UPDATED CHAPTER! UPDATED CHAPTER!

UPDATE 2013: This chapter has been edited after my long hiatus. After re-familiarizing myself with the plot, new ideas popped into the mind and decided to explore. The essence of the story is THE SAME, but scenes have been re-imaged and dialogue improved to make this a more cohesive story. Hope you like the changes.

Author's note. Hello friends...back with a new chapter in this intricate story. My apologies for the delay, but work, along with major rewriting of Path of the Jester and other little nuisances have kept me away from the keyboard for a while. Hope the wait was worth it...and for those of you waiting for Jester...there is going to be a chapter up soon. Please bear with me. In the meantime I leave you with my little piece of mind...hope you like it. Remember...I love reviews...good or bad...just want to hear from you all...

Disclaimer 1: Batman and related characters are property solely of DC COMICS (and God, they are finally doing justice to the Clown Prince of Crime...)

Disclaimer 2: This story deals with adult, mature subjects...so it will contain MATURE LANGUAGE and SITUATION as well as scenes of EXPLICIT SEXUAL CONTENT and NUDITY. Reader discretion is adviced.

Chapter 10: Partyman

The children were screaming at the top of their lungs, running around like crazy banshees and throwing frosting and jelly beans at each other. Between the video games they had played all day, and the sugar rush caused by all the candy, cake, and soda available at the party, the children were literally wild.

Punch and Lou along with two other henchmen, had quit making the kids calm down and had limited themselves to keep the room as clean as possible, picking up after the children. It had been a palling task with close to a dozen children out of control, but it was worth if it will keep the children away from Joker who sat sulkily in a corner of the room, all by himself, playing absentmindedly with his piece of cake, that he had not even tasted yet. That was extremely odd, since the Jester literally loved birthday cake, especially if it was marble cake with cream frosting…

Lou couldn't recall a time when he had seen Joker so sad like this. Actually, he couldn't recall a moment when the Joker had looked so depressed and so…lonely. It was just not Joker…The Clown had always had a bubbly personality and "show off" was his nickname along with prankster and clown, running in the same lines with psychopath, mass murderer and many others. He loved to be the heart of the party but by sitting in a corner all by himself, he seemed to want to disappear from the face of the earth and the large smile carved on his lips, was now small and thin, like wanting to become invisible as well.

"You OK, Boss?" Lou asked aloud as he picked up some paper plates from the table nearby Joker.

"Yeah! I'm fine…can't you see how happy I am?" Joker said concentrated on trying to make a mountain of white fluffy frosting over his slice of cake; his mouth pulled down in a sad grin, making his ever present smile disappear almost completely.

"Yes, I actually can…" Lou said with a smile in his face. Joker slowly lifted his gaze to stare at the thug's almond shaped black eyes, glinting back at him with innocent joy. Since when did Lou become a comedian? The Jester thought narrowing his eyes hatefully. "Not, really…what's eating you, Boss?"

The Clown soughed wearily and returned to his frosty construction. "Nothing you can fix."

Lou shrugged, turned and continued cleaning as if the conversation had never taken place. It was obvious that the Boss didn't want to talk now, so it was useless trying to force the issue; and knowing Joker…forcing the issue under these circumstances was asking for an early death. Joker hated when people minded his personal affairs.

After a few tries to add another layer of frosting to his already large glob, Joker put a napkin on top and crushed the mountain of frosting until he made it completely flat. Joker put the back of the fork in his mouth and licked off the remaining frosting slowly, and looked like he was in deep thought. Lou was still trying to keep busy with the trash the kids were leaving behind.

"Hmmm…Lou." Joker called softly, while pushing back some of the green curls off his forehead.

"Yes, Boss?" The thug promptly answered leaving what he was doing to give the Boss his undivided attention.

"Would you say that I have a personality you could fall in love with?"

Now that was a question that Lou was not expecting. He hesitated between answering the question or just looking plain stupid. These type of questions, were open to interpretation and if Joker didn't like the interpretation, that could mean PERMANENT early retirement for the unfortunately henchmen. Joker destroyed whatever he didn't like, killed whoever annoyed him…and nothing annoyed him more than people who didn't see things from his point of view.

Lou knew that the Joker was getting a little too close to the Batman but that was the Boss' choice, no matter how strange and kinky it may sound. And as long as it didn't affect him, why did Lou had to bother worrying, except that now the boss asked him directly a question, a little too personal. Where was Joker trying to get him into?

