Sylvia Wayne "Wildcat"
Gotham
October 31st, 2010
Think of us like Dr. Frankenstein, and you're our beautiful monster. I awoke in a panic, breathing heavily, drenched in sweat. When I checked the clock, it read two am. Knowing that I wasn't going to get back to sleep on my own, I climbed out of bed, dropping my pajamas on the floor and heading to the bathroom. I stepped into the bathroom and faced the mirror on the back of the door. All over my body, primarily my abdomen and back, was littered with fading white scars. But there were two that stood out. They weren't completely noticeable, but they were there. I couldn't see the thin pink scar on my spine, but the pink scar running from my chest to a inch or two above my navel always seemed to be staring back at me.
It won't hurt as much if you stop fighting it. I stepped into the shower, turning on the water and letting the warmth wash away the sweat clinging to my skin. I just washed everything, scrubbing the perspiration out of my hair and off my body. It didn't take long before I rinsed all of the suds off and stepped out of the shower. I just rang out my hair and dried off, walking back into my bedroom and putting on fresh undergarments. Instead of another pair of pajamas, I put on a pair of leggings and a dark green waffle shirt.
We're just helping you. You'll be perfect when we're finished. The voice seemed so optimistic as I put on a pair of combat boots. I grabbed my phone and put it in the side of my boot before silently heading down the hall to the stairs, running my fingers through my wet hair. I snuck through the house trying to not be seen. My luck almost ran out when Dick walked past with a late night snack from the kitchen. He passed without paying any attention and I was off on my way. I found my way to my father's room, peeking in to see if he was there and he wasn't. I made my way to the study, sniffing the air. He hasn't been in here for a few hours. I crouched behind a desk and checked the news on my phone. He was currently on the late night news, chasing armed robbers in the Batmobile. This was as good a time as any.
Such a beautiful specimen, what a shame it would have been if she was wasted. The words rang in my ears as I changed the time on the grandfather clock to 10:47. The bookcase slid open and I slipped inside, taking the express elevator down. I made one last check around the cave, only to find Alfred pre-occupied with using the Bat Computer to aid my dad in finding a strategic way to take the armed robbers down. Lucky me that he didn't notice the faint sound of the express elevator. I slipped past him and went down the little stone steps the Zeta Tubes. I fiddled with the programming of the computer to specifically not announce the next teleportation departure. With that, I programmed it for Central City and walked through.
Stop fighting it, no one is coming for you. It was hard to be in the downtown of Central City, but I immediately reoriented myself, climbing part of a building and stealthily dropped onto a minivan, careful to not make a suspicious amount of noise. I managed to get in the ballpark of my destination before dropping off the back of the car and hopping onto another, heading more accurately in the desired direction. Once I was in a few blocks radius, I just gave up on car hopping and sprinted. It didn't take long before I was in the front yard of a yellow house, matching the other suburban styled houses around the block aside from the pale yellow color. I skirted around the side of the house, only to find the bedroom light on and shining out from the second floor window. I climbed the tree growing beside it and jumped, digging my claws into the little stone ledge and silencing the landing by cushioning the impact of my feet on the wall below. I peeked inside and saw Wally on the floor with an array of school books and a computer. I shifted my weight just enough to tap the window and pull myself up, holding onto the sides and keeping my feet on the ledge. He turned his head and saw me with slightly tired eyes, waving me in. I pulled open the window and slipped inside.
"It's after midnight, might I ask why the Halloween Princess has graced me with her presence?" He asked with a smile as I kicked off my shoes, slowly sitting down next to him. "Happy Birthday." He said as I bent down to kiss him. The second we made physical contact, I felt a relaxing wave of exhaustion was over me.
"I couldn't sleep." I told him quietly before I sat down next to him, skimming over what he was studying, American History.
"I haven't been to sleep yet. Maybe if you helped me study, I could actually get a good grade on this test. Then we can go to sleep." He bartered, knowing that the only thing he beat me at was science and some kinds of math.
"Yeah okay, let me see your study guide." I said, and he handed it to me. Helping him with this slowly relaxed me, doing something menial with him. I managed to get him at at least an eighty five percent accuracy before he started a series of yawns. With the promise of helping him again later, we climbed into his twin bed. I was having trouble keeping my eyes open when he pushed down to give me a little kiss, but upon instinct, I made it something more. The sliding movement put me on top of him, kissing him as his hands trailed down my back. My hands had minds of their own as my claws ejected and ripped off his shirt. He laughed as he carefully pulled mine off, leaving me in my bra. But I felt him stop, staring at the long scar running from my chest to my abdomen. Usually, I've had it skillfully hidden with cleavage and makeup despite it slowly fading to a barely noticeable pink line. Chills ran through my body as his finger lightly traced the line.
"Sylvia…" He whispered, his eyes slowly beginning to fill with pity.
"Ignore it." I demanded as I bent back down into a passionate kiss. He hesitated, but fell back into it with me. But his hand touched my spine, making me involuntarily jerk, my spine curving away from his hand and into him.
"Sylvie," he started, sitting up and angling me to the side so he can look at my back, seeing the long scar running the length of my spine. "You know you can trust me, I'm not going to hurt you." He sighed, laying back down.
