Strange Behavior – Chapter Two
All characters in this story are copyright DC Comics and I have used them without permission. I am making no money from this story.
Blackgate Prison
1:20 AM
"Sasha," Dick whispered.
She wasn't sleeping; she wasn't even in bed. She was curled up in a corner. At least she wasn't rocking back and forth and moaning. She looked up at him and Dick could see the tear tracks down her face.
"Sasha, I need your help."
She closed her eyes.
"Sasha, we know you were framed. We even know who did it. But we can't prove anything yet. Please help us."
"You're Nightwing," she stated. Her voice was flat and devoid of emotion. Nightwing nodded.
"You work with Him." Nightwing nodded again.
"He was here tonight. He stood right where you're standing." Nightwing repressed an urge to move.
"He told me he was abandoning the Bruce Wayne identity. That's what he called it: the Bruce Wayne identity. As if it were a disguise he was shedding, or an old shirt with a hole in it."
Nightwing stifled any comment and waited. After a long moment, she continued.
"He offered me three choices. He could break me out of here, tonight if I wanted. He would set me up with a new identity and all the money I needed. He could even arrange things so I could work again. Not here, of course, but somewhere in Europe. I would have to wear a disguise all the time, so I wouldn't be recognized, but I could work if I wanted. But my name would never be cleared.
"Or I could make a deal with the DA. Tell them the truth: he got home before me and I found him next to the body. He asked me not to mention his other identity. He didn't order or demand, he asked. He said others' lives depended upon it."
She looked at Nightwing again. "He didn't ask for himself, he wanted to protect you and the others."
Dick had nothing to say to that.
"Or, he said, he would get me the best possible legal team. They might be able to convince a jury I wasn't guilty. If that went south, well there was still option one."
"What did you say?" asked Nightwing gently.
"I told him I would think about it." Suddenly, she started sobbing.
"Sasha, I think we can end this nightmare. Get you out of here and give him back his life as Bruce Wayne. But we need your help. Please, Sasha."
The sobbing grew quieter. "What do you want to know?"
"We think we know who is behind this. His name is Hugo Strange; he's a psychiatrist. He's been manipulating Bruce, preying on his fears and causing him to push away everybody who cares for him. To him, killing Vesper was just another way to undermine Bruce and drive him further into isolation."
She shuddered. "Does he know that Bruce is…"
"Yes. We need to know how he's been getting at Bruce. Anything that you can tell us, Sasha."
"He's been getting more tense, more distant." She laughed hysterically, but choked it off almost immediately. "Even more distant than he was. It's been getting worse for months. He hardly even talks now. I can feel the anger inside him.
"I got him to celebrate Christmas."
"What?"
"Sorry, I'm rambling."
"No, please tell me."
"I put up a tree and even got him to stop for a few hours and watch Christmas movies with me. It seemed to help. He had been so tense. Ever since he drove Vesper away and then Lucius had his stroke. It has been getting worse for months, but that's when it really got bad. He started spending more time at work. He always came back even grimmer than when he left. I know he really missed Lucius.
"I don't suppose Batman could go see a psychiatrist, but he really needed someone he could talk to. I caught him talking to himself a couple of times. Not a good sign, is it?"
"Where, Sasha? Where was he talking to himself?"
She stared at him, not comprehending. "In the cave, I caught him talking to himself in the cave. Well, he might have been talking to Jason Todd."
"WHAT?"
She gave him a funny look. "You know that Robin uniform in the display box? With the plaque that says…"
"I KNOW what the plaque says!" snapped Nightwing.
"Dick, calm down. She doesn't know."
No, thought Dick, she couldn't know. "I'm sorry, Sasha. Please go on."
"You going to tell me who Jason Todd was? He snapped my head off when I asked."
"He would. Jason was the second Robin. The Joker… beat him to death with a tire iron."
"Shit."
"Exactly. Bruce put up that display box to torture himself about it."
There was silence for a long time after that. Then Sasha shook herself and continued.
"Well, he was standing in front of that display so I thought maybe… well some people talk to their reflection in the mirror. They just usually don't use two different voices."
"I don't understand," Nightwing replied, afraid that he did.
"He said something in his 'Bruce Wayne' voice. You know?"
"I know."
"Then he answered in his 'Batman' voice, only it was even deeper and more gravely than usual. Sort of like the Bat from Hell."
