The Skin That Crawls From You [A Jonathan Crane Fan-fiction]

The Method Behind The Madness.

"You owe me so many answers."
I hiss, my head barely visible tucked under the blanket. I stare at him as he sits in that office chair once more.

With a sharp intake of breath, and a serious nod; i know he's heard me.

"Where to start."
He offers me a brief flash of a smile that doesn't meet his eyes, then his pout falls back into a flat line. He swallows hard.

"Ryan. Start with Ryan."
I demand. My brother's blood is on my hands. My whole body is exhausted, but my voice is strong now. I'm not sure how's it's not completely ragged from all of the screaming and crying I've done these last few days.

"Well Ryan, he was never a part of the plan."

"But I was?"

"Yes."
He says coldly.

"I was working for The League of Shadows. A man named Rhas Al Ghul wants- wanted to rip Gotham to shreds. Thought it was his civic duty."
He folds his hands in his lap and leans back.

"What did my brother have to do with that?"

"Nothing I'm afraid."

I feel like bursting into tears again.

"Rhas had me creating a fear serum from an eastern hallucinogenic flower. We pumped it into the water pipes below Gotham. He stole some tech from Wayne Industries that would vaporize the infected water and release my serum into the air. Rhas' goal was for Gotham to destroy itself."
He says factually. As if reading from a list.

"I had other plans however."

"Gotham's... corruption was too valuable. I couldn't let my city go down in flames at the hands of a self satisfied narcissistic-sociopath. Besides, this city's meta-abilities have been evolving at such a rapid rate, i wouldn't bare to see such power squashed for the sake of 'pruning for healthier fruit', as he called it."
He wipes his hands on his thighs and continues.

"So, I created another serum, a generative serum that triggers meta-abilities and brings each individual's powers to the surface."

My blood runs cold.

"Does that mean- I killed Ryan?"
I ask, my voice so low it fades out into silence.

His jaw tightens as he eyes my face.
"When I pumped it into the water source, it reached your home rather quickly, as you lived in the narrows just outside of Arkham."
He takes a sharp breath.

"Your powers were triggered and Ryan was your casualty."

My casualty.

"If you had never created the serum this wouldn't have happened, you-"
I sit up frantically and begin to ramble.

"I take the blame."
He says cooley.

"I figured that Arkham would fill up with meta-humans deeming themselves crazy for their manifestation of power. And it did. But once you came, none of them even mattered."

"Miss Alcott- Raven, I killed your brother and you took the fall. You have to deal with that grief every day, and there's nothing I can do to take it away from you."
I want to rip him to pieces again, but I need him here with me. I need to know that he's here.

"So I changed your plans."
I say flatly, numb from all that my life has become.

"Yes. Your power alone would've changed everything, but it was more than that."
He runs a hand through his black hair, it flops back into a middle part. He visibly tenses as he goes on.

"I had full intentions on destroying you. On turning you into my weapon. It was a project I had been working on. I was getting into the heads of people like you for personal gain, for my own will. I was planning to take out Rhas and his league of shadows."

"That's sick."
I hiss, leaning against the headboard of the motel bed.

"Miss Alcott, you already know this about me."
He says venomously, his eyes brows knit together.

"Once I started treatment on you, I just- I couldn't."
He looks young again.

"Why?"
I bark.

His pale blue eyes pierce into me for a moment, trying to tell me what I already know.

"I fell in love with you miss Alcott."