Chapter Nine
Two days later...
"No...no, what I'm telling you is that it's not ready yet..." Jonathan Crane attempted to explain the situation to Joker's clueless henchmen, his suit jacket hanging on the back of his chair and his sleeves rolled up to his elbows as he stood over several hastily scrawled papers and chemical containers, "...you told me to make enough to fill a city...well, that's exactly what I'm doing...it takes time."
Scarecrow took off his glasses and wiped the back of his wrist against his brow, frustrated by the painted madman's unreasonable demands of him as well as having gotten very little sleep the past few nights he had been held in the abandoned facility.
Jonathan had remained on his guard around Joker and his men since he had first arrived, ceaselessly keeping track of their individual movements so he would know where they would be around the building at all times.
He needed to know when he would have time to himself so he could plan out an escape route.
His slowly growing progress was also wearing the good doctor's patience thin.
"The boss man says you're running low on time...he wants a test run done in two hours..." one of the burly goons announced coldly, he and his companion standing menacingly around Crane, gazing at his slender frame as if he was a piece of meat on display.
Jonathan turned around, blatant disbelief written on his face as he shook his head and dropped his hands.
Truth be told, for the passed two days, Jonathan Crane had been sending Joker's men on carefully thought-out hunts for chemicals and compounds that had nothing to do with his fear toxin.
The men had crowded his working space with boxes filled with tubes and beakers and jars full of liquid that was as harmless as it all was useless.
Jonathan knew he had not been making the fear toxin...
And now Joker wanted a sample of his work.
"That...that's impossible..." Jonathan smirked humorlessly at the goons, his smile not reaching his ice-blue eyes that could barely hide the slight panic that had flashed across them for a moment, "...you see, this is highly delicate work, work that neither one of you two bird-brains could never hope to understand..."
The two henchmen looked at each other before turning back towards Crane, immediately advancing on the lithe male with anger etched into their wide faces.
"Hey, wait! Hold on! Get off!" Jonathan called out at once, having not expected for the mindless goons to retaliate as they both grabbed a hold of his arms and legs, hoisting his struggling form up and over top of the metal table in the room.
"Shut your fucking mouth, Scarecrow..." one of the men grumbled uncaringly as they both slammed his body down upon the table, keeping him place with their merciless grip on him.
"I don't know...the way he looks, maybe we should call him 'princess'...what do you think...?" the other man chuckled with his gravel-laced voice, both of the men built like brick-walls laughing at Crane's expense as one of them ran a meaty hand down Jonathan's stomach.
"Fuck you! Fuck you! Goddamn...let me out of here!" the brunette hollered seethingly, struggling even harder against their unwanted touches and harsh treatment.
"Well, now...gentlemen...it doesn't seem that our...guest much appreciates your...uh...manners," a distinct voice carried through the air, cut through the overbearing noise with barely raising in volume, as all went instantly quiet so they may listen.
The rough hands roaming over Jonathan's body stopped in an instant as the henchman turned towards their painted employer, leaving Crane lying on the table as he also cocked his head to a side so he could also seek out Joker.
Joker was staring directly at Jonathan's lying form with a glint in his eyes and a wide grin on his scarred face, the man dressed in purple and green practically sauntering into the room as he eyed the situation.
"I believe..." Joker sang sinisterly, "...that we have all gathered here for a demonstration from the good doctor...alright."
Jonathan sprang up from the table, pushing passed the two goons as he smoothed his hand down the front of his shirt and then brushed some of his hair out of his eyes.
"Uh...it's...not exactly ready yet...for testing, and I uh...need some more time," Jonathan spoke as calmly as he could, his tone naturally silken but even he could tell he was nervous.
Joker pursed his lips and cocked his head to a side, seeming to ponder over what Scarecrow had said or nothing at all.
Joker fixed his hard glare on Jonathan's face, the two criminals facing each other closely with Joker's henchman at Crane's back.
"Jonny..." Joker began in his strange, high-pitched tone as he rolled his neck around once, "...that's...not...gonna...work for me..."
Scarecrow swallowed hard at the sociopath's obvious displeasure with me, careful not to avert his eyes or show too much of his fear.
Abruptly, Joker grabbed onto one of Jonathan's arms and yanked him towards his work table, nearly shoving him against it as he jostled the smaller man in his grasp while he spoke.
"Do it, Jonny...do it! I want you to do it, I want you to do it...now!" Joker roared at the former psychiatrist, using his free hand to knock over various beakers and vials that were neatly organized on the surface of the table.
