Birds of a Feather (Oswald Cobblepot)

Beware the Batwoman

     Batwoman and I stand on the rooftop of Don Falcone's mansion, making final preparations for our break-in. The two of us remain silent as we tie out grappling hooks to the chimney and descend down to the top floor balcony. Batwoman kicks the glass door open, the cold night wind blowing into the empty bedroom. The bedroom has a double bed, a bookshelf, and a dresser, but not much else. The room is well-lit, with a modern overhanging light as well as two gas lamps. I deposit a bug into the flower pot sitting on top a bookshelf, while Batwoman stows one under the bed. We listen for any noise coming from the rest of the house, but everything appears completely quiet. Guess nobody's home.

After we've finished bugging the bedroom, I gingerly grab the doorknob. At a snail's pace, I open the door, peeking out to check the area. The door leads out into a dark hallway, while the bedroom was lit, the rest of the house is completely dark.

Batwoman shuts off the lights in the bedroom, and we put on night vision goggles to accommodate for the darkness. After glancing around, I gesture to Batwoman, signalling that the coast is clear. Under cover of darkness, we sneak around the hallway to the stairs. Descending down, a quiet shuffle to the right catches our attention. It was barely louder than a murmur, but was it loud enough to think that someone's in the house? It was loud enough for Batwoman to notice it as well, so maybe...

The house lights flash on, and we're surrounded by four large men in black suits, poised to attack.

I glance over to Batwoman, did they know we were coming? She responds by whipping out three sharp, blade-like objects. Twisting her arm back, she hurls them at our assailants, the objects twirling and twisting toward them in a boomerang-like fashion. They hit the henchmen in the head, knocking them back.

With the men distracted, we take off, running down a dark hallway lined with paintings.

"What was that?!" I cry aloud, now completely unconcerned with others detecting us.

"Just a new gadget V whipped up for me. I figured if you have your exploding marbles, I might as well have something too," she explains.

We race for the stairs, the guards now hot on our trail. Much taller than the two of us, they gain on us quickly, mere feet away from us. We start stumbling down a long staircase, and it looks like they're about to catch up with us. Reaching into my bag, I throw one of my marbles, turning away just as it bounces against the stairway railing and explodes, collapsing a the stairway. Batwoman and I exchange a mischievous smirk as we dash out the back garden door. But just as we're outside, flashlights waver wildly, carried by more men dashing for us. Batwoman and I face back-to-back, the both of us taking fighting stances. The first man attacks me, hurling a punch which I grab before kneeing him in the stomach. With my other hand I grab hold of his shoulder and toss him to the ground. Batwoman takes down her first assailant, swiping a high kick right at his face, knocking him square in the jaw and sending him to the ground.

"There's too many!" Batwoman cries, surveying the dozen other men surrounding us.

Grabbing one of the smaller henchmen under the armpits, I flip him over before flinging him into a crowd of thugs, knocking them all over and creating a path for our escape.

"C'mon!" I shout, making a mad dash for our opening.

Batwoman and I leap over the fallen henchmen, scurrying into the dark gardens beyond.

Heading for a hedge maze in the gardens, Batwoman and I run in, taking about four different turns before stopping to listen for our pursuers.

"You think they know we're in here?" Batwoman whispers, listening to their various shouts from nearby.