Elliott's body crackled with yellow electricity as he closed in on Bellatrix, his gaze focused and fierce. The mirrored dimension had collapsed, leaving only the shards of glass swirling around them, like the remnants of an abandoned stage. Joker, watching from the sidelines, twirled his marotte with an amused grin, his mechanical eye scanning every movement.
Bellatrix, regaining her composure, faced Elliott with a smug smirk. "So, you think you can keep up with me?" she teased, her violet energy flickering around her, as if taunting him with the power she controlled. "We'll see about that."
Before he could respond, Bellatrix vanished in a flash of violet light. Elliott instinctively went on the defensive, his body moving with a blur of yellow lightning. He slammed a fist into the spot where she had been, only to find empty air. A faint laugh echoed from the other side of the battlefield.
In an instant, Bellatrix swapped places with Joker, her body flickering into existence right behind him, her violet energy swirling around her. Elliott's eyes snapped to her, but it was too late. She lunged forward, her fist glowing with violet energy, but Elliott twisted his body just in time to avoid the strike. As her punch slashed through the air, he used the momentum to roll to the side, narrowly avoiding the deadly arc.
"Nice try," Elliott growled, his fists crackling with electric power as he stood back up.
Bellatrix's eyes gleamed with challenge. "Oh, darling, I'm not hiding. I'm just... moving faster than you can keep up." With that, she swapped places again with Joker, this time reappearing just behind him once more. But Elliott had already anticipated her next move.
In the blink of an eye, he spun around, his electric fist raised. Bellatrix's eyes widened, but before she could evade, the punch landed, sending her staggering back from the force of the blow. The electricity coursed through her, her body seizing for a moment as the power surged through her frame.
"You're not the only one who can land a hit," Elliott said, his grin widening. "I know exactly where you are. You are limited to only swapping with me or Joker."
Bellatrix staggered to her feet, wiping blood from her lip, her expression twisting into a snarl. "You little—!"
Without warning, she swapped places with Joker again, her form flickering in and out like a ghost. This time, she reappeared in front of Elliott, her leg aimed straight for his chest in a powerful kick. The moment she did, Elliott was already prepared. With a surge of electricity, he ducked low, his body moving in a blur as he slid under the strike, narrowly avoiding her foot.
Bellatrix was quick, but her speed came at a cost. The constant swapping, while useful for evading, didn't give her the same fluidity that true speed would. Elliott knew this, and he planned to exploit it.
She swapped again, trying to throw him off balance, but Elliott anticipated the move and followed her momentum, his yellow aura trailing him like a comet. As she appeared behind him, her fist aimed to strike, he spun around, his fists sparking with electric energy.
This time, she couldn't react fast enough. The punch landed squarely against her ribs, the shock of electricity searing through her body, leaving her gasping for breath. Bellatrix staggered back, trying to swap once more, but Elliott was already on her, his movements faster than she could anticipate.
"Gotcha," he growled, grabbing her by the arm just as she attempted to flicker away. His electric grip held her in place, the crackling energy zapping through her, immobilizing her for a brief moment.
Bellatrix's violet energy flared as she tried to struggle free, but Elliott wasn't giving her a chance to escape. He surged forward again, landing a quick series of punches to her torso, each one sending an electric jolt through her body. She tried to retaliate, swapping places with him to get some distance, but Elliott was right behind her, closing the gap every time she tried to make her move.
"You're just wasting your energy," Elliott taunted, his grin widening with every strike. "You can't keep swapping forever."
Bellatrix's eyes flickered with a mix of annoyance and determination. She tried to swap again, but this time, Elliott had learned to anticipate her, moving with calculated speed. As soon as she flickered into view, he struck, landing a brutal uppercut that sent her sprawling backward, her body crashing into the shards of the broken mirrors.
For the first time in the fight, Bellatrix was down. She gasped for air, her body trembling from the electric shocks, her violet energy sputtering out of control. She attempted to stand, but her movements were sluggish, her power waning under the relentless onslaught of Elliott's speed.
Joker, still leaning against the wreckage, let out a soft chuckle, his grin widening. "Looks like the show's over, Bellatrix," he said with a playful tone. "You've met your match."
Bellatrix's breathing was shallow, her body flickering weakly in and out of existence, struggling to maintain her hold on the swaps. She shot Elliott a glare, her lips curling into a defiant sneer. "You... you think this is the end?" she spat, struggling to stand.
Elliott, however, had no intention of letting up. He charged forward again, his fists crackling with yellow electricity. This time, he was determined to end it. As Bellatrix swapped places with Joker, Elliott moved with lightning speed, intercepting her mid-swap.
With a thunderous punch, he landed a devastating blow right to her gut, his electric power exploding through her. The force of the strike sent her flying back, her body slamming against the fractured glass of the mirrors. This time, she couldn't recover.
