Surprisingly, Suicide Slum had barely been touched by the attack. Silvia figured it was because it was so fucked up in the first place that there was nothing left to destroy. The Kryptonians could have blasted a giant hole through the middle, and as long as her apartment was still standing, Silvia wouldn't have noticed.
She saw a few people scurrying back to their homes, or the gutters in most cases, but none looked severely injured. Granted though it would be hard to tell under the grime that covered their bodies.
It was rather odd to enter her apartment after such an eventful day. It had her wondering what exactly she was suppose to do after so much chaos... Was she meant to sit down with take-out and continue on with her night? Was this so normal for the others that they knew the answer?
As the days dragged on she was tormented by that question. She wasn't even sure whether to go back to work or just let things settle. She ended up doing the latter in the midst of her confusion, whether she meant to or not.
This did change eventually, primarily when she received an email on the whereabouts of The Ventriloquist. She was never one to leave a job unfinished. It looked absolutely horrid on her record when an old man and his puppet could effectively survive two of her attempted assassinations. Granted, Superman was to blame for both occasions, but the dark web were unlikely to know that.
Silvia clicked open the message faster than ever before, completely discarding the packet of chips that had been lying on her stomach - it had been another lazy day. The message contained one word, and one word only... Gotham. He had returned to the Dark Knight's city.
Silvia wasted no time in booking the next train out of Metropolis, packing only her Reaper costume and several weapons; four guns, multiple smoke grenades, and the shiv she still had from the prison break. It was all shoved into a large bag with a shoulder strap that Silvia dreaded using. It always dug into her skin, especially with the weight of the guns.
Still, this didn't stop her from heaving it onto her side and shuffling to the station. She blended in quite well, unlike most others in her field. She couldn't even imagine how challenging it would be for someone like Cyborg or Starfire to walk around unnoticed.
The train pulled up with a loud screech. The wheels halted and the carriages rattled on the metal railway. The crowd leapt at the open doors, pushing and shoving so that they were all inside before the doors shut again. Inside, however, was worse. Suitcases being wheeled over people's feet and bags swung into every direction were just a few of the many joys of boarding a train to Gotham.
It was a relief when Silvia finally found her seat, but this was swiftly snatched away as well when she realised that she had been put next to a particularly talkative passenger. The entire trip was spent in agony, listening to this woman speak about her family, holiday, and retirement.
Silvia was about ready to jump out the window when the train finally stopped at her destination. She said not one word of farewell to her annoying new 'friend', and rushed out of the carriage. Gotham now clouded her view like smoke from a wild forest fire, and it looked just like that; thick, dark and threatening. You'd think with how hard it was raining that forest fire would extinguish. It had the same atmosphere as the slums back at Metropolis, but despite how rich some neighbourhoods appeared, they were saturated in gloom.
Silvia had considered moving to Gotham numerous times. She was more accustomed to the darkness that befell that city, and the crime rates were much higher. She assumed it was because they didn't have an overpowered alien flying around the streets, only a man in an expensive suit.
Silvia dug the phone out of her pocket and tracked the general area that The Ventriloquist was seen at. It seemed that he walked the same way every night, likely to get home. She was close.
The ground might as well have shattered beneath her every step with how gravelly it was. It was like it had recently been destroyed and no one had gotten around to fixing it. This was an unfortunate situation as it became a little harder to sneak through the city. The Ventriloquist didn't seem to notice her though, not until she leapt from behind the corner with her costume already thrown on.
The man flew back with a screech of surprise, almost dropping the case containing his puppet. Silvia swiftly took out her pistol, and aimed it straight at the man's head. Usually, seeing the fear in their eyes moments before their death, the regret for all the people they had hurt, would bring her a sense of satisfaction. She was addicted to the feeling...except now she couldn't help but hesitate.
Her finger itched against the trigger but even as the old man cowered before her, she didn't pull it. The fact that she even questioned killing him brought her great despair followed immediately by anger. Silvia had done this a hundred times before, and this man was no better than the others, so why?...
Her mind wandered to the reporter that had been following her the passed few weeks. No matter how hard she tried pushing him away, he never gave up on her...or more, his 'interview' with her. She still hadn't figured out his true intentions but that didn't seem to matter. As much as Silvia denied it, she hadn't stopped worrying about him since the attack...and now his mere memory was stopping her from doing her job.
