Sorry for the wait but I've been trying to get a bunch of other stuff done first before sitting down and getting this next chapter out. So far it's been pretty interesting trying to get this story down on paper but I'm happy to finally be doing it. Anyways, I hope you all enjoy this chapter! (Don't worry, I don't plan on discontinuing this story like the others I've tried. This story will slowly, but surely, be finished.)
DISCLAIMER: I do not own Batman or any other DC Characters that may be involved. All rights go to their respective owners and I only take rights to Amber and my ideas.
Looking back, this might have been a bad idea. Following a strange man down a dark hallway with no one around was definitely not a good idea. Yet here she was, trailing behind a suspicious doctor who might make her as insane as the patients in this place. Curse her curiosity.
Dr. Crane gave Amber the creeps, no doubt. It was either the unfazed personality he had or the ice cold blue eyes that sent her heart racing in a bad way. He seemed to care very little for his patients which, when you think about it, isn't so uncommon but Dr. Crane seemed to almost enjoy the misery of his patients.
Soon, the two came up to a large cedar door on what appeared to be the nicer side of the asylum - aka: the safer part. Dr. Crane looked back at Amber with a small smile on his face ad gestured towards the golden handle to signify that they had arrived at his office before turning it and pushing the door open.
Amber wasn't sure what she had expected Dr. Crane's office to be like. Somewhere in her mind she had imagined it to be a dungeon full of horrifying objects in jars and spider webs strewn throughout the furniture in the room. To her, it would've been more fitting for him than the actual room she walked into.
The room was well lit, tidy, and overall nice looking (she had to give him credit for that) with a large window on the far side of the room showing off the bright lights of Gotham City just down the hill. The walls were a light cream color with large, old fashioned lamps giving off a warm light while the ceiling lights gave the room its brightness. Up against the adjacent wall from the window stood two tall mahogany book shelves filled with hundreds of books ranging from everything medical to supernatural. The wooden floor was black and shined under the overhead lights; Amber walked cautiously on it, afraid she would scratch what appeared to be a very expensive floor. In the far center of the room in front of the book shelves sat a very ornate oak desk with various papers and files stacked neatly on top of it. Of course, he had to have the stereotypical red leather chair behind his side of the desk while on the other side sat a less impressive chair that looked like it came from the waiting room.
"Please, have a seat," Dr. Crane invited.
Slowly, Amber sat down in the smaller (and less comfortable) chair while Dr, Crane sat down in his leather one. Once sitting he leaned over to rest his elbows on the desk and gave Amber an expectant expression. When Amber only stared back at him with the same expectant look he sighed and gave a very forced smile.
"How are you finding Arkham?" He asked.
"Depressing," Amber stated. "The patients all seem to be worse off than they probably should. I thought the whole point to why this place was built was to cure people, not treat them like animals. Behind those glass walls you have them in it makes them look like zoo animals for the public to come and point fingers at. I've never been in here before and after today I never want to come back, whether Harley works here or not."
"You act as though you expected these people to be mentally stable in here." Dr. Crane frowned.
"No, I expected them to be treated better than this," Amber replied."Every doctor and nurse here - including you, Dr. Crane - seems like they could care less about this place. Dr. Leland appears to be the only one here who gives a damn."
"Dr. Leland does have a very optimistic view with the patients, she feels it helps them. The rest of us see the patients as they truly are: insane with no hope." Crane grinned back. Amber paused her retort when she noticed that Dr. Crane's eyes looked different, sadistic almost.
"Well," she started. "That's not very fair for the patients who want to get better, is it?"
"It's better they accept reality. It's better for them to get use to be here."
"But it's not better for those who came here for help. Dr. Crane," Amber softened her voice, noticing that the strange doctor appeared to be elsewhere in his mind, in places she wasn't so sure she wanted to know of. "I saw your patients when I walked past the cells earlier, one of them I even knew before he came here."
"Oh," Dr. Crane cocked an eyebrow at this.
"He was a student at the Gotham University with me, he was perfectly fine but his doctor wanted him to come here for further testing of his worsening bipolar disorder. He didn't even know he had it, but they shipped him here first chance they got. Now," Amber shuddered, remembering the state her old schoolmate was in. "He's unrecognizable, and clearly something happened when he came here to make him lose his mind so completely like that."
"Do you fear for your friend?"
"In a way," Amber replied. "I thought he was going to be fine here, clearly I was wrong."
"Do you fear for your cousin's safety while she's here?"
"Yes, I don't want something happening to her to make her lose her mind."
"Do you fear your own safety while here?"
"...Why?" Amber asked. Was the room getting stuffy? It felt difficult to breathe and Amber wondered if she could ask for the window to be opened.
"Do you?"
"Once again, I ask 'Why?'"
"Miss Connery," Dr. Crane started. "If I recall, you wanted to know how I 'helped' my patients, my question will help you understand. So once again," he smirked at her. "Do you fear for your own safety while here?"
"...No," Amber stared Dr. Crane straight in the eye. "Because I know I have someone here who would look for me were something to happen. So no, I do not fear for my own safety."
"You should," came the dangerous reply.
Amber remembered nothing but blackness after that.
Dr. Jonathon Crane was his top suspect in the GCPD's drug cases. Driving quickly down the road that lead to the Asylum, Batman knew that he had to approach the doctor with tact or else he could end up at a dead end with a cold case. Of course, the GCPD didn't know he was investigating the case, like usual. The only one who even had a slight suspicion was Commissioner Gordon.
