The Clown and the Magician

by DarkLordFluffy

Darren Drake was from a long line of magicians that had a bit of real magic in them. He grew up with his uncle in the circus and his only friend was a redheaded boy named Jerome. They hoped someday to say goodbye to the circus together and make a name for themselves somewhere. Then one day they finally get their wish. But its not quite how they pictured it.

1. Chapter 1

Darren Drake would like to say he was a normal 17 year old boy but he definitly wasn't. He grew up in the circus. His uncle, who raised him after his parents died in a car accident shortly after he was born, was a circus magician. The Drakes came from a long line of magicians. It was in their blood. Quite literally. They had just a bit of magic in their blood. Just enough that it made magic tricks easy for them. They could hide things easily. Make things appear out of seemingly nowhere. If they knew where something was located, and it wasn't too big or too far away, they could make it appear. They could hide themselves in plain sight. They could make people ignore what was right in front of them. It made them effective magicians. Or thieves for that matter. Darren had trained to be a magician all his life, since he was even too young to walk. Life in the circus was odd. It wasn't like the rest of the world. They dealt with things themselves and didn't let outsiders tell them what to do if they could help it.

Darren was currently waiting in the trailer he shared with his uncle. The trailer had been his home ever since he was a baby. His room was very small but he didn't need much. The person he was waiting for was late.

He heard a knocking on the door. When he opened the door he found a 17 year old grinning ginger staring at him.

"Hey Jerome. You're late." Darren said.

"I had to finish up my chores for the day. Mucking out the animal cages." Jerome said coming inside the trailer. "You're so lucky to be busy training as a magician with your uncle. You don't have to do bullshit all day."

"You took a shower before coming here right?" Darren said concerned.

"Obviously." the red head said. "You're uncle isn't going to interrupt us?"

"He's off getting drunk in the city all night. We're good." Darren said grinning.

Jerome grins. "Good." He grabbed Darren and kissed him. They started tearing off their clothes as they made their way to Darren's small room. Jerome tossed him on the bed and took Darren's cock in his mouth. Darren grabbed hold of the red mop of hair and moaned. Jerome sucked enthusiastically, as if he was trying to drive him mad. He was doing a damn good job at it. The ginger bastard stuck his fingers into Darren's ass and scissored them back and forth.

"Jer! If you continue doing that I wont last long." He gasped. "Damn it Jer!"

Jerome raised his head up and laughed. "Don't be a pussy. You can last longer than this."

He stopped teasing and lifted Darren's legs above his head. Before Darren could tell him to get on with it Jerome was penetrating him. Darren had to bite down on his own his hand to stop himself from crying out. The trailer's walls were paper thin and they didn't want any of the other carnies aware of what they got up to. Jerome started moving inside him at a frantic pace. He moved with him trying to match his pace. Jerome smirked and wrapped his hand around Darren's cock, stroking him in time with his thrusts. Darren grit his teeth, trying not to cry out in pleasure. Jerome's smirk turned into a grin.

Darren couldn't hold it in anymore. "Jer! Oh my god Jer!"

"Shhh." Jerome said grinning. He was breathing heavily but still managed to say something. "Careful Darren." He grunted. "You don't want anyone to hear do you?"

After a bit, Jerome lost what control he had. His thrusting lost his rhythm. He lost his cocky smirk. Darren was losing it as well. Soon he was violently orgasming. He bit down on the pillow to keep from screaming. Jerome wasn't far behind. Jerome bit down on Darren to keep from screaming.

They took a bit of a break and then went a few more rounds.

When they were done mating like rabbits they lay there in Darren's bed just talking. Talking about random stuff. Talking about what they would do with their lives if they weren't stuck at the circus. They had been seeing each other like this for several years now. Since they were 14. And before that they were good friends.

They hadn't always been friends though. When they were both 12, Darren had hated Jerome. He was convinced that Jerome had threatened Darren's childhood friend to the point where his mom had to hide him away from Jerome. At some point they got to talking, and Jerome explained that it was all a lie. He had never threatened the guy. Darren believed him for some reason and the rest was history. They took to spending time with each other. They never again spoke about Darren's childhood friend. After Darren realized the truth, he realized he didn't deserve a thought. In their minds, the guy didn't even exist.

After awhile, Jerome got his clothes back on. He had to sneak back to his mother's trailer before he was noticed. If Jerome's uncle or mother ever found out he was bi, there would be major issues. They already treated him like shit. But his uncle was seriously homophobic. His mother not much better. Hs uncle might end up killing him if he knew. So they hid it all. Darren thought his uncle Rudolf might have some idea that they were a thing but didn't say anything.

"Good luck. Hopefully your mom is drunk out of her mind at this point and wont notice you." Darren said, following Jerome outside.

"One can only hope. I guess her being an alcoholic bitch can be useful sometimes. I'll talk to you tomorrow, Darren. After I help set up for the show and you're done practicing your act of course."

"Alrighty. Get some sleep."

Darren watched the red head slip away into the dark, back to his mom's trailer. After he was gone Darren stared out at the view outside the circus grounds. He could see the lights of the city in the distance. Gotham was beautiful. Too bad he wouldn't get to see any of it. Maybe he could convince his uncle to take him and Jerome along with him to the city before the circus left town. That would be fun.

The next day several of the older circus performers seemed to be on edge for some reason. They wouldn't say why. Darren didn't see much of Jerome since he was busy practicing his magic act. His uncle was the official magician of the troupe but had become a total drunk over the last few years and Darren had had to take over his act rather often. That was part of being a Drake. The Drake family's magic gift may make their acts easier but it doesn't make their life easier. Many of them ended up suffering from various mental issues after awhile due to the magic's influence. Darren supposed his uncle used alcohol to cope. He didn't mind it really, the fact that he had to stand in for his uncle. He enjoyed being a magician. Jerome slipped away from his chores briefly to watch his friend practice. The redhead seemed to have something on his mind but wouldn't say what was up. Darren resolved to ask him after they were done with shows for the day, when he had time.

Darren found it odd that Jerome didn't feel up for seeing the show. He stayed in his trailer instead. Darren did his act, and did it well. His forte was close up magic tricks but big spectacle magic was still something he could do. Uncle Rudolf's assistant, who was a Llyod girl who didn't like being a clown, did her job and distracted the audience as Darren wowed the crowd with his magic tricks. The rest of the show went smoothly up until right after the Flying Graysons trapeze act. The Llyod clowns drove into the ring as the Graysons were finishing up bowing to the crowd. Owen Llyod stumbled out of the clown car and punched Alphonse Grayson. The two families, who had had a feud going on for several years now, got into a big fight right in front of the audience. A police detective in the crowd broke them up and got the cops there to deal with the aftermath. The detective asked people questions as to why they would all fight. That led him to finding out that both Alphonse and Owen were the lovers of Lila Valeska, Jerome's mother. So the detective went to her trailer to ask her some questions as well. Darren discreetly followed them to the trailer, curious to see what Lila had done now.

Jerome was the one that answered the door though. He claimed that he hadn't seen his mother since early that morning and was worried about her. That struck Darren as odd. Jerome never worried about his mother. She wasn't worth the worry. The detective did something odd and asked Jerome to let Lila's snake out. Lila was a snake dancer and her snake was very attached to her. Darren assumed the detective was trying to get the snake to sniff her out. And it did just that. The snake led them to a truck. A tarp was pulled over something. The snake slithered under it. The detective removed the tarp, and there was Lila, lying dead in the back of a truck. Jerome dropped onto his knees with a shocked and distraught look on his face and started sobbing. Darren stared at him. It was clearly an act. Jerome hated his mother. He'd never act this way if he saw her dead. This could only mean one thing. That he killed her himself and was trying to hide it.

