___

The intercoms above me crackled, followed by slow, amused clapping on the other end. Taunting cackles filled my ears as I sat on my knees, reeling from the moments before. I breathed heavily while I recovered from my third near-death experience of the night, listening to the Joker’s words as beads of sweat dripped down my brow.

“Welcome back to the game, kid! And whattaya know! You’re more resilient than I gave you credit for! It’s not every day you get someone who could boast about escaping Old Croc!”

Cold air enveloped my drenched person, chilling me further than I already was while in the irrigation tunnels. Water dripped from my hair onto the filth and grime that covered the old floors, swirling into a pool of muck under me while the memory of the monster I had just encountered flooded my brain. I could feel my heart constrict, as adrenaline continued to flow within me. My eyes focused on every detail of the wall, as the world continued to blur with technicolor. My determination, my fear, all of it could be felt in this moment, amplified by ten. Overwhelming me with the realization that no matter what I did, I’d always be a foot away from death in this place. Even now, there was no rest.

I had to keep going, I thought. I couldn’t die while those hostages were still on the line.

Wheezing laughter kept the silence at bay before the demented clown spoke once again, this time in an exaggerated Australian accent.

“I sure hope we learned our lesson down under! Can’t be a Bat-brat if you’re not going to follow the rules-

Joker’s voice then returned to his usual, hellish tone.

“-Especially for this next game!”

I rolled my eyes yet again, focusing on the walls ahead while I slowly raised myself off of the dust-coated floor. Steadying my breath, summoning my courage to press on, I looked around the vast, open room while listening to the Joker mock me.

The bright, flickering light from above me shone down upon what looked to be the holding cells of an old waiting room, each coated in years of neglect and age. A large desk was across the way, its old wooden structure was broken down in the middle. A corridor resided to the right of me, but the crumbling debris and walls caved in to form a barrier of sorts, making sure there was no exit plan. Across the room from me, a darkened threshold held a grimy door in its frames. I could barely read the rusted plaque on it, but was able to make out the words ‘educational observation’ amongst some of the others. The door was covered with a variety of wires, just like the larger doors I had phased through before taking my unfortunate plunge.

That was where I needed to go, I thought, but this time I was hesitant to go charging in like I had before. As much as I hated to submit to Joker, he was right. I had learned my lesson in underestimating him. I needed to play his game his way if I wanted to avoid any more detours. For all I knew, I had wasted enough time. Instead, I began to walk over cautiously, surveying around the room with wary eyes.

“For our final game, I was able to dig out something very useful! Belonged to an old friend of mine. Ah, may his gigantic soul rest in peace!”

Joker laughed, but almost as if it were in a fond remembrance. I had a feeling this friend of his would have been, in turn, no friend of mine had he been alive. So far the company this lunatic kept has tried its very best to end my life, from madmen and their zombified victims to a monster with an appetite for human flesh. Whatever Joker had planned next, it would surely uphold the efforts to kill me. I couldn’t help but perk up when he mentioned it was the last game of his, but my relief flickered away at the realization this might be worse than anything I’ve faced tonight.

I crept closer to the door, my heart keeping a steady pace as I pushed out all of the pain and aching my body felt. Before I could make it halfway, however, something out of the corner of my eye caught my attention. In the darkest corner of the room, I managed to make out a silhouette that stopped me in my tracks. Slender, shadowy arms rested upon a shapely body, hidden from the light just enough to where I couldn’t see much else. Regardless, I knew a human shape when I saw one, and my heart started to pick up its pulse yet again when I saw the figure shift itself ever so slightly.

Something, or someone, was in the corner. Standing there, watching me.

My shaky breath gave an uncertain exhale, as I turned away from the door to face this unknown person. It was still too dark to see the features of this person, so I was unable to discern if they were a friend or foe. They remained still, never moving an inch after their initial shift.

I guess Joker somehow saw what my attention was turned to now, because an announcement was sharply made, with his deluded passion and creepy enthusiasm.

“May I introduce, my lovely assistant! My other half! One hell of a gal’-”

He paused, allowing the dramatic effect to take over while I tensed up. My body readied itself for another fight.

Whatever this was, I thought, it must be the final trial. Whatever this figure entailed was sure it would be devastating. Only the most savage could have been saved for last by this deranged, depraved clown.

