At Crane's door Goon #1 decided to use Kay's head a knocker. After a few slams he realized that the door was open and that Kay was very nearly unconscious, and so hastily stopped. The boss wouldn't like it if she were unconscious.
He opened the door and shoved Kay inside. Tripping over her own feet, she fell and slid to slam against the bottom step of the staircase. Groaning, Kay pulled herself into a sitting position. Looking up through swollen eyes she saw Crane walking calmly down the stairs. Or at least that's what she thought before she saw his eyes.
His calmness was only a façade. In those blue eyes a tempest brewed. The blue had become stronger and deeper, like it had been heated up. The heat of his gaze hit her like icicles. She had never seen someone this angry in her whole life. Even her mother hadn't been this angry. It frightened her, but not enough to keep her from being pissed that she had now been re-rekidnapped.
Her response to his icy hot anger? "'Sup asshole. Nice to see you again."
Crane stopped. This girl was suicidal or actually had no common sense. Even as she lay half conscious beneath his wrath she insisted on being rude. How… fascinating. That was not typical behavior.
It meant that something traumatic had happened to her. Crane was excellent at exploiting weaknesses born from trauma. Both Crane and Scarecrow were delighted. But something also had Scarecrow fuming.
Let me out Crane. I'll teach her how to be cheeky. That little bitch.
Crane shook his head immediately. No. I want her untouched for my experiments.
But she's laughing at you Jonny. Don't you see her? Mocking you, mocking your weakness. She knows you wont hurt her. Not like I will. I'm not weak Jonny, I'll show her. Lemme out. One time Jonny, just to teach her a lesson. One time.
"No!" Crane said more forcefully in his mind. It came out as a whisper to the outside world. "No, she's not laughing. She is gauging my reaction to her jibes. She wants to know how far she can push me." Indeed, Crane had seen Kay narrow her eyes as she studied his face.
This was a sign of controlled manipulation. She knew what she was doing. Crane struggled to keep control of his body. Scarecrow was still angry, despite Crane's explanation.
Kay watched as he carefully kept control of his expression. Even in the midst of his clear internal battle his face remained impassive. Only his eyes changed.
His eyes fascinated her. Not because of their clear blue that would have made many a girl melt if Crane was not so anti-social, shall we say, but because of the way they changed color. They reflected his mood in many strange ways.
Anger seemed to be red-hot ice. When he was being scientific they were a basic clear blue, only the color was sharpened to a point. Snarky was a dark blue. Only when he was having these struggles within the confines of his own mind did his eyes flash like this.
Kay wondered who he was arguing with.
Finally, Crane banished Scarecrow to that dark corner of his mind that was the breeding ground for all things evil in the human psyche. He resumed his decent of the stairs. Not anger, mostly anyway, but that could give way to anger at any moment.
Curiosity that meant no good for Kay.
Waving a hand he ordered coolly, "Pick her up."
The two goons snapped to it and lifted her roughly by her upper arms. Once again she declined helping them by using her legs. In fact, she leaned down on them and made herself heavier than she actually was.
Crane stepped off the last step and onto the spot Kay's head had been moments before. "Well Ms. Chapman. How far did you get?" This was a cruel question, and deliberately so. He knew that she hadn't made it far because she was weak from the night's events.
He could tell it hurt her that he knew her weaknesses. Maybe now she would begin her spiral into turmoil. But again he had underestimated her and her suicidal impulses.
Kay planted her feet firmly on the floor and stood up as tall as she could. (The goons sighed in relief - she had really been leaning.) "I made it further than you would've." She glowered straight into his eyes, showing no sign of fear of consequence.
She's mocking you again. She thinks your weak, she just said so. Just like the boys said. Just like everyone said. I can show her Jonny. I can show her you're not weak.
A small sigh slipped through Crane's slowly sneering lips as Scarecrow slid into place, cackling.
"You thought you could run away. You really did, didn't you. But do you know who I am? What power I wield? I. Control. You." He said, smirking, leaning down so his face almost touched Kay's. The girl stayed perfectly still, perfectly blank, so he stepped it up a notch: "You know, I missed you while you were gone. I was worried I wouldn't have a play mate anymore."
Utterly sarcastic, Kay looked at him with an over-dramaticised expression of joy and exclaimed, "Oh Jonathan! You do care! And seriously dude, why the fuck are you so close to my face."
Scarecrow chuckled. "What's my name?" he queried. "Ummm… Jonathan Crane? Or at least that's what you told me." Again, the low chuckle. It was sinister to say the very least. "No no, the doctor isn't in right now. Now. Who am I. I think you know. Deep down inside, you have an idea."
