(Sorry this took so long to update. I've had a busy week. Thanks XXXPsychobabyXXX for the fan art! i hope this chapter is to everyone's liking!)
Chapter Ten
The Riddler was waiting at the Club Luna, standing at the bar. He was completely bored. The Club was closed that night; good thing too, cause he was sure that Clayton wouldn't have let him in if he found out who he was beneath the mask. The Riddler was the only one in the entire building. He sat on a bar stool close to the wall and leaned his back against it as he kicked up his feet on the bar's surface. "Bored, bored, bored, bored, bored," he thought with a sigh.
Twenty minutes went by. He took off his hat and placed it on top of his cane, twirling it around and around in little circles to make his hat spin. Nigma glanced down at his watch. "I wouldn't be surprised if that clown never figures out the riddle," he muttered. The sound of a door opening and closing reached his ears. He put his hat back on and turned his head in the direction of the noise. Sure enough, the Joker strutted into the room with Samantha by his side.
The Joker gave him a mocking smile. "Hello, Eddie," he greeted. The Riddler pointed the end of his staff at him. "Never call me that," he warned. He looked at Samantha and his face softened. "Are you okay?" he asked.
Samantha moved towards him. "Yeah, I'm fi-,"
She was cut off when the Joker snatched her back to him. "Nah-ah-ah! You're staying right here with me until I say you can go," he said playfully and licked his lips.
The Riddler glared at him and jumped down from his seat. "And who are you to make that decision?"
"Her husband."
Nigma balled his fists and started to step towards him. The Joker pushed Samantha aside, a big grin on his face. "Listen Eddie, I know you're aaall about rescuing the fair maiden, but I've got more than one reason to be putting an end-ah to your life. The other reason is Batman. I can't have you taking Batsy away from me, then where would I get my kicks? No, no, no, no, no…I can't let that happen. And then there's Samantha…there isno way… I will let you have her," the Joker smacked his lips, "she's mine."
Nigma grabbed the Joker by the collar and jerked him close. "You're not her husband; you stole her! I'm going to try being reasonable first. Have the marriage annulled and we can leave it at that and I'll leave Batman to you."
The Joker slapped his hands away. "Don't touch me! You'll wrinkle the suit." He let out a laugh and walked towards Samantha, ready to leave the sorry idiot behind. The Riddler clamped a hand on his shoulder. The Joker froze. "You shouldn't have done thaaat," he sing-songed. Nigma heard the metallic click of a switch blade opening and jumped back just as the Joker swung around and slashed at him with his blade.
Edward caught sight of Samantha hurrying over to them. "Don't you dare move, Samantha!" he warned. Samantha stopped in her tracks.
The Joker grinned at her then looked back at Edward. "Yeah…let the boys play."
Nigma suddenly swung his cane like a bat and landed a blow at the Joker's gut. He had the air knocked out of him and he doubled over. The Riddler grinned maliciously. "Oh you have no idea how much I've longed to do that," he said in a dark tone.
"Really?" The Joker yanked on the cane, causing Edward to lose his balance and stumble towards the wall directly behind the Joker. The Clown turned and kicked him squarely in the back, ramming him against the wall. Nigma clenched his teeth and ignored the pain as he immediately spun around to face his opponent. If there was one thing he needed to keep in mind about the Joker, it was to never turn his back on him in a fight.
The Joker rushed at him. Edward dropped into a roll to get out of the way and jumped to his feet, ready for the next move. The Joker changed direction and gave a growl as he lashed out with his knife. His arm was blocked by the Riddler's cane.
"Face it, Eddie, without that cane you wouldn't survive in a fight."
"I could say the same thing about you and your little knives. Oh, by the way, how are those injuries Batman gave you?"
The Joker glared and shoved the Riddler away while creating a rip on his green suit's sleeve. Edward regained his balance and glanced at his sleeve before looking back at the clown angrily. The Joker raised his eyebrows, faking shock.
Edward glanced over his shoulder to see Samantha and the expression that she wore… Absolute shock and dismay. "How can this be Edward?" she kept thinking over and over in her head. She shook herself and frowned. "Get a grip, girl! Find a phone and call the police!" Samantha looked around her and spotted a payphone across the room. She looked back at the men in time to see the Joker slug Edward across the jaw and split his lip, causing blood to dribble down his chin. He quickly wiped the blood away with the back of his hand and charged at the Joker.
