masterofkurain

[masterofkurain]

undertheblackmask‌:

 He was curious as to why Maya wanted to see Alfred again, but if it would make her feel better he was happy to help. He called to his associate. “Alfred, can you come back in here please?!” 

“Of course sir,” Alfred said as he entered the room a minute later. “What do you need?” 

She stares at the butler, her eyes laser-focused on his face. Her pupils dart around as she analyzes his appearance and compares it to the image burned into her brain.

A butler in a suit. Medical smells. Confusion. But it isn’t exactly right. 

Alfred had softer cheekbones than the man in her memory, and he had dark circles under his eyes. His oak-brown eyes were full of kindness; they looked trustworthy, but Maya has learned that kind eyes do not always indicate a kind soul. Something was different, though, something indescribable. His eyebrows were furrowed slightly, and his face was relaxed. He’s not the same man.

“I’m sorry,” she says without any further hesitation. She closes her eyes gently and shakes her head, as if to dislodge the intrusive thought from her brain. She stares at her feet and points and flexes her toes.

[masterofkurain]

undertheblackmask‌:

“Here you go,” Batman said, handing her a glass of water. “Anything you need, just ask. Oh, the man that was just here is named-” 

Crap, Batman thought to himself. I’ve already called him Alfred. It’s fine. 

“-Alfred. He’s my.. associate. He’s who I was talking to through my communications device. He helps run things here. What about him?” 

Batman looked at the girl. She looked traumatized. He felt bad. He swore to himself then that whoever intended to hurt her tonight would pay. That he’ll bring them to justice. 

She gulps down the water so quickly that it makes her breathing heavy. It’s as if she’s run a mile. 

“I’m starving...”

She mindlessly taps the base of her neck. She isn’t sure if she should mention what’s going through her mind. Has De Killer deceived the Batman? Or were her eyes playing tricks on her? Or is the Bat a part of this scheme? The signature De Killer stitches would be mostly covered by the mask...

“Is, um, your associate... or, are you--”

Breathe.

“Can Alfred come back in here?”

[masterofkurain]

undertheblackmask‌:

“I’m sorry. Someone shot you with a tranquilizer dart, so I took you back to the batcave for your own safety. I wasn’t expecting you to wake up for another couple of hours. You’re in the medical bay. Your safe here.” 

“S-some water?”

She weakly sits up, staring at nothing in particular. Slow blinks. One, two, three. Her mind is almost entirely blank at this point. She’s calm. Drained. What’s the difference at this point? All she can do is breathe and stare. In, out, in, out. 

Her neck hurts more than her leg does. The mind can play spectacular pranks on the body. The memory hurts more than the present. 

The moon-faced man has left. Odd.

“The man, here.”

[masterofkurain]

how about a uhhhhhh

starter call?

[masterofkurain]

undertheblackmask‌:

“Who was at the crime scene that I missed, Alfred, because police don’t carry tranquilizers…” 

Calm. 

Without moving her head, Maya traces her eyes across the path to the other presence in the room. Peeking through the doorway is a moonlike face with relaxed eyebrows and a thin, dignified mustache. Very familiar.

The man is calm.

“O-oh...” 

She stops to choke on her own spit. As she coughs, her middle finger traces a line down the middle her face: starting from her hairline, between her eyebrows, down the bridge of her nose, across an O-shaped mouth, and down her chin.

There’s no energy left for panicking. She catches her wheezy breath, closes her eyes, and moves her hand to cover the permanently sore spot on her neck. The spot marks the memory of De Killer’s needle into her jugular vein. But she doesn’t feel the cold, stone floor that she had been trapped in before. She feels warm. Her eyes are relaxed.

She doesn’t bother to consider where she is.

Calm.

[masterofkurain]

undertheblackmask·:

“It’s your choice,” he said to her quietly so no one else could here. “I can offer you a place in the batcave. It’s my headquarters. You’ll be safe there. Or you can stay here with the police. I need to know soon, so what will it be?” 