"Yes, that's just the sort of voice Hugo would use. He'd know Bruce couldn't stay away from that case. If he projected the image at just the right angle, you wouldn't see anything unless you were directly in front of the case. I'll bet he has projectors and hidden speakers all thru the Cave."
"Some bodyguard I turned out to be."
"Sasha, you couldn't know. If we're right about the timing, he probably had everything in place before you ever saw the inside of the Cave."
"He wouldn't accept that excuse."
"Boy, she's got it bad," Babs murmured.
"Yeah, and if he jumped off a building, would you do it too?"
That actually got a grin out of her. She chuckled. "Yeah, I guess I would."
"Me too. But just because he beats himself up over things he couldn't have prevented is no reason you should."
"I guess not. But I have to tell you the rest of it. I couldn't hear what he said in his 'Bruce Wayne' voice but I did hear what he said, or I guess what this Hugo character said, in the 'Batman' voice." She stopped and looked down at her hands. Then she looked back up at him.
"He said, 'Maybe they left because they sensed your weakness.'"
"Shit."
"Yeah." She stirred. "I KNEW something was wrong. I should have told somebody."
"Do I have to repeat my little sermon?"
She shook her head.
"You said you caught him talking to himself twice. What was the other time?"
"It was at Christmas. When I went down to give him his present, I heard him say, 'Who moved that test tube?' I didn't think anything about it at the time. Now, though… I know I didn't move any test tube."
Dick felt a twinge of guilt. He hadn't gotten Bruce a Christmas present. Of course, Bruce had made it clear he didn't want any presents, but still…
"What did you get him?"
She looked at him strangely. "You know that fire in his office about a year ago?"
He nodded. That had occurred during the last encounter with Hugo Strange.
"He mentioned he lost a favorite photo in the fire."
Dick felt a shock go thru him. He knew that photo.
"It was a picture of the two of you. At least, I assume the boy was you."
Dick nodded.
"I know the loss bothered him, so I found the negative and had a copy made and framed. I think he was touched. I never saw him so happy."
Dick closed his eyes. He heard Babs whisper "Oh, Dick," but he had to stay focused.
"Anything else out of the ordinary?"
"What's ordinary for him?"
Dick nodded, conceding the point.
"There was the disgruntled employee who pulled a gun on him, but I don't think you mean that sort of thing." She thought about it.
"When I told him about Lucius Fox's stroke, it's like he didn't hear me even though I was walking right next to him. When we got home, he wondered why all the reporters were there and I had to tell him all over again." She shrugged. "I can't think of anything else."
"Thank you, Sasha. One last thing. When Vesper was killed, did you see anything that might help? Upstairs or down. The killer may have come in thru the Cave."
"No. I've thought about it a lot and, no. Bruce got home before me. He showered and changed and was at the computers when I got there. I suppose the noise of the shower could have covered the sound of an intruder, but it seems awfully risky."
Nightwing nodded. "We'll get you out of here soon, Sasha, legally and with your name cleared."
She put out her hand and he reached in and grasped it. "Help him. He won't admit it, even to himself, but he needs you."
Nightwing let himself out onto the roof of the prison. He walked to the edge, looked out over the breaking surf below, spread his arms and jumped. At the last possible moment, he launched his jump line. It caught a cornice and he swung out into space. A flick of the wrist and the line snapped free of the cornice. He moved smoothly into a double forward somersault and landed in the boat. A moment later, the boat was accelerating away from Blackgate prison.
En route to the Batcave
2:30 AM
"He got into the Cave, Babs. How did he do that? He didn't know how last time."
"I don't know, Dick, and that worries me. If he has access to the Cave, then he has access to all of our secrets."
"So he has all of our secrets. He can move in and out of the Cave and the Manor undetected. We know he killed Vesper, but we don't have a shred of evidence that will stand up in court. That about sum it up?"
Silence.
"Babs?"
"Wait a minute."
A bolt of lightning illuminated the horizon, followed by a clap of thunder. It started to rain.
"Dick, the Batcave went off line about two minutes ago. I can't access the computers, the security systems, anything. Alfred's tracer placed him in the Batcave but it's gone dead. I've tried everything I can think of, but I can't reach him."
"You put a tracer on him?"
"Under the circumstances, I thought it was a good idea."
"Under the circumstances, you were right. I'm coming up on the docks right now. ETA to the Cave, less than twenty minutes."
"I'm calling in Batgirl and Robin. This smells like a trap."
"Gee, you think?"
