literature

Claw - Chapter 3

Deviation Actions

LambdaZombie's avatar
By
Published:
863 Views

Literature Text

Claw
A DC Universe fanfiction
Chapter Three: Doctor to Patient

~

         Doctor Charlie Nadler sat at one end of a long table. He shifted in his seat and adjusted his glasses in anticipation. He had no shame admitting that he was nervous. The patient that he was waiting to meet was only fourteen years old. This deeply unsettled the doctor. Even taking his lack of training in adolescent psychology out of consideration, just thinking about the moral violation that is a teenager being thrown into Arkham Asylum made the doctor queasy.
         The doctor-patient session room that he sat in was small and overwhelmingly grey. Everything from the floor and walls to the table and chairs were completely devoid of color. It almost made Nadler wish he had dressed in excessively bright colors to detract from the bleakness of the room. He smiled slightly at the thought, still trying to calm his nerves.
         Nadler twiddled his thumbs, eager for Mikhail Walker to enter the room already. Minutes passed before the door finally opened. An Arkham orderly was the first to enter. A large, muscular man with a few very noticeable bruises on his face. He likely had gotten involved in a scrap or two between prisoners in the past week. Behind him, three other figures made their ways into the room. The first and last to enter were another pair of orderlies. It never ceased to amaze the doctor how strikingly similar most of the male orderlies looked. All Caucasian with short brown hair and massive arms.
         In between the two orderlies was a short, red haired boy. Standing next to the colossal men only made him appear younger and smaller than he actually was. He wore the standard blue Arkham-inmate attire and a white sweatband was slightly visible on his forehead, covered for the most part by his thick red hair. He looked taciturnly at the orderlies, simultaneously managing to convey an air of boredom and superiority.
         The orderlies sat the boy down in the chair opposite the doctor. They roughly lifted his arms onto the table. Nadler examined the boy’s pincer-like hands. He had read in Mikhail’s psyche file about his ectrodactyly; that his hands were deformed and resembled a pair of claws, but he had not actually seen them until this moment. He quickly turned away so that he wouldn’t stare, not wanting to make the boy feel uncomfortable. Teenagers are self-conscious about their appearances…I think? A bead of sweat ran down his forehead and he cursed himself, Pull yourself together! You sound like an imbecile!
         The orderlies latched the boy’s handcuffs to the table and secured it with a lock. They looked to the doctor, checking to see if he had any other requests. He replied by smiling slightly and waving the men off. The men nodded and exited the room, leaving the doctor alone with his young patient.
         “Hello, Mr. Walker,” the doctor began, trying to sound professional. “My name is Doctor Nadler. You and I will be having regular sessions during the remainder of your stay at Arkham.” He forced a smile, still a bit on edge.
         The boy just stared at him, frowning.
         “Well,” Nadler went on. “um… I’ve been looking through your file here and there seems to be plenty that you and I can talk about during our sessions. Is there anywhere you’d like to start? I’d like to help you sort things out however I can.”
         “Now that you mention it,” the boy began. “Let’s talk about what it would take to get me out of these stupid sessions.”
         “I’m sorry but–” the doctor started to respond before getting cut off.
         “I mean, judging by the infamous inability of the Arkham staff to control any of their patients, this asylum is clearly run by a hoard of brainless idiots. So I really doubt there’s anything you could do to help me.”
         Doctor Nadler’s brow furrowed in frustration. Silently, he almost agreed with the boy’s claim about the asylum staff. Especially after his recent conversation with Doctor Arkham. But he pushed that thought to the back of his mind and called forth everything that he knew about adolescents. Control is key, he thought to himself. Teenagers are headstrong and want to always believe that they are right. So always keep full control over the conversation.
         “Pardon my forwardness, but you were the one who turned yourself in to the authorities. So obviously you do want to be helped by the staff here, correct?”
         The boy looked down. Nadler saw that this was a bit of a touchy subject and he felt a pang of guilt for bringing it up so abruptly. But after reading through Mikhail Walker’s psychological profile, he knew that if he was to have any chance of helping, he needed the boy to respect him intellectually.
         The red-haired boy looked up after a few moments consideration. “That was a mistake. But it doesn’t matter. What does matter is–”
         “Well hold on now,” Nadler continued, weighing his words carefully. “Let’s talk a bit more about this. When you turned yourself in, you called from a bar. And the offices who apprehended you said that you had in your possession a half-empty glass. Yet, the toxicology screen revealed very low blood-alcohol levels.”
         Claw looked at the doctor incredulously. “Okay, I didn’t drink much. Who the hell cares?”
         “I’m just verifying that we cannot attribute your calling the authorities to intoxication.”
         Claw rolled his eyes. “Wow, what amazing deductive skills you have, doc. You’re about as bright as all of the detectives on the police payroll,” he applauded sarcastically. “Congratulations.”
         Control! Doctor Nadler thought again. Don’t let him take over the session. “Why did you make the call?”
         “Like I said before, it was a mistake.” The doctor looked at him for more. “I was feeling especially pathetic at the time. You probably know how that feels, don’t you doctor?” Claw glared at him mockingly.
         “And why was that?” Nadler responded, not reacting to the boy’s chiding.
         Claw scowled. “You read my ‘file’. You tell me, genius.”
         “That won’t do either of us any good. You need to admit this to yourself. My saying what we both already know won’t do anything to help you.”
         Claw’s scowl slowly transformed into a smirk. “You’re a bit late, doc. I already had this ‘grand epiphany’ after I made the call.”
         “Let’s hear it then.”
         The red-head took a small breath. Turns out, it was easier for him to think realizations about himself than it was to admit them out loud. “Fine,” he conceded. “I loved every moment of being with the Joker. Of being a part of the Juvenile Gang.” Doctor Nadler, pen in hand, hovered his hand over a paper from the boy’s file. “And when the Joker left us, I was completely devastated.” The doctor began to scribble on the paper but was still listening attentively to the boy’s confession. “I’ve spent the past year denying that I cared about what happened by denying that I ever cared about anything.”
         The doctor looked up when Claw paused. “Please go on, Mr. Walker.”
         “And now I’m sick of being in denial. I’m ready to be honest with myself and to face my past.”
         Doctor Nadler was surprised that the boy had made this much progress on his own. He was expecting that it might take months to get this sort of admission out of the young boy. He certainly never expected to hear this during their first session.
         “And how do you plan to do this?” the doctor asked, eager to hear more.

