Gotham City was eerily quiet, most citizens were in mourning, wearing all black and sobbing quietly while they paid their respects during The Batman's memorial. There was a large statue made in his honor and people cried as they silently thanked the hero for his selflessness and bravery.
The criminals would have been out celebrating had it not been for The Joker's threats that flowed with the high winds down the streets. The Joker wanted silence.
At least for a day.
It was around midnight when the clock on Gotham's clock tower had been blacked out momentarily. The circle appearing pitch black to anyone that would look up to it. Then red, bold numbers appeared on the clock that read 12:00:00 for a second and then it started to count down.
Most of Gotham was sleeping at the moment, so the night was still.
On the other side of the city, a black van parked near an abandoned warehouse.
"Damn what's taking him so long?" Kyung was shaking, he breathed out and stared at the white cloud that formed from his hot breath against the cool of the night.
"Mr. J will be here soon." Jihoon said simply and he half smiled when he saw Zico and Yukwon walking out of the abandoned warehouse. The two clowns approached them, but Zico walked to the back of the van and gripped his hand on a large duffel bag.
Jihoon approached him and helped him carry the bag since it was really heavy, they grunted lightly as they carried it off of the van and towards the warehouse.
"So how exactly do those nightmares Taehyung is having work?" Jihoon frowned.
"Not sure. Boss said his biggest fears take a life of their own." Zico explained. "Say Taehyung witnessed his dog getting ran over and it traumatized him. Well, with this fear toxin, he's going to witness his death over and over and over again."
"Then how would someone get out of the nightmare?" Yukwon frowned.
"Most people wouldn't...but Taehyung isn't like most people, is he?" Zico's smile widened as he looked at his friends. "He has to face his fear and when he does...he'll move on to the next nightmare." He shrugged. "I'm not sure exactly when it would end, but I heard Mr. J and Chanyeol talking about how the toxin isn't exactly working for Taehyung the way it would for someone else." He paused for a moment. "The doctor goes into his room hourly and has to shoot him up with the toxin...I wouldn't be surprised if the effects wear off."
Kyung frowned lightly as his words sunk into his mind, "I know he's special—it's pretty obvious at this point that there's something about him...but what makes him so special?"
"He's the most powerful criminal in that joint." Jihoon smirked.
"But why?" Yukwon frowned, "What makes him so powerful? That prison has metahumans locked up too-"
They fell silent at the sound of the footsteps that approached them. They turned and stood up taller when their boss, wearing a deep blue suit appeared before them with a lit cigarette in between his fingers. He smirked as he looked at his minions and answered their question simply put. "Because the mind controller is the most powerful person until they meet the mind that cannot be controlled." He smirked as they nodded in understanding.
Taehyung couldn't be controlled even with a toxin that was meant to have him at their surrender. The minions smirked knowing this must have been pissing off Hyuna.
"He's inside, Mr. J." Yukwon said but he took a step back when Jungkook reached into the back of the van and grabbed his cane and a duffel bag. He stepped towards the warehouse and as he walked inside his smirk only grew, his eyes darkening as he eyed his target.
In the middle of the warehouse, there was a body of an officer hanging by his feet. He was upside down and slowly coming out of his unconscious state, but he panicked when he realized the world was flipped. He panicked even more when he saw Jungkook approaching him, "Shit! Fuck!" He cried out as he struggled against the rope around his feet that cut the circulation of his ankles.
Jungkook laughed as he pounced in front of him to intimidate him. He placed a finger to his lips to hush him but he smiled wickedly as he did so, "No one can hear you officer...Changmin, isn't it?" he laughed darkly when the officer started to hyperventilate. "Relax, relax. I haven't even gotten to the good part yet." He raised his cane and pressed the end against Changmin's stomach and trailed it down to his neck which only made the officer freak out more. He cried out and begged to be spared. Jungkook punched him in the gut, knocking the air out of him, "SHUT UP!" he screamed into his ear and then laughed as he shoved him hard enough that he'd rock against the rope that held him.