I tried to call to my abilities, reaching within for help. Shadows flickered around me for a brief moment, before failing me yet again.

“Damn it,” I whispered.

Turmoil flooded in me about my abilities, just as the figure in the shadows moved forward. The light finally caught the figure in its beams, flickering on and off while slowly revealing the figure’s features.

“-Harley Quinn!”

The Joker yelled out excitedly, but I couldn’t help but feel extremely underwhelmed once the figure came out. A small woman came into view, wearing a red and black skinsuit that hugged her shape tightly. Her hair was pulled into messy pigtails, with what looked to be black and red hair chalk faded out of her tips. They bounced around wildly as she skipped out of the shadows with glee. Red lipstick resided elegantly on her lips upon her painted white face. Her scheming blue eyes gleamed past the black diamond shapes painted upon her eyelids. Her appearance very well matched her name - a harlequin-like clown. All except for the white lab coat she adorned on her back. In her hands, she held a pen and clipboard, writing down her notes while humming a jovial tune.

I tilted my head and scrunched my face in confusion seeing this eerily chipper woman smile as she came into the light. She was not what I was expecting to conclude the horrors this night held. I couldn’t keep my thoughts to myself, blurting them out in my confusion.

“That’s it?”

I spoke softly.

The woman looked up from her clipboard, her red lips curling into a disapproving sneer. Her blue eyes now shifting from happiness to annoyance. She spoke up, in a peculiar, heavy New Yorker accent, pointing a pen at me while she scolded me.

“Watch it, tiny lady! ‘Else I’m docking points!”

She tilted her head in an angry motion, conveying her offense to my comment. I gave her a perplexed look before shifting my gazes all around. Looking around the room, I watched for anything else in the area that could be the real finale. Confusion filled me more when I saw nothing out of the ordinary. I raised an eyebrow while slowly looking back to the woman called Harley.

Suddenly, Joker’s voice came through again.

“I wouldn’t underestimate her if I were you! She’s as deadly as she is pretty! But she’s only conducting your evaluation tonight, I’m afraid!”

“Evaluation?”

Questions swirled in my mind about where the Joker was going with this final challenge. If this woman wasn’t the last trial, then what was?

The darkness in the corner yielded something new, as the light of my new position caught the corner of something. It looked like a giant box in the corner, covered with a white, filth-ridden sheet. As my eyes continued to adjust to my surroundings, I noticed it was the same shape and size as the other holding cells beside it. My stomach churned as I looked upon it as if my body were telling me it was something to be cautious of.

Joker spoke through the intercoms once more.

“Yes! Your evaluation! We just have to make sure our newest addition to the streets is of sound mind and body! Don’t want any sickos out there, do we?”

Joker laughed maniacally as if sensing the irony in his statement.

Above the hidden holding cell, I could see the letter T painted on the wall above in green. There were more shapes, but I couldn’t make out what letters they made due to the darkness hiding them well. I looked back to the woman named Harley Quinn, who was watching me look around in amusement. When she noticed I had spotted the mysterious holding cell, she let out a little giggle, before pressing her fingers playfully to her lips, as if she wanted to prevent herself from laughing.

Her reaction told me everything. There, in that holding cell, was likely my final challenge. I could feel my body tense up again, feeling the dirt-covered materials of my bodysuit constrict around my skin. My tangled hair whipped around as I began to move toward the cell. My heart continued to beat rapidly as I prepared myself for what would happen next.

When I was a few feet from the cell, I reached my hand out, ready to slowly pull the curtain away. Then, the sudden movement of the clown woman aerial flipping right in front of me made me jump back in caution. Her lab coat flourished wildly as she landed, still holding her clipboard in her hands. She smiled at my startled demeanor as I jumped into a defensive stance. She bounced with each step she took, walking away from me towards the back of the holding cage in glee. The woman spoke up again, her accent shining through with each word as she wagged her finger at me.

“Ah, ah, ah! No touching! Doctor’s hands only!”

Her warning rang in my ears, with Joker’s voice above following hers.

“Quite right, my dear! Why don’t we give our subject some… perspective!”

With a flick, a second light kicked on, illuminating the rest of the old, crumbling room we resided in. I backed up from the cage, sensing something was about to happen. When I made it back to the center of the room, the green letters painted on the damaged brick walls were clear as day:

Try Not To-

The green letters cut off, but under the letters, another word was painted in what looked to be bright purple paint.

