Now things are getting hotter, and it should be obvious what's next in store for our doctor. ;)

Chapter Ten

Exposure

Two days ago when Lucius came up to her that morning with the announcement of creating an "antidote"; he'd already been at work, but he asked her to fill in for him since he had more work to do, and given he was an engineer, not a chemist. He'd trusted Talia to do the deed for him.

The blood sample he'd given her, in a small plastic tube taken via syringe, belonged to none other than Bruce Wayne. His butler had told Fox that "Master Wayne was poisoned and set on fire last night", but didn't give everything away. His young master was rambling about poison and some incoherent nonsense until finally he was sedated until further notice of an antidote synthesized. While examining the sample under a microscope in less than moments, she recognized the antigens of Jonathan's fear toxin. She inwardly cursed him, but then again, he had no choice because Batman was onto him - and since the Bat met up with Scarecrow, he had to know that the man who gassed him was the head doctor of Arkham Asylum.

Jonathan...once the Batman grabs anything he can as soon as he recovers, he'll have everything Jonathan has taken away from him - even from ME. If she didn't know any better, she would end up adding Bruce Wayne - Batman - right next to hating her father, both of them for threatening to take everything she loved away from her. But while Batman would have Jonathan locked up behind bars and stripped of his position and title, what would her father do to him?

It brought back to mind the still-"missing" Lament Configuration, which Ra's had not mentioned verbally, but Talia knew it, and it enflamed her heart with a terror burning worse than the pits of hell.

It was barely ten in the morning by the time Bruce awoke, from what Lucius told her. He'd returned from Wayne Manor to inform her they were going to make more of the antidote for Wayne in case the incident happened again. Lucky for him, she'd already made a few batches, but more was to come and she knew it. "I'll be going out to Wayne Manor, Lucius," she announced as she grabbed her coat with the case of syringes of the vaccination. She planned on making the trip herself, save Lucius the trouble. It also dawned on her she could use the formula to give to Jonathan so he could manufacture for himself.

"Talia - or should I say, Miranda, in case anyone hears me."

She whirled around and glared at the sight of her father in black approaching her. Sharp as ever, powerful and intimidating, Ra's al Ghul smiled pleasantly down at her, but there was no warmth in either his smile or his eyes. He was cold as ice. "What brings you here to my working life in broad daylight, Father?"

"The simple fact that a mere less than three days ago, a certain former pupil of mine has suffered a bit of an overload from our good doctor but will regain his activity soon enough," her father answered smoothly. Then his eyes fell to the case in both her hands, smile slowly fading. "I see you've been kept busy yourself."

"Because I'm giving more of the antidote to Bruce. And for Jonathan to give his experiments their sanity back."

Ra's scowled. "It's a pity. I had come here to offer my daughter and only heir a proposition," he said.

Talia raised both her eyebrows. "You call me a disgrace and think you can sway me over with a 'proposition'? I thought we were both clear on this. And I still haven't forgiven you for what you did to Bane. If you think you can take two men -" Jonathan included. "- out of my life, you're sorely mistaken."

Ra's' face fell; he didn't erupt with rage like he was known to do, but his voice softened was even more frightening than that, as Jonathan was known to do to other faces who didn't respect him. "I don't intend to. You're my daughter, so that makes us family. I will leave you alone and return to my business, but I wish for you to know this. All families suffer through ups and downs, but in the end when everyone abandons a member, they have their flesh and blood to forgive and forget. I guarantee you will do the same in the near future once this great city - once so tall and proud now sunken to the lowest depths of the ocean - is in ruins, so there is no going back. Once the goal is accomplished, you will return to your rightful place at my side so that when my time is up, you are the leader of the League of Shadows."

He didn't mention Jonathan, but that didn't mean he wasn't going back on his word. Talia merely stuck her chin up at him and smiled calmly, keeping her emotions on the outside in check. "You're wrong," she whispered, leaving it at that and unlocking her car to slip inside. Her father simply stood by and watched her calmly, though he was the exact opposite on the inside. She felt so nauseated to her stomach she tried to ignore it as she started the engine to bring to Wayne Manor for Batman against Scarecrow's fear toxin.

