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Laughter in the Dark	By : FlameWolf666 Category: DC Verse Movies > The Dark Knight Views: 9317 -:- Recommendations : 1 -:- Currently Reading : 1
Disclaimer: I do not own anything from the Dark Knight or the Batman franchise. This story is just for fun and no profit will be made from it.

Chapter List
- 33
- 34
- 35
Author’s Note: Loooong chapter ahoy. Seriously, buckle in for a long sit.

CHapter Thirty-Four: Times of Disaster

    A frantic figure paced the hardwood floor while an anthro rabbit watched with a mixture of bemusement and irritation. “Who gives a shit if the Bat is heading toward them? Good riddance if ya ask me. You never liked Joker and she isn’t Alice,” hissed the creature, his long ears tipped back in irritation as he took a sip of tea.
    “I know she’s not! I know that! Its just... she’s been so good to us March-y. She came to see us a lot before that clown put her on house arrest. Bringing us tea and even your dreadful carrot scones,” the crazed man hissed, wringing his bony hands as his heels clicked over the floor below him.
    The lapine heaved a sigh before getting up slowly to place a furred paw-hand on his companion’s shoulder. “While those things were nice, it’s no use getting so worked up about it. You don’t even know where she is,” the humanoid rabbit tried to reason, only to be shocked when his longtime friend shrugged off the paw-hand on his shoulder. Then the crazed man was turning to face him, the glare on his face giving the odd creature pause.
    “Why do ya think I went down into the sewers to talk to Croc? Does he seem like the type to like tea?” snarled the blonde, his prominent Adam’s apple working as he swallowed hard. Fear and slight disgust shone in his blue eyes as he pinched his beaked nose in irritation.
    March could only blink, disbelief and horror on his furred face. “You went to see Croc? You’re damn lucky he didn’t just eat you and call it a day,” whispered the man-like rabbit, his stubby tail twitching slightly through the hole in his pants he had made for it.
    “The only thing that stopped him was me screaming Marie’s name on a hunch. She left a bit of an impression on him during her time in the sewers. She wasn’t the least bit afraid of him and that apparently means something to the beast. He let me give him a phone for when he found out where they were,” Hatter replied, straightening his tattered, patched tux before he began to pace again. His long time friend opened his mouth to argue when the phone in his pocket rang and he fumbled with it to answer.
    Miles away, Marie found herself in a rather difficult position. Selena and her girlfriend Ivy we doing a good job of keeping her walled off from the goons but she could still see what was going on. Blood poured freely from Joker’s shoulder wound as he and Scarecrow began to slowly circle the group of henchmen that was blocking their escape. In the middle of the room, Batman was still struggling with his own group of thugs; eventually breaking free of Tony with skilled usage of mixed martial arts. The deformed mob boss only grinned insanely, blood oozing freely over his lower lip as sunlight reflected off his green tinted, black hair. The blotches of white on his face slowly spread as the insanity in his wide eye became more severe. Grabbing one of the knives still in his large belly, the crazed male mulled it out slowly while still grinning; lifting the weapon to his twitching, red stained lips to lick his own blood from the blade. “Jesus fucking Christ...,” Selena hissed, going pale as a faintly sickened expression came over her face.
    The former Psychologist behind her, however, found herself unphased by the turn of events. After what she had seen during her time with Joker, nothing truly surprised her anymore. The only thing that really concerned her at the moment was a resurgence of the pain from earlier. The large dome of her stomach hardened like a rock and the tight feeling in her back evolved into discomfort as she let out a slow breath. Sure she was eight months and getting close to her ninth but that didn’t necessarily mean she wanted to wind up in labor at this moment. Unfortunately, it was looking more and more likely that was the case. Her only solace was that labor took hours and the entire conflict might very well be done before she reached the point where she would give birth.
    Still, as she watched her lover and closest friend charge the group of ten, she had a gut feeling she wouldn’t get that lucky. Blades flew while guns fired, Tony taking advantage of the distraction to charge the vigilante with the knives he had pulled out of his stomach. Batman dodged out of the way at the same time Scarecrow collided into a bunched together group of six. One of the men fell backwards into the group the hero was battling and inadvertently caused a chain reaction. He fell into another man, who in turn stumbled into Tony as he was getting to his feet and gearing up to try to tackle the rubber clad vigilante. This made the overweight boss stumble and gave the overwhelmed hero an opening. With a deft flick of his wrist, the Bat threw one of his themed weapons; hitting the man square in the chest.
