It seemed that as soon as she closed her eyes, the alarm went off. The buzzing invaded her mind, tearing her mercilessly from unconsciousness.
"Sunnovabitch..."she said into her pillow, then she eyed the glowing red digits that said five-thirty a.m. and smacked the snooze button before sitting up and stretching. A headache greeted her. No doubt it was one of those wonderful side effects induced by Jonathan's toxin. Sniffing, she walked from her bedroom to the dark hallway, then to the living room. Her tired eyes found Jonathan sleeping on the couch, one arm propped behind his head, and his mask resting on his chest. "Obsessed with that thing..." she said. Chance was laying down behind the couch, obviously watching over the new houseguest, making sure he did no funny business like last time while his human slept.
She walked into the kitchen and started the coffee pot, keeping the light off so it wouldn't shine in the living room and wake him up. Chance walked in behind her and rubbed his muzzle against her leg. She smiled and pet him.
"Mornin' to you to, buddy." she said. When the coffee was ready, she downed two cups and changed into some sweatpants and a plain t-shirt. She stepped outside, and began her usual morning exercise routine, Chance close at her heels.
Once she returned, she walked inside to find Jonathan wasn't laying on the couch anymore. Raising a brow, she walked to the kitchen and flicked the light on. He wasn't there either.
"Jonathan?" she called.
"In here." he called from down the hall.
From her room. She went to her room to see him stuffing her clothes inside one of her duffel bags.
"What are you doing?" she asked in surprise and anger at his lack of respect for personal space. He continued packing as he answered.
"Don't even pretend to be angry at this. You did after all break down my bedroom door a while ago." he said, referring to when she'd last visited their old hideout.
"Well, you had my book in there." she said.
"You couldn't have possibly known that for sure."
"But it was there."
"And these are here, and they're being packed away. Go and retrieve anything else you may wish to bring. We can't be here much longer."
"Why?"
"John called five minutes ago. Arkham talked, saying Dr. Landon was working for me. They also managed to get a sample from you, and found you weren't even Jacqueline Landon at all, but Bethany Niles, back from the grave. They should be here in another twenty minutes, so we need to move." Beth didn't need further explanation, and she quickly searched the house for anything that she wouldn;t be able to part with. All that she ended up bringing was her leather armor, and she walked back to her room. She noticed Jonathan had left her street clothes in the closet, and she grabbed some shirts and pants and tossed them into her bag before he could argue.
"I like those clothes, thank you." she said, and slung the bag over her shoulder with the other bag of armor before walking to the living room. A beep from outside alerted her, and she froze. "Whozatt?" she asked, and Chance growled at the noise as the beeping came again. Jonathan checked through the curtains.
"It's John, let's go."
"We can't take the van?" Beth asked.
"The cops will be looking for it. Leave it here."
"Will Chance fit in John's car?"
"Shit..."
Beth and Jonathan walked outside and went over to the car. John poked his head out the window and smiled.
"Hey, Rugrat. Need a lift?" he asked. Chance snuck up to him and huffed in his ear, making the thug jump in surprise and his his head on the roof. "Shit! Goddamned wolf thing!" he cursed at Chance, and Beth placed her bags in the trunk. She opened the back seat door and ushered Chance inside before climbing in. It was a tight fit. Jonathan got in the front passenger seat, and Chance's head leaned forward as the wolf sniffed him.
"Beth, I'm considering making this dog into a rug..." Jonathan muttered as he pushed Chance's muzzle away.
"Try it, buster, and I'll show you what fear really feels like..." Beth retorted. Jonathan smirked.
"I'm shaking in my skin.."
"Orange really isn't your color..." Beth said, regarding the asylum uniform.
"Done criticizing me?" he asked.
"Are you?"
"Far from it."
"Ditto." Beth leaned against Chance and swirled a finger in his fur. Once they reached the main road, they turned towards the city.
