Chapter 2: Useful Little Doll
Disclaimer: See chapter one.
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For the next week, the two met at the same time every night on the roof.
Nadia always had a plate full of food and a glass of cider for him when he got there.
He always thanked her and ate everything on the plate.
They talked about almost everything under the sun, even why he did what he did.
"Like you," he told her one night. "I have chosen the taunt most thrown at me and made it my name. People used to always call me 'Scarecrow' or 'Ichabod'."
She patted his hand. "A bunch of fools. They probably regret what they did now. And they should. You're perfect just the way you are and shouldn't have to change to fit society's views."
He laughed, truly laughed for the first time in a long time. "You are a treasure." He meant that, even though he had been thinking about how useful she might be as an unknowing henchman and how wonderful it would be to get his hands on her toxin. He grinned darkly. "We could make those who teased you regret ever saying anything bad to you."
She shook her head. "No. They'll get theirs soon, I can feel it. And I'd rather stay out of the public eye for a little while."
He just shrugged and turned the subject to other things.
The nightly talks were the highlight of Nadia's days and she looked forward to them so much that it didn't bother her to be treated coldly at work or be hit by her father.
Jonathan always asked about the bruises he saw or guessed were there when she moved stiffly or not as nimbly as she had that first night.
Nadia just waved them away. She had gotten good at coming up with excuses and always had one that sounded perfectly natural for why there was a bruise in that spot or another.
Jonathan had a hunch she was lying, but didn't say anything. He had been a psychiatrist after all.
One night, Nadia was in such a hurry to get up on the roof to talk with Jonathan that she missed cleaning a fork and didn't rinse out the sink.
Her father had come home a bit more drunk than usual and had hit Nadia around a bit more than usual, going so far as to throw a glass at her.
It had shattered and he'd thrown Nadia down onto the shards.
Her arms had been cut the worst and she'd bandaged them once he'd stomped off to bed.
She quickly did the dishes, missing that fork and just leaving the water to drain instead of waiting and rinsing the sink out like she always did. She locked herself in her room, changed into her outfit, and climbed to the roof with Randy attached at her waist and the plate and glass in hand.
He took them from her with a smile. "Thank you."
"You're welcome."
They sat down next to each other.
Nadia rested one arm on her bent knee and gazed up at the sky.
He noticed red stains on her arm warmer. "What happened to your arm?"
She glanced at it. "Nothing. I just fell and scraped it today after work. Some kid tripped me, and I fell on the cement. My hands were full, so I couldn't use them to catch myself."
He gave her a slight glare. "Don't lie to me, Nadia. What happened? Who causes you to have so many bruises and is responsible for the cuts on your arm?"
She showed him her other arm, which had red stains as well. "It's both arms. My mom died when I was ten and my dad took it pretty hard. He started to drink and became violent."
He set his plate aside and gently rolled up one arm warmer to expose her gauze wrapped arm. "Your father did this." He unwrapped her arm and looked at it.
"I got all the glass out and put on disinfectant ointment. They haven't stopped bleeding yet, but they will." She wrapped her arm back up and pulled her arm warmer down when he finally let her arm go. "It's nothing I can't handle. Let's talk about something else, okay?"
He wisely changed the subject.
The two of them were discussing Nadia's possible major when her birth name rang out.
Nadia jumped to her feet and turned to face her father.
Her face paled to ghostly white under her mask.
He crossed over to her and back handed her. "You little bitch! So this is where you meet your men, you little whore. I'm going to fix you." He reached down to grab her arm.
Jonathan's blood began to boil.
He'd been abused as a child by his great-grandmother and knew what it was like to live with a tyrant. He knew Nadia didn't deserve this kind of treatment. He quickly donned his mask and pulled Nadia's father away from her. He didn't want to take the chance of Nadia being affected by his fear toxin.
Her father stared at him in horror before Jonathan sprayed him with his fear toxin. The drunk began to scream and walked backwards; fighting off something only he could see.
The backs of his legs hit the edge of the roof and he fell backwards.
Nadia jumped to her feet and went to grab him.
Jonathan knew she'd never make it and grabbed her before she could see the gruesome sight of her father's brains spread all over the sidewalk. He held her close as she started to shake with silent sobs. "Shhh… It's all right, Nadia. Go pack what you need. You're going to come live with me. Is that all right?"
She pulled back some and nodded. "Yeah." She wiped away a few tears. "W...would you come with me?"
He pulled her back closer and stroked the faded yarn hair. "Absolutely."
