*I don't own the Joker or Batman or any of the DC series*
*Although this should be obvious because i would make so many things different and fucked up*
*Be grateful that I don't own DC*
"Don't you ever think about falling?" he asked, his voice suggested he was curious, but you could never judge his interests based on his voice.
You had to take him all in. Nadine had learned that. You had to take his tone, his expressions, and his actions all at once to know what he really wanted. They all would suggest different things and you would upset him if you guessed wrong. She had learned how to know exactly what he wanted by now.
She turned, the rising sun temporarily blinding her. Her back was to the edge of the building. Her long grey dress was blowing in the light wind. It was over the building. Had it been caught on something, she would fall. But for some reason, she wasn't scared.
She looked at the man she had grown to love with her whole heart and her entire soul. His eyes said he knew what she would say. His hands were in his pants pockets, so he was unaggressive. He was, in fact, very calm. She loved him when he was like this, peaceful. Although, she even loved him when he was angry.
While she was staring at him, he was doing the same. He was taking her in as well. Her long hair reached her waist, and was golden like honey in this lighting. He only ever wanted something like this. A woman who loved him truly and deeply.
It was beautiful, the two of them. She accepted his flaws and his insanity, because he had accepted her's. Nadine looked at him, his tanned skin was soft and cold. His blue eyes, accented by his brown hair and high cheek bones, were glistening while he stared at her.
"I used to, I used to think about falling. All the time. Didn't you?" she asked him, running her fingers through his hair, pushing it back, like he likes it.
"I thought about jumping. Or, more of leaping. All the way down until… I reached the bottom."
"What about now, my King?" she said, with a giggle and putting her hands on his chest.
"Well, Honey, I think about flying, now." he replied, making her cheeks go red.
He pulled her into his chest and she wrapped her arms around his waist. He smelled like their shampoo and baby powder. It was wonderful. Everything was…
"God damn it, when is she going to wake up? I'm so tired of watching a useless, fucked up girl," said a rough man's voice.
Nadine kept her eyes closed, the feeling of comfort and love was dissipating by the millisecond. The flashes of the dream were still fairly vivid, for now. Nadine held on to the feeling for as long as she could. But the man's complaining interrupted her.
Her head was aching, how long had she been sleeping? She felt like she hadn't slept at all. Her head was pounding with every heartbeat.
"Mr. J told me he gave her a quadruple dosed acid tab, she's going to be hating life for the next few days. She's not allowed to leave yet. Just stop complaining. This is why we get paid the big bucks," said the other man.
By the way their voices sounded, Nadine could tell they were facing away from her. She kept her eyes closed. She couldn't stay here! It was insane. He only knew her name… if she could get out here without any attention, the Joker wouldn't even notice until she was long gone.
"What's so special about her? She's all bruised, her hair's a mess. This girl must have had a great time, am I right?" he joked, making the other man laugh as well.
That's when Nadine remembered exactly what happened. The images she would have rather forgotten flashed in her head. The four men, they dragged her. They hit her, and they were going to… they were going to do something far worse than death. But, Mr. J had saved her. He had killed them all without any hesitation. Nadine's chest swelled with pride and fear. She also knew that what those men were attempting… it made her angry.
Nadine fought the urge to scream. At anyone or nothing. Nadine just wanted to scream. She had to escape first. She assumed the Joker only wanted to keep her there to play with her more. She wasn't going to be a toy in his game anymore. She was getting the hell out, even if she had to fight for it.
She finally got the courage to open her eyes. When her eyes adjusted to the light, she knew exactly where she was. She was in the VIP room, surrounded by beads. She could even see the exit from here. The room looked a lot less exotic once you were inside. She looked at her surroundings very slowly, to not cause any attention. The two men's backs were to her, they were still chatting about nonsense. Point is, they were distracted. Nadine looked down at herself and saw that she was still wearing the Joker's purple jacket, and her dress was ripped in some places. Her knuckles were bruised and so were her wrists.
She didn't have time to take off his jacket, she would have to ditch it somewhere. She would have to find a gas station on the way home, she didn't want to be any more noticed than she already was.
