This is going to start off as a prequel to the Batman movies. Basically it's showing the earlier years of Jonathan Crane. Hope you all like it!


It was late at night when Katherine decided she would go for her usual jog.

The autumn air felt crisp, there was a slight breeze and it wasn't too cold yet. God knows Gotham winters were a bitch.

As she finished lacing up her shoes, she tied her long dark brown hair into a ponytail and took her keys to lock the door behind her. She took a swig of water from her bottle before stretching for a few minutes and then taking off.

It was her every other day thing; especially when she was stressed. It was her senior year and already it was proving to be difficult. On top of learning routines for her dance team, she already had a boatload of studying to do for her mid-terms coming up in just over a month. If she wanted to get into a good school, she had to stay focused. She wasn't letting herself date any boys; no matter how many she had over her shoulder, and she wasn't getting into the usual petty high school drama that she usually got into. She almost didn't make it last year with all the partying she did and she wasn't going to let it happen again. She was going to be an adult in just a few short hours and her act had cleaned up pretty nicely just in time.

As she neared the ratty old bridge just a few minutes away from her house, she noticed something ahead. It looked like it was a person. It was too dark to see who it could be but she noticed they were climbing over the rail, and she pushed faster. Whoever it was, they looked as if they were ready to jump. And jumping into the Henley canal was not a way to go and die.

"Hey!" she shouted.

Her legs burned from how hard she pushed on and as she neared her breath caught in her throat.

It was Jonathan Crane.

"Jonathan don't jump!" she shouted again and slowed as she neared a few feet away from him.

"Stay back." He said, as calmly as he could with tears in his eyes.

He was wearing his usual bland-colored slack pants and a sweater. His hair was up in different places as if he'd pulled at it constantly. His glasses, usually perched on the crook of his nose were now on the floor, cracked. He looked a mess and Katherine was wracking through her brain about what to do in these situations.

They were both in psychology together.

If she tried any of the psychology bullshit, he'd know. He was just as smart as she was, if not smarter. So she coughed and set her water bottle down and sucked in a deep breath before inching forward.

Jonathan watched her with narrowed eyes as she grabbed onto the railing and hoisted herself up. She wobbled slightly as she held onto one of the old rusty poles and stood on the rail with ease after a moment. She looked down and swallowed hard before looking at Jonathan.

"This is weird." She mumbled.

Jonathan just looked at her. She looked up at him and noticed how red his eyes were. There was a bruise covering the left side of his face near his eye. She knew how he got it. Most likely from his grandmother.

They were neighbors so she knew a thing or two about what went on next door. The old lady wasn't too quiet about it. It wasn't like she was always snoopy when she was younger. Some things she just found out because they happened in plain sight. She was about eleven years old when she was walking her dog out down the street and she had seen his grandmother smack him right in the face. It was something she'd never forget and she saw it now.

18-year-old Jonathan Crane being smacked around by his grandmother.

Clearing her throat, having gotten lost in her thoughts momentarily, she held onto the pole tightly.

"Why are you doing this?" she asked quietly.

Jonathan looked away, wiping his eyes on his sleeves.

"I'm tired of being afraid." He said coldly.

"Afraid of what?" she asked.

The boy remained silent as the wind picked up slightly and Katherine cursed herself for having getting involved.

"Listen, there's nothing to be afraid of. You don't have to be. And jumping off this bridge… it's… it's just a permanent solution to a temporary problem." She told him.

The Henley canal? Katherine still couldn't believe this was happening.

Jonathan let out a deep chuckle.

"Easy for you to say."

That made a sudden spark of anger flare.

"I mean it, Crane." She huffed.

"Katherine Elizabeth Marsden," he started, "Lives at home with two loving parents who are both doctors, wants to become one herself, has perfect grades and a perfect dog at home, with a perfect body and perfect friends who isn't afraid of any-"

"Okay, stop!" she shouted. "Not everything in my life is perfect, and this isn't about me so don't bring all that up, alright? This is about you. Man up and face your fears. Get over them. Whatever you're scared of, end it." She said angrily and he was quietly analyzing her words.

