Victor rolls over just on the edge of sleep. The soft warmth he once felt was gone but her sweet smell lingers. He slowly opens his eyes to the bright, late morning sun reflecting off the snow in the courtyard. That's right, he slept in Olivia's room. After sitting up he checks the time on the clock set on Olivia's desk. 9am. He slept longer than expected. He'll rise, head back to his guest room to shower, change then head for the kitchen. Along the way he was joined by Damian sporting, disheveled hair. In the kitchen Olivia and Arthur were helping with the dishes allowing Alfred a moment to whip up a strange cocktail for the hungover Tim.
"You a lightweight, Tim?" Victor asks while sitting at the counter. Tim sat doubled over the kitchen table and grumbled.
"Yeah, he chose the wrong people to try and keep up with," Damian explained while he sat beside Victor. Once the soju was out last night they dug up a bottle of brown liquor to polish off.
Alfred greets the young men properly after serving Tim the strange drink then goes about serving the last of breakfast. "Mister Zsasz, I took the liberty of storing the soup you brought in the refrigerator. I can have it ready for a late lunch," Alfred announces while setting out two heavy plates to each young man.
"Thanks, Alfred." Victor's eyes are on Olivia. The collar of her sweater hangs low and he pauses when he notices a bite mark on her shoulder. Did he do that in his sleep?! Hopefully she hasn't noticed.
She noticed. As Olivia was rising for the morning Victor got rather excited and pulled her back in, biting her quite hard in his sleep. As tempting as it was to wake him she thought it best to let him sleep longer. Olivia adjusts her sweater then comes by to kiss Victor's cheek. "Dad has suggested we keep an eye out for any storms in secluded areas so I'm going to do that. Damian when the roads clear up can either of you get Arthur home?" Damian gives a salute with a mouth full of food.
"Thanks," Arthur says while brushing his hair back over his eyes. "My mom was not happy and may have insinuated a few things I need to clear up. Running off with her research was probably her breaking point."
"You're grounded, aren't you?" Damian asks.
"Heh, it would appear so." Arthur had a weak smile on his face. "But once I'm home I can keep looking through my mother's research and maybe appease her with future information on monarch interactions. If that's okay with you, Miss Olivia."
"Yeah. Everything is going to go our way and she'll have all the info she'll ever need," Olivia said, coming off quite determined.
"There's our puffed up marshmallow," Victor snickered. She huffs and marches off with Arthur. "I'll take Art back home. There are some things I need to check on. Oz popped by my place while I was gone and I need to see what the fuck he wanted. Probably wants that bike back."
Damian arched a brow. "Did you steal that from him?"
Victor smirks. "He let me think I did for a while but it was clear it was supposed to be a gift. Claims he got it for someone else but never took it back, or bought another one." Victor grumbles. "It's clearly not about the bike."
"What is the deal with you and Penguin anyway?"
"I have also wondered this!" Tim calls from the kitchen table. He's finally sitting up and it seems his stomach has finished doing backflips.
"Hm, I told your sister he's like a weird uncle. Think that still holds up." As he reflects more he chuckles. "Took me in after I tried to kill him. Gave me busy work and half trained me to be his eyes when he couldn't be around."
"...Did he pull a Batman? Because that sounds a bit like Bruce," Tim says while he squints.
"That does sound remarkably similar to how Master Bruce operates," Alfred adds.
"Fuck, I guess he did," Victor laughs. "Not sure whether I should thank him for that or shoot him. Or both!"
Damian narrows his eyes. "So why didn't you turn out more of an irritant?"
Victor smirks as he gets up to clean his own dishes before Alfred can make the attempt. "I don't think he ever intended for me to stick around. Iggy is the one he's been grooming to take over. Gotta keep an eye on that one by the way. He's getting, not concerning just...shifty. I anticipate him disappointing Oz in the near future."
"The confidence," Damian was up and his plate was whisked away by Alfred before he could push his chair in. No sense in fighting the man. The dutiful butler has taken a page out of his young mistress's book and hip checks Victor away from the sink. The young man throws his hands up in surrender and backs away.
"The guy is remarkably inept for someone who is almost 30," Victor explains as they make their exit from the kitchen.
"Your confidence is suspicious."
"Have you met him?" He shakes his head then looks at his phone. "Where'd your sister run off to in this maze?"
"If you were anyone else and Arthur had the gall, I'd say cheating on you with her friend."
