To [Not] Be A Bat

Light of Hope... or of Death?

Marinette groaned as she sat up, her eyes shot open when she felt her hands bound together. She quickly sat up, moving her hands to assess what type of material was used to tie her hands.

Rope. Some simple rope. Did they really not see her as a threat? Did they also see her as a child?

She had found him, cornered him and even tied him up. Where did she go wrong?

Oh. That's right. She had forgotten about his toxins.

Gritting her teeth, Marinette continued to work on setting herself free when she felt a pair of eyes on her, causing her to stop moving and focus on her surroundings.

Towers of crates surrounded her, lights flickering as she looked at the ceiling. The moon wasn't there to greet her, instead blurred glass looked down on with pity. Moonlight didn't seep from the walls, windows missing from the walls.

"Enjoying the place? I quite like it myself." Joker decided to speak up, Ladybird not turning to him, still focusing on a way to get out. "Silent treatment, eh? I can work with that."

Ladybird continued to ignore Joker until she felt something hit the side of her head, her face colliding with the cold floor, attempting to soothe her ringing head. She always thought headaches were the worst, but the blow to the head proved her wrong.

Marinette struggled to sit back up, always falling right back down as soon as she was able to lift herself off the floor. Her body begged her to stay down, but she knew better than to do that. So she kept ignoring the numbness in her upper body and the dizziness that caused her to fall once more to the floor.

She finally stayed there, closing her eyes. She had to collect herself. She had a fight to settle. A statement to prove.

Getting sick of waiting for Ladybird to sit back up, Joker decided to speed things up a bit.

"What's wrong pumpkin? Didn't the Big Boss teach you to give a fight your all?" Joker asked with a feral grin, kicking her towards the crates behind her, his grin turning into a smile as he watched Ladybird crash through the crates and hit the concrete wall. Blood oozed from her head, trekking down past her domino mask.

Such a pretty crimson.

"Oh come on now! Is that all you got, little bird?" Joker asked again, feeling his smile begin to waver as he struck Ladybird again. This time, blood seeped from her lip.

"Oh come now! Scream for me!" Joker yelled through gritted teeth, hitting her head, back and sides, increasing the force of his swings as he continued to strike her, his grasp on his crowbar tightening as he didn't hear a single peep from the girl.

Now scowling, Joker sat the girl up by her hair, Ladybird having a shit-eating grin across her face as he lifted her. Just when he thought her attitude couldn't get any cockier, she spat on him, her blood infused spit on his face and suit.

"You stupid brat!" Joker screamed, connecting his crowbar to Ladybird's cheek, sending her straight to the floor, finally hearing a raspy sound escape the girl, causing him to grin in pride.

So that's why she didn't utter a single noise. She had a collapsed lung.

Oh. Deja vu.

"You know what this reminds me of?" Joker asked as he circled around her. "Reminds me of the time I did this to the previous Robin." Joker crouched down to her eye level, grabbing her head to make her face him, Ladybird having to bite down on her tongue to prevent herself from screaming at the aching sensation caused by his grasp. "You know, the one before the current runt?"

Ladybird froze, slowly locking eyes with Joker, Joker grinning when he saw tears brim her eyes, a single drop managing to escape.

"Not so tough now, are we?"

Marinette felt her lips quiver. But not for the reason that Joker believed.

He.

He was the one...

He was the one who...

Who...

A sharp pain spreaded towards Marinette's back, the pain in her chest worsening as she began to hyperventilate.

"Hey, hey, hey! Don't go dying on your own accord now!" Joker yelled, stabbing Ladybird on her abdomen, Marinette feeling her entire body grow cold in an instant, feeling herself begin to shake. She tried to keep her focus on Joker, but couldn't as seconds began to tick in her mind.

Joker's voice became distorted as he talked at her, his smile haunting her, multiplying as she stared at him. Her vision began to swirl, Marinette suddenly feeling very tired.

She tried to focus on Joker's voice, but she just couldn't keep fighting. Her eyes were getting heavier, just like her breathing. Should she also mention that her breathing was starting to seem longer to her?

Marinette watched as the room started to grow dark, something beginning to lull her to sleep.

Just as she closed her eyes, a voice managed to pry them open.

Who spoke to her? Who called out her name?

Marinette would never know as she slipped into darkness, seeing a twinkling light in the distance.

Seeing as there was nothing else in her field of view, Mari walked towards it, wondering where it led to.