When the door slammed open Kay was dozing. Again.

A quick jab to some bruised ribs got her right up. A pair of blue eyes bored through Kay's not-quite-functioning brain. "Get up. You've got work to do."

Kay gave a low, weary groan. Well, he hadn't gotten any nicer overnight. Or day. Kay still had no idea what time it was.

However weary she was thought, she still managed to stay sarcastic. "Work? Do I get paid?"

She doubled over as his shoe connected with her ribs once more."No, I guess not..." She mumbled.

"Come on. You're wasting my time." Crane said, grabbing her arm.

"I'm wasting your time?" She repeated indignantly. "What about me? I have much more productive things to be doing besides being tortured by a psychopath! Owwwww. Jesus."

Her indignation at her previous comment was replaced with a throbbing pain in her lower back.

"Jesus Christ." She repeated, more softly. Crane continued dragging her down the stairs. They turned the corner and began down the basement steps.

"Woooah! No, lets not go down there I mean toxins are really overrated and I really don't like hallucinating do you? I don't let's go back upstairs it's much nicer up there, say, do you know what time it is? I have no idea because I've been locked in my room and it doesn't have a window and oooh shit..."

Crane had shoved her into a lovely antique chair complete with torn upholstery, scratched finishing, and straps to hold you down while you enjoyed it's comfort.

As fast as she had been pushed down Kay stood right back up and started her way towards the stairs. She took about a step and a half before being smacked and thrown back into the chair. Kay sat in the chair, breathing tight in her chest. Her wide, rolling eyes and bony limbs gave her the appearance of a scared colt.

Bending down, Crane strapped Kay's legs onto the chair. As he moved up to strap in her right hand Kay reached over her left saying, "Here let me." before being slapped away. Dejectedly, Kay sat with her head bowed.

Crane's usually nimble fingers fumbled with the buckle before going right back to work. Kay could hear his quick breathing. Without looking up she said, "A wee bit excited, are we Jonny-boy?"

Crane paused and lifted his striking blue eyes to look at Kay. Grinning a grin that belonged not to Scarecrow, but to himself he responded,

"Yes. Very. It's a stronger toxin than the one you had last night."

Very slowly Kay lifted her head, remember the effect of the earlier toxin.

Oh...shit.

In an impassive voice that betrayed a tsunami of emotion she said, "Well. then you better strap down my left hand."

He did it all too quickly.

Turning around Crane lifted a little metal canister. His eyes remained as scientific as ever, with a hint of extreme pleasure and excitement.

"What, no Scarecrow to watch me squirm?" Kay shot at him, her fear a breeding ground for anger.

He remained indifferent, "No, I need to write down the results for this one. But believe me, he wants very much to be here."

It seemed as if his finger was twitching on the release. With honest curiosity Kay asked, "Can't he still see? Even if he's not in control right now?"

Crane stared at Kay. Hesitantly he answered, "…Yes. He can. And he is. Now shut up, I have work to do."

He pressed the release button.

Backing up quickly Crane grabbed a blue surgeon's mask. Kay, on the other hand, gagged and began to hyperventilate. Psycho man had been right, it was definitely a stronger toxin.

But goddamn if he was going to know that. Kay sat tight lipped and white faced. Repressed screams filled her head and throat and ears and hysterical tears ripped at her eyes. Outwardly she sat still to the point of trembling. Inside, her senses were an inferno.

She could smell them. They crawled at her with their spider-smell. It was dank, it was dirty, it was horrible.

She could hear them. Those of them that possessed pincers clack-clack-clacked them together. The awful scuttling noise that they made as they advanced joined the repressed screams in ripping up her eardrums. She could feel the dark, red fluid as it dripped out of her ears.

She could taste the air they stank up with their smell.

She could feel them as they burned their way across her body. They crawled into cracks and crevices and borrowed up into her clothing.

Worst of all, she could see them. Thousands of spiders, those infernal creatures of merciless dark, advanced on her as she sat bound to the chair. Helpless to defend herself against the monstrosities of every size, Kay tried to keep control.

A shredding feeling pulled its way through her lungs and through her throat. Before Kay could help herself it unleashed it's self as a scream. Thrashing against the bonds Kay scream and screamed and screamed. She screamed until she could not scream anymore. Even then she sent out streams of air.

Even then, she still screamed.

"Thank God these walls are soundproof." Crane noted to no one in particular.

Scarecrow laughed.

When Kay woke up she was still strapped to the chair. Crane sat directly in front of her on a stool with his legs crossed.

"How'd I do?" Kay croaked, her shaky voice dulling the effect of her sarcasm.

"You were unnecessarily loud and you near broke my chair. The toxin, on the other hand, works magnificently." Crane replied coldly.

Unbelieving, Kay stared at Crane before chuckling softly and dropping her head. "You bastard." She said amiably.

Her open face showed only the beginnings of anger. "Do you want me to be quieter next time? To accommodate your wishes?" Her eyebrows drew together and her voice became harsher: "Do you want me to come down here and fix your chair that you so kindly strapped me to?" she asked, "I've got time." She added frankly. "Oooh boy do I have time. Thanks to you of course. Because when I came to you for help when some guy from the mob sent to kidnap me was chasing me down the street, you did it for him! Ha! YOU FRICKIN' DID IT FOR HIM."

