’t that right Isis? I say as I pet her behind the ears.

*ring ring *

-Hello, who’s this?

-Well hello their handsome. I say in my most seductive voice.
-Selina! Baby! What can I do for you love?

-Oh Larry, you are such a sweet talker. I’m calling to see how are you.
-Well babe, you got my attention. ALL of it.

-I was wondering if you wanted to go out for dinner some time and catch up on old times *grin *
- You’re on sweet cakes! I’ll give you a call on your cell phone to tell ya where to meet

-Alright Lar, I’ll be waiting …see ya.

God, I feel like I’m going to hurl. Just thinking him trying to put the moves on me makes me ill. Hmmm, better yet he should be afraid of me. Come on Isis, lets go out and play. This Cat is bored. A night on the town will do me good. I suit up and leap out the window looking for some action. .

[Bleu Unicorn]

Tuesday, June 21
9:59 PM

I pull off one of my purple socks, revealing blood red painted toenails. I rub the lint out from between my toes. Touching each toe, I recite a poem Mistah J taught me:

This li’l piggy went to Arkham.
This li’l piggy was a clown.
This li’l piggy had pancakes.
This li’l piggy wanted some.
This li’l piggy met Batman.
And chased him all the way home!

Batman! Always, Batman! I scowl, thinking of his earlier presence here in Arkham. He never leaves us alone, my puddin’ and me. Always tormentin’ us and trying to ruin Puddin’s fun!

“No respect I tell ya!” I mutter, just as the lights go out on the floor. I shiver involuntarily. I hate Lights Out. It gets so dark in here that it’s kinda scary. And my puddin’s all the way down the hall from me. Alone. And all broken and hurt.

I frown. I miss my puddin’. My lower lip starts to tremble and I can feel myself on the verge of tears.

Then, out of nowhere, a guard comes flying through the plate-glass window in front of me. He lands in a heap mere inches from me, bleeding profusely.

I jump up, shrieking. I look around taking in everything—I was thinkin’ so hard about my puddin’ I didn’t even notice the hullabaloo going on outside my cell. I position myself near the few inches of wall that border the now broken window of my cell and observe the party.

I stay fixated as the events unfold before me and let out a small squeal as Lock-Up breaks into Mistah J’s cell. “Ooo!” I squeal, not that anyone can hear me through the din. To my astonishment, Lock-Up uses my puddin’ as a shield and carts him off through one of the exits!

Guards stream into the hall from every direction and gunshots ring in my ears. One female guard sticks her head in through the broken window. She steps gingerly through the jagged remains and walks toward the prone body draped over my cot. She takes his pulse and gives a cursory glance around my cell, resting her gaze on me.

Show time!

I put on the most horrified look I can muster and sink to the ground, mumbling and shivering. “I don’t like guns…no, not at all…don’t like ‘em….” I mutter repeatedly and the guard’s face softens. She takes a few tentative steps over to me. When she’s about a foot away, she starts to kneel down, cooing under her breath like I’m a baby.

Oh, please lady!

I move my hands to the wall and pivot my body just enough to swing my legs out and sweep her off her feet. In no time I’ve pinned her to the ground—and a solidly placed bop to the back of her head leaves her unconscious. I search her body and relieve her of her gun—and Mr. Dopey’s on the bed, too.

I glance around the room and give myself a nice smile. “Works every time,” I say, blowing on my knuckles.

It’s not long before I’m outside the backside of Arkham. Mayhem has extended itself even out here. Bet my puddin’s just lovin’ this. Speakin’ of Puddin’ I hope Lock-Up didn’t get too far with ‘im. I certainly don’t wanna be left alone in all this mess!

As if on cue, I spot him about twenty feet ahead—I can spot my puddin’ in any place—and immediately start beating feet to get to him. Yup, it’s definitely him; he’s singing to himself—my puddin’s got the best voice—about death and pain, with an occasional giggle and cough inserted here and there.

“Puddin’!” I shriek, watching him inch along the ground. He gives a start—and I coulda sworn he sighed—and twists his neck around to look at me. A slow grin spreads across his face.

“Harley-Girl!” He drawls, “What took ya so long, eh?”

“Sorry, Mistah J,” I reply, crouching down to grab him between the shoulders. “It’s a madhouse in there…uh, literally.” I glance behind me to gauge the distance to the safe cover of the woods and start dragging Puddin’ as fast as I can. Never know when the Nasty Bats’ll get here.

OOC: I’m so sorry everyone. I didn’t mean to just drop out of existence. Props to Morrie, Timmy, and Selena for sticking me in their posts and giving me some much needed inspiration to get this out. And the poem is © me. :D

[TimTwoFace]

OCC: Hey Bleu, welcome back to the RPG! *POUNCE* Sorry that I had to bloody you up a bit in order to make it possible. ;)

IC: LOCK-UP
June 21st
10:15pm

I can't see where I'm going, but I know this landscape far too well. I walked it every day when I was the security expert at Arkham.

I didn't only work on the cell doors, corridorr doors, and all the mechanisms inside the actual madhouse, you know. That gate at the front? It's booby-trapped to go off in the case of an escape. 100% electricized. The woods just outside Arkham? There are traps and cameras everywhere through here, too. And I know how to get around them. Sure, the cameras will still film me, but no one will catch up with me.

I'm fully aware I left the Joker in the open after we escaped from Arkham. I doubt that, even a clever person like himself won't be able to get out in that logy state of mind. Hmmm...I did accidentally bust out his girlfriend, but she's...well...a joke, so I doubt she'll do anything, let alone actually leave her cell.

The metal fence is there in the distance. I can see it. I charge through the last hundred feet or so of the shady wood and climb the hence as quick as I can. And I'm out.

Looking to my left, about two city blocks away, I see the main gate to Arkham locked shut. The idiots that run this place are always told to make sure closing this gate is the #1 priority in the case of a breakout, but they never get around to it until 15 minutes afterwards or so.

I see Montoya's car crunched up against the stoop to a decrepit apartment building across the street. No body is inside. It looks like Dent made it out, too - and in a hurry. It went against everything I stood for to intentionally let a psycho-killer like himself out, not only while under my watch but with my assistance, but I did what I had to do. He'll get his comeuppance in time. For now, there are more pressing matters at hand.

Like finding my ol' buddy, Professor Crane. Come out, come out, wherever you are.

-Lyle

[TimTwoFace]

OOC: Hey Bleu, I purposely did that cuz...well...he hates Harley nearly as much as Scarecrow...and...well...that would give you more to work with if you ever wanted to go after Lock-Up for some reason. I dunno, just an idea. :)

-Tim

[AceOfKnaves]

IC: Renee Montoya

10:16pm


The room around me spins madly as I lay there, the thoughts and memories of my mind writhing uncontrollably through my subconscious. Where am I?

"I've managed to stop the bleeding, but we need more sedatives in here, nurse."
Someone leans over me, blocking the blinding yellow light hovering over me.
"She's coming to, doctor."

"Where..." I couldn't finish my sentence, my jaw unwilling to cooperate.

"Just relax ma'am. Can you tell me your name?" The woman talking to me was lifting my head onto a prop, I couldn't feel it.

"Renee..." I sigh.

"Renee? All right, Renee, don't you worry about a thing. We're gonna get you back on your feet before you know it." Her silhouette was the last thing I saw before the lights dimmed again.

_________________________

10:36pm

*BEEP BEEP BEEP BEEP*

A repetitive beep lulls me from my slumber, the heart monitor keeping steady track of my pulse rate.

The room around me is empty, lit only by the florescent's out in the hall, and the moonlight from the windows.
I stare out through the glass for a few minutes, thinking of a million different "what if"s and praying that no one else had to die at the expense of insanity.

I try to shift into a position that doesn't ache me as badly, my arm held numbly in a white hospital sling.
I shut my eyes, the whole night playing back like a horrific movie.


"HOLD IT LYLE!"

His eyes had fell on me, a look that almost terrified my very soul.
"Lyle Bolton, you are under arrest," My jaw is clenched, the fact that he could take me without breaking a sweat being one of the only things on my mind. "And don't you think I won't shoot you because you have that clown draped across your chest."

Jessica had come back around the corner, her gun aimed and ready to take on the world.
"Hey Renee, there's someone else there with 'im," Her eyes squint with mine as we strain to see through the darkness. "Come out into the light, whoever you are." She ordered.

An almost silent mumble emerged from behind Lyle, the figure hitting the light at the perfect angle to make my heart sink...It's Harvey. I had tried to convince myself he couldn't possibly be that twisted...

He spoke loudly, "Ah heck, you caught me, Renee. And without Gordon's help, too. Good for you."

The stern expression returns to my face. "I see the gun in your hand, Harvey. Drop it." He complies."The Arkham guards are going to get out here any minute. We're just going to play a little bit of the waiting game."

"Renee, I -" He slightly leaned forward, trying to change my mind.

I didn't bite. "Don't move a muscle, Harvey."

His face twists in almost pain, "But what about all we've been through, I mean -"

"That's ancient history, and I'd prefer to keep it that way." I concentrate on my gun, aiming straight for his chest. I was fully prepared to shoot him if I needed to.

The Joker began wheezing to us at this point. "Hee heee...And...all this time I thought...all those things you said about you 'n' Montoya were...hee hee...just a bunch of lies..." He winks at me, then Harvey, finishing off with a gasping giggle. I hate that man.

"Renee, screw this, I'm cuffing them now," Jessica headed backwards towards the squad car, still cocking her weapon enough to shoot them.

"Jessica, no! We're waiting for back-up." I shouted.

She didn't listen to me, retrieving the two pairs of cuffs despite my yelling.
Out of the corner of my eye, I spot Dent inch a little closer to me. I utter inaudible words at him, stopping him in his tracks.

Jess walks slowly at them.
"Jess, get away from them."

"Chill out, I'm handling it." She argues.

He's putting on a show, I can tell. His face is plastered with an almost child like demeanor. Was that a tear?!
Then it happened, just what I'd HOPED wouldn't. She comes in the way of my shot, giving him the perfect opportunity to create a hostage situation. His knee collides with her gut, and she collapses on him. Within seconds he's in control of her gun, smiling grotesquely at me.

"Stupid, stupid chick-a-deeeee..." the Joker mutters.

"Now," Harvey boomed, "you're going to let us pass, or your partner's head in gonna be pumped full of lead." I gasp quietly....Big Bad Harv speaking, in the flesh.

I keep my face rock solid, ideas racing through my mind. What the hell am I gonna do?!

"Rene...shoot him..." I aim, a perfect shot of the side of his head. I have the opportunity to hit him.....don't make me kill you, Harv.

"Harvey, let her go, or I'll -" He's gonna kill her. The look in his eye is unmistakable.
My head screams, KILL HIM!!! I inhale deeply, whispering under my breath. "Please, don't..."

Her head explodes, the image worse than anything I'd ever seen while on duty or even in the movies.
"Heh heh." He releases her body. "Two shots to the head. If you ask me, it couldn't happen to a nicer girl."

A scream unwillingly bursts from my throat, my index finger depressing the trigger again and again.

He dives behind Bolton.
"Aren'tcha gonna help me out here, big boy?"

A rain of bullets flies from his shelter, one whizzing right past my ear, another grazing my leg. The one that finally hit home sunk deeply through my collar bone, settling in muscles.
I fall, the sight of the sky replaced with Dent's scarred face. He kicks away my weapon, and leans on my shoulders. I try not to yell out.

"You're good, m'dear, but you're not good enough. And you really oughta pick yourself a better partner next time." He looks at Jessica's destroyed form. "I kinda miss Bullock, you know. Not as nice to look at, but hey, I'm rather partial to his name." He smiles hideously. "You're not saying anything."

"Monster..." I spat.

"No no..." He responds lightly, reaching into my pocket and retrieving the keys to the squad car. Reaching back in, he digs through papers, locating a small coin, the nickel. "It's not quite a silver dollar, but it will do." It flashes with each rotation, my stomach feeling as if I were aboard that piece of tin. Please.....please....
I sigh in relief, "See? I play fair." He tosses my gun over into the woods. "Toodle-oo." Patting my wound twice, he rises, looking in the direction of his fellow escapee. "Let's get outa here, and leave the clown."

Joker lands with a thud, barely moving an inch...
"Oooo, hello sweets, pleased to meet you down here..."

"I really don't need him hampering our style." He runs towards the car, yelling after he climbs in. "You comin'?"

Lyle stares out at Gotham."No, this is where we part. And if I ever come across you in my city, I'll kill you." And with that, he vanishes into the trees.

Harvey starts the car, the tail lights soon disappearing from my sight.


I cry more now then I did then, the weight of it all crushing my soul.

[Mattashell]

"'And ever since that,' the Hatter went on in a mournful tone, 'he won't do a thing I ask! It's always six o'clock now.'
A bright idea came into Alice's head. 'Is that the reason so many tea things are put out here?' she asked.
'Yes, that's it' said the Hatter with a sigh: 'it's always tea-time, and we've no time to wash the things between whiles.'
'Then you keep moving round, I suppose?' said Alice.
'Exactly so,' said the Hatter: 'as the things get used up.'
'But what happens when you come to the beginning again?' Alice ventured to ask."

Jervis Tetch, Arkham Asylum, six months ago, 6am

I step out of the inside gate and walk up to the outside gate where I hand the guard my legal release papers, the doctor's note, and my certificate of mental health/release pass.

"Well, Jervis, I bet your happy to get out of this place." He says as he skims over the papers. "Looks like the doctors say you've been progressing well, and since you've behaved, there giving you a chance to recover outside this stinking pit. I have to go over everything with you one more time though, it's regulation. First of all, you are still on probation, you are not to leave Gotham, if you commit any crimes or misdemeanors before the end of your original sentence, it will be considered a violation, but you won't come back here. You will be sent to Gotham Pen, a real jail, without a trial. There are also some other, special, details to your parole. You are not to use or have in your possession, any computer technology, even microchips, and you are not to come within 500 feet of Alice Dodgson, who still holds a restraining order against you."

"Alice Dodgson?" I ask, you mean Alice Pleasance."

"I mean Alice Dodgson, she's married now." I feel my heart sink into my stomach. "Jervis, I like you, I'm your friend, and I looked out for you when you were inside, and I'm giving you advice as a friend. Forget her. If you can't I'm gonna see you here again, and neither of us want that."

"Yes, I suppose you're right."

"You'll figure it out Jervis, you'll find real love with some woman who understands, but you've got to know when to walk away. Now good luck and stay out of trouble." He scans the UPC on my pass and punches a hole in it. He gives me all my papers back and a two-dollar bill. "It's bus fair, goodbye, friend."

"Farewell." I say and walk up to the curb to wait for the bus.

OOC: I've been signed up for this RPG for months, but I'm pledged to post regularly from now on. I hope nobody minds that I went back in time. My reason for doing it is because the scheme I have in mind is going to take time to set up, as will the development I have planned for his character. I will be up to present day very soon.

[TimTwoFace]

IC: Two-Face
June 21st
10:45 pm

I'm still wading through Gotham's filth about twenty feet under street level. It smells putrid. It smells horrid. It smells like Bane's armpit.

"I wOn'T eVeN aSk AbOuT tHaT oNe, HaRv."

I've travelled this route in the past when trying to get away from the Bat. He may know everything about the city above ground, but he seems to be rather inept at following underground - which is odd, because last I heard, he lived in a cave somewhere.

"YeAh. RiGhT. tHe BaT aCtUaLlY lIvEs In A cAvE. yOu'Ve BeEn wAtChInG tOo MaNy MoViEs, My FrIeNd."

"Shut up!"

It's been a while, though. Perhaps my mind is starting to go. Bartholomew said that it happens to people in their autumn years. Either way, I think it would have been a good idea to break Croc out with me and have him guide me through this maze of sludge and feces. Thank god it's only my Arkham garb that's getting dirtied up. If it were my power suit, there'd be hell to pay.

"DaMn StRaIgHt."

I hear some dripping far off in the distance. It echoes down the narrow tunnels. I can almost see the slight ripple of the muddy liquid in the tiny circles of moonlight shining down through the manholes. If it didn't smell so much, I'd probably want to make this dump my home. It's nice, cool, has indoor plumbing...and has that great gothic feel that I love in all my cribs.

"HeH - wIgGiTy WiGgItY wHaCk."

Damn, that voice is getting annoying. Big Bad Harv gets a little restless if he's left alone for a while. What an angry child he is. Hopefully I hit Drake's hideout soon - he's the only one that can help me out tonight. He's got great connections for a man of his lowly stature.

Minutes pass like hours.

"ArE wE tHeRe YeT?"

No.

"ArE wE tHeRe YeT?"

I said, no.

"ArE wE tHeRe YeT?"

God, this is going to be a long night.

[Mattashell]

"But the principal failing occurred in the sailing,
And the Bellman, perplexed and distressed,
Said he had hoped, at least, when the wind blew due East
That the ship would not travel due West!"

Jervis Tetch, Crime Ally, five months ago, 9am

What a dismal day it is. The dark clouds over my studio apartment only reflect the image of the darkness I feel in my heart. My attempts at seeking gainful employment have all proven futile. Mr. Wayne, dear kindly Mr. Wayne offered me a position when he learned of my lawful emancipation one month ago. But when I revealed to him, my restrictions regarding my former area of expertise, he reluctantly retracted his solicitation. I can't blame him, computers and the human mind have been my life's work, stripped of my forte; I am unemployable, save for preparing beef patties in a low scale eatery like an uneducated troglodyte. He was kindly enough to set me up with this apartment, be it ever so humble, there is no place like home. Soon the rent will be due, and Mr. Wayne made it quite clear that he would only cover the first installment, and for that he expects reimbursement.

I had savings. I was always mindful of my money, all my life. But legal struggles with the city and several private parties over destruction caused in "the incident" have left me penniless and in debt.

I realize now what I must do. The courts have released me, but restricted me of my one means of self-support. I must return to my trade as a hatter, and if I can't do it publicly, I will profit from it the only way I can...secretly.

12:00n

Now the sun is shining, shining with all its might I might add. This is much more like it. A lovely day for a stroll in Gotham Gardens, and what trip to the Gardens would be complete without a visit to Storybook Land. Alice in Wonderland has always been one of my favorite stories, and here in the "Alice" section of the park I stop to marvel at one of my favorite exhibits, "The Mad Tea Party." Oh, look at Alice, dear little Alice, she looks so much like my Alice, the real Alice, that I often think of them as one and the same. I tip my hat to a young couple enjoying the newfound sun. All the children being in school there is no one else around. As the couple moves on to a different section of the park and out of my sight, I get down on my back and crawl under the hollow bronze figures. I reach up through the Hatter's body, further up through his head, and finally into his hat where I feel around with my hands a bit and find what I hid there long ago. I pull out the shrink-wrapped package and quickly place it in my own hat, which I return to its perch upon my head. It contains the only thing left of value to me in this world, the last of my technology. This will generate the funds I need to further my research, and win back my life. I'm careful not to let it fall out as I tip my hat to yet another couple entering "Wonderland" as I casually stroll along home.

[TimTwoFace]

OOC: Just wondering...is everyone out of ideas with this RPG at the moment, or is everyone just busy with life issues right now? Just curious, cuz I can only play off of myself for so long. :)

-Tim

[AceOfKnaves]

OOC: Well, I'm still here, Tim Tim. And I'll be posting within the next couple days or so. :)


~Selena~

[Mattashell]

OOC: If someone posts IC, I'm ready to post again. Tim, I hadn't read the early posts when I started. You had Jervis placed in Arkham. Would it be okay with you if we can overlook that?

[TimTwoFace]

OOC:

*THINKS* Uhhhh...well, if you need it for your story, go for it. If you wanna work with me, though, you can just say that he escaped during the big break-out that I staged a page ago. :)

No worries either way, though - I think I only mentioned him in passing, if anything at all.

-Tim

[Bleu Unicorn]

OOC: I think Matt's referring to the fact that according to his posts he was set free about five months ago - but you mention him in your posts, Timmy. I don't think it really matters - and I'll be sure to correctly write it down in the summary, Matt, when I get unlazy and actually start summarizing again. :)

[TimTwoFace]

OOC: I can go through my old posts and eliminate the Mad Hatter from any scenes, it wouldn't be that big a deal. :) It'll make things a lot clearer that way.

-Tim

[Mattashell]

OOC:Thanks, this is very helpful to my plans for him.

[The Guitar Slayer]

IC: Batman/Bruce Wayne
10:20 PM

My car passes by Montoya's patrol car. Empty. Harvey got out already. I curse mentally as I note the recently used manhole cover. Smart boy. He's eventually going to pop up above ground again, so there is little point in me chasing through the sewers...However, there is the slight chance that he can hold out in such nauseating conditions for more than tonight. I reach over and open my glove compartment and pull a new toy out. I get out of the car and crouch beside the manhole cover. I open it and gently lower my SHINE. Recently developed at Wayne Tech, the Subterranean Heat Imaging/Night-Vision Expedient would make it safer for underground workers when exploring new terrain, such as during archeological expeditions. It could also find people trapped underground. It was a temporary fix until something better could be developed, but it would serve my purposes for now. It was more or less a computer and a camera attached to a set of modified magnetic legs that would cling to the piping of Gotham.

I buzz Alfred on the comm unit. "I need you to guide this through and track Two-Face. I have to find Lock-Up and where he dumped the Joker."

His clipped accent came through. "I suggest you only track one of these two felons tonight. It appears Ms. Quinn has escaped the guards and has gone on a quest for her 'Puddin'."

I close my eyes and let out a mental groan. "Thank you, Alfred." I turn off the comm unit and watch as the SHINE was activated from the Batcave and began to click and whirl. I listen until its legs have skittered far away from my place by the manhole. I turn the comm unit back on. As I stand, I note a depression in the mud near the uncared-for apartment building. I stride over and inspect it. Smooth-soled shoes, men's size 16, fairly deep indentation. Lyle Bolton. I follow the path of footprints to a fence. He had apparently climbed over it and landed in the junkyard. Lock-Up had an appointment of some sort, judging from the spacing of his footprints. He knew I could not have followed him immediately, since I was cleaning up the mess at Arkham. I run my finger around the edge of the foot print. Still a bit moist. He'd been here fairly recently, but those shoes for patients wouldn't last long; they were almost spongelike, and it had recently rained. Lock-Up would need a new pair soon enough. However, his primary mission was to get other inmates...and nobody else was out other than the ones that had broken out tonight, with the exception of Scarecrow...Two birds with one stone.

I get back into the car and activate the computer. I send a program to the Batcomputer that I'd been working on as I had driven through the city after my revelation after the original poison call. The computer would be sluggish for three days, but while I'm out, it's the fastest way to trace Scarecrow. Alfred had already switched over to another smaller computer to control the SHINE.

Logically, at the time being, Lock-Up was the bigger menace. Joker still needed his bones to knit to pull anything off; preparation and some planning could all be handled by Quinn, but he'd want to do the deed himself. That bought me about six weeks before he was adequately healed.

One last thing...I signal Robin. "Where the hell are you?"
is the first thing I hear over the rev of the engine.

"Go back to Arkham and look for signs of the Joker. Bolton dumped him before he went after Two-Face." I hear Robin grumbling as I flick off the comm unit. At that same moment, the police scanner squeals. It's a report. They're running low on antidote again. I consult my watch. About an hour...only an hour...I turn away from my responsibility to the city to face the city's need for medical treatment.

It has begun.

[BLACKHEART]

Months ago I purchased a small dying amusement park in Gotham. Using money I obtained playing the stock market I have been able to rebuild this land and bring life back into this rotting land once known as “Millennium Island.” In just one week this land will once again be full of screaming parents and happy children frolicking around in my amusement park. The name “Millennium Island” just doesn’t seem to suit me to well.

I watch from a distance as crews hang a new sign that reads “Devil’s Island.”

In one week they will come. People not just from Gotham, but all around the United States. They will flock in numbers to be the first to enter the park. With eight big roller coasters in the park coaster junkies will come. And all they want is a taste of fear. They want to push their minds and bodies to the limits and I will gladly help them.

All of the fun will begin in one week.

And now I have a cat to skin.

[Kylewayne]

Catwoman
Time: 10:30 pm




Mmmm, feels so nice to just feel the wind against my body as I’m jumping from one building to another. That’s odd, no Bat and dingbats in sight? They are usually out lurking on rooftops. Hmmm, not complaining here, but was hoping for some action. The city is quiet and nothing going down tonight. What’s a “Cat “ to do on a night like this? Do I dare go shop? *grin * Nah! I’ll let Larry Larraby spoil me with his gifts of luxury once I wrap him around my little finger. I’ll just head for the docks and see if the mother load has arrived early than predicted...besides nothing else to do.

I tip toe cautiously on the rooftop of Pier 17 and jump off after glancing around for danger. Time to pick the lock and disable any alarm system. No high tech crap can keep me away. As I walk through the hallways surrounded by huge shipping containers, I try to locate the number I had jotted down into memory. Come on! How hard is it to find shipping #104599! Rats, many containers to look through. This might take a while. Wait a minute; I’ll just use their computer. I skip over to the locked office and break into it without a problem. I type in what info I need and BINGO! The mother load is in! and in section C. This is like taking candy from a baby.

As I walk up to the container, I immediately ply it open and throw everything to the ground. I glance around and spot what I came here for. A tiny little ugly statue that possessed twinkling black goodies inside. With these babies I can retire for life once sold on the black market

[Mattashell]

Jervis Tetch, Rabbit's Foot Diner, four months ago, six am:

"'O Oysters, come and walk with us!'
The Walrus did beseech.
'A pleasant walk, a pleasant talk,
Along the briny beach:'"

I patiently sip my tea while engaging the waitress in light persiflage. The eatery is brimming with the constables that protect this fine city. Greedily slurping coffee, all of them, it gives me an idea that I file away for possible use in the future, if I should ever find such an extreme measure necessary. A strapping young man in his 'First Bank of Gotham' uniform enters the diner. My oysters have arrived.

"Will you need anything else, Sweetie?" asks the waitress.

"No thank you, my Dear, just the tea and the oysters."

She is confused, "But...we don't serve oysters."

"Ah but you do, my Dear."

I pay my bill and go to the door to take my hat from the rack. I move the driver’s hat to get to mine, and no one sees me leave him my little present.

9:00am

"'Now if you're ready, oysters dear,
We can begin to feed.'"

The guard and I get into the armored car. I start the engine and begin to drive. I reach an intersection and wait for the light to change. If I'm going to the downtown branch I should make a left, but I'm going right. I turn to the guard and look at the name on his badge.

"Hey Bill."

He gives me a confused smile. "You know no one ever calls me that Bob."

He has absolutely no idea what I'm up to. I draw my pistol and shoot him in the face. "Sorry Bill. You're in my way."

I make a right and drive out to the Main Street Bridge. I pull over to the side and climb into the back of the car. I open the door from the inside and throw the bags into the barge waiting below. When the truck is empty I take off my hat and through that in as well...

...seeing through my own eyes once more, I guide the "borrowed" barge to the Gotham River's bank and unload my cargo into my rental car. I even got my chip back. That poor fool will never know what happened to him. I will invest this money into a livelihood. I drive the car back to my apartment.

[BLACKHEART]

10:35 PM, Gotham Harbor Pier 17

The mysterious thief known to Gotham as only “Catwoman” has entered Pier 17 expecting to find the “Mother Load.” She believes that there are enough black diamonds here to live off of for years but what she’s about to find is me.

From a distance I watch the cat. Ironically I watch her every move from right above her on the catwalk. She is totally unaware of the shadow that stalks her.

I watch as she throws her right hand back and her razor sharp claws extend from her gloves. She makes a deep slash at the seal of one of the crates and then pulls the lid off and tosses it to the side.

Her eyes brighten and she smiles as if she has pulled one over on the world. She reaches in thru the packing to claim her prize and she lifts it up to examine it in the light she quickly finds the beauty she expected replaced eyeballs. She drops the eyeballs to the ground quickly after letting out a scream of horror.

“They are only candy my pretty,” I say.

The cat quickly looks up and springs back ready for an attack. She ducks a blow from my walking stick but isn’t quick enough to avoid being captured by my hand. I grab her by the wrist and squeeze it tightly. So tight that she begins to fade in and out of conscious. She realizes that she must act fast.

She makes a swipe at my face ripping the mask. While I’m dazed and confused she lands a well place kick to my stomach knocking me down and sending my head across the room.

She covers her mouth in shock and freezes in terror when out of no where…

The Scarecrow, the real Scarecrow, the Master of Fear, and I nail her in the back with a crow bar. I walk over to the robot and retrieve the walking stick.

12:01 AM, The Cat Awakes

I watch from the other side of the room as the anything but common cat burglar wakes from her slumber.

“Did you have a nice cat nap my dear?” I ask her.

“Go to hell” she responds as she examines her restraints.

“Now is that anyway to treat your new best friend?” I ask.

She spits at me.

“Now my pretty you will find that I can be a very affable host or I can be your worst nightmare.” I say as I turn my back and walk over to the table and poor myself a drink of a named red substance.

“Can I interest you in a drink?” I ask my houseguest.

“No thanks” she replies.

“I have something of yours that might interest you.”

I slowly begin pulling a piece of smooth black cloth from my pocket. Her eyes widen as she tries to figure out what I took from her and then I toss it on her lap.

“It intrigues me that you hide your beautiful face from this ugly city. What are you hiding my dear? I’m a ghoul so I wear what’s suitable for me. You on the other hand are someone of beauty. No one will look at your face and laugh at you will they? What are you hiding? I may have never seen your face before, but I’m sure someone in this city has. I’m sure that someone will recognize your face.”

I walk back over to my table and pick up a camera. I take several pictures of her unmasked and then taunt her by holding them up to her.

“What do you want?” she asks.

“I the Master of Fear the Sinister Scarecrow…”

She interrupts me, “Save the theatrics.”

“Of course we can skip the formalities and I could kill you now if you’d like? Or you can listen to what I have to say and keep your pretty little mouth shut before I’m forced to take actions for your transgression. You have never spent a second locked away beneath the Earth in Arkham have you?”

Again she interrupts me, “I thought you were going to get to the point?”

“Point?” I ask as I pull a six-inch knife from my coat pocket.

“You want the point?” I ask again as I walk over to her.

“I’ll give you the point.” I say as I rub the knife across her face.

“Your crazy!” she says.

“We’re all mad said the cat! hahahaha”

I pause for a minute to make my laugh more dramatic.

“I am a heretic and I am the personification everything you have ever feared since birth. You will pay for your sins. You will pay for every second that you’ve been set free in Gotham while the Bat puts my kind away, far away. Make no mistakes you will serve me or I will show your face to Gotham and give you a fate far worst than death.”
I stand over her.

“You look a little uneasy kitten. It’s very palpable that you don’t like me. I make you feel uncomfortable. I am your deepest darkest nightmare. I could be dead playing alive or alive playing dead and you’ll never know. I have a job for you, if you choose to accept it. I will never force you to do something you don’t want to do of course. You can leave her anytime.”

I walk over and loosen her restraints a bit as one of my lackey’s come in and remove the photos from the room.

“You are free to choose your path my dear.”

I free her from her bonds.

“However the only you will have to deal with the consequences of your actions. And if you tell me that you will do what I want you to do, you better do it. There will be no running and telling the big bad Bat on me or I’ll skin you alive.”

I smile at the Cat making her cringe.

“Miss Cat remember precarious behavior isn’t good for your health.”

I walk over and sit down in my old decaying rocking chair.

“Do you want to come sit on my lap as I tell you about your mission? hahaha Aaron Keith is an affluent businessman who lives on the East Side of Gotham. He lives in a mansion on his own private road. He walks the streets of Gotham with a bodyguard on each side with his noise in the air he doesn’t even see the little people on the street. The same little people whose house he closed out to build a parking lot for his latest strip mall. The same family he put on the streets to live in rags and beg for change. Located in his study is a statue of Zeus. This bully thinks he is a God so he has the biggest God of them all erected in his study standing 8 foot tall. If you pull back his trident a secret passage will open and a computer control pad will be exposed. You’ll have to figure that part out. Inside the passage is a safe. Again you’ll have to figure that one out too. Inside the safe is his life’s fortune. He’s a paranoid type that doesn’t keep much money in the back. It’s also easier to lie to the government about your earnings when there’s no paper trail. His money will help finance my terrorism and bring a dark cloud over Gotham the likes no one has ever seen before. I am a fair specter and I will pay you for your work in addition to keeping your secret. What do you say?”

[AceOfKnaves]

OOC: Sorry for the wait, though while in a hospital it's hard to find things to pull out of no where. :p


IC: Detective Renee Montoya

10:59pm


The hospital air burns as it hits my eyes, tears from the past hour endlessly pouring from them.

Somewhere inside of me is an overpowering struggle...serious confusion as to the actual reasons for my tears. Of course if anyone asked, I'd pawn it off as grief for a lost partner and though that's not completely a lie, deep down is the feeling of betrayal...like I'd been deceived somehow.
I look out the window, words I should have heeded a long while back, lingering in my mind. "Never trust the insane. Sometimes not even THEY know they're lying."
Jim had said that to me years ago, when I'd just joined the force. He was reassuring me for my first Arkham trip...well, if that's what you can call reassurance. Maybe it was more of a warning.

Now I lay in a hospital bed, the gaping wound on my shoulder created by none other than Harvey Dent. Criminally insane and proud of it.

Shoving out thoughts of him from my head, I force myself into a sitting position, moving just enough to hang my feet off the side of the bed.
I hold my breath as I lean forward, gently placing my feet onto the linoleum floor. With the pain killers still in effect, the low ache in my ankle hardly bothers me as I limp to the closet containing my clothes.

I have no real intentions of leaving just yet, but my neck feels naked without the cross I'd gotten from my mother earlier that year.
Opening the double doors, I squat in from of the cabinet, searching through one out of the two boxes inside. Pulling out the silver necklace, I sigh with the realization that I can no longer put it on without some form of help. At least not for quite some time.
I hold it in my hand for a minute or two, finally deciding to place it on the table next to my bed.

I was about to pull myself back up when my eyes caught the other box in the corner. I pull on it with my left hand, aimlessly rummaging through it's contents.
Everything inside of it is items that I'd left behind the last time I was here...or I should say, the last time I escaped here.
I remove my things one at a time, taking close looks at them before setting them down again.
My undershirt, my watch, my picture holder, a small amount of money and...something large and black.
At first glance I'd say it was a wadded up blanket, but this...this is MUCH thicker, and it gives off sort of a shine.

Wrapping my fingers around the edges, I unravel it, a look of almost pure awe on my face.
How the heck did this wind up with my junk?
I stare at it for a little while longer, only stuffing it quickly back inside the box as the door to my room begins to squeak.

"Aren't you supposed to be resting?"
It was a friend of mine from the station. Had been my partner after Harvey.
I shudder, the thought of that name right at the moment making me ill. "I kinda miss Bullock, you know. Not as nice to look at, but hey, I'm rather partial to his name."
I brush it off as an odd look grows over his face.
"What are you doing here?" I ask.

He sighs, sitting neatly into a chair next to the bed I should be resting in at the moment.
"I assumed you could use a little company." His features sag a bit. "I'm really sorry to hear about Jessica...she was a damn fine woman."

I limp back over to the rock hard mattress, trying to lay down without causing severe pain....I fail.
He remains seated as I adjust myself. "Well, I'm fine. I'd really actually like to be alone right now."

He nods, shifting uncomfortably.
"Understandable. And though I came to find out your well being, I was also sent for a statement if possible."

I attempt to smile. "Ah, the truth."
He sighs lightly. "I know it's a little soon, but if you're up for it, it would save me or someone else a great deal of effort."

I lean back, waiting for him to prepare himself before I begin retelling the events of earlier that evening.

[The Guitar Slayer]

OOC: Hey BH, I think Catwoman's identity is public. She has been arrested before for her actions in the suit on behalf of animals (I'm thinking back to BTAS for this, mainly). I think Scarecrow has nothin' on her.

[Cyrus]

no offense but wat the hell are u talking about

[The Guitar Slayer]

OOC: The question is, friend, what exactly are you talking about? Are you referring to the thread in general or just my last post?

[TimTwoFace]

OOC: Maybe our friend Cyrus here doesn't understand what an RPG is all about, is all. :)

-Tim

[BLACKHEART]

OC I don't recall Catwoman ever being locked up or caught, but does that little detail matter? It is an RPG and people bend things all the time. Kyle and I worked on that little detail ourselves.

[TimTwoFace]

OOC: In CATWALK, Selina was talking to Bruce during the charity function and I'm positive that she mentioned her past life to some degree to him. That would make it pretty general knowledge, I'd think. But whatever, I suppose it works either way in the RPG.

-Tim

[BLACKHEART]

12:01 AM

Meanwhile on the first floor of my House or Horror’s I have uninvited guests in the form of two fraternity boys. As part of their initiation they had to enter the old haunted house on the edge of Gotham. Unknown to them that this house hosts the true Master of Fear, for this is my home, the home of the sinister Scarecrow. While I make the cat an offer she can never refuse these intruders dare violate my sacred ground.

My preoccupation with the cat has allowed these intruders safe passage into my home.

The two teens enter my home. Benny Montoya and his friend Richard Reed are looking for something to prove that they were in my home. The two both quiver in fear as they enter the House of Horrors. The floor below them cracks with every step they take into my home. In the distance the two boys can hear rats moving across the floor.

Their anxiety levels reaches it’s maximum capacity as they move on their tippy-toes slowly thru the front room of my home. Moving only inches per minute the two stay close together. The rattle of their teeth echo throughout the house.

Richard: “Le…le..let’s get outta here Benny!”

Benny: “Not before we have proof of our victory. Do you want to back there and face humiliation in front of everyone..the girls?”

Richard: “I..I…I guess you’re right.”

Benny: “Just trust me bro.”

The two teens stumble across the room. Richard trips on something on the floor. Before he falls flat on his face and makes a sound that would surely warn me of the intruders Benny catches him by his shirt.

Benny: “Be careful. You might have feel thru the floor of this place.”

Richard: “Th..thanks Benny.”

Benny: “What’s that?”

Benny gets down on the floor to examine what his friend had tripped on. In my haste to bring the cat in I had foolishly dropped my skull staff that I use to induce fear into my victims.

Benny holds the staff up. The moonlight shines thru an adjacent window.

Richard: “Cool!”

Benny: “We just hit the jackpot my friend!”

The two quickly leave my house of horrors and run as fast as they can to their car. Totally unaware that their every move has been recorded on my security cameras.

The two arrive back at their car out of breath. Richard fumbles thru his pockets in search of his key.

Benny: “Hurry up before the ghosts get you.”

Benny laughs as the two gets into the car and leave as quickly as possible. During their drive back to Benny’s…

Benny: “Tomorrow we’re in! I’m going to keep this thing at my house.”

Richard: “Fine by me.”

Richard arrives at Benny’s house. While removing his seat belt and exiting the car Benny drops the staff and a cloud of smoke emits from the skull’s eyes.

Richard: “WHAT IS THAT?!?!”

Benny coughs, “Don’t worry it’s just dust.”

1:00 AM

Benny tries to catch some sleep. He lies in bed tossing and turning. He finds himself unable to get to sleep. He writes it off as too much excitement. Then he begins to hear something. Someone, or something is calling his name. He can hear the faint voice down the hall saying, “Benny… Benny…” He begins to hear footsteps and chains. The voice is getting closer and closer, “Benny…Benny.” He lays in bed sweating, afraid to move. The footsteps are getting louder as the noise approaches. It’s right outside his door he thinks and then the noise stops. He gets up to investigate. It must be his lack of sleep; his mind is playing tricks on him… He opens the door and standing in front of him is an old woman.

Benny: “How did you get into my house?”

The woman says nothing. Benny grabs her by the shoulder to turn her around and make her face him. As he does, her true face is revealed. She’s a skeleton, the woman says, “Boo.”

Down the hall a bunch of demons come running at Benny. They have red skin, with legs like goats, and horns on top of their heads. Each of the demons has a pitchfork and it’s ready to pierce his skin.

Benny runs down the hall into Renee’s room. He see’s her gun sitting on her dresser. He grabs it and begins firing at the demons but they keep coming. Benny jumps out the window making a loud thump as his body busts threw the glass. The sound of shattering glass wakes up the rest of his family and the neighbors. His face and body are covered in blood. He begins running but the demons are only a step behind him. He jumps on top of the family car screaming, “GO AWAY! LEAVE ME ALONE!”

Benny stands on top of the car screaming pointing his gun towards the ground. All around him he see’s demons. They have the car surrounded.

Benny’s mom and the neighbor’s gather around. They are attempting to get him down. He fires a shot in to one of the demons. Thankfully for the people around it was only one of the illusions caused by my fear gas.

Benny stands on top of the car screaming, shaking, and crying.

[AceOfKnaves]

IC: Renee Montoya

1:20am


"Thanks, Renee." John stands up, straightening out his coat before tossing me a half smile. "Get some rest."

I nod, even though sleep is the farthest thing from my mind at this particular point in time. "See you around."

He makes it halfway out the door before someone barrels into him, almost knocking him to the floor.
I sit up with a wince.
<Papa?>

He's tired...out of breath.
<Renee...it's..it's your brother.>

John looks back and forth at us.
"What's he saying?"

I hold up my hand at John, trying to piece together what my father is trying to say.
<Take a deep breath, Papa. What's wrong?>

He shakes his head, trying desperately to calm down enough to talk to me.
<He's talking crazy like. Waving a gun and screaming of unholy beasts.>

Something inside of me begins to sink, the signs bringing "fear" out into the open.
<What happened to him?>

He falls to one knee, resting for a moment or two before answering.
<I don't know. He's been out all night lately, no calls, no excuses...he's finally gotten himself into something...> He hangs his head. <I thought we'd taught you two better than that. You both know how we feel about drugs.>

I place my left hand on his face.
<I don't think it's drugs, Papa....Go wait out in the car, I'll be there shortly.>

He nods, kissing my forehead before vanishing out of the doorway.
John walks up beside me, dumbfounded.
"What was that all about?"

I place my feet on the cold linoleum, rising quickly enough to make my head spin. "My parents don't speak English very well."

He helps me stay upright, walking me to the closet in the corner.
"I gathered that much, but what were you talking about? And where the hell are you going?"

I pull my things from the closet, placing the boxes in John's arms.
"I have to go with my dad."

Readjusting the box on his arm, he continues with his questions.
"Why? And what makes you think the hospital's going to let you go?"

Motioning for him to turn around so I could get dressed, I slide on my undergarments, then my pants...taking it hideously slow with the shirt.
"My brother's in trouble, and they won't, that's why I put on my uniform....makes it easier to walk out the front door."

He grabs my other box, looking at the dark wad of material inside curiously as he continued.
"Renee, the police can handle this."

I grip the handle of my room's door. "You're right...they can." Opening it, I walk as limp free as I can down the hallway, making sure my coat covers any proof of an injury.

John rolls his eyes before following me, lugging the two small boxes as he tries to catch up.

Keeping my head down, I walk silently into the elevator, breathing a sigh of relief as the doors slide shut.

"Tell me again why YOU have to deal with this?"

I lean against him as we wait for the first floor to arrive.
"Because I don't break promises."

He raises an eyebrow at me as I exit the car, walking as straight as possible through the lobby and out of the hospital's front doors.
As we reach my father's car, I turn around to give John a hug, and grab the boxes one by one to throw them into the back-seat.
"Thanks for the help."

He slightly grins.
"You come back here when this is over, Renee."

I smile,
"I'll try."

Ignoring the pain resurfacing in my shoulder, I slip into the passenger seat, going over what happened one more time as we sped for my old home.

_____________________

1:30am


Everything looks normal as we pull into the driveway, the only things that prove there was a commotion are the several neighbors still lingering in their yards.

I glance at Papa, but he looks just as puzzled as I do at the eerie normalcy.
That all changes as we open the doors, the faint sound of screaming ringing in both our ears.

"GET BACK!"
My eyes catch sight of him....oh God...he's on the roof.
I leap out of the car, running for the side hedge ladder as fast as my injuries will let me. Hold on, Benny.

My father begins to shout at me as I scale one handed, almost falling more than once before finally reaching the roof of our third floor loft. I look down, feeling a bit nauseous as I inch my way towards my raving brother.
Years ago when we'd first moved to Gotham, I'd promised my frightened little brother that I'd always be there to protect him...that he'd never have to worry about getting hurt as long as I was his older sis. I have to try to salvage that promise before he hurts himself or others.

"Benny?" He flies around, pointing the gun at my chest. I jump back, almost slipping on the mold covered tiles. "Whoa.....it's Renee. I'm gonna need you to give me that gun, Ben."

He shakes his head, his cheeks red and tear streaked.
"Renee? I..I can't see you."

His eyes are most likely displaying me as a horrible beast, slimy and in more ways than one, putrid. I take a step towards him, risking another bullet wound.
"I know. But I'm here, Benny. Please, just give me the gun....it's okay...I can make this all go away, all you have to do is trust me." I hold out my arm, trying to reassure him that I'm me.

He falls into my one armed embrace, bawling in huge hyperventilating gasps.
"I'm s-ss-ssorry."

I run my fingers through his hair.
"Shhhhh..it's over."

I wish I had known how wrong I'd been about that, a new wave a panic filling my brother as red, white and blue flashes washed over the rooftop.
"DEMONS!!!"
He shouts, the realization that he still had my old gun in his hand donning on me soon enough to tackle him.
I let out a painful yell as his palm slams into my shoulder, the wound reopening and again bleeding at the violent pressure ground into it.

The butt of the gun slams into my jaw, throwing me a good five feet away from where I'd been.

He continues to fight with something, a being that only he can see. My shouts mean nothing to him as he really begins to shriek, my eyes following the gun as he flails it around in circles...I have to get it from him.

It all happened so fast...I was rising quickly to wrestle the gun away from him, hoping that he was too preoccupied with whatever demon he saw to notice that I was charging him. Then, without warning, he pointed the gun, and pulled the trigger.

A loud bang echoed off the roofs of the street, a look of shock on both our faces as blood began to spread over his chest....
"BENNY!" He collapsed, rolling quickly towards the edge of the roof.

My hand caught his as he slide over the gutter, dangling limply from the top of our house.
Crying madly, I clutch his hand as hard as I can muster, wishing more than anything that I didn't have to attempt this without my rightside strength.
"Benny.." I gasp. "You have to help me...I can't do this without you."

He slowly looks up at me, his eyes flying open with fright. He sees something in me...something that isn't there.
"Let go! GET OFF ME!!!"

His hand starts to slip out of mine, his swaying body pulling from my grasp.
"Oh GOD! Benny, STOP!!!"

In his other hand he still grips the gun, aiming it at my face.
"NO!!! LET GO OF ME!!!"

I drop him as he fires a shot, the bullet making a small slice on my ear as it flies passed.
"BENNY!!!"

He hits the firewood pile with a sickening thud, the horrible reassurances that he's alive are loud screams ripping from his chest.

Arms wrap around me from behind, John muttering small shhh's as I begin to cry. I turn around the tears in my eyes masked by the pure rage boiling inside of me. I shove him violently away from me.
"What the hell were you thinking?!"

He stutters.
"I-I-I was just trying to help."

I head over to the ladder,
"Next time, don't bother."

