Chapter Text
It had been over two years since the infamous Dr. Jonathan Crane was incarcerated here at Arkham Asylum. His psychologist, Dr. Samantha Grayson was just heading to the man’s room for their daily meeting.
Stepping into the small bright room, the smaller woman gave the taller man a warm smile. “Congratulations, Dr. Crane, it has been a full eight months without any relapses!”
The infamous villain returned a small smile, his blue eyes looking up at the woman who has been treating him since his return to Arkham. “Yes, Dr. Grayson, but please, call me Jonathan. I do believe I had asked you that the other day.”
“Of course, Jonathan.” Taking a seat, the small woman pulled out her folder of notes. “Tell me, Jonathan, how have you been sleeping? You seem tired today.”
The former psychologist nodded “Last night I dreamt that Scarecrow was back and I was unable to control it. In my dream, it split from my body and became far more powerful and unstoppable than ever before, leaving me unable to stop it.” He stood, pacing in front of the woman who had helped him reign in his inner beast. “I can feel myself separating from it. It is still there, but it is easier to differentiate the two of us.” Jonathan stopped pacing, looking at the woman who he had grown to trust. “Will I ever be rid of it? Will I ever be free of Scarecrow?”
Samantha purses her full lips, wishing she could tell the man that he would be able to be completely free of the murderous beast inside of him. “I’m afraid not, Jonathan.” She watched as his eyes slowly closed in despair, crumpling back into his chair. “Jonathan, can look at me?” The small woman leaned forward, her brown eyes insistent. “Jonathan, how do I explain this.... ah! I know!” Pulling out a pencil, she handed it to the distraught man. “Jonathan, I want you to break it in half and give me the end that is on your right hand side. Good. But you will notice that the pencil, although you broke off the right side, there is still a right side.” She held out her hand for the other end of the pencil, thanking him and placing it on the table. “Jonathan, I know that you want to separate yourself from Scarecrow, but Scarecrow will always be a part of you. I’m here to help you keep Scarecrow in check.”
The villain looked at the broken pencil on the table before returning the woman’s eyes. “Thank you, Dr. Grayson.” A concerned frown formed on the slim man’s face. “You seem worried. Are you quite alright?”
The concern on his face surprised Samantha, her head tilting to the side slightly. “Well, to be honest I did get another patient last night. Another S class, like you.”
Even though she never said his name, Jonathan knew exactly who her new patient was. Unthinking, he clasped her hand. “No. He is far too dangerous. What if he hurts you? Or worse, gets in your head? He is a master manipulator. Can’t they assign the Joker to someone else? A male is less likely to fall prey to him.” Samantha blushed slightly, looking at her right hand, her patient’s large hands holding hers. Quickly realizing what he was doing, the former psychologist quickly let go of her small hand, apologizing.
“It’s quite alright, Jonathan. I won’t be working alone. No is allowed to be alone with him anymore, especially not since what happened to Dr. Harleen Quinzel. I will be working with Dr. Schwartz, so there should not be an issue.” She assured her concerned patient, smiling warmly at him when a beep sounded in the room. “Well, Jonathan, it appears our time is up! I will see you tomorrow, as always.” Stepping out of the room, she left the broken pencil on the table, heading to her next patient, the Crown Prince himself.
Jonathan Crane watched her go, too wrapped up in his worry for the first woman to have treated him as a human being and not a monster to realize that the pencil was still on the table until she was long gone. Picking it up, he thought about what she said. “Oh, if only you knew that you are the only one who can tame the beast within me.”
Nodding at her colleague, Samantha Grayson typed in the code to the infamous crime boss’ cell, following Dr. Schwartz inside. The Joker sat in his cot, wrists and ankles shackled, his head down.
“Mr. Joker, I am Dr. Schwartz and this is my colleague, Dr. Grayson.” The overweight man looked sternly at the green haired villain. “We will be treating you during your stay here at Arkham Asylum.”
The madman gave a loud cackle, startling the young woman and causing her to jump. “My stay? MY STAY?!” The man jumped up, his crazed eyes dead to the world. “And they say my jokes are bad!” He sauntered over to the two, his tongue flicking out to lick at his scarred cheeks that he painted red and white, the black around his eyes making his gaze feral.
“M-Mr. Joker, we are just trying to help!” The smaller woman squeaked, her face going pale when his empty eyes fixed on her.
“Help? I wouldn’t call what you do ‘help’. You drug us and make us little puppets. Barely able to do anything but watch the same program day in and day out. Can’t you see they are practically DEAD?! They’re so drugged up they can’t tell that they’re nothing but damn vegetables.” The fury in his eyes could melt steel beams, it took all of Samantha’s strength to keep from running out of the room. Thankfully, her colleague stepped in front of her protectively, despite his own fear for the man. The madman only cackled with dark humor, spinning on his heel to lay back on his cot. “I’m done with the two of you.” He looked up to see the psychologists were still in the room and he leapt up once again. “GET OUT GET OUT GET OUT!”
Without needing to be told again, the psychologists fled the room, terrified.