JannaKalderash - Yes, school has slowed my uploads down a bit, but I'm not dead and this story will never die! Jon is uptight, but I love him because of it. Someone has to be the straight man.
Spirit of Pandora - I kind of love their interactions too. They make for a fun scene.
NoSpillBlood - Tsk, always with the ego stroking. ...I didn't say stop. ^_^
KrnYong - Couldn't have said it better myself. Pam loves toying with men, hence why she's always posing in a sexually suggestive manner. I think the mere fact that Crane doesn't buy her crap makes her think of him as a challenge.
I'm sorry for the super later upload, kids. School has been bogging me down with homework and such, but remember I promised this story will never die and it never will! The quality may suffer a little due to me having no time to really edit, but just ignore those little mistakes. ^_^
Chapter Ten: Daddy-O
**Selina**
"Okay, so what about Crane?" She asked.
They were still pounding the pavement, searching for any clue as to who was attacking criminals, but nothing was turning up so they had taken to passing the time idly with verbal games.
"Easy," Firefly replied in his quiet way. "Conrad Veidt."
"Ooh, I see it. Good one. My turn. Um…Jervis."
"Charlie Chaplin."
Selina chuckled, but it turned into a dying warble at the sight of a few shadows collecting at the neck of the alley they were wandering down. She stopped in mid step, arm out to stop Firefly as well.
He eyed the shadows that were moving about, milling around the space between two brick walls, before angling his head to study the path they had come from.
Selina did as well, finding more shadowy figures there behind them.
"What do you figure?" She asked him.
Firefly quietly, calmly reached for his flamethrower. "Mort."
She smirked and fingered her whip handle. "Tonight's as good a night to die as any."
Pressing her back to his, the two watched as the shadows enclosed in around them from all sides, dropping into the alley from the rooftops and fire escapes like liquid night.
"I hear you're looking for me," a voice purred. It sounded like it was coming from all around them.
Selina's eyes darted from shadowy figure to the next.
One stepped out from among the sea of black and she tensed.
A feminine form slowed her approach to them. "You found me. Now what?" She asked.
Catwoman tilted her head at the figure. "Who the hell are you?"
"Does it matter?"
"If we're going to die here, why should you care if I know your identity or not?" Selina demanded.
"I'm not going to kill you," the woman replied. "I have no interest in you whatsoever. My interest is in that lumbering firebug at your side."
Insulted to be so casually ignored, Selina reached out a clawed arm as though protecting Firefly from the woman.
"Well, now that's just rude. Don't I matter at all?" Selina asked.
"Hardly," the other woman replied coolly, raising a hand.
Several sharp blades were produced from the darkness around them, pointing at Firefly mostly.
"Your move, big fella," Selina whispered to Firefly. "If you have some fireworks to finish things off, now would be the best time to light them."
As quickly as the blades were produced, the darkness around them dissipated and Selina was left in the middle of an empty alley with Firefly.
She looked all around at the night, finding nothing, not a trace of dark, shadowy figures.
"The hell?" Firefly muttered.
"I think it's time to call it a night," she replied softly, eyes still searching for a threat.
"I think it's time you start talking," a voice growled from behind them.
Spinning around, she found Batman standing tall behind them.
Again she put herself between him and Firefly to prevent a fight. "Are you following us, Bats?"
"I'm looking out for the citizens of Gotham." He replied simply.
"Then go and do that," she stated, pushing Firefly off in front of her, still trying to prevent hell from breaking loose. "Leave those of us who can handle things alone."
With sharp, hawk-like blue-grey eyes on Firefly, Batman approached warily. "Are you so capable of handling things, Catwoman?" He asked. "The last time I came across one of you they were scooping him into a body bag."
"Cluemaster?"
"Calendar Man."
Behind her, Selina heard Firefly shifting on his feet and tensed.
Nothing happened so she went on.
"How can I convince you that trying to intervene on our behalf would hinder more than help, Bats?" She asked.
He stared at her evenly, before pulling out a bat-grappling hook and firing it off into the night.
Selina scowled as the dark knight disappeared into the darkness and placed her hands on her hips.
"Want me to kill him?" Firefly asked.
"You mean you haven't been trying that tactic all these years you've been Firefly, Lynns?" She demanded.
"That's what I've been doing wrong," he murmured thoughtfully.
"The offer's sweet, honey. But let's just keep our noses turned towards figuring out who the hell just ambushed us and getting the hell out of Dodge."
"We'll deal with her after we deal with whoever is bumping off criminals, Harvey!"
Selina and Lynns stepped into a fracas of the torch and pitchfork variety as they returned to the lighthouse later that night.