___________________________

1:35am


The doors to Benny's ambulance shut loudly, the sirens ringing over the houses for miles.
I was asked multiple times to get into one of the aid cars, the blood running down the side of my face, and showing through the bandage on my arm, making me look like a train wreck.

Heading into the house, I make my way to Benny's room, using the redial on his phone to figure out who he'd last been conversing with.
It rings four times before it's answered by a groggy young voice.
"Uhh..hello?"

It's Richard Reed, one of Benny's school buddies.
"Richard...this is Renee."

We'd known each other for a while, but I'd never called him at his house.
"Renee? What is it? What's wrong?"

I sigh off a new set of tears, sitting on Benny's bed for a quick way to catch my breath.
"Benny's in the hospital."

The silence on the other end is almost unbearable.
"How?"

I gingerly touch my ear, the blood on the end of my fingertips not surprising me.
"I'm not sure. You and I need to have a talk about what I think you two did tonight." Again there was silence, this time I had to break it. "I'm not calling to get you in trouble, Richard. This is serious. Why don't you come over to my place tomorrow at around 10am. We'll talk then."

He clears his throat.
"Okay."

"Night, Richard." I hang up the phone, running my fingers through my hair before standing shakily in front of the bed. Where Benny was earlier will have to wait until tomorrow, right now I have more important things to attend to.

Something in the corner of his room catches my eye...a glow of something silver.
Wrapping my hand around the staff resting against the wall, my eyes widen. I know this skull. I've seen it before.
I quickly unscrew it from the rod holding it and slide it into my pocket, putting the staff back into the corner.

The door behind me opens.
<Renee?> My father walks in beside me, placing his hand on my cheek as I turn to face him. <You've done what you came to do. You're in pain, I can see it. Go back to the hospital, child.>

I kiss his hand, a weak smile on my lips.
<I can't, Papa. This is my battle.>

He insists otherwise.
<Let someone else handle it, Nay-Nay. You're of no use to anyone like this.>

He's right...I'm no help as long as I'm injured. I could've killed Benny by letting him go tonight...I couldn't hold on to him.
<You're right, Papa. I'm no good like this.>

I walk out of the room, searching quickly for John. He tries to lead me to an aid car.
"No, I can take myself...but I need to stop by my house first. Do you mind if I take your car?"

He looks at me curiously, forcing me to beg for a couple more minutes before finally letting me take his squad car.
"Thanks!" I yell back at him, rushing into the driver's seat and firing up the engine. I'm useless as long as I'm like this...so I'll talk with the only being that can change that.

If she'll even be interested...

[TimTwoFace]

IC: Two-Face
June 22nd, 12:02am

I step out of the knee-deep grime and ascend a rickety, makeshift, stone-slab staircase that leads up to a large ventilation duct. Thank God I'm here - I couldn't stand the smell of these sewers much longer.

"I hOpE sTeVe-O hAs An ExTrA cHaNgE oF cLoThEs WaItInG fOr Us, HaRv."

I've walked this trail many times before. I remember perfectly how to find my way back to Drake's lair - traverse the sewers for about three miles, pry off the ventilation grate, and follow the ducts for another few minutes to the incapacitated furnace in Drake's basement.

"DaMn, He'D bEtTeR bE tHeRe FoR uS."

That's right, Stephen "Shifty" Drake had better be there, ready to wait on us hand and foot. He's our connection to the rest of my group - Min, Max, the Two Tonne Gang - not as reliable as a connection as the Penguin, let's say, but far more low key. He seems to be flying well under the Bat's radar, and right now, that's all I care about. Staying away from HIM.

My footsteps make dull clanging sounds as I wander slowly through the maze of heating ducts to find the furnace. Everything looks alike. All the reflective surfaces - all the faces staring back at me. In a way, it's really quite poetic.

"AnD aLsO qUiTe PaThEtIc."

I turn a knob at the end of a duct that branches off to the side, and there I am, in the basement of Drake's townhouse on the lower east side of Gotham.

I look around. So, this is freedom. I dark, dank basement with leaking pipes, broken wooden floorboards, a discombobulated furnace and a soiled mattress in the corner.

"I hAtE tHiS pLaCe."

So do I, but it will have to do for now. We can do without creature comforts for a little while.

I walk towards the crooked staircase and grab the banister.

"WhAt'S tHaT?"

I pause and cock my head upwards; I can hear footsteps slowly plodding across the floor upstairs. "Damnit, don't tell me they're here already."

I climb the staircase and around along the wall, right where it meets the ceiling. Pink insulation is pushed aside and...yes, there it is, the securing feel of cool metal against my hand. I retrieve the short knife from my hiding spot - even Shifty didn't know about that one - and ascend the stairs.

"QuIeT, hArVeY, qUiEt..."

The stairs quiver and creak under my well-thought-out footsteps. A board breaks and I fall forward; right at that moment, the door at the top of the stairway swings open, and the silhouette of a man is staring down at me.

"FREEZE!"

Smoothe, Harvey. Real smoothe.

[TimTwoFace]

OOC:

*COUGH*

-Tim

[Bird Boy]

It's with a heavy heart I must say I'm departing all RPGs I'm in. I have The World's Finest website itself to deal with, MODing these forums, and other net responsibilities, and as much as I hate to say it, they come before RPGs, and since I've been neglecting them for so long (and apparently losing interest in them), I've decided to depart.

Robin/Dick Grayson and Comm. Gordon are now up for grabs for whoever wants him. I will still be actively MODing this board however, so you can still PM me for whatever RPG you want to join.

-Bird Boy

[Bird Boy]

Ready for a double whammy? Bleu Unicorn has now left both the Worlds Finest and Batman RPG's due to--you guessed it--time constraints. Who knows, maybe she'll bless us all again with her awesome Harley Quinn posts, but for now, Harley is up and available in both RPGs.

-BB

[BLACKHEART]

OOC

Onward with some positive news and an attempt to pump some life back in to this RPG.

I will be letting Catwoman go. It's been how long since we started a story and she's yet to respond? So I'm just going to write something up and send her on her way. I'll leave the door open if she wants to work with me in the future, but for now I'm done with that.

I will move Scarecrow foward in other story lines.

Also I will be debuting Ivy in this RPG shortly in a story that has just begun.

[redDragon]

OOC- This is post has been spurred on by GS's desire to see me talking to squirrels and to be hauled back to Arkham. In other words here's an injection of temporary life.

IC- Wednesday, June 22nd
12:01AM

Look at the pretty stars! So nice and bright! Harl has been dragging me over all sorts of things in this forest! I wouldn't be surprised if I opened up an old wound.

"Puddin', I think you need to lose some weight." Harley grunts as she hauls me over a log.

"Me? Lose weight? Why I'm as thin as a twig! In fact I'm feeling quite twiggy!" I begin to giggle and cough.

We come to a large tree and Harley drags me to it so I can lean against it while she rests. After a few minutes she looks around.

"I'm going to get some help Mr. J! You're just too much for me! I'll be back in a jiffy!" With that she tiredly bounces off.

Nothing I can do but sit back and relax. Then something hard and round hits me.

"Ow!" I look up and I see a furry shape, why its a squirrel! "Hello there Mr. Squirrel! How are you this fine evening? Doing well I hope!" The squirrel chitters angrily at me. It seems I've disturbed the poor creature's sleep! Silly me.

"Why don't you come down here and talk with me Mr. Squirrel? It'll be very enlightening! I'll tell you of all your relatives I've killed. Once when I was young, my father took me camping and we went fishing. When we got back there was this brown squirrel hiding in our tent. My father wouldn't let me keep it as a pet and he made me kill! Oh how terrible it was! This furry little creature smashed to a pulp by our frying pan."

Another nut comes hurling at me. "Ow! Did you not like that story? Well then I'll tell you another! Once my father took me driving and we were out in the woods. I was seven years old and trying to drive a great big truck. My father told me the coast was clear and so I stepped down hard on the gas and we went over something with a sickening crunch! He started laughing at that and smacked me for crying. He said it was manly to kill small creatures and that crying was for sissys. But cry I did."

Several nuts came flying down. "What? You don't like that story either? Well I've got plenty more Mr. Squirrel! And I'm going to be here for quite a while, so why don't you come down and join me? I can't kill you in this state! Unless of course I had a nice big frying pan...and some wood... Yes I would like a meal! A great giant squirrel pancake! Why that would certainly be delicious!"

Ah, wish I did have a frying pan! Or even better yet! My beloved serrated edge spatula! I could make wonderful Squirrel Flap Jacks! HehehheehhehhehehehhEHEHEHAHHAHAHHAHAHHAHAHAHHAHHAHAHAH!

[BLACKHEART]

I didn't really plan on doing this. This could just be frustration after reflecting on the situation, but I think am going to pull out of this RPG as well. I was just going to quit X-Men and WF, but my last Scarecrow post was March 1st or something. That seems like so long ago. I had a story I was working on with someone and then all of a sudden after asking me a few times to work with her, she vanished and hasn't been seen since. So I took Scarecrow and I put him into this storyline and basically he's in a corner with no way out. Do I go foward only to risk her return? I don't know what to do. So I sadly regret I am pulling out of this RPG. I apologize for any problems this will cause, but I really have no idea on what to do and I really don't have any motivation.

It's very annoying when you work on a character and try to build up a storyline to have your partner kill it. It kind of burned me out you know? My storyline with the stocks might not have been the greatest, I don't know. It was killed off too soon and it didn't work well with others because they had their own agendas even though my story didn't really effect them. No one seemed in favor of my story with Catwoman, so I guess it was doomed from the start.

I would just use Ivy, but now she's connected to the Titanic known as Scarecrow. With the summer around the bend I fear this RPG will totally die. So I guess I'm abandoning ship. I apologize for any problems this will cause, it was fun while it lasted.

[AceOfKnaves]

OOC: Sorry to hear that, BLACKHEART. Though I'm kinda sad to say I'm gonna drop this RPG as well. I had a few things planned, but with Ivy gone, and my busy schedule, I don't have time for this one anymore. Sorry everyone!


~Selena~

[Kylewayne]

OOC: I'm so SORRY Blackheart I was stuck with crap. You should have PM'ed me about the story. I sometimes forget. My apologies!

[TimTwoFace]

OOC: Eeep, it looks like it's been five months since I've been here as well. Where was I? *SCRATCHES HEAD*

I'll post something soon, promise promise!

-Tim

[Kylewayne]

CATWOMAN/Selina Kyle
Wednesday, June 22nd
2:00AM

Gotham City is quiet tonight, time for me to have some fun.
As I was tip –toeing on the roof of some building downtown, a stranger caught my eye as he walked in. He seemed well built, tall, and in a long duster.
I crawl and lay low and made myself scarce making sure I go unnoticed. The funny thing is I sensed someone standing near me from the side just as I was about to turn around... I turned my head slowly and to my surprise... I see the stranger staring at me with those sky blue eyes.

Confused and perplexed my mouth dropped, but I quickly regained my composure. Somehow I can't seem to take my eyes off him. He intrigued me...

I smiled in his direction, checking him out. "Not bad at all...." I thought, grinning.

One thing though, "Why is he wearing sunglasses at night in a poorly lit pale?" It was as if they where custom fitted so they where seamless to his eye sockets. I also noticed that his skin was tanned. I looked a little closer. He was definitely handsome, but sad... or hardened in some way, like he'd been through hell and back. Poor guy looked like he needed some company.

"So.... Why the shades?" I then added, "Afraid of what you see? I promise you I don’t bite". I grinned, proud that I was clever enough to come up with that.

"More like the opposite." he said with a slight grin. He didn't turn to look at me... like he already knew what I looked like. Kind of cold.... but for some strange reason, he was comforting to be around, like nothing could spook him. Even his voice, although very dark, was calming in a way. He was either not in a sociable mood or was playing hard to get, and he intrigued me even more now.

I looked more closely, studying him. That's when I noticed he wasn't alone! I spotted two glowing eyes peeking at me from under a fold in his duster. "I'd know those eyes anywhere!" I cattishly grinned as I moved to the seat next to him. I pointed to his duster. "Friend of yours?", I asked softly.

[TimTwoFace]

OOC: After much of RD's stabbing, I have finally been persuaded to post once again. :D

IC: Two-Face
June 22nd, 12:05am

"FREEZE!"

Smoothe, Harvey. Real smoothe.

I'm standing on a ricketty staircase in the basement of this dingy house on Gotham's lower east side, and there's someone at the top of the staircase, presumably pointing a gun in my face. I can't see much of anything, his body is backlit from the lighting in the hallway behind him.

I carefully take another step; the wooden stairs groan, suffocated by my weight.

"I said FREEZE!" And the voice cracks a little.

This ain't no damned cop - I don't care who this idiot thinks he is.

"LoOk, I aIn'T lOoKiN' fOr No TrOuBlE, bUt If YoU dOn'T sToP yElLiNg At Me LiKe ThAt I'm MoRe ThAn WiLlInG tO cHaNgE mY mInD." And I take another step up, hitting the switch on the wall. "TiM?"

There before me stands little Timmy Drake, who's gotta be what, eleven or twelve by now. I gulp back a wad of phlegmn for a second, when I realize he was actually holding a gun the whole time. Shifty's kid is really growing up quickly - it seems like just yesterday he was going to kindergarten for the first time, and I had to put up with the long, boring story Shifty told me afterwards, about being a proud father and all that jazz. It kinda reminds me of my old man on that one good day a year when he pretended to care about his wife and kid. But that's another movie.

"TiM - lItTlE tImMy DrAkE, i HaVeN't SeEn YoU iN fOrEvEr. HoW'rE yOu DoInG, mY bOy?"

He doesn't move the gun at all. I guess I shouldn't push him. It's his turf, after all - and what kind of guest bosses his hosts around the second he walks through the back door uninvited?

"Get out of my house, Puke-Face," the quivering voice of the prepubescent child states as firmly as possible.

"HeH, yOu HaVe MoXy, I'lL gIvE yOu ThAt." I step up onto the top step and ruffle up his hair; he swats at my hand with his free hand and groans in disgust. "So WhErE's YeR oLd MaN? i NeEd To TaLk To HiM aNd MaKe SoMe ArRaNgEmEnTs."

"He's not here, now go."

A door upstairs opens. And then, "Timmy! What's all that racket down there?" Shifty's voice rings through the apartment like a shot.

"GoTtA wOrK oN tHoSe WhItE lIeS, kId. LaTeR." I raise my voice. "StEvE, iT's Me, wE nEeD tO tAlK!" Pushing my way past Timmy, I waltz into the house and head directly upstairs towards where I remember Shifty Drake's room to be.

As I move, I can quietly hear the kid cursing my presence behind me.

[The Guitar Slayer]

OOC: Heee heee heee. My muse came back and smacked me upside the head.

IC: Batman
Gotham General
11:45 PM

I snap off the gloves and ball them up. I toss them into a biohazard bag and put the last of my synthesized antidote into the hospital fridge. I've left complete instructions for the lab techs here. I put them through school a few years back, so I know what kind of education they've received.

The hospital staff has left me to my own devices since I came in. They had expected my arrival a bit later but were relieved by my invasion of their laboratory. I called Leslie Thompkins around 10:50 to find out how the slums were doing; it's difficult to get adequate care out there. Not many of her people had been infected due to lack of contact with the executives. However, I am haunted by that little girl...the one with red hair...I told her to collect a portion of the antidote supply from Gotham General if and when the time came.

Unfortunately, she called me back within 15 minutes. Both General and Memorial Hospitals were filled to maximum capacity and now they were horning in on any sort of medical facility, from radiology center to a shoddy clinic. She had patients coming out her ears within two minutes of our original hanging up. Well, now transportation wasn't a problem; they were giving it to her by the case.

The staff gives me a wide berth as I exit the hospital. There's no rush to thank me. There's a rush to give me the hallway to myself. Is that out of respect or fear? Doesn't matter now, does it.

The comm device in the Batmobile is beeping its pointed little head off. Alfred's voice crackles through the static as I hit the switch. "Batman, do you read?"

"Yes. Go on."

"I was beginning to grow concerned. You had missed your two previous contact intervals." I wince; I had broken one of my own protocols that I had harrassed Robin about constantly.

"Sorry. What do you have on Two-Face?"

"I'll channel it through to the car, sir." I hear a click as Alfred switches the video over to what SHINE is picking up. The creature of the night had scuttled down to the docks. Upon closer examination, this was Steven "Shifty" Drake's place. He was one of Two-Face's part-time boys that never did any real harm, despite what he was lead to believe. He's typical slime, but he is also a part-time informant, pending on who has more money at the time. The only reason I bother keeping tabs on him is his son, Timothy. I hate to admit it, but I do have a concern for child with one or fewer parents. It's unclear what happened to the boy's mother. She disappeared five-and-a-half years ago after trying leave Drake. I doubt he had enough of a backbone to actually do something, but the boy had been found at the bus station, alone, saying his mother told him she'd be right back.

I continue to watch the SHINE's view. "I'm not seeing anything, Alfred," I say as I start up the car.

"I was simply telling you where SHINE is. Here is the live camera, sir."

SHINE's images waver and refocus in Drake's basement. I see a pair of white and black feet tread up the stairs....judging from the ajar furnace, that was his entrance point.

I see you, Harvey.

I watch him as he confronts the boy. I have my heart in my throat as the boy points the gun at him, but I ease up as Big Bad Harv is in a good mood...not to mention the gun isn't loaded. He heads up the stairs as the boy mutters some choice words about his houseguest. I continue to listen in on the conversation between the two men....

OOC: Take it, Tim.

[TimTwoFace]

OOC: Hey, it's moving! It's moving!

IC: Two-Face
June 22nd
12:07am

"StEvE, iT's Me, wE nEeD tO tAlK!" Pushing my way past Timmy, I waltz into the house and head directly upstairs towards where I remember Shifty Drake's room to be.

As I move, I can quietly hear the kid cursing my presence behind me.

Steve shifts out from his room, tugging at his collar and aimlessly clenching his fists. My dropping by seems to have caught him off guard; he seems more tense than usual.

"Harvey, where did you come from? Last I heard you were still locked up in the squirrel far." He edges towards the ricketty wooden banister on the second floor landing.

"YeAh, FuNnY tHiNg, ThAt. I aLwAyS kNeW tHaT mAdHoUsE hAd A rEvOlViNg DoOr." As I reach the landing, Steve extends his hand in my direction; I grunt at him and enter his bedroom. "We NeEd To TaLk. AlOnE." Out of the corner of my left eye, I can see Timmy eavesdropping from the bottom of the stairacse. Steve follows me into his bedroom and shuts the door ever so daintily.

"AlRiGhT, i HaTe To AdMiT iT, bUt YoU'rE aBoUt ThE oNlY oNe ThAt CaN hElP mE rIgHt NoW. i NeEd A cHaNgE oF cLoThEs, a GuN, a NeW cOiN, sOmE cAsH, a PlAcE tO rEsT mY hEaD fOr ThE nIgHt. SoUnD gOoD?"

"Uh, sure," Steve says, entering his closet. "I don't have any of your two-toned suits but this will do." He tosses me a t-shirt and jeans. I stare at the cheap material in my hands and return an icy glare; I don't do casual. I need to look classy. "Hey look, Harvey, this is all I've got since the wife disappeared years back. Took everything. You know that." That idea makes me warm inside - but Shifty has no idea why. Five and a half years or so. And as for those clothes, they're still better than this flimsy cotton crap Arkham provides for us. "Why don't you, uh, you know, go to Lamont's place, I'm sure she'd help."

I could hear his voice shaking. He knew he shouldn't have said that. "DoN't YoU eVeR mEnTiOn HeR, yOu SlImE." I push him into the clothes rack, knocking a good portion of shirts and socks into a heap on the floor. The idiot probably still doesn't realize she's in the hospital - and it's none of his damned business, anyway.

"Well Harvey, things are tight enough around here, the cops have been coming down hard on everyone 'round here lately, it's not safe for you here."

"JuSt GiVe Me A gUn AnD i'Ll Be FiNe." I cast an cautionary eye out his window. For being in the cruddy part of town, the view isn't so bad. The waterfront, some empty factories, skid row, and...whoa, what's that thing twinkling at me? "HeY, wHaT's ThAt?"

"What's what?"

My jaw drops. It's all adding up. "YoU sEt Me Up. YoU aNd ThAt DaMnEd KiD oF yOuRs SeT mE uP. yOu'Re WeArInG a WiRe, ArEn'T yOu?"

"What, are you crazy?"

"LiKe A fOx." I slam my fist down on the windowsil. "YoU'vE gOt A fUlL sWaT tEaM oUt ThErE wAiTiNg FoR mE, aS sOoN aS yOu GiVe ThE wOrD." I overturn his nightstand and empty the drawers, looking for the bug.

"Harvey, calm down, you're just paranoid cuz you're fresh on the run again, I swear to you that -"

Throwing the pillows across the room, and then overturning the bed mattress, I continue my search, until I find a little plastic disc between the mattress and the box spring. "YoU aLwAyS wErE a TeRrIbLe *******eD lIaR." I press it between my finger and thumb and it snaps in half. "WhAt ElSe Do YoU hAvE iN hErE?"

Steve starts to back away, raising his hands. "Jesus, are you on crack? That wasn't a bug, there's absolutely nothing here, the cops aren't here, and it'll stay that way if you don't shut the hell up!"

I lunge at Shifty and tear his buttoned shirt open. There's no wire there, none that I can see. But I know it's there, somewhere. "WhErE iS iT!?" I throw him against the wall and punch him in the mouth. "If YoU dOn'T fEsS uP, yOuR dAmNeD kId Is MeAt. WhErE - iS - iT!?" Skin is shred and blood is shed, curses are hollered as I tear at his collar, searching for the bugging device that I need to see with my own two eyes.

See how deliriously passionate I get when I don't have my coin around?

[Bleu Unicorn]

It's a little scary that it's been months since I left this rpg and not even two full pages have passed. Well, anyhoo, now that my life has calmed down (and I have Internet access again) it's possible for me to take up Harley again - if you all want that, of course. I talked it over with the mods and they were...well I don't know if I can repeat what they said in mixed company. In fact, to be honest it was awhile ago and all I really remember was lots of shouting and other some such carrying on. But I think the verdict was that I could take up the character again. :D

Oh, and before I forget, I'm supposed to "light some fires". So, uh...*gives all the dead players hot feet* (That is what they're called, right?)

'Kay..on with the posting!

Cheers!

[TimTwoFace]

OOC: Yay! Bleu Harley is back! *SQUEEZE* :)

-Tim

[Barb Gordon]

OOC: *hugs* glad to have you back Bleu. I'm hoping to come back as well now that my life is slowly gluing itself back together. Spent the last half an hour catching up on where I left off. Shame we lost BB and Blackheart, they were pretty prominent people. Suppose I'll just take care of Batgirl and Robin for the time being, since we're in so many posts together, hehe. Hope to post something up later tonight.

~Barb

[Mattashell]

Jervis Tetch, Griffen Street Plaza, three months ago 8:30 am

"Alice opened the door and found that it led into a small passage, not much larger than a rat-hole: she knelt down and looked along the passage into the loveliest garden you ever saw. How she longed to get out of that dark hall, and wander about among those beds of bright flowers and those cool fountains, but she could not even get her head through the doorway; 'and even if my head would go through,' thought poor Alice, 'it would be of very little use without my shoulders. Oh, how I wish I could shut up like a telescope! I think I could, if I only knew how to begin.' For, you see, so many out-of-the-way things had happened lately that Alice had begun to think that very few things indeed were really impossible."

Nobody knows the truth behind the bank job I pulled a month ago. I was able to reimburse Mr. Wayne, and pay my rent and move into a condo in much nicer neighborhood. I have plenty left over to live off now, but not indefinitely, and with my court order against using electronics, I'm going to have to find another trade. Unless I want to work outside the law.

I take a break from unpacking boxes in my new home and ponder this. If only life were but a dream, a storybook with no real consequenses, no responsibilities. I gaze out my window, a lovely little house stands across the street. With a beautiful little garden in front. I think of it as a storybook house, perhaps a family lives there, with children. Perhaps discovering thier favorite sorries of childhood right now as I sit here.

As I watch, a man comes out the front. He looks familiar. I've seen him before. He takes to steps out the door, when it opens again. It's his wife, he left without his briefcase and she's bringing it to him. She's so young...so beautiful...so blonde. And as wince to see him kiss her on the mouth before going on his way, I realise I've made a huge mistake.

Without realizing it, I've moved across the street from the woman I'm not allowed within five hundred feet of. Allice Pleasance, now Alice Dodgeson.

9:00 am

Here I stand on Main Street, Gotham. Why have I done, this. I have to let it go, I can't be stalking people. After all, I'm a civilized man. What am I doing following a stranger halfway to work, just because he's married a girl I once was infatuated with. Alice was my receptionist, a secretary, nothing more. She never saw me the way I saw her, and I need to come to terms with that. This..this..Billy, for all I know he treats her like a Queen. He may be the best husband in the world, yet I villainize him in my head. I assume he's beastly toward her, simply because I'm jealous. Look at my, an aging cartoon of a man with my rabbit-like front teeth, bulbose nose, and protruding chin, how could I have thought she'd see me as more than a funny old man.

I turn to go back and see that the shopfront I've been standing in front of is empty. A sign in the window states that the space is for rent, and provides a number for interested parties to call. It gives me an idea. I do have ONE skill to fall back on, the trade that put me through college. I right down the number and cross the street to a pay phone. It's time I went into business for myself. Legitimately...

[Lil' Joker]

Can I be my own charactor? And can someone fill me in on whats been hapening?

Charactor Name: Dr. James Phlex

Height:6' 2"
Wight:167 lbs.
Eyes:Black
Hair:Jet Black
Age:Around 137
Abbilities: Can see the future and change the past (with the help of a helmet drilled into his head),can fly.

[Mattashell]

While custom characters are allowed, first you need to read General RPG Rules (ALL READ) (http://forums.toonzone.net/showthread.php?t=38370) and then If You Want to join an RPG (And Who to Contact) (http://forums.toonzone.net/showthread.php?t=39295). Contact the apropriate mod to request to join a game in progress.

[The Guitar Slayer]

IC: 12:07 AM

Harvey's head suddenly swivels toward the window. I try to back SHINE out, but its mechanized legs aren't fast enough.

"Hey, what's that?" I kill the motorized power on SHINE and let it drop into a full garbage can below. Its camera is still tilted upward toward the window. I wait silently in my car, as if he could hear me from where he was.

"What's what?" Shifty looks up from what he was doing and stares at his boss.

Harvey is already seething with anger, and thus Two-Face makes his appearance. He whirls around and starts glaring at Drake. "YoU sEt Me Up. YoU aNd ThAt DaMnEd KiD oF yOuRs SeT mE uP. yOu'Re WeArInG a WiRe, ArEn'T yOu?" Harvey grips the windowsill tightly and I can see him trying to fight him counterpart back.

"What, are you crazy?"

Bad choice of words, Drake. Bad choice of words.

"LiKe A fOx." Two-Face slams his fist into the windowsill, leaving a sizeable dent. I restart SHINE, and it rapidly shinies up the drainpipe and begins to film the scene again. Two-Face begins to stalk Drake, who immediately begins backpedalling toward the door of the bedroom. "YoU'vE gOt A fUlL sWaT tEaM oUt ThErE wAiTiNg FoR mE, aS sOoN aS yOu GiVe ThE wOrD," he leers at him as he begins to destroy furniture randomly, desperately searching for a piece of electronics. A few small guns fall out of broken furniture, but he's too occupied to notice even as he steps on them.

"Harvey, calm down, you're just paranoid cuz you're fresh on the run again, I swear to you that -" Drake is cut off as one of his pillows is thrown into his face and the rest of the sentence is muffled. Two-Face has managed to break the bedframe into several pieces. The mattress and the box spring rest on top of the floor. He finally flings the mattress aside. I lean forward as he finds something....

It's a Pog. A circular disc collected by kids; a modernized version of tiddly-winks with images imprinted on them; highly collectible; it was popular recently....

"YoU aLwAyS wErE a TeRrIbLe *******eD lIaR." Two-Face snaps it into pieces and charges toward Drake. "WhAt ElSe Do YoU hAvE iN hErE?"

Drake leans up against the door with his hands extended; he's unarmed. "Jesus, are you on crack? That wasn't a bug, there's absolutely nothing here, the cops aren't here, and it'll stay that way if you don't shut the hell up!"

Two-Face rips open Drake's shirt, and when he fails to find the wire, he throws a punch into Drake's jaw. I hear bones popping from SHINE's microphone. "WhErE iS iT!? If YoU dOn'T fEsS uP, yOuR dAmNeD kId Is MeAt. WhErE - iS - iT!?" He's hysterical now as Steve Drake receives a vicious beating. I can already see him swelling up, and now there's a blue tinge to him; Two-Face has a vice-like grip around his neck.

SHINE's microphone picks up a sudden cry from downstairs. "Dad!? DAD!" Timothy. I hear little feet run up the stairs. Pretty soon, he'll be banging on the door that Steve's dying on....

The car screeches to a halt in front of Drake's place. I hope I'm fast enough. I have to be fast enough. I get out the car and run to the back of the building. Can't fail....

"Dad!" The door's popped open from what I can tell, and Tim's found the scene.

"ThE lItTle rAt" I hear him laugh.

"You puke-faced bastard!" Timothy's got quite a mouth on him already. I suddenly hear Two-Face yowl in pain. I don't know what Tim did to him, but it apparently hurt. I shoot up a line and begin to ascend...

I hear a gun click a round into place. One must have been loaded.... I hear Drake gurgle something to Tim, who has gasped and hasn't moved from what I can tell......I reach down into my belt and flick out a Batarang as I swing back from the building...

As my feet kick in the window, sending glass flying throughout the room, I see Two-Face's finger tense up on the trigger. Drake's on his side on the floor, blood seeping out of his mouth. And Tim....

That isn't Tim.

I've seen enough pictures to tell who that is. His encounter with a gunman, who hadn't the heart to shoot him but had robbed him of his parents, marked him forever.

That's me, frightened at the door and unable to do a thing. And insane men don't have hearts to "pity" children. I whip the Batarang at Two-Face's wrist.

It connects just as he pulls the trigger. My eyes follow the bullet as my body sails into the opposite wall of the room. I bounced off the wall and land in a crouch, cape flowing around me. I look up just in time to see Tim hit the floor.

Fail.

Again.

With a dull roar, I throw myself at the perpetrator. The gun falls to the ground as I nearly break his wrists with an iron grip of my own. I slam him into the wall by the window and hammer my fist onto the top of his head. He goes down, completely unconscious. Thrashing the hell out of Drake must have tired him.

I stand over his body, not daring to turn around. I didn't want to see it. Never ever want to see it. Can't see it. Won't see it. Never happened...."but oh, it did happen again, young Master Bruce," chimes in the evil side of my conscience. "And just like last time you...

"Dad?" I jump slightly and turn my head to see Tim poking at his father. I squint to see out into the stairwell. One bullet hole scars the rotting molding near the ceiling. He'd gone down as a reflex to the noise...I walk quitely to stand at the feet of Steve Drake. From the rate of his heaving chest, he was alive, but in distress; his sinuses must have been mangled. I crouch down on the floor besides Tim and prop his father into a sitting position. I lean him forward slightly to allow the blood to fall freely from his face. I check out the rest of him, but other than a mashed in face, he's fine. I run my eyes over the boy to make sure he's in one piece and to ensure that I hadn't....

Strange. He isn't cowering. He's curious. I rarely find people that are not scared to death of the Mantle of the Bat. Those who aren't are usually insane or another disguised maniac. "Are you injured?"

He shakes his head no. I cast a glance at the window when I hear something splash in the water. He's gone now. Must have pitched himself out quietly while I was examining Drake. I pick up Shifty's lithe form and carry him down the stairs silently. "Where are you going with my dad?" Tim's trailing after me.

"You know Leslie Thompkins's clinic?"

"I know we're not allowed there after the last time Two-Face had a shoot-out two alleys down from it." He crosses his arms in front of him and glares down the steps at me. I detect an attitude problem.

"She's making an exception in this case." I heft Drake over one shoulder and look at his son.

"Just for you?"

"Wouldn't you?" He couldn't argue with that logic. He follows me all the way out to the car and watches me carefully as I lower his father in. Please don't let him ask....

"Can I come with you?" Just what I need. A backseat driver that can't even reach the pedals.

I answer him, "There's a certain chemical going around that's transmitted by touch. I don't want you there."

As I begin to walk around to the driver's side, he latches onto my cape. Insistent, isn't he. I try to keep going, but he sits down suddenly on the ground, not allowing me to take another step. "Then why the **** are you taking my dad there?"

"Watch your mouth," I admonish him. He glares at me even more. Now I sound like Alfred. "That's the only place that's not overloaded yet with injured or sick people."

"Why don't you take him where you go to get fixed up?" Shifty Drake in the Batcave? Yeah, right, kid.

I cast a disapproving look down at Tim, and after a moment, he lets go of the cape and stands up, dusting himself off. I get into the care and am about to rev up the engine when he appears beside the door. "Thanks." He says it quietly, embarrassed maybe, and definitely heartfelt. I nod to him and he steps away from the car. I close the top and drive with utmost care down the abandoned streets and littered alleys toward Leslie's.

I turn on Alfred's voice distorter. "Yes, sir?"

"Keep SHINE posted at Drake's place. And notify me if Timothy gets any trouble."

"And what of Two-Face?"

I grit my teeth. I hate my humanity sometimes, especially when its directed toward sludge like Drake. "Let him run for now. Can't get far with a concussion." I turn the radio off and let a migraine headache overtake my system.

OC: Tada!

[AndreaBeaumont]

(OOC: Hey guys! Well the other night I read from start to finish the first RPG. It took me 2 hours! I realized how much I missed it. And seeing as I was born passionless for any characters but Batman, Joker, Andy, and Ang I figured what could I hurt by throwing Ang back into the fray temporarily. I promise not to step on plot lines. Cross my heart. ~Em Damn, so what month is it? Only like 2 days have gone by since I quit and that was like a year ago. June 22nd is the last date I see.)

"Stir Crazy.."
7:00 p.m.

I run my fingers over the smooth top of the desk in my room. I sigh and slip off my shoes. The maroon carpet is plush under my feet and I begin to relax. I hate school already. I throw myself down on the sorry excuse for a bed and look around the room. It seems so empty. I feel so alone, though at the same time glad that I don't share my room. I roll out of bed and look out the small window. I can see the city outside glowing in the distance. It's so quiet here in the boarding school on this hill. I can almost feel the swell of noise and activity that must be taking place just miles away. I miss the night air on my face as I stand on rooftops. The electricity of humanity buzzing around me.

"Mum, I'm not going to last long here."

(OOC: SUPER CRAPPY POST but it's 3:30 in the morning and I'm tired and I PROMISE better tomorrow. Plus I'm out of practice.)

[Kylewayne]

Catwoman/Selina Kyle

He raised an eyebrow at me under his shades. "Who?"

"Him!" I grinned, pointing harder.

He looked down and saw I was pointing at the pair of eyes under his duster.

"Shhh, I don't want anyone to know I snuck him in," he said smiling at me, then turned to the bar tender. "I'd like a shot of scotch straight up and a decaf tea."

"So, what's his name?" I said smiling.

He turned back around to face me. "He doesn't have one yet... I just found him outside. You might say, he adopted me," he said smiling.

"How about Dark Knight? It seems to have a liking for men cos-playing at night," *wink*

"Actually...that isn’t bad."

"Hmmm..." I leaned over, peering more closely at the two. The cat nuzzled closer against him, sitting on his leg and leaning against his stomach under his duster. "Can I hold him?" I say holding my arms out to Dark Knight

"Awwwww... he's adorable! Such a beautiful Kitty!, and he really seems to like you... Its remarkable how close he is to you after only just meeting you. You know.... I think he sees something special in you. Cats are very intuitive." *Catish grins*

Stranger thinking :
This woman began to interest me. I glanced her a little more closely, admiring her green eyes, then noticed her long beautiful hair and that sexy smile. And that body... incredible. I smiled at her, "Oh, and what would that be?"

I leaned on the bar with my arm so I could face him, flashing that sexy smile. "I dunno, how bout you tell me?" I grinned back.

He just looked at me in silent thought, until I added, "A man of few words.... I like a mystery."

"I believe we haven’t been formaly introduced. I’m Chase and my new found friend you have baptized already. We are both pleased to make your acquaintance. "

"Selina Kyle and the pleasure is all mine." I smile and lean into him sipping my drink.

[AndreaBeaumont]

Going Home...
12:28 a.m.

It's so cold outside tonight. I can almost see my breath.

I hate England.

I slide down my makeshift rope of bed linens. A sense of deja vu comes over me. I hit the cold turf with a soft thud. I stop and tense and then laugh inwardly at myself. As if anyone heard that! It's just so quiet here. My breathing even sounds deafening. I pad quietly past sculpted bushes to the courtyard wall. I take a minute to stare at it's massive span. The entire thing made out of white limestone. I quickly realize how sorely I must stick out with the moon reflecting on it as brighty as it is. I toss my black knapsack over the wall and hold my breath.................

thud.

I unwrap the long rope I have slung over my shoulder with a makeshift grapple on the end. The grapple provided by a ornate, hooked, rod iron, candlestick sconce from the hallway outside my room. I coil the slack on the ground neatly and take the grapple in my left hand and let it drop to the ground.

Swing, swing, swing....

"One, two, three..."

CLANK!

I give it a quick tug. It's secure. I breathe a quick sigh and begin the task of making my way up the slick wall. I reach the top take hold of the metal points that line the top of it. I somersault over and land on a crouched position on the other side.

"Well that was easy..."

I spin as I hear quick footsteps approach the wall on the other side. I freeze.

"Maria! Maria! Someone's kidnapped her! They've gone over the wall!"

I hear Susan my floor director yelling frantically as she runs back towards the school. I wince as I grab my bag at my feet and take off down the hill through the woods.

"Dad's going to hear about this...I hope he doesn't worry too much. I'll see him soon enough."

Every step I take bringing me closer to reality. To home...

(OOC: YAY I'M BACK!)

[TimTwoFace]

IC: Two-Face...I think
12:37am...I think

The pain is killing me. I feel like hurling. I don't even know what the hell happened. Yeah, I remember the Bat was there, he likely clocked me somehow, as he always does - Drake's hopefully dead, and here I am down in some dingy alley. This doesn't feel good at all.

What the hell was that thing Bats was watching me with, anyway? Some metal monstrosity or something. Considering my state of mind I don't even know if it truly did exist, but man - he's always got something new up his sleeve to make my life a living hell. He and James Bond must share notes.

I need to do something about my head. It's in pain. A concussion, maybe - I've had my share in the past, I oughta know what these feel like. Can't go to a hospital, of course. Thorne's got that brother that does operations under the table - hush hush - but even I've got more dignity than going to a Thorne for help. Maybe that free clinic on Crime Alley could work - apparently the broad that runs the place is a friend of Bruce. He's always been there for me.

OOC: I'll be sure to get a post on Lock-Up's whereabouts ASAP - that, and Emmy and I's idea should start sprouting up sometime soon. :D

-Tim

[TimTwoFace]

IC: Lock-Up
12:40am

He's out there, somewhere. He and so many others like him.

Where are you, Professor Crane? Your handiwork is all over this town. Citizens are running like insane idiots left, right, and centre. You're a smart one, I'll give you that - but ego-centric psychos like you always like to inspect their insidious plots unfold.

Undoubtedly the Bat will be on my tail, too. Pity we couldn't have put our differences aside and worked together to clean up this city. Now he's just an impediment like everyone else, and needs to be dealt with. After he deals with Harvey, I'm sure he's heading my way.

And in the meantime, I set my trap. This will be Crane's final lock-down, I guarantee it.

[AceOfKnaves]

OOC: I know, I know, long time no post, but I'm gonna pick up the storyline I left off. ^_^


IC: Renee Montoya

12:40am


Sneaking by everyone wasn't too difficult, the ones that did ask believing whatever lie I could come up with. But now I'm here, outside of her door...and I don't know if I can go through it.

What I want she almost guaranteed won't give to me. At least...not without something in exchange. Something that I can't and won't deliver to her.
Her freedom.

Taking a deep breath, I twist the handle of the security gate that leads into the main cell block, her room being the first one on the left around the last corner. I jump a bit as I come face to face with her, a sleek smile lingering on her pale lips.
"To what do I owe this pleasure, Detective?"

I swallow deeply, the low ache in my shoulder now escalated to a rhythmic thudding in response to my frightened jerk. Nothing like showing a psycho that you're vulnerable.
"I'm not going to play any games with you, Pamela. I need you to do something for me."

She raises an eyebrow at me.
"What is it that I receive in return if I do decide to do whatever it is you're asking for?"

I sigh, knowing this was coming and still not ready with something to say. I'm silent for a minute or two, not making direct eye contact with her,
"I'm not sure if you'd want anything I could give you. I don't have much money, I don't have the authority to set you free and I wouldn't if I did."

She shrugs lightly, turning around and leaning on the glass with a quiet thump.
"What is it that you want, Montoya?"

She doesn't really want to know, does she?
"I'm sure you know about Harvey Dent's escape." She noticeably becomes interested, "He took the life of my 24 year old partner."

Her hand gestures towards my shoulder,
"And that?"

I pull my jacket up over the red stained gauze,
"Another gift from Two-Face...that's actually why I'm here."

A smile breaks on her face,
"You want me to make sure he pays for what he's done?"

I shake my head,
"No, he's mine to deal with, but I can't do it with this hole in my shoulder." I pause, something inside of me briefly going against what I'm about to ask. But as quickly as it came, it's gone. "I need you to heal what he did, help me make sure he's brought to justice." I don't mention Jonathan Crane or what he'd done to my brother, figuring Harvey would be enough to peek her interest.

Her head tilts to the side,
"Let me take a closer look at your wound, Detective."

I don't move for a second,
"Why?"

Her face grows slightly annoyed,
"I can't fix what I can't assess." As I pull down the cloth covering the bullet wound, she shakes her head and curls her finger repeatedly towards her. "In here."

"I'm crazy for asking this, Pamela, but I'm not stupid."
I feel small movement ruffling my hair, but I brush it off as a bug or a vent blowing air.

She laughs gently,
"I wasn't asking, Officer Montoya." I jerk my hand up to my head, a small pang of horror coursing through me. "You've got a piece of a vine in your hair..."

Panic ensues, the realization that I must've torn a piece of my parent's plant ladder off while I was climbing up to save Benny, sinking in. I try vainly to tear the plant from my head as it grows, the vines curling down my arms and over my hands.
"What're you doing? STOP!"

My hand is forced against the pad for the door, the air lock releasing as it pulls itself open.
"You should know by now, Renee, no one can resist me. Not even you."

[The Guitar Slayer]

12:45 AM

Drake will live. No permanent damage either. I glide along the streets in silence. Putting the car on auto, I reach up to rub my eyes. Too much in one night. Way too much.

First, the Scarecrow's serum affects not only the first person in contact with it, but also anyone who does get near it. I have a near mutiny on my hands at the office and then have to make an impromptu scientific breakthrough to keep it in check. I have to deal with a raving victim who's too incoherent at this point to tell us what Scarecrow did to her. Dick accidentally torpedoes my date with Selina and takes a few thousand dollars out to buy Barbara something shiny (and let's not forget that Batman knocked out Catwoman last time, so I'm truly in the doghouse now). Then, Lock Up, Two Face, the Joker, and Harley blew their way out of Arkham, one way or another, killing two good people. I have to deal with Montoya nearly getting herself killed twice in one night. I have to save Shifty Drake for the sake of his kid.

Life is just one damn thing after another. I think Wilde said that. I don't think that there can be....

The radio beeps at me, begging for attention. I punch the button with my index finger and listen to Alfed. "Sir, I have received a phone call from my relatives regarding Angela."

Oh no....

"It appears that she was kidnapped...."

I jinxed it.

"However, I am inclined to believe that she simply escaped from her boarding school."

"What led you to conclude that?"

"She's your daughter."

"Point, set, and match, Alfred. When did she break out?"

"Approximately twenty minutes ago."

"What's the drive time to Heathrow from the school?"

"Not much, sir. Knowing you, she is likely already in flight."

"Fine. Run the passenger list and look for a fake name that she could use. While you're at it, close off her debit account so she's stranded at the airport until you can collect her."

"Me, sir?"

"Yes, you. I know what you're going to say, but..."

The radio goes dead. Alfred didn't like that answer. Add one more thing to the to-do list.

[AndreaBeaumont]

"Homecoming.."
3:17 a.m.

I look out the window to my right as we make our final approach to Gotham International. I see the city glowing below, teaming and thriving even at 3 a.m. I sigh and then wonder why? I suppose a sigh of relief.

I smirk to myself as I wonder how many crimes at being commited at this very minute below me. My thoughts wander to dad. He's going to be angry with me...but surely he has to understand...I just couldn't stay there... I've never been so nervous coming, well, home. I suppose I'm more nervous because I don't really know what to expect from Bruce. He's only been my dad, for what? A month now? I miss mum so much. She'd understand. She knew I was never did well away from my family...well her. Considering she was my only family for sixteen years of my life. She couldn't even send me to summer camp. Though I think she was more happy than I was when I finally managed to come up with some seemingly legitimate excuse to come home.

The city blurs in front of me and I realize my eyes are welling up. I bite my bottom lip and chase thoughts of Mum out of my mind until I can compose myself. Just as I manage to get control of my emotions enough to go back to idle thoughts the plane's wheels bounce against the runway...once...twice... I force myself to go over my next course of action from here in my mind. The whole flight here I kept thinking of ways to delay my return to the manor...maybe I could just get reaquainted with the city a couple of days on my own before....the plane rolls up and docks at the concourse. Passengers begin standing up and collecting their belongings. I stand up and retrieve my knapsack from the overhead compartment and wait impaitiently for people to file off the plane. I make my way down the ramp to the main concourse slowly debating with myself. Suddenly, a family reuniting catches my eye. I watch a little girl leap into her father's arms as he lifts her into the air and then into his welcoming arms. I smile wanly and glance around at the other couple's and families becoming whole again. A bitter thought crosses my mind but I chase it away. I start to continue on towards where the taxi's will be lined up but I suddenly hear a familiar voice...

"Miss Beaumont.."

I spin around to see Alfred standing not two feet away from me.

"I'm glad to see you're safe and sound and made the trip in one piece. Now, Master Bruce will be expecting us..."

I can imagine the shocked look on my face but Alfred either doesn't seem to notice or....was expecting it.

"But...how?" I manage to stutter out.

"Surely you haven't forgotten who your father is? And we certaintly haven't forgotten whose daughter you are." With that he turns and begins leading me to the car. As I sink into the leather seats of the bentley I'm amazed by how unconciously I followed....I really must be tired...as the city rolls by I slip quietly into dream....I'm home.

[TimTwoFace]

OOC: Hey guys, I have absolutely no clue what's going on with the Scarecrow storyline, and I can't really do anything at any length about Lock-Up's storyline until I have something to go on. Until then...

IC: Lock-Up
3:30am

My place is a wreck. An absolute wreck. You can tell I've been in the slammer for about four years. If I still had my wife on the outside she just may have kept this place neat and tidy in that interim, but she's left forever and a day ago.

