Chapter Thirteen: Coulrophobia

Coulrophobia: an abnormal or exaggerated fear of clowns

Jon didn't know where they were exactly. Judging from the buildings, he was finding himself back in the Narrows at an abandoned warehouse. How very typical. When the door to the van opened, he told Lynnlee to wrap one of the straps around her arm again because he needed to carry Amy, who was still unconscious, and he didn't want any of them to be separated in the warehouse. He felt her pressed against his back as they made their way into the building.

Joker flipped a switch and the lights slowly flickered on. "Beds towards the back, Doc."

Jon moved quickly past Joker, not wanting to deal with him or any of his cronies at the moment. All he wanted was to check Amy and make sure nothing was broken or severely damaged. Hopefully he would be able to wake her up.

"Oh, and Doc?"

Jon stopped and slowly turned. "What?"

"Your sister tries something like that again, it'll be the other end of the gun she'll deal with." He flipped open a switchblade, the flickering florescent lights causing the blade to glitter. "If she's lucky. Capisce?"

Jon didn't say anything but he felt Lynnlee shiver against him. Keeping his silence, since it was the only thing he could possibly keep, he made his way purposefully towards the back of the building. There were various choices of bedding: cots, hammocks and mattresses. He would have to come up with a better plan but for now, he picked one of the larger, cleaner looking mattresses and laid Amy down on it. There was a large purple bruise already blossoming on her cheek. She would have a black eye by tomorrow that set his blood boiling. Gently, he applied pressure to her cheekbones, making sure nothing was broken in her face. Amy's hand came up and grabbed his wrist almost immediately.

"That hurts."

Breathing a sigh of relief, he rocked back on his heels. "You should see it."

She groaned slightly and threw an arm over her forehead. She hadn't even opened her eyes yet. "Do you know where we are?"

"Not exactly. I know we're in the Narrows."

"Where's Lynnlee?"

"Right here," Lynnlee answered.

"How do you feel?"

Amy snorted and winced. "I have a headache."

Jon bit back a surge of annoyance. "I know that. Anything else?"

"No," she sighed tiredly. "I'll be alright."

He took her word on it and focused on Lynnlee. She was standing on the other side of the mattress, rubbing her bare arms and looking terribly out of place in her Dorothy get up. Some of her reddish-brown hair had come loose from her braids and she looked so horribly lost. He shrugged out of his straitjacket and laid it over Amy before taking off his suit jacket and wrapped it around Lynnlee. It wasn't much but it would have to do for now.

You need me, Jonny.

Jon sank down onto the foot of the mattress and suppressed a groan. Not now, not now-

Especially now, Jon. How are you going to protect two women and yourself from this madman? You really think you can handle this yourself? Amy is out of her element and the other one, well, look at her, she's a mess. You know this world. You survived among the likes of Falcone and just think where he is right now thanks to us. Sitting in some padded cell in what's left of Arkham using our name as his daily mantra.

You're name, Jon emphasized, not mine.

Our name, Jon. We are irrevocably tied together. Now, let me help you.

Jon sat there for a few moments and didn't say anything, out loud or in his mind. Scarecrow was still ever present, like he was leaning on the mental bars that Jon was using to keep him in check. He did make a valid point…how was he suppose to protect both Amy and Lynnlee? Amy was enough of a fighter that she would be able to defend herself better than Lynnlee could but that would mean he would be putting his sister second.

Better come up with a solution fast.

Jon looked up to see Joker making his way through the various sleeping arrangements with a purpose. Glancing behind him, he saw Lynnlee had crawled behind him and put herself protectively next to Amy. Maybe she would be able to defend herself and he was worrying needlessly.

"Evening, Doc." He made a sound like his teeth were hurting him before continuing. "Settling in, I see."

Come on, Jonny. Stand up for yourself or at least let me do it.

"See, this is what I need from you," Joker was saying, "I want some of that, uh, stuff you gassed the city with. You know, just to play around with."

"You don't 'play around' with it." Jon was surprised to find himself standing up, he didn't remember doing that. The almost growl that had issued from his throat took him by surprise as well. Scarecrow was still on the fringes of his mind but he could feel the approval from the alter ego. "What exactly do you want it for?"

Joker made that clicking sound again with his mouth before shrugging. "The same reason you made it."

"Because someone paid me."

"No," he shook his head, "no, that's not why you made it. I'm going to go out on a limb here and say that you were less than respected by your peers. You needed the, uh, leverage on them. So you concocted this little cocktail of yours to plant some respect in these nothings that failed to see you for who you are. Am I right?" He paused but Jon kept his mouth shut so Joker continued. "And that's what I want it for. So these…imbeciles that call themselves gangsters will stop and listen. I need to put some, uh, fear into them."

"I make this for you and then what?"

He held up his hands, palms out towards Jon. "You're free to go. I don't mind you running around Gotham, gassing whoever you please. You'll probably get the Batman off my back for a little, hm?"

"I want both of them," Jon motioned behind him to Lynnlee and Amy, "out of here. They have nothing to do with our business."

He seemed to think about it for a moment but then pursed his scared mouth. "No, sorry. See, I need assurances that you're going to come through for me. But, just to show you that I am willing to compromise, here's what I'll do for you. You pick which one you want me to take when I go out on my, uh, errands."

"No, they both stay with me."

