#I hate Rachel Dawes deal with it

[bumblebeesfromvenus]

BATtrayal

Bale!Bruce Wayne x fem!reader

A/N: The lack of Bale!Bruce is criminal, so I'm here to provide!! And of course I had to write something extremely heart-wrenching, because fun, am I right? 🥲 I will (hopefully) have some happier Bale!Bruce for you in the future! Enjoy :)

~ Fi 🪻

Warnings: very angsty, but like heart break angsty not death angsty

Word count: 1.7k

Please don't copy my work! I put a lot of effort and heart into the things I write.

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It was a gloomy morning in Gotham. Not that there were sunny ones. Ever. It had been a particularly rough night for you, but it wasn't that your Lover hadn't shown up to bed last night. That was normal. You'd learned to keep yourself warm in the big bed without him there. You couldn't even remember the last time you two had slept together. Embracing and warming eachother while listening to the others heartbeat as a sweet lullaby to drift off into your dreams.

You'd wake up to his side of the bed never having been slept in. There was no sign of him taking the couch in the living room, or even sleeping in the batcave. You weren't even sure if he'd made it home most nights. Then, last night, you'd heard him come in and basically sprung out of bed just to hug him for the first time in a while. You'd raced down  the stairs of his penthouse, into the livingroom, your heart filled with relief to know he was alive when-

"More Tea, Miss?" Alfred broke you out of your thoughts.

You looked up at him from your place at the breakfast table, him holding a teapot ready to refill your cup, if you so wished. "Yes please. Thank you Alfred," he nodded and gave you a smile "but we've been over this," you glared at him. "My name is fine, no need for the formalities". He pressed his lips into a tight smile. "Yes, of course, Mi-" You squinted your eyes at him,  and he quickly dismissed himself saying he'd left the stove on or something of the sort.

You moved around the food on your plate, carelessly pushing one piece to the other side and back again. Eating didn't seem like something you wanted to do right now. You looked out the massive windows and followed the clouds moving with your eyes. What it would feel like to be a cloud? Soft, fluffy, just going where the wind would take you. It must be nice. To not have a worry in the world.

Alfred made his way back to where you were sitting, wiping his hands on his navy blue Apron. He approached you with a smile. "Stove's all taken care of"

"Good" you smiled.

Silence fell over the room as Alfred watched you poking around in your breakfast with a defeated expression on your face.

"Not to your liking, Miss?"

"No, Alfred. You know your pancakes are the best," you gave him a small grin,  "I just don't feel like eating at the moment. And stop with the whole 'Miss' thing already, we've known eachother for ages!" you said, letting out a small laugh. He gave you a sigh. "I know, I know. It just don't feel right, with you being Bruce's Missus and all"

At the mention of his name your face turned sour. You didn't want to have to think of him right now.

You gave him a tight lipped smile. "Well, call me whatever you'd like, then"

You were about to change the topic, wanting something to take your mind off last night.

But apparently the universe doesn't want you to know peace because that was when she walked in.

Rachel Dawes.

God, you couldn't stand that woman. Everything about her drove you up the wall. Her perfect hair, that always fell how it was supposed to. That charming smile that could make any man swoon. The way she carries herself so confident and all mighty because she was a DA. How she just let herself into your and your Partners apartment like she owned the place.

She didn't even look at you as she strutted straight towards Alfred, who, to your dismay, adored her as much as the rest of Gotham. Or most of it, anyway. You looked down at your still full plate, and made it your mission to blurr out every word she said because you couldn't care less. You didn't give a fuck about what she had to say.

It ticked you off so much how she thought she was entitled to everything Bruce owned just because they'd known eachother their entire life.

She handed Alfred a small envelope which peaked your interest. Rachel pulled him into a tight hug. She acknowledged you for the first time since she barged in and gave you a small greeting that you returned without much emotion. She then bid you two a goodbye and disappeared into the elevator. Alfred still smiled after her. Blegh. If you had eaten anything it would surely make its way up your esophagus right about now.

"What was that about?" You asked.

Alfred gave you a confused look.

"You were sitting right here"

"I don't really care what Mrs. DA has to say. I'd rather hear it from you. Anything I should know?" You questioned with a cold tone.

"No, nothing of importance" he smiled. "What about the, uh, the envelope?" you pointed at the small letter with your fork.

Before he could answer you stopped him. "You know what, I don't even want to know" you spoke, putting your hands up.

"Are you alright? You haven't exactly been yourself this morning-"

"No, Alfred I am not." You hissed tears starting to well up in your eyes.

"What's the matter, Miss-" he asked with concern, but you interrupted.

"The matter, Alfred is-," you sighed angrily tears already falling down your cheeks," They kissed" your voice came out in a whisper, cracking at the end as you realized this was, in fact, not a nightmare.

"I.. I saw them kiss." You muttered.

"Surely you don't mean-" he began, shocked.

"Yes. Him and Rachel" You sobbed, pressing your hand over your mouth, trying to stifle the heavy sobs.

He made his way to your side of the table, with a sad expression on his face. Alfred went to embrace you but you took a step back. "I'm sorry.., but I think I just want to be alone right now"  you managed to choke out. He nodded and you made your way to the staircase leading to you the bedroom. When you were halfway up the steps, you turned to Alfred. "Oh, Alfred?" You sniffled. "Yes?" He responded.

"Would you tell Mr. Wayne that I'm leaving today? Permanently. Now, if you'll excuse me, I'll be gathering my things."

