Disclaimer: I don't own Dr. Crane and/or any of the characters/places associated with Batman Begins.
I also wanted to thank everyone for your wonderful and supportive reviews. They are very much appreciated.
A non-epileptic Grand Mal seizure was the official diagnoses. Vanessa had been monitored by EEG since she'd been brought to this new floor at Arkham. Apparently the seizure had not originated in her central nervous system meaning it had been in response to some other stimuli. What the stimuli had been was a mystery to her and her doctors. They screened her blood for traces of drugs, alcohol and poisons but found nothing. All she knew was that her whole body ached from the spasms and she had a headache that would not quit. On the upside she liked this room much better. It was clean, the walls were bright and she had been able to take her first real shower since she'd become a patient here. Granted it was a small standup shower with water that barely got above room temperature but it was better than the bird baths she had been taking via the sink in her other room. Vanessa was disappointed when she found out she wouldn't be staying here and was due to return to her dungeon the next morning. The M.D. had given his okay so back she would go. She thought it odd that she had not seen Dr. Crane at all this week. When she asked one of the nurses about it she was told that he had been spending most of his days in court. There had been a large influx of patients into the asylum in the last week-two patients to be exact. It didn't seem like a large number to Vanessa but the nurse seemed to think it was abnormal.
When she stepped into her old room she experienced a sense of dread so overwhelming that she sunk to the floor. Vanessa was at a loss to explain why she felt this way. She reassured herself that this was all in her head and accepted the sedative the nurse offered. After all she'd been through this past week sleep was becoming increasingly important to her.
Vanessa woke up in a cold sweat that evening. She felt awful and her dreams had been plagued with strange images that confused and frightened her. She had seen Scarecrow with his plastic bag in tow coming for her, a menacing white fog drifting through the air and by far the most disturbing; Dr. Crane standing above her bed watching her sleep. He held something in his hand but Vanessa was unable to discern what it was. He kept looking back and forth between her and the door before he slowly backed out of the room. Why she found that so unsettling was unclear. She was thankful that the sun was still shining and her room still well lit. She didn't know how she would have reacted had she woken in a dark room. A nurse entered just then with a tray of food. Vanessa glanced at the name tag-Audrey it read. Audrey was a plump elderly woman with white hair and kind eyes. Vanessa couldn't recall having seen her before.
"What time is it?" Vanessa asked.
"It's 5:00, time to rise-and-shine sweetheart."
"Wow, you are way too happy to be working in this place." Vanessa thought.
"Where's Jonathan, I mean Dr. Crane?" she asked.
His continued absence baffled her. After having this unexplained seizure she thought she would be seeing him more than ever. Instead he had dropped off the face of the earth.
"He's been in court all afternoon I'm afraid but that's not unusual these days. I'm a little surprised at the type of a patient he's been going to bat for lately but that's why he's the shrink and I'm the nurse I guess. I'm sure he'll be in later this evening when his new desk arrives. He's still trying to put his office back in order and that fiasco in the parking lot" she sighed then continued, "That poor man is going to limp for a week. People just don't watch where they're driving these days."
Vanessa felt that Audrey could have gone on for hours if she hadn't interrupted.
"What are you talking about?"
Audrey was all too happy to fill her in on the all the gossip of the past week. Julie had evidently been some kind of rogue nurse who had gone off her rocker (as Audrey put it) and vandalized Dr. Crane's office. He had caught her in the act and chased her into the parking lot only to be hit by a car. He hadn't broken any bones but he probably felt as stiff as Vanessa did after her seizure. To add insult to injury, Julie had made it past security and was yet to be found.
"That's crazy." Vanessa said.
"But I thought he already told you about it dear. He left your room so late last night I would have thought the two of you had talked for hours."
Vanessa was about to tell her she must be mistaken when Audrey said,
"Come on now, eat your dinner. There's nothing worse than cold oatmeal. I'll be back for the tray in an hour."
Audrey left and Vanessa turned her attention to the tray. What kind of place serves oatmeal for dinner?
