Darren watched as Jerome was quickly fitted for a new outfit that would wow his deranged fans. It was a lot like his old Maniax outfit that resembled a straightjacket. The enthusiastic tailor who was pretty big Jerome fan, had already designed it long before then and just needed to make sure it fit perfectly. Darren had to admit that Jerome looked good in just about anything but the outfit did look nice.
"That should do it...Jerome." the tailor said awestruck as he finished up with what little alterations he needed to make. "I'm so glad it fits."
Jerome went and took a look in the full length mirror Darren had in his rather big walk in closet. He seemed to like what he saw. "Nice. Really nice. Really says stylish yet psycho." As he was looking in the mirror he noticed one of Darren's outfits hanging up. "That one is pretty snazzy too. Darren, you have good taste."
Darren turned to look at the outfit Jerome was referring to. He smiled. "Ah. The red tailcoat right? A bit more traditional circusy than my taste. I never really wore it myself. Not sure why I bought it. But it would look great on you. If you want it, take it."
"Thanks, Dare." Jerome said smiling. "Maybe I'll wear it later. Anyway, you have our main venue 'booked' yet? I do want to give my fans a good party to reintroduce myself."
"Yeah. Jongleur contacted a few of the more fanatic of the cult and they made sure to take over Boardwalk Circus for you, and a few other places if you change your mind about the location. Should we just head over there now?" Darren said.
"Hmm. Not yet. Its been bugging me since I got back. The last thing I was going to do before I died was kill that little rich brat. And I just know its going to keep bugging me if I don't make up for not doing it then." Jerome said thoughtful.
"You want to kill Bruce Wayne? Why? You only tried to back then because Theo told you to, right? Its something he really wanted, I heard." Darren asked.
"Like I said, its the last thing I was doing before I died. I like to follow through with my threats." Jerome said.
"Ok. Its your show tonight, Jerome. We follow where you lead us." Darren said smiling. "It shouldn't be too hard to get into Wayne manor."
Jerome grins at him appreciatively. "Good. Well lets get this show on the road. Oh and I'm gonna borrow some of your clothes for later, not just that coat you said I could have. You really do have good taste, but I guess you always have." He gathered some of Darren's clothes. Darren didn't really bat an eye at that. Jerome belonged to him and Darren belonged to Jerome so what was Darren's was Jerome's as well in his mind. Jerome handed a bag of the clothing to one of Darren's lackeys. Then they headed to their vehicles to head to Wayne manor. Darren's street performer lackeys that were coming with them armed themselves and were eager to go cause violence. Though, Jongleur and Darren's most trusted were already at the circus waiting for them.
When they got to far enough away from the manor that Bruce wasn't alerted but close enough to see it, Jerome whistled. "Wow that is big enough you could get lost in it. I've never understood a rich person's need to have more rooms than they have use for. Anyway, Let's head out. We've got a rich kid to kill."
Jerome had several of them go ahead of them to subdue Bruce and his very capable butler. Then Jerome walked into the room, Darren not far behind, and grinned at Bruce. "My you have grown." Jerome laughed and then wandered the room looking around, wanting to savor the moment and not go in for the kill right away. Darren stood near Bruce, and the butler, leaning against the desk. The rest of the lackeys, that weren't watching their captives, were tearing up the room enthusiastically.
"What do you want?" Bruce asked Jerome. Darren had to hand it to the boy, He figured the boy was pretty scared but he certainly didn't show it. He had assumed him to act like the typical spoiled rich boy and blubber uncontrollably or try to bribe them with money.
"Attitude." Jerome said. "Teenagers, am I right? Oh I remember those days. So many exciting new emotions floating through you. Wanting to kill everyone you saw." Jerome noticed how Bruce kept glancing at a lackey that was holding a big owl figurine, nervously. "You. Gimmie." The lackey handed the owl to Jerome. "You know I will never understand rich people's tastes."
"It's worthless." Bruce said way too fast to be believable. "My father found it at a flea market. I keep it for sentimental reasons."
