Yang gave a sigh as she stepped outside the now ruined Iceberg Lounge. She had hoped for a better start honestly then this one. Asking that little tiny runt some information that just so had managed to slip into her hands thanks to her uncle, proved to be more useless then she had hoped for. Maybe because she came onto strong… or maybe because she just didn't want to wait her turn again. But she didn't consider herself at fault here at all.
No, the one at fault was the little goofball himself. Clearly he didn't know how to run a proper business or at least a proper club. Well, it was only the second best club she had smashed to pieces as she grinned to herself as memories of punching Junior through his own nightclub came back to her. Good times. Still, it had gotten her nowhere further in her own quest. The only thing she got out of it was sort of a new enemy that was hanging out with Torchwick.
She had recognized the scumbag right away when she saw him but paid him little heed. He knew well enough not to tackle someone like her, or at least not without the proper back-up for it. His new friend though clearly didn't get that memo. Even if she had no powers or super strength or defense… she had put up an admirable fight. Yang had to admit that at the very least and she didn't seem too unhappy about getting her ass kicked. As if she was sort of used to that.
And that she said she had fun with her… it sort of distracted Yang a bit. The girl was just so happy and cheerful during the entire fight… it felt like fighting herself. Well, a decreased and relying on gadgets self of her but still, someone that just wanted to have fun. Shame she was on the wrong side though. Yang already had a feeling she was going to see her again soon enough. For some reason, soon enough couldn't come quick enough.
It had been fun to spar with her. Sure, she was rude and probably had no good intentions… or Roman wasn't going to have good intentions with her… but still she enjoyed having that fight with her. If anything it had just been a nice little bit of time killer over the absolute waste of visiting this place again. That got her to return to her own thoughts again, that this whole visit to the nightclub was a waste of time.
Yang approached her Bumblebee as she leaned against it and gave a sigh. She could just as well hear the sirens already approaching and knew that they weren't going to believe a total stranger that she didn't intend to let things get out of hand like this. It was better to make sure she wasn't spotted for now. Staying more in the shadows, probably try her luck elsewhere. The city was flooded with nightclubs of varying degrees. Someone had to know… someone had to have seen her.
Yang pulled up her scroll to look at it with a small smile. She looked at a particular picture of a woman with a large mask on. Her dark raven hair waved in the wind as she clearly ran from something or someone. She sighed again as she put it away. This was why she was here. To see if her mom was indeed here… but so far there was no luck. No luck since she punched Junior out cold that was.
He wasn't able to put her on a right track which was a darn shame. She actually nearly would have given up all together and rolled into one of the academies back home if not for one last tip from her uncle who said that his sis went to a place that was always dark. To be fair, since getting here Yang hadn't seen the sun shining even once, even during the day. So the clue was clearly referring to this place. At least that was what she guessed.
It all now came down to finding someone that had seen her somewhere. Someone that was willing to tell her more about her mother. That was only if she was indeed here. Yang just went back and forth between willing to continue her search and giving up all together but her uncle had just set her on a trail and she didn't want to give up just yet again. Giving up was just too easy right now. It would feel like all this time she spend looking for her meant nothing and that was as far from the truth as could be.
She would just need to find the right person to talk to, that was all. As she prepared to put her helmet back on her head and put her sunglasses over her eyes, her scroll suddenly beeped as she decided to take a look at it and saw the smiling face of her kid sister. "Hey Ruby." she said cheerfully as she answered the phone. "How's my favorite sis in the whole world doing? You're not getting into trouble are you?"
"Hey, I never get into trouble. Trouble gets in my way." Yang said as she grinned. Ruby clearly was concerned. Last she had seen he, she was going to the academy instead of her. Well, as long as she had fun there. That was what mattered most to Yang right now. Truthfully she wanted to go back and be there for her little sister. She just felt really bad as she did her best to continue to smile and fake her good feeling for now.
"Don't worry about me. You just get your homework done and have fun over there. My little sister is going to be the best huntress of all of Vale." she said cheerfully as she laughed slightly. Ruby had just such a sweet dream, to be just like her own mom. Yang had supported her all the way up to this point where their roads had separated. "Alright, I miss you too. Love you too sis." she said now quickly as she hung up her scroll and tucked it away.
Hearing from Ruby might have been just what she needed as her smile crept back on her face. It just as much reminded her in a weird way of that girl. Red and black, what were the odds in that? A clad in red and black sister and one enemy… it all had something funny to Yang. As if someone had decided to play a joke of sorts on her. Well, it didn't matter. They were both fun in their own little way and Yang did hope in a strange way she would see that girl again. Just for the fun they had in beating each other up.
