#truly the sounds of the penguins letting me down is like a soothing white noise to me

[suburbanbonfire]

having fun keeping the lads updated

[gothamsforgottenchildren]

The Forgotten Children Chapter 3

Zack

“Okay I get why you need to be here, but why did I have to come tonight?” Leigh Ann asks. She is tugging at the collar of her turtleneck like it is too tight or is uncomfortable. It’s a dark red sleeveless, turtleneck top, with built-in armor and has gold accents. It’s paired with a gladiator skirt, boots, and forearm guards. It’s a good thing we don’t have to worry about her getting cold.

I roll my eyes at the radiant girl. She’s been messing with her outfit since she put it on. That’s what she gets for wearing her new suit for the first time in the field.

“You’re here as backup so no one tries anything. Also, stop messing with that, you’re gonna stretch it out,” I say.

She groans, throwing her arm dramatically on the ground, “Do you honestly think anyone will show?”

I shrug, “It’s Gotham.”

She snorts, but nods. This causes her long brown hair to fall into her face. To anyone else, it would cause her features to be lost in a shadow, but for me, I can easily see the grin on her lips, and the fire in her dark brown eyes. Leigh Ann has always been easy to read if you can see her eyes. The light within them is currently dancing like flames in a bonfire, playful.

“Whatcha lookin at?” she asks me, pulling her hair up into a slick high ponytail.

“Just you,” I say. I know she won’t take it the wrong way. We’ve known each other too long for that to happen.

She shakes her head at me, “I love you but you’re a psychoanalyzing dork.”

She isn’t wrong, so I can’t really say anything. We sit in silence for a while, I’m just enjoying the warmth of her company. When I hear something from in the distance. It was footsteps, lots of them. “We’ve got company,” I warn her, standing up and moving into position.

I watch as she climbs off the roof of one of our warehouses by the sea pier in the Amusement Mile. She may not be as fluid as Kat, but she knows what she’s doing. By the time Penguin’s thugs show up, she’s waiting for them and I’m hidden in the shadows.

The Penguin not long ago was injured badly by the Red Hood, and ever since then, his gang has been wreaking havoc on everyone. They have no boss giving them orders, so they’ve turned into essentially a gang of anarchists. The main problem with that is they seem to think that we’re low enough on the totem pole to be a victim of their riots.

When they see Leigh Ann or as they know her, The Devil’s Flame, I see mixed reactions throughout the group. Some of them are scared, some notice that she’s by herself and gets excited, and some are angry. Ignatius Ogilvy steps to the front, he’s Penguin’s right hand within the gang.

He’s a white man with blonde hair. He’s dressed well for a guy who’s supposedly going to get his hands dirty. Honestly, I believe that he’s the boss who sits there and does nothing while his underlings do all the work. It’s going to get him killed one of these days.

I cock my head to focus my hearing on his heartbeat. It’s elevated. I can smell the fear rolling off of him. He’s nervous around Leigh Ann. Good, he should be.

She stands her ground. Her body is open and in a relaxed stance, but one she could quickly fight in. To be fair though, she doesn’t really have to move much to hurt people.

“This warehouse is under the protection of the Second Borns, you need to leave,” Leigh Ann says. She is looking Ignatius dead in the eye, waiting for his move.

I hear his heart rate spike as he debates what he is going to do. He lifts both hands in the air in the classic “I surrender” pose, but then he tilts his head, dropping his hands and shrugs. “It’s dangerous for a beautiful lady like yourself to be all alone in Gotham at night,” he says.

“I can handle myself just fine,” she says.

“We’ll see about that,” he says, before pointing a finger at her, yelling, “Get her!” Then I watch as all of his men storm at Leigh Ann or should I call her the Devil’s Flame because that’s who she truly is in moments like this. She is no longer the girl I know with kind eyes that have a dancing flame, she is now a roaring forest fire that only wants to burn everything in its path. Her entire body becomes alight. Her onyx-colored eyes are engulfed in flames along with the rest of her body. She is the human embodiment of destruction and she does it all with a smile on her face. I have to look away because looking at her is like staring at the sun, which is too much for my sensitive eyes. I hear the screams though. I’m sent here to protect her, as backup, but I’m rarely needed.

I make myself busy by watching the skyline. The entire area around me is illuminated by her power. It makes it harder for me to hide, but it also makes it harder for others. I notice movement in a window a ways away from us, in a building that should be abandoned. There’s a sniper in that room taking aim at Leigh Ann. Or at least trying to. It’s hard to aim at something so bright, I bet they didn’t think it was going to be here in charge of watching the docs. It’s normally just me. We’re currently trying to claim them for ourselves.

