Author's note: This new story is the reason I haven't updated my Kingdom Hearts story in forever... Anyway, first thing I wanna say is that this story does have spoilers. If you have not played Batman: Arkham Asylum, I wouldn't recommend reading this. If you do, don't complain about having the game ruined, blah blah blah... Also, the title is really long, so I'm going to change it eventually. If I can ever think of anything. Enjoy!

Zoé sat at her desk in her office, filling out paperwork. She had been working for three hours, and had barely made a dent in the large stack of papers. There was a packet for each of the Arkham patients she had seen that week, and each one needed to be filled out and signed, reporting on their progress. So far, Zoé was only in the C's.

The name on the next packet caught her eye, and Zoé reached over to grab it, peering down at the top sheet with a frown.

Crane, Jonathan.

Zoé could remember their appointment clearly. She had just started her job as one of Arkham Asylum's psychiatrists, and it was her first time with that particular patient.

Crane was a former doctor at Arkham, who had been using his patients for expirements with a fear-inducing toxic he had created. After the incident earlier that year, he had been locked up in the very asylum he had kept captive in the clutches of fear.

Zoé had never been one to fear the criminals that stalked the streets of Gotham, and she feared the ones in Arkham even less. So when she met with her patients, she didn't show the same cautiousness that the other doctors did. Because she was not afraid, she was able to communicate with the patients in a way no one else could.

Jonathan Crane was no different.

Two guards escorted him into the room and sat him down in the chair across from Zoé, taking the handcuffs off of his wrists and cuffing his ankle to the chairleg instead. The man looked around the room, his bright green eyes taking in all the details before finally falling on Zoé.

Zoé met his level gaze with one of her own as she reached for the recorder. She turned it on and placed it on the table between them. It took a moment for it to warm up, and while they were waiting, Zoé flipped through Crane's file, skimming over the words without really reading them. A high-pitched beep signaled that the recorder was ready, and Zoé cleared her throat.

"Jonathan Crane, age 33. In Arkham a third time for threatening Gotham City with his toxin." She said, her voice loud enough that the recorder could pick it up. It was the usual way to start the appointments.

One of the guards, a close friend by the name of Zane who had gotten Zoé the interview for her job, winked at her and flashed her a goofy grin. Zoé rolled her eyes and made a shooing motion at him. It was standard procedure for the guards to wait outside the room so that they could provide protection without intruding on the patient's privacy, but Zane always hesitated to leave Zoé alone with a criminal.

After a short moment, Zane shrugged, rested his gun against his shoulder, and walked out the door, shutting it behind him. Zoé turned her attention back to Jonathan and frowned when she saw he was still looking at her. Had he been studying her that whole time? By the troubled expression he wore, Zoé could tell what he was looking at; the long scar that stretched from above her right eyebrow to the jawline on the left side of her face. Zoé's face burned red with embarrassment, and she was suddenly overcome with the urge to hide the scar. Instead, she brushed her platinum-blonde hair out of her face and acted like she hadn't noticed.

She cleared her throat, interrupting the uncomfortable silence and causing Jonathon to start. The man looked down at his hands, which he had clasped together in his lap.

"How have you been?" Zoé asked, her tone light. She knew that past sessions with Jonathon had been inconclusive, and had a feeling her attempt wouldn't be any more successful. Nevertheless, she was determined to get some kind of outcome.

"I've been fine." Jonathan replied. He sounded distant, nothing like in the patient interviews Zoé had listened to earlier that day. In the interviews, he had sounded confident, fearless even. Now he just sounded empty. Zoé leaned forward and crossed her arms on the desk in front of her.

"Mister Crane-"

"Doctor." Jonathan interrupted. Zoé smiled; she did the same thing whenever people called her Miss Tremaine.

"Doctor Crane," She corrected herself. "You were unresponsive during your previous sessions with the last doctor. Is there a reason for this? Did you not like that doctor?"

"Stephen had a very weak mind, and his questions bored me."

"Is that why you used your gas on him? Because he was weak-minded?"

"Of course. The asylum is much better off without him, wouldn't you agree?"

Zoé raised an eyebrow, but was otherwise unfazed by Jonathan's response. She opened her mouth to ask another question, but Jonathan beat her to it.

"Let me ask you something, Doctor." He said, finally looking up to meet her eyes. "Everyone else is scared of me, or rather, what I can do to them. Why not you?"

The question took Zoé by surprise, and it took her a moment to register what he had asked.

"I don't see how this is relevant to you." She said.

"Come on, Doctor. Humor me."

Zoé took a deep breath, drumming her fingers on the table.

"My father was a criminal, and a rather dangerous one at that. So was my mother." She avoided looking at Jonathan as she spoke. "Growing up with the two of them showed me that even the most powerful of villains has a soft side."

"'Was'? What happened?" Jonathan sounded genuinly interested, and for a brief second, Zoé was tempted to tell him. But she shook her head and cleared her expression.

"This session is for you, not me."

Jonathan looked as if he had something he wanted to say, but instead, he crossed his arms and kept silent. The door opened and Zane looked in, tapping his watch. A glance at the clock told Zoé that they were almost out of time.

"There is more for us to talk about, but I'm afraid we've come to the end of our session." Zoé said, sitting up straighter in her chair. Zane and the other guard walked into the room and moved the handcuffs back to Jonathan's wrists.

"I will see you again in a week." Zoé switched off the recorder as she spoke.

"Good-bye, Doctor."

xxx

Zoé looked down at the packet, a slight frown on her face. That session had been strange, different from all of the others. Compared to the other patients, there had been no headway. Just like with the previous doctor, Jonathan had managed to dodge the session completely, and had even turned it around on her.

"Well, there's a reason he was one of the most brilliant minds in Arkham..." She muttered to herself, picking up her pen to fill out and sign the file.

Even though she hated to do it, Zoé's report was extremely short. There had been no progress, so there was nothing to write. After signing the file, she set it to the side and started on the next one. Only half a stack left.

Hope you liked it. I've actually already written the second chapter, but I don't know when it will be uploaded. Either later tonight, or tomorrow.