Broken
1 Week Later
Metropolis
The bright City of Metropolis blooms with life as the streets crowded with cars and the walkways with people. The sky was blue and without a single cloud. The sun shines bright above the city, hueing everything in a yellow tint. From the cars driving through the streets was a black limo. Inside sat none other than Lex Luthor. Dressed in a white shirt and black tie. In the driver seat sat a brown-haired woman who drives the limo. Lex held up a large screen that showed Black Mask on the other end.
"Your persistent talent of manipulating the people never ceases to amaze me, Lex" Black Mask compliments. "You nearly even had me fooled there for a moment, but I trust that you are all for seeing the plan to completion. When signing onto this, we were all aware of the trouble that it could cause... and those who would come to stop us. I, Sophia and Zucco have all done our parts in the meantime, so tell me... how is it going on your end?"
"I got you the black meteor rock, right? If there is a single person that you can trust to keep up their end of their barging… it is me. Waller and her men have no idea just what they are about to be dealing with, but they will soon realize the trouble that they have gotten themselves into..." Lex replies in a calculating manner "Publicly speaking out against Waller will get me on her hit list, thus it is best that I do not step foot in Gotham for the meantime as her authorities only apply to there, but that may be only a temporal solution for now"
"You scared, Lex?" Black Mask asks amused.
"Not at all, Sionis. I am just familiar with how these power fantasies play out. Waller has just got the government to sign off on her taking Gotham into martial law, that amount of power is bound to grow and her thirst for more control is only going to increase, she will want to have control over more cities... even Metropolis if she isn't kept in check" Lex explains.
"That could be troublesome. Especially since our plan is still nearly a year away from completion. I doubt that we can have Waller thrown out of power but we need to find a way to stop both her and Checkmate from making too much of a result, if she performs highly and takes out a crime as she says... the Government will have seemingly infallible faith in her. We need to find a way to put her at a disadvantage" Black Mask coldly replies, slightly annoyed in his tone.
Lex straightens his tie "I have the perfect idea for that. The government must have put a lot of money into this operation of Waller's... if they begin to believe that she just simply is not worth that amount... they are bound to throw her to the curve, after all... no one understands business as well as I do..."
"What do you have planned?"
"Oh... my plan is already in motion. Apologies but I must go" Lex ends of the call and places the tablet onto his lap "Mercy, please see to it that all my prior engagements for the day are cancelled… I have other business that I must attend"
"Yes, Mr Luthor" the brunette replies, not taking her eyes from the road.
"You've made your moves Waller... not let's see if you can handle ours..."
Gotham City
Wayne Enterprise Tower
14: 34
Selina Kyle, Talia al Ghul and Harleen Quinzel all sit around a large refectory table in the board room with Lucius Fox sitting at the front of it. Selina was leaning back with her head resting against the back of her chair. Talia was leaning forward with her arms resting over the table and Harleen was in the middle of the other two's postures. Though she was leaning towards the table, she rests her head over her arm which was placed against the table by her elbow.
The blonde also had her legs crossed and was using her other hand to tap against the table "So ya wanna try runnin' that pass me again? I ain't quite followin'"
Lucius in small detail grits his teeth "Alright... alright. From what little time that I have had from examining that chip given to me by Selina. I cannot compare it to any other currently existing technology... well that I am aware of at the moment. It's made of a compound that none of my systems can recognize and as for the wiring... that part gets even more complex"
Talia urged herself to hold back a grin "... So you want us to believe that there is somehow an element that Waller is using, an element that is presumed to be in the heads of every one of her agents, an element that you say that you cannot identify... how can that be possible? Wayne Enterprise should not be in the dark about any earthly element"
"That's what I'm sayin'. This whole thin' is bonkers" Harleen replies.
"Lucius usually knows what he's talking about. Listening to him is likely our best bet and finding out what's going on" Selina tiredly expresses her concern "If we can find out what these things are... maybe we can use that information against Waller. I doubt the Government wants the people learning about how Waller is shoving these things in the back of her men's heads"
"Or we can use that information to make all of those Checkmate guys' heads go kablooey" the blonde shrugs as she sees the other two women and Lucius glaring at her. She leans back and laughs nervously "A gal can dream, can't she?"
Lucius clears his throat to get the three women's attention back to him "As previously stated. I cannot begin to imagine just what this technology is... I took hours upon hours... but... nothing. It has some similarities to current tech, but nothing more than a fundamental level"
"What's that supposed to mean?" Selina ponders.
Talia straightens her posture "I think what Lucius is trying to say is that the technology in those chips is far more advanced than any other piece of technology to date. They are almost... alien in nature"
"Exactly" Lucius confirms.
"Alien?" Harley lifts an eyebrow "We talkin' large metal men or small freaky freaks with a glowin' finger?"
"What?" Selina asks confused.
"Eh... nothin'" Harley sighs kicking her chair back away from the table "This whole thing has been one constant pain in the ass. Surely there has to be some other hero that we can call in to deal with this crap. Superman maybe? That emerald archer? That guy with the flashy ring? There has to be someone to help... because ma feet are killin' me, I am tired as hell and I am slowly being driven crazy by this whole shitshow" the blonde spins in her chair, kicking at the ground to keep up her momentum.
"Alright, first I think it's Green Arrow and second, Waller made it clear that no Vigilantes are allowed in this city or risk being listed as a public enemy and I doubt that Superman or the others want that on them" Selina counters as she leans forward "No one is allowed in or out of this city, it's just us"
"Sucks that Batman just went missin' on us. We coulda really used him right 'bout now" Harley sighs.
Selina and Harley both turn to see Talia stand up. The standing woman was clearly frustrated and annoyed "Let's face it. Without knowing what the chips are or how they work. Any further attempts to gather information will only be met with the same result as before and since we don't have... have..." Talia looks away from the other three "I don't think that Gotham has any of its heroes left. Batman is gone, Bruce Wayne has given up on this city and the possible political allies such as Dent is mentally scared... let's face it, we have nothing There's not a single thing that we have to put us on equal footing with Waller"
"No need to be so pessimistic, love. I'm sure that we'll think of somethin'... we have to, right...?" Harley conflictedly speaks.
Selina closes her eyes "Right at the moment, I think she's being more realistic than pessimistic. Gordon is Waller's little boy toy, Dent will most likely get himself killed if he publicly comes out against Waller and Bruce? If he wanted to be here... he would be..." she looks over to Lucius "The three people who promised to keep Gotham safe can't even bring themselves to fulfil their promise... damn it..." Selina curses as scrunches her hand into a fist "I hate it, I hate him... for putting me in this situation... he's making it so that I have to be the one to do it, to take on all the pressure... all the danger... I hate him for that..."
"Who are we even kiddin' gals?" Harley slumps back in her chair "What can we even do against them? Us three... and a science man against a whole secret organization? Yeah... I really shoulda seen this one comin' a mile away... this is a lot harder than it is made out to be..."
Talia rolls her eyes "You best prepare yourselves. The battle that's coming? It will only become harder for us. This is one battle that cannot be won simply by battle, this is a war of minds, a war where only one side can win... where only one side can survive. And for now... I'm afraid that we are on our own for now..."
Wayne Manner
Leslie Tompkins stands at the front door, knocking on it. She stands in silence as she hears footsteps steadily approaching from the other side. Her ears pick up the sounds of locks being unlocked and released, eventually, the door was pulled back as she was met with the sight of a familiar face. Alfred stood in front of her, bruised with his hands still covered by bandages. The snow had softened through the days, but it still faintly drops down from the sky, covering her in it.
"Where is he?" Lee asks in a mild cold tone of voice as she looks directly into Alfred's eyes.
