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She's Not a Saint	By : AsylumWritings Category: DC Verse Comics > Batman Views: 489 -:- 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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“Here, let me.” Luca reached over, tying the ribbon of my mask and pinning it into place.
“Thank you. Ready to go in?”
He nodded, stepping out of the car. He came around to my side, opening the door and helping me out. I kept hold of his hand, gently pulling him inside the building. There was no way I was stopping to talk to the press this time, even though I was fairly sure nothing would happen.
“Do you want me to get you a drink?” He asked, gently squeezing my hand. “You look like you could use one.”
I shook my head. “Can we just dance for a bit, instead? That way we can talk without anyone hearing us.”
“Sure.”
We walked onto the dance floor, and I carefully wrapped my arms around his neck. I knew I needed to talk to him about Sonia, but I was hesitating, because it would mean losing the fun we had.
“I wanted to talk to you about Sonia.” I said quietly, looking up at him. “I know you two have gotten close…”
He stopped me, pressing his finger to my lips. “We have been talking more than usual, but I like what you and I have too. I didn’t want to risk losing what we have if it didn’t work out.”
I bit my lip. “When we started this, we made a promise that we would end it if we found anyone else. What we do is fun, but I’m not going to stand in the way of an actual relationship with someone you care about.” Standing on my toes, I pressed a kiss to his cheek. “You shouldn’t be here with me, Luca. She likes you, so go find her.”
“I…” He paused for a moment. “Thank you.”
I nodded, gently pushing him away. “I’ll see you soon.”
Walking over to the bar, I tried to ignore the people around me. Now I really needed a drink. Or at least, some sort of massive distraction. I didn’t want to become the third wheel in the friendship, and lose both of them at once.
“Lili, I’m sorry to see that your father couldn’t make it tonight, but you are a more than acceptable replacement.”
I turned to find the mayor approaching me. Giving him a big smile, I held out my hand. He pressed a kiss to it.
“I’m glad you think so. He sends his apologies, but he had an issue with a shipment, and unfortunately that had to take priority.” I took the glass from the bartender, and sipped at it. “Happy birthday.”
“Thank you. Please, enjoy yourself.” He kissed my hand again, then walked away.
I sighed, downing the rest of my drink. I shouldn’t have sent Luca away yet, because I really didn’t want to go through this party alone. Turning, I shook off the strange feeling that I was being watched, and headed to the bathroom.
He watched her from the back of the room, where no one would really see him. She looked so alone, even with a big smile on her face. She was so easy to read, so predictable in her expressions.
She suddenly turned, looking in his direction. He ducked out of sight behind a column, so he could just see her as she made her way to the bathroom. It looked like this might be the only chance he had to talk to her before he started the process.
He was thankful for his mask as he headed towards her, because no one even turned their heads to look at him when he passed.
I stared at myself in the mirror as I fixed my lipstick. I was hesitant to go back out there, but I’d made a promise to Papa to see this through. Before I could leave, I heard the sound of the door locking behind me. Then an unmistakeable voice hit my ears, and I sighed, turning to face him.
“Do you enjoy pandering to the rich and famous of Gotham?” He asked, leaning against the door.
Crane was back in one of his well-tailored suits, and he was wearing a black mask. As I leaned against the sink, crossing my arms over my chest, he walked over to me. He removed his mask, replacing it with his familiar glasses.
“Of course I do. But you would call it histrionic, or a pathological need for attention, any number of things.” I tried to walk past him, but he grabbed my wrist, pulling me close against his chest. “What do you want?”
“I’m testing my drug here tonight. You have two choices… well, technically three, but I doubt you want to be here when it all starts.” He didn’t let me go yet, his hand holding mine up near my face. “You leave now, before anything happens, or you can come with me.”
“Why would I go with you?” I asked, not fighting against him this time. I was a little curious about what he had to offer. “You haven’t exactly shown me a good time so far.”
“Because I know that you’re alone, and you’re haunted by your past.” His gaze held mine, and he gently pushed me back against the bench. “And I can help you.”
My heart was beginning to race, and not in the good way. I was feeling trapped, and I didn’t have a way out.
“Are you afraid of me?”
“Not of you.” I shook my head, pulling my arm out of his grip.
He was right though, and I couldn’t pretend that he wasn’t, because he was clearly able to see right through me.
“I… I’ll come with you.” I pressed my hand to his chest, pushing him back. Rubbing my sore wrist, I sighed. “If you stop grabbing my arm like that.”
I thought I saw a flash of a smile cross his face, just for a second, then he held out a gloved hand to me. Surprising myself a little, I took it without hesitation. We crept out the back entrance, to a car waiting in the alley. He was weirdly polite, helping me into the car. It made me nervous, but it seemed a little too late to turn back now.
