Joker adopts Jeremiah

by DarkLordFluffy

What happens when Joker meets a young parallel version of himself? He tries to raise them to be just like him of course! But Joker isn't exactly warm and fuzzy and he believes, due to his own abusive childhood, that torture builds character. And to be a good Joker you need plenty of it. Poor little Jeremiah Valeska doesn't stand a chance. This is not a nice fic.

As I said before, Joker is his own warning. There will be torture and it will involve a kid. Little Jeremiah will not have a good time.

Also, if any of you saw that one Batman Beyond movie involving the Joker coming back you know Joker would one hundred percent do this to a kid. Tim Drake did not have a good time. I'm just saying.

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Some worlds are more parallel to each other than others. So much so that sometimes they might touch briefly. And when they touch, things and people can move from one world to another. Not always intentionally.

Jeremiah Valeska was twelve now. He was a few years into the boarding school education he had always wanted. But he actually felt regret at leaving. Oh he didn't feel guilt at lying really. He wasn't really sure he could feel guilt. But he did miss his brother, Jerome so much. He found out quite early after being sent away from the circus that the only other person he cared about in the world, was his brother. He couldn't really bring himself to care about anyone else. Even if he tried. He wished he had come up with a different plan. A plan that would've taken them both out of the circus, not just him. He had lied to his mother and said Jerome had hurt him. He even set his own bed on fire and blamed him to make it convincing. His mother believed him, mainly because she had never really liked Jerome anyway. She didn't really like Jeremiah either, but she valued his intelligence. Enough that she had their uncle send him away to a posh boarding school. A well off old friend of his uncle, named Edgar Wilde agreed to let him take his last name and funded his schooling. And so Jeremiah became Xander Wilde. He didn't spend any time with the Wildes. They just kept him at the boarding school, St Ignatious.

One day, he heard that the circus was in Gotham. He missed his brother so much, that he did something stupid and not at all like him. He snuck away from the school to head back to the city and go back to the circus. He realized his mother would be pissed at him if he showed up. But he didn't care. He was going to see his brother. To tell him he was sorry. And hopefully find a way to get him away from his family.

He had poured through maps of the city before leaving and found out where he needed to go. He was glad that the Wildes gave him some pocket money so he could afford all the buses he needed to get on. Soon he was in the middle of the city. But while he was making his way through the city, he got a bit lost. Maybe he took the wrong bus. He tried to figure out where he was but the more he tried, the more lost he seemed to get. And the city seemed to look quite a bit different than it had before. He wasn't all that familiar with the city personally but he was sure that some of the more well known places looked quite a bit different. He had seen these places on tv. So why did they look different? He passed by a newsstand and glanced down at a newspaper. And stared down in shock at the date on it. Was it a misprint? Why was the date shown one that was several years in the future? What was going on?

Miah spoke to the guy working at the news stand. "Sir? Weird question, but can you tell me the date?"

"Its August 3rd." the bored man said.

"I mean the year."

"What? What kind of question is that?" the guy asked, clearly looking like he thought Jeremiah was wasting his time. "It's 20XX."

So it wasn't a misprint. Not if the guy also thought it was 20XX. Was he in the future? That didn't really explain the vast differences in the famous landmarks. Those landmarks were old. They wouldn't have just totally redesigned them. Not all of them anyway, and not this quickly. Miah tried not to freak out at what it might imply.

Miah decided to call the Wildes to help him. He knew they wouldn't like it but they would help.

An unfamiliar older female voice came on the line when he called the number. "Hello?"

"Is Mr. Wilde there? I need some help and he said to call if I needed anything?"

"I'm sorry. I don't know a Mr. Wilde. Maybe you have the wrong number?" the old woman said.

"But this is his number. I know I typed it in right." Miah said confused.

"Then perhaps he gave you the wrong number. I'm sorry I can't help you, dear." she said before hanging up.

Miah knew the number was the right one. He had called it a few times before. And it worked those times. So why didn't it work now? Mr. Wilde hadn't told him he was changing his number. He started panicking a little. He sat down in a nearby café to gather his thoughts. He couldn't figure out what was going on.

"Are you alright sweetie? You look a little upset." a waitress said with concern on her face. "Is there someone I can call for you?"

"I don't know. I already called and it was like they changed the number. I can't figure out where I am. I don't know what to do." Miah said upset.

"Well for now you can stay here until you figure out what to do. The owner wont care. He might even be sympathetic. I can even get you sandwich and a soda if you want, hon. On me." the kind looking waitress said.

"Thanks." Miah said gratefully. He was hungry. It had been hours since breakfast at St Ignatious. He had long since missed lunch. She gave him a ham sandwich and a coke. He forgot the manners he had developed during boarding school and devoured the sandwich and drained the coke very quickly.

"Well its good to see you have a healthy appetite." the waitress said cheerfully. "Look, I don't know your situation, but if you need a place to stay for the night, I can give you the couch back at my place. Until you figure things out. How does that sound?"

"You'd do that for me?" Miah asked surprised. He wasn't used to people caring about him. Especially not strangers.

"Of course. You're a kid. And you seem to be in some sort of trouble. I can't ignore that." she said smiling warmly. "You can stay until you can find a way to get back home."

"Thank you. That's very kind of you." he said. He didn't tell her his suspicion that home might be a lot further away than it seemed or possible to get back to. He assumed she'd think he was crazy. But that's what he now believed. That he was in a different world. It was still Gotham, but a different Gotham, years ahead of his world. He hadn't known what to do. At least tonight he'd have a roof over his head. That was something.