The trap has been set. Crane's a smart man, so it'll take a while for him to fall into my clutches. Until then, I wait. I rest. Hell, check out the news, see if there's anything I can do in the meantime.

"...from bad to worse. Not only is the Scarecrow on the loose, but only hours ago another breakout from Arkham Asylum has been orchestrated. Escapees still not accounted for are Two-Face, the Joker, Harley Quinn, and former head of Arkham security, Lyle Botlon." Summer Gleason reported on the late-night Channel 6 news.

"Is the camera off? Geez - what, that's like the third break-out this month. I could see why they fired that Bolton guy to begin with. The department of homeland security probably couldn't even handle that place, I mean -"

I punch the TV, outraged. How dare she mock me. No matter, she'll pay for that, eventually. But for now, I have bigger fish to fry.

You'd think I'd be crazy to spend the night in my old place after a daring break-out, but you're wrong. Whoever stumbles upon this place - Batman, the cops, I don't care - they have to realize sometime that I'm on THEIR SIDE. If they weren't so damned stubborn all of this could be well behind us by now.

Beep, beep, beep, beep...

I hear a faint beeping coming from a console I installed in the walk-in closet when adding a security system to this house. It would appear that someone is rapping upon my window...

[AndreaBeaumont]

"Once there was a way to get back homeward..."
4:00 a.m.

I walk in through the front door of the manor and into the receiving room carrying my bag. Alfred closes the door behind us and silence settles over the manor. It's funny how I expected to feel more comforted than I do by coming home..well here. It's no less cold and distant from home than the school was. When I used to walk into my old house where Mum was there was always light coming through the curtains. Everything was painted white or light blue. We lived right on the ocean. On a warm day the windows were always open. Mum would be reading in her chair by the picture window....

"Now then Miss Angela...you must be tired. Your bed is turned back and there is some water next to your bed..." Alfred says interupting my lament. I tend to do that a lot now. I look over at Alfred and before my question can leave my lips he answers it, "Master Bruce will be home soon."

I smile wanly and head for the staircase. I trudge up the plushly carpeted steps, my hand sliding along the smooth, cherry railing. I reach the top of the steps and make my way down the hall. I see the door on my left ajar and a small table lamps glow coming from within. I push the door open and see the bed turned down just as Alfred had assured me. I push the door open further and smile as I see a glass of water next to bed. I toss my bag down and unzip it. I pull out my dressing gown and change quickly. I slide between the thick covers and let myself sink into the bed. I reach over and click off the light and listen to the darkness settle around me. My eyes start to feel heavy as I recall part of a lullaby my Mum used to sing to me as I drift off to sleep...

"Golden slumbers fill your eyes,
Smiles awake you when you rise,
Sleep pretty darlin' do not cry,
And I will sing a lullaby..

Once there was a way,
To get back homeward...
Once there was a way to get back home,
Sleep pretty darlin' do not cry...
And I will sing a lullaby..."

[TimTwoFace]

IC: Two-Face
About 3am

I've been stumbling through Gotham's streets for hours. Trying to keep my balance. Hiding my face from the light. If my drunken staggering isn't drawing any attention, that beautiful mug of mine sure will.

Crime Alley. I hate this part of town. I hate that I know it all too well. And I hate the fact that I know it so well primarily because of my connection with Shifty Drake, and well, look where that got me tonight. I feel like crap, the Bat's on my ass, and I still don't have a clean change of clothes.

All night I've been trying to find how to get to Leslie Thompkins' free clinic. After the shootout we had in the neighbourhood a while back, it's doubtful even a kind-hearted woman like her would willingly let me in, but I'll take my chances.

Where was it...two blocks east and seven blocks north...or seven blocks east and two blocks north? I see a man drinking out of a paper bag in front of the old, decrepit SRO Hotel and figure he's as good a person as any for directions.

"Hey, where's the free clinic?" I ask, rubbing my head, vainly trying to hide my mottled blue complexion and wavy white hair.

The drunken man is singing himself a surly tune, something about his wife leaving him, dog dying, car being towed...damn I hate country music.

I pry the bottle out of his mouth and hold it away from him; he reaches for it like a baby for its bottle. "That's mine! Giveat back you sonofabaatch!"

"I asked you were the free clinic was, buddy." I clench my teeth. "I need to get there."

"Hell if I know!"

I oughta just crack this over his head. Then I decide to just show my face - maybe that'll scare something out of him. "Last chance, buddy - don't make me do something you'll regret."

The unshaven man staggers to his feet and rambles about, pointing in five or six different directions, never really getting anywhere. I drop the bagged bottle on the ground with a loud smash and stumble off into the darkness. It's gotta be around here somewhere, I remember reading about it in the paper when Dagget was gonna blow up this part of town years ago.

And the man just keeps going on about all that he's lost...like I care. I've lost a helluva lot more than that man ever will.

[The Guitar Slayer]

OOC: Bit of time jump, eh? Alright. I think I'll go off and bail Montoya out and this time STAPLE her to the bed. Selena, you put down 12:40 AM as the last time, but the posts before that were labelled to 1:20 or so.

Being as I don't know who's going tappity tappity on Lock Up's window and I'm waiting for Leslie to drop-kick Two-Face, I stick with the Montoya and Angela storylines.

IC: 2:45 AM

"....we're holding up pretty well here. We're making the stuff as fast as the people are coming in so...." It's the same on all the ambulance channels. It looks like the city will live for another day.

I've been dawdling about getting home. I can put criminals in prison, basketcases in Arkham, and wayward daughters in England, but none of them stay put. It's a constant revolving door. It's my fault. Vigilantism tends to damage the state's case and cause "undue stress" on the perps. I could have become a sort of anti-crime boss, the polar opposite of Rupert Thorne; Lord knows I have the money. However, throwing money at a problem creates more, greedy little problems. As for daughters....

I guess the same applies. That, and I can blame genetics, too.

A bleep interrupts my ponderings. Robin. Finally. "What?"

"Happy to hear you, too, Batman." I can hear him rolling his eyes. "Anyway, guess what?"

"Robin..." I warn him.

"Fine." He sighs and continues. "Montoya's missing again."

I want to bang my head against the steering wheel. This time I'll put HER in the straitjacket and drape the nutcase in a blanket. She's a good cop but stubborn as a mule. "When was the last time anyone saw or heard from her?"

"According to her father, she came home to take care of her brother...he was infected, by the way....and she left at about 1:20 AM. She hasn't been seen since. The only reason her father called was because she was still oozing from her shoulder, and he didn't want her getting infected again."

Hmmmm. Good question, Mr. Montoya. Is a person still susceptible after the initial exposure has been taken care of?

"I met up with Drake's kid. He's good."

"Any sign of the fugitives?"

"Nope. Lock Up's been silent since he ditched Arkham. You were the last one to see Dent."

"Been back to the Cave yet?"

"Ahhhhhh.....no."

"Got company?"

"Uhhhhhhh...."

That was a definite yes. "Just to warn you, there was a special delivery from overseas earlier this evening. I'll deal with it when I get back. Until then, steer clear."

I kill the radio before he can argue. Leave it to him to find Batgirl. Those two are becoming Siamese twins. He better learn that he can't handle one woman in the costume and another out. Hell, I've had enough trouble when they're the same person...and when they've known who you are, too.

At that thought, I turn on the computer and stare at the screen of the regulars that are out on parole.

Cobblepot, Oswald Chester
Kyle, Selina
Isley, Pamela
Nygma, Edward
Wesker, Arnold

Feasible connections?

Cobblepot's busy setting up a night club or something of that nonsense. At least Bruce Wayne can keep an eye on him now. Selina...nix. Pam Isley...she has it in for Harvey. Wesker is just trying to keep his life together, and Nygma's busy doing crosswords and feeding everybody's else's pets.

Suppose I pay a visit to Ms. Poison Ivy....

3:15 AM

I lean my cowled head against the steamed up glass. Can't see a thing due to the rainforest-like climate she keeps in there. Lights are out, though, so she isn't plotting anything at this late hour. I slide down the side of the glass roof and land in a crouch on the grown. I tiptoe over the flowerbeds and almost get into my car.

Almost because I saw a sprig of ivy on the ground.

Pam is meticulous about how her plants are manicured and how their wastes are taken care of. Usually, this would end up in a mulch pile so as to feed her babies later. However, it sits there in the open, out of place. Already, my mind is screaming "Trap! Get in the car!" However, my morbid sense of curiosity is arguing, "What's the worse that can happen? You're Batman. The hero can't bite the dust

Fatal thinking. Unless you're bullet-proof, knife-proof, poison-proof, bomb-proof, acid-proof, rabies-proof, plant-proof, gas-proof, umbrella-proof, fish-proof, fire-proof, ice-proof, robot-proof, electricity-proof, gravity-proof, butler-proof, and spatula-proof...

Still, mortal curiosity outweighs every lick of common sense I have, so I creep over to inspect it. It's lying conveniently near the airlock door of Ivy's greenhouse. It's not one of hers. It seems to be a common one rather than one of the exotic mutants she breeds. I think I've seen it grow on some of the apartment buildings.

Something taps me on the shoulder. I turn my head slowly....

A venus flytrap smiles at me. "Hullo...." I try to back away from it. It seems not to be bothered by me. Mama must be nearby.

Just as I start to spring onto the hood of the Batmobile, a vine snakes around my ankle and flips me on my back. The airlock flies open, and the greenery pulls me in. I hook my arms and legs onto the doorway long enough to get a look inside before I have to take it on.

The plants are waving and moving and rustling their leaves. It's what I now call the suppertime dance, being as they only seem to do this when I'm around and incapacitated. They know dinner when they see it dragged in. However, one large piece of flora doesn't move at all.

At a glance, I think it's the same breed I found outside. It seems to be a topiary of some sort, wrapped around a mold. Pam's redecorating? When it lets out a strained cry, I recant the last assumption. I think I found my vagrant investigator....


5:13 AM

Fifteen.........................

Sixteen.......................

Seventeen................

Made it. I sling a leg over the side of the balcony and shift my load to my left shoulder while I open the sliding door. I'm stooped with the mass of plantlife and person on my back. I drop Montoya off on the bed as gently as I can, but I doubt she can feel anything at this point. As I straighten up, three or four snaps and pops are heard. I hate being old.

I catch a look in the closet mirror as I turn to lock the door behind me. That's the third or fourth cape tonight... I look nothing short of a walking disaster. My tights are laced with holes and thorns. There's a sizeable hole in the side of my Kevlar body armor and a nasty-looking bite from my friend the venus flytrap. Most disturbing of all is the fact that the cowl is shredded in some spots. Not enough to give me away, but I still don't like being...exposed.

I resume tending to Montoya. I think I'll save myself some suffering....

5:21

I cast one last look at my handywork. Montoya is securely tied by the vines to her bed with a little note posted at eye-level. I called her in sick today and requested for someone to check in on her, but under no circumstances should those vines be untied. I have enough to deal with without the good officer.

5:37

"Good eve....morning, Master Bruce." I can hear the disdain in his voice as he appraises the damage to the costume and my time of arrival.

"What's so good about it, Alfred?" I'm in a piss poor mood. I spent more time cleaning up the lady cop than I did seeking out the fugitives. I was off saving plague victims when my daughter decided life across the pond was boring. My sidekick is mooning over a girl in a leftover Halloween costume...and come to think of it, I'll likely have two of those soon enough.

"You're alive and in...relatively good health." He starts prodding my side to see if anything falls out.

"Robin in?"

"Yes, sir. Asleep."

"Didn't bring anyone home with him?"

"Unless she fit in his motorcycle helmet, no."

"And what of Angela?"

"Also asleep. She wanted to see you, but I coaxed her to bed."

She doesn't want to see me. Not when I look like I just got hit by a gardening supplies truck. Alfred moves off to the side of the med table as I shuck the top half of my uniform off. I wince slightly as he disinfects it and removes the last of the debris. I'd been picking at it on the way home. Those cacti are tempermental.

Alfred finishes and quietly cleans up. I roll onto my good side and let my lids lower. Just a few minutes of sleep....

The computer hums...the bats chatter amongst themselves....the cave occasionally drips....running water as Alfred cleans off the tweezers....slight clank as he....












"DDDDDDAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAADDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDD!!!!!" I feel one bloodshot eye fly open as I hear Angela bounce down the stairs.

[AndreaBeaumont]

"Smiles awake you when you rise.."
5:59 a.m.

I reach the bottom of the cave steps with a soft thump. I see Bruce starting to sit up and I wince as I realize I woke him up. I stay where I'm at and smile sheepishly.

"Hi....I didn't realize...you were sleeping..."

I look at him more closely and realize the condition he's in. He's covered in cuts and bruises from head to toe. He's bandaged and weary. I see his bloodshot eyes attempting to focus on me. This probably isn't the best time to try to explain myself and my reasons for "escaping" the school. I sigh outwardly. I walk over carefully and lay him back down on the cot and put a blanket back over him.

"I'll let you go back to sleep...didn't mean to wake you. We'll talk later."

I'm not sure if he understands but I'm sure he realizes he's laying back down because as his head touches the pillow he's out again. I step back and watch him lay there peacefully. I wince as I realize that that won't last for long. I can imagine the earful I'm going to get when he's coherent. I glance over and see Alfred watching me and I think for a moment he knows what I'm thinking as a supportive almost sympathetic smile flits across his face. I turn and make my way back up the cave steps. I make my way into the elaborate living room. I walk to the huge window and part the curtain. It'll be light out soon. I look towards the city and thoughts drift to Mum...

"I should go visit her I think..." I mutter quietly to myself. I turn and bound up the steps. I walk quickly down the hall and into my room, pulling the door closed behind me. I change quickly in a pale blue, filmy, knee length skirt and white blouse. I pull on my long tan dressing coat and slip on shoes. I look around quickly and scrounge up a piece of paper and write a quick note that simply says, "Mum." I walk to the end of the hall and to the top of the steps. Alfred is no where to be found so I glide quietly down the steps and turn the door handle slowly...I turn and look behind me, still no one, before I slip out the door quietly. I might be home before they even notice....

[AceOfKnaves]

OOC: Actually, hon, I didn't need bailing out, but it's okay, I'll work with it. ;)


IC: Ivy

3:15am


The urge to speak to him as he walks carefully through my home is almost unbearable, a light smile lingering on my moistened lips. I know what he wants...

Staying behind my babies, I continue watching him as he frees Renee from her bonds, her body sagging limply in his muscular arms as he carries her out.
She's served her purpose for now, my gift to her will ensure she'll return to me when I need her.

I wait for him to leave, my left hand rythmically sliding over the top of my venus. "You won't have to wait too much longer, my baby."


IC: Renee Montoya

6:00am


One eye opens slowly after the other, a searing pain ripping briefly through my body. I attempt to clutch my shoulder, but quickly find myself to be tied from head to toe. A momentary panic ensues as I begin to think it's Ivy that's trapped me here, but a note above my head makes that fear fade. It eventually melts into anger, the sudden realization of what must've happened sinking in.

For the hundreth time tonight he's come to my rescue, and for the millionth time the police officers of Gotham City have been useless. Normally I defend him, because of all the good he's done for this city...all the healing and help he's given to those that would otherwise not have it...
But this time...this time his interference is unwelcome and highly unwanted. Even if I couldn't have handled Ivy, I'd rather die by the hands of a psycho, then live with the shame that again and again I've needed a masked man to swoop out of the sky and save my life.

I've had enough of it.

I've had enough of him.

The vines around me loosen, allowing me to crawl from them with ease.
I can feel the blood inside of me boil, an odd burning sensation tingling through me as I breath in heavily.

Reaching for my holster, I slide it onto my shoulder, everything on my body freezing as it hits me. My fingers tear at the fabric of my shirt, the bare skin revealing a dark green spot where the bullet wound used to be.

I touch it lightly, wincing a little...what did she do to me?

That same tingling washes throughout my spine.
What did she do? She helped me. She wanted me to stop Harvey and Jonathan because unlike Batman, she understands.

I clutch my gun, the trigger feeling icy cold on my fingertip.
"He won't stand in my way again."


6:05am


People are so easy to manipulate...so easy to control.
Even if Montoya doesn't successfully kill Batman, it'll keep him distracted long enough.

Gotham City won't even know what hit them.

[The Guitar Slayer]

OOC: I teased Bleu last time about it. Now she's getting what she wants...:D :evil:

IC:

Wednesday, June 22, 6:55 AM

I float back up to the surface and join the land of the living again, albeit regretfully. It's been hard lately to get to sleep, between the crime and disease and....

Daughter.

Bad daughter.

Runaway daughter.

Woke-me-up daughter.

I pull my eyes open and roll off the bed. I shuffle to the dressing room and remove the the last shreds of my much-abused uniform. As I peel off the last bit of spandex, I stare at myself in the mirror before I step into the shower.

I'm a mess. A scarred, bruised, stitched pile of human flesh. The only thing that didn't leave a mark on me (other than a mental one) was the vanilla pudding. Starting at the soles of my feet, there are burn marks from times when I experimented with rocket boosters on the boots and nearly burnt my foot off. The toes are gnarled, due to many breaks caused by rough landings.

My legs...I should just shave all the hair off and save Alfred the trouble everytime he has to stitch them up. That late night escapade with the Joker has left me with stitches running up both sides of one. Older scars run across both of them. Some are pink and sunken in, others are pale and raised keloids. I turn around and take a look at my back. I cringe at the sight of it. There's so much scar tissue that I can't tell where it ends and the muscle begins. Not even my hind end has been spared. I guess that should be expected, being as it's the only part of me that's padded and all.

I turn to face forward in the mirror again. My chest and abdomen are ridden with some long scars, but there are a few divots and circular patches of white skin here. I've been touched by bullets far too many times. It always looks worse on people like me. When you're hefty like Bullock, the marks tend to be swallowed up. When you're constantly moving and stretching, they stand out. I turn on the water, wait for it to heat up, and then start soaping myself up.

Ah, damn, that stings. Soap in the new wounds. I poke at the one in my side that Alfred just fixed. I wince. "You sadistic....knock that off." The water runs off the crown of my head (which has had its own share of adventures involving bullets and blades), down my unshaven face, over the bones in my shoulders. Drops trickle down the muscles in my chest and abdomen, running into the ridges and valleys made by urban warfare. From there, it slides over my thighs, calves, ankles, and down the drain.

There are two things I actually take care of. My face, for public appearances... and the other, the reason why I now have to go upstairs.

I towel myself off, throw on a turtleneck and slacks, and take the elevator up. It was easy to discipline Dick because he did simply wrong things. He pulled girls' hair, put things in the teachers' desk, killed the class hamster....Now I have to deal with Angela, whose heart is in the right place but actions were out of the question.

I knock hesitantly on her door. No answer. I hate it when she doesn't answer. It means she's either up to something.....

I fling open the door....or simply not there. I cast a glance at the pillow and see the customary shard of paper. "Mum." Ah.


7:10 AM

As early as it is, I still don shades and a leather jacket. No need to be recognized while collecting Angela. I trudge up the side of the hill that overlooked the cluster of gravestones. It's a morbid family reunion, isn't it.

I see Angela's red hair before I see the rest of her. She's sitting on the ground by the fresh grave, her head slightly bowed. From here, I can almost make out her lips moving. I used to do that when I was younger. I believed they could hear me. Now I know better.

I wait quietly until there's a break in the "conversation" before drawing within hearing distance and announcing my presence. "Angela, we have to talk."

"Hello to you, too," she answers quietly. It's that same quiet tone Andrea used when I was overly brash or impatient. That "cool your heels, young man" type of tone.

"Sorry. How was your flight in?"

"Nice."

Uh....yeah... "Listen, I know it seems mean of me to ship you out like that, but I'm thinking of your best interests." Angela remains focused on Andrea's name written on the headstone. She's not looking up at me even as I cast a shadow over her. "Angela, please look at me."

She does so, and I instantly regret it. She wears the look of an abandoned child ("Which she is," my conscience nags). I sigh. "Ang, this isn't an easy adjustment for you or me. We have to work together on this."

"Doesn't that mean we have to be together to do that?" She stands up to her full height and gives me her mother's defiant look. "I know you want me to be safe, but does an ocean have to equal safety?"

"There are dangers to being me...." I begin to protest.

She cuts me off. "I dealt with them with Mum, you know."

"No, I don't know." Phantasm hadn't popped up in Europe, as far as my sources knew...

"She had to do somethings, like her dad did, to keep me. White collar, like embezzlement, hacking.. Nothing too bad, like Robin Hood...she shared..." She swallows and continues. "She had to go out some nights to break in to do it. I worried if she didn't come home until nine, ten the next morning. I didn't know if she'd been shot or knifed or blown to pieces...or even if she'd just screwed up." Her voice is breaking up, and she's fighting tears. She's trying to be her mother, in control and focused all the time...

Andrea was wrong.

I can't do this.

"Your mum did well for you, regardless of her methods. However, I'm known here, both in and out of my public persona. I can't sacrifice enough to care for you. I'm sorry."

"You're sorry!?" Her tears vanish as her temper rises. "You were able to raise that boy, weren't you?"

"That's because he's my business partner."

"Why can't I be your business partner, too? I'm just as well trained. Like you said, Mum did well for me." She sticks a finger into my chest as she talks. I can tell that if I say otherwise I'll be tracking mud on Andrea's name.

"I will not have you running in the streets...."

"What's the difference between me and him?"

"You're mine!" I fling my arms out at my sides, helpless to do anything more.

"Smile, please."

A flash camera goes off.

Oh, no....

[AndreaBeaumont]

"Graveyards, Reporters, and Coming to Terms..."
June 22nd
6:55 a.m

I sit down slowly on the soft, still wet with dew, turf. I pull my legs underneath me and shiver. I draw my coat tighter and run my fingers over the etching in the gravestone before me...Andrea Beaumont....loving mother....

"Oh Mum...I miss you." I choke out. I compose myself a little, "What am I supposed to do? I'm alone now. Bruce? Yeah sure. He shipped me off as soon as he could. I don't know why I came back here really. I don't think so, Mum. Why couldn't you have put the money where I could get to it. I could just go off to Metropolis like we planned. Yes, I know you thought you'd be here...and even then that he'd take care of me. We'll see Mum...we'll see."

"Angela, we have to talk." I hear Bruce's familiar voice.

"Hello to you, too," I reply back calmly. Here comes the small talk I think slightly bitterly.

"Sorry. How was your flight in?"

"Nice," I reply trying to keep the bitterness from my voice.

"Listen, I know it seems mean of me to ship you out like that, but I'm thinking of your best interests."

He walks up behind me casting his shadow on the headstone.

"Angela, please look at me."

I oblige.

"Ang, this isn't an easy adjustment for you or me. We have to work together on this."

"Doesn't that mean we have to be together to do that? I know you want me to be safe, but does an ocean have to equal safety?" All I hear is an attempt to get rid of me.

"There are dangers to being me...." Bruce tries.

"I dealt with them with Mum, you know." I shoot back glaring at him mildly.

"No, I don't know."

"She had to do some things, like her dad did, to keep me. White collar, like embezzlement, hacking.. Nothing too bad, like Robin Hood...she shared..." I can feel my mouth becoming parched and I have to swallow to keep going, "She had to go out some nights to break in to do it. I worried if she didn't come home until nine, ten the next morning. I didn't know if she'd been shot or knifed or blown to pieces...or even if she'd just screwed up." I feel my eyes begin to well up and I cast my eyes down for a minute trying desperately to compose myself.

"Your mum did well for you, regardless of her methods. However, I'm known here, both in and out of my public persona. I can't sacrifice enough to care for you. I'm sorry."

"You're sorry!?" I roar. "You were able to raise that boy, weren't you?" I feel suddenly childish but I don't care.

"That's because he's my business partner."

"Why can't I be your business partner, too? I'm just as well trained. Like you said, Mum did well for me." I press a finger into his chest. I immediately regret saying that knowing it was just an attempt to prove a point.

"I will not have you running in the streets...."

"What's the difference between me and him?" I look up at him pointedly.

"You're mine!" He flings his arms out to his sides almost helplessly.

"Smile, please." I hear come from the side.

I hear a camera go off and I spin around. I glance at Bruce and see his face pale considerably.

"So tell me Miss, what is your relationship to Mr. Wayne here, multi-millonaire?"

I glance at Bruce and am about to reply when he cuts me off, "Angela you don't have to say anything," He directs towards me and then to the reporter, "We have nothing to say to you."

I look at Bruce slightly mystified. And then I realize he doesn't want it getting into ink that he has a daughter. I fume silently.

"Why don't you let the girl speak for herself, Mr. Wayne? Hmm?" He says slyly and directs his attention to me again. "So how do you know Mr. Wayne, dear?"

I'm too busy glaring at Bruce and fuming to hear his question. Bruce cuts him off again and says something I didn't catch. I've had enough! I start off down the lawn leaving Bruce occupied with the reporter. I glance over my shoulder and see Bruce looking annoyed and torn at the same time. I keep going cursing to myself. I was so stupid to come back here. There's NOTHING here for me anymore....nothing at all...and I just have to come to terms with that.

[Reirden]

Hey all! I'm really happy to tell you that I'm resurrecting the Robin character! I just hope I can fill those boots that Bird Boy left behind...

I'm not extremely experienced in RPG's, but I have done them before. I just hope I don't do something stupid...:sad:

Anyways, I'll be posting IC tomorrow.

Can't wait to be a part of this.:anime:

[Reirden]

OOC: Yay! My first IC post. I'm not sure I have the time right, if I don't someone
tell me.

IC: Robin/Dick Grayson

12:09 a.m.

This night started off great. A nice evening with Barbara, yeah, that's what
I needed. Sometimes being partners with a great detective such as
Bruce can be hard on your social life.

Our evening together started off wonderful. The look on her face when I
gave her that necklace...

Then when we got to the resturaunt...things got worse. I tried to hide it,
but I guess there's just no hiding the fact from your date that your reservation
fell through.

Poor Bruce, he was supposed to have dinner with his old "friend", Selena Kyle, but..
Well Selena left after she thought Bruce was "with" Barbara due to a certain mishap
at a water fountain caused by myself.Haha...Oooh I'm gonna get it for this one.

And to make matters worse, there was a huge Arkham break-out about an hour ago.
As far as I know Two-Face, Lock-up and the Joker are on the loose, with the
possibility of Harley Quinn in hot pursuit.

When I got there, there was nothing but death. Looked like someone got a hold of a
few guns. I've seen bodies like this before, but it still makes me a little
queezy. Renee Montoya was alive, but her partner doesn't appear to be so lucky...

I was almost glad to hear those sirens come around, Now I won't have to do the
dirty work.

Did I mention Batgirl's riding shotgun on my bike? I met up with her at Arkham
and we had to get out of there quickly so we didn't get questioned.

Just what I need.

We're currently chasing down Bruce's tracking signal on the Batmobile. I hope
he got a lead on something.

The wind is blowing on me as I speed through the streets of Gotham,
swerving and whizzing in between
traffic. The wind would be nice if it were'nt so hot.

My mind drifts back to Arkham.

Damn it. Whoever started this escape planned in advance. After this, I hope
they go to a more high security place. I don;t know how many times Bruce Wayne
has pleaded his case to Arkham. He's right. Mass murderes like the Joker and
Dent deserve to be behind 4 inch thick steel doors. Someday we'll win.

Until then... We're here.

Getting closer to the signal, just a few more blocks...

OOC: Expect more later today.

[Reirden]

IC: Robin
12:23 a.m.

I look down on my RADAR and find that Bruce's signal is moving again.
I turn to Batgirl,
"Hang on tight! I'm gonna speed up so we can catch up to him!"

"Catch up to wh- Oh."

I turn the corner just before she finishes her sentence and we both see the
Batmobile take a hard right down the street. I would follow, but I see a kid of
about 12 standing out side an apartment building where Bruce's skid marks started.
I should probably talk to him.

I pull over and get off, followed by Batgirl.

"Hey kid, isn't it a little late for you to be out?"

"Screw off, pal, You ain't my....dad."

The kid realizes who he's talking to and stares at me in astonishment.

"Y-You're Robin."

"Uh...Yeah." I scratch the back of my head.

"Hey, your friend just took my pops to some doctor. Why don't you go catch up?"

I look at this kid closer. He reminds me of someone. Me, at that age. Kinda looks
like me too.

"What's your name kid?"

He stares back at me, thinking if it's okay to tell me.

"Tim. Tim Drake."

Drake? As in Stephen Drake? Oh man...

"Listen, Tim. It's not safe out here tonight. Why don't you go back inside and
get some sleep?" I say in the kindest voice I can muster.

"I can't sleep. Not until I know my dad is safe."

I crouch down to be face to face with him.

"Your dad's gonna be fine. He's with Batman, Right? You know who Batman is.
As long as you're with him, you're safe. Believe me. Okay? Don't worry. Your dad's
gonna be-" I look down. There's no way I can tell him this with out lying."-fine."

I look up at Batgirl and she gives me a slight smile. She knows I'm feeding him
lies. If his dad is "Shifty" Drake, and he's with Bruce, he's on his way to prison.

"Fine," Tim says. "I believe you, Robin."
He runs up the steps to his apartment building and runs inside. He slowly closes
the door, giving us one last look, taking a mental picture.

"Cute kid." Batgirl says as the door clicks shut.

I turn to her.

"What do we do now?"
------------------------
2:42 a.m.(O.O.C. Big time jump eh?:sweat:)

I pull my bike over in an alley after an hour or so of searching for Two-Face after he got
away from Bruce.

I switch on my radio to get the latest from the police. A call from Montoya's
father tells me she's gone off again. What's it take to keep a good cop down?

I try to get Batman's signal and succeed.

"What?" he says in an icy cold voice.

My chest fills with anger.

"Happy to hear you, too, Batman." I look at the radio with anger as if it was him.
"Anyway, guess what?"

"Robin," he growls.

"Fine." I sigh with anger. "Montoya's missing again."

I wait a few seconds before continuing.

"According to her father, she came home to take care of her brother...
he was infected, by the way....and she left at about 1:20 AM.
She hasn't been seen since. The only reason her father called was because she
was still oozing from her shoulder, and he didn't want her getting infected again.

I remember the kid I met earlier.
"I met up with Drake's kid. He's good."

"Any sign of fugitives?" he asks.

"Nope. Lock Up's been silent since he ditched Arkham. You were the last one to
see Dent."

Wish I could've found him, I think. Last thing we need is Joker AND
Two-Face out at the same time.

"Been back to the cave yet?"

"Ahhhhhh.....no."

"Got company?"

I look over at Batgirl.

"Uhhhhhhh..."

Oh man...He doesn't like Batgirl sticking with me as much as me. Maybe more.

"Just to warn you, there was a special delivery from overseas earlier this evening.
I'll deal with it when I get back. Until then, steer clear."

I know what he means.

"Sure thing. Hey I wanted to ask-"

Damn it. He cut off his radio.

I throw the mic only for the cord to spring back and hit me in the shin.

I try to hide my pain but Batgirl still giggles.

"Urrrr," I moan in pain, ".....Get on."
END

OOC: Must....Catch.....Up....

[AndreaBeaumont]

"The Calm Before the Storm..."
June 22nd
7:45 am

I throw open the front door and the dust that Alfred managed to miss swirls in the beam of sunlight cast before me. I close the door and walk over to a plush couch. I throw myself down on it and roll over and stare at the ceiling. I sigh and continue to fume.

"Mum, I'm leaving...there's nothing here for me. Nothing at all, not now and never will be..."

I feel something warm and wet slide down my cheek and I brush it away quickly. I sit up with resolve and look around the dark manor. I smirk as I realize how well the atmosphere fits my mood. I'm restless and I stand up and walk to the entertainment hall and slide inside. I walk over to the piano and sit down on the bench. Instead of opening it up though I rest my arms on it and bury my face in them and sob silently. My quiet sniffles echo throughout the expanse of the large room.

"Mum, I'm so lost...I don't know where home is anymore."

[The Guitar Slayer]

7:04 AM

I watch as Angela trots away, leaving me to tangle with the paparazzi. He's still dancing around and snapping my photo, capturing my shock and anger. His mouth is going a mile a minute. "Are you looking at a younger set now, Mr. Wayne? 'Teenage Tramp Shacks Up With Daddy Warbucks of the Twenty-First Century?'"

I glare at him and he pauses for a second as I loom over him. I want to crush him... "What?" I hiss.

He backs up and is quiet...for a second or two. "Is this a result of a liason abroad, Mr. Wayne? France? Scotland? Is that her natural hair color, or is it dyed? Does her mother hail from the red light district? Mr. Wayne...?"

I want to deny her. I never fathered anybody. I'm innocent. But the truth is written on her face. I jog off with the reporter clamoring after me. However, sitting too long in cars for too many years keeps him in my dust.

You'll get yours, little man, and then some....

7:15

Never leave home without a ski mask.

I'm currently perched in a tree over looking the guy's Pacer. I'm waiting...

Waiting....

Waiting....

Waiting....

Waiting....

Waiting...for him to come back so I can liberate that film. It can't hit the press that she's mine. Her mother will be discovered soon enough. By doing the math, they'll figure out how and when. From there, it'll only take one smart person like Montoya or Barb Gordon to put the pieces together of how Andrea Beaumont and Bruce Wayne were together in the same time as the Phantasm and Batman. How quickly all the threads unravel, leaving me naked and my life undone. And then...what?

I will not go back on my vow. Mother and Father outrank her. I swore to them that I wouldn't stop fighting. Being exposed would prevent that promise from being fulfilled. And then where is Gotham? It's her or the city....her or my parents....her or me....

Can't give up the vow. Save the city. Let the past sins be covered over and drown.

Here he comes now. Cell phone's in the car. I don't want to hurt you, but you better put that camera on the roof.....yeah, just like that.

I swing out of the tree and land on the opposite side of the car. I carefully insert my pocket knife into the tire and draw a long slit through it. As the Pacer tilts toward me, I crawl behind the bumper. He curses once or twice as he sees the flat tire. He doesn't see me as he bends over to inspect it. I reach up and pinch the cluster of nerves behind his neck and ear. Sensory overload. He falls over, as if in sleep. I flip the knife into screwdriver mode and unload the camera. I pull out the film.

Oh, there was a cute shot. Right before we started yelling. And another. Don't we look charming? Every last picture is exposed to light. And thus this meeting at the grave is erased. Never happened.

However, I still have to scold her.

7:45 AM

I had to watch to make sure the reporter didn't have any notes on him so he could call in. Nothing. And he's fine, by the way. The car needs a new tire, but I figure he makes enough money off photos like those to buy quite a few sets of tires.

Where is Angela now? Ah wait. I hear her crying.

She's crying. Over me? Over herself? Over Andrea? Likely the latter. I come off of my slightly psychopathic bent. I do that sometimes. It usually happens when I'm too focused or just too close to a case. That's when I do things I regret, like scare an innocent or hit someone too hard.

I open the door to the living room. She's propped herself up on the piano, head buried in her hands. It's one thing when she's physically injured. I can deal with that. I can't even deal with myself when it's emotional. So on goes the indifference. She looks like she's praying almost. She just may be talking to Andrea, though.

"You're leaving, young lady."

Cold cold cold.

She jolts slightly and looks at me from under red rimmed eyes. "I'm supposed to be here. Isn't this home?"

"Andrea may have intended that, but this just won't work."

"Every thing happens for a reason. That's what I've always believed. There's a reason why I'm here." She turns to me on the piano bench. "I'm not leaving until I figure out why. Mum believed in the two of us..."

It's my turn to cut her off. "Her beliefs were incorrect and illogically based. What do I know about taking care of a child?"

"I'm seventeen. I'll be able to take care of myself soon. But I just want to get to know you." She looks at me hopefully.

No hope here. "I can't afford that. You being here endangers my whole mission. I can't afford that..."

She scoffs. "Can't afford? That's a foreign word to you."

"Not all value is in money, Angela. Both Batman and Bruce Wayne are of value to Gotham's society. Bruce Wayne for his contributions, the Bat for his work on the streets. If the paparazzi are constantly swarming me over an illegitimate child, how good do you think my chances are that they won't dig long and hard just to pry up something else about my life? How good are my chances at getting away from them and becoming the Bat without being suspected? And how good are certain people's chances without me?"

We stare at each other, unmoving. I'm not looking away from her. She does eventually give up, and as her eyes close, more tears pour down her face. "Can't...." She draws in another shaky breath. "They could just forget about it if you own up to it..."

"They'll NEVER forget it if I do that. They'll hound me, night and day. Paternity suits, left and right." I start pacing the room. "I cannot be held down by one thing I did years ago. The press is ruthless and they will hold this over my head until I die." I stare outside the window at Alfred's well-maintained garden. "I cannot be haunted by a mistake I made eighteen years ago."

She gasps. I freeze. "A....mistake....?" Her voice quivers. "Mistake?" It's stronger now. My shoulders rise up against my neck, bracing myself for the wail.

It never comes. Instead, the light voice becomes heavier, darker. "A mistake, Bruce?" No more Dad. The edge in her voice makes me turn to face her.

Angela's not there anymore. Her jaw is set in line, her brow creased, and her lips a brilliant hue. Just like her mother when she got mad. However, there is something more sinister there. Her eyes spark and her lips are pulling back in a combination of a snarl and a leer. Those eyes...they are stormy. She may have the exterior of her mother....

But the depth in the eyes belong the Abyss. The Bat is enraged as it flows through her veins. Oh, she's mine all right.

The voice is mine, too. It's safer when I yell and scream. When I get quiet, it's scary. Angela has the same ability. "I'm not the mistake. The mistake is what you did with my mother. According to my biology tutor, it takes two to do the horizontal mambo and come up with this." She points to herself as she stands.

"Fine. You're not a mistake. You're evidence." My tone is bland. No emotion behind it, no conviction.

"Wrong, again, Bruce." She walks to the side of a table near the bookshelf and watches me. "I'm a witness. I can see and hear and talk about what you've done. Forget that....." Her eyes meet with mine, and neither of us can look away. "I'm the victim."

Too strong for me. No weakness can be revealed to the opponent. "I'm offering you a way out of this. I can arrange for a trust...."

Angela's fist slams down on the table, knocking the lamp off with just the sheer magnitude of the force in her arm. "I DON'T WANT YOUR DAMNED MONEY!"

The second that lamp broke on the floor, Alfred was in there with a broom and a dustpan. However, he's still standing there in silence, not wanting to get in between us and risking getting hit in the crossfire. "My mother set me up for life, Bruce. I don't need your money or your enterprises or you house. I wanted you."

The silence encompasses the room. Nobody says anything, and even the birds that nest outside the library window have gone mute. Alfred sweeps up the lamp. He gently moves Angela as not to cut her with glass shards. He looks at her sympathetically, and I can tell he's pissed at me.

I guess that conversation is over.

I turn around and walk toward the Cave entrance. I have to work. "You said something about paternity suits popping up left and right if word about me got out." I stop and turn my head to the side slightly to hear her better. She plunges on. "Does that mean you've done this to other women? Left them with a child?"

"No. I never knew you existed until a week ago. Less, even."

"But you did love them and leave them."

"I don't mean to. I have a higher calling and a reputation to protect as an idiotic playboy. Otherwise, there would be other scandals concerning me that I would rather not deal with."

She's silent again. Finally, work....

"You bastard."

She didn't.

"You dirty bastard. How can you do that?"

She did. I whirl around and march back into the room. "Don't talk to your father like that," I growl.

Angela laughs. She actually laughs. "Biologically only. We don't seem to have much of an emotional relationship going for us." Her semi-hysterical giggling stops. She takes on Andrea's deadly serious attitude. "You screwed them. And you have no guilt about it because it's all in the name of the great mission."

I open my mouth to yell, but she continues on, getting louder as she goes. "They're all the same to you, aren't they? Just one after the other, in and out of your room. What for? So you can save Gotham and bring honor to your DEAD parents. Yeah, they're DEAD, Bruce. Just like my mother. Just like Andrea Marie Beaumont.

"I probably shouldn't tell you this, since you don't give a fig, but my mother loved you." She swallows, fighting back memories of Andie. "She dated guys once or twice. They never stayed around. She'd look at me, see you, and turn them away. Whenever she cried at night, it was you. Whenever, she dreamed and had a smile on her face, it was you. When she was chased by nightmares, it was you. When she felt like giving up, it was you. When she carried on, it was you. Even though she was dead to you, she loved you."

"Like you said, before, it took two. It was her decision in the end."

She's crying again. No sobs or anything. Her eyes are just leaking. "And she made no difference to you. She was just one more notch in the ol' utility belt, wasn't she? Among all the women you bedded. Another whore in your harem."

Angela shakes her head. "She loved you. She was blind. But you? You weren't sharing the illusion."

I'm crumbling. Too much. I can't stand anymore. "I loved Andrea, but I couldn't after her days as the Phantasm."

"Liar. You never loved her!" She might as well have hit me. I'm reeling now. She continues the onslaught. "She would have given up everything for you if you just took her back. But nooooooooo. Mr. Justice had to be on his high horse and not come down to the little people that adored him. You...HYPOCRITE!"

Angela dares to come closer to me.


Anger is seething out of my being and spilling onto the floor.




I can't hold the demon in anymore.



She's toe to toe with me.





Just go away.








Get out of here, child.








"There's your weakness, oh mighty beholder of God. For everything on two legs that crosses your path, you can't keep your Batarang in your utility belt."




















The dam explodes. A noise like that of an enraged wild animal wells up in my chest and bursts into the air. I feel every muscle in my right arm and back tense up and swing back. With every fiber of my being, my bicep pushes my tricep's strength into the wrist, making it inflexible, ensuring a solid contact. My palm remains open. This is a small fly to swat.........

Imagine going through the target.

All the way through......

Me.

I'm going to kill myself

I'm my own destroyer.

It'd be a sin to destroy my mother's jawline....

Or Andrea's nose....

Or my own contribution to her bone structure....

What am I doing?



I grab my wrist and hug it to myself. I suck in a big breath of air and begin panting. My God, what was I thinking?

Angela's pinned herself against the bookcase, her body frightened but her eyes still daring me. "C'mon, you old man." I limp away and lean on the piano. No no no no. This was a bad dream. I couldn't have meant... to...

By the time I regain my composure, Angela has already bolted out of the room and up the stairs. I have to put this right. I release my arm, flex it once or twice, and then start toward the stairs.



CRACK

I see a bright white light as something hits me in the back of the head. My knees give way and I do a face-plant on the carpet. Once my vision returns to normal, I see a piece of wood tumbling end over end across the wooden floor. I roll over onto my back and wince as my knee gives a twinge.

Towering over me, terrible and dark, brandishing his broom, is Alfred.

"Don't you dare go near her, Bruce Wayne. Don't you dare."

[AndreaBeaumont]

"The Storm..."
June 22nd
8:07 a.m.

"There's your weakness, oh mighty beholder of God. For everything on two legs that crosses your path, you can't keep your Batarang in your utility belt." I sneer toe-to-toe with the man I've come to know and then relinquish as my father.

Suddenly a quick movement flits in my periphreal vision that I don't catch until the action is through, due to my focus on Bruce's eyes. I leap backwards out of instinct and pin myself against the bookcase. The initial shock of what almost just happened sends my adrenaline racing through my veins making me almost weak and dizzy in my high strung state. As the realization of what occured sinks in I begin to seethe again below the surface of my trembling body.

Out the door....

The stairs...

My room...

My body and need for self preservation prevails...

I slam the door. My mind takes over again. I mentally chastise myself for leaving, all the while making a mental checklist of what's next. I grab my bag and quickly collect my belongings from about the room. My overly sensitized ears catch the goings on downstairs and makes me work all that faster. I change quickly from my dress to more "suitable" clothing. I grab the sheets from my bed and throw open the window.

One knot....
Two knots..

Come on Angela..

I toss the makeshift escape ladder out the window and watch it hit the turf with thud. I heave my bag out the window and quickly slide down the bed sheet rope. My feet hit the ground sooner than I expected and I end up on my hip. I wince as my ankle burns. I look down and assess it. A mild sprain. I curse to myself in german. I use the rope to pull myself to my feet. I throw my bag over my shoulder and start off down the lawn. Not sure of where I'm heading and not necessarily caring either.

As I clear the grounds of Wayne Manor I have the time and leisure to replay and analyze what actually just happened in my mind. I hear the argument again...

"I cannot be haunted by a mistake I made eighteen years ago."

I feel my cheeks grow hot and look up at the sky...great it looks like rain.

"I DON'T WANT YOUR DAMNED MONEY!"

I feel a fat raindrop hit and slide down my hand...just as I thought.

"Don't talk to your father like that!"

I hear the the rain beginning to fall all around me, tiny slaps on the dirt and grass.

"...they're DEAD, Bruce. Just like my mother. Just like Andrea Marie Beaumont."

The rain is falling heavier now, turning the formerly parched ground into thick mud.

"...It was her decision in the end."

My shoes are becoming more and more saturated..

"She loved you. She was blind. But you? You weren't sharing the illusion!"

I hit a rock and almost fall face first onto the ground but catch myself on a low hanging branch....

"....after her days as the Phantasm."

I right myself and pull my coat around me tighter and trudge on through the woods, head down...

"...HYPOCRITE!"

I look up to see the road up ahead and turn my head back down to keep the driving rain out of my face and keep going... I see the look on Bruce's face again and his hand...me jumping backwards........


Suddenly, I hear the screech of tires and car horn blare as I realize I'm in the middle of the road. I jump side ways and am barely missed by the swerving driver. I land on the other side of the road shaken but alright.

The driver jumps out of the car and walks up to me offering his hand.."Are you okay Miss? Miss?"

I look up at the man, "Yes I'm fine..."

"What on earth are you doing out here? Can I give you a lift somewhere?"

"Gotham..." I reply quickly.

"Great! I was goin' that way anyway. Hop on in. Are you sure you're okay though?" he says as he runs over and climbs back in his car out of the now pouring rain.

I look back up the hill that I just descended and take a last look at Wayne Manor sitting ominously on top of it.

"Come on Miss!"

I jog over to the passenger door and slide in out of the rain.

"Bad weather huh? Sprung up fast didn't it?" The man says looking me up and down.

"Yes...yes it did."

[redDragon]

Wednesday, June 22nd
6:51am

Look at the pretty rainbow! Dancing so happily in the sky! Dripping with the blood of the sun! The poor sliced sun, oozing out yellow ichor upon all of the world! And the clouds! Bleeding red and bashing into each other! Aw, how sweet! There's a couple getting married while they're being strangled by caterpillars.

They've kissed and now they're hosting a buffet! With liver muffins and snake venom smoothies! And the cake. What a beautiful cake! A seven layered cake of splintered glass and kryptonite.

Dancing! The couple dance so wonderfully admist the bleeding fingertips that scatter the dance floor. Wow, I didn't notice that dress at first. It's made of flayed flesh! What an intricate design! A wonderful blending of brown, pink, white, and yellow!

"PUDDING!"

I'm suddenly jolted awake as Harley pounces me.

"There you are! I've been searching this entire forest forever!" A couple of disgruntled thugs come into my sight of vision. My my my! What klutzes they must be! All banged up and what not. Ooooo! They have a throne with them!

One of them helps me get into the throne. Ah, the feel of cushions. I close my eyes to get some more sleep when a shriek thunders through my ear.

"CAN A MAN NOT GET SOME SLEEP?" I shout as I open my eyes and look for the source of that retched sound.

