Author's Note: Please review!!!
A low buzzing sound filled Jayde's ears as her eyes creaked open and through the blur, she found herself laying on her stomach on a cold, metal table of sorts. A sharp, pin-prick pain in her back forced her to moan but when she tried to struggle, although she was not strapped down, she found her limbs completely paralyzed, tingling uncomfortably, preventing any movement. The buzzing sound stopped momentarily and the pain went away to be replaced by something cool and soft wiping her skin in the middle of her back. Jayde whimpered, closing her eyes until she felt a warmth near her face.
"Jaaaaayde…." Sang a soft, clowny voice in her ear and she opened her eyes to find Joker's brown ones inches from her. "I'm glad you're awake." He said gently, running a latex gloved hand through her hair. She whimpered, hot tears coming to her eyes as she closed them again.
"What are you doing to me?" her voice sounded weak and strained but she found that once she had asked, she did not want to know the answer anymore. If he was carving her, she would rather not know just yet.
"I can't tell you that." He answered, still stroking her hair with one hand while the other held up some sort of drill, hooked up to a cord. It buzzed near her face. "It would ruin the surprise…but trust me…you're gonna love it." With that, he grinned widely before moving back down her body to her back. A cool breeze blew over her and Jayde realized in a sickening moment that she was topless, laying on this table. It was fortunate she was laying on her stomach but at the same time, her foggy mind vaguely registered that she had to have gotten that way somehow. She really wanted to throw up…
Jayde gritted her teeth as the sharp pain came again along with the buzzing sound and as it intensified slightly, she cried out, again trying to struggle. Her body still would not move.
"Am I hurting you, Jayde?" he asked from where he stood out of her line of vision and she tried to nod her head but still could not move. She whimpered loudly and the pain stopped again. "I'm sorry? You'll have to speak a bit louder…"
"Yes!" she screamed, sobbing slightly but he only wiped her back again, laughing while he did it.
"Gooooood, that's what I like to hear…"
Jayde could not remember passing out again but when she woke, her eyes opened to the inside of her 'bedroom' where sunlight was now streaming in through the windows. The white linens of the bed were billowed all around her and she realized rather quickly that she was surprisingly really comfortable. She rolled over moments later, glad that her movement had returned but she winced at a dull pain in the middle of her back.
The room was cool and Jayde shivered slightly as she stood from the bed, surprised to find herself in a baggy t-shirt and the same underwear she had been wearing the night before. A slight wave of relief washed over her as she stumbled to the bathroom, her head still spinning slightly from the residual drugs in her system. Her reflection looked the same as it always did, save for a new bruise on her cheek that she was positive had come from the Joker's fist the night before in the van.
It took several moments of convincing herself she really wanted to look at her back to see what The Joker had done but once she realized that whatever it was obviously had not killed her yet, she lifted the t-shirt off of her back and gasped.
A large, rather intricate 'J' had been tattooed in the middle of her back, the skin around it raised, red and inflamed. It glistened slightly as it was still sticky and wet but Jayde jumped, lowering the shirt again as the door to her bedroom burst open. She froze in front of the sink as Joker walked into the room, glancing at the empty bed, obviously a bit confused. Once he noticed her in the bathroom, that creepy grin slid over his painted face.
"Well, good morning." He said, stepping over to her. "Do you like your…uh…tattoo?" his grin expanded slightly and Jayde backed up a step, practically cowering against the sink.
"I-..Is it supposed to stand for 'Jayde' or…" she paused in her question realizing just how dumb it was…Of course it didn't stand for 'Jayde'…
"Turn around." Joker instructed a moment later, reaching for a bottle of aloe lotion on the bathroom counter. Jayde stared at his face with wide, fearful eyes until he grabbed her shoulders roughly, forcing her to turn until she braced the sink. His fingers lifted the end of the shirt until it rested on her shoulders. Jayde closed her eyes, swallowing hard. Her underwear was the only layer of clothing covering her at this point and she couldn't help but feel hugely embarrassed and disgusted as she could practically feel his eyes roving down her backside.