"Ugh...s-stop...let me go!" Crane tried to pull his arm out of Joker's grasp but to no avail as the madman continued to pick up tube after tube, holding each one up to Crane's frightened face and then smashing it down on the ground.
"...let's see...it is this one? No...is it this one...? This one? Tell me! Do it now, Crane, or you die!" Joker yelled, swiping his hand across the table and knocking over even more jars and arrangements of contained compounds that made Jonathan cringe at the horrible noises of shattering glass.
"If you don't want to tell me which one it is...then I will just have to start using them on you..." Joker reasoned maniacally, cackling at the end of his sentence as he now began taking his time in selecting one of the vials of serum from the table.
In a blind haste, Jonathan snatched the tube out of Joker's gloved hand and splashed the green-tinted liquid right in his face, knowing that the solution was not the fear toxin Joker had wanted, but that it would buy him enough time to hopefully get away from the crazed clown.
"Aaghh!" Joker exclaimed in pain, releasing Crane as he brought both of his hands to his face, but then quickly forced his eyes open so he may rear his heavy fist back and punch Crane squarely in his jaw.
Scarecrow toppled to the ground, his ears ringing a bit and his vision blurring from such a point-blank blow as he could just barely register how Joker's two henchman had rushed over to their flailing boss and were asking him if he was okay.
"Kill him!" Joker ordered his two thugs, the greasy white and black paint smearing together and running down his face from the burning sensation from the liquid Jonathan had poured on him, as he continued to dab at his eyes and gain his bearings.
Jonathan's breath caught in his throat, his vision clearing just enough to see the two burly men coming towards him.
Crane hurried to his feet, ignoring the throbbing pain in his jaw, but as soon as he had spun around to try to run for the door, a large hand clamped down on his shoulder and prevented him from going any further.
"Shit...get the fuck off of me...!" Jonathan growled in between clenched teeth, trying to knock away the hand that held too tightly onto his shoulder but was suddenly thrown backwards from the sheer brute force of the towering male.
"Ugh...!" Crane voiced out as his back came into contact with the tiled, filthy wall, the back of his head rapping once against the wall as well and causing the criminal to slowly close his eyes as darkness washed over him entirely.
Jonathan was barely conscious, forcing his genius mind to keep moving, keep working, so he may remain somewhat aware of his surroundings even though his vision was still spotting and it felt like all of his energy had just been zapped from his body.
The brown-haired male tried to move his tongue around, tasting a bit of blood but knowing that he wanted to swallow it down in order to alert himself even more, but something caught his fading attention straight away.
Jonathan heard the two men take three steps each towards him before suddenly stopping and then taking faster steps away from him, their far-away-sounding voices calling out something before Scarecrow could hear the very present noises of exclamations of pain.
The cries from the henchmen overlapped each other, each one sounding more distance than the one before it and Jonathan could only assumed that they were being chased.
Jonathan carefully blinked his eyes open, his vision hazy and unclear as he slowly pushed his weight up with his arms as he attempted to stand up from the ground.
Red blood dotted the floor here and there, Joker was nowhere to be found, and Jonathan could make out a figure dressed totally in black rushing over to him from the room outside of his own, leaving the motionless goons in his wake.
Crane scrunched his eyes closed again and brought a hand to his aching jaw, cradling it against his palm for a moment, before opening his eyes and looking upon none other than Batman himself.
"...Crane...Jonathan...can you hear me...? Are you alright?" the masked vigilante asked, a frightening image of pure black amidst a place so otherwise well-illuminated, and Jonathan had to look up in order to see his face.
Batman lightly held onto either of Scarecrow's arms, Bruce peering right into Jonathan's half-lidded eyes, seeing that the doctor was still trying to get back in touch with reality and possibly handle the immense pain that he was currently in.
"Alright...alright..." Batman murmured aloud, nodding his head to his own thoughts as he reached forward and carefully scooped Jonathan up into his arms, carrying him bridal-style and lowering his gaze as he felt Crane wrap his arms around his neck.
He felt light, his frame weak and his grip loose around Bruce's neck as Crane serenely closed his eyes as if it had been the first time in days he had done so.
The caped crusader frowned as he watched as Jonathan rested his head against his chest, trusting him completely, thankful that he was there and feeling safe because of it...and Batman felt his hatred flare dramatically towards Joker for making him like this.
"Let's get you home..."
