Rapunzel <J. Valeska>

3.5

The ride back from the doctor takes much longer than Daisy expected. She was sure that Lee was taking her back to the GCPD to sit in a holding cell, so she's shocked when they pull up outside an apartment complex and Lee gestures for her to get out.

At the girl's obvious confusion, the doctor explains, "Jim may still be suspicious of you, but I'm not. And besides, he has no evidence to keep you there longer than 24 hours, so there's no point in making you go back to the GCPD. It'll be much better for your recovery if you just stay with me."

Daisy smiles gratefully at the older woman, thankful for her kindness. She marvels at Lee's strength to go against Jim like that. Pepper always taught her to be afraid of men and avoid them because of what they're capable of, and Daddy—Jerome, darnit!—taught her that some men shouldn't be feared, but loved and obeyed, because they would take care of her and knew what was best for her. The girl had never been given any examples of strong women.

Well, that's not necessarily true. Pepper was strong, but in that she was independent and knew how to get through a lot and keep the two of them going. But, while she would often stand up for Daisy at risk of harm to herself, she still feared men in particular enough to give much more than she was willing if only to avoid conflict. Pepper would never outright disobey or mock Sal, she would only bend the rules so as to protect herself and Daisy but not enough to be obvious or to upset her boss.

Lee would do much more than that, it seems. Since Daisy met her, the woman has gone against Jim and argued with him multiple times, and not just for the sake of protecting Daisy. She's openly disagreed with the man who, while not necessarily her boss, has more authority than her as an officer over things like beliefs or the proper course of action to take. If that were Daisy and Jerome, the girl would acquiesce to his opinion, sure that he had more knowledge on the subject and would know best what to do.

Daisy isn't sure where the difference of all three women lies, whether it's an issue of confidence, knowledge, privilege, or just the character of the women forged by their different experiences.

Either way, Lee's apparent strength is intriguing to Daisy. She displays no fear in voicing her own opinion, at least to Jim. Maybe that speaks to the character of him and the other men Lee has encountered in her life. She hasn't been given a reason to fear repercussions from Jim or anyone else.

It gives Daisy some ideas on how to use her voice if or when she gets it.

•••

Jerome is still pissed when he returns to Galavan's apartment. His emotional state isn't helped by seeing the remaining Maniax goofing around in the living room and acting like total barbarians, especially that stupid Greenwood.

Though the ginger has already established his dominance over the group, the cannibal still glares at him as he zooms past to Theo's office. Jerome disregards him, intent on his mission. Thankfully he has the presence of mind to wait and knock on the door, knowing he'll need to keep on the billionaire's good side for the upcoming conversation.

"Come in," Theo drawls lazily from within.

Jerome composes himself and opens the door, stepping into the room.

"Jerome!" The man exclaims dryly. "Back again so soon? Have you already lost interest in your little toy?"

The teen resists the urge to take Galavan's bait. If he makes this about Daisy, he'll never get Galavan's approval and he'll have to go in solo to get his princess back.

"I have an idea for the climax of our little show," Jerome purrs without preamble. "It'll put everyone on the edge of their seats waiting for the grand finale. And, since the GCPD foiled our last field trip, it's only fit that they be the subjects of our retaliation."

Theo leans back in his seat a little, looking amused. "An intriguing idea. Have you conferred with your teammates about this?"

"You think those mindless buffoons care who we kill? They don't see the bigger picture, they're just along for the ride," he scoffs. "And besides, I've already proved I'm the boss of them, haven't I?"

"You certainly have, Jerome," Galavan admits. "But don't you think the GCPD is a risky target? Rushing into a building filled with men with guns who are trained to use them?"

"The only ones in there that are really dangerous are Jimbo and the new commissioner. If we can lure them away and off them before, it should be easy enough to catch the rest by surprise and take the place over to send a message," Jerome argues.

"I have plans yet for Jim Gordon, so we can't kill him, but we can have Barbara lure him out for Aaron to beat some sense into," the billionaire counters. "Once he's out, the rest of you can sneak in undercover, capture Essen and take the GCPD. Then you can kill Essen and film a message that we can leave for the media. How's that sound?"

"Perfect," Jerome agrees, secretly relieved that Theo went for the idea. "When can we do it?"

"Oh, I'll need some time to acquire supplies and such, so maybe a week or more? You guys can do a few small killings here and there to keep up the tension in the meantime," he replies.

"Really, a week? Why not a few days?" Jerome protests unthinkingly, worried about Daisy.

"I can't obtain GCPD uniforms and smoke bombs off the black market in such a short period of time. It matters not when we do it, only that we do it right," Theo says.

"Okay," Jerome relents. "I'm just antsy to get some revenge on those pigs."

"I'm sure you are," Theo smirks. "I assume I won't see much of you until then, what with your... hobby."

"Actually, I'll be spending some more time here. I feel like I've been neglecting the group and bottling a lot of energy I need to release," the ginger forces himself to reply.

"That's not what you've been doing?" Theo retorts, eyebrow raised.

Something inside Jerome snarls at the insinuation.

"No, not that kind of energy. I haven't gotten a good kill in a while," he growls.

"Of course," Theo tuts. "If that's all, then you can go now."

Without another word, Jerome turns and leaves as bidden. He couldn't handle another minute alone with Galavan anyway.

At least a week until I can see Daisy? How will I cope not knowing how she is?

Feeling his emotional stability crumbling, Jerome turns to exit, already wondering who his next victim would be.

—————————————————————
A/N
This is to make up for my dumbass forgetting to update last weekend. Hopefully I'll be able to get another update out this weekend too. I've ignored most of the iconic Maniax scenes because they're overwritten and everyone knows how they go. This story is about Daisy and Jerome, so I'm trying to focus on them as it pertains to their relationship and development. Also, I am stretching the timeline out some from the original in order to give Daisy some time to recover before the two meet again. There'll probably be a time skip from this chapter to next so you guys don't have to sit through that extra time too. Alright, that's all from me. Hope you guys enjoyed!
Gingy