Valentina Valentine

SCANNING…IDENTIFICATION COMPLETE. ENTER [VALENTINA VALENTINE], [PROTÉGÉ] OF [EDUARDO DORRANCE/BANE]. CODENAME: [LA MUERTA]. A [21] [THIRD] YEAR ENROLLED IN THE [AGENT] TRACK. INTEL SHOWS THEY ARE [QUICK WITTED], BUT CAN ALSO BE [HOT TEMPERED]. ABILITIES INCLUDE [EXPERT IMPALEMENT ARTIST, HAND TO HAND COMBAT AND MARKSMAN SHIP]. FACIAL RECOGNITION MISTAKES THEM FOR [ Maria Gabriela de Faria ]

Did it make it easier to swallow witnessing a murder? No. Daphne wasn’t sure how many times she replayed the swift movement, the blood, the way her body froze in place. It was in that moment that she knew she was different. Valentina had done what she did without remorse, Rocket had helped her dispose of the body and Bruce? That was the crowd he ran with. That was not Daphne’s circle and yet she protected them, kept her mouth shut because they had protected her during the attack. Her internal battle raged on but she kept it masked. 

Daphne shrugged at her admission. It hadn’t made her think worse of her, quite the opposite. She had gone through so much in life and yet Daphne was the one choking under the pressure of the pedestal she slipping from. “I still think you’re a homicidal maniac. If that’s any consolation.” her voice light. “But if you ever pull that again, I won’t freeze next time.” she warned. She’d let this go, she had to but murder was just something she couldn’t accept fully no matter the reasoning. 

Valentina let out a soft barely there chuckle. "Thanks princess. Wouldn't want my reputation tarnished." she rolled her eyes, but her sarcasm lacked her usual bite. After a moment Daphne spoke again, and Valentina made sure to choose her words carefully. "Don't worry. You'll never see me do it again." she nodded. Without the element of surprise or kryptonite, Daphne would win that fight a hundred times over. Valentina made a mental note to find out where they disposed of the bodies from the halloween attack. Knowing the headmistress, there was no way the school would have gotten rid of ALL of it. And when it was time to make her break she'd need something that would slow the other down without killing her. Val wasn't above spilling blood, that was something she'd come to terms with. But at some point Daphne had become...important to her. She assumed it was because she mattered to Bruce and Rocket, and by association now mattered to her. Yeah...that had to be it. "But anyway, how was your break? Enjoy getting away from this place for awhile?" she asked trying not to let the envy in her voice show.

Maybe that was unfair but Rocket couldn’t help it. It was this or forgiving her and he wasn’t sure that he knew how to be on good terms with Valentina and now fall into the same patterns all over again. “I never asked you to” he spat, shaking his head. “What the fuck do you want me to say, Val? You want me to tell you that everything is fine? I was always a means to an end with you and I’m not going to make you feel better about it” She was never going to leave Bruce. This was the only way that it was ever going to end, so why not now? 

"Look you want to be mad at me from protecting you? FINE. But be mad for shit that's actually true. I've done enough fucked up shit without you making shit up in your head." Valentina's hand was flying out before she could think about it, aiming right for his stupid handsome jaw. A means to an END. No, the gang was a means to the end. This school was a means to the end. Even Bruce, who unexpectantly became more, began as a means to an end. All of them pawns in something much grander she planned. But Rocket? Rocket was her beginning. "I don't care if I need to set this world on fire . The world will burn around us and I'll gladly live in chaos as long as the only person that is a danger to you is me. I'll always put your life before either of our wants. You want to hate me for it? Fine. But stop acting like a spoiled brat about it." she hissed. "You're the one that stopped me from leaving remember? YOU did."

𝐂𝐚𝐭 - 𝐕𝐚𝐥𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐚

       “Maybe you should work on fixing that flaw since you’re already aware of it then. Oh wait, I almost forgot people like you don’t know how to grow as humans. You stay stagnant which is exactly why you get caught and throw in Blackgate, or Arkham Asylum, or this rehabilitation program. Because you’re incapable of change.” The program was a joke to Cat. Villains were who they were. Bruce had become who he was. There was no changing them. “No, get your own soda. I’m not doing you any favors.” 

"Woooow” she sang out the word. “you're pretty judgey you know that? You sound like Daphne.Are you two friends?" Valentina replied, the words rolling off her like water on a duck. She'd been called worse things. Hell, she'd called herself worse things. With a shrug Valentina stood up, walking past cat to get the soda herself. "Aren't you heroes supposed to be all like peace and love and all that?" she asked. She didn’t know much about bruce’s family other than the fact that the pressure they put on their kids was enough to make him snap. She wondered if they all struggled with that.

