Not My Diagnosis

Several days had passed and I had successfully evaded capture, but at the cost of not seeing him. I was riding with Nightmare at a trotting pace through the city, reading through one of my files on a certain green-haired patient. I looked up as twilight hit and the street lights started to illuminate. Wayne Towers glistened above me and I smiled, trotting by and taking a turn towards the outskirts of the city; towards Wayne Manor, or what remained.

It was a few blocks later when Nightmare stopped and danced around nervously. I tightened the reins and looked up. To my immediate left and gathering around were a group of about thirteen men, scrappy looking and armed with anything from pistols to wooden bats.

I cleared my throat and closed the file, "Can I help you gentlemen?"

A few of them laughed and one of them stepped forward, a large man who stood over six feet. His face looked like it hadn't been pampered in its time. He carried a nine millimeter pistol and waved it around carelessly. "Yea, you see, you've got a few of our good friends locked up in your little psych ward, and we need them back. Falcone to name but several."

I looked around and adjusted my glasses. "I see. Did you follow me, or is this just a bad twist of fate for you?"

He guffawed. "For me? What, did you not pass your math classes?" He looked around, chuckling.

"I understand that by sheer numbers you have the advantage, but I would advise you to rethink the situation."

He pulled the gun up to me, his finger tight on the trigger. "What rethinking? You're about to die, unless you put Falcone back out and a few others."

"Your logic is flawed. How can I release them if I am dead? Also, if I may," I dismounted Nightmare, standing close to him as he remained still, "Carmine Falcone is in no mental facility to resume his previous duty. You seem to be under the impression that I am holding him prisoner, when I am trying to help him."

A good amount of them laughed again. "We know all about your 'help'." I quirked a brow. "And I know that if you aren't going to release him, and we kill you, we'll just go there ourselves and set him out."

"Then what was the point of asking me, aside from facilitating your demise?"

"We aren't completely cold blooded. We wanted you to have some time to think before we capped you."

I smiled and turned back to Nightmare, unstrapping a few buckles along his saddle. "Well, if you're going to kill me here, at least let my friend here leave. I don't want him to have to see this."

He shrugged. "Sure." he waved a few of his men apart and I rested a hand on Nightmare, inhaling and grabbing my scythe from him as he fled in between the men.

I spun with it and thrust it forward, knocking the gun out of the his hand as it was raised, cupping the edge behind his neck and pulling him forward slightly. He winced and I could tell that the blade had all ready slid into his flesh. Everyone stopped and I raised a brow over the edge of my glasses to him.

"P-please, don't kill me... I'll let you go. Really." The others' guns shook in their hands as they tried to keep aim on me.

I smiled hollowly, "That's very sweet of you, but... oh... hold on a moment, please." I glanced to my left and leaned down, never moving the weapon. I picked up my hat that flew off of Nightmare and adjusted it atop my head. I ran my hand along the brim and locked eyes with the man again. "But, I'm afraid I know this game." I wrenched the scythe forward and caught some of the arterial spray on me. I wiped it from my face and looked at it in thought for a moment.

A bullet flew past my face and reminded me of my current situation. "Oh. Yes. Killing you all. I had almost forgotten. It's terrible you're such a poor shot," I chuckled and lunged at one of the men, disemboweling him and intoxicating one of the men about to strike me. He fell backwards and one of the men caught him, but to his disadvantage as the poisoned man turned on him and began to beat him to death. The now insane carried on with several others nearby before running off.

I had been watching in amusement, but was reminded of the seven others as I detected a wooden bat out of the corner of my eye coming for my back. My eyes widened and I attempted a curved flip backwards over it. My left hand grabbed for my hat, the tip of my scythe parrying the bat as it swung through and touching down to the street. I kept myself going with the brace of my weapon and landed on my feet as the man stumbled forward.

I exhaled in, what I think was, disbelief, let go of my hat, and hacked the offender in half. I used his twain corpse as a distraction to gain a foot on the others as I hooked one behind the neck and guided him into the other, twirling the opposite direction and tearing through them simultaneously.

I smiled and closed my eyes and I followed through with the swing, like an elegant dance, spinning to a stop and smiling to myself. I never felt more at peace than when I was spilling blood, or... other things. This, though, was a dance that I could do forever.

