Well, I just have to reiterate - Touch-me-not for I will retaliate. Hurt-me-not or else you're dead.
Chapter 8
Pamela mused as she pulled down the front of her suit a little to reveal some of her cleavage.
Working with Kisho is one thing...Saving the world is another...I have too much free time helping Kisho anyway...Guess I'll start working on an environmentally-friendly plot to save Mother Nature soon...Oh well...There they are, those sexually-deprived freaks...
The guards at the entrance of Arkham Asylum paced to and fro, cutting off direct access. Pamela sauntered towards them, her green skin-tight suit contrasting ostensibly against the dark surroundings.
"Evening. I'm here to visit." Pamela said.
"Sorry Miss, visiting hours are over." One guard replied, face expressionless.
"Awwww...But this is really important! Would you let me in for a kiss?" Pamela asked naughtily.
"Yeah sure!" The other guard answered eagerly.
The first guard nudged him disapprovingly and then turned to Pamela.
"I'm sorry Miss but you'll have to leave." He said in a tone of finality.
"Fine! I guess playtime's over! I'll give you both a kiss-" Pamela said cheerfully as she grabbed his head and kissed him forcefully.
She then turned around swiftly to face the other guard, whose face was one of evident alacrity, and did the same. One guard looked at her in a daze and the other scowled.
"-whether you like it or not..." Pamela finished.
"Excuse me-" the angry guard started.
"Not now dear. You'll be dead soon anyway." Pamela interrupted.
Both guards looked at her in confusion before they started to have difficulties breathing. The nerve agent sarin that was on Pamela's lips was starting to take effect. The guards gasped and spluttered as they massaged their chests. One of them started to take out his gun before he vomited. The other guard started to drool before the front of his pants became a darker shade of grey as he urinated. Both of them started to twitch and jerk before they collapsed, still in convulsive spasms.
Pamela spat onto the ground and shrugged casually.
"Well, I did ask them nicely didn't I?"
She pushed open the main doors of Arkham Asylum and entered. Everyone looked at her in surprise. There were the doctors, psychiatrists, guards, nurses and janitors. Pamela smiled sweetly at them and scattered a fistful of seeds into the air.
"Ah...It's good to be back!" Pamela exclaimed.
Jeremiah Arkham, head of Arkham Asylum, could not believe his eyes.
"Pamela?"
The seeds germinated in a second as serpentine roots and shoots sprouted. They grew and augmented until they reached their zenith. A single orchid this time towered over the other plants with Pamela standing atop of it.
"Yes Mr. Arkham. I'm back. Now...You can help me...Or die..." Pamela said as she raised both her hands high above head violently.
Pandemonium broke out as a cacophony of screams and gunshots resounded. Pamela scowled and sighed.
"Why must always end this way?" She asked sympathetically. "And with the guns..." She added.
Mammoth wooden spikes burst from the ground from under the guards and their bodies were impaled on them, blood flowing down the spikes to nourish the soil. Thorny vines coiled around the other personnel and the thorns grew to an astounding length of at least a foot, impaling the victims as a result. There was only one inmate present at that time and it was the Joker. Pamela was still placid in the presence of many murders taking place. She glowered at the Joker who was bound in a Velcro suit.
"So Pammy, how have you been? Still as beautiful! But where's Ha-hahahaha-Harley?" he asked jocularly.
"You're next Joker...I'll make you pay for toying with Harley's feelings." Pamela said coldly as she signalled for a few vines to bind Jeremiah Arkham and the Joker.
"Now...Puddin...I've found a way to cure your insanity...Or rather...Your immunity to Joker Venom...A hellish mixture of hydrogen cyanide and strychnodide you said...And that was your mistake. To be immune to hydrogen cyanide and strychnodide...You would need...Let's see...amyl nitrite, sodium nitrite, sodium thiosulphate and active charcoal infusions...But if I neutralise all of those...You won't be immune to Joker Venom...And here I have-" Pamela produced a vial from her inside her glove. "-A mixture of Joker Venom and something to neutralise your immunity..."
That wiped the smile off the Joker's face.
"Come on Pammy...You wouldn't do this...Give me a chance...For the sake of Harley? Will ya? Please? Pammy?" the Joker begged.
