Fiction Rating: T (for language, violence, torture, and sensuality)

Disclaimer: I do not own Batman, or any characters from the show or the comics that DC does. Batman is originally created by Bob Kane.

Author's Note: This story is based on a dream I had about Joker. Oddly enough, because I can remember most of the dream so well, I decided to turn it into a short story. I originally wasn't going to upload to this site (just deviantART), but I thought to upload this chapter/new story and see what you guys think.

With that said, if you haven't at least started/finished reading my story "Obsession" then you might be confused on some parts here. This story has nothing to do with "Sick", and will not affect it in any way.

I do appreciate reviews, but no harm done if you decide not to. :)

Enjoy the story!

Clown: [noun] a fool or comedian in an entertainment (as a circus).

[verb] :to act like a clown

Chapter One:

Too Many...

text message received: Can you come to the Virde Valley Mall today?

text message reply: Yes I can.

2nd text message received: meet me there around 11. Hope to see you then.

This was the message Xack Hathaway received from Bruce Wayne early this morning. It's now about ten minutes to eleven, and Xack had just arrived outside of the Virde Valley Mall.

In the past, Xack only came to this mall a few times since her stay in New York. Even though Xack considered it to be the biggest mall she had ever lay eyes on, it was still dangerously crowded from within. She can see why it remains very popular: there were so many different kinds of shops and restaurants on the inside, it was almost pathetic on her part that she still never visited them all. There was a movie theater, a large furniture department store- which you swear is big enough to be its own store, and there was even a small, basement aquarium where visitors can come and look at the imported fish. So many diverse stores for Xack to even try to remember off the top of her head.

Xack hesitated on going inside; already she could see the many shoppers hustling and bustling from the glass doors she stood in front of. The girl was not very good with crowds, and a few times in her life, has suffered from anxiety attacks, and almost had a fainting spell once. "But...that was in the past," she thought, fidgeting with her hands slightly. "Maybe now will be different. It's not like I won't try for Bruce's sake."

She took a deep breath...and went inside.

The atmosphere in the mall was such a night-and-day contrast to the outside, it made Xack feel she just entered another world. As soon as she pushed on the glass doors, she was immediately greeted by many colorful balloons being tossed all around the place. The balloons weren't the only things she noticed though: it was the ones who created the chaos of colors.

Clowns.

Xack couldn't believe her own eyes when she spotted them, and there weren't just a few here and there across the floors, there was a clown at least about ten feet from another. The girl swore there were enough clowns to start a small army! "Clowns..." She whispered curiously in her head. "I never thought a mall had clowns before. ...Why are there so many?" Her expression seem to change into that of suspicion as she walked around carefully. "I think there are too many clowns, if you ask me!" She snorted in amusement to her own thoughts, biting her lip.

Suddenly, she made herself stop imagining capricious. "Ugh! What am I thinking? I don't want to see any clowns! Clowns remind me of Joker!" She shook her head disapprovingly. "I don't want to be at a mall full of clowns! It's too nerve-wracking!" Now Xack looked angry. "Did Bruce know this was going on today?"

Despite all the clowns, she managed to calm herself and not let the situation get the best of her. "They're just clowns. Doesn't mean they have anything to do with Joker." Xack did not want to think about that particular clown on any day or occasion. Of all the bad luck she suffered in her life thus far, she didn't want to think about the one person that's causing her current grief. She knew Joker carried perverted and rather sadistic ideas of her, and merely reminiscing about it once more just made her body shiver horribly. Even till this day, Xack isn't sure if whether meeting the Joker in Arkham was a good or bad thing for her. Sometimes she wonders how differently her life would of been if she never met him, or more importantly, if she never had set foot in an asylum.

Xack sighed. "The past is the past. There's nothing I can do about it now. I need to quit thinking about it."

So, through the rest of her time in the mall, the girl tried as hard as she could to not think about Joker. It would be tough, considering every turn or step she took, there was another clown in sight, performing tricks for the people around and creating weird objects or animals from the balloons they had on their cart nearby. As Xack passed by one clown, he offered her a balloon made to look a giraffe. She smiled shyly as she took it and thanked him for it.

After much browsing of the mall's shops, Xack's feet started to tire a little at this point, which made her want to find a place to sit for a minute and rest. She saw a large fountain close by, so she briskly strode over to it and sat down at the edge. She cracked a smile on the edge of her lips as she watched the water from the fountain spit out intriguing shapes and patterns.

As she sat there, she began to take in the mall around her again. It wasn't until this time did she consider that the inside seemed a little too festive looking, even though she reminded herself that right now the place was full of balloons and entertaining clowns.

A minute later, she peeked over her shoulder and onto a few security guards huddled close to each other talking. She figured whatever they were talking about must be about the clowns, because occasionally, a few guards gazed around and pointed right at some. Xack could barely hear them amongst the mall shoppers, but she could of sworn one guard was saying something about "the clowns didn't have permission to be in the mall."

Xack frowned. "I don't know if I heard right, but if that's true..." She scoffed, "Then how in the hell did they get in here in the first place?"

