Cold had been doing this for almost 20 years. 'This' of course meant leading a colourful and mostly successful life of crime. Cold had robbed banks, he'd committed grand theft auto, he'd stolen military secrets, and hell, not two months ago he had went toe-to-toe with a giant telepathic Gorilla and lived to tell the tale for Christ sake. Cold was a seasoned veteran of this type of lifestyle and was damn proud of it, but as he sat in the passenger seat of the van being driven towards the dead center of Gotham City, Captain Cold couldn't help but feel he was about to do something he was going to really really REALLY regret. Normally for a task like this Cold would have went and dealt with it himself and that was exactly what he intended to do. Leaving the rest of the Rogues sleeping in the motel room after last nights nightmare, Cold tried his best to sneak out but was stopped by Mark. The instant Mark had heard that Cold was away to deal with the person responsible for nearly killing Axel the night before then Cold couldn't have stopped his weather-controlling companion tagging along on this little suicide mission if he tried. Mark's stubbornness was as admirable as it was irritating.
After the previous nights run in with Professor Pyg had actually proven much more useful than initially thought, Cold and the rest of the Rogues had left the madman's warehouse with all their limbs still attached, a few mental scars they'd be sure to come to terms with after some intense therapy and, much to Cold's surprise, an actual lead which Cold had hoped would actually be of some use to the Rogues in their search to find Hartley. This lead was of course the Cheque that he'd found hidden away in the managers office, a cheque addressed to Pyg himself by a man that Cold was more than familiar with. The man in question was none other than Roman Sionis, better known around the world by his well known and much feared alias, The Black Mask. It had been a good few years since Cold and Roman had last worked together, but from what he could remember things had gone well enough. Roman had needed some unruly underlings to have the fear of god put in them and after enough money was thrown in their general direction both Cold and Mick were more than happy to help. Easy enough, or so Cold had thought. Even though things had went well last time, from what Cold remembered Roman had an famously short fuse and some serious impulse control problems which made what Cold was about to do all the more nerve wracking.
Almost as if he could sense the feeling of dread radiating off the other male, Mark turned his head towards Cold and nudged him in the sides sharply, getting a dry look from Cold in response.
"What was that for?" Cold snapped in a harsher sounding tone than originally intended.
"You looked too somber, like you were posing for a Taylor Swift album cover or something. Thought i'd help snap you out of it." Mark chuckled as he slowed the van down before coming to a complete halt at a red light.
"Your concern is appreciated, but i'm fine." Cold said back, not sounding as sure in himself as he would have liked. Next to him Mark gave him a curious look before rolling his eyes. Above them the traffic light turned Green once again and Mark lightly pressed down on the acceleration.
"Really? 'Cause you don't look it Len." Mark stated matter-of-factly as he continued to steer the van forward and through the busy evening traffic.
"You tell anyone this and i'll kill you, but i'm... pretty concerned about how this is gonna go." Cold admitted.
"Why's that? Don't you know Roman?" Mark asked as he kept his eyes trained on the road, weaving between the cars as he continued to push through the blockade and onward along the road.
"Yeah, i've worked with him a few times before, but still. Roman's well known for having a spectacularly sadistic streak, he didn't get to the top of the Gotham Crime Syndicate for nothing you know." Cold confessed with an exhausted sounding grunt. Showing emotion really wasn't Cold's forte. It was silly, but Cold always felt that showing emotion was the same as showing weakness. The business he and the rest of his Rogues were in was cut-throat to say the very least. Everything had to be precise, there was no room for error and emotions just made those little tidbits of weakness all that much easier to spot. Covering his face with both hands, Cold puffed silently into his them and tried his best to silence any feelings of uneasiness he felt rumbling away deep in his bones. Considering what he and Mark were about to do, showing any signs of weakness was a definite no-no.
