Hey! Here is another break from reality for you. Please let me know if you enjoy the chapter! This is my favorite story all together with the first story as well and I really want to know what you think

Richard turned towards her just as the door of the warehouse swung open. The Joker came in with a huge grin on his face and stared right at Richard. The rest of his men followed him quietly and Harley came in last, closing the door behind her.

"You seem awfully happy" he said as the Joker came close to him.

"Mmm" he almost sang as he started for his room. His eyes then landed on Mia and then back on Richard as they grew colder. "I told you to lock her inside"

Richard glanced at Mia once and gulped "You're right. I uh…forgot"

"You…forgot?" he repeated spitefully as the rest of his men observed their little exchange while walking to the kitchen.

There was silence now in the room as the clown pierced the man with his eyes. Richard was not a man to talk back when he had done something wrong, especially to the Joker. No matter their relationship, there was a reason why he did things and he didn't like being disobeyed. Finally, the Joker looked down at the girl but she didn't return the stare. She was looking across the room to the right, her eyes frozen and cold.

Realizing who she was looking at, he smirked.

"Harley" he said and turned around to look at the girl who was leaning against the wall "Come here doll" he said and her eyes lit up. She skipped towards him as he lifted his arm and wrapped it around her waist.

Mia felt her fists clenching. Not only because of what she was seeing, but also at the realization that he was doing it on purpose. It was clear now. And she was no fool.

"Why don't you uh, prepare me some targets downstairs huh? We can practice together if you want"

"Sure thing Puddin!" she almost screeched before she ran off towards the staircase.

"So uh… what happened?" Richard asked with a frown of confusion.

"Well" the Joker said sitting down next to Mia but not acknowledging her "It seems like uh, you were right. That Robin guy is trained. Oh the way he moved really reminded me of all times. The glory days… Such thrill!" he giggled "The only thing left uh, is to make sure our old friend comes back now that I know he is alive"

Richard frowned "What do you mean?"

"I mean, the batman will have to come back after I am done with this city" he said in a low growl. Richard smirked at him as the tension between the two disappeared and took another sip of his beer.

"Well" he continued standing up "I have a target practice to go to!" he said clapping his gloved hands once. He finally looked down to Mia who was staring right into space, obviously extremely irritated "You're welcome to join us if you want" he told her. She looked up at him coldly and then right ahead again.

"Suit yourself" he said under his breath before leaving the room.

"So…" Richard said uncomfortably as she heard the Joker's footsteps descending.

"Uh….about Bane…He was a masked freaked who- hey uh…sure that's a good idea?" he said hastily as the girl stood up abruptly. She walked fasts to the staircase and down the stairs. She could already hear something metallic falling on the ground with force but she didn't stop. She finally reached the floor and approached the half open metal door. She peaked inside, feeling the coldness of the room and leaned against the wall, observing.

"Nice throw puddin!" Harley giggled as the Joker landed a perfect strike on a piece of meat hanging by a large chain from the ceiling. She took another knife from the pile and aimed, throwing it with force and striking the top part of the meat.

"Harleeey!" he yelled "balance your feet!" he shouted.

"Yes sir" she squeaked fearfully as she took another knife, this time throwing it right in the middle.

"better" he said dryly. Finally he turned around to grab another one when his eyes darted up on the girl. He grinned and grabbed the knife "Well well!"

Harley turned towards her once before grabbing a knife and throwing it with full force across the room. it slashed the top part of the meat where it was connected with the chain, causing it to fall loudly on the floor.

Mia had her arms crossed as the Joker approached her with stalk-like steps. He threw the knife in the air and caught it with his right hand as he came closer to her.

She didn't move. She just started up at him as he was right in front of her now, towering over her. Then, with one swift movement, he turned the knife around and offered it to her.

"You wanna try?" he said slyly. Mia stared at him for a moment longer, before she reached for the knife hesitantly.

"Harley" he shouted, his eyes never leaving her face.

"Yes puddin"

"Pick that up will ya? And get out" he said as he turned around to face her. Mia peaked behind him and gave Harley a small smile of triumph, waving goodbye at her. Her blue eyes filled with menace and her fists clenched as the Joker walked towards the pile of knives on the table. Finally, she turned around angrily and walked towards the piece of meat. It was quite a show watching her as she tried to balance the heavy load while simultaneously trying to reach for the hook of the chain. Someone should help her.

But Mia was not in a kind mood.

Finally, she managed to hang it back before storming out of the room. She stopped for a moment next to Mia and glanced back at the Joker who was cleaning the knives.

"I will slid your throat one day" she whispered to her before leaving. Mia stared after her for a moment,, before turning her attention back to the Joker.

He looked up at her with a raised eyebrow and licked his scarred lips.

"Shall we?" he said removing his purple coat and rolling up his sleeves. She frowned confused at his lack of temperature sensation as they were in a freezer and she could barely feel her fingers.

