Disclaimer: I claim no rights to any copyrighted material or characters otherwise affiliated.

Warnings/Notes: Based entirely on Heath Ledger's portrayal of Joker in "The Dark Knight." I apologize for any elements that come across as out of character.


Gotham's mall was painfully empty most weekday mornings, today was currently no exception. The white tile floor seemed to stretch on endlessly, with only a handful of people shuffling about. What oozed life and loud music on the weekends had been reduced to a few small crowds. Some teenagers walked side by side in the kind of group one might attempt to push through if the mall was busier. They talked and giggled about skipping school, stuffing half-eaten pretzels into purses before entering trendy shops. Keeping a slower pace behind them were mainly retirees trying to seek out last minute Christmas presents for grandchildren far, far away.

Of course there were anomalies, a mother and her small children in a double stroller, kids running about unsupervised, stepping with extreme caution on specific tiles that had not been touched by imaginary lava.

Cashiers almost begged for excitement, something to help pass the tedious hours between opening and after-school rush. Some popped bubble gum while others took advantage of working the first shift alone, trying on clothes while the place was decidedly dead.

Aside from the faint sound of laughter or the occasional wail from a dejected child, (it's not fair) it seemed that desire would not be satisfied.


The slam of boots against the door rang out like a gunshot, giving way to maniacal laughter, which echoed through the vast and open space. In a vision center just inside the main entrance, a frantic employee ducked under her desk, ignoring an older gentlemen who had stopped by to have his glasses adjusted.

"Atatatata." Came the mocking pitch of the Joker's voice as he slid into view, purple coat sweeping behind him as he walked briskly to where she hid, "Everyone in the open!" He roared, then, suddenly calm, added, "You know the drill boys!"

Henchmen adorned in clown masks cocked guns, chasing every patron into the open walkway in front of the mall entrance. At the sound of the Joker's voice any person who'd been stupid enough to argue or struggle promptly quieted down and slumped to the floor, most trembling or crying.

"Lot of brat-suh in here today." The villain noted, making his way up the line of people as his men hastily collected chump change from the registers. He stopped in front of a sniveling child, he guessed about twelve, who was clinging to his equally terrified mother. He bent down to the boy, chuckling, and grabbed tuffs of his curly red hair, pulling his face from his mother's shirt. The child went completely white and at this the Joker dipped his head back, laughing harder. "BOO!" He exclaimed, throwing the kid flat onto his back with a nasty thud.

He shook his head, "You know." He spoke out in a high and inquisitive tone, "I'm disappointed." He added with a certain note of finality. "You come to the mall for a little fun and there's not a thing to do." He put a hand around the pole of a toddler ride situated at the entrance, sliding an effortless circle around it before clacking the heel of his shoes to the ground.

"Soo" He mused, "Let's play a little...game, I want you people-JOEY!" Suddenly his voice was fierce enough to throw even the grown men into hysterics, flinching and shielding their faces with trembling hands. A gun shot was fired, and the masked man who had been struggling closer to a curvy blonde fell in a bloodied heap to the floor. The young woman, barely sixteen, sobbed openly into the arms of a slightly taller friend.

"Boss..." He rasped out, clutching his wounded inner thigh.

"It's a shame that didn't make target." The clown prince noted before continuing to scold the man, "We all know you're a pig Joe, but have some clas-suh." He snapped.

"Sorry." The burly man choked out, still trying to collect himself.

"Then stand up and be a man!" The villain growled in tones dangerously low, turning his attention to the crowd of hostages. "Now then...the game." He put a mocking hand under his chin and gave an exaggerated 'hmmm' as if trying to collect his thoughts. "Somewhere in this mall." He turned abruptly and made a flamboyant sweeping motion about the area with his arms, "I have a...business associate. He and I need to have a little...chat." The word was alive with a note of eerie laughter. "What time you got on your watch there, grandpa?" He suddenly asked an older man, kicking him sharply in the side.

"F-five to ten." He sputtered, hoarse from shock and pain.

"Perfect!" The war-painted man exclaimed, "For every five minutes he's not here, someone will die." He stepped menacingly closer to the small crowd of victims, watching them huddle and scramble closer to one another, some pushing bodies between themselves and the switchblade he had pulled from his coat pocket.

"Ready boys?" He called out enthusiastically, taking a gun into his free hand with a toothy smile, "Aaaand...go!"

At the mention, men clad in black spread out in every direction, darting through stores and tearing down displays. Though the Joker didn't often make a game of search parties, (he much preferred blackmailing people into submission) there was plenty of fun to be had when the guest of honor showed his face. A knowing smirk graced his features at the thought, and he laughed madly as he counted down the minutes.

"Tick tock." He taunted, waggling a finger in a pendulum motion as couples clung to one another. Three minutes, two...he pocketed the gun that had given his men signal to start their chase, giving him a free hand to select his target. "Sixty seconds." He sang out as he grabbed a child's arm and yanked her frigid body to his own. "This really isn't my fault y'know." He cooed at her as the cool point of metal met her throat.