Scarecrow relished her unease. While Kay paused in her confusion he turned on his heel and stalked into the other room. Clips of the past three hours played at warp speed through Kay's head as she tried to put the picture together. Slowly they built up a larger picture.
This picture puzzle in her head included an asylum and an escapee. The toxin and the name combined in her exhaustion-addled brain. Realization clicked into place.
"Holy mother of God."
A sense of impending doom that had nothing to do with a toxin settled onto her chest like a bowling ball hitting her. The masked man rounded the corner.
"Scarecrow." She breathed.
He smiled. "You've been a bad girl, Kay." Scarecrow sneered with his voice. "Trying to run away like that, very bad decision. But you know what?" Kay looked down to the floor as he moved from the doorway. "I forgive you. Even though you were so rude." He pulled her head up by her chin, gruffly. Timidly she lifted her eyes to his gruesome visage. "But I, I will not be rude. I haven't given you a tour of my home yet. It would be rude not you show around where you'll be staying. Let's start with the basement."
Scarecrow placed a hand on the small of Kay's back and pushed, prompting her towards a door to their right.
When Kay was in ninth grade her grade had taken a field trip to Arkham Asylum. It was part of the school program designed to dissuade kids from a life of crime. It was back when Crane had still be head of the asylum.
Kay remembered that he hadn't had time to meet them. Now it occurred to her that he had probably been busy torturing some poor crazy.
She and her class had walked down the halls filled with drooling crazies who screamed at any noise and babbled about how the nightmare creatures were eating them. The whole building had been white. The white enveloped all and shone until it was hard to see and it seemed as if all other colors had been dulled in it's presence.
The world inside Arkham was black and white. The world of the crazies had no color. She had returned home petrified that she would one day occupy one of the padded cells. Petrified that the white would take all her color and make her crazier than before.
As Scarecrow pushed her into the basement memories of drool and unearthly screams haunted Kay. Her fear put her in a frozen stupor that he relished thoroughly.
He fed on fear.
"This is Jonathan's lab. He makes his favorite toy here. I believe he introduced you to it. Right?"
Kay just stared at the floor. This must have pissed Scarecrow off because he grabbed her wrist and squeezed. "Don't be rude Kay. It's polite to answer your host."
"Yes. He did." Kay mumbled softly.
"Good. Alright, enough of this basement. On with the tour!" Without releasing Kay's wrist Scarecrow lurched towards the stairs and started up them.
A slow desperation was growing in Kay. The need to be away from the contagious lunacy of this madman was overbearing. A certainty that, if she remained here, she would end up without color was all that existed in her thoughts. Every flash of white reminded her.
Her stupor gone, Kay's brain was on full alert. Eyes darting everywhere Kay attempted to memorize the layout of the house.
"This is the kitchen. I don't use it much, neither does Jonny." He glanced around before saying offhandedly, "I'm not sure we actually have any food… hmm. Kealy. Get us some food so we don't starve." Goon #1 responded with a timid 'yes sir'. Kay turned to look at him. He shivered and licked his lips. His face seemed to white…too white.
"So that's downstairs, sweetheart. Let's go see the upstairs, huh? That's where your room is anyway. Did you bring any bags? No? Good. They're a hassel. Anyway. Let's continue."
His gripped tightened again on Kay's wrist. It occurred to Kay if she went upstairs it would be much harder to get out of this place. And, also... he had just called her 'sweetheart'.
"Um… no... That's okay. Really." Kay resisted against his not-so-gentle tug, realizing that she was babbling but unable to stop herself, "See, I've already got a room. It's just a few blocks away, really easy to get too… No? Uh. Ok. Never mind...."
Scarecrow just continued up the stair as if she wasn't talking. The only sign that he had heard was his fingernails were now drawing blood and his ascent of the stairs had become much less civil.
At the top of the stairs he turned to the right. A door about three feet down stood ajar. Scarecrow pushed it open to expose a Spartan room that contained a mattress, a mirror, and a door that might or might not lead to a bathroom.
"How…" Kay struggled to say something that wouldn't be considered rude by the psychopath. "erm… Monastic."
Even as she said this she winced, her body preparing herself for pain.
To her surprise Scarecrow chuckled. "Sleep tight Kay." He purred, his voice bringing up a slight shiver in her as she stomach did the same clench it did at him calling her 'sweetheart', "If you have any nightmares I'm right down the hall. But that won't matter because your door will be locked from the outside. Nighty-night!"
Already turning away he raised his wrist and released the toxin from his wrist. Kay's screams could be heard through out the house.
It was music to his ears.
As always, please review! Got any idea for what the good doctor should do to Kay? Tell me. It would be quite a help. Much love to all! --Archaiclover