Fear To Be Displaced [Luthor]

[Jonathan Crane - Scarecrow]

A man’s shadow drug far behind him as three orderlies carried a limp body down the halls with florencent lights above. They seemed to be in some kind of hurry as each of their faces said that they were ready to wash their hands of whatever they had ahold of. He was human once wasn’t he? Each flash of light came and then rolled passed into darkness as he thought about it. He remembered the Asylum, he remembered his work. He remembered those that treated him with respect and those that never did. He remembered the hole he had just come from and why the light was so blinding now. He remembered why he was being drug instead of walking on his own.

No….He had never been human.

The society that carried him down these halls had made sure of that, and they intended to seal it that way forever. He took deep sobering breaths to try and figure out what was going on, it wasn’t like them to just remove him from solitary for no reason. He had been taken away from Heather’s sight again for ticking off a guard that was policing the cells. They enjoyed taking him away from that block more than ever now. It didn’t make any sense, why were they taking him like this? Suddenly his foot hooked to a nearby piping and he managed to kick himself off the floor. There was a major fight for the next few seconds of men rumbling about the hall shouting at each other just to keep him in an enclosed space. But Dr. Crane was dangerous up close. Using his art he managed to swing and elbow into an orderlies face and then down into another’s gut. He managed to slip away but got turned around in the hall.

Why was here here? Why were they taking him here? Dr. Crane seemed confused and turned in a circle in the back central part of the building. He was near Dr. Arkham office, this didn’t make any sense. The orderlies were beginning to regain their composure and he didn’t have time to think about it now. Instead he sprinted to the left heading toward the building entrance, but he knew he’d find more guards and orderlies to stop him there, just as he ran to the exit he took a sharp turn toward his old wing and ran down that hall. There was another exit up that way he used often.

As he rushed to his freedom he thought about the things he was leaving behind. Miss Glass for one, but it wouldn’t be too difficult to get her out of here. Getting her away from Penguin was enough, this would be easy. But it couldn’t be right now, right now he had to focus on his escape and she knew that he would come for her. She would know that she wouldn’t have to wait long. Dr. Crane almost found himself in a rare laugh as it seemed like he was about to have a scott free b line for the exit. It had been a long time since escaping was this easy and with all of Dr. Arkham’s new preparations for his escape this seemed almost too easy.

Just as he turned his last corner he looked behind him to see if anyone was on his tail. He wasn’t afraid, he just wasn’t stupid. The moment his face returned to the front he crashed into what he thought was a pillar. The doctor staggered and back gracefully let himself roll back onto his heels and hit the floor. The impact had hurt. With his hair tasseled in front of his eyes and the blinding florescent lights all he saw before him at first was what seemed to be a statue. But upon further inspection that statue had become quite clear. The doctors eyes narrowed and he tried to get to his feet.

”Mr. Luthor.” His said in almost mute greeting. Dr. Crane was very busy at the moment though he knew that there was still prices to be paid with this man.

[Deleted]

He stood calmly, straightening the cufflinks of his shirt with an almost casual grace. There was a faint smell in the air at Arkham, there always was. Something that would need to be repaired before long. He considered the gentleman before him for a moment, disoriented, degraded, inhuman. . . really a shame for such a brilliant mind to be brought to such a level. 

Words exuded from his mouth, rolling like the purr of a jungle animal, or perhaps a distant contrabass of looming thunder. "Doctor Crane" there was an effortless certainty to it. Lex Luthor liked to present himself as an inevitable certainty in these conversations. He could be outthought, outplanned, surprised. . . but it was always difficult to tell if he actually was, or if this was just another box within box. The fact he was standing here so calmly suggested nothing. 

"I appreciate you taking time out of your busy schedule to meet with me. I know how inflexible circumstances can be." If he'd noticed the fact that this was an escape attempt, he didn't seem to notice or particularly care. He extends his right hand to help the good Doctor to rise. In his left hand appears to be a pen of some sort. "Nevertheless, I appreciate your flexibility in the matter, and your discretion. I think there are a few things we might wish to discuss. Have you had lunch yet?" He gestures to one of the side rooms, there's an open door there. He's casual about the entire thing, as if sheer strength of social script or will can transform this dark hallway in this horror of an Asylum into a board room or a fine hotel or restaurant. He moved with such certainty regarding the situation, that it's almost hard to tell if he believes it or not. "I know how inconvenient it is to go out for a good meal from Arkham, so I hope you don't mind the imposition of me having lunch brought in. I think you might even enjoy it. How long has it been since you've had a good meal, Doctor Crane? It's far too common for scientists of your caliber to neglect their own personal care." 

