Chapter 05: Theatrics
Young Amazons
By Ackbarfan5556
Executive Produced By Wanderer D
Chapter 05: Theatrics
“Zatanna… who is that?” Sunset whispered while pointing at Penguin as the two of the kept watching.
“Oswald Chesterfield Cobblepot,” Zatanna whispered back. “Also known as the Penguin. He’s a criminal that uses his trained birds and trick umbrellas in his crimes; mostly high profile robberies.”
Sunset studied the situation as her teacher spoke, noticing that several birds that had arrived with the Penguin were holding large bags in their mouths; and were either circling in the air like vultures, or sitting on the tables, waiting for orders.
“His family used to have considerable wealth, power and influence both here in the United States and the United Kingdom,” Zatanna continued as they both crouched behind the curtain when one of the kabuki girls glanced in their direction. “However, generation after generation started to lose that power and influence before it was finally gone. First was the British side of the family that had left for the United States just to avoid the shame of losing everything.”
“Let me guess,” Sunset interrupted her. “That only dragged down the American side of the family?” When Zatanna nodded, she continued. “Judging from what’s going on right now, looks like he’s using robberies to try and bring that fortune back.”
“You certainly catch on pretty quick. He did a string of thefts in Asia before coming back to Gotham a few months ago.” Zatanna then pointed to the two kabuki girls that were slowly dragging their blades across a few tables that made some of the nearby attendees nervous. “He also picked up those girls. There's almost no information about them, and that’s what makes them so intimidating. From what I’ve heard they’re almost fanatically loyal to Cobblepot.”
Sunset and Zatanna continued to watch from behind the curtain at the gala’s gate crasher. From the looks on the crowd’s faces, it was clear that they were intimidated by this short man who called himself the Penguin; or at the very least, the two women with large daggers for fingers.
“I have to say, being handcuffed to a woman that dresses like a cat for several hours only after I have my plans ruined has certainly put me in a ‘fowl’ mood!” He snickered. “So,” he continued. “I’m not to be played with today.”
Sunset tried not to laugh when the Penguin jumped off the table with surprising grace, only to begin waddling across the room.. His destination was the large gala table at the back where the biggest supporters of the gala and powerful members of Gotham society sat. Of course, the table was a bit empty since both the Chief of Police and Bruce Wayne left earlier; but Penguin’s eyes ignored those spots and were focused on Mayor Grange.
“Hello, Mayor. I’m a bit disappointed that you didn’t send me an invitation.” Penguin had a sick grin on his face that showed off all of his sharp teeth. He then climbed up on to the large table and was now only inches away from the Mayor’s face.
“This gala was for people who planned to donate to the Children’s Hospital; not common thieves like you,” Mayor Grange defiantly looked him dead in the eyes. “After all that happened last night, I expected you to be in chains on your way back to Blackgate.”
Penguin snorted, opening his arms wide and grinning confidently. “What can I say? I’m just a jailbird who just needs to spread his wings! Most of you folks are here only because you would be crucified as greedy penny-pinchers for not showing up and donating; you’re just as much of thieves as I am!” He declared to the crowd.
“Mr. Cobblepot, we’re not going to be intimidated by your actions here tonight,” the mayor said, and Sunset was honestly impressed by Grange’s defiance, especially since the Penguin had now held up his umbrella and a sharp blade popped out at the top of it, just as Zatanna had hinted earlier.
“Hmm…” the Penguin looked around the room. “Quite bold considering that my little tip got the GCPD to leave the party." He smirked at the Major's expression. "What? Don’t act so surprised. Those cops are nothing more than simple stooge pigeons; all I had to do was leave a trail of breadcrumbs and they’d follow me anywhere!” He started laughing, taking in the sounds of dismay from his unwilling audience.
He then paused as the sinister smirk on his face was replaced with one of confusion and he soon started to scan the theater. “Hey, wait a second,” he said, scowling as he turned around, trying to find something. “Where’s Brucie?”
Mayor Grange kept his composure as he faced the Penguin. “Mister Wayne had to leave early tonight. He said there was something about urgent business at Wayne Corp.” He then adjusted the tie he was wearing, looking at the criminal with some disdain. “But not before making a sizable donation to the Children’s Hospital,” he added, smirking as he said that.
“Well, now it’s going to be a sizable donation to the Cobblepot Foundation; a foundation whose propose is to bring the Cobblepot’s back to their rightful status of being kings of this city!” The short man shouted as he stabbed the table right in front of the mayor with his umbrella.