As she got on her bike she suddenly looked around. Looking up she looked at one of the many tall buildings that adorned the city as she gave a sigh. Apart from one large black bird there was no one. Still, she could have sworn that she was being watched. As if someone from the shadows was watching her… or was it just the bird that had been staring at her? Yang decided that for now she didn't care and shrugged it off as she drove her bike away into the night… looking for the next clue.
Yang's feeling however couldn't have been truer as from the shadows a young man looked up as he watched the girl drive away. "She really did a number on Cobblepot and Harley… should I follow her?" he asked as he was talking to someone over his earpiece. The reply was short and clear as he gave a nod. "Very well, I'll keep in touch with you." he said as he jumped and floated away following the girl on her motorbike.
Batman's disappearance had caused for a wide spread of crime reduction in certain cases. A lot of villains that had gone down the road of evil to search for the death of the end of the man had their goals fulfilled. Others simply lost their drive for chaos and mayhem that one long night gave them that Halloween and others again simply had other things to do. Certain big names however did stay and tried to rally as much support to them as possible.
Two-Face, Black Mask, Penguin… a few of the crime bosses that still tried desperately now to make Gotham their own. Without the Batman to stop them it seemed so much easier but the truth was that they had lost many men in response and with a new supposedly even more terrifying Batman out there… so many people had simply lost the guts to continue on what they were doing now. They had become truly scared of what new horrors lurked in Gotham.
Things weren't helped when on one night Black Mask was reportedly murdered by a new vigilante. Many of the gangsters now fortified themselves in special places of Gotham and didn't want to face that new danger head on. Instead, they handed out money for those who wanted to do the dirty deed themselves. It attracted bounty hunters like Deadshot and Deathstroke but they soon lost interest at the sheer open game of it all and rather operated on a contract base.
Several more rogues however had just hung up their mantle, not feeling any drive to continue. Freeze had left Gotham completely after having failed to save his wife and with his own suit damaged beyond repair… the two had set off on ship and never returned. Bane had mysteriously vanished and was never seen again and Riddler, after suffering a humiliating defeat had lost his biggest competitor and had to take enough that he could never prove he was indeed smarter than Batman.
The smaller evils however… they were much harder to take down. Killer Croc made the sewers under Gotham his home and terrorized on certain occasions many streets, be it to expand territory or to just hunt for fun. Lazlo Valentin kept making his so called 'perfections' as Pyg and in his own crazy disturbing way terrorized people again and in the shadows the psychopath known as Mad Hatter still kept his eyes open looking for his Alice to take with him to Wonderland.
Another killer that seemingly flourished with the disappearance from Batman was the psychotic killer known as Victor Zsasz. Zsasz had also missed out on the Halloween night and whilst never getting to carve the special place he had in mind for Batman… he had succeeded in getting even more new marks than ever before. Soon he was running even out of space and had to take one of his creations to continue his life work on.
Zsasz had to kill, it was something that was printed in his brain. He could never stop this urge after a tragic incident. Zsasz made that unfortunate trip to the Iceberg Lounge during its golden days and wanted to press his luck. His family fortune was on the line but it seemed though that he was indeed blessed with unparalleled luck. That was until he took a table with Penguin and in a rash decision put all of his money and all of his belongings on the line against the little cockroach.
Zsasz thought he had the best card ever in hand… thought he could beat this man… but sadly everything went downhill. Even in Penguin had cheated, Zsasz would have no luck to call the owner of the place a damn cheater. Soon enough he was thrown out of the club without a penny left to spend. As if fate wanted to torture him some more what else would he have ran into but a criminal asking him for his money.
In rage, the deranged man struck out against his robber and slashed him down. As he looked down a new insatiable feeling crept over him. A new purpose was given to him, a new life work on which to work on as he called it. In a mere minute he also carved a line in his own flesh… one down… and a lot more to go. That was back then, when the Batman was still around to stop him. But now he managed to stay under the radar for a while… whilst he still committed his gruesome murders.
Zsasz, like any good old fashioned psychopath, didn't consider he was a bad guy however. He was in fact giving these people what they needed in his mind… their true goal in life fulfilled. At the same time for some weird obscure reason he needed to also pose these people again as if they were mannequins of a sort. To many, this made no sense in the slightest but to Zsasz it was like creating a weird form of art. In one such case the Police found a family of five… all seated at a dinner table… as if they were indeed puppets themselves.
