Not Quite Human

Thoughts

Alternate/Mask Speech

Speech

Chapter 24: Playing Human

I tugged at the scratchy clothing covering my body and pulled my new glasses off my face. I had spent two days curled up in a ball just trying to get a grip on my situation. Luckily for me some poor sap had forgotten a load of clothing in the laundry room and I 'liberated' it for my own uses. The shirt was a pale blue button up that hung off my frame as it was two sizes too big. The jeans I found were baggy but at least I wouldn't need a belt to keep them up. I had spent most of the day in the optometrist's office getting some new glasses and no one bothered to ask any questions or even check ID or ask for payment. Apparently I was considered a Rogue and people were afraid of me. Thankfully my eye doctor still had some heart left in him and didn't call the police when I showed up. He just fixed me up and gave me his card telling me next time to call and he'd just have them ready for me.

I stole a hat off the back of a chair as I was passing by a small café and I hid my hair under it so I was a little more incognito. Well as much as I could be anyways, people tended to notice the fangs and my yellowed eyes anyways. I sighed as the sun came out and reflected slightly off my now green tinted skin, I would have to find a way to hide this new development as well. I stuck out like a sore thumb at least I thought I did. People didn't really seem to notice too much unless I bumped into them. Thank goodness for the blind masses of Gotham.

I finally gave in and took a taxi to the East Gotham Mall and gave the driver a big enough tip that he didn't look twice at me. Taking my chances I limped inside and started shopping for clothes and maybe a few disguises. I stopped at one of the smaller clothing retailers and got myself several pairs of pants and a few shirts that fit my now thinner body. I really needed to put some meat back on my bones as I had dropped three sizes since my accident. Shaking my head I grabbed a frozen yogurt drink from one of the vendors and walked around sipping it like it was the last one on earth. I stopped at a few more shops and got myself some new underwear and perfumes.

I finally stopped at the food court and gorged myself with pizza, subway and Chinese food. I'm sure people were giving me odd stares but I was starving and the meat tasted amazing. I probably drank about twelve cups of random assortments of soda, tea and coffee while I was there as well. Finally I had to leave as my back and ribs were starting to hurt so much I was nearly doubled over in pain. I was healed but my muscles were practically spaghetti and weakened horribly. I called another taxi and checked back into my hotel room. I just tossed my bags in the corner of the room then picked up my mask and held it in my hands. How was I going to charge it up? I was pretty sure that Batman was watching my old apartment so I couldn't stop by and grab my adapter there.

"Should I take a chance and head back to Jonathan's hide out?" I shook my head and tossed my mask across the room where it hit the wall with a soft thunk. Would everyone still be together after these two months? I groaned and collapsed back onto the bed wondering what I could do. I felt so weak that I wouldn't be any match against Batman if he were to find me. I needed to get my strength back up if I was going to be any help to my family or my friends. I suddenly had a strong urge to dig a hole in the earth and just lay in the soil. My eyes snapped open and I shook my head to try and dislodge that thought. The hell? I had spent god knows how long in that pit after I broke my back and now I wanted to spend time in the ground?

I lifted my arm and just stared at my skin for awhile. It still looked like human skin except for the coloring. I ran my hand over my other arm and I didn't feel any different. My skin didn't feel like bark and I still felt pain if I pinched myself. Timidly I licked my forearm and froze, I tasted like mint. Blinking in surprise I licked myself again and I still had the strong taste of mint on my tongue. Why do I taste like mint? I should taste like…like skin. I was freaking out a little and I nicked my wrist with one of my fangs to see if I still bled. My blood dripped out red as always and it still tasted coppery like normal blood does. I sighed in relief and sucked on my wound until it healed.

I needed to do something to feel normal again so I took a shower and scrubbed my skin until I had to stop and catch my breath. My bruises had faded even more but still mottled my flesh making me look broken. I clung to the side of the shower until my heart calmed down and I just ran one of my hands down my face when a wave of loneliness hit me. I hadn't been alone since I was a small child. I always had someone there for me but now I didn't have anyone. I had to find someone Randi, Max, hell I'd run right into Scarecrow's arms right now if he were here.

