Insanity // J.Valeska

Part Eighteen: The Low

Jerome found her sometime after her high met with its inevitable low. He found her not collapsed in a dry heap, nor did he find her in a crazed, feral state - he found her at the one place he never would've guessed, but made all the more sense.

He found Steph at a dance studio.

Built high over the city skyline, the studio was deserted apart from the girl he sought. As he took in the vast rubber flooring and wall of mirrors, he couldn't help but feel a twinge of nostalgia and dread; they'd had mirrors like that in the circus he'd grown up in. Ever since he could remember, Jerome had hated the circus. Swallowing the bubbling sense of anxiety, Jerome's eyes swept over his girl, scanning her for any sort of physical harm. And harm there was. Bullet wounds, no longer weeping blood but alarming nonetheless.

She was facing one of the bars along the wall of windows, one leg propped up against the bar as she stretched her body, her feet concealed beneath shiny satin pink ballet shoes.

Jerome felt incredibly out of place in the spotless studio, but he was here with a purpose: Steph. Masking his discomfort, Jerome made his presence known to his girl by whistling brightly. And sure enough, Steph swung her body around, leg and all, her brows furrowing together at the sight of the boy. "What're you doing here?"

"I could ask you the same question."

Steph rolled her eyes; she wasn't even surprised at his evasiveness. "I needed space to clear my head; to find my way back to well... me."

Jerome said nothing, but moved even closer to her, leaning against the barre, waiting for her to continue.

Steph refused to meet his intense gaze, her eyes darting to her feet as she pointed and flexed her toes. Dance used to be such a distraction for her; it was her way to cope when life seemed to toss her on her ass, and of late life had a habit of doing that too often.

"The Galavan's drugged me. I-I wasn't myself. They made me go find Jim, and I was so, so crazy. Jerome, Jerome, I killed people. Innocent lives were taken," she gulped, "by me."

Steph turned away from the red-head, unable to look him in the eyes. She didn't know why this should bother her; she had assisted in the death of dozens of innocent victims since joining the Maniax, yet this seemed different... dirtier. Steph desperately wanted to take a bath and scrub at her skin until she could see her veins.

As for the drug... it had worn off a few hours ago, and she had fled, needing to distance herself from the GCPD: from Jim and Harvey who she had so brutally attacked. It wasn't even in her control - it was entirely the fault of the effects of the drug. She didn't know what it did, all she knew was that it wasn't her. It couldn't have been her.

Jerome smiled softly at her, placing a gentle hand on her shoulder, and she turned to face him once more. "It was a drug called the 'Mad Hatter'- it's purpose is to enhance and bring forth a person's secret personality so that they can be the person they really want to be." He explained gently, "The high only lasts a few hours, and depending on the dosage and characteristics of the person, it can leave some side effects."

Steph looked up into his familiar green eyes, finding a surprising amount of comfort and concern in them. "How do you know this stuff?"

He shrugged, "I couldn't find you today, so naturally I went searching. Did you know there's another blonde chick living in the penthouse? As Tabitha's personal sex-slave, kinky, I know. Anyways, I overheard Stabby Tabby telling her today."

A blonde? In the penthouse? A lesbian? Tabitha?

Her mind was swirling with this new information - how had she not seen this before? Barbara had been taken to Arkham after she had gone looney and went on a killing spree, and therefore there was a chance she had been taken as well. How many blondes did Arkham Asylum have anyway? Certainly not many! And the information of her being Tabitha's lover...Babs had cheated on Jim with a woman before they broke off their relationship, everything fit. She needed to find her, talk to her. Soon.