"Next stop, Narrows." John said. A few minutes into driving, he became tense. "Cops." he said. Beth ducked her head, Jonathan doing the same. She saw red and blue lights flash through the windows as a line of police cars passed them. When they were gone, John gave the okay to sit back up.
"If we were in that van like you suggested, we'd be in cuffs right now." Jonathan said. Beth scowled, and kicked the back of his seat, averting her eyes when he cast her a scolding stare. John gave a crooked smile.
"Jus' like old times..."
(...THREE MONTHS LATER...October 29th...)
"Alright, recruits!" Micheal shouted to the line of men in the warehouse. All small time thugs, either with warrants for their arrests or nothing better to do with their minuscule lives. "The boss will be in here shortly with an amount of fear toxin for you all to sample. If you can't handle it, leave!" he said. Some of them fidgeted in their spots. One turned right around and left the building, unknowing of the man outside waiting to take anyone who wanted to leave out. Couldn't have some coward giving away their area of work, after all. One man raised his hand, and Michael nodded at him to speak.
"Why we gotta use this stuff, anyhow?" he asked.
"Because, if you are goin' to handle a product like the boss', you need to know what it can do. You need to be prepared for it if, God forbid, somethin' goes wrong and you're exposed to it while on the job. Don't worry; it won't kill ya."
"Awright, I get it."
"Good. Anymore questions?"
"Yeah." said one guy at the end. "Is it true 'bout Red?" he asked.
"Is what true?" Michael asked, his eyes darkening. He didn't like many of the rumors people had been spreading about the girl.
"Is it true that chick came back from the dead? I heard Scarecrow shot her, and she died. Now she's back, an' even workin' for him. It's creepy, ya know?"
"Maybe that's why he hired her." another man said. "I hear the Scarecrow likes the whole 'creepy' persona."
"I heard she's hot."
"Why do all the crazies get the hot chicks?"
"Like who?"
"You seen Harley Quinn?"
"And Poison Ivy?"
"Ain't the plant lady a lesbo, though?"
"Man, what I wouldn't give to see that-"
"Alright, that's enough!" Michael said, before anyone could respond to the last comment. "Let's show a little modesty, here, Jesus. This is a place of business."
"Awright, we gotcha, but is she really some zombie chick?" one asked.
"I'm not entirely up to speed in the information of that subject. In short, I don't know. It's a mystery. Just don't bug her about it."
"She mean?"
"If she wants to be, yes, pretty damn angry." Michael said.
"Bet she's got that fear factor thing going like Scarecrow does. Why else would she team up with him?"
"I heard she killed her whole family 'cause she was bored."
"Fuckin' nuts."
"Hey!" Michael yelled. "Let's play the quiet game, since you guys can't stop talkin', huh?" the men shut up. John walked in from the back entrance and over to Michael.
"They'll be here soon. They're arguin' again." he said.
"What's it about this time?"
"She wants to get the dog some armor."
"And?"
"He said no."
"Of course."
"Of all the insufferable things you could bother me with now!" came a voice from the back entrance. The door banged open, and in walked Scarecrow, sporting his mask and tattered outfit as he stomped toward the new arrivals. They stood up straight, alert, before he reached them.
"Hold on! My shoe's untied! We're not done arguing about this!" A girls voice called from the entrance. The men's eyes glanced repeatedly over to the entrance as they waited for her to enter. Was she truly a zombie? Was she disgusting looking, with skin hanging off and her eyes missing? Or was she like a vampire, with pale skin and beautiful inhuman features? No one really knew. When she was spotted with Scarecrow on the street, a red hood was always pulled over her hair, and a burlap handkerchief always covered her face from below the eyes, which where lined with coal. No one saw her face. When she finally stepped in, their pulses collectively raised greatly in anticipation.
And they were instantly dumbstruck when they saw a teenage girl make herself known, an annoyed expression on her face.
"Seriously?" one guy asked under his breath. It was what they were all thinking, as they looked her over. Just a girl, wearing a punk-rock t-shirt and red skinny jeans with matching converse. The tips of her black hair was dyed dark red, and it was up in a ponytail. A skull bracelet was wrapped around her wrist. Some of the men snorted in ease at her. She was just some kid. Surely they weren't expected to take orders from this brat?