"Of course, Miss" he answered, sounding defeated.

When you reached the bedroom, you collapsed to your knees. One hand on your mouth the other over your heart. It hurt so much. How could he do this? Didn't he love you? Did all those sleepless nights taking care of him after a bad patrol mean nothing to him? How you were there for him and she wasn't? Licking his wounds, comforting him through his nightmares, helping him in every way you could. Just for him to break your trust and your heart like this.

You could hear faint voices downstairs but you couldn't care less. Your heart had been ripped apart by the one you trusted most. You had some many things planned. All of your expectations, plans, images of your future together went down the drain. You were supposed to be Mrs. Wayne, for Godsake!

Footsteps could be heard racing up the stairs, but you didn't care. You didn't care who would find you like this. Sobbing and screaming your heart out on the cold floor.

The door swung open and in stepped a soaking wet Bruce. It had been pouring, apparently. Funny how the weather knew exactly how you felt.

His heart clenched at the sight. You were a wreck, completely broken down. Not only that, but because of him. He had done this to you. And he regretted it now more than ever. "Baby.." he began, stepping closer. When you looked up at him, his heart shattered completely. He'd never seen you so miserable. "B-Bruce..?" You sobbed. "Yes, sweetheart, I'm so sorry I-" he had made it next to you on the floor, but you interrupted him. "S-Save it, asshole. Leave me alone" you sobbed, trying to move away from him.

Bruce became teary eyed at your reaction. "I never meant-"

"You never meant what, huh?! For me to find out? Well I did." You hissed, being able to gather yourself, at least a little bit. Then, you went right back to sobbing, really. "I.." he sighed "It didn't mean anything to me, I swear I only love you, Honey" he whsipered. You squeezed your eyes shut and shook your head. "You don't mean that.." you whimpered. "I do, I really do. I swear." He continued, gently taking your hand off your mouth and putting his on your cheek, gently stroking it.

You hated how much you leaned into his touch. How much you needed this. craved this. Bruce moved closer, taking off his wet coat, pulling you into his chest. He stroked your hair as you continued your crying and whimpering. You felt so pathetic. He broke your heart and yet you were so willing to give into him. Making you look at him, he kissed you.

First, you tensed up, this being the least you expected. Just a second after you immediately relaxed into his touch. His arms. His lips. Bruce deepened the kiss, pulling you even closer to him. He picked you up and placed you on the bed, he climbed in next to you and cradled you in his arms.

How was he so stupid? He looked at what he'd done to you. Why did he kiss Rachel? He'd been pining afte her for years and took his chance but was it really worth it? Breaking his beloved's heart, making her suffer like this. He regretted his decision with every bone in his body.

"I-I'm so, so, sorry, baby.. please forgive me.." he cried. You just continue sobbing into his chest, you didn't have the strength to try and argue with him. He ruined everything you two had built with one kiss. Didn't you kiss him enough? Not good enough? Why, on earth, did he do it? You couldn't make sense of it. You slowly felt yourself drifting away into sleep. The sobbing had drained all of your energy, and Bruce's embrace was just so warm. And comforting. You didn't fight it. You couldn't. You didn't want to. But one thing was clear. The moment you'd wake up, you'd leave. You couldn't forgive him for this. Ever.

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[mischievouslittlecreature]

Part 10: They Scream & They Cry

Fandom: The Dark Knight Trilogy

Pairing: Jonathan Crane x OC

Summary: Rachel Dawes proves herself to be a problem, and Vanessa deals with an issue in the basement.

Word Count: 2,696

Notes: Warnings for depictions of murder and blood.

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Chapter 1: Fear Will Find You

Vanessa leaned forward, the uncomfortable chair creaking slightly with her movements. The courthouse smelled musty, like old papers and dust and wood. Putting the folder she’d been glancing through aside as she waited for the trial to start, she rested her chin on her arms, folded over the back of the chair in front of her, foot tapping impatiently as they went through the usual proceedings and arguments. The courtroom was mostly empty. Probably a good thing. Security had been tighter ever since the incident with Joe Chill a few years ago.

Her eyes slid lazily to fix on the back of Zsasz’s head, more specifically on the tally marks carved into the skin all along his neck, the scars disappearing down under the collar of shirt.

Really. Even if getting him moved to Arkham wasn’t a favor to Falcone, Zsasz was undeniably, extremely mentally unwell. He belonged with them anyway. Of all the thugs they’d had moved to the asylum for Falcone, this one was by far the most justified.

Shame that Rachel Dawes had such a deep-seated hatred for Jonathan that she couldn’t see that.

Dawes was becoming more and more of a problem, going so far as to show up at their apartment in the middle of the night once to try to yell at Jonathan regarding his acceptance to testify in favor of Zsasz’s defense. And while she’d been quieter since they’d filed a formal complaint about her with the DA, Vanessa still often caught her shooting them hateful glares from across the courthouse from time to time.

Shooting a quick glance to Dawes’s dark ponytail on the prosecution’s side of the room, Vanessa cocked her head, considering. If things got bad enough, they would have to decide what to do about her. She would love to have the chance to take her down to the basement, but they really couldn’t risk arousing too much suspicion at the moment.

When Jonathan finally stepped up to the stand, she straightened, lips settling into a tiny smile as she watched him sit down gracefully and begin to speak, voice low and even.

She really did love watching him work.

