Authors Note: As much as I love the Joker, I got tried of seeing so many Titan fictions with him in it. So, without further ado, a story with the Ventriloquist in it! He's my favourite Batman villain. Enjoy!
Summary: The Ventriloquist is on a much needed vacation, far away from Scarface. It looks like everything's going well. That is, until Puppet King comes into the picture…
Timeline: Set during Season Two – just before Betrayal
Dummies
Chapter One
Arnold slowly wound the flimsy cloth around his hands, trying to find something to replace the empty feeling that surrounded him. They'd taken him away, he remembered them saying something about wanting Arnold to start a new life – but Arnold couldn't do that. As he thought about it, he could never really remember a time he'd been without Scarface. Gazing around the cell, he pushed his glasses up and tried to think.
It didn't help much.
Seven or eight, he declared to himself. He still remembered very clearly his father giving him the puppet not long after his mother's death. Arnold knew that his father probably thought it was a kind gesture, but then again, his father was a mafia boss and killed a total of twenty eight people each day – so kind wasn't really in his vocabulary. But, he did find solace in the small wooden toy that sat by his by his bedside. Grinning – like only a madman could – he remembered the day he spent learning how to become a ventriloquist with one of his fathers friends.
Unfortunately, the man had been shot in one of Gotham's many gang wars only weeks after he started teaching Arnold. After that, Arnold had tried learning on his own, but that failed miserably. The only sounds his friend had taught him were deep grunts and low growls. So, to his father's anger, the empty house was filled with echoes of grunting socks and growling gloves (the only things he could get his hands on)
Over time, he learned to manipulate the grunts into his voice and within months he had successfully created a voice for his unique puppet. Gruff and uneven, it held all the charm of a 1920's mafia overlord. Dressed in heavy pin-stripped cloth and bearing a scar down its left eye the voice he had made was perfect for his small wooden gangster.
The years ticked slowly by and as the puppets personality grew stronger, Arnold's soon began to fade away. His father had always been slightly puzzled at his attachment to the dummy, but was even more confused when Arnold began insulting himself through the dolls painted mouth. Still, with all the recent wars going on underneath Gotham's surface, he had simply no time to tend to his only heir. So as Arnold got older he started to rely on Scarface (as his Uncle had taken to calling him) to do all the talking.
When he was around twenty years old, Arnold committed his first big crime. She was beautiful in his eyes – but not in her husbands. Wonderful to him, a nuisance to her lover. And yet, she was foolish in both their eyes. Even with all the donations from the Wayne family, the streets of Gotham were still pools of crime and devastation – and the people of Gotham knew that well.
He'd followed her footsteps down the dingy alleyway and waited until she stopped for a gasp of air. That's when he struck. Living in a spacious mansion all his life had done nothing to help Arnold's way with woman. To him, this was the way you treated a lady when you met her – it was something his father had taught him at a young age. Although, now he knew that pinning a lady up against a wall and forcing your lips onto hers were not the best way to start a beautiful relationship.
Still, she seemed to be enjoying it so he kept at it. It was only when he moved away for air that he realised she wasn't best pleased. Apparently, she thought he was her husband, come to win her back. She wasn't expecting a lumpy ageing man with a puppet on his arm. Whatever happened next was a blur to Arnold. When he awoke he was back at the house, wiping blood off his hands and refilling Scarface's unloaded gun.
Sliding his finger underneath his spectacles, Arnold look up at the giant clock. Sighing, he noted that he had only wasted fifteen minutes with his escapades. Re-wrapping the cloth, he glanced at the petite secretary who kept giving him strange looks.
"Mr. Wesker." Arnold turned at the new voice, "You're ride is ready now."
The thirty five year old nodded and stood, allowing himself to be handcuffed and taken into the flashing police car. As he was pushed into the back roughly, he caught a few snippets of the officer's conversation.
"Jump City….Titans….Safe…..Puppet King?...Taken Care Of…."
Bending his head carefully, he mused over the name that he was sure would of rolled off his tongue easily if he had the nerve to speak. Puppet King.
--
"Alright dudes and dudettes! The waters cold and there's enough Tofu Dogs for everyone!"
"Yuck, why would anyone wanna eat your Tofu Dogs? They all want some of my burgers! Meats the only way to go grass stain!"
The sun was just beginning to burn more brightly as once again another famous 'Meat vs. Tofu' argument broke out.
"Tofu!"
"Meat!"
The two people responsible for this argument were none other than Cyborg and Beast Boy – just a few of Jump Cities many heroes. The rest of the team were sitting round a burnt out barbecue and were happily chewing on some of the many treats they had brought out from the tower.
"These candies are most enjoyable with mustard friend Robin. Are you most certain you do not wish to sample them?" Starfire held out the remains of what used to be a toffee centred sweet.
Robin gulped and gently pushed the food away, carefully so he didn't stain his gloves. "Uh…No thanks Star, I'm pretty full up right now."
The alien pouted and moved onto her next victim. "Perhaps you may wish to join in with me in devouring these delicacies Terra?"
Terra's eyebrows shot up and she backed away slowly, "that's alright Starfire, you keep them for yourself." She may have eaten Starfire's Glorg but she drew the line at anything mustard flavoured.
"Tofu!"
"Meat!"
"Would you two shut up? You're giving me a headache!" Raven growled and flicked another page of her boo angrily.
Pausing for a moment, Cyborg put a hand to his chin, "Now we don't want that," he started, earning a glare from Raven.
"Ok," he declared suddenly, "Let's have a vote, anyone who wants Tofu Dogs raise their hands."
The silence was deadly and the Titans swore they could hear a few crickets chirp. Beast Boy sweat dropped and groaned.
"C'mon dudes! You said you loved my Tofu Dogs!"
"You also forget we said we loved that mould in the fridge."
Raven remark caused Beast Boy to sigh heavily. "What about you Terra?"
Terra blushed as the rest of the group turned to her. "Well…You see….The thing is…." She trailed off. "Who wants more mustard?"
Cyborg laughed, "See BB! Even you're girlfriend doesn't agree with you!"
It was now Beats Boy's turn to blush. "I-I...Don't know what you mean! We're not dating!"
The rest of the group laughed.
Raven smiled. "That's like saying Robin and Starfire aren't madly in love with each other."
The laughter was directed away from the changeling and onto the two blushing teenagers sat either side of Terra.
"Alright, alright, funs over guys," the rest of the laughter calmed down and they all sat down, biting into the juicy burgers Cyborg had provided (Well, Beast Boy tucked into a Tofu Dog but nobody really cared anymore)
"Aaah," Cyborg started, "A beautiful start to a beautiful summer."
"And here's hoping it stays this way," Robin leaned back, "We're not likely to get anymore days like this now that more villains keep coming here."
Beast Boy nodded, but instead of carrying on the conversation, created a new one. "What about Puppet King? Why did the police ask for him? I mean, it's not like he's been causing any harm."
The teenagers sat puzzled, their food forgotten.
"I don't know," Robin began, "But whatever it is it's all a bit confusing."
Starfire nodded, "Yes, why now? Why not earlier or after? What is important about this very week?"
"Not a clue," Cyborg put his spatula down.
Terra just shook her head, "Me neither."
Raven didn't say anything and instead returned to her romance novel.
"Chill dudes! It's nothing to worry about. The dudes just probably want to update their files and need Puppet King for that. I'm sure it's nothing serious. If it was, they would have told us about it!"
The Titans grinned, happy with Beast Boy's answer. He grinned smugly and settled himself down next to Terra.
"I so rock."
--
Authors Note: Hope you enjoyed the first chapter. Crits will be welcomed. Feedback would be loved!