Zsasz was indeed right now busy working on his latest masterpiece. Having cut one such poor soul right under his throat, he was busy cleaning up the blood that had dripped out from it and was already thinking what new position he would give this man. Perhaps he would make drop him at a phone booth to trick people he wanted to get a call… or perhaps put him as one of the still many remaining homeless people out on the street. The choices in this case were endlessly.
As he was still contemplating in his own madness what he was about to do he suddenly jerked back to look at his window. He could have sworn someone… something out there had been looking at him. Slowly he turned his back again as he continued to clean the man's wound. So much blood… so much had come out from it. Like a pig that had been cut open… he stifled a giggle at that thought because the man had indeed been rather thick.
Once more he jerked his face towards the window. Was someone spying on him? He could have sworn he had heard something… something was outside there. Grabbing his knife he slowly inched his way towards the window as he remained wary of what could happen to him. "If there is anyone out there… I won't hesitate to gut you like a pig!" he said as he next opened the window with a jerk and looked around outside.
Nothing… there was simply nothing out there. 'Strange.' he thought to himself as he lowered the window again and sighed. 'Could have sworn there was something out there… maybe it is Batman… come back to help me finally give me that mark I so desire.' he thought to himself as a wide smile crept on his face. He once more stared outside of the window but nothing happened this time. There was simply nothing there.
Now however, there came a sound from the kitchen, or what might have been once a kitchen in the decrepit building. Zsasz right away got out from his thoughts and hurried towards the kitchen, his blade drawn as he sneered. Who-ever it was that was in there, it would be dead soon. Maybe he would then be able to make a couple on a bench once more… maybe this time in a romantic way. That got him slightly smirking again.
As he rushed into the kitchen, the knife drawn he looked around the place. Outside of an open window, there was still nothing. Zsasz looked around as he rushed over to the window and slammed this one shut as well. With a slight pant he just shook his head. Perhaps it was talking about Batman, that got him slightly paranoid again and it was beginning to annoy him. It was perhaps better to banish those thoughts and just finish his work.
As he next turned around to look back at where he had left his work, his eyes slowly widened. There was a girl there… not just any girl, one that looked rather peculiar. Her hair had not one or two but three colors and not even the best combination with black, brown and bright pink mixed together. She held onto what looked like a parasol as she was in fact checking out the dead body he had left on the table, curiously poking it as if it was some kind of toy.
"What do you think you're doing here little piggy?" Zsasz asked as he narrowed his eyes slowly walking up towards her as the girl looked up. She gave no response other than a small smile as she looked at him before looking back at the work of the deranged psychopath. "Like what you see huh?" Zsasz asked as he grinned. He couldn't use anyone to spy on his work… nor did he need someone to help him in it. His work was his alone and no one else and he certainly didn't need some snot nosed girl to help him with it.
He twirled his blade anxiously in his hand as he slowly walked up to the girl. He already knew where he was going to put his mark for her as he grinned madly. The girl was seemingly oblivious… or perhaps she didn't think of him as a threat… but why would she do that? Maybe she was just trying to vex him with faking her calm state. As he now was nearly next to her he raised his arm up, ready to plant his knife with enough force into her skull.
The girl was however faster as she simply moved her head with a small smile out of the way as the blade now rushed down and crashed into the table. Zsasz looked in surprise at the girl as she next smiled and opened her parasol as she turned around ready to leave. With a pull, Zsasz got his knife out from the table and rushed over to the girl swiping at her again. This time, as he hit her, she shattered as if he had just broken a piece of glass.
Zsasz just stood surprised as he wondered what had just happened. One minute the girl was there and next… well, he didn't want to think about it as he turned around… and next nearly jumped up in surprise as the girl now stood in front of him… and made a picture of him with what looked like to be a phone. Did she think this was funny? Did she think this was hilarious? Zsasz quickly collected himself and rushed now at the girl.
"DIE LITTLE PIG!" he screamed in anger as he made several swipes at the girl. Every swipe however she easily dodged as she didn't even sweat a little bit at this. Her smile only grew over the time as she pushed her parasol into his face causing the psychopath to back away again in surprise. The girl seemed to even be simply toying with him. It was beginning to vex him. As he rushed once more at her he pulled out another knife and screamed again in anger.
The first swipe of his knife she dodged, the next one she jumped out of the way, the third she jumped over him. As he tried to turn around she already grabbed his arm and threw him with surprising strength towards the ground. This wasn't really happening was it? He couldn't possibly be trumped by what looked like an insane school girl. He wouldn't allow his work to be ended here as he slowly got up rubbing some blood off his lip.