[Jonathan Crane - Scarecrow]

Dr. Crane had just barely gotten to his feet himself when a hand assisted to his arm. His skin tightened and his body went ridged. His eyes gave Luthor harsh glare as he ripped his arm away and moved away from him. But He was a smart man, he knew better than to just ignore, defy, or immediately come against Luthor. He was one of those men that Dr. Crane would rather avoid. They were far too indulged with themselves and what the world could bring them. They chased after empty treasure that led into more pointless circles in their lives. So despite the rather rash action he turned back to him.

Dr. Crane came to eye level with Mr. Luthor being very tall himself. The difference between the two physically was clear for the moment he ran into him however. He was still trying to catch his breath from the impact that he took that barely budged the man in front of him. The doctor had always been a very thin man. Some would actually go as far to call him malnourished and could even prove it if they wanted to. It was rare under complete surveillance for this asylum to ever see him eat. Not that this was a bad thing for the orderlies. No one would complain about a night they missed feeding the Scarecrow.

Despite their physical difference there was no fear in the doctor’s eyes of him and there never would be. He stood confidently at his level and took his eyes into his to listen quietly with an annulled stare. The man looked like he tried to make himself the peak of perfection. His eyes went to the doorway he pointed to and Dr. Crane took a few steps to the side to look in. Something about all of this seemed far too convenient. Where were the orderlies and the guards? Why wasn’t the alarm tripped or Dr. Arkham rushing down the hall to bar the doors? Something wasn’t right….but what choice did he have?

He moved into the room when directed without answering immediately until he had moved inside. He had spent so much time here what were a few more moments while he spoke to Mr. Luthor? ”Mr. Luthor I am not in the habit of wasting my time with trivial matters…” Was all he had to say to eating lunch with him but he would accept it regardless. There was something hanging far heavier in the room that was on his mind. ”You didn’t come here to offer me food….So why are you afraid to start with asking what you want from me?“ He asked as he stood in the room he’d been gestured to, waiting for Luthor to do as he wished. His finger splayed and then tightened again as his dead stare laid upon him. There was certainly something heavier in the air.

[Deleted]

The room itself was clean, reasonably bright and pleasant, the interview table had been set with tablecloth and meal, mamosas had been served as well as a few other caraffes of juices. It appeared to be a late brunch, early lunch. A good combination of foods, if one enjoyed brunch. There didn't seem to be anything untoward about the situation or the area, Lex Luthor appeared to have had the entire room set up for a lunch appointment. 

"Dr. Crane, there are often paths we walk and forms we follow because at times following the socially accepted script gives us power over ourselves. Just as there are times we must break the scripts to achieve change in the world." He gestures inside and then walks calmly to sit at the table, pouring himself a glass of the mamosa, and then one for Dr. Crane. He takes a sip of his own as if to show it is not poisoned, and then gestures again to the other side of the table. 

"You are well aware of the fact that most people act little more than animals, slaves to their passions and fears. You and I, however, are not slaves to the amygdala, despite the fact that you've such a passion for it's dominance in the mind." He smiles at the idea as he settles in for a casual meal. He was calm, confident, taking his time, as if to allow Crane to mirror the calmness. There were no guards here. Was this entirely a plan by Luthor to just arrange for a lunch meeting? Then why bring Jon in the opposite direction? Did he expect this? Did he just get lucky? 

"We are neither slaves to time, nor circumstance. We are human beings, Dr. Crane, capable of utilizing that frontal lobe, those higher brain functions. And by allowing ourselves to be ruled over by thought, rather than a heady mixture of cortisol and adrenaline, we see sometimes that the most obvious opportunities are merely traps of circumstance, while the most trivial matters are in fact unseen opportunities to not only achieve victory, but to rewrite the rules of engagement. As proof of concept, you ran, escaped. . . straight to where I was waiting."

He sits casually, the look of the room was oddly calm, a picture on the wall of a lovely seascape. Music playing lightly in the background, it was oddly relaxing in here. He took a bite of Eggs Benedict, chewing thoughtfully. "But you are not incorrect, there are important matters to discuss, and while it is important for you to maintain your health, there are other matters we could discuss instead. How are you enjoying your stay at Arkham Asylum? And, please, do be honest, you have gifts I am interested in, and I'd like to get to know what you need better." 

