A Few Hours Before the Death of Jerome
Darren stood inside of Miah's bunker. Miah wasn't there, obviously. He was in police protection. Neither was his assistant, Ecco. Darren stared at all of the diagrams and designs and drawings pinned to the walls and smiled. To a casual onlooker, who didn't know what to look for, they'd just see random, admittedly brilliant designs. And that's what they were. But what they meant when one looked between the lines, seemed very promising to Darren. It showed Miah's madness lurking just under the surface. A madness he had always known was there, even if Miah had not. Darren hadn't liked to think of that when he was young. Thinking about how Miah's madness was what had drawn Darren to him, was not something a mostly normal kid wanted to think about. He had always known about his family curse. The magic wasn't a gift. It was a curse. It was so tempting to use but drove everyone in his family mad over time if they did. They would eventually stop caring how much they hurt people if they used it. And he had always known he didn't just want to be another Rudolf Drake, a mere circus magician drinking his way to an early grave. He had always wanted more. He thought that he was meant for more. And so he knew he would become a monster. And so, when the pale redheaded little nerd he got along with as a small child showed himself to have trouble with empathy, he attached himself to him as much as he could. He became his best friend. Miah's cold, almost beyond human, eyes had always fascinated him as a child. He had almost forgotten that in all of Jerome's beautiful violent enthusiastic chaos. But Jerome would be dead soon. It was hard to think about that. Darren shook himself out of his brooding and set the brightly gift wrapped box on Miah's desk. When Miah came back after it was all over he would get one last goodbye from his brother...and a gift. The modified gas was a gift. Jerome knew it would be the only way Miah would ever truly feel happy. To overwhelm that part of his brain until it worked correctly. They both knew it wouldn't make him sane though. No. It would make him a madman. Jerome figured that was fair. Since Miah's last act as his brother was to lie and put him in a situation that eventually drove him mad. It was also what they needed. They needed a fitting legacy for Jerome. Darren took one last look at the gift box and then left. Now it was up to Miah to carry on the madness.
Present day
Darren was not doing well at all. Without Jerome, he didn't know what to do next. He knew that Jerome had wanted him to go out and make Gotham fear his name but he had little desire to do that at the moment. He just wanted to grieve. The Jerome fanatics were grieving as well. Holding several memorials and such for their fallen leader. Jongleur and the street performers tried to get Darren to go to some of them but Darren wasn't feeling up to it.
It was late at night when he woke to an odd sound. There was someone in his hideout. There shouldn't be. Jongleur and the others stayed over at the club to give him space. He looked around frantically.
"Who's there? You picked the wrong building to try and rob, let me tell you." Darren said. Suddenly there were two figures in dark clothing in front of him. If he didn't know better he'd say they were ninjas. Darren backed up in surprise. Ninjas? Why the hell were there ninjas in his hideout?
"Darren first of your family in generations to fully embrace your talents. The first not to care about the curse it would bring you. And look how powerful it has made you." said a deep spooky voice behind him. He turned around and saw what looked like a walking dead guy.
"Who are you?" Darren asked, very weirded out. But then his mind put two and two together. Ninjas? "You're Ra's Al Ghul, aren't you? I thought you were a myth. Just a bedtime story."
"As you can see, I am no myth." Ra's said.
"What do you need from me?" Darren asked. "This isn't really a good time for me."
"Yes. You just lost your little psychopath." Ra's said almost mockingly.
"Don't talk about him like he was nothing! He was the only person I cared about!" Darren said angrily.
"Of course you cared about him. His chaos was comforting to you. You have become an agent of chaos and you shaped Jerome into one as well."
"I didn't shape Jerome's crazy. His family did that." Darren said angrily.
"It is true that his family would have driven him over the edge on their own. And the isolation he would feel from everyone else at the circus wouldn't help. But he wasn't alone, was he? He had you. If you had wanted, you could've kept him from falling over the edge. But you had no desire to. You wanted him at his worst." Ra's said.
"...I suppose that is true." Darren said uncomfortably.
"But it wasn't him that you wanted, was it? It's only natural of you to admire his twin. Jerome may have been an agent of chaos like you, but Jeremiah…he is chaos personified, or will be soon. It was destiny for you to help free his true self from his mental shackles. It was what I foresaw." Ra's said in an amused voice.
