Chapter Five

Arkham wasn't a pleasant place in the daytime any more than at night. And it wasn't a spot where former patients liked to visit. As Yin drove over the bridge and showed her badge at the gate, she could sense the Riddler tensing without actually looking at him.

"I know this can't be easy for you," she said, pulling in at the front of the old building.

"It isn't," he admitted. "But I'll deal with it. This needs to be done."

"No arguments there," Yin said. "That doesn't make you any less brave for going through with it, though."

They passed through the front doors and stopped at the desk of another guard, who looked over at the Riddler before either he or Yin could say anything. "Well, Riddler," he leered. "Are you coming back to join us again?"

"You might wish that, but I'm not." He leaned on his cane.

"He's right," Yin said tersely. "We're here to see Dr. Jonathan Crane. I called ahead and found out he's here right now. He agreed to meet with us."

"He is here, but if you're not checking in a new patient, I don't know what Dr. Crane would want with Riddler here," the guard said.

"Why don't you ask Dr. Crane?" the Riddler retorted.

"Is he in his office?" Yin asked, a bit annoyed with the guard.

"I think so," the guard said. "Or with a patient."

"Or right here." The man from Yin's photograph suddenly appeared. "Hi. I'm Dr. Crane."

"Detective Ellen Yin. I spoke to you on the phone." Yin shook his hand. "And I think you know my friend here."

Dr. Crane looked over. "Edward?" He smiled brightly, coming over to shake the Riddler's hand as well. "I heard you were back in town."

"I never really left," the Riddler replied. "Detective Yin informed me that my old psychology teacher now works at Arkham. So we decided to come around and say Hello."

"Well, I'm glad you did." Dr. Crane looked over at the stunned guard. "I'll take over from here."

"W-Whatever you say, Doctor," the guard stammered.

Dr. Crane led his guests down the dimly lit hall. "I know you wouldn't have come here just to say Hello, Edward," he said when the guard was out of earshot. "Especially with the police. What's actually going on?"

"Dr. Crane, I'm sure by now you've heard the news of the Scarecrow who terrorized Gotham last night," Yin said. "Clearly this is a disturbed man. As a professor of psychology, I wondered if you might have any theories on who this man could be or where we might start looking for him."

"I'm also very interested to know," the Riddler said darkly. "I was one of several people he chose to assault. The detective here was another."

Dr. Crane turned, looking to them both in concern. "Are you alright?"

"Yes," Yin said. "The effects of his gas don't last long. But it's long enough to make Gotham P.D. very intent on catching him."

"I don't wonder." Dr. Crane opened the door to his office. "Please, come in."

Yin entered first and had to stop and gaze at the walls in shock. Pictures of people suffering from intense bouts of fear, panic, and terror decorated each one. "This really looks like it could be the place," she hissed to the Riddler when he came in after her.

He studied the walls as well, his eyes narrowing behind the mask. "It could be," he agreed. "But I know we're both aware, Detective, that a few eerie pictures on the wall are not proof."

Dr. Crane came in last and shut the door behind him. "You're admiring the gallery, I see," he said. "As a psychology professor, I've studied a great deal in the areas of fear and pain. I decided to immortalize some of my most baffling cases here on the walls."

"I wouldn't say I was admiring your collection," Yin said. "Frankly, Dr. Crane, I'm sure you realize how disturbing this looks in light of the Scarecrow's area of fascination."

Dr. Crane crossed to his desk. "Except that I didn't do anything to cause these unfortunate people's fears," he said. "I was called in to try to help them. The pictures were taken as they acted out their already-existing delusions and hallucinations in my presence." He walked over to a picture of a wild woman with equally matching hair and eyes. She was screaming, clawing at a nonexistent wall in front of her. "This one, for instance, was taken at a mental institution in Metropolis. You can call and speak to anyone on the staff. They'll tell you this woman was behaving like this before I ever got there. She'd been like that for four days."

"That may be," Yin said. "But Mr. Nygma was telling me some interesting things about your psychology classes. Tell us, Professor, are all psychology professors as interested in fear as you are?"

