Disclaimer: I do not own or take credit for anything other than my OC's.
Author's Note: Merry Christmas Eve! I've been writing like crazy lately so I wanted to give you all another chapter just in time for the holidays! As always, thank you for all the love. Enjoy! :)
- xxx -
Barbara Gordon's Apartment Building:
Knock, knock, knock.
Barbara Gordon was startled awake by someone rapping on her door. She rolled over and looked at her alarm clock, wondering who could be knocking on her door at 12:03 AM. She picked up her cellphone as she slipped out of bed and into her robe and slippers, her eyebrows furrowing in confusion when she saw no missed calls from her father, Bruce, Dick, or Jason. "What the hell?" She turned on her bedside lamp and quietly padded out into her living room and towards the door, keeping her phone in her hand. She took a deep breath to calm her racing heartbeat and her nerves as she looked through the peephole, her confusion doubling when she saw no one there. "Ding dong ditch at this hour?"
She sighed, knowing she wasn't going to fall back asleep at this rate after the mini heart attack the knocking at her door caused her. She shuffled into her kitchen and poured water into her tea kettle, deciding to have a nice cup of chamomile tea to try and calm her down so she could try and manage a few more hours of sleep before she'd have to wake back up for work. As soon as she set the kettle on the stove burner, the knocking came again, only louder and slightly more aggressive this time.
KNOCK, KNOCK, KNOCK.
She huffed, annoyed at this point, and made her way back towards the door. She readied herself to give whoever it was a good what-for when she opened the door, suspecting it must be trouble making teenagers in her apartment building stirring up a little mischief. She looked through the peephole and again saw no one. She tightened the tie on her robe and unlocked the door, keeping the chain attached so she could peek into the hallway. She opened the door as far as the chain would allow and peeked out, trying to see if she could spot anyone in the hallway. She waited, listening and watching, for a few minutes but there was no one there. She shook her head and closed the door, locking it back up behind her. The tea kettle was whistling, the noise growing louder and louder, and she rushed to take it off of the hot burner to stop the noise.
Pulling out a tea bag and mug, she set to work making her tea. She padded into the living room and settled herself down on her couch, turning on the TV and flipping through the channels to see if there was anything interesting on. Finding nothing but the usual late-night infomercials and news, she sighed and pulled out one of her books instead. She settled on a mystery novel that she was in the middle of, pulling it open to her bookmarked page and sipping gingerly at her tea as she read. She was relieved as the minutes passed with no more strange knocks at the door, figuring she had been correct in her assumption that it must have been teenagers from the building messing around.
She relaxed, crossing her legs over her coffee table and letting herself slowly succumb to her drowsiness as she read page after page, getting deeper into the story. She was just on the cusp of sleep when a loud banging came from the door. Alarmed, she turned her head and stared at the door, watching as it rattled with each bang of the person's fist on the other side. She was nervous now, a lump forming in her throat and her mouth going dry. She felt a chill down her spine and her stomach was in knots, her intuition telling her that something was very, very wrong. Picking up her phone, she dialed Dick's number, hoping he'd be able to answer. The call wouldn't go through, however, and her hand shook slightly as she studied the screen – she had no signal. "No signal? How?"
BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG!
The banging started up again, startling her. She tried again to call Dick to no avail, her cell phone screen still reading 'no signal'. She tried her dad, then Bruce, then Jason, all with the same result. Panicking, she immediately went to her computer and tried to send out emails to them. Just like her phone, her computer wasn't complying. Her WiFi and internet were completely out, not even popping up on her search when she tried to troubleshoot her network issue. She couldn't stop the shudder that wracked her body as she scrambled back into the living room, wondering if she could send them messages using just her data. Typing up a text message to Dick, she ignored the incessant, violent banging on her door and cursed when the message wouldn't send.
"What do I do?" She looked around, her eyes landing on the large window in her living room. She was way too high up to try and escape that way – she was on the 6th floor of her building. Running to her bedroom, she opened her window and looked down, wondering if it was worth trying to use the fire escape. The sight that greeted her at the bottom made her blood run cold. There were two masked men at the bottom of the fire escape, both of them in sad clown masks. They tilted their heads up and waved slowly, mockingly at her and she bit back a scream as she slammed her window shut and locked it. She crumpled to the floor, crying quietly as she scrambled into her closet, thinking that maybe if she refused to open the door and stayed in the closet, they'd eventually go away.
Her hopes were diminished when she heard the chain on her door snap. She whimpered quietly, slipping back into her closet and hiding in the far corner behind and underneath a bunch of clothes, hoping it would be enough. She kept quiet, barely even breathing as she heard someone's footsteps in her kitchen. Whoever it was, they were slowly making their way into the living room and towards her bedroom where she realized she had stupidly left the bedside lamp on. She remained still and silent, covering her mouth with her hands to try and muffle the sounds of her panting, and prayed that whoever it was would give up and just leave.
"Playtime is over, Barbara," the singsong voice belonged to a female, but she couldn't place it. She hadn't heard it anywhere before – what would a strange woman want with her? "You're wasting valuable time and my patience is running out. If I have to come find you, I promise you'll regret it."
Barbara refused to move, knowing better than to expose herself to whoever this psychopath was in her apartment.
"I'm sure you've tried to call your daddy dearest." The woman tutted in scolding, chuckling under her breath. "Jammers are pretty nifty, Barbara. Inexpensive and effective."