"I'm doing this for Harley. You'll be getting a taste of your own medicine..."
The flower descended until the Joker was just in front of her. Pamela took out a syringe and filled it with the contents of the vial and tested it. The vines held the Joker tightly as the menacing liquid spurted out of the tip of the needle. The Joker's face was one of fearful consternation as Pamela's hand which held the syringe that decided his fate inched closer to him.
"Don't worry Jack...You are going to die with a smile...Just like Harley..." Pamela said softly, before she thrust the needle into the Joker's forearm and injected. She then wrenched the syringe out violently and threw it on the ground and turned her attention to Jeremiah Arkham.
"It's ironic isn't it, Jeremiah? The Joker poisoned by his own Joker Venom? But don't worry...It's only a start...I'm helping Batman rid Gotham of its many criminals...Your Arkham will be obsolete by the time I'm finished...But of course...All this is for the sake of Mother Nature...Now...I want to see Fang." Pamela requested as filled the syringe once more with the contents of another vial of Joker Venom.
"F-Fang?" Jeremiah Arkham whimpered.
"Dr. Frank Grey. Animal hybridizations." Pamela said as she smiled at the Joker.
The Joker had begun to grin, albeit nervously.
"This can't be...I'm immune to Joker Venom...MY venom!" The Joker roared in between fits of laughter.
"And you're going to die from it...Just like those who suffered its effects..." Pamela remarked.
The Joker's facial muscles tightened, causing his skin to look paler than ever and as his crazed laughter became louder. He continued laughing manically and uncontrollably and his whole body tensed as his head fell back before he went limp and silent. Pamela motioned for the Joker to be brought closer and the vines withdrew, carrying the Joker's prostrate body towards Pamela.
"Bulging eyes...White skin...Red lips...The same ghastly grin...Yeah...The Joker looks perfectly fine to me...No harm done..." Pamela said as she observed the Joker's face.
"Y-You can't just m-murder a patient like t-that..." Jeremiah stuttered.
"More like prisoner you mean...Now, where is Fang?" Pamela said as she brandished the syringe threateningly.
"Third floor...Having psychotherapy with Dr. Strange..." Jeremiah replied, glancing at the syringe uneasily.
"Thanks!" Pamela said as she chucked the syringe and kissed Jeremiah Arkham.
Jeremiah choked and spat before looking at Pamela.
"What was that?" he shouted.
"Come on my babies...To the third floor! We've got a fang to catch!" Pamela said to the plants.
The vine relinquished Jeremiah and he fell to the ground, gasping and writhing as the sarin flowed through his system. The plants congregated under Pamela and started to walk using their roots as legs. Pamela reached the third floor soon and a thick branch smashed down the door of Frank Grey's cell. Hugo Strange and Frank Grey turned their attention to Pamela.
"Hello Fang. I'm here to get you out." Pamela said laconically.
"Pamela?" Dr. Hugo Strange asked daftly.
"Go die." Pamela replied as a humongous thorn burst into the room from a wall and went through Hugo Strange's chest.
Hugo Strange gave an inarticulate choke of agony before several vines lifted him from his seat and more plants enveloped him.
"Impressive I must say...Poison Ivy?" Frank Grey said as he inspected a pair of spectacles lying on the ground; the remnants of Hugo Strange.
"Well...Kisho said he had to pay...Besides...He had it coming." Pamela said as leaped into the air and executed a front somersault before landing in front of Frank.
"Kisho?" Frank asked, raising an eyebrow.
"Not the point. What matters is we need talents like yours, Dr. Grey. You specialise in animal hybridizations?" Pamela answered.
"Just like you do with plants Ivy. By the way, call me Fang." Frank said as he opened his mouth wide to reveal a pair of fangs.
"Altered DNA?" Pamela asked, noticing Frank's amber pupils.
"Animal hybridization...I have been turned...Into this...But there're the plus sides. I get increased endurance, speed and strength...Enhanced vision, hearing and smell...My wounds heal about ten times faster than humans...I can breathe longer underwater...Yeah...I'm almost animal..." Frank concluded.
"And I'm almost plant. Well, figuratively speaking I suppose...So, interested in working with me?" Pamela asked, twirling a lock of her hair casually.
