This DCverse is Maddening

If Albert hadn’t already decided to start working on his abysmal physical stats, the burning in his lungs after only walking down five steps with something abysmally heavy only made him bump up that requirement higher up on his list.

Wheezing, he set the tool kit down with a heavy thump that sent a wave of relief through his body. He solemnly swore then to never touch the cursed thing ever again.

‘Darnell must’ve been a monster..’

He huffed, taking in the stale air through a series of heavily rapid breaths. While not the best tasting, air was air at the end of the day. Even if it was slightly dusty and old.

‘Talking of dust..’

Albert eyed the surrounding concrete room with turning on his phone’s flashlight, noting a few key details. One, the shelter didn’t look to be suited for anything above maybe five people. And even then, the space was going to be pretty tight.

‘It seems like we’re going to be cuddling up together..’

He shivered slightly at the idea, getting and staying in such quarters with strangers no less was not going to be an enjoyable experience. And that’s if they were ‘normal’. Cursing between many breathes at the surly locksmith, he continued to pace around the room.

Next, on the large shelves that should’ve held a large stockpile of food looked as though someone had been coming here every once and awhile taking a pack of food each time. In dumber terms, it was lacking. And the bottle water off to the side was the same. Someone had been treating this place like a free buffet.

While if he was alone, there would be plenty for him to survive for an entire week without any trouble. But for four people and a cat? This pitiful amount would only allow maybe four days of heavy rationing. Meaning if this emergency wasn’t dealt with in time, they would be forced to scavenge in the streets filled with increasingly desperate people, power drunk police officers and possible escapees.

Albert found himself wishing that they would run out of food sooner because then at-least they wouldn’t have to deal with the extremely desperate people that would be prevalent.

Thirdly, there was gratefully a bathroom. He didn’t hold back his sigh of relief at that, no longer fearing the absolute nightmare it would be if they had to start disposing of their waste in bottles or in the alley above. And after checking for running water, he only slumped down further in relief.

‘So we don’t have to worry about water at least.’

A vague memory a life-time, or more, away of some kind of movies, television show, game or book that stated that humans could live without food for week without food but only three days without water.

‘I think?’

Anyway, after doing a few more rounds around the shelter he took notes of more items that seem like they would be beneficial for survival. Blankets and pillows. Lamps and flashlights. And basic toiletries.

He even stumbled upon a light switch near the entrance and happily turned it on, alighting the room in a bright glow that stabbed ruthlessly into his eyes. Blinking rapidly, he rubbed at his burning lids.

After a beat, Albert looked through slightly watery eyes and finally got a better look at the room itself. Sadly, it was smaller than his flashlight made him believe. Four people would definitely be cutting it close, less everyone becomes fine with getting a blanket buddy.

‘Nope.’

He shivered violently at the idea, even throwing up a variety hand motions to ward off evil. For even that thought was simply cursed in all ways.

‘But,’ He thought, claiming a spot on the cold concrete,’ I should probably call Marceline and make them aware that I got here safely.’

With that in mind, the teen dials her number and heard only a single ring before it was picked up.

“Did you get there?”

It seems there was no need for pleasantries.

“Yeah I got here safely.”

He replied, leaning back into the wall. Feeling the body heat leave his body steadily enough.

“That's good.” She sighed in relief before continuing,” The rest of the group wants to speak so I’m going to put you on speaker.”

“No problem.”

“Hello, can you hear me?”

Angeline said first and he could hear the chatter far in the background.

“Yes I can hear you.”

“Good.” Michael butted in,” How are you doing?”

“I’m doing good,” Albert replied,” But thanks again for giving me that headsup. Things are going bad over on my side.”

“W-what happened?”

Steve asked.

“Apparently,” He sighed,” We overestimated people. It hasn’t even been an hour but I’ve already seen some looting.”

“How bad is it?”

Marceline asked, her voice coming in clear over the chatter.

“There’s been some fighting,” He shrugged, not wishing to tell them that he had witnessed a murder. Not only because he didn’t want to alarm them but also deemed it wasn’t a good idea to admit to that anywhere near the ear of a politician. “Broken windows and some property damage, but it hasn’t gotten too bad yet.”

“As in people throwing molotovs?”

Angeline said darkly.

“Yeah,” Albert sunk down further,” Not yet. And hopefully things don’t get that bad.”

“I-it’s going to happen..” Steve quietly mumbled,” The last t-time something like this happened, it d-didn’t even take a day for r-riots to form.”

