Always Look Forward

Disclaimer: I don't own anything related to Red Eye or Batman Begins!

Chapter Twenty-eight

Fear. It was surrounding him, choking him. It clouded his mind and Jack was boiling to the surface. It was only a matter of time before he lost and his greatest fear was realized. It was only a matter of time until Jack killed Lisa, Henrietta, and JR.

"Fight it. Fight it, Jackson!" Lisa was crying urgently, fear in her eyes. She was afraid of him.

"Give in to your fear…" hissed Crane, or was it Scarecrow? His twin brother was once again wearing that horrid mask. The mask of a madman.

'Yes, give up, Jackson. Give up…you're going to lose and you know it…' Jack was speaking again.

"No, not again. Never again," cried Jackson, shaking his head. He would not give in no matter what.

'GIVE IN!' screamed Jack, who was too being bombarded by fear. He feared losing his control over Jackson and being forced to leave.

A memory wandered unbidden into his mind. Jackson had to face his past in order to face his fear and beat Jack for good.

"Jack? Is that you?" called a soft, sweet voice. His mother.

"I'm Jackson," he snapped, twirling the smooth knife in his fingers. "I was never 'Jack'."

Fear and panic was unmistakable upon her face. "Jackson… what are you doing? Jackson!"

Jackson struck with the knife, remembering everything that Roberts had taught him and trying his best to remain calm and cool. No emotions were allowed in his new job. Emotions made people weak. Jackson Rippner was not weak. Jack Rippner was.

Once the job was finished, he slipped the blood-covered knife back into its sheath and strode out of the house. As he headed down the street, he pressed a small detonator in his suit jacket pocket, and the house exploded.

Jackson started to panic. No, this could not be happening again. He was not murdering his parents again. It was only a memory.

"Welcome, Mr. Rippner," called Ra's al Ghul, smiling as Jackson entered the hall. His other name was Henri Ducard, but Jackson knew that he was to address him as Ra's, and only Ra's. It was a show of respect.

"Hello again, Ra's," Jackson called. He had not been happy to trudge up the mountain to seek the leader of the League of Shadows.

"As Johnson may have told you, I have a job for you. How are you with fires?"

Jackson's face lit up and he barely noticed the people training around him, including the man that he would face several years later in Gotham.

Jackson's panic was subsiding, for a moment. The memory of the second meeting with Ra's was not nearly as painful as some of his other memories.

"Is Jack coming back?" Lisa asked him quietly after a brief anger-flare up had occurred. Luckily, Henrietta and JR were taking a nap and had not been disturbed.

His blue eyes changed the softness and warmth being replaced with coldness and hatred. He grabbed Lisa by the throat and pressed her into a wall. "What do you think, Leese?" he hissed in a voice unlike his own. Jack was creeping back.

Lisa head-butted him, sending him stumbling to the floor.

No, he would not hurt Lisa; he would not hurt her. Never again.

"Jackson!" her voice called in a strangled panic. "Jackson!"

Jackson was back in the real world, unencumbered by his memories. He was still surrounded by fear and Jack was trying to break into his control. He grasped Lisa's throat in a chokehold with his left hand and held the knife just below her throat.

"He held a knife to my throat…" Lisa whispered, telling her story to Jackson aboard the red eye flight.

No, he would not hurt her. He loved Lisa.

'Give in and I'll let you say good-bye…' taunted Jack.

"No, you give in. I created you, and I want you gone! Flee!" Jackson ordered, though he knew that Jack was not likely to give in.

'I'm not leaving!'

"Go bother someone else! Leave me alone!"

'Like who? Lisa?'

"No, not her! Crane—bother him!"

Jackson's emotions were building up and taking over. He was losing it; he was about to lose control. A few more minutes and all would be lost.

Warm arms encircled him and he felt Lisa hugging him tightly, trying to remind him of what was real. His heart jumped into his throat as Jack assailed his mind once more. He had to stay strong.

"I love you, Jackson," Lisa whispered in his ear.

'Love? What is love but weakness?' Jack spat.

Jackson felt rage burning inside him. Rage at Jack. He was going to chase Jack away. Jack was going to lose. Jack had to lose.

"I love you too, Leese," Jackson responded, kissing Lisa passionately, using the love he felt for her to mix with the rage to purge himself of Jack.

Jack screamed. He could not stand it. The emotions were too much for him.

Lisa was kissing him back now. All he could feel at the moment was his overwhelming love for her.

Jack suddenly stopped.

Jackson broke the kiss, breathing heavily as he realized that he had finally done it. He had faced his fears and destroyed Jack. As suddenly as Jack had entered his life, he had disappeared. Jackson was free from Jack…for good.

"Jackson?" Lisa questioned, looking at him strangely.

"Yes?" he replied.

"Is he—Jack—is he gone?" Lisa must have noticed the change.

"Yes, Leese, he's gone," Jackson smiled.

"I hate to break up the reunion, but you and I have some unfinished business," hissed Crane, still wearing that horrid mask.

"How about a taste of your own medicine, brother?" Jackson asked with a sneer as he sprayed Jonathan in the face with the toxin.

Jonathan gagged and he began to lose his grip on reality as well. It had been a long time since he had been gassed by his own creation—on accident of course—and since then the Scarecrow had grown stronger. Mental illness ran in the family, and only Jackson was free of his demons.

"Lisa, get Henrietta and JR and get off this train!" ordered Jackson, glancing back at his family for a brief moment. "I'll deal with Crane!"

"Come on," Lisa told the twins, leading them towards the end of the car. The monorail was slowing, and when it stopped for a brief moment, she led them off the car. She was worried and it showed. But there was nothing that he could do, except get them out of harm's way.

Now, to deal with Crane…

Author's Notes:

Here's to hoping that this chapter works out okay! Fingers crossed! Only two more chapters to go! Enjoy!