Victor furrowed his brow. "That is entirely too much bottom energy to go anywhere," he says with confidence. Damian snorts and leads to where he hopes his sister is. The most likely place for Olivia to be, given the situation around them, is the gym. An older gymnasium was expanded over the years to include more space for heavy exercise equipment as well as an area for sparring. Olivia took to a treadmill running with a wide gate as fast as she could with great form. How she could manage that on a full stomach was beyond Victor but then again they were young and she certainly has different examples to follow in this home.
Arthur looked up from the laptop he was given to monitor any storm information though how they were going to get to these places was beyond him. The young man tipped his mask back down over his eyes then continued searching. "Look at those legs go!" Victor howled and winced as Olivia stumbled, flailed and had to hop onto the railing to keep from falling all together. "Sorry babe. Thought you felt us coming in."
Olivia heaves as the machine stops on its own after sensing no weight. "Heh, you're fine I'm just." She searches for the right words or the ones that bring the most weight behind them. "Anxious. I have to do something, anything really and going outside is pretty much off the table for me."
Arthur peered over his screen. "You should tell them what you've been feeling lately," Arthur chimes in.
Victor and Damian looked to one another then stride across the room to Olivia. "And that would be?" Damian asks with his arms crossed.
Olivia sighs then ducks under the handrail of the treadmill to grab a towel and dab her neck dry. "It's like this...gnawing, scratching feeling in the back of my mind. Constantly," she explains. "It got worse when I was at the Watchtower but now that I'm back on Earth it's quieter."
"You think it could be your grandmother?" Victor asked with concern.
"That's just it. I don't know. It could have just been that fae prisoner up there. I'd go and check but dad will just restrict me to the manor if I even try."
"I've theorized that it could be conflicting pulls of influence on just that one fae," Arthur states. "But there is no way of knowing for certain until she gets here."
"Has the feeling gotten any stronger?" Damian asks while coming to sit beside Arthur to look over the screen. There were a few locations popping up here and there with massive storms but some were either already too far in progress to be safe or too close to populated areas. They needed more secrecy.
"I don't think it has? Since it might be related to the worst grandmother in history I'll let everyone know if it does." No secrets from here on out. Victor stepped into Olivia bowing his head enough to press his forehead to hers. "How did you sleep?" she asks with a warm smile.
"Like a rock," he chuckles.
"Mm, a rock that bites," she whispers.
He grins then reaches up to brush the shoulder he left a mark on. "Sorry about that. Not sure what I was dreaming about but clearly it was interesting." That grin grows more devious and he lowers his voice further. "And delicious." Up rolled that static through her hair and a small flash of it in her eyes. "What do you think your training is going to be for the time being?"
"According to father, stress tests," Damian announces, then takes out his own mask. "You can take yours off, Art. I know it gets uncomfortable after a while." The boy lets out a sigh of relief and does just that. "He feels her expelling all the energy she can to see what her base capacity is will be a detriment. If they arrive while she's recharging we could be in trouble."
"Thus the storm chasing," Victor says with a nod. "Got it. So go out, get struck by lightning and hold it in as long as you can?"
Olivia nods. "I've never kept all of that in for longer than a couple of minutes so I don't know what will happen. Mom always said we should give it back when we don't need it so it's what I do."
"Well, it's clear we're going to need it," Damian throws out. "You can give it back when we're done defending ourselves. It goes without saying though, don't push yourself to painful levels." Olivia nods. Her eyes rise to Victor's. He caresses her soft cheek with the back of his knuckles.
"If you need to stay occupied I have a few things in mind to help," Victor whispers into her ear. Olivia's skin rolls in static. "Talking about that suit you wanted to design for me." She huffs and attempts to walk away. He didn't think she'd be so wound tight she'd be down for that right now! He tugs her back and laughs. "Is something like that really going to help you relax?" he asked just low enough for only her to hear.
"Maybe. It dulls my senses. This... scratching is getting on my nerves."
"Hey, maybe don't start fucking your boyfriend in the gym," Damian sneers. "Bad enough Dick and Babs used to do that."
Olivia grimaced. "Yeah, still not over hearing that walking by."
"I should have kept a water pistol on me...or a real one with rubber bullets. It's a wonder there aren't more children running these halls."
Victor laughs and shakes his head. "This family is weird."
Olivia shrugged. "I knew that from the start. The Wayne charm getting passed down outside of genetics should be studied."
"You could have taken after father's other qualities," Damian says while looking over the laptop monitor.
"His obsessive attention to detail? The ability to disappear mid sentence without anyone noticing? Of which he got from your grandfather."
"The death stare he gives someone wasting his time," Damian clarifies.
"Oh that's never going to happen," Victor laughs. "Not without her turning on her powers."