Without warning that feeling of dread returned. She tried to ignore it. There was no reason for it she kept telling herself. So why were her hands shaking? She decided to try some oatmeal and see how it went down. When she touched the tray a voice echoed in her mind. Vanessa recognized the voice as Julie's and a memory from the not too distant past came back to her.
"Don't provoke Dr. Crane. I'll do all I can for you" she had warned.
All of those lost memories were popping back into her mind almost as fast as she could process them. Dr. Crane had slammed her face first into the wall of his office while verbally berating her. He'd come into her room at night and ravished her. He'd been the one to poison her as well. Vanessa could remember that canister clearly now and the toxin it contained. She felt as if her legs couldn't support her anymore so she quickly sat down on her bed. She clamped her hand over her mouth trying to suppress an urge to scream.
"What am I going to do?" she thought.
When the door opened an hour later she assumed it was Audrey returning for the tray. Dr. Crane entered the room instead. He must have known something was wrong because he didn't say a word to her. They made eye contact but Vanessa quickly looked away. She was unable to control her trembling.
"So I guess your memory has returned. Good, we can pick up where we left off then." he finally said.
Vanessa ran to her food tray and clutched the only weapon available to her. It just happened to be the plastic spork that came with every horrendous meal they served at the asylum.
Dr. Crane couldn't help but laugh,
"And what may I ask do you intend to do with that my dear?"
"Did you think I would never remember the things you did to me? What did you poison me with? Why did you do it?"
He looked bored as he responded,
"You're always so full of questions Vanessa. All you need to know right now is that you are part of a much bigger picture. One your feeble little mind couldn't possibly understand."
Driven by anger she ran at him, not sure of what she intended to do when she got there. Calmly he held his right arm up as if signaling her to stop. Vanessa saw some kind of apparatus on his wrist. The sight of it stopped her dead in her tracks. He'd made changes to the delivery system since they last met but she knew its purpose and remembered just how debilitating the fear toxin was.
"You remember this don't you?" he asked when he saw the expression on her face, "then you must also remember the details of the scheme that you and your little friend cooked up?"
"I don't know what you're talking about." she said.
"Don't play dumb with me. It belittles us both. Where is Julie?"
His questions were relentless as his tone grew more menacing.
"How long have the two of you been planning this?" he probed.
"I haven't been planning anything Dr. Crane."
"Do you think she's doing you some kind of favor? I promise you she's not. If this blows up I'll have to dispose of all evidence. That includes you. I suggest you tell me where she's going."
"Honestly, I don't know."
Dr. Crane sneered at her in contempt. A shot of white smoke flew from the cuff of his jacket and into her face. The mist clouded her vision and quickly invaded her lungs. In an instant she felt paralyzed with fear. The wood floor beneath her rotted away, slowly turning to dirt. A swarm of insects burrowed up from the ground. They crawled over her feet and up her legs. She kicked at them frantically. When Vanessa looked to Dr. Crane for help she saw Scarecrow looking back at her. He was covered with so many insects it looked as if his body were formed by them. She recoiled and he grabbed her roughly before throwing her to the floor. His foot pressed hard against her throat and she felt as if her windpipe would be crushed.
"Stop lying to me." Scarecrow yelled.
Bugs teemed off his shoe onto her face. They invaded her mouth and became entangled in her hair. In the tiny part of her mind that was still rational she thought that whatever Julie had done it must have been significant. Good for her!
Vanessa's panicked state soon won back control as the insects engulfed her body threatening to bury her alive. The ground was so thick with them that she could no longer see her legs.
Scarecrow's interrogation continued unabated. With the pressure on her throat she found it impossible to answer him. Vanessa managed to draw in enough air to make one heartfelt plea,
"Please, make it stop." she begged.
It was all too much. Her head thrashed from side to side in an effort to shake some of the creatures lose.
"Get them off of me!"
Scarecrow removed his foot from her neck and she wasted no time getting to her feet. Vanessa brushed the bugs off her legs. She tore at her hair like a woman possessed and scratched her own skin as she saw the insects on her arms begin to tunnel under her flesh.
"That's enough for now" she heard someone say through her drug induced dementia.
