Chapter Text
“It’s all here. Just like the boss said.” Evan pulled the doors of the metal crate outward, allowing room for his associates to enter and surround the shrink wrapped pallets. “Enough PETN blasting caps to level a block. Wires, detonators. Take everything, boys.”
A particularly uneasy man, Trevor, whipped out his knife and started slicing at the shrink wrap.
“What are you doing?” Evan asked. Trevor stopped and looked up sheepishly.
“Getting the goods?”
“Use a pallet jack, you mook.” Evan chided. “Load it into our truck.” Evan walked away muttering “dumbass” under his breath. The others laughed at Trevor.
“Who still uses ‘mook’?” Trevor asked himself. “What does the boss want this stuff for anyway? Sell it?”
“Why don’t you ask him?” Chuckled Greg as he slid a red pallet jack into the first pallet. “You’ve only got a fifty percent chance of that going well.”
“All I’m saying is, drugs, guns, liquor, I get those. But bombs? That doesn’t feel a bit…terrorist to you guys?” Trevor said.
“Trevor, let me explain something to you.” Said Julio, a built man smoking a cigarette. “WE don’t get to ask questions. We’re not at that level. And our boss is…well sane isn’t quite the word. Rational, perhaps. He’s not a psycho like the Joker or mad scientist like Scarecrow. I worked for Mr. Freeze back in the day. That guy was a schemer. Our boss? He’s not gonna burn down the city or try to turn everyone into lizards or something. He’s got a goal. We don’t know that goal is. So that means if we get pinched, we can’t ruin the plan. Got it?”
Trevor stared at Julio for a moment. “Could you…not smoke around the bombs?”
“God, you’re dumb.” Julio sneered as Greg pulled the first pallet out of the crate.
“I don’t know, he seems like the smart one if you ask me.” A voice said out of nowhere. Julio drew his gun. Greg looked around, startled.
“Evan!” He cried. “We got company!”
Evan charged back, an angry look on his face. “No names on the job!” At that moment, a purple hooded figure slipped out of the shadows and kicked at Evan’s knee from the side. He collapsed and in one swift movement the figure kneed him in the jaw and punched the back of his head.
Julio aimed his gun but before he could fire it was knocked out of his hand by a red and silver object that flipped through the air like a knife. When it hit the ground, Trevor could see an “R” etched onto its side. Julio reached for the gun, only to have a man in a tight black suit with a sharp tipped domino mask grab Julio and slam him into the pallet.
Trevor started to run, but found himself on the ground as he tripped over a metal pole. No, not tripped. It was swung. Trevor looked up to see Mack and Alex, the real muscle, had gotten out of the back of their truck and were firing weapons behind him, at whoever had tripped them. He heard feet scuffling and Trevor rolled to the side, not wanting to get up in the hail of bullets.
The shooting stopped and Trever heard an electrical buzz. He looked up just in time to see a man with two stun batons, one each at Alex and Mack’s waist. They crumbled to the ground.
“I never get tired of that.” The man said. He turned to look at Trevor and started to walk over. Trevor got to his feet, seeing Mack rising up behind the man and taking the chance to bolt. Right before he turned his eyes to the truck he saw a girl with a streak of blue in her hair, wearing a blue domino mask jab a taser at Mack’s neck.
“You are getting too confident with those things.” She chided the man.
Trevor raced to the passenger side of the truck, preparing himself to open the door and hop in with a quickness. “Devin, get it started! We gotta get out of here! It’s the Gotham Knights!” He pulled open the door and to his horror saw a red headed, gothed up, leather bound girl with her feet and the platform shoes she was wearing up on the dashboard. She was fiddling with a knife in her hands. The Joker’s daughter. Devin was slumped over next her, unmoving.
“Between you and me, it’s a dumb name, right? Like I get we’re past the point of rebranding, but that doesn’t make it any less dumb, yeah?” She asked with a raised brow.
Trevor turned to run only to get tackled by a girl in goggles with a black and red outfit. She knocked him out with a punch.
“Oh Carrie, now I’ll never know his thoughts on the matter.”
Cullen Row raised his glass to clink everyone elses’.
“To another successful mission by the Gotham Knights!” He said gleefully.
“You want to say that a little louder?” His sister, Harper said, narrowing her eyes at him.
“It’s a karaoke bar!” He scoffed. “If you’re not singing, they’re not listening.”
“I wish I could not listen.” Duela said, sipping her drink and nodding at the bachelorette party currently murdering “Unholy” on the stage.
“I know we have an agreement with Apone and Commissioner Soto, but it has a LOT of conditions that they don’t know we break a lot.” Stephanie Brown chimed in.