“In my opinion, Mr. Zsasz is as much a danger to himself as to others and prison is probably not the best environment for his rehabilitation,” he said, eloquently. 

The case was pretty shut and close, all things considered. Dawes was clearly unhappy about it, huffing as she gathered up her papers. Vanessa would have liked to have shaken her. The man was covered in tally marks he’d carved into his own skin, and in their evaluations of him he had displayed a clear compulsion to kill. He needed treatment, no matter what Dawes thought. 

They were done in time for lunch. Pulling out her phone to send a quick message to their people at the asylum to prepare for Zsasz’s transfer, Vanessa gathered up her papers, standing and heading to the doorway to wait for Jonathan.

“Hey,” he greeted her as he came out, pecking a quick kiss to her check.

“Hi,” she began to walk alongside him towards the exit. “We have half an hour. You want to go get lunch before we head back?”

“Sure.”

“Dr. Crane!” a voice shouted from behind them. Oh, come on.

Vanessa groaned, but bit her tongue. 

“Miss. Dawes,” Jonathan greeted, with all the enthusiasm of someone just asked to drink spoiled milk. 

“You really think a man who butchers people for the mob doesn’t belong in jail?” she demanded, walking briskly beside them.

“I would hardly have testified to that otherwise, would I, Miss. Dawes?” Jonathan said smoothly. Vanessa pushed a lock of hair back. How he dealt with this woman on a regular basis, she had no idea. Had it been her, Dawes would have gotten her skull caved in a while ago. Dawes moved to stand in front of them, blocking the way to the doors.

“This is the third of Falcone’s thugs you’ve had declared insane and moved into your asylum.”

“The work offered by organized crime must have an attraction to the insane,” Jonathan responded dryly. Vanessa shouldered past Dawes with a glare, Jonathan following her. She could hear Dawes’s heels clicking on the floor behind them. Oh, what she would give to be able to take one of those heels and jam it into her windpipe…

“Or the corrupt,” Dawes called after them, the implication clear as day. Jonathan stopped, glancing over at where Dawes’s boss was standing, speaking to some woman who was probably from his office.

“Mr. Finch. I think you should check with Miss. Dawes here just what implications your office has authorized her to make. If any,” with that, he stalked away. Vanessa glanced over her shoulder, smirking at the sight of Finch rushing over to Dawes, clearly admonishing her.

“I’m beginning to think that we might have to get a restraining order against her or something,” she remarked as she pushed open the door and stepped outside, Jonathan right behind her. He groaned, pulling off his glasses to clean them before replacing them on his nose. She inclined her head. “You want to go to that sandwich place at the end of the street?”

“Yeah,” he nodded. “That sounds good.”

“Seriously though,” she said, once they’d made their way down the street, gotten their food, and sat down at a table. “What are we going to do about her? She’s not letting up. And it could be bad if she decides to start sniffing around the asylum.”

“Yes,” he agreed, frowning as he chewed around a bite of food, swallowing. “I think that I’ll ask Falcone to take care of her for us.”

Vanessa frowned. They had an arrangement with Falcone. He brought in the shipments for a price. Keeping his thugs out of prison was just a sweetener to make sure he didn’t get all huffy with them over anything. But asking him to do this…it might mean that he would feel they were indebted to him. And that was a dangerous position to be in. “I could do it. There’s no need to get him involved.”

“He’s the reason that Dawes is sticking her nose in our business in the first place,” Jonathan reasoned. “Besides, considering all the public altercations that we’ve both had with her, if anything happens to her, we’ll be some of the first suspects. Our involvement in whatever happens should be as minimal as possible.”

Vanessa wrinkled her nose, pouting. “I hate that you’re making this make sense.”

Jonathan flashed him a smirk. She sighed.

“Fine. Let him deal with her,” she huffed. “I was looking forward to getting to use my ax.”

Jonathan chuckled, reaching over to pat her hand. “I know, Nes,” he shrugged. “But either way, she’ll be gone.”

“You have a meeting with Falcone soon, don’t you?”

“Yes. I’ll talk to him about it then.”

“You want me to come?”

“No,” he shook his head. “I can handle Falcone.”

“Okay.”

He stoked the back of her hand with his pale fingers. “Things are going to start happening fast now, Nes.”

“I know,” she chewed on her bottom lip. “The boss still says that he’s coming?”

“He is.”

“Well. Won’t that be interesting.”

“Yes,” his eyes were far off, clearly thinking very hard about something. “Yes, I think it will be.”

∗ ∗ ∗ 

“Doctor Sullivan?”

She’d just gotten back to her office, having finished her afternoon appointments, ready to start on the mountain of paperwork that had accumulated in the corner of her desk. 

“Hopkins,” she greeted the guard, beckoning him in. 

“I’m sorry to bother you, but Dr. Crane is in with a patient, and I know he doesn’t like to be disturbed…”

“What’s going on?”

“Zsasz is settling in well,” he shifted from foot to foot. Vanessa rolled her eyes. 

“But…?” she urged.

“We have a bit of a situation downstairs.”

She looked up at the ceiling, trying hard to fight back the exasperated headache beginning to build behind her eyes. With a deep sigh, she reached into her pocket, pulling out a hair tie and some bobby pins. With quick, expert movements, she pulled her long black hair up into a bun at the top of her head.

“Show me,” she commanded.

Hopkins led her to the elevator, her key sliding easily into the slot at the bottom of the panel of buttons, elevator rattling as it descended into the bowels of the asylum.

