I'm back from the dead! Lol, I hope you all haven't given up on me, yet. I have a problem with deadlines and as you can see, there are none in this story. So I apologize if you're getting frustrated with me and my lack of update. I must say, though, thanks for all the reviews! I'm lovin' all the love! I hope you enjoy the chapter, it's got a bit less Joker and Alice than usual, but I think it's still good. Enjoy.
I Disclaim.
"For the rational, psychologically healthy man, the desire for pleasure is the desire to celebrate his control over reality. For the neurotic, the desire for pleasure is the desire to escape from reality."
-Nathaniel Brandan
Light came through the darkness behind her eyelids, painfully causing spots to form. She brought a hand up to cover her eyes, feeling the soft blanket covering her slip off her arm. Her other arm moved back and forth on the plush mattress beneath her, taking in the feel of the smooth sheet. Slowly, the fingers hiding her eyes moved apart to let some of the light through. Just as slowly, she opened her eyes, glancing around her with tired apprehension. She took in the four rose red walls, the deep, blood red ceiling with the white trim, the lone dresser in the corner, and lastly, the small, simple bed she laid on. As she sat up and smoothed a hand over the white sheet blanketing her legs, a soft whimper escaped her pursed lips. She fisted the sheet and threw it off her as she jumped out of the bed, only to teeter lightheadedly and clutch the mattress behind her.
She looked around wildly, as if someone were watching her. Which they probably were. Stumbling quickly across the floor to the door on the other side of the room, she failed to notice the dark, cushiony comforter discarded at the foot of her bed, laying spread out just so on the deep mahogany floor. Her balance put off from her quick rise, she had already slipped and fallen by the time she realized it was there. A quiet yelp of pain bounced through the room and she was on her feet again, heading towards the door with an urgency that caused her to slip twice more. But then she was there, throwing the door open. No longer feeling the need to look around her, the fear of being watched was still itching the back of her ankles. She needed out, that much was certain.
Just as she was about to bolt out the open door, she rammed into a green shirt. She felt the body beneath the shirt take a breath as two gloved hands gripped her upper arms and pure terror burned her insides in an icy freeze. Her heart beat ever increasing, she froze, too afraid to look up. Too afraid to confirm her fears.
"Going somewhere, Queeny?" came a sing-song voice.
She began to tremble.
"Hmmmm?" The body took a step forward, walking her backward and further into the room. She stumbled as the door was kicked shut leaving her alone in the room with the...
Her knees buckled and she was dropped to the floor. Her blue eyes were wide with fear as she stared fixedly at his purple pants. Maybe if she didn't think about it, blocked it all out, he would go away. Her eyes were already closed by the time she heard his voice again.
"Is any bunny home? Ahem. Earth to, uh, Alice."
She couldn't help but flinch at the use of her name. He saw it.
"Oh, Al-ice." he sing-songed again. She felt his breath on her face, telling her he had bent down, and didn't stop the small whine that seeped into the air. It seemed to confuse him. "Is there, ah, something wrong?" He grabbed her chin when she didn't answer him, turning her face to him. She squeezed her eyes shut tighter when he shook her head, roughly. "Did you hurt yourself? What is it?" Her chin quivered. Her whole body trembled. "Look. At. Me."
She had no choice in the matter. Afraid for her life, she opened her eyes, briefly glancing at him before directing her gaze down to the floor and his brown loafers. A gloved hand patted her face, each pat more of a smack than anything.
"I'm up here, doll face."
She gulped back the lump in her throat, and slowly brought her eyes up to his chin. Her eyes skipped over his painted, scarred mouth, cringing at the sight. They travelled over his white nose and cheeks, and finally to his inky rimmed eyes. Eyes so dark they could have been black. She felt as though a block of ice had landed in her stomach as she fought nausea.
He cleared his throat. "Good. Now, care to explain that little, ah, fainting stunt you pulled last night? And what are you doing on the floor?" He tutted like a father that had just found his daughter piercing her own nose. Standing up, he took her under the arms and set her on her feet. He ruffled her hair. "Well?"
She didn't speak for several long moments. Just when she heard him sigh impatiently and open his mouth, her murmuring voice flowed into the air between them. Whispering out the Other's secret. "I'm... I'm not her."
