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The Raven's Call	By : AsylumWritings Category: DC Verse Comics > Batman Views: 433 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 0
Disclaimer: I do not own Batman/DC Comics, nor the characters from it. I do not make any money from the writing of this story.

Chapter List
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I wonder if fears ever really go away, or if they just lose their power over us.Veronica Roth, Allegiant
I sat in a pew, reading through Crane’s journal. There were details of hundreds of people in there, along with their fears, their phobias, and what he did to them. It was meticulously organised and laid out so well that it was easy to read.
His “work” was far more widespread than I realised, noticing the names of some high up people in Gotham as I flipped through the pages. Commissioner Gordon, Doctor Young, even Mayor Hill. Not all of these people had been gassed of course, and most of the ones who had were now in Arkham, but before he’d gone off the deep end, he’d been a really respected psychiatrist.
It took a little while for him to come to, and I sat there, waiting, even though I was exhausted, in pain and hungry. I nodded off a few times though, and I must have completely fallen asleep, because the next thing I knew, I was woken by a frantic banging on the door.
“You can bang on that door all you want, I’m not letting you out until I’m done with you!” I shouted, ignoring the sound of his fists pounding on the heavy wood.
“Fuck you!” He shouted, very unlike himself.
“That’s hardly the language a psychiatrist should be using. Especially not one as well-respected as yourself.”
He continued to shout, and I knew that there was no point waiting any longer. Picking up the gas canister, I walked over to the door. I turned the tap, then shoved the top into the crack under the door, blocking off the rest so that I didn’t gas myself.
“Let’s see how you like it.” I said, stepping back.
I heard him cough. “You wouldn’t dare.”
“I was thrown in Arkham for carving my name into a man’s body over and over.” I sat on the floor. “This? This is much easier, and you really shouldn’t be surprised.”
“Please don’t do this, you can still stop it.” He begged.
“I could, but then you would just keep coming for me. I can’t have that.”
There was silence for a moment, then he started desperately banging on the door again. He sounded terrified, shouting about birds and darkness.
“Is this how it felt?” I asked, ignoring his screams of fear. “When she locked you in there, did it feel like this? Is that what you’re seeing right now?”
“No… No, please don’t.” He whimpered. “I promise I’ll behave.”
The childlike voice coming from the room snapped me out of my enjoyment. What the fuck was I doing? This wasn’t me, not at all. It was one thing to physically torture someone, but what I was doing now, trying to break Crane’s mind, it wasn’t who I should have been. It wasn’t about feeling morally superior, it was about trying to get back who I used to be.
As I went through a momentary guilt crisis, it got very quiet inside the room. I quickly talked myself out of what I was doing and ran to the barricade, pulling it apart. Wrapping my jacket around the lower half of my face to stop the gas, I opened the door.
Crane was sitting in the corner of the room, his hands covering his face. I helped him up, half carrying him out to fresh air, ignoring the pain I was in. Pulling my jacket off my face, I knelt down beside him. He was mumbling something, barely conscious.
“Snap out of it, Crane.” I demanded, slapping him across the face.
He flinched, then began to laugh, slowly coming to.
“I knew you didn’t have the courage.” He coughed, taking a deep breath. “You’re too much of a coward to do what I do.”
“No.” I grabbed him by his shirt, lifting him so he was sitting up with his face close to mine. “I’m not a coward. I’m stronger than you, because I’m still human. I can still make my own choices, because I’m not driven by obsessive need, like you are.”
“You still don’t understand.” His blue eyes were staring directly into mine, and I wanted to flinch, to look away, but he didn’t need that ammunition against me.
“You’re right. I don’t. I don’t want to, nor do I need to understand you.” I let go of him and stood up. “What I need, is for you to stay the fuck out of my life. And either you do that, or I make sure you’re locked up somewhere so secure that you never see the light of day again. Do you understand?”
He stood up, brushing dirt off his clothes. “Are you really that afraid to push yourself over the edge that you’ll let me win by default?”
“No. You can’t win if I stop playing your game.” I turned to leave, but stopped when I heard his footsteps behind me. “Oh, and before you try anything, I’m fairly certain that Oz has men in the woods watching. If I shout help, one or more of them will put a bullet in your brain.”