The voice was coming from the doorway to her bedroom now and she cried silently, wishing she had taken the time to gear up instead of hiding in her closet like a coward. The men in the clown masks had unnerved her and thrown her into a panic – when she was Batgirl, she was a fearless vigilante that criminals were afraid of. When she was at home, she was just Barbara Gordon – an information broker for the GCPD and kept out of the department by her father out of fear for her safety. She almost laughed at that – her father refused to allow her to become a GDPD cop to keep her safe, yet here she was, trapped in a closet while a psychopath taunted her in her own home.
"Take the computer – every piece of it," the woman's voice tore her from her thoughts and her eyes went wide with terror. Her computer! That's where all of her information was, where she did all of her hacking and information gathering for not only the GCPD but for Batman as well. If they took all of that, they'd know! "Listen, Barbara, I know you're in the closet. Come out, or I'll smoke you out."
Barbara quickly dried her tears and got her wits about her, trying to scrape up some courage to face whoever this woman was and whoever she had with her. She slowly crawled out of the closet and got to her feet, hesitantly looking at the women grinning at her from the doorway of her bedroom. She was ghostly pale, just like the Joker, with plum-colored hair, aqua green eyes, tattoos all over and burgundy lips. She was dressed in a plum-colored snakeskin bodysuit with a shoulder holster, ankle holster, and tactical belt on. Barbara wasn't sure since there were rumors of two female clowns running around Gotham, but she figured this one must be the one everyone called Jester.
"You're Jester," Barbara spoke as clearly and coolly as she could, doing her best not to let it crack or wobble. She wouldn't show fear in the face of the Joker's psychotic other half. Besides, if what she heard about this woman was true, she couldn't really be in any danger – Jester only killed men. Bad men, men that hurt women. She was a womens' champion much like Barbara herself, surely she wouldn't kill her?
"Bingo," Jester crooned, giggling a little. "Now that introductions are out of the way, we really need to go. You've made me quite late for my other appointments."
"Appointments? Where are you taking me? Why are you here?"
"Save your breath, Barb," Jester quipped. "All you need to worry about is moving your ass just a little faster so we can get on with it."
"Get on with what?" Barbara didn't like where this was going, not at all. She spared a glance behind her to her sofa where her cell phone sat abandoned, wishing she had kept it on her when she ran into her bedroom. It was too late now, her apartment was full of large men wearing clown makeup and clown masks, all of them ransacking her apartment and carefully taking her entire computer apart and carrying it out with them.
"Don't make me drag you, Barb," Jester threatened, slowing her stride towards the door and casting a glare over her shoulder at Barbara. "Shut up and walk. You do anything to try and catch anyone's attention – screaming, yelling, crying, banging on doors – I will have my boys chain you to the back of the van and drag you across town."
Barbara blinked in surprise, not expecting a threat like that from this woman. Had she done something to her? Had they crossed paths before? What did she want with her after midnight? What was this all about?
"MOVE," Jester barked, wrapping her pale hand tightly around Barbara's and ignoring her yelp of pain as she shoved her roughly towards the door. "If I have to tell you again, I'll get the chains myself."
Barbara said nothing, straightening her spine and keeping her chin held high as she walked out of her apartment and followed the clown men down the stairs to the ground floor, fully aware of Jester behind her and armed to the teeth. She thought about making a move – a distraction, anything – but she knew it would be futile. She couldn't reach her dad, Bruce, Dick or Jason and she certainly couldn't face off with this many of them without her gear. She'd have to try and find a way to leave a trail or reach one of them to tell them she'd been kidnapped by the Joker's sweetheart, of all people, and pray they'd come for her.
"Hey!" She snapped at the henchman that roughly shoved her inside the black van through the back doors, causing her to hit her head against the bare floor of it. "What the hell is your problem?"
Jester climbed into the van flanked by 4 of the 6 henchmen and grinned wickedly as the doors were slammed shut. The van began moving soon after, taking off like a bullet and careening dangerously through the streets of Gotham. Barbara was sliding all over the floor, banging her head, elbows, and knees several times as she was tossed about like a pinball. She growled at the way Jester and her henchmen giggled at it, amused by her pain and suffering. It was an unspoken agreement that Barbara would not be allowed to sit on one of the side benches with the rest of them. She knew how criminals like this worked – they were superior, everyone else was inferior, and to try and challenge them was an immediate death sentence. Barbara wasn't sure where they were going as the van took wild twists and turns, speeding through the streets and swerving all over the road. There were no windows at all in the back and she didn't dare try and sit up to look through the cage to the front of the van.
When it finally came to a stop, Barbara screamed and kicked like a wildcat as Jester's henchmen held her down and shackled her like a prisoner, making sure to make the cuffs painfully tight so she wouldn't even attempt escaping them. They wrenched her roughly out of the van by her chains and dragged her into what looked like an abandoned amusement park. She thought it was familiar, but she couldn't quite put her finger on it. She knew of Amusement Mile in the city, but this was completely different. She had a strange, niggling feeling that she wasn't in Gotham anymore. Nothing was surrounding this place, it sat on barren grounds in an equally abandoned and barren city. If she escaped and ran, there would be nowhere for her to go. She had no idea where she was, she had no phone or means of communication with anyone, and she knew running through the abandoned city was the equivalent of painting a giant bullseye on her back. She let them lead her through the park, keeping up with their pace so they'd stop dragging her.
