Breaking the Beast: The Joker's Equal?

Chapter 3

Two hours after her little escapade in the streets by her home Ann was sitting in a coffee shop at the mall listening to Misa freak out. She was quieter about it this time though. Ann was clearly annoyed, but not at her. She did nothing wrong. Ann had already explained the entirety of her encounter with Joker the night before and that he had agreed to leave Misa alone. "I don't understand why he followed you though!" She said in a hushed but frantic voice. "Why couldn't you just let him kill the cop by himself and then be on his way?"

Ann groaned "Because 'his way' of killing the cop would probably involve me playing the desperate little hostage. By taking down the cop myself I probably saved his life and my own."

"You have a point. But what are you going to do?" she asked in a calmer manner. It seemed she was starting to relax.

"Well, I could just wait for him to lose interest in me." Ann stopped and thought about it. Who was she kidding? If he lost interest he'd probably shoot her. And the way he was, she doubted that he would ever lose interest in a person like her.

She was almost exactly like him except she don't cause havoc where ever she went and murder people for no reason. She had no regards for killing. If she needed to.

Misa's thoughts seemed to echo Ann's and she scoffed when she repeated what Ann had thought about the Joker losing interest in her. Ann shrugged it off. "Ima let things run their course like I usually do." Misa frowned at her and Ann gave her a sardonic face and stuck out her tongue. She was in no mood to argue.

Misa sipped on her coffee as did Ann. After that she proceeded to drag Ann around the mall buying clothes. She had enough to dress a small army by noon. Finally, after she was convinced that we had been in every clothing store at least once they decided to leave. The only piece of clothing Ann bought was a red tank top and a new sports bra. She did however find a very exquisite knife. It was a Japanese style knife called a Tonto with a black sheath and handle. There was no hand guard, but in the pommel was a purple gem the size of her eye as well as one on the scabbard. Ann didn't really know why she had bought it. It was folded steel, which was hard to come by in America. Ann told herself it was just another collector's piece.

Ann told Misa that she would rather walk home and Misa gave her a look like 'seriously'? Ann told her bie and headed for her apartment. She had stuffed her new clothing items as well as the knife in her coat pocket. You would be surprised how handy that coat is. Everything fits in it's pockets.

When Ann got home half an hour later she plopped herself down on the couch lazily and groaned. "What a way to start the day." She mused aloud to herself. Grumbling she hung her coat on the hook and fixed some lunch. She knew all too well that the Joker had probably already been here and gone by now. True, he could very well 'still' be here. She really didn't care. Ann finished eating her two sandwiches on the couch and thought about what else she should do today. She was in a horrible mood.

What do you usually do when your in a bad mood?

Threaten some one.

And?

Hit things.

There you go! Let's go to the gym and beat a few people up.

She decided to go for it. And was about to head out the door when the phone rang.

"Un-fuckin-believable!" Ann stormed to the phone and picked it up.

"Ann? Did you make it home ok?" Came Misa's worried voice from the other end

"No, I got hit by a car and I'm in the hospital." Ann said sarcastically. Immediately she regretted it as Misa started freaking out again. "Misa come on! I'm talking to you on my house phone! I'm fine….. Yes I'm sure….. No you don't need to come over….. I'm goinna go to the gym for awhile. Catch you later." Ann hung up on her as she heard Misa get a little frantic on the other end. Ann just rolled her eyes and headed out the door.

Ten minutes later she was at the gym. Not the Aikido gym, but the one where people just go to work out. It was only a block away from her house so Ann was a frequent customer. Especially when she was pissed off. Ann had her own locker that she kept a change of clothes in. It was a combination lock so she didn't have to worry about keys.

Ann hung her coat in the locker and changed from her normal outfit to her sparring one which consisted of a really tight pair of black workout pants and a tight tank top much like the ones she usually wore. After putting her normal clothes in the locker she brushed her hair back into a pony tail and headed to the main room.

There were the normal workout machines all along the edges of the big room. In the center was a decent sized boxing ring. Ann passed by the water cooler and heard someone say "Uh oh. She's back. Someone's goinna get their ass handed to them." Ann turned to see Duane standing by the cooler. Duane was like her rival in here. He was the only person that could stand up to her in the ring. He was taller than Ann by a few inches and had short brown hair. His sarcasm matched hers as well. A workout with him was great because they pushed each other and made each other mad.

"Hey! Wanna go a few rounds?" Ann asked in an excited tone. This was great. She hadn't had a good workout for some time. He agreed and they made their way to the ring. They had to wait about 10 minutes for a couple of guys to finish beating each other up but after that they had the ring all to themselves.

"So you wanna go tap out with no gloves or you wanna go free style boxing?" Ann asked. He frowned at her "That depends on if you were in a bad mood when you walked in here." Ann just laughed.