Miah waited until the waitresses shift was over and she led him to her apartment. It was small but cozy. She gave him a warm blanket and settled in for the night. He thought about what he could do. He couldn't stay at the waitress's apartment forever. She seemed rather poor. She probably couldn't afford to take care of a kid. He thought about going to the police or something but he wasn't sure. Would they just throw him in foster care? He wished Jerome was here. Jerome would know what to do. Jerome never freaked out in bad situations. He fell asleep missing his brother more than ever.

The next morning, Miah got confirmation that he was right about his theory. It was on the news. They said that there were other people claiming to be from another world. Not just him. The newscasters didn't seem to know what to believe. One of them thought the people were suffering from some mass hallucination due to one of Gotham's more colorful criminals. The other newscaster seemed to think anything was possible and didn't discount the theory that the people were actually from another world. To Miah it made him feel a little bit better. It at least proved he wasn't crazy if other people were claiming the same thing. A mass hallucination seemed unlikely.

Miah left the waitress's apartment after breakfast. She told him he could stay longer but he didn't want to wear out his welcome. He wandered the city for a bit, not really knowing what to do. But then he found himself trying to get to the fairgrounds. The empty field that Haly's circus stayed when they were in Gotham. He knew that it wouldn't be his Haly's circus. But it might make him feel a little less out of place to see it. He didn't actually know if the circus was in town in this world but didn't really care. He just wanted to go home. He pulled out the city map he had folded in his pocket and looked at it. He found he was a short bus ride and walk away from the place. So he hopped on a bus and made his way there. The bus stopped almost outside of town and he walked the rest of the way. But what he saw when he got there, wasn't an empty field at all. Instead of an empty field waiting to be filled with circus tents and carnival rides, there was an entire amusement park. He looked at his map confused. He should be in the right place. Then he realized, he had a map from His world. There was no guarantee anything would be in the same place in this world. He had to keep reminding himself it wasn't the same Gotham. He walked through the silent amusement park. It looked to be long abandoned. He would've left, but he didn't really know where to go at this point. Even if there was a Wilde family here, they wouldn't know him. And the rides, even derelict as they were, reminded him of home. His real home, back at the circus. He leaned against a wall of a nearby stall and slid down to the ground to sit in a heap. He'd never see Jerome again, would he?

Miah sat there trying not to cry. And he wondered about things. Would the police send him to foster care if he went to them? Was foster care so bad? His mother had given him horror stories about it. But how else was he going to survive? He had no one. If there was a Lila Valeska, she wouldn't be his mother and likely wouldn't care even if she was. Did the world have a grown up Jeremiah somewhere? If he tried to find the guy, would the guy even care enough to help him? Judging from Miah's own personality, he wasn't sure. He had been willing to sacrifice his own brother, the only person he cared about, to their awful abusive family for selfish reasons. Would this world's Jeremiah be any less heartless? He still had no idea what to do.

"Well hello there. It would seem a little stray has wandered into my humble abode." said a cheerful and manic sounding voice. "What should I do with a little ginger stray, hmm?"

Miah looked up startled. He was about to apologize for trespassing but when the owner of the manic voice came into view, he was so weirded out, his brain couldn't figure out how to get any words out. The man looked like a clown. But not a funny clown. More like an unnerving one. He had a pale white face and green hair and a wide crimson grin stretched across his face. His outfit was a purple suit that Miah would've actually liked had the man not freaked him out so much. It was his favorite shade of purple after all. The man's face and deranged look weren't the only things that unnerved Miah though. What really unnerved him was the odd feeling he got when he looked at the man. As if he was looking at someone familiar. He couldn't figure out how he could know such an odd man though.

"Speechless I see. I do tend to have that effect on people." the man said laughing. His deranged sounding laugh got into Miah's head in a bad way. "Have we met before? You seem really familiar but I can't quite place it. The only redheads I really know are Riddler, Poison Ivy, and Batgirl. But as far as I know they don't have kids or family I would've ever met. I'm not a take him home to meet the family kind of guy."

Miah didn't know who any of those people were. Their names sounded odd. He finally managed to find his voice. "I don't think we've ever met. I think I would've remembered that."

"It's going to eat at me all day. I know I've seen that face before. But I can't think where." the man said thinking. "Well come on. Until I can figure it out, there's no point in throwing you out. And leaving you out here is just rude." He started walking away, turning back to see if Miah was following him.

Miah got up and reluctantly followed the strange man. They entered an old funhouse. The inside of the funhouse looked very lived in. Like the man had repurposed it into a home. But the décor and furnishings looked just about as odd as the man who owned them. And there were several weapons strewn around.

"Mi casa nostra es su casa nostra." the man said. "It would be a little cleaner but I think I threw Harley out recently. I can't really remember. And my other lackeys are more for muscle than their cleaning abilities. Harley will eventually make her way back I assume."

Miah was very uncomfortable. He realized this was not likely a safe guy to be around. The various very real looking weapons lying around made him think this man was probably not just your average clown. Then there was the odd thing with his face makeup. The guy looked like he had been out doing things. His hair was a bit disheveled and he still had a few beads of drying sweat on his face. But the white makeup was not running. It didn't look smeared or smudged either. Miah had lived around circus clowns long enough to know that wasn't possible. Even the best makeup in the world wasn't completely immune to time and activity. It was like it wasn't even makeup but the guys real skin. But how could someone be that pale?

"Go ahead and get comfortable. Unless you're secretly one of Batman's little sidekicks, I don't see any reason at the moment to do anything to you. But I'm fairly certain his only ginger sidekick is Batgirl and you are very clearly not a teenaged girl. So sit. Relax." the man said laughing.

Miah sat down on the ratty couch. He had no idea who Batman was. Who calls themselves 'Batman'? So odd. The man sat across from him and stared at him curiously. "This really is going to drive me even crazier, if that's even possible. I know I know you from somewhere. I can feel it. So spill, kid. Tell me your life story."

