GOTHAM CITY, 2008
HER HEAD WAS POUNDING. Veronica's eyes fluttered open, the singular light hanging from the grey ceiling almost blinding her. Disoriented, she glanced around, regaining her bearings.
She could feel her feet and hands bound together by a scratchy rope, the material enough to irritate her skin. Her entire body felt as if it was on fire, and she didn't know why, where she was, or what had happened. The only thing she could remember was Dick and the rooftop before everything went dark and the only thing she was able to see was pitch black.
A loud buzzing filled the room then. A steel door off to the corner of the small room opened. Veronica's head felt heavy, and she let it drop. Her hair fell over her eyes, concealing her view from the person which entered the place she was being held.
Every noise seemed amplified by one hundred percent, which only increased the pain in her head tenfold.
"Veronica Parker," The voice echoed out. It was deep and gravelly. It sounded sinister.
The girl didn't reply, still far too disoriented to even utter out a single word.
"I assume you know who I am, don't you?" The voice spoke again. The face of the man appeared in front of her all of a sudden.
It was almost horrific enough to make the girl scream.
Half of his face was exposed, the skin melted and peeled away, revealing nothing but the red and bloody flesh beneath it.
Her breaths picked up speed as her heart rate accelerated.
She knew who he was now.
Air escaped in jagged breaths, and she could taste the blood in her mouth, as coppery and wrong as everything else in the moment. She didn't cower, however, and instead looked him straight in his pernicious eyes, practically daring him to taunt her once more.
"Two-Face." She seethed out. An almost sadistic smile broke out on his face, the deformed half instead only twitching as the burned muscles strained to form a grin.
He chuckled and stood up, hands placed behind his back. "Correct. Smart girl."
Once again Veronica just stayed quiet. Only ever looking at the man to send him a glare filled with pure animosity. He stood with confidence, so much it was borderline arrogant, and continued his speech. "You must wonder why you're here, I presume."
"Fuck. You."
He glanced at her, and rose a brow. "Well, that reaction was only to be expected," He walked to her left, and stood in the corner as he looked at her with intrigue. He flipped his signature coin in his hand, and with each little tink it made, made everything all the more daunting. "However not very wise."
A feeling of helplessness washed over the girl like a tidal wave, the realization of how dire the situation was finally hitting her.
Who knew what Two-Face had in store for her?
Who knew what his motive behind this was?
She could barely think straight. How was she supposed to get out of this?
He brought his hand to her face, placing it underneath her chin and bringing her gaze up to meet his. "You will pay for that later. I don't take insults lightly."
Veronica knew that, which was why she had done it. Now, she regretted it.
The girl trembled, her mind void of any rational thoughts.
What would Selina do? What would Dick do? What would Bruce do?
Two-Face exited the room with one last taunting grin.
She squinted her eyes shut and forced herself to gather the courage and strength she needed. With a deep breath, she inhaled, slowly glancing up at the right corner to see the camera that sat there, and the red light that flashed to signal it was recording.
She began to shift her wrists over to the corner of the steel chair she sat in, moving them back and forth against the sharp edge. She hoped it would be strong enough to cut through the rope, as her movements had to be kept subtle, barely detectable. It seemed like an eternity had passed before she could feel the rope loosening a tad.
A sense of triumph came over her.
But just as soon as it came, it ended.
Two-Face had re-entered the room.
He came around to her back, and let out a laugh.
"Clever girl. But, not clever enough." His pitch rose as he sing-songed. He undid the rope slightly, and then pulled her up from the chair.
He tied it tighter, so much so her circulation was almost cut off. Then, took off the rope binding her legs, but he still held her firmly in his grasp so she was unable to escape.
"You," he spoke, "Are going to flip for your fate. Heads, you get hung above the very thing that did this to me," He brought his face in her direct eyesight and flashed yet another sadistic smile. "Tails, I set you free. It's quite simple, no? Lets hope luck is on your side."
He held up the coin, then flipped it.
Time seemed to move in slow motion as the silver coin spun in the air.
When it finally landed, the girl's heart was in her throat.
She refused to look.
She wanted to postpone her fate as long as possible.
The man in front of her tsked, and he held up the piece of currency. "It's a shame, really. I truly am sorry."
