(It's here, the next chapter! First of all, thank you for the reviews and the votes. I just want to say that the poll will still be open until the ending of the story and you can still vote. I'm also encouraging anyone of my readers if they want to draw or come up with anything for my stories. And also, I want to wish To Be Half Of A Whole a happy birthday. Now for this chapter I had FunHouse by P!nk (the radio version) in mind when I was writing; I can't help but think of Samantha and the Joker when I hear this song. And also either Pretty Girl by Sugarcult or FaceDown by The Red Jumpsuit Apparatus for Harley Quinn. I also want to know if any of you appreciate my music suggestions or if I should just stop?)
Chapter Twelve
When Samantha awoke that morning, she was greeted by the sound of a woman singing for all she was worth in the next room. By Samantha's guess, it was Harley's voice.
"I hope ya don't mind, I hope ya don't mind that I-!"
"I mind!" the Joker's voice shouted in annoyance.
The singing instantly ceased. "Sorry, Puddin'."
Samantha stiffly got off the sofa she'd slept on and walked to the door. She tried to turn the knob but it was still locked. She rapped her knuckles against the door and the voices from the other side of it stopped. One set of footsteps made its way to her. The door was unlocked and swung open. "Good morning Samantha, please join us," the Joker said overly pleasant as he stood next to the door with his arm extended out.
Harley waved at her from where she sat on top of a dusty display counter. "How's your arm?" she asked.
Samantha glared and marched over to Harley. "What's up with locking me in?" she snapped, making Harley flinch.
The Joker slowly turned his head to look at Harley. "You locked her in?" he asked with an edge to his voice.
Harley giggled nervously. "Well sure; I thought that you'd do the same thing." He gave her a stare that told her he wouldn't have. "Heh, heh, heh," Harley laughed uneasily. She then began to try explaining herself to Samantha, but it wasn't working out very well; her sentences kept getting jumbled together.
The tension had increased dramatically since Samantha had woken up. The Joker eyed Samantha impatiently as Harley kept talking; he didn't understand what he was impatient for, he just felt really anxious. He wanted Harley gone, that much he did know. Harley was a problem; the girl could practically cut off his blood circulation by clinging to his arm. He didn't need her anymore now that he was out of Arkham, but even when he had ditched her, the woman had miraculously found him!
The Joker quickly flicked his tongue over his scars and caught Samantha's eye. As soon as he was sure he had her attention, he smirked and winked. She looked away and tried to focus on Harley but kept glancing back at him to find his eyes still trained on her. It unnerved Samantha to her very core when he stared at her like he was at that moment. So much so that she couldn't even make herself frown at him.
The Joker moved from where he stood and came up behind Harley. He grabbed her roughly by the back of the neck and slammed her down onto the counter; Samantha jumped and a gasp escaped from her throat at the sudden movement. The glass cracked from the impact but didn't completely shatter. Harley yelped and looked up at him as he hovered over her. From her point of view he looked like he was upside down, which would have been funny, but now was not the time to laugh.
"I suggest you stop taaalking-ah and. Shut. Your. Mouth. Ya got that? Next time, next time… don't assume you know what I'd dooo."
Samantha nervously wrapped her arms around her middle and tried to force some words to make their way out of her mouth. "Jo, Joker stop it."
The Joker snapped his head up to look at her and raised an eyebrow. "Why should I do that?" he asked testily.
Samantha couldn't think of an answer; she was still recovering from all the blood she had lost the night before. She felt unsteady on her feet and reached out with one hand to grasp the edge of the counter. The Joker touched the corner of his mouth with his tongue and seemed to be thinking. He glared down at Harley and gave her a sharp squeeze around the neck before releasing her. He traveled around the counter to Samantha and grabbed ahold of her unharmed shoulder. Samantha flinched and jerked away but he grabbed for it again, this time holding on with a death grip, and began to lead her back to the room with the sofa.
Harley carefully lifted herself off the cracked display counter and lightly touched the back of her head in response to the sharp pain she felt there. She drew away her hand to discover a little bit of blood on her fingertips. That was the second time she had done something stupid and the Joker had to punish her for it. That's all it was; punishment that she deserved. Harley hopped down from the counter and tip-toed over to the room the Joker and Samantha had disappeared into and stuck her head through the door's opening. The Joker had just helped Samantha back to the sofa and was looking at his pocket watch.
