Blind Sided
I scoffed as yet another burly man rushed me. Their footsteps loud and heavy, the vibrations bring light to the darkness. Man, these guys were stupid. It's almost too easy!
I easily moved out of their way, then raised my arms, and with them, a rock wall. I felt the idiots try and bring it down and I let them try.
For about half of a second. Then I punched the air repeatedly, sending rocks flying at the morons in front of it. I felt them hit, the vibrations again bringing light to my world of darkness. I heard the bell ding, and the crowd cheer.
A huge smile spread on my face as I hoisted up the belt. The crowd cheered then silenced. I felt someone walk in, behind me. My grin almost faltered, thinking they might have been cops. But they weren't.
There were twelve of them, all carrying guns and walking heavily. More idiots. I turned around a grin on my face. Fine, more contestants, the more ass-whoopings. There was one that walked in front of the rest, I felt, and he gave me pause. His walk was different, and my power let me see know that he was hunched over and had a knife instead of a gun.
My smile widened, he was facing me.
"Didn't your mama ever tell you not to bring a knife to a gun fight Twinkle-Toes?" I sneered, crossing my arms. He giggled, and the ring master walked in between us.
"Do you want to challenge the Blind Bandit for her title?" He boomed, and my eyes widened. Twinkle-toes, the vibrations allowed me to see, was twirling round his knife, and the heart-beats of the ring master sped up dramatically. The crowd rustled nervously. I decided to intervene, after all the emo/goth ringmaster wasn't about to have all my fun.
"Twinkle-Toes over there wouldn't stand a chance anyway." I jeered, rolling my eyes. The man giggled again, a little louder this time. His thugs shifted nervously.
"What the hell is your problem Giggles, you like people pointing out that you're weak?" I said, my smile huge on my face.
"No, I, uh, just think it's funny that a small girl beat up all these big guys…I mean, what, ah, happened to them?" He giggled, and I became furious.
"Geez Giggles, who'd you learn that from, an old lady? I know street lamps that have better comebacks than you twinkle-toes." I said sarcastically, my smile vanishing. He walked forward and I did too, not willing to back down.
The ring leader grabbed my shoulder though, before I got over to him to give him a piece of my mind.
"Don't do this Max, this guy, he's bad news. I know you're tough but-" He said slowly, before I viciously shook off his arm. All he cared about was that someone might die on his property and he'd have to explain to the cops how it got there.
"You think I can't handle some random bozo cause they have friends with guns? Please, Twinkle-Toes isn't any different than anyone else, so you won't have to worry about your money." I snapped (loudly), and he backed off instantly, grumbling.
"So giggles, you got the cajones to fight me? Or did your old lady bite 'em off?" I taunted, the smile back on my face.
Giggles got closer, and flicked his switchblade open and closed. I didn't like it when people used knives, or the occasional idiot with a gun, in fights. But it was allowed.
"Did you, ah, learn that from your parents, little girl?" He said, giggling. Oh man, he was pissing me off.
"Who you calling little, twinkle-toes? Seems that knife of yours is kinda small." I goaded, and I could feel everyone around us in this shitty warehouse in Gotham tense up.
The crowd laughed at this, and this was one of the few times I wished I could see, so I could see his facial expression.
The laughed ceased, and it was dead silent. Giggles walked closer to me, laughing. My face grew serious and concentrated.
"Feisty, I, uh, like that. I had a wife that-" He began, and as soon as he said wife, the vibrations his body was giving off let me know he was lying.
"That's a lie." I said calmly, the taunt and arrogance gone from my voice. His body tensed up immediately and the air around him became ominous. I grew uneasy.
"Now, sweetheart. WHAT makes you, ah think I'm lying?" His voice became deeper and dangerous. I smiled again, daring him to do something.
"Besides the fact you're lying-? Well I don't know Giggles." I said sarcastically.
I was getting tired of this charade, so facing Giggles, I scrunched up my nose in distaste feeling my long bangs tickle my face as I did.
"If you don't have the balls to fight me, then I'm leaving. My money Sugar-Queen?" I huffed, and the ring master handed me my money, and grumbling at me to stop calling him that.
