Darkside. [Gotham Drabble]

!!TW: Mentions of blood, suicide and murder... Abuse, too? I think that's it...
Inspired by this song: Darkside by Neoni

He hears the familiar laughter echoing through the hallways and it seems to reverberate against the concrete thanks to how empty it is. He knows it's her and that scares him even more than it already should. Fear isn't supposed to be a thing he processes, let alone registers. There's just something about her though that's so incredibly unhinged that he just can't ever let his guard down with her. Considering he never actually lets his guard down, there are times at least when his mind is at ease because he knows what to expect. Even trying to predict the unpredictable doesn't work with her.

It's as though she's always ten steps ahead.

"Bat for brains," her laughter shakes the hallway around him again, louder this time which signifies that he's a lot closer to her now, "Are you here for the show? You missed the previews but I guess I could say you've made it to the main attraction."

He stops at the doorway and there's a sharp hint of iron that crosses his nose. He can't see her in the dark but, soon, there's a click and a bulb hanging in the middle of the room lights everything in a low yellow glow. The bulb is on the verge of going out but it's more than enough to understand just what that scent is.

There's blood everywhere.

More than that, she's seated on top of the bodies, clothes dusted with the splatter of red. Her hands are doused in crimson and so is the blade she's holding. She's hugging one of her knees to her chest, her other leg dangling over the mountain of bodies. She brings one of her hands up, fingers curling in front of her lips and smearing red over the lower half of her face.

"I was getting worried you'd never show up," she coos and it's a sickly sweet sound, one that immediately ignites his fight or flight instinct.

"Ail-- Ace, what did you do," he questions, only taking a couple of steps closer. He's already got blood on the bottom of his boot now.

"I tell you a lot but I wonder if you ever listen to me," her tone loses warmth that fast and it's cold enough to send a chill not just down his spine but he feels cold in his chest now as well, "I try to let you in, to understand. You always talk about wanting to help me but don't ever realize that you're part of the problem. Or maybe you do and you just refuse to admit it to me. It's unfair."

He inhales deeply and his grey eyes scan her, wondering if he's supposed to be doing something in this instant. Neither of his parents nor his grandfather prepared him for someone like her. He'd always been good at keeping his head on straight, completely calm and collected. She'd piqued his interest back in prep school. He'd hate to admit it but he found himself obsessed with her almost immediately. The woman in front of him seemed like a completely different person though from what he remembered of her back in their school days. To say she was a shell of herself wasn't correct. She wasn't a shell but more like a good girl gone bad, to put it simply.

"I've been trying to decide what to do to everyone that's made me nothing more than a doormat for them over the past... well, long enough, I'd say," she climbs down from the bodies and walks over to him, her blade immediately pressing to the chest of his suit as she whispers to him, "Does daddy know you're playing dress up in his clothes again?"

He isn't jolted by her actions or words, trying to keep his eyes on her and not focus on the faces of those she'd made a throne out of, "You don't realize how much help you need, do you?"

"Help? You mean to be heavily medicated and babysat by a bunch of so-called doctors with their clipboards and tape recorders," she laughs and wraps an arm around his waist, pulling him close to her and keeping him there, "If that worked, I really don't think we'd be where we are now, would we? Besides, it's always better to just get it off your chest directly, don't you think?"

She pauses and shakes her head, "Actually, don't answer that. I already know. I've experienced it firsthand. You'd rather not say a word because nothing at all bothers you, right, man of steel? No emotions, no thoughts but to get your targets and move on to the next one, right?"

His brows draw together behind his mask but their gazes remain connected.

She smiles at him and cups his cheek, "I hope you can get blood out of your suit, hot stuff. I'm sure it's... water resistant, right?"

"This isn't right. This isn't like you..."

"Once you've figured out what's like me, like a really good profile, please, let me know. I can't seem to get my finger on it. I think I've figured it out and then, suddenly, I've got another villain origin story. Call it a generational curse, I guess. Mommy couldn't get me but so far from her and daddy's demons."

"You're a kind girl, not a killer. You make jokes and play pranks to lighten the mood. You work hard without asking for any reward. You don't think twice about helping someone else..."

She looks at him curiously, brows pulled tightly together as she tilts her head, "Are you talking about me?"

"I am," he says firmly, sure of his words, holding her tightly to him this time with both arms secured around her waist.

"You must believe that if you're comfortable with me being this close with a knife in my hand and all the dead bodies behind me," she laughs and then coos at him, "There's a reason people fall for heroes, isn't it?"

"I want you back. The you I've always loved."

"Ooh, now, those are dangerous words. You shouldn't declare love to someone who might literally cut your heart out if you promise it to her."

"You're more stable than that. I know you overthink things, even killing someone."