"Well, you've yet to steer us wrong Len, so i trust you. You'll keep us right." Mark said as he flashed the parka-wearing male next to him a genuine smile. Cold would never admit it, but that little compliment had actually meant a lot. God he was getting soft. Taking his hands off his face before he folded his arms across his chest, Cold couldn't hide the pleased looking smirk that found itself cemented onto his face or the rosy tint's that had begun to appear on his cheeks.
"Shut the fuck up and keep eyes on the road Mardon" Cold chuckled and nodded towards the wide expanse of road laid before them.
"Of course Mr. Snart." Mark snickered back as he focused his attention back onto the road.
"You remember the plan?" Cold said as both he and Mark stood motionless inside the elevator that was quickly taking them up from the lobby of Sionis Industries to the very top floor and more important, Black Mask's office. Mark looked towards Cold then back towards the doors in front of him while nodding somewhat absently. Cold knew fine well that his own body language was reading as 'tense', but Marks read more as angry. They couldn't afford to go head to head with Roman if one of them was already simmering with rage, it gave him the upper hand. Considering Roman already had the home field advantage they couldn't afford to be giving him anything else to use against them. Reaching across and placing a hand gently on Marks forearm, Cold gave the other males arm a light shake and looked up at Mark with a lopsided reassuring smile.
"Mark, i said do you remember the plan?" Cold repeated firmly.
"Yeah. I gotta stay calm. I'm your eyes and ears while you hash it out with Roman. Any sign of trouble i get us out of there without a seconds hesitation. Don't worry Len, i got it." Mark replied with a less than reassuring smile.
"You say that now, but you look like you're gonna go off the second you even catch sight of Roman. I need you to stay calm Mark. He's got the upper-hand here, let's not give him another one. Okay?" Cold said as the elevator came to a complete hault. "You can do this Mark. I trust you."
Almost like clockwork the doors of the elevator opened the second Cold stopped speaking. Both males instinctively straightened their backs out and tried their very best to adopt a 'calm and collected' look and attitude, because while they certainly didn't feel the part they could at least try and look it. Standing not two feet away from the opened door was Kelly Li, Roman's personal assistant. Kelly looked towards Mark with complete indifference but somehow managed to greet Cold a second later with a wide smile on her face. Taking a small step forward closer to the two Rogues, Kelly held her hand out towards Cold.
"Leonard, it's nice to see you again." Li said warmly as Cold took her hand and shook it.
"Likewise Kelly, you're looking great." Cold replied with a smile before withdrawing his hand from the woman's.
"Same to you. How's Mick? You two still together, or is it complicated?" Li asked with a mischievous looking smirk.
"The latter i'm afraid. Same old same old. Oh, this is Mark by the way. Mark Mardon." Cold said as he gestured towards the taller male to his right. Kelly turned towards Mark and gave him a disinterested glance.
"Pleasure." She said in a level tone before turning her attention back towards Cold. "I'll admit i was surprised you called. Roman hasn't been taking visitors ever since his little turf war began a few weeks ago but when he heard it was you he made an exception. Lucky for you two he's in a relatively good mood today." Kelly remarked as she turned away from the two men and began making her way back over to her desk.
"Anyway, Roman's in the next room. He's been waiting so just head right on in." muttered the woman as she took a seat back at her desk and began tinkering away with the computer before her.
"Thanks Kelly." Cold added with a smirk as both he and Mark started forward towards the set of doors that lead into Roman's personal office. Well, here goes nothing.
Back down on the ground floor of the Sionis Industries building, the three other Rogues walked through the front doors of the plaza and right into the crowded lobby. They weren't 100% sure what exactly Cold was doing here since he and Mark had snuck out of the motel earlier that evening apparently didn't feel the need to mention why or where they were going, but if their limited time in Gotham City had taught them anything it was that this city was swimming with danger. Lisa, who had instinctively taken on the role of 'Leader' in place of her absent older brother, continued on past the crowds of people around her and up towards the main reception area of the lobby, her body language exuding an undeniable confidence as she strode effortlessly through the faceless masses surrounding her and towards the dead centre of the room. Following closely behind her were Mick and Axel, who despite their attempt to the contrary couldn't have looked more suspicious if they had tried.
