Outer Scars, Inner Demons

Outer Scars, Inner Demons
A RP Fic by Spug & Bianca Marou

Chapter Five: The Real Deal


Scarface: "Tonight's the night, boys. Yah ready tah get this party started?"

An ever so evil of a grin across a normally sweet face. White and vicious in that pale face. Most predominate, the Scar that had finally scabbed off and was healing to almost a permanent reminder of what had broke him in the first place.

Scarface stood like a Ring Master in the middle of one of the large performance tents of Joker's abandoned carnival. Fedora instead of a top hat, but it was clear who everyone was listening to. Rhino to his left, Harley Quinn to his right. The rest of the Happy Freak-Freak Posse standing before him. It was all ready set go, time for the big parade in just a bit. They were just awaiting on the Clowns arrival so they could get this show on the road.

Tonight, Gotham is going tah be mine, like it shoulda been all along.

Joker/Gordon: And speak of the devil, and he doth appear.

"Never words better spoken, Woody?" the sound of gloved hands clapping from beyond the goons carried over their heads. The turned slowly, a bit of apprehension from the previous assault still evident in their expression.

"Oooooh, don't give me that look, fellas! I'm feelin' right as rain!" He tipped forward the wide brim of his panama hat, shadowing his face all for that irksome, piercing grin. He put his hands in his pockets. He strolled up toward the center of them, causing his own psychotic army to part before him like the red sea.

He walked up, but not all the way. In fact, he stood off to the side and sort of toward the back of Wesker's pedestal. "I certainly hope you're gonna be good enough to let me hit that little red button over at Boxy's. You know, to make up for holdin' out on me for so long and all." He pulled his spindly thin fingers from his pocket and rested them against his chest. "You'd-" he feigned a sniff, "-would make me the happiest man in the world!"

You'd actually make me the happiest man in the world if you'd drop dead right now, but things aren't that simple, are they? He masked his thoughts with those pearly gems gleaming from his mouth.

Outside the tent, in the darkness of a moonless sky, trenchcoat tails swished slightly as a certain Commissioner made another pursuit of a man lost to him once again. But this time, he came toward the front door. This time he looked guarding goons directly in the eyes. This time, his footsteps were accompanied by the sound of lightly clattering wood.

"Hey, you can't go in the-"

The sound of two quick shots and two falling goons sifted through the thin tent fabric.

Scarface/Penguin: Ah Scarface could be cute when he tilted Wesker's head in that way and that big ol smile was pushing at his ears making his nose crinkle and his forehead wrinkle under his fedora. So Lo was the clowns arrival.

"I dunno.. I kinda already promised yer doll there she could hit dah big switch after all, you'll have tah take it up wit here."

Harley Quinn pouted and stuck her lip out at the Joker. "Puddin' would yah take all my fun away, won't yah?" She did a small dance and brushed past Scarface, dancing her gloved fingertips on his back before throwing her arms around Mistah J's neck and swinging on him like a monkey. "Aw, Puddin' how about we hit the button together, it'll be just like a bit ol birthday surprise, too bad it's not really Boxy's birthday. "

A side glance past those sheening frames at the happy 'couple' and Scarface rolled his eyes under his glasses. Ugh! That disgusting clown, he's not worth her. Humph, at least with blowing up Boxy and getting Joker out of the way, she'll be all mine. He reached into his coat and almost in Jokers own fashion pulled out a remote control with a long ass antenna and passed it to the clown. Smiling as he did. It was a decoy of course. There was enough C-4 in that small box to take out a city block. He was just going to have to make sure he got the dame away before Joker pushed it.

"Let yer big daddy press dah button sugar, he's been a good sport." Harley pouted again, but it was cut off by gunfire and the sound of bodies hitting the ground.

Scarface whirled to face the tent entrance and actually let out a growl. He snapped a pointed finger at some of the goons and hissed. "Don't just stand there like lumps of shit, go see what it is."

A pinhead and a fire eater looked at each other then headed toward the entrance drawing guns.

Else where, at the Carnivals entrance, those shots had not passed keen ears of a birdie either. That beak like nose protruded from under a pulled down top hat and Penguin grinned his nasty teeth as he slowly looked up at the looming carnival and smiling happy balloons. He spat and then gave his good umbrella a shake before waddling forward. Hopefully he wasn't too late for the main show.

Joker/Gordon: Sugar. That little weasel called her sugar. The dark mind beyond the pale face seethed, but he said no more as he heard the shots. "Schnookums, do your lumpy a favor and get behind Woody's pony." He patted Harley's shoulder, looking toward the tent entrance.

