#I’ve been waiting for someone to ask about Scarecrow and Batman in my au

[scleracentipede]

I don't know much about DID, so this is very interesting for me to learn about!

Question: is Batman aware of Jon's DID? If so, is he able to recognize the alters and switches, and does he interact with each of them differently?

I’m glad my silly little au is proving educational 🥰 if you ever have any DID related question you can always dm us we’re always happy to help people learn more

So: Is Batman aware of Scarecrows DID?

Yes absolutely - he already knew about DID/OSDD from being friends with Harvey and Co. (who I hc as being an OSDD system and knowing before becoming a villain) before he meet Scarecrow (well meet him properly, they’d crossed paths before either had donned their masks) so already knew a lot more then most and is a true ally to the DID/OSDD community.

Our Bat is much more of a caring figure I suppose who makes an effort to know what health things his Rogues has going on not to use against them but so he can avoid hurting them too much (e.g., he’d never kick Jon’s bad leg in a fight) so he knows about their DID.

The real question is does Batman know about his own plurality 👀

Can he recognise whose fronting and does he interact with them all differently? (Going out a read more so this isn’t too long for those who are just scrolling by)

Can he recognise them all?

Sometimes - there are little clues and habits they all have that he usually to differentiate them all (eg. If there’s singing he knows it’s going to be The Hessian and that he will likely get a little kiss) but he doesn’t get to spend as much time with them all as say Edward (whose the best at telling, as he likes to boast) so doesn’t always know for sure or immediately.

How he interacts with Hessian:

- Like I said he’s likely to get a kiss from Hessian along with a “We’re not so different you and I” speech

- Hessian is the most difficult for him to fight in some ways: more reckless, masochist so enjoys getting hit back, most likely to bite, hard to focus on fighting when someone moans when you hit them etc.

- But equally Hessian is easiest to get monologuing and to distract (not as single minded as Jonathan)

- He still tries to pull his punches despite Hessians ferocity as he knows it’s still just sick and scared really

- He has sympathy for them all but Hessian’s speech’s hurt his heart because he can see the pain behind them

- He has truly feared that he would die when fighting Hessian before

How he interacts with Jonathan:

- Opposite to last Hessian point: he has truly feared that he would kill Jonathan before

-Jonathan is painfully excellent at pushing his buttons and getting under his skin with surgical precision

-He truly cares for him and wants to help all the same

-He sees Jonathan’s obsession with fear and power like an addiction and he’s not wrong

- When not fighting (basically when he isn’t between Jonathan and his goal) he finds Jonathan very pleasant and interesting to talk.

-The conflict between him and Jonathan is completely impersonal to Jonathan despite how precisely he hurts Bruce, it’s all just work for Jonathan

-This drives Bruce mad and intrigues him at the same time: after all is he any different to Jon in his pursuit of his own goal?

- He seems himself in them all but especially Jonathan. In another he could be the same if he didn’t have the family he feels so lucky to have

- He thinks in another life they could have been good friends and maybe even worked to do good for the world (whatever that actually means)

- They are mirrors essentially- Narcissus and his reflection in the lake

- He worries that Jonathan single minded focus will kill them all

How he interacts with Raven

- She is the one in their system he can bargain with

-If he needs their help with something he’ll usually try to appeal to her if he can

-She claims to not hold any stakes in his “childish games” with the others

-Other than that shes very cold towards him

- They rarely interact outside of this

How does he interact with Keeny

- Keeny makes him so very sad

- Once again mirrors and all: sees his own hurt inner child pain, sees his own children’s pain, the Scarecrow system and other the Rogues’ childhood pain reflect in that sad little.

- He’s held Keeny through panic attacks and flashbacks many a time when a hit during a fight has landed just wrong or a fear toxin canister has burst bought him to the front

- All the Batfamily GCPD and the Rogues know when Keeny fronts all fighting is to stop when Batman is around

-Really activates his paternal instincts

-He’ll never raise a hand or let a hand be raised to Keeny (they are just a child after all)

- He just wants her to be okay

[gothic-safari-clown]

The Mind’s Power Over the Body

Part 19: Hands Off

Story summary: They only ever had each other. It had been that way since high school, ever since Elianna transferred to dreary Arlen and took Jonathan under her wing. They go separate ways for college, and when they're reunited at Arkham Asylum professionally, Elianna comes to find that they've both changed during their time separated. Can she look past the promise of danger and stay by Jonathan's side as they slide further and further into the darkness while she grapples to come to terms with the truth about herself? Can she accept what needs to be done in order to hold onto the only person who holds any meaning in her life? This is a very self-indulgent AU that draws from several different canons of the DCU and ignoring others, starting in the Batman Begins Nolanverse. This will follow the plot of the movie, although the timeline has been very slightly tweaked.

Part 1 / Part 2 / Part 3 / Part 4 / Part 5 / Part 6 / Part 7 / Part 8 / Part 9 / Part 10 / Part 11 / Part 12 / Part 13 / Part 14 / Part 15 / Part 16 / Part 17 / Part 18

Word count: 2587

TW for self harm

"So you're tellin' me absolutely nothin' is goin' on between you two?" Between sessions, Harley had come to visit Elianna in her office for a chat. "Aren't you still staying at his place?" It seemed that the blonde still had yet to give up on the idea of El and Jonathan together; the only difference now was that she had ended up being right (a fact that the redhead had made sure to remind him of as they laid in bed catching their breath the day before. He hadn't found it quite as funny as she did).

"Yeah—wait, how did you know that?"

"I was pullin' into the parking lot behind you guys this mornin'."

"Uh-huh, we drove separately, stalker." El quirked an eyebrow with an expectant smile.

"Right, so you just happened to arrive at the same time? Just 'cause you didn't take the same car doesn't you're not comin' from the same place."

"Alright, alright," El laughed. "He's got some errands to run after work, so I promised to make dinner."