Veronica knew he wasn't. He held absolutely no remorse in his body.
She looked up at his hand. On the coin was a head, and Veronica felt all hope she had drain away.
He grabbed her arm and walked her out of the room, through a dark, damp hallway before they reached a huge room that looked like it was once part of a factory.
At its centre sat a bubbling tank of what Veronica could only assume to be the acid which had nearly been Two-Face's demise.
Her eyes widened, and she was yanked forwards once again, up a staircase beside the tank and to a long pole that extended from the ceiling above it.
Two-Face took her hands and brought them above her head. He grabbed another long piece of rope from the floor and tied her limbs to it.
"It seems Batman refuses to accept my deal," He spoke as he flipped a lever on a panel switch beside him.
Veronica could feel herself being yanked up, higher and higher, then moved sideways, overtop the large bubbling tank of acid.
It was hot.
So hot.
"Perhaps he'll take this." He walked down the staircase beside the tank. When he reached the bottom, he turned to look at her.
He flipped his coin in his hand still.
"If he cares enough, that is."
Then he left.
The heat radiating from below the girl was scorching.
She felt something akin to empathy for Two-Face then.
Surely Bruce would find a way to save her though, right? Bruce did care for her, to some degree.
They would save her. Dick would make sure of it. But each second that passed her assurance in that only dwindled. Dick had said, he had promised, he would never let her get hurt.
So where was he now?
They were her only hope.
She began to lower. She looked down frantically as the acid below her neared closer and closer, agonizingly slowly. A spit of acid jumped up at her, the tiny drop searing a piece of the skin on her ankle. Veronica let out a gasp of pain, and she bit her tongue to withhold the scream she wanted to release.
The feeling of empathy for Two-Face resurfaced, then. Something of pity for him did too. If that little of the toxin had hurt her so badly, she could only imagine the sheer pain he had endured.
"Veronica!" A voice cried out, and her head whipped toward it.
She let out a breath she didn't know she'd been holding.
In the doorway Two-Face and her had entered from stood Dick, the panic and worry clear on his face.
He ran up the stairs. He looked at the control panel, his eyes wide and frantic.
"Dick!" She wailed, looking down as the acid came closer and closer. The panic consumed her, festered and grew with each millisecond that passed by. "Hurry!"
"I'm trying, I'm trying! Which button, Veronica? Which button?!"
She tried to recall which one Two-Face had pressed, but in her frantic state of mind, she pulled a blank. "I don't know!"
"You need to know, come on, you have to remember!" Dick cried. His terrified eyes met hers.
"Try the blue one! The blue one!"
He pressed it, but it only lurched her and dropped Veronica further down at a faster pace.
"Dick!" She screamed. Tears began to flow freely down her face, wet and salty.
Was this how she died?
"Shit!" He exclaimed, and ran a hand through his hair in frustration.
"Dick!" She sobbed, and looked down at her impending doom. "Oh my god," She choked out quietly. Her breaths escaped in tiny gasps and she choked on her tears. Her feet dangled only a few inches above the acid. Nononono. "Try the little lever on the panel! Try the lever!"
He nodded and flipped it up.
The girl stopped moving down.
A huge gasp of relief escaped her lips and sobs poured from her.
Slowly she rose up, and over to the platform Dick stood on.
As soon as she was within arm's reach the boy pulled out the golden 'R' from his chest plate and began to saw away at her ropes.
She dropped down, and into his hold. Her body collapsed against him.
Tears fell down her face and she wrapped her arms tighter around the boy, trying to make sure he was actually there, that she was actually alright.
Her breathing was still erratic. She tried to calm down her heart.
He held her, and brought her face up to meet his. He pressed his forehead against Veronica's and tucked a piece of her hair behind her ear. He could feel her heartbeat through her backside.
"You're safe, it's okay, you're safe, you're safe." He whispered, he could feel the girl nod against him.
Her legs felt weak, and her mind was hazy.
She was both tired yet more awake than ever.
They could hear the footfalls before Bruce and Selina ran into the room. They looked around desperately before their eyes landed on the two teens, and they sprinted towards them.