She led him down the fire escape and to her room.
He helped her pack everything she needed in one suitcase and her satchel.
She packed what little clothes she had, her sewing kit and bag of rags, her few books which included her recipe book that held her cider recipe, her few pieces of jewelry, her mother's jewelry box which she'd hidden in her closet under a loose floorboard, a couple quilts and her pillow, and her laptop and MP3 player.
They made it look like she'd run away and Jonathan led her to the abandoned apartment he was staying in.
He showed her to the second room, the little girl's room.
She thanked him and entered.
A smile spread across her face when she saw the doll tucked into bed.
She pulled it from under the covers. "The outfit is all wrong. I can fix that." She pulled out her sewing kit and bag of rags.
Jonathan knocked on the door an hour later and stuck his head in.
Nadia was busy changing the doll's face to match her mask.
Jonathan walked over to her. "What are you doing?"
"She looked all wrong. She has to look just right if she's going to be Randy's little Ragdoll, for what's a Scarecrow without his Ragdoll or a Ragdoll without her Scarecrow?" She hummed as she tied off the thread.
"You're going to help me?"
Nadia's green eyes met his blue ones.
"Of course. You saved me from him and you took me in. Not many people in the Narrows would do something like that. And I've been thinking about some things."
He sat down next to her. "About what?"
She dressed the doll in an outfit similar to hers. "Well, they say that flying rodent is a hero. Now I'm not saying that he doesn't do some good things like save people from fires or drowning or what have you, but if he were a true hero, he'd sit down and take the time to find out what makes people like you and the Joker and all the others be the way you are. But he doesn't. And then I had the thought of what if I helped you? My toxin could help you, especially if you need to escape from the rodent. And I'm pretty good in science. I'm almost positive I can make little dolls like Randy and have some of them be carriers of my toxin and others be bombs of some sort. I just need the materials. There is a noble sort of mission in what you do. If you look at it right, you can see that you're just trying to help others overcome their fears."
He watched her. "You're certain you want to throw your lot in with me?"
"Yes. Just, if I help you steal something or fight Batman, don't call me Nadia. My name is Ragdoll. And during those times or if you get henchmen, you will be Scarecrow. That way, if you get captured and I don't, no one knows who I really am and they can't stop me from freeing you." She grinned as she placed the newly improved ragdoll next to Randy.
He stood up. "That's a very good idea. Let me know what materials you need and I'll get them for you. I think I'll make you some fear toxin for you to use. I'll make a belt and system like mine that'll fit under your costume."
She looked up at him. "I can make one that's a little looser. It won't take long. The people who lived here won't be coming back, will they?"
He shrugged. "If they haven't back by now, then no. I'll need to improve on your mask so you don't inhale any of the toxin yourself."
"I'll leave it here while I'm at work and I'll swing by a store to get some food and some of the supplies I need for the dolls. Do you think it'd be all right for me to make the clothes they left behind into rags and use them?"
He smiled at her. "More than all right. You get some sleep now, Ragdoll. I'll leave your mask by the door so you can put it on when you get home. I wouldn't want you uncomfortable."
"Thank you." she called after him as he left the room, shutting the door behind him.
They both got ready for bed and fell asleep quickly.
Nadia did just as she said she would then next day. She came home with bags of groceries and cloth and bits to make the dolls, not to mention her own toxin (a small batch) and a couple bombs to put in the dolls. She put the food away after she put on her mask, which Jonathan had outfitted like his with the breathing mask that changed her voice just slightly enough that if you didn't know her extremely well, you'd never know in a million years that it was Nadia.
For the next two months, the two worked on their projects. Nadia made herself a couple more Ragdoll outfits that were looser; Jonathan made fear toxin and made a belt and dispensers for Nadia's wrists. Nadia took care of the house work and made her toxin and small bombs which she placed in the dolls she made.
Jonathan picked one up one day and looked at it.
As far as he could tell, it looked exactly the same as the others.
"How will you tell them apart?" he questioned Nadia as she sat on the couch one night, making more dolls.
She looked up from the one she was stitching together. "Their faces are slightly different, the positioning of the eyebrows. Toxin dolls are regular happy ones and bomb dolls have the eyebrows down over the eyes to give them a sinister look. And their hats have different textures that I can feel through my gloves so I don't have to waste time looking at their faces when I go to grab one from my bag."
He looked at the one he held.
It had a sinister look.
"What'll happen if I drop one?"
