Just to warn you guys, these next chapters are gonna be REALLY dark. Nova is completely different now, hence the whole re-birth chapter. So just brace yourself for some really dark themes from here on out. I will still add fluff here and there to soften it up now and again, but it's gonna still be pretty disturbing nonetheless lol. And would it be a Joker fic if it wasn't? Lol, anyway, please review and let me know how you like the story so far!

WARNINGS: Contains EXTREME violence and female character abuse. (Let's be real it's a Joker fic...you knew there would be violence)


Nova Lee

Chapter 7

I felt sooooo different now…but not in a bad way. Like…I felt more empowered then ever. Almost as if I had taken the largest hit of speed on the planet. My mind was moving at about a mile a minute and the world stood out in a new light to me. Everything was brighter, louder, funnier, BETTER, this way! What had I fucking been missing out on all this time!?Everything that had been weighing me down before just seemed to melt away the moment I walked away from that vat of chemicals. As if I had left my past in that bubbling mess and all that remained was the new and improved Nova Lee.

We had celebrated the night away in that restaurant…drinking, eating, and laughing until the sun started to rise over the horizon. I didn't even remember getting home, but I sure as Hell felt the hangover the next day. Coming out of my darkened room, I blinked harshly against the sunlight that flooded into the loft. I saw Mr. J sitting at the kitchen table, cleaning his gun while Harley hummed over a stove of sizzling bacon.

I grabbed a mug from the cabinet and poured myself some coffee, hoping to chase away this headache that was pounding into my eyeballs. I took my seat beside Mr. J and he looked up at me and smiled.

"Good morning, sunshine," he grinned. "Sleep well?"

"Ugh…" I grumbled, sipping from my cup. "What time is it?"

"It's noon…" he said. "Amazing what nearly ten shots of vodka can do to a person."

I swallowed hard as I felt some of those shots threaten to come back up. Ugh… Pinnacle Whipped Vodka and steak…that tasted great the second time around. Yawning with a slight stretch, I pulled up the newspaper and skimmed the headlines. It was the usual trash, but then my eyes widen as I saw a large picture of us on the front page. How the fuck did I miss that?!

"Christ!" I yelled. "Did you see this?! We made the front page!"

Mr. J slid his chair beside mine and snatched the paper away. He smirked and shook his head, pointing his slender finger at my grinning face in the black and white print.

"That's YOU, Nova Lee," he laughed. "Drunk off your ass and threatening to shoot the bartender that cut you off."

"I don't remember ANY of that." I said taking the paper back. "At least they got my good side."

Joker chuckled at my comment and slid a bottle of Advil towards me for my hangover. I popped four of the pink caplets and closed my eyes as I rested by cheek in the palm of my hand. I made a face as Harley slid a plate in front of me. It was two eggs, sunny side up, with a bacon strip to form a smiling face. Normally that would be a godsend, but right now all I felt like doing was throwing up. I slid the plate past me onto the floor where the two hell hounds bounded inside of the room to slobber it up.

"Thanks, but no thanks, mama," I said softly. "I don't think I can stomach food right now."

"I'm not surprised." Harley said. "You were shot to shot with yer old man last night. I almost thought you had him beat…until you puked all over his shoes."

My eyes widened and I sat up stiffly, hesitantly glancing over at Mr. J. I was surprised he hadn't killed me for sicking up on him…but maybe he had been so drunk last night that he hadn't cared. Or I had been so hammered that when he smacked me one, I just didn't feel anything.

"Soo…" I said awkwardly. "You didn't murder me…you sure you are feeling alright?"

He chuckled, "It's still early kid…don't count your chickens before they hatch."

"Oh goody…I get to be paranoid all day…fantastic."

Mr. J winked at me before digging into his own food. I didn't understand how he was able to eat after drinking like that…but then again, he had how many years on me by now. He was probably used to it. I looked down at my cell phone and rubbed my eyes. The club was gonna open at five tonight…that meant I had a couple of hours to kill before I had to get ready.

"Hey, Mr. J," I asked after a couple minutes. "…you remember when we were in the elevator…and you promised me something?"

He didn't answer at first, his mouth probably too preoccupied with the plate of food Harley had given to him.

"I remember, Nova Lee," he said after swallowing. "What's your point?"

"I…was just wondering when I was going to get to ice that fucker."