He glanced at the time and made a smacking sound with his mouth. "Well, I hate to run, but I have an appointment to keep," he said and turned to go. He caught Harley peeking in at them and that fierce look from earlier appeared on his face. Harley quickly withdrew herself and jumped back a few feet from the door as he strode out of the room.
"Where ya headin', Puddin'?" she asked in a squeak.
The Joker paused and grabbed her chin with his thumb and index finger. "Nothing that concerns you; 'kay sweetheart?" Harley practically melted from the touch; all abuse had completely left her memory. She gave a squeal of happiness and leaned forward towards him, her weight being supported by his hand. The Joker let go and she nearly fell face first onto the floor. He walked out of the building without a glance in her direction.
Harley skipped into the room Samantha occupied and sat herself on the sofa's arm at the woman's feet. She sighed as she brought up her right leg to rest on the sofa and interlocked her hands around it to keep her foot from slipping off. "What a guy, huh Sammy?" she cooed.
"Yeah, he's a keeper," Samantha replied with deep sarcasm.
….
Tommy pulled his car over behind the carousel and climbed out. He shivered as he glanced around the empty carnival. It was spooky here.
He spotted the large funhouse at the far side to his left and jogged over to it. There was a note taped to one of the candy red and royal blue striped poles at the entrance. It fluttered in the light breeze that wafted across the grounds. Tommy tore it off the pole and read the messily written message aloud. "Right this way…" He peeked inside the entrance and saw nothing but darkness. He swallowed nervously and took a step inside.
He'd gone no more than four feet when the funhouse suddenly came to life. Music played, gears turned, and a blast of cold wind slapped Tommy across the face. He yelped and jumped back, landing on a spinning floor disc which threw him off balance. He fell to the floor with a thud, hitting his chin hard. Tommy carefully picked himself up, rubbing his aching chin.
He walked forward and the floor once again moved from underneath him but in opposite directions. "Nyeah!" he yelled. He thrust his arms out to steady himself and grabbed hold of a post that was within reach. The room began to spin and Tommy realized he had only put himself on another spinning disk. The disk began to spin faster and faster until Tommy could no longer hold onto the post. His fingers slipped and he was thrown across the room. "It's the funhouse from Hell," he screeched.
The funhouse then stopped playing music and things became still; only the lights remained on. Tommy cautiously stood and walked down a hall lined with panels that would have squirted water at him if it was running. He came upon a flight of stairs that no doubt would have been moving up and down if the funhouse had decided to keep on with its tricks. He found himself in a maze of mirrors that was dimly lit with lights of various colors.
"Boss?" Tommy called out meekly. A few seconds passed in silence. "Boss?" he called out even more quietly. Tommy nearly jumped out of his skin when the sound of whistling drifted in the air. Tommy didn't recognize the tune to be anything he knew. It was a kind of circus like melody; and it also sounded like it was coming from in front of him. The Joker strolled from behind a mirror, whistling like a man without a care.
"Hey Boss!" Tommy greeted.
"Hello Tommy."
A hand clamped down onto his shoulder and Tommy whirled around to see the Joker behind him. Tommy looked back and forth at the Joker that was in front of him and the one who had a hold of his arm. He realized the one in front of him was just the Joker's reflection being bounced off of the lights and mirrors. "Sooo, you came? Smart boy," he remarked.
"Was it necessary to turn on the funhouse, Boss?" Tommy asked with a slight whine.
"I meant to only turn on the lights."
"I find that hard to believe."
"I give you my word."
"And what's that to me?"
"I'm a man of my word."
"Are you really?"
The Joker froze at the question. He wet his lips and reached into his coat pocket for his switchblade. "Let me tell you a little story…about me being a man of my word…and how I got these scars."
Tommy saw the switchblade being brought into the open and he grew nervous. "Uh…that's not necessary-."
"Oh yes it is," the Joker cut him off. Tommy gulped and said nothing. "My parents were drunks and lowlifes. The ooonly reason they were even married was because my father had knocked up mommy while they were in high school. They had my sister, and ten years later, they had meee. They didn't want us though; no no no no. They didn't want us at aaaaall-ah.