She looked up at the giant, creepy Jester leering down at her from the awning and grimaced at its razor-sharp teeth and wild expression. She didn't have much time to look at it before she was being dragged through a heavy old iron gate and into a dark building. The only light inside came from dim, creepy green lamps that cast a dull green glow in the ceiling overhead that didn't help her to see at all. She let the henchmen pull her along, deciding it was better to obediently follow them than to try and navigate on her own and run in this darkness, resulting in her smacking into walls and probably falling a few times like those idiots in horror movies. No, she refused to die like that.
When they reached the heart of the building, the neon signs and strobe lights blinded her. The music playing sent chills down her spine – it was some kind of creepy, macabre circus or carnival music and it was unsettling, to say the least. There was a wooden roller coaster in the room with an old, broken-down set of cars on the tracks that looked as though they'd been lived in. What unsettled her the most, though, was the heavy oak chair in the middle of the floor with leather strap restraints built into the arms and legs and the set of torture devices next to it. She saw a switchblade, a box cutter, fish hooks, a staple gun, a nail gun, a scrap of metal next to a lighter, a blowtorch, a scalpel covered in old, dark blood, a cigar cutter, a pack of cigarettes, and a handle of what looked like Jameson Black Barrel.
"What the hell is this?" Panic settled in her chest and constricted her heart and lungs, making it hard for her to breathe. "What the hell is all of this for? Why am I here?"
"Boys..." Jester snapped her fingers and Barbara screamed bloody murder as they slammed her down in the chair and used all their strength to hold her down as they restrained her, trying to avoid her kicks, punches, scratches, and even bites as she fought them.
Once she was in, Jester grinned at her and made her way to the table. She picked up the bottle of Jameson and untwisted the cap, taking a swig straight from the bottle before offering it out to Barbara. Barbara glared at her and shook her head, seething in her seat. Jester laughed, taking another few swigs before coming around to stand in front of Barbara.
"I'm sure you're wondering why you're here," Jester drawled, folding her hands behind her back. "As you can see, I set all of this up just for you. Well, you and your dad." She snickered a little as she thought about how all of this would play out later, excited to put an end to the Commissioner. "You see, Barbara, I usually don't kill women but I'm afraid I have to make an exception tonight. Your dad interrogated my cousin recently and got pretty rough with him. Did you know he has stooped to coercing confessions from people?"
Barbara was furious. She opened her mouth to argue but Jester shot her a warning look that made her heart stop on a dime. She closed her mouth with an audible click of her jaw and watched as the woman slowly began pacing in front of her. "I watched the tape myself. Your father," Jester pointed a finger at Barbara, leveling her with a hard look, "yanked my cousin up by the collar of his jumpsuit and threatened him. When that didn't work, he continued to spit venom at my cousin and ended the interview by throwing his hot coffee at him. He was livid because my cousin invoked the 5th Amendment and reminded your daddy dearest of his rights and all the lawyers we have in our pockets. So, with all of that said, I had to kidnap you to teach your father a lesson. You see, Barbara, your dad needs to learn a very hard lesson that I've already taught many others – you don't ever fucking touch one of mine." Jester's voice was a snarl on the last sentence and her eyes darkened slightly, incensed at the images playing in her mind of Commissioner Gordon manhandling Tommy during his interrogation.
"So you're kidnapping me to get back at my father? I don't believe any of that. My father is a good man! He cleaned up the GCPD! He's the reason there aren't any more crooked cops and that the GCPD has a good relationship with Batman and -"
"Batman, yes, that's another one. Batman and his little fuckboys put my cousin in Blackgate to begin with. They're on my shit list too, right after you and your dad." Jester grinned at her, mocking her with her amusement. "Now, I knew you wouldn't believe me about the interrogation, so I brought it for you to watch while I get to work."
"What are you going to do?" Barbara looked at the table, at Jester, and then back at the table. "Kidnapping me is enough to get his attention and upset him, you don't have to do this to me! You can let me go, he'll get your message loud and clear, believe me!"
"Sorry, Babs – I can call you Babs, right?" Jester took a page out of Tommy's book and mocked the woman's name, riling her up even more as she took another swig of Jameson. "I'm not really the message type, ya know? I like to leave lasting, permanent impressions." With that, she made her way to the control room and inserted the DVD, coming back out to make sure it was playing on the big screen in the ceiling that Barbara's eyes were now glued to. "Perfect," she hummed to herself, sifting through the table of tools and figuring out what she'd like to start with. She picked up the nail gun and glanced over at the control room, making sure the tablet they had set up was still recording. The henchman inside gave her a thumbs up and she grinned, using Barbara's temporary distraction to shoot a long, 3 1/2" nail through her hand where it rested on the arm of the chair.
Barbara screamed and wailed in agony, instinctively reaching over with her other hand to pull the nail out. She stopped herself, knowing it was no use, and wept openly as blood leaked from the wound and spilled all over the arm of the chair, slowly dripping to the floor and creating a small puddle.
"Keep watching," Jester spat, grabbing Barbara by her hair and yanking her head back into position so she was forced to look ahead at the screen, "or I'll put one in your eye."
And so it began... Jester forced Barbara to watch the entire tape as she tortured and mutilated her, cackling loudly over her screams and shrieks of pain and horror. She felt no remorse as the woman wept and begged, continuing with her work. Barbara was just a means to an end – she wanted Gordon, and to get Gordon she had to have the perfect bait. Barbara wouldn't see the light of the next day, that much was for sure. If things went correctly, Commissioner Gordon wouldn't either.