She looked behind her once more, making sure the two men didn't notice her standing. They didn't and she slowly moved the beads out of her way, silently, she moved right through them. Nadine thought her heart was going to beat out of her chest. She thanked god for her ability to sneak in and out of anywhere, even when stressed. The door was straight ahead when she heard his voice. She dropped onto her knees to hide behind a huge speaker.
"Boys, how is my new little friend?" his voice made her head ache more.
"Still out like a light, Mr. J. Might need to force her awake soon," he giggled at his own joke.
"No one touches her without my permission. She has valuable…"
His voice faded out. Nadine's chest was pumping so fast, she thought her heart would jump out of its chest.
"Where is she?!" he screamed out. She jumped at the velocity of the anger behind his words.
The blanket she had been using was thrown into the beads and landed on top of the speaker she was hiding behind. She placed her hand over her mouth to stop herself from yelping out too loud.
"Boss… we- she was just here! Not more than two minutes ago!"
"Shut up and find her! Everyone! Find the girl!" he screamed again, she heard his gun be cocked.
Without thinking, she bolted for the door on all fours. She refused to be found no less than 5 minutes after escaping. She wouldn't be stuck here against her will. The door opened easily, and she stood up when the cold air hit her.
It was night time again, she didn't have any recollection of time. The only thing she cared about was getting the hell out of there. She looked to her right and started running, after realizing she no longer had shoes. It made things so much easier. She ran and ran, not knowing where the hell she was. When she looked behind her she didn't notice anyone following her. She slowed her pace to a very fast walk and pulled his jacket around her tighter, she felt that she couldn't even breath.
The people she was passing were looking at her as if she was crazy. They had no idea how crazy her night had been. Again, she looked behind her, in every corner. There's no way he would be able to find her now. She was too far gone.
"Hey sweetie, looking for some fun?" asked a young boy, laughing, as she passed him.
Instantly, she wanted to slap the crap out of him, but she stopped herself. She had to remain unnoticeable. She only wanted to be a fly on the wall again. She longed to be ignored like usual. The faster she moved, the more she was constantly looking behind her to make sure no one was following her.
After about an hour of walking aimlessly, turning down random streets and probably going in more circles than she realized, she felt her body ache. Nadine decided to search her surroundings, for something that would tell her where home was. She had never been on this side of Gotham more than 3 times. She felt defeated. She didn't have any money, she couldn't take a cab or bus. She didn't trust anyone enough to ask for directions. Anyone of them could be working for the Joker. He had more informants than a tree has roots.
She stopped, suddenly, and leaned against the wall of an apartment building. She felt like a little girl lost in the city. She could go back, beg to not be killed for running, if she could even find the club. But she would rather take her chances with the streets. At least here, not everyone was a trained killer ready for orders. As far as she knew, anyway.
For a moment, she felt tears stream down her face, and she allowed herself to cry. She put her face in her hands and sobbed. She didn't know where she was, the Joker himself was probably searching for her, and she still had a headache. She had been drugged and beaten all in one night and she was exhausted still. She only wanted to go home.
When she looked up, blinking through her tears, she found that there wasn't anyone on the street now. She was completely alone with tall, old apartment buildings. Until, she looked to her left and saw two men in black, pointing at her and jogging towards her. One of them was talking into a cell phone.
"Shit!" she said, she turned around and started running.
She ran as fast as she could, passing building after building like a blur. The streets were barely lit, she kept her eyes on the ground. She watched every crack while she sprinted, she refused to fall and be captured now. She felt sweat drip down her face, but she didn't feel out of breath. She could run away like this forever. Once she lost track of direction again, she looked behind her and saw that they were no longer behind her. She turned into an alley and put her back against the wall.
Her fast, raspy breathing made her chest hurt and her vision became blurry.
"Did I imagine that? No… they had to be real… were they? Fuck!" she screamed and punched the wall behind her.
"They're gone." a deep voice said behind her, making her jump.
She turned and saw no one. But above her, she saw a tall dark figure gliding down towards her. She pressed her back against the wall, attempting to get as far away from the figure as she could. She felt a lot of pressure on her chest when it landed a few feet in front of her. The slanted white eyes, the almost only visible thing about him, Nadine recognized immediately.
