Fish and Bits

Flipped His Lid

A/n- This chapter contains gore. I recommend you skip this chapter if that is an issue for you.

     Two-Face stood behind a roulette table, absently spinning the board with his right hand, his left was persistently flipping a two headed coin which was damaged on one side. The roulette board spun around in circles, a steady whirring accompanying the mechanical clacking. The coin flipped again and again.

     A faint clink came from the doorway, a sound of dense glass being set down on hardwood floor. Then the rustle of paper followed by faint footsteps leaving the building.

     Harvey turned the good side of his head towards the sounds, his fist clenching around the coin as the roulette board shuttered to a stop. He strode over to the glass tank, a paper envelope taped to the glass. Kneeling down, he took the envelope from the tank and opened it with a tarnished letter opener. He removed the contents from the envelope; a letter, some smiley face stickers, and a silver coin. 

     'Hiya Harv! I hope you don't mind me leaving Finny here for you to take care of. I thought that your loving nature would do him some good! xoxo Joker' His writing was messy and frantic, much like his personality. Harvey skimmed over the letter a second time, then flipped the coin, catching it in his palm and regarding it.

     Good heads, he scowled for a few seconds then his face relaxed. He carefully folded up the letter, along with the stickers and tucked them into his inner coat pocket, he left the coin on the floor. He didn't appreciate the attempt to mock him and opted to ignore it. 

     Finny had been swimming joyously around his tank throughout the scene, obviously grateful for the new accommodations, the expansion of his home and his world putting more energy into his body.

     Straightening up, Harvey lifted up the tank with a grunt, "Well. Best get you off the floor. I'm expecting...guests...so you'll be having a front row seat." He almost dropped the tank beside the roulette table, some water spilling over the sides of the tank and onto the surface below. 

     The fish moved around frantically within the tank, the jolting movement upsetting him and the spillage of water contributing even more to the panic. 

     Resuming his original position by the roulette board, Two-Face shook out his shoulders, assuming a calm posture suiting one who wanted to be seen as collected, yet impatient at having been kept waiting. The whirring and mechanical harmony of the roulette board completing the melody of the metallic flipping coin.

     The harsh sounds of argument slowly grew closer to the door. Two-Face stiffened and almost let the coin fall from his hands, but his hand tightened around the two headed coin before it happened and betrayed his thoughts. The repetitive motion began again.

     "We...er....we heard that'cha wanted us, Two-Face?" A man with a substantially large body stepped inside the deserted casino, his twin following not far behind. 

     "Indeed I did. You two disobeyed orders." His tone lowered, almost to a growl. He turned the scarred side of his face to observe the twins, while also warning them about what would undeniably happen. "Do you have an explanation?"

     "Boss- you- you can't think that we'd-" He turned to his twin for help, who stepped up beside him and continued on his brother's abandoned sentence, "-that we'd go against your orders! Honest, we'd never betray you-!" The first twin nodded in agreement with his brother's excuse.

     "Hmm. Let's see just how sincere you are." He fully turned around, and with a dramatic, practiced flick of his wrist, he sent the coin spinning into the air, where it arced gracefully a dozen times before falling into the palm of his hand. "Uh oh. Seems your luck's run out."

     The two went pale in unison, they scrambled over each other to reach the exit, to escape the handguns Two-Face was pulling from under his overcoat.

     Finny momentarily halted in his swimming, the noise and the action disturbing his peaceful retrospection. Bubbles of air began to slowly stream from his mouth as he witnessed Two-Face fire the two handguns rapidly, the shots hitting target in the abdomen, chest, shoulders and face. The short blasts from the barrels illuminated the otherwise dim room in flashes, blood spattered on the glass in front go Finny. A few droplets even landed in the water. Ringlets of red slowly diluted into the clear water, as the fish attempted to taste the rapidly diffusing blood.

     The thud of bodies hit the floor at the same moment the guns stopped firing. Harvey approached the body and regarded the growing red puddles beneath his feet with distant interest. "What a shame. You know, it's actually quite difficult to find twins of their stature who are willing to help me. It's really too bad that they had to go and ruin it for themselves." He sighed with remorse and kicked them to the side, leaving dark streaks as the body twitched and shuddered with each blow.

     The fish, alarmed by the blood slowly dripping down the glass and the hint of iron now lingering in the water, had taken up attempting to leap from his tank. The blood reviving old instincts and forcing Finny to escape as best he could

     Harvey slowly made his way over to the fish tank, looking pityingly at the distressed animal, "Oh- I upset you, did I? Maybe I should try to clean up your tank before he gets back..." He flipped the coin again, a flicker of hope appearing in his eyes as he anxiously grabbed the coin before it reached his palm. With a relieved sigh, he dropped the coin into his pocket and lowered himself a little to be on eye level with the fish, bending down at the waist and smiling faintly at the slightly calmer Finny, "Let's get you some fresh, new water, hm? Up we go," He hauled the tank up and off the surface of the table, grateful that the coin had landed on the good heads.

     Stepping delicately over the stiffening bodies, Harvey carried fish and tank outside of the casino in search of a hose with which he would replace the defiled water before Joker returned for his pet.