Chapter 10: Like a Storybook Come to Life
Zai and Curiosity carefully avoided looking at each other as they each put on their most innocent faces for Milo, staring up at him with wide eyes.
"Us? Powwowing?" Curiosity asked in mock surprise.
"Outside your lab? Oh, we had no idea!" Zai threw in.
"Oh, you're both a regular pair of wits, you are," Milo muttered, rolling his eyes and wincing when the action made his bruised eye twitch painfully. "Have either of you seen Erin or Jervis?"
"Saw them in the parlor a little bit ago," Zai answered dismissively, "Talking about Alice In Wonderland, if you can imagine that."
"Oh, I can imagine that. Just a little too vividly." Milo answered, a wide smile spreading over his face.
"Hey, answer a question for us, huh poindexter?" Curiosity said sharply, getting to her feet. Milo glared at her and she took it for consent as she immediately demanded, "Did you order Wraith to steal some of Joker's serum?"
"Sadie!" Zai groaned, burying her face in her hands.
"I'm tackling the problem, shut up." came the irritated snort as the green-haired girl pulled out her newfound knife and held the point of it under Milo's chin. "Talk, bowlcut. Did you tell Wraith to steal Joker's stuff or not?"
"I did." he answered coolly, dark eyes half-lidded.
"And she just obeys you because…?" Zai asked, also getting to her feet.
"She has no choice," Milo answered mildly, "During her initial injections of eagle cells, she very near killed me, her brother and herself. There was simply too much of the raptor nature building inside her, and her own anger and thirst for vengeance for her father's death weren't helping. I had to take down the ratio of cells during the injections and soon she developed her split personality. However, Wraith doesn't see the bigger picture as well as Guenhivyre does, so she has to be controlled. Hence, her collar."
"Her collar?" both girls demanded, a nasty feeling boiling in the pits of their stomachs.
"My English friend, Mr. Tetch. He's an excellent hand with technology that affects the human mind. He initially helped me to develop Wraith's collar, and the tech inside it forces her to obey, not too unlike the shock collars used on dogs." he explained.
Curiosity slowly lowered her knife, disgusted. Zai was about ready to vomit on the spot. Much as neither of them could trust Wraith, what Milo was talking about was sick and inhumane.
"As for the why of the theft," Milo went on as though nothing had happened, "It is because I wish to make a business proposal to the Joker. However, it'd be rather upsetting if he decided to gas me in the middle of the meeting, so I needed a sample of his serum in order to develop an antidote."
He leaned in close to them both and smiled coldly.
"Get the picture, ladies?"
Adrian could hear the yelp of pain from the room where she was resting, and smiled painfully as she heard the scientist screaming curses at Zai and Curiosity. Despite how often the three of them had butted heads before, it was slightly comforting to know that they shared her immense dislike of Professor Milo. Now if she could only find an ally in this place…
"Whatcha grinnin' about, Davis?"
Preferably an ally that didn't have scales, webbed feet, and a mouthful of teeth like serrated knives. Groaning, she turned to look back at Killer Croc as he entered the room.
"Thought you'd gone to check on your friend." she muttered angrily.
"Nessa an' Banshee said they busy snortin' soda. So I came back. Wanted t' make sure you okay."
"Like hell you did," Adrian muttered, turning away. "Not only are you a liar, but you've also got your brains in the gutter."
"That hurts, Davis."
"Get used to it, Croc."
"I—I'm not quite sure how to explain it, Mr. Tetch, but you are the most fascinating man I believe I've ever met." Erin babbled, tucking a red curl behind her ear. She found she was enjoying her time spent with the Englishman far more than she'd ever enjoyed spending time with Oswald Cobblepot. Almost at once, she felt betrayed by her own thoughts and actions. Of course it was Oswald she cared about! Mr. Tetch was just a friendly acquaintance who shared some common interests with her.
And a very nice-looking acquaintance at that, her mind added appreciatively.
