'Are you alright?'

Diana warily gazed at the masked vigilante in front of her, as he tended to her feet. Shortly after finding her, he had brought her back to his hideout. She turned her head upwards, spotting millions upon millions of bats nested on the ceiling of the cave.

'I-I think I'll manage', she answered softly.

She turned her gaze to her hands in her lap. Truth to be told, she felt terrified. Terrified of what Jonathan would do. He knew where she lived; he had seemed to be keeping a constant eye on her, wherever she went. How was she ever going to be safe from him?

'You're scared.'

She turned her green eyes to meet the dark stare of the masked vigilante. In his eyes, she felt like they held something familiar in them; those eyes made her feel safe, secure, protected. Where had she seen those eyes before?

She thought of how angry Jonathan had sounded. Was he ever going to leave her alone? Was he going to want revenge on her because she had escaped? Was he going to let Scarecrow out?

'It's not like you can blame me', she answered.

'I'm not', came his gruff voice; 'I'll do anything in my power to catch him, so he doesn't hurt or threaten you anymore', he promised.

She swallowed thickly. 'Can you take me home?' she asked.

He gave a nod in return. 'Of course.'

…

'Damn it!'

The kitchen table was flipped over and glass and broken plates flew everywhere, at Crane's outburst. His breathing came out ragged as his blue eyes held a feral, almost predatory look in them. It had been a week; a week since her successful attempt at escaping him.

Her betrayal had sent him into a deep, dark hole. He had stopped taking his medication, allowing Scarecrow to come back with a vengeance. And oh…was his alter ego pissed.

'You let her escape! If you hadn't gone all soft this wouldn't have fucking happened!'

'I'm well aware of that!'

His loud voice echoed throughout the house. He made his way to his bedroom, no, their bedroom, his gaze growing even more agitated. How could she betray him? After all he had done for her? How dare she, to cast him aside as if he was nothing!

'She's the same as the rest of them, Johnny. She sees you as a freak.'

Crane growled under his breath. He didn't want to believe it but his alter was right; Diana couldn't understand him, not anymore. Not after he had told her of his other half's existence. She could never love him back again.

'She deserves to be punished for doing this to me', he growled.

'She does. She needs to feel your pain…'

With a deep growl, Crane left his hideout, his phone now in hand as he dialed Salvatore Maroni's number. He needed a hired gun; and since Falcone had been locked up in his asylum, someone else had taken over the crime circuit.

'Crane. What do you want?'

'I need an assassin. In return, I'll give you my compound at a reasonable prize', he answered sharply.

'Give me a name', said the other man.

A smirk tugged at Crane's lips.

'Gabriel O'Connell.'

…

Liam knocked on the door of the O'Connell residence. After hearing what had happened to Diana, he wanted to make sure she was alright.

The door opened, revealing Mrs. O'Connell. Her eyes softened at seeing him. 'Mr. Smith -'

'Please call me Liam', he paused; 'is she alright?' he asked.

The older woman smiled. 'Please come in', she told him.

With a nod, he walked in, taking a seat in the kitchen as Mrs. O'Connell prepared him some coffee. He gazed into the living-room, spotting Diana on the couch, fast asleep. He swallowed, relieved. At least she was safe.

'How is she?' he asked very cautiously.

The woman opposite him sighed. 'She's been sleeping a lot. We didn't want to bombard her with a million questions', she explained.

Liam exhaled quietly. 'I'm sorry. I should've protected her -'

'Don't blame yourself for this.' Mrs. O'Connell said gently. Liam's light blue eyes met hers. 'I'm grateful you helped her in the way that you have. You're the first person she was willing to open up to', she smiled.

A fond smile grew on his lips. He cared for the girl, more than he would've liked to admit. She was very precious to him.

'Has Crane been found yet?'

He shook his head at her question. 'Sadly, no. But her case has been closed. She's been found, so they wrap it up. It's ridiculous. She still has a stalker after her', he scoffed.

'The Batman will bring him in.'

