Human Behavior
Alright people. This is a four thousand word monster. I want to hear some feedback ;)
Chapter Seven: Gotham Lullaby
'Closer than you'll ever know.'
Selinda froze, plastered against the wall of some dark storage room. That voice sounded so close, so personal. She swallowed hard, willing away the fear that was welling up inside her. As illogical as it may seem, she was almost positive the voice sounded like is was inside her head; echoing whispers in the dark, calling back and forth seemingly vague comments. Her eyes fell to the floor; the gathering darkness creeping ever-closer looked as if it was seeking her out amongst the various items scattered across the room. Like the shadows themselves knew where she was, blind they may be; they could smell her cold-blooded fear. Thoughts whirled around in her mind; was she imagining this? Was she crazy?
'Maybe you are, maybe you're not,' the voice answered.
"Who the fuck are you, what do you want?" she barked a panicked growl, desperately searching for the person, the thing that was murmuring inside her head. Fearing that movement would spur an attack, she had remained motionless in hopes of locating the threat. But as the sparse light dwindled and the darkness had her cornered, her flight senses kicked in. The Aussie took a chance, darting to the doorway and stepped into the dimly lit hallway; no matter how gloomy it may be, it was a reprieve from the skin-crawling closeness of the shade. She glanced up and down the hallway. Not a soul was to be seen. Perhaps she really was hearing things. Confused, she looked back into the room.
'You don't know me but…I know alllllll about you, Selinda; derived from the Greek Selina, meaning 'moon'… Ssssssssselinda, such a dreadfully deceitful name, however fitting.'
Selinda took off down the hallway as fast as she could. Her chest heaved painfully with each rushed intake of breath; beads of sweat dotted her forehead. She tore down another passage, shouldered open the stairway door and scrambled down the steps, nearly falling twice before reaching the bottom floor.
'There's nowhere to run…pointless to hide…'
"What do you want from me?" she yelled, trying to catch her breath.
'It isn't that simple, Selinda.'
Frustrated and horrified, she headed for the first thing that came to mind; the repair room where her team most certainly was. Her footsteps echoed down the long corridor. She neared the door, relieved to see it kicked open. However, once inside she found only black nylon bags filled with stolen gems. Blue eyes ran across the room.
"Border? Greene?" she waited for a reply, movement even. "Schecter? Where are you guys?"
No one was there. She ran her hands through her hair, staring up at the ceiling, thinking, trying to sort out what was happening. Her feet padded down the corridors once again. Ducking around through all the rooms, searching, while the voice hummed to it's self. She turned back, looking in the hallway, the bathroom, by the front door. Nowhere, no one.
"What did you do with them?" she bellowed.
'Honestly, there's no reason to yell. I'm right here.'
The goth growled angrily, slowing her pace as she neared the repair room once again. Perhaps a different tactic would work with this voice; she tried ignoring it.
'Where are you running to? Perhaps to another bar to drown away your meaningless life…'
Selinda grabbed the bags, straining to heave them over her shoulder as she moved out of the room. This mission may have gone to shit, but she sure as hell wasn't leaving without the loot. She grunted, resorting to dragging the three massive bags to the backdoor. Maybe it was luck that no alarms had sounded during the duration of the heist. Or maybe it was something else. She glanced up and around. Why do I smell vodka?
'That's your drink of choice, isn't it? A nice screwdriver…what a name. Vodka, orange juice, and the confidence to take whatever you want…whoever you want.'
How was this possible? Who the hell was this girl, how did she know her favorite drink? And what she was implying was startling, gut wrenching, and all too real. She started running towards her escape route, painfully hauling her dead-weighted cargo.
"Leave me alone," she growled, "get out of my head!"
'I'm not leaving. Not until I get what I want. You should know all about that.'
"I don't even know what the hell you want," she said, knowing the voice would hear even if she just thought about it. I've got to get out of here, away from her… She was nearing the back of the building and she quickened her pace.
