'Shit!' He yelled as he jumped off the girl, Gayle, or something.
Ivy had no manners, which was established long ago.
Sticking that green thumb of hers in his relationship with Harley...
She's probably the reason why Harley's M.I.A...
'What the hell?!' She shrieked as she searched in vain for her missing underwear.
The dress she wore shimmered in the light; it was her mother's dress and matching shoes.
Ah, Gabrielle Gagsworth! He remembered. That's what her name is!
A kid who'd been dealing for him since she was 8.
Oldest of 8 kids, her mother's a prostitute, and her father's a drunk.
She worked under Harley as all his kid workers did...
Harley always bragged about her; she was her favorite.
Harley brought her leather jacket once...
'Get out! I need to speak with the clown!' Ivy demanded.
'Excuse me,' the girl pouted, 'but we-'
'Out.' He sighed.
She let out a whine and stormed out the room, slamming the door behind her, Ivy glaring as she left.
'How old is she?!' Ivy demanded.
'Haven't had the chance to check her ID.' He remarked casually.
'She doesn't look legal.'
'She's legal!' He spat viciously at her. 'I think.'
'Ugh! You're disgusting!'
'Is there a reason why you're here, Ivy?' He asked flatly. 'Unless you're here to piss me off genuinely?'
She looked at the door, then looked at him.
'There's a girl out there.'
'She's legal!' He hissed.
Who was she to lecture him on his sexual preference!
'No, a little girl.'
'Ivy, I don't date children. Gaggy's legal. She's... 19.'
'No, the little girl... I think she's...'
'Up past her bedtime?' He looked at his watch. 'It's about 11:30, so yeah, she is.' Ivy looked away from him. 'I don't have time for this, Doc.'
'The little girl...'
'The little girl, yes?'
'She's got a picture of you.'
He grinned. 'A picture, Ivy?! Everyone in Gotham's got a picture of me!' He said with a manic smile.
'I doubt they've got one like this.'
He rolled his eyes and buckled his pants.
'Aight, lemme see it.'
Ivy cautiously approached the grinning man and timidly handed him the old photo.
It was Rebecca Brown and Joseph Kerr.
But Joseph Kerr was dead now, as was his grin.
'Where did you get this!' His voice was quiet.
'She had it on her person.'
He could feel Ivy's eyes on him, awaiting his response.
'Ok, so I knew her mother,' he flung it back towards her, 'so what?'
'A little girl with a photo of you with her mother shows up in Gotham looking for you-'
'She's looking for me?!' He laughed bitterly. 'I highly doubt that!'
'She's a photo of you, she's-'
'She's confused! She's confused because her mother told her the first name she could remember!'
He turned away from her as thoughts of Rebecca Brown hit him like a slap in the face.
'She has your eyes.'
He shook away the thought of wanting to see those eyes.
'Where the hell did you get her from?'
'I found her on the street.'
'Don't they are usually dumping them at an orphanage or something!'
'I think she ran away. Zsasz had her when I found her.'
'So she's missing!' he said quickly. 'I don't want that heat yet!' He shook his head. 'Get her out of here! I don't care what you do; get her away from me!'
'Joker,' she let out an exasperated sigh, 'just look at her.'
'I'd rather not.'
Ivy, for once, didn't press him. 'Fine.'
He heard the door open and close; then, he heard a small voice.
He found himself creeping towards the door.
I'm entitled to see what she looks like. He told himself. Who did she look like; him or Bex?
He hoped she looked like Rebecca; it was the only way she'd make it Gotham...
He opened the door and peered through the crack.
There she stood, the child.
The girl had long waist-length blonde hair in two fat pigtails.
There were traces of green streaks; did she do that herself?
She had Rebecca's face...
She was a bit too petite for his liking; didn't they feed them?
He couldn't see her eyes; bushy bangs covered them.
She was wearing a striped long-sleeved shirt, pink and green denim shorts, and white sneakers.
She looked wet; was she out during the rainstorm?
Ivy pushed the bangs out of the girl's face...
Those were his eyes, alright... but they looked better on her.
They were wide and red; it was like someone licked the red off her lollipop.
She's in Gotham now; somebody probably stole that lollipop.
