Paper Planes
"The purpose of literature is to turn blood into ink."
—T.S. Eliot
Hellooo! Welcome to Paper Planes!
I've always wanted to write a Ledger Joker fic because the ratio of Leto Joker to Ledger Joker fics is annoying and I'm just so in love with this character and have always wanted to make it my own so HERE WE GO
With that being said, I want to establish some disclaimers:
• This story is an ORIGINAL version of The Joker. It does not follow the comics in any way. If anything, it follows the themes established by Nolan's Dark Knight Trilogy.
• The story takes place six months after TDK.
• I have decided to make Ledger's character my own in this story. Therefore, he will have a given birth name, as well as the true story behind his scars. Although in reality, both of these facts are unknown, I want to remind you that this is fanfiction and I've put my own twist on his character.
THIS STORY WILL INCLUDE:
-Violence (graphic. Its the fucking Joker, you cant expect anything less)
-Profanity
-Sexual themes
-Drugs
-Idk some other mature themes tbh. Im just a fucked up person who enjoys writing about fucked up things
If you copy this story in any way I will fuck you up. I've worked extremely hard on this book.
And of course, a huge thank you to the amazing Heath Ledger for creating such a mesmerizing villain. I fucking love and miss you, honey bunch.
"It is the unknown we fear when we look upon death and darkness, nothing more."
—J.K. Rowling
Ember DeLoughrey trudged through the mud, her violet tinted rubber boots sinking into the thick clay as she stuffed her hands deeply into her denim overall pockets. Violent gusts of wind threw her blonde locks astray as she shivered from the cold.
It was nearing midnight in Gotham, and not a single soul stood within miles of the woman, trembles wracking through her body as she kept her head low. An uneasy feeling settled in her belly as she rounded the side of the heavily gated Arkham Asylum.
Typically, she'd take the long way home from her closing shifts at the boutique, but tonight she couldn't help but want to get home quicker to watch reruns of Friends before bed.
As she observed the grim building, a sudden chill ran down her spine. It horrified her to even begin to imagine the horrors and hells behind those thick, concrete walls. The abundance of psychopaths, lunatics and freaks that sat in padded cells, their arms locked together under the comfort of a straight jacket. Ember's heard plenty about some of the scum that sat behind those rusted bars, rotting away in their cells as they payed for the horrific crimes they'd committed.
Thunder clapped overhead, a low growl of creaking steel echoing throughout the back of the institution as her dark eyes glared in the sounds direction. A thick set of woods sat behind the building, dark trees forming into fearsome figures as the leaves swayed in the wind.
She froze in place, the feeling in her legs dissipating as her heart lept into her throat. A sleek black SUV, clad with dark tinted windows and thick, silver rims sat parked directly outside the chain-link fence, a gaping hole cut out of the material, large enough for a six-foot man to easily slip through.
Her legs began to shake, her eyes darting in several directions as if to search for a possible escape route.
Unfortunately, she'd already been seen.
"Hey!" A voice barked, her legs scurrying backwards as her heel collided with a deep hole of mud, her rubber boot sinking quickly as she toppled backwards. Her limbs were coated with fresh sludge as a yelp escaped her chapped lips.
"Fuck! Grab her!" A second voice called, her eyes widening as she struggled to stand, the tall, black frame of an unidentified figure approaching her quickly.
A bald man, standing easily over six feet with a thick, brunette beard cupped her elbows, tearing her abruptly from the mess of mud as she screeched in fear.
"Get off!" She cried, her hands slapping miserably against his rock-hard chest as he effortlessly drug her towards the vehicle, joining two other men dressed in black.
"Who the fuck are you?" One of them barked, his voice muffled by the bulky plastic of a wilting clown mask, large circles cut out of the eyes allowing the man to properly see.
Ember diverted her gaze, cowering against the tall man as she wept.
She fucking hated clowns.
"I asked you a question, bitch." The clown seethed, taking several steps forward as he approached her, the stained flesh of his pudgy hand darting outward to encapture her shirt in his palm, cortorting it into a ball as he tugged at the fabric, bringing her closer to his masked face.
"E-Ember." She revealed, her mascara staining her cheeks in thick tracks as she loudly cried underneath the mans grasp.
"What is your purpose here, Ember?" The man taunted, but she was unable to answer, as the second masked figure suddenly spoke.
"The boss is coming!"
"Shit." The clown cursed, his hold faltering on the frail girl as he paced back and forth. "Everything ready? We need to go as soon as he's out. We can't risk anything."
"What about the girl?" Bald man questioned.
The clown fell silent, his thumbs rotating quickly as he tugged at the loose fabric of his shirt.
"The boss decides her fate. She's already seen to much."
"I haven't seen anything!" Ember shouted, desperately trying to shuffle out of the mans grasp, only to anger him more as he cupped her throat, slightly choking her to hold her in place.
"Too late," He grumbled.
"You should know better than to wander behind a fucking asylum in Gotham at night. Dumbass." Bald man mocked.
Thick tears clouded Ember's vision, her mouth wide open as she deeply inhaled, struggling to breathe through the thick fingers that clasped onto the fragile skin of her throat.
Through her blurred vision, she was able to properly distinguish a hunched figure crawling through the gaping hole in the fence, a mess of white, black, and red clouding her sight as she struggled to contain a scream.
"Who do we have here-ah?" A haunting, voice wondered, higher-pitched in tone. Her heart dropped instantly into her stomach as she blinked away the tears.
