A/N – I probably shouldn't start a new story but the plot bunnies attacked me, and believe me they ain't as pretty as they sound.

Spoilers – Set after first movie. Doubt there will be any spoilers (unless you haven't watched the first movie) but you never know. Mentions of the second movie as well.

Warnings – This may turn in to slash. I'll give due warning. Mature rating is currently for language, violence and wonderful insanity.

Disclaimers – I most obviously do not own Batman Begins or the Dark Knight or the characters.

Normal Italics – Cranes thoughts

Bold Italics – Scarecrows thoughts

1: Scarecrow Finds a Home

He knew Henri Ducard, or Ra's Al Ghul, would eventually find him. It was only a matter of time. The revelation that the man was alive didn't really come as a shock to the exhausted doctor. He recalled a saying, "evil never dies", though he honestly could not recall who had said it. His mind was still shifting, an eternal maze of flying bats and manic laughter. He knew the laughter was probably coming from him, the bats though… Some man was staring at him. Ah yes. "Good evening Ra's" He all but hissed at the blurred but unmistakable figure.

"Doctor Crane" the blur began but laughter bubbled forth from the crazed man, ripping at the throat and causing the older man to frown.

"Scarecrow. They call me Scarecrow." The manic smile did not deter his visitor at all.

A small sigh. Did the blur just pinch the bridge of his nose? He wasn't sure. 'The bridge of his nose or the bridge of my nose?' He was starting to feel confused. What the hell did this blur want? Why was it pinching his nose? He'd barely escaped the Narrows alive, his mind buzzed and swirled, his head hurt, and Ra's Al Ghul… Ah yes, the blur.

"Very well, Scarecrow", Ducard stopped to see if the shivering man on the floor was going to interrupt him again. "I believe it's time to reacquaint yourself with the laboratory. We need you to make more toxin."

Crane stared at the blur. Was he serious? How long had it been since the Narrows? How long did one take to return from the dead? The figure seemed to read his mind.

"It has been almost a month since you released the toxin into Gotham, Dr Crane." Jonathan blinked. Had it really been that long? "It appears most have received the vaccine, therefore rendering the toxin unusable." The man paused and looked at Crane's tensed form. "Worse, people seem to be forgetting it happened."

He felt Scarecrow growl, 'They forgot about me? They can't forget about me!' He cringed. Scarecrow's rage was almost deafening. The blur that was Ducard – 'Ra's' – cocked his head questioningly and then disappeared from his line of sight. Scarecrow continued to rant and fume when suddenly the world became clearer. He waited until the man stepped back before adjusting his glasses. An unnecessary move, but one he felt he had to do. He couldn't remember the last time he had worn his glasses. Now that he thought about it, where had Ghul found his glasses? He ran his finger round the rim. They weren't his glasses. He shrugged and gave the older man a calculating look; A look which failed spectacularly since he was still sitting on the apartment floor.

Most people would have thought this was the moment to get up, dust themselves off and try to pull together whatever dignity they had left. Jonathan, however, thought this was completely unnecessary and continued to glare at the trespasser from his spot on the floor. Scarecrow had finally stopped fuming. Scratch that, Scarecrow had stopped altogether. He briefly wondered where his friend popped off to, and then remembered that the immortal Ra's Al Ghul was still in his room waiting for the good doctor to do his bidding. Funny how easy it was to forget things nowadays. He glared at the man; the man glared back. He would have to be eloquent about this.

"Get fucked." Scarecrows timing was impeccable as ever. He would've laughed, but it's rather hard when someone has you hoisted in the air by your throat. For a panic driven second he was back in the basement of the asylum, staring at the burning eyes of the bat. Unlike the Bat Man, however, Ra's Al Ghul did not look annoyed, just bored.

"I suggest that you rethink your answer", he dropped the smaller man and walked over to a nearby chair. Once comfortably seated Jonathan realised the man was not going to remove himself from his home – 'home?' – Which meant he didn't have much of a choice. He pulled himself up off the floor, dusted himself off and tried to muster all the dignity he remembered having. Wherever Ra's Al Ghul was staying had to be better than this hovel.

"Very well, I suppose I can hardly say no to such a delightful offer." He had to admit he flinched when the man rose. Sarcasm was a nasty habit, but one he was unlikely to kick. The older man simply smiled and nodded at him. Or at least he thought it was at him. The crack across the back of his skull made him think otherwise. Why couldn't he ever be taken somewhere conscious?

