ʙᴀʟᴀɴᴄᴇ ɪs ᴋᴇʏ
ʙᴀʟᴀɴᴄᴇ ɪs ɴᴏᴛ sᴏᴍᴇᴛʜɪɴɢ ʏᴏᴜ ғɪɴᴅ; ɪᴛ's sᴏᴍᴇᴛʜɪɴɢ ʏᴏᴜ ᴄʀᴇᴀᴛᴇ. - ᴊᴀɴᴀ ᴋɪɴɢsғᴏʀᴅ
•••
There was a tinkering of pans in the quiet little apartment.
The sun had just started to peek out from behind the buildings and spilled over the white walls. Lu was already going about her morning routine as her pink slippers slid on the light wood floor. The girl whipped the batter in the baby blue bowl tucked between her hip and left arm. Her bedhead fell over her shoulders and face like a waterfall but she could still see the familiar face on the news. A woman announced that it was day 27 of the manhunt for Oswald Cobblepot as a picture of the man was shown on the screen. Yin's eyebrows arched a bit and she almost felt bad for the crime-lord. The fact that the first she'd seen him personally he was eager to kill a man over dumb revenge aided in lessening her pity.
Lu wasn't an explicit part of the criminal underworld of Gotham but she knew enough to not get in over her head. For her to choose her targets just right a certain amount of gossip needed to be heard here and there. She needed to know the house brands, the big names, what they did and who they did it to, only then could she balance out how much of a reckoning they needed. The girl recalled the first time she'd heard Oswald's name. A couple of guys were drinking at a high-end nightclub as they laughed about how a lowly umbrella boy had tried to overrun Fish Mooney herself. Lu had taken the information as just another one of the casual conversations that went on moments before she was slicing through the ones who had just been speaking. It was only a few months later when the whole city turned upside down and the big boss had that same name that she realized how sly the man actually was. Although he'd been very helpful to her in that particular situation at the Rat Pack didn't mean he was exempt from the wheel of life. The girl had begun to lose herself in her thoughts when she recalled the batter she was whisking. The girl returned to her homely duties with a small smile as she poured a small amount of the batter onto the skillet. Soon enough the scent of pancakes was dancing through the entire apartment as Lu hummed casually. The girl was in the preparation stage. She needed these moments of silent reminiscing before acting. Making a deliciously sweet and homemade breakfast was the gateway to her memories of how it all started. The start of her enlightenment and the first time she took matters into her own hands rather than sitting around waiting for every little piece of the puzzle to fall into place.
•••
Even in the cold autumn air Lucinda could still feel the heat of the blood emanating from her knee. It was bright and wet and somehow hurt less than her heart which was beating so rapidly she thought she'd combust. Lu could still hear the girls' laughter at her back. It was the type of giggle that enticed one of two things; suicide or murder, and Lucinda Yin wasn't the type for either. Perhaps that was her flaw in the first place. Maybe it was her passivity that made her stick out in a world of people clawing at each other. Whatever it truly was that excluded her from the norm it had gotten her the violent attention of the school's notorious girl gang. They were gorgeous little devils that thrived around the weak and the introverts. Unfortunately for Yin she was both. And growing up with a "hippie caravan", as the girls had nicknamed her parent's lifestyle, was just the kick start they needed to turn 15 year old Lucinda's life into a living hell.
"Where are you going flowerchild?" A redhead cooed to Lu as she followed her limping body.
Lucinda didn't answer as the other girls chuckled and tittered at the title she'd been given since the beginning of their antics.
Abruptly Lu felt a sharp pain at her back as another of the girls threw a pebble at her.
"Hey, flowerchild, she asked you a question."
"I-I'm going home." She answered shakily.
"Oh, well you're going the wrong way; the forest is over that way."
Another shower of giggles came rushing into Lucinda's ears like daggers and she internally evaluated if feeling more pain in her knee was worth getting away from their taunting. Lu thought about just how close she to home and decided to take the risk of tripping and getting beat up to the torture of hearing the girls' incessant jokes. Without warning she took off into the grove to her left and in less than an instant heard the group behind her follow with shouting and cursing.
