16Chapter VII: Conspirative Entourage
Sly has had the pleasure of drowning before. He had so many near death experiences when he was a thief and a cop that he'd grown accustomed to it. Drowning always seemed to keep him in a daze though. He had to remind himself that his pals weren't there to pull him out of this one. Of course, he would easily be able to jump out in time under certain circumstances but given that he was injured, and that he flippantly put a woman's life on the line, well, he couldn't really do anything except let the water swallow him.
Selina already blacked out when they touched the water. Sly had a feeling she didn't faint because the water was freezing cold. He went to Canada before in the winter and he wouldn't even look at the water or so much as dip a finger in it just for a second.
He felt like an evil snowman had crawled its way inside him and touched his spinal cord. It was unpleasant. Fear embodied him as he froze from the chill that seemed to be working its way through his entire body. It took everything in him to shake away the sensation and get a grip of his current situation.
Sly held some air and even puffed his cheeks just for good measure. The master thief envied the fact that the forming bubbles floated upward like it was a damn balloon. No matter how many times Sly blinked he saw nothing but endless black. Though he was pretty sure he saw an empty Dominos pizza box swarming around along with some other foul items.
The vice-like grip he had on the woman that weighed him down only tightened. Sly wasn't as strong as Murray but he was always persistent when desperation came to call. Luckily, he found the strength to swim up to the surface with one arm. Though every time he paddled, his insides screeched with unimaginable pain. He suppressed the scream in his throat by biting his lip. He soon tasted something copper and dry in his mouth and realized that it was blood. Defying the water was like trying to fight back the forces of an entire legion single-handedly. The water made it harder for his arms to move and his will was beginning to slip away.
But Sly showed no sign of stopping. His head felt like someone had taken a ton pound hammer and started hitting him with it. His lungs burned with every intensifying moment he wasted under the treacherous waters. His vision was hazy and the drowsiness was begging him to submit. But he kept going.
It felt like an eternity but he broke out of the water. Sly grasped as much air as his lungs would allow. Selina, literally on the other hand, had her mouth opened reminding Sly of how Murray slept. Seeing her like that amused him and he would have his binocucom out in a flash if it weren't for the ordeal they were in.
He reached the ledge and gripped the edge of it. His muscles tightened when he hauled himself up, his other hand still wrapped around Selina's wrist. With every bit of strength he had left, he pulled Selina and pushed her to land on the ground. Sighing with relief, he waited until he could pull himself up.
Taking deep breathes, Sly looked around and was glad to see that his cane and his bag had landed on the earth when he had thrown it. He lost his family heirloom before and he was willing to protect it by all costs. His knees buckled and he bent over Selina's form. Hesitantly, he removed her mask and brushed aside her dark wet hair. His hand went over her chest and his heart stopped.
Her heart... it wasn't beating.
Sly placed his hand to her neck, and counted for thirty seconds. He didn't feel a pulse.
Sly was helpless. He doubted that he could just waltz into the nearest clinic without raising suspicion. He didn't even know where the nearest clinic was, much less he wasn't one hundred percent sure he could get there without fainting from exhaustion. He sure as hell wasn't a doctor even if he had to disguise himself as one a couple of times. He knew nothing about medical procedures, and forget about saving someone's life. Without help, he couldn't even save himself.
Quickly, Sly pinched her nose while his other rested on her stomach. Slowly, he leaned down and blew air into her mouth. After that, he put his ear to her chest. He almost jumped with joy to her heart rate pick up. Thus his routine continued, and he was grateful that no one stumbled upon them. Sly's mouth pressed against hers for what seemed like the twentieth time when her chest finally rose. He pulled back but he wasn't fast enough to dodge the fist that connected with his cheek.
Sly shook his head, trying to blink away the stars.
Selina coughed, spewing out water. She tried to sit up but Sly stopped her.
The femme fatale glanced at her partner who was rubbing at the bruise on his cheek. "Sorry," was all she managed to choke out.
