Mimic

Hallucination

I woke up in a coughing fit, strapped to a chair in an empty warehouse.

"Deja vu much?" I muttered to myself as I looked around. I saw a figure move in the shadows. "Hey, you!" I called. The figure stepped out into the light. Or rather, figures. I immediately smiled when I saw who my kidnappers were.

"Eddie! Jon!" I laughed in disbelief, "The heck is going on? Why did you guys kidnap me?" 

I quickly studied my kidnappers. They were both dressed in civvies, which was fortunate for me. I wasn't a fan of Jon's costume. Anyway, one was dressed in a button-up shirt that was a deep purple. He wore a sickly green jacket over it, and black jeans that contrasted with the bright jacket. Eddie, of course. The other was wearing a black shirt and jeans, with a light brown blazer. Jon.

You may be wondering how I know my kidnappers, and why I'm happy to see them. Well, they're both criminals. Naturally. And they're friends of my parents. Better known as the Riddler and Scarecrow, we've known each other since I was a kid. So if they kidnapped me, I have nothing to fear.

"Hello, Julia," Jon flashed a sly smirk. Originally, I didn't like him, seeing that he scared me. But he can be pretty okay for an insane murderer. Better than my father.

"Hey, do you know what the longest word in the dictionary is?" Eddie asked, being his typical self.

"Smiles?" I asked skeptically, having heard the riddle elsewhere, "Because there's a mile in between each 'S'?"

"Actually it's something like pneumonoultramicroscopicsilicovolcanoconiosis."

"Anyway," Jon said, ignoring Eddie. "Your father sent us to warn you."

"Warn me?" I raised an eyebrow.

"Your time is running out," Eddie informed me. "I must have a good riddle to go with this..."

"Not now Edward," Jon sighed, then looked me in the eyes. "Joker wants the team to be dead by New Years."

"And if they're not?"

Eddie drew an imaginary line on his neck with his thumb, the universal sign for death. 

"Oh," I said softly.

"He's already upset about your communicator breaking, and you not reporting it," Eddie said.

"I was going to say something," I said defensively.

"Now, I know I have a riddle about liars..."

"For what happens next, I am sorry about," Jon grimaced.

"What are you talking about?" I asked quickly. They would never hurt me, would they?

"The Clown Prince thinks you need to be punished for slow and sloppy work," Eddie sighed.

"Guys," I said almost frantically. 

With a last glance, Jon tossed a cylinder of sorts my way. His famous fear gas started to pour out, and my so-called allies ran away. I held my breath for as long as I could. The gas swirled around me in deadly tendrils. Eventually, my body couldn't take the lack of oxygen. I let my breath out and took a quick breath in. But just a breath was enough to send me spiraling into my hallucination.

At first, the fear hallucination felt almost like one of my visions. However, this familiarity brought me no comfort. I was silently cursing my Father and the rest of my family in my head. How dare they do this to me? 

In the hallucination, I was in Mount Justice, surrounded by my teammates.

"How could you?" they yelled at me.

"We trusted you!" they shouted.

They closed in on me, all beating on me at once. But their harsh words hurt more than their fists.

"I thought there was some good in you," Robin snarled, "You're just a monster."

"This isn't real," I kept muttering to myself.

"You're just like your father!" Robin shrieked. Suddenly, everyone picked it up and began to chant it at me.

"No, no," I said, "I'm nothing like him."

"Oh, but you are," a wicked voice cackled in the background. My teammates parted so I could clearly see him. Father. The Joker. "Except, you're not as good as me."

"Failure," Uncle's voice echoed repeatedly throughout the room.

Joker pulled out a knife and took threatening steps closer. I tried to run away, but my teammates were now holding me down.

"Please," I whispered to their uncaring faces. They ignored me. And to the sound of being called a failure, my father stabbed me in the stomach.

"What a disappointment," he sighed, "Oh well."

With a gasp, I awoke from my hallucination. I was curled up in a ball, clutching my stomach and crying my eyes out. Suddenly, a hand was on my shoulder. I shrieked and ended up falling to the ground, taking my chair with me.

"Hey, it's okay," a calm and familiar voice said, "Don't worry. Everything will be okay."

And with that, I blacked out into a deep sleep.