"I know, I just couldn't help it." I huffed, leaning in to kiss him. His hand went to the same spot and this time I didn't shudder, embracing the endearing feeling of his grazing touch. We had never been this close to each other before, and it just seemed so natural. But the dream ended when I had to pull away for a somehow aggressive yawn.
"I'm thinking we should get to sleep." He laughed quietly, pulling me off of him to lay at his side.
"Well, it was fun while it lasted. Goodnight, Wallace." I said, not bothering to grab my shirt to put it back on.
"Goodnight, Sylvia." He smiled as we laid there. The contact seemed to work as I finally drifted to sleep with him, one arm around me while the other rested to his side, still clunky in his cast. I slowly shifted, facing him as I buried my face in his chest, our legs intertwining. Just like most nights this week, this contact silenced the horrible memories that tended to flood my mind the second I try to close me eyes. But with him, it was different.
Central City
I slowly opened my eyes, remembering where I was as I felt my nose pressing against Wally's chest. One of his hands was lightly tracing lines on my back, but when he ran over my spine, I knew he was tracing the fading scars. I didn't want to move yet, just enjoying myself for the time being, knowing I wouldn't be this happy when I left, despite it being my sixteenth birthday today. But, I just had to put on a smile and keep focused during patrol. I pushed back from him and looked up into his big green eyes.
"Good morning, birthday girl." He spoke softly, causing me to smile as he tucked a few stray strands of black hair behind my ear.
"Happy Halloween, West." I leaned in and kissed him. He pulled me closer, and I shifted so I was on top of him. The two of us kept going until there was a knock on his bedroom door. I immediately jumped off of him and rolled under the bed, taking my shoes with me as the door opened. I saw his mom's feet walk in, my heart skipping a beat despite my uncanny ability to go undetected.
"Breakfast will be ready soon, I thought I'd make sure you were awake before hand." Mrs. West said as she stood there. I covered my mouth to make sure she wouldn't hear my breathing.
"Yeah, I'll be down in a bit." He said and she just walked out, shutting the door behind her as he got out of bed. I rolled out from under the bed and stood up, pulling on my shoes as Wally stripped down to his boxers, changing into jeans and a longsleeve.
"I should probably go." I said, checking the time. It was about eight here, which means it's nine in Gotham. Hopefully, they haven't figured out that I'm not in my room.
"You can stay if you want, have breakfast with us." He offered, but I shook my head.
"I'm cutting it kind of close this time. But I'll be back tonight. We'll have to set an alarm so we don't wake up so late this time. I was almost late to school on Friday." I told him, making sure I had my phone before sliding his window open.
"Alright, well I'll miss you at the dance." He said, placing his hand on my hips, giving me another kiss.
"I know, and I'm sorry I can't come. Maybe next year you can tag along on the Gotham Halloween patrol." I told him giving him one last kiss. "Thanks for this again. I know it's just sleep but I needed it." I told him, a smile spreading across his face, but instead of letting me climb out the window, he grabbed my in a strong embrace and pulled me into him. "I really have to go, Wally." I tried to weasel my way out of his grasp, but he held on.
"You should stay, tell Bruce that you just came to my house for breakfast. He won't know you came in the middle of the night." He tried to convince me, but I knew I couldn't stay.
"I don't my leash tighter that it already is. If i get caught, Wildcat becomes a house cat." I gave him a peck on the lips before stepping back to the window.
"I'll see you tonight I guess." He sighed, and I couldn't help it, closing in for one last endearing kiss before I climbed out the window, silently dropping and running off to get back to the Zeta tube.
Gotham
I slipped out of the study, making my way into my bedroom to take off my shoes and get ready for the day. I changed out of my comfy clothes and put on a burgundy skater dress, black tights, and a short pair of boots the same color as the dress. I quickly brushed out my long black hair and brushed my teeth before heading downstairs. Following the smell of my breakfast, I found myself in the kitchen. Dick was half asleep in his chair as I sat down.
"Good Morning, Master Sylvia. And might I say Happy Birthday?" Alfred spoke kindly, placing a plate of eggs and jellied toast before me.
"Good Morning, Alfred." I replied quietly and respectfully as I stared at the food, hesitating to eat. My father came in, frowning for only a moment as he glanced at my untouched plate of breakfast.
"Happy Birthday, Sylvia." He kissed me on the forehead before sitting down across from me and Dick. His mouth hung open just barely, but his eyes fluttered open the second Alfred set down a large cup of coffee. He jumped in his seat the moment he realized I was sitting next to him.
"Happy Birthday." He smiled, grabbing the coffee and taking a large sip.
"Do either of you have plans for Halloween this evening?" Alfred asked, setting a plate of breakfast in front of my father.
"Only if you count helpin' out with the crazies, just like every year." Dick smiled, finally getting into his breakfast, washing it down with coffee. I didn't say anything, fearing that if I did, it wouldn't come out right.
"Sylvia, are you going on patrol tonight? Or would you like to spend your birthday with your friends in Happy Harbor?" My father spoke up, but I just couldn't bring myself to speak. All I really felt like doing was fidgeting with one of the two slices of toast on my plate. "Sylvia." My father spoke again, trying to get my attention.
