Hello loves! Here's the next chapter for all of your enjoyment! It took me a little longer to get this one out- or at least it felt longer- since it's just been a crazy year as far as school goes. I'm doing my best to keep on updating, and I plan to finish this! A special thanks goes out to Azera-v and ChristianBale Girl 2010 for adding this story onto your favorite stories! You guys are awesome!
As always, please review! I love getting feedback, as long as it's not a flame.
Disclaimer: By now, I think you should all realize that I don't own the Batman franchise or anything like that, just my OCs that pop up throughout the story.
Blood trickled down the side of Marnie's face as the cut on the side of her head had reopened when she had hit the ground. She wanted to scream out to try and get anyone's attention that might be wondering around the area outside of the warehouse, but she couldn't make a sound. The feeling of the cold blade against her neck had stopped her from screaming.
A gloved hand cupped her chin and pulled her attention over to the owner of the gloved hands. Her focus started on the yellowing teeth and ended up fixated in his dark eyes. "You are walking on a very slippery slope," The Joker warned, pressing the knife even harder to her neck.
Marnie could still feel the crowbar in her left hand and gripped it tighter, swallowing her fear and awakening the fighter in her. It was a fight-or-flight moment, and she wasn't going to give up. It wasn't in her nature to give up. Her free hand flew up to the knife and applied more pressure onto it, drawing a little bit of blood.
"Go ahead, do it!" she growled. "I dare you." Something had lit up inside her that had been triggered by the threat of death- it was the rush that was brought on by the fear of the unknown, the uncertainty of the future.
Having not expected this sudden change, the Joker was temporarily caught off guard-which was a hard feat to pull off. It excited him; maybe breaking her would be easier than expected.
Marnie used this as an opportunity and swung the crowbar as hard as she could to his head. The Joker fell on top of her, knocking the wind out of her. With all her strength, she pushed him off of her and scrambled over to the nearest door. His laughter followed her down the hall. She was almost out of the building when someone knocked her down on the ground, slamming her head against the door. Things began to fade, and before she was knocked out completely, she saw Jim out of the corner of her eye, dusting himself off.
Snow was falling over Gotham, blanketing it in a sheet of white as night began to fall. Marnie, a teenager at the time, sat on top of a bolder on the bank of the river; her best friend sat beside her, staring up at the sky. She held a lily in her hand- she had found it on the street; it was the only one that wasn't completely destroyed.
"Marnie, we should probably head back. You're leaving in an hour, and you probably don't want to push your luck any farther," her friend suggested, looking over at her.
"Why? What's the rush? It's not like it's a big deal if I'm late or anything. It's not going to change whether I go or not," she joked, still paying attention to the lily in the palm of her hand. "Or are you just afraid of the city at night? You know I've got you covered. Sam and George are just down the street…"
The boy shook his head. "It's not that at all, I just think-"
"So what? You're just going to leave me here?" Truth be told, she didn't want to be alone, especially when she was about to be sent away to boarding school- away from everything she knew. Marnie was about to say something more when a gust of wind picked up the lily and dropped it gently into the water. "Shit! You've got to be kidding me…" she muttered under her breath, on the verge of breaking down. Nothing was going right for her anymore. It was karma, she believed, for killing that man who'd caused so much trouble in her life.
Within five seconds, the boy jumped into the waist deep water to retrieve the flower. As he grabbed it, he turned back around to face Marnie and smiled. He was shivering uncontrollably, but it didn't seem to affect him. He was grinning as if he had just received an Oscar.
"You little poofer!" she called out before breaking into a fit of laughter. "Get out of the water, it's freezing!"
"How 'bout a kiss first? I mean I did save your flower."
Marnie rolled her eyes. "You're such an idiot! Just come out of the water, or you'll freeze to death, and I don't want to be held responsible!"
He shook his head and still smiled. "I'll trade ya!"
"I don't care about the stupid flower, just get out of the water!"
He finally gave in, partially because the cold was starting to get to him, and partially because he knew Marnie wouldn't give in. He climbed back onto the rock where he attempted to get Marnie wet by hugging her, but she was quickly able to evade it.
"Jeez, I hope you're just having an off day," she commented, "otherwise, I'd be leaving with the disappointment of knowing I haven't taught you anything."
Darkness engulfed Marnie as she slowly regained consciousness. The only thing giving a little light to the room was the small stream of moonlight that peaked through the window on the wall, casting shadows on whatever objects stood in it's path.
She slowly sat up and groaned as the pain in her head began to surface. I definitely didn't think this one through… Dad probably would've been rescued by now. Although, how long had she been there? Surely she'd been there two days, three days tops. That wasn't too bad; they're probably still searching for her. That was it. They were just having trouble finding her.
Marnie crawled over to the nearest wall and used it for support to stand up. Just find a way out. Everyone is probably sleeping or out in the city. It'll be easier to escape, and it'll be easier for the police to find you. She waited for the dizziness to clear once she stood up and began to walk to the window. One hand grazed along the wall just incase she needed some support, and the other hand massaged her head in an attempt to clear the headache.
When she reached the window, she discovered it was barred from the outside and bolted shut, ensuring that no escape would be possible. "Of course," she groaned, and then turned her attention to the door.
It looked pretty shabby as if it had endured a lot of abuse in its lifetime. Several pieces of wood appeared to be rotting, and there were knife marks on the surface. She was almost sure that she would be able to knock the door down if she applied enough force. Maybe she thought, feeling a bit doubtful since she was having trouble walking. Running would be a little bit more difficult, and she knew for a fact she wasn't as strong as she had been when she was younger.
She sighed, causing a pain to ripple through her torso, and kicked off her heels. "It's worth a try," she mumbled and mentally prepared herself for the inevitable pain. Marnie closed her eyes and counted to three before launching herself forward to the door.