"I'm still in a bad mood."

"Ok then, I'm going to go with tap out, cause it makes your blood boil." Ann stuck her tongue out and they climbed into the ring. People had begun to take notice of their presence and Ann heard one guy make a bet with someone else. This always happened when her and Duane sparred. Ann decided to let him make the first move.

He came at her with a punch that he knew she would either dodge or intercept. She decided to intercept it and using her Aikido training she joint locked his arm and swept his feet out from under him. He 'oofed' as his back came into contact with the floor of the slightly springy mat. Ann backed up and circled as he got to his feet and came at her again. This time he feinted with his foot, acting like he was going to kick her in the side with a round house kick, but at the last second he dropped his foot and turned it into a sweep. Ann jumped over his foot and landed in a crouch as she felt his other foot fly by her head. Before she had time to counter he was inside her barricade and had wrapped his arms around her midsection trying to hold her arms in place.

She smiled "This is goinna hurt." She swiftly pulled her feet up under her which threw him off balance and he began to fall forward. He didn't have enough time to catch himself. Just before they both crashed to the floor Ann extended her legs and caught herself. Ann twisted a little and his grip on her broke as his face slammed into the ground. Ann immediately jumped on him and put him in a head lock. She could hear him muttering curses as he tried to pry her arm away. It didn't work. There were several people crowded up against the ring by now and Ann herd a few of them cheer as she squeezed his neck a bit more. His struggling intensified. Finally after what seemed like forever he let out an annoyed sigh and tapped the floor of the ring. Ann released him and got off his back. "You know, I should really start making bets on myself. You could make me a shit load of money." He laughed at her comment and they climbed out of the ring to give someone else a turn.

Ann went to the water cooler to get a drink as he followed her. After they both cooled off Ann decided to go for the punching bag awhile. After about half an hour had passed Duane made his way over to her. "Hey, you wanna go out to eat? My treat." He said as she stopped hitting the bag.

"Sure. So what is this? My payment for winning?" Ann said in an amused tone.

"Something like that." He replied "Oh, um, by the way, I think you have a visitor." He pointed to the door way.

Ann looked in the direction he had indicated to see a very annoyed looking Misa glowering at her. Ann rolled her eyes and made her way over to her. Before Ann could even get a word out she stammered "You hung up on me! And then you prance all the way down here knowing full well-" she cut herself off "You know what a pain in the ass it was to find you? I went to both your Aikido gym and your house and the gym that has a pool and and… I'm hungry!"

Duane spoke up with his usual sarcastic humor "Hi Hungry. I'm Duane. Nice to meet ya." He extended his hand towards Misa who looked annoyed. Ann busted out laughing her ass off at the look she was throwing him. He smiled and shook it off. "I was just asking Ann if she wanted to grab a bite. Care to join us?" he asked in a light tone. Ann was still trying to contain her laughter. "Peachy." Ann heard her mumble as she made her way to the locker room. Ann showered and changed then proceeded to the main room again to find her 'dearest' friends.

The diner they went to was quiet and the food was delicious. It was several blocks away from the gym. Duane had given the girls a ride in his car. Misa had left her nice shiny BMW parked at the gym after Ann assured her that no harm would come to it. Probably. During dinner Duane flirted uncontrollably with both of them. Ann felt a little awkward that he was trying to pick up one of them not caring which one he ended up with. His main focus was on her though. Ann had always sensed that he had a thing for her. Misa had a good time. Ann could tell it had been awhile since she was able to relax and unwind. Her job at the District Attorneys office kept her pretty busy lately. Especially since Ann's newly acquired 'friend' had came to town about a year ago.

I bet he's watching you. He's probably jealous.

Jealous? Of what, my hair?

No. Jealous of lover boy over there flirting it up with you.

Ann glanced over at Duane. You don't 'really' think that do you?

Would I say something if I didn't think it worth saying?

Ann winced. She was right. Perhaps his interests in her went beyond 'a fun game.' In Ann's thoughts she hadn't even realize that she was spaced out and that Duane was waiving his hand in front of her face.

"Huh?" Ann jerked her head up. Misa's laugh came from across the booth they were sitting in. "it looks like she's spacing out on us." She said. "Yeah. Am I really 'that' boring Ann?" Duane said with a pitiful looking pout on his face.

"Oh! No. Not at all. I was just lost in thought." They both laughed and moved on with the conversation that they were having. Turns out Joker had decided to blow up a bank and that 'just so happened' to be what the conversation was about. Ann noticed that Misa was a bit uneasy but she kept talking none the less. Ann just stared out the window and tried to ignore them. Every so often she would pick up something about 'him' and her thoughts would go haywire for a brief moment before she got them under control.

Do you think he would do something to hurt Duane?

I don't know…. He did seem 'awfully' interested in us. And he did follow us home.

