The Iceberg Lounge

[Harvey Dent/Two-Face]

Harvey's shoulders tensed as Joker taunted Olivia. He did not speak, but his brows drew together and his eyes fixed on Joker's painted face with shrewd intensity. It wasn't until Olivia left and Joker referred to her as stupid that he spoke, voice level and low but gaze heated.

"You're going too far, Joker." His eyes flicked across the table "And Penguin - look down her dress again and you'll be ogling the next girl out of two black eyes. We clear?"

He had taken the coin from his pocket again as Joker had spoken, the movement of the bright silver over his fingers getting faster and faster until he flicked it with his thumb and caught it in a cupped hand.



Harvey gazed at Joker for a long moment before the anger faded from his eyes and he sat back, sipping his drink. He caught the eye of the midget waiter who had brought the first round of drinks. "A strawberry Caprinha for the lady at the bar in the black dress, please. And could you send a message that I'll be finishing work soon?"

[The Joker]

"She's too innocent." Joker said, rolling his eyes. "She's worse than a fucking lamb."

He leaned back in the booth and gazed impassively at Harvey. "That's the most pathetic attempt at defending your girl I've ever seen, Harv. I sometimes think you may be a bit too dependent on that little coin of yours."

[Katarina Williams]

As the song changed, Katarina continued to dance but she wasn't doing the Suzy Q. Her eyes wandered back over to the group of people in the booth watching as Olivia left.

[Harvey Dent/Two-Face]

Harvey folded his hands on the table top, the perfect picture of calm.

"She is. Far too innocent. The old me used to take a great interest in matters of innocence. You might say I still do."

He met Joker's gaze without rancour.

"If it came up bad heads I was going to smash your face into the table. Would that have worked better for you?"

[The Joker]

Joker casually inspected his ragged nails. "I could always fix that, ya know. Give me and Face a weekend with her and she'd be much less lamb and more...mongoose? Yeah, I like mongoose."

He raised an eyebrow at Harvey. "That's not very nice, you know. I doubt Mr. Cobblepot would be pleased if we broke his stuff."

[Harvey Dent/Two-Face]

Harvey wondered if Joker knew about Two-Face and Olivia's intimate end to the Thanksgiving supper Harvey had prepared for her. He would imagine not, as neither one of them had been stabbed, shot at or used as test subjects for explosives this week.

Well, Two-Face had gotten them into the situation, he would have to get them out. After all, in love or not, Two-Face had never insisted on exclusivity in the relationship. Joker could hardly be upset about it, really.

He hoped.

Harvey finished his drink. "Then it's lucky for both you and Oswald that the coin came up good heads," he remarked, refusing to be drawn into a fight.

[Lavinia Howards]

Lavinia smiled when Katarina commended her dancing, feeling a hint of pride. She glanced between the brunette and the situation she was distracted by, unable to help the sense that Katarina wanted to approach her friends.

Resting her hands on her hips she furrowed her eyebrows, trying to examine what was happening in the booth, not being nosey just...observant. That's right, observant. Identifying that a woman had left the booth in a rather stern manner she quered to Katarina,

"You think some serious shits goin' down?"

[Katarina Williams]

Katarina faced Lavinia her again, "Knowing how that group is, yes. With them it's never a dull moment. I'm just surprised a fight hasn't broken out." Letting out a sigh as she wanted to go check on Ollie and make sure she was alright. "Come on, I'll introduce you to them." Grabbing her hand as they walked over.

"Hey boys. Hope I'm not interrupting anything." Katarina looked over at the trio.

[Lavinia Howards]

Lavinia chuckled a little at Katarina's reply but her expression soon transitioned to confounded when she felt Katarina grasp her hand and invite Lavinia to meeting her friends.

"You sure they won't-"

She cut herself off once the two arrived at the booth. It was only a few seconds before she faintly recognised the clown and the split-suited gentleman. She could barely afford a television let alone a license, the main source of news for her was Gotham Gazette.

Altering her awkward demeanor she smiled sweetly in greeting. "Hey fellas."

[Oswald Cobblepot]

Penguin nodded his understanding at Harvey and remained silent the rest of the conversation. He realized that he had crossed the line of a very unstable man. He also sensed that the meeting was coming to a close.

Just as he was about to apologize and try and wrap things up the girls from earlier approached. The one called Kat spoke first and seemed to treat the interruption as if they were all old friends. His eye twitched. He was feeling antsy and trapped in his own club. He didn't like that. He didn't like that one bit.

"Harvey, if you'll excuse me, I have some business to attend to in the back room. I'm sure we'll be in touch?"

He got up from the booth and put the tip of the umbrella on the ground, using it as a cane again.

[Talia Al Ghul]

Talia had been in Gotham long enough to ensure that the apartment her father had rented for her had been prepared to her liking. She had trusted her father, as she always did, and a quick sweep of the place had been enough. Her people had brought in her things and Talia had decided instead of unpacking that she would get to know the city better. What better way than to drive around in a flashy car, spying at people from behind tinted glass? It had suited her just fine for a little while, but even this was already starting to bore her. She had a feeling that Gotham wasn't going to be one of her favorite places, but her father needed her there, and it was there she would be.

