Dynasty: A Batman Tale - Part 11

NOW

The workers recruited by Clayface were finishing the last stage of their mission, the appointed foreman approached the large looming figure who was adjusting the brim of his fedora. “Sir, we’re all finished!” the foreman said as he came around to face Basil. Trying not to stare at the former thespian’s scarred features he continued, “We done everything like you ordered!” Over the past twenty-four hours, dozens of nameless men, including criminals, ranging from street hoods to murderers, along with men simply desperate for work, together buried a large number of munitions in strategic locations beneath Gotham.

Clayface listened to the man, but kept his focus on Edward who had slipped further down the cavern to rest and practice the meditation technics Basil had taught him. “Good! Wait here.” He instructed the foreman and began to walk in Edward’s direction.

Edward sat on the dirt floor of a secluded area in the underground labyrinth, his legs crossed and his eyes closed. As Basil approached, he could hear Edward humming his meditating mantra. One question, one answer, no riddle, no lie, count 1 through 10, nobody will die. One question, one answer, no riddle, no thrill, count 1 through 10, I don’t have to kill. Repeating over and over like a looped track playing in Edward’s head, he concentrated on his breathing. Find your center.

After relieving Porter of his face, Basil gave Edward a time out. Edward’s fight to reclaim his mind was an ongoing battle, however, he wasn’t fighting alone.

“Edward?” Basil’s soft tone raised Edward’s awareness without startling him. Nigma slowly opened his eyes to see his friend approach. “Edward, how do you feel?”

“The headache is gone. What time is it?”

“Time to wrap things up down here.” Clayface motioned towards the workers who were gathered together a few hundred feet away.

“Ah! Done already, wonderful!” Nigma said accepting Basil’s hand and being helped to his feet. Edward suffered from excruciating headaches mostly due to his high sensitivity to light, his thoughts were constantly being scrambled, and living in a padded cell had only made it worse. Over time, with the help of the unlikely characters he found himself in the company of, was he able to begin to improve. One day I’m stuck in a padded room twenty-three hours a day and the next I’m on the run with a group of lunatics.

THEN

The visibility through the slot of Edward’s cell door was practically nonexistent. Even if he smothered his face as much as possible into the small opening, he could still only see barely six inches on either side. He could see the lights were flashing red outside his cell, and he could hear a siren blaring throughout the halls. Edward thought, something is happening, but could not be absolutely sure if this was a figment of his imagination or not. He had learned from his therapy sessions with Doctor Crane subtle tricks in order to properly organize his thoughts, and hopefully distinguish between what was real and what was not. The sessions were beneficial, but still a work in progress.

Suddenly Edward heard the sound of keys fidgeting at the door. Cautiously backing away, he heard the familiar click of the door unlocking. Edward held his breath readying himself for whatever was going to enter. To his amazement, when the cell door slowly swung open, it revealed only empty space.

Edward took a small step through the doorway into the hall. He saw he wasn’t alone, nor apparently, the only one unsure of what was happening. To his left there were other prisoners, all slowly stepping into the hall as well. They appeared to be just as surprised as he was. Edward counted three rather interesting looking people exiting their cells. Closest to Edward was a stout little man, his hair cropped just above the shoulders, but what caught Nigma’s eye was the Tea cup tattoo on the little man’s chest. Further down the hall, past the small guy stood a large man towering above Edward’s six foot frame. The man’s face was disfigured giving him a monstrous appearance, but when Edward made eye contact, he only saw a man.

Standing across the hall from the disfigured man was a strikingly beautiful woman with long auburn hair. Edward noticed a slight greenish hue to her complexion, but didn’t think much of it assuming she had been locked up for a substantial amount of time similar to him.