"You see a lot. But why do you care? Why are you here?" Darren asked, irritated.
"As much as it disgusts me to say it, I am in a weakened state at the moment. It would make things easier for me if I were to have help in regaining my power." Ra's said.
"And why would I care enough to help you? Why come to me at all?" Darren asked, not really seeing why some ancient legend was in his apartment. He thought Ra's Al Ghul was only a myth. His uncle loved telling him bedtime stories about the guy when he was a kid.
"Because we are family." Ra's said.
"What? The Drakes aren't ninjas or powerful sorcerers. We're just magicians. We have been for generations. How am I related to you?" Darren asked, very confused.
"I have had only a few children in my long long life. My two daughters I gave access to the Lazarus Pit so they would live as long as me. But I denied it to my only son. He was a disappointment. Do not misunderstand. He was truly gifted with the arcane. More so than even me. But he did not agree with the way I did things. And refused to be a part of the League of Shadows. So I cursed him and his bloodline. Your bloodline. He could use his incredible gift for the arcane. But to do so would drive him mad over time. He predictably was a coward. He stopped using his gifts. And his children and children's children became mere charlatans only using their gifts to help them entertain an audience. I knew I only had to be patient. That someone like you would come along, who wasn't content with being mediocre. I foresaw one of my blood helping shape the destiny of this city. And here you are."
"You cursed your own son? Really?" Darren said with a surprised look. "So what makes you think I'd want to help the person that's responsible for my curse in the first place? You think I'm going to care that I'm related to you? Jerome was related to Lila and he still murdered that bitch. Blood means nothing. It certainly didn't mean much to you when it came to my ancestor, did it?" He snarled the last part.
"That is fair I suppose. I can teach you more about your gifts for the arcane if you desire. Would that be enough incentive?"
Darren had to admit, the chance to learn more about his gifts was tempting. And he may be insane but even Darren knew that antagonizing a man like Ra's was not smart even for someone like him. "That's acceptable I guess. What do you need from me?"
Tabitha PoV
"Ra's just tried to kill me because of you." Barbara snarled at Tabitha as she paced in the study of Wayne Manor.
"You could've just given him the Demon's Paw." Tabitha said, very exasperated with her friend and lover.
"Head!" Barbara yelled. "It's the 'Demon's Head' and it is mine! You betrayed me."
"I was trying to save you from yourself." Tabitha said. She felt guilt, though she'd never admit it. She had let the League of Shadows use her to trick Bruce into helping them bring back Ra's. And now Ra's was after them. That was on her. But she had been so frustrated with how powermad Barbara had become that she hadn't seen any other option at the time. "Also, the other day, you actually told your thugs to kill me."
"It was a spanking." Barbara got in Tabitha's face with a sneer. "If I wanted you dead, I would've…"
"Oh shut up, both of you!" Selina said, very irritated.
"We're wasting time." Bruce's butler, Alfred said. "Ra's could be on his way right now."
"Which wouldn't be a problem if Barbara would just give him what he wants." Tabitha said.
"Am I interrupting something?" said an amused and unseen voice. They all jumped a little when they saw the man now referred to as the Magician appear in the room. "I mean, you all seem to be in a very heated discussion."
Bruce got up from where he was sitting and stared at the Magician with a confused look. "How did you get in? The security systems were on and I didn't hear them go off."
"A good magician never reveals his secrets." Darren said with a slightly deranged looking smile.
"If this is about Jerome, I had nothing to do with his death. There is no reason to try to hurt me for it." Bruce said with as brave a look as he could muster. And Tabitha had to admit the kid did a good job of it for someone his age.
"Oh I know you had nothing to do with it. I was there. And Jerome went out the way he wanted to go out." Darren said smiling. "I never had anything against you, Bruce. That was all Jerome. I think he felt you were the order to his chaos. And he felt he should destroy you for it. He was rather naïve. I have no plans to kill you. At least not at the moment."
"Then why are you here?" Bruce asked. "What do you want from me?"
Darren grinned. "Things aren't always about you, Bruce. I'm here on behalf of my ancestor."
"Your family have some old grudge against one of us?" Tabitha asked, remembering her own family's grudge against the Waynes. "I can understand something like that but this isn't really the time or the place."
"No. Not an old grudge really. The grudge is actually pretty recent. You've all met my ancestor before. He's kinda hard to miss. Especially the way he looks now." Darren grinned at them knowingly.
