Chapter 1

Looking back on it, perhaps instead of wasting his ammo killing a few armed guards, he SHOULD have shot out a few tires. Or stole a damn car. Now, as Joker ran down the street, the chilled wind blowing his jacket back and sending chills up his spine as the sirens sounded in the distance, he could see the error in his planning. He needed to find somewhere to hide, but where? He ran through a neighborhood, ignoring the sound of barking dogs as he leapt over fences. Aha! There was a large, homey looking house isolated on what looked like a large plot of land. There was a business about a block away from it, and a shed behind the house. The driveway was practically the size of a small parking lot, and there was only one tiny car in it. He smirked, and headed for the house, slinking up to the door and pulling out his lock picking kit. He frowned; the lock was electronic? He glared at the keypad, as though his sharp stare would make the numbers press themselves. He sighed, and turned the handle, testing his luck. He damn near let out a loud bark of laughter as the door swung in just a bit. Well! Fancy key pad people left the door unlocked. He walked in and shut the door behind him, looking around at his new surroundings.

The first thing Joker noticed was there was no carpet anywhere. He grumbled, walking as lightly as he could through what appeared to be a sitting room, glaring slightly at the blue and brown color schemed furniture. Did the people that lived here have zero taste? He glanced down a hall at 4 closed doors before entering a large kitchen, connected to a dining room with a table that was set for 8. He raised his eyebrows. Lot of chairs for one measly car. He glanced in the kitchen and noticed a bit later than he would have liked to admit, that the fridge was open. He smirked at the sight of a young woman bent over, halfway in the fridge. His eyes raked over her frame. Dark jeans covered curvy hips and strong looking legs, she wore a black t-shirt, and camo tennis shoes. She was humming to herself, along to quiet music that was playing from her phone on the counter. He stepped a bit closer, listening to the words for a moment while he considered his next action.

"He's there in the dark, he's there in my heart. He waits in the wings, he's gotta play a part. Trouble is a friend, yeah trouble is a friend of mine." her soft voice lilted quietly as she started to stand. Joker chose that moment to act. He grabbed her hip with one hand, jerking her roughly into his hips with a low, barely disguised groan. She gasped as he jerked her upright with his other hand, wrapping his fingers around her throat and squeezing just enough to be felt.

"Well, well. In that case, doll, feel free to call me 'Trouble'." He expected a scream, a whimper, a whisper of 'Oh, please don't hurt me!' to grate on his ears. What he did not expect was the almost feral growl that escaped the throat that was currently under his hand.

"If you are here to harm my girls, I will bury you so far under the ground, the world will explode before they find your body." Joker froze for a moment at her words, hissed out in a sharp, low, and surprisingly steady tone. She was serious. He laughed, the shocked sound falling from his lips before he could stop it.

"Do you, uh, threaten all your attackers like this, beautiful?" he asked her, amusement coloring his words. He felt her grin, grin!, and then answer him calmly.

"I don't make threats that I don't intend on following through with."

"Well, calm down then, tiger. I am not here to hurt you or your, what did you say? Girls? No, no, no. I just need a place to hide until the heat dies down. You and your children are perfectly safe." This time she chuckled, the sound doing funny things to Joker as a shiver crawled down his spine slowly.

"I never said they were children. I said they were my girls." Now he was confused. Was this little slip of a thing playing word games with him?! Didn't she know who he was?

"What are you-?" he started to ask but the sound of wheels down the hall sounded, making her turn her head sharply despite his fingers on her throat. And before he could react, she had reached up, and sunk her fingernails into his wrist, making his grip loosen in shock. Next thing he knew, the little vixen had twisted out of his grip, and actually shoved him into the living room before taking off towards the sound in the hall. He let out another surprised laugh.

"That little…." he murmured, moving to go after her. He froze, however, when a voice he didn't recognize sounded from around the corner.

"Thirsty…" the voice said softly.

"You want water, love?" He heard the girl he had grabbed ask, and his head tilted. Love? Was this voice her significant other? He listened carefully, ducking back around into the living room and peeking into the kitchen as the girl came around the corner, followed by a little older woman, walking with a bright red walker. He felt his eyes widen in shock. Who was this? The girl got a small glass down and filled it with water before handing it to the woman. She glanced at it before giving an almost angry look to the girl.

"No." she said stubbornly, almost like a toddler. Joker felt himself grin; he liked her. The girl sighed exasperatedly, but Joker couldn't help but notice the smile on her lips as well.

"Miss Nancy, there's nothing else I can give you this late at night. You know that."