Sly blinked at her. He didn't comprehend what she said until he saw her sent him an apologetic stare. Sly shook his head, but he chuckled. "Tell that to my jaw."
Ignoring him, she feebly said, "Sly, the plant..." Sly's eyebrows furrowed in bemusement. The woman slowly raised her arm, her index finger pointing at the lined up warehouses. His eyes followed to where she was pointing and he could see a gardening tool shed from where he was.
Sly didn't know what good gardening tools would do but if she thought that would help them, it was better than what Sly would have come up with. The master thief sighed and nodded. He hooked his cane to his belt and retrieved his bag. After watching Selina drift back to unconsciousness, he picked up her up and headed for the shed.
He didn't very far because he heard the sound of heels coming his way. His head snapped up as the intruder sprayed something on him. Sly tried to cover his nose but he was too late and he ended up doubling over. Selina fell out of his arms with a thud while he clutched his burning throat. He tasted gasoline and the pain in his abdominal tripled a hundred times. His hunched form tried to subdue everything that was eating at him but when he heard his own bloodcurdling scream rip through the air, his shoulders slumped and he fell.
Everything around him blurred. The last thing he saw was a dark figure and a green silhouette.
)-(-)-(
"What!"
"I tried to tell you, Selina," Ivy said offhandedly, her expression emotionless. "I believe your exact words were that it could wait until later before you cut me off."
Disgust and pure fury was clearly shown on Selina's face. "So there was no point in this?" Selina said, gesturing to the fake diamond lying on the kitchen table.
Pamela was tending her plants, holding up a watering can to nourish her various flowers, shrubs, trees, and herbs with her back to Selina.
Selina never had the issue of having to keep her temper in check but Ivy's lack of empathy was really beginning to frustrate her. When you yell at someone, you expect them to yell back or agree with you in hopes of calming you down. But Pamela's tendency to act indifferent never helped.
Ivy kept working, and with her eyes still focused on the small brandy wine maple tree, she said, "I'm afraid so."
Selina's nails dug into the wooden table. 'Your telling me this on such short notice."
Pamela shrugged, her straight red hair falling off her shoulder. Seeing that was Selina sacrificed was for nothing and that this no-good, lazy, green bitch was acting casual about it, Selina grabbed the diamond and hurled it across the room.
"Eek!" The crystal shattered into a million shards when it made contact with the wall. A platinum blonde woman with baby blue eyes stood up with her hands over her head like she was expecting the ceiling to crumble. Even if it did happen, Selina was amused to see that that was the first thing Harley would do.
"Jeez, Selina! Are you trying to kill me?"
"Maybe."
Harley shook her head at her, along with shooting her a disapproving look. The blonde's platform shoes echoed loudly as she walked over to them and took a seat. "If your really angry, then do some yoga. It's not good to just hurt people when your upset."
Selina snorted and raised her eyebrow at the blonde. "And I'm getting this from someone who killed innocent people in cold blood."
Harley pouted and tossed her hair over her shoulder with her hand. "Well, at least don't hurt your friends. Next time, try to channel that anger towards your enemies."
"We're not friends," Selina stated sharply. "We're colleagues. And don't tell me what to do."
Harley shrugged. "I'm sorry, it's just who I am! I'm a psychologist!"
"Was."
Harley sighed. "Whatever. Anyway, wanna know what I found in Sly's bag?" She asked, her eyes darting from Selina to Pamela. Ivy ignored her, too busy caressing a delicate flower.
It was eleven am and Sly was still asleep. Pamela made sure that the herbs she used on him were going to prevent the toxic from spreading but Selina wasn't convinced it would be enough. He took a nasty hit and Selina demanded Ivy to apologize once Sly woke up. As they were speaking, the man himself slept above the group of woman. Every hour, Harley would change his bandages and see if the poison hadn't killed him.
Selina was about to berate Harley on going through Cooper's stuff but reminded herself that they were criminals. So that meant, they had no right to privacy. Even if they weren't outlaws, she was sure Harley would peek through a stranger's belongings anytime.