Carrie Kelley nodded in agreement. “I just got my mom cool with me being Robin. Not looking forward to convincing the general public to be cool with it.”
“We still wear masks for a reason.” Brody March piped up.
“Well, not all of us. But I’m already infamous.” Duela reasoned. “Cleared names or not.”
Harper looked at her with both compassion and annoyance. “Everyone knows you’re not actually the Joker’s daughter.”
“Right, but now I’m Two-Face’s daughter so…” She pantomimed a scale trying to balance, a look of mischief in her eyes. But also sadness. Because it was true. She’d spent her entire life thinking she was the Joker’s daughter, only to find out it was a ploy on her mother’s part to protect her. Protect her by making her the most hated person in Gotham that no one would touch, for fear of upsetting the Joker, who had given the whole situation his blessing because he thought it was “funny”. Imagine the laugh he’d get out of the truth. That her real father was Harvey Dent, the former D.A. of Gotham who’d let his evil split personality take over an in effort to save her. He’d killed her mom, stole the bounty money she’d been paid for turning her own daughter over to the Court of Owls and used it to start his own criminal gang, The Doubles, who had been plaguing Gotham ever since. Every parental figure in Duela’s life had utterly failed her or betrayed her. Yeah. The Joker would get a real kick out of that joke. Especially the punchline. Turner.
“Oh! It’s my turn!” Carrie got up and headed over to the karaoke stage to pick her song.
“Five bucks says she picks someone who used to be on the Disney channel.” Duela offered.
“You’re on.” Brody said, slapping a five on the table. “Carrie’s pretty deep. She’ll surprise us with a deep cut.”
“Surprised you didn’t have to break a hundred, preppie.” Duela taunted.
“Surprised you only wore three belts tonight, goth.” He joked back. They chuckled and that turned into a full laugh when they noticed Steph and Harper’s discomfort. It probably surprised Duela more than anyone, but in the 6 months since defeating the Court, Brody had become like a brother to Duela. There were a lot of possible reasons. Other than Steph, he had known Turner best. But getting close to Steph…it hurt. It wasn’t her fault. But she was in the honeymoon phase with Harper. And Duela’s boyfriend…if she could even rightly call him a boyfriend, after all they’d barely had two days together…had been crushed under a building. So yeah, she didn’t NOT want Steph and Harper to be happy, but they were…a lot.
Brody though, hadn’t treated her with kid gloves or sympathy meals. He’d just told her stories about Turner. Stupid, embarrassing stories that bat brat would’ve HATED she knew. He played video games with her and they’d sit on the rooftops eating pizza and making fun of random people below. On paper they couldn’t have been more different. Brody was raised with wealth, both parents, and a private education. But on the other hand, his parents HAD been at the top of the Court of Owls pecking order, manipulating city politics and murdering people for decades, centuries in the case of Brody’s mother. So maybe that was the real bond. Even though it was new for Brody, they both knew what it was like to be the children of the villain in everyone’s story. They both knew the pain of a mother’s betrayal, even if they never talked about it.
“So guys, I want to revisit my code name.” Brody said.
“I told you Owlman was stupid.” Duela said. Cullen laughed. Brody held up his hands in surrender.
“Yeah, you were right. But I want it to be Court related. I want to do something good with the imagery my mom used for evil.”
“Maybe we could change all of our names. Like the name of the group.”
Steph sighed. “This again, Duela”
“I’m just asking you to picture it. We already have Owlman, Robin, and Bluebird. So how about…Birds of Prey?” She spread her hands wide. Harper looked over at Stephanie.
“I actually kind of like it.”
“But what are we preying on?” Cullen asked.
“When were we knighted?” Duela snapped back.
Brody rubbed his chin thoughtfully. “I don’t think good guys…prey.”
“We prey on bad guys!”
“We defend the city.” Stephanie said. “There’s a difference.”
“Felt like prey tonight.” Duela shrugged. “Poor Trevor. Never knew what hit him.”
“Did you pickpocket again?” Cullen asked.
“How dare you ask me that.” Duela said as she pulled out Trevor’s wallet from her bust, opened it, and put a five dollar bill on top of Brody’s. “Also, may I point out to the virtuous that we’re ALL using fake IDs?”
“You’re welcome.” Harper said before she turned to her brother. “Cullen, why did Apone put us on this instead of the GCPD?”
Desk Sergeant Apone had been a friendship Cullen had forged while pretending to be a cop during their fugitive era. While he had initially felt betrayed by the truth, Apone had been instrumental in clearing citizens away from Wayne tower and had told Cullen that he was more noble than most officers Apone knew. He’d been promoted to detective in the wake of the Owls incident and was their liaison with Commissioner Soto. The Talons had killed so many police that Soto had made a deal with the Knights to allow them to help keep the city safe while more police were trained and hired.
