**DISCLAIMER** I DO NOT OWN ANY OF THE DC CHARACTERS. ONLY THE WOMAN IS MINE. *evil laughter*

Enjoy!!!

Chapter one

"I shouldn't be doing this." I mumbled to myself, reaching into the cookie jar. My boyfriend, Jack, already said I was fat, but at that moment, I didn't care. Jack was not home, wouldn't be home for two weeks. To a normal girl, that would be hell. For me, paradise.

I turned on my cd player, put in my mix cd, and hit the volume button til the walls began to shake. I began to dance, hopping around my living room a bit. I hopped over to the sofa and sat down, lifting the hem of my t-shirt. This was always my favorite part of Jack being gone. I could remove all this damn make-up. With a sigh, I picked up a paper towel and began to scrub my legs. Black and purple bruises slowly began to show up on my skin. I sighed again, glaring at them.

"On second thought," I muttered. "Maybe I should've left the make-up on..." I hated the make-up. Hated having to hide, having to cover up what he did to me. There was only one thing I hated more than lying about the bruises: the bruises themselves. It was too late to stop, though. I moved up to my arms, scrubbing the visible skin with the half ruined paper towel. Here the bruises were darker, bigger. I glared harder at them.

"Couldn't hit me like that where clothes could cover it, oh no." I couldn't make myself do my face. Not yet. I wanted to shower for that, really be able to wash the make-up off my body. But first....I looked down as my tummy emitted a low 'feed me' sound. I slowly made my way over to the kitchen. I ripped into the box of popcorn in the pantry, pulled out a bag, ripped the plastic off, and tossed it in the microwave. But right before I hit the start button, everything shut down. The microwave turned off, the lights turned off, everything just powered down. I looked around, feeling more than slightly panicked. Normally I'd just assume the bill didn't get paid or it was a storm. There were a few problems with my theories, however.

I paid the bill yesterday.

And it wasn't storming.

I picked up a steak knife, wandering through my now pitch black house, flipping light switches as I walked, praying something would turn on. I heard the front door latch. Was it locking or unlocking? I called into the darkness,

"Jack? Is that you?"

"Yes." A low voice behind me answered. "But I'm not the Jack you're looking for." I turned around and came face to face with pitch black eyes and a Glasgow smile. I dropped the knife as he pulled his. I screamed as he slammed me into the wall behind me, holding a switchblade against my throat, a cold, cruel laughter spilling from his lips.

"Hello, beautiful." I swallowed hard, shutting my eyes and clenching my fists to stop my body from shaking. I opened my terrified grey eyes to stare into his coal ones. Taking about three deep breathes, I opened my mouth.

"You're the Joker." He laughed again, a laugh that sent chills up my spine.

"And you, must wach the news. Hmm?" He pressed the knife into my throat slightly, causing me to wince. "Now. Where's your Jack-ah?" I couldn't help myself, I smiled at him.

"I can honestly say I have no idea. I do know he'll be back in two weeks. Care to come back then?" The Joker growled, not at all impressed with my mouth. He pressed his body up against mine; I trembled beneith him. "Or not, ok. Whatever suits you best." He clicked his tongue, still staring straight at me. It felt almost like he was staring into my soul.

"Now, do you really not know where he is, or are you saying this to protect him?" I scoffed.

"Why protect him? What has he done for me lately?" He tilted his head, apparently thinking I was being mouthy again. He grabbed my upper right arm. I flinched, feeling my knees buckle at the sudden pain. The Joker released me quickly, clearly surprised.

"What was that-ah?" I stared up at him, shaking.

"Nothing you need concern yourself with." I responded, my voice cracking. He clicked his tongue again and sighed.

"You know," he crouched down by me; I backed up as close to the wall as I could get. It didn't do much good. "I came here looking for Jacky. Instead I find this beaut-ah-ful young lady, all alone in a big scary house." He laughed quickly, eerily low. "I think I should take you with me, princess-ah." My eyes almost fell out of their sockets. Oh, no way. No way in hell. I was NOT about to play prisoner to an insane clown freak! I swung my fist at him, catching him on the side of the head. As he recovered from the blow I took off, vaulting myself over the couch and head ing for the front door. I heard him coming up behind me as I slammed my body into it. His footsteps thundered behind me as I fiddled with the lock. Come on, come on, come on, come on.... I mentally screamed with relief when I got the door unlocked, and did scream when his gloved hand landed on my shoulder.

"You thought you could escape from The Joker?" he hissed in my ear, whirling me around to face him. I squealed as he threw me over his shoulder. "Think again, sweetheart." I screamed as he carried me out of my house and tossed me into a van. He leapt in behind me, telling the man in the driver's seat to move his ass. The driver obeyed, slamming his foot on the gas. The van barreled out of my driveway and sped off into the darkness. I sat up and stared at The Joker's teasing, triumphant grin.

NOTE: Ok, so I know it's not too great, but it's an idea I've had tumbling around in my head. Different than what I normally do. What do y'all think?

SF