"Okay people, you know the drill. Let's get to it." Lisa announced with a sneer as she paced back a few feet and linked arms with Mick. Looking back towards Axel and nodding without a word, Lisa and Mick continued on through the lobby and towards the reception desk somewhere in the distance among the crowd. Behind them Axel chuckled to himself and without a sound he dropped back and away from the other two Rogues before disappearing into the crowd.
Walking on past the reception desk and stopping a good 10 feet away, Lisa turned to Mick and looked up at him with an excited smile on her face as she tensed her fists. Mick looked down at his honorary baby sister and returned her smile with gusto. Unlike Lisa however, his entire upper body went loose.
"You ready Micky?" Lisa said with excitement almost dripping from her tone.
"Yep, let it rip sis." Mick said as he placed both his hands on his hips and prepared for the worst.
Launching into the first phase of her plan with ferocity, Lisa balled her fist and pulled it back behind her before she launched it forward and right into Mick's jaw with impressive force. Mick grunted aloud and stumbled back, his hands automatically springing up and onto his now aching mouth. In front of him, Lisa's eyes widened and she began to wave her arms around wildly in the air.
"CLETUS!" Lisa screamed with a thick, somewhat overdone yet surprisingly accurate southern accent. "DON'T YOU FUCKIN' TOUCH ME CLETUS! I TOLD YOU WE WE'RE THROUGH!"
"BITCH! YOU DON'T GET TO TALK TO ME LIKE THAT!" Bellowed Mick furiously as he launched himself forward and wrapped one of his large hands around Lisa's svelte wrist.
"CLETUS! DON'T MAKE ME HURT YOU! YOU KNOW ME CLETUS, YOU KNOW ME! I'LL GET BUCKWILD WITHOUT EVEN THINKIN'!" The brunette screamed as she violently tugged her hand back in an attempt to free herself from the bigger males grip.
Around them, the crowd went completely silent and all eyes seemed to instantly train onto the two shouting individuals. In her peripheral vision Lisa noticed 2 security guards come bounding out of the security office and making a beeline in their general direction. What the guards never seemed to notice though was Axel sneaking past them and into the office the second the door was open, or the even more suspicious group of 12 ski-mask wearing men that walked through the entrance and into the lobby not 2 seconds later.
Cold bottom hasn't even touched the seat beneath him when the full weight of the situation he'd thrown both himself and Mark into hit him like a damn truck. After their encounter with Pyg last night had almost proven fatal, you would think that Cold would have been much more hesitant to put himself and the rest of his Rogues in the line of fire again, never mind throw them head first into it with reckless abandon. The more time Cold spent leading the Rogues the more apparent the reasons why the Rogues were known as an impulsive bunch became. Hindsight really was 20/20.
Across the table from them sat Roman Sionis, although considering the fact he was currently wearing his infamous namesake, Cold guessed that for the duration of this little meeting they'd be referring to him as his perhaps better known moniker, Black Mask. Dressed in a spotless white pinstripe suit with a black shirt and white tie, Roman stared the two men down with a piercing, unflinching gaze. Hanging in the 'mouth' section of Roman's sinister mask was a lit-cigar. Cold decided it best not to question the logistics of how Roman was able to smoke a cigar through the apparently solid metal mask.
"So, how you been keeping Roman, or do you prefer 'Black Mask'?" Cold said plainly, leaning backwards in his seat.
"Mask will suffice. And i'm well. So, what can i do you for Lenny?" Roman said insidiously as he narrowed his eyes at the two gentlemen at the other end of the table.
"It's Captain Cold now, but you can just call me Cold. And i came to talk to you about your little operation on the docks." Cold replied confidently, managing to mask the anxiousness he felt wracking his body with relative ease.
Across the table from them, Cold could swear he saw Roman's eyes widen ever so slightly before beginning to narrow once more. Black Mask took a draw from his cigar and a cloud of thick grey smoke slipped through some minuscule gaps in the teeth of the mask and filled the air around the table with an inescapable stuffiness.