I take off anyway though. With one leap from the ground, I unfurl my wings, pushing them down to gain height from the ground. Now even though I am flying I still try to stick to the shadows the best I can. If they try to shoot at Leigh Ann, they will most likely miss or the bullet will melt because of the heat. If they shoot at me, I can be shot out of the air, which sucks.

Flying is one of my favorite things, even if I don’t like how sore it leaves me after. I love the feeling of the wind flowing through my hair. I purposefully keep my brown hair longer than I should because it makes the sensation so much better.

I get to the spot where I can quickly fly across and take the person out. I fly across to the window, left to where they are. I move so quietly that they don’t notice me. I open the window and slip in. The room is empty and dark. I can see a door on the right wall, joining the two rooms. Once I finish picking the lock, I open the door to see an older man’s back facing me. He is a white man in his late forties. He isn’t anyone important, no one I need to think twice about before crossing, or killing. I walk across the room, silent. When I finally get to the other side, where I stand right behind him. I clear my throat. I wish I can see his face, but his back is to me. Before he can even turn around, I’m grabbing his head in my hands and snapping his neck.

I let his body drop to the ground, grabbing his gun and unloading it. Then I step over his body and climb out the window he had shot out of.

I take off again, this time flying towards Leigh Ann. I can tell that she’s finished most of them off, or at least scared them off. Leigh Ann typically tries to maim instead of kill. I swoop down to one of the men trying to escape, grab his head, and twist it while flying up. Once I’m twenty feet in the air I drop his body on a woman trying to run away as well. I look up in Leigh Ann’s direction, her bright flames are starting to dim, as she’s powering down.

I land next to her, just as the last few disappear into the shadows that are Gotham City. She is grinning when she turns to me. She’s upset about something though, judging by the dampened light in her eyes. It looks like a fire out in the rain; fighting to stay alight against the force of the cold attacking it.

“What’s wrong?” I ask her. It isn’t right for someone as radiant as her to be so dim.

Her grin slips for a second, “It’s nothing important, I’ll talk to you about it when we’re somewhere secure. We need to leave because this fire show is likely to attract unwanted attention,” she whispers. She knows I can always hear her.

With that, we start our walk home. I feel the ache in my shoulders and back start. I should take a long hot bath when I get home. I must be walking weirdly because Leigh Ann wraps her arm under the coat concealing my wings, applying warm heat, soothing my sore muscles. I wrap my arm over her shoulder, and she leans her head against my side as we walk.

“Does that help at all?” she asks.

“Yes,” I say, trying not to shudder. Apparently, I don’t succeed, because she chuckles when I do. “We need to stop and let you change though, or at least throw on a coat. You’re too noticeable in that outfit,” I tell her.

“Okay Dad,” she says, pulling apart from me, and reaching into the garbage bin where we stored her clothes earlier and sliding on a pair of black pants, a red turtleneck, and a dark brown mini trench-coat.

We walk along in silence for a while, just trying to blend in. We have to make sure no one is following us back to our home. I decide that it was safe to start the descent home, when I hear a sound, my knees buckle and I fall, clutching my head. I vaguely catch Leigh Ann’s scared expression out of the corner of my eye before I blackout.

I wake up to warm hands and silence. I’m now in an alley with sound-canceling headphones on. My head is laying in Leigh Ann’s lap, her hands combing through my hair. I reach up towards the dial that controls how soundproof the headphones are, and turn them down slightly. I can still hear the noise, but it’s manageable now.

I look around, taking in my surroundings. There are brick walls on either side of me, Gotham’s starless night sky is overhead. It’s as dull and lifeless as always. There is too much pollution in Gotham to see stars. The weirdest part is the fire escapes. They are the kind installed in residential areas.

“In an alley. We’re just a couple blocks over from where we were,” Leigh Ann said.

I look at her in a panic. Why would she bring us to a random ally in Gotham if one of us is down?

“Don’t give me that look, we’re totally safe,” Leigh Ann said, rolling her eyes at my paranoia, “This area of Gotham is relatively safe. Plus, you’re super heavy.”

I pull myself out of her lap and lean against the brick wall, shuddering from the sudden lack of warmth. I lean my head back, looking up, trying to piece together what happened. I remember the sound. Knowing that the headphones are probably blocking out the noise, I turn the dial down. Then I hear it. It is a high-pitch ringing. It’s super familiar.

