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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
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Author’s Note: Marie can’t seem to get a break.

Chapter Five: A Little Chaos
    A muffled male voice that sounded like with was trying to travel through cotton that was underwater was the first thing she became aware of. The next thing she became aware of was burning pain on her throat. Groaning as her gray eyes fluttered open, Marie saw the concerned face of Mr. Mickleson hovering over her. “Marie! Are you alright,” he asked in a concerned but soft voice, which she was thankful for. Whether it was from the brief lack of oxygen or the stress of the current situation, she now had a pounding headache and all she wanted to do was go home and take long, very hot bath.
    “Yeah, I’m sorta used to it after all my encounters with Crane’s alter ego,” she sighed, slowly sitting up and holding her pulsing head in her hands as she closed her eyes against the harsh lights.
    “Do you need me to drive you home?” the dark haired male asked, looking at her with concern in his ebony eyes.
    “No, I’ll be okay to drive in a few moments. Would you mind if I took the rest of the day off?” the Psychologist asked, thankful that her boss kept his voice low and soothing.
    “I was just about to suggest that. I’ll stay with you until you feel strong enough to drive,” the scottish male declared, sitting in a chair beside the couch she had been laid on. With a brief look at her surroundings, the blonde saw she was in her office and was on her own therapy couch.
    “Dave, really. I’ll be fine,” Marie tried to assure, not daring to move as her headache thudded in the back of her head.
    “Sweetie, you and I have known each other since you were just a little one. I know you’ll be fine but just allow me to indulge in taking care of you,” her boss chided gently, giving her a glass of water and a few ibuprofen.
    Taking the medicine with a grateful look, the young female slowly sat up and gingerly swallowed the pills. Dave Mickleson had been one of her father’s young interns and had become almost like an Uncle to her. When he had hired her on at Arkham, she had worried it had been because he favored her and that he would be unable to maintain professionalism around her. Five years of working for him had proven her wrong on both counts. While at work, they were simply boss and employee. Right now, though, she was both happy and scared to see him.
    Marie could see the concern fade for outright rage as his dark gaze shifted to the left side of her face. “Did he also do that to you or did yae ‘ave tha’ bef’re yae came in,” he rumbled, his voice becoming thick with an angry brogue as his rage grew. As easy as it would be to simply blame Joker for her injury, the Psychologist couldn’t bring herself to do that to him or anyone.
    “What do you think Dave?” she sighed, laying back down to wait for the pain meds to kick in. The sooner the rotten tooth throbbing in her head stopped, the better.
    “It was Roger,” the weary female continued, avoiding the gaze of her practical uncle. As she predicted, the suit wearing male shot to his feet as his hands curled into tight fists by his sides.
    “Tha’ sonova...,” he paused to close his eyes as he took a deep breath, a muscle in his jaw tensing as he breathed out through his nose.
    “He’s gonna kill yae one o’ these days Marie. I almos’ have half a mind t’let tha’ crazy bastard Crane out t’take care o’ him fer t’both o’ us,” the Scottish male growled out as his eye opened to reveal deep fury.
    “Dave, I know. There’s nothing anyone can do, no one that can save me. I dug this grave when I didn’t break it off after he revealed his criminal connections. Releasing Crane would succeed in his murder but then what? Who’s going to protect the rest of my family from the fall-out. For all I know, he has it set up so when he dies in any way that isn’t an accident; I’m the first suspect,” Marie replied, sounding utterly defeated as she continued to avoid looking at her concerned ‘uncle’.
    Her words caused him to deflate considerably and his shoulders slumped as he ran a large hand through his tied back hair. “I know but I can’t just sit by and watch that beast tear apart someone who is like my own daughter,” he replied in a gruff, emotion filled voice as his dark eyes locked on her.
    “The situation can’t be helped, it simply is what it is. No one can save me now,” she sighed, smiling despite the grimness of the subject. Back when Roger had revealed his connections the first time he had beaten her, she had known she wasn’t going to get out of this relationship alive. Dave only looked at her sadly before schooling his expression into more of a boss-like one.