"Exactly what about the docks you wanting to know 'Cold'?" Roman sneered, emphasizing Cold's title with an unmistakable arrogance that Cold knew all too well.
"You know exactly what i want to know. What exactly have you got Pyg doing down there?" Cold replied without missing a beat, refusing to react to Roman's pathetic goading.
"Ah, you want to know about Pyg! Take it that you were the assholes who gave him the run around last night? Do you know how difficult it is to deal with a manic psychotic even when his head isn't hanging open?" Roman spat, his eyes growing increasingly wild looking the longer this exchange went on.
Next to Cold, Mark continued to stare down the masked figure before them while nudging Cold on the arm. Marks body looked unbelievably tense and Cold was almost 100% certain he could feel a slight breeze beginning to pick up around them in the spacious room. Cold looked to Mark and shook his head before turning his attention back to Roman. Mark nodded in reply and Cold could visibly see the taller male relax in his seat and the breeze instantly dissipate into nothingness. Across from them, Black Mask looked upon them both curiously as he rose to his feet and began pacing back and forward in front of the wide window that seemed to overlook the entire city.
"For your information, Pyg's been working on making me a little army of those Doll-O-Tron abominations of his. I take it you've heard that i'm currently balls-deep in a turf war, yeah?" Black Mask said with a malicious sounding cackle as another puff of thick grey plumage escape from beneath the mask and filled the air around him.
"Ah! I figured you were one of the two currently duking it out for the heart and soul of Gotham City. You always did have a dramatic flare Mask."Cold chimed in playfully, managing to elicit a throaty laugh from the Masked Male stalking up and down before them.
"You think i'm dramatic, have you seen the other guy? Purple suit and green hair. Fuckin' asshat..."
Both Cold and Mark's eyes widened and felt their stomachs drop when they heard Black Mask mutter that last part. Any attempt to hide their uneasiness was thrown to the wayside the second the Roman let slip who exactly he was currently dueling with for control of the city, or more importantly, the other person that Hartley had inadvertently fucked over while playing both sides of the war for his own personal gain. Cold could feel a single bead of sweat drip down his face.
"Green Hair? Purple Suit? You don't mean..." Cold started.
"Indeed i do." Black Mask interrupted. "I'm currently fighting over this god forsaken city with none other than The Joker."
In his seat, Cold shifted uncomfortably while Mark stared at him with his eyes wide and jaw hanging wide open.
Shit.
Back down in the lobby things had descended into absolute madness. A few seconds after Lisa and Mick had set their part of the plan into motion the group of masked men who had flown into the lobby swapped the jet-black Ski-Masks for ones much more well known and feared around Gotham City. Clown Masks. Like a well oiled machine the dozen clown masked men initiated their own plan. Withdrawing a wide variety of lethal looking firearms from their concealed holsters, the clown-masked men all shrieked and cackled like madman as without a moments hesitation they opened fire on the crowd, mowing down whatever unfortunate souls were unlucky enough to find themselves in the line of fire. As the crowd filling the Lobby quickly began to dwindle and more and more people fell prey to the shooters ruthless stream of bullets, both Lisa and Mick hit the floor with a grunt as they narrowly managed to avoid the hail of bullets that tore through the crowd and the approaching security guards behind them like a warm knife through butter.
At the other end of the lobby and sat inside the pitch black security room, Axel watched the madness just outside on the series of brightly lit monitors attached to the walls in front of him. The smaller male swallowed dryly and reached behind him, locking the door to the security office without taking his eyes off the monitors. Why is it everywhere they went as a group trouble seemed to follow? As much as he'd like to jump out and into the fray to give Mick and Lisa a hand, Axel had a job to do and god dammit he was going to get it done. Taking his phone and USB stick out of his jacket pocket, Axel whistled away to himself as he plugged the USB into the main console at his feet. The security screens in front of him all turned to static the instant the phone was connected to their servers and within moments the little sprite that looked like Axel's face in his 'Trickster' costume appeared on the screen and began effortlessly hacking into Sionis Industries main servers. Sometimes these fools just made it too damn easy.