Harley made a dramatic pause. She was getting excited and jumpy like some crazed fangirl. Finally, she said, "I found a ring!"
"Whoop–de–fucking do." Selina said dryly.
Harley gaped at the woman sitting across from her. "Hello, Selina! What if this ring is meant for you?"
I wish.
Oh shit, did she just think that?
Leave it to Harley to add more drama into her life. The blonde acted like she was living in her teens, and even dressed like it was summer. It was twenty degrees outside for crying out loud! Even though they were tucked safely inside, away from the hazard temperatures late October had to offer, she was draped in a red tank top and jean short shorts. Pamela was wearing a green turtle neck and she still shivered underneath that.
Selina wouldn't qualify her as the dumb California blonde type. Harley was much smarter, and violent, than anyone would her give credit for. Her psychology classes also helped her in studying the human mind, so Selina had to be careful with what she said.
Selina played it cool by rolling her eyes. "I told you, I just met him."
"Are you sure?" Harley coaxed, grinning as wide as the Joker himself.
Selina glared at her, her green eyes saying, Don't go there. Harley raised her hands in surrender, her smile still on her face. "Okie-dokie. Whatever you say."
"Well," Ivy interrupted, after she was done watering her garden. "Harley, you should help Selina get ready." The redhead turned to Selina, a smug grin gracing her features. "You can bring your boy toy if he wants to tag along."
Harley's eyes lit up. "Oh yeah, that's right. I need to do your makeup-"
"I can do it myself." Selina interrupted. "You're no good at it."
"-and put on your wig, then help you put on your dress. And then you'll be ready for the ball!" Harley finished with a huge grin.
"It's not a ball, you dolt." Selina hissed. "It's Wayne's Halloween party."
"Same thing. Come on!" The ecstatic blonde woman grabbed her wrist and dragged her to another room.
Sly woke up after Harley was done pampering Selina. She couldn't believe that disguising yourself could waste six hours but Harley said that it was necessary. The dark haired woman straightened her black dress and grimaced at the stranger in the body length mirror. For tonight's disguise, her wig was a lush brown pulled up in a bun. Her collarbone was bare except for the pearl necklace that lay there. Harley somehow persuaded her to wear contacts which changed her bright emerald eyes to a boring brown. The dress flowed down to her ankles which gave a good view of her black heels.
And to top it off, she was gonna wear a headband with cat ears and a mask to go along with it.
Sneaking into a party with Gotham's finest and half of the police force was considered crazy. Bruce Wayne's Masquerade party will be packed with cops so if no one had the slightest idea of who she was then she would officially confirm that Gotham was mostly inhabited with idiots or that Harley was a genius at making the disguise.
So when Sly came down the stairs, shirtless, bandaged and looking like he just had a bad dream, he didn't even recognize Selina.
"Who's this?" he asked to no one in particular.
Selina raised her eyebrow in amusement. "It's me, Sly."
Sly must've thought he was still asleep because he rubbed his eyes and blinked. "Selina? You look different."
"I'm wearing a wig, relax." She rolled her eyes, and then sent a playful smile his way. "Why? Do you think I look ugly?"
Sly looked her up and down, his face impassive with his arm guarding his torso. He gave her a crooked smile before saying, "Not at all."
When Sly made it the bottom of the steps, his face paled and he had to grip the banister to remain stable. Dark circles were under his eyes, his silver hair was in disarray, and his lean and muscular body had several cuts and bruises with a few faded scars running along his arms. He looked like he had gone through hell but overall Selina could tell he looked okay.
"How long was I out?"
"Approximately fifteen hours," Sly's face fell, but he shrugged it off. "How's your jaw?" Selina asked, raising an eyebrow.
Sly's hand reached up to rub the sore spot on his cheek, right above where she had hit him. "Better than before. But it's not me you should be worried about. How are you?"