"Eh-right this way" he gestures her inside and closes the door behind her "He's where he has been since we first enlisted your help" he goes to lead her but Lee breaks free of his charge and makes her way to her location which left Alfred behind and trying to close the gap between them.
She heads up into the Manner and towards her destination. A dimly lit room with the only source of light coming from the dull sky outside. She creaks open the door and sees the back of a man sitting down in a wheelchair, barely looking to be breathing and not even making the slightest form of movement.
Building up the needed courage, Lee enters the room with Alfred not far behind. She throws her bags and coat onto the king-sized bed beside her. She was dressed in long purple dresses and tights with heels as she circles around to the man "How are you feeling today, Bruce? I hope that you are more with me than last time..." she tries to get his attention but her voice barely even stirred a slight reaction out of him. Lee kneels down in front of Bruce, seeing his blank expression, one that worried and scared her all at the same time.
"Bruce, can you hear me?" Lee asks the man as she leans over and grabs her bag from the bed, taking out a small pen-shaped object and holds it in line with the man's eyes "Okay, if you can hear me. I need you to follow this light, alright?" she asks calmly as she shines a light across his face, steadily moving it away from his line of view. The man's eyes follow it's direction exactly although slightly delayed. Lee nods, happy with the result "You seem to be alright in the cognitive aspects... now let's try..."
She takes out a stethoscope from her bag and plugs it into her ear, pressing the end against Bruce's chest. She waits in silence for almost a minute, not taking her eyes away from the man's "Seem healthy enough, not exactly 53 per minute... not too shabby for someone being stuck unable to walk properly for the last few months... I would say... that's it's unheard of" Lee removes the stethoscope and returns it to her bag "You want to say something, Bruce? Anything?"
Bruce closes his eyes "What can I say that I haven't said before? I already told you that I never wanted to get you involved in this... I know that having to lie to Jim must be hurting you a lot"
"Actually, keeping this from Jim has been a lot easier than I thought" Lee stands up "Plus... telling him that his friend has secretly been running around as a vigilante might put a dampener on your relationship. Seriously Bruce, what the hell were you thinking?"
"You keep asking that every time you come for my check-up, and I always give you the same answer. Are you expecting me to give you another answer?"
"A more reasonable one, yes" she holds out her hand to him "I'm hoping that your time here and given you enough time to reflect on your choices"
"It has" Bruce grabs the woman's hand as she pulls him up.
Bruce's winces in pain and closes his eyes as he is dragged onto his feet "This is what happens when you try to be a hero and take on these maniacs without help... Jim sure as hell gotten himself into all kinds of trouble, but you? The criminals and the G.C.P.D all have it out for you... you are top dog on Waller's hit list" she grabs a wooden cane from the bed and hands it to Bruce.
He takes hold of it and uses it to support his weight, wincing and gritting his teeth as he takes a single step "So I've heard..." he drops down onto his knees as he heaves heavily breaths, sweating from his face and gasping "...Agh…"
"Have you been doing the exercises that I advised you to do? They are a key factor to your rehabilitation to walk again... that surgery that I did will only go far... it is up to you to learn the basics again, that's the only way that you will be able to get back onto your feet again, Bruce..." Lee folds her arms as she looks down on Bruce "It's been over three months of your recovery and you have barely made any improvements, you aren't even able to push yourself to make more than one step... it's like you don't even want to return to what you were?"
"Wait... I... just... need... some... more... time..." Bruce staggers as he attempts to use the cane to lift himself up, but every time he made progress was forced right back down onto his knees, grunting in pain each time he falls "... I... can... I... have... to" he heaves.
"Bruce... this sort of thing can take months... even years in worst-case scenarios. No matter how much you want it, no matter how hard you try... sometimes your mind and body won't agree with each other. You need to learn that you are not some unstoppable force... you are just man... you spent this whole time with the city scared of you, that you actually began to believe your own legend... this... this isn't healthy, Bruce" Lee turns to face Alfred "We need to talk"
"No!... I can...I can..." Bruce pushes himself up with the support of his cane, but falls once again to his knees and then on the ground as he lies on his front. His eyes widen as he screams in agony feeling something inside him fracture. Tears drip from his eyes as he hyperventilates "I... I have to... I have to..." he screams again as he then uses his hands to push himself up, but he couldn't do it. He didn't have the strength or maybe his mind didn't want to obey him.
"Master Bruce, bloody hell!" he hurries to Bruce's sides and goes to pick him up. Bruce swipes the older man's hands away as he growls.
"I CAN DO IT!" he yells, spitting hard with his words "... I can do it... I can do it..." he cries.
An Hour Later
Lee and Alfred both stand in the living room of Wayne Manner. The man stands in front of the fireplace as the flames warm him from the front whilst Lee stands near the windows of the room with the snowfall icing over the windows "He's bad, Alfred. He's one of the most extreme cases that I have ever seen" Lee informs the man.
"I am bloody well aware of that Miss Tompkins... I have to live with that fact that my boy is up there suffering and unable to overcome his trauma, this whole thing has been a nightmare"
"His injuries are bad, but I'm not talking about them... It's more of his mental state that I am concerned about" Lee explains in a worried tone of voice. Alfred slowly turns his head toward Lee. The flames from the fire lighting up the room in a warm orange tint and warmth. With the crackling that it made filling the silence "The traumatic experience of losing his parents must have cut deeper than I thought. Bruce has been... running around dressed as a bat, beating down individuals that might be just as disturbed as him"
"You calling my boy crazy, Miss Tompkins?"
"I can't think of a more accurate terminology. You have to see the mental trauma that it takes to do what Bruce did. He was way out of line, he operated well outside the law and did things that I am truly disgusted about. Seeing him up there now, the broken state that he's in...? What else am I supposed to think?"
"I sure as hell wasn't bloody happy with what he was doing, but he had shown me that he can be trusted to make important calls for the city. I am well aware that what Bruce was doing was beyond any kind of common sense, but he believed in what he was doing and I believed in him" Alfred admits.
"And he's upstairs unable to move or walk. I hope that your faith in him has yielded the results that you wanted"
"What do you say I do then? In case you haven't noticed, Gotham is a bloody mess with your pristine husband leading the charge for those checkmate bastards. Right now, Gotham needs Batman more than ever, no matter how much we both truly detest Bruce's nightly activities... it would be naive to say that he hasn't made an impact in Gotham. He is making a difference..."
"Yeah, he spreads fear throughout this city for both crooks and good people alike. Justifying his acts of violence and blatant disregard for the law behind a mask and cape, idolizing himself as some kind of guardian? He acts just as much as a criminal as all the rest, even if he is helping out, that doesn't mean that he should get a pass and be exempt from the law" Lee retorts with a subtle hiss to her voice.
Alfred turns around to face Lee "But you know, for now, you are going to need to give him one. Gotham is going to need all of its heroes and since Gordon is now playing for the enemy team, I say that Batman is needed to lead the charge against Waller and her men"
"I want Waller out of the city just as much as you but Bruce is far from being ready mentally to take back such a role. He almost died because of his crusade, next time he might not be so lucky. Next time he could die. Bruce needs help mentally, Alfred. I have done all that I can for him now but Bruce needs help mentally"
"You sayin' that I take him to a shrink or something? How the bloody hell can I do that without finding a convincing way to explain his injuries?"