"But boss! There's a dead and mauled squirrel here! What if the lion or bear comes back? We'll all be dead!" The thug on my right says.

I slap myself in the face and throttle the man. "How could a sissy such as you ever become a thug?! I should send you to the grave so you can go to hell and play dolls with the demons!"

"Pudding! No!" Harley tries to stop me as the thug goes blue and lets go of the throne, promptly throwing me to the ground.

"OOF!" I fall face first into the squirrel, its blood squirting into my eye. "HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! Even the squirrel has a sense of humor! Getting me back for eating it for breakfast! HAHAHHAHAHAHA!"

Harley gags as she stares at the remains of the squirrel.

"Um boss, can we go now?" The other thug says nervously, looking around.

I stare, what is wrong with these men????!!! I wince as I try to get up to strangle the life out of this little boy.

"Mr. J! Save your energy! We have other things to do! Better things!" Harley says in attempts to quell my anger.

"Better things? Better than teaching these two cowards a lesson?" I seethe.

Harley's eyes spark, "Yes! The Scarecrow's hold up our old hideout, that old haunted house on the edge of town!"

What?! He's taking over my old home? I have some fond memories in that house.

"Well then! We'll just have to send him a nice little housewarming gift! Come on boys! Lets go get our dear friend something to warm him up in that old drafty house!"

I grin evilly, no one takes over my house without a little gift!

OOC- Ick >< I know the post is a little off. Never could do Harley :shrug: Oh and Bleu, this better on the eyes?

[TimTwoFace]

OOC: Hey guys, since GS and AB really jumped ahead and got into things here, I'm gonna backtrack a few hours for my post. I still don't know what's going down with Lock-Up yet, so I'll be sticking with my lovable lug of a namesake.

You big bunch of keeners, you... ;-Y

IC: Two-Face
About 4:15am

After another good hour of tripping over curbs, sloshing through puddles of garbage slime, and nearly getting hit by the odd beater making the rounds, I finally see it, about half a block down the street - the Crime Alley free clinic.

"You do know that she won't let you in, don't you?" My words stumble through my lips.

"I dOn'T cArE. wE nEeD dRuGs. AnD bRuCe Is ThE oNlY oNe ThAt HaS eVeR sTuCk OuT hIs NeCk FoR uS. eVeR."

"Yeah - don't you remember what happened last time? The shoot-out?"

"LoOk, I dOuBt We'D bE aBlE tO cRoSs ToWn AnD gEt To WaYnE mAnOr UnNoTiCeD. tHiS iS tHe BeSt We CaN dO, nOw ThAt ShIfTy WeNt StOoLiE oN uS."

I place my left foot forward; my right isn't following suit.

"DoN't Go AlL cHiCkEn On Me NoW. cOmE oN. tHeRe'S oNlY aN oLd WoMaN aNd A bUnCh Of ShOt-Up, BeAt-Up, ToRn Up BuMs In ThErE. wE cAn HaNdLe It."

A beaten up cadillac drives by; the noise scares, er, no, SURPRISES me and I hide in the shadows.

"That old doctor can handle herself too, man. And she's tight with the Batman. Do we really want to get involved with that? I'd rather go find Bruce instead."

"ThAt'Ll TaKe FoReVeR!"

Then I hear this ruffling and stumbling behind me. A door creaks open and, staggering between the halos of dim, flickering streetlight, I see a middle-aged, saggy-skinned woman heading in my direction, grumbling out jibberish to herself.

"What the hell is that?"

She gets closer, slightly louder, slightly more animated. She's holding something in her hand, concealed by the saggy, flimsy dress she's wearing.

"...i told you to get over here i was talking to you, no one dares not look at me i'm gonna get you, i swear by the burning heavens i'm gonna..."

She raises her hand, brandishing a bottle of brandy, holding it high over her head, upside down, the rich, sticky liquid cascading all over her. She smashes it against the wall of the alley and stares directly into my eyes, smiling as she mutters. I don't understand a single word. It's all greek to me.

"...you stay right there we're gonna finish this now, don't remember me huh? well i'll make sure you remember and then cut open your throat and parade on your grave and -"

I plough my fist into her face and her ragged head smashes against the brick wall of the alley. She doesn't scream, but, rather, slumps down in a pile of garbage bags. My fist hurts - I feel like I punched right through her skull and hit the brick wall myself. I shake the hag's blood off my hand and sigh.

"ThIs ToWn Is FuLl Of FrEaKs AnD dRuNkEn FlOuSiEs. I'm OuTa HeRe."

"If you insist."

"I dO."

For our sake, I hope Doc Thompkins will actually see us. I could cap her if I wanted, but I just don't have the energy to deal with more distractions right now.

Damned concussions.

[Bleu Unicorn]

OOC- Ick >< I know the post is a little off. Never could do Harley :shrug: Oh and Bleu, this better on the eyes?Oh, muchly better. And that's okies that you can't do Harley, I never could do The Joker. Hehe. Anyhoo, will try and post something later today.

[AndreaBeaumont]

"On my own.."
June 22nd
9:00 a.m.

I thank Steve, the man who picked me up, and slam the door behind me. I watch his car pull off from the curve and remerge into traffic. I sigh. I look around and realize I'm not in the best part of town. The buildings aren't exactly kept up...boarded up windows, a whine-o sleeping on a stoop of a seemingly unihabited house...yes, not exactly a nice district of Gotham.

I start off down the street, thinking it wise to stay out of the narrow alleys, that are ripe with an odd stench....and I have no intention of finding out what is the owner of that stench or becoming the source of it either. I look down at myself and am almost glad I made my stumbling trip down through the mud as I realize I don't stick out as sorely as I thought. I trudge on through the light drizzle hoping to disapear into my surrounding environment.

"Hey Baby.."

I look over and see a woman leaning into a beat up car's window, scantily clad....

"HEY!"

I run right into a tall scraggly man's back, "Why don't you watch it bu..." He spins around and looks a little shocked and softens a little.."...missy. You shouldn't go walkin' around down here without watchin' where you're going...you never know what kind of son of a bi*ch is around the next corner." Well I said a little.

"Thanks for the advice," I mutter and continue on. Where am I? I begin to wonder if striking out own my own in Gotham was the greatest idea in the world...much less in..in...

God, I'm in crime alley.

[TimTwoFace]

OOC: Still catching up to GS and Emmy!

IC: Two-Face
Nearly 4:30am

"So ArE wE gOnNa Do It?"

"I suppose so."

"No, I nEeD yOu To Be CoNfIdEnT fOr OnCe."

"What does it matter? You'll just go in there with guns a-blazing, anyway."

"HeH, i WiSh. I dOn'T hAvE a PiEcE oN mE."

"Figure of speech, Big Bad Harv."

I look across the street at the Crime Alley free clinic. Some of the windows are boarded, some are even cracked a bit - but inside, things actually look clean. Halfway clean, anyway. And bright. It's Crime Alley's one beacon of hope. It is also mine.

"She's not going to be able to forget what you did in the past, you know."

"ShE's A dOcToR, i'M hEr PaTiEnT. sHe HaS tO tReAt Me. SiMpLe As ThAt."

"Don't be too sure about that."

I groan..."LeT's GeT a MoVe On, AlReAdY!"

Without looking, I cross the two and a half lane street and discreetly slip into the clinic. Inside, everyone is painted in a pale light blue hue. A number of bums, transcients, and unfortunate families congregate in various circles in the waiting room. Some are sleeping, some are crying, all are smelling and looking like hell. Unfortunately, I fit right in.

The number-counter thing reads 221.

"OK, who's next?" A voice says from around a corner, behind the receptionist. The number-counter thing notches up another number. Our eyes make contact. She sees me and scowls. I see her and smile innocently. "I said, who is next?" she continues. I walk towards the receptionist to take my number. "Who is number two hundred and twenty-"

"-TwO?" Cute. Shoulda seen that coming from a mile away.

Dr. Leslie Thompkins looks sternly into my eyes, holding her ground. "I don't serve your kind here. Get out."

I take a step back. "I'm NoT hErE tO cAuSe AnY tRoUbLe, I nEeD yOuR hElP." I clear my throat; damn, she's still staring me down. For such a short old woman, she's tough as nails. You'd have to be, working in her business in this forgotten part of town.

"Go to the police, they'll give you the help you sorely need."

She's kidding, right? "No, I'm SeRiOuS. tHe BaT aNd I hAd A tUsSlE tOnIgHt AnD i ThInK hE bUsTeD mY hEaD aNd GaVe Me A cOnCuSsIoN oR sOmEtHiNg."

"Ha!" She laughs, turning her back to be and busying herself with some paper work. "You probably deserved it."

"PlEaSe DoC, i DoN't WaNt AnY tRoUbLe HeRe, BuT -" I stumble forward, reaching out both my hands, wobbling back and forth. I'm starting to feel sick again.

"NO. You've caused enough trouble for one night, Mr. Dent. The Batman was already here today, and because if your little 'tussle', we have an innocent man injured in the other room. Thank heavens its not serious."

The Bat - he was here?

"And don't you think I've forgotten about that shoot-out you had with the cops, Batman, and virtually the entire neighbourhood a while back. It was horrifying to see a man with such utter disregard for human life, especially the downtrodden that I deal with, and love dearly, every day."

"WhAt aBoUt YoUr HyPoCrAtIc OaTh? YoU hAvE tO tReAt Me. WhErE's YoUr SeNsE oF eThIcS?"

"And where are yours!? You're a killer. A murderous, violent man that thinks he owns this city. Ethics, oaths, or otherwise, you do not own me and are not welcome in my clinic. Good night."

Thompkins walks down the hallway leading from the waiting room. Trays and counters filled with vials and plastic jars of pills are everywhere. I follow her, gaining on her. "YoU cAn'T! i NeEd YoU! yOu KnOw...BrUcE!" I grab her arm; her reflex action is to howl in anger and slap me across the face. It hurts quite a lot. My cheek burns.

"Get your hands off me. Don't you dare mention your 'good ol' buddy Bruce' in this. He's not going to bail you out and neither am I. You've got til the count of ten to get out of my clinic before I call the police. GO."

I stare at her through squinted eyes. My head is throbbing with boiling blood and aching pain. My fists clench, my adrenaline pumps, my chin tenses, and I bite down into my lip. "FiNe." I let go of the old doctor's wrist, grab a few random jars of pills, varying in colour, making sure to make a good amount of mess while doing so. I promptly storm out of the clinic soonafter.

"I'm very proud of how you handled yourself, Harvey."

"RaZzIn', FrAzZiN'..." I grumble to myself, crossing the street, and reentering the shadows once more.

[AceOfKnaves]

k! OOC: Okay, Ivy plot post number one, here I go. ;) GS, Batman can't save the day just yet, I need time...but if and when you're ready, you can react to it. :p

IC: Ivy

9:00am


I stare up at yet another large old building made at the cost of precious plantlife so many years ago, it's contents consisting of human life that for the most part, is hanging by a thread.
Humanity is disgusting, places like this only confirming it with death, disease, and the need to continue other's suffering.

But that is of no concern to my new babies. Dinner is dinner afterall.
For some time now I've been breeding my Venus' with a new species, the results turning out far better than I'd ever hoped. Though nothing could replace the original, these precious beings are far stronger and far more capable of defending themselves against the murderous evils of this god forsaken world.
The people of Gotham City have killed the beautiful green of this place for far too long. The blood must be repaid.

I smile lightly, raising my arms as my children seep up through the ground around me, their gentle grasp lifting me from the sidewalk. "No one is allowed in or out." They vibrate and writhe beneath me, my command issuing around to all of them as they spread themselves over the outer walls.

The doors of the hospital burst open with a loud crash, a few shrieks and several pleas escaping the lips of the staff and guests inside.
My newborn's need food to grow strong enough to survive. The people in this hospital should do quite nicely.


IC: Renee Montoya

9:20am


A small bit of sanity had crawled back into my head, my thoughts and actions only a few hours before scaring me beyond belief. What's wrong with me?

I cradle a coffee mug in-between my freezing fingertips, the heat emitting from the glass enough to be slightly painful to the touch. I need to snap out of this...I NEED to talk to the Commissioner.

But what the hell would I say?

Nothing...there is nothing TO say. I messed up, and I can fix it on my own. I don't need someone else cleaning up the trash that I spilled onto the streets...especially not Batman.
The rage that comes back up inside of me again startles me.

In all my years here in Gotham, I've done nothing but respect Batman and the good he's done...but now all I feel is hatred and annoyance. Somehow a part of me wants him dead...wants Harvey dead.

"More coffee, Renee?"
Trish smiles down at me, my heart racing so fast I feel nauseous.

"Uh, no thanks. I think I've had a little too much caffeine as it is."
Faking a grin, I wait for her to walk around the corner again before adjusting the gun on my side.

Get a grip, Renee.

[The Guitar Slayer]

OOC: If necessary, somebody help me out with Alfred. He's difficult to write when normal, let alone angry.

IC:

8:08 AM

My brain is swimming from both the emotional and physical impact the last twenty minutes have had on me. Angela had called me out for every despicable thing I may have done, and Alfred has just clubbed me for nearly committing another.

I don't have the will to get off the floor at the moment.

I don't think I've seen Alfred this angry in my life. Not even the day...

"How could you do this to a child, Wayne?" All terms of endearment, including "Master Bruce," have left his vocabulary.

"I wasn't thinking."

"You certainly were not."

"I have to speak with her." I try to stand, but Alfred gouges me in the shoulder with the broken broom handle, forcing me to sit down on the floor again. I can't and won't fight it.

"You're not leaving here until I say what I must to you." Alfred's face has taken on a flush, and his immaculate suit is slightly rumpled from his recent physical effort. His knuckles are white as he clenches the remains of his broom. I can see that the British secret service agent is dying to get out and neutralize me in the name of Angela, but I also see that he has not forgotten his years of service to my father and myself.

I remain silent. "Before I continue, let it be understood that you will sit here and listen to all I have to say. I suggest you take it to heart. I would not recommend trying to block it out and argue that you were right in this situation. Should you be unreasonable and obstinant, I shall not hesitate to give you my notice. Is this clear?"

"Yes."

Alfred removes the broom from my shoulder and leans on it as though he's too tired to stand. He's haggard, but his eyes are as intense as before. "I'm not quite sure what to say to you," he starts quietly. "I cannot accurately phrase the feelings I have at the moment. The English language, though elegant, has no depth in certain areas. I suppose I can make an attempt though." He runs a hand through his white, retreating hair. "Anger is primary. Disappointment and shame are secondary. Sadness is present as well."

"I served Thomas and Martha from the time you were born. They wanted nothing but the best for you, and by hiring me and knowing all of my credentials, they protected you. However, they did not intend for me to raise you. Your mother gave up society for you. She was invited to forty-four parties during your first six months of life. She never went to one because you were worth too much to her. She never left you in the hands of a stranger because you were an inconvenience."

I feel as if I'm being burned alive...

"Thomas worked ungodly hours at the hospital. Despite the fact he was rich and could have taken many, many nights off to hobknob with royalty and further his own position, he sacrificed that for the sick and dying. However, you still had sway over him. Rather than just come home and sleep all day, he stayed up even when exhausted just to catch a glimpse of you. He cared for you when your own mother was too exhausted. At the start of your life, I was simply a bodyguard, hired to prevent tragedies like the Lindbergh baby. That was it.

"You threw your fits and had your terrible twos. There were some days that your behavior was appalling and an embarrassment to your family. Rich brat that you were, I would have thought nothing of it if your father had given you a swat once or twice." He stops for a moment and then drives the point home. "Thomas Wayne never raised a hand toward you. Nor did your mother nor I.

"After your parents were killed, dead, and buried, you were entrusted to my care. I was held to a strigent protocol, as I was not a blood relative. Because they let me keep you all these years, and though focused and a serious child, I thought I had done well by your parents. You were relatively happy. The persona of Batman seemed therapeutic for you at the start. You helped people that seemed untouchable to society and eased your guilt.

"I was very wrong about that last assumption."

I feel intense pressure behind my eyes....

"I am both shamed and disappointed by what has happened. After your parents passed, I raised you the best I could. I never had children of my own, and thus you received all I could offer to the future. I had the hope that one day you would do the same. When I found out that you and Ms. Beaumont had given life to a child, I was secretly overjoyed. Perhaps she would be the light in your life. It went out back when you were ten years old and has never returned since. You seek it in darkness, delving deeper and deeper and getting lost in the process. This girl, this child...she was a lifeline. Perhaps she could do what I could not and intercept you from continuing your chosen destiny as the Darkest Knight."

I raise my stare from the floor around Alfred's feet toward his face. Big mistake. Pain and hurt and betrayal are written all over his features. The one person who hadn't abandoned me....I had abandoned him by trying to get rid of Angela...

Not breaking eye contact, Alfred continues. Acid creeps into his voice. The muscles in my back and neck begin to tense. Don't go on, Alfred.

"I am outraged that you would dare to raise a hand against a child. Put aside that she is your own, it is still inexcusable. She was right in saying that you are a hypocrite. You swore to protect the innocent, and out of this whole situation, she is the most innocent participant in this, and yet she is the target of all of your hatred. Look in the mirror, and there you shall find the true monster."

I don't see a mirror. I see an Abyss.

"All that Batman has done for you has increased your pain and suffering, driving you deeper into darkness. You have dragged along innocents now as well. Dick Grayson, the mysterious Batgirl, and now your own daughter. I prayed to God that the gene pool had been kind enough to skip over the undesirable genes found in both you and Ms. Beaumont regarding obsessive justice. It may well have. We may never know, because Batman has driven her from the only home she knows in this world. It is because of him and his rage that you desecrated your parents' memory. They're likely rolling in they graves right now and disturbing the Beaumonts."

"You pushed away redemption from a sin that only exists in your head. Did you ever think that perhaps Angela was not a sin sent to haunt you but a gift from your parents to save you?" Alfred's voice drops as he maintains control. "But just like everything else given to you by them, you've wasted it. The memory of Thomas and Martha Wayne is worthless."

NO

My body shudders violently, rejecting the truth and protecting itself from that deadly virus. But the disease will win in the end, regardless of my desire to eliminate it and be done with it. Restraint is the only thing keeping me from going to pieces all over my floor.

I hear myself ask, "What do I do?"

"The opposite of what you have done."

I refocus on Alfred again. "But...?" I realize I must look absolutely pathetic at this point. A grown man, acting like a child cowering on the floor...but isn't that part of the truth?

A force from somewhere within makes me get up and seemingly glide past Alfred and up the stairs. I feel like I'm dreaming, wandering through a haze. Up through the front rooms....up the stairs...all of them.....down the hall....

Into an empty room. Logically.

No note. She's serious about not wanting to be found. I stare out at the lawn. Little footprints that go out to the road...she likely hitched a ride from there.

I'm going after her. I may have to tie her up and give her to Alfred so he can watch her so I can talk through an intercom to her, but she has to come back....

To set things right....if not stay....

Alfred has walked up behind me. "Gone, sir?"

"Yes."

"I assume you shall pursue her?"

"Yes."

"Not yet, sir. She has to find some sort of peace before returning. It will not be found by facing you." I look at him puzzled. Isn't he contradict---? "Ms. Angela can take care of herself. I have faith that she can do that. However, there are those that cannot...."

"Alfred, what are you trying to say to me?"

"There has been an explosion at an old mansion. According to witnesses, it sent up a horrid odor and has left a disturbing smile on its inhabitants, all former convicts."

Joker.

If he finds out....finds her....

I bolt to the cave.

[AndreaBeaumont]

"The dead..."
June 22nd
1:00 p.m.

My eyes feel heavy as I look up at the sky, who's decided at this very moment to release yet another torrent of rain down upon me.

I'm cold...
I'm wet....

And my escapades from the night before and the round I went with Bruce have worn on me...

I'm tired...so utterly exhausted. I look at my surroundings and realize I need to find somewhere to hang my hat so to speak for a few hours. I spot what looks to be an old tool shed leaned up against the frame of undoubtedly a crack shack or a whore house of some sort.

I walk precariously towards the shelter and open the door slowly. In this part of town you don't know what kind of biligerant homeless old fool or hopeless and desperate drug addict might be hold up in a simple tool shed such as this. I sigh a breath of relief as no one comes charging out at me. I glance around the floor and see nothing that would give away that someone is using this for a home. A concrete floor and an old cardboard box are all that it contains. I walk inside and shut the dilapitated door against the cruel elements outside. I break the box down into a makeshift mat. I look at my bag and debate changing clothes in a place where someone could walk in at any second. I resolve myself and change as quickly as possible into a dry pair slacks and black turtleneck. I put my wet clothes in the corner to dry. I'll be changing back into those before I leave so as not to be conspicous. I toss my bag down and stretch out on the cardboard mat and use the bag as a pillow.

As I my eyes grow heavy my reservations about falling asleep and leaving myself totally vulnerable in a place such as this fade with my conciousness.

I slip into dream.
There's no up or down here....
Just black...
I know I'm moving but I can't tell if I'm falling or rising with nothing to gauge against...

I land in my old house. I'm in the living room. The windows are all thrown wide open and the white filmy curtains are dancing in the breeze like the gulls. The smooth light birch wood flooring runs into every room of the house. The pale blue walls with the white woodwork make it all the more serene. I see Mum's chair facing the east window and...

and...

Mum?

I pad tentatively towards the chair and circle around it slowly. She's reading a sappy love novel and crying. A box of tissue rests on the floor next to the chair. Though the windows open there's a strange shadow pattern on the floor. She looks up at me.

"Hi Angel, I was just reading this silly love story," she chuckles at herself and reaches over the arm of the chair and pulls out a tissue and dabs her eyes, "I've missed you."

I'm partially in shock. I wrap her in a huge hug....the book slides to the floor. Her smell fills my nostrils, her favorite perfume, "Mum I've missed you so much. I talk to you everyday..."

"I know Angel," she coos smoothing my hair, her hair, "I hear every syllable."

I'm crying now. She gently sits me on the matching ottoman and looks at me the way she would when she was in my room in the morning folding clothes and I would first wake up. I would stretch slowly, stretching every muscle in my body like a cat does. Or when I would play the piano. When she was proud...

"Mum..." I start.

"Ang I need you to do something for me dear," she cuts me off, "I need you to listen closely."

I nod and listen intently.

"I need you to..."

The room grows dark suddenly. I spin around, a huge storm has rolled in. The sea is swollen and white with foam, like the mouth of some huge angry beast. I turn back to Mum and she has slid from her chair and into a heap on the wood floor. I stand up and giant red pool seaps from her body and spreads. I panic and kneel in the middle of it next to her,"Mum?!" I cry out.

I roll her over and huge silver gleaming spatula is lodged into her heaving chest, "MUM!"

She coughs and the same red liquid dribbles from the corner of her mouth.

"Ang....Angel? Get him...get the bastard..."

As she takes her last breaths I cradle her like she did for me as a baby. I focus on her unfocused eyes, "I love you Mum." Her eyes close and her breathing slows...my eyes follow the pool of blood that is running beneath the chair and to the side. I crawl over and pick up the blood soaked book. I turn it over slowly and the cover it's....it's....

HIM.

I wake up gasping for air, tears streaming down my face. I sit up and look around the shack desperately looking for Mum. As I shake the rest of the sleep from me I realize I'm not going to find her. I look to make sure I'm alone and that the door is still closed...much less intact. I freeze as I see the pattern being cast on the floor by the late afternoon light streaming through the worn door. The dream....

THE DREAM!

I remember it all now. It comes flooding back before my eyes like a movie.

The house....

Mum...

The storm...

The book...

And...him....

[TimTwoFace]

IC: Harvey "Ouch, My Head Hurts" Dent
5am

The buildings are too tall for me to be able to tell, but I know the sun's coming up soon. Good. That means that, at the very least, the Bat will be off the streets for the time being.

Unless he makes one of those rare daytime appearances. God, I hate those.

"So BuDdY, yOu GoNnA pOp ThOsE pIlLs YeT? tHiS mIgRaInE iS kIlIn' Me."

I look down at the plastic containers I hold in my hands. I try to read the labels - they're written in english, apparently. No idea what the bloody hell any of this means, though.

"I dunno, what if they don't do what we expect them to do?"

"BaH, yOu WoRrY wAy ToO mUcH, yOu PrIsS."

"I really wish that we could've at least gotten Doc Thompkins to get us the right medication. We wouldn't want to worsen our condition, would we?"

"ShAdDuP, yOu'Re A bIgGeR hEaDaChE tHaN tHe CoNcUsSiOn! 'SiDeS, sHe'D nEvEr HeLp Us NoW."

The head throbs. The temples pulse. Those pills are looking pretty good about now. Pink, orange, yellow, green, blue, purple, and even red balloons. All the colours of the rainbow.

The hell with it. I knock back a few of each type - they wouldn't have anything in a doctor's office that could kill you, after all, right? - and we'll see in a short while what happens.

"AnD wHiLe We'Re At It, LeT's DiTcH tHe ThReAdS."

Good call. I'd stick out like a sore thumb in this Arkham garb. I survey the desolate, grimy concrete and jagged metal landscape and, surprise surprise, see another passed-out whino about half a block up. Looks about my size, my girth, kinda warm if not a little malodourous...

"JuSt TaKe ThE dAmN tHiNg!"

I grab the hooded coat by the lapels, roll the overweight unshaven man over into the gutter, and pull it off of his arms. It reads "Home Boy" across the chest. The pants are next, then the shoes and shirt. Such service.

It's June after all, so I don't worry about him freezing to death or anything. Hell, I wouldn't in January, either. Probably deserves it.

I stumble over the curb and have to prop myself up against the side of a building to balance myself. "WhOa, WhAt WaS tHaT?"

"Maybe the pills are kicking in?"

My stomach lurches forward, almost clear out of my body. "NnNnNnNgH...tHaT dOeSn'T fEeL sO gOoD."

I peel my loose, flimsy Arkham outfit away from my body and slip into my new change of clothes. The Arkham uniform is deposited in a nearby flaming oil barrell soonafter. I pull the hood of the coat around my face, but it doesn't quite do the job.

"MaYbE tHeRe'S a SkI mAsK oR sOmEtHiNg aRoUnD hErE."

"You're crazy. That'll just look incriminating, anyway."

"ThIs FaCe Of OuRs DoEsN't Do Us AnY fAvOuRs."

I fall forward again, my eyes are watering. "Damn it." I clutch at my stomach and vomit onto the sidewalk, bellowing out in anger as I do so. "Oh God, what were we thinking? We should've at least flipped for it."

"YeAh..."

Flipped for it...with WHAT?

My coin...Renee's still got it.

The world starts to spin out of control. The ears are bursting and the eyes are watering. The blood boils and the brain fries.

I faceplant into the sidewalk with a loud crack. I see black. Then a flash of white. And on the pavement, red is all over.

[TimTwoFace]

IC: Lock-Up
8:10am

I didn't need the news to tell me that there was just an explosion in the city. Looking out the window from the third level of my townhouse, I can see a brown cloud of smoke billowing from someplace across the city.

I've no idea who it is. But that doesn't matter. Crane may have to wait. I've got other evildoers to deal with for the time being.

I descend into the cellar and flip on the lights. There, I come face to face with the bloodied and bruised punk kids I found creeping about my place earlier this morning. Little did they know that this forever-vacant dwelling belonged to the master of security. They look up at me with their dead eyes and struggle in their shackles against the wall.

"Let us go, man," one of the boys croaks, "we were just seeing if this place was still abandonned. Our folks threw us out and we needed a place to stay."

I walk down the wooden staircase with sure, heavy footsteps. "You are aware that squatting is illegal in this city, correct?"

He struggles a bit; the jingling of the chains is music to my ears. "C'mon, man, we weren't gonna steal nothin'. It was cold out."

"It's June."

A nice string of blood dribbles from his mouth into a puddle already on the floor.

"Your buddy's not moving over there."

The boy, probably no older than eightteen, cries out. "He hasn't talked the whole time! I think he's dead!"

"Dead, huh?" I walk over to the other boy, shackled in the shadows, and club him across the face with my baton a few times. His mouth sputters blood and his chest heaves with the intake of air. "He's not dead." I swing the baton into the gut of the first boy to silence his pathetic snivelling and walk back up the stairs.

"I've got some business to do. Prepare yourselves for another room mate, boys."

I close the door, the sliver of light coming from above growing smaller, and smaller, and smaller, until my captives are held within the darkness once more.

[redDragon]

Wednesday, June 22nd
7:35am

A little bunny hops across the field. It gnaws on some purple grass that is growing out of the sky. A rainbow metallic butterfly flies past the bunny and with a flash the bunny devours the butterfly. The bunny starts to dig a hole in the ground and uncovers the entrance to Mount Purgatory.

"Why thank you little bunny!" I say as I pick it up and venture into Purgatory.

I walk into a pristine white room with no exits. Even the passageway I entered through has disappeared. In the middle of the room is a statue of me!

The bunny hops towards the statue and takes a piss on it!

"Aw, how sweet! It's claiming myself as its master!" The bunny hops back to me and I open its mouth and pull out it's fangs. I then use the bunny's blood to sign the statue.

"We're home Mr. J!" Harley hollers, waking me up.

I yawn and jump off the throne, saying, "Well then! Now where's my stash of home warming gifts?"

I look around the hideout and not with disgust the amount of clutter and dust. Mounds and mounds of boxes, papers, clothes, and random objects fill the room. "Who let such a sty build up!" I swivel and glare at Harley.

"Wasn't me Mr. J! We haven't used this hideout in years!"

I turn on the thugs who shrink back. "I better be able to find my wonderful gifts!" I shake my fist at them and stalk towards the first pile of crap and begin digging through it.


20 Minutes Later...


I found it! My very own little happy bomb! I remember this treasure, it was the first bomb I made in the abandoned mansion. How fitting that it goes home!


I grab some old Christmas wrapping paper and wrap the bomb up. So beautiful! Looks just like an ornament!


I look around, where's a thug when you need one! Ah ha! Harley!


"Harley! Deliver this to our dear friend's new home! I'm sure he'll be able to heat the whole house with it! You know how old houses get so cold and are terrible to warm up!" I cackle and sit back down on my throne, "You might want to deliver it as fast as you can! It's set to go off in 20 minutes!"


I yawn, whew! That took a lot out of me. Stupid Bat, injuring me to the point of exhaustion! I curl up on the throne and promptly go to sleep.

[TimTwoFace]

IC: Two-Face
8:08am

"HaRrRrRrRrRrVeEeEeEeEeYyYyYy...."

I'm running through a desolate landscape. I think it's twilight. Despite my rapid steps, I'm hardly moving. I feel heavy.

"HaRrRrRrRrRrVeEeEeEeEeYyYyYy...."

I'm panting. Blood is coursing through my body. Heart thumping in my chest. Feet aching. Muscles and bones clashing against each other. I'm being chased.

"HaRrRrRrRrRrVeEeEeEeEeYyYyYy!!!"

I scream back in vain, "No! Keep away!"

And it just laughs back. That deep, grovelly laugh. "YoU cAn'T kEeP aWaY fRoM mE."

And out of nowhere, I'm confronted by a shadowy figure. It's holding out his hand; in the dim light, I see a glimmer reflect off of the edge of a small, metallic object.

"LoOkInG fOr ThIs?"

I cover my ears and turn my back to him. "I don't want any part of you!" Images start cycling through my head. Before the accident. Back when I was a notable, reputable figure in society. Bruce was there. Jim was, too. And...Grace. My sweet, amazing Grace.

"It AlWaYs GeTs BaCk To HeR, dOeSn'T iT?" He's mocking me.

"What do you know? You never got the chance to know her like I did."

"HeH, i NeVeR wAnTeD tO."

Grace...Grace...I've been so lost all night, I nearly forgot about Grace..."I have to avenge her."

The man in shadows adjusts his stance a bit. "AnD hOw Do YoU eXpEcT tO dO tHaT, wItHoUt ThIs?" His hand opens; that damned coin is back. "YoU kNoW yOu DoN't HaVe ThE gUtS tO pUlL tHe TrIgGeR uNlEsS tHiS lItTlE nUmBeR vAlIdAtEs YoUr DeSiReS."

I just cover my ears, but he starts moving in on me, growing bigger, and bigger, and bigger...

* * * * * *

"WhOa!"

I shake my head and look about. It's a bright, sunny June morning - even I can tell through my glazed, sleepy eyes. I don't know what woke me - but damn, it was loud. An explosion, even. You'd think that after spending your whole life in this city, you'd get used to such things.

I slowly get to my feet, rubbing my head and staggering about. "My CoIn...I nEeD mY dAmN cOiN..." I don't have it, though. It's not in the pockets of the clothes I took from that dead guy...not in my Arkham crap that I burned already, so that means it just leaves -

"ReNeE."

I hope she's still living in the same place as she was last time I was over.

"Behave yourself, we're staying pure for Grace."

* * * * * * * *

8:29am

I close the door to Renee's apartment. Hopefully she won't notice the slight splintering around the door. No, she's too smart, she'll see it in a heartbeat. Damnit. Where does she keep her dust-pan...

"WhY tHe HeLl ArE yOu ClEaNiNg? TuRn ThE pLaCe UpSiDe DoWn AnD lOoK fOr ThAt DaMn CoIn!"

Right. Stay focused. Think about Grace. This will get us closer to Grace.

In the dresser? No. In the kitchen drawers? No. Medicine cabinet? Nothing. Coffee table? No sign of it there, either. Nothing. Nothing. Nothing, nothing, NOTHING!

And then I hear the door open.

[Barb Gordon]

OOC: Oh dear god I'm posting. Yeah, I'm afraid too!

IC: Batgirl/Barbara Gordon

3:00-3:17am

Sometimes I look at myself from an outside perspective and wonder how odd is must be to just jump on the back of someone's bike without question....let alone when that someone is dressed head to toe in a costume....then again so am I so I guess there ends my logical reasoning.

"So, just where are we headed to now?"

I pipe up as Robin revvs his Batcycle. He glances up, a fat raindrop streaking down from the clouded sky to smack onto his forehead. He wipes it away before putting on his helmet and I do the same. His voice comes to me through the headset systems in the helmets,

"We're headed back to the Cave."

Wrapping my arms tightly about his waist, the rain beginning to smack down harder upon us, we streak out onto the road and head toward the Cave. I haven't been there all too often, and I swear about every other time I do they take me another way.

I'm still such an "outsider" looking in and being "allowed" to participate in some of what their inner circle does. It doesn't phase me all that much though. With Dad being the commissioner, I grew up seeing a lot of that among the police force. The rookie having to prove themselves, but until then they weren't really a part of that close-knit group of officers who had known each other and been through a lot with each other for years already.

So I guess that's what I am, a rookie. For now at least....

"Are we there yet?"

"har har, very funny."

I know without being able to see his face that he's grinning as he increases the speed of the bike, causing me to grip onto him tighter. What is it with men and the need to go so darn fast?

"All right, we're here."

He says, and I suddenly realize that we'd gone through a secret passage way without my even knowing it. I hate when they do that.

Cutting the bike's iginition he removes his helmet as I pry off the grip I had had on him during the ride. He gives me one of those goofy grins of his.

"Heh, thanks....was giving up on breathing through most of the ride."

"Oh how very droll you are."

I reply sarcastically. A wind slips its way straight to my rain drenched self, causing my spine to shiver. They could really do with heating around here...

[Bleu Unicorn]

OOC: I'm posting...finally.

Wednesday, June 22
7:56 AM

"Harley!” Mistah J shouts from the next room. I scramble over the scattered junk on the floor and find my puddin’ sprawled out on a throne we pilfered from the Gotham Theatre League’s props department way back when. “Deliver this,” he says, holding up a green and gold wrapped package, “to our dear friend's new home! I'm sure he'll be able to heat the whole house with it!” Standing up, he tosses the package to me and starts to pace back and forth. “You know how old houses get so cold and are terrible to warm up!" He starts to cackle a bit, but the effort makes him choke. My poor, poor Puddin’! I rush over to him and help him back down onto the throne, while he hacks and coughs away. Finally, he gets control over his voice again and starts giggling. Phew!

“All righty, Mistah J, off I go!” I say, giving him a quick salute as I turn on my heel and start to run off.

"You might want to deliver it as fast as you can!” He shouts to my back. “It's set to go off in twenty minutes!"

I stop abruptly, almost tripping over my own feet. Slowly, I turn to face him. What? “What?”

“Oh, didn’t I tell you?” He asks, meeting my gaze, a slow grin spreading across his face. “It’s a bomb,” he says, in an eerily calm voice, then breaks out into a fit of giggles and coughs.

“Heh...heh.” I grin slightly. Then scamper towards the door.

“Oh, and Harl? Why don’t you take the kids? They could use the exercise.” Before I can reply, Bud and Lou come bounding towards me from out of nowhere.

“Babies!” I squeal, kneeling down to give them both a pat. “Time to get a move on!” I snatch my bag and stuff the neatly concealed bomb inside. And run out my garishly green painted convertible. I can’t help taking a cursory glance at it before hopping over the side into the driver’s seat. I can’t help but cringe at the various dents, dings, and scratches that have amassed due to my run-ins with Batman. “Ooo, he’ll pay for it, right kids?” I ask Bud and Lou as I crank the engine over and shoot out into the alleyway. They drool and slobber, which I think is a yes—but you never can tell with hyenas.

I stomp on the gas and shoot down the alley and bank a quick left onto Main Street—nearly taking down a telephone in the process. From here, it’s a straight shot to the other side of the city, where Scarecrow’s holed up in that old, rundown, rodent infested house on the very edge of Gotham. I always hated this place when we were there. The strangest things always took place while Puddin’ and I stayed there. Gives me the creeps just thinking about it!

Yelps and playful woofs emanate from my left, as I skillfully weave in and out of traffic. Strange how everyone on this road is going the wrong way. The yelps and barks grow steadily, I glance over to see Bud and Lou playfully fighting each other over some new toy they’ve discovered. They roll and pounce each other, biting and nipping, with the occasional growl mixed in. Nothing severe, just being my cute babies. I turn my attention back to the traffic and just narrowly avoid running smack dab into an oncoming motorist. Stupid people! Drive the right direction, or something!

8:07 AM

Having obeyed proper driver etiquette, as I always do, I reach Scarecrow’s new pad with almost ten minutes to spare on my literal ticking time bomb. I jump out of the car, pulling a pair of binoculars out of my bag to check my surroundings. “Not a strawman in sight,” I whisper to myself, reaching into my bag to replace the binoculars. “Yech!” I squeak, pulling my hand out of whatever wetness is within. “What the—?” I glance into my bag. Everything in it is covered in slimy, filmy hyena drool.

Everything, that is, except Puddin’s bomb. “Well, that’s good, Mistah J would blow a gasket if I wrecked his plan.” I say, glancing at my babies for support.

Holy...!

Strewn about the interior of the car are several million pieces of green and gold paper. Several layers of soggy cardboard are stuck to various parts of both hyenas’ faces and bodies. And worst of all, I think one of them ate part of the passenger’s seat.

Er, I mean worst of all...no bomb in sight!

Everything goes black for a moment and I have the sensation that I’m floating. I shake my head vigorously; trying to will away the fainting spell and force back the rising panic. “What did you do?” I shriek, glancing from one guilty face to the other. “What am I going to do!?!” I yank open the door of the car and randomly start throwing things aside. It has to be here, it just has to. My babies wouldn’t eat their own daddy’s precious bomb...would they?

In the distance I hear a car pull in and my heart skips a beat. Thankfully, I’ve pulled into the back and am pretty well concealed by the alley and shadows. I take a deep breath and force myself to keep looking.

The minutes tick by...now there are only seven minutes to spare. I keep searching...Six minutes now. Bud and Lou seemed to have sensed the urgency and start to paw at the seats. Tears of frustration leak out of my eyes...where did it go? I can’t believe they really would eat it, I mean think of the indigestion! I whimper slightly and crumple to the ground. I glance at the hyenas, who have calmed down to the point of mournfulness; their generally giggly noises have turned into quiet whines. My poor babies.

I sniffle, and reach into my left glove for a tissue, as huge tears form. My sweet little babies—they’re gonna die! I sob into the tissue, for a few moments, then using my free hand push myself up off the ground to stand up, brushing my fingertips on a smooth rock.

Rocks are pretty neat. When I was a kid, I used to collect them. Nostalgia forces me to glance down at my feet to catch a glimpse of the rock.

My heart skips another beat as I look down into the face of my Puddin’, painted prominently on the face of the bomb!

“Oh, Puddin’, you always come through for me!” I squeal, snatching the bomb off the ground. “My hero!” I twirl around, hugging my puddin’-faced bomb to my chest Out of the corner of my eye I catch the timer, slowly ticking away the last two minutes.

Two minutes!

With lightning speed, I run to the front of the house, screaming at the top of my lungs, “Hey Strawface! Mister Scarecrow! I gotta present for ya!” A window at the top of the house opens and a shotgun is visible, pointed straight at me. Yikes! I turn a wide arc, seemingly headed back to my car. Clutching the bomb close to me, I dig around in my soggy bag with my free hand for my mega-sized popgun. Shots are being fired at my every step, just barely missing me. I glance down at the bomb once more, thirty seconds left. Perfect.

Abruptly I make a sharp turn, arcing back to the house and shove the bomb as far into the gun as I can get it. I make a beeline for the window and aim straight at the shmuck shooting at me. I pull back the trigger and with a loud pop I watch Mistah J’s face sail right through the window, smacking my assailant right in the chest.

“Bullseye!”

[Reirden]

IC: Robin

3:25 am

"We should probably get to work," I say as I walk to the massive computer among many
other uslessly oversized items. Damn it's cold in here, I think, Bruce has all this
money and he can't put a heating system somewhere?

"Who should we track down first?" Batgirl asks.

"I was thinking you and me could handle Lock-Up. If we can get to him before he gets
his gear, we should be able to overpower him."

The computer screen flashes on and I access Lyle Bolton's criminal file.

"I assume you studied him?" I ask.

"Yeah, Da--uh...Duh! Gordon's files aren't exactly under close surveilence." She says.

I smirk. She's hiding something, but I don't need to know what it is right now.

----------
3:38 am

After letting her look through the file for 15 minutes or so, I realize I haven't
eaten in hours. Can't call Alfred down now, though.

"Got enough information there?"

She yawns, "Yeah, he's a phychopath like all the others. Not much there I didn't already know."

"Move over, I want to look at his past locations. There's a chance he'll go back to one of them."

"No need," she says as she goes to work on the keyboard. "There."

Sure enough, she brought up a whole list of places this creep has slept. She's better than I thought.

"Uh...Okay! Now I wanna look up what vehicles he's registered AND stolen," I say.

"No problem," she says with a grin. Knows how to hack. Smart girl.

"Okay...Is there anything I can say that'll move you out of this chair?"

"Not much. Wanna see where he's eaten? Where he's gotten drunk? How bout where he-"

"That's enough.." I say.

She laughs, and then yawns again. "I think I'm done for the night, Boy Wonder. Can you take me home?"

"And where would that be?"

"Nice try. You got anything more cozy than a motorcycle?"

I look around. "Well, there's a jet, but that me be a little extravagant..."

She laughs. "Grab your helmet, Pigeon boy."
------------
3:52 am

"Drop me off here!" She yells through her intercom.

"You know, I can hear you just fine without the yelling. Okay, I'll pull over after this light."

I park the cycle in an alley. "Well, this is where you get off. Maybe tommorrow we can actually look for lock up rather than
find out what his favorite pizza place is."

She snickers a little. "See you later, Robin." She goes in for a slight kiss on the cheek, but forgets there's a huge plastic helmet on her
head. BAM! The force is enough to knock me over, but I gain balance.

"Jeez...tryin to kill me?"

"S-sorry! Hehehe...Here's your helmet back," she says, throwing me the head protector, "Bye now."

And before I know it, she's grappling her way East. I could go follow her...Aww, then there'd be no fun in trying to guess who she is.
Time for me to get some well deserved rest...

I rev up my Redbird and speed off towards home.
-------------------
4:32 am

"I'm too tired tonight...I'll clean them up tomorrow," I say to myself, throwing my Robin unifrom on my bedroom floor.

I plop down in bed and turn on my T.V. to see the latest news on the break out, if anyone is still covering it at this hour.
It doesn't really matter since I fall right asleep...

OOC: There! That get's R and BG pretty close to everyone else!

[Barb Gordon]

IC: Batgirl/Barbara Gordon

Wednesday, June 22nd

4:12am

I take a quick precautionary look around before I crawl into my room via my window. Trying to be as quiet as possible I strip out of my night attire and into some pajamas before slipping into bed. Sometimes I can never tell how Dad is sleeping. As a cop he can be a very light sleeper, and the littlest sound can wake him up. But I've also caught him plenty of times dead to the world where even an explosion right outside the room wouldn't get him to stir. Thankfully that was one of these nights. I smile into my pillow as I bury myself under my covers, but chiding myself mentally. I can't believe what a complete fool I made of myself moments ago.

*CLUNK*

Well there goes being romantic! Geesh, my only saving grace was that it was pretty dang funny and we both laughed over it. Mmmmmm, but right now all I can think about is getting a good 8 hours of sleep...

8:13am

Suddenly I woke with a start, a wrenching gut feeling in the pit of my stomach. Glancing at the clock with bleary eyes I groan audibly at the fact that I've barely gotten four hours sleep. I can hear the TV on downstairs, Dad must be awake. Shrugging a robe on I dash out of my room and down the steps towards the living room.

"Dad, don't you have work in a ....."

I halt in mid step and sentence, eyes suddenly glued to the television just like my father's are. My mouth drops open slightly as the news reporter scrambles to report on an explosion that occured barely moments before. Dad starts me from my stare as he kisses me on the cheek.

"Love you, Babs. It's going to be a long day, so don't wait up late for me....and I'll get something on my own for dinner, sweetheart!"

He calls after me as he closes the door. Taking a moment to rub my still sleepy eyes I watch him jog to his car and speed off.

"You're not the only one whose going to have a long day, Dad...."

[Reirden]

IC: Dick Grayson/Robin

8:15 am

*BLAM!*

An explosion of sound wakes me up. I bolt upright and look at the T.V. I left it on. Lucky me. Just some action movie with a big explosion... "Where's the remote? Dammit..."

Another glance at the screen tells me that its LIVE.

"Oh God..."

I pick up my Robin outfit and start putting it on. "I only make day appearences on special occasions."

[The Guitar Slayer]

8:17 AM

Ah, damn. There goes another hydrant. That makes three trees, two hydrants, three sign posts, and a construction barrier. I hate rush hour. Wayne Enterprises will be making a hefty donation to the Roads Department in the near future.

I switch gears as I swerve around a construction site. Thank God for sidewalks.

Enough with the running commentary...

8:23 AM

I slow down as I enter the residential area near the former mansion. No need for anymore points on my license....then again, Batman doesn't even have a license. This would be an interesting situation if I was pulled over. However, being as the cops have far better things to do than chase me down an interstate, I haven't run into the problem yet.

I switch on the computer in the car as plumes of brown smoke billow up from the building two streets over. The sensors go off the scales for Joker toxin and stink bomb chemicals. It has also detected minor levels of fear gas, which will likely cause an interesting reaction between it and the Joker toxin. Despite my dislike for human experimentation, I don't think it could have happened to a better crowd. I pop open the glove compartment and retrieve my well-used gas mask and my emergency kit. Inside is more or less a portable operating room with plenty of antidote for both of the hazardous agents I'll be dealing with. As for the stink bomb, I'll let them be at its mercy for now.

