Petrichor [J.T.]

Chapter 18 - The Call Is Coming From Inside The House

Sam and Gar are seated on the floor facing each other while Rachel went out to get them some supplies. Sam is trying to wrap her head around how they're supposed to function around the city and take down Crane when the entire city wants their heads on spikes. The GCPD has always been weird about Batman but now they actually want all of the Titans taken down and with Crane behind it, that can't mean just throwing them in cells and tossing away the key. They can't just go out and fight every civilian that hates them now. They're brainwashed because that's what Crane does and fighting people who have no clue what they're doing isn't going to help their situation. It feels more like they're sitting ducks at this point.

"Doesn't it bother you?" Gar asks, breaking the silence between them, earning an eyebrow raise from Sam. "How Jason came back."

Sam's eyes narrow slightly, unsure how or why it would bother her. Him being alive is a good thing. "Why would it bother me?"

"I mean the Lazarus Pit." Gar states as he leans forward. "Like, he came back and that's just it? Some water somewhere is magic and can bring people back from the dead. That doesn't make sense."

Sam nods her head slowly, this is the same thing he told her at the manor when he showed her some of the books Bruce had on it. "Yeah, we went over that. It's because of Ra's which I think makes a lot of sense, honestly. It's still bothering you that much?"

"Yeah, like why doesn't anyone know where it is? Or what if they do but it's a secret. Bruce knew, right? Why didn't Bruce close it off like the others? Why did he keep the one in Gotham open?" Gar rambles off his questions.

Of all topics that's going to pick at Gar, this is it? The Lazarus Pit? Sam is bothered by it, too but not enough to be sitting here thinking about it when she's worried the Titans are going to be hunted for sport now. They've been separated and they're going to need each other but Gar doesn't seem bothered by it at all. Just the Lazarus Pit.

Sam blinks at him a few times. "I've been trying to rationalize the decisions Bruce makes but I think that's more of a dead end than anything else. If anyone is going to have that answer outside of Bruce, it'd probably be Jason or Dick. But, they don't really get him either. I don't know." Sam shrugs her shoulders. "Bruce is paranoid, maybe that's all there is to it. Couldn't explain why no one else knows..."

"Yeah, he's paranoid!" Gar groans. "So why leave it open?"

"No, I mean that's probably why. Or research." Sam lets out a breath. "Maybe he's worried something will happen if he closes all of them off. Or he needs it to do more research. I don't know." Sam scoffs. "I don't know how he feels about resurrection so maybe he wants to use it to help people or something I have no fucking idea, Gar. I think you'll drive yourself insane if you try to rationalize Bruce Wayne." Sam leans back on her hands, stretching out her legs.

"Maybe more people know about it." Gar says quietly. "If Crane knew..." Gar trails off as his eyes grow worried.

Without him finishing, she knows exactly what he's thinking.

"Yeah, thought of that." Sam nods her head, her heart skipping a beat.

If Crane knew and his guy knew, more people know. They have to. Gotham is a big city so anyone can stumble upon it. People talk, it's what they do. It can't be that big of a secret. The question is who knows about it. If Crane knows, more Arkham inmates might know. More people who are crooked might know. There have been some really bad people who've been killed. If Jason can come back, so can they.

"We have to find it." Gar states.

"Why?" Sam asks flatly, tired of the circles she's been running.

"So we can do something about it." Gar says sternly.