My eyes widen, “We have to go! The sound it’s someone’s emergency beacon.”

I watch Leigh Ann’s head whip towards me, causing her ponytail to hit her in the face. She ignores it. She whips her phone out of her pocket. I watch as she presses the first number on her emergency contact list. Riddle.

I know because my phone’s set up the same way. All our phones are programmed to have him listed as our first contact on our emergency contact list.

“Riddle? We have a problem,” Leigh Ann says into the phone, getting up to pace the ally.

I can’t hear his side of the conversation because of my headphones. I’d be willing to bet his response was a shortcut, “What?”.

“Someone’s emergency beacon has been activated,” says Leigh Ann. She stops pacing, tilting her head to the side, and furrowing her eyebrows in the way she does when she’s really trying to pay attention to what someone is saying. This is until her eyes widen, the flames in them sparking for a second. She pulls the phone from her face saying, “Of course you knew this already.” She then turns to me looking exasperated. “Who told you?” she asks, before exclaiming, “Robert!”

I roll my eyes at her. It’s not a hard puzzle to figure out. Robert very rarely leaves the house, and when he does, Riddle’s normally with him.

“Ask Riddle what he wants us to do,” I tell her.

I watch as she asks Riddle my question. She makes that face again, before pulling her phone away and quickly shoving it in her coat pocket. “He wants you to find whoever's triggered the alarm. Once you do make sure it’s safe to enter before you engage. He explicitly told me to tell you not to throw yourself in danger if it can be avoided.”

I stand up, nodding, “Am I taking you with me, or leaving you behind?”

“Behind for now. Once you get intel on the situation, your orders are to engage only if necessary and then call in using our phones to get more orders,” she says quickly. She is clearly upset but trying to stay focused. Unfortunately, I don’t have time to stop and console her, but I know that I don’t. I have to go.

Leigh Ann is caught up in her thoughts. She’s looking towards the mouth of the ally. I take off my jacket, wad it up, and chuck it at her. I listen to her shriek in surprise, before jumping up to take off into the air.

Before I even got to the building I could smell the blood. I know it’s Kat’s. His blood smells different than everyone else's because of his mutation.

“Shit Kat,” I whisper when I land on the neighboring building, “What did you do?”

[s-creations]

Return the Flames - Chapter 2

All at Dead Bird Studios knew of Amos' (The  Conductor's) ability. How the owl could suddenly erupt into flames if  angered enough. When the studio first opened, Dominic (DJ Grooves) was  told that Amos had his ability under control. Nothing to worry about. No  possible loss of anything from an open flame.

A few years later however, and that control seems to have lessened to a dangerous degree.

It should have just been a simple, week long drive to fix the problem. It really should have been.

Dominic should have asked a lot more questions and should have been prepared for a twist ending.

_________________

Fandom: A Hat in Time Rating: General Audience Relationships/Pairings: The ConductorXDJ Grooves Warnings: Eventual depictions of violence, slow burn relationship, named characters, attempt of an accent, being hunted down, a race against time (sort of).

In two days time, the back of Dominic’s trunk was filled with suitcases. Dead Birds Studio had its doors closed, with its workers being told to relax at home for the next week. All were confused as to why their bosses were leaving, together, for so long, together. But there was a spark of hope that this was the indication that the feud was well and truly over. 

 Dominic closed said trunk before casting his eyes over to the studio steps. Amos was taking time to give farewells to his family. Grandchildren climbing over the elder owl, who was speaking to a very sickly looking one. Even with a few mottled patches, Dominic knew it was Amelia from the numerous photos that hung from Amos’ office. 

 The penguin knew that the younger owl was very ill. With what, he’d never known. But it exhausted her, seeming to continuously molt, Amos being heard from his office shouting to make sure she was cared for. The conductor constantly fretted over the possibilities. Amos worked over time as train conductor, director, and baby sitter when Amelia needed a day to sleep. Dominic may not like the other’s personality some times, the penguin couldn’t deny that Amos was an amazing father. Pushing himself to a dangerous degree. 

 Amos was speaking quickly and quietly, occasionally reaching out to preen a few feathers on Amelia. Who in turn would just smile and nod, giving a gentle response, eventually pulling Amos into a tight hug. When they broke apart, Amos helped his daughter back into her wheelchair. It was a bit of a challenge to get the grand kids off of him. A pure white dove, the nursemaid if Dominic remembered, helped pull the tiny birds off. Now free, Amos placed a gentle kiss on Amelia’s forehead before making his way over to the car.

