Chapter Two:
Trapped
It took over an hour to get everyone situated to Joker's liking. The injured were moved into a shop all of their own, while the dead...well, Xack didn't want to know what Joker's men did with their bodies. The rest of the fortunate who weren't all that hurt were grouped towards the center point of the mall. Joker was up on the second floor, looking down on everyone with that ridiculous megaphone in his hand.
Before Joker addressed to the huge crowd of mall shoppers, he whispered something to his clown-faced men and then peeked into the store that held the injured folk. Xack couldn't help but wonder if he suspected that she might of been one of those people. She actually felt a little flattered inside if Joker was concerned for her, but a split-second later, she scolded herself for thinking such thoughts. "What's the matter with you! Don't blush or anything! This is Joker we're talking about! You don't even know if he was looking for you."
As Joker faced the group of people once more, Xack crouched behind the large fountain so he wouldn't spot her easily. "Weeeelll...how is everyone doing, hmm?" He spoke into his megaphone with curious glee. "Comfy? Cozy?... Hope not." He chuckled mischievously. "The other day in Arkham, ol' Pengy made a bet, you see, that I couldn't take this mall under my wing... Boy, wait till he gets a load of this!" When he began to laugh psychotically, everyone around had to cover their ears. The laughter through the megaphone was piercing enough to blow anyone's eardrums!
"Why, I bet that birdbrain is blowing smoke from his Pinocchio nose! Won't that be a sight to see!" He chuckled threw clenched teeth while everyone below started to murmur and mutter things under their breath. Joker witnessed this and growled lowly. Everyone's mouths snapped closed when they heard this angered sound. "Now, this gets me to thinking... What to do with all you sad, little people..." He gazed up, as in serious thought about it, but it didn't last long. He answered back cheerily, "Nothing!"
While Joker cupped a hand over the megaphone to giggle and say a few words to the clowned henchmen that stood at his sides, Xack couldn't help to wonder that hearing "nothing" wasn't as good as she thought it was. She looked extremely nervous, and seeing the other terrified and worried people didn't help her feel any better.
To Xack's astonishment, a person within the group stood up and shouted up at the Joker, "Just what are you gonna do with us?"
Xack banged her head on the fountain seat. "Why did he have to say something?" She knew everyone should just keep their mouths shut. Speaking out of line could make the situation worse for everybody. "God, some people are so damn stupid!"
Oddly enough, Joker faintly heard this man. While the henchmen left Joker's side, the clown turned back to the people and replied, "Didn't you hear me the first time, or do I need to give your ears a good carving?" He said more as a threatening statement than a question. The man who spoke shrunk back into the crowd. Joker grinned. "...but you heard right, folks: nothing! I won't lay a finger...or card...or knife into any one of ya. Clown's honor!" He comically put a hand over his heart as if to honor something, but suddenly, his tone grew darker, "However..."
Xack scoffed. She knew there would be a catch. "If any of you try to escape, my clown-faced henchies will bring the lucky fellow- or mademoiselle- to see me personally!" His grin widened sadistically. "...and then the real fun can begin!" The people below gasped while Joker cackled loudly. "Other then those little nit-picks, you're all free to do whatever you want! So go crazy! Go nuts out there, everyone!" Then he waved everyone away. "So run along now! Shoo! No running away now, you hear?" He giggled as he walked away from the edge.
While the crowd continued to sit and talk quietly amongst themselves, Xack hastily bolted in a different direction opposite of Joker. If what he said was the truth, and that everyone was still free to walk around the mall, then Xack wanted to be as far away from Joker as she possible could. She didn't care if his men are posted at every corner around the mall. As long as she didn't have to see him, then she was fine with it.
"...but...but why is he doing this?" Xack thought worriedly. "If this is just a bet, then...wouldn't it be over now? He did what he wanted to do, so...why isn't he...leaving?"