As Samantha quietly stole across the room to the phone, she couldn't help but realize that the Joker had more of an advantage in hand to hand combat considering he was slightly more muscular than thin Edward. Plus, she had seen the Joker fight Batman and this didn't seem like it would end well. She needed to make the call fast and then do something to help Edward. "Hold onto that cane, Edward," she thought. It could be his only chance of winning.
The Joker was shoved and fell with his back on top of a table. He groaned and winced. Nigma leaped over to him, bringing his cane down where the Joker's head was. He frowned and rolled off the table just as the cane made contact with the table, creating a loud cracking sound. The Joker howled with laughter when he caught sight of the look of extreme aggravation on his face. The Riddler lifted his foot and kicked the small table towards him. The Joker jumped out of the way and tripped over a chair, falling onto his back. Edward took his chance and pinned him by holding his cane across his throat. He pressed down on the staff; the Joker began to choke.
Samantha picked up the phone and started to dial but stopped when she didn't hear the dial tone. "No, no, no, no, no! This can't be happening; come on! Work!" But it remained silent. She slammed the phone down on the receiver in anger. "Stupid piece of junk!"
The Riddler rammed his fist into the Joker's face. The clown laughed every time he received the blow. "Stop laughing!" Edward yelled; but he didn't stop. The Joker's nose began to bleed and there was also some blood trickling down the corner of his mouth. If Samantha didn't do something soon…
The door flew open and a curvy figure stepped through. "Hey, Mistah J, are ya in here? I better have gotten that riddle right-!" She froze in place when she saw the two of them on the floor. They turned their heads to look at her, completely caught off guard.
"Who the heck is that?" Samantha thought when she saw Harley. It never occurred to her that it was Harleen Quinzel in the costume.
Harley did not notice Samantha; her attention was focused on the two men. A big grin broke out on her face. "Hey, you found Mistah J," she chirped happily. Harley paused as she took in their fight positions. "….Did I miss somethin' here?" she asked with a puzzled expression on her painted face.
The Joker took advantage of the distraction Harley presented and gripped Nigma's cane with both hands. Before Edward could figure out what was happening, the Joker lifted his feet up and pushed against his abdomen; using his opponent's weight, he flipped the Riddler over his head and sent him tumbling end over end until he crashed into the wall. His head was on the floor and his feet in the air; being supported by the wall behind him. He almost looked like he was trying to do a head stand. The Riddler's feet slowly slid down plopped to the floor, lifting his butt in the air. He was so turned around and dizzy that he stayed in that position for the moment. "Ouuuuch," he groaned. "Note to self; find people to do the fighting for me…"
The Joker let out a laugh and looked at the question mark cane he held in his hands. He gave a sigh. "Well…I have no use for this…sooo, I'll let you have it." The Joker held the cane tightly and got in a batter's stance as Edward slowly sat up and turned to face him, still very disoriented. "Sooo…Here. We. Go." He got ready to swing.
The sound of glass crashing from over-head caused everyone's head to turn. A figure in black rose from a crouching position on the ground. There was no mistaking who it was; Batman.
"Time to leave," the Joker said and dropped the cane beside Edward. He dashed over to Samantha and latched onto her arm. That's when Harley finally noticed that she wasn't the only female in the building.
"Sammy?"
Samantha's jaw dropped. "Harleen?"
The Joker jerked on Samantha's arm to make her start moving. "Move, Samantha! Harley, come on!" Harley glanced over her shoulder at Batman before running after them.
Unfortunately, Batman had not seen the Joker since he was focused on the first person he caught sight of when he jumped through the skylight, which had been Edward Nigma. He still hadn't learned to mind his surroundings. If he had, he would have seen the Joker, Harley, and Samantha exit the building; the Joker giving Edward a teasing wave before disappearing behind the door.
"You are so useless!" Edward yelled. "Instead of going after the Joker, you stay behind to fight me; a non-criminal!"
"The cops will go after him."
"The cops are fools and so are you if you think they can catch him."
"If I'm a fool than how did I know the answer to your riddle, Edward Nigma?"
The Riddler stiffened but then let himself smile. "Ah, do we actually have a brain underneath that mask?" He gave a mocking applause. "Well done; how did you manage to figure that out?"
"You gave too many hints. Anyone could have figured out who you were if they heard our conversation and knew about the Joker crashing your wedding." Batman took a step towards him. Nigma immediately moved into a defensive position. Batman froze. "I'm not here to fight you. I'm here to help you."
The Riddler laughed bitterly and felt a slight pain in his side; probably from his fight with the Joker. "Help me? Help me with what?" He fixed him with a hard glare.