Sunset’s eyes soon glanced over to the woman near the corner that she saw talk with Bruce and Zatanna earlier before the show. The woman was obviously an officer as she was slowly unholstering a handgun that she had on her; a SIG Sauer P226 that was one of the standard issue sidearms for Metropolis officers.
Penguin continued to boast about how brilliant he was; all the while, the officer was slowly sneaking up towards him. “I don’t think she’s gonna have much luck trying to arrest them by herself,” Sunset whispered to Zatanna, “we’ve got to help her.”
Her new mentor gave her a slight pat on the back. “I’m extremely proud of your desire to help and, yes we will, but give it a moment.”
“A moment?” Sunset gave her a confused look. “Come on, a few spells and we can put that bird on ice.”
Zatanna chuckled at Sunset’s words. “There’s a bit of an issue with that I’m afraid. I can’t exactly use most of my magic out there.”
Sunset raised an eyebrow, waiting for Zatanna to continue.
“I can use simple tricks like most magicians who don’t have real magic, but nothing really incredible, or even something that could easily deal with them.”
“But why?” Sunset asked as she glanced back to the officer that continued get closer to Penguin. The policewoman ducked down behind a table before one of the kabuki girls spotted her.
“Because few people in the world know that my magic is real; in fact, most people think magic is fake. They’re wrong, of course, but simply revealing that would honestly shake up society quite a bit. There’s also the fact that if I did, perhaps people would think that it is fake, but that Cobblepot was in on it and I’d find myself in a lot of trouble. Understand?”
Sunset nodded. She had done the same thing too when she first arrived at Canterlot High; keeping her true nature and magic a secret from everyone at school. She was a Grade-A jerk, but she relied on her brains and her threats to get at the top; not her magic.
“GCPD! Hands where I can see them!”
Both magic users looked back to the crowd and saw the female officer pointing her gun right at the Penguin’s back. The well-dressed thief slowly turned around and snorted before he just couldn’t hold back and laughed.
“Well, well, well… looks like those pigeons aren’t as dumb as I thought. They at least leave behind one of their own to hold the fort.” He started to twirl his umbrella, smiling menacingly at the officer.
“I’m not asking again!” The lone police woman warned.
Sunset was honestly surprised with what she was witnessing. Not once was Penguin looking at all worried at the gun pointed at him, nor were his girls moving towards the officer to try and disarm her. She knew something was up when his smile only grew.
“Don’t bother,” He simply said before two cords shot out from the umbrella and connected with the officer, electrocuting her. A scream of agony tore out of her mouth as she fell to the floor, writhing in pain.
Sunset’s eyes widened when she saw the brave woman get hurt like that. Penguin just laughed as he kept shocking her with his umbrella. Sunset knew she had to do something before the villain killed her, and saw a large metal pole on the ground just off stage, grabbing it before she dashed forward.
“Wait, Sunset!” Zatanna chased after her but found her path blocked by the kabuki girls who turned their attention on her while Sunset kept running until she threw the pole and cut away the cords that were shocking the office. She knew striking it while holding would’ve only got her shocked as well.
“Leave her alone!” Sunset cried as she picked back up the pole and aimed it at Penguin who looked quite surprised by the sudden appearance of the red-haired girl that was in front of him, but he recovered and smirked.
“Quite brave of you sweetheart, but I suggest you run off now. You’re a little sardine swimming in a pool full of sharks.” He hopped off the table and it was clear he was even shorter than Sunset thought originally.
Meanwhile, Penguin glanced over Sunset’s shoulder to look at Zatanna and his girls. “Ladies, please get Mrs. Zatara’s autograph.” Zatanna found herself having to duck as one of the girls tried to take her head off and was forced to back-flip onto a nearby table. Penguin then looked back to Sunset who still stood her ground. “Last chance.”
“No way. I won’t let you get away with robbing and hurting everyone tonight!” Sunset declared; feeling a little more confident when facing him directly.
Then reality hit like a freight train when Penguin lunged forward, the blade of his umbrella flashing in the light. Within a second, Sunset found herself knocked onto the ground with the pole she was holding perfectly sliced in half. She had underestimated the small man, who clearly even more dangerous than she assumed.
Penguin jumped forward to try and stab her, but Sunset, thinking quickly, dodged behind a small food cart, and pushed the cart hard, crashing it into the Penguin and knocking him onto the floor. Realizing she was in trouble still, Sunset decided to dash backstage while she had the chance.