Joker arched his green eyebrows and waved his fork, urging Lou to answer his question. The Jester was one impatient clown. Lou swallowed hard.

"You're cool." The thug answered while cleaning the table in slow motion and not losing site of the Clown. Joker seemed to be on one of his moods…and it was better to be ready if he needed to take cover.

"Cool? That's all?" Joker answered sounding hurt.

"Well, what cha want me to say, Boss? Yer funny…powerful and a natural performer. People like natural performers, no?"

"Yeah, but I mean…would you fall in love with me?"

Lou swallowed hard again. What was Joker trying to insinuate with that comment…? Sometimes what seemed like a harmless comment could be the most dangerous thing in the world, especially with the Boss. Maybe he should just ignore it and not answer, but that might enrage the clown and then, he was good as dead. What other choice did he have that will not end with him dead and above that, what twisted ideas was the Joker getting in his head by asking him those weird questions?

"To tell you the truth, Boss…I prefer redheads." Lou finally said with a timid smile showing underneath his moustache stubs. Joker stared at him, with his lips pressed to a thin line and the edges of the mouth curled in one of his sinister smiles. Lou tried to swallow, but all of a sudden he felt his throat very dry.

"Funny, Lou…real funny." The Jester purred as he pulled his gun and aimed it at the thug. "But you forgot who makes the jokes around here."

Lou dropped the paper plates he was carrying around and fell on his knees.

"Please sir…don't kill me." The thug pleaded on the edge of tears. The noise in the room stopped and all of a sudden it became quiet as a cemetery. Punch, who was in the opposite corner of the room separating two kids that had started to fight, turned and saw Lou on the floor with arms extended in a silent plea, while Joker stood from his place at the table and walked over to him, with the barrel of his .38 aimed at the man's head. The rest of the kids had stopped what they were doing and looked at the clown about to kill the man on the floor.

"Why shouldn't I? You're making fun of me." The Jester said as he cocked his gun. "I hate it when people make fun of me. I'm the clown... not you."

"I was just trying to cheer you up, Boss. I swear.I wasn't making fun. Oh…God!"

"Boss, the children…" Punch started to say from his corner.

"Shut up or your next." Joker warned sternly. "Now say your prayers, Lou…"

Joker started to press on the trigger when a large blob of ice cream hit him flatly on his chest, splashing some onto his chin and nose. He looked down at the large glob of white splattered over his yellow shirt and slowly dropped his gun to the side. The Jester noted Punch was pulling one of the kids away by his arm.

"OK, Punch…" Joker finally said advancing angrily towards the thug in the corner. "I wanna know who's funny guy that did this to my shirt…?"

The large thug looked at Lou with pleading eyes and Lou just shrugged. The kid with him was starting to pull away from the large man who seemed to have frozen in place as the Jester approached him. Instinctively, Punch put the kid in between him and the Boss. Joker smiled wide.

"Very nice, Punch…it's good to know that with you, kid's safety is always first." The Clown Prince said getting special interest in the child. Joker smiled sinisterly. "Was it you, kid? Because it is very expensive to send these clothes to the drycleaners, and I happen to be very fond of my appearance. Somebody will have to pay the laundry bill."

"You were going to kill Lou and I like Lou."

"You like Lou? Awwwwww… Well, maybe you should join him in his little trip to paradise." Joker smiled. "I can arrange that. Wndow or isle…first class or coach…? Come on, kid!"

The kid spat back fighting the thug's grip. "For a Clown …you're not funny."

"Really?" Joker said cocking his head tenderly to the side as his smile just widened. This kid had no respect for authority. Didn't he know who was he talking to? The prediction was that he will become a felon before the age of sixteen…just like he himself did. Funny… this kid was starting to look so much like him…maybe he would like to play one of his little games too… "Then I'm gonna have to teach you a lesson in good comedy, and you'll see how funny I can be. Because I can be real funny… No, deadly funny."

"Heh…you know kids, Boss." Punch interjected timidly. Joker ignored Punch and raised the gun to the kid, who doubled the efforts to get off the way from the thug and the crazy Clown with the gun. He started tossing everything within reach at the Joker, and that just made the Clown even happier. Tantrums…just like his. This kid was going to go far…if he just were going somewhere at all….

