uncomfortable encounters [CLOSED]

[Deleted]

The letter crumpled up in her tight fists, she allowed it to drop to the ground unceremoniously. She had read it so many times she memorized it, though was struggling with what choice to follow up with. He wanted to meet with her, prepared to follow out whatever scheme the Joker was blindly leading him into. She had the day off for Jule’s funeral, though Barbara couldn’t bring herself to actually go. Guilt haunted her and the scene replayed in her head constantly. It was her fault that Jules was murdered; she had strayed from Bruce’s code of doing things and now was suffering the horrible consequences.

Dressed simply, she furiously threw her Batgirl costume to the other side of the room. She had spent the entire day beating herself up over what had happened and now she was expected to face her best friends’ killer. Barbara wondered what would happen if she simply didn’t show up, but assumed that he would come to her seeing as he knew where she lived. Unwilling to get her father involved, the redhead felt as though she had no choice. Curious as to what he wanted with her and determined to at least get one painful punch in the face in during the encounter, Barbara left the comfort of the Gordon’s empty apartment bravely with time to spare before her unwanted meeting.

Leaving the mask behind was extremely uncomfortable and made her feel incredibly exposed, though Batgirl wasn’t who they wanted. Feeling undeniably like a lamb walking to the slaughter, her expression was completely blank as she started toward the location that had been mentioned in the eerie letter. Constantly checking over her should to make sure she wasn’t being followed; Barbara decided to walk to her location, fully aware of the distance. She had left with plenty of time to spare, giving her the opportunity to clear her thoughts before she basically surrendered herself to whatever events were to succumb.

The redhead felt defeated, though wouldn’t stand to have more of her love ones knocked off one by one until she submitted. Furious, she reached her destination in record time. Her hands were clenched into tight fists and her cheeks were as red as her vivid hair. Barbara wasn’t sure what was going to happen when she laid eyes on her friend’s murderer for the second time, but she knew she wasn’t going to let him forget it.

Approaching the door of the notorious bar, she was somewhat surprised when she was not instantly carded. It appeared that they didn’t exactly care that she was only nineteen and she didn’t want to waste the time pulling out her fake. Her eyes narrowed when she spotted the man and the remainder of his henchmen, completely forgetting that one was currently sitting in a jail cell thanks to her efforts. Heated, she started toward the man who had murdered her friend raising her hand to issue a painful slap upside the man’s face. “You wanted to see me?”

outfit: clickkk

[Deleted]

"The girl is brave," Rhino commented.

"Or determined," replied Mugsy

Charles Daley, aka Rhino, was once a linebacker in the professional football league, but like so many players, he was not able to make it as a successful pro in the NFL.  Easily standing over 6'7 and with a weight above 300 lbs, Rhino was the largest man in the dive bar by far.

Mugsy himself was a tall man, standing around 6'1, but standing next to Rhino many would consider him small.  Mugsy was a very normal looking man, someone who would not stand out of a crowd if you tried to point him out.  Mugsy studied young Barbara Gordon.  There was something more to this girl, she couldn't have been older then 19 but yet here she was in one of the largest saloons in Gotham City, approaching a known felon and sadistic murderer  in the Ventriloquist with no fear or so it would appear.  Either, James Gordon had managed to raise a very strong girl or there was something else.

"Keep an eye on the boss will you Rhino?  I am going to watch the back door."  Mugsy elbowed his partner before moving towards the bar.  Mugsy was armed with a lethal pistol, one he knew how to use with decent accuracy.




"Sure thing Mugs," Rhino responded, following Barbara Gordon as she walked straight up to her target.

The Ventriloquist had been sitting at a circular red booth towards the rear of the club.  Sitting alone, Wesker was sipping on a red liquid refreshment.  It adjusted the spectacles on the bridge of the nose before seeing Barbara approach Them.

"Aaaaaaaa!" Arnold Wesker flinched and ducked back when Barbara raised her hand in a slapping motion, down upon It.  However, Barbara was unable to complete the slap because her wrist had been caught by the large Rhino.

"Heeeeeee."  Wesker replied, fixing the glasses that nearly fell from the bridge of the nose.  Adjusting the poko-dot bow tie on a grey tweed suit, Ventriloquist brought up the Scarface mannequin to join the conversation.

"WE wanted to see ye.  Name's Scarface, Ah' don't think we've 'geen properly introduced.  This is my gang.  The 'gig man behind ye is Rhino, and the thing sitting here is called the Dummy."

Rhino smiled before pulling her wrist down behind her waist and using his strength to take her other wrist and place them side by side each other.  The man's strength were serving as human handcuffs for the young girl.

