Always…

Disclaimer: I don't own anything related to Red Eye or Batman Begins!

Chapter Ten

Jonathan returned to the living room after barely an hour had passed. He had known for some time what he was going to do, but he had to keep up a certain facade around Lisa. She could not know of his true intentions at this point. He had to build a foundation of trust with her before his true purposes could be revealed. He was not completely unlike his brother, even though they had detested each other.

Jackson had always been the rebel. He was the one who was always in hot water with their parents and in trouble with the law. Jonathan clearly remembered many times where he had been the one to save Jackson's ass. Being the older of the two, Jackson typically was supposed to have been the smarter of the two, when in fact, Jonathan had significantly more intelligence. Jonathan always did all the work while Jackson slacked off and received all the credit.

Fortunately for Jonathan, Jackson had run away in high school, shortly before Jonathan became obsessed with studying the concepts of fear. It was not long after Jackson's disappearance that Jonathan committed his first murder. It was an accident, but his preoccupation with fear had driven him to brandish a gun in the first place. It was not his fault that the car crash occurred. He had merely provided the means by which to scare the passengers which caused the other car to spiral out of control.

Without having to worry about Jackson constantly, Jonathan had been able to focus his efforts on psychology and his study of fear. What had happened to his twin brother never bothered him once until Lisa Rippner had entered his life.

He mourned the loss of his brother but only to an extent that he lost a worthy candidate for his experiments. It would have interesting to infect Jackson with the toxin and see what his 'fearless' and emotionless twin was afraid of. He knew that Lisa was deathly afraid of Jackson harming her, but he wondered if there were underlying fears that haunted her. He also was secretly aching to test the toxin on a sane subject.

Lisa…his dead brother's wife. His patient because of his inept twin's unraveling mind. A beautiful woman that was unknowingly a part of his scheme with Ra's al Ghul.

"Can you help me, Dr. Crane?" Lisa questioned him worriedly. A mild expression of terror was written across her face. He could tell that she wanted him to treat her.

He sighed and removed his glasses as he sank into the couch across from her. "Well…"

"Please! You have to help me! You have to stop Jackson!" she begged desperately. "Please, Dr. Crane!"

He smirked on the inside. Lisa was making this entire situation far too easy. If she were so eager to receive his help, then he would be only to willing to oblige her.

"I will help you, Lisa, but you are going to have to trust me. Do you understand?"

"Yes, I'll do whatever you want! Just help me stop him!"

Jackson had done an excellent job with dismantling her fragile mind. The poor woman was clueless. Couldn't she see that he was far worse than his brother ever was? Was she really that blind?

"I know that this a lot to ask, but when I return to Gotham in a few days, I need you to come with me." He told her firmly.

"You mean leave Miami?" Lisa inquired in disbelief, suddenly weary of him. Was she seeing Jackson again?

"Yes. Ideally, I would come here every day, but in reality, you need more help than I could provide in this setting. I would be unable to treat you effectively here and to keep the visions of Jackson from reoccurring." He said, allowing his voice to soften.

"So, what do you suggest?" Lisa asked with trepidation.

"Lisa, I want you to come and stay with me in Gotham, where I can keep an eye on you and treat you more intensely. You need not worry about the baby because I know some excellent obstetricians in the city." Jonathan said reassuringly.

"If I come, can you promise to stop Jackson? You've done so much more than anyone else has ever done before."

"I promise, Lisa. I promise to stop Jackson."

And replace him with myself in your nightmares. He added silently.

Lisa nodded. "Okay, I'll come with you."

"Excellent," Jonathan Crane smiled. Scarecrow was pleased with him and Lisa was putty in his hands. He had a good feeling about this.

Author's Notes:

Of course, his good feeling isn't going to last long. Lisa's going to still revolt against him. Enjoy! Next chapter soon! Thanks for all the reviews—they make my day!