- xxx -
Blackgate Isle – Blackgate Prison:
"Color me shocked," Joker mused, watching as a timid, terrified and slightly battered looking Doctor Evans slipped her way through the wall of henchmen in Solitary. He was leaning casually against the back wall by his open cell, hands in his pockets and a wicked look on his pale face. He eyed the large tote bag she was dragging behind her and chuckled, realizing the package his boys delivered to her must've been too heavy for her to carry. "Give it here, Elise." He straightened up off the wall and took the bag from her, pulling out the duct-taped box inside and ripping it open with ease. His face lit up like a kid's on Christmas as he took stock of all the toys inside. He always kept a stash in his office at Giggles in case of emergencies like this one and his boys had done well – he had an assortment of switchblades, butterfly knives, guns, a ridiculous amount of ammunition, a potato peeler, a box cutter, a fifth of whiskey, a carton of smokes, a box of matches, a shoulder holster and several different Joker Venom weapons – grenades, smoke bombs, carefully packed hypodermic needles, aerosol canisters, and vials of it to use as he wished.
Joker unbuttoned his jumpsuit down to his waist and let the top of it fall before wrapping it around his waist and tying it off. He ignored the way Doctor Evan's eyes roamed over his naked upper half as he slipped his holster on and got to work loading every magazine he found in the box and strategically hiding everything else in the waistband of his boxers and jumpsuit, his socks, shoes, and slipping a few packs of smokes, matches, and smaller knives into the straps of his holster.
"Boys," he nodded at Tommy, Johnny, Deadshot, and Hammer before tossing them each a gun, two loaded extended magazines for them, two packs of smokes and matches for them, and a few extra knives he found at the bottom of the box.
"I expect that jackass Double-Tap will be bringing proper equipment for the rooftop?" The dark look on Deadshot's face was enough to make even Joker a little apprehensive. Deadshot's disdain for the man was clear as day.
"You know Jester and Harley will make sure you're properly strapped," he winked at Deadshot and chuckled to himself, picturing Deadshot blowing a hole in the back of Double-Tap's head as soon as everything was said and done and leaving his headless corpse on the roof to rot.
"Speaking of them..." Tommy ran his hands down his face and shook his head, looking more frazzled than ever. "Where will they be? Will we be seeing them at all?"
"Your jobs," Joker pointed at Tommy, Johnny, Hammer, and the rest of his men, "are to run interference throughout the prison. You'll probably see them in passing as they keep the rodent squad busy. You all need to look out for our guys – you all know who they are. Make sure none of the other inmates, GCPD, or the Bat-Family impede them in any way. Everyone's got a part to play tonight, none of us can afford to be caught up with those assholes."
A small cough behind him caught Joker's attention and he turned to face Doctor Evans, noticing Frankie was standing protectively at her side between her and the rest of Joker's men. He smirked at that, amused at the strange shift in their attitudes toward each other. He knew Frankie had gone after her the day before and given her his jacket to keep her warm and covered as he escorted her to her car through a side door so she didn't have to do the walk of shame through the entire prison, bleeding heart that the idiot was. "Make it quick, Doc. I don't have time for this."
"What am I supposed to do?" She looked at him expectantly and crossed her arms.
Joker laughed. "You? Well sweetheart, unless you wanna watch the show and egg the GCPD on to kill me – monster that I am," he grinned at her, entertained by her obvious nervousness as she shifted her feet and her eyes darted around the room as if expecting to be attacked at any moment. "You can run along. I only needed you to smuggle my toys in for me."
"You humiliated and abused me like that just to have me bring you a fucking box?" She was seething, balling her hands up into fists at her sides. "You cracked my head open, choked me, dragged me, and tortured me over a BOX?!"
"So... it wasn't as good for you as it was for me?" Joker goaded her, giggling at her furious expression and rigid stance.
"You sick piece of shit!" She didn't think – she was acting out of pure rage once more as she lunged at him and swung, her fist connecting with his jaw.
Joker cackled, catching her wrist in his hand and delighting in the loud CRACK that rang out in the cold, dark stone room when her fist hit his jaw. The broad had broken her knuckles on his bone. He couldn't contain himself, cackling hysterically as he held her wrist in place and ducked another punch from her left hand. "Frankie, get this dumb broad outta here before I pump her full of lead."
"That's fine, Joker. I can't wait to leave – I'll march my ass right to the GCPD and tell Commissioner Gordon everything that's going on here and about the others on the outside. I'll tell him everything! I'll even wait for the Batman to show up so I can give him details."
Joker's laughter stopped and his eyes darkened slightly at her threat. He applied the littlest amount of pressure to her wrist and grinned when she screamed in pain, her bones on the verge of snapping. One tiny push with his thumb and her wrist would snap quite painfully. "Such threats," he growled, bringing his face closer to hers. "I'd love to see you try and get out of this room alive, let alone the rest of the prison." He didn't tear his eyes from her as he addressed Frankie. "Frankie, what time you got?"
"2:15, boss," Frankie muttered, keeping a close eye on the petite woman in Joker's death grip.
"2:15, huh? So little Elise here has 45 minutes or less to try and make it out of this room and the rest of the prison alive before she runs into the very woman she tried to impersonate – the only one who might show her mercy out of the entire squad that will be accompanying her." Joker's face lit back up and he giggled, releasing her wrist and backing off from her. "Whaddya say, Doc? Think you can make it? I gotta tell ya, Harley might rip your face right off if she sees ya. Or would it be Catwoman?" He looked over to Tommy and Deadshot and quirked a brow in question.
"My money's on Harley," Tommy admitted. "Selina would probably just humiliate her until she cried."
"Sounds about right," Deadshot mused, chuckling to himself. "My girl doesn't do too much talking when it comes down to business."