"You probably aren't going to believe me." Miah said. He knew his being from another world would be hard to swallow for anyone.

"Try me, kiddo. I've heard it all." he said with a laugh. "This is Gotham. Weird stuff happens all the time. It definitely isn't a boring city. And I wouldn't have it any other way."

"I think I'm from another world. A parallel Gotham that's several years in the past compared to here." Miah said. "My name is Xander." He used his fake name. He didn't really know why he didn't want to tell the guy his real name. But he felt it was safer. The guy seemed unstable.

"Well, I have heard weirder. And the fact that other people have been saying the exact same thing lately leads me to believe you aren't wrong. What a hoot! It was weird you didn't seem to know who I was. At this point I doubt anyone in Gotham wouldn't recognize this face. I'm known as Joker. Pleased to meetcha. Anyway, continue. I sense there's more to the story." He said before getting up and doing random stuff while he listened. It looked like it was hard for him to stay still for long. Miah was heavily reminded of Jerome's fidgeting.

"I'm sorry I trespassed. In my Gotham this area was the fairgrounds. Just an empty field when the circus wasn't in town. I don't really know what I expected to find here. Even if the circus was here, it wouldn't be my world's Haly's Circus."

"Don't sweat it kid. I was bored. And you are an interesting distraction." He said as he cleaned one of his guns. "So why did you want to go to the circus? Were you running away from home to join the circus? That old cliché?"

"Not really. Kind of the opposite. More like trying to run back home to the circus. I was born at Haly's Circus. My mother is the snake dancer. But she sent me away a few years ago." He didn't say why she sent him away. He didn't want to think of Jerome at the moment so he didn't mention him. "I had wanted to leave and have a normal life. But I missed people there. I wanted to go back. But I guess I'll never get to now."

"You were born at the circus? How fun. So you missed your mom and wanted to go back home. Bummer." the man said laughing.

"Hardly. My family is awful. My mother never even hid the fact she hadn't wanted children and my uncle was even worse. They only put up with me because I was intelligent and they thought I'd go places and be their meal ticket later in life. As for growing up in the circus being fun... it wasn't. It was depressing. I wanted an actual education. Not just random carnies tutoring me when they had time. I never would've gone anywhere in life staying there. But even though I hated it there, it was home. And there were people I left there that I regretted leaving. Not my mother. I hate her."

"Huh. That still doesn't really explain how I know you. I may be a clown but I'm no circus clown. So we wouldn't have met there." He said leaning against a counter and thinking. "Hmm. You did say your world is several years behind this one. Maybe I met an older you? But I don't remember a red head being this memorable. Well there is Eddie but despite the glasses and red hair, you don't really seem to be him. And I'm fairly certain he wasn't born at the circus. Take off the glasses for a minute. I want to see what you look like without them."

Miah took off his glasses. He barely needed them anyway at this point. He had had a head injury when he was little and it messed up his vision. That was why only he needed glasses and not Jerome. But the injury had mostly fixed itself over time. Now they were mostly just a comforting accessory that made him seem less like Jerome when he was looking in the mirror.

The man known as the Joker stared at him, trying to remember where he's seen his face before. Then, after a minute or so, the man's eyes widened in recognition. And he started laughing maniacally. "That explains it. This feeling like I know you. The feeling of connection. The red hair did throw me off, I admit. But otherwise, it's unmistakable. That face I haven't seen in years, ever since I was a kid your age. Back then, I saw it every day in the mirror."

"What? What are you talking about?" Miah didn't even want to process what the man just told him. What it seemed to imply.

"It's such a hoot you were born at a circus. Like that universe of yours was acknowledging what you were likely to become someday." Joker said laughing. "Well hello my little parallel self." The man grinned a very pleased grin that disturbed Miah.

Miah didn't want it to be true. He wasn't crazy like this man! He thought that maybe it was his brother that this man paralleled. But that didn't seem right, sadly. The man was manic just like his brother could be at times. But the calculating look underneath all that was not Jerome at all. Jerome could plan elaborate pranks if he wanted to. But Miah was the true schemer. That calculating look fit him more than it did his brother. He just didn't want to admit it. And sadly he felt the connection too. "It's not true." He protested halfheartedly.

"Oh but it is. And I think you know it, kiddo. How fun. Meeting another me." Joker said pleased. He went up to Miah and pinched him hard on the cheek. "But you aren't really me yet are you? You still look way too sane. Hmm. Well that can be fixed over time. I think I can help you with that. It might be fun to raise another me."

"I just want to go home. Please." Miah said scared. He realized that that wasn't really all that possible given he was trapped in another world. But he couldn't help saying it and he wanted as far away from Joker as he could get.

"Oh but you are home, Little J." Joker said laughing.

Miah tried to run. He realized things wouldn't go well for him if he stayed. But Joker was fast and had been expecting him to run. He grabbed him and hit him in the head, knocking him out.

When Miah came to, his head was pounding. He found he was lying on a ratty mattress on the floor of a small room. He felt a large bump on his head. He didn't bother trying the door. He figured it would probably be locked. Was he really being held captive by his older self? What a mind boggling situation. He couldn't deny that the man was probably this world's version of him. Even though the thought was horrifying. Would Miah have become like that when he grew up? How does a guy even get like that? He was a bit frightened of the man's statement that it would be fun to raise him. And that he could help him with his sanity. That he could 'fix it over time'. He didn't know if he wanted to know what that meant. Was he going to try and drive him insane? Was he even going to get out of this alive?

Miah got startled when the door opened to his little room. He saw the Joker standing there grinning at him. "Good morning, little J!"

"Please let me go." Miah pleaded.

"Now why would I do that?" Joker asked. "And where would you go? You don't have anyone out there anymore. No one but me."

