Brothers In Arms (Batfamily) - Completed

Chapter 23 ~ Reign Of The Dark

Before you start reading, I just wanted to tell you that this chapter has something a bit personal about me, but I'll tell you more at the end of it (otherwise I'm going to spoil it for you). I hope you'll enjoy it.

When Alice woke up, the first thing she noticed was the noise that was surrounding her. There was the clinking of chains, the sobbing sounds next to her, a door being violently closed, a loud scream in the distance... It sent shiver down the young girl's spine. As she tried to move, she not only felt an unbearable headache head but she also noticed that she couldn't make any movement. Her wrists and ankles were tied.

Slowly, she opened her eyes. It took them a long time until they adjusted to the darkness of the room. Her breathing fastened. The beating of her heart increased and she could hear its pumping inside her ears as she looked all around her. As unbelievable as it is, there was children sitting inside iron cages, just like a bunch of animals. The room was only illuminated by a single spotlight and there was no window.

Alice struggled to keep her calm. Her little hands were shaking against the iron handcuffs. When another inhuman scream echoed through the corridors, she shut her eyes, keeping them close as hard as she could.

Next to the iron table she was lying on, she saw from the corner of her eyes a boy, around her age, sat on the floor inside one of the iron cages. His sight was empty from all emotions and he was curled into a ball, hugging his knees tightly as if his life was depending on it. Moreover, Alice slightly cringed when she noticed how pale the boy's face was.

The young blond girl was about to open her mouth to talk to him when someone wearing a white lab coat entered inside the large room. Another man was following him. Alice immediately thought that he was creepy with the white make-up which was covering all his face. His lips were covered by what the young girl thought was a red lipstick that was climbing up to his cheeks, creating a large and wide smile. His eyes were darkened by a black facepaint. Furthermore, he was wearing a large and long purple coat which was nuancing with the bright green color his hair were dyed in.

As soon as he noticed that Alice was awake, he loudly clasped his hands. "Finally you are joining our little party!" His smile turned into a disturbing broad grin, accentuated even more by the red facepaint.

"Where am I and who are you?" the little girl asked in a whisper, not able to talk any louder. The terrifying man walked until he was just next to the iron table. He grabbed Alice's chin and squeezed it tightly between his fingers. The young girl let out a small whimper.

"Oh don't worry, doll. You are still in Gotham." His grin became even wider, "or not far from it actually." He moved his face closer to Alice's "and I'm surprised you don't know me, but I'm sure you've already heard about me." Alice frowned, both terrified and angry. She shook her head as best as she could, a determined look on her face.

The man tsked. He tightened his grip around Alice's chin. "I'm The Joker and you, my dear, you are going to be another of my guinea pigs."

He released his grip on Alice's chin and started to cackle maniacally. Behind him, another man wearing a white lab coat entered inside the room. He was pushing a picking trolley on which a large amount of syringes were lying on. Next to them, there was a small box with a price tag reading "Sarinide".

Alice opened her eyes widely. Her evident state of terror seemed to amuse the Joker even more as he tilted his head backwards and burst out in a loud laughter...

***

Dick let out a loud yawn escape from his mouth as he stepped inside Blüdhaven's police station. His take-away cup of coffee was burning his fingers but the tiredness he was victim of only made him took another long sip out of it. The hot liquid burned his tongue and his throat but he didn't seemed to care.