'Stop running, little girl. You can't run from all you're problems. Sit down so we can talk.'
"Fuck you," she snarled, turning the corner as the back docking doors came into view.
Suddenly Selinda dropped the bags, falling to her knees, gripping her head. Her face contorted in agony, mouth open and soundless as a piercing pain ravished throughout her. In a few seconds it was over, but she was left a quivering heap on the concrete floor.
'We certainly need an attitude adjustment.'
Blue eyes blinked rapidly, trying to clear away the pain induced tears that clouded her vision. She slowly sat up, one hand resting on her temple. A new, primal fear resonated throughout; this girl, whoever she was, could kill her. She spat to the side, licking her now bleeding lip.
"Who are you?" she asked quietly, barely audible.
'That's not important,' the voice snarled. 'All I want is to clear up a few…murky areas in a certain tale I've heard.'
The girl cringed at the words, so knowing and sharp. The voice sounded so hurt, so tormented, maybe even more so than Selinda felt herself. And that thought terrified her. She panted softly, trying to catch her breath, hoping some plan would cross her mind quickly enough to execute before the voice struck again. Instead, it began to speak in a chillingly calm and composed manner, the way a storyteller speaks to children.
'Once upon a time there was a little girl and boy that lived in Australia. All the other little girls and boys picked on them for being different. They called them names, chased them home every day from school, throwing rocks and sticks. They were awfully mean to the poor little girl and boy, they didn't deserve such treatment. One day they just couldn't take it anymore, and used their special powers against the other children. This time, the mean children's parents chased the little girl and boy home.'
As the voice spoke, an image, a moving scene of the story, her life, played before her very eyes. She was unable to look anywhere without seeing the all too vivid past. She stared, holding back tears as she saw the stones strike her flesh, the pain of each hit still burning her now. Her brother, Baran, trying to shield her from the rocks as they ran home to their rundown little trailer on the outskirts of town, fleeing the enraged parents of the children they attacked.
'Worried for his children, their father took them to see a very special doctor who tired to help them understand their powers, how to control them, use them for good. But the little girl was too hurt to think of good. Despite everything she'd learned, she took her brother and ran away. They crawled into the cargo hold of a plane bound for America, no food or water for two days, nothing but darkness and the horrible roar of the engines. Under the cover of that darkness, the little girl cried her heart out for the very first time. When she could cry not another tear, she swore it would be her last. When that plane landed, and the two climbed out and ran off into a strange, new world; they weren't little anymore.'
Selinda blinked away tears.
'Driven by hatred and greed, the little girl grew up into a very angry young woman. She gave herself a new name; Shimmer. For that evil little sparkle in her eye, her gift of transmutating things from one state to another. She and her brother, who called himself Mammoth, joined a group of villains and wrecked havoc across the land. They were thwarted always, and Shimmer eventually left the group, following her own tainted path of robbery, theft, and vandalism.'
As the image of her younger self slid across the pavement, bloodied and bruised after another beating from what ever 'good guy' it was at the time, Selinda finally spoke. "Why are you doing this?" she asked, almost pleading.
'All will be revealed once the story is finished.'
She didn't like this. Somehow, deep down, she knew how this horrible little tale was going to end; she just didn't know why.
Jinx sulked on a bench in the middle of the park; still no word from Raven. She was afraid to call her, too worried she'd somehow only make matters worse. The past three nights had been sleepless, evenings and mornings just blurred together into one long never-ending day. The day, as Jinx called it, some attempt at humor to draw her mind away from the guilt slowly eating away at the life of her. The bags under her eyes contrasted against the paleness of her skin in the yellow gloom of the streetlight above her wretched little bench. It was her bench now. She had been sitting there since sunrise, only taking a break to dull her senses with booze at the bar a few hours earlier. She was quite certain all those hours of her life spent on this very spot meant she gained the territory. Not that anyone would want the rickety, weather-worn seat in the dead of winter at hour unknown in this blessed Day.