It was hard for Miah to admit that the man was right. There was no one out there. No one to care about his wellbeing. Not even in his own world really. The only person that would've cared, he threw under the bus, selfishly. But he wasn't sure this man 'caring' about him was any better than having no one. "What are you going to do to me?"

"Do to you? You make it seem like I'm being malicious to you. I'm hurt." Joker said, pretending to be hurt. "At the moment I'm just going to feed you breakfast. Come on then. Don't try and run. No point in it, and it would be very rude."

Miah reluctantly followed the man back into the main part of the funhouse. He saw that they weren't alone. There were a few thuglike guys in the room sitting around. They looked at him curiously as he entered with Joker and Miah got a bit nervous. Well, more nervous than he already was.

Joker must've noticed Miah's nervous look at his lackeys. "Oh don't worry about them. They won't do anything to you unless I say so. They are smart enough to know that to do anything else would make me very irritated. And no one wants to see me irritated."

Joker led him to a makeshift kitchen and Miah saw that one of the thugs was making food. "Go ahead and sit at the table. Jon?"

"Yeah boss?" the man asked.

"Feed the kid and keep an eye on him for a bit. I have things to do." Joker said dismissively. "Little J, I do know you are intelligent so I figure you can figure out that it wouldn't be smart to try and run. I've told my lackeys to teach you a lesson if you do. Otherwise, like I said before, Mi casa es su casa. You are free to relax out here for now. Just don't leave the funhouse." he said before leaving.

Miah sat at the table. The thug named Jon came over with a plate of food and put it in front of him. When Miah didn't look all that interested in eating, the thug spoke up. "Look kid, I know your situation is pretty messed up. Joker explained to us why he decided to keep you around. I sympathize. But if you don't eat, Joker is going to blame me."

Miah looked up at him blankly. "Why should I care if he blames you?"

Jon stared at him, not knowing what to say for a few moments. "Fair enough. Though he likely wouldn't be all that happy with you either. But do what you want."

Miah couldn't argue with that logic. He didn't really want that madman angry at him. He ate the scrambled eggs. They weren't all that bad actually.

The thug made himself some coffee and then leaned against the counter staring at him. "So I know what Joker said about you. But knowing Joker it could've all been bullshit. Is it true?"

"Is what true?" Miah said in between bites.

"What he said about you being a mini him." Jon said. "What he said about you being another version of him, from that other world people have been talking about. Is it true?"

"I don't know. I want to say no, but evidence suggests its probably true." Miah said leaning back in his chair. "I don't know how to deal with that. I always thought I was the only sane one in my family. I was proud of that fact. But I guess I was wrong if that's how I turn out when I grow up. And then there's the fact that Joker wont let me leave."

"Well if it would help, I don't think the Joker wants to kill you. So there's that. And he seems to want you around. He had one of the guys go out for things for you. It might not be a very safe environment, but if you have nowhere else to go it might not be the worst place to be. I'd just do what he wants for now if I were you. The boss is not the safest person to ignore."

"I'm not an idiot. I can tell he's dangerous. Its not hard to tell." Miah said. "Just leave me alone. You think I want your sympathy or your concern?" Miah walked out of the room in a huff.

For the next few days Miah wasn't really bothered much. Joker seemed to forget about him for a bit. The thugs were smart enough not to mess with Miah. They did feed him and gave him stuff they had gotten for him. Like clothes that didn't have a boarding school crest embroidered on them. He was just relieved that the clothes didn't seem outlandish. They were just normal clothes for a kid his age. Maybe that was because Joker hadn't picked them out. He was grateful for that. Miah spent time wandering the funhouse on his own. He wasn't wandering aimlessly though. He was making a mental map of the place. So when he got the chance, he'd escape. Though he wasn't sure what he'd do if left. He had nowhere to go. The thug might actually be right. This might be the only safe place for him. At least here he knew the danger. Sort of. A foster family was luck of the draw at best. But he wouldn't be able to achieve anything in his life trapped in a madman's lair. He wanted a life. What kind of life would this be?

"Oh Little J. There you are." Joker said finding Miah in one of the more disused parts of the funhouse. "Sorry I was away for a few days. Batman tends to eat up my attention a lot. Anyway, you seem to be a little down. Why the long face? I've taken care of you right?"

"You're keeping me here against my will." Miah said angry. "I'm supposed to be grateful for that?"

"Like I asked before, where would you go? Is it so hard to believe I want to keep my Little Me safe and sound?" Joker said, something slightly dangerous in his voice.

"Telling me to stay or else is keeping me safe?" Miah said. "What kind of life would me being trapped here be? I'm a kid. I need to go to school. I don't want to be trapped here."

"School. Useless. Just learning useless facts to get a boring pointless job later in life. I could teach you more useful things. Skills you'll actually use." Joker said irritated. He went up to Miah and grabbed his arm as Miah was ignoring him and getting up to leave the room. "Don't ignore me kid."

Miah tried pulling his arm out of his grasp. "Let go! Just let me leave!"

Joker snarled. He applied pressure to Miah's arm. Miah gasped in pain. "Listen you little brat. You don't get to talk to me like that. You will understand one day that I'm doing all of this for your benefit. But for now, just be a good boy and do as I say. Or things will get messy." he said this before he applied more pressure. Miah screamed as he felt something snap and felt a sharp pain in his arm as it was broken. Joker grinned savagely at the pained look on Miah's face and dropped him to the floor. "Like I said, be a good boy or things get messy. Things could get much worse than this. Trust me." he laughed and left the room.

Miah clutched his arm and sobbed. He was still sniffling as the thug named Jon came to have a look at his arm. Likely after Joker told him to do so. He tried ignoring the man.

