A/N: Well, I promised it and here it is! Chapter 54 on the actually planned day. After so many computer problems I haved decided not to take these things for granted. I hope you guys enjoy it! There is a special treat in here for you guys, multiple actually!

Special thanks go to Seven-of-Storms, anon, scarecrow fangirl, narutofangirl1213, and Xeno Tyrant for the great reviews! Also thanks to Xeno Tyrant and narutofangirl1213 for adding this to their alerts, and to Ozwolf for adding it to their favorites!

To answer anon and scarecrow fangirl, Scarebeast will not be included in this story. It is a very disliked part of the Scarecrow fanon and I cannot include it without whiplash. Furthermore it has absolutely no place in this story, given that this is Arkham Asylum and the Scarecrow does not have that ability. It would no doubt be in his records if he could attain that form. I may not be going 100% canon, but that mostly is to change the game's ending rather than character details prior to it. I am sorry! I have had the Scarebeast in mind for quite some time but not for this story...it may (hint, hint) be in a future story that just so happens to be a sequel to this story's sequel. All planned, but not written. Mind waiting? It will be in the far future (maybe, if their is enough support), but better late than never?

Now, I feel I need to explain something about a character in this chapter. There is a character who single-handedly got me to stop paying attention to everything Batman for MANY years. His name is Sam Bradley Junior. My reason for hating him is my own, but I would be willing to chew him out in any private messages you want to send! But the character is canon and is in fact the son of a detective character who has had comics going farther back than Superman's first appearances! So, I just wanted to tell you all that Sam Bradley Junior is not an OC character! He also will be here for awhile, so you may want to remember him. This all being said, he has no character to him so I will be working on that...I want to use him, but it hurts me deeply that I will be developing him.

Lastly, if you guys have any questions, comments, ideas or thoughts I would love to hear from you! I love talking with you guys and I enjoy answering your questions as well as incorporating the ideas that I can that you guys have, even if they are only character appearances!


In the swirling mess of combat created by Two-Face and his followers, security officer Boles found himself engaged with the ringleader of it all. Boles swung his baton wildly with one hand only for Harvey Dent to parry the blow with a baton he had taken from a defeated security guard. The parried blow was quickly retaliated with the second baton the Two-Face held, the swing coming up and striking across Bole's face. The impact made the vile man take a couple steps back before spitting out some blood.

Boles yelled angrily at his opponent, "Stop struggling you ugly bastard! We both know you're just going to end up spending some time in the intensive treatment ward after this."

One of Boles' fellow guards decided to help his superior out and similarly take on Two-Face, who in return began to block both of the blows from the two men, "Oh, we know that, but we plan to bring some of your guards with us Boles."

The other security officer found it hard to fight due to his new change in appendages, with a hook where a hand used to be on one arm. This man, Cash, cursed Killer Croc as he tried to fight off Two-Face who was just reveling in the chaos he had created even if it was at someone else's request. Jonathan had done enough to help the former lawyer out in the past to earn Harvey's trust and so this 'favor' of beating guards half to death to distract the entire security force was the least he could do to repay his good ally. Especially since the distraction was so that he could kill a man who had slighted Jonathan. No-one crossed Gotham's best without having an 'accident' that would put those created by Falcone to shame.


An orderly knocked on the open door of a doctor before walking in, "Doctor Murphy? You have a patient to meet-"

Inside the dimly lit room was the doctor in question, but the orderly received no response. The doctor was slumped in his chair, face pointing down towards his desk in an odd way. The orderly thought that the man must be sleeping and so he walked over to him and shook the man slightly, "Doctor Murphy?"

Shaking Murphy was like moving around a rag doll, his body moving every which way with no resistance. When The orderly stopped shaking him he watched as Murphy fell forward and his face hit the desk, "Oh no. Not good."


Doctor Stephan Kellerman sighed as he watched policemen enter the office he had been looking after. Once Murphy had been found dead the orderly who found him alerted the authorities and had promptly fainted. Kellerman had just arrived at the asylum when he was suddenly asked to watch after a dead body that needed to be inspected.