 The penguin caught Amelia’s eyes and gave a wave in greeting. Which she returned in kind with another warm smile. 

 “Oi, are we goin’ or not.” Amos huffed as he climbed into the car. 

 “Alright Darling, alright. Let’s get this show on the road then.” Climbing in as well, Dominic brought the car to life and pulled out of the parking lot.

 They’d left early enough that the streets were bare. The sky was an inky darkness, the stars unseen among the steady lights of the city. The silence stretched on between them. Dominic itched to turn on some music. But he wasn’t sure what Amos would not complain about. Although the penguin also wasn’t sure what to talk about to fill the silence. They’d just started and it already felt like it had gone on for too long. Clearing his throat, the penguin went with the first safe topic that came to mind.

 “Amelia looks well.” Dominic chanced as the traffic light turned green. 

 “She is…” Amos offered as a reply. 

 “Is she...okay with this? This trip, I mean.”

 “More than I am.”

 “You didn’t have to take my offer-”

 “Not that, ya peck neck. She’s actually thankful I’m doin’ somethin’ reasonable about this.”

 “For once.”

 “And what does that mean.”

 “That you only recently stopped doing your own stunts.”

 “Ya sound like my bloody health insurance.”

 “But you can admit, I have a point.”

 “Peck neck.”

 “Bringing the original topic back. Are you worried about the trip?”

 “There’s...a lot ta worry about. But I did spend the better part of these days ta make sure she was financially set. So, that’s one less fret.”

 “Are you expecting a problem with her while we’re gone?”

 “...No. Not really. And I thought I told ya no more questions.”

 “It’s in relation to the conversation about your daughter. I wasn’t sure how far that request went.”

 “She’s fine. She has help. She’s goin’ ta be set. There, we talked. Now leave it.”

 Dominic felt his feathers ruffle in frustration, but did as requested. It wasn’t his place to push for answers and he honestly didn’t have the fighting energy at the moment. If the Conductor was going to shut down then the penguin wasn’t going to worry about it. He was just a convenient ride. But as they left the city limits and silence fell again, Dominic searched for another point of conversation. Anything to just get rid of this tension.

 It dawned on him how little he and Amos had in common. Amos never opened up and, when they were full time rivals, they weren’t ones to share personal information or interests. Even if the penguin liked conversing, when they were fighting he knew better than to try and get close to the other. Now that the rivalry fell away, there was still too many years of animosity to just have everything be okay. This new beginning was going to be hard to achieve. Especially if Amos shut down like this.

 Dominic was broken from his musings hearing the other beginning to snore. It wasn’t as loud as the penguin thought it would be. Just a gentle whistling created by the owl’s barely opened mouth. Such a contrast to his large personality. Dominic chuckled as he refocused on the road. 

 Turning on the radio and keeping the volume low, Dominic let himself become lost to the music.

         It was burning.

  A fire alight in his chest that was steadily growing. Clawing, tearing at his throat as it tried to escape. When it couldn’t, it started to consume him. Fear rising as he felt his body starting to melt from the heat. The inky blackness that surrounded him, the cool pressure, filled with bright, brilliant stars that shined in the quiet calm. It was maddening. 

  As he burned, it’s soothing presence was mocking. It seemed so close. That he could reach out and touch it. To calm the flames that consumed him. But it seemed to move away as he scrambled forward. He needed relief. 

  A noise, a voice, a chanting started growing from the distance.

  “Release, burn, return…”

  He couldn’t. It hurt too much. He didn’t want to.

  “Release, burn, return…”

  No, no he can’t.

  “Release, burn, return…”

  STOP!

 “Amos.”

 Giving a startled gasp, Amos woke, quickly scanning the area. He was first aware of how close Dominic was to him. Worry clearly seen on the penguin’s face. Next was the fact they were parked in a large lot. A large, grandly decorated hotel spotted in the distance. Amos almost winced seeing the night sky spread above them. 

 “Amos,” Dominic spoke up again, “Are you alright? Were you-”

 “‘M fine… Did...I sleep all day?”

 “Yeah, you did.” Dominic stood, stepping away from the owl. He wasn’t sure why Amos was nervous so suddenly. But he didn’t really want to be within hitting range if things turned ‘fight of flight’ with the owl. “I figured it would be best for us to rest for the night.”

 “Aye...are we makin’ good time?”

 “We are, but I need some sleep.  I’m going to get our bags. Take some time to wake up.” 