    “I must commend you for how you handled two difficult situations today. I’m aware of what happened with Dr. Crane before you went to see Joker. I’m sure you’d like to know that Jonathan has returned to normal and has been asking for you frantically. Joker, on the other hand, became explosive for a while after we rescued you and then descended into silence. He appears to have draw a rather nasty mural on the wall with his make-up as well,” Mr. Mickleson told her, knowing going back to normalcy was all they could really do at this point. No matter how much he hated to admit it, there was truly no way to save Marie without risking the rest of her family. Roger’s connections had deep ties in police forces all over the country as well as political ties. It would be a small matter for them to find her mother, sister and three nieces. They were stuck with no good solution and there was really no point in arguing about it.
    “Jon... I mean, Dr. Crane became lucid enough to ask for me?” the Psychologist asked, her voice tinged with disbelief and tentative wonder. Normally, after a night with Roger, it would take days for the former Psychiatrist to calm down enough for her to not be attacked as soon as she entered the cell.
    “Yes, he became rather violent with himself and we had to put him into restraints. If you do not feel up to a visit, we could always...,” the old man began, only to be cut off by a harsh, angry glare from the woman on the couch.
    “I know it’s procedure but no! I will never agree to tranquilizing a patient just to make them easier! For fuck’s sake Dave, these are people! As hard as they can be to deal with, they still deserve to be treated with respect,” the suit wearing femme hissed, anger making her headache flare again. Sighing in frustration and disgust, the blonde tore her gaze from her boss and glared at the back of the couch.
    Silence filled the room like a living thing after her heated declaration as the taller man rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly. “I’ll tell the guards to let you in when you feel up to it. If you need anything, text me,” the ponytail wearing male announced, giving her an apologetic look before he left her in peace. As soon as he was gone, Marie sighed in exasperation. He had meant well but she had asked him again and again to not even bring up the idea to her. She hated how some of the ‘doctors’ here would use the tranqs that were only for emergencies just so they could go out on a hot date. Letting out a calming breath, Marie tried to steady herself before her second meeting with Dr. Crane. It wouldn’t do for her to still be upset when he was already wildly unstable.
    A few moments later and the weary Psychologist found herself in front of the former doctor’s door for the second time that day. Giving a weak nod to the two guards that stood on either side, Marie opened the door and strode in with far more confidence than she honestly felt at that moment. As soon as she was in the room, Jonathan was taking hold of her arms and examining her closely. His sky blue eyes glimmered with intense fear as he seemed to assess her for injury. His gaze halted at the sight of the bruise on her throat and guilt began to mix with the terror. “Did I... Did he...,” the ex-Psychiatrist stammered, gesturing to the fresh wound with a stricken, kicked dog look.
    “No, no. Scarecrow was... He didn’t try to harm me. He actually spoke to me. As for this new bruise, let’s just say you weren’t the only one that was upset by my boyfriend’s actions,” the blonde replied much more calmly that she actually felt. On the inside, it was taking everything within the twenty-eight year old not to simply run back out the door. Her most recent encounter with her patient had been disturbing on many levels and she had no wish for a repeat.
    “He... it.. he... spoke?” Dr. Crane gasped out, sounding utterly flabbergasted. Just grateful he had let the fact Joker had essentially assaulted her slide, Marie gave a small nod with a neutral smile on his face.
    “He spoke... to you,” he sighed out again in a stunned voice, his blue eyes holding wonder and astonishment as they met hers.
    “He was barely coherent but yes. He seemed... concerned for me as well, in his own way,” she responded, feeling a bit of amusement under her trepidation. Seeing the normally calm, cool, logical male so off balance was borderline adorable. She could almost forget he had murdered a lot of people and drove even more insane.