I park the car in someone's driveway and lock it down. I walk around the side of the house to the back fence, jump over it, come up through an alley between houses (carefully dodging the Tonka trucks and Skip-its as I go), and take in the scene. The former builidng is naught but a charred skeleton now.

It looks as though there has been a massacre as men continue to stream out the house and falling onto the grass, gasping and hysterically laughing and slowly lapsing into silence. They've laughed so hard that they are hyperventilating and fainting. I target a group of them and net them together. Once their movement is restricted, I inject each of them with the anti-toxin. I carefully draw out a needle and take a sample of one man's blood, and leave it for my belt computer to analyze.

I wade through the bodies, rounding them up and immobilizing them. I roll a short man over. Former convict. Another. On parole. Another. Former convict. Scarecrow drafted experience men this time around. The computer beeps, and I look at the digital ticker as it scrolls by. Interesting. Although the car detected some fear gas, none of them seem affected by it. New gas, new antidote.

I finish my rounds and pile up the nets and my catch for the day around the mailbox. I turn my attention the the rest of the house. Not much to say. I can't see anyone in the basement or the lower floor. I stand at the edge of the foundation and run my eyes over the ruins. It looks like they all got out. I crane my neck up through a gaping hole in the floor. Can't see the top floor. I touch one of the support beams nearby, and it gives quite a bit and audibly cracks. No good. Why would Joker want to bomb this place anyhow? Usually, someone who gets on my nerves is considered an asset to him. As long as he gets the big laugh in the end, he doesn't care who harrasses me.

The answer appears on the capstone on the remains of the front porch. 56537. JOKER spelled out on a telephone. I look at the houses on either side of the former hideout. Abandoned for a long time. He never was much of an ideal neighbor.

I retreat across the street and climb up a tree. From my perch, I get a full view of the upper floor. Near one of the blow out windows is a man with a machine gun. I pull out the binoculars and switch them in to heat vision mode.

His body comes up blue. He's gone. He must have been right next to the bomb when it went off, judging from the missing portions of his back and right leg. I scan the rest of the floor. Nothing. But where was Jonathan Crane?

Almost on cue, a pile of rubble shifts, and the rags revealed by the rubble show up red on the binoculars. I see you, Crane. He's shaking and making a variety of odd noises. He likely had some heavy amounts of fear pellets on his costume when the bomb went off, enough to negate whatever vaccine he had created. The house groans again. Not much time left for it or Crane.

I look for a stable structure that I can land on long enough to grab him and get out of there before the house falls on my head. Walls are out of the question, as are beams, rafters, and furniture shards. There's a chimney near the back of the floor within arm's distance of him. That should work just long enough.

I grapple onto the chimney and land on the side of the mantle. He's rolling on the floor now, torn between a deathly fear and a hilarious joke called life. "C'mon, get over here." I strain to manage a grip on him. The chimney isn't taking my weight well. I lunge and take a fistful of Crane's collar just as the bricks seem to disintergrate under me. I push away from the house and recoil the grapple as the two of us plummet down side of the house. I rope a tree and let myself dangle as housing materials rain down on me. Crane mutters incoherently and flaps his arms and wiggles his legs.

I gently lower myself and him to the ground. I sling him over my shoulder like a sack of potatoes and start to walk to the front yard. My trip is delayed by the sound of crunching leaves in the woods behind the house. I stare past the trees and focus on the fleeing camoflauged creature. Judging from the girth and height, I would say that is Bolton and that he's been to his house. I venture forward into the woods a bit with a firm grip on Crane. A footprint similar in size to one left at the Arkham breakout glares up at me.

He wants me to go to his house. I know he does. He won't be there anymore. I know that. But it's the closest thing to a lead that I have at this point.

I put Crane through a quick detox. Despite his newfound sobriety from various chemicals, all he can mutter is "Clowns. Why clowns? Big feet, big nose, big everything. This one had big eyes and a big head....why clowns?"

Sounds like Harley to me. Looks like she was playing delivery girl for "Puddin'."

I hear sirens wailing in the distance. My cue to exit. I dart across the street, head down the alley, trip over the toys, jump the fence and swing around the side the house to see my car....

Completely overrun with little people. And the parents are taking pictures of it.

[AndreaBeaumont]

"Oh What A Night..."
June 22nd
7:45 p.m.

I look up at sky as it grows darker and darker out. The clouds are thick and soupy after the long day of rain, hiding the moon. They are, of course, their trademark deep red color that only seems to loom above Gotham. I turn my attention back the street ahead of me and realize I need to stay focused and be aware of my surroundings, I am IN crime alley after all.

The seemingly abandoned boarded up houses take on a new light now as the sun sets behind them, they become creepy havens for dangerous, lurking criminals.

The realization that it's almost dark and I still haven't made it to even the red light district of Gotham, the divider between crime alley and the inner business center of the city. Many of Gotham's wealthiest can be seen behind the tinted windows of their Mercedes as they cruise through it looking for their ideal late night, paid companion for the evening. It's definitely safer than here. I gaze down the block and finally see a falling apart neon sign, "Ralph's Motel" about two blocks away still, marking the beginning of the district. I let out a small sigh of relief and pick up the pace hoping to reach it before the street lights come on, but I look around and only see two that look like they might actually be working and intact between myself and the hotel. The streets look abandoned like a ghost town, a newspaper tumbles down the street and the only person in sight is the whine-o I just passed who was sleeping or dead in a cardboard box.

I shiver, I changed back into my wet muddy clothes so as not to stand out but their slowing me down as my shivering racks my body. It doesn't help I'm walking into the wind. My mind wanders to my dream again....

Joker...

I frown deeply. I replay it in my mind scene by scene. I snap out of my lament as suddenly the traffic seems to pick up rapidly on the street. I see the scum of Gotham beginning to crawl out of the cracks like the vermin they are. I quicken my pace and pull my hood over my head. People are passing me on the sidewalk now regulary, as night falls it's instantaneous. The real inhabitants of this hell hole show themselves under the cover of darkness to make their money or gamble it away.

I glance up less than a half a block away from the motel now I relax slightly and pause for a second underneath a street light. I glance up at the sky again and see the bat signal switch on and swing over to bounce it's light off of a thick cloud, it glows hazily....

Dad.

I feel a sharp pain in my chest right below my ribs and it almost knocks the breath out of me. I bite my lip as emotions I've managed to block out by letting my anger overtake me coarse through my body. I feel weak and dizzy and look back up at the sky just in time to hear a buzzing noise and an audible click....

the streetlights....

I press on quickly walking briskly towards the seedy hotel when I suddenly hear, "Hey youze! Stop right there!" I half think about ignoring the voice and just pressing on but, whether it be my better or worse, my judgement takes over and I look over to my right. A rather large man steps out of an alley between to buildings with a gun in hand...

"Hand over your moneys....Now," he says firmly.

I only have $20 dollars in my sock but I know full well if I tried to give him just twenty he shoot me in suspicion that I have more and am holding out.

"I don't have any," I say suddenly hating my voice, incredibly feminine, I know that if he already didn't know that I was female he does now. I see a sneer stretch across his scarred face and watch as he licks his lips beneath the glow of the streetlight. I grimace to myself.

"That's okay Missy, you have something else I want," I see him in slow motion make his way toward me one giant bear of hand reaching for my arm, the other one holding the gun's sight on me... I am NOT about to become a rape victim....

I kick the gun from his hand and I hear him yelp in surprise. He regains his compusure and glares at me, then starts at me again, both fists clenched. I go to give him an uppercut, only to have him grab my wrist and scramble to try to grab my other. I'm so tired and chilled that I can barely feel my fingers I attempt to squirm my way from his grasp only to have him grip my wrist harder and have him twist. I grimace in pain as he pulls me to him pressing his body against mine and wrapping his other arm around my back. He leers at me, face to face. I try desperately slide from his grasp with no avail. I wrap my leg behind his and use my ankle to buckle his knee and we go crashing to the wet pavement. He lets go of me for a split second as I land on top of him, but quickly grabs me again and rolls me over, pinning me to the ground.

"Heh, don't worry missy," he coos, blood trickling from the corner of his mouth, from where he must bit his tongue in the fall, "I'll be gentle...

..OOMF!"

I twist my leg quickly knee him where it hurts the most, I feel his body go limp for a second and I quickly push him off of me and scramble to my feet. I kick him again this time directly in the face and spin around and sprint towards the motel.

"Oooh..." I moan as I sit down on the dirty sunken in mattress. I assess my damage,..I twisted my knee, my wrist is swollen, my ankle's swollen from the manor earlier...

I stand up and grab the clean sheets and lay them on the floor, which seems to be cleaner than the mattress. I curl up and pass out utterly exhausted from my struggle. What a night...

[TimTwoFace]

IC: Lock-Up
8:25am

Smoke is billowing everywhere. I seen crumbled masonry and burnt planks of wood splaying out in all directions. The old house, what's left of it, isn't going to last too long before it all collapses onto itself.

I can see a dark figure emerging from the dilapidated house. Crane...could it be?

As the figure passes through the thin wisps of smoke swirling around the swaying structure, I see that it IS Crane - being carried out on Batman's back.

He beat me to it.

Damn it.

I don't care if another freak is off the streets - knowing Batman, Crane will be out on the streets dealing his fear drugs to Gotham's populace within a week - two weeks, tops. His bandaid solutions to these grave problems are sickening. Absolutely sickening. Pandering to these psycho and sociopaths isn't going to do anyone any favours; if I had my way I'd either roast them or lock them up and throw away the key.

Batman sees me from where he stands. He probably heard me stepping on the dried leaves scattered through this grove. I stare back at him - but neither of us approach each other. Call it a certain type of respect.

Just like that, seconds later, the Bat's gone, and Crane gone with him. This won't be a complete loss, though - I'm sure there are plenty of other chronies within the rubble somewhere. Dead or alive or just scarred beyond belief, they'll be of use to me. And considering the sirens I can hear faintly wailing in the background, I'd better get in there quick.

* * * * * * *

9:02am

I open the door to my basement, deep within the ground. Slivers of light filter into the room, and I see my two current captives again. As I take the first step down the wooden staircase, the one that was moving before starts to whinny and whine. I love this part of the job.

"Please, I beg you."

Beg? It falls upon deaf ears. "I've brought a gift for you," I say. "I was just out about town and came across a few roughians that had this coming." I hurl two charred bodies I found at the blown-out shell of Crane's hideout and it shatters and splinters on the ground, skin flaking like beautiful snowflakes. "This one wasn't willing to cooperate. A real pity. Make sure you and your friend use your brain and follow my rules if you don't want to share the same fate."

The guy screams back, and his voice cracks. "Dude, I told you already, I think my buddy's dead!"

I snort. "Probably a better course of action, anyway."

And I leave once more. There's a lot more cleaning up to do.

[Outlander00]

IC: Chase Grandier
Wednesday, June 22nd
2:15AM

As I lean closer to admire her more, I notice a sense of hesitation to her sociable and friendly demure… or, perhaps, reservation due to some sort of personal burden she does not want anyone to know. It is as if deep down she is upset about something.

I continue to admire her and what she is wearing: A black, form fitting cocktail dress with diamond earrings, necklace and bracelet. Her long, black hair shimmers even in the low ambient light of the club with very little makeup to show her natural beauty. We both sit at the bar, enjoying each others company as if there is no one else in the packed club. As I flash another smile at her, her eyes lighten more. I ask her “So… What exactly is such a beautiful woman doing out by herself this evening?”

Before she has a chance to speak, I check the time on my watch; gold and silver with a diamond set inside of the timepiece… “accidentally” pulling the keys out of my pocket. I think of what I must do later on in the evening and tomorrow... my bosses needing constant progress reports.

[Reirden]

IC: Robin/Dick Grayson

8:20 am

I carefully run down the steps leading to the cave I lovingly dubbed the Batcave in my earlier days. I was such a cute kid.

A quick glance around the area tells me Bruce has already heard the morning news. There's probably no point in me going to help, he'd say something like, "You're just in my way, get out of here!" For a moment I almost want to go just to get his bat-blood boiling...

Nah. I'll be a good little birdie. But I'm not staying caged...

I walk to the computer and sit in the not-so-comfortable chair. Either it's really cold in here today or Bruce left a long time ago, because the chair is ice cold. I want to go back to my warm bed but...Like Bruce always says, "I don't make the schedule."

*****************

8:47 am

I rest my chin on my hand as I look through the list of escapees from last night.

Maybe some coffee would help me wake up a little more... If Alfred shows up before I leave maybe I'll ask for some.

"Lock-Up? No..." I mumble to myself. He's too big for me to handle on my own.

"Joker?" I make a small laugh, "Yeah right." Bruce will never admit it, but I think HE'S too afraid to take on the Joker alone. I know I am.

"Two Face..." If he's still bloodied from Drake's place, I can probably take
him in with little effort.

I can hear Alfred coming down the steps as I look around for my helmet. I could've used you a minute ago...some of your coffee sounds really good right now.

I find my helmet laying on the floor by my bike. I must've been really tired if I could'nt even hang it up on the handle. There's a scuff on the right side of the helmet from the attempted kiss last night. I laugh about it, it was

"Good morning, Master Dick. I take it you've seen the news..."

"Yeah. No eggs and coffee today. See ya later," I say as I start the ignition.

I flip down my visor and speed off towards the exit. pretty funny.

[Kylewayne]

IC: Catwoman/Selina Kyle
Wednesday, June 22nd
2:15AM


As I lean closer to admire her more, I notice a sense of hesitation to her sociable and friendly demure… or, perhaps, reservation due to some sort of personal burden she does not want anyone to know. It is as if deep down she is upset about something.

His eyes looked down at me...searching my soul, as if he knew me on a certain level. It made me a bit uncomfortable but yet it put me at ease.

He gazed at me with a curious smile, then he leaned over to his left on the bar looking at me.

I flashed him a naughty grin, arching my back a bit just to tease him a little bit, then gave him the 'come here' signal.

"Such a delectable sight you are... and my, what a wicked grin you have... you have a catty streak in you, I like that."

I continue to admire her and what she is wearing: A black, form fitting cocktail dress with diamond earrings, necklace and bracelet. Her long, black hair shimmers even in the low ambient light of the club with very little makeup to show her natural beauty. We both sit at the bar, enjoying each others company as if there is no one else in the packed club.

He leaned in closer and I into him. He touched my face gently, kissing me on my lips, but I was so tense I thought he was going to hear my nerves twang.

As I flash another smile at her, her eyes lighten more. I ask her “So… What exactly is such a beautiful woman doing out by herself this evening?”Before she has a chance to speak, I check the time on my watch; gold and silver with a diamond set inside of the timepiece… “accidentally” pulling the keys out of my pocket. I think of what I must do later on in the evening and tomorrow... my bosses needing constant progress reports.

He took out his watch to check the time, and his keys fell by accident. As I bent down to grab them he swooped down and took them before I even had a chance to do so. I only read the hotel name and suite number, but that was just enough for me to track him down...

"I have to go, It's late..." I lean into him and whisper in his ear...
"Don't worry, we'll meet again." I said grinning.

----------------------------------------------------------------

OOC: I'm so sorry Outlander if I made Chase talk a bit. I hope you don't mind me using your post into mine so I can move things along. If you have a problem with it just tell me and I will alter my post. I hope this post helps you with Chase :) I must say I had fun writing it :anime: :sweat:

Ok..GS & RD if I am out of line with Catwoman's character please tell me...

[Outlander00]

IC: Chase Grandier
Wednesday, June 22nd
2:17AM

As she leaves, I receive a call on my cell phone, feeling the flip-phone vibrate. I stand up and walk outside, carrying the kitten with me. Once outside, I answer the phone.

"Hello?"

“Chase… are you in a secured area?”

I look around, "It is secure enough."

“Have you begun to make contact?”

"I have just now."

“Good. I want reports on your progress every 48 hours. If we do not we will assume you have been terminated, unless the parameters of your mission change. Any attempts to contact us after 48 hours will be ignored.”

"Understood."

“You have your mission outline. Talk to you in 2 days.”

"Bye!"

I end the call and proceed to hail a taxi successfully, open the door to the Caprice Classic and help the kitten and myself into it. “The Gotham Arms Hotel” I tell the driver and feel the car pull out into traffic as he acknowledges my request.

As I am taken to my hotel, I sit back and think of the events that just occurred. I have succeeded in making contact with someone who is involved with my target objectives. However, I cannot help but to think of a personal attraction to her. Out of so many similar missions, what is it about her? I had courted the daughter of the infamous Ra's al Ghul to gather the info I needed on her father's organization, and she did not make me waiver nearly as much as the infamous Selina Kyle.

My mind wanders in the moments I spent with her, and cannot explain the attraction. I shrug my shoulders and shake my head… must keep my mind on the job. I expect her to try something any day now.

The taxi pulls over in front of the hotel and I pay the driver the fare plus tip. I walk into the lobby and to the front, asking for a new room key.

[Kylewayne]

IC: Catwoman/Selina Kyle
Wednesday, June 22nd
3:00AM


Outside the club, I hail a cab to take me to The Gotham Arms Hotel. Once there, I enter the hotel and I head for check in counter.

I would like a room for the night

"Sorry miss all rooms are reserved. "

You have got to be kidding me!

I lean in closer to the desk clerk and put one arm around his neck pulling him near, looking into his eyes and flashing one of those "I want you smiles"

Surely you can find something for me? * smile*
I raise my eyebrow as I scratch him playfully at the base of his neck.

"Ummm, well miss, I…I …think I can do something…for…is it me? ….Or is it to hot in here all of a sudden?"

"Are you alright hun? You don’t look so well." I say to him.

Finally, I thought to myself, the narcotic I scratched him with is starting to take effect. I take this opportunity to go behind the counter and help him.

"You must be coming down with a cold, you’ll be alright after a good night’s rest "...I pour him a glass of water and while he drinks it and tries to stay awake. I occupy myself to the room keys and snatch the one I need while he isn’t looking. " I’ll call someone for help, you shouldn’t be left alone " I notify one of the other workers on night shift to tend to him.

This gives me a chance to slip away. Wandering in the corridors of the 10th floor, I spot the room and silently enter. I was acustumed to the dark, so I didn’t bother opening any lights. I find the bedroom and I immedietly throw myself down on the bed and burry my face in the comforter. I was lying there, thinking about the events of these past few weeks.

I feel so dead inside, maybe Chase can liven things up for me.

Might as well get myself ready for him. I start stripping my clothes off one by one while heading for the shower. I get goosebumps as I feel the warm water pour down my silky skin, as if it is exploring every inch of my body, envelopping me in its warmth.

"Ready or not Chase, you will have your hands full ..." I thought and smiled as I continued lathering my body.

[AceOfKnaves]

IC: Renee Montoya

9:40am


The keys jingle lightly as I unlock the door, a small squeak reminding me once again that my hinges need some grease. As I do every time, I tell myself that I'll do it later.
I make a couple kissing noises, kneeling on the ground waiting for my cat to trot up to me and roll over for his daily belly rub.
"Here kitty kitty."

Figuring he's passed out on my pillow again, leaving behind a trail of inch thick fur for me to choke on tonight while I sleep, I stand up, pulling my hair out of it's pony tail and running my fingers through it as a comb.

This day's been disgustingly surreal, all the twists and turns making my head spin so fast that I feel like it's no longer attached to my neck.

I just need a shower and a cup of coffee...need to clear my head...maybe lay down for a few hours.

On my way back to my room, I lose my footing, hitting the wall with a loud thud before sliding to the floor with a sigh. I clutch my shoulder...not because it hurts, but because I can feel it pulsating. Tingling with life.

What did she do to me?

Shoving myself back upright, I make sure I'm balanced before I proceed back in the direction of my bathroom.
As I reach the doorway of my room, a sudden wave of nausea overwhelms me.
Barely making it to the toilet, I manage to relieve a little bit of the sickness wallowing inside of me.
This sucks.

Feeling rather ill, and now extremely filthy, I push myself up and turn on the shower.
It surprisingly does a world of good, relaxing the soreness still lingering in my muscles from earlier.
As I step out of the shower and dry myself off, a small noise from outside the door catches my attention.
"Alphador?" Sliding on my robe, I open it up, expecting to see my cat, but instead seeing a face that brings my dizziness back in full force.
"Two-Face..."

He grabs my shoulders, his face consumed with desperation. "I know you have it, Renee. Where is it?!"

I exhale deeply, knowing full well what he's talking about. "I-It's in my dresser..next to my bed."
Throwing me forcefully to the side, he practically sprints to the bedside table and tears open the drawer. His eyes glaze over as his fingers wrap around his coin...his missing piece. "You're sick." He wheels around, a large smile on his scarred face, and my 9mm in his right hand.

Not giving him time to use it, I dive for my other gun inside of the holster, getting to it in time to point it directly at his face. He laughs lightly, holding his hands loosely by his chest.
"Haven't we done this, Renee?"

My grip on the gun tightens...last time I had a gun to him, he shot my partner...maybe this time I'll shoot him.
"Drop it, Dent."

He shakes his head, taking a step towards me,
"You won't shoot me. You can't."

I pull back the barrel on the gun, aiming for his left and putrid eye.
"We played this game. Someone died. It might be you if you don't drop that damn gun."

The sensation in my shoulder rises again, his face blurring, then refocusing.
"Then do it. Shoot me."

A blinding rage explodes unexpectedly and instantaneously. He doesn't think I have it in me! He doesn't think, after all that he's done to me, that I couldn't kill him!
The idea that what I'm doing is wrong doesn't occur to me until after I've let off two shots at him, both he somehow manages to dodge.
"How about three for three, Harv?"

He leaps at me, knocking me down onto the floor with all his strength, and the gun skidding over towards the bathroom. His face rests only an inch above mine, an odd look on the good side of his face. I can feel his left hand leaning on my shoulder...the one he shot. He knows it's not there anymore.

I have to distract him long enough to get my gun back...so I do the only thing I can think of at the moment.

Kissing him passionately, I reach for my revolver with my free hand.

[Barb Gordon]

IC: Barbara Gordon/Batgirl

8:45am

It didn't take me long after Dad sped off out of the driveway for me to dash back up to my room and change back into my Batgirl gear. There goes enjoying a quiet day at home...Munching on a piece of toast I attempt to yank on my boots with one hand. After years of habit of being a good student in high school and younger, there's no way I'd go anywhere in the morning without something for breakfast. Like Dad enjoys saying time and again, "You can't be at your best without food for the mind." He's so old fashioned some of the times, course that's why I love him so much. Finally tugging my last boot on and taking a swig of orange juice to chase down the less than stellar toast...I hate it when it's soggy....I dash back up to my room, reach under my bed and grab hold of a small black walkie-talkie - a courtesy gift from Robin once to keep in touch.
"Robin you there?"
I hear static for a moment before his voice kicks in.
"Yeah, what's up Batgirl?"
"Well I'm assuming you're aware of what's going on just like I am....care to rendevous?"
I can almost see him smirk on the other end.
"Sure thing, where at?"
Shooting off some directions for him to follow I clip the radio to my belt and slip out of the house, praying that I can sprint to the appointed meeting place before he gets there.

[Kylewayne]

OCC: Outlander & I did our post together and I'm posting for the both of us. Enjoy! :D


3:10AM


I ready my key in my left hand as the elevator doors open at the 10th floor, holding the kitten in the other. I step off the elevator walking down the corridor of the old, yet high-class hotel, heading towards the door to my room.

As I reach the door handle to insert my key, the kitten mews in a familiar manner… the same way I did when I first met Selina earlier in the evening. I put the kitten down and quietly open the door to the room, instantly hearing the sound of water running from the bathroom. As a precaution, I draw the Glok 9mm pistol from the inner pocket of my coat and ready it, letting the kitten in and closing the door just as quietly as he opened it.

I hug the wall quietly, seeing light from the bathroom and hearing the water run from the shower with clarity… accompanied by the soft voice of the seductive Selina. Stepping closer into the room, I notice a trail of clothing leading into the bathroom… similar to what she wore earlier. As I thought: she did attempt to try to break into my room… I just did not think it would be so soon. I holster my weapon, and make my way to the darker part of the room, sitting myself in a chair that was at an angle with the bathroom door… waiting for her to finish.

I hear the shower cut off, shadows coming from the bathroom as I sit there waiting for her to come out. She steps out into the room with a robe on as I wait for a moment as she notices something different before saying from the dark "Isn't illegal to break in to peoples hotel rooms, Ms. Kyle?"

"What’s the matter? Aren’t you happy to see me?" *makes puppy dog face trying not to laugh*

I walk over to him standing just a few feet away with my hair dripping wet. I pause and observe his moves and his reactions. Suddenly I feel something bruch up against my leg. I look down and notice the kitty meowing and purring at me. I scoop down and take it into my arms cuddling and petting it for a while until I put the kitty back on the floor.

I watch her, as she puts down the kitten, looking at her before standing up, giving her a sly smile. I respond to her "enjoy your shower?"

Mmmhmmm *grins *

I walk past him and head over to the bed behind him making myself comfortable. I lay on my stomach and give my attention to the kitten who has followed me onto the bed. I ignore Chase for a while and start making faces at the cute wittle kitty.

I walk over to the window, staring at the skyline of the city as she plays with the kitten... my hands behind my back, clasped together.

I am sure there is a reason for your visit, other than using my shower facilities, Selina.

I get up and walk over to him, wrapping my arms around his waist as I rest my head on his shoulder blade.

" Haven’t you figured it out yet? *smile *… I am here to play. Is that wrong? " I say in my most seductive voice.

I smile and turn my head to the side, replying to her advances " don't you know curiosity killed the cat my dear Selina?" I place my hands on top of hers softly, holding them there.

" I have nine lives *I whisper in his ear * What are you going to do about it?…huh? " I say in a playful sarcastic tone.

I turn and look deep into her eyes, giving her a rogueish type grin. There is deffinate attraction on multiple levels between us, however I cannot let myself compromise objectives here. She does not make my job easy at all, unfortunately.

I kiss her hand softly and whisper into her ear "perhaps I will not do anything? You did break into my room, you know… I normally dont take kindly to such things. "

I smile at her regardless, and kiss her cheek before turning back around to face the skyline of Gotham. I say to her as I look out, "Perhaps we can try this again another night in a more normal circumstance. Perhaps dinner? "

I wait for a reponse and after a moment of silence I turn my head slightly and say " It is getting late, Selina. You are welcome to stay here if you like… I will sleep on the floor."

"You are such a fool…I do NOT take rainchecks. Your loss " I say in a hateful voice for being turned down. How dare he! I am here practically throwing myself at him and he tosses me away like …like…Aaaarrrrrgh! He is just like the rest! Batman, Bruce…they can all go to …

I will not stand for this. I pick up my clothes, get dressed and leave slamming the door behind me not looking back.

I hear her angrily move about the room, putting her clothing back on and taking her things, slamming the door behind her as she leaves the room.

I sigh deeply, relieved that she had left. I can't let her get too close to me because my cover will be blown. She is my only link to this mysterious Batman and the others he associates with. President Arswip made it clear to our agency that he wanted any information gathered about this « Batman » for national security reasons, our only leads being the police comissioner Jim Gordon and the cat burgler known as Catwoman, aka Selina. For her to compromise the mission will have several people within the agency, including myself, needing to have some serious explanations in order.

Yet, I do not know what it is about her that makes me almost waiver like I did. Her demure nature is intoxicating, leaving it linger in your mind like the scent of a perfume. She is… interesting to say the least.

Must get some sleep… I have been up 72 hours straight after hopping from Beijing, to Prague, to DC, to here and that type of traveling leaves you a little tired, even by the best agents standards. Maybe thoughts of Selina will help me sleep… or keep me up.

[TimTwoFace]

IC: Two-Face
9:50am

Am I still hallucinating?

She...kissed me. No, she's STILL kissing me.

"ShAdDuP, tHiS aIn'T hAlF-bAd!"

As wonderful as this is...

"I sAiD lOsE yErSeLf! cArPe DiEm!"

...this doesn't make a lick of sense.

"WhO cArEs? ShE's LiCkIn' YoU! To HeLl WiTh GrAcE!"

Her hands are roaming all over me, reaching into my pockets, underneath this "home boy" hoody I'm wearing, and feeling the scarred parts of myself that even I care not to venture. This is amazing, I never expected this to ever happen between Renee and I - our timing and situation just never meshed correctly. Being either locked up or in hiding half the time didn't help much, either.

"StOp RaTiOnAliZiNg! Go WiTh ThE fLoW aNd TaKe HeR wHiLe YoU cAn!"

This is wrong. Something's wrong.

"Harvey...oh Harvey..." she moans, clawing at me.

Renee's lips are sucking on the lower mottled blue lip on the left side of my face and her tongue is slithering about mine when I decide to grab her shoulders and force her off of my body and out of my mouth.

"Just what the bloody hell are you doing!?" I yell.

"YeAh HaRv!" Big Bad retorts. "JuSt WhAt ThE bLoOdY hElL aRe YoU dOiNg!?"

Ignore him. Just ignore him for now.

Renee sits there, her bathrobe draped across her body oh, so tantalizingly - and chuckles to herself, grinning wickedly. It takes a lot of will-power to keep my eyes from wandering south. "I'm doing what you've always wanted and dreamt of - I thought you'd appreciate it." I still notice the gun in her hand.

"Look, I'm just here for one thing -"

"Typical male," Renee snorts.

"-my coin, and I'll be on my way. I have no issue with you." What a lie. You know that if she wasn't acting so freaky you'd be all over her like syrup on pancakes, Harv.

"But I still have an issue with you." Renee twirls the gun around her index finger and adjusts her posture. I get up and walk towards her dresser, ignoring her. "You shot my partner dead, you shot me in the shoulder, and who knows what you managed to bring yourself to over night."

I pull the dresser drawer out, shuffle through a few loose items, and find the very essence of my being. "Ok, LiTtLe HaRvEy HaS hIs CoIn NoW. cAn We GeT bAcK tO sMoOcHiN' tHaT bRoAd?"

"Thank you, Renee," I say, rolling the coin about in my fingers. "We won't forget this kind gesture, we assure you." I walk past her, knowing full well that she won't shoot that gun staring me in the face - and head back towards her door. Her cat ambles on over and brushes up against my leg for a moment; I shove it aside gently with my foot.

"Don't move."

I roll my eyes. "Renee, you and I both know fully well that -"

"I said DON'T MAKE A MOVE."

"AwWwWwWwW hArV, nOw LoOk WhAt YoU'vE dOnE. yOu NeVeR lEaVe A lAdY uNsAtIsFiEd! NeVeR!"

Not turning around, I continue. "You can't kill me. There are laws. I know those laws. I defended those laws."

"And you broke those laws, Harvey." She shouts. "What's keeping me from doing the same?"

Big Bad Harv battles inside me to say his piece, but I battle him back into my gut where he belongs. "You can't because you're better than me."

I can hear her walking closer behind me. The cat mews and scampers out of the way. "Only better because I'm the only one walking out of here alive." And with that, the barrel of the gun is pressed against the back of my skull.

"You're not acting yourself, Renee," I say, trying to hide the slight waver in my voice.

"ShE's FlIpPiN' nUtS!"

"I'm just seeing things from a different perspective now. A second point of view. Fitting, huh? Screw Gordon, screw Batman, and all the rest. I don't need their approval to finish the job. I don't need a badge to protect this city. I don't need a badge to fire this gun. You don't. Thousands of others don't. And thousands more will be thankful I cap your sorry ass right here and now. Don't lecture me about not acting myself, honey."

I flip the coin...look at the facing side...and act accordingly. Just as Renee finishes up her lecture I kick my right leg backwards and bash her in the knee; she stumbles and fires her shot, spiraling upwards into the ceiling. I spin around and grab her staggering body by both her shoulders and shove her forcefully back across the room. She falls backwards onto the couch with a look of outrage on her face. She springs back onto her feet and lunges at me.

I dodge to the side but only after she manages to sock me in the gut once. "Listen Renee..."

I run around behind the couch, holding my hands up. She charges and swings a lamp in my direction.

"I don't - "

She shrieks and throws the porcelain lamp in my direction; it hits me across the chest and falls to the floor, shattering.

" - want - "

She leaps over the couch with both arms outstretched, clawing at me.

" - to hurt you!"

I duck down and she soars above me; I grab her by the ankle and swing her around with a loud grunt and she flies through the window and onto the fire escape. An explosion of shattered glass cascades in all directions.

"No!" I kick myself and lean through the window to see her flopped backwards on the metal grid of a fire escape. "I didn't mean to..."

She's twitching. Her robe is all dischevelled, and hanging off one shoulder. The same shoulder I shot her through just yesterday, but...it's remarkably healed. In its place, is a moderately-sized dark green bruise.

"NoW lOoK wHaT yOu DiD, yOu SuLlIeD tHe MeRcHaNdIsE."

"Shut up." I lean in closer, peering through the shattered window - that looks familiar. Renee's still twitching...that bruise on her shoulder is actually bulging and gurgling or something. This isn't right. I find a piece of shattered glass and drive it into her bruise; covering her mouth to conceal any potential vocalizations, I dig around and after a few seconds, retrieve a sprouting seed that had been placed in her open wound. A few tentacle-like vines have already attached itself into her arteries, so I make sure to clear those of her system, too. This work looks all too familiar.

"WhAt, ArE aLl YoUr Ex-CrUsHeS wOrKiNg tOgEtHeR nOw? FiRsT rEnEe AnD nOw PaM?"

I don't know. But if Ivy's involved somehow, this is bigger than I thought.

I slip the seed back into my pocket - this little baby looks useful. I then pull myself back into the apartment and head for the door.

"I can't just leave her there."

"ShE tRiEd To KiLl YoU!"

"No, she didn't."

"I jUsT sAw -"

I call 911. It's the least I can do. Leave the address and no more. Then get the hell out of there before anyone shows up.

I slip out the front door and hustle out the back entrance to the apartment complex. "I'm sorry, Renee."

[TimTwoFace]

OC: Ahhh!

What happened to Reir's post? I saw he posted one the other day but didn't get a chance to read it and now it's gone! What's up?

I've tried contacting you (GS) over the net already but you are on "idle" - I'm very confuzzled!

-Tim

[Reirden]

OOC: Here's my post, Tim! Hope this one's alright...

IC: Robin/ Dick Grayson
Wednesday, June 22nd
8:43 am

I speed down the hill that houses the Batcave. Dead leaves trail behind me, caught in the wind my bike produces. I love that sound. It tells me that it's going to be an exciting night, or in this case, morning. Damn them. Can't they wait until sundown to blow things up anymore? I switch on the radio to hear the latest on the scene from the Police.

Instead, I got a familiar voice.

"Robin, you there?" Heh.

"Yeah, what's up Batgirl?"

"Well I'm assuming you're aware of what's going on just like I am....care to rendevous?"

A large grin spreads across my face. A partner could make this roundup much easier.

"Sure thing," I say, "Where at?"

She gives some directions, I repeat them in my head all the way there, so as not to forget them.

---------------------------

8:57 am

I pull into the alley Batgirl specified, and wait behind a dumpster. A few minutes later she runs in cautiously, you never know what's lurking in an alley way in Gotham City. Could be an alley cat, could be a pissed drug-addict because he couldn't afford his fix last night. To those without batarangs and teargas, you should always have pepper spray.

"Robin?" she whispers.

"Yeah," I say as I get out into the open, "Right here."

"Alright, where are we off to?" she asks.

I toss her my spare helmet, "Try not to ding this one too. I like that one" I say with a large smile.

She gives me an 'I thought that was funny but I'm going to hold in the laughter and try to scold you' look. It makes me laugh.

"We're trying to find Two-Face. Hope you got enough sleep, you're gonna need all the energy you've got today." It's gonna be a long one.

----------------------------
OOC: huge time jump, I know, but I didn't have any more filler.
9:52 am

The radio finally gives me something that's of some use to me.

<static>"-anonymous call stating a break in at Officer Montoya's place, send two units-"

Alright, this is what I wanted. I've got you now Harv.

"Hold on!" I say to Batgirl, "We've got us a criminal to catch!" I would slap my forehead if I could for saying something as stupid as that. But all I can do is cringe, unless I feel like becoming a sidewalk pancake.
----------------------------
9:58 am

I pull up to the address given in the 911 call. A run down building, just like most of them in Gotham. There's a broken window and a seemingly unconscious woman in the fire escape. That's gotta be Officer Montoya.

"You go see if she's okay, I'm gonna go after Dent!" I order Batgirl. She nods and jumps up the fire escape.

I dismount from my bike. He can't be that far.

I run down the littered sidewalk looking for some indication that he could've fled this way.

No way of knowing where he went. Which way..? I frantically look in both directions. A crash of glass gives me a hint. I dart off to my left to the street corner and see a car speeding away from me. A man in a robe flings the flimsy door open next to me, obviously woken by the noise. "Get back here! You *&%$#@$!!!", he screams. I look on the ground. Broken glass everywhere. There’s no mistaking who took that car. The angry man glares at me and runs into his apartment to call the cops. The stolen car is too far off to chase down. I'd lose him if I went to go get my bike. No…Twoface got away.
-----------------------------
10:03 am

Batgirl tells me Montoya's in bad shape, but just as I head down to get the medical kit from my motorcycle, we hear sirens. That usually means run, but this time, I make an exception. I toss the box up to Batgirl and she gets to work. Two police vehicles pull up followed by an Ambulance. I point the medics up to the fire escape and help one of them up.

One of the Officers glares at me while his partner walks up to me.

"Did you do this to her?"

I use ‘The Batman’ face on him. "What do you think?"

"I think you're a freak just like the rest of 'em, and you're plenty capable to do this to someone."

"Nah, I only attack when I'm provoked." I give him a more intense glare. I see a hint of fear in the man's eyes, and I turn away.

I whistle to get Batgirl's attention. "They got it from here! Let's go!"
--------------------------
11:22 am

We're back at the alley we met in earlier in the morning.

"Here's your helmet" Batgirl says as she tosses it into my arms.

I look down at it, about to make a joke, but when I look up, she's gone.

Damn! Batman's really made an impression on her. I grunt as I see the time on the clock on my bike. I have to be to class in two hours. That's not really enough time to get some much-needed sleep. "I can change," I think as I hop on my motorcycle, "and then eat, then maybe I can get a re-charge nap. That should keep me awake through class.
----------------------------
4:17 pm

Class was hell. I'm sure it was a very interesting lecture to all those who weren’t chasing down madmen all morning. But for me, it was like a wrestling match with my eyelids, and they were winning.

I open the door to the enormous mansion and trudge up the stairs to my room.

I fell asleep and missed the end of the discussion, putting me in an awkward place for the paper due next week.

It doesn't matter. All that matters right now is my bed. I fall into the pillows, they embrace me, and warmth flows over me like water. I immediately fall asleep.
----------------------------
7:03 pm

A voice shakes me from the blackness of a deep sleep.

"Master Dick."

I moan and grunt. "Later Alfred."

"But Master Dick, isn't it time for your nightly routine?"

Again a grunt comes from my throat. I really don't feel like swooping above the city tops right now. But duty calls.

I mumble as I get out of bed and rub my eyes.

"It is my guess that you have not eaten anything all day?" Alfred inquires.

I smile. "You'd be right."

Alfred hands me a tray with a steaming hot plate of...What the hell is this? He gives me and Bruce the weirdest dishes sometimes. I smile weakly with an even weaker "Thanks." I know he means well, but some of these dinners are so exotic, I can't see ANYONE eating them.

I wait until Alfred closes my door, and I run to the window and dump the white goop out the window.
---------------------------
7:46 pm

There's nothing quite like the wind rushing in your face when you're 30 stories up. The part I love the most is right before you have to fire off another line. You're free falling, there's nothing stopping you from becoming cement paste except pure speed, reaching for your belt to grapple on another rooftop. It sounds weird, but the life-threatening parts of this job are the exciting ones. Unless you're face to face with the Joker and he has a drill to your head, that's not exciting.

I feel so carefree up here, the exact opposite of what I should feel. I need to focus on why I'm up here. Twoface.
----------------------------
9:32 pm

Nearing the end of my first route, I land on a rooftop and peer over the edge. I know I heard a scream.

There you are. A man with a switchblade trying to take a woman's purse. The typical super-hero situation. This is almost a routine thing now.
I jump down behind the man. I grab his arm harshly and twist it into a not-so-comfortable spot. I snatch the knife out of his hand and throw his body into a nearby wall. I pin him up against the wall with my arm to his neck. "Do you understand that this knife just led you into jail?" His right arm reaches into his jacket and he pulls out a small pistol. Bad decision. I quickly kick the gun out of his hand and punch him square in the face, knocking him unconscious. Just a quick tie up on the wrists and ankles…there. I throw the stolen purse back to the woman, salute, and grapple back up to the roof. I love that move.

I hop a few roofs over and intend to grapple on a larger building until I hear some people talking. I decide since I'm here, why not listen in? I look to see who's there. Hmph. Just a few drunks on a smoking break. I think I just heard one of them say something about Batman...

"You hear what happened to Ricky?, man?" One man says.

"Yeah...Scooped up by the Bat." Another says.

A smaller man speaks up, "Nah, man, it wasn't the Bat. I was there. It was some big guy with a gray mask. He was huge man. I ran like there was no tomorrow, but Ricky, he just stood there. The guy beat him real good and then took him away. I think we better lay low for a couple weeks, guys. We got enough cash to stay out of work for a week, right?"

"Yeah, yeah, we got some money in the bank from the last run..."

Sounds like Lock-Up's doing his thing again. Twoface can wait. Lock-up needs to be back in his cell before he gets the chance to kill some of these lowlifes.

I wait until the men go back inside the bar, and then grapple off to my next route. “Lock-Up…” I mumble to myself.

[AndreaBeaumont]

CURRENT DAY: Wednesday, June, 22nd ....................<--Don't forget to
CURRENT TIME: 9:32 p.m............................................. include this in
.................................................................................your posts!

The rest of you are playing catchup...so hurry it up so we can cut down on the confusion on day and time...we have a month to kill till Joker can be thrown back into the mix! Let's get this thing on the road people.:anime:

[TimTwoFace]

IC: Two-Face
Wednesday, June 23
10:25am

"You left her there to die, Harvey."

The thought keeps running through my head. I left Renee Montoya on the fire escape outside of her balcony to die.

"Oh CoMe NoW, sHe WaS gOnNa Be FiNe AnD yOu KnOw It, YoU wOrRy-WaRt."

Chances are that Ivy's got some freaky regenerative crap coursing through her body or something, but still - I left a harmless, manipulated woman to die.

"HaRmLeSs!? ShE wAs GoNnA kIlL uS!"

She was under Pam's control.

"WeLl, ThEn PaM wAs GoNnA kIlL uS!"

I left her to die.

"We'Re GoNnA dIe!"

No, we're safe now, thanks to me...

"No, I mEaN wE'rE gOnNa DiE! wAtCh ThE rOaD!"

My glazed-over eyes blare open and with a quick jerk of my arms, I swurve the car I've stolen out of oncoming traffic - just to hit traffic all on my own. Gridlock never ceases in this town.

"GeT oUtA tHe CaR, tHe CoPs WiLl DeScEnD oN uS aNy SeCoNd."

He's right. "At least we're close to the hospital."

"yOu ReAlLy ThInK tHeY'lL lEt Us iN? We'Re NoT eXaCtLy ThE tYpE tHaT bLeNd In To ThE cRoWd. We'D'vE hAd BeTtEr LuCk WiTh MoNtOyA bAcK tHeRe."

I pop on the hazard lights and step out of the car in the middle of the six-lane street. I pry the license plates off of the car and bolt into a nearby alley, depositing the plates in a nearby dumpster.

Grace, my amazing Grace, she isn't far from me now.

[AndreaBeaumont]

"Darkness Rises..."
June 22nd
Wednesday
9:32 pm

"YOU STUPID BI..."

Is the sound that awakens me from my almost comatose like sleep I've slipped into. I hear an object thrown across the room and connect with the wall that divides me from the happy couple next door.

A groan escapes my lips as I uncurl from the fetal postion I've assumed in my nest of sheets on the floor. Every muscle in my body protests as I make an attempt to stretch. I push myself up off the floor to a sitting position and my wrist throbs. I grab it with the opposite hand and squint in the poor light provided by room, and take in its slight swolleness and wierd tinge of blotchy pink and red. I grab the edge of the flithy bed and pull myself up avoiding putting my full weight on my now bum leg since injuring both my knee and ankle.

I look around the room and take it in seemingly for the first time. I just came in and passed out really. There's the disgusting bed, a small bathroom which I have yet to examine, a small mirror on the wall, a small dresser that's leaning sideways due to its two missing legs, a radiator in the corner and a window. I make my way over to the window and push the tattered curtains aside.

"Great view..." I comment to myself cynically.

I look out over crime alley at all the activity taking place. Bums hobble around the streets begging for money and searching through garbage, other men stride shiftily down the street to fulfill a greater purpose. I glance over at my bag but quickly shake my head to rid myself of irrational thoughts.

"That'd be real smart Ang, sure...don your suit and go hopping from building to building down here, if you don't get shot or at least shot at Bruce would be sure to find you..." I chastise myself.

I have this overwhelming feeling of urgency to avoid Bruce....and I'm not quite sure why...

"I-I promise not to do it again! Pleas..."

I hear a woman whimpering from the other room. A strange feeling bubbles up inside me and before I know it I'm reaching for my door knob but I quickly stop myself. 'Ang you can't draw attention to yourself! They're all lowlife scum anyway, they all deserve what they do to each other...' This side of my judgement, be it the better or worse, wins out.

I look at the nest of sheets on the ground and quickly deduce that I doubt I'll be getting much sleep and go inspect the bathroom. It's just as bad as the rest..the toliet...has something growing in it I'm sure...the shower looks okay on the other hand though. I turn on the water and quickly realize the warmest that I'll get will be lukewarm and I doubt it'll even last for long. I strip down quickly and climb in reluctantly.

"Oh bloody hell..." I shiver. I find a miniscule peice of soap left in the soap dish but decide against using it. I rub the water into my skin hoping to scub off some of the filth. I rinse my red hair and massage my scalp with my fingers. My body adjusts to the temperature and I feel a little bit better. I dig the dirt from beneath my nails just as I use up the last of the warm, if you can call it that, water, as it switches to practically raining down ice cubes. I shiver violently and turn off the water. I grab what seems to be a clean towel off a small bar and towel myself off. I twist my hair, ringing it of it's excess moisture and step out of the shower. I walk into the main part of the room and change into a dressing gown I brought with me.

Clean...oh how good it feels. I continue scrunching my hair with the towel until it no longer drips and pull out a brush and comb it straight. I pull a nightstand over by the window and use it as a chair. I sit down and busy myself by watching the criminal activity below. Suddenly I see the Batsignal flicker on above and my mind drifts to not Bruce but the Joker and a different feeling boils up from deep inside of me...not compassion as before but something else...something....dark.....

OOC: Consider me caught up!

[The Guitar Slayer]

9:10 AM

Parents are stupid, stupid creatures. I don’t count.