 Amos gave a grunt in response. Rubbing his forehead as Dominic headed to the trunk, the owl’s hand eventually traveled down and rested on his chest. Where the uncomfortable burning sensation was coming from. It was bearable, for the moment. No urges to release flames from his mouth. He was surprised he survived the majority of the day without that. But, he worried more about how much long he was going to last. 

 “You alright?”

 For the second time that night, Amos was startled to attention. He recovered quickly and stood. Actively avoiding making eye contact with the penguin. “I said ‘M fine. Give me my suitcase.” 

 “Come now Darling, you’re on this trip to relax. I can handle this.” Dominic took Amos’ moment of stunned confusion to lock the car and begin the treck up to the hotel. He smirked hearing familiar, anger filled footsteps rushing towards him.

 “‘M not a crippled, old bird. Ya don’t need ta mother hen me. Now, give me my bag.”

 “Amos, you’ve been bursting into flames. You’re clearly in pain and you needed a companion on this journey. I’m here to make sure you don’t push yourself. So, that means I will handle the bags.”

 “...Ya peck neck.”

 “Good counter argument.” And with that, Grooves let it drop. If Amos’ silence was anything to go by, he was done as well. 

 The owl’s grumpy demeanor slightly dropped as they entered the lobby. The interior reflected the exterior in it’s design. Pure white with ornately designed golden accents. The furniture matched the color scheme, Amos worrying he would trip over something if he wasn’t paying that close attention. The only pop of color came from the floral arrangements. Bundles of green with breaks of blue, yellow and pink flowers. 

 It was relatively empty, save for the workers and stragglers like themselves. 

 Amos hung back, deciding Dominic didn’t need to be crowded as he checked them in. He claimed a cushioned seat nearby, grunting as he attempted to get comfortable. A hand reached up to rub his chest again. The heat was still down, but there was that constant burning. Peck, he hated feeling like this. Old, exhausted, in pain. He couldn't wait for this to be over with. 

 Amos’ attention perked hearing a familiar laugh. Dominic was conversing with the hostess, both enjoying something the penguin had said. No doubt. With how charismatic, down right  charming the other was. Grooves could say anything that could just light up the room.

  U̬̒n̩̓l̨̯̳̓̈i̫̋k͎̰̥̍̌́e̼̿̈͜ ẙ̱͙̏ö͕́͘͠��͈u̠͉̗͗̐.̳̬̙̇̊͗

 The owl coughed, frantically covering his mouth when some flames flickered out. He hunched over to hide himself away. He needed to get to the room. If he could make it to the shower, he could cool himself down. What was taking Grooves so long!

 “Amos?”

 He snapped back to attention. Dominic standing over him with a look of worry. Amos stood, stumbling slightly as he put weight on his legs.

 “Whoa, Amos, are you-”

 “Room, now.” The Conductor coughed out, a few flames licking against his cheeks.

 “I...right. Right, come on then.”

 It was a tense and quiet track to their room. Dominic kept a hand on Amos’ shoulder to direct the owl. As his focus remained on keeping the flames at bay. The attempted to appear ‘normal’ while quickly moving to the properly numbered room. As soon as they entered, Amos made a direct line towards the bathroom. 

 Ignoring the fancy decor, the owl climbed into the tub and turned the water onto the coldest setting. He let out a strangled gasp of relief as the water hit him. It was brief contact, however, as the liquid seemed to evaporate as soon as it made contact. There was a moment of shock when ice cubes suddenly slid into the tub, pooling at his feet. Only to look up and find Dominic holding the signature ice bucket, looking sheepish. 

 “I figured...ice would help.” Dominic offered with a weak shrug. 

 Amos nodded. He sat down, leaned back to allow water hitting his face and chest. “Think you could get me some more?”

 “Yeah...hang tight Darling.”

 Amos merely gave a wave. Letting himself lay out as best he could, he picked up a handful of ice to eat it. All turning to water as before it even touched his tongue. A small cough brought his attention back to Dominic. 

 “Do you want me to just pour it on you or…”

 “Give it.” Amos dumped the contents directly onto his chest. A small sigh of relief escaped him, eventually holding the bucket back out. “More.” 

 “Think you could ask politely?”

 “I’m in pain. Politeness is not my biggest concern.”

 Bucket returned to the penguin and left alone, Amos buried himself into the already collected ice. It was slowly lowering his raging temperature. The owl allowed himself to relax, falling asleep before Dominic returned with another round.