They had gone back because the skies had decided to open up and dump rain on them in copious, monsoon amounts and she was not a kitty who liked to get wet.
They had returned to find Crane standing between a vined up Batgirl and a pissed off mob of Gotham's most infamous, his only ally it seemed was Ivy who didn't even seem that supportive either.
Moving to the back of the mob, shaking the water off herself, Selina pushed up onto her tiptoes to eye Crane, who had his scythe trained on Two-Face.
"Can we all just agree that we'll worry about offing her later? There are more important threats to our lives at the moment then Batman and his silly little family of leather-bound freaks!" Crane growled.
Selina wasn't sure she had ever heard Crane raise his voice like that. It almost put a little fear into her. More so than any of the little tricks he had ever pulled out of his sleeve.
Beside her Lynns was standing straight, no effort on his part to have to peer over heads and she was just a little jealous of his height at the moment, as after a long night her feet hurt too badly to stand on tiptoe long enough to watch the spectacle.
Two-Face took a step closer to Crane and the Scarecrow slammed the handle of his scythe on the floor, the resounding crack sent a few of the villains back, but not the one threatening him. Harvey looked steady as a stone.
"Get out of our way, Crane," he growled. "Or we'll shoot through you to get at her."
"Harvey, my loyalty to you stands at zero right now, don't tempt me."
"Why didn't you kill her at the dock?" The Clock King inquired. "Would have saved us all some time."
"Shut up, Fugate." Crane snapped.
Tsking, Fugate adjusted his tie and took a step back.
Sighing, Selina rolled her head about on her neck to work out a kink and moved around the mob to get between Crane's scythe and Two-Face's gun.
"Jesus, boys, put away the toys and cool your jets." Leaning back against Crane's chest, Selina wound her arms around his neck and arched her back to get the men's attention. When she was certain she had it, she quirked a brow and tilted her head back to peer up at Crane who was not amused by her invasion of his personal space. "Rough night, Jonny?"
He brought his scythe up under her chin and frowned. "You're getting me all wet."
"Aw, it's just your body's way of telling you that it enjoys my close presence," she purred.
"Get off me."
Letting him go, she slipped away and pressing a hand to Two-Face's chest, pushed him back a little.
"Give me some room to breathe, Harv." Turning on everyone, she placed a hand on her hip. "So, what's the problem, boys?"
"Our mighty God of Fear," Maxie Zeus said, folding his arms and striking a God-like pose.
"Jonny is always a problem," she growled. "Give me something new to worry about or get back to work."
"Batman," the Clock King said.
Selina scoffed. "At the worst Batman will arrest you boys, I think whoever is tracking you down and killing you is a little more of a threat at the moment, don't you?"
The mob was silent.
"You boys voted for Jonny to be your leader, so let him lead," she finished, wandering off to find a place to nap.
She was halfway across the floor when the door to the lighthouse slammed open and a figure stepped in from the rain, dripping water everywhere.
Everyone jumped, expecting death flying at them in the form of shuriken and black clad ninja types, instead the figure sneezed and tossed aside a soaked green bowler.
"You reprobates are nearly impossible to find," the Riddler greeted with a smile that shone in the near darkness.
"Edward," Crane greeted, his scythe falling to hang limply in his hand at his side. Turning a wicked look on the mob of villains behind him, Crane snarled, "see how easy it is for someone to penetrate our defenses while you act like witless animals?"
"Now might be a good time to get back to your posts," Ivy suggested.
After a silent stare down deciding who would go and miss the reunion with the Riddler, Maxie Zeus and Two-Face slunk off, up the stairs, eyeing Edward the entire time.
Selina leaned back against a dark wall and watched the meeting as the Riddler, suit plastered to his body, stepped into the middle of the lighthouse in shoes that squished like he had waded through a lake.
"Good night to test scuba gear," he pointed out to Crane.
As Eddie drew closer to the flickering fire of the burning barrel Firefly had set ablaze to give them light, Selina noticed that his face looked like it was targeted by a boot or two. He looked disheveled and battered, but still had that refreshing, somewhat comforting appeal to his face.
Eddie always made her feel less on edge than the others, Selina wasn't sure just what it was about him that did that.
"Did the plane have to use your face as landing gear, Edward?" Crane inquired in his venomous tone.
The Riddler chuckled. "Looks that way, doesn't it? Never falsely accuse Ra's al Ghul of anything."
"I think it's an improvement to your face, Ed." Ivy purred.
Selina wasn't sure why she didn't bother approaching Eddie, she just kept herself quietly in the shadows and watched. Perhaps she was too tired from a long night to deal with the Riddler at the moment. She was probably going to run with that excuse.
