There was silence for a good twenty minutes or so, then footsteps came closer. Edward was dressed in somewhat civilian clothing. Green suit instead of the Arkham jumpsuit, no more damn orange, and his trusty cane with him. He was being picked up right now, but he knew he had to go and say goodbye to Jonathan. He owed him that much.
He approached the cell, not surprised to catch him sulking. Perhaps seething was the better word. "Jonathan? I just came to wish you well..."
He cleared his throat, unsure how to proceed here. "I promise you, I'll find the solution to this particular puzzle yet. And fast."
"You know my full name is Jonathan Ulysses Crane. That's how you know they fucking hated me. See, the south loves denying it but it's full of 'em. Racists. Homophobes. You name a bad word for an ignorant folk and you got small town Georgia pegged." Jonathan licked his lips and looked up at the ceiling, his heart racing in a way he wasn't used to. He felt like he was back in Georgia again and all he could think of was his Granny's cold stare and the way his father would whisper in his ear after every experiment.
"Let's try it again, Jonny."
"I got a cracked skull once, just like you. At age ten. Cause the local kids thought I was a queer... left me out in the dirt roads. I walked to hospital, blood down me. They didn't wanna pursue shit cause I provoked." He was the queer one. Jonathan drummed his fingers anxiously on his leg and cleared his throat, realising his internal thoughts were now external. Why was he doing that? He didn't want to tell Edward this shit. He shook his head and held his hand up to Edward.
"Catch you later, son. Don't worry about this, it's just the way of the world. Goes in cycles. Bully comes in, bully goes out. It will have a solution."
"It will, Jonny..." What was happening? Edward stepped closer to the bars and he caught Jonathan's eyes, or at least tried to. Something in them was triggering certain memories. That wasn't the colleague he'd gotten used to somewhat trusting behind those blue eyes. There was an empty conscience if ever he'd seen one. "I can solve it. I can solve everything."
It was what he did, after all. "Look, we're all in this together, aren't we? All along the edges of society." Looking at Jonathan right now, it terrified him to his core. He hoped he was good at masking that, but he wasn't too confident. Jonathan was good at picking up on fear, for obvious reasons. "We stick together. At least against everyone else."
He remembered people around him, he remembered family and colleagues but in the end of all things, he was always back to being alone. Even now, Edward was leaving and he wouldn't come back. Jon was alone. Alone and he had to fix it. He couldn't rely on anyone else. He always ended up let down. He could rely on one thing and one thing alone. That he was the Scarecrow and no one could ever scare him.
"You can pick a lock, can't you?" Any lock, any time, anywhere. Those fancy little gadgets on the cells, Edward always bragged about them being easy. "If you're with me, if you ain't bullshitting me, unlock the cell..."
"Any lock, any time, anywhere, faster than anyone. Er." Damn, had to be honest if he was making a serious claim, so he conceded. "Faster than just about anyone." Whatever. Definitely faster than anyone in Arkham. And, of course, he could not resist a challenge. He walked over to the door of John's cell, looking at the keypad and muttering. "Today is November sixth and we're already on the third shift, they'd not have updated into wintertime yet, happens in a few hours. So just going by the grease on the--" Trailing off, he quickly typed in the code, a triumphant smile when the door sprung open.
Then he realised what he'd just done. "...er, you probably shouldn't right now, Jon. You know how Bolton gets."
"It don't matter, don't worry about it. Go home, Ed. You're free."
Jonathan offered Edward a smile as he stepped out of the cell but his smile wasn't quite right. Something was off. Something wasn't right. He wasn't exactly hiding it either. "You done good, son. I appreciate it." The help, the jail break, the everything. It was good but Edward had to leave. He knew that, above all else, that Edward should probably leave.
Jonathan turned around and started walking away, whistling idly as he did so.
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icebergloungers2022-11-05 07:24 pm
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He approached the cell, not surprised to catch him sulking. Perhaps seething was the better word. "Jonathan? I just came to wish you well..."
He cleared his throat, unsure how to proceed here. "I promise you, I'll find the solution to this particular puzzle yet. And fast."
no subject
"Let's try it again, Jonny."
"I got a cracked skull once, just like you. At age ten. Cause the local kids thought I was a queer... left me out in the dirt roads. I walked to hospital, blood down me. They didn't wanna pursue shit cause I provoked." He was the queer one. Jonathan drummed his fingers anxiously on his leg and cleared his throat, realising his internal thoughts were now external. Why was he doing that? He didn't want to tell Edward this shit. He shook his head and held his hand up to Edward.
"Catch you later, son. Don't worry about this, it's just the way of the world. Goes in cycles. Bully comes in, bully goes out. It will have a solution."
no subject
It was what he did, after all. "Look, we're all in this together, aren't we? All along the edges of society." Looking at Jonathan right now, it terrified him to his core. He hoped he was good at masking that, but he wasn't too confident. Jonathan was good at picking up on fear, for obvious reasons. "We stick together. At least against everyone else."
no subject
He remembered people around him, he remembered family and colleagues but in the end of all things, he was always back to being alone. Even now, Edward was leaving and he wouldn't come back. Jon was alone. Alone and he had to fix it. He couldn't rely on anyone else. He always ended up let down. He could rely on one thing and one thing alone. That he was the Scarecrow and no one could ever scare him.
"You can pick a lock, can't you?" Any lock, any time, anywhere. Those fancy little gadgets on the cells, Edward always bragged about them being easy. "If you're with me, if you ain't bullshitting me, unlock the cell..."
no subject
Then he realised what he'd just done. "...er, you probably shouldn't right now, Jon. You know how Bolton gets."
no subject
Jonathan offered Edward a smile as he stepped out of the cell but his smile wasn't quite right. Something was off. Something wasn't right. He wasn't exactly hiding it either. "You done good, son. I appreciate it." The help, the jail break, the everything. It was good but Edward had to leave. He knew that, above all else, that Edward should probably leave.
Jonathan turned around and started walking away, whistling idly as he did so.
no subject