She jumped as the cool lotion dripped down her back, over the fresh tattoo but opened her eyes in partial surprise as Joker's bare hands began gently rubbing it in, up and down her spine. This was the first time she had felt his bare hands against her since he had been wearing those gloves both times she encountered him and she felt ashamed at herself for the goosebumps that covered her skin at his touch. It actually felt really good.
He must have noticed for she heard him chuckle to himself behind her. "Ya like that, hm?" he asked, grinning at her over her shoulder in the mirror as she looked up at him. Jayde did not answer and instead hung her head, not wanting to encourage him. He took more time than necessary and ended up kneading her back gently with this thumbs in a couple places not even remotely close to the tattoo. Jayde had to bite her bottom lip several times to fight back groans, not of pain, but of slight pleasure. Her body ached from head to toe and Joker seemed to know that, hitting all the spots that were particularly tight and tense.
This gentle streak in Joker only lasted so long and once he had gotten his fill of touching her, he smacked his hand over the fresh tattoo causing Jayde to squeal in pain. He giggled, pulling the shirt back down. "Get dressed and come downstairs." With that, he left the room, closing the door behind him.
As Jayde walked down the stairs slowly, ten minutes later in jeans and a tank-top, she winced, pulling the bottom of it up, off her tattoo. The clothing was sticking to the fresh lotion and Jayde had a feeling Joker had placed it there on purpose, knowing how she would have to wear her shirts to keep it from rubbing. She didn't know why she was taking such care of it; she didn't even want it in the first place.
Over the balcony, Jayde could see Joker, Grizz and Dotcom all standing at a table, hunched over blueprints. She actually grinned from the stairs before they noticed her; they had to be the silliest looking group of criminals she had ever seen. Dotcom, being the shortest, with his bright red hair stood next to Joker with his green hair, who was a good foot taller than Dotcom but a good foot shorter than Grizz who towered above both of them.
"You can override that though, right?" Joker was asking Dotcom who nodded eagerly in response.
"Yeah, it's just a matter of dispersing the signal." He answered and Joker nodded, bracing his hands on the table to lean on them. "It will probably knock the power out, but…"
"Alright, Grizz, can black people see in the dark?" Joker asked in a very serious-sounding question and Jayde slapped her hand over her mouth to stifle the snort of laughter that escaped her. Of course, all three of them heard this and turned, staring at her on the bottom step. Her eyes grew wide for a second before she stepped down, walking over to sit at the table across from where they stood.
"Soooo…Jayde…Do you have a car?" Joker asked as the three men stared down at her and she glanced at each of them sheepishly, rubbing her shoulder.
"Kinda…It's in a long-term garage off 27th. It was my dad's…" she answered and Joker stood up straight, crossing his arms over his chest, pondering as his eyes rolled to the ceiling contemplatively.
"Alright, boys, I'm gonna take her to get the car and I'm gonna need-…" he hooked his arms around Dotcom and Grizz (the best he could), leading them away from the table while he lowered his voice. He returned a moment later after Grizz and Dotcom had disappeared into the garage and he yanked her up from the table by her arm, linking his with hers. "Let's get outta here, sweetie. Just you n' me." As they headed toward the door to the garage, Grizz stepped back in, tossing a small set of car keys to Joker who caught them with his free hand.
Jayde was pushed into the front seat of a black Cadillac, surprised at how nice the interior was. The leather was beige and smooth under her skin although she cringed again at the feel of her tattoo sticking to the seat. Joker got in on the driver's side to start the car and Jayde had to admit to herself that she was a little surprised he knew how to do something as normal as drive. Of course, he was an adult man but it seemed like the only things he knew how to do were hurt people, blow things up and be an asshole.
The ride back toward the inner-city of Gotham was mostly quiet to Jayde's surprise. Joker did not speak much and instead drove twenty miles over the speed limit, nibbling at his bottom lip pensively. She could tell from the look on his face that he was thinking about something and randomly, twenty minutes into the half-hour long drive, he glanced over at her.
"What kind of car is it?" he asked, but continued before she could answer. " Cuz…I'm gonna be royally pissed if I'm driving all the way out here for a clunker."
Jayde turned her head to roll her eyes so he couldn't see. "It's actually a 1976 Stingray Corvette, thank you very much." She replied a bit more venomously than she had intended and she cringed as Joker slapped her thigh hard with his bare hand.
