Arkham Asylum

The prestigious asylum for the criminally insane. Rogues usually end up here.

Sydney Van Tassel/The Poltergeist [A] 10 years ago
"*Van* Tassel," she corrected. "I'm not quite convinced, Dr. Strange. I don't 'help' people. I've been working solo since I quit Wayne Biotech. That's, what, six years? If I wanted to put someone in their place, I wouldn't need other people to do it. You'd have to have one hell of a cause to fight the Batman for me to have a part in it. If I do decide to help, I wanna have a pretty big part. What would I be doing to help, should I decide to?"
[post deleted by owner]
Dr. Hugo Strange [A] 10 years ago
@Sydney Van Tassel/The Poltergeist "Miss Tassel, Batman isn't a hero. He's a vigilante with a misplaced code of honor." replied Hugo attempting to hide his irritation at her choice of words and continuing to get more emotional. "He belongs in Arkham more than any of the citizens he puts here, including you. I've been planning to put him in his proper place for many years now, and you, my dear, are the missing piece. I have friends in high places and, if you help me, I can offer you our freedom and a full pardon. Do we have a deal?"
Sydney Van Tassel/The Poltergeist [A] 10 years ago
A list of the people she hated most. The way he put it was so...childish. Like she was talking to a middle schooler instead of an older man. Nevertheless, she answered.
"I don't...'hate' people. Just the guy I tried to kill, but he'll probably be dead within the hour, given what I did to him, so he doesn't count. I mean, I don't like the fact that the Batman put me in here, but that's his job, isn't it? Gotham's hero and all that."
Dr. Hugo Strange [A] 10 years ago
@Sydney Van Tassel/The Poltergeist Disappointed by the lack of shock she showed, Strange continued, "First, I would like you to give me a list of the people you hate most. I don't mind if you include me, but you frankly don't know me well enough, and you probably won't hate me after you hear what I have to offer."
[post deleted by owner]
Sydney Van Tassel/The Poltergeist [A] 10 years ago
Her left eye darted over his face, reading every centimeter of skin, reading his body language. Her other "eye" was turned off at the time. She didn't need to, ah, show him her talents. She'd wait for the opportune moment for that. On the outside, he seemed comforting, but there's a rough side to every soft side. Judging by the fact that a guard had fled past her cell coming from the same direction as he did, he might be a force to reckon with.
Funny. He didn't seem very intimidating.
Oh, well. Sydney made a mental note to herself to watch for any sign of aggression and loss of control in everyone, not just this director.
"Continue," she finally replied. She'd see where this conversation went.
Dr. Hugo Strange [A] 10 years ago
@Sydney Van Tassel/The Poltergeist Dr. Hugo Strange sat in his office sipping his tea and humming along to Beethoven's fifth, which crackled from the priceless phonograph record he always told people had belonged to his father. A volume of Sherlock Holmes stories lay open on his desk, but Strange neglected it in favor of the psychological profile on his desk. He was always fascinated when a new super-criminal arrived at his establishment, but the woman in question was far more than that. All of his inmates shared a deep hatred of Batman, the man who Hugo had faced in his early years of adulthood and nearly died in the process, but here was someone who's main goal in life was not money, or power, or pasting your gimmick all over the faces of Gotham's citizens. No, this so-called Poltergeist woman could be bought with the simple promise of complete and utter revenge on a nemesis that was not Batman, therefore leaving the final blow against the Dark Knight in Hugo's hands. His plans were almost complete. Sydney Van Tassel was the final piece of the puzzle. Hugo's thoughts were interrupted by a timid knock on the door.
"Come in!" he growled after removing the needle from the record, in a gruff tone that didn't quite disguise the melodic accent of the German aristocracy from which he was descended. The guard slowly opened the door, half-hiding behind the doorframe. All of Arkham's employees, except for Hugo's trusted inner circle, had learned to fear him early on in his stint as director due to a quick temper that he faked for his own amusement.
"Dr. S-st-strange, sir," the guard managed to stutter. "The patient you requested to see has arrived. Do you want to see her in your office?"
"No thank you, Captain," Hugo replied in a calm fashion, much to the guard's surprise and eventual relief. Hugo smirked slightly. He enjoyed watching his employees squirm almost as much as he did his patients. "Leave her in the cell I had specially designed for someone with her, shall we say, talents. We wouldn't want to escape, now would we? Thank you for notifying me, Captain. You are dismissed."
Hugo watched as the guard fled, then took one more sip of his tea before gathering up the file and heading out of his office. He did not yet know how easy Sydney Van Tassel would be to manipulate, but it did not matter to him. He craved challenges just as much as he enjoyed having success handed to him. Either way, this was going to be fun. Arriving at the cell, he scanned his key-card and the door slid open. After waiting for the door to slide shut, he sat down at the table and laid out the profile. Looking up at the girl in front of him he said in his most soothing voice, "Good evening, my dear, my name is Dr. Hugo Strange, Arkham's director. For the most part, I will be conducting your therapy sessions but, if it's all the same to you, I'd like to keep this first session strictly off the books."
He smiled, comfortingly, and waited, anticipating her reaction.
Sydney Van Tassel/The Poltergeist [A] 10 years ago
The guards held firm to Sydney Van Tassel's arms as they led her to the secure wing of Arkham. She was pushed past a very odd assortment of characters. A man with what looked like clown makeup glowered at her from his cell. A littler man with wispy hair gaped at her and started muttering about someone named Alice. Sydney decided not to attract their attention any more than she already was.
She decided to focus her attention on escaping Arkham. Oh, when she did, Batman had better watch out.
She was so close to exacting revenge on her childhood tormentor, a boy named Samuel Carson, when that flying RAT stopped her. She was sure she would go to prison, but a man who was apparently some psychological expert had convinced the jury that she was criminally insane. She had forgotten how she was criminally insane, but she was put in Arkham.
Oh, well. She scanned the hall for possible exits. There were none.
The sensors in her right arm sent a series of soft beeps into her right ear. She looked down at her arm. The guard was gripping it a little too tightly. Any tighter and he would crush some of the machinery.
"Hey, watch it," she snapped. "I worked hard to make that." The guard scoffed, but loosened his grip.
They finally came to a vacant cell and the guards pushed her in.
Here, she was no longer Sydney Van Tassel.
Now, she was just another one of the crazies.

Comments

You must be logged in to comment.

There are no comments yet
Log in to view all comments and replies