The Games We Play

Monsters

~Kate~

Coming back to Arkham is a soft sound of music to my ears, the melody playing in my head. The voices of many and their whispers of rumors about my incident with the Bats was emphasis and moved across the compound.

Murder.

Thief.

Psycho.

Nutcase.

The one common thread was that I officially snapped, went off the deep end, too much for such a young girl. It really brought a smile to my face, not like I would dare let anyone notice.

The only one not outwardly questioning me, was to my shock, Edward. For once he stayed patient, not pestering me with questions or pushing for answers. At nightfall he would keep me by his side, knowing that he could provide my fragmented mind with the calmness and comfort I so desperately craved. I look up, hearing my cell open. The only one who ever was allowed in was Edward.

"The gun was mine, I just wanted to prove. I wanted to see....but the world moves too quick" I ramble, letting some nonsense fall from my lips as he entered.

"Shh...its okay." Edward calms me by running his hand through my brunette curls. He notices how fragile her state of mind was and takes a deep breath.

I look away to hide the glimmer of hope he gave me. He sounds so genuinely caring, which meant my little stunt paid off.

He smirks, "Riddle me this, You can drop me from the tallest building and I'll be fine, but if you drop me in water I die. What am I?" He keeps one hand behind his back as he approaches me, putting me a little on edge.

"What?" I pause, scratching my head lightly. I look up to meet his soft expression. "A person who can't swim? A ghost? A paper mache ball?" I rattle off a guesses.

"Paper, I stole some from Dr.Crane's office on my last visit. I noticed you were rattled, and thought maybe it would help ease your mind as of late." Edward hands over a paper with a bunch of numbers on it, my little game. I smile, giving him a hug.

"Thanks."

Edward stares at my arm with concern. His eyes locking on a dark purplish, blue bruise that took up most my shoulder. "How are you doing?" His hands softly presses against my tender scar, causing me to shiver. I know what he thinks. Batman did it. I can see the hate in his eyes. My unspoken lie, fabricated by circumstance tormented him. The truth was far from what he thought...

~Flashback~

The shingles of Wayne Enterprises stood beneath my feet, as we gazed down on the city below. My gaze not out searching from crime, like my partners, instead looking at the Iceberg lounge in the distance. The sun began to set behind us, making the sky shades of cotton candy pink and blue. 

"Do you see anything?" Nightwing voice comes from behind me.

"Depends what you're looking at? It's Gotham, there is a little bit of everything." I smirk, handing back over his binoculars.

"Then there's no time to wait." Nightwing moves from the building, flipping onto the one beside it.

Later that night, we come across two groups of thugs. What appeared to be a drop off. "Joker toxin, Drugs, or Fear gas?" Nightwing asks, as we usually take wagers on these type of things.

"No clown masks, so I am guessing fear gas,  the city has been spreading with that stuff." I whisper, the two of us stayed in the shadows, waiting for the other party to show himself. In the distance we see a truck emerge slowly. Scarecrow has evaded our capture for now, but maybe today it would change. Instead of Scarecrow, a measly young man emerged. Teenage, couldn't be older than 15.