"Nice try. Oh its got some heft to it. Expensive I'm guessing. It'd be such a shame if I were to..." Jerome dropped the figurine and Bruce freaked out. But the owl didn't break. "Tougher than I figured. Anyway..." he threw it over his shoulder and it shattered on the edge of the fireplace.
"Bloody hell!" the butler said frustrated.
"I asked you what you want!" Bruce said angrily.
"Right. Sorry. The little noodle is still al dente post thaw." Jerome said. "The reason I'm here is I'm going to kill you."
"Why?" Bruce asked, actually starting to show a little fear.
"Well, its the last thing I remember wanting to do. It's been nagging at me since I woke up." Jerome said before taking out a knife. "The idea of slitting that pretty pink throat of yours. I figure that'll clear the decks."
"I remember that night. You were quite the showmen." Bruce said.
"Thank you. Always nice to be appreciated."
"And you're just going to kill me here?" Bruce asked. "That's kind of disappointing."
Darren watched in amusement as the kid actually succeeded in stalling his own demise by convincing Jerome that he needed an audience to kill Bruce. He had to hand it to the kid, not only was he brave, he was also clever. It was almost a shame to kill him. Jerome knew the kid was just trying to buy time but did agree with him. And so they dragged Bruce out to their vehicles and left a few lackeys behind to take care of the butler.
They headed to the Boardwalk Circus. Jongleur met them at the entrance grinning madly. He led them inside where quite a few of the main part of the Jerome fanatics were already celebrating. The rides were running, and the games were being manned by enterprising Jerome fanatics who had added a few innocent captives to the games to torment them. They all stared in awe at Jerome as he entered, overjoyed to finally see him alive in person. Darren was not all that happy with many of them since many of them had backed Dwight even after his almost failure. But he didn't want to ruin Jerome's big night so he let it go for now. He'd lay into them later.
The bag over Bruce's head was taken off and he got to see all the chaos. Jerome decided to toy with Bruce for awhile before he killed him. He had someone face paint Bruce's face.
"I have to say you don't make the world's funniest clown, Bruce." Jerome said. He stabbed the face painter and then smeared some of the blood on Bruce's face to make a smile. "What do you think Darren? Better?"
"Really?" Darren said rolling his eyes. "Still not chuckle worthy but better."
Jerome smiled and led Bruce through the midway and played a few of the games. When he was doing one of them Bruce tried to reason with Darren. "Please. You don't look as crazy as all of them. You seem more level headed. You can stop this. Please help me."
Jerome heard what Bruce said and laughed. "Wow you are not a good judge of character. You hear that Darren? You're more level headed than them. Who woulda thought?"
Darren smiled at Bruce. "Sorry kid. I don't really have anything against you. But Jerome's right. I'm probably not the best person to ask for help from. Given that I'm Jerome's oldest friend. Loyalty between friends is important. And even if I wasn't his friend, I'm not the most level headed of people here. They did throw me in Arkham for a reason after all."
"Darren here is one of the main reasons there even is a unified Jerome fan club. I'm not sure where I'd be without my Magician." Jerome said smiling hungrily at Darren in a way that made it clear to everyone present that they weren't just 'friends'. Bruce was the only one that looked uncomfortable with what Jerome was implying.
Jerome decided it would be fun to tie Bruce up and shoot a cannon at him. Darren just went with it. It was a very flashy way to kill someone so he must be playing to his crowd. Darren watched Jerome as he changed into some of the clothes he borrowed. Including the red tailcoat. He looked very circus ringmaster. Which Darren supposed was fitting for the setting. Darren walked out with Jerome to the circus stage and stood off to the side as Jerome greeted his fans enthusiastically. Jerome was enjoying all of this. Darren was happy that Jerome was having a good time. He had him back and that's all that mattered.
They didn't actually manage to blow Bruce away with the cannon. Right after they loaded the cannon, the cops showed up. The cultists scattered immediately while Jerome just grinned at Detective Gordon from where he was still sitting atop the cannon. Darren pulled him off the cannon.