    Grunting, the hulking man looked down at the wing points buried in his chest between his pectorals. As he looked back up to smirk at the taller man across from him, said costumed man was raising a black remote of some sort and pressing a button. Electricity danced across the object as the mob boss went stiff and his teeth clenched from the high voltage. Yet, it didn’t bring him down. Instead, the brute began to laugh; his voice distorted by his muscles involuntarily twitching due to the shocks being run through them. Meaty hands rose up to grab the black, bat-shaped object, grimacing as his hand got zapped as well. Then he was pulling it free with a wet noise that nearly made the heavily pregnant female watching come very close to puking.
    While all of this was happening, Joker and Crane had their own hands full with neutralizing the group that were trying to get past them and to Marie. Scarecrow had full control over his host’s body and his inky eyes glimmered with hatred as well as a chilling joy that made her blood curdle. She never noticed Tony shift his focus from the ‘hero’ to her. Then he was moving, his men swarming the ‘Dark Knight’ to ensure he wouldn’t be stopped. As surrounded as he was, the rubber clad man could only shout a warning for Marie. This shout was enough to draw the attention of Crane and Joker as well as the former doctor.
    Cursing, the ‘Clown Prince’ moved to intercept the crazed man heading toward his pregnant wife when he was stopped by a fresh wave of henchmen. The amount of people the brute had brought with him seemed endless, helped by the fact that a fair amount of his own men had turned, and the villain found himself feeling helpless for the first time in his life. Scarecrow, on the other hand, shoved his way through the wall of humanity; uncaring for the deep stab wounds or bullets entering the body he had stolen. He felt none of the pain, only tasted coppery blood that served to drive his frenzy. The dark being would push this body until it was no more to protect Marie and Jonathan made no move to stop him.
    Deep inside, in the small house he had long ago made in his own mind to shield himself, Crane could feel himself dying. He could feel all the injuries his passenger was receiving but he forced himself not to care. Coughing raggedly, the gaunt male got to his feet to make himself some tea; ignoring the blood pouring from his wounds. Dying while protecting the woman he loved, it was a far better fate than he had ever expected for himself but he didn’t expect it to be an easy death. In fact, he expected Scarecrow to drag out his existence as long as possible. The agony would be intense by the time everything was said and done but he would put himself through all of it again. For once, he and the demon he shared his body with shared the same opinion. The well-being of him and his body came second to that of Marie’s.
    Oblivious to all of this, the former Psychologist only saw Jonathan slam into her former fiance’s closest partner and knock him to the ground. In the brief glimpse she got of the possessed chemist, the young woman saw her dear friend was bleeding profusely and felt her heart jump as a fresh contraction wound its way across her midsection. Gritting her teeth as she breathed through the intense discomfort, she began to move to help; only to be stopped by Ivy. Looking up at the crimson haired plant hybrid, the ex-doctor was a bit surprised to see protectiveness all over the other woman’s face. “He needs my help, you fucking bitch,” came from her mouth, Spade enraged at her interference. Thankfully, the leaf covered nymph seemed more amused by her outburst than offended.
    “He can take care of himself. Besides, neither of them would want you putting yourself in danger for them,” the murderess reasoned, her leather clad partner nodding enthusiastically.
    Spade hissed and wanted to argue but Marie quickly put a mental muzzle on her louder counterpart. Right now, logic and level-headedness was needed and that part of her was anything but. As much as he wanted to jump in and save Crane or even help the man she loved, she would be worse than useless as heavily pregnant as she was. On top of that; the more time went on, the more sure she was that she was in active labor. In fact, she was experiencing yet another contraction and she found herself hard pressed to keep up the appearance that nothing was wrong. There was no way she would be able to fight in any capacity.
    The formerly calculating and rather intelligent criminal boss that Roger had respected was now utterly insane, laughing wildly even while Scarecrow did his best to strangle the life from him. The dark being’s borrowed body was bleeding heavily from several wounds as well as his mouth, his cracked, dry lips pulled back into a frightening grimace; his eyes a bottomless black. The more enraged the thing got, the more it seemed like he was wearing a costume made of Crane’s skin. Strange sounds came from the gaunt figure as the flesh over his face seemed to almost stretch and change. It was almost as if the horrible being was taking over entirely, shifting and changing form beneath the body he borrowed. A fact that wasn’t lost on Joker as he caught glimpses of his partner during his own skirmish.
    The tux wearing criminal had seen the darker side of Crane often, had even seen the original mask he had found all those years ago. He had seen more than enough to know whatever Scarecrow was, he wasn’t human or even natural. The creature seemed to be something dark, something that felt wholly wrong. Before Marie, he had often thought about killing the strange duo simply because of the dark being. The entity was the only thing he truly feared and he had prayed to never see its true face. As his knives flew and slit throats right and left, he found himself witnessing just that. The former chemist’s face continued to ripple as his features shifted to almost resemble the strange mask that had been laying in that crawlspace for ages and the clown felt an unconscious nausea begin to fill his body.