"The Joker? You're fighting over a block of land with The Joker? C'mon Roman, i knew you were impulsive but i didn't think you were suicidal." Cold said in a biting tone as he leaned forward in his chair like a cat getting ready to pounce.
"Thought i told you to call me 'Mask' Leonard. And i ain't the crazy one. That clown's not got a fuckin' clue who he's dealin' with!" Roman spat back at the two males viciously, his eyes wide and penetrating beneath the pitch-black hue of his fearsome namesake.
"He's got no clue? YOU'RE DEALING WITH A PSYCHOTIC CLOWN WHO'S FAMOUSLY KILLED OVER 300 PEOPLE ROMAN!" Cold screamed back at Black Mask as jumped up from his chair and stared down the other male.
"DOESN'T SEEM LIKE YOU'VE GOT A CLUE EITHER! YOU WANNA KNOW WHAT HAPPENED TO THE LAST ASSHOLE WHO FUCKED WITH ME LENNY? LET'S JUST SAY WHEN JOKER GOT HIS HANDS ON MR RATHAWAY THERE WASN'T MUCH LEFT ON THE KID TO BREAK!" The Black Mask barked out a menacing sounding laugh as he continued to spew his vile threats. "You heard that last part right by the way. That is why you're really here right? To chase up where your little friend is?"
Upon hearing the last part, Cold saw red and snapped. Jumping up to his feet, Cold withdrew his Cold-Gun from the pouch on the inside of his jacket. Snarling like a wild animal as his eyes locked with the deep brown beady pair staring back at him from across the room, Cold pointed his weapon in The Black Mask's general direction with his index finger hovering dangerously over the trigger. Next to him, Mark had also jumped up and onto his feet, his hands tensed and his eyes began slowly turning a milky white colour as outside Cold acknowledged the wicked storm that was quickly brewing on the horizon and drawing closer to the Sionis Industries building by the second.
"I'm not fucking around Roman, where's Hartley?" Cold spoke in as commanding a tone as he could possibly muster given the circumstances. Across the room from the two Rogues Roman rolled his eyes and, in a speed much quicker than Cold remembered him being able to move at, withdrew duel pistols from each of the breast pockets on his fine suit and pointed one at each of his assailants. Cold couldn't be sure, but it looked as though beneath the Mask, Roman was grinning at them.
"Did i stutter? Joker has him. The second i found out that little shit was taking me for a ride I called up The Joker himself and let him know his little buddy was playing both sides of the team. You know as well as i do that Joker hates nothing more than a dirty little cheater." Black Mask said in a taunting tone as the doors leading into the office burst open and countless armed men wearing more basic version's of Roman's mask charged into the room, their weapons trained on Mark and Cold before they'd even come to a hault.
"Gentlemen, it's been fun catching up, it really has. But now i'm going to have to kill you. Y'know how it goes. Any last words?" Roman announced confidently as he and the other masked goons filling up the room kept their weapons aimed towards Cold and Mark's heads. Cold was right, this really was a shitty idea.
Lisa and Mick were completely silent as they lay motionless on the blood soaked marble beneath them. Besides the lucky few who had somehow actually managed to escape the Masked Men's brutal assault, every damn person in the lobby was dead after being completely obliterated by a hail of bullets. Across the room from them, the dozen masked men slipped their assorted weapons back into their hosters began pumping their fists up in the air while chanting the one word over and over again.
"JOKER! JOKER! JOKER!" the men cheered as they turned themselves around and began making their way through the bloodbath that was once the Lobby and towards the elevators at the other end of the room.