𝐂𝐥𝐨𝐬𝐞𝐝 𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐫𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐟𝐨𝐫 @diodelosmuerto​​ 𝐏𝐫𝐨𝐦𝐩𝐭 𝐢𝐧 𝐁𝐨𝐥𝐝

         "You’ve got really bad timing.” Cat stated, unamused by her roommates timing. Clearly she was being punished for something. For what though, she couldn’t say. There would probably a number of things karma was waiting to get back at her for. 

“So I’ve been told.” Valentina said with a little shrug. It didn’t stop her from continuing to grab the remote and change it to the show she’d been watching every Sunday. “House of the dragon comes on in 5 minutes. So shut up and watch or get gone.” she told Cat her hand waving dismissively. “Oh and toss me a soda would ya?” See? She could be nice.

Valentina was like a wild animal like a tiger or leopard, stunning, but the moment you got too close, the moment you went to pet it, i’d bite your hand off. Daphne was upset she had put them all in that situation. Daphne was brought up to save lives not destroy them no matter who they were. Justice was not up to her, justice was a fair sentencing not a death sentence. As Valentina spoke Daphne hadn’t interrupted noting the change in her voice and even her demeanour. Daphne grew up in a loving home, her parents both loved her and they were good people. Her home life was good even if it was somewhat strict. Daphne had been training since the moment she could walk, she’d been taught Kent morals and Amazonian discipline so she never had to go through anything of what Valentina was telling her about. She knew there was evil in the world, she’d seen awful things but she’d never had to experience anything like that. 

“I’m not going to say anything - I haven’t. she reassured her. She understood the reason, the fear, even now Valentina hadn’t seemed herself recounting her awful history. She’d take what happened to her grave and not because she owed Valentina anything, not because she suddenly liked her, but because she understood. It was still wrong and Daphne didn’t have to like it but what was done was done there was no going back. Daphne squished her cigarette into the bench she sat on. “I know telling me of all people must have been difficult. I’m sorry that happened to you.” 

She couldn’t explain why she believed Daphne. Her brain was telling her that she was a loose end. Something to be shut up. But that was the thing, Valentina very rarely listened to her brain. Things like brains and hearts lead you to do stupid things, or things you convinced yourself was smart. Instead she listened to something intangible. Her instinct. It had saved her ass on more than one occasion. And right now, it was telling her Daphne was telling her the truth.

“Actually, it was pretty easy. Maybe cause you already think the worst of me. It’s not like knowing anything else could ruin that opinion.” Valentina shrugged. It was odd. Months of them being forced into proximity and made to talk about each others feelings and this was the first time they were actually having a real conversation. She wondered how long until one of them eventually ruined it. “But...thank you. I didn’t tell you to earn your pity. I told you so you know I’m not just homicidal maniac. I mean...i do feel homicidal a lot. But I have the self control to contain it....most of the time.” she shrugged. 

.

That was an odd thing to accuse him off. If anything, Bruce cared too much about what she wanted from him. He spent a long time chasing after her with nothing more than a couple of sweet kisses to tell him that he had the right idea. She was always hot and cold with him. One moment she’d be flirting and the next, she would push him away. He thought he understood why she kept him at arms length. Always quietly assuming that something had been done to her. Something to make her keep her distance. It was confirmed now, but not in detail. He’d never ask. 

He glanced her way. Remembering how her face was speckled with blood the last time they were this close. It had stained her naturally beautiful face in a way that made him sick to his stomach. It made him wonder how long he’d been in love with a killer? If it had been her first life she’d taken or if this was something she’d done multiple times before. He tried to push it aside. He already told her he was loyal to her not the gang. He told her he’d do anything for her… but that had been too much for him. 

“Are you sure he’s not just waiting for you to run? It would be a lot easier to get to you outside of these walls.” Bruce reminded her. “Security isn’t as iffy as it seems. They’ve changed things up since the last time I got out. I just… don’t think you should leave.” 

- 

“Of course he is. Which is why I’m going to get someone on the outside to systematically take out whoever is being his eyes. That’s if he hasn’t already corrupted one of the guards. Or planted a fake student with the new semester.” she had already ran through all the possibilities of that. It was the purple highlighted section of her notebook. She spent the entire break hardly doing anything but observing.

“I’ve already come up with numerous weaknesses in it. And if i can, he can. well depending on what method of intel gathering he’s using.” she sighed to him. “ I’m a sitting duck here Bruce. And I’ve spent enough of my life stuck in a cage. Yeah it’s a nicer and bigger one...but it’s still a cage.” she sighed. She took another testing step towards him, eyes open as she gauged his reaction to her. “ It’s not like I want to leave...but what choice do I have? Risk the gang’s lives? Risk your life? This was my vendetta. My fault and mine alone.”