"I'm fine," she said. Sly didn't look convinced. His eyebrows were scrunched, and his mouth was set in a straight line. Selina smirked, and said, "You know, you look cute when your worried."
Sly gave a weak smile and chuckled.
To Selina's left, Pamela tapped her foot impatiently and said, "If you two are done flirting, ask your boyfriend if he wants to come."
When Cooper glanced at Ivy, he tilted his head curiously. The redhead narrowed her eyes, obviously trying to intimidate Sly with her set of green eyes.
"You're... green." Sly said like it was the most obvious thing.
Pamela rolled her eyes and let out a heavy sigh. "No, your just color blind." She shook her head and walked towards him. Ivy put her hand on his shoulder and sent him her bone chilling, sadistic smile. "Sorry for almost killing you."
Before stalking off into another room, she squeezed his bruised shoulder which Sly winced.
He was gonna have to thank Selina for saving his life. Red had misunderstood their situation and poisoned him, probably out of habit. If it hadn't been Selina, the poison would have gotten to him by now.
Cooper had his mouth slightly open. He glanced at Harley then to the direction of where Ivy went, and then back to Selina with a huge smile. "I'm surrounded by beautiful women. I must be dreaming," he said, nodding approvingly.
Selina laughed, shaking her head while her cheeks turned red.
"Is that...?" Sly asked, his voice trailing off.
"Red?" Selina finished. "Yes."
He nodded his head. "How ironic. She seems nice. So, she's gonna let me stay? Just like that?"
Selina pursed her lips. "To a certain degree."
Harley, who was focusing on the laptop seated in front of her, snorted. The blonde sent aside the laptop and skipped over to Sly.
"So Sly, why do you carry a ring with you?" Harley asked, curiously.
Sly winced and rubbed his arm nervously. His eyes fell to the floor, and his cheeks were showing a slight red. "It's nothing," he quickly changed the subject and asked, "So, where are we going?"
Selina crossed her arms, and leaned back. "So, your coming? You don't have to."
"You should go." Harley insisted, batting her eyelashes at him. "There's this cop who's not attending. You can disguise yourself as him."
Selina flashed a warning stare towards her but she ignored it.
After a moment to think, Sly said, "Yeah, I'll go." The man shrugged like it was no big deal. "I've got nothing to do. But where exactly are we going?"
"It's Wayne's Masquerade party," Selina explained. "He's celebrating Harvey's Dent's memorial and the re-opening of his mansion."
Sly nodded but he looked at her like he was trying to understand what language she was speaking. "So, why are we going? To get free candy?"
Thinking back, Poison Ivy promised that the diamond she was looking for was purchased by the host himself. And this time (thank god) Pamela was going to accompany Selina in retrieving the goods.
Some reason, having Sly tag along felt like a bad idea. Yeah, she shouldn't be feeling this way about him especially after he just saved her life. But he was perfect. Too perfect. Or she just didn't want him jeopardizing the mission which seemed unlikely considering he was practically invincible.
Selina opened her mouth but closed it when her eye caught the clock on the wall. "I'll explain later," she turned to the blonde next to her, and said, "Harley, help him get ready."
Obviously eager to get started, Harley grabbed Sly's wrist and dragged him back upstairs. She was taking the stairs two at a time while Sly stumbled and tried to keep up.
"I'm sure Mr. J won't mind you borrowing a tuxedo," Harley said, flashing a smile. "Just make sure you return-"
Without warning, a knife wedged itself between Sly's feet, making his heart jump at how close the sharp object was to severing him.
"It," Harley finished, sounding overwhelmed.
When Sly looked up, a clown stood at the top of the stairs. Sly's eyes met mud brown eyes without hesitation. The clown stared at him with madness and inquisitive in his eyes like he wanted to dissect Sly just to see if he might get something out of doing it.
The clown had war paint on his face which was coated mostly with white. Black paint surrounded his eyes making him look like a panda except for his red lips that spread over the scars on his cheeks which represented a twisted grin. His hair was dyed a messy green which fell in waves down to his shoulder.
