Lenore's mind lingered on the thought of meeting with her employer as she entertained that night. The stage was center of the vast, posh lounge, made from glass to resemble a slab of ice. She played a grand white piano, delicate designs of arctic creatures carved into the legs that ended in clawed feet. She'd at first been afraid to touch the beautiful instrument when she beheld it on her beginning night, but quickly got over it as soon as she brushed its polished keys. It played so beautifully, and Lenore never got over the electrifying feeling she received every time she began a new piece.
"Polar bear rug me, don't bug me," Lenore glanced over at the beautiful singer as she walked slowly across the stage in her glittering black dress. She tossed her length of waved, dark brown hair over her dainty pale shoulder as she practically made out with the mic in her white gloved hand. "New Thunderbird me, you heard me. I'm getting hungry, peeeeel me a graaaape." Lenore sighed through her nose in silent amusement as she finished her notes, the crowd clapping as the singer raised her arms in welcome of their affections. Lenore stretched her fingers and rolled her shoulders before standing to retreat to the employee lounge area for break.
"How was it?" Starling asked from her seat on one of the couches as she walked in, stretching her arms over her head.
"Same old, same old." she replied, plopping onto the couch across from the waitress and kicking off her heels. She wiggled her toes happily. "Free from the evil embrace of the cruel toe pinchers." she said. Starling snorted.
"Heels aren't bad, you're just a baby." she said. Lenore pouted at her.
"Aren't you s'posed to be serving drinks or something waitress-y like that?" she asked, resting her head on the couch cushion behind her.
"Nnnope. I'm on break, just like you, and uh..." she rapped her knuckle on the coffee table to get Lenore to look at her. "Boss want's to see you after your break now." she said. Lenore's eyes widened in shock.
"What?!" she sat up quickly, her hair falling over her eyes. "You said after work-"
"He just called as you finished up your performance. Change of plans." Starling shrugged her shoulders, not knowing what else to say to the stressed out kid in front of her. Lenore rest her elbows on her knees as she leaned forward, staring hard at the unused ashtray that rest on the coffee table.
Breaks were supposed to be relaxing.
…...
"Oookay..." Lenore glared at the large mahogany door in front of her. The entrance to Cobblepot's office, innocent as it looked, sent chills down Lenore's spine as she wondered what fate awaited her behind it. She hesitated just once before finally knocking on the door with fake confidence. "No fear, Lenore." she said to herself.
"Enter..." was the muffled reply, and she did as instructed, pushing open the door with slight force to get the heavy thing open. As she stepped inside she took in the sight of the room. It wasn't huge, but the black walls made it seem larger than it really was. His marble top desk sat at the very back, the stuffed head of a polar bear mounted above it, it's mouth displayed in a snarling fashion as it's black glass eyes seemed to pierce into her. She stepped gingerly on the perfectly white carpet, closing the door behind her before standing practically at attention as she awaited for her employer to finish inspecting the papers in front of him. Without looking up, he waived a hand in a beckoning motion, and Lenore complied, walking forward until she was only feet from his desk.
"You wanted to see me, Mister C-"
"Shhh." Lenore snapped her mouth shut as he commanded, and a few silent moments passed before his eyes finally dragged upward to land on her small frame. "Ah, yes, Lenore..." he said. "What was it I-" he paused. "-Oh yes!" he clapped his hands together once and smiled at her as he leaned back in his red satin chair.
"Y-yes, sir?" she asked, not really liking his sudden enthusiasm.
"I have a proposition for you, kid." he said. "I have a few colleagues in need of entertainment, and you're perfect for the job." Lenore's eyes widened.
"Colleagues, sir?" she asked. He nodded, and she watched his beak of a nose bob up and down before he went on.
"Yes, old friends of mine, you'd know them better as-" his eyes became dark as they stared hard at her own. "-the Rogues..." Lenore's knees wanted to give out at the request, and she fought to keep her composure as the words played on repeat in her mind. Penguin took note of her reaction, pleased with her silence. "The pay is good. You'd be thankful for it." Lenore took a deep breath.+-
"I-I feel that I am hardly the right person, sir." she said carefully. He laced his fingers together and propped his arms on the table, leaning forward. When he didn't say anything, she went on. "I mean, I feel that I don't come close to qualifying-"
"Nonsense, you're perfectly capable of entertaining my guests for the remainder of the night." he said. "You don't want to say no, Lenore..." his voice became dark. "You know what nearly happened last time someone said no to me..." Lenore swallowed as she remembered Theresa's nearly deadly refusal.