[Jonathan Crane - Scarecrow]

Dr. Crane wasn’t focused on the atmosphere but he already knew that it was out of place for where they were. He had never seen the asylum spruced to this degree. It was a waste of money that could be going toward research. Dr. Crane always thought he knew what was best for this asylum, he could still run it himself if they’d let him. But Dr. Arkham had ruined all of that for him and now he was here, in an escape attempt that had been thwarted. But he knew better than to brush off Luthor completely. Mr. Luthor was the kind of man that they say would have a black car pick you up off the street and dump you back hours later a mess of what you once were. But there was a difference between Dr. Crane and them, he wasn’t afraid of him.

But he wasn’t stupid.

He let him talk as he attempted to find his place in the room that clearly wasn’t meant for him. There was something Dr. Crane said about men that talk too much, they never had anything important to say. People would heed his words, because he didn’t speak much. When he does speak it was always of something important. When students would come to his lecture they would get the full brunt of exactly what they needed to know, but none of them could ever understand that which was so clear to him. Mr. Luthor was no exception. He spoke of the mind like he knew it but Dr. Crane knew he knew so little of it.

He had sat down but refused to take a drink. He had been poisoned before but it was beside the point. He wasn’t afraid of being poisoned, he just didn’t want to drink or partake in anything he had here. Nothing here impressed him. But how this room had come about for his escape? That was another story, one he would have to figure out later. His body language mimmiced Luthor’s indeed but he was far more calm. It was an eerie stillness in his limbs that would bring one to concern as to whether he had left this world or not.

But just as his body had settled into its dead position and his stare became lifeless it jumped to his attention at the question. ”I am still inside here… A bitter lump came to his throat that he tried to pass quickly with an upturn of his hand to further describe his experience. ”What I need is to get back to my research….But you didn’t come here for what I needed or you would have strapped yourself to that chair and let me inside of your head…. His voice hushed to a whisper toward the end. He was wasting his time here but there was a side of his creeping through that wanted it to be. The question was crawling into his mind that so often got him into trouble.

His eyes had gone distant again as he thought about it and his fingers came down to grace the table. He wondered….What did Mr. Luthor fear most? It wouldn’t be that difficult to drag it out of him. His eyes seemed to have left their alert iced blue to a softer and more distant shore. How could he ever make him understand?

[Deleted]

Lex Luthor gestured to the meal as if to offer again, suggesting the man be welcome to eat as he ate himself. There was a surreal quality to the situation, naturally, and of course the question of how Lex Luthor had this entire thing prepared was an important question? Did he know that Dr. Crane would try to escape when being moved? Was he able to predict the path of least resistance and stand right there for Dr. Crane to run into? Is that paranoid to assume that Lex Luthor had the entire event planned so that every previous step inexorably drew Dr. Crane into Lex Luthor's ultimate goal? Or was it lucky? Did Lex Luthor just have lunch ready for Dr. Arkham and he was adapting? Is the lunch even really here? Is this some sort of elaborate mind game?

Lex Luthor seemed uniquely relaxed for the situation, however, inappropriate perhaps for the reality of things. Perhaps the black car and the money was not the most dangerous thing about Lex Luthor. 
The words wove together, pleasant. He smiled at Dr. Crane, taking a sip of his drink. "Dr. Crane, I admire a man who understands, intrinsically, his own needs. Just as I respect a man who is dedicated to his work. You want to know my purpose, that much is obvious. . . just as you wish to know what's in this head of mine. I can help with one of those." He smiled faintly as he put down the glass. 

"I hate to see a mind go to waste, the world is filled with ignorance and idiocy, slaves to foolishness. Here we have you, Dr. Crane, one of the foremost minds of his generation, the leading expert on parasympathetic amygdala hyper-activation. . .  stuck in dank and dark surroundings, away from his passion to forward the progress of human kind." He smiled faintly at the idea, eyes narrowing into a calm and oozing smile. 

"What I want to do, is find a way to help restore your research to you. There's so much you have left to accomplish, if you only had the right support. Funding, access to equipment, to materiel. I am not a man without resources, Dr. Crane. And I would be interested in discussing continuing your research." He puts his fingertips together. 

"All I need to know, is what you require to continue your work." There was the offer. The bait, the temptation. This was the primary difference between the two philosophies, 1984 vs. Brave New World. While Crane sought to rule through fear, Lex Luthor worked through desire. 