"Look kid, do you want that arm to heal wrong? I can tell that's the arm you use more, you don't want it messed up permanently." Jon said. "Just let me have a look."

Miah glared at him and showed him his arm. The man had a look at it.

"Geez. Look kid, I need to set the bone back into place. This is going to hurt, a lot. And the boss told me not to give you a sedative or pain reliever. Sorry."

"Just do it." Miah sniffled. It wasn't the first time he'd had a broken bone. His uncle had mistaken him for Jerome a few times when he was drunk and angry. The carnies just did the best they could but couldn't offer him more than regular pain relievers to numb the pain when it happened. So he knew the setting of the bone was painful.

"Ok. Brace yourself." Jon said as he grabbed Miah's arm. He pulled on the arm and as Miah heard a popping sound as the bone was moved he also felt the sharpest pain he had ever felt. His scream was likely heard on the other side of the amusement park. "Ok. I'm done. Sorry. Damn I'm sorry. But I told you it was dangerous to make Joker mad. Please be careful. I can't stomach a kid like you being hurt like this. No matter who you are supposed to grow up to be."

Miah sniffled and looked away. "I told you before. Just leave me alone. You work for him. So you're helping him."

"That doesn't mean I can't make sure you aren't hurt. I do have morals even if I am a deranged criminal." Jon said sighing. "Ok lets get that arm in a sling. Too bad we can't get you a cast or something but Joker isn't likely to let you go see a doctor. So we'll have to improvise." He got Miah to his feet and brought him into another room to make a sling for him. It was clear to Miah that the thug was probably used to dealing with injuries they couldn't go to the doctor for. Being a criminal that tangled with a vigilante and the police kind of made that an occupational risk.

It was clear to Miah now that he had to escape. Joker and Miah were too similar. There was no way he wouldn't anger the man again. And it was clear now that angering him led to pain. He would have to plan. He couldn't rely on someone saving him. That vigilante, Batman, probably could but he didn't know Miah even existed. And Jon, even though he was sympathetic, wasn't likely to help either. He seemed very loyal to Joker. Miah wished Jerome was here. He could use the support. Jerome could help him get out. Jerome always helped protect him when they were young.

A few days later, Miah thought he was ready to try and escape. Joker was planning some elaborate scheme to annoy Batman. He, and most of his lackeys, would be gone. Miah would be locked in his room. But Miah did know how to pick a lock if he had the right tools for the job. He remembered the carny that had taught Jerome and him how to pick a lock one time when they were only 8. Jerome had loved the shady carny. The guy had actually been nice to them which was rare. But he had left the circus after Haly found out the guy's rather shady side businesses. Miah hid a few bobby pins in his shoe. When one of the thugs put him in his room and locked the door, he waited in his room until he could hear Joker leave with most of the thugs. Then he got to work. He went up to the door and picked it. He was glad he had hidden more than one bobby pin. He was a little rusty at this skill and he broke two of the bobby pins before he got the door open. He opened the door very quietly and peered out. He heard the remaining thugs talking and watching tv in the main room. This would be easy. He didn't even have to go through that room to get out. He could avoid them entirely and they wouldn't even hear him. He felt hopeful when he made his way carefully through the funhouse. He got to the door to the outside and breathed a sigh of relief as he slipped out into open air. He had gotten out. Now he just needed to run. He didn't know where but he knew he needed to get away from there at least. He'd figure out what to do next after he got as far away from the Joker as he could possibly get. He started walking towards the entrance of the park when he was grabbed from behind.

"Lookie here. Guess the boss was right. He figured you'd try and make a run for it." an amused thug said dragging him along. Miah snarled and thrashed in the man's arms.

"Let me go! I'll kill you!" Miah yelled as he was dragged back inside the funhouse. The man dumped him on the floor of the main room. Miah landed on his broken arm and he nearly passed out from the pain.

"How cute. You know that Joker told us to beat you up if you tried to leave? Well get ready for it kid. Just because you're a kid don't mean I won't do it." the smirking thug said standing over him. The other two thugs had joined him and they surrounded Miah who was still on the floor glaring up at them. "Look, he's still glaring at us like he can do anything. How adorable." The thug started kicking him and the other two soon joined in. They didn't hold back. Miah tried to be strong. Tried to pretend he was Jerome taking all of this instead. He thought Jerome might be able to handle it. But he wasn't Jerome. He was Jeremiah. And Jeremiah didn't feel strong at all. He couldn't stop the whimpers coming from his mouth as the thugs kicked him. It hurt so much. He could taste blood in his mouth. He found himself throwing up after being kicked in the stomach one too many times. There was blood in what came up. That was what made the thugs feel he had enough. They didn't want to kill him after all. Joker would be pissed if they did. They left him on the floor and went back to what they were doing, not caring what state he was in. He passed out from the pain.

When Miah woke up, he was back in his room. He had been cleaned up. Jon probably took pity on him again. Jon had been out with Joker, so that meant Joker was back too. Miah trembled when he realized that Joker was likely not just going to let him get away with just a beating at trying to escape. What was he going to do to him?

Miah got his answer a few hours later, when he had just starting falling asleep again. He was jerked awake when the door opened and Joker was there grinning a dangerous looking grin on his face. "My my. What am I going to do with you Little J? I did tell you not to try and run. I thought I made that quite clear. Was I not clear?"

Miah trembled and cringed. "Please. I'm sorry. Don't hurt me. I wont do it again."

"Oh but I know you will. Its in your nature. You are after all, a mini me. And Arkham has a hard time keeping me contained for long so I expect nothing less from you." Joker said grabbing Miah's good arm and dragging him out of the room. "Honestly, I'm not that angry. I'm happy to see hints of my own skills in you. But I can't have you just disappearing on me. So you do have to be punished. Don't worry. I won't ever do any lasting physical damage to you. I do want to see what kind of Joker you make one day and we have to have you on the top of your game for that. That means, no permanent injuries." he said as he forcibly led Miah to a room and tied Miah to a chair.