"Last time I checked, one of Bruce's friends of a psychiatrist. Maybe you can tell her about Bruce's hidden life, if she is as much as Bruce's friend as she is Harvey's... then Bruce will be in good hands" Lee advises the older man with a reassuring smile "... Bruce needs this and you know it. Because if his mind keeps going untreated, it doesn't matter how much his back heals. It doesn't matter how many months or years pass by. If he can't overcome his trauma... he will never be able to walk again"
"Telling you about Bruce was already enough of a risk. I had no choice since Bruce was basically dying and you were the only person with the medical degree that I could trust. No doubt that Waller wouldn't waste the opportunity to come for Bruce if she ever learned of his secrets"
"Does Selina know?" Lee asks.
Alfred pauses for a moment as he rehears Lee's words over and over "That is not for me to disclose. What choices that Master Bruce makes is his decision. This isn't about whole else does and doesn't know, right now this is about you knowing about Bruce and what you will do with that information. I know you well enough to be there for him... even if you don't approve of it"
Iceberg Lounge
Oswald Cobblepot and Edward Nygma stand beside each other in front of a wooden table. "As per request, I had a look over those reports of a third player in this game" Ed tells the other man as he rolls out a set of blueprints over the table "I had Zsasz ask around too, he got Firefly and Bane's men to squeal... after some rough... negotiating that is"
"And? WHAT DID YOU FIND? Just get to the point ALREADY!" Penguin yells in a mild-volume voice impatiently.
"Ah... glad that you asked, Oswald"
"DID you just THINK that I WOULD JUST NOT ask? Of COURSE, I was going to DO that!"
"Well... you got a point, Oswald, never the less I suggest that you look at this..." Riddler taps his gloved hand over schematics of a Checkmate Checkpoint "Electric fence, check. Heavily armed guards on the ground, check. Snipers on the roof, check. Checkmate didn't save any expense when designing these things they are like a mini fortress... even if you got past the snipers and were wearing bullet-proof armour... the Checkmate Soldiers are heavily trained... taking them on in a fight would be non-practical at best"
"And...? How does this relate to my weapons stash being taken out?"
"Something in common we share, though maybe one thing we are still bonded, what am I?" Ed grins smugly.
"... I don't know! JUST TELL ME!" Oswald slams his hands down on the desk.
"I am a connection" Riddler rolls his eyes "A connection between this Checkpoint and your weapons stash... most likely they were both taken out by the same people"
"Are you saying that it really wasn't Checkmate that was screwing with me?" Oswald shrugs "How 'bout that... how did come up with that?"
"Quite obviously when going over the specifics. See your weapons stash was carrying all kinds of weapons, a high number. Easily hundreds, right? If it was the rival gangs, then they would have already used that massive boost in firepower to take over more territory for themselves, but things have roughly remained calm... well calm for this city anyways. It couldn't have been Checkmate either, Waller would have used it has a way to gather up support for herself and Checkmate. As well Checkmate would have used deadly force against your men and they were all left alive... though unconscious" Riddler explains.
"I think that I'm following, Ed"
"As for the Checkpoint. Once again, it couldn't have been any of the gangs since most of the Checkmate soldiers were left alive"
"Most?" Oswald asks.
"Yeah, one got it really nasty. One got their head exploded though... from the position of his grey matter… it would suggest that the explosion came from inside his own head. Our men managed to get to the site before more Checkmate units could get there and they brought the body back here... looks like something was ripped out from whatever was left of his neck, some of it is still lodged in tight. I'll need some more time to fully examine it, especially since I could be working with less than one-tenth of the thing"
"Yikes... eh... well if it wasn't Checkpoint or the other gangs... WHO THE HELL IS SCREWING WITH ME!? And don't you DARE SAY... Batman"
"I got some good news and then... some not so good news..." Riddler turns his head towards Penguin "The Checkpoint was taken out very... how should I say? It was just not simply up to Batman's skill? The units had their weapons drawn and were spaced out over on the ground as well the snipers above had their helmets smashed in... some others even had claw marks and some had metal stars in them. Batman was never seen using those methods so I am under the dialectic that this was not done by Batman but by three other individuals... three skilled people, yes but still vastly inferior to the Dark Knight"
"So there is now a ragtag group fighting against us and Checkmate at the same time?" Oswald shudders.
"That is what my hypotheses suggest, yes" Riddler replies snappy.
Oswald's face slowly begins to redden as he fumes "WHO THE HELL WOULD BE CRAZY ENOUGH TO DO THAT!?"
The Narrows
Harleen, dressed in a red dress and stockings walls through a rundown hallway of an apartment complex with a paper bag of grocery's that she holds against her chest with her left arm. The blonde spins a set of keys around her index finger as she approaches one of the doors. The number 66 was carved in the door in a sickly golden color. Harleen unlocks the door and enters the apartment, sliding her back backwards to slam the door shut. She twists the key back into the lock, this time locking it.
"I'm back! Harvey?" the blonde calls out to let her presence be known.
She walks through the small living room with no one in sight. She walks across the diamond pattern rug and into the kitchen as she places the bag down on the counter. Her ears pick up nothing but the static coming from the television in the other room "I got good news! I scored some good pain killers for ya! They should help ya take a load off" she pulls out a grey rectangular-shaped box from the bag and drops it onto the table "Sorry I took so long, I got called into a meetin'! Ya know how they usually go, hours upon hours of yappin' but nothin' ever seems to get 'emselves sorted out!"
Harleen takes out a carton of milk and places down on the counter "Ya here or what? If I'm goin' to keep talkin' to myself I might go even crazier... a lot more" Harleen walks out of the kitchen and into one of the bedrooms, creaking open the door a to a fully dark room with the windows begin covered by a set of blinds. Her blue eyes scan the room as best as they could with the absence of light making it far more difficult. Her eyes soon land upon a blackened silhouette sitting over the edge of the bed facing away from her.
"There ya are... ya 'ad me worried for a moment" she enters the room and walks towards the man "I know it's a lil' early but if ya hungry, I could whip ya up somethin' though I'm not gonna lie, my cookin' skills are far less than desirable... a long time ago when I was back home I always had my sister to help out with that sorta thing..." Harleen walks around the side of the bed and sees Harvey Dent staring at the blinds covered window with a blank expression "... Once she left to come here... I uh... I had to learn to take care of myself... I'm no elite chief... but I got myself by..."
"No thank you, Harley. I'm not hungry" Harvey replies. The left side of his face was still concealed by bandages.
"Ya really want to try that one? Ya weren't hungry yesterday or the day before... but I still got ya to chew down on some chow - I get that ya are sad and all but sittin' around in the dark and broodin' sure ain't goin' to suddenly fill ya with the warm and fuzzies" the blonde reaches down towards Harvey "Ya just need to get some time out in the s-," she stops as the man's hand jolts up and grabs her wrist.
"I SAID THAT I WASN'T HUNGRY!" Harvey growls, his right eye suddenly narrows to a more aggressive look.
"Sheesh, forget that I asked" Harleen yanks her hand away.
The aggressive expression in Harvey's face slowly fades until he wore his casual expression. He flutters his eye "I-Uh- I'm sorry, Harley... I don't know what came over me..." Dent's voice was filled with shame and shock at his own actions. He nervously scoots away from the blonde and fidgets his hands in each other "Sorry, sorry... I don't... I can't think clearly lately... my head is hurting... like I'm not the only one using my mind...My brain hurts... it's like I have two different voices trying to be louder than the other..."
"I know, Harv… the traumatic experience with those bastards musta trigged your bipolar to act up, beforehand ya had quite a good handle on it - but with the stress that ya have been goin' under... it isn't hard to image that your mental state hasn't come out untouched" she settles down on the edge of the bed slightly away from the man "Do ya wanna talk 'bout it? I'm here for ya... either if ya want me to listen or just be here for ya"
"I'm not crazy, Harley" Harvey quietly mumbles under his breath, repeating his words again but this time was loud enough for the blonde to hear. Dent looks down to his left hand, his open palm "I'm not crazy... I'm not. I just don't know what to do... I don't even know if I can even do anything to help..."
