Hello duckies! Wow, I almost didn't get this chapter done, stupid neuro paper. Ah well! Done it is and here you go!
Isabel woke with a start and sat up quickly causing the blanket to slide off her onto the floor. Bright light filtered through the gaps of the boards illuminating the peeling wallpaper of the bedroom. She hadn't fallen asleep in the bedroom, had she? Isabel picked the duvet from the floor and set it back on the bed. She was just about to leave the room when she spotted a new set of clothes lying over the footboard at the end of the bed. That was nice with the fresh clothes perhaps she would take a shower this morning. As she walked into the living room she brushed her fingers through her hair trying to pull out some of the knots. When she entered the living room the first thing she noticed was the large bag sitting on the couch. Through the thin plastic she could see the brand names of those certain feminine items she had requested pushing through.
Sitting on the couch next to the bag Isabel opened the top of the bag and began pulling out the boxes. There were panty liners, tampons, thin pads, thick pads, winged pads, and even some massive nighttime pads for extra heavy flow. As she removed the items from the bag Isabel started to laugh. Had Crane decided to buy out the whole store? Pulling out a rather small box Isabel heard a rattle in the bag and felt a sudden weight at the bottom. Digging her hand down her fingers wrapped around a small container and when she pulled it out another burst of laughter sprung from her lips. It was Midol. He'd thought of everything.
Once everything was out of the bag Isabel scooped the items into her arms and brought them into the bathroom. She stacked the packages by the toilet and set the medication on the sink counter. With that out of the way she turned on the shower and stripped down. While waiting for the water to warm up Isabel looked her body over in the cracked mirror. The bruises on her cheek were practically gone and she looked a lot better than she did a couple days ago. There was no pain either when she pressed her fingers against the skin an even better sign. Steam was now leaking out from behind the curtain and Isabel stepped into the shower.
Jonathan opened the door and was surprised to find out that Isabel was not on the couch. He expected her to be up by now. Setting the tray down on the floor he leaned back out into the hall and retrieved a pile of worn books. Stepping back inside, he closed the door with his foot. It was then that he heard a loud gasp from behind him. On instinct he swiveled around dropping the books and bringing his hands up at the ready. It took only a few second though for him to realize that he was not in danger and by that time Isabel's bare backside had disappeared into the bedroom.
Jonathan felt a slightly red creep into his cheeks. He'd never seen a non-subject like that before. Shaking his head to try and rid himself of the blush he bent over and began picking up the books. Luckily all of them had missed the food he had set on the floor earlier. He was stacking the books by the couch when he heard a soft click and the squeak of an opening door. Jonathan looked up at Isabel who was awkwardly standing in the doorway her cheeks a brilliant scarlet; to her credit though she was keeping an incredibly straight face.
Standing up straight Jonathan cleared his throat. "Morning."
"Morning," Isabel said in return moving down the hall and sitting on the couch. "You look rested today; did your genius not keep you up?"
Jonathan's lips twitched but he was able to restrain a smile. "No, it did not. You look well rested yourself, did you sleep well?"
"Yes, very well, thing is though I could have sworn I fell asleep on the couch yet I woke up in the bedroom. Perhaps, did you move me?"
"Guilty as charged. When I dropped off the feminine hygiene products you looked rather uncomfortable so I took the liberty of moving you."
"Thank you then and thank you for the products it is quite the relief to have them. I was wondering though, you provided a lot for me and I know I won't use all of them, would you like the extras so you can return them? I wouldn't want you to have wasted money."
"No, that's fine I didn't buy them." Jonathan watched Isabel's eyes widen slightly as she assumed he had stolen them. This was a half-truth he supposed as the card he had used to purchase them was stolen.
"Does the idea that I stole them disturb you?"
"In relation to everything else, not at all." His lips twitched again and this time he allowed himself a small smile. She was refusing to look at him. How cute.
"Here," Jonathan said pulling one of the books out from the stack. "As your knowledge is deeply lacking, I thought you might want to read this." Her head didn't move but Jonathan saw her eyes flicker over before she took the book from him.
"Thank you." There was a long pause as Isabel stared straight ahead and Jonathan waited for her to break but when it didn't come he raised an eyebrow in surprise. He hadn't expected this passive-aggressive behavior from her, though seeing how she was from the Midwest perhaps it should have been. The culture of the Midwest was overly polite as well and was the most likely cause of her and her father's gratefulness. It wasn't true gratitude but simply habit.
"I'll be back for dinner then," Jonathan said stiffly. He shut the door behind him sharply and the sound of the lock reverberated down the hall. If she wanted to treat him that way then fine but she would have to suffer the consequences.