His face appeared in front of her, peering up through her long black hair. "What was that?"
"I'm not... her. I'm not...not the Other."
"What?" he asked, his voice clipped, his patience wearing hazardously thin.
Her blue eyes seemed shy, scared, foreign to him. "I'm not the girl you're... looking for."
Now that completely threw him. "What're you on about?" he asked, as if bored.
She closed her eyelids again, finding it much easier to speak when she didn't see him. She was relieved when he didn't protest. "I'm not the..." She exhaled softly between her whispers. "girl you're looking for."
"Oh, really? Then, ah, who are you?" he said, disbelief painting his words.
She kept her eyes shut. "I'm... " Her next words were so low that he failed to hear them.
"Speak up." he spat. She could hear the squeaking of his gloves. Clenching and unclenching. She shivered.
"Alice." she said quickly, wincing at his sharp words. "I'm Alice."
"That's strange, because I happen to, uh, know an Alice and I have to say," He paused and she could just feel his eyes wandering over her. "you look a lot like her."
"I'm not her." she whispered. "I was here first..."
"First?" he asked, almost mockingly. His voice was steadily getting lower and lower in pitch, flipping up to a higher tone at times. She had learned through the Other that this meant he was getting dangerously mad. Her breathing accelerated further.
"I was the first Alice." she said, her voice so hushed it came out in breaths of air. "She came after."
"After what?" he seethed, anger dripping into his voice.
Startled, she stepped back, eyes shooting open, flinching away from him. She stared off to the side at the red wall behind him. "The... explosion... the glass. The man..." She whimpered again and bit her bottom lip.
He took a step forward, growling in frustration. She backed up at his advance, clearly searching for a way out. The backs of her legs hit the bed. They stood there observing each other, his eyes taking in the red and white make up he had left on her when they kissed. It had only become more smeared from her sleeping on it. He wondered why she hadn't rubbed it off. He cocked his head to the side, squinting at the small woman and deciding he had never seen her look so frail. What the hell was going on?
Trying his best to look menacing enough to get her to talk and not enough so that she was too afraid, he walked a foot or two back. He let out a long suffering sigh and closed his eyes. He was going to need a night on the town after this. Whatever this was.
"Look," he ground out. "I'll try to be painstakingly clear here." He opened his eyes to glare at her. "I want you to-"
At that moment the door to the room opened and a high-pitched voice bounced into the room followed by a young, voluptuous blonde.
"Has she woken up yet?" Harley asked. She shrunk back however, when a low, deadly snarl poured from the Joker. She resembled that of a puppy after being berated for taking a leak on the newly upholstered couch. He shot a glare her way before swiftly turning back to the other woman.
Only to find that his verbal attack aimed at Harley had frightened the other woman dearly. And she had fainted. For the second time.
Not ten minutes later, the two conscious occupants of the theater were out of the house and on their way for a night on the town, leaving the body of Alice to her dreams. The Joker deciding to let his frustration out through his work.
Her keys clashed and jingled as she dropped them on the table. Rambler scrambled on the hard wood floor towards her and she bent down to scratch behind his black ears. She smiled when he whined happily. She gave his rump a firm pat and he slid over to his food bowl. She watched him gobble up his remaining kibble, reminding her that she needed to eat as well. She let out a tired sigh as she glanced at the clock. It read 6:25. Just in time for a nice, healthy dinner of leftover takeout. It sounded like the beginning of a joke. Walking over to her blinking message machine, she pulled her hair out of it's long ponytail and pressed the play button. Each was from her mother, all five of them except the last, which ended with a sharp click directly after the machine picked up. She figured her mom must have given up by then. Knowing full well how her family worked, she decided to call now before everyone else in the immediate family was called, along with the neighbors.
Slipping out of her jacket and throwing it onto a chair, she sat down on her couch to call her mom. Really, her mother wasn't to be blamed for her protectiveness over her only daughter. With two boys ahead of her, Theresa had almost always been fancied as the baby of the family. Even when her sister had been around, Theresa had still been the baby. When the elder sister had gone, her mother's maternal streak had only increased tenfold. She shook her head out of her thoughts as the phone rang for the second time.