After a few quiet minutes, Jonathan sniffed and then started to retreat down.

Katherine watched him and let out a deep breath she hadn't known she was holding the moment he started moving. As soon as he landed on the road, he started to turn around and walk back.

"Asshole." She muttered.

As she turned her body, her foot suddenly slipped and she fell off, her arms catching the railing just in time and she let out a scream. The canal was a good ten to fifteen feet below them and she did not want to know what was lying under the murky water. She was not going to slip off.

"Jonathan!" she screamed out.

Was he going to let her hang there?

"Jonathan, please! Help me!" she shouted again.

There was no sign of him being anywhere near her and her eyes suddenly filled up with tears. Her arms were getting tired and her legs were getting restless from kicking and trying to find a place to put them. She could only let them hang helplessly.

"Please, I don't want to die here! Jonathan!" she shouted louder.

Suddenly, there he was, looming over her.

"Jonathan, please!" she said quickly.

Her arms gave out and she was hanging on with both hands for dear life.

"You're afraid of drowning?" he asked.

"Afraid of drowning? God no, I was on a swim team you idiot, I'm afraid of dying! Please fucking help me!" she screamed in tears.

Frowning, he leaned in and slipped his hands under her arms and hoisted her up as much as he could. He was surprisingly stronger than he thought he'd be. And her. She was surprised by how easily he had picked her up but she didn't dwell on it too long as her feet touched the railings and she brought her arms around and kicked her leg over. She jumped down and he stood right in front of her as her legs gave out and he held onto her. She felt tired. She looked up at him and noticed his glasses were on his nose and the lenses were cracked really bad.

"You see," she whispered, "I'm not perfect." She shrugged and he stared at her.

Her legs had given out and she fell on her knees as she caught he breath.

"Happy birthday." He said quietly as he stood and turned away.

The dull lights from the bridge flickered on and off like they usually did and she felt a few tears roll down her cheek. Having a near-death experience usually took a toll on a person. She stayed there for about half an hour before going back home, ending her jog early.

The next morning, Katherine woke up early to get ready for school. Last night's event was pushed to the back of her mind as she got ready for the day. She had to stay positive and not dwell on the negative. It was Friday after all, and…

"I'm 18 today." She told herself as she looked in the mirror.

Was something supposed to change? Were her boobs going to grow bigger? Her hair longer? Was she supposed to grow an extra toe?

No.

But now she was legal to buy tobacco products, rent cheap motel rooms, and go to clubs.

"Fun." She said to herself.

Rolling her eyes, she got dressed and heard a slight commotion downstairs.

After a while, she decided to head down, having smelled breakfast being made and she smiled to herself.

Quietly, she made her way to the kitchen and before she entered, she snuck a peak around. There were balloons tied to the chair she usually sat in on the breakfast bar, and there was a plate full of pancakes and bacon. Her mother, tall and slender had her robe hanging loose off her with an apron overtop. Her usually nicely combed hair was up in a messy bun and she was frantically walking around making sure everything was perfect.

"Happy Birthday!" She heard from behind as a pair of hands squeezed her sides and she let out a loud yelp.

"Dad!" she whined.

Her father, Greg Marsden laughed and her mother turned around hastily as their dog barked loudly hearing more commotion.

"You weren't supposed to be up for another few minutes, I wasn't done." She said and frowned.

Katherine bent down to ruffle their dogs fur a bit as he excitedly licked her fingers from the sudden attention he got.

She rolled her eyes, "Mom, everything looks pretty perfect to me."

Suddenly she remembered Jonathan's speech from last night.

Bile built up in the back of throat and she stepped forward to grab the glass of freshly squeezed orange juice her mom had made her and downed half of it.

"Whoa, honey, take it easy, you okay?" she asked, walking around the counter to step in front of her daughter.

Katherine nodded, "I got excited, sorry. You hardly ever have time to make juice like you used to when I was little." She shrugged and her mother beamed, leaning in to give her daughter a hug.