A broad shouldered silhouette stepped before the tent door flaps, shadow cast from the light behind him. When the freaks exited, they were likewise mowed down with a flourish of fire. Some of the shots missed and tore through the tent fabric, creating a hole and exposing a hint of glistening gun barrel.

Fingers appeared between the fabric flaps, and one was pushed aside. Through the opening created stepped Gordon. Not the self-righteous Gordon that had appeared at the club. Not the face that Arnold Wesker had to wake up to. It was tired, heavy browed, and put very bluntly, fed up with the world and all it could do to him. On this strange facsimile of the renowned lawman, resting on his right arm, was something no one could have ever expected him to be carrying.

"What the fuck are you dummies doin'! And what the hell is the Dummy doin' up there all like yer the head Gruno or somethin'. Get yer ass down!" Wooden jaws gnashed and Scarface's shining glass eyes looked furious with their thick eyebrows.

Gordon's mouth didn't move once while the head spun on the neck almost all the way around to look at the gray haired man holding him. "Take us over there, John Coppah, if ya wants me to jaw with these loogans."

"Yes, Mr. Scarface," he said, and started walking forward.

Scarface: One would have to imagine the utter confusion that ran through the crowd as Gordon stepped through the tent flaps with .. Scarface.

Scarface?
SCARFACE?

Scarface..WESKER!'s mouth had fallen open. Had there not been those impenetrable frames on his face, one would have bet that those baby blues would have been vividly wide with surprise. He stared. And Stared.

And Rhino stared. The big goons face pulled in the dimmest expression ever. A few blinks and his head started shifting back and forth between the cop with the dummy to Wesker's body. And he stared.

And Harley Quinn stared. Leaning out almost sideways from behind Rhino. She made a confused noise and blinked a few times herself.

Wesker!Scarface finally found his voice. A hand shot out pointing at Gordon and he utterly screeched. "WHAT THE FUCK IS THAT? HOW THE FUCK DID JOO GETS MY OTHER BODY? YER NOT AH VENTRILOQUIST.. WHAT DAH FUCK IS THE DEAL. MOW THIS ASSHOLE DOWN!!!"

And no one moved. NO ONE.

Rhino coughed. "But.. he's holdin' Mr.. Scar.. you.. he's holding..." Rhino lifted a hand to his head and started to scratch away.

What is this? What the fuck is Gordon up too? Dat's my old body, Dat's my voice.. dat's not me.. it's some kinda trick.. I'm in dummy's body..

Wesker!Scarface felt his own head starting to hurt..


Joker/Gordon: "You thinks you's the boss? Let me tell you somethin' ya little skid rogue! You's is NOTHIN'! It was the 333 dead bodies hung from the hangin' tree that made me, Dummy. Not yous. Oh, I get you tried to tell yourself I was all in yer head. I get it help ya sleep at night. Gut yer not gettin' off that slick." A wooden hand lifted to motion to Gordon behind him with it's thumb.

"..This guy, though. He's got galls. You'd whimper if I so much as swatted a damn fly. Gut he's got the makin's of a real gruiser in him. Hey, you still want I should-"

"Yes, yes I do." Gordon extended his right arm toward the Joker quickly, the wooden puppet snapping up it's little tommy gun and firing away before anyone could scarcely collect their wits.

The clown prince jolted, spurts of red squirting out of his chest and his body shuddering. "Guhhhh..." a whimper noise escaped his throat, and he stumbled backward, losing his hat to show his eyes rolling up into his skull. He fell off the short platform, awkward so his fixed face was staring flabbergasted at the tent wall, and frail form deathly still.

"That hit the spot, eh Coppah!?" He pulled up the gun, proudly blowing at the tip as Gordon pulled him back toward his chest. Then, together, they tilted their heads back, laughing the same, bizarrely satisfied laugh.

When they were done, Scarface looked up at Wesker. "Just get the fuck outa here, wannage. Me 'n' Gordon here'll take it the rest of the way. You can't do nothin' for 'im, anyway. Gut since up 'til now you were sucha good sport, I'll have the gig lug escort ya to the door. Show 'im out!" It gave a wooden nod to Rhino.

Scarface/Penguin: "PUDDIN! NOOOOOOOO!"

Harley Quinn let out a scream as Joker's body went flying off the platform. She ran stumbling over to where he'd landed and dropped to her knees. Arms went around his neck and she buried her face into his neck and started to bawl.

Wesker!Scarface himself was stammering. Staring at Gordon as the cop and his former body were laughing like maniacs. Hearing the threats. It sure sounded like him. Acted just like him. If He'd had the opportunity to have someone else controlling him other then Dummy..sure he'd have taken it.

