CHAPTER ONE: EYE OF THE DRAGON
Leaning on the rusted rail of the apartment balcony in the Amusement Mile area of Gotham City, I gazed down at the cracked sidewalks and street ten stories down. My pixie short, black hair waved in the wind, tickling my forehead. Looking up to the sky, I saw another storm was coming. The clouds were dark grey with a blue tone over the river in the distance… like my eyes. The sun rarely graced Gotham with its presence with the pollution mixing with the cold fronts. Fine with me. I don't like the sun. It blinds you and made things hot. I am content to wear a black t-shirt and cargo pants in weather like this.
I gazed back down to the sidewalk below.
Looking down is always such a funny sensation. I always imagined what it would be like to fall-to imagine the trajectory... If you spin or tumble in the air- maybe hit a bird or a person or something. At first you think it would be like a dream fall where you are just dazed to be in the dream, but in reality your whole body would be clenched. I personally would in all likelihood scream the whole way down. It's not because of the fall itself, really it's just the tensing reaction of your entire being that's very uncomfortable... that roller coaster drop that usually ends with a splat on the ground. Splat is probably putting it kindly in terms of noises that our anatomy makes... It's probably more like a crunch of a spider... except with more blood.
Someone touched my shoulder suddenly, making me jump. "You gonna fly, Meredith?" Mark asked with his deep voice, chuckling.
"Only in my dreams," I said, smirking while standing up to look at him.
Mark was so tall that he had to duck under the doorway of the balcony so it didn't mess up his spiky blue hair. His Asian, possibly Japanese, heritage showed in his round face and slightly narrow, brown eyes that sparkled in the light. Most of the time, he wore a brown jacket with several pockets inside and outside. He was somewhere in his thirties, and I was 23. That mischievous smile of his was such a wonderful smile.
"Come on inside, Kiddo. We got something for ya'." He put his arm around me and steered me back inside where the rest of the Drifter gang was. Lucyfer and Tim were gathered around the kitchen island in the shabby, studio apartment, the kind of temporary base we used for planning heists.
Lucyfer was the small and thin metalhead with long blonde hair, red highlights, and a fuck you attitude. Her brown eyes, shrouded in black makeup, held me in their gaze as I entered. Her bright red lipstick brought attention to her thin lips that were occasionally held in a firm line. Her R.I.P. DREAMS band t-shirt was a bit worn but still legible. She worked most deals with fences and anyone that wanted to give us a job. Whatever she said, you better do it. In her downtime, she would shred her black, bass guitar that was sitting in the corner of the living area.
"Hey, Mere," said Lucyfer, wearing her resting bitch face. Not that she's an all-out bitch. She's cool, but she has a hardened face that tough people sometimes have. She was older than me but younger than Mark, and she had all our respect.
Tim also looked serious, but that was also just Tim in general. He was a little taller than Lucyfer, but nowhere near as tall as the almost mountainous Mark. His eyes were a magnificent green and he had no hair other than his silvered goatee. We didn't know much about him since he didn't talk. I just know that Tim had extremely amazing ninja skills and had to be in his forties. He's an expert climber and fighter and a paragon of silence. When he wasn't working, he was drawing in his little notepad that he kept in his pocket. You couldn't really tell what race he was exactly, so you kind of just assume he's American.
"What's up?" I replied to Lucyfer.
"We got a little job for you, Mere." Lucyfer showed me a email on her black laptop that was from a contact called Ollie. I hadn't met her yet, but she was Lucyfer's hacker friend that would send us schematics on places we were casing for heists. Ollie had sent a newspaper clipping of the Pinkney Museum's hottest addition,"The Dragon's Eye Ruby".
I looked up to Lucyfer, Mark, and Tim. "You... want me to scout out the Pinkney Museum for the Dragon's Eye?" I asked.
"We want you to steal it... this week," said Lucyfer with a red smirk.
I chuckled nervously. "Uhh...you want me to steal a priceless gem from the Pinkney Museum that's owned by The Penguin who sells us all our black market stuff and fences our loot in Gotham-and brutally tortures and murders anyone who tries to steal from him? Do I have this right?"
"Yeah," said Lucyfer, with a nod.
"Okay, then," I said, scratching my neck.
"We all like you, Kid. I had my doubts when Mark picked you off the street a few months back-you were nothing but rags and quivering silence-but so was Tim when Mark picked him up. You got guts, smarts, great music taste... You're loyal and armed to the goddamn teeth-but you can't ride bitch forever. I'm ready to burn the bridge between us and that birdy bastard who has been shitting all over us. We'll be moving on from Gotham in about a month, and someone wants the Dragon's Eye ruby pretty bad... enough to offer 10 million euros, which is also 14 million American dollars. You either get the ruby or you're out. Prove your salt... And you get 70%."
"Wow," I said, feeling a bit overwhelmed. I looked down at the island's counter surface.
One. My cut was usually 25%. Two. Penguin will rip me apart if I'm caught. Three. Most importantly, these people were my only friends in the world. They saved me from the streets. Without them, I would be right back in that hell… alone with the self-hatred.
"You can do it," said Mark, smiling softly. "You can still talk schematics with Ollie so you can plan something out. Your money is still your money. You just have to walk in that museum alone... and come out victorious with the Dragon's Eye."
"Okay." I sighed. "Can we go now?"
"Yeah, that should be fine," said Lucyfer. "I'll shoot Ollie an email. Good luck." She walked over to her laptop and her phone rang. "What?... Stop calling me. Dammit, I'm busy!" She typed into her laptop and kept talking on the phone quietly.
Tim gazed at me silently with those aging, green eyes for a moment before he pulled out his little notepad and started drawing in it.
"Grab your jacket and a helmet," said Mark, heading toward the door.
I picked my dark blue jacket and helmet from the couch. We headed down ten flights of stairs.
"Penguin is going to scream for your head," Mark said, winking at me with his long, black lashes.
"I bet," I said, grimly.
"But he won't get it-anymore than he'll get the Batman's head."
I shuddered. "When you say that, I immediately imagine him sucking the eyeballs out for some reason."
"Mmm... good eating."
I chuckled. "Gross."
"Well, it must be if they're the first things to go on a carcass."
"I suppose."
He stopped on the fifth floor. "Hey," Mark said to me, looking a little serious.
"What?"
"You got this." He punched my arm.
"Yeah," I said frowning.
"You got this." He punched other arm again.
"Ow," I said, a little amused yet frowning.
"You got this." He poked the spot around my heart. "And this." He poked my forehead. "All of those are amazing and helped us solve so many problems. Remember Christmas Bonus?"
"When we took a donation from that slimy Gothcorp CEO?" I kept walking downstairs.
"Yeah. We lost our vehicle to some car thief?"
"Ugh."
"The cops were coming in. You spotted a snow plow, got him to pull over, and we borrowed his vehicle, leaving him passed out in the passenger seat. Police didn't notice shit until we got away with it."
We chuckled.
"Even managed to give the ol' Bat a slip, too," he added.
I smirked but it faded. "Yeah." Batman will catch up to us if we stay in this city too long... He is the world's greatest detective... and we're a somewhat notorious, small gang of thieves... Sigh... If you knew half the things I knew, Mark.
"You worried about the Bat, then?" He asked.
"Eh," I said with a shrug. "It's whatever, Mark. I'm not backing out of this... You guys are all the family I have-I'd still be in the gutter if it wasn't for you."
"Maybe... especially with the way this city has treated you," said Mark bitterly.
"Yeah," I murmured.
"You still haven't told me about what happened-not that you need to... You always seem to be thinking a lot. If you need someone to listen, let me know, okay?"
"Thanks... I suppose I could tell you I spent time at... Arkham Asylum before the streets. I was very depressed."
"Why?"
"Felt like I was pretty worthless and that no one wanted me around. It's been in my life for a long time."
"Well, you've been pretty far from worthless as long as I've known you. You were so willing to be helpful with the heists-even so far as to tackle a stray guard before he set off the alarm. You always got some good suggestions for problems we have on the road. It's hard to imagine how we got along without you."
That warmed my heart. "Thanks, Mark."
"You're very welcome, Meredith." We reached the ground floor and stepped out the door to head to the parking garage.
"So, meet any of those Arkham celebrities?" He asked, smirking.
"Not really. Those guys were in wards with extreme security while I was in general population of criminal crazies. I suppose at one point, I got in some trouble and caught a glimpse of Killer Croc in Intensive Treatment."
"He isn't really... a giant crocodile man that eats people, right?" Mark asked. "I sometimes don't know when you Gothamites are joking."