Bellatrix gasped for breath, her form flickering weakly. "No... more..." she murmured, her energy fading fast. The constant swapping, the constant dodging—it had taken everything out of her.
Joker, still watching with interest, stepped forward, his marotte tapping rhythmically against the ground. "Well, well. Seems like the curtain's come down on this little performance."
Elliott stood over her, his body still crackling with electricity, his expression hard but satisfied. "You put up a good fight," he said, his voice steady. "But it's over now."
Bellatrix, now beaten and exhausted, could do little more than glare at him as her form flickered one last time.
Elliott stood over Bellatrix, his breath steady as his body still crackled with electric energy. His eyes held a sense of satisfaction, the fight finally nearing its end. Bellatrix, however, was far from defeated. In fact, her lips curled into a sly grin, her eyes glinting with dangerous mischief.
For a moment, Elliott didn't see it coming. Bellatrix, despite her battered state, had one last trick up her sleeve. Without warning, she launched her foot up, her heel connecting directly with his crotch. The shock of the impact caused Elliott to falter, his body momentarily paralyzed by the intense pain. His face twisted in surprise and agony, his electric aura flickering and sputtering as he collapsed to his knees.
Bellatrix, sensing her opportunity, pushed herself up with renewed vigor, her grin widening as she watched him struggle. "You really thought you had me?" she mocked, her voice dripping with confidence. "You're nothing but a lightning rod, darling."
In the blink of an eye, Bellatrix swung her leg around, delivering a brutal roundhouse kick directly to Elliott's stomach. The force of the blow sent him flying backward, his body hurtling through the air with a forceful trail of energy crackling behind him. He crashed into the remnants of a shattered mirror, his breath knocked out of him as the impact rattled his bones. The electric hum around his body flickered before he groaned in pain, struggling to push himself back up.
But before Bellatrix could capitalize on her advantage, a flurry of cards whizzed through the air, slicing the space between them. Joker, with his ever-present grin, had made his move. The cards struck Bellatrix with surgical precision, embedding themselves in her clothing and pinning her firmly against the wall.
The cards held her immobile, the weight of them binding her with an unrelenting grip. Bellatrix struggled, her body flickering weakly as she attempted to escape, but the cards kept her stuck in place, her movements restrained. Her breath quickened in frustration as she glared at Joker, her violet energy sputtering around her in brief flashes.
Joker stepped forward, twirling his marotte nonchalantly. "Nice try, Bellatrix. But you really ought to learn when the curtain falls." His tone was almost playful, but his mechanical eye gleamed with a cold calculation.
Bellatrix gritted her teeth, sweat dripping down her face as she remained pinned against the wall, every muscle in her body aching. Her attempts to free herself were futile. She could only glare at Joker, who stood nearby with his ever-amused expression, as if thoroughly enjoying her frustration.
Meanwhile, in the distance, Elliott was still writhing on the ground, clutching his legs and rolling about like a fish out of water. "What the hell is wrong with you?!" he screamed, his face contorted in agony. "That was unnecessary!" He flopped back and forth, his body bouncing off the ground like a pancake in a hot frying pan. "How can you even do that?!" His voice cracked as he yelled, his limbs flailing wildly. "That's brutal! My entire life just flashed before my eyes!"
He gasped for air between dramatic, pained yelps, one hand clutching his midsection while the other clutched the ground as if trying to hold onto something for dear life. "I... I can't... breathe!" he howled, rolling again and making exaggerated motions like he was about to faint.
Bellatrix, her head hanging low, merely shot Joker a defeated look, watching the spectacle unfold. Her face was a picture of frustration, but her eyes held a hint of admiration for Elliott's impressive display of agony. She couldn't help but let out a soft, defeated sigh. "I swear, if I knew this would be the outcome... I would've swapped out for a chair instead of him," she muttered under her breath, watching as Elliott continued to thrash on the floor, clearly overwhelmed by the pain.
Joker chuckled, his mechanical eye flicking from Bellatrix to the comically struggling Elliott. "Seems like someone's really feeling it," he said with a smirk, his voice a mix of amusement and pity.
Bellatrix watched as Elliott finally stopped flopping around on the floor, his pained groans subsiding into exhausted, shallow breaths. The agony he'd been in was almost too comical to bear, and though she couldn't help but feel a twisted sense of satisfaction, it didn't change the fact that she was still trapped and completely at their mercy. The cards pinning her clothes to the wall made her feel small, and for the first time since the battle had begun, her defiant grin faded.
She let out a slow breath, her chest heaving as the weight of the situation settled over her. She could barely move, and even if she did manage to wriggle free, Joker and Elliott were still right there, and neither of them would let her escape again. The fight, the show, was over.
Her eyes met Joker's for a moment, a mix of bitterness and resignation flickering across her features. "I admit it," she said, her voice tinged with an unexpected calmness. She lifted her gaze from the floor and glared at Elliott, who was still catching his breath, lying in a crumpled heap. "You're not the only one with a limited range of tricks." She let out a humorless chuckle, leaning back against the wall with a deep sigh. "Guess I've lost this round, huh?"