"Hello?" Genevieve Juniper's voice brought a small smile to her daughter. Not living down to her name, Genevieve was a passionate woman in the worst of times, and an emotional one at the best. Though she may have been shorter than all three of her children, each of them could remember every time they were reduced to an inch in height under the weight of their mother's stare. "Theresa, is that you?" she asked, annoyance tinging the edges of her words.
"Hi, Mom. Yeah, it's me."
"I called five times, you know." the matriarch said bluntly.
"Yeah, I know, I just got home. You know I don't get off of work until a quarter after." She paused, a thought striking her. "How's Benny? Did he get over his flu, yet?"
Genevieve's voice dampened somewhat. "He's still got a fever, but he hasn't vomited since this morning. I brought him some hot soup just a few minutes ago."
"Ma, you haven't been force-feeding the kid, have you?" Theresa asked, knowing how the older woman was about food. There was loud chuckle on the other end. And, she thought, a rather evil one at that. She bit back a smile, feeling very sorry for her young nephew. "You're gonna put him off of chicken noodle if your not careful."
"Oh, he already hates it. But he needs to keep his strength up and it's the only thing he can seem to keep down." There was a pause. Then the inevitable came. "We miss you."
Theresa let out a small sigh. "I miss you guys too, Mom."
"You're coming down for your Dad's birthday, right?"
"Yeah, Ma."
It was Genevieve's turn to sigh. "Just making sure. Gotham and Albany are pretty far apart."
"I'm only a phone call away." she needlessly reminded her. The messages on her machine were evidence enough to that.
"I know." her mother replied, grudgingly. "I just wish I could see my little girl more. Your room will be ready when you get here."
Theresa chuckled. "I bet. Have you guys even cleaned it since I left?"
"I go in every other week or so with a duster." Her daughter snorted. "Oh, be quiet."
"Sorry, sorry, forgive me." she teased, just picturing the eye roll that only Genevieve seemed to able to accomplish. Something about being a mother made one able to reprimand anyone at a single gesture.
"Alright, I'll let you go, just wanted to say hi. I love you, honey." Her mother's voice was coated in her love, it wasn't necessary for her to speak it aloud.
"I love you, too, Ma." They said their goodbyes and hung up.
Suppressing yet another sigh, Theresa pushed herself off of the couch and headed into the kitchen for her dinner. She grabbed the container from the fridge, decided to eat it cold, and plopped back down in front of the TV. When Rambler's large head landed heavily on her leg, she gave him a pat and tapped the cushion next to her. Now that his mistress was home and he'd had a good meal, the black shadow of a dog heaved himself up onto the couch. He settled comfortably, squishing Theresa and warming her cold feet at the same time.
Nothing was on but the news and a few laugh track sitcoms. Soon after she had finished her dinner, her eyes began to flutter shut, sleep falling into her. Her dreams tumbled in and out of each other. When one ended with a loud bang, her head sprang up. The dark mass of dog next to her got up as well and growled a loud bark. She shook her head a few times trying to wake herself up. Realizing the TV was still on, she turned it off. She wasn't usually one to fall asleep like that, but it had been a long day. It'd felt good to catch a few Zs. She checked the time, or several Zs as it was. Since when did she nap for three hours? She stood and stretched, planning on heading to bed when muted voices reached her ears through the walls. Rambler barked again, jumping down off the couch to stand behind her. Some guard dog.
Then there was a scream, and Theresa remembered the bang that had woken her up. Yells started to seep through as well, a man's deep voice. Her brow furrowing in confusion and sleep, she walked over to her wall and placed her ear next to it, Rambler following behind her. There was the man's voice. He asked a question. Then there was a smack and a woman's sobbing voice could be heard mumbling. She tore her face away from the wall, appalled. Nearly running to the phone, she stumbled around Rambler, and called 911. The operator told her the police would be sent as soon as possible, but wouldn't reach the apartment block for another twenty minutes.
She listened to the increasing yells and sobs next door. "I don't think we have another twenty minutes. Can't they come now?"
"I'm sorry, Miss, but there's been a disruption at City Hall." the young man said, calmly enough.