Lucinda's blood roared at her ears and the frigid wind whipped at the exposed flesh of her knee mercilessly. She was shorter than the other, she was much less athletic and she had the disadvantage of being hurt; now that she was being chased like a rabbit by hounds Lucinda realized how impulsive her decision had truly been. Nonetheless she kept running. She had to at least try to beat the odds. But apparently the odds don't favor fools. Lu concluded that as her ankle twisted on a root of a tree and she fell face forward. She scrambled to her feet but it was too late already. Lucinda felt a sharp nails trail her scalp as one of the girls took a fistful of her hair.
"Did you think you would outrun us, flowerchild?" The leader of pack, a brunette with large doe eyes that looked much too innocent for such a vicious girl, asked with a maleficent grin.
Lu simply stared back, too scared to make a sound. She shriek however when the girl roughly shook her head and pushed her down.
"I asked you a question, you fucking hippie freak!" The girl shouted into Lu's face as tears started to stream down her flushed cheeks.
The other girl arrived with stifled laughter as they took in the scene ahead.
"Oh my god, she looks like she's going to piss herself." One of them commented through a string of giggles.
Their leader smiled at them before lifting a fist and striking Lucinda's face. Lu instantly cried out at the girl's knuckles connected to her cheekbone. The impact split the delicate skin of the inside of her mouth instantly flooding her taste buds with the metallic twang of blood. As the girl yanked her head by her hair again to face her Lucinda drooled out the crimson spit helplessly.
"Ew, don't fucking slobber on me."
"Gross, she probably has rabies." The redhead laughed as all the girls stepped back.
"Just leave her there." The other suggested to Lucinda's delight and the other brunette agreed with a nod as she stood from Lu.
"Let's go." The leader ordered as she smiled down at Lucinda.
Lu could only watch as they left her in the midst of the wet dirt and crumpled orange leaves with tears and blood staining her body.
It was nearly evening when she got home. It had only been a few months since Lu had moved in with her uncle and she hadn't done anything worth a scolding yet but she had a feeling that today would be the first. In the distance she could make out his dark hair contrasting with the pale cobblestone of the house. It's stature had impressed Lucinda the first time she saw and she expected to be greeted by at least four children along with their parents, instead she found that the only ones inhabiting the home that could only be described as a mansion was her uncle along with a couple of old and loyal housekeepers and cooks. It was a very strange thing to the girl who had grown around a lively group of people and she wondered why her father had ended up so different from his older brother.
The girl walked up the stairs awkwardly, her knee still painful and with a bruise on the apple of her right cheek which was decorated with her dried up blood.
"What's all this?" The man asked as he stood from the bench he leisurely sat on.
"Some girls at school." Lu didn't bother lying about it; it was both an advantage and a disadvantage to have a doctor as your guardian.
"And how did it work out for them?" The man asked with a comforting smile as he took Lucinda's backpack as she sighed.
"They got some good laughs." The young girl sulked as she sat on the bench and her uncle was previously on and looks down at her bloody knee.
"You mean you didn't get them back?" He asked a bit disappointed.
"Karma will hit 'em harder than I ever could." Lu shook her head and hissed a bit as she touched the scrapped flesh on her knee.
The man never really agreed with his sibling live-and-let-live lifestyle. How could he when everything he'd ever had he worked for... and even then he'd lost so much.
"Sure, karma's got this... But why don't we just speed up the process a little?" He smiled to Lu with a mischievous twinkle in his eye.
"What do you mean?"
"Most times, Lu, you gotta make things happen or they never will."
•••
Ed didn't know exactly why he was trying. He didn't actually think that he had a chance of breaking out Oswald from one of the most heavily secured prisons in Gotham... did he? Honestly he didn't know what he was thinking. All he knew is that he was knee deep in folders and files about Arkham Asylum. Every detail, study, newspaper and record involving the place was circled around his feet and the man felt like he was getting sucked into the never-ending papers regarding the prison like someone stuck in quicksand. Ed suddenly slammed a folder shut with one hand and sighed as he shook his head.
