Chapter Text
Alice ran one hand, clad in light blue laced, fingerless gloves, through her golden locks of hair, her bright green eyes staring daggers at the two brigands who were haplessly slamming on the safe with sledgehammers, making the most appalling racket.
The safe was built into the wall, it had been partially covered with vines and ivy, vines and ivy that were scattered across the floor now, hacked apart by a sword and axe that were laid carelessly on the floor, yet out of reach of Alice.
Alice was breathing hard, her heart pounding from the situation, her breasts rising and falling under her white corset, visible in her open, faded blue trenchcoat.
Her other hand was wrapped tightly around the waist of the beautiful woman sitting in her lap, who was practically frozen in fear, her stocking clad legs awkwardly straddling Alice's leg. The other woman was a botanist - *the* Royal Botanist, though Alice could never recall her name, only the nickname she was derisively known as in the courts, and that by the people who weren't so unenlightened as to just call her the botanist, the Far Eastern woman, or names far more vulgar.
People in court whispered other things as well, that she was a witch, that she had cast foul spells upon the Baron to secure her place in the royal court despite hailing from a distant kingdom, that the entire botanical society was less concerned with feeding the city and the surrounding lands then with holding depraved pagan rites, worshipping some eldritch god, that the greenhouses scattered throughout the city were merely a cover and that the beautiful women that ran them - why else would they always be beautiful? - partook in wild, sapphic orgies at night.
It was a load of bunk, as far as Alice was concerned - the woman on her lap was indeed from the Far East, with exotic features and gorgeous almond shaped eyes of glittering green, and, unusual for her kind, striking red hair, in twin braids, one of which was half covered in the black silk that marked her as the Royal Botanist, her body was lithe, and she somehow made her outfit of green jacket, form fitting white blouse and daringly short skirt look like high society wear instead of the boring uniform of the botanist...
Yeji as The Royal Botanist
but if she worshiped some eldritch god, it had not deigned to warn her of the attack on its place of worship, if she was a witch, she possessed no spells, for surely she would have cast them before being held at sword and gunpoint - and especially at what was happening behind the two women now, out of sight, but not out of hearing... and as far as the sapphic orgies, well, that may or may not have been true, but Alice could not have cared less what the botanical society did in private as long as the crops were as bountiful as they had been ever since the Royal Botanist had been appointed.
There was a low moan from behind the two, and the redhead on Alice's lap couldn't help but start to look, but Alice took her chin in her gloved hand and leaned forward slightly, whispering in her ear "Don't look, my dear." and the redhead hastily averted her gaze, staring at the brigands with the hammers.
Alice did not follow her own advice, turning to glance behind her, where an entirely different kind of hammering was going on. Two more brigands were there. One was on the floor, behind another botanist, young, beautiful, with dark brown hair, her skirt hitched up, her undergarments torn and pooled around one ankle, being mounted like a dog by the brigand who was taking his earthly pleasures by force, the woman's breasts spilling out of her torn corset, heaving with each thrust, her brown eyes fairly glazed over, her lips parted as she moaned in pain and not a little pleasure, if Alice knew anything about a woman's reaction in the bedroom, which she was not at all ashamed to admit she did.
What was next to that pair was an even more appalling sight, one even the most gauche and exploitative penny dreadful would have shied away from depicting... the third botanist who had the misfortune of working on the night the brigands had came was on her back, her skirt likewise hitched up, her undergarments also pulled down, her black shoes discarded in a futile struggle.
The brigand using her was on top of her, grunting with effort as he pounded away, the woman underneath him with her legs spread as wide as the skirt would allow, her corset torn open, her bare breasts jiggling under the force of the man's thrusts. Her black hair was a velvet curtain sweeping the cold stone floor, almost hiding her eyes, eyes that were far more glassy than the other botanist's... for the hair did not quite hide the black, bleeding hole in the center of her forehead, where the .69 cartridge had entered.
The botanist had screamed when the brigands had seized the room, had screamed loud and piercingly, but the brigand who was using her now, his Dragoon pistol had issued a far more piercing retort that had silenced the botanist permanently and the other women in the room temporarily.
