CHAPTER ELEVEN
The first class had gone quickly enough, a nice short study group before his morning break and main class of the day. Jay-Jay had sat quietly at the back reading half -heartedly, more captivated by Thorne's smooth voice than the diagrams and scientific terms before her. When his timer finally went off and the last student had shuffled from his lab, Thorne simply sat at his desk, watching her.
"Don't think I haven't noticed you, Thorne," she said, her eyes never leaving the book she pretended to read, "both of you."
Thorne laughed quietly to himself, realising that Jay-Jay was just as taken by his darker half as she was with his charmingly shy, slightly offbeat self. When he beckoned to her, Jay-Jay snapped the book shut and slowly rose to her feet. Each step toward him was equally as dramatic and accidental as it had been that night at the Ball.
"I see right through you," she informed him, perching on the side of his desk, "I can tell what you've been thinking."
Thorne placed his elbows on the desk in front of him, resting his chin on his hands and giving her a look of boyish innocence. She smiled when he winked at her, wondering what Thorne saw in her that he kept to himself. His arms folded down so that his hands rested, one on top of the other, on her knee.
"What do you see Jay-Jay," he asked gently, "what am I thinking?"
Her smile dropped slightly and she looked away as though unsure, but only for a split second. When she met his gaze again, it was with an expression of pure resolve tainted by a painful longing that Thorne felt he inexplicably understood. He was hypnotised by that look, leaning closer and grasping her hand tightly.
"You're thinking that it's time this city remembered," she whispered in a dark tone, "that they be reminded why it was a mistake to forget. My father rots in Arkham, Thorne, while the Batman lives free and without retribution for his crimes. It's not right."
Thorne's eyes widened. His grip on her hand had tightened, he could see her fingertips turning bright red. He let go, taking her other hand as she shook the one he had held back to life. Thorne looked down at his desk for a moment, listening to the other half of himself convince him that their time had come, that he trusted Jay-Jay and so should Thorne. He looked up at her bright face.
"Batman…I have wanted him to pay all my life," Thorne confessed, reaching into the rose shrub on his desk, "I have no idea who or where he is. But his fate was decided on my father's death bed."
Thorne opened his hand to reveal the legendary silver half dollar, double headed and deeply scored on one side. Harvey Two Face had used it to determine the fate of all who fell in his path and to decide the course of his criminal career. A green tinged tear rolled down Thorne's cheek, Jay-Jay wiped it away with her fingers.
"It was one of the few times I had ever really seen my father up close," Thorne reminisced sadly, "we flipped it together. Bad heads for the Batman's blood, there was no other way around it. Not for me."
Jay-Jay slid off the desk and into his arms, holding him tightly. Soon enough, she would be an Arkham orphan too. She had to trust Thorne, there was no one else. His company had lifted her spirits and her father wanted it this way. And though she struggled to admit it to herself, Jay-Jay felt great affection for him. She had no doubts that Thorne was on her side.
"Thorne, I know who the Batman really is," Jay-Jay confessed firmly, kissing Thorne's teary cheek, "but you're not going to like it."
The lab quickly filled with students, shuffling and laughing with one another as they took their seats. Jay-Jay glanced at Thorne, he was still pale after the conflicting emotions had brought his other self to the surface. She had spoken with him – with Two Face - calmly, convinced him to return Thorne to her with the promise of making Bruce Wayne pay dearly for the years of deceit and pain he had caused them. Before it had sunk back into that deep, dark place within Thorne, he had laughed and remarked at the hypocrisy of Wayne's own double life, taking the law into his own hands had made the Batman not so unlike Harvey Dent. Jay-Jay had agreed, shared a smile with the other creature, and watched Thorne slowly return to her. He had calmed quickly, even brightened a little, but she saw that he felt deeply betrayed. Bruce Wayne had claimed to be Harvey Dent's friend, had vouched for Pamela Isely, had supported Thorne in so many ways, but it was all a lie. Guilty money from the claws of the Bat, the one who had cost his family everything. Thorne seemed eerily cheerful at the prospect of his demise.
"Hey Doc, who's the pretty lady?" one student called out playfully, "she's quite a blossom compared to your usual lilies and roses, hey!"
Thorne smiled shyly when his class erupted into a chorus of agreement. Jay-Jay smiled. The student who had called out bounded over to her and extended his hand, which she shook happily. He introduced himself as Manfred, but insisted that she call him Manny. With the small class echoing agreements, Manny informed Jay-Jay that Dr Isely spent far too much time hanging out in the lab with his plants and that they'd be really grateful if she could perhaps do something about that.
"Well Manny," Jay-Jay grinned, "that's the plan."
