Disclaimer: I own nothing of Batman or any of its characters. I do not make any profit than simply enjoyment of writing and hopefully, the enjoyment of the readers.
Chi: This was written for my "sister", Color. Hope you like it, Color!
Fears to Face
Chapter One – Alyss in Aslyumland
Alyss smiled back at the short-haired brunette woman as she stood up.
"Thank you so much for your help," Alyss said sincerely, holding her hand out. The girl shook it warmly.
"Anytime," replied the woman who'd previously introduced herself as Elizabethe Criste. Elli for short.
Alyss bent down to start picking up her notes and things, her long chocolate brown hair with auburn highlights curtaining her tan face. She used her long nails, more like talons than anything else, to pry the paper from the simple metal desk. Her medium height was tall compared to short Elli. She smoothed the gray t-shirt depicting a cat playing a fiddle over her flat stomach and curvy figure. She wore a pair of dark blue jeans and a similar denim jacket.
"You know," Elli said, getting up as well and putting her lab coat back on. She snagged a pair of latex gloves and put them on. Going to a cabinet, she sorted through to find a small bottle of medicine and tuck it into her pocket. "It's about time for Dr. Crane to receive his medicine and he should be very lucid. Enough to answer a few questions. I'm sure he'd have an interesting viewpoint, considering he used to run this asylum before he became a patient."
Alyss looked up from tucking her things away in her black Nightmare Before Christmas messenger bag. "Really?"
The new director of Arkham Asylum opened the door for Alyss and led the young college student down the hallways. Taking out the keys, Elli unlocked the door and walked in. Both girls were immediately shocked by the state the man was in.
Piercing blue eyes stared at them behind a fringe of brown hair. The straightjacket clung to his thin figure and he looked dirty. What really caught the girls' attention were the large bruises and cuts on his face.
Dr. Criste immediately stepped forward, a phone to her ear, snapping orders for a first aid kit to be brought to cell 57 immediately. It was brought quickly and the young director got to work cleaning him up. Alyss just watched, her eyes transfixed on Dr. Crane's. She barely noticed Elli's quick orders, swift medical care, and when they yelling started.
"How did this happen!" She was helping Dr. Crane to take his medicine while a few staff members stood around awkwardly.
It wasn't long before the staff had been rushed out and Elli turned to Alyss. "Miss Cromwell," she said formally, "I'd like to apologize. Part of his illness is self-mutilation. I had not realized his condition had gotten so bad."
Alyss nodded and sat down at the offered chair opposite of Dr. Crane.
Elli took a step towards the door. "I'll leave you to it, then. When you want to leave, hit the button on the door and I'll come and get you."
"Thank you."
When Alyss heard the door close she cleared her throat and looked into those beautiful haunted blue eyes. "I'm Alyss Cromwell. I'm doing an article on Arkham Asylum for my journalism class. I'd like to ask you a few questions." It was the sentence she'd practiced saying over and over again.
"How old are you?"
The question caught her off guard. "Um, I'm 18."
"How long have you been in Gotham University?"
"Two years now. Can I ask you—"
"Why are you taking a journalism class?"
"I'm majoring in writing. Anyway, I came to ask you questions."
Dr. Crane had been leaning forward when he was asking questions. Now, he slumped back.
Alyss took out her notebook. "What is your full name?"
"Jonathan Crane. Why don't you clip your nails to a normal length?"
"Because I like them long. How old are you?"
"Twenty-seven. When is the last time you cut your hair?"
"I haven't cut my hair since I was four," she said, remembering the incident. She had tried to cut it herself. She realized she was getting sidetracked and got annoyed. "Look, I came to ask you questions, not to give out answers."
He just stared at her, not unlike a cat, until finally he opened his mouth to say: "Now that's not very fair of you, is it?" His smile made her shiver.
She started to put her notebook into her bag and get up. "Well, then, I see this was a waste of—"
"I didn't say I wouldn't answer questions. I just want to be able to ask questions in return."
She turned in time to see the sad look in his face. She realized he must be very lonely. "Okay." She sat back down slowly.
She asked a question, and he answered. Then it was his turn. She learned about his thoughts on fear, twisted, but somehow understandable to a sane person. Because of his detailed knowledge of pharmaceuticals and the fact that he had to take a lot of pills himself he was able to give her vital information on how the drugs worked. He gave such honest answers about life as an Arkham Asylum patient that she'd almost wished she'd never asked.
Alyss stayed true to the bargain and answered things about herself. Dr. Crane's questions ranged from what she liked to eat, to how university life was for her, to (most uncomfortable) what she feared (dolls and darkness). By the end of the interview she had two things on her mind: that Dr. Crane was not your average psych ward patient, and that she wanted to leave.
She got up, her notebook full of the information he had provided her. "Thank you," she said.
"You're very beautiful, you know," he said, a very serious look on his face.
She blushed. It was nice to hear that from a handsome man, insane or not. She mumbled some sort of garbled, embarrassed thanks and pressed the button at the door.
A few seconds later, Dr. Criste opened it up and as the university student walked out of the room she thought she heard Jonathan Crane whisper: "I'll see you again, Alyss Cromwell."
Author's Note: I wrote this for my good friend and I hope you like it. This project was originally going to be a one shot, but I decided to expand it for the sake of Color.
Color, I hope you liked this and you had better review, gosh darn it! Or I'm not letting you read any more of it!
Anyone who wants to argue about Alyss being a Mary Sue can eat my foot. I've based this character very accurately on someone in real life with only minor adjustments. If you want to call her a Mary Sue, then you're just calling her perfect.
Oh, and yes, I am a diehard Scarecrow fan and I do realize I've changed his character a bit to help make this a romance story. This is based after Batman Begins.
Anyway, ENJOY!