Alice's recollection of the events that had led to this moment was broken by a particularly loud clang, and Alice and the Royal Botanist both flinched as sparks flew from the safe, the hammer slipping off the lock. The other brigand looked around nervously, at the large windows overlooking the city.
The mass of buildings that made up the city twinkled in the dark like fireflies below, buildings and streets lit by torchlight, and very occasionally, gaslight, where the richest of denizens lived, or where that idiot on the council, Max whatshisname, had convinced the rest to invest in his scheme to convert the city torches to gas.
But the greenhouse was far up the hills that overlooked the rest of the city, and far away from residences or markets or other inhabitated buildings - presumably as it was better for the plants to be closer to the sun, or as the land was cheaper, but it did not escape Alice's eye that perhaps also as there was little attention paid by neighbors further away... there might be something to the whispers of the botanists nightly activities. Certainly no one had come to investigate the screams, or had heard the sound of the hammers, isolated as the place was.
"This would be easier if we had the number," muttered one of the brigands with the hammers, named Eddie.
"No shit. But you think if the Royal Botanist knew it, she wouldn't have squealed it, especially with what's happening to her buddies there?" His similarly armed companion, Nick said, nodding at the two brigands who were ravishing the botanists on the floor, one living, one not.
Eddie shuddered, causing Nick to roll his eyes. Eddie had always been too soft for the brigand life.
"C'mon, one - more - ought to - do it - " Nick said between grunts as he and Eddie resumed their assault on the safe.
Finally, with a shower of sparks, the lock disengaged, the handle slowly turning, and the two cheered, Nick eagerly pulling the handle so that the safe opened faster. Their companions watching applauded in a different way, by increasing their thrusts, to the discomfort of the living woman and indifference to the dead one. Even Alice could not help but lean forward a little, her head almost resting on the Royal Botanist's shoulder, the redhead in turn giving her full attention to the brigand's victory rather then listening to the wet noises behind her.
Nick eagerly pulled the safe all the way open, and he picked up a lantern, bringing the light forth to see their prize... and his face fell, as he, along with his companions, groaned, Nick and Eddie in disappointment, the groans of the other two more sexual as their excitement in both their activity and the safe being opened meant they were nearing their climaxes.
"It's... it's almost empty!" Nick spluttered, reaching out to yank out a few lonely scraps of paper. "Where's the magic artifacts? The tomes of eldy... eldery... eed-reedy lore? Where's the fucking gold?" He shouted, angrily throwing one paper to the ground, the dramatic effect of which was somewhat ruined as a draft of air caught it.
Eddie grabbed it out of the air, bringing his own lantern up to look at it, although he could hardly read. But when he saw the wax seal at the bottom, he blanched, gasped, and dropped the paper as if it was red hot.
"This greenhouse, it belongs to... to... the Baron." He said in a whispered tone.
Nick looked between the paper and Eddie, then turned to face Alice and the Royal Botanist.
"Baron? Which Baron do you work for, Miss Dong-Gey?" Nick asked, addressing the Royal Botanist.
"It's Miss Deong-Gul, you have to stress the 'G's - " the brigand ravishing the corpse of the botanist corrected before he groaned as he reached his release, his hips thrusting wildly as he emptied himself into the botanist's still warm womanhood.
"That's a nickname - " Deong-Gul started to say, only to cry out in surprise as Alice stood up, causing her to fall off her lap, her heeled short boots squeaking against the ground as she avoided the fall.
Alice was staring at the safe, the empty safe that the brigands had killed for, had committed crimes against nature for, had placed the two of them in mortal danger for, and Deong-Gul could only imagine the outrage she must have been feeling, that it had all apparently been for nothing.
"The Baron's cursed, man. They say he made foul pacts when he was travellin' the world, man. They say he wasn't never the same when he and his brother saw The Old Baron and Lady killed in front of them when they was kids. They say after his brother went mad that the Baron made a deal with four devils, to get a wife, two daughters and one son. They say anyone who steals from him, the devils send a horrible monster after the thief, to take back what the Baron owns." Eddie's voice was rising more and more as his terror increased.
Nick scoffed and snatched the paper off the ground, though his own hands were shaking... until he saw the seal.