Xack practically whirled into a large clothing store, hoping other people would stay out and leave her be. She sat against a wall of the store and pressed her legs up to her chest, shivering with fear. "What am I going to do now?" Xack contemplated miserably, burying her face in her hands. "Where's the cops? Where's Batman? Shouldn't he be here by now?" She shook her head. "Isn't anyone going to save us?"
"Now I wish I never came..." Xack said quietly, sniffling a little. "I knew I should of left as soon as I saw those clowns! I knew they looked suspicious to me!" She made a frustrated noise as she clutched her head tightly. "What am I going to do if Joker finds me?-"
"Hey!" Xack lifted her head and gazed towards the entrance of the store. There, she saw one of the clowned henchmen looking at her suspiciously. He tapped his gun lightly on the entrance frame. "What're you doing in here?"
Xack should of figured one of Joker's "security" would find her eventually. She just hoped it would of been later.
The girl stuttered on her words. Her mouth moved, but nothing came out of it. "N-nothing..." she managed to say finally.
The man stood there and stared at her intently, probably considering if she was questionable enough to bring to Joker. After a minute or so, the man grunted and left the store.
Xack sighed in relief and stood up. "I'll never get any peace with all of them around..." she grumbled to herself, exiting the store. She looked around and thought of where to go next. "All I want is to be left alone..."
It wasn't too long after when the cellphone in her pocket went off. Xack shook and immediately took it out, flipping it open. To her horror, it was a text message...from "Bruce."
test message received: where are you? I can't seem to find you anywhere.
Xack's head titled forward a bit. Her whole body felt like it was going to give way any second. She froze up with terror. "N-no...signal. No...signal... No...signal." She kept repeating in her mind fearfully, still aware that Joker cut off any reception to phones within the mall. "So...why is mine working?"
She let out a staggering breath, wondering what she should do about the text message. "Just lie," a part of her conscious told her hastily. "Just...lie. Joker doesn't know you're here. He hasn't seen you. Just lie."
Xack swallowed hard, and typed back:
text message reply: I'm so sorry I didn't come. When I saw all those clowns at the mall, I got scared and left.
She waited a minute to see if she'd get a response back, and sure enough, he sent one.
2nd text message received: Too bad. I was really hoping to see you.
Xack breathed out heavily as she got this message. She frantically searched around the mall to see if Joker was anywhere in sight. When he wasn't, she swiftly ran to a different area. She hoped she didn't look too obvious, for some of the people- including the henchmen- saw her frantic actions.
In this new area, there was a small lounge spot, where people could go and rest their feet when they tired from walking. There were already people taking up places on the lounge chairs and benches, but Xack managed to squeeze herself onto one the benches. She caught a few glares from the people she sat next to, obvious they didn't want her taking any more room up.
Xack returned sheepish looks to these people, silently apologizing to them. "Maybe I should just sit on the floor or something. I don't like sitting by people anyways."
Just when she thought about getting up to go sit somewhere else, her cellphone beeped again. She jumped, and took it out to look at the third text message she received.
3rd text message received: liar
The girl chocked on her own breath when she read this, and her body started to shake with fright. Before she had even the chance to reply back, another text message was brought up just as quickly.
4th text message received: Eyecu
For a second, Xack actually scrutinized the message before her. It didn't make any sense. "Eye-c-u...?" When she spoke this softly to herself, it was then that she gasped loudly.
I see you
Xack immediately searched around herself for Joker, but she didn't see anything. She knew if someone around her saw Joker, they would definitely respond in some way. Then she looked up higher to the second floor. All hell froze over when she saw him: the Joker. He was peering down on her from the floor above, grinning manically as he waved to her with a cellphone in his hand.
When she watched Joker stroll away to head for the nearest staircase down, Xack flew from her seat to hide in a store that wasn't quite near where she sat. Her heart sank though, knowing she couldn't hide from Joker forever, especially with his goons all over the place. "But...I just need to try. Maybe help will come before Joker...gets his hands on me." She shivered with slight revulsion.
