Reasons Scarecrow Rocks: In his first appearance in the animated series, he both knew and used the names of his henchmen. That's just awesome.

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Chapter 10

For a man as cursed as Harvey Dent, he had some damn good luck. Crane leant on his walking stick (that Joker had somehow recovered from their last encounter with the Bat Man) while they stood in the men's department store back storage room and office. Harvey had won the little coin toss so it fell upon the Joker to chose their next activity. The clown thought it would only be right to choose something Harvey-related since it was supposed to be his turn in the first place. Said event was apparently picking out a new outfit for the man.

Not that Crane blamed him; Harvey looked horrible in Joker's extra clothes. It was a shame he was too tall to fit into his own clothes. Having one man dressed in purple was bad enough.

"How do you put up with this?"

Crane lifted an eyebrow from under his mask as Harvey looked at him with the standard 'I'm pissed off and bored but probably not hating my captivity as much as I'm trying to portray' look. Crane sighed; he needed to stop psychoanalyzing people when he saw them. Besides, that was a good question. Especially since Joker had Harvey try on two separate suits - and was now threatening the tailor to cut them both in half and sew them together. Joker apparently thought it would be better if Harvey's suit matched his face. "He's actually being pretty good right now."

"This, is behaved for him?" Harvey pointed to the man as he scared the poor tailor to the point of almost tears. It was a miracle the guy's hands were steady enough to use the sewing machine. "Then how do you deal with it when he's out of control?"

"Self-discipline."

"No escape plans then."

"Tried it." Crane pat the cast on his leg. "You can see how far it got me, but I'm fairly certain Joker had pointed that out before."

"He did, but you never know when he's lying. For all I know you fell down the stairs." Harvey flipped his coin and looked through the small door window into the main part of the shop. Crane was glaring at him, but he ignored it. The store closed sign in the front had been flipped to 'closed' and Joker had taken their 'operation' to the back. It was unlikely they'd be disturbed any time soon, so bothering Crane with idle talk would have to make due. "It's a shame making a run for it wouldn't do us much good."

"Don't remind me." Crane muttered. Even if he did 'make a run for it' as it were, he wouldn't get very far. Joker would notice and chase him down. Crane was crippled and still in the same situation he was when he was first dragged to the apartment. Harvey could probably get away, but where would he go? He was a highly recognizable figure who was suffering from severe, barely treated, burn wounds. Crane lifted any eyebrow. "Just curious, but did they not try and offer skin grafts and the like when you were at Arkham? I mean, it's all scabbed over but half of your face is still basically skinless."

"What?" Harvey paused flipping his coin. That was an odd question. Maybe Crane was just as bored as he was. "I refused treatment."

Crane snorted. "As what? Some sort of penance?"

"You could say that." Harvey started to flip his coin again. He could feel Crane staring at him under the mask and it made his skin crawl slightly. His blue eyes were judging him; calling him a fool or maybe even pitying him. It made him want to wrap his fingers around the man's throat again. Harvey clenched his hand around the coin and squeezed. Strangling Crane was not a way to make up for all the wrong he'd done after breaking free from the hospital.

Crane shrugged and looked over to the side of the table once again ignorant of Harvey's inner temper raging. There were sets of clothes that had yet to make it to the front of the store laid out here and there in stacks. Mostly ties, dress shirts, a miss-tagged pair of pants, and- "Oh."

"What?"

"I like these." Crane picked up a pair of cufflinks that were just under the stack of (what he now assumed were) unsorted returns.

Harvey shook his head as the man started to undo his sleeve cuffs to put them on. Psychopaths did some odd things. At least the oddity distracted him enough from the slightly building rage. "Gold apple cufflinks? That doesn't strike me as something you'd wear."

"Than you'd be wrong, now wouldn't you." Crane snapped the second one tightly into the cuff and admired them for a moment. They were just the right size and he liked them. There was even a little emerald stone for the leaf. Harvey was now staring at him like he was nuts. How dare he? "I used to be a college professor, alright? I can't appreciate a little nostalgia of my teaching days?"

