Your Cell is Ready
Ch 18
Broadcast
Sera rolled over, sheets twisting around her and the sun beamed through the window. Her eyes cracked open and she sleepily rubbed one of her eyes. She was alone in bed. What happened last night? Was it a dream? She sat up and threw her legs over the side of the bed and saw her clothes on the floor. Strange, she couldn't remember getting undressed. She slid off the bed and retrieved her bath robe off the back of her bedroom door and put it on before leaving.
Gabe's door was wide open and she peeked inside. He was out of bed and probably watching cartoons. She quietly padded down the hall and finally reached the living room. She was right, Gabe was up and watching a movie, Avengers again. He had a bowl of dry fruit loops in his lap and he munched them between giggles. He lined up all of his toys, making them face the tv so they could all watch.
"Doth mother know you weareth her drapes?" came out of the tv and Sera couldn't help but laugh at Robert Downey Jr's comment to Thor.
"It's good to hear your laugh sweetheart..."
Sera spun around and saw the clown freak standing in her kitchen holding a mug. He was shirtless but had slipped on his pants. She'd hoped it was all a dream and her smile instantly became a frown. There was so much she wanted to say to him, but the presence of her son stayed her tongue.
Joker approached her, casually walking around her and then leaning in to whisper, "You look incredibly sexy in the morning with your hair all mussed up." He then wrapped one arm around her waist and placed a soft kiss on her neck, "I made coffee."
His touch made her very uncomfortable and she pulled away from him. In order to avoid a scene in front of Gabe, she would humor Joker and fetch a mug out of the cupboard. She poured herself a cup and sipped at it, no sugar or milk added.
"Ah, a straight black drinker," Joker commented as he finished his own cup.
"Only when I'm upset."
"Awe sweetheart, why so serious?" he moped and placed his empty mug in the sink, "Think of all the fun we could have!"
"Yours and my idea of 'fun' are completely different." Sera left Joker alone in the kitchen, intending to take a shower and clean up. She entered her large bathroom and sat down at her vanity, picking up a paddle brush and running it through her hair to remove the knots. Then she moved over to her sink to brush her teeth and put a deep conditioner into her hair before she hopped into the shower. Two shower heads turned on, one each on opposing walls. She waited for the water to heat up and removed her robe and panties in the meantime, tossing both into the nearby hamper. Once a sufficient temperature was reached, she climbed into the extra large stall and soaked her hair, rinsing away the conditioner. She rested her forehead against a wall, letting the water hit her and relaxing into the warm steam. Her eyes closed and she cleared her mind, not wanting Joker to invade her thoughts.
She spent a good amount of time like this until she decided to wash up, shave her legs, and rinse off. It was about time to get out, but she stopped in her tracks and huddled up against a wall when she heard the bathroom door open. Sera peered through the shower's frosted glass door and groaned upon seeing a blurred image of white skin and green hair. Then she nearly had a heart attack when a trickling sound rung in her ears and she wanted to step out of the shower and slap him.
"Couldn't you have used the half bath on the other side of the house?" she shouted.
Joker chuckled as he finished his business and flushed the toilet.
Sera heard the faucet running briefly and then it shut off. She assumed that he would leave the bathroom afterwards, but that wasn't the case when the glass slid open and in came the crime clown, fully undressed and looking lustful.
"No, no, no, you need to leave...now," she said nervously and moved as far away from him as possible.
Joker's arms were outstretched and he slowly moved towards her; water soaking his thick hair and making it cling to his shoulders.
Sera cowered as his hands connected with the wall on either side of her head.
"So sweetheart, what's on the agenda?"
"I have to get those tests back to the hospital," she replied, hoping that was all that he meant.
"Those can wait a little while," Joker replied and he let his hands fall down to her waist and he pulled her even closer so they were skin to skin.
She tried to push away from him but his strong arms held her tightly. Her hands were squashed against his chest, a result of being trapped between him and the wall. "I need to check on Gabriel."
"The kid's fine. He's still watching his movie but you looked a little lonesome in the shower. So my lovely, how about Mr. J keep his word and show you how much of a gentleman he can be?"
"No thanks."
Her protest wasn't heeded and Joker laid multiple kisses along her shoulder and moved in towards neck. A sopping strand of his hair glued itself to her skin and dragged along her chest. His tongue then slipped out of his mouth and he tasted her flesh, licking up droplets of tap water.
"Joker, stop."
"No, baby," he uttered and ran his hands up and down her back. He peeked over her shoulder and could just barely see the top of the koi fish tattoo lining her back. His thumb traced the fish's mouth and up along its shiny scaling until he reached her shoulder blade. "Still lovely. So you still love tattoos."