"Patrol." I spoke quickly in a low tone, finally taking a bite out of the toast. There seemed to be a light of optimism coming from my father before it quickly faded as I didn't take another. Everyone stayed in silence as they finished their breakfast. I took a few more bites of egg and one more of the toast before excusing myself. The moment I returned to my bedroom, a phone when off, but it wasn't my usual cell phone.
"Hello?" I answered the burner, locking my door before proceeding.
"Just wanted to say Happy Birthday, kitten." I heard my mother's voice purr on the other end of the line.
"Thanks, but now's not really a good time." I droned. But it seemed that she wouldn't take no for an answer.
"Oh come on now darling, I want to give you a birthday present." She said into the phone, trying to peak my interest.
"I'm busy today, the crazies run wild on halloween." I told her with a sigh; a moment of silence passed on the other end of the line.
"I'll meet you in our usual spot after school tomorrow then." She said in a happy tone before hanging up like it was nothing. I just tossed the burning back into its place in a secret compartment in my desk. I knew I was right to turn her down since this was the most active day of the year for the mentally impaired.
Downtown Gotham
"You stupid clown! What is with you and wanting to stab me?!" I shouted at the Joker just after one of his knives slashed through my suit, piercing my arm. I was infuriated that he was one of the ones involved in the Arkham Prison break, though I'm not surprised since he's almost always at the head of creating chaos.
"What can I say? You're cute when you squirm." He grumbled in a low tone, continuing to slash at me as I flipped out of the way of every blow, dancing around him as I strategized. Batman and Robin had their hands full with Solomon Grundy and Clayface. Other's we still galavanting around the city.
"You're one sadistic son of a bitch." I barked, finally pouncing at him with my claws at the ready. I pinned his wrists to the ground, forcing him to drop the knives as I pressed my knee into his throat. Just as I reached for the handcuffs in my toolbelt, he covered his mouth, someone concealed off to the side throwing a gas grenade over. The gas came out at an alarming rate as I let go of Joker to reach a re-breather.
"Sorry, Wildcat, but I can't let you do that." Scarecrow revealed himself as he kicked me off of Joker, grabbing my rebreather and crushing it under his foot. I tried to hold my breath, but Joker pounded his fist into my stomach, knocking the wind out of me and forcing me to gasp for air. The smoke curled into my nose as I saw the blonde scientist standing before me, next to the Joker. His smile seemed like it was so stretched that his face would fall off as the two stood before me. The blonde scientist seemed to have black slime oozing from his mouth as his eyes glowed red. But I took a stance, ready to fight anyway as I took deep breaths.
"Poor kitty cat, can't seem to keep your balance." Joker laughed as I stumbled to the right a bit, my hallucination growing to his skin peeled and ripping on his face with every word, but it just infuriated me. Joker charged as Scarecrow pulled a syringe out of his lab coat.
"I'm not that easy to subdue." I growled, slashing at his face before vaulting backwards, out of his reach. But I stumbled upon my landing, the scientist version of the Scarecrow injecting the syringe into my neck. Excruciating pain burst through me as I struggled to fight the clown dragging me deeper into the dead end alleyway.
"Look's like you are now." The clown chuckled, pleased with his handiwork as he just started beating me. I cried out in pain as he gave me one more swift kick, pausing to let Scarecrow draw a vile of my blood. Just as the Joker picked me up from the ground, I tapped the buckle on my belt, sending out a distress signal to Batman and Robin. As he punched me in the side, I pulled out a tracker, tucking it inside his jacket with slight of hand while he It was a few minutes of the Joker bloodying my face body before he left me on the ground, disappearing into the night. It wasn't long after they left that Batman and Robin had arrived, bits of clay spattered on their uniforms. But in my mind, it looked like blood dripping from them. My father just scooped me up and started carrying me to the Batmobile with Robin following closely behind us.
"What happened?" He questioned as he laid me down in the back seat of the Batmobile. Robin climbed in the passenger seat as my father got into the driver's seat. The hallucinations were fading.
"They gasses me with a diluted version of the fear toxin as a distraction. I'll be fine in a few minutes." I sighed, trying to keep my breathing a steady rate while we drove.
"Who's they?" Robin asked, looking back at me from the front seat.
"Joker and Scarecrow. I placed and activated a tracker on Joker, I'm sure you have a fair chance at catching him tonight, but I'll probably slow you down." I sighed, pulling my cowl off as I slowly sat up, catching my bloody reflection in one of the windows. My eyes were already beginning to swell and blacken.
"I'm dropping the two of you off at the Zeta-tube. Robin will take you back to the Batcave while I pursue Joker and Scarecrow." Batman informed us as the Batmobile made a sharp turn. I kept looking in my reflection as the cuts and bruising on my face. There was a gash running parallel to the top of my right eyebrow that would probably need stitches and my lips were split in multiple places along with bruises already beginning to little my face. With the height of my pain tolerance, the most I was worrying about was what excuse I would have to make at school, and how Wally was going to react.