"Wouldn't have been my first guess." Harvey just pictured Crane in front of a room full of students. That was even more frightening than realizing the man used to have a position of power in the insane asylum. "Whatever makes you happy."

Crane crossed his arms and tried to tune out the Joker singing to the tailor while he worked on Harvey's new suit. "I think I liked you better when you sat in the corner and sulked."

"And why would I care? I don't believe I ever liked you to begin with."

Crane didn't bother to answer and wondered when the hell they could leave and go back to the apartment. Now that they weren't in some rotting cesspool of germs he had no problem with lying low in peace and quiet while his leg healed. Maybe they could rob a bookstore or something. That could be-

"Okay ladies." Joker interrupted Scarecrow's thoughts (he could tell by the way his highness jumped) and slapped a hand on Harvey's shoulder. "Enough chit chatting like hens over here, Joey over there finished Harvey's suit and it's time for him to try it on."

"Joy." Harvey muttered as Joker dragged him across the room.

"Oh, Highness? Since I'm gonna' help Harvey here change into his new digs, Joey'll be helping you pick out a suit or two that matches your um, sack." Joker threw the still shaking store clerk over towards highness. "Have fun! And might I recommend a good over coat?" Joker pulled at his own purple coat as an example. "I think it'd look good on ya.'"

"I'll think about it." Crane sighed and looked down at the other man. His name tag clearly read 'Jason' and the Scarecrow sighed. Why was the only name Joker remembers is 'Harvey'? Names were important! Even if you were talking to someone beneath you, one should at least have the curtosy to use their proper name. "What sort of wool suits do you carry here, Jason?"

"Any luck with your gambling fixer, Alfred?"

"Any luck finding Harvey Dent, Master Wayne?"

Ouch. Bruce winced and pulled on the gloves to his costume. He hadn't meant to hit a nerve with Alfred. But apparently since that first football game, a horse race Alfred had bet on had also lost. His horse that was sure for the win freaked out in the middle of the race. Again, a few lucky souls had banked close to four hundred grand. Alfred was down fifty dollars and steaming. He was so sure that the two events were related. "Well, I'll keep an eye on the books for you while I'm looking."

"Be sure that you do." Alfred clipped and sighed as he started dusting the computer. He really shouldn't be so hard on Bruce, but he really was angry about this gambling thing. Whenever he figured out who was messing with the already corrupt system of gambling he'd give them a one-two on his own! "Take care."

"I always do, Alfred." Bruce smiled and started up the tumbler. Though he probably wouldn't have much time for Alfred's gambling criminal. Harvey Dent, Jonathan Crane and the Joker were all running loose in Gotham right now and chances were good that at least two of them were working together. Worst case, Crane was still with Joker which would put all three of them in cahoots. It just wasn't fair, really.

Batman needed a partner or something. Running after more than one villain was starting to run his nerves ragged. Bruce really hoped he stumbled upon a low level robbery. Beating the crap out of a few low lives might just lift his mood.

"Well, Scarecrow? What do ya' think of good old Two-Face now?"

He looks good. Crane nearly slapped himself for that being his first thought. But damn, for a guy with half his face burnt off, in the custom suit he looked rather striking and intimidating. With Harvey's broad shoulders and physique, the slimming suit did wonders for his figure. Crane almost began to feel self conscious about his own, rather scrawny figure and crossed his arms. Harvey was currently flipping his coin while trying to look like he didn't care he was there or wearing a black and white suit. Crane could almost see Harvey setting a new fashion trend with the split down the middle look. Hell, he even sewed two ties together. "Very nice."

"Isn't it?" Joker smirked and straightened his own purple coat. He picked up the discarded mask on the table (couldn't blame the guy for taking it off; three hours wearing that thing must get hot or something...) and stuck his hand in it much like a puppet. "Just because we're the scum of society doesn't mean we shouldn't look good."

Scarecrow sadly agreed as he straightened out the collar of his new black wool coat and ran his fingers through his now greasy hair. The coat fell all the way down to his ankles and the sleeves hid his new cufflinks. The last thing he needed was Joker picking on them, too. Jason was now curled up in a corner trying to pretend he didn't exist. It was still up in the air of whether or not Joker was going to kill the poor man or not. "So, are we ready to go?"

