Burning on the Inside
Now or Never
"—police have been led to believe that last night's thrift store theft is connected with the recent robberies. The same marks left on the walls match identically with those of the victims in—"
"Turn that off, will you?"
While reaching to switch the radio station, Abby paused at the host's next words. "Luckily, the police say they are coming to a conclusion of who is behind this—more than likely we may thank the Batman for their recent discoveries."
"Luckily? Luckily? Turn it off, damn it," Lina covered her face with a hand and shook her head. "That's ridiculous. I swear, the introduction of that bat brought more crime."
Abby let her rant as the rain began to let up; a cold shiver ran over her as she tried yet again to turn on the heating. The reaching hand froze over the dial as she heard screeching tires and a loud crash behind her. Wincing, her fingers gripped the wheel and she pulled to the left to get away from the accident. Of course, in Gotham one could never be sure if it truly was an accident.
The drops on the glass became less frequent as she pulled around to the back of the museum. Behind the old building, only a few cars were parked; yet, in this city it always felt like someone is watching you. Seeing that her dark jeans had come untucked from her boots, she breathed out a sigh, tucked them in, and then opened the door. Quickly opening the trunk, she grabbed her umbrella and purse.
Lina smiled as she came under the umbrella, "You know, it's safer to keep your bags in the floorboard of the passenger side?"
"Haven't heard that one before," Abby coughed and rolled her eyes. "But I'm sure not going to keep them there with a klepto like you in the front seat."
Her smiling eyes turned to a glare as she glanced around, "Shut up, people here don't take that as a joke."
Abby did as asked, spun on her heel and began walking to the entrance; of course, she didn't get far before Lina caught up. Those daily runs obviously pay off—Lina began walking at her pace, though slightly in front. Always, she must be slightly in front.
The cries of children overwhelmed the crackling of the flames; however, the licking and crawling of the fire fascinated the young girl. She reached out to touch it, and let it sink in to her skin. The child sucked in a deep breath as the creature surely left scars upon her pale skin.
"What are you doing?"
She broke contact with her first friend to look up at her second. A girl with ash covered hair reached toward her; the fire-girl fell back, and felt the warmth of the flames against her shirt.
"Hey!" The only slightly older girl grabbed the other's shoulders and pulled her away from the fire. "Come on, we're leaving this hell."
Abby hadn't noticed the bags she carried until she shoved one into her arms. Haziness followed them as they ran through the orphanage and out into the dirty street. She slid in the socks they had provided the children and let slip a few of the items from the bag—bills: tens, fives, ones, flew from her arms.
"Just keep running! You'll make some bum's day," the older girl breathed.
And so they ran.
"Hey," Abby felt a tap on her shoulder. "One o'clock, the blue one."
Her eyes flicked to the blue gem on display in the 'Month-long Egyptian jewel' section of the museum. Here only 30-days, they would be packing up tomorrow; of course, it seems there would be one missing. Abby glanced to the opposite case and spotted a ruby ankh: maybe a few would go amiss.
The cold hurt more than the cobblestones under her feet; they had stopped running and now hid in an alleyway.
"What's your name?"
The filthy, cold girl looked up and, breathing heavily, answered, "Abby."
"Nice to meet you," She smiled largely and looked accomplished. "I—"
"Now what do we have here?"
They both jumped up to stare at a large woman with thick, dark hair. She held a pan in one hand and leaned the other against the moist brick wall.
"Well, don't just sit there," She motioned toward the open door. "Come in, come in."
"Toss me the duct tape, will you?" She came out in a skintight body suit that made Abby wince.
"What happened to the pants combination?" She asked, gesturing to her own black pants and boots. Lina shrugged and caught the tape Abby threw at her.
"Felt like I should mix it up a little."
"Miss—"
"I told you, girl, call me Mama," The elderly woman tossed a box into the back of the truck. "Now, I have to go, but I'll be back in the morning. Tell the others to carry on."
She pats my coquelicot hair before pulling herself into the driver's seat and hauling out. Abby jumped over a pile of bricks and walked swiftly into the house.
"Lina! Sylvia!" She whispered harshly into the dark air. It is finally time.
"Is she gone?" Lina swung down from the second floor as Sylvia took the stairs. "The others are heading out the back…I told them we'd catch up."