"Wait, this Baron? The guy's a rich idiot - I mean, get a load of this - " Nick said, chuckling as he brought the paper into view of his companions, and inadverntly letting Deong-Gul and Alice see it.
The brigand who was withdrawing from the slain botanist looked puzzled. The brigand who was ravishing the living botanist gasped, but that might have been from reaching his own release, gripping the botanist's hips as she slumped over, groaning in what he doubtless thought was a mutual orgasm, but Alice knew was disgust at his seed, no pun intended given their surroundings.
Alice, seeing the seal, scoffed as well. "They say that about him? That's my cousin. He's a fool. Ever since he came back, he spends all his time tending to the coffers, worrying about the peasants, raising his kids or wasting time in his mansion with his new wife."
The brigand who had ravished the slain botanist was zipping up his pants. "I heard he spends all his time bedding his Lady, trying to get another male heir as his son doesn't want be a land owner and his daughters can't inherit, on account of being women and being adopted. It's a disgrace, the patriarchy and then royalty being gender based."
There was dead silence for a moment as every person in the greenhouse turned to stare at him.
"Well, it is..." He protested, then shrugged. "Or maybe he's just pussy whipped, they say women from The Far East know all sorts of bedroom tricks-"
"That's highly offensive-" Deong-Gul said frostily, only for everyone to jump as Nick shouted "SHUT UP!"
Deong-Gul shrunk back against Alice in fright, her eyes going to the blade now in Nick's hand.
"The big deal is, there's nothing in the fucking safe! This was supposed to be a big job! There's no pay off and Eddie's ranting about monsters hunting down thieves - "
"Wait, a monster hunting thieves is true." One of the other brigands said. "Jenny Gobs was killed last month. Did a job and was found on the streets, not a drop of blood in 'er."
Eddie nodded frantically in agreement. "Wasn't a drop of blood in the body."
"Give me a break!" Nick said. "Gobs pulled a bad job and walked off a roof. No blood in the body because it was all over the fucking floor."
"I thought a vampire got her." The third brigand said.
"No, there's only vampire in the city and she stays - " the fourth brigand started.
"Can we get back to the fucking safe being empty? What do we do now, boss?" Nick said, before blanching.
Deong-Gul turned pale, following Nick's gaze... to Alice.
Rachel Skasrten as Elizabeth Marie "Beth" Kane aka Alice
Alice met her gaze coolly, then looked back at Nick. "Now that you've called me 'boss'? You tosser..."
Alice stepped forward authoritatively, clicking her tongue. "We've been ratted out, boys. Watch it."
Everyone was looking at her now, Deong-Gul with outrage, the surviving botanist with dull surprise, the brigands in a mix of fear.
"It was such a sweet set up, too, even with you being trigger happy at the start... you guys would come in, you'd steal everything in the safe, you'd knock out Miss Whatshername here and her assistants and I'd bravely bring the story of the robbery to the people... but now, I'm afraid I'll be the only witness..." Alice said, a twisted smile coming to her lips.
Alice pointed at the brigand behind the not so royal botanist, who was on her knees, her skirt awkwardly hitched back up, her white jacket pulled around her shoulders to cover her torn corset. She barely had time to protest before the brigand stepped forward, placing his arms around her neck and twisting.
"Wait - wait- URK-"
crack
"Sorry, ma'am," the brigand apologized profusely as he felt the woman's body lurch under him, avoiding the shocked gaze in her bulging eyes as her neck broke, stepping back as she sprawled forward, hitting the floor roughly, her bare breasts against the cold floor, her ass in the air.
Deong-Gul gasped, her hand covering her mouth for a moment. Eddie was staring at the ground, shame faced, and even Nick had the grace to look uneasy. But then, to Alice's mild surprise, Deong-Gul stepped forward, her heeled boots clicking on the floor.
"The Green will see you pay for this, Lady Kane. You'll pay with your dying breath, and with only the laughter of a mad man to accompany you, even if I pass this mortal coil." Deong-Gul spat out, her green eyes blazing with fury and righteousness.
Alice rolled her eyes, and stepped forward herself, the two women eye to eye, almost touching.
