As for an earlier comment...Miss Michieru, who do you think Dolly is again? I fail to understand. --blank look--

Chapter 9

Six months later...

The underground exotic dance club--dubbed "Juicy Fruits"--was relatively packed tonight. There was a buzz going around about a new dance girl that every pervert and voyeur in Gotham simply had to see, and now there were a few fights over who got the front row seat. But as soon as the doors opened just one moment before show time and bouncers cleared the area, it was clear who was getting the front row.

Texan-born card shark James Earlingston, better known around Gotham's underbelly as "Wild Ace" and the city's highest gross-earning crime lord was getting the front seat tonight. He sat down and leaned back, snapping his fingers for a scotch on the rocks, and getting it five seconds later, and as he was sipping it, the lights dimmed and the music started playing "Pour Some Sugar on Me" by Def Leppard.

The prized girl of the evening stepped out in a burst of white light, wearing a white and sugar pink frilly doll-like ensemble that as soon as the tempo began to pick up, she grabbed the skirt part and tore it off, now wearing a cut-off white strapless top and sugar pink Daisy Dukes along with white stilletto boots. As the song went on, she danced, swinging her perfectly curved hips and taking occasional dip-and-waves, running her hands over her body and licking her lips sensually, letting her dirty-blonde hair fall around her face.

Ace let his eyes roam her perky little body, licking his own lips in voyeuristic pleasure for the next four minutes of the song, taking a very strong interest in the way she flirtatiously winked at him. As the song was coming to an end, he summoned the bodyguard to his left and muttered something to him, then went back to watching the girl as her routine came to an end. The girl sexily took off a pink and white garter she was wearing and threw it into the crowd; as Ace deftly caught it, the girl walked off the stage. This seemed to be a cue, for the bodyguard followed after her backstage, and Ace followed the guard a few moments later.

Up in the balcony, a humored observer watched Wild Ace follow the girl to the backstage. He knew that Ace would be here tonight...the man was a bigger pervert than all get-out, and loved to sample the flavor of the evening--and sometimes kill them. But he wasnt worried. He downed his drink and licked a drop off of his lips, smearing his red makeup a little. He had to have a little talk with Acey Boy anyway, and the 'flavor of the evening' was just the person to bring him at attention...


Wild Ace watched the dance girl walk down the ally through the tinted windows of his car, staring mostly at her moving backside than anything else as his driver slowly drove down the ally road, coming up next to the girl. From the way she danced, he couldnt wait to see how she would fair in the back seat; not that she would have a choice. She would either put out, or he'd kill her and have his way with her corpse anyway.

And then, just as his door and her were parallel, he quickly opened it, grabbed her, and dragged her in then shut it, cuing the driver to start driving faster.

Ace noticed that the girl didnt cry out, or try to escape; she just let herself be dragged into the car. It was odd, but Ace wasnt complaining. He put his arm around her and grinned lewdly. "Hey there, beautiful," he drawled, eyeing her over. She hadnt bothered to cover up after her show, and her curves were alluring indeed. The girl said nothing, but just smiled innocently and stared him in the eye. "How about we..." He stroked his other hand down her thigh. "...Get to know each other a little more?"

The girl's smiled widened and her eyes batted gently. Ace took that as a 'yes' and leaned forward to kiss at her neck, taking a bit of time to flick his tongue over her sweet-smelling skin. The girl leaned her head to the side to expose her neck more, and Ace didnt hesitate to take the invitation. He turned the girl so she was leaning against the locked door--it was safety locked anyway--and kissed and licked at her neck and chest while she put her arms around him, coaxing him closer.

Ace pulled back up after a minute and reached down to unbuckle his belt, his fingers slipping occasionally in his haste. "You're just a little ball of fire, aint ya?" he asked, his voice breathy from arousal. The girl just gave him a brighter smile, and then Ace looked down to finally get his belt properly undone. He didnt notice the girl pull a small syringe out of her glove, and didnt have time to even react when she suddenly jammed the needle into his neck.

Wild Ace only had five seconds to struggle through consciousness before slumping forward onto her. She made a soft scoffing sound and pushed him off of her, then grabbed his gun from the holster under his jacket and peeked around the seat of the driver and pressed it into his temple. The driver swerved a little, but regained back on track.