"And even then it's to mask that you look like a puppy in the rain when you glare," Damian teased, only for Olivia to prove his point with that exact look. Arthur would come to Olivia's defense having witnessed her mad but she did look more hurt than furious. So an angry kitten in the rain. "You're just not intimidating."
"Too cute. Might be a fae thing cause Arthur's got that look too." Both fae glance between Damian and Victor looking very much like kicked puppies.
"That would be the bottom energy," Damian points out.
"Bottom energy?!" Olivia yells.
"Yeah, we talked about how unlikely it would be for you to cheat with Arthur cause you know. Bottom energy. I mean there's a little bit of assertiveness in there so Arthur may still be in danger," Victor laughs.
Arthur's face turns red and he leans back from the laptop. "I don't think my heart would survive you even asking me, Miss Olivia, much less Victor finding out. I'm barely managing with it being hypothetical!"
"I don't think I'd be that mad. More pleasantly surprised." There is silence as all three young people look at Victor. "What? I'm attempting to not be possessive and honestly, no offense but you're not really much of a threat in my eyes, Art." he laughs.
"I...that somehow feels like an insult."
"You're more like prey," Victor says with a toothy grin.
Arthur can read what he's assuming is a mild bit of interest and hides his face behind the screen though he feels like rolling out of the room entirely. "That's not helping either!" It never crossed Olivia's mind to consider what Victor's sexuality was. She just wrote him off as being feminine attracted and left it at that. He likes her and that's all she needs.
"I'd like Arthur's mind fully functional while he's still here," Damian grunts and has to save the laptop from being crushed in the young man's hands.
"And I need mental distractions. Getting to work designing Victor's suit will be good for that." Olivia took Victor's hand and led him towards the door. "I can finally show you my workshop!"
"Wait, I wanna see too," Arthur whined.
"One of those secret things you shouldn't lay your eyes on, Arthur," she explains. "And I'm not going to mind control you so you can't speak a word of it. Just deal with not knowing." Arthur looks defeated. Finding out last night that she makes hero suits was fascinating to him. How many had he already seen that were her creations?
Olivia and Victor were out into the hall and heading further past the gym. A manor on a mountain is not lacking in basement space. Behind a secret door next to a portrait of Olivia's father Oliver was a set of stairs that led about four meters underground. Another heavy door awaited them and a blue light scanned them both before opening up. Inside was a wide dark room who's lights turned on row after row. There were bolts of heavy fabrics; many tactical in nature, a massive 3d printer, laser cutter, steel lock boxes, a few mannequins, one with a colorful costume in progress, a large supercomputer and a drafting desk at the center.
"Holy shit," Victor laughed. "Is this your real business, making vigilante looks?"
"Would you believe I consider this my side hustle?" she giggles. Designing costumes to be seen by the wider public was her real passion. As she leads him to the drafting table he notices pieces of Batman's suit on one table. "This room used to be my dad's old cave when he first started out being Batman. When I wanted to start making costumes myself he gave it to me. You'll get to see the big cave soon enough, I think."
"So he actually has like, a cave cave?" Victor asks while trying to imagine how much bigger it could be. Most that had the unfortunate luck to run into Batman often joked that he lived in a cave. Olivia nods then pats the seat beside her own. The design she had on the table already looked like something meant for him if not Jason.
"I started sketching stuff out after you told me about joining them. I was thinking something similar to my brother's but then again Jason prefers to look like a tactical hobo sometimes," Olivia explains then turned the page. Here the designs were more like business suits with different pieces swapped out for practicality or mobility while trying to keep the look as uniform as possible. "I like you in suits. You look really good in them and I see no point in shying away from your enforcer roots." She pauses as she feels he's not paying attention. Victor has an arm on the desk propping up his head while he smiles. "Are you even listening?" she asked while twirling a pencil with her fingers.
"I am and I am also realizing you've been lining the suits I asked you to patch up with this stuff, haven't you?" He watches as Olivia looks away with static in her hair so he pulls her attention back to him and kisses her nose. "Thank you. You've saved my butt a few times. And I like the little sewn hearts you've put on a few of them."
Olivia's cheeks are warm as her skin rolls in static. "I wasn't sure if you noticed so I just didn't say anything. Tactical formal wear is a thing the general public can get a hold of so it wouldn't be that out of place if I slipped some into your wardrobe. You barely noticed how much heavier everything was."
"Mm, you're spoiling me," he chuckles.
"I'm just protecting you in the only way I know how. I love you, Victor, and I want you to come back alive and preferably in one piece," she says while picking at his shirt.
He smiles bright and kisses her cheek. "It's greatly appreciated. I can't cause problems for people that deserve it if I'm dead." He looked over his shoulder then past hers. Cameras in the corners and on one wall. "How about we shut the cameras off for a bit so you can get my measurements more thoroughly?" he whispers into her ear.