He had seen her naked. Isabel couldn't believe he had seen her naked. No one had seen her naked since she was five. A man, who was not her father, had seen her naked. God she couldn't even look at him. If she looked at him she would lose it. Good he was leaving.
As soon as the door shut Isabel buried her face in her hands. How could she have been so stupid!? She just walked out like that. Not thinking that he would be in the living room to see her naked as the day she was born. Why didn't she wrap the towel around her or something? God she was such an idiot! Her face was burning even redder, so much so that she could feel the heat coming off her cheeks. Isabel was glad Crane wasn't around to see it; he'd probably find it amusing.
The loud rumble of her empty stomach distracted Isabel enough that she was pulled out of her thoughts. She set the book Crane had given her down and picked up the try. It was oatmeal again but this time there was no honey or raisins to sweeten it but cinnamon instead. Isabel hurriedly finished the meal her eyes continually drifting to the book sitting cover down on the couch. When Crane had given it to her she hadn't even read what the title was and the back of the book was completely blank. Now she was itching to find out what he thought she needed to read.
There done. Isabel nearly dropped the tray on the floor before she dived for the book. Flipping it over the first thing she noticed was the almost cartoonish lettering of title "The Rogues' Register: a Guide to Surviving the Masks of Gotham City". Isabel raised an eyebrow. A book about the Rogues? Did that mean Crane—no—the Scarecrow was in here?
She opened the book and flipped to the index. "'S', 's', 's'," she tutted running her finger along the page. "Scarecrow, page 93." Isabel paged through the book to what she was looking for.
'Name: Scarecrow a.k.a Jonathan Crane
Height: 6'3"
Weight: 160 lbs.
Costume: Brown suit with notable burlap mask and noose
Weapons: Scarecrow primarily uses an aerosol chemical weapon referred to as fear gas. Secondary weapons include a scythe and a liquid form of his fear venom.
Abilities: While he has no metahuman capabilities Scarecrow has an extraordinary concept of psychology that gives him a great ability to manipulate those around him; he is also rumored to being highly skilled in hand-to-hand combat but this has never been verified by the authorities
Bio: Born in'
A wave a disappointment rushed over her. Crane had blackout most of the biography. What was readable were mainly things he had already told her. Apparently he didn't want her to know too much about him. With a sigh she read on.
'Prison Life: Scarecrow has been incarcerated in Arkham Asylum ever since his original capture. He has escaped multiple times and recaptured by the Batman each time. During his interments in Arkham doctors have diagnosed him with an array of mental disorders including, sociopathy, antisocial personality disorder, and schizophrenia. Some doctors believe that Scarecrow might suffer from multiple personality disorder with Jonathan Crane and Scarecrow being two separate identities due the differences in behavior.
Safety tips: If you come across the Scarecrow while in Gotham we recommend placing you shirt or another cloth over your mouth and nose to prevent the gas from entering you lungs and then running. Due to the crippling effects of his fear gas Scarecrow does not use many henchmen meaning if you can run do so immediately. If you do happen to inhale any of the fear gas try your best not to panic no matter what you experience, there is an antidote. To prevent being taken for his experiments make sure to never travel alone and if you must then only on well-lit streets.
Danger Rating: 7/10'
Isabel snorted. The scale of the danger rating was done in little skulls. Even if the rating was ridiculously done it didn't diminish what she had read. Antisocial personality disorder, sociopathy, schizophrenia, this man was insane. Well she already knew that, this was just scary insane. She had hoped that he only had a sort of superiority complex, something along the lines of extreme narcissism. But his self-grandeur was just a fraction of the whole psychosis. Remorseless, manipulative, she had read enough to know the other characteristics of sociopaths.
Isabel ran a hand through her damp hair and tried hard not to blush once again as she was forcibly reminded that Crane had seen her naked. Determined to push that memory from her mind once more she flipped to the beginning of the book. 'Name: Anarky a.k.a Lonnie Machin'
Jonathan watched Isabel through the camera as he poured a cup of coffee. He'd been watching her since he had left and a good thing too as he had seen her little blushing breakdown. She hadn't been ignoring him she'd just been too embarrassed to look at him. The rest of the day she has been switching between reading 'The Rogues' Register' and working on the other books he had left her. He had observed her while he worked on the newest incarnation of his fear gas. This iteration was aimed at the hippocampus, instead of causing your worst fear this gas would force you to recall the worst memories of your life. It was one of the few gases that Jonathan would also make an antidote to incase he was exposed to it.
Taking a long sip of his coffee Jonathan glanced at the clock. It was nearing 6pm, time for dinner. Setting his coffee down Jonathan picked up the tray he had put together before making his coffee. Carefully balancing the tray on one hand he made his way into Isabel's quarters. She looked up from her book when he entered and he noticed a slight blush flash across her cheeks. How cute, she was still embarrassed.
