Chapter 10: Strange Meetings
Gordon gave a quick, cursory glance around. No one seemed to be hanging around outside this corridor. He felt sick to his stomach when he thought about what happened. The feeling got worse after he'd watched the tape from the cameras a couple of times. He only hoped that his dark friend would be able to help some way, because as far as Gordon was concerned, he doubted things could get any worse than they were now.
"Sure was nice of the Commissioner to cover us." Robin remarked softly as he and Batman dropped into the room, but his towering companion said nothing. Instead, they approached the array of screens, and found one tape sticking out of its slot. Batman frowned as he pushed the tape in, and hit the Play button. An image flashed onscreen of a banquet hall full of people and a second later, an odd smoke began to fill the room, entering through the ventilation system.
"Footage of the incident?" Robin asked, receiving only the merest nod in return.
The tape played on, showing the panic beginning among the diners, and a girl in a weird, dark outfit entered the room. Something small and dark shifted on the image of her back, and she suddenly had a scythe in her hand, which she swung menacingly. The diners really started freaking out, and everything became chaotic. In fact, with as much that was going on, Robin almost didn't catch the sudden appearance of a second figure in the corner of the screen. A shiver crawled down his spine at the sight of the Scarecrow, gleefully wringing his hands at the sight before turning to the girl, saying something. The girl tilted her head towards him, and Robin's heart sank as he recognized Guenhivyre Pendragon. He had hoped for a wild instant, when they'd received the call from Gordon, that his gentle, quiet classmate hadn't gotten mixed up in this incident, and now those hopes were dashed.
The two figures turned to leave, but Guen suddenly seized the Scarecrow's arm and they stopped long enough for her to run to the corner of the room and seize a jade vase from its pedestal.
"It looks like Dr. Crane isn't exactly holding Guen prisoner anymore." Robin muttered.
"Worse than that. It seems she's become his protégé." Batman growled.
Guen shivered as she walked down the street, despite the hoodie she wore to keep the autumn chill at bay. One of the few blessings of the hoodie was that it was roomy enough her wings could move a little freely and still not be conspicuous to passers-by. To this day, she could only recall the vaguest memory of her past, before she was raised in a foster home. She knew that whatever had happened before she was eight, it had to do with her wings. They hadn't budded until she went through puberty, but there was no way they were naturally hers, and she couldn't remember anything about them or her past.
She glanced in the window of a store as she passed, and was shocked at her reflection. She seemed very pale and ill-kempt, and there were dark rings under her eyes. She'd lost some sleep after her crime the other night, and when she did sleep, she was haunted by nightmares she couldn't recall. The worst part was that her actions weren't bothering her as much as the blackout did. She remembered the Scarecrow telling her they had to leave, remembered following him, spotting a vase in the corner of the room, and then...nothing.
The vase had been enfolded in her arms when she woke up the next day. And she couldn't remember what happened. She'd tried to talk to Crane, but he'd locked himself in his study, and Twitch hadn't been any help. Perhaps the only thing that calmed her down yesterday was the Joker moving his gang out of the lab entirely, apparently ready to return to one of his own haunts. Banshee had hung back, and clapped Guen on the shoulder.
"Hey, girly. It'll be okay; it's always rough the first night out." she'd said, "And don't worry too much. I'll be hanging around. Phantom sisters gotta look out for each other, you know."
Guen gave a weak chuckle at her reflection, brushing wispy strands of hair from her face.
"Geez, if she could see me now. I look like a total mess." she muttered.
"You've got that right." a voice said beside her, and she jumped, her heart hammering.
A girl about her age was leaning against the window, shuffling a deck of cards and staring into the street. Her wavy auburn hair fell upon bare shoulders, held in place by a green visor. She looked like she was dressed for work at a casino.
"I-I'm sorry?" Guen asked, confused.
"You really ought to go take a shower, get a change of clothes. Can't be intimidating if you look grungy." the girl said absently.
"And you are-?" Guen said slowly.
"Call me Trick Deck, Wraith. How're the wings, by the way?" she answered casually, finally looking Guen in the eyes.
Guen went rigid, her eyes opening wide, and she instinctively reached a hand around to touch the opposite shoulder. "How did you...?" she whispered.
"Oh, trust me when I say that Dr. Crane is rarely subtle with his crimes. I've already seen the security tapes," Trick Deck stopped shuffling her card deck for a moment, "Not a bad debut for your first crime. Taking the vase was a nice touch."
Guen tightened her jaw in panic, not trusting herself to say anything.
"As for finesse and perfection...well, those will come with time and practice. But if I were you, I wouldn't completely trust the Scarecrow. He's got his own motivations, if his tendencies are anything to go by. You probably don't mean much more to him than a trained guinea pig he can use to his advantage." Trick Deck said quietly, and the merest hint of sympathy passed over her features.
"Dr. Crane hasn't given me any reason to completely distrust him so far," Guen started, but even as the words left her mouth, she faltered, remembering his betrayal of her at the onset of this whole mess.
"Like I said, you ought to be careful around him," Trick Deck warned a little firmer this time, and she drew a card from the middle of her deck, "My card. Call me if you need me. I might answer, I might not. Good luck, newbie. You're really going to need it."