"He is," I said with a nod. "He's like twelve feet tall, covered in green, alligator-like scales, buff as hell, sharp teeth, bright yellow eyes... They keep a shock collar on him because he's too big to subdue. Since there's no cell strong enough to hold him, they keep him down in a closed-off section of the sewers. They drop meat down there every few days. As for eating people, there's a guard there named Cash who handled Croc. In the early days, Killer Croc bit his hand off."
"You're shitting me." He got on his motorcycle.
I got on behind him. "No. Dead serious. He's got a hook hand now."
He chuckled. "Pfft. Come on. Like Captain Hook?"
"I'm not kidding. He eats people-completely embraces being the monster he looks like. Even says," I leaned in to whisper, "'tick, tock, tick, tock, time to feed the croc.'"
"Uuuugh." He shuddered and put on his helmet. I followed suit and we headed to the suburbs a little outside of Gotham. It was a nice drive, even with the bits of rain.
We stopped at Ollie's blue house that was tucked in a hidden path. He parked the bike outside, left his helmet on the handlebar, and shook his spiky, blue hair out. I took my helmet off as well before we walked around the back to find the basement door. It had a mounted camera and the door was heavy duty to say the least.
Mark looked to me. "She's paranoid, so don't touch anything she doesn't say to touch."
"Okay."
"Come in, Mark," a low female voice spoke from an intercom.
"Oh," said Mark, surprised.
There was a buzzing noise and Mark opened the door.
We stepped inside and there was a strong smell of incense. ... possibly lavender... also a hint of some smoked tobacco... maybe some weed. There were various monitors, drives and tech equipment set up all around on lab tables that reminded me of school. There was even a copier/fax machine-the kind you see in offices. The floor was some orange 70's tile and the walls were definitely tan and orange 70's wallpaper. Although, you couldn't see a ton of the wall paper with all the cords intricately secured to the walls. Any bare spots were covered with various music and movie posters including "The Terror" starring Basil Karlo (known these days as Clayface). The room was like a heavy entertainment basement with a cushy-looking hammock on a stand in the corner. Techno music was playing at a moderate level from the speakers set up in the corners of the ceiling
Mark and I walked up to Ollie and waited while she messed around on the computer.
After about a minute, she stopped to look at me with her hazel eyes and frowned. "I know you." Her voice was fairly monotone and low.
I frowned.
"University?"
"Never been," I said.
"Asylum or Blackgate?"
"I've been to both. Blackgate for theft and battery... Asylum for severe depression and my time was extended after I beat up Dr. Giovanni-"
"-Dr. Date-Rape. Right! I was there, too, but I never dealt with Dr. Date-Rape personally when I was in the asylum. I did run into Dr. Scarecrow though, years back when he still had his license."
"Yikes."
She looked back to her computer. "Yep. Can't leave my house for shit anymore."
"Oh, I'm sorry."
"Not as sorry as he's going to be. Gonna fuck him up as soon as I figure out where he lives. But he's always moving." She shook her head, making her pink curls bounce
That didn't click in my brain.
"How are you gonna screw him up if you're too scared to leave the house?" Mark asked, also confused.
"I'll mail him a nail bomb or something," said Ollie, looking back to her computer. "Like my last landlord. Results were fantastic. Have a seat." She indicated to chairs in front of the projector. "Hubris, lights at half," she said, clearly.
Mark and I sat down and the lights automatically dimmed.
"You don't remember me?" Ollie asked.
"Can't say I do," I said. "I'm sorry."
"You say 'I'm sorry' too much. And probably because you had the fuck-me drugs... Dr. Date-Rape's dead right?"
"Stone cold," I said flatly. You are painfully blunt...
"Hmm, last time I was in there, I had Dr. Gretchen Whistler. Wasn't too bad for being a stiff bat." She imitated Dr. Whistler's German accent. "'That's a very pessimistic way of thinking, Ollie.'"
Ollie turned on the projector. "Well, anyway, let me show you what I gathered." She showed a map of the Pinkney museum with different colored markings. There were a lot of red ones along the halls, four big blue squares, and yellow lines.
She stepped up to the white board. "Okay, the red ones are all the cameras, blue squares are security desks, yellow are the ventilation ducts. During the museum hours of 9-5, Mondays through Saturdays, there are ten security guards/thugs, and during closed hours there are thirty thugs because of robbery possibilities and Iceberg Lounge is usually open. The Lounge is the major money maker of that place because rich people like to blow their money on being rich-museum entry is like five bucks. If you go during the day, you're more likely to be spotted but less likely to be murdered viciously on the spot. If you go at closed time, there are more thugs that might not be following a proper patrol or paying attention."
"Is there a lost and found?" I asked.
She blinked and stared at me. "Why?"
"If a lost item is left at the desk and not thrown out instantly, that could be used as a distraction if I wait to detonate at night."
"Hmm." She considered this. "Not a bad idea... As long you can get through the glass without setting off an alarm. Hell, the instant a guard senses something off-alarm goes off, security gates dropped. Museum lockdown until perpetrator is found. You would have a maximum of ten seconds to get out of that room with the ruby."
"Hmm. Windows?"
"Three-inch plexiglass. Penguin spares no expense. So, unless you want to try to blow your way out or in? Stick to the vents."
Vents are always an option.
"Any idea who might want to jump for it?" I asked.
"Catwoman and anyone else that wants to try their hand at fucking with Penguin," said Ollie. "I mean there's an offer for 10 Million Euros." She sighed. "For a pretty rock." She said, throwing up her arms.
"Well, it has some history and is pretty rare," said Mark.
"That's just a selling point. That's a 10 million euro rock. 14 million American dollars. I just-I don't get people. I'm not complaining, but it's not how I'd spend my money."
"Well, there is some risk to it."
"Yeah, but I'd cap it at $500,000. They really want that pretty rock."
"People like their rocks," I said, shrugging. "They sell weddings and shit." I sighed. "Personally, I hate how everyone wants diamonds."
"Oh my God. Me too," said Ollie. "If everyone's getting it, how valuable is it really? How unique is it to your marriage and eternity together?"
"I mean is it a 10 million euro ruby unique?" Mark asked.
We all chuckled and sighed.
Probably make some fakes in case someone else wants to get it. "What alarms are on the case?"
"If you so much as bump the glass, the alarm will go off. Gem is on a pressure plate that will set off an alarm if moved. Clip the wires to those alarms while the wire alarm is armed and the alarm will go off."
"Jeez. How is the alarm disarmed?"
"Fingerprint code. Two tries and alarm goes off."
"Can the actual noise be silenced?"
"Hmm, I suppose if you cut power to the speakers, but that will still cause flashing lights. Oh and there are floor lasers in the room that will set off alarms. Penguin knows where throw his money."
"Okay, and who is out of Arkham right now?"
"Oh, let's see... Victor Zsasz, Mad Hatter, Clayface, the Joker, and Harley Quinn."
"No Killer Croc?" Mark asked.
"No Killer Croc," Ollie confirmed. "Also, if you are caught, Penguin will probably break your fingers, make you eat your teeth, and feed you to Tiny the shark if he's feeling nice."
"Okay... I'm starting to get a picture in my head. Thanks, Ollie." Sewers should be open for a quick escape if needed.
"Don't mention it. Seriously. I want to die in my sleep in the comfort of my home. Burn after reading." She handed me a file with maps. "Hubris. Lights at full." The lights returned to full.
"Got it. Thanks."
"Whoa wait a minute!" Mark said. "Penguin has a shark named Tiny?"
"Yeah, a Great White," I said.
"Yep," said Ollie... "I'm sure he'd be tickled to death if he fed Great White Shark to Tiny."
I chuckled.
Mark looked at me, confused. "What?"
I explained. "Great White Shark is a guy. He's kind of like a smaller Black Mask except he manages his business while institutionalized at Arkham Asylum. He's called Great White Shark because he lost his lips and became very pale because he got shoved into Mr. Freeze's freezer."
"Ooh," said Mark, wincing. "How does this shit keep happening at this hospital?"
"It's Arkham," Ollie and I said at the same time.
"Jinx," said Ollie.
"Okay then," said Mark. "... Shit like this doesn't happen in Metropolis or anywhere for that matter."
"Well, Gotham also has a sister city called Bludhaven," said Ollie. "But nah, Metropolis just has aliens, mutations, and Lex Luthor's shenanigans." She chuckled dryly.
"Yeah, but we don't have people being fed to sharks and becoming sharks and- I mean holy shit."
"You've seen nothing yet. Now unless you need something else, get out. I'm gonna stay here and smoke." Ollie picked up a pipe and started packing it with what I assumed was tobacco.
We walked out the basement door and Mark closed it behind us firmly. "I think she might like you," he said as we walked along.
"She does?" I asked, surprised.
"Well, I mean who wouldn't?"