[Jonathan Crane - Scarecrow]

As many times as Luthor would gesture Dr. Crane wouldn’t move or come out of the lifeless stare he had slipped into. Every morsel of food on the table made his stomach twist and contort in a way it shouldn’t. The sight of it made him sick. It was as he told Mr. Luthor before, he didn’t eat and he didn’t have any desire to eat. It wasn’t because he thought the food was poison, which it very well could be; it was because he simply didn’t. Even the doctors in the asylum they were in could attest to that. Once in a while they would find a tray that had been picked on but just barely.

But as he droned on about what he thought he knew about his work Dr. Crane was studying each and every movement he made. Where others might have seen a calm and collected man Dr. Crane saw nothing but cowardice behind a mask. It was a frame that Mr. Luthor wore to hide his own insecurities rather than embrace the fear which would lead him to his ultimate destiny. It was something he would never get him to understand so he didn’t care to explain it but it was so blindingly clear in all the man’s actions.

The compliments didn’t move him nor did his discussion on what he thought he knew of who he was. He hadn’t the slightest idea, but he would….It would all become very clear. The only thing that brought his eyes back to life in a single jolt, almost making his body run into the table was the word help. Dr. Crane didn’t do help, he didn’t ask for it and he didn’t need it. Help was a façade the world put on. It was a word that people used to hide what they really wanted from you in exchange. It was all done out of fear. He was trying to lure him with resources. It wasn’t a deal that was too far off from the one he had just completed. However, that deal was completed his way. He had taken The Penguin’s money and used it for what he needed it for. Once it was complete he gave it to who deserved it….Himself.

But….Turning down Luthor wasn’t a wise choice regardless of what he wanted. Dr. Crane was aware that none of this simply happened by chance even though he had been called a very lucky man in the past. The eerily stiff and thin frame of Dr. Crane leaned forward on the table and stared at Luthor directly. His eyes were hard and cold as ices. ”A place to do it in, and the finest medical equipment avaible.” He answered without actually accepting the offer. But he had done a slave haul like The Penguin had offered before and this time Dr. Crane had a creeping plan of his own. The question burned in his mind and crept over the table between them. He needed to know and he was going to find out.

”Your residence, will work fine.” The doctor spoke as if he was now conducting the terms of his own deal, which he was. Luthor had come to him after all….despite the rough encounter.

[Deleted]

He laughed at that, a genuine laugh. "The finest medical equipment available is easy enough to manage, but there's the question of my place of residence. Which one? Would you wish to stay in Metropolis? Or perhaps in a hotel room in Gotham. Or maybe my childhood home in the suicide slum. Or perhaps you just wish to be a permanent part of my entourage and enjoy the lifestyle? Hmm? Perhaps sleep on my jet." He finishes his drink and puts the glass down, staring straight into the eye of Johnathan Crane, unflinching eye contact. This was no mask, no cowardace or fear here. He had come into the depths of Johnathan Crane's domain of madness and made himself a lunch. He'd come into the heart of madness to make a business deal as if he were in the midst of a corporate meeting. It was an odd reaction, driven by a combination of arrogance and certainty that verged on its own form of madness. 

"But no. What you want is something more valuable. And unsurprising. . . You want to know what makes this mind tick. You want to know my fears, to play upon them." He smiles as if it were amusing to him, a faint consideration. "Perhaps you want to watch me sleep, to put something into my mind so that you can let the nightmares come to play, or perhaps inject that . . . what do they call it? "Scarebeast" into me? To watch Lex Luthor overwhelmed by fears? To see him transformed into an animal rather than a rational human being?"

He smiled again leaning back in the chair calmly. "Would you find that satisfying? To turn such a man into your own personal subject for experimentation. I admit, however. I'm almost curious what demons your fear toxin will bring to my mind. I've seen many things, Dr. Crane. I've faced many horrors. I've faced Gods and Monsters with only sheer force of will and strength of intellect, delved deep into the darkest places of the world, and ripped out their secrets. I wonder, what lingering horrors remain in the back of my mind." He smiles faintly, staring deeply into Dr. Crane's eyes. "But I'm not ruled by curiosity alone." 

He seems thoughtful for a moment, considering Dr. Crane for a time, reading the man, if he seemed concerned he didn't show it. "Insanity, Dr. Crane, is doing the same thing repeatedly, and expecting different results. You've made an interesting request. . . but I fail to see . . . the quo for the quid. What, exactly, would you be offering me in exchange for this intimate contact?"

