1987.

Katherine, in neon sunglasses and a scrunchy pom-pom ponytail, tapped her feet to the kitchen radio.

It was a cheery room, if not overpowering, with different sunflower patterns on the wallpaper and canvases.

She flipped around with a whisk in her hand, holding it like a microphone.

"🎵Welcome to your life... There's no turning back...🎵"

4-year-old Cassidy giggled, flapping her fairy wings as Katherine continued to mouth the lyrics in a goofy, over-the-top routine.

She was perfect, in sync with the music, as if she were rehearsing a dance.

"🎵Acting on your best behavior...🎵"

Katherine lowered rainbow beads around Cassidy's neck, spinning her as the plastic charms rattled.

"🎵Everybody wants to rule the-🎵"

///

"Hey!"

Cassidy snapped back from the memory.

"We're here!" The taxi driver barked, knocking on the car window.

"Oh! ... Sorry"

Cassidy paused her music and took off her headphones, dragging her luggage with a thud.

The driver, a rockstar wannabe with a matching pornstache and frizzy hair, didn't think to help. He almost slammed the door in her face, which she dodged in time.

She peered around, dumbfounded; between the long, empty road and the forests on either side, there was nothing.

The driver pointed to the yellow sign in the distance.

"Arkham's that way. Should take you 20 minutes if you walk fast enough"

"Um... Could you-" Cassidy gulped, gripping her luggage "Drop me a bit closer? It's just-"

"No way!" The driver laughed, a bit too loudly "This is as far as I go- and you won't find anyone who'll take you nearer than this- trust me!"

He got back in the car, leaving Cassidy speechless.

Revving the engine, his expression changed. No longer jovial, not as he drove back to her. For a moment, Cassidy thought he might have changed his mind. But it was nothing so friendly.

He wound down the window, frowning.

"Look, you want my advice? Whatever reason you're going there for, don't. It's not worth it"

Then, with a look of pure dread, the driver sped off, vanishing completely.

Something inside Cassidy made her reach for her phone. She didn't know what she was grabbing it for, maybe, it was just a familiar thing to hold onto.

Her father. She could call him...

... No.

She winced, putting the phone away before the thought could stay with her. It hurt too much.

Cassidy stood there, unsure of what to do- until a rumble of thunder froze her blood.

Dark clouds spread over everything. No lightning. Only crackles of thunder that grew more dangerous by the minute.

She dragged her luggage as fast as she could, walking on the lonely road with nothing but the forests to keep her on the path. There was nowhere else to go.

Cassidy drifted to thoughts of Jeremiah, his letter, everything he had set out for her.

He gave her this. He didn't have to, but he did. There was no way she could turn it down... Right?

This is your chance... Breathe... Just breathe...

It wasn't clear when it happened, 5 minutes, perhaps less. But, at some point, she realized that the further she got, the blurrier everything became.

Until she found herself, caught in a sea of mist so thick, she couldn't see the ground.

Disoriented, she carried on, stepping slower, and slower, until she reached the outline of a 50 ft wall ahead, wrapped in barbed wire.

She spotted a metal gate through the mist, arched with old, rusted spikes. Crouched at each end- winged gargoyles, grotesque, snarling with eyes that could have sprung to life at any moment.

She craned her neck up to the sign, which read in sharp lettering:

'ARKHAM'

The whole thing seemed to loom over her, as if threatening to collapse and drag her down with it. She would have been under its spell, if she weren't aware of the security cameras, watching her every move.

Fighting back nerves, she found an intercom attached to the side of the wall and pressed the 'call' button.

A fuzzy crackling came from the speakers.

"Identification please" the receptionist said with a monotone voice.

"U-uh... C-Cassidy Price..."

Nothing happened at first, and Cassidy leaned in close to the speakers, when all at once, the intercom buzzed, making her jump back.

She watched in awe as the gate creaked open, revealing a set of winding trails, all leading to the large building in the distance.

She walked up the middle path, avoiding eye contact with each guard tower she passed. There were so many that it was impossible to breathe without one of the snipers trailing her.

Not that she could breathe well anyway. The mist was all-consuming, clogging her throat like snow.

She couldn't comprehend it. The air was humid, sticky, so why did the floor feel so cold?

With every step she took, Arkham Asylum closed in twice as fast, as if it came to greet her halfway. An old mansion, stretched out as wide as it was tall, with a clock tower that reigned over the steep-pitched roofs and twisted spires.

As Cassidy got closer, she could see Hugo Strange, waiting outside the door with a woman in a lab coat.

The woman, with dark pixie hair and hoop piercings, was the one doing most of the yelling, all while Hugo maintained a grim composure. Cassidy couldn't hear most of it, only watching as the woman slammed her fist into her hand.

"No, she's at risk here! What if-"

"Ah, Cassidy-"

Hugo interrupted as he spotted Cassidy approaching them. He checked his watch and nodded.

"You are early. Good. Welcome to Arkham Asylum"

He came down the steps, grabbing her luggage before she could say a word.

"You can leave that for now. My colleague, Dr. Joan Leland, will bring you to your study once your induction is complete"

Joan crossed her arms as Hugo walked off, dragging Cassidy's luggage away without once looking back.