I smirked. "Penguin when I steal the Dragon's Eye?"
He chuckled.
The next several days were a blur. I spent the rest of the day setting up my strategy and getting a list of things I needed like I had seen the gang do several times before, in our months together. The following day, I gathered up the supplies I was missing, including three fake rubies made of glass, three smoke bombs, a sleep dart gun, three grenades and three knives. On the third day, I scouted the museum physically as a casual museum goer, taking note of ventilation duct cover locations. I also left a noise-maker bag behind. One of Ollie's creations, when detonated, it would set off a bunch of fireworks, a smoke bomb, and then, some C-4.
On the night of the heist, I geared up in my navy blue, cat suit outfit and navy blue, ski mask. I climbed through the cold vents from the roof and eventually reached the room with the ruby.
Some asshole was already lowering himself over the ruby, about to work on the glass. His suspending rope, attached to his harness, was hanging around the duct I was in. I only knew he was a guy because of the overwhelming smell of men's cologne. The smell was horrid-like smelly feet and some sort of minty cologne.
Irritated, I pulled out my big, bowie knife and cut him down in one slice.
With a soft cry, he thumped on the glass, making the glass alarm scream. When he rolled onto the floor and set off the floor lasers alarm, the alarm became even louder. As I gazed down, I saw that the glass was cracked and slipped back in case he looked up.
"Fuck it," he said. I heard him smack the glass with a blunt tool several times, eventually breaking the glass.
The alarm blared even louder, and I covered my ears in irritation.
Ten security thugs came running in with their guns out.
The thief held up the ruby. "Don't shoot or I'll smash it!" He said.
"Smash it and it's your funeral, Pal," said the thugs. "Hand it over and we might leave enough life in you to crawl like a baby."
The cologne thief suddenly threw it at them and ran away with that broken rope trailing after him.
What the fuck are you doing, you Moron? Who just throws a gem and runs away?! I replaced the vent cover during all the commotion so they wouldn't be eyeing my position as a breach.
One guard dove for the ruby and pointed to two guards. "Rugby and Niel! You two stay with me! The rest of you catch him!
"You got it, Paulie," They all said almost simultaneously.
The other seven ran after the male thief I successfully subdued.
"How did he get in here anyway?" One of the guards asked.
"Mitch, turn off that alarm!" Paulie said on the radio.
The alarm was turned off.
"Goddamn," said Paulie with a sigh. "That noise kills my ears!"
"I think I heard somewhere that you can't break a ruby," the third guard commented.
"Well, I'm not about to take that chance. That rock is worth 14 million dollars."
The third whistled.
"If that ruby broke, Penguin would have my head and break all your legs."
"Heh, I can only imagine what he'll do to that poor schmuck."
I pulled out my detonator and set off the lost and found. Then, I moved the cover out of my way.
"Bogey in lost and found!" said Mitch, with high pitched noises in the background.
"What, Mitchell?" Paulie asked. He waited. "Mitchell?"
Two minutes later, we heard a boom across the building.
"What's that noise, Mitch?!" Paulie shouted on the radio. "Mitch?"
I quietly dropped down on the floor while their backs were turned, tossing off a smoke bomb. It went off and I grabbed the ruby while they were startled and coughing.
"What the hell is going on?!" Paulie shouted, coughing.
Quietly, I approached a floor vent grate, popped it open, entered, and replaced the grate, Then I headed through the Iceberg Lounge, unbeknownst to the Penguin or any of the happy restaurant-goers below. I smirked. Hehehe.
Then, I saw someone round the corner in the vent ahead of me. It was Catwoman. Uh-oh.
She saw me and smirked. "Well, well, what do we have here?" She purred. "You wouldn't happen to be Lucyfer's new girl would you?"
"How the hell would you know that?" I asked, quietly.
"People talk. Rumor has it that the Dragon's Eye is your initiation."
"No one outside of the Drifter gang should know that," I said, frowning.
"Must have a leak then."
"WHAT?!" Penguin squawked from the lounge.
Catwoman's smile faded for a second.
We looked through a vent cover and saw the Penguin yelling at one of his thugs.
Then, she smirked at me. "It's getting cozy in here. Let's head to the roof."
We climbed through the vents and hopped out to the roof.
"So did you get the ruby?" Catwoman asked.
"Hah, did I get the ruby?" I repeated sarcastically, shaking my head. "Yes."
"Can I see it?"
"Uh... sure. I guess." I pulled out one of the fakes in a bag and held it up, allowing her to see just a glint of red.
"Way to go..." She snatched the bag from me and ran away.
"Hey! That's not fair" I called after her.
"Never trust a thief!" She shouted after me before jumping off.
I never do… I smirked and turned around to see Robin flying at me.
Quickly, I got out of his path and threw down my second smoke bomb. I jumped off the roof and landed on the Iceberg lounge's covered entrance. I bounced off the top and landed near the line of people waiting to get in. Then, I ran down into an alley and hopped into an open manhole, down in the sewers.
Thankfully, Killer Croc was in Arkham. There shouldn't be any attempts to eat my bones for intruding in his domain. Swift on my feet, I headed towards Park Row, staying out of the disgusting, water waste flowing along.
As I was about to make my turn towards Amusement Mile, I pulled my mask off and pulled on cargo pants and a jacket over my cat suit.
"Beware the jabberwock, my dear, the jaws that bite, the claws that snatch..." a soft male voice sung with a slight British accent.
Those lyrics are Wonderland-related... sounds like Mad Hatter...
It was coming from the other tunnel, adjacent to my turn. I should mind my business... but what if he's taken another poor girl to be his Alice... I sighed.
Unable to quell my curiosity, I tip-toed toward the source.
"...Beware the Jubjub Bird and shun the frumious Bandersnatch..."
I peered around the corner and saw two thugs wearing rabbit masks. Casually, I pulled out my dart gun and shot them. They struggled for a moment, and passed out on the ground. I popped off the rabbit masks on their faces, keeping one for myself. I pulled off the mind-manipulating mechanisms and walked down the tunnel to see the Mad Hatter with his giant green hat was having a picnic with an uneasy Alice in a sewer control hub in the middle of a pool.
I put the rabbit mask on in case anyone looked my way and set my bag aside in a hidden spot. My shoulders were broad just enough to get me confused for a thug, especially from a distance.
The entire place was decked out in wonderland decor. Entire forest drops were hanging on the walls. One drop had the Cheshire Cat on a branch. The White Rabbit was on the ground. Several other rabbit thugs were standing by the other three tunnels.
Humming to himself, the Mad Hatter, also known as Jervis Tetch, seemed to be in a merry mood. His dirty blonde hair was kinda greasy under his tall top hat and he was drinking from a tea cup with his gloved hands. Jervis was the creepiest if not saddest being I have ever known of. A lonely man that had a powerful obsession for Wonderland characters, armed with advanced mind control drugs and technology. He was like any child that wanted to live in a fairy tale world that was more beautiful and poetic than reality. It was very relatable to want to bring your dreamworld to life when reality sucked so bad. Unfortunately, when his Alice of choice didn't live up to this fantasy, he would... do horrible things to her... Afterward, he would leave her for dead and act like it never happened. No one should be forced into a fantasy like this and punished when they don't perform as desired.
Alice was a pretty blonde girl somewhere around her twenties like me. She had the blue dress, white apron, black headband, white stockings, and black dress shoes. For the most part, she was playing along, but her eyes were searching for escape. She was being smart.
In her situation, I personally would've played calm until I had an opportunity to attack him and smash his hat. Without the hat, the mind-controlled rabbit thugs wouldn't help him. The only problem was that she likely didn't have my experience with fighting strong men let alone crazy people. Though the Hatter was a small man, he was still strong and crazy enough to overpower and kill a thin, young, and inexperienced thing like her.
How do I approach this?
"Alice, you're not drinking your tea," said Mad Hatter, disappointed.
"Sorry, you just don't have any mint," said the Alice.
"You usually don't take your tea with mint."
"I... like to try new things... Otherwise, why am I here?"
"Oh, how true, how true, let's find mint for you!" He looked over to me. "YOU! Find Alice some mint, please, so that she is appeased."
"Uh, yes, Sir," I said with a guy voice. I walked over to the island, knelt down and held out a pack of mint gum.
Mad Hatter sighed, exasperated. "No, no, mint leaf."
"Ohhh," I said, looking down. "Sorry, Sir."
"Well, I suppose this could work," said Alice, taking a piece of gum.
"Will you need anything else, Sir?" I asked, standing back up.
"That will be all, return to your position," said Mad Hatter.
"Gladly... Jervis." I kicked him into the pool and pulled off my mask.
The other thugs jerked violently and toppled to the ground as the Mad Hatter's hat short-circuited in the water.