Sera sighed, "Yes."
"How does it feel to have a razor blade dragged along your skin?" he asked.
"A razor?"
"That's what a tattoo feels like, does it not?"
Sera nodded, "I guess so. It hurt like hell especially when the color was done, but I loved getting it. Can I get out now?"
Slightly annoyed with her lack of interest, Joker said, "Ask me one more time to stop or let you out and I'll find a real razor blade and drag that along your sadistic-loving ass...or maybe your son's." His hand grasped her around the throat and he pushed her against the wall again.
"You wouldn't dare," she said angrily, coiling her fingers around his hand and pulling on it.
"I would. Don't think I haven't raised a hand against a kid before. I'm not afraid to do that."
"You stay away from my son."
"That's going to be hard to do while I'm staying here. Keep in mind, the kid stays with me while you make the delivery today. Your behavior towards me will have dramatic impact on how well I treat your kid. You behave, I behave. Got it?"
Tears welled up in her eyes and trickled down her cheeks, mixing with the water. He had her at a stalemate, "Okay...I get it," she breathed and relief washed over her when he released her.
"Good. Now then, how long are your nails?"
"What? Um, well not too long I guess." She lifted her hands so he could view them.
"Long enough," he said before opening the shower door and fetching the plastic chair from her vanity. Water dripped off him and all over the floor, making Sera roll her eyes. There's another mess she would be stuck cleaning up. Joker brought the chair into the stall and he sat down, making sure to face backwards so he could rest his arms on the back. "How about a nice head massage sweetheart?"
"B-"
"No buts," he interrupted before she could complain. He picked up a bottle of shampoo from the caddy hanging from a hook on the wall and handed it to her. "That'll make it easier to do."
She grudgingly took the bottle and squirted a generous amount into her hand. Joker had a ton of hair and it was near mid-back length, much longer than hers. She somewhat envied his length because she used to keep it the same way, but cut it shoulder length to hide her hair under wigs a bit easier. She dropped the bottle on the floor and rubbed the shampoo in her hands, lathering it a bit and then started on his scalp. Her fingers would not run through the thick locks, "Oh my gosh, when is the last time you put a brush through this? No offense..." she quickly added, not wanting him to get angry.
Joker sat up slightly, "Hmm..." and scratched his chin in deep thought, "I've always used dry shampoo so I wouldn't have to do much with it. It coils on its own."
"Well, your hair isn't exactly dreading if that's the look you were going for. Looks more like a jester's hat full of snarls."
"What do you suggest sweetness?"
"It'll take me a while, but I work this out. Hang on," she said and attempted to pull open the stall door.
Joker grabbed her hand, "What're you doing?"
"I promise I'm not going to run. I have my son to worry about. I'm getting a wide toothed comb and a deep conditioner."
It would be a leap of faith for him, but he let her go outside the stall to retrieve her things. He heard her open the bathroom door and called out to her son, "Gabe, I'm gonna be in the bathroom for a while, will you be all right?"
Joker peeked out of the stall, seeing the very nude woman peering out into the hall, "Come back," Joker requested sternly.
Sera, satisfied with her son's reply of "Yeah I'm okay mommy", returned to the cabinet and pulled out her strongest conditioner. Then she grabbed her wooden wide tooth comb and re-entered the shower. She began by finishing the first wash on his scalp. She could get her fingers underneath some of the dreads but just barely. She rinsed out the shampoo and decided starting from the bottom up would be the best option. She went through nearly half a bottle of her favorite organic, no chemicals added treatment before getting his entire head covered with the stuff. Then she started combing through the longest dread, slowly working her way up. It took almost an hour to get through two of the dreads and the length of his hair was insane. It nearly touched his rear, but had ridiculous split ends. She continued working well into another hour and finally reached the top. When she finally got the final knot out she breathed a sigh of relief and dropped the comb.
"I'm gonna have to rewash it. I could barely get my fingers through the first time."
He head ached from the constant pulling but he toughed it out as she started lathering shampoo through his locks again. This time her hands were gentle, almost apologetic for nearly ripping his hair out the last two hours. It felt like she was actually massaging and that helped with the aching. He hummed his approval of this new method and leaned back into her breasts while she carefully ran her fingernails along his scalp. It felt so nice...nice enough to send pleasure signals down his spine. It couldn't be helped, this was making him horny and he felt that familiar rush in his groin. He closed his eyes and allowed his hand to slide down his belly and touch his now growing length.