"The Green, huh? That the name of your pagan god? So, the cult part was true after all? Tell me..." She said, lazily running her fingers over Deong-Gul's arms, her sides, relishing how she flinched as her breasts were touched, Alice lightly playing her fingers over them before giving a hearty squeeze, making Deong-Gul, gasp, Alice palming her breasts, before she leaned in, licking her neck.
"Do you all have orgies in the night, too? All those uniforms off, women writhing amidst the flowers, touching each other, maybe dribbling fruit juice in your mouths... but you're not a witch, or you'd have stopped me from doing this - "
And then Alice wrapped her strong fingers around Deong-Gul's soft, supple, wet neck, and she tightened her grip, squeezing, squeezing, Deong-Gul cried out, her green eyes widening, her own hands rising up to ineffectively grasp and claw at Alice's wrists, then to try to strike at Alice, but Alice easily dodged the blow, walking forward, Deong-Gul being carried by her stride, her boots scuffing the floor, until her back slammed against a row of shelves, glass beakers and vials and expensive and fragile looking equipment Alice couldn't begin to identify being knocked over from the impact or crashing into the ground next to their feet, one causing a somewhat alarming burst of sparks and a funny smelling waft of smoke to escape.
But Alice was more preoccupied with taking care of the surviving witness, so she hoisted the soon to be former Royal Botanist off the ground, her admittedly stylish black heeled boots kicking helplessly in the air, inches off the floor, the shorter woman gasping in a futile attempt to get air, her breasts heaving again and again, straining against the white blouse, buttons giving way in the struggle to Alice's delight, and against Deong-Gul's black corset, which was made of sturdier stuff to Alice's disappointment.
"Urrrk-" Deong-Gul gasped, her sensual, cat like lips parting, the tip of her tongue forced out between them. Alice idly wondered if The Royal Botanist had used her tongue to secure her appointment rather then non-existent witch spells, and she continued to squeeze Deong-Gul's neck, being rewarded with a strangled sort of squeal, the redheaded woman writhing against the shelves, her breasts heaving more and more, her pale exposed skin now shiny with sweat, her hips moving in circles, as if she was engaged in another sort of activity, and Alice couldn't help but notice she was feeling rather excited herself, as she always did when she took a life.
Her undergarments were wet, and she wondered if Deong-Gul's were as well, if her body was enjoying the act even as it struggled against the inevitable, and Alice licked her lips and tightened her grip still more, relishing how now Deong-Gul was thrashing against the shelves, her back slamming against them, her heels now kicking even more, one boot had become unzipped somehow in the struggle and was slowly sliding off her stocking clad foot, every button on her blouse has been ripped off now, her breasts straining against the black corset, almost but not quite escaping, a most delightful cacophony of sounds escaping from her parted lips, the fire and anger in her green eyes was replaced with a look of shock and fear,
Her arms were limp at her side now, Alice kept up the pressure, watching as Deong-Gul's body trashed violently, once, twice, her breasts heaving oh so dramatically, before there was a last, harsh exhalation, and Deong-Gul slumped forward, her feet swinging in the air, her boot still, the toes of her stocking clad foot twitching slightly.
Alice licked her lips again and then casually tossed Deong-Gul aside, hardly paying attention as her body landed on the floor, half on the cold polished stone and half on dirt, a garden not yet planted, tilled earth awaiting seeds. Some of the spilled liquid was seeping into the dirt as well, where Deong-Gul was now sprawled, her arms at her sides, her eyes open and staring into nothingness, her head lolling to one side, the skin of her neck almost as vivid a red as her hair.
Alice could not care a whit, she clapped her hands together, nodding her head toward the exit of the room, and Nick, Eddie - who was all but sniffling, Alice noticed with annoyance, she'd really have to see to it that his employment came to a permanent end sooner rather then later - Hired Brigand #3 and Hired Brigrand #4 instantly fell behind her, subservient as all hirelings should be.
Alice walked away without a glance back, not at Deong-Gul's body, not at the other two slain botanists, one slumped over with her ass in the air, the other still lying on her back, both ravished senseless, a crime for the pathetic law enforcement of the corrupt city to try to solve, regardless of the new sheriff's so called crack down on crime.