Daphne rolled her eyes at Valentina’s words taking another drag of the cigarette, that really did nothing for her. They’d been the pack she’d taken from Bruce when she’d caught him smoking. She had looked back up at Valentina figuring she was coming to talk to her about the incident last semester. Daphne’s stomach tightened flashes of that night hitting her memory, the knife, the blood, the lifeless eyes. Daphne shook her head. “I was there.” she kept her voice steady. Why hadn’t she said anything? Why was she always falling for villains? Were her morals off? Was she not worthy of the Wonder title? Was she protecting them? Daphne had been so conflicted about the whole thing. “What makes you think I won’t say anything.” It was too late now especially since she’d been a witness. 

-

“You’re right. You were there. And I told you all that night that god himself would not be able to stop me. And I meant every .single .word. That includes demigoddess kryptonians. Did I know it was wrong? Of course, I did. But it clearly didn't stop me from doing it. ” she said softly to her. There was no mocking in her tone. No hint of her usual snarkiness. It was just the cold blunt truth. “Because despite the fact I know it’s killing you inside, you haven’t said anything yet. So I want to tell you a few things and maybe it will help you. Maybe it will not. But that man I killed? he deserved every single thing I did to him.” her voice was low, as if she didn’t want to give too much voice to his evils.

-insert what is underread more. It is not NEEDED for the thread but it adds emotion for why Valentina did what she had.  triggering content: sexual assault, torture, kidnapping, multiple types of abuse, PTSD- 

She took a shaky breath. “I knew what I was going to do the moment I got in that room. No one would have stopped me. Killing isn’t easy. Taking a life isn’t easy. But I can live knowing that monster is dead. Because that’s what real morals are. Not the black and white bullshit the hero community shoved into your throat. That’s not how the real world works. So you need to figure out your morals, and what you're okay living with. Not what you've been taught, but what you feel in your gut." After a beat she straightened up. Shaking the off the memories and turning her spine back into steel. “And if any of that wasn’t enough...if you turn me in I’ll be sent to Belle Reve. And I’ll be right back into that monsters hands. Do you thing I deserve that?”

-

He’d been debating talking to her. It wasn’t like Bruce was above torture. For the most part, it was a necessary evil to get vital information. He’d always favoured intimidation though. Hanging someone from a roof. Threatening them. Fear worked just as well as actual physical harm for the most part… but he knew better to suggest it. Besides: That man deserved a beating after he lay a hand on Valentina. 

The part that truly made him uncomfortable. The part that shook his morals and had him avoiding her was the fact he was killed. It was a line he never dared to cross before. He treated his morality like walking on a thin ledge. Knowing one stray gust of wind could knock him into a dark abyss he could never crawl back from. He remembered countless lectures from his name sake. Shame twisted in his gut as he thought of it. He may not of been the one to metaphorically pull the trigger, but he could have stopped it. 

Now he was the accomplice to a murder. 

He stood in the darkness. Quiet as a mouse as he stared at her. The woman he’d so easily fallen in love with. The one who claimed she understood him. With her magnificent smirk, sharp tongue and her hidden sadness that he resonated with so deeply. 

She was a killer.  

Bruce took in a silent breath and was about to turn on his heels when she spoke out to him. Somehow knowing he was there despite how stealthy he’d always been. He closed his eyes and took only a moment before slipping on the mask he’d gotten used to wearing. Mimicking a smile with his lips and approaching her. “As if you wouldn’t like that from me.” He joked. 

Bruce shrugged his shoulders. It was true he’d wanted answers but now he was a little worried about the words he’d get from her and how his opinion might forcibly shift if he heard something he didn’t like. “You’ve been taking notes on the guards.” He said instead, deciding to wait and ease into the conversation he’d been wanting to have for years. “You planning on leaving me so soon?” 

Valentina waited, seeing as he finally emerged. He clearly hadn’t thought she would be able to sense he was there. She resisted the urge to roll her eyes. She spent her nearly her entire life being watched. Her sixth sense to eyes and stares might as well been its own superpower. “As if you would care either way.” she said shrugging.

His energy was..off. Almost like he was nervous. She didn’t blame him. He’d seen her at her worst. Her rawest deepest animalistic instincts had been bared to him in the worst way. Bruce claimed to have loved her, but she knew that would change if he knew the real her. She liked to blame it on Bane and what she went through, but that was only half true. The truth was this darkness had always been in her. He simply nurtured it. And now Bruce was approaching her like a wounded animal. Something she knew would eventually happen. She infected everyone who got too close with it.

