Smile for Me

I was still in Joker’s room. He and Scarecrow were also still there. I had thrown myself from the chair and sat curled against the wall, cement bricks cool against my skin. Joker was relaxed on the bed, eying me with disinterest, but Scarecrow stood close by. I could tell from the tilt of his head, the way his body leaned towards me, that he watched me with fascination.

He was wearing the mask. I screamed again and shut my eyes tight. “Take the mask off, idiot. You’re not gonna get anything sensible from her with it on,” Joker drawled. There was a noise of cloth moving before Scarecrow spoke.

“Open your eyes, Quinn. Look at me.” His voice was soft, so gentle. Almost kind when he said my name. I forced my eyes open. He crouched in front of me, mask gone. His eyes gleamed with excitement, some of the first real emotion I’d seen from him. “What did....what did you do to me?” I moaned. My fingernails were cracked and bleeding. There were long, wet lines of blood down the wall where I’d clawed to escape the darkness.

“Just a little fear toxin. You’ll be fine....eventually. Now, tell me, what did you see?” “You...were talking to me....while I was under,” I realized. He raised an eyebrow. “I’m surprised you noticed.” Joker chuckled behind him. “Hurry up and do your shrink stuff, Crane. Clock is ticking.” “I want to know what you saw, Quinn.”

“Dark...it was so dark. And Herman Stol, he was back...had to get him out,” I rasped. My clothes were ripped and bloody where I’d torn at them, and I could feel scratches on my throat. “Herman Stol?” “Guy who raped her. Dead now,” Joker told him. Deep inside, under the fear, I was pleased he’d remembered.

“Pity. I could’ve seen how having the source of fear in the vicinity of the subject affects the reaction. There would have to be several more tests, of course,” Scarecrow mused. “She’s, ha, she’s mine, Crane. Not one of, ah, your scared little victims. If anyone gets to play with, haha, her head it’s ME. There will be no repeats of this test.”

“Mhm.” Scarecrow sighed and focused on me again. “What else?” “The Wolf. On me, dead...and her tongue...tongues all over.” My whole body shuddered. “Ripped to pieces.” Scarecrow looked confused. “You’re afraid of wolves and tongues?” Joker’s cackle was sharp in the brief silence. “No, Crane. Remember that vigilante chick, the Wolf? Six years ago, not surprised you don’t remember. Anywho, me, you, and Ivy, we killed her. I cut out her tongue. Made, haha, Quinnie watch.”

Scarecrow thought for a moment before nodding slowly. “Hm...yes. I remember now. The subject must have been traumatized. What else did you see, Quinn? Besides the dark. Nearly everyone fears the dark.” His smile turned bitter. “Even people like us. We fear what hides in it.”Joker sighed like Scarecrow was being obnoxious. “I thought you were here to examine Quinnie, not, haha, talk about the Bat.”

Scarecrow nodded absently.”Yes. Now, tell me more, Quinn.” His eyes were too intense on mine. I felt like he was rubbing and poking all over my brain. “You. I saw you.” He looked surprised at that. “Me? Was I hurting you, perhaps? Shrouded in darkness? What fear did you cast onto me, Quinn?” “No...it was you. Just you. The Scarecrow. The mask and the needles and, and the fear. It was so dark.”

I pressed my face into my knees and sobbed. Scarecrow rocked back onto his heels. “The subject only sees me...as I normally appear. No fears projected onto my visage, just me. Thus, the subject is afraid of the fear I can cause. One might even say that you are afraid of fear itself.” He gave a dry chuckle. “FDR would be pleased by that.”

“Are you done?” Joker asked impatiently. “I have, hah, people to kill.” Scarecrow stood and slipped the mask away. “I’m done, yes. Thank you for allowing me to work with her. It’s been a long time since I was able to experiment with someone who is truly mad. It is interesting that when it comes to fear, there is no difference between sane and insane. Not at all...” He kept mumbling to himself as he walked from the room, leaving me with the Joker.

I sniffed and hugged my knees. “Why did you let him do that?” Joker shrugged. “It pays to keep a useful guy like Scarecrow happy. He wanted someone crazy to mess with, and I thought of you.” He got off the bed and strolled over to me, kicking aside the chair I’d fallen from. “And I kept my promise. Scarecrow didn’t ever touch you.” He wrapped a skinny arm around my shoulders and squeezed, grinning so wide that I just had to smile.