[Jonathan Crane - Scarecrow]

When Luthor burst into laughter Dr. Crane didn’t seem to react or follow suit. He didn’t find humor in this situation, though he rarely found human in anything. The doctor was a very serious man when it came down to most things. His request wasn’t unreasonable in his eyes and certainly nothing comical. He also didn’t find him lavishing his property pride about the room comical either. Luthor knew exactly what he meant, or at least he should. But he wouldn’t put it beyond the man to let his ego hit the ceiling. If Luthor didn’t he wouldn’t be able to tame the fact that it was his fear that drove him to it.

The doctor let him finish completely before he decided to ponder over his questions and answer. Although Dr. Crane had been to Metropolis before he had no intention of going back without a valid reason. But Luthor certainly could go on and on with how much he owned. Meanwhile Dr. Crane was living shack to sewer, but his money was going toward something so much more than what Luthor could understand….and Dr. Crane had no intention of teaching him either.

Dr. Crane was able to hold his stare right back at Luthor, looking through him as he asked question after question. Not being in direct eye contact with him would have shown him he was a waste of time anyway. Diagnosing his fears at that point would have been a process of elimination, but Luthor held himself very differently. But his gaze darkened at the mention of the Scarebeast. His few incidences of lost control had spread like wildfire. But it was clear that he didn’t know much about what he had done with it. Penguin wanted to replicate the serum but instead Dr. Crane injected it all into himself. If that was something Luthor was after then he was already too late….Not that he couldn’t replicate it…But why would he?

What Mr. Luthor didn’t seem to understand clearly enough was that he had already become his patient. From the moment they sat down Dr. Crane had begun analyzing him in his mind. ”You shouldn’t pretend like you know what I find satisfaction in Mr. Luthor. I can assure you whatever you think it is; is not even close. To answer your question your entourage would be fine as that is the more favorable choice for what I want. As for what you are expecting from me.” He paused and thought for a moment. It didn’t make sense that this all happened by chance and it wasn’t the first offer he’d gotten to work for someone. But his own ideas quickly leaked into those jobs he was given. ”You came here for a reason Mr. Luthor I can only assume it was for my chemical services or talents in that area. I have my research in exchange.” He spoke as if it was obvious.

His research was all he cared about. It was the only thing in his life that made complete and total sense of the world. That one perfect serum that he had moved into a flawless balance. If he wanted more about the Scarebeast he would agree, but wouldn’t give the details on how absent…yet present the serum was.

[Deleted]

Luthor pursed his lips and let the man speak, bemused by the entire thing, then nodding to himself. He reached into his pocket and pulled out a small box placing it carefully on the table. It was black with a single red button on top, which Luthor pushed without much preparation or thought. Small lights came on the side, and what appeared to be a series of green lasers moved over the room, over the table, the ceiling, the walls, Luthor and Jonathan. After a moment of it processing the red button turns green and it makes a pleasant sound, a relaxing bing. Lex looks at the box and then relaxes some, taking it and putting it into his pocket. 

"Fear, at times, keeps us focused and from making mistakes. I do not fear you, Dr. Crane, although I'm certain that you think I should. . . but I do have a healthy respect for a mutual acquaintance of ours." He looks at Dr. Crane for a moment saying "The room is secure, there is no one else in here, but you and me. Which means that what is said in this room, will not reach your . . . I hate the term employer, but I understand you've had a prolonged interaction with the man. He supplies you, and you assist him." 

He puts his hands together, fingertips touching as he contemplates the deep blue eyes of the monster across from him, eye contact maintained, Lex Luthor looked at Dr. Crane and raised an eyebrow. "Your arrangements with the gentleman are straightforward, and strongly restrictive on his part towards you. Imported materials in exchange for services." He considers for a moment. "You are aware of the extent of my organization, you are aware of what I have to offer, and I've had . . . prolonged experience with dealing with our friend and his organization." 

"You want, though you deny it, access to research. I want you to have access to research. You want, though you might seem detached from the idea, freedom from the grasp of the Demon. I want him to lose you as a resource. There may come a time I want you services, although I doubt that will be difficulty or challenge for you. We have, in this matter, what appears to me to be a congruence of necessity." He raises an eyebrow as he considers "Even when you do escape, which I don't put past you and I know is an inevitability for someone of your intellect. Would you really be free without a different and more understanding patron? A new supplier of that lovely sample from the east?" 