The trio all wore the same questioning expression that Edward himself was wearing. What the hell is happening? He took another step, his bare feet inching closer to the middle of the hallway, suddenly his feet felt wet. Nigma looked down and saw he was standing in a pool of blood. He traced the blood back past the others towards the end of the hall originating from the open examination room. So if that’s where it started, where is it…? Edward paused his thought and spun around to see that the blood trail continued in the other direction, past the cells and around the corner. Edward shuffled a few steps to the end of the wall and came to a halt, he was about to quickly poke his head around the corner for a look when he felt a tug on his shoulder. Standing up against the wall behind him following his lead were the three other residents of the asylum. The woman was about to say something when Edward threw a finger up in front of his lips to signal for silence. “Shh! Do you hear that?”

The sirens were still blaring through the speakers, but as Edward concentrated, he swore he could hear something else coming from down the hall, but couldn’t make out what.

“It sounds like metal clinking.” The large disfigured man said.

“Let’s find out.” Edward said as he stepped around the corner into another hallway covered with the mysterious blood path. Edward quickened his pace to reach the other end of the hall with the others in tow. He stopped to peak around the corner, his eyes following the blood. Thirty feet ahead, Edward found the source as well as their liberator. He appeared to be another patient. Edward could not see the man’s face, but could see he was shirtless and wearing the same institutional pants they all were, but his were draped in blood. The man was jingling a large set of keys in his right hand, while his left hand was locked around Doctor Crane’s ankle. He was dragging the dead doctor’s body, painting a trail of breadcrumbs with the doctor’s blood.

Edward and the others caught up and continued to follow. The lights were still flashing, but the sirens stopped and the halls became eerily quiet. The silence was broken when the small man waddling directly behind him yelled “What’s the plan?” His shrill voice reverberating throughout the empty halls. The tall thin man did not respond, he continued for a few more yards before coming to a stop in front of a steel door labeled Security.

A voice from inside the room pleaded, “Please stop this Mr. Robinson! The ward has been sealed and the only way to open the barricade is from outside or in here. Just go back to your cells, all of you!”

The shirtless man turned around and faced his followers revealing his milky-white skin and crimson draped smile. Edward felt enthralled by the sight. The albino’s eyes were dark and dangerous.

“He called you Robinson, is that you?” asked the attractive lady from behind Edward.

“You’re that nature-terrorist who destroyed the mall, aren’t you?” quipped the little man to the woman, “Pam something or other!”

“Shhh…We can do introductions later!” The big disfigured gentleman said as he watched the demonic clown try the door, only to find it locked.

The albino began inserting key after key into the lock. Again the voice rang out from inside the room, “Don’t come in here or you’ll be sorry. I’m armed and I’ll shoot if you come in here.”

Robinson continued trying each key. The guard inside sounding more desperate began begging for the group to stand-down and return to their cells. With just a few keys remaining, they all finally heard CLICK. Robinson grinned and said, “BINGO!”

They watched their savior pick Crane’s corpse up off the ground and hold it between himself and the door when the large man warned, “Be careful Mr. Robinson!”

The white man turned his head to face Edward and the others and as he walked into the security room said, “Call me Joker!”

Edward and the others stayed in the hall, Bang! Bang! Bang! Three gunshots rang out from inside the security office, they heard the panicked security guard inside yelling for his life.

“Stop, No! Stop, Stop please stop.”

Edward took a step towards the doorway, tilting his head, he heard the voice gurgle into silence. Edward entered the room and saw a wall full of monitors. The other newly released captives gathered in behind him. Joker was standing over the guard, the blood gushing out from where Joker had slit his throat. Edward noticed that Joker had propped Doctor Crane’s bullet riddled body in a chair, having served its purpose as a shield, allowing for the crazed clown to get in close and kill the guard.

Joker ripped the dead guard’s ID badge off the blood drenched uniform, looked at the photo and back at the dead guard. “Well… I must say, Yuri, is it? You just look so much happier now! Ha Ha Ha!” He tossed the badge to Edward, who had never heard such a nefarious laugh and pointed towards the stocked weapons locker on the far side of the room.

Edward and the others ran over and swiped the guard’s badge unveiling everything they needed including tactical gear with Kevlar. He started handing everyone bulletproof vests and armored helmets.

“Name’s Basil!” He said taking the equipment from Edward.