"What kind of disruption?" she asked desperately. The operator started to say something when Theresa heard a loud thump and a woman's cry. There was a gunshot and the phone was left laying on her couch. The young man's words were lost on deaf ears as Theresa clattered about in the kitchen. If she had heard what he was saying, perhaps she would have been a little more understanding as to why the police weren't rushing over to help. Perhaps, but she still would've gone.
She slid the kitchen knife into the hem of her pants back, balling her hands into fists at her side. She stepped up to the apartment next to hers and gave a sound knock. At first she heard nothing. She knocked again. This time she heard a man muttering and fast footsteps. Going away from the door. Again, she knocked, harder this time and longer. That seemed to be right because a moment later the door swung in and she stepped back as a man walked out, closing the door behind him. He stood in front of it, guarding. He was handsome, possibly in his early twenties with light, fluffy brown hair that hung just above his eyes. His height towered over her and he had broad shoulders above his muscular arms. She tried not to show how afraid she was.
"Hello." she said, after clearing her throat.
"What do you want?" his voice was harsh, a smoker's, not fitting at all with his appearance.
She composed herself. "I live next door." she said meaningfully, hoping he would get it. "I was wondering if you had any sugar I could use."
The man's upper lip curled up in a snarl. "You came here for sugar?"
"I'm baking a cake."
"At 9:00 o'clock at night?"
"Look, do you have the sugar or not?"
The tall man regarded her skeptically. She felt a creeping, nauseating feeling crawl up her back and she jumped when the door opened with a jolt. A light brown face framed by short, black hair stared out at her, the increasingly dark coloring on the woman's eye popping on her fair complexion. Her dark brown eyes were locked onto Theresa's, curious and pleading with her it seemed. Whether to help her, or herself, she didn't know. Suddenly the man hit the door causing it and the girl to fling back inside. On hearing her short cry of pain, Theresa stepped forward, only to be pushed back by the man.
She stumbled slightly before regaining her footing. She glared back at the man. "What did you do that for?" Her heart leapt to her throat, however, when his burning hand closed around her wrist. She struggled against his hold, but it was no use.
"Let me go!" she said firmly, brandishing her knife.
He wasn't at all affected. "I thought you wanted your sugar." he said, pulling her close enough to him that she could smell the alcohol on his stale breath. He bared his teeth in a contorted grin. Finding things had gone far enough, she took action. She sliced the knife into his leg and he let go, clutching his thigh. She dashed into the room, scrambling to shut the door before he entered as well. Locking the dead-bolt she turned around to find the girl standing behind her.
Her eyes were wide. "What have you done?" she whispered.
Too anxious to be confused or upset, Theresa took hold of the woman's arm. "C'mon we have to get to the fire escape befo-"
A loud pounding on the door interrupted her. Both women's heads snapped towards it, Theresa placing herself in front of the girl. She unconsciously raised the knife higher and tightened her grip.
The man's voice, reduced to a whine, oozed through the door. "Michelle... look what she's done me..." he whimpered. "Help me, pet, please... I-I can't stop the bleeding..."
"Robbie...?" Michelle whispered, starting to walk to the door. Theresa held tightly to her arm, however, and prevented her from getting any closer.
"I barely scratched him." Theresa hissed, trying to pull the other woman away.
"Michelle...." the man moaned, a slight agitated tone skipping in at the end. "Let me in... Help me." He pounded on the door again. Anyone who can hit a door that hard, thought Theresa, certainly doesn't need any help. "Help me!"
"R-Robbie, I-"
"Michelle!" roared the man outside. "Michelle, open the door!" The girl stepped back, jumping at his harsh voice. "Let me in, you little slut!" The door vibrated with his fists and yells.
Pulling the now crying girl with her, Theresa headed to the back of the apartment where she knew the fire escape was located. She was just opening the hallway window, when she heard an unfamiliar sound. Unfamiliar, yes, but that didn't mean she didn't know what it was. She felt panic rise to an overload in her stomach. She was out of ideas. If she fought, she would fail. This Robbie was strong enough to knock a door down, there was no way she could stand up to that. She searched desperately for a different outcome than the one that was repeatedly playing in her mind.