"Any concerns- I will be in my office"

He disappeared around the corner, leaving the two of them alone in an awkward silence.

Joan didn't attempt to greet Cassidy, remaining on the top step with a scowl that was close to contempt.

"Follow me".

///

Inside, Arkham Asylum was a gloomy place; damp permeated the walls, through to the iron bars barricading all exits like a giant mouse cage.

Armed guards patrolled every floor, on high alert for no reason.

The few inmates allowed to wander were in leg cuffs, heavily medicated. One of them stared at a blank space in the corner, swaying left and right. The only indicator that they were still alive.

Cassidy looked on with unease. It was more like a prison than a hospital.

"No weapons, sharp objects, lighters or matches, cigarettes are smoked offsite-"

Joan continued; her sweet cinnamon perfume filling the air as they passed through the metal detectors.

Cassidy followed close behind, listening while trying not to bump into her. It was like a puppy trying to keep up with its mother. But Cassidy was trying.

"- No drugs or alcohol, keep electronic devices OFF- NO EXCEPTIONS. Everything else stays in your office or in the lockers"

She pointed at the contraband poster with an aggressiveness that made Cassidy flinch.

"These are the prohibited items. You get caught with them- you're out. Understand?"

She nodded, trying to keep up as Joan stormed ahead.

Cassidy wanted to learn. To fit in.

Too bad Joan didn't seem to want her there at all.

They entered the white room, surrounded by harsh ceiling lights and a camera propped in the center. Cassidy darted around, all too aware of everyone else there, but she refused to meet their gaze.

Was she having a mugshot taken? It seemed more intense than an ID photo, anyway.

"Remove your mask and look at the camera"

Dwindling, she took off her face mask, sweeping her fringe away as her burn scars stood for all to see.

She tried to focus on the lens rather than the eyes on her. But the seconds seemed to last forever.

Cassidy wrung the mask in her hands, almost tearing it apart with anxiety.

The shutter clicked.

///

Down the hallway, Cassidy fiddled with her ID card.

She felt naked without her mask, so all she could do was duck her head, praying no one would pay much attention to her at all. A part of her figured she would be able to talk to people better without it, but then again, the thought of talking to anyone she didn't know made her sweat.

She hid her photo away from Joan, who was doing her best to scold her with the rules.

She turned, tempted to ask something-

Don't...

Cassidy ducked her head. The mood around them would be better if she kept quiet, or- at least it wouldn't make it any worse.

"That keycard will get you around Arkham- DON'T LOSE IT. Main thing you need to care about is the Panic Rooms"

Joan stopped by one of the wall maps, trailing her hand up to the block in yellow.

"Every floor has one. If the alarm goes off you have 5 minutes to get there before the doors lock"

"How will I know what it sounds like? I- I mean... the alarm?" Cassidy asked, combing the fringe back over her face.

"Trust me- you'll know"

Footsteps clipped towards them.

"Joan!"

One of the other doctors ran toward them, peculiar-looking, with red ribbons in her hair, almost childlike.

She almost skidded into them, gasping for breath.

The lanyard, hung low on her neck, read:

'Dr. Alyce Sinner'

Cassidy had to blink twice when she read it.

"Sorry! Mr. Wayne's in your office- he said something about 'council funding'-"

Joan swore under her breath, and turned back to Cassidy with a stern expression.

"Wait here"

The two doctors sped off, leaving Cassidy alone, without a clue what to do with herself.

The Visitation Center ahead had only a few empty chairs and a large enclosed booth.

The receptionist, it appeared, was too busy watching 'The Wizard of Oz' on his TV to pay attention to anything.

Out of nowhere, she heard a whistle nearby.

The Looney Tunes theme.

It caught her by surprise, and she followed it to a set of double doors, the whistling louder still, as if it were echoing:

'MAXIMUM SECURITY

AUTHORIZED PERSONNEL ONLY'.

///

The door flashed green, rattling open to reveal an endless corridor, with a row of cells on both sides.

The whistling was louder, only a few feet away.

Anxious, Cassidy put away her keycard and checked behind her. No guards were patrolling, so she stepped inside.

The cells were plain; nothing but scrawny beds and basins- but its inmates were not.

The first muttered to himself as she walked past, scratching tally marks on the wall identical to his skin. Self-inflicted cuts, by the look of them. The woman in the cell opposite turned away as if Cassidy wasn't worth her time. Fair enough, her face was covered in so many bloody bandages that Cassidy didn't want to see what was underneath them.

The third was an oddity. A shape, unidentifiable, hidden in the darkness.

As soon as Cassidy approached, however, it came forward, molding into a mirror image of her almost as if by magic.

She was in awe. The doppelganger was identical, right down to the auburn fringe covering half of her face.

All the wonder of it vanished when she caught its gaze.

It wasn't blinking.

Cassidy, too scared to turn, backed herself into a corner-

BANG!

Something hard, like a fist, slammed onto the glass behind, making her jump.

She turned slow, meeting a tall, thin man, with porcelain white skin and green hair. Laughing.

There was something off about the way it sounded... Like a joke left to rot.

If only Cassidy knew...

... She would be the punchline.

A/N: Hmm, wonder who this could be?