The Wayne Manor was quiet without the house guest who had resided with Bruce and Alfred those three months. Shannon had only been gone two weeks, yet she was already dearly missed by the two occupants of the manor. Still they knew it was better for the girl to be away from the crime filled city; where she was now was only a city or so out, in a very small home for the insane where the patients were delusional rather than murderous.

The silence was beginning to take its toll on both Bruce and Alfred- but not just that of the home. The silence of the whole city was wearing on them. Only one breakout since Jonathan and Zsasz had escaped their separate holdings, and the man had been caught within a weak. Jarvis Tech certainly wasn't the best criminal… It had been rumored that Zsasz had gone on to a different city, and Jonathan… Well, there hadn't been a peep out of him since Shannon had 'died'.

Bruce now sat in the living area, reading a newspaper from the town Zsasz was said to be in. Apparently there had been four separate families killed In the same way the last killing had set- the people had been left in positions that would portray normal life with bleeding chests and throats. He could hear the phone ring in the kitchen, but it was quickly answered by Alfred. Thinking nothing of it, Bruce picked up the newspaper from his own city, Gotham, and began reading. The largest article was about the death of Batman, filled with more conspiracy theories. People weren't willing to believe their favorite hero was dead- he wasn't, but that wasn't the point. It wasn't like he would never be back, there just was nothing he was needed for at the time.

"Master Bruce!" Alfred suddenly called, sounding worried. Bruce looked  towards the kitchen, where Alfred had just appeared in the doorway.

"Alfred?" Bruce asked, standing and quickly walking to his aged butler, "What's happened?"

"It was the asylum keeping Shannon," Alfred panted, his hand over his heart, the stress obviously too much for the old man, "She has escaped… Two young women were tending to her, she killed them…"

"What…. How?!" Bruce practically screamed, helping Alfred over to a chair. How had Shannon broken out? With her disability, she shouldn't have been able to overpower two nurses, let alone escape.

"They said she had been quiet ever since we left, barely talking and screaming at night.. The two nurses were alone manning the asylum and heard her, they thought they should help… They said it was a rather gruesome sight… She got out through a broken window," Alfred said sadly, "They've been searching, but nothing…"

"Did she say anything? Did they say she had said-"

"She was talking to herself about Jonathan Crane and the Scarecrow, and that was it," Alfred told him, shaking his head.

"She'll be coming back this way, then," Bruce mumbled, "She wants to find Jonathan…"

"What should we do about it, Master Bruce?" Alfred asked, composing himself a little. Bruce took a deep breath, knowing the answer to the question.

"We need to find Crane… He's the only one who will be able to control her," he muttered, walking towards the kitchen.

"There hasn't been a sighting of him in months," Alfred reminded Bruce, "What if he's left Gotham?"

"Then I'll find him," Bruce responded, running a hand through his hair, "Shannon's killed two people now, and she's coming to Gotham. Her father thinks she's dead- everyone thinks she is dead… do you realize how dangerous this could be?"

"Not to mention she knows how to get into Arkham and knows the inmates," Alfred brought up, bringing a whole new problem to Bruce's mind. "Do you think he will even come back when he knows Shannon is coming?"

"You told me you think he loves her," Bruce smiled back at Alfred, stopping at the door to the kitchen, "If you were right, I think I can convince him."

~-~-~-~-~-~

Jonathan and Edward were crammed into the motel room, newspapers from the past weeks littering the floor. Edward was asleep, his arm over his eyes to prevent the glow from the television from disturbing his slumber as Jonathan read the latest paper. There had been two more killings since they had arrived to match the others, but there was no central area to trace him back to.

"Breaking News: Breakout from New Carthage Asylum," the female reporter on the television announce, catching Jonathan's attention. His tired eyes found the woman's face and he listened as she went on, "Sister of Bruce Wayne, Alicia Wayne, has escaped from the New Carthage Asylum. We have no picture of the girl, but she is said to be extremely dangerous. She has so far committed two murders and whereabouts are unknown."

"That's odd," Edward mumbled, keeping his arm covering his eyes, "I didn't know Bruce Wayne had a sister.." Jonathan shrugged.

"I'm sure it will keep police busy a while longer, now that they've caught Jarvis.." Jonathan shrugged, thinking nothing of the matter. The girl was certainly helping, though, as the police in and around Gotham would be looking for a murderous girl rather than a criminal gone silent.

"Probably," Edward agreed, sitting up as the report went on to say Bruce Wayne would be hiring a private detective to help track down his sister. The story then cut off to a meeting at the police station of Gotham. Officer Gordon was standing at the podium, looking greyer and weaker than he had been.

"We must be prepared for the threat of Alicia Wayne," he started, leaning against the podium, "But, we must also concern ourselves with missing convicts- Victor Zsasz and Jonathan Crane." The way he said Jonathan's name showed distaste and contempt, but he continued, "We have evidence Zsasz has moved on to Bludhaven, but Crane is still in hiding. We once again ask for him to turn himself in and offer him regular visits to his wife's grave." Jonathan sneered at the offer. He wouldn't abandon his mission just to see the place where the love of his life was forever entombed. He didn't want his image of her to go from grinning beauty to a cold stone marking an empty grave.