They just sat there dumbfounded while I carefully peeled their kids off my car. A big masked loony was handling your children, folks. Your kids were trying to hop into a stranger’s car, and you didn’t do anything. A stranger joked with your children, and you just stared.

I’m no pervert. But anyone like that could get close to your child right in front of you if I could. I’m pretty damn conspicuous.

I’m approaching Lock-Up’s last known residence. Although it looks fairly plain from the outside, I know it’s a deathtrap to all unwanted guests. That said, I think I’ll be using SHINE’s expertise again to trip all the traps he has set up. Then again, I don’t need to spend another million on another prototype…

Oh look. One of the kids left his remote control cars in my Batmobile.


9:50 AM

WIRRRRR WIRRRR WIRRIRR KABOOM!

Next. I think I understand the appeal of these things now.

WIRRRRR WIRRRR WIRRRRRR KABOOM!

Last car. I hope I cleared it enough. Judging from the state of the ground near those mines, I’d say they were pretty fresh. Lock-Up is a fast man. I listen carefully. Crickets, leaves, very peeved neighborhood pets….

Screaming?

Yes. It’s screaming. I hop through the craters and crouch before the basement window. It’s too dark to see inside, but someone very frightened is hysterically shrieking. I kick in the window and shine my flashlight around.

A bloody, bruise-covered mass which was once a teenager meets my light first. He’s still. It doesn’t look like he can hold on for long. And now for the noise……

“He’s bombing us! Oh my God! Stop it!” Another teen in a similar state is conscious, but raving. His dirty blonde hair is covered in matted blood and dirt, and his clothing is beyond reparability. His eyes are wild and barely within the realm of sanity; I have had to look into the eyes of many a madman before. He thrashes against his bonds, sobbing and screaming as if he can’t see the light.

I lower myself onto the floor. The prisoner takes notice and changes his pattern. “Who the **** are you?! Get me out of here!” He squints, trying to see me as I approach with the light.

“How did you end up tangling with Lock-Up?” I rumble as I start to crouch down. There is a pause before he starts up again.

"THE BAT! THE BAT!!”

“Yes, I know who I am. Who are you, and how did you get here?” He doesn’t answer and continues to rave.

I’m tired of this. I tranquilize him and he drops off to sleep. Now to tend to the ones who can’t scream.

My foot brushes up against something. I nearly vomit when I see what appears to be leftovers from the bomb. Apparently, there were more causalities than I thought. Knowing Lock-Up, he used this as an intimidation tactic. I nudge it aside and tend to the comatose vegetable in the corner. I press my fingers against his throat. Faint, but still present.

The next question would be how to get them out of this death trap. I can’t get EMS in here without endangering their lives, and I’m not even going to attempt the minefield upstairs. The only way out is the way I came. This is going to be a long morning.

12:35 PM

For the second time that day, I walk out of the Gotham Emergency Room. I don’t know what the status of the kids are. I should really care at this point; I have bigger problems that a couple of runaways.

“Yeah. You got one runaway.”

Him again. Back off. I have three madmen to deal with at this point. Two Face, Lock-Up, and the Joker. Two are very much at large, and the last one is stretching his connections in connections via his henchmen and woman.

"And who do you think is stretching out to him?”

I start to answer, but I’m interrupted by Jim Gordon. It takes me a moment, but I recall that Crane and his cronies have been shipped here as well. “Hello, Jim.”

“Nice to see you again, Batman. I hear you brought in those two squatters.”

“Right out of Lock-Up’s basement.”

He starts. “Lock-Up? Already?”

“You forget, Jim. He was trained by the best security forces in the world to be efficient, fast, and most of all, thorough.” I continue walking toward my car, which is, as usual, illegally parked.

He shakes his head. “I didn’t think…” Gordon sighs. “I’m getting too old for this beat. The mind isn’t thinking as far ahead as it used to.”

I can relate to that.

He watches me get into the car silently, his glasses slowly slipping down the bridge of his nose. “I really feel sorry for those kids in there, you know that?”

“I wouldn’t blame you.”

Gordon shoves his hands deeper into his coat pockets. “The one with the black hair is in a coma. His parents haven’t bothered to call us back. The blonde one…I almost wish we hadn’t contacted his parents.”

I turn my head slightly, asking a silent question.

He takes off his glasses to clean them. “His parents got into a messy custody battle over him. Both parents are well-off and all, but the mother’s too sick to handle him any more and the father just doesn’t want him.” Gordon finishes the left lens and starts on the right. “The mother wants the father to take him in indefinitely, but after the kid flunked in school, the father didn’t want anything to do with him. Kicked him out on the street, no notice or anything.” Gordon replaces his glasses on his face. “I hate bastards like that. They try to throw money at a problem, and if it doesn’t go away, they abandon it. I feel the bad for the mom. Wanted nothing but the best for her kid, but….” He exhales again and his mouth forms a thin line.

As much good work as Jim Gordon has done, I think both he and I wonder if the Gotham would have been a better place if he had not become a cop but rather a social worker or something in that line. A man with his determination could have helped fill in the gaps in the system and prevent situations that will ultimately result in another small-time thief. Then again, he couldn’t have protected these youth from psychopaths and other demons.

I’m drawn back to earth as Gordon says something. “Sorry. I was thinking. Repeat that?”

“I asked if you ever knew a jerk like that.”

“Yeah. I have. A few in my time.” I close up the car and pull away from the curb. I check my mirrors to make sure I’m not cutting off ambulance or a bus.

And I find one of the biggest jerks I’ve ever met.


2:30 PM

I’ve been thinking.

Dick arrives home in a few hours. I’ll let him go out and chase Two-Face some more. I pace up and down the long walkways of the Cave. If he can bring him in, fine and well. I don’t want him playing games with Lock-Up; the man has no tolerance for them. I also have my own plans for Lock-Up. He just needs to make one small error, and I shall have him. I have time though, and I’ll use that to my own benefit.

I sit in the giant chair in front of the computer. I’ll also make sure I’m wired in on everything necessary. I grip and squeeze the arms of the chair out of habit. I then center myself on the drone of the computer and allow myself to drift off.


I hear everything, though.


Dick comes home, talks to Alfred briefly, goes to bed. He wakes up later, gets ready, tiptoes out the door.



And here I sit.




I’m not sure when or where I am now. However, when the time comes, I know I will not be able rest my bones for a long, long time.

[Reirden]

IC: Robin/Dick Grayson

Wednesday June 22
9:50pm

Lock-Up. Should I go after him myself?

It's the question I've been asking myself all night.

Am I strong enough to take him on by myself? I know what Bruce would say. He protects me too much. I'm stronger than he thinks. I should bring him in just to show Bruce how capable I am.

No. As much of a threat Lock-Up is to Gotham, he's too much for me.

Back to Two-Face.
------------------

10:04pm

I grapple onto a large radio antannae and swing onto the roof of Gotham Hospital. It's a nice building as far as quality goes in Gotham. It better be nice, Bruce sponsored it.

I run the the opposite edge of the building and jump off. Pulling another grappler from my belt, I fire it off to a nearby building, landing on the roof. I hear glass breaking and metal trash cans being knocked over in an alleyway below. A better view shows me that its Two-Face. Why is he on this side of town...?

The hospital. Grace. Bad things could happen here.

I jump off the building and land with a thud on a broken down car, smashing the already cracked windsheild.

"Harvey. You're coming with me."

He pulls a gun from his belt and fires off a few rounds, I jump off the car and take cover. All missed. He begins to run towards his destination. I pull out a gas pellet and toss it a few feet in front of him, the gas hissing out right when he steps over it. It's not very strong, it'll knock him on his knees for a few seconds, then he'll just have a hard time standing up straight for the next few minutes.

I pull him up off the ground and attempt to throw some cuffs on him before he regains full awareness. He takes on of his hands and plants it deep in my stomach. Looks as if I was too late.

I charge into him, and give him an upper-cut. Roundhouse to the ribs, front kick to his chin. He should be hurting pretty bad now.

Not enough. He gets up and runs full speed at me. My foot greets his face, and he falls to the ground, moaning in pain.

"Alright, NOW you're under arres-"

I'm broken off by a powerful smack to the side of my head.

I lay on the ground, bleeding from the mouth.

Who...Oh God. Not him.

[TimTwoFace]

OOC: OK, we're jumping ahead to the night again, eh? Looks like I have some catching up to do!

IC: Two-Face
11:00am

Here I am, sitting in a dark, dank alley - only in Gotham can an alley still manage to be dark and dank on a bright, sunny day in June. The huge monolith known as Gotham General Hospital looms a few blocks away, peaking out from behind a few rows of low-rise apartments on the east side of town.

Grace, I know you're in there.

Grace, I need to be there with you.

Grace, I need to get you out of there.

"GrAcE, pLeAsE tElL tHiS gUy He'S aN iDiOt FoR eVeN cOnSidErInG gOiNg In ThErE iN bRoAd DaYlIgHt."

He's right, of course. But damn it, what am I supposed to do? I can only hide in this "home boy" hoodie for so long before the cops, the Bat, or some kid that's seen my face on the news recognizes me and tells his mom. And where else am I going to go? Drake's sold me out, Thompkins is being a moody little bitc...

"I tHiNk It'S tHe ChAnGe KiCkInG iN, pErSoNnAlLy."

Where's Lock-Up? I should've hung out with him, instead. At least his homestead is likely safe from the outside.

"YeAh, SaFe LiKe AuScHwItZ."

* * * * * * *

2:00pm

Of course I had to chime in now. And why not? The most surprising thing just happened. After leaving the alley earlier this afternoon and scrounging around for some expired food behind some dingy joint in Chinatown, I ran into Min and Max trying to hold up the joint. Tommy guns at the ready, potato sacks in their hands, about the break in through the back. Heh, nice to see these two are still kicking around. It's been a while.

"Two-Face, is that you?" The one asked.

"HeY, lOnG tImE nO sEe, BoYs. OuT oN pArOlE aLrEaDy? WhAt'S tHe D.a. ThInKiNg?"

"Alright," the other said - still don't know which one this is. Damned twins. "Maybe we can arrange something, huh Two-Face?"

I swat the back of my hand at him, hitting him across the mouth. "DoN't SaY tHaT. i'M iN hIdInG, yOu IdIoT."

"Sorry."

"I nEeD a PlAcE tO sTaY." I pause, in thought. "FoR tWo PeOpLe, AcTuAlLy."

One scratches his head. The other shrugs his shoulders and looks absolutely clueless.

"SoUnDs GoOd, BoYs. YoU'vE YeT tO lEt Me DoWn."

* * * * * * * *

4:20pm

Heh, couldn't resist chiming in now, either. Considering the amount of illegal...err...material the boys have stashed at their crib, it seemed fitting. I'm allowed to have a sense of humour, right?

"HeH, sInCe WhEn?"

I thought you'd like it.

"No, YoU'rE sTeAlInG mY tHuNdEr, PrEtTy-BoY."

The place is, as usual, a rundown apartment. A few beds, a television, a grimy, pea green fridge - I can handle this for now, I suppose.

"You can sleep on the murphy bed, Two-Face," says one. I think it's Min. The kid has a few less freckles than the other. "We've never used it since we moved in, so it should be pretty clean."

I look at him and tug on the string to pull the bed out of the wall. The bed slams down on the floor with a bang, narrowly missing my feet. I jump back in surprise and hear the boys gasp. Then I see why.

"Min, you idiot, we should've checked that thing out weeks ago," Max says. He dives onto the bed and rolls around in a pile of money that has exploded from a tear in the middle of the mattress. It's splattered with red, too.

"Is that blood?" Min asks nervously.

I lean in and sniff one of the bills. "YeP. BuT mOnEy'S mOnEy. NoW sHoVe OvEr, I'm In ThE sErIoUs NeEd Of A sLeEp."

* * * * * * *

6:56pm

I'm drifting in and out of sleep, and can hear the boys in the next room chatting it up while watching TV. I hear them speaking of their past adventures, and hear something of them taking flying lessons. Now this is something I never knew.

"HeY hArV, wOuLdN't ThAt FiT rIgHt In WiTh..."

"Oh shut up, go back to sleep."

* * * * * * *

10:04pm

I've managed to crawl through the bushes and ascend the large, well-groomed rise to Gotham General, still in my street clothes. Lord knows I wouldn't get changed at Min and Max's place - every piece of their wardrobe looks the same, and I am NOT going to lower myself to look like a two-bit crony.

"StOp WiTh ThE pUnS aLrEaDy."

Looking back, I survey the city from the hill upon which the Hospital looks. What a sight. Off in the distance I can see downtown - Gotham's Twin Towers, Wayne Enterprises Headquarters, Lady Gotham out in the harbour, all those marvelous bridges, that loon Maxie Zeus' old "Olympus" building, GCPD Headquarters, complete with an activated Bat-signal, and the courthouse.

Justice.

That's why I'm here. I'm seeking justice.

Justice for my lovely, lovely Grace.

"Harvey. You're coming with me."

Who the hell is that? I pull a gun I shoved into my belt - found it at Min and Max's place, I figured they'd much oblige - and fire in the direction of the voice. Nothing.

"ThAt WaSn'T tHe BaT. i KnOw HiS vOiCe. ThAt OnE wAs ToO...yOuThFuL. aNd HaPpY."

Well, that means that it's gotta be -

PSSSSSHHHHHHT! One of those damned gas pellets explodes somewhere before me. Still shooting the gun, I cover my mouth and run towards the hospital, making sure to stay out of the light so as not to draw any more attention to myself, as if the firing of bullets wasn't enough. For once, God, please guide one of these bullets INTO THAT DAMNED BOY and give me a damned break.

"AmEn!"

As I run, my eyelids flutter. My jaw clenches. My stomach churns. My head spins. And just as I feel the burning gun fall from my limp hand, and my face hits the wet dirt in the hospital's rose garden, I hear a voice in the background.

"Back to Arkham with you, Harvey."

The Boy Hostage pulls me up off my face, and I hear the rattle of some handcuffs. It looks like he didn't hear the voice. Maybe I'm just hearing things...

No. No, I know there's someone else here. I shake my head, trying to regain some form of consciousness, and slam my knee into Robin's chest, forcing him off of me. "GrAcE iS mInE!"

An insult. An absolute insult. The Bat sends this BOY in an attempt to bring me in? He'll be sorry for this, that will be assured. I grab at him, my hands just barely grazing the corner of his mask, but still manage to rack my jagged nails on my left hand across his face. Selina would be proud.

"MrRrRrOoOwW!"

I can't continue, though. The boy keeps coming at me in waves, throwing me about. I can feel the blood trickling in the back of my throat, my heart beating in my sinuses. I try to charage at him, but he kicks me in the face, and a spray of thick blood hurls out of the corner of my mouth, highlighted against the pale moonlight before it hits the dirt.

"Alright, NOW you're under arres-"

The cuffs are jangling again, but all sound is cut off by a loud thud, and the Boy Hostage's body is lying next to me on the ground, groaning in agony.

"No. Dent is coming with me."

I look up and, standing before me with the moon behind, I can see a tall, dark, imposing silhouette staring down at me, nothing visible but the slits for his eyes.

"Hey...Lock-Up...buddy ol' pal..."

[AndreaBeaumont]

CURRENT DAY: Wednesday, June, 22nd ....................<--Don't forget to
CURRENT TIME: 10:04 p.m............................................. include this in
.................................................................................your posts!

[The Guitar Slayer]

Wednesday, June 22
10:05 pm

I see something. I have my eyes closed and all, but everyone can see through their eyelids when the light is bright enough. It's one of the Crane's numerous flashing lights. They go off whenever it's processing something new, there's a break-in somewhere, or Alfred reminds me to eat.

This light, however, is in a non-typical place for either of these events. I don't think I've seen it go off before. Is it that important? I'll probably have to get my programming notes to figure out what it is in the first place.

I'm really getting sick of it. I crack open my eyelids and try to focus on the offending light.

Red and green. Red and green. Again and again. My flesh starts to crawl. I stare at the light's neighbors: Tracker 1, Tracker 2, Batmobile, Batplane, the boat, Alfred, Bruce Wayne, Mayor Hill, Commissioner Gordon....

It's a newer light. It is located next to the Red Bird's tracker. I remember installing it and explaining all about how it would work. I remember saying never to use it unless there was a real emergency that couldn't be taken care of over the radio. He's never used it before, even when he should have. It's because, as he claimed, he thought that "it wasn't that serious, Bruce." He's always been a little overconfident and maybe a bit prideful, but I suppose others wouldn't blame him. I always thought that he would be hanging by his toenails off the wing of a crashing, fiery jet plane and be thinking "Hmmm, Should I hit the button? Nah."

Robin just hit the distress signal I installed in his belt.

I hope to God it hasn't been blinking long.

[AndreaBeaumont]

"Bloody Hell.."
June 22nd
Wednesday
9:48 p.m.

Screw this...

I give up battling with my judgement and decide to do what I would like to do...

HAVE TO DO..

Being cooped up is driving me nuts. I stand in front of the small dingy mirror as I slip on my suit and simple black mask, lacking eye white out. The fiery, orange, bird emblem on my chest crawls from shoulder to shoulder in a large V. I bend down and pick up my cape and affix it snugly to the button like snaps on my collarbones. The orange twisting flames on it, running from top to bottom, lick at my heels as I toss my meager belongings into the bag and throw open the window. I sigh and take a deep breath as the cool night air rushes in through the window, filling my lungs. I shoot a quick look at the alley below as I step through the window onto the rickety fire escape. I can feel it sway dangerously beneath my weight. I look towards where Gotham Square would be, hidden behind the tall buildings in the downtown area. Thankfully I've reached the point of crime alley where the buildings begin climbing in stories.

I glance up the building I'm currently hanging off the side of...
Doesn't- seem- that far...

I lob my bag up onto the roof and listen to it land with a thud and skid. I clear any second thoughts I have in my mind as I leap into the air and catch the edge with my finger tips. I scramble to find a grip as I hear a loud creaking and the fire escape below give way and crash into the alley below.

"Ungh...."

I pull myself up onto the roof and fall to my knees.

"That sounds like its up to fire code..."

Searching for my knapsack I pause and steal a gaze toward Gotham Square again. There are ample buildings' roofs for me to make my way there on. I find my knapsack and take another swig of cool air before taking off running for the edge of the building. I somersault onto the next building easily, landing in a crouch, standing up, and repeating the process. The sound of gravel from landing on the roof and air wooshing by as I somersault is all that fills my ears for about 10 minutes.

I stop as I land on a tiered sky scraper, breathing heavily, perfect opportunity to get higher. I am so envious of those damned grappling hooks Bruce carries around. I make my way to the corner stones, I pull my gloves off with my teeth and hold them there while I rub my hands together. I slip the gloves in my bag and clasp my fingers in the large gap, about eye level, between the 2 feet tall stones. I pull myself up and find some footing. Gotta love gothic architecture. I free climb to the next landing and slide myself onto solid ground again. I feel the air rip past me and flutter my cape. It's windy tonight. I find my next building.... I get a running start and somersault...

1,...
2,...
3,...
Okay should be one more...
3, 1/2....

I connect with the roof early and end up skidding across it on my shoulder. I slide to stop...
"Oh bloody hell....."
...and lay there for a second before picking myself up.

"That's gonna leave a mark...."

I inspect myself...didn't rip my suit...but I can feel my arm throb beneath it. I walk over to the edge of the building I'm on and look down. What building is this anyway? I see Gotham General in art deco silver lettering, back lit, on an over hang below. An ambulance comes screeching up and pulls under it. Go figure...I nearly rip my shoulder off on the roof of the hospital. I turn and upon closer inspection see I landed on the helicopter pad...that's what saved me from gravel being imbedded in my skin no doubt.

My ears catch a faint noise...underneath the chaos happening 8 stories below, underneath the ambulance, the nurses and doctors scrambling to get to the patient...

I follow the sound to the opposite side of the building and look down in the alley below rather nonchalanty for someone trying to be stealthy. My eyes grow wide as I see Robin in a fray with a man with...something horribly wrong with the left side of his body... I shrink back a little to keep from being seen but realize quickly Robin's not interested in what I'm doing.

Just as I look for a way to make it down the eight stories without seriously injuring myself....I hear Robin go down with a thud....another man has appeared...and knocked Robin against the wall like a rag doll. I cringe for him...that must of hurt...

I hear him groan loudly and watch as he discreetly slips his hand onto his belt and fiddles with something...neither of the men seem to notice. I watch as he starts to pick himself back up off the ground...

I know one thing for sure...this is not going to be pretty...

[The Guitar Slayer]

10:06

I don't remember jumping into the suit, turning the car on, or signalling Alfred from upstairs. I don't remember loading up my belt, getting into the car, or driving out of the cave. It's all a fast blur...just like the one I'm travelling through right now. I'm going twice the speed limit, blowing it off. I can't get there fast enough. It's too slow, too old, too dated.


I don't think I will get there soon enough.


Gotham is more surreal than usual as the buildings hiss by my window. The lights are lines and everything see attached on an imaginary wall. If I reach out to touch it, it will all slide down and away from my grasp. That’s simply out of my peripheral vision. The focus is on that tracking light. The car is on autopilot. I am focus, centered, obsessed with that light.


The car begins to brake as it enters the shady boulevards off Gotham Square.

No no! Speed up! Hurry! No time to lose! And damn those safety locks I put in; it won’t let me out until it draws to a halt or until the passcode is keyed in. I hit the combination perfectly the first time and wait for the timer to wind down.

It turns the last corner.

I unbuckle the safety belt and lean forward, ready to jump out of the car as soon as the hatch slides open.

The headlights shine on the darkened hospital courtyard. There are a few scattered lamp posts, but not enoughto prevent shadows. The headlights stream light onto two bodies obscured by the lush landscape. One is a giant, thick and slow, but powerful in his strides and strikes. The other is fast, bobbing and weaving, dodging carefully….or it would be if it could stand straight. The shadows gain color as the car draws nearer.

Oh….

Lock Up looks like the heavyweight champion that he could have been. His arms are braced in fists and his eyes are bloodshot with pure rage, pure “justice” pounding through them. I see the veins popping out of his arms from the physical exertion even from my vantage point. Sweat is oozing from his body, making wet spots all over his black garb. His stealth cover has been blown.

And now the challenger. Wiry strong, more fit to be a dancer than a boxer. His weight is not balled up and slung on to the body haphazardly, unlike his bulking opponent. Rather, it is stretched over his frame and carefully refined. The papers used to say how his act was poetry in motion.

The motion has been halted by violent fists, and the bird has stopped singing its poetry.

As the light hits his back, Lock Up lands a haymaker, spinning Robin around. I see the blood come flying out of his nose and splatter on a hospital wall. He’s dazed as his eyes are burned by the light. He holds up a hand to protect himself against it as he teeters precariously, but I’ve already seen the worst. Except for the costume, I couldn’t tell if it was him. The face has been mangled beyond recognition. Bruises have made his face bloated, and burst blood vessels have left tiny fountains of blood on his face.

Robin’s eyes focus just enough to recognize that ominous vehicle. His features contort into a grin.

Lock Up raises a trash can above his head….

STOP!

I slam myself into my windshield as I try to force the hatch open. It’s only enough to get a hand through. GodDAMMIT.

“TURN!!” I scream through the glass.

He can’t hear me.

I can’t save him.

As the metal connects with his head, I see part of his skull give way and dark blood starts to flow out of his nose and mouth. His grin is torn off his face as he falls lifeless to the ground. Lock Up finally notices my presence and turns tail and runs.

You’ll get yours, Bolton.

As the car draws nearer, I see Harvey cowering in a corner. His “buddy” just went a little too far, and he knows it.

And now the hatch is open.

The next thing I know, I’m literally flying over the windshield and sliding over front of the car. Hit the ground and pound the pavement to where Dick has been felled. Although he’s light compared to me, I barely have the strength to roll him over.

He’s dead.

[TimTwoFace]

IC: Lock-Up
Wed, June 22, 10:10pm

It's a shame. A real, crying shame.

Don't you for a second think I liked what I had to do back there. Beating a poor boy senseless beyond recognition, rubbing out yet another one of this city's so-called protectors...but I had to. They don't protect the city at all. Everyone they acquire gets sent to prison or to Arkham or to wherever, only to be released a few weeks, months, or years down the road.

Where's the justice? They'll just recommit those same crimes, over and over and over again, as long as the system keeps pandering to them.

Either wipe 'em out or lock 'em up, it makes no difference to me.

And now, thanks to the Bat showing up, I wasn't able to snag Dent unless I wanted to be seriously compromised. Who knows what he was up to in the 24 hours during which he wasn't under my watch.

I don't even want to dare think about it.

Hopefully the boy's demise will get the Bat off my case for the time being - priorities, ya know. Weaklings like him always let emotion get the better of him - probably on his way to whatever hole he came from as we speak.

I cross across the shady, forested glen at the corner of the well-manicured hospital grounds and emerge back into the city, rubbing the blood running from my nose on the inside of my mask. That man can sure deliver a punch.

A shame we don't share the same means to acquire our common goal.

A real, crying shame.

[TimTwoFace]

IC: Two-Face
Wed, June 22, 10:10pm

Drifting...just drifting...in and out of consciousness, tra la la...tra la la...

Nnnnnngh...our head...

And here I sit, looking lovely as usual. Strewn awkwardly in a rose garden, covered with a mixture of dirt, sweat, and blood. The cool summer breeze feels good on my face, though. If only I could just close my eyes...

"No, ArE yOu NuTs!? ThE bAt Is RiGhT oUt ThErE!"

"But I'm so...tired and...nnngh..."

"SnAp OuT oF iT, mAn! GeEz, WhY dId I eVeR hAvE tO gEt PaIrEd Up WiTh YoU!?" And my left fist smashes me across the face.

"Hey!"

"ThE bAt LeFt Us."

"He wouldn't do that. We're already on our way to Arkham, I reckon. You're just hallucinating."

"No, LoCk-Up WhAlLoPpEd ThE bOy DeAd AnD i ThInK tHeY aLl ToOk OfF."

"We're at the hospital, I'm sure the Boy Hostage wasn't taken far."

"JuSt GeT tHe HeLl Up AnD mOvE! sLeEp WhEn We GeT bAcK HoMe."

He's got a point. The Bat, Lock-Up, the Boy...they're all...gone. I've been abandonned. Or pardonned. Or something. Either way, I can't let this opportunity pass. Any second I can use to my advantage is another second closer I am to Grace.

I climb back onto my knees and look back over my shoulder at the hospital, imagining my amazing Grace in there, still recovering from what Gordon did. Justice will come, my dear. Sweet, bloody justice.

It'll just have to wait another day.

[AceOfKnaves]

IC: Poison Ivy

10:10pm


I smile, watching my babies finish sucking the life out of another patient on the top floor. Soon they'll be strong enough to feed on people that can actually put up a fight instead of the diseased.
One of their arms breaks a window, the long sharp teeth too busy grinding it's fodder to pay attention to the shattered glass.
I step over to it, running my fingers along it's back,
"Careful, my precious. If you make too much noise, the other floors will know that we're here."

Somewhere a few rooms down, someone screams, the sound of a limb being broken making me smile.

People use dead and dying plants for fertilizer, it's only fair if I do the same to the people of Gotham City. There is no compassion or love within the human race, only selfish ideals and plans for expansion. The Earth will not miss them when they're gone.

I wander away from the screams, a boy on a bed in the next room catching my attention.
I approach him slowly, looking down with a smile.
"I know you..." The plants and vines I've released in the top floor of the hospital curl up under my feet and around his bed, some of them wrapping tightly around his neck, "No..." I hold up my hand, my babies retracting immediately, "Leave this one."

Montoya's younger sibling is useful alive...for now.

[AndreaBeaumont]

"The Pursuit Begins.."
June 22nd
Wednesday
10:12 p.m.

I look precariously down at a MUCH lower building to my right. Try by 3 stories. It looks like my only option though as I glance back over at the fight in which Robin is fighting not for their capture but for his own life. I watch as he hits the ground again and I hesistate as I see car lights draw near. I squint and my mouth drops as I recognize the car

...the Batmobile.

Bruce.

I glance back at the fight and pause now. It's taken care of now....

Just as the thought rips through my mind a yelp escapes my lips as I watch a trash can connect with Robin's head.

"Oh god..." I draw my fingers to my lips as I watch Bruce leap from the car and sweep up Robin...lifeless. I linger for a moment but my eyes follow the large man who's escaping...ESCAPING...my blood boils and surges up through me...

I take a deep breath and leap off the edge of the hospital...in slow motion the stories pass me by...I turn a somersault...

1,
2,
3,
4,

I connect with the building below and roll...

I roll about 20 feet and fly up to my feet... I feel the soreness and pain setting in from the impact but as I see the man turn the corner into the alley I'm currently looking down into, my adrenaline flows. The pain is numbed...

I see a fire escape a few feet below and jump down onto it with a loud clang. The man stops for a brief second and see's my figure painted against the red sky. He turns on his heel and runs again...

The pursuit begins...

I fly down the steps and when I get to the last level I jump to the ground and land crouched...my body protests and as I stand up and force my muscles to work harder as I follow him over turned over trash cans. I get about ten feet away when he suddenly spins around and takes a defensive stance. My eyes grow wide as he stands up to show his full stature...he's...huge.

This is no common criminal...

"And who are you?" He spits out as he lunges at me, attempting to wrap me in a huge bear hug to subdue me. I duck and throw punch that connects with his stomach. He cries out and growls as he goes for me again as I dash to the right and end up against a wall. I go to spin out of the way as he comes at me but halfway through yet another desperate attempt to grab at me, he stops himself and catches me in the side with his fist.

I cry out as the breath is knocked out of me and I sink to my knees. I try desperately to pick myself up off the ground but I'm too winded to force my spent muscles to support me. Finally in horror I freeze looking up at my target and now my assailant but he's turned his attention to something else...someone...

I see Bruce slide to a stop at the end of the alley...I can see the furror beneath the mask...the absolute rage....I've seen it before. Our eyes meet for a millasecond and suddenly my legs come back to life. Just as he refocuses on the man I pick myself up and disapear down an adjacent alley. I stop underneath another fire escape...panting...a wave of nausea overcomes me. I hold my stomach with one hand and use the other for support against the wall....I get violently sick and wretch for a good minute before I can compose myself. I wipe my teary eyes and mouth then somehow find the strength to latch on to the fire escape and pull myself up and then make it to the roof. I fall to my knees again and finally collapse on the cool gravel....I can see the whole skyline as everything slowly fades to black....

[The Guitar Slayer]

10:11 PM

He's dead.

He's dead.

He's dead.

I'm so sorry, Mary. I'm so, so sorry. John, I tried. I really did.

Oh God.

He's dead.

Dick's body is cradled in my arms. Still and lifeless. I can't see whether he's smiling or not anymore; he's too mangled. The back of his skull is dented inward. Ribbons of dark blood run down my arms and --

My emotions have gotten in the way again...

"Cut yourself some slack. What counts is that you..."

Dead men don't bleed. I shove my hand down the collar of his uniform. Though sluggish and seemingly hesistant, there's a heart beat. And he hasn't turned blue yet.

I know this may be all in vain, but I have to try to get him to ---

"Shut the hell up and get the kid home!"

And then Lock-Up.

"What?! You need to stay--"

Lock-Up...things I'll do to you, Lyle Bolton.

I rise and run with Dick in my arms to the car. I try to make him as immobile as possible. I strap him in with all the seat belts and bits of rope I can find in the glove compartment. I put the car on autopilot and send it home. I don't think it has even borne such precious cargo. "Alfred?"

"Yes, Batman?"

"I need Leslie at the cave, now. Robin's skull is broken...I thought he was dead at first."

"Good God." I hear Alfred break off the transmission in order to dial out of the Cave.

Thanks, Alfred. Didn't want to seem rude if I hung up on you....

I turn and start to chase after Bolton. I come upon Harvey, unconscious. He apparently fainted. I have the perfect opportunity....

I don't break my stride. Another one on me, Harv. Consider it a gift. I forgot your birthday.

Bolton could have been an Olympic athlete. Despite his bulk, he was an excellent runner. Then again, so am I, in both cases. Rather, I would be if I didn't have all the bones in my right side broken as well as a leg. My leg throbs as I pick up speed, but I ignore it. I block it all out as I dart through the shadows and focus only on my prey's own heavy breathing.

I hear a clatter of cans and Bolton grunting. Someone got in his way. I hear a girl cry out as a fist meets soft flesh. Batgirl...

I see the two forms dancing in the next alley. One goes down hard, the female form. I hear the familiar rasp of someone who just got the wind knocked out them. Bolton stops his assault to set his sights on me. The lithe being turns her face up to look at the new target.

No, not Batgirl. Angela.

My eyes meet hers for a moment before she scrambles to her feet and runs. Her eyes were blank. No anger or spite...but no relief either.

And I've just had to duck to dodge a flying garbage can lid. I have to stop getting distracted by these red-headed women. It'll be my downfall one day.

I press myself low to the ground and into the shadows. Bolton can't see me anymore, but he knows I'm there. "Coward."

Coward, perhaps, but live coward.

"I don't get you, Batman."

If I had a nickel...

"You go outside the so-called 'lines' to get criminals, but when it comes to people like me, you throw us into the same pile as those psychopaths." He smirks into the darkness. "You afraid of getting ousted by a better man? One who can take care of those freaks for good. Could make you lose your special privileges with the cops. Especially that Latin *****, Montoya."

Renee, I'm sorry I can't spring to your honor's defense right now. I have to wait until the right time. I edge back down the alley and silently start to scale up the fire escape to the roof. As Bolton keeps talking, I keep slithering toward him.

Bolton takes note of my nonreaction. "I like having authority. I get the job done. The guy they had after me, Ted what's-his-face... Soft in every sense of the word. He got his just desserts though. So did his chick, the blonde one." He shakes his head. "Women cops. Useless, unless you have special arrangements with 'em like you have, Bats. You have to keep a short leash on 'em or else they do stupid things like get themselves killed. For example, my mother."

I cringe. What is it about the prevalent Oedipus complex in criminals? That and the Elektra keep my job going. I slide on my belly to the ledge right over Bolton's head.

"Dumb cow didn't know her place, so my dad had to show her. My dad was a real man, you know. Didn't take guff from no one. You, you take it from everyone. The cat lady, Gordon..." He pauses and a devious smile comes over his face. I'm already in the air as "That little fruit back there..." comes out of his mouth

The fire in my belly flares up as my boots ram Bolton squarely in the chest. His ribs crack and I spring away before he can recover. He heaves and staggers but remains standing. In the surreal light, he looks like another pumped up madman I have to deal with on a periodic basis.

His head swivels in my direction and he charges. I wait until the last second to jump up to the bottom of a fire escape and vault over his head. I attempt to deliver a roundhouse to his head, but his reflexes are too fast. He grabs my foot and twists it.

Hard.

Snap and crackle.

I don't feel it though. Too much adrenaline. I wrench my foot out of his grasp and punch him while his guard is down. That'll be the last one for awhile.

He comes back like a rabid animal, trying to get a piece of me at every opportunity. Duck, block, turn, jump back, bob, block...

I finally get to lay into him a little, delivering four successive kicks and punches to his midsection. He topples backwards and I draw back, trying to catch some breath.

Strategic error on my part. He rummaged around in the pile he landed on and got himself a sizeable piece of wood. It's a brief flash and then I feel shooting pains through my chest. The wood has served its purpose by rebreaking all of my ribs. He tries again, but I take the brunt of the blow on my arms. The wood snaps, spinning in all different directions. I try to dodge it, but a heavy chunk of it strikes my already broke ribs at an angle. Just the right one to drive my lower right ribs into my lung.

POP.

I wheeze as the air escapes. One lung gone. Alfred will love this. He's stalking me now; he knows I'm wounded. I back up, doubled over. I'm trying ever Eastern method I know of increasing oxygen intake...I don't think they counted on it being used with only one lung.

I find myself in a maze of twisting, narrow alleys. It's easy to switch from one to the other...so I do. Bolton, like shark, can smell blood and will go in pursuit of it until the appetite is sated. I turn in different directions, likely going in circles, searching for something, anything, that'll give me some sort of edge. I finally see it in the form of a rusting water pipe from one of the apartments. I hope the landlord doesn't maintain his property well.

I reach up with my left arm and yank. It gives slightly but not enough. Come on, dammit. I jump up slightly with much protestations from my ribs and hang off of the pipe. I hear Bolton over the groaning of the metal as it bends and twists. I rotate my wrist to help it along. As Bolton comes to the mouth of the alley, I fall to the ground, landing on my bad foot and with my pipe hidden inside the cape. To him, it looks like I tried to climb up, but failed miserably.

I slump down, feigning severe injury.

"You are severely injured, you jackass."

He takes his time, giving me every opportunity to escape. I can see his leer in the moonlight, reflecting off his teeth.

"It's over, Bats."

"Think again, Bolton."

CLANG! I club him with the pipe as soon as he's within striking distance. I don't know what I hit, but it sounded like bone. As he backs up, I see him grab at his shoulder. I use the pipe as a cane and hobble up. I twirl it, adjust my grip, and take a swing at his kneecaps. Those make a rather satisfying noise when clipped at the lower corner and brought diagonally up. Not bad for my left hand, as my right is keeping my ribs in their more or less right places.

I rear back and deliver one final blow to his left hip with all my strength. One of the thickest bones in the body is the pelvis, and its edges are difficult to even chip.

I do believe I just forced a piece of his down into his leg, judging from the tearful wail that emerged from the felled giant's mouth.

I stand over him, using my pipe as a cane again. He looks up at me terrifying as I grind the pipe in the dust next to his head.

I grin at him. "Say, 'Uncle.'"

[AndreaBeaumont]

|>>| Fast Forwarding... |>>|



CURRENT DAY: Thursday, July, 7th ........................<--Don't forget to
CURRENT TIME: 9:00 a.m............................................ include this in
...................................................................................your posts!

[AndreaBeaumont]

"Happy Birthday..."
July 7th
Thursday
9:05 a.m.

I straighten my pale blue knee length skirt and fitted jacket before I step inside the bronze and glass revolving doors before me. I step into the gigantic room and take a second to marvel at the exquisite gothic architecture that runs throughout the old, but elaborate building. I twirl and smooth a strand of my hair as I gaze the ornately carved ceiling when someone bumps into me. A red face younger man spins around and looks a little embarassed, "Oh I'm sorry, I should have been paying attention." I watch him as he makes his way through the crowded room towards the door. My spellboundness is broken and I remember the task at hand as I make my way through the people towards a teller window.

"Hi, Welcome to Gotham National Bank how can I help you this morning?" A middle aged woman asks from behind the bronze bars in front of me.

"My mother, had an account with you here, well actually your branch in London. She left me a trust fund in which I could claim in full on the day of my eighteenth birthday."

The woman behind the bars looks at me with a blank stare, with a slight tinge of confusion so I decide to clarify.

"I want the money my mother left to me."

There clear enough.

"OOOOh! Silly me, yes yes yes. Here let me look up your mother's name!" She says a little too cheerfully, "Oh and what IS your mother's name dear?"

"Andrea, Andrea Carlis." For a split second I think somehow, there's some way she knows that's not who Mum really was and I tense ever so slightly.

"Alright dear, here...here it is," she says typing the name into the small computer, "Andrea Carlis....good heavens!"

I raise an eyebrow.

"Child, you're, you're...rich.!" I smile to myself and a wave of relief washes over me.

"Five hundred thousand dollars...." she says absolutely flabbergasted. At this point other tellers are turning to look at the reciever of such a enormous sum of money. I watch a little amused and little worried at the same time as the news moves down the, seemingly mile long, line in both directions. Suddenly a very official looking man sweeps me up and whisks me to a back room.

"Miss Carlis..." he begins.

"Miss Beaumont," I correct him.

"Miss Beaumont....such a high profile and fine patron as yourself does not need to bank up front with the rest of Gotham city! I handle all transactions with our premier customers personally, " He coos in my direction from across an expansive, polished, cherry desk. I blink forcefully to keep myself from rolling my eyes at this unnecessary fawning and 'royal' treatment I'm getting.

"I just came to collect my money Mr...?" I ask.

"Morganson, Alexander Morganson...you can call me Alex," he says reaching across the table and shaking my hand, flashing me a million dollar smile.

"Well then, Alex, I came to see about opening a bank account and transfering a large part of my trust fund into...." I reply cooley.

"Of course!" He says almost leaping out of his desk and scrambling for paper work.

"Oh no no no, I don't do paperwork," I say switching into actress mode. I own everything I say.

"Well um, " He says looking a little caught off guard for a second, "But we have to do..."

"Mr. Morganson, you wouldn't want me to take my business elsewhere would you?" I reply staring him down. I sit up a little straighter and go to stand up...

"No! I mean uh, of course not Miss Beaumont...I'm sure...postive in fact we can meet both each other's needs with minimal paperwork..." He says at first frazzled then composes himself.

"Good, I'm glad we understand one another...I want all of my business dealings with you to be done with the utmost care and total discreteness. Oh and one more thing before we get started," I say confidently as I sink back into the leather chair, "No one, and I mean no one, not even say, family for instance, can access or touch this account?"

"Miss Beaumont," he says chuckling and leaning over the table, "Not even Bruce Wayne himself, the richest man in the city and half of the country, could walk in and come anywhere near your account, finances, or money..."

I smile and as he cuts down the paperwork on his desk to the 'minimal amount', I steal a gaze out the window. Oh the irony....

"Oh and one more thing Miss Beaumont," I focus my attention back on Mr. Morganson, "Happy Birthday!"

[Kylewayne]

Selina Kyle/Catwoman IC
Thursday, July, 7th
11:00 am

Gothan, 5th Avenue


"Ma’m would you like to try this cocktail dress? Or the evening gown?"

"I will try both thank you." I smile

"I hope you know Miss Kyle that the evening gown is quite pricey…"

" Are you assuming I don’t have the financial means to pay? On second thought, I think I’ll go across the street to Sacks, they have better service and designer dresses and gowns...oh but wait…they are more expensive * grinn*…oh well I guess a sales lady will be having a big commission today " I drop the dresses on the floor and walk out the store not looking back.

It’s such a beautiful day ouside, people rushing and shopping, couples holding hands, business people with their cell phones walking around and me…just enjoying a quiet afternoon shopping. I am so not used to being up at daytime. I have turned day into night and night into day. No wonder my body feels tired. I have been living a whacked out schedule. How does Batman do it? I cross the street and head for Sacks.

As I reach for the door my step falters, I feel everything around me slip beneath my feet. I try to yell out for help but I cannot utter a word …

" Miss! Someone get help!" cried out a woman from the store.

[Outlander00]

Chase IC
Thursday, July, 7th
11:06 am
Selina Kyle/Catwoman IC
Thursday, July, 7th
11:06 am

I walk forward from the rear of the crowd, looking down to see Selina while others around he scream and yell for a paramedic. I bend down over her and say loudly to the crowd “I am an EMT!”

I take out a little baggy from my jackets' inside pocket (shaped like a sugar packet) and I open it, taking out the large tablet inside. I break it into two pieces and hold one of the pieces close to her nostrils.

I hear voices in the distance but I do not move. I lay still until I come to my senses, pushing this god awful smell that someone has place near me. I feel someone's arms holding me. So warm and snug…

"Bruce? Is that you?" I say in a weak voice slowly opening my eyes.

I smile down at her and pick her up, replying, “I don’t know who this Bruce fellow is, but I doubt he can be any better looking than I ” with a wink. I stand straight up and walk through the crowd with her in my arms, shielding her from the crowd while saying, “Let me get you out of here and around the corner… I have a feeling you don’t this type of attention brought to you.”

“Chase?” I say in a puzzled voice.

“How did you…”

“When…”

I take her around the block and help her to her feet, making sure she is okay to stand. She begins to put weight on her feet as she falls toward me, still woozy. I smile at her as I prop her up “Come on… Let me buy you a coffee to wake you up a bit. I promise to tell you what I am doing around here.”

“What are you doing here?” I say in a confused voice while he helps me stand on my two feet. Puzzled, I just agree and follow along. I stay quiet throughout the whole walk until I break the silence by saying only “Thanks” and then I return to my silence.

[TimTwoFace]

OOC: Hey guys, I changed this one to fit the time-line, but all of my future Two-Face posts will be of the "flashback" variety - at least for a while.

IC: Lock-Up
July 7th
2:00pm

I'm back.

Back in this dark, dank cell.

Been here for a while now.

Maybe this is where I belong.

No, this isn't where I belong. There's so much out there I need to clean up, dust up, lock up...the Bat will never understand. He never, never will.

"Do you miss it, Lyle? Huh? 14 nights of pain for you, I know it's been. I know you're not happy. Guess you weren't smart enough to stay out of trouble for too long, eh?"

I peer through my slat at Nygma, down the corridorr, grinning smugly at me while tracing his fingertips all over the pane of class in his cell. So smug. So very smug. Maybe he should be my new whipping boy.

Crane's back under my glare. I can see a twisted limb or two of his in his cell on the opposite side of the corridorr at the other end. He's not moving. Broken. Good. Let's hope he stays that way.

And thus, the vigil continues. I'll be out again...sometime. But until then, watching over these outcasts won't be so difficult. I place my hands on either side of the door, and stare through the slat.

"Riddle me this, Lyle - if you're so smart, why does Arkham have such a freely-spinning revolving door?"

Yep, the new whipping boy.

[AndreaBeaumont]

"Takin' Care Of Business.."
Thursday
July 7th
5:30 p.m.



I pull up to the storage lot and cut the engine just as a man, in his mid twenties, comes out of what I assume is a small office. I climb off my bike and toss my helmet on the seat. He walks up quickly and shakes my hand while eyeing the bike.

"So, Miss Beaumont I presume? We talked on the phone yes?" the man says quickly turning his attention back to me.



"Yes, we did, so show me what you can do for me..." I say as I slip my keys into my pocket.



He leads me through a set of seemingly "high security" gates that's this place advertised, but they don't look so high security to me. He leads me to a storage unit an aisle over and quickly opens it revealing the inside. Simple, plain, big enough...done.



"This will do fine," I say quickly knowing the taxi I called to meet me here at 5:45 sharp will arrive soon.



"Great!" he says almost a little over enthusiastically.



We walk back to my brand new chrome and black cherry cycle and I climb back on and restart the engine. It’ll come in handy in those times when I’ll be traveling by road instead of building tops. It roars back to life as I drive it over and into the storage unit. I turn it off for the last time leave the helmet on the bar and walk back out. The man hands me a lock and I do the honors myself of sealing the deal. Done and done.



The man walks me back through the gates, the whole time not stopping to take a breath, as he goes on and on about how safe my “possessions” will be while I'm away.



"Thanks," I say cutting him off a little more curtly then I intended and I pull out my month's rent and hand it to him. The taxi pulls up just as I'm doing so, thank god!



I mutter some sort of goodbye as I flee to the taxi. I climb in and order the driver back to my moderate hotel to pick up the last of my meager belongings that I’ve acquired since this morning with my newfound source of “means to live”.



I relax into the seat as I go over the last of my to do list before I leave.



LEAVE.



Going back to the only home I ever truly had….



I snap out of it as we pull up to the curve of the hotel and the doorman opens my door for me. I pay the driver and climb out of the car and glance up at the middle-of-the-road hotel, I’ve decided to hole up in till my departure. I walk inside through a giant revolving door and take the elevator up to the fifth floor and make my way to my room....