"Aww," Harley exaggerated the syllable, knowing it would get under her friend's skin.

"Oh, cut it out." El rolled her eyes and scoffed. "I already told you, nothing is going on." The blonde just laughed in response. "Hey, how's your big case coming along?"

As Harley enthusiastically began to tell whatever she could about her sessions with the self-named Poison Ivy, El used the distraction as an opportunity to recall the day before smugly to herself.

Already, the recent change in their relationships had its ups and downs. On the one hand, it almost seemed like a dam had burst; their dynamic flowed more smoothly, and for her part, she felt as though a weight had lifted from her shoulders. On the other, when he had told her that morning that he had to oversee the handling of that night's delivery personally (since Batman had effectively put Falcone out of commission), her usual worry for his safety had doubled.

Something that Elianna and Jonathan had in common was a lack of experience with real relationships. As such, they shared a sense of profound importance in regards to the new arrangement. It would take some work to balance the now heightened concern they held for each other.

Meanwhile, Jonathan was in his office trying in vain to occupy his mind by shuffling through the stack of administrative paperwork that the warden's office couldn't be bothered to sort through before sending it to him. Between the unexpected hitch in the master plan and trying as hard as he could to not think about El (on that count, Scarecrow was actively working against), he was struggling to make it through even the very basics of his job.

At that moment, for example, he was grappling with his schedule for the day. Falcone had been taken to Blackgate and apparently had been asking to see him for a few days. Jonathan had been putting off visiting the mobster since he had found out; he had been caught by a civilian in a cape and a mask; what could he possibly have to discuss with such a disappointment to the underworld? Today, however, he had received word that the older man had cut his wrists, and the administration at Blackgate had sent for him specifically.

As if that weren't enough, he had already had to clear his schedule for that night to oversee the shipment, given that Falcone was now indisposed.

There was no getting around it, though, he supposed, and found himself back in the car en route to Blackgate. However, the drive wasn't nearly long enough for Jonathan to quell his frustration in Falcone's incompetence, and before too long was meeting with the mobster's caseworker.

"Doctor Crane, thanks for coming." There was a thinly disguised urgency in her voice as she greeted him.

"Not at all," he replied, barely remembering to keep his tone patient. "He cut his wrists?" How irritating it was to fake concern.

"Probably looking for the insanity plea," well, at least the woman was pragmatic, "but if anything should happen..."

"Of course, better safe than sorry." He nodded as they approached the door to the private room that Falcone had been brought to. With that, the caseworker unlocked the door to let Jonathan in and let the door swing closed behind him.

Falcone didn't skip a beat. "Hey, Doctor Crane, I can't take it anymore. It's all too much; the walls are closing in, blah blah blah," the old man rambled dryly. "Couple more days of this food, it'll be true." Jonathan found himself steeling himself against the urge to let Scarecrow come out as he settled into his chair.

"What do you want?"

"I want to know how you're gonna convince me to keep my mouth shut." The ego of a powerful man is truly something indigestible, isn't it?

"About what? You don't know anything about the operation."

"Maybe not specifics, sure, but I know you don't want the cops to take a closer look at the drugs they seized. I know about your experiments with the inmates of your nuthouse." Jonathan listened and watched as patiently as he could as the tiresome man continued to talk. "See, I don't go into business with a guy without finding out his dirty secrets." At this point, Scarecrow was banging against the proverbial walls of their brain, desperate to retaliate. "Those goons you used. I own the muscle in this town. Now I've been bringing your stuff in for months. So whatever he's planning, it's big. And I want in."

Can you believe the balls on this guy? Let me out, Jonny.

Not yet; he still doesn't have a leg to stand on.

"Well, I already know what he'll say. That we should kill you." Just because we haven't yet doesn't mean that we won't, old man.

"Even he can't get me in here. Not in my town." Jonathan was growing tired of this conversation very quickly.

"Your town." The psychiatrist repeated, not a question—a mockery. The older man's eyes narrowed dangerously.

"Oh, did I forget to ask? How rude of me, I forgot the most important part. How is your little lady friend from the asylum?" here the mobster leaned in threateningly, "Does she know what you're doing? What's gonna happen to her once you go down, I wonder. Maybe I'll send some people to make sure she's not alone, huh?"

Now that caught Jonathan's attention. The rest of Falcone's little threats were easily avoided; even he didn't have the power to endanger Ra's Al Gul's plans. He did, however, have the power to have unspeakable things done to Elianna. That would not stand.

Jonathan made his decision from there quickly. Scarecrow was overjoyed that El had been brought into the discussion, knowing that Jon would have to take it seriously, and was raring to be in control.

Jonathan sighed and removed his glasses, hearing the straw man begin to cheer in the back of his mind. "Would you like to see my mask?" He asked, opened his briefcase without waiting for an answer, popped open the false bottom, and reached for the mask, ignoring the several full syringes waiting to be used. He had added a new rig to the case, and it was as good a time as any to test it out. "I use it in my experiments. Now, I'm probably not very threatening to a guy like you," he continued, holding up the mask for emphasis, "but these crazies? They can't stand it."

With that, he made to put the mask on and let Scarecrow take over.

He could barely hear Falcone's quip about the nut taking over the nuthouse over the ever surreal feeling of taking the backseat in his own brain.

Once his face was secured, Scarecrow took great pleasure in pressing the button to release the cloud of toxin. The screams of terror began almost instantaneously, much to his delight, and he rose from his chair to loom over the mafioso.

"They scream, and they cry," he teased with menacing glee. "Much as you're doing now." Jonathan allowed Scarecrow a few more seconds of enjoyment before regaining control. They still had to leave undetected, and Scarecrow couldn't be trusted to be professional. As much as Jonathan enjoyed hearing the man who had dared to threaten El scream, he was more trustworthy when it came to subterfuge.