Mr. J pushed his plate back for Harley to grab and place in the sink and turned his chair so that he was facing me fully. I turned to look at him as well so that I could match the energy he was giving off.

"You think you are ready for that?" J asked in a low voice. "To KILL your own father?"

"Last time I checked," I said reaching out and gripping his forearm. "YOU were my father…"

Mr. Joker smiled at that and after squeezing my arm briefly, he pulled back and took his fingers through his green hair. It wasn't slicked back by half a tube of hair-gel at the moment. Right now we were all still in our jammies…still sporting bed head and rocking the bum look like no one else could ever boast.

"…I don't think we are ready yet." he said. "You still need more training and I want it to be a moment you will cherish for the rest of your life."

My face fell into a frown and I stood from the table.

"But you PROMISED you would help me get it back!" I snapped, forgetting my tone. "You said you would HELP me squeeze the very life out of him! Now I have to wait!?"

"Careful." he said sternly. "Do NOT speak to me in that tone. Anything worth having is worth the wait…and this is something that I think you should wait for."

"I've been waiting eighteen YEARS for this!" I hissed. "I thought YOU of all people would understand that!"

He quickly stood and pushed me into the kitchen wall, his arms blocking me from escaping.

"And I DO, Nova," he snarled. "But I ALSO understand the importance of his death and I want to make sure the experience is fulfilling for you. Do you understand?"

I huffed and crossed my arms over my chest. I wanted this more than anything in the world right now…and having Mr. J shoot me down was heart breaking. The reason I was even here now was because of what the Joker had originally promised me. If I couldn't take my revenge on my blood father for making my life a living Hell, than everything I was going through would all be for not. And that was just not something I could live with. I wanted my necklace back…I wanted to watch my father's eyes roll into his skull as he BEGGED me to kill him and end his pain…I wanted THAT kind of power of him.

"Nova!" he snapped, slamming his hand into the wall beside my head, causing me to jump. "Answer me!"

"I'm sorry," I breathed. "What was the question?"

I thought Mr. J would smack me, but instead he just laughed and rested his chin against the top of my hair. I sighed softly and moved my forehead to rest against the left side of his chest. I could see the smile that was tattooed on his lower stomach and I felt myself chuckle at it.

"Hey…when can I get my first tat?" I asked randomly. "You and Harley both have so many and I don't even have one."

"You have to earn yours," he said, pulling away. "Harley did most of mine…and I did a couple of hers…but we only did them after a kill. I'll do your first one when you've earned it."

I pouted, but didn't want to risk him finally working up the will to smack me…so I just let it go. I stepped over the now empty plate on the floor and went to shower and get dressed for work. I looked in front of the mirror that was above the small sink and felt my eyes widen. I hadn't gotten a good look at myself last night…but as I looked over my appearance, I felt a scream get caught in my throat. My skin was bleached white…like…whiter than fucking printer paper… and my eyes were neon blue. If I didn't know myself better, I'd say I looked like a fucking ET stunt double.

My hands ran over my bleached blond hair and I shook my head. Yeah…this looked definitely terrifying. If anything I looked like a Harley Quinn duplicate. And although I thought Harley was one of the most beautiful women I have ever met…I desperately felt like I needed my own look. I chewed my bottom lip, which was also a creepy shade of white…and nodded.

"Yepp…" I said. "Outrageous it is."

I threw the medicine cabinet open and dug through the numerous drugs, dyes, and bandages that we had in there until I found a box of BRIGHT red hair dye. The color was called something fancy like Hellfire red and on the neon green box it said PERMANENT in large black letters. I smiled and popped open the kit and began mixing the hair color. I turned my music on and spent the next hour working the dye into my hair. While it sat there, soaking into my roots, I made several faces in the mirror and giggled at how much it looked like I had just dunked my head into a giant bowl full of blood.

Twenty minutes, a fuck load of rinsing, and a good towel dry later and I found myself FINALLY looking a little less like Casper the fucking ghost and more like Nova Lee Joker. Of course I still had to put my makeup on, but it was a start none the less. I blew a kiss at the mirror, and with a towel around my head, made my way into my bedroom to get dressed. Mr. J and Harley would already be downstairs by now, and I hoped to surprise them with my new look.