She patted the pathetically warped wood, as if trying to somehow console it for all the hardships it had endured. All the fat people it must have strained to hold up, little soccer mom's with their kids, lovers carving initials into its planks, the sad old man feeding pigeons breadcrumbs out of a dirty brown paper bag; anything to take her mind off Raven.
Pink eyes looked up at the sound of footsteps crunching the dirt path, shocked to see a green-skinned teen heading over to her.
Great… She inclined her head, acknowledging his presence before rubbing the bridge of her nose. Not what I need, not now…go away, go away…
Something soft and heavy hit her chest and she looked down to see a jacket. She shot him a confused look as he settled down beside her on the bench.
"It's freezing, what're you doing out here, Jinx?" he asked, not looking at her, but out across the darkness of the grass.
"Oh, just murdering time," she pulled the jacket over herself, welcoming the warmth it brought. After a moment, she recognized the scent, and frowned. Raven's… "What are you doing out here?"
"Watching you."
"That's kinda creepy, Gar," Jinx stared out across the grass as well.
"Just making sure you don't do anything else stupid," he shifted to a more comfortable position, a sour scowl set deep on his face.
Jinx sighed, resting her head in her arms. "Look, I made a mistake, I know. I'm a piece of shit and you want me to stay away from Raven and—"
"I never said that."
She looked up at him, their eyes meeting for the first time during their conversation.
"I've never seen Raven as happy as I have when she's been with you. She's like a totally different person, like she found what she was missing. Something her friends, something I, couldn't give her," Gar smiled a little, despite looking like he didn't want to. "We want her to be happy. It's a little unfortunate she picked a wild girl like you, a thief, once our enemy…but I guess you can say you've grown on us."
"Uhm…really? I, well, I mean you're not pissed at me?" Jinx raised one brow, fully expecting the bitching-out session she knew she had coming.
Beast Boy shrugged a bit. "You didn't sleep with anyone, you may have gotten into a situation you should have known better to avoid, but you're not perfect. And honesty saved you from a very wrathful girl…look, you've got an ass-load of groveling to do. I suggest you go home, sleep, eat, and take a shower, you look awful," he punched her playfully in the shoulder.
Jinx ran her fingers through her stringy hair, shooting him a quick glare before cracking the first smile in three days. "Yeah, you're right…thanks, Gar." She gave him a hug before hopping to her feet.
"Stay out of trouble," he called, leaping into the air and flying off as a larger bird of prey.
Jinx brought the jacket to her nose once again, inhaling the sweet scent before hugging it to her chest. Please, please forgive me…I'm lost without you. She slipped on the coat, zipping it all the way up and headed home.
Selinda brought her knees up to her chest, wrapping her arms around and huddling on the cold floor.
'Stay with me, we haven't even gotten to the best part yet,' the voice mocked.
She sat on the floor, thinking back to everyone she knew, trying to decide who she pissed off recently, who was capable of such mind control. But a constant pressure on her thoughts kept the name, the person just on the tip of her tongue. Before she could try and fight off the hold on her mind, the voice resumed her storytelling.
'Recently, Selinda made her way from the gloom of Gotham City, clear across the country to the City of Jump. She found out where an old friend lived and decided to pay her a little visit…this is where you get to participate in the story, Selinda. So? What happens next? Hmm?'
Blue eyes blinked, finding the vision of her past gone, almost instantly locking on the back doors. Before her brain processed the thought, the voice called out.
'Don't even think about it,' she said lightly, as if almost tempting her to try.
Selinda looked away, running a hand through her hair. She was furious how out of control the situation had become, how quickly she was beaten down with words, succumbing to the methodically progressing voice. It was driving her absolutely mad.
"Leave me alone, I don't want to play your game," she buried her face in her knees.
'I wasn't asking.'
"You're in my fucking head, I think you know what happens next," she shouted at the ceiling.
