The Crane and the Falcon
Chapter XVIII
Sorry about the delay of the last chapter, I was in New York for Wednesday and busy Tuesday. As of now, this fiction will become Part 1 of a trilogy. The second part will take place (chronologically) a little bit after this and the third will be situated more than eighteen years after.
"Are you a prisoner too?"
He needed to get her to the Asylum. The original antidote had been confiscated, but he had more in the lab. By some miracle, he found that his wiry arms could hold her for more than a minute, and he set out at a run, praying they met no resistance. He prayed the police hadn't taken the Asylum, or worse yet, that bat character. As he ran, his long legs flying over the uneven pavement, he felt the adrenaline course through his veins and had an inkling of what Sakura felt everyday.
Arkham rose out of the swirl of darkness and smoke, like an ominous cliff on the edge of a tumultuous sea. The inmates had fled from the shadow of the building, their not-so-fond memories of that place pounding behind their crazed eyes. His hand fumbling in his pocket, Crane hastily ripped out a key and jammed it into the lock of a side door, balancing Sakura on his arm and knee. The door opened with a groan of steel hinges to reveal a corridor, lightened only by a broken, flicker ceiling light a few yards away. With a glance to his left and then to his right, Crane sighed heavily and set off in direction of the laboratories. He felt the strain in his muscles, his adrenaline-granted strength waning as he neared his destination. He could see the door, it would only be a moment now. Just a few more feet, a few more feet.
Jonathan dove across the threshold as if his very life depended on this moment. He nearly collapsed from the physical strain, but the power of his mind forced him to lay her on the steel table. The doctor panted heavily, using the table for support as his legs shook from the exertion. But there was no time for recuperation. Sakura needed that antidote. For the first time, she was depending on him for salvation. He could not let her down.
The antidote was waiting and ready, sitting in the humming sub-zero refrigerator. He almost dropped the vial in anxiousness, but managed to successfully fill a syringe with the solution. His hand began to shake as he approached her, the needle clasped in his hand. Her skin gave like soft butter and he injected the solution into her bloodstream carefully before covering the puncture hole with a piece of sterilized gauze. Jonathan held it in place for a moment, applying pressure perfectly until he was sure he had stemmed the flow of blood. Now there was nothing more to do but wait.
It was a full twenty minutes of thick, nerve-wracking silence before Sakura's eyes flicked open and she gasped loudly. "What-," she choked, breathing heavily, "What- what- what happened?"
Crane was up in a flash, laying a hand on her forearm. "You're alright, just breath."
"I remember Ra's, and they had you," Sakura muttered, her eyes flashing back and forth as she pieced the memory back together, "He sprayed that- that whatever it was-."
"Toxin?"
"Yes, and then-," she stopped short and shuddered, pulling her arm away from Crane. She had shown weakness, in front of the enemy, in front of him. The thoughts flooded back, the feeling of vulnerability, the feeling of being cornered and trapped. It was a nightmare she could never escape, like the faces of the men she had killed. "And then I was here," she finished, slowing her breathing. "Did you-?"
"Immunize you?" Crane offered, "Yes. I told you I had more in the lab-."
"How long was I out?" Sakura didn't like long-winded, irrelevant strings of fact when there was work to be done and revenge to be had.
Jonathan glanced at his watch, "No more than half an hour. But we need to leave. The Narrows is ready to tear itself apart, and I don't want to be around when the shit hit's the fan."
"Ra's is still here, Jonathan. You know me, I don't walk away from a fight. I win, or I die," she spat, swinging her legs off the table. "You can go, but I'm staying. I'm not leaving until I've got his head."
He was taken aback by her reaction. "Sakura, be rational-!" he exclaimed, staring down at her.
"I am not a rational person, Crane. It's taken you four months to notice?"
It was a one-sided fight. Sakura had made up her mind to stay, and over Jon's dead body would he leave her alone. So together, they set out and back onto the wailing streets, the unused gun from Crane's office safe clutched tightly in Sakura's uninjured hand. The other was wrapped in thick gauze and bruises already spotted her knuckles. "We've only got a single round," she sighed, glancing down at the gun. "You take it. I'll need both hands."
The woman passed the gun to Crane and didn't bat an eyelash at his hesitation in receiving the firearm. "I'm not sure that I'm the best person to hold this."