She followed Hopkins down the hall, into one of the many side rooms. Seated at a table was one of the workers who was part of the production team they had making the…ahem, medicine, down there. Two guards were standing over her. Vanessa looked between her and Hopkins. “What’s this?”

“We caught her snooping around in the lab.”

Her eyes darted to the woman, who looked back at her anxiously. She took a step forward, curling a finger under her chin so that the woman was looking directly up at her.

“What’s your name?”

“Betty,” the woman said. An uneasiness had entered her eyes at Vanessa’s calmness.

“Betty,” Vanessa repeated. “What were you doing in the restricted lab, Betty?”

“I was just curious,” Betty said. Vanessa waited expectantly for her to say more.

“That’s all?”

Betty nodded.

“No one hired you to find anything…to steal notes…nothing like that?”

“No,” Betty said, voice weak. Vanessa stared in her face for a long moment. She was telling the truth. That was a relief, at the very least. The last thing that they needed was their workers getting hired by Falcone or some other slimeball to steal their research. She took a step back.

“She take anything?”

“No.”

“Move anything? Touch anything?”

“No, I don’t think so. We got to her before that.”

“Hm,” Vanessa nodded, eyes staring at nothing. “Get her up.”

Betty began to shake and whimper as the guards each grabbed her by one arm and hauled her to her feet.

“Please, Dr. Sullivan, I’m sorry–”

“Shut up,” Vanessa said evenly.

“I was just curious.”

“Curiosity killed the cat,” Vanessa shrugged. “Bring her,” spinning on her heel, she marched out into the hall, pushing open the doors to the main work area. Everyone ceased their work and chatter the moment that they saw her, seeming to shrink in on themselves. Vanessa internally purred at the reaction. “Ladies and gentlemen,” she began, voice echoing. “Your colleague here made a very, very stupid decision. At this point, I would hope that all of you would know how Dr. Crane and I feel about idiots. And snitches. And snoopers. But perhaps it is time for a reminder,” she reached into her pocket. Behind her, Betty had started to sob. “Don’t look away,” she ordered, staring down at the workers before her. “I’ll know if you do.”

Fast as lighting, she spun, and grasped Betty by a handful of hair at the base of the scalp, yanking her head back. The guards held Betty’s arms out, so that she couldn’t struggle. Twirling the scalpel once in her hand, Vanessa plunged it into Betty’s chest and dragged it down, slicing her open from her collarbone all the way down her stomach nearly to her groin. Betty screamed, the sound a bellowing, twisted echo throughout the room. Blood burst in rivers from the wound, pouring copiously out onto the ground, some of it spurting out warmly onto Vanessa’s face. Betty screamed and writhed, gurgling before she finally went still, skin steadily growing more and more pale as the blood drained from her. The guards let her fall with an unceremonious thud to the ground.

Staring down at the body, ensuring that there was no possibility of life left in her, Vanessa raised her blood flecked face to the other workers.

“Let this be a reminder to all of you to stay out of the private fucking lab,” she announced. Satisfied that the message had gotten through, she nodded. “Get back to work.”

They all just about fell over one another to get back to their stations. She turned to the guards.

“And get rid of that,” she nodded to Betty. They scooped her up by a shoulder each, dragging her away. “Hopkins,” she crooked a finger at him, and he rushed over to her. “What’s the status on production?”

“Everything is on schedule.”

“Good. I’ll be in the lab. I don’t want to be disturbed unless necessary.”

“Yes, Dr. Sullivan.”

She nodded, spinning to the door and pausing as she was met with Jonathan’s smirking face, leaning against the doorframe, eyes glimmering as he watched the display. He held out a hand to her, beckoning her to come to him, and she did, his hand resting against her shoulder blade as he steered her through the doors and into one of the side rooms. 

“We had a snooper,” she explained.

“I heard,” his hands landed on either side of her face, smearing the blood there, not caring that it stained his hands as he tilted her head up, and kissed her hard. Vanessa clutched at the lapels of his suit jacket, lips parting against his, moaning softly at the contact. When he broke away and leaned back to examine her, one of his thumb massaged over her cheek. “It really is a pleasure to watch you work, Nes.”

She smiled in spite of herself, leaning deeper into his touch. He pecked her lips again, and then reached around her to pick up a rag, wetting it with a trickle of water from the sink and bringing it to her face, tenderly cleaning away the blood. Vanessa’s eyes fluttered closed at his gentle touch, hands bracing against the counter behind her. Her head tilted back towards the dim lights in the room, her veins alight with the thrill of death at her hands, lips still tingling from the pleasure of her husband’s kiss, and the scent of blood still lodged in her nose.

∗ ∗ ∗ 

“No more favors. Someone is sniffing around,” Jonathan said, as soon as he was seated across from Falcone’s desk.

“Hey, I scratch your back, you scratch mine, doc. I’m bringing in the shipments,” Falcone argued. Jonathan’s brows pinched. He’d always hated that saying.

“We are paying you for that,” he reminded him simply. 

“Maybe money isn’t as interesting to me as favors,” Falcone suggested. God, he hated working with him. The man was slimy and idiotic. His thugs were bumbling fools and his operation was not run nearly as smoothly as he would have liked everyone to believe. Lifting a hand, Jonathan removed his glasses, so that the cold blue of his eyes was unimpeded. Vanessa had once told him that his eyes were practically hypnotic. That he could get anyone to do whatever he wanted if he focused them correctly. And he made a conscious effort not to blink. It unsettled people.

