Fun and Games

Danger, Will Robinson! Danger!

It was ridiculous and clichéd but that was the first coherent thought that made it through my head after the Joker asked me if I was ready to play a game for my sister's life. At the same time I was thanking God that I was touching Erin because otherwise my powers would draw me toward him like a plant to sunlight. The Joker wore gloves and a long jacket so the chances of making skin contact were pretty slim. Tiny blessings, all in all, but I was going to take what I could get.

I nodded my agreement and he removed his hand from my mouth. The Joker gave me a pleased grin before pushing several books off my coffee table so he could take a seat. The sound my hardcover books made against the wood floor caused Erin to groan softly and curl up tighter. I sent him a sharp glare.

"You're trying to wake her up," I whispered harshly. He gave me an innocent look that he really couldn't pull off with that unbalanced glee in his eyes.

"Now, why would I want to kill the mayor's cute little niece?" He must have noticed the panic in my eyes because his grin widened. "Yes, I already knew about Princess Erin. She's very popular, especially among the people I know. They'd love to get their hands on her fragile skin." My glasses gave an ominous creak, drawing my attention to the fact that my right hand had been gradually tightening on them as the Joker spoke. "Funny how no one ever mentioned you."

"I'm less interesting," I murmured flatly, unsure as to where he was going with this. He knew about my sister's reputation. She went to glamorous parties, sure, but there was an innocence and a beauty in her eyes that made the press gush about how she represented hope for the future of Gotham. I wasn't lying when I said I was less interesting. No one wants to read about the older, less beautiful sister who curls up in her apartment and reads if she hasn't been dragged to a party. Apparently the Joker doesn't share this opinion since he vigorously shook his head at my statement.

"No, no, no. We both know that's not true. A woman who shoves a stiletto heel into a man's eye is vastly more interesting than one who looks pretty at fundraisers. No, I think the problem is that you're a little too interesting." He looked at me a little too intensely then and I was shaken by how close to the truth he'd come. I couldn't dismiss him. I couldn't even come up with an excuse.

"I hope I didn't cause too much damage," I replied softly. The Joker rolled his eyes and groaned.

"Oh, don't ruin it." Then in an abrupt shift of mood he snapped his fingers. "That reminds me, though. I brought you a present." He reached into his pocket and I braced myself for the worst. To say the sight of my abandoned shoe dangling from his fingers surprised me is an understatement. Then I noticed how much gore had collected on the heel as a result of being stuck in a man's eye and I had to fight my gag reflex.

"Um, thanks." Did I even want to know what happened to the other shoe? I set aside my glasses and hesitantly reached for my shoe. Once I had it back I just set it on the arm of the sofa, heel up. I was mentally setting it on fire when I decided to ask the Joker a question. "How did you find us?"

"You're in the phonebook. Little Erin's sibling Sybil." I hated that he knew my name. It would have been easy to get since he'd been in a room full of people who knew my sister and thus were familiar with my existence. The way he said it was what disturbed me more than his knowing. His lips drew back, revealing yellow teeth, then pursed as he finished pronouncing the word.

"Why are you after my sister?" He giggled.

"Your dedication is amazing. There really is nothing else that exists for you. The princess here is your reason for breathing. You're a little like the Batman but on a much smaller scale. Instead of diligently protecting Gotham you guard one of its brightest lights. The thought that I might be more interested in you is simply inconceivable, isn't it?" I blinked and suddenly he had my face in his hands. The Joker towered over me, his compelling eyes keeping my attention fixed on him. "Now, where did you get that scar?" I was stunned. People rarely noticed the thin scar running from the end of my right eyebrow down to the beginning of my ear. It was old and barely noticeable.

"Car crash," I replied, not bothering to elaborate. He ran a gloved fingertip over its length.

"Not a very interesting story, doll. You should try something else. Stretch your creativity." I narrowed my eyes at his upbeat tone.

"If it helps, my parents died in that crash. Does that make it slightly more interesting?" I asked him with heavy sarcasm. His eyes lit up as if I'd just given him an unexpected gift.

"So that's the story behind your dragon guarding the princess routine. You're trying to protect her from the pain you knew when mommy and daddy died." I slapped him and the crack it made was louder than I'd intended. Not to mention that the brief skin contact sent a jolt of awareness through my body reminding me exactly how dangerous it would be if I lost control with this man. Thankfully Erin didn't stir and my head remained fairly clear. There was silence for a long second after I'd smacked him then a soft giggle leaked out of the Joker's mouth.