    Still struggling with the seemingly endless men, Batman also saw what was happening and felt a helpless horror. He had never seen something that felt so... so off, so unnatural, so just plain wrong. It felt like everything inside him was trying to reject what he was witnessing and he struggled to maintain control as he incapacitated as many of the goons as he could. Some of them even appeared to be Joker’s own men and he felt the slightest bit of vindictive victory. Using that to distract himself from the insanity of Jonathan’s transformation, the rubber covered vigilante slowly made his way to the clown who had long been a rival of sorts. If they were going to get through this alive, they would need to join forces.
    Well aware of what the self proclaimed hero was up to, the villain simply rolled his eyes and began to edge toward him to meet the man halfway. With his own men taking the opportunity to try to overthrow him, he found himself in a situation where he had to depend on his enemy to have a chance. Marie was still safe for the moment, thanks to Crane, but he felt an increasing need to get her out of her. Something about how strained her face looked and the way she kept rubbing the huge dome of her belly. She was almost nine months pregnant now and the situation was extremely stressful. It was very possible that she could be... A sudden charge from one of his own ‘generals’ made that train of thought halt and he turned to parry to man, their blades meeting with a clashing sound. His teeth gritted as he pushed back against the man, the pressure making the gunshot wound in his shoulder bleed even harder.
    To add to the confusion, a loud roar came from the front door; making everyone turn to see what all the commotion was about. There, almost hunched on all fours with his deformed snout twisted into a snarl, was Croc. His fleshy tail thudded with a meaty ‘thwap’ against the floorboards and he released a guttural noise as he charge forward much like the animal he was beginning to resemble. This caused the huge group of men to part like a sea, allowing a harried looking Hatter and March Hare to run in. The newcomers headed right for Marie, only encountering resistance when Ivy and Selena put themselves in the way.
    The redheaded femme summoned vines up through the very floorboards to coil around her arms. Beside her, the leather clad Catwoman snapped her whip loudly in warning, the pair glaring at the the other pair in front of them. Having been distracted by Croc’s explosive entrance, Marie didn’t see what the commotion was about until her four friends came very close to attacking eachother. Caught in the middle of another, hard contraction, the heavily pregnant woman managed to waddle forward despite the rising amount of pain and discomfort inside her. The best way she could describe the sensation was that it felt as if someone had applied a clamp to her spine as well as to her hips and was tightening the instrument in all the wrong places. There was also an incredible feeling of pressure as her child started to move down into her hips.
    Just before they could add to the chaos, she placed herself between them to give Hatter a hug. This seemed to be enough to stun the others into relaxing just slightly. “You know them?” all four asked in unison, sounding different variants of shocked.
    “Its a lot to explain but all of you are my friends so please, can we just focus on matters at hand,” the former Psychologist suggested gesturing to the chaos still taking place in the huge but dilapidated room.
    Scarecrow and Tony were currently on their feet and grappling, the dark thing wearing Jonathan’s skin gritting his borrowed teeth. The form beneath the flesh continued to ripple and distort while the face he wore shifted to something inhuman. Due to Croc’s sudden entry, many henchmen had scattered, giving Joker an opportunity to make a break for Marie. He came within just a few feet of reuniting with her when he felt a rubber glove grab his wrist. Whirling to bury a throwing knife in Batboy’s head, the ‘Clown Prince’ stopped when he saw the other man gesturing to the front door. Turning on his heel again, the killer felt his heart drop when he saw practically all the mobs in Gotham gathered on the front stoop. “Fat lotta good those fucking plants of Chlorophyl tits are doin’,” he spat, taking a brief moment to look at his injured, left shoulder.
    His tongue flicked out nervously to lick the scars on the corners of his lips as he took in the damage. The blood flow had slowed to a trickle and he could feel the bullet lodged between his muscle and bone. Rolling his shoulder slightly as the huge groups began to move into the building, he confirmed his suspicions that the bullet didn’t exit his body. He felt no pain from a huge exit wound or even the blood such a wound would cause. While it was good due to him not bleeding nearly as much as he would be, it was also very bad given he would have to pry it out himself. It was a messy operation and could be worse if the bullet had just gone through. Still, he could only laugh as his adrenaline pumped and he readied himself for a fight like no other.
“I didn’t know you had so many enemies,” came the gruff voice of a certain hero behind him, only making him laugh harder.