* * *

         The booming screech of tires echoed across the open space. Twelve heads turned swiftly towards the source of the noise. It was nearing three in the morning at Gotham’s Sea Gate Amusement Park – closed for the season and having fallen into disrepair, and thus open to vandalism at the hands of the Juvenile Gang. The ten children who had just been running rampant through these abandoned grounds all looked toward their mentors for guidance.
         The Joker and Harley Quinn stood near a “Test Your Strength” carnival game and had already directed their attentions away from the exaggeratedly big hammer and towards the sound of the screeching tires: the Batmobile.
         A large grin spread across the Joker’s face. “Kiddoes, you’re all in for quite a treat.” He threw his head back and let out a roaring laugh. “Get behind something and come out when I give the signal!” He winked at the kids who immediately followed his orders and leapt into the nearest hiding spots. Harley Quinn danced her way to the Joker’s side and together they faced the entrance to the carnival grounds.
         Claw hid himself behind a wooden food stand. He looked up and saw a sign that read: “Seafood! Fresh Eats: The best Lobster in Sea Gate Amusement Park!” The boy sighed satirically and peered out at the open area. He saw the other members of the Juvenile Gang scrambling to find places to conceal themselves. Henchy had just ducked behind a shabby kart with a sign that read “Princess Makeovers: Face-Paints and Paper Tiaras!” Empath concealed himself behind the door to a fun house. Claw also saw Tubs duck behind a “Guess Your Weight!” game and Singe find cover behind a Roasted Peanut stand.