"We need to go, Jerome! Now!" Darren said trying to get Jerome to understand the seriousness of the situation. He'd be damned if Jerome got himself killed only hours after he got him back.
They evaded the cops until Jerome noticed Bruce run into the mirror maze. "I'm going after the brat. Could you make sure no cops follow me?"
Darren rolled his eyes. "Sure. Go ahead."
Jerome grinned at him and ran into the mirror maze. While he was in there, Darren used his abilities against the cops. Removing guns from hands. Making sharp things appear inside of them. Things like that. But he was distracted by the worry that Jerome might underestimate Bruce. Bruce seemed far more deep than he thought and might be a threat. Since he wasn't paying full attention to what he was doing, a cop wrestled him to the ground and knocked his head against the ground a few times to disorient him enough to make him unable to use his abilities. He was pulled off the ground and cuffed. He grinned madly at the cops. Did they really think they could hold him for long?
Just before the cops tried to lead Darren to a waiting police car, which wouldn't end well for them since he was becoming more lucid again, he noticed Bruce run out of the mirror maze. The boy lit up as he saw his butler still alive. As did the butler seeing him. Weird dynamic they seemed to have. The butler was more like a parent than an employee. Darren started to get worried at what the boy might've done to Jerome when Jerome came running out after him.
Darren grinned as Jerome got into a fight with Gordon. He took that time to switch the handcuffs off his arms onto two of the cops that were holding him and joined the fight.
In the end, after Jerome was punched in the face by Gordon and his face went flying, the cops used that distraction to knock Darren out cold. And then probably sedated him further so his captors would make it all the way to Arkham alive to dump him and Jerome there.
Darren woke up to a small Arkham cell and groaned in annoyance. Really? He was back in Arkham? Well, at least he would have Jerome with him this time. That made him feel a little better about the situation. And he was fairly certain that Hugo Strange wasn't there anymore. He still felt drugged and figured it would be harder to summon up his powers. That was probably the reason he was drugged. But at least he was lucid enough to know what was going on around him.
As it turned out, Arkham was loads better than it had been. Without the overwhelming presence of Hugo Strange, Jerome and Darren quickly gained control over Arkham. They were not allowed out, but the guards were so scared of them that they didn't dare go against them. The other inmates were the same. Only they also had a deep respect for the two psychopaths. Jerome was very charismatic and could get the inmates to do whatever he wanted them to do. And as a result, they also did whatever Darren wanted them to do. They ruled over a twisted kingdom together and wouldn't have it any other way.
An advantage of the guards being terrified of them is that none of them stopped Jerome and Darren from meeting up in each others cells to have sex whenever they wanted, or just any random dark place they could find to be alone together. They were making up for lost time after all.
"So, who do you think will be a good ally in here? You've been here before, after I was dead. Any new faces I need to know about?" Jerome made conversation one day as he was stroking Darren through his pants.
It was very hard to concentrate on answering a question in the state Darren was in. He gritted his teeth and tried anyway. "The Hat guy...ahh...he can control people's minds. Oh fuck! His name is Jervis Tetch. I knew his sister."
"Controlling people's minds? Really?" Jerome said grinning at how effectively he could make Darren fall apart. He leaned in to kiss Darren roughly on the mouth. "Sounds like a guy we need to get on our side."
Darren tackled Jerome and pinned him to the bed where Jerome laughed amusedly up at him.
"Eager are we?" Jerome said mockingly at him. Darren stared down at him with a hungry little smirk.
"Shut up." Darren said before kissing him like he was the only air supply in the room. He pulled Jerome's clothes off for the fifth time that day, Jerome doing the same to him. They touched each other like they were starved for it. And Darren supposed they were still. He was still wrapping his head around having Jerome back. He had to hold back all the weak little feelings he felt at it. The pain that he had been in when he was gone. It was unbearable. He gasped in pleasure as Jerome thrust into him, seating himself fully inside. Jerome leaned over him and bit down on his ear as he started moving.