"Some, yes," Dr. Crane said. "You see, Detective Yin, I believe that to really help these people, we have to fully understand what drives them and why. Some of them have unnatural fears. I've chosen to study that, and how to help them in spite of it."

"So your interest is completely noble, then," Yin said.

"Forgive me, Doctor, but I have a very hard time believing that your interest could ever be 'completely noble.'" The Riddler looked to him. "I remember the contempt you showed towards people in general."

"A feeling that I know you share, Edward," Dr. Crane said, leaning forward with an ominous smile and his hands behind his back. Abruptly he straightened, crossing back to his desk. "But nevermind that. Such feelings do not mean that we can't want to strive towards improving the people we live among. Don't you agree, Detective Yin?"

"That may be true for some people," Yin said, "but not everyone. I don't know how you feel personally, Dr. Crane."

"I've just told you." Dr. Crane started to pace. "Yes, it's true that I don't have much respect for many people. But that actually drives me all the more. I want to impart my knowledge to better the human race, so I will respect it more." He stopped by the wall. "Are there any other questions?"

"Yes. Can anyone verify your whereabouts during the time the Scarecrow was rampaging through Gotham?" Yin demanded.

"Everyone on the staff," Dr. Crane replied. "And some of the patients as well. I believe a friend of yours, Mr. Ethan Bennett, saw me right before a session with Dr. Portman. That was at nine o'clock, right in the middle of Scarecrow's 'rampage', as you put it."

Yin raised an eyebrow. "I'd like to speak with Mr. Bennett about that."

"That can easily be arranged." Dr. Crane went back to his desk and pressed a button on his phone. "Have Ethan Bennett brought to my office," he said into the speaker.

"He's with a visitor right now, Doctor," a woman's voice responded. "Mr. Bruce Wayne. He just arrived."

Yin blinked in surprise. "Wayne?" She knew Bruce had planned to stop by yesterday, but two visits in as many days wasn't usual. Had something else happened?

"He probably just wanted to check on Ethan after hearing about Scarecrow," the Riddler said quietly.

"That's true," Yin said. "Only . . . why would he especially think anyone from Arkham would be in danger? We haven't let it get out that experiments have been happening here."

The Riddler didn't answer. He was watching Dr. Crane walk away from the phone. "Mr. Bennett is going to stop in anyway," Dr. Crane reported. "This is more important than a visit, and anyway, it will only take a minute."

"Thank you," Yin said.

In a minute the door opened and a guard escorted Ethan into the room. "Hey, Yin," Ethan greeted with a smile. "So what's up? I heard you needed me for something official."

"Hi, Ethan. Sorry to drag you away from Wayne," Yin said, "but Dr. Crane said you could verify that he was here last night."

"Sure," Ethan blinked.

"Do you remember exactly what time you saw him?" Yin pressed.

Ethan paused, thinking. "It was when I was going to talk to Portman," he said. "It must've been around nine. Yeah." His eyes flickered, as though he was unsatisfied with that answer, but from his puzzlement, he couldn't come up with anything else.

"You're sure, Mr. Bennett," Dr. Crane said.

"I'm sure," Ethan said, firmer now. "It was nine."

"Thanks, Ethan," Yin smiled.

"Any time," Ethan said. "But what's all this about? Is Dr. Crane in trouble?"

"No," Yin said slowly, glancing to the ominous man. "Not now."

Ethan nodded. "That's good then."

"Maybe we'll come down and see you later," Yin said. "We don't want to take away any more of your time with Wayne."

"I'm sure he'd be happy for all of us to visit," Ethan said. He looked to the character with the cane, really taking notice of him for the first time. "Oh wow, you're the Riddler, aren't you?"

"Yes, I still go by that handle," the Riddler smiled.

"Okay, Bennett, let's go," the guard prodded. "You can visit without taking up Dr. Crane's valuable time."

"Okay, okay. I'm coming." Ethan looked back to Yin. "See you later, Yin. Riddler."

