Paralyzer [Gotham]

5

I had started out the night reading, having nothing better to occupy my time with but needing to stay awake. Several poundings at my door and a few looters later, I had sat a chair before the door and waited with the bat across my lap. Whatever had caused the power outage had riled up the people of Gotham, people were murdering and robbing left and right.

The only light in the city itself was a ways through town, barely enough for the glow to be seen from my windows. With the normal amounts of light pollution Gotham emitted, I wouldn't have been able to see it. But, with the entire city gone dark, it was there. My attention snapped to the door as the handle lightly jiggled, standing and holding the bat at the ready as it began to unlock itself.

I began the swing as the door popped open, my eyes widening as I realized the intruder wasn't one at all, unable to stop the momentum of the bat. Zsasz easily caught the bat with both hands, wide eyes turning to me as he took the metal from my grasp. "Sorry," I mumbled, taking a step back and shaking my head clear. The whispers were faint, but I could hear them nagging at me. "You aren't the first person knowing how to pick locks to come through here."

"No kidding," he scoffed, eying the blood left on the end of the bat. He shut and locked the door, swinging the bat around as if testing it's weight. "Everything okay here?" I nodded and took a deep breath, moving to sit on the couch and allowing myself to relax.

"Yeah, I'm fine. Just had to fend off some maruaders, hold down the fort." Victor walked to my bedroom and watched out the window overlooking the front of the building a moment, walking back to the livingroom with a hard expression. "What happened?"

"Some dude blew up the power plant across the river," he explained, sitting on the coffee table to examine me. "Power probably won't be back on till tomorrow or later." For a moment there, it felt like he was the doctor, the way he looked me over for any signs of injury. When he'd deemed me alright he gave a short sigh, the look that came across his face telling me that he was rethinking his choice of leaving. Realizing he was in the thick of the mess, I gave him a once over as well, frowning at the way his shirt was clinging to his arm just below his shoulder.

"You're bleeding," I mumbled, reaching up to inspect it. Victor's gloved hand caught mine easily, though, holding it a short moment before putting it on my lap.

"I ran into some people along the way," he explained. "They didn't walk away." Like a puzzle piece found it's place with an audible click, my brain reached a conclusion.

"Oh," I realized softly. "Right." When I didn't meet his gaze, he rested his head on mine, brushing his lips over my cheekbone.

"This is what I meant. Good doctor can't really handle it." I took a deep breath and turned away from him, fighting the urge to roll my eyes.

"We won't know what I can or can't handle until we get there," I pointed out, feeling irritation pull on my voice. The whispers were slowly but steadily growing louder, only fueling my bad mood.

"Why don't you go get some rest?" he offered, leaning back with a sigh. "I can watch this place until you wake up." My eyes grew skeptical and I turned back to him with a silent question. Did he really expect me to leave him unattended with my comatose brother? "Lucian, it's three in the morning, go get some sleep. This is just the beginning of all this." I looked him over for a minute, realized this was an argument I wouldn't even come close to winning, and gave a short huff of defeat.

"Wake me up if anything happens," I demanded, not looking at him as I stood from the couch. He waited until I was walking past him to take my hand and place a short kiss to my knuckles, the weight of his eyes following me all the way to my room.

[]

By the time I'd woken up, the power had come back on. This was only evident because of the smell of coffee floating through the house. After I stretched, I noticed a mug on the nightstand, a tug on my lips as I grabbed the warm mug. I drank from the cup as I walked to the livingroom, Victor's back to me as he sat on the couch. "How'd it go?" I asked in a yawn, holding a hand to his head as I walked around the couch.

"Things quieted down before the power came back," he informed in a grumble. "Haven't had any problems." I could see the tiredness in his face as I sat beside him, leaning my elbow on the arm of the couch. "Looks like good doctor was able to scare the baddies away." I smiled to myself and drank some coffee, finally proving myself capable to him.

"Thanks for taking over," I breathed as I dropped the mug from my lips. "We can switch out if you want?" Victor started shaking his head, yawning a few seconds into it.

"Won't need to," he sighed, scooting himself away a little before laying across the couch with his head in my lap. "Cops have everything handled by now." I smiled and ran my fingers down his face, taking another deep breath as he relaxed into the couch. As his eye sockets were usually dark and constrasting with his pale skin, I couldn't tell if he had any bags under them, but I could see he was worn out.

"Get some rest, then," I hummed. It didn't take long for him to fall asleep, within minutes his breathing had evened out and his face no longer twitched each time I restarted a trail down it. After a while, my fingers smoothed down his neck, feeling his steady pulse every now and again. The whispers came back, but they weren't whispers anymore, and they sounded clearer, clear enough to pinpoint it was my own voice I'd been hearing. Take what you want. It's there at your finger tips. Take it.

I took a deep breath and held it for as long as I could, releasing it only when I felt I was going to pass out again. Slowly, the voice died back down to a whisper, and eventually silence, allowing me to think once again. My eyes trailed over Victor in a rush, trying to figure out just what to do with myself.

Deciding that he had boundries he didn't yet want me to cross, I took hold of his hand, bringing it to rest against my lips as the fingers of my other hand slid through the slit of his sleeve, slowly feeling out his scarred tally marks. I was only brave enough to search for what he'd already given me permission to, only building to my curiosity.