         Irony’s a bitch, Claw thought, looking again at the sign above his hiding place.
         The other members of the gang had already found concealment. The red haired boy peered towards the entrance to the carnival and waited. He expected Batman to swoop in for a surprise attack at the Joker. But he was surprised to witness what happened next.
         The black-clad vigilante hopped out of his car and walked slowly through the entrance to the amusement park. He and the Joker glared at one another with the intensity of men who have known each other for a very long time. Batman was calm as he approached, but Claw could see what his hand lingered close to his belt, ready to grab a weapon or tool at a moment’s notice.
         “Welcome, Batsy!” the Joker greeted his adversary. “I was starting to think you would never show!” he mocked tears. “I was about to have Harley here put on a batsuit to fill the void.” His thunderous laugh once again filled the carnival space.
         “I’d be more scared if I were you, Joker,” Batman threatened, pulling a batarang out of his belt but not yet raising it for a throw. Claw’s mouth widened slightly. This was his first time seeing Batman. The Juvenile Gang had formed less than a month ago and had only “gone-out-on-the-town” – as Harley had put it – once before this night.
How tough can some loser dressed a Bat be? Claw gulped, reassuring himself.
         “Scared?” Joker echoed his adversary, not sounding intimidated in the slightest.
This is it! Claw thought. Our cue is coming!
         “Well, you might be more than a match for me and Harls here,” the clown went on.
         “And that’s a big ‘might’, Bats!” Harley interjected.
         Batman’s eyes narrowed through his cowl.
         “But,” the Joker raised his arm in the air theatrically. “You may have some trouble dealing with the whole family!” he let out his famous laugh once more as the children began to reveal themselves. Claw leapt out from his hiding spot and faced the Batman, making his expression as menacing as possible. He saw Henchy dance her way out of concealment and grin as she faced Batman. Empath slipped out of his hiding spot and peered towards Batman, his neon-green facepaint making him appear even more eerie against the dark backdrop.
         A male voice spoke up from a few yards behind the vigilante. “Spear, I think this might be the night that Batman dies,”
         “I agree, Sickle,” a female voice responded. Claw shifted his eyes to peer at the speakers. He spotted Spear and Sickle – collectively known as the Reaper Twins – standing behind Batman. They held their namesake weapons pointed towards the vigilante, their masks appearing to gaze into the man’s very soul. “The only question is exactly how he will die.”
         “Perhaps Harley’s hammer will crush and stain him all over the nice, clean ground?”
         “Or perhaps Slick will shoot him right through the cowl and drop him where he stands?”
         “Or maybe Claw will get the drop on him and just choke the life right out of our poor bat?”
         “So many possibilities,” Spear concluded, running her weapon through her long hair. “Too many to ponder. Let’s just see what happens.”
        The twins charged at Batman, their weapons extended. He held his ground, not flinching or making any motion to avoid their onslaught. For a moment it looked as if he was just going to
let them impale him. But at the last instant, the vigilante raised the batarang that he had taken out earlier and caught the teenage girl’s spear in it, creating a loud metallic clang. Without hesitating, Batman thrusted the spear towards the other weapon and parried Sickle with his sister’s own weapon. He pushed the twins backwards and they landed, on their feet, a few feet away from the man.
         “These are the children kidnapped from Pinkney Orphanage,” Batman concluded. He then addressed the Juvenile Gang, raising his voice. “You don’t have to do this. Working for the Joker is not going to end well for any of you.”
         “You’re one to talk, hypocrite!” a voice yelled from Batman’s left. “With all the kiddies you’ve kidnapped you could probably open your own orphanage!” He turned and saw Henchy running towards him. He readied to block her assault but was surprised to see the clown girl turn sharply away from him at the last second. From his side, the girl extended her arms and clenched her fists. Red and white liquid shot from the contents of her palms and covered the vigilante’s cowl. Claw realized that this must have been the facepaint from the “Princess Makeup” kart that Henchy had been hiding behind.
         “And these ‘children’ are gonna kick your bu–” the clown girl began. She attempted to kick at the temporarily blinded man but was shocked to feel him catch her mid-kick. He raised his arm, about to punch her, but felt a sharp jab at the back of his knee. He released the clown girl and fell onto one knee, quickly realizing that somebody had kicked him behind the knee. He cleared the red and white goo from his eyes and turned to face his new attacker.
         Claw met his gaze and smirked. “You know, for the supposedly greatest hero in Gotham, you sure suck at fighting a bunch of kids.” He faced the clown girl that he had just saved and scowled at her. He shot her a looked that he hope conveyed:
I still hate you. Henchy only smiled at him and stuck her tongue out, mockingly.
         “This is getting pretty sad, Bat-breath,” the Joker chimed in. He made a ‘Tisk, tisk’ noise with his tongue.
         “Yeah,” Harley continued for her ‘boyfriend’. “I’ve been telling the kiddies here about how big-and-tough you are for almost a month now! You’re making me look like a liar.”
         The ten children now encircled Batman while the Joker and Harley watched from afar.
          “The Juvenile Gang,” Henchy announced, laughing, “is going to be the last thing you ever see.”