"So uh.." he said taking a knife "The whole point is uh the force you're going to throw it. If it's too weak you won't even reach the target. And if it's too strong…well… since you know nothing about knife throwing you'll probably end up either hurting yourself or throwing it directly to the ground right in front of your feet-uh" he said. "You will bring your arm in front of your eyes stretched like this. And-"

He lifted his arm and threw the knife, slashing the middle of the already butchered flesh.

"You try it" he said. Mia took the knife and stood in front of the target. It was too far. She didn't have much strength as it was. She looked back at him and he was staring at her with glistening eyes and crossed arms. "oh come on, just try it"

She sighed and looked at the target before lifting her arm. She aimed and threw the knife.

The direction was correct but it landed almost six feet away from the meat. She let out a heavy breath and turned to him.

It's too far.

"Come on don't tell me you can't do it. A girl half your height did it" he said. Mia's face grew hard and she turned towards the target again. She took another knife and closed her eyes to calm herself before throwing it again, this time in a completely off direction. She took another deep breath and took another one with trembling angry hands. She opened her eyes before she heard his voice next to her ear. She flinched startled as he spoke.

"Aim higher" he said as he brought his arm up from behind her. She could feel his body almost aligned with hers and her breath got caught up in her throat as it did most of the times he touched her. "The people you'll fight against are probably going to be taller than you" he looked down at her "both eyes open" he commanded. "Now. Eyes at the target… Go" he almost whispered before letting go of her. she threw the knife with force and it slashed through the flesh of the meat. It was someone to the right and a little too high but she had gotten it.

"Again" he said dryly as she took another knife.

She continued that for the next ten minutes, sometimes missing and sometimes getting it right. With time, she was getting better, she could tell.

It was when she reached for another knife and found none that she realized she had used all of them. She looked across the room at the dismembered meat and then back at Joker to ask if they were done.

She gulped. She didn't dare ask anything by the look on his face. He was leaning back against the wall with crossed arms and his head tilted back slightly. His eyes were glistening as he stared at her and it seemed like the first night he had found her. She wanted to avoid his gaze. She couldn't stand the weight of it. But instead, she turned to face him fully.

"How could you?" he almost whispered. She blinked, taken completely aback. She tilted her head to the side in confusion.

"Forget" he said. "After all-" he stopped and licked his lips. It seemed to her like it was difficult for him to keep talking "You know you all live in your little perfect lives, thinking that it's like that for all. That it's easy to say things and talk about feelings and all that little things that keep this society from evolving. And yet, when I choose to do it, once. Once!" he repeated "You just…forget?" he said. Mia was so confused. She had no idea what he was talking about yet she felt her chest tightening painfully and a lump forming in her throat.

"I hate it when you do that…" he continued shaking his head "Looking at me like I'm some sort of stranger. Are you…" he said narrowing his eyes "…even in there?" he scanned her from head to toe once, stopping again on her face. He laughed humorlessly as his eyes grew darker "Nah…That's not how the world works. Look at you… you're just a worthless vessel" he said spitefully. "You're not her"

Mia blinked back tears in shock. She didn't know why but his words were like needles in her lungs. As if all those knives on the floor had stabbed her all at once.

"You should have stayed dead" he whispered the last part. Mia took a step back, physically recoiling in herself, as if an invisible force hit her in the throat. She finally felt tears rolling down her face and she let out a shaking breath she didn't know she had. She saw it in the cold air of the freezer as she finally felt her legs moving on their own accord. She approached him slowly and stood in front of him, unsure of why she was doing it.

To her surprise her gaze never wavered as he stared back at her. Finally, she saw his eyes relaxing for a moment as he took her hand in his.

"Scratch that last part. Didn't mean it" he said calmly.

Yes you did.

She signed with one hand. He shook his head and pulled her forward from the back of her head. He let his hand fall down to her shoulders as he ran his fingers through her hair. He continued caressing it until he reached the ends of her hair and pulled her forward gently by the waist.

Mia felt her eyes closing as she saw their breaths dangling in the air between them before she closed the gap that separated their lips. Her heart was racing in her chest as she grabbed his collar pulling him towards her.

She needed this so bad. She needed to feel his hands on her body. Even if she didn't know why, she knew now that she was in love with this man. She knew that he was a monster to everyone else but her. She knew that something had happened between them, stronger than anything in her life. She knew his taste, his body, his heat, his smell. And yet she didn't know anything about him.

And he wanted her here. it was obvious. There was no point in trying to avoid what had happened between them. The sooner she realized it, the better.

She could tell he wanted her too and he had no problem showing it as he unglued himself from the wall only to swirl them around to press her gently against the cold surface. She felt his tongue enter her mouth and she ran her hands on his strong shoulders before cupping his face involuntarily. He didn't seem to mind as his kisses became more urgent and his hands roamed her body painfully squeezing whenever he had the chance. He broke the kiss gently before placing his gloved hand on her cheek. He wiped away the tears that had formed before squeezing her jaw painfully. It was a slow gesture yet it grew more painful by the second. He pulled her forward just as she flinched in pain.

"Come back to me" he whispered dangerously before giving her one last hard kiss and leaving the room with quick strides.

The threat lingered in the air as she closed her eyes and rubbed her chin.