“Wait.” He shot back up in alarm,” There was prison escape before?”

“Oh god no!” Michael exclaimed, dread tinging his voice,” There was an incident a couple years ago that left the old City Library destroyed and Mayor Dent dead.”

That name made him freeze in place, Mayor Dent…

‘Does he mean Harvey Dent?’

Harvey Dent. The man who would’ve changed Gotham for the better. Starting off a politician and becoming mayor, he swore to fix the same streets he grew up in. The man was the hope of the city and also responsible for one of the most iconic lines in all of media.

“You either died a hero or live long enough to see yourself become the villain.”

Quite the ironic quote.

And like a underwater predator, this city took a vicious bite out of the man.

After a terrorist attack left him hospitalized and permanently disfigured, his mind fractured into two halves. One half that still believed in the good of people and all around tried to be a good person, while the other half was the complete opposite. Cold. Uncaring, callous and murder happy beyond belief.

Like the luck of the draw, an iconic item became the focal point for all his decisions going forward. A double headed coin with one side equally as scarred as the man himself. In a sense, Harvey Dent died that day and the notorious villain known as Two-Face was born.

And following the events of the movies, it seems that it became public knowledge that the man had died in the hospital due to his injuries. Most likely spread about by the only two witnesses. James “Jim” Gordon and the Dark Knight himself.

“Yeah,” Steve shivered audibly through the phone,” I r-remember that… It was a-awful..”

“I’m glad I wasn’t in town that week,” Marceline mumbled,” I heard it was madhouse.”

“It was.” Angeline said gravely, an edge to her voice,” That part of the city is still a dumpster fire..”

“How are things going on your side?”

Albert asked, sensing the dower mood and wishing to draw their attention away from those dark memories.

“We’re doing fine.” The medium sighed,” We’re holed up somewhere I’m not allowed to say, but we’ll be fine until everything blows over.”

“Yeah.” The blonde added,” There’s food, water and enough people here not to blow our own brains out in boredom.”

“Angeline Lillium Gramercy!”

“..Sorry..”

He could hear the familiar voice call out from over the chatter and the girl’s properly chastised voice.

“My mom and sisters are here,” Michael said quickly, filling in the awkward silence,” They’re around here somewhere… So it’s kind of like one giant cook out with friends and family.”

“A-are you going to grill us u-up some burgers?”

Steve joked.

“That actually doesn’t sound so bad…” Marceline audibly drooled,” With toasted buns and some mayor..”

“And some fresh dropped fries…”

“As much as that sounds delicious,” Angeline cut in, throwing their hopes out of the window,” We can’t grill here. It’s going to be instant meals and canned beans for us.”

“A g-guy can hope..”

Steve grumbled.

“You can imagine your finishing off a plate of burgers with some baked beans.”

The blonde sounded like she was patting the teen on his back as she said it.

“But,” Marceline said,” All things considered, we’ll be fine. Do you have a radio there?”

“Uh,” Albert sprung to his wobbly feet,” Let me check.”

He scolded himself internally, not believe that he had overlooked such a crucial item for any emergency. Information was key in these kinds of situations and getting routine first hand knowledge would be integral for his own survival. Plus, it can help alleviate boredom.

After looking through many shelves, he finally stumbled across a blocky device that looked as big as his head with a variety of hand nobs and buttons. While it didn’t look like much, a single twist of one nob and the crackling sound of music made it apparent that it did function correctly.

“Yeah I found one.”

He said, claiming back his seat while continuing to play with the piece of modern machinery.

“Good.” She replied,” You will need that, they usually do daily announcements on there.”

“P-plus,” Steve added,” There’s some pretty e-entertaining stations, if you go to STATION#4 at any t-time after seven at night t-they’ll have scary s-stories.”

“...That too.” Marceline said after a beat,” Why didn’t you tell me about that?”

“Wha?” The teen stammered in confusion,” I-I thought you knew?”

“Same.” Michael cut in,” I thought that’s what you two did during sleepovers? Steve and I usually listen to that when either of us hang out.”

“No,” Angeline said with a slight aristocratic tone to her voice,” We do adult things. Like painting our fingernails, talk about boys and watching Wrestling Mayhem.”

“..I feel like there’s one thing that doesn’t belong,” Michael said warily,” But I’m too scared to guess which.”

“It’s the fingernails.” Marceline replied, deciding to spare the teen from the coming ire he would for sure be receiving,” We use to, but they kept getting ruined every time we reenacted those moves.”