The kid threw a copy of the Gazette from a nearby table at the Boss. Joker, grabbed the paper in midair and when he was about to toss it, noted the small picture of Vicky Vale on an editorial note. He quickly read the note and giggled childishly, whatever it said seemed to be very funny. Joker hadn't laughed in days that Punch or Lou could remember. The Jester finally pulled the trigger and a large banner with the word BANG in bright red letters popped from the barrel. Joker busted in laughter as the kid just looked at him in disbelief, and tears started to pour down his hazel eyes. Some of the kids giggled and that made the Joker's laugh even more hysterically and out of control. The Boss looked at the kid and on closer examination he noted that the kid's pants were wet at the crotch… and the Joker had to rest against a chair nearby to support himself as he laughed crazily. He really had a way with kids….

Joker still held the newspaper attentively in his hand, and read the note again while his laughter had started to subside. He then looked at Lou, who was still kneeling on the floor.

"You know boys…I think it's time I get some answers from the horse's mouth. Punch, set up my ride, Lou, get off the floor and gather the rest of the gang…I need to hit the news and soon, but first, I promised the kid I promised this kid I will finish this, and I'm a man of my word." Joker looked at the remnants of ice cream on his shirt as it had started to drip down, then looked sternly at the crying kid in front of him, who still had terror glinting in his eyes and had started to fight Punch's grip again. The Jester grabbed a handful of cake from a nearby table and tossed it to the kid still in Punch's hands. The cake splattered noisily on the kid's cheek.

"I think you'd love this ending," Joker said with a playful giggle. "FOOODFIIIGHT!"

All the kids roared at unison, other busted into a frenzied laughter as they ran to grab whatever was available from the neighboring tables. In a moment the room was filled of cake, chips, soda, and other types of food flying in every direction. Punch got hit in the face with some vanilla ice cream and the Joker was able to hit two kids squarely on the face with the birthday cake, before he got drenched in fruit punch and slipped falling on the floor. He started to laugh frantically. The kids reloaded and recommenced the attack concentrating on the fallen Clown and his staff, who had started to take cover under chairs. It was a lot of fun...and Joker felt in heaven….

oooooooooooooooooooooooo

Laughter. Batman could hear the shrilly laughter from the Clown Prince of Crime upstairs. In his half awake, half asleep stage, the Knight had heard voices, children laughing then a silence. And then the explosive laughter of the Jester. Usually when Joker laughed, someone was either about to die, or had already died in a very funny, but gruesome way. But this laughter was different. This was a childish, joyful laughter that seemed kind of contagious. What was so funny to make the Joker laugh like that? The thoughts of Joker hurting the kids for his own amusement, made the blood boil in his veins, and he let out a loud growl. He will save the kids from this…from this…WHAT WAS THIS PLACE?

The Knight looked around. This was different from his previous accommodations. For the past few weeks he had been chained to a wall, with hands and feet restrained with thick metal cuffs and heavy chains. The food, coming twice and rarely three times daily, would be stale and had to be eaten on the cold floor.

He was now not longer chained to the wall. He lay on the floor of a small homemade cage, with enough space to get up, stand up and walk a few paces, and the food was now set on a small carpeted area on the floor covered in plastic trays to keep it fresh and separated from the dirty environment. Beside him laid a small blanket and a small traveler's pillow.

He sat on the floor and looked around. These were unexpected accommodations. He noted some electrical cables attached to one corner of the cage. Batman extended a hand and barely touched one of the bars when he got shocked. With Joker there was always a twist…and for him it was the electrified cage.

Batman couldn't forget what the Clown had him go through a few nights before. After a beating that had almost killed him, the Joker had become soft, and tender. Joker had mellowed out, if the adjective could be applied to the mass murderer. He had spoken softly and romantically, and had produced in him anticipation and arousal. Arousal. Even the thought of letting himself fall prey of the Clown's sexual ministrations repulsed him, but it had felt so good… Batman closed his eyes and conceited defeat. He had let his body fall prey of the murderous clown with the touch of Eros. He had lost himself in the Joker's game without even a fight…what was wrong with him?

"STOP!" He told himself while putting the blanket around over his shoulders. "This is all caused by Joker's gas."

