Chapter Ten
Black Mask wasn't taking very kindly to the Batman's presence. I sat in a plush chair in his office, broken leg already set in a cast and propped over an overturned crate. It was good forethought to keep some of the medical staff alive. The masked crime boss stalked around the room, kicking the bodies of two men he'd beaten to death after I'd given him the good news.
"What the fuck does he want?"
"The Joker, apparently."
"Shut your fucking mouth before I shove a gun in it. I don't know why the Bat tried to fucking kill you but I need to thank him. That clown's mine, I've been working him since we got in this fucking place!" he slammed a knife into his desk, bracing his arms over it. Oh. So that's why he'd been willing to work deals with the clown. He had a plan the whole time. I adjusted the ice pack over my swollen black eye. I licked at the split lip I'd also received from the caped crusader. No one was entirely sure why he'd beat the shit out of me to such a degree, a small part of me believed it was an accident but a bigger more bitter part had already decided he was a freak and a bastard.
"Maybe you should cut your losses. Batman's as good a distraction as any," I sighed, sinking further into the chair. Black Mask looked up sharply.
"What are you talking about?"
"I'm talking about escape. If the Bat's here and active then things are going to go downhill, we both know this takeover isn't going to last. Let's get things rolling for getting out of here while the odds are good."
"And you've got everything worked out for a clean escape." I grimaced at his tone.
"Not yet but I can," he glared at me, an obvious internal battle raging. If these men didn't have such ridiculous pride half their problems would disappear. Black Mask seemed to calm, his shoulders lowering a bit.
"What will you need?"
I stayed in Black Mask's office for the next three days planning for the upcoming escape. Batman was riling up the penitentiary as predicted. From what the inmates were whispering I understood Penguin had been taken out. That meant his men could either join in with the two remaining bosses or hole up somewhere out of the way. Judging from the flood of new faces, the former was a popular choice. No doubt Joker was experiencing a similar bolstering of ranks and knowing him he would make quick use of the new toys. I didn't have a lot time to get the breakout planned. Luckily I was a fucking genius and had shit on lockdown already. And Black Mask's infinite funds and in's with the GCPD didn't hurt either.
It was probably the remnants of the pain meds, or maybe the full belly of canned peaches, but I was feeling confident. Sure all of it relied on conjecture but I had enough back ups and fail safes built into the plan it felt solid. The most trouble I'd had was figuring out how to get everyone Black Mask wanted out. I was included with the plan, hopefully he wouldn't glass me last minute, along with Croc, six higher ups in the False Face Society, and obviously Black Mask himself. Croc was a problem with how fucking huge he is but his size could be an advantage and I was wily enough to plan with it. When it came time to execute the plan, however, I hadn't factored in the cowardice of Black Mask's men.
When Joker used the penitentiary wide PA system to invite everyone to witness the Bat's last dance the plan got rolling. Twelve thugs were fitted with white suits and matching black masks along with a set of eight or so regular thugs each to guard them. Decoys. The groups were sent to separate sections of the prison, one took up Joker's invitation, another stayed in the offices, and another stuck with the real Black Mask's group. The groups dispatched to various parts of the prison were both armed to the teeth and toting homemade bombs. If they were lucky they'd be able to use what they had to escape, but that was unlikely. They were meant as a distraction, nothing more.
The sudden execution of the plan left the groups scattered and frantic, I was able to keep track of Black Mask but no one knew where Croc was. Hopefully he was just lagging behind and hadn't come across the Bat. Relying on the help of one of the FFS members I hobbled along with the group towards our destination. We weren't out of the second level of the cellblock when the GCPD in full riot gear exploded into the halls. Tear gas canisters clunked to either side of the group as Black Mask and his men opened fire and sprinted to the stairwell. Stumbling, I grabbed at the man who'd been helping me get around, only for him to smash into my already swollen eye with the butt of his gun and bolt after the group. I fell, clutching at my watery eyes and coughing at the tear gas burn.
"Asshole!" I screeched, stomach heaving. I gagged, crawling to my feet. The white smoke destroyed all visibility; I could barely make out the tips of my fingers as I groped along the wall. Slobber and tears drooled down my face as I moved towards the stairwell and fell again on my gimp leg. Fire brewed in my belly as the GCPD thundered through the gas. I didn't deserve this shit. What had I ever done to earn half the shit that happened to me? The scars, this life, Batman throwing me down three stories, what the fuck!? Coughing I barely heard the GCPD's cut off screams. Suddenly I was lifted off the ground and thrown over a glassy green shoulder, his enormous hand holding me in place. Gasping through a tightening throat I gripped hard onto his hide, shamelessly drooling onto his back as he tore open the door to the stairwell and ascended.