“I am more than aware that you are not intimidated by me, Mr. Falcone. But you know who I’m working for, and when he gets here–”

“He–he’s coming to Gotham?” Falcone interrupted, a level of uneasiness appearing in his face. Aha. Good.

“Yes, he is,” Jonathan assured. “And when he gets here, he’s not going to wanna hear that you have endangered our operation just so you could get your thugs out of a little jail time.”

Falcone nodded, clearly unhappy. But the fear of Jonathan’s boss was more than enough to put him back in his place. “Who’s bothering you?”

“There’s a girl at the DA’s office.”

“We’ll buy her off.”

“Not this one,” he said. Dawes was far too much of an idiot goody two shoes to be swayed by simple money. No, she actually believed in the system. Stupid girl.

“Idealist, huh?” Falcone said with an unbothered snort. “Well, there’s an answer to that too.”

Jonathan shook his head. “I don’t want to know,” he lied. The less he knew, the more believable it would be when the police inevitably came to ask him some questions about a mysterious murder or disappearance. 

“Yes, you do,” Falcone said, looking at him knowingly.

Jonathan said nothing. 

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Thank you for reading! Please consider leaving a comment, reblog, or like. I always appreciate feedback and love getting the opportunity to interact with you and hear your thoughts!

[gothic-safari-clown]

The Mind’s Power Over the Body

Part Eleven: Exacting Revenge

Story summary: They only ever had each other. It had been that way since high school, ever since Elianna transferred to dreary Arlen and took Jonathan under her wing. They go separate ways for college, and when they're reunited at Arkham Asylum professionally, Elianna comes to find that they've both changed during their time separated. Can she look past the promise of danger and stay by Jonathan's side as they slide further and further into the darkness while she grapples to come to terms with the truth about herself? Can she accept what needs to be done in order to hold onto the only person who holds any meaning in her life? This is a very self-indulgent AU that draws from several different canons of the DCU and ignoring others, starting in the Batman Begins Nolanverse. This will follow the plot of the movie, although the timeline has been very slightly tweaked.

Part One / Part Two / Part Three / Part Four / Part Five / Part Six / Part Seven / Part Eight / Part Nine / Part Ten

Word count: 2606

Trigger warnings: Needles, drowning

I know that I've written Arkham in this story is very different from the movie; it's part of the AU. It's mostly for atmosphere and aesthetic. Sorry if it's confusing, I like the thought of them sneaking around; it's kinda cute, isn't it? Sneaky little monsters? Plus, like, in the movie, they just go through a door, and the whole setup is just...there???? Where anyone with a key could just stroll in? That makes no sense to me; I had to change it for my own edification.

The trick to staving off impatience is to make yourself forget about whatever you're waiting for. Or at least, that was what got Elianna through the week. She had pushed the plan so far to the corners of her mind that the day of, she had forgotten that it had finally arrived.

Of course, once it did resurface on her radar, she couldn't stop thinking about it.

Paperwork finished, and nothing left to do but wait, Elianna found herself bored, playing the pre-programmed solitaire on her desktop office computer. No one else was left in the facility besides the night orderlies, security, and the inmates, so when Jonathan knocked on the door, she buzzed him in without question, eyes still focused on the screen in front of her.

He came in, closing the door behind him, and when she didn't greet him straight away, he walked around to her side of the desk to see what she was looking at. She just needed a place for the three of spades, and everything else would fall into place, but she was about to give up on it when Jonathan reached over and took the mouse from her, finishing the board in a few clicks.

"I hate you." El put her face in her hands, annoyed at having missed the clear space for the card.

"Thank you. Are you ready?" She nodded and shut off the dinosaur of a computer and gathered her things.

"Is there anything I should know before we do this? Anything you need from me?"

"No, all you need to do is watch, but you can administer the serum if you'd like." He pushed his glasses up his nose as they stepped into the hallway.

"I think I'd rather watch you do it the first time, just to get an idea of what to expect. Where are we going?"

"Service elevator goes to the basement. And that's fine, just don't report me."

"I'm afraid you're stuck with me." El pushed on the door to ensure that it was locked, a habit she had developed to make sure that Zsasz couldn't be waiting in her office for her when she returned.

"Damn," Jonathan replied with dry sarcasm before, "ow," when she smacked him on the arm as they started walking for the service elevator. "If you're going to hit me, can't you at least pretend that you don't want to hurt me?"

"Yeah, yeah. Maybe I'll be your bodyguard when people show up outside your apartment with pitchforks and torches."

"I'll hold you to that." He pressed the 'down' button to call the elevator and, once inside, produced a key to allow them access to the basement. "That woman from the DA's office, Rachel Dawes, seems to think I'm up to something; maybe you should track her down."

"You are up to something." El reminded him as the elevator began its descent.

"She doesn't know that. She just happens to be right." Elianna laughed softly and followed him into the dingy hallway when the doors reopened. He led her into the third closet on the left and shut the door behind them.

"Hey, this reminds me." She chimed up, and Jonathan squinted at her through the darkness. "If we don't start having sex, Harley is going to be really disappointed in us."

"Oh my God," he muttered, and she laughed as she followed him to the back of the closet.