Bonny lass, pretty lass, wilt thou be mine?

Thou shall not wash dishes,

Nor yet serve the swine;

Thou shalt sit on a cushion, and sew a fine seam,

And thou shalt eat strawberries, sugar, and cream!

The Ventriloquist chimed smiling behind Scarface.  Rhino looked a bit disturbed by the nursery rhyme directed at Barbara.

"Shuddaup!!"  Scarface exclaimed as the Ventriloquist brought the mannequin's arm to complete the slap that Barbara intended to throw in the first place, causing the Ventriloquist to cower back and hide underneath the table.  Scarface turned back to Barbara, with open arms.

"Listen what happened with yer friend was an accident, the Dummy got carried away.  What's da chances that you and I can make peace and let g'ygones ge gygones' (bygones be bygones)?"

[Deleted]

Anger bubbled up inside the redhead as she started toward the Ventriloquist practically fuming. It was his fault that her closest friend had ended up brutally murdered on the campus cobblestones. Unable to take the time to actually grieve, the young heroine prepared to get all of her wasted emotion out during this encounter by providing him with as much pain as he had left her with. However, his massive henchmen managed to beat her to the punch – literally. Catching her flying fist, his hand made hers disappear it was so much larger in size. This man literally towered over her, nearly tripling her in size. Barbara was convinced he could lift her over his head if he desired.

“Unhand me this instant.” She spat, struggling against him despite how pointless her efforts were. Using her free hand she attempted to elbow him sharply in the chest. “Ahh!” She groaned as he forced her wrist behind her back which was quickly followed by the other and forcing her chest out. Holding her tightly in place, he prohibited her from attacking him yet. She was half tempted to push off of them and send a forceful kick in the direction of the table. She would have loved to see the contents of the table shift and hit the sadistic pair in the face. Barbara considered her option at this point, noting all the possible exits and different attempts she could use if needed. The teen blew off the introduction completely, not bothering to offer her name when everyone within the group was well aware of whom she was.

She scowled at the man behind the puppet, her glare fixed on him as he recited. Barbara scoffed, clearly disgusted at the pure words of the poem, but couldn’t help deny how creepy the text came across. There as something clearly wrong with this sick group, but Barbara wasn’t keen on figuring out why. It seemed as though the puppet was the only one making any actual sense, but his sentiment just seemed to anger her more than anything. She was surprised, however, that the other inhabitants of the bar didn’t seem disturbed by this little scene. Then again, a majority of them were just as notorious as the man before her. Barbara noticed some familiar faces she had encountered from behind her mask and was for once that night relieved that she had left her double life at home for the night.

She alternated her glare from the puppet to the man supposedly controlling it. Unsure of where to direct the majority of her anger, she simply shared it between the two. “You murdered my best friend. My father said it was no accident. You fired at her so many times that she wasn't even recognizable when they got there” She finally managed her voice slightly hoarse. “And then, you threaten to hurt my father if I don’t meet up with you. The last thing I ever want to do is make peace with you and the second your mindless henchmen lets me go, I am going to black all four of your eyes to the point where you see stars.” She chose the opportunity to kick the table threateningly, spilling several of the drinks and platters of food.

outfit: clickkk

[Deleted]

The other patrons of the club pretended to not notice the scene in the back.  Charles 'Rhino' Daley was easily the toughest and largest man here, making him the bully that you don't mess with.  Rhino served Scarface, who in turn was the one calling the shots in the bar tonight.  Despite the fact that the Ventriloquist had fallen on tough times recently was rebuilding It's power base, It was still the most infamous Client at the Stacked Deck this evening.

The Ventriloquist lifted the Scarface mannequin the air like protecting a baby from a splash of water, right as Barbara was kicking the table.  The table nearly toppled over.  There was a swish of beer that fell from the giant mug that had foamed at the edge of the table.  The beer in turn had splashed on the pants of the Ventriloquist, Arnold Wesker, making it look like the creature had urinated in It's pants. 

The Ventriloquist scowled, but still sat in It's seat, obviously not pleased.  Scarface chucked, at the Ventriloquist's unfortunate messiness. 

"Heh.  Good shot.  Ah' understand yer frustration toots, 'gut here me out.  We obviously won't hurt yer father if he has the decency to step down from his position as the chief of  police.  All he has to do is step  down.  Think a'gout it.  Yer father is out of the lime light, criminals like myself stopped gunning for him.  A simple life, one where he is going to live in peace.  The old man won't step down on his own, he's to stubborn for that.  'Gut you can help him!  Help him make the decision to put himself out of danger, capiche?  Why don't we step into one of the back rooms, and discuss his privately." 