Joker gave her a knowing nod, his marotte tapping rhythmically in his hand. "Oh, I think it's safe to say the show's over, Bellatrix. You gave it your best shot, but even stars have to bow out eventually."
Bellatrix's eyes shifted to Elliott, who was still massaging his sensitive area, wincing in pain but too exhausted to move. She couldn't help but let out a small, amused sigh. "Well... at least you won't be chasing me around anymore, huh? What a way to go out."
Elliott groaned from the floor, giving her a weak thumbs-up as he lay there, utterly defeated. "Yeah, no more chases... just... just please, no more of that!" He said, his voice still strained with the lingering discomfort.
With one last glance at Joker and Elliott, Bellatrix slowly nodded, her fight fading from her eyes. She had to admit, she was done.
Bellatrix and Elliott both turned to Joker, expecting some grand, witty solution to their predicament. Joker, however, was still casually leaning against the wreckage, twirling his marotte as if he had all the time in the world.
"So, how do we get out of here?" Bellatrix asked, her voice flat with the exhaustion of the fight, her tone almost deadpan.
Elliott, still wincing from his painful experience, nodded in agreement. "Yeah, we've had our fun, but now we need an exit. You got a trapdoor, or a secret exit somewhere? Or, I don't know, maybe a magic mirror that works properly?"
Joker blinked at them, looking genuinely confused. "Wait… what?" He scratched his head. "You guys are asking me how to get out of here?"
Bellatrix and Elliott exchanged a look, their expressions matching with an exasperated sigh.
"Yeah, that's usually how this works, right?" Bellatrix quipped, a trace of sarcasm sneaking into her voice. "You're the one who trapped us in this mess, remember?"
Elliott threw his hands up in frustration, still holding himself gingerly. "Exactly! You built this whole... whatever this is, and now you're just standing there like you don't even know how we get out?!"
Joker's grin never faltered. "Well, sure, I could've created an exit, but… I didn't really plan for that part. I thought you two might, I don't know, figure it out yourselves. It's part of the performance, after all."
Bellatrix rolled her eyes dramatically. "You really didn't think this through, did you?"
Joker shrugged nonchalantly, still twirling his marotte with one hand. "Hey, I'm a jester, not an architect. I'm not here to solve problems, I'm here to cause them." He paused, looking at them with mock concern. "But, uh... if you're really that desperate, I guess we could—"
Elliott cut him off, voice shaking with mock horror. "You're telling me you don't even know how to get us out of here? All this time, and you don't even know?"
Joker tilted his head, feigning deep thought. "Hmm… that's a tricky one. I could have sworn I put an exit somewhere, but… guess I must have forgotten." He made an exaggerated shrug. "Whoops?"
Bellatrix shot him a deadpan look. "Great. We're stuck in a broken funhouse, and the guy who built it doesn't even know the way out. Fantastic."
Elliott groaned, rolling his eyes as he leaned back, resting against some shattered glass. "This is the worst. How is it that I'm stuck with both of you? This is like a nightmare, but with extra glitter."
Joker suddenly raised his finger, looking like he had an epiphany. "Wait, wait, wait!" He leaned forward excitedly. "I got it! I remember now. There's, like... uh, a button or something hidden under the floor! Yeah, totally!"
Bellatrix raised an eyebrow skeptically. "A button? Under the floor?"
"Yeah!" Joker exclaimed, nodding enthusiastically. "I think. Or maybe a lever? Or maybe you guys need to—"
Before he could finish, Elliott pointed at him, eyes wide. "Wait, you don't even know?!" His voice rose in disbelief. "You're making this up, aren't you? You don't know where the exit is!"
Joker scratched his head sheepishly, looking genuinely flustered for once. "Well, I mean, yeah... I didn't exactly build the place. I just... you know, jazzed it up a bit. Added some fun. Never really thought about how to get out." He gave a crooked smile, trying to play it off. "Who needs an exit when you've got all this fun, right?"
Bellatrix and Elliott both just stared at him for a long moment, the awkward silence hanging in the air.
Then, Elliott threw his hands in the air dramatically. "I can't even… You've got to be kidding me."
Joker, clearly enjoying the confusion, shrugged again. "What can I say? I'm a bit of a chaotic guy. Exits? Not my thing."
Bellatrix, her patience worn thin, groaned, pushing herself off the wall. "Fine. Fine, whatever. We'll just find it ourselves then."
Elliott slapped his forehead. "Yeah, I guess we have no choice now. Here's hoping we don't accidentally stumble into another one of Joker's... traps while we look for the way out."
Joker, looking absolutely unbothered by their frustration, simply grinned wider. "Good luck with that! It's all part of the performance, after all."
"Stop with the performancr part!"
To be continued...