Raven

My vision was slightly blurred due to the knock the oversized bat had given me but I could see him clearly enough. His rather ridiculous outfit was large and bulky, and he seemed larger than life standing in front of me. I tried to hide the slight fear that suddenly bubbled in my stomach when I stared into his masked face. His strong mouth and jaw twitched in disapproval as he stared at me, his eyes were dark and cold.

And then as soon as the fear erupted inside my body, it left. And joy bubbled inside my body and filled me with a wonderful glee. My shoulders began to shake as I started to laugh hysterically and Batman continued to stare at me where I sat slumped against the concrete wall, the back of my head throbbing where I cracked it against the stone surface. I laughed and laughed, at last he had found me...I could finally confront him, suss out my enemy.

“You find something amusing?” Batman spoke, and his deep voice that was laced with a gravelled tone didn’t surprise me. It suited his whole dark demeanour, the vigilante of the night. Gotham’s own superhero.

“Oh!” I shrieked in feign astonishment holding my palms out as the mad smile still danced across my own masked face, “it speaks! I thought you’d be all brawn.”

I stood up, making a show of dusting the dirt from my trousers and tutting at myself. I began to walk around the armoured man as he watched me with his cold eyes.

“You know,” I purred, “I love a man in uniform...” I took a step closer as if to reach out to touch him, but making sure my blade was sliding down my wrist when Batman shot his own large hand out and caught my slender wrist in his grasp. I pulled away but he held my firm, and I was surprised at the strength.

“You’re just a girl, a young girl,” he spoke to me, and his voice was almost sympathetic which made my stomach curl in distaste. If it was one thing I hated it was sympathy. I gritted my teeth and swung my leg out, tripping the bat and slicing my blade down his arm in one movement. His suit peeled away where I hurt him, blood welling up in the fresh wound and the glisten of the red liquid in the dim car park light caught my eye for a moment. And then I danced away from Batman as he jumped back onto his feet, this time is face devoid of any sympathy.

“If there’s one thing I’m not,” I spat at him, “it’s ‘just a girl’.”

I hummed to myself as I watched him and I vaulted to the side as he swung one of those ridiculous boomerang weapons at me. Though not ridiculous enough I would ignore the razor sharp tip at the edge of the Bat’s wing. I threw my knife at him, and he swung away though I noted with satisfaction that it cut a ribbon through his cape. A cape...I mean, really?

I didn’t see him come from behind there, I was lost talking to myself, a habit I had recently picked up and needed to break and another blow to my head sent me spinning. I staggered but got my arm up to block the next blow from him. I felt perspiration break out across my brow as I struggled to maintain my strength against his. I contained endurance but my strength could not match his, I was not vain enough that I couldn’t admit that.
We seemed to dance together, the bat and the raven in an empty car park structure. Our footfall’s echoed around us and gasps of pain when one of struck each other. I seemed to anticipate his moves as he did mine, and suddenly I came to the conclusion that there would be no victor of this match.

Until I saw him watching I was successfully focusing on Batman trying to kill me. And then out of the corner of my eye I saw his painted face and his unnatural smile. It distracted me, and I allowed Batman to hit me a blow across the face that sent me stumbling onto the ground, spitting blood. I thought I saw the Joker wince but it may have been a trick of the light. The man had watched me rip my arms to pieces and not said a word.

But as Batman took another step towards me, The Joker began to clap slowly, earning the Knight’s attention. He turned away from me, allowing me to scramble away from him. My body was exhausted though it hurt me to admit it. I had grappled with The Joker and Batman in one night, not to mention suffered a psychotic meltdown less than two weeks previously.

I didn’t know why but I ended up making my way to The Joker and standing slightly behind him. For the first time, I was looking for a little bit of protection. I didn’t want to lose to Batman, not tonight. Now more than ever I realised if I wanted to take Gotham City, I needed an ally, and I needed The Joker to be that ally. He didn’t look at me as I stepped behind me, he just began to cackle at the Batman and dance on the balls of his feet. I smiled a little, wondering just how crazy we were.

“You’ve teamed up have you?” Batman looked from me to the Joker and the Joker laughed loudly.
“Goodness no, can’t you tell me despise each other but I felt like being an angel of mercy tonight. I figured on being a spectator but it gets boring being in the crowd when you can get centre stage. Isn’t that right my dear Birdie?”

Batman’s eyes flickered to me as I grimaced in annoyance. I shook my head, “Stop messing about CB and do something to get rid of him, I’ve lost my weapons.”

“I took the liberty of arranging some surprises under some cars,” The Joker sang to himself, but I saw a smile directed my way as he said it. I took the cue and took one small step neared to the entrance whilst the Joker began to circle around Batman, he himself getting closer to the exit.

He danced, laughing, taking a device from his pocket with a lot of strange nobs and buttons.
“You have about ten seconds,” he gleefully declared and then pressed the large red one in the centre.

With that he turned and surprising me, he grabbed my hand pulling me after him. I almost shied away from the physical contact, when I was Sparrow I was acting but I felt real as Raven and Raven didn’t touch unless it involved killing someone. His hand was alien in mine, and for the first time, I realised how strong they were and how tiny my own were in comparison. But none of that mattered right now, what mattered was making sure we didn’t get blown up in a matter of seconds.

We barely made it outside when the first explosion sounded, scattering debris down upon us. We continued to run as the remaining bombs went off and we were still running when the last explosion was too close and blew us off our feet and several metres ahead of us. We landed heavily, and I groaned in fury as my cheek scraped the ground and I felt the sharp stones in the tarmac bite into my skin and ripping it in a smooth graze. My hearing was gone, a loud ringing in my ears and I stumbled, trying to get up but I fell to the side. I clutched my ribs which hurt from the impact of the fall and then I looked to The Joker who was struggling to sit up, his head bleeding heavily down his face and making his scars look more ghastly when they already were.

I grasped his forearm and pulled him over to me so he rested against my shoulder. He mumbled something but I ignored him, and staggered over to a sheltered building, hiding both of us before the cops showed up. The Joker slumped as his head wound began to cause dizziness and the blood loss made him faint. My hand twitched as if to raise it to his head to help with his wound but I couldn’t bring myself to carry out such a ...tender gesture. Besides, no matter how injured he was, he would probably still stab me in the gut for even thinking of touching him like that. And I was happy with that.

I pushed him against a wall so he leaned against it and I pulled out my cell, which thankfully was unharmed. I rolled my eyes at nothing in particular as I scrolled down the contacts and dialled a number. He answered with trepidation.

“H...hello?”

“Andy!” I barked, “get your scrawny ass down here to pick us up.” Andy didn’t ask questions as I gave him the details as to where we were but like a dutiful follower he listened and did what eh was told.

As I waited for him to get to where we were, I fought the urge to bring the moaning Joker to my body for comfort, and all the while, staying upright myself as darkness swam in and out of my own reach.