"You… you're Batman?" she stepped forward, the weight off her shoulder lifted, and continued, "Oh thank god… can you please take me home? I'm so scared, I just want to-"
"I will. You just need to tell her everything you know about the Joker. Where is his safe house? Where did you see him last?" he said, now stable on the ground, not listening to a word she said.
Nadine was shocked, but she really shouldn't be. She had spent who knows how many days with him, and now she was running away from his henchman. Of course the bat would assume she knew about him. She thought about his questions, and suddenly felt that she shouldn't tell him anything.
She remembered the name of his building, she could even show him exactly where it was from here, and how to get in.. but something inside her was screaming at her to keep silent. Maybe she feared the Joker more than she trusted the Bat.
"No… no, I'm not involved with him. I don't know anything," she said, "Please just take me home."
"You're wearing his jacket and his men are searching for you… you must know something. He can't hurt you here, I promise." he assured her.
His words fell on deaf Joker had saved her from a horrible fate, probably even death. She owed him, she would give him her silence, then they would even enough.
"Girl, please tell me, anything." he begged.
"I don't know anything. I don't even know whose jacket this is. Just… leave me alone," she pleaded angrily.
She turned away from Batman, knowing he wouldn't help her anymore without some piece of information.
"If you won't tell me anything willfully, I'm forced to arrest you. The police will get it out of you," he sighed, and Nadine felt his hand grab both of her wrists easily.
"Hey! No! No! No! I just want to go home! I don't know anything! Let me go!" she screamed as loud as she could.
She struggled against his grip around her arms. But it was like a mouse trying to be rid of a lion. It was impossible. The Bat put cuffs around her wrists with ease, her arms stuck in front of her.
"This could have been easy for you. I'm truly sorry about this."
She continued kicking and screaming while he dragged her towards his vehicle, parked invisibility in the back.
"Oh, Batsy. Since when do you pick on helpless little girls?" she heard his chilly voice and laugh, not too far away. "I thought that was my job!"
Nadine smiled, but then frowned. She was only going to go from one captivity to another. Batman stepped in front of her and put up his wrists. She assumed that he had some sort of weapon, ready to use it against the Joker.
Suddenly, a little can was dropped in front of her, than another. After a tense moment, they started expelling white gas very quickly. In less than a few seconds, the entire alley was filled with it. Nadine couldn't see past her hands. She felt someone grab onto her restraints and was pulled towards the street. Once she was out of the smoke, she saw the pale skin of her rescuer.
"Having fun yet, Honey Bee?" he asked her while he raised his own weapon to fight. He fired a few shots blindly into the smoke.
She rolled her eyes at him and yelled, "Can we please just get out of here?!"
He put his fingers to his lips and whistled. After a second, she saw a bright purple car come racing down the street.
"All in good time, my dear, eager to be alone with your's truly?" he laughed at his own joke.
Just then, a wire came out of the smoke and latched onto the Joker's sleeve. He held his ground, kept his feet sturdy before trying into the smoke. He dropped his gun when the wire was tugged even harder on the other side. He groaned, and tried standing, but the strength of the wire was pulling him into it.
Nadine felt stuck, her hands were bound. The car was almost there, his men would help him. But they wouldn't be here in time. Nadine looked around, for something that could help him. His gun was only a few feet away from her. Nadine dropped onto her knees and picked up the weapon. She had never held a gun before, the weight of it was surprising. It was such a small thing, how could it possibly weigh so much?
She heard the Joker scream "Shoot him!" but she instead shot the wire. She missed it, the bullet creating a hole in the concrete. Cursing, she closed one eye and aimed again. She fired and the wire snapped. Once freed, the Joker ripped the gun out of her hands and shot in the direction of the Bat.
After he had shot the gun a few more times, he grabbed onto Nadine's cuffs and lifted her towards his purple car.