"Yeah, that's basically what I said. I just thought it was funny. What are you doing?" Jonathan was pushing aside a stack of mattresses leaned against the wall, revealing a loose panel, which he removed and gestured for her to step in first. "Seriously?" He gave her a confused look, to which she sighed in conceit and walked through to the other side of the wall, muttering something about cliches. "Why is this even here?"

Well," Jonathan cleared his throat and stepped through after her, replacing the panel. "This place has been around for a couple of hundred years, and as you know, asylums used to be a place to shove people that society didn't want to deal with. They renovated a few decades ago but never actually got rid of these old chambers, just walled them off. In fact, they even had it soundproofed. I haven't been able to figure out why, but it's convenient. Believe it or not, I'm not the first doctor with cause to mistreat patients; I think whoever was in charge during that renovation probably wasn't the best person either." El nodded in understanding, and they went down a short flight of iron stairs, which took them around one last corner.

Elianna slowed at the tableau before her. Zsasz was strapped to an old transport dolly by the neck, abdomen, wrists, and ankles, clearly agitated by how he squirmed.

"How...how did you get him down here?"

"Well, those guards that were in the room with you that day felt bad about what happened and took the opportunity to make it up to you."

"The stairs?" She turned around and looked at them, then back at Zsasz.

"He was moved here on the dolly. It's my understanding that he didn't particularly enjoy being wheeled down the stairs." Jonathan put his hand on El's back and guided her all the way into the spacious...What would you even call this? A torture chamber?

When they came all the way into view, Zsasz finally noticed them. The way his voice washed over Elianna was all too familiar and reminiscent of something cold and scaley, like a dead fish, but this time she was able to brush off the sensation. She held the power here.

"Doctor Montgomery! Have you come to conduct our next session? I think we're really starting to make progress." The deranged man laughed as he struggled harder against the leather cuffs; as they approached, El could see that they were reinforced.

"Mister Zsasz, you'll be helping me with an experiment tonight. Doctor Montgomery is here as a witness, and I'm going to have to ask you to refrain from speaking to her." Jonathan interjected before El could say anything.

***

For the first time, Zsasz seemed uneasy, and his eyes followed Jonathan's briefcase as he set it on a nearby table, unlatched it, and then revealed a false bottom. "I do hope that you aren't uncomfortable with needles," he continued as he produced a syringe and a vial of stale-looking, yellowish liquid. "Usually, I would prefer to use a gaseous form of this compound, but I'm afraid I only have one gas mask with me, and Doctor Montgomery and I are both very interested in seeing the results of this experiment." Jonathan monologued as he prepared the syringe.

El moved to sit on the table next to the briefcase setup, and Zsasz made sharp eye contact with her, and she felt a chill run down her spine for the first time in days. She found that she had almost missed the feeling as she held his glassy stare with one of her own. A vision of him in a few minutes writhing against his restraints, screaming until his lungs filled with blood suddenly appeared in her mind, and the thought made her smile involuntarily.

Zsasz, on the other hand, hadn't been expecting for her to smile and frowned uneasily, making a more desperate attempt to wriggle out of the restraints as he returned his attention to what Jonathan was doing, which was to take a voice recorder out of his case, switch it on and begin speaking into it.

"Serum fifteen, experiment one. Subject name: Victor Zsasz," he spoke into the receiver before setting on the table and advancing on Zsasz, not bothering to sterilize the injection site. El leaned forward to watch the injection, fascinated to see what would happen next.  

Jonathan stepped away from the dolly, and already Zsasz was visibly shuddering and straining against the cuffs holding him in place. El got to her feet and slowly moved closer to examine the effects.

"How does it work?" She asked, observing the way Zsasz's eyes flitted about the room as his breathing intensified. Behind her, Jonathan smiled at her curiosity before explaining.

"The serum introduces higher glucose levels in the bloodstream. Once it reaches the brain,  the compound amps up the output of cortisol, glutamate, and adrenaline to the amygdala. In addition to that, the flower I told you about naturally produces a high concentration of a powerful hallucinogenic compound. Altogether, it causes the brain to go into a state of terror and hallucinate things they fear. The aerosolized version works faster, but you don't have a mask, so it should kick in any time now."

Just as Jonathan finished his explanation, Zsasz began screaming. Closer to howling actually, a haunting, inhuman sound that made Elianna furrow her brow as Jonathan spoke quietly into his voice recorder. El leaned closer to Zsasz's face to further assess his experience. His eyes shifted to her face with dilated pupils, and a look of horror overtook his face, all the while screaming and pulling at his cuffs so hard that she was surprised that he hadn't dislocated anything yet.

"What is he seeing?" El inquired, pulling away from the screaming, terrified maniac before her. Jonathan brought the voice recorder closer, now standing next to her.

"Mr. Zsasz, would you mind telling us what you see?" The howling and thrashing gave way to paranoid muttering and sudden, jerking movements as if he could catch the restraints off guard and trick them into releasing him.

"Get it out, get it out of here," Zsasz demanded in a desperate voice through gritted teeth, repeating it over and over. Jonathan frowned slightly, retreating to his briefcase and removing a burlap mask, at which Elianna couldn't help but laugh a bit.

"Was that Scarecrow, or do you still have a fixation on the one that was out on your property?"

"Where do you think Scarecrow came from, El?" He retorted distractedly as he removed his glasses and put on the mask, crossing back over to Zsasz. "Tell me what you see, Victor." He ordered again, looming over the scarred man.

"Get it out!" Zsasz screamed again in response.