"Keep that up sweetheart," he said as he encircled his erection and slowly stroked it, enticing it to fully awaken.
Sera could've sworn she heard him moan gently and wondered what he must have been thinking. She continued to massage as he requested and her hands moved down just above the nape of his neck to rake through the underside of his hair.
"Oh...that's really nice," Joker growled and he began moving his hand even more vigorously.
Now Sera could actually feel his movements, "What the hell are you doing?" she asked.
There was no response from Joker other than a very masculine purr. She peeked over his shoulder and flushed. He was jerking himself!
"Oh my god..." she uttered and stopped all movement of her hands.
"I didn't say to stop sweetheart," Joker turned to glare at her. His angry red eyes bore into hers and she was terrified momentarily before replacing her hands on his neck and continuing.
His hand picked up speed and he could tell it would be any second. When the erotic sensation swarmed through his loins, his mouth fell open and he grimaced as he shot his seed all over the chair and onto his stomach and hand. The remainder dribbled out of the tip and washed away with the water. Joker fell back against Sera, breathing heavily. He was content.
When she felt okay with his mood, she let up on the massaging and took down the shower head hose to rinse all traces of shampoo out before coating it one more time with conditioner and doing a final rinse. By the time they finished, their hands were all wrinkled from being wet for so long and Sera was feeling a bit waterlogged. She turned off the shower, griping that her water bill would be a nightmare this month. The two of them climbed out of the shower and Sera wrapped herself in a fluffy cream colored towel and put her hair in a turbie twist. Joker yanked a spare one from her cabinet and wrapped it around his waist and started squeezing excess water from his hair into the nearby bath tub. She exited the bathroom, happy to be out and away from the humid air and walked to her bedroom, Joker close behind.
She began drying herself in her walk-in closet and pulled out a pair of jeans and a nice blouse.
Joker saw his reflection in her mirror, "Never realized how long it was."
"A lot of it needs to be cut off. At least a good ten to twelve inches," she blurted out, "I have a pair of good scissors. Meet me out in the kitchen and we'll do it."
"Ooooh, we will?" he teased, putting on a look of hopefulness.
"You know what I meant..." she groaned and slid on a pair of panties. She kept her towel around her body as she put on her jeans but had to turn around for her bra. After sliding on a shirt she saw Joker reaching for his own clothes, "No way!" she cried and stole the clothes from his hands.
"Would you prefer I stay naked?" Joker laughed.
Sera gave him a dirty look and went back into her closet. He could hear her fumbling around in there until she reappeared with a dark blue pair of jeans and a gray t-shirt. She pushed the clothes into his arms, "Your clothes need to be washed very badly. Put these on."
Joker looked at the jeans but shrugged his shoulders and dropped them on the bed before allowing his towel to fall off in her presence. He chuckled when he saw her turn away, "So sweetheart, do these belong to that fiancee of yours?"
Sera's eyes widened and her mood went a little sour, "I don't wanna talk about it."
"Oh struck a nerve did I? Let me guess, this gray shirt is your hubby's 'long night of sex' shirt. You know, the one where he goes to bed wearing and you end up having on in the morning?" he said, hoping to get a rise out of her.
"I said I don't want to discuss it!" she shouted and exited the bedroom without another word.
Joker quickly pulled on all the clothes and chased her out into the kitchen, where he found her on the phone, "Sweetheart, I hope you weren't planning on trying to evade me or call for help. Keep in mind, the police will consider you a lunatic if you try to report me! Your son is only a few feet away!" he said angrily and pointed into the living at the now sleeping child on the floor. That worked. She put the phone back on the hook and leaned back against the counter. "Okay then, why don't we get back to business."
Joker waited in the kitchen while Sera went back to the bathroom to claim her scissors and rat tail comb. Joker was already seated in a backwards chair.
Upon returning, Sera saw a large carving knife in Joker's hands and panicked.
"Relax sweetheart. This is only insurance. You try anything with those scissors that does not revolve around cutting hair and I will not hesitate to kill you. It would be quite traumatizing for your son to wake up and see his mother's throat being cut."
"I get the point," she mumbled and walked behind him. The comb went through his hair easily as it was still wet and she started with the back.
"So how do you know how to cut hair?" Joker asked.
"As a nurse, it's part of the job to help patients with basic needs like hair care. Now just try to sit still. I'm taking off a lot of length."
Thirty minutes later, a ton of green hair littered the floor and Sera was finishing up with the front of his head. When the final strand was cut, Joker's hair was brought up to his mid-back again and looked ten times better. She ran her fingers through his long bangs, pushing them back smoothly and then overlooking her work. "Well, it certainly looks and feels better."