He was such a good person, so pure-hearted, everything that she wasn't. That she could never be. Yet thinking about his possible reaction to her being the Reaper almost hurt. Her arm shook then dropped, gun hanging loosely at her side. "Come with me."
The man trembled then stumbled backwards. "N-No!" He shouted, no trust in his gaze. The Reaper never left a target alive.
The mask's fabric scrunched slightly, face beneath contorting in annoyance. "I wasn't asking."
Despite his better judgement, The Ventriloquist begun scrambling away. He was slow, even by normal standards. His age made his knees crack with each stretch, and his chest jumped like he was on the verge of having a heart attack...but still he ran.
It took less than two seconds for Silvia to catch up, and in the midst of her conflicting thoughts, she kicked him to the ground. She was outraged that he would turn down such mercy. She never did that for anyone, least of all a cowardly rat. It was almost enough to convince her that shooting him in the head was the right thing to do again...but she could no longer even reach for her gun. Her hand refused to move towards it, like she had suddenly grown a conscience.
Silvia sneered and pulled him up by the scruff of his shirt. "You're making it very hard not to kill you."
There was a sound...too quiet for normal ears but just loud enough for hers. A swishing sound, like a blade cutting through air. She pulled back, pushing the old man back to the floor in the process. This wasn't needed. The weapon had stopped just in front of her, edge buried into the concrete.
Silvia glanced up, squinting through the dark and rain that shivered against her costume. Someone was perched on top of a lamp post, rain saturating his dark hair and a bolt of lightening striking through the skies behind him. He was broad-shouldered but lean, and his eyes appeared stark white but Silvia could tell that it was built into the mask. His costume was black and blue, a symbol draped across his chest that extended over his shoulders.
"Is beating up old men a usual Friday night for you?" He finally spoke in a mid-ranged voice; low enough to sound serious but not enough to hide his age...or amusement.
"Is throwing shuriken at women yours?" Silvia replied, straightening up and crossing her arms.
"Do you know what a shuriken is? They're kinda meant to have more than two sides. That's more of a boomerang."
"Pretty shitty shuriken then. Also a pretty shitty boomerang...it didn't even come back to you."
There was a moment of silence where the man's head cocked to the side and his lips twitched into a smirk. He stepped off the lamp post, landing effortlessly on the ground. "Look, you're kinda cool...so I'm gonna give you a chance to walk away from this. Please do."
She could see the man clearly now, even through the heavy rain. His hair clung to his face in a way that Silvia didn't envy. She was suddenly thankful that her costume covered every inch, including her head. "Oh, look it's little Robin."
"It's Nightwing, actually."
"Same shit, different year." Silvia huffed. "Look, I appreciate the warning, but I've got a job to d-" She turned only to see that her target was gone, probably slipped away while she was distracted. Her enhanced hearing did nothing to fix her minds tendency to trail off from her mission.
There was a brief second where her muscles tensed beneath her suit and her eyes blared with hatred. She shouldn't have let him escape... She should have killed him when she had the chance. She looked back at Nightwing, scowl going unnoticed behind her mask. "Well played." She said despite her inner conflicts.
Her eyes flicked back to the pavement, trying to figure out which way he went. She heard a stumble of feet from a block away and started marching in that direction. She had completely dismissed that Nightwing was still there until he casually walked in front of her. "So, beating up old men is more of a job than a hobby?" He said smugly. "Sorry, can't let you do it."
"And you can't stop me either."
"Is that a challenge?" Nightwing sounded amused at the notion but didn't make any attempt to fight her...not until she shoved passed him.
Nightwing grabbed her arm and pulled her back, the surprise force making her stumble but not fall. Silvia glared at him, well as much as she could with a mask on. Getting passed him seemed like too much effort, even if she was faster than him. Silvia turned on her heels and dashed towards the nearest building. She'd just go around him then.
The girl jumped, securing her hand around a brick jutting out from its centre and her foot on the window sill. She scaled the shop, pulling herself onto the roof without breaking a sweat.
The struggling sound of a grappling hook could be heard a few buildings in front of her, and too rushed to think anything through, Silvia begun jumping from roof to roof. She had made it to the top of an old sporting goods store a few seconds before Nightwing, but he managed to grab her arm just as she was attempting to jump again.
He pulled her with enough force to send her falling back onto the roof. The girl sighed in frustration, quickly getting to her feet. "I climbed a building and jumped onto five different stores, yet still got here before you. If I were you I'd be getting a refund on that grappling hook."