"I'd say you become someone different when you put on your best suit for me, but you're always like this when we're alone," she tries to step back but he doesn't let her, "What are you-?"

"You killed the person who did this, didn't you?"

Her body stiffens and she stares at him, seemingly emotionless. He's learned to read her. She's got her mother's knack for masking their emotions when they want to.

"Don't act like I'm not capable of doing this. I--"

"--You did not kill these people. That last body on top is the one behind all this and there's someone you know in that pile, isn't it? You make it out as though you're unstable but you wouldn't kill someone without a reason."

"We all have a dark side, Da--- Bats. Maybe you're just finally getting a glimpse of mine for the first time," she says, pressing the tip of the blade against his chin.

He doesn't flinch. He won't deny that he questioned if she actually killed all of these people but the blood on the floor is sticky, closer to dry. The blood on her hands and clothes and on the blade is fresh. 

"I killed all of them. No one I care for is in that pile," she corrects, looking over her shoulder at the dead bodies and then looking at him again, "You should have gone with your first instinct... but, even in a situation like this, we know each other too well. I did do it out of protection."

He holds her tighter and she looks at him, his gaze on the bodies, scanning them more intently now. Pieces are starting to fall into place.

"It's a chemical."

"What," she asks, brows drawing together again as his eyes finally meet hers again.

"That's why the blood on the floor is like this... It's going to make their times of death appear earlier than it was."

"Don't overshoot it, smartass."

"Well, there's a huge number of possibilities but only a few of them that would fit something you would do."

"Can you not be a know-it-all for once? Just take me to the GCPD already," she groaned.

"I asked you what you did."

"They killed themselves... a chemical compound that gave me control of their minds," she looks away, sighing, "I dragged the bodies here as I waited for the last one. Had you come a little earlier, you would've seen me get the last one."

"Are you going to try to stab me if I try to turn you in?"

"Go ahead. You can't prove anything anyway. Besides, I'm not the only one that wanted them dead."

"What do you mean?"

"You know who they are, don't you? You've been following me and studying the case, like always. Put the pieces together."

"Why does it seem like you're always going after your fellow scientists?"

"My fellow-- If they were my peers, they would be trying to help humanity, not trying to make puppets out of them for their own selfish gain. These s don't deserve to consider themselves on the same plane as me or my actual fellow scientists. I was made out to be a criminal by convenience for my intelligence and my credentials. It's ironic I'd get a whole villain backstory out of it, isn't it?"

"Ailee," he whispers, sighing and preparing to say more but he hears GCPD coming down the hallway just outside of the room.

Ailee holds onto him tighter, dropping the blade onto the ground. Concern riddles his features as he cups the back of her head and cradles it. As the cops enter the room, she hides her face against him before raising it as the officers order her to take a step away. There are actual tears in her eyes and Damian is astounded at the sudden change.

"Batman came just in time. I had to protect myself," she cries out brokenly, "They started fighting amongst themselves and started killing one another. When one of them started coming after me, I just... I couldn't help myself. I didn't know what to do..."

A couple of the officers looked at Batman in his suit, the other officers busy with their various tasks, such as examining the crime scene and calling for the necessary services to remove the bodies and to collect the lab equipment as evidence. Damian's a lot like his father in that he doesn't like lying unless he really has to. It seems this wasn't a situation where he had a choice. He gives the officers a single nod, not bothering with trying to get out any words. When an officer tries to pry Ailee away from him, she refuses. Maybe she's more unstable than he thinks.

"It... My apologies, officer. It seems she's not comfortable with anyone at the moment. I'll bring her to the precinct myself," he assured the uniformed woman, letting Ailee hold onto him. 

Tucking her under his cape, Damian starts making his way out of the building with her to the Batmobile. Once she's inside, he hops into the driver's seat and speeds off.

"Just wait," she speaks up and her voice, to his surprise, is still broken, "Just you wait, when their names hit the papers tomorrow, it'll be thought of as a favor to the city. They won't be missed for long, if at all... even by their families..."

"Ailee... what exactly did they do to you?"

"Put a chip in my neck that made me kill people..."

"Chip...? The venom chip?"

She looks down at her hands, they're shaking now, "I was the only successful subject. They wouldn't let me live in peace if I let them live. The chemical compound that killed them wasn't one I created. It was theirs."

She says nothing else and neither does he as they head to the pricinct. She knows that, even though Jay and Nikko helped Damian get the chip out of her, there's still venom in her system. She just knows it, even if it has yet to flare up. They wanted to activate it because they knew it. She's already seen glimpses into her own shadows and monsters and she's tasted how the venom escalates it. Swallowing her thoughts, she allows herself to collapse from exhaustion as Damian drives on.