The cops took almost all of the carnies to the police station to ask people questions. They seemed to suspect Lila's lovers, Alphonse and Owen. Jerome was still acting distraught. Darren told the cops what he could, which wasn't much.

"Officer. My friend, Jerome, just lost his mom. Could I sit with him? He could use the comfort." Darren asked the cop asking him questions.

"I'll see what I can do."

A few minutes later the cop came back and led him to where Jerome was sitting in one of the cop's offices.

"Hey Jerome. How are you holding up?" Darren asked his friend, sitting down next to him.

"Not well. Not well at all." Jerome said. He looked sad but the minute all the cops were looking elsewhere, he smirked and winked at Darren before going back to his traumatized act.

The cops let them both go back to the circus with the rest of the carnies. Only Owen and Alphonse were kept at the station.

Jerome took Darren back to his trailer. No one wondered at Darren staying over since he was comforting his traumatized friend. The minute he got inside the trailer, the sad act dropped from Jerome's face and he grinned at him.

"I'm guessing this was all you? What happened? Why'd you do it?" Darren asked.

"I've been wanting to do it for awhile." Jerome said happily, before kissing him roughly. He broke off the kiss and plopped down on the couch smiling. "But she was the one that made it necessary. She found out about us, Darren. She was going to tell my uncle. She was talking about having him drown me at the nearest pier. So I guess it could be considered self defense? Not that I'm particularly guilty about it. She deserved it. Deserved much more than that. Now, let's celebrate. She's finally out of my life. That bitch will never mess with me again. And the cops have no idea. They don't even consider me a suspect!" he laughed.

Darren was surprised at first but he had to admit his friend was right. His mother was a terrible person. The world was better off without her. And he cared deeply for Jerome. If he felt like getting mushy he could almost say that he loved him. He was really the only one at the circus that cared about him. So he celebrated with Jerome for a few hours.

They heard a knock at the door. They wondered who it could be. Jerome schooled his face into a distraught look and opened the door. There was a cop outside.

"I'm sorry for coming here so late but Detective Gordon needs you back at the station." the cop said a little uncomfortable.

"Does he know who killed my mom?" Jerome asked with a hopeful look.

"I'm not sure of the details. I'm sure it's important though. Or he wouldn't have asked you come to back so late."

"Ok. Lead on." Jerome said before going off with the cop. Darren was worried. But he knew Jerome was a good actor. He'd be ok. Darren headed back to his own trailer. His uncle was off drinking yet again.

He fell into an uneasy sleep.

The next morning the circus was in all a buzz. When Darren had gotten up and gone out everyone was talking about Lila's murder. People were also looking at him funny. Some with rather hostile looks.

He made his way to the tent to go practice his act when he was tackled by Zach, Jerome's uncle, who was the circus cook. The man started punching him.

"You fucking bastard! Did you know?! Did you help him?! I'll fucking kill you!" the man yelled as he swung his fist into Darren's face. It took several carnies to pull him off of Darren.

"What happened? Why the hostility?" Darren asked spitting out blood.

"Like you don't know! The cops found out that Jerome was behind Lila's murder! You're telling me he wouldn't tell his only friend what he had done? You probably helped the bastard do it!" The man snarled.

Darren quickly schooled his features into a look of shock. "I swear I didn't know! You're saying he killed his own mother? Why would he do that?"

"Because he's a psychotic monster, that's why." One of the Graysons said. "We all knew this. Even before this happened. We could never figure out why you would want to spend time with that psycho. Especially after what he did to Jeremiah years ago."

"Jeremiah lied. Jerome would've never hurt him. His brother was the only thing he cared about." Darren said defiantly.

"Right. That seems real likely." Zach said sarcastically. "You're delusional. Jerome was always a bad seed. It was only a matter of time. My sister should've drowned that kid right after birth."

"Like you are any better!" Darren yelled at him. "You put his hand in a boiling pot of chicken stock when he was only 9! For stealing a cookie! Are you saying a normal sane individual would do something like that? You and Lila have always abused him! All his life! And you're surprised when he finally fights back?!" He looked at the rest of the carnies that had gathered. "And you lot! You're as bad as them! You saw what they did to Jerome and you never bothered to stop it! This is on you! You know what? I'm done. Screw all of you. Good luck finding a magician that isn't a complete drunk, because I fucking quit! I'm leaving! Good luck with having to deal with my uncle the Great Drunk Rudolpho Drake. You'll need it."

He went to his trailer and packed what little he owned. He was truly done with them. He noticed that his face was a mess. The bastard probably broke his nose. He set his nose back into place then cleaned himself up. Then he left. No one stopped him. He made his way to Gotham. He wasn't sure what he was going to do with his life now or where he was going to go. His only real friend was likely in Arkham by now. He had no one. But he felt free. Finally. He had always wanted to see Gotham. Now he would. He tried to look at it positively.

He decided to stay in Gotham. After all, his friend was there. In Arkham likely, but there. He took to pickpocketing to get him started. He squatted in a few abandoned houses. He survived.

Darren saw a street performer one day and decided that street performing might be the way to go if he wanted a semi honest career. And he was a magician after all. He got an outfit that was similar to a punk version of a magician's outfit and set out to earn some tips. He did his close up magic for people. They were amazed and he got some good tips from it. During that time he met several other street performers. They became friends since they considered themselves colleagues of a sort. They all had a different act. There was a guy who could contort himself that would get himself into weird positions and hold it for awhile to weird out his audience. There was a girl who played the violin extremely well and would dance with it. Another guy played the guitar. And one dude juggled various things. There were several others as well. Darren kind of rallied them together. Got them all to help each other out. If someone was having a bad day tip wise or was sick and couldn't perform they would pitch in to help them with money for that day. They all seemed to respect Darren for his leadership skills.

A few of them banded together to get a place they could all stay. It was an old house in the Narrows and was falling apart but renting it wasn't hard since they all pitched in and it was big enough for all of them. Several other street performers and other lost souls would visit from time to time to hang out. It was fun.

Darren felt like he belonged. Life was good. But he still missed Jerome. He asked around about how he could get a visitors pass at Arkham. Finally he got the information he needed. And luckily he had only recently turned 18 so they'd allow him a visitors pass. He took one day out of his busy street performer leader schedule and went over to Arkham. It was intimidating looking. It was also heavily guarded. Any thoughts he may of had about possibly breaking his favorite redhead out got a little less certain when he saw the amount of security. They searched him for weapons when he entered. Then he was led to the visitor room. He waited there for a bit until the guards brought in a very familiar red head. Jerome had a surprised yet pleased smile on his face when he saw him.

"Hey Darren. What are you doing here?" Jerome said sitting down at the table in the middle of the room. The guards didn't chain him to the chair. Either they didn't consider Jerome a threat or maybe he got special privileges for some reason. "I would've thought the circus would be far away from here by now." The guards left the room, leaving them alone.

"Screw them. I left the circus the day after you were caught. Didn't really have much choice. Your uncle beat me up that morning, including me in the blame for the death of his sister. I knew he'd make my life a living hell if I had stayed. And I didn't want to stay. Let them deal with having my drunk uncle Rudolf as their only go to magician. They deserve that." Darren said smirking.

"Watching him try to perform while plastered would be entertaining to see. Remember last time? When he nearly actually cut his assistant in half? Classic." Jerome said laughing.

"So how are you, Jerome? This place seems awful. Are they treating you well?" Darren asked concerned.