"You okay?" I asked, turning to Alice.
She stood up, shocked yet relieved. "Yeah, thanks to you. Oh my God."
The Hatter came back up with a shout without his hat, paddling weakly. "Help! I can't swim!"
I watched him for a moment, considering on letting him drown. You're not a monster. Help him. With a groan, I knelt down and grabbed his wrists, pulling him out of the water with all my might. Thankfully, he was a small man. I dropped him on the ground.
"Oh thank you thank you," he said, coughing. "No need to be so rough, I know you're quite tough."
"Good," I said, before booting him in the head. He went out cold.
"Who are you?" Alice asked me.
"Meredith," I said, looking for something to tie the Hatter with.
"Did someone hire you to save me?"
"Nah, I just heard the Hatter's voice and thought I'd check to see if he stole another Alice." I found some chain attached to the console, and a padlock with a key sticking in it. Hmm...
"I wish I could say the same if our positions were switched, but these psychos freak me out."
"We all have our strengths." I loosely yet firmly wrapped the chain around his neck and padlocked it. Then, I took the key.
"Are you just going to leave him there?"
"Until the police can pick him up," I said, handing her the key.
She tucked it into her apron pocket.
"Well, follow me, I'll show you the way out."
She followed me back the way I came. "So do you just wander the sewers, looking for kidnapped people?" She asked.
"I just like to explore this city. The history fascinates me and I don't sleep much. You're lucky I was passing through and heard him singing Jabberwocky." I picked up my backpack and pulled out my cell phone to call the police.
"I've never actually read Alice in Wonderland," said the Alice.
"Well, Jabberwocky is actually from "Through the Looking Glass"."
I walked back to where I came and found a ladder to climb. Before I started going up, I called the police. "Yeah, hello, I got Mad Hatter incapacitated in the sewers around Park Row's hub," I said. "He's handcuffed to the handrail and is out cold. I'm taking his Alice to the surface now." I climbed up the ladder.
"My name is Lindsey," said the Alice, following me.
"Her name is Lindsey," I pushed open the manhole with a grunt.
"Who is this?" The cop asked.
"Anonymous tipper. Send some people over, now." I climbed up through the manhole and a few onlookers stared. I offered Lindsey a hand as she reached the top.
"Is Lindsey injured?" The cop asked.
"Hang on." I pulled Lindsey up and handed her the phone.
"This is Lindsey," she said. "... I'm fine. How soon will you get here?..."
I cracked my neck and waved to Lindsey before I started heading towards Amusement Mile.
"Whoa, where are you going?" She asked, stopping me.
"You got a temp phone with an hour's worth of minutes, and I got people waiting for me. You'll be fine, Lindsey," I said.
She walked up to me and hugged me warmly.
Surprised, I hugged back warmly in return.
"Thank you," she said, hanging on. "I won't ever forget."
"You're welcome." I patted her back. "Don't forget the key."
She let me go and I headed off towards the Amusement Mile. It was a nice and relatively quiet walk, if not victorious.
Stole a ruby from the Penguin, tricked Catwoman, slipped by a Robin, foiled the Mad Hatter, and saved an Alice. The gang is going to be so damn proud of me.
I couldn't help but grin.
Victory is mine.
Quickly, I walked to the apartment complex and walked ten floors up. I reached to open the door and I heard Lucyfer shout, "Fight me, you cowardly, green-haired, bleach twat!" She shouted.
I heard the Joker laughing and hitting someone inside. Might be Tim.
Oh no. He must've heard about the ruby, too... or maybe he just decided to dick with us.
"Lucy, Lucy, patience is a virtue. We can't start until our guest of honor gets here," said the Joker. "Then the party can really begin."
I considered how to approach this and then I pulled out two fake ruby bags. Pulling out the fakes, I put a grenade in the bag instead. Then, I put the other bag around that bag. I held it all, so I could easily pull the pin discretely. I tucked a fake in my pocket and put the other in my backpack.
Then, I opened the door. "Lucy, I'm hoome!" I said casually like I didn't know.
As I saw the scene in the apartment, I froze and let the door close behind me. Tim was bleeding all over his head and lying on the ground, looking barely conscious. The Joker, grinning ear to ear, in his purple and green suit was standing over Tim, holding a gun in his bleached white hand. Probably hit Tim with that.
Lucyfer was being held down in a kitchen chair by two thugs. Her lip was split open and her face was partially swollen. One of the thugs had her by the hair.
Mark was on his knees with four thugs behind him. His face was pretty swollen and had several splits in his face and a gunshot wound in his shoulder. All of them were looking at me.
"I'll come back later," I said after a pause. I stepped back to go and Joker fired a round at the door, right by my ear. Then I looked back to the Joker.
"No, no, no, you just got home after a long day's work. Come on in, kick off your shoes. Let me take your bag for ya'."
"Get out of here, Meredith!" Lucyfer said to me.
"Shut up, you," said a thug, smacking her in the head.
The Joker strode right up to me and put his arm around me. "Is that a present for me?"
"It's for Lucyfer actually."
"Ooh, can I take a peek?"
I popped the pin. "I guess..." I said, reluctantly. "Will you let my friends go?"
He took the bag and rifled through it.
I stepped back from him, quietly.
"Hmm, you've double-bagged it," said the Joker.
"Some gifts need special treatment," I said, helping Tim up to his feet.
Suddenly, Joker dropped the bag and dove behind the couch a shout.
I dove behind an armchair and the grenade went off.
My ears rang as I smelt burning furniture and screams.
Suddenly, Lucyfer and Joker both shouted "kill 'em!" I slipped into the bathroom for better cover as I heard the sound of people fighting and gunfire. Dropping my backpack, I put a glass ruby in the sink and the real one in the broken radiator.
Then, I got up with my knife and ran out to see what was happening. Joker was about to fire his revolver at Mark, who was bashing a thug's head in. I charged at the Joker.
Joker saw me coming in the corner of his eye, but was too slow to shoot at me. I put the knife into his shoulder, missing his heart and taking him down to the ground.
"A girl after my heart," he said with a chuckle. His hands went to hit my face, but I leaned back and pulled out the knife in his shoulder. Then, he hit my chin, making me turn my head away. He kicked at my back. Then, he grabbed my knife. I struggled for control over it as he pointed at my face. "You give great gifts and fun fights. What else can you do?"
One of the clown thugs aimed a gun at me
I rolled Joker on top of me as a meat shield.
"Woo," said Joker surprised at the move.
The gun went off and the Joker shouted in pain as the thug got him in the back. The knife went flying into a corner.
"WATCH WHERE YOU'RE SHOOTING!" He yelled, before he started punching me.
"Sorry, Boss!" I heard the thug say.
I held up my arms to guard my face and kneed Joker in the nuts.
"AOUGH!" He groaned. "Right in the rubies!"
We started rolling on the floor, hitting each other. After I nut-shotted him again, he jerked his body up. I jumped on his back and clapped his ears.
"You think this is a bull ride?!" He accidentally knocked down a lamp and slammed me back into a cabinet.
Dazed, I absently punched the back of his head and saw Lucyfer about to smash a turned-on lamp onto a clown thug's head. Mark was shooting at a fallen thug. Tim was stabbing a screaming thug in the eye.
Joker slammed me back into the broken cabinet again. I put an arm around his neck, and used my legs to push off the back of the cabinet. This knocked him over the couch and we both crashed down through the floor that had been ripped open by the grenade.
We landed in the studio apartment below. On the couch, three college guys in hoodies sat, transfixed with terror. I kept swinging at Joker, occasionally hitting him. Suddenly, he pulled out a knife and stuck me in my side.
"AHH!" I hissed, before I socked him in the face.
Dazed, the Joker fell on the floor with a giggle.
I got up and back, grabbing the handle of the blade in my side.
"Whoa wait, don't do that!" One of the guys said. "You'll-"
Wincing, I pulled it out anyway and blood gushed from the wound. I groaned. My body healed better without a knife sticking into me.
"That looks like it hurts," said Joker, starting to get up.
Then, I threw the knife at Joker, nailing him in his thigh.
"Ooh!" The guys winced.
He shouted in pain, and pointed at his leg, laughing, too.
Tired of this crap, I shouted and charged him, aiming him for the open balcony for an ultimate body slam.
We went flying nine stories down, me shouting, him laughing, before we landed on a car, thoroughly smashing it.
The air was knocked out of us, making us do a near death rattle to express our pain. My ears rang and I was definitely going to feel that all over for a few days.
He giggled as I rolled off him. "Was that good for you?" He squeaked.
"Just shut up," I said with a tight voice.
"Oh my God, is that the Joker?" A few bystanders asked.