“Well, it doesn’t help that you sent out a citywide notice for my detainment,” the criminal replied through chuckles, reaching into his jacket deftly for more knives.
    “I never told them where you were,” Batsy pointed out in his gravel through a blender voice.
    “Did ya really think my enemies would pass up on an opportunity to take care of me? No, I bet they traced you all the way here. That car of yours isn’t exactly the most hidden thing in the world,” Joker replied, smoothing his curly, green tinted hair out of his vibrant eyes. Then the army in the doors were charging forward, met by a ravenous Croc as well as Batman and the infamous Clown Prince of Crime.
    Tony finally managed to shove away from the man who was trying to tear his throat out with his bare hands. Deep gouges were in his wattled neck and hunks of flesh hung in strips from the gruesome looking wounds. In front of him, the thing wearing human disguise heaved and shuddered unnaturally as bones and muscle cracked from somewhere deep inside its body. The face it wore no longer even resembled the man that had charged him and yet all the wounded mobster could do was laugh. He could taste his own blood, feel his very mind going and it was all just so funny. Rolling his shoulders and grinning with blood pouring between his clenched teeth, the crazed man got into a defensive crouch. The thing only let loose a rattling hiss, its bottomless eyes narrowed as it lowered its thin, wounded body to all fours.
    The position of its limbs was terribly unnatural, enough to drive any sane man mad; the wounds on its body oozing a black ichor instead of blood. It almost looked like it had never been human in the first place and yet still held humanoid features and shape. Pulling back its upper lip, the thing dubbed ‘Scarecrow’ lifted its upper lip to reveal its human canines had fallen out. Long, sharp, snake-like fangs were in their place and red points of light now glowed in the back of his ebony eyes. There was no sign of Jonathan Crane in their mad depths and yet, all Tony could do was laugh as they circled eachother like two big cats fighting over territory. His misguided men moved to help him with the monstrosity but he held up a hand to stop them. “He’s mine fellas. Mano a mano as it were,” he hissed, bracing as the thing lunged.
    While not outwardly present, Crane was very much a prisoner in his own mind. Outside the mental house he had built for his own conscious, things had turned hellish; dark creatures shambling in the bottomless darkness. Every once in a while, something would scrape its loathsome claws down his door but he ignored it. Nothing could get in unless he let it, of that he was certain. Besides, the agony he was in made it hard for him to focus on anything else. The transformation was taking a toll on him, let alone the wounds that had already been inflicted. On top of that, he could almost feel himself being pulled away from his own body; the strings keeping his soul attached stretched dangerously taut. If the last thread broke, he was unsure if the thing sharing his body would care enough to reach out to anchor him. With him gone, ‘Scarecrow’ would have full control; nothing to stop him from doing as he pleased.
Coughing up vile tasting, black, tar-like fluid, the former chemist’s face contorted as another spasm ran through him. He could feel his ribs separate as the bones in his spine stretched. Gritting his teeth and closing his eyes, he dimly hoped there would be body enough to use once this was all over. No matter what his own fate was, he knew the dark beast would protect Marie to the very last. This was the only thing that mattered to him so he simply rode the waves of cramps that felt like someone had lit his muscles on fire. Then it happened, he felt hot blood pour into his mouth and something sharp and slimy shoved itself between him and his tenuous foothold in his body. It wasn’t visible, just a feeling that encompassed him as his vision dimmed. Just as he felt himself begin to slip, he felt unnatural claws grabbing his wrist. The feeling of its flesh on his made his skin crawl with instinctual revulsion but he held on as his eyes opened to see his ‘roommate’s’ true face for the first time.
    With their boss’s orders and a fresh wave of reinforcements, the criminals made a charge toward Marie; only to be met with four extremely protective super villains. Taking advantage of the quartet’s distraction, the laboring female allowed herself to brace on a wall as the most powerful wave yet overtook her. Her large dome was rock hard and a fine sheen of sweat coated her brow. With the way things felt, this baby didn’t feel like sticking around. Gritting her teeth, she tried to keep her breathing slow and even. As a precaution, she had done plenty of research about home births while she had still been with Roger and working at Arkham. She had a feeling the knowledge would come in handy one day with her fiance’s recreational hobbies being less than legal. She had to be prepared to be pregnant while on the run. She had never expected something like this to happen and felt bitter laughter bubble up despite her extreme discomfort.
    ‘This crud seems attracted to you like shit to blanket... But even if ya feel that amniotic sac break, you keep those legs shut. Don’t ya push no matter how much ya feel ya need to,’ hissed a slightly sassy voice from in her head, making her smile as the contraction slowly released its grip.
