She sat at the bar, waiting. She didn't really know exactly what she was waiting for, but she knew that something was coming for her. Hopefully a salvation. She twirled her glass of wine and took a sip of it, the glass resting on her painted lips. The bar was empty and she knew why: The Iceberg Lounge. Hotspot for criminals and also where she worked as a stripper on certain nights. She'd never seen a criminal before.
"Why don't you just go home? You're not working" the barman, Joe, sighed at Gemia whilst cleaning glasses. "Usually you can't get out of here fast enough" he added with a look of curiosity. "Something bothering you?" He asked. Gemia and Joe had been friends since her first day of work.
"I think I'm ok, it's just…" she sighed with disinterest. She took a sip of the deep red wine and set it back down on the shining surface of the bar. "Even if something was wrong, I wouldn't be able to explain it. I'm not very good with words. Her raven black hair fell over her face as she hunched over with a long sigh. "I got called in, I'm working the late shift. I'm not looking forward to it" she added. Joe frowned.
"Just go home. You don't want to be here after hours, trust me" he replied, his voice quivering. They were the same age, but Gemia was worn and battered from worry And stress. "It's not nice"
"I wouldn't be here if it was up to me, but the boss called me in. Special business apparently. I'm hoping on a little raise, or extra money. I'm on the breadline" she sighed. Her gaunt appearance proved it. "Facing eviction" she added, gulping down her wine.
"You could get a better job" he suggested, still cleaning glasses. "You're a clever girl. You can do better than this" he sighed.
"Just because I graduated university, doesn't mean I deserve better" she replied, twirling her glass with her fingertips.
"What is your degree in again?" Joe asked, stacking the glasses underneath the bar. Everything had to be shiny and pristine otherwise he'd get a suspension. It was like school all over again.
"I honestly don't remember" she replied, thinking that it was stupid how she couldn't remember that. "It was always my twin sister who got all the praise and attention. That bitch" she growled, her eyes seething with hate.
"Aww come on, your sister isn't that bad" he pouted at her anger, refilling her glass with wine before she noticed it had all gone. She sipped it again, holding the rich flavour in her mouth before swallowing it and removing a cigarette packet from her pocket. Pulling a match from the packet, she placed a cigarette on her lips and lit the match, raising it to light the reason she stayed sane. "Why don't you just buy a lighter?"
"Too boring" she chuckled. She took a long drag on the cigarette, ignoring the no smoking sign.
"Boss is going to kill you if he smells smoke in here. Only paying customers can smoke" Joe frowned, concerned for his friend. These drinks had been on the house: she couldn't afford anything.
"Couldn't care less about being fired actually" she sighed, stubbing the cigarette out in the ashtray. "A club doesn't need a stripper to be successful" she stated as a matter of fact. She caught a glance of the time and sighed, standing up from the bar stool. "It was nice to talk to you Joe, but I should go and get ready. I have a long night" she added before walking across the floor to her dressing room.
The room was reasonable enough, not good enough for a celebrity but suitable enough for a low class stripper. She pulled on a black and white dress as instructed and some classy black heels. They were her favourite shoes. Her makeup matched her dress: smoky black eyes, black lipstick and pale foundation. She looked like a haunted doll. But a hot one at that. With a look at the clock on the wall, she could hear everyone arrive.
Music began to play through the club and she could hear the dull roar of laughter and talking. The night was nearly ready to begin. Now she just had to wait for a call from her boss through the intercom system. "Gemia! Get your ass on stage! These people won't wait and trust me, you don't want to get them angry" her boss' squaky voice sneered over it. With a final look in the mirror, she walked from her dressing room and onto the stage. A single spotlight.
Gemia could barely see, but nonetheless went through her routine. She couldn't see who was in the audience but she could tell that the room was full. Joe sighed and turned away: he hated watching his friend do this. When the routine had finished, Genia picked up her dress and pulled it on again, to which the audience groaned. One yelled "No fair!"
She jumped down from the stage as the house lights went back on and her eyes widened with pure shock. The room was full of villains. Not just any villains, but Batman's Rogues Gallery. The Joker, The Riddler, Poison Ivy, Harley Quinn…everyone. She blinked. Then she looked over at her boss and noticed that he himself was The Penguin. "My life can get no worse" she mumbled to herself.
She sat at bar and downed a whiskey. Maybe it would numb some of her problems. Sh could hear someone sit next to her but he chose not to look up at who it was…if she offended them, it could be her last day. Joe nudged her but she quickly looked away, staring at the room in disbelief. "Did you know about this?" She asked.
"I knew when I started working here" he sighed. "I'm sorry, I should've told you-"
"A lady always deserves to know" the man next to her interrupted, placing his empty whiskey glass onto the bar. He began to mess with a coin. "Especially if that lady is as beautiful as the one sitting next to me"
Joe stopped talking through shock. Gemia looked at the strange man and noticed that half of his suit was white with black pinstripes, whereas the other was black with white pinstripes. Weird. Half of his face looked normal, and his hair was blonde, but the other half was monstrous. Two Face. "I erm" she tried to reply.
"No problem" he sipped his new whiskey again, then looked up at Joe. "A scotch for the lady too"
"My name is Gemia" she replied, thinking it rude to have someone buy her a drink who didn't know her name.
"Of course it is. Sounds like Gemini, the twins. Tell me my dear, do you fancy your chances?" He asked, still flipping his coin. It looked like any normal coin to her, but then she could see that one side was scratched. She nodded. He flipped the coin into the air and caught it in his scarred hand before showing it to her. "Looks like today is your lucky day"
After drinking his whiskey, he left the bar to go and talk to the other rogues. Most had already left and Gemia was getting tired. Most of the rogues had began to leave and soon enough, the bar was empty and she was the only person left. With a bit of a stagger, she grabbed her coat and sighed as she remembered the alcohol on her side (someone had thrown it at her when she was performing). "Great" she sighed. She could sense something was wrong.
Out of the corner of her eye, she spotted something amber, and it was glowing. Flickering even. Gemia could distinctly smell smoke, and her eyes widened. She ran over to the scene and found a massive fire breaking through the club. It had already consumed half of it and was spreading rapidly. "Shit!" Was her only response to it. She had to check if anyone was trapped in there. "Is there anyone in there? Can anyone hear me?" She yelled into the smoke, covering her mouth.
She wafted the smoke away to try and get a better look, but she couldn't see anyone. The smoke was now too thick and she stumbled back. She needed to get out. Some residue alcohol on the floor ignited and a trail of fire crawled towards her and she screamed as it reached her. The alcohol on her left side soon caught on fire, setting her skin alight.
She screamed in pure pain as the fire tore away at her body, ripping the skin away and tearing down to the muscle and bone. Voices surrounded her as the police ran in and ambulance crews removed her from the flames. They patted down the fire on her body and rushed her to hospital, where she would wake up a completely different person. In her unconscious state, she remembered the coin Joe had given her as change.
Gemia walked down the street in her black and white dress she had worn on that night two months ago. She watched as they rebuilt the club, brick for brick just how it was before. Hopefully they'd fix the fire prevention, and fire escapes. She messed with some of her singed hair as she watched the sight. She lit a match and raised it to light the cigarette on her lips, well, the lips that were left.
Before she had chance to light it, a scarred hand took hold of her wrist and pulled it up to light his own cigar. In return, she had pulled his hand down to light hers with his lighter and then looked up at the man who held her. "You took your time"
"We got here as fast as we could, my love" he replied, kissing her burnt lips.