"I can't take it away unless you tell me what it is," Jonathan's voice had become low and impatient; he must be trying really hard to keep Scarecrow back since I'm here. Zsasz looked Jonathan, or rather the mask, in the eyes—eyeholes?—and his breathing grew even louder as he ground his teeth.

"Don't you see it? The water! It's rising so quickly; you have to get it out if here, or we'll all drown!" The thought of drowning causes Zsasz to begin hyperventilating.

"Aquaphobia," El mused, leaning back in. "Does that stem from your parents' accident, Victor? They died on a boat if I'm not mistaken." The desperate screaming resumed, and El observed as it was interrupted by a coughing sputter, as though he were trying not to drown. That's interesting. Zsasz's mind had produced such a life-like delusion of rising water that his body was reacting as though it were really there, and all the while, Jonathan had taken the mask off and was speaking quickly and quietly into his recording device.

After only a few more minutes, Zsasz's gasping breaths and twitching slowed and eventually stopped as his head lolled to the side. Jonathan checked his pulse to assess whether or not he was dead.

***

"Subject has fallen unconscious at," Jonathan took a moment from his notes to check his watch, "twenty-five minutes." He switched off the device and turned to replace all of his equipment into his case, returning his glasses to his face.

"Twenty-five? Really?" Elianna took one last look at Zsasz's unconscious, vulnerable face. "Didn't feel that long."

"No, because you enjoyed it, you should have seen your face," Jonathan informed in a light voice as he relatched his case and tilted his head for her to walk with him back up the stairs. "Eyes all lit up-"

"Look who's talking. What's with that mask?"

"Some subjects react more strongly to it. It makes them more likely to cooperate."

"I guess that makes sense...hey, are we just leaving him down here?"

"The guards will take him back up when they see us leave; no one else will ever know." He reassured her and went first through the panel, pushing the spare mattresses back over it once they were both out. "Are you hungry? We can pick up something to eat on the way home." El hummed in response.

They emerged from the bowels of Arkham and were approaching the car when a sudden thought struck her. "Are you afraid of anything?" Jonathan looked down at her, face impassive, and opened the passenger door for her, moving to the driver's side once she was in.

"Just Granny," he finally replied after closing and locking the door.

"That's it?" She got a nod in response.

"In the early stages of the project, I hadn't figured out the system for test subjects yet, so I had to test it on myself. I had to learn to push down many things to record the results reliably, and eventually, I had done it so much that none of the other things even made an appearance anymore. I still get hallucinations of things that are traditionally 'scary,' but I get none of the accompanying physical symptoms."

"So, controlled, repeated exposure to the toxin can slowly start to eliminate your fear response?"

"It's either that, or it's possible to build up somewhat of an immunity to the toxin, which I think is more likely," Jonathan commented and finally started the car. They drove in silence for a few minutes, and Elianna found herself once again trying to make a life-changing decision.

"Do you think it would work on me?" The question catches Jonathan off-guard enough to tear his eyes away from the road for a moment to give her a look of surprise.

"Are you asking me to dose you?"

"I think I am, as long as you think it's safe." He sucked in a deep breath, his face stern, and Elianna fell silent to let him think.

"It could work, but we'll use the original formula just in case. It's the one I've tested the most, so there's less of a risk."

"Then let's do it." She said without hesitation. If there was one thing she had learned over the last week, it was that there was no use in resisting her impulses. Jonathan nodded slowly. Every day was becoming more interesting than the last with her around again, and he had the feeling that that wouldn't change any time soon.

[rosiep66]

