Face off (off of the skull)

Sharing rent with Zatanna had its perks, way beyond just saving some cash.

One of the best things was the connections, which would come by being involved with her.

After chatting with her for a while, swapping contacts, and sorting out our living situation, we decided to make the move the very next day.

I know she is involved with some people, magical I assume.

But here's the kicker—I still haven't quite figured out what exactly her circle is all about. Hopefully, it doesn't involve Constantine. That dude would make my life a living hell.

Speaking of hell, I was on my way to Gotham.

Ever since Scarecrow bit the dust, I hadn't been there, and I was itching to know what's going down these days. Plus, I kinda wanted to get in on the action. Gotham's like a magnet for superpowered folks, whether they're heroes or villains.

And guess what? I knew just the spot that attracted both types.

So, I strolled through the sketchy back alleys of Gotham's underworld. Not exactly my favorite scenery, but hey, you gotta do what you gotta do to fit into this place.

I could've just chilled out and lived a peaceful life, but let's be real, normal ain't my thing. And with that mysterious someone keeping tabs on me, I can't afford to have a dull existence.

"Even my way of speaking is going back to my earlier days, huh?" I muttered to myself.

Right in front of me was the infamous Tin Roof Club, the hottest spot in Gotham's underworld and heavily guarded. It had quite the reputation.

I straightened out my clothes a bit, even though some people walked in here half-naked. But I ain't no savage like them.

With my reputation intact, I leisurely stepped into the club.

And let me tell you, the moment I walked in, the place exploded with a riot of colors from the ceiling lights and blaring music.

I'm not really into that kind of music, but I appreciated the fact that it wasn't an all-out chaos and bloodbath the second I set foot inside.

"Hello handsome~"

A woman casual strode past me, touching my neck and giving a wink as she walked. I almost forgot what illegal clubs were like.

That's the issue with having so many mixed memories.

But oh well, that's life.

Smiling around, I walked towards one of the things that I loved.

Drinks.

And thankfully the bar was gorgeous, as a crucial part of enjoying a drink was the ambience.

"Can I please have a Glenfiddich 12-Year-Old, please?" I asked as I looked at the options, hoping to have a drink in peace, "Even Ardbeg works."

"A minute, sir."

Looking around, I tried searching for people that I might know. Well, ones I might know from shows or movies and to be honest, there were quite a few of them.

Out of which the one whose presence surprised me the most was Black Mask.

It's best to stay the fuck away from him. That guy is a pure psychopath.

And another villain that I noticed was Mr. Freeze, the glass mask and the ice cold aura was a key giveaway of his identity.

Truly a tragic guy, but not someone that I need to worry about.

So, I just went back to looking around. 

However, that was exactly when a certain someone approached me.

Someone that I didn't expect.

"I don't think that I have seen you around before?"

It was a pretty seductive voice, one that certainly got what it wanted.

My attention.

"That's because I am new in town." I smiled and turned around, wondering who the seductive voice belonged to.

However, the person in front of me wasn't someone I expected.

"Hello~" She whispered, "I am Ivy."

Poison Ivy, the seductive villainess was not someone I expected to run into here.

But it wasn't the worst.

After all, she was quite fine to look at.

Red hair, an hourglass figure, a tad greenish skin that was far lighter than the shades depicted in media and above all else, a voice that was buttery.

Immediately suppressing my surprise and putting on a smile, I replied. "Jasper, Jasper Hughes."

This made her a little surprised, "That's a name you don't hear often."

I chuckled a little at this, "Possibly because I am from Bristol."

"Bristol? Jasper doesn't sound much British." She raised an eyebrow, "Can't say you made a wise choice of traveling from a safe haven like Bristol to a living hell like Gotham."

"I am simply exploring my options, it's not like Bristol is much exciting either."

My statement made her smile, "The search for excitement often gets people killed, Jasper. Especially when it's Gotham."

"That's something I have heard quite a lot, Ivy. Just like I have heard a lot about you."

Her lips curled up, "Oh? You have heard about me?"

"The seductive enchantress that has control over the beauty called fauna? There aren't many that don't know about it." I said, "And well, I cannot say I don't consider you quite a respectable person. Not everyone is this protective of plants and nature."

This surprised her a little, not expecting me to praise her for her work.

"Thanks… I guess?" She said, "I don't think there are many that are interested in my activist life."

"Possibly because they are entranced by your beauty that they cannot see anything past that."

This made her chuckle hard, "You have got a way with your words."

"I try," I answered, "But with you I don't even have to try, because these words are the truth."

She shook her head, amused.

"But that doesn't change the fact that you might possibly be in danger in Gotham." She sighed, "Not many can survive here."

"You sound an awful lot worried about me considering we just met," I chuckled as she rolled her eyes.

"I was just saying, after all those that come to Gotham are either heroes, villains, ambitious people or fools. And I wonder where you fall in."

"You can figure that out." I smiled, "We have the whole night."

She smirked.

"Here's your Glenfiddich, sir."

As the bartender presented me with the drink, she eyed it casually. 

"Glenfiddich? Not bad."

"Should I order one for you?" I asked, wondering if she would prefer the same.

But well, just as she was about to reply.

Someone… Well something very unpleasant intervened.

"Ah, just when I was feeling a little thirsty!"

In this blink of a moment, a scarred hand emerged grabbing the drink and chugging it down.

Both Ivy and I, immediately turned around to look at which savage just stole the drink.