"Sooo my sister is pretty much my mom and she works all the time to support parents who didn't even want us!" he chewed the inside of his cheek for a tick and continued, "Sooo, one night, when I waaaasss seven, my sister comes home from work to find our dear parents passed out from the liquor and me with a black eye and a bloody mouth. See, when mommy and my father got drunk…they liked to use whatever they could find-ah as a punching bag. My sister had had enough. Sooo, she takes me away and we stay at a hotel. She couldn't stop crying, her mascara was all over her face, making her look like she had two black eyes…but she was smiling.
"I could never figure that out; why she smiled even when bad things happened? I finally ask her and she says, 'when you smile nothing can hurt you.' She made me promise her that no matter what…I'll keep on smiling. I promise her that I will.
"When I turned seventeen, I got a phone call…my sister's body had been found in an alley…she was stabbed to death. I tried to smile. I really did try. But I couldn't smile! I took out my pocket knife…and I made myself smile. I kept my promise and I'm still smiling."
Tommy's jaw had dropped open and his eyes were wide. The Joker studied his expression. "Do you doubt me still?" he asked.
"Oh Boss, I, I, I'm sorry! I didn't know; I believe you! Your word is as good as gold to me!" Tommy sputtered.
The Joker smirked and motioned for Tommy to follow him. "Come on; we have a lot to do."
Tommy smiled and saluted. "Yes sir, Mister J!" The Joker froze and glared at him from over his shoulder. Tommy cringed. "Oops, okay, I got it; never call you that. No problem, Boss." The Joker sighed heavily and walked towards the maze of mirrors. "We're going in there?"
"Yeah; see me, walking into the maze? Now come on."
Tommy followed obediently. The Joker led him through the many twists and turns and deceptions of the maze until they came to an opening which turned out it was a slide. The Joker slid down landed right on his feet at the end. He was suddenly knocked off balance when Tommy flew out of the slide. The Joker growled and stood up quickly, turning to face Tommy who looked up at him from the ground. Tommy gave a weak smile. The Joker fixed his coat and began to brush the dirt off of his coat.
Tommy pushed himself up from the ground and hurriedly started to help him get the dust off the back of his coat. The Joker bore into him with a penetrating gaze and he immediately backed off. "Rule number one: Don't call Boss Mister J. Rule number two: Don't mess with the suit," Tommy thought. The Joker walked away and Tommy quickly caught up with him. "So Boss, got any plans?"
"Do I really look like a guy with a plan?"
Tommy was silent for a moment. "Uuuh.."
"Shut up."
"Yes sir!" Tommy saluted him even though his Boss's back was to him. The whole time they walked, Tommy thought about the Joker's scars. "Now that is dedication!" he thought to himself. "That is a man who lives by his word!" He was led to the building and walked through the doors to find Harley standing in front of him. Tommy literally jumped back as he yelped, "You again!"
Harley frowned. "You!" she hissed.
"Tommy? Tommy was your appointment?" Samantha asked the Joker.
"Mh-hm," Tommy replied with a smile. "It's nice to see you again, Miss Reads."
"Mrs. Nigma now," Harley corrected.
"Actually it's Mrs. Jo- Ouch!" Tommy was cut off when the Joker smacked the back of his head.
"Come on, you've got a job to do."
Tommy rubbed the back of his head as he walked behind the Joker to a separate room with a desk. "What do you need me to do, Boss?"
The Joker plopped into a swivel chair and put his feet on top of the desk. : Mr. Nigma, as you know, wasss Samantha's fiancé."
"Right."
"But since I, uh, replaced him, he's gooone…a little…," he raised his hand up close to the side of his face and twitched his fingers, "craaazy. Now he's going around and calling himself 'The Riddler'," he said in a mocking tone.
Tommy's mouth sagged open. "That was him?"
The Joker's face twitched in irritation. "Pay attention."
"Sorry sir."
"Nigma is now saying that he's my enemy…he's about to find out that most of my enemies don't last long."
Tommy grinned. "So what are you gonna do?"