"Do I look pretty?" he joked, bringing his hands up under his chin in a child-like manner and grinning at her.
"Cut that out, you look crazy!" she retorted.
"Why thank you!" he laughed and waited for her to stop brushing all the loose hairs off his shoulders.
Sera then grabbed a broom and swept up the big pile of hair and tossed it in the garbage before remembering a key errand she was supposed to run, "Oh shit! The test! I needed to deliver it." She saw the test sitting on the counter and grabbed it before claiming her purse and ripping the towel off her head and tossing it aside. She was about to run out the door when Joker grabbed her arm.
"Remember the rules sweetheart..." He made his point by glancing at the child in the living room.
Sera nodded and rushed out the door.
For the next hour, Joker flipped through the channels and ate up another bit of the leftover party food. He crashed onto the recliner and eventually ran across the news. One story caught his eye...
'Police are struggling to obtain the identity of Gotham's new super-villain. Some have even suggested that the Batman had turned over a new leaf after so many years of negative media coverage and low tolerance for vigilantes. Commissioner Gordon denies any involvement of the Batman and states he will station officers at all major technology firms and biochemical plants as the villain appears to be striking frequently. Witnesses say the villain wears all black attire and has the strong build of the former villain, Firefly, but attacks with great stealth and leaves behind no evidence.'
"Hmm, a new super-villain. I may have to reenter the world sooner than I thought. I must reestablish my crown as top dog! I won't have this youngster stealing my glory!" he growled and threw the remote aside. He pulled himself to his feet and wandered into the kitchen, intending to grab a soda or something.
When he yanked open the fridge, he felt a tugging on his shirt and peered down to his left to see Gabriel standing there, rubbing one of his eyes and groggily saying, "I'm hungry."
"Wait for your mom to get home," Joker said hastily.
"But my tummy hurts..." he moped.
"There's leftovers on the table."
"I want kielbasa."
"What the hell is that?"
"Um..." Gabe looked confused.
"Skedaddle kid," Joker said, trying to shoo the child away and returned his attention to the fridge until he heard a sniffling sound. Joker rolled his eyes and leaned over the door again and saw tears streaking down Gabe's cheeks.
It wasn't his 'thing' to be looking after a kid, but the last thing he wanted to hear was a wailing kid so he closed the fridge, "Where's this kielbasa?"
"Up there," Gabe replied and pointed to the freezer.
Joker pulled open the door and looked through the well stocked box, not seeing the item at first.
"There," Gabe pointed in the door just above him.
Inside the freezer door was a small package containing a polish sausage. Luckily, it was already pre-cooked and needed reheating. Gabe was digging through one of the bottom cupboards and pulled a pan out as Joker read the back for cooking it.
Sera returned home within the two hour time allotment and parked her car. She had an armful of newspapers and some other things. She entered the apartment and surprised to see Gabe in the living room with a bowl of kielbasa and munching away while watching Avengers for the third time in two days. Gabe noticed her and nearly dropped his dish as he climbed to his feet and ran into the kitchen.
"Hi mommy!" and clung to her waist.
"Hey little man," she greeted and knelt down to hug him. She noticed Joker was still in the living room, just barely waking up from a cat nap. She then whispered, "Was he nice to you?"
"Yeah. Um, he made me my sausage."
Sera was a little concerned with that, "Did you watch him make that? He didn't add anything to it?"
"No, I stood on a chair and watched. He let me put them in the water."
"Okay, you let me know if you get a belly ache or feel sick." She then grabbed a fork and scooped a piece out of the pot and chewed one. There didn't seem to be anything wrong with the taste and no odd discolorations. Afterwards, she knelt back down and started giving Gabe some new rules, "Okay Gabe, this is very important," she whispered and glanced at Joker once again to make sure he was still in the chair, "I don't want him making anything for you, even if you want it very badly. You wait for me to get home and I'll make it. It's safer this way. If you get very hungry, you take something out of the cupboards that is already pre-made. Also, if you need to go to the bathroom, make sure you go by yourself and lock the door. If he's ever mean to you, don't cry or whine. He may get angrier and try to hurt you. Don't give him a reason to. Do you understand all this?"
"Yeah, I'll do that."
"You're such a big boy," she smiled and hugged him again. Afterwards, she moved into the living room, holding one of the newspapers she brought home and dropped it into Joker's lap.
"There's a new villain running around Gotham. He's all over the papers. I think you're losing your touch Joker," she taunted.