I threw a cloud of toxin to a man who ran at me and he grabbed his head and ran past me, colliding with a nearby car. I spun and parried another swing, locking the weapon between the blade and fore-handle, snapping it from his hands. His eyes softened and he fell to his knees; he started crying. I stopped and stared into his eyes and he sobbed indeterminable nothings. He withdrew pictures of his children and wife and threw them before me, as if that would help my choice.

The two others ran up to me and I knocked one of them in the stomach with the top of the blade and swung it backwards to push the other between myself and the one on his knees, continuing through until he was on the ground by the first. I turned away from the kneeling one and stepped over to the two on their backs. I stood on the closest's chest and smiled down at them, extending the tip of the blade out. I hesitated, though, and my smile faded.

I pulled the scythe away from the edge of the farthest's stomach and removed my foot. I walked in front of the one who was crying and stopped. I lifted his chin with the edge of the scythe and stared into his eyes. They were a light honey brown, his whites stained red, and... he wouldn't look away. I walked around to the side of him and put the back of the blade to his neck, pushing him forward to the ground, holding it there and breathing slowly. I looked away and then removed it, walking away from him and the other two survivors.

When I was about ten feet away I heard the hammer of one of the pistols draw back and I looked over my shoulder to one of them shakily holding it up to me. I just stared at him and tears began to roll down his face as he turned it to his accomplice who was suffering the effects of the concentrated toxin.

A single shot fired and it was still.

I walked down the street, Nightmare sulking up next to me. I clutched his reins and led him down the street, which was unnecessary as he knew where we were going, but I felt better holding onto part of him. He nudged me with his nose and pushed me closer to him, stopping.

I looked around, concerned they had come back, but there was nothing. I looked to him and nodded, stepping up into the stirrup and twisting myself so I was side-saddling. I exhaled and held my hat down with my left hand, my right keeping my scythe tight across my lap as we trotted off.

I secured my hat on my head and reached down to hold my scythe as my right hand went to pet the back of his neck. I patted him absentmindedly, thinking back to those men; for some reason I couldn't stop thinking about that one man's eyes. How they pleaded, and the intrepid nature behind them. Then Nightmare stopped.

He danced in a circle and I grabbed a hold of the saddle, looking around as he spun. Nothing at ground level, but he still danced and then took off in the direction we had started in. I struggled to stay on as I was not in proper riding position for him to break into a gallop. I hooked my right foot into the stirrup and leaned back, giving me enough balance to reach for the reins and pull him to a stop.

He whinnied and I pat him, trying to calm him as he started to move again. I was very ready to kill whatever was causing him so much grief. "That was endearing," came that unforgiving voice I was too familiar with.

I looked up and he was repelled down one of the skyscrapers, about thirty feet above me. "I wish you wouldn't do that to Nightmare, and I don't know what you're talking about." I fixed my position and started to walk off with Nightmare as he calmed. I could hear him leap between buildings after me, the clatter of escape ladders echoing down the rather empty street. I looked up again as I had missed the sky the last time, realising it had grown dark and more stars were out.

"I think you do know," his voice fluttered behind me. It felt like his breath was on my neck, but I just kept down the street. I ignored him until he flew down in front of me. We stopped and I turned Nightmare to the side, staring down at him. "I saw you fight."

"And you didn't help?"

"I thought you could handle yourself."

"I meant those people you knew were condemned."

"I accepted that there was nothing I could do to save them from you. If they are getting so bold as to try and kill you, they have chosen their fate and would not stop until they are dead."

"You're getting wiser. How cute." I turned more and started off down a side-street. I suppose I was trying to run from what I had done in letting them go. Especially if He knew. He walked after me.

"That also means I saw you let those men go."

I stopped and looked down in thought. I lifted my head again and spoke straight ahead of me. "I didn't let them go. I left them there for the police or other wild dogs to pick off of."

"You didn't kill them."

"I told you I didn't kill most of my victims."

"It was an act of sympathy."

"You don't know what you're talking about." I strapped my 'sophisticated hardware' to this side of my companion again, refastened my hat and sent Nightmare into a gallop.

I knew without his car he would lose me eventually, and when I was sure of it I headed for his house.

{Thank you very much to all who reviewed, again. I'm glad to hear from my early readers and the new one I've acquired. I hope you continue to read and enjoy. I also hope the lack of what makes it Adult in this chapter didn't dissuade too many people.
Thank you all again.
~Dr. Crane}