This wasn't the first time that he had seen a fellow doctor die, but it didn't make it any easier for him. Arkham seemed to have a curse placed upon it in regard to the staff members, or as he thought more it seemed to be cursed in every regard. Unable to hold onto criminals, unable to reform them, and staff members dying regularly were just a few of Arkham's afflictions. Doctors becoming psychopaths could also be listed, with the doctor Harleen Quinzel's insanity occurring within the institution's walls and the doctor who helped the facility Jonathan Crane going insane outside the walls.

Kellerman gave a deep sigh and shook his head as he looked at the dead body of his associate. Murphy had not been his favorite man, but Kellerman did not believe that this supposed murder was deserved either. One of the policemen noticed the doctor and took out his identification as he approached him, "The name is detective Sam Bradley Junior. We'll be looking into this case."

The last name rang a bell in the mind of the elderly Kellerman, as did the face. With a dark head of hair and a well built face, Kellerman could see a striking resemblance between this man and one he knew of, "The son of Slam Bradley?" the detective nodded yes and Kellerman felt reassured. Slam Bradley was a famous detective who had caught many criminals back in his day, and if his son was anything close to him the culprit would be caught in no time, "It's good to have you here sir. Your father is an amazing detective."

Bradley nodded and decided to cut to the chase, "Due to the unusual nature of this death the police department has a special interest in it. Can you explain more to me about the situation?"

Kellerman nodded quickly, a little nervous about talking with the cops even though they were hours and hours late, "Well, we only know that he died of what seems to be a heart attack or stroke since he has no severe bruises or markings that would indicate something like strangling."

The detective nodded and looked at the body, "Have you checked his body for any sort of chemicals yet? That crazy, what was his name, uh, Crane, yeah, that's it, is known for causing his victims to have heart attacks due to his chemical compound."

Kellerman shook his head no, "Sorry, but we have not found anything of the like detective. We always check every dead inmate or staff member for Crane's fear toxin and we came back with nothing. While we were waiting we ran the tests. What took you guys anyways, if you don't mind me asking?"

Bradley frowned, "Joker was on a rampage downtown and we were containing the situation with every man we got, sort of like what you had going on here with your men from what I heard."

Kellerman looked downward, sad that the Joker had escaped all those many months ago and he hadn't been able to stop the madman, "My apologies. As I said before, we were not able to find anything that would indicate a chemical death. His bruises also appear not to be all that bad. For all we know he could have tripped and hurt himself earlier, then had a natural heart attack. But given that this is Arkham we make sure of everything in such matters, especially odd ones like this."

This got the detective to raise his eyebrows in suspicion, "Well then, do you personally this was murder?"

Kellerman sighed, "Like I said, he has some slight markings on his body, particularly his chest and back, that appeared to be fresh. Someone might have roughed him up before he died although we can't be sure yet."

"And the security cameras did nothing to reveal the culprit?"

Kellerman grunted as he recalled the security guard's report on the camera system, "Nothing at all. We believe they've been tampered."

Bradley nodded, "And fingerprints? Have you had time to check for them?"

Kellerman nodded, "None from any of our inmates."

The detective rubbed his chin, "Interesting. Now I know why this seems so puzzling. Minor bruises, but he had a heart attack or stroke that wasn't caused by Crane' s toxins most likely during a time when the security cameras were altered," another thought came to Bradley, "Where was security? Was anyone at all watching this area outside those called to quell the riot?"

Kellerman sighed, "Every available one of them was staving off a riot during the time of death. No-one was here."

Bradley nodded and placed a hand on the old doctor's back, "And that makes this seem all the more suspicious. Okay, let my men and I do our thing and we'll let you know more about what we learn."

Kellerman nodded, "Thank you sir."


Jonathan was standing up in his room and stretching his gangly limbs when a low voice spoke to him, "Crane."

Turning around with a big grin on his face, Jonathan spoke calmly and a little sarcastically despite the person he knew was there, "Oh, why hello Batman. It has definitely been awhile. To what do I owe the pleasure?"

Batman quickly strode across the room and stared down at Crane, a tactic not as effective on Jonathan due to him only being an inch shorter than the Batman and him being immune to the fear Batman instilled in others. Jonathan knew that he still likely would become a quivering fool if any threats or physical damage were inflicted upon him due to what Strange had done, but he held his ground and stood bravely as the bat growled, "That doctor you murdered. How and why?"