"Well the food is shit and the screaming at night is annoying. Not to mention the awful uniforms. I mean look at them. Who designed these things?" Jerome said. "But I did make some friends. Nice guys. They're all murderers and fiends but I guess I apply to that category now too. One of them, this guy named Richard Sionis, he's a super rich guy. So he is able to get extra stuff from the guards. Its handy to have him as a friend."

"Well at least you have friends in here." Darren said. Then he leaned forward to whisper to Jerome. He did it in such a way that the camera watching the room wouldn't see his lips while he talked. "I could get you out of here if you want. It would take some planning but I definitely could figure out a way to break you out."

"Huh. Well that's nice and all but no need at the moment. I do miss you, especially private time with you." Jerome said winking. "But I'm good for now. Don't put yourself at risk by trying anything. The guy that runs this place? He's a bit odd and I think he's probably a lot more dangerous than he looks. Don't worry. Nothing lasts forever. I'll eventually get out. And then I'll wreck that ass. You won't be able to sit down for days. But I can only do that if you don't get yourself disappeared by trying something stupid. Promise me you won't."

"Ok. Fine. I promise." Darren said reluctantly. "I miss you though. Too much. You have no idea how lonely it is without you."

"Aww. You're gonna make me tear up." Jerome laughed like it was no big deal but Darren could tell Jerome was happy that he cared. "Anyway, how are things with you? You said you left the circus. So how do you fill your time now?"

"I'm a street performer. Close up magic. I make a good amount of tips. And I met several other street performers. Made friends with them. I kind organized them into a sort of street performer organization or something. They look out for each other now and kind of look to me as a leader of a sort. It's kind of like the circus only no bullshit or elephant shit for that matter." Darren joked.

Jerome smiled. "I'm glad you have people you can spend time with. People that respect you. That's the dream right? The people in here respect me but aren't really all there upstairs. So its not really the same. You'll have to introduce me to these friends of yours when I get out."

"Will do. They'll love you." Darren said smiling.

Darren resolved to keep visiting his friend from time to time. The doctors at Arkham actually thought it would help Jerome to have a normal friend visiting him. Darren and Jerome thought it was hilarious they thought him normal. He visited him whenever he could find the time. It was hard not to show affection for each other while he was there. But they both knew if they did, they likely would not be allowed to see each other anymore. So they held back and settled for suggestive looks and whispered affectionate and dirty comments.

One day as he was getting back home from doing his street performing for the day when one of the other street performers came up to him.

"Hey Cammy. What's up?" Darren asked the street acrobat.

"You know your friend Jerome? The red headed dude?" she said excited.

"Yeah, what about him?"

"Someone broke him out of Arkham. Along with a few other crazies. It was just on the news. I just thought you'd want to know." She said. "Do you think he'll come over here? Did you tell him where we live?"

Darren was shocked. He wasn't unhappy about the news though. Jerome had always said he would get out someday. And now he was. Darren wondered who helped him get out. Last time he saw Jerome, he didn't give any indication that he was going to escape. Maybe Jerome didn't know it was going to happen. "I didn't tell him the exact address. And I'm sure that Jerome wont be spending much time wandering Gotham trying to find the place. He is an escaped mental patient after all. But it would be nice to see him."

Jerome didn't visit. Darren wasn't really expecting him to. He was a little disappointed though and wondered what his friend was up to. He didn't have to wait long though. The same group of crazies that escaped Arkham introduced themselves to Gotham in a rather messed up way. They called themselves the Maniax, and they literally spelled that out right in front of a building that housed a popular newspaper, by writing letters on people and throwing them off the building to spell out 'Maniax'. Darren and his friends had to admit it was very clever.

Not long after, Jerome and the rest of the Maniax try to set a school bus on fire but the police managed to stop them in time. They managed to get away though.

Darren's friends never really cared much about the stuff that was in the news...until Jerome and his merry band of misfits. They had taken to keep a close eye on the news to see if there was anything new on the Maniax. When Jerome recorded himself massacring the GCPD, people recorded it so they could watch it again and again. They thought it was so cool that Darren knew the guy. The respect they had for Darren, they now had for Jerome as well. They thought he was a pretty cool guy.

That night, the street performers were fighting over what they would watch on tv.

"A Friday the 13th marathon is on. I want to watch it. You cant hog the tv, Cammy!" the juggler, nicknamed Jongleur argued with the acrobat, Cammy. "No one wants to watch those reality shows you watch. They're so idiotic!"

"I do not hog the tv, Jon! I barely get to choose what we watch!" Cammy protested.

"Shouldn't we keep it on the news just in case?" said another random street performer. "You know, in case Jerome decides to do something?"

"Nah. We can just watch it later when the news rebroadcasts it. Anything involving him and the Maniax is sure to be covered over and over." Jongleur said. "Its my turn, and I say we watch Jason Vorhees slaughter horny teens."

Darren comes in, all smug, and put the debate to rest. "You are all overruled. I'm choosing what we watch tonight. I love watching and making fun of amateur magicians and there's this charity thing tonight on the news. They are going to have a children's hospital magician performing and it should be fun to critique whoever they get. Watch it with me if you want, or don't. It doesn't matter to me."

They didn't dare argue with Darren. So they just sighed and let him switch the channel to the news. The charity even had already started but not much was happening yet. The reporters were mostly just talking about who was there and what they were wearing. Darren rolled his eyes. A bowl of popcorn was placed in front of him.

"A peace offering, oh gracious leader." Jongleur said jokingly as he placed the popcorn down.

"Thanks." Darren said smiling. "A bit boring so far. The press love to oogle celebrities and rich people."

"I still think mindless slasher movies would be a more entertaining watch. But you do you. Maybe the magician will be entertaining." Jongleur said sitting down next to him.

Eventually all the rich people got settled into seats and the reporters moved over to a better position to watch the stage. A pretty brunette woman came on stage and addressed the crowd. Then she introduced the magician. "I would like to welcome to the stage, the Great Rudolpho."

That got Darren's attention. That was his uncle's stage name. Did the circus fire his uncle finally? This might be more entertaining than he thought. The stage lights fell on a pretty blond magician's assistant in a pink sparkly outfit. She waved at the crowd. There was a magic cabinet next to her. She opened it and no one was in it. She dramatically acted shocked. She closed the door, waited a few seconds and then opened it again to reveal a bearded magician that was obviously not Darren's uncle. He felt a bit disappointed. Maybe it was a coincidence that the guy had the same stage name. An argument between two street performers started up behind Darren. It was annoying. The magician got on stage and greeted the audience. Darren leaned forward in his seat, suddenly very interested in the magician. He knew his friends voice anywhere, even if he tried to hide it with an accent.

"Shut up! Everyone be quiet!" Darren yelled at the people fighting behind him.

"What's wrong?" Jongleur asked confused.

"Take a good look at that magician. I mean a really good look. He remind you of anyone?" Darren said excited and smiling.

Darren had to admit, Jerome made a good magician. He had given Jerome some pointers a few times when they were both bored. It would seem Jerome remembered it all.

Jongleur looked at the magician. "I don't see what's so special about him. Do you know him?"

"Oh you bet I know him. That's Jerome Valeska." Darren said grinning.

That got everyone's attention. They all grabbed chairs and gathered around the tv. They weren't sure about what Darren said. But they didn't know Jerome like Darren did. And then the magician did something that banished any doubt in their minds that it wasn't Jerome.

"By the way. Nobody here is getting out alive." said the magician grinning like a mad man. He threw a knife into the deputy mayor, hitting him in the chest. The man dropped down dead. The audience screamed. The street performers cheered, surprised and pleased. The waiters opened fire in the air to scare the guests and get them under control. It was chaos. Jerome took off his fake beard and threatened a few guests. He looked like he was having a lot of fun. The brunette that introduced Jerome to the stage earlier was dragged onto stage and tied to the throwing knife wheel by the woman in the magician assistant outfit. Darren assumed that the woman was Barbara Keen, another mental patient that had escaped with Jerome. She did not look like she liked the brunette woman at all.

