Alias kept quiet to the Knight's dismay, catching glances of him before diverting her sight to what was in front of them, her face in a soft frown, soft enough that he almost couldn't tell. He knew it was about tonight's recent events, her helplessness, Syndicate's confrontation. It messed with her emotional state and created awkward tension in the vehicle, even though it seemed her confidence was brought back momentarily.
Can you make a deal with a living demon, or are you waiting to turn into one yourself?
They arrived at their destination, and she waited patiently for him to park properly and turn off the ignition before getting out, a distant glare in her eyes. It seemed strange not hearing her voice, not hearing her laugh and talk about anything on her mind; like she was simply out of her own character. He wasn't sure what drove him to do this, to be honest he was shocked with himself, but he walked up to her and held out his leather hand; Alias furrowed her brows together in confusion, trying to decipher what the Arkham Knight was playing at even though he was looking away to apparently hide whatever expression was on that robotic face of his.
"What are you doing?"
"What do you think?"
She tilted her head. "Doesn't seem like you."
"It doesn't." After a short moment of silence, her face lit up as a flowery chuckle escaped her glossy lips, a faint tinge to her freckled cheeks as she held a hand to her mouth; gently, she placed her hand in his and suddenly felt the sense of security once she felt him tighten his grip. She didn't think to question why he did it, didn't think about the motives he was leading on because she realised there was none, and when the security door to his hideout opened to reveal numbers of armed men, to find the Arkham Knight holding hands with the same woman who can easily cut these henchmen down to size. It felt good, knowing that they knew the difference between the couple and the group. Superiority, ruthlessness and a forbidden past cast in darkness.
It was almost touching, the way the sea of armoured men parted for them as the Knight led the way with Alias a mere step behind, her eyes glancing at masked faces and wondering if they were thinking how could someone like her manage to hold hands with a man used to the cold metal of his guns.
The answer was simple, actually.
Reaching the elevator, the doors had opened with a henchmen already inside but he didn't have a mask to hide his identity, his battle-hardened face contrasting his emerald eyes and blonde, curly hair.
"This is Rex," the Arkham Knight told her, with the man named Rex winking in response to his name. "He's gonna be your right-hand man. He's seen your psych report. Apparently, he was wondering if you could teach him your style of fighting."
"Is that so?" Alias hummed, raising her brows as she analysed Rex who stood at least an inch taller than the Knight but she kept that fact to herself. "I would love to teach someone as keen as you." Rex smiled in response but didn't say a word, which made her look at the Knight for an answer as to why.
"He's also had his fair share of leaders but his last one cut out his vocal cords." Alias gasped breathlessly, narrowing her violet gaze on the blonde man but his smile didn't fade. She didn't understand why he was smiling as he was literally stripped of his freedom of speech. He smiled, even though he's unable to call anyone's name, laugh or even hum. What kind of life was Rex living? "Don't feel bad for him. He's one of the best I've had."
"Don't feel bad? A man without a voice is a man trapped in his own hell. He can't even thank you."
"Alias―"
"No. Rex, I promise you. I will find your voice. Either that or I kill the person that did that to you." The Arkham Knight sighed as the doors opened once again, Alias letting her inner thoughts change her subtle face into one riddled with unanswered questions while she was being led down the corridor, Rex walking behind the couple with steps as silent as their own. Why wasn't someone doing anything about it was what she wanted to know.
But for some reason, she didn't want to know. Because the answer was still holding her hand.
"Here." The Knight stopped at a door encrusted with silver embroidery, having to let go of Alias's hand in order to take out the keycard from his pocket. It didn't take long for him to open the door, it was just that the Meta didn't want to get in the room. "What's wrong now, hm? I let you hold my hand, what, you wanna make out or something?"
"We can save that for another time."
"There won't be another time."
"You're right." And out of nowhere, she grabbed onto the Arkham Knight's sleeve, pulled him in towards her and kissed his digital mask. Rex's face dropped the instant he knew what was going to happen, and stayed still until Alias forcefully pulled away and wiped his visor, smiling briefly before stepping into the room with her arms crossed. "Now, as I was saying before I was romantically interrupted, someone was in here."
"That's impossible," the ambiguous man told her, no hint of disgust in his modified tone to assert his superiority, even in forced situations such as the one he was involved in. "There's encrypted locks on both this door and the balcony door."
She scanned the room again, a misty blue haze rising upon her eyes once again to see the carpet covered in footprints that have almost become the same temperature as the room itself. There were heat signatures everywhere, it pretty much looked like a smudge on a canvas with colours that faded into the background. "Then encrypt it even more...we have an intruder. A Meta, their signatures are always slightly different."
"Rex is the Meta." Alias pivoted on her heels, a look of soft shock on her face.
"What."
"He can't speak, but he can see and phase through solid objects as well as teleport short distances and manipulate ionic energy. He's a survivor, like you."
