(Well, Dear Readers, here it is! A very long awaited update! I'm sorry that it's taken so long. I had a very bad case of writers block for this story but I have finally gotten a burst of inspiration for how to proceed. I hope to also be updating a t least one chapter in some of my other fanfics before the summer break is over.
I've been focusing on an original story I'm writing and I have been told that it holds great promise to be published. So that will be taking up a lot of my time and attention. But don't despair; I still have not given up on this story no matter how long it takes to finish it.
I want to thank those of you who responded so well to my Author's Note. I received so much encouragement from you, Dear Readers, and it helped lessen my guilt over the long period of time that I didn't update. Thank you so much.
And now, the Chapter Song Suggestion: "People are Strange" by The Doors.
Chapter Twelve
September 11th, 2010
Bruce did not make any attempts to slow his pace as he swiftly walked down the corridors of Arkham Asylum. Dr. Sinner said nothing as she tried to keep up with his ever increasing speed. She almost had to jog in order to remain at his side.
"We'll be transferring him to a solitary confinement unit soon as punishment for-."
"How soon?" Bruce ground out.
"Soon. Things are still hectic here since Dr. Arkham was commited and-."
"That's not good enough."
"We're doing all we can, Mr. Wayne-."
"And if you want me to continue to sponsor this poor excuse of an asylum then you'll get on top of this and deal with it."
Dr. Sinner pressed her lips thinly together. "Yes, sir."
"So with that in mind, when will he be transferred?"
"The soonest we can transfer him is tomorrow."
Bruce cast her a contemptuous glare but said nothing. He redoubled his walking pace and took silent, petty pleasure in listening to Dr. Sinner huff and puff as she tried to keep up in her heels.
…
When he and Sinner rounded a corner and Bruce caught sight of the Joker in his cell, Bruce stopped walking. Dr. Sinner back-tracked a step and looked at his stony face.
"Mr. Wayne?"
"I won't to talk to him alone."
"I can't let you do that, sir."
"Oh, but it was perfectly acceptable to let Samantha in a room alone with him?" Bruce asked acidly.
Sinner flinched and lowered her gaze in annoyance. "As you wish, Mr. Wayne. But I would suggest you not let this meeting be public knowledge."
Sinner walked ahead of him to the four guards who were stationed in front of the Joker's cell and had a quiet word with them. Bruce could just make out the Joker from behind the guards. The clown was sitting cross-legged on the floor with his back to the clear wall that left the Joker no privacy.
Dr. Sinner came back with the four guards in tow. "I have to leave at least one guard in view." She gestured to a burly man at the back of the group. "Patterson will be in sight but leave you with enough room to have a private discussion with the patient. The rest of us will be just around this corner. Will that suffice, Mr. Wayne?"
Bruce nodded and waited for Sinner and the three guards to walk away. Patterson inclined his head at Bruce and situated himself at a spot that Bruce calculated was about seventy feet away from the Joker's cell. Bruce forced himself to be the billionaire playboy and not Batman as he prepared to confront the Joker face to face. Without a mask. He was here for Samantha, not for Gotham, not as Batman. For Samantha.
His feet moved quickly, and as he came closer to the cell he could make out the Joker was wearing a straitjacket. Bruce came to a stop five feet from the clear wall of the cell. A slight twitch of the Joker's head informed him that the mad man was aware of his presence. But Bruce would not be the first to speak. He waited.
After a few seconds of silence, the Joker heaved a sigh and his head drooped forward like a limp puppet. "I was never good at the quiet game," he said in his strange elocution. It grated on Bruce's nerves. He couldn't figure out if the odd speech was real or if it was all an act.
When Bruce offered no comment, the Joker's long legs unfolded themselves and he expertly used them to turn around and face Bruce. "Well, well, weeell," the Joker crooned in amusement. "To what do I owe the honor of having Bruce Wayne visit my hum-ble little cell, hm?"
The Joker shifted onto his knees then stood up with almost perfect ease.
"You must find yourself in that outfit often to stand up so easily," Bruce said.
The Joker looked down at his legs then at his restrained arms and a grin worked its way onto his scarred lips. "It's-s-s a good look for me. The female doctors here just lu-u-uve seeing me in it. I think it makes me look dashing, you know?"
Bruce didn't respond.
The Joker sighed. "Hm. Nothing?"
Besides the time in the police station's interrogation room, Bruce never had the chance to see the Joker when he was being still. Most of the time the two were fighting, which didn't give Bruce the opportunity to study the Joker's facial features, but now Bruce found himself studying the clown's features.