Her eyes dart around, making an inventory of the tasers and pistols that the police have armed themselves with. She weighs her options: run away from the police and risk being in more trouble? Or will the detective talk it out with the police grunts? Should she make a sudden move and hope to be seen as a threat? Her head spins and adrenaline tells her to get away from the police and move towards the Batman. She lifts herself onto her feet, takes a step, and--

KERTHUNK.

She feels the weight of her own body become too heavy to carry. Her knees buckle. It’s just too much. Her extremities feel numb and buzzy, as if they were asleep. A white film is overlaid on her vision. Her eyes are fixed upon the ground, but she isn’t really seeing it. 

[masterofkurain]

undertheblackmask‌:

“So,” he said to her. “What will it be? I can wait here all night until you answer me.” 

“I-I wasn’t threatening you!”

The Batman is a lot more intimidating when he thinks you’re going to attack him. At this point, of course, she doesn’t really care to keep herself physically safe, but the urge to defend her innocence stays strong. 

“I’m bad luck, is all. Helping me out makes people die, every single time. I didn’t do any of those...murders. But I might as well have. People don’t survive around me anymore.”

There are too many ways to go about this; should she try to keep him away, for his own safety? Should she trick him into thinking she’s a bad guy? Usually it doesn’t take much convincing, since Maya’s arrest record makes her look like a crime lord. 

“They always think I did it.”

She’d do anything to avoid her usual room in the detention center.

[masterofkurain]

undertheblackmask‌:

With that Batman stood up and extended his hand to her, waiting for her to make the next move. 

All she can do is stare at a particularly interesting spot on the ground, eyebrows aching from being tensely furrowed for a while now. 

“I don’t... want to do this anymore.” 

She pauses, taking a long, shaky inhale. For the first time, she breaks her laser focus on the ground in order to stare up into the detective’s eyes. 

She stutters words out: “You don’t want to do this.”

[masterofkurain]

undertheblackmask‌:

“Maya, I’ve been where you’ve been. I’ve lost everything. One thing I figured out is that death isn’t the answer. Death is a disappointment. I’m not going to kill you. You’re not going to die tonight.” 

“It’s just...time.”

She’s frustrated with him, and with the world. Detectives always act like they’ve been there, but they haven’t. What does the Batman know about losing everything? She’s seen pictures of the Batmobile, surely that’s a charmed life. He’s probably never suffered a day in his life, let alone struggled with the trauma that Maya’s faced over the years.  

“I’ll be in jail again soon, anyway. But this time.. there’s no one to help me. I’ll get the chair this time. That’s not how I want to go. I’m done now.”

Maybe this won’t work. She elects to try a different angle.

“I’m a murderer. A killer. Tell them that. They’ll believe you.”

[masterofkurain]

undertheblackmask‌:

“What about my belt, Maya?” 

Batman then heard footsteps approaching. Cops. They must have finally made their way around to the back of the building. Batman scowled. Something isn’t right here, or right with this girl. He couldn’t put his finger on it. She still hadn’t answered his questions, or any of his questions, and was saying random things. He could tell that she was close to a breakdown, and didn’t want to leave her alone. There was something bigger going on here. The police were getting closer.

She reaches for the belt before falling to her knees. With white knuckles pressed against the ground, she manages to force out two words:

“Kill...me.”

She knows he can do it. He has the tech for it. She doesn’t want anything else.

“Please.”

[masterofkurain]

undertheblackmask‌:

“Hear.. him,” Batman questioned. He was a little skeptical, but he ignored it. “I’ve lost people too. I know what it’s like. I know what that empty feeling can lead you to do. Do you have a place to stay tonight? Somewhere to go?” 

Maybe I should offer her a place to stay, Batman thought. I could give her a place in the Batcave for the night. I can’t stand to think of her sad and alone and on the streets. I’m sure I can keep my identity secret too. 

“Your belt...?”

That’s a question. Barely. She stares at the array of gadgets on the detective’s waist. The world around her is spinning faster than usual, and she can’t even listen to what the man in front of her is saying. She doesn’t care to answer his question.

“Your belt.” 

This time, it’s a statement.

[masterofkurain]

undertheblackmask‌:

“I’m sorry for touching you. Look, it’s okay,” Bruce said. “It’s not your fault. Don’t blame yourself. …Do you know any enemies that Nick had?”

