(Trigger Warnings: Violence, Mentions of Torture)

Her eyes fluttered open slowly, a groan passing through her lips as she lifted her head. It was almost too heavy for her as she focused her vision. She could feel the dried blood caking around her nose and mouth, and she attempted to touch her face. This was a move made in vain, however, as her hands were tightly bound in chains against a chair. She shifted her feet to find that her ankles were as well. "Hello?" Her voice finally forced itself from her, the word cracked and weak.

"Ah, Sleeping Beauty rises."

She groaned from the familiarity of the voice. "Don Maroni, you could have just stopped at my facility if you wanted to see me."

"Yeah, well, from what I hear, me and my men aren't welcome there anymore." Maroni snapped as he knelt in front of her.

"I'm not sure where you heard that, but all are welcome at my facilities." Her voice was even toned, given that her heart was racing at her predicament.

Maroni gave a low chuckle deep in his chest before gesturing from someone over his shoulder. "Come on in, kid."

Hestia blinked hard as she glanced towards the doorway. Oswald shuffled in meekly, his hands down by his sides. He gave Hestia a weak and guilty smile as he took Maroni's side. "I was told you made a deal with Falcone."

She tightened her jaw as she made herself sit up as straight as she could, given her restraints. "I didn't make any deals, Oswald."

"Friends are we?" Maroni questioned as his eyes shifted between the two younger adults. "You know, Oswald has been telling me all kinds of interesting things about you, Hestia. You see, I thought you and I were close, given that we were family and all."

Hestia's heart sank towards the floor, but she kept a straight face. "Don Maroni, I have always been respectful towards you, and the loss of your nephew still lingers close to my heart. So what has dear Oswald been telling you?"

"That you only work with Falcone's men, for starters. And, that," Maroni leaned in closely, his nose almost touching her own, "that you killed my nephew. Oh, and that you're fucking that freak, what's his name, again?"

"Victor Zsasz." Oswald spoke up.

She narrowed her eyes defiantly towards the large man. "You need a mint or something, Maroni. Your breath reeks of the bullshit he's been feeding you." She now turned her attention towards the lanky man. "I've never done a thing to you, Os, and here we are." Oswald refused to make eye contact with her. "Look. At. Me. You coward." Oswald's pale blue eyes finally moved to her face, and the weakness he held for her shifted through his body, and he felt immediately guilty. He wanted to take over Gotham, but he didn't need to drag her along for that, did he? "Now you'll remember my face long after Maroni's men are finished with me, and long after they pull my rotting body from the banks of the Gotham River."

She wanted to tell Maroni about Oswald's involvement with the death, but she kept that secret locked tightly behind her teeth, deep in the back of the recesses of her mind. Maroni gave a call over his shoulder and two more men entered the room. "His bullshit does hold some truth, Hestia. I've done my research. I know you killed my nephew, I just wanted to hear it from you."

"Victor will get his hands on you Maroni, and you'll regret even being in the same room as me. And you're a fool if you think Don Falcone will allow this to pass without any retaliation." Hestia snapped as she wiggled her wrists to get some sort of relief. "I killed your nephew because he was a fucking animal, and I wasn't going to give up the rest of my life for the poor decisions my parents made, and while we're at it, Falcone put me through med school. He looked after me when I was in high school and got me out of serious trouble, so yes, I will choose him and his men over you." Her glare narrowed at Oswald. "At least some of us in Gotham still have our loyalty."

A sharp smack rang out as the cold metal of one of Maroni's rings cut into her cheek. She hissed through her teeth as blood slowly trickled down to drip onto her blouse.. "Make sure she suffers. It's a damn shame, Hestia. I always adored you." Maroni instructed the other two men as he wiped his hand off on her jogging pants. He gave her a pat on the shoulder and left the room, leaving Hestia alone with the other two men, and Oswald.