"I want to help you not become the very thing you hate. You haven't committed any real crimes yet; quit while you still have the chance."
Nigma's eyes gleamed with a half-crazed sort of light. "Sorry; too late!" he growled and began to run to the back of the building. "Stay out of this, Batman!" he yelled over his shoulder.
"Nigma!" Batman ran after him just as Nigma pressed a button on his cane and a small circular portion popped out. Inside were tiny, metal balls. The Riddler laughed as he grabbed three and hurled them to the floor. Smoke issued out and soon swallowed him. Batman coughed and looked around for Nigma as the sound of his laugh echoed in the air. The smoke began to thin out and revealed no one but the Batman.
He heaved a heavy sigh. Now he had three costumed psychos running around Gotham.
…
The Joker and Harley ran to the car and jumped inside with a very reluctant Samantha. After the car refused to start, they got out the box of money from inside the trunk and headed toward a work van the Joker spotted nearby. He broke the driver's window and unlocked the door. "Harley, check the glove compartment for a spare key!" he ordered.
Harley did just as he said and pulled out the spare key. "Now what do I do with it?" she asked.
The Joker clenched his teeth in frustration as he clambered into the back of the van with Samantha. "Drive!"
"Right-o-roonie, Mistah J!" she sang. The Joker shuddered at the nickname.
"Mistah J?" Samantha repeated.
The Joker slowly turned his head in her direction. "No comment-ah," he said, emphasizing his t.
The sounds of sirens were heard and Harley glanced in the rearview mirror. "Hold on everybody," she yelled and floored the accelerator. Samantha was pushed back since she wasn't wearing a seat belt. She craned her neck around to look out the rear window to see five police vehicles behind them. "Oh wonderful," she muttered.
The Joker cackled as he crawled over the seats. "Let's give them something to talk about!" He pulled out a gun and shoved Samantha out of his way.
"Speed bump!" Harley shouted. The van launched into the air four feet off the road and landed with a bone-jarring lurch. The lurch caused the Joker to pull the trigger and put a hole in the roof of the car.
"Harley!" he snapped.
"Sorry Puddin'," she squeaked.
"I know that you're trying to escape from the police, but could you at least have a little caution!" Samantha shouted. The Joker unlatched the back window and started firing at the police cars' tires. The front car flipped and landed on its side, colliding with another squad car. Two pedestrian vehicles slammed into them. The Joker let out a howl of laughter and Harley giggled.
The three police vehicles left continued to follow. A cop leaned out the passenger window, holding a hand gun, and began to fire. "Oh, so ya wanna play? Come on!" the Joker taunted. A bullet ricocheted off the fender. The Joker sent a bullet towards the driver and took out the side view mirror. He gave a growl when he saw he missed his target. The cop fired again and Harley made the van swerve to the left.
Harley glanced in the rearview mirror at Samantha and saw her wedding ring. "Oh, by the way, Sammy, congratulations on your wedding with Edward," she said.
Samantha was about to correct her about who the groom had been but caught the glare the Joker shot in her direction. "Right now isn't exactly the best time to be congratulating me," she told her.
A bullet shattered the window next to Samantha and pain flared up in her right arm. She let out a cry and grasped at her arm. Blood began to trickle out between her fingers and down her hand. The Joker looked at Samantha and his eyes flashed.
"Samantha?" Harley called after hearing Samantha cry out.
"Keep driving, Harl!" The Joker ordered. He fired at the squad cars three more times and succeeded in hitting the cop in the chest. He turned to Samantha and pried her clenched hand off of her wounded arm.
"What's going on back there?" Harley asked warily.
"Nothing! Keep driving!" The Joker briefly examined Samantha's arm and then scrambled over to the box of money. He opened the box lid and dug around for a few seconds. He withdrew his hand, holding a grenade.
Samantha's eyes grew large. "There were grenades in there the whole time?" she shouted.
"Well, what do you think made the box so heavy?"
"Money!"
The Joker chuckled and took out the pin with his teeth. He threw it at the cops and a fireball erupted; the cops immediately swerved their cars to avoid the fiery vehicle and the path was blocked by it. The Joker slapped his knee and burst out into hysterics. Samantha loudly sucked in air through her teeth in pain from her wound.
Harley glanced in the rearview mirror and her blue eyes widened. "You've been shot!" she cried. Samantha briefly met her gaze in the mirror and squeezed them shut as the fiery sensation of pain assaulted her once again. "We've got to get her to a hospital!" Harley began to turn the van onto a street at the right.