Xack ran into another clothing store, guessing that the clothes would hide her well and perhaps "camouflage" her from Joker. She got onto the floor and hid behind a rack of men's shirts. She sat there trying not to move an inch, and waited...
A few minutes passed by when she thought she heard someone. Unfortunately for her, the shirts before her obstructed her view of almost everything. All she could rely on was sound. She listened well, and groaned when she heard several voices; one of them she could of sworn said something like, "she's in there." She seriously hoped she was wrong on that translation.
The sound of feet walking carefully came closer to where Xack hid. She held her breath and fought hard to not shake out of fear. To her dismay, she could scarcely make out a pair of bare feet to the right of her, knowing them to be Joker's. A minute later, he strode on by, and Xack felt her heart skip a beat on that one.
She heard him walk away, and figured she was almost safe for the time being. "Oh my God. He didn't see me. He didn't-"
All of a sudden, a hand shot out from underneath and snatched her foot. Xack screamed as she was dragged out from her hiding spot. Her view of clothing has fleetingly switched to the Clown Prince looming above her, having an odd, but eerie smile on his face.
Before Xack could try to attack Joker in an attempt to escape his grasp, he was already on top of her, and the next thing she knew, his hand was over her mouth...followed by a repugnant odor that made everything go dark around her.
She wanted to stay awake. She wanted to know what he was going to do with her. The last thing she could recall, was Joker's perpetual grin on his face. A grin that felt like it would burn into her cranium for ages to come.
Xack's eyes shot open, and the first thing she noticed was that she was laying onto of something...quite comfortable. A bed.
"A...bed?" She thought, and her eyes gazed down, and sure enough, she was lying on top of a rather short one.
The next thing she noticed was that Joker's more trusted goons, Punch and Judy, were posted on either side of the bed, staring straight ahead. Seeing this, Xack wanted to panic. "Oh my God, what's going on?" As she sat up, she took in her surroundings quickly. All around were couches, tables, beds, dressers... It didn't take her long to come to the conclusion that she was in a furniture store, with rather poor lighting. "Or is the lighting supposed to be that dim?"
"Sleep well, mah dear?" Said a mirthful voice that Xack wished she didn't have to hear.
Xack whimpered slightly and turned to the side to see Joker casually walking up to the bed, grinning as usual. She scooted herself onto the opposite end, away from the clown. Joker sat on the edge and continued to stare at Xack with a hungered look to him. Neither of them spoke for the longest time. It wasn't until Joker saw Xack squirm a little in place, did he finally speak up. "I'm so thrilled you got my message!" He said to her gleefully, holding up a cellphone in his hand. "I didn't think you'd show!"
Xack breathed in and out heavily, but that changed quickly. She now glared at him, holding up her own cellphone. "I wouldn't have come if I known it was you who sent me that text message! I thought it was Bruce!" She spouted back angrily.
When Joker heard that particular name, his expression darkened. "Yes...Brucie boy..." He plucked the cellphone out of her hand and waved it back and forth to her. "Ah, silly me!" He said, his tone changing back to its perky self. "I can't have you running around here with a working phone! It might give these dull people some hope!" He laughed heartily while Xack felt defeated in some ways.
Joker's eyes shifted to the two large goons at the sides and waved them away. "I'll take it from here, boys. Stay outside incase this little girl decides to flee before I'm through..."
Xack seemed worried when the two left. She hated the situation enough, but she didn't want to be alone with Joker. When they were out of view, he turned back to her, moving himself onto the bed more. The girl swallowed nervously and shied away from him.
"I see you still wear that necklace I gave you..." He remarked, reaching out a hand to grab the dangling necklace Xack wore. A necklace with a large, crystal bottom with a castle on top of it. He cocked his head to the side. "You must still like me if you're wearing it."
The girl grunted and tore the piece of jewelry from his hand. "I just like it, that's all." She grumbled, still looking away from him.
