Chapter 33 Chapter 33 [VIP]
Bane was keenly aware of her real problem -
Her fear of the outside world, her yearning for death, Megan's illness is not as mild as she appears, but is already quite serious. It's just that someone has made adjustments for her, which gives the illusion of improvement now.
But she only relied on the adjusted mechanism, and her illness did not get better. In that mechanism, death was the real core.
Even if Bane thought about it again, he still didn't understand how the Joker achieved this, which made him feel difficult about Megan's situation. He looked at her with a heavy gaze that did not frighten anyone. The child's consciousness was not fully recovered and she had not yet possessed a true self.
Beneath the dry and dead look in her eyes, there is still curiosity about the world, but her perception is so dull that she is not even aware of her own problems or the predicament she is in.
This slowness might not be a bad thing. If she had realized it, she might not have survived until now.
Megan is a weak child who can only passively accept everything brought to her by the outside world. However, Bain did not despise or look down on her because he knew that he was one in a million. His mind and spirit were strong enough. So when he looked down from above, he was more tolerant.
He stretched out his hand and carefully placed it on Megan's head. He had not made such a tender gesture since the incident when he was six years old, so he asked him to keep his arm tight so as not to hurt the weak child.
Without directly starting to preach, Bain said: "I will tell you my experience. As for what I gained from it..."
"For ten years I was kept alone in a dark, narrow cell, with only a palm-sized spot above my head to see the outside world. Every night, the tide would recede during the day and pour back in, forcing me to swim through the long night. I ate crabs, mice, and sea fish."
It was by no means a good experience, and similar hardships occurred throughout his life. What he learned from it was, "Only staying alive is the cornerstone of my struggle and hard work. If I had died at the age of six, in a dark cell, or during an experiment, then everything that had happened before would have been meaningless."
"They will vanish with my death. Even if someone remembers my existence, it will only be a sigh at best."
This was his understanding of life, but Bane soon realized that Megan did not have the same experience as him, and she might not understand. He suddenly sighed for her, and this time he truly realized the difference between them.
For many people, death is something they are unwilling to face or accept, because it means loss and regret. Everything they had in life becomes a dream bubble, wealth and status lose their meaning, and no matter how deep the feelings are, they cannot bring people back to life. All the ideals and ambitions that have yet to be realized become nothing but regrets.
But that wasn't the case for Meghan.
"Then let me ask you, Megan."
"—You long for death. What are you trying to escape from?"
After he grasped the core and asked this to-the-point question, Bane saw endless streams of water flowing from her eyes and pain surging in her soul, but the crack was too small and too little pain could be released.
But her expression did not change. She touched the water marks on her face and was still curious about where they came from. She didn't know that she was crying, and she didn't understand why her still hazy consciousness was in pain.
She was full of contradictions, and the problems that Bane had only glimpsed were not something he could solve. So after pondering for a moment, he thought of the information he had obtained. Megan was the child found and brought back by the Joker, and they had spent some time outside before she was taken to Arkham.
Only the Joker knows Megan's problem best. If Megan's illness is not caused by him, then her current operating mechanism must have been set up by the Joker.
As for whether the Joker caused Megan's illness, Bain instinctively thought not.
Bain waited patiently until Megan's tears stopped and the water marks on her face dried up, then he stood up and said to her, "Come on, I'll take you home."
He walked in front, and waited for her to slowly catch up after walking some distance. On the way, he met Poison Ivy who was looking for the child but had missed it.
Megan looked fine, but plants' perception was much sharper than humans'. They could analyze the human body's condition from faint pheromones. Megan's brain released chemicals with obvious fluctuations, conveying sadness and pain.
Poison Ivy's gaze immediately changed when she looked at Bane. Her unnatural green eyes had a certain inhuman feeling, and she looked even more cold and sinister when her emotions changed. Poison Ivy's methods have been extremely vicious since her debut. She has the ability and confidence to become an enemy of anyone.
However, Bane did not show any aggression under her hostile gaze, and even ignored the carnivorous plants waiting to attack beside her. Instead, he shook his head and gestured to Megan.
Poison Ivy asked distrustfully, "You mean...her own problem?" How could she trust Bane? He attacked Arkham Asylum just a few months ago!
Bane wasn't angry enough, and said calmly, "The problem we just discovered may only be solved by the Joker."
He sounded so serious, and the route they were taking was also leading to the Joker's cell. Poison Ivy might have believed it. She looked at Megan, thought for a moment, and for the sake of the child, she didn't continue to stop them and waste time. She just touched the child's hair before leaving, and bent down to kiss her forehead.
"Okay, good boy, I'll come see you again after you've solved this little problem."
Bane sent Megan to the door of the Joker's cell, even knocked on the door, and said to the person inside: "I am Bane, I think you should know the problem with Megan, it must be solved."
Without waiting for the other party's response, he still had something to say to Megan before leaving. Maybe she didn't understand, but it didn't matter. As long as she could continue to survive, she would eventually understand.