"What about Kisho? Working on what?" Kisho enquired.
"Details later. Basically, a little kidnapping and of course, greening up Gotham. We want your talents, in exchange for freedom from incarceration here and funding for whatever you want to do. And if you want, make you normal again." Pamela said suggestively.
Frank's reptilian eyes seemed to gaze far away as he thought back to the times when he was normal.
"Well? Interested?" Pamela repeated.
"I can be human again...Fully human...Yes...I can live with kidnapping...Count me in! When do we start?" Frank replied.
"Excellent! We start right away..." Pamela exclaimed gleefully as she clapped her hands together.
*
Haruko rang the doorbell profusely, flanked by Guo Xin and Howl.
A weary-looking Si Heng opened the door, still rubbing his eyes. It was palpable he had just woken up.
"Hi Si Heng. You look beat." Guo Xin remarked.
Si Heng stared at him for a moment with his bloodshot eyes, then erupted.
"What the heck! Freak you! It's 3am in the morning and you wake me up suddenly to say 'hi' and 'you look beat'! Well, DUH!" Si Heng vociferated, clearly exasperated.
"Si Heng, I know you're irritated that we disturbed you but please just listen." Haruko said calmly.
"Ok, sorry for shouting. What is it?" Si Heng asked in a softer tone.
"Kisho's out to get us. As simple as that. Although it's much more complicated. Oh nevermind, that didn't make sense. Anyway, just be on your guard for now. We're going to Debbie's place to pick her up in case anything happens to her." Howl explained quickly.
"What? Debbie? What has she got to do with whatever you're talking about?" Si Heng asked with concern.
"We're all in danger here. And so are the people close to us. Haruko's my girlfriend and she's coming with us so that's fine. Howl basically has no one except for his precious lab...But Debbie is one of your closest friends...So we fear she's in danger too." Guo Xin said as he glanced left and right.
"Uh huh...So you mean Kisho's after all of you...And me?" Si Heng in an amused tone.
Haruko, Guo Xin and Howl nodded simultaneously.
"Him? Ha! He wouldn't even hurt a fly!" Si Heng exclaimed as he gave a contemptuous snort.
Si Heng supressed a laugh and surveyed the faces of the trio. None of them were smiling. Howl's jaw muscle twitched. Si Heng was unnerved by his friend's still placid looks.
"Fine...I'll join you guys...Later...I wanna sleep first. Pick Debbie then come for me." Si Heng said casually as he stifled a yawn.
"If you say so...You sure you don't wanna come with us?" Guo Xin asked.
Si Heng pointed at his eyes and mouthed the word "red" before he waved goodbye and slammed the door in their faces.
"So...Any idea what he does every night?" Guo Xin asked as he turned to face Howl and Haruko.
Haruko shrugged while Howl raised an eyebrow, wondering if there had been an underlying meaning to the question.
*
Guo Xin's car stopped in front of Debbie's house and Haruko alighted immediately. The gates and door were ajar. Haruko had noticed this instantly. She pushed open the gate hastily and entered the house, only to discover a scene of total devastation. There were imprints in the wall, as if something of incredible strength had been punching the walls. The curtains were mauled. They were now a pitiful pile of shreds on the floor below the windows. An entire table had been broken into two parts and chairs were missing legs. A blood-red liquid which sickly resembled blood was splattered on a wall and broken china shards, remnants of a Ming vase, were strewn all over the floor. There were gashes in the sofa and a cupboard had been slashed, leaving five long lines on its surface. The floor it seemed, had also split, resulting in a very visible large jagged crack in the middle of the living room. However, there was one conspicuous object in the middle of all the detritus, something alive. It was a flower, or rather, a flowering plant. It had grown from the crack and shot up six feet before blooming; a pale pink rose. Haruko looked at her surroundings, then at the rose and ran out before boarding Guo Xin's car.
"They've got Debbie. We're too late." Haruko choked.
*
Si Heng trudged back to his room, grumbling about the disturbance a few minutes ago. Then, it occurred to him that Debbie really could be in danger. He pondered for a while before deciding he would go visit Debbie after all, just to make sure she was fine. He reached for his jacket when he heard a voice that chilled his blood.
