Whenever Monarch was defeated, we thought that everything would go back to how it was before. We thought we could express ourselves freely. We could feel what we wanted to feel. And we were able to. Just not for long. Lila Rossi as we know her, but...
The moment I regained consciousness, I felt the cold metal of the chair against my skin, the weight of chains binding me in place. Panic surged through me as I took in the surroundings of the Batcave, the faces of the Batfamily looming over me with a mixture of shock and concern.
"What's going on?!" I demanded, my voice laced with fury as I struggled against my restraints. "Let me go!"
Bruce, Damian, Jason, Stephanie, Cassandra, Duke, Dick, and Alfred all exchanged worried glances, clearly taken aback by my outburst. But I didn't care. All I could think about was getting free and making those who had captured me pay for it.
"You think you can keep me here?!" I shouted, my voice rising with each word. "I'll find a way out, and when I do, I'll make sure you all regret ever crossing me!"
But my threats fell on deaf ears as they tried to reason with me, to understand what had happened to lead me here. I ignored their questions, their attempts to break through to me, my focus consumed by thoughts of revenge.
"You don't understand," I seethed, glaring at them with all the venom I could muster. "I have to get back to the Joker. Our plan isn't finished yet."
The Batfamily exchanged bewildered glances, clearly struggling to comprehend my words. But I refused to explain myself, instead letting the silence hang heavy in the air as I stewed in my own anger.
They huddled together and began to whisper, every once in a while, they would look over at me.
They were pathetic, especially if they thought they could keep me here for long.
I felt a manic laughter bubbling up inside me, threatening to spill out. And when it finally did, it echoed off the walls of the cave, sending shivers down their spines.
"You fools," I sneered, the laughter still lingering in my voice. "You think you can stop me? You have no idea what I'm capable of."
Their expressions shifted from concern to unease as they watched me, unsure of how to handle my sudden change in demeanor. But I relished in their discomfort, knowing that I had them right where I wanted them.
"You want to know what happened to me?" I asked; my voice calmed down to a whisper as I forced tears to form in my eyes. They still thought I was the innocent Marinette, but she was gone. Now I am Shadow. They just didn't know that yet, so for now I'll play the innocent girl who occasionally has a psychotic breakdown.
I told them what happened, I made my voice wobble and break as I told the tale of how I was re-made into what I am now. I looked every person in the room in the eyes as I got to the end of my tale. Everyone except Damian. He knew the old me too well. He could tell when I was acting and when I was honest.
That was one of the reasons I had fallen in love with him.
"But you know what the best part is?" I chuckled darkly, switching to my normal voice. "When I escape these chains, I will kill every last one of you."
I threw my head back and shook violently, I wanted it to seem like I had no control over what I was doing, no control of what I said.
"What the fuck is happening?" Jason asked as he came up to my side.
"She's trying to fight what Joker did to her, but her mind is too scattered to focus on just one part of her, she's being held captive in her own mind." Tim faced something like this. I remember that Joker tried to fix him too, but in the end, Batman had to come and break him again.
"How the fuck do we stop this?" Jason asked trying to hold my body still as I thrashed and convulsed.
I stopped moving, then snapped my head up and looked to where Bruce was standing in front of me.
"So, Batman," I purred, the words dripping with malice. "What do you plan to do with me now?"
The silence that followed was deafening, but I knew that I had succeeded. I had planted the seeds of doubt in their minds, sowing chaos and confusion among the ranks of the Batfamily. And as they scrambled to make sense of it all, I simply leaned back in my chair, a twisted smile playing at my lips. After all, the game had only just begun.
