AN: Trigger warning: abuse.
xXx
"Hahaha! Hyenas are hilarious!" Jay exclaimed as he shoved a handful of popcorn in his mouth. A small black ball of fur next to him made a displeased noise as it jumped onto his lap, knocking the popcorn bowl over. Jay swallowed his snack and pouted at the feline, who simply stared up at him with its own bright green eyes. "Aw don't be that way, Bat. Lion King isn't that bad of a movie." He gestured to the tv screen. "Look, lions are part of your family!"
Sometime six months ago, Jay found a stray kitten prowling around in his backyard. With the help of his parents, he managed to catch the kitten and keep it as a pet. While the animal certainly wasn't enthusiastic about his living arrangements at first, Jay thought that he was starting to warm up to him, if the smaller amount of scratches on his arms was anything to go by. The cat was almost pure black, save for the patch of white fur he had on his right side. Jay's mother had said that the patch looked like a distorted Bat symbol, and Jay took it as an opportunity to name his new companion 'Batcat.'
The kitten made another disgruntled noise and crawled off of his lap, choosing to curl up on the other side of his bed instead. Jay found that his friend didn't enjoy hearing the sound of his laughter, for some odd reason. Not only that, but he definitely hated both of his owner's parents. Bat always hissed whenever either of them came near him, and just about refused to leave Jay's room. All of these traits only made him seem more similar to the famous Dork Knight.
"Fine, be that way." Jay said while sticking his tongue out. He returned his attention to the movie, not as happy now that he was snackless. He was considering getting a new bowl when a noise from downstairs caught his attention.
"You ruined my entire plan!" His father exploded from below him, and the sound of a door slamming followed soon after.
His mother made a noise like she was choking. "I'm sorry puddin! I didn't mean to-"
"I DON'T WANT TO HEAR IT!"
Batcat bristled and scrambled off of the bed, crawling under the small space under Jay's wardrobe. The small boy was tempted to join him, but figured that it would be a better idea to go downstairs and see what the problem was. His parents usually stopped arguing the moment he was in their sights, and by the sound of it, he needed to intervene soon. Joker's rage was not something to take lightly, and Harley could very well be murdered by him.
So Jay stood up, paused his movie, and exited his room.
When the boy was about halfway down the staircase, the sound of shattering glass caused him to pause. He waited for a minute, and only continued when he heard shouting again. When he poked his head into the living room, he was met with the sight of his mother frantically trying to pick up the pieces of shattered glass on the floor, while he father stood above her with a scowl on his face, ready to start yelling again. Jay cleared his throat and walked into the room, making both heads swivel to look at him.
"What's up?" He asked with a small smile. Smiles were good, they seemed to calm people down. Grins and smirks were very familiar in this household, so the probability of one calming them down was high. "I heard shouting."
The Joker's scowl slowly faded away, and was then replaced by a grin of his own. "Hello, Jay. I hope we weren't bothering you." He looked down at his girlfriend and his smile darkened. "Mommy and Daddy were just having a... disagreement. Nothing to worry about. Right hun?"
Harley stood up next to Joker and took his hand, forcing a smile of her own. "Nothin to worry about kiddo," she agreed. "Mom and Dad still love each other very much."
Jay nodded slowly. "Okay."
His mother then shifted a little, and in the process she accidentally let a shard of glass fall onto the ground, which shattered into smaller fragments. Joker's grin fell into a sneer, and he pushed her away from him. "Must you make a mess of everything today?!"
His mother sniffled, and Jay took a brave step forward. "Dad, she didn't mean to. It was just an accident."
Enraged green eyes turned towards him, making him freeze like a deer in headlights. Joker took two strides closer to his son and glared at him fiercely. "Taking your mother's side, are you?" He sneered, "turning into a momma's boy?"
Jay laughed and shook his head. "No. I just don't want to hear any more screaming."
His laugh was repeated by his father, who pushed him backwards. "Lies! You are just so full of lies!"
The boy barely stopped himself from toppling over, but had no time to brace himself for being shoved against the nearest wall. Before he could even blink, the cold touch of a blade was up against his throat. "Dad," he breathed, smile widening as the pressure of the blade increased.
"You are my son. Do you hear that? Mine!" Joker grinned at him. "We share the same twisted DNA, you and I. What connection do you have with Harley? We're not married, so she's not even your step mother!"
Jay felt his insides grow cold as he felt a few drops of precious blood roll down his skin, and he laughed in a more desperate, breathy kind of tone.
"Mister J, you're scaring him." Harley whispered from behind Joker. "We don't want him to have nightmares, do we?"
A fog seemed to lift from Joker, who nodded and pulled away with a more sincere smile. "Sorry about that. Looks like I got a bit carried away!" His eyes focused on the smeared blood on his son's neck. "I didn't hurt you too badly, did I?"