The white paint was faded and smeared on the Joker's face. It looked as though he hadn't refreshed it in a few days but the makeup didn't hide the high cheek-bones or the fine nose or the diamond shaped jaw line. The black paint that surrounded his eyes and gave the impression of a skull's eye sockets had faded to dark grey. Without the dark color, the rich brown irises of the Joker's eyes could be seen. The usually bright red smear of lipstick on the Joker's mouth distracted the eyes and drew the attention to his scares and not to the Joker's actual mouth. Now it was dulled to a pink tint and Bruce could detect the lines of a nearly full set of lips.
It was almost like he was seeing the Joker for the first time. He could almost see what Samantha did every time she looked at him. Underneath all the make-up was a handsome man. Samantha was seeing little bits and pieces of Allan under the make-up.
Oh, Samantha. Don't let him deceive you like that. He's gone. The boy, Allan, is gone. This psychopath is all that there is now.
The Joker licked his lips and Bruce noticed there were traces of Samantha's lipstick around the area of the Joker's mouth.
"I'm here about Samantha Reads."
The Joker's smile lost it's joviality but remained fixed on his face. "I thought you might be," he said with a cool tone. He took a step closer to the barrier between them. "I've actually been meaning to speak to you about this – uh- this relationship-ah you've got going on with my wife." He leaned his left shoulder on the clear glass. "I gotta say I don't approve." The Joker's dark brown eyes squinted at Bruce. "Now I'm usually not the jealous type but- no, wait a minute." His gaze lifted to the ceiling in thought then went back to Bruce. "No, on second thought I am." He chuckled to himself a little.
"Samantha told me what really happened in that room, Joker."
The chuckling went quiet. The grin became an unfriendly, close-lipped smile. "Did she?"
"Why did you tell her to scream?"
The Joker's face contorted into a snarl. "Who do you think you are to come in here and ask me questions? Hm? You think just because you're considered a prince out there that that kind of status means anything to the 'residents' of this place, huh?" He chuckled cruelly. "You see, the cra-a-azy ones in here, don't give a crap about who you are. Same goes with me. I don't care that you own half of Gotham; I don't want you getting cozy. With. My. Wife."
Bruce's clenched fists trembled at his sides as he forced himself not to lash out like he would as Batman. "You completely misunderstand our relationship, Mr. Joker-."
The clown howled with laughter, bouncing around his cell and nearly tripping over his feet. "Mr. Joker! Ha ha ha ha hoo ho ha haaaa!" He stomped a foot at the floor and doubled over. "Oh, the rich and powerful! Takes them a while to get they're being laughed at!"
"Why did you tell Samantha to scream?" Bruce asked again, slipping some nervous anxiety into his voice. The Joker heard it, just like Bruce hoped he would, and the clown's laughter died down. He smiled at the wealthy man and approached the glass again.
"You re-e-eally want to know, don't you."
It wasn't a question, not the way he had said it, so Bruce didn't answer.
"Fine." The Joker jerked his head towards the open hall. "Look around, your Highness. Take a good lo-o-ong look."
Bruce allowed only his gaze to move about the Joker's room and side-glance the cells beside it.
"This place is like a, u-u-uh, home to me, you know? Every time Batsy brings me back, it's like coming home. But it's not like that for everybody, oh no. Some of the employees can't even stand to be here long 'cause it gets to them. Now, Samantha's got fire in her, but I don't want her here."
The Joker's deep brown eyes locked onto Bruce's gaze. "If those doctorz-z-z find out that Samantha was willingly letting me kiss her and that she was even kissing back." He wet his lips before he continued. "How fast do you think they'd put her in the empty cell next to Harley, hm?"
He looked around his cell and then turned so that both his shoulders leaned against the glass wall, giving Bruce his back. A small sigh escaped him. "This place messes with people's minds and the only one allowed to mess with Samantha's mind is me."
"Samantha's strong minded," Bruce defended.
The Joker snorted, angling his head slightly to glance at Bruce for a brief moment. He continued speaking when he was gazing at the far wall of his cell again. "Samantha's strong in the mental department all right. But this place would eventually wear her down. I don't want her worn down, Brucey. I want her sharp like she is now." He craned his neck around and lowered his voice as if to divulge a secret. "Makes it more exciting that way." He winked and made a clicking noise with his mouth.
Bruce felt disgusted.
"Are you telling me that you actually care about Samantha's well being?" Bruce asked skeptically.
The Joker once again turned his head away as if becoming bored with Bruce. "Well where's the fun if she's dead?"
Bruce debated asking but the question wouldn't leave him alone. He and Alfred had discussed it so many times but he had to hear an answer from the Joker himself.
"Do you love her?"
The Joker stiffened and went quiet.
"Do you love her?" Bruce repeated, a bit more forceful.