Is that me? What.. then.. Am I just Dummy acting like me? I am Scarface.. that can't be me.. No it can't. His head was starting to hurt. "NO! I'm Scarface!" He screeched and reached into his suit pulling out a gun.

And then he quirked, his throat twist and Wesker's voice was thrown. "No.. that's you! I'm Me.."

"Oh no you don't I'm not fallen for thissss.." He went to aim his gun at the other, but a huge meaty hand came down on it and He was picked right up off his feet by Rhino. "Sorry Mr. Wesker, but Scarface's is the boss.."

"RHINO. I'M SCARFACE! THAT'S AN IMPOSTER!"

"y-yer an imposter!"

"NOO I'm Not! It's a TRAP! It's a Trick!"

"I looove you Jameees."

Rhino had the most confused look on his face as he began walking toward the tent flaps with the squirming little man dangling from his hands, twin voices coming from him and another Scarface just behind him. He wasn't even aware the Tent flaps were settling back as if someone had just entered.

In fact, in all this commotion, no one noticed the fat little party crasher till the tip of a gun Umbrella was jabbed into Gordon's lower back and a gleaming monocle shimmered from behind James' side. Penguin let out a hiss and smiled pointing with his free flipper at Rhino.

"Tut Tut everyone, let's not abandon the floorshow so soon, after all, I'd like the little Turtledove to at least be around to watch me BLOW a hole through his nesting mate. "

Rhino paused, Wesker/Scarface, who'd gone silent, dangling from his arms.

And everyone was staring again.

Gordon: "....You gastard's should pay more attention! Now look what you've gone 'n' done!"

He hadn't expected this. Gordon's breath tensed up and he looked ahead. Penguin wasn't supposed to have been here. And now, here he was, about to have a hole blown completely through him by the fat little bird. Of all the people that could have killed him, why would it have to be him?

He tilted his head to look toward Wesker. "I love you too, Arnold."

"God, go ahead 'n' shoot 'im, bird! I don't wanna have this faggoting around anymore," the dummy said, slapping a hand over it's face with a wooden clank.

Penguin/Wesker: The entire tent had gone so deadly silent. So very quiet. Not a goon or freak was making a noise.

It was so quiet one could hear a whining starting. A low one that seemed to be throwing itself all around. Like a hum. It was coming from the small man's throat that dangled from Rhino's hands.

I love you too, Arnold.

"Shame shame, you always were the betrayer Scarface, I'm going to peck to you pieces when I finish with Gordon here. Sorry to be the sinking titanic to your love boat, Rooster, but it ends now. Tah-tah. "

A gunshot rang out.

And Penguin screeched as his Umbrella went flying across the tent floor. The little bird stumbled back and whirled just in time to see Wesker sliding right out of Scarface's suit top, smoking gun still in his hand and come CHARGING ACROSS the floor at him.

"LEAVE JAMES ALONE!!!!!!!!!" Wesker screamed as he slammed right into the little fat bird and knocked him over onto the dirt floor. And then the little man was upon him. Jumping right on his belly and slamming the barrel of the gun into his already beat up face. Brows were down, face was clenched in anger.

Arnold Wesker had never looked so mad in his life. But it WAS Arnold.. and not Scarface.

"You Bastard! You Bastard! " Slam. Crack. Slam.

Gordon: Gordon was quick to step away from his would be murderer. It was his turn to stare blankly at Wesker as he buried his gun grip repetitively in the hook-nosed face. Many a man had this short, portly criminal broken, but Wesker was one man who was out to break Cobblepot back.

What's he doing? This isn't like him, but... It's him! It's not Scarface! It's him!

"Arnold stop!"

"No, Dummy! Keep it up and you kin have me gack!"

Gordon glared at the wooden automaton held up in his hand. Then he looked back at the fiercely ferocious assailant before him. This isn't like him at all. "Don't let that asshole have changed you altogether."

"You know you want to, Dummy. C'Mon, he deserves it."

"Don't listen to him!"

"What right do you have to argue, I just did yer-" the dummy slipped from Gordon's hand as he dropped his arms, loudly rattling beside his feet.

"Just come home with me, Arnold. Please? I don't need this thing protecting me as long as I have you." James pleaded with the last bit of hope in his body seeping through those glasses lenses.

Wesker: Oh yes. He deserved it. Cobblepot deserved to be dead for what he'd done to him. It was just like that night in the bar, he just kept hitting, hitting at what had hurt him so bad...

Then Gordon's voice broke through and Wesker's hand stop coming down like hell onto Cobblepot's face. He paused for a moment, just sitting there on the bird's stomach, chest heaving in and out slowly. The bird himself was just luring his head in pain.