"I know how ya feel. This whole city has gone nuts, just trying to make sense of it is givin' me a headache"
"It's been over three months and things have only gotten worse... way worse. Gordon is on Waller's side, Bruce is MIA and I'm just sitting here all day in the dark like a coward..." Harvey says agitated "The three of us made a promise to keep Gotham safe, to.. improve it, give hope to it... but look at us now... Jim, Bruce and I are just shadows of our former selves... and worst of all... Batman is missing too, the one guy who has a chance at stopping Waller is nowhere to be found..."
"Ya can't go losing your hope yet, just see... I'm sure that we can think of somethin'..." the blonde caringly replies to Harvey "I got a small feelin' that there are people out there tryin' to make a difference all on their own, just wait and see... ya will be surprised just how many people are fighting' for this city..."
"Fighting for this city, eh? Don't make me laugh... every time people have fought for this city, it has gone downhill. At the moment the only difference between these people is their reason for fighting... and not their actions... not how far that they are going to go nor what they will never bring themselves to do... what's the point of us taking the city back... if we just do the same vile actions that we curse Waller for..." Dent gave a small chuckle "I want to hurt them, Harley... I want to punish those bastards who did this to me..." his hand slowly slivers over the bandages wrapped around his face "... I want to hurt them... so badly..."
"You're angry and rightfully so... those schmucks did a number on you... wanting payback is only natural, bein' angry is perfectly normal"
"Not the rage that I'm feeling right now..." Harvey's teeth grind "... I'm split here. I want to see them face justice... do have their day in court... but if... if it's anything like the G.C.P.D... those sons of bitches will be let off the hook... they will be let off the hook and won't learn... that's why another part of me... wants them... wants them... punished, hurt and humiliated just like they did to me..." his right eye twitches "... these feelings they fell so... wrong... but also so... so... justified..."
"Right..." Harley replies, unsure of what to make of the man's newfound composure "Listen, Harvey. With Bruce out of the picture for the meantime... ya and I are gonna need to stick together and if we are gonna do that. I need you to listen and adhere to my advice, trust me... I have the training to help ya..."
"I know, I know... I'm so sorry for how I've been acting... I don't mean to cause you any stress... I well... I don't know what I'm going through... my head is storming with all kinds of words, yet I cannot bring myself to describe the pain..." Harvey covers his face with his palms "Can you get me one of those painkillers, please? My head is racing..."
Harley rolls her eyes aware of the man "I'm startin' to think that might not be such a good idea. Considering the mental strain that you sufferin' from... taking any type of drug could end up doing far more damage than good for ya" she slowly stands back up, intertwining her hands "I hate to see ya suffer but right now... I'm not gonna lie to ya. You are in quite a volatile state right now... and we can't risk giving you anything that you could... well... set you... off"
"Do you think that I am a danger to you...? Please... you need to believe me... I would never hurt you... I'm not like that..." Harvey lowers his head and stiffens his position "I barely have any friends left and I would never do anything to hurt the ones that I still have..."
"Honestly... I think that ya are more of a danger to yourself than you ever could be to me..." Harleen approaches the window of the room and yanks down on the chain, slowly lifting the blind up and slowly releasing natural light into the room. The sky was still a dull grey with a small amount of snow drifting down, however, it was more light than what was previously filling the room. Harvey nearly jumps back across the bed, his eyes snap shut "Ya need some air, Harv. You can't keep being afraid to face the outside world... ya need to learn that you are not responsible for this... ya need to stop beating yourself up over this"
"You may be right 'bout that one... being stuck in his apartment for the last few months can't be good for me... I need to get some air..." Harvey agrees with a nervous undertone.
Harleen follows his position as she walks back around the bed "Ya should let me swap your bandages first though, wouldn't want ya go gettin' some kind of infection" she advises the man. Her ears prick as she hears a ringing coming from outside the room "Hold on a sec, will ya?" she politely asks, jogging out of the bedroom and back into the kitchen, picking up her phone and answering it "'Ello? Harleen speakin'"
The blonde hears Selina's voice reply "I got some good news, I've asked around on the streets and have found the location of one of the escapees"
"Really, who?" Harley asks with a lower voice as her eyes look to the midway open door that leads into the bedroom.
"Some chump named Arnold Wesker, apparently he's some bigshot crime boss that goes by the name Scarface. I need you to suit up and meet me at the old jolly's toy factory, you know the one? Meet me in an hour, no later"
"Selina... I really can't... go now" she whispers "Harvey is having far more trouble than I thought, he needs someone to be there for him"
"I'm sorry, Harl but I need you for backup. Talia has gone AWAL... as per usual. I need you there just in case things get messy..." Selina replies.
"I do like myself a bit of mess..." Harley muses as she keeps her eyes trained on the door to the bedroom "Alright, but that's it for the night, get me? I may be a lil' whack-a-do and all, but I know when I'm needed. I'll meet ya there, okay?"
"It should take an hour at most. Think of it like this, the sooner we round of the criminals, the much faster Waller can get out of this city..."
"That's not good enough for me, you haven't seen it, have you?... Harvey's face under those bandages... I don't even think that he knows how bad it is... I wanna bash as many of their skulls in as possible, got me?" Harleen kneels down in front of the cabinet and opens the doors. She pulls out a suitcase and drops it on the tiled ground "I wanna get 'em into my own fashion style..." she dials a code into the three-digit lock that locked the suitcase.
She opens it up and looks down to her red and black split leather jacket "Black and... so much red..."
GCPD
- Captain's Office -
Amanda Waller sits over the desk in the captain's office. She holds a folder in her hands which she has open. Her eyes steadily trail up to Jim Gordon in a glare "I keep asking you back here, Gordon. Day after day, time after time... over and over - do you happen to know why that might be?" Waller asks.
"You don't trust me, that's why" Gordon snappily replies with his own cold glance "And you never will trust me, and you are probably better off for it. You are holding my family's wellbeing as leverage against me. You're not the one who supposed to trust me... I'm the one whose supposed take your word at face value"
"You don't trust me either? I can ensure you that I am a woman of my word"
"What you have on my loved ones... that's not something that will ever go away. The power that you have... that's not just going to magically disappear once you leave this city" Gordon replies as he keeps his glance at Waller "Whenever you want something from me or this city... you will use that same blackmail against me to get what you want. It doesn't matter how well I play along or how much you will turn me against my friends - in the end... you will have the power over me, just like everyone else who can get in your way"
"You're a smart man, Gordon. I wouldn't expect for you to flat-out say you figured me out to my face. I was expecting a little secret rebellion with your cops friends. Maybe... gather the whole city behind you to take me on... but here you are... standing right in front of me and revealing to me that you have me figured out?" Amanda lifts her slim frame off of the desk and smiles, flicking her long raven hair "I like you, Jim. Not as a friend, not as one of my men, not even as a cop as your record has shown me... but I like you for your morals. Never wavering... never backing down... even when you are way out of your league... I can relate that that - now that I think about it, we really do have a lot in common"
"Don't flatter yourself. I'm nothing like you"
"Give it time, Jim" Waller pushes the folder in her hand against Gordon's chest "We both want the same thing" she walks back to the desk and gathers up a pile of papers.