"I need to find them." My voice was barely audible over the sound of the shower and I turned my face into the spray of water feeling it run over my skin. It was settled, first thing tomorrow I was going to steal a car and go to the last place I saw my family. Hopefully the had left some clue towards finding them as I was sure that Jervis or Jonathan would have moved to a different location once they hadn't found my body in the mines. I shut off the water and dried myself off with the scratchy hotel towel before walking out and getting dressed for the night.

I flipped through the TV channels trying to catch up on the current events while I lounged around in my pj's. I was shocked to hear that Joker was back in Arkham. I thought he would have lasted longer on the outside but apparently he couldn't help himself when it came to 'playing' with Batman. I looked over at my mask where it still lay on the floor and I wondered how long it would be until Batman tracked me down again. Shaking my head I turned to another news channel where they were talking about a missing newscaster, some guy by the name of Jack Ryder had gone missing while doing a story at one of the chemical plants.

Shrugging I flipped through to another channel and froze seeing footage of none other then Bernard dressed up as a vigilante. He'd gone to calling himself the demonic slayer and was wearing what looked like combat armor. He had a mask sitting on top of his head that was pure white save for the lenses in the eyes which were red. The mask was blank and emotionless and reminded me of a scarab beetle in shape. He had on large combat boots that could probably hurt someone badly if he stomped on them. He also had the grappling hook that batman had left me attached to his wrist. I recognized the markings on it and I knew that he had modified it for his own use. Bernard was hunting down Rogues but he was trying to kill them where as Batman was just beating the hell out of them before dropping them back in Arkham.

I thought back to the injuries on Ivy and wondered if she'd been fighting Bernard and hiding me at the same time. I really hoped that she was alright; she did save my life after all. I closed my eyes and rubbed them trying to focus with this new information rattling around in my brain. I had to get rid of Bernard. If I were only at full strength I'd just pick up a car and smash it over his head until he were part of the sidewalk. For the time being I was as weak as a normal human being. And I couldn't do any running or jumping, at least until my bones finished healing. I sighed and slipped into some pants and a t-shirt before leaving my room and trudging down the street to the mini-mart. I loaded up on snacks and bought a couple of gallons of milk. I wanted to get back into jumping form as quickly as possible.

The next morning I felt a little better apart from the majorly upset stomach. Groaning I rolled over and saw that the floor was littered with mini cake wrappers and both milk jugs were empty. I sat up and poked at my ribs and they didn't feel as spongy so I decided to go hijack a car and drive to Scarecrow's lair to see what I could find. Slipping into a pair of jean shorts and a tight aqua t-shirt along with some comfy tennis shoes I was almost ready to go. Not taking the chance of anyone snooping around my room while I was gone I packed my suit, mask, claws and metal framing into a bag and took them with me. I didn't have to walk far to find a cluster of cars parked and almost begging to be stolen. I dove under one and made sure it wasn't a bait car before breaking the window and letting myself in. I had it hotwired in moments and drove off before anyone could start chasing me down.

I parked outside the old farmhouse and it looked abandoned. I kicked at the front door until it broke open and I walked inside almost expecting Randi to jump out from behind a corner screaming at me for being so late. The house was silent and I walked upstairs to the room where I'd left Edward. The bed was empty and the sheets didn't even hold his scent anymore. I searched the house from top to bottom but didn't find anything helpful. Taking my chances I kicked down the basement door and stalked down to the lab where Scarecrow kept all his little toys and chemicals. Nothing. He'd cleaned out his stash and hadn't even left a single syringe behind. I trudged back upstairs and sat down at the dining room table with my head down.

After what seemed like several moments I took a deep breath and decided to check the barn. Walking out and breaking yet another lock I found it empty save for some very pissed off crows. Screaming I ran back to the house as they chased and clawed at my flesh like I were some kind of buffet. I curled up in a corner of the house nursing my now bleeding arms and cheeks. After the bleeding stopped I gave the house one final once over and nearly missed seeing the small scrap of cloth in the corner. Walking over I tried to pull it up but it was wedged between the floorboards. Breaking the wood took a few moments and I was sure that Jonathan wouldn't have minded too much. I pulled the bandana out of the now broken floorboard and held it in my hands. There was something wrapped up in it and when I unwrapped it I just sat there with tears in my eyes.