“This school has proved on more than one instance that their security is a joke. I don’t know what’s taking him so long to come for me, but he will come.”  She took a step away from the edge, worried about her voice travelling. Rocky had stopped her from going off half-cocked. But not stopping her from leaving. . And I won’t let him find me here.”

“Why not? I thought that you liked hurting me without protest” Rocket couldn’t hold back the bite from his words as their eyes met. He had lost count of the amount of times that Valentina had insisted that she could never let anything hurt him, all while he was blinded to the way that she continued to twist her knife into his heart. The further back he stepped, the more clearly he could see that whatever they had once had wasn’t love. Couldn’t have been farther from it, in fact. You didn’t hurt somebody that you loved like that. You just couldn’t. He knew that she was trying to get under his skin with her goading and Rocky resented that it was working. That undying need to prove himself taking charge as he pushed himself to stand, hardly waiting for her to get back into position before he lunged. 

Valentina’s jaw clenched at his words. “I’ve never done that.” she growled at him. Valentina would move heaven and earth for Rocky and he knew that. He was a weakness for her. The last shred of her humanity she had to hold onto. He went to lung at her and she felt the brush of his fist. She’d barely dodged it. He’d been training. She made a mental note not to under estimate him. “All I ever did was try to keep you safe. And all you EVER do is protest it. So if you want something to bitch about maybe make it something that’s true.” 

Rocket had had no choice but to push Valentina away and the only way to guarantee that he wouldn’t fall right back into the same old cycle with her was to remain indifferent. Valentina had been right that first night back in their shared dorm; they had never been friends and it felt impossible for them to be anything close to that now. They had been through far too much together. It was time for a clean break. “I don’t remember her saying that we needed to talk to complete the exercise - But you can go first” he finally spoke, eyes meeting hers for a moment as he swallowed the lump in his throat, jaw tightening as he got into position opposite her, waiting to block her movements. 

This was good. This was right. She DESERVED for him to cut her off like this. She knew that. Still, Valentina was never good at handling rejection. Even in situations she cultivated herself. “Fine, because fighting in complete silence is always fun.” she rolled her eyes. She waited for him to get into position before lunging at him. It was quick, years of forced training and survival made her able to take down men two sometimes even three times her size. “The least you could do is make me work for this win.” she edged him on. Anything to get something other than this god damned indifference.

It had been weeks since Rocket first found Valentina trying to sneak away. She had been panicked and sloppy. And he called her out on it, probably saving her life. What if he comes here to find out where you went? The words haunted her, because he was right. If she didn’t do things perfectly, everyone she was trying to protect would end up dead. That meant being prepared for every scenario. To make sure he lived. Even if it meant he hated her. And based on the cold shoulder, more like a blizzard, she was sure he was on that road. The way it should be. But of course, she pissed off enough possibly every god in existence. That was the only way she could explain how out of all the people in her class, she somehow got paired up with Rocket. “I know you’re not happy about this, let’s just get through it.” she said to him, getting into position. 

“No - you can’t have one.” Daphne said flicking the ash off her cigarette. With the second semester beginning it was getting more and more difficult to evade the trio she so desperately wanted to avoid. For whatever reason Daphne hadn’t turned them in. She’d lost sleep about it, lacked an appetite and still couldn’t find the will to say something about what had happened. @diodelosmuerto​

- "Oh you're breaking my heart. Don't worry, I quit." Valentina rolled her eyes. She had plans to be deep off the grid soon, not that any of her associates knew that. She kept her plans to run on lock and key. And the fact of the matter was it was hard to go off grid when you were craving nicotine. She figured she'd get that out of the way. One look over Daphne and Valentina could see that their shared moonlight was still haunting her. She got it. It was hard taking your first life. "I know you probably don't believe me, but I know what you're going through. But you should know it wasn't your fault. There was nothing you could do. God himself wouldn't have stopped me that night. I appreciate your silence though. I owe you. Whatever you want. " This wasn't about Daphne feeling better. This was about keeping her quiet. If she turned Valentina she'd be accomplice to not one, but two murders. The moment Valentina ended up in Belle Rev, Bane would have his guys on her. She'd be dead before dinner.

one..two..three.. Valentina thought to herself as she tracked how long the spot light left the area behind her dorm in darkness. Her hair was hidden under her hood as she stayed low on the roof of the building. .four....five... six...Her life quickly started to revolve around numbers. How many exits each room she walked into had. How many guards at the entrance. How long shift changes took. How long responses took. How long it would take Bane to figure out how to get to her. With security at its highest she needed she to have an iron clad escape plan. Getting caught meant Belle Reve. Belle Reve meant Death. ..seven....eight...nine. Nine. She would have 9 seconds to quietly get through the door, race across the space avoiding the eyes of the guards and disappear into the shrubbery. She'd have to work on her speed.