Next to Sly, Harley twirled a strand on her blonde hair with her finger. She glanced nervously at both men, like she just introduced two nuclear bombs. It was only a matter of time to see which one would blow up.
"You're lucky I missed," the clown said, licking his lips while twirling another knife expertly in his hand. In the clown's other hand was his cane where the monster's fingers rested on the base in a relaxed manner. "Oh and I don't think I'm fine with you, ah, borrowing one of my suits."
Instead of feeling fear, Sly looked at him with defiance. On a different occasion, this would have freaked him out to the point where he would run with his tail between his legs.
But something inside Sly snapped. Somewhere far off, Neyla was in this city holding one of his team members captive and Sly was still having trouble processing this new world and that Neyla was still alive. He was this close to drowning and dying of poison and let's not forget that he was arrested. And that happened all in one night.
Only once he had the experience of his life flashing before his eyes. His time of dying felt like forever but in reality they were brief. However, in the two experiences that he's had them, they seemed to occur whenever a woman was involved.
Flashing back to nine years ago, Sly and his gang infiltrated Dr. M's base with the intention of getting at least a portion of the riches the Cooper vault had to offer. Long story, but Dr. M suffocated him with some sort of genetic experiment gone wrong and Carmelita had come to his aid. After that, Sly had a concussion but he quickly recovered.
And next, this clown –this joke– was standing in his way, literally and metaphorically.
Sly had to learn everything about Gotham in order to get out of it. He would have chosen his right hand man for the job but Sly was on his own. So if attending this party would make matters much better for him, he will go.
Suddenly, his bruised rib didn't hurt so much. After spending a crazy night in wacko world, Sly was ready to explode but he kept his cool.
"Well, I'm feeling pretty lucky," Sly said, calmly. He bent down and picked up the sharp object, examining the joker design on the hilt. "Nice knife."
Bravely, Sly took the few remaining steps up the stairs and held out the knife by its blade for the clown to take. The clown's eyes never wavered and neither did Sly's.
Sly glanced at his cane, then back to the clown, his jaw tightening. He took back his crosier which the clown didn't move but he watched with profound interest like he might miss something.
"So, what do they call you, hmm?" the clown asked, snatching his knife out of Sly's hand.
"Sly Cooper, master thief," he responded with a smile. He crossed his arms and shifted on his foot. "And you?"
The clown smiled a wicked grin, his scars extending so that he looked like the Cheshire cat. That grin and his malicious expression sent a shiver down Sly.
Then, completely out of the blue, he started laughing. Sly flinched at hearing his hysterical guffaw before taking a couple of steps down. He was never scared of clowns but now he never felt so terrified before. The insane look in the clown's eye, and the fact that he carried knives with him was something maniacally ferocious.
Okay, Sly thought, so this guy must be Mr. J whom Harley had mentioned earlier. J must stand for...joker?
After calming down, the Joker put away his knives and stepped down to Sly's level. He looked at Sly with humor in his eyes, his yellow teeth showing how much of a madmen he was.
"I like this guy," The Joker said, wrapping his arm around Sly's shoulder. Sly wondered why these people kept touching his bruised shoulder but he made no complaint. The Joker looked around to where Harley was still standing, and asked, "Can we keep him?"
So did I do good or bad on writing the Joker? Honestly, I think I messed up on his part. Same goes for Harley and Poison Ivy, are they not as you expected them?
I was supposed to write Sly have the Joker with a knife to his throat but then decided against it because it seemed so OOC for Sly.
I do not want to hear anything about The Dark Knight Rises if you plan on watching it. Sadly, a chump like me can't watch it right away because my dad says a lot of people will crowd the theaters so I'm gonna have to wait. But I can be patient.
Review, criticisms, comments, or if you just want to say hi, are accepted. I'd appreciate the feedback on this chapter so I could ameliorate more on my writing skills in the future.