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It’s soft. Whatever your head is resting on, it's soft. Like a bag of cotton candy.
You wiggle your fingers and toes, just to make sure you still can. Then you nudge open your eyes, only to be assaulted by light. Your hand flies up to shield your face, squinting against the fluorescent light.
“Harvey?”
You blink away the spots, vision beginning to clear. “Bruce?” You’d recognize his voice anywhere.
“Harvey, how are you… How are you feeling?” He sounds nervous. More than that. He sounds scared.
“I’m…” You don't know. You're a bit thirsty. Your vision is still fuzzy in your left eye. But nothing so ridiculous that it would explain the hospital bed you’re in.
And then you feel the skin on your face. The way it tightens to your skull. The way it peels under your fingers. The way it burns.
“What-?” Your heart jumps to your throat. Pounds, pounds, pounds. “What happened?” But you know. You just don't want to believe it.
Better believe it, Harv.
What was that? Who is-?
“Sal Maroni threw acid at you during the trial. Do you remember?”
“I… yes.” You do remember. You remember more than you want to.
Bruce must notice something is wrong. (Or… more wrong than they already are, anyway.) “What is it?”
You cough, and it stings the left corner of your mouth. “It’s nothing. I’m just… really glad you’re here, Bruce.”
---
You’re glad when Bruce leaves. You can finally think without his incessant hovering and wondering and worrying. It’s nauseating, how important he thinks he is. How he thinks he can fix everything with money.
But Bruce is your friend. You were glad to see him.
Well… not “glad” so much as “annoyed,” but potayto, potahto.
Now that he’s gone, you have the space to sit back and analyze the situation. And the situation is this:
You’ve been defending the innocent for years. You even stood up for Batman when he needed it. You’ve always searched for justice. And then, the one time you are in need of saving, Batman fails to show.
That’s not fair. It’s not just.
But what can you do about it? It happened. You can’t undo it.
No, but you can take back revenge. Show Batman that he can’t get away with that. He should have protected you like you did for him. It’s only fair.
You aren’t sure. It’s a risky idea. It sounds illegal.
You have a plan, though. You can escape the hospital. Find Batman. Scar him right back.
But maybe Boss Maroni is the one at fault here. Maybe, if anything, he should be the one you get back at. If you get back at anyone, that is.
Boss Maroni is in prison. He’s paying for his crimes. Batman roams the streets.
You don’t think revenge is the best choice though.
But you also think revenge is the best choice.
You need to make up your mind.
You won’t compromise.
You need something. You need…
You look around the room.
The bed.
The floor.
The table.
There!
You pick up the coin. It’s double-headed, but it’s nothing that can’t be remedied. You grab a spoon from your forgotten lunch tray and dig vicious lines into one side of the coin until it’s properly defaced. Now you have a clean side and a scarred side, which will suit you just fine.
Clean side.
Scarred side.
You flip the coin and slap it on the back of your hand. But upon revealing the coin’s decision, you start to feel your control fading. You feel… less than yourself.
You feel strong. The scarred side stares up at you, and, decision made, you put on your clothes, toss the hospital gown out the window, and leave the room, slipping out through the back stairwell.
It’s time for Batman to face justice.