A form in the darkness shifted beside her and she glanced at it in mild surprise.
Firefly stood there, watching with her as Edward and Crane reunited professionally.
She leveled her chin stubbornly and continued to watch.
"So, I take it your trip was a waste of time?" Crane demanded.
Eddie tilted his head. "Not entirely, I drank some Nepalese tea and watched an orangutan boxing match."
"Well, while you were…what?"
Waving his hand, Eddie shrugged. "It doesn't matter. I've been thinking this entire situation over and I've come to a conclusion in regards to our continued survival."
"Which is?"
At this point in the conversation the Riddler took notice of Batgirl and pointed wordlessly at her.
It was Crane's turn to wave off the subject. "It doesn't matter. What makes you think you have a wonderful plan? So far holing up here has proven safe and successful."
Grinning broadly, Eddie removed his wet suit jacket and dropped it on the table with a 'slupk'. "My plan will work, because I'm a genius and I thought it up. Your plan has so many holes in it they could use it to sieve flour."
Crane bristled. "I was kind of flying by the seat of my pants when I came up with it. If I had an entire, luxurious plane ride to Asia to think of a better plan I would have."
"Well, you didn't and I did. So, let's gather the troops and get the hell out of this dusty claptrap."
"I wish you would shut your dusty claptrap and listen to reason," Crane snarled. "They stay here. Here is working."
"Here is working for two or three days tops, but then this dusty claptrap will become a dusty deathtrap." Edward argued.
Jonathan Crane was still, eyes unreadable, free hand clenching and unclenching at his side as though it didn't quite know what to do.
"Very well, Edward. You wish to lead them, then you lead. I'll collect my belongings and leave you to your army." Without any further objections the Scarecrow limped off towards the door on long, spindly legs.
"Jonathan, you'll most assuredly be assassinated without us," Edward said.
Crane didn't even slow.
Selina watched him pass by her shadowy wall quietly.
Pausing at the bound and gagged Batgirl, Crane helped her down by the vines that tied her wrists and dragged her with him out the door into the rain.
"Jon was doing a good job of leading us, Eddie." Ivy said, her voice was velvet covered steel.
"He was doing a good job of hiding you for a short time, what we need to do is bring the fight to us, on our turf and on our terms." The Riddler replied.
Selina eyed the door Crane had left open. She wasn't sure what to do, Eddie was always arrogant, but Crane deserved some credit for holding the group together for as long as he did.
Thankfully Ivy went after Crane, out into the rain and left the Riddler to study their makeshift map on the table, hand tracing the lines gracefully.
Glancing over at Firefly, Selina found he had removed his helmet and was casually lighting a cigarette. Noticing her gaze, he flicked the lit match away carelessly and tilted his chin ever so.
God, a decent author could write an entire book of speculations on Firefly's enigmatic gestures and looks alone, but none of them would even be right.
In the dry, dusty lighthouse, Selina knew the match would set things ablaze fast, so she stepped out of the shadows to stamp out the flame, bringing herself into the open.
It was only then that the Riddler noticed her and he smiled easily, not at all worried about what sort of ire he had awoken in his only good friend among the criminals of Gotham's underworld.
"Selina," he greeted. "You look damp."
She glanced back into the shadows to find Firefly slipping away, heading up the stairs.
Looking back she found Eddie an arm's length from her and crossed her arms. "Ed, you look…beat the hell up."
"Minor wounds from a major battle," he explained.
"Where are your girls?" She asked.
"On vacation. They wanted a few more days overseas and I really didn't want them getting into this anyways."
Selina nodded and took a step back from Eddie. "You know," she began carefully, "Jon was doing a good job leading us."
"He would have gotten you all killed eventually." The Riddler replied. "Jonathan is clever, yes, but his tactics are lacking."
"And you don't care that he just walked off?" She demanded.
The Riddler angled his head. "Why would I?"
Scoffing at how little he actually cared about anyone other than himself, Selina dropped her arms. "Would you care if I walked off alone into the night?"
"There's a riddle in your voice," he replied slowly. "You're…upset with me?"
"For a smart guy you're kind of dumb, Ed." She stated.
Eddie stared off into space and she could see the gears working behind his blue eyes as he worked through their interactions.
"Ah," he said finally, after a long moment of deep thought. "I see. I'll be back."
Selina smiled to herself as the Riddler marched across the room towards the door.
He hesitated at the sight of the rain, glancing back at her worriedly.
She quirked a brow, hoping it conveyed her stern desire to see him make good with Crane.
Tsking, Eddie shook his head. "The things I do for you."