The rain came down harder.
All characters in this story are copyright DC Comics and I have used them without permission. I am making no money from this story.
Blackgate Prison
1:20 AM
"Sasha," Dick whispered.
She wasn't sleeping; she wasn't even in bed. She was curled up in a corner. At least she wasn't rocking back and forth and moaning. She looked up at him and Dick could see the tear tracks down her face.
"Sasha, I need your help."
She closed her eyes.
"Sasha, we know you were framed. We even know who did it. But we can't prove anything yet. Please help us."
"You're Nightwing," she stated. Her voice was flat and devoid of emotion. Nightwing nodded.
"You work with Him." Nightwing nodded again.
"He was here tonight. He stood right where you're standing." Nightwing repressed an urge to move.
"He told me he was abandoning the Bruce Wayne identity. That's what he called it: the Bruce Wayne identity. As if it were a disguise he was shedding, or an old shirt with a hole in it."
Nightwing stifled any comment and waited. After a long moment, she continued.
"He offered me three choices. He could break me out of here, tonight if I wanted. He would set me up with a new identity and all the money I needed. He could even arrange things so I could work again. Not here, of course, but somewhere in Europe. I would have to wear a disguise all the time, so I wouldn't be recognized, but I could work if I wanted. But my name would never be cleared.
"Or I could make a deal with the DA. Tell them the truth: he got home before me and I found him next to the body. He asked me not to mention his other identity. He didn't order or demand, he asked. He said others' lives depended upon it."
She looked at Nightwing again. "He didn't ask for himself, he wanted to protect you and the others."
Dick had nothing to say to that.
"Or, he said, he would get me the best possible legal team. They might be able to convince a jury I wasn't guilty. If that went south, well there was still option one."
"What did you say?" asked Nightwing gently.
"I told him I would think about it." Suddenly, she started sobbing.
"Sasha, I think we can end this nightmare. Get you out of here and give him back his life as Bruce Wayne. But we need your help. Please, Sasha."
The sobbing grew quieter. "What do you want to know?"
"We think we know who is behind this. His name is Hugo Strange; he's a psychiatrist. He's been manipulating Bruce, preying on his fears and causing him to push away everybody who cares for him. To him, killing Vesper was just another way to undermine Bruce and drive him further into isolation."
She shuddered. "Does he know that Bruce is…"
"Yes. We need to know how he's been getting at Bruce. Anything that you can tell us, Sasha."
"He's been getting more tense, more distant." She laughed hysterically, but choked it off almost immediately. "Even more distant than he was. It's been getting worse for months. He hardly even talks now. I can feel the anger inside him.
"I got him to celebrate Christmas."
"What?"
"Sorry, I'm rambling."
"No, please tell me."
"I put up a tree and even got him to stop for a few hours and watch Christmas movies with me. It seemed to help. He had been so tense. Ever since he drove Vesper away and then Lucius had his stroke. It has been getting worse for months, but that's when it really got bad. He started spending more time at work. He always came back even grimmer than when he left. I know he really missed Lucius.
"I don't suppose Batman could go see a psychiatrist, but he really needed someone he could talk to. I caught him talking to himself a couple of times. Not a good sign, is it?"
"Where, Sasha? Where was he talking to himself?"
She stared at him, not comprehending. "In the cave, I caught him talking to himself in the cave. Well, he might have been talking to Jason Todd."
"WHAT?"
She gave him a funny look. "You know that Robin uniform in the display box? With the plaque that says…"
"I KNOW what the plaque says!" snapped Nightwing.
"Dick, calm down. She doesn't know."
No, thought Dick, she couldn't know. "I'm sorry, Sasha. Please go on."
"You going to tell me who Jason Todd was? He snapped my head off when I asked."
"He would. Jason was the second Robin. The Joker… beat him to death with a tire iron."
"Shit."
"Exactly. Bruce put up that display box to torture himself about it."
There was silence for a long time after that. Then Sasha shook herself and continued.
"Well, he was standing in front of that display so I thought maybe… well some people talk to their reflection in the mirror. They just usually don't use two different voices."
"I don't understand," Nightwing replied, afraid that he did.
"He said something in his 'Bruce Wayne' voice. You know?"
"I know."
"Then he answered in his 'Batman' voice, only it was even deeper and more gravely than usual. Sort of like the Bat from Hell."