Olivia's skin crawls in static. "Oracle, privacy mode please," she calls out to the computer.
~Surveillance systems are now offline.~
Within seconds of the confirmation Victor had his lips pressed to hers and his strong arms pulled her onto his lap. "Time to finish what I know I started." His voice is low like a growl before he bites her shoulder. Olivia moans openly now and rolls her hips to grind into his lap.
~Put your pants back on, we have a storm we can hit.~ Came Damian's voice through the security system. Victor and Olivia both sigh. He is not that willing to let Olivia go free but he must. She becomes a temptation once again when she swaps her clothes out for an insulated body suit with a pair of cloth shorts and a loose t-shirt thrown over it. She stops as she's moving for the door. "Are you coming?" she asks. The moment she pulled on that body suit it was as if Victor's mind overloaded.
"Thinking about your ass in that skin tight thing and fighting every impulse I have to bend you over right now," he confesses then hurries to her side. She sparks with her cheeks burning hot and is about to lead him out of the room then stops.
"Oracle emergency access permission extension. Guardian Black Mask," Olivia calls out.
~New guardian recognized. Welcome Black Mask.~
"There, now you can get in if I'm ever unresponsive," she explains and carries on back through the manor.
"Why would you be unresponsive in your workshop? Falling asleep at your desk is not unresponsive," he chastised.
"I get really caught up in my work, okay!" she laughs and tugs him along.
Once they are back to the main hall and reconnect with Arthur and Damian, Victor steps back. "This is where I leave you. I've got business to take care of in the city," he says and kisses her before she can get away with a pout.
"Okay. Guess I'll see you two later," she sighs. She was hoping for a little more support to come along with her but this is fine. Her brother can handle anything if something goes wrong.
Arthur looks quite dejected. "I wish I could stay and see what you look like," he sighs. "Miss Mel says it's amazing."
"I'll record it for you. We need to move, Liv," Damian states. "The roads are slowly being cleared but it's best you take the tunnels to get off the mountain."
"Got it. Don't explode until I get back, Sunshine," Victor calls out then leads Arthur away.
The Wayne siblings head for the batcave to access the teleporter. Once downstairs Damian gets suited up in a stealth version of his costume. "Alfred, can you please let Tim know that we're heading out," Olivia calls out on her way to the teleporter platform.
"Of course Mistress Olivia. Mister Zsasz and Mister Deupree are stepping out as well. Shall I cancel lunch?"
"Probably for the best, sorry Alfred." Damian nudges Olivia and she nods as they are ready to go.
"Very well. Safe travels, young masters."
The siblings finish their preparations. The portal opens before them and they step through. The temperature difference is the first to hit them and Olivia's hair lifts with the amount of static in the air. The skies were already dark with the thick clouds above. As the portal closes she has a quick look around. "Hold still, I need your vitals," Damian says before his sister has the chance to run off.
Sprawling grassland and low mountains. What trees she could point out had minimal leaves but that seemed by nature's design. "Where are we?" Olivia asks while trying not to start absorbing everything she feels right now. It's like they arrived just as things were really getting going.
"We're in the Democratic Republic of Congo, and pretty close to the equator," Damian announces, then looks around to ensure that if anyone could see them, they weren't too close. "Are you ready?" Olivia gives a firm nod. "Remember you have to hold everything in but if it feels like it's too much don't hesitate."
"Got it!" She's ready! There is nothing to be nervous about right now. The hard part will come after. For now she can just be in her element. She finds the ideal distance from Damian as well as any scarce trees. No one should get hurt for this and no animals should go without food. Damian watches as his sister's spine lights up and he's tracking every bit of information he possibly can with his mask.
The energy in the air feels amazing. Bolts arced from her body and danced around her feet like always. Maintain control! Her honey eyes turned a bright white and her hair rose to do the same. There is that airy feeling again as she raises her hand to the sky. Maybe she'll get to feel like this whenever she wants. Perhaps all she needs is to hold on to more energy. One small bolt erupts from her fingers and she is struck by the sky. Damian watches unflinching as Olivia lifts from the ground, an apparition of raw energy. Now to just hold it all in.
What she feels is the same as always that initial euphoria and now uncomfortable in her own skin. It's like it grew tighter in an instant. The scratching at the back of her mind has stopped but she's also too distracted to read Damian's energy. She gives a wave to let him know she's fine then brings herself back to the ground. Deep breaths! Hold it all in. She's past her minute mark. Still the same feeling but it's no worse than before. Two minutes and still nothing. With another deep breath she begins to gather all of that energy along her spine. Store it away! Hold on a bit longer! Slowly the light faded from her body and bolts or electricity ceased to dance around her. There was still a charge in the air but it wasn't coming from her. Her outer clothes were singed beyond recognition but the insulated body suit remained mostly intact. There was however a split up along her spine.
