The Knowhere Girl

[30] The Crownless King, The Soulless Queen

"I am the dead dreamer, older than sin, older than humanity. I am the shadow below everything. I am the beautiful thing that awaits us all." A Head Full of Ghosts, Paul Tremblay.

[Jason Todd]

Unlike most big cities like Metropolis or Star City, Gotham did not look good in daylight. It looked oven worse in the dead of night. The large, looming buildings stood with a haunted air around them, even as lights shone from the windows.

The street that led to Arkham Asylum was no different, it was dark and cool, the strangely twisted trees casting long shadows. According to its founder, Arkham Asylum had been built on the outskirts of Gotham to keep its patients away from the hustle and bustle of the city. According to anyone who actually stayed there, it had been built that way so no one could hear the screaming.

Concrete roads soon gave way to gravel, the change rattling Jason's teeth, but he didn't slow his bike, even as sleet assaulted his face.

Much like everything else in Gotham, the roads that led to the city had its own legends. Tales of buses crashing and letting inmates run free into the dense forest that surrounded the asylum. Poison Ivy herself was said to have used her powers on the trees, giving them their unnatural shapes.

It was hard not to drive along the road to Arkham Asylum and not feel as if something was watching him, but no cars past him. Though, of course, that could be because of the rumours of cannibals that roamed the forest.

Red Hood parked his bike just outside the security perimeter, stepping into ankle deep snow as he dismounted.

He glanced up at the asylum.

Even after its post-breakout renovation, Arkham Asylum hadn't changed much, at least based off Oracle's files on it. Stone gargoyles still decorated the rooftops, large, empty hallways and unused offices. Even its security system hadn't been upgraded.

Red Hood could be in and out of the building in minutes. And without the hypocritical backup accompanying him, there was nothing stopping him from eliminating anyone who got between him and getting Blue out.

The place was bad enough without the ghost stories, and practically reeked of death and despair, and Blue was in there somewhere inside. Pictures of her from the video flashed through his mind. He'd been a fool to leave her alone at the party, and this was the price for his actions. Red Hood did what he could to avoid a panic attack, trying concentrate on the mission at hand. It kept him focused enough, angry enough, to avoid thinking too much.

"I'm going to get you out of there, Blue," he promised.

He made another promise too, one much darker.

A promise to kill Joker.

And promise is a promise if it is made in blood.

[Gwen Stallone]

I didn't know how long I stood there, at the edge of the dim hallway, listening to other people's distant screams. They bounced off the walls, the words magnified and warped at the same time.

I swallowed.

Pain was returning to my body and each movement I made felt like a strike of lightening. It screamed at me, and I pretended to be deaf.

Pain was temporary. It would rot away in time.

As soon as I stepped into the shadowy hall, I felt a chill run up the length of my spine. The floor was caked with dirt and grime, and there were several spots near the ventilation shafts that looked suspiciously like mold.