“He’s working off info from a new CI. Unproven.”
“So we were expendable?” Stephanie clarified. Duela rolled her eyes.
“We always were to Soto. Carrie’s the only one with a parent that would miss her.”
Harper kicked Duela under the table and shot her a glare.
“Sorry.” She said to Stephanie. Steph’s father, former Quiz Bowl host Arthur Brown, was in prison for assisting in fake prescriptions for her mother, who was very much an addict. Both had pretty much disowned her after she refused to turn over the Knights to Lincoln March, thereby ensuring her father would face charges. She, Harper, and Cullen shared an apartment now, close to the Narrows.
“Speaking of our Robin…” Steph nodded to the stage. Carrie had the microphone in hand and her song started. The moment the trumpets started, Brody swore and Duela laughed.
“It’s time for me to take it, I’m the boss right now. Not gonna fake it, not when you go down. Cause this is my game, and you’d better come to play.”
“Thank you, Miss Lovato!” Duela cheered as she grabbed the fives and shoved them in her bra.
“I used to hold my freak back, now I’m letting go. I make my own choice, yeah I run this show, so leave the lights on, No you can’t make me behave.” Carrie continued singing. Steph and Harper started snapping their fingers as she reached the chorus. “So you say I’m complicated…but you’ve had me underrated…What’s wrong with being? What’s wrong with being? What’s wrong with being confident? Uh huh! What’s wrong with being? What’s wrong with being? What’s wrong with being confident?” They cheered and snapped along as she finished Demi Lovato’s “Confident” and Cullen ran up to pick his song.
“You were great!” Steph beamed at Carrie.
“If I may suggest a wider pool of artist…” Brody began and the others booed him playfully. Cullen’s music started and he gripped the microphone in its stand.
“B-b-be careful making wishes in the dark. Can’t be sure when they’ve hit their mark. And besides in the mean, mean time I’m just dreaming of tearin’ you apart.”
Duela cheered as Cullen kept singing “My Songs Know What You Did In The Dark” by Fallout Boy.
“I’m in the de-details with the devil. So now the world can never get me on my level. I just gotta get you off the cage, I’m a young lover’s rage, Gonna need a spark to ignite.” For the chorus he pulled the microphone out and started dancing around. “My songs know what you did in the dark. So light em up, up, up, light em up, up, up, light em up, up, up, I’m on fire!”
Most of the club knew the song and sang along with Cullen. He caught the eye of a guy with dark hair at the bar as he sang the second verse and winked. “A constellation of tears on your lashes, I’ll burn everything you love and burn the ashes, in the end everything collides , my childhood spat back out the monster that you see. My songs know what you did in the dark!”
The interaction didn’t go unnoticed by Duela, who hoped Cullen would follow up on it. If he didn’t she’d make him. It was still a new feeling to have friends. Not associates or marks. To actually have people whose happiness she mostly cared about. And who cared about hers. Even if it took Turner’s faith in her to show them that. Her heart twinged at the thought of him and she put her mind back on the music as Cullen finished up and switched places with his sister and Steph.
“How sappy is this gonna be?” Duela asked. Cullen paused uncomfortably and Brody changed the subject.
“So this new CI of Apone’s? Do you think he can get us closer to the Doubles leader?”
“Oh who’s that?” Duela asked mock innocently. Brody knew better than to tip toe around the issue of her father.
“To Harvey.” Brody said. Duela did appreciate, however, that Brody was the only one who never called her father by his new moniker: Two-Face. Even though it was far closer to the truth. Two-Face had been in the driver’s seat with her mom. Even when Duela thought she was free from being the spawn of evil, it had still been true. And then, according to the GCPD, Two Face had killed her mother. Jane Doe had been manipulative, opportunistic, and sold her AND Turner to the Court. She was a bad person. She deserved it. But she was still Duela’s mom. And she still missed her, or at least the idea that she was alive somewhere out there.
“I don’t know. Honestly. But we won’t give up.” Cullen put a hand on Duela’s shoulder. “We’ll find him.” Duela nodded, but internally she wasn’t sure if she wanted to find him. She had made a promise to Harvey Dent. That she’d bring him back. Reach him and stuff Two-Face back in the mental closet. But she didn’t think she could do that. That was a failure she didn’t want to face.