"Is he dead?" Another asked.
"Meredith!" Mark shouted from ten floors up.
Weakly, I waved to him, feeling myself bleeding in several spots.
"Oh thank God! We're coming!"
I rolled away from the Joker towards the car hood and he grabbed my arm. "I'm not finished with you yet!" He said, darkly
He didn't look anywhere as hurt as me and I landed on top of him on the car!
I punched him with my other arm and yanked free, toppling to the ground. The sudden movement made me vomit a bit.
He hopped off the car with another knife out as I moved back.
"You're not the Joker," I said. "You're not even human."
"Ooh." He chuckled. "You're sharp, Kiddo. If only you were only as sharp as this knife."
I backed into a fire hydrant.
I rolled out of the way and smacked his head into the fire hydrant.
"Oh..." He said, holding his head and chuckling. Then, he lunged at me again. I held his hands back and struggled against his strength. My second wind came and I shoved him into a power box that electrocuted him. He flailed and screamed, his voice slowly changing into a deeper one while he started melting into a brown goo.
Mark ran over to me and started at the weird puddle that definitely wasn't mud. "Holy shit. What is that?"
Then, I noticed that I had some of the goo splattered all over me, especially on my hands. I flung it off my arms, disgusted. "Clay." Clayface...
"Nasty... Did you get the r-rock?" He asked.
"... In the sink," I said, looking at him.
"Nice." Then, his eyes widened, looking at something behind me.
I turned back to see Clayface forming himself together again in his monstrous humanoid form, dripping with clay. "That was all I needed to hear." He looks slightly thinner than I expected.
The onlookers screamed and ran away.
"What is that?" Mark asked, pulling me back.
"It's Basil Karlo," I said. "Also known as Clayface, a shape-shifting pile of clay."
"You know it," said Clayface with a laugh. Then, I saw a Joker thug jump out the window and splat on the ground, turning into clay. The clay rejoined Clayface with a shiny red gem. He looked about the right size now.
The other thugs must've been real.
"GIVE BACK THAT RUBY, YOU LOUSY SHIT PILE!" Lucyfer shouted from the balcony. I could see she had a bazooka aimed at Clayface.
"Or what?" Clayface asked.
Mark pulled me behind another car for safety before Lucyfer fired the bazooka.
The bazooka blast blew Clayface apart, but he formed himself together again. Growling, he picked up the broken car and threw it towards our apartment. It went through the wall and stayed parked up there.
"Holy shit!" said Mark, horrified.
"Fuck," I muttered.
Mark looked to me. "What do we do?"
"Well, we can't stop him unless we have cryogenic weapons. Otherwise explosions and electrocution just stun and piss him off."
"But we can't let him get away with this!" He pointed his gun at Clayface.
I grabbed his gun, struggling to stop him. "It's like shooting a mudslide that can take any shape, you can't win!"
"She's right. You got no chance, Small-Timer," leered Clayface.
"That's what you think." Mark shoved me back.
"Mark!" I shouted.
He aimed and fired at the the ruby in Clayface's hand. It shattered into a million pieces.
Damn those sharp-shooting skills.
"NO!" Clayface roared, looking at the shards.
"That's what you get for messing with the Drifter gang!" Mark shouted.
Clayface glared with with the dark, hollow eyes. He snarled with big, sharp teeth that were drooling with clay.
I chuckled uncomfortably. "And now there's going to be none of the gang left alive, Mark. Run!" We both bolted through an alley, exhausted and bleeding, covered in dried Clayface residue.
I glanced back and saw Clayface was rolling at us in a large, angry clayball. "Goddammit, Mark!"
Mark pulled me down a sharp turn down a different alley. "What would you have me do after what he did to Lucyfer and Tim?!"
"They might be alive, Mark! Tim has the reflexes of a snake!"
He jerked me down another alley and we hopped over a fence that Clayface rolled straight through. "What about water?" Mark asked. "Can he be diluted or something?!"
"I-uh-I can't remember! I just remember that it did when he was in an extremely weakened state."
"How do you know all this shit anyway?!"
"I read police and Arkham files and remembered things that stuck out to me!" I said, somewhat lying. "Can we just focus on not getting murdered by a shape-shifting monster?!" I asked, pulling him out of the way of an attack and into a street-sized alley with neon signs and sleazy places by the docks.
Suddenly, I noticed one of the large signs come falling down and I pushed Mark forward as Clayface pounced. The sign impacted on Clayface and me, electrocuting us harder than expected. When it stopped, I crawled through the wreckage and a puddle of clay that did not smell great.
"Meredith?" Mark called softly, breathing hard.
I groaned as I pushed part of the broken sign out of my way.
Mark groaned with relief, putting his arms on his head. "Holy shit."
When I was almost out, I felt a something grab my ankle.
Horrified, I looked at Mark. "Run!"
Clayface yanked me up into the air, thoroughly pissed off.
"Meredith!" Mark shouted to me.
Suddenly, Clayface was hit a several ice grenades in succession until he was completely frozen like a statue. I was still hanging by a frozen hand that was fifteen feet high.
Batman leapt down on the ground and gazed up at me as I hung from Clayface's frozen arm.
Robin, the boy wonder, dropped behind him. "See, she's okay."
I gazed at them, upside down and in awe of them. The Drifter gang didn't run into Batman too often. We had been keeping ourselves on the low until my ruby heist… that someone leaked out to everyone in this goddamn town.
Mark was sitting on the ground, absolutely startled.
"Why was he chasing you?" Batman asked me.
"I.. uhh..." I said, too astonished to speak.
"None of your business," piped up Mark, struggling to his feet.
Batman turned around to face him, and walked towards him to grab him by the shirt.
"If it involves a crime, then it is my business."
I kicked at Clayface's frozen hand. "Just tell him the truth, Mark," I said. "We've been through enough tonight." I paused and kicked as hard as I could. The hand cracked and shattered. I fell on the ground with a painful thump that knocked the wind out of me. All my ribs hurt.
"That look like it really hurt," commented Robin.
"No shit?" I commented with a tight voice. "Ohh, it hurts to talk."
"Then, don't talk."
"Okay."
"She needs a hospital," said Mark, shaking his head.
"Tell me what happened," said Batman let go of him.
I weakly crawled over to the wall and leaned against it.
Mark sighed and spoke. "She stole the ruby from Penguin as an initiation. While she was gone, Clayface showed up disguised as the Joker with several clown thugs, roughed us up. He wanted the ruby. Meredith showed up like she had the ruby in a bag, but she just had a grenade. After it went off, we all started fighting. Then she attacked the Joker by herself while we took the thugs. Eventually Mere and Joker went through the hole in the floor. Then, she took him out through the balcony window and landed on a car. I came down and found her standing by a puddle of brown goo. I asked her where the ruby was and she said in the sink. Clayface suddenly rose up and grabbed the ruby. Lucyfer shot a bazooka at him. He threw a car at our apartment. I shot the ruby. He got pissed and chased us. Then, you two showed up."
Cautiously, I picked my last grenade out of my pocket while the two vigilantes had their backs turned on me. "Looks like my initiation failed horribly," I said, hiding the grenade by my leg.
Batman, Robin, and Mark looked over to me.
"It was all because one of us was shooting off their mouth. Everyone in town knew, Mark," I said, looking over to him. "Catwoman, Clayface, hell-" I gestured to Batman and Robin. "These two probably knew, right?"
"Let's discuss this later, okay," said Mark. "After we get you some medical attention."
"No hospitals," I said flatly.
"If your ribs are hurting, then you need help. You are covered in blood!" He walked over to me.
"I'll be okay, Mark... but I'm not going to a hospital. I'm not going to let them take me back to that horrible place." My chest started hurting as the memories came back.
Mark paused as he saw the grenade in my hand that Batman and Robin could not see.
I closed my eyes and pulled the pin out of the grenade. Then, I rolled it over to the frozen Clayface.
Mark picked me up and ran down the alleyway past Clayface before the grenade exploded
"Batman!" Clayface snarled, reforming himself.
I threw down my last smoke bomb to cover us. Mark set me down and opened a manhole. I got up and climbed down. He followed and closed the manhole behind us.
Mark and I hobbled towards the docks closer to the Industrial District, supporting each other. We found an outboard motorboat with oars and quietly rowed out into the misty bay. The sound of the motor might attract attention of the dynamic duo that was looking for us.
After we were clear, Mark laughed. "You tried to rob the Penguin, got in a fight with a clay monster Joker, fell nine stories onto a car, ran several blocks away from clay monster, got hit and electrocuted by a neon sign-I mean, when do you stop to pass out from the blood loss and pain?"
"When I'm dead," I said with a chuckle.
"Is there something else about you I should know?" He asked as he got ready to start the motor.