“Nigma, Edward Nigma!” He looked over at the lady beside him, “Is it Pamela?” He asked.

“No, call me Ivy!” she told him grabbing one of the many automatic weapons and checking the clip.

The smallest of the group interjected. “My name is Jervis, but you can call me…” He was staring up at Ivy, “…Hatter!”

She snapped the magazine into her rifle and aimed it at Jervis, “I know what you are, and it is, what it is. But you look at me like that one more time or come at me with your ‘Tea Party’ shit and I’ll kill you!”

A deluge of sweat manifested upon Jervis’s brow and began pouring down his face. “Understood.” He mustered.

Joker joined them, geared up and grabbed an M-16 semiautomatic assault rifle, popped in a full magazine and said, “Time to checkout.”

He walked back over to Yuri, and grabbed the dead security guard’s hand. Joker placed the lifeless hand on the security pad and punched a series of buttons. Edward could see on the monitors that an exit was unsealing.

Joker pointed at the feeds, “That’s our way out of here.”

Ivy looked on and put her finger on the top level screens, “There, that’s this room, so if we follow…” She was calculating in her head, “Left out of this room, then left, two rights, left and straight and we’ll hit this exit to the staff parking lot.”

Joker grinned, “Very good and it looks like a welcome party. FUN!”

They could see a few police arriving to the Hospital. There were two cars at the hospital gatehouse, one was clearly a GPD squad car, while the other Edward assumed was an unmarked police sedan.

“What are we going to do?” Cried Jervis.

Joker smiled and said, “We’re gonna Play!”

They moved fast through the halls. The rest of the hospital staff had lost communication with the Maximum-Security wing and the barricade separating the wings was still in place. Joker had only unsealed the one exit and it was in view. They blasted through the exit door with more fire power than the police were prepared for.

Joker, laughing historically began unleashing a barrage of bullets at the cops. Ivy, Basil and Jervis followed suit. Joker yelled over to Edward, “Find us a ride, NOW!”

While being covered by the others, Edward found his way through the labyrinth of parked cars at the same time evading the police. He came to the edge of the lot near the street where police were still trying to block traffic. Edward jumped out aiming his gun at the first oncoming vehicle. The minivan screeched to a stop just in front of Nigma. He ran around to the driver side door, ripped it open to find a young woman behind the wheel. He forced his gun in her face “Move over or you’re dead!”

As Edward was hijacking their ride, an explosion ripped out across the parking lot forcing him into the car. He turned to see a huge fireball coming from where he had left his fellow escapees. Quickly he hit the young woman in the face with his rifle butt and pushed her unconscious body onto the back seat floor. Nigma put the minivan in drive and raced to scoop up the others. Pulling into the parking lot, he could see a wall of flames standing between the police and his mates. Edward wildly drove through the lot managing to avoid the cops. He smashed a parked Fiat, ejecting the small car into the flames, all awhile creating a gap in the fire to get through. He stopped the car for his new friends to get in.

Joker jumped in the front passenger seat while Basil and Ivy jumped in the back with Jervis climbing into the tailgate.

“What’s this?” Joker jokingly asked upon seeing the unconscious woman. “A hostage! For me? Oh you shouldn’t have. Ha Ha Ha!” Joker laughed while Basil picked their newly acquired captive up onto the seat between himself and Ivy.

Edward sped away using the firewall to cover their escape. He turned the minivan toward the hospital’s atrium that connected to the opposite side of the facility. The minivan launched through the atrium’s glass window wall accelerating towards the other end of the building. Edward kept his foot on the gas as they broke through another atrium window wall, this one delivered them to an empty parking lot on the other side of the building. Nigma drove straight towards the back of the lot and through the exit.

“What the hell was that thing up on the roof?” Asked Basil.

Nobody answered him, Edward broke the sudden silence and asked curiously, “What are you talking about?”

“I saw it!” Responded Ivy, “It looked like a bat!”

“All I saw were flashing police lights and then fire!” Interjected Jervis from the rear of the minivan.

Joker started laughing, “A bat, ha ha ha, a man dressed as a giant Bat, now that’s funny!”