    Her response caused another astonished look before the surprise turned into studying. “He was worried?” he asked with a tone of disbelief. Not blaming him one bit, Marie only smiled and gave another short nod in reply. So far his alter ego had only shown an interest in violence and witnessing people go mad from their inner demons. On top of that, the darker personality had two reactions to her normally; quiet hostility or outright attack.
    “He didn’t seem happy about that fact. Seemed to be angry at me for it but he didn’t seem to want to attack me for a change,” Marie informed him, staying still and keeping her eyes on the taller man in front of her. What she told him drew another shocked look from the former criminal before he slowly nodded and seemed to accept the information.
    “I’m not surprised. He’s more used to causing fear than feeling it for the sake of someone else,” Dr. Crane responded, a small, tentative smile beginning to appear on his lips.
    “There was something else. Scarecrow seemed disturbed by the fact that while I feared you both, I also trusted you two. He ordered me to leave soon after,” the Psychologist continued, apprehensive about sharing those facts but knowing the intelligent man deserved to know.
    “You... you trust... us?! Me, I can understand but him,” the ex-Psychiatrist stammered, his eyes going wide as he staggered in place. He looked almost painfully hopeful but scared to death, almost as if not very many people had chosen to trust him so implicitly.
    “No matter how violent he is with me, he still deserves to be treated with the benefit of the doubt. Despite his numerous attempts on my life, I’m willing to give him as much time as he needs to stop his violent behavior. Everyone has a reason for acting the way they do and all it takes is a little understanding and patience to get past their defense mechanisms,” the blonde replied, a bit saddened by the fact he sounded so incredulous. It seemed like he hadn’t been treated all that well before he was brought in and she knew for a fact she was the only Psychiatrist that wasn’t completely afraid of him.
    Her words seemed to give him pause and something about his face softened. It was almost as if all of his walls had crumbled at once and the normally guarded, dangerous man had let her in. Then he was gathering her in a crushing hug, his thin but strong body shaking from the sheer emotion running through him. “You trust me. You trust him. I can’t begin to possibly tell you... This means more to me than my extensive vocabulary can possibly express,” he sighed in a slightly gruff voice as overwrought tears rolled down his gaunt face. Then his gaze locked on the left side of her face and his joyful expression faded for fury and fear.
    “I’ll be okay Dr. Crane. I...,” she began before she was interrupted by her patient’s angry voice.
    “I do believe we are beyond formalities on my end Dr. Jovian. Call me Jonathan from now on. As for the... beast that did this to you, I trust you to take care of yourself. I will just warn you of this, if he kills you the world will not know a wrath like mine and will never know one since,” he hissed out, his blue gaze holding a steel edge as he gave her a stern glare. His anger wasn’t directed at her, for her there was only a protective concern.
    His heated declaration nearly caused her heart to stop in her chest as her eyes widened. Quickly composing her pale face back into a more neutral look, Marie tried to come up with an appropriate response to his statement. Before she could fully formulate one, all expressions on his handsome face faded for worry and he placed his hands on her shoulders in a loose grip. “You look absolutely exhausted. Go home and rest, you’ve had a rough day,” the taller male ordered in a no nonsense voice.
    “I was going to go do just that after our visit,” Marie responded with a soft grin, internally thankful for the change in subject. While she had no doubt Jonathan would make good on his threat, there was simply nothing the young woman could do about it. She could no more stop the inevitable than she could stop the resulting rampage.
    “Don’t worry about me, go home and take a nap,” urged the mass murderer, unprecedented concern in his baby blues.
    “Are you sure you’ll be okay Jonathan? Your guard said you had been in extreme distress,” the Psychologist asked, still determined to do her job despite just how bone weary she felt at the moment.
    “Either you go home this minute or you’re going to wind up laying in my bed and taking a nap here while I kill off all the guards,” he ordered, his voice gaining a familiar gruffness as his eyes began to darken.
