To call the man in front of her, the man holding his stomach from laughing- strange- well, that would have been an understatement.

Every bit the clown, but his face was much too sharp, cruel, and pointed like his entire being could cut someone in half. Even his uniform was odd; an orange jumpsuit, sewn with the Arkham logo, but there was nothing else. Only a barcode on the side labeled '4479'.

All the other inmates she had passed had their names printed. He didn't.

"That never gets old!" He cackled, wiping a tear from his eye.

Cassidy looked away, and he stopped laughing then, grinning at her with a far too wide, mocking smile, almost painful.

"So, what are you in for? Bombing an orphanage? Flashing the neighbors? Singing Christmas carols in July?"

She shuffled, her movements stiff.

"I... I'm not a patient...I... er-"

"Oh lighten up, kiddo! I was joking!"

He scratched his chin, studying her with fake interest.

"Gotta say though, I haven't seen you before... you one of the new headshrinkers they got snooping around?"

"No- uh... my grandfather... he- he used to work here... J-Jeremiah-"

Hearing this, his eyes widened.

"Hold the phone! You mean Dr. Arkham?"

Cassidy looked up, nodding.

"Did you know him?" Cassidy asked innocently.

He laughed, almost like he couldn't believe his own ears.

"Know him? Why he and I were pals! Real bosom-buddies!"

He strutted around his cell, lost in nostalgia, as he continued chuckling to himself.

"I mean he always had skeletons in his closet- but kids? Hah! Who knew the two-timer had it in him?"

He stopped, as if a delicious thought had entered his mind. The way he leered at her was animalistic. Hungry. It made her shiver, like she was a rabbit caught in a cage, and he was the wolf, licking his lips.

"But this is a nice surprise..." he purred, pressing up against the glass. "I didn't think there were any Arkhams left... Especially after what happened..."

It was clear that he knew more than he was letting on. And she didn't like it. Not one bit.

She rubbed the goosebumps from her arms, approaching as the doors to Maximum Security opened.

"... W-W-What do you mean?"

"YOU!"

Cassidy stumbled back as a security guard rushed in.

"GET AWAY FROM THE PATIENT! NOW!"

The guard grabbed Cassidy by her turtleneck, flinging her to the floor before she could even shriek.

Bracing for an attack, she held up her arms, quivering.

But there was none.

The guard; 6ft 6, shaved hair with muscles as big as a Spartan soldier, had his gun pointed at the man in the cell. There was a fury in his eyes, that was as if the god of war had descended on them.

"What's the hullabaloo for? We were only having a chat"

"Shut it asshole, or you'll be eating lead faster than you can blink"

The clown wasn't scared by this; he knocked on the glass with a smug, shit-eating grin that only pissed off the security guard more.

"Ooooh that's some big talk, with all the reinforced glass in the way"

Cassidy watched the pair on either side of the glass, scared she was about to witness a Mexican standoff between them.

"Wanna bet?"

"Lyle! What on earth is going on?!" Joan shouted, running over.

He didn't know how to respond, standing there like a guilty schoolboy.

Cassidy, still shaking, tried to get off the floor as quietly as possible, but she was caught.

"And you! I told you to wait down there!"

"I-I'm sorry, I..."

"Save it!"

She turned to Lyle Bolton, pointing back to the door.

"In my office! 5 minutes! Cassidy- come with me"

Joan dragged Cassidy by her arm as the clown cooed at her.

"Aw, so that's your name, is it Pumpkin? I was hoping you'd stay longer- but ah well... there'll always be next time"

He winked at Cassidy, and heat flushed to her cheeks before she had time to turn away.

Shit.

Cassidy didn't understand. He was odd, a bit annoying, but overall not as scary as she expected at first glance. And perhaps that was it.

He actually seemed approachable- charming, even. Yet neither Lyle, the guard, nor Joan seemed to want to stay near him for too long. And that scared her more than anything else.

The three of them left where they came, Cassidy sneaking glances back to the strange man's cell, transfixed with fear... and a look of wonderment.