"This is ridiculous." He muttered under his breath, tired and annoyed by the extreme secrecy that everything involving Arkham carried with it. Ed looked around the distraught state he'd left the archive room and then to the clock on the wall. It was nearly one in the morning. One in the morning and Nygma was going over files to free his friend. Was it dedication? Or was it the need to impress him; to show his mentor that he had a promising career in the dark path he'd chosen. Either way Ed was determined to find something, at least a thread to follow up on. Nonetheless that would most likely have to wait till tomorrow, now he needed to organize the files back into their places.
It took him almost as long to put everything back in their places as it took to find them but when only two boxes were left Ed needed to take a breather. He hated not being able to get to the bottom of things. It was a type of insult. An insult to his intellect and there was no greater insult to Ed than an insult of his mental capacity. He huffed irritably as he slid a folder off of the desk his back reclined on. Looking at the vanilla file he grunted and flipped it open.
"Why be so secretive about a prison full of loonies?" His voice expressed his utter distaste for the place as he flicked through a group of papers with a list of staff.
Ed had just closed the file when a detail caught his eye, making him scramble to open it again. He found the page and frantically skimmed through the lines to try and spot the word again. When Ed read the name in front of him he nearly fell back as a gasp escaped him instantly.
Anthony Yin, Sector B, Psychologist.
Nygma blinked at the page for a moment as shocked grin crept on his face. There could only be so many people in Gotham with that last name. It was rare to say the least. That man had to be related to Lucinda somehow. Instantly Ed turned to the computer at his back and began to type away the name.
"Dr. Yin, Psychology, Arkham."
Upon clicking the search button a series of articles on the doctor showed up on the screen causing Ed's grin to grow into a full on smile. He had the bit of thread he needed. And it was called Lucinda Yin. He knew that all he had to do was reach out to her and she would surely receive him for she was much like he once was; a fool for love. He clicked an article with a picture of the man and a so called Dr. Hugo Strange as he read the headline;
Psychiatric Division of Arkham Asylum Receives New Head and Staff
Ed leaned back as a sinister chuckle echoed in the empty room. He erased the search history of the computer and finished putting away the last boxes with a gleeful expression. As Ed left the precinct he smiled and hummed a giddy tune to himself. Tomorrow he would visit Lucinda at the GCU. He wondered if he should give her flowers or simply invite her for coffee. The man shrugged at the realization that anything he said would be sufficient. The drive home was calm and Ed yawned as he reached the metal door to his loft. His keys jingled a bit as he shuffled to find the correct one. As soon as he slid the door open all he could see was black as he immediately fell unconscious.
Nygma was confused and sore when he finally awoke. He was conscious but still very dazed. The last memory he had was opening the door to his apartment and a violent pang at his face. Wherever he was now was dark and cold and definitely not his loft. Ed tried to stand but instead ended up crashing face first onto the floor. He realized his arms and feet had been tied up and connected. A slight panic started to wash over him as his breath started to become erratic.
"Help!" He shouted out into the darkness.
No response came and he started to become more flustered than initially.
"Help! Someone! Help me!" Nygma started to yelp at the top of his lungs. Nothing but absolute silence answered him and he began heaving and blubbering as a fear he'd never felt before started to wrap him.
Suddenly a door was opened and a familiar silhouette shadowed upon the glossy wooden floor. As the mysterious person walked in, an easing vintage tune drifted into the room.
"He's only human, if he's to be had I must have that man." A giddy voice sang along and Ed's brows furrowed upon recognizing it.
"Ms. Yin, let me go this instance!" Nygma demanded and the female ahead of him giggled.
"I can't do that Mr. Nygma."
