Chapter 4 - The Cold Truth

Of Penguins and Puffins-Chap 4-The Cold Truth

Ok folks sorry it took SOOO long to get this posted but this chapter gave me alot of trouble. *scratches head* still not quite how i orignaly wanted but i got basicly what this chapter was suppose to get across. I promise you im already working on 5 and ill try to never again take this long in between chaps because i promised myself if nothing else i will finsih at least this story! I dont own Batman or any other related charcters.
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        The clock in the foyer of Cobblepot manor read 5:07 am. The clock in the dinning room read 8:19. In the master bedroom it was 11:45. The VCR clock was weakly blinking 12:00. It was like that in the whole house. Mainly because like the clocks the whole place was run down and looked to be more of a hideout then a home if you could even call it that much.

        Loose (and most frayed) wires hung across the walls which at this point were practially nothing more then drywall. The celling on the top floor leaked and if you were having a particualy bad day if you were walking on any floor except the basement you may step on a board that was rotted out and nearly fall through. Trash of varying types littered the floors from discarded pizza boxes to old magizines and news papers many of which had articles cliped out or pages torn away. The few lights that did work were nothing more then bare bulbs and half of them were never turned on because they tended to give who ever touched them a nasty shock. Then one could never forget the ever famous "Its-a-wonderful-life-broken-staircase-handrail-gaurd"

        The extirior of the biulding was no better. Moss and Fungi covered nearly the intirity of the biulding and practillay every window was broke if there was any glass left at all. The land itself had no grass but weeds in its place that were at the very least a foot high.

        In short the only room that looked to be inhabbitated (or inhabbitable for that matter) for the alst century was the avairay.

        The point of the matter was it was 5:10 because the foyer clock was the last to go out and it had only gone out miniutes before the events which would change Oswlads life occured.

        Oswald awoke with a groan. He normaly awaken so early. Then again it didnt normaly sound like W.W.3. was going on down the hall from his room. Down the hall? Wait....that was where.......

        He quickly darted out of his bed out the room and down the hall. Down there was a room. One that no one but himself was to enter. Puffin that scam! He should of known not to trust a woman. Hadent he learned this before!? HADENT HE ALL READY BEEN THROUGH THIS WITH CATWOMAN!?!?

        Well when he got there he relized he was half right. Puffin was there but wasnt trying to break into the room. It was someone else.

        Mr.Freeze apparently thought that grabing the very few things of value in Cobblepot manor would be an easy job.

        Puffin and Freeze were so involved in their battle tha his presence went unnoticed. At first it seemed that Freeze had an unfair advantage using his freeze gun and he was about to yell something about it when he suddenly remembered that his umbrella had more gadgets then a swiss army knife and figured he had little to no room to talk.

        Puffin on the other hand was using a diffrent stratagy. She was usign her speed, but she was just toying with him. Puffin wasent moving near as quickly as the night she tried to get her flippered fingers on his jewls.....*twitch twitch* He shook the thought off and continued the previous train of thought. The odd thing of it was even when she wasnt fighting she always had her staff. Then why didnt she have it now?

        A shot of ice grazing his ear snaped him out of his thoughts. Oswald looked up quickly to see what the heck just happened. The two had both grabed for the freeze gun and trying to pull it away from each other.

        Puffin looked over her shoulder noticing him standing there watching the spectal.

        "Get my staff!" she yelled over her shoulder quickly nearly losing her grip on the gun.

        He just stood there. Her hand covered the trigger but the gun was facing her. should she let go with even a single hand.....even she wouldent have time to move quick enough to dodge something shot at that close of a range.

        "OSWALD!" she hollared relizing that he was still just standing there staring.

        "wha...." he finaly semi-snapped back to the real world and looked despratly arround the room. He wasnt worried about her. Far from it, well....no.....no he wasnt worried.....mind you he didnt want to see her killed but it was only because she seemed to know something about the anwsers he had been serching for, for years. That was the only reason he gave any thought to it. Right? of course right....right?

        He finaly found her staff on the ground half frozen in ice. Its right where he ran by....how did he not notice that befor? No matter the point is he found it now. He quickly tossed it to her and she let go of the gun giving freeze the chance he needed. He shot.

        Oswald looked away. He killed her. It was his fault that she let go. He was the reason Freeze got that shot in. The sound of the ray rang in his ears. He'd lost everything. The 14 Jewl birds, The anwsers hed been serching for, and....no he didnt care all that much about her........he was a loner.....her was a cobblepot....he worked alone.

