04 ⚜ Video

[restingstitchface]

[Pristine is how Crane appears when he flicks on the video feed; it's a lovely display of smoke and mirrors that he's pulling off, after the events of the last three days. He has a clean, elegant, ascetic appearance - and enough calm professionalism to mask his excitement.]

You're all handling this outbreak remarkably well. It seems you're all keeping to the boundaries of the law, as the Major-General expects you to. That's a good thing, mind. It would be terrible news to hear people have been shot for breaking quarantine.

Anyway, I am here to help if this event has caused you psychological distress. I am a doctor, after all.

[A pause, and he tucks in his chin and folds his hands in his lap. He half-closes his eyes.]

Fears and phobias are my specialty, and there is much to fear in this situation.

[His head comes back up. He's staring at the lens.]

Be that as it may, fear is something everybody needs. It keeps you safe and keeps you on your toes. It will do you all well to remember that. That it's good to know we must always feel a little scared. It's good to see that most of you haven't submitted to bravado and dagger-tongued bragging.

[The corners of his lips lift in a boyish smile. He tilts his head slightly. His voice is disarmingly gentle. His soft inflection on 'most of you' is meant for one person in particular.]

And I wouldn't like to think that those with guts would put everyone in danger. I trust everyone to make the best decisions for each other in combating this disease.

It would be terrifying to think we couldn't trust each other. Wouldn't it?

[He crosses his right leg and rests his hands over his knee. His graceful fingers smooth his trousers, and he waits for his audience to speak.]

Comments

[andaway]

I fear we're talking in circles

[:D]

But I'm more than happy to agree to disagree on this subject. We're both doing our best to help, after all. But as much as fear might help in your opinion I'll still be keeping an eye out for panic.

[restingstitchface]

[Don't worry, Superman. Crane's got his eye on you too, now.

Unfortunately, that doesn't exclude Batman or everyone else here. They'll all become part of his experiment sooner or later.]

Of course. I don't expect anything less. [He certainly doesn't expect more - he's no Batman.] Your moniker would sort of demand it, really.

[andaway]

I feel like I should explain I didn't really choose the moniker. The press came up with it and it sort of stuck, and after years it kind of grows on you.

And you force yourself to live up to it. I might not be able to do much, but I'll do my best to make sure people aren't afraid. What people need in this kind of situation is a little bit of hope.

[restingstitchface]

[Hope itself is a word of happiness. It makes him feel nauseous. Oh, but how he enjoys twisting it in the minds of his patients, till it's synonymous with despair.]

Hope is a slumbering dream. [Let's twist Aristotle whilst we're at it.] It always has a bitter aftertaste. But it's good you feel the need to force it on people. Sometimes the best medicine is that which tastes the foulest.

[Funny, because his toxin doesn't really smell like anything, till the mind kicks in.]

[andaway]

[Of all things, is this that gets Kal to pause. It's this seemingly almost consequential thing that makes him clench his jaw.]

Do you know what the shield on my chest stands for, Dr Crane?

[restingstitchface]

[Well, nobody can say Crane hates learning.]

I can hazard a guess, but I do enjoy surprises. But I have a feeling you're going to tell me anyway.

[andaway]

It means hope. Literally. My ancestors stood for hope, and this is the last remain I have of them.

So you'll understand if I take the matter a bit personally.

[restingstitchface]

Of course.

[He's going to bite his tongue, for now. He sucks in his cheeks and glances off-side for a moment. Oh, he wants to talk about how Superman's ancestors aren't standing for hope anymore. It's a struggle to prevent himself from slipping a comment that they're not standing for much of anything else, either.]

We all cling to our memories, Superman. We don't want to risk losing them a second time again.

[And by that he means the dearly departed, obviously.]

[andaway]

[Kal squints for a second. If he didn't know any better... but no, Bruce wouldn't have told him about Batman's death. Would he? He doesn't know this Bruce as well as he knew his own, has no idea what the relationship with his Crane was like. He knows he still feels guilty about Dent, that he had once admired the man.. but nothing about Crane other than to avoid underestimating him.

Maybe he should be cutting this conversation short.]

We really don't.

It was interesting talking to you, Dr Crane.

[restingstitchface]

That is also my sentiment.

Goodbye.

[Crane looks off-side for a moment, as if he expects someone or something to go flying by - or dropping in, as the case may be - before leaning forward to switch off his feed.]