"Cut your hair and I will." I said, walking off the stage away from the weirdo. I heard mummers from the crowd.
"Joker.."
"You think he'll take us hostage?"
"Lets leave with the bandit, he's obviously not going to mess with her"
I got tired of this, and couldn't pick out my friend Kana and Boomi from the crowd. I huffed, in a real bad mood since giggles rained on my parade.
"MOOSE-BRAIN, SWEET-CHEEKS, WHERE THE HELL ARE YA?" I shouted. I heard their grumbles as they walked towards me.
I heard giggles laugh insanely, then I felt him shoot one of his men. There were screams. Boomi and Kana reached me just in time, I grabbed their arms and ran, pulling them along, fear rising up in me. These guys were my best friends, I wasn't going to let them get hurt.
If it was just me, I would have crushed giggles. But it wasn't. The crowd was still here, not to mention my friends. If I fought, and tried to be a hero, people would get hurt.
People might also find out who I am, and drag me back to my parents.
We ran out, on to the street.
Kana turned to me, (well with Boomi, they were what I call halfway-hugging) and huffed, sticking to her moral high-ground.
"Really Max, you need to be more careful, did you see who that guy was?" She said worriedly.
I pulled down my eyelids in an attempt to remind her I was blind.
"Uh, blind remember? And I don't need to be careful. I got our money, and we're fine. Stop being such a nag." I said defensively. Boomi shifted uneasily.
Boomi and Kana were together. Like permanently. I didn't, and still don't really, believe in that sappy stuff like true love, but these guys proved me wrong.
About when we were all thirteen, I met Boomi and Kana when I ditched my parents. We were traveling and one day I decided to ask Kana what it felt like to be in love (They obviously loved each other and I thought they were together…) well, she flipped out, and interrogated me about whether or not Boomi like her.
Well, he obviously did, getting her flowers and all that sappy crap, so I told her so, and I told her to get a move on because I was tired of listening to them flirt and get into fights when they were jealous.
So finally, after a year and a half, they got together. Now, I'm not about to admit this to anyone, but they belonged together. They really do love each other, and I don't think they'll be splitting up, even if one of them kicks the bucket.
"Yeah Max, I have to agree with Kana, you know your parents will-" He started as we walked.
"Exactly. The key words there are 'you know', so I don't need anyone telling me what I can and can't do! I can take care of myself!" The volume of my words increased as I got angrier. I turned and left them in the street.
"Max!" Kana yelled, but Boomi hushed her.
"She'll be fine, she just needs to cool down." He said softly. I didn't turn back, just kept walking down the street.
I heard the ringmaster's voice and I quickly ducked into an alley and hid.
"That girl's been costing us money." He rumbled, I felt the three idiots I fought earlier there with them.
"What'cha want us to do boss, ya know there's a bounty on her head." One rumbled. HA! Like they could ever dream of catching me.
"Really? For how much?" The ringmaster sounded slimy, like he was planning something. That's funny, the idiot could barely remember his own name, so how could he hope to find a genius like me?
I heard paper rustle. Great, more flyers that I couldn't read.
"Maximille Bei, why hell! Look at her; I never would've guessed she was a spoiled brat. Says here, the rewards $15 million. Guess we do need the Joker's help after all…" He continued. Someone shuffled down the alley. I held my breath, and concentrated on the vibrations, it was Giggles from earlier.
I felt him walk; shuffle, skip. Shuffle, skip. Shuffle. He stopped directly in front of where I was sitting, crouched against the wall.
"Well, well. What, ah, do we have here?" His voice graded into my ears, and I stood up.
"If it isn't Giggles. You're one of the few people that make me wish I was deaf instead of blind." I said annoyed.
A blade was pressed to my throat faster than a bullet. I didn't even feel him tense before he did it. This was not good.
"A low blow Twinkle-Toes." I growled. He laughed, then abruptly stopped.
"Look at me." He said, his voice dark. He made me tense, and scared me just a little. I relaxed, then shrugged determined not to move my eyes towards him.
"What difference would it make if I did?" I retorted sarcastically waving my hand pointedly in front of my face. Geez, it was just everyone's day to forget that I was blind. I felt the ring master move away with his cronies and I relaxed, trying to think out what to do.
