The Joker ran back to the car with Aniyah right behind him.
" Step on it." The Joker ordered as they both climbed into the car.
" So, how was the wedding?" Theodore asked. ' Asshole.'
" Step on it or papa spank."
" W-What?" Pearl asked.
" Do I have to elaborate?" The Joker hissed.
Pearl drove off as he got himself situated, taking off his jacket to show his bullet wound under his bloody dress shirt.
" Woah, what happened?" Theodore asked.
" Why don't you ask Ani-yah?" The Joker Glanced at her and as quickly looked away. " Turn in here." He said, pointing to a nearby parking garage.
Aniyah felt a dull pain in her forearm. ' Oh right. He cut me.' She sighed, looking at her arm, flinching as she wiped the blood away. She looked at the cut and froze.' Fuck.'
It was a J. The Joker carved a J into her arm. Aniyah wiped away the rest of the blood on her dress before covering it with her hand, not wanting to look at it.
" Do you need any help with that?" Theodore asked The Joker as he bandaged his wound with a piece of his shirt. " I used to be a medic."
Aniyah and The joker stared at him as Dr. Arkham rolled his eyes. ' I'm starting to think you had every fucking job in Gotham.'
She tensed up, hearing police sirens. The Joker paused, then grabbed his pistol.
" Oh God." Pearl whimpered, trying to free herself from the handcuffs on her wrist.
" Oh what's wrong now, huh?" The Joker snapped, turning to face her.
" Just leave her alone, okay?" Dr. Arkham sat up some.
Theodore picked up a pair of hedge trimmers that was in the car, holding them to Dr. Arkham's neck. " Dun, dun, dun….." He trailed dramatically.
Aniyah inched closer to the door, away from Theodore.
" Maybe it would help if I cheered you up with a little bedtime story." The Joker said to Pearl.
Theodore put the trimmers down and climbed out of the car, moving to the side of the car to get a better angle while recording.
" You're-You're nothing but a big bully, you know that?" Pearl hissed.
" A big bully?" The Joker tilted his head as Pearl nodded.
" Yeah." She said.
" Let me tell you a story about bullies, to cheer you up! Like,oh, I dunno. How I got these scars." The Joker smirked as Aniyah glanced at him, slightly interested.
" So, when I was a kid, I used to love to go fishing at camp. But I could never get those little worms, on the hook." As The Joker talked, he pulled out his switchblade, flipping it open, causing Pearl to flinch.
" Oh God." Pearl backed up as much as she could, but The Joker just pulled her back, shaking his head.
" Oh that's not the sad part. So one day, these boys decide to show me how it's done. They take the fishing rods and they take me out to the end of the dock, and they stick hooks in my mouth. And then, they pushed me into the water."
Aniyah grabbed Pearl's hand, trying to comfort her as she yelped.
" And railed me back in. Just like a fish. You know what I did then? I burned their cabin down, while they slept. And they roasted-ah. And I never did, have any problems with those little worms again. Here let me show ya." The Joker pressed his switchblade into Pearl's mouth but before he could continue, a search light covered the car.
" This is the Gotham City Police Department."
Aniyah gasped and looked over at the policemen. She didn't know if she should be happy or nervous.
" We have you surrounded. Stand down and release the hostages."
The Joker put his switchblade away and pulled out an AK-47.
' Nervous. I should be nervous.' Aniyah gulped.
" I'm not an accomplice!" Dr. Arkham quickly climbed out of the car and ran off.
Aniyah watched him run off, but was scared to do the same. The Joker looked at her and smirked.
" Duck, Ani-yah." He ordered.
She looked at him then quickly complied as he shot his gun, killing one of the officers. ' Fuck. Fuck. Fuck.'
The Joker grabbed Aniyah, pulling her out of the car and wrapping his arm around her waist. She looked at Pearl and realized that The Joker knocked her out. Aniyah yelped and tried to break out of The Joker's hold as he shot and killed more officers. He glanced at Theodore, lowering the gun.
" Tell me ya got all that." He said.
Theodore nodded as Aniyah rolled her eyes. She screamed and grabbed onto The Joker's arm as the police began shooting at them.
" Don't worry, doll! They're not going to shoot you." He used Aniyah as a shield before ducking behind a car. He dropped the AK and pulled out his pistol before looking at Theodore, pulling out another pistol. " Gun privileges reinstated." He handed the gun to Theodore.