I sighed. "Let's talk later when we're out of this fog. I don't want you to steer us into a barge or something."
We cautiously sped along through foggy waters to reach the safehouse cabin across the bay.
Mark pulled up to a dock and looked at me, very fatigued. "Meredith, I want you to know that you are in as far as I'm concerned. If Lucyfer and Tim don't show up, then we'll just have to stick together."
"Thanks, Mark," I said, surprised.
He hopped out and tied the boat to the dock. I stumbled out and he helped me balance. "Are you sure you don't need a hospital?"
"I need rest, ice, and a shower. I'll be fine."
He walked me up the stairs to the cabin. It was burned halfway to hell on the surface, but we walked over to the cellar doors, unlocked it, and headed down the stairs.
The cellar was even bigger than the studio apartment in the amusement mile. A bar and makeshift kitchen on our right. TV and couches were on the right. Armory on the far left corner. Bathroom and makeshift hospital on the far right corner.
We walked to the hospital area and suddenly we heard party horns at the bar and spun, terrified. Lucyfer and Tim were at the bar with party horns in their mouths and bandages here and there. Lucyfer sat on the bar and dumped a bunch of cash bundles on us from a duffle. Tim held up Lucyfer's laptop where Ollie was also blowing a party horn via webcam.
I grinned, so happy to see they were okay.
"Holy shit," said Mark, putting his arms on his head. "You're alive!"
"And so are you!" Lucyfer exclaimed. "Congratulations, you crazy bitch!" She pointed at me.
"But... the ruby..." said Mark, looking at me.
"I put a fake in the sink," I said. "Realized he was Clayface when he didn't look like he was taking damage. I decided to lie in case he had clones upstairs. I put the real one in the broken radiator."
"And it popped out when the car decided to park in the apartment," Lucyfer said, laughing.
"Clayface thought I shot the real ruby to pieces with my gun!" Mark said. "I told Batman I shot it!"
"I know," I said smirking.
He punched my arm and laughed. "You crazy, smooth-talking bitch!" He lifted me up from the ground, hugging me.
I laughed out of amusement and pain.
Tim set the laptop on the bar and hugged us both. I had never been hugged by Tim before. It was nice.
"You both hug like bear," said Tim with a very worn voice that was a little higher than Mark's. I couldn't quite pick up what his accent was.
"Tim... you talk?" Mark asked, shocked.
"Yeah-I just don't like to talk."
"Unless he's drinking and happy as a clam," said Lucyfer, smirking as she reached over and rubbed Tim's bald head.
"Yeah..." He said with a goofy grin. "I knew you could do it, Meredith... and thank you, Mark."
"You're welcome, Tim-maybe you could tell me your real name?" Mark asked.
"But I like being called Tim," he said, smile fading a bit. "I hate my old names."
"Where are you from?"
Tim frowned, puzzling over this himself. "I... honestly don't know... But let's get you two fixed up. We got the rest of the night to talk."
Tim, Mark, and I walked over to the medical area.
"I'm going to hop into the shower to get all this gore off," I said, limping along and picking up a first aid kit.
"Yeah you enjoy your victory shower!" said Mark.
We all laughed.
I washed the blood, dirt, and sweat away and noted that the deeper wounds like the one by my liver had closed up into scars, but I was covered in purple and yellow bruises from where Clayface/Joker had hit me in our scuffle. The pain was slowly but surely subsiding while the wounds healed themselves.
The healing is becoming faster with each horrible injury I endure… ever since that first time I nearly died… For a while this seemed like a horrible curse, but lately it has been a saving grace.
I sighed, looking at the blue rose on my shoulder. I just wish some ink would remain where you wanted it to... Permanent body art are also considered to be wounds.
I pulled on a spare t-shirt, jacket, bra, boxers, cargo pants, socks, and combat boots from my cubby. We all kept spare clothes, razors, and whatnot in one of the four cubbies on the wall. I fluffed my black, pixie hair in the mirror and limped out, fully dressed.
"Fresh as a daisy," commented Mark. Tim removed the bullet from Mark's shoulder.
"Yes," I said, putting my fist in the air before setting the first aid kit back down.
"Any bad wounds?" Tim asked.
"Nothing I can't handle."
"Didn't you fall ten stories onto a car?" Lucyfer asked.
"You were complaining about your ribs," said Mark, concerned.
"Only so you'd walk over to me, Mark. Also for the record, it was nine floors and Clayface cushioned the fall for the most part," I said with a shrug. "I definitely have a minor concussion though."
"Don't fall asleep," said Mark, tossing me a pill bottle with his good arm. "Take two if you feel like your head is going to explode."
I popped two and tossed the pills back to Mark.
Tim caught them before Mark could and set them down.
"Those reflexes, though," I commented.
"All that money on the floor is yours by the way," said Lucyfer. "$9,800,000... Converted it from the seven million euros.
"Damn," I said, looking at the bundles on the floor. I knelt to the floor and started putting the money back in the backpack.
Lucyfer hopped off the bar and helped me pack it back in. After we finished, she patted my back. "Welcome to the family."
"Thank you," I said, touched.
"Okay, I want to hear the full story behind this," said Ollie.
"Well, I'm going to lie down at the couch if you guys want to join me." I picked up that money and walked over to the couches
"Sure, vodka and lemon-lime, right?" Lucyfer asked.
"You shouldn't add alcohol with those pain pills," said Mark.
"What are you? A doctor? Mr. Security Guard?" Lucyfer asked. "Dr. Security Guard," she added.
"Before that I was an EMT, remember?"
"Eh," she said with a shrug. "It's up you, Meredith."
"I'll take a drink," I said, setting the bag next to the arm.
"That's my girl." She mixed up a drink for me, brought it to me, set the laptop on a stand so it could see me and anyone else around the room. Lucyfer sat down next to the laptop.
I set the bag up to support my back while my head rested on the arm. Then, I tested it out by lying down. It was hard on my back.
"Comfy?" Ollie asked.
"Not really," I said, getting back up. Then, I slid the bag under the coffee table and sat down on the large recliner, leaning my head back. I picked up my cold drink, drank a little, and set it in my lap. "Better."
"Okay, tell me a story."
I told them all what happened from my perspective. The thief I discovered and foiled, stealing the ruby without being spotted, running into Catwoman in the ventilation ducts and tricking her, my run-in with Mad Hatter, hearing the Joker before I walked into the apartment, the grenade in two bags, hiding the ruby in the bathroom, my fight with Joker (omitting the part where he stabbed me in the abdomen), the part where I tackled him over the balcony rail-
"You're lucky you weren't killed," said Mark, walking over to us with Tim. "Why would you do that intentionally?"
"I was tired and pissed off," I said. "I also have a lucky streak of surviving shit like that."
"That's awesome," said Lucyfer.
"So then what happened?" Ollie asked as Mark and Tim sat down.
I continued, talking about how I realized Joker was Clayface and those other thugs might be him, too. So I lied about the real ruby and Clayface revealed himself, stealing the fake ruby from the sink. Lucyfer fired that bazooka at Clayface and Clayface threw a car back at her.
"That's when Tim saved my ass and pulled me into the bathroom where we found the real ruby," said Lucyfer.
"And I shot the fake ruby in his hand," said Mark.
"And he tried to kill us both," I added. "If it weren't for Batman and Robin dropping that neon sign and those ice grenades, our chances weren't looking so good."
"Robin almost killed you with that neon sign."
"True… but they demanded the truth. Mark told them what he thought was the truth. Then, I tossed a grenade at Clayface, releasing him, and hoping he'd get in a fight Batman. And he did. Smoke bomb away and ship ahoy! It's off to the safe house we go."
Lucyfer snickered. "Nice."
"But seriously, Clayface might be as scary as Killer Croc," said Mark.
"The benefit of Killer Croc is that he looks like Killer Croc," said Ollie. "Clayface can look and talk like anybody and turn into any blade or blunt weapon."
"Including Joker and a clown thug," said Lucyfer, shaking her head. "Goddamn."
"Interesting choice, too," I commented. "Why'd he walk into the apartment as the Joker?... That just seems like a good way to piss Lucyfer and the rest of us off... especially when he was out for the ruby."
"Eh, who knows what that shit pile thinks?" said Lucyfer. "Maybe he just wanted to dick around with us."
"There was also something troubling," said Mark. "Just about everyone knew Meredith was going to attempt a heist. Catwoman, Clayface, Batman, and Robin…"
"Catwoman said it was a rumor," I added. "And only the few of us knew. Did anyone say something?"
Tim frowned and looked over to Lucyfer.
"What?" Lucyfer asked, looking to Tim.
Ollie sighed. "Lucyfer have you been bar-hopping again?"