How she wished to return to Paris. The French always accommodated her well, and they never thought to think that Talia could be the daughter of someone who could ruin their whole way of living. It pleased her to no end. But that was in the past now, and Gotham was her present. Maybe business in the city wouldn't take long. Based on what she was seeing, it wasn't the greatest of cities. Which was one of the reason Ra's Al Ghul had sent his daughter to it. She reminded herself that she had a meeting the next day with her father's business partner. A doctor of some sort. She had only just skimmed over her father's letter; normally she would've read it more carefully but she wasn't feeling in the mood for it.

She told her driver to stop the car when she caught sight of "The Iceberg Lounge." An interesting name for a club, she supposed, but something about it stood out from the dark street, and that generally pulled at her attention. The "grand opening sign" also made Talia gravitate to the place. New, shiny things in the center of a dark, grungy city - a juxtaposition - something Talia could relate to. And so, she stepped out of the car, despite the driver's warnings and shooed him. He could drive around and get paid, so why should he be complaining? Besides, Talia could take care of herself.

Pushing open one of the doors, Talia stepped inside. Out of habit, she took off her black leather gloves and draped them over her bag. Talia looked the classic rich woman, a business-like dress, a bag, an expensive jacket and the gloves. Her hair was pristine, her jewelry carefully picked. But it was all a facade. Talia was danger in high heels. Her father had trained her to kill, and she was all too happy to do so. She would do anything for him. But sometimes, she just wanted to do what she wanted.

Her eyes scanned the room and she stood just inside the doorway, unsure of whom she wanted to approach first.

[The Joker]

Joker gave up trying to antagonize Harvey and looked up as the women walked over. "Hello there." He gave Lavinia a once over and then glanced away. He had been planning on saying something when he spotted Talia.

She was pretty, but without the sweet look that Olivia and Lavinia had. He decided to go introduce himself.

He casually waved goodbye to his peers and rose, straightening his tuxedo jacket as he did. He strode over to Talia, cane lightly clicking as he strode across the polished floor.

In a mood, he bowed dramatically before her. "I do like a girl with nice gloves." He said as way of greeting.

[Talia Al Ghul]

It looked as though Talia didn't even have to choose with whom she would first acquaint herself with, as her attention was caught by the light clicking of a cane. She raised her head slightly, as she was usually apt to do when encountering new people - she liked to maintain that look of 'I'm better than you, and I know it,' at least until she knew someone better. The man's face was painted though, and her brow quirked with interest as she noted the Chelsea Smile. Or was it Glasgow Grin; she was sure it meant the same thing, and it didn't really matter. The scars spoke for themselves.

Talia smiled, which she usually did when there wasn't any emotion behind the action. It was something she'd mastered over the years - being pleasant to people whom she didn't think deserved anything close to that. But she was new in town, she had to make friends somehow - even if they weren't the best of people to be friends with. Unlike her father, she could see the usefulness in having contacts within the not-so-lawful type of people. The ends justified the means, as it were. Perhaps that was why her father usually sent her to do business for him.

Talia moved her head briefly, as if granting him permission to rise. She couldn't tell if he was being facetious with his action, but it amused her greatly. "Well then I guess we have something in common," she retorted. She raised her ungloved hand, debating for a second whether or not she would let the people around her know her true identity. She supposed a first name couldn't hurt, as she usually didn't go around using her surname unless she was trying to intimidate someone. "I'm Talia," her brow quirked as she waited for some sort of response from the man with the scars.

[The Joker]

Joker straightened and clasped his hands loosely on his cane. His head was slightly tilted to the side as he surveyed her. He had noticed her eyebrow quirk once she had looked at him, and tucked that away for later thought.

He flashed a yellowed grin at her. "Us gloved folks should stick together."

With movements far gentler than he had used on the Penguin, he took her ungloved hand. Feeling rather sporty, he bent to meet the soft skin as he raised it to his lips. He kept his dark gaze on her face. "Talia, the pleasure is all yours. I am Joker."

[Talia Al Ghul]

Talia eyed the cane, momentarily wondering if there was a sword in it like her father's. Based on knowing this man for all of a moment, she wouldn't doubt it. Much like she was doing to him, she noticed him looking her over. She'd gotten used to that both as a woman and as a potential business partner. Appearances, as superficial as it seemed, meant a lot in her world, and when someone surveyed someone else, well, that was just something she always expected.

It was only on occasion that the next thing happened, and she smirked as he kissed her hand. Maybe women whom she mimicked would have a problem with that, but Talia had been around men less...polite? Or even more deformed. She had seen her fair share of what her talents could do to people, and someone such as he wasn't nearly as, well, 'scary' or 'weird' as she'd encountered. Besides, she was polite enough not to care.

His introduction got an amused smile out of her. One with something actually behind it. Perhaps Gotham wasn't going to be as bad as she thought it was. "Oh, believe me, it is. What better way to be introduced into a new place than by someone as agreeable as you?" Talia generally had a biting sarcasm that accompanied her words, it was something her father scolded her about.