He tapped the fingers of the arm around her body against her pale skin, growing increasingly impatient. "Threee." He squeaked in a hushed tone, pressing the blade tighter to the struggling girl's neck until it just barely broke skin. "Twooo-AH" He jerked his body, making a shallow, stinging cut across the flesh below her chin. The scrawny brunette had swung her heel backwards against a rather sensitive area with force enough to knock most men to their knees.

As she felt the blood begin to seep from her wound, the instinct to survive overwhelmed her. She let out a guttural cry and shoved, with all her strength, against his chest. For a second he fumbled with the knife, still bent at an awkward angle to cope with the pain of her previous blow.

"You've got fight in you." He observed as the knife drew itself against her skin in the struggle, "I like that." He pulled the knife back from her neck and twisted her messy hair around his hand, yanking her to the floor with one sweep of his arm, "But." He continued, his tall form suddenly upon her, knee pressed hard against her stomach, "I'm a man of my word." He drew back the blade, drinking in the fear of her expression, the changing pitch of her wheezes as tears began to form in her eyes.

"Just do it." She choked out, snapping her eyes shut. She refused to beg, in twelve years of life she'd learned to gain control by any means necessary. She couldn't help being overpowered, the man was easily twice her age and size, but she would die with dignity.

"Hey." The elder spoke, gripping her hair tighter, "Look. At. Me." He ordered in a tone that offered no other option but to obey. Green irises met brown. The amusement in his eyes flickered for a moment, his smirk breaking into a wide, yellowed smile that seemed to stretch the skin of his scars.

"Boss-"

"NOT NOW!" He snapped, not bothering to look back at the only hired man left standing.

Blood ran down her neck, some spilling onto the white tile, most creeping down across her collarbone and soaking into the fabric of her dress. She seemed only afraid of dying. He could sense her fear, smell her fear...but she was not a coward.

"Let her go." A suited man said dryly into the silence. "Take me and let her go."

"Oh no, no, no, no." The Joker chided, turning his attention from the bleeding child to the man who had kept him waiting. "You see detective, I'm, uh, not a very giving man." He continued, rising to full height while fiercely gripping his hostage.

"I'm not playing your games-"

"You're not in a position to make those statements, now are you?" The graying man flinched as a gun was thrust against his head, gritting his teeth in an attempt to fight back his fear.

"This is a message." He began, "Hey-don't. fuck up. my speech. Dollface." He warned the smaller form as she jabbed an elbow into his broad chest. "The longer Batman stays in hiding, the more...fun I'll have with the police force." He looked directly into a security camera, "Wave sweetcheeks." He prompted, nudging her harshly.

Hesitantly she waved a hand in the direction of the device, not daring to look into it. "You know what to do." He told the masked man, who immediately pulled the trigger.

As his body shook from the volume of the young girl's scream, he chorused it with laughter. Before she could register anything but the deafening sound of the bullet making impact with the detective's skull, she felt herself being swiftly drug out into the fading sunlight of morning. The next several minutes came in flashes. The stifling heat of a white van, the metallic scent of her own blood, smearing against her arms as she tried to pry his hands from her.

"Don't struggle kid." He told her as he latched her body against his own, "It's pointless." He emphasized the 'p' as he reached up a fist, punching the camouflaged button of a detonator on the van's wall.

Through the metal of the closed doors, Leah couldn't see the explosion, but the force of impact sent her stomach into her throat. As her ears were consumed with ringing and her body wracked with vibration in combination with her own tremors, she emptied it. Bile came with each violent wretch, and she half expected to be stabbed in the back for voiding herself.

To her surprise, she was met with more of his laughter, "Please." She whispered hoarsely, her thin frame weak from exertion, "Let me go..."

"Oh shush, shush, shush." He purred, covering her mouth and nose with a white rag, "We just started playing..."

Despite herself, Leah began to fall into the haze of unconsciousness, lingering somewhere between dizziness and oblivion before letting her head drop limply, her hair still in his hold.

The Joker had only planned to capture Batman's attention, but, for reasons not entirely clear to him, the opportunity to keep a pet, especially one so competent in the face of fear, was too golden to pass up.

He gave each of her bony cheeks a love pat, laughing endlessly.

Maybe, if she was interesting enough, he would make her a sort of protegee, maybe Batman would break his one rule if chaos had two agents. He frowned despite himself, fully aware of the imminent disappointment that came with having expectations for people. Nonetheless he clutched the child, stowing her away in hiding for whatever varying uses, or methods of torment came to him.

Because, if nothing else, she was his now.


Author's Note: So...uh...yeah. After reading several amazing Joker centric stories in this fanbase I rekindled my obsession with his character, I realize there are entirely too many stories involving the Joker and an OC, but I have no plans to make his relationship with Leah romantic. At all. This is also the first time I've written the Joker, so any feedback is appreciated.