Jonathan rose his eyebrows in genuine surprise, "Murder?"

The vigilante of the night did not have time to be dealing with this locked up criminal's lies, "Doctor Murphy, why did you kill him and how did you manage to do it?"

Jonathan just continued to look confused as he replied, "Wait, doctor Murphy is dead? That's news to me. When did it happen?"

Batman narrowed his eyes, not wishing to result to physical violence if not needed but still tempted to harm the monster he spoke to, "Earlier today. Now quit playing dumb, how did you manage to do it."

Jonathan could tell that the man was getting aggravated and he held his arms up in a surrendering motion to try and calm him down, "I really have no idea what you're talking about!"

Batman took another step towards Jonathan and grabbed him by the neck and lifted him into the air, "Stop lying Crane-"

Just as Jonathan began to go into shock and bullying memories flooded his mind he saw a lab coat enter the room behind the Batman, "Jonathan, I-", the voice belonged to Penelope, which instantly began to calm Jonathan down. Her voice also went from speaking jovially to being angered which also made Jonathan feel more relaxed, "Batman? What are you doing to my patient?"

The Batman glanced back at the woman and glared, angry that his interrogation was being interrupted, "He is my lead suspect for the death of doctor Murphy."

Penelope scowled and walked towards the man, "Well let him go and wait for the police to do their job, unless you want me to call them myself," Batman's eyes widened as he realized that she was going to call the cops on him, "I bet security would be here even faster. Now let Jonathan down, and I'll let you leave like you were never here. What right do you have to just barge in here and attack patients?"

Jonathan could not help but chuckle at the twisting face of the Batman as he was chewed out by Penelope. The detective of the night was not exactly on the greatest of terms with law enforcement except for old man Gordon and some loyal members of the group, so the best tactic one could use to drive him away was to call the police. He could not fight them without being labeled a criminal and the majority of them were willing to bring in the infamous Batman either for notoriety, payoffs from criminals or just because they believed him to be a horrible criminal.

Batman glared now at Jonathan because of the laughing and the lanky man shrugged his shoulders, "She has a point you know."

Batman tightened his grip slightly, "Well then, to prove your innocence, where were you three days ago during the riot that took place?"

Jonathan did his best to breathe as he responded, "I was receiving medical treatment here. I had been electrocuted the day before and they wanted to make sure I was fine."

The detective didn't even turn to face Young as continued to glare at Jonathan, "Is this true doctor?"

Penelope didn't know about those hours specifically, "Yes. I even helped treat him while he was there because of how overcrowded the facility was. A large fight had broken out and many patients were in need of treatment."

The Batman narrowed his eyes to the point of squinting, inspecting Jonathan deeply before his hand unclenched and the skinny man fell to the floor. The vigilante stalked past Penelope as she ran to tend to Jonathan, the large man quickly exiting the room.

Penelope knelt down and looked over her patient for any bruises, "Jonathan, are you alright?"

Jonathan blushed at how close his true doctor was to him as she looked him over but managed to stammer out, "I-I'm fine. Thank you for that. I was pretty sure I was in for a beating when I had nothing to tell him about the incident in question."

Penelope smiled at him and took one of his hands in her own, "Don't worry. We're going to be putting in new security systems soon and cameras. He won't be able to harm you."

Jonathan blushed and averted his gaze completely from his doctor, not trusting where his eyes were going to go after where they had gone during their dance, "He isn't the one I am still worried about."

The woman gave a deep sigh before wrapping both arms around Jonathan and leaning on him, her face pressing into his chest due to the disparity in their heights, "Well, I can't stop Absonus, but I'll my best to support you."

Jonathan knew that his usually pasty white skin on his face was likely bright pink and it embarrassed him to no end, "Thank you. You've done so much for me."

Penelope squeezed him tighter, "You're welcome. You're the best patient I've ever had and I enjoy helping you out. What that madman was doing to you was wrong."

Jonathan laughed at how his doctor, who thought him to be totally and completely sane, was calling the Batman bonkers, "Some say he is as crazy as the inmates here."