"Shut up and suck it up. Now don't waste the bullets or we'll be dinner for these animals," she muttered in reply, nodding at the inmates prowling the streets. The two were hidden in the shadow of a dank alley that ran the length of the back side of Arkham. "Do you know what Ra's was planning?"
But Jonathan shook his head. "Not much. Only that they would need a high-powered, wide-ranged flash boiler or something along those lines to-."
"A microwave emitter," Sakura whispered, her eyes wide and bold.
Crane's head snapped up, "Yes?" he said warily, "But there are only prototypes, and they're under lock and key."
"Except for one," she sighed in response, running a hand through her hair. "There was a tanker, for Wayne Enterprises. It had one, and it was," she fumbled over the words for a second, "misplaced." Jonathan was silent as she began to pace, back and forth, in short strides.
His eyes flashed behind his glasses as his brain processed what had been said. A microwave emitter. They had one. And they were going to use it. Not for ransom, not for anything. "We need to get out of here."
"Crane," Sakura warned, not looking at him as she walked.
"Fine," he muttered. We're both immune. We won't be affected. By the toxin, at least. "But we're going to need more than a pistol and one round if we're going to live through tonight."
"We'll live," Sakura said with a smirk, remembering the switchblade she always carried. "But not without something to get us where we want fast."
"How'd you get here?"
"Motorcycle. And don't get two excited; it was built for speed and won't hold us both." As she spoke, she thought she heard the clop of hooves on the asphalt. There it was again. A dark horse cantered into the street, policeman still on it's back. But the officer's figure was slack, lying flush against the horse's neck. He was either dead or unconscious. And quite frankly, Sakura didn't care either way. "Can you ride a horse?" she muttered.
"What?" It was quite possibly the farthest thing from Jonathan's mind. But she didn't wait for an answer. Instead she stepped out of the protection of the alley and made a clucking noise with her tongue. The horse stopped short a few feet away, the sound soothing it's ears. She clucked her tongue again, this time changing it to the clicking sound that most trainers used to calm or call their horses.
"Come on," Sakura said in a soft voice, stretching out her hand. The horse hesitated before taking a step forward and then another, now so close to Sakura she could have touched him. It rested its nose against her palm and Sakura smiled, walking around to the policeman. "He's dead," she called back to Jonathan, "You don't have to hide in there all night, either."
A shadow of a smile crossed Sakura's face when she met his eyes, and that single moment confirmed everything to Crane. He would kill for her, die for her, walk through fire to keep her from pain. Without fear, he stepped out from the alley and crossed the sidewalk to stand next to her, the horse, and a dead policeman. An odd conglomerate, no?
Sakura freed the dead man's feet from the tangle stirrups and gave him a push. The corpse slid off the horse's back and onto the ground in a pile of twisted limbs. "You first," she sighed, indicating the saddle. She could tell from the look on his face that he had never so much as seen a horse this close-up, let alone ridden one. "Don't worry, horses don't bite," she lied.
This was one of those singular times when long, lanky legs came in handy, and he clambered into the saddle with less trouble than most first-timers would. "Not bad," Sakura laughed, before placing her foot in the stirrup and hoisting herself up in front of him, "but most people like to use these handy inventions called stirrups."
Before Jonathan could respond with a witty, characteristic retort, Sakura kicked past his own legs and into the horse's sides, setting the animal off at a canter. He didn't notice himself wrapping his hands around her waist, fearing he would fall off and be forgotten. Both physically and metaphorically.
"The train!" Jonathan muttered suddenly. It all made sense now. The train ran along the water lines, right to the central hub. "They're using the train! The water pipes are carrying the toxin, the emitter will vaporize everything!"
"Well then where the hell are we going?" She turned the horse quickly, heading to the Narrows Train Stop, a few streets away, rising into the air, high above the buildings of the Narrows. But suddenly, when they were only a block away, Sakura pulled the horse to a stop and dismounted.
"Sakura, what are you doing?" he called. This area was teeming with inmates all leering at the residents of the Narrows. He could see the police battling their way through a few streets away. Sakura didn't reply, or care about any of these things. Her eyes were set forward, staring past the orange jumpsuits to a woman and a boy, crouching down, trying to hid. "Sakura, we don't have the time-!" But time had just run out. There was a giant hiss of steam and vapor from above and the high-speed train flew overhead, a cloud of white powder trailing closely behind it. The screams and whimpers started low, and then grew until it was all you could hear.
