Hope you guys all enjoyed the last two chapters. And, now, we see what becomes of Victoria.
Disclaimer (For shits and giggles): Don't own TDK. Wish I did.
/|\
The semi-truck was parked in an alleyway about five blocks from the Home, the C4 and dynamite were wheeled over the distance by Bruce and Mike. Meanwhile, Jason and the Joker carried Nancy and Amy back to the Home. Nancy took residence in the bathroom, soaking in a hot bath to raise her body temperature, while Amy was taken into the kitchen where Jason found a few dish rags to wipe the coagulated blood off her face. Victoria had been bound and gagged in the back of the of the truck.
Once the truck had been emptied, Bruce had the pleasure of carrying a sobbing Victoria back to the Home, where she was shoved into the spare room for safekeeping.
Scarecrow got a wake up call when the Joker phoned him asking for a doctor.
"It's almost three in the God damned morning," Scarecrow seethed. "And you want a doctor? What, does Nancy need an abortion?"
The Joker ground his teeth and said, "Listen you little chicken shit, I swear to God if you make one more little snide remark about her I'm gonna hunt you down and break your neck. Then, I'll cut you up into little pieces and send your dick to the Gotham Tonight station. Got it?"
"Yes," Scarecrow coughed. Terror laced his next few words. "What happened? There weren't suppose to be and snags."
"It wasn't any of your people," the Joker started, looking back into the kitchen where Amy was groaning and Jason was cooing above her with a rag. "It was one of mine- one of the cronies."
"Which one?" Scarecrow asked, suddenly very confused and taken aback. "They all seemed clean- somewhat."
"Doesn't matter," the Joker told him. "She'll be a bleeding stump soon. I just need a doc to readjust one of my other one's noses."
"I'll get on it," Scarecrow said. "I'll come with him. I'll be there in about half an hour."
"Good. Oh, and Scarecrow? Do me a favor and bring over some towels."
"Towels?"
The Joker hung up without answering and rolled his sleeves back up again. He had thrown his coat onto the couch and loosened his tie. Bruce was upstairs, standing in front of the door of the spare room. Victoria was inside, blind and paralyzed thanks to half a role of duct tape. The silvery adhesive was wrapped around her head to cover her eyes and mouth and around her wrists and ankles. She wasn't going anywhere, anytime soon.
Nancy was still in the bath, soaking and blowing bubbles.
"Eh, Nancy? You a'ight in there?" Bruce asked. He didn't need to shout because he was only a few feet away.
Nancy, who had submerged herself under the warm water, resurfaced and called, "Huh?"
"Nothin'," Bruce said.
Nancy nodded, though he couldn't see her, and sank under the water again. She had pulled the moldy curtain around the tub, so if anyone peaked in they wouldn't see her naked. She blew some bubbles through her nose and pulled the curtain away a little to see through the crack in the door and across the hall. Bruce was standing in front of the spare room door, hands behind his back, stiff-as-a-board posture. He looked very much like a security guard.
"Bruce?" she asked. Bruce stood up a little straighter. "We're you ever a bodyguard or something?"
Bruce laughed a little and stood at ease.
"Yeah, actually, I was," he said. "I worked for the mob for a long time- bodyguard stuff. No real deals or anythin' like that."
"Who'd you guard?" Nancy asked, hoping for some conversation. "Anyone big?"
"Yeah," Bruce sighed. He sounded a big regretful. "I worked for Gambol for a long time-" Nancy gasped, "-yeah. But then he threatened my girl and I told him to go fuck 'imself. He hadn't bother me much since."
"Is that why you took the job?" Nancy asked. "With the Joker? So you could get back at Gambol?"
"Well, that, and I just needed a job," Bruce chuckled. "Shitty part is, my girl left me after that- so the whole thing really wadn't to worth it."
"Ouch. I'm sorry," Nancy winced.
"Is a'ight," Bruce said. Nancy saw him wave a bear-sized hand. "She cost too much, anyway. Liked the expensive stuff- designer purses and shoes and jew'lry and shit. Wasn't worth the money. Not that I didn't like my suits."
