Disclaimer: I don't own Jonathan Crane (sadly) nor Batman. I don't claim to own them. I don't make any profit off of this. I'm just having fun.

Prologue

It was cold, really cold. Not the cold that made your skin pimple and your breath show, but the cold that seeped into your very bones and made you wonder if you would ever be warm again.

I wandered my way down the old road, the sunlight filtering through the trees. The pavement under my feet was cracked and worn, grass coming through. On both sides of road were grassy hills and the sky was a deep blue with not a cloud in sight. Despite the cold, it was perfect.

What was I doing here? And where the fuck am I? This definitely wasn't Gotham.

There was a park lines with benches with strange shapes next to them further down the road. The closer I got, I was able to see that the weird shape were baby strollers next to the benches.

They weren't like any stroller I had seen, though admittedly I hadn't seen many. These strollers were red. Just altogether red, like someone had gotten bored one day and figured painting strollers was an awesome idea. They were empty and there wasn't a person in sight, even though the swings were still swinging. I moved closer to the first stroller and looked around before touching it. The paint was warm and sticky, my fingers came back the color of blood.

Oh my fucking god.

I looked around. "Hello?!" My voice echoed, but there was no response. The place was just... empty. The swings came to an abrupt halt and a shiver crawled up my spine. "Fuck this."

There was a loud creak behind me and I jumped, turning. To my left, the carousel started turning as if there were invisible hands pushing it. I just stood there, awestruck, as it moved faster and faster. A high pitch laughter threw me out of my thoughts and made fear pulse in my chest. So, I did the only thing I thought of.

I fucking ran.

My feet hitting the pavement was the only sound as I pushed myself to run faster down the road. My heart was hammering in my ears and I fought the urge to cry for help. Who the hell was going to help? The Ghostbusters? Fat chance of finding Bill Murray close by.

A small brick bridge came into my line of sight and I pushed harder and ran straight through the dark tunnel underneath, not even pausing until I came out the other side.

I stopped for breath, leaning my hands on my knees. I closed my eyes and ran my hands over my face. I hadn't run that far in ages. It wasn't until I had opened my eyes that I realized there was something very, very wrong.

It was dark now, almost pitch black. It had been daylight just a minute ago. I turned around and went to look through the tunnel, but it was gone. It's replacement was the same road, but it was too dark to see what lay a few feet further down.

"What the fuck?!" I grabbed my head, pulling at my hair. "This can't be real. This can't be real. This can't be fucking real!"

"Oh, but it is." I jumped, a yelp coming out of my throat. I turned quickly, my head swimming. What was now in front of me only cemented that I belonged locked away in Arkham for a very long time.

It was me. Well, sort of. Things were off, like if someone had shattered a mirror and tried to piece it back together. It was... odd. Warped, almost. The auburn hair was a shade darker than what it was on me and a few inches shorter. The reflection's eyes were slightly off, too. Brighter and wider than my own. I looked down and my hand flew to my stomach. The reflection was pregnant, there wasn't a doubt about it. I looked down at my own flat stomach and swallowed thickly. What the hell is going on?

"This is your nightmare, D.G. You tell me."

I glared at... myself? Yep, I'm headed straight to crazy town. I'll have to remember to get Jonathan a souvenir. "How the hell am I supposed to know?" Now I'm literally talking to myself.

"Your husband runs the asylum, do you really think he would put you away?" The reflection rubbed her stomach affectionately. Fuck, I felt sick. "Do you miss it? I imagine you do."

I stared at her face that was oh so wrong just to keep myself from glancing at her distended midsection again. "I have no idea what you're talking about." I tried to repress a shiver that raced down my spine.

She smiled at me, revealing rows of sharpened teeth. "Oh, but I think you do. Why else would you still carry around that old sonogram? You want what I have. And no wonder, the way your pregnancy ended. All that blood..." Her smile was wicked. "You can't give Jonathan what he wants, why don't you let someone who can?"

"I don't want anything you have." I glared at her. "I don't."

"So what do you want then?"

I looked down at my wedding ring that was still sparkling, even in the dim light. "I want to go home."

The reflection chuckled, causing me to look up. I backed off. Her features had changed, morphed grotesquely. Her already sharp teeth were now long, her eyes drawn into her skull. The veins in her face had become more prominent. "You don't know what you ask!"

I screamed as I felt claws digging into my flesh.


A/N: Welcome to Dissonance! We are finally into the Batman Begins story line with this one. I hope you guys are all still interested.

And, if you are wondering, yes, Interlude is finished. No, you didn't miss a chapter. When I uploaded, I actually forgot that I had planned on that being the last chapter D'oh! So I apologize, that was an eff up on my part.

Anyways, I hope you enjoyed the short prologue! As always, my Tumblr link is on my profile, so feel free to check it out.