Jonathan had found since beginning his career of crime opening his eyes was getting more and more difficult. Maybe if people would stop conking him on the head it wouldn't be as hard, but asking the Bat Man if he could avoid slamming his fragile skull off the nearest wall seemed pointless and a little humiliating. Unless the Bat actually agreed; then it would just be down right hilarious. No wonder the new addition to Gotham dressed like a clown. He would love to be the one to pick that mans brain apart, but he had to save his energy for the Bat. Or Ra's Al Ghul. He snapped his eyes open, and immediately regretted it. His head throbbed. He thought he'd been in another 'scuffle' with the Bat, suffered some random form of delusion and passed out somewhere. Glancing around at the rather large laboratory from his makeshift bed informed him that he had not imagined the immortal's visit.

Usually the site of a shiny new laboratory – and a large one at that – would fill him with glee, but right now all he felt was a surprising amount of anger. It could have been the throbbing in his skull, or the way the light seemed determined to seer through his retina's that were to blame for his fowl mood. Personally he suspected it was the way that man appeared out of nowhere, giving him that patronising look while that smirk danced across his lips. The way he drawled out "Good Morning", was almost too much for the Scarecrow to bear. 'He's mocking us already', he growled causing Jonathan to wince. Ra's, obviously, spotted it.

"I take it your friend doesn't take too kindly to our type of transportation", the smirk grew wider, if only for a second, "But in your condition I felt it best you had some much needed rest."

Crane glared at him. He would have punched him but it seemed like a rather pointless exercise. His head hurt already. He settled for glaring and mentally ticking off all the ways he'd love to torture this man. Ra's actually chuckled; "I'd stick to imagining rather than trying. At least your imagination can't turn on you," he paused, "Or can it?" Jonathan felt his teeth grind as Ra's cocked his head to the side, studying him like he was a bug under a magnifying glass. He was supposed to look at people like that.

The immortal clapped his hands together in what Crane believed to be an unnecessarily loud and annoying way. "Well, I think it's time you get acquainted with your new lab", he gestured with a sweep of his hand.

For the first time since he'd left Arkham Jonathan felt a shudder of excitement as he looked at new equipment that he hadn't had to rescue from skips or abandoned warehouses; equipment without rust or blood or who knows what other bodily fluids smeared on them. He carefully walked along the aisles, letting his fingers dance across the smooth metal worktops. He realised Ra's was watching him, studying him almost. He decided to ignore it.

"Do you have the vaccine?" Ra's nodded the affirmative. "Good. I'll need time to find the active ingredient before I can create a new toxin. I could probably guess and provide you with a quick substitute but that would be a waste of both of our time." Crane adjusted the glasses, annoyed they had the audacity to slip down his nose. Ra's simply stood, waiting to hear what the young doctor needed. Crane cleared his throat, "If you'll just give me the vaccine I can get to work and you can leave and get on with whatever plot you're working on now…" He trailed off when Ra's chuckled. The man seemed to do that a lot.

"You wish me to leave you alone? Very well, I understand it can be difficult to work when you have someone 'breathing down your neck'," he flashed a quick smile that made Cranes stomach feel like lead, "However, given your rather admirable ability to escape and disappear into thin air I believe it would be best to keep an eye on you". A rather non-descript man appeared at Ra's shoulder. "When I am not here, you will have a guard with you. You will work, you will make a new toxin and you will not disappoint me."

Crane gulped, mustered up all the nerve he had, then snorted. "A 24 hour body guard? How delightful. I always wanted to have someone watch my every move. Maybe you can even convince him to give me completely useless tips on how to do my work." Ra's looked rather annoyed. Jonathan felt it was about time he got a reaction from the bastard he'd wasted his good name on. He took a small amount of joy at the fact he could ruffle the man's feathers, though he was not entirely sure what he had said to cause the annoyance. He decided to ponder that later, when he felt he could breathe without the man inspecting him. "So does he have to hold my hand when I go to the toilet? Will he make sure I'm all tucked into bed and not wandering around past my bed time? Or will that be your job?" he let that condescending little smirk fall on his lips, even though he knew he'd regret everything he just said.

Ra's flashed him an almost brilliant, if not rather feral smile, "That would be my job". And with that, he left. Jonathan gaped. The laboratory hummed. The man stared.

He looked at the non-descript man and felt he had to ask, "Did he just make a joke?"

The non-descript man gave him a blank look as he blandly replied; "Ra's Al Ghul does not joke."

Crane nodded, stared at the table, and then back at the man, "So Ra's Al Ghul is going to take me to the toilet and tuck me into bed?"

To give the non-descript man some credit he did pause before shrugging. "Maybe there's an exception to the joke rule."

"Oh good, for a minute I was worried." Jonathan took a sample of the vaccine and began his work, praying that Ra's Al Ghul didn't feel it necessary to teach him a lesson and all the while trying to find the best escape routes. He was pretty sure there were at least two in the ceiling. He felt calmer already.

A/N – Hmmm… Yea the toilet and tucking in joke is rather childish but hey the man is insane. He has the right to be childish now and then. Also this doesn't really follow a time line. I'm just winging it here.