Nancy imagined Bruce in a nice designer suit, and smiled. It sort of fit him, both personality-wise and body build-wise. Her smile dropped when a yelp bounced up the stairs and someone started sobbing. Amy was still in the kitchen from what Nancy could figure. Victoria had tried to beat in her face: broken nose, missing teeth, two black eyes and a mess of blood where her lips should have been. But, from what she heard from Bruce, Victoria didn't look much better. The Joker had beaten her up pretty well, too.
Mike was downstairs, too. Though there wasn't much for him to do, he was spending a large amount of his time dabbing at Amy's face and consoling Jason, who was still beside himself. Besides that, he just sat in the living room and debated with himself about whether or not he should go upstairs and talk to Nancy. Chatting with her while she was in the bath tub (naked) made Mike feel a bit uncomfortable. Fortunately, at around 3:45AM, Mike was given an excuse to go upstairs when Scarecrow knocked on the door, holding, very confusedly, a trash bag full of towels. Behind him was a very sleepy, bristle-faced mob doctor.
"Towels?" Scarecrow asked again, tossing the bag to the Joker when he walked in from the kitchen. "And my doc. Where's your man?"
"Woman," the Joker corrected. "In the kitchen. Bother's a little defensive. Mike, take these upstairs to Nancy, wouldja?"
Mike nodded and caught the bag of towels that landed in his lap and trudged upstairs without another word. The Joker led Scarecrow and the mob doctor into the kitchen. Scarecrow backpedaled at the sight of Amy's face, but got over it and took to leaning against the doorframe in between the kitchen and the living room. The doctor, having seen much, much worse, simply set his bag down and examined Amy's broken nose.
"It will need to be reset," he said in an unrecognizable foreign accent.
"Get it done," the Joker sighed, rubbing his eyes. He was surprisingly tired.
The doctor nodded and pulled his bag open, the contents of which made Jason grab Amy's wrist. Amy turned her head and groaned at Scarecrow, who shuddered.
The doctor continued, "I'll need to pull zose extra teeth, also. You will be unconscious for the whole t'ing, if it makes joo feel any better."
"You have anesthesia?" Jason asked.
"No," the doctor said.
"Nnnmf," Amy grunted.
Upstairs, Mike sort of smiled and nodded at Bruce and knocked on the girl's bathroom door.
Nancy, who had been under water at the time, resurfaced and said, "Nuh?"
"Nancy?" Mike asked, though he already knew who he was talking to. "Can I come in? I've got towels."
"Towels?" Nancy asked.
"Yeah," Mike said. He nudged the door open and peaked inside. Nancy looked back at him through the little chink in the curtains and attempted a half-smile.
"Hey," she said.
"Hey," Mike said. He let himself in and sank down against the wall closest to where Nancy's head was. He let the trash bag of towels settle next to him with a crinkle and crackle.
"How's Amy?" Nancy asked.
Mike didn't answer at first, but weighed his options for an answer.
Finally, he said, "Shitty. But J called up Scarecrow... he brought a doctor and um..." Mike held up the bag of towels.
Nancy nodded and rubbed her eyes. She, too, was surprisingly tired.
The room went quiet, the two friends letting the events that had occurred during the last few hours sink in.
"Did you guys get all the stuff you need?" Nancy asked.
"J says it should be enough. Now the trouble is getting inside Wayne Industries and setting everything up," Mike said. "He said that that shouldn't be to hard either... Who got you in the tub?"
Nancy flushed a little and sank into the water a bit deeper. When they had gotten back to the Home, the Joker had carried her up the stairs while everyone else was unloading either other people or explosive material. He had started the hot water and told her to get inside. Then he left. Nancy frowned.
He could have at least made sure I got in.... no... I was naked. That would have been awkward. What the hell am I talking about? This whole night has been awkward... though that's putting it a bit too lightly.
"J helped me upstairs," Nancy said, then shrugged. "I got in the tub. That's all."
Mike nodded and looked at his feet.
"Mike?" someone shouted from downstairs.
Mike jumped to his feet and sprang to the door, "Boss?"
"Is Nancy still in the tub?" the Joker shouted.
"Yeah," Mike called back. "Why?"