"Well, he's not faking," Jonathan cleared his throat as he reentered the hallway, greeted by the caseworker's concerned face. "Not that one." He was still a bit flustered by the rush of inflicting such horror upon someone. Move on, Jonathan, act normal. It was a bit of a blur after that, promising to talk to the judge and get Falcone transferred to Arkham before making his way back to the Asylum himself. He still had a few patients to see before he could punch out to oversee the shipment that evening.

However, once the rush wore off, Jonathan found his mind wandering back to what Falcone had said about El. Who knew what he could have told his people already? He stopped by El's office before returning to his own and was surprised to find her no longer there. A quick phone call to the secretary at the front desk told him that she had already left for the day—another phone call to find that her cell phone was dead.

Shit.

Jonathan forced himself back to the matter at hand, telling himself that she was fine, but the lingering worry stayed in the back of his mind.

For about an hour and a half at least, when he decided that he was done with work for the day. The sooner he could take care of business, the sooner he could rush home to make sure she was there.

In the car on his way to the meeting site, Jonathan tried calling her again to no avail.

I really need to get a home phone for the apartment; he cursed to himself.

He found himself unable to focus on the task at hand as he parked his car and got into the one being driven by the goons provided by Falcone. Any of them could have received orders at any point to take El, hurt her, anything. He had no way of knowing if instructions had already been given or what liberties were allowed should anything happen to her.

Behind his impassive expression, Jonathan was operating almost solely on autopilot, getting out of the car and entering the old apartment that served as a drop point. This one had already been used twice before, and given how close the end date was, he had already decided to eradicate any and all evidence once the job was done.

He looked disinterestedly over the pile of stuffed bunnies, appraising the shipment's size, doing quick calculations in his head to the best of his ability. After concluding that it was, in fact, the correct amount, he gestured to the goons to retrieve the substance from inside of the toys. "Get rid of all traces."

Jonathan couldn't help the disgusted look around the dilapidated apartment. He couldn't think of anywhere he wanted to be less at that moment. Distracted by the sheer quantity of distasteful thoughts swirling in his mind, he was almost startled when Scarecrow spoke suddenly.

There's someone else here.

That statement froze all other concerns as he tuned in to his environment. He barely registered one of the thugs telling the others to torch the apartment as he noticed a prickling on the back of his neck, as well as the open window.

Jonathan remained calm and in control as the other men began to douse the furniture in gasoline while he moved to examine the window.

Are you sure?

Before the straw man could answer, the sound of shattering glass from the other room stole Jonathan's attention from the window.

Yes, came the smug response. Wasting no more time, Jonathan let the other goon move to investigate and instead moved into the shadows to retrieve his mask.

You're up again, Scarecrow. Do it fast; we have to get home.

Yeah, yeah, you've been annoying me for hours; she's fine. Would you shut up about it? Retaliated Scarecrow as he forced Jonathan out of the driver's seat and took over, relishing in the drama of wearing his face again.

That moment didn't last for very long before his suspicions were confirmed, and the Batman himself burst into the room, swiftly incapacitating the leftover thug. Luckily, Scarecrow's reflexes were just as fast, and he released a cloud of toxin from their sleeve rig, which hit the caped crusader squarely in the face.

The effects were almost instantaneous, judging by the wide eyes behind the cowl and the erratic, flailing movements. Scarecrow stifled a laugh as the armored man toppled backward away from him.

"Take a seat," he taunted, thoroughly enjoying his playtime, "have a drink." Here he seized a bottle of vodka abandoned by his now useless goons. The staw man snarled mentally, understanding Jonathan's intolerance of incompetence. They would be eradicated along with the evidence of their crimes. Splashing the booze on the caped man in delight, he continued to tease him.

"You look like a man who takes himself too seriously." Scarecrow abandoned the now empty bottle and replaced it in his hand with a zippo lighter that El had left in their pocket.

Wait, she loves that thing-

We'll buy her a new one, pipe down.

He had corraled Batman in front of the window and sparked the lighter, extending it in front of him menacingly. "Do you want my opinion? You need to lighten up." With that, he tossed the lighter, which ignited the caped crusader and the old rug in seconds.

This allowed them a swift escape, as Batman threw himself out the window and plummeted with the rain onto the pavement several stories below. Wasting no time, Scarecrow had them outside and in the getaway car. Luckily, there was a spare key in the visor, and they sped down the street in the direction of where they had left their car.

Slow down! We're attracting attention; we don't need that.

You're the one who's been bitching about getting home for the past few hours.

Not letting up for a second, Scarecrow turned a fifteen-minute drive back to Jonathan's car into a five-minute one before finally retreating to his place in the back of their mind. Of course, on principle, Jonathan was still irritated with Scarecrow for behaving so recklessly, then leaving him to deal with any potential consequences. Still, he was glad for the saved time.

By this point, Jonathan was so frenzied with panic about El's wellbeing that he couldn't even think about their own run-in with the Batman. Still ten minutes away from home, he tried to call her cell once again. Still no answer.

Why the fuck won't she pick up?

Scarecrow didn't respond, finally picking up just how agitated the whole situation had made his counterpart. Best not to rile him up further.

Jonathan nudged the car faster. Only a few minutes away, but it felt like forever. He was so frantic to get home and see Elianna safe that he couldn't even think of what he would do if she weren't. No game plan, not even a shadow of one because she's okay. Or so he kept telling himself.

[saturn-mp4]

On Air - Chapter 2 (Coffee and Gate Crashing)

Tim's first time on air doesn't quite go as planned due to him having to send in a tip to the GCPD.

AKA Seeing Tim in action as Steph's eyes and ears!

Tim was in the middle of answering a caller when Stephanie sent the text. He immediately apologised to the caller and told them it was time to get on the network. 'So sorry listeners but it seems that my vigilante friend, Spoiler, needs some help. I won't be going on the field but I will however be providing support from here! Let's get to it.' 

