Chapter 25 Chapter 25
The Scarecrow said he wanted to examine Megan, but in reality he was more like playing with the child. He first pinched her wrist bones, then lifted her arms and spun her around to see her body control and flexibility, and finally he even pried open the child's eyelids. No one knew what he was checking.
Megan is an autistic child. Even though her symptoms have improved, she still doesn't know how to refuse and can only accept. She was pulled around by the scarecrow for a while without any reaction. But now she is easily distracted, which is different from her previous state.
Before, she ignored the outside world. It was more like she was trapped in her own world than in a trance. But now she was trying to capture the movements of the outside world, but her perception was still dull and her comprehension was poor. Her brain processor was lagging behind, so it took more time to recognize, record and react.
The Scarecrow studied it for a moment, then shrugged his shoulders and said, "There are so many questions. Where do you want me to begin?"
His usually gloomy face no longer had a hypocritical expression. After all, in terms of academics, his attitude was rigorous and serious. He squatted on his knees and watched what Megan noticed. Her attention was completely diverted. In short, she paid much more attention to things and phenomena than to her peers, and this was also a manifestation of social communication barriers.
Although Megan still has the problem of developmental delay, he personally believes that it is more likely caused by malnutrition, because her bones are within the normal development range, but she is too thin. Eating more and exercising more can make up for this problem.
According to Scarecrow's understanding of Megan's performance when she first arrived and in the past six months, she did not have symptoms such as epilepsy, abnormal emotions and behavior. Due to limited observation, he could not confirm her narrow interests and whether she had stereotyped behaviors. However, judging from her behavior of squatting in the corner and observing dust and shadows, she had some tendencies in that direction.
Scarecrow looked up at Killer Croc and asked, "I heard you taught her. Is there anything wrong with her intelligence?" She didn't look unintelligent.
Killer Croc's vertical pupils had been staring at him since he approached, but he acquiesced to his inspection of Megan and replied in a low voice, "No problem."
The Scarecrow stroked his chin in thought, "I guess her problems are more than just these. You know..."
She is the clown's delight.
From the day she arrived in Arkham, she had already been trained by the Joker, and only the Joker knew what her original condition was. So would the Joker be kind enough to heal her?
That madman is impossible, okay? He just did it for fun. All the guidance he gave to Megan was for the ending he expected. He even brought Megan to Arkham Asylum to let her live with them. He was still in Arkham. If he said that he would completely abandon Megan, it would be impossible. He must be closely supervising everything!
The Scarecrow didn't know as much about autism as he did other aspects of psychology, but he knew his cellmate, the Joker, who was a completely insane and confused man. Perhaps his soul was not human at all, but something else that had become a human being, just to plunge the world into sin and chaos.
After examining Megan, he thought a lot in his mind, and finally he pinched Megan's hair in his hand and pulled it slightly to divert her attention back.
"Megan, are you born like this?" he asked inquiringly, but he was destined to get no answer from Megan. However, he was also unsure, and the Scarecrow fell into deep thought.
Today was also the first time he had looked into the eyes of this child. Her clear green eyes seemed translucent, but in reality, they were dry and empty, with nothing in them. Her cognition was hazy, and she didn't even have a clear self. They were only just beginning, and it wasn't until today that she had the courage to speak out.
She cried out, proving her existence to the outside world, whereas before she had completely closed off her self-awareness.
Megan is also an innocent and harmless child. She is different from all of them. She has never committed any sin and has never hurt anyone.
So even though there was some minor conflict between Scarecrow and the Joker, and he was sarcastic towards Megan, there was no actual harm.
The Scarecrow curled his lips and said coldly: "Although her symptoms have improved, I advise you not to have too high expectations for this child. You must know... she does not belong to you." She is the clown's property.
"I hope you're not genuinely captivated by this little girl, or you'll be tempted to get involved in her future. Are you willing to go up against the Joker for her?"
He made two negative assumptions in quick succession. Was there really such a fool in this asylum? He would sacrifice himself to fight that lunatic Joker for a little girl with no relatives and no benefits? If there really was one, who knew if he was crazy or the other was crazy? It was simply unimaginable.
Killer Croc swung his tail impatiently when he heard his words. For an amphibian like the crocodile monster, the tail is an extremely strong and powerful limb. It easily smashed the stones when it hit the ground, raising a cloud of dust.
"None of your business."
The scarecrow's kind reminder was rejected, and he waved his hands in disgust in front of him to prevent the dust from flying into his mouth and nose.
She subconsciously wanted to say that she was his patient, but then she remembered that since his criminal behavior was exposed, his degrees and certificates had been revoked, and he had been expelled from the American Psychological Association. His new research reports and papers only had value when they were sold. In short, he was not qualified to provide clinical treatment.