Miah was really scared. He was intelligent enough to know that there were plenty of things Joker could still do to him that would leave no lasting injuries or marks. And they'd still be very painful. His broken arm being tied down to the arm of the chair was almost painful enough as it was.

"I did want to wait a few years before doing this to you. You are still only twelve after all and certain things can leave permanent damage to a kid more than an adult. But maybe it needs to be done. Don't think of this as a punishment. Think of it as character building. Pain, both mental and physical, can effect your whole outlook on life. And get enough of it, and you can learn to ignore it after awhile. Imagine the bliss when you realize nothing will effect you anymore. That you are finally free." the man was behind Miah so he didn't know what he was doing. He had something shoved onto his head. Something with wires. It was strapped to his head. He struggled. What was this?

"I'd say this won't hurt, but it would be a huge lie. Usually doctors sedate a patient nowadays before doing this to them. But sometimes they 'forget'. I ought to know. Because its happened to me a few times. Open your mouth." he said, trying to put something in Miah's mouth. He refused to open. "Now JJ, don't be a brat. I'd just let you go without it, but I don't really want you biting off your own tongue. That can happen." Miah reluctantly opened his mouth and the roll of leather was placed into his mouth. "Bite down on it. You don't want it falling out." Miah was so scared. He had tears running down his face. He bit down on the leather, not liking the sound of accidentally biting off his own tongue. How would that even happen? He had his answer when Joker fiddled with something behind him and Miah felt a few jolts of electricity run through the wires on his head into his body. They made his whole body jerk around. They weren't as bad as he thought something like this would be though. Just startling. But Joker was just getting warmed up. Joker chuckled as he turned it up and Miah was twitching in his chair. The only thing keeping Miah from falling off jerking around so much was the fact he was tied down. There was no other experience like it. The jolts had gone from startling to excruciating. And they didn't stop immediately. Joker left it on for several minutes before turning it off. Then when Miah thought it was over, Joker turned it back on. Joker did that a few times before he was truly finished. Miah was barely coherent by the time it was over. The minute the machine was switched off for good, his brain decided to switch off as well.

Miah woke up some time later, again in his small room. He hurt all over and his head was fuzzy. He hoped the torture was over for now. He didn't figure Joker would stop all together. He seemed to enjoy hurting Miah. But maybe he'd give him a bit of a break before hurting him more? He had to hope.

Joker attempted to teach Miah things. Mostly things related to crime obviously. He wasn't exactly the best teacher but Miah was very good at being a student. Plus Miah figured that if he tried to ignore the man it wouldn't end well for him. He didn't really want to be tortured. And he did like learning things. Even if he couldn't choose the subject matter, at least he was learning something. Joker had his thugs teach Miah how to fight. How to throw a knife. And how to shoot a gun. Joker was smart enough to realize that Miah would definitely use that gun on him if he was there so he left it to his thugs. His thugs were expendable after all. Miah knew that if he shot one of them he'd just get beat up by the rest of them. Since they only handed the gun to him with one round loaded. Just in case. He learned quick. He actually impressed the thugs with how fast he learned to fight and use a gun. But then they remembered who he was supposed to grow up to be. Miah was annoyed at how he was referred to as a mini Joker by them. Even Joker referred to him as that. JJ was short for Joker Junior. He hated it.

Violence wasn't the only thing Joker taught Miah. He also taught him all he knew about chemistry and mechanical engineering. Joker did like to use flamboyant inventions in his crimes at times. And his laughing gas, Smilex, was a staple in his crimes. Miah realized he shouldn't be surprised that Joker knew and was good at these things. He was an older version of Miah after all. Miah actually enjoyed those lessons. They were things he had been interested in in school. Though learning how to build a bomb had not been on St Ignatious's curriculum. He learned how to make explosives with whatever he could find. He was surprised at all the things that could be used in a pinch to make a bomb.

Harley Quinn did eventually come back but she was a bit annoyed that most of the attention that Joker would've given her was now being taken by Miah. She didn't stay for long. Joker was not at all upset when she said she was moving in with Poison Ivy for good this time. Miah hadn't liked the annoying woman much. She was just as psychotic as the Joker and had treated Miah badly because of her jealousy.

Joker would move them to different hideouts from time to time so Batman wouldn't catch him at his home base. Miah noticed a theme to each location. There was the amusement park hideout, an old toy factory, a joke shop, and several other places that fit with Joker's theme. Miah found it ridiculous. Was he going to be this obvious when he was the Joker?

Miah was very relieved whenever Joker was captured by Batman. But it didn't mean it made an escape attempt easier. Joker's lackeys made sure of it. They didn't torture him though like Joker still liked to do at times. They just looked after him and kept him at Joker's hideouts. Some of them actually acted nice to him while Joker was away. More than just Jon, who was always nice to him. But Joker would always return and the torture would begin again.

"Hold your breath JJ. You don't want to inhale any water. That'll hurt more." Joker said as he held Miah's head under water. Joker had filled a tub full of water and dragged Miah into the room in order to 'teach him how to hold his breath underwater'. He pulled Miah's head up and Miah gasped for breath. Miah had learned early on that begging was pointless so he didn't even bother at this point. He learned if he just let it all happen and struggled as little as he could, things went faster and sometimes hurt less. He didn't really have time to recover before Joker was dunking his head back down and holding it there. He tried not to struggle. But it was hard. His lungs burned from the lack of oxygen. Joker tried holding him under for a bit longer each time. Joker pulled him up again and Miah gasped and coughed up water. He had inhaled some water that time. "See, what did I tell you?" Joker said patting him on the back to help him get the water up. Thankfully Joker seemed to be done for then. "Ok JJ, we're done for now. You did good. A whole two minutes. Maybe if we work at it we can get you nearly past the world record. Though that is 22 minutes. So I wouldn't hold your breath for that." Joker laughed at his own joke.