"You're a tough one… but I already made up my mind piggy. I will kill you… and I will get my mark!" he said in frustration as he now threw his knife at her as she once more jumped over it, now rushed at him and with a jump kick, hit him right on his jaw. Skidding over the floor, she grabbed his leg and next threw him into the air as he crashed into the ceiling and dropped down, crashing into the floor again, bones crushing in the process.
Zsasz coughed out blood as he looked around. Whilst he had been thrown by the girl into the air he had lost his knifes as he tried now to find them back. He wouldn't be getting that chance as the girl placed her heel onto his chest and smiled. Out from a hidden part of her parasol she pulled what looked like a sword as she grinned madly at him now, her eyes switching colors at the same time as she held it up to look at him.
As the blade speared through his chest, Zsasz felt only bad that he would never see his life work completed. He would never have been able to complete it without Batman but to go out in this way… it just saddened him as he felt his life slowly fading out of his body. He had such great ideas for this one last kill… it would never come to fruition. Still a smile stretched out over his face as he saw the irony at being killed by another psychopath… one that was just too strong for him again.
The girl pulled her blade out and cleaned it off with a happy smile. She didn't mind killing people, but she still had to keep her own stuff clean. She couldn't go back to Roman with her blade all messed up again. With a grin she skipped over to the window, put the blade back into the parasol and with a jump got out of the window. It would be hours before the police would arrive… and what they found would leave them with more questions than answers.
Harley still yelled happily even as blood dripped from her lip. Roman was driving around like a mad man… just the way she liked to drive around Gotham at night. Cars had to veer off the road as the two speeded passed by. To Harley there was no greater joy in the world, a memory of the good old times but now something that was happening once more. Having rolled open the window she had stuck half of herself out yelling at other cars and even trying to pry off side mirrors just for the fun of it all.
Roman on his part didn't really seem to mind her more suicidal needs in this way. He was after all now driving and things went far smoother… at least that was what he told himself. He had already made sure four other cars on the road had been smashed aside as they rode on by back to the sort of hide out he had made as long as he was going to be here. It was still a small way ahead as the two rode onward with several claxons blaring as they passed by.
"It's a shame we ain't got a rocket launcher here." Harley commented as she got back in her seat and rubbed some of the blood on her lips away. "I could really use it to clear the road ahead." she said as Roman simply smirked at her. "There's a time for chaos and a time to try and not pull too much attention to ourselves." he only commented as Harley wondered if that also worked if you went with 80 miles per hour through parts that were easily only 30 or 50 miles per hour.
"So… where are we going?" Harley asked curiously as she now pulled open the passenger mirror to clean her face up and inspect on some of the damage. "I hope it's a place that has fake teeth. I'm going to need one." she said as Roman smiled. "Well, it just so happens I might have a few things to help you… also considering your old bat didn't last that long…" he said as Harley held up the completely smashed in steel bat as she sighed sadly.
Why did the blonde girl needed to punch into it? Punching into her was one thing but this… this one had been with Harley for quite a while. It wasn't a giant hammer but it did the job quite well. It was more mobile and faster to carry around. Still, if Roman had a replacement for her she was going to get that one right away. It was better to get something that was still in one piece then something that was going to break apart if you even tapped it on a pillow.
"I got my own small ride parked in one of the many green zones of the city." he said as Harley scratched her head as he quickly clarified it. "Parks… it's parked in a park." he said as Harley quickly nodded. "Aaaaah… well, there are a few around here. You sure you know where it was?" she asked as Roman gave only a small smile. "Sure…" he said to her. To Harley it was clear that it was going to be sometime before they would arrive at the precise park.
Finally after having gone around three rounds and seen five different parks, the sixth one was finally the one as Roman jerked the car to a halt. Quickly he and Harley scampered out from it knowing that by now, the cops were once more hot on their trails. It was because they just so had to crash into the Commissioner's car as well and he wasn't all too pleased about it. Hopping out from it the two quickly ran into the park to make sure they would shake off the cops from their trail.
"Well, that was at least amusing. You crashed right head into Gordy's car! If only we ran hard enough to smash him into a pulp as well." Harley said as she and Roman now slowed down to a normal pace as they didn't hear anyone chasing after them. "Heh… well, I do love to make an appearance where ever I go. Where I came from I'm actually somewhat the ring master of the entire underworld. Nothing gets slipped past me and nothing gets done without my approval.