Sylvia smiled a dark smile, "We're not going to catch up."
"Okay," Abby nodded along with the blonde. "Do you have everything?"
She handed her a sack filled with the items she'd acquired over the years—well, the items she'd hidden before Mama Fortuna could confiscate them.
Yet again Abby found herself running from a home.
"It's bad enough we can't drive there…but must we walk at this slow a pace? I cannot wait to see the pretties come out of their jails," the currently trench coat wearing woman barely made a noise in the night.
Abby pulled her own coat closer and watched her breath float out in front of her. The icy nights in Gotham will kill her one day, she knows it; yet, she will never leave. "Your precious gems will be in your hands momentarily."
Lina huffed and turned to the alleyway beside the museum. Shedding the coats, Abby took them and folded them behind a dumpster—after tonight it wouldn't matter who stole them, they'd have all that they need. She stood up and tightened the belt around her waist, careful to not set off anything. She turned to look at her partner and let out a snort.
"What the hell are you supposed to be?"
She pulled the whip out of her bag and wrapped it around her arm. In the glow of the street lamp outside the alley, the end stuck out and created the allusion of a tail…she looked utterly feline.
"—a cat burglar, clearly," She smiled that spacious smile. "I thought you'd appreciate it, your humor and all."
Abby rolled my eyes, "It's lovely, now come on, and it's almost midnight."
"Go to hell!"
"What? What have I ever done to you?"
"Exactly! Not once did you ask 'Oh, Sylvie, what happened? Are you all right? Did he hurt you?' WELL, YES, damnit, he hurt me," The blonde fumed. "I'm fifteen…I'm only fifteen…I'm not alright."
"Sylvia, I'm sorr—"
"Don't start with me, Abby," She backed away from the two. "You're just weird. I just—I got to go."
As she ran away Abby turned to Lina, who looked up at her with a frown. "We need to find somewhere to stay, to get jobs, or something. She's right, we're going to get hurt doing this, or worse."
"Wait for a second," Abby whispered and turned to the ruby case. She pointed her laser at it and fired an opening for her hand. Pulling a ruby bracelet with her, she nodded to Lina and they crept to our rope.
Lina stopped at the foot of it and adjusted the bag on her shoulder. "Sanity before beauty."
Abby made a noise of annoyance and began hoisting herself up the rope with the bag. She felt Lina begin to follow her lead and they made their way through the skylight and into the night.
"And then," She laughed, breaking the walls of the whisper. "They went to rob the bank!"
Abby wrapped her hands around the steaming coffee, smiling as Lina retold the tale of the Joker's recent breakout of Arkham. The dirty café in downtown Gotham was practically empty, luckily for them—talking about recent thefts was no fun in their shared apartment. The street corner, still damp from the previous night's rain held few people waiting to cross and the cold wind brushed through the scattered trees.
"It seems," Abby began, her voice rough in the morning air. "As though his insanity is taking over his judgment."
She snorted daintily, "You don't say? At least his breakout robbery was enough to keep the bat busy, because in other news the museum was robbed of six high priced items."
She pulled out the day's Gazette from her bag, "Sadly, the museum will not be the home to the Greek and Roman statue collection that was scheduled for next week, as recent break ins have lowered it's status as a safe place—right, because every jewel thief wants their own statue."
Abby smiled as Lina rolled her eyes and tossed her pitch-black hair over her shoulder. "But, on that note I believe we should go out again tonight; have some fun, you know?"
"Fun?"
"Yes," she looked at a place above Abby's head before continuing. "We rarely get a chance, and as it is a lovely Thursday in Gotham, I believe it to be the perfect night for some fun."
"Now, Lina," She scrunched her eyebrows together. "What exactly is it you consider 'fun' again?"
She shrugged, "I figure we could stop by that store on Ment, maybe pick something up, then head to a club or something."
She sighed; more cold sounds lovely. Though this could be an opportunity to try out some new things—Lina never did understand her desires. With her friends, she could end the coldness of Gotham, they could put a stop to all the icy ways and cold glares.
"Sounds like…fun," Abby took another sip of the now cold drink and made a face.
"Twenty-one years old and already a professional thief," the man chuckled deeply and pulled the toothpick from his mouth. "But, what's this? You want to lay low for a bit and work for me?"