Darren grabbed hold of him and held him as close as he could as they moved together. When Jerome hit his sensitive spot he cried out and left scratches down Jerome's back. Jerome loved it. Jerome enjoyed a bit of pain mixed with his pleasure. If they had had a knife, they would be using it on each other. They moved together frantically, both fighting a war for dominance as they went. At times an onlooker, if there were any that dared, wouldn't know whether they were fighting or fucking. It was a vicious dance and they relished in every second of it. Chasing each other violently to their climax, where they screamed it out together, not caring who heard them.
Darren had been worried at the state the teenage Jonathon Crane was in when Darren got back to Arkham. He saw that the kid barely left his cell at this point. The doctors didn't seem to care at all. And then, one day, during lunch time, he noticed that Jonathon was gone. At first he thought that he had just stayed in his cell but when Darren checked Johnny's cell, he wasn't there. He went up to a guard and asked about him. "Hey, you."
The guard cringed slightly when he saw who was talking to him. "Yeah?"
"Where's Crane?"
"Um..." the guard said nervously.
"Where. Is. Crane?" Darren asked with a dangerous look.
"Doc said he escaped." the guard said nervously.
"Bullshit. Jonathon could barely leave his room, much less escape a high security asylum. Tell me the truth." Darren said getting in the man's face. The guard knew that making the Magician angry was a bad move. All the guards knew that by then. He had made sure to teach them that early on. Having sharp objects magically transported inside of you was not a pleasant fate. Even drugged, he could manage it if he was pissed enough.
The guard looked like he might have wet himself. "Some guys came and took him with them."
"What kind of guys are we talking about? Scientist kind of guys?" Darren asked, a little worried about the kid. He hadn't hated spending time with Johnny when he was lucid enough to hold a conversation.
"No. They were really rough looking. Like criminals. They bribed the warden." the guard said.
"Anything else I ought to know?" Darren asked.
"No. That's it I swear! I don't know where they took him." the guard said scared.
"Fine. Go on and run then, little rabbit." Darren said watching as the guard scrambled off down the hall to get away from him.
Darren hoped that nothing bad would happen to the kid. He wondered what criminals would want with Crane.
A few days later, he found out exactly what the criminals wanted with Crane. He saw in the newspaper that some bank robbers attacked a bank and sprayed everyone with a toxin that caused terror. They were using Johnny for his father's formula. The stuff that made you feel intense terror and made your worst fears come out to play. Johnny had told him all about it one time.
Darren and Jerome were stunned when they saw a figure in a scarecrow outfit enter Arkham. Darren knew right away it was Johnny. Johnny had gone on and on about a terrifying scarecrow. And now it would seem that the scarecrow from Crane's nightmares had swallowed his mind whole. He wasted no time in sending the guards into a drug induced state of terror. When the scarecrow passed Darren and Jerome though, he paused and stared at Darren.
"Hey, Johnny. Love the new look." Darren said smiling at him.
"My name isn't Johnny." he said in a muffled deep voice. "It's Scarecrow. I will spare you, because you were kind to me."
"Thanks. Carry on. We're eager to see what you do next." Darren said.
"Yeah. This is really entertaining to watch." Jerome said excited by it all, a big grin on his face.
Scarecrow continued down the hallway past them, going towards the warden's office. If Darren had to guess, the warden was in for a very unpleasant time.
Sure enough, they watched a little bit later as the warden ran by them with clown makeup on and a deranged look. Wow. Darren thought to himself. That stuff must pack a punch. The normally stern and serious looking warden looked to have completely lost it. Scarecrow also went after a few of the other inmates, ones that had belittled him when he was just terrified little Johnny. And then to top it off, Jim Gordon, his hero complex still going strong, came after Scarecrow all on his own. No backup at all. And got sprayed in the face with fear toxin. Jerome stayed back at a safe distance from Scarecrow, not one to provoke a man when he was in a state. He didn't want to get sprayed. But Darren had followed a bit, almost out of sight. Scarecrow knew he was there but didn't seem to mind. So Darren got to watch as Gordon got very close to committing suicide while he was dosed up with fear toxin. Those fears must be pretty bad if he was almost willing to end it all for them. Jerome would get a kick out of that later when Darren told him the details. But Gordon didn't kill himself. And managed to subdue Scarecrow. The few guards that weren't dosed or dead, helped get him sedated.