Harley gave a small smile as he said that. It just all reminded her of the old times. Being the sidekick of perhaps the biggest ring master of Gotham as he produced new shows every time to get the attention of the Batman. Her favorite was the one where he poisoned the waters just to get all the fish to smile. It had something cute to her to see all the fish with a big old grin on their faces and the money to roll in if they go the rights to those fishes…
Joker had called it a stupid idea afterwards but she still enjoyed it and sometimes still laughed at their sillier crimes. The ones that were more to tease Batman than to actually hurt people. Well, people always got hurt in their schemes and when she eventually ended up killing a few she just shrugged it off as worth it to make the joke all the more better. In recent days however her conscience had come bearing down on her and she was re-thinking a lot of her own mistakes and things she had done wrong.
Right now however that was something that had been pushed back far away as she smiled at Roman. "So… a real crime boss again. Well, Gotham's going to be a challenge for you if you want to take over the entire city." she said with a smile as Roman looked back with a grin. "Well, a challenge I'm well prepared for." he explained as he pulled back a branch as they made their way past a tree… behind the tree stood something that was akin to an aircraft but nothing like what Harley had seen before.
"OH MY GOD, IS IT A BIRD, A PLANE, A SUPERMAN?!" she yelled as she stared with big eyes at the entire thing as Roman gave a smirk. Now he had her just where he wanted… like if he had taken a kid to a candy store. "It's a Bullhead… and it just so happens to be my little stash as well." he said as he walked ahead now still smiling. If the girl was anything like what he had expected her to be… she would love what would come next.
Opening the Bullhead he revealed a giant amount of weapons, colored stones and even a small box that contained indeed fake teeth. Harley only wondered why he needed that… but then she reminded herself that he probably needed those if that blonde girl came from where he lived. And she just as much needed one badly or otherwise Selina was going to ask questions… not that she wasn't going to ask questions, but trying to keep those to a minimum was a good start for Harley.
Hurrying over, the girl first rushed in head first into the box with weapons. "OH MY GOD, ALL OF THESE ARE AMAZING!" she yelled as she held up a giant club like weapon and next produced what seemed to be a set of smaller guns. Dropping the two weapons she gasped as she next pulled out what seemed to be a hammer and held it in her hands. "I think I have fallen in love again." Harley said as she smiled at Roman with a genuine happy smile.
"Well, I can't have my partners running around empty handed… even if you might be able to get a good kick in there…" he said as he paused to light his cigar before continuing. "That girl you fought was just as well from the place I came from. Its better we give you something to be prepared for if we run into her again… and given my form of luck that might happen rather fast again." he said as he looked at Harley before walking over to help explain the weapon to her.
Harley's mind trailed off to the blonde girl again. Aside from smashing her bat to a near pulp she still didn't mind running into her again. Hopefully in a more fair way though as she didn't want to get beaten up again like this. Still… it was fun fighting her. She had a very happy smile during the entire fight as if she was having enough fun as well with it. The few punches Harley did pack into it had however not even made a single scratch on her… whilst she still missed one entire tooth and had probably a few broken bones to boot.
As Roman was busy explaining now how to use the gun mode on the hammer, her mind returned once more to listen to him as she had blocked out most of it that was glorifying him probably as he had stolen it from under the noses of some force called Atlus. It wasn't really interesting but learning that she could shoot with it as well… now this was truly her dream weapon. She smiled at Roman giving a nod that she had understood what he had said… well, most of it.
Aiming the weapon at a tree, Harley took aim and with a blast took off a branch from the tree as she smiled happily. "OH MY GOD, I LOVE THIS!" she once more exclaimed as Roman had to stifle a laugh as he looked at the girl. "Well, that will keep you happy for now." he said handing her the box with fake teeth as she quickly took it to put one in her mouth. She wasn't a dentist… but she just hoped she could fit in one rather quickly.
The pain from it would probably remain for a few days but she would smile it away. Cover it up with make-up and no one would find out it was just a fake tooth… by now she shifted to look at Roman with a smile as she got up to him and hugged him tightly much to his surprise. "Uhm… what are you doing?" he asked as he awkwardly stared at her. "This is how I thank my friends for giving me great gifts and a great night!" she said happily as Roman just stood there… getting more than enough of it.
"Alright, hugging time is over, please let me go in one piece again." he said as Harley quickly released him again with a grin as she gathered he wasn't a big fan of hugs. "Don't do that again please. It messes up my style." he said straightening his white coat and putting his hat back in place. "But… you're welcome." he said dropping his cigar on the floor as he looked out over the town. "This is going to be the start of a beautiful friendship." He remarked as Harley swung the hammer over her shoulder. She couldn't agree more with him.