For The Reason Of Temporary Insanity: A DC Fanfiction

Ask Not For Whom The Bell Tolls

Rhyss

Rhyss looked up at the sky as she heard a rumble. The sky had darkened in the 15 minutes she and Robin had been walking. “Think it’s gonna rain?” She asked.

Robin shrugged. “It might. Why, you scared you’ll melt?” He joked, laughing.

Rhyss elbowed him in the side as he opened the door to the little 24 hour cafe they had come across. Clutching his side and groaning dramatically, Robin grinned. Walking through the door and up to the counter, Rhyss chuckled and shook her head.

“Do you have any tea?” She asked the man behind the counter. He nodded, and spoke.

“We have Earl Grey or peppermint. However, we also have peppermint hot chocolate.”

Biting her lip, Rhyss thought for a second. “Can I have a large Earl Grey tea, and two large peppermint hot chocolate’s?” Turning to Robin, she said, “What do you want? My treat.”

Looking surprised, Robin turned to the man. “Can I have 4 large black coffee’s?”

The man nodded, not seeming surprised that he was talking to Gotham’s boy wonder. Rhss paid for the drinks, then went and sat down to wait, Robin joining her soon after. Sitting in comfortable silence, it wasn’t that long before their drinks were ready. After fixing them up their preferred ways, the two left the cafe, heading back to the crime scene.

“Who do you think did it?” Rhyss suddenly said, breaking the silence. Blinking, Robin shrugged.

“I don’t know. It could have been anyone.”

Furrowing her brow, Rhyss thought. “What if he had a really important job? And somebody killed him for that.” Stopping next to a bench, Rhyss put down the drinks she was carrying and pulled out her data pad. Turning it on, she quickly typed “Jamieson Reynolds” into the search bar. What showed up surprised her.

ARKHAM DOCTOR TO SPEAK AT CHARITY CONVENTION

“He worked at Arkham Asylum. Apparently he was a pretty important doctor there. But there’s not much else. Hold on.” Attaching a keyboard and typing quickly, Rhyss soon found herself on the Arkham Asylum website. But no matter what she tried, she couldn’t get any further. Growling, she glared at the pad.

“Let me in.” Rhyss’s voice was suddenly layered, giving her voice a strange quality. Suddenly, the pad’s screen flickered, turning black, code running up the screen before a taskbar showed up on the screen. Grinning, Rhyss looked up at Robin, only to stop smiling as she saw the look he was giving her. Robin’s eyes were wide, and he looked apprehensive.

“What?” She asked, brows furrowing.

Taking a step back, Robin said, “How did you do that?”

Rhyss felt the blood drain from her face, and her throat tighten. “It’s nothing. Just something stupid I can do.” Looking at Robin, she saw that he wasn’t believing her. Sighing, she looked down. “I call it technopathy. I can talk to technology. That’s all.”

Robin nodded. Holding out his hand, he grabbed hers and picked up her backpack, throwing it over his shoulder and grabbing the drink tray she had been holding. “Tell me more about the vic.”

Smiling gratefully at him, she started looking through the files that had shown up on the website. “Apparently he was in charge of the experimental psychosis treatments. Despite this, he was apparently well loved by the families of the patients. A lot of his treatments have resulted in a significant improvement in the behaviour of the patients. They’re still in the testing stages though.”

“What sort of treatments?”

“Non-invasive. Mostly mental exercises, though there is one that involves a new medication. Apparently, it involves a fear.”

Robin stopped, his eyes widening. “Oh no. We need to get back. Now.”

Rhyss struggled to keep up as he quickened his pace. “Why? What’s wrong?”

“I may know who did this.” Rhyss’s eyes widened. The two turned into the alley way, and hurried over to Batman, who was talking to the commissioner. Handing Batman a his coffee, they explained what they had discovered about Jamieson.

Robin looked at the Dark Knight, and swallowed. “I think I know who did it. I think it was Scarecrow.”

Rhyss gasped softly. “The treatment.” Turning to Robin, she said, “That’s what made you think of it.” Looking around, her eyebrows furrowed. Turning to Lucilla, who had joined them a few minutes prior, she said, “Where’s Hailey?”

Lucilla shrugged and frowned. “I’m not sure. She looked really tired. She and Nightwing went off somewhere.”

Rhyss sighed. “I hate this.” Looking at Batman, she said, “What are we going to do next?”

However, as she watched Batman’s lips move, she started to see flashes of pictures. Suddenly, she felt her legs give out, and her eyes roll back. She vaguely heard Lucilla cry out, and then felt arms cradling her to a firm chest. She felt her hands shaking slightly.

“Rhyss, what’s wrong?” Lucilla sounded terrified.

“So dark. It’s so dark. I can’t see. Why can’t I see?” Slowly, Rhyss became aware of her returning vision. After a few seconds, she was able to clearly see that Robin was holding her tightly to his chest as Lucilla was staring into her eyes.

Lucilla looked around. “Rhyss, what did you see?” She asked.

Looking at her, Rhyss shuddered, huddling closer to Robin’s chest, trying to fight back tears. “Someone else is going to die. And we can’t do anything to stop it.”

Suddenly, a scream pierced the air. Lucilla got up and ran out of the alley, Red Hood and Batman behind them. A small group of police followed them as the commissioner and Robin helped Rhyss to her feet. She was trembling and shaky, moving slow. She still insisted on following the group, a bad feeling settling in her stomach. As they turned the corner, they saw the group of police standing in shock around a doorway down the road. Suddenly, the skies opened up, drenching everything in rain. As Rhyss approached the building, she got the distinct feeling that the world was weeping for it’s lost children, and Rhyss realised that she was weeping with it. And in the distance, she heard the tolling of a bell, and was reminded of one of her favourite quotes.

“Any man’s death diminishes me, for I am involved in mankind, and therefore never send to know for whom the bell tolls; it tolls for thee.”