He took the gun and started to shoot at the police officers as The Joker pulled Aniyah to her feet and started to push her to the staircase on the other side of the parking garage.
" Watch your step." The Joker giggled as Aniyah stumbled down the steps. He grabbed her arm and forced her to stop as a police car pulled up at the bottom of the stairway. The Joker pulled Aniyah close to him as he and Theodore shot the police officer.
" Perfect." The Joker walked down the rest of the steps and to the police car, letting go of Aniyah and opening the back door, signalling her to get in. She complied, climbing into the cop car as he closed the door and got in the driver's seat, quickly pulling off. Aniyah sat back and closed her eyes. ' So much for that. The Joker wouldn't even let me out of his sight.'
" They think we're one of them now." Theodore chuckled.
Aniyah glanced at him then rolled her eyes, leaning her head against the window. She was tired, but sleep was the last thing on her mind right now. She was worried about Mrs. Arkham. She couldn't imagine how Dr. Arkham would feel if she died, where ever he was right now.
' Okay but what about you?' Aniyah froze, blinking. ' You saw what he did. He killed Michaela. Your best friend. And he supposedly 'likes' you. Do you honestly think that Mrs. Arkham will survive? Her story ends at midnight, so stop worrying about that.' She pinched the bridge of her nose and sighed. " Okay." She mumbled. ' Two choices are left. Die or survive. Running away is under the death category, you saw what happened last time. So is fighting back. Do what he says. Just because he like you doesn't mean he won't kill you. But surviving means you're his. Forever.'
" It's uh, it's a tough deed working in Gotham. And to be a cop you gotta worry about not just your typical riff-raff,you gotta worry about your freaks and lunatics running around. Oh, look! There's one now." The Joker said.
Aniyah opened one eye and saw Dr. Arkham running towards the car. "...Were you just acting like you were a cop?" She asked The Joker.
" Who says I'm not a cop?" He smirked, stopping the car as Aniyah glared at him. " Make room for the doctor, Ani-yah." He said, getting out of the car.
Aniyah moved over so that she was sitting behind Theodore. The Joker pushed Dr. Arkham into the car and closed the door.
" Yeah, you just gotta, run this town with a firm hand, ya know?" The Joker got in the car, looking at the camera before looking back at Dr. Arkham. " Welcome back, Doc." He said.
" I missed you so much." Dr. Arkham deadpanned, covering his face.
Aniyah leaned her head against the window and sighed. She slowly closed her eyes, falling asleep. ~~~~~~
Aniyah felt someone shake her leg and her eyes shot open.
" Wake up, doll. We're almost there." The Joker glanced at her before looking back at the road.
Aniyah couldn't stop the frustrated groan that left her lips. She didn't want to wake up just yet.
" Drive faster." Dr. Arkham ordered.
Aniyah looked out of the window at the familiar streets and houses.
" Come on, drive faster! It's three minutes to midnight!" Dr. Arkham hissed.
Aniyah bit her lip, but didn't look his way, keeping her eyes glued to the window.
" What are you doing?" Dr. Arkham asked as The Joker turned away from the direction of his house. " My house is on the left. Where are you going?" Dr. Arkham's voice got more desperate the more he talked.
Aniyah sat up as The Joker parked the car.
" Hey! My house is back there!" Dr. Arkham yelled as The Joker got out of the car. " You gotta be kidding me." Dr. Arkham got out of the car as well.
" Now, you promised, that if you did everything that I asked, I'd let you see your wife again." The Joker said as Aniyah and Theodore got out of the car.
" I did, damn it! What do you want?!" Dr. Arkham hissed.
" Do you care about your wife, more than you care about your precious hospital?" The Joker handcuffed Dr. Arkham to the car.
" Of course." He answered, glaring at The Joker. He smirked and pulled out a cellphone, dialing a number before holding the phone to Dr. Arkham's ear.
" Then sell it-ah." The Joker ordered, holding his pistol to Dr. Arkham's face.
Dr. Arkham grabbed the phone and sighed. " Just-Just take it. Whatever you want. I just want to see my wife again." He said. ' Who could he possibly be selling Arkham Asylum to?'