"Listen, 'Crow," she said. "I'm not going to let him go out in the field if he doesn't have some sort of protection! Cops don't care about killing animals." The men snickered. She was really whining about some pet?
"Probably a chihuahua..." one man muttered, and the men gave a murmur of low chuckles. Beth shot them a look, but decided to ignore it for now. Scarecrow turned back to her.
"That thing doesn't need armor-"
"If he's going out with us, he will." Beth said. "He's not going if he isn't prepared-"
"That decision isn't up to you." Scarecrow said. She crossed her arms.
"Like hell it is..." she said. "No armor, no attack dog. End of discussion." The men raised their brows at her boldness. They never saw Joker take that kind of smack from Quinn, and here was Scarecrow, doing nothing about this kid's temper tantrum.
"Who's wearin' the pants in this organization?" one man asked, and the others chuckled again. Beth heard his clearly, and turned to the one who said it. It didn't even seem like she moved, but she did, and in less than three seconds, she had the recruit on the floor, his arm behind his back and a gun pressed to his temple. The others backed up in clear surprise.
"Are you questioning my boss' authority, scum?" she asked with a sick sweetness. He shook his head as best he could, and she pushed the gun harder against his head. "You better not be, because it really depends on him whether or not I pull the trigger right now..."
"Let him stand." Scarecrow said tiredly.
"Alright..." Beth took the gun away and stood, backing away as the recruit stood back up shakily. Scarecrow removed his mask and smiled at him as he put on a pair of rectangular glasses.
"Congratulations. You will be the first to sample the toxin." he said. Before he could say anything, Beth sprayed toxin in the recruit's face from a small perfume bottle. He fell to the floor, shaking and saying nonsense. Beth shook the bottle at the others.
"Who's next?"
...
(...October 31st...)
"Alright, you all know your jobs, right?" Michael asked the group of men sitting before him. They were all in the back of a police transport vehicle, dressed in costumes, most wearing masks. The ones who'd been working for a good while for Scarecrow nodded readily to Michael. The few rookies shifted uncomfortably on the metal benches.
"We got this." A thug in a pumpkin mask said.
"Good." Michael said. "And make sure you keep those crow pins on the right side of your jackets or whatever you're wearing. We need to be able to identify each other in that bigass crowd." The men looked to the gold crow pins fastened to their outfits, and nodded. It was a good strategy to keep them from losing each other in the mass of partiers. And with it being a pin, the bat wouldn't be able to target them all from afar.
"What's Scarecrow and Red gonna be wearin' to keep themselves from bein' conspicuous?" a rookie asked.
"It's Halloween. Lots of people dress up as scarecrows and fairy tale people." Michael said with a knowing smirk.
...
At nine p.m., a large crowd of people, hundreds, gathered in Gotham Central Square for the twenty-third annual Halloween Festival. All participated in the festivities, wearing costumes, receiving and passing out candy, dancing, mingling, the works. On the stage in the center of the square was a gathering of people getting ready for a costume contest. Many of the people in the crowd surprisingly wore copies of the uniforms the infamous Rogues of Gotham wore. Copycat Harley's trapesed through the gathering, speaking in badly faked Jersey accents, while Mad Hatters of all sizes misquoted Lewis Carroll's words. Jokers took up most of the costumes, each trying to replicate his unique maniacal laugh, all failing miserably. Some dressed as Scarecrow, waggling their fingers at people and sneaking up behind friends and going 'boo' to scare them. A few of the Scarecrow's were accompanied by a Red Riding Hood, holding hands as they walked and greeted others that dressed like they had.
Jonathan regarded the copiers with a curled lip of disgust as he maneuvered through the crowds.
"Dressing as the very people they consider monsters, villains, terrorists. Even attempting to act as we do. Hypocritical insects..." he muttered.