Nightwing's smirk widened as he tucked the gadget away. "It's a shame you didn't take my offer while you had the chance. You're entertaining, I'm not going to like beating you into the ground."
"I'm sure you won't like it when I do the same to you either."
"We'll see." Was his only reply, said in a snarky tone before he took out two Escrima Sticks.
Nightwing rushed at her. Silvia dipped and weaved right just as he was about to reach her, then slashed her leg through the air. It struck against the man's skull with a crack but this only seemed to fire him up. Nightwing turned and started trying to land blows with his Escrima Sticks. She dodged them all.
Knowing now that she was much faster than him, the man resorted to tactics. He swung his leg in her direction, and as she brought her hand up to catch the attack, he punched the right side of her face. His knuckles dug into the mask but she appeared to bounce back almost instantly. "Nice." She said simply.
"Thanks." Nightwing replied right before he was flung over her shoulder and slammed into the concrete roof, breaking his wrist in the process.
He had tried to get up but one last fierce backhand sent Nightwing rolling over to the edge of the rooftop. Silvia's body was still ready for more...but Nightwing seemed to be down for the count.
He winced in pain as he laughed weakly. Silvia was more preoccupied by the thought that she managed to beat this guy...and not be beaten up herself.
"Well...was that as good for you as it was for me?" Silvia quipped.
Immensely proud of that one clever remark, Silvia cocked her head as she casually strolled to the rooftop's edge.
Suddenly, a black shape landed with a splash by Nightwing's side. Nightwing shuffled to an AC unit on the roof and leant against it as he muttered. "Type 1 meta...speed priority."
A man wearing a pitch black cape rose to his feet. "Oh for fuck's sake." Silvia growled.
Batman grimaced as he asked extremely quietly "Firearms usage?"
"None."
The Dark Knight slowly strode towards Silvia. "You going to try to stab me again?" He hissed.
"Depends. Get out of my way." She demanded.
He moved much faster than Nightwing... It was still too slow. The punch that soared towards her face was easily parried and redirected by a swift move of the hands. Silvia used this redirected force to send Batman tumbling away with a strong kick.
Silvia then spun and sprinted as fast as she could. She knew that her being in Gotham was pointless now...her mark could be anywhere after that interruption. Getting out of there was on the top of her list.
At the end of this building, Silvia bounded over the adjoining alleyway, landed with a roll, and continued running. Up ahead was a parking lot and an abandoned building to her right. She once again leapt and aimed to land on the paved lot.
Before she made it to the ground, an immense force swung into Silvia's side and propelled her into the window of an abandoned apartment.
Batman, releasing the grapple line he used to kick the Reaper, smashed through the glass with Silvia's body. The pair smacked into the dirty, wet floor and each rolled away to their feet.
Silvia gritted her teeth and rolled her fists. The one time she decided to do the right thing...and these assholes decide to gang up on her. She was fed up. Pushing against the wall behind her, Silvia charged forward so quickly that Batman had barely pushed to his feet before she reached him.
She wrapped her hands around the broad man and drove him back into the rotting wooden wall, demolishing and splintering it instantly.
In the next room she landed several ferocious punches to Batman's face, until he managed to send a pinpoint strike directed at a specific pressure point.
Silvia growled as one of her arms turned limp and Batman backhanded her with his titanium gauntlet. She was thrusted off of her feet and the back of her head dented the hardwood flooring, as Batman wasted no time in grasping her throat and ramming his fist into her gut.
Silvia's brain seemed to have shifted gears instantly. With a bloodcurdling roar, Silvia pulled her knees up to her chest, heaved Batman onto her feet and thrusted with reckless abandon.
The sheer force rocketed Batman into the ceiling, shattering the terrible handiwork that it took to make it. Silvia rolled clear when Batman's body fell to the ground and blood flew from his mouth.
Silvia, still enraged and ravenous, seized Batman's arm and wrenched it. The pop of the limb losing its socket filled her manic mind with pleasure. This seemed to only make Batman just as pissed off as she was...
He swung, locked his legs around Silvia's neck and pushed in opposite directions. Silvia gagged, and more blows caught the back of her head, sent from Batman's other hand.
The Dark Knight then raised a boot, planted it on Silvia's skull and shoved her off. She smacked directly into the jutting wall corner, tearing a hole in her mask and cutting her forehead open.