Her eyes darted over to him; she gasped as her eyes drank him in.
He slammed the door shut when she made eye contact.
He didn't need the unnecessary emotional connection...
You get too attached to a person, and they leave...
Rebecca...
Harley...
They all leave...
****
'I don't care what my father says.' Damien Wayne told his best friend, Colin Wilkes. 'I will find Josephine Kerr.'
Colin nodded in agreement, but not for the same reasons.
'Josephine Kerr needs to be found; she could be in danger or worse. That night where we saw her, another kid went missing. And no one has seen her since.'
'Does she have any friends?'
Colin shook his head. 'The other girls say she's too stuck up or funny looking. The last time she was seen was with a woman claiming to be a cousin.'
'How does this cousin look?'
'Some of the witnesses said she was a Tori Vega-looking chick.' Colin said dismissively. 'Stupid.'
'Tori Vega?'
'She's called Gaggy.'
'Gaggy?' Repeated Damien bemused.
'Her name is Gagsworth.'
Damien rolled his eyes. 'I'll check the criminal database for a... Miss. Gagsworth.'
'It sounds familiar, I think might know her.' Colin glanced over at his brooding friend. 'Penny for thoughts?'
'Huh?' The brunet turned to him. 'What did you say?
'What's on your mind?'
The boy looked away from him. 'I asked him to help me track her down.' He said quietly.
'Him?'
'The Batman.'
Colin's eyes widened. To Damien, there was only one Batman.
'What did he say?'
'What do you think he said? He doesn't trust me.' He growled.
'Maybe... if you prove yourself, he'll trust you.'
He looked at him. 'And how would I go about that?'
'I dunno.' Colin said as he looked out over the city. 'Maybe if you helped him find her.'
He couldn't exact his revenge on Josephine Kerr with his father standing over his shoulders.
'Help him?'
'If you help him, it'll show that you can be trusted.'
'You see, it's the slow knife,' he remembers his mother saying to him once, it was a lesson on patience.
'The slow knife that takes its time, the knife that waits years without forgetting, then slips quietly between bones. That's the knife that cuts the deepest.'
That's what he would do; he would be patient.
'Alright.' He said with his most pleasant smile. 'I will help my father.
She will suffer to her last breath. He thought as he looked out over the city.
****
All his thoughts went back to her...
How do I even really know if the kid's mine?
Josephine's been on Joker's mind the second he saw her...
She can't be mine; she's too perfect.
That's what it is; she's not mine!
She's not my daughter!
But she has my eyes... and lips...
And Bex was no whore...
Shit!
Joker, you're thinking too hard!
Breathe!
Take a step back.
And think...
A simple blood test will solve this mystery.
I can't waltz into Gotham Memorial a demand a DNA test!
I mean, I could, but...
But that would bring on pain in the ass, doctor, as a witness!
Unless that doctor owes you a favor...
A grin spreads on his face as he thinks of the perfect doctor...
****
'Gagsworth!' Barked a shrill voice. 'Gabrielle Gagsworth!'
Gabrielle whipped her head in the direction of the voice and mental sigh.
The Joker stood a few feet away from her as she stood outside her brother's school.
Why is he here? She wondered with dread as she approached him.
'Sir?' She said timidly.
'Why are you here?' He asked.
'Picking up my little brother...' she said weakly.
'I thought you said that he was 15.'
'I also said he was dealing with a bully problem.'
'Oh, you want me to get him a gun?'
Was he joking?
'Are you serious?'
'Dead.'
'Uh, no!' She said hotly. 'I don't want him to be the school shooter!'
'I was...' he said calmly as he scratched his neck. 'I turned out ok...'
Gabrielle suppressed a shudder. 'I don't want that for Nate.'
'Don't be so worrisome.' He laughed as he kissed her cheek. 'We can plan it in a way that he doesn't get caught.'
'Mr. Joker, that's not going to happen.'
'Fine.' He rolled his eyes as she wiped the lipstick off her face. 'Stick in the mud.'
'What was that?'
'I need you to do something for me.' He said quickly.
She hoped it wasn't what she thought it was; he liked doing that.
He never gave off that kind of vibe before...
But he had Harley then...