“How…?”
I looked back at him. “How do I know? Because I know Oz, and I know that even though he trusted me to deal with you my way, he would want a way to get me out as fast as possible. Oh, and one more thing…” I reached into my sports bra and pulled out my phone, thankful for the small pocket inside that kept it safe even through all the action I’d just been through. “If you want to make sure a girl has nothing on her, you should really check her bra. I would have thought you were smart enough to know that.”
I didn’t wait for a reply, just jogged off into the trees. As I hit the tree line, all of my adrenaline ran out, and I leaned against a tree, sliding to the ground. Before I could unlock my phone to call Oz, black shoes stepped into my view.
Looking up, I breathed a sigh of relief when I saw it was Slade.
“I knew you were watching.” I said, wearily.
“Come on, let’s get you home.” He helped me up, and we headed towards his car.
“Do you think it’s over?” He asked, closing the bedroom door and turning to Slade.
“I don’t know. It looked like she had him pretty beaten down, mentally anyway.”
He sighed. “Thank you for getting her out once she was done. I’ll let you know how she is once she wakes up.”
He watched Slade leave, then quietly stepped back into the bedroom. He lay down beside her, thankful that she was back, but worried that Crane would keep coming for her.
She rolled over, resting her head on his chest. He held her close, not wanting to let her go ever again.
“I watched you die.” I whispered, sitting against the head of the bed. “He had a gun to your head, and even though I was doubting whether I was still having hallucinations, I basically told him to shoot you.”
“It wasn’t real, Bee. I’m right here, and you don’t need to worry.” He touched my arm.
I shook my head. “It’s not that. I barely hesitated before I said I was sure you weren’t real. If I’d been wrong…”
“If you were wrong,” He pressed a kiss to my forehead. “At least I would have died to make sure you were safe.”
I burst into tears, wrapping my arms around him in a tight hug. “I don’t know if he’s going to keep trying, but I had to pull out. I… I was losing myself in that place. Becoming something I’m not.”
He didn’t reply, just softly running his fingers through my hair. I didn’t need him to say something, as long as I knew he was there with me.
“We’ve made it this far, I’m not going to let you fall now.” He said finally, not letting me go.
I pulled away so I could look at him. “Thank you for trusting me… and for sending Slade to keep an eye on me.”
“I just want to know that whenever you’re out doing something like this, I can get you back quickly if you need me to.” He softly tugged on my shirt, pulling me in so he could kiss me again. “As long as you always come back, you can be as reckless and dangerous as you want, and I will never stop you.”
“Even if I do something incredibly stupid and poorly thought out?” I laughed.
“If you’re about to do something you haven’t thought through properly, I might ask you if you should think on it more, but I won’t stop you.”
I nodded, getting off the bed. Walking to the closet, I pushed Oz’s clothes aside to get to mine.
“How do you have more clothes than me?” I shook my head with a smile.
He came over, standing behind me and wrapping his arms arm my waist. Pressing a kiss to my shoulder, he laughed a little. “Maybe I’m just better looking and need more outfits.”
I turned around, ready to give him an indignant speech, but he kissed me instead. He backed me up against the dresser, sliding his hands under the sides of my shirt. My skin was still warm from being under the covers and his hands were so cool against my waist. I hit one of the handles on the drawers, flinching as it scraped along my back.
“Ow.” I flinched, pulling away from the kiss. “The drawer.”
“I’m sorry, love. Turn around, let me have a look.”
I did so, and he crouched down, gently lifting the back of my shirt to check.
“It’s bleeding. Go sit down on the bed and I’ll grab the first aid kit.”
I followed him back into the bedroom and sat down on the bed, pulling my shirt off. It wasn’t too bad, just stung a little. Not as much as the alcohol wipe he used on it though.
“There’s a party at the conservatory tomorrow.” He said, as he fixed me up. “Do you think you’ll be up to coming?”
“One more good night’s sleep and I’ll be fine.” I nodded. “I’d love to go. If you promise to take me dress shopping for it.”
He brushed my hair out of the way, pressing a kiss to the back of my neck. “I guess I could do that.”
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The Raven's Call