He shot orders out to his men who were pouring out of the car with larger machine guns ready and aimed. He shoved Nadine into the passenger seat and slammed the door. Once inside, Nadine started to feel how fast her heart was pumping. It had been exhilarating, firing the gun. She heard more guns blazing around her, but the car had been sound proof enough to not hurt her ears. She watched as the Joker circled the car and put a few bullets into the fog he created. Nadine doubted Batman was still even there, he's outmanned, there's no way he could possibly win at this point. The Joker opened the door and slammed it after him.
He looked pissed off, but when he looked over at Nadine, her fear was obvious. He smiled a creepy smile, revealing his shiny grill. He punched on the gas without warning, sending Nadine way back into her seat. They were down the street and turning a corner faster than Nadine had ever seen. The Joker, meanwhile, was now glaring at the road ahead of him.
He didn't seem to care about the men he left behind. How could people be so devoted to him? Could it be his money or their fear of him? She couldn't see anyone being truly devoted by themselves. He must have offered or threatened something too great to refuse.
The car had slowed down some, but he was still weaving in and out of lanes. Nadine had calmed down and was watching him as we went. She wouldn't admit it, but the speed was actually fun. She had never gone so fast before. Nadine felt calmer and calmer while she watched him drive. He never glanced behind him, he never seemed to look for danger anywhere. Nadine grabbed the handle in the door just to keep herself from flying through the window. She didn't have a seatbelt on, not that she even thought about it. Nadine looked around and recognized the gas station that she visited every morning. She knew where she was. Her apartment was only a few blocks up!
"Where are you taking me?" She asked.
"That ruins the fun of it, doesn't it?"
He pressed down on the gas pedal again, until he abruptly stopped in front of her building.
She was dumbfounded. How did he know where she lived? Why wasn't he keeping her?
"I don't understand… You know where I live?! How…?"
"I do my research, Nadine Lucille Hath," he said, hands still gripping the steering wheel.
Nadine didn't respond, how could she? He knew her whole name, there's no telling how much he knew about her at this point. She felt violated, like her privacy had been invaded. But that was the famous part of the Joker, he always knew what was happening around him.
"You're not going to keep me? I thought-"
He interrupted her, waving his hand away and saying, "You shot the wire, freeing me from captivity and you kept your mouth shut around the Bat about me. Why? "
"It was… You saved me, from those men. I owed you," was all she said. It was all she could say. She barely understood it herself.
He pursed out his lips in surprise and turned to look into the street again. After a moment of thought, he sighed and pulled out a strange looking key. He put of his hand, for Nadine's taking. She gave him her wrists and with a flash, she was free.
Nadine rubbed her wrists while he said, "You can go."
She smiled and grasped the door handle before the purple sleeve around her caught her eye. She started to take it off, but he grabbed her shoulder, stopping her.
"Keep it. So you'll remember me by, yes?" He smiled wide.
She nodded, still smiling, and hesitated for a moment. She wanted to give him something back. For some reason she wanted him to remember her too. He went out of his way to protect her, twice. Her head still ached, and felt a little fuzzy and she knew that she should just run out of the car and forget everything. But the high from the adrenaline was stopping her.
She looked at him while he looked at her. She leaned in slowly, but he didn't move. He kept her gaze, while she gently planted a kiss on his smooth cheek.
"So you'll forget about me?" She asked as she slid away and opened the door to the outside world.
He laughed his classic laugh and said, "Already have, Honey Bee."
She turned away from him, and still felt his gaze behind, watching her as she strode up confidently to her building.
Once inside, she finally turned and saw he had left. She felt a sort of sadness, but mostly relief. Her adventures with him were finally over. And she could finally collapse in her comfortable and familiar bed and sleep.
She looked up the flight of stairs and noticed something strange. There was no doorman, or any security at the receptionist desk. It was utterly silent. Maybe she should appreciate it. She shrugged and started her way upstairs. Her room is on the 5th floor, of course. Nadine was actually a really big fan of heights.
When she finally got to her room, she got the extra key she kept underneath the plant and unlocked the door. Once inside, she smelled the familiar stench of her apartment. She closed and locked the door behind her. She went into her bedroom after turning on some lights and looked around. Everything was in its place, except for the box containing her sister's clothes.