"You are feisty, aren't you? I like that in a woman."

"Enough! Why the hell are you in my apartment?" I hissed at him. I really wanted to yell but then I would lose the game and my sister.

"Would you like to know how I got my scars?" The slim blade he'd threatened me with before had seemingly flown back into his hand. I stiffened as he pressed the flat of the knife against my cheek.

"I really don't care," I replied softly. That wasn't completely true, though. There was a part of me that was curious about how the Joker had come to be what he was. Still, I didn't want to play any more games with him. I wanted to know why he'd come after me.

"When I was a kid," he began, blatantly ignoring me, "I had this friend. She was a little thing with pretty blue eyes and soft brown hair." The Joker slid his free hand deep into my hair and tangled his fingers in the strands as he spoke. This alarmed me for two reasons. The first was that if I tried to get free, it wasn't going to be easy with his fingers knotted in my hair. The second was that his gloves weren't nearly long enough to keep me out of danger in this situation. The exposed skin of his wrist was frighteningly close to my cheek. If it touched me for just a few seconds, I couldn't predict what would happen. All I knew was that it wouldn't be good. "No one could see her but me." That statement caught my attention. He'd had an imaginary friend. An imaginary friend with blue eyes and brown hair. A friend… who fit my basic profile. Oh, crap. "Now, my home life wasn't exactly ideal so I wasn't in the habit of smiling. That depressed my girl. She never complained, no, but I could tell when something bothered her. See, she'd try too hard to make me laugh. It got to the point where even she was smiling less. I couldn't be responsible for that."

"So you did it to yourself," I murmured. He tilted his head slightly.

"It's not nice to interrupt someone when they're telling a story, sweetheart." The Joker tugged my hair, jerking my head back sharply and pressing his skin against mine. "You want to know the ironic part, serious Sybil? After I was stitched up I never saw her again. Never… until you half-blinded my thug with your shoe. You look a lot like my girl all grown up. Wonder why that is." I didn't respond. I barely even breathed. I was concentrating all my energy on not pushing Erin onto the ground and throwing myself into the Joker's arms. I was fighting my own power, something I'd never had to do before this. And it didn't feel good. Everything in me was drawn to the Joker while I was trying to force my power to focus on Erin. I needed her to be what I was feeling and thinking. The Joker was sinking into my head along with some very distressing information.

He wanted to play with me. Playtime with the Joker meant only bad things for my mental and physical health. Come on, Sybil, focus on your sister. This shouldn't be hard. He's a stranger, you have no connection, forget this strangeness!

Oh, please. You're practically shaking in your peach camisole and lounge pants and you think you can fight this? Give it up. Since that mental voice was less helpful I chose to ignore it and concentrate harder on my sister. Stupid mistake.

"Sybie?" she mumbled, waking to my presence in her head. The Joker turned in her direction. That will probably be the only time I'll ever want to be threatened with a knife since once it wasn't pointed at me, it was going in Erin's direction. I kicked him as hard as I could and it gave me a few feet of space. I knew there was no way I could fight the Joker off. He was stronger, faster and far better trained. The only thing I could do to save my sister was to win the game. The second he was away from me I slid out from under her head so I could press my forehead to hers and bring my hands to her temples. Go back to sleep. Please, go back to sleep. I love you, Erin. Please sleep. Sleep was already clouding her brain so I manipulated it, amplified it. I just wished I had more control.

"Now, now, Sybie, I told you the rules of the game," the Joker said as he dragged me off my sister. My body felt like dead weight. Exhaustion overtook me and nothing kept me from collapsing on the hard floor. My vision had blurred but I could still make out the Joker standing over my sister and looking… puzzled.

"I win." He kneeled over me and I was thankful that I was too exhausted for his compelling presence to effect me anymore.

"You cheated, my girl. How did you manage that?" My head was spinning. I couldn't even manage to flinch when he touched my face, caressing my scar again.

"Not… not your girl," I whispered. I couldn't keep my eyelids up anymore. They closed and in less than a second the only things I could sense were the Joker's touch and his hot breath on my face.

"We'll see," he replied, followed by a high-pitched giggle.

I blacked out.