        "WHAT!?" Freeze called out sounding annoyed and shocked.

        He looked towards where the two were fighting. Keyword there-were. Freeze was just standing there scowling at the celling for some unknown reason. Puffin was no where to be sceen.

        He looked up. The beak of her staff was hooked onto the remains of a solid silver Chandelier that was tarnished beyond return and from the staff hung Puffin. Completely unharmed other then the fact that the ray had frozen the bottom of her hair.

        That didnt seem to bother her much...if at all at the moment because she had a huge cocky grin across her face.

        Freeze fired, but Puffin gracefully swung up out of the way landing standing on top of the light fixture.

        Another blast but it was destroyed by the flame thrower within her staff.

        By this time Freeze was growing tired of dealing with this pesky girl. This was getting him absolutly no where. Finaly an idea struck him.

        He fired again this time not at her. Thinking he missed his target she didnt bother nutralizing it as the ice froze the chain, that was already only barely holding up the Chandelier.

        It snaped. Puffin lept for the falling remains. To sure that he had already won the battle freeze couldent do anything when she windmill kicked him on her decent sending him flying across the room smashing into the wall nearly exactly the same tim the Chandelier crashed through to the bottom floor (as where they were was on the third).

        She cracked her neck and examined her hair which still was half frozen and gave a look of anger and disgust.

        "Bastard" was all she had to say.

        "Took you long enough cobblepot" finaly refering to him the first time without yelling at him scince he had awoken. Sure it wasnt one of the top 10 ways to be greeted, and of course it was more of a "what-good-are-you" tone rather then a "well-i-guess-i-can-forgive-you" one but she wasnt screaming....wait what. "took you long enough?" if it wasnt for him shed be dead!
        "YOU KNOW WHAT IM REALLY GETTING SICK OF YOUR-" he was intrupted by a blast that knocked him off his feet and flying back.

        He looked up. Puffin was half encased in ice. From her waist down she was frozen solid. Then there was freeze standing right behind her laser ray pointed straight at her back.

        Oswald saw red as he became engulfed in a blind rage. The reason seemingly either unknown or not present but the fact of the matter was that he was ready to kill freeze.

        He jumped kicked him knocking freeze away from her and sending theh ray to the floor and it rooled through the gaping hole in the floor.

        "Get out of here Now " he snarled standing over Freeze. It was evident that he was restraining the urge to kill him but oswald didnt get the response he had expected. Freeze started laughing. not like "ha-ha-funny" laugh more like a "how-pathic-can-you-be" laugh.

        "Whats so funny!?" he squaked fists clenched a vain poping on his neck. He was doing everything in his power to keep from knocking freeze's lights out. How dare he laugh at him.

        "I could of guessed as much" Freeze respopnded in that meancingly low tone he tended to use when he fells he knew something but had just now confirmed his suspicions.

        "Wha....? LIstEN YOU......i dont know what your getting at...but I dont think i like what your getting at sir......"

        "Dont act dumber then you are Penguin. Its quite obvious that you want to think of little Finchella over here over here much more then just a crime partner" Freeze said in a "Matter-of-factly" tone.

        At this notation Oswalds eyes shot open comicly and his monacle (which he had grabed on the way out of his room so he could see where he was walking) fell to the ground and shattered. His mouth fell agape and every ounce of color left his face.

        Did he just inply that HE Oswald Chesterfeild Cobblepot had a thing for Finchella!? Was he hearing right!? Freeze couldent of said that! What the heck would of given him that idea!?

        "My sir she is a Puffin and I am a Penguin therefore-"

        "Therefore that comment has nothing to do with the fact because last i checked Selina was a cat"

        "What!? That isnt the same!"

        "Your right a cat isnt even the same species."

        "The point is there is nothing between me and Puffin"

        "That dosent mean you dont want there to be"

        "You have room to talk about "want" freeze"

        That struck a nerve. Freeze stood up, freeze ray aimed straight at Oswalds chest. NO ONE talked about his feelings for Nora like that!

        Oswald had to think quick else end up a bird-cicle. He looked down. The board that freeze was standing on, it was loose. Thats it.

        "Join your girl on ice" Freeze went to pull the trigger but Oswald smashed down onto the floor board causing the catapult effect sending freeze flying out the window and off the estate.