Her vision steadied, a gurgled cry erupting from her lips the moment she saw who stood before her. Thick fingers clamped over her mouth, muffling the scream as she flailed her arms wildly, desperately attempting to escape from the madman that stood before her.
It wasn't possible... this wasn't possible...
"We need to go, boss." The first clown urged, a pair of dark eyes settling upon Ember's severely trembling figure as she broke down.
"Bring her." He drawled, turning onto his heel before elegantly leaping into the vehicle, the mangled mess of greasy, dirty blonde hair disappearing out of sight as Ember's legs gave out completely.
"P-Please," She sobbed.
"Don't put me in there with him! Please!"
The bald man only chuckled deeply, clutching onto the nape of her neck as he shoved her forward into the open side doors of the SUV, her head colliding harshly with the bench of the seat as she howled in pain, her dainty fingers darting upward to caress the bump that slowly began to form on her forehead as she blinked away stars.
Her blurred vision focused on a pair of matted black Converse, sitting only several inches from her face as she craned her neck slowly upwards, petrified to see who the shoes belonged to.
"Hiya, toots." The man taunted, another shriek erupting from her lips as the vehicle began to accelerate, her bum sliding against the plastic floor as her back collided with the back doors of the van.
His trademark makeup was messy, the white greasepaint that coated his features was nearly sweated off completely, the pale skin underneath peeking through. Deep, dark circles outlined his chocolate brown eyes, an eyebrow cocked upward in amusement as his horrifying red-painted Chelsea grin pulled into a smirk.
"You're—You're—You're—" She stammered, scrambling backwards against the coolness of the door as she suddenly felt extremely ill.
"The Grinch." He mocked, followed closely by a throaty laugh, low and dark, only to raise several octaves the longer he laughed, his stained scars curling upward as he doubled over in amusement, howling at the pitiful joke he'd made.
"I-I?" Ember stammered, at a complete loss for words as the madman clutched tightly onto his stomach, roaring in laughter as his gaze flickered back on hers.
His laughter suddenly ceased, his torso straightening against the wall of the vehicle as he sucked harshly on the inside of his scars.
"Just say it, toots. Say. My. Name." His usual higher pitch voice crescendoed into a loud and menacing tone, mimicking that of a growl as the hairs on the back of Ember's neck stood upwards in fear.
She sat several feet away from him, his lanky body facing towards the side door as he craned his neck to glare at her. His greasepaint stained hands rested comfortably on his knobby knees as he toyed with the fabric of his black and white striped jumpsuit.
"Joker." She whispered, pressing further up against the back door, as if it'd magically open the harder that she pressed up against it.
"Ding-ding-ding! We have ah-winner!" He theatrically sang, his tongue darting outward, wetting the bottom left corner of his lip, where a deep scar sat directly underneath, leading into the scars that destroyed his face.
"We're here, boss." The clown from the front seat informed, Ember's heartbeat accelerating painfully in her chest as she dug her nails into the plastic mats of the vehicle.
The side door thrust open, a strand of profanities leaving her lips as she gripped onto the sides of the van with every limb, shaking her head violently as the bald man opened the back doors, his plump fingers curling around her arms as he tugged her from the security of the car.
"No! Please, let me go!" She begged, thrashing turbulently in his arms as she desperately tried to escape.
The Joker hopped gleefully from the vehicle, a hand running through his faded, oily hair as he skipped towards the dilapidated building, the windows covered tightly by tin foil, the faded blue shutters clinging onto the pale, rotting concrete by a loose thread of nails.
A profusion of thick, overgrown weeds littered the yard, along with scattered shards of wood and broken glass.
The bald man followed closely behind The Joker, who skipped along the deep cracks in the concrete sidewalk.
"Step on a cr-ack, you'll break your Mama's b-ack!" He gleefully sung, stomping firmly onto a particularly large crack, a fit of giggles erupting from the broad-shoulder man as he continued onward.
Bald man's arms linked tightly across the frail girls chest as she flailed in his grasp, loud sobs wracking through her chest as her fists collided with the muscles of his back. He didn't even flinch.
"I'll be back-ah. Need to get ou-t of these clothes." The Joker announced, kicking the rotten wooden door open with the toe of his shoe as he trudged into the building, a low cackle erupting from his hunched frame as he rounded the corner and disappeared from view.
An overwhelmingly musky scent filled Ember's nostrils, her nose crinkling in disgust as the bile from her stomach suddenly rose into her throat, the blood rushing to her head as he draped her over his bony shoulder.
She lay limp in his arms, her eyes curiously wandering the place the Joker apparently called home.
It reeked of death and mildew.
Her back suddenly came into contact with the frigid floor, the concrete cracking the bones in her back as she groaned in discomfort.
"Stay here." The bald man sneered.
"He'll deal with you soon."
Then, he left. Closing the door tightly behind him with an enthusiastic click as Ember lay motionless on the ground, her panicked gaze flickering over the stacks of sloppily labeled boxes that sat in the left corner of the room.
The musky scent was worse in this room than in the entryway, her breath hitching in her throat as she suddenly noticed the abundance of dried blood stains on the floor.
The walls were unpainted, stained only with bodily fluids as the windows were thickly boarded up with tin foil.
A single lightbulb flickered overhead, hanging loosely from the ceiling by a thin metal chain, swinging slightly from the air conditioning vent that sat a mere foot away.
Ember clasped her palm over her mouth, a defeated cry escaping her lips as she shivered in realization:
She was going to die in here.