    ‘I’m not stupid you know. You and I are one in the same, you should know very well that I had no intention of pushing unless I feel the child’s life is in danger,’ she retorted with a small grin, letting out a breath as the knot of her muscles finally loosened enough for her to straighten. Some part of her was scared due to being so early but she was almost nine months pregnant anyways. It would have only been a matter of time from there and some times the calculations about gestation could be off or wrong. There was also the fact that her encounter with Joker had happened before the one with Roger, making it possible that her calculations were off. If it was true, that would make this baby more than likely the clown’s.
    All further thought down this vein flitted away like dust on a stiff breeze as her gaze shifted and she took in the enormity of the fight that was unfolding. Various mobs from across Gotham, all of them probably having dealings with her lover, filled the huge entry room Several of them had split of into other groups to fight all the people that were opposing their eradication of Joker and his crew. Everything was going sideways rapidly and she felt the bottom drop out of her stomach when she finally saw Jonathan Crane. Or, more accurately, what was left of him.
    The creature inside the man was finally showing its true colors and she found herself wanting to vomit and scream at the same time. It was the face as well as the position and changes to his body, they made her feel like she was losing her grip on sanity and it was only sheer willpower that kept her from going into hysterics. As if scenting her fear, his dark eyes lifted to focus on her as he tore out her ex’s partner’s throat. Red lifeblood sprayed into the air and the man’s ghastly laughter faded into a choked gurgle as his meaty hands tapped on the hardwood floor due to his dying convulsions. Then the thing was straightening, heading right for her small group. Its nostrils were flared as ancient eyes fixed solely on her. Dimly aware of Selena swearing quite colorfully from the sight of the chemist, she began to move to head off disaster. “Jesus! Fucking spear th’bugger wi’yer vines!” snarled Hare, his brogue thick due to his extreme terror.
    “No! No one hurt him any more than he’s already been! He won’t hurt me,” Marie protested, fighting the extreme urge to just run away before the thing wearing her friend’s skin got any closer.
    Hatter, who had been in the middle of gutting a few mobsters, had stopped mid-slice at the blonde’s horror filled explanation. The people he was fighting stopped as well, backing away from the bone thin thing that was closing distance far too quickly. Just as the unnatural creature took the woman into his arms, Croc let loose a roar that chilled his blood before the sound of bones snapping as well as the scent blood filled the room. “Fuck this,” hissed one of Tony’s men before simply dropping his gun and fleeing. He wasn’t the only one, the few left being the rest of the mobs that had come to get rid of Joker. Raising a brow at the men that still dared to oppose him, the flaxen haired killer licked blood from one of his victims off his blade before charging back into the fray.
    Meanwhile, Joker found himself in an odd position he never thought he’d be in, even in his wildest dreams. His back was pressed against his mortal enemy’s as they helped protect eachother from an onslaught of men. Blood flew as screams rung in his ears, yet the deadly, crazed smile never left his painted face; the scars stretching from the corners of his mouth only making the expression that much more horrifying. Then Croc was releasing a second roar and the men attacking them seemed to stop as a thick, familiar, coppery smell began to fill the air. It almost smelled like burned pennies, a smell that was painfully familiar to any man that had killed before.
    It was finally the sound of the deformed man eating one of their comrades that made the house empty just as fast as it filled. Men who had seemed determined to see his end were tripping over themselves in their rush to leave. Not stopping to ask questions, the killer ran to where his woman was. When he saw Scarecrow nearly hugging the life out of her, it took everything he had not to tear the loathsome being from her. As it was, he was weaving around Ivy and March before he was finally taking the shaking woman into his arms. The demon borrowing Crane hissed before slowly, reluctantly relinquishing its hold. Then it simply collapsed, its eyes rolling back into its head as its too thin body convulsed and began to revert back to what it had been before.
    Inside his head, Crane screamed out soundlessly in the empty abyss he had been shoved into; the injured fiend he shared his body with barely holding on due to his own pain. His bottomless eyes were narrowed as his claws came close to slicing the former Psychiatrist’s skin but he didn’t let go, even when violent convulsions took over them both. With a hard yank, the unearthly thing pulled him back into his protective house and wrapped shadowy arms around him. A strange language came into his ear, the voice uttering it sounding like the mixture of a cat vomiting and a big animal growling, yet he found himself understanding every word as he lost consciousness. Scarecrow, it seemed, had come to see him as a friend as well and wasn’t about to let either of them die without a fight.
