Chapter Text
Puzzles. She liked puzzles. They increased her analytic skills. She was solving a practically difficult one this time around. In her small, probably illegal apartment, an entire wall turned corkboard. Thin pushpin style tacks held up photographs of less than bragworthy members of the community. 4 names stood out to her the most though. She did like to prioritize after all. These 4 criminals were men and their crimes involved women or children. Andy Pody, Daniel Tury, Allen Freud, and Jules Rodrigeuz.
4 names written in red ink. The ink lightly smeared the woman’s left hand. Her hair unkempt and her eyes blinked slowly, as if convincing her to stay awake a moment longer. She heard a light knock on her apartment door. She seized at the noise. She wished, at times, she lived in Bludhaven and not Gotham. She commuted daily out of hell and returned after the school day ended without fail.
She quietly moved to the Beautiful Mind style wall and used the blanket that hung off the exposed pipes to hide the insanity which lurked just beneath the surface.
Was insanity the right word? No. She preferred something that would…
Her eyes briefly wandered to the old family photo which sat on her mantle. Make her feel like less of a basket-case. She wasn’t ready to admit herself to Arkham quite yet.
She grabbed a subtle kitchen knife and looked through the peephole. Her face burst into a boisterous grin at the sight. Her hands worked quickly to unsecure each of her latches and locks. She opened the door and embraced her friend. The man, her friend, took her embrace in stride, quickly returning it with fever.
“Kenneth!” She exclaimed as her eyes took in the sight of him. The man had soft sandy hair and a roundness to his face which never dissipated with boyhood. She hoped it never did, it suited him, it made him look complete.
“Lori!” He said in equal measure. His smile disappeared at the sight of her. She felt self-conscious at the sudden visual examination.
“Have you been alright, Lori?” He threaded carefully, feeling the examination turning back on him. His mere observation, spoken or not, might cause his friend to shut down.
“Oh you know the usual, kids who don’t listen, mismanaged admin, and quietly disappearing funds.” He nodded, his frown deepening. The silence felt heavy on Lori’s shoulders. She didn’t want to focus on the bad and the typical.
“Come on Kenneth! Look at me holding you at the door!” She spoke as she ushered him inside to her apartment. She sat him at her kitchen table, subtly away from her Arkham-worthy search for justice. She just wishes she didn't know it.
She began to quickly fix him tea as she described his mother’s ailing health. Her eyes were soft at the mention of the older woman. Her eyes glanced at the photo and the wall which sat directly across from it. She hoped subtly enough that Kenneth wouldn’t notice.
“Your mother did so much for me.” She confessed with sad eyes. He nodded, knowing it to be true and not seeing a reason to deny it.
“She has been out of work for a while before she got sick. I guess nobody sees a reason Gotham needs people like her anymore.” He admitted with a moment of brief hopelessness himself.
“Who made the call?” Downsizing a nonprofit never sat right with Lori.
“Andy Pody.” He said with venom. Lori’s eyes felt her eyes narrow dangerously. Her eyes lingeried on her wall for a second too long. Neither said a word.
“Andy Pody was always a crook!” She grumbled with righteous anger.
“Don’t I know it. He could easily expand the project but you know-” He used his fingers to mime out cash. Her left hand shook a little more. She attempted to keep it from view, but Kenneth’s eyes were drawn to it regardless.
“Lori, I mean it, enough about me and Mom.” Oh dear god, she hoped he didn’t ask her again.
“What’s been going on with you lately?” His words earnest, he asked this question for possibly the third time that visit.
“I have just been feeling a little burnt out lately, Kenneth, most teachers experience it eventually.” She admitted with a halfhearted smile. Her hand slowed its fidgeting in the wake of truth. He said to take this as the whole truth. She felt relief at that idea.
“Just promise me you’ll reach out to me or Mom if you need someone.” She nodded in a way that told both of them that she would not be doing that. But, it made them feel better to play the charade out to completion.
Eventually Kenneth had to leave. He promised to see her more often. Half meant comments about checking up on her more frequently, as she was practically alone in Gotham since his mom and him left.
He didn’t want to go to Gotham.
She couldn’t leave.
A compromise never quite found.
After he left and went back to Bludhaven. Once her latches and locks were secured again. She felt herself drawn to the manic style board hidden. She didn’t bother to reveal the insanity to the half lit room she was in. She knew the name of her first target.
Andy Pody had better find a god and pray to it. Because they would have far more mercy than Lori would. Her hand covered in the red link raised itself slowly, as if to meet the height of the picture. A poetic end would suit a man like him far better than he deserved.
She’d give him the end he deserved.
A quick serving of justice.
She just needed to find an opening.
Her television flickered on, as if reading her mind. An anchor man with a cheesy mustache spoke as if possessed.
“Andy Pody! Millionaire, philanthropist, and part-time playboy to host a gala for Bludhaven’s finest!” The date of the gala echoed in Lori’s ears.
This was a message meant for her. A mission for the chosen. Her eyes brightened at the chance to see real justice finally delivered.
This was not a mission for the chosen. She chided herself lightly, how vain. Her eyes narrowed at the screen which now froze on Andy Pody’s face. It was an execution for the damned.