Twinkle-Toes was laughing it up. I was getting angry.
"What the hell is your problem?" I snapped. He stopped laughing. Geez, he was an idiot. He grabbed the back of my neck, and pulled me under a street lamp not far away. He pulled my head back by my bun and pushed back my hat.
He laughed again, harder this time. I punched him hard in the gut and he doubled over, still laughing.
"I didn't think, ah, that you were actually blind!" He said pointing the knife at me and gesturing, before he hit me in the face, forcing me back to the wall with the knife again at my throat.
"No shit, you mean to tell me I can't see Twinkle-Toes?!" I said, acting surprised. His laugh darkened, and I was trying to calculate if Twinkle-Toes would be fast enough to slit my throat if I punched him again. He probably could.
"So, ah, what's a niiiicce girl like you doing out here?" He said, almost like he was singing at first, before his voice darkened dramatically. The vibrations he made let me see that he had moved close enough for me to make out his facial features.
I grinned.
"So, what's an annooooying guy like you doing out here?" I asked, gloating. I didn't care if I had a knife to my throat, this guy wasn't going to make me chicken out.
"You're funny. I, uh, like that. So many people in this city are sooo serious." He said, his tone light until the last word. Then it seemed evil, and made me want to get as far away from him as possible.
"So, ah, what's your name beautiful?" He asked, his voice letting me get an even better image of his face as he moved closer. He was handsome, but there was something on his cheeks that blurred.
"What's yours." I said, my tone flat and my grin gone. There road was paved, so I couldn't rip up the earth to smash him. Not that I couldn't rip up pavement, it was just difficult and would require more movement than I was allowed.
Twinkle-Toes was laughing it up again, and the knife tightened against my skin.
"My name is, ah, Joker." He said between laughs, I felt that was a lie. Then it wasn't. His vibrations were giving me mixed signals.
"Great Twinkle-Toes, now can I go?" I snarked. I was getting tired of being pushed around.
"You will when I get your name-ah." He retorted, a glove hand pushing my messy bangs out of my face.
"Max." I said, then stomped hard on his foot. He laughed harder and backed off. I turned and left the alley, him laughing hysterically behind me clutching his sides.
He walked behind me, and I turned around to punch him in the face. He dodged, and I felt the junkies in the alley across the street freeze and shuffle away.
Who the hell was this guy? I felt the unease grow again, this guy was a somebody, a scary somebody. Someone who attracted the attention of Batman most likely.
"Feisty. You don't watch the news do you?" He asked, licking his lips. The sound almost made me flinch.
I crossed my arms and gave him an annoyed look.
"What's the point? Not like I can see it." I said gruffly. He moved close again, and those things on his cheeks piqued my curiosity. I had never encountered those on someone's face before.
"I have a, uh, hunch we'll meet again Max." He said eerily.
"I have a hunch we won't Twinkle-Toes." I said as a badly driven car ripped down the road and stopped for him. He turned and looked at the building I felt the tick from inside the building right before it exploded.
I felt the heat on my face, and numerous things sprinkled down on me, I grabbed one never turning my face away from the building. It felt smooth, like a playing card.
"This is really bad isn't it?" I whispered, sticking the card in my pocket. I ran down the street to my apartment before the cops could show up.
That man, the Joker…He wasn't someone I would ever want to meet again. Shooting his own men dead, blowing up an apartment building. He was the first person to actually scare me.
I shuddered as I ran up the stairs and opened my apartment door throwing the money on the table. I grabbed a blanket out of my bedroom and slept on my floor like I always did. I woke up as Kana knocked on my door. I sat up, my bangs sticking up, and I rubbed the sleep out of my eyes.
"Max! I know you're awake in there, get ready! Boomi and I are taking you out to breakfast!" She called, and my temper flared. I wasn't a morning person.
"Yeah, yeah, Sweet Cheeks. Pipe down, I'll be out in a minute." I yelled. I sat up and changed from my fighting clothes into a sleeveless top, baggy pants and a pair of soulless boots so I could feel the earth beneath my feet to see. I put on my bracelets and hair piece that held my bun in place.
I walked out to find the lovebirds waiting for me.