Tim grabbed his phone and dialled the number for the GCPD. 'Hello? Yes. I need to talk to Commissioner Gordon. I'm a friend of Spoiler.' He waited a few moments and then heard Jim Gordon take the phone. 'Commissioner Gordon? No this is not a prank. This is about Scarecrow. He's currently talking to one of the drugs lords on the docks. Yeah, it's bad. If he manages to get the fear toxin on the streets...well it doesn't bode well. Get the Batsignal up. I've already got my friend near the scene keeping on eye on things and giving me updates. Arkham doesn't know he's out either which means other villains could be and we don't know. Get. The Batsignal. Up. Gordon. Now.' Tim emphasised his point by hanging up at the end. He then fiddled with this laptop and the panel next to him. 

'Ok, Spoiler you are on the air. Keep my updated would you. I've sent the tip to Gordon and he should be lighting up the signal any second. Him and Bullock should be down at the docks within a couple minutes. Batman and Robin are patrolling in the Upper East Side so they shouldn't be very long. Especially because of the type of threat this poses.' Tim was busy typing away, hacking the cameras nearby so he could have eyes on the situation. 'Promise me you won't engage. You haven't gone toe to toe with a villain yet. You've barely managed to face C class criminals. Crane's too advanced for you.' 

A sigh could be heard through the silence. 'Thanks, HC. Keeping me humble.' Tim smiled slightly at Steph's sarcasm. 'Batsignal's up. It won't be long before Batman and Robin get here.' 

Tim sighed in relief, his heartbeat had gone up massively since Stephanie had texted him about Scarecrow. 'Spoiler, do not engage. Do not engage!' He rolled his eyes when he heard grunting and cursing from the line. 

'Don't tell me what to do, HC!' Stephine yelled into the coms. 

'Spoiler, you haven't fought a B class villain before! You don't even have an antidote to the fear toxin! Wait! If Batman and Robin look like they need help then step in but until then, DO NOTHING.' Tim yelled back into the coms. He didn't hear anything for a few minutes apart from breathing. 

'They're here. Batman and Robin...they're here. Crane's been taken care of but it looks like Robin got hit.' Tim heard Steph curse and the sound of impact, looks like she'd dropped down from a rooftop. 'Batman's trying to calm him down so he can give him the antidote but...it's not working. Robin's fighting to hard. He keeps yelling and screaming.' Tim could faintly hear the screams of Robin on the other end. 

'Spoiler...I hate to say this but you might have to knock him out from behind. You have a brilliant right hook, use it.' Tim groaned, rubbing his forehead. 

A grunt, scream and a string of rather impressive curses was heard over the coms. Tim could tell the plan was successful because of the sound of surprise. 

'Is he down?' Tim muttered. 

'He's down. Batman's giving him the antidote but he keeps giving me a weird look.' 

'That's probably because you just punched his son and partner!' Tim laughed. He could hear Stephanie laughing as well. 

'Alright, get out of there. We don't want Batman on our tails too quickly. Plus, he'll probably punch you for punching his son.' Tim chuckled. 'You wanna make your way back? It's getting late and I need to fix that tear in your suit. Take care of any trouble you see on the way back but get home ASAP. I do not want to call in another group of tied up criminals.' Tim groaned and took a sip of his coffee. He heard Stephanie reply with a chuckle before shutting off his coms. 

'Sorry about that listeners! Being the partner to a vigilante means you never know what's gonna happen. We're gonna music break and then we'll be back with the crime news from tonight!' With that, Tim switched off his mic and shuffled his playlist. Panic Room by Au/Ra came on and Tim unplugged his headphones, moving them to around his neck. He chuckled slightly at the irony that the night Scarecrow was arrested the song was picked. He moved into the bathroom and grabbed the med kid, throwing it onto his bed. He shuffled back into his bedroom, taking out a wad of gauze and a couple plasters. Stephanie had gotten into a fight earlier on that night and one of the thugs had pulled a knife on her so he suspected that she had some slash marks. There was a crackle from his coms and his head shot up, Tim ran over to his computer. 

'Spoiler? What is it? Why are you on coms?' However instead of Stephanie's voice, he heard a crime alley accent. 

'So you're the purple fucks eyes and ears! Nice to meet ya, I'm Robin.' Tim's jaw dropped. Robin was on his coms. Wait...how was he on coms?! 

'Where's Spoiler?' He growled, trying his best to sound threatening. 

'Cool it, man. B's having a crack at her since she PUNCHED ME IN THE FACE!' Robin's voice was slightly far away which suggested he was yelling at Stephanie. 'He made her take out her coms since someone could be telling her what to say. I decided to try and activated it and boom! Here we are. So, what's your name?' 

Tim hesitated before replying. 'HC.' 

'Your name is HC? I'm going to assume that's a codename and there goes my plan of tracking you down.' Tim could practically hear the smirk in Robin's voice. 'So, HC...did you make this coms unit? Cause it looks a hell of a lot like a modified Bat-com unit.' Tim cursed in Chinese. He'd scavenged a broken coms unit after a battle between Nightwing and Poison Ivy where she'd broken it. Tim had managed to get it working again and had modified it slightly. 'I would thank you on your handy work and ask if you wanted to make me one but right now I'm more concerned about where the hell you got it from.' Robin's voice turned from amused to slightly angry. 

'Found it.' Was Tim's only reply. Technically, it wasn't a lie so his voice sounded a lot smoother. One thing Tim had learned from sneaking out to watch Batman and Robin was how to lie but he wasn't sure it would hold up against Robin of all people. 'Don't worry, Robin. It was broken when Nightwing left it. I managed to repair it and change the frequency. I also took out the tracker inside do you're not gonna find anything from that apart from a pizza place downtown.' Tim could've sworn he heard Robin snort. 