But as our eyes landed on the man, both Ivy and I had our eyes open wide.

"Zsasz…" Ivy hissed, a name that I wasn't aware of, "Why are you here after Catwoman kicked you out?"

I wasn't surprised because I knew him, I was surprised by how unpleasant he was to look at.

He gave the ugliest smile a human could give as he replied, "Ah, sweetheart. Don't be rude, I am just here for a drink."

This was when I cut in, "That makes me wonder if you were that thirsty to steal this drink?"

An immediate frown appeared on his face and upon a closer look, I was able to countless scars on his body. Ones that looked similar to tally marks that ran from his neck to his legs.

"A thief?" He chuckled, "That's something I haven't been called before."

"Jasper!" Ivy immediately frowned, "Don't talk."

Interestingly, her personality changed quite a bit.

Ivy looked at the scarred man, "Don't mind him, he is new in town. But that also doesn't mean you can bully him. You have to pay up for the drink that you took from him."

He grinned, "Now it makes sense that he doesn't know me. After all, no one calls me a thief. Robber? Possibly. After all, I do rob others of their lives."

Okay, so he was a psychopathic killer as well.

But what was his ability? Did he have one?

"Zsasz." Ivy warned, "Do not even think of trying anything."

The man kept his smirk, "I cannot win against you, Ivy buy you cannot protect everyone in this world. I might not have abilities like you or the others, but the number of people that have died by my hands is far higher than any one present here."

Well he answered my question even without me asking, he doesn't have any powers.

But I am still a bit annoyed.

This guy just stole from me.

It was a simple drink, but he still stole from me and I despise people that take anything from me without asking.

"How about we continue this after you buy me the drink that you had?" I smiled, "It was mine to begin with."

"Jasper!" Ivy tried to keep me out of trouble, but I was too used to getting in trouble.

This irked him a little, "Your friend is quite the joker, Ivy." He leaned towards me, "You want me to pay for your drink? Me? Zsasz?"

"I sure do." I smiled, uninterested in trying to pronounce his name.

Surprisingly, I expected him to erupt in a fit but he didn't.

Instead, he ordered exactly the drink for me.

And not just the drink, but the entire bottle.

"Bartender, please give this man what he is asking for. Get him the entire bottle."

Even Ivy was shocked by this, and not to mention that this interaction was drawing a lot of attention.

"A-Alright."

The bartender swiftly went back to get us the bottle, making me quite curious what this scar face was thinking.

"Don't do anything stupid, Zsasz." Ivy repeatedly warned at which the man simply smiled.

And as the bottle was brought to us, he said. "Let me pour you this glass."

I wasn't stupid enough to believe he was doing it out of the goodness of his heart. He definitely had something planned.

He smiled and calmly poured me a glass of the drink, completely filling the glass to the brim.

"I hope you will like the drink," He smiled, "We can share the drink if you don't mind."

I raised an eyebrow but agreed, "Sure."

I took a sip from the glass whereas the man drank from the bottle. But as we continued drinking, he did something totally expected.

"You fucking trash you think you can order me!" 

He bursted into a fit and slammed the bottle over my head, shattering the bottle and spilling all the liquid over me.

It wasn't a very pleasant experience, having my clothes stained and going  through the pain of having a bottle smashed over my head.

That fucking hurt.

Thankfully, I had expected something and had my body enchanted to handle blunt forces in case of a fight or that might have caused a concussion at the least.

"Do you even know who I am! I am Zsasz! I can fucking rip you apart if I wanted to!"

Ivy immediately tried to help me while also attacking the man, but I signaled her not to intervene.

I already expected something to happen when I walked into this place but it it still tiring.

Sighing at the situation, I took out my handkerchief to clean myself as I looked at the man.

"I gave you a chance, a chance to redeem your mistake. But well, you blew it."

"What the fuck are you on about!"

I shook my head and picked up leftover drink in the glass, "So, now… pay."

Saying this, I immediately splashed the drink on his face, infuriating him further.

"What the fuck do you–"

However, I didn't simply throw alcohol on his face.

I throw an enchanted drink on his face, and within a second the enchantment showed it's effect.

"W-Wh–"

The man felt the drink taking effect as his face started to turn red before smoke started to emerge out of it.

"Ahhhhhhhhhh!"

Followed by his face burning and his skin melting off, emitting a nasty stench all around him which caused Ivy to cover her nose.

"W-What did-did you d-do!"

"Nothing much," I said, smiling as his face melted off, "Just the drink that landed on your face was not alcohol but concentrated sulphuric acid."

I simply enchanted the drink to have the properties of sulphuric acid, an acid strong enough to melt flesh.

He squirmed in pain as his face melted off alongside his eyes, making him fall on the floor and scream.

"Ughh! Ahhhh!!!"

His words turned intangible as the acid swept inside his mouth and burnt his tongue and vocal cords.

"Will he d-die?" Ivy asked, gasping in horror.

"Maybe? Maybe not. Depends on how quickly he gets treatment."

Hearing this, the bartender shouted. "Quick! Get him to the emergency room!"

And in a moment, quite a few staff members emerged to take him away.

Leaving me alone to enjoy drinking.

Or so I thought.

*Clap* *Clap* *Clap*

"That was an interesting display, young man." 

Trouble…

Just doesn't leave me, does it?

Or do I jump into trouble?

It's definitely a blend of both.

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