"You know, I've always been told I've been good with kids" I grin as I slap the bird across the face with my trusty crowbar.
He let's out a cry, holding back his tears and breathing heavily. You gotta hand it to the kid. He really thinks Bat-brain will save him.
I will make sure that doesn't happen.
Dark, sticky blood is slathered across his tattered boy scout uniform. He slouches defensively in the chair, growing weak as my little game furthers. His lengthy black hair falls like a curtain over his bruised, bloodied face, a stream of glistening tears making its way down his dirty, purple cheeks.
"Aw, what's the matter? I haven't heard anything from you in quite some time. It's good to let others know how you feel" I cackle as I wipe the perspiration off my pale face, dropping the crowbar with a loud clang.
Smoothing my bright green hair out of my eyes, I circle him. He still attempts to escape his shackles, growing more tired after each shake. Stepping on his fallen mask, I hum a tune I vaguely remember from my childhood. At least I think it's from my childhood. All these chemicals make my head fuzzy.
The touch of your hand is like heaven, a heaven that I've never known… The blush on your cheek whenever I speak, tells me that you are my own…
A stack of explosives surround us as I look down at him. The only light in this abandoned warehouse comes from some work lights I borrowed from some construction worker that tried to ruin my party. A few shots to the back of the head knocked some sense into him. You should have seen the look on his face. Or what was left of it. I smile.
I lick my bony finger as I try to wipe the drying blood on my white dress shirt. I just got this ironed, and it'll be hard to wash out… I sigh as I continue humming, waiting for bird-brain to amuse me.
You fill my eager heart with such desire, every kiss you give sets my heart on fire… I give myself in sweet surrender, my one and only love…
One can only wait so long.
Growing impatient, I kick the boy in the side, the chair he's strapped in falling down with him. He lands with a grunt and a cough and I throw my head back in laughter. With tears in my eyes, he starts writhing on the cement like a worm that has been stepped on.
"Really? Nothing at all?" I ask as I pick him back up by the hair. He bites his lip as I set him back in place.
His piercing blue eyes stare emptily at me. The kid's got guts. He's not saying a word. He was probably trained like a dog not to. He's breathing heavily, sniffling like the coward he is.
Was it something I said?
"Can I let you in on a little secret?"
A moment of silence passes.
"I'll take that as a yes" I say.
Pulling a chair beside him and picking my crowbar back up, I sit and face the bird-brain. He continues to stare blankly.
"How does it feel to walk in his shadow? To hide under mommy's wing at the first sign of trouble? Does it sadden you? Does it frighten you? You think that if you keep fighting for his attention and live up to the accomplishments of his other boy wonder, you'll get noticed and he'll appreciate you" I tell him. I move closer to get a better look at him. I love the look of vulnerability in people's eyes.
"Believe me, I've tried. I really have. I've been a part of this game longer than you have, boy, and look what I am to him. I'm a freak. A joke. A cancer that plagues and gnaws at this decaying city, a cause to all of its problems. I fight for his attention, and he repays the gesture by knocking me down. If I can't gain his respect, what makes you think that you can? What does a boy he picked up off the street mean to him?"
"We're not so different, you and me. Oh, you do realize that you're going to be traded out when I'm finished with you, right? He'll sweep you under the rug like the rest of us freaks. Like me. He'll forget you and move on to the next thing, without a second thought. It'll be as if you never happened. You see, just because you're gone, doesn't mean that he'll stop doing what he does. He'll get a new partner in crime and you'll be forgotten as time goes on. Your work will go unnoticed. You'll be left in the dust, wondering, 'How could you do this to me? After all I've done for you?' And you know what you'll have to do to gain his attention at that point?"
His lips curl inward, his breathing getting heavier, his eyes welling up. He's so close to cracking. I hold back a smile.
I pull my chair closer and put my mouth against his ear.
The familiar humming of a vehicle in the distance catches my attention. I smirk.
"Eh, you'll figure it out on your own kid."
I stand back up, rolling up my sleeve to glance at my watch.
"Well, I better get this over with. I've got places to burn and people to kill!"
I pull a detonator from my pocket and fumble with the buttons, setting the explosives to blow in two minutes. Little bird-brain was too busy having fun with my game to notice the boxes of explosives surrounding him.
"Y-you bastard!" he yells. He shakes in his chair, trying to escape his shackles. I can only laugh as I skip toward the warehouse exit.
"Have a blast!" I let out through a large fit of laughter.
I continue to laugh even as I'm at a safe distance of the soon-to-be murder scene.
The bomb blows. I hear wood falling from the sky, a pained scream from a man in a bat costume.
I laugh a little more.