He shrugged his shoulders, reached out and touched the top of Megan's head, then stood up and said, "Okay, the game of playing house is over, I won't play with you anymore."
He wasn't the most carefree or caring person to begin with, but the fact that he was caught by Killer Croc to play with a child... He was misunderstood, but he didn't bother to explain, and just happened to get closer to see the condition of Megan's illness.
But Scarecrow had no intention of treating Megan. Besides his indifference to children, there was also the Joker—the Joker treated her like his property. Even if he healed her, what then? Would the Joker allow her to live a normal life instead of dragging her into his pursuit of pleasure? He wouldn't do something he knew would be fruitless.
Scarecrow stood up and patted his knees before leaving, and Killer Croc let him go.
Although the Riddler arrived later, he stayed here. His curious eyes shifted from the Scarecrow that had already left to Megan. He couldn't help but waved his hand in front of her eyes and came closer to greet her: "Hi, Megan, do you recognize me now?"
He was all smiles and seemed warm and sincere, but in fact he had a talent for acting as well. If, as the creator of the riddle, he didn't know how to perform at all, the riddle and the entire puzzle-solving process would be overshadowed, and that would be very boring.
Performance is also part of the riddle, deception is the charm of the riddle, twists and turns and fantasy are the essence of the riddle, and at the most fundamental point of the riddle is the collision of thoughts, cognition and logic.
And now he had a child in front of him who was born without the ability to understand riddles. She had no talent for creating riddles or revealing their answers! Logically, he would find her boring, but...
Riddler looked up at Killer Croc, "Although Megan's performance today was unexpected, she still has to study and do her homework, right?"
He had deceived Killer Croc and tricked Megan once, but now he was calm and didn't think it was a big deal. He said calmly, "I think this kid needs some logical thinking questions. What do you think?"
Killer Croc glanced at him and said in a deep voice, "Tomorrow, starting from tomorrow." As he spoke, he pinched his sharp claws, and his bones and meridians were stretched, making a series of joint cracking sounds.
The Riddler wasn't afraid at all. He smiled and prepared to leave. "OK, no problem for me."
After he left, Megan and Killer Croc were the only ones left. Her attention was wandering, and she was curious about everything, but there were too many things around her - the lights and sounds, anything could attract her.
But Megan couldn't help but look up at Killer Croc. The water on her face had dried, and there was no trace of tears. Her eyes were dry and bitter, but she had more expectations. Maybe she didn't realize it, but since she made her voice, she has been asking for a response from the outside world. She wants to hear an echo.
Killer Croc went to pick up the pocket she dropped in the grass and said to her, "Let's go and take these to Clayface." He stretched out his hand to Megan, but this time Megan did not directly hold his claws, but also stretched out a finger to face his claws.
Is there any meaning in such behavior?
Maybe she didn't want to express anything, she just did it because she wanted to. She held her breath and saw that Killer Croc didn't refuse or show any impatience. This monster had experienced enough hardships in his childhood and even in adulthood, which made him very patient, and his patience was even greater when dealing with children.
He waited until Megan turned around and took hold of his sharp claws before slowly walking towards the cell.
They walked to the outside of Clayface's cell, and Killer Croc decided to let Megan do it herself. He picked her up, placed her in his strong arms, and handed her the bag of dirt.
Megan was a little confused. She slowly took the pocket and looked around evasively, but no one urged her. Her confusion was relieved a lot, and soon a muddy yellow face that was distorted as if it had melted was revealed behind the narrow window.
It, or perhaps he, made a vague and indecipherable call. Even though he was not very intelligent, he now knew Megan's name and called it repeatedly and numbly. Only the whites of his eyes could be seen in the sunken holes where his eye sockets should be. But he had sight, and he was looking at the child in front of him who was looking at him at eye level. Dirt began to seep out of the window again.
The mud and sand squirmed like living things, but they were actually part of his body. Killer Croc kicked them mercilessly, shaking all the mud and sand back into the cell.
Clayface was not angered, he only felt peace, "Me...Megan..."
Megan stretched out a hand toward the window, and a stream of mud and sand overflowed from behind the window again and touched her fingertips. Of course, there was no communication between them, and one was a child with a furry little problem, and the other was a monster made of clay, but they could get along peacefully.
She looked at the ugly clay monster, but her attention was easily distracted now. She couldn't help but observe other things and looked left and right from time to time, but she still remembered why she was digging the soil.
Picking up the bag, Mudface also spread the piece of clay in the air, and waited for Megan to pour out the clay in her pocket. They did not dissolve at first, but soon seeped into the clay and merged into one.
That little bit of soil was not much, and no change could be seen with the naked eye, but the mud face no longer made any sound, he was calm.
The author has something to say:
Catch bugs.
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