~o~

He had to leave a message at home to Talia, notifying her he would be late for dinner because that infuriating assistant district attorney had called him to let him know she learned of his permission from the judge in moving Carmine Falcone to Arkham Asylum just days before his trial. Somehow, he had the suspicion she would be late getting home herself. Either way, tonight was going to be an exception for them both.

He took off his glasses and rubbed his eyes in exasperation; Dawes was on his nerves for the last time. Falcone should have had his goons at least break into her home and kill her off than besides on the street on her way home from work, that way the Bat wouldn't have interfered. Falcone was such an idiot, and an even bigger idiot to think he could blackmail Crane. Now it got him in an orange jumpsuit and imprisoned within his own shattered mind.

"Miss Dawes," he said, putting his glasses back on his eyes, ignoring her frozen glare. "This is most irregular; I have nothing further to add to the report I filed with the judge. My wife is expecting me for dinner, so you'll have to explain it to her -"

"Too bad," she stated, setting his insides off, "because I have questions about your report."

"Such as?" If there was a way he could get her off his tail once and for all, now that she was his problem since his "partner" was not his problem anymore.

Dawes launched into it. "Isn't it convenient for a fifty-two-year-old man who has NO history of mental illness to suddenly have a complete psychotic breakdown JUST when he's about to be indicted?"

Jonathan snorted. "Well, as you can see for yourself, there is nothing convenient," he said sarcastically, "about his symptoms." Falcone laid there in previously mentioned jumpsuit, strapped down and writhing, wide-eyed and muttering the same word over and over: scarecrow. Rachel furrowed her brows as she took another look at him and questioned him.

"Patients suffering from delusional episodes often focus their paranoia on an external tormentor, usually one conforming to Jungian archetypes. In this case: a scarecrow." In Jung's theories, the scarecrow was the embodiment of fear and all negative emotions; in his younger days, Jonathan had expanded the knowledge of the scarecrow persona based on this character in psychology after all his years of believing it simply instilling fear into the person's psyche.

"He's drugged." She figured it out, but she didn't yet know the actual cause. Jonathan was getting closer to losing control now.

"Psychopharmacology is my primary field; I'm a strong advocate. Outside, Falcone was a giant, but in here...only the mind can grant you power. I respect the mind's power over the body. It's why I do what I do."

"And I do what I do," she returned with her nose scrunching up as though smelling something filthy, "to keep thugs like FALCONE behind bars and not therapy." She began to walk away, and Jonathan glared at her back with his hands behind his own and began to follow her to the elevator while she was still speaking. "I want my own psychiatric consultant to have full access to Falcone, including blood work so we can find out EXACTLY what you put him on," she said through gritted teeth as she pushed the elevator button for downstairs.

Jonathan nodded. "First thing tomorrow then." Falcone had to have some traces of the poison left in his blood, so he had to stall some time to try and clean that away; Talia would understand that once he explained as soon as he got home...

"Tonight." Dawes' face was smug. "I already paged Dr. Lehman at County General."

He had his keys out from his pocket and put one into the lock beneath BASEMENT. "As you wish." Now's the time after all; she deserves some medicine to clear her head after all. There is no other way out other than the hard way after all...

~o~

By the time Talia was finished with her side of the batch of the antidote, the memory of her father's words still echoed in her mind, but she did her best to shove them all down. She would NOT let him get under her skin. She had the terrible feeling that Bruce might not figure it out in time and stop him, but she sensed Ra's would reveal himself eventually.

She looked up when she saw Fox clearing up, and she felt her heart fall. She'd seen Earle come in, but he didn't even come to her. Whatever he'd told Lucius, it had done a number on her boss. "Lucius, what did he say to you?"

He shook his head. "I've been fired, Miranda."