This isn't right.. if you continue .. and you kill him, you will turn back into what you hate the most.

Wesker jerked his head up and let out a gasping sob. "I'm soooo sorry James.." He scrambled off the beaten birds body and closed the short distance to where Gordon stood. The little guy collided with the strong chest and buried his face into Gordon's shirt collar as his arms went around the others back.

Wood creaked as he STOOD on Scarface to do so. "I love you soo much, just.. I want to go home.. please take me home.. "

Gordon: He hugged him tight. It felt like it had been so long, too long, since he felt the throbbing of Wesker's heart, the feel of his arms around him. He just squeezed and basked. He had him back, finally. After thinking he'd lost him forever, he had him back.

"Lets go home," he said quietly, and pulled back to look at Wesker's face.

"NOT so fast, Jimbo!" The words ran cold as ice.

It had been somewhere around Wesker's argument with himself that Joker had started moving his eyes again, listening carefully. He'd waited patiently through the surprising introduction of the Penguins voice. And now, well, there couldn't be any more perfect timing for a punchline.

"Change of plans! I think I want to add one more tragedy to the Gordon family portrait! HAHAhahaha!" He pulled a gun, now crusted red from blood packets attached to his Kevlar vest, and aimed it toward Wesker.

"No!" James screamed, and tried to clutch him even tighter. This time, he'd have to take them both out.

Wesker: It felt so good to feel James' arms around him again. He'd spent so many days trapped inside his own mind, and all he'd ever wanted was to be back with James. To be right here where he was right now, in this man's arms.

It had been for this man he'd broken back through. It had been for this man that had willed himself to live through Penguin's attack. For this man and only this man.

He heard the clowns triumphant return from death and felt his blood chill. God no. Not now, not when they'd just found each other again. Why would the world have to be so cruel?

His own arms tightened as Gordon clutched him so close. So tight together he could feel the other man's heart pounding viciously to the very core of his small frame.

At least we'll go together.

These two lovers were not the only persons who noticed the Joker's sudden vibrate aliveness, Harley Quinn had curled up in a ball next to the Joker's body when she'd thought he was dead. So when he suddenly popped up and aimed his gun she jerked up as well. Big blue eyes shimmering with tears. She sat there for just a second before..

"PUDDIN' YER ALIVVVVVVVVVVVEEEEEEE!" And tackled him, right onto his back again.

Gordon/Joker: "BwUH?!" the sudden tackle of Harley threw his arm off. The whistle of the bullet and the pop of the air made Gordon cringe as it went close to his face and perilously close to the top of Wesker's head.

One eye popped open. Then the other. We're still alive! He let go to grab onto Wesker's hand. "Come on!" he shouted, and started tugging him toward the door.

"Of course I'm still alive!" He pushed himself up with her still on him and aimed at the escaping duo again. Though this time, it wasn't Harley's intervention that saved them. It was a black, sleek, baterang knocking the gun from his hand. His face became furious.

"DON'T JUST STAND THERE! DO SOMETHING!" He yelled at the dazed goons. All of which would soon find themselves cloaked in darkness as another sharp whizzing object spurred through the air and imbedded itself in the overhead light.

Wesker/Penguin: Ah Batman to save the day. Or had the Dark Knight been just waiting for his moment? Needless, As the panic raised, the goons began to stammer and run around, Mostly into each other as the Cape Crusader came down in to the mist of them and brought justice with hard kicks and quick punches.

They were alive! The clown had missed. Wesker let out a happy sob as Gordon grabbed his hand and began tugging him toward the door. Time to leave, and let Batman clean up the rotten mess that littered this place.

The little guy ran with the cop all the way to the tent flap then suddenly pulled his hand from Gordon's. "J-Just a moment, James.. " He turned and ran back toward the fighting.

"Waaaaaaauuuugh." Oswald Cobblepot groaned as he slowly sat up. Shit. Batman was here. His revenge plan had failed, it was a trap after all. Ragh. He was just going to have find another way..

His thoughts were cut off completely when a shoe caught him right.. between.. the legs! As pain shot through his body, and just before he keeled over onto his back he caught those sheening glasses and scowling face of Arnold Wesker.

"NOT yours!" Wesker said matter-of-afactly and then turned running back to Gordon taking the other man's hand with a smile.

"Lets go."

Gordon: When he let go of his hand, Gordon kind of made a grab back at him. He reached out, then blinked as he saw Arnold land a hard kick in the groin of the smarmy aristocrat. He couldn't help it. He smiled.