Greatly irritated, Joker threw the papers on the floor and stood up, "The J-man doesn't lose his touch sweetheart. I'm planning a really big return that will knock this city's socks off."
"Hmm...we'll see," she said, brushing him off.
Joker growled and grabbed her arm, squashing it, "Don't get on my bad side sweetheart. It will be your last mistake. What's with the pissy attitude anyways?"
"Well, I just delivered the test and I can't decide if I'm going to like your reaction to the results." She yanked her arm out of his grasp.
"What are the results?"
"Won't know until tomorrow. I'm expecting an old colleague in the morning to deliver them."
The rest of the day was uneventful. Sera read through the newspapers, interested in the new villain and the commotion flooding through the city. She also read the entertainment section, looking for reviews of the show. It was nearing the end of the season for 'Cats' and there would be auditions held for 'Phantom of the Opera'. She of course would be there, not wanting to miss this opportunity to be in another Andrew Lloyd Webber production. Her goal was to try and get the part of La Carlotta, a relatively humorous character and it would require her to sing in soprano rather than alto. It's been a while since she's had a soprano role.
Sera dropped the newspaper on the table and looked at the clock, eight pm. Gabriel was out cold laying across the couch after a long day of playing with his new toys and building forts with cereal boxes. Tomorrow was also going to be a big day for all of them, even though she knew the truth. She moved into the living room and scooped up Gabe, intending to put him to bed. She carried him away and down the hall to the bathroom.
Joker could hear them both in the bathroom. Sera was coaxing the boy to brush his teeth and it seemed Gabe was putting up a fight. Eventually she got him to do it and then straight to bed. She returned to the kitchen and Joker joined her. He reached up over the refrigerator and pulled down a bottle of red wine and read the label.
"Dominique Piron Brouilly Domaine Combiaty. You have some of the best sweetheart," he praised and dug through her drawers for a bottle opener.
"Those were gifts," she said as she opened the correct drawer for him and he fished out the tool.
"From your manager I assume?"
Sera nodded, "He always gives his cast a bottle of wine before a premier. I haven't touched it yet."
"Well, why not crack it open then," Joker said as he drove the corkscrew into the top and started pulling. The cork came up with little resistance and Joker dropped it on the counter before retrieving two wine glasses from the cabinet. He filled each glass halfway and handed one to her.
"I'm really not in a drinking mood," Sera said.
"Loosen up, you're way too tense." He then offered the glass again, nudging her arm a little but she still wouldn't take it. He shrugged at her and then leaned into her, blowing a pale pink cloud of spores into her face before she could protest.
She accidentally breathed in the fumes and suddenly she felt a state of calm and warmth. It was soothing.
"Take the glass," Joker said softly and this time she did. She wasn't under his control. It was more of an aphrodisiac type of spore. It placed most people into a 'high'. He could see her cheeks flushing and her pupils were dilated. He then sipped on the wine, watching her every move. She did the same and he watched the muscles of her throat as she swallowed every drop of the expensive red liquid. It was a major turn on. He wanted to reach out and touch the delicate flesh of her neck; to stroke and caress it. He downed the remainder of his glass and picked up the bottle to refill it. He also topped hers off.
Forty minutes later the two of them were in the living room, curled up on the couch, Sera's legs draped over his and they were both laughing in a drunken stupor. Two more empty bottles lay on the floor by Joker's feet. He was telling her stories of past heists and some of the pranks that he pulled off. She didn't have anything remotely as funny, but told about her high-school years and the trouble she and her friends had gotten into, such as replacing the school auditorium microphones with carrots before the principal made an important announcement to the student body. They'd gotten two days of detention for that.
It didn't matter what either of them said because they laughed regardless. Sera then got up, stumbling a little, "I remember my best friend spiking the punch at the sophomore semiformal. Then we drank so much of it that we were drunk and d-dancing, falling all over ourselves. It was so great!" She then started twirling around in a mock dance.
The drunk clown then followed her example and did the same until they neared one another and eventually he took one of her hands and pulled her into him. His other hand drifted to her waist and she responded to his advances by placing her hand up on his shoulder. They waltzed for a little while in the silence. The wine had done its job in relaxing Sera and making her drop her defenses enough to press her head into his chest and her hand slipped down his shoulder and gentle played with a strand of his hair.
"You know your hair does look so much nicer like this," she said, twisting the hair in her fingertips.
Joker smiled and wrapped his arms around her, satisfied with their evening. Both of them were so tired and inebriated that they crashed on the floor, arms and legs tangled together. Sleep overcame them quickly, their hatred for each other temporarily forgotten.
To be continued...