“I want to see.” I said quietly, taking off my mask and watching as he sat in the driver’s seat beside me. “When you start the test. I want to see what happens.”
He nodded, starting the car. I stayed silent as he drove a couple of blocks away to a small alley, trying to hide my discomfort about being there. It didn’t matter which alleyway it was, they all reminded me of what had happened.
Biting my lip, I watched as he reached under his seat and pulled out a laptop. I didn’t know what he was doing, but after a few moments of typing, I saw him pull up some camera feeds.
“Here, I’ll be back in a few minutes.” He handed the laptop over, and then climbed out of the car.
“Wait. Where are you going?” I asked, anxious about being left alone there.
He sighed, but the sparkle didn’t leave his blue eyes. “You’ll see soon.”
I wrapped my arms around myself, turning my attention to the camera feeds in front of me. Breathing deep, just like Papa taught me, I calmed my racing heart. Well, I attempted to calm it. In reality, it was more like I made it slightly slower.
I focused on the videos of people at the party. Everything seemed pretty normal, at least for now. Then the cameras suddenly went dark, and they switched over to night vision. It didn’t take long before I realised what was happening.
People were panicking in so many different ways, some running, some fighting, some crying on the floor. I was strangely intrigued by what was going on in that green-tinged footage, and I didn’t know why. I couldn’t take my eyes off the chaos, and I barely noticed as Crane got back into the car, tossing a bag onto the back seat.
He took the laptop from me, making me jump. I watched as he started the car, trying to work out what to even say.
“What are they seeing?” I asked, hesitantly. “They looked so scared.”
He shrugged nonchalantly. “There’s no way to tell unless they say. The drug targets the amygdala, causing waking nightmares. It’s individual to each person, based on what they fear most.”
“Can you influence it?”
“Somewhat, yes.” He turned onto the bridge off the island.
I looked around, curious about where we were heading. I think he caught onto my curiosity, because he pointed through the windscreen at a Gothic manor that was getting close.
“I didn’t ask.” I said quietly, pulling the pins out of my hair.
He chuckled, pulling into the long driveway. “No, but you were thinking it. I could see it on your face.”
I looked away, out the window so he couldn’t see my expression anymore. I was going to have to learn how to keep a straight face around him. It was going to be hard enough dealing with him, without the added annoyance of him knowing what I’m thinking.
I got out of the car, ignoring the hand he offered me and wrapping my arms around myself instead.
“Here.” He handed me the bag from the back seat. “I thought you might want something to wear instead of that dress.”
I hesitated, swinging it onto my back. “Thank you.”
I followed him inside the slightly dilapidated house, unsure what I would find inside. But it was nicer than I expected, and I was pleasantly surprised. I wouldn’t want to live in it, but it was nice enough. We walked past a large room, and I looked inside to find Ed working on something. He was completely engrossed in what he was doing, and didn’t even look up as I walked over.
“I guess I shouldn’t be surprised to find you here, Ed.” I said, sitting on the corner of the table. “When did you get out?”
He finally looked up, taking note of my dress. “When you did. That dress looks good on you.”
“Must I wait while the two of you catch up?” Crane asked with a withering sigh.
I gave Ed a wide smile, standing. “I’m coming.”
Continuing down the hallway, he finally stopped at a door, opening it to reveal a bedroom. “You can stay in here tonight.”
I stepped inside, dropping the bag on the bed. The door clicked shut as Crane left and I looked around, alone again.
Before I could do anything more, my phone began to ring. I would have ignored it, but I saw that it was Papa, and I knew he would have heard what happened at the party.
“Principessa, are you alright?” He asked, speaking faster than usual. “I just heard what happened.”
“I’m fine, Papa.” I tried to calm him down, but I was fairly sure I was about to get a lecture. “I ducked out to get some air right before it happened.”
“Where are you? Do you need me to come get you?”
I held back a sigh, lying back on the bed. “I’m with a guy, I don’t need help.”
There was a moment of silence, before he launched into a fast paced lecture in Italian. It was nothing I hadn’t heard before, the same old rant about being irresponsible, putting myself at risk, etc. How am I supposed to stay safe when I keep going home with strange men? Eventually he ran out of steam, and stopped talking.
“Papa… I’m sorry.” I said quietly, trying not to cry.
“I just want you to be safe, Lili.”
I wiped my eyes. “I’m being careful, I promise. But I need you to trust that I can take care of myself.”
He sighed. “I do. But I’m going to continue worrying about you. I’ll let you go. I love you.”
“I love you too.” Hanging up the phone, I opened the bag and checked what clothes Crane had gotten for me.
For someone who wore such immaculate suits, he had no sense of style at all. He’d clearly gone to the safehouse and grabbed some of my clothes from there, but there was nothing that matched. I just grabbed a singlet and shorts, changing into them before heading out to explore a bit.
- 5
- 6
- 7
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She's Not a Saint