"Thanks," I gasped through a wet throat. I rubbed my face into the shoulder of my coveralls, trying to get all the gross snot and tears cleaned off. Waylon didn't respond, just continued to climb the stairs five or six steps at a time until we reached the group.
Black Mask stood over a corpse waving a pistol around, screaming at the rest of the men struggling with the reinforced roof access door. Waylon pulled me off his shoulder and dropped me somewhat carefully across the hall from the masked mob boss. In one stride he got to the door and, bracing his elbows against the hall's walls, slammed his heel into it. The entire door buckled backwards but still held. That didn't last however, with two more strikes the door flew open and the mob of men flooded outside. Using the wall I shuffled to the door then weakly hopped on one leg through the snow after them. I wasn't expecting the helicopters to be here so soon. Black Mask and his six FFS members just finished loading into one GCPD helicopter with a civilian copter dropping down next to it. Had to love Black Mask's connections.
The decoy group piled into this helicopter and took off in the opposite direction of the real Black Mask's ride. This left Waylon and I to wait for the next GCPD helicopter alone. The world around the prison was shivering with activity. Helicopters circled overhead, floodlights poured over everything, accompanied by the sting of tear gas even in open air. Sirens and the police commissioner's broadcasted voice pierced through the chilly night. I glanced skyward, the navy-black sky spotted with snowy clouds. There was no moon tonight.
I moved towards Croc but ended up on my ass again. There was a trail of red dotting across the snow. Following the gore, it ended at Waylon.
"Are you hurt?" I called. What was taking that helicopter so long?
"Are you stupid?" he snapped back. I blinked in surprise then smiled. Sure he wasn't being nice but we were back on speaking terms. I stood up carefully.
"Yeah, actually. Listen what happened before…I'm bad with touch. It's not that you freak me out. Just had some stuff happen that made me weird," I admitted, snow dripping off my fingers. He remained facing away from me; I could now see that his clawed hands were what had been leaving the blood trail. He was silent for a time, both of us impatiently searching the sky for our ride.
"Got anything to do with your face?" he grunted. I scrunched up my nose. Was he trying to make a joke about my ugly face or referring to the scars on my ugly face?
"Yes," he was right either way. It felt nice to clear things up, even better when a copter started lowering towards us. I took a step forward and faceplanted hard, but this time it wasn't due to a bum leg but an armored black fist to the back of the head.
"Thought I smelled you," coughed Killer Croc. Seeing stars I pushed away from the Bat, rapidly blinking snow out of my eyes. Batman stood, bitter and dark, facing Waylon. Both men were hunched, glaring each other down warily. I scooted backwards, closer to Croc, as the helicopter landed.
"Asshole," I spat. Batman glanced at me, even his brief gaze leaving me exhausted. He had the same intensity as the rest of the super criminals, whatever made him do the whole costumed crusader thing was on par with whatever ruined the other costumed villains' lives. Still, tragic hero or not, I wasn't about to feel empathy for some leg-breaking bastard that punched gimpy girls in the back of their heads.
"Croc, don't make this a repeat of what happened two months ago. Turn yourself in." The GCPD helicopter blew a dusting of snow up around us. I faced the chilly wind hopefully, grabbing at Waylon's pant leg and giving him an imploring look. The man's white lip pulled back in a sneer as he looked at me. He wanted a fight. Again, a man's pride would be his downfall. My head pounded.
"Don't," I shook my head up at him. Looking between the Bat and I, Croc seemed to bristle. Batman wasn't stupid; he took advantage of Croc's indecision and charged.
Killer Croc grumbled irritably, throwing an arm and clipping the Dark Knight across the chest. Batman was smooth, throwing himself over the scaly arm and sending a brutal kick into a toothy jaw. Croc wrapped a clawed fist through the Bat's cape then threw the man back against the roof access door. Waylon scooped me up around the waist and held me under his arm as he climbed into the helicopter. Grabbing a gun from the wall, he opened fire at the Bat forcing the man to find cover. I hung at Croc's hip the whole time, clutching onto his arm with hair whipping across my face. It wasn't until Croc chucked the empty weapon at the diminishing Batman before I felt a whip of excitement through my belly.
We were out!