"Tell her to stick her head under the water!"
"What?"
"Just do it, Mike."
"Stick your head under water," Mike said.
Nancy shrugged and did as she was told. A second later, a muted shriek made her jump up. But before she could say anything Mike screamed, "What the fuck was that?"
"Amy getting her nose readjusted," the Joker said.
Nancy heard him clunk up the stairs.
"Is she okay?" Mike asked, worried.
"She's unconscious now," the Joker sighed as he pushed the bathroom door open. "Emo kid's making a ruckus. She's fine though, just sleeping."
Nancy heard him giggle, and she closed the curtain.
"I'm gonna be leaving in a few minutes," the Joker started again, sounding nonchalant. "Me and Vicky are going on a little date."
Nancy shivered; the phrase almost made her feel bad for Victoria. Just the way he said it...
"You doin' alright in there, babe?"
Nancy jumped and opened the curtain a little. Just looking at him made her remember the side of His Tongue Down My Throat she had ordered.
God, that'd be nice right now. I just need a big, nasty smooch. MmmHmm. Oh, yes please.... I'd also like a large order of Him Gnawing on My Neck, please. If you don't mind...
"Whatcha starin' at babe?"
Nancy, having been fantasizing, jerked awake and mumble an incomprehensible assurance before shutting the curtain again and resuming her daydreaming. Mike, still oblivious to the relationship between his best friend and employer, simply assumed that Nancy was tired. The Joker, aware of both his relationship with Nancy and Mike's obliviousness, just giggled and look a second to think of all the things he could be doing to Nancy at that exact moment. Wonderful, wonderful things. Suddenly, he thought of all the awful things he could be doing to Victoria at that moment, and his mind was suddenly distracted with terrifying macabre things. Wonderful, wonderful things.
"I gotta go," he said sharply.
"Don't have too much fun," Mike said.
Nancy peaked through the curtains one more time and grinned when the Joker winked at her. Mike didn't notice.
"I'm just gonna soak for a while longer, Mike," Nancy said. "Until the water goes cold."
"Mmkay," Mike said. "If you don't mind I'm just gonna check on Amy one more time and hit the hay."
"Sure, Mike," Nancy said.
She heard him get up and leave. She heard Bruce step away from the door of the spare room. The door squeaked open, and Nancy heard Victoria's muffled screams. Nancy shuddered and sank under water again. She didn't want to hear it.
/|\
Victoria was tossed in the back of the van, still taped together and bleeding anew thanks to a fresh cut on her forehead compliments of the van floor. She sobbed and squirmed around hopelessly, howling and crying behind the tape.
"It's just gonna make your eyes burn, Vicky," the Joker told her as he closed the door on her ankles, reopened it, shoved her further into the car and shut the door again.
He drove straight out of town with no problem, the fact that it was nearly 4 o'clock in the morning obviously being a contributing factor. Once on the outskirts of town, where the trees were a bit thicker and the only real thing in sight was the highway, the Joker pulled into the trees and parked the van. Making sure that no one could see, he pulled Victoria out of the van by her hair and drug her behind the trees.
Victoria screamed muted screams and squirmed around hopelessly. The Joker decided to save himself the trouble and picked her up and through her over his shoulder. When he got as far as he thought he needed to, the Joker dropped VIctoria, not caring what hit where. Victoria sobbed and squirmed away from the sharp root she had landed on.
"Wanna see where we are Vicky?" he asked.
VIctoria shook her head violently and the hair that wasn't taped to her head flipped about.
"Aww, come on, Vicky, don't be a sour sport," the Joker sighed impatiently.
He pulled a knife from one of his pockets and knelt down next to Victoria, who had started to scream again. Not caring how much blood he drew or where the knife actually went, the Joker grabbed Victoria's face and ran the knife down the side of her nose. Victoria heaved a dry sob and attempted a muffled scream. He pulled the tape away, slowly, from one of her eyes. Her eyelashes and eyebrow were pulled off, along with a very large amount of hair that came from her head as the tape was pulled away and yanked off. Letting out one last howl, Victoria shoved forward as hard as she could, trying to knock her ex-employer off balance, and fell sideways.
