"Wakey-wakey, eggs and bakey," Joker said in a sing-song voice as he slapped Derek's freshly-shaved face.
Derek's icy eyes popped open, and widened as he realized his predicament; he was strapped to a metal table in one of the ORs of the Medical Center. Derek tried to let out a scream, but was muffled by the duct tape Joker placed over his mouth. I stood back a few feet from Derek's legs, unsure about how to handle the situation. At that point, I didn't really care about Derek's life, while at the same time I was concerned with the moral issue of letting an otherwise innocent man die for no good reason.
Joker walked around Derek, holding a scalpel with a wild look in his eyes.
"What? What's that?" Joker asked mockingly as he leaned down to listen to Derek's muffles. "Oh, that's right! You've got this on you!"
Joker ripped off the duct tape, earning a small yell from Derek.
"Elaine! Help me!" he begged as he looked up at Joker with fear in his eyes. "Get this god damn psycho away from me!"
"Wah, wah, wah..." Joker said as he slid the blade of his scalpel along Derek's cheek, drawing blood immediately.
Derek screamed loudly, tears forming instantly in his eyes.
"Elaine!" he yelled. "Please! You always said you loved me - prove it!"
"Oh, she doesn't have to prove anything to you anymore," said Joker.
He snickered and walked around to Derek's right side, admiring his job cuffing him to the table. Derek twitched and spasmed on the table, letting out dull groans as he tried to break free. Joker looked like he was on a high no medication or recreational drug could provide him. y odd brain found it both terrifying and arousing.
"Ya see, swine... All these months while she's been treating me here, I've been having you followed . It's a shame you'll never see your girlfriend again. She really was fun to play with. Joker laughed as soon as he saw Derek's eyes nearly pop out of his skull from shock.
"Wh-... What are you talking about?" Derek fumbled over his words, going completely still.
"We know about you and that old Kaylee whatserface. Don't worry - she won't be a problem any more."
"What did you do to her?" Derek shouted, fighting against the restraints again.
"Oh, just bought a few sticks of dynamite, tied her up in an abandoned warehouse... Same old, same old. She wasn't special enough for me to do anything extravagant. You, on the other hand... I've been waiting months for this moment." He grinned.
Joker sliced open Derek's hand, earning another scream. I watched him weep, unsure if it was just the pain, the insanity of his situation, or finding out that Kaylee was probably dead.
At least she's finally picked off. I've been hoping a bus would hit her. Joker really gets the job done.
What has become of me?
"Elaine... Help me..." he whimpered.
"She's not going to help you," Joker said in a taunting voice, "because if she does... this whole place goes boom, and we really don't want my pet's pretty little insides painting half the Narrows, do we?"
Joker lies... Joker has to be lying. I don't doubt for a second that there could be a bomb, but... he really likes to play mind games. Just go along with whatever he's doing.
Why don't I feel scared? I should be a quivering, sobbing mess here.
"Elaine!" Derek shouted.
"Sorry, Derek..." I said quietly, not really feeling that sorry.
"Would you listen to yourself?" Derek said in an exasperated voice. "I'm tied up and about to be sliced up by a nutcase!"
"See?" Joker cut in as he walked a couple feet away to the sliding table with different surgical instruments on it (most were replaced by what I assumed were his knives). "So... What'll it be, swine? Amputation? Decapitation?" He snickered and laughed. "Perhaps a bomb in an interesting place?"
Derek fidgeted and fought against the cuffs.
"Why are you doing this to me? I haven't done anything to you."
Joker slammed his hand on the table before turning to look at Derek.
"You were about to take away what's mine. You don't get to do that. You are in the way of a good thing."
"What the fuck?" Derek stared between me and Joker. "You want Elaine? Why? What the hell would you want with her?"
I raised an eyebrow at him.
Ouch?
Joker grabbed Derek's face and turned it towards me.
"Take a good look at her and you tell me."
Derek stared at me for a moment, then tried to shimmy his way out of Joker's grasp.