"Don't you think you've done enough to me, Joker?" Doctor Evans argued, boldly reaching out and clasping her hand around the same arm she savagely clawed at the day before. "Please, just let me go. I won't say anything. I'll go right home and I won't say anything to anyone."
"I can't trust you, Doc," Joker said softly, mockingly pouting at her. "You refused my offer, you ducked me for 3 days, you antagonized me, mocked me, and worst of all – you hurt my feelings."
"I hurt your... what?" Doctor Evans' eyes were as wide as saucers in shock at his statement. "What?"
"You heard me, Doc. You hurt my feelings. You called me a monster and told me you hope I die." He slumped his shoulders a little, mimicking a dejected expression. "I cried all night long!"
Cruel, deafening laughter erupted in the room and Doctor Evans shuddered, crossing her arms over her chest and rubbing them to try and comfort herself. The hairs on the back of her neck stood on end, chills ran down her spine, and she felt like an elephant was sitting on her chest. She was terrified. She knew her chances of leaving were slim to none at this point, thanks to her lack of self-control and her forked tongue.
"Let's play a game, sweetheart," Joker growled, slowly beginning to circle her the same way she imagined vultures did as they watched their prey die, patiently waiting for the animal to take its last breath before they would descend upon it and tear it to shreds. "I'll give you a 2-minute head start. Two minutes to get out of this room before I send my boys after ya. At 3:00 every single cell in this prison will open and you will be a pretty little gazelle among starved lions."
"That's hardly fair," she choked on a sob, curling in on herself. She was stuck against a wall between Joker and the rest of his men in the way back of the room. It would take that whole 2 minutes just to push through them and try to reach the door. "Please, Joker, just let me go. I'm sorry! I'm sorry for all of it, I was wrong. I'll do anything, just let me go!"
Joker sighed and ran his tongue over his teeth. "We already played that game, Elise." He rolled his head around and cracked his neck, groaning in annoyance before leveling her with a glare. "Clock's ticking." He grinned at her and pointed towards the door.
It took her a moment to process what he'd said before her legs seemed to move of their own accord. She shoved her way through his men, tearing through the room as fast as her legs would carry her and slammed the door behind her as she burst into the corridor. She sprinted down the entire length of it towards the stairs, screaming in terror as Joker's loud, booming voice and laughter chased her.
"RUN RABBIT, RUN!"
"Are ya really gonna send us after her?" One of the henchmen piped up and eyed Joker warily.
"Of course not, you dumb ape," Joker snapped. "We have less than an hour to get set up. Forget about the broad, get to your stations, set up, and do your jobs! Be quiet about it – we don't have control until 3:00."
They didn't need to be told twice. The entire room cleared out, leaving Joker with Tommy, Johnny, Deadshot and Frankie Boles who decided to keep to himself in a far off corner.
"So we still don't know why she moved the plan up to today?" Johnny was genuinely curious as he folded his muscular arms over his stomach. "She just said 'something came up'?"
"Nobody's talking," Joker hissed, pulling his phone from his pocket and waving it at Johnny. "They won't answer me."
"Jesus," Tommy gave a low whistle, both eyebrows raised in surprise. "So they've all sided with her? We're so fucked when they get here. I have a feeling the reunion won't be pleasant."
"What happened to the ballsy kid who carved up a member of his own family in the basement of my club?" Joker pinned Tommy with his gaze. "Don't be a wimp, Tommy. Besides, I've got a feeling this early breakout has somethin' to do with you."
"Me? Why me?"
"Yeah, why him?" Deadshot glanced at Tommy. "No offense, man."
Tommy waved him off and all three men waited for Joker to explain.
"I don't think it's a coincidence she changed her mind and moved the plans up after watching your interrogation tape. This has something to do with you, I just know it." Joker leaned back against the wall, waiting patiently as the minutes slowly ticked by.
"I don't think that's enough for her to up the date and put her anger aside to get us outta here," Tommy argued, shrugging a little. "It wasn't that bad."
"As angry as she is at us, she's still Jester – she'll still slaughter someone for putting their hands on someone she loves. She can stick up for us while holding a grudge against us at the same time. She's quirky like that." Johnny smirked at Tommy and chuckled a little, clapping him on the back in a show of support. "Being angry at us doesn't mean she doesn't love us or care about us anymore."
"What he said," Deadshot nodded at Johnny. "Hit the nail right on the head."
- xxx -
GCPD HQ:
Officer Santos' burner phone lit up with the text he'd been waiting for all night. He was in the bullpen with his partner, Officer Deckard, both of them sitting at their desks and fucking around while they waited. "It's time," Officer Santos mouthed to Officer Deckard.
They both got up from their desks and Officer Santos grabbed his keys, both men heading out towards the car. They put the light on top of the car, turning it on along with their siren and raced to Commissioner Gordon's house, skidding to a dramatic halt in his driveway to sell their act.
Ruiz was already on his way to the Funhouse, summoned by Jester to help her get rid of Barbara's body before the two officers arrived with Commissioner Gordon.
As they expected, the old Commissioner came storming out of the house in uniform and armed to the teeth, a lit cigarette hanging from his lips. "What is it this time?" His tone almost seemed bored, but Officer Santos knew better – Commissioner Gordon was merely desensitized after all the shit he'd seen over the years since he first became a GCPD cop.
"It's Barbara, sir," Officer Santos' expression was the perfect picture of panic. He reached for his phone and pulled up a video of Barbara being dragged out of her apartment building by Jester and six henchmen in clown masks and makeup. Jester was clever enough to have a guy on the opposite side of the street to take the video as if he was a witness, sending the video to Officer Santos on a burner phone he later tossed in the river. "She's been taken by Jester. I don't know who sent it in, this is all I've got."
