Heavy dark clouds floated haphazardly above head, covering portions of the night sky and the stars it held. They constantly made the shattered vision of the moon unviewable for moments at a time before becoming visible once more. Silence hung in the balance as the usual noise of the city dimmed. And a very bright reflection shined down from the heavens, moonlight filling the streets.
"Not a particularly perfect night for a robbery, but it'll suffice." Roman Torchwick spoke to himself, leaning against a tall stone brick building. He had his eyes set on a small shop across the street. It was a clothing store that dealt in luxury cloth and designer outfits. There was a very particular hat he had an eye for.
Using a gloved hand, he pushed the tuft of fluorescent orange hair from in front of his right eye. The last person had just left the joint, meaning that it was all his. He had a backup force waiting around the corner in case things went south. He didn't want things to end up that way, but being a crook, he often didn't have a choice for how a casing ended. The streets were formally empty. Now it was his time.
Torchwick crossed the road, briefly illuminated in the street lamp's light. The small shop was nestled between two rather large old buildings. It had a plain façade, blending in with the scenery. However, it boasted quality over all else. It offered a great opportunity for a criminal with low security. Torchwick knew exactly how he was going to steal what he wanted.
He burst into the storefront, stomping his Melodic Cudgel flat down on the floor. It grabbed the owner's attention, a gruff but younger man behind a hardwood counter.
"Sorry, but we're about to close." He nearly growled at Torchwick, clearly annoyed by his customer's insolent timing.
"Now that's no way to treat a potential customer." Torchwick reached into his white jacket and pulled from an inside pocket a large sum of Lien. He waved it playfully before continuing.
"I'll only be a few moments." He put on a friendly expression before putting the money away and circling around to face the section stocked with hats. He strolled forward and picked up a black bowler with a red stripe across the middle and a replica Nevermore feather perched on the side. He twirled it around a few times before being snapped at by the owner to stop playing with the merchandise.
"I'm merely testing the quality of your product. You do have quite a reputation for having the best around, am I wrong?" Torchwick replied with a usual snarky tone.
"That gives you no right to spin my hats around!" The owner yelled back, his annoyance turning to anger.
"Calm down, it's late at night and people are trying to sleep. Don't you know it's rude to yell?" Torchwick smirked and raised Melodic Cudgel, the bottom cap flipping open menacingly. The owner of the store raised his arms in fright, both surprised at the sudden weapon and scared for his life.
"I'm going to take a little look around and whatever I want, I'm going to take. You're going to call the police, or the huntsmen, or whatever you think can protect you. Then I'm going to escape without a trace with my new merchandise. Sound like a plan?" Torchwick sarcastically threatened, placing the bowler on his head with his free hand gracefully. He kept his cane focused on the store owner while making his way to the other side of the shop, a section stocked with various weaponry and household objects. The first thing he picked up was at first seemingly just a parasol. Upon closer examination, he found that the parasol shadowed a thin blade concealed in the shaft.
"Waoh-oh, this is certainly something." Torchwick commented on. Even though he kept his cane aimed at the store owner, once his eyes left the hostage, he made a mad dash for the counter and quickly dialed the emergency number. A high pitched noise rang throughout the small establishment. Torchwick scowled, clutching the parasol weapon and his own cane.
"Why must I become so easily distracted?!" He rhetorically asked the store owner, who was attempting to rush into the backroom. The last thing Torchwick saw was a tub of Neapolitan ice cream sitting beside the cash register. It seemed out of place to him. Regardless, he pulled the trigger of his cane and launched a bullet of fiery dust-infused hell towards the counter, shattering the cheaply made furniture in a storm of wooden shards. Torchwick turned tail and shattered the glass front door with a powerful kick. He figured he had about two minutes before authorities arrived.
He knew his boys would cover his escape and clean the store before the cops would reach their destination. All he had to do was run. He made a right turn and dashed down the sidewalk, encountering no civilians. Witnesses only made things much more difficult and he preferred none or little. He was lucky this time. He reached a dark alleyway and ducked inside, keeping himself out of sight. In the near distance, a wailing siren erupted and as he looked over his shoulder, he saw the emergency vehicles drive past his alleyway.
"Perfect." Torchwick smiled to himself, leaning against the closest building. The alley itself was somewhat large. It had narrow entrances on either side, but the buildings that formed the alley indented to provide an excellent hiding place. Torchwick placed his cane and the parasol weapon against the building, instinctively pulling out a cigar and his lighter. He felt proud to have pulled off a great escape, and even taking something with him. He lit up the cigar and took a drag off of it, putting his lighter away and revelling in his pride.
