bakerstreet | THAT'S GOOD, RIGHT?

Loki gives a quiet snort at the questions, letting Crane handle it. And handle it he does, telling the man the truth with no great amount of tact. It could have been fun to lie to Edward and make him believe he'd been out for a hundred years and Loki grins at the idea, arching an eyebrow when Edward points at him.

"A friend?" Loki repeats, amused. That's one way to put it. "I believe we were," he agrees steadily, giving Edward a bland smile. He will follow Jonathan out, unwilling to use the Tesseract in plain sight.

Jonathan isn't the type to brag that he has a lover. The other rogues also wouldn't believe him if he were to tell them that he's in love with someone, and that someone loves him back. They certainly wouldn't believe him if he were to tell them his lover was Loki himself.

"Whatever, Crane," Edward waves a dismissive hand at the two of them. "If you'll excuse me, I'm just going to look around, and then I'm out of here."

"Check the visitor's center, and the newspapers in the guard shack." Crane replies, taking Loki by the arm gently and walking back towards the entrance. "Give the others my regards, if you see them."

Crane's had enough of Arkham for one lifetime. Leaning in close to Loki, he whispers, "When we get back outside the gate, take me to Gotham's amusement mile."

Well, perhaps Loki would like to be bragged about, just once. But they can talk about it later on.

He allows Crane to pull him away by the arm, giving Edward one last toothy grin before he steps out of the Asylum. He won't be missing it either, though it has a special spot in his heart, as it is where he met Jonathan for the first time.

He arches an eyebrow at the request, letting his fingers intertwine with Crane's as he summons the Tesseract's energy. "Are we looking for fun, or for trouble?" he inquires. Between one step and the other they jump through space at dizzying speed, promptly arriving at the foot of a derelict Ferris wheel.

"Perhaps a little of both," Crane replies, a hint of snark in his voice. He closes his eyes instinctively when Loki teleports them away, opening them again in the split second it takes for them to travel to the other end of Gotham City.

The disorientation hits him again, and he needs a moment to put his head in his hand as he waits for it to pass. As soon as his head clears, he looks up at the abandoned Ferris wheel, and the rest of the park. There had been talk for years by the city to restore this park, and it seemed they still hadn't gotten around to it. They would be better off to simply tear it down.

"Now that I'm back, I suppose I'll need to plan something to signal my return."

Well, then. Loki is always up for mixing fun and trouble.

He stays close to Jonathan when he notices that he is a little disorientated from all the space-bending they have been doing, putting a hand on his elbow to support him. "I forget sometimes, that using the Tesseract can be hard on mortals," he says, gently enough.

A grin slowly blooms on Loki's face at the idea and he nods, watching Crane with narrowed eyes. "Something both grand and terrifying, I'm assuming," he teases, looking quite willing to help.

Crane nods as the dizziness wears off. After being banished from existence for five years, one would think a little Tesseract-based travel would be easy. To think, that artifact in Loki's possession played a hand in his thankfully temporary demise.

"Oh yes. I want to show Gotham City that the Scarecrow has returned, with a display of terror so grand, that they will wish I was still gone. Gotham will know true fear once more."

He spoke with vigor, his arms spreading in a dramatic display, looking up at the sky.

The Tesseract can be useful for a great many things, and Loki will show Jonathan just as many soon.

He grins as Jonathan spreads his arms dramatically, and it looks both wicked and excited, contrasting oddly with the fondness in his eyes. "I'm sure it will, beloved," he says, his eyes narrowing in amusement. "Do let me know if you need help. I'd be delighted."

Crane gets a little thrill every time Loki calls him that. Just the little reminder that he's the God of Mischief's lover. If he has anything to say about it, nothing is going to keep them from seeing each other again.

"Oh, what fun would it be if I left you on the sidelines for this little project? Come, I used to keep things in the spook house here." He can't imagine anyone would come looting his place after the culling.

Walking a little deeper into the park, it's not long before they reach a building designed to look like a Gothic mansion, with prop monsters and ghosts peeking out the windows, and a broken sign across the top. What once read 'House of Horrors' is just a jumble of letters, most of them having fallen off.

Somehow Loki can tell, from the brief softening of Jonathan's eyes to the way the look on his face goes very pleased for a second before it goes back to his usual mischief.

"What fun, indeed," Loki returns, sounding amused. He follows to the haunted mansion with a snort, giving Jonathan a playful look. "The spook house, really? That's a bit on the nose, even for you." He's teasing but his tone is gentle and he reaches out when they are inside to take Crane's hand, holding it so he doesn't lose him in the dark, messy space.