Changmin was crying heavily, tears dampening his forehead and hair. "Please, Mr. J." He shook his head. "I swear I'll do anything!-"
"Oh, I know you will." Jungkook hissed as he stared at him with dark eyes. He gripped onto his cane, "How close can you get to Taehyung?"
Changmin stared at him, his eyes widening slowly, "I-I don't-" he screamed when Jungkook held up his cane to hit him, "NOT CLOSE! I can't get too close! Only specific people could get into his room...I'm not one of them..." he whimpered. He almost pissed himself from how terrified he was.
Jungkook hummed as he pulled out an iPad from the duffel bag and turned it on. He smirked as he turned the iPad and taunted Changmin with the video footage playing. Changmin's eyes widened when he saw his wife and kids tied up, "You're going to do everything I say...do you understand?"
Changmin cried out as he nodded, "Anything." He couldn't look away from his family even though it killed him, "I'll do anything. Please, don't hurt them."
Jungkook chuckled as he bitterly whispered, "People are so easy to manipulate." He smirked as he leaned down so their faces could be close. He patted his cheek a few times until it stung Changmin, "Disobey me and I'll kill your family right in front of you...and then I'll kill you slowly. I'll torture you so deeply that you'll be begging for death." His sinister smile grew, "But I don't give in easily." He smirked as he chuckled, "But before you disobey me and I kill you...we're going to be so close." He grinned, showing off his white teeth.
Inside Taehyung's mind, his childhood trauma manifested into a nightmare that he didn't understand he was having. Everything seemed normal to him. He was confusing his realities and he had no idea. The first nightmare was the most confusing because it was one that Taehyung didn't even remember.
He was a child again, about eight years old and he stood in front of his house waving at someone. "Hi hyung!" The images were distorted but Taehyung was with someone a year older than him. This boy made him feel complete. He'd smile wider, laugh louder and everything had felt perfect.
"You'd be a perfect gymnast, Tae Tae... I promise I'll always be supporting you..." the boy had vowed in a soft voice and he placed his warm hand on Taehyung's cheek before pulling him into a tight hug. "I don't care what your step dad says... you're perfect just the way you are."
His words made Taehyung smile, but then the warmth was gone.
He was outside of his house covered in blood. Taehyung's hands shook as he stared at the blood that tainted him. Then he caught sight of the boy that made him feel safe in the middle of the street. He was drenched in his blood, and completely still. Taehyung screamed and he wanted to run to him but a pair of strong hands yanked him into the house, "Let me go!" He writhed against him and he cried harder, "Mingyu!" He gasped, "He's not breathing! He's not breathing!!"
'He's not real...'
'He's not real...'
'He was never real...'
The voices filled his head and Taehyung covered his ears and screamed to silence them. Taehyung screamed louder when his step father backhanded him so hard it split his lip, "Enough! I've had enough!"
Taehyung was on the floor, hugging his knees, "Hyung...where's my hyung..." he whimpered. "Where is he..." he shook his head and stared at the blood that covered him. The warmth he had felt was completely gone and replaced with a coldness that left him numb.
His step father had enough of him, "When will you stop crying over him! Fuck off!" He screamed louder as his anger built, "He was never real. You made him up because you're fucked up in the head." He shoved his finger against Taehyung's head and shoved him to the floor. "Fucking sick! I told you your son was a worthless piece of shit!" he yelled to Taehyung's mother, but she was a blur to Taehyung.
"He's real..." Taehyung cried out when his step father grabbed him and shoved him onto the side. Taehyung scrambled against the floor and ran to the wall.
Then it hit him.
Everything hit him so hard he squeezed his eyes shut and covered his ears as he screamed louder.
He saw his hyung, his best friend named Mingyu that had been his sanctuary as a child. The best friend that supported him in every way possible. He saw Mingyu's warm smile flashing in his mind but then he saw the blood. He had been run over and Taehyung had witnessed it. It ruined him and he couldn't stop crying.