"Yes, that's just the sort of voice Hugo would use. He'd know Bruce couldn't stay away from that case. If he projected the image at just the right angle, you wouldn't see anything unless you were directly in front of the case. I'll bet he has projectors and hidden speakers all thru the Cave."
"Some bodyguard I turned out to be."
"Sasha, you couldn't know. If we're right about the timing, he probably had everything in place before you ever saw the inside of the Cave."
"He wouldn't accept that excuse."
"Boy, she's got it bad," Babs murmured.
"Yeah, and if he jumped off a building, would you do it too?"
That actually got a grin out of her. She chuckled. "Yeah, I guess I would."
"Me too. But just because he beats himself up over things he couldn't have prevented is no reason you should."
"I guess not. But I have to tell you the rest of it. I couldn't hear what he said in his 'Bruce Wayne' voice but I did hear what he said, or I guess what this Hugo character said, in the 'Batman' voice." She stopped and looked down at her hands. Then she looked back up at him.
"He said, 'Maybe they left because they sensed your weakness.'"
"Shit."
"Yeah." She stirred. "I KNEW something was wrong. I should have told somebody."
"Do I have to repeat my little sermon?"
She shook her head.
"You said you caught him talking to himself twice. What was the other time?"
"It was at Christmas. When I went down to give him his present, I heard him say, 'Who moved that test tube?' I didn't think anything about it at the time. Now, though… I know I didn't move any test tube."
Dick felt a twinge of guilt. He hadn't gotten Bruce a Christmas present. Of course, Bruce had made it clear he didn't want any presents, but still…
"What did you get him?"
She looked at him strangely. "You know that fire in his office about a year ago?"
He nodded. That had occurred during the last encounter with Hugo Strange.
"He mentioned he lost a favorite photo in the fire."
Dick felt a shock go thru him. He knew that photo.
"It was a picture of the two of you. At least, I assume the boy was you."
Dick nodded.
"I know the loss bothered him, so I found the negative and had a copy made and framed. I think he was touched. I never saw him so happy."
Dick closed his eyes. He heard Babs whisper "Oh, Dick," but he had to stay focused.
"Anything else out of the ordinary?"
"What's ordinary for him?"
Dick nodded, conceding the point.
"There was the disgruntled employee who pulled a gun on him, but I don't think you mean that sort of thing." She thought about it.
"When I told him about Lucius Fox's stroke, it's like he didn't hear me even though I was walking right next to him. When we got home, he wondered why all the reporters were there and I had to tell him all over again." She shrugged. "I can't think of anything else."
"Thank you, Sasha. One last thing. When Vesper was killed, did you see anything that might help? Upstairs or down. The killer may have come in thru the Cave."
"No. I've thought about it a lot and, no. Bruce got home before me. He showered and changed and was at the computers when I got there. I suppose the noise of the shower could have covered the sound of an intruder, but it seems awfully risky."
Nightwing nodded. "We'll get you out of here soon, Sasha, legally and with your name cleared."
She put out her hand and he reached in and grasped it. "Help him. He won't admit it, even to himself, but he needs you."
Nightwing let himself out onto the roof of the prison. He walked to the edge, looked out over the breaking surf below, spread his arms and jumped. At the last possible moment, he launched his jump line. It caught a cornice and he swung out into space. A flick of the wrist and the line snapped free of the cornice. He moved smoothly into a double forward somersault and landed in the boat. A moment later, the boat was accelerating away from Blackgate prison.
En route to the Batcave
2:30 AM
"He got into the Cave, Babs. How did he do that? He didn't know how last time."
"I don't know, Dick, and that worries me. If he has access to the Cave, then he has access to all of our secrets."
"So he has all of our secrets. He can move in and out of the Cave and the Manor undetected. We know he killed Vesper, but we don't have a shred of evidence that will stand up in court. That about sum it up?"
Silence.
"Babs?"
"Wait a minute."
A bolt of lightning illuminated the horizon, followed by a clap of thunder. It started to rain.
"Dick, the Batcave went off line about two minutes ago. I can't access the computers, the security systems, anything. Alfred's tracer placed him in the Batcave but it's gone dead. I've tried everything I can think of, but I can't reach him."
"You put a tracer on him?"
"Under the circumstances, I thought it was a good idea."
"Under the circumstances, you were right. I'm coming up on the docks right now. ETA to the Cave, less than twenty minutes."
"I'm calling in Batgirl and Robin. This smells like a trap."
"Gee, you think?"
The rain came down harder.