"Where did they take her?! Where's my baby girl?!" Commissioner Gordon grabbed Officer Santos by the collar, shaking him as he unraveled. "Where is she?!"
"We think they might've taken her to this abandoned theme park. When we arrived at the scene, this was on the ground outside the apartment building. I think they wanted you to see it." Officer Deckard pulled an admission ticket out of his pocket and handed it over to Commissioner Gordon.
Commissioner Gordon looked at the vintage looking ticket with a creepy, hollow-eyed Jester on the front of it. The wide, wicked grin the Jester sported mocked him as if it was laughing at his fury. He grit his teeth as he read the jagged, harsh black lettering on the card, struggling to maintain his self-control.
"Commissioner Gordon,
Your presence has been requested at the Joker's Funhouse at 2:00 AM.
Don't be late, Barbara is just dying to see you!"
"That bitch!" Commissioner Gordon ripped the card up and tossed the pieces to the ground. "Where is this abandoned amusement park?"
- xxx -
The Mansion Safe House:
"I told ya I'd make it back with some time to spare," Jester grinned at Jonathan as she made her way into the nursery at precisely 2:00.
"I never doubted you," he purred, wrapping his arms tight around her from behind as she loomed over the crib to smile at the babies.
"You two ready for a bedtime song?" She leaned over and pressed a kiss to Ace's forehead and then another to Reina's before straightening back up. Finally deciding on a song to sing, she leaned back comfortably against Jonathan and rested her arms over his.
"All my friends are heathens, take it slow
Wait for them to ask you who you know
Please don't make any sudden moves
You don't know the half of the abuse
All my friends are heathens, take it slow
Wait for them to ask you who you know
Please don't make any sudden moves
You don't know the half of the abuse
Welcome to the room of people
Who have rooms of people that they loved one day
Stocked away
Just because we check the guns at the door
Doesn't mean our brains will change from hand grenades
You're lovin' on the psychopath sitting next to you
You're lovin' on the murderer sitting' next to you
You'll think, 'How'd I get here, sitting next to you?'
But after all I've said, please don't forget
All my friends are heathens, take it slow
Wait for them to ask you who you know
Please don't make any sudden moves
You don't know the half of the abuse
We don't deal with outsiders very well
They say newcomers have a certain smell
You have trust issues, not to mention
They say they can smell your intentions
You're lovin' on the freakshow sitting next to you
You'll have some weird people sitting next to you
You'll think, 'How did I get here, sitting next to you?'
But after all I've said, please don't forget
All my friends are heathens, take it slow
Wait for them to ask you who you know
Please, all my friends are heathens, take it slow
Wait for them to ask you who you know..."
The babies were fast asleep before the song was over and Jester took a moment to watch them, trying to calm the little bit of anxiety creeping up on her. She was nervous about tonight. There were so many things that could go wrong – there were a lot of people involved and everyone had a different role to play. A simple mistake could blow the whole thing to smithereens. She didn't want them to end up trapped inside the prison with the Bat-Family without everything set up and executed correctly. There would be no room for error tonight. Riddler's involvement was detrimental to the plan – she prayed he'd cooperate tonight and execute his part of the plan as flawlessly as he assured her he could.
"You're overthinking," Jonathan whispered in her ear, pulling her closer to him. "Everything will be just fine. Now, let's wash this old blood off of you and head over to Port Adams before we're late."
Jester turned to face him and smiled, pecking him on the lips. "I'm not gonna wash it off – I have a feeling my appearance is going to do a number on the Bat-Family's sanity."
Jonathan raised an eyebrow but said nothing. He tilted his head down and caught her lips in a passionate, desperate kiss; communicating everything he wanted to say to her at that moment with his lips and tongue. His hands fisted in her blood-soaked plum locks and he held her as close as he possibly could, terrified of letting her go at all tonight.
When they finally came up for air, Jester gave him a reassuring smile and cupped his face in her hands. "I'll be fine, Craney, I promise. We'll have time together after everything is said and done, and you know I'll be leading at least one of those idiots right to you at some point. I'll have my radio on me at all times."
The telltale glowing orange of Scarecrow's eyes rimmed Jonathan's sky blue irises and Jester grinned. "If any of those brutes harm you, we want to know immediately." The dual voice was a little raspier and quieter than usual, and Jester chuckled as she realized Scarecrow was trying not to wake the sleeping babies. They moved out of the nursery and into the hallway, making their way downstairs to the garage as they talked.
"I'll keep in contact with you as much as possible." Jester squeezed Jonathan's hand reassuringly and yanked him closer to her to press a kiss to his cheek. "You forget I'll be with Ivy, Harley, and Copperhead. I'll be just fine."
"I will kill anyone that dares to put a hand on you," Scarecrow's voice was overpowering Jonathan's as he slowly took control. "I swear it."
"I know," Jester mused, stroking his cheek with her thumb. "Let's get going, baby. We don't wanna be late."
They both climbed into Jester's GNX and she took off like a shot, racing towards Port Adams to meet the others.
- xxx -
Blackgate Isle – Blackgate Prison:
The plan was going swimmingly so far. Everyone – even Mad Hatter – had shown up on time at Port Adams ready to go. Poison Ivy released her spores inside of the prison while Copperhead distracted the guards in the post at the entrance to the bridge and took their radios and cell phones. Poison Ivy used her spores to brainwash them into letting the bridge down for them, making sure they'd pull it back up and not allow anyone else through after their caravan of criminals. They made it over the bridge and past the first guard post without any trouble at all and now stood in the main lobby of the prison while Jester directed everyone.