“What?!”

The two boys exclaimed in unison.

“Yeah,” Angeline huffed,” I’ll show you some moves while we’re here.”

“No thank you.”

Michael said quickly, voice getting farther away.

“I-I must agree..”

Steve added, also inching away from the upcoming chaos.

“Come on!” The blonde cooed mockingly,” It won’t hurt! I swear!”

Suddenly a single feminine grunt and a squeal filled his ear, louder chatter followed until all he could hear was chaos from the other end of the phone.

“Sorry about that..” Marceline sighed, taking the call off speaker,” Lin should calm down after she’s had her fun..”

“LET ME DOWN!!”

“I understand.” Albert wouldn’t deny, maybe it was for the best that he hadn’t been stuck a crazy blonde line her for a long period of time.

“I’ll try to call everyday,” She said,” But I have to go make sure things don’t get too out of hand. See you later.”

“Good luck, see you.”

“They sure sound like fun!”

A sudden chipper voice from right besides him said, causing his heart to freeze momentarily. Before his body practically leapt away from the intruder in a frantic and scrambled away in a simply undignified manner. Suddenly he wished the bunker was a lot bigger, given how his escape ended prematurely as he had to physically stop himself from running full tilt into the cement wall. Not only would he not escape but also possibly gain a concussion with no medical assistance anywhere in sight.

Reaching for his gun, he turned to face his uninvited guest only to freeze in place at the lazily lounging blonde grinning widely at him. Her locks lacked the blue and red markings she previously wore. Even in her baggy gray sweatpants and thick white long sleeved shirt, he could still see her insanely athletic body. On her feet, she still wore those ridiculous red heavy duty boots that looked armored enough to completely shatter bones.

Like some kind of sadistic predator playing with their prey, her bright blue eyes alighted with obvious amusement as she took in the panicked youth.

“Woah!” She mockingly raised her incredibly muscles arms in the air, that sly wide grin still present,” I didn’t mean to freak you out so badly!”

‘Lie.’ He thought, shooting furtive glances at the wide open gap into the chaotic city above. If he could throw out a couple shots, then…

“I don’t mean you no harm!” Harley admitted, still grinning widely,” Arney invited us! It looks like we’re going to be roomies for the next couple of days!”

Only then did Albert take in the large dufflebag sitting by the blonde’s side, jammed packed full of hastily thrown in cloth articles, books and of course, that oh so iconic baseball bat poking out.

The words ‘Good Night’ written along it’s wooden surface. Just looking at the very item that millions of fans adore sent a shiver up his spine as image of it being used to turn brains into pulp and shoot out skull fragments came to mind.

Albert just knew that even if he did have it in him to shoot someone, he would only get one shot off before she splattered his brain across these walls. And she was more than durable enough to survive getting shot anywhere non lethal.

So currently, there weren’t a lot of options for him.

“He said he would lead you back,” He asked, slightly loosening his grip,” Where is he?”

“Oh that slowpoke?!” The blonde hummed, leaning herself on the opposing wall,” He and Red were being too slow so I went on ahead!”

‘Red..’

His mind froze momentarily as that name echoed in his mind, dread creeping itself across his spine. There was only one person that the psychotic psychiatrist called, ‘Red’.

If the poison mistress herself was come here, then maybe it would be for the best for him to find somewhere else to stay.

“And plus besides, it wasn’t that hard to find!” She continued, pretending not to notice the teen’s steadily rising nerves,” These lights are BRIGHT! I bet it’ll be like a beacon at night!”

‘Keep the lights off at night,’ He translated,’ Good to know.’

“But it was bit of a surprise for me too!” She gasped dramatically,” When Arney said a kid, I didn’t expect to see you again! Do you have a name? I can’t keep calling you Burger Boy! Unless that’s what you want to be called, then that’s cool too. But I would probably have to demote you to Burger Boy Two as I already call the chef’s kid that! I don’t think he likes me very much! The kid, not the chef, we go WAY back! I was there when he first opened up and when I suggested frying a whole egg…”

And on she chattered endlessly, flowing into one sentence before falling deeper into another. It go to the point where Albert just started to tuned out her mindless chatter.

He wouldn’t be fooled by such a ploy, he knew this woman well enough to know she wasn’t just physically dangerous. But also mentally, and given her set of skills more so. If Albert had to guess her skill in Psychology alone, it was at least at the very peak of Expert. For now anyway. Maybe in the future she would escape from the clutches of the Mad Princess of Crime and fully come into her own.