Everyone living at Darren's place, and several street performers that didn't, stuffed themselves in the living room to watch the show with eager excited looks on their faces. They watched as Jerome used the brunette's cellphone to call her boyfriend, who happened to be a police detective, and he played around with the cop a little, making outrageous ransom demands in return for keeping the brunette alive. Darren had to turn up the volume on the tv since everyone that was there were making excited comments to everything Jerome did. They seemed totally enraptured by the guy. Darren never figured he'd have a problem with getting his friends to like his best friend, but it was nice to know he wouldn't have to make any effort at all to get them to like the guy.

An interesting rich guy from the charity event audience got up and started acting the hero. He told Jerome that Gotham was sick of him and he should just leave. He insulted Jerome a few times. Darren's friends all jeered and booed the guy and hoped Jerome would do something creative to the guy. But Jerome just stood there grinning. And when he asked for the guys name, Darren noticed something interesting. The brave rich guy looked at the camera and said his name. The whole exchange seemed so...rehearsed. He knew Jerome enough to know he wouldn't just stand there and let a guy insult him like that. It was all staged. It made a lot of sense. The news had said that Jerome had likely been broken out of Arkham by his dad, the blind fortune teller. But that didn't seem likely. Darren figured that this guy broke Jerome and the others out of Arkham in order to look the hero when he 'confronts' them at this event. He didn't know why but it seemed the likely scenario. Barbara hit the rich guy, who was named Theo Galavan, over the head with a mallet, knocking him out. The street performers cheer.

Jerome spent most of the time messing with the captives but he got bored after awhile. He declared it was time for the first official death of the evening. And then called Bruce Wayne, the boy billionaire on stage. They couldn't find him so Barbara suggested threatening Bruce's butler. That got the kid out in the open rather quick. He rushed out from behind a curtain and went over to his butler to say something to him before being dragged on stage with Jerome. Just then, a police detective rushed out shooting at Jerome's lackeys and for some reason Bruce's butler joined with the shooting. They both aimed their guns at Jerome who had a knife to Bruce's throat.

"I said, Enough!" said Theo who was now standing behind Jerome. Jerome turned around to say something to the man. It took awhile for Darren to fully register what happened next. One second Jerome is grinning at the rich guy and the next he's being lowered to the floor by the guy who has a knife jammed into Jerome's throat. Jerome looked very surprised and betrayed. The living room had gotten very quiet.

Darren just sat there in shock as he watched his friend die. Then he got up and went out the back door to get some air. He sat on the back porch just trying to wrap his head around the fact that he just watched the only guy he cared about get stabbed in the throat.

"Are you ok, Darren?" Jongleur asked as he came out to check on him.

"Do I look ok?!" Darren yelled. "What a stupid question!" He got up and got in his face.

"Woah! Sorry! Of course you're not ok. Bad choice of words." Jongleur said trying to calm him down. Darren sat back down and stared into space. Jongleur sighed and sat down next to him. "You shouldn't be alone right now, Darren. We all know you were close with Jerome. We were worried and the others convinced me to come and check on you. We all respect you. We would be lost without you. So don't check out on us, ok?"

"You all actually think I'd kill myself? No. That's not my style. Plus Jerome would be pissed if I did something like that because of him." Darren said rolling his eyes. "I'm just trying to get that image out of my head. Of him dying."

Jongleur thought about it for a little bit. "Well I know something that would help it hurt less. We could kill that Theo guy."

Darren snorted in amusement. "I doubt that would be all that easy. I'm fairly certain there is more to that guy than there seems. I'm not sure, but I just have this feeling that he planned it all to make himself look like a hero. Jerome would not have stood there while someone was insulting him and not done something about it. But he did just stand there. Like he was in on it with the guy. Though I doubt stabbing him in the throat was in the script."

"Well it was just a thought. Me and a bunch of others would be up for helping if you are down for it." Jongleur said.

"Why would you all go to all that trouble? You didn't even know Jerome." Darren asked confused.

"Are you kidding? Who cares that we never got to meet him. He was amazing! A real inspiration." Jongleur said smiling. "You were really holding out on us when describing your friend."

"To be fair I did not realize Jerome would do any of those things." Darren said. "I guess he got to go out how he always wanted to go out. Publicly and dramatically. I need to figure out how to go about getting him a decent funeral and burial."

"Anything you need from all of us, you have. We are here for you, Darren." Jongleur said. "Let's give Jerome one epic funeral. We'll all pool our money together to pay for things."

A few days of the police giving Darren the run around about Jerome's body had Darren pulling his hair out. And in the end, when they finally told him what he wanted to know, they said they had sent his body to Arkham for some reason. They told him that he was probably cremated. Darren was in a state of rage for the next few days and the street performers tried to give him a wide berth. But Jongleur and a few others convinced him to let them throw a small memorial for Jerome. One of them had a good friend who owned a club who let them hold it at her club. She just had one condition. The club owner wanted to be part of the party along with several of her friends. Jeri was an interesting person. She seemed like she had been really inspired by Jerome and had already started remodeling her club to honor the fallen madman. She told them to hold off until she was finished and she'd help make it one epic party that Jerome would be proud of. Darren let her. It was nice that Jerome seemed to be gaining so many fans. Darren thought that his friend would find it both amusing and flattering.

Jeri did not disappoint. The party was truly epic and Darren thought Jerome would've really enjoyed it. Jeri was also a musician and she wrote a few songs for the occasion that were a big hit. It was not the small gathering that they had originally planned. Almost all of the street performers were there as well as Jeri's friends. But there were also others that didn't seem connected with either group but were still there because of Jerome. Jeri had not hidden the fact that her club was now Maniax themed and it seemed people from all walks of life were showing up to be a part of the party. People that were inspired by Jerome. And when most of them learned that Darren had known the man well, they couldn't wait to talk to him to ask him questions. He let them. He didn't mind talking about his friend. He felt so touched that so many people seemed to love Jerome. It inspired Darren and made him think about a few things. Jongleur had suggested they go kill Galavan. At the time, Darren scoffed at it because it seemed so unlikely to pull off. But if they weren't alone...if they had a large group of people organized...then maybe they could pull it off. Theo Galavan seemed very intelligent and even with help he'd be hard to kill. But maybe not impossible. Darren had hope now.

When the party was over, and the street performers and Darren had all gotten over their hangovers, Darren started planning. There were so many people effected by Jerome. He saw that at the party. He had even run into what he thought was a cop at one point during the night because the guy would not shut up about how the massacre at the GCPD changed his life. These people seemed almost desperate to be a part of something. Something bigger than them. And so Darren gave that to them. With the street performers help he came up with a symbol they could all rally around. Something that would honor Jerome and make a statement. They came up with a large grinning face with Ha ha as its teeth. They started spray painting it all over the city. But it wasn't just the street performers that were putting up grinning faces on things soon. It had truly taken off. Darren had Jeri help him out in gathering together any useful helpers and started planning Theo Galavan's demise.

Jongleur, the juggler, was a big help. Sort of like a second in command. He was one hundred percent behind Darren in whatever he did. Darren wasn't sure how to deal with that level of loyalty. But Jongleur was doing his best and he was getting good at being dangerous. He had gotten into the practice of juggling knives and had gotten quite good at it. Darren had originally suggested it as a way for him to get more tips. People loved a show that involved people putting themselves at risk. Jongleur was also good at throwing those knives now.

