Red Hood
Arkham Asylum
Jason Todd steps down the corridor with purpose, his white coat swaying in the breeze created in his wake. For the second night in a row, Jason has gotten no sleep. His patience is thin, his nerves shot - his temper is like a hungry shark waiting for the first sign of blood in the water to attack. All of these factors make what he plans to do all the more difficult.
As Jason reaches the end of the hall, he stops outside the asylum's director's office. Failing to knock, Jason grabs the handle, and pulls the door open with a forceful jerk. The white, bright hallway shines a glow into the dark and dismal office. Admist the illumintation, Jason sees Jonathan Crane sitting behind Arkham's desk, starring at the guest sitting in the chair across from him. Surprised by the sudden entrance, the guest turns to face Jason, and suddenly, Jason sees a face he had hoped he could avoid.
"Harley," he says shortly, swallowing a thick wad of saliva as his fingers twitch.
"Doctor Todd," Crane speaks as he adjusts his glasses.
"Have you decided knocking is a formality of the past?"
"I have something urgent, director," he says respectfully, trying to ignore Harley as best he can.
"I didn't feel like waiting two weeks for an appointment."
Crane leans back in his chair as he brings his spindly fingers together in a bridge as he connects them at the fingertips.
"Hmmm, fair enough." Crane turns to Harley and gives her a look of regret,
"I'm sorry, Harleen. Do you mind?"
"Not at all, Jonathan," she says as she rises from her chair. She smiles at him warmly,
"I'll talk to you later then?"
"Of course," he smiles back. Harley turns to make her way toward the exit. Her eyes catch Jason's, and instantly, her smile disappears - her expression shifting to a stern look of distain. As she brushes by Jason, he feels a chill down his spine. He knows she's far from over it, and he can't blame her; neither is he.
"Now, what is it you wish to talk about?" Crane begins, getting down to business.
Jason reaches into his pocket and pulls out a large manilla folder filled with paperwork.
"This," he says, throwing it onto the table tactfully.
"It's a chemical read out of an unknown substance I found in a patient's blood. The patient had been acting irrationally and quite erratically so I thought it was necessary to take a closer look. Upon examination of a sample of his blood, I found this little gem - a cortisteroid reflecting both stimulant and depressant qualities. I checked it against the patient's pharmacological file - it didn't match any of his prescribed medication."
Crane begins to examine the paperwork, carefully looking over each page with an intent stare. He pauses for a moment to look up,
"Well, that's rather strange," he says, surprise or concern absent from his tone.
"I thought so too, so I did some research. Guess what? The drug isn't on any known lists - infact, there's no patents for it either."
"So ... there's no record of it anywhere?"
"None. It's a completely new molecule unseen by any pharmaceutical company in the world."
"Well, well, well," Crane says with intrigue.
"That's fascinating."
"Any thoughts, director?" Jason asks in an accusitory tone.
"A few, actually," he replies - his speed catching Jason off guard.
"A few other patients here have been having suspicious relapses. Some have even begun exhibiting psychological abnormalities not previously diagnosed in their profiles. I was beginning to think it was just coincidence, but if you've isolated a specific substance in one of the patients ... I'd be very interested in conducting an investigation." Crane rises from his seat, leaning forward on his desk with both arms as he looks toward Jason
. "Would you be interested in leading it?"
Jason goes quiet, his mouth nearly shutting like a trap. The reaction by Crane has caught him off guard - his mannerisms and feelings toward the discovery the opposite of what Jason had previously expected. Still, Jason stays wary.
"If you'd like," he says simply.
Crane smiles,
"I would. Very much, so."
"Very well. I'll need blood samples of all the inmates for toxicology and titer tests; I'll need hair and saliva samples aswell. In addition, I'll need examinations of the entire inmate housing facility to test the food, water, and air."
"Well, that's certainly a lot of access," Crane says with a wide grin. Jason stays quiet, his stance firm.
"Tell you what, would you be willing to do all the work yourself and keep what you find between the two of us?" Jason nods,
"Until we can confirm just what is going on, that is. Then I'd be happy to turn the results over to the city officials."
"I'm willing," Jason says in a determined voice.
"Excellent. You'll need a lot of administrative permission to conduct all the tests you want." Crane leans forward, looking over his lenses at Jason.
"That's a lot of paperwork neither of us has time nor affinity for," he chuckles.
"I'm going to make you assistant director of Arkham Asylum. How does that sound, hmm?"
Jason is speechless; the proposition surprising him more powerfully than a sneak attack from an armed thug.
"T-that's not necessary, Director Crane, I'm-"
"Nonsense," Crane speaks, cutting Jason's response short.
"I'm the acting director, so all the changes I make are tentative until Jeremiah recovers. Truth is, I've been bogged down with a lot of work since I took over here - it's no wonder Jerry went insane," the doctor says with a lingering grin.
"I'm only a medical doctor, anyway. Administration and psychology aren't my forte. I could really use some help around here and this little tiff provides the perfect excuse to obtain it."
Jason's mind races as he begins to analyze the situation in his typical paranoid fashion.
"I'm flattered, Crane, but ... why me?"
"Because you're the best," he smiles.
"I've seen you in action, Jason, you're talented and smart. But most importantly, you're a driven man. I know when you put your mind toward something, you don't rest until it's completed. That's exactly what I need around here. What the Asylum needs."
"Well, thank you, Doctor Crane. Thank you very much."
"Don't thank me," Crane says as he grabs his chair and takes his seat once more.
"You've earned it. I'll get back to you about the other duties I'll need you to do for me, but for now, I want you to focus completely on finding the source of this contamination. Find out where this chemical's coming from, what it is, who has it, and from where it's coming."
"Yes, sir," Jason says, smiling for the first time since their discussion began. As Jason turns to leave, Crane speaks up once more.
"Oh, Jason?" He calls, adjusting his glasses as begins to rummage through the file on his desk.
"This chemical you found ... do you know how long it lasts in the body before it's elminated?"
"I'm not sure, yet," he says plainly. "I'd guess about twenty four hours or so."
"Hmm yes, yes. Any disceranable or ... unique affects?" He asks, his gaze becoming oddly intense. A cold feeling suddenly rises in the room, and Jason's body uncontrollably shivers. He ignores the response, passing it off as a symptom of his ever worsening insomnia.
"It exemplifies fear," he tells the director starkly.
"Really. Hmmm," Crane muses in an unsettling manner.
"How fascinating. Thank you, Doctor Todd," he says, his mood shifting once more.
"Oh, I'm sorry, Assistant Director Todd," he smiles.
"Thank you, sir. Enjoy the rest of the day."
"I will, Jason. You too. ... You too."
Jason steps out of the darkness and into the well lit hall once more. He grabs the heavy wooden door by the metal handle, and pulls it closed behind him on his way out. The door allows a loud echo to resonate through the hall, and as it shuts, a barrier of secrecy seems to resume once again.
"That didn't go how I thought it would," Jason says under his breath as he begins the route back to his office.
"Still, it certainly worked out well for me. Assistant Director," he grins.
"Second in command. That'll make my job around here much easier." He laughs,
"and fun." 
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