He raises an eyebrow and says "I think you know, deeply, what I can offer you that no one else can. Everything you want, and by giving you what you want, I get everything I could want. I'm mostly interested in what you'll come up with. I find it a nasty habit of mine to find intelligent individuals, give them resources, and then see where they go. I wonder how far you'll go with the right opportunities, Dr. Crane." 

[Jonathan Crane - Scarecrow]

One could manage to lose themselves in Dr. Crane’s eyes, and many had. He had been told before that they were his most enthralling and monstrous feature about him. It really just depended on who was talking to him or fascinated by him at the time. He had heard of Luthor being throughout the city lately but to come and get him specifically was something that he never expected. He was still wondering what exactly he wanted him for but at this point he was sure that he wasn’t going to tell him and the longer this conversation dragged on without a conclusion the longer he would remain here.

Though the thought of escaping wasn’t far from his mind he knew that sitting here with him was going to prevent that. In fact it’s prevention was already sealed entirely by this visit. He was meant to escape and he was meant to be right here in front of him. This was the kind of power that men like Luthor possessed….to his ignorance. Luthor may have had trinkets and gadgets that assured them their conversations were private but this was Dr. Cranes world…and he knew it well. Where there was one dispeller there was another one.

Dr. Crane listened to him carefully but Luthor was indeed one of those men that talked too much. He gave too much of himself away, although was crafting carefully about what he did hide from him. It was almost rehearsed. Though the thought of this man standing in front of a mirror and talking to himself wasn’t a farfetched idea. But when Luthor began to talk about his employer again at least one piece had fallen in front of him. He couldn’t claim with certainty, but it was beginning to feel like Luthor wasn’t asking for a partnership….He was telling him he’d been bought already.

It was a sober thought, even as Luthor finished he took a moment in pause to think it over. He really had no say in this matter at all. Not that he had any from the moment he ran into him. That’s what this was about and it showed from every enclosing angle. This was Luthor’s “polite” Initiation to forced labor that he would maintain as an equal opportunity relationship.

The doctor nodded and parted his lips to speak, he let them linger there for a moment and stared at him. He was undoing him from within, he would find out exactly what he wanted in this “Equal opportunity partnership” “ It wouldn’t be wise for me to refuse such an opportunity….I will do this…Under a new supplier. He paused to think deeply about what his new supplier could give him over his old one. It was something that he thought he could reach. Ra’s had found a way out of it but Luthor….Luthor was walking blind to him…He only had what Ra’s had told him..or what he had observed…”How can I resist?”

[Deleted]

Lex Luthor smiles faintly at the suggestion as he finishes his Mimosa, he brings a napkin up to his face, saying "Excellent, then. I'll see you upon your release, undoubtedly." He has finished the meal, pouring himself a final glass for himself, emptying the carafe. "We'll need to discuss what it is you require for your research and supplies. I'll give you a liason, one of my former executive assistants. It should allow you to have access to necessary equipment and supplies at any time you need." 

He smiles as he settles back into the chair, putting the napkin carefully folded onto the table. "She'll discuss details of payment, resources, and space. Should you find it difficult to secure your own release, I'll endeavor to facilitate that, but as one cannot always wait for the slow hands of bureaucracy, and as you may note Dr. Arkham is remarkably reticent against practical flexibility, I will have Miss Green make arrangements for you to begin your work as soon as you feel ready." 

He puts his fingertips together as he says "If there's any arrangements, supplies or requirements you have before the next stage of our process, don't hesitate to ask. Is there anything else you desire?" He raises an eyebrow. There was a faint change in the smell of the air in the room. Was it being drugged? Was there gas going into the room? What was that sound behind the wall? A creak? Were there footsteps outside? 

[Jonathan Crane - Scarecrow]

Luthor had accepted as well, but of course he had. He knew that he had him right where he wanted him. The situation was becoming clearer by the second what he had done. He couldn’t believe that Ra’s had sold him to this man, but at least…It seemed the flower went with him.

And that was all that really mattered.

Luthor would eventually suffer a fool’s fate by the end of this and he knew this to be true. But Dr. Crane was in just as bad of a position. Either way he would lose in this and both or one of them would win. His only saving grace was that one ingredient that showed the world for what it really was. Soon, he would show Luthor what it really was and then he may be able to catch a glimpse of what he can never have or understand….and he can mourn as it consumes him.