"Calm down, 'Crow. I can feel the malice and I'm not even near you." someone said into his ear through an earpiece. Beth.
"I hate this holiday..." he replied. He did. Very much so. Just another day to give people reasons to put yet another mask over their true selves, not even bothering to learn the traditions of the holiday. They simply wore cheap costumes and acted like fools for treats. Yes, since its creation, Halloween has fallen quite far. "I despise it..."
"Jeez, lighten up." Beth said. "Besides, someone had to dress like us tonight. We obviously didn't." she said, her tone a bit disgruntled. Jonathan looked down at his costume. An officer's uniform with bullet holes riddling the jacket. Fake blood was spattered on it. He adjusted the black mask that covered his eyes.
"I hate this costume."
"At least you're not in the costume I'm wearing, or do you wanna trade your pants for this frilly ass skirt, huh?"
"Heh, no. I'm quite alright." he said.
"There's that little shred of humor I love." she said.
"Are you in position?" he asked.
"Yeah, just waiting for the boys to make the drop-off for this side."
"Good. Inform me when they arrive."
"Sure thing...Jonathan?"
"Yes?"
"There are kids here."
"Really?" Jonathan asked, watching as three children pushed past him to get to the stage. "I wouldn't have guessed."
"This won't kill them, will it?" she asked. He smirked at her compassion.
"No, this is just a test run to see if it actually works. The dose is quite watered down. There will definitely be screaming, but no minds will be shattered tonight." He heard a small sigh of relief from her. The kindness of that girl, sometimes.
"Alright. Oh, crap, some guy's coming up to me. I'll get back to you when the guys get here." she cut their line, and Jonathan was left to think on his own. He took a small cup of punch from a drinks table and downed it, scanning the crowd of happy faces. His eyes narrowed. He couldn't wait to wipe those ignorant smiles from them.
He couldn't wait to hear them scream.
...
Beth clicked the device in her ear to turn it off when she finished speaking with Jonathan and smiled from behind her mask at the man who walked up to her. He wore a blue prince's costume, a crown resting atop his head. Her smile instantly became fixed when she recognized him.
Charmin.
"Hel-lo, pretty lady." he said casually to her. "Missing a slipper?" he asked. Beth instantly regretted having chosen the Cinderella costume over the skimpy cheerleader one. She was at least thankful that she wore a silver masquerade mask that covered the top half of her face. She fidgeted with the knee-length white dress as she pointed to her white slipper shoes.
"As you can see, I'm not, so, yeah.." she said. He flashed a dashing smile that would make any air-headed woman swoon. It made her sick.
"Well then, if you have shoes on your feet, maybe we can dance!" he said.
"Oh, no thank you! I'm here with my...with my, uh...my boyfriend, yeah!" she said. "He's the jealous type, so-"
"Ah, why are all the good ones always taken?" he asked, and threw his hands up in the air in defeat. "Oh, well. See ya, cutie." he said, and left without another word. Beth curled her red lips at him as he went and eyed another pretty woman.
"Pig..." she spat, and walked over to a table of candy. She picked up a twix and began to unwrap it. Someone tapped her on the shoulder. She spun around to see John in a bloody doctor's costume.
"We got everything. Let's go." he said. Beth dropped the twix and followed him out of the square to the police vehicle where Scarecrow's men waited for them. There were three large stacks of boxes in the back of the vehicle, and she pointed to them.
"This is all of it?" Beth asked. They nodded.
"Yeah, from this side. We got two more trucks in the ally a few blocks back, chalk full o' the boxes. Where's the pinata?"
"In the back of the Wayne Corp. building. Get the goods there before they start filling it with normal stuff." Beth said, and they set to work while she clicked the gadget in her ear. "Scarecrow."
"Yes?" his voice asked.
"We have it. They're transporting it now."
"Good. Good. Just in time for the costume contest."
"You sure that'll be enough of a distraction?"
"Oh, yes. These idiots will be much too occupied with trying to make either themselves or their brats the winner of this activity."