"It's a social thing, Ollie. I might've slipped something by accident, but you know it just added an extra challenge. What matters is we got the ruby and the money and one of the best thieves in town against all odds." She pointed to me. "You rocked us all, Meredith." Lucyfer clapped and the others joined in, too.
Smiling and blushing, I raised a glass to them and took a drink.
They stopped clapping and took drinks, too. Mark was definitely drinking water.
Ollie was frowning deeply to herself after Lucy's dodgy answer.
"Speech, Mark," said Lucyfer, quickly
"Speech? Me?" Mark asked, holding his glass to his head.
He seemed a little out of it to notice that Lucyfer's interesting answer, but I wasn't going to pressure her myself. I'm too tired for that now.
"All right. I'll just tell you a story... of Meredith," said Mark. "Once upon a time..."
We chuckled.
"I was walking back to Lucyfer's-our apartment-that was in Park Row in the dead of winter... when I heard the sounds of some random thugs fighting down the alley behind a fence. And I heard the cry of Meredith as she knocked down a thug with one punch. He was out cold. It was five-now four grown men against a homeless-looking college-age girl and she was making dents. She didn't seem to have a technique other than raw survival. A guy grabbed her from behind and she bit him so hard he screamed bloody murder. Another guy knocked her down and the others started stomping and kicking her. Unable to stand by, I hopped the fence, pulled out my gun, and told them to stop. While they were looking at me, she quickly pushed by them to get away. They chased after her. I followed, telling them to leave her alone, but they weren't listening."
My smile faded as I remembered. Those guys were trying to convince me to go with them somewhere. They said I'd have food and somewhere to sleep, but I knew something was off. When I resisted, it became a fight.
"I stopped and fired four shots and got them in the legs."
"You do love those knee shots," Lucyfer said.
"And I ran past them and followed the footprints in the snow," continued Mark. "Actual footprints, no shoes!-And I followed them back to the street sidewalk were the snow was cleared away for the most part. I turned around back to the alley when I heard the trash can rattle. She lied on the ground, looking real hurt. I asked her if there was someone I could call. She said, 'no-please don't call the police.'
"'What did you do?' I asked.
"'They attacked me for no reason-those men. Please, leave me alone.'
"'What's your name?'
"'Meredith,' she says, before passing out.
"Wanting to know more and help her out, I picked Meredith up and took her to the apartment, gave her a place to live, get clean, eat, sleep."
"Just like me, except you had to peel me off the pavement," said Tim with a chuckle.
"And Meredith talked more," said Lucyfer.
"She was very interested in helping us out when we gave her the opportunity. I didn't pressure her into telling us who she was, and bit by bit, she started us on her own."
"And I pieced together that she is in fact, Meredith Storm," said Ollie. "Small-time thief with no real identity, no past, no family, and suicidal tendencies."
Mark frowned at Ollie. "Ollie," he said, scoldingly.
"What? At least, she can leave her house without having a fucking panic attack. Anyway, Meredith spent a few months at Blackgate before being transferred to Arkham because of suicide attempts. She spent almost a year there and escaped after killing Dr. Donald Giovanni who often drugged and raped his patients."
"You make it sound so easy," I commented before I took a big drink.
"Hey, don't be sullen! You murdered that bastard and regained the honor of all those victimized by him. I still need to get my Scarecrow."
"Sometimes the assholes win," said Lucyfer. "But when they do, it gives you all the rage you need to hit 'em where it hurts." Her mind was off somewhere else thinking about that.
"Hmm," I said. True...
"You showed us all what you could do," said Mark. "You gave some surprisingly intelligent insights. You are just a kind friend and tough player any way you spin it. That doctor does not define you at all... You are not a victim, and I don't care what your real past is. You are awesome the way you are and I am glad to welcome you to the Drifter gang. I think it's time you learned a little more about us, too."
"I'll refill your drink," said Tim.
"Oh, thanks." I handed him my glass and he walked off.
"Well, if you didn't hear I was a security guard at Metropolis," said Mark. "Oh, and my name's Mark F. Beats. Before security, I was an EMT and volunteer firefighter. My best talent was shooting. Good eye, steady hands, and my dad would always take me hunting. I was his good luck charm... I lost him and my mom in a tragic car accident when I was about your age... Drunk driver... but I had plans and was able to keep moving forward, picked up boxing, and eventually moved into a really great paying security job for ten years... and then they laid me off. I had a lot of bills to pay and didn't know what I was going to do, so I wandered around and eventually found Lucy and Ollie. After some convincing, Lucy brought me along on my first heist as a getaway driver and I eventually moved up into actual heists. We traveled around the country, picked up Tim in Las Vegas, did some more traveling, and headed out Lucy and Ollie's hometown Gotham City where we found you. Another year and we'll be out on the road again."
"Yep," said Lucyfer. "Ollie, you next."
I looked down and realized my drink was in front of me. Tim was so silent. Then, I picked up my drink and drank it.
"Okay, I'm Ollie Webber," said Ollie. I'm actually from Bludhaven originally. I'm asexual.-That means I don't fuck, so leave me alone. Had a good dad and a deadbeat mom. Dad's dead because a Joker thug decided to shoot random civilians with bazookas. Barely recognized the corpse. I'm too smart for my own good and have been hacking since I was a kid. At first it was just dicking around on the internet, but then I needed to support myself. I got sent to Blackgate for stealing thousands of dollars. I made contact with Lucyfer and we planned to partner up for future heists. A year later, I was sent to Arkham because I had a fit when I was evicted from my apartment forcefully. It was when I could leave my house for five hours a week and be okay. Dr. Crane fucked that up for me in the asylum like I told you... then I spent time with Dr. Whistler and got released. Bought me a new identity and a new house. Go, Lucyfer."
"Okay, okay," said Lucyfer. "I'm Lucyfer, but my real name is Angel Star Smith. Yes, my parents are fucking hippies. If you've ever seen me hunch down during a phone call, it's because my dad calls me Angel Cake. If one of you try to call me Angel, I will maim you. Call me Angel Cake and you're fucking dead."
"Got it," I said, believing her.
"I've never liked doing what I was told," Lucyfer continued. "My parents let me do what I want, but give me suggestions every once and a while. I was in out of trouble, vandalism, stealing... That changed when I joined a band. You know my R.I.P. DREAMS merch?" She pointed to her t-shirt. "I was in R.I.P. DREAMS as the bass guitar. We were getting a lot of fans and toured the world. I felt pretty damn good about myself for the first time in a long time. Then, we decided to do a charity concert for troubled youth at Gotham City." She sighed. "First three songs was fine, and then the Joker showed up with his thugs. I hadn't heard about him since my band left the city to tour the country and then the world. We were too busy living it up to worry about Gotham politics. But we had a song called "I Hate Clowns", because Jared always had this thing about clowns... I think entire Joker gang showed up because of it... Joker just shot up our guards, stole the mic, and said, 'so I hear you hate clowns... well, we just came to say that we hate you, too. Rest in pieces!' He laughed and started shooting us. It became a moshing battle of metalheads vs. clowns. All of them were beating the hell out of each other and shooting each other. Some were screaming and trying to get out. I mean metalheads don't go down easy... but with all the panic over... 200 people died, and even more were injured on both sides, including cops and security that tried to stop it. Hell, I think the Batman was trying with all his sidekicks. I was the last band member alive, but the record contract-the dream of R.I.P. DREAMS-was dead without my friends... I also clearly murdered several clowns in the crowd... almost had the Joker, too... I lost count of what I did and so did the DA... Most people don't remember who killed who, but I served time for manslaughter and met Ollie. Then, you know the rest." She sighed looked over to Tim who was looking at his drink. "Tim?"
He was quiet for a moment before he spoke. "I was sold into slavery and was eventually sent to become an assassin when I was ten. They crammed so many languages and culture in my head-I don't know what is mine anymore. I just knew that I was unwanted and was supposed to do as I was told by my master of the time. You adopted whatever identity they gave you for cover and killed without question."
"Are you undercover right now?" Ollie asked.
"No... I was left for dead."
"Why?"
"They said it was because I was sub-par... but I think I know real reason." He pulled out his notepad from his pocket and flipped it open to a spot in the middle. He showed it to Mark and me. I realized it was a drawing of Ra's al Ghul, the Demon's Head, standing up straight with a cold and calm expression... without his clothes.
I looked away and chuckled uncomfortably. If I remember correctly, there was a strong rule against documenting the League of Assassins. Documenting what the leader looked like head to toe could definitely be punishable by death, no matter how flattering.
"Wow, that is uh... very detailed," said Mark.
"From memory," said Tim. "The burned my originals."