But Batman was unhappy with the GCPD's progress on the case and felt he needed to take matters into his own hands. All the clues traced back to Arkham Asylum and, furthermore, to Dr. Jonathon Crane. The man had a pretty sketchy past in medical school and the records on Crane's patients weren't looking too favorable either. Batman wanted a word with the doctor to see if his lead was the correct one or not.
The car screeched to a stop in front of the steps of the building and silently, the Batman exited the vehicle and entered the building without alerting anyone.
He searched the building for signs of Crane but came up with nothing. He wasn't in his office, with any patients, or even in the restroom; the man simply was not there. But upon looking through the asylums employee log in he knew that Crane did in fact come into work that day and didn't clock out yet. So where was he?
He walked silently down the halls of the asylum, looking for any sign of Crane in the rooms. Eventually, he came up to a metal door that lead to some of the labs that were used back when the asylum first opened for shock therapy, lobotomies, and more. He was going to pass it, assuming it would be empty like all the other rooms in this wing, but a soft voice inside made him stop.
Turning quickly on his heel he came up to the door and listened. A male voice, dulled by the metal door, was talking inside the room.
'Crane,' he thought.
Looking above him he saw the entrance to the vents and knew he had a way in.
Batman was shocked by what he found once he was in the vent system overlooking the room. Below him stood Dr. Jonathon Crane and across from him, strapped to a chair, was Amber. He began his plan to go in and rescue her and arrest Crane, but the scene in front of him changed.
"Well what have we here?" Crane muttered.
Batman tried to get a look at Amber to see what Crane was talking about but the way the chair was facing kept him from seeing her face.
"A little secret, huh? Well, Miss Connery, I think this is grounds to admit you as a patient here." Crane continued on. He walked up to Amber and bent down to look her in the eyes. "C'mon, you're awake, why don't you say something?" No answer. Crane furrowed his brows.
"Why are you looking at me like-" Crane had no time to finish when Batman came bursting into the room. With no time to react, Crane found himself face to face with the vigilante.
"I've been looking for you," Batman growled out.
"Hmm, I was wondering when you would," Crane grinned back.
"You're linked to various drug crimes," The Dark Knight continued.
"And?"
"And all of the buyers - as well as the sellers - are in the hospital."
"Really? Maybe I made the last batch too strong." Crane turned thoughtful for a moment.
"You don't care that I'm here to shut you down?" Batman questioned.
"No, I care. But by now my drugs have already taken their toll and so my experiment is complete."
"What experiment?"
Crane chuckled a bit. "The experiment for my fear toxin, of course. You see, I have this insatiable lust for fear and wondered if I could create a permanent fear in others." Crane walked towards a workbench in the corner of the room where he picked up a syringe with a dark green liquid in it. "I have many versions I've made. Pills, powders, liquids, but the most successful one seems to be the gas."
"You've been giving people fear-induced hallucinations?!"
"Yes, and my patients."
"You feel no guilt for what you've done?"
"I would have to admit, no. I mean," Crane grinned a bit wider. "Fear is what keeps us as creatures going. Fear is what keeps us alive. Without fear, the human race would've killed itself off before time began; it is a basic instinct. I want to show people fear, make them feel it in its purest form. Even I, Batman, have fears of my own."
"Surprising, coming from a man who shows no fear in facing criminal charges." Batman glared.
"Oh please, what more could the courts do to me? I mean, I've already done time for killing my grandmother as a teen. Prison, Batman, does not scare me anymore. You, however, do." Crane finished.
"I scare you," Batman raised an eyebrow at this. "I find that difficult to believe."
"You do! However, unlike others, I'm reveling in the fear I'm feeling right now. Embracing it like an old friend."
Batman looked to the corner of his eye to find Amber passed out in the chair. 'So why was Crane acting like she was awake?' He wondered.
"Oh yes, I had almost forgot about my little, nosy, experiment." Crane sighed.
"I injected her with some of my fear toxin. Interesting, though, she hasn't reacted in the slightest." Crane shrugged. "Maybe she's reacting mentally, though. You know, trapped in her own mind sort of thing."
By now the masked vigilante had sent a message to the GCPD with a recording of Crane's admittance to being the main cause of the recent drug crimes as well as their location. Soon, the sounds of sirens filled the air and Crane was taken away without a fight.
"Good work," Gordon praised.
"It was too easy," Batman pointed out. "He didn't fight me at all, but admitted everything. Keep an eye on him, he wanted to be caught."
While the police investigated further and interviewed other doctor's about Dr. Crane's "part-time work", Batman turned back to Amber who was still sitting in the chair, but without the straps that held her to it.
Bright blue eyes stared back at him...Blue?
"Amber Connery, I presume?" He asked.
No answer came except for a smile forming on her face.
"Miss Connery," he tried again.
Her cold stare and smile began to unnerve him. Like she knew something he didn't.
Lowing his voice so the GCPD wouldn't hear, Bruce whispered, "Amber, are you alright?"
Still, she granted him with no answer. Bruce sighed, turned his mind and demeanor back to that of the Dark Knight and walked away to let the paramedics handle her. Her blue eyes still gave him the creeps, though; weren't they always green?
"Oh you're gonna be fun," Came the deeper female voice. He quickly turned around to gaze back at her. This time her gaze had one of amusement on it. He held her gaze until unconsciousness claimed her again.
Yeah, now we get to the more fun ideas I've had in the next few chapters. Sorry if things seemed a little OOC but Batman is a pretty difficult character to write for, same for Dr. Crane. I had to look up more information on Scarecrow's background to feel like I was writing him even a little decently. If anyone has any advice on how to write Batman a little better, I am open to it because Bruce is easy, Batman is not. Anyways, hope you all enjoyed this chapter! Thank you so much for reading and don't forget to R&R!