"Nothing. The bombs are remote detonated by a small remote I have and the toxin is released by another button on the remote. They're only activated if you squeeze their middles, and once activated, they can't be inactivated unless you know the proper sequence of buttons to push on the remote." She bit the piece of thread she'd just tied off.
Jonathan turned to her. "You are an utter genius my dear. We'll have to celebrate, not to mention put all this through a test run. How do you feel about diamonds and other precious gems?"
She smiled up at him. "I've always wanted a pair of ruby earrings or a sapphire and emerald bracelet. Why? What jewelry store are we going to hit?"
He chuckled. "We're not going to 'hit' any jewelry store. I know for a fact that a certain crime boss in Gotham smuggles in diamonds and other precious stones twice a month. Tonight is this month's first shipment and they always have many of each. Why don't we go see if he'll be nice and share?"
She giggled in delight. "I'd love to. I just need to go change and put on my fear toxin."
He grabbed her hand as she passed and kissed the back of her glove. "Remember how I showed you to use it. It's not that difficult."
"I will." She entered her room and shut the door.
He put on his mask and checked the levels of toxin in his canisters.
They were full.
He waited patiently for Nadia to join him and held the ratty messenger bag she was placing her dolls in when she asked him to.
They strolled through the back alleys of the Narrows until they got to the docks.
Jonathan led her to a warehouse where men were unloading crates of vases. He held a finger to his lips.
She made a motion like she was zipping her mouth shut.
He grinned behind his mask and stepped forward.
The men stopped working.
"What are you doing here?" one asked.
"We've come to pick up our order." Jonathan told him before gassing him.
The man began to scream.
Nadia tossed one of her toxin dolls among the men and hit the button.
They were instantly paralyzed and could only watch the two in masks.
The one Jonathan had gassed got a whiff of Nadia's toxin as well and froze.
Jonathan and Nadia watched in curious fascination as he ended up choking and blood burst from his nose and ears before his eyes went glassy in death.
Nadia looked at Jonathan. "Apparently it's a bad idea to mix the two toxins."
Jonathan drew her arm through his. "Perhaps Ragdoll, it's just the order in which they were administered. Let us try an experiment." He gassed another man as they passed him on their way to a crate.
His eyes rolled back in his head and he fell to the ground, twitching very softly.
The two masked people shared a look before Jonathan opened a crate and took out a vase.
He dropped it and watched it shatter to reveal a bag of uncut, unpolished rubies. "The rubies you wanted my dear."
Nadia batted her eyes at him and pretended to fan herself with her hand. "Oh Scarecrow, you really know the way to a woman's heart."
Jonathan laughed and set about finding more precious stones.
Nadia gathered up the bags and placed them in with her dolls.
Before they left, Jonathan turned to her.
"Why don't you test out the fear toxin, Ragdoll? I want to make sure it works."
"Okay, Scarecrow." She walked over to the nearest guy and gassed him.
He too fell to the ground.
Nadia grinned and skipped over to where Jonathan waited.
He patted her head. "I'm proud of you, Ragdoll. You did just perfect."
She smiled at him, beaming at the praise from behind her mask. "Thank you, Scarecrow."
He drew her arm through his once more and they set off towards home.
For a month and a half, they hit random smuggling rings, sometimes stealing from drug lords who had the chemicals they needed to make their toxins.
A cry for revenge rose up among those they stole from and rewards were offered for their capture, either dead or alive.
One night, during a daring raid on one smuggler's warehouse where they kept a certain component Jonathan needed for a stronger batch of his toxin, they were ambushed by some thugs.
Two restrained Nadia as the five others set about attacking Jonathan.
Four of them held him still while the fifth hit him.
Nadia stomped on the instep of one of the men restraining her and set about quickly knocking them both out.
The five dealing with Jonathan just let him slump to the ground in pain and rushed at her.
Jonathan could only watch in horror as they surrounded her. He thought that they were going to hurt Nadia.
Nadia smirked behind her mask. She was going to have fun with these fools.
They had hurt her Scarecrow and were going to pay in the most painful way imaginable.
One pulled out a knife and attempted to lunge at her.
Nadia grabbed his arm, loosened his grip on the knife, and took it from him. She stabbed it deep into his side and pulled it out.
Another pulled out a gun.
Nadia kicked his arm before he could fire, and the bullet shattered the light above them.
Jonathan couldn't see anything and felt cold at the thought of something happening to Nadia. He could hear the sounds of a fight and hoped Nadia was winning.