“Grrrrr…” Penguin gave a dark growl as he got back up and cleaned off the food that was on him. “Ladies and gentlemen, please hand over all valuables and cash to my pretties.” He motioned to the birds that started to swarm the gala attendees. “Oh, and if you only have your checkbook, just make a large amount out to cash,” he said before he chased after Sunset.
Zatanna ducked underneath another blade while she had to move her left leg over to avoid getting it cut off by the other girl. However, it did allow her to have momentum as she twisted her body and had her right leg came over and kicked the first girl, who tried to take her head, right in the chest.
Both assassins backed off as Zatanna caught glimpse of Sunset running backstage with Cobblepot close behind her. She tried to get over to help her but the twins were just keeping her in place. Both girls charged forward once more but Zatanna had a plan for that as she took off her hat.
“Go fish!” She shouted as she threw several decks of cards out of her hat that blinded her assailants for a moment, which was all she needed. They cleared away the cards before finding Zatanna missing. She used the distraction to roll around behind the girls and kicked both of them in their lower backs; knocking them to the floor.
Zatanna was about to turn backstage but found both girls blocking her path once again as they recovered fast. “Boy, you two really don’t want me back there,” she muttered to herself before she engaged the girls once more.
This time, they tried to attack her head and waist simultaneously with their blades. Thinking fast, Zatanna jumped through between the blades. Barely avoiding getting nicked by the sharp weapons. Fortunately, this allowed her to get past their defenses and she delivered a kick to the face on the kabuki woman closest to her. At the same time, her hands grabbed hold of the other girl’s face and she used her momentum to pull her down and slam the back of the head of her attacker on the floor hard. When she let go, the woman remained on the floor, breathing steady.
The remaining twin saw what Zatanna had done and, while her face couldn’t be seen behind the mask, her body language made it clear she was extremely unhappy about it.
Zatanna had to do several back-flips to avoid the rapid swarm of stabbing strikes that came her way.
She knew she needed to end this fight now so she could help Sunset deal with Penguin, so she dug into her sleeve and pulled out a long string of neckerchiefs tied together. She swung it around, taking advantage of her opponent's surprise and soon it wrapped up the kabuki girl, making her stumble and fall down.
Zatanna then smashed a heavy plate on her head, making sure she wouldn't get up anytime soon.
Zatanna then looked to the crowd that just watched in awe at what she just accomplished. She smiled before bowing. “Sorry, I’ll pay for that,” she apologized turning around and heading for the backstage before realizing that Detective Yin was not where Penguin had left her.
Sunset was in dire straits at the moment, hiding as best as she could backstage behind some props and theater equipment while Penguin was slowly walking around while still swinging his umbrella handle like a mace.
“Come out; come out wherever you are, my dear… I won’t hurt you… I just wanna talk.” She could see him licking his lips as he kept searching for her.
“Won’t hurt me? Then why are you still swinging that thing?” Sunset thought to herself. She dare not speak or make any sound to alert him of where she was hiding. This was bad though; she was almost completely defenseless now and stood no chance of fighting him, much less winning without using magic, but if she exposed herself, she'd be branded a freak, or potentially draw even worse opponents.
Her only hope was Zatanna coming to her rescue and saving her, but last she saw, she was tied up with those crazy ninja girls.
Sunset took a deep breath and took in a look of her surroundings. She wasn’t fully defenseless thanks to her magic… but she clearly wasn’t fully able to rely on it.
She wasn't sure how she had used it against the muggers in the first place, and even if she could do that again, she'd be completely drained. The fact that magic was not harmonious in this universe probably had something to do with it, but risking it was too much.. If she did that to Penguin and missed, she’d be wide open to him doing whatever terrible thing he could think of. No,she’d have to play something a bit safer; and that was hiding for now.
Or at least it was until she noticed a bunch of sandbags up in the rafters and followed the rope down to where it was tied… and Penguin was just nearby where they would drop. If he just moved a bit closer and if she could get a distraction, she could probably untie the knot and drop them.
As Penguin kept searching for her, she slowly inched her way to the knots below the rafters, doing her best to not be seen as she moved from cover to cover, but even then, it was an exercise in patience before he was finally in position. Just as she shifted to start untying the ropes, the officer she had saved showed back up with her gun pointed once more.
“Freeze!” the policewoman shouted as Penguin turned around and smiled in a very sinister way.
“Back for more, my dear? Ozzie always has something the ladies want,” he boasted, preparing himself to attack, but the officer had provided all the distraction Sunset needed. She grabbed one of the security locks on the ropes and pulled hard and down, releasing it.