After folding them and taking off the one she had been wearing, she went into the bathroom. Her bare body was bruised from her knees to her face. She had two nasty ones on the tops of her knees, they ached with every step, although she hardly noticed. Her stomach was dark purple in a few spots, but the most painful one was on her arm. It was from when the big man grabbed her. She shook her head, trying to forget the trauma. She also noticed a light hickey at the base of her neck. She rolled her eyes in annoyance, at the fact that it happened and she didn't remember who had given it to her. The slap across the face that she had received gave her a light bruise on her cheek. She was spared a black eye, although her make-up had run dry and was flaking off. Her mascara and eyeliner had blackened her bags. Her lipstick was smeared, but barely noticeable. She noticed the red kiss on her forehead and groaned.
She remembered how she wanted to be around him while she was hallucinating. She remembered kissing and dancing with boys, she felt disgusting. While she appreciated the Joker and the real fun he gave her, she still had some of her common sense. He was a manipulating sociopath. The only thing going through her mind was when he killed the men, she couldn't see anything past that for a little.
Nadine turned on the sink and splashed the cold water on her face. It dripped down her face and instantly relaxed her. She wiped away all the make-up and made sure to get rid of the kiss mark the Joker had left. There, it's like it had never happened.
Nadine thought about jumping into the shower, to wash away all the filth she had just been through and clear her thoughts, but decided to go to her deck and smoke a well deserved cigarette. She figured she really owed herself one at this point. She threw on a thick robe and walked around her bed to her bedside table. She opened the drawer containing her cigarettes and her cell phone. She clicked on the home button, but the screen only showed black with a low battery. She didn't have the energy to plug it in right now, not that she wanted to waste her time on contacting anyone. She grabbed her pack and opened her balcony door.
Once outside, she smelled the night air. She actually smiled to herself. Now that all the excitement had finally ended, she could see it as being...enlightening? Who knew that life could be so exciting with only a drug or even just by meeting someone. Although, the Joker wasn't just someone. He was the King of Gotham, the Clown of Chaos… he was the Joker!
And he had been… kind? He had been at least honorable… for the most part, at least. Nadine shrugged her shoulders and lit her cigarette. She allowed the smoke to enter her lungs, burning her throat a little bit. It hurt but it felt relieving. She blew out the smoke and watched it float down towards the dimly lit street very slowly.
She thought about her dream… she felt like it had to have been the Joker, because he had called her Honey. But, that man couldn't have been him. He seemed (felt) so loving and warm. Nadine couldn't see the Joker ever actually being like that. Also, he looked like a normal man. Mr. J was pale like death and had a dark demeanor that you could feel from a mile away. Still, the feeling she had when she woke up had been comforting. Even in the place she was in.
After several minutes of inhaling and exhaling, she finished her smoke. She thought about having another, but decided to just collapse into bed. As soon as her head hit her very cold pillow, she felt her eyes drop. They became so heavy and her mind wandered. She saw the lights and how they had trailed as she spun around them that night. Her time there truly had been a lot of fun, because she had given up control and did whatever her mind had told her to. It was a nice moment of release. She wouldn't say she regretted going out, instead she would say she wants to do that again. The adrenaline and the fear had mixed together in her mind, becoming one in the same. Both exhilarating and dangerous. In the end, she survived, and she was grateful to have the experience.
Hour after hour, she slept. It was dreamless, and peaceful. Nadine had never slept for this long before. The wind blew in through the open balcony door, sending chills throughout her asleep body. To her, she was peaceful, hardly moving. But to the man watching her from the fire escape saw her tossing and turning all night. So curious, she was.
He watched her,all of his anger as pointed towards this one little girl. He had never felt such rage towards another person before. Until now, he had never wanted to kill a woman so badly. Although, he enjoyed it. He enjoyed imagining how he would kill her. Or how he would make her suffer beforehand. His imagination grew wild. Wilder than he had known he could reach. But, again, he loved it. It made just watching her even more worthwhile. For now, he would only watch. Let her live her life as if she wasn't the cause of his broken heart. He would allow her time to make any amends, before he cut the life out of her. It was just, it was deserved. She was lucky to be living this long.