Joker sighed loudly but then moved so fast Jon didn't have time to move. He felt the cold steel of a blade pressed against his cheek and he was staring into the cold, dark eyes of the psychopath. He hated to admit it but he was in over his head on this one. He knew crazy when he saw it and there would be no rationalizing with this man. Joker only did things that made sense to him which meant Jon wouldn't be able to talk him down from anything. Nothing aside from a heavy dose of medication was going to make this man even remotely logically.

"How about this," Joker was saying, "I cut up your pretty face so you won't need that mask. It really is amazing the work I can do with a blade." He giggled. "I can even give you scars that'll look like stitches, hm?"

Jon closed his eyes in an effort to get a reign over the anger that was surging through him. He was so certain he would be able to put this kind of life behind him. He was so tired of being pushed around and threatened. First al Ghul and now this guy. But he had to do something to try to get Lynnlee and Amy out of there. They were less equipped for this type of living than he was.

Well, Jonny boy?

Jon sighed, blowing most of the air out of his body. You give me control back when I ask for it, understand?

Of course.

Jon opened his eyes and felt the chaotic energy take over his mind and muscles. Scarecrow was elated with being released after a long confinement and was chomping at the bit to act out. He was buzzing with the rush of freedom that the steel blade didn't even register in his mind though it was still making Jon nervous. Then he realized something, Jon was still very present, as though he was standing next to Scarecrow. No longer were they switching places, one dominant, one submissive. They were equals, bonded and working together.

Joker's eyes lost their coldness and glittered with excitement. "And there… you… are."

"Here's the deal," Jon said, a familiar edge to his voice, "you set us up with better living conditions than this, complete with a lab to make the toxin and I'll talk to them about coming with you on your errands." Jon allowed his mouth to twist into a smirk. "Capisce?"

Amy sat in the back of the van once again as it made its way through the less than savory places in Gotham. They had been pent up in that warehouse for the last six days and finally she was able to step foot outside and breathe fresh air. Of course, she had almost choked on the rancid smell of being so close to the river but it was still better than the stale air she had been breathing in the building.

Jon demands had been surprisingly met. There was an upper floor to the warehouse that could only be accessed by a spiral staircase in one of the back corners. It was a fairly large space and the lab had already been set up for Jon. They had lugged one of the mattresses and an old blanket up the stairs and Amy, not wanting to take another mattress up the stairs, settled for another blanket that she used as a hammock. She had kept assuring Jon that she could take of herself and pushed him to look after Lynnlee. Thankfully, that's what he spent his free time doing.

Joker was sitting across from Amy in the back of van while one of the henchmen in a clown mask was driving. She felt him staring at her but she refused to give him the satisfaction of acknowledging his presence. They had just finished making the last supply run for Jon. She knew a little about psychopharmacology, mostly from him studying it in college but there were still elements that left her confused. He seemed to know what he was doing though and had assured her everything was going to work out just fine. But he had a strange gleam in his eye when he had said it and she was starting to wonder if "Scarecrow" had made his appearance.

The only thing that kept hope alive in her was seeing him with Lynnlee. He wouldn't let her out of his sight and she was never more than an arm's reach away from him. Even though he had turned completely into strictly business mode, he still treated Lynnlee with the gentleness that Amy had come to expect. Maybe she wasn't the one to rescue her brother from himself, maybe it was Lynnlee. The thought brought the sting of tears to her eyes.

"Hey, Harley."

Amy tensed her jaw. "What, Jack?" She had started calling him calling him Jack because he reminded her more of a Jack-in-the-box than a Joker. Joker made him sound like he had a sense of humor, was fun and wily. Jack-in-the-box made him sound more sinister, and random, like the threat he really was. She figured if he wouldn't call her by her proper name, why should she return the favor?

"You want to know how I got these scars?"

"Not particularly."

"Aw…you're hurting my feelings."

Amy swung her head and finally looked at him, his scarred mouth twisted into a smug grin. "You know what I think? I think that no matter what story you decide to tell me will be a lie. Your mind is so twisted around itself, it's choked out the truth. You couldn't recall what really happened if you had to. So no, I don't want to know how you got those scars because ultimately, you don't know how you got them and I'm tired of listening to lies."

He glared at her for a minute before breaking out into a laugh. "I like you."

Amy swallowed the bile that had risen up into her throat. "I'm thrilled."

"You know what it is?" He twirled one of his many knives around his fingers, the metal flashing and glittering under the dim streetlights they were passing under. "You get me. You're the first one to actually get me."

Amy leaned her head back against the side of the van and closed her eyes wearily. What was so frightening was, he was right. She did understand him on some level. She understood his random need for power. She could predict when he was getting restless and when he was content with watching the news and listening to all the precautions the police had set up in response to his latest scheme. She couldn't help but feel like she was drowning, always one breath away from death.

She reached into one of the boxes that they had just picked up from some Russian dealer and pulled out one of the wooden dolls that was in it. She recognized it as the traditional nesting doll, the kind that held eight to ten other little carved dolls. She opened the large one and found three more before the final one contained a small plastic bag with a fine white powder in it. Jon had told her this was the hallucinogen that caused people to literally face their fears.

Looking up, Joker was watching her like she was prey and nothing more. She idly wondered what his fear was. What would happen if he was sprayed with her brother's fear toxin? She felt herself slip further under that dark water that had closed over her head and the desire to gas the man in front of her just out of sheer curiosity overtook her. Not only was she starting to understand him now, she was beginning to understand the draw her brother had to the power granted him by this toxin. Everything was starting to make warped sense and Amy was starting to not care about the distorted reality.