Johnny, or Scarecrow, was back home in Arkham. After a few days in isolation, he was allowed back out. Darren saw that his friend now insisted on wearing a bag over his head. He would get violent if someone were to take it off. In fact, when one of the doctors insisted on taking the bag away from him he had to be sedated. And then he became very quiet. He was not seen for a few days out of his room. And then the doctor that took his bag was found dead of a deadly poison. And Johnny had his bag over his head again. After that, the doctors were frightened enough of Johnny that they barely let him out of his cell.
One day, Darren bribed the guards to let him into Johnny's cell. Johnny, or Scarecrow as he seemed to be now, stared at him with silent intensity from where he sat on his bed.
"Hey, Johnny...sorry, I mean Scarecrow. I know you are more comfortable with that name now. I wanted to talk. Can we talk?"
"What is it that you want?" said the rather deep sounding voice. A voice that didn't really sound at all like Johnny anymore.
"Jerome and I are looking for allies. People that see things our way. Honestly, I was going to take you with us anyway when we got out of here, when you were just Johnny. This place wasn't good for Johnny. But you aren't Johnny now. So I thought I'd see what you think about a collaboration. Jerome is really impressed with you and so am I. You could be a really useful ally to have. Those chemistry skills of yours... I'll let Jerome explain what he wants if you do decide to help us." Darren said, honestly really impressed with his young friend's aura of intimidation. Johnny had grown up and become a badass. "I can give you time to think about it if you want. But we'll be leaving here soon, so don't take too long."
"The chance to spread terror into the hearts and minds of the city of Gotham?" Scarecrow said with an almost blissful look in his eyes at the idea. "How could I refuse? Keep me informed of when we leave here and what you need from me to do that. All the other details can be discussed later."
"Alright. It'll be good to have you with us." Darren said with a smirk. "And I must say, as a friend to a friend, you look loads better now. I'm so glad. I was worried when I got back here. The terror was really eating at you. It's good to see that you made it your own. That you made it a part of you instead of letting it hold you back."
"I became my fear. It's a part of me and now its all that's left. I cured myself by accepting the scarecrow and letting it change me into it. I want to be able to let others experience that too. So of course I would be interested in a chance to do so." Scarecrow said. "And I trust you more than other people here. You were kind to me when I was weak. You tried to push me in this direction. It helped. So thank you."
"You're welcome. We'll let you know what we need when it gets close to time to escape. Right now Jerome is gathering allies. Don't spread this information around. The guards at the door were bribed to be silent about it. We take no chances. I'll talk to you later Scarecrow."
Jervis Tetch, or the Mad Hatter, as several inmates referred to him, was also a possible ally Jerome wanted. The guards were terrified of the hypnotist. He was often locked in a muzzle when he was allowed out of his cell that made it impossible for him to speak. Since his voice was his weapon, it made sense that the guards and doctors would take this precaution. Darren and Jerome went up to him in one of the rare occasions the top hatted man was seen in the recreation room.
"Hey Jervis. We've never met formally. So it's a pleasure to meet you. I'm Darren. This is Jerome." Darren said, playing to the man's well known love for politeness. Jerome, again let Darren do the talking at first since he was not all that into being polite and they needed him on their good side. Don't get him wrong. He still could've been convincing enough to get him on board. But if you have a resource, use them. And Darren had known Alice, Jervis's sister. Jervis had the muzzle on so he just inclined his head and tipped his hat in greeting.
"That looks damn uncomfortable. How dare they silence someone like you? You deserve so much more." Jerome said. Jervis nodded again with an intense look in his eyes.
"I'm sorry I haven't introduced myself earlier. I wanted to. You see, I was at Indian Hill as a test subject briefly and knew Alice. She was a friend of mine." Darren said.
Jervis had a complicated, half sad half surprised look when Alice was mentioned.
