Disclaimer: I don't own Dr. Crane and/or any of the characters/places associated with Batman Begins.
The footsteps she heard coming down the hall that evening didn't surprise her really, but her breath caught in her throat none the less. Vanessa knew full well that it was Dr. Crane coming to pay her another one of his late night visits.
This would be their last encounter though. She felt certain of that. Dr. Crane was a lot of things but stupid was not one of them. He had to know by now that Julie was a loose canon. Why else had he been so eager to break up their seemingly harmless conversation in the hallway? He'd have to put Vanessa away one way or the other rather quickly at that. She only hoped Julie wouldn't suffer the same fate.
Try as she might her breath would only come in short gasps. She lay in bed with the covers pulled up to her chin as she stared at the ceiling. The footsteps came to a stop outside her door and there was a deafening silence in that brief moment. Vanessa closed her eyes and exhaled deeply. Should she pretend to be asleep? Would he leave her be? Doubtful she thought.
"This is it," she told herself. As the door opened she sat up in bed. Dr. Crane entered the room making sure he locked both of them in. Too bad he was a madman since he did look quite striking in the light of the full moon. He wore no mask tonight and did not carry his trademark briefcase with him. For all intents and purposes he appeared to be unarmed.
"No mask this time doctor? What's on the agenda this evening? Maybe force me to dress in a Hefty bag and dance in the moonlight?"
She almost laughed at the mental picture that conjured up. A gleam of satisfaction washed over her. At least she knew that no matter how this night ended she had managed to remain a wise ass right till the end.
Dr. Crane smiled at her. Not his usual smirk but a genuine smile this time.
"You think you've got it all figured out don't you?" he asked.
"Well I did until you gave me that I'm-crazy-as-hell smile. Is there something else you think I should be aware of?"
By now she had risen from bed and stood to face him directly. She clapped her hands in front of her out of nervousness. There was no denying she was frightened. She only prayed he couldn't see right through her tough façade.
"Vanessa, I've been very patient with you. I've done nothing but try to help you since you got here."
"Help me? That's outrageous. Some would consider what happened in this room last week sexual assault and attempted murder."
"No, it was part of your therapy. My techniques are unconventional. I'll give you that, but I forced you to face you fears and look at you now. You've come out all the stronger for it and this is the thanks I get."
"What do you want me to do, kiss your feet?" she asked.
"Gratitude, I want you to show me a little gratitude."
He was closing the distance between the two of them quickly. Vanessa backed away only to find her back hit the corner of the wall all too soon.
"I'm willing to give you a second chance but you have to help me this time."
"Help you with what Dr. Crane?"
"I need your assistance with my new experiment. I'm coming up on a very important deadline and I need a test subject. We've worked well together in the past. Don't you agree?"
"No, not really. What kind of experiment are you talking about?"
"It's a new drug I'm developing. It allows patients to face their fears without so much, shall we say, physical effort on my part." He couldn't help but smile at her knowingly after that statement.
"What's in it for me if I cooperate?" Vanessa asked.
"Stick with the trial for one month and at the end I'll release you with a clean bill of health. You'll have to come back and meet with me for an hour once a week but only as a formality. We wouldn't want to draw suspicion would we?"
"You're serious? You'd actually let me go? Sorry doc but this sounds like a bunch of bullshit to me. How am I supposed to believe you'll keep your word?"
He walked closer to her and offered her his hand as he had all those times before.
"I can only offer you my word-nothing more. Let's shake on it."
Vanessa studied him as he stood little more than two feet away from her. The light of the moon reflected off his glasses giving his eyes an other-worldly glow.
Feeling as if she were making a deal with the devil she tentatively raised her hand. Deciding she valued a chance at freedom above all else and really had nothing to lose anyway she placed her hand in his. He tightened his grip quickly-like a python would its prey. Instead of shaking her hand he drove her against the wall. She let out a wordless grunt as the wind was knocked out of her.
Dr. Crane's tone was mocking as he asked her, "Don't you ever get tired of being played like a fiddle?"
"I wish I could say I was surprised." She laughed as she shook her head.
Her tone quickly grew serious, "Why do you do these things Jonathan? You're supposed to be my doctor. You were supposed to help me."
If there was a shred of decency left in him Vanessa hoped she could appeal to it.