"For different reasons" Jim disputes as he holds the folder to his chest "I don't care if you do have a badge, you are the biggest criminal in this city... and that's not an easy foot to reach. You have the advantage over me... you should enjoy it while it lasts"
Waller let loose a small chuckle "It will last, Jim and don't think for a second that it won't. Let's get one thing straight here... I grow tired of this little checklist of threats you have for me" she steps forward and rests her hand over Gordon's right shoulder "The only criminals in Gotham are the ones who go against me and the order that I am trying to bring back here. I took an oath to protect this proud nation of ours... even when the threats to it are within"
She slowly slivers her hand over to Gordon's neck "Even if it's our own boys in blue or our so-called heroes that we pedestal. Vigilantes that act outside of our own laws and the people of this city, the kids of this nation looks up to them. They look to them as inspirations even though they are known criminals, that's the problem with this country now... the problem with its people... with you. You were tasked with upholding the law, you were given a badge as a sign of that promise and then you turn around and shake hands with Batman... the most known violent, vicious vigilante... who prays upon the mentally ill and deranged. Batman is the biggest criminal in Gotham..."
"Stop trying to excuse your crimes, Waller. Last time I checked... Batman hasn't been spotted since the day the escapees flooded Gotham. I guess that only leaves you left"
"I didn't make this mess, Jim. That was all on you and your incompetence as both as a leader and your role as a cop. I'm just the one who was tasked with cleaning up your mess. So next time that you want to paint me as the villain... I suggest taking a look in the mirror, that will show you the real villain here" she yanks her hand from Gordon's neck and turns around and walks back to the desk "This place is a disease, Gordon. A stain on this country... these maniacs... theses monsters... they need to be put in line, not locked back in Arkham again... they need to learn that their actions cannot be tolerated and won't be by me"
"This city... Gotham. It's not like the other cities. It's like it has a mind of its own... an essence to it... an essence that tends to bring out the worst in people. I've seen its effects with my own eyes and have succumbed to it first hand... even when I was sure that I was doing what I thought was right. It doesn't matter how you are or what you believe in... everyone eventually falls to it. Don't think for a second that you or your soldiers will be spared... no one is..." Gordon warms Waller in a tone of voice that had no hint of uncertainty but of full faith as he knew there was truth to his words.
"Then you better not cross me when it does" Waller laughs back "It's late, Jim. Go and get some sleep... maybe some rest will help set your head back on straight..." Waller suggests though her tone of voice it came across as an order "Resume your duties tomorrow bright and early. You are dismissed"
Without a word, Gordon walks out of the room as he then looks back to Waller from behind the glass of the door that now separates them "I stopped being able to sleep at night a long time ago..." he says under his breath as he heads out of the precinct.
Selina and Harley
Gotham Rooftops - North of Jolly's Toy Factory
Catwoman is perching above on the rooftop with Harley kneeling down beside her. Though Selina shows great patience in her posture, barely moving and keeping her eyes trained on the factory across from them, Harley was a completely different story. She fidgets on the spot, being more energetic in her own posture. Her breaths were much looser then Selina's seemingly not following any pattern, some exhales would come much faster than others and some came across as the blonde purposely trying to hold her breath, like she was playing some sort of game by herself.
Selina looks through the lenses of her scarlet tinted goggles, pressing down on the side of her cowl which zoomed her vision in towards the factory. She spots several armed men walking into the place from the ground in an unorganized single file "Thanks to the tech upgrade that Lucius made me, I can safely say... walking in the front door will get us blown to smithereens. It looks like we'll have to find another way to get in" Catwoman informs the blonde next to her.
"Watcha talkin' 'bout? Why do ya think we need to get in there in the first place? We can just wait till they come out again an' then do the nasty to 'em. They should be a lot easier to deal with 'em split apart" the blue-eyed blonde shrugs "I like a bit a crazy but this is too much even for me"
"We can't hang back on this one... the word is that there's a deal going down in there. Who knows what they are trading. We can't risk any of them getting away" Selina replies. She slightly leans the front of her body forward "Though it looks like they are packing a lot of heat down there. Enough to tear through us easily"
"An' the good news just keeps on comin' today" Harley rolls her eyes stands up and stretches her arms behind her back. Catwoman inches closer to the ledge as her eyes land upon the sight of one more person that was entering the factory. A person that sent shivers down her spine and made her breath stagger. The man was hairless with his head and eyebrows lacking any hair. He is dressed in a black shirty with the collar loose under a black jacket. His sleeves were rolled up which revealed a trail of Talley mark like cuts all up his arms and with a whole new set running across the side of his face.
"No... way..." Catwoman whispers.
"Whatcha whisperin' 'bout?" Harley kneels back down beside the other woman.
"Its fucking Zsasz"
"Yikes... I remember my first appointment with that guy... let's just say that it was quite the first impression. Bastard killed half a dozen guards at Arkham just in the time that I worked there" the blonde reveals as a shiver runs down her spine although she was smiling all through her words towards Catwoman "He makes a cut in 'is skin whenever he offs someone... and last time I saw him.. he sure as didn't have any on his face... looks like he's been busy"
"Zsasz is one of the escapes from Arkham and word on the streets is that he's working with Penguin and Riddler... there might be a chance that capturing Zsasz could lead us to them too" Catwoman and Harley both stand up on the ledge and looks towards the factory "We're moving in" Catwoman leaps off of the roof and lashes out her whip to wrap around so near scaffolding to swing her towards the factory. Harley holds her bat over her shoulders as she looks at the other woman go.
"Yeah... I'll be... right behind you..."
Inside Jolly's Toy Factory
Two groups of men oppose each other, one with Zsasz at the front and the other with an older looking man: Arnold Wesker. A grey-haired man whose face was covered in freckles and a frail pair of glasses that cover his eyes. Dressed in a white shirt and dark-red waistcoat. The man by himself was nowhere near being as intimidating as Zsasz, in fact, Arnold just had the look of a friendly old man, though frail, he still looked to be a kind and lovable man... all except for one little detail.
He held a wooden dummy in his left arm. Dressed in top hate and white suit with a small scar running its left eye. Scarface's plastic orbed eyes track Zsasz's every move. Not taking its eyes off of him for even a mere second. Arnold held a briefcase in his free hand and one of Zsasz's men held their own briefcase in their hands. Scarface's face was crafted with a permanent smile with a cigar hanging out "Well? Let's see the goods 'en? Doncha makes me blast a cap in your skull" Scarface growls which made Arnold slightly sweat.
"Oh we'll get there but first my constituent wants me to see if you have the money before I hand these treats over to you... we wouldn't want any unneeded casualties.. well... I kind of do... but it's not always about me... no matter how much that sucks" Zsasz smiles as he points his gloved hand to the briefcase in Arnold's hand as he wingless his finger in a playful manner "Show. Me. The. Money"
"Ya heard him, Dummy! Give him the dough" Scarface demands.
"Yes, Mister Scarface" Arnold nervously replies as he shaking hand lifts and he passes the briefcase over to Zsasz. He lifts it up and opens. The hairless man nods as he takes the case by the handle and drags it to his side. Scarface's eyes reposition back onto Zsasz "Now that our dillydallying is out of the way I expect you to hang over our weapons, capeesh? Scarface glares "Don't make me eighty-six you, you hairless monkey"
"Mr Scarface... there is no need to be so rude..." Arnold shakes in his boots.
"Ah, go and put eh' sock in it, you daisy" Scarface growls.
