Drip.

Drip.

Drip.

Cassidy woke to a concrete floor; the only thing she could make out was her lower body, strapped to a wheelchair with rope.

Water continued to drip on her head, her neck slumped down for God knows how long.

Muffled sobs echoed in the background, but she couldn't even crane her neck to see where they were coming from. She could hardly move it. It was stiff. Heavy.

She murmured, unable to move her mouth or even talk. Duct tape. Pressed against her skin so tight that it couldn't stretch.

"Heya sleepyhead! Feeling drowsy are we?"

Unseen footsteps tapped along the floor until, in her blurred vision, a pair of black and white spat shoes approached.

"Awww, that's ok- chloroform usually takes time to wear off"

A gloved hand grabbed her chin, roughly lifting her face to meet his own. She blinked, heavy at first, until she recognized the cruel, grinning face staring back at her...

Joker.

Decked out in a 3-piece purple suit and bowtie.

"Now I bet you're wondering why we're down here- and it isn't so we can get cozy-"

He leaned closer, inches away, when a phone rang, buzzing nearby.

"Hold that thought-"

He patted her cheek, strutting off as Cassidy's eyes strained to the corner- her vision clearing enough to see where she was.

The Boiler Room.

A squalid basement of cylindrical tanks and pipes, damp permeating the ceiling a foul odor. There were no windows at all, only a handful of lights leading to the door.

Her expression turned to terror when she spotted rows of staff, more than 40 by the number of them, kneeling on the floor. Hands zip-tied around their backs with black bags over their heads.

"Helllloooo, Dr. J speaking-" Joker cooed down the phone. "Ah, Jimbo! It's been a while! How's the family?"

Joker zigzagged through the inmates, dancing around them as they kept their guns aimed at the staff.

"- No ransom this time! You'll just have to be a good boy and wait outside- unless you want things to get messy..."

Joker leered at Cassidy from across the room, his grin widening as he saw her recoil.

"Kay? Great! I'll be in touch!"

He hung up as one of the inmates rolled out a video camera, clunky and wired to controls at the back, as if it had come straight out of a newsroom.

"All set boss!"

"Ooooh goody! Let's begin shall we?"

Joker clicked his fingers at the inmate, who, after pressing record, stood behind the lens.

"Howdy Gotham!" Joker began with a mocking salute. "Joker here- live from Arkham Asylum with updates on today's proceedings-"

The camera followed Joker as he pointed to the hostages, as if he were showing off a game-show prize.

"As you can see, we're planning a little Valentine's Day celebration! And boy, our guests are just dying to get things started!"

He took a pastel heart cupcake out of his pocket, one that Cassidy immediately recognized.

No...

Cassidy whined, devastated as Joker skipped toward one of the hostages nearby, who was wiggling more than the others.

"Sadly, some of us haven't been in the party mood- isn't that right, Pearl?"

He yanked the bag off her head.

The color of Pearl's skin had gone; her eyes bloodshot, bulging out of her skull enough to pop.

Then there was her mouth.

Stretching from ear to ear, her jaw locked in a rictus grin.

"Y'see, Pearl's been talking to the police, telling them about all the fun things we're doing!"

Joker crouched, wrapping his arm around Pearl as she laughed in unbearable agony, tears clogging her face.

"Guess she didn't want to join in... But as you can see- she's much happier now!"

He stood up, dusting himself off as he bit into the cupcake.

"Mmm mm! Can't make these at the dollar store!" Joker laughed, looking at the half-eaten cupcake. "But I'm getting off track- point is, anyone who tries interfering is going to-"

Pearl howled with laughter to the point of gasping, struggling to breathe as the insides of her lips turned blue.

Joker groaned, showing no sympathy, only annoyed that she had interrupted his broadcast.

With one swift move into his jacket, he pulled out a gun.

No... Pearl-

BANG!

Blood sprayed onto Cassidy's cheek.

She felt it drip, like sweat, as the room filled with cries. The sound muffled as the vibration of the gunshot rang in her ears. Numb.

Her muscles twitched as Pearl slumped on the floor near her. Her grin, frozen in place.

Dead.

"Anyway! Our soiree is invitation only- which means no capes, cops, or do-gooders allowed! Cause if anyone sneaks in..."

He looked at Pearl's lifeless body, and shrugged.

"Well, you get the idea"

Joker moved in front of the camera, waving the gun as he continued.

"Oh- and that means you too, Batsy- just in case you didn't get the memo. Ciao!"

With a click, the recording ended, leaving the room whimpering in blood.

"Alright folks!" Joker announced, flicking out an army knife. "Time to get this party started!"

Joker approached, like a vulture.

NO NO NO NO-

She clawed at the rope around her back, but it was too tight.

Every edge of the blade gleamed in the light as he turned it. Slow. Methodical. He wanted her to see everything.

Idon'twanttodieIdon'twanttodieIdon'twanttodie-

He raised the blade-

!

She ducked, bracing for it to strike.

But there was nothing, nothing but a quiet rustling from behind. Then, the rope around her slackened.

Her arms- cut free.

"What's the big idea, clown?!" One of the inmates protested.

"Yeah! We wanna get out of here!"

Joker snorted at them in contempt, while Cassidy rushed to ungag herself, clawing at the duct tape on her mouth.

"Oh, please! Do you think anyone's going to leave now Gordon's on his way?! Besides-"

Cassidy trembled as Joker aimed the blade at her mouth, the cold steel slicing into the tape until it peeled enough of it off to grab. Like a bandaid, he ripped the whole thing in one painful swoop.

"We want to play with our guests for a while- don't we?"

She flinched as Joker touched her skin, caressing the red, raw area where the tape had been.

In that instant, his eyes trailed down the mass of burn scars on her face, then to her lips, lingering there... Closer...

Then- he snapped out of it.

"So, Pumpkin! Here's the deal- I've set up a game for you- a little trail to follow, you might say. And if you reach the end before midnight- I'll let everyone go free! But if you don't- well..."

He leaned in, breathing down her neck as she shivered.

"Let's just say Arkham's going to be... understaffed... for a while"

Joker wheeled her toward the door as Cassidy clung on, too afraid to jump off.

"There'll be obstacles of course, plus I've got eyes around the Asylum- so I wouldn't think about leaving, if I were you..."

He grabbed Cassidy's shoulders, lifting her off the wheelchair like a lifeless doll.

"Sounds fair? Well! I'd say you've got, uhhh..." Joker stumbled, checking for the time on his phone "14 hours- to get to the end ... Ready?"

Cassidy stood there, motionless, as Joker shoved her away.

"GO!"

She ran down the hall as Joker's warning echoed after her.

"Remember- the game ends at MIDNIGHT!".

And midnight was never far away.

///

Cassidy stumbled through the basement, toppling over laundry baskets and rusted electrics. No doubt left by staff who had tried to run to safety.

Some made it, but for the others tied up, their lives were hanging by the hour, and Cassidy knew it.

Collapsing around the corner, she rubbed her cheek. The blood was still there.

Pearl's blood.

Cassidy clutched her face, clawing her nails deep. She wanted to rip the skin off until she passed out. But she couldn't do that.

She couldn't even scream.

The unspeakable horror began to simmer as she caught sight of the sign on the basement elevator, oozing blood:

'WELCOME HOME CASSIE'.

A/N: What a welcome that was...