Joker pouted. "Awh...don't be like that, Xackie!" He said to her with a hint of sadness in his tone. "Why can't we just be 'friends' again, hmm?" His eyes widened in anticipation. "Why won't you like me?"
"Because-" Xack had to weigh on her choice of words for a moment. "Because I don't want to be friends with a monster like you!" She sneered, her green eyes flashing at him. "If I would of known sooner what you were really like, I...I would of- I..." She paused for a mere second to regain herself. "...I should of done what my doctor told me to do: ...change my schedule before it was too late..." A few tears rolled down her eyes as she looked onto Joker, whose expression seemed a little taken aback by her words. "I wish you would leave me alone..." She sobbed.
Joker leaned back and tried to process what she had spoken. With him, however, not much got by him. He didn't want to take her words into consideration. He didn't believe her. "So...I'm a 'monster', huh?" He said with a husky voice, and Xack didn't like it.
Xack gasped when Joker grabbed her wrist and thrust her towards him. She struggled to get out of his grasp, but he just tightened his hold on her. "Don't think you're so innocent, Xack Hathaway," Joker told her harshly. "I know you better than anyone! Playing innocent just to manipulate people to do what you want with them!..."
The girl continued to fight with him, but she shot back defensively, "I don't 'manipulate' people! I would never do that!" Finally, she broke free from his nimble fingers and rubbed her sore wrist.
Joker chortled. "Yeah, right."
Xack got up, and Joker followed. She tried to get away. She sprinted towards a way back into the mall, but Punch and Judy caught her and brought her back to Joker. She thrashed wildly against them, attempting to get herself free. While the two held each of her arms, Joker casually walked up to her, hands clasped behind his back.
He grinned as he waved a finger at her. "Tsk, tsk, tsk, I told you: no running off until I'm finished speaking with you," He scolded, closing the distance between them. "Now, I didn't bring ya here for nothing, dearie. You do have a choice to make..." Xack looked at him furiously as she waited to hear his proposal. "You can join me and help bring utter madness to this new asylum of mine! ..or..." He pointed behind her and out onto the mall area. "You can join those dingle-dorks out there and be treated like those Arkham flunkies! ...and Xack..." He got closer to her face, while the girl turned her head to the side to avoid his awful gaze. He leered at her. "...I really hate the flunkies."
She stared back at him with a most enraged look- a murderous one. No one saw what was coming next. With a blink of an eye, Xack spat in his face, causing the clown to flinch in shock. Punch and Judy looked at one another and wondered what the clown was going to do with her then. Joker growled inwardly, but his mood shifted to a lewd smile. He wiped the saliva away with his fingers, but to Xack's horror, he put them to his lips to get a taste of her; an action which made the girl whimper and cringe with great disgust.
"A pity I can't taste all of you," Joker told her suggestively, making Xack turn away in humiliation.
"I should of figured little goody-two-shoes Hathaway wouldn't want to be with a criminal genius like myself." He gesticulated, putting a hand to his chest for assurance. "So...that's why I made you this-" Joker went into his coat and brought out a beautiful choker necklace, which Xack thought it looked a little too stunning for someone like her to wear. The front of the choker had a dangling piece of silver shaped and designed to look like one of Joker's trademark playing cards.
"This is for you, Xackie dear!" Joker lilted, putting it up to her neck, and Xack immediately kicked the air to keep him away. He appeared exasperated now. "Oooh, such a feisty, little fighter, aren't we?" He purred excitedly, delighted to see Xack having more energy in her than he believed she even had.
"I'm not wearing that!" She said to him coldly, her arms beginning to feel like Jell-O at this point.
"Awh, but I made this especially for you!" His eyes narrowed determinedly. "...and you're going to wear it..."
Before she knew it, Xack cried frighteningly as she was thrown to the floor, and the two goons still held her down to keep her from thrashing about. Joker hastily got on top to put the choker on her, all the while Xack trying to twist and turn her way free of the three brutes.