“Hey!” Sunset came out of cover the moment the sandbags started to fall. Penguin turned around , keeping his sick smile as he found his prey… before he was crushed under the heavy bags; putting him out of commission for the night and leaving him perfectly immobilized until the police would come back to arrest him.
“Thanks… how did you do that?” The officer walked up to Sunset and holstered her gun. Sunset pointed to where the knot was.
“A magician never reveals her secrets!" Sunset said, crossing her arms and smiling just like she had seen Trixie do a thousand times.. "That and some luck, and it came down at the right time.”
The officer blinked with some amusement, but clearly not wanting to rain on Sunset's parade, simply nodded as Zatanna ran over.
“Sunset, are you okay?” She asked before noticing that Penguin was out cold and buried under the sandbags. “I suppose so, considering he’s been taken care of.” Zatanna patted her on the back. “Good work.”
“Detective Yin, needing backup at Northside Theater. Cobblepot tried to rob the gala. All assailants are taken care of and need pickup,” the officer said into a walkie-talkie, as she nodded in thanks to Sunset and Zatanna.
“That takes care of them… but what about the birds?” Sunset asked, remembering the large amount of birds that were now holding a bunch of jewels and cash in their bags.
Zatanna was about to say something, but a sudden and loud piercing noise caused the birds to drop their bags and all fly out the skylight, causing the guests to shout and cover their ears..
At the top of the skylight, just out of sight of all the gala patrons but in clear sight for Zatanna and Sunset, there stood a dark hooded figure with a large cowl over his head. The mysterious man simply turned around, cape fluttering, before vanishing into the darkness.
“Zatanna… was that…?” Sunset pointed.
“Yes, Sunset. That was the Batman,” Zatanna told her with a knowing wink before turning around to address the crowd.
Sunset continued to look at the skylight her mind going over everything that had happened that night. A small grin slowly grew across her face.
“Cool.”
After the show, the two performers were now in Zatanna’s ’84 Phantom VI Rolls Royce as they headed back to the hotel.
“Well, I have to say that was a fine show before it was rudely interrupted," Zatanna said, "still, you did great tonight, Sunset; both on stage and when dealing with Cobblepot.”
“Thanks.” Sunset blushed at the praise. “I just couldn’t stand by and watch Detective Yin continue to get hurt like that.”
“That. That right there is the sign of a true heroine, Sunset. I dare say you’re practically a natural for crime fighting.”
“You really think so? I mean, I just rushed head first like a fool and nearly got sliced by that creep. Not to mention I put you in harm’s way as well.”
“It’s fine. It was going to happen anyway, you just force my hand a bit, that’s all.”
Sunset was honestly surprised that Zatanna was not mad in the slightest about what she had done. She looked guiltily at her hands. “I honestly thought I could take him; short, tubby man like that looked easy to fight, even if I didn’t really have much training… shows how much I know.”
“One thing you need to learn is to never underestimate your foe, Sunset. Bad guys like Cobblepot are full of nasty surprises.” Zatanna turned the wheel as they pulled into the parking garage by the hotel. “Look, I’m sorry I’m being a bit forward with this whole asking you to be a heroine. If tonight has made you change your mi—”
“Don’t,” Sunset interrupted her before she could finish her sentence. “If anything… I think tonight has made me more sure about what I want to do.” She then smiled at the older woman. “I want to be a super-hero. I get the feeling trouble is something I'm probably not going to be able to avoid if tonight is any indication. So I guess I may as well accept your offer of hero training. Besides, I actually liked the thrill of it. Made me feel that I was actually doing some real good."
Zatanna couldn't fight a proud smile on her face when Sunset made that declaration. “Well, then, I’m glad to hear that. But right now, let’s just focus on getting you settled in and give you some training before letting spread your wings. Be a simple high school-er first before being a crime-fighter.”
Sunset nodded. It would indeed be smarter if she at least was better prepared than she was tonight.
Of course, the offer of it all was the more important thing to Sunset as it was a clear chance for her to truly do some good and hopefully try to make up some of her past sins.
Bruce Wayne was currently sitting in front of the Bat-Computer several hours after the charity gala. He continued to type, ignoring the elevator to the Bat-Cave opening up and Alfred walking over with a small cup of tea in hand.
“Certainly an unusual night when it turns out that it’s not the Batman bringing down the party-crashers,” he said, placing down the porcelain cup on the table in front of Bruce, who merely nodded in thanks as he kept looking at the screen. “And once again, Gotham’s Billionaire Playboy Bruce Wayne is nowhere to be found at the moment things went wrong.”