        For a while he just stood there thinking about what was said. He didnt like Puffin. He was a loner.

        "Then what about Catwoman" a voice in the back of his head asked him.

        "No that was diffrent. SHE came onto me first!" he thought.

        "How is it diffrent? You still liked her."

        A creaking noise snapped him out of his self conflict.

        *gasp*

        The frozen Puffin was right by the edge of the hole in the floor. It was breaking away. She would of moved but as she was frozen from the waist down she couldent really do so. She was trying to smash through so wether or not she heard the conversation was unknown. The point is if he didnt do something she'd be dead.

        He didnt have his umbrella and didnt know how her staff worked. He didnt have time to think, he grabed her by the back of her jacket pulling her away as the floor crumbled.

        He fell over from jerking back so fast and there was a shatter as the ice on Puffin smashed off. As dust centuries old filled the air he had to close his eyes to keep from being blinded. Puffin was apparently having similar problems as he heard her coughing despite lack of beign able to see where she (or he for that matter) had landed.
        
        When the dust cleared it took Oswald a while to register what exactly he was seeing. Ok yeah he knew he tripped and fell when he pulled her away.....but not this!

        There was Puffin, on the ground. That wasnt the problem. When he fell over he virtualy landed on her. So there HE was one hand arround her waist the other on her chest and their faces barley an inch appart.

        After finding himself in such a manner had the exact opposite effect Freezes comment had. He turned so red it didnt seem possible he would ever go back to his normal color.

        "You.....you saved my life." she said seemingly unaware of thier situation.

        "Well as much as I......uhh" he swallowed hard using every ounce of energy, will, and strength he had to focusing giving her an anwser rather then the compromising possition that they were in.

        "as much as I hate to....admit it....your the one who knows....about the birds" Oswald finaly choaked out.

        "You could of been killed!" she responded quietly. Not in a "id-be-tramuatized-if-that-happened" tone more of an "I-cant-belive-you-did-that-but-thank-heavens-you-did" one.

        For a moment he hadent a clue what she was talking about until he looked over to the hole in the floor that had opened up even further then he thought. Thats how he triped...where he was standing colapsed.

        His attention turned back to getting out of the current problem. Sure he would of just stood up and walked off to take a VERY cold shower but his body didnt want to listen to his brain.
        
        Finaly somehow he got his one arm out from under her but brilliantly put it down on a loose nail.

        Oswald yelped jumping up grabing his hand. At least it was the hand that was already wounded. Well thats one way to get up he supposed. Thats when he remembered why he ran down here in the first place. His head darted up and he let out an audible gasp.

        He ran to the room. His forbiden room. The door was hanging on by one hinge. The 12 locks from the inside destroyed. This couldent of been happening. THis had to be a nightmear.

        "I swear to you i didnt see anything in there" Puffin said scincerly and hesitantly as if she knew how much this ment to him and didnt want to in anyway distress him as she walked up to him.

        "Why dont i belive that?" Oswald had nothing more the a cold anger in his voice and eyes. Not mad at her. Not even mad at freeze. Mad at the world. The world that had always been betraying him. Deciving him. Abadoning him. No matter what he did someone always pulled the rug out from under his feet.

        "Not all females are cats Oswald. You can trust me." it was here she paused but when she continued it was like she wasnt directly addressing him but almost to herself. "I know what its like hiding from the world Your not the only one with secrets Oswald" with this she looked down at her own flippered hands. They were so like his own despite the parting being between the middle and ring rather then middle and index.

        "What about freeze?" finaly figuring that she probably did have secrets of her own on similar value and she wouldent bother medling into the matter.

        "I made sure that he did not enter. The door got busted in the fight but no one saw anything."

        Oswald mearly nodded content with the anwser.

        "I'll be off then" was the last thing Puffin said before walking off to her own room.

        He started towards his own room but insted went into the room that was being spoken about.

        It was empty except a desk covered and spiling over with news clippings and magizine articles all on the same two people. Tucker and Esther Cobblepot.

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Ok once again im sooooooooo sorry this took so long but i had a heck of a time figuring out how to write the FreezeXPuffin battle. I wasnt initaly going to have him start relizing he may like her this early on in the story but it seemed so perfect! To make up im already working on typing the next chapter. and this is probably going to be one of the longer chapters meaning they normaly wont be so long.
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