"That's amazing. I almost killed you, Rex. Sorry." Rex shook his head with a smirk, indicating that he kindly took her answer, and acknowledged her new environment. Pastel walls, a king-size bed, lush carpet and rugs, chandeliers, even a dressing table with lights. She knew she was in an abandoned shopping centre but the mental image of the Arkham Knight making her room look suitable amused her to no end. Unconsciously, Alias stripped off her silk cardigan and stretched onto her tiptoes, took off her glassy heels and fell backwards onto her bed with a sensual sigh. "Comfortable. Hey, Rex. Sit with me."
The Knight watched as Rex reluctantly followed her command and sat at the front of the bed, and Alias leaned over to him before she slid her arms around his torso and pressed her head against his. "Don't try and seduce my men. I will personally kill you."
"It's...it's his heat signature. You're not afraid of me even after what I've done to your friends?" She glared at Rex with warming eyes and received a smile in return, and felt the need to hug him tighter; this had never happened before. Nobody, apart from the Knight, has ever made her feel so...relaxed. Like she could drop her guard and not have to worry.
"Alias, no time for resting, you've been assigned with a job by Scarecrow. Think you can not fuck it up?"
"I'm a mercenary. The last thing I quote unquote fucked up was when I allowed myself to be born into Syndicate. I'm not making a mistake like that again." As she spoke she slid away from Rex and to the edge of the bed, her head slowly rising as she ran into her last sentence so that the Knight could see the seriousness in her eyes. He guessed after what happened earlier she wasn't going to joke around and, judging by the darkened glisten, she was going to live by her words.
"Appreciate your professionalism."
She rolled her eyes and moved to slide her heels back on. "You're welcome. So, where does he want me? In the shadows, I'm guessing? Pulling strings that Batman didn't know he was attached to?"
"There's some men that he wants erased that are still in the city. According to him, they know too much that they could jeopardise the entire operation."
"Oh~...multi-target assassination. You're too kind, Knight."
"He's apparently trusting you on this. He's putting too much faith on a newcomer like you but his orders, not mine."
"I'm glad, because now you're starting to annoy me. Just tell me where they are and I'll be on my way."
"Oh, no no. Not just you. You're taking Rex with you. Don't worry, he won't slow you down." She peered at the Meta with inviting eyes as he stood up and fixed his militia jacket, tapping his shoulder to possibly indicate a weapon of some sort.
"I wouldn't mind someone as handsome as you to join me, since the Knight is busy playing leader and all. He definitely won't have time for me." She smiled sinfully as she swayed towards the Knight, pressing her body up against his and hugged his arm with affection while ignoring his digital gaze that burned her face. "And I was just starting to fall in love too. I guess now you have competition."
"Rex, could you give us a moment?"
"Oh, no wonder there's a king-size bed in here," she blushed deeply as Rex respectfully ushered himself out the room and didn't even react when the ambiguous man pushed her away from him and stepped to the mirror; just tall enough to see his entire profile. "I knew it would have more than one function. Pick, top or bottom?"
"Could you be any more serious?"
"Sarcasm. Cute, but I'm just trying to de-stress you. You're acting strange."
"You don't know me."
"You said that already and you're right, but when you're playing alongside villains who don't even like you and are waiting for the chance to backstab each other then I'm gonna have to."
"Why are you even here?"
"I'm here because I've been sent to kill you, Knight. I'm here because Syndicate still exists. I'm here because of Batman." The Knight peered off her shoulder when he heard his ex-mentor's name, Alias crossing her arms tight in front of her chest and moving her weight to her other leg. "I'm here because I wasn't given a chance. The same could be said for you, no?"
"If you think you're trying to get under my skin, it's isn't working―."
"Admit it." She started sauntering towards him, her heels creating eerie echoes in the already tense atmosphere. "You're probably using every single person in this building to get back at him, aren't you? You were given the money to build an army, the power to control it, and the intellect to be one step after the Dark Knight. Let's be honest, you need someone like me. Someone who understands." Alias stopped moving when he had turned around and his iron sight was aimed at her head, his slightly heaving shoulders expressing the rage he was attempting to control, and her smile dropped.
"I won't warn you again, Alias."
"So it was working? You are a really good liar, Knight." She flicked her light pink hair as she moved away from him, leaving her silk cardigan on the bed and instead took the half grey hoodie that hung on the nearby peg by the door. Just as she slipped it on, she fought the urge to look back at him and coiled her fingers around the doorknob. "I'm expecting some sort of surprise when I finish my assignment. Would make regret killing you earlier not have to be such an annoyance."
Once the door closed, she balled the fabric at her chest in sudden release and Rex held her shoulder in reassuring concern. That was...that was haunting. I mean, at first, she thought he was toying with her to see how far she would go but his voice. She shivered, the hairs on the nape of her neck standing on end. The Knight was assertive but she didn't think he'd be...threatening, intimidating. Commanding. Almost reminded her of…
She let out a breath. "Let's go, Rex."