"You're one of Ra's Al Ghul's descendants?" Bruce said, looking very surprised by that information.
"Apparently." Darren said. "It was a surprise to me too. But given that he's debatably immortal and has a bunch of ninjas on his payroll, I felt it would be hazardous to my health to refuse a request of his. So… you gonna give back what he wants from you or what?" he looked over at Barbara and smiled with a dangerous look in his eyes.
"I will never give it back." Barbara sneered at him. "It's mine now. And if he wants it, tell him to come get it himself."
"How do you think an encounter like that will go, hmm?" Darren asked with a laugh. "He doesn't want a fight though. He wants you to see reason and give him back his power before he is forced to do something that will make you very much regret denying him."
"I'm not afraid of him or you." Barbara said. "I'm going to kill him."
"Oh will you?" Darren laughed. "You'll probably need this, then." He reached into his coat and pulled out a very familiar knife that he had just stolen from the Nanda Parbat embassy an hour ago.
Bruce's eyes widened when he saw the knife.
Darren smiled smugly. "It'll be a little hard to pull off killing Ra's without this I think."
"What does an old knife have to do with it?" Tabitha asked.
"It's the only thing that can kill Ra's Al Ghul. It's how I killed him in the first place." Bruce said with a worried look. "What can we do to convince you to give us that?"
"Oh you think this is me bargaining? No. This is just me gloating. I have no intention of handing it over. No matter what you offer." Darren said with a grin. "And as for threatening me, go ahead and try it. I may not be immortal, but I am perfectly capable of turning you all into human pincushions with every knife in the manor. But I don't want to do it. For one, great great too many greats grandpa would be a bit mad at me. He doesn't want Bruce dead. And for some strange reason, he doesn't want you dead either." he said looking over at Barbara. "But he would like me to point out that he has nothing against me killing the people you care about. And you do have a few of those, don't you Barbara?" He pointed at Tabitha. "That one for example. Or the kitty over there. Or maybe even your ex fiancé. Jim Gordon, right? That's a weird couple. I can see why that didn't last. I'll give you time to think about it. But don't take too long. Or I'll have to start at the one you care about the least and work my way up to the one you care about the most. It'll be fun. Especially Gordon. I'm really going to enjoy killing him."
"Kill him if you want. I don't care!" Barbara said defiantly.
"Oh Barb, I can tell you don't really mean that. You'd definitely feel awful if he was dead because of you. That ship may have sailed, but you still aren't completely over him. I get it. Love is complicated. I know that far too well. Take some time. Think it over. See if keeping this power is worth losing everyone you love and care about. We'll be in touch." And with that he was suddenly gone in a blink of an eye. Like he disappeared into thin air.
"That guy can teleport now? Holy shit." Selina said, looking worried. "Still think we'll all make it through this alive, Barbara? Because it's not looking good for us."
Darren PoV
Darren was thrilled with the things he had learned from his ancestor. He knew he was just a tool to Ra's. He wasn't stupid. Ra's didn't see him as family. Just a tool that he sacrificed his own son and his son's bloodline to create. Darren hated thinking about that. He hated thinking about how he played right into his ancestor's hands by letting go and accepting his madness. He knew he wouldn't be able to stand working for Ra's for much longer, knowing that. But he did enjoy learning as much as he could about the arcane while he still could. Ra's was not not quite as committed to the arcane as Darren was but he had had centuries to learn about it. He knew so much. Darren now knew how to use the shadows to move him to a completely different location. Like teleporting. A locked door was never much of a deterrent for him but now it wouldn't even slow him.
"I'll never get tired of this trick." Darren said smiling as he reappeared out of the shadows some distance away from Wayne manor. He knew where he'd have to go next. Barbara needed to know he was serious.
Gordon PoV
Jim Gordon was not having a good day. The fact that Lee Thompkins was in league with Edward Nygma and robbing banks had him nearly pulling his hair out in frustration. He still loved Lee. He didn't think he would ever be over her no matter how far apart they would get from each other physically or mentally. He didn't want to have to arrest her but at this point she might not give him much choice. He hadn't known about Lee's involvement with Nygma until he went looking for a person known as 'The Doc' in the Narrows. The Doc turned out to be Lee. When he confronted her about her involvement with Nygma she didn't even deny it. And he couldn't convince her to stop. Jim walked through the Narrows brooding to himself and wondering what he was going to do.