The thought of having anything that resembled an assistant was repulsive. He didn’t work well with others and it wouldn’t work well. He would tell this person what he needed, let them get it and then dispose of them after he was done with them. It was really that simple and it worked that way with anything that decided to try and assist him with anything. The moment they outlived their usefulness they were disposed of in one form or another, though he didn’t enjoy wasting a mind for research. Sometimes it just had to be done. If you don’t meet criteria, much like the place he was in, you were released.

He had been waiting for him to ask for what he needed. It was quite a list and he would give it to him more formally when the time came of his escape. It would have been oriented several minutes ago but, he was standing in the way of that. Or perhaps Luthor was the one that started it in the first place. He settled back into the chair and matched his fingers to how Luthor had them sitting. He mirrored his body language.” I need my PR to be with me, VerMillion. You will find her here as well. Firey hair and doesn’t come from the ground. And also…” He held his hand out and let it push toward him on the table.” I’m going to need that pen.

His fingers twitched slightly as the air in the room seemed to change. He had been in this building a long time and knew how everything should and shouldn’t smell. The thought stayed in the back of his mind, but his focus was on Luthor.

[Deleted]

Lex Luthor smiled at the request as he took up the last of the Mimosa. Hard to believe he'd drunk the whole thing, and finished what's on the plate too. He raised his eyebrow "VerMillion? We do have our own Public Relations people, and might I state probably of a more significant quality than your associate." He reached into his pocket and considered the pen for a moment, then looked at Crane's hand. Did he seem uncomfortable with the idea. Then he shrugged and said "It's not exactly a pen, and I should warn you. . . it's somewhat dangerous. In addition, it's proprietary LexCorp technology, so I again urge you not to attempt to open the device. You might not be pleased with the consequences." 

He stared into Dr. Crane's eyes then shrugged saying "I'm certain you'll find some use for it." He smiles as he says "Then again, I'm certain you'll find some sort of use for it." He hesitates for a moment, then hands the pen to Dr. Crane. "It's activated by pushing the button on the top twice. I would urge you not to do so." 

He settles back into his chair for a moment, straightening his tie. "Any other demands, before I leave you to your business, Dr. Crane?" He didn't look entirely pleased, glancing down at the pen, then back at Dr. Crane. Idly curious for a moment, a little more on edge. The sound of whirring stopped in the vent. Whatever was in the air didn't smell . . . too different. 

[Jonathan Crane - Scarecrow]

Dr. Crane took the pen from him and took a mental note about the warnings given. Carefully he put the pen under the collar of his orange jumper. He hooked it to a loose rip underneath that he had torn himself to hide contraband. It wasn’t easy for him to get contraband in anymore and it wasn’t often that they checked him anyway. He had a feeling that whatever this pen did it was better with him than with Luthor.

“We are in agreement then, I’ll be out shortly and contact or be contacted by you with the arrangements to reside in your living quarters.” He spoke calmly as he flattened his collar back over the pen and made it like it never existed in the first place. If Luthor thought he was somehow going to get out of the exact requirements of that agreement he was wrong. He had broken of the chain of Ra’s a few times and gotten what he wanted in the end, but Ra’s knew how to reel the chain back in when he wanted.

It was always easiest to compare his treatment from Ra’s to slavery. He couldn’t leave under any condition, even if he was let free. The was always the looming fact that Ra’s could kill him at any time he wished and not a word would even be brought to life about it, but he didn’t have to worry about that. Dr. Crane never had anything to fear, he couldn’t be brought into oblivion, only to its edge. He had seen into its depths before and been brought so close to its sweet embrace he yearned for it, but would never obtain it. This was his fate and he accepted it and embraced it with open arms.

The doctor stared at Luthor to find some fault in him and see some ulterior motive for all of this. Dr. Crane wasn’t a blind man, he knew there was but the offer was far too tempting not to take and Luthor knew it. Not that the idea of him going to Luthor from Ra’s hadn’t already been decided for him. His chains weren’t broken, only transferred. Dr. Crane stood finally and walked around the table to meet Luthor, he never touched the food and never planned on it. An eerie smile crept over his lips.

“Don’t “worry” now….I’ll give you plenty of reason to be concerned later.” He spoke cryptically and kept his stare directed through Luthor. He stood almost as if he expected someone to come and take him away, but he had been conditioned that way. Every day was the same here, and it showed in his body language.