Feeling stable she approached Damian as the rains began to pour overhead cooling her off. Was she always this warm? Her hair and eyes were the last to return to normal and she gave a smile. "Feels a little weird but that's going away!" she yells over the rain.
"Your vitals are fine. Let's get out of here before someone sees us." A new portal appeared behind them and they returned to the dry safety of the Batcave. Damian shakes water out of his hair before removing his mask and feeding all the data they have into the computer to send to Bruce. "That really didn't take long afterall. Your boyfriend could have stuck around and watched."
"I think he left because he gets the feeling he's not allowed to see the cave just yet and he knows Arthur shouldn't," Olivia says. She grumbles and tugs at the leg holes of the body suit. "Everything feels so tight now." Her senses are done feeling raw and she can hear that scratching still. It seemed no louder than before. Upstairs she felt Alfred and Tim as always. She hears the energy moving through the manor and it's shoved so far down it's not even white noise. The tight feeling all over her body has eased up.
Damian tossed Olivia a towel then went about making sense of the data. They may need to send this to Sylvia for proper analysis. "What's the diagnosis?" Olivia calls out while wiping herself down.
"Your heart stayed slightly elevated but no different from you going for a jog," Damian begins to explain. "Your body temperature is raised as well. How are you feeling?"
She shrugged. "I feel fine. It's not as cold in here now but that's probably because of my higher temperature right?" Damian shrugged as well. Olivia scans the desk then slips away to return with a multimeter and hands it to Damian. "Test my output." He takes the device while Olivia holds on to the probe with one hand.
After familiarizing himself with the device Damian is ready. "Give me 50." He watches the numbers rise. "10." And they fall quickly. "200." All of these are barely visible as she's focused the energy in just her closed palm. Damian is also monitoring her vitals. Nothing has spiked or reduced. "How about 5?" And it's back down to what he asked for. "What's father been training you to do with your powers?"
"Target practice and maintaining certain voltages. Tried to see if I can do anything like Professor Hawkins. All the electromagnetic stuff but I'm not lugging around as much gear as he does every day."
"What's the highest you've gone?"
"In the cave? No more than 1000. At Dr. Sylvia's lab I went over that and tried to push even more beyond but the equipment got fried. Also scared the hell out of me," she grimaced. She doesn't like being reminded how dangerous she can be but that's something she needs to get over.
"How's that weird itch?"
"About the same. I promise I will let you know if it gets louder. I do feel like I need to go for a run. Like...I'm way too charged up right now!" She says and bounces on the spot. "If I do this again I might need to sleep with the collar on again."
"Father will agree but if Zsasz sees it he might overreact." Olivia frowns. Having something like that around her neck was not a pleasant experience, even after all the modifications to it. It may be a little triggering after that kidnapping incident. "Go for a run or something and get changed. Your back is split open."
"Yes yes!" she huffs and makes her way back upstairs. All the information he's gathered is sent to those who can make more sense of it than him. The treadmill is Olivia's go to for wearing herself down. A quick change into her active wear and she was running, music blasting in her ears and her mind easing into daydreaming. She hopes Arthur gets to see the video soon. A close friend like him should get to see all the cool things his monarch can do. She's reminded that he mentioned that her being strong makes the faes around her stronger so perhaps he's growing at the same rate as her? He said he never controlled a room as big as the halloween party before but he still did it.
Victor's car pulled away from Arthur's home on the west side of town and he had to navigate the roads that were plowed to make it to the east end. A drive that should have taken no more than ten minutes took nearly twice that with needing to traverse only cleared streets. He would check his apartment first in case something was left outside to get snowed on. Thankfully access to the tunnel leading beneath his place was easy enough to get to without the car getting stuck. Lockdown of the building was lifted and the front door checked. Nothing on the small porch. Though on further inspection beneath a bump of snow piled up in the doorframe were two boxes stacked next to one another perfectly visible from his side but not from outside.
Both boxes were swaddled in cellophane as if that man went to a department store to get these wrapped. Simple black wrapping paper beneath the plastic covering one wide box and one tall and narrow. "What the fuck, Oz?" he mumbles but took both questionable gifts inside. With the door shut he took out his minimal mask to scan the contents for anything volatile. They appeared to be a bottle of liquor and a knife? Like he doesn't already have a half dozen he likes. With a shake of his head Victor walked up to his apartment and put the building back on lockdown.