Selina grabbed the girl from Dick, and hugged her tightly in her embrace. "Oh, thank god you're okay, baby." She mumbled, her words muffled as she kissed Veronica repeatedly on the head and pulled her in tighter.
"Where is he?" Dick demanded as he stood, and he looked at Bruce. He wanted Harvey Dent to suffer for what he did. He wanted him to feel ten times the pain he had inflicted on Veronica and he wanted to be the one doing it.
Bruce shook his head and gave the boy an understanding look, but one which also spoke 'revenge won't help'. "We took care of him."
Dick let out a ragged breath as he attempted to control his anger, but then bit his lip and nodded. He sat back down by Veronica. "Okay. Good."
He glanced back at her then. His heart still ached at the fact that he had almost lost her.
The thought alone was unbearable.
The entire time he had to watch her on the screen in the Batcave, hung above that pit of acid while Bruce tried to come up with a way to save her without agreeing to Two Face's plan was excruciating. He never wanted it to happen again.
And he would damn well make sure it didn't.
— x —
She sat on the leather couch in Wayne Manor. Veronica had a soft blanket wrapped around her and she trembled ever so slightly. The skin on her ankle stung as Bruce gently placed a bandage over it. The girl took a sharp inhale of breath as he did so.
"It will never heal fully due to the type of acid it is, Veronica. Thankfully it's only a small wound." He explained as he packed up the First Aid kit and placed it on the table behind him.
She nodded her head and pulled her legs up, tucking them underneath her, wound side facing upwards.
"How did you find me?" She whimpered, her voice soft and quiet.
"We believe Two-Face only captured you to use as leverage against me. He had sent us a video of you over the pit, along with a deal we had to agree with if we wanted you back."
Veronica looked up at Bruce, her voice shaky as she spoke. "Was he really going to kill me?"
Bruce looked at the young girl in front of him, her face so fragile and delicate. He didn't want to tell her the truth. He knew it would break her like a porcelain plate being dropped against the ground, and he wouldn't put somebody through that type of torture. "We wouldn't have let him."
Veronica just shook her head ever so slightly, but she knew the true answer. Two-Face had every intention of killing her, and if Bruce hadn't come up with a plan when he did or didn't agree to his deal, he would've dropped her into that boiling pit, allowing the acid to eat away every last piece of flesh, blood and muscle on her bones until nothing remained.
The thought of it scared her more than anything before had.
She had been so close to death, yet, at the same time, so far.
"Get some rest, Veronica. You've been through a lot today." Bruce spoke softly. He laid her down on the couch and placed the blanket over her carefully.
She hummed in response, settling into the cushions as she drifted off into a troubled sleep filled with nightmares of what could have been.
The night would forever be stuck in her mind, plaguing her unmercifully, tormenting and corrupting every last piece of innocence she might've had left.
Bruce quietly walked out of the living room, the firewood crackling in the background as he sighed and looked at the young girl. He only felt sadness and guilt for what had happened to her.
Dick came bounding down the stairs then, hands in his pockets and a grave yet worried look on his face. "Is...is she okay?"
Bruce shook his head, "Something as scarring as that, Dick, I don't think she will be for quite some while." It was simply the truth, Bruce knew.
He'd witnessed his fair share of horrid things, and he knew well enough how you never could forget them. Even when you think you'd gotten over it, they come back, little fragments of memories inside your head, poking at you every waking moment. The pain associated with them might fade over time, but the memories themselves never would.
Dick slowly nodded and ran his hand along his face.
He wanted vengeance.
Two-Face and his association had ruined his life once already.
They'd nearly done it again.
The anger bubbled up inside him, and he didn't know how to control it. Bruce patted him on the shoulder, and met his gaze.
He saw that gleam in Dicks eyes.
He recognized it like his own.
He'd wanted to give Dick a better life, but he realized he'd failed. It had gone too far.
Bruce knew what he needed to do. But he didn't know if he could do it, didn't know if he had the strength too.
Perhaps only time could heal the wounds.
He walked up the staircase to his room.
Dick just stood in the doorway of the living room and watched as the girl he felt so deeply for tossed and turned in her sleep, face contorting into one of pain and sadness.
He knew then and there he would get revenge for her. Nobody got to do that to someone and get away with it.
He wasn't about to let them.