A sudden noise pulled him out of his ecstasy. Thunder. He looked up to see dark clouds pushing themselves together and blocking out the stars and moon.
"Well isn't that just great. If it starts raining and my eyeliner gets ruined-!" Torchwick started raising his voice towards the sky, cutting himself off as he remembered what he bore atop his hair. He quickly lowered his head and smirked at his good fortune, dropping his cigar and smashing it with designer shoes. As he lowered his head however, he noticed something, or rather someone, huddled across the alleyway. Torchwick started to cautiously approached the other end, realizing that it was a person attempting to take shelter from the oncoming rain. Humidity stained the air, warning the duo of the impending storm.
"Excuse me, are you homeless?" Torchwick waves towards the other individual. Their back was turned to him, and they didn't seem to hear him. He rolled his eyes and walked closer.
"If you have at least one ear, I'm fairly certain you can hear-" Torchwick froze in place as the other person turned around. It was a girl, and even more so, a young girl. She couldn't have been older than thirteen. She wore a drab brown outfit and had dark brunette hair. But what struck Torchwick as her most impressive trait were her eyes. One was light pink while the other matched her hair with a hazel tint. She had a dollish face and frail stature.
"Who left you here all by yourself? Who would do such a thing?" Torchwick questioned, watching her squirm. She seemed uncomfortable with speaking to strangers.
"I'm not going to hurt you." He told her in a calmer and friendlier voice. She still remained silent. She just stared into his emerald eyes, admiring his heavy eye liner.
"If it's food or something you want, I'm empty-handed." He replied, putting his hands on his hips and thinking that she wanted something from him. Her attention turned from him to what was behind him. Torchwick looked over his shoulder to see what she was admiring.
"Oh those! See, that cane is mine. Personal favorite, actually. It's also a gun, if you must know. And no, I'm not an old man." His glamorous tone and joking mannerisms made the girl giggle slightly. She pointed at the parasol and looked up at Torchwick.
"Ah, funny story about that one. A nice young man at a store nearby let me borrow it in exchange for, well, nothing. Let's just leave it at that." He wasn't comfortable with releasing the details of the recents heist to strangers. The girl switched her full attention back to Torchwick. He tilted his head, feeling the tuft of hair returning to his spot in front of his eye.
"You really don't talk much, do you? Would you mind telling me your name?" He genuinely asked. The girl blinked a few times and picked up a stick from close by. She squatted in the dirt and began writing a few words upside down so that the stranger could read them. He patiently waited until every word was neatly carved out. Even though it was misspelled, most likely due to a huge lack of education, he could still read it.
"'I don't have one'. Hm, everyone has a name. How about I give you one?" As soon as he suggested it, the girl quickly nodded in agreement. Torchwick put a finger on his chin and began to think of what the girl reminded him of. Lightish pink eye, with a chocolate second eye color. Her skin was fairly light as well. Torchwick's attention returned to the out-of-place tub of ice cream in the store he was just in.
"Neo!" He called out, placing a gloved hand on the girl's head. She looked up in adoration, memorizing the new name she had been given.
"I suppose I can't leave you out here like this. Would you like to come with me?" Neo nodded again, even quicker than before. She was odd girl, seemingly voiceless, but at least she was friendly.
"Well I don't see a reason why not. Do me a favor and pick up the parasol over yonder. Oh! And fetch me my cane as well." Neo obliged, following the orders she had been given. This strange man was like a blessing, coming from nowhere to rescue her. She decided that she would do whatever she could to keep him happy.
"The name is Roman Torchwick. At your service. I've always wanted a daughter." He told her as he took his cane from her small hand. She held onto the parasol, swinging it over her shoulder to balance it.
"Careful now! I've found that it conceals a blade. Whoever designed that was a sneaky but clever bastard." Torchwick warned Neo, watching her swivel the pink weapon around in her hands. She had a certain glare in her eyes that reminded Torchwick of the psychotic sort.
"One last thing. You don't speak much?" He worded it in the form of a question, wanting to know where her lack of speech stemmed from. She simply pointed to her throat and shook her head.
"Ah. Well it doesn't matter. I'll just do the talking for the both of us. And you! You'll make an excellent mute sidekick." Torchwick commented, watching her smirk with happiness. He led her out of the alley and towards where his ride was waiting. He planned on taking her with him to his hideout and hiring her into his ranks. Not just as a criminal, but as his newly adopted daughter. Before he stepped into his escort, he pondered what life would be like with this new girl around.