Lina rolled her eyes and put her hands on her hips, "Not work for you, be employed by you. I just want to get some information out of some of your clients—your business won't be hurt, they won't even know what's happening."
"And her?" The man, Stan, motioned to Abby with the toothpick. "What's she good for?"
"We hear you know a guy—goes by Janitor or something," Lina let out a short laugh. "She wants a word or two with him."
Stan stood up straighter; under the glow of the street lights the dirt on his face turned into a beard of sorts. A dripping noise was heard in the alleyway behind them and Abby grew distracted while waiting for an answer.
"—and with—hey, is she even listening?" Abby snapped her head back to face him. "Listen good, in this world you need to learn how to pay attention, learn to focus on everything and understand everything. You'll go no where, and Josué will not speak with you."
"Josué the Janitor? Oh please," Lina smirked as Stan faced her.
"Don't you start now, he'll roast you alive," He pulled a napkin out of his back pocket. "Either of you got a pen?"
As Abby pulled one out from her bag he mumbled, "At least she's prepared." He took the pen and jotted something down before handing it and the napkin back to her. "Room 113, knock three times then ring the doorbell."
Abby grunted in pain as she hit the floor, "Watch it sparky."
She glared up at Lina as she gently slid down the rope in her black cat suit. The whip was back—however, when she helped her stand up Abby noticed the whip wasn't the same as last night's. This one was much older.
She jumped through the room as Abby disabled the alarm. Oh, shit.
"Hey…Lina… we should go," She whispered before turning around.
"No, you shouldn't."
His hand grabbed her mouth, preventing her scream from being released. Little did he know that it wouldn't have made any noise anyway; yet, when he turned her to face him and she looked into the black cowl, she understood why most scream when they see him. The Batman.
"Hey, I got the—"
The Bat turned around so they both faced Lina, who dropped her bag of jewels and began unwrapping the whip from her arm. Abby felt him release her neck and drop her to the ground. She let out a cough as her hair fell over her face. Trying to pull herself up, she watched as he lunged for Lina.
She elegantly jumped out of his way and pulled her whip back to snap; he dodged her attack and jumped toward her with a kick. Her shoulder caught the worst of the blow and she groaned in pain; yet, the Batman didn't stop. He stood with his hands in front of him as she flew at him in a flurry of kicks, whip soaring. As he dove to the side, Abby pulled herself up to lean against the wall. Her jacket fell open slightly and her head lolled to the side—she reached into the side of her jacket and pulled out a container.
As the Batman hit Lina in the head, she fell to the ground. Abby felt blood drip down her own cheek and caught Lina's eyes—which widened when she saw what Abby carried.
"Abby—don't."
This must have confused Batman as he stopped wrapping her own whip around her and turned to Abby. She grinned and lit the fuse, letting the cylinder drop to the floor. It clattered toward the display case to her right.
The heat came soon after.
"So, how was your week with Janitor?" She smirked at the name.
She shrugged, "He was in his late seventies. Actually, quite the sweet old man—except for the odd moments of insanity."
"Did he teach you what you wanted to know?"
"Yes."
"Oh," She reached behind her and pulled out a rope. "One of the clients gave me this, cool right?"
It wasn't a rope, it was a whip: a cat-o-nine tails whip.
The room was brown: brown seats, brown walls, and brown gavel. The judge was crinkly and blurry; but they told her that's from the explosion. It will go away soon.
Lina sits next to her as they await their fates, the handcuffs digging into her wrists and ankles…she yawned and looked at the people around the room. Abby knew the bomb would be huge, but who could have known that it would have taken down an entire street corner and apartments next door. Oops.
"Ms. Selina Kyle—seven years at Blackgate for six counts of felony theft."
She held her head at the same level, but Abby noticed a sigh escape the corner of her mouth. Abby glanced up at the judge and he looked over his glasses at her face.
"Ms. Abigail Garret," She blinked. It has been a long time since she heard her full name. "It has come to the court's attention that you hold questionable mental stability; as it is, I believe prison may not be the best option for you."
Abby let out a short breath and glanced to Lina, who was unmoving and opinion-less for once.
"Your sentence—Arkham, until deemed safe to live amongst the general public."
A/N: If you enjoyed this, please tell me with a review; if you didn't enjoy this, please tell me why you didn't. Thanks for reading!