His laugh still frightened me.

That would probably never change. There was something about it, the raw, terrifying way it rolled down your spine spreading ice through your blood. The way he seemed to exist for no other purpose, save chaos.

But that's what made him so dangerous, so petrifying. Most thugs were in it for money. They wanted fame and power. My baby wanting nothing but fun. He wanted to play, to cause chaos.

He wanted to watch the world burn.

"Oh, Mr. J." I breathed so that I didn't distract him. The cringing mass around us was hissing and mewing in their terror. The smell of fear was almost nauseating and I scanned the dozen faces for potential "heroes".

"My my my." My baby said, gleefully. "Look at the turnout this year." He moved slowly about the room, picking at food trays and smiling. He always smiled, even while he torn out your insides so you could taste them. It wasn't just his scars.

I still didn't know how he'd gotten them, the story was always different. Always horrible, but ever changing. I don't think I would ever know.

"What do you think you're proving here, Joker?" An older man asked, stepping from the crowd. He held himself high, though he was trembling ever-so-slightly. I moved slowly. Weaving through the crowd like I was making a run for it. Glancing up, I froze. Those Hell-crazed eyes flicked to me, pinning me in place, a silent warning that sent lines of fear and arousal shooting through me. He wanted to deal with this brave man. And god knew I loved to watch.

The Joker tilted his head slightly as if trying to hear him better, and took the wine glass from a whimpering woman beside him. As he made his slow approach, he drained the glass, making a face and motioning toward the waiting staff as if he were displeased with the taste.

"Do you think you'll win this time? Do you think Batman won't put you right back into the nut house where you belong?"

Mr. J stopped right in front of him and waited. I watched the fear build in his eyes as my baby brushed imaginary lint from the man's shoulder with a tiny frown.

"You're nothing but a sick thug. He'll let you rot, and I'll be laughing when they give you the chair."

"Well." Joker's brows raised in feigned surprise. "That wasn't very nice. Here I am at your little party, just trying to have fun and you've been nothing but rude to me. What kind of a host are you?"

Suddenly, he smashed the wine glass on the table beside him, leaving only the stem, and shoved it into the guy's throat. Women screamed, one fainted and Joker brushed down the lapels of his jacket as the man crumpled to the ground.



"And by the way." He turned, cracking his neck, "The wine was horrible."

By now, I was feeling it. That tiny little twinge of rationality. That weak voice in my head that begged me to run, hide. To get out now. That voice that asked how I could handle it. How could I follow him? How could I play along?

How could I love him?

And I did, more fiercely than anything I'd ever felt before. I would do anything for this man. I hid my sudden smile, because looking as if I enjoyed the violence might make people ask questions. We didn't have time for questions.

"So!" Joker called, once again cheerful. He lifted his automatic and fired a few rounds. "Goood evening. Ladies and Gentle-men. We are tonight's entertainment!"

His men started stripping jewelry, firing warning shots and yelling at the rich party-go'ers. I moved slowly through the crowd, distancing myself from the other thugs and staying close to my man.

"But I've got to warn you, tonight's admission prices might cost and arm and a leg."

I think they all knew just how literal he could make that with the tiniest mood-swing. As much as I loved him, the man was unbalanced. And I should know, I used to be his psychiatrist.

"What's your plan, Joker?" was called, it was a voice we all knew too well. Gasps of relief and renewed fear burst from the crowd and I backed away from the voice. Ever our bane.

The Batman.

"Plan?" The Joker laughed hysterically and held up his arms. "Do I really look a guy with a plan?" He grabbed a woman from the crowd and pressed his gun to her temple. "You know what I am? I'm a dog chasing cars. I wouldn't know what to do with one if I caught it!" his chuckle softened to a pleasant conversational tone. "I just do things."

Without warning, he whipped the gun out and fired a stream of bullets into a young man. More screams and he cackled, pushing his hostage into Batman. "See?! That wasn't necessary."

The two collided, but I was still frozen. The man he'd shot was standing two feet from me. His hand had brushed my skirt when he fell, spreading crimson pools under my shoes. He'd shot at me! There was no other explanation; my man had just SHOT AT ME.

The fight was tipping. Our men had grabbed Batman's arms and the Joker shot a kick at his chest with the small blade in his boot. The hero cursed and tossed away the other men while my man scrambled up and cackled grabbing a small hand gun off the floor and diving into the crowd. The startled gasp I made when he grabbed my upper arm was authentic. This had never been part of the plan, but I wasn't going to speak. He'd just tried to kill me, what was going on?