"Yeah. It tore me up to hear she died. Quite frankly, Jim deserved all he got. And more. She was such an innocent. Way too innocent for the world she was in. I'm so sorry for your loss." Darren said.
Jervis's eyes seemed to convey gratitude.
"I have something planned. Something big. And I could use a few enterprising gentlemen like yourself. We're going to get out of here and turn Gotham into a madhouse." Jerome said grinning. "You are a really powerful guy. Surely you want more than this."
"It wasn't just Jim that failed Alice. It was the world. People don't understand things that are different and special. They hate and fear the unknown. Alice was a victim of that. What do you say? You think you might help us?" Darren asked.
Jervis seemed to think about it for a minute or two and then nodded his head.
So now they had Jervis on board.
It was around this time that Jerome started feeling like shit. He tried to ignore it, thinking it was just the awful asylum food but it wasn't going away. And then he coughed up blood. That was concerning.
"You've got to go get yourself checked out by a doctor, Jerome. Coughing up blood is never a good sign." Darren said concerned.
"Ugh. Fine. So annoying. It's probably nothing." Jerome said rolling his eyes.
"Still, you need to find that out for sure."
As it turned out, it wasn't nothing. Jerome had some guards lead him to the medical ward. The doctor there did a few tests. And found some disturbing things. His body was starting to fall apart. It would seem that despite Dwight's success in bringing him back, the process was flawed. Which wasn't surprising given the cobbled together nature of Dwight's lab. Jerome was dying. And it couldn't be fixed.
"Are you fucking with me? That's not funny." Darren asked, not wanting to believe it when Jerome told him.
"No. I wouldn't joke about something like this with you. Not you. Geez. Don't get so emotional. I knew you would get like this. It's me that's dying, not you." Jerome said, trying to sound nonchalant but failing. He was upset about it too. He just came back to his lover and an entire army worth of fans completely devoted to him. He was living the dream. But nothing lasted forever and it seemed that the universe's habit of shitting on him hadn't stopped.
Darren tore his cell apart in anger.
"Are you fucking serious? You have any idea of how much I suffered missing you the first time? Dying is easy. Living without the only person you give a shit about is a whole other thing. We had plans! All for nothing. What's the point of this all if I'll just be alone after its over? I know you don't like me being sentimental. Well, fucking deal with it." Darren said angry tears coming to his eyes. "I love you, Jerome. I never wanted to say that out loud. It seemed so cliché. So 'normal'. But I can't not say it now. Because its the truth."
Jerome didn't know how to deal with that declaration. "You're right. That is cliché. And its not like your life will be over. You could go out on your own as a villain. Truly make Gotham fear the name the Magician. Don't bring sentiment into this."
"Would you once just say it to me? Just admit that you love me too. You aren't the cold heartless being that you paint yourself as. Not really." Darren asked him frustrated.
"Fine." Jerome said sighing. "I do love you. Happy? I'm not going to say it again."
"Its a start." Darren said. "How am I supposed to say goodbye to you? Who the hell do you think could measure up to you?"
"No one obviously." Jerome said snarkily. "But life won't be over for you. You'll figure things out. I've always suspected that I've held you back a bit. In being my partner, you've let me be the star of the show and so most people think the Magician is a sidekick. You are way too powerful to be a sidekick. Promise me that after I'm gone, you go out and make them fear you."
"I never said I wouldn't do that. I just... It'll be lonely without you. All over again. I got through it last time because I had the idea that we could bring you back. But I figure with the damage Dwight has done, there's no coming back a second time. So much for creating a legacy." Darren said sitting down in a huff, finally tired of destroying his cell.
"Not really. I can still have a legacy of terror. It just won't be me that ultimately pulls it off." Jerome said with a thoughtful look. "Are you thinking what I'm thinking? I have a spare me running around Gotham somewhere, remember?"
"Jeremiah? But he's nothing like you. That little bastard thinks he's the very image of sanity and is probably wearing a suit and tie that makes him look nerdy as hell right now." Darren said.