It was rather fun to plan someone's demise. It had everyone in very good spirits. Theo Galavan was now mayor of Gotham and for some of them that made it even more thrilling, to plan the killing of such a well known man. But in the end, they didn't even get to pull it off. Because someone else beat them to it. Theo Galavan was found with a bullet in his head and an umbrella shoved down his throat. And the crime boss, Penguin took all the credit for it. It left a lot of Jerome fans disappointed that they weren't involved in it. Darren himself was extremely disappointed. But he could tell it had likely been personal for Penguin. You don't shove an umbrella down someone's throat for no reason. So Darren wasn't angry at Penguin for stealing his kill. The man probably had just as much reason to kill the guy.

Darren tried to cheer his friends up by having them stalk former employees of Galavan. He also tried to find Theo's sister but she seemed to be hiding out with some criminals and Darren didn't want to mess with them. Plus he wasn't sure a guy like Theo would've even cared if something happened to his sister. He settled for hunting down former Theo lackeys. He managed to hunt down several, killing each one in a way that would let anyone know, it was for Jerome. Soon anyone that had ever worked for Theo was in fear for their lives. He found a large group of former Theo lackeys hiding from him in an abandoned building in the Narrows. He had some of his street performer friends tackle the thugs and tie them to chairs. Then he sent most of his friends home. He let Jongleur and a few others stay and watch as he proceeded to torture the former lackeys.

"GCPD!" yelled a familiar voice not far from them. There Jim Gordon was pointing a gun at Darren and his friends.

"Jimbo! I'm so pleased to finally see you in person! Jerome told me so much about you." Darren said cheerfully. Darren was covered in blood by this time and looking rather deranged. He would not be able to explain his way out of this. So he didn't bother. "They had it coming Jim. They sided with that awful man. He deserved what he got and so do they. Jerome will be avenged."

"Jerome was a psychopath. I understand he was your friend, but these people don't deserve to die for what happened to him. Theo is dead. He was the one responsible. No one else." Jim said.

Jongleur had gotten out his knives and seemed ready to go down fighting. The other performers seemed ready as well. Darren didn't want them to die for him so he started thinking.

Darren glanced around. He needed a distraction. "It was rather disappointing I didn't get to kill the guy myself. So I'm making do with what I have."

"Come quietly. Backup is on their way. You have nowhere to run."

Darren used his special abilities a bit. A good magician always knows when to cause a good distraction. He caused several pigeons to appear and fly into Jim's face. While the cop was distracted he tackled the cop and motioned for his friends to leave. They left as he was wrestling with the cop for his gun. He made it to where the gun was magically in his hand and grinned at the cop, thinking he had won. But he forgot that Jim had a partner. He was promptly knocked unconscious by the older detective.

When Darren woke up he was in a squad car headed to the GCPD. He was cuffed. When he got to the station the cops dragged him to an interrogation room and chained him to the table. He waited patiently for the detectives to come talk to him. They had not yet cleaned him up so he was still covered in blood.

When the detectives entered the room he smiled at them. "Well you got me. Congrats."

"Darren Drake. 18 years old. Why ruin your life to avenge a psychopath?" Gordon asked sitting down across from him.

"The guy's as crazy as Jerome. He probably doesn't even have a reason." said the older gruff detective said.

"I'll take that as a compliment. But honestly I do have a reason. Jerome was the only person in this world that i gave a shit about. And Galavan killed him."

"You lived in the circus just like Jerome. He was your friend. I saw you that day here at the station, comforting him. Did you know at the time what he did?" Gordon said.

"You remembered little ol me? I'm flattered. But no, I didn't know at the time that he killed Lila. I guessed that he might've but he didn't tell me until that night. But you can't deny that the bitch deserved it. She was a terrible person." Darren said as if he was having a casual conversation.

"I guess I shouldn't be surprised that you didn't tell anyone that he confessed to you. Given your recent crimes, it would seem as though you and Jerome are cut from the same cloth." Gordon said coldly. "Well, like Jerome was, you'll be in Arkham soon. There is not much you can say at this point to convince us of your innocence." Gordon looked done with the madman sitting in front of him.

"Clearly. I am covered in blood that isn't my own. I was never planning on trying to deny any of it anyway." Darren said cheerfully.

"Have fun in Arkham." Gordon said before leaving the room.

Darren was examined for evidence, he was covered in blood after all, and cleaned up before being dragged to a prisoner transport van and shoved inside. When they got to Arkham he stared up at the intimidating structure. The last time he was there it was to visit Jerome. Now he was going to be a patient. He doesn't mind. Maybe it will help him get closer to the memory of Jerome. He hoped the street performers and the scattered Jerome fans would be able to take care of themselves while he was locked up. Jongleur had told him he would look after the street performers at least, if Darren was ever killed or captured. He trusted the guy to keep his word.

The Arkham guards dragged him inside the building and processed him. He was given his patient uniform and told to change. He put the scratchy clothing on. Jerome was right, the uniform was uncomfortable. He noticed a doctor watching him. There was something about the bespectacled Asian man that made Darren a bit uncomfortable. Jerome had said the guy that ran this place was a dangerous man. Now he saw what his friend had meant. The man oozed a certain kind of madness. If Darren had to put a name to it, he reminded him of a stereotypical mad scientist. That unnerved him. But, thankfully, the man didn't really talk to Darren and only seemed to have a passing interest in his new patient.

Darren was led to his cell. The guards shoved him into the cell and locked the door. The cell was small and contained only a cot, an end table, and a toilet in the corner. For the next few days that was Darren's whole world. he spent his time lying on the cot and thinking. He realized that he could probably figure out some way to escape. He was a Drake after all. Magic was in his blood and if he truly wanted, no lock could stop him. But he doesn't really feel like going to the trouble. Yet.

When he is let out into the recreation room after a few days he was very bored at this point. So he spent his time getting to know a few of the other crazies. He wowed them a bit with his magic tricks. A very strung out and nervous teen boy was shoved into the recreation room at some point. Darren found it odd that a boy that young was in Arkham. He was even younger than Jerome had been when he was committed. So he went over to where the boy was curled up in the corner rocking himself. When the teen saw him walk up he cringed away. Darren held out his hands to show the boy he meant no harm.

"Woah. Easy, kid. Its ok. I just came over to say hi. I'm new and don't know anybody. And you seem interesting." Darren said smiling. "I'm Darren Drake. How about you?"

The teen didn't look like he was sure he wanted to interact. But after a few moments, Darren heard the boy answer in a quiet voice. "Jonathon. Jonathon Crane."

Darren had heard the Crane name before. On the news, when they were talking about a serial killer that exploited his victims phobias. This must be the killer's son. "Wow. I've heard the name. Your dad was on the news. Shame he died. He seemed like an interesting guy."

"He was only trying to help me." Jonathon said nervously. The boy seemed barely there. Like he was constantly seeing something in his peripheral that terrified him. Darren sat with the teen and talked because he was bored and the kid seemed interesting. As it turned out, when Darren got the boy talking about chemistry, the boy's favorite subject, he opened up more and was less nervous. The boy seemed grateful for the distraction. So Darren decided to keep spending time with the kid. He could be useful at some point.

Darren was relieved when he found out that the head doctor there, Hugo Strange, handed over his therapy to another doctor. He did not want that man anywhere near him. The guy gave him the heebie jeebies. Therapy was boring and pointless. His doctor just had him talk about his life and what he was feeling. Luckily he did not feel that he needed any of the more intensive 'therapy' that Hugo Strange seemed fond of.

