Hidden Wounds

Chapter XII: The Pit

SK opened his eyes. He was out for a while trying to remember where he was or how he got where he was. He looked around to see his surrounding and he saw a mirror on his wall. For the first time in years he saw himself, but he saw he wasn't alone. Behind him sitting on the ground was a man with a mass of filthy green hair and a purple suit looking down on the floor. 

"Who are you?" SK asked the man who started to just laugh and looked up at SK revealing a cracked and runny layer of white clown makeup, with his sunken eyes thickly rimmed in black. When he smiled SK saw a bloody smile with scars shaping into a smile. 

"I should be asking who are you? This is my cell for pete sake and then pass out." The man said smacking his lips together. Then the man grabbed SK's mask and showed it to him shaking it up and down. 

"Oooooo i see you were a mask. I don't. Any man who wears mask hides who they really are as a man. Someone like me however, i just have this mask just cause." 

"Your mask?" SK said as the man smiled again. 

"My mask, my scars whichever you want. Speaking of scars you wanna know how i got mine?"The man said touching his face while SK stayed silent. 

"Kazakhstan. I was on a mission with a bunch of other members. That old man, the big dude, the orange dude, some guy that wore the same mask as you, and last but not least the Batman." He said staring out the cell doors to the open area where another man was trying to climb out of the pit. 

"It was a simple mission, overthrow some stupid leader who was doing some stupid things. Now what we didn't account for was the fact that their leader was just some kid." He said scratching his head. "I never wanted to kill the kid, but i had to!" He said breaking into a laughter. "The kid had no chance! HAHAHAHA! He died so fast! HAHAHAHA!" The man kept laughing. 

"Shut the fuck up you clown!" Someone said from the outside of his cell however he didn't stop. SK turned his head to see three guys enter the cell. 

"I said shut the fuck up!" One of the men said running at the laughing man and tried to punch him. What he didn't know was the laughing man had a shank and stabbed him in the jugular. SK was surprised as he later killed the other two still laughing until he stopped. 

"I haven't had that much fun in years!" The laughing man said. 

SK was horrified at the bodies on the ground. "Who are you?!"

"That is the Joker young Austin." A man said from behind him. The man had a hood on and a mangled face and just looked like absolute crap. "I guess its time for me to help you as Ra's wanted me to. My name is Scarecrow but do not be afraid, that comes later." He laughed spraying SK in the face with his toxin. 

SK fell on the ground trying to understand what has happened as Scarecrow continued to talk. "You see fear is actually not scary: Fear is for learning. I see your past, I see you fears, I see who you really are."

"You don't know shit about me!" SK said swinging his fist trying to fight off what ever he saw but Scarecrow just moved right next to Joker. 

"Maybe i don't. But i didn't know anything about the Joker but i now do. You cannot sit there and tell me your not afraid." Scarecrow said sounding upset. 

"The only thing that i fear is fear itself!" SK said swinging his arms around and grabbed Scarecrow by the throat. Joker laughed in the back as Scarecrow was trying to gasp for air until SK let him down. 

"Impressive. Most impressive. You are able to see beyond your fears and understand that it was fake and my toxin wasn't real. You really are his son." Scarecrow said amazed. 

"You knew my father?" SK said surprised as both him and Joker nodded. 

"We both did, your father was a great man and he-" Scarecrow started then stopped. "Something is happening outside." He said as the three of them left the cell with SK leaving his mask on the ground. 

                                                                                         ***

Camilla looked around in the Pit for SK. She didn't know if he was in here but continued to look. Nate and Alyssa looked around too. 

"Old memories sister?" Nate said with a slight smile as Alyssa nodded. Carter on the other hand was "asking" where SK was.

"Where is he!" She said to a random prisoner slamming him into a wall. Renee tried to calm Carter down but couldn't. 

"May I ask why your here?" Scarecrow said coming out of the cell with The Joker and SK to look down and see Camilla, Carter, Renee, Alyssa, and Nate. Alyssa looked petrified when she saw Scarecrow and The Joker and tighten her grip on her sword. 

"We are looking for a friend of ours. Tell us where he is and we will spare you. Don't tell us or tell us he's dead and we won't spare you." Camilla said with a smile pointing her finger up at Scarecrow who just laughed. 

"Your friend is okay." Scarecrow laughed. "Come up here and get him." 

Carter, not thinking if it was a trap or something, ran up the stairs to see SK but was shocked to see what she saw. 

"SK your mask!" She said looking at him mask less for the first time. He turned to face her which she met him with more shock. When she met his eyes below his black hair she saw two different color eyes: one red, one blue. 

"Look Carter i really don't want to-" He began until she ran up and kissed him, in which he kissed her back. 

"Never scare me like that again!" Carter said with tears in her eyes as she was still embracing him. SK stroked her cheeks and nodded. 

"Eh erm!" Camilla coughed to break up the moment. "We kinda need to get going we still have a mission to do." SK nodded and grabbed his mask and left with Carter. On the way out he stopped by Scarecrow and The Joker. 

"Thank you to the both of you for helping me in your owns ways." He said sticking out his hand to shake theirs. 

"Ah you were pretty fun!" Joker said shaking his hand up and down very hard. Scarecrow on the other hand was more calm. 

"You showed me no fear which is good and you showed me you are more than a man in a mask. I bid you a farewell and i hope one day we meet again." He said but began to lower his voice. "Do not trust the Batman Austin he knows more than you think!" He said into SK's ear. SK nodded as him and the rest of the team left. 

                                                                                               ***

Outside the Pit was a large rope. SK looked at it and smiled, grabbing it and letting it go down into the Pit hoping the people in there would climb out. 

"Now lets go to that castle!" Camilla said as the group started their trek there.