Edward stared at Joker laughing, “Ideas?”

“Get us as far away as you can,” Joker ordered. “Let’s ditch this and head for the port, but first we need to pick up someone.”

“Who the hell do we need to pick up?” Tetch howled from the back of the car.

Joker slowly turned to face Jervis, “None of your business, Mad Hatter!” Tetch slumped low in his seat at the way Joker had said his name with such disdain.

Edward driving at high speed leaned over to ask Joker, “I’ll go wherever you say, just point the way.”

“Good, we’re going to pick up my Harley.”

Always trying to be a well mannered gentleman, Basil was twirling a lock of the unconscious woman’s around his finger, looked over at the Joker and said, “I’m not sure I fully understand how that just happened, but I do know, that not more than ten minutes ago I was certain I was going to die in that cell, and now...Thank you, thank you very much Mr. Joker?”

The clown looked at Basil’s deformed face.“What’s your name?”

“Basil, Basil Karlo!”

“NO!”

“No?” Basil was confused.

“What’s your REAL name?” Joker pressed.

Basil hesitated for a moment, he didn’t care for the moniker and his disdain was evident in his expression. He stared out the window, “After they did this to me…they called me Clayface!”

Smiling wide, the Joker patted Clayface’s knee, “Embrace it! Ha ha ha. I Do!” He looked over at Ivy, who was watching and listening to the exchange, “She does, don’t you my pretty little flower?”

Ivy smirked and saw that Joker was glaring at her inquisitively. His tone got serious, “Tell me, Ivy, What did Strange do to you?”

She returned the stare and contemplated answering, Ivy looked at Clayface for a moment, then glanced in the rearview-mirror to see Edward looking back at her. Edward could see Jervis in the back was being very attentive as well. All of them were intrigued as to what had been done to her. All of them had their own tale to tell of their time under the care of Doctor Strange at Arkham.

“There was a serum. Strange said it was experimental. He told me if I agreed to test it, he would release me, but I should have known it was bullshit. He was never gonna let me out of there, especially now!” Ivy pounded her fist on her thigh.

“Oh, do go on please.” Joker was giggling and beginning to fidget. “This is getting good, why especially now?” He asked. “What did the serum do? Except for give you exceptionally perfect chartreuse skin of course!”

Ivy stared at Joker, “It made my saliva venomous.” Everyone was looking at her. “Doctor Strange brought another inmate into the room with me and asked me to kiss him.”

Basil gave Ivy a compassionate nod.

“Aaaannnnd?” Joker sang.

“I didn’t see because Doctor Strange had him sent back to his cell, but…” She looked again from Basil to the Rearview-mirror to Joker and finished, “…he’s dead!”

From behind her Tetch yelled, “How do you know?”

“I just know. Fuck if I can explain it, but a short while after the kiss, I just knew he was dead. Strange came back and confirmed it, and as soon as he did, I knew I was never leaving that place.”

“Ha ha ha,” Joker laughed, “Ah, but leave you did! Poison Ivy!”

Ivy smiled at the name, “I like that!”

Joker turned back around to face front still giggling. His giggle broke into hysterics, “A man dressed as a bat, A MAN DRESSED AS A BAT! Now that’s funny! Ha Ha Ha!”

Their young female victim stuck between Ivy and Clayface began to stir. She opened her eyes as the Joker turned to face her. Overwhelmed by the realization of her situation she started screaming, then Joker started screaming with her. She looked into the Joker’s malevolent eyes and fainted. Joker’s screams once again turned to laughter.

NOW

Edward was rigging up the last of the detonators. The explosives had all been buried strategically. The desired result would be a square mile of downtown Gotham including the financial district collapsing. Nigma was adjusting a blasting cap as Basil approached.

“Edward!” Basil called out and pointed to his watch. “It’s almost time to go.”

“Okay, I’m just finishing up. All we have to do is…” Edward nodded motioning to where the workers were sitting and waiting, “…take care of loose ends, and make sure you and I are nowhere near here at BOOM time!”