'Anyways, is Batman done interrogating Spoiler aka offering her a place in the Batfamily?' Tim rolled his eyes, completely deadpan. He wasn't stupid. Stephanie had managed to sneak up on Batman and Robin and also managed to knock one of them out. Batman was going to be impressed and well...he had a habit of taking in kids. 

'Wha-How did you?' Robin spluttered. 

'Just tell him that she needs to get her ass back her right now. I do NOT to have to drop off another file of evidence at the GCPD tomorrow because she didn't tell me what happened on patrol before school. So please tell Batman to back off and let her go.' Tim growled again, emphasising every word. He didn't hear a direct reply, only distant voices. There was a small shuffling noise and then he heard Stephanie's voice again. 'Please tell me you didn't tell Batman about my crush on Robin.' Tim groaned. 

He heard Stephanie laugh. 'No no I didn't. He was mostly asking what I was doing near the docks and why I wanted to be a vigilante.' Tim nodded at the explanation. 

'You give him the classic treatment?' He heard a vague movement. 

'Oh right, you can't see me. I'm nodding.' Tim chuckled. 

'Alright, get back home. You need to debrief me and I need to patch you and the suit up before dawn. See you soon, Spoiler.' Tim sighed, stretching out his back. 

'See you soon, Honey-Cake.'

[bat-losers-inc]

Kintsugi: Chapter 7

Summary: Final Crisis/Red Robin AU. Dick admits Tim to a psychiatric facility after Bruce is lost in time. Jason finds him suffering at the hands of a Scarecrow-copycat and breaks him out. While safe in Jason’s apartment, Tim still struggles with panic attacks and drug withdrawal. At a loss for what to do, Jason calls Roy Harper.

Pairings: Jason Todd & Tim Drake, Jason Todd & Dick Grayson, Roy Harper & Jason Todd.

“I think it’s time that you go,” said Roy, placing a firm hand on Dick’s shoulder in a way that made it clear Dick would find himself on the other side of that door soon, whether he walked there on his own accord or not.

Still, Dick continued to plead his case. “All I want to do is help.”

Jason shook his head.  “It’s a little late for that now, don’t you think?”

He didn’t know when his previous show of angry bravado had faded to a weariness for this constant in-fighting. Maybe it was when he’d had a good long look at Dick’s stricken expression after he’d delivered the news about the emancipation papers. An indescribable look had flickered across his features as the knowledge settled into his bones… the knowledge that Tim might amputate his entire relationship with him— like Dick was a diseased limb that could kill him if left to fester and spread. Jason knew the feeling intimately and it felt like a special kind of death.

Suddenly, he felt torn in two. Where did his loyalty lie?

With Tim? Dick? Himself? There was his survival instinct kicking in again; telling him to fuck them all and run for the hills.

Jason hung back and watched on as Dick took a reluctant step backwards as Roy crowded him, forcing him step by step towards the exit. Dick didn’t even waste his energy trying to change Roy’s mind, his whole attention was focused on Jason as if he knew that he was the only real person in the room with the power to stop his ejection. It was true, he could stop this if he wanted— sit down with Dick and talk it out, but Jason felt powerless to force his own body into movement, stuck fast where he stood unable to make up his mind whether to help or hinder his brother.

Would hearing him out betray Tim?

“Just let me explain my side of things before you shut me out, please?”

For all the shitty things that Dick had done to him in the past, Jason knew that, even when wrong, those deeds were done with good intentions. Maybe it was because of that that Jason never had the heart to watch Dick beg.

He found his voice. “Roy, wait.”

Roy looked over his shoulder, hand still pushing against Dick’s upper body. “You sure you want to do this?”

Jason would only be leading himself into the possibility of future manipulation if he took Tim’s side on every issue without question. Tim had already shown them that he knew how to play on their concerns for his well-being in order to get drugs from them. It hadn’t worked, and Tim had been quick to back off and save face, but just the fact that he’d done it with such guile on his first try had hit Jason like a blow to the head.

“Yeah.”

Roy dropped his hand away and Dick stood patiently as he waited for Roy to back up and give him some breathing room.

“Can we go inside and talk about this?” asked Dick.

“No. Not while Tim’s in there. I don’t want him to have to hear this.”

Dick’s brow creased. “You don’t want him to hear my side of the story?”

Jason knuckled his temple in an attempt to ease the tension building up there.

“Honestly, hearing it won’t mean shit to him. All of the apologies you have to give won’t mean shit to him. Because they won’t change what happened as a result of your actions. Stop apologizing. Learn from your mistakes. Live with it.”

“You say that like it’s so easy.”

Jason shrugged and said nothing, choosing instead to stub the toe of his boot against the grease splattered floor. It wasn’t an easy thing to do and Dick knew that, so there was really nothing more he could say. He wasn’t going to lie.

“You weren’t there…” Dick trailed off just as quickly as he’d started.

He threw his arms out at his side, limbs heavy with such a visible weariness that it made Jason feel like he’d just watched him walk into Gotham River until his head disappeared under it’s dark water. Dick was drowning, that much was clear.

He waited patiently for Dick to gathering himself and continue, stewing with his own uneasy thoughts as the silence dragged on.

“You weren’t there to see what is was like after Bruce’s funeral. I had to take over being Batman and it was clear that Damian needed the mentorship that came with being Robin. I felt horrible for taking that away from Tim. Horrible! But…  Damian didn’t just lose Batman. He also lost his father… I figured Tim would understand that and come around to creating a new persona with time.”

“It seemed like he’d started to with Red Robin. So why didn’t you leave him be?”

“Because he came back to the manor with some crazy theory that Bruce wasn’t actually dead but lost.”

“Lost? Like, what,” asked Jason, “in the woods?”

“Washed up on a desert island like Green Arrow?” asked Roy clearly happy for the change in conversation.