    While all this was happening, an extremely worried Marie was watching as he crumpled to the floor unconscious, his body slowly and very painfully, from the sounds of it, going back to normal. The blood flowing from his numerous wounds had flowed to a trickle but that didn’t help her feel much better. Pushing away her worried lover, she gestured towards Crane as well as his own wound. “I’m fine but you need to be patched up, both of you. Also, belfry boy is still here,” the golden haired femme pointed out before making a beeline to a stunned and frankly terrified looking Ivy. While she tried to talk the hybrid into helping, the vigilante closed the distance between him and the remaining group. Croc had left a while ago to chase after the men who had fled so that left six of Gotham’s most lethal criminals there to stare him down.
    Holding up his gloved hands with his palms open and facing toward them to show he meant no harm. “I can help administer medical aid, I don’t mean any harm here,” he gritted out in his gruff voice, not moving an inch as the motley crew assessed him. Between them, lying bleeding on the floor, was the body of the man who had started this whole mess in the first place.
    “Help Jonathan. Ivy can take care of Joker,” Marie Jovian hissed, her face pale and strained as her hands rested on the prominent dome of her stomach. Giving a nod, the hero moved toward the man who had recently turned into a monster.
    The man who caused fear in the hearts of the citizens was curled in a fetal ball, barely breathing as blood continued to flow from his wounds. A few of the signs left of his traumatic transformation were his teeth as well as the fact that he was taller and that was all. The only wounds on him were from the fight alone, any from his change having mysteriously disappeared. Kneeling, the ‘Caped Crusader’ opened a large pouch on his utility belt and began to pull out some rather advanced looking medical supplies. In fact, he had made several himself; not always having easy access to a hospital if he wanted to keep his identity a secret. Deciding to work on the worst of the other man’s wounds first, the disguised millionaire found himself inwardly amused by what was happening. He really had just come here to get the antidote and nothing else. To try to settle Joker’s hash at the same time would have been the height of foolishness.
    Unknown to everyone, Scarecrow had take the injuries from the transformation onto himself. Several would have outright killed his host but he would survive. He honestly didn’t think he could die. Still, that didn’t mean he didn’t feel pain. In the strange dwelling Crane had built for himself, he could feel all the injuries at once. His human hadn’t fared much better, the wounds from both blade and bullet present on his body as well. “Are we dying?” wheezed his mortal companion, making the ancient creature chuckle.
    “I will not allow either of us to die. I am afraid you’re stuck with me,” he hissed in the guttural cadence of his native language, oddly cognizant of what was happening. To his surprise, the man understood him.
    “Heh, not too long ago that would have scared me. I suppose we’ve both changed,” the weary man whispered, looking like he was just barely clinging onto consciousness.
    “It was her. She... she taught us what love was,” the dark being husked, pulling the thin, injured man into a protective embrace as they slipped into unconsciousness.
    As the dust settled, Marie was more than happy to slip into the background. Leaning against a wall while the two wounded were cared for, she closed her stormy eyes as another, hard pain rolled through her. The child inside was still as the pressure of it moving down grew to be unbearable. Huffing through her nose as she fought against the urge to slide to the ground, soft sounds left her as she prayed this contraction would pass. She just needed a few more minutes for the men she cared for to get taken care of. If her water broke now, it would no doubt shift focus needlessly to her. In fact, she was surprised the others were distracted enough not to notice her current predicament.
    Letting out a shuddery breath, she finally allowed herself to slide to the hardwood as she felt the pressure inside her reach an unbearable peak. None too soon either; a strange, popping sensation coming from deep inside her as fluid poured from between her thighs in a torrent. Swearing internally, she continued to breath slowly as her legs spread slightly. The baby was on its way and all she could do was tilt her head backwards and breathe through it, her golden tresses spreading on the wall behind her as she cradled the rock hard mound of her stomach. With how her luck was going, it more than likely wouldn’t take long for Scarecrow to scent what was going on and drag his broken body towards her.
    It wasn’t that she didn’t appreciate the sentiment, it was the fact labor could take hours and he needed help more than she did. In a normal situation, births could take care of themselves with no complication; gunshot and stab wounds could not. All she could do was hold on and pray the worst was taken care of before her precarious position was discovered. As the pain let up slowly, Marie found herself reflecting on her situation and found herself genuinely amused by it. She was about to give birth to a baby whose parentage she was unsure of in front of many people, one being her lover’s very antithesis. If another contraction weren’t already building up, she would laugh at the sheer absurdity.