And she was a kid then...
'What is it?'
'The child.' He said quietly. 'The kid we met at Ivy's.'
'Josie?!' She said with a hint of excitement. 'She's a sweetheart.'
Pause.
'What about her?'
'Ugh!' He rolled his eyes. 'Will you get that look off your face!'
'What look?'
'Like I'm going to spaz out and kill everybody!'
'Oh, sorry.' She forced a smile. 'What about her?'
'I need you to get her for me.'
Get her? What did that mean?
'Umm, sir?'
'Go to Ivy's place and grab the kid.'
'It's a... you're not going to kill her, are you?'
'I'll kill you if you don't obey me!'
Gabrielle paled at the threat. 'What do you want with her?'
'There's that look again!'
Gabrielle turned red and looked at her feet.
'Well, Ivy's not to let her go...'
He laughed at the remark. 'Don't you worry about Ivy?'
This only heightened her worries.
'When should we get her?'
'We're going to snatch her tonight.'
'I never kidnapped anyone before.'
'We'll bring her back...'
'Why are we snatching her?'
'I need to ease my troubles, and- Will you get that look off your face!'
'What if someone sees you?' She murmured as she turned around, facing the school.
'So what?'
'I don't want to get arrested in front of my brother's school.'
'You worry too much!' He laughed gleefully as he kissed her cheek, getting lipstick on her cheek again. 'Don't worry, Kitten.'
Kitten, his pet name for her, whispered in her ear just before his... climax...
The use of her name brought unwanted feelings of longing...
Including him, she'd only been with two people...
Why did it have to be him to make her ache like this?
'I can't help it.' She bit back a moan. 'Just... lemme take my brother home, and I'll meet you at the spot.'
He grinned at her and kissed her on the mouth while grabbing her ass.
'Call me when you get home.' He said with a grin.
****
She didn't like to sleep anymore, but Josie couldn't fathom why.
It was like her limbs didn't want to stay still.
So she did her ballet stretches until they ached; only then did her body allow sleep.
When finally she did manage to fall asleep, her mind would race.
She constantly thought of her grandparents, her friend back in Park Ridge, Colin, Robin, and The Joker.
I wonder what Grace is doing.
Grace Jones was her best friend; she missed her.
Did Grace miss her?
Did her teachers miss her?
Is there anyone in Park Ridge thinking about her?
She wondered what Colin was doing.
He ran away as she did; was he still missing?
Did Mr. Zsasz get him?
Maybe she tries to find Batman and Robin... so they could help.
But Robin is such a jerk!
Throwing a ninja star at her, pulling her hair, and slamming her head on her ground...
Joker could make him sorry.
No matter who she thought of, thoughts of Joker seemed to chase them away.
She couldn't stop thinking about him...
She hadn't seen him since the rainstorm...
Did he think about her?
Did he know about her before?
Did he want to see her?
'Pssst.' A tap on the greenhouse window forced Josie upright.
Her legs were really to move anyway.
She went over to the window and saw Gabrielle Gagsworth waving at her nervously.
'Gabrielle?' She said weakly as she unlocked the window. 'What are you doing here?'
'I came to see you.' She said in a shaky voice. 'Come outside.'
'Come outside?'
'Climb out the window.'
'Um...'
'I'll help you.'
Gabrielle took her hand and helped her climb out the window.
'You came to see me. Did the Joker come with you?'
'As a matter of fact,' said a silvery voice, 'I did.'
The Joker stood posted on the wall, holding a cigarette; he looked at everything but her.
He was wearing a purple trench coat and matching pants and shoes.
His emerald green hair was slicked back, and gold his watch glistened in the moonlight.
Josie could have sworn she felt her heart stop when she saw him.
'You... you're here.' She said in disbelief.
'That I am.'
Josie approached him cautiously. 'You came to see me?'
'I came to square things up.'
'Square things up?'
What did that mean?
'I want to introduce you to a friend of mine.'
'A friend?' She said, hopefully. 'Like, you want to show me off?'
'Yeah, sure.' He said as he waved his gloved hand.
He wanted her to meet a friend of his.
That means he was proud of her!
She nodded enthusiastically as he took her by the hand.