Her escape attempt failed, and she was hoisted to her knees by her hair.
"Ya' see, Vicky. This is what happens when you try and break my toys," the Joker sighed. "First you break her, then I fix her- then you make fun of her- that hurt her feelings you know- and then you try and hide her from me? That's not very smart at all, Vicky. Not smart at all."
He reeled back and punched her in the face. Victoria yelped, but made no other noise besides that.
"I could do this real quick, Vick," he giggled. "Or I could drag it out and make it real painful... what do you think? I want your opinion- I think you should have one, ya' know. It's your life, right?"
Victoria hollered mutedly and squirmed around uselessly in response.
"Come on Vicky- speak up!" He kicked her. "No? Nothing?" He kicked her again, as hard as he could. Victoria rolled over and started crying. The Joker just groaned and leaned against a tree. "The morning commuters'll be driving to their happy little jobs soon. I may have to rush it... Although..."
Victoria made a noise that sounded a bit like, "Mo- mo! Meeez. Non'd!"
"What's that, Vicky?" the Joker asked with a grin.
Victoria just sobbed pathetically again. The Joker grabbed her by the hair and hoisted her to her feet. She screamed. He observed her for a moment, then grabbed the back of her neck and threw her against the nearest tree.
"I suppose I should hurry up, huh?" he mused to himself thoughtfully. He tapped his chin and pulled a knife out of his pocket. Victoria started hyperventilating through her nose. The Joker licked his lips and let his tongue work around the scars on his cheeks. Victoria slithered like an earthworm on the ground and tried to plea for his forgiveness again. It didn't work.
The Joker knelt down again and grabbed Victoria's hair. He leaned forward and whispered, "You better hope this kills you," before sliding the knife into the place where tape covered Victoria's mouth.
He pulled up, then did it again on the other side.
Victoria didn't have time to scream. She just gagged and slumped over when the Joker let go of her hair. He stayed like that for a while and watched her bleed and breathe. Then, very casually, he stood and wiped his knife on some moss that was growing off of a tree and dropped it back in his pocket.
"See ya' around, Vicky," he said.
And he left.
/|\
Nancy watched the last of the water swirl around and around as it swam down the drain. She hummed a little tune to herself and stood up. Taking one quick peak out the curtain, she picked up one of her shoes and threw it at the door so it would close, and got out of the bath tub. She rummaged through the trash bag of towels and pulled one out without thinking about it. She wrapped it around herself and trudged out of the bathroom, across the hall, and into her own room.
She dug through the bag she had stolen from Wal-Mart and pulled out a fresh pair of underwear and jeans. She pulled them on, along with a bra, tank top, long sleeved shirt, another short sleeved shirt over that, and finally the jacket that Mike had found for her. She didn't plan on going to sleep until that night, if not to keep her sleeping schedule regulated.
The front door slammed downstairs, and Nancy turned around and pulled the door open in time to watched the Joker walk back to his room. He didn't look at her. Nancy frowned and looked at his blood caked hands. She sighed and watched the door to his bedroom close. After standing for a moment and watching, she dug through her bag again and pulled out the pair of scissors she had taken and walked into the bathroom. Mike walked up the stairs and knocked on the bathroom door, though it was already open.
"Did you see him?" he asked.
Nancy turned to look at him as she inspected her hair in the mirror and nodded. "He's scary sometimes."
Mike nodded vigorously and rubbed his eyes. He told her he was off to bed and Nancy bade him goodnight (or good morning) and looked back at herself in the mirror. Her hair had become shaggy and droopy around her ears- too long in the front and uneven all the rest of the way around. She looked down at the scissors and back up at the mirror. She grabbed at a chunk of hair and cut it. Not having handled scissors like this before, Nancy sort of grimaced at the results and tried again on the back. After a few slices and chops, Nancy got the hang of it a little: she cut her hair so that it didn't hang around her ears; she cut her bangs so that they didn't flop in front of her eyes; and she trimmed the back enough that she didn't seem to have a mullet. She nodded at her reflection and turned the tap on to wash the scissors.
"You cut it."