As she was about to make contact, the door flew open to reveal Jim standing there with a plate of food and some bandages. Marnie attempted to stop herself, but failed, and collided with Jim. The plate of food he was carrying flew up into the air and shattered to pieces once it hit the ground.
"What the hell were you doing?" Jim asked as he scrambled around to pick up the food and the bits of broken plate.
"What does it look like I'm doing? I'm trying to break out because someone won't help me out," she retorted as she stood up and brushed herself off in a failed attempt to look nicer. Her dress was already torn in several places and ruined with bloodstains. The heel on one of her shoes had already broken off, and the mascara she had been wearing had run down her face, creating the illusion that she was crying. Her hair fell out of its French twist styling into disheveled ringlets.
Marnie attempted to pass around him and walk out of the room, but Jim was too quick. He grabbed Marnie by the arm and yanked her back into the room. "You can't leave, Marnie. Just stay here and it'll be easier for the both of us."
She scoffed and tried to pull her arm back. "Right, easier for the both of us? That's funny, you don't seem to be held here against your will-"
"You could've let your father go instead-"
Marnie ignored his comment and continued, "you don't appear to be hurt, and maybe if you wanted something easier, you should've never teamed up with the Joker!" She finished her rant, and Jim remained quiet. "And you know what, I thought you were a friend, but friends don't give friends concussions!"
Jim rolled his eyes and nodded before he silently left the room, closing and locking the door behind him. She was just being immature at the moment and letting things get to her. It would pass sooner or later- at least he hoped it would. He couldn't help but admit she had been right, but if he let her escape, he would surely be killed.
A knock at the door pulled the Joker from his thoughts. Several people had already interrupted him up to this point, and he was becoming increasingly irritated with each one.
"What?" he yelled, not bothering to look up to see whom it was this time.
Jim opened the door to find the Joker working on one of his explosives. Harley was at his side, looking very bored and despondent as she handed him whatever he needed. For a moment, Jim thought about turning back around and leaving while he still had the chance, but he decided against it, knowing that it would probably make the Joker even more angry. He was still on the Joker's good side (if he even had a good side), but he didn't want to push his luck.
"Well, I'm waiting…" The Joker was now staring at Jim in anticipation of what excuse he had for interrupting him.
Jim looked from the Joker, over to Harley, and then back at the Joker before saying, "Marnie shouldn't be here. This was never part of the plan, so why is she involved?"
The Joker laughed and debated on whether or not to tell him that Marnie had escaped. "Jim, you should know by now that, uh, I don't have 'plans'-"
"She didn't need to be pulled into this! There were plenty of other people we could've used, so why single her out?" Silence filled the room, and Jim instantly regretted even bringing the subject up. Every one of the men who worked for the Joker wondered the same thing- even Harley- but they were all smart enough not to question it.
The Joker's expression was unreadable as he looked Jim over, deciding what to do. His right hand reached into his pants' pocket and grasped the small pocketknife, only to let go of it seconds later. "Jim, Jim, Jim, you're friends with our little Marnie Garcia, right? Tell me what you know about her…" he trailed off and went back to working as he waited to see if Jim did, in fact, know about Marnie's history.
Jim was slightly taken aback. He could've sworn he would be cut to ribbons, but it didn't happen. Instead, he was being ordered to talk about Marnie. That can't be too hard he thought before answering, "Marnie was adopted when she was two year old by Anthony Garcia. She has a younger sister; she majored in music with a minor in theater and studied music overseas before returning to Gotham. She's mainly friends with people on the arts scene, but for some reason hangs around Bruce Wayne," he sighed before concluding, "and obviously isn't supposed to be here. She's not a threat, and probably won't be useful to you."
The room was silent once again, and time seemed to freeze as Jim waited for the Joker to say something.
It was just as the Joker had suspected. Marnie had been covering up her past to everyone who hadn't known her before she was sent to boarding school. Typical Marnie he thought.
"She sounds like a real bimbo, Mista' J. I say we just kill her and save us the hassle," Harley commented, but was completely ignored by the Joker, who just waved her off and put the explosive back down on the table.
He smiled at Jim and said in a singsong voice, "It looks like she's been keeping some secrets from you!" The Joker laughed to himself as he observed Jim's confused demeanor. "Gee, you really think you know a person, and then one day the truth just comes up and bites you on the ass, huh?"
"What do you mean?"
"I mean that she's been leaving out a little, tiny- and by tiny, I mean huge- detail about her life."
"Like what?"
He couldn't help but laugh at Jim's stupidity. "She has a criminal background, and has even killed someone before being sent away. Why do you think you hadn't heard much about her until she moved back? Her father did everything to make sure nothing got out."
Jim was at a loss for words; he wasn't entirely sure what to believe. This could just be the Joker messing with his head again- he was always trying to do that. "Still," he finally spoke up, "she's obviously cleaned her act up." Surely, he would've noticed if she had returned back to her criminal habits- they were always at the theater, and when they weren't, he was always prowling the streets. He would've picked up on her. "So we don't need her. Just leave Marnie alone, and we can use someone else, like Barbara Gordon or someone…"
"Jim-balaya, I think you're missing the big picture here," the Joker replied and rose from his seat. He walked over to Jim and explained, "I know she hasn't broken the law in a while, but I intend to break her. She will snap sooner or later, and when she does, I think you'll find that she can be extremely useful."
Well I think that's where I'm going to leave it for right now! I should hopefully have the next chapter up sometime this week since I finally get a break from school, and that chapter should be longer than the past few chapters. Anyways, as always, please review. They inspire me to write, and I really enjoy reading them!