DIE.

Before I could process the clear threat written on the walls, the sharp noise of the clown woman ripping the sheet off of the holding cell echoed throughout the spacious room. The sheet fell on the ground, revealing a large, muscular man wearing a clown mask inside of the cage. He stood in the center of his prison, and when the sheet concealing him came crashing down his head snapped in my direction. A small shock of fear rang through my body, seeing the man’s eyes fixate on me. I heard the man growl, cracking his neck and knuckles as he got into a stance. My body jolted into a stance, ready to fight, my body racing with adrenaline.

Overall he didn’t look too bad. He was ten times my size, but he wasn’t anything I hadn’t faced before. One-on-one, I knew with enough focus, I could take him, and finally be done with these demented games.

Something behind him caused my attention to divert from his eyes. I noticed large tubes that lay on the grimy tiles, spiraling up into the man’s two shoulders. The tubes protruded out of painful, deep incisions made into his flesh. Blood was trickling out of him like a slow stream while the tubes coming from him connected to what looked to be a tank of green, ominous liquid.

My stomach churned with confusion and worry, with impending doom settling in. My body tensed up once more as my heart panicked with uncertainty. Whatever this was, I thought, I wouldn’t be as simple as I originally anticipated. Nothing was in this living nightmare, and I was starting to expect that.

The Joker’s hellish voice came through again, announcing my new foe.

“Step right up, step right up! Come meet your final opponent, little shadow miss! Now, I know what you're thinking-”

He paused, before putting on a voice that I assumed was to mimic me.

“Well, that’s just not fair! How is he supposed to have a chance against little old me?”

The Joker returned to his normal voice, continuing on in his signature spine-chilling tone.

“But fear not! The remedy for that dilemma was quite simple! While I was searching for something to fix up good old Xander, I found the answer inside Arkahm’s very own storage! Something that will give our little champion a fighting chance… It all had to be done on short notice, so I think you’ll appreciate our initiative. Harley, dear, would you do the honors?”

Just then, the man in the clown mask started to chuckle. Harley skipped over, reaching her hands through the bars and flicking on a switch that rested upon the machine. She spoke up in a taunting high-pitched voice, almost growling with each word that came out of her mouth.

“Get ready to hurt, little lady!”

The green liquid that resided within the tank began to travel through the two tubes, making its way toward the man. Once it started flowing into the clown man’s bloodstream, there was first silence.

All before his piercing screams broke the suspenseful atmosphere. He fell to his knees, screaming in pure agony as the mysterious substance continued to flow through him.

Shock echoed throughout my body as I ran at the bars of the holding cell. I desperately reached through, trying to reach the man in pain. My impulse to help him was stronger than my intuition, with the only thing going through my mind was trying to take the tubes out.

I couldn’t reach him, to my heart's dismay.

“Hey! HEY!”

I tried to get the clown-masked man’s attention, attempting to tell him to take the tubes out on his own.

Then, in an instant, the veins throughout his body seemed to bulge out, and almost bubble a toxic green from the inside. His skin emitted what looked to be green smoke from the injection sites on his shoulders. The man eventually got on one knee, still screaming in searing pain, as if someone was pumping liquid fire into his veins. I watched on, still trying to help the clown-masked man, but the sudden growth of the man’s muscles caused me to jerk my hand away.

It started with his right bicep, tripling in size to the point where you could see each line in his skin. Then, his legs. He began growing in height as well, gaining a couple of feet above what he already towered over me. His other bicep grew to the same preposterous amount as the other, with his body stretching and almost tearing to make the change. He yelled out viciously, causing me to jump back away from the cage startled. He stood up, bending over as his head hit the ceiling of the holding cell. No more screams came from him once he finished growing. He seemed to be used to the pain the mysterious green liquid was giving him now.

I backed up in pure shock, almost stumbling over myself as I looked up at this new monster of a man.

“What the HELL is that?”

I screamed aloud.

“Why, THAT would be one hell of a super-soldier formula! Introduced to us by a lovely little Bane, who is probably turning in his grave knowing I’ve gotten my mitts on it! Such a shame it’s not the new and improved juice, but this one’s still quite the force to be reckoned with. ‘Couple of doses of this bad boy, and you’re off to the races! T1, they call it!”