Jay smoothed away any invisible wrinkles he had on his clothing and stared at his parents. Both adults seemed much more relaxed, and neither looked as though they would start another fight anytime soon. His father had that strange gleam that he usually had after he hurt Jay, so the boy came to the conclusion that the argument was officially settled.
"Nothing that a scoop of ice cream wouldn't fix," he finally replied with a grin. "I'll throw my shoes on."
Both of his parents shared a giggle.
xXx
Artemis yawned as she curled up on the couch, eyes flickering to her mother's form and then focusing back on the television screen. It was very hard for her to focus on the movie; there was too much on her mind for it. Several subjects whirled around in her head: her family, her friends, and where she stood in the fight between good and evil.
Her family situation was a very complicated one. With her mom just returning to prison, Artemis had the choice of either living with her or remaining with her dad. The choice itself wasn't as complicated, but the effect it would have was. Her father would surely be angry at her for this, and because she now had nothing to do with him, she had no connections to the organization he was affiliated with.
But their stupid psychic erased all information on that organization from her mind. Damn.
Besides that, her relationship with her mother was a very strange one. Artemis still didn't feel entirely comfortable with her due to the amount of time it's been since she's seen her. On top of that, there was still the mystery of what happened to her sister. Her father once mentioned how Jade would be involved with his organization in the near future, but Artemis left before she could see what he meant by that. Artemis still missed her sister terribly, but she wasn't going to deal with her father just to see her.
Not being involved in crime also meant that she was now distant with her friends. Cameron and Jay had known her for years, and she was more than a little sad to have to cut ties with them. Even though Cam hit on her all the time, he wasn't such a bad guy for a villain kid. She might have even ended up dating him if she remained in the Minions.
Heh, Minions. That's what the kid villains called themselves- an ongoing inside joke that was started by Jay a couple of years ago.
Jay...
Artemis was very fond of the chaotic boy, even if he had some issues. She could probably be one of the only people who could say that she saw the sane side of him, or witnessed a time where he acted like an actual child. Artemis thought back to how he acted when they first met, and had to repress a shudder. Jay had been his parents's son back then, and had been as vicious and cruel as Joker Senior. Cameron and Artemis hated the kid at first, and even admitted to have bullied him on some occasions.
But then it happened.
Their parents always had them sit in another room together while they discussed things, and they were usually stuck with each other's company for hours. One day, Artemis and Cameron arrived at the room first, and went into their usual discussion of how they were sick of not being allowed in the meetings. About thirty minutes later, Jay walked in and just about collapsed on the ground, laughing. Artemis and Cameron didn't question it. They were used to the boy randomly bursting into giggles that they barely even noticed it anymore. But then, Artemis heard something different. Jay kept breaking off every few seconds and took in a deep shuddering gasp before continuing again. The gasps were soon joined by hiccups, and then sniffles.
Jay was crying.
Artemis then took a look at him, and had gasped out loud when she saw him. The boy was leaning against the metal door, head thrown back with laughter, and an arm tucked close to his chest that was positioned in such an awkward angle that it was impossible for it to not be broken. The boy was indeed laughing, but he had tears falling from his eyes and a grimace on his face instead of a smile.
Just the memory of it made her wince.
After exchanging looks, Cameron and Artemis took control of the situation and tried to calm Jay as much as they could. The poor boy was in hysterics, and couldn't say more than a couple of words before breaking down again. Eventually, the two older kids pulled the younger into a comforting hug, which slowly made Jay stop crying. When Cameron asked who hurt him, Artemis felt her heart break when he told him that it was his father who did it, but she became angry when he told them that it was his fault that his father broke his arm. No matter what they said, the boy was stubborn with blaming himself, and it quickly became apparent that he would never understand that he wasn't at fault.
After that, both Artemis and Cameron became fiercely protective over the child. Jay's mental state suddenly made perfect, yet horrible sense, and it was sickening to see a man take advantage of a child's undying loyalty in such a way. Joker had twisted his son's mind in a way that would destroy a grown adult, yet Jay continued to follow him around like a lost puppy.
Joker was the last person to deserve that kid in his life.
"Artemis?" Her mother asked, bringing her to the present.
"Yeah, Mom?"
The woman gave her a look of concern. "You were staring out into space. What's on your mind?"
Artemis hesitated before responding, "I'm worried about one of the friends I made when I was living with Dad."
"Was he involved with that stuff too?" Her mother asked softly. Artemis nodded, and her mother sighed. "I'm sorry to hear that. It must be difficult not knowing if they're okay. Were they a good person like you?"
The image of a laughing Jay surfaced in Artemis's mind. "No, he's not," she said truthfully, "but, I think there's some good in him. Just like Jade and I, he was dragged into all of this without a say so." She looked down. "He doesn't understand what's right and wrong, but I've seen him hesitate before. All he needs is a push in the right direction, by just the right person, and I'm sure he'd be good too."
There was a quiet squeak as her mother wheeled herself closer to her, and she put a hand on her shoulder. "Then I hope that he finds that someone soon." Her hand moved to her daughter's hair, and she smiled softly. "Dark times will be coming soon, and I'm afraid your friend will be caught in the middle of it."
