I'm not like them

   “Well, ..yeah?  ish?  Most of the times, at least.  It depends on the situation and where I am.  For example, yesterday, in my cell..  I saw and was talking to my sister. And, well that makes it pretty damn obvious for me that she wasn’t real.  There’s no way that she could’ve been, so..   but then there’s these times when I’m walking down the streets and Mark is just randomly walking beside me, talking to me. It’s so real and then the next second he’s gone.”

   He started chewing on his tongue as he looked at something behind Lucy in a corner, but then blinked and kept his eyes on her instead. 

  A shrug.  “I dunno.. I would probably do the same if I were them. I mean, what is there to like about me, anyway?~  …They’re just acting up, to not make me realize and get sad, maybe?” 

   Axel sank down a bit on the chair and leaned his head backwards, eyes fixed on the ceiling.    “Pfhh.. yeah, Why don’t I care..?   Probably because.. there’s two that’s keeping me alive, that’s making me keep going..  One of them doesn’t care what happens to me, so why should I?  And the other one, needs me. She needs a brother to look after her and cheer for her..   If I hadn’t had her then..    I’ve been very close to have been selfish many many times, but then I’ve thought of him and her and I’ve backed off,   for later..” he licked his lip and bit it slightly before letting out a weak chuckle.     “Last time, I was insanely close to just drive off into the blue– but Flash started running after me because I was ‘driving too fast in the city and could hurt civilians’ n’ shit.. so,  once again; Flash saves the day..!~”

“There’s plenty of things to like about you. Just because you don’t see them doesn’t mean they aren’t there. I’m sure they aren’t faking. And if you still really don’t believe that then maybe the next time you see these people why not just ask them if they’re acting? It’s better to know than not.”

Listening, Lucy bit her lip.  “I’m sure there are more people who would be truly saddened if not devastated if you died, Axel. But that can’t be your only reason for not going through with it. You need to think of some reasons you want to stay alive. Not for others for you. Whether it’s for eating a favorite food or doing something you like, you should try to come up with at least ten reasons. I think you could do it.”

“Even the happiest of people can have bad days. The problems show up when people don’t allow themselves to have bad days. Bottling up things like anger, sadness, and nerves, can cause a volcano later or worse, just make no feeling at all.” And experience had taught that not feeling anything at all was a lot worse than having a meltdown.

Lucy bit her lip and tilted her head curiously. “How do you know they are faking?”

Reckless driving was pretty common in Gotham but not caring about the possible consequences was not a good thing. Once you didn’t care about dying, sometimes you started rationalizing that it was better than living.

She worked with a lot of those ‘idiotic assholes’. Most of them did more damage than help.

Grabbing a paperclip off her desk, Lucy rolled the her chair back forward to Axel. Quickly picking the handcuff and ankle chains off, Lucy pressed a finger to her lips. “I have a theory about people. Sometimes good people can do bad things, and sometimes bad people can be kind. You weren’t doing anything bad, so why bother calling someone?“

“There are easier ways to visit. Tell me you didn’t have that stupid fake badge on you when they brought you in.” She smirked as she sat down on the chair across from him.

“I grew up in Central. I’m gonna recognize one of my rogues when I see ‘em. I just thought I’d be cool to talk with you for a bit. Besides, you guys aren’t really considered ‘dangerous’ by Gotham’s standards.” It took a lot to be considered ‘dangerous’ in Gotham. The city’s rogues set the bar pretty high.

Begin at the beginning, and go on till you come to the end: then stop.

“Frankly, I don’t believe there to be a problem at all,” he spluttered, hands folding and unfolding in his lap. “Ah, but I suppose that, in itself, is the problem. ‘You must be––’ (Mad, that is.) ‘Or else you wouldn’t have come here.’ “