Inside the security office, the little Axel sprite continued to work away at completely copying and then destroying every piece of information Sionis Industries had to offer. Below the sprite the dark blue loading bar was almost full. Axel was still whistling away to himself and spinning around on the boring old office chair when he noticed in the squad of clowns making their way towards the elevators. Shit. After the slaughter of everyone in the lobby, Axel couldn't let those freaks loose on the rest of the building. Sure, Lisa and Mick had successfully survived the relentless barrage of bullets but who knows what would happen to Cold and Mark if the horde managed to get the drop on them. They thought of Mark in any danger made Axel feel sick to his stomach. Looking nervously back towards the little sprites loading bar, Axel just about jumped for joy when the loading bar filled all the way up and the screens returned to normal. Pulling himself back over to the keyboard, Axel kept his eyes locked on the once again Live camera screen before him and more importantly the masked men impatiently thumping on the buttons of the elevators. Axel had a plan, here's hoping that it would actually work.
Accessing the mainframe of Sionis Industries, Axel sent both elevators down and opened the doors to each of the elevators in unison. As expected the clown men divided themselves into two groups of six and piled into each elevator. Axel let out a tense sounding sigh, praying that his little last minute scheme would actually work. Sealing both doors shut, Axel pressed down on the keyboard once more and then allowed the elevators to head on up towards their intended destination. Axel focused in on the screens before him and watched in trepidation as the elevators quickly rose up and towards the top floor of Sionis Industries, his finger dangling nervously above the 'End' key and waiting for the perfect moment to strike. Just as the Elevator reached the midway point halfway up the building, Axel let out a tense and shaky sounding sigh and slammed his finger down hard onto the 'End' key, robbing Sionis Industries of all its power and plunging the entire building into an all encompassing darkness. Up several levels between the 18th and 19th floor, the Elevator carrying the dozen gunmen came to a complete and sudden halt, successfully stranding the 12 Clown-Masked thugs between the two floors with no means of escape bar a monumental plummet back down to the lobby.
In the office, Axel jumped to his feet and cheered wildly, dancing on the spot and congratulating himself on a job well done. Taking off out of the office and into the Lobby, Axel ran up towards Lisa and Mick with a massive cheesy grin plastered across his smooth features.
"And just like that, i remain the coolest member of this little gang. I'm just too good!" Axel said with a sneer and a faux-curtsy he bowed before the other two Rogues. Lisa and Mick looked at each other with plain looks on their faces before they began heading towards the stairs, refusing to give Axel the attention he so desperately craved. Behind them, Axel pouted and begun jogging after his companions with a completely defeated aura about him.
"Aww c'mon guys. That was pretty sweet, you've gotta admit! Guys? Guys? Aww don't be shitty!"
"I'll ask again before i paint the walls with your brains. Any last words Gentlemen?"
This wasn't good. This wasn't good at all. Both Cold and Mark were completely surrounded on all angles by countless masked men pointing gun's at their heads. If they even thought about moving or striking back against them then they'd be goners. Cold's gun wasn't nearly quick enough to take out all the men before they got mowed down by a barrage of lead and the storm Mark was still brewing up outside wasn't peaking anywhere near quickly enough to actually cause any real damage before Roman ordered them dead. He had to figure out how to stall them, but how?
Before Cold even had the chance to give a witty retort or something along those lines, the power to the entire building suddenly seemed to shut down of it's own accord and the whole place was plunged into a complete and all consuming darkness. Black Mask's eyes sprung wide open and he looked around the room frantically, his dual pistols still held firmly within his hands and an undeniable sense of panic dripping from his tone.
"What the fuck? Why is the power out!? WHAT'S HAPPENING?! THE POWER CAN'T BE DOWN, THAT'S THE ONLY THING KEEP THE BAT OU..." and before Black Mask could even finish his sentence the massive window behind him shattered into thousands of tiny shiny pieces as a broad figure cloaked in black rocketed through the glass and collided with Black Mask, knocking them both across the room and somewhere into the darkness. The countless masked goons all seemed to gasp in unison and instantly opened fire towards where they were sure the figure in black had dragged their leader, completely ignoring both Cold and Mark. Seizing the opportunity with both hands, Cold grabbed Mark's arm and forcibly dragged him down onto the floor before he started crawling around the firing squad and towards the exit.