"Coffee." the woman-Miss Nancy-stated, reaching out as though she were going to grab the girl. The girl gave the older woman her hand, as though this was second nature, and shook her head.

"No, darlin. Coffee for breakfast."

"Ok. Ok, yeah." Miss Nancy said in a happier tone, seemingly placated by this answer. She took a sip of her water and happened to glance over her shoulder.

And made direct eye contact with Joker.

Whatever reaction he was expecting got shot straight to hell when her eyes lit up and a bright smile overtook her features. Joker raised his eyebrows. What twilight zone did he enter when he walked in that door?

"Hi! There you are! There you are, yeah! Hi!" Miss Nancy exclaimed, turning around and wheeling over to him quickly. She grabbed his arm, and Joker had to stop himself from reaching for a blade as the tiny old woman smiled at him. He gave a very small smile back. The girl came walking over quickly, eyes darting between Joker and Miss Nancy, shooting warning looks around her worry. Joker grinned at her; worry was close to fear. And he liked fear.

"What's your name?" Miss Nancy questioned, drawing his gaze.

"J." Joker stated simply, his voice even but slightly confused. Either this little old lady had balls of effin steel, or she had zero clue who he was.

"J? Ok, yeah." she said. Then after a beat. "Coffee for breakfast?" Now Joker frowned; hadn't the girl already answered this?

"Uhm, that's not up to me." he tried to say.

"What?" Miss Nancy asked, gripping his arm. He frowned harder, if that was even possible.

"I don't control the coffee."

"What?"

"You're asking the wrong person for coffee."

"What?"

"Listen, lady, you need to just stop and-"

"Yes, Miss Nancy. Coffee for breakfast." The girl interrupted him, causing his glare to rest on her. Her face flushed and she continued, "Come on, love let's go back to bed."

"Ok." Miss Nancy let go of Joker's arm, and started to head towards the hall. But suddenly she stopped, and turned, facing Joker. "Come on."

"I don't think I'm allowed, there, doll face." He said, not unkindly. There was something clearly wrong with this woman. After a bit of debating with her, it was determined that Joker would walk back with them, if for no other reason to get her to shut the hell up. He trailed behind the two, listening to the girl answer Miss Nancy's repetitive question with a scowl. They stopped in front of the laundry room, where Miss Nancy pointed a bony finger inside at the harsh florescent light.

"Turn the light off."

"No, baby." The girl responded. Nancy insisted two more times before the girl said, "I'm afraid of the dark. I need the light." Joker grinned. She was, was she? He filed that away for future use. She turned into a room with a slightly softer light on, and helped Miss Nancy into bed. After promising the woman again she could have coffee for breakfast she turned off the light and bid her goodnight. She grabbed Joker's jacket sleeve and all but forced him out into the hall. He chuckled.

"Eager to get me alone, gorgeous?"

"Stop with the pet names." She answered firmly. He smirked. Self esteem issues. He could work with that.

"Why? I, uh, don't give false compliments, you know." he let loose a crazed giggle when she ignored him, her blush reaching the back of her neck. She shoved him into the living room, and sighed, collapsing into a chair. He sat next to her, twirling one of his many blades in his fingers.

"You ever going to explain that, uh, lovely woman to me?" she sighed.

"That was Miss Nancy. She's one of the lower functioning residents in this house."

"Residents?" he asked her. She frowned at him.

"Don't you know where you are?" she asked. He slowly shook his head.

"This is an institution for people with developmental disabilities." she told him. He almost laughed. That explained SO MUCH. Joker did grin at her.

"Ah. Well, you see, I'm not here for them. Like I said, I only need a place to hide until the coppers go away. You gonna be able to, uh, handle that, beautiful? Because, I'm not asking." He chuckled as her face flushed and she looked away from him.

"As long as you leave my girls alone, I don't care what you do."

"Bold statement. I could decide to fuck you right here in the living room. What then?" He laughed loudly as her shocked face turned back to look at him, grinning to himself. "I was only kidding, doll. What's your name?" She glared at him.

"Makayla." she murmured.

"Mmmm, Makayla. So, can I hide here, then, Makayla?" Her eyebrows rose.

"Do I have a choice?" She asked rhetorically? He laughed; he was starting to like this girl. She would be the main player in many fun games if he had his say.

"No. No you don't."

A/N: I...have zero clue where this came from. I plead temporary insanity lol. But I have the plot outline for the whole story hammered out, so hopefully I can get this out as fast as my other story. Let me know what you guys think!

Lizzie Shadows