"Heya Jimbo." A cheerful voice said behind him.
Jim whirled around to see a very familiar man in an edgy magician's outfit grinning at him. The man tipped his hat at him in greeting.
"Darren Drake. I figured I'd be seeing you at some point. Killing me won't bring Jerome back." Jim said, rather worried. The Magician was dangerous. His abilities were deadly and he had no way of stopping him if the man wanted to kill him.
Darren grinned wider. "Oh Jim. You got me all wrong. I have no interest in getting revenge. You did shoot him. That's true. But I'll tell you a secret. Don't tell anyone. He was already dying. He didn't have long. He wanted to go out with a bang. In battle. Not in a sick bed. You gave him that. So I should really thank you for that. Thank you Jimbo. Jerome would thank you too, I think, if he could. This isn't about him."
"If this isn't about Jerome, then what do you want?" Jim asked with confusion and surprise on his face. He hadn't known that Jerome was sick.
"I'm here because someone you know needs to realize I'm being serious when I say I will kill the people she cares about if she doesn't agree to give back something that belongs to my ancestor. I don't think she's the type to take things seriously until it's shoved in her face. So I'm starting with you. Sorry. I really don't have anything against you personally." Darren said taking out a knife and playing with it.
"Are you talking about Lee? What has she taken? Was it at one of those banks?" Jim asked with a very confused look now.
"Who? Oh is that the pretty brunette that Jerome and Barbara threatened at the rather unfortunate charity event?" Darren asked with a smile. "You dated her? Quite the step up from Barbara, I'll say. No. I'm not talking about the pretty doctor. I'm talking about someone else. Just because a girl was dumped by you doesn't mean she'll ever completely get over you. I'm talking about the crazy blond."
"Barbara? She doesn't care about me anymore." Jim said with an exasperated look. "I doubt she'll care if you do anything to me."
"Oh Jim… You really are clueless about love, aren't you? I guess that's why you're single now." Darren said. "For people like me, the crazy ones, it takes quite a lot to break any emotional connections we have. You could break our hearts or leave our lives for years and we'd still feel some connection. Trust me. I know that well. You aren't Barbara's current lover or even her friend but I can guarantee that she'd feel pretty awful if something bad were to happen to you and she was at least somewhat responsible for it. Which is why I'm here today."
"Are you seriously going to kill me to get at Barbara of all people?" Jim asked with an incredulous look. "Why not go after the people she currently cares about?"
"I promised her least to greatest when I told her I was going to kill the people she cared about. I'll get to her girlfriend eventually. But you misunderstand. I'm not killing you yet. Not completely. This is just a warning shot for her. To prove I'm serious. Now this is probably going to hurt. So brace yourself."
Jim made a run for it. He could hear the psychopath laughing behind him. He darted through alleys and ran until he was out of breath. He looked behind him and saw the crazed magician wasn't following him. He stopped to catch his breath.
"Got that out of your system?" Darren asked, appearing right next to him.
Jim got out his gun and pointed it at him. Darren just grinned at him with amusement in his eyes.
"Nice flowers Jim. Are they for me?" Darren asked with a mocking voice. "You shouldn't have."
Jim looked down in horror at his hand which was now holding a bouquet of flowers instead of his gun.
"I'm going to hang onto this for now." Darren said, holding up his gun. "I'll give it back to you later if you survive today. You gonna keep on running? Because it won't do you any good. But it is kinda entertaining."
Jim dropped the flowers and stared at the psychopath with a worried look. He wasn't getting away, was he?
"Now, you do have some options on how this will go. You gave Jerome the end he wanted so I think you do deserve options." Darren said. "We have the classic knife trick. Always a fan favorite. We also have a new trick I was hoping to test out. I think Firefly would be envious if she saw my new trick. Because it does involve fire. Like I said, I don't want to kill you just yet so neither trick will kill you. But both will maim you in different ways. Which do you prefer? Burns or cuts? Or I could teleport an object into you and cause a surgeon to have to fish it out. Maybe a pigeon! That would be entertaining for the surgeon."
"I'm not going to choose how you torture me." Jim said with an irritated but still very worried look.