Scarface sat back down at the table, as the Ventriloquist lit a cigar for both of them to smoke.  Rhino continued to hold onto Barbara. 

"If ye don't comply or at least listen to us, Ah'll feed ye here to the dummy." 

Wesker smiled.

"Heee."

[Deleted]

Barbara smirked deviously as the mess she had created. This was only the beginning of her rampage, but it made a pretty prominent point none the less. She watched the mix of liquids drip down the sides of the table. She didn’t care how much she had aggravated the pair, pleased with her own actions. Feeling a little better as her rage slightly settled, the fire only rekindled as Scarface opened his mouth to speak once more. She wanted to interrupt within the first several seconds, but refrained with a great deal of control. Barbara would have her opportunity to speak in a moment.

“My father is amazing at what he does. Just because a band of crooked criminals think that he should resign doesn’t mean that he should. He’s not going to back down no matter what you or anyone does. And why should he? He’s done a pretty good job of having creeps like you locked away for good. Your are dumber than you look if you think I’m not going to prevent that.” She insisted stubbornly, taking the opportunity to attempt to break free of Rhino’s tight grasp. She was weary at the idea of going into a private room, but she refused to look weak. Behind closed doors only multiplied the great deal of possibilities that could happen to her.

“I think I can handle him.” She said with disgust with a roll of her eyes. “But fine, you lead the way.” Barbara answered coolly, unsure of what exactly he was playing at. The redhead was unyielding to meet any demands, especially those that regarded her father. Why would she convince him to leave the position that he thrived in? There had to be some kind of point or threat to follow, and she waited very impatiently to see what that was going to be.


outfit: clickkk

[Deleted]

It was obvious the girl was not going to comply.  She has proven to be just as stubborn as her old man.  Yet, their was a fire to her which helped her stand up to criminals such as the Ventrilouist.  One would be wonder how she would stand against someone who was higher on the threat able or one who had much more personal power such as a Killer Croc, Penguin, Bane, or even a Lex Luthor. 

Wanting to take her to the private room had more to do then just that, obtaining privacy and not wanting any un-wantd eyes or ears listening in on the conversation at hand.  Information is a key to playing the criminal game, especially one as psychological in Gotham.  Scarface motioned for Rhino to escort the young girl into one of the back rooms that had been rented out to the gang.  Standing up from the table, the Ventriloquist carried Scarface from the booth to the first set of doors on the right, following them was Barbara with big Rhino right behind her.

"Yer father is good at what he does muffin, there is no doug't agout that

Scarface mentioned as they were walking down the hallway.  At the end of the hall was a black door which was opened already for the Ventrilouist and Scarface.  Walking in, Barbara noticed a poker table, three wooden chairs, a few crates on the left side, and a back door.  Standing in front of the poker table was Mugsy with a glock 17 pistol, pointed straight at Barbara as she walked in.

"Ah' can't be responis'gle for what happens to Jim Gordon in the coming months."

Turning around, the Ventriolquist's expression suddenly changed, It's eyes were wide and psychotic and It was drooling webbed saliva in between It's teeth when it spoke.  "You mean, WE can't be responsible Mister Scarface.  Rhino, bind the girl up and we'll give a call to the Joker telling the clown that we have Barbara Gordon in our possession.  Heeeeeeeee."

Rhino seemed abit hesistant, "What's going to happen to the kid Mister Scarface? I mean, you won't let the dummy get his hands on her, will ya boss?" Asked Rhino.

"Shuddaup ye idiot!  Yer not hired to think, yer're here to act as the muscle."

Mugsy seemed more comfortable with the idea of having the Ventriloquist be the girls keeper as the good stoically stood there, pointing the gun on Barbara in case she made a move.  Rhino simply shrugged, taking out some rope he held it around Barbara.

"Sorry kid, you heard the boss."

[Deleted]

Jaw clenched, she followed reluctantly to the private room. Babs couldn’t remember ever being on this side of town before, at least not unless she was in her skin-tight costume and hidden behind her mask. As she always did when entering a room in an uncomfortable situation, she looked around the room and examined any potential entrances and exits that might come in handy later. “Then maybe you lot should leave him alone and let him do it.” She said with obvious distain for the puppet. As she turned in the doorway, her eyes locked on the unfortunate end of a gun, causing her eyes to narrow. She glared at its holder, though she knew he was not prepared to shoot her at the moment, but only to insure that she behaved. “Is a nineteen year old girl really that threatening that to you that you needed to hold me at gun point?” Well, maybe not a typical nineteen year old, but one who was formally trained in martial arts and various other combative forms

However, it was Scarface’s sentence that managed to distract her from the gun issue. Whirling around, she spoke through gritted teeth, her hands curled into tight fists. “What do you mean? Leave my father alone.” She hissed threateningly. The redhead nearly jumped as the typically silent,¬puppet master himself spoke up. “Wait! She practically shouted. “Don’t touch me,” She said dangerously in the large man’s direction. “This wasn’t the deal. You said you wanted to talk to me and if I came you wouldn’t hurt my father.” While she half-expected to be restrained the moment they were out of eyesight, this encounter wasn’t going as arranged.