Zsasz snaps his fingers "I was just going to kill you at this point... but that dummy is just too much fun. You know... the iceberg lounge could really use with some new entertainment. We got singing and dancing but a puppet show...? Now that's something that can be entertaining..." four of his men hands over their briefcases over to one of Scarface's men. Zsasz folds his arms and looks at Arnold "Where did you get the dummy anyways? It looks like an antique... I remember Oswald saying something about another Dummy... just like this one"
"Watch who you are calling dummy, you pansy" Scarface shoots back "And this twit has no business talking to you 'bout our business... now scram and let the door hit you on your way out"
"It's... *don't let the door hit you on your way out*" Zsasz replies.
"I know what I said. The door is a really heavy metal one... can easily take one of your arms off..."
"I'm not humouring this... I am not humouring this..." Zsasz shrugs "All the weapons and ammo are in the case... if end up needing more... you know who to call" he winks. Arnold and Zsasz look up to the skyline as they see a shadow move across it which is reflected on the ground between them. Zsasz slowly turns on his feet as he looks up at the skyline, seeing that shadow had already passed by them. Arnold and Scarface tilt their gaze upward too.
"You got to be 'aving a laugh, right? That better not be who I think it is" Scarface's eyes roll to the side.
"Relax, will you? It's most likely just a bird" Zsasz nonchalantly says back.
"In winter? Now, who's the real dummy" Scarface scoffs.
"Good point... good point... good point" Zsasz pulls out his dual handguns from his holsters and flips them in his gloved hands "Never hurts to be too safe now. I'm not saying that it could Batman, Bane wouldn't stop boasting about how he killed him... might be... well... I have no clue"
"If you let Batman or Checkmate follow ya here... I will ring your neck so hard... your head will fall straight off your shoulders boy!" the dummy shouts as a small pellet was thrown onto the floor and rolls in between both of Arnold and Zsasz's feet.
Scarface's eyebrows raise "Oh you mother fu-"
The pellet steams out three clouds of green gas which unsettle the two men making them cover their mouths to stop themselves to inhaling it "It's tear gas!" Zsasz yells as was thrown into a coughing fit. His eyes begun to sting and redden almost swelling on the spot. The room had been full of the gas in a thick cloud which made trying to see anyone else in the place a hard task as they were all masked from each other by the gas. Zsasz's ears pick up the sound of loud gunfire in the room along with the screams of both his and Scarface's men, loud thuds and bone-breaking cracks that made even him uneasy.
Arnold was hunched over, barely able to breathe and even see. His vision and eyes have swollen and stung far worse then he could have ever imagined. Though all of the pain that he felt, he still held onto Scarface as his life depended on it "Mr Scarface... what's going on?"
"Who cares?!" Scarface growls "Take out your gun and shoot"
"Where? Shoot where... I can't see anything... I can't even open my eyes..." the man panics.
"EVERYWHERE. Light up this whole place like a Christmas tree you moron!" the dummy replies "And if we're lucky... we'll take out those slobber knockers too... now, less yapping and more blasting!." Arnold nods as he pulls a handgun from his back pocket and begins to fire into the distance without any sight or knowledge of what he would hit. He lets loose several rounds before he turns up empty and his gun just clicks. Not having another bullet to spare.
Zsasz turns on his heels as he looks at his surroundings, removing his jacket and holding against his nose and mouth to cease his intake of the gas as much as possible "Oswald is sure as hell not going to like this..." thinks to himself. His eyes jolts as he feels something, like claws slice across his back. Cutting through his clothes and even skin which created several trails of blood that drip down his back "What the?" he turns and sees a figure clouded by the gas run their fist across his face which knocks him back.
"No, no, no, no, no, no, no, NO! They don't match! They don't match! THEY DON'T MATCH!" Zsasz brings up his handgun and fires in a panic at the clouded figure. Catwoman rolls over onto the ground to avoid the gunfire, wearing an oxygen mask which spares her from the dangers of the gas. She leaps up back to her feet and lashes her claws across the man's face, cutting across his face and in his right eye. Zsasz screams as blood now streams down his eye as well with it being swollen left an ungodly pain.
"NOT COOL! The more marks you make... the more people that I have to kill! Starting with you!" he goes to fire his weapon once more. Catwoman slides under the man's feet and kicks his shins in, knocking Zsasz onto his knees. Her heels had hit so hard that they fractured bones in the man's feet. She jumps up to her feet and jumps against one of the support beams and kicks off it and rams her foot across Victor's face. The man spits blood as he was thrown onto the ground.
Her heel placed itself over the man's head. Zsasz just stars blankly "Really? Tear gas... kinda dick move... I mean... I would have done that myself too but... but I would at least kill some people first without it, you know? It's about the extravaganza... the style. It really tells me a lot about how you lack creativity... did you never do art in school or anything? You're just boring and... boring is something that you should never be in Gotham... yet again, all the cool stuff is already taken... so I can understand that... but still... what a disappointment..."
"Do you ever shut up?" Catwoman hisses.
"Yes... no... yes... wait... no... maybe?... when I'm sleeping I do... but I've also been told that I talk in my sleep. It's a real problem. I ended up confessing all kinds of twisted thing that I've done when sleeping... like in explicit detail... who knew that your brain still functioned so well even when you are sleeping, crazy right? I usually go and see doctors about it... but I also usually end up killing them too as they too overhear me sleeping... it's really getting tedious..."
"You make me sick" Catwoman narrows her eyes.
"Why thank-you. I really do try to make a conscious effort. Thanks for noticing. It really means..." Catwoman kicks the man across the back of his head while rolled him onto his back as he looks up to her "Oh... Catwoman? You a hero now or something? That's cool... that's cool... to each to their own... I guess. Say, I am kinda dying her, I can barely breathe... could you possibly open a window? It's quite toasty in here" Catwoman kicks him across his face again, and again.
Zsasz spits up blood and smiles "Okay... I can take the hint..."
"How are you still conscious?" Catwoman groans as she delivers another kick to Zsasz face "Just be knocked out already!"
"You kick like a woman, eh?" Zsasz chuckles which displayed his faintly blood tainted teeth "Yet again... you are a woman... so that's to be expected"
"You are literally the worst human being that I know" Catwoman growls.
"Hey, I'm the worst human being that I know too... just the way I li-" Zsasz was abruptly interrupted as a metal baseball bat was rammed down onto his face; cracking his nose. Zsasz was left in a daze, unable to speak or even move. Catwoman looks up to see an annoyed Harley who also wore who own oxygen mask with a clear vizor.
"Ya were goin' for 'is jawline... rooky mistake. Always go for the cranium... that always does the trick" Harley informs Catwoman in a playful tone. They both look ahead to the tear gas that was slowly fading "We betta finish this up quick" the blonde and the dark-haired woman runs ahead.
Harley hangs her bat low and swings it at one of the goon's legs; knocking him off balance. She stomps on the back of his head with her boot. She then leaps off in a small hope and rams the bat across another thug's face; making a bunch of teeth to fly out of his mouth. She twirls on her heels and whacks another thug in the stomach. She then rams her head forward and headbutts him. The man was knocked onto the ground. Harley grins "Damn that felt great..."
Catwoman claws her way through a group of blinded thugs who held their eyes tights. She cuts across their shoulders, chests and legs. She stomps her boots down on one of the men's foot and headbutts him, clawing again at his chest, kicking upward and kneeing his stomach. She lifts her arm and rams it back into the nose of the guy behind her "I almost feel bad for how unfair this is for them... almost" Catwoman calls out to Harley.
"Are ya kiddin' me? This is great for working out my anger issues... I am lovin' this!" Harley slams her bat down over one of the thug's head; knocking him down to the ground. She runs and slides on the ground and swings her bat across another thug's shin. She leaps up and grabs the man's arm and yanks him towards her "I'm even gettin' a little crazy!" she laughs as she bends the man's arm the wrong way and breaks it in two. The thug screams in pain and begs for her to stop. Harley simply shakes her head and pushes him onto the ground on his back.
