Black Eyes

Chapter 25: Fear

My hands folded neatly in my lap as the doctor and I gazed at each other in silence. I soaked in the cold breeze that wafted from the open window causing goosebumps to lace my skin. We were both waiting for the other to say something, but neither were ready yet. I sniffed while he cleared his throat.

"I've got a proposition for you." I finally remarked.

"Ah, there it is." He smiled menacingly at me, tilting his head up while gesturing with his hand to continue.

"I want the Joker out of this shit hole."

Crane let out a short laugh. "And you expect me to help you? Risk my job and just let him walk free?"

"Of course not." I snorted. "You said you needed volunteers in order to continue doing your research. The Asylum watches you carefully so you can't use the inmates, unless you're really careful and that takes up too much time, plus these people aren't fully pieced together up there anyway." I motioned to my head. "I'm valuable because 1, time won't be wasted with me and 2, I've grown mentally strong having to face the things he put me through." I leaned forward. "I don't care what you do in that lab because I want in if he gets out."

Dr. Crane sat there for a moment, considering my offer. "6 months is how long each trial goes for." He shuffled through files and pulled a paper out, sliding it towards me. "As soon as those 6 months are up, the Joker walks free."

"How do you plan on getting him out?"

"I know people. It won't be easy but I can do it, trust me. All you need to do is be a test subject. You aren't afraid of needles are you?"

"No." I gulped, signing the next 6 months of my life away to this man.

"Let's hope your pain tolerance is high. I won't lie these experiments are extremely strenuous on the body so you will experience some... discomfort, to put it lightly."

"I'll live though, right?" I realised I should've asked that before signing the contract.

"If your mind is strong enough, which I have no doubt it is." He stood up and held his hand out for me to take. "I'll give you a tour of the lab before we begin."

He led me to double doors at the very end of the hallway and not only entered a key code, but also a series of numbers and had his thumb scanned before it buzzed green. Bright white lights greeted us. The whole place looked rather clean, but not at all welcoming. I could live without it being like home, though at this point my home was with the Joker. Being in Bruce Wayne's mansion did not feel like home and I didn't want it to.

The lab was split into two parts, the experiment side and the lab side. The experiment side had a cot in the corner with restraints and a small bedside table next to it. Most of the room however, was taken up by the lab equipment. There were beakers and cylinders, machines I had never seen before and different tools. "You said you're working on a type of drug? How does it pertain to fear exactly?"

"Its supposed to cause hallucinations of what you fear the most so that you can overcome them- if you are strong enough. It has killed most of my patients or just driven them crazy."

"Wow that is a real comfort. Thanks for telling me that after I've signed the contract." Then a thought occured to me. "Are you planning on selling this stuff? Cause people will not buy from someone who tells them that it's killed most of it's customers."

Dr. Crane smiled as he closed the door and walked over to one of the lab tables, mixing something in a beaker while heating up a Bunsen burner. "Actually, it's true purpose is to allow people to go places they've never gone before and face things that they will overcome. This will result in people learning to face their fears. I plan to eradicate the weak and make way for the mentally strong. Fears are fake and figments of the imagination and we let that get in the way of life. Once I weave out the weak we can make way for a new, superior form of human. It'll be a revolution!"

As much as I wanted to judge him I simply couldn't. I was just as flawed and guilty as he. Though I couldn't shake the image of Jackle Hide or Frankenstein being in this lab.

"Couldn't fear be a good thing too though?" I made my way over to the cot in the corner and examined the restrains attached to it. How good it would feel to just sleep right now. "I mean, people can learn from their fears. Live through them and experience them first hand... Understand it's consequences..."

"But the drug will help speed up the process- go ahead and lay down here. I will have to strap you in, just in case you try something while under the drugs influence." I hesitantly obeyed as he continued. "What use is learning from fear when it won't exist in the first place? We will be learning from other things, learning bigger and better things, moving to bigger heights. There won't be anything to learn from fear if it doesn't exist, that is true, but it will open doors for bigger advancements." He finished strapped me down and pulled a needle out. "The first time is always the hardest. Just remember, it isn't real. Fear is fake."

"Easier said then done." I murmured and watched him eject the liquid into my arm. "6 months. That's all and then I get to see him." I exhaled quietly, reminding myself of why I was doing this. It would be worth it. Seeing him again would be worth it. It will be just over a year since I will have had last seen him. Much to long. I missed his mint and alcohol mixed smell. I missed his touch, which made me feel so alive and awake. I missed his face, even the paint that hid his facial features while at the same time pronouncing them. Most of all, I missed his seductive, sweet words. The way he made everything so clear and right even though so many others thought them wrong. He was sexy and brilliant, fun and protective yet crazy and mad all in one bundle and I craved it all.

Suddenly I sensed something was wrong. I looked down to see the restraints that were supposed to be holding my hands to the cot were actually a straight jacket binding my upper body. I looked back up to see Dr. Crane shaking his head at me. "She had been doing so well. Honestly. I mean, I hadn't seen any signs. She always seemed normal."

"Come on Doctor, you've been in the field how long? And you hadn't seen the signs?" My dad came up behind him looking angry. "She's been admitted into Arkham because your methods failed."

"Arkham? No I'm not crazy-"

"Iris stop." My dad held his hand up. "You aren't helping yourself."

"I'm not- I'm not crazy! I just needed to do this for him-"

"And look at where he's gotten you!" Bruce Wayne yelled at me, Dr. Crane's figure shrinking in my dad's furry. "He's a homicidal, psychopath who manipulated you into something you're not! But you wouldn't understand now. You're mind is too far gone. You cannot reason. Not with anyone."

"You're the one who can't be reasoned with! You jump around on top of buildings with a mask and cape on pretending to be something you're not! Batman has manipulated you!"

My dad turned away. "You're crazy."

"Mad." Dr. Crane shook his head at me again.

"I'm not!!" I found myself shaking with anger and hatred for my father. "If you would just listen to him to- to me-"

"It's over, Iris. We can't save you."

"Save me from what? Being another robot like you?! I've seen- where are you going?"

My dad walked away into the dark, disappearing from view. I tried to get up to follow him but I was being held back. "Don't walk away from me when I'm talking! Listen to me! I'm not a child! You can't ignore me!" I thrashed under my straight jacket, viciously spitting and gushing out words of hate and despair. I stopped abruptly when a nasty growl entered my ears. "What was that?"

I looked at the bottom of my bed to see a disgusting creature crawling towards me slowly. I shrieked and kicked it in the face which sent it spiraling away from me onto the ground. Another creature leapt out of the darkness and landed on top of the one I had kicked. It proceeded to rip the other one apart- guts and shredded flesh tore into the air.

"Why... Why would you eat one of your own? What the hell are you?" It craned it's neck to look at me, blood dripping from its razor sharp teeth. I gasped, not at the gorrey scene before me, but at the fact that it had my face.

Panic flooded me. My body began to palpitate violently and as quickly as it happened, everything went black.

I will suffer for you. I promised him I would. I will never go back on that promise.