I felt the cold steel of the gun on my cheek and his chest pressed into my back. The waves of heat coming off him nearly made my eyes roll up, but I checked the impulse and whimpered instead.

Joker stroked my cheek with the hand gun, hushing me with a grin. The Batman stepped forward. He'd discarded the blade and now held up a hand.

"Let her go." His demand was met by giggles.

"Why..why would I do that? I mean she's a pretty thing, isn't she? Maybe we could start a family." His cheek nudged my left one, still stroking my right with the gun's barrel. "Can you see the children?"

Batman grit his teeth as I was dragged backward toward the hall doors. The men closed around us hefting bags of stolen goods and covering us. The hero was helpless, and now came the screams as people finally noticed the barrels of rigged gasoline in the corners. He had to save them, which meant we were free if we hurried.

Joker pulled me through the doors and down the hall, our boys firing behind us. I stumbled along, crying, and playing up the hostage roll until we were clear of the building and I was shoved into the van. As tires squealed the Joker smiled, he looked at me with a strange expression I couldn't translate and pulled me forward, towards him.

"Well, beautiful, what do you say?" his arm went around my waist fingers digging into my hip painfully, "Wanna settle down?"

Again those trembles of fear took me and he scanned my face closely, as if reading my mind.

"Why, doctor, you don't seem yourself. Was it something I did?" that lyrical way he spoke, the musical, game-like notes unsettled me and my fear and anger doubled. I shoved at his shoulder, unable to pull fully away and grit my teeth.

"You shot at me, you bastard."

This time he let go, licking his lips and frowning. "Well, no need for name-calling." He leaned back into the seat and watched me struggle to stand and get in the one across from him. I held myself as he twirled the handgun on his fingers, eyes falling to the floor of the van. After a moment he reached over and lifted my chin, grabbing it when I jerked away and forced me to look at him. He liked people to look at him. He liked to see all those emotions when he broke them.

"Now, why are you crying? Doctor, this is a happy place. Why don't you give me a smile? Show me there's no hard feelings."

I didn't move, simply looked at the other guys as they watched in tense silence, wondering if this was the night he killed me.

"Oh…look at me. Hey!" he turned my face again, and bellowed, "Look. At. Me."



I whimpered, shrinking into the side of the van, with wide eyes on his clown face. He still had the gun, and I didn't want to push him.

As it if it had never come, the anger vanished and his voice became a calm lilt. "I just wanted to see you smile."

It was weak, but I gave him one and he brushed away my tears, gun in his lap. "Come here, "he pulled me across the van to sit beside him and again that heat washed over me. "Tell me your name, beautiful. What should I call you?"

That cracked a smile from me and I ducked my head self-consciously. "Harley. Harley Quinn."

His smile was wide and he laughed. "I love it."

The moment our lips met, I melted. The near murder didn't matter. The fact that we were still racing to safety didn't matter. Only him, only my love. My arms went around him, fingers sinking into his hair as the others trailed down his chest, dipping beneath the material of his purple suit jacket.

"Um…boss." One of the guys urged and he growled a warning. I yelped softly when he nipped my tongue. "Boss! The Bat just took out Dorson's van!"

We all jumped when the handgun went off and the guy slumped forward. I touched my lower lip, when he pulled back and glared at them. It was bleeding, but he was always too rough, I'd gotten used to that.

"Then hurry up and get us out of here." The words were ice-cold and I trembled against him, getting a quick glance. The guys didn't hesitate. There was a reason you didn't cross the Joker. He had no rules, which meant there were no second chances. He was cruel, without pity or remorse. A true sociopath.

"Gee, Doc, I don't know why I did that. You see what I was saying about uncontrollably urges?"

She nodded once. So he wanted to play? She could do that.

"That was a bit brash." He raised his brows nodding, playing along while I slipped the gun from his fingers and pressed into him. "I'll have to think of a treatment for such animal urges."

His chuckle was gravelly, almost excited. His grin wicked. My heart pounded in my chest at the thought that he might take this farther. That he'd finally let me go all the way with him after all this time. His hair was matted in blood, his makeup cracked from so much smiling, the red smeared along his scars. A permanent smile.

But, as always, the second he grabbed me, the second he got close, my body tensed. My breath hitched with fear and my eyes widened. He noticed this all, titling his head, grin widening. He enjoyed this, its why he didn't simply push me away…or out of the speeding van.

"Why so serious?" he asked softly and I saw the glint of a blade seconds before I blacked out.