"Perhaps, but it's served me well so far." Sometimes it paid to hide things in such an obvious place. Who's going to come inside a broken down attraction, anyway?

Giving Loki's hand a gentle squeeze, Jonathan leads him further within. Some parts of the walls are painted with glow-in-the-dark paint to look like eyes, though the paint has obviously chipped and faded. There is, however, much fresher paint on the walls, in the form of blue lines that are meant to lead Jonathan to his destination.

The house still has a few remnants of its service, such as fake skeletons and jump scare mechanics that no longer work. When they get to a purple light shining over a scarecrow with a fake jack-o-lantern for a head, Jonathan comes to a stop.

"Here we are," Turning the head to the left, the wall the scarecrow hung from opened inward, revealing a hidden chamber. Reaching within, Crane flipped a light switch, revealing a laboratory. The chemistry sets were there, along with a work bench and some closets where he kept various items and bits of equipment. It was fairly small compared to some of his other hideouts, but it did in a pinch.

Loki looks around curiously, taking in the faded paint and the broken down machinery. It wouldn't even take much magic to set it back to its former glory, but it would attract unwanted attention to Jonathan's secret hideout, he thinks. Later, perhaps. He notes the fresher paint, leading to the scarecrow painting, and arches an eyebrow.

"Really, now," Loki says, though his tone remains fond. He knows Crane isn't known for being subtle, but this is fairly obvious, even for him.

He's very interested in the laboratory though, and steps into the small space carefully. The distinctive smell of fear toxin wafts up from some of the vials on the table and he gives them a wide berth, unwilling to get accidentally exposed again. He has too many fresh nightmares to be able to cope with it, at the moment.

"What do you need?" he inquires, curiously.

"I may need your magic, along with that Tesseract,"

Crane opened a cabinet and pulled out a few notebooks, depositing them on a table and flipping open the nearest one. He then went over to a wall and pulled out a chalkboard. The board was covered in dust, so Jonathan took a quick rag to it before picking up the chalk.

"I had an idea for a mass dispersal unit, to spread my toxin all over Gotham City. One large device might do the job, but placing a few smaller devices all over the city might work just as well."

"You have my magic," Loki answered, earnestly. "And the Tesseract." He grinned. "Though you will need to be careful with it. It has a mind of its own."

He leaned against the table, watching what Jonathan was writing on the board. "One large device will be easier to take down, but more spectacular," he pointed out, amused. "Several will be more of a hassle to destroy for whatever surviving heroes your city still harbors."

"I will be careful," Jonathan promised. "Until then, I leave it in your capable hands, my love." He certainly trusted Loki with a powerful artifact more than he trusted one like Thanos to handle it again. Crane really was glad he was dead.

"Several devices might be the more ideal solution, then. Especially if we were to increase their range, or possibly make my toxin more potent with your magic, or the Tesseract." He tapped his chin with the chalk idly.

"That is for the best," Loki replied mockingly, though his eyes were fond. He could feel the Tesseract's energy buzzing through him though, even now that it was tucked away safely into one of his magic pockets. He would have to store it somewhere at some point, before he got overwhelmed.

"Using magic could make the toxin more potent," Loki agreed, thoughtful. "The Tesseract lets you bend space to your liking, which will be useful to set up all of your devices."

"If we can find a way to even slightly increase their range of spray, enhance the toxin to be stronger, and use the Tesseract to place them at multiple points in quick succession, that would help a great deal."

Crane wrote a few more things on his chalkboard, before taking a notebook and copying his notes down in pen.

"I may need to survey the city at some point," He looked up from his notes at Loki. "You know, so I'm not using outdated data." Being with Loki, planning some next big scheme, it's almost easy to forget about the five year time gap. Crane's just attempting to be a little tactful and make it sound as if he'd just been locked up in Arkham again for a few years.

Edited 2019-09-27 20:27 (UTC)

Loki leaned back to watch Jonathan work and plot, the look on his face probably a little too fond considering what they were planning. "Certainly," he agreed mildly, as Crane scribbled on his chalkboard.

Tact is not needed with Loki, but it makes him grin nonetheless. "Are implying that I should take you out for dinner and show you the sights around your dreadful city, Jonathan?" he teased, arching an eyebrow down at Crane. He wouldn't mind that terribly, he thinks. Some of the places he used to like taking Crane to must still be open.

Crane looked up from his notes and grinned. "I think that's an excellent idea, dear one."

Even discounting for Thanos' asinine culling, it really had been too long since the two of them had a night to themselves. That Crane had come back from the dead was also cause enough for he and Loki to have dinner together.

