Title: Silence&Music
Prompt: "Murmur/Piper...trying to speak without words " by lukuma
Disclaimer: All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The original characters and plot are the property of the author. The author is in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any media franchise. No copyright infringement is intended.
Of course they met in Gotham. An old saying in the villain business is that all crazies end up in Gotham. This city seemed perfect: shadows, alleys and stone gargoyles on nearly every roof. The darkness seemed to claw from the outside into the hearts of people. With the Rogues gone, Wally hating him and James dead, nothing bound him to Keystone anymore.
Murmur´s mask was as white as bone in the night, the knife in his hand a deadly glint. Blood stained the left side of the mask - apart from Piper´s green cloak it was the only color under the moon.
Murmur had always terrified Piper. Not because the man was a ruthless killer, not because of the Frenzy Virus, but because Murmur hated sound. Murmur killed to silence. Piper lived for music.
But why was Murmur standing next to the Gotham Opera then?
Before Piper could move, he found a knife pressed to his throat. The blade was sharp and cold as ice in the night. Was this the end?
Then Murmur raised his other hand and put two fingers over Piper´s lips.
"Shhhh," said the silent gesture, "don´t talk."
Music trickled from the opera.
Piper didn´t understand.
"Why?"
The question lingered unsaid in the air and in his eyes.
Murmur forced his voice to form words without his tongue and a mouth sewn shut.
They were rasped, incomplete and barely more than a dry hiss. But Piper understood them.
"For only silence makes music worth listening.
Without silence, music is nothing more than meaningless noise."