The Joker licked his lips as a smirk pulled at them. "Uh you are going to go to your cousin, uuuh, Jervis? And get him to find everything he can about Edward Nigma; and I mean everything."
"Sure Boss, whatever you say."
The Joker grinned evilly and sighed. "Good. Now," he made a shooing motion with both his hands, "get going." Tommy saluted and hurried out of the room. The Joker tilted his head back, shut his eyes, and got comfortable for the moment.
Harley burst through the door and hopped onto the desk, sitting on the corner. "So, what was that about?" she asked.
"Did Tommy say anything to you?" the Joker asked, looking at her through partially closed eyelids.
"No; the rat ran out before I could get ahold of him and get answers."
The Joker let a smile spread across his face. Harley took a moment to look him over and he knew she was checking him out. She leaned forward and laid on her stomach, her legs crossed at the ankle, and her feet in the air. Her fingers interlocked with each other and rest her chin on them. "Ya know, Puddin'," she purred, "we haven't exactly had some time alone since I sprung ya from Arkham."
The Joker slowly lifted an eyelid open. "Uh-huh…"
Harley reached out and touched his leg. "Don't you think that should change?" she asked coyly.
The Joker opened both eyes and lifted his head up to look at her. She had a flirtatious smile playing on her lips. He removed his feet from the top of the desk as he leaned in towards Harley and gently took hold of her chin. He moved his face close to hers and could practically feel the excitement radiating off of her when he smiled charmingly. "Yes, I do think that should change," he said in a low voice that could be taken as seductive. The smile suddenly vanished and his voice rose in volume with each word. "We shouldn't be alone together because there's a prisoner that needs to be watched!" He shoved Harley's face away and pushed her off the desk.
She fell onto the floor and grunted. Quickly, leaping to her feet she shielded herself for fear of another beating. "Sorry, Puddin'!" He got out of his chair and swiftly passed her by on his way out the door. Harley went with him.
He was surprised to find Samantha laying on the couch; not trying to escape. The Joker raised an eyebrow as he strolled over to her. "No escaping?" he asked teasingly.
Samantha raised an eyebrow at him as well. "With this arm; are you crazy?"
"No," he answered coldly.
Harley popped up by his side. "I, I didn't mean to leave her alone. I just wasn't thinking, is all," she stammered.
"No, you weren't." The Joker's tongue darted out along his bottom lip as he flashed her a dark glare. Harley slumped; even her hat seemed to wilt along with her. She looked like a little girl who was told there would be no presents for her on her birthday.
Samantha met Harley's eyes briefly before Harley looked away. "I was being stupid again," Harley kept thinking. She bit her lower lip, smudging her black lipstick, and held back the tears that threatened to spill. The Joker sneaked a wink at Samantha before returning to the office and closed the door.
"He sure is being rough on you," Samantha said.
Harley smiled uneasily. "He's just stressed, that's all."
Samantha opened her mouth to say otherwise but remembered the last time they had argued. "Yeah; that's probably it," she finally said.
Inside the office, the Joker sat hunched over at the desk, sketching out some ideas that were coming to his mind; but then he'd get sidetracked thinking of the Riddler and would start making little question marks on the paper and furiously scratching them out. The sound of his pencil against paper began to sound like a rhythm. Scribble, scribble, scratch, scratch. Scribble, scribble, scratch, scratch. He took off his left glove to get a better grip on the pencil and paused to stare at his wedding ring. "What was I thinking?" he thought to himself. He fiddled with it for a moment and jumped when the door opened and Harley stuck her head inside.
"Puddin', I was thinkin' I could take Samantha outside and let her stretch her legs a bit?"
The Joker hurriedly covered his left hand with his right and continued to have his back turned to her. "Go ahead," he grunted. Harley ducked back out the door and he let out a sigh. The Joker looked at the ring once again and wet his scarred lips. A wicked grin spread across his face. "Eat your heart out, Nigma; I got her first."
….
Inside an office at Compititron, it was dark. The blinds to the windows were closed tight, sealing off any sunlight or glow from the main room outside the office. Above the soft hum of phones ringing and the employees' voices answering, there were a set of footsteps heading in the direction of the office. They stopped in front of the door and keys jiggled in the lock. The door opened, outlining the profile of a man as he quickly stepped inside and shut the door behind him. The man didn't even bother to turn on the lights before he slightly lifted the blinds with his fingers and nervously peaked out at the main room. He gave a sigh of relief and let the blinds slide back into place.
