A/N Just a quick update, sorry it's not that long but I'm working on it! Thank you to everyone who has reviewed, particularly Buffy sparrow, angelika04, haylybaby, neon coloured socks and ryuzaki25. It really means a lot that you would take the time to review. Hope your still enjoying! xx
Puppet on a String
"Wake up, wake up little ballerina," a voice crept into her dreams. Amelia groaned and opened her eyes, only to wish she hadn't.
Every part of her body was in agony, her neck, her hips, her back, even her head felt sore. Then she realised it was probably because she'd spent the last six hours being bumped along in the back of a van on a mattress that had metal springs digging into her body.
She twisted her head, the shock of Jack being so close to her making her give a little yelp of surprise.
He stretched next to her and she blushed, wondering at what part of the journey he'd climbed into the back.
He leaned closer and gave her a quick kiss on the mouth and she scowled at him.
"Where are we?" she said, immediately awake. She tried to sit up but pain exploded in her ribs from where she'd been so violently kicked the night before.
She saw his face change slightly when she winced and was surprised when he grabbed her under the arms and dragged her into a sitting position.
"Sleep well?" he laughed moving away from her, sitting cross legged on the other end of the mattress.
She rubbed her head. "Like a dream," she said sarcastically, "Where are we Jack?"
"Only the best hotel money can buy," he said slipping his large coat back on over his shoulders, "Or actually their parking lot. You want a shower?"
Amelia raised an eyebrow at him, stretching out the kinks in her lower back.
"Can I have one?" she asked. That did sound like a good idea. She was sweaty and uncomfortable in her sweater and jeans.
He grabbed the lever for the sliding door and it groaned loudly as it pulled open, sunlight streaming into the small dark space, making her blink.
Amelia peered outside and realised that they actually were in a parking lot. And to her horror, they appeared to be in Basin City.
It was a place that she had never visited before nor ever wanted to, but that didn't stop the stories about it that reached Gotham. It was a dead town, a twisted, miserable place that was run by the mob. Nothing lasted in this city, whilst Gotham had its seedy underbelly; Basin City had no redeeming qualities. It was dark, dank and miserable.
She climbed out of the van and looked up at the motel the Joker had parked outside and was almost grateful that she had been in the van with him. The place was a concrete block, stretching up to the sky, its walls littered in graffiti.
She rubbed her arms. "I take it in there is where the shower is?" she swallowed.
The Joker jumped out beside her and flicked his knife out of his pocket, its blade glinting in the sunlight.
He pulled a bag out of the back of the van and threw it over his shoulder.
"Come on," he nodded to her and she followed.
He led her round the back of the building, where there was a door, partially kicked down. He finished off the job and she bit her lip, the memory of being so violently kicked by one of his men, flooding back to her.
They went into the stair well and she wrinkled her nose at the smell of stale alcohol and urine.
They seemed to go up the stairs forever until finally, out of breath they stopped on the fifth floor.
The Joker stopped at a door, grey and peeling with paint. He took out a key and jammed it roughly in the lock and she was surprised when it opened for him.
"You made me sleep in the van and you had a key to this place the whole time?" she accused and he laughed at that.
"Honey, trust me," he mocked her, "You were better off in the van!"
When they stepped over the threshold Amelia instantly got it. The smell of the room was vile, like rotting food and excrement mixed together. She gagged.
"You'll get used to it," he said when he saw her face, "The shower is through there,"
"You've got to be kidding right?" she cried, covering her mouth with her hand, afraid of retching, "This is disgusting, I'm not washing my hands in here let alone showering!"
He looked annoyed and unzipped the bag, emptying its contents on the bed. To her amazement she saw clean clothes, shower gels and perfume. There was also a bag of makeup and she wondered distantly if it had belonged to Harley.
"It's not the Hilton, I know," he waved his hand around the dank, carcass of a motel room, "But I'm not asking again. Shower and make yourself pretty, we have a place to be in an hour," he rummaged in the bag and pulled out what looked like a black dress, "You can wear this!"
Staring at him angrily she snatched the dress away and gathered up the items in the bed. Amelia groaned as she poked her head around the bathroom door. It was so far removed from Bruce's penthouse it was untrue.
She leaned in to the tub and began to run the shower, waiting for it to heat up. She saw her reflection in the stained mirror and she looked a complete wreck. Her hair was matted, her eyes black with mascara runs. The room began to steam up nicely and she slipped off her jeans. She lifted off her sweater and then gingerly undid the buttons of her shirt.
Amelia cast a tentative glance down at her ribs and a cry escaped her lips. They were black. She touched the swelling with trembling fingers and winced, biting her lip.
Suddenly the horror of the whole situation hit her like a brick wall and she began to cry, hot tears stinging her face.
"What are you crying about now?" came an angry, tired voice behind her and she gasped, whirling about, not expecting to see him standing there.
Pain exploded in her side again and she doubled over, covering her mouth, the fact that she was in her underwear not an issue at this point.
She wiped her eyes. "Its hurts so much," she said through gritted teeth, "I don't think I can get in,"
Jack's face was like a stone cast, showing no pity or remorse even if he could feel it.
