SWAN SONG / damian wayne

ELEVEN, ARTIST'S EYE

NOW,

ADELAIDE KNOX LIVED in one of the nicer parts of the East End (which felt like an insane statement, because was there any nice part of the East End?). And she was also one of the artists in this side of town who Odile had been in contact with before she'd arrived in Gotham.

This would be her first proper visit, though.

She'd parked her motorcycle outside the immediate vicinity of the East End and chosen to walk the remaining way there. It was bright daylight, so she wasn't exactly scared of being harassed, and even if she was, she could protect herself.

No.18. She was at the right building. Second floor...

She knocked on the third door.

It was a bit before the door swung open, revealing a dark-skinned, bright-eyed girl with paint all over her hands. She looked confused for a moment, but then lit up. "You must be Odile."

"Hi." Odile grinned. "May I come in?"

"'Course!"

And so Odile entered. The apartment was fairly small, and most of the living room had been converted into space for painting. Adelaide's style was relatively abstract. All splashes of colours. But anyone who lived in Gotham would recognise the buildings and places she painted.

There was one of Wayne Tower hanging on one of the walls. At least, the top half of the painting was Wayne Tower, drawn in a way that was strangely accurate to reality compared to Adelaide's usual work. The bottom half, in a dark, blood-like red, were jagged streets and smaller blobs that resembled people, stacked atop each other.

Odile blinked.

Adelaide winced. "I was really mad when I painted that."

"Oh, I'm not offended." Odile let out a laugh. She'd told Adelaide she was affiliated with the Waynes, that the Waynes were working with her on this programme. But sometimes, Wayne was a word affiliated with the corrupt splendour of this city. It didn't matter what Bruce did. "Don't worry about that. It's quite striking. Were you working on something just now?"

"I was." Adelaide grinned. "Something nicer, don't worry. You heard about what happened at the botanical garden a few days ago?"

"I did, actually." I was there.

"Passed by the ruins yesterday. Was pretty impressive. Snapped a couple pictures. Trying to capture it in painting now, but I don't think I'm doing it justice. Massive vines just lying around on the ground. Doesn't look real, even for Gotham."

"I heard. Poison Ivy, yeah?"

Adelaide nodded. "Stopped by Red Hood, Robin and that new girl. Cygnet."

"She's not new," Odile pointed out, tilting her head.

"Newspapers said she was around years ago?" Adelaide shrugged. "She's new to me. Didn't keep up with the news until recently. Looks cute, though. Pink isn't a colour I ever thought would be affiliated with the vigilantes running around this city."

"Fair enough."

"Want a drink?"

Odile shook her head. "It's fine, don't worry about it. Just wanted to stop by, discuss a couple details." She didn't want to bother Adelaide for long. And she had another artist to visit this afternoon as well.

"Are you... still willing to sponsor me?"

Odile nodded. "Yes. Don't worry about that. But I have some other opportunities for you as well, if you're interested."