"Yup." Joker flattened his hair back and looked in the mirror to check himself out. Custom clothes were definitely the way to go. Nothing made a statement more than 'Ha! I've got something you don't have!' "Now, what am I forgetting?"

"Your mind?" Harvey added in from across the room. He saw Crane try and hide a smile behind his hand and smirked himself.

"Ha ha," Joker turned around. "So Dent can pull a joke or two. But ya, need a little work on your delivery. And no, that's not quite it." Joker hummed for a moment until he saw a tiny movement in the dressing mirror. "That's it! Joey my man."

Crane almost felt bad for the poor soul when he whimpered and tried to force himself up against the wall. Ah well, whatever Joker was going to do, it was doubtful Crane could stop it. So, to avoid the splatter, Scarecrow picked up the small packet of ties and clips he had picked out while waiting and walked over to the other side of the room to stand with Harvey.

"Joey, you did a mighty good job under the pressure and I gotta' say the end result looks fantastic." Joker knelt down in front of the cowering man and pat him on the shoulder while licking his lips. Holding the guy's shoulder was like feeling an earthquake beneath your hand. Joker giggled. "And just so you know that I'm not, uh, ungrateful here's a little something for yer' trouble."

Crane's eyes almost doubled when Joker shoved a hundred into Joey's hands and stood up. without so much as a death threat or cut with a knife. Jason was close to hyperventilating and clutching the money like a lifeline as Joker brushed himself off. Apparently Harvey was surprised at the generosity and well, mercy, the Joker was distributing. It seems they'd never quite figure that man out.

"Let's go boys!" Joker stood up and skipped across the room. "Part two of Mine-But-Should-Have-Been-Harvey's plan is to show off our new duds across town."

"Can we just rob a bookstore and go home?" Crane figured it couldn't hurt to ask. Worst Joker could say is 'no.' "I'm tired."

"Ya' didn't do nothing but stand there. How are you tired?"

"Boredom induced exhaustion." Crane paused. "And my leg is sore."

"You always use the leg as an excuse don't ya?"

"I wouldn't have to if you hadn't broken it."

"We gotta' do something about all of your arguments being backed up by this one point, highness."

"Well if you hadn't broken it I wouldn't always have to come ba-"

"Why a bookstore?" Harvey interrupted. He didn't exactly want to socialize with the two of them, but he'd have to blow his brains out with or without the coin's permission if he had to listen to them bicker for one more minute. And it was always the same damn argument over and over again.

"To get a few books to read, what else?" Crane rolled his eyes. Honestly; wasn't Harvey Dent supposed to be Gotham's DA? How could he possibly have these dense moments? "Television is overrated."

"Take that back." Joker hummed as he walked backwards. This was fun; it was. Stooges and henchmen were fun, but they weren't nearly as much fun as his new buddies. They were psycho enough to hang around, but smart enough to hold interesting conversations. But still beneath him that he could control what they did and keep um' from running. They were perfect! "Television is how I show off my good side."

"You even have one?" Crane shoved his hands into his pockets and fingered the burlap sack. He wasn't in the mood to put the thing back on. "I never would have guessed."

"Oop, it is a rare night. Even Scarecrow's cracking jokes!" Joker laughed and spun back around behind the other two so he could put his arms around both of their shoulders and pull them in tight for a hug. "And since I'm in such a good mood, why don't we go ahead and hit a bookstore and then go set something on fire in honor of Harvey's face? Plan? Good!"

Both Crane and Harvey grunted when Joker released them suddenly by pushing off of them to skip back to the front. Harvey almost laughed when Crane fell over onto his bum after losing his balance. He restrained himself. Joker was already skipping ahead and the doctor was trying to pull himself up using the walking stick. Harvey probably could have helped; but he also was still entertaining the idea of strangling him for kicks at this point. He didn't even have a reason anymore. It was strange what a week in the company of the Joker could do to someone's psych.

"I really hate him."

Harvey agreed for once.