Title: Control

Fandom: The Dark Knight

Rating: M

Pairing: OC/Joker/Harley

Genre: Drama/Angst

Disclaimer: Unfortunately I don't own the Joker or Batman.

A/N: .fire333: You're not slow. The reason behind Lacy's dance with the Joker just hasn't been explained yet. Sorry the last chapter wasn't as exciting as you hoped.

Enjoy!

Chapter Twenty-Five

"I wonder if Mistah J is here yet." Harley said out-loud to Angela as they walked down the hallway together. "Did you see him out there earlier?"

"No." Lacy lied. "I haven't seen him, but it's hard to find anyone out there with so many people crowded in. I think tonight is going to really send a message to him."

"I hope so." Harley smiled nervously.

Lacy's cell phone started to ring before they got back out into the party area and she looked at the caller id. Relieved about who was calling her, she answered. "Hello?...What's wrong?...I'm kind of busy right now…I can't…" She sighed. "Ok. I'll be there as soon as I can."

She hung up her phone and looked over at Harley. "It looks like I have to leave."

"Leave?" Harley started to panic. "What do you mean? You can't leave me here alone!"

"You won't be alone. Your Mistah J will be here." Lacy pointed out.

"But how will I know what to do?" She worried.

"You know what to do." Lacy encouraged. "We've been through the plan several times. Trust me, you'll be fine. Just follow the plan exactly. I have complete confidence in you."

"But…" Harley protested.

"I'm sorry Harley," she apologized, "but this is important. My brother needs me."

"How is he doing?" Harley asked. Angela had helped her brother escape from Arkham a few days ago but hadn't said much about how he was doing.

"He has some good days and bad days. This one is apparently a very bad day." Lacy replied, keeping up the cover story of Crane being her brother. "The doctors in Arkham did a lot of damage to him and it's going to take a while to get him back to the way he used to be. But it will happen. I'm going to see to it."

"He's lucky to have a sister that's as devoted to him as you are." Harley praised.

"Well we're family and family has to stick together." Lacy said, not wanting to have to lie about this anymore. "Again, I'm sorry Harley but I have to go take care of him."

"No, I understand." She nodded. "You have to do what you think is best." The more she thought about it, the less upset she was about Angela's absence. Besides, it's probably better this way because then he will be able to see that she was the one responsible for tonight and she can downplay Angela's involvement.

"Thanks for understanding." Lacy smiled. "I'm disappointed that I won't be able to meet your guy or see what happens later."

"Don't worry." Harley said. "You can always catch it on the news tonight."

"Oh yeah." Lacy grinned. "I'm sure it's going to be all over the news. If you need anything my cell will be on. Otherwise, I'll talk to you tomorrow."

"Sounds good." Harley replied, giving Angela a hug. "Thanks again for everything. You are such a good friend."

"I try my best." Lacy said, pulling away from her. "Have fun!"

Harley watched Angela leave before setting off on her own quest to find Mistah J. She knew he had to be here somewhere because he promised he would come. But Angela was right. It was difficult to find anyone in this crowd, especially since so many guys dressed like the Joker.

"Damn copycats." She mumbled. "They're never as good as the original."

Lacy walked right into Vincent's office, walking right up to his desk and sitting on his desk. She let her legs dangle off the end of the desk, only a few feet away from his chair. "Thanks for calling. Your timing was perfect."

"No problem." Vincent smiled, taking stock of her outfit. "You look…wow."

She grinned. "Thanks."

"You know, I've always loved Halloween." Vincent told her. "It's the one day out of the whole year that bookish, mousy girls feel it is ok to dress like a whore."

"Are you calling me mousy and bookish?" She asked with an amused chuckle.

"Oh heavens no!" He laughed. "I was just making an observation. How is your plan going so far?"

"It's going perfectly." She answered. "Thanks for asking."

"So tell me, why did you have me call you before the real action starts?" He was curious about her reasons. She had told him to call her at a specified time and pretend to tell her that she needed to come over. "I thought you would want to be there to see the looks on their faces."

"It's because the Joker is there and I couldn't let him see me, especially after what I did to him." She explained. "I needed to get out of there before Harley tries to go through with her plan."

"Yes, you mentioned something about dressing up as Harley." Vincent chuckled. "What exactly did you do dressed as Harley?"

"Well if you must know I danced provocatively with the Joker." She answered.

"Why would you go to all that trouble to dance with him?" Vincent asked.

"So that I could leave some 'presents' in his jacket pocket." She explained.

"What kind of 'presents'?" He couldn't help but be curious.

"I'm afraid I can't tell you that." She grinned. "A girl's gotta have some secrets."

Vincent grinned back. "So you basically took Harley's place. I assume that there was groping and kissing involved."

"Possibly." Lacy replied, not sure why Vincent was asking so many questions about this.

"And you liked it, didn't you?" It wasn't an accusation, more like a statement of fact. He had been watching her and could tell.

"No!" She laughed. "That's absurd!"

"Just admit it." He said. "You were bumping and grinding with the Joker and liked it."

"No way." She denied. "I don't have any feelings for him."

