Some Hours Later
The Joker's Paris Apartment
"Ow.." Anna opened her eyes and found she had been hit by an 18-wheeler that backed up and repeated running her over about 36 times. Either that or Harley had lied about the French aspirin she insisted Anna take. Clearly the combination of the nights events, her alcohol consumption and the mystery pill put Anna out to pasture in a big bad way. The lack of daylight coming through the window told her she'd only been asleep for an hours or so. She got out of bed and immediately sat back down. Looks like gravity was working overtime tonight. After two more tries she was able to stay on her feet and make it to the door of her room. The sound of muffled music was coming from the apartments sitting room. The moment Anna opened the door she wanted to shut it again. The music hit her hearing like a cats in a tin bucket in a hale storm.
In the sitting room her father and stepmother were laughing and drinking wine while watching something on an iPad. Whatever it was they were watching couldn't be heard over the music. Or maybe the music was coming from whatever is on the iPad?
"There's sleeping beauty!" her father exclaimed as he put the iPad down and jogged over to her, putting his arms around her shoulders and guiling her to the sofa where he sat her between him and Harley. "Your stepmother and I are so proud of you! You made it through the three little pigs and only threw up after they were gutted. My little girl, she's growing up before my very eyes."
Anna was beyond confused. Gutted? "What are you talking about? How long have I been asleep?"
Harley took her hand "Anna, sweetie I know I told you I gave you a French aspirin but to be completely forthcoming, French aspirin translates to Xanax. But don't worry. I checked on you every hour to see that you were breathing normally and not choking on your own vomit from the combination of drugs and booze."
"Every hour? Exactly how many hours equal every hour Harley?" Anna asked, clearly upset she had been lied to.
"Approximately 42."
"42 hours?!"
"Sweetie it's fine, your first kill will do that to you. It's the total split with any moral compass you once had and how you know you meant what you did. Crimes of passion keep the killers awake at night cause they regret doing it in the long run. Crimes of intention cause you brain need a total recharge. I pretty much went into a coma after my first time didn't I Puddin?"
"She did, I almost gave up hope and left her for dead but I just loved her too damn much." Harley blew the joker a kiss which he caught and brought to his lips.
All Anna could do was stare into space. She was a murderer and Harley was right, she didn't regret killing those boys. But she was angry… no she was pissed. And she was going to let them both have it.
"Ok, in order for someone to be completely forthcoming, they would have said from the beginning that French aspirin is really Xanax! What the fuck?!"
SMACK!
The backhand from her father had Anna seeing stars. She was stunned but he was calm as ever. "Anna, darling, I will not have you speak to your stepmother like that again. Do you understand me?"
Anna looked him in the eye but didn't answer.
"Believe it or not princess, we do have your best interest at heart here. Would you have taken the Xanax if Harley told you the truth?"
She shook her head.
"Exactly, you see the highway you're driving on right now, well Harley and I have already ridden on it. We've seen every sight, gone over all the potholes, eaten at every fucking Cinnabon. You on the other hand just left the onramp. So instead of being a typical 17-year-old little bitch, how about you say thank you? Hmm?"
The word Adapt kept going through Anna's mind. This was her life now. These were her parents, her blood, and what her father said did make sense in a way. So she bit the bullet and went with it. "Thank you Harley, I'm sorry I was so rude."
"It's ok honey, and Puddin? You don't need to be so hard on her. I understand her being upset. Anna I promise in the future I will be totally honest about the drugs I offer you."
"Thank you," Anna said quietly.
The Joker clapped his hands together loudly, "Now that that's out of the way. We have something for you. Harley and I made a video for you of your first kill. Do you like the band Hatebreed?"
"I really don't know their stuff."
"No problem, if you don't like the song we can change it. Here you go, all cued up. Just hit play." The Joker handed Anna the Ipad. On the screen was a frozen shot of the three boys tied to the pillars. Her heart pounded as she taped the screen. Immediately the same loud music blared through the speakers that were hidden in the walls. The band's singer screamed out the lyrics.
NOW IS THE TIME FOR ME TO RISE TO MY FEET
WIPE YOUR SPIT FROM MY FACE WIPE THESE TEARS FROM MY EYES
The events the video displayed were exactly as Anna remembered. She started with Andre, slitting his throat right to left. Next his two friends took turns getting their Colombian neckties at her hand. Then the events went in a totally different directing than her memories could recall. She saw herself go back to Andre who was very dead, raise the knife over her head and stab him in the throat over, and over, and over. There was a point when she had sliced her would-be rapist's flesh so many times, it was a wonder his head stayed attached. Then she changed holds on the knife from an overhead hold to an underhand. From there she stabbed his corpse in the abdomen at least fifteen times. His entrails had officially become ex-trails. Over the course of the song she watched herself do the exact same thing to the two other boys. A sadistic smile was plastered across her face the whole time. As the red blood of her victims sprayed her face forming a streak across her mouth Anna couldn't help but thing that she looked exactly like her father.
"Why don't I remember all of this?"
Both the Joker and Harley looked at each other confused. Had she blacked it out?
"How much do you remember sweetie?" Harley asked.
She paused the video and covered her mouth as a tear escaped her eye. "I remember cutting their throats and throwing up. That's it."
"Well as you can see, you did far more than that princess. I was so proud."
"But why don't I remember?"
"It could be memory suppression honey, maybe it was too much at once for your mind to handle. It'll get easier." Harley stroked Anna's hair.
"I butchered them…" Anna said, her voice trailing off. The dilemma before her wasn't one of right and wrong. She really wasn't sorry the boys here dead or that she had done them in so brutally. It was more because her mind clearly didn't want her to remember. That must mean something right?