It didn't take long for Joker to get it around her neck, and all three men immediately got off of her. Xack was finally relieved to be let go, but now she wanted Joker's gift off her throat. "Wha-what is this?" She cried angrily, trying to pry the choker off.
Joker grabbed her arm to make her settle down. With his other hand, he held up a device with a screen. On it, a map of the mall was seen with a little, green dot blinking in a certain spot. "If you won't be a good girl and stay with me..." He waved the thing back and forth to her. "This tells me where exactly you'll be at all times. I don't want to lose you again now that I found you!" He said to her in a falsetto tone. "I want to see my pretty, little Xack wherever and whenever I want to!"
Her eyes widened. "This...this thing is a tracking device?" She shrieked, now wanting it off more than ever.
Joker nodded happily. "Uh huh! Of course!" He slung an arm around her shoulder, but Xack was too dumbstruck to fight him off this time. "While I do enjoy our games of 'cat and mouse', but...I have to admit, I think you're a little too good at playing the mouse!" He slapped a hand to his head playfully, chuckling.
Xack eyed him hatefully. "If you think this is going to stop me from getting out of this mall-"
"Oh, but it will!" Joker chimed in gleefully, almost squealing with the things he desired to explain to her. He let go of Xack and gestured a hand to her choker. "You see, I know you're such a clever and manipulating little minx, that I know you'll get out of here someway...somehow..." He held up the tracking receiver. "Your beautiful jewelry is also my 'trigger'."
Xack looked perplexed. "A...trigger?..." She questioned nervously.
Joker's grinned. "My men are still setting up, but...dearie...if you set one foot out of this mall...everyone here is going to be sleeping with the fishies!" He covered his mouth as he giggled psychotically.
Xack's eyes boggled. "What?" She couldn't even comprehend everything the Joker has done!
Joker outstretched his arms, "I can see it now," he began to say, "You escaping, cheering that you got away from the big, bad clown- meanwhile, all these poor saps get the grins of a lifetime!" He burst into laughter and held his gut to keep himself from falling over in complete joy.
The girl backed away from him, clutching her head. "Wh-why are you doing this? Why?" She demanded stressfully.
When his laughter's have ceased, he replied, "It's all a bet, and I intend to make it last as long as I can. This is all just a game- a challenging, but a very fun game, you see." He gazed upwards. "...a game I want Batsy to stay out of... He's always such a party pooper, you know!"
Xack plopped down on to the floor. Her head was cloudy, and buzzing with all the recent events playing over and over again in her mind.
Joker kneeled down to her level, cocking his head to get a better look at her weary features. "What are you going to do now, Xack?" Joker asked menacingly as he got up close to her face once more. Xack looked back at him with her lips parted slightly. "You can't escape, and I'm always going to know where you are..." he bit his lip blissfully while the girl let out a faltering breath. She didn't have an answer for him, and wished she could come up with some retort.
As he stood up, Joker looked on to his goons and jerked his head in her direction. "Show my dearest to the door, will you?" He ordered them nonchalantly.
Xack cried out when Punch hauled her up off the floor and proceeded out to the mall area. When he took a few steps outside the furniture store, he rudely dropped Xack to floor. He non-caringly went back inside while Xack was to ponder in misery.
She stood up slowly, and started to walk away while grabbing a hold of her arm. She rubbed it as her head tilted down in shame. "If...if Batman can't save us- save me, then..." She bit her lip to keep herself from crying. "Then how am I going to get myself out of this one?"
to BlackFairysDeathTome: lol, you think they click? I'm glad you think they do, and I'm sorry it took me this long to post something (even if it's a different Batman story). I still hope to type up another chapter to 'Sick'...sometime soon (I do have some of it typed up). I always try hard to make Joker insane and sadistic, and...well, I hope you enjoy him here as much as in the other stories I've done. Also: hope you didn't have to wait long for this chapter to come up. ^^; Thank you for the review!