The first box getting opened on his kitchen counter would be the liquor. It appeared to be an old bottle of bourbon with the seal still in place set in a wooden case. He's seen this label before. A particular make Oswald exclusively drank alone. Was this his way of pushing him out of the nest so to speak? As if he was ever welcomed in it to begin with! The narrow box was torn into revealing another wood box. Upon lifting the lid the knife he was expecting to be an ornate waste of time was a simple combat knife with a dull leather handle, a serrated section just after the guard and a curve up to a point with a fine edge.
Victor stood staring at this blade for what must have been five minutes. He went looking for this knife. Searched every spot he could think and even broke into GCPD when he knew he could get in and out without being seen. He pushed away from the counter and crouched in the middle of his kitchen with his head bowed and his hands pressed against his forehead. He had it this whole time? Where?
Back on his feet he took up the blade to inspect it. Still a razor sharp edge on it, the hint of blood still on the guard. Perfectly balanced but smaller than he remembered. He was a child the last time he saw it. Since the last time he held it. Victor dipped into the armory to grab his business phone and dialed up Oswald while he paced around his home. A few rings and then an answer. "I take it no one pinched what I left outside," Oswald said with the hint of a smirk in his voice. Victor opened his mouth to speak, felt something catch in his throat and stopped himself. Why was he getting emotional? "That bourbon I was supposed to share with your dad when he was safely out of this life. Clearly I failed him."
Victor finally found his voice after feeling as though he was suffocating. "Where did you find his knife?" he asks quickly before his voice can crack.
"Funny thing about the evidence room in GCPD. Things just walk out on their own. No one was gonna miss an old knife for a closed case anyhow," the older man explained. "It deserves to be in the hands of the last person to use it properly. Maybe if I had been as reliable as that thing I coulda stopped what happened or maybe have saved your mother."
"Don't you fucking say shit like that, Oz!" he roared. "Not now! Not after everything you put me through! Don't pretend like you ever gave a damn about me!" He was breathing hard, eyes slammed shut and trying to build up more rage. Nothing else. Only rage! Not this tight feeling of pain in his chest. "How long were you planning on hiding these from me, huh?!"
"The knife I kept close but never bothered giving to ya. Every time felt wrong, ya know? I assumed you forgot about it. Clearly I was wrong," he scoffs then grows silent. "I never planned to give you that bottle. Not after the path I let you go down. It was gonna be buried with ya when you slipped up and got yourself killed. And then you met that Wayne girl and something just changed in ya." Silence from both of them for a long minute. "I got your message written on my car door, by the way," he chuckles. "Ya get it now?"
"...Yeah I get it," Victor replied in a raspy voice. "I get why you didn't tell me either."
"Woulda run headlong into that wall for all the wrong reasons," Oswald laughs and that gets a chuckle out of Victor too. He's right. Winning over Olivia would have been a chance to just mess with the bat in a way he couldn't stop or would have to reveal his hand to. He could have hurt her in so many unforgivable ways. "No one else knows. I had no intention of giving anyone a leg up on that. If they wanted to find out they could dig for themselves. You earned that bottle, Zsasz. You may still have one foot in here but keep it up and don't come back." Victor smiles as he bows his head. "Tell that girl to make you a hat, scarf or somethin' so you don't freeze your fucking ears off. Only things you got left that make your face work."
"Fuck you," Victor laughs. "You want that watch I stole back?"
"Nah, some punk will just pinch it again. Whatever ya get up to, do it well or don't fuckin' do it at all. Goodbye you gangly fuck."
"Whatever old man." The line goes dead on both ends at nearly the same time. His father's knife was given a spot along the wall of weapons in the armory. The blade that saved his brother and made him the man he is today. As for the bourbon he was unsure if he was deserving of it just yet, but that was ultimately up to him to determine. It'll stay in the armory for now as well. He'll gather some things he wished to take back up the mountain with him and call Olivia to let her know he's on his way back. Anything she wants him to grab he'll get along the way. Maybe now he can focus on the coming danger with the strange weight on his shoulders gone.
Back at Wayne manor all seemed well. There was no panic as he emerged from the garage. Jason was back at the manor and helping to make sense of the data they received on Olivia but there was something about her that her brothers simply missed. Victor smirked as he circled around her a few times in the drawing room. His eyes are lit up. "You guys really didn't notice anything change about her?" he asks while scrolling through her phone.
Olivia is getting flustered now. "Just tell them but more importantly tell me!" she whines. "I feel like I've sprouted a second head and no one has realized it!" All three brothers either cross their arms or tilt their heads as they try to see what Victor sees. Maybe he's imagining something.
