My first instinct upon regaining consciousness was to swallow the blood in my mouth.
I grimaced as I tasted the metallic flavour, but it was just lucky I hadn't suffocated whilst I was out. There was a thumping in my head which drew attention to the spot that had causing my black out; I couldn't remember what I'd thought about during the dark, but I did feel discomfort and unease because of them.
My eyes were heavy but I lifted them to find myself in a familiar room, the penthouse of the Iceberg Lounge. I couldn't bring my arms up to steady myself as I looked around, instead finding them restrained behind my back. Furthermore I noticed that I myself was sat on my butt with my legs sprawled out in front of me, still wearing that gaudy Joker costume I had been given.
"So you finally decided to join us, Miss Fox." a male voice spoke, one I identified as Oswald Cobblepot.
I tilted my head upward to look at him. He was in a black and purple suit like before, but this one had a different patterned waistcoat, which was now hidden behind a layer of smoke and ash that emanated from the Cuban cigar he now puffed on.
I gave a groan in reply as all attention flew to my throbbing head, which was causing my sight to flutter in and out of focus. Due to this I couldn't pull myself to give him an appropriate face, and instead gawped like a fool as I tried to remove the disgusting taste from my tongue.
He looked back at me with disdain, then glanced over to my side. My eyes followed his gaze to find a beaten Dahlia to my right, positioned similarly to me but with a guard holding her upright. Her lip was split and bruises were beginning to flower on both sides of her face. My heart dropped as her reddened eyes met mine, and my lips pouted to prepare me to say something, albeit I couldn't.
"Sorry to start without you, but most of my beef is with the little Black Dahlia over here so I just couldn't wait to teach her a lesson." Penguin teased, leaning on his specialised cane to further study out faces.
From this angle he actually managed to tower over us.
His mouth flicked up into a grin even to my lack of response. "Of course yer still had somethin' to do with all of this, seeing as it turns out yer Dent's little mole. Or is it more than that, hmm?" he continued.
My nostrils flared as my breathing became more rapid. "Go to... hell." I struggled to retort, grasping at any ounce of strength. I was most likely going to die in today, and I wasn't going to die with regrets like going easy on him. I'd get a painful death either way most likely.
The smile fell from his face and became a grimace, before he approached me closer. "Want ta repeat that, sweetheart?" he pressed, his tone serious.
"Go to h-" was as much as I could get out before he smacked me upside the head with his cane. My face careened off in the opposite direction as my eyes rolled upwards, and a yelp escaped my throat.
"Fucking leave her alone you beaky shit!" Dahlia cried out aggressively at this display, her voice hoarse and strained.
Cobblepot drew away from me with a growing grin, leaving me to hold the developing bruise where he had struck me. He moved over to Dahlia, leaning over her in a mocking manner.
"My my, you do have a way with words, Miss Dent. If only yer old man could see yer now... too bad I had to bump him off." he cackled, resembling an ugly squawk more than a human laugh.
"Bastard..." she swore, the rage burning in her eyes visible from here. I wanted to warn her to keep her cool as he just seemed to be taking a sick glee in it, but I knew I wouldn't be any different if Cobblepot had killed someone I really cared about, and he had done that twice to Dahlia. Even if it wasn't by his hand, it was still by his orders.
She spat at him to his disgust, before he swung and hit her with his cane just as he had to me. I winced as he hit an already established bruise, as her head swung to the side violently, a hard glare fixed on her features.
"It's just yer luck that I'm not stupid enough to leave yer deaths down to my men and risk yer gettin' away again. If yer want something done, do it yerself." he replied, standing up straight and allowing one of his servants to stand forward and wipe the saliva from his blazer. She was young and scantily dressed, no more clothing than what I was wearing, and yet she carried herself meekly, and ducked out of the way when Cobblepot demanded it.
"I think I'd rather die by one of ya henchwenches." I complained with enough volume that he could hear me, even if my head wasn't caught up with the rest of me. I wondered if Dahlia had been knocked over the head, as she seemed to be copying mighty well excluding her Penguin inflicted wounds.
His attention switched back to me, and Dahlia furrowed her brow as she saw him approaching me. I couldn't tell if she was angered at me or the short guy.
"Funny girl, just like yer pops. Makes me realise that we have at least three orphans in here tonight! How exciting!" he commented with a sour smile.
I gave him a sickening grin. "We can throw a party! I do love parties, don't you Ozzie?"
His face twisted. "You'll never know how much yer resemble yer twit of a mum." His expression changed yet again but this time it was to one of wide eyed glee. "Is that why yer following around this broad like a lost fawn? Ha! Looks like neediness and unrequited love pass in genetics!"
"You might of known my mom, but you sure as hell don't know me, or my life." I retorted.
I noticed Dahlia grimace, just as Cobblepot turned to look from me to her.
His eyes stopped on me. "I may be getting old but I'm not an idiot, I can tell what's going on between the two of yer. I bet yer thought that the two of yer could ride off into the sunset away from me, and live out yer perfect little romance story, well I'll tell yer now, if yer thought that then Fox yer really are as stupid as yer mother." He paused to let out a laugh and let his eyes rolled up to the ceiling as if he were reminiscing. "Those two clowns would break up all the time when she'd do something minor, and he'd beat the living shit out of her, I really could have taken some notes from him for a good backhand. Anyway she always talked about how eventually they'd have a happy ever after, the dumb bird got knocked up and that's how yer got here. Romance of the century. But here's the thing, the Joker wants to destroy everything and so I suppose she got the happy ever after, right off the end of a building. Ha!"
I exhaled heavily out of my nostrils. "Dahlia isn't like my father at all."