"Wait, what is it?" Ollie asked from the laptop
"He drew a picture of him naked," said Lucyfer.
"And his daughter and some lieutenants." He showed Lucyfer, Mark, and me. I recognized the daughter as Talia al Ghul.
"Oh wow, she is gorgeous."
"Dangerous," said Tim.
"Show me?" Ollie asked.
"I can't show to camera, Ollie," Tim insisted to Ollie without facing her. "They might see."
"Well by that logic, can't they see this right now?"
"They can't see my face."
"Oookay, how good is it, Lucyfer?"
Lucyfer looked over to the laptop and blew her horn with two thumbs up.
"Wow."
"So you actually saw them naked?" I asked.
"I've seen many naked people," said Tim. "But I am confident enough to know what to draw... except for the finer details like freckles, scars, tattoos. I add those over time when I'm with them. I draw people that stick out in my mind."
"Have you drawn pictures of us?" Mark asked.
Tim smiled softly. "Well... yes. You're my friends. It's not meant to be naughty or sexual... just naked. I don't like drawing clothes and it's just the way you were made..." His smile faded. "I was castrated at a young age."
We glanced at each other... uncomfortable.
Ollie piped up. "So you don't have a-?"
"-Well, let's take a look at the notebook," said Mark, interrupting Ollie
I put my hands up. "I'm... not comfortable with looking at a drawing of me."
"Why not?" Lucyfer asked, confused.
"It's just uncomfortable for me to look at myself."
"Why? You're a pretty girl."
"She's insecure, Lucyfer," said Ollie.
"Show me, Tim..."
Tim showed her.
"Damn... did you do this today?"
"Yes," said Tim.
"He drew you with the ruby, Meredith, and you look gorgeous."
I chuckled and drank my drink.
"No, really, I just about want to eat the paper."
My drink almost went up my nose as I busted out laughing.
"You think I'm kidding," said Lucyfer, smirking. "But I'll let it go. Let's see Mark, Tim."
Tim flipped and showed them.
"Ooh, sharp-shooter."
Mark snorted. "Damn, is that how buff I look? This is very flattering, Tim."
"You got one of me?" Ollie asked.
Tim showed Ollie.
"Hmm, not bad," commented Ollie.
"So do you have a fear of the naked?" Lucyfer asked me.
I blushed. "Well, if you see them naked once, all you're ever going to think of is the naked parts- bouncing around," I said, trying to keep a level expression. "It just somewhat embarrasses me to think of my friends' part-to sexualize them."
"Nothing to be ashamed of. Like Tim says, perfectly natural... Hell, let's play strip. poker sometime in the future at Ollie's house...
"I prefer laptop mode," said Ollie. "But okay."
Lucyfer continued flipping through the notepad. "Tim, you are so talented! Dude... Oh..."
I looked back over and saw Tim take back his notepad quickly.
Lucyfer's smile had faded.
"What's wrong, Lucyfer?" Ollie asked.
Tim held up his notepad to the computer.
"Oh..."
"What?" Mark asked.
"It's a nude drawing of the clown and his crazy girlfriend," said Ollie.
"They are interesting subjects, I suppose," said Lucyfer, bitterly. "...in a volcano of everlasting death…"
"Sorry, Lucyfer," said Tim, pocketing his notepad.
"It's fine. It's just I fucking hate clowns, especially those two. Mere, why don't you tell us about you?" Lucyfer asked.
"Okay," I said. "...Don't know if you'll believe me with no identity and everything, but I'll tell you... I... had okay parents, divorced. It was all whatever. Didn't know what to do with my life. Just kept looking for books and movies to lose myself in. I felt like I wasn't good enough for anything... that I was nothing but a mediocre burden... so I left home in the middle of winter, just drove and drove while drinking until I crashed into a river. I managed to wash ashore and wandered through the woods, shivering really bad. Honestly, I can't remember how long I walked. I just walked until I couldn't and stopped by a tree to sit down and rest against it. Ended up taking off my jacket and shoes and stuff because I started feeling super hot. Passed out. Then, I woke up in Gotham General in the psych ward because my arms were cut up. Apparently, they found me in a pool of blood-soaked snow... I guess I did that to myself to finish myself off quicker... but I lived. I managed to pass the examination at the hospital, but they couldn't properly identify me. My IDs and bank card were suddenly invalid like I never existed-my whole life never existed, but I remember so well. I got out of that place and tried to figure out what happened to no avail. The best I could figure was that I died and went to a hell where I wasn't supposed to exist... like it was be-careful-what-you-wish-for situation... I struggled to survive on the streets and eventually got thrown into Blackgate for theft. Attempted suicide again and they transferred me to Arkham. I had one good doctor and then a really bad one that drugged and raped his patients as you heard.
I started to shake as I continued. "I was warned about him by the others, so I stopped taking my medication. I would just hide it under my tongue and trade it to someone else. When he realized I wasn't feeling the affects, he asked me to take it. He insisted it would help me feel better. I tongued it again in front of him and pretended to lose consciousness. When he tried making a move, I attacked him. I beat the living hell out of him. I had never been so angry and scared. While he was lying on the ground, bleeding, I told him to leave Arkham and never come back… but he stayed and reported me. I was put in isolation on forced drugs and restraints…" I shook my head, trying to hold my emotions in. "He showed up… and raped me… brutally… beating me to near death… I survived and bided my time, being a model patient… Then, I gathered a posse of insane girls with a grudge and we made him he was never born and butchered him… He was my first murder… and I escaped, returning to the streets... where you eventually found me, Mark... Those guys you remember-they were trying to convince me to go somewhere with them, but I said no and they didn't like that... You guys are all the friends I have in the world and you make me want to do better... like I genuinely matter in the scheme of things... I'm still learning yet, but one thing I'm good at is surviving the shit I go through and fighting back. Knowing that I'm helping you guys really pulls me through."
I looked up and saw Mark was tearing up in his eyes.
"I didn't mean to make you sad," I said. "I'm sorry."
He wiped his eyes. "It's just... We're all so sad."
"Sad together," said Tim, patting Mark's shoulder.
"Fuck sad," said Lucyfer, bitterly as she stood up on the couch and sat on the top. "I don't know about you, but I'm more about the let's-fuck-shit-up together. That's why we're all here, right?"
"Yep," said Ollie.
The rest of us nodded.
"Why don't I introduce you to a little R.I.P. DREAMS metal?" She hopped over to a stereo and popped in a CD. Then, she set up her bass guitar, connecting it to a speaker. She started playing and singing along with the CD, starting with the song "I Hate Clowns!"
Circus in town?
Honk-honk! Bang-bang!
Beep-beep! Stab-stab!
Honk-honk! Bang-bang!
Beep-beep! Stab-stab
Blood smile, Bleach skin, Squeak nose,
The sight of clowns makes me growl
For I know the truth behind colors so bright,
The naive think monsters hide in the dark, (Boo!)
But I know all the best live in plain sight. (Boom!)
Fire at will, I water roses with some fresh Bozo.
You're gonna scream... WHY? WHY? WHY?
R.I.P. DREAMS will shout... DIE! DIE! DIE!
You're gonna scream... WHY? WHY? WHY?
YOU WANNA KNOW WHY?!
I... HATE... CLOWNS!
Ridi, Pagliaccio. Laugh, Clown? Haha!
Run, Clown, and entice the happy hunting.
I'm out to show you the reddest of red,
Use it as my war paint as I kill the rest. (Blood!)
I laugh when another clown is dead! (Crud!)
For my next trick, I'll make a balloon animal.
You're gonna scream... WHY? WHY? WHY?
R.I.P. DREAMS will shout... DIE! DIE! DIE!
You're gonna scream... WHY? WHY? WHY?
YOU WANNA KNOW WHY?!
I... HATE...CLOWNS!
White-faces, bums, mimes, and thugs!
All the same face-painted cult from hell!
Demons hunger for attention and innocence:
Children's wide-eyes and tender flesh.
For you, we got a chef's special on flambé...
TASTE THE BURNING RUBBER ON YOUR FACE
AS WE ROADKILL THE FUCK OUT OF YOUR RACE!
Honk-honk! Bang-Bang!
Beep-beep! Stab-stab!
Honk-honk! Bang-Bang!
Beep-beep! Stab-stab!
You're gonna scream... WHY? WHY? WHY?
R.I.P. Dreams will shout.. DIE! DIE! DIE?
You're going to scream... WHY? WHY? WHY?
YOU WANNA KNOW WHY?!
I... HATE...CLOWNS!
All clowns scream why?
R.I.P. DREAMS shout die!
YOU KNOW WHY!
YOU KNOW WHY!
I HATE CLOWNS!
I HATE CLOWNS!
I... HATE... CLOWNS!