"If you make me choose I might not choose something pleasant, Jimbo. Keep that in mind." Darren said with a chiding voice.
Gordon hoped this encounter wouldn't end with serious permanent injuries.
Barbara PoV
When she heard that Jim was in the hospital after being attacked by the Magician, she rushed to the hospital to find out more. She knew she shouldn't care about Jim anymore. He didn't deserve it. But she couldn't help it. She found out from one of the doctors that Jim was in stable condition. He was going to live and wouldn't have any permanent injuries.
"Why didn't the Magician kill him like he said he was going to?" Tabby wondered as she walked up behind Barbara. "He clearly has the power to do so."
"This was a warning." Barbara said, staring at Jim's unconscious form through the window to Jim's hospital room. "If I don't give this back, he really will kill you, won't he? And I won't be able to do anything to stop him." she frowned in frustration and fear. When she was young, she always felt so powerless. So stifled by her parents. They shoved her into the role of a refined, shallow socialite. They never let her be herself. When she killed them, she finally felt like she took some of that power back. And then she met Tabby and she taught Barbara how to be herself finally. But it was only when she gained the power of the Demon's Head that she thought she finally had the power she wanted. No one could stand in her way with this power! Or so she thought. But now, even with this power, she felt powerless again. if she kept it, she'd lose Tabby. That was very clear now. Ra's would not allow her to be happy unless he got what he wanted.
Back at the club, Barbara waited for Ra's. She knew he was coming. She sat at the bar and poured herself a drink. Her lady ninjas entered the room, dragging along both Selina and the Bruce Wayne kid.
"What are you doing here?" Barbara asked, a bit more subdued than normal.
"I came to help. Ra's will come after you. If we can get that knife back from the Magician I can stop Ra's." Bruce said.
"Forget it. It's over. He's made it quite clear what happens if I fight this. I don't want to roll over and let him win. Trust me on that." Barbara said viciously. But then she looked down with defeat on her face. "But I can't lose Tabby."
Tabby looked at her with a look that said she really appreciated that Barbara actually cared.
"You're finally realizing the severity of your situation I see." a deep voice said from the shadows. Ra's entered the room, several ninjas entering behind him.
The Magician appeared behind the bar and poured himself a drink while smirking at Barbara. "It's good to see that you take me seriously, Barb."
Barbara stared at the rotting walking corpse that was Ra's Al Ghul and sneered. "I hate you so much."
The ninjas, both those still loyal to Ra's and the female group now loyal to Barbara stood off to the side. They knew this wasn't their fight.
"That is acceptable. I will be honest with you. I lied about the woman in the painting. She was someone I cared about. I cared for her a great deal." Ra's said. "I am not happy you hate me but perhaps it is for the best."
"I never know if what you tell me is a lie or the truth." Barbara said with a frown. "I can't live like that. No matter what you say. But I can't let you kill Tabby."
"So you have reconsidered? My loyal little Magician does know how to persuade people, does he not?" Ra's said with an amused tone.
The Magician sneered when he was talked about like he was one of Ra's little tools. But he didn't say anything.
"You have me backed into a corner. Whatever I do, I can't stop your pet psycho from taking Tabby from me. I hate you so much. Take it. Take it! And then go away!" she snarled the last words.
"Give me your hand." Ra's said, now standing right in front of her. She sneered at him as she raised her hand and placed it on his. He took his power back in a lightshow that was nearly blinding. Then when it stopped and he stepped away, Barbara felt the loss. She hadn't truly realized how much power she had until it was suddenly gone. She stood there devastated.
Ra's regenerated before their eyes, quickly looking young and alive again.
Bruce Wayne walked away from the wall where the ninjas were making him stand. "Give me the knife, Ra's. Let me kill you."
Ra's stared at the boy. "Today is not the day that I die." He took out the knife and broke it in half. Then the lights went out. When the lights went back on, both Ra's, the Magician, and the ninjas were gone.
Darren PoV
The League of Shadows and Darren returned to one of Ra's properties in Gotham. Darren was pissed off. Ra's clearly didn't view him as anything more than a tool and he finally had enough. He was so done with all of this. He was leaving! What was that fossil going to do, curse him more?
"You intend to leave." Ra's said. It wasn't a question. He knew. No one could hide anything from the old bastard.