"Okay first, you're glowing more than usual," he begins to explain. "Kinda like when you...yeah can't say that in front of your brothers. You'll kill me." He leans back as her skin rolls in static and her face nearly turns red. "Whatever makes fae smell good to demons is stronger and!" He holds up his phone to show a picture he took of Olivia yesterday with her hair down. "Her hair's grown like three inches." All three brothers peer at the picture and Olivia does the same.
"Oh my god!" she gasps then runs to the nearest reflective surface. She would turn her head this way and that and even pulled at a few coils to see how far they reached.
"Leave it to the bald guy to figure that out before the rest of us," Jason laughs.
"I do spend an unhealthy amount of time staring at her so it wasn't going to slip by me," Victor says with a shrug. And now he's wondering if she grew in any other ways and stops her in her moment of inspection to pick her up. "You still weigh the same!"
"PUT ME DOWN!" She huffs! She's set down beside Tim and Damian squints examining the two together.
"Still the shortest in the family," Damian points out.
"Do I need to go call Dr. Sylvia so she can join in on this?!" she fumes. This was a level of scrutiny she was not used to and certain she did not like.
"Maybe go check your measurements?" Tim says but isn't sure anything has changed there. Again he doesn't look at his sister the same way Victor does so he may be blind to something on purpose.
"I am not getting fat!" she snapped with her eyes and hair lit up.
"If you're experiencing accelerated growth from holding on to more energy we need to know, Liv," Tim explains and it seems the concerned approach has won.
"Fine, only because I have to!" she says then stomps off to her room. She is not getting fat, right? Is her body just filling out more. If so, what was she going to look like if she took in another lighting bolt full of energy?!
Victor is behaving himself and not following her down the hall. He really wants to but she may need some space after this revelation. The men wait in the drawing room for either Olivia to return or for Alfred to announce their very late lunch. It is the latter that pulls them into the kitchen. Victor finally gets to taste the soup he's been craving for months and it's just as good as he remembers. He needs to visit Hye-ja more often.
Olivia arrived in the kitchen in an oversized hoodie, hood up pushing her hair around her face and sweat shorts instead of the active wear she was in earlier. She sat beside Victor at the kitchen counter and dropped her head against the countertop. Victor leans down to try and hear what she's muttering. So nothing to worry about. "Nothing has changed," Victor announced. She keeps muttering to him then sits up before Alfred can chastise her for having her head on the table.
"No hoods at the dinner table, Mistress Olivia," was Alfred's announcement and once she's removed the hood he sets the bowl of soup before her to enjoy.
After having just a spoonful she sees why Victor raves about this recipe. It is enough to distract her from how self conscious she feels about her body today. She's going to hyper fixate on every thing about her that changes now but so far it's been nothing she couldn't really handle. So her hair is longer and she smells even better to Victor. Her clothes still fit. She also feels like she has boundless energy in a bad way, still hears that itchy gnawing and may now have picked up on something about Victor. If she takes in more energy she might go rabid.
"Liv, do you want to try for another storm before dinner?" Tim asks. There's a lot he needs to understand and perhaps he'll catch the changes right after they happen.
"I would like to hold off on doing that again today," she replies. "I'm already feeling a little self conscious and I don't even know if I'll be able to sleep at all tonight..." Her voice grew quiet with every word. She just wants to eat and go back to her room now!
Tim thinks on it. "How about this? You release all the energy you have and we try again tomorrow for two strikes instead of just one, that way you can get sleep tonight."
"Yes, please, that! I ran for two hours straight this morning and I'm still not tired!" she whines. She slurps down the last of her soup, deposits her bowl into the sink then disappears into the manor.
"Can one of you guys make sure she doesn't black out in the yard from letting off too much?" Tim asks. Damian and Victor get up to follow Olivia to wherever she went.
The shortest Wayne was barefoot in the courtyard with her arms held up over her head and the snow melting around her feet. Her hair lights up and she concentrates. All in one go or maybe just enough until she can feel more relaxed. Damain burst out into the courtyard. "WHERE ARE YOUR SHOES?!" he yells. Olivia shrieks and erupts into violent sparks that dance around her and melts the snow. A storm drain may have been struck in the process. Thankfully none of the expensive windows.
"I don't need them right now!" she yells back while Victor looks on. She's still sparking and arguing with her brother at the same time. This might help. She is still burning off energy.