I freeze.

I see my door cracked and instinctually fling myself against the wall. Memories of my first hotel stay here in Gotham come rushing back into my mind as I got my welcome home from the Joker. I make my way slowly towards the door and attempt to peer in through the crack but can see nothing. I take a deep breath and hold it as I shove the door open and scan the room quickly as it bangs into the wall loudly. A startled maid holds her duster in front of her like a weapon. I sigh and apologize as she quickly gathers her things and leaves the room looking frazzled.

Angela you really need to get a hold of yourself! I mentally chastise myself as throw myself down the bed face first and then roll over. I stare at the ceiling as I attempt to clear my head and quickly deem it a useless task. I sit back up and glance over at the clock….I’ve still got a half hour, my flight isn’t until seven. I lay back down let myself drift back to thought. If you can’t beat it, join it right?

[The Guitar Slayer]

Thursday, July 7
The Cave

Patient's Name: Grayson, Dick; codename Robin
Date of Birth: November 11, 19xx
Height: 5'10"
Weight: 175 lbs
Date of Incident: June 22
Status: Coma (self-induced)
Days in Coma: 15 (auto update)

Injuries to bones:

1. Cranial trauma; parietal bone fracture
2. Shattered mandible, left; dislocated mandible, right
3. Shattered zygomatic bones, left and right
4. Severely damaged supraorbital process and supraorbital foramen; will need reconstruction for proper sinus drainage and sight function to resume
5. Crushed nasal concha

Internal injuries:

1. Contusions to kidneys, left and right
*Renal ultrasound shows blood clots (removed 6/30)
2. Ruptured appendix
3. Grade 3 concussion

Medications:

1. Cipro XR
2. Ceftriaxone
3. Gentamycin
4. Toradol
5. Oxycontin

Notes: On life support; unresponsive to light; appears to be experiencing REM sleep patterns; heart murmur evident; catheterized 6/22 with 16-cm Foley; assorted superficial contusions and lacerations.

END REPORT





I counted nine months from the date I consumated my relationship with Andrea.



Happy birthday, Angela.

[AndreaBeaumont]

"For Mum.."
Friday
July 8th
7:30 a.m.


I yawn and stretch as I come off the plane with my duffle bag in tow. I toss it over my shoulder as I walk into the concourse. I absent mindedly make my way through the typical throng of reuniting families without a second thought and stand and wait for my luggage. I grab my black bag off the conveyer belt and move towards the escalator, taking it down to the ground floor and walk out through the doors and am hit in the face with the cool morning air.

Only now do I take time to think...

Oh what a mistake...

An overwhelming feeling of complete and utter loneliness creeps up the back of my mother's slim ankles, raises goosepimples on the the back of my calves and thighs, follows the curve of my lower back, takes a path between my shoulder blades, crawls up my neck, tucks itself in my father's eyes and cries...

I look at the ground and see a wet spot on the pavement between my feet and wipe my cheek with my free hand just as the clouds burst open and let emotions pour on the pavement all around the awning I'm under.

I see a cab and open the door and slip inside. I vaguely remember telling the cab driver the directions. I vaguely remember the long drive, as we pull up a long driveway that winds and twists behind a white house...

I climb out, pay the driver, and stand there, watching the cab pull out of view, not sure whether I want to re-enter my adolescence time capsule on the hill....

I'm home.

I take a step and suddenly I'm inside the door standing face to face with harsh reality. I drop my bags to the wood floor with a thump that echoes throughout the nearly empty house. The sound makes my knees weak and the lump in my throat grow. I force myself to the living room...empty except for the couch and...the curtains...

We never did take down the curtains...

My knees give way and I slump to the floor and weep...

Weep for all of the good and the bad....for the only home I've ever known that is no longer a home...for every person in my life...for every memory...

For Bruce...

For Dad...

For myself...

For Mum...


Mostly for Mum...

...mostly for her...

[TimTwoFace]

OOC: GS and/or Emmy are the best two to talk to about that, as the RPG has just recently kinda switched gears and will be focusing on their plotline as the main story for a while. As far as I know, Harley Quinn is still on the loose though. :)

-Tim

[Outlander00]

Chase IC
Thursday, July, 7th
11:25 am
Selina Kyle/Catwoman IC
Thursday, July, 7th
11:25 am

I nod to the waitress as she brings us our coffees; turning my attention to Selina still looking a little flushed and light headed… woozy looking. After watching her for a minute or two, she finally speaks to me.

"I don't drink coffee," I say to him barely looking at him. "By the way, what were you doing in a fancy woman's store?"

I flash a smile at her as I sip my coffee, putting it down. I reply to her question coyly, "Well I was spying on you, isn’t it obvious?"

"Typical Neanderthal male behavior. What are you some sort of spy?"

I smile at her again, tilting the coffee cup slightly to see how much I have left, noticing not enough. I call for the waitress for another cup, returning my attention to her. I reply to her sarcasm, "Well, if the beautiful Ms. Kyle must know… I was meeting with a potential client earlier. I was at the store because… I was going to look for an apology gift for you for the incident a couple weeks back."

"So you think buying me a gift will make me forgive you huh?" I say sarcastically, rolling my eyes…

I chuckle softly, smiling as the waitress comes to fill up his cup of coffee, replying "no… no I do not think it will. However, I figured a peace offering would be a good start."

"It depends what you have in mind," I say in a curious tone.

I pull out my wallet from my jacket pocket and take out my platinum card, placing it on the table in front of her. "No strings, no nothing... Like I said, think of it as a peace offering for what I did two weeks ago." I smile at her and continue "Take this and buy whatever you want on two stipulations: 1, you let me come with you and 2, you join me for dinner tonight."

"Now you're talking," I say as I reach for the card. "Fine, you may tag along. You'll make a perfect slave to carry the bags" I flash him a catty grin. He can tag along but I won't be easy to handle.


"I hope you know what you are getting into, I can shop ‘till I drop" I deviously smile at him.

I smile back slyly, leaning slightly forward while replying, "Do not worry, Selina, I have survived a war so I think I can manage a minor thing like hardcore shopping."

[AndreaBeaumont]

"Black Death Over A Dusty Conscience.."
Friday
July 8th
10:27 a.m.


I lug, the old leather and worn suitcase down the attic stairs.
Thunk.
Thunk.
Thunk...

As it connects with every wooden step a little more dust is jostled from the top of the smooth brown leather. The dust floats and settles all around me as I reach the bottom of the stairs and sneeze. I drag it down the hallway and sigh as I look down the staircase to the first floor. I shrug and set it at the top of the steps with a thump then promptly give it a quick shove with my foot and down it goes.

As it tumbles down the set of 22 stairs I wonder why I didn't just do this in the first place...

Thu-thum-thump-thump-thunck-CLICK.

PFFT!

I watch in disgust as the suitcase latch snaps and flies open, the papers shoot into the air like a firework in every which direction...

"That's why..."

I start down the stairs slowly and pick up papers along the way. I reach the bottom of the steps and look at the massive amount official documents scattered haphazardly throughout the great room. I knit my brows then promptly drop the papers I've collected into the pile and follow them down. I cross my legs indian style and start to sort through them; starting, naturally, with the one's closest to me.

Deed, title, deed, legal stuff...

I sort them into piles...

Pile one: Useful to me..
Pile two: Not useful to anyone anymore...
Pile three: Important stuff that isn't useful to me but I should probably keep...
Pile four:....letters?...

"Dear Bruce..." I read.

I find another one...

"Dear Bruce...."

And another..

All half finished, all starting the same....Dear Bruce.

I push my hand to the floor to push myself to my feet and my hand slips on papers revealing a leather binding underneath. I sit back down and pick it up, examining it for a second before undoing the leather tie and opening it...

More letters....

I settle in, the more important paperwork can wait as I start reading the letters, all carefully,...PAINSTAKINGLY written.

"Bruce....I don't know how to tell you this...." Is the opening line of choice for most, all of them go on to explaining that he has a daughter...explaining herself...why she took so long to contact him....

Appologizing.

"Oh Mum..."

I always knew something plagued her mind, like a black death settling over us...over her conscience, a dark cloud. I never knew it was him.

[The Guitar Slayer]

July 8
1:46 AM EST

Drip

Drip

Drip

2 weeks of it. A machine breathes for him, another does his kidneys' work for them, while another replaces solid food with liquid in an IV.

I haven't seen the sun since that night's day. I will have to, though, soon. Bruce Wayne must get over that ski accident sooner or later, even though his ward has a severe concussion. As the Bat, behavior similar to Hellmonth has manifested. Harsher, less merciful, silent, nearly deadly. Harvey Dent left town after the incident with Lock-Up. His ex-fiancee Grace is being watched from afar by her new hometown police force. Harley Quinn has been sighted in various, seemingly random places in Gotham. The Joker still requires a few weeks to mend, and he will bide his time when it comes to me. I also have business relating to blood now.

Circa 9 AM, a trust fund set up by an Andrea Carlis was transferred into a closely guarded account by Angela Beaumont. Retinal scans, DNA tests, the whole nine yards. The sum was close to a half million in US dollars. Throughout the day, she made purchases including a motorcycle (one Dick had been lusting for his birthday), a small shopping spree at a department store, and a storage unit for aforementioned motorcycle.

And one plane ticket.

Departed at 7:30 PM from Gotham and arrived at Heathrow at 7:30 AM London time. She's likely flagging down a taxi at this moment to get to Andrea's property on the coast.

I pull myself out of the computer chair and approach the hospital bed. Hold on, old friend, until I return.

As for you, Angela....

Daddy's coming home.

[AndreaBeaumont]

"Last of the Last..."
Friday
July 8th
4:30 p.m.

"Justice comes into your life and then you'll know
You'll know, you'll know
Justice comes, just a day to go
Get the justice coming for you and I
I get the joy
Joy when it comes my joy
I get the joy
Justice comes to everyone
Why does a willow weep when all I see's a tree grow
All in camouflage everyone I know
We walk along like sequel, you're a cameo
You've got your joy
So find the people of your own..."


I turn off the radio as I pull my rented car into the parking lot of my last destination in England.

Then its back to Gotham...
To reacquaint myself...
With an old 'friend'....

[The Guitar Slayer]

Friday, June 8

4:22 PM, London time

The Concorde is no longer in service...for the public. However, Maximillian R. Malone III (Matches to friends) is not the public. He is a proper-born member of the House of Lords. He waits for no one, not even the change in time zones.

After making a red-eye departure from Metropolis, I landed around 2:30 pm at a smaller airport near Heathrow; as mentioned before, the Concorde is no longer in service. It was a long, though aesthetically pleasing drive to Andrea's house Brighton. It wasn't without its dangers, however. I don't remember when I last made a conscious decision to go to sleep. I just let myself go in my chair at the computer or leaned my head against one of the costume cases. It was hard enough with the lack of sleep, but it was compounded by my habit of driving on the wrong side of the road.


I pull up to the house itself. It's elegantly Spartan, with just enough frills to be attractive, but not enough to be able to place it in the context of history. Much like its former occupant....emphasis on former. It's a pale blue color, which makes the ocean below seem so much darker. I get out of the car and examine my immediate surroundings. A London taxi was here within the last few hours, judging from the tire tracks. I missed Angela by very little.

I'll catch up, daughter or not.

I tried the knob on the door. Unlocked. Likely nothing in there worth stealing anymore...but then again, there does seem to be some evidence of habitation, particuarly the curtains. I enter in with my guard up.

Sunlight warms up the sparsely furnished room. Every that wasn't bolted to the floor is gone. The white paint gleams, commenting upon its own upkeep and maintenance. I check the cabinets and sink. She washed and put away the dishes she used today. There doesn't seem to be any intention of returning.

On second thought...

I enter into the great room and the hardwood floor disappears beneath piles of papers in the middle of the floor. I shuffle through and crouch in the center of the storm. A space had been cleared just enough for a girl to sit. I read off the top of a piece of stationary. Law office brief about the estate, triplicate copy. There's a shard of a photocopied family tree from Andrea's mother's side. Angela classified these as garbage in all likelihood; she had the other copies and the original document with her. The third pile...

"Dear Bruce"

Dear Bruce? Did Angela know I'd follow so soon? No. This is in Andrea's hand. I continue to read:

"I know it's odd to hear from me after all this time and after all that has happened. We had more or less agreed to go our separate ways, but I've decided that I have to tell you this."

The letter is dated December of the previous year. It's incomplete. I go through the rest of the pile.

"Dear Bruce" -- Two years ago on Angela's 16th birthday

"It has been a long time, hasn't it, old man. Well, not so old; I'm up there with you. I've heard alot of good things lately about "The Dynamic Duo" as they call you and the boy. I have to say, though, I'm not a solo act either...."

"Bruce Thomas Wayne:" -- Four years ago after a very bad teenage rebellion by Angela

"I can't believe you haven't tried to contact me in almost fourteen years. We meant alot to each other back then...why not now? I have to tell you, I've been keeping something of yours and I'm just about ready to let you have it after thirteen years plus nine months of gestation..."

"My darling" -- Five years ago, Angela is 12.

"After all this time, I've finally seen what beauty is. Beauty is a little ballerina taking her first first prize after practicing for nearly a year. The girl herself is so pretty as she concentrates, furrowing her brow and pouting just a bit. She reminds me so much of you....and there is a reason for that...."

I read each letter. The years fly backwards, and she still can't tell me everything. The letters become closer and closer as Andrea's hope regresses to its pinnacle

"My dearest"

"It's been a few years now. I'm doing very well. I have a house down on the shore, as you can tell by the return address. It's a little big for me, but I think I can fill it up nicely. I wouldn't mind having you for a visit. You do need to get away once in awhile, Bruce. Particularly now with all the chaos and a certain little person wanting to meet you."

"Dear Bruce"

“My baby is such a good child. She’s so even tempered, unlike both of her parents. Angela is a source of joy for me…my little angel…our little angel…”

"My lover”

“I know we’ve had disagreements over the way justice should be doled out. I know you must despise me for invading your city, but I have to tell you the truth. I didn’t think it was possible at the time so I paid no mind to it. It was an error on my part, but I don’t believe for a second we weren’t meant to be together. The child I’m carrying attests to that. We are both orphans with holes to fill in our lives, and I do believe she (or he) will fill it and bring us as close as we’re meant to be.”

I read every one of the unsent, incomplete letters. I….

I don’t have anything to say…nothing about how she was living in an illusion or I had my priorities…

I’m stunned. So stunned…she really…why didn’t I…

Andrea loved me. She would have destroyed anything that meant something to her just to be with me. Thirty-three letters, half-done and emotionally charged, prove her devotion. Even when mad, there was an underlying desire just to be in my life or have something of me in her life.

She could have given Angela away. It would have been easier just to put her in an orphanage and forget she ever happened…Gotham ever happened…we ever happened. The Phantasm could have carried on business as usual in whatever form she saw fit; she would no long have me acting as her conscience…

But no. Angela stayed to keep Andrea sane. To keep her human instead of the creature of the night I’ve become. Angela was her piece of me and a reflection of herself.

Angela was the person Andrea wanted to be; even though she never knew me or I her, Angela is far closer and dearer to me than Andrea ever was. Andrea would get by, no question. She always did before, and I had faith in her for that. Angela…

She’s my child. My head throbs as I kneel on the floor amount the literary remains of Andrea’s love for me. I slam my eyes shut and my jaw tenses as ghosts crowd my mind. I see Andrea singing by the bay window with a pink bundle in her arms, swaying to a long-forgotten lullaby. A chubby toddler with an unruly pile of carrot red hair flirts with a camera as she pulls herself up the stairs for the first time. A gawky little pony in a tutu and leotard is lost in thought as she attempts to go en pointe for the first time in her new ballet shoes. I jolt as a door slams and a silent screaming match ensues between Andrea and a still-growing, still awkward teenager who insists on wearing torn clothes and black lipstick. Suddenly…

I’m looking into a mirror. I see myself seated on the floor, surrounded by the paper debris. I disappear and the gawky, carrot-haired rebel appears fully grown. Her concentration still makes her a force to be reckoned with, much like her parents. She looks up to see me, an intruder…

And dissolves.

My eyes open. Everything is as still and as empty as Andrea and Angela left it over a month ago.

Now I am, too.

I get up, a hollow feeling in my center chakra and numbly walk to the stairs. Surrealism clouds my perception. The house must be haunted. Laughter bounces down the hall as the echoes of sobs hang in the rafters. Leftovers from a prior life. A red-haired sprite grabs at my hand to lead me past bedrooms that should have been entered for the sake of investigation. They are ignored for now.

A rickety staircase lures me up. The sun is starting to set through the windows in the attic. How long have I been here?

No matter.

Boxes are neatly stacked in size order, from largest to smallest. Andrea was a fiend for organization. A few of the boxes are labeled “Christmas” and “Summer clothes.” I pass by one of the towers and a small box topples to the floor by my feet. As I pick it up, part of it falls apart in my hand, spilling out…

Baby booties. Tiny little socks for a very small person. I turn the box on its
side. “Angela – Newborn.” I carefully begin to put each garment back in, but I can’t finish the job.

Do kids really come that small? I pull out the sleeper in the box. She wasn’t even as long as my forearm…maybe 18 inches or so. The stocking cap…I’m just able to put my fist in. The whole top of her head, possibly down to her little browbones, was the size of my fist…

A fist that nearly destroyed that precious crown.

I see my hands shake as I reach out for the booties. Hand-sewn by Andrea, no doubt… Both fit into the palm of my hand…my thumb fits into the right one.

Her feet were the size of my thumb.

I missed being able to hold her just in one arm. I missed ballet lessons. I missed her first steps. I missed….

Everything.

I missed a whole life time.

I missed my entire life.

It passes by me in a blaze of emotional agony. I cut the cord as she screamed and took her first breaths of life. I walked with her down a beach for an hour and a half because her legs were so short and mine so long and the fact she didn’t want to give up. I bought her a pony and taught her to ride. I videotaped her ballet performance and much to her chagrin, I positioned myself in the center aisle to do so. I pounded on closed door and then came in through her window to get her to tell me what happened at school that day. I held her hair back when she blew her birthday cake candles out.

Something gives weigh in my hands.

I just ripped a seam in the baby socks. Put my thumb right through it.

Senseless destruction.

And I wept.

[AndreaBeaumont]

"Back In The USA..."
Saturday
July 9th
8:00 a.m.




I stand by the baggage belt waiting for all of my bags to come 'round. I've come back to Gotham with double what I left with. But what I brought back with me in physical I left there in emotional.


As I stand there, arms crossed, in my black turtleneck and dress slacks, in deep thought, I almost miss my last bag. I snap out of my foggy haze just in time to snatch it up before it would have disapeared behind the plastic flaps. I start off down the concourse pulling my bags behind me and going over plans. I idly wonder if Bruce is in England yet if not already back. He'll be close behind I'm sure.



My cheeks grow hot as I glance over my shoulder half expecting him to be standing there calmly wearing a disapproving look. The very thought of Bruce Wayne turns my stomach and my makes my blood boil.



I drag my baggage out through the doors and onto the sidewalk. A breeze blows through me and I shiver despite the July weather. I see Gotham before me looking like a typical American city in the daylight...



--------------------------------



8:37 p.m.



I search the rocks for the opening and finally see what I want. A large metal grate bars my path into the original entrance of the Batcave. I tug on it to gage how much effort this is gonna take. My estimation; a lot. I firmly plant my feet on either side and with all my might slowly slide it to one side. I strain and manage to pull it open enough for my small frame to fit through. I find the ladder with my foot and slowly descend the wet slippery metal. I reach the floor after a good 3 minutes of climbing down. I press myself against the cave wall and stand there a good minute checking for movement before I allow myself to walk out into the open. I cringe at the thought of running into Alfred or worse….



Bruce…



I walk down a ramp to reach the cave’s main floor and start making my way toward the part of the cave that's set aside as almost a trophy room, containing the weapons, bits of costumes, and the prop’s of past foes. As I walk past the lit cases containing the suits, I notice Robin's is missing and a twinge of sympathy bubbles up from inside my hardened emotional state. I walk by the towering Bat Computer and notice a map of England on the screen and smirk. When I’m right, I’m right. Suddenly, something catches my eye as it gleams from the light of the massive computer.


Ah, what I’m looking for. I walk over and pick up the blade carefully and avoid disturbing the grey cape underneath….



The Phantasm’s cape….



I quickly wrap the blade in a piece of black cloth and tuck it into my knapsack just as a noise rises from the other side of the computer. I tense immediately and quiet my breathing. I slowly edge my way over to the computer and steal a look around it’s side. I see a figure laying on one of the medical cots…



Dick.



I sigh relieved and edge past and start making my way back the way I came.



A moan comes from the bed just as I reach the foot of the ramp and it’s quickly followed by, “Bruce? Alfred?”



I bite my lip and cringe. He picks NOW to wake up? Of all times?! If he presses the call button I know I’m done…I’ll NEVER make it up the ladder before Alfred races down her. I set my bag down and quickly walk over to the bedside.



“Shhh…” I admonish softly.



“Barb?” he almost whimpers and manages to find my hand, which he promptly grasps.



“Shhh Dick…. everything’s gonna be fine. Bruce is out right now…shh…” I coo. Trying desperately to soothe him I stroke his forehead. An odd feeling suddenly comes over me, as this feels all too natural.



“What happened? I remember some things but…” he continues.



“It’s okay,” I coo some more, “Don’t worry about it, just rest..”



“I’m so glad you’re here Barb,” he tightens his grip on my hand and I give it a little squeeze back. I’m beginning to get more panicked by the second because regardless of him hitting the button or not I know Alfred will be down to check on him soon.



“I’ll be right back,” I say gently.



“Barb I..” he starts and I quickly lean down and give him peck on the lips before he can say anything else.



“I’ll be right back.” I say again then quickly flee and grab my bag. I faintly hear him saying something like, “Okay” as I’m already at the bottom of the ladder.



I silently climb back up and out of the hole and decide to not bother replacing the cover. As I walk back towards my bike I replay the situation in my mind again and can’t help but wince at the thought of what will be going through his head when he figures out it wasn’t Barb down there. A slight smile crosses my lips though as I climb back on my bike and take off towards my hotel. I finally have that last thing I need… I have date with a dear friend that I must keep.



“Mum it’s almost done.”

[TimTwoFace]

TWO-FACE'S ROAD TRIP FLASHBACK POST #1

IC: Two-Face
June 23
2:00am

Min and Max rush into my room while I'm trying to get some shut-eye.

"Boss, she's not in there."

I roll over on my bed into a sitting position and stare at Max's face. "I bEg YoUr PaRdOn?"

"Ms. Lamont isn't in the hospital, Two-Face. The nurse at the reception desk said she was transferred quite a while back."

I cock my eyebrow. "TrAnSfErReD?"

"Yeah, out of state. Washington, I think."

"YoU tHiNk?"

Min smacks him upside the backside of his head. "Washington state, you idiot!" Max crumples into the wall and Min continues. "We didn't buy it so we went to her old room like you told us, and she wasn't there."

"IdIoTs." I step up from the bed and smack the two of them. "If It WaSn'T fOr ThIs FaCe Of MiNe, I wOuLdA gOnE tHeRe MySeLf. NoW i'Ve No IdEa WhErE mY dEaR gRaCe HaS bEeN tAkEn To." I heave a sigh and pound a fist into the wall. If I were there I would've gotten some answers. "WaShInGtOn. DaMn BiG pLaCe."

"Well boss," Min chimes in, the red welt I left on his face still glowing back at me, "we did hear them talking...as we were being escorted out...and we learned that she was taken by the WPP."

"Witness Protection Program!" Max boasts with confidence.

"I kNoW wHaT iT sTaNdS fOr." I growl from deep within my throat. It all makes sense. I knew Gordon would get the feds involved to keep me seperated from her. Clear to the other side of the country, no less. But she won't be seperated for long.

"So now what, boss?" One asks. "We hittin' a bank or something tomorrow?" says the other.

I snort at their inferior comments. "No. BoYs, I tHiNk It'S tImE fOr A rOaD tRiP."

[TimTwoFace]

TWO-FACE'S ROAD TRIP FLASHBACK POST #2

IC: Two-Face
June 25
4:14pm

Ding. Ding. Ding. Ding.

I stare out the window and watch the numbers on the register escalate further and further. I don't know where we are...somewhere in Midwest or Great Lakes region or something. "HeY mAx, WhErE tHe hElL aRe We?"

"Just passed through Cleveland, sir."

"RoCk AnD rOlL."

It's taken us a day and a half to get from Gotham to somewhere in the boonies of Ohio. If these two weren't so loyal, I would've disposed of them long ago. Between the two of them I'm not even sure if they've got a fully functioning brain. I mean, how tough is it to cross the country on the interstate? Just take I-90 all the way from here to Seattle and we'll figure it out from there. I know my maps well enough. I travelled this road many times as a boy.

But nooooo, the boys think it's too dangerous to be out in the open like this and they choose to take all the back roads. And get lost nearly every ten minutes in the process.

"So WhIcH oF yOu Is DrIvInG tHiS lEg?"

"Min still wants to. It's his turn. Every six hours we switch. You just didn't notice cuz you were asleep back there half the time."

No, I was closing my eyes and ears trying to block out your stupidity. "YeAh, SuRe. BuT i'M nAvIgAtInG, gEt Me? No MoRe Of ThIs BaCk-RoAd-OnLy CrAp. It'S sLoWiNg Us DoWn."

Min hangs up the gas nozzle and hustles inside, crossing his legs the whole way.

"But boss, it's not safe!"

I lunge at him from the back and grab him around the neck. Growling into his ear, I say very clearly, "No OnE oUtSiDe Of GoThAm KnOwS wHo ThE hElL wE aRe, EsPeCiAlLy WhEn PaSsInG tHeM bY aT 80 MiLeS aN hOuR. wHaT dO yOu ThInK wE cHaNgEd OuR pLaTeS fOr?" He chokes on his reply. "WhAt WaS tHaT? i'M rIgHt AnD yOu'Re GoInG tO lIsTeN tO yOuR mAsTeR lIkE tHe DoG yOu ArE?"

"Yessss..."

I let him go and adjust my collar. Max is wheezing, catching his breath. Min is just returning from the store. "Quick, we gotta get outa here before they realize I paid at the pump with a phony card." At that point, Max bolts out of the car and heads into the store. "What's up with him?"

"BeAtS mE."

A few moments later, he returns with a small plastic bag. He pulls out a small glass container and tosses it at me. "This is for you, boss."

"WhAt ThE hElL iS tHiS?" I say, holding the small jar in my hand, reading the label.

"Make up. Just so you can go out in the light and not be noticed so obviously. You know, touch up those unsightly scars and stuff on your face."

I growl, but Min cuts me off. "Not a bad idea, bro. Ain't that right, boss?"

I stare down at the coloured label, clutching this glass in my left hand. "PeAcHy."

The car quickly leaves the gas station and speeds towards the nearest freeway on-ramp. Maybe with myself as the navigator we'll get to the Evergreen State quicker and with less headaches.

"Hey Min," Max says quietly, "you wanna hear the most annoying sound in the world?"

Oh geez. They do realize I have a gun on me, don't they?

[Reirden]

IC: Dick Grayson
July 9th
8:40 p.m.


"Unh..."

It takes all of my strength to open my eyes. My vision is blurred, but I can tell I'm in the cave.

The pain. My head throbs like it's been taken apart and put back together wrong. My whole body aches with a pain that could bring the strongest man to his knees. I want to move, but I can't...the pain...Somebody...help...

"Help," I sob.

Tears begin streaming down my face, I can't bear it...

"Bruce?...Alfred?"

Somebody...help.

I close my eyes tightly, trying to will the pain away. Suddenly, the touch of soft skin is wrapped around my hand.

"Shh..."

I slowly open my eyes to see bright red hair on a blurred face. I'm confident I know who it is, however..

"..Barb?" I moan weakly.

"Shhh Dick…. everything’s gonna be fine. Bruce is out right now…shh…"

"What happened? I remember some things but..." I mumble, mainly talking to myself.

"It's okay," She whispers.

I squeeze her hand in my own, "I'm so glad you're here, Barb," She will never understand how glad I am.

"I'll be right back." She says, and slowly lets go of me.

No...I need you, Barb, "Barb I..."

"I'll be right back," she repeats, and very quickly, our lips touch. She runs off into the darkness.


"Alright..." I moan. Hurry back...


After a moment or two of silence, I move my arm slowly toward the large red button at my bedside. With each tiny movement of the muscles, the pain shoots throughout my entire body. I manage to give it a slight push, and a silent alarm is triggered.

Not five seconds later do I hear the clock creak open and heels click on each and every step down into the cave. The tall, thin man with gray hair rushes to my side. It hurts, but I give him the biggest smile I can.

"Alfred..." I say in the most optimistic tone a man in my state can.

"Master Dick, my lad! So good to hear your voice again! How are you?" He says through tears of joy.

"Hurts...all over...Where'd Barb go?"

A wave of confusion takes place over his grin, "What ever do you mean?"

"Barb...she was here. She was here when I woke up, right here beside me."

Did I...Was she really here? Was it just a hallucination?

A look of disapproval come over him, "No, lad. Miss Gordon was not here," He says walking over to one of the glass cases in the middle of the platform


"But someone else was."

[TimTwoFace]

TWO-FACE'S ROAD TRIP FLASHBACK #3

IC: Two-Face
June 26
1:15am

I drowsily look out the window as the car skirts a large glistening body of water. My eyelids droop further, even the bright lights in the distance can't wake me up. The book of crossword puzzles the boys bought for me slips from my hand and lands onh the floor with a light ruffled plop.

"Just crossed into Illinois, boss. That's probably Chicago in the distance."

I jolt up in my seat, as if I'm supposed to be impressed. "HuH?"

"Chicago, boss. The Windy City. Didn't you say you had connections here once?"

I stretch, and yawn, and rub my eyelids and jawbone. The car hits a rough stretch of freeway and the grooved pavement shakes the car and makes sure I'm fully cognisent. "OnCe UpOn A tImE." I stare out the window and can make out the faint Chicago skyline in the distance, with the Sears Tower in the distance. "GoRdOn AlSo CaMe FrOm HeRe BaCk In ThE dAy. ChIcAgO wAs HiS tRaInInG gRoUnD." And as tough a city as this place is, it couldn't prepare you for Gotham City. Nothing could.

"Well why don't we stop by your old buddies' place and see if we can hook up. You were saying earlier how you needed some extra bodies for your plan to go through. Ones that are fully expendable." His voice wavers a bit. He knows that if this doesn't go through, he could be just as expendable as they.

"ToO mUcH hIsToRy. WaStE oF tImE." I pull the coin out of my pocket and rub it between my finger and thumb, just to warm it up. I then place it on my finger and flip it high into the air; it hits the ceiling and comes crashing down far quicker than it should. "DaMnIt!"

I dive onto the floor and scrounge about.

"What?" Max says.

Min hits him in the shoulder. "Shut up, he lost the coin, don't bother him when he's like this!"

"WhErE iS iT!?" I shove my hand under the seat, feel around, and after a few seconds of raving, I successfully recover it.

"Phew," I hear coming from the front seat.

I look down at the coin. Good heads. This is a bad idea, I know it. "BoYs...lEt'S dO iT. aNd GeT sOmE rEaL pIzZa WhIlE wE'rE hErE. i'M fAmIsHed."

[AndreaBeaumont]

"Newsclippings and Sleep Deprivation..."
Saturday
July 9th
10:00 p.m.

I sit in the middle of the mess indian style. Newspaper clippings spread in a circle around me dating back to before I was born...all the same though in subject matter. Pictures of the Joker or his wrath are spread all around me. At first the grins were unnerving but I'm growing more accustomed as I read each one. I sigh and rub my eyes and reach over and grab another slice of pizza. I almost take the whole box with it as the cheese sticks to the bottom of the box. I pull it free and take a bite....

I haven't had pizza in forever.

I reach over and pick up a clipping I lost of piece of cheese on and pick it off.

THE PHANTASM...

I read as the headline....

...this week...
...an altercation between...
...the Joker...
...Batman...
...many injured and food poisoned...

I toss that one aside...I was there I don't need to read an article about it.
I pick up the one that was beneath it. This one is old...

Mob deaths linked?

...many former mobsters are popping up all over the city and not like you would think. The dead bodies of...
...Batman suspected...
...has the Bat gone mad?

This article is accompanied by a rather flattering picture of Batman's silouette.

I sigh and for a second I doubt my not so noble quest but images of Mum tucking me into bed at night chase those from my thought process.

I stand up and toss the last few bites of my pizza back in the box. I wobble a little and feel dizzy as I walk towards the mirror...

"Angela you have got to get some sleep.." I remind myself as I lean into the mirror and trace the circles beneath my eyes. Now's as good a time as any I suppose as I walk over and collapse in a heap on the bed. Just an hour or so and I'll be good. Just a little sleep is all I need....

[TimTwoFace]

TWO-FACE'S ROAD TRIP FLASHBACK #4

IC: Two-Face
June 26
2:40am

The car stops on the Chicago waterfront. The lights dim, the Min pulls the keys out of the ignition, and the engine dies. We're here.

Max is sitting there, sucking the blobs of cheese and tomato sauce from the tips of his gloves. No wonder why that guy has such bad complexion, he's been gorging on pizza for the past hour. Go figure why he doesn't gain a pound.

"You sure this is the place, boss?"

"I'm SuRe It WaS. wE'lL sEe MoMeNtArIlY." I open the door and step out from the back, tossing some greasy garbage on the street. "LeT's Go." The three of us step up onto the curb and walk past the corner of a boarded-up building. I remember this place well. So many memories.

It's been about five years since I've been here. One of those mob convention sorta things that you think exists only in the movies. A number of us criminal underlords were here to discuss the state of affairs in our businesses across the country, forming new partnerships, sharing and increasing our wealth, and so forth. I represented Gotham that year - but without any notice, Scarface showed up, too, just in time to steal all my thunder and make me look like a fool. There's nothing more humiliating than being upstaged by a freakin' Muppet.

I got laughed out of the convention. Oh, no one forced me to go, but I couldn't handle it, and despite what my heart and coin told me to do, I wasn't about to shoot up all my cross-country connections just to prove that I was the man. Especially not the host crimelord, Rob Valestra. I'd never get out of Chicago alive if I pulled something like that in his presence.

You need to know when you can use the balls you have, and just as important, you need to know when to sit down, shut the hell up, and take it like a man.

Max raps at the side door, hidden in the shadows. The slot in the door opens, and a pair of eyes peers through. "Who goes there?"

The two brothers before me seperate and allow me to walk between them. "TwO-fAcE. i'M hErE tO sEe RoBeRt."

The eyes from the door slot are replaced by a flashlight beam, shining directly into my face. "Well, so it is. What business do you have with him? He wasn't expecting you back in this town for a long, long time." And I hear him snort to stifle a chuckle. "The puppet thing, ya know."

"He DoEsN't KnOw I'm HeRe. BuT wE dO hAvE bUsInEsS tO dIsCuSs."

A beat. "Very well. You oughta be happy that the boss is a night person." The slot on the door closes, and the door itself is soon after opened for us.

"CoMe On, BoYs." I wave Min and Max to follow me into the dark recesses of the building.

"Follow me, I'll escort you to Mr. Valestra's quarters," says the big brute at the door. The three of us follow him, me behind and the two brothers behind me abreast, wandering further into Valestra's darkened den.

The coin had better have been right about this.

[AndreaBeaumont]

CURRENT DAY: Saturday, July, 9th...........................<--Don't forget to
CURRENT TIME: 10:00 p.m........................................... include this in
.................................................................................your posts!

A reminder to those of you who haven't posted in the last two pages...try to get a post in sometime soon even if it's a post about nothing so as you fit into the time here. Otherwise you will have done nothing in almost a month of RPG time. YAY! Joker scene is getting closer by the day. People we need posts from and in any order really...

Outlander00-Chase
KyleWayne- Selena Kyle/Catwoman
redDragon-Joker
BleuUnicorn- Harley
SelenaKyle- Renee Montoya/Poison Ivy

[TimTwoFace]

TWO-FACE'S ROAD TRIP FLASHBACK #5

IC: Two-Face
June 26
2:45am

The doorman pushes open an already ajar door open; a ray of light blinds me and the boys as the door creaks. "You got some company, sir."

"Oh?"

I step into the room, taking a moment to let my eyes adjust to the light.

"Harvey...Dent, is that you?" The wheezy voice says. My vision clears and I see Rob Valestra sitting at a wooden table at the side of his bedroom. A steaming cup of tea rests in its saucer to the side. A cigarette tray on the other, in which two butts are already placed.

"SoRrY tO iNtRuDe At SuCh A lAtE hOuR. yOu KnOw HoW tHe CoIn Is. CaN't ArGuE wItH tHaT."

"Forget about it," he says, standing up and walking around to shake my hand. "I couldn't sleep, anyway. But tell me, what the hell are you doing in Chicago?"

I shake the older man's hand. He's about fifty, and still has a good grip. "JuSt PaSsInG tHrOuGh On BuSiNeSs, ThOuGhT i'D lOoK uP aN oLd FrIeNd. SoRrY aBoUt UnClE vAl AnD aLl. ShOuLdA rEaChEd YoU sOoNeR."

"Yeah," Rob says, sitting back down while dusting off his smoker's jacket. "I heard that clown in Gotham did it. You know him?"

"OnLy ToO wElL." He nods. I look over my shoulder at Min and Max and wave them over to stand in the corner by the window. I then seat myself at the table and lean in to talk with the Chicago crimelord. He's still holding his head in his hands.

Rob looks up at me, almost sheepishly. "Sorry, you were saying."

"ThE bOyS aNd I aRe HeAdInG oUt WeSt To FiNd SoMeOnE. wItNeSs PrOtEcTiOn PrOgRaM. yOu StIlL gOt FrIeNdS aT tHe ChIcAgO pD, rIgHt?"

"Yeah, who do you need to find?"

"GrAcE lAmOnT. tHe FeDs MaY hAvE mOvEd HeR tO wAsHiNgToN sTaTe."

"Isn't that your wife?"

I snort. "WaS gOnNa Be OnCe UpOn A tImE." Maybe still can.

"Whoa whoa whoa," he says, dragging on a cigarette and coughing up some phlegmn in his lungs, "you can't just waltz in here and make these demands, Harvey."

"TwO-fAcE."

"Whatever. Yeah, I'll help you, but if you do a little favor for me." I can see a twinkle in his eye.

"WhAt Do YoU hAvE iN mInD?"

His crusty lips curl up into a faint smile. "Get that clown and bring his head to me. Capiche?"

Growling deep within my throat, I reply. "EaSiEr SaId ThAn DoNe."

"I know, my men will help you. Just say when."

"TwO wEeKs. In TwO wEeKs I'lL bE bAcK iN gOtHaM aNd We CaN pUlL tHiS oFf tHeN. SoUnD gOoD?"

"Excellent." He sips some tea and dabs at his lip with his sleeve. "We'll call you with your information in a few days about Lamont."

We shake hands and I'm escorted out of the room. The boys exchange cell phone numbers and we're on our way.

And not one mention of that puppet incident.

[AceOfKnaves]

OOC: Okay, everyone, I'm sorry to do this again, but I don't think I'll be coming back. Not a lot of time lately, and the play isn't being very much fun...so I'm gonna bow out of this one. Ivy and Renee are now open.

I'm not trying to bail on you guys again and again, but it's really disheartening when you've been trying to get into the storyline for two years and have only been mentioned six times...in two years...most of the time I was RPing to myself, and this hasn't just happened with me. There are a few members that are excluded, and feel this way.
While I understand busy storylines, I've been trying to get involved since before some of them were created, but the storylines I wanted to plot were replaced with others and again I was left to myself and my corner. :sad:

I'm sure there are reasons I haven't thought of to justify someone being left out of an RPG for so long, but I just wanted to let you guys know what was going on, and ask if you realized you were doing that or not.

Thanks for letting me at least try to play.

~Selena Kyle~

[Kylewayne]

Chase IC
Thursday, July, 7th 1 :00 pm
Selina Kyle/Catwoman IC
Thursday, July, 7th , 1:00 pm


As I carry the packages from level to level behind Selina, I catch up to her and smile. “So, I take it this is a light day for you” I say to her in a joking, sarcastic tone.

“We haven’t hit the other stores yet” I say, grinning.

I laugh, replying, “True… true. You have me there.”

I stand just behind her with the packages in my arms, saying to her “You haven’t asked me what I did or where I’m from yet.”

“The question to ask here Chase is ‘Do I care what you do or where you are from?' To be frank with you…I really don’t care. Can’t we just go on, as we are now. The last guy I asked that question turned out to be a playboy millionaire...Careful for that last step, I don’t want any packages falling down. Those items are pricey you know.” I say in a singsong voice.

I look at Chase and he seems a bit annoyed about my answer to his question. He will cool down sooner or later. Wait until he sees the dress I bought for dinner tonight.

“Stop falling behind servant boy” I say amusingly.

“You know Chase, a girl like me can get used to this kind of treatment.”

I slyly smile as she goes on with her shopping spree, replying to her “Well, Selina… I definitely don’t mind the exercise, so I guess you have your servant boy” with a wink and a nod.

“So! Where to next, your highness” I ask sarcastically.

“Silence! Servants do not speak, they only obey orders” I say as I approach him. “Now stop falling behind”

“Fine” I exclaim, seeing her life slightly at his gesture. Just as we leave the building, my cell phone goes off. I check the display on it and I immediately get pale and worried.

“Problem?”

I look at her and put a fake smile on my face. “Just give me one minute for this, Selina… Need to take this call. Very important.”

“Fine, fine I’ll just be busy over here trying on stuff”

I put the packages down and walk to the corner of the building, accepting the call. “Chase here!”

“Agent Grandier, this is Assistant Director Thompson. Your handler and I have been going over your recent reports you sent. Needless to say, I am disappointed in the amount of information you have collected on The Batman.”

I look over at Selina in the immediate distance and smile, replying, “Director, I am sorry for the lack of data. My surveillance of the Batman began at a point where he soon disappeared after an altercation with the known criminals Lock-Up and Two-Face. I may have to resort to alternative means to flush him out.”

“What about your contact, the one known as Catwoman?”

I look over at her, his heart fluttering slightly as he replies, “I have… secured Ms. Kyle again. Though she has yet to slip any information about her dealings with the Batman, or the other vigilantes who associate with him.”

“Agent Grandier, may I remind you that this project was fast tracked by the president to get all vital information on these so called ‘World’s Finest’ heroes in order to keep the citizens of this nation secure.”

I look over to Selina and smiles again, seeing her starting to walk over, the doorman loading the packages into a car. Quickly, I reply, “I understand! I will see you back in the office once I am done here, Al!” I quickly close the phone just as Selina walks up to me, smiling at her.

“Such mysterious behavior, all this due to a phone call ” I say as I observe him closely.

I quickly and hesitantly reply, “Oh… It was my friend Al, the VP of R&D. Apparently there are issues with a system that need to be resolved before I go back. Nothing to worry about.”

I take her hand and smile at her, walking with her to the car, continuing, “So, off to Tiffany’s!”

I smile at her, keeping my cool composure around her, despite what she does to him on the inside. I reply to her query, “Well, I am a vice president of accounts for a security company I started with a few friends from the military. We handle security and security systems for those who need it… mostly large companies, governments, and organizations with a lot to protect. I’m originally from Keystone City, but moved to Metropolis when we started the company. Today, I was at Waynetech meeting people regarding their security systems when I thought it was worth stopping by here to get an apology gift.”

“Fun job” I say drully.

So he is in the security business. He isn’t doing a good job since I robbed so many places. Pfft! But...He may come in handy. I look his way and flash him a smile. Might as well be a good kitty for now.

“Anyways Chase, thanks for the fun day but I must be getting home, stuff to do people to see. You know, it’s called having a life too. So please take me home and I’ll see you whenever we meet again.”

I nod in agreement, relieved she would say that... mostly due to being so attracted to her. I smile at her, replying, "Your wish is my command, Ms. Kyle."

We finally pulled over to my place. I signal the doorman to come and aid with the bags. I lean over and kiss him on the cheek as a goodbye. Tata!

[TimTwoFace]

TWO-FACE'S ROAD TRIP FLASHBACK POST #6

IC: Two-Face
June 26
3:00am

We got into the car a couple of minutes ago. It's starting to smell like a dumpster back here. I roll down the window and toss out some garbage - cellaphane, old food wrappers, crumbs and specks of dirt on my sleeve - such pigs. This is why I hate road trips.

Just like back when I was a boy. Dad was always such a terror on the road. Screaming at mom for not giving good directions, screaming at the others on the road when he managed to get stuck in the slow lane, swatting at me over the top of the seat when I was "making that noise that he hated so much"...I hate these damned road trips.

"Boss, I'm still hungry."

I smack my palm against my forehead. What a pair of whiny beggers they are. "YoU jUsT aTe, ShUt Up AnD dRiVe."

"But we're gonna be leaving the Chicago city limits any time now. Come on, one more pizza for the road. That's what this city is built on." We turn a corner onto an empty street, just as a light drizzle of rain begins to fall. I stare back at them in the rear view mirror; our eyes connect, and Min, the driver, jolts in his seat. "I bet we can still find a place open at this hour."

"Speak of the devil, there's a place now!" Max exclaims, tapping his finger on the glass.

I look through the window and see a restaurant with the signs turned off, but I can still make out a light inside, probably in the kitchen somewhere. The boys pull a U-turn and swing into the parking lot. I squint to read the darkened sign on the street: Donato's Pizza.

"You sure you don't want anything?"

"I'm GoOd, ThAnKs."

They both shrug and prance out of the car like giddy schoolgirls. They're confronted by a young woman sitting on the stoop, mopping her eyes with her apron. She's young, probably still in high school.

"Outa the way lady, we're hungry."

"We're closed," she sobs, blowing her nose.

Min stomps his foot. Max starts to whine. "But you obviously work here so you obviously have keys to get us in. Come on, we're starving here, lady."

"No," she says. "We're closed."

Max pulls a gun on her and presses it against her temple. "I'm gonna ask you nice one last time, girl. Open the damned door."

Oh, this is enough. I swing the back door open and step out of the car, reaching into my waistband for a gun of my own. "BoYs, YoU'rE a ReAl PaIr Of IdIoTs, YoU kNoW tHaT?"

As the light from within the restaurant hits my face, I can see the young girl's eyes make contact. A terrified scream erupts from deep within her chest and echoes off of the vacant landscape, probably for miles around.

"Shut up!" Min says, grabbing the girl from behind, clamping his hand over her mouth and holding both her hands behind her back. "You brought this upon your self, lady. We're just doing what we gotta do, you made us." Just as Max is about to pistol-whip her, I speak up.

"JuSt WhAt Do YoU tHiNk YoU'rE dOiNg?" I say, in a deep, but calm voice. The young lady doesn't appear too impressed, but rather, quite distressed. I couldn't care either way.

"We was hungry and, come on, you heard her, if she keeps screaming everyone's gonna wake up and everyone's gonna notice us. Get with it, boss."

