The Cat and The Mouse

--Barbara--

When I woke up, I was seemingly in a house or apartment of some sort. My wheelchair was gone, and I was on the ground.

The man who had done this was standing in front of me. He sarcastically asked how my sleep was.

"Go to hell," I muttered under my breath, glaring at him.

Suddenly, I recognized him. Earlier, Jonathan had given me a picture of someone, saying he had gotten it from some security camera. Told me to find out who he was. He hadn't made it seem to important, so I hadn't gotten around to it. Now I recognized this man as the man from the picture.

-KC-

I laughed at the woman's muttered threat.

"You have no idea how many times I have heard that in my life. It is becoming a common thing for me, actually," I began, but stopped, noticing a different expression take over the woman's face. It was a subtle expression, but it was still there.

"Recognize something?" I asked, amused.

--Barbara--

I scowled.

"You killed someone last night. By how you're acting, obviously not your first," I replied, glaring at him. I noticed the question in his eyes, and answered it before he could even ask it.

"You met my "boss". Tall, bright yellow hair, big scar across his left eye," I explained.

--KC--

I smiled.

"Ah, yes. Jonathan, was it? He seemed like a nice man. Somewhat arrogant, but nice, I suppose. He looked like a great team leader." My voice was tinted with the slightest of sarcasm.

I watched the woman scowl at me.

"And you would be right in saying that the blonde I killed last night was not my first." I kept the smile on my face, being indifferent to the woman's scowling.

"So, what is your name?" I asked simply, as if we were having the conversation of two people who just met, as if nothing bad was happening at all.

--Barbara--

I caught myself chuckling slightly at his comments about Jonathan.

Don't you dare laugh at something he said! I yelled in my mind. This psycho may very well kill you, idiot.

He asked me my name, and I gave it to him--kinda.

"Oracle," I replied.

--KC--

"Oracle," I repeated, letting the smile fade. I was silent for a moment, until a smirk crawled onto my face. "Not your real name, obviously, but it will work."

Suddenly, Giselle walked in the room.

"Oh," she stated, as if she were interupting something. "She's awake."
I nodded, as if to say obviously. Then she continued.
"What are we going to do with...um...John, and...uh...Michelle?" she asked, probably trying not to give out to much information. She sounded confused. I thought it over for a second.

"We'll have to take care of them tomorrow. Right now, I have something else to take care of." I said, looking in the woman's direction.

--Barbara-

John and Michelle. The way this girl was speaking of them it seemed as though they had been his last victims. Now I was going to be his next.

--Jonathan-- (Figured I should see what he's up to. )

This was unusual, even for Barbara. She was usually never gone this late. It was dark now, and I know she'd say she could take care of herself, but I wasn't going to let her be out there by herself this late.

I took one of our sleeker cars, slowly scanning the sidewalks for any sign of her. Nothing. Absolutely nothing.

(I guess I didn't add anything, really, just a little...Sorry for making you wait. ^^'

Someone edited the last part of Barbara's-thing. I deleted it altogether. I don't like having my writing edited, whoever edited my post.)

(I had added "...darn it." to the last part of Babs' thing.)

--Barbara--

The girl said something to me, asking if I was a member of "that one group of people". I assumed she meant the Titans, then nodded.

"The Titans. Yes."

(EDIT: Ah. I see. The site was what edited my post.)

(Ohh, okay. ^^)

--KC--

"Is that what you people call yourselves? The great defenders of the city?" I asked, in an almost-mocking tone. "I might not have lived here long, but I believe I know who you are." I grimaced.
Suddenly, there was a voice running through my head.

'They called you a freak, yet here are these people with these freakish abilities. But they do not get called what they truly are. Freaks. They are freaks of nature, most of them. Perhaps not all, but most.'
I pushed aside the voice in my head, not sure what it was about to suggest, and tried to focus on what was happening in front of me.

"I am sure that your Jonathan will be looking for you soon, if he is not already. Do not get your hopes up, though. I doubt he'll find you."

I looked over at Giselle, who was looking at the floor, obviously troubled. I walked over to her silently.

--Barbara--

"Not simply the city. The country, sometimes the world. We're the only ones who will do it, the only ones who are willing to keep psychos like you and who I us-...to keep people like you, anyway, away from others," I remarked.

He said something about Jonathan not finding me. God knows I was praying he was wrong. I was just waiting for Jonathan to come through that door, but I could feel that hope slowly fading.

--KC--

I stopped about an arm length away from Giselle, and looked back over at the woman.

"You are obviously failing at that job right now, considering that I am still here," I stated, smirking again. Then I turned my attention back to Giselle. She looked up at me, still lost in thought.
"What are you thinking about?" I asked her.

"Michelle," she answered simply, but her voice was troubled as much as her expression.

"Do not worry about it, Giselle. Just clear your mind," I told her. "I cannot have you so distracted. We have other things to take care of. If you are going to stay here, you are going to have to be able to handle this. Alright?" I asked, and she nodded her head.

--Barbara--

I watched as the man spoke to this girl-Giselle-who was obviously distraught over something. Something about a girl named Michelle--I believe the man mentioned her earlier.


--Jonathan--

I parked my car near the computer store, then walked in. I walked up to the counter, looking around to make sure she wasn't there. I got up to the counter and was met by a starry-eyed teenager I knew as Carl. He'd worked there for a few months, and he always got noticeably nervous when I was around-I had picked Barbara up numerous times.

"Have you seen Barbara?" I asked. All of the employees knew Barbara by name.

"Yes, sir. L-left about an hour ago, sir," He replied.

An hour? That was a long time.

I nodded slightly, a sign of thanks, then proceeded to leave. This was very bad.