Joker’s maniacal laughter left my heart sinking.

He wasn’t wrong in his description of the strange chemical. Whatever it was, it was turning this man into a giant of himself, in mere seconds.

The clown-masked man looked over at me, bent over in his cage. When he saw the flood of concern wash over me, he chuckled in a hellish, low voice. Harley Quinn rushed over to the front of the cage, grabbing what looked to be a key out of her coat pocket.

“Are ya ready, fighters?”

She asked excitedly.

The giant clown spoke, growling out his words towards me.

“I’m gonna break you!”

Panic washed over me, contemplating what I should do. I had nothing in my hands this time, nothing except my training and my strength to protect me. I had a feeling this wasn’t going to be enough to bring him down.

I needed my abilities.

Harley Quinn spoke again, unlocking the cage with a swift turn of the key.

The narrative has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the infringement.

“Now listen up! I want a nice, clean fight! I’ll be watchin’ you, tiny! Remember, I’m still testin’ you!”

She pointed a a strict finger at me, before opening the cage. She leaped out of the way just as the giant clown ducked down to avoid hitting his head on the roof of the cage. He stepped out of the holding cell, slowly, and grimly, approaching me at the center of the room.

Within me, I could feel my hope fail me, my faith in my strength fleeting.

I can’t do this, I thought. I can’t do this…

My body was stuck, like a deer in the headlights. Frozen with doubt, and denial. I wanted to move, but my mind kept getting stuck on my fleeting hope.

I can’t, I thought.

“Just trust in me… I’m here. I’ve always been. You are not alone. Fight with me, Sarah.”

The familiar whispers called to me, pleading with me to snap out of it. I could feel it stir inside of me. All night, my abilities failed me, but they were coming through, stronger than before. The giant clown stomped his way over, raising a large fist in the air as he tunneled even closer. Right in his way, was me.

I felt a shockwave from within me jolt my senses back to their former state. Almost like an unseen force was pushing me to move out of the way. Within me, I could feel my abilities reaching out to me, calling to me. Waiting for me to take their hand. I knew I couldn’t deny them now. Not when they’ve failed me all night.

Within seconds, I disappeared away from the giant man, reappearing behind the broken desk at the end of the room. The giant man looked around in confusion when he landed a punch to the chilled air, before spotting me far away from him. I looked down at my person, seeing the shadows I’d missed all night dance around me wildly.

“Hey! What the-”

Harley Quinn shouted at me from the corner of the room, confused and put off guard by the entity I had become.

Joker’s voice crackled through the intercoms once more.

“Normally I’d penalize such things, but since it’s just so entertaining, I’ll allow it!”

Harley Quinn grumbled in disappointment.

“But Puddin’!”

“I don’t recall asking for your opinion, my dear! Why don’t we try being a good sport about it all, hm?”

The clown woman stomped her foot, much like a child would mid-temper tantrum. She then turned to me and sneered.

“Alright, you heard the boss! Now, fight!”

With Harley’s last words, the large clown man began to charge at me. I took a deep breath in, feeling my heartbeat in my chest so heavily it felt like someone beating my skin with a closed fist. Adrenaline continued to course through me as I got into a stance.

My abilities seemed to be working a bit better now. It was time to use them.

As soon as the clown man reached me, I hopped over the broken desk, landing a kick to the clown man’s chest while my feet swung over. It only sent him a few steps, staggering backward before righting himself again. Once my feet touched the ground, I leaped up, swinging a closed fist at the clown man’s face. Even though my fist collided with his mask, it barely did any damage. He recovered quickly, swinging his own fist my way.

SWOOSH!

The sound it made through the air as I ducked under his large arm was enough to alarm me to how big this man had become.

Once he righted himself after a missed punch I recoiled my leg, ready to kick him back. It seemed he anticipated that, however. One large fist enclosed around my heavy boot, grabbing on harshly. I let out a gasp in shock before suddenly being lifted off of the ground. The large man swung me around him, letting go once he had made a full spin. My body went flying across the room, colliding roughly with the crumbling brick wall behind us.

Crying out in pain, my body slammed down on the floor harshly. I winced in pain as I tried to get to my knees quickly. I stumbled for a second before I did, holding my elbow briefly to help soothe its pain. My eyes cautiously drifted over the the large clown man, who turned to see his handy work. He chuckled lowly when he saw me on the ground.