“No, like lost in space and time.” Dick threw up his hands. “I mean, it was absolutely insane! We buried his bones in the family plot. There was physical evidence— forensic reports for Tim to read— and still he kept going on about it. He’d practically barricaded himself inside his apartment. He wouldn’t come back to the manor—”

“So you thought committing him to a psych ward was the next best step?” asked Jason.

“Yes! I made the choice to give him the psychological care he needed.”

“Maybe he didn’t need psychological help! Maybe he just needed someone to listen to him.”

Dick blinked at him. “Are you saying you believe him?”

“We live in a world of aliens, metahumans, and lazarus pits. Does Tim’s theory have some very large, adult male body-size holes in it? Yeah, one hundred percent.  Is it impossible?” He racked a hand through his hair. “Honestly, I don’t know. But, I would have at least listened to him and it was shitty of you to not even call me and ask for help.”

“That guilt trip works both ways, Jason.” said Dick. “You could have reached out just as easily as I could.”

“He’s got a point there, Jaybird.”

“Yeah. Now look where it’s gotten us.”

Dick nodded and cast his gaze about the room, but whatever he was looking for his eyes never settled on it. Finally, he looked between Jason and Roy and extended his hand to Jason. “Truce? For Tim’s sake.”

Jason stared at his hand for a long moment, weighing out the options in his head. He’d settled on his answer and was ready to state it— whether it was the right decision or not— when he was blinded by a blur of denim fabric and curly hair as a woman fell into him. He caught her by the shoulders and righted her, hands lingering for a minute to allow her to totter back on her chunky heels.

She straightened up and took a step back.

“Daisy?” said Jason.

Daisy adjusted the tight dress she wore beneath her oversized denim jacket so that it rested to mid thigh. She pushed her blonde curls out of her eyes and flashed him a smile. “Hey, Jay. Sorry for running into you, literally, but it’s a bit of an emergency. Well, I think it is, anyway.”

“What are you talking about?”

“I’m sorry—” Dick shouldered his way in between them. “Who is this and why is she in your safehouse?”

“Weren’t you listening?” said Roy. “This is Daisy.”

“Hey there, Daise,” Roy flashed her a smile and jutted a finger in Dick’s direction. “this is our friend, Dick. Don’t worry he’s in the night business too.”

Daisy gave Dick an appreciative once over. “My kind or yours?”

Roy crowed with laughter. “Ours. But you hear that, Dickie? If this line of work doesn’t pan out for you, you always have something to fall back on.”

Dick looked less than amused. “Yeah, hilarious. What is she doing here?”

“Daisy and I have a mutually beneficial business arrangement.”

“How’s that?”

“Well,” said Jason. “I make a habit of keeping an eye on Daisy and the other girls who work this neighborhood. You know, run off any troublemakers. In exchange for my services, Daisy reports any suspicious activity she sees in the area.”

Daisy gave Jason’s shoulder a playful shove. “Yeah and sometimes he climbs into my place through the window at four in the morning and asks me to cauterize his bullet wounds with a bottle of vodka and my best curling iron.”

“Oh, real professional, Jason!”

“Yeah we’ve gotta be, don’t we? ‘Cause I mean this boy’s got thighs that make me wanna…” She trailed off with a giggle.  “Well... let’s just say I’ve seen more of this boy’s skin than half of my clients combined.”

Jason ducked his head with a smile. He thought he heard Daisy offering her specialty medical services to Dick (no curling iron service fee included) in an sly undertone to Dick but couldn’t be sure. For all at once Daisy turned back and punched him hard in the shoulder.

“Wait! What am I even doing right now? I totally forgot what I came here to tell you!”

“Ow. Well what is it?” asked Jason, with slightly less warmth than before as he rubbed his sore shoulder.

“That kid that’s staying with you? Saw him climb down your fire escape and head off towards the nearest subway. I could tell even from a distance that he didn’t look in a good way— kinda sweaty and wrung out. ”

Jason’s heart jumped to his throat, all humor dashed in an instant. He spun at once to find Roy, who was already halfway off the stool he’d been sitting on. “Go check the rooms now.”

Roy flew around the railing and up the steps into the safehouse, the door flying open under his hand. Jason tried to gather his thoughts but it was hard to concentrate when the door banged against its frame like a drum playing the offbeat to the rhythmic pound of blood pumping through his ears. He tried to think of the last time he remembered Tim being in the room with them, but he’d been so focused on yelling at Dick in that moment that he’d barely noticed the kid slip out behind him.

“How long ago was this?”

Daisy tossed her hair out of her face. “Uh, maybe five minutes ago now?”

Roy came whipping around the corner, catching himself hurriedly against the stairway rail. “Gone.”

“I’m going out after him.” said Dick.

“Wait— What?” Jason shouted at his retreating back. “You don’t even know where he’s going!”

He was already gone. Behind him Roy was questioning Daisy further.

“You sure it was towards the bridge?”

Daisy nodded.  

“Ok. If he’s heading downtown on the subway where’s the nearest place he could score?”

“How do we even know he’s taking the subway? He could be looking for a dealer on the street for all we know! God, this is a fucking mess!”

Roy shook his head. “Unlikely. He doesn’t know the area and who deals nearby. More likely that he’s going to an established dealing ground.”

“I don’t know what he knows or doesn’t know,” snapped Jason. “Truth is; I don’t know that kid half as well as I like to think I do.”

“Hey,” Roy snapped his fingers sharply in Jason’s face. “Stop losing your shit. If I’m wrong and he’s on the streets there’s a chance Dick will find him. If I’m right, then we go and stop him before he makes a big mistake. So, think Jason! I know you’ve got feelers out on every shady dealer and scoring ground south of the Bowery. He’s a minor who’s strapped for cash and sick from withdrawal. Where’s he heading?”

Jason pressed his palm to his eyes and thought hard. “The Iceberg Lounge. Penguin’s club brings in a large crowd of criminals from all backgrounds. He’s got the best chance of scoring there.”