Thorne called his class to order and Manny took his seat. It was a small gathering, but Jay-Jay could see in their eager expressions that each one of them loved botany almost as much as Thorne. Except for one, a dark haired young man who sat alone at the back with his arms folded, peering over his glasses with dark beady eyes.
"Miss Quinzel is actually here for a reason," Thorne informed the class, "she is an animal psychologist, specialising in predatory mammals, and since we have been discussing predatory plant behaviour, I thought perhaps it would be worthwhile to compare notes."
Jay-Jay smiled amiably at the enthused students, but her attention was drawn to the dark haired one. He sat with his lips pursed in a little smirk, staring at her. Thorne had noticed, but made very little of it. He gave her a look that promised to explain later. But later was not entirely necessary. The creature shamelessly interrupted Thorne mid-sentence, his voice high pitched and piercingly loud.
"So, a kind of psychologist, Miss Quinzel?" he remarked, "just like mama, huh? And specialising in predatory mammals, was it? How fascinating! I've never heard the Joker described that way before."
Jay-Jay glared at him, aware that the dark haired man was intentionally pushing her buttons. She composed herself quickly, knowing that this was not the usual attack she had become so adept at deflecting. A fierce frown had appeared on Thorne's face as he scowled at the young man. The room had fallen into deathly silence, Jay-Jay knew she had to deal with this before Thorne did. He was still teetering on the edge of his duality.
"That's enough Crane!" Thorne warned, but Jay-Jay had risen to her feet with an astonished look of interest on her face. She smiled and laughed, basking in the angry glower that came from those beady eyes as she did. Jay-Jay wiped a tear from her eye, still chuckling.
"Crane? As in Jonathon Crane? You've got to be kidding," she mocked, her smile suddenly fading, "now, where do I know him from? Many a family reunion perhaps, old Uncle John, the Scarecrow!"
Crane attempted to stare her down, but Jay-Jay had the Joker's eyes and no one had ever stared him out, not even Batman. He gathered his pack quickly and left the lab with a prompt slamming of the door. Thorne glanced at Jay-Jay, who was once again seated and smoothing her skirt with a sweet smile. He couldn't help but grin when he noticed his class nodding their heads in approval, some even clapped. It was about time someone had put the arrogant Dorian Crane in his place. Thorne knew that Jay-Jay felt like he did with these students, free from judgement, because they had been too young to remember their infamous parents, to jaded to care when they had learned.
"Anyone else?" Thorne asked, waiting for a moment in silence, "great, let's get started then."
But as Thorne opened the text book on his desk and began asking the students what they had learned from the experiments he had assigned each of them, a mousy faced girl knocked on the laboratory door. She shuffled nervously when Thorne looked up, her eyes darting back and forth at all the plants that crowded the lab.
"Uh, Doctor Isely, there's a call for you," she said hesitantly, "it's apparently very urgent."
Thorne sighed. It was shaping up to be one of those days, yet he felt happier than he had since his mother had died. He thanked the girl, who scuttled away quickly, her face the portrait of relief. Thorne instructed them half-heartedly to compare notes, knowing that his students would immediately gather around Jay-Jay once he had left the lab. He smiled at her and she waved, fingers tinkling in the air.
"Try not to frighten Miss Quinzel too much while I'm gone," he implored the impish faces before him. They laughed, mock promises resonating loudly from amongst them. Jay-Jay could clearly see that they adored Thorne. As soon as he had left, they were gathered about her like clockwork, their faces full of curiousity and intrigue. To Jay-Jay's surprise, it had nothing to do with her family or Thorne's. All they wanted to talk about was how cool these botany classes were because of Doctor Isely, and fish for gossip on his interest in Jay-Jay Quinzel, rather than the Joker's daughter. It was a pleasant change, and she happily answered their questions.
Thorne had taken the call on his office phone up the hall, his office that he never used. Strangely, he had not been all that surprised to hear Bruce Wayne on the other end. No one else ever called him here. Thorne closed his eyes as he listened to the voice of the man that had betrayed and killed his father, the man who had hindered and destroyed his mother. A smile danced on his lips.
"Thorne, listen to me," Bruce pleaded, "I must speak with you in person about your parents and about who you are. But in the meantime, promise me you won't see Jay-Jay Quinzel until you hear the truth."
Thorne gave a low laugh, dark and menacing. He felt Bruce go silent, heard the recognition as his breath quickened ever so slightly from the slow and steady pattern it had been. This man, this Bruce Wayne, had deceived them all. But not the Joker. And now, not Thorne or Jay-Jay either.
"Now Bruce, really, why would I promise such a thing?" Thorne scoffed in a dark voice, "the way I see it, I have heard the truth...Batman."