"You sound like you've been here before."
"I've been planning this for two years, Beth. I made sure to take notes on everything."
"Alright, I trust you."
"I know." he clicked the line dead, and Beth followed the men into the vehicle before it revved to life and led them to the back of Wayne Corp.
...
"We have it." Michael said, walking up to Jonathan. He wore a mime costume.
"You look ridiculous." Jonathan said.
"It was all there was that fit me."
"It's here then?"
"Yes, they're ready to start spikin' the drinks and food now."
"Good. Now, in case some don't eat the candy, we at least know for certain many will be drinking and sampling the other foods." Jonathan said, and checked his watch. The costume contest would start shortly. He smiled.
Good.
...
"Alright, everyone! Gather 'round, gather 'round! It's time for the costume contest!" The mayor, a rather large man with no neck, said to the crowd of people from the stage. Jonathan watched as the crowd, much like sheep, drew themselves towards the stage, and he felt like he would be sick. Everyone's eyes were on the mayor as he complimented everyone on their unique costumes (Jonathan snorted at this, earning a 'shhh' from a woman dressed as Poison Ivy), and began giving a small speech on the wonders of this grand city. Jonathan turned to Michael.
"Do it." he muttered. Michael nodded and picked up a radio from his hip.
"You can begin." he said. Jonathan saw various men and women walk from the crowd to the tables, all in caterer' s uniforms and wearing a gold crow pin on their white jackets. They seemed to be straightening up the platters and refilling the bowls with fresh punch. Little did anyone know, they were actually spiking everything with fear toxin. It was a white powder, tasteless, and they sprinkled specified amounts over everything, even the candy bowls. Unlike Jonathan's usual supply, this type was to be ingested or exposed to the skin in order to work, and the estimated time he had until the effects would begin was thirty minutes. Thirty minutes. He could wait that long. It would be worth it.
...
Two shippers fell to the ground, unconscious. Beth stepped over them to the gigantic pinata that hung from the crane that it would be brought to the square with. It was shaped like a pumpkin, with a toothy frown and triangle eyes angled to make it look horrified. She smiled.
"Fits the occasion." she said, and turned to the men. "Let's fill 'er up, boys. Don't wanna keep the people of Gotham waiting." the thugs set to work, bringing a ladder to the pinata and making a line for them to pass the boxes. Beth stood at the top of the ladder and flipped open the paper mache top. She took the first box and poured the wrapped candy into it. She looked inside after tossing the box away. The bottom was barely covered.
This would take a while...
...
"You sure that she can handle a big job like that? It probably would've been best if she did this instead." Michael said to Jonathan at the plaza as the mayor introduced the next costume contestant.
"I would have, but she demanded she take the other job. Who am I to argue if she wants to work harder?" he said. "Besides, it's too late now to change minds, anyway."
"Hope all's going well over there." Michael said, looking towards Wayne Corp.
"Well, we haven't heard large explosions or screaming yet, so it should be going alright." Jonathan said, and he looked again to his watch. "I need to get changed. Stay here until I get back." he then left, tapping his jacket where his mask was hidden. "Tick-tock, tick-tock, tick-tock. Keep to the clock, keep to the clock..." he caught himself muttering the rhymes and covered his mouth. He was trying to get a handle on that. For a while, the compulsion seemed to disappear, but it had been growing again lately, starting without him even realizing. He shook his head as he walked back to the vehicle he was brought in. Madness certainly was unpredictable.
...
"Ah, much better." Beth smoothed out the red hood over her head and a smile formed under the burlap handkerchief that covered her nose and mouth, leaving her outlined eyes showing. The hood connected to a red suede trenchcoat that reached just above her knees. Under that, she wore a white blouse and thinner set of leather armor that covered her abdomen and allowed her to move more at ease than her old armor did. Fingerless gloves covered her hands, and she had on black skinny jeans that were covered from the mid calf down by dark brown leather combat boots. She was adjusting her gloves as she opened the back door the police van to allow the others to pile in.