'Again with the yelling…if you won't finish the story, I'll just have to look myself…'
The defiant scowl she sent spoke volumes for her feelings on the matter.
'Is that a no? Well then, I hope you've enjoyed your sane and sober self up until now because, well, people tend to…change…once I look so deep inside their head.'
"I don't care anymore; I was doomed from the start," she muttered.
'Glad we can agree on something. Ready?'
Instantly, Selinda's world went black; an unfathomable coldness swallowed her up, chilling her straight to the very bone. The dizziness, nausea that followed was almost too much for her to bear. Only pure stubbornness kept her lucid despite the seething control over her senses.
Then she heard a voice. Her voice. Laughing, teasing; toying with someone. Slowly, a light brightened her world and she was looking through a third person perspective of Jinx's flat; the two of the talking.
'Well, it looks as if you really did just let yourself in.' Past Selinda plopped down on the couch, propping her feet up on the crate. 'And just making yourself at home…'
Selinda watched with slight horror and amazement at herself. How she prowled across Jinx's home, berating her for information she really had no business knowing. It was shocking to see herself lurking right behind Jinx while she was on the phone, the almost sinister expression on her face.
'My, my, look how your whole demeanor changed once you figured out Jinx had a girlfriend. Funny that as quickly as you learned that fact, you forgot it,' the voice said flatly.
The voice grew quiet, however, as the two of them watched Past Selinda back Past Jinx into the corner, looming so close, ogling her. Then she backed off and suggested dinner.
'Hm.'
At the bar; laughing, lots and lots of laughing. And lots and lots of alcohol. They watched as Jinx downed three drinks, Wick drowned himself in beer, and Selinda sipped her screwdrivers with the world's best shit-eating grin on her face.
'There, right there at that moment when you were looking at Jinx…what were you thinking? She's pretty cute, isn't she? That wonderful smile, her big, brilliant laugh…her eyes, her lips, her breasts… What else were you thinking, Selinda?'
Selinda grimaced, slowly figuring out just who she was dealing with…whoever she was, Jinx was hers. She coveted something she never should have touched.
'You were thinking: "God, look at her…she's so sexy and alluring. I want to find out just how good she really is…" …Hm. Interesting way to put it. I like the way you emphasized the word 'good.' Leaving so many meanings, so many ways to take it…'
That was the exact thought she had; she shook her head, trying to rid herself of that voice. She felt so violated, so vulnerable, she just wanted out. To go anywhere; anywhere but here.
And then it happened. They watched as Selinda pulled out a small mint from her pocket, rubbing it between her fingertips before casually dropping it into the remaining drink left in Past Jinx' glass while she wasn't looking.
'You changed a tick-tack into Flunitrazepam. My god. That is a special power after all, isn't it?' The voice quipped with enough venom to cut down the devil himself.
They both watched as another order of drinks came, Jinx downed the tainted beverage. And then watched as Selinda leaned in and kissed the girl on the lips.
Selinda could feel the anger pouring from the voice's silence. Her chest tightened, it was difficult to breathe, like someone was crushing her abdomen. And she didn't doubt that someone wasn't.
They watched as the Past girls got Wick into the cab, and they started walking back towards Jinx' home. Halfway there, however, things took a different turn. Suddenly, Selinda had Jinx pinned against the way, kissing her deeply. The girl struggled a bit, trying to break free, but the bite she received on the neck ended any other attempt. They kissed and moaned, rubbing against one another unabashedly in some dark alley.
All the while Selinda found it more and more difficult to get enough oxygen in each gasping breath she strained to take. The voice didn't like what she was seeing, she decided.
And as suddenly as the heated meeting started, they stopped. The Past girls continued walking.
'Your gift, however clever it may be, only lasts a little while, correct? Seeing as you gave a meta-human a roofie, and a roofie that would only last around fifteen minutes to begin with, you couldn't risk waiting until you got her home, could you?'
The voice knew the girl wouldn't answer. She was having enough trouble breathing.