"Yeah. I am no one's tool. There are a million other things I could be doing right now that are better than being someone's attack dog." Darren said with a sneer. "Try and stop me. I won't mind. I honestly wonder how many of these ninjas it would take to stop me and I would love to find out. Otherwise, I'm going back to mourning my friend, if you don't mind. I don't really care if you do." Darren walked out the door. He was a little relieved when no one followed him or tried to stop him. His magic took energy and he'd rather spend that on mourning Jerome in one of the only ways Jerome would've appreciated. By partying as long as he and his friends could. By tearing up the city.
"Darren, where have you been?" Jongleur asked, looking almost frantic. "There's something I need to tell you!"
"What? What's got you so wired up?" Darren asked as he got comfortable on the couch back at his hideout.
"I'm throwing a memorial for Jerome." Jongleur said, holding up a flier.
"That's all? Why has that got you all excited?" Darren asked, a little confused.
"I didn't plan it. The memorial. I was told to throw it… by someone else." Jongleur said with a grin.
"Who?" Darren asked.
"Jeremiah." Jongleur grinned madly.
Darren's eyes widened. Then he grinned as well. "That sounds promising. I wonder what that little schemer is up to. How much do you know?"
"Not much. He told me to get a whole big group of Jerome fans to Jerome's grave for a memorial. Then I was supposed to wait until we got more instructions. I didn't hear much more. But I did hear that bombs will be involved."
"Miah really has fallen. Just like we hoped. Jerome would be so happy." Darren said smiling. "Do what you were told. But don't attend yourself in case he plans on killing the people that attend. Send low level Jerome fans. None of our own group."
"I'll have to attend the memorial. I threw it." Jongleur said.
"Ok. Well, if you end up going anywhere else, like he tells you to move the party elsewhere, find some excuse not to go along with the rest of the group. Everyone is expendable to Miah. Don't put yourself in a situation you can't get out of. You aren't expendable to me."
"I know that, boss." Jongleur said, smiling at Darren. "Thanks. I'll try to keep you updated."
"I think I'm going to find a closer seat to the show so I can really enjoy it." Darren said grinning in anticipation.
Miah PoV
Jeremiah was busy going through his plans. He needed to be extra sure that nothing would go wrong. Nothing would, but it never hurt to be careful. He frantically flicked his eyes between his notes and diagrams, the outside world melting away into nothingness as he ignored everything else but his plans.
"Wow, it's been awhile since I've seen you when you scheme. You really just tune out the world, don't you?" a very familiar voice violently broke him out of his thoughts. Miah looked over at the source of the voice and then rolled his eyes.
"Yes, and you always used to love startling me out of it like that. I really don't miss that." Miah said with an irritated sigh.
"Yeah, you do." Darren said, smiling at him smugly as he sat on one of Jeremiah's desks. Miah didn't want to admit that Darren was right. "I love the new look. Scarecrow said that might be a side effect. But it suits you somehow."
"Why are you here? Should I even bother asking how you got in?" Miah asked, a little irritated that the magical bastard just walked in like Miah didn't have any security systems at all.
"I just had to see what the gas would do to you. If it would help you." Darren said.
"It didn't do anything. The gas failed other than bleaching my face. Jerome failed." Miah said with disdain. He could be so much more than Jerome. So much more successful! He would prove it to them. To everyone. To Bruce. To Darren.
"You really don't get it, do you?" Darren asked him. "Jerome didn't do this to hurt you. It's not a punishment for what you did to him. It's a gift. His parting gift. He was dying, Miah. And all he wanted to do with what time he had left was help you. He wanted to show the world, and you, the real Miah. The better Miah. He knew that you would surpass him. And he was fine with that. He wants that. This gas was to help break the real you free. And I can see that it worked. Jerome would be so glad." Darren thought of something else right after and continued. "But one little thing first. Don't get my juggler killed, will you? I'm kinda attached to my lackeys. They aren't expendable. It's hard to find good acts."
"Jongleur is yours?" Miah asked.
"Yeah. He is. He's a Jerome fan as well so I don't blame you for not knowing. He'll throw that memorial that you planned. Don't worry."
"You aren't going to try and stop me?" Miah asked.
"Of course not. I'm looking forward to it. It should be quite the show. And after, if you want, I wouldn't be against revisiting the idea of us being friends. Don't pay attention to what I said when you called me at the Asylum. I was still mourning Jerome's first death. I was angry. I've missed you. I'm not going to lie about that."