"You have to cherish life more, Megan. Everyone only has one chance to come here, even if there are pain and suffering... At some point, you will gain things you never imagined."
He actually taught a child to cherish life, but Bain didn't think it was strange or inappropriate. He always had his best wishes for Megan.
I hope she can also overcome the wall that traps her and reach a wider world where she can start to reap the rewards.
After Bane left, Megan returned to the Joker's cell and saw him sitting in the work chair, stroking his chin and looking at her with a scrutinizing gaze. The smile on his face suddenly became a little subtle, and the end of his eyebrows raised noticeably. He immediately showed interest and waved at her, "Come here, let me take a look at you."
Megan obediently moved closer and raised her head slightly. Just then, the clown reached out and pinched her jaw, asking, "Who made you waver? Who made you think?"
She stared at him with her eyes wide open. No matter how much the clown said, she wouldn't respond. This was her usual behavior. But this time, he got angry, his mouth twisted into a ferocious expression. "I hope you still remember that you are mine, little Megan."
"You belong to me, and now who has changed you? Who said what to you? Let me know too, okay?"
He was almost going crazy about this. What did Bane say to her that made his clockwork puppet change its appearance...even if it was just a very subtle change, but it was clear enough!
The Joker knew her original appearance best, for he was the one who had taken her out of a dirty corner! He was the one who hired someone to take care of her, and later gave her a name, allowing her to live by his side without any harm until now!
He brought her so many things just to let her know, even if she was unconscious, that everything she had now was created and given by him.
Including the operating mechanism that supports her actions, including everything she has now.
She longed for and yearned for death so much, but her brain was not very good. He had a lot of trouble getting her to directly link him with death. Later, she became obedient and followed his instructions, but she just thought that "obeying instructions and being a good child will get death." Her operating mechanism was established based on this simple and ridiculous logic.
But now Meghan has recalled 'death'...
The Joker stared at her lifted face and fell into thought. He thought that a child with a not-so-smart brain could be easily deceived, so he would let her forget everything in the past in the warm water. She didn't remember it anyway, and then he would re-establish a set of operating mechanisms to let her get along with the criminals in Arkham, learn knowledge, and have more perception and curiosity about the outside world in order to achieve this goal.
But it was obvious that this plan failed. She was stubborn and still wanted to die in the end. All the things she had and the illusions he created could not deceive or keep her.
He turned Megan's head over and over in confusion, trying to see what was going on in her brain. It was incredible to him.
But it was rare that something happened that was beyond the Joker's plan. He decided to be more patient with Megan and retracted his angry expression. The smile on his pale face became deeper and more terrifying. "Meghan, this is the first time you have gone against my ideas."
He has already thought of a solution.
The hand that was pinching Megan's jaw moved down and directly grasped her neck, which was so slender that it seemed to break at a single bend. He needed to teach her a lesson. Didn't he just want to die? Then why not just experience it! Hahahahahahahahahahahahahaha.
Megan didn't know the danger was coming. She had no emotions, so she didn't feel fear. Her green eyes were crystal clear, forming a sharp contrast with the other pair of turbid green eyes close to her.
The Joker had had enough of her acting crazy in front of him! He placed his hand on her neck and began to slowly tighten his grip.
The child did not struggle at all, but her neck was tightened, causing her physical discomfort. She opened her mouth, but could not breathe air into her nose. Tears fell from her eyes, and in the watery light, her pupils dilated rapidly.
She was still the same as she was at the beginning, accepting death calmly, even with a sense of relief, but without any nostalgia or reluctance. After all, her world was empty and she had nothing.
She thought she could escape from this world.
But just as her tears were about to fall onto the clown's leather-gloved hands, he let go.
The clown smiled softly and said in a strange tone through Megan's tearful eyes, "Well, you are my beloved child, you know? I have tolerated too much of you. I gave birth to you and raised you."
"You are my child in the legal sense. Is there anything you can't tell me?"
Megan's breathing quickly recovered, and she was patted gently on the back, but there were still slight, uncontrolled gasps and tremors. She looked into the clown's eyes and seemed even more confused. She opened her mouth, but felt even more empty, confused and... adrift.
Unlike the physiological reaction of tears falling, the clown saw for the first time in her eyes her fear of this world. She was afraid of this world and dared not face it, so she stubbornly escaped, so she just wanted to die.
And behind that fear was silent pain that she could not express.
Megan was a miserable, timid child.
The Joker revealed her real problem, which she herself did not understand.
"Megan, you are rejecting pain, not life."*
The author has something to say:
What you reject is pain, not life - Source from the Internet.
Although the ugly father's behavior was a bit extreme, the result was still good. He really understood his child very well, and Megan's illness was also quite special, so it would not work without a little stimulation.
The Joker is a very chaotic and evil character, and the one written here has been toned down a lot (). Looking at the detailed outline, he still has his moments of madness and evil, but he won't cause any harm to Megan! (The desire to survive is off the charts)
See you on Monday~
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