Miah got to dry himself off after that and he sat on the ratty couch in the abandoned clown college that was the current hideout. He didn't know if he knew how to cry anymore. Joker and his thugs didn't bother keeping an eye on him anymore. He couldn't leave anyway. There was always a thug or two just inside the door guarding it. Not that they usually needed to guard from much. But that day was different. Miah was very surprised when he heard the thugs at the door fighting someone. He didn't know whether to hide or call out for help. He was cautious. Joker tangled with other criminals at times and they wouldn't bat an eye at killing a kid. So he hid. But as he was peeking out of his hiding spot, he saw him for the very first time. Batman. Batman had found Joker's current lair. And it seemed as if Miah hadn't hid very well...because Batman was looking right at him. Miah slowly got out of his hiding spot. This may be his chance. Batman can save him. "Please. Can you help me?" Miah asked quietly.

"Did Joker kidnap you? Are you ok?" Batman said, concern in his voice.

Before Miah could say anything, Joker arrived. "Well helloo Batso. How rude of you to invite yourself in."

"Joker. Let the boy go." Batman said threateningly.

"Now why would I do that? JJ has nowhere else to go. I am all he has." Joker said pulling out a knife. "Who he is and what I'm doing with him is none of your business really. So just forget that you saw him." He lunged at Batman with the knife and they got into a fight. A few Joker thugs came in and went to fight Batman as well. "This is my fight boys. Get JJ away from here. Go to the next hideout."

Miah thrashed around as they grabbed him and dragged him away. He was so close! So close to getting out of Joker's clutches. And now Joker would likely be more careful to make sure Batman never found him. He didn't care that he'd likely get tortured later for even interacting with Batman. He was just so frustrated.

Sure enough, when Joker arrived at the new hideout he was not in a good mood. "Naughty little JJ. You almost let Batman take you from me. How am I supposed to feel about that?"

"You did teach me to take advantage of a situation if it presented itself. Batman was there. So I let him see me. I didn't try and leave. Technically I broke none of your rules." Miah said defiantly.

Joker stared at him for a moment. Then he laughed. "Well you got me there. I didn't specifically tell you that you couldn't let Batman see you if he finds the lair. I guess that'll be a new rule."

Miah didn't trust that that was the end of it. "So you aren't angry?"

"Why would I be angry?" Joker said cheerily before getting menacing. "Oh yes. Maybe because you still feel the need to get away from me. I heard you ask him for help. That hurts, JJ. I've gone to all this trouble of taking care of you all this time."

Miah knew better than to point out that torture wasn't usually an acceptable way to care for someone. It would not help his situation.

"But I'm not going to hurt you for it. I am reasonable when I feel like it. I feel like a timeout is good enough in this case." Joker said fiddling around in a bag, looking for something.

"A timeout?" Miah asked confused. He knew there was more to it than just sitting in a corner to think about his actions. With the Joker there was always more to it.

"Yeah. A timeout." Joker said pulling out a vial of liquid and a syringe. Miah's eyes widened at the syringe. "Oh don't worry about this. It won't hurt. It's just a little something that will make it harder for you to use your timeout time to sleep. I do want you to use the time to think about your actions after all. That's what timeouts are for. Now JJ, are you going to let me inject you with this? Or are you going to force me to add a beating to your punishment?"

Miah didn't want whatever was in that syringe. But he knew it wouldn't end well for him if he didn't let Joker inject him with it. So he reluctantly held out his arm. Joker smiled at him. He injected the liquid into him. It felt weird. Like he was extremely alert. It was like he had drank about a hundred cups of coffee. Joker had a thug lead Miah to his new room and the thug shoved him inside and closed the door and locked it. Miah thought the lights in the room were really bright. Brighter than his room normally was. Usually he had a dim room with bad lighting. He couldn't turn the light off either. There was no light switch in the room. It didn't take him long to realize that his 'timeout' was just as twisted as everything else Joker did. It had been several hours and no one let him out. He figured it must be very late by then. But the light didn't go off. And there was no way he was getting any sleep with the drug in his system. He hoped this was a brief thing but he doubted it. He figured that Joker was going to keep him from sleeping for at least a few days. He sat on the floor in a corner of his room and just stared into space. He used the time to think about the circus and his brother. He imagined what Jerome might be doing right then. A few days went by, with the only break from the monotony being a thug coming in with a tray of food and another syringe of the drug. In that time Miah had not stopped thinking about Jerome. At this point, if he tried, it was almost as if he was there at the circus with him again. He could almost see his brother laughing at something dumb a carny did. Miah focused everything on thinking about Jerome. It helped keep him from losing it.

After a several days Joker let him out and gave him an antidote to the drug. Then sent him back to bed to sleep with a mock affectionate pat on his head. Miah slept for two days straight.

Years went by. Miah was now a teen. Things hadn't gotten easier for him in that time. Joker always had something new for him. The only thing that kept him going at all was the thought of Jerome. He learned a lot from Joker. He even learned how to create Joker's laughing gas. Joker however was not satisfied with Miah's progress.

"You are still not letting go. You aren't letting yourself be the you that I know you can be." Joker said frustrated. "Hmm. Well there is something I can try. I suppose it wont hurt for me to be the one to do it since it would happen anyway in some form. You are a teen now. You are growing up. So maybe its time for this."