Their work with the pumpkin pinata was finished. They hid the knocked out workers in a nearby dumpster, and the crane would now be operated by one of Scarecrow's crew. She flung the Cinderella costume out the vehicle before slamming the door shut.
"Good riddance, Cindy.."
...
Once they were back at the square, Beth quickly stood herself next to a group of Red Riding Hood girls to keep herself hidden while the other men walked casually through the crowd. She clicked the gadget in her ear on.
"Jonathan."
"Mm-hmm."
"We're back in the square."
"You did well, I trust."
"Yeah, how did it go at your end?"
"Well. Everything is in order. Now this infernal competition just needs to end..." he said.
"Where are you?" Beth looked around from one scarecrow to the next. None of them were him.
"In one of the police transport vehicles, getting dressed."
"O-oh, then you're-"
"Currently without many items of clothing on, yes." he said simply. Beth felt her face go bright red.
"I'll leave you alone then." she said.
"Why? It's not like you're here." he said.
"But you're nake-"
"And?"
"...you creep me out..."
"Good. Where do I find you when I've finished dressing?"
"Um, I'm in a big group of Riding Hood fangirls."
"That shouldn't be too hard to spot. I'll speak to you then." he said, and cut the line. Beth shook her head and focused all her attention on the stage as the mayor read out the votes.
"And here's the votes, folks!" he said, brandishing a piece of paper. He unfolded it and read. "And the male winner of tonight is...Joseph Thompson's Scarecrow!" he said, chuckling nervously at the end as a fake Scarecrow stepped forward, wearing a tattered trench coat and a dingy burlap mask. He wore a preacher's hat, and a cane was in his hand. He shook the mayor's hand and accepted the plastic trophy.
"As for the female winner...Maria Jackson's Little Red Riding Hood!" he shouted, and a young woman in a skimpy Red Riding Hood costume stepped forward, winking to the fake Scarecrow before taking her trophy. "Give it up for these two, ladies and gentlemen!" the mayor yelled, and the crowd erupted into cheers. Beth rolled her eyes at how they could become so excited over something like this.
"Kiss!" On of the fake Red's shouted, and the other Red's began to chant it, followed by others in the crowd. Beth's eyes widened as they shot back to the winners. Fake Scarecrow moved his mask up to uncover his mouth, and Fake Red stood on her tiptoes.
They kissed.
The crowd cheered.
Cheers faded to laughter.
A mockery. A mockery of the crime world. A mockery of her and Jonathan, specifically. These people knew absolutely nothing about them, and they had the gall to make fun of what they didn't understand.
She couldn't believe it.
"Are they even together, Scarecrow and Red?" one man asked, and Beth went to shout 'no', but another man spoke up before she could.
"Yeah, of course. Crazies attract, I guess, haha!"
Beth's hands were in fists.
"Of all the insufferable, disgusting, low, pathetic-"
"You seem annoyed." someone said behind, her. Jonathan.
"Just a little." she muttered, pointing to the stage, where the couple was still kissing.
"Terrible." Jonathan said, and Beth shook her head.
"I know, it's absolutely-"
"I'd never wear that outfit; too much church symbolism." he said, and Beth paused a moment before whipping around and punching him in the arm. He didn't even budge, and just looked down at her from behind his rectangular glasses in mild amusement.
"You jerk!" she hissed, and righted herself when people glanced over at them.
"What, do you like his costume?" he asked, and looked back to the stage. The winners had parted, and were walking away. "I like her costume. It's very form-fitting." he said, eyeing the fake Red. Beth felt like she was going to roundhouse kick him in the face.
"It's skimpy, and degrading."
"Forgive me for being a man, Miss Niles." he said. Beth huffed.
"I was talking about them making out up there. It was stupid that everyone expected it to happen."
"They think what they want. Besides, I don't see anything wrong with that assumption." he said. She stared at his reserved face for a moment. Her hands were suddenly clammy. She shook her head vigorously and crossed her arms.