I dug through outfit after outfit before I settled on a black and red little number. It was short with a slit up the side. I slipped into a pair of black pumps and styled my hair in long curls with a cute jeweled bow headband. I went over to my dresser and gently picked up the gun Mr. J had gotten me for my birthday. Running my lips gently against it, I smiled and slid it into my little black purse. Taking one last look in the mirror, I pressed my lips to it and signed my name in cursive with the red lipstick I had in my handbag. Winking at myself and the voices in my head, I made my way downstairs where people were already starting to come inside.

I nodded at Johnny as I came into the main hall, who stopped fully and stared at me. Walking by him, I gently pushed his fallen jaw back up and went behind the bar. I leaned forward as my first customers came in and smiled as my chest pressed against the cool countertop. I took my first tip sitting on the bar, allowing one of them to slip a fifty in the strap of my lace garter.

"Naughty, naughty," I said as one of them ran their hands up my leg. "What would my daddy say if he saw you feeling up his lil girl like that?"

I took a plastic olive fork and slammed it into the man's hand before hopping down to make my next drink. He screamed in pain, but before he could retaliate, Johnny was right on top of him and escorting him outside. I slid a gin and tonic to one of the older gangster's and winked at him. As the music began picking up, I climbed back up onto the bar and threw my hair back as I started dancing. I slid down onto my knees in front of them and moved my hips lightly to the beat. Chewing on my bottom lip as I spun my legs forward on the bar I shimmied down to give one of my better looking customers a lap dance.

"I've been a bad girl…" I breathed into his ear "You waaaant me?"

"Fuck yeah, baby girl…"

"I'm all yours…"

I smiled at him and let him get lost in the moment before I reached down into his pant pocket and felt for his wallet. Once I had it, I was able to pull out what little cash he had left before replaced it and getting off his lap. I put the cash into my bra and winking grabbed a tray to take an order of drinks to the upper level. I walked up the steps slowly, blowing kisses to a couple of the onlookers and barking at others. I could see Mr. J as I got to the bouncer that stood between myself and his private party. He moved a velvet rope for me and I walked inside, setting the tray down.

"Hi daddy," I said, getting his attention. "How's your business meeting goin?"

He looked up at me and his eyes widened as he inched closer to the edge of the sofa.

"Noooowww…" he hummed. "Who is THIS fiery little thing?"

I grinned and took a seat in one of the empty chairs…hanging my legs over the side lazily.

"I thought I could do with a little…makeover. What do you think?"

He didn't need to answer…because I knew from his expression and the expression of his associates around him that this look was gonna be my trademark in the Joker Family Tree. I smiled over to Harley who was sitting beside Mr. J in her gold and black dress, looking prettier than a picture. She winked at me and took a sip from her martini glass.

"J," I heard one of the thugs say. "You gonna introduce us to this bad bitch?"

I froze in my seat and slowly turned to look up at Joker. His face had gone serious for a second and he stood slowly, motioning with his hand towards me.

"Of course…this is…the apple of my eye…the BANE of my existence…the one the only…NOVA LEE JOKER!"

I watched dad go on and on and yelped slightly as he roughly yanked me up from the chair.

"Come to daddy princess," he said. "Yoooou are my gift to this handsome honka honka! YOOOOU belong to him now."

Holding both my arms down, he gently pushed me into this random guy's lap. I smiled and moved closer towards him, twirling my hair around my pointer finger. I giggled coyly at him and ran my tongue over my red painted lips.

"You're a little old for me…" I teased. "But that's okay…I like em older."

He smiled up at me and moved his head to kiss my neck. I made a face of disgust briefly as he bit me and could see Joker inch closer from behind.

"Aarrree you enjoying yourself?" I heard him whisper, his diaphragm rising up and down in anger.

"Mm…yes boss…" he said against my neck.

I smiled and sat there quietly…waiting.

Then it finally happened, Mr. J pulled out his gun and shot his VIP guest in the forehead. Blood spurt from the wound and I laughed, clapping my hands together, in joy as part of it splattered against my light skin. I jumped up and hugged Joker from the side who wrapped his one free arm around me.

"I always know I can count on you to protect me from these big bad gangster's, Mr. J."

He put his gun back and wiped some of the blood that had gotten onto my cheek away with this thumb, before pulling Harley up into his other arm.

"Johnny, get this fucking mess cleaned up, will ya?"

While the other boys started working on cleaning up the blood that had pooled on the back of the chair we were sitting at. Mr J, Harley, and I proceeded with mingling with the other guests. If that guy's death was a sign of anything, it meant that the night would only get better and better as it continued to tick away.


(Please Read and Review! No Flames!)