I don't even care which one is speaking, they're both the same. I shoot at the pavement before them; that gets them to shut up and jump a step back. "No, YoU gEt WiTh It. We'Re On A mIsSiOn HeRe AnD yOu TwO hAvE bEeN mEsSiNg It Up tHe MoMeNt wE lEfT gOtHaM. yOu'Re NoT eVeN mEn EnOuGh To StOmAcH nOt ChOw dOwN oN tHiS gReAsY sTuFf EvErY tEn MiNuTeS. AnD nOw YoU'rE gOiNg To KiLl ThIs GiRl?"

They both look at me, smirking. The girl looks at me, like a deer caught in the headlights.

"You're going soft, boss," Max says.

I step in closer, smile at him, and then smack him across the face. A spew of blood shoots out of the corner of his mouth and lands on the poor girl's cheek.

"ThE cOiN wIlL dEcIdE." I pull it out of my pocket and flip it into the cool night air. After a few seconds, I snatch it in my hand and look at the results. "ShE lIvEs."

"But Two-Face, she's seen us!" Min stammers to find logic to counter mine. "I mean, no offence, but your face sticks out like a sore thumb, even outside of Gotham." And yet he just keeps giving us away. Thanks, you ingrate.

I pause for a moment to think. "We'Ll HaVe To BrInG hEr WiTh Us FoR nOw."

I walk back to the car and recline in the back seat, all limbs spread out. A few minutes later, the boys shove her in the back with me and lock us in. I stare over at her. "I mEaNt In ThE tRuNk, YoU iDiOtS." Min and Max slink into the front seat, tummies still rumbling, and pull out of the parking lot.

The girl looks back at me and pushes into the farthest reach of the back seat, cowering in the corner. Just like I did when trying to get away from dear old dad. "HeLlO," I say, uncaringly.

She says nothing.

I roll my eyes. "WhAt'S yOuR nAmE?"

She stammers. "Em...errr...Emily."

"WeLl, MiSs EmIlY," I stretch, trying to twist my hips to feel that satisfying cracking sound, "iT aPpEaRs YoU'vE gOtTeN yOuRsElF iNtO a BiT oF a PiCkLe."

The car hits the freeway - the I-90 - continuing our sojourn west.

[TimTwoFace]

TWO-FACE'S ROAD TRIP FLASHBACK #7

IC: Two-Face
June 26
12:00pm

We've just crossed from the Cheese State of Wisconsin to Minnesota. The sun is high in the air, the skies are clear, it looks like it's going to be a beautiful day.

"I have to go to the bathroom."

And our little chippy over there, Emily, has to go to the bathroom.

"HoLd It In. We'Re NoT sToPpInG aNyWhErE wItH pEoPlE aRoUnD."

She bites her lip at me and squirms a bit. "No, I'm serious, I really need to..."

"Shut up back there!" Max yells, suddenly an authority figure in the car. "Boss she's just trying to escape is all, and you know she's gonna rat us out to the cops."

"Yeah, they'll be onto us long before we ever hit the west coast," Min chimes in.

I groan to myself - I already pondered that possibility.

"I won't be returning home, even if you do let me go," she says, staring out the window. And still squirming. I look over at her with a stern look on her face. "I quit my job last night. The boss has been harassing me on my late night shifts for weeks now, and I've done nothing about it. I'm too embarassed to go home and tell my parents. We're a good Chrisitan family and they would've disowned me."

Typical teen angst. How I loathe it. It's caused so many juveniles to turn into such bad eggs over the years - I've seen it first hand back when I was District Attorney. Hell, Min and Max here weren't the cleanest kids in their younger years, either.

"My boyfriend would've probably killed him, too. I mean, there's nothing left for me in Chicago. Ever since we picked up and left Cincinnati three years ago, I've been lost and alone up here. I just graduated high school last week and it was abysmal - I knew people there but we just never connected as friends, ya know?"

No, I don't know. And I don't give a rat's ass either, kid. You should be thanking your lucky stars that you're still alive.

"So I decided to run away." She looks over at us and wipes a tear trickling down her cheek. "Ironically, you three came into my life at just the right time."

"Oh PlEaSe," I groan, trying to stretch in my uncomfortable cramped position. "GeT oVeR iT. eVeRyOnE gOeS tHrOuGh ToUgH tImEs, ThAt'S nOtHiNg NeW. aNd I'vE nO pAtIeNcE tO lIsTeN tO a LiTtLe GiRl'S wHiNiNg At ThIs MoMeNt." I shoot a glance at her; she's looking down into her lap, picking at some crusted tomato sauce on her apron.

I look up at her face, and it's hauntingly familiar. I mean, the hair colour is different - she's a brunette - but her profile, her eyes, so much about her reminds me of Grace. And this Emily is only a few years younger than Grace was when I first met her in college. Part of me wants to reach over and comfort her, but no - wake up, Harvey. That's not her. It's just some brat from the Midwest. This isn't Grace.

The car drives in silence for a few more miles down the interstate. Just as the bumps and grooves in the road and the rocking motion of the car take their toll on me and my eyes begin to close, I hear that voice again.

"I still have to go to the bathroom."

[TimTwoFace]

OOC: Just so ya guys know, as I stated in the AIM chat rooms (if anyone noticed), I intend to include all of the people participating in this RPG (at least in name only) as various civilians I run into on my cross-country road trip flashback sequence. If anyone doesn't want to be included for whatever reason, speak up. I've gotten the nod from AndreaBeaumont and Reirden already, just waiting for the rest, now. :)

-Tim

[Kylewayne]

OOC: don't want to be mentioned. Thanks^^

[Phantasm]

OOC: okay, i think it's about i said something.Sory if commenting on tHE happenings of tHE story isn't allowed or something!Now i am almost halfway through this RPG and am deeply impressed. AndreaBeaumont did such a great job!!!!I was hoping someone would writie something on andi...she is shuch an interesting character.infact when i first saw the RPG,instinctively i wanted to play andi but the spot was taken...but really i think andrebeaumont handled it really well.But bruce seems cold towards his daughter so far.BUT i haven't read it all yet so...

[AndreaBeaumont]

"Emily.."
June 26
3:00am

I wipe my eyes and sigh. I squint against the lights of a car as it pulls up and stops in the parking lot. I go back to mopping up my tears....

I hear two people approaching with heavy steps. Their feet stop in front of me as I sniffle.

"Outa the way lady, we're hungry."

"We're closed," I cry.

"But you obviously work here so you obviously have keys to get us in. Come on, we're starving here, lady."

"No, we're closed." I murmur again. Can't they see the lights off?

I gasp as I feel cold steel press against my temple and I stop breathing for a second.

"I'm gonna ask you nice one last time, girl. Open the damned door."

"BoYs, YoU'rE a ReAl PaIr Of IdIoTs, YoU kNoW tHaT?"
I hear a car door slam and another man walks over confidently.

As he walks closer the light spills over and climbs up his pant legs, his chest, his...face...

Oh my god... I let of horrified scream and it crashes against the buildings echoing.

"Shut up!" I hear as two big fat sweaty hands clamp over my mouth not only stifling the scream but my ability to breathe as well.

"You brought this upon your self, lady. We're just doing what we gotta do, you made us." I see one of the men raise his gun just as the freak speaks...

"JuSt WhAt Do YoU tHiNk YoU'rE dOiNg?" he says calmly, he's obviously incharge.

"We was hungry and, come on, you heard her, if she keeps screaming everyone's gonna wake up and everyone's gonna notice us. Get with it, boss." The oaf with the sweaty hands says.

I wince and jump severly as the guy with the messed up face shots one off a foot or so away from me.

"No, YoU gEt WiTh It. We'Re On A mIsSiOn HeRe AnD yOu TwO hAvE bEeN mEsSiNg It Up tHe MoMeNt wE lEfT gOtHaM. yOu'Re NoT eVeN mEn EnOuGh To StOmAcH nOt ChOw dOwN oN tHiS gReAsY sTuFf EvErY tEn MiNuTeS. AnD nOw YoU'rE gOiNg To KiLl ThIs GiRl?"

God they're gonna kill me...

"You're going soft, boss." I hear come from one of them.

'Boss' makes two quick steps forward and decks the last one who talked, something wet hits my face.

"ThE cOiN wIlL dEcIdE." I listen to the noise of a coin being flipped and I watch it glimmer in little light the resturant provides...

"ShE lIvEs."

I breathe a quiet sigh of relief but can't keep from shaking...

"But Two-Face, she's seen us! I mean, no offence, but your face sticks out like a sore thumb, even outside of Gotham."

"We'Ll HaVe To BrInG hEr WiTh Us FoR nOw." I watch as he walks back to the car and climbs in.

I'm quickly ousted and tossed in the back seat with him.


"I mEaNt In ThE tRuNk, YoU iDiOtS."

I glance at him again and divert my eyes so as not to stare. I push myself into the farthest corner practically crawling up the wall.

"HeLlO," It speaks to me..."WhAt'S yOuR nAmE?"

"Em...errr...Emily." I manage to choke out and tremor a little.

"WeLl, MiSs EmIlY, iT aPpEaRs YoU'vE gOtTeN yOuRsElF iNtO a BiT oF a PiCkLe."


I grimace inwardly, more than you know...

[TimTwoFace]

TWO-FACE'S ROAD TRIP FLASHBACK #8

IC: Two-Face
June 26
5:05pm

I hate cars. There's a reason I rarely drive myself, and that's so I can recline in the back seat and tend to other business so I don't need to keep my eyes on the road at all times. Leave that to the hired help.

"Crossing into South Dakota...NOW, boss," Max says happily as the state line passes under us. I nod in response.

Except this is a little different. Not since I was a child have I gone this far before. Oh, there was that quick trip to the crimelord convention in Chicago a couple years back, but this is very different.

This is very different cuz I can't feel my legs.

"Sorry."

I look over at the girl we have in the back seat with me. "WhAt?"

"I...just hit your leg with my knee. Sorry."

And I didn't even feel it.

What are we gonna do with this girl, anyway? I look at her, leaning against the window, shooting out her lower lip as she's likely pouting, pining away about something that she or people her age lose. I hate people that wear their emotions on their sleave.

"Boss, I'm getting sleepy," Min says. A second or two later, the car swurves into the other lane. I can hear a wailing car horn behind us.

"SuNsEt IsN't FoR hOuRs. KeEp DrIvInG. oR sWiTcH dRiVeRs."

"But we're both exhausted. We haven't gotten out since that pit-stop at the rest area, have hardly any food in our bellies, and I swear, I can't even see straight any more. We need to book a hotel room or something."

"I'm NoT pAyInG fOr ThAt. WaY tOo RiSkY, bEsIdEs."

"OH COME ON!" They both holler in unison. "Ask the skirt, I bet she'd agree with us."

I shoot a glance over at her; she looks back, and the turns her head, obviously not wanting a part of this.

"OK, get the coin out! Come on, it's two against two," Max spits.

I rummage through my pocket and find the coin. After brushing some lint off of it, I flip it into the air and catch it. "GoOd HeAdS." They're so lucky. I can see them grin in the rear view mirror. "BuT nOwHeRe CoStLy. We'Re On A tIgHt BuDgEt."

"Yeah, sure," I hear Max say.

"Man, he's as cheap as my old man," Min adds.

I hold my head in my hands. The things I do for you, Grace. The things I do to cleanse my soul and find my lady-love. Look at all these idiots I've surrounded myself with, only to get closer to you.

"She means a lot to you, doesn't she?"

I look over at Emily. "PaRdOn?"

"What you just said there, this Grace person."

Damnit, I said it aloud. "Uh, SuRe."

"No, it's...sorta sweet," she stammers. I can tell she's very uncomfortable. But this is the first thing she said that hasn't come out as whining all day.

[The Guitar Slayer]

Saturday, July 9

It is 10:30 AM Eastern Time. Between transatlantic travel, among other distractions, it has been hard to keep track of time in the two zones.

In short:

From 4:22 to about 9 PM London time, I ransacked whatever was left in Andrea and Angela's house. In regard to the matter hand, there was very little to investigate; I had taken care of the majority of the outstanding accounts as executor of Andrea's will (with the notable exception of Angela's trust fund). However, I did discover a key taped to the underside of the rolltop desk in Andrea's room. It opened a safety deposit box in a London bank. I discovered that at 7:43 PM. The two of them had cleaned out the place quite well, leaving very little for me to go on. Ergo, my next stop was logically London.

At this point, I was ignoring logic. So of course, I stayed behind to explore the house of my daughter's childhood. I tried to leave it as undisturbed as possible...but I did take one thing.

In London, I opened the box at the bank. Empty. Angela had a key of her own, apparently. Over the objections of the manager, I yanked the drawer completely out of the wall and inspected the back of the wall. Just as I thought, the box had been filled to capacity, and when Angela took it out, a few scraps of paper had been caught in the runner. I retrieved them and was shortly escorted from the bank, never to be seen again.

I'm on the plane right now. I should land in Gotham within the half-hour. Laid out before me are three seemingly unrelated documents. Age has yellowed them, and constant handling has worn holes and frayed the edges of each clipping. The first is in Andrea's careful printing. It appears to be a map of sorts, and judging from the date on the bottom of it, it was last updated shortly before she came to Gotham. I stare at it. There is a pattern of dots, of various colors...ROY G BIV. I start at the first red dot. The Acme Factory. Where Joker began.

I continue the pattern, one by one, my mind filling in the memory and crime attached to each place. This is a map of Gotham. Andrea had been tracking the Joker since she was last here, going back in to his birth that night when he pitched himself into the vat. Likely, Angela had the stories that helped create the map. I take out a small pencil and carefull connect the dots. Joker always moved in a pattern, as random as it was. I add in the house and the dinner hall used in his last escapade.

It doesn't make sense.

Ah, I forgot his favorite stop. Arkham.

I connect the last stop in each series of crimes to Arkham, and the picture forms. Everything he's done over the years will ultimately climax in a great punchline. Thus, he gets his "Ha Ha." He's spelling that out, judging from this pattern Andrea and has drawn out. For now, he's not quite done, but I believe I have enough to go on. There.

But what is it? Supposedly, it's in the middle of nowhere. The map Andrea used is 17 years out of date.

Then I guess it's where these blueprints come in. Angela's doing, more than likely. I'll have to cross reference them when I get back to the cave.

The third piece of paper is a fish filet recipe with the process of deboning and cutting into charming shapes is detailed.

Andrea had some strange hobbies, but I doubt cooking was one of them. I have a feeling these were her ultimate intentions....

My cell phone rings. "Yes?"

"Master Bruce, he's awake."

I bolt upright, banging my bad knee on the stupid flight tray in front of it. I grab at it as I say, "When did he wake up?"

"Two hours ago. And it seems we had a visitor at the same time."

My heart sinks. "Who was it?"

"Master Dick is convinced that it was Barbara Gordon. But as we all know, he has an acquired weakness for redheads, not unlike another person I know."

"Was anything missing by any chance?"

A moment of silence. "Yes, sir."

"Something of....Andrea's?"

He answers quietly. "Yes, sir."

I end the conversation and lean back in my seat again. Angela, don't finish your mother's business. I don't want to have to drag you...see you go as she did...become her...become me.

I reach into my pocket and run my hands over the ribbon in my pocket. It's attached to a pair of ballet shoes, her first pair.

I'll pay for your dancing lessons, dear.

[TimTwoFace]

TWO-FACE'S ROADTRIP FLASHBACK #9

IC: Two-Face
June 26
11:59pm
-Somewhere in South Dakota

I woulda left her in the car but I didn't have a choice.

As bullet-proof as the doors are, the car isn't sound-proof. And if this Emily chippy started screaming her lungs out, the local hick cops would be on to us in no time.

"So boss, where are we gonna sleep?" Min - or Max, I don't know or care who - asks me as we pass through the threshold of our illustrious room at "Bob's Motor Inn". The two twins enter the room first and spot the two double beds.

I follow in closely behind with our unlikely accomplice, holding her wrists behind her back. I spy the two beds and grin. "YoU tWo TaKe ThE oNe At ThE fAr EnD. i'Ll TaKe ThE oNe By ThE dOoR hErE. tWo PeR bEd."

Our hostage yelps.

"What about her?"

I crane my neck over her shoulder and smile. "ThE fLoOR. cAlL tHe OfFiCe AnD wRaNgLe Up SoMe ExTrA pIlLoWs AnD a BlAnKeT oR tWo." I close the door with my heel and use all five locking devices to barricade the four of us in the room from the rest of the world. I seat Emily at the table and unload our one bag of luggage.

"Boss," Max says, picking up the phone reciever, "phone's dead."

"ThEn WaLk To ThE dAmNeD oFfIcE. iT's LikE oNe MiNuTe AwAy." Do I have to do all the thinking around here?

Evidently so. The two henchmen leave the room, locking us other two in. Now to get some answers.

"WhAt ThE hElL aRe YoU dOiNg, GiRl?"

"Huh?"

"RuNnInG aWaY. hAnGiNg WiTh KnOwN cRiMiNaLs. YoU sEeM tO bE tAkInG iT pReTtY wElL." I loosen my tie, unleashing the stress after a long day's work of trying to remain sane in the back seat of that blasted car.

She just shrugs her shoulders. "I told you, I was planning to run away. Besides, you guys took me a lot further than I'd ever be able to get on my own untraced." I cock my right eye at her. "No, really - you've no idea what the hell I'm leaving behind. You guys may be royally *****ed up, but it's better than my other option back home."

I pound my fist on the table and growl. "I sAyS pArDoN!?"

"Oh come on, look at you, you're not the most sane bunch in the world. And those other two don't have an independent thought between them. Not to mention that face of yours..."

I raise my hand, the back of it to her face, and snarl. Her face lights up with this innocent glow and I halt the mighty swing I had planned. "WaTcH iT wItH tHe FaCiAl ReMaRkS."

She gulps. "No, I didn't mean it like that...it's sorta cool, I guess. What...happened to it, anyway?"

"AcId TrIp."

I look at her again. She's damned lucky to be alive. The coin hasn't had such a long string of "good heads" in a while. Besides, when I look at her, all I see is that Grace I once knew. Well, a brunette Grace, anyway.

There was a long pause. The boys should be returning from the office any moment now.

"Where are you going, anyway?"

Should I tell her? The less she knows, the better. "SeAtTlE, oR tHeReAbOuTs." Idiot. She's working you over, you know that.

"Really? AWESOME! I have this internet friend over there that I could crash with once we get there, lives just outside the city itself. What a coincidence." She's beaming with the possibilities.

There's a knock at the door. I look through the peep-hole and see both Min and Max's mugs grinning back and me, with two pillows each in their hands. I let them in.

"WhAt, No BlAnKeTs?"

"Didn't have any there. Sorry, boss." They drop the pillows in a heap on the floor between my bed and the door, and start undressing out of their suits as they make their way to their own bed.

Emily looks at the pile of plush pillows, and then back at me. "YoU cAn HaVe My ToP sHeEt. ThEsE hOtEl CoVeRiNgS mAkE mE wAy ToO hOt, AnYwAy."

I check my watch. 12:05am. We oughta hit the sack, we've got a lot of road to cover tomorrow.

[redDragon]

OOC - HA! See, post in by 9:39pm..MY TIME! 'cause you didn't specify your time or my time GS =P

This post dedicated to my pain in the neck yard ::shakes fist at it::

IC -
Saturday, July 9
5:30pm

Look at that sun! So nice and bright! Shining on all of that tall grass. Why the grass is so tall it's blocking most of the window.

The past two weeks have been such a hassle! First Harley is absolutely fanatic about having another doctor see me, then we have to move to the country so I can rest up and she can play nurse! What sillyness!

Though, I must admit, it has been kind of nice....

If I wasn't in this bloody full body cast! Hmm, now I do remember seeing one of those driveable lawnmowers on the way in...I think I shall cut the grass!

"HAAARRRRRRRRRRRRRLEEEEEEEEEEY!!" I holler and wait for her to come in.

I hear her scamper in, she's even in a cute little nurse outfit.

"I've decided to get a breath of fresh air and mow the lawn. I know I saw one of those driveable lawn mowers somewhere in this barn of a house!"

I sigh as Harley collects a few of the henchmen we have lazing about the house to help me into a wheelchair.

"WEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!" I say as I wheelie myself down the hallway, towards the garage.

My! They're so slow, it takes them a few good lumbering moments before they open up the garage door and take me to the lawn mower. One of them whisks off the tarp covering it, causing a billow of dirt and dust to envelope us all.

I swat the nearest goon. "You bufoons! Are you trying to kill me by choking me to death??"

"Sorry boss," the henchmen say in unison.

Help these days, I really ought to look into getting some smarter henchmen, perhaps robots? Or a good ol' fashion brainwashing!

The henchmen slowly lift me into the driver's seat and before they can even open up the doors I whisk on out, crashing straight through them!

"WOOOHOOOOOOOOOOO!" I holler as I get my first fresh breath of air in weeks!

I go about zig zagging through our enormous yard! It's so big... I draw all sorts of happy little smiley faces in it and a few haha's too!

Oh look! There's a few kids running around. Happy as day! Why I think they're playing hide and go seek in this tall grass! What a wonderful day to mow the lawn in fact!

I grin and slow down as I near one of the kids, "Having fun little tyke?" I quiry.

The little brat makes a face, "Shh! If you speak up they'll find me! They always find me first!"

I grin wider, "Why I know just the place where they'll never be able to find you!"

The twip's face brightens, "Really mister??"

"Why of course! Just turn around real quick." The unsuspecting shrimp turns around and I slowly back the lawn mower up...

*SQUISH* Ah, what a lovely sound comes from crushing a little lad!

I quickly head over to the seeker. I wink at her as I say, "Hey there little lady! I saw one of your friends over there!" I point in the direction where I had just killed her little friend.

"Where mister?" She says as she turns around and stands on tiptoes.

"Why right under my lawn mower!"

*CRUNCH* HeeeeeeeeheheehehehhehehehehhehehahhAHHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! What a joy mowing the lawn is! And such a nice color to add to this sea of green. It will be so nice when I am healed enough to paint the whole world this lovely shade of red! HEHEHEHEHEHHEHEHEHAHHHAHAHHAHAHHAHAHAHAHA

OOC- Ok, it's a bit off...a bit rusty and I really don't know what I'm supposed to be doing, seeing as the Joker is still a bit too crippled to be doing anything of much use right now.

[TimTwoFace]

TWO-FACE'S ROAD TRIP FLASHBACK #10

IC: Two-Face
June 27
7:47am
-somewhere in South Dakota

Min and Max toss the luggage in the trunk and slam it shut. The girl and I are sitting in the back seat, waiting to leave before the rest of this sleepy town wakes up. And before the manager of this sleepy half-star budget motel wakes up. $30 saved is $30 earned.

The girl, Emily, is slouched over in the corner, shielding herself from the glowing rays of sunlight filtering in through the tinted windows of the back seat. I guess she didn't sleep as well as I projected. But I ain't giving up my bed to some kid that just got lucky on a string of good heads.

She's lucky to have gotten this far.

"...yeah, I bet we could get deep into Montana or Wyoming or something today," Max says, hopping into the driver's seat. "Right, Two-Face? Thanks for letting us rest for once, I feel like a million bucks."

Min grumbled. "You were kicking me like a horse all night, bro."

"Ma always said you were the whiny one didn't she?" Max retorts.

"Yeah, and you got your ma's chubby thighs, too."

"Don't be talkin' about my mama like that!"

"She's your mama too!"

"Yeah, and I'm ashamed to be related to you, you..."

"BoYs!" They stop and look into the mirror. "JuSt ShUt Up AnD dRiVe." And to think my mind is a non-stop war of bickering.

The car pulls out the back entrance to the motel - simply called "MOTEL", drives past a diner with a neon sign, suggesting we eat at this placed, aptly called "JOE'S", and returns to the interstate. A few miles down the road, my glazed vision catches a large colourful billboard about an airshow that's being held in some town about 100 miles down the road...this afternoon, no less.

And the gears begin to turn again.

"BoYs, YoU sAiD yOu'Re BoTh PiLoTs, RiGhT?"

"Not legally, but yeah, we've flown before..."

"ExCeLlEnT. i'D aPpReCiAtE cHeCkInG oUt ThAt AiRsHoW iF yOu DoN't MiNd."

They grin at each other, happy to be doing something that's more interesting than just staring at the horizon for twelve hours a day. I grin, looking down at my cell phone, fully recharged, waiting for Rob Valestra to call me with that necessary information.

Things are finally falling into place.

I flip my coin into the air and snatch it gaily, chuckling to myself as I play out the ideas in my mind. Oh, happy day.

[TimTwoFace]

TWO-FACE'S ROAD TRIP FLASHBACK #11

IC: Two-Face
June 27
10:00am
-somewhere in South Dakota

"This the exit, Two-Face?"

I look out the window and see the large colourful billboards, reading in a crazy, carnivalesque font, "Big Reir's Travelling Hot Air Show". Over the horizon I can see a rainbow-coloured balloon hovering in the air. This is it.

"LoOkS lIkE. gO fOr It."

The car glides over onto the offramp and bumps over the dip as we hang a quick right onto the wide two-lane road heading towards the local air field. The jolting rattles our passenger awake with a loud, solid crack of her temple against the window.

"Nnnngh...damnit, what the hell..." she groans, rubbing her forehead, groaning some more. I keep looking straight ahead through the tops of my eyes, head tilting forward.

"Uh, Face, why are we going here?"

"It'S a FaIr. AlL tHeSe CaRnY tYpEs ArE tHe SaMe. ThE wHolE lOt Of ThEm ArE cRoOkEd. AnD tHaT's WhO wE hAvE tO dEaL wItH."

"But at an air show?"

My eyes connect with Min's in the rear view mirror, and once he realizes my stern gaze won't shift, he backs off, and sets his eyes back on the road ahead of him.

"YoU'lL sEe SoOn EnOuGh, MiN. yOu'Ll SeE."

And maybe while we're there, we can pick up a copy of the Gotham Gazette, if they deliver it that far out here. I've been out of touch with the ol' town for way too long already.

[TimTwoFace]

TWO-FACE'S ROAD TRIP FLASHBACK #12

IC: Two-Face
June 27
10:14am
-Big Reir's Hot Air Show, South Dakota

My fingers wrap around the door handle, ready to spring the door open. I hope we didn't take this detour for nothing.

"What are you doing?"

I look to my left; Emily's sitting there, staring back at me with her mouth agape. "wHaT?"

"Going out in public like that. You're going to stick out like a sore thumb. Unless everyone else in this hick town has a messed up face like that." She smirks.

I smirk, too - and draw the back of my hand away from my body, preparing for a swing. "WaTcH wHaT yOu SaY aRoUnD mE, gIrL."

She crosses her arms and stares me down. The guts she has. "Well come on, you're like instantly recognizable, and I doubt you'd want to be noticed. I thought you were trying to move cross-country incognito. Hell if I care about that, though - the less the authorities and the press notice you're here, the less chance that I'll be found, thank you. I'm not going back to Chicago. Ever."

I scowl and growl deep within my throat. And out comes that beloved coin again. I hold it up in the ray of light shining through the window, making sure Emily sees the glimmer of light shining off of its edge.

She lunges forward and snatches it out of my hand. "Stop relying on this damned thing, I already have an idea." She tosses the coin on the ground and covers it with her foot; my heart is on fire, my blood is boiling, my breathing is laboured. Emily reaches down into the plastic bag of stuff Min and Max swiped from the gas station a few days ago and retrieves the cover-up make-up they bought. "It'll work. Trust me."

I hear a stifled giggle from the front seat. My eyes connect with Max, staring back at me in the mirror.

Good God, woman, we didn't kidnap you so you could act like my mother.

[The Guitar Slayer]

July 9, 12:45 PM

The clock slides away, and I step into the Cave. The clock's hydraulics hiss as it resumes its normal position on the wall. I walk down the stone stairs, feeling the temperature drop as I go underground. I follow a set of lights that are focused on the center of the room. A figure in black and white moves between tables, handling shiny metal instruments.

"Man, Alfred, I could really go for a pastrami sandwich..." mumbles the living contusion on the bed.

"The only way you're getting it is through a blender, Master Dick." Alfred resumes his diagnostic checks on the young man on the bed.

I stand on the landing above the examination area and look down. "Glad to see your appetite's back." He can't turn to look at me, but I see Dick's head bob in recognition. "Other than the obvious, how do you feel?"

As I finish my trek down to the main level, an IV-laden hand rises and flip flops. So-so. I pull up a stool beside the bed and settle myself down. Once he sees me, his face tries to form one of his trademark grins, but fails. Too swollen. "How long, Bruce?"

"Over two weeks." He groans a little and fidgets as much as he can at the moment.

"Take it easy. You're out of the game for a while, like it or not." I hear him grumbling down in the base of his throat already. "I heard you already had a visitor earlier..."

He sighs. "I thought it was Barb..."

"But it wasn't."

"Angela, I guess. I don't know what happened between the two of you..." He takes a deep breath...off the respirator already. Good boy. "...but you have to find her." Breath. "She took something from near the computer."

I start in with "Did you see--" but Alfred cuts me off. "That's enough for now, Master Bruce." His eyes send me the same message, but not in as polite terms.

I nod and reach over to take a hold of Dick's less mangled hand. "Don't worry. Just get yourself back to normal." I let it go and go toward the computer. I was never good at the sentimental stuff.

Within a few keystrokes, I find that the Crane was not accessed, nor was any of the electrical equipment. I turn to look at the table on the far side of the computer. There lies the remains of the Phantasm. However, this grave has been disturbed. I run my hands over the fabric, hoping to slice my hand open on what should be there. No such luck.

Angela took the scythe.

It's rather obvious as to what she intends to do.

What isn't obvious is how she got in. Not through the house; the motion detectors would have gone off. The climb through the access tunnels would have been too time-consuming for what she had to do. I wonder... if the size is right...but was she strong enough?

I go into the changing area and remove my suit, opting instead for my self-designated Cave exploring clothes. As I lace up my boots, I look in the general direction of the fissure in question. I suppose if Andrea made it there, it's entirely possible.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

1:23 PM

I'm getting too damn old for this.

I slide my hand in between the cracks and pull myself up to the light source. The grate has been moved...not enough for me to get through, but enough for a woman to get through. I reach overhead and flip the grate into the dirt and hoist myself out.

It's been a long time since I've been up here. I try not to disturb the bats, being as they were here first. Then again, there are also some...memories I'd rather leave to rest here. My eyes crawl over the dust. There's her path. I follow it a ways to where her motorcycle was once parked. I already knew that she had retrieved all of her belongings from the storage unit. Where was she? Likely in a motel somewhere, lying in wait. Knowing her genes, it will be easy to wait for Harley to make another appearance and follow her.

I return to the entrance of the Bat Cave and take in what transpired here in the past. The sudden appearance of its residents, the return of a token of affection, and then the gift of a new one.

It's odd how I'm inspired by the past.

[TimTwoFace]

TWO-FACE'S ROAD TRIP FLASHBACK #13
IC: Two-Face
June 27
10:30am
-South Dakota, at Big Reir's Hot Air Show

"Just stick with me and you'll be fine."

You're not my mother, kid. "ShUt Up, YoU'rE nOt My MoThEr."

"No, but I'm gonna make sure you don't get us all busted." Emily takes my hand and we walk into the air park fairgrounds. I can hear the theme to Monty Python's Flying Circus in the background, occasionally being overtaken by the buzz of the small propellor planes and other cessnas circling around in the skies above.

"BuT i LoOk AnD fEeL lIkE aN iDiOt." I wipe my hand, still holding that backstabbing coin, against my left cheek, scraping off some of the flesh-coloured foundation she had applied over the scars and burns.

"Just be happy we stopped before I added the mascara," she snaps back. "Where the hell are we going, anyway?"

I look around the moderately busy fairgrounds, and catch Min and Max wandering off towards one of the larger hangars in the distance. "TeN mInUtEs, BoYs. SeE iF yOu CaN fInD aNyThInG iNtErEsTiNg." I keep searching, myself...and then I see it. "CoMe On."

Dragging the young girl behind me like a dead weight, I make my way to the infodesk. The middle-aged woman sitting behind the table in the short grass looks up at me with a rather audiable gasp. I knew that make-up wouldn't hide the damned face - it just coloured it. "Good morning, how can I help you?"

I catch her trying not to stare. Probably for the better. "ThE mAn YoU cAlL bIg ReIr. I'd LiKe To MeEt WiTh HiM."

"You mean Chris? He's busy at the moment, he's..."

"No No No, I bElIeVe He'S nOt ToO bUsY fOr Me. I'm FrOm OuT oF tOwN aNd HaVe QuItE aN OfFeR fOr HiM -"

"Sir..."

"-tHaT hE cAn'T rEfUsE, iF hE kNoWs WhAt'S gOoD fOr HiM."

Emily tugs on my wrist, trying to get me to knock off the tough guy act. But no, this air show was here on the side of the road on my journey for a reason. I need to take advantage of it. "I'll...be right back."

"TaKe YoUr TiMe."

The woman waddled off into the crowd towards the grandstands; I decide to stay here and stay in the shade, so this make-up doesn't melt off too quickly.

"What are you doing? Threatening people like that is going to just attract attention." Emily is glaring up at me, with those narrow, beady little doe-eyes.

"Oh PlEaSe," I chuckle, "I'vE dEaLt WiTh EnOuGh Of TheSe CaRnIeS aNd CiRcUs PeOpLe AnD tHe LiKe tO kNoW ThAt ThEy'Re AlL cRoOkS. We'Re In ThE cLeAr." And the Bat will never know, not before it's too late.

"Hey, Face!" I whip my head around and see Max and his brother making their way through the crowd, with a very large, rotund man in a stylish suit and our frumpy female friend in tow. "We have good news!"

I tilt the left side of my face away from the oncoming entourage and gently shove my female accomplice to the side. Don't call me 'face'...it's drawing attention to it, you nitwit. "Oh? AnD wHaT mIgHt ThAt Be?"

"Min and I were checking out the cessnas and cropdusters over there and ran into the big man here..."

"Big Reir," he grins, while hiding behind a pair of shades.

"...yeah, and we told him that you likely wanted to meet with him, cuz you're such a big fan." And he says it with a wink.

Well, whadaya know. They have a brain between them after all. "ExCeLlEnT. pLeAsEd tO mEeT yOu, ChRiS."

"That's Big Reir, son. Big Christopher Reir, and this is my air show," he says in a thick, hick accent. This is why I prefer the city.

"ThAt'S eXaCtLy WhY i WaNtEd To TaLk WiTh YoU, mY mAn."

"There something wrong with your voice, boy?" I see Min, Max, and Emily all staring in horror, just waiting for my cover to be blown.

"No No, jUsT a ToUcH oF a StReP tHrOaT, i'M qUiTe AlL rIgHt. NoW, cOmE wItH mE fOr A wAlK, i'M gOiNg To MaKe YoU aN oFfEr tO bEcOmE a VeRy RiCh MaN."

And we take a step in the right direction.

[TimTwoFace]

TWO-FACE'S ROAD TRIP FLASHBACK #14
IC: Two-Face
June 27
10:50am
-Big Reir's Hot Air Show, Hickville, South Dakota

Here I am, sitting in this little trailer not far from the runways of this municipal airport. I can see various propellor planes being taxied about on the runways, waiting to take to the skies for their airborne spectacle.

And there, in front of me, is the man that calls himself "Big Christopher Reir", the grande architect of this travelling air show. His slurping and crunching into the legs and breasts he's pulling out of that greasy bucket of chicken is often louder than the planes whizzing by outside.

This is why I prefer the city.

"So," he says, wiping his greasy fingers on his belly and thighs after sucking off each one in his mouth, "what kind of preposition are you talking about, son?"

Quit calling me son. You're like five years older than me, tops. "I nEeD a PlAnE. nO, tWo, AcTuAlLy."

He looks at me with a cocked stare and, after a second's pause, starts laughing, with saliva and chicken bits arcing through the air out of his mouth with every exhalation. "Ha ha ha! You gotta be kiddin' me! I'm not selling my planes! They're vital to my business. Y'see, I dunno how they run things where you're from, but I need my planes here. I run an air show. No planes, no business." And he starts laughing on account of his air-tight logic again.

"JuSt OnE oR tWo. NoThInG fAnCy. My BoYs OuTsIdE aRe CeRtIfIeD pIlOtS, tOo." Stay calm, Harvey. Whip out that coin and this southerner might be on to us if he gets smart all of a sudden.

"I'm sorry, Mr..."

"DeNt."

"Right, and dense you are, if you think you can just come in here and buy my only means of profit from me." He's still laughing. His belly his jiggling to and fro, up and down. "Sorry, I can't help ya, but thanks for the laugh, man. Here, have a cough drop for that strep throat of yours." He tosses me a pill and gets up and tries to escort me to the door; he opens the door and I can see Min, Max, and Emily waiting outside.

However, I remain seated. "BuSiNeSs? Oh PlEaSe, PeOpLe LiKe YoU aRe AlWaYs RuNnInG yOuR bUsInEsSeS iNtO tHe GrOuNd. BaD fInAnCiNg, SmAlLeR cRoWdS...iT's A dYiNg BrEeD yOu'Re A pArT oF. aNd HeRe I wAs, AbOuT tO mAkE yOu A dEaL tO kEeP yOu AfLoAt FoR a WhIlE lOnGeR."

Reir closes the door carefully and pivots back to face me. I knew he couldn't resist, as long as he knew I was dead serious. "Then let's here it."

"TwO mIlLiOn DoLlArS fOr ThE cRoPdUsTeRs My BoYs WeRe ChEcKiNg OuT eArLiEr. I cOuLd WiRe ThE mOnEy To YoU bY tHe EnD oF tHe DaY fRoM mY aCcOuNt In ThE cAyMaNs."

I can see the gears in his brain whir ever so slowly as the facts and figures I just threw at him are computed. That should be enough to cover the planes and their operating costs for months, years even. And who the hell cares about seeing cropdusters fly around at an airshow in the midwest...hardly a novelty, no one is going to miss them.

"WeLl?"

There's a long pause. And then...

"You drive a hard bargain, city-boy. Sold."

"HoW dId YoU kNoW i WaS fRoM tHe CiTy?"

"Cuz your make-up's peeling, son. And I'd recognize that face anywhere."

[TimTwoFace]

TWO-FACE'S ROAD TRIP FLASHBACK #15
IC: Two-Face
June 27
11:00am
-Big Reir's Hot Air Show; Dullsville, South Dakota

The door to the trailer slowly opens, and I peer outside, looking for the crowds. No one around. Excellent.

"Hey, what happened to your make-up?" Emily asks, concerned. The twins whirl around to get an eyeful.

"I'm MeLtInG. oH, wHaT a WoRlD." I step down the grated steps from the trailer door and cover my face with my hand as a precautionary method, anyway.

"Well boss, what's the word?" Max asks.

The trailer lurches over to one side as Big Reir steps up to the door. "Thank you for your business, son. The Outlander and the Red Dragon are some great wings, let me tell you. We'll have those two birds cleaned up and ready to go in a few days and we'll fly them out to ya, how's that sound?"

"SoUnDs GoOd To Us. I'lL cAlL yOu OnCe We GeT tO sEaTtLe, ChRiS."

I turn back to make my way back through the festive atmosphere, giving the big man in the trailer a wave of my hand. I hope this cagey hayseed knows to keep his mouth shut about all this. He's smarter than he lets on.

And just then, the earth shakes with the rumblings of a sonic boom; I nearly lose my balance and look up into the sky. "WhAt ThE hElL wAs ThAt? SuPeRmAn?" I reach into my inner breast pocket to retrieve a pistol, just in case.

"Naw, it's those damned Canadian Snowbird Jets. If they weren't such big moneymakers and crowd pleasers I'd never let them set foot on my soil or set wings in my skies." Reir steps out of the trailer and fans himself with his hat. "Chicken-head Canucks didn't wanna go to war with us, yet they have the gaul to show off their military jets here in my country. The world's gone to hell, I tell ya."

Funny how he's mentioing our neighbour to the north. It's so vital to my intricate plan.

I look up and watch the jet screech across the sky and off into the horizon until all I can see is a glimmering speck above the corn fields. I wish I could afford one of those.

I make my way back to the car, chipping off the make-up plastered over the left side of my face, then dusting the flaked remnants off of my suit.

"Have a good drive out to Seattle. We'll keep in touch."

And I grin to myself, without turning around. "YeS. wE cErTaInLy WiLl."

[TimTwoFace]

OOC: Hey all...not that I mind, cuz this is giving me a really good chance to catch up and flesh out my "road trip travelogue flashback" sequence, but is anyone going to be consistantly returning to this RPG any time soon?

Also, I was wondering if anyone knew off-hand what the status of Rupert Thorne in the RPG is. Cuz I was kinda hoping to use him as one of my sub plots.

-Tim

[AndreaBeaumont]

"A Visit..."
Saturday
July 10th
12:20 a.m.


I wake up with a start and peel my eyes open. I sit up and stretch looking for what woke me from my much needed slumber. I finally realize that the whirr sound in my dream was, a vaccumn is running in the hallway by my door. I sigh and push my hair out of my face and check the time. Ah, the 12 o'clock news should still be on. I flip on the T.V. that sits acroos from me and turn it to channel 9...

"...Gotham police found the two mangled bodies of Bethany Thomas and Bobbie Fuller today just 8 hours after they'd been reported missing by two pairs of frantic parents..."

My ears perk up as I throw away the pizza box and I turn to the screen...

"...The police first started by looking for them at the place they were believed to have been playing in a large field next to an abandoned house. They found a large industrial lawnmower in the middle of the field full of matted bits of what was at first believed to have been groundhog or some other burrowing creature that had been unfortunate enough to become caught in the blades. Upon further inspection and an aerial view by helicopter just as the sun was setting they recovered to undistinguishable mangled corpses in the middle of some sort of pattern that had been cut into 3 foot high grass. Upon a second flyover it was determined tha pattern was a large smiley face. The children had been placed in the mouth...."

My eyes grow wide as they show footage from earlier that day of the pictures in the grass, a clearly distinguable smiley face almost filling the screen and I can just...make out.....

'Ha ha'

I feel my blood begin to boil...it doesn't take a genius to figure out that this is the work of....

Joker...

I change and grab my bag...

I think a visit is in order....

OOC: TERRIBLE POST.....SO TIRED...

[TimTwoFace]

TWO-FACE'S ROAD-TRIP FLASHBACK #16

IC: TWO-FACE
June 27
4:00pm

Driving down the highway, heading west again. I prefer when Max is driving, he makes such better time. I haven't noticed the speed go below 80mph since we left Big Reir's Air Show this morning. Min, on the other hand, I've caught that poor boy driving for miles with the blinker on. Good going, Gramps.

"Mount Rushmore, exit 10 miles," Emily mumbles as she looks out the window at a billboard rising out of the fields on the opposite side of the freeway. "Never seen that before. Would you guys mind if..."

"HaVeN't YoU bEeN lIsTeNiNg To Us At AlL oN tHiS tRiP, gIrL? tHaT pLaCe Is A tOuRiSt TrAp. I'm NoT gOiNg To RiSk BlOwInG oUr CoVeR sO yOu CaN hAvE a KoDaK mOmEnT wItH a DaMnEd RoCk."

I look out the window and, way off in the distance, I see the mini-mountain of stone on the south side of the highway. It looks much smaller and less impressive than I've seen in the post cards...and the time when daddy dearest took mom and I there when I was a boy.

"BeSiDeS, eVeRy SiDe-TrIp We'Ve BeEn On HaS bEeN sTrIcTlY bUsInEsS. lIvE wItH iT." There. I won't let some damned teenager tell me what to do.

My little rant is interrupted by what sounds like the crack of doom coming from outside.

"What the hell was that?" I hear one of the twins shout up front.

I look out the window and see something soaring through the sky. I initially think the worst, of course, and think that Superman is on to us, but no...this airborne object is on fire, and a tail of thick, grey smoke is blowing out of it, going for miles. It's a plane. And even though I can't see it at the speed it's going, it sounded exactly like one of those Snow Bird jets I witnessed this afternoon.

"Wow, look at that!" Min points through the windshield, as the plane shoots past us and crosses over the highway before us. "It's on fire and everything! Didn't Reir say something about..."

"Sabotage?" Says Max.

And Min just nods.

I wonder what it would feel like to know that you're trapped in a plane that's out of control. The complete feeling of fear, helplessness, and hopelessness, as your confined space gets closer and closer to slamming into the location of your untimely demise. Ehhhh...according to Reir, the Canuck pilot deserves it.

Then I wonder...what if Big Reir has a similar fate planned for us?

"WHOA! HOLY CRAP! IT HIT IT DEAD ON!"

"wHaT mAx?" The sonic boom from the explosion catches up with the car, and all of us are plastered to the windows on the south side of the car.

"The plane! It ran right into Mount Rushmore! Look!"

And there, slightly closer in the distance, I can see the faint but distinct flaming wreckage burning on the side of the mountain. "HmMmMmMmM...mAyBe We OuGhTa ChEcK iT oUt. LoOkS lIkE yOu GoT yOuR kOdAk MoMeNt aFtEr AlL, Em."

She slouches down in her seat. I can tell she's wondering what she's gotten herself into. Well honey, let this be a lesson to never run away from your home or your problems. Face them head on.

I'm coming for you, Grace.

[The Guitar Slayer]

IC: July 10
12:23 AM

Angela did a good job of covering her tracks. After removing all of her possessions from storage, she simply disappeared. She no longer exists, seemingly. Except for that trust fund that wags its tongue at me occasionally. She's a smart girl, however, so I shouldn't expect her to slip in regard to the bank account. Rather, it would be wiser for me to wait until she went for the Joker.

"Late-breaking news in the Thomas-Fuller disappearances. Police have found the bodies of the two children in the open field they had been playing in. The house, which has been unoccupied officially for over a year, showed traces of habitation...."

The newswoman drones on and I tune it out as I work over Andrea's map. I seem to get lost in my work until I hear the words "grotesque happy face."

I whirl around in the Crane's chair and hit the rewind on my TV recorder. We men are known for short attention spans, and this just happens to aid in remedying it to an extent. It also affords numerous opportunities for archival purposes.

I replay it again and again.

See bits of flesh on ground onscreen occasionally...normal eye wouldn't catch it, though. The helicopter aerial view of it is slightly obscured by motion, but it's enough to tell me that the news anchor is correct in her assessment of what the design is supposed to be.

A happy face. A grotesque happy face with children laid out as broken teeth.

I roll back over to the map and make another mark. There's another part of HA HA done. There's a line of places he could go to continue the pattern.

And it's quite likely that I'll be able to trail Angela from there. As I mentioned before, the only way she'll slip up is in the name of the pursuit of him. I think I'll lie in wait for her when she comes.

And she will come.

[redDragon]

July 10th
1:52am

Ah, the best thing to do after a hard day's work is to sit back with a few snacks and watch some TV. A pity we couldn't have stayed at that farm house, it was such a nice place with all that grass! This warehouse will have to do until I heal, can't go rampaging again so soon! Not much excitement here, though gazing up at these rafters here is quite an entertaining feat in itself! Imagine how delicious it would look if there were people hanging from them in some intricate pattern!

"Hey boss, your artwork got on the news!"

I glance back at the TV to see my bloody smile grinning back at me! You can always count on the news to give you a nice aerial shot of your work!

"Quick! Get a camera! I want to get a snapshot of my beautiful artwork! It'll be something nice to share with the kids!"