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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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That's why crazy people are so dangerous. You think they're nice until they're chaining you up in the garage. Michael Buckley, The Fairy-Tale Detectives
I rolled over, resting my head on Oz’s chest. I didn’t want to wake him, because I didn’t know how long it would be before I could do this again.
“The longer you wait, the more time you give him to plan something.” He whispered, wrapping his arm around me.
I looked up at him. “I know, but I just want a few more minutes here.”
“I will be here whenever you get back. But you need to get moving.” He kissed me gently.
I nodded, kissing him one more time, then climbed out of bed. I knew that once I started this, there would be no stopping until one of us won. There was no guarantee it would be me, but I had to try.
“If you aren’t back in a week, I’ll come find you.”
“No.” I shook my head as I pulled on my clothes. “This has to play all the way out. I know you’re going to spend all this time worrying, but you have to let it happen, please.”
He sighed, getting out of bed. “I love you. Promise me you’ll come back.”
“I will always come back.” I turned to him, wrapping my arms around his neck. “And I love you, more than anything.”
I didn’t want to let him go yet, but he gently pulled my arms off him and said goodbye.
“You are strong and smart. I know you can beat him.” He whispered, handing me my backpack.
“I’ll see you soon.”
He watched her leave, unsure when he would see her again, and what she would be like when she came back. His phone began to ring, and he quickly picked it up when he saw it was Slade.
“Is everything ready?” He asked.
“I have eyes on the house, but there really isn’t much we can do.” Slade replied. “Breaking in to plant cameras would be a huge risk, and could get Bree killed.”
“I don’t want to stop her from doing this, I just want to make sure I have a way to get her out quickly if something happens.”
As I walked down the drive to the dilapidated house, I hesitated, doubting myself. This was possibly the worst idea I’d every had, but I saw no other option that didn’t require me waiting until Crane came and did whatever he wanted. And I wasn’t comfortable with the idea of drawing him out where he might hurt other people. I’d likely already made him angry with my note, so I definitely needed to get moving.
I stepped behind the trees, not wanting Ed there where I started this. It took a little while, but eventually I saw him leave. Finally, I was ready to get started. I headed to the house.
Stopping in front of the door, I banged on the wood. I took a deep breath to prepare myself, and waited.
A moment later, the door opened, revealing Crane. I punched him in the face, stunning him. Before he could recover, I grabbed him by the shirt and slammed him back against the wall, knocking him out.
Taking hold of his collar, I dragged him down the hallway into the nearest room, which looked like an office. It took a lot of effort, but I managed to get him up into the chair and tied down. The irony of basically kidnapping someone else in order to make myself safer was not lost on me.
“Jonathan…” I spoke in a sing-song voice, tapping his cheek.
He didn’t come to, so I slapped him. He snapped awake, glaring at me when he realised what had happened. Looking around, his face softened a little as he recognised we were still in his house.
“Normally a kidnapping involves taking someone away from their home.” He commented calmly.
“Now why would I do that?” I asked, walking over to one of the bookshelves. “There’s so much here I can use against you.”
He didn’t reply straight away, and I turned to find him watching me.
“Do you really think tying me up is going to save you from me?” He studied my face for a reaction. “Maybe you’re not as smart as I thought.”
I rolled my eyes. “No, of course not. But I’d rather not give you the chance to drug me again while I’m looking around.”
Opening the drawers of the desk, I rifled through them. There wasn’t much of interest in there, until I found a notebook. Before I could read anything in it, he spoke again.
“How old were you when your mother left?” He asked, almost laughing at the surprised look on my face. “Don’t look so surprised, it’s written all over you. I’m guessing very early childhood, or even infancy.”
I walked around to his side of the desk and sat down. “So, we’re starting this already, are we? Good thing I came prepared.” Reaching into my bag, I pulled out the file of photos. I sifted through until I found the few I was looking for, then put the rest away. “How about we discuss you instead? Or…” I trailed off for a moment. “How about we discuss your grandmother?”