When the security guards went away to talk to the nearest clowns, Xack decided to go through her pants pocket and take out her cellphone. She flipped it open to look at the time. It was eleven-twenty six. She raised an eyebrow and her lips parted slightly. "Wha-, but Bruce told me to be here at eleven, and now it's past eleven?" She quickly glanced around before her attention fell on the phone again. "So where is he?"

Xack assumed Bruce would call her when he arrived at the mall, but so far, she has received no such answer. Appearing nervous, Xack figured to just call Bruce and see what was keeping him. Xack repeated his cellphone number quietly to herself as she dialed. When she heard it begin to ring, she put it to her ear.

It took some seconds, but Bruce finally answered. "Hello?" He said, and by the tone of his voice, he sounded quite hasty.

"Hi. Bruce. It's me-"

"Xack, this really isn't the best time to talk," Bruce told her sternly, even a bit bitterly. "I'm in an important meeting right now."

Xack seemed confused. "Wh-wait. Meeting?- but...you told me to meet you at the Virde Valley Mall today," she said to Bruce, her voice rising in worriment.

Bruce sighed. "Xack, I never called you-"

"N-no, you didn't, that's why you text me to meet you at the mall." Xack felt like she wanted to cry now from distress.

"I...never text you either." He said to her hesitantly. "You must of mistaken me for someone else on your phone."

"No I didn't!" She shot back to him defensively. "It says right on my phone that the messages are from you." Then her voice grew quiet. "Um...Alfred didn't do this, did he?" She questioned him rather dumbly.

Bruce was silent for a moment. "...No..." Now Xack wanted to bury herself beneath the dirt for stupidity.

She scoffed nervously, "Well, who- who else could text me from your number?-" Suddenly, she stopped herself. Her mind raced with a million thoughts as to what was going on, and by the conversation on the phone, she could only think of one person who was capable of doing something so mischievous...

...but frightening.

"Br...Bruce..." Xack said into the phone ever so quietly and worriedly. Her tone became shaky. "If you didn't text me, then...I..." she swallowed hard. "I think I know...who..." Her quivering voice trailed off.

Bruce seemed to be coming to the same conclusion as Xack. "Xack, get out of there," he told her urgently. "Get out of there now-"

Xack gasped as her chat was abruptly cut off. She peered down to her phone, and on the screen, it flashed 'no signal.' "No signal? But...but my signal was just fine!" She immediately shoved her phone back into her pants and bolted right up from her seat.

Just then, the whole mall was filled with terrified screams. To Xack's horror, the clowns situated all over the place have now thrown their balloons aside to wield an assortment of weapons. There were clowns with flame throwers, high-powered water blasters, and there were a few with machine guns.

Clowns torched the stores and a few poor souls that ran by. Clowns blasted away security guards with powerful jets of water, and of course, the rest of the clowns fired warning shots into the air with their powerful guns. The cruel ones shot a few people just for the fun of it.

Xack shrieked when she was shoved to the side of the fountain by a terrified shopper. By the end of the day, she knew she was going to be bruised and battered by everyone. "Oh my God, if I make it to the end of the day!..." Xack hastily got back up and forced herself to flee to the nearest exit of the mall.

Xack didn't get far when an explosion quaked the mall and sent her falling to the ground again, along with many others. She looked up and her eyes grew wide with terror when she saw one part of the mall blown away. One of the main exits was now blocked by rubble. Not too long after, a second explosion erupted, and another of the mall's exits had been blocked off as well. The echoed screams grew louder with each passing second. Xack became increasingly terrified by her surroundings, now realizing there was no where to run. "They blocked off all the main exits!" As Xack found one of the smaller, fire escape exits, her heart sank when the clowns stood guard of those and shot anyone who tried to get past them.

When Xack got up and thought to just hide somewhere, her eyes scanned to all corners around to see if there was such a place. After searching, there wouldn't be, for there were too many clowns, and any one of them would spot her easily! All the girl could do was just try to remain unnoticeable and hoped to God none of the clowns would notice her and do great harm to her.

When things seemed like they couldn't get any worse, a group of clowns stormed in from one end of the mall and congregated near the center of the vicinity where Xack happened to be near.

All of a sudden, a loud voice blared through the mall. It sounded like someone was speaking through a megaphone of sorts. "Attention all shoppers!" The whimsical, maniacal voice boomed.

Xack froze. That voice... That all-too-familiar voice that haunted her every waking moment. The voice she never wanted to hear on this day, at least. She cupped her mouth to make herself not shriek in fear by just hearing it. Nevertheless, she turned and faced where the voice was heard, praying it wasn't whom she thought it to be.

From the large group of clowns, one emerged in particular that all the shoppers gasped, shrieked, and screamed at the top of their lungs upon recognizing his features. The crazy, green, dreadlocked hair. The red eyes with pinpoint, yellow pupils. The purple tailcoat with the cute, little boutonniere, and the infamous, trademarked feature: his bleached skin.

Xack breathed in and out heavily, trying to keep composer, regardless of what's happening. "No..." Tears welled in her eyes.

The Joker grinned as he eyed all the fearful people around. "This mall is now under new management!" He spoke into the large, comical megaphone he held in his hand. He laughed psychotically afterwards.

"I hope you enjoy your stay...!" He declared evilly to everyone, bearing a wider, crazier grin upon his face.