It was Randi's cell phone. I would have to charge it but I might be able to get a hold of someone once it was back in working shape. I don't know why she hid it but I wasn't looking a gift horse in the mouth. I got back in my stolen car and drove to the nearest Radio Shack and got myself a new charger for it. I then ditched the car in the river and trudged back to the hotel room with my bag. I shoved a chair back under the doorknob after locking it and plugged the phone into the charger. It was taking forever to charge so I took a nap hoping that it would help stop the painful ache in my body. I woke up to a beeping from the phone and found that there had been three unread texts in the last two months, all from Max. I quickly looked them over and my heart sank.

'Randi with crow, bleeding bad…meet me at safe house'

'Randi ran into Bernard, dudes gone crazy get out of there now.'

'Randi Scarecrow in AA, Jervis gone into hiding and I lost Riddles. Call me!'

I blinked at the last message. How could you lose Riddler? Wasn't he still in a coma from the fear toxin? And why wasn't Max with Randi? What had happened to my sister? Taking a deep breath I forced myself to relax and focus on the facts. I knew where Jonathan was now. I would have to try and break him out of Arkham, but I couldn't do it now because I was useless. I didn't even know the first place to look for Jervis and I wasn't any better off at trying to figure out where Edward would go. I could feel a headache coming on so I dropped the phone and ordered a pizza using the hotels land line.

Oh how I love pizza. I sat there with a slice in my hand and molten cheese on my tongue and just groaned in pleasure. I finished off the entire large pizza and chugged a gallon of chocolate milk as I walked around the small room trying to collect my thoughts. I flipped on the TV but there wasn't anything much on the news that could help me. Sighing I flopped down onto the bed and spent a full hour staring at the wall as if it could help me. I didn't remember falling asleep but the next thing I knew it was the next morning and I rubbed my eyes as the sunlight streamed in through the curtains. Sitting up with a groan I stumbled into the shower and washed up before dressing for the day and taking out the trash. Licking my fangs I walked back into my room and packed up everything that I owned. I'd stayed here long enough, I needed to keep moving and not give up hope.

I stole yet another car, seriously it was easy as hell to steal a car in Gotham, and drove into downtown. I stopped along the way and tried calling Max from a payphone but his phone was disconnected. I even tried calling my mother to see if Randi went home. That was an awkward conversation. No she hadn't come home, no I wasn't married, and no I wasn't expecting to get married anytime soon. She finally let me get off the phone after 'promising' to call her more often because she worried so much for me. With a groan I banged my head against the payphone and froze hearing change drop. I smirked as I fished a few dollars worth of change from the phone and shoved it into my pocket. Waltzing away from it as if nothing happened I got back in my new wheels and headed to the library.

I am by no means an intelligent hacker yet here I was elbow deep in Gotham PD records having hacked in from the public library with no trouble. I checked the records to try and find anything that could lead me to Jervis or Edward but finding nothing I all but gave up hope. Suddenly a little box appeared in the corner of my screen and I clicked it open. Apparently Max had been arrested for drunk and disorderly conduct and was being released today. I quickly jotted down the address and disconnected the computer. I snuck back out of the library and took off across town to pick Max up. He was going to have so much explaining to do that I'm sure he'd hate me by the time I was finished with him.

I probably looked ridiculous with my large floppy hat and sunglasses on. I was trying my best to look incognito while I sat in the small café overlooking the building where Max had been held for the past three weeks. Chugging my third coffee I finally saw him being escorted out and he looked like hell. His hair was long and shaggy, he had dark circles under his eyes and I'm sure that he'd been beaten up as he was limping badly. The cops just tossed him out onto the street and walked back inside as if they had just tossed out the trash. Max stumbled down the street and I quickly took off after him. I let him get a few blocks before I pulled him into an alley and covering his mouth so he couldn't yell. He tried to fight me and got a good hit into my ribs making me squeak.

"Damn it Max quit trying to kill me you freaking ass!" I hissed out at him and he froze. He quickly pulled the sunglasses off my face and froze as if he'd seen a ghost. I let go of his mouth and his jaw dropped as if he were speechless. "Max, dude speak to me."