Ed didn't respond as the girl turned on the lights revealing the contents of the room. It was large and spacious with mirrors on every wall. It seemed to be some type of personal training room but Ed suspected the girl had other intentions for the space.
"I can't let you go because I have unfinished business with you, honey."
"What are you talking about!" Nygma snapped back at her and she jumped a bit at his harsh tone before frowning angrily.
"That!" The girl yelled back with her brows knitted and a scowl on her plump lips. Ed understood just how annoyed she was and accepted the fact that Lu was once again in control of the situation.
"I haven't been fair Nygma. I've taken it upon myself to deliver Gotham the karma it deserves yet my fondness for you stopped me from doing the same to you." She stared deep into his eyes as she reached to her side and unsheathed her katana. Ed watched her unsure of her thoughts and actually feared the look on her face.
"Yang. What do you think you're doing?"
"I have to put the balance back into things, Mr. Nygma." Lu raised the blade as she shook her head.
Nygma scurried about on the floor as the girl went behind him.
"Wait. Wait. Wait. Wait. Wait!" He begged repeatedly as he squeezed his eyes shut and braced himself for the sting that would come soon. Instead of that his feet were released and he snapped his head back to look at the girl, flabbergast.
"You're not going to kill me?"
Lu just made an unamused face at him and Nygma closed his gaping mouth.
"Well then in that case..." Ed started to speak but suddenly was punched so hard his lip started to bleed.
"What are..." Ed spat the blood that flooded his mouth and started back at the girl flabbergast. Yin smiled back at him before punching him again, this time hard enough to knock him out.
Yang looked down to his limp body, shaking the hand she'd hit him with a bit and sighed before she began dragging him to the other room hidden inside the dojo. The girl looked sorry and determined simultaneously like a mother who has to hold down her screaming child so that the doctor can give him a shot. She took Nygma towards a hook that hung at the back of the room and draped the rope that held his arms up on it after much struggle to hold up the man who was much taller than her.
Lu couldn't help but stare at the man ahead of her. His slender body was lazily hanging and his head lulled to one side. She observed how toned his long arms were in that position above his head. His eyes were slightly covered by his messy hair and Yang smiled a bit as she watched him. Her heart was beating rapidly and her hands trembled a bit at the thought of being utterly alone with Nygma. Not to mention the fact that he was tied up and she could do as she pleased with him. Her eyes snaked down his body and imagined what was under the pants and moss green sweater. The girl's cheeks started to emanate heat as dirty visions teased her. The man grunted as he woke up again and Lu blinked back the feverish ideas and focused on Ed.
"Wake up Eddie." The girl said softly as she stepped up to him.
He looked up to the hook that held him up and noticed his toes just barely touched the floor.
"What do you want?" He asked in a distressed voice, looking forward with a menacing face.
Lu carefully took his glasses off and smiled at his angered face.
"Just relax." She tried to coax him as she placed his glasses on a metal foldable chair that sat in the corner. She returned just as calmly and pulled out the small knifes tucked on her hips. His eyes followed the sharp blades anxiously and watched as she expertly maneuvered it in her hand.
"My darling Eddie." The girl started.
"I need you to understand that I'm going to hurt you now not because I want to but because I must."
"No! No you don't! I'm sorry if I hurt your feelings but I was just being honest."
"I understand. I really do. But that still doesn't mean that it didn't hurt. I was nice and sweet and caring and you were just plain mean."
Ed shuffled a bit more as his eyes went from the girl to the blade to the hook above him.
"And as much as this pains me I gotta deliver your karma too, honey."
"No. No. No. Lucinda listen; come here."
The girl's brows furrowed in curiosity and she stepped closer. Ed nodded with a breathy smile.
"Yeah, come here." He repeated and she went closer.
When she was inches from his chest Edward suddenly pushed his knee into the girl's gut causing her to grunt out in pain and stumble back.
"I'll kill you for this ." He promised with a vicious tone.
Lu looked up at him with a different type of expression. A dark grin riddled her lips as she walked up to him menacingly.
"Let's see who kills who."