"I didn't say you had feelings." He pointed out. "I said you enjoyed it. You're the one bringing up feelings, and since you did, why don't you tell me how you really feel about him?"

"You know how I feel about him." She sighed. "I hate him and I want to see him dead."

"So you say." Vincent nodded, watching her closely. "But your face says something different. I've studied women my whole life and I know when they are hiding their feelings. You, my dear, enjoyed your time with the Joker, didn't you?"

"No." Lacy repeated, wishing it was the truth. But the truth was that a part of her had enjoyed her time with the Joker. Each moment she spent with him she felt herself getting drawn back into her old world, the world where she became a willing participant in his debauchery.

He was a charmer. He knew how to manipulate a woman into doing anything he wanted. He knew exactly what buttons to push on a woman to make her forget what a bastard he really is. And she felt herself forgetting, falling for his deception and loving every moment of it.

She hated herself for it. She was supposed to be stronger now and not fall for his tricks. But tonight she was weak and it killed her inside.

Kissing him tonight was different than the other times she had kissed him, yet still the same in some ways. She figured it was because he thought she was Harley and that might have been the reason for the different kissing style. With her he had always been possessive and domineering, kissing her like he had to prove something to her.

But tonight his style was different. It was still possessive and domineering, but it was also softer. While she knew that might not make much sense to some, there was no better way for her to describe it. It was just…different.

She wondered how long it would take him to realize that it wasn't Harley that he had been with on the dance floor. He probably wouldn't start to suspect anything until he kisses the real Harley again.

She would love to see the look of confusion on his face when he finds that out. She'd love it almost as much as she would love seeing the look on his face when he finds what she slipped into his jacket pocket.

While she wasn't proud of her mind and body's reactions to him and his actions, she was extremely proud of herself for executing her plan perfectly. She had managed to get close enough to him to taunt him and leave him some presents in his jacket in the process.

He definitely won't be a happy man when he finds what she left for him. It will escalate the game they are playing, but she's ready for it.

"I still don't believe you." Vincent chuckled. "So I'm invoking the use of one of my two remaining questions. I'm going to ask you this one more time and you have to play fair and answer truthfully. Ok?"

She really hated the fact that she had agreed to answer the three personal questions for him. But a deal was a deal. "Fine." She sighed.

"Did you enjoy your quality time with the Joker tonight?" He asked, happy that he was finally going to get the truth from her.

"A very small, weak part of me did." Lacy replied, so ashamed by her answer that she looked away from Vincent.

He raised his hand up and cupped her chin, bringing her face back so he could look in her eyes. "Thank you for telling the truth. That wasn't so hard, was it?"

"No." She replied. "But this really wasn't any of your business anyway."

"And that's where we have to disagree." He shook his head but kept his hand on her chin. "You see, your dalliances with the Joker are very much my business. I'm spending quite a lot of time and manpower helping you in your quest to kill the Joker."

"I don't want to be made to look like a fool or a chump. That means I don't want to find out at the last minute that you've decided not to kill him, instead opting for a tearful reunion with your husband."

"Because where would that leave me in this equation?" He asked. "I'd be left in the dark and as soon the Joker found out that I had been helping you try to kill him, I would be dead. I don't want to die, especially not at the hands of your husband."

She didn't like the tone of Vincent's voice and for the first time, she realized just how dangerous of a man he really was. "You don't have to worry about that." She assured him. "The only reason I enjoyed it at all is because I'm a woman. I can't help it if my body reacts to a man."

"I better not." He told her. "Because I like you. I think you're amazing in many ways and I'd hate to see a world without you in it. But if I even suspect that you and he are planning on reconciling, I won't hesitate to come after you. After all, I have a reputation to maintain. You understand, right? Am I making myself clear?"

"Crystal clear." She nodded.

"Good." He released his light grip on her chin. "Now I'm going to make myself a drink. Want one?"

"Yes please." She quickly replied. After the night she was having, she desperately needed it.

"Where have you been?" The Joker demanded to know as he grabbed a hold of Harley's arm and started pushing her through the crowd to an empty spot near the wall. He cornered her and held her arms up above her head. "I've been looking for you everywhere!"

"I was in one of the back rooms…" Harley tried to explain, finding her words cut off by the Joker's mouth covering hers in a frenzied kiss. She moaned softly at the movement of his tongue inside her mouth, imaging what a skilled tongue like that could do with other parts of her body.

She didn't know what had inspired this passion that he was showing for her, but welcomed it,

He continued kissing her, wondering what was different. Something wasn't the same as earlier. He couldn't quite put his finger on it, but something was definitely different. She was different somehow.

He thought about it for a few moments, letting her arms go and making his hands roam her backside. He thought about Harley's kissing style from earlier as compared to now. It was definitely different. Earlier she had been practically all over him and he had to admit he liked that. He liked her aggressiveness.

Now though, she was completely submissive. She was just standing there letting him do whatever he wanted and not contributing anything to this endeavor.

It was like she was two different people, but that was an impossible concept. He finally resigned himself to the conclusion that it felt different because she wasn't being aggressive anymore.