"Well, it's not everyday that my little baby turns 18." She said.

"Alright, alright, let me dig into these pancakes now, I'm starving." She said and her mother laughed as the dog barked again happily.

The rest of her time at home was spent laughing and reminiscing about past when 'their little Katie turned four' and when 'Katie refused to take off her witch costume for a whole month after Halloween'. Basically it was their parents wanting to torture her with embarrassing stories.

As she left the house that morning to walk to the corner, Her mom decided she'd drop her off that morning since she didn't go into work until later that night. She had glanced out to Jonathan's house while waiting and she noticed his grandmother wasn't outside smoking a cigarette like she usually was every morning before she left. And Jonathan wasn't standing at the corner waiting for the bus like he usually did either. That was odd.

When she got to school and stepped foot in the hallway, she sighed at the familiar chatter noise all around her.

It's too early for this, she thought to herself.

"Katie!" she heard a shriek come from behind her. "Happy birthday baby!" a petite blonde shouted.

"Hi Natalie." Katherine said with a smile, "Thank you."

Katherine was smothered as her friend hugged her hard.

"So guess what?! Now that you're finally 18, we can hit the clubs together! You have no idea how long I've been waiting to say that!" her friend said excitedly.

"Four months?" she said and laughed.

"Yes! And you deserve a good night out. You haven't done shit in like… forever. I miss partying with you, it's not the same." Her friend frowned.

Natalie Pearce was the human incarnation of Tinkerbell, just nicer. She was short, blonde with blue eyes and she had some curves. She was full of sass when needed but was usually just a ball of excitement. They had been best friend since middle school.

Katherine looked down at her best friend and shrugged, "I told you I'm good. I'm not… I just don't wanna deal with all that again, you know?" she said.

"Yes, but you deserve a good, fun night out. Bradley said so too."

Bradley Renner was her hot, blonde football-playing boyfriend of two years. His brother, Will, a younger yet still equally hot version, had the biggest crush on Katherine and no matter how many times she declined, he still went after her. He was probably the one who wanted her to go out anyway so he could try and bother her. Like always.

"Not interested." She said.

"Think about it. You say the word and there's a party happening at my house, you know daddy's gone for the weekend." Her best friend smiled sweetly and knowingly.

Her dad who owned an expensive car dealership in Central Gotham was always away every month taking trips to expensive islands with various younger woman. That's how it was ever since her parents divorced. Natalie never minded it though, she knew her parents hated each other and the only reason they stayed together long enough was because of her. She never let that get to her though. She was a tough, feisty little thing.

"Do what your little heart desires. We'll see if I show up or not." Katherine laughed.

Natalie's eyes lit up and she jumped up and down, "Oooh, I know what that means! You are the best! I'm texting Brad, oh I cannot wait! This is going to be awesome, my baby is growing up! See you later in Spanish!" her friend said, all in a rush, and sped down the hall to head upstairs.

Katherine rolled her eyes as she made her way to her English class and sat down in her usual seat.

She glanced around the class and sighed. There was a substitute that day so they'd be watching a movie instead of their usual book work. As the teacher called role, she called Jonathan Crane. He didn't answer.

"Sick freak is probably at home doing his grandma." Shelly, a mean girl who sat a few rows away from her had said.

Shelly was always leading Jonathan on and it annoyed Katherine more than it should.

All throughout the day there was one thing in the back of her mind.

Jonathan Crane, who had a near-perfect attendance schedule since she'd known him, had been absent.


So, this is the first chapter, also just a taste of what's to come! I'm still planning the story out but I have a pretty good idea of what I want it to become. It's not my number one priority, since I have work and all that, but I wanted to get all of this out of my head and onto here because I've been having Crane feels since I watched the movie one night again and was all ;lkdwoeidkwoeid I gotta write a fic now! haha.

I should update sparingly as much as I can when I get the chance! So for now, just leave reviews and let me know what you think so far and if you're interested enough to see where I go with it :)