Yin nodded, watching the guard lead Ethan away.

"Now," Dr. Crane spoke, "does that clear up any doubt?"

"For the time being," Yin said.

"Good. As for your question on whether I have any theories regarding the Scarecrow's identity, I'm still developing my ideas. But since he dresses up as a scarecrow, rides a horse, and uses farm implements, maybe you should start out by checking farms and ranches in the area. He may be dressing up as a scarecrow because it's something he's familiar with."

Yin raised an eyebrow. "There aren't a whole lot of farms in a bustling metropolitan area."

Dr. Crane shrugged. "He could even be a farmer who moved to the big city. On the other hand, he might not be connected to that lifestyle at all, but simply finds the scarecrow to be a good object of fear."

"That's possible, I guess," Yin acknowledged.

"Let me know when you find him," Dr. Crane said. "I would love to study his psychosis."

"I'm sure you'll get that chance," Yin said. "He belongs in Arkham." She headed for the door. "Goodbye, Dr. Crane, and thank you for your time."

"Goodbye, Detective." Dr. Crane turned to look at the Riddler. "What about you, Edward? Are you going with your friend?"

"I'd planned on it," the Riddler replied. "But if you would like to talk, I'll stay. She'll be visiting with Ethan Bennett for a while. And I have been curious about what you've been up to."

"I think my walls make that apparent," Dr. Crane said. "Meanwhile, I heard that you turned your skills to crime."

"Something like that," the Riddler said, somewhat stiffly. "At the moment I'm a consultant. But tell me—how do you go about trying to heal a mind like that?" He nodded to the picture of the crazed woman and her invisible wall. "It can't be easy."

"It isn't. It's different for each person." Dr. Crane sat down at his desk. "In her case, I had to convince her there wasn't really a wall around her."

"Technically there was," the Riddler said. "Her padded cell."

"Yes, but when she thought there was another wall around her, she couldn't even function at all. Once I could get through to her that she had created that wall in her mind, she could start to heal." Dr. Crane's eyes glimmered. "I found her delusion fascinating. Why would she think a wall was there? It took many sessions of digging into her past before I found the root of her problem—she was repeatedly locked in a closet for punishment as a child."

Pulling himself back to the present, he said, "And what about you, Edward? Do you still not want to share your deepest fears with anyone?"

"I certainly wouldn't do it by choice," the Riddler responded, his voice clipped. "Unfortunately, the Scarecrow dragged at least one of them out of me. And as you told me long ago, now that he knows it, he can use it against me."

Dr. Crane nodded. "That is unfortunate. Of course, maybe all he wants is to see people's fears."

"I don't think either one of us believe that," the Riddler said. "It would only be the first step. The next would be to see what the people would do if they were locked in their worst fears."

Dr. Crane leaned forward. "The gas doesn't seem to last very long. Do you think he'll start using stronger doses?"

"I should really be asking you that," the Riddler retorted.

"It would seem a logical next step for him," Dr. Crane said. "Of course, I'll really need more time to study him. He only appeared for the first time last night."

"And I for one wish that would be the only time . . . except for one thing." The Riddler looked hard at Dr. Crane.

"What might that one thing be?" Dr. Crane brought his fingertips together. He looked for all the world like he was being casual, but a gleam of interest was clearly in his eyes.

"By attacking me, and then Detective Yin, he made this personal," the Riddler said darkly. "I want to face him in a fair fight and bring him down."

Dr. Crane looked more intrigued than ever. "You're that angry about the detective being attacked?"

"She is my friend," the Riddler retorted. "Or didn't you think I was capable of having any?"

"No, but I know your affection can be misplaced. As I recall, I warned you against that Julie girl when you first became smitten with her."

"Yes. And on that subject, I wish I had listened to you." The Riddler glowered. "But Detective Yin is different."

"That's what they always say. For your sake, I hope you're right."

The Riddler looked away, wanting to get off the topic. "Anyway, regarding Scarecrow. I was with Detective Yin when she was attacked. I couldn't stop it. That bothers me."

