Batwoman: Victorious

Chapter Twenty Four: Vice

The water raged downward upon the young woman. Her eyes closed, her long brown hair clinging to her head and neck, the girl let the icy waters completely drench her naked body. Around the small waterfall, the snow and ice glistened with the broken promise of a sunlight-blessed day. Choking in breaths, the young woman looked up to see Ra's standing before her. "Your skills are impressive, Victoria," he declared as the two sparred inside the fire-hearted wooden dojo. "But your inability to use them...to give in to your anger and become its master, makes you weak." Swinging his wooden sword at Tori's knees, the man watched his opponent fall to the ground. "There are no permanents in life, Victoria," he promised her.

Sitting completely still on her couch, the young woman remembered every vicious second of her training with the League of Shadows. I was wrong, she declared to herself. My job could never have ended with Falcone...Los Angeles needs the Batwoman. They deserve a hero...not me. But I'm all they have. The question is...what am I really fighting for?

Sitting on the couch inside his trailer, Beck gently stroked Tori's long brown hair. "You okay?" he asked, his voice just above a whisper. "You've been really quiet lately."

"Yeah...Just got alot on my mind," Tori answered.

"Do you wanna talk about it?" the young man asked. Victoria shook her head, staring at the floor. "Okay...oh, hey, I...I wanted to tell you earlier, but I had to work late." Running over to his desk, Beck rifled through some papers. Working late...now I'm lying to her, too. "Found it." The dark-haired young man jogged back to his girlfriend, holding two tickets. "There's this...winter formal coming up...Jade's gonna be out of town for the weekend, and...I was wondering if you maybe wanna come with me? It's a masquerade ball."

"So, we'd be wearing masks?" Tori asked, seeing symbolism starting to surface. "Hiding from each other in plain sight..." Beck chuckled, showing his pure white teeth. "Are you sure about this?"

"Yeah," the boy answered, his voice turning sympathetic and calm. "It'll be okay...Jade didn't even want to go...I don't want our relationship to be a sin...you know?" Scanning the two yellow pieces of paper, Tori slowly took one from her lover's hand. "Thanks," she gave in, feeling the impact of her sin once again.

Taking the step up onto the stool, the man thrust the rope over a pipe and tied it tightly. Then, with one last step, it was all over. Police officers entered the cell to find a blood-drenched floor and a lifeless body hanging from the ceiling. Not long after, the Italian was found shot and killed in his home; no evidence was left behind. Newspaper articles raved; "Suspected gangster found dead." "Suicide in Arkham Asylum." "Falcone and Maroni Dead." Throwing down the paper, Tori rubbed her mouth with her palm, trying to hold in the sudden rush of emotions soaring through her body. "The Russian's gone," she whispered, putting the pieces together. "...The Russian killed Falcone's man and fled the country. That's the only way that makes sense"

"How can you be sure of that, Miss Victoria?" Alfred asked, looking over the papers.

"I'm not," Tori answered. "But right now, the Roman's men are all MIA, and the Russian dropped off the map. I can't find him. I fell into their plan, Alfred. Falcone wanted to get caught...Maybe he was the wrong man to follow."

"Maybe, Miss Victoria," Alfred began. "But the Batwoman has succeeded in nearly wiping out all organized crime in Los Angeles."

"There'll always be more," Victoria replied. "And the Venom's still being shipped out. Everyone I questioned had no idea who they were even working for...Maybe there's something else...someone else. Maybe this was all part of someone's sick game. The Batwoman lost..."

Standing atop a massive sky scraper, the Batwoman glared down at the city, letting frozen rain pound on her cape and claw at her face. The Bat-Wave was silent; her heart was pounding. Los Angeles was silent, but raging with something ugly deep inside. "What are you?" Tori whispered, lowering her head to the busy streets and closing her eyes. Watching from a distance, a red-cloaked figure felt his mission come to a successful close.

Suddenly, piercing the silence, the Bat-Wave awakened. Clenching her eyes, Batwoman dove down upon the city. Landing in a drenched, nearly frozen alley, Tori shrouded her body in the darkness of her cape. "Miss me?" asked a masculine being topped with a red, metal, oval-shaped helmet covering his face and all its features. Lightning flashed along the horizon, tarnishing hope within itself.