Putting his notebook down and taking a quick picture of his chalkboard, Jonathan said, "Shall we?"

Being together again after what had very much been the end of the old universe was more than enough to justify celebrating, in Loki's opinion. And while he hadn't minded following Crane to his evil lair and planning mischief with him, he also longed for them to just take a night off together.

"We shall," Loki confirmed, holding out his hand for Crane to take. They strode out of the haunted house and back into the amusement park, where Loki used the Tesseract again to take them directly to the rooftop restaurant that he used to like best in Gotham.

It was still open and, judging from the look on the waiters' faces, they remembered him. A table was quickly freed for them and they could sit, watching the city sprawling around them. It looked much less bright than Loki remembered, whole neighbourhoods dark and abandoned.

The third time teleporting was a bit easier for Jonathan, now that he knew what to expect and his body getting used to it. It wouldn't be his first choice for travel means, but it could come in handy and it certainly was nice to save a long trip.

Jonathan glanced at the menu, before his gaze quickly turned to the window. It made it hard to forget that the world had changed, and that a lot could happen in five years. How many people appeared in those houses, only to discover their home had long been abandoned?

"When we were last here, those neighborhoods had life in them."

Crane suspected that the Wayne Foundation was already making plans for a relief program for those displaced.

Truth be told, Loki was so used to the Tesseract by then, he didn't even notice the sickening push and lurch of it and tended to use it for most trips. Jonathan would have to speak up and let Loki know, if he wanted to actually walk or drive anywhere instead.

"So they did," Loki agreed, not unkindly. "And now they will again, I suppose," he added, giving Crane a thin grin. "All these people reappearing are going to cause even more chaos than them crumbling down into ashes did in the first place," he pointed out, arching an eyebrow. The perfect time for Crane to wreak havoc upon his city again, really.

"I imagine you're correct," Crane turns back to Loki with a hint of a smirk. So many people, lost and confused. "No doubt some of them aren't as quick to wrap their heads around what just happened to them. It almost makes me wish I still had my licence and practice, because it would be fascinating to pick apart the minds of Thanos' victims."

Unable to sate more of his curiosity, Jonathan takes out his phone and pulls up the Gotham news. Of course, most of the articles are about the victims coming back, and what it could mean for Gotham City. He's more interested in reports that actually list names.

"Well, well, Commissioner Gordon had vanished too, as did Bruce Wayne," It gave Crane some small satisfaction to know that Gordon hadn't been spared. Then he frowned, "Hm, Batman remained, though."

Loki leaned back in his comfortable chair and gave Crane a grin, glancing up when a shaky waiter came over to pour them some wine. He took a sip, narrowing his eyes at Jonathan a little as he considered whether he should let him pick apart his own mind, as he had been one of Thanos' first victim. Probably not. Loki's traumas were a tightly shut can of worms, and he didn't think it would do any good to open it up.

He let Jonathan scroll the news in peace, casting his cunning eyes over the city softly glowing at their feet. "Of course he did," he commented, arching an eyebrow at Crane. "So did my brother." He smirked, thinly. "I'm sure they'll both be delighted to have us back."

"I'm sure you've already got something in mind for your brother," Crane smiled thinly at Loki, putting his phone down as the wine came. Still, there was something satisfying in knowing that at least some of his enemies hadn't been spared while he'd turned to ash himself. Sadly, the news hadn't mentioned the fates of the other vigilantes, such as Nightwing or Robin.

Looking back out the window, Crane mused, "There's also the inevitable fallout over people suddenly returning. For example, people who lost their lovers or even a spouse, moved on and found another, only for said spouse to return. Or children who lost one or both parents, and those children got older."

Crane couldn't imagine he would have found another had he been spared while Loki perished. Even if there were anyone else willing to give their heart to the Scarecrow, nobody could make Crane feel what Loki made him feel.

"Perhaps," Loki answered, evasive on purpose. Despite the long-standing feud between them, things had been getting slightly better between him and Thor. After all, Loki had put his head onto the chopping block to save his brother's from Thanos. Granted, Thanos had only been there for the Tesseract Loki had stolen from Asgard without alerting Thor, but still. Heroically sacrificing yourself to save what was left of Asgard's people had to count for something, didn't it?

He hummed, amused at the scenarios that Crane was spinning for him. "I'm sure there will be much chaos to take advantage from," he agreed, with relish. He arched an eyebrow, watching the way Jonathan's eyes had grown thoughtful. "What is it, beloved?" he inquired, reaching out to lay a cool hand over Crane's.

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