Valentina scribbled it down on the small pad in her hand, flipping a page when she filled it. The pad that held her lifeline to freedom. It was filled with every single thing she observed, every scenario she thought of as she did. She would have to go off grid. Maybe somewhere in Africa? Or South America. Deep in the jungles where she would be completely free of the modern age. Free of people and their cameras. She'd be nothing but a ghost. It was the only way. 

She was in the middle of writing down how long it took the guards to round the building when she felt his eyes on her. She slipped the notebook into her pocket, turning to the darkness. "Stalking me now?" she called softly to not draw attention from the guards below. The night was still, but she knew he was there. damn Bat training. Valentina envied how Bruce practically molded himself into the darkness. The only thing giving him away was the way her body responded when he watched her. Even when she didn't know where the source of his gaze was, she always knew when his eyes were on her.

"I'm assuming you're here for your dues?" She'd been so focused on getting rid of her personal demon that night, she promised something she wasn't sure she could make good on. Answers. Bruce wanted them and she'd been avoiding him since. That night she was able to put it off, after all, there's not time to talk when Rocky, Daphne and a dead body were in listening range. But up on an empty roof with nowhere to go? she practically set herself up for an ambush.​

“Thank you…” He didn’t need the jacket anymore. It was tattered and beyond saving. It was clear to him that she couldn’t just be returning the jacket to him because she’d think he wanted it. She was here because she wanted to be. Because she wanted to see him? He moved his head to try to catch her gaze but she wasn’t looking in his eyes. Then Valentina said goodbye and he reached out and grabbed her wrist the moment she went to leave him. A reaction he didn’t think through at all. “Hey, wait.” He said, “Do you want to come inside? Are you hungry, I can make you something? We can sit down and talk…” He suggested, despite knowing better. He wanted to know if she was okay. He still, maybe a little stupidly, loved her. 

Valentina wasn’t the kind of girl to cry trauma. Not outward anyway.She wore it like an armor. But there were certain things that would trigger her. Especially when she was bad like this. Like the feeling of her wrists being contained. Suddenly Bruce’s hand was chain, cold and unforgiving as it dug into her skin. “Don’t!” she yelled, pushing him quickly, She stepped back falling on to the floor. “I shouldn’t have come here.” she shook her head, on her knees in front of him. This was stupid. She was being stupid. He didn’t love her. She didn’t love him. IT was fake. The best thing she could do for anyone’s life was get out of it.  “i’m sorry....i’m sorry....” she said softly. But it wasn’t really to Bruce. She wasn’t....fully there anymore. Part here, part stuck in her past. in that cold cell. Begging god to forgive her for what she’d done. to just save her. 

.

He was in the infirmary for a short while. A lot of students had to be taken to a real hospital, but he’d noticed all the villain kids were kept on the premises. For once, he was happy about that. The last thing he wanted was to go to a hospital. There were a few times over those days where he thought about calling her. He couldn’t help but wonder what she could be doing. If she was alright without him there to support her during her withdrawals. He wanted to be there for her. To shrug away everything that happened like it was nothing but then he’d think about it. She’d openly admitted to using Rocky. He wondered if what they had was real. It seemed real…

What he wasn’t expecting was her to knock at his door. When he opened it to see her there, he was silent. Glancing her over. He noticed the jacket in her arms. “…hey.” He finally said after a long moment.

Valentina watched his eyes as they went over her. She suddenly wished she had at least tried a little more. She knew she didn’t look exactly...well. Her hair was flattened under the hat she wore, trying to hide her face beneath it. Her eyes had bags under them and she was fidgety, currently rubbing the cloth of the jacket between two fingers. Her hands still needed bandages from the burns but they weren’t as bad anymore. That Atlantean magic was impressive.But still it would scar. Just more scars on top of scars. At least  would be from actually doing something good for a change. The point was she knew she looked horrible. But it wasn’t like it would make much of a difference. His radio silence had been enough of an answer.

“I just wanted to return this.” she said holding out the tattered jacket in her hands. Valentina wasn’t a shy girl, but suddenly it felt like she wanted the ground to swallow her up hole. Shame ran through every cell in her body. Something she hadn’t felt in a long...long time. She didn’t meet his eyes not once, too afraid what she’s see in them. “Anyway...bye i guess.”