Turning to Michelle, she pushed her out of the window, shutting and locking it behind her. The girl, too busy crying to pay attention to what she was doing, complied easily. When she heard the window close however, she looked confused for a moment before horror set in. Theresa could hear her screaming from the other side of the glass. They couldn't get away in time. She could hear his footfalls now, getting closer by the minute. He would catch them, and he wouldn't be happy. So she would distract him and hopefully allow Michelle to get away. She had to trust that the young woman would have enough sense to leave. She took a deep breath, and ran full throttle down the hall.
He was not in the position she thought he'd be in. She had been expecting him to be facing her, waiting for her to reach him, or even running towards her. But no, his back was to her and he was standing in the middle of the room. She could barely see his tall figure in the darkness. The thought stopped her in her tracks. Hiding behind the wall at the end of the hallway, she examined the room. A light had been on when she had been in there before, now, if she hadn't just been in the dark hallway, she wouldn't have been able to see. Who had turned the light off?
It was eerily silent and the tension that had receded slightly from her running, eased back into her neck and shoulders. Robbie spun several times, staring around him. Searching for someone, or something.
"Where are you?" he yelled into the blackness. A deep fear showed clearly in not only his face, but his voice, his posture. Everything about him screamed it. "Show yourself!"
Theresa could only describe it as a presence. Whatever it was, it hadn't been there in the corner a second ago. The man whirled around, stumbling back. The presence stepped forward, looming in the shadows.
"Wh-what the hell do you want?" the man stuttered, trying pitifully to look as menacing as the presence did. When it reached him, he gurgled and fell to his knees. The stank smell of urine crept into Theresa's nose and she realized the man had pissed himself. He stared at the black being with wide eyes.
"Boo."
The man's wide eyes rolled back into his head as he fell, a sharp blow to the temple knocking him out. The early spring wind howled outside as Theresa stared on, unable to look away.
"You can come out now." His low, throaty voice startled her and she reflexively did as he asked. A little voice in the back of her head told her to leave enough room between them for her to run if she had to. She still had the knife, but somehow she didn't think that would work on this guy.
Even at her distance from him, he seemed to reach the ceiling. She could barely distinguish the body from the shadow, but was completely aware of the two coal rimmed eyes that stared out at her from beneath his guise. The name bubbled from her lips, insistent on being let out.
"Batman." she whispered.
He gave no sign that he had heard her, instead his head twitched lightly to the left, in the direction of the window. She could faintly hear sirens.
"The police are here." he growled. "They have your friend."
"Th-thank you." she sputtered, bewildered. The adrenalin high she had run on before was now streaming to a halt. Her mind was falling into shock.
He nodded.
"There was a gunshot..." she trailed off, the thought of where the gun she had heard had gone finally registering. Her eyes widened. "He still had it on him." she said, stunned.
Batman nodded, again.
The thought didn't transfer, it only caused her to fall further into numbness. She shook her head slowly at the sheer foolishness of what she had done. She could have died. Her eyes eventually travelled to the knife in her hand. She dropped it, wiping her sweaty hand on her pants.
"I don't believe I actually did that..." she said, in awe. Her gaze flitted to Robbie's still silhouette. She couldn't see it, but she knew there was a damp stain on his thigh from where she had cut him. She brought a hand up to massage her head as she closed her eyes. "I'm an absolute idiot."
She barely heard his deep voice. "Or just a lucky one."
Just then, there were several loud footfalls on the landing outside. Shouts soon followed and Theresa turned with a start. She tried to slow her breathing, bringing a hand up to her chest to feel her pounding heart. This night had completely fried her nerves.
"The cops are finally here." she said, as she turned back around to the empty room. She walked up to the now open window, looking out briefly before shutting it against the chilly night air. She had met Batman. The thought resonated within her, trailing in another. As the police surged in, she internally winced at her luck.
She had met Batman. And she hadn't had her camera.
So things are heating up for our favorite duo and we got to see Batman. Not bad for one night, eh? If you guys didn't like anything or think I could improve on something, I'd love to hear your thoughts. Keep the lovin' comin'! With school already started, I'm trying my best to make sure I don't go away for a long while (reviews help, hint hint) Oh, and just so it's clear everyone has four more days to vote on the poll I have on my profile. I'd really appreciate the input. Alright, that's it. Thanks for reading.
Reviews are better than lucky idiot's!