"You're welcome." He spat back.
The Cadillac circled the floors of the parking garage, searching for the black Corvette and as they reached the fourth story, the classic car peeked out from between two SUV's. Jayde looked up at Joker with a smug grin on her face as his lips formed an 'Oooo' even before they had parked and he got out, glancing around as Jayde followed him.
"Oooooo….I like this…" he cooed, running his hand along the curve of her dad's faveorite car. Jayde watched him peer in through the windows. "And it's in min-t condition…" he said, noticing the black, spotless leather interior, complete with working, functional, classic style controls and dials. "Go get the keys." He commanded and Jayde turned to walk down to the office, but paused mid-step.
"I'm gonna need my –" she began, turning back but looked down at his hand as Joker held out her ID. "….thanks…"
When she returned, Joker had somehow gotten the hood open and was now peering into the brain of the car as though he knew exactly what he was looking at. She approached him with an arched eyebrow, holding out the keys to him. He snatched them from her hand, moving to unlock the car, but as he tried to start it, the engine turned over once before sputtering to it's rather abrupt death. Joker groaned, letting his head fall onto the steering wheel, causing it to honk loudly.
"When was the last time you ran it?' he asked, stepping back out and Jayde shrugged as he moved past her to look into the car again.
"Probably when I drove it here from Montana….a year ago." She jumped as the palm of Joker's hand met his forehead and he sighed.
"Stupid girls with their fancy cars..…" he grumbled to himself irritably as he pulled a cell phone from his pants pockets after he had shed himself of his coat. When he turned, placing the phone to his ear, the security guard that patrolled the garage was coming around the corner in his little golf cart and Joker ducked, crouching between the Corvette and the SUV on the other side of it. He reached out, pulling Jayde's jeans so she stood in front of him. "Grizz," he whispered into the phone, glancing up at her. "Call Dom and tell him I need a car moved from the corner of 27th and Monroe. I need him here in less than fifteen." Obviously, Grizz was more than happy to comply so Joker hung up, running a flustered hand through his hair. "Izze gone?" he asked and once Jayde nodded, he stood up.
While they waited for 'Dom' to arrive, Joker and Jayde sat in the Cadillac across the way from the Corvette. He was poking through the radio stations and when nothing seemed to catch his fancy, he shut it off, groaning quietly.
"How old are you?" Jayde asked randomly, hoping she wasn't about to get slapped but was thoroughly surprised when he laughed, rolling his eyes.
"I can't tell you that." He replied.
"Can I guess?" she probed further, now turning in her seat as Joker did the same, plopping his hands into his lap as though she had peaked his interest.
"Sure. I like guessing games."
Jayde surveyed his face, letting her eyes fall over his frame for a moment before…"thirty?" When he simply grinned, she squinted with her head cocked to the side, taking that to mean she was wrong. "Higher or lower?"
"Lower."
"Twenty-…eight?"
"Lower…"
"No way…"
"Keep goin'."
"Twenty-six?"
"DING DING DING!!! We have a winner!!" he cried, grinning as Jayde's jaw fell open.
"No way! You're only four years older than me?" She shook her head in disbelief as he shrugged.
"That's if you're countin'." He said but climbed out of the car as a tow-truck pulled up in front of them and a bald-headed man hopped out, glancing around.
Twenty minutes later, Joker and Dom had gotten the car onto the back of the truck and now he walked over to her, grabbing her arm. "I'm going to assume you remember how to drive, yes?" he asked, pulling her around the Cadillac to the driver's side. When she nodded, he pushed her into the car, handing her the keys. "Ok, so drive-uh… Oh, and I wouldn't even think about trying anything. I'm gonna be right behind ya..." He pulled something from his pocket and Jayde's eyes grew wide as she noticed it was a shiny, black, metal gun. "And I will have no problem blowing the tires out before I blow your brains out…capiche?"
Jayde swallowed, placing her hands on the wheel. "Got it." Joker's hand patted her head heavily before he walked away, climbing into the truck next to Dom. When she pulled out of the spot, Joker's hollowed, dark eyes glared at her and the barrel of the gun pointed in her direction as he lowered his head. She could practically hear his voice inside her head.
"I'm watching you…"