"Well, I think we should just toss out the toxin and blow this place to Hell." she muttered.
"A rocket launcher doesn't solve everything..." he said, sighing.
"I was thinking more along the lines of atom bomb."
"That'd reduce the entire city to rubble."
"Good..."
"So morbid, Bethany. Surely that display didn't effect you so badly, and if it did, pray-tell me why exactly?" he said, a smile forming on his face.
"Watch it, Scarecrow, before I set you up in a field and leave you to be bird-feed..." she said. He was about to respond, when the mayor went back up to the microphone.
"Okay! That was certainly crazy! Now, for the best part of the night, this year's pinata!" he shouted. Beth and Jonathan snapped to attention, surveying the pinata as it was carried in by the crane to hover over the stage. There was a rope hanging from the bottom, and the mayor brought forth a young woman with fire-red hair. She shyly waved to the crowd. "Here we have commissioner Gordon's daughter, miss Barbara Gordon! She has been nominated by Gotham University to do the honors this year and pull the rope!" he said. The crowd gave a cheer as Barbara walked to the pumpkin and pulled the rope. The bottom fell back, and candy spilled out. The people clapped, and children ran up the stage to collect. The crowd then went back to the other festivities, and Jonathan and Beth watched as many raided the tables.
"Thirty minutes..." Jonathan said.
"Thirty minutes." Beth repeated.
...
The first scream came from a young child, and he clutched his distressed mother's leg as the screams dragged on. She cried for help, but none knew what was happening. A man startled the crowd as he too began to shout in terror. Then another, then six more. Soon, most of the crowd was running and shouting.
Jonathan and Beth watched it all from the edge, keeping well away from the panicked people.
"Forty-five minutes." Jonathan said.
"Close enough." Beth replied. "Let's go." He nodded, and they both walked casually up to the stage as he put on his mask. Jonathan kicked the mayor's shaking body away and he took the microphone in his hand. He cleared his throat.
"Ehem, I see that some of you are still standing. Congratulations on not eating anything." he said, and those who weren't effected by the toxin looked up in terror at him and Beth. "Now, I'm sure you all wonder just what the hell is going on. Well, you lucky lot have just participated in a blind taste test. See, I've created a new toxin recently, and thought that this event would be perfect to test it at. I'm happy to say that the results are more than satisfactory. Now, some of you are going to go missing for a few days, so we may collect data on the effects and things. Don't worry, your stay with us will be temporary, then we'll send you on your way. Happy belated Halloween, everyone." he said, and dropped the microphone to walk away.
He didn't notice Barbara Gordon come up behind him with a chair.
Lucky for him, she didn't notice Bethany come up behind her with a vile of toxin.
Beth sprayed it in her face, and she fell to the floor, trying to keep her screams from escaping her throat.
"That's why you work for me, Bethany." Jonathan said, looking at Barbara. "Too bad she didn't use the powder. I'd love to speak with her..." he said with distaste, and they both walked off the stage. Beth saw a flash of red and green in the crowd, and she cursed.
"They're here." she said.
"Of course they are. Why wouldn't they be?" Jonathan sad with a sigh.
"Run?"
"Yes, we'll split up. If we're together, it'll be easy for them to take us. Keep your earpiece on so we may communicate." he said, and walked off to the left of the crowd. Beth sighed and walked to the right, maneuvering through everyone, her eyes sharp.
"See anything?" she asked into the earpiece.
"No, but there are a lot of Batmans here..." he said. "He may be pretending to be one of them."
"Look out for Robin." she said when she saw another flash of red and green. "I think he's trailing me."
"The sidekick going after the sidekick. How predictable."
"Jerk." Beth saw him coming for her from the corner of her eye, and she ducked as he flew over her head and into a fake Mad Hatter. "Here he is..." she said.
"Careful." Jonathan said.
"You just watch your back until I'm done with him..." Beth said, and dodged when Robin raced up and punched at her. "You're getting better. Finally. Maybe I'll have some competition in a few more fights."