"It's too late for Ra's," she muttered to him with a small smirk, "But Miss Dawes has been somewhat of a thorn in both of our sides for quite some time." Jonathan could do nothing but watch her from the saddle as she advanced, pushing past the crowd until it was just her and them. "Find Ra's. I can take care of myself!" she called.
At first, Rachel didn't know or care who this person was, standing only a few feet away, but she looked up and caught the mocking grin of Sakura Falcone. Her jaw dropped and she pulled the little boy tighter to her. He had his eyes squeezed shut, his fears streaming all around him. "Falcone!" Rachel yelled, backing up against the wall, crouching over him. She heard the clatter of hooves and saw a horse and shaky rider disappear.
"Good evening, Miss Dawes," Sakura said. She was now no more than two feet in front of her, "I hope I find you well."
"You're behind this, aren't you!" Rachel yelled, pushing the boy behind her. Quicker than a cobra's strike, Sakura had her good hand around Rachel's throat and the young attorney was gasping for air.
"No I am not," Sakura replied, cool as a cucumber, "But tonight does make for such good cover, no? The assistant D.A. stumbles into the Narrows, intent on doing good and righting the world, when a crazed inmate slits her throat." A switchblade flipped open, centimeters from Rachel's face. Her heart began to race and she warily kept her eyes on the blade, pushing her head back against the brick wall. The boy sobbed, clutching Rachel's leg and hiding his face. "But I am not completely heartless. The boy doesn't have to see this." Her eyes left Rachel and she glanced down at the boy, removing her hand from Rachel's throat. Mistake number one.
With all her strength, Rachel head butted Sakura, her height becoming an advantage. Sakura staggered for a moment, and Rachel twisted the knife away. She tried to reach for her taser, but Sakura caught her across the face with a backhanded slap that sent the young lawyer sideways. "I'm ready for a fight, Dawes, but are you?" Sakura yelled, baiting her.
Rachel didn't reply, but instead lashed out with her leg, aiming a kick at Sakura's leg. But Sakura caught Rachel's foot, and, ignoring the throbbing pain of her hand (she was nearly certain it was broken), threw Rachel onto the ground. Rachel picked herself up as quickly as possible, knowing she was dead if she remained on the ground, and tried to back away. "Oh, not scared are you?" Sakura crowed, advancing forward. Without thinking, she lunged forward, punching with her broken hand. Then she realized and tried pull her hand back. Rachel, sensing Sakura's uneasiness, grabbed her hand.
Sakura's eyes widened in pain as Rachel's hand closed over her own, her nails digging through the gauze and into her bruised skin. "Don't like that, do you?" Rachel sneered.
But Sakura wasn't finished yet. Using Rachel's grip on her own hand, ignoring the pain that nearly blinded her, she swung around, using the centrifugal force to throw Rachel into the wall. The lawyer nearly collapsed and her body shook. She saw Sakura stoop and grab the discarded switchblade off the ground and nearly screamed. But, as Sakura brought back her arm to strike, someone caught her at the elbow.
"I told you he'd come!" The little boy murmured, his arms clutching to Rachel's leg again. Rachel visually relaxed and she allowed herself a small smirk.
Batman twisted Sakura's wrist and she dropped the blade to the ground for the second time that night. "I should have known. Miss Dawes doesn't seem to go anywhere without her knight in shining-," she paused and laughed, "Kevlar?"
"Get out of here," Batman growled to Rachel and the boy. They complied and scampered off to God-knows-where. Sakura put her hands on her hips and spun, expecting to see the Batman in all his glory. But instead, she saw nothing but an emptying street. Behind her, she could hear the swish of fabric on the fire-escape and she spun again.
"Running, are we?" she yelled, and Batman paused. Sakura raised a dark eyebrow before picking up the switchblade and, with a flick of her wrist, threw it upward. The metal blade imbedded itself into the brick next to Batman's head and she smirked. "Come now, fight like a man!"