Steph and Harper took opposite ends of the stage as their music began. They sang in duet at first: (Song: Cigarettes and Feelings by The Haunt)
“Afterglow, sitting in the park bench, High with you, waiting for the sun to smile on everyone, cigarettes and feelings keep me…”
Now Steph sung the next part while twirling Harper and leaning close to her ear. “There’s something in the air. You’ve got your hand on my chest. I love the way you spin your hair, yeah I think it’s the best. I lose my mind when you whisper sweet nothings.”
Harper playfully pulled at the neck of Steph’s shirt and slid a finger across her lips as she sang the next part. “Your velvet turtleneck, falling apart at the seam, my favorite thing about you, you always say what you mean. I love the way I light up when you call me.” They drew close to each other and whispered into the microphones.
“One, two, three, I’m caught in the middle.” As they sang the chorus there were cheers of appreciation and possibly a few howls from some boys at the bar that had had a bit too much to drink.
“Afterglow, sitting on the park bench. High with you, waiting for the sun to smile on everyone. Cigarettes and feelings got me, laughing when everything is all fucked up, I see rainbows when I think of us, it’s all a dream…cigarettes and feelings, you and me!” The two laughed and spun each other, separating again for the second verse, which Steph started.
“You got me stumbling. You never give me a break. I know one day this thing will kill me. You’re my favorite mistake.”
Duela couldn’t help it. The words sent her back to that car. Back to praying Turner would come running out and seeing the building tumble down instead. She missed the rest of Steph’s verse and heard Harper starting hers.
“I know you see me there, you’re always playing this game. You’ve got me breathless, got me begging you to drive me insane. I always fall for the things that will hurt me.”
Duela’s vision blurred as she fought the tears welling up. No! Not here! She was not going to do this! She was not going to feel that dagger in her chest again, that white hot pain, while everyone was having fun. Brody opened his mouth to make a joke and seemed to think better of it. He simply laid his hand on Duela’s while she let a few tears drop into her lap, angling her head so her makeup wouldn’t run. Stephanie and Harper got through the entire song before noticing something was up with her right at the end. They approached the table concerned.
“Duela? Did we-“
“I’m fine.” She interrupted Stephanie and rose from the table. “Psyching myself up for my turn, that’s it. Get ready to be rock rapped by a fashionista.” She approached the stage and didn’t even bother to look through the song selection, instead plugging her phone right into the player. She knew her song well and she also knew it probably wasn’t in the catalog.
(Song: “You Love it” by Sophie Powers)
Duela grabbed the mic and faced the wall to turn dramatically as the song started.
“I’m a sinner. Certified head spinner. Breadwinner. Want a star? I’m a dead ringer. Hard hitter, never play and they’re all bitter. Go getter, disappear in the gold glitter.” Duela threw a handful of glitter in the air as she continued. “Be careful don’t lose focus. Just lean into the motions. Can you keep up, cause I’m not slowing down.”
“Whooo! Duela!” Harper cheered. Duela moved seductively as she sang the chorus, dipping down as she moved her waist to one side and running her free hand up her body as she rose again.
“Yeah my miniskirts cropped, and I know that it’s hot. And he thinks he played me? Yeah I used him for rocks. All these girls wannabes and they doin’ a lot. I know what you want. You love it.” Duela puffed her chest out and caught the eye of a guy at another table. He was covered in tats, wore leather and chains, and had gauges in his ears. She winked at him. “With my As laced up, imma make ‘em go dumb. Got his heart in my hand. One look could make it pump. Can’t disguise, you got lemons in your eyes. Don’t front. I know what you want. You love it!”
Duela pantomimed beating a heart in her hand as the bar whooped and hollered and her friends cheered. She noticed Harper pulling Steph in for a kiss. No. Focus on the song, Due.
“You should dead it. Try it but you can’t get it. Girls copy, girls paste, but I won’t edit. Got your guy hypnotized when I speak and you, so jealous, you bleed money green relish.” Duela pointed the guy out again, but her eyes dipped over to Steph and Harper embracing. She tried to ignore it. “Can’t blame em’ it feels right. And I stay lookin real nice. Just move how I want, how I feel like. For you it’s a dream, for me this is real life.”
She launched into the chorus again, but she’d lost a step. Her eyes kept darting to Steph and Harper and their perfect little love story. Their arms were around each other now. And over by the bar, Cullen was flirting with the guy from earlier. They touched hands.
“Used him…for rocks. All these girls wannabes, and they doin a lot.” She remembered what that felt like. To touch Turner. To have Turner’s arms around her. Their mouths greedily gasping against each other. His skin warm to the touch.
“Got his heart in my hand, one look can make it pump.” The tears were coming again. As was the yawning abyss that always followed. No. She would not do it here. No!