His parents made him believed that Mingyu was never real.
They tried to erase him from his memory.
Taehyung had become confused; his weak traumatized state had taken their words into mind. He'd have nightly terrors and he'd call out "brother...". He was convinced he lost his brother, so his parents took him to a therapist.
Sessions of his therapy flashed into Taehyung's mind and he remembered how they'd tell him he didn't have a brother. Mingyu wasn't real. He wasn't real.
But he was real.
Mingyu existed. He wasn't his biological brother, but Taehyung had always felt their bond to be that strong.
And his parents desperately tried to erase him from Taehyung's life, and they had done it. They erased him from Taehyung.
"He's not real." Taehyung's step father taunted him once more.
Everything distorted once again and when it cleared Taehyung stood in front of his step father with a gun pointed to his head. Taehyung was back to his current age. His step father stared at the front of the gun and then at Taehyung, he slowly rose his hands. Taehyung's hand shook as he pointed the gun, tears streamed down his eyes as he glared at his step father, "F-Fuck you..." he whimpered, "Say it! Tell me he isn't real again—I fucking dare you!"
"Put the gun down." His step father threatened. "Taehyung."
"I had forgotten..." he scoffed, "I really forgot...Mingyu..." he shook his head as he cocked the gun, "Fuck you. Fuck you!"
"Put the gun down!" He screamed.
Taehyung broke into a fit of laughter, "You fucked with my head...you thought you had control over me..." he shook his head. "Not at all. I'm ending all of the shit you put me through." He giggled.
His step father opened his mouth to say something but he could only glare at Taehyung.
Taehyung laughed, "You scared?" He laughed louder and let his arm fall to the side, "You're right. Shooting you would be too easy. I want it to hurt." He purred before he pulled open a drawer and pulled out a knife. He held the tip of the knife to his own temple, "It's going to hurt so badly, dad..." his eyes darkened. "The more it hurts the more I love you." He smirked before he winked.
His step father approached him with balled fists, "You little shit!" he swung at him but Taehyung ducked and sliced the knife into his arm with a growing wicked grin. The blood spilled and Taehyung laughed before he lunged the knife into his chest, piercing his heart. The blood stained his clothes and it made him laugh harder.
The scene distorted and Taehyung was running out of the house, and when he looked back he bumped harshly into someone, but the person caught him. Taehyung's heart was racing and it stopped when he saw Jimin standing in front of him. "Jimin!" He cried out and hugged him tightly. He was suffocating against him as the warmth spread through him from the security he felt in that moment. He hugged his best friend tightly, "It's so good to see you..." he whispered as he closed his eyes. "Oh, Jimin...it's so good to see you..."
The warmth calmed him, his heart beat slowed momentarily.
Then the moment shattered when Jimin laughed against him, his fingers tightening around his arms and squeezing him until they pierced his skin. Taehyung tried to pull away from him but Jimin's grip around him tightened so hard it burned. Jimin laughed. Taehyung stared at him with widened eyes, but he bit his lips together while Jimin glared at him.
"What's the matter?" His voice was condescending, his grin was wicked and his eyes appeared dark. Taehyung's heart started to beat fast as he watched him, but couldn't believe that it was really him. It looked like Jimin, sounded like him, but could this really be him? Jimin is kind...he's kind... "You thought I could still look at you the same way as always? After everything you did?" Jimin shoved Taehyung to the ground and pulled out a knife.
Taehyung glanced at the knife before he looked at Jimin, "This isn't like you!" He looked at Jimin and cried when his best friend stepped closer to him with a hand gripped around the knife.
He instantly slashed through Taehyung's arms with no remorse in his eyes. "How does it feel?!" His voice echoed as Taehyung weakly tried to scramble away from him, but he was weak. Jimin made him weak. Blood covered his arms from the cut Jimin made.
Taehyung screamed, "Jimin, stop! This isn't you!" He cried harder when he realized Jimin's eyes appeared dark and his smile sinister.