Oswald had also been instructed to stay, and his stomach turned as the echoes of Hestia's screams of agony tore through the room. He wasn't sure how much time had passed, but he had to excuse himself finally after she turned her head weakly to puke onto the concrete floor beneath her. She was fighting the urge to cry, and she breathed in slowly to steel herself for more of the pain being inflicted upon her. Oswald paced outside of the empty factory building a few times, the shreds of his conscious pulling together to blanket him in guilt.

He made up his mind as he pulled his phone from his pocket. He sent out a text message before tossing his phone into the nearby river, and with that, Oswald returned to the factory. He couldn't have been gone more than fifteen minutes, but the two men had made a great deal of progress on the doctor. However, he stepped back into her view, and her eyes gazed up at him through her bangs. The look behind the forest hue sent chills down his spine, her lip curling a bit as she inhaled sharply. A dry chuckle left her lips, and Oswald blinked at her in a confused manner.

"You're as thick as Maroni, Oswald, and it'll cost you greatly." Her voice was shaking through the pain her body was experiencing, however, that small part of her that had learned to travel from hurt and regret and sadness pulled through enough to keep her mind sharp and her words venomous. "I'd leave, if I were you, Oswald. Quickly. Antonio here works for Falcone."

Oswald's attention turned to one of the men that had been torturing her, and the look in his eyes confirmed that what Hestia was saying was true. There was a commotion somewhere off in the warehouse, and Hestia smiled wickedly. "Better make sure he doesn't catch you here, Oswald. Otherwise, he might find a way to kill you twice."

Oswald could tell that he didn't have much time, and he quickly hobbled off in the direction of the building he had entered through. "A party and I wasn't invited? I'm rather hurt, guys." Zsasz's twisted voice rang out in the factory behind him. Oswald kept his head down and got as far from the factory as possible. Zsasz's dark gaze drifted slowly over Hestia, and he let out a low growl as her two torturers were rounded up by some of Falcone's men. "The key?"

One of the men gestured lamely to his pocket, and Zsasz removed a knife from his pocket before cutting into the fabric, his hand pushing just hard enough to cut into the man's skin. He pulled the key out from the man's pocket and then gestured for the two to be taken away. It was then that Zsasz lowered himself down to Hestia's eye level, his gloved hand reaching out to carefully touch her face. "Antonio works for us, Victor."

"He wasn't the one that contacted us." His jaw twitched as he moved her fiery locks from her face, his touch overly gentle as he tucked her hair behind her ears. "It was an unknown number."

Her eyebrows knitted together as Victor worked to remove her restraints. She stood weakly at first, but after a few deep breaths, she straightened fully and took a step forward. Her hand pushed Victor's arm away as she locked gazes with him. "I can walk." He gave her a small, twisted smile at her conviction.

"Now, did Antonio lay as much as a finger on you?" Zsasz questioned her as they started making their way towards the exit.

Hestia looked over at him before wrapping an arm around his. "Obviously neither of those idiots knew what they were doing." As they approached his vehicle, she stopped him. She placed her hands on his shoulders before gently kissing his lips. "I have a very important request of you, Victor."

He rose an eyebrow as she stared up into his eyes. "Are you hiring me?" He couldn't hide the slight chuckle in his voice as she took a rather serious expression.

"I suppose I am."

"Who do you want me to kill, then?"

Hestia shook her head before taking his hands in her own. "I want you to teach me how to defend myself. I can't be a liability to you, or to Don Falcone, and I can't always be some damsel in distress. Especially not in Gotham." She gave his hands a squeeze. "And I know that you can easily hold your own."

Zsasz looked her over from head to toe before he nodded in agreement. "I won't go easy on you, you understand?"

She let go of his hands to straighten out her blouse. "Right, then. We need to start as soon as possible."

"Let's get you cleaned up first. Falcone wants to see you." He opened the passenger door for her, and she slipped in. "And you-you're alright?" He asked, a little unsure of himself.

"Always."