Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters from Batman Begins. I only own Heather and the few other names that are not and never will be seen in the movies, comics, etc...

Author's Note: This is my attempt at a Batman fic...or more appropriately, a Scarecrow fic. You'll have to bear with me when it comes to Dr. Crane's character, in the movie the only thing we really learned about him was that he was disturbed and very, very naughty (which we all loved him for). It could either take place previous to the movie or afterwards in a world where they did not find out who Scarecrow was. Decide for yourself for now, because I haven't even figured it out yet. Please review and tell me if it's any good. There's not a lot for you to go on right now, but first chapter should be up shortly...maybe even sometime today! Without further adeu!

Into the Sun

Prologue:

The lights flashed and the sirens screamed as the ambulance wove its way through the streets of Gotham City. In the back, two paramedics worked frantically to stabilize a young unconscious woman who was bleeding profusely from both wrists. They hooked an I.V. in her arm with hopes of keeping fluids flowing through her and keeping her well hydrated. If they didn't stop the bleeding soon, there would be no hope for her. The ambulance pulled into the emergency room entrance, where the paramedics rolled the young woman in on a stretcher. She was then handed over to the on duty doctors and the EMT's went on to answer the next 911 call.

It didn't take long after that for the woman to be stabilized and her wrists patched up. It hadn't been some cry for attention because she had slit straight up both arms. Twenty stitchedhad beenneeded in each. When she came to, she was not at all happy. Her throat was dry, her eyes were swollen, and her entire body was sore. Her doctor came in and the woman informed him as to how lucky he was that she couldn't lift her arms, because if she could have, she would have beat the shit out of him for saving her life. It took more than forty-five minutes for him to get her to tell him her name. Heather Herst.

The doctor recommended that she be sent immediately to the psychiatric ward and be kept under observation. However, the psych ward didn't have a bed to spare, so a nurse told him that their only option was to either let her go or send her to Arkham Asylum. So, while Heather's doctor was none too thrilled at the idea of sending a suicidal patient to an asylum for the criminally insane, he liked the thought of sending her back out into the world where she would be free to just try it again even less. He signed the transfer papers and placed Heather into the care of Dr. Jonathan Crane with every confidence that she would be looked after.

Heather wasn't happy either at the news that she was being transferred to the famed asylum. She was already convinced that dying was more appealing than her life and now they were sending her to a place many people considered hell on earth. If they thought that shutting her away in a mental torture chamber was going to help her get better, they were the crazy ones, not her. She had heard things about the director of the asylum, Dr. Crane. She had heard that he was a freak and creepy as all hell. After all, how normal could the person who ran that place be?

Sadly, the powers that be had made up their minds and there was no amount of begging or pleading that was going to get her out of this one. No, sure as the sun, Heather was on her way to Arkham Asylum first thing in the morning.

All the way out past the borders of the city sat the tall castle-like mental institution that had struck fear into so many with just the mere mention of its name. Most would just as soon take a death sentence as opposed to a stay within its walls. Though Heather's doctor had assured her treatment would be far different from that of the other patients, she still felt a sickening sense of dread in the pit of her stomach as the hospital van neared her new residence. With promises that Gotham City Hospital staff would be checking in on her on aregular basis, she was walked up to the large doors that made up the entrance of Arkham.