"Well." Dr. Crane got up from his desk. "If you do encounter the Scarecrow again, I hope you'll come and tell me all about it."

"Oh, I will. If you don't already know." The Riddler stepped back. "You must be busy. I'll leave you now."

"Visit more often, Edward," Dr. Crane encouraged. "You were always one of my best students. Before you decided technology was your major, I hoped to take you under my wing as my protégé."

"That would have been interesting," the Riddler said. He paused at the doorway. "I was never quite sure why you took such an interest in me."

"Because you have a brain," Dr. Crane smiled. "And because I could sense the darkness stirring in you. A protégé of mine would need to have at least a little darkness."

"I see." The Riddler's stomach turned. If Dr. Crane was Scarecrow, the Riddler did not want to be considered in the same class at all.

Although . . . maybe they were similar in that they both induced fear. The Riddler could not deny that he drew a certain enjoyment from seeing people squirm in his traps. But he didn't target just anyone; in the past it had only been people who had wronged him and people who had fascinated him. Now, it was the criminals he was being hired to protect his clients from. Dr. Crane, if he was Scarecrow, seemed to hate the world and go after everyone at random.

"Why is that?" the Riddler finally asked. "I could see that your protégé would need to not be squeamish, to deal with the types of people you apparently encounter. But what would be the necessity of having darkness in their soul?"

A shrug. "I discovered that some people were not comfortable with my methods."

"And you were sure I would be."

"I thought it was a good possibility, at least."

The Riddler hesitated, leaning on his cane. "You've intrigued me, Doctor. Exactly what are these disturbing methods?"

Dr. Crane smiled. "Come back sometime without your policewoman friend and we'll talk more about it."

"You realize I'm trying to operate closer to the right side of the law now," the Riddler remarked. "If this is something the police wouldn't like, I could end up arrested again. And I have no intention of that happening."

Dr. Crane leaned in close. "You may be trying to be one of the good guys now, Edward, but really, the lines of morality are so blurred, in general and with you in specific. Your darkness is still there. You're still interested."

"Yes, but that doesn't mean I'll go along with you. It doesn't mean I ever would have."

"I trust you enough that I want to give you a chance, anyway," Dr. Crane said. "Wouldn't you enjoy working here at Arkham instead of being a patient? Think how you could sneer at all the guards who looked down their noses at you when you were an inmate. You could get back at all of them. Revenge is sweet." Again came the unsettling gleam in his eyes.

". . . I would enjoy staying away from Arkham altogether," the Riddler said, more uneasy than ever. Aside from it being unpleasant to hear a licensed doctor talking like this, the Riddler had never taken revenge on all the petty people who had tormented him through the years. If he had, he would probably still be doing it now. He had only bothered to go after the few who had absolutely ruined him and cut him to the core, such as Julie and Gorman. Well, not that it was wise to do that either, but it made more sense than what Dr. Crane was suggesting.

"Is that your final decision, Edward?" Dr. Crane didn't seem disappointed as much as he seemed knowing. That was uncomfortable too.

The Riddler sighed. "I'll come back and hear you out. Just to give you a sporting chance."

"I knew you would," Dr. Crane smiled.

The Riddler was deeply disturbed as he left the office moments later. He would never align with Dr. Crane in his experiments. Of that he was certain. But he wondered if he might need to pretend to go along with it in order to get to the truth.

Surely he wouldn't be able to fool Dr. Crane for long with such a ruse. But when the man was so blindly convinced that the Riddler would be a perfect apprentice, there was the chance that could be used to the Riddler's—and the police's—advantage.

The Riddler frowned. He didn't like the idea, if Dr. Crane trusted him as thoroughly as he seemed to. It would feel like a betrayal, to use the man like that. So few people liked or trusted him that he didn't want to destroy it wherever it was genuinely given, even if the giver was an unsettling person. That would make him feel too much like Julie.