"Riddle me this if you can, my pitiful man; 'This engulfing thing is strange indeed. The greater it grows, the less you see.' What is it?"
The man whirled around to face the direction the voice came from. He could make out the figure of a man sitting in his leather chair behind his polished wooden desk. "N, Nigma?" he stuttered.
Nigma stretched out an arm and a lamp clicked on. It cast a dim glow over the top of the desk and revealed Edward's chest, arms, and mouth; everything else was invisible in the shadows. Nigma made a loud buzzing sound. "Eeeenk! Wrong. The answer is 'darkness', and as to the name Nigma…," he leaned into the light, displaying his black mask, "I don't go by that name anymore." His golden brown eyes gleamed. "Hello Boss," he said with a voice dripping in sarcasm.
Boss' eyes opened wide and Nigma could have sworn he saw the man's mustache bristle. "You're the Riddler? You son of a-!"
"Nah-uh-uh; please no foul language. Let's be gentlemen here," the Riddler said as he wagged a finger at him.
A vein seemed to pop out on Boss' forehead. "How did you get into my office?"
The Riddler smirked. "That's a riddle in itself."
"What do you want?"
"I've already told you."
"That's not gonna happen; get out of here."
The Riddler settled in the leather chair. "I think not. I'm quite comfortable here," he said. Boss clenched his teeth and rushed at him. Nigma's cane suddenly appeared in his hand and jabbed Boss in the chest. Boss was pushed back and he put a hand over the spot that had made contact with the cane. Edward stood from the desk but did not move from the spot. "Now listen to me carefully you vile, parasite infested, carcass." As he talked, Edward very inconspicuously pulled out a dart from his pocket. The point of the dart was covered by a cap, which he carefully removed without breaking eye contact. "Either you give me the money willingly, well, grudgingly; or I take the money my way and believe me…I'd take the first suggestion."
"I won't give you a penny!" Boss seethed.
The Riddler sighed in mock sadness. "How disappointing." He immediately flung the dart at Boss and the needle point penetrated his neck. Boss gave a silent cry of alarm and pulled out the dart. Edward walked over to him as Boss' vision became hazy and started to deceive him. He fell to his knees as three Riddlers knelt down to be eyelevel with him. "You should have gone with choice one," three voices said. Nigma chuckled darkly as Boss collapsed and passed out.
The Riddler swung his cane and let it rest on his shoulder blade as he rose to his feet. "You're finally going to get what you deserve, Boss." He gave another chuckle and got to work.
…
"My baby may not be sweet, he ain't got much to say,
But he loves me, loves me, loves me; I know that he loves me anyway,
And maybe he don't dress fine, but I don't really mind," Harley sang out as she skipped alongside of Samantha through the fairgrounds. Samantha stopped beside the tilt-a-whirl ride to rest and sat down. Harley did a little cartwheel and ended with a bow. Samantha attempted to smile, but found it hard to do. "Oh cheer up, Sammy; look at the bright side, we get to hang out together." Samantha couldn't help but let out a scoff. Harley shrugged. "So the circumstances aren't exactly what I'd like 'em to be, but hey, what is?" she asked cheerfully.
Samantha's eyes gazed out at a shape ahead of them. Her jaw dropped and she stood up. "Nooo, it can't be," she said to herself.
"What can't?" Samantha jogged away without answering. "Sammy!" Harley called as she followed. Samantha stopped in front of a large building of some sorts and Harley caught up behind her. "What is it?" she asked.
Samantha walked up to the golden lettering that was on the marble like stone wall and ran her fingers over it. "The Riddle of the Minotaur'; I can't believe it. His game was a success after all."
"Whose game?"
"Edward's game. This is based off of his maze game."
"A maze, huh?" Harley repeated. Samantha nodded and turned her head to glance back at Harley. She was staring at the entrance, lost in thought. A smile curled her lips as she looked over at Samantha. "I got an idea…and I think Mistah J will like it!"