"Bonjour Monsieur Yeo. Comment allez-vous? Très bien j'espére? I would advise you to not waste your time...Your little girlfriend has been captured." Kisho said condescendingly.
Si Heng turned back slowly, immediately adopting a battle stance with his fists in front of him.
"Kisho! What have you with Debbie?" Si Heng asked anxiously.
"Oh nothing much...Just a little poison, not that it would matter anyway...But I've come for you...Miss Isley has had the pleasure of rounding up quite a few others on my invitation list...And now, it's my turn...I personally came...To see you suffer...Now, let's take a look at today's torture toys shall we?" Kisho said with a demented grin on his face.
Kisho whistled to himself as he opened the backpack he was carrying and took out a gun-like device which was connected to his backpack by a flexible pipe. He aimed the nozzle at Si Heng as he took out another similar gun-like device which was also connected to his backpack the same way. Si Heng watched him apprehensively, gears in his head whirling at top speed as he calculated the distance between him and Kisho and the probability of fleeing. And as if he was clairvoyant, Kisho spoke.
"Pardon the pun, but running won't help..." Kisho said in between fits of giggles.
Kisho then looked up at Si Heng, both nozzles aimed at him.
"So...You toyed with me...Being so warm to me for moment...Before switching to a cold, mocking attitude...And then again...And again...No doubt you played a good game of psychology...I thought I had a friend...But no...I saw through your devious deceit...And now, the tables have turned Si Heng...So which will you choose? You wanna be hot? Or cool?" Kisho said dejectedly before beaming at Si Heng again.
"But you were a friend." Si Heng argued.
Kisho's grip around the nozzles tightened as his smile faltered.
"Don't lie!" He hissed, a shadow of doubt flitting across his face.
"I'm not!" Si Heng protested.
"That...That's fear speaking..." Kisho said slowly, barely audible.
Si Heng glanced at the menacing nozzles. One could project a controllable stream of fire of about ten metres while the other nozzle would project a mixture of liquid nitrogen and water instead, effectively freezing the enemy. Si Heng was not aware of this yet. He observed Kisho; he was muttering to himself, evidently distracted. He weighed his options and waited for the right moment. Kisho' eyes darted from left to right and Si Heng chucked the coat at Kisho before he made a beeline for the door. Kisho shot a stream of ignited napalm at the jacket and then turned the stream towards the door. The 800 degrees Celsius stream of ignited liquid destroyed everything it touched as the flames licked the jacket greedily. Si Heng halted abruptly as what seemed like liquid flame splashed a few metres in front of him, a few drops sizzling on his pants as he yelled in agony. And as soon as it came, the pain was suddenly gone. Si Heng looked downwards at his knee, surprised to find his entire leg coated with a thin layer of ice.
"Napalm and nitrogen. Hot and cold. Choose one Si Heng. Or perhaps...I should let you experience both...Like you did to me..." Kisho said as his thumb moved precariously near the trigger.
"You're mad..." Si Heng said as he grimaced, beginning to feel the frostbite on his leg.
"You're right Si Heng...I'm very, very mad...Now...Prepare yourself...For an experience that will drive you to the brink of insanity..." Kisho said with a maniacal laugh, as the thumbs of both his hands moved down towards the trigger.
And the fiery concoction shot out, searing not Si Heng but the sofa a few feet away from him. The ignited napalm ate through the cloth like acid as the fire spread rapidly to other parts of the sofa from the point of contact. The algid mixture that emerged from the other nozzle hit the ceiling light instead, forming a thin coat of ice around the bulb and miniature icicles that hung from it. Kisho was lying on the floor, both gun-like devices knocked from his hand. He looked up vindictively, seeing Haruko standing a few feet away from him in the very same battle stance Si Heng had adopted, just that Haruko's posture was much more well-defined.
"Oneechan...Ogenki desuka?" Kisho asked with a bitter smile.
"Fine thank you." Haruko replied scathingly.
The door opened and Debbie rushed in, flanked by Guo Xin and Howl. Debbie bent over Si Heng, examining his injuries worriedly. Haruko was momentarily distracted by their entrance and Kisho took advantage of this, firing the mixture of liquid nitrogen and water at the trio that had gathered around Si Heng. The frost crept from their legs to their upper body, literally freezing them in their tracks. Haruko reacted quickly and rammed a heel into Kisho's side, but not before her companions were almost fully frozen. Kisho put down the cumbersome backpack which hid the cylinders of propellant gas, napalm, liquid nitrogen and water and massaged his ribs. He smiled as he advanced towards Haruko.