His eyes flickered back onto me. "Oh but isn't she? A little murdering psychopath that just happened to open up to yer? Face it, the bird is a psychopath, and a terrible one at that."
By anyone's else's lips, I may have admitted there could be truth in the statement, that maybe she was using me and I just hadn't seen it yet. Nevertheless Oswald Cobblepot was telling me this, a notorious deceivers and manipulator. If anything it just convinced me further than I had feelings for this girl. I may not remember my mother all that well as she had died before I turned six, but I knew the difference between myself and her, and Dahlia and my father and beyond some very obvious differences such as gender, Dahlia was also a lot more grounded.
Even with her gang she had seemed considerate toward their issues and even when those goons had lost a fight against me, she sent them to get their wounds looked at to save them from bleeding out, instead of playing in their cruelty as my father would have. My father was tested to have genius IQ, and I was lucky enough to be passed enough of that to matter, but not enough to send me loopy. It was also enough to see when people were trying to deceive me, as least most of the time, and Dahlia either was a really good manipulating psychopath, or she was genuine.
I was hoping for the latter.
Dahlia sighed. "Oswald, I know you're trying to inflict mental torture on us by playing with our feelings, but you have to face it. You're no Moriarty, that's for sure. You'd think all that education could have given you some smarts."
He shot her a mean glance. "Shut yer trap, girl." He sighed and twirled his cane from hand to hand on the floor. "And to think I was gonna give you two a way out as my sides, I can't resist bird on bird action."
Dahlia let out a loud sudden laugh that she had tried poorly to keep in. "You think that we'd sleep with you? Us very attractive women? Oh Christ, Oswald you really should try getting your head checked at Arkham sometime, I hear they allow you to check yourself in now." This was followed by her uncontrolled laughter barely silenced by him punching her across the face.
"Oh boohoo, Pengy. Why don't you stop playing with your food and kill us already? That is why you brought us here, isn't it?" I spoke this with a teasing tone, grinning toothily over at him.
He began to show frustration as the situation became led by Dahlia and I as we mocked him and laughed, without clear fear of the death he was going to inflict. I assumed his usual victims were weak mafia bosses or their families, who collapsed mentally under the slightest threat of harm or death.
He growled. "You want to keep me talking, but all you're doing is prolonging the pain-"
I cackled, scaring even myself. "Do I look like I give two shits about pain? Look at my fucking face, dude! Or are those old eyes failing you, grandpa?"
Dahlia sent a worried look at me, watching as my first shy and polite demeanour fell apart in the face of death, revealing one of sadistic uncaring fun-making. Bit by bit I felt my dad ripping his way out of my unconscious and into my words. But this wasn't all his touch, I was allowing myself to become a perversion of my past self, or maybe this wasn't my dad and this side of my had always been here.
Even Cobblepot drew back slightly, his face blank.
Thankfully for him he didn't have to reply as there was a sudden crash as the large window behind him broke, causing he and the guards around him to turn to the site of the noise. I leaned to look around his chubby stature to see four vigilante figures: Shrike, Robin, Batwoman and Nightwing. They took no time at all to began attacking Penguin's goons, with bullets ricocheting off of the walls and yells filling the air.
Dahlia and I seemed to have the same idea as we met eyes, and crawled along the floor with our cuffed hands and knees until we were next to each other. She pulled a hair pin from her pocket quickly, and gave me the eyes to turn around. We put our backs together to allow her to pick the lock on my handcuffs. I noticed just how ignored we were as the chaos erupted in the room, as the vigilantes took on several armed men at once, taking them out with limited struggle.
Nightwing swept Cobblepot's feet from under him before the criminal could shoot him, sending him crashing to the floor. One of his goons started forward to help him up, but stopped in their tracks by Batwoman, who seized him and sent him out of the window, his feet attached to some kind of bat rope.
Dahlia finished unlocking both of our handcuffs, allowing us to rub our free wrists. Within a moment she grabbed mine and tried to stand up. "Come on, we can get out of here whilst they're distracted." she added, as she attempted to pull me to my feet.
"No. Gimme a sec, stay here." I replied, calmly, my eyes flashing to a stray Robin projectile that was lying on the ground not far from us. It was more pointed than the batarangs I'd seen in my strange life, and a grin lit up on my face. I placed a kiss on her forehead, and stood up sneakily.
I made my way over to the weapon cautiously, dodging the Penguin goon that was sent flying by one of Shrike's kicks. My hands clutched the cold metal, and with my eyes on my target, I sprinted forward and rushed him. In a move I never thought I'd be competent enough to complete, I sent the sharpened edge of the Robin projectile into Oswald Cobblepot's back, where his cold heart was located.
I heard his gritty gasp as I pulled it out, before plunging it in again.
"Fox, no!" Shrike exclaimed, taking down the guy she was fighting and starting toward me.
One of the vigilantes pulled me away albeit I wasn't sure which, as by that point Penguin had collapsed to the floor and I was on top of him lynching him over and over again. The sharp metal had cut my own hands and so my blood mixed with his in his fresh wound.
My hands were seized behind me again, as were Dahlia's who was being held by Nightwing. Her face was not utter disgust and horror as I had anticipated, but rather a large cheesy smile.
"That's my girl!" she laughed, trying her best to pull away from the man who held her to no avail.
Tears formed in my eyes and I grinned back at her, allowing the liquid to tip down my cheeks and pinch my pale skin red. It felt so good to be approved of, and by someone I cared for, it hit like a shot of dopamine that made the deepest areas of my brain tingle. That's love, baby.
I guessed the fox will always eat the bird, as on the nose as it was.