Chapter 10: This Again?

"Get in the car." Jason demands, his tall stature reigning above me as I lay on the asphalt.

"Fuck you," I huff, pressing my hands into the pavement.

"Why do you always have to make things so difficult?" Jason rants through clenched teeth, his hands rubbing his face absentmindedly.

"Hmm... let me think," I satirically inquire, "perhaps it was your failed murder attempts? Or maybe it could have been your repeated kidnappings? I'm still internally weighing the two."

Jason blinks at me. Before I'm able to get another word in, he hauls me off the ground and throws me over his shoulder.

"Man, what the hell? Put me down!" I screech, my fists pounding at his back. My legs are flailing in the air. I attempt to set my hands ablaze, or use any of the elements to my advantage, but I'm so depleted of my energy that I'm practically useless.

I'm tossed into the passenger seat of a car, zip-ties quickly fastened around my limbs. The second he looks away, I catapult myself out of the car, making a pathetic attempt to roll away.

Jason watches. "This is sad."

I groan in frustration, coming to the realization that my hands are tied -- literally.

A moment of silence washes over the two of us.

"Can you bring me back to the ca-"

"Yeah," he interrupts, heaving me into his arms and hastily pouring me back into my seat, slamming the car door. Jason rounds the car and sits in the driver's seat. Turning over the ignition, he slams on the gas pedal, barreling us into the empty night.

We sit in nothingness for a few minutes, both of us actively avoiding eye contact. I take in a deep breath, hold it, then slowly let it out.

"Do you ever shut up?" Jason growls.

"I'm just breathing!" I return, my face contorted with disbelief.

"Then stop!"

"Do me a favor and crash into the first tree you see, please." I advise, turning my head to finally look at him. His eyes are trained to the road, but I can tell he had been looking my way.

"If it were up to me, I would," he confesses, glancing down at the time displayed above the car radio. I raise my tightly-bound hands to the dial, fidgeting with the radio station and volume. Jason slaps my hands away. "Can you stop that?"

"Then who is it up to? Who are you working for and why do they need me so bad?" I say, jumping straight to the point.

"You'll meet them soon." He replies, his knuckles tightening around the wheel.

"What kind of ominous answer is that?" I complain. He doesn't respond, his face bare of any emotion. "You want me dead, then you save me. Why is that?"

"Jesus Christ, you're just full of questions tonight," he retorts, avoiding my question.

"That's not the answer I was looking for."

"I told you already! My boss needs you alive, so I deliver you alive. I couldn't give a shit whether you live or die." His words sting me, although I can't understand why.

"You're a goddamn liar, and a terrible one at that. No wonder you've been alone for so long -- you never let anybody in." I acknowledge, venom lacing my words.

Jason slams abruptly on the brakes, the car wheels screeching to a stop. His entire body turns in my direction, his face stopping mere inches away from mine. "I am many things, Elle, but the last thing I am is a liar. You may think you've gotten me all figured out, that you know who I am under the mask. But the truth is: you don't. You can barely remember your own name, nonetheless who you are. That's the difference between you and me. I take initiative, I think for myself. That's why once I'm down with this stupid job, I'm going to take my money and go. I don't give a fuck what Crane does with you after that, or-" he pauses, catching his words.

"Crane? Johnathon Crane, The Scarecrow?" I echo, searching through my mind for the information I had read off of the Bat Computer just weeks prior, "what does he want with me?"

The air stills in the car, Jason's face goes slack, his eyes fixated on mine. He looks back towards the road as he eases his foot off the brake, the car moving once more. For the rest of the ride, we sit in total silence.

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The car idles to a stop. My head pounds fiercely, as if my heart has made its way up to my skull. Surrounding us is only darkness, the car headlights illuminating the outside scenery.

My wrists, red and raw from the zip ties, tense with anxiety. "Where are we?"

Jason doesn't reply, rather he unbuckles his seatbelt and opens the car door. I sit by my lonesome, trying to convince myself that I'm brave enough to deal with what may happen to me. The blood on my temple has dried and is beginning to flake away, although the wounds on my legs still ooze profusely.

The passenger-side door swings open suddenly, causing me to jolt back in shock. A rough hand grabs my injured shoulder, causing a yelp to escape from my throat. Aggressively, I am yanked from my seat and thrown on to the ground. I inhale desperately, my thoughts racing back to my days at the lab.

My vision is overcome by memories of my cell, of Lex Luthor's violent mind. There wasn't a way in which he didn't know how to hurt me. The scar on my shoulder tinges with a sharp pain, a tense reminder of what I've endured.

I'm brought back to the present moment by a gentle hand on my cheek. My eyes widen when I see Jason kneeling in front of me, holding his glove with his free hand. His calloused thumb brushes against the tender skin below my eye.

For a moment, I forget where I am, who we are. Confliction overwhelms his eyes, washing over his sharp features. We both retract from one another at the same time.

"Don't," I say firmly. He flexes his bare hand, as if he had just touched something toxic. I watch as he quickly puts his glove back on and looks away from my crumpled figure, his jaw tensing.

The pounding in my head grows more severe.

"Get up," he demands as he stalks past me. My eyes follow him as he pushes open a rusted metal door, its hinges creaking loudly. Reluctantly, I do as I'm told. I walk towards him, and when I'm close enough, he takes hold of my elbow and leads me inside.

"Whatever happens," Jason begins, "just know I won't be able to save you this time."

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Author's Note:

Heyyyyyy guyssss... long time no see! What has it been -- two years? almost three? maybe six? Who knows, I'm a writer, not a mathematician. I can't count.

I never expected this to garner so much positive attention. I couldn't fathom a world in which people would actually want to read what I have to say. I am incredibly grateful for all the warm messages I've received. I hope to continue this story to its totality.

This chapter is no where near my best, but it's a start! I'm hoping it will allow me to transition into the rest of the storyline, as it's been so long since I've really put heavy thought into it.

I'll try to write and put out more chapters ASAP, especially since I have more time in the summer.

As always, let me know if you guys have any questions or comments! ALSO -- if there are any spelling or grammatical errors, pleasseeee let me know! I'm terrible at editing my own work.

With lots of love,

<3M