Nancy looked up and at the Joker's reflection. She gave a small smile and went back to washing her scissors.
"It was getting a little shaggy," she said.
"More for me to grab on to," he giggled.
The door squeaked shut and he wrapped his arms around her waist. Nancy leaned back against him and tossed her scissors into the sink.
"It's been a long couple of months," she sighed, rubbing her eyes.
He hummed at her and started playing with the hem of her tank top. Nancy smiled at his hands and closed her eyes.
"Maybe you should go to bed," he suggested.
"Nah," Nancy shrugged. "I'll just end up waking up at six in the evening and my whole sleep schedule'll be all out of whack."
The Joker hummed at her again and ran his thumb along the newly healed scar on her hip. Nancy gasped and grabbed his wrist. He giggled frantically against her shoulder and looked in the mirror.
"Your lips look a little chapped, doll," he said slowly.
It was all Nancy could do to keep herself from smiling maniacally.
"I think Bruce stole some Chapstick from Wal-Mart while we were there."
Nancy couldn't stop herself from frowning.
"Just kidding."
Nancy was suddenly pressed up against the opposite wall with her hands pinned to her sides. She closed her eyes and leaned forward- he leaned back. Nancy opened her eyes and glared at him, he laughed. He did it again, making sure that their lips only brushed, never made full contact. It was worse than torture.
"Oh, for Christ's sake, J, if you're just gonna-" Nancy started.
He ignored her and yanked her wrists up around his shoulders. She let out a little gasp that was quickly stifled when their lips crashed together.
BAM BAM BAM
"Nancy are you in there?" Mike asked with a bit of a tired slur.
Nancy bit the Joker's lip just before being spun around and forced to face the mirror. The Joker grabbed the scissors from out of the sink and pretended to cut her hair.
"Sorry," she squeaked at him. He just leaned forward and nipped her earlobe and giggled. After a quick recovery, Nancy shouted back at Mike, "I'm in here, Mike."
Mike opened the door a little and peered through the crack.
"Goo'nigh'," he said.
Nancy chuckled and said, "Night, Mike."
"Amy wants to talk to you when you have the time," Mike added before closing the door.
Nancy bit back an agitated sigh and said, "M'kay, Mike. G'night."
She listened to him walk down the hall and close the door to his room. Bruce must have been in there too, because there was a sudden thump of pillows hitting the wall. Nancy grinned at the sink and grabbed the Joker's arms when they wound around her waist again. He trailed light kisses down her neck. Nancy closed her eyes and reached up and back to tangle her fingers in his hair.
"I should probably stop smearing you with make up, huh?" he hummed against her ear.
"Hm?" Nancy hummed back, not really listening.
"She knows, doesn't she? Amy," the Joker said, sounding serious.
Nancy opened her eyes and frowned at herself in the mirror. An angry bubble expanded in her stomach. Of course Amy knew.
Nancy nodded slowly and tried to straighten up, but the Joker just pulled her back against him and started running his hands across her stomach. The angry bubble inside contracted and eventually ceased to exist.
"Go talk to Amy. We'll talk some more tomorrow," the Joker said after drawing his arms around and letting his fingers wind through Nancy's belt loops.
Nancy sighed and turned around. "You going to bed?" she asked.
He shrugged and said, "Probably not."
Nancy reached up and ran her thumb across his cheek. He leaned away and she smirked.
"Sissy," she said before walking out of the room.
In the kitchen, where Amy was still laying -conscious now-, Nancy took a seat in one of the chairs from the dining table.
"I hope I interrupted something," Amy smirked.
"Gee, thanks," Nancy smirked back. "Mike did, actually. Just in case you were wondering."
"Good man," Amy nodded at the ceiling.
"You feeling any better?" Nancy asked.
"A bit," Amy's voice sounded thick. "Doc had to numb me up to pull what was left of my molars out."
Nancy hissed between her teeth and shifted uncomfortably. "Shit."
"Yeah," said Amy. "I was unconscious- the doctor reset my nose before anything else. That hurt like 10 bitches on a bitch-boat..."
"A Victoria-Boat?" Nancy snorted.