" Got all that? No, I got him to sign the papers. I'll have them delivered." The Joker glanced at Theodore. " I've got just the man." He said.
" I used to be a delivery man." Theodore gave The Joker a thumbs up as Aniyah shook her head.
" How many jobs did you get fired from?" She looked at him as he faced her with the camera
" Who said I was fired from all of them?" Theodore asked. Aniyah just stared at him, waiting for and answer. "...A lot." He said.
Aniyah rolled her eyes and looked away from him.
" See ya soon." The Joker hung up and put the cellphone away. " Well. Since you've done everything I've asked you," He put his arm around Dr. Arkham's shoulder. " Now we get to celebrate, by watching the fireworks."
Aniyah closed her eyes and turned away as fireworks went off, causing a big explosion and destroying Dr. Arkham's house.
" NO!" Dr. Arkham screamed in horror as The Joker laughed.
Dr. Arkham tried to attack The Joker, but The Joker was faster, knocking him out. He pulled out the cellphone again, dialing another number while sitting down on the ground, sighing. Aniyah opened her eyes slowly, looking at the fireworks before looking away again.
" Oh there's no emergency. I can make it an emergency." Aniyah looked at The Joker as he held his gun to Dr. Arkham then to Theodore.
" Go ahead. Remember to squeeze." Theodore said. ' Did he call 911?'
" My name's not important. I need a ride." The Joker said.
Aniyah heard mumbling through the phone,so she stepped closer so she could hear better.
" Do you need an ambulance?" The operator asked.
" Oh an ambulance would be great! Can I turn on the sirens?" The Joker asked.
" Sir, if this isn't an emergency then I'm going to have to ask you to-"
" Listen. I'm done here. It's been a long day-ah. I'm tired, and I wanna go home. Just get over here. Pick me up." He said.
" I'm going to need a name and an address." The operator said.
" Oh…you'll know where to find me." The Joker hung up the phone and stood up. " Now, Ted. I need you, to deliver these. I've included instructions." He handed Theodore an envelope.
" That's it? You're not gonna kill me?" Theodore asked.
" Maybe next time. One other thing. Someone filmed this while Ani-yah and I were at church. I need you to get this up online, because I'm sure lots of people wanna see it." The Joker gave the tape to Theodore.
" But, I live on the streets. I have no way of getting this to a computer." Theodore said.
" Well that's not gonna stop a capable guy like you, is it?" The Joker asked, taking the camera. " Take care Teddy."
With that, Theodore ran off. Aniyah leaned against the car as The Joker put the camera down and looked at her.
" Just me and you, doll." He walked towards her as she stared up at the fireworks.
" Yeah? So what's next?" She asked, flinching as he wrapped his arms around her, pulling her towards him.
" Well, I'm not going to kill you, if that's what's running through that pretty little head of yours. You're mine, remember?" The Joker swiped his thumb across the J on her forearm. " No, no. I'm letting you go."
" What?" Aniyah looked up at him with wide eyes.
The Joker chuckled. " I know. I don't want our date to end either. It was a lot of fun. But all fun things have to end eventually." He sighed, grabbing Aniyah face as the blaring sound of police sirens got louder.
" Don't worry too much, doll. There's be a second date, I promise. Then, uh, I won't let you out of my sight-ah." He cooed, making her heart drop.
The Joker kissed her, pulling her closer as the police surrounded them.
" GCPD! Freeze!" An officer yelled.
The Joker was pulled away from Aniyah and forced to the ground.
" Don't miss me too much." He winked while getting cuffed. ' This can't be real.'
" Aniyah!"
She turned around and her eyes widened. " Bruce!" She ran to him and hugged him tightly.
" Thank God you're alive." Bruce sighed, hugging her as she began to cry.
" You should take her home."
Bruce looked back at Commissioner Gordon.
" We'll call if we have any questions for her." He said.
Bruce nodded. " Thank you, Commissioner." He led Aniyah to his car. " How does tea sound, Blueberry?"
" I-It sounds great. And a hug from Alfred." Aniyah sniffed. " And lots of sleep." She mumbled.
" Don't worry. You're safe now. Let's get you home. We're going to the manor." Bruce helped Aniyah into the car.
She took off her heels and covered her face, letting out a shaky breath.
' It's over.' She thought, trying to convince herself. ' It's over.'