Darren got settled in rather quickly. Jerome was right, the food was horrible, but oddly, Darren kept getting slipped little gifts like chocolate and fruit by random guards. He wondered at the gifts until some of the gifts started coming to him wrapped in paper with a little Jerome grin symbol drawn on it. That explained it. He figured that someone on the asylum staff was a Jerome fan and wanted to make nice with him because of it. He gave some of the gifts of chocolate or fruit to Jonathon to cheer the boy up a little. Jonathon seemed very grateful for that.

One day a guard came up to Darren and told him he had a phone call. And apparently his doctor was allowing him to take it because the person said he was a friend of his. Darren wondered who it could be as he walked to the room that had the phone. Could it be Jongleur? How would he have managed a call? He knew why none of his friends visited in person. They were probably worried that they would be recognized as the ones helping him kill Theo's lackeys. He didn't blame them and didn't mind that they played it safe. But why call him? He got to the phone and the guard gave him some privacy. He lifted the receiver to his ear.

"Hello? This is Darren. Who is this?"

A very familiar voice spoke on the other end. "Hello, Darren."

Darren was shocked and confused. The voice on the other end was impossible. "Jerome? How? You're dead."

"No. I'm not Jerome." said the voice that sounded a little uncomfortable at being referred to as such.
Darren was confused. It was clearly Jerome's voice. He hadn't mistaken the voice he had heard everyday of his life. The voice that he was missing so much it hurt. So who was this? And then he realized who it was. He sneered. "Jeremiah."

"Yes. Its me. I'm sorry. I realize that hearing from me after so long might not be something you want. But after I found out that you were in Arkham I had to call. I couldn't bring myself to visit you in person. That likely would not have gone very well with the guards anyway since I resemble my brother so much."

"Why are you calling me, Miah? We aren't friends. We haven't been friends since we were ten. As far as I'm concerned, you don't even exist." Darren snarled.

"I realize that. And I apologize. I never intended to hurt you. I just had to get out of the circus. It was stifling me. I knew if I stayed I'd never get anywhere in my life. I needed more. But if I could've taken you with me I would've. You were my best friend. I've missed you." Jeremiah said.

"I'm not the one you should've apologized to, Miah. Yeah, it hurt for my best friend to leave in the middle of the night with no explanation. But I got over it. But Jerome? You ruined his life with your lies. And that's all they were, weren't they? Lies. He never tried to hurt you. He never would've. But his mother believed you as she always did and gave up on him after you left. His family treated him like shit after you left, fully believing that he was as bad as you claimed. Even I believed the lies for awhile. I'm glad I wasn't too stubborn to listen to the truth. Why did you call me Jeremiah? Did you really think I would forgive you for all that you did to Jerome?"

"Please let me make it up to you. I can help you get better treatment. Maybe even help transfer you to a better facility." Jeremiah said.

"No thanks. I don't really want anything from you, Jeremiah. You can go to hell for all I care. Don't call again." Darren said before hanging up.

Only about a week or so after Darren was committed, he saw a new patient get admitted. A guy he recognized from the news. It would seem that Penguin had finally been caught and somehow convinced people he was mentally unfit to go to Blackgate. The man seemed rather out of his element among madmen and it was entertaining to watch him try to threaten a bunch of crazy people.

It seemed as if Hugo Strange had taken an interest in Penguin. Maybe it was because he found it amusing that Penguin would claim he was crazy instead of just a garden variety sociopathic criminal. Penguin's therapy was a lot more painful and traumatizing than Darren's. One day he found the birdlike man a little worse for wear while they were in the recreation room and he decided to introduce himself.

"You are one unlucky bird." Darren said sitting down next to Penguin. "You probably thought that a mental health facility would be worlds better than Blackgate, right? Too bad you didn't count on Strange being your doctor. In my opinion you should've just gone to Blackgate. Although you'd probably end up as someone's bitch there so who knows."

"I don't recall asking for the opinion of a madman." Penguin said irritated. "Leave me alone."

"That's rude. I just wanted to introduce myself. I'm Darren Drake. But people in here like to call me the Magician. The kid shivering over there at the next table is Jonathon Crane. And you are Oswald Cobblepot aka the Penguin. I heard you were some criminal mastermind. That you were able to take over most of the organized crime in Gotham. I guess you're hitting a rough patch right now, huh?" he grinned at the man.

Penguin looked irritated at being talked to until he realized he heard the man's name before. He had seen Darren Drake talked about on the news. "You hunted down most of Galavan's former lackeys. Tortured them. Why?"

"Well I would think that would be obvious. The man killed someone I cared about on live tv and needed to pay. But since you went and took care of that, I had to settle for the guy's employees. Honestly, I'm not mad you stole my kill, it seemed like it was just as personal for you as it was for me."

"He had my mother killed right in front of me. Of course it was personal." Penguin said getting a bit emotional. "Who did he kill of yours?"

"Like I said, he killed someone I cared about on live tv. That kind of narrows it down." Darren said pointedly.

"Jerome Valeska?" Penguin looked amused. "You were close with that psycho?"

Darren stared at him menacingly until Penguin realized that being amused by that visibly might not be smart. "Yes I was close with that psycho. He was my childhood friend. Us psychos have to stick together after all. He was the only person I really gave a shit about. And I watched him get stabbed in the throat. I'm betting watching your mom get murdered was pretty damn traumatizing too so I would think you'd understand and be less dismissive about my bad experience." Darren said with a dangerous look on his face.

Penguin looked like he was debating with himself. "I'm sorry. That was rude of me."

"I'm not really all that upset about it, relax. Anyway, if you ever want to talk just come over to my table. I'm sure Johnny won't mind the extra company." Darren said.

Darren didn't really care about the bird much. He was an interesting distraction. But since he was a little busy planning out in his head how Crane and him could escape, he didn't really care that Penguin didn't take him up on the offer to hang out. Crane didn't belong in Arkham. It was just making the permanently terrified teen worse. And since Darren was planning on trying to get himself out anyway, he thought he'd bring the kid along. Maybe try helping him with his fear issues when they made it out. There had to be some way to fix it.

Darren planned on using some of his special abilities to get them out. He could easily steal the keys by materializing a guard's keys into his own hand. He could distract the guards and make them not notice him. The only issue was doing that while dragging Crane along with him. When he decided that today was the day, he stole a guards keys and hid them for later. It would be easier to do it at night so he waited. That night he took out the keys and unlocked his door. There was a patrolling guard but all he had to do was cause one of the crows that liked to hang outside to appear inside the building not far from the guard which caused the bird to freak out and make a lot of noise which made it very easy for Darren to walk right past the guard while he was distracted. The guard didn't even notice him stroll by. He did similar things with the other guards until he got to Jonathon's cell. He unlocked the door and Jonathon reluctantly came with him, huddled close behind him. He had a bit more trouble trying to stay out of sight with Crane but still seemed to get through the building unseen. He actually thought he might make it out, until he got to the main hallway. And saw Hugo Strange waiting for them with a small smile on his face. Shit.

Darren stared at the doctor a little worried. Hugo Strange looked a lot more interested in him now. That was not good. "I guess you caught me, doc. You can't fault me for trying. I guess this means I'll be locked in my room for awhile. Bummer."

"Oh you won't be going back to that cell now. I'm having you moved." Strange said amused. Guards entered the room. "Imagine my surprise when I watched the security monitors and saw you use your abilities. They call you the Magician, right? It must be so easy for you. Do you think other magicians would consider what you do cheating? You could almost even call it real magic. How fascinating."

Now Darren was even more worried. Strange was looking at him like he was an interesting new toy. Some guards grabbed Jonathon and the boy screamed in terror as they dragged him away. Darren stood there staring at the doctor and trying to think of a way out. He replaced a guard's gun with the keys in his hand and pointed the gun at Strange. "I'm going to get out of here. So move aside!"