Five minutes later, his eyes had adjusted to the dark and he saw a pair of gold-amber colored eyes floating in front of him.
"Are you all right?" Nadia's voice asked.
"Ragdoll?"
A hand grabbed his and gave a squeeze.
"The one and only. Come on, let's get that chemical and get home." She pulled him to his feet.
He looked down at her from the six inches he had on her. "Your eyes are gold and they're usually green."
She laughed. "A genetic quirk, really. My mom had it too. It allows us to see in the dark as if it were daylight. Quite a fun trait, particularly when you want to scare someone. Let's go before they wake up." She led him to the chemical and put enough containers in her bag to make a large batch.
Jonathan allowed her to lead him from the building. "You're not hurt are you?"
She squeezed his hand again. "Nothing more than a couple bruises. You're all right though, right? Nothing broken or extremely painful?"
He shook his head and pulled her down an alley to make a faster get-away.
She insisted on checking him over once they regained the apartment.
Jonathan protested and argued, but somehow still ended up with mask, suit jacket, and shirt off.
Nadia gently prodded his chest, stomach, and face, silently admiring his slim build and good looks. She put her hands on her hips once she was done with her examination. "Well, you're going to be sore for a little while. We'll have to hold off on things until you heal."
"I'll be fine." He leaned over to grab his shirt and winced in pain.
She rolled her eyes. "Told you so. You go rest and I'll handle everything."
He glared at her. "I'm fine."
She rested a hand on his cheek and met his gaze with a serious one of her own. "Jonathan, don't argue with me, please. You need to be in your top form just in case we run into the Batman. I don't want anything to happen to you."
He felt his resistance crumble. "Fine, but this will put us back."
"Not as much as you think. Go to bed, I'll bring you breakfast in the morning."
He went to his room and grumbled about what he was doing.
Nadia watched him go thoughtfully. She picked up the list she'd taken from his pants pocket and read it.
Only a few things were on the list, and she felt like she could get most of them.
*~*~*~*
Jonathan tossed his book to the side and began to pace. He ran his hands through his hair and muttered obscenities under his breath.
Nadia poked her head around the doorway that led to the kitchen. She bit her lip.
The last three nights, she'd gone out by herself and got most of what was on the list. There was one thing it would take both of them to get, so she hadn't even tried to get it.
She edged into the living room, watching him intensely with wary eyes. "You're mad at me, aren't you?"
He stopped pacing and looked at her. "'Mad at you'? Why would I be mad at you? You're trying to keep us on schedule."
She slowly walked over to stand next to him. "You're mad at me, I know it. I'm sorry for whatever I did."
He stared at her in surprise. "Nadia, I'm not mad at you. I'm mad at myself. If I'd been able to defend myself against those brutes, I wouldn't be waiting for the bruises to subside and we'd already be getting the last thing we need."
She wrapped her arms around his waist and snuggled close to his chest. "It's all right, Jonathan. We all have our weaknesses. I'll just have to go with you everywhere so you don't get hurt."
His anger melted away and he wrapped her in a hug.
"Thank you, Nadia. But you're not going to be able to always be there for me. I don't ever want to see you in Arkham." he told her.
She pulled away slightly. "Then you never will unless I'm springing you from that place. And if I can't always be there to protect you, then I'll just have to teach you how to defend yourself."
He smiled. "So you will. Now, what's for dinner? I'm famished."
She laughed and disappeared back into the kitchen. She returned with a plate of cheesy chicken and rice casserole. "Here you go, boss."
He took it. "Thank you, Nadia." He sat down at the work table they'd set up in the living room. "Have you finally decided what you're going to major in?"
She grinned behind her mask, sure her now decided major would astound him. "Yes. I want to do the major-minor program they have for chemistry and psychology. I'd like to specialize in how chemicals affect the brain and the chemical balances within the brain itself. That way we have both ends of the spectrum covered."
He looked up at her in surprise.
She giggled. "You know how the mind works. I want to be able to know what chemicals will do what to which parts of the brain so that we can make our toxins much more effective."
"That's a very good plan. You'll have to take some neurology classes." He took a drink of the cider she'd gotten him.
Nadia shrugged. "No problem. It's all in the name of helping you."
He shook his head. "Helping us. We're a team now, Nadia. As you once said, what is a Scarecrow without his Ragdoll or a Ragdoll without her Scarecrow? We work very well together for all our differences."
She beamed at the hidden praise.
He chuckled. "You're such a useful little doll, Nadia, that I'd hate to lose you."
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