"We used to be identical. We have the same brain. But you and I both know, he was the one who always had issues. Not me. Mine are all the bullshit from Lila. And the circus that didn't care. And the fact that my other half bailed on me. He made me what I am today. Everyone believed him when he said I hurt him. Even you at first. You all thought I was a psycho. You can only be called a psycho so many times before you just say fuck it and become that way out of spite. Lila brought all that on herself." Jerome said with a snarl. He perked right after. "Miah is a hundreds times as capable as me in being a psycho. He just refuses to admit it to himself. But what if we forced him to admit it to himself? What if we helped it along? Not much, just enough to make him see the truth."
"How would we do that?" Darren asked.
"Don't we have a chemistry nut on board with our plans? One with a toxin that plays on one's emotions? Its fear not crazy but its a start. I'll bet ya that Crane could come up with something that would work on a different emotion. You were Miah's friend for ten years. You spent more time with him than I did. You can't tell me you didn't notice how cold Miah was when he thought no one was looking. His facial expressions were only present when someone was in the room which made me always think that his ability to feel strong emotions might be broken. I don't he's ever felt them. But he's observant. He noticed how other people acted and how I acted. He picked up on social cues. But just because he has never been able to feel them, doesn't mean his mind couldn't be made to experience them. And once my cold hearted brother gets all that? He'll be as bad as me. He might even be worse. How much you want to bet he's going to be worse? It'll be entertaining to watch from wherever I'm headed. I assume its somewhere rather hot."
"He always did strike me as a little flat emotion-wise. He didn't hide it as much with me because I never said anything about it. But do you really think we can translate that into full on crazy? Do you really think Scarecrow could make something strong enough to make Miah of all people, feel something?" Darren asked.
"I think he could. You told me that kid's a genius, didn't you? What other choice do we have? I need my legacy to survive somehow. I don't trust my fanatics enough to not lom onto the next edgy villain that comes along and forget all about me. So I need to live on in some way. And Miah is the perfect candidate. I... have to tell you something and if it makes it out of this room I'll haunt you. I never hated Miah. Not even when he ruined my childhood. I never expected much else from my cold hearted little brother. Though I admit I never expected him to turn that coldness against me. I did resent it. So damn much. For awhile I had very vivid fantasies of murdering him. Even recently. But I don't think I could ever really kill him. How can I blame my brother for being a monster when it was so easy for me to be a monster too? Part of this plan...is to help him. I thought about it before, when I learned about Baghead. Maybe this is how its supposed to be. I was always destined to shine bright and then go out with a bang. But Miah, he's destined for so much more. Maybe I was always destined to be the one to help him see the truth about himself. To become all that he could become. To make the name Valeska truly immortal to history. That's a good feeling. I'm ok with being an epic prologue to that. If we can accomplish it, I will die with a smile on my face."
"Then I'll talk with Scarecrow so he can get started developing a plan for that drug you want." Darren said, getting back to business with a slightly pissed of look to the world. "No matter how horrible we can make Miah, he's still no Jerome." he walked out of the room without another word.
The Magician was in a foul mood for awhile. The guards ran scared anytime they saw him. So much so, that the doctors finally said enough and drugged him and put him in isolation for awhile, in a much higher security cell so he couldn't find a way out as quickly.
Darren could still find a way out, but he didn't feel like it. He needed time to himself. And didn't think he could help with recruiting at the moment in the mood he was in. So Jerome took care of recruiting Penguin on his own. He didn't need Darren's help with that. Penguin needed to see who was more powerful than him in the pecking order. There was no one quite as intimidating as Jerome, except maybe Darren. Penguin was soon dragged kicking and screaming out of his funk. And then that guy, Riddler, broke him out. Jerome wasn't worried. He knew Penguin wouldn't dare go back on his word to be a part of the team. Around this time, most of the big name crazies were put in more secure cells. The warden was finally putting his foot down. But Jerome had anticipated that. He had a plan. He managed to get the information to everyone involved and they put their plan into action.