         Unfazed, Batman smirked slightly. In one swift motion, he unlatched a section of his belt and pulled out four small, metal spheres. He rolled them onto the floor in all directions. The children all took a step back, startled. As they did so, grey smoke began to shoot from each of the spheres. Within seconds, the entire area was encased in the fog. Claw heard nervous murmurs from his teammates and he stepped backwards, assessing the situation. He heard a familiar female voice shriek. At first, he couldn’t quite place the voice. But a moment later he heard a male’s voice, “Get off o–“. Claw now realized that the first voice had been Spear’s and this second one was Sickle’s.
         “What’s going on?” the nervous voice belonging to Joust asked. A metallic clang and a crash followed the question. “No!” the same voice yelled before being silenced. Another voice followed quickly, muffled beneath Batman’s gloved hand.
Tubs, Claw realized.
         Though nobody could see, it was obvious that Batman was taking out the members of the gang one-by-one in the cover of the smokescreen. The red haired boy raised his arms, his misshapen hands formed into awkward fists.
         The sudden sound of gunshots into the sky made him jump. He turned in the direction of the shots and heard a voice yell, “Erryone, get over here! He can’t get us iff wer all to’gether!” Claw recognized the voice to be Slick’s, speaking in his exaggerated cowboy-accent.
         Claw was about to take a step in Slick’s direction when more gun shots first. There was a thud.
Slick’s down, Claw thought, panicking. Think! He got Sickle, Spear, Joust, Tubs, and Slick. That leaves me, Henchy, Empath, Pop, and Singe. The smoke had begun to clear now. Claw could now make out silhouettes of his teammates but could not see their faces. He saw Henchy, Empath, and Singe standing and realized grimly that Batman must have taken down Pop without his even hearing the struggle.
         Claw searched frantically through the smoke, looking for the vigilante. He gasped when he spotted him behind Singe. “Behind you, Emm–, Singe!” he shouted to her. The bandage-covered African girl spun around quickly and raised the lit torch towards Batman. She took in a deep breath, about to blow fire at him, but was too late. He smacked at her arm and knocked the torch onto the floor. With his other fist, he punched the girl, sending her crashing onto the ground. Only Claw, Henchy, and Empath were standing.
         The red-head could just make out the other two in the smoke. Henchy seemed to be as frantic as Claw, shifting in place and whimpering. While Empath was moving through the smoke, kneeling down and apparently trying to wake children that Batman had already knocked out.
Where the hell are Joker and Harley? Claw thought in a panic. He slapped himself. Shut it and come up with a plan! he scolded himself. He scanned the area, looking for anything he could use to gain an advantage. He spotted Singe’s still-burning torch on the floor. Perfect!
         Henchy let out a girlish shriek as Batman charged at her. She reached into a concealed pocket in her princess dress and pulled out a small knife which was immediately knocked away by the vigilante. He lifted her by her wrist and raised his arm to punch her out.
         Claw ran up, torch in hand, and kicked Batman in the back of the knee once again. Reflexively, Batman dropped Henchy and swung at the boy. Luckily, Claw had already ducked down and was now facing Batman head-on. The boy scanned the vigilante’s belt until he found the section he was looking for. He raised the torch and, with all of his might, blew on the flame.
         A loud “BOOM” followed as a small explosion knocked Batman, Claw, and Henchy back. Batman appeared to have taken the bulk of the blast and was lying on the ground, conscious but injured.
         The familiar sound of screeching tires once again echoed in the boy’s ears. He turned and saw a silver van slowing to a halt next to the children. Claw looked up and saw that Harley was the driver. She and Joker hopped out of the van. Joker made his way towards the collapsed vigilante while Harley ran to the back of the van and opened its immense trunk. He watched as Empath began lifting unconscious bodies from the group and loading them inside. He motioned towards Harley and mimed the lifting and loading of the bodies. Harley followed his example and together they loaded to collapsed members of the Juvenile Gang into the vehicle.
         Claw turned to look at the Joker, who had stepped over the bodies of the children and now stood over Batman, oblivious to Harley and Empath’s rescuing the incapacitated Juvenile Gang. “Better luck next time, Bats,” he whispered. His familiar, thundering laugh filled the area. He turned and stepped over the children once again and jumped into the passenger’s seat of the van.
         Claw felt a pair of arms wrap around him. He looked up and saw Empath gently lifting him into the trunk of the van. The older boy laid him down and then hopped into the van himself, closing the hatch behind him. Harley resumed her place in the driver’s seat and drove off.
         “Did you see Batman’s face?! Priceless!” the Joker cackled from the shotgun seat, still oblivious to the injured children in the back.
         The red haired boy rolled over, his head still pounding from the explosion.
         “Great work, kiddies!” Harley squeed from the front seat. “I missed it! How’d ya get Batsy down in the end there?”
         “It was Claw!” Pop yelled excitedly.
         All of the faces in the car turned to the red haired boy, begging for explanation. His face reddened slightly but he shook it off. “I remembered which latch of his belt he kept his damned smoke balls in, so I grabbed Singe’s torch and lit it. They needed to be pressurized to contain all of the smoke and I figured that a flame would make them explode.”
         “Wait’a go, kiddo!” the Joker yelled from his seat, acknowledging the children for the first time since Batman’s arrival at the amusement park. “You sure put guano-breath in his place.”
         Even Claw, still trying to maintain his exterior of bitter indifference, could not hide the smile that crept across his face at being commended by the Joker.