"BATMAN BEGINS" (2005) Review

”BATMAN BEGINS” (2005) Review When Christopher Nolan’s "THE DARK KNIGHT TRILOGY” first made its debut during the summer of 2005, many critics and moviegoers hailed it as the second coming. They also viewed it as a vast improvement over the four films released between 1989 and 1997. Since then, ”BATMAN BEGINS” has been overshadowed by its 2008 sequel, ”THE DARK KNIGHT”, but regarded better than the 2012 film, “THE DARK KNIGHT RISES”. After a recent viewing of the 2005 movie, I must admit that I have a deeper attachment for it. ”BATMAN BEGINS” was basically an origin tale about the scion of a wealthy Gotham City family, who endured a personal tragedy before become a costumed vigilante. The movie began in a Chinese person where Bruce Wayne was serving time for robbery. A mysterious man named Henri Ducard offered to arrange for Bruce’s freedom if the latter would consider joining his organization called the League of Shadows. Once Bruce began his training under Ducard’s tutelage, flashbacks revealed his childhood; his friendship with Rachel Dawes, the daughter of a family servant; his parents’ tragic deaths; and the murder of their killer. Once Bruce’s training ended, Ducard and the League’s head - Ra's al Ghul – ordered the Gotham City native to execute a murderer they had captured. They also revealed their intent to destroy Gotham City, due to its growing corruption. Unwilling to become an executioner and appalled by the League’s plans for Gotham, Bruce began a fight that led to the Temple’s destruction. After Bruce saved Ducard’s life, he returned to Gotham City to commence his life as the vigilante, the Batman. Aside from a few minor problems that I will discuss later, I must admit that after four-and-a-half years, I enjoyed ”BATMAN BEGINS” more than ever. One, I thought that Christopher Nolan and fellow screenwriter David S. Goyer did an exceptional job in revealing Bruce Wayne’s childhood and the circumstances that led him to China in flashbacks. Very exceptional. Also, through Bruce Wayne/the Batman, Henri Ducard and other characters, the screenwriters managed to convey the pitfalls of vigilantism. Considering the movie’s title, I thought Nolan and Goyer also did an excellent job in presenting a examination of the main character. Speaking of the main character, Christian Bale earned a well deserved Saturn Award for his portrayal of Bruce Wayne aka the Batman. I only wish that Bale could have received a Golden Globe or Academy Award nomination, as well. He did a superb job of capturing all of the nuances of Bruce’s personality. Even more impressive was the way he developed the character from an immature and vengeful twenty-something young man to the somewhat more wiser thirty-something man who had learned to restrain himself from allowing his penchant for vigilantism to spiral out of control. Unless Nolan used a stunt man for Bruce/Batman's action scenes, I thought that Bale managed to handle the action - especially the fight scenes - very well. Was this his first time in dealing with heavy action sequences? Someone please let me know. I must admit that I have been a fan of Liam Neeson for a long time, admiring his array of performances that included a randy Irish ghost, a Jedi Master, the ambiguous Oskar Schindler and a determined ex-CIA agent searching for his kidnapped daughter. I cannot honestly say that his best role was Henri Ducard, Bruce Wayne’s mentor. But I would probably view it as one of his better roles. Most people have compared his Ducard to his performance as Jedi Master Qui-Gon Jinn in ”STAR WARS: THE PHANTOM MENACE”. Perhaps. However, I saw major differences in the two roles. Ducard turned out to be a darker character, who despite his words of wisdom, was unable to let go of his past tragedy. Instead, he used it to inflict his desire to punish the guilty and the corrupt through some of the most Draconian means possible. Neeson did a beautiful job in capturing not only Ducard’s wisdom, but also his subtle, yet psychotic personality. In some ways, his Ducard was a lot scarier than the Joker in ”THE DARK KNIGHT”. Only, his villainy was not as colorful. And like Bale, he had earned a Saturn Award nomination. Only he lost to Mickey Rourke (”SIN CITY”). Hmmmm. On the other hand, Katie Holmes was given a Golden Raspberry Award nomination for Worst Supporting Actress for her portrayal of Bruce’s childhood friend and Gotham’s crusading Assistant District Attorney, Rachel Dawes. And for the likes of me, I do NOT understand why. I found nothing wrong with her performance. I thought she did a splendid job portraying Rachel as Bruce and Gotham City’s moral center. I especially enjoyed her scenes with not only Bale, but also her confrontations with Cillian Murphy’s Dr. Jonathan Crane/the Scarecrow. Many have praised Maggie Gyllanhaal’s portrayal of Rachel in ”THE DARK KNIGHT’. Personally? I think that Holmes was lucky not to appear in the 2008 film. At least her Rachel Dawes had not written as a mere object of desire and a barely relevant character. Speaking of Cillian Murphy, I truly enjoyed his performance as Dr. Jonathan Crane, the cold-blooded and manipulative city psychiatrist who became arch villain, the Scarecrow. He did an excellent job in conveying the character’s subtle villainy and sardonic wit. Another villain that possessed the same wit turned out to be Gotham City’s crime boss, Carmine Falcone. Although Tom Wilkinson portrayed the character with a good deal of wit and verve, it seemed a pity that his performance was nearly ruined by a questionable American accent seemed like a bad parody of a old Warner Brothers gangster character. Michael Caine, Morgan Freeman and Gary Oldman portrayed mentors and allies for Bruce Wayne/the Batman – faithful butler Alfred Pennyworth, Wayne Enterprises executive Lucius Fox and police sergeant Jim Gordon, respectively. And they all did solid jobs; especially Caine, whose wisdom and concern for his employer’s personal life allowed him to be Bruce’s true mentor. Linus Roache portrayed Thomas Wayne, Bruce’s doomed father. He gave a solid performance, but I found his American accent rather questionable. And I also had other problems with Bruce’s parents. One, they seemed impossibly good – almost pure. And I found that aspect of their portrayal a bore. Two, Thomas and Martha Wayne must have also been incredibly stupid. The Wayne family went to the opera via public transportation. Okay, perhaps I can excuse that on the grounds that perhaps they could not afford a limousine or wanted to save gas. But when Bruce wanted to leave the opera early, they left the theater through the goddamn back door. No wonder that thug, Joe Chill, was able to accost them so easily. Speaking of problems, I have a few more regarding ”BATMAN BEGINS”. One, I hate the growl that Bale had used, while portraying the Batman. There were times when I found Bale slightly coherent and I also found it unnecessary and annoying. Two, I have a problem with Ra's al Ghul, the so-called leader of the League of Shadows whom Bruce had killed in Tibet (or China). Apparently, the Gotham City native had killed a decoy - portrayed by Ken Watanabe - of Ducard’s.  Unfortunately, Nolan and Goyer failed to explain his role as Ducard’s decoy or why he became one in the first place. When all is said and done, I must admit that I really enjoyed ”BATMAN BEGINS”. Personally, I feel that Christopher Nolan and David S. Goyer had written a better movie than ”THE DARK KNIGHT”, despite its flaws. The movie not only featured excellent direction from Nolan and an interesting score by Hans Zimmer and James Newton Howard, it also had top-notch performances from Christian Bale, Liam Neeson and the rest of the cast . . . even those with questionable American accents. In fact, I would go as far to say that I consider it to be one of my favorite comic book movie ever made.