Clenching her fists, Batwoman felt her pulse spike. To give in to your anger and become its master. Charging forward, Tori felt the rain splatter around her feet. Racing towards his opponent, willing to give everything, Red Hood pulled a knife from his pocket. Turning her arm to reveal the blades, Batwoman blocked the lance, and thrust herself against the red figure, knocking him back. Pulling a smoke bomb from his sleeve, Red Hood swallowed his fear, and raised his hand. "No!" Batwoman screamed, knocking the orb out of his hand, covering the entire alley in a fog. Fists collided, blood splattered, knives and blades slashed flesh, and, once the smoke cleared, only Tori remained; just as she wanted. He's changed...He's lost everything...He wasn't trying to win this time... With a bolt of lightning, Tori saw the Red Hood standing before her. Removing his mask, the dark figure was none other than Tori Vega; her face scratched and bleeding and her eyes blurred over with tears. Then, she was gone, and the Batwoman was alone. I have to find him.

"You look beautiful," Beck declared, his black tuxedo and black opera mask standing out in Tori's eyes.

"And you would be my prince," the brunette responded, her purple gown and black domino mask glistening under the light of chandelears. Putting out her hand, Tori let Beck kiss it, and lead her into a dance.

Twirling, cascading, dipping, fading into one another, Beck and Tori made their love known among the music that consumed all. Their bodies flowing and soaring with passion, the two felt themselves disappear; lost forever in a single moment of bliss. Her dress blowing along with her body, Tori felt her heart start to beat alittle faster. Beck, taking his lover into his arms, felt his breath become light. The dance was all; the dance was bigger than either of them. Forbidden fruit was being feasted upon. Pressing her breast to Beck's chest, Victoria experienced the harmony of their heart beats. Face to face...my lovely foe. Mouth to mouth; raining heavens blow.

Stand apart; tick-tack-toe

Under the stars.

Naked as we flow

"I love you," Beck whispered. Tori's breath grew heavy and her body weak. As the two committed the ultimate crime, the young woman stopped dead in her tracks, and faced her lover; her hated, despised, beloved, treasured love. Their eyes glistened in one another's sight; locked on like an arrow to its eternal mark. Seduced, the two felt nothing but the other's soul flowing through them. Each had their secret to keep, and each had their scar to bear. "I love you, too," Tori whispered in Beck's ear. Then, in that instant, the entire room froze over, leaving only the two forbidden lovers and their game to be played to the death.

And you'll never know.

One more kiss...before we die

Face to face

and dream of flying.

Who are you?

Who am I?

Wind and Rain;

Two angels falling

To die like this;

With one last kiss.

In that instant, Jade died. Taking Tori's hands yet again, the young man pressed his head into her shoulder, and she placed her hands around his waist. Solace, laced with the sweet poison of a dark desire flowed through their veins. The dance was death, but death was now life. As the two stepped side to side, the images became clear once again;

"Miss Victoria, what is the matter?" Alfred begged, taking his hysteric charge into his warm arms.

Crying and screaming, her eyes blinded by tears, Victoria opened her mouth only to reveal streams of her saliva choking her. "I can't tell you," she gasped out.

Beck sat down alone in his r.v., and let burning tears rain down onto the floor for an hour; his heart collapsing again and again and again until he was all but numb to the ever-flowing pain.

Now, the two stood together; the fears and darkness gone, if only for a moment in time, where time had stopped. Listening to her lover's breath, Tori felt something fall out of place in her heart. Swallowed by great agony, the girl gasped briefly, opening her eyes and mouth wide in a prayer of terror. He's not trying to win, she told herself. Pulling apart, the two gazed at one another.

"I'm so sorry," Beck confessed, his voice cracking and trembling. "I have to go...now." With that, the boy ran away. Removing her mask and dropping it to the ground, Tori fell to her knees, covering her mouth. The gun fired, and her parents bathed in their own blood before her and Trina. Beck and Tori held the gun together, and took the shot. Blood and rain fell that night.

"...I've been wrong all along," Tori whispered, her heart now completely shattered inside of her body. "Please, no." The girl now knew what true pain was. What love really was, deep below the deception of other people's blissful lies. What it meant to die. Rain poured down as Victoria stood still, staring into the abyss of night: The abyss that once held promise and purpose now devoured everything in sight. I have to find him. The Red Hood, naked except for his horrid red helmet existed in every single rain drop that fell that night. "Beck," Tori whispered, dropping her head.