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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
- 6
- 7
- 8
Oftentimes winning can become an addiction, whether good or bad, to the point where you would rather lose it all before you lose at all. Criss Jami, Killosophy
“Are you sure about this?” Oz asked, watching me as I changed my clothes.
“Not 100%, no.” I pulled a singlet on. “But I’m not going to just march into that house until I know what I’m dealing with.”
Walking to him, I leaned over and kissed him on the forehead. He clearly wanted to say something, but was holding it back.
“Say it.” I tapped him on the nose. “Whatever it is that you’re trying not to say.”
He sighed, pulling me into his lap. “Getting that close is dangerous, and I’d rather you take someone with you.”
“I’ve done a stakeout before, and adding an extra person will make it even more likely that I get spotted.” I wrapped my arms around his neck. “And I need you to promise me something.”
“Anything.”
“I need you to promise that if something goes wrong, and I don’t come back in the morning, you won’t come in all guns blazing.” I kissed him gently. “It could get one, or both of us, killed.”
“I…” He hesitated for a moment. “Alright, I promise.”
I took hold of his face, looking into his eyes. “I know that it will be hard for you. But please, just trust that I know what I’m doing.”
“I do, and I’ll stay back and let you handle it. Just please be careful.”
I nodded. “I’ll see you in the morning.”
He pressed a kiss to my hand, then let me go. I put my camera in my backpack, and headed down to the street, hailing a taxi. I didn’t have a complete plan, but with a telephoto lens I was hoping I would be able to see into the house.
I got out of the taxi well up the road from the house, and crept into the woods. I’d checked the area online earlier, and found a spot on a small hill where I thought I might be able to see the area clearly.
I hated sitting around and doing nothing, it really wasn’t my style. So lying on some grass with my camera, hoping to see something, was not on my list of things I enjoy. Still, something about the boring nature of it kept me calm.
Zooming in on the house, I found that the windows were blocked with something. There was no way that I would be able to see anything in there. But there were no cameras, no sign of any sort of security. No sign of visible security, anyway. I couldn’t be sure there weren’t any alarms on the windows or the doors.
As the sun slipped below the horizon, I switched my camera to night mode and crept closer. I looked around, scanning the area for anything I could use. About 200 metres behind the house was another building. It looked like a church, and I took a photo, making a mental note to check it out later.
Before I could look any further, I saw the front light switch on. The door opened and a familiar man stepped out. But it wasn’t Crane.
“Dammit, Ed.” I whispered. “Of course you’re working with him.”
I watched him as he walked over to a car and headed out. Managing to get a photo of the number plate, I waited until he was gone, then carefully made my way over to the second building.
It was a church, but it looked pretty old and dilapidated. Circling it, I found that the side door was the only part that wasn’t boarded up. So, maybe Crane was still using this place.
I pushed the door open, turning on my phone light so I could see. The inside was dusty and cobwebbed, and smelled like damp. I followed footprints in the dust to a large room at the back, finding what seemed like hundreds of drawings pinned to the walls. They were all of the same thing, crows or ravens, I couldn’t be sure which. He’d been drawing them for years, and it was easy to follow from the earliest to the most recent.
As I turned, I caught sight of the back of the door. There were scratches all over it, like someone had been trying to escape. Before I could leave, a loud caw distracted me.
Looking up, I found a crow sitting there. Suddenly, there were so many of them, flying towards me and then tilting up at the last second. I stepped back, to make sure they didn’t hit me, as I started to piece together what had happened here.
Doctor Young had told me that Crane’s grandmother was abusive. I guessed that she’d locked him in here, and he tried to escape, but when he couldn’t he just started drawing to pass the time. I almost would have felt bad for him if he hadn’t just put a drug in my food and made me hallucinate.
I grabbed one of the drawings off the wall, pulling a pen out of my bag. Hesitating, I thought about what message would have the most effect.
You really should lock your doors. You never know what someone might find out in here. In the wrong hands, this sort of information could be very dangerous for you. I’ll see you soon. Love Brianna.