"The hell D is that you? Where the hell have you been? We thought that Bernard or the Batman got you." He pulled me into a hug and I groaned as he felt stronger then me.

"Max not so tight, I broke my damned spine and I'm like a friggin noodle right now." He instantly let me go and took a step back.

"Shit D, how the hell did you pull that one off? Staying hidden with a broken spine?" He started pulling me deeper into the alley and I let him.

"Ivy found me and nursed me back to health; you can thank my new skin tone to her." He looked worried and poked me in the stomach as if I were some kind of stuffed animal.

"You do look really green; we need to get out of here. You got somewhere we can go?"

"I've got a hot car and some money so let's get a room and go from there."

"Fine but I'm driving." I took him back to the car and he quickly drove us back to the narrows and to yet another small hotel that didn't look at us twice. We unloaded the car then Max took off in it to ditch it. An hour later he stomped up into the room and collapsed on the bed as if he were exhausted. He finally rolled onto his back and he looked like a broken man.

"Max you've gotta fill me in, I've been pretty much dead to the world this past few months and I need to know. What the hell happened?" I tossed him Randi's cell phone and he looked like he was about to burst into tears as he held it in his hands and just stroked the hard plastic as if it could bring her back.

"No wonder she wasn't returning my messages." He took a shuddering breath and closed his eyes for a moment. "We found the mine that you'd been in and saw that you'd dug yourself out. We searched for a couple of days but Scarecrow assumed that the Bat or Bernard had gotten you. He packed his stuff up and it looked like he was going off to war. He and Jervis went into town to see if you were in any of the hospitals or even back in Arkham. That's where Bernard found us and knocked my ass out. Don't really know what happened but Jervis managed to get me out of there and we came back covered in blood and packed up what we could. He loaded Riddler and me into the back of his car but Randi wouldn't go. She wanted to stay in case you came back and damn is she stubborn when she wants to be. Forced me to go with the guys and keep an eye on the green one for ya."

He stopped and let out a weak chuckle. "We were supposed to go to a warehouse that was safe but when we got there Batman was waiting. Jervis took him on and I parked the car to hide Riddler from everything. When I went back I found no sign of Batman or Jervis. I went back and found the car empty. Apparently Riddler had woken up and just taken off. When Jervis didn't show up in Arkham I assumed that he went into hiding. I took off and hunkered down in some greasy bar in the narrows. I kept trying to call her but she never picked up." He looked down at the phone in his hands again and gave it a weak squeeze. "I honestly don't know where the hell she woulda gone D. Did she go home to your mom?" He looked up at me with hopeful eyes.

"I called Mom, she never went home." My voice was soft and I had a pain in my chest that felt like my heart was rending itself into tiny pieces.

"What do we do now D?" Max was nearly in tears clutching Randi's phone and I felt so lost. I wrapped my arms around myself and curled up in a little ball scared for my family and scared for my men.

"Max we've gotta do something before Bernard kills us."

"What can we do?" He just stared at me with empty eyes and tears streaking down his face. "We need the demoness and you're still recovering. Shit. We might as well just walk up to Bernard and turn ourselves in."

"Shut up. Damn Max being locked up has turned you into such a weakling."

"I'm not you D. I'm human and I need something to fight for. I don't even have Randi. I want my baby back D." He was squeezing the phone so hard I was afraid that it might break in his hand.

"Then fight for me Max. I'm a Rogue and I'm gonna do everything I can to get better so I can tear this city a new one and find everyone I've lost. Don't give up, I never have." I was crying and my honeyed tears were sticking to my face.

"You're right D. Well congratulations on starting your own criminal empire." He gave another weak chuckle before sighing. "Guess you'll need some henchmen? Anywhere I can sign up?"

"Consider yourself hired Max. Let's start working on getting me back into shape so I can throw some cars around."

"You know it's pretty fucking awesome watching you lift a car." He trailed off.

"Yea, yea all that stretching in that tight suit."

"Thanks for the visual D, now I'm never gonna get any sleep." Max rolled onto his stomach and groaned into his pillow. I just rolled my eyes and started to rub the sticky mess of tears from my face.

"Shut it Max, you cheat on my sister and I'll break your legs." He just laughed into the bedspread and I stared up at the ceiling wondering where to go from here.