Ch.11
Bane forced himself to keep his eyes shut as the nurse traded words with the other in low voices. A few minutes later, he heard the rustle of the curtain as she brushed by it to make her exit. A few minutes after, he heard the ruffle of a newspaper as someone flipped through it. Bane held his breath a few minutes after, and then slowly he opened his eyes, forcing a flutter into them like he had just woken up.
Glancing sideways, Bane saw a man dressed in doctor scrubs. The man was very thin, and had his face wholly covered by a newspaper. Bane glanced at the hands to see if he could spot a sign to unravel the man's identity, but the hands were covered in rubber gloves that gave no sign of what color the hands were.
The doctor seemed not to have even noticed that Bane had woken. He just calmly started at the paper, flicking a page every few minutes. Bane searched for any more clues, but finding none, he cleared his throat. The doctor flicked the page.
Bane cleared his throat a little louder. The doctor flicked the page.
Bane was about to clear his throat again when something made him pause. Something about the doctor just…just didn't feel right. There was threatening aura emanating from the doctor that made sent tiny shivers through Bane's spine. And Bane was not one to be easily scared. It reminded him of someone. Someone… Oh my god. And then he saw, for a brief moment, a green strand of hair above the newspaper.
"Security! Security!" Bane yelled, jerking to the edge of the bed.
"Oh, you're awake," the 'doctor' said, calmly lowering the newspaper. "Security won't be of assistance for now. I gave them a little…break!" And then he laughed.
"Shhh, it's okay, it's okay. Don't scream, I'll take care of you" he hushed, giggling. "Oh hell, why not! Scream for me, Bane! Scream for Daddy J!"
Bane tumbled off the edge of the bed, and fell in a heap on the floor. He struggled to regain his composure when a long shadow fell over him. Bane turned slowly to look into the face of chaos, the face as white as death, the face of the Joker.
The Joker stood over him twirling a knife, letting the knife catch the glint of the ceiling lights- the showman in him coming to the fore. He smiled even more as he saw the sweat breaking out on Bane's face, the tensing of his muscles, and a million other little signs that only he could see that showed his…
Joker frowned. "Where is your fear?
Joker looked around the room, under the pillow, under the bed as Bane watched his every move with caution. This clown is crazy he thought.
Finally, Joker stamped his foot. "Where is your fear?" he asked, frowning down on Bane.
Anyone looking in at this scene would have been dumbfounded as to how the Joker could miss the fear that was clearly written on Bane's face. But Joker had the ability to perceive reality, allowing him to see the whole truth no matter how it is hidden. He saw things that no one else should, or could, see. Everything was an open book to his emerald eyes.
"Oh, well," the Joker shrugged. "I heard about the incident with the bomb! Goodness! To think that there was a bomb in the very guy I suggested you to kill! And when I suggested you used the knife, how was I supposed to know it was going to cut one of the wires that would activate the bomb? Crazy, huh? Wasthat a coincidence or what?!"
He stopped for a moment to break into hysterical laughter, doubling over with hysterics. "B-but, then again, how would I know that unless I put it there!" he spluttered, clutching his ribs in mirth. Then, wiping a tear from his eyes, he stood to full height.
"Ah, well! But, really, did you think you were really going to usurp my position? This is my home, Bane. MINE!" he suddenly roared, leaning down to grab Bane's collar, yanking their faces together. And for the first time, Bane actually felt fear; the sense of death became all too real. Those emerald eyes with purple pinpoint purples stared through Bane. Bane felt exposed, open, vulnerable, his soul being searched and scrutinized with great intensity. All his fears, desires, intents, and secrets were laid bare for this psychotic clown. There was no warmth at all, no emotion; this clown cared for nothing and nobody, not even himself…and that's what scared Bane. The utter lack of anything. Bane knew that, to beat the clown, well…there was no beating the clown. He was a force; he would come back again, ten times smarter and a hundred times more lethal. And he would keep coming back. Even after death. Bane wanted to win and stay alive, but to go against the clown would mean death, for both or for him alone. There would be no winning against the clown. And as he thought these things, he knew that Joker saw them.
After a long while, Joker smiled and pushed Bane back on the floor and stood up. He pocketed the knife. "Bane, let's not waste time with needless words. You know what I know about you. I know more about you than you know about you, and that is not a mere boast. Try me, Bane. Please do. I will destroy you in ways that…well; let's not even think along those paths. But, I'm bored of you, and you are no longer welcome here. You are to leave tonight. The guards won't present any trouble. You can pack your things and skip right through the front doors if you wish! And they won't lift a finger, I promise you. I run things here Bane. I always have, and I always will. Get up."
Bane shakily stood to his feet, and made his way to the door, having no personal belongings worth enough to stand being in the Joker's presence.
As he reached the doorway, the Joker called back to him. "This is my home, Bane. And you are no longer welcome."
Bane left, right through the front doors as Joker promised as the guards watched. And as the dead leaves blew across his path, and the moon set and the city lights glimmered in the distance he looked back at and in a top window he saw a silhouette. Two emerald eyes with purple pinpoint pupils glittered maliciously at him. Bane shivered, turned, and kept walking. And as he passed the gates, a high peal of laughter suddenly broke out. And even when he had gone far out of the limits of the Asylum, he could hear the laughter in his eyes, and still feel the eyes on his back. The two emerald eyes with purple pinpoint pupils.
A/N: To all who have read, and to of course septimaluna, jakefan, timorb22 and extremebabymakeover, it has been a wild and wonderful ride! But, alas, all good things must come to an end. This particular story has come to an end, but there are other stories to be told! Thank you all for your patience, I hope to give you more and more and better in the future. And by God's grace I will! Till the next time.