Slowly, I got up, as if I were a wounded animal attempting not to provoke the beast. I stared at him, with caution and determination swirling in my eyes. The both of us began circling each other as if we both plotted our next moves. He cracked his knuckles to silently taunt me while he maneuvered around me. I held my hands up in position, ready to defend or strike when he made his move.

I needed to be careful, I thought.

This man, now infused with the strange formula Joker mentioned, had enough strength to break every bone in my body. Despite the strength I had in my form, I didn’t have that advantage. I was going to have to try to hit him with a barrage of attacks to overwhelm him. That way, I might stand a chance.

Shadows flickered and danced around my person as we both danced around each other. My eyes never broke from his. While I waited for him to strike, I studied him. I studied what moves he would make. With every step we took around each other, I couldn’t help but think back to my training with Nightwing, and how we would do the exact same thing.

I watched as the clown man swung a muscular fist sharply at me. I quickly disappeared out of the way, only to reappear in front of him. Using all of my might, I flipped myself backward, kicking the man upside the jaw. When I steadied myself, I saw his large feet stumble back in surprise. I had caught him off guard for the time being, and I would use that to my advantage.

I began landing a barrage of fists and kicks in his direction. Despite his new strength, he was too slow to stop them. I jumped up multiple times, aiming for the head when I delivered blows. I listened to him growl and grunt in anger and annoyance. I leaped up once again to land an elbow to his eye, which caused the mask he wore to crack.

“I don’t know about you, Mista J, but I think this one has some unresolved issues!”

Harley Quinn pitched in from the corner of the waiting room, writing down more notes on her clipboard while clicking her tongue.

Unsure of what she meant, I tried to push the woman’s words out of my brain so I could focus on my assault. I jumped up, about to land another blow to the man’s head. He seemed to catch on to my tricks, however, and grabbed my wrist. Effortlessly, he swung me around, throwing me yet again across the room. I grunted as I made contact with the floor, rolling violently into another wall. Just as I got up on my knees again, I looked up to see the massive clown begin to charge in my direction, yelling out with rage as he did so.

Shit, I thought. Shit!

Not even back on my feet yet, I dove and rolled out of the way of the behemoth clown, letting him run into the wall.

CRACK!

The massive man ran into the crumbling, old wall with such force, that a hole in the shape of his silhouette was left. I quickly spun around, hopping up onto my feet and getting into a stance. My heart raced with uncertainty as the sounds of blood rushing throughout my body echoed in my ears. With fight or flight still in full swing, my body braced itself further for the fight.

The clown man cracked his neck with a simple look the side, leaping off of the wall with an angry growl. He steadied himself, punching his fist into his other palm menacingly, as if the thought of pummeling me was driving him.

I’ve got to wear him down, I thought.

With that, I was reminded of Nightwings words to me, during our training sessions.

“Predict your opponent. But expect the unexpected.”

As the words echoed through my brain, I focused on my opponent. With his right foot, he pushed off to charge yet again. I stood in his way, watching him approach like a bull seeing red. He yelled viciously, as I noticed his body twist in a way that made me think back to Nightwing’s words.

He was going to feign grabbing me, I thought, but the minute I dodged he would strike me instead.

I knew what I needed to do to get the upper hand. Instead of playing into his hand, I began running at him as well. Gaining as much momentum as I could, the both of us met in the middle. Just as his arm simulated a grab for me, I let my body fall on the ground, sliding right past his attempted trickery.

He let out an audible growl of surprise, turning around to try and catch me. With his second ploy failing, I quickly shot back up to my feet. When I did, I was facing the wall he had just come from.

I turned back in time to see him beginning to run after me again, an idea forming in my head. Facing the wall again, I began to sprint for it. If I could disappear right before touching the wall, I could possibly get him to run full speed at the crumbling architecture. With enough force, it might fall on him, subduing him. It was only a matter of if I could get my abilities to favor me like they have been.

Please, please let this work, I thought.

Continuing to sprint, it felt like time slowed. All I could focus on was the crater in the wall made from the large man’s body. I could feel my heart ache from within, reaching out to my abilities. I closed my eyes right as I got to the old wall, feeling something take hold of me from within.

Yes! I thought.