Jimin paused for a moment, his smile growing as he whispered, "It is now." He lifted the knife and Taehyung kicked his feet to knock him to the ground. He cried as he forced himself to get up and sprint away. His heart was pounding as his tears blinded him. He had a moment of weakness and considered just lying there to die, but something didn't let him. Something was holding him back.
Something made him want to live, but Taehyung couldn't remember what it was.
Jimin was chasing him, and Taehyung's surroundings blurred. He had no idea where he was. He held onto his wounds and whimpered as he desperately tried to stay away from Jimin. "Taehyung! Come on, don't be a little bitch! Face me!" Jimin's laughter echoed.
Taehyung stopped moving, and his eyes slowly widened as he stared at the ground. Words started to echo in his head, and he couldn't recognize the voice but it whispered the same thing over and over again. He couldn't keep Jimin. He can't keep Jimin. If he truly loved him then he has to let him go.
Taehyung sucked in air and slowly turned to face his former best friend. Jimin stood a few feet away from him, and his smile grew as he dropped the knife and wrapped his hand around his gun. Though Taehyung's reality was distorting, there was one thing he was sure about; he was the real monster, not Jimin. And no matter how much he loved him, he couldn't keep him. "You were everything to me Jiminie...I never wanted you to look at me like this. I never wanted you to know the poison that I truly am, but...I can't do this to you anymore—" he whimpered and he tried to control his heavy breathes. "I have to let you go. I love you Park Jimin, more than you'll ever know and because of that, I have to let you go." Taehyung wiped his tears but he smiled genuinely. "Thank you for everything..." His smile grew lightly as he nodded at Jimin, "Do what you gotta do." He closed his eyes as Jimin cocked the trigger.
Jimin stared at him and he exhaled slowly as he aimed for Taehyung's heart. "Burn in hell."
Jimin pulled the trigger and Taehyung felt the impact of the bullet but the pain ended quickly and his vision blackened as he fell to the ground covered in his blood. The pain disappeared quickly and there was nothing but darkness for a few seconds before a voice echoed familiar words.
The next scene gave him a sense of dejavu.
They were in Ace Chemicals. Acid vaults boiled at the bottom of the building while Taehyung and someone else stood on the highest level of the building. This acid was meaningful but Taehyung couldn't remember why. Then a deep, hoarse voice asked, "Would you die for me?"
Taehyung slowly turned to face him and his heart raced as he stared at the man that made him feel like he's never felt before. Jungkook, Taehyung thought as he looked him up and down and he couldn't help but smile as his heart pounded even harder in his chest.
"Yes." Taehyung whispered, and he smiled because he knew he truly would—in a heartbeat.
Jungkook's eyes appeared dark as he smirked, "Perhaps that's too easy?" he hummed lightly as he thought, "Would you...live for me?" he challenged.
"Yes." There was no hesitation in Taehyung's voice and he lightly smiled as he became lost in Jungkook's eyes. He wanted to hold him close, but something made him hold back. He wasn't sure what it was. This moment was familiar, but he knew something was off. He just wasn't sure what.
Jungkook scoffed, "Careful." He warned, his dark eyes glaring into Taehyung's eyes. "Don't say this oath thoughtlessly." He gripped his hand over Taehyung's mouth as he inched his face closer so his dark eyes could stare straight into Taehyung. "Desire becomes surrender, surrender becomes power."
Taehyung's heart stopped for a moment as the words processed in his mind.
Desire becomes surrender, surrender becomes power.
Desire becomes surrender, surrender becomes power.
Desire, surrender, power.
Taehyung looked into Jungkook's eyes as Jungkook pushed his finger against Taehyung's lower lip, "Do you want this?" his voice was hoarse, and it made Taehyung weak, but there was something wrong.
Something was off.
Taehyung nodded slowly and that made Jungkook smirk. "Jungkook...?" Taehyung started but Jungkook lifted a finger and slowly shook his head in disappointment. Taehyung followed his finger and he cried out when Jungkook backhanded him across his cheek. The impact made Taehyung stumble back a bit but Jungkook grabbed onto his wrists and he gripped tightly.