Almost as soon as Guen took the card from her with tentative hands, Trick Deck vanished into the crowd, leaving not a trace in her wake. Chills ran down Guen's spine as she pocketed the card. She could barely sort out her thoughts, confused about how Trick Deck had found her, had known about her, about the Scarecrow, and her warning and offering mentioned in the same breath. Her mind was awhirl with chaos. She needed something normal, something mundane, to ease her nerves.
"You need some coffee, Pendragon." she said to herself aloud.
Erin Knightly had her nose buried between the covers of Alice In Wonderland again, as she stood in line for tea. Last night, she and Jervis had gone back to her apartment, and he had assured her that soon there would be a new friend joining them, and she'd tried to guess for the better part of half an hour to guess who it would be. She ran through every Carroll character she could remember, but each time Jervis would chuckle softly and shake his head as he ran his fingers through her red, red curls.
"No, my dear. Not that one." he would say.
Finally, she'd grown tired of the game, and they'd fallen asleep on the couch, Erin gently enveloped in Jervis's arms. When she'd woken, he had kissed her forehead lightly, the touch of the Caterpillar himself, and apologized right off the bat. He needed to spend the first half of the day getting into contact with some of his colleagues, try to get ahold of some the larger, hidden stash of his mind control tech.
"I'm so sorry, my dear." he'd stuttered, blushing a soft red.
"Oh, Jervis. It's fine, I'm not upset with you. I have to do some grocery shopping today anyway," she had answered, giving him a soft kiss on the cheek, "I'll be back soon."
Her shopping was already done, but she couldn't resist stopping for a cup of tea. She felt a little awkward, having tea without Jervis, but she hadn't been to the little café in a while, and she felt that she ought to pay it a visit again. She missed the people almost as much as she did the beverages.
She started to step forward, not looking up from the pages of her book, and bodily collided with someone. Startled, her attention was finally ripped away as she reached out to grab the arm of the girl she'd bumped into.
"Oh, I'm dreadfully sorry! I don't know what came over me, I usually don't read in line! Are you okay?" she asked, feeling her face flush with shame and embarrassment. The girl steadied herself and turned to regard Erin. She was a little younger than Erin, but she had a pleasant face with bright green eyes framed by shoulder-length dark hair. She looked a little tired and worn-out however, and her movements were jerky and she trembled a bit.
"U-um, I'm fine, it's okay." she said gently, and reached her hand up to rub the opposite shoulder.
Now that was a curious habit.
"I'm Erin, Erin Knightly," she said cheerfully, extending her hand for a shake, "Please, let me buy you your tea to make up for it."
"Oh, um...thank you, but it's coffee...Uh, I, uh, I'm Guenhivyre Pendragon." the pale girl answered, lightly shaking Erin's offered hand.
"Pendragon? Like King Arthur's Guenhivyre?" Erin asked, and the girl nodded. What an unusual name!
"Y-yeah, but you can just call me Guen. Everybody does." she said, and Erin smiled.
"Hey, Bradley! Her coffee's on me!" Erin called to the boy behind the counter with several piercings. He grinned at her; Erin was an old regular, and they got along well.
"You got it, Miss Knightly!" he said cheerfully, before pushing two steaming cups toward them.
"Th-thanks again." Guen said shyly, staring into her cup.
"Here, come sit with me." Erin said, taking Guen's arm and pulling her to a table. Erin slid into a chair, setting down her copy of Alice next to her tea. Guen, looking awkward, sat down, flushing. "You alright?" Erin asked, a little concerned.
"Y-yeah...just been plagued with nightmares the past couple nights, so I've lost sleep," Guen said, tucking a strand of her black hair behind her ear as she blew on her coffee. She glanced at the book, and a strange look passed over her green eyes. "Carroll, huh?" Erin nodded, beaming, and Guen furrowed her nose. "I'm not much for classics, but I've read Alice. I'm partial to Poe, myself."
The sudden reference brought a quote to Erin's mind. "Why is a raven like a writing desk?" she asked, giggling.
Guen raised an eyebrow. "I'll choose to pass on that one. Seems to be the only riddle no one can solve." For some reason, she seemed a little sad when she said that.
"But Poe's so gloomy! Don't get me wrong, he's a great writer, but Carroll," Erin inhaled and sighed dramatically, her thoughts returning to Jervis, "Carroll's writing is magic."
"Magic, huh?" Guen said, taking a sip of her coffee.
"Yeah, it brings people together." Erin answered, absently stirring a sugar packet into her tea, staring off at nothing as she thought of Jervis's shy, adorable smile.
"Really? You and your boyfriend both Carroll fans?" Guen said, and she sounded like she was perking up a bit. Certainly there was a twinkle in her eyes that hadn't been there before.
"Yes, Jervis and I met because of Alice in Wonderland." Erin answered bashfully, blushing at the thought of the first time she and the Mad Hatter had met.
Guen choked on her coffee, and another weird look crossed her face, bringing Erin crashing back to reality.
"Did-forgive me...did you say your boyfriend's name is Jervis?" she asked in a hoarse voice.
"Yes, he's English."
"Jervis...Tetch?" Guen said, the color draining from her face.
Puzzled, Erin nodded. "Yes. Do you know Jervis? He's never mentioned a Pendragon before. Are you two friends?"
Guen abruptly rose from her chair, clutching her coffee in a trembling hand, and-curiouser and curiouser!-her back twitched and jerked.
"I-I have to go!" she said in a strangled voice, and rushed from the café like the devil himself was on her heels.
"How odd..." Erin said, staring after her, hurt and confused. "Was it something I said?"