--Giselle--

KC whispered something to me, and I stood up quickly, walking into the kitchen. I could hear him talking to the woman in the other room, but I tried to tune it out. What had I gotten myself into?

I just murdered a woman, witnessed KC murder a man, and now I was an accomplice in a kidnapping. I really didn't want to be in this position.
But I knew I had no choice. In a matter of seconds, I could end up like Michelle. KC could just kill me whenever he pleased. He was certainly capable of doing so. He had attempted it multiple times before, luckily changing his mind before the task was done.

But I had been the one to decide to put my life in his hands. I needed help, I needed comfort, and, in my time of need, he was the one there for me.

That was quite a time ago, and I never realized, until now, how dangerous this was. I was blinded before. Blinded by the fact that someone actually listened to me.
KC was my friend. I knew I could trust him. But, on the other hand, he was also mentally unstable, and could have a little unpredictable freakout at any moment. That's what had happened before, and I still have the scars to prove so.

I honestly had no idea what to do. I was overwhelmed by the events of the evening, and I was confused. I sat at the kitchen table, burying my face in my palms. I sighed, trying to think things through in my mind, trying to decide what to do.

--

(Yay for more filler-chapter thingies! But don't worry; I plan to make Giselle's little confusion thingy part of a bigger...part of this story. A much bigger part. *begins to laugh evily*)

--Jonathan--

I left my car in front of the store, then started to wander down the sidewalk, taking the path I knew Barbara would've taken.

I was walking for a while when I noticed something to the side of the sidewalk(That sounded weird); a plastic bag with the computer store's logo on it. I carefully picked it up, looking inside. Nothing really, just some things bought from the store. Why would someone leave their things on the sidewalk--some very expensive looking things I may add. Obviously, I immediately assumed they were Barbara's things.

(That was filler-ish...)

('Tis okay! Yay for fillers! I do fillers all the time! xD)

--KC--

I looked at the woman- who went by Oracle- for a few moments, then spoke up.

"So, why don't you tell me more about this little group you are in?" She did not answer at first, so I decided to give her another question.

"What position are you in, and will you be missed?" I asked, a grin full of malice creeping onto my face.

I looked up at the clock hanging on the wall.

"I am sure your Jonathan is looking for you right now. Not that it will be of any use, after I am done here. He may be able to find me- although I highly doubt that- but he will not be able to save you. I hope you weren't an important part of the team. Seeing as you are crippled, I doubt that. And I doubt that you will hurt the team much by not being there."

(See? Yay for filler-ish...ness! )

--Barbara--

I scoffed. I didn't want to acknowledge him with an answer, but he was really starting to piss me off. I didn't like being called crippled.

"I "run" the team. Tell them what to do, keep a track of things. Lightning-that would be Jonathan-was actually having me look you up in our system."

I don't know I was telling him this. There was really nothing else to do, at least, not until he got a little closer.

"Also, call me crippled again, and I'll snap your little neck."

--KC--

"Right," I said. "I will remember that."

Walking over to a cabinet, I did not take my eyes off of the woman. I refused to call her by anything but her real name.
I opened the cabinet drawer, and looked through a selection of gleaming objects. I picked one up, admiring it. It was a small gun, one with a silencer. I looked from the woman to the gun and back.

"I figure I could kill you off right now, but what would be the fun in that?" I asked, almost mockingly. "I guess I could paralyze you completely, taking the use in your whole body. What help to the 'team' would you be then?" I admired the gun for another split second, then turned my attention back to the woman.
"I usually prefer knives, but guns just seem quicker." I raised the gun in my hand, aiming it towards the woman. My finger was on the trigger...

"Uhhm. KC?" Giselle asked from the doorway. I kept the gun aimed at the woman, and turned my head towards Giselle. "This is...a bad time, isn't it?"

---

(Ohh, I have decieved you, no? xP)

--Barbara--

I let out a quiet sigh. I was obviously going to die. No doubt about that. I guess now all I could hope is that Jonathan would find this bastard.

"They are indeed very quick," I muttered to myself, the man now looking at the girl.

So that was his name. KC. Didn't sound very "serial killer-ish".

--Giselle--

KC had a gun in his hand, aimed at the woman. He sighed.

"Yes, Giselle," he said, obviously annoyed. "This is a bad time. What do you want?"

I thought it over. There was no way I could say it now. No, not now. I swallowed.

"Nothing," I answered, sinking back into the doorway.

***

--KC--

I sighed, frustrated. Perhaps it was a mistake, letting Giselle stay. I let it pass as she leaned against the doorway to the kitchen. I turned my attention back to the woman.

"So, do you have anything to say before you meet your demise?" I asked, finger on the trigger.


(Darn you, filler chapters! '^^ I just couldn't think of much else to put. So sorry for that. '^^)

('Tis okay!)

--Barbara--

I thought on this for a moment, then sighed.

"Oh, just get it over with. I already had my life taken away from me many years ago. You're just finishing the job," I told him, pretty much sick of waiting. If he was going to kill me, I wished he'd just do it already.

(Anyway, my post! )

--KC--

I smiled.

"I like the sound of that," I said. I could tell that she was sick of waiting for her demise. Although I would have liked to watch her suffer more, I tightened my finger around the trigger. The woman was forever silenced.

Another life ended, yet I was still indifferent. People die every second of every day. I did not see why people made such a big deal about death. But I noticed Giselle look away as I pulled the trigger. She did not want to witness this. She did not want to be a part of this. But turning her head and closing her eyes would do little to help. I stood still, gun pointed in hand, for a few more moments before lowering the gun to my side and sighing.

"Now we have three to take care of. I will probably need your help, Giselle," I said, reffering to the bodies.

--

(Sorry about the...blandness (for lack of better words '^^). I can't think of much else to put...again....'^^)