Darren suddenly felt someone inject him with something from behind. He whirled around but the damage was done. The gun slipped from his hand as he fell to the floor, losing consciousness fast. With his last moments of consciousness he could hear Strange talk with someone. "Excellent timing as always Miss Peabody."

When Darren woke up he was in a very different location. The cell he was in looked even more secure and he could hear muffled noise outside his cell that concerned him. It sounded like painful moaning and screams but not all of it sounded like it came from human mouths. He saw a little window in the door and peeked out to see a corridor full of similar doors. Sometimes a person in a lab coat would walk by. What scared him was that the people in lab coats didn't look like mental hospital doctors. They looked like scientists and lab techs. That implied things that Darren didn't really want to think about. He would've tried to escape but was still very drugged and groggy and couldn't concentrate long enough to do anything. So he went back to the cot in the room and passed out.

When he woke up again he saw he was strapped to a chair in what looked like a lab. There were a few cages with a few different small animals in them on a nearby table. Strange entered the room and smiled at him. A lab tech entered behind the doctor and got a few things ready. The lab tech looked rather nervous but kept glancing at Darren ever so often like he was the most fascinating thing ever.

"What are you going to do to me?" Darren asked Strange.

"There is no need to be frightened. I take very good care of my test subjects." Strange said. "You fascinate me. Abilities like yours need to be studied. You understand."

"So you're going to what? Do tests on me because my slight of hand is a little more convincing than usual? And people call me crazy."

"Oh we both know there's more to it than slight of hand. And you're going to demonstrate it for me." Strange looked over at the lab tech. "You. What was your name again?"

"Pollard, sir." the lab tech said nervously.

"Pollard, would you mind removing the restraints on the test subjects wrists? He will probably need his hands free." Strange said.

"Yes sir."

"It doesn't matter. I won't be demonstrating anything for you anyway. I'm not a performing dog." Darren snarled defiantly.

"I see. I had hoped you would cooperate. How disappointing." Strange said. "Are you sure I can't convince you to cooperate?"

"I'm sure." Darren said glaring at the man.

"Very well then. I suppose we will return to this later. For now we can still do a few tests on you with or without your cooperation." Strange walked up to him and injected him with a sedative.

Darren drifted in and out of consciousness. They were doing tests on him. Scanning his brain. Taking blood samples. And various other things. When he was strapped to a table and some equipment was monitoring him, the tech from before slipped into the room. When the man made sure no one was coming in he went up to Darren and talked to him in a hushed voice.

"I'm sorry. If it were any way I could get you out of here without ending in me getting killed or worse, I would do it. When I saw that you of all people was down here... I wish there was something I could do but I can't right now." the man said. Darren couldn't really respond to the man in his current state. "Please don't make Professor Strange angry. The things he could do to make you comply... I don't want you to get hurt. You're important. Because you're his friend." Darren looked at the man, not really understanding what the hell he was talking about. The man got a slightly deranged and excited look on his face. "They didn't cremate his body. Its here at the lab in a preservation tank. Jerome is here. He's here. He's still dead but that doesn't really matter. Strange already brought one person back from the dead. They don't remember who they are but they are back. Strange has been going through the dead bodies he has for experimenting on and trying to bring them back to life with their memories intact. Its only a matter of time before he gets to Jerome. Please just cooperate for a little while and I can figure out a way to get you both out of here somehow." The tech looked up startled as if he heard someone coming and left very quickly.

Later when Darren was back in his cell he thought about what the lab tech had told him. Jerome's body was here in the lab? And Strange was bringing people back from the dead? The possibilities it raised were a bit exciting. And then he realized that even if Jerome was brought back, they'd still be trapped down here in the lab. And would probably not get to see each other. So it was a bittersweet thought really. Maybe the lab tech, who was obviously a Jerome fan, would be able to find them a way out. But he was not getting his hopes up.

He listened to what the lab tech said. Even just the possibility of seeing Jerome again was enough to motivate him to play nice for awhile. Strange had him materialize objects from one place to another. Sometimes even small animals. Strange looked intrigued when he watched him use his abilities. Darren wanted to materialize a knife in the man's throat. But his powers didn't work that way. He had to know where something was first before he could move it. They made sure to be careful not to place anything dangerous in the room for that very reason. After he had convinced the doctor that he was going to play nice, he wasn't strapped down as much when Strange had him practicing. Strange also tested Darren's mild mind manipulation abilities. He couldn't control someone's mind. That would've been helpful in his current situation. No, he really could only distract people and convince them to focus on something that he identified. He could also convince someone to not focus on him but only if the person wasn't already focusing on him. Strange brought in a few of the patients from upstairs for him to use his abilities on. The man also had him on a few experimental drug cocktails that he thought would help enhance Darren's abilities a little. Strange wanted him to be able to move bigger objects. Like people. He couldn't quite manage that yet.

Darren was well aware of the side effects of the Drake family gifts. If a Drake used their abilities more than just occasionally then it caused any underlying mental issues to get worse. He didn't know how long he had before he wouldn't be as able to play nice and cooperate. The drugs they forced on him didn't help either. Every day he was in there it became harder and harder to stop himself from losing it and trying to rip the smirk off of Hugo Strange's face. He thought that the doctor must've realized this because he hardly ever came in person into a room Darren was in anymore. He mostly just watched from the one way windows into his testing room.

There was no real way of telling just how long he had been in the labs. The place did dim the lights at what he assumed was night but other than that and his testing schedule, he had not way of knowing how many days had passed. The Jerome fan lab tech had not talked to him anymore since the first time. He assumed the guy didn't want to risk Hugo Strange finding him talking to a test subject.

Hugo Strange seemed determined to mess with Darren. For some reason the man had started trying to convince him that he was the Norse trickster god, Loki. He had no idea why the guy seemed so adamant that he believe this. He would've found it a ridiculous thing to believe but with all the drugs and the mental issues and Strange's own little persuasiveness, it made it hard to completely dismiss the idea. Strange was getting into his head. At this point it was hard to focus on who he really was. He knew eventually Strange would have him completely convinced he was a god.

Right as Darren thought he might be losing himself completely, something happened. The scientists and lab techs seemed really busy and were rushing around the facility. Then they started moving test subjects out of their cells one by one. He tried to ask the Jerome fan lab tech what was going on as he rushed past but the guy shook his head at him and continued on his way. Darren didn't hold it against the guy since there were other employees around and the tech would likely get in trouble for talking to him. Finally, the guards took him out of his cell, making sure to lightly sedate him beforehand so he couldn't focus enough to use his abilities. They led him to a garage and to a bus. It seemed they were moving the test subjects somewhere. They dragged him on board the bus and chained him to one of the seats. There was a young blond woman chained to the seat next to his. She looked pretty normal. He looked around at the other people on board. Some of the test subjects did not look very human. And others looked varying degrees of normal. He was sure that they all had an ability of some kind. Even the pretty blond girl. I mean, why else would they be test subjects? Darren saw a guy that looked vaguely like a crocodile or alligator a few seats up. And another guy that looked like he had bat wings.

The guards kept loading the test subjects on the bus. Darren took the time to talk to the pretty blond girl next to him. "Hi. I'm Darren. Well I'm pretty sure I'm Darren. The drugs aren't really helping with remembering things."

The girl looked at him nervously. "I'm Alice."

"Alice huh. You look like an Alice. So what did they get you for? What makes you special?" Darren said.

"Why are you talking to me? We aren't supposed to talk to each other."