“I know what you want! You love it!” She dropped the mic and snatched up her phone, ending the song early. “And I want you!” She grabbed her drink and finished it in one gulp. “Ciao, friends!” She sauntered over to the guy at the other table. “You coming?”
“Hell yes!” He said, getting up so quickly he nearly knocked his chair over. Duela marched him out the door at speed, calling over her shoulder “Don’t come back to the clock tower tonight, Brody!”
“Again?” Brody said, looking bummed.
“That wasn’t our- She’s okay, right?” Harper said guiltily. Steph squeezed her hand.
“She left her purse.” Carrie said. “And Trevor’s wallet. And like…three other wallets.”
Duela shoved open the clock tower door and pushed the guy inside. He’d barely regained his balance when she was on him, lips attacking his angrily. He tried to say something, but she shushed him and started to pull his jacket off.
“Alright.” He smiled, shrugging it off and pulling his shirt off as well, revealing more tattoos. She pulled him in for another kiss and let him take her jacket off too. Underneath she was not wearing a shirt, but a black laced bra and a red corset circled by leather belts. They both removed the belts and she swung her arms around him and started nibbling on his neck as he fumbled with the corset strings. And fumbled. And fumbled. She finally started laughing and went to work on the laces herself.
“Hey, I don’t own like a…you know.”
“It’s fine.” She giggled. She pulled the corset away and heard a hitch in his breathing at the sight. A girl did love to feel admired. She pushed him against the wall and continued to kiss him as they ran their fingers through each other’s hair. She pushed his shoulders down, sliding him to the floor. She straddled him and unlooped his belt.
“So before we get the show started, what’s your name?”
“Hayes.” He said, grinning. The name stopped Duela cold.
“That’s not funny. Did someone put you up to this?” She could feel her heart
“What? It’s my freaking name. You put me up to this!”
“You expect me to believe your name just happens to be Hayes?! What’s your last name? Turner?”
“What is going on here?” Hayes said confused. “Are we doing this or what?”
Duela got off of him and gathered up his shirt and jacket, tossing them at him. She was trying to slow her breathing. “You have to leave.”
“Seriously? You wanted this!”
“Just please go.” She said softly.
“What’s the deal? Because of my name?”
“Because I said so. Now go.” She pointed to the door.
“My friends were right. You are nuts. Hot, but nuts.” He started to move toward the door, being herded by Duela.
Duela pulled her switchblade from her pocket and flicked the blade out. “I need you to LEAVE. NOW!”
Hayes started out the door, then cracked it back open. “I’m just trying to understand why you’re suddenly-“
“GET THE HELL OUT!” Duela screamed as she whipped the blade at him. He shut the door and it stuck into the wood.
“Fine! Psycho!”
Duela heard his footsteps recede. She tried to catch her breath and compose herself. She failed. She collapsed to the floor and sobs started coming. The tears she held in were now flowing freely.
(Song insert: “Ghost” cover by Kayla King.)
It was stupid. She’d been with Turner Hayes for two days. Two nights and a day, really. Yes, they covered, uh, a LOT of ground that first night. Many times. But she also knew that was an excuse she told herself. He’d had a piece of her heart since the night she left all of them for dead…and he still showed up and risked his life to save her from the Talon. And she first knew she loved him when he was captured by the Court during their undercover mission. That hammering in her heart, that driving panic in her brain to do SOMETHING, even if it cost her shriveled, transactional heart everything. What else could that be? Hell, the very next day after they got together she had introduced him to her MOM.
Duela had always thought love was for suckers who couldn’t handle themselves. And then in the space of a few months, she’d found it. When Turner trusted her to not blow up the city. When he’d whispered their special words to her: “Not Offended”. When Harvey trusted her to save him. And then she’d lost it all, even quicker. She could still see the elevator closing. Turner going back for the journals. The journals of the goddamn Batman.
What an idiot. What a stupid, foolish way to die and leave her. For some books. She wanted to hate him. For choosing Bruce Wayne over her. For showing her love and then just letting it go. She hated that foolish boy for letting her feel this, for doing this to her, for hurting her this way! She was Duela Doe, the most dangerous girl in Gotham!
Except she didn’t. She loved him. And she’d never let go of this gnawing, endless pain. Because it and the Knights were all she had left of him. The grief was both unbearable and precious to her. She let it wash over her, the only way she could feel his embrace. The happy memories always lead back to the sad ones. She wouldn’t let either go as she mourned, as much right now as the day she lost him. She eventually tired herself out and drifted off to sleep, her last thought before losing consciousness on the floor: If only you were out there, Turner. Somewhere.