"You're up on the roof with Deadshot," Jester gave Double-Tap her 'don't fuck with me' look and the man simply nodded before heading off, much to Jester's relief. She was in no mood for petty arguments with the arrogant hitman.
"Riddler, you're in the Control Room with Joker," Jester ignored the scathing glare the raving genius gave her. "Radio me as soon as you've hacked the system – I need you to gain control of the Gotham Radio Towers after that."
"Must I share such a tight space with your insufferable beau?"
Jester leveled Riddler with a glare of her own. "He won't be there with you all night, so don't get your panties in a twist. You'll have the Control Room all to yourself once he's done."
Riddler seethed as he stormed off in the most dramatic fashion possible, muttering under his breath with his fists clenched at his sides. Harley barked a laugh at him, twirling a pigtail in one hand and lazily swinging her bat in the other. "What a loon!"
"Harvey," Jester looked at Two-Face who was taking stock of their group and scowling at Copperhead. "I need you to gather your guys and hang out in the corridor to Solitary. You're the last trap before Bane."
Two-Face grinned at this and lit himself two cigarettes, one clove and one non-menthol. "You got it doll," he growled. "See ya on the flip side!" He cackled as he strode pompously through the entryway and towards the corridor that would lead him towards Solitary, his wicked laughter bouncing off of the stone walls.
"Hatter..." Jester raised an eyebrow at the skittish looking man, trying to decipher whether he was coherent and lucid enough to pay attention and understand what he was supposed to be doing. "You're in the cafeteria, got it?"
"Down the rabbit hole I go!" He clapped his hands and giggled, nodding enthusiastically.
Jester had noticed when they all met at Port Adams that Mad Hatter hadn't brought a hostage as she'd hoped and she was curious. "Are you going to find your Alice?"
"Of course!" He looked affronted by the question. "I know she's here somewhere!"
Jester and the others watched him scamper off like an excited child, singing and skipping his way through the corridors in search of a suitable 'Alice' for his twisted mind games.
"Right..." Jonathan rolled his eyes and leaned back comfortably against the reception desk. "The rest of you know where you're supposed to be, correct?"
Everyone nodded.
"I will be in Solitary with my radio," Bane's voice reverberated off the walls. "If you need me, you call me." He gave Jester, Harley, Poison Ivy and Copperhead a stern look. "Do not hesitate to ask for my assistance, ladies."
"We'll be fine!" Harley blew him a kiss and winked. "Us girls are gonna give those jerks a run for their money!"
"You should know better than to think I would need any assistance, Bane," Copperhead grinned at him and pat him on the arm. "Good luck."
"You should know better than to assume I require any luck," Bane retorted, nudging the snake hybrid playfully. "I will keep the burnt one occupied in the meantime."
His booming laughter was like music to Jester's ears. She hugged him as tight as she possibly could, holding onto him for a few moments before releasing him. "If all goes well tonight, Gotham will be ours."
"Everything will go precisely as planned, darling," Jonathan reassured her, nodding his goodbye to Bane as the hulking luchador made his way out of the main entrance. "With our numbers and your genius plan, we are sure to win tonight."
"I love you," Jester whispered, pulling him close to her and wrapping her arms around him.
"I love it when you say those three little words – really, I do," he pulled back a little and tilted his head, looking her in the eye, "but I'd love them even more if you didn't make them sound like they're the last I'll ever hear."
"I don't mean to. I'm just nervous and paranoid. If anything goes wrong -"
Jonathan cut her off with a kiss, not allowing her to finish her sentence or to let her doubts and anxiety eat away at her. He gently pushed her up against a wall, ignoring the stares and whistles from the rest of their group as he ravaged her mouth with his own. He put his all into the kiss, hoping it would erase all of her uneasiness. "I love you, my gorgeous little clown. I'll see you soon."
Jester smiled and nodded, giving him one last hug before he said his goodbyes to the rest of the group and headed for the morgue.
"Alright, ladies," Poison Ivy broke the silence and smiled brightly at Jester, Harley, and Copperhead. "Let's get to work."
- xxx -
Blackgate Isle – Blackgate Prison – Morgue:
"Your presence is required in the Control Room, Clown," Scarecrow was in full control of Jonathan's body as he filled more than a dozen hypodermic needles with different strains of his Fear Toxin. He set them all up in separate clusters; one for the strain with Copperhead's venom, one for the strain with Poison Ivy's poison and pheromones, one for the strain with Joker Venom, and one for his highly concentrated original strain.
Joker sauntered into the morgue and smirked at Scarecrow, stopping just across the table from where Scarecrow stood and looking closely at his glowing orange irises. "Ouch, Straw Man! Not even a 'hello' first?"
Scarecrow growled in annoyance and met Joker's gaze. "What do you want, Joker?"
"How is she?"
"She's nervous," Scarecrow said coolly. "She'll be fine. She's with Ivy, the snake, and Harley."
Joker picked up one of the Joker Venom x Fear Toxin filled needles and hummed in approval as he examined it. He ignored the dirty look Scarecrow shot him for interrupting him and messing up his setup. "You wouldn't happen to know where exactly she is, would you?"
"I assume she isn't keen on you finding out if her refusal to answer your repeated attempts of reaching her on the radio is anything to go by."
