Are You Afraid of the Dark?

What to do with Valencia?

"It's good to finally see you awake." A sudden voice roused me from my sleep.

I tried to reach up and rub my eyes but sadly, my hands were tied to the chair I was in. "Do you find it funny to tie me to chairs?"

Jonathan laughed. "I'll have to admit, it is quite amusing."

I growled at him, but he didn't seem to have a reaction to it.

"Now, since you are apparently immune to my Fear Toxin, I'm going to study you." Jonathan continued.

"Study me?" I threw my head back and cackled. "Because zat doesn't sound veird at oll."

He forcefully grabbed the sides of my face, causing me to stop laughing and go serious. "Listen, I really don't want to have to watch your pathetic life go by, but unfortunately, your life is important to my research." He let go and stepped away.

"Can't you find anyone else to spy on?" I growled.

"You are the only person who didn't have a reaction to my Toxin." Jonathan paused. "There is no one else."

"Are you going to put me in a box and prod me until I bleed? Or can I get back to my life as a criminal?"

"Well, actually, the previous." Jonathan answered, turning away from me and snuck a switchblade out of his briefcase.

I looked around the room I was in. It was white, but slightly dilapidated and rusted in the metal frames that held all of the furniture. There was a bed, two chairs-three if you counted the one I was in-, a table, and one door. "Vhere are ve?"

"You're still in Gotham, if that's what you're asking." Jonathan approached me with the knife, flipping it open. I balled my hands into fists. "Do I detect fear, Ms. Noir?" He grinned.

"You need to get your scanners checked if zat's vat you're detecting, Sherlock."

Jonathan glared and folded the blade. "Welcome to your new home!" He jeered and left the room with an expression of forbodding disgust.

"Jonathan!" I shouted, pulling at the restraints. "Jon, you didn't take off ze bounds!"

No answer.

Anger boiled in my veins and I gripped my hands into fists, making the shadows in the room warp and grow. I screamed and the bounds snapped, the room falling pitch black. I panted as I stood from the chair. The door's lock quivered then the door itself shook and smashed to pieces, allowing the darkness to pool into the hallway like smoke. I stepped out and looked around, in my darkness and natural darkness, I could see as if the lights were on, but only in negatives. There were three men with guns feeling about in the darkness with their flashlights on. Those poor, poor idiots. I left them and wandered through the hall, looking for Jonathan.

At the end of the hallway, there were two ways to go.

I turned left and walked about five paces before turning around at the sound of clapping.

"Very impressive,"

There was a man that I would've ran into if I'd went right. I said nothing but walked quietly towards the man.

From behind the him, someone was running towards us. Aww, they had a flashlight, too. Like that would do much.

"Edward, have you seen-" Jonathan rattled off, annoyed, but stopped himself. "or noticed a woman run through here?"

"How can I notice anything in this?" Edward gestured around, this being the dark.

Jonathan growled and went back towards the room I broke out of.

"I can see why Jonathan likes you, Ms. Noir." The man smirked.

I didn't answer.

"I know you're there, I can hear your breathing."

I sighed. "Who are you?" I whispered.

"Ed Nygma, formerly the Riddler. And you are impressive...from every conceivable angle." The man replied.

"You can't see me. For all you know, my face can be as marred as ze after effects of a bull in a china shop." I tilted my head, but then righted it, seeing as well, it's dark.

"I know I can't see you, but you're still impressive." Ed smiled.

I moved the darkness with my hands so that the only lighted space was around Ed and I.

"And you are quite beautiful, might I add." Ed's smirk returned.

I looked away from him. " 'I've had so many knives stuck in me, ven I'm given a flower I don't quite know vat to do.' "

"Bukowski. Very nice. A book lover and beautiful."

"Nein. Ich nein bin schön." I looked back at him in anger.

"Ja, du bist." He insisted.

I glared at him and jutted my jaw in contempt.

"You forget the last part of that quote. 'It takes time.' I'll keep insisting the fact that you are, indeed, beautiful until you believe it."

My glare was stagnant and I moved my hand to cover us in darkness again. I walked around Ed and down the hall where Jonathan came from. Edward chuckling as he heard my receding footsteps.

There was a door left open, light flickering inside the room. I passed into the threshold and saw it was a surveillance room, a bunch of monitors covered the wall to the right. The bottom row was covered in darkness, most likely caused by your's truly. There was a security guard quaking in his chair, holding onto a pocket flashlight, Jonathan having taken the one on the guard's belt. I grinned maliciously, let's scare the poor bastard.

I allowed the overhead light to flicker slightly causing the guard to jump. I'd stepped out of the room and covered my body in shadows. When I stepped in, I looked like a black ghost-like figure. The guard started screaming, saying, "Please don't hurt me! I've got a wife and kids!"

"Liar!" I hissed. "You live alone with sree cats! Your wife left you and took ze children!"

"H-How do you know that?" The guard shook.

"I know oll!!" I shouted making my voice come out as a low growl, letting the overhead light peeter out to nothing. The guard screaming bloody murder, I left, chuckling to myself.

But as I stepped out of the room, someone hit me over the head with something metal and I collapsed onto the ground.

*Revised 20 Jan, 2016*