With the possibility of being shot, there was little she could do at the moment without giving away too much of her skill. Escaping out of the ropes would be easy when the time came, and she hardly doubted that Rhino could secure a proper knot that would leave her completely helpless. Even at the young age of nineteen Barbara had spent her fair share of experiences escaping from villains; this group didn’t seem to be much different than others. The gun followed her every move, but that didn’t stop her from squirming. If he was going to try and restrain her, she wasn’t going to make it easy on him. “Just tell me what it is you even want from me.” She said angrily,

outfit: clickkk

[Deleted]

"What do we want?! Can I tell her Mister Scarface?  Can I show her?" 

"Go ahead.  She ain't gonna co-op-erate."  Scarface stated blankly, removing the cigarette from his mouth with help from Wesker.

"Heeeee!"  Wesker chimed with merry glee as It danced over to the nearby chest.

After Rhino binded Barbara with the ropes he walked around the Ventriloquist and behind Mugsy towards the rear of the room.  The large henchmen covered the back exit.  Mugsy still had his gun focused on Barbara Gordon, and took a few steps closer to her.  Now, Mugsy was standing roughly five and a half feet away from the teenager. 

Shifting through the chest, Arnold Wesker eventually removed an empty clear jar.  Inside the jar was a little metallic beetle crawling inside.  Wesker reached inside the jar and picked up the beetle with a pinch of It's fingers.

"This my dear Miss Muffet is a nano-beetle, a gift from the Trickster," Ventriloquist began, "Or was it Toy Man?  Nevertheless.  We're going to have it enter your brain through your ear, from there the bug will control your thoughts and giving Us a foothold on your father.  Heeee.  The Itsy Bitsy Spider went up the water spout..."

The Ventriloquist began to whistle the toon as it tip-toed to where Barbara Gordon was standing.  On his face, Scarface grinned.

[Deleted]

Barbara’s head moved back and forth, following the source of whichever voice was speaking to her. An appropriate scowl masking her pretty features, her eyes followed carefully as the Ventriloquist started toward a secluded chest within a few feet from where he was standing. Barbara didn’t even struggle against the tight robes that were secured above and below her chest. Her arms were pinned to her side and the rope stopped at her wrists, leaving her hands and legs free. They were idiots, really. If it were not for the gun targeted at her she could escape from this within a matter of minutes, or at least managed to get away. However, the time wasn’t right to do so.

Her attention was momentarily grasped by Mugsy, the individual with a gun who insisted on moving close toward her. “Close enough? Do you want a kiss or something?” She asked hatefully, her voice laced with venom. He was in such a close range that if he were to shoot her it would be lethal. These types of situations made her almost envious of some of the others in her profession who had abandoned much of their humanistic attributes behind.

Babs watched through narrowed eyes, trying to hide the fear in her expression once she realized what the small, metallic creature in the jar was. She couldn’t let it get ahold of her, despite all costs. It was to the point where she would rather be shot than have her mind controlled, especially if it put her father at risk as well as her Bat-family. If he had control of her thoughts it was only a matter of time before her double life was exposed, as well as many others secret identities.

The redhead backed away, clearly aware of the presence of the gun. “Alright, alright. You’ve won. I’ll comply. Just get that thing away from me. My 4.0 is bound to drop if you have anything to do with it.” She demanded. This was their last chance. If the Ventriloquist closed any more of the distance between them she didn’t care what she was going to have to do to avoid mind control.

outfit: clickkk

[Deleted]

"Fanash," Scarface stated with a big grin on his face.

"Awe. I wanted to have fun," The Ventriloquist responded. 

"Let her go, 'gut keep da gun on her."  Scarface barked.  He turned back to Barbara, "Ye're free to go.  Just let yer father know that we have his life is in danger unless he steps down as the Commish, and that we'll 'ge coming after ye, like we did today as the first step, capiche?" 

Mugsy, stood in his place and wavered for her.  If she stated yes, she could go, otherwise, a no would get her a bullet in the waist, just like the wound that killed Jules.