Miscellaneous Chapter before Chapter 1

Disclaimer: Characters Bane, Poison Ivy, Harley Quinn, Joker and Penguin belong to DC Comics. Non-profit story.

The boy looked at the apparatus in front of him. Syringes, test tubes, flasks and beakers. He shook his head in disapproval as he continued searching. He approached the "Confiscated highly dangerous items" section. There was an arsenal of weapons in front of him. The boy finally smiled.

There were coils of pipes that led to a button with the universal mark of death, a skull and crossbones. That was a sign in front of it that read "Bane". The boy moved on to the next "exhibit". A checkered red and black suit with a jester's hat to match. A gun with an over-sized barrel. "Harley Quinn" the next sign read. Nope, not what the boy was looking for. A canister of green liquid labelled "Joker Venom". An electric joy buzzer and a deck of playing cards. The next sign read "Joker". Oh, what a joke...How very funny...The item on the next stand looked ordinary. A sleek, sable umbrella. The sign there read "Penguin". It still wasn't what he was looking for.

Finally, the last stand. Three test tube cases lay there, labelled "Torture and death", "Paralysis and amnesia" and "Aphrodisiacs and antidotes" respectively. A pair of gloves and a green costume that seemed to be made entirely of out plant material. The sign read "Poison Ivy". Excellent.

The boy walked to the table with the apparatus, smiling to himself as he picked up a syringe. He then made his way to the "Poison Ivy" section. He filled the syringe, starting with "Aphrodisiacs and antidotes" and injected himself with the contents. Simply brilliant he thought. It took him ten minutes to finish injecting the entire contents of all the test tubes. He then moved on to "Paralysis and amnesia". There were even more test tubes than the previous case in this one. It hurt more. The boy didn't really like injections. He usually performed injections on others, not himself. But it would be all worth it he told himself. He drew the contents of the last test tube, and injected himself with them.

The boy inhaled, and then exhaled deeply. The last case was the most important one. The slightest mistake could cost him his life. But the antidotes that were injected would protect him, wouldn't they? He picked up the syringe, and found himself looking at his reflection on the surface of the metallic test tube case. Was this really what he wanted? His reflection could enlighten him...There was Superbia no doubt. And Ira. But there was Invidia...Why? And Industria...He thought back...Laughter...The innocent kind...Smiles...Fun...Could he possibly...Turn-

No! His brow creased as his expression hardened. Derisive laughter...Filled with mirth....Smirks...Snide remarks...Trampling...Death. He couldn't. He had gone two far now...Two thirds of the injections. It was impossible to turn back...Was it? There was glisten in his eyes. They were moist. It didn't matter now, nothing did.

He filled the syringe and injected. He repeated the procedure, again and again, ignoring the pain as his mind focused on its sole mission. And at last he was done. He put the test tubes, some empty, back into their respective cases and pocketed the syringe. He was about to leave when something else caught his eye. A pile of notes on a table with the heading "Pamela Isley". He was intrigued but furious as well. Dr. Hugo Strange dared to look into Poison Ivy's files...And for that, he shall pay. He took the notes as well as he left the office.

The boy knocked on the door thrice. There was a heading on the door that read "Security Operations" Yes. This was it. All the security cameras, recorders and whatnot. The door opened and there stood a man in his forties, balding with a pot belly.

"Hello...I-I seemed to have gotten lost..." the boy stammered.

"What are you doing here! Visiting hours are long over!"

"I-I-"

The boy's lower lip trembled as he peered up at the security operations manager. The manager's eyes softened as he looked at the boy. He sighed.

"Ok. Give me your name and address and we'll get your parents down here to pick you up."

It was time for a test. A poisonous test.

"I don't have parents." the boy said with a steely glint in his eye.

"Huh?"

The boy took a deep breath, and blew into the manager's face. The manager blinked once, twice and collapsed.

"Sweet dreams."