"HOLY SHIT! What the hell was that thing?!" Mark whispered frantically as both he and Cold crawled towards the doors as quickly as they possibly could before the squad turned their attention away from gunning down whatever that thing was that took out Black Mask and started hunting them again.
"That my friend, I believe was the infamous Gotham City Bat. Keep it moving though Mark, you saw what he did to Roman, who knows what he'll do if he spots us." Cold whispered back. Within moments both he and Mark had managed to skitter along the floor and reach the doors out of the office without anyone apparently noticing. Rising to their feet, both males groaned in unison as they slammed the doors leading into Roman's office shut, tipping over one of the heavy filing cabinets to impede anything that tried to come after them. With the door sealed shut, Cold heaved a sigh of relief and wiped a thin layer of sweat off his forehead. They'd effectively sealed Roman, his henchman, and more importantly, the Bat inside, now to actually get out of here before anything else went wrong. Not even taking a proper moment to catch their breath both Mark and Cold took off sprinting through the waiting room and towards the stairs that lead back to the lobby, since with the power out the elevator was no longer an option. They'd gotten what they'd came for and survived their encounter with Black Mask, now to get outside and back to the van before Roman or the Bat caught up with them. Several floors below their current location, Cold and Mark caught sight of the other three Rogues quickly making their way up the stairs towards them. Cold would never admit it, but he'd never been to happy to see anyone else his entire life.
What they had to do was simple, they just had to head across town and somehow manage to steal Hartley back from The Joker's clutches before either the clown found out what they were up to or worse yet, killed Hartley, if The Joker hadn't already done so of course. The task at hand should be easy enough, but considering how everything else had gone recently Cold couldn't shake the niggling feeling in the back of his mind that told him things were about to get much much worse.
Somewhere in Gotham City, things were not looking good for Hartley Rathaway. Hartley was currently chained up against a wall with barbed wire wrapped tightly around his wrists, waist and ankles. Both his eyes were sealed shut due to the massive bruises he had on each eye and he was missing a few teeth, all of which seemed to be scattered around him on the floor in their own little patches of now dried up blood. The room itself was completely dark besides a blinding spotlight that shone continuously onto his face with an unrelenting fury. To make matters worse, by the looks of things Hartley also had both a broken ankle and a dislocated shoulder to boot.
Hartley's body hung loose in his bonds, apparently unconscious. His breathing sounded heavy and labored, but it was there and that was all that mattered. Hartley continued to hang lifelessly from the wire before the door into the little torture chamber swung open and startled him awake. The battered male jumped up as he was dragged from his unconscious stupor and screamed in agony as he accidentally put pressure onto his broken ankle. Across the room, a tall silhouette appeared in the bright doorway and stepped into the chamber before carefully closing the door behind itself delicately.
"Good evening Mr Rathaway, You're looking... uhh, awake? How has my little wire-wrap been treating you? It's almost sinful how good it feels, right? Well, it is the most popular treatment here at "Papa J's Snicker Spa" after all. The guests before you screamed and cried about how wonderful it was on their delicate skin and bones, didn't want me to rip it off when their time was up. They always begged for more... or for me to stop. It's hard to tell what a man with no tongue is saying, y'know?" the silhouette said with a menacing sounding giggle as it continued to approach Hartley, who by this point was shaking like a leaf and on the verge of tears.
"Oh what's wrong? You don't like it do you? Too extreme? Well if you don't like that..." the shape chimed in with glee as it lurcheded forward into the blinding light and wrapped a gloved hand tightly around Hartleys neck. As the male below him wheezed and gagged in his iron-grip, The Joker leaned forward and pressed his forehead against Hartleys, staring into his prisoners eyes with a manic look of sheer excitement visible in his dark green hues and his trademark Cheshire grin stretched painfully across his ghostly white features.
"How about we try a little bit of everything until we find something that manages to satisfy your refined palette? After all, i aim to please."