"Contrariwise, fair queen," Jervis answered, his eyes examining her carefully over the rim of his teacup, "You are the most curious woman I believe I've ever met."
Erin smiled coolly. She'd dealt with flirtatious men before, and hot or not, Jervis Tetch was not going to get the better of her!
"Surely Professor Milo told you a little bit about me? He insinuated as much." she said in an offhand way.
"Pish tosh! You're suggesting that Achilles has his mind on something other than his lab work! No, he simply mentioned you in passing, Miss Knightly. Said he had a friend I would be most intrigued by." Jervis answered honestly, sipping at his tea.
That caught Erin off-guard. "That's all he said?"
"Yes," Jervis answered, then pulled a pocket watch from his suit and squinted at it. "Oh, my! I'm late, yes, I'm late. Late, late, late!"
"Late for what?" Erin demanded as he started to rise from his chair.
"Why for my tour of the city, of course!" Jervis answered, sandy eyebrows threatening to disappear into his hair. "Doubtless, you will accompany me as my guide."
Erin's giddiness disappeared in a second, swallowed by indignant rage.
"EXCUSE ME!" she shouted, "And just WHAT gives you that idea?"
She raised her hand to slap him, but Jervis easily caught her, closing his hand over her delicate fingers and giving them a tight squeeze as a Cheshire grin spread over his face.
"Oh, don't fool yourself, Miss Knightly." He chuckled. "Even you know by now that you cannot resist me. So…show me the city."
"I-it's none of your business why I'm following Joker…" Xack Hathaway muttered darkly, glaring at Fantasia, slapping the end of his staff away from her. Suddenly all sounds of the Joker going through his props ceased, and both of them gasped silently. Shaking with fright, Xack put her trembling hands on top of the huge crate, easing herself upward to peek over it. Her heart was pounding wildly as she saw the Joker looking skeptically over his shoulder at the pile of crates, a frown on his pasty features. He began to head in their direction and Xack dropped down, paralyzed with fear. He was coming! He was going to find her and then he'd—
"Don' breathe a soond, lass." Fantasia whispered in her ear, clamping a hand over her mouth and resting his other hand on her shoulder. "Don' move, iffin ye can help it."
At any other time, Xack would have pulled away, repulsed by the physical contact, but as it was, she was too scared to object, and the intense look in Fantasia's brown eyes was NOT something she fancied arguing with. She instead turned her attention back to where the crate was, and had to bite down on her tongue to keep from screaming when the Joker leapt on top of the crate. Fantasia's hold on her tightened, to keep her from moving, and she would have objected, had not something very unusual happened.
Joker was looking at them, right at them Xack knew, but he wasn't seeing them. He was frowning at them, as though expecting an animal or something to walk by, then he looked left and right, an expression of utter mystification on his face. Finally he scratched his head and shrugged, then hopped off the crate and went back to his props, humming to himself. It took several minutes for them to relax, and when they finally did, Fantasia was breathing hard and clutching at his chest. Xack pulled away from him when she got the opportunity, but stayed close out of concern.
"What's wrong?" she kept her whisper as low as it would go, still worried the Joker would hear them. "What was that? What did you do?"
"Magic, lassie. An' I have attacks when I put more o' meself intae me magic than I oughta." he answered.
She wasn't quite sure whether or not she should believe him. After all, everyone knew there was no such thing as magic. But still…
"What is it? Asthma?" she asked.
"Sickle-cell anemia." he replied with a shake of his head.
"Oh God. Oh God. What if you have a seizure from it and you—"
"Don' worry aboot it righ' now, lass." he breathed quietly, rubbing at his chest. "I'll be a'right fer now. We got us a clown t' catch."
The Cheshire Cat was having a grand time, and at Arkham Asylum no less! The idiots continued to try to bring him in, no matter how many times he'd gotten away within five minutes of being in the walls, and it continued to amuse him to no end. This time he not only had an escort of five orderlies, but the lovely and formidable Dr. Gabrielle "Sawbones" Lanyon was there too. They were approaching a cell for him when their little party was stopped.