"Yes...sir..." she said. Cobblepot smiled and chuckled as he returned to a comfortable position in his seat.
"Don't be like that. We're friends, kid." his new attitude was dripping with false kindness. "How much longer before you can finally pay for that school of yours?" he asked. Lenore squeezed her hands into fists.
"About seven months..." she said.
"You'll miss most of this school year at that rate, education is so precious, it'd be a tragedy if you missed out on even one more year..."
"Yes, sir..."
"I'm prepared to make a good offer, just for this night." he took one of his expensive pens and scribbled something on a small sheet of bordered paper, sliding it forward when he was finished for her to take. She picked it up slowly, her hand shooting up to her mouth when she saw the writing. "That should cover the remainder and then some..."
"Yeah..." she wanted to sit down. Everything seemed to be spinning around her in that moment, and she needed to shake her head to steady herself where she stood. Penguin grinned at her, bringing a pipe from his desk drawer to his mouth before lighting it in. He loved getting what he wanted.
It was so easy.
…...
"I'm staring at an awful lot of doors today..." Lenore muttered.
"What's that?"
"Nothing..." Lenore responded, and looked up to the person who questioned her. Lark was one of Cobblepot's bodyguards, acting the part of a waitress, but really surveying the crowd of customers for any undesirable guests that she would report to her employer immediately. The tall, thin woman didn't seem to have the build of a bodyguard, her delicate features on her face framed by her perfectly straight brown hair. Her eyes told a different story, though, as they constantly flashed a glare that dared you to step out of line in front of her.
"Alright then." she said, before punching a number onto a keypad by the large iron door before them. Lenore turned her head to look down the long, almost ominous passage they had just stepped behind a classical painting to enter. She would have thought it was cool if she hadn't understood the reasoning behind the secrecy. She figured with the colleagues Cobblepot described, this precaution was all too necessary.
The door clicked unlocked when Lark was finished typing the lengthy password, and Lenore's attention snapped forward as the bodyguard pushed the iron door open with ease. A shaky sigh escaped her lips, and Lark lead her gently forward into the mysterious room.
It wasn't nearly as scary a place as Lenore's youthful imagination had predicted. It was large, about the size of the library she often visited, with white walls and white tile floor that black area rugs decorated. Black couches circled around a round glass coffee table in the center of the room. A wide bookshelf rest against the back wall, filled with literature that Lenore couldn't help wondering was. What did these people read? Or was it merely there for decoration? A small buffet sat on a table beside it, a small group of large men in dark clothing chatting idly around it as they picked at the free food. Most likely the hired help. Her eyes finally landed on the piano that rest at the back corner. It was a dark red baby grand piano, the color clashing almost nicely with the dominantly black and white scheme of the rest of the room. Lenore was more interested in the location, as it seemed to be out of the way of everything.
"And everyone..." she muttered, painfully settling her sight on the Penguin's honored guests that lounged comfortably at the black couches. A woman with brilliant red hair perched at the end of one of the couches, her elf-like features lit up by her pale green complexion. She was stroking a small vine that was slowly sprouting from a large seed that rest in the palm of her hand. Lenore wanted to widen her eyes at the woman's almost completely exposed body, a makeshift outfit of what seemed to be leaves and vines being her only cover. A man with light brown hair sat beside her in a dark green suit, a long purple cane with a bronze question mark as it's top was propped up on his leg. He appeared to be reading the newspaper he had open in front of him with his purple gloved hands, but upon closer inspection Lenore realized his masked eyes were darting mischievously to the plant woman's almost bare chest. A blonde woman with pigtails giggled from another couch as she sat upside down, her head hanging off the end and her crossed legs propped up on the back. She wore what seemed to be regular attire, a black and red striped skirt and a white blouse with puffed sleeves. Her face was painted white, and a black mask covered her large blue eyes as her deep red lips widened into a smile at the green suited fellow.