"It's 30F out! How are you not cold?!" She puffs up her cheeks and gets back to throwing out more of her energy straight into the sky. It doesn't matter where it goes but it needs to leave now! One bolt after another until she feels herself again. When she can feel the frozen ground beneath her feet she starts to whine trying to get back to the door. Regret. "Idiot..." Damian grumbles. Before Victor can even think to rescue her Damian marches out, also barefoot, and picks up his sister. He carries her in his arms and mutters how much of an airhead she is.
"I craved comfort! I wasn't thinking okay!" she said with her teeth chattering. She's unceremoniously unloaded onto Victor.
"Class isn't likely to be canceled tomorrow so we'll try again after school. Get this...mess of a person out of my sight," he says to Victor then heads off to his room.
Victor snickers before tossing Olivia over his shoulder. "Last we left off you were designing me a suit, so let's get back to that." Olivia felt like a sack of rocks being carried around now but she didn't feel like her own skin was trying to strangle her. This is fine. It's not until she reaches the door of her workshop and is placed on her feet that she remembers what they were actually doing before she was called away to a storm. Victor gives her a devious grin and once the door opens she is swiftly carried inside!
Olivia is kept in Victor's arms now straddling around his midsection while he effortlessly carries her. "This getting super charged really didn't go well for you, did it?" he asks. The look on her face says enough. Pushing her like this may not be the best thing for her.
"Like, it always feels really great but then it feels like I need to rip off my own skin!" Olivia admits while ignoring her senses for as long as possible. He feels warm compared to when she was out in the snow. Victor's eyes were wide. That was a rather dark statement from her.
"Try not to rip off your skin, I do like it where it is," he chuckles then brings his lips to her neck buried in that hoodie.
She sighs. "I'll try. I'm not backing down, I'm just...overwhelmed. When I was charged up like that it was like my senses were heightened. Like when you came back standing too close to me I could just. Something about the way you smell and how warm you are and hearing your voice." Her body rolls in static as she gently tugs at his shirt and kisses along his throat.
Victor takes a steady breath in and tries not to get too swept up in the moment. "You do smell I guess more fae than you did before. If that makes any sense. This could be a good thing." He's going to look on the brighter side. More of her physical nature coming forward has to be a step in the right direction. He's certainly not going where he said he would as he sets her on one of her workbenches far from the drafting table.
"Victor," Olivia says while swinging her feet. He makes a soft noise to let her know he's listening though clearly distracted visually by finding out what she had on beneath this hoodie. He hoped for nothing at all. "My sketchbook is over there," Olivia says and points at said book.
Glowing brown eyes look across the room then back at Olivia. "It's so far though," he says with a feigned whine. "And my hands are pretty occupied right now." He proves this by reaching up behind her and unlatching her bra with one hand and pulling her closer to the edge of the table with the other. "See, very busy."
"Mm, I see. So very busy, Mr Wolf," she giggles while tracing her fingers along his shoulders. His warm fingers pressed along her spine and dragged upward making her sit up straight and sending a bolt rushing up her back and through her hair.
"I wonder if you taste even better now that you're super charged," he mumbles into her ear. The tingle of her energy just beneath his fingertips and against his lips has that grin growing wider and becoming even more devious. The dark chuckle to follow sends a chill up Olivia's spine. What was he plotting? He lightly smacks his hand against the steel table and backs away from her. "We should really get back to that suit, babe."
Olivia's mouth hung open in disbelief. He did not just get her worked up and walk away! "That was so mean!" she huffs and hops down from the table to follow after him to the drafting desk. She has to maneuver getting her bra back together beneath her hoodie.
"Yeah, just a little bit," he laughs while spinning in one of the two chairs at the desk. Olivia attempts to join him in the other seat and he quickly shoves it across the room only to pull her onto his lap.
"I'm going to fight you," Olivia says with her eyes narrowed.
"Mm, bet!" He spins with her on his lap then stops as they face the sketchbook. "Let's make some progress here so I know how many jobs I need to take to afford what you'll make for me," he teases. She scrunched up her nose but turned to the designs she had down. There was one that incorporated a hood much like one of the older costumes Jason sported but with a more refined look to it. Olivia really does want to keep the suit aspect of his look. As for colors maybe monochrome? Or perhaps black with green highlights.
The more Olivia delved into what she could make his future suit look like the more passionate she became. He can have her breathless at his fingertips as often as they both can bare but seeing her be passionate about her craft was a different kind of satisfying. Was he still letting his hands wander? Of course. She's so soft and makes the cutest noises when he distracts her. Olivia got easily lost in her work, even the occasional grope didn't have her lose focus for long. Working with someone that will just listen to her ramble was a better feeling than she could have imagined. That night they sleep in the room set aside for him. The manor is quiet and the city below slumbers as more snow falls.