"I don't know! She's just Elaine! Look, if you want her, take her - just let me go!"
Wow. Award for ballsiest man goes to Derek, ladies and gentlemen...
"See this is how crazy weddings make me!" Joker said excitedly as he picked up a rather large dagger. "You want to be released, but I can't let that happen. See, I don't want to go to Blackgate, and I'm bored with this place. It's time to move on, and I want to make sure all loose ends are tied up here in Gotham."
"Elaine, are you in on this?" Derek asked as he kept his eyes fixed on the dagger.
"I-" I was cut off by Joker.
"She is just as surprised as you are." Joker whistled as he walked along the table, eyeing Derek's legs. "Are you left handed or right handed?"
"Right ha- AAHHH!" Derek screamed when Joker lodged the blade directly into Derek's shin bone, making me jump back and gasp from shock.
"Oh my God!" he screamed, breathing heavily, eyes red from tears. "Oh my god! Fuck!" He wiggled a little, blood pooling over his legs.
Joker laughed as he watched him struggle and bleed.
"I... Can I just get some air?" I asked quietly, feeling a little nauseous from the sound of cold metal going through flesh and bone. "I won't leave. I just want to go in the next room."
"Oh, fine. Old Derek and I have a few things to chat about, anyway." Joker grinned more as he kicked the side of Derek's table, knocking it over and sending the blade further into his leg.
"Thanks..." I said quietly, trying to ignore Derek's screams.
"Oh! Are we going to keep crying, swine? You do know what happens to swines, don't you? They get roasted!"
I left the room, wincing at the louder scream that followed Joker's statement.
I was in the holding cells within minutes (a few secret passages could take you anywhere on the Island). I heard a tap on the glass security doors, and found Ivy standing at her door, waving me over.
Oh boy...
I approached her cell and pressed the intercom button.
"Well, well... I thought you were gone forever," she said in her usual sultry tone.
"Some things sort of came up..." As soon as I spoke, Derek's screams could be heard from the passageway.
"So I hear." She chuckled. "You know, I always thought it'd be me to crack you."
"Excuse me?" I stared at her, slightly stunned.
"You never fell into my hands like the others. I see now I could have just thrown on some clown makeup and I would've had you doing whatever I wanted."
I remained silent as I stared at her. "A lot of the fleshsuits around here don't pay much attention to what's going on, really - however, word does get around about what happens with all you staff members sometimes." She chuckled in a voice even I could recognize as sexy. "I found it peculiar how you had to treat Joker in his cell."
"You're not the only one," I said passively.
"Don't play dumb. I already know." She gripped the bars of her cell. "Is that your husband he's torturing?"
"I... I don't have a husband," I said quietly. "Ivy, I should really get going."
"He's just going to kill you in the end," she said before I took my hand off the button. "You're just another temporary amusement for him." "
I guess I'll find out," I said as I released the button and walked away.
I was back in the OR within a few minutes, only to find Derek's pale, sweating form laying on the cold tile, his shin pinned against the table. Joker kicked the table, laughing maniacally while doing so. Derek groaned, probably starting to lose feeling in his leg.
"Come on, swine! It's no fun if you fall asleep during playtime." Joker stomped on Derek's shoulder, the sound of bones cracking followed.
Derek yelled again, tears pooling from his reddened eyes.
"Just... just do it already. Or call a god damn doctor and leave with her. I don't care," he said weakly.
I should feel sorry for him, but...
Joker sat on the floor in front of him, and rested his feet on Derek's dislocated shoulder.
"Ya know, uh... Derek... I've been going pretty easy on you. It's because I want to see where your limits are here. You're much weaker than I imagined you'd be, so this really is less fun for me," Joker said in a disappointed tone. "I don't like it when my toys are disappointing."
"Batman should have killed you," Derek groaned. Joker laughed.
"Say, you wanna know how I got these scars?" he asked Derek in a suddenly amused tone.
"Fuck you," Derek responded quietly.
Joker kicked Derek in the face, earning Derek a broken nose. I stood off to Joker's right side, watching blood dribble out of Derek's nostrils.