"You're getting better dear sister. A pity you'll be alone..." Kisho said, shaking his head.
"I'm not getting any better. You're just getting weaker." Haruko replied coldly.
"We'll just have to see won't we?" Kisho said, still smiling, before he leaped at Haruko with a lateral flying kick.
Haruko barely dodged the kick in time before blocking a vicious back kick Kisho executed right after he landed. Kisho then rained a flurry of hand strikes and punches on Haruko as she struggled to parry each blow. Haruko then managed to grab Kisho's arm, and using her foot as a pivot, used Kisho's momentum to throw him towards the ground as she executed a circular kick, throwing Kisho off balance. Kisho broke his fall with a front roll, ending it in front of his backpack.
"Seriously getting better." He said as he opened the backpack and whipped out a dark green whip-like vine coated with wooden thorns at least three inches in length.
He swung the vine at Haruko with incredible force and she jumped aside before there was deafening crack as the vine struck the ground. They side-stepped in a circular motion, intense eyes never leaving each other. Haruko had produced a kodachi, a sword resembling a katana but about two feet in length, wielding it defensively in front of her as Kisho swung the vine round and round above his head. Haruko lunged in an attempt at a stab and Kisho leaped away lightly and lashed out with the vine. The vine had coiled around the kodachi and Kisho pulled, trying to yank it out of Haruko's grip. But Haruko held on to the kodachi like some irritating adhesive and swung the sword downwards, cutting the vine into two. Greenish ichor seeped from the freshly sliced ends of the vine. One part was lying on the ground, now defunct, while the other was still held by Kisho. Kisho scowled and threw the vine on the ground.
"Oh Miss Isley is not going to be very pleased!" Kisho snarled.
Kisho lunged at Haruko with his arms outstretched, fingers claw-like with each black fingernail filed to sharp points. Haruko spun around, aiming a circular kick at Kisho's solar plexus. Kisho scratched Haruko's calf as he blocked the kick, leaving behind five bloody gashes.
"Teflon nails. Much stronger than human. And of course, coated with paralyzants." Kisho said as he admired his false fingernails.
"I'm immune." Haruko said flatly as she advanced with a three-finger strike to Kisho's throat.
Kisho blocked the strike without much effort but broke a few nails in the process.
"Oops. Chipped a nail." Kisho said gleefully as he brazenly took a few steps forward while swinging his arms to scratch air in front of him as Haruko retreated.
Kisho then flicked his wrist at Haruko and a few drops of what seemed like water landed on Haruko's clothing and kodachi, corroding the metal and fabric. Haruko flinched as the acid caused her skin to blister.
"Not immune to acid are you? Chipping my nails releases the acid..." Kisho continued as he attempted to claw at her face with the acid at his fingertips.
There was a gunshot and Kisho flew backwards, slamming into a wall. Haruko turned abruptly towards the source of the sound. Guo Xin was holding a pistol in his hand, a trail of smoke rising from the barrel. He looked at Haruko with a concerned expression.
"I didn't hit you did I? I was so afraid he was going to disfigure you..." Guo Xin said as he kept the pistol, in the pocket of his drenched clothing.
The others had started shaking off the ice. Haruko seemed shocked. She looked the figure at the wall. Kisho was still conscious but he was clutching his shoulder as blood flowed out slowly staining the cloth. He was smiling, though he looked pale.
"Oh my god...Guo Xin...You shot him? You shot?" Haruko shrieked with an expression of disbelief.
She was about to go over to Kisho's side to examine his wounds when he spoke again.
"Ha...So I lose this time...Your dear boyfriend shot me huh? I never was a gun person...But you won't get away...Pamela's on her way here...With a special guest..." He murmured before passing out.
Just then, the ground beneath them rumbled as a fissure appeared in the middle of the ground. A sanguine rose ascended from beneath the ground, opening to reveal Pamela, and Frank.
"Well, well, well...Fang, it's time..." Pamela declared.
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