"What can I say? You're my favorite patient and you're fun to play with."
With that he kissed her. She was able to break away from him almost immediately and tried to cry out for help. This time he grabbed the back of her head roughly, wrapping his fist in her hair and pulling her head back before covering her mouth with his own once more. The kiss was hungry, demanding and it would not be denied. Vanessa couldn't push him away this time so she stopped trying. After what seemed like an eternity he stopped. Dr. Crane watched her with curiosity trying to read her emotions. Vanessa gave him only a blank stare.
"Why the cold shoulder Vanessa? The other day I was the one pushing you away."
"Mine was a desperate act during a moment of weakness-nothing but a mistake. You're taking advantage." she responded.
"I think it was a little more than that. Be honest. Was that the first time you'd ever thought about being with me? Was it the last?"
"You can't do this. Do you think that people won't find out about what you're doing to your patients? That you experiment on them?" she asked him sincerely.
"I'm the Director of the asylum. People here see only what I tell them to. They turn a blind eye and deaf ear to everything else. An over zealous employee may pop up from time-to-time but they're always persuaded to drop the subject….one way or another."
That had to be a reference to Julie. His power of perception was as keen as ever. His mouth curled into that all too familiar grin when he saw the defeated look on her face.
"I'll fight you every step of the way," she told him. Not breaking eye contact for a second.
"I don't think you will. You're tired aren't you? Do you really want to fight with me?"
He slid the collar of her oversized T-shirt off of her shoulder with his free hand and started a trail of kisses up her collar bone.
"We're done fighting for now I think. It's time to make up", he whispered to her.
He'd worked his way up to the hollow of her neck by this point. His soft voice continued to speak to her in a seductive tone in between his caresses.
"What would have happened if I hadn't stopped you that morning I wonder? How far would it have gone?"
His kisses advanced up her throat, finally reaching that all too tender junction between her neck and ear. He lingered there as he unraveled his hand from her hair and un-tucked her shirt from her sweatpants. His hands rested on the bare skin of her waist.
"Did you think about what it would have been like?"
He nibbled on her ear lobe,
"to feel my hands on your body."
His hands ran along the smooth skin of her back,
"to feel me inside of you"
He pulled her body into his,
"Jonathan" she gasped.
Vanessa reached out and gripped his waist. While he continued his assault on her neck she unbuttoned his sport coat and un-tucked his shirt. Feeling along the edge of his belt she identified a canister of unknown purpose; she guessed mace or pepper spray and what might be a key ring.
"I did think about you." she said as her voice began to tremble.
He stopped what he was doing and looked into her eyes.
"Shhh, it's okay." he said, his mouth making contact with hers again.
"There's something I've wanted to give you."
"What's that?" he asked as he fumbled with the tie to her sweatpants.
Vanessa drove her fist into his lower jaw with all her strength. It was a perfect upper cut if she did say so herself and Dr. Crane must have agreed because he fell flat on his back in appreciation. As he lay sprawled on the floor Vanessa saw the moon light reflecting off his key ring. She'd guessed right after all.
Holding the keys in her hand she didn't hesitate as she ran toward the door. Keys one through three did not work but she heard the lock release when she turned the fourth key. The door opened and she made her first step towards freedom.
Vanessa had just entered the hall when Dr. Crane grabbed her shoulder and spun her around. Bringing her arms up she was prepared to go another round with him. That's when the spray hit her. At first she thought he'd maced her but there was no pain or watering of her eyes as she would have expected.
She coughed a bit from the gas before losing her balance and falling to the floor. Something was wrong. Her heart was racing. A feeling of anxiety grew quickly within her then blossomed to full blown panic. She could swear that the walls were moving. Dr. Crane stood over her but he too seemed to be undulating just like the rest of her surroundings. The flesh on his face began to slowly melt away until nothing but sinew and bone remained.
"Get away from me!" Vanessa screamed.
"Tell me what you see?"
It had to be Dr. Crane speaking. There was no one else around but his voice too had changed. It was deeper than normal, raspy. The kind of voice one only hears in their worst nightmares.
Vanessa clamped her hands over her ears and screamed. This time she didn't stop. She kept screaming until Dr. Crane disappeared and the rest of her world faded to black.