* * *

         “Mr. Walker? Mr. Walker? Is everything all right?” Doctor Nadler asked, sounding concerned.
         Claw shook his head, returning to the present. “What? Yeah, I’m fine.”
         The doctor looked at him, puzzled. “Um…okay. Well, um… we were talking about the realizations that you’ve made. And you were going to tell me about your plan.”
         The boy looked at him, somewhat confused.
         “You said you have a plan for how you will face you past demons?”
         Realization glowed in the boy’s eyes. “Oh, yeah. I’m going to fix everything that has gone wrong in my life.”
         “And how do you plan to do that?”
         “Easy. I’m going to kill the Joker.”
Chapter One: Facing Facts
Chapter Two: Introducing the Juvenile Gang!
Chapter Three: Doctor to Patient - [Here]
Interlude: Empathizing
Chapter Four: Bonefyre
Chapter Five: What Ever Happened to the Juvenile Gang?
Chapter Six: Seeing Red [Final Chapter]

--

Update: Updated formatting to match later writings.[/update]

Okay, so this is the point where I am looking for some serious criticism.

This chapter didn't go quite like I intended it to and I'm not sure everything is as clear and well written as I wanted it to be. So any comments, advice, suggestions, or complaints are more than welcome.

This chapter turned out a little longer than the previous two. And I have no shame admitting that I half-assed the preview image. Sorry guys ^^;

Regardless, hope you enjoy
Thanks for reading!

--

Batman and all related characters (c) DC Comics

Henchy / Olga Turner and The Juvenile Gang (concept) (c) :iconderbymask:

Claw / Mikhail Walker, Empath / James Lange, Doctor Nadler, and all other members of the Juvenile Gang (c) me
© 2013 - 2024 LambdaZombie
Comments12
Join the community to add your comment. Already a deviant? Log In
Little-Red-XOXO's avatar
Sorry I am late to the party with this comment! But I'm finally getting around to commenting! ^^;
LLOVVVVVEEDDD this chapter!
Claw & Nadler's session is best! Claw giving Nadler a hard time, omg! It gave me giggles!
& I LOVED the flashback! (oh the irony of most of those hiding places!) :XD:
You did such a good job with this chapter! & I look forward to reading the next one! :)