Artemis closed her eyes, sighing. "I know. And honestly, I'm afraid that the push he needs will come too late."
Her mother said nothing at that, and they were both engulfed by silence. Artemis sighed to herself as she wondered about her own place in the world.
xXx
"I don't know nothin!"
Batman glared at the thug and held him over the edge of the roof they were on. "If I were to accidentally drop you right now, I can't promise that I'll be able to save you." He relaxed his grip slightly, which made the man let out a squeak. "The more you lie, the you slip." To make his point, he loosened his hold even more.
"No, wait! I'll talk, I'll talk!"
"Then who killed David Fort?!"
Earlier that night, Batman went to investigate the murder of said man, and was slightly surprised by his findings. David was tortured a great deal before his demise, and he had the tale tell sign of the Joker's J carved into his chest. Batman would have jumped to the conclusion that it was the clown himself, but there were several indications stating otherwise. Firstly, the way the J was written was much too sloppy for the Joker's handwriting. Secondly, the cut was much too shallow, while the Joker was a fan of digging his tools in as much as possible.
But if Joker wasn't responsible, who was?
"It was Joker!" The man shrieked as he caught a glimpse of the height he was hanging over. "Joker killed him!"
"No, he didn't." The man slipped out of his grip entirely, and went plummeting down the side of the building. The thug emitted a high pitched scream as he fell, a sound at too high of an octave for someone of his age. After he had fallen a couple of stories, Batman hooked his grapple onto his legs and brought him to a painful halt. He then pulled him back up to the roof, eyes narrowed in disgust as he spotted proof of the man's lack of bladder control. "Unless you want to take another tour of the exterior of this building, I suggest you tell me the truth," he growled.
"I was telling the truth, honest!" His breathing had become much more rapid, and he was on the brink of hyperventilating. If Batman didn't get answers out of him soon, there was a good chance of him passing out.
"Do I look stupid? The Joker didn't kill murder Fort. If you continue to lie, urine will not be the only bodily fluid you lose."
"No! Please!" The man gasped, eyes wide. "It was the Joker... but he was real tiny. I ain't seen nothing like it. Joker was standing there, laughing while a smaller one killed Fort."
"A smaller Joker?"
"Yeah. And Fort ain't the only man this kid killed. Rumor has it, the kid helped Joker torture some other guy and the smaller one put a bullet through his head. Something about the guy cussin in front of him or something?" He shivered all of a sudden. "Joker's guys have been callin the kid 'Jay.' It's supposed to be short for Joker Junior I think."
Batman froze. "Joker... Junior?"
"Yeah, that's what I said!" He looked positively terrified. "And we ain't supposed to talk about the kid, or boss'll rip us to shreds!"
"... The police will put you under protective custody."
"But-"
Batman didn't let him finish, suddenly punching him on the side of his head to knock him out. He then sent a report to the GCPD before grappling away, mind struggling to process his new information. "Alfred," he said while activating his com, "We have a problem."
"And what would that be, sir?"
The memory of a green haired baby laughing along with his captors made him scowl at the space in front of him. "Do you remember Richard Grayson?"
A pause. "Yes. I believe he was the boy the Joker decided to adopt. What of him?"
"Either he didn't die, or Joker adopted another son. I interrogated a man who claimed to have seen a young version of the Joker, who goes by the name 'Jay.' Sound familiar?"
"Unfortunately, yes. Do you know where you might find this boy?"
"No, but I'm sure that Joker would know. If I find him, I'll make sure he tells me what I want to know."
"I don't doubt that, sir. I do not mean to be rude Master Bruce, but I must insist you return to the Cave soon. The young heroes will be seeing the Hall of Justice tomorrow, and you have promised to make an appearance. If you stay out too late, you won't be as enthusiastic about waking up at a decent time on the morning."
Batman rose a brow even though he couldn't be seen. "You aren't asking me, are you?"
"I don't know where you would get that idea, sir."
The smallest of smiles could have been seen if anyone was near. However, the moment quickly passed and was replaced by his usual stoic look. Jokes were becoming harder to make, and his moments of happiness had longer periods of time between them. The darkness that threatened to swallow Batman whole steadily grew stronger and stronger, and it was only a matter of time before it engulfed him completely.
He needed some light in his world.
"I'm on my way home now." He told his butler before disconnecting. His eyes then moved to the side, where it seemed as though the space next to him was missing something. Batman had repeatedly thought of taking on a protege, but had decided against dragging a child into his lifestyle. It was dangerous enough for a grown man, but it was suicide for a kid.
Besides, who on Earth would be insane enough to want him as a mentor?
...
Miles away, a green haired child giggled as he stroked his sleeping cat.
xXx
AN: Next chapter, Young Justice begins, everyone gets their first look at the infamous Joker Junior, and Jay makes a new friend.