Sensing his daughter's struggle the Joker went on his knees in front of her and tilted her chin upwards. "Those sapiens would have done unspeakable things to you. Princess, you did the world a favor. The brutality you used only sent a deeper message into the universe. Do you know that what message is?"
"What?"
He smiled, "That in this great big dog-eat-dog world Anna Kerry is not to be fucked with; not now, not ever. The powers that be labeled us villains, bad guys and evil doers. But name me one person I've killed who didn't deserve to die for one reason or another. No one is without sin and we all deserve to die. It's just a matter of who or what does us in first and how long until our history or the history of those who came before us catches up to us."
"Dad, I get what you're saying but that cant be true for everyone."
"Can't it? Let me give you an example. I during my search for you I came to know a doctor by the name of David Thurman. Have you every heard that name?" Anna shook her head. "He was the doctor who saved your life by bringing you into the world at the expense of your mother. He also named you after his own grandmother and intended to adopt you and raise you in a perfect upper-class storybook home. Do you know why he didn't?"
"Batman?"
"Exactly, the Bat came to him and convinced him that I would eventually come after him and either kill him for killing my wife and take you with me or kill him, and you thinking I would get revenger for my dead family completely unaware that you where in fact my child. Do you know what his sin was?"
"Killing my mother?"
"No princess, by killing your mother he saved you. His sin was cowardice. He let the Bat brain wash him into thinking you would be better off growing up as a system brat than as the entitled child of one of Gotham's 1%. Deep down, he just didn't want you and let the Bat come up with an excuse to let you go. For that, I killed him and Harley killed his wife."
Anna was stunned. There was so much of her life that she was learning about for the first time and it was more than she could take. That didn't stop her from asking her next question. "Why kill his wife?"
Harley answered that one, "Cause the dummy believed her husband when he told her you died. But never totally let you go. She kept an album of pictures of you as a baby in the hospital."
"If they had adopted me, would you have killed them?"
The Joker thought long and hard about what he would say next. Then chose to be honest. "I totally let go you your and your mother. I would have never looked for the Doctor for revenge. That would be opening old wounds and I'm not a fan of re-emersion. But if I learned you were alive and happy…" His left eye started to twitch as he faced the truth. "I would have had to fight the urge to take you from them. But I'd like to believe that whatever choice I would have made would have been what was best for you, not me."
It wasn't a yes, it wasn't a no but it was the truth and Anna understood that. Her father loved her, as crazy as he was, he loved her and he loved their family. Overcome with the fullness in her heard she hugged him and for the first time in god knew how long, Anna let herself have a good cry on her fathers shoulder. He held her tightly and kissed her hair truly enjoying the closeness they shared. To think the brutal murder of 3 date rapists could bring them together like this was astounding. The only thing that could make the moment more touching were Anna's next words "I love you Dad."
The sound of a Polaroid camera broke the moment once again. Harley sniffled as she took the photo and fanned her tearing eyes. Anna and the joker looked at her with are you kidding me? written all over both of their faces. "Oh shut up the both of you!" she said as they sarcastically scrutinized her need to capture all of their father daughter moments.
Anna laughed and hugged Harley. "Don't worry Harley, I'm coming around to your weird sentimentalness."
"Good! Cause I may be a psychotic criminally insane bitch but I'm a total mush" Harley dabbed her eyes as she and Anna broke apart from the hug.
"Then we may need to get you a new box of tissues for my next question."
"Uh oh," the Joker said rolling his eyes.
"What it is sweetie?" Harley asked.
"Well, I was wondering if it would be ok for me to call you Mom?"
"OMG! Anna!" Harley pulled Anna back into the hug and wept.
"I'll get the mop." The Joker said standing up.
Harley threw a wad of tissues at him "You sit down, we are having a beautiful family moment here. Anna, I would be honored for you to call me Mom!"
Anna had a tremendous desire to yawn and stretch. "Geez, you'd think after 42 hours of sleep I'd be full up on fatigue."
"It's totally normal, here lets get you some food." Harley helped Anna to her feet and walked her to the kitchen.
The Joker looked at his girls feeling full that he was now a family man. Content with the emotion he retrieved the cellphone from his back pocket and dialed a number he truly hated calling but know it was necessary for the next step of Anna's transition. After 2 rings the most annoying colleague he associated with, answered the call.
"As I live and breathe! Could it be? The gent who makes the city seethe! Is it truly he?"
"Hello Jervis,"
"Ah, my old friend, to what do I owe the honor of our dry spell's end?"
"Well you are the superlative when it comes to unlocking one's cognizance and I have a favor to ask."
"A favor for the Clown Prince of corruption? I'm terrible intrigued by your act of gumption. After our last dealings I assumed our accord met it's end. But if it's a favor you request am I too presumptuous to say our friendship is on the mend?"
"No you worthless man-child. Our friendship is not on the mend because we were never friends to begin with. You're a sordid child molester with a Disney fetish and I'd love nothing more than to set you and your god damned Neverland mansion on fire with you tied to your bed and that ridiculous hat shoved up your rabbit hole. But I know you love to play with the minds of young girls. As it happens I have a young girl who needs her awareness unfastened. And you know that if she's coming from me, her computer must be chock full of sweet nothings for you to sip tea over. Now are you in or should I call Nigma?"
"That philistine?!"
"Said the pedophile."
"Hurumph! Alright, you've twisted my arm and peeked my curiosity. I shall unburden the girl of her acrimony."
"Excellent, we'll see you at tea time tomorrow. By the way Hatter, that last one didn't rhyme." The Joker hung up the call pleased with himself for successfully throwing the imp off his game (just because he could) and joined his girls for ice cream and waffels in the kitchen. Harley wasn't going to like this but Anna needed to face herself and he needed to know exactly what she had gone through over the last 17 years that fucked her up so badly that was capable of such ruthlessness yet able to block it out so completely.