Work Text:
The story started with laughing.
It was more of a cackle- like a clap of thunder but more high pitched as it echoed down the streets.
And the sound of footsteps.
They were two sets, one that was heavy- a constant /thump thump thump/ across the rooftops of Gotham. The other was lighter, and almost…flowier? A slow /tap… tap…tap tap…tap…tap/ with long pauses between each one. The two sets were different and yet despite the way they sounded the two figures barely visible in the nightly smog seemed perfectly in time with each other.
It was a full moon.
Contrary to the tales, that was when it was safest to go out in Gotham. Definitely not safe by Metropolis or even Central City standards, but compared to every other night in Gotham? Definitely a little safer…except for when the rogues decided that it’s the perfect backdrop for their ‘spooky’ schemes.
During a clear full moon night it's brighter. The fog around the bay is drawn closer to the city, curling around the black chrome buildings like a blanket. The fog and mist reflected the moon’s beams in a soft way, making the streets light up the way that Gotham rarely sees.
The figures seemed to blend into the scenery, never too lit or covered in shadows, always able to be seen from the street without details. One was taller, while the other was short (as logic dictates). It was odd, the taller one seemed to float when the two jumped from ledge to ledge, landing with the staggered tapping. It was the other, shorter, one who jumped from ledge to ledge, enough that dust (surely it /must/ be dust. The faint smell of smoke would say that it /was/ smoke but…the figure wasn’t on fire. It…can't be.) is blown from under his foot.
The taller of the two seemed to slow whenever he jumped, staying in the air just a little too long, their hair staying lifted and defying gravity for moments more than it should. It was dizzying
The shorter of the two seemed to cause sparks wherever their foot hit the ground. A tick of the light. (It must be.)
Suddenly the shorter jumped, it was no different from the other jumps that the two had been making- from one building to the next- but the taller one stopped. He was standing on the ledge of the building which was about a foot wide.
The shorter froze, turning to face the other.
“Come on! You can make it!” The voice sounded like a young man with a Gotham accent.
The taller laughed that grating giggle, “No, No! It’s too far!” Their voice was deeper, clearly older than the other with a hint of an accent. “I fear I might fall! I dare not try!”
The shorter one laughed with him. “Hey! I have an idea. I can create a path of light- you can walk along the beam and join me!”. Just as he said that, a bridge of light appeared between the two buildings as if he had turned on a flashlight.
He wasn’t holding one. His hand was reached out and yet it was empty. /The light was coming from him./
The taller one laughed more, a loud ear piercing noise that moved his whole body. He leaned over, hunched over his stomach. Then he turned, spinning on the edge with none of the supposed fear evident.
Through chuckles, he managed to get out, “What do you think I am? Crazy? You'd turn it off when I was half way across!”
The other laughed at this, “You? Fall? You wish!”
They were both bent over laughing by now.
“Ok- ok”, the taller one laughed, “hold it steady!”
Then…he walked.
He dramatically threw out his hands and put one foot in front of the other and took a step off the ledge.
And then another.
And then another.
He continued this until halfway where he looked at his companion with a sharp grin.
He circled his arms and bent his leg- shaking on the light in a dramatic mimicry of what it looks like when a tightrope walker loses balance.
“Wo-woah! I said to hold it tight, kid!”
The other giggled at the…teasing?
The taller lurched forward, bringing his right hand to his feet, then the other- kicking his legs up and into a handstand.
He made his way across the bridge like that.
One hand after the other- at one point spinning so he was ‘walking’ backwards.
Upon reaching the end…he bounced- allowing himself to take control of the gravity and push himself back upright.
The light went out as soon as his hands left the light.
Then they took off again.
A constant /thump thump thump/ and /tap… tap…tap tap…tap…tap/ across the rooftops of Gotham.