    Not wanting to push her luck any further, Marie bowed to the former most respected Psychiatrist in Gotham and took her leave. Once she was out of the cell, she quickly made her way to the main offices and turned left. Right now she wanted to get in her car and to her apartment before anything else happened. She wanted a nice hot bath and a good nap with her cuddly cat. Power-walking to her car, the exhausted woman threw herself into the vehicle and drove home. Little did she know that once she left, dominoes would begin to fall in place during lunch.
    Jonathan was under close watch by a guard due to his recent assault on Dr. Jovian but he took the development in stride. Grabbing a tray of food and heading to a table with his appointed babysitter in tow, the ex-criminal was surprised and dismayed when Joker plopped down in a seat beside him. Narrowing his icy eyes at his unwanted companion, Dr. Crane scooted away from the green haired man to put some needed distance between them. “Aw, don’t act like that Craney! We’re old friends after all,” the painted man cackled before beginning to shovel food in his mouth.
    “What do you want,” the taller, dark haired male sighed before taking a forkful of roast beef and putting it in his mouth.
    “To have a lil chat ‘bout our favorite Doc,” the man to his right replied, an oddly dangerous edge to his baritone voice, causing the former Psychiatrist to look at his lunch-mate. Joker had a murderous frown on his white painted face, the red on his lips accentuating his slight sneer.
    “And what do you care about Dr. Jovian,” Crane sighed, putting emphasis on the woman’s professional name. Whatever the criminal next to him had to say about her, it was sure to be bad.
    “She interests me Craney and there’s just somethin’ about her but that’s neither here nor there. Point is I got an idea to take care of her ‘little problem’. All it would take is some time and a bit of planning,” the clown replied from between gritted teeth, sounding as pissed as the former Psychiatrist currently felt.
    “As much as I would love to take care of that beast, I am well aware of your history. I’m not inclined to aid you just so you can abuse her instead,” Jonathan snarled, turning his head to glare at his companion. Joker returned the glare, a muscle ticking gently in his made-up cheek as he looked like he very much wanted to stab the former murderer.
    “Do you want to help her or would you rather she die by his hands? Besides, you ain’t all that innocent,” the colorful male bit out, glaring heatedly as he stabbed his food viciously with his plastic fork.
    “What do you have in mind,” Jonathan hissed quietly out of the side of his mouth, his voice roughening as ‘Scarecrow’ slipped forward slightly. Joker only grinned widely before outlining his plan by using his peas and mashed potatoes.
    A shrill ringing was dragging her through the deep, comforting water of sleep. Groaning muzzily, Marie fumbled for the phone on her nightstand. She hadn’t even realized she had fallen asleep, she had merely thrown herself on her bed to gather her strength to make lunch. Disoriented and groggy, the blonde picked up the handset of her corded phone. Before she could even open her lips, a harried, male voice was frantically pleading with her. “Marie? Marie thank God! It’s Joker! He’s completely lost it! He’s attacked one of the guards for his cell and is holding him hostage with a knife made out of a plastic fork from lunch. He’s demanding you,” Dave Mickleson huffed into the phone, sounding scared and out of breath.
    In an instant, the young woman was off her bed and changing into fresh clothes. Since she was sure she would be sent home right after this was over, she opted for a pair of blue jeans and a dark red t-shirt. Instead of fixing her dirty blonde locks, Marie tied them back in a ponytail and hurriedly put on a pair of worn tennis shoes. Then she was speeding off to the hospital, reaching Arkham within moments. As soon as she entered the building, Mr. Mickleson was grabbing her arm in a firm grip and leading her to Joker’s cell.
    When they reached the closed door, the brave female didn’t waste time waiting for her boss’ okay; simply entering the cell like she had every right. Joker was standing in the middle, one of the younger guards held in his clutches. On the wall behind him, several faceless stick figures were in various stages of dismemberment. Repressing a shudder, Marie forced a smile on her face as her patient dutifully released his hostage and flushed his makeshift weapon down the toilet. “Hey again Doc,” the green haired male purred, a frightening smile on his decorated face.
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Laughter in the Dark