His eyes flashed with anger, and it frightened me a little, but I held firm. I was going to beat him at his own game, no matter the cost.
“Did you not get my little note?” I gave him a slightly disappointed look. “I guess that makes sense. I wouldn’t want to go back in that church either if I was you.”
“You don’t want to do this.” He breathed, lowering his head.
I rested my foot on the edge of the chair, between his legs. “You’re right. I don’t want to do this. But you started this, you decided that you wanted me for something, and you drugged me with a hallucinogen. All I’m doing is protecting myself and making sure that you leave me alone.” I held out the photo, in his eye line. “Now tell me. How did it feel when she locked you in here?”
Before I could react, he’d somehow untied himself and was standing in front of me, his hand around my throat. With the little air I was getting in, I managed to laugh.
“Killing me will just prove you aren’t as smart as you think you are.” I wheezed.
He threw me aside, and I hit the ground hard. Picking myself up, I took a deep breath and leaned against the wall. He came at me again, and I got ready to defend myself. But he didn’t attack me, just sprayed something in my face.
I didn’t know what it was, but it knocked me out pretty quickly.
He drove through the streets, faster than he should have been. It was his fault that she’d crossed paths with Crane, and all he wanted was to fix it. But she was there all alone, and he couldn’t watch over her or make sure she was safe.
He’d never had to watch from the sidelines before, and he’d especially never had to wait blindly for news before either. He’d hoped more than anything that she would only be gone a day, but as it grew closer to 24 hours since he’d last seen her, he was beginning to realise it would likely be a long while before she came home.
As I slowly came to, I realised that now I was the one tied to a chair. Only it was Ed standing in front of me, not Crane.
“Good to see you, Ed.” I said, still a little drowsy.
He shook his head, adjusting his green suit jacket. “I wish I could say the same for you. I didn’t expect you to confront him face to face like this.”
“When was the last time we saw each other, before I ended up in Arkham? I’ve done a lot of things you probably wouldn’t expect.” I sighed, stretching my fingers wide to keep the blood flowing through my wrists, which were tied to the arms of the chair. “So, why is Crane so interested in me?”
“The more I am clever, the more I am good, the more, as a rule, I am misunderstood.” He replied.
“Really? Right now?” I looked down and thought for a moment. “A riddle.”
He nodded. “That’s what you are to him. Something to be broken down and solved. Only his methods are… a little more strenuous than most.”
“Well, where is he?” I asked, looking up at him. “I have a life, and a boyfriend, and I would like to return to both at some point.”
He shrugged, and left the room. I took a moment to look around, assess my surroundings. There wasn’t really anything I could use, nor any way to get the ropes off, for the room was empty, so I sat and waited. It felt like an hour before the door opened again, and Crane walked in. He wheeled a chair in front of me and sat down.
“So, is this where you drug me again?” I asked. “After all, you didn’t see the results of your last try.”
“I have no need to drug you again, not yet.” He pushed his glasses up his nose, rolling his chair closer to me. “What did you hope to achieve by coming here?”
“Oh, didn’t you hear? I’m an absolute glutton for punishment. I came here just so you would tie me up.” I replied sarcastically.
“Your sarcasm does you no credit. You use it only to avoid confronting the truth.”
I shrugged. “At least I don’t have a obsessive need to force others to face their fears as a way of avoiding facing my own.”
“You think you know me?” He asked, almost laughing.
“No. And I don’t pretend to.” I leaned against the back of the chair, crossing my legs. “I’m just good at putting pieces together. You made it a lot easier by leaving that church unlocked. That wasn’t very smart of you.”
The anger flashed in his eyes again, but he managed to control it.
“Your intelligence does not prove your superiority, nor does it prove that you aren’t just as scared of something as the rest of us.” I watched his blue eyes, looking for a change, a twitch in the mask of his calm face. “You think you’re smart, but I have spent years of my life around men like you, and I know more than most people think.”
He stood up, untying my hands. “I guess we’ll see.”
- 7
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- 9
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The Raven's Call