I know he won't hurt Misa. He gave me his word. But I didn't bother asking him to leave all my friends alone. He isn't bound by his word when it comes to Duane.

And you seriously trust the word of a psychopathic killer clown?

I do. I'm not sure he's psychopathic. His promise seemed genuine. And there was the way he carried himself.

What the hell does that have to do with anything?

Everything. His stance was a lot like mine, remember? If he is schooled in a martial art that would mean that he was instructed in the ways of honor as well. Granted that was probably 'before' he started blowing people up and terrorizing Gotham. I wonder where he comes from. What's his story?

What ever it is, I'm sure it's going to be a good read.

Ann smiled at her joke. She always made her laugh.

Ann had decided that she wanted to walk home. Misa pleaded with her but she declined Duane's offer for a ride. So Misa walked with her back to her car. She was a bit freaked out because it was late and they were in a bad part of town. Ann was confident in her abilities however. Ann ignored her constant complaints and worries.

Several times Ann caught a glimpse of someone following them out the corner of her eye, but she never got a good look at who it was. They were half way back to the gym when they passed an ally. Ann glanced inside like she had at the last 20 or so that they had already passed. Ann saw nothing and was about to keep going when a man sprung out from the other side of a dumpster and brandished a gun at Misa. Her eyes got wide.

"Don't scream." Ann told her as she stepped between Misa and the gun. Ann heard Misa shift to stay behind her as the man walked a half circle around them keeping the gun aimed on Ann's head. He walked forward, intent on backing them into the ally way. Misa stepped back just as he had planned and Ann had to move back also to keep him from aiming at her.

Gawd she's making this difficult!

The man hadn't gotten close enough for Ann to make a move yet. He was staying well out of her range. Ann knew if she made a move for the gun she might not have enough time to get to him before the trigger fired. Either she would get hit or Misa would. Ann wasn't going to risk Misa being shot because she wanted to walk home.

"Gimme your money and jewelry! Anything valuable!" Ann scoffed

"Does it really look like I have money? Would I be in a dump like this if I did?" she lied

The man frowned and put his finger on the trigger. Ann noticed Misa had gotten behind the dumpster.

That's the first smart thing she's done all damn day.

"Ok. Ok. Lemme get my wallet." Ann said and took a step towards him as she reached behind her and grasped the hilt of her knife. At that moment Ann heard the click of a gun being cocked behind her and the man's eyes left her for a moment.

Ann sprung forward and plunged the knife in his stomach with her right hand as her left hand went to his gun. Ann pulled the knife from him and twisted into a crouch facing away from him as she brought her knife across his arm just below the elbow. The gun was instantly in her grip as she aimed for the person carrying the second gun behind her.

Ann was an instant from pulling the trigger when she realized it was the Joker. Ann slowly stood up and lowered the gun. But he didn't do the same. He fired and Ann flinched only to realize he hadn't shot her. Ann turned to see the man from before with his brains blew open. He had a second gun in his hand that he was probably about to use on Ann. Her gaze went back to Joker as she watched him lower his gun. Ann tossed away the gun that she had claimed from the mugger and wiped her knife on the back of his shirt then slid it back into it's holster. Ann realized Misa was freaking out again. She was on the ground and was stumbling backwards trying to get away from him. "It- its him!" Ann heard her say.

"Oh for Christ's sake. He's not going to eat you."

Oh no. Cannibalism is far from his jurisdiction.

Shut up.

"Thank you." Ann said to him. He cocked his head to the side with a smile.

"For?"

"For saving me." she replied

"Just returning the favor." His smile grew a bit wider. "Besides, I couldn't let that be the end of your story. I haven't had time to write it yet." He burst out laughing.

Ann smiled at his sense of humor. "I go my own way."

By now Misa had regained some composure and was standing next to Ann but was back a ways. She looked like she was about to make a mad dash for it at the first sigh of trouble. Ann suddenly remembered the black and purple knife she had bought at the mall earlier. She had left the clothes at her house but the knife was still in her pocket. Ann noticed briefly that the gun in his hands had disappeared again. He was standing about 6 paces from her with a curious look on his face. It was as if he was trying to read her. Waiting to see how she would take her leave. Ann reached her hand in her pocket and pulled out the knife. She tossed it to him and he caught it with out missing a beat. He looked it over in his hand. It was clear that he liked it. His eyes flashed back to Ann with a quizzical look on his face.

"A gift for a friend." Ann said. "I figured I would run into you again."

The smile on his face grew wider as he put the blade in his pocket. Once again Ann noticed his stance. She made a mental note of exactly how he stood and filed it away for later analysis. Suddenly it looked as if he had made his mind up about something. He never said a word as Ann slowly turned and walked out of the ally. Misa's eyes got wide for a moment when she realized her protection was leaving and she scurried after her. Ann walked at her normal pace and listened behind her. She heard his footsteps following them. Misa was clearly about to lose her head and Ann prayed silently that she didn't do something stupid.