"Begging your pardon, Dr. Lanyon," said a smooth voice, "But if we could perhaps commandeer Mr…Cheshire, for a moment?"
He edged forward, trying to get a better look. Sawbones looked livid beyond her normal realms of the description, and when she answered the speaker, it was through clenched teeth.
"Be my guest, Dr. Strange." she replied, her voice straining with the effort of being polite to the head psychiatrist.
Cheshire nearly snorted in disbelief. The chief of psychiatry at Arkham was a short, balding fat man in a suit. Next to him stood a taller man with hair that had white streaks, wearing a flowing green robe. Between them walked a child with honey-brown hair and large green eyes. He stared curiously at Cheshire, appearing innocent aside from the rather dirty look he gave Sawbones. The orderlies and guards parted way, revealing him, and he almost yawned, preparing to phase away. The tall man in green frowned and leaned down to whisper to the shorter man.
"Are you positive this is a good idea?" he wasn't whispering nearly quietly enough.
"I make no assumptions." Dr. Strange replied quietly. "However, I am of the utmost confidence that we will meet with success. After all, who better to send to catch your thief than a thief?"
At this, the little boy looked up at the psychiatrist, scrunching up his little face in confusion, before turning back to Cheshire, frowning as though he couldn't decide whether or not the thief was a friend or foe.
"The Cheshire Cat, you call yourself?" Strange spoke up abruptly, smiling in a polite manner. "We have a…business proposition for you."
Cheshire perked up at once, curious. "I'm listening."
"Some time ago, an item of considerable value was stolen from one of the men who works for me. I would see it returned." the tall man spoke in a powerful voice that revealed he was used to getting his way, used to having his orders followed. Chesh didn't like that. No one controlled him.
"Yeah, not too interested." he answered, shrugging nonchalantly, ready to teleport out of the cuffs and away from the hellhole.
"Gawain?" Dr. Strange spoke the name in an innocent way. Cheshire assumed he was talking to the taller man…
Until a sharp pain erupted in his sides, forcing him to double over and groan, and he met the eyes of the child, cold and dark as the ninth layer of hell. The green eyes glittered, full of poisonous rage as he lifted a knife up to eye level, dripping with blood and a strange liquid Cheshire couldn't identify. Desperate, he tried to teleport away…
Only to find he couldn't.
"When my dad and Uncle Ra's offer you something," the child intoned in an eerie, adult-like voice, "You don't get the option to say no." He blinked slowly, using the flat of the blade to tilt Cheshire's face up by the chin. "Got the picture, Whiskers?"
"Well done, Gawain!" the man in the green—Cheshire assumed he was "Ra's", through his haze of pain—clapped his hands, looking rather pleased. "Though next time I would recommend you aim for a spot less vital if you wish to interrogate the target."
The kid had hit his vitals? The little bastard!
"Oh, don't worry, you pitiful hormone-driven walking case of syphilis." Ra's waved it off airly, "It's easily fixed."
"Easy for you to say." Chesh muttered.
"So, Mr. Cheshire Cat," Dr. Strange chuckled out the name with a degree of disdainful amusement, "Do we have a deal?"
He winced, feeling the blood pooling at his sides, and looked at them all. Gawain stared at him, the green eyes half-lidded and deadly.
Chesh would never admit it, but it was the kid who scared him the most.
"Just tell me what the hell it is you want me to steal, and who I'm stealing it from." he moaned in defeat.
"That's more like it." Strange said in an encouraging tone.
"As for the sensitive details needed to answer your questions," Ra's replied, "Those are best saved for more private quarters. In the meantime, you may want to get that scratch looked at. Gawain may need to work on his aim, but a knife in the hands of an untrained man is twice as deadly as being in the grip of one who knows how to use it."