"Yeah, let's get the hell out of here!" he snagged Wesker's hand and started back toward the tent flap with him.

Never had cool night Gotham air been more freeing. With Scarface laying behind them, with Penguin's pride thoroughly trounced by someone he'd considered a weakling, and with his chance to get back at the Joker for ruining his life (if only in jest itself) everything had worked out according to plan.

Batman's plan.

Even if the bastard could have let him in on a little more information than he did.

~*~

“Ooooooh, I knew it would end this way. Batman busts in and kills the whole routine. That would have been the best…” Joker grumbled, squirming in his straight-jacket in the back of the paddy wagon heading back for Arkham. He looked behind him and grumbled at the buckles, then looked back forward at the bound girl sitting across from him.

Her thickly painted lips pouted at him. She sniffed. “I’m sorry puddin! I thought you were dead!”

“Of course I wasn’t, you’d think I’d let a Lincoln log with an attitude be my end?” He pick up his foot and crossed his legs, resting his ankle on his knee. “The other night at the docks, I just got so worked up that you were payin’ so much attention to Woody, I had to take a walk. And while I was out, I got a little visitor.”

Harley blinked hard at him. “…Bats?! You and Bats were in cahoots!?”

“Ah, you know us, old college buddies and everything.” He bent over and used his nose to scoot up his sock, bared his teeth, and snagged the edge of a barely visible folded sheet of paper. He tugged it out of his sock and dropped it onto the hard metal seat beside of him. “He offered me a chance to get Scarface out of the picture. So he brought me-” he grunted as he tried to unfold the paper with his nose, “-a Kevlar vest with ink bags. Then he took the puppet with an animatronic head and gave it to Jim Gordon, with a voice changer in it and cameras in it’s eyes so Bat’s could watch from safety and have the puppet shoot me. He knew that Gordon was the only guy he knew that could stroll in to face ol’ knot-head and not get blown away.”

Harley’s jaw dropped. “You mean… the puppet wasn’t… Gordon wasn’t…”

“Gordon was completely game once he knew what the plan was. He didn’t tell him that a certain little birdy had a fish put in front of his beak to lure him in.” He looked at the paper and started squirming within the jacket. “Oh, it would have been soooo lovely too, I was gonna break the plan and make the best joke ever. Me popping up and landing a cap in that Q-Ball- OW”

Her heel had made contact with his shin. “Well I’m glad you didn’t! I still like puppet head!…” She pouted again then, though. “I still like you best of all though.”

“Baby!” He said, slinging his arms apart with buckles dangling free. “I knew you’d come around!”

She gasped, bells on her head jingling as she jerked back. “Puddin?!”

“At least he gave me that page. There’s about twenty minutes between here and Arkham by my guestimates. How about you and I make the best of it before we bust loose, if you catch my drift.”

She almost blushed through the thick make-up over her face. “Ooooh, you’re so romantic.”
~*~

An empty Carnival was one of the spookiest places in the world.

Everyone was gone now, Joker, Harley, the fat bird, all of the clown's goons, all rounded up by the cops and carted away.

Everyone except Rhino.

The big goon swatted tent flaps and ropes out of his face as he climbed out from where he'd been hiding. Amazing that such a big guy could disappear like he did. Usually he'd never cower from a fight with Batman, but with all the crazy stuff going on, he'd felt a little overwhelmed and found it best if he just ducked out of site for a bit.

He dusted off his suit and walked out to the center of the tent. It was pretty dark, there was a slit in the top of the tent where no doubt the bat had made his entrance and some moonlight was filtering down onto the floor.

And there laying in that stream of light. Was Scarface.

Rhino stopped and stared at the little wooden dummy just laying on the floor. It was unmoving now. Void of life and nastiness it had displayed before. It was damn creepy.

He expected it to move. Expected it to snap it's glass eyes at him and yell at him to do something. Like it always did. But it just laid there. It's suit mussed with shoe prints and dirt grinded into it.

It wasn't right.

It wasn't right to see Scarface not sitting on Mr. Wesker's arm. It had never been right. Hearing Mr. Scarface and seeing Wesker's lips move. Seeing the puppet in that fucking cops arms. It wasn't right.

They shouldn't be apart.

Rhino reached down and carefully picked up the wooden dummy and cradled it to his chest. He adjusted it's fedora and turned toward the exit to the tent.

As he exited into the night, carrying the little wooden Mob boss, Charles "Rhino" Dale made the inanimate object a promise.

"Doncha worry Mr. Scarface, I'll find ah way tah get you and Mr. Wesker back tah 'gether again, you'll see. We'll be a team all over again.. just you wait.. I promise, Boss. I promise yah. "