Time Flies by When You're in a Madhouse

Victory with a Pinch of Salt

The radios where back in the asylums control, survivors were called, the ones that were still in Arkham East and North were told to stay put as no one knew if it was entirely safe to walk to different areas of the asylum. However while police cars, boats and helicopters were called to head over to the asylum Cash had brought over some people and the Doctors from inside the Medical building had also joined.

Each colleague of the asylum embraced one and other with tight hugs, and silent sobbing. Cash nodded at Batman and congratulated him on defeating the Joker then turned to Filly and without warning pulled her into a suffocating hug. "Need to breathe Cash." She heard him chuckle and he released her from his tight grip.

From the corner of his eye she noticed a tear ready to leap and roll down his cheek but Filly pretended not to notice, "I'm glad you're alive sweetpea."

She smiled at him and was about to return the hug but Gordon had finished with his call and turned towards Filly and pointed his finger straight at her, "You" he quietly spoke,"I want a word with you."

Batman put his hand on the commissioners shoulder trying to keep him back but Gordon shook it off and approached her. She swallowed the lump in her throat and stared up at him, he could be intimidating when he wanted to but his body language relaxed then he gave a little quiet, tired sigh.

"Thank you," he held out his hand for her to shake, she took it then Gordon added, "But this doesn't mean I trust you completely."

"Understood sir." And she did. There had been many points during the night where it seemed that she was with the Joker and not the Batman, it must had really confused him but her attempt to rescue him gave him his answer even if he wasn't entirely convinced.

The ambulance crew were the first to arrive, they quickly saw to the other Doctors who were still in shock. Filly's wound had took longer to heal that expected but the bleeding had stopped though she forgot that her blouse was completely soaked, the medics rushed to her side and removed the shirt, she tried her hardest not to burst out laughing when she saw their faces. They gave her a blanket to wrap around herself with but her cheeks were blooming red at the cold wind beating against her, she quickly checked out the small guard huts and found a navy shirt and a strong Arkham waistcoat. The shirt wasn't a perfect fit but it would do and the waistcoat was a lot heavier than she expected; returning to the group the doors to the visiting centre started to creak, Cash and a few other fit guards ran over, guns pointing at the doors ordering all those inside to walk out slowly hands in front of them. The Jokers goons obeyed the orders knowing that the battle had been won, they were lined in three rows and waited until reinforcement police vans turned up.

Soon enough dozens of riot vans and police cars turned up along with a few more medical crews, Gordon order his men to scout this section of the island first and to try and figure out how many casualties there had been, so huge groups of police and doctors split up and headed into the Visiting Centre, the Medical Building and the Penitentiary, and the goons from before where taken and placed in the secure police vans.

Aaron Cash stood with the survivors, numbers of tonight's body count kept climbing one after one stretchers came out from all the asylum buildings with sheets covering the dead. Filly's smile was gone and replaced with a sort of defeated expression. The Joker had been stopped, the inmates back in their cells and the blackgate prisoners on their way to another secured location, it would have been such a grand victory but the deaths of good people weighed everything down.

"Don't beat yourself up," Aaron stood beside her and hugged her shoulder, "You and Batman saved us."

She looked up at him and recognised the same feelings she had, he hid it much better than her. Aaron watched with her as the final body came out of the Medical building, he sniffed keeping his barriers up. "It's not your fault Cash."