Perhaps he'd even try to bring in one of the city's two new alienists as well, for all the good that would do, Alice's anonymous boss was a mere whisper of the underworld that even Alice didn't know, everything had been worked out through intermederies, and Alice had seen to it that nothing could be traced to herself... and as for her hirelings, well, criminals led such short, violent lives.
Alice was smiling to herself, already thinking of how to dispose of her cohorts. Eddie was jumping at every creak and groan of wood of the building as they hurried towards the exit, Nick morosely bemoaning under his breath the lack of payday, and Hired Brigand #3 and Hired Brigand #4 were tense as well.
As a result, none of them looked behind themselves, and none of them noticed Deong-Gul's body was slowly sinking into the earth, vines pulling her down as flowers bloomed and wisps of smoke emerged...
But, moments later, as they emerged into the antechamber, Nick couldn't help but notice that torches that had been lit when he and his cohorts had entered (Alice having entered much earlier, on a supposed tour, to be caught by surprise by the "robbery"), were all snuffed, despite the lack of visitors and that the botanist should have been the only staff there.
He was about to bring that up to Alice, as reluctant as he was to rise her ire, when he almost walked into her, she had stopped in front of him.
Alice was staring out at the street, at something far more concerning, something that she had noticed right away.
Her carriage was still parked there, ornate and somewhat gaudy, with the stylized "K" on the doors, but the reins had been cut off, the horses nowhere to be seen.
"The hell..." She said, before drawing a breath, looking in all directions in the darkened street, the streets far darker than they should have been. The lights were all out, the greenhouse lit up behind them, the city in the distance but everything else was a murky cloud of darkness.
"Whoever set this job up, set us up." She said, turning to her hirelings. Eddie looked more terrified than ever, while Hireling #4 immediately drew his Dragoon pistol. Nick and Hired Brigand #3 reached for a percussion pistol and a highwayman's blade respectively.
"Don't panic. We'll going to get out of this just fine, and whoever double crossed us is going to rue this day." Alice said, sounding so confident even Eddie looked a little relieved. Of course, he didn't know Alice couldn't care less if everyone other than herself was slain by whoever was setting up the ambush that was surely coming.
"You got it, boss, we'll kick their-" Hired Brigand #4 started to say, before something very large and even darker than the night descended from the sky in a rush of air and disappeared into the night just as fast, a panicked scream the only sign that Hired Brigand #4 had even been there, a scream that faded into the distance before being cut off abruptly.
There was a brief, awful silence.
"It's the monster! You shouldn't have killed the Royal Botanist, ma'am, you shouldn't have killed her -" Eddie babbled, only to gape as his companions scattered in different directions.
Alice was running down the street at full tilt, Nick was running along the side of the greenhouse, screaming and letting his shot off into the night in blind terror, and Eddie realized even in his panic that he was best off being anywhere but where he was, and he turned to go back into the greenhouse and hide, only for the hairs on the back of his neck to stand up.
"WHERE ARE YOU?!" He shrieked in terror, even as some part of his mind reminded him that monsters didn't talk.
But a voice, low and raspy and terrible, whispered behind him.
"HERE."
Eddie screamed at the top of his lungs, and he knew he shouldn't look behind himself, but of course he did, and he barely saw the monster itself before the blackness took him.
***
Nick heard Eddie's awful scream somewhere behind him, a scream that was cut off as abruptly and no doubt as fatally as the other brigand's had been, and though he was panting and his lungs felt like they would burst, he tried to put on a little more speed. The stories were true, there was some sort of monster out there, a monster that preyed on thieves and brigands and others, and it had killed two people already, would likely kill Alice for putting together the job.
But, if he could just get around the greenhouse and disappear into the hills, perhaps it would be too busy feasting on the bodies of the others, sucking out their blood, to kill him. All he had to do was escape while it was busy with them. He was running as fast as he could, running and gasping and laughing to himself, laughing that he was going to make it, until he heard the monster's footsteps approaching, and he turned, screaming, and he raised his pistol, the monster was not on him yet, it was perhaps twenty feet away, and he was about to fire upon it when it raised its arm, and he stupidly watched in befuddlement as a claw shot out, a black claw that was closing the distance before he could realize what was happening and then the blackness took him.