Kay strained against her restraints. The silence echoed. Then she shook her head. With enough acid in her voice to melt a hole in a ship she said quietly, "You took my freedom. You locked me in a room with nothing but my thoughts and now you've tortured me. Is this what you wanted? To get me angry? Well congratulations, Bucko, you did it. Now what? Huh? You gonna lay me down on the operating table and slice me open now? See what my brain looks like? Huh?! WHAT NOW CRANE?! WHAT NOW?"

Suddenly, Kay relaxed completely. Letting her head fall again, she instructed, unflustered, "Unstrap me." Crane didn't move, he just peered at Kay over his glasses.

"Dr. Crane. I said unstrap me."

As calmly as you please he answered her acidity with: "No."

"No? Why not?"

He shrugged, "Because I don't want to."

Kay's laughter pealed out. "Because you don't want to? Because you don't want to?" She gasped. Tears slid out of her eyes.

"Oh my god. Oh my god no." Louder than she had screamed under the influence of the toxin, she let out a long shriek. "I HATE YOU CRANE I HATE YOU I HATE YOU I HATE YOU I. HATE. YOU!"

Kay rocked back and forth in the chair, tears streaming down her face and dripping onto her jeans. The chair tilted from side to side, creaking. She screamed again. Crane marked down a note before lifting the canister again.

In a few seconds spiders surrounded Kay. "NO! NO NO NO NO NO! ARRRGGHH!" One last tilt brought the old chair crashing to the ground. It splintered and her arms came free.

Yanking at her legs, Kay wrenched her self off the ground and did her best to ignore the spiders. Crane was the only thing in her vision now. He sat there calmly, confidently. Curiously.

Fury was in Kay's blood, she breathed rage.

The spiders melted away and went back to where they came from. Letting go a warlike shriek Kay launched her self at Crane. His surprised face met with her trained fist. Falling to the ground Kay knelt on top of him and smashed her fist into his face again.

"I HATE YOU CRANE." Was met with his yell to Kealy and Goon # 2, whose name was Schuster. After slamming his head into the ground once, she slid backwards and upwards off him.

"Get up." She snarled. "GET UP!" Years dealing with school bullies had prepared her for this moment. She knew every sneaky move he could make.

Crane pulled himself up as Scarecrow slid into place. No longer awkward and weak, Scarecrow danced with her in a circle, and he sighed, mockingly, "Kay. Little Kay. Got a little angry, did we?"

"Bastard. " She hissed again before hurling herself at him. Her head connected with his stomach and sent them flying again. But before she could jam her elbow into his already injured abdomen Scarecrow flipped her onto her back and pinned her arms to the ground.

Every second his knee pressed harder into Kay's stomach.

Leaning his face close to her's he whispered, "Kay. Mon cheri. Don't ever. Ever. Try something as rash as that again. Ok?"

"I'm not your love motherfucker."

Scarecrow laughed as Kealy and Schuster dragged Kay out from under him."I see you know French... interesting."

Now pinned against a wall Kay breathed hard, but was otherwise still.

"Kay. Darling. Do you know what you've done?"

"What? Kicked your ass?" Kay asked ever so suicidally.

He walked over to her, casually, mockingly. "No." Scarecrow grinned. "You broke Jonny's toxin! Your not hallucinating any more, are you? The good doctor wants to know."

Squinting her eyes Kay said, "No. Not right now."

"Ah. I see. Well-" Scarecrow stopped. He seemed to be thinking. Kay guessed that he was talking to Crane.

I wonder how that works? She thought.

He glanced back at her. "Kay. Jonathan wants to know what you were hallucinating. No you can't! I'm not done!" He looked cross.

"Crane wants out?" Kay guessed. "Shut up." The man said irritably. He looked back at her with cold eyes.

"…Crane?" Kay said hesitantly. She couldn't tell who it was now.

"I said shut up. And I asked you a question. What do you hallucinate?"

Crane. Shit. He's not as much fun as Scarecr- what the hell am I thinking?! Neither of them are fun! "I'm not telling you."

Quick as lightening Crane's hand was around her neck pressing down. "What did you hallucinate? Don't be rude, answer me."

She shook her head, trying to get out of his tight grip, gasping for air. "No."

Crane lifted her head from the wall and slammed it back as she had done to his a few minutes ago."Tell me."

"No." Kay squeaked out. She doubled over in pain as his foot slammed into her stomach.

"Tell me!" He growled as he backhanded her across the face.

"Okay…okay." Kay gasped. "Okay, I'll tell you."

"Good. What is it?"

Taking a few deep breaths she whispered, she collected herself before she whispered her answer.

"Balloons."

That's right folks, choo choo train to angstville has made it's stop and is not rumbling it's way towards insanity. Please review! Any ideas for a diabolical plan on Crane's part would be lovely. I've got a wonderful evil idea, but that'll come later. So anything for right now would be great. Much love -Archiac