"Stop starin' at my lady's ladies, riddles." she said in a cute jersey accent. The Riddler froze at the comment, and the green woman's vine grew a fly trap of a mouth and hissed at him.
"Something the matter, Nygma?" Poison Ivy said seductively as she calmed the vine with more gentle strokes. He shook his head and straightened out his paper with a nervous shake before hiding his reddened face behind it.
"Not at all, red." he said quickly in a sad attempt to dismiss her suspicions.
"Your sweat says otherwise..." someone said knowingly from the bookshelf, and Lenore looked over to see a man wearing a brown tweed suit browsing the selection of books in front of him. Unimpressed, he turned to look at a sputtering Riddler through this rectangular glasses, the bangs of his wavy rust red hair falling slightly in front of his dark brown eyes. Lenore would have mistaken him as a normal person compared to the rest of the costumed villains in the room, but she knew better as she remembered the wanted flier that she'd seen that morning. Doctor Johnathan Crane.
"Scarecro-" she was interrupted by a sudden growl behind her, and she spun to see two large hyenas looking dangerously at her as they tugged on the thick chains that kept them attached to the corner. She had never felt like prey before, but there was a first time for everything, and she stared as the hyena's licked their chops in dark promise. Everyone stopped what they were doing at the sound of the hungry animals and raised questioning brows at the sudden appearance of a child in their presence.
"Mister Cobblepot would like to present you with entertainment as you await your shipments." Lark said in a professional manner. This only seemed to deepen their confusion. Riddler finally scoffed.
"And what the hell are we supposed to do with that?" He asked reproachfully as he gestured to Lenore. "Feed her to the hyenas?" Lenore felt her cheeks become hot, and she balled her hands into fists, finding her voice. He may be an annoyance tonight, and she didn't want that.
"I'll be playing the piano." she said as evenly as she could. Riddler rolled his eyes and brought his newspaper back up.
"Boring..."
"Leave it to ole waddle-pants to try and showboat one of his fun little novelties." the woman with pigtails said, righting herself on the couch and looking to Lenore thoughtfully. "Ain't no place for a baby..."
"Now, now, Harley." Ivy said sweetly. "Give the girl a chance..." she smiled at Lenore. "Go on, dear. Do your job." Lenore nodded quickly, but didn't move. Lark noted this, and nudged Lenore forward until the girl's legs moved mechanically towards the piano. She couldn't help feeling very much her age as she made her way over, her hands grasping tightly on her pants the whole way. Even though there were only a few of them, their gaze made her wish she could shrink into a corner and out of sight. This wasn't possible though, and Lenore fought off her nerves as she finally sat herself at the piano, flipping her coattails out so she didn't sit on them. Brushing the keys once, she resolved to pretend that this was an ordinary crowd, and just make it through the next few hours with whatever material she was provided with, She looked up to see what sheet music she'd be using, and she froze.
Where was the sheet music?
"Okay..." she mumbled nervously as she stared blankly where her material should be resting. Penguin must have forgotten to choose something. She looked to the Rogues in a desperate attempt to guess what they may prefer. No way would they all have similar tastes. "They don't even look like they like each other..." her whisper low enough so only she could hear. None of them were speaking to each other, minding their own business as they passed the time in wait for their shipments, whatever they were. Lenore raked her hair back in silent defeat. She was screwed.
"Something the matter, flower...?" Ivy's silky voice asked from her seat. Lenore looked up to see she was the one the question was asked to.
"I-I-It seems material was not provided for this evening." she wanted to applaud herself for not stuttering like an idiot.
"Oh?" Ivy said, resting her chin on her hand. "Do you know anything off the top of your head?" she asked. Lenore nodded.
"Yes, I know plenty-"
"Then play whatever you can." Ivy said. Lenore swallowed before she replied to the red head.
"Is there anything..." she began, gesturing to the rest of the guests. "Is there anything anyone would, ah, prefer?" maybe if she just asked them what they wanted, she could go the night without upsetting any of them. Taking requests would have to do if she were to make it to see the next day.
"Hmmm." Ivy tapped her bottom lip, and looked to Harley. "Any ideas? I don't know piano very well-"
"The Charlie Brown theme!" Harley squealed in response. "I love that one!" Ivy's eyes hooded and she looked back to Lenore.