Darren got himself out of his cell first. He placed his palms on the door and messed with the high tech lock. They were stupid to use a high tech lock. Anything mechanical with a lot of moving parts would've been harder. But anything involving electrical wiring could be messed with with a few other metallic objects phased into the wiring and overloading it. So he kept a few small bits of metal for just this situation. Then when the door was open, he immediately put up his don't notice me illusion. The guards didn't even notice the door opening. He strolled right out. He knew with the drugs he was kept on he couldn't keep up the ability for long so he hurried away to the area that Tetch was in, and found a guard. He would need to time this precisely at the same time Tetch called a guard into his room.
There. Tetch was calling in his guard. Darren made himself known to another guard and at the same time brought her into his bubble of notice me not. None of the other guards noticed the petite female guard or Darren, but she was running as fast as she could down the hall, trying to get the other guards attentions. But every guard she stopped at, Darren walked past and stabbed them in a vital area before moving on. The guards ahead didn't notice the guards behind dying at a rapid rate. The only one that noticed was the petite female guard. She saw one guard up ahead checking on Tetch and rushed over to warn her about Darren. But as soon as she got within hearing distance of Jervis's voice, she was doomed. He wasn't muzzled in his own cell. The guards went in with earplugs and headphones to block out the sound. The guard in the cell with Jervis was wearing them and just snarked at Jervis saying he couldn't do anything to her because she couldn't hear him. But the petite guard didn't have headphones or ear plugs. She could hear him just fine. When the guard turned around she found the petite guard standing behind her, with a very blank expression. Darren chose this moment to reveal himself and his hard work. All the dead guards were revealed. The petite guard slashed the other guard's throat. Jervis smiled at his accomplice.
"Did I do it right?" the petite guard asked Jervis.
"Right as rain on a plain in Spain." Jervis said walking out of the cell. He turned to Darren. "That was exceedingly easy."
"Time to get this show on the road." Darren said and they made their way to Crane's cell next. They didn't need the guard anymore so Jervis had her kill herself as they walked away. Darren took the keys from the floor.
When they got to Crane's cell, Jervis knocked on the door. "Knock knock called the cock. Time to rise and wield your scythe."
"You about ready, Scarecrow?" Darren asked as he tried to find the key to the cell. He could just use his powers to unlock the lock but he was still drugged and had already done quite a bit already. He found the right key and opened the door.
"I fear I will require a moment more, gentlemen." said Scarecrow from the floor. He was using his toilet as a makeshift chemistry lab.
"Our moment is fleeting, my dear Mr. Crane." Jervis said impatient. "It's wings desperately beating."
"Calm down. Let the genius work." Darren said encouragingly. Crane finished his mixture and spooned it into a vial.
"There now. Scarcely a drop spilled." Crane said pleased with himself. He got up and walked out of his cell. "Shall we, gentlemen?"
"Let us be at pains, Mr. Crane." Jervis said. Darren grinned at him. They just had one last stop to make and then they were blowing this joint. They made their way to a door that was probably a bit of over kill as far as keeping Jerome in. But people were really scared of him. And seemed to forget it was Darren that could pick any lock. Not Jerome. Crane poured his chemical mixture into the lock, shorting it easily. The door burst open and Jerome arrogantly stepped out.
"When I say, 'three hairs past a freckle, 'gentlemen, I do not mean five hairs past." Jerome said. "Lets do better next time, hmm?"
"Mind both Ps and Qs, Valeska." Jervis said irritated. "We are not your militia to be becked and called.
"I dread to think where you'd be without us." Crane said with an intimidating voice.
"Come on. We're a team. For now anyway. When all this is over and the city is in flames, we can be at each other's throats. But before, we work together." Darren said. "We'll all get what we want if we follow Jerome's plan."
"An earthly kingdom of terror." Crane said with a blissful look at the thought.
"A piece of Gotham pie, both sky and high." Jervis said smiling viciously.
"That's the spirit boys. Think big. And kinky." Jerome said. "Now to free the rest of our cronies and blow this pop stand."
The group of villains released all the other inmates to cause a little chaos. Most were not allies and so they didn't give a shit what they all did. But it helped keep the cops on their toes.