"Max, when's the last time you bathed?" Kana asked, Boomi looked a little green. I shrugged.
"You've got ash, dirt and blood on you, on your neck. What happened last night?" Boomi asked, and I instantly remembered. I ran inside and grabbed the strange card-thing I got last night. I showed it to Kana.
"What is this?" I asked, and I felt them tense and both of them shook. I noticed they shook as Kana tore the card up and stuffed it in her pocket.
"Max…where did you get that?" She asked. My eyes widened as I looked up at her.
"It's really bad, isn't it?" I asked quietly. I felt her nod her head yes. I gruffly crossed my arms and snorted.
"Come on, stop wimping out on me. I'll tell ya what happened at the restaurant." I said, walking down the stairs with my eyes closed.
We walked down the street, and I noticed people were a lot more tense, and on edge. I heard their whispers.
"Joker…"
"Mob..."
"Batman…"
Kana had her arm looped through mine so she could direct me to the restaurant without any problems.
"So where is this joint anyway?" I asked, my voice rough as she pulled me around. See, the thing is, my powers can help me see, just not like other people. I'm aware of EVERYTHING that gives off vibrations, but in a large crowd, the multiple vibrations jumble. It makes it very hard to "see" the things around me, so Kana usually pulls me along when we're in crowds.
I also had no clue where this breakfast place was, and with my inability to read signs, well…Someone had to pull me along.
She pulled me into a nice looking restaurant, and we sat down in a random booth.
"So, what do they have to eat here?" I asked as a waitress walked up and said-
"Hi, welcome to Willow Creek Diner, what would you like to drink?" She asked, Kana and Boomi ordered tea and I ordered coffee.
"Regular or Decaf?" She asked, and I gave her a look that said "Does it look like I want fucking Decaf to you?".
She laughed nervously at my look, and hurried away to get our drinks. She came back moments later, and set the drink down.
Her face was turned towards me and she seemed to be looking hard at my face. Pretty hard when my bangs hung in my face.
She jerked back some, and her demeanor changed.
"Oh my god, I am so sorry, I didn't know you were blind, let me check to see if we have special menu's-" She started, with the pity party. I damn near spat in her face.
Boomi tensed up, and reached across the table to grab my arm.
"Max, she didn't mean it…calm down. They have your usual here, no worries." He said, his the vibrations his hand and body had allowed me to see his heart felt smile.
"Fine. I want steak and eggs, rare and over-easy with hash browns." I said, my voice clipped and gruff.
A man got up and walked over to our table. Kana gasped, and Boomi smiled his goof smile. The man was nicely dressed, in a suit and expensive shoes that clacked loudly on the floor, giving off enough vibrations for me to make out his cuff-links.
"Hello Mr. Wayne." Kana and Boomi said, I made a growly noise that could be taken as an 'hello' then drank my coffee.
"I couldn't help but notice the commotion and that-" He started, his voice was controlled very well, and he was interrupted by Boomi, who looked nervous.
"Please don't say the b word." He mumbled at suit-boy.
"I was only about to say that you're friend should probably go to the hospital, she looks injured." He finished smoothly, he lied. I felt it.
"Why the lie Suit-Boy?" I said gruffly. I felt his eyes burn into my head, and he tensed.
"Suit-Boy? No one's ever called me that…" He prompted. I snorted.
"Look's like you care more about your suit and shoes than you do anything else." I explained.
"How do you know I'm wearing a suit?" He asked, relaxing and sitting next to me. I scooted over and tried to block out the expressions on Kana and Boomi's faces. With all these people sitting at the table, I could make out everyone's expressions.
"How do you know I'm going to answer that?" I said grinning. He laughed, and the awkwardness passed.
"So, do you have a name?" He asked abruptly during a conversation between all of us that consisted mostly of small talk. He must've meant me, because Kana and Boomi had already given their names.
"Max." I said flatly. I sensed him grin.
"I'm Bruce Wayne, for future reference. It was nice meeting you all." He said elegantly and walked away.
"Bye Suit-Boy." I said and moved over to my original spot in the booth. I was glad he was finally gone, I wanted to find out about Giggles' card.
"Sweet-Cheeks, Moose-Brain; the card?" I prompted, trying to regain their attention.