    Batman finished sewing the wounds as quickly as he could, Ivy busily prying the bullet free from Joker’s shoulder as his red painted lips pulled up in a snarl. “Fuck, take it easy with those tweezers. Where did Bon Jovi run off to?” he hissed, his green eyes searching the blood splattered room for any sign of his lover. When he saw her on the floor with her back braced against the wall and her hands on her heavily pregnant stomach, the killer felt his heart drop practically through the floor. With the former scientist still digging in his left shoulder, he rose in a fluid movement and began to move forward jerkily; as if controlled by a drunken puppeteer. Then those movements smoothed and he was moving as he felt panic wrap cold fingers around his throat.
    None of this was helped when he saw the fluid spreading under her in a puddle and the strained looked on her pale face. “Why didn’t you tell me,” he whispered, kneeling beside her and placing a gloved hand on the huge belly that was now contracting steadily. She only winced before gesturing to his oozing shoulder.
    “I can wait,” she whispered, a bit shocked to see Ivy had followed right behind him. Selena, it seemed, had deemed it better to wait with the other group after what she had pulled. The former geneticist gave her a shocked look before going back to work on her lover, to her relief and his irritation.
    “Get off me! She’s in labor!” snarled the incensed male, gesturing to the woman on the floor as if the redhead tending him was blind.
    “Her life is not in danger, as much as I hate to say it she was right. Her condition can wait. The sooner you let me extract the bullet, the sooner I can tend to her,” whispered the villainess, a patient expression on her slightly green tinted face. The scarred male opened his mouth to protest but snapped it shut when Marie let out a soft moan of discomfort.
    Glaring down at her as if he suspected she had let out the sound on purpose, he heaved a sigh before gesturing for plant woman to continue nursing him. “Just get it over with,” he bit out as he became aware of motion in the corner of his eye. Shifting slightly, he raised a brow to see a certain animal themed individual heading toward them. Growling as a headache began to pound between his temples, he let out a sough of irritation as he simply allowed the other man to approach. With Crane still incapacitated, he was their best chance of this birth going smoothly.
    “Is... is she...?” came the nervous, roughened voice of the vigilante, his tone making the clown all the more nervous.
    “Yes, no idea how close she is. Look, I normally would kill another man for even dreaming of touching her but I need your help. As you can see I’m a bit distracted to remove her lower garments,” the tux clad psychopath hissed, hatred and desperation mixing in his green eyes.
    Wrapped up in yet another wave of pain and pressure, Marie dimly heard his words and shook her head in near panic. There was no way in Hell she wanted everyone in this room to get a look at her works. Logically, she knew the underwear and pants had to come off but that didn’t mean she wanted a man like Batman seeing her most hidden of treasures up close. She only stopped when Joker grasped her sweaty face in his bare hands and placed his painted forehead against hers. “Shh, its okay Bon Jovi. He may be as crazy as we are but he’s a ‘noble’ sort. He won’t look at you as a sexual object in this situation. Besides, I imagine he knows a bit more about this than I do,” reasoned his mid-tone, his voice soft and gentle as his callused thumbs gently brushed her cheeks.
    Watching from his position from between the former Psychologist’s legs, Batman found himself more than just a little stunned to see how much this monster cared for her. In all his time struggling against the man, he had never expected him to be capable of any human feeling. Although the man was a menace to Gotham, seeing him like this made the ‘Dark Knight’s’ heart go out to him. He could easily see himself in the clown’s position and would want help, even from someone that was a mortal enemy. On top of that, there was more than one life at stake and he couldn’t walk away. “Ma’am, ma’am please just look at me,” he whispered, some of the gravel fading from his voice as he tried to soothe her enough to trust him.
    As her stormy, frightened eyes met his, he felt all the past he had with these people fade to the background. This was a woman who was no different than anyone else, a woman who was in labor and needed his help. “Very good Miss Jovian. Now, I’m afraid I do have to take off your underwear. I assure you that I get no thrill from seeing you or any woman like this. I just want to help. You need to get this child out of you and these will only impede that,” he reasoned, keeping his hands well away from her as he awaited her response. When she gave the smallest nod and burrowed her face into his nemesis’ silk covered chest, he felt sympathy for her overtake his heart.
    Her heart beat loudly in her ears as she felt rubber covered hands take of her loose maternity pants and underwear in a comforting, clinical manner. Just feeling the sheer lack of lust did wonders in relaxing her and she let out a breath as her thighs fell open. The man between her leg instantly blocked any visibility, fumbling with the cape attached to his shoulders for a few moments before draping it over her to help preserve her dignity. Then a loud swearing came from her side and her eyes shifted to watch as the bullet was finally pulled from her companion’s shoulder.