Taehyung was shaking as he stared into Jungkook's dark eyes.
"That's Mr. J, to you." Jungkook glared at him.
Taehyung's hands shook against him and he could taste the blood on his split lip. He was quiet because he didn't understand what was happening, but his silence made Jungkook chuckle darkly.
"What's the matter, Dr. K?" he smirked, "Did you really think you could cure the clown prince of Gotham?" he laughed louder, "Did you really think you could change me?" his grip tightened and Taehyung glared at his hands and then at him. "Don't be stupid!" he laughed harder, "I cured you, Dr! Not the other way around. You'd be nothing without me—just a shadow. That's all you'd be if it wasn't for me." He shook him a bit and Taehyung shook his head.
"That's not true-"
"Aw, that's not true." Jungkook mocked him and then he snickered, "Weak. Just like the rest of them."
"You're lying!" Taehyung tried to push him back but Jungkook laughed as he managed to shove him off and Taehyung cried out as he nearly fell off. Taehyung held onto the edge and he cried as he looked down and saw the acid vaults underneath him. He was dangling off of the edge but he held on while Jungkook tried to taunt him by stepping on his fingers.
"Oh Dr. K...isn't this what you wanted? I thought you wanted to be with me!" he chuckled, "What did you think a life with me would be like?" He tilted his head slightly as he got down on his knees to taunt Taehyung. He laughed as he poked at Taehyung's fingers but Taehyung only glared at him. "You'd follow me until the very end, wouldn't you?" he challenged him.
"I would, but not like this. This isn't right...this isn't you!" Taehyung shook his head as he looked at Jungkook. His reality was distorted and though he couldn't remember details he knew that Jungkook wouldn't take away his choices. Jungkook wouldn't shove him into the acid vault...he couldn't. Taehyung whispered, "You didn't make me this way. You showed me what I could be and I decided the rest. You don't get to take that away from me!" He gripped on the edge as he slowly pulled himself up enough to be closer to Jungkook's face. Jungkook stared at him and though he smiled, he was silent. "You won't make that decision for me." Taehyung whispered, he leaned close enough so their lips could brush and then he let go.
He let himself fall back into the acid vault and Jungkook watched him as he sunk in deeper.
Out of Taehyung's nightmares, Dr. Choi Minho sat at the edge of the bed and he smiled to himself as he unlocked the cuffs that restrained Taehyung. He played with his fingers for a moment with a wide smile on his face. He had injected Taehyung with his fear toxin and he shook his head lightly, "How do you manage to continuously get yourself out of my nightmares? What is it about you? I don't understand if my project is practically perfect but not with you—you...you've become a nuisance." he leaned closer to Taehyung's panicked face and he inspected him. He grabbed another needle and took out some of Taehyung's blood, "Let's see what this can tell me." He smiled as he walked to the side of the room.
Taehyung was on the bed, his eyes wide and strained as he trembled from fear, "J-Jungkook..." he called out softly. "Jungkook..." He hyperventilated and Dr. Choi laughed as he watched him. Taehyung's body was tensed and he was covered in cold sweat as he looked at the ceiling but his mind was stuck in the nightmares.
"The Joker won't save you, darling. You're not worth that much to him." He shook his head lightly as he watched Taehyung for a moment before he walked off to examine his blood.
Taehyung's eyes widened and he gasped lightly as his tense hands trembled against the mattress. He whimpered weakly, "Jungkook..." he called out, his heart monitor was beeping quickly. In his nightmare, he was drowning in the acid.
Then he saw someone dive for him and he breathed at ease, his heart beat slowed down.
Taehyung could feel himself being pulled out of the acid, and he gasped for air. A light smile spread on his lips as colors swirled around his vision and the silhouette of the man he loved hovered above him. "Jungkook..." Taehyung called out once more, but with a spreading smile on his face.