MAELSTROM [femPercy x DC]

Chapter 30 - Pubs, Prisoners, Partners, and Pacts [part 1]

The next day was busy. Percy didn't even have time to pop by Jason's room to check if he was still indifferent about her being Maelstrom, and that being said, still planning on keeping her secret. She had wanted to text him to make sure, but realised she hadn't yet got his number. 

And then she remembered that she DID have his number, but hadn't saved it. After all, he had sent her all the files on Mr. Freeze the previous night. Which she found extremely useful, matter of the fact. She spent the entire day studying all the information, and rechecking the location signals Marcus and Eight sent her, for Mr. Freeze. She also prepared a speech to try and move Mr. Freeze into helping her, and accepting her help with his wife. There was no way a villain would help a random assassin without something in return, after all. Even if he was one of the nicer ones.

Percy was now on her way to the iceberg lounge, dressed up in a [shiny, but more modest than most] minidress, her dark hair tied up in a loose bun. The lair of most Gothamite villains did have brilliant security, after all. And she had decided that it would be easier for Mr. Freeze to warm up to her if she looked like another regular girl rather than an assassin with a sword on their first meeting.

And so, here she was, sitting in the backseat of Marcus's car, silently mocking and making faces at him for no particular reason. It was clear she wasn't fond of him. Perhaps because Talia deemed him more competent than her, and her as a girl who required him as a babysitter.

Percy did not like being babysat.

At first glance, the Iceberg lounge, home of the Penguin, [a man Percy hated, but decided not to mess with on this visit], was a normal pub. But of course, only few knew of the deeper level, where all the true faces of the Gotham people lay. Villains, corrupt policemen, DAs, and all of the sort came there. Perhaps for a drink, perhaps for more. 

Finding Mr. Freeze was so much harder than Percy had anticipated. Where the hell was he? He wasn't in the pub... but the location Marcus and Eight gave said he was here. And the spells of a Hecate demigod and the son of Mercury were almost never wrong. 

'But then again, maybe Marcus screwed something up...', Percy thought, before staring at the signal again, 'Why the hell is the signal from somewhere INSIDE the walls? Unless.. he's INSIDE THE WALLS?!'

Percy took this as a sign to say goodbye to the pretty girl getup and don her uniform. SHe didn't want her face to be known as the random girl blowing up the iceberg lounge, no she had enough of the explosion reports. She felt around the wall and managed to reach a latch, which she used to open up the wall. There was Penguin standing in front of her, some weird contraption in his hand, ready to shoot at her.

"Hah? You're not Batman..." he said, trailing off, as a loud BOOM signified the entrance of another figure. 

'Batman. OF COURSE. What the hell is up with my luck?!' Percy internally questioned, as she cursed the fates.

"Maelstrom? You're with the Penguin?"

"Maelstrom? Who the hell is she? Another one of your accomplices, Batman?"

His jaw squared, and he spoke directly to her.

"I'll deal with you later. Right now, help me get these people out."

The penguin shot with his weird gun, which seemed to throw out ice. 

'Must belong to Freeze. So is Freeze in his custody or something? Or is he like, kidnapped?', Percy wondered, as she manipulated the frozen water to try and release the people. Clearly Batman knew where Freeze was. And if the only way to get him to cooperate was helping him, then she didn't quite seem to have a choice.

After a quick brawl, Maelstrom and Batman were moving about the room, surveying everything. Percy turned on the spare voice modifier Talia had given her, just in case of situations like these, and spoke. [Batman broke her original one while trying to take off her mask during their first meeting.]

"Ahem. Batman. Hello again. Why are you here?"

"Mr. Freeze was apprehended."

"Is he alright? Alive?" Maelstrom asked quickly, a small sense of urgency and desperation in her tone. Something that Batman took note of.

"I do believe so. Are you of relation to him? An Accomplice?"

"WHY is everybody calling me an accomplice? I don't work for anybody! I work with the league, Talia and I are sort of partners, you could say. I'm just not very well known. Or head of the league, but whatever."

"Partners?" his voice turned sour.

"Enough of that for now." Maelstrom's voice was stern, "we need to find Freeze. I need to find him. I need answers."

"To which questions?"

"Questions that certainly do not concern you, Batman. Let's make a pact. I won't harm you, or your hero friends in any way at all. If Talia and the others do- well, I can't control them. But I swear on the River Styx I won't do anything of the sort. Only in exchange for your cooperation. Don't try to abduct me, or whatever. You won't succeed unless I want you to, anyways. Just please. We're not enemies. You want justice. I want answers. We can work together. You'd rather have me as an ally than an enemy, after all. And for the people of Gotham... I don't kill, mostly. Only the worst ones. Like child traffickers, and scum like that. So I promise not to hurt your city either. You can call the pact off later, if you want. But until I find S- somebody I am looking for, someone very dear to me, who's gone missing, i would request you to stop trying to stop me. Because those people mean the world to me, and until I find them, or at least know if they're alive or dead, I will not hesitate to hurt people who get in my way. You included."

Batman silently stared at her, as if considering her deal.

'As if he'd accept. He's the Batman. Justice and all that. No way he'd make a deal with an unknown person who has alliances with a group of assassi-'

"OK. Deal. Pact. If you break your side of the pact, be assured, I won't stop till you're behind bars. You've proven yourself to not be dangerous to my family and city just yet, but until I know who you are, I can't be sure. Hopefully you'll reveal yourself in time, but remember, allies or not, anybody I know, or anybody in Gotham who gets hurt because of you... Well, you'll be getting a cell in Arkham Asylum. "

Percy gaped at him for a couple moments.

"WE-Well, I didn't quite expect you to actually accept, but I'm very grateful. Thank you. I won't betray our agreement. I promise. Now, I really do need to find Mr. Freeze..."

A/N SO we're getting closer to the climax of the first part of the story. This is the Freeze arc of the book Maelstrom. After this, and the Harley chapter, [in Talia's POV] which is next, we'll be entering the FINAL FIGHT arc.  And then a quiet resolution, and book 1, Maelstrom is DONE. [but still like ten to twenty more chapters]. The second book, which is already in planning stage, but not yet written, is like the sequel or something. I'll let you guys know what it's gonna be called in the next chapter. But that's enough of the technical spoilers and stuff. We're getting somewhere now, with a Bats and Strom pact and partnership. Jason also knows her identity. [old news, but whatevs]. What do you think will happen in the next chapter? Like I mentioned before, this is a sort of mix of the regular Batman universe, and then the Arkham City one [especially the Freeze arc], and the Arkham Knight one. Any ideas on who the final villain bad guy person is? You'll probably be a bit surprised, cus he's not really as powerful as the others, but probably the scariest at the same time. I'm babbling now, so enough of me trying to give away hints without actually giving any. Vote, comment and tell me what you think. Have a good morning or night [or in between?] wherever you are!