"Shut it, Red. You're going to Arkham tonight." he said.
"Holy cheeseballs, Batman, I'm so scared.." she said sarcastically, and he rushed her again. She stepped to the side and stuck out her foot. He tripped, and fell to the ground. She grabbed his black hair and sashed his head into the concrete. Blood ran from his nose as he tried to stand. She took the toxin and sprayed him. He cried out, and fell to the ground again.
"Too high...too high..." he muttered, and she laughed.
"Boy Wonder's afraid of hights. Wait 'till I tell Jonathan-"
A gunshot interrupted her, and she was nearly knocked down by the terrified people who scrambled away from the source of the noise. She saw Jonathan aiming his gun at Batman, who narrowly dodged every time Jonathan fired. She ran forward, keeping well out of Jonathan's range. She threw the entire bottle of toxin at Batman's feet, and it shattered, sending vapors up to his face. He coughed, and backed away. She grabbed Jonathan and ran for the police vehicle. He took the driver's seat, and she the passengers. The vehicle revved to life, and they sped forward and out of sight.
"That went well." Jonathan said after a few minutes of driving.
"Yeah. I should contact Michael and John to make sure they got the hostages." she said.
"Yeah, about that..." said a low voice from behind them.
"Dammit..." Jonathan muttered as Batman's fist flew forward and punched him in the jaw. The vehicle swerved dangerously, and they ran into the wall f a dilapidated building. The airbags deployed, and Beth grunted when hers smashed into her face.
"You two are going in, now..." Batman said, and they were both in cuffs before they could even move.
"Well..." Jonathan said as they were removed from their seat and set on the curb. "It seems we'll be going on vacation for a while, Miss Niles."
"Oh, goody." Beth said, and rest her chin on her hands. "I haven't been to Arkham since I broke you out. I wonder how they'll treat me..."
"Horribly, I suspect." Jonathan said. "You are, after all, the reason why four doctors died at the hands of Killer Croc."
"Oh yeah, I forgot about that." she said thoughtfully, and shrugged. "Oh well."
"Where's the cure, Crane?" Batman asked gruffly. Jonathan shook his head.
"You see, this was a test run. I haven't created an antidote to it yet. By the way, how are you holding up, Batman? That was quite a bit of toxin my dear assistant hit you with."
"Where are the hostages?" Batman asked, changing subject.
"Don't worry about them. Once my men find out I've been taken in, they'll release them, no harm done. That's a rule, you s-" Batman picked him up by the collar.
"Where. Are . They?" he asked slowly. Jonathan cocked his head to the side.
"Not saying a thing, Batman." he said, and Batman dropped him to the ground.
"You're going away for a long time..." he said.
"You always say that..." Jonathan replied. "It's getting kind of boring, really." He lay his back down on the concrete and closed his eyes. "Tell me when the police get here. I'm tired." Beth leaned over and took his glasses off his face.
"Do you have any idea how many times you've broken you glasses from falling asleep with them?" she asked as she folded them and put them in her pocket.
"Thank you, Miss Niles." he said.
"What's the food like at Arkham?" she asked.
"Atrocious. It slowly kills anyone's appetite to any food."
"Gross."
"You don't know the half of it."
Batman watched as they spoke. They had just reduced hundreds to a screaming mess, kidnapped multiple people, and crashed into a wall. And now they were making small talk as if nothing had happened. He shook his head sadly when he saw Beth smile warmly at Jonathan, noting the hint of affection they both shared for each other. He had hoped to be able to help her, but he saw that was becoming a very slim possibility. She'd grown too attached to Crane and the life he lived. She was in too deep.
He couldn't help her.
...
Author's Note: Bwuuuh! I just wrote all that...so long...well, to me it was. I had to write it, haha. Thanks for the reviews! Stay tuned for the next one! But for now, I'm tired. Lemme sleep. I must sleep. (ZZZZ...) Nighty-night! (VwV)