I stuck the drawing with my message onto the door, snapped a few photos of the room, then took off. Creeping back up to the hill, I sat amongst the trees and waited until dawn, just in case I saw something. But it was so quiet. The only thing that happened all night was Ed coming back, alone. I had no idea if Crane was even there, and by the time the sun was rising, I was too tired to care anymore.
I crept through the trees, trying to stay unnoticed. Once I hit the road, I pulled out my phone and called Oz.
“Is everything okay?” He asked, sounding a little worried.
“I’m fine. Just making my way back now.”
“I’m right around the corner, I’ll be there in a couple of minutes.”
Hanging up, I stood there and waited. I was a little concerned that Crane or Ed would come past and see me, but thankfully Oz arrived quickly. Climbing into the passenger seat, I leaned over to press a kiss to his cheek.
“What are you doing up this early?” I squeezed his hand.
“Worrying.” He replied, as he drove. “I wanted to be nearby so I could get you if something went wrong.”
I shoved my camera in my bag, not ready to look at what I’d taken yet.
“You need to get some sleep. I’ll print out your photos for you when we get home.”
He watched the photos as they printed, unsure what some of them meant. Slade was clearly right, she could find a lot on her own. He felt guilty for not trusting her, and knew he would have to do better.
There was still the matter of what she was planning. And he knew she was planning. She’d had a thoughtful look on her face the entire drive home.
By the time I got up, it was nearly midday. I’d only had a few hours sleep, but it was hard to stay in bed when I had so much going on in my mind.
It was a colder day, so I got changed, pulling on a jacket over my clothes and zipping it up halfway. I walked out to the lounge, noticing the Oz was out on the balcony with my raven friend on the railing near him.
Sliding open the door, I stepped outside.
"How did you sleep?” Oz asked, turning to face me.
I shrugged, hugging him. “Alright, I guess. I just have a lot of thinking to do, so I just kept waking up.”
“Your friend has been waiting for you.” He kissed me. “There were actually more of them this morning. I was worried they would wake you, they were so loud.”
“Oh? I’ve never seen more than one of them before.” I turned to the raven, holding out my hand.
It hopped up onto my finger, looking around.
Oz gently squeezed my shoulder. “Do you want coffee?”
“More than you can imagine.” I laughed, watching as he headed inside, then looked back at the raven. “So, you have some friends huh?”
It replied with a caw, almost like it understood me. Then it took off. I waited a moment, before turning to leave. But then I heard wings again, and looked back, finding five more birds there.
“Well, hello.” I looked over them all. “I think I might have some use for you all soon.”
I headed inside for my coffee, sitting down on the couch with Oz.
“Did you have birds of your own when you were a kid?” He asked, handing me a mug.
“No.” I shook my head. “There wasn’t enough money. But I use to leave food in the backyard for the birds, and I volunteered at a nearby aviary rescue for a while.”
He leaned his arm on the top of the couch, softly smiling at me. “You are still a surprise to me.”
“I don’t know about that.” I blushed, quickly drinking my coffee. “I try to be honest, and open…
He softly touched my knee, putting the file of photos on the table. “Tell me what you found out on your stakeout.”
“I’m honestly not completely sure.” I pulled all of them out, laying them side by side. I described what I had seen, and as I spoke, a plan began to form in my head. Hiding from
Crane was never going to end this, I would have to confront him face to face.
“You think his grandmother locked him in here?”
I nodded. “I think so, yes. And I think this is something I can use.”
He sat back, quiet for a moment. “I’m sorry I didn’t trust you to do this on your own.”
“It’s alright. You’re letting me handle this now, and that’s important to me.” I crawled into his lap, kissing him deeply.
He tangled his fingers in my hair, holding me tight against him, but he stopped kissing me.
“You’re going to confront him, aren’t you?” He asked.
“Yes.” I rested my hand on his chest. “I would do this differently, if I could, but…”
He pressed his finger to my lips. “Shh… Tell me what you need from me.”
“I… I need a couple of things, but they can wait a couple of hours.” I slowly unbuttoned his shirt. “Right now, I don’t want to think about any of this.”
“I think I can help with that.” He laughed, pulling me in for another kiss.
- 6
- 7
- 8
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The Raven's Call