Gotham Plaza was always crowded at any given time, but when Crane found himself there during a film festival, he finally understood the true meaning of the words 'packed in like sardines in a can'. There were lines and lines of people--some in costume, some not--waiting at the various make-shift theatres (in tents, no less!) and all of them bouncing around and being generally excited in a manner that he thought was only possible for his henchgirls.
Certainly, there were several people who remained composed, but for the most part, they were excited, happy, chattering and on the whole, utterly detestable companions.
His minions, strangely enough, were the least irritating people in sight. They were too busy strategically figuring out which movies would be filled to capacity first and which ones could probably wait. It was a short but intense debate between the two, full of whispers and glares and then finally, they both looked at him.
"Which one do you want to see? Everyone's got a favorite."
Crane snorted, shrugged and stuck his hands in his pockets nonchalantly. "I never bothered with such trivial things."
They stared at him, doing rather accurate impressions of a pair of carp, and then looked back at each other, nodding, some form of silent communication that he couldn't understand taking place.
They proceeded to each take one of his arms and drag him behind them towards one of the large blood red tents that littered the square, chattering about 'the definitive Universal' and 'the ultimate villain!' and he couldn't help but find himself intrigued…
At least, until they reached the tent and ducked inside to find…a life sized cardboard Dracula staring down at them.
"You must be joking," he said, one eyebrow lifting as he cast his gaze down at the girls…
Who were both looking at the cardboard standee like it was the most incredibly profound piece of art they'd ever laid eyes on.
"But it's Lugosi!" The Captain exclaimed.
He looked at her in boredom. "What do I care about Bela Lugosi?"
Techie glared at him, moved to smack him on the arm and then thought better of it. "Bey-la, Squishy, it's pronounced Bey-la."
"It matters?"
Techie growled and the Captain scolded her. "Stop that, he doesn't know any better."
"Somehow I get the feeling before the day is out I will," Crane muttered, allowing the two women to usher him towards the group of folding chairs that had been set up.
"Aw man! The place is packed!" Techie pouted. "There aren't three seats grouped together!"
Crane concealed a smile. Things were looking up…
The Captain pointed. "There's two…and I see one over there. You take Jonathan, I'll fly solo."
"What?" Crane was snapped out of his fantasies of sneaking out of the sure-to-be-dull-as-dirt movie in hopes of seeking out some decent lab rats and looked at the Captain. "Why don't I just take the single seat?"
"No," the Captain said firmly. "You need somebody to make sure you get every possible ounce of goodness out of this…besides," she giggled in a slightly unhinged fashion, "the guy I'll be sitting next to is kinda cute."
And before Techie or Crane had the chance to argue, the Captain was gone, scampering through the aisle and snagging her seat.
With a shrug, Techie tugged Crane along behind her and shoved him into his own seat, flopping down next to him as the opening credits started to roll.
Thirty minutes in, Crane was actually starting to understand why the film had garnered such a following (it did have its classic moments of fear in a very film-noir sort of way), but his blossoming decent mood was ruined when Techie's head flopped over onto his shoulder, her mouth open and her eyes shut, sleeping contentedly away.
Apparently, despite her initial excitement, the sleep deprivation had decided it wanted to catch up with her and he was the most comfortable pillow-like surface nearby. It wasn't too terribly annoying--especially considering the movie was almost over anyways--but he couldn't very well let her get away with it.
Of course…he'd been awakened far too early too…and the chair he was in was far more comfortable than its design suggested…and his eyes were getting heavy…
And her hair was kinda comfy…
And that was as far as his reasoning got before he too started to doze.