Roy ruffled Jason’s hair. “Let’s go bring him home, Jaybird.”

[gothic-safari-clown]

The Mind’s Power Over the Body

Part 9: Explanation

Story summary: They only ever had each other. It had been that way since high school, ever since Elianna transferred to dreary Arlen and took Jonathan under her wing. They go separate ways for college, and when they're reunited at Arkham Asylum professionally, Elianna comes to find that they've both changed during their time separated. Can she look past the promise of danger and stay by Jonathan's side as they slide further and further into the darkness while she grapples to come to terms with the truth about herself? Can she accept what needs to be done in order to hold onto the only person who holds any meaning in her life? This is a very self-indulgent AU that draws from several different canons of the DCU and ignoring others, starting in the Batman Begins Nolanverse. This will follow the plot of the movie, although the timeline has been very slightly tweaked.

Part One / Part Two / Part Three / Part Four / Part Five / Part Six / Part Seven / Part Eight

Word count: 2469

Between her newfound acceptance of her less-than-moral tendencies and her freshly organized office, Elianna had finally been able to find peace for the day as she finished plugging all of her notes into the computer. Cognitively she knew (and had even told several patients in the past) that seeking revenge was unhealthy and detrimental to the healing process, especially if the outcome could get the exactor arrested. But God was the prospect of it attractive.

I don't think God has anything to do with any of this.

She wrapped up the rest of her work fairly quickly, still mulling over the unethicacy of admitting patients with common phobias, finally deciding to overlook the fallacies if it meant that she wouldn't be attacked again any time soon, and gathered her purse and her suitcase before making her way to Jonathan's office after a glance over her map of the facility.

On her way, Elianna suddenly found herself wrapped in the embrace of something blonde and very shrill. "Harley?"

"I'm so sorry that I didn't check on you sooner!" El laughed and gently pried her friend off of her.

"It's okay; I'm alright." She assured with a warm smile. She barely knew Harley. How sweet of her to be so worried.

"Like hell you are, look at your forehead!" Without thinking, El lifted her hand to touch the bandaid, which was only partially covered by her hair.

"To be honest, I forgot about it. But the fact that I only needed a bandaid and not a hospital bracelet means something, I think."

"Yeah, I guess so." Harley pouted and linked her arm with Elianna's, starting to walk her in the direction she had been going before she stopped her. "I was really worried about you, y'know, and nobody expected you back today. I mean, you must be traumatized! Any signs of PTSD?"

"Not yet, but I'm trying not to dwell on it. I mean, I came here for a fresh start (not technically a lie), and as far as I'm concerned, this was just the city officially indoctrinating me as a Gothamite." Harley snorted and shook her head.

"Alright, however you want to look at it, I guess. Look, I gotta run; I just couldn't let you go without making sure you're okay. You're sure you don't need anything?"

"Not at the moment, but if I need anything, I'll keep you in mind." El stopped walking again to give the blonde a tight squeeze, which she returned readily.

"Alright, honey, say hi to Doctor Crane for me," Harley finished with a kiss on her cheek and then seemed to vanish before Elianna had a chance to say anything else.

Upon reaching Jonathan's office, she knocked and waited for him to buzz her in, and her original greeting died in her throat as she entered.

"Why do you get a bigger office than me?" She asked, looking around the space. It was still messy, just like his home office, but the chaos seemed more organized.

"Because I've worked here longer, come help me with this stack, will you?" He sighed and pushed said stack to the other side of the desk from him. El nodded and sat in front of it, taking the top file off. "Just read me the most recent notes inside, and I'll type it up." They set to work straight away, finally getting each computerized file updated after an hour or so. Jonathan stretched his back as they stood up, and El noticed that he still seemed irritated by whatever her name was from the DA's office.

"You okay? I can drive home if you want." He let out a short, humorless "ha!"

"Under no circumstances do you get to drive my car. You drive like Scarecrow."

"Wh-you let him drive but not me?" He shook his head.

"Not a chance, but he likes it when you drive, and that's enough of a deterrent for me." El rolled her eyes, but it was sound reasoning, she supposed.

"Fine, but you have to make dinner again."

"Well, the difference is that with me behind the wheel, we'll actually make it home to enjoy dinner." He replied offhandedly, snapping his briefcase closed and walking with her to the door.

"Okay, I get it, find a new joke, will you?" Her light irritation seemed to amuse him, and she muttered something about, "never should have taught you about humor," as he held open the door for her.

Once back at Jonathan's apartment, El wasted no time getting into the shower and changing into pajamas. She still had so many questions about his involvement in the underworld, and being comfortable acted as her preliminary strike against what would doubtlessly be a less than fun conversation.

When she returned to the living room, Jonathan hadn't bothered to change out of his work clothes, and it appeared that he had been trying in vain to tidy his desk the entire time. El left him to it and continued to the kitchen in search of something to snack on.

"You jealous of my clean office yet?" She called as she pilfered through his pantry. Her friend had had a weakness for goldfish ever since she had introduced them to him, as silly as it sounded. I know they're in here somewhere...aha!

"Hardly; I just misplaced something." He replied distractedly as she walked back in with the entire carton. "If you finish that, you're buying me more."

"Deal. So, why don't you put that on pause until after we talk about everything else?" El asked as she walked next to him and leaned back against the desk, and he stopped shuffling through his papers.

"Where do you want to start?" El thought for a moment before pulling him over to the couch so that they could sit and set the carton between them.

"Why don't you tell me how you...came into the life of organized crime?" She asked slowly, unsure of how to go about asking. Was that the right way to refer to the situation?

"There's a man, Ra's Al Gul," El was taken aback by the intense name—this really was very serious. "He contacted Falcone a while ago to find someone to make a compound that can help him purge Gotham. Falcone found me because of my specialty in phobias and recruited me to the cause. He assumed that I would be easily corrupted, working at Arkham and all." He reached into the carton for a handful of goldfish. "I guess he was right."