Miah was concerned at what Joker had planned. And he was right to be concerned. He was blindfolded until they reached their destination. Joker said it was so the surprise wouldn't be spoiled. He couldn't see where they were but he could smell it. And it wasn't a good smell. The smell was acrid and biting. The air was filled with it. When the blindfold came off he realized what the smell was. And it was not something he was very happy with. They were standing on a catwalk over a chemical vat at a chemical plant.

"If you were going to fall into a vat at some point in your world then I assume Batman would be there and involved. I apologize that that wont be the case now. Though who knows how you would've your look." Joker said. "I'm sure you've always wondered at my looks. I never bothered to tell you. Well here's the story. I was a nobody trying my hand at crime. I came here. I think it was either to steal the records or rob the place that shares a wall with this building. I don't really remember the specifics. Anyway I ran into Batman. And when I tried to get away, I fell into a vat of chemicals. And I came out of it just like this. Now I'm going to share it with you, Little J. You may be a young me but to truly be me, you have to look the part. Maybe that will push you in the right direction."

"You think that torturing me is going to make me want to be like you? Because it never made me feel all that happy about being a young version of you. I doubt even looking like you is going to help." Miah said defiantly. He didn't care if he made Joker mad at this point. His situation couldn't get much worse.

"I'd rather you not spoil the moment, JJ." Joker said irritated. "Now try and hold your breath. Getting this into your lungs is a whole lot worse than getting water into your lungs. And don't swallow it either." He said before throwing him off without a warning.

Miah was used to pain by now. But it didn't make falling into toxic chemicals any less painful. Miah was barely conscious for most of it. And when he was dragged out of the vat by Joker he wasn't much more cognizant. He gasped for air but luckily he hadn't inhaled any of the chemicals. Being routinely pushed face first into a tub of water did have its advantages after all. Joker dropped him onto the floor and grinned down at him.

"Now you look just like me. I'm so glad." Joker said laughing.

Miah couldn't bring himself to say anything. His body decided the best course of action was to pass out.

Miah woke up hours later. He had been cleaned up and laid down on the hideout couch. Jon was staring at him in concern. He looked a bit relieved when he saw Miah was awake. "You're awake. I was worried." Miah turned over on the couch to stare at him blankly. Jon had a guilty look on his face. "I'm sorry. I had no idea he would do something like this. He always told me he was going to let your 'origin' run its course on its own."

"You're sorry?" Miah sneered. "But you never tried to stop him before. Just how sorry can you be?"

"I'm loyal to the Joker. I won't do anything against him. I did try to help you feel better afterwards and to help calm him down so it wouldn't get too bad. He would've just killed me if I tried to stop him." Jon defended his actions. "I would've left but I worried about you. So I did the best I could."

Miah couldn't deny the man's words. But he was still angry. Angry at him. Angry at Joker. Angry at the world. He knew he was done with all this. He refused to be trapped with the Joker any longer.

Luckily, not long after the incident at the chemical plant, Joker was captured by Batman again. Miah used that time to put his plan into action. The lackeys had been getting careless in watching him. He hadn't tried to escape in two years after all. It appeared to them that he had accepted his situation. And to be honest, his current look scared them. So it wasn't hard for him to slip out of the room they stashed him in while they were out. They had attempted to drug him and he pretended that it had worked. But there was an advantage to having a screwed up body chemistry due to the chemical vat. The sedative hadn't effected him at all. He got out of his room and carefully made his way to Joker's room. He knew there were still one or two lackeys about somewhere so he had to be careful. But he couldn't just leave yet. He didn't exactly blend in now. So he raided Joker's stash of flesh colored makeup and stole a wig as well. Then he went through a lackey's room to find some clothes that fit. And stole a few weapons. A lackey did run into him at one point. But Miah was no longer a child. And he didn't feel like a helpless victim anymore. He took great pleasure in stabbing the lackey in the chest until he was dead. He wasn't sure if the other lackeys would return soon. So he knew he couldn't take the time to make himself look normal while he was still there. He slipped out the front door, into the night and looked for a place to hide. He found a dingy public bathroom. He locked the door and got to work. He looked in the mirror as he spread the makeup over his pale face and then adjusted the wig on his head, being careful to not let any stray green hairs peek out. Then he got changed. The lackey's clothes were a bit big on him but they still fit well enough. Then when he was confident that he looked 'normal' enough, he left the bathroom and walked out into the night again.

Miah left Gotham and searched for any place that might touch his own world. He knew he'd never feel safe until he was back there. He finally found a place in a small town in the middle of the country. It was unassuming but if you knew what to look for you could tell that the two worlds touched. He had finally found a way out! He eagerly went through to his own world, grinning happily. And when he made it through he could feel it. He finally felt like he was in the right place. It was his world. There was a feeling of coming home. He finally felt free. He had escaped. It was the best feeling in the world.

As for what happens next, well, Miah didn't really feel much like Miah anymore. And he didn't really know what to do next. But he did have a strong desire to go home. And he had discovered over the years of musing to himself, that home to him was anywhere his brother Jerome was. So that's what he would do. He'd go home. And they'd be a family again. Even if he had to kill the entire circus to get him back. He laughed maniacally when he thought that wonderful thought.

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So there you have it. Miah did not come out of this unscathed. I think I will continue this in a future fic where I explore how Miah already being Jokery would effect how things go down in the Gotham world. And him possibly manipulating the Jerome fans to his benefit.

Side note: I was a dumb kid growing up. I broke my arm one time roller blading down a dirt hill. I did and still don't like needles. So when the doctor told me he was giving me a shot to dull the pain of setting the bone in my arm, I refused the shot. Big mistake. Miah's pain at his arm being set was my own. I can confirm, they probably heard my scream on the other side of the doctors office and it was a big doctors office. Worst pain ever. At least for me. I know that these other tortures I put Miah through probably hurt more. But this just felt right to start with.