In my mind's eyes, I pictured where I wanted to go, and I felt the wind rush by my face indicating I reappeared there. I only opened my eyes when I heard the sound I was waiting for.

CRACK!

I opened them just in time to see the behemoth clown rerun into the wall. Only it didn’t break, to my disheartenment.

Damn it, I thought. It wasn’t enough that time around to break it.

Before my hopes disappeared, another plan popped into my head. While the shadows of my abilities darted around my dark being, I began running full speed towards the man.

I’d make this wall give in, I thought.

When I gained enough speed, I jumped into the air, thrusting both of my feet first in a straight line ahead of me. The clown man shook his head, recovering from his second time running into the wall. He didn’t notice my plan in time, however, as he remained there like a sitting duck. I let out a yell, my flying kick sending him back into the wall with one last powerful blow, making him collide once again with the old, faltering surface.

CRACK!

The snapping of the old wood support beams that hoisted up the brick wall became known, and just as I landed I saw what I had hoped would happen. The old wall began falling forward, and the clown man had no clue. I quickly rolled out of the wall, letting gravity take care of him.

“Hey! That’s not fair!”

Harley Quinn called out in her high-pitched accent, dropping her pen and clipboard on the ground as she stomped her foot in frustration.

The wall, sure enough, came tumbling down upon the large man, with him crying out in anger as he reached one desperate hand out towards me, and attempted to escape the trap I made. Unfortunately for him, he became buried under debris and bricks within seconds.

When a certain stillness finally reached to room, I slowly raised myself on my feet. My heart rate finally slowed, and all that was heard throughout the room was my heavy breathing. I looked towards the pile of bricks that buried the large man, waiting for any sign of movement. Part of me wanted to smile, for finally taking down the foe. Another was worried.

What if I had just killed him, I thought?

“Mista J? What do we do now? He’s broken!”

The clown woman spoke softly, sounding disappointed that her large subject didn’t seem to win. I turned towards her, watching as her body moved with concern and dismay.

Just then, before any of us could utter another word a loud, angry yell erupted from the debris pile. The sudden movement of the behemoth bursting out of his bricked prison startled me half to death. My head whipped around to see the event as I quickly backed up, gasping at the sight.

This man, due to the miracles of whatever he had been given, barely had a scratch on him. Even after having a wall and part of the roof collapse onto him, he still was conscious.

I had failed at subduing him. Instead, I had just royally pissed him off.

Within an instant, the man charged again at me, growling with pure hatred for me. I didn’t have time to react, as everything happened faster than I could blink. When he reached me, he grabbed me by my neck, lifting me up while I clawed desperately at him. Just as quickly as he had grabbed me, he threw me down, making me cry out in pain. A hefty foot collided at my side, kicking me hard enough that I was sent rolling across the room.

The man didn’t stop there. Before I could recover, he had picked me up again, throwing me like a ragdoll to his side. I managed to fall roughly into the bars of one of the holding cells, pain shooting on the side of my head and down my back as I made contact with the rough surfaces.

I watched as the large man stalked closer to me while I lay on the ground. Slowly rolling over on my stomach, I spit out a bit of blood that had begun to pool in my mouth thanks to the rough contact with the bars. I noticed my lip had also split open again, dripping blood down my chin. All I could taste was metallic defeat, feeling every inch of hurt this beast of a man was inflicting on me.

I needed to keep going, I thought. This won’t be where I give up.

Despite what fear for myself I felt, I slowly began to stand, wincing in pain as I did so. I focused on the room around me. It was clear I couldn’t beat him with sheer force. If a wall collapsing on the giant man wouldn’t take him down, nothing I could do would. I kept looking desperately around the waiting room for anything. Anything at all that could even my odds against him. Hope seemed lost, however, with nothing yielding any silver linings.

That was until I noticed the tubes still attached to his back. Green liquid still pumped into the man’s oozing wounds, and I could see it still bubbling in his veins. The giant man roared like a dangerous predator, trying to scare his prey. Thinking, I followed the tubes down to the holding cell next door. That’s when it finally clicked.

He was still being injected with this stuff through that machine. That’s what was making him invulnerable.

I quickly searched my person for any type of sharp object but exhaled shakily when I realized I had dropped my only sharp instrument in the irrigation tunnels. While looking around the room, I saw the debris from the fallen wall and remembered another asset of mine that came naturally.