Silence. I hate this part of the job, Batman thought to himself, it doesn’t get easier. He looked at her. But she deserves to know.  

“Listen..,” Batman continued. “There’s no easy way to say this, but you deserve to know. Nick is… gone.” 

“Dead. I know.”

Maya’s traumatic experiences give the detective’s a good run for their money. She’s used to this.

It only gets harder.

What is she supposed to say? Her entire world has finally collapsed. It’s been a long time coming, but here goes the final straw. There’s officially nothing left. She sits down on the floor and closes her eyes. Her eyes are dry, but she rubs them, takes a deep breath, and listens for Phoenix’s spirit.

She can’t focus.

“I can’t even hear him.”

[masterofkurain]

undertheblackmask‌:

“Sorry,” Batman said to Maya once they were outside. “I still needed to talk to you, and I didn’t want the police interfering. Don’t worry, you won’t get in trouble.” 

“D-don’t touch me.”

That’s all the words she can muster. This is all too familiar. She knows a murder scene when she sees one. They never even let you see for yourself, even though it’s obvious whats behind that door. Years and years of seeing blood spilled doesn’t make it easier. In fact, this one might be the worst one yet. Who’s left now? Her mind is racing as the self blame kicks in. Self hatred, fear, and loneliness, all at once. She’d never felt so alone.

“I... was taking a nap..didn’t even wake up...”

[masterofkurain]

undertheblackmask‌:

Eventually he found him in one of the rooms in the back. He was clearly dead. Batman then heard the police come into the building. Maya, he thought. He knew sometimes the GCPD could be rough, and he wanted to check and make sure that she was okay. 

She breathes in deeply and smells blood. A hallucination? It certainly wouldn’t be her first. 

Just a hallucination again, it’s just the PTSD. It’s not real. Breathe.

To ease her own nerves, she stands up, hands shaking, and moves towards the hallway. Her ability to form words has fleeted; all of her energy is being used to convince herself that everything is okay. Communication is necessary in situations like this, though, so she should probably say something to the detective.

“J-just going over here... to.... um... look.”

I have to check, I’ll just check to be sure, he’s around here somewhere...

[masterofkurain]

undertheblackmask‌:

The girl told him what was in the vault, or lock box. Why would anyone come to steal this girl’s sister’s old notebooks was beyond him at the moment. And why would anyone hire Mr. Freeze to steal them. Of course the Mr. Freeze idea was just a theory, but Batman had yet to meet anyone who had ice technology like Victor. 

“Do you know of anyone who might try to steal them,” Batman asked. “Anyone at all. They don’t necessarily have to be after the notebooks, but just to get back at you or your sister?” 

Suddenly the sound of police car sirens filled the air. Took them awhile, Batman thought. They would be here shortly. 

“Listen. I don’t have much more time. Do you have a business card? Or some other thing with your contact info on it Ms….? 

“Maya. Um, Fey.”

She pauses to find the nearest piece of paper: a greasy brown bag from lunch. She scribbles her cell phone number on it.

“I don’t have a whole lot of enemies, I don’t think.”

Bullshit. Well, most of them are dead or in prison. But it’s certainly not a small list. The sirens are blaring at this point, pouring bright lights through the windows.

“That’s a lot of coppers, all of this over a little robbery?”

Her heart sinks and she drops her pen as unadulterated fear shoots down her spine. A pang of lightheadedness hits her, so she leans on the desk in order to avoid falling over.

“Where’s Nick?! This..this was just a robbery, right?”

[masterofkurain]

((man am i glad cringe culture is over because i fuckin love crossover rp. maya fey meets batman. anythings allowed. call the cops))

[masterofkurain]

@courtblessed

“Oh! Hi! What are you doing here? I mean, umm.... Is everything okay?”

People never come to Kurain unless something’s gone horribly, horribly wrong. Athena’s presence is a pleasant surprise, of course, especially if it meant that Nick was around here somewhere. But a bit of suspicion rises from Maya’s gut.

Please tell me no one’s dead, please tell me no one’s dead....