"I see," Joker's eyes flashed for a moment and he set the needle back down carefully. He pinned Scarecrow with his gaze, setting his hands down on the table Scarecrow was using and pursed his lips in irritation. "Tell me, Scaredy-Crow... have you been enjoying keeping my seat warm?"
"So it begins," Scarecrow mused, chuckling under his breath. "I was waiting for the day you'd try to put a stop to this little arrangement. Afraid of losing her, Joker?" He grinned wickedly at Joker from across the table, completely unafraid and confident.
"You know I don't fear anything." Joker leaned forward across the table, getting right in Scarecrow's face to try and intimidate him. "I respect you, Scarecrow, so I'll tell ya the truth – you will never, ever take her from me. Don't delude yourself into thinking she'd ever leave me for you. We both know you're more intelligent than that."
"Do not delude yourself into thinking she'll ever leave me. She will not choose between us, but if you force her hand I guarantee I will be the victor. Unlike you, Joker, I understand her and I am patient with her. You are impatient, irrational, and have a short fuse. You would only push her into my waiting arms." Scarecrow drew himself up to his full height and looked down his nose at Joker. "Perhaps you should be more concerned with fulfilling your role in this breakout since you're one of the reasons she's doing this in the first place."
Joker's eyes darkened and he snarled at Scarecrow from across the table. "The day you try to take her from me will be the day you draw your last breath, Scarecrow. She is mine. She is the mother of my child. I met her and claimed her first – it is by my grace that you have the liberties you do with her."
"You know, she was just talking about having baby fever and how lovely it was being pregnant the other day. I have to say, it piqued my interest – I've been debating planting a seed of my own in her womb ever since." Scarecrow laughed cruelly as Joker's expression contorted with rage, knowing he struck a nerve. He had no fear – in fact, he hoped Joker would harm him in some way or even attempt to kill him – if he did, Jester would never forgive him and she'd be his and Jonathan's forever.
Joker reined himself in before he lost control, gripping the table so tight his knuckles nearly ripped through his skin. "What a shame it would be if something awful happened to you," Joker threatened. "Accidents happen, or so they say."
"You and I both know she would never forgive you. You're already unraveling after mere days of her giving you the cold shoulder because of the good Doctor – what do you think she'd do if you harmed or killed us?"
"Keep pushing me, Straw Man, and we'll find out." Joker flipped the table and grinning maliciously at Scarecrow as the needles hit the floor and smashed, leaving puddles of mixed strains all over the floor. He turned and stormed out of the morgue without a word; more determined to find Jester than he was before.
He was too wrapped up in his rage to hear Scarecrow's laughter echoing down the dark, damp, creepy corridor after him as he set to work filling new needles.
- xxx -
Blackgate Isle – Blackgate Prison – Rooftop:
"About goddamn time," Deadshot barked as Double-Tap sauntered over to him and dropped a big duffel bag in front of him.
"Don't start with me, man," Double-Tap snapped, glaring at his competition.
Deadshot narrowed his eyes at the other man and crouched down, unzipping the bag and sifting through it. "Who packed this?"
"Who do you think?" Double-Tap rolled his eyes and crossed his arms.
"That's my girl," Deadshot mused, pulling his mask and all of his favorite guns from the bag. There was a note inside his mask from Harley – a small piece of paper with 'Hiya Puddin'!' scrawled on it, signed with a cherry red kiss mark.
"Let's get to it." Double-Tap crouched down and retrieved his guns from the bag and made his way to the opposite end of the roof to set up.
"Yo!"
Double-Tap hissed in irritation, craning his neck around to look at Deadshot. "What, man?"
"You got a radio on you?"
Double-Tap rolled his eyes again and pulled his radio from his pocket, waving it obnoxiously at Deadshot. "Can we work in silence now?"
"Man, shut up. I'm doing my damn job. Don't be mad that nobody had enough faith in your ass to put you up here by yourself." Deadshot smirked at him and turned back around at his post, setting up all his guns and slipping his mask on.
"If you're so good, why was I put up here with you?"
Deadshot laughed, turning back to face Double-Tap. "To learn from the best."
"Cocky prick," Double-Tap sneered.
"I ain't the only one."
- xxx -
Blackgate Isle – Blackgate Prison – The Jungle:
"Did we miss the announcement?" Tommy was pacing the Jungle, trying to burn off excess energy and his anxiety. "What are we waiting for?"
"Relax, kiddo," Johnny chuckled. He was sitting down on one of the benches with Hammer and a few other guys. "He's not in the Control Room yet. Probably prowling around trying to find Jester since she won't answer him."
"Jesus Christ, we're never getting outta here at this rate." Tommy scoffed, finally planting himself down at an empty table. He lit up a smoke for himself and shook his head. "Can't he just wait until we're all outta here?"
"You know J," Johnny quipped. "He does what he wants when he wants and nobody gets in his way."
"Nobody but my cousin."
Hammer laughed, looking across the way at Tommy. "We've got all morning and day, man. Either way, we're gonna be stuck here for a long time. Might as well get comfortable and relax while you still have some time to."
Tommy huffed and looked at his watch. 3:42 AM. "We're never going home, man."
Johnny, Hammer, and the rest of the guys hung out and played cards to pass the time, more than happy to sit there relaxing and bullshitting until all of the action began.
- xxx -
*I know I'm leaving you guys with a bit of a cliff hanger but I promise it'll be worth it! I have very, very big plans for this breakout, our villain friends, the Bat-Family and Gotham.
As I said, there will be a sequel! All of this is building up to it. :)