Just follow my lead Misa.

Ten minutes later they arrived at Misa's car at the gym. Ann hesitated. He was still following them, or rather her. Misa opened her door and gave Ann a look.

"I'll be fine." Ann said and looked at her sternly as if to say 'get out of here before you blow this whole thing sky high.' She got in her car without a word and drove off. Ann turned her gaze back to Joker.

"You plan to follow me everywhere?" She asked. She was a bit worried about going home. Ann was definitely not getting any sleep tonight. She saw his eye brows raise as if he were saying 'and what are you going to do about it?' she sighed. What a wonderful fuckin day. Ann continued to walk towards her house. His pace quickened now that Misa was gone and he walked beside her.

He must have been waiting for her to leave. He knew his presence was freaking her out.

They reached the door to her apartment and she pulled out her keys. He leaned against the door frame as Ann unlocked the door. He was so close to her it almost caused her pain. Ann was nervous as all hell. She swung the door open then gave him a look.

"Good night?" She said. She still didn't move. It was like his eyes were trapping her there. He tilted his head ever so slightly. "Goodnight, my little Shadow."

Wait. Wait. Wait. Did he just call me his?

It would appear that way.

Ann was just about to walk through the door when his hand shot out and took her wrist. Ann stopped and looked down at his hand on her wrist then back up at him. She didn't exactly know what to do. She couldn't very well slam the door in his face. He would rip the place apart if it pleased him. So she just stood there and waited.

Neither of them trusted the other. Just being near him made the air seem thick and tense. He had her off guard. She wasn't in the proper stance to defend herself because he had stopped her forward movement. And his hand was penetrating her shield of defenses. He knew this. There was no other explanation.

Ann felt her heart beat quicken as he stepped forward. They were only a few inches apart. This was definitely an invasion of her personal space. Now his whole damned body was past her shield. All he would have to do was push and she would end up flat on her ass.

Ann backed up a step to gain some room and he followed. She felt her back come into contact with the frame of the door. There was this euphoric feeling in her gut. It was like little butterflies were chasing each other. Ann's face showed no emotions but her heart and head were both screaming at her. Her common sense told her to either get away from him or keep calm. Akirah was screaming, telling him to kiss her. Her head was going 3 different ways at once. Poison by Alice Cooper suddenly came to her mind as he got even closer to her.

His body pressed against hers and she vaguely noticed that his hand had left her wrist. His left arm snaked around Ann's waist and pulled her into him. Like they could get any closer. His free hand caressed her face and he bent down and kissed her. Her eyes widened drastically then they slowly began to close of their own free will. Ann realized she was kissing him back. She didn't even care to try and diagnose why. Her mind just sort of flitted away like one of the butterflies in her stomach.

His lips were soft. She felt him pull at her waist and he deepened the kiss. His hand was now on the back of her neck and her arms were resting on his shoulders. This was her first kiss? Holy shit!

He stopped kissing her just as quickly as he had started it. Ann felt the pressure of his body against hers ease and she opened her eyes. Suddenly she realized what had happened. Her face felt like it was on fire and her eyes got rather wide again. Ann turned away. There was no way she could look at him now. She was way too embarrassed.

WHOOT WHOOT!

O my God. O my God. O my God.

About that time she heard the phone ring. Ann turned to look back at him. "I better get that. If I don't then she's likely to call the police." He just smiled. It looked strange. Not like the usual smile she had seen him wearing before. It looked….. different? Like he was just waiting for her to realize something. Nothing seemed out of place so Ann shrugged it off. He reached up and brushed the side of her face.

"I'll see you later." He turned and strolled away. Ann watched him walk away and realized her gaze had drifted to his butt. She jerked away and shut the door. Suddenly she remembered the phone and ran to pick it up before Misa really did call the cops.

Ann didn't tell her about the kiss. She figured she would fill her in later. She told Misa that he walked her to the door and just left. She seemed like she didn't buy it but she didn't press the issue any further. Ann was pacing the floor in her living room while she drilled her about weather or not Ann should consider moving out of town. Ann told her she wasn't moving anywhere. Besides, he would probably just follow her. When she finally got her to let her off the phone she threw herself down on the couch. She was so frazzled that she hadn't even taken her coat off yet or locked the door.

She took off her coat and hung it by the door. Then locked said door. It was already 10 o clock and she had to work in the morning. So she took a quick shower. The whole time she was paranoid as all hell. When she was done she changed into her pajamas and laid down to go to sleep.

The next two hours were spent trying to go to sleep. She jumped at every noise. Ann just couldn't get him out of her head. Finally she drifted off to sleep at around midnight.