"You just do what I say, and you can live," she said softly, reaching up to rub the left side of her face, lifting something under a slather of makeup, and peeling it off, revealing a scar. The driver nodded and followed her directions to the T and after about a half hour of driving, finally made it to a warehouse. He stopped on her command, and got out to open the door for her. She stepped out, cracked her neck, then shot him in the head just as some men came out of the warehouse.

Dolly pointed the gun to the car. "He's in there," she said, walking toward the warehouse and rubbing her neck. "...I need antibacterial..."


When Wild Ace woke up, it was a little dark. It was a moment before he registered that he was lying face-down on a concrete floor, and groaned as a headache from Hell throbbed in the back of his head.

"Well well," came a drawling voice in front of him. "...The Wild Texan Ace awakes..."

Ace lifted his head--ignoring the extra-painful throb--and blinked a few times to clear his vision before seeing a purple-clad person sitting cross-legged in a large chair, a wide red smile adorning his white face. Ace took a moment to register the picture, then paled, knowing just who he was staring at.

The Joker laughed softly at the expression on Wild Ace's face. "Why so serious, Ace?" he snickered. "I only brought you here because I wanted to talk...you're awfully hard to find, you know..." He turned to look to the side, and Ace followed the gaze, seeing the dance girl from before, only now she was wearing a black and purple doll-like dress with black Mary Janes and her hair up in pigtails. Ace also saw that she had a long scar running vertically down her left eye, which was paled out in blindness. The entire left side of her face was free of makeup, though her right side had purple eyeshadow and her lips were purple as well.

She smiled almost sweetly at him and waved her hand as she walked over to the Joker's chair and sat down on the left arm. Wild Ace paled considerably.

"I...I didnt realize...!" he stuttered, flicking his eyes back and forth between Joker and Dolly. "...I didnt know she was your whore!"

There was a collection of uncomfortable and ominous sounds from the Joker's henchmen, though the Joker snorted and Dolly giggled humorously. The Joker's laughter escalated until it almost echoed throughout the crowded room.

"My whore, Acey Boy?" he said after he calmed slightly. "You think Dolly here is my whore?" He shook his head, chuckling. "That's not the nicest thing to say about my dear little girl, now is it?" If it were possible, Ace paled even more.

"I...I...!" he stuttered again. Dolly's smile widened at his obvious discomfort. "...She's your da...?"

"Ah, no no no," the Joker interrupted, shaking his head. "She's not my daughter, Acey." He leaned back putting his hand loosely around her waist. "She's something better.

"But right now, I just wanna talk about you..." He put on a grin. "...I dont know if you know this or not, but I am known throughout Gotham as the "Clown Prince of Crime"...and I know that since you came here from Texas four months ago, the title of "Ace King"..." He paused. "...Kinda inconsistant if you ask me, but hey," he shrugged, "what do I know about cards other than the only one that really matters?" He laughed as he threw a deck of cards at Ace, but upon landing and scattering to the floor, showed all fifty-one cards to be the jokers.

"Now," the Joker continued, "the problem I have is that in Gotham..." He spread his arms. "There can only be one king. And quite frankly..." His voice took a darker tone as he licked his lips. "...I just dont think you're cut out for the job..." He leaned back in the chair again. "I have no problem letting you live, but I want you to never answer to the title of "King" again..." He paused to lick his lips and make sure Ace was paying attention. "...And relinquish your assets to me, and me alone."

Wild Ace, who had felt nothing but fear for his life up until this point, suddenly had a rising anger in his chest. "I dont think so, you freak!" he spat, sitting up on the floor. "Do you have any idea what I had to go through for what I have!? I dont think you do!" He stood up, ignoring the henchmen around him reaching for their weapons. "It took me twenty years to get what I have, and I'm not just handing it over to a crazy circus freak like you!"

The Joker's expression took a very dark turn, and the henchmen actually took a step back. Dolly just pursed her lips and looked away. The Joker slowly stood up and made his way to Ace, motioning with his hand to the henchmen around him. Two of them darted forward and held Wild Ace in place as the Joker pulled out his switchblade and grabbed Ace's head, holding it still and pressing the blade to his cheek.