Both Liam and Rochelle looked up at that soft voice. There she stood in the doorway, in a light-pink nightgown that reached to her calves. Liam couldn't stop himself from taking in her stunning figure. She wasn't a very tall girl, but had a very defined shape; a slender waist with a full bust and curvy hips. He would've lied if he said that the thin nightgown shielded her figure even in the slightest.

Apparently, her stepmother noticed, and stood up. 'I'll get you a jacket. You're probably cold', she said.

Her timid green eyes followed her stepmother, before they focused onto him.

He swallowed. 'I never thought I would hear you say that', he commented.

She fidgeted with her hands. 'He-he…' she took in a deep breath; 'he hit me. He got so insanely jealous over me hanging out with you…I felt like I was suffocating…'

Tears began to fill her eyes. As if on instinct, he moved towards her, embracing her tightly in his grasp. She sobbed quietly, burying her face into his chest. He looked down on her; utterly confused as to why she wouldn't even speak a word of the kidnapping to her father or stepmother, but would to him.

'I've never felt so afraid before…' she sniveled; 'h-he has a split personality…'

At that, his light blue eyes widened. He knew Crane for an unstable man but to think he had a split personality made him all the more dangerous.

'I'm so sorry', he sighed.

She lifted her head up, her tearful green eyes meeting his gaze. All he really saw at that moment was a scared, young girl. He could see how badly seeing Crane in a different light had affected her. She had known him for a friend then as a sweet, compassionate lover but now…she had seen his darker, possessive and jealous side. And it absolutely terrified her.

He felt helpless; she didn't deserve to be so afraid, so utterly terrified of going outside. He guessed he had to feel glad the Batman had shown up to save her. He didn't want to think of what else would've happened to her, out on those streets at night.

He had feelings for her, that much he knew. The fact he had spent such a long time searching for her had a pretty big hand in this. He had wanted nothing more than for her to have a safe place to stay.

But he wouldn't ask her to return his feelings; not while she felt like this. He would be whatever she wanted him to be; a friend, a brother, a guardian, a protector.

'Thank you', she sobbed.

He smiled at her. 'No need to thank me', he answered her.

She tried to return his smile, before settling back against him. He felt her nails dig into his back and he let out another sigh, baffled by how one man was willing to instill so much fear in one girl. It was downright sickening.

…

The parking-lot underneath Wayne Enterprises was abandoned by the time Gabriel got downstairs. Running a hand down his face, he felt guilt washing over him at having to work late again. He rarely got to spend time with his wife and daughter like this. Sure, Wayne was understanding of his current predicament, but the work had to go on. And being a member on the board simply took its time.

He walked towards his car, taking out his keys. Wanting to open the car, he took notice of the dark car at the end of the garage. When two suspicious looking figures got out, he could feel his nerves beginning to grow unsettled. What were these men doing here?

'Gabriel O'Connell?'

His blood turned cold at them mentioning his name. Pretending not to hear them, he made quick to open the car-door, and throw his belongings inside. Before he could get in, however, the two men had him pinned against his car.

He remained calm, taking in a deep breath; 'I'll give you my wallet if that's what you're after' he spoke.

Both men laughed. The one wearing a beanie shook his head. 'That ain't the reason we're here, sir', he grinned.

The other, with slicked back hair, pulled out a gun. It was then Gabriel realized that they weren't just after his money.

'You see…our employer had this deal for some drugs. You might know the seller', the man paused and Gabriel swallowed. 'You know the Scarecrow, don't you?'

At the mentioning of the Scarecrow, Gabriel froze. The young, blue-eyed man had stuck with him not just because of his crimes against his daughter, but because of his clear distaste of him as well.

'He went on and on about how you don't deserve your precious girl back. That he would make sure that she was back with him, where she belongs. Too bad you won't be able to protect her when he does.'

Before he could ask another question, there was a sound of a gunshot and everything went completely dark.

…

So I left you guys with a cliffhanger, because I'm mean like that, he he.

Stay tuned ;)

Lots of love,

~TheOneWithTooManyInterests