"I am not a man," he replied in a gravelly voice as she soundlessly climbed up the ladder and onto the first landing of the fire-escape. He spotted her, now directly below him, and jumped up onto the third landing. There were only three more to go before he would have to cross the flat roof. He hoped she didn't persist in following him that far. But she did. Like a cat, she followed, springing from one ladder to the next. She paused, pulling the knife from the brick, before spitting out another trick. "You're not a man. You're an ideal!" While she had been teaching Crane how to fend for himself, he had taught her a spot of basic psychiatry.
Above her, Batman paused again, and Sakura continued, inching her way along the wrought iron floor. "You're not a man when wearing that mask!" she said, making sure she was directly below him. "And if you're not a man, you're invincible." Then she drove the knife upwards, between the iron rods and felt the satisfaction of the blade sinking into the bottom of his boot and into his tender flesh.
Bruce Wayne let out a roar of pain and almost sank to his knees, but instead, ripped up his foot, freeing the knife from his shoe. Sakura was up a floor and next to him in a second. "Maybe you are a man," Sakura muttered, giving him an elbow to the face quickly. But it didn't faze him much and he pushed her back against the railing. "Finally!" Sakura exclaimed, kicking out with her leg. Batman dodged her blow and made for the ladder and the next landing. But he was followed closely.
"Pick on someone your own size!" He growled, climbing up the next ladder. He wasn't running from her out of fear; he was running because, for lack of a better explanation, she was a woman. And Batman couldn't find it in himself to fight a woman.
"You never bait short people!" Sakura fired back, her resolve stronger now. He had reached the roof and she followed closely, their steps resounding off the cement roof. "Ever!" She had caught up with him and, in a move her cousins had taught her during a game of soccer, slide tackled him from behind. They both fell to the ground and she managed to get the upper hand as she rolled on top of him.
But he caught her wrists, refusing to exchange blows with her. If anything, this made Sakura more angry and she tried to pull her arms free of his grasp. He let her go and she fell back against the cement barrier that ran the length of one side of the roof. She looked like a baited bear, breathing heavily with fire in her eyes. Sakura screamed in exasperation as she charged at him, anger and rage pouring from her body. It was as if she had run into a brick wall; at least, that's what it felt like as she stumbled backwards. But she wasn't going to give up; it was as if Batman had become her own personal punching bag. She dropped and swung her leg around, kicking his feet out from under him. With a groan, Batman hit the ground again and was slower to rise than Sakura, who was on her feet and ready, hopping from foot to foot like a boxer.
He was getting irritated. He needed to be on the move; Ra's had already begun his assault. She would only slow him down. Sakura struck again, lunging with her good hand, but Batman was two quick for her and caught her arm again. But this time, he fought back, winding her with an elbow to the stomach. "That's more like it," Sakura growled, high-kicking him across the face. Batman responded pressing hard against her chest with an open palm, sending her backwards.
But he had miscalculated; he had not meant to send her stumbling so far. The edge was closer than he had anticipated and Sakura had lost her foot. Time was almost moving in slow motion as she fell backwards towards the ground, seven stories below.
Without hesitation, he surged forward, grapple gun in hand, and dove over the edge after her. The hiss of the gun was followed by the clang of iron as the metal grapple wrapped itself around a horizontal pole. The ground was closing in and his gloved hand gripped her ankle tightly before stopped the extension of the grapple wire. Sakura dangled less than a foot above the street and she stared in disbelief up at what she saw.
Batman had saved her.
The next moment was a blur, but she fell the last foot and toppled onto the asphalt. When she looked up again, Batman was out of sight, but not out of mind. "Thank you," she whispered to the night air.
Her words were drowned by the clatter of hooves and Jonathan Crane, on horseback nonetheless, tore around the corner. Sakura could tell he hadn't fully mastered the reins and the horse wove across the street like an Irishman on St. Patrick's Day. She lay in the middle of the road, and suddenly realized the horse would trample her if she didn't move.
"Jon!" She yelled, getting up off the ground. The horse passed her, but Jonathan yanked back on the leather reins and the horse stopped a few feet past her. He dismounted shakily and jogged back to her.
"Are you alright?" he asked, grabbing her wrists. Jonathan glanced down at her hand and touched it gingerly. "Your hand?"
"It's broken, yes," she murmured. "But I'm fine. I'll be fine"
Score one for Batman.
WOOHOO! THE CRANE AND THE FALCON IS OFFICALLY FINISHED! YE-AHH!
Alright everyone, stayed tuned for the next installment entitled Birds of a Feather.
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