"Please... stop..." he begs the blonde.
"Ah... that's a shame... I thought we 'ad something goin' for us, don't ya feel it? It kinda feels like this!" she swings the bat downward and onto the man's right foot; cracking it in several places. The thug screams again as he holds his foot and rolls on his side.
"You crazy bitch! I got beaten up by the Bat before and he was never this messed up!" he screams.
"Damn right and doncha forget it" she slowly runs her thumb against the skin of her neck. Harley's eyes look over through the fading fog to see someone run out a door that leads out of the place. A smile slowly forms on her face and she lifts an eyebrow "This should be a lil' fun then!" she takes off after the person as she too runs through the door and heads out into the snow-covered ground of the outside world.
"Hold on a sec. Don't go off by yourself!" Catwoman calls out to the blonde as she rams her first across a thug's face.
Outside of Jolly's Toy Factory
"Keep goin' you snivelling birdbrained dumbass! Don't ya let those minxes get us!" Scarface yells as Arnold Wesker: The Ventriloquist slowly runs as he quickly became short of breath as he is unable to keep going. His age wouldn't allow is so he was rendered to slumping his body across the ground, dragging his feet. The old man had to stop. His body wouldn't move and he was left standing on the spot as he pants heavily. The dummy's head slowly turns to Arnold "Ya dense or somethin'? I said keep goin' you, incompetent dunce!"
"Ever-so-sorry sir! I just can't keep running. I- I can barely breath..." Arnold sheepishly responds in a shy tone.
Scarface lifts one of his thick eyebrows in irritation "Ya gotta be havin' a laugh, right? When I say move it... I mean MOVE it! Quit ya whining and get back to running you, buffoon!" The handler of the dummy nods as he looks begins again, dragging his feet and trying to get as much distance between him and the factory as possible.
The ground was still covered by snow which had mostly hardened into ice by this point as well snow still faintly falls from the sky. The air itself was full of a grey tint to it which gave everything a chilling filling. Once he got to the roads his journey became a much more easy one as the grit and gravel that covered it had subdued and melted most of the snow and ice away. Arnold was running on fumes at that point, his breaths that he took did not give him nearly enough oxygen to support his efforts.
"I can't keep this up, Mr Scarface... I can't... I can't..." Arnold slumps over and gasps "Please forgive me"
"Ah... ya are useless! I should 'ave known ya can't be trusted to do zip! Feel lucky that ya don't have any ammo left... otherwise I would be pumpin' you full of lead myself right now!" the dummy yells as it was clearly pissed at the older man "Or better yet... how 'bout I break your neck!"
"Mr Scarface, please... p-please don't be so mean to me... I have been doing my best..." the old man stutters.
"That was ya best? Bend me over and call me Sally... that what's ya say is ya best work? Thanks, Christ Almighty that you haven't been doing your worst... because then I really would have been screwed over..." Scarface growls. Arnold and Scarface both turn their head as they hear a voice call out to them from behind.
"Aye Scarface say 'ello to meh li' friend!" Harley calls out as she throws her metal stripped bat and bashes it across the dummy; cracking the right side of its wooden face. Arnold Wesker tumbles backwards in shock as he falls on his back on a pile of snow. Harley grins as she picks up her bat and then spins it in her grip "Get it? Yer called Scarface... so... so I said that line, kinda clever, right? Really? Nothing... everyone thinks that they are a comedian theses days..." the blonde puffs a strand of hair from her eyes.
"Ya crazy Trixie! Are ya out of ya bloody mind!?" Scarface screams, trying to lift up his right eyebrow through the cracks in his head make that movement impossible. Wesker slowly lifts his right hand and adjusts his glasses to sharpen his vision "Please Ma'am... I give up... please don't hurt me... I beg you... I give up..."
"Eh... what?" Harley's eyes switch between both the old man and the dummy "Somethin' ain't right here..."
"Damn right it's not! Ya crazy bitch just tried to make worm meat out of me! You are bloody crazy!" Scarface narrows his eyes "Here I was just tryin' to make an ordinary deal for weapons. I wasn't double-crossin' no one, I kept my end of the deal an' all and here ya come with ya lil' minx of a friend to destroy it! And to top it all of... you club me in the face with a metal bat when I was runnin' away and not hurtin' anyone!" the dummy snarls.
"W-what? Okay... I am super confused... are you a sad old man or a jerk... this is gettin' hard to follow... unless..." Harley's eyes light up as she claps "Oh my god... you're a ventriloquist aren't ya! Ah I always wanted one for my birthdays when I was a tiny little girl... but no... mom always went with a clown..." the blonde shrugs as she knees down and reaches out with her black fingerless gloved hand and taps Scarface "You nearly had me for a second... I almost thought that the dummy was actually sentient... wow... how dumb, right? THERE is NO way that a dummy could be ali-." Scarface was propelled forward and trapped one of the woman's fingers in its wooden teeth.
"Aggghhhh" the blonde yanks her hand back "Ah! The dummy bit me! WHAT THE HELL?" she jolts up and lifts her bat high over her head "Ya little bastard!"
"No... wait, please!" Arnold lifts his right hand up as a shield "Mr Scarface didn't mean it, he didn't mean it... he just doesn't like being called a dummy..." the man quivers in fear as the towering blonde with the pale white face as her eyes narrow.
"Awe please... she ain't got the marbles to do it!" Scarface scoffs.
"THIS IS NOT COMING TO MY EIGHTH, NINTH, TENTH, ELEVENTH OR EVEN TWELFTH BIRTHDAY PARTY!" she uses all of her upper body strength to swing her bat downward and crushes Scarface's head under the force; crushing it inward of itself. She swings her arms back up over her hand and slams them back down again as the bad crushes the rest of the dummy's head "THIS IS FOR MY MOM HIRING THE SAME GODDAMN CLOWN FOR SEVEN YEARS IN A ROW... EVEN THOUGH I AM SURE THAT HE WASN'T ALLOWED TO BE AROUND KIDS AS PART OF HIS PROBATION!" she swings down the once more and this time the bad breaks through the remains of Scarface and crushes the old man's left hand, shattering all of its bones in one swoop.
Arnold looked up in horror as he slowly turns his head to see the broken remains of Scarface along with his broken and mangled hand "Oh my... you killed Mr Scarface... you killed him... oh my... thank you! Thank you so much! Thank you!" the frail old man looks back up to the blonde and ceases his words as he still sees the anger in her eyes as she winds up another swing with her bat "W-what are you doing miss? Mr Scarface is dead, he was the threat... not me... I didn't want any part in this... he... he forced me... he made me..."
"It's nothin' personal ya geezer. Nothin' personal at all. It's just... some time ago a wise man got into my head... and made me realize that I love killin' things... it helps full the empty feeling that I have always had... I've tried to fight the urge to hurt others... I really have tried to fight it... but sometimes... I just can't... I just can't seem to care... and in those times... I love hurting people... I love it!" Harley laughs as she whacks her bat back down and crushes Arnold's other hand; breaking it too "As well you just pissed me off..."
"PLEASE, ENOUGH...PLEASE..." Arnold cries as he looks at his dual pair of mangled hands "... Please don't do this young lady... please..."
"*Young?*" Harley flutters her eyes "Why... thank you..." she flashes a quick smile before returning back to her angry gaze as she takes another swing with her bat. Arnold stiffens up and closes his eyes. Harley's eyes widen as a whip was wrapped around both of her wrists. The blonde was then yanked backwards onto her back as she looks up to Catwoman standing over her. The dark-haired woman flashes a glare down at the blonde and hurries over to Arnold.