Talia felt like she would explode. "What for?" she demanded, folding her arms across her chest. "Did he find out WHAT we were doing?!" She almost raised her voice before she lowered it the best she could. Her boss and dear friend shook his head again; after so many years of working for Wayne Enterprises, he was released by the man they detested and who Bruce Wayne must as well. And speaking of which, he had a birthday party they'd been invited to - the first welcoming birthday he would have in seven years of absence - but Talia wasn't going, claiming she had business to take care of.

"No, but he came to tell me that an item of one of Wayne Enterprises' cargo ships was attacked and abandoned - a microwave emitter - was, shall we say, misplaced."

"Misplaced." Talia repeated the word with absolute disgust. The League's doing. They need something powerful enough to vaporize the...water in the mains of Gotham. Jonathan's toxin in the city's water would be dispersed into the air, starting in the Narrows, and then spreading throughout all of Gotham...and then its people would kill each other out of their own worst fears. "And he fired you for questioning."

"I asked him if it was illegal and sarcastically asked if I got the memo that I lost my job," Lucius answered. She wanted nothing more than to take one of her Chinese daggers at home and cut his privates and feed them to the pirhanas. Wouldn't that be a sight? "Now I have to fill in a report and then get the hell out of here, unless I wanna be thrown out by security." He laughed with no humor before leaving her alone. Now that she was alone, Talia's nerves and blood were all on fire worse than Hades now. She had to get back to work, but first she had to call her husband and tell him she would end up working later than intended; more of the antidote for the police to give to anyone exposed to Jonathan's toxin.

However, when the phone was picked up, the speaker was not her husband. "Mrs. Crane?"

"Sergeant Gordon." One of the last good cops of the city. What was he doing with Jonathan's mobile? "Is my husband there?"

His answer was grim. "I'm actually afraid not. You see..." He sighed, and her heart was frozen as though cryogenically. "...Dr. Crane has been arrested."

"What?! What for?" Oh, Gods, she knew exactly what for. The Batman had gotten him and found out what he was up to, but did he mention her by any chance?

"We uncovered some nasty activity in the basement of his own asylum, dumping some toxin into the water mains; by now the entire water supply is laced with it. He even poisoned Rachel Dawes who got too close, but the Batman rescued her and took her away to give her an antidote, I think. I still don't know about him, but I think he can help us if Commissioner Loeb doesn't think so."

He has complete faith in the Batman - but damn him for saving that dreadful woman! And damn the corrupt force for taking my husband from me! Talia wanted to hurl her phone into the ground and shatter it, but instead she found herself asking, "What will happen to Jonathan now?"

~o~

"What was the plan, Crane? How were you going to get your toxin into the air?"

"Scarecrow...Scarecrow..."

"WHO WERE YOU WORKING FOR, CRANE?"

"Oh, it's too late. You can't stop it now..."

The conversation with James Gordon played over in his head about how these fools weren't going to win; he might be locked up in his own asylum now, but they would never know the main ringleader behind this. But even that didn't relieve his now-broken mind of the burden at hand - and in his heart. Talia...I'm so sorry.

He'd tried to protect them both, thought he could dispose of the meddlesome assistant DA - for all he knew, she was dead by now from facing her worst fears. To hear her scream and writhe in panic at the sight of his masked face was like having an orgasm with his wife - until the Bat Man rendered all his men useless and unconscious before tearing off his mask and dousing his face with his own fear toxin...and that cowled face became that of a monstrous bat only existing in nightmares. One he hadn't had since he was a little boy.

He'd left him there for the police to find him and take him upstairs, binding him in the straightjacket that belonged to one of his crazies. Jonathan raged internally, cursing them all - and above all, the Bat - for taking EVERYTHING away from him: his career...his life's work...his title...his wife and unborn child...

That last one hurt as much as his wounded pride.

However, the sight and feel of his beloved burlap mask tossed onto his lap brought his eyes - his glasses misplaced somehow, but he could still see - back to the door where two SWAT men in black stood with their rifles trained on him. One cracked a grin as he said the very words.

"Time to play."

Awww, poor Jonathan, losing everything he loves...but the worst is to come.