"Put your foot on the side of the tub," he snarled, obviously uncomfortable with her pain, "I'll lift you in,"
"No," she shook her head, "It's too painful, please I just want to go home,"
She covered her face with her hands and suddenly she was crying, desperate, frustrated tears. She felt him move closer and her forehead was resting against his chest. His gloved hand moved up her back and through her hair, in a way oddly comforting.
"Well ballerina, you can't go home," he said in a low, ordinary voice, "So you'll just have to get used to it,"
He hauled her roughly into the tub and her feet skidded along the wet surface. She squeezed her eyes shut as the spray hit her face, the hot water stinging her skin.
"Its too hot!" she cried, trying to move away, the water scolding her. He jumped in the tub and leaned across her, fiddling with the dials, until the water cooled slightly.
"Better?" he laughed, throwing back his head, opening his mouth and swallowing the water, getting soaked in the process. The water quickly seeped through his shirt, darkening the fabric.
Weakly she nodded, trying to ignore the bizarre feelings she was experiencing, suddenly aware that she was standing in front of him in soaked underwear.
"Ok, get out of here…I'll be alright," she muttered, trying to cover herself with the shower curtain but he stood there, arms folded, not moving and eyeing her up and down.
"Don't I get to stay and watch you soap yourself up?" he giggled and she shoved him away.
"Go away!" she yelled and he laughed, jumping out of the tub.
Ten minutes later, feeling marginally better Amelia was rifling through Harley's makeup bag and trying to do something with her swollen, sore face.
She brushed through her wet hair and towelled it dry and then turned to the clothes the Joker had brought for her.
She raised an eyebrow and sighed. In the bag was a pair of lacy black pants and a matching bra. The dress was silk and the purest black. It was shorter, much shorter than she would have ever chosen but it fit well, hugging her small frame tightly.
When she stepped out of the bathroom, he was sitting cross legged on the bed, the TV on low. He whistled his appreciation.
"Nice," he said through his teeth, "I know how to pick women's fashion!"
Amelia folded her arms. "Its too short," she muttered, "I'll be freezing,"
"Yes, but I can see your legs, which is the whole point!" he laughed bouncing off the bed towards her, "If we didn't have somewhere to be I'd be happy to show you how much I…"
She pushed him away when he got to close and he pulled a face at her.
"Relax ballerina," he laughed, running a hand down her bare arm, "You just bring out the animal in me is all!"
Amelia blushed crimson. "Well stick it in a cage! Where are we going anyway?"
He clapped his hands together.
"Tell me Ballerina…do you remember the card game I taught you all those years ago?"
She shrugged. "Poker? Yes, kind of,"
"Well there is a big game going on over the other side of town. A big, juicy game and I need to be there and I need to win!"
Amelia rolled her eyes. "You brought me out here for a poker game?"
He stepped closer to her again and reached for her face. He grabbed the back of her neck and forced her face closer to his.
"Ballerina…I hate sarcasm, it's the lowest form of wit. Please wipe that bored look off your face before I do it for you. We are going to have fun today…you need a little fun in your life,"
Amelia pulled away roughly, his hand catching in her hair.
"Fine, whatever," she admitted defeat, "Just tell me what to do,"
Half an hour later she was sitting in the front of the van. He had told her nothing of what she was to expect, only that she had to shut up and look pretty. Basin City appeared to be in a permanent state of night. It could only have been mid morning, yet the sky was black and leaden, giving the place an eerie night time feel. She expected that was because the place was engulfed by the fumes from the power station that loomed on the horizon, like a permanent enemy watching over the city.
He took the van along a strip of road that was littered with ramshackle looking casinos.
They stopped and Amelia looked outside.
"We're here honey," he sang kicking the van door open. Amelia tumbled out and straightened her dress.
He threw his arms around her shoulder, dragging her around the back of the casino. She could hear the sound of the slot machines from inside the front entrance but he was taking her down a narrow alley way, littered with dumpsters.
Roughly he pushed her up against the wall of the alley and crashed his mouth on hers. She groaned against his mouth, the kiss as always too hard and bruising. She struggled but he forced his tongue in her mouth and weakly she conceded, feeling that familiar heat exploding inside her.
He pulled away and nipped her bottom lip with his teeth.
"I've been wanting to do that all day," he breathed, then changed the subject quickly making her head spin, "Now wipe that frightened look off your face. You're my girl tonight and you have to watch my back,"
Amelia couldn't help but look frightened.
"Watch your back? But Jack…"
He pinched her cheek hard, his body still pinning her to the wall.
"And don't call me that either!" he snapped, "There are men in there who wont want to loose to a guy like me. They won't take kindly when we leave with all their hard stolen cash; you have to keep an eye out, watch my back,"
She shook her head. "I don't want to do this. I've heard things about this place…what makes you so sure they won't kill you?"
He giggled. "Nothing makes me sure.. that's the fun of the game. But this was my town long before they got here and I know these guys and how they think. If you can call it thinking!"
He was pressing something into her hand and when she looked down she saw a small black hand gun.
"That's for you…don't be afraid to use it. Just not on me, Ok?" he said, stroking her face with his gloved fingers.
He really did look frightening she realised. His painted, grinning face glowed in the darkness of the alley. It amazed her at how quickly she could forget how he looked.
"How do you know you're going to win?" she spluttered nervously, desperate not to go inside.
He smiled at her like she was a silly child. "I told you didn't I? I can do magic,"