"Because I'm bored. And what are they going to do? Drug me? Hurt me? Been there. Done that." Darren said.

"I have a poison in my blood." Alice said, answering his question.

"A poison? Is it lethal?" Darren said.

"No. It drives people insane." she said in a way that said she was not fond of her unique blood. "How about you?"

"I'm one hell of a magician." Darren joked. "Actually, I have some abilities that some might consider magic. Strange just calls them scientific anomalies."

There was a commotion outside the bus. An intimidating black woman was outside in the garage and she had just subdued two guards. All she had to do was touch them and then they handed her the bus keys and then knocked themselves out as if she could get people to do whatever she told them to. Oddly, when Alice watched the incident it made her a bit uncomfortable as if it had reminded her of something else. The woman got into the drivers seat. It seemed as if the lab security was malfunctioning or something because the doors to the outside were opening. She didn't waste any time and started up the engine. Then she drove the bus out of the facility.

Everyone on the bus was looking around at each other with hopeful looks. They hardly dared hope they might finally get free. The further they got from the lab, the more hope appeared on their faces. But then the cops started chasing them. The woman driving the bus was able to elude them for awhile but then the bus was hit with something and the bus flipped over and crashed.

A voice that seemed somewhat familiar to Darren started yelling for Professor Strange. Darren saw that it was Penguin. Penguin must think that Strange was on the bus. Penguin got a rather amusing look of fear when he noticed the intimidating black woman, that had saved them, standing in front of him. They looked like they knew each other. She made the man pass out and then walked away, leaving them all in the bus. The men that were with Penguin grabbed him and dragged him away. They looked like they had been left on their own. Darren looked around. Most, if not all, of the test subjects were alive. Some looked more beat up than others from the crash but looked like they'd live. Darren took the time to pick the locks on his chains. he managed to get them undone. He figured what the hell and went around dealing with everyone else's binds and chains as well. A boy with long hair that looked vaguely familiar for some reason helped him try and wrench open the back door. But it was stuck. It seemed that the doors were designed to only open from the outside. He thought that maybe the crocodile dude might be able to force them but the guy looked too dazed to be of help.

Just as Darren was giving up hope that they would get out before the cops came across them, an old lady came across the bus. The test subjects did their best to let the woman know they were still alive in there and all called out for help. She opened the door and backed away in fear when she saw what was in the bus. The test subjects started climbing out of the bus. Darren got out and felt the brisk air and light breeze on his face. He was finally free! He laughed in joy at it. He didn't even notice or care how deranged the laugh sounded.

Not long after they got out, the black woman that had saved them found most of them huddled in a nearby abandoned building as they were all trying to figure out what they were going to do next.

"I apologize for leaving you all there in the bus. We all have to stick together. My name is Fish Mooney. If you will let me, I can figure out how to get us somewhere safe. And then we will do what we can to survive. We are family now. We are all we've got. The people out there, are not going to accept us. So we need to make them accept us. We are people! Not monsters or experiments! We have dignity!" Fish said. Many of the test subjects liked what she was selling and seemed on board for letting her take the lead. Someone had to after all.

Fish was rather knowledgeable about the shadier locations in Gotham. She found a place in the Narrows that was empty of inhabitants and they settled in. Some of them wandered off, likely trying to go back to old lives. But a lot of the test subjects stayed with Fish.

Darren decided to go see what had become of his little group of street performers and the Jerome fans. He wasn't really up for the whole eventual metahuman take over the city plan. He wasn't against it. He just wasn't interested in being a big part of it. He went up to Fish the day that he decided to leave. "Ms. Mooney. I hope you don't think it rude of me if I just try and go back to my old life? I'm willing to help you if you need it but I have people I'd like to go back to." Darren found a bit of paper and a pencil in a trashed desk and wrote down where she could contact him.

Fish took the piece of paper and smiled at him. "Of course I don't mind. Just be careful. I will contact you if I need something." The girl named Alice had left just the day before and Fish had let her go without a fuss as well. She had enough soldiers as it was. And Darren's abilities, while helpful in situations where thievery was needed, weren't the most dangerous and usable against foes. Not when compared with the speedster or the guy that aged people with a touch. Or the crocodile guy for that matter.

Darren headed to Celestial Gardens, Jeri's nightclub. He didn't want to go to his old house because the cops might look for him there maybe and he wasn't sure if his merry band of street performers were even still there. He figured that he'd get quite a few shocked looks soon since Strange had told him that he had him declared dead officially. But when he got to the door of the club and the bouncer saw him, he let him inside without any other word.

The place looked the same. It was filled top to bottom with Jerome related decorations. One of the employees led him to the back rooms but as he was walking by people, they saw that it was him and started talking to each other excitedly. They remembered him. Darren was happy to hear that. When he got to the back rooms where he figured Jeri was, he saw the woman talking with another familiar face. The lab tech from Indian Hill.

"I can do it, Jeri. Just give me time! Hugo Strange managed to pull it off and I was in the room watching how he did it. I can pull it off trust me." the man said.

"Well the people out there certainly seem to believe that you can so I would hope for your sake you don't disappoint them." Jeri said. "But its all you. I'm no leader. I'm just a club owner. So I can't tell you how to do your job."

Jeri looked up and saw Darren. "Well look what the cat dragged in. Its good to see you alive and well, Darren."

"See! I told you he was alive!" the lab tech guy said enthusiastically. "When I heard about the crash and all of the test subjects escaping I knew you'd end up back here eventually. I'm just sorry I couldn't get you out myself sooner. I couldn't risk getting fired or worse. I needed to be there in case Strange did something to Jerome's body. I haven't formally introduced myself. I'm Dwight Pollard. I'm a big fan of Jerome, and you as well. The way you rallied together the Jerome fans was inspired."

"Speaking of Jerome's body... Do you know what happened to it? I heard the lab was pretty much dismantled recently. Did they take his body somewhere?" Darren asked.

"Last I heard, Wayne Enterprises moved all the bodies that were in preservation tanks to a storage facility of theirs. He's still in one piece. One of the guards there is a fan so he'll keep me updated if anything changes." Dwight said.

"I suppose it doesn't really matter now. It's not like we can bring him back like Strange could." Darren said slightly sad.

Dwight grinned. "Oh but we can. And we will. Strange brought someone back fully with her memories intact shortly before the lab was evacuated. I observed and took note of it all. I'm tweaking the process a little but I think I can replicate it. I can bring Jerome back."

"Are you serious? You really think you can bring Jerome back?" Darren asked hopefully.

"Absolutely. So much so that I told all of his other fans about it. Over time they've sort of rallied around the idea and have been helping me with the details. I've sort of starting refining the group into a cult of a sort. A Cult of Jerome. The potential was already there. You helped a lot with that before you were taken to Arkham. They just needed an extra push to get them fully organized. The idea that they could finally meet their idol helped a lot. But I fully intend to give them what I promised. We will get him back. I'm sure of it." Dwight said with a fanatic look in his eyes.

Darren got a little emotional. "If there is any possibility that I can see my friend again alive and well, then I'll do whatever I can to help make it happen. Whatever you need from me you can have. Within reason. If it will help get him back."

"Well it would help to have you supporting me. There are still those that aren't quite sure what to think of what I'm planning. And everyone still respects you. Especially the ones that originally followed you. The ones led by Jongleur. If they saw you believed and supported me, I would have them fully on board with my plans." Dwight said.

"Like I said, if you can bring Jerome back I'll support you. But if you fail I won't stop his fans from tearing you apart. Because they likely will if you don't deliver and I'll be sitting back, watching, and cheering them on. Just saying, you better deliver. I don't like getting my hopes up for nothing." Darren said seriously.