"O-okay, and that's why you developed the toxin in the first place." He nodded. "And this Ra's Al Gul character, he's the one shipping what you need into Gotham, what is it?"

"It's this little blue flower from Bhutan. It grows in the mountains. There's a natural chemical in it that reacts to being broken down that causes vivid hallucinations by hijacking the amygdala and creating a powerful fear response. He uses it for some...initiation process for his organization."

"So you studied it and found a way to work it into a serum." He nodded again, still slowly working through his handful of the little crackers, and suddenly something clicked in Elianna's brain. "My patients." He looked at her, his face impassive. "The ones with the anxiety disorders, there isn't actually anything wrong, is there? You admitted them to study the effects."

"Yes, I've been microdosing them with different strains of the toxin to study the results."

"Well, how do you keep them from ratting you out? I mean, if I'm working with some of them, then that means other doctors are too."

"I've made it clear to all of them that if they point the finger at me that I'll give them a full dosage. It's not like the administration would find any of my research if they cared to look anyway; it's all here." Elianna laughed incredulously.

"You really do have everything figured out, don't you? Sneaky bastard."

"I'm going to choose to assume that was a compliment." There was a quiet pause while El thought over everything she had learned in such a short space of time.

"Why does Ra's Al Gul want to target Gotham?" Jonathan half shrugged in response.

"Something about the corrupt elite, the thinks that by weeding it out, it can allow humanity to heal."

"He thinks he can fix humanity by taking out one lousy city?" She asked before another thought hit her. "Hold on, you're one of the corrupt elite, aren't you? That goes against his whole plan. Why are you helping him if you're in his crosshairs?" At this, Jonathan shook his head and leaned forward, resting his elbows on his knees.

"I agreed to do this because if I didn't, they could find someone else to, and as long as I continue with the project, I've been promised a way out of the city safely. This has been in motion for long enough that I work directly for Ra's Al Gul now. Falcone is just involved in handling the shipments; they sneak it in with other drugs."

"Well...shit, you get to leave the city so that you don't get caught up in the...the chaos, what about me?" She had a moment of self-awareness for the selfishness of her concern, which was easily brushed off (much to her own surprise), and she did not want to get caught up in the attack on the city. Jonathan turned his head to look at her, almost offended that she had even asked.

"I'm going to take you with me. I thought that would go without saying." He shifted his whole body to face her. "Like I said this morning, I do terrible things, but I wouldn't abandon you do that any more than you would to me, especially now. I told you everything; now you're involved."

El nodded in relief. All of her questions answered, she returned to thinking about how much she should have been disturbed by the situation. Her best friend was involved in a plot to bring down an entire city, and she had been more concerned about her own safety than she had been about the innocent people living there.

Then again, why should she be worried? Everything, everyone, for her entire adult life had been just like high school in Arlen where the strong and privileged had punched downward at the weak for fun, and the weak were pushed to do bad things to get by. Was it not kinder to eliminate the city where it was all overlooked? Kinder to provide the weak with an out from subjugation with a choice that they didn't need to make? To exact revenge on their tormentors?

Really, she thought, if you think about it, the only difference between them and the two of us is that we have the chance to do something about it. So why shouldn't we?

Life in Gotham had already been so much more exciting than she had hoped for, and the promise of more in store filled her with anticipation. Why had she chosen to go so far away from Jonathan in the first place?

"Well then," she moved the carton onto the coffee table and laid across the newly empty space to put her head in her friend's lap and looked up at him. "What's the plan for Zsasz?" The littlest hint of a smile appeared on his face.

"You're looking forward to it now, aren't you?"

"He deserves it." The condemnation flew from her mouth without a second thought.

"He does, but are you sure you can do it?"

"Yes. I want to do it. And if I can't, that won't change. Even if you have to do it for me, it'll be done, and so long as one of us does it and no one else, I'll be satisfied with the outcome." Jonathan found himself feeling proud of his friend, and Scarecrow echoed the sentiment; the straw man was really starting to like her for the first time.

"Well said."

"I thought so too." El smiled at him, suddenly remembering once again her mysterious savior. "Oh!" She sat up quickly, turning to face him again. "The parking lot the other night, Zsasz; there was someone else there."

"What do you mean, there was a witness?" Elianna shook her head.

"No, it was after I fell, when I got up again and I was running to my car there was someone else there, he-" she paused to decide how to tell what had happened. "It seemed like he flew over my head, I don't know where he came from, but he went after Zsasz. I saw him for a seconds before I left, he was dressed in all black, and his face was covered. I thought that he would take care of Zsasz, but it seems like the police detained him, so I don't know what happened."

Jonathan thought for a moment, analyzing the information. "Well, even if whoever it was incapacitated Zsasz and called the police, it's unlikely that they would broadcast that on the media." EL nodded in agreement.

"I wonder what his motivation was and how he happened to be there." She spoke aloud, but more to herself than to Jonathan. "If he hadn't shown up, I don't think I would have made it."

"Well, it's definitely strange, I'll give you that." Jonathan sighed. "Something we'll have to keep an eye on. If a vigilante is gearing up to take out criminals, then we'll have to be prepared for it."

"Yeah." The apartment was silent as the pair thought over what would happen if anything they were planning on doing was discovered. "I knew Gotham would give me some excitement." She finally said lightly, to which Jonathan scoffed.

"Yeah, you could call it that. Is...there anything else you may have forgotten than you need to tell me?" El thought back for a moment, fighting a chill as she forced herself to remember anything.

"No, that's it." He nodded.

"Good."

"Yeah." They both paused for another moment before El spoke again, looking to change the subject. "Now go make dinner before I'm forced to finish your goldfish; I'm starving."

"Yes, ma'am," Jonathan stood, taking the carton back into the kitchen with him. "How do you feel about pasta tonight?"