Amy snorted, too, but regretted instantly when a sharp pain ran between her eyes. "Ow," she said.
"I should let you rest," Nancy said.
Amy nodded and looked at Jason, who was dozing against the fridge.
"Bed, sis?" he droned.
Amy nodded and propped herself up on her elbows. Nancy stood and helped Jason lift Amy from off the table. Amy swayed dangerously and gripped their shoulders. Jason took one of her arms and held it around the back of his neck, his other hand grabbed Amy's hip. He and Amy slowly made their way upstairs. Nancy watched them go and waited for Jason to come back downstairs. From there she went into the kitchen and started up some coffee. The Joker came back down a while later to grab his jacket, which was still on the couch, and disappeared upstairs again.
"Are you alright?" Jason asked.
Nancy turned from watching the Joker walk out of the living room and shrugged.
"It's been a weird couple of months," she admitted. "School gets shot up, mom commits suicide, friend almost gets raped, I get carved up, then kidnapped, then I get thrown into a jewelry counter and Victoria tries to lock me in an industrial freezer." She finished her list off with a nod and a sigh. "Weird."
"Depressing is the word I thought of," Jason said. "That or agonizing, scaring, traumatizing... things like that."
Nancy grinned at her coffee and sat down at the dining table. She set her coffee down and leaned back in her chair to rub her eyes.
"Just a long month or so," Nancy sighed.
/|\
Victoria was holding her face together. She had torn her bindings on the same sharp root she had fallen on a few minutes earlier. Her face suddenly reminded her of the movie Predator.
With one hand, she cupped her face and held her cheeks in place while the other was roving around in her back pocket.
Since her visit to Wal-Mart, and even before that, she had been doing a lot of rebellious thinking. Having the living hell beaten out of her by the man she so desperately loved had kick started the mutinous thoughts that had been stewing around in her greasy-haired head. An event that had occurred at Wal-Mart had made her think even more. There had been a man there- he had been dressed in a very nice suit and even with a gun barrel in his face, had been very pleasant to her. The man had introduced himself as Jared. Amy had not been there at that point in time, being distracted by the rows and rows of food that they were supposed to be stockpiling. Victoria had ignored the man at first, focused on redeeming herself and not looking like an idiot.
The man was insistent, though, pressing and talking and being pleasant. At long last, or after about 10 minutes, Victoria took whatever Jared had been offering. It was a business card. The only thing extraordinary about it was the fact that the name Gambol was printed in big, swirly, silver letters on it. Victoria knew the name all to well. Instead of simply throwing the card away, as she would have done with any other card, she had shoved it in her back pocket, forgetting about it until just now.
She searched for it desperately, groping around and finally finding it in a crumpled, dirty mess. She took her cell phone out of her pocket and dialed the number on the card. She waited.
/|\
Gambol was still asleep when his phone rang. He jerked awake and pulled the gun out from under his pillow. Finding that the source of the noise was only his phone, he sighed at his own paranoia and answered the ringing.
"Hello?" he asked, agitated.
"Mr. Gambol?" asked a thick, shaky voice on the other line.
"Who is this?" Gambol frowned. Who the hell was calling him at 4 in the morning?
"Mr. Gambol, m-my name is Victoria... I- I used to work for the Joker- I need your help- please," Victoria slurred, sounding as if she had a fist full of marbles in her mouth.
Gambol didn't say anything for a moment.
"Mr. Gambol?" Victoria's voice said.
"Is this a joke? 'Cause if it is I can track your phone and-"
"It's not a joke!" Victoria sobbed. "I'm beaten and bleeding and in the middle of nowhere! Please help me. I can tell you whatever you want- just please help me!"
"Whatever I want?" Gambol asked.
"Whatever! Anything! Everything!" Victoria cried. "Please."
"Alright, alright," Gambol said, holding his hand up as if Victoria was in the room with him. "Where are you?"
/|\
Oh, shit-damn-fuck. What the hell's up with this shit? Don't you love cliffhangers and twists and such?
INTERESTING: I spent Thanksgiving washing dishes in my parent's bath tub because our kitchen sink was fucked up. Happy Thanksgiving. Ha ha ha.