"...Do you want to know how I got these scars?" the Joker asked softly, his voice taking the insane higher pitch. Ace began to sweat again and the Joker moved his knife to the corner of his lips. "You see, I used to be friends with a card shark...such as yourself..." He licked his lips. "...And he was as good a gamer as they came...and he said that we would split the profits...fifty...fifty. But you see, he was a very, very greedy man. Cared only for money. Then, one day, some money went missing, and who do you think he blames?" He gestured to himself with his knife before putting it back into Ace's mouth. "He ties me to a chair and holds up a card..." The Joker reached into his jacket and pulled out a joker card. "...And asks me if he thought that making a fool of him was funny...I of course say no, but he says "Oh no...it is, Mister Joker...it is..."..." He licked his lips frantically. "And then he takes his knife...and..." He pressed the blade a little further against the corner of Ace's mouth, nicking it a little, then suddenly pulled away.

"...He cuts me." The Joker backed away, snickering a little. "...But right now, this isnt my punishment to administer..." He turned back to Dolly, who had relocated to his seat and was leaning her head against her hand to watch interestedly. "You see, the greatest insult wasnt against me...it was against my Dolly Dearest..." He gestured for her to come over. "Because you see...you insulted the Harlequin Princess...and she isnt one to insult without being punished..." As he spoke, Dolly walked over to them, the same innocent expression on her face.

She came to a stop in front of them, and the Joker moved away. "He's all yours, Princess," he said, then walked back over to his chair and sat down to watch. Dolly looked at Wild Ace with that innocent expression that actually scared him, and she reached out to cup his face and lean forward to put her face barely half an inch from his. Wild Ace gulped a little then flinched when her hands slid down to wrap around his neck.

"That was a very mean thing to say to me," she said, and he was surprised that despite her sweet appearance, her voice was very mature and scathing, almost like hearing a kitten scratch a chalkboard. Her hands tightened. "...I hope you treat the Devil better than you treated me..." She nodded to the two henchmen, who let go of Wild Ace as she put all of her pressure on his throat. Wild Ace struggled against her, grabbing at her arms to try to wrench them away. But he was shocked at her strength; she didnt give a single inch--a twitch, even. He reached up to try to hit her, but her thumbnails penetrated his throat flesh, and he gave a strangled cry as blood spurted forth and her hands tightened even more.

The moments passed, and finally, a death rattle uttered from Ace's throat signified his last breath, and he fell limp in Dolly's hold. Dolly smiled passively, and let him go, then flicked her hands to get the excess blood off of them, then rethought and wiped them off on his expensive leather coat before turning back to the Joker, who clapped.

"Wonderful," he said, grinning. "Truly awe-inspiring. Really." He waved his hand. "Pin an ace to his forehead and dump him somewhere." Dolly stopped the henchmen from doing so, and reached into Ace's coat herself to pull out a pack of cards, and picked out the ace of spades, then pulled out a small knife from her garter-hold and jammed them both to Ace's forehead before picking out the red joker card and tucking it into his coat pocket.

The henchmen dragged Wild Ace away, and Dolly turned to walk back up to the Joker's chair and leaned against it. "What a night," she said, wiping her hands off on her dress. "I dont think I'll be getting the stench of that cheap cologne of his off of me for a week..."

The Joker laughed and shook his head. "Well, at least he's out of the way now," he replied. "Another piece taken out of the picture." He looked at her. "...Interesting way of doing away with him," he said. Dolly put her innocent look on again. "You've been working on your grip?"

"Yes I have, as a matter of face," she said, flexing her fist. "I'm working on benchpressing 200..." The Joker whistled through his teeth.

"That much already?" he asked. He didnt wait for Dolly to answer. "Your birthday is in a week, yes?" Dolly nodded.

"It is," she said. "Why?" The Joker reached into his jacket and pulled out a lavish-looking invitation.

"I have a special treat for you," he said, holding it up for her to take. "Mister Bruce Wayne is throwing a Halloween party." Dolly took the invite and read it.

"Nice," she replied, reading it over. "...Uh, Boss...this invitation is for Lord Erick Elloway and his daughter Madeline..." The Joker snickered.

"They couldnt make it," he replied, grinning. "I told them I'd go in their place...in their names..." Dolly smiled.

"Oh, how nice of you," she said, folding the invitation up. "...But seriously, why are we going to Bruce Wayne's party, of all places?"

"Oh, no real reason," he said, leaning back in his chair, though his voice and the expression on his face said very much otherwise. "...No real reason..."


Ooooooh...whatever will happen? Pfft, just wait!

Next chapter, the Halloween party is crashed and a fight breaks out! Whooyeah!