My claws.

My heart began to pound even more than it already was. I worked so hard to keep my abilities controlled, barely bringing out my monstrous talon-like claws. Every time I had, I either had or was seconds from ripping someone apart. How could I trust myself not to lose control like I had with Scarecrow?

Damn this, I thought. I didn’t have the time to doubt myself. Time and life was of the essence for everyone counting on me.

“You can do this.”

I whispered to myself.

As if my abilities within agreed with me, I felt them reach out and take hold of me. I closed my eyes, breathing them in.

I quickly disappeared out of the giant clown’s way reappearing behind him. With smoke still whipping around my body wildly, I made a dash for the machine in the holding cell next to him. I extended my claws, trusting myself to keep it in check.

I had to be sure of myself, I thought. I had to be.

Just as I had reached the cell, a sudden force made contact with my face, surprising me.

SMACK!

My head whipped violently after the assault. I staggered back for a brief moment in shock, and when I righted myself I saw who had caused it.

Harley Quinn stood there, humming proudly while lowering her leg. She straightened out her lab coat, giggling mischievously when she saw the look on my face.

That bitch, I thought to myself. She managed to get here before me, and most likely kicked me back to prevent me from executing my plan.

She wagged a playful finger at me, flipping her pigtails in a sassy manner.

“I told you before, girly! Doctor’s hands only!”

Anger filled my mind after the assault, and when I felt the large man’s stomping feet shake the ground behind me, I could feel it boiling over.

I needed her to move, I thought. I NEEDED her out of the way.

I tried to make a run for it again, attempting to punch the woman out of the way. My attempt, however, was thwarted. In a masterful move, she had pushed my fist out of the way, before flipping backward and kicking me upside the chin.

I stumbled back a little further, feeling my anger turn to rage as I watched her laugh at me. I shook off the assault and ran at her again, feeling the large man getting closer and closer. It would only be moments before he reached me, and I didn’t have time for her games.

Just as I arrived in front of her, I called to my abilities, quickly changing into my shadowed form. Using all of my might, I grabbed onto the collar of her coat, spinning her around in a move she didn’t expect or anticipate. With all of my strength in my changed form, I threw her at the behemoth who was charging after me.

“MOVE!”

I exclaimed, throwing the clown girl into the giant man. She yelled out in the air, startled by my sudden attack. The large clown only grabbed her with a massive fist, tossing her cruelly into the wall beside him as she screamed.

That didn’t distract him enough, I thought.

I quickly turned around to face the cell, ripping open the door while trying to reach the machine that the tubes were connected to. The strange contraption was bubbling with bright green liquid, looking like something made for toxic waste containment. The liquid continued to slowly flow into the tubes as if giving the man a few doses at a time. I quickly raised my hand, extending my claws out for a brief moment. I could feel the giant clown man behind me, yelling out in rage.

A large hand reached out and grabbed my ankle, crudely pulling me away from the machine as I gave a desperate swipe to try and cut the tubes. I missed, however, instead getting dragged back by the behemoth. I grunted out in frustration, reaching and clawing desperately for the machine. I could feel myself lift in the air, before being thrown yet again.

Why is throwing this guy’s go-to? I thought to myself.

I felt myself collide with a foreign person, our bones clashing with each other harshly before both of us tumbled to the ground. A startled, familiar yelp led me to believe I was thrown into the clown woman, Harley Quinn. Pain shot across my body yet again as I quickly rolled off of her. As much as I hated to admit, her body broke my fall, making it infinitely more comfortable that the other surfaces I’ve been thrown into this night.

I got to my feet again, looking down at the clown woman. She was still breathing, but groaning in confusion and pain.

She would be down for a little bit, I thought.

With one obstacle down, it was time to assess the other. The giant clown.

I turned to him, expecting him to charge, but instead, he stood there with his back turned to the holding cell, not moving a muscle.

He was onto me, I thought.

Blood continued to roar in my ears as I stared at the man with determination, and focus. I needed to think of another way to disconnect those tubes. It was my only chance of beating him. Just how I wasn’t sure yet.

I watched as the giant man picked up a brick on the ground, hurling it my direction. Thinking on my feet, I quickly maneuvered my body to evade the projectile. With a loud, booming growl, he sneered at me from across the room.

“There’s nowhere to go now, tiny! Give up!”