He tightened the blanket around him. This must have been Joker's idea. He must have brought the blanket here for him. Bruce picked the small pillow and smelled it…the same sweet perfume filled the velvety fabric of the pillow. Why Joker? Why are you doing this to me? The Knight thought not able to understand how could pain and tenderness could come from the same source, how pure evil could be capable of an act of such kindness…

Batman found himself thinking of the clown once more when his focus should be saving the kids lives while bringing Joker's gang down fast and quickly. That was the only reason he had decided to stay this long deciphering a weakness of his enemies to overpower them and free the kids, but instead he found himself drifting into Joker and how out of character he seemed the other night. Could it be there something more to Joker or was this just one more of his cleverly device plans to bring him down?

Whatever Joker's plan was, he had to make a move fast and find a way out of this predicament to take those children away before the Clown had a chance to hurt them. He had lied about it before, which means that murder was still in his mind. The children would not be safe around that monster.

Feeling the fabric of the blanket over his aching shoulders he realized it was made of a soft. synthetic fiber. An idea sparked in his head. It was time to work on a way out of this prison. He had only one chance to make this work, and Joker had not taken all from him as he thought.

Oooooooooooooooooooooooo

Pam was irrigating her little carnivorous snapdragon, the pride of her collection of mutated flowering plants when she heard the front door of her hideout being knocked so hard that she thought the door was going to come down anytime. It wasn't the police, for the police just not knock at your door, but come and force their entry without asking permission and with her reputation, there should be an army of police cars and lights outside, but instead, everything looked dark and calmed.

"I wonder who is the poor soul venturing this far and knocking so rudely in my home, Snappy," Ivy purred to her snapdragon as is bounced up and down joyfully in her pot. "But if they don't stop pounding on my door like that…I think they are going to become your dinner."

At the sound of her voice the other carnivorous plants started to move agitatedly in their respective pots, some of them screeching audibly as if they could understand what her mistress was taking about. The door kept pounding and Pam, leaving her watering can on the counter, headed to the entrance to take care of the irreverent visitors in her own personal way…

She hoped they were indeed cops…for then she could get even after the last violent interaction she had with the GCPD, the one where they just raided her previous hideout with their large guns and destroyed most of her unique garden of monstrosities. She would never forget that night, she could still feel the pain of her plants, getting burnt to a crisp by the police flamethrowers…and she swore that she would make the police department pay for that act of savagery. At least she had been able to save a small group of her little flowering babies before the monsters destroyed them too.

"I'm coming…I'm coming," She said running a hand over her bright scarlet curly mane as she thought there was no excuse for the rudeness. The pounding finally stopped and when Ivy reached the door, she took a look through the peephole to see who the intruder was. Ivy saw a head of blonde hair wrapped in to two bouncy pigtails to each side of the head. The visitor raised her head and she could see the two baby blue eyes, reddened and filled up with tears. "Harley…?"

"Can I come in, Red…? I didn't know where else to go…"

Poison Ivy opened the door and Harley rushed in with her face in her hands and sat on the old dusty sofa.

"You OK, darling?" Ivy said closing the door behind her as she came close and sat beside her. "I thought you were going to stay a while with that wild clown of yours…it's not safe to be together again…"

"I…I went back…and you should have seen him…" Harley sobbed and sniffled. "It was like he was a different person. He was destroying my clown collection and then he looked at me with those two puppy green eyes of his and the he told me he was in love…and…"

"He told you he was in love…? Ivy asked dumbfounded.

"Yes…then (sniff, sniff) I tell him he sometimes seems to not care for what I feel…and he asks me how he can fix that…"

"I don't believe he asked you that," Pam said clearing gently a few stray blonde hairs from Harley's face.

"He did. That is when I…I kissed him, Red…"

"You what?" Ivy said with fire lighting on her eyes and a grimace in her face.

"Yes Red," Harley continued. "In the lips…and before I know, he was asking me to make love to him."

Ivy's red lips parted in a gaping surprise look. "God…You and the Clown…?"

"Everything was going like in my wildest dreams. He was so tender, so romantic…then all of a sudden he starts hurting me. He pins me down on the desk so hard, kicks me and starts talking nonsense. Tells me he doesn't wanna lose me, that I'm all in his life and he causes me pain…then seems to have been talking to someone else, entirely."

"That looks kind of creepy…"

"You tell me…then I finally protest he looks at me and starts yelling at me because he didn't want to make love to me…"of all people" he says. Pammy…that hurt me deeply." Harley said starting to sob again. "But I thought….that's what he wanted…Ooooh….why does he have to be so mean and make me feel like shit?"