The Joker slowly twisted his head to glare at him from the corner of his dark eyes. Bruce actually felt a chill shoot through his spine at the intensity of his gaze.
"That's a bit of a personal question… don'cha think, Brucey?"
Bruce knew that was all he was going to get from the Joker. He and the clown stared each other down for a few tense seconds, and then Bruce turned and marched down the hall.
…
Evening
Samantha felt drained by the time she made it back to the apartment. Everything that had happened back at Arkham felt like a dream – no – a nightmare! How could she have let herself go that far! And something kept bugging her. Something else the Joker had said to her. She felt it was vitally important but she just couldn't get her weary brain to work!
Samantha wasn't paying any attention to her surroundings as she made her way through the living room. She wanted to go to the comfort of her bed and snuggle into the safety of the sheets, close her eyes and drift into blissful unawareness. Just for a few hours, just for a few calm hours, that's all she wanted. Because she was so focused on getting to bed, she didn't notice she wasn't the only one in the apartment.
"Oh!" Alice gasped, breathlessly. "Samantha!"
Samantha quickly looked to the couch and found Alice and her boyfriend, Billy, snuggled up together and judging by the bright shade of pink Alice's face had turned, they had been "busy".
"Most likely canoodling," Harley would have said. Samantha gave a bare hint of a smile at her memory of Harley.
"We weren't doing anything!" Alice squeaked as she jumped up from Billy's arms. Billy still looked like a deer caught in the headlights.
Samantha laughed tiredly. "It's okay, Alice. It's your apartment, may I remind you. I can go out for a little longer. I was just going to turn in early."
"Oh, well, if you're tired I don't want you going out," Alice said with genuine concern.
God bless her.
"I'll be honest with you; I'm dead on my feet. But I'll turn on my music in my room if-."
"We weren't-," Alice tried to insist again but Samantha held up a hand.
"Alice, you're a grown woman. I have no say in your life."
"But you share a room in her home," Billy muttered. Alice threw him a reprimanding frown and nudged his foot with her own.
Samantha liked Billy all right. He could be a bit overbearing at times but she never saw anything in him that made her think he was bad for Alice. He worried over her safety and who could blame him in a city like Gotham and given the fact that Alice had been kidnapped by the Joker once before.
Something he said….Something the Joker said….
How Billy felt about her on the other hand, Samantha wasn't sure. He was cordial to her and occasionally joked with her. But he never invited her along if there was a group going somewhere; he left that up to Alice.
Samantha winced at a slight twinge of pain in her head. She was too tired to hide it. Alice noticed and exchanged a look with Billy.
"Go on to bed, Samantha."
"'Kay. See you in the morning, Alice. Billy."
"Good night," they both called.
Samantha trudged to her room and collapsed onto the bed.
The Joker said something before Dr. Sinner came in, before he told me not to scream. What was it?
Samantha had been worried she and the Joker would be seen. The Joker hadn't acted worried.
He said something….
She planned to rest for a minute and then get up to change into pajamas, but she was sound asleep before a minute had even passed.
…
Do you love her?...
That. Prick!
Do you love her?...
The Joker sat in the center of his cell, glowering at nothing but staring straight ahead.
Do you love her?...
Why do you want to know, Brucey? Want to know if you can just swipe her away from me, hm?
Do you love her?...
Samantha belonged to him. She was his. No one else could have her. No one else would understand her.
The Joker heard the guards and Dr. Sinner talking after Bruce Wayne had left. They had been standing just a bit too close to his cell and he overheard their plans on when and where they were moving him to SCU.
Do you love her?...
When the guard had come to deliver the Joker his meal and undo the straitjacket, the Joker had a minute to write a quick note, whisper the name of the recipient to his paid off guard and act as though he'd been eating the whole time when the second guard, non-paid off, came over to join the first guard watch the Joker as he ate.
Do you love her?...
Now he waited, with his straitjacket back on, and a silver chained amethyst necklace threaded through his fingers within the confines of the jacket.
Do you love her?...
The paid-off guard came back under the pretense of yelling at him as if he'd seen the Joker acting up. He slapped his hand, open-palmed, onto the glass. "Stop squirming in there and stop giggling!" he shouted.
The Joker's lips curled into a grin at the sight of the guard's hand. A message in black erasable marker was scrawled along the guard's skin.
"The puzzle pieces are set and ready."
Do you love her?...
The Joker was ready to show Gotham that he wasn't put away that easily and he was ready to show that rich prick just how far he'd go for Samantha.
After all, people do cra-a-azy things when they're in love.
(I hope this was satisfactory for you, Dear Readers. I'm having to get back into the mindset of these characters and I hope I did them justice. Please let me know what you think of the story so far and the direction it's going. Until next time!)