***
Alice was running down the darkened street at full tilt, fully counting on the monster slaying the others while she made her escape, and counting on a bit of luck she was hoping for... for she had noticed that the reins on her carriage had been cut cleanly, as if by a knife, not a monster's claw or teeth. And there had been no blood, no horses bodies torn apart and feasted on.
A monster might have been summoned to protect her idiot cousin's holdings, but it had been a human who had summoned it, and humans could be dealt with. Hell, some monsters could be too, and she felt the comforting weight of her back up plan, bouncing against her back, under her jacket.
Then she heard a sound, a sweet, wonderful sound, the sound of her salvation, the nicker of a horse. Just as she had suspected, whoever had cut the reins had been too kind hearted, had smacked or whipped the horses to scare them off, but when a well trained horse was scared off, it would still travel by the easiest possible route, which meant one horse had ran a distance down the street until it tired, and it was now idly ambling at a trot, by the trees that lined the street.
Her heart pounding, Alice ran up to it, hoisting herself onto it's back, thankful that she had been trained to ride a horse bareback. She was chuckling to herself, leaning down to rub the horse behind its ears, ready to cluck and have it carry her back into the city, when she sensed something was off.
Alice looked up, at the streetlight that should have been on, and she realized it wasn't that the streetlight was off, but that wings were covering it, long leathery wings, the monster was perched on top of it.
Alice screamed, and the monster leapt, but Alice drew the blunderbuss from behind her back and fired.
The monster went down in a shower of sparks and smokes, landing next to her, but her horse, while well trained, could not be expected to put up with such a loud nose and so much commotion and bloody monsters attacking, and it reared back and Alice landed on her own back with a grunt, the air forced out of her lungs.
The monster was right next to her, its back to her, its wings inert, and Alice screamed and scrambled away for a moment, before realizing the monster was not moving, and that without the monster perched over it, the streetlight was now shining on the monster, and if the stars in her eyes would stop going off for half a damn minute, she could get a good look at it, and finish it off, at least if she found where her blunderbuss had landed.
Cursing, Alice scrambled to her feet, frantically going through her jacket for another load of shot, only to scream as the monster rose to its feet, its claws scrabbling on the cobblestones.
No, spurs.
What kind of monster wore boots, Alice wondered, before the monster rushed her and its strong arms were around her shoulders and she screamed as a loud noise went off next to her ears and she was being pulled up, up into the trees, flying into the sky, and then she was being held out over the road, maybe 70 feet off the ground, the man-monster holding her out over the road, her legs kicking helplessly over the empty air, the man-monster was holding her up and all it-he had do was let go and she would fall screaming to her death.
Alice screamed and whimpered and prayed to a God she had not prayed to since she was a teenager, when she had gone on her own trip around the world like her cousin had, except her trip had been far more nightmarish, had led to her captured and helpless and praying to a God that never answered, until she relied on on herself, had escaped and clawed her way back and climbed the underworld of the city that had rejected her, that had not cared a whit when she returned unlike her idiot of a cousin, a cousin she realized dimly she very much wanted to see again no matter how stupid and boring he was, nothing ever more exciting happened to him than marrying some rich woman as big an idiot as he was, certainly he would never run across some terrible monster like this.
So Alice screamed and and screamed and she begged as she swore she never would, between sobs, saying "Please don't kill me," in a pathetic whimper, and then the man-monster spoke in a terrible, raspy whisper.
"I'm not going to kill you. I want you to do me a favor. I want you to tell all your friends about me."
Alice stared, stared now at the monster - the man - the knight, with awful, blank white unblinking eyes in the monstrous helmet, with the long leather wings that had transformed into a cape, at the metal pauldons and the black symbol of the creature of the night forged into its chest, at the tauntingly human mouth that emerged from the helmet.
"What are you?" Alice whispered.
And the knight yanked her forward and it leaned towards her and said its name.
"I'm Batman."
The Batman let of her and Alice screamed and screamed and screamed as the ground rushed towards her to smash her to pieces, only to come to a halt feet from the cobblestones, and she spun in the air, something was wrapped tightly around her ankles, leaving her suspended off the ground, and she sobbed and then laughed and laughed and laughed, until the sheriff found her with the rising sun...
TO BE CONTINUED...