"The nerve of that man," Jonathan growled, "He never believed I cared for his daughter, and he can keep thinking it. I'll avenge her, and he'll keep mourning nothing… They never even found her body…"

"They tried, Jonathan," Edward sighed, "They did everything they could."

"I would've drained the river if it meant finding her," Jonathan growled, tears coming into his eyes as he stood up and started pacing, "What if she isn't even dead? What if she's somewhere slowly dying? What if someone's got her?"

"Don't think like that, Jonathan," Edward told his friend, sitting up on his twin bed, "She's at peace… She is in a much better place where no one else can hurt her."

"She should be with me," Jonathan breathed, his fists clenching . He let out a muffled scream and punched the wall, his fist smashing straight through.

"We're going to have to pay for that.." Edward muttered dryly, running a hand through his gingery hair.

"Funny, you think we're paying for this," Jonathan chuckled, plopping back down on the end of his bed. Edward rolled his eyes. He did in fact know that Jonathan had stolen the key to the motel room, and that no one knew they were inside except the cleaning lady- who Edward had convinced to tell the owners that the room was being worked on due to plumbing so no one would bother them.

"We need to find Zsasz soon," Edward changed the subject, seeing a picture of the scarred man pop up on the screen, "He usually gets caught quickly after a big job, like the one Sha-"

"Don't," Jonathan barked, still  not willing to hear the name.

"Like the one she was in. He calls in the police to find him, hides out in prison a while, then escapes before any death sentence can be carried out," Edward went over the information he had memorized, "It's what he has done ever since he started. If we don't get to him before he turns himself in, we'll have to try again when he breaks out again… That could be years, considering when he last got arrested."

Jonathan nodded. Edward was right- they needed to hurry and find Zsasz. Slowly he stood from the bed and crossed the room to pick up his burlap sack mask. He turned it over in his hands, then put it back down, walking to the door.

"Jonathan, you'll be recognized," Edward called after his friend, jumping up and running to follow his fast moving friend as he went out the door.

"I know," Jonathan responded, "I want them to know I'm here. I want Zsasz to know I'm coming."

 ~-~-~-~-~-~

Shannon was shaking as she limped through the forest, her eyes jumping to everything around her as she held the blanket tight around her body.

"Jonathan," she whispered, frightened. Her knuckles were white as they gripped to the handle of the knife. Those two nurses had tried to inject her with something. Only Jonathan was allowed to do that. Jonathan was the only doctor she wanted near her.

Her mind seemed to be blank as she wandered slowly through the woods, coming out beside a road. It was very dark, until two bright headlights pierced the darkness. Shannon stayed perfectly still, like a deer in the headlights. Her mind was completely boggled- she didn't know what to do. When the car reached her, it slowed to a stop and the  window rolled down to reveal the occupants within.

Shannon squinted her eyes to see within was an older man in the passenger seat and a lovely young woman around Shannon's age driving. The couple wasn't the odd part, though. That would be the scarred puppet sitting on the man's lap, staring at her.

"Well, what da we have here?" the puppet asked, his accent rather prominent.

"Seems to be a lost girl, Mr. Scarface," the lady answered softly, observing Shannon, "A girl with a bloody knife."

"I wasn't askin' you, ya dumb broad!" the puppet barked.

"Yes, Mr. Scarface," the woman frowned, looking back through the front window.

"So, tell me, girl," the puppet, Mr. Scarface, started, "Tell me, why ya wandering around in the middle of the night with a dirty knife. Ya been killing?" Shannon nodded.

"They shouldn't have tried to touch me," she whispered in response, making the puppet laugh manically.

"Ah, kid, you’re a riot," Mr. Scarface chuckled, "Where are you headed?"

"Gotham," Shannon told him simply.

"You want a ride, kid?" Mr. Scarface asked, "Ya can stay with us for a while. Who knows, maybe I can give ya a job."

And with that, Shannon climbed into the back of the car, happy that her throbbing leg was having a break. She should have gotten crutches, it would have made her go faster, but she hadn't thought of it and the adrenaline had been enough to push her through the trees.

"So, tell me, girl," Mr. Scarface asked from the front, "what's your name, huh?" Shannon was silent. She didn't want to say her real name. She was supposed to be dead. Bruce said it was the only way she'd be safe was to play dead. Shannon was quiet for a long while, annoying the puppet somehow, as he leaned to look at her over the seat. "Well?!" he asked, causing her to jump, "What's your name, kid?!"

Shannon stared at him a moment, and then the first word that came to mind left her mouth. "Paranoia."

_______________________________________________________________

Well that's it for this one guys Dx But, no fretting! The sequal (well, more like just a  continuation of the story here) will be out as soon as I can! The new cover to the side here :3 So... who's excited for Scarface, hm? I think this will be interesting.

Jonathan: What did you say?!

Me: Nothing!

Jonathan: YOU SAID SOMETHING!

Me: No I didn't!

Edward: For God's sake, Jonathan, just let the girl go! This isn't helping!

Jonathan: Fat chance of that! She'll just keep popping up and screwing with my head!

Me: He's right...