But if Dr. Crane was Scarecrow . . . why had he chosen to attack the Riddler? That was a betrayal right there. If the Riddler could just know that they were the same person, he wouldn't feel guilty at all about an infiltration.

xxxx

Bruce wasn't sure what to do. He had barely arrived and started talking to a clearly tense Ethan when a guard had appeared to escort Ethan to Dr. Crane's office for some mysterious and momentary business.

At first Bruce had wondered if Ethan might be being warned against talking about whatever had happened last night. And judging from Ethan's relief when he returned, he had probably wondered something similar.

"So what was that?" Bruce asked. "That's the first time I've seen anyone at Arkham anxious to grab a prisoner for five minutes."

"Oh, Dr. Crane wanted me to confirm that he was here last night," Ethan shrugged. "Yin's here too. Apparently she and the Riddler thought Dr. Crane might be this Scarecrow dude who went out gassing people. Real messed-up Halloween, that's for sure."

"No kidding," Bruce frowned. "But so Dr. Crane was here last night? You saw him?"

"Oh yeah, when I was going to see Portman." Confusion crossed Ethan's features. "Or was it after? Nah, that was Penguin."

Bruce stiffened. "You saw Penguin?"

"Sure did." But then alarm came into Ethan's eyes and he fell silent.

Bruce watched him carefully. "Ethan, did anything . . . strange happen last night? Maybe after you saw Penguin?"

Ethan went completely stiff. "No! Why would you ask something like that?"

"Hey, easy," Bruce said, waving his hands. "I'm just wondering. After all, it's hard to believe a place like Arkham would escape Halloween completely unscathed."

"Y-Yeah, I guess." Ethan tried to laugh, but was clearly not amused. "Bruce, you remember what I told you yesterday, right?"

"Of course I do," Bruce said. "About not talking about things that could get someone hurt."

"That's right. Well, I'm afraid I've still gotta stick to that." Ethan slumped into a chair.

"Alright. I'm cool with that, Ethan. I really am. It's just . . ." Bruce hesitated, trying to think of a way to phrase his next question without incriminating himself. "Last night when I was driving home, I thought I saw the Penguin running around free in an Arkham uniform. But then he was gone, and when I didn't hear anything on the news about an escape, I figured I was just imagining things. So I'd kind of like to know whether it's time for me to call a doctor or not," he concluded lightly. "It wouldn't be good if the president of Wayne Industries was working himself so hard he was seeing supervillains where there weren't any."

The shock on Ethan's face could not be concealed. "You saw Penguin?!" he exclaimed. "Outside Arkham?! When?"

"It was really late," Bruce said. "Like, around one in the morning. Why?" He blinked. "Was there an escape? That surely isn't classified news, is it? Unless the staff's really trying to crack down on the bad press."

"Honestly, Bruce, I don't know if there was an escape or not," Ethan said. "In this case, I kind of hope there was." But then he went rigid, his eyes flickering with worry and guilt. He should not have said that.

"Ethan, what's wrong?" Bruce frowned. "Did something happen to Penguin last night?"

"No," Ethan retorted, a bit too quickly. "Why would anything happen to him?"

"You tell me," Bruce said. "There has to be some reason why you'd say you'd be glad for a jailbreak."

"Oh, I just meant 'cause the food's so bad," Ethan smirked. "It was worse than usual last night and Penguin was complaining about heartburn."

Bruce didn't believe it for a minute. "You're sure of that?"

"I'm sure."

At that moment the visiting room door opened and Ethan jumped a mile.

"Relax," Yin said as she entered. "It's me."

"Oh. Good to see you again, Yin." Ethan smiled. "Hey, I think this is the first time I've seen both of my best friends together when I've fully been in my right mind."

"And it won't be the last," Bruce declared.

Yin smiled too. "You'll be seeing a lot more of us when you're out of here," she said.

"Great. By the way, where's ol' Riddler?" Ethan wondered.

Yin glanced over her shoulder. "He must have stayed behind to talk to Dr. Crane. He was a student of Crane's at the university."

Bruce raised an eyebrow at the news. "Really?"

"Guess they've got a lot of catching up to do, then," Ethan said.

"I guess." Yin sat down at the table.