The Joker leaped forward. "No!" He grabbed the wheel and spun it back on course. The van's tires squealed shrilly at the sudden change in motion.
"I…I don't understand," Harley stuttered, taking control of the wheel again but not changing direction.
"Think Harley! We can't go there! We have to take her to some place and tough it out there."
"She could bleed to death!"
"She's a nurse! She knows what to do; she'll tell us!"
Harley's bright blue eyes wavered for a moment. "Okay," she finally said.
The Joker climbed back over to Samantha and looked at her arm. He pulled out a purple bandanna from his coat pocket and moved to tie it around the wound, but paused to examine it more closely. "The bullet's still in," he said.
"Oh great," Samantha said through clenched teeth.
The Joker tied the bandanna around her wound and stared at her pained expression. "Where do I go?" Harley asked. "Hm?" the Joker mumbled as if shaking himself from a thought; he looked up at Harley.
"Our hide out; didn't you find one?"
"Uh…yeah," he lied.
"Where is it?"
"The…uh… the...carnival grounds."
"I don't know where that is."
The Joker sighed in irritation and put his hand on Samantha's shoulder for balance as he climbed over to the passenger seat, letting his hand linger on her for a second or two longer than necessary. She watched the two of them as the Joker told Harley which streets to take. She saw the way Harley would look at him adoringly, like he could do no wrong, and the infatuated lilt in her voice when she spoke to him. It would be completely hopeless for Samantha to try talking some sense into her. She probably wouldn't believe Samantha if she told her that she was married to the Joker; even if she showed her the ring. Harley was devoted heart and soul to the Joker. But Samantha had to at least try….
She winced as the van jolted and made her arm bang against the wall. "Harley, what are you doing with this guy? What happened to Harleen Quinzel?" She saw the Joker give a quick smirk out of the corner of her eye.
Harley beamed. "That was before I found out about his past; his reasons for why he is what he is. The world just doesn't understand him like I do, ain't that right, Puddin'?" Harley fondly tussled the Joker's messy green hair.
He gritted his teeth but kept smiling. "Right…Honey."
Samantha shook her head in disbelief. "How twisted has he made you; what lies did he feed you to turn you into this, Harley?"
The Joker barked out a laugh. "Oh Samantha, you just don't know how much Harley has helped me."
"Yeah, right out of Arkham. By the way, Harley, was he still with you the next day?"
"He left to go find us a hide out," Harley answered.
"Harley, he was-!"
The Joker quickly fixed his eyes on Samantha. She closed her mouth. He settled back into his seat, a smug look on his face. Samantha began to think of ways that she could convince Harley that her 'loving Puddin' wasn't all that he seemed to be. Maybe if she saw with her own eyes…? Samantha silently groaned with the realization of what she might have to do.
Seduce the Joker? That will never work! No, but maybe if she gave him the idea that she was giving in a little… if she played her cards right, maybe she could get him to slip up in front of Harley and then her eyes would be opened.
She couldn't help but wonder what Edward would think of her plan…. The very thought of him brought a new feeling of hurt to the pit of her stomach.
…
Edward Nigma burst into his apartment and began to throw things into various bags and boxes. Since Batman knew it was him as The Riddler, he knew that it wouldn't be too long before the dark knight came here. "How could I make it so obvious?" I pretty much said the exact same words on the announcement that I said to him in church! How could I be so stupid?"
As he packed some essentials, Little Riddle softly slide through his bedroom door and leapt onto the bed. He looked up at him with light green eyes and meowed. Nigma waved him away. "Not now, Riddle! I'm in a hurry!" The cat skulked away. "What am I going to do with that cat anyway?" The Riddler brought the bag out to the living room and darted back and forth, in and out of rooms, grabbing items that were important. The cat jumped onto the table next to the bag and continued to stare at him. "I can't take you with me," the Riddler told him.
He picked up his stuff and began to take trips of loading them in the car. When he came back for the last box, Little Riddle was still staring at him. He gave a pathetic meow and lowered his head. "No! And that's finale!"
…..
The Riddler drove his vehicle in silence as little Riddle sat in the passenger seat, purring loudly. He crawled into Nigma's lap and rubbed his head against Edward's chest. "Yeah, yeah, yeah; don't rub it in," he muttered. Little Riddle went back to his seat, curled up into a furry ball and went to sleep.
(Send me some reviews my way! If my intro seems really short, it's because i'm about to leave to go perform in a musical, but i couldn't leave without updating for my wonderful readers! Please leave some reviews!)