Batman promptly stood, bearing his bloodied teeth. He rammed his dislocated shoulder into a wall with a resounding crack, which sent his arm back into place. Silvia barrelled into her opponent with flurries of fists impacting on his torso.
She felt the cracking and caving of some ribs and heard the grunting that came with them.
Then, Batman slipped a hand into Silvia's belt, yanked the shiv free and dug it deep into Silvia's side. He shoved it so deep that its handle was embedded into her body, now invisible. Blood oozed from the wound, mixing with the water on her costume.
A haymaker landed on top of the stab wound, causing Silvia to scream. The man's bladed gauntlet then swiped up with blinding speed and sliced clean through Silvia's costume and gouged her chest. More of these cutting blows shredded at her arms, legs and abdomen... Batman was pulling all the stops.
Silvia's vision was fading...not from the injuries, but from the rage. Her instincts took hold of her.
Silvia, ignoring the painful blows, fastened a hand around Batman's neck and grappled him tightly. Batman didn't make it easy for her though. They rammed each other into the walls of the apartment tearing them up like crazed animals, until they plunged through another window and into the cold Gotham air.
The pair tumbled from the fourth floor...and as they did, Batman pulled and pushed, making sure that Silvia would be hitting the ground first...and she did.
It hurt so much that Silvia didn't make a single sound. Her mouth opened, but nothing came out. Batman, limp on top of her, rolled onto the wet pavement, huffing and panting.
Still...Silvia stood first. There was no holding back now. She stomped onto one of his knees, causing a clean break. Not a scream, but a low grunt answered. Her bloodied hand reached for her gun, but she forced the thought out of her head. She didn't kill good guys... She wasn't the monster they thought she was. She refused to be.
Not even pausing to look at her work, Silvia stumbled away down the street...dazed and barely conscious.
Fifteen minutes later and Silvia had only made it halfway to the station before she collapsed in an alleyway, blood pouring from her side and trickling from her mouth. "That bat jerk." She mumbled in her drowsiness. "I sure...showed him..."
Darkness started edging her vision. Everything was so blurry that when she saw a bright 'S' symbol she thought she was imagining things. "I can't believe you." Came the stern voice of Superman, quickly reminding her that she wasn't lucky enough for this to be a hallucination. "I thought we were passed this. You did so much good in Metropolis while I was away, and look at you now...bleeding out in an alleyway. I gave you a second chance...and you wasted it for what? Killing someone for a handful of cash?"
Silvia laughed. It wasn't genuine or even delusional, it was spiteful. Every breath of air was coated in venom, her anger having no other way to surface as her body failed. "Kill...?" Silvia scoffed then gasped at the pain jabbing at her side.
"Nightwing stopped you-"
"He saw me trying to arrest The Ventriloquist." Silvia didn't bother asking how he had found her, or how he had enough time to get the full story, everything impossible seemed probable with him. Silvia shifted but the pain only worsened and her vision darkened. "He just...assumed I was going to kill him...just like everyone else... Didn't even bother asking or trying to u-understand." Every word was riddled with agony; breathy and quiet.
Superman was nearly unseeable in her state but he was surprised, that much was clear.
Another laugh racked its way up, followed with a splatter of blood. He could tell when people were lying, or so she heard. It was just another thing to add to the long list of why he was a pain in the ass.
His assumptions had hurt her though. His words had splintered inside her like it usually did when people expected the worst of her. At the time it felt like it was causing more pain than the shiv still lunged in her side.
With her dwindling consciousness her filter disappeared, and she was left bare...emotional. Her defence mechanisms were gone and all that remained was raw truth. "You see the good in everyone else... You see it in the most pathetic people on the planet... I thought you saw it in me too...but when you look at me you see nothing." She paused, a shaky breath struggling through pierced lungs. "They say that you're the 'best of us'... But it's all bullshit. You're just like everyone else."
Another pause fell into silence before Superman finally spoke. "You're hurt. You need medical attention."
"My cells heal fast. Just leave me here."
"Not fast enough. That blade in your side needs to be removed."
"I couldn't kill him. I...wanted to. But I couldn't. And nobody gave a shit about that. I just get targeted by two of your...people and get fucked up. I should have killed him. Wouldn't have changed anything."
She could sense Superman's guilt through the quietness but she wasn't awake to see it. Soon after this her head lolled forward and her body fell limp against the brick wall. She was engulfed by darkness and then...nothing.
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