Poison Ivy ran a tender hand down her cheek to catch an elusive tear in Harley's face that had started its journey down from her blue eyes. The Joker never cared for anybody but himself, never had even given a hint that he was able to say anything romantic to anybody and the whole story seemed like a fairy tale invented by Harley herself to satisfy her fixation on the clown, but then…the final mood swing…that was definitely Joker style.

"Harley, dear…you're positive this happened to you?" Ivy asked softly. The least she wanted to do was to give the impression this could have been imagined…

"Red, I might be a little crazy, but I don't hallucinate…this WAS REAL!" Harley retorted in a very angry tone.

"Ok, Ok, darling…just checking." Pam said defensively, putting a hand around her shoulders and pulling Harley close to her. "It's just that Joker…well, I never thought he would…"

"Ask me to make love to him? Pam…he is a man…he has needs."

"Yes, but he is also completely out of his mind. Anyways…It looks to me that if he asked you to make love and, all of a sudden he tells you that he doesn't want to have anything to do with you, in that rude way…he was just using you."

"Using me? But he looked so sincere…"

"I know…and men are like that. They put their act very well…large puppy eyes saying that they are harmless, promise you the whole world and when you are not performing like expected or they're not satisfied…off you go with the trash…discarded like nothing."

"He never promised me the world, Red…he sounded more like pleading…I remembered him saying that he needed my help to feel something…"

Pam waved a disdainful hand in front of her. "Same show…different routine. I wouldn't lose my sleep over his performance. The Clown loves to perform, and he was performing for you because he wanted something from you and when he couldn't get it…he turned into this mean monster, which by the way…he's always been. Sorry it is me who busts your bubble."

"Are you saying I couldn't deliver what he wanted…?" Harley protested, with bright blue eyes filled with guilt.

"No, no darling…you can deliver a lot of love…" Ivy said absentmindedly licking her lips as she ran an errand finger around Harleys face and. "That is not the issue. The issue is that Joker wanted something in a certain way…you didn't do it his way…bye, bye Harley."

"Oh my God! I should have asked him how he wanted me to..."

Pamela rolled her eyes and grabbed Harley's face tenderly in her hands. "Harley…stop daydreaming and listen to me. You deserve more than what you have received so far…you…you are such a loving creature and you are capable of so much love. You deserve more that the Clown…much more. Joker lost his chance when he discarded you like a piece of shit…you need to find other ways of routing that love."

"But I love him, Red."

"And he doesn't love you…he told you himself, and more than once before…didn't he?"

"Y-yes…?" Harley admitted shyly.

"Then why stay beside a man that doesn't really care how you feel, when love can be so close." Ivy said coming closer to Harley's face. "So close."

"You think…? Maybe he was just confused…"

"And maybe, just maybe…he wanted you to feel like crap, because it amused him. You know Joker, he likes hurting people for his own twisted sense of humor. Men can't understand what's under our skin, Harl. Only another kindred soul, with the same needs, the same feelings, even the same fantasies can…" Ivy's eyes softened and her lips came very close to Harley's, while her hands caressed the other woman's checks tenderly. Her lips parted slightly…

"Red…what are you doing?"

"Showing you that men are not the only ones who can be in love, Harley…only difference is that men lie about their feelings…it's in their nature…while others…are just opened to be loved…and give love back. Women…well, we understand each other. Harley, you have been so lonely for so long…

"Hmmm…Pam…."

"Shhh, sweet Harley…listen to me and learn that there is a whole new world out there for you to take control of if only you're willing to take it…I…am offering you this world." Ivy said giving Harley a sweet kiss on her cheek. "A world in which you will be queen, and were all your dreams can come true…You want me to show you?"

"Pammy…I don't know…this is…unexpected."

"No, it's not…don't you want to be loved?"

"Yes…but Joker…"

"Is in the past…look ahead of you…look at the bright future ahead of you. A future where love will be your companion, and your strength…and where you will not be alone, ever…I promise…and unlike your Clown, I will deliver."

"Pam…"

Poison Ivy advanced and kissed Harley on her lips softly, savoring the salty texture on those pleading lips. After a long while that their lips were joined in that wet tender kiss, Ivy let go gently and stared at Harley's blue eyes, that just stared at her...intently, tears were visibly starting to accumulate in them. Beautiful blue eyes...

"That…what you wanted, sweetie…?"