His voice was low and menacing, echoing through the room with assertion. I looked at him, staring him directly in the eye. Something within me stirred, and it was something I had been waiting to feel all night. Instead of fear now, I felt anger an determination. Throughout our fight, if anything, he had brought out a resilience in me. It had brought out a need to take him down, no matter what. He stood in my way of rescuing the hostages, and that angered me.

Just as my heart started to beat with resolve, I noticed the tubes on his back. The idea I had been waiting for all night came to me then and there.

A way to beat him, finally.

If I couldn’t get to the machine behind him, I would just cut the means of travel. The tubes themselves.

I lifted my head up, my chin raising slightly. I could feel my pulse reverberate through my body as I readied myself. I closed my eyes slightly, focusing on calling out my abilities. When I opened then, shadows danced around me as I stood there, staring down my target.

Come on Sarah, I thought. You have to beat this.

I ran right at him, sprinting as fast as I towards the giant man. He yelled out in anger, readying himself for my assault. I then had a plan come to me while on my feet. A plan to perform a similar change-up he had tried on me. When I got to him, I moved myself downward for a brief moment, making him think I was trying to slide by him again. Just when he tried to block my fake attempt, I jumped up with all of my might, summoning out shadowed claws from my hand. I hopped up on the man's shoulders, smoke and shadows twirling around me wickedly as I did so. Using one hand to hold myself steady upon him, by the time he had realized what I was up to, it once again was too late for him.

With a solid slice, I clawed at the man’s backside, slicing open the tubes that protruded from his back. Green liquid came sizzling out of the pieces that remained attached inside of him, but the larger pieces that had been separated from him came drooping down onto the ground.

The man quickly threw me off with what strength he had left, but the damage was already done. I dove and rolled away from him, situating myself a few feet from where he was before swerving around and watching what happened next. The man cried out in agony for a few seconds, his body slowly shrinking back to normal. He fell to his knees, punching the ground in anger and exhaustion. When his body became just how it was before, I knew I could stand a chance now.

Time to take him out, I thought.

I got up to my feet, running at him full speed. I didn’t want to give him another second to recover. The clown-masked man looked up in time to see me run at him, and when I was close enough, my knee hurled towards his face with immense speed. I noticed a surprised groan escaped his lips when he saw this, and a war cry escaped mine.

SMACK!

My knee collided with the side of his head, with enough force to knock the clown mask right off of his face. The man, dazed, confused, and most likely now concussed, came tumbling down onto the ground with one last triumphant thud. Afterward, he lay there, motionless and still.

I slowly steadied myself, watching him for any signs of movement. When I saw none, I finally collapsed onto the filthy floor. My body began to shake, overcome with feelings of anger, burden, and exhaustion.

I won, I thought.

I finally beat this madman’s last game.

The silence was torture. Breaking it myself, I screamed out in pure emotion, letting every ounce of fear, frustration, anger, and sadness out into the old room around me. All night, I was tortured by lunatics, monsters, and giant men. I had seen horrors beyond anyone’s comprehension. All done at the behest of one deranged dead man, brought back, it seemed, to torture me.

It had all come to an end now, and my body couldn’t help but feel the weight of every terrible thing I had fought through.

Silence was all that filled the air for a good minute after I screamed. I looked at the ground, before standing up. I breathed in heavily, exhaling out with a shaky breath. Tears started to well up in my eyes.

I did it.

The intercoms crackled, finally piercing through the silence. Numb to the Joker’s deviant and hectic voice, I stood there, stoically listening to his soft tone while tears streamed down my face.

“My, my, my… Looks like you’ve got a bit of Bat to you after all! Such resolve. Such ambition.!”

The Joker enthusiastically said his next words,

“I think it’s time for you to claim your reward, don’t you?”

With his last words, I noticed the door to the observation room unlock. Lights on the mechanical contraption flickered green before it slowly creaked open. Inside was a dark corridor, with stairs traveling downward into an abyss I couldn’t see.

The hostages, I thought. I needed to get to them and get them out of there.

Time was of the essence for the poor men and women trapped in this madman’s grasp. I hopped up, pushing down all of my feelings and carrying my burden. Quickly, I left the waiting room with the two unconscious clowns, sprinting towards the observation room, and descending down the dark, forbidding hallway.

Hold on, everyone, I thought.