"Anything but that-"
"Aw, red! You're no fuuun!" Harley hit the couch cushion with a fist as if she were throwing a childlike tantrum. Lenore had to remind herself that this same woman was the reason many were dead or seriously injured.
"At least the other one isn't here..." she whispered to herself, the image of the clown girl's other half flashing once in her mind.
"Round Midnight..." Crane said, leaning against the bookshelf. He didn't seem to have any interest or intention of joining his fellow criminals, and instead remained a fly on the wall as an observer with arms crossed in silent judgment. He had intended on remaining quiet most of the night, but he had become slightly intrigued by Lenore's presence, alleviating his boredom just a little as he watched her nervousness and fear come and go. It was entertaining, seeing her feeble attempts at keeping her composure just barely work every time she received attention from the others. He had to step in when the clown girl made that ridiculous request, however, he'd be damned if he had to listen to some idiotic tune during his visit. Lenore looked directly at him.
"Round Midnight?" she asked, and he nodded curtly.
"Should be simple enough." he said, looking over his glasses. "Unless you can't, in that case I wouldn't understand why Oswald would even think you'd be worth sending here..." Lenore bit her cheek as she felt a sliver of anger well up inside her.
"I can, and I will, sir." she said, her voice course. Who did this guy think he was-
"Doctor..." Crane replied. "I am a doctor and you will regard me as such when speaking, thank you." he said. He gave a crooked smile as he watched her fight internally with herself to keep her mouth shut, her anger now plain on her young face.
"Yes...doctor..." she mumbled, and turned to the keys before anything else could be said between them. As she had promised, she was able to deliver the melody, and gave herself a mental clap on the back as she glanced over to see a small flash of interest cross Crane's otherwise calculating features. She even earned an excited clap from Harley when she was finished.
"Pretty!" she said, hopping to her feet before walking over to Lenore. Lenore didn't expect to be hugged around the shoulders by the clown girl, and stayed very still as Harley's breasts pressed against her back, the overpowering smell of cotton candy perfume almost dizzying her senses.
"Thanks..." she said quietly, wishing Harley would back away and take the overly sweet scent from her.
"Anything else?" Ivy asked Crane. He adjusted his glasses and remained silent, much to Lenore's pleasure. "Well, why don't you play one of your favorites then?" Ivy said, turning back to Lenore.
"Me?" Lenore asked.
"You're the entertainment." Ivy said. "Entertain me with one of your favorites."
"Oh, ok..." Lenore said, and slowly turned back to the keys. She thought for a moment, and finally hovered her fingers over the ivory. The tune was short and simple enough to finish quickly, so she began. "There is a castle on a cloud..." she sang low, and clearly, just loud enough to complement the melody without overdoing it. "...I like to got here in my sleep..." As she continued, she regained some of her confidence, looking up to each of the people around her. She saw Ivy and Harley watching with quiet interest, Ivy's little vine plant swaying back and forth. Riddler paid no mind, turning the page of his newspaper in disinterest. When Lenore saw Crane, however, she became curious. As she played, his gaze seemed become fixed on something miles away from where they were, his jaw set and his body still from whatever thought or memory haunted his mind. Shrugging, she dismissed the reaction and continued the melody until she was finally finished. She didn't really know why she liked the song so much, but when Theresa had brought home a book of sheet music from the Les Miserables play, Lenore became hooked on the tiny melody, and she learned quickly to play it perfectly whenever she wanted.
"Nice..." Ivy said softly, Harley nodding in approval.
"Now do the Charlie Brown song!" she said, and reached over to tap one of the keys repeatedly until Lenore gently lifted her hand away from it. It wasn't a play thing and Lenore did not appreciate anyone using it as such.
"Harley, heel." Ivy called at her in agitation. "No one wants to hear that-"
"But Scary got to hear his!" Harley said, pouting. "Oh, I know!" Harley lifted her skirt slightly to reveal a small revolver strapped to her upper thigh. She removed it from the holster and touched the barrel to Lenore's temple, one arm still wrapped around her shoulder. Lenore closed her eyes. She'd be killed by a crazy.
How lovely.