Miah looked at him in surprise. Was he hearing what he thought he was hearing? "Even after what I did to Jerome? I'm not going to apologize for that by the way. I'm not sorry for it."
"I know you aren't sorry for it. You've never been sorry about anything. Ever. I saw that when we were kids and I was still your friend despite it all. And these days I've found it harder and harder to bring up that feeling of empathy myself. I really have to try at this point. And often, it's not worth the effort."
Miah was so surprised by everything he just heard. Jerome hadn't hated him? He knew that he left Jerome in hell back at the circus. How could Jerome not hate him for that? And Darren didn't either. Darren actually still wanted to be friends? Miah had to admit that he never stopped considering Darren his best friend even when Bruce Wayne decided to fund his work. Bruce was important to him too. But Darren had always understood him. Not the version of him everyone else got to see. He understood the real Miah. "I admit I was rather hurt when you said you wanted nothing to do with me that time. I always enjoyed having you around. I never had to pretend around you. Back when fitting in mattered to me. It was so relaxing to take off that mask around you, Dare. I never knew how much I relied on that until I left the circus. I couldn't be myself around anyone."
"Pretending to care can be so exhausting, can't it?" Darren said with a knowing look. "Why did you insist on it for this long? You have everything that you wanted. Why did you continue to pretend so much? There's no one down here but you and your assistant. No one to care about how you act."
"It was just what I was used to for so long I guess. Trying to fit in. St Ignatious was a fancy boarding school. They looked down on differences. I didn't dare open up to anyone there. I couldn't risk losing what I worked so hard for."
"That's what Jerome thought you'd do. You pushed everything down for so long that you couldn't even remember what you were pushing down. You actually thought you were sane. This is all Jerome wanted. For you to realize what you pushed down. Because realizing that and acting on it is the least you can do to make up for what you did to him. From whatever afterlife he's at right now, he's holding popcorn and waiting for the show to start. Don't let him down."
"I'm not crazy." Miah snarled in Darren's face.
"Right." Darren snarked just smirking at Miah. "You aren't fooling anyone but yourself at this point. You need to realize that or you won't succeed in this line of work. You need to stop being in denial. Look at you. You are trying so hard at this point that you barely show emotions at all. You know how emotionless your voice sounds? You are trying so hard to convince yourself that you're sane that you can't see how much it makes you look insane. You are alone in this bunker. No one but I can see you. Stop pretending to be sane. Let go. Be yourself. Insanity isn't a curse. It's a gift."
Miah didn't want to admit that Darren was right. But deep down he knew. He was just as mentally disturbed as the rest of his family. And now it was nearly impossible to hide it. The gas had done something to him no matter how much he wanted to say it didn't. It ripped off his mask. The pale skin and crimson lips that his face now sported actually seemed fitting in a way because it was like his face finally reflected the madness within. He didn't want to admit that. To admit that all his fighting his inner darkness was pointless in the end. But what was the point of lying to Dare? Or to himself for that matter? "It's hard to stop pretending, Dare. I've done it all my life. Even now with the gas ripping all that pretense away I still feel compelled to lie. Even to myself."
"I never said it would be easy. Change never is. But I can help you with that if you want. What do you have planned? I'd love to help with that as well." Darren asked with an eager look.
"What does that even matter now? What you told me changes things. Jerome didn't do this to me to hurt me. I have no reason to defile the memory of him. And you wouldn't want me to. I will have to rethink parts of my plan now." Jeremiah said with an annoyed look. He looked down at his notes and diagrams in frustration.
"What were you going to do?" Darren asked.
"I was going to have Jerome's followers dig up his corpse. Then I was going to make it seem like he had one last chaotic plan for everyone until I revealed that it was me all along and that I succeeded in something he failed at. I wanted his followers to see that he was ultimately a failure. But you will likely not let me do that, will you? You cared about him too much."
"No. I probably won't let you do something like that. But you can still do most of that. It will be entertaining for everyone to believe it's Jerome with one last parting gift for the city only to show them how much worse you are going to be. I'm not sure about the whole digging him up thing but I think we can still do that. He wanted to be cremated anyway. We'll give him a full on Viking style funeral after we're finished with this. We are going to honor him by giving you an epic introduction. This will be fun." Darren grinned.