"Evening." He said setting the tray down next to the couch.
"Good evening, Dr. Crane." Jonathan glanced at her hands. They had clenched on to her skirt as he approached. Embarrassed and scared.
"Did you find the book informative?" He asked, sitting down in what was quickly becoming his usual chair.
"I—yes, it was…" Isabel bit her lips while looking for the right word. "Enlightening."
Jonathan held in his laughter but he did allow his mouth to twitch into a smirk. "That's one word for it. What did you find the most "enlightening"?"
"The biographies."
"Elaborate."
"Well, in essence they are all most all the same. Either a horrific event happened to them or they were abused during their childhood. It makes me wonder if that is the reason behind their criminal activities. But then too, I know there are people who have gone through the same or similar things and they did not turn to crime."
"Horrific events can often cause irreparable psychological damage for those involved. How they deal with it though is another matter entirely. Nature versus nurture, though. That question developmental psychologists have struggled with for ages. On one hand children raised in abusive homes are more likely to act out and even become abusive parents themselves; but on the other a child can be raised in the most enriching and loving home ever and still love to torture and kill animals."
"Which is it then?"
"Both of course. Certain traits are predisposed to be expressed under certain conditions but sometimes the genes are too strong or the disorder is already wired into the mind and no matter what you do, that course cannot be changed." Jonathan looked Isabel up and down. She was biting her lip again her fingers had started to twist the fabric of her skirt. She had another question.
"Go ahead, ask." He said getting more comfortable in the chair.
Her eyes widened and her hands froze in surprise. "Well, I was wondering…why—what did yours say? The biography, that is."
"Ask anything else, I blacked it out for a purpose, there has to be some mystery between us." Isabel's face didn't fall in disappoint she must have already known that he wasn't going to tell her.
"Alright…Arkham, it said some of the doctors thought you have multiple personalities…do you?"
Jonathan stared at her the smirk vanished from his face. "No." He finally said in a deliberately hard voice that barely covered his disgust. "The fools at Arkham know nothing about me. They merely guess and hope that they are right."
"Of course, sorry."
"Don't be sorry." Jonathan said harshly. He was sick of her polite Midwestern attitude. Isabel looked hurt at his words and he sighed, she couldn't help her Midwestern tendencies any more than he could change the weather. "You like all other humans were trained to obey authority figures; this includes doctors, no matter how incompetent they may be. However, there are only two doctors at Arkham who actually want to help the patients there. The rest simply want the fame of finally cracking the greatest of the Earth's criminally insane."
"But the rest of it then…?"
"The rest? What are they? Sociopathy, a personality disorder, and schizophrenia? Sociopathy and/or psychopathy are terms they stick on nearly every criminal that passes through the gates of Arkham. As for the others, the doctors will label a patient with anything so they can get medication for it and shut them up."
Isabel's jaw dropped slightly. "That's horrible. They don't even try to help, they just medicate and placate?"
"And people wonder why we're always trying to escape." Jonathan looked over her again. Her body posture was much more relaxed than it had been when they started the conversation yet her eyes still spoke bounds of wariness. He hadn't denied being a sociopath. Technically he was but so many people are in his opinion it wasn't really a mental disorder.
"Hypothetical question: You are in the control both that controls the direction of the train tracks. A train is coming at speeds too fast to stop but there is a minivan with two children in it stalled on the tracks directly in its path you have the power to change the train's course. However, if you pull the lever to change the train's course and save the children you will cause the train to run into a group of criminals cleaning that side of the tracks. There is no time to warn anyone to move all you can do it pull the lever. Do you?"
"I—what?"
"Do you allow the children to die or kill the criminals?"
Isabel's eyes furrowed for a brief second. "I'd pull the lever."
"Why?"
"Because children are far more valuable in the long run than a few criminals."
"Congratulations, the doctors at Arkham would label you a sociopath as well."
"What do you mean?"
"It means that you would sacrifice the welfare of others for a greater future benefit. The mental state of the everyday psychopath, it's why most of them are businessmen and politicians."
"But aren't psychopaths supposed to be selfish, egotistical, and—"
"They can be but every mental disorder's checklist doesn't have to be completely full for that disorder to apply. In fact, if so many people have it, is it really a disorder?"
"Depression is common and it's still is a disorder."
"But depression debilitates people, psychopathy can be…freeing. Instead of a disorder it's more of a different state of consciousness." Jonathan glanced down at his watch. They'd been talking for a half hour already.
"Think on it." He said getting up and leaving Isabel to her thoughts.
So I don't know if you've all seen or heard about it but Fox has a new series coming out in the Fall called 'Gotham'. The trailer for the show came out last week, it looks better than the original concept sounded to me but what do you think? Yay or nay?