He had bewitched her at first sight.

And from the grin on his face, he knew it.

"See you soon... Cassie".

///

The 3rd Floor was quiet. Only a few doctors shuffled around; most carrying paperwork or lounging by the coffee machine. None of them seemed in a rush to go anywhere, even the security wasn't as strict, considering it was a staff-only floor.

Joan led in front, every muscle in her body tense, ready to snap at any moment.

Cassidy tried to keep to herself, but something had been playing on her mind- which she couldn't hold back.

"Uh, Dr. Leland?" Cassidy coughed, looking behind as if something had been following them. "That patient... who-"

Joan spun around fast.

"Ok, you listen, and listen good"

She pointed at Cassidy like she was about to give an hour-long lecture.

"Stay away from him. He'll chew you up and spit you out like last night's dinner. I mean it. The less you know about him- the better"

Cassidy bit back the urge to ask again, and withdrew into silence for the rest of the way. Some things were better left unsaid.

They reached the office, scratched in bronze:

'Dr. Jeremiah Arkham'

It was the only one covered by window blinds- it even had chain locks, which, to Cassidy, seemed unnecessary. Paranoid, even.

As soon as Joan unhooked the door latch, the room opened to a chill that Cassidy couldn't shake.

It was an old-fashioned study, with quills and oil lamps left untouched on the mantelpiece. Not altered since its construction, even a barred-up fireplace. An original piece, Cassidy presumed, given how tattered it was.

Granted, the whole building was cold, but that room... No living thing could have been in there for years. It was like a morgue.

"Now wait in here, and for god's sake- DON'T WANDER OFF"

She closed Cassidy inside and stormed off, and for a private moment, she winced. That wasn't an ideal first impression.

But she would rather Cassidy hate her than become another victim.

Not to him.

///

Joan's office was in complete contrast to her exterior; with woven tapestries and vanilla-scented air fresheners. Bright. Calming.

It was a shame that she was, however, not.

"Threatening a patient- what were you thinking?!"

"He's not a patient! He's a fucking animal!" Lyle barked, slamming his hands on the desk "He should be put down for what he's done!"

Joan exhaled, drawing near.

"Lyle... I understand how you feel about this, but-"

"NO! You saw him! You saw the way he looked at her!"

Lyle gestured toward the door, his fists trembling.

"He'll just do the same thing he did to-"

Lyle stopped, grinding his teeth.

He couldn't think of anything to say. Not without bursting a blood vessel. And anything that involved... Well...

Joan put a hand on his shoulder, like the gentle brush of a feather.

"I won't let that happen. I promise".

His pent-up rage retreated as they stood there, with no sound between them but the wind chimes jingling by the window.

///

Cassidy looked around the room.

It was as if she were standing in a giant time capsule, a fusty display of artifacts and no working heating. It felt no other way.

... Why is it so cold?

Shivering, she focused on the old photos on the wall.

Most chronicled Arkham Asylum's history- one, a black and white photo of the building, stood out; its staff stood in rows:

'Opening- 1st November 1921'

In the middle of the staff was Dr. Amadeus Arkham. Well-dressed, in a three-piece suit and spectacles. There was a wildness about him that she couldn't place, and it wasn't his goatee, though that made him seem older than he ought to have been.

Cassidy, absorbed by the photograph, bumped into a footstool, knocking stacks of journals and newspapers onto the floor.

She bent over, gathering bits and pieces of the newspaper headings:

'DARK KNIGHT STRIKES AGAIN'

'BATMAN: SAVIOR OR MENACE?'

Batman. The same pictures: the shadowy figure, the same cape and cowl.

Except one.

'BATMAN FOILS POISON PLOT- MADMAN APPREHENDED'

Cassidy saw it.

She leaned closer, afraid and yet drawn towards the photo of the pale man, the man who had greeted her earlier from his cell...

The Joker.

A/N: Do you have a favorite Batman villain? Let me know!