Penelope laughed too, closing her eyes as she continued to speak to him, "I would say crazier than that! Not only does he have as many disorders as quite a few of you, he also goes out every night and fights deadly and armed criminals with his bare hands and a gadget filled bat suit."

Jonathan awkwardly put an arm around her as well, and when she did not react he felt confident to put another. Penelope did not seem to mind, so Jonathan decided to talk on like nothing had changed, "Nigma believes that he pays for his vigilante ways by selling the stuff he takes from the criminals he faces. He would have to be Bruce Wayne to do what he does otherwise."

Penelope looked up at him and grinned, her own cheeks slightly pink at how he had embraced her as well, "Not like that playboy idiot could go out at night and fight. I doubt he could manage to tie his shoelaces without a butler, so catching smart people like yourself would be far beyond his capabilities."

Playfully he responded, "I'm going to choose to take that as a compliment."

She just laughed and held onto him more tightly, "I didn't mean it that way and you know it. By now you have to know I am your number one supporter."

Jonathan blushed a little more deeply than he was already as he thought about what to say back to her. After much mental debate he responded, "Penelope, if I may ask, why is it that you do this? You meet with me even though you've been told specifically not to by your boss, like a dedicated psychologist, you tend to me when I am hurt like a nurse, you visit me in your free time like a friend and protect me from bad people like one, and you even bring me food every day like…" his mind refused to let him finish the sentence, all of the fill in the blanks not pleasing him in the slightest. He was angry that he had even started that last part of the statement, given what was no doubt to be the result. Her finishing it.

"A mother, wife, girlfriend or lover?" When Jonathan merely nodded she giggled, "It's okay Jonathan. I'll tell you this though, I don't think of myself as your mother."

Jonathan averted his eyes again as he continued to blush. Knowing that he was having a hard time responding Penelope decided to take the responsibility from him, "Listen, you have been a great patient to me like I said, you've been constantly nice to me and you've helped me selflessly with my project. You even went to some trouble to get me my favorite flower for my birthday. Talking and being with you makes me feel happy, I enjoy seeing you every day and I have no idea what I'm saying…" Penelope blushed when she realized what she was doing. Off the cuff she had just said aloud her emotions and feelings that she had not said to anyone before, not even herself in her own mind.

Jonathan received the uncomfortable vibe Penelope was emanating and thought about what to do. His doctor had just spilled her feelings for him, revealing that they were more than doctor-patient, and that he was more than just a friend to her. That was what he knew. What he didn't know was how to respond. If he took too long he could hurt her feelings, but he didn't know on the spot what he felt towards her. He hadn't felt romantic feelings for anyone in many years and did not know exactly what they actually were like now. After everything that had happened to him since his teen years Jonathan knew little more than what hatred and fear felt like. But the positive emotions, the comfort and safety, and the odd feeling in his gut he experienced every time he was around her to some level were not things he could simply ignore. At first he believed the awkward emotions and feelings to be natural responses to actually respecting someone's thoughts and opinions. Now, when he could barely stand to look at her without blushing, Jonathan knew that his feelings had evolved to some level

Normally he planned his actions and thought out everything. For once, Jonathan decided to act without thinking and see where it took him.

On the floor of his treatment room Jonathan Crane took Penelope Young's first kiss.


A/N: Well, that happened! Yes, I've been building to this point. But the story still has 46 chapters let me remind you and chapters 90-100 will be the events of the game itself! So...things aren't done. Just remember that.

I love you guys and I am happy that I have written enough to get this story to the point where I could write the last line of the chapter! What happened after that event will be covered next chapter, but until then you'll have to wait in suspense. Sorry!

If you guys have any questions, thoughts, comments or ideas I would love to hear from you guys! I really do love talking to you guys and bringing in your ideas when I can, so if you have anything you want to ask about I will do my best to do so (more details for those with accounts on this site since I can talk to you privately, but I still will answer questions at the beginning of the next chapter from anonymous viewers) and if you have an character you would like to see or some scene or event you can think of and want to suggest, go ahead! Not everything can fit in, but if you don't suggest it there isn't any chance it'll happen! So I hope to hear from you all!

Next chapter should be here in two days, unless my new job interning with a psychologist gets in the way. And the format will be slightly different than normal. Anyways, see you then!