'Ah, but look. As you were heading back, Jinx noticed how odd she was feeling…looks like your time's up.'
Just as she was sure she was going to pass out, the iron grip let up and Selinda filled her burning lugs with a full, deep breath.
'Lastly, the fight outside the door...She figured it all out...how could you? Look at the betrayal on that's girl's face, Selinda. Look at it! Was it worth it?' the voice yelled, raising her voice for the very first time.
Selinda was in tears, trembling. She felt that pressure creeping around her once again. The glacial air stung her eyes, burned her skin. One shocking wave of pain, panic, and utter terror surged throughout her until everything went black once again.
She wasn't sure how long she was out, but when she felt the stone floor against her cheek, she strained to open her eyes. Back in the hallway, with the back door a mere fifty feet from her supine frame. What just happened? Groaning, she sat up, numbly grabbing the bags of gems and stumbling towards her escape. Come on, move, goddamnit, move legs! Before she comes back!
'Who said I went anywhere?'
Selinda screamed, dropping the bags and began running as fast as she could. As her fingers touched the cool cinderblock walls, they mutated into water, an entire door-sized section melted away. And Selinda fell out into the night.
She laughed triumphantly face down in the asphalt; an insane, disturbing laugh that made your skin crawl. After the laughter died down a bit, she scrambled to her feet once again. As she looked up, however, she discovered she was surrounded by police cars. Thirty pistols trained on her, thirty eyes witnessing her impending breakdown.
"This is great," she smiled. "Fantastic, you guys can help me! Please, there's this crazy person in my head—she won't leave me alone, for the love of god, do something!" She yelled, waving her arms wildly around in the air.
Cautiously, two officers inched closer, pistols still dividing them from the girl. She approached them, arms extended forward, as if gesturing for them to take her hand.
"Freeze, don't come any closer," one snapped.
"Please, please help me, she's trying to kill me," The Aussie pleaded, dropping to her knees, burying her face in her hands.
An instant later, the two offices had her pinned to the ground, securing her arms behind her back with cuffs, padding her down for any weapons. She kicked and screamed, crying out loud.
"Stop it! You're supposed to help me! Please, she's trying to kill me!"
"It's alright, calm down, Miss. You're safe now, no one will hurt you," One of the officers cooed, trying to get her to stop bellowing and waking the rest of the street.
They led her past one of the squad cars, and she glanced inside, finding two of her team members in the backseat. They stared out at her gloomily, concerned something awful had happened to her while they were busted and hauled outside. She looked into the next car, finding the remaining man and a similar expression. Somewhat relieved yet bothered, she quieted down, allowing the Police to escort her to another squad car.
She felt a hand on her shoulder, and someone's head came up from behind, their lips brushing against her ear as they spoke.
"Don't ever touch my girlfriend again."
Blue eyes shot wide open at recognition of the voice, and she twisted her head around, trying to see who this girl was as she was shoved into he backseat of the car. Once the door slammed shut, however, blue and violet eyes locked for the first time.
Raven smiled and waved as the engine roared to life, seeing Selinda mouth the name 'Raven' as the car drove off, sirens screaming.
"Thanks for the tip, this one's a freaking nut," The Lieutenant commented, writing something down in his notepad.
"It was my pleasure, really," She bowed slightly, shaking his hand. "Just make sure she gets to a facility that can hold her, or we'll be seeing a lot more of Shimmer."
After she saw the rest of the officers off, Raven sighed heavily. That much mental work drained her, and her powers were pretty much spent. Opting to walk home instead of fly, she shoved her hands in her pockets and meandered down the sidewalk. Ah. Closure.
As she walked, the sky slowly grew lighter as morning began to show its bright and shining face. A good ten miles separated Raven from her warm bed in Titan's Tower. She paused at the corner of the street, looking to the north, then to the tower that looked like a children's toy way off in the west. I think she's suffered enough… With a little smirk, the empath headed north.