But honestly, it didn’t really matter. It was looking like he would be flexing Psychology for all it was worth during this time. Allowing it’s cold indifference to sit on it’s haunches as the skill took in the chattering blonde.

He could tell this current plow of hers had a layers of goals attached. At the most basic level, she most likely just wanted to fill the air with chatter to set at ease a ‘scared’ kid who found himself in an emergency away from his parents.

But just underneath that, the sidekick wanted this idle chatter to throw him off. To make it appear that she was an airhead and lessen his own guard against her. After all, it’s often ‘stupid’ people who were most often underestimated.

As for the layer just below that one?

‘I don’t know.’ Albert nearly snarled, feeling as though he had hit a wall with his reasoning. No matter how hard he tried to find more layers, he was thwarted by the woman’s infallibility just beneath the surface. It was made readily apparent that he would gain nothing during this little bout and no amount of introspection would change that.

‘Maybe she’ll slip up later?’

He thought hopefully, tuning back to reality and to the blonde’s verbal onslaught.

“-at’s why we were kicked out of the post office!” Harley said cheerily, still lounging without a care in the world. Her armored boots kicked up on the dufflebag and head leaning back. She neither acted nor looked like they were in an emergency, like all this was just another vacation.

“I cannot believe you told a stranger that story..” A bored voice tickled at Albert’s awareness and his attention was instantly snatched by the green skinned woman who sauntered her way into the bunker. Wearing a dark red shirt that hung slightly off her frame, pitch black sweat pants that hugged at her shapely legs.

Long crimson locks were tied up in a lazily put together ponytail, with a few strands hanging loose. Bright green eyes surveyed the situation below, spotting a grinning blonde and thoroughly wary teenager.

“And you’ve already freaked out the kid..” She sighed in exasperation, dropping her own dufflebag to the side,” Great..”

“C’mon Red!” The blonde pouted,” I didn’t even do anything!”

“Sure.” She rolled her eyes, obvious to the world that the red head didn’t believe her in the slightest. Before turning to the youth who had froze like some kind of cornered animal, ready to lash out in one final strike before death. Sighing, she gave the teen a nod of acknowledgment before dragging the blonde out his direct sight.

“What’s the deal Red?!”

Harley’s protests were loud and proud, but despite her obvious physical advantages over the smaller woman, she still allowed herself to be dragged bodily across the concrete. Bag and all, they both took up refuge on the other side of the room.

It was something at least, while he would rather not be stuck in a small space with two super-villains just them being out of sight did wonders for his thumping heart. His fingers slowly uncurled themselves around the grip and allowed himself to slump in relief. Exhaustion filled him as the multiple twists crashed down on his psyche, settling down like bricks in his eyelids.

He really just wanted to pass out then and there, damn the consequences.

“You girls settled in?”

Darnell asked, descending the stairs with a dufflebag in hand.

“Yes Arney!”

Harley answered cheerily for the both of them.

“Good.” He nodded, turning his attention to the obviously disturbed youth,” Thanks for taking my tools down. I’ll lock up now.”

“Okay.”

Albert said hollowly. The man only nodded solemnly and just before he closed the double doors, a slender black figure slipped between the gap and his legs. Landing silently on the cold concrete, an alley cat with that familiar scar surveyed it’s new environment. Yellow eyes seeming to carry a hint of intelligence and disdain for the rather drab room.

Seeing at least one ‘ally’ join him, caused Albert to relax slightly. He knew she was a cat, but it was frankly better than being surrounded by possibly dangerous strangers all alone.

“I’ll get it ou-”

“No.” Albert said quickly, interrupted the older man words,” She’s with me.”

That little declaration earned him a few quirked eye brows and a shrug before Darnell gave them one last view of the outside world. With a grunt of effort, those metal doors slamming shut echoed through the sealed shelter.

(A/N: Hello everyone! I hope you've been enjoying the story so far! Just a warning for the upcoming chapters, because of Albert's current situation with the lockdown and all there won't be anymore windows for him to complete any cases. And frankly, this little arc will take us right to end of Volume 1. Honestly, I nearly forgot about the system entirely which I found to be a really bad sign but I'll for sure remedy that when I write Volume 2. Despite this, there will still be ALOT of VERY important events coming up! Some good, some bad. But anyway, I hope you enjoyed and I'll see you guys next week!)