Elena gasps in large gulps of air as she awakens. She had fainted an hour after injecting herself with the fear toxin. Crane casually walks over to her and grabs her chin, jerking her face up twords him. He pushes one of Elenas eyelids open and inspects her pupil for a moment before releasing her. She hits the ground with a small thud.
"Welcome back to reality, Miss Thompson. You have five minutes to get your bearings before I escort you to where you'll be staying. Its late and you'll need your rest for your first subject tomorrow."
Elena gulps as she feels a wave of nausea. "I think I'm gonna be sick."
Crane sighs in annoyance. "A natural bodily response to the severe pyschological trauma of witness your intermost fears. The bathroom is the first door on the right."
Elena stands on shaky legs and dashes past Crane, out the door, down the hall into the bathroom. She barely makes it to the toilet before she empties the contents of her stomach.
"The sooner you get acustomed to witnessing the grotesque, the better off you'll be."
Elena glares at the door after hearing Crane on the other side. "I do have a strong stomach, usually I'm the only one who can handle gore."
A few minutes later, Elena emerges from the bathroom. Crane is waiting with a look of slight annoyance. "The last room on the left. I expect you awake tomorrow at six, if you are still asleep, you'll recieve a rather unpleasent awakening."
Elena goes to the room and finds an old looking bed with a blanket. She sits on it and the bed groans loudly in protest. She sighs knowing that she shouldn't have expected anything else.
...
Elena is woken by a bucket of ice water being dumped on top of her. She jolts awake and faces Crane, remembering the previous nights events. He hands her a simple white dress with a look of indifferance.
"Get dressed before you catch nemonia. I'll be down the hall waiting."
Crane turns and exits the room, leaving Elena alone. She quickly gets changed, eager to get out of her freezing clothes. Once dressed, she walks down the hall to the lab, mentally preparing herself for anything as she walks thru the door. Inside, she finds Crane smiling excitedly and in the middle of the room a white sheet is draped over someone lying on the floor. Noting Cranes expression, Elena knows its never good when hes happy.
"Miss Thompson, I feel that I must confess something to you."
Elena gets slightly wide eyed. "That isn't the human centepede, is it?"
Crane shoots her a glare before continuing. "No, you see, I haven't been honest with you since you struck your proposition. I do not have the patience to teach a desperate and unwilling child such as yourself."
"Then what are you going to do to me?"
"I will give you a choice, you may be frustrating but your sister has insulted me. Put her in your place and I'll let you go free. But you must expose her to the toxin."
Elena rushes over the sheet and yanks it off of her sister, who is bound and gagged, but fine with only minor scratches and bruises.
"What the hell happened to you?"
"It seems she had found her way to wonderland. I was able to convince him to let me have her before he could take an axe to her head."
Elena shoots him a look. "So you saved her so you could kill her...thats messed up. I won't do it."
"Very well then. I suppose I have found a subject willing to volunteer."
Kate gets wide eyed and begins to thrash around. Crane walks over and roughly pulls Elena up by her arm. He pulls her over to a tray with with a few syringes full of the toxin.
"Take one, each contains a dose of my new formula. Unless you are going to volunteer your mind in the pursuit of science."
Elena shoots him a glare. "You know, I never was a math or science person. I was always more of a creative thinker rather than logical. And I freakin hate chemistry."
"To each their own. Now decide, You...or your sister, who left you for dead as I recall."
"But if I do it, then I'm no better than she is." Elena looks over the tray and an idea pops in her head. With a sigh she looks away from the tray. "I am such a coward. I couldn't even fight back at school, let alone here, I guess it will be the death of me..."
Crane raises an eyebrow. "You never mentioned school."
"I thought it was over when I graduated but now I only have a bigger bully...I can't believe I thought you could help me..."
...
Kate gives Elena a bear hug once they have distanced themselves several blocks away from Crane.
"Thank you so much."
"No problem. Just be thankful this is comic book Gotham. Cranes gotten more sadistic over the years."
"How did you know that would work?"
Kate releases Elena. "Because I think deep down he believes hes doing some kind of justice...once you get past that narcissism with a God complex. Not to mention it worked for Becky Albright...sort of...so it was worth a shot. I feel a little bad though..."
"Thank you so much for saving my ass back there."
"No problem. I've been lying since I was six. Now, lets find batman."
Elena leads the way and Kate follows closely behind. "So all that was a lie?"
"No. But the trusting him part was."
Kate pauses for a moment before resuming walking and looking at her sister sympathetically. "I never knew you were bullied."
"You wouldn't would you? I tell you stuff all the time but you never listen and dad ignores me altogether. Maybe if you did, we wouldn't be here."
"I'm sorry okay? What did the kids pick on you about anyway?"
"They thought that since I'm short, I'm stupid, never mind my I.Q. is 148..."
"Well, I'm sorry."
"Just forget it."
They continue walking in silence for some time before they stop to take a break. Kate groans impatiently.
"Why is this city so big?"
"It isn't that big, we just don't know where we're going."
"As long as its away from the freaks."
Elena stops walking and Kate does as well, looking at Elena in confusion.
"Why did you stop?"
"What did Hatter do to you?"
"What...oh, well he threw a teacup at my head and got a little too touchy feely but then next thing I know, hes calling me an imposter and trying to kill me! Did you know he puts hats on fruit?"
"Yeah. I'm glad you're okay. It could've been worse. You scared me when you ran off like that."
"Why? I'm stronger and faster than you."
"But you don't know this city like I do. In Gotham you can't rely on your body, you have to rely on your mind. Why do you think the rouges gallery is made up of geniuses."
"But they're crazy."
"You can be crazy and smart."
"Fine but...you know what, maybe we should stick together from now on."
Elena smiles at Kate. "Sounds good."
A/N: So question for you guys, out of all of Gothams most wanted, who do you want to see make an appearance? I might write them in. So now reviews.
TheHoneyBadgerNight: Thank you and I am glad you caught the reference to Cranes origins. If Kate let it slip, he would be furious to say the least. After all, Alabama is the neighbor of Georgia.
LoverOfWright: I'm sure Ivy would agree that your nourishment to this blooming story is very much appreciated. Thank you for your review.