    At the same time, she felt an incredible, undeniable urge to push. Taking in a deep breath she focused on tightening her core muscles and pushed with the pressure filling her. Through the feeling of being stretched like never before, she was aware of someone grabbing her hand while another voice coached her. There was no need to check for dilation, this child was coming now and nothing could be done to stop it. Still, the burning located in her womanhood was almost as unbearable as the pressure and she soon had to stop as a pained whimper escaped her. “You’re doing good ma’am. The baby’s starting to crown,” came an assured murmur as a hand pressed against her to stop her child from coming too fast. With how tight she was, tearing was a very real issue and her body had to have time to adjust.
    Lost in a haze of pain and instincts, Marie barely held onto enough of herself to remember what she had to do. Taking in another breath, she pushed with her next pain; gritting her teeth as she felt her lips stretch around the coming head. Slowly, far too slowly, the man helping her allowed the child to come forward. She could feel as the brow, then the nose came; the whole thing coming free with a wet pop. Immediately she stopped pushing, as the black blur down below got a grip on it. A soft voice murmured in her ear and she blindly arched toward it as another pain overtook her.
    Pushing almost mindlessly, she let out a cry of a name she vaguely knew was forbidden to say. Yet, no chastisement came as the shoulders began to emerge. Hands gave gentle pulls as she strained then there was a glorious release as the baby slid free. The purple blur beside her tossed a shining glint to the figure between her legs and she felt a slight yank as her tether to the newborn was severed. Closing her eyes to clear her vision as her body pushed free the placenta, she felt her breathing steady and a floaty sense of well-being filled her. Soft lips landed on her forehead as the babe began to wail loudly. “A little girl,” whispered a voice that made her eyes snap open as recognition filled her.
    During the birth she had been almost disconnected from reality as sheer instinct had taken over her brain. Now that her daughter was being bundled in some torn cloth from Ivy and handed to her, she felt mortification set in. Trying not to think about the fact that Batman had seen things he shouldn’t have, the exhausted woman allowed her gaze to travel to the child she had carried for almost nine months. Blonde hair stood up from her head and bright, green eyes glittered as a perfect version of her union with her lover looked up at her. She looked more like her father but there was just enough of the mother in there to feminize her looks. “Oh Jack...,” slipped from her unthinkingly and she felt her heart freeze with the horror of it.
    “It’s okay. My real name is no secret to our rubber coated friend. Besides, you called it during birth as well,” came a quick assurance as groaning came from somewhere far away.
    Somehow, that declaration didn’t help her feel better and she avoided his eyes as she felt the vigilante that had helped her clean and redress her. As embarrassing as it was, she was grateful for the consideration; especially considering the fact he had also bundled the afterbirth in his cape. As the grimacing vigilante got to his booted feet, Crane began to sit up slowly as his groans slowly became inhuman snarls. Freezing, the black clad man; shifted his gaze to Joker as his lips pursed.
    Stiffening, the green haired murderer simply rolled his eyes before reaching into his purple jacket and tossing something to the hero. “That should be enough but don’t expect that to work for very long,” he hissed, his eyes shifting to the left as he noticed Jonathan beginning to move toward them in a rather strange manner. Thankfully, Batboy got the hint and skedaddled quickly; practically leaving a wake of dust behind him. This left Marie alone with her closest friends and almost husband. The entire group tensed as Scarecrow closed the distance. Then he was collapsing, his black eyes full of dazed worry until the exhausted woman began to pet his hair.
    To say it was an effort to touch him after what she had seen would be an understatement but she ignored the crawling sensation of her skin. The dark thing had almost laid down his life for her and her child, he had her loyalty and love for the rest of her natural life. Even as the others backed away or looked at her strangely, she kept petting until the dual male drifted back to sleep. “She’s perfect Jack,” she whispered, shifting her gaze while her hand stayed in place. Thankfully, the villain understood and smiled as he gave their alert daughter one of his fingers.
    “Did you expect anything else?” he chided, a chuckle bubbling up in his chest even while Ivy sewed up his wound.
    Rolling her eyes, the former doctor curled into the taller man as pain and exhaustion began to overwhelm her. “What are we going to name her?” she whispered, vaguely aware of the others cautiously closing the distance as well.
    “Faye,” replied a sure response as she felt herself get swept up into his arms.
    “Mmmm, sounds pretty,” she sighed as she drifted off. Even as she entered the comfort of darkness, she felt relief fill her that the child was his after all. Still, the fact it was girl made things a bit interesting. Just how would Joker react when she was old enough to date. There was also what had happened with Batman. Just as unconsciousness fully claimed her, she found herself pondering just what was going to happen now.
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Laughter in the Dark