"Jesus, Harley... what the hell did you do?" Catwoman hisses as she looks over the mentally-broken man who was crying on the ground "Harley... what the hell did you do!?"
"What's yer problem?" Harley jumps to her feet and rubs over her right shoulder "I was takin' care of him before ya lost it and floored me! Now if ya don't mind... I need to finish it an' make sure that he doesn't get up" she strafes forward only to be stopped by Catwoman who placed herself in the way between the blonde and the grounded man. Harley narrows her eyes as she looks up to meet Selina's gaze "What do ya think that ya doin'? Get out of my way"
"He's no longer a threat... you made sure of that..." Catwoman snarls at the blonde "I saw you, Harley... I saw you were about to kill him... if I didn't get here in time... you would have crossed a line, one that we shouldn't cross"
"Well maybe ya shoulda let me... at least then we wouldn't be dealing with a crying old man" Harley lifts her bat and holds it over her shoulders "Plus... I wasn't actually gonna kill him... I am just following your lead and the example that ya were setting for me... sure he might have been hurtin' like hell... but he would have recovered... eventually"
"My example?" Catwoman asks perplexed and offended by the other woman's words "I don't do this, Harley! I don't go needlessly go beating on guys who already down! There's a line and a limit, Harley and if you want to keep working with us... you better learn it. We need to be better than this. We have to be better than this"
Oh, really?" Harley chuckles "So ya fine with cutting up guys with your claws and using tear gas to damage their eyesight is fine but making sure that they stay down is takin' it too far? Ummm hellloooo? Remember Zsasz a few minutes ago? Ya were happy attacking him when he was down... ya only stopped because I had to step in and finish it. No offence but ya sound like ya don't even buy this whole *We are better than them" shtick thing that ya are preaching... considering ya only apply it when it best suits ya"
"Don't act for a second that you think that you know me... because you don't. What you did here was beyond excusable" Catwoman turns around to look at Arnold "As much as hate to admit it, Talia may have been right in saying that I shouldn't have brought you on board... you're inexperienced... and it seems that you can't even control your temper. Maybe you should go back home, Harley. Spend some time with Harvey and take some time to clear your head and get yourself sorted out... you need to learn to control yourself"
"Maybe ya need to learn to let yourself loose sometimes... seriously... all this *hero* speech doesn't fit ya. Last time I checked... you were a mass thief that steals from anyone she can to get a quick paycheck. This whole *tough* act. It kinda sounds like something I imagine Batman sayin'. Ya are goin' on 'bout how I don't know ya... but I got a sneaking suspicion that maybe ya don't even know yerself" Harley shrugs as she smirks "Just sayin' that yer' not really have a pedestal of moral superiority yerself either... Trust me on this... I am a psychiatrist. We tend to know where we're talkin' about"
"I said enough!" Catwoman spits "Go home"
"Fine, whatever... see ya tomorrow" Harley turns and skips away "Hopefully then ya won't have a tree-sized stick stuck up ya ass!" Catwoman holds her hand on her hips as she dismisses the blonde's words.
Above on the rooftops, a silhouetted figure stands dressed with a cape and with a pair of pointy ears on top of their cowl. They stand with their arms resting by their sides as they looked down to Catwoman and Harley who was skipping away from the scene. The figure has a red bat symbol on their chest and had a feminine figure. Her right fist was covered by a red armoured shoulder-length glove which held a metal a Batarang with red stripes across the wings of it.
Wayne Manner -
The Next Morning
Bruce leans back on the couch of the living room with Alfred standing behind him "You know Master Bruce when I said that I wanted to try and get you out of the room of yours... I didn't mean for you to just down here and do the same silent treatment." Alfred walks around and places down a silver tray over the table. Bruce glances down to the tray and sees a cup of coffee and a small salad "I know how you haven't been feeling that hungry lately... so I thought that instead of wasting my time and the food... I should just make something small... something bite-sized"
"Thanks, Alfred" Bruce goes to reach up to the cup on the trey, struggling once his hands got close to it. He tries to lean forward but was swiftly drawn back by the sharp pain that shoots through his body. His back was aching... hurting like hell even after all this time. Bruce winces in pain as he repeats his action, reaching out to the cup. He was once again stopped as the pain flared up once more and forced to return back to his previous position. He growls as he lifts both of his hands and runs them through his hair.
"Lighten up, Master B" Alfred leans over and hands the cup over to Bruce "Doctor Tompkins said that your recovery could still take months... even years. There is no need to lose your temper, no one is expecting you to just recover so fast. You are only human after all..."
"I know, Alfred. That doesn't make me feel any better though..." he sips from the cup "Everyday I am reminded that I'm only human, every day I am told to not to worry, not be concerned with my recovery. I have been told again and again that I may need years to fully get back on my feet. How can I forget that when I am constantly being reminded of I am just a regular guy... that I am nothing special... after a while it begins to sink in" Bruce rolls her eyes "And it's made even worse by the fact that while I am sitting here... unable to walk or do anything to help, Gotham is full lunatics and now those Checkmates Soldiers who are treating criminals and innocents alike... so no, Alfred... I am not going to *lighten up*. Not when innocent people are getting caught in the crossfire"
Alfred holds his arms behind his back "If you insist, Master Bruce. I know that my words may be falling on deaf ears... but have you ever considered that right now, the last thing this city needs is Batman? Maybe just maybe... if you can think straight, you may realize that simple old Bruce Wayne can do just as much good for it. Though by different means, you will still be working towards bringing hope to the people of Gotham"
"What the hell can Bruce Wayne do at this point? Show up all broken and unable to walk... if you don't remember, Bane knows who I am, Joker knows who I am. Me going to help in the efforts as Bruce will only put a target on myself and the ones around me... face it, Bruce Wayne is useless..." Bruce says with a hollow tone "My family's legacy means nothing to the city now, nothing to Checkmate and nothing to those maniacs. Bruce Wayne is just a person... but Batman? He's the one that Gotham needs right now"
"If you feel that is for the best... then I will not get in your way. Now if you would excuse me... there are things that I must attend to" Alfred excuses himself and leaves the room which left Bruce on his own. The billionaire sits in silence for minutes on end, he would glance at the Grandfather Clock of the room. Seeing that every time between five and ten minutes pass between each of his glances. Bruce leans back and looks up to the ceiling.
"I can't do this..." Bruce rubs his temple. He steadily leans his body forward and picks up the remote lying on the table and uses it to turn on the television and switches between channels until he lands upon the news. His eyes observes a Jack Ryder, one of the various hotshot reporters that were nowhere near being as famous as they thought that they are. Bruce raises the volume to hear the man's words.
"- The men were found badly wounded and beaten. Sources are telling us that they were covered in scratch marks and were bleeding heavily. As well some others seemed to be suffering from head trauma and are suffering from the effects of tear gas. Some of the men in question may have their vision permanently impaired, some are suffering other side effects such severe burns all over their bodies. Checkmate is denying having any involvement in this operation and say that they are looking into it. It should be noted that whoever caused this whole thing managed to capture both Arnold Wesker and Victor Zsasz, both known criminals that were previously incarcerated in Arkham Asylum and were apart of the rogue group that was broken out a few months back..."
Bruce's eyes widen as he observes the images of the two named convicts that were propped up on the screen. The image appears to have been taken after their capture as shown them covered in bruises with their eyes being swollen shut with Zsasz covered in familiar-looking claw marks and with Arnold being covered in yellowing bruises. Bruce lowers his head to the ground and rests his hands over his lap "I need to get back to the city" he thinks to himself.