She vaguely acknowledged the needle that pierced her skin. Almost instantly the hallucinations began to fade. The bugs crawled back into the earth and before she knew it she was standing on the hard wood floor again. Along came the realization that all these visions had been the product of her own mind which Dr. Crane seemed to be in complete control of. Exhausted she found herself back on the floor with her head tucked between her knees. She began to shake and cry. No convulsions followed this time but that didn't mean she was okay.
"Get up Vanessa." Dr. Crane ordered.
She looked up to see he had removed his mask. When she didn't respond to his command he pulled her to her feet. He grabbed a hold of her lower jaw and squeezed it tightly. His mouth was mere inches from hers.
"Don't touch me. I hate you." She cursed at him. Vanessa could see him for what he truly was-nothing but a vile predator hiding behind a handsome face and gentle demeanor.
"You don't have to like me. You just have to talk to me."
"I told you. I don't know anything. I didn't even know she worked here until she brought me back to my room that day."
"What did she say to you then?" he asked.
"She told me not to provoke you."
"Sound advice. What else?"
Vanessa hesitated in answering him afraid that the small amount of information Julie had given her might be enough to give her away.
Dr. Crane tightened his grip on her jaw,
"Is it time for another dose so soon Vanessa? I didn't think you were such a glutton for punishment." he taunted.
"No, please." Her voice cracked and her unstable legs finally gave out on her. Dr. Crane had to support her to keep her from collapsing.
"I can't bear it." she cried.
Vanessa had reached her breaking point. Only spite kept her from going over the edge. She would never give him the satisfaction of knowing that he had been the one to break her. He would take far too much pleasure from it.
"Just tell me what she said and this will stop." he promised.
"She said she knew someone who might be able to help. That's all. I don't know who she was talking about of where she was going."
"I don't believe you Vanessa." he said, emphasizing each syllable.
A cell phone came to her rescue. Since she was still on the verge of collapsing Dr. Crane had to hold her body against his with one arm and answer the call with the other.
"Crane" he said impatiently.
He didn't seem to care when she rested her head against his shoulder. He probably thought she was about to pass out. Vanessa was actually taking the opportunity to regain control of her faculties and eavesdrop on his conversation at the same time.
"Gotham is a series of islands sir. You'll have to be more specific."
Vanessa felt his hand drifting lower on her body until it came to rest on the small of her back. He pulled her body further into his and held her tightly.
"What about the files?" he asked.
She picked her head up suddenly. Try as she might she had not been able to make out what the person on the other end of the line was saying. Dr. Crane looked at her briefly and winked. Vanessa knew without a doubt that this conversation was about Julie.
"Very well, I'll be there in thirty minutes. Well done."
He slipped the phone back into his pocket and pushed her against the wall. His hands came to rest on her shoulders and a triumphant smile spread across his face as he touched his forehead to hers.
"It would seem Julie has saved your skin after all. My associates have her detained at the Docklands as we speak."
Dr. Crane let her go and turned to exit the room.
"Don't hurt her Jonathan, please. She was only trying to help me." Vanessa pleaded.
"I'm not going to hurt her Vanessa."
"You're not?" she asked in disbelief.
"Of course not, I hire people to do that kind of work for me."
Vanessa did not find this attempt at humor very amusing but he was heading toward the door again and she had to stop him quickly. She grabbed hold of his hand as he reached for his keys. She caught him off guard when he turned to her and she ran her fingers gently through his hair. Pulling him to her she kissed him over and over again, each kiss deeper than the one before it.
"Don't go." she said when she stopped.
"I wasn't aware you were so eager for my company."
As his hand tenderly caressed the side of her face Vanessa hooked her fingers underneath his belt and began pulling him toward her bed.
"Stay with me tonight Jonathan. Let her go and I'll do anything you want."
She could only hope that her attempt to feign desire was convincing.
Dr. Crane's hands snaked up the front of her shirt causing her to flinch slightly.
"Anything?" he asked coyly.
"Anything." she confirmed.
"Nice try Vanessa but you're a horrible actress. I'm afraid I must be going."
He quickly exited the room. Vanessa rushed after him only to have the door slammed in her face. She pounded her fists against it. She called out to him, begged him to show mercy but he was gone and Vanessa knew that no one would ever see Julie alive again.