The rest of the visit went well, but with Ethan steadfastly refusing to admit to anything he might know about the previous night. Bruce hadn't really expected much different. Actually, Ethan's insistence on trying to make it appear as though everything had been fine, despite his slip of hoping the Penguin had managed to escape, made Bruce absolutely positive that Ethan knew something.

He wished, as he had those long years ago, that Ethan knew the secret of his identity. Among other reasons, it would be so much easier to talk about subjects such as this. Not that he would want to do so in Arkham anyway. He could believe what Ethan had said about the staff always listening.

It was when Bruce and Yin had said their goodbyes and were heading up the corridor to look for the Riddler that they ran into him coming from the direction of Dr. Crane's office.

Yin immediately knew that something wasn't right. "What happened?" she asked.

"Not in here," the Riddler replied, his voice low. "Later." He looked to Bruce, but gave no sign of knowing the truth about him.

"Uh, hello," Bruce greeted with a wave. "Hey, the last time I saw you was when I thanked you for saving the Wayne Industries building and everyone else in the area. Thanks again."

"Ah, yes. That was the last time, wasn't it," the Riddler said, not skipping a beat.

"What a coincidence, that you two would be coming here the same day I was," Bruce said. They started to walk up the hall.

"So why were you here, Wayne?" Yin asked. "I know you just visited Ethan yesterday. You don't usually make it out two days in a row."

Bruce shrugged. "This week I was able to squeeze it in."

"I'm sure Ethan was thrilled," the Riddler said.

"Yeah, he's always happy to have visitors," Bruce said.

"I'll have to try to get back here soon when it isn't official business," Yin said. She was still worried about Ethan being here at all. Naturally she wouldn't want him released too early, but what if Dr. Crane or Dr. Portman or someone else was deliberately keeping him there when he didn't need to stay any longer? She could picture it; they likely wouldn't want any potential guinea pigs to leave, especially if there was knowledge of the experiments.

As they approached the front door, the same guard was waiting for them. "See you around, Riddler," he sneered. "Maybe sooner than you think."

"Or maybe not," the Riddler returned. He walked past the guard, haughtily, and through the door.

Yin glanced over her shoulder in annoyance as she and Bruce followed. "I have to say, he doesn't have much faith in your reform."

"Maybe he has good reason." The Riddler headed down the steps.

"Maybe I'd feel the same, if I hadn't been coming to know you better," Yin said. She caught up with him at the car. "So maybe right now you do have a crooked halo. I still believe that you're really trying to turn over a new leaf."

"The complete opposite of what Jonathan Crane thinks," the Riddler said.

"Yeah?" Bruce said in surprise.

"Let's just say that Dr. Crane seems to think the worst about everyone and leave it at that for now," the Riddler replied.

"People like that sure must be lonely," Bruce said. This was definitely a conversation he would want to pursue as The Batman. As Bruce Wayne, he couldn't take it very far with Yin there.

"Perhaps. Or perhaps they prefer being alone to associating with beings they detest," the Riddler remarked.

"No kidding. Well, I have to get back. Big golf game today. I'll see you guys later," Bruce said with a wave. He would also have to call Yin as The Batman to tell her about Penguin. The Riddler should probably learn about that too.

He frowned. Maybe, speaking of taking people into his confidence, it was time that Yin knew the truth. She had certainly proved herself a capable and loyal ally many times over. And the three of them could do so much more on this case if she knew. Bruce wouldn't have to duck out of this conversation so suddenly, for instance. He really wished he could stay for the rest, but to stay in character, the Riddler wouldn't reveal the juicier aspects until party boy Bruce Wayne had wandered off.

At least the Riddler had that much consideration for the situation.

"Alright," Yin said, definitely distracted. "Goodbye, Mr. Wayne."

"See you around," the Riddler purred.

Bruce scowled to himself as he headed for his car. The Riddler was getting entirely too much enjoyment out of the fact that he had figured out the truth of Bruce's secret identity.

Not that Bruce would expect any other reaction from Gotham's egotistical puzzlemaster.