“Well, you did tell me that Penguin was about to hit the Credit Union according to the GCPD. He clearly fooled all of us. I should’ve seen it sooner. There was more money to be stolen at the gala then at the bank,” Bruce admitted, as he leaned back and took a sip of tea.
“That was my bad, Master Bruce. Still, I wonder how Chief Rojas is going to talk his way out of this one.”
“He’ll find a way to somehow escape this mess. In the meantime, it was certainly good that Zatanna had things under control. According to Detective Yin, Zee handled the Kabuki Twins while her assistant dropped some sandbags on Penguin.”
“I must say, Miss Lucciola is quite resourceful then if she was able to get the drop on that blowhard.”
“Yeah…” Bruce stroked his chin as he typed up Sunset’s name in the database.
“Looking her up again, Master Bruce? I seriously think this is something you don’t need to concern yourself with.”
“Alfred. Something is up with her and Zatanna. Last night I couldn’t find any information about her; today, it’s all right here. I’m positive we didn’t overlook her. And then there’s that last name. Lucciola is Italian for firefly… and that’s a clear reference to the time I spent with Zatanna in Italy.” He leaned back. “She knows something that she isn’t telling.”
“Master Bruce. I’ve supported you for so long, but I must ask that you put this whole investigation behind you. I’m sure there’s an explanation to it all and that Zatanna will surely tell you soon,” Alfred insisted.
Bruce nodded. “I can’t fully put this behind me… but you’re probably right. Sunset seems like a good girl, and Zatanna will probably explain things soon enough, but I would like to not be kept in the dark about it for too long.” He then shut down the search and stood up, stretching and yawning.
“Get some rest, sir. I’ll remind you that you have a shareholders meeting at Wayne Corp. tomorrow at ten.”
Bruce leaned over and picked up the cup of tea before he finished it and handed it to Alfred.
“Okay, then. You better get some sleep too. Don’t stay up too late.” He smirked as he got on the elevator and went back up into the mansion; leaving Alfred all alone in the Bat-Cave.
“Speaking of being in the dark… I’d very much like to know this whole ‘Fireflies in Italy’ story with Miss Zatanna,” Alfred muttered as he began cleaning after his charge.
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Yeah you tend to write those a lot.
See, the trick here is to use the magic to empower yourself. Quicker reflexes, greater strength, tougher hide, stuff like that. Trust me, in this city the baseline for what a human can do is skewed so far out of whack that as long as you aren't flashy about it no one will give you a second thought.
You and me both, Alfred. But I feel this is just going to be a Noodle Incident.
Well that went well. I think Batman will be figuring this out sooner or later or he just will be told. Now I want to see how Barbara is going to think of all the action.
I'm curious, will this story be more like a kids show or dark age?
'begin' I believe
9662251
Or the "Llamas in the field" business
9662167
but Magically enhanced Super powers only go so fart, she needs proper training...
Still, the suggestion is appropiated, the text above just shows how limited is that NC version of me is...
Stuff it Mr. "I can have any skillset or tool at any moment..."!
9662283
This story is based in the universe of the show The Batman. Somewhere in the middle ground leaning towards kid friendly.
9662592
Yes, that's correct. A bit lighter in tone than say the Bruce Timm series... but still has it's dark moments.
nicely done; also, since it feels like nobody has done this yet, have a title sequence:
sorry in advance for any and all spoilers that may or may not be revealed with this
9662974
Yeah, just add Sunny and a bit more of Ivy and we're good.
9662589
But of course, all the power in the world is worthless without the knowledge and discipline to use it effectively.
With that discipline comes subtlety, a bit of extra strength in a blow, the merest forcefield to help block a strike, a flick of telekinesis to reset a safety on a firearm. Little things to help a fight along.
Really liking this story. Look forward to the next chapter.
Wait, so they beat the Penguin, and then finished the show? Now that’s dedication!
Well, I guess she will learn order magic?
Oz
Aww I was hoping that the police would congratulate sunset on apprehending penguin
Sunset's first encounter with a big-time villain... as well as the Batman.
Welp, that went about as expected. And yea, Penguin is one nasty bastard.
Remarks and corrections:
> to bring the Cobblepot’s back to their rightful status
Should be "the Cobblepots"
> There was more money to be stolen at the gala then at the bank
should be "[than] at the bank"
You gave Yin an actual gun instead of those silly rayguns they use on The Batman.
Sunset has almost the same reaction seeing The Batman for the first time as Barbara has in the Season 3 premiere.