"So I had this friend, and he was rather weak, like you," Joker said fondly. "One night, we go to an abandoned warehouse to drink. We both get pretty drunk, and the next thing I know, we're trying to kill each other. I found out he was fucking my girlfriend, he found out I was planning on killing his... same old story.
"So, he manages to be quick enough to get me on the floor, and he has his buck knife on him. He does this to me," Joker turned his face, pointing up at his scars with the scalpel he still clutched in his hand, "so I do the only logical thing a person would do... I take the knife from him, and do this!"
I cringed as I watched Joker lodge the scalpel directly into Derek's eye, then pulled it right out of his socket. Derek screamed and shook against the table. Joker stood up and backed away in enough time before Derek vomited where Joker sat. Joker rolled his eyes and scraped Derek's eye off of the scalpel.
Great... Now I really feel like puking, I thought as I felt my stomach churn again.
"Regurgitating on your host is very rude," Joker said as he kicked Derek in the head, causing Derek's head to bump forward. "Ah, well... You're boring me now." Joker pulled a gun out of his pocket.
Derek looked up at him with his remaining eye, looking defeated.
"Why do all of this ? Why not just take her and go? It would have been so much easier..." he said quietly.
"True," Joker said. "But this is more fun!"
Joker laughed as he shot Derek in the stomach. Derek let out another groan, appearing to not have enough fight in himself to make much more noise. Joker fired another shot into Derek's (uninjured) leg.
"Any final words, swine?" Joker asked.
Derek started to open his mouth to speak.
"Time's up!" Joker announced before firing one last shot into Derek's face.
I looked away, feeling dizzy and nauseous as my ears rang. Derek was dead, and it felt like a relief for me, but watching how and why he died didn't exactly soothe my conscience. I looked back in enough time to see Joker putting away his gun before approaching me.
"Come on, Lainey," he said into my ear. "We don't have much time."
He led me out of the room by the arm, and soon we were out the door and near the back exit of the building. I could hear sirens and a helicopter overhead.
"Oh! Cops are here already. They'll really get to enjoy the fireworks." Joker snickered as he pulled out a detonator.
My eyes widened.
"Where the hell is the bomb?" I nearly shouted.
"Where your dead husband is," he said as he turned towards me. "So sorry for your loss," he said with no empathy.
He pulled me in and kissed me deeply, making me forget Derek, forget the bizarre night I was experiencing, and forget that we could both be arrested at any moment, or the fact that he could have blown us sky high at that very second. I held the sides of his face, feeling his makeup and sweat rub off onto my hands.
Before I knew it, I was being pushed out the door, and fell from the unexpected force. Joker walked out and let the door slam behind him.
"Well, this is see ya for now," he said as he dragged me up to my feet.
"Where are you going?" I asked, feeling the burn of anxiety fill me.
He can't leave me now. He does all of this, then just takes off? Why not have done this in the first place before I became attached?
Oh wait... That wouldn't have been as fun for him...
"Why, that'd spoil all of my plans if I told you!" He tapped me on the cheek. "Sorry about this, by the way, Lainey. I have to make this look convincing for you."
"Wha-" I was cut off by him hitting me hard enough on the face to knock me over, only to have him catch me right away.
My eyes streamed with hot tears, more from the idea of him doing that to me instead of the pain. My jaw throbbed as he half-heartedly hugged and soothed me.
"I'm going to count to ten. As soon as I let go, you run. Keep that crying going - it'll help you sell your story." He snickered as he let go of me. "Run!"
I stared at him for a moment before I turned the other way and ran towards the Intensive Treatment building, where the police were all gathered.
"I found her!" I heard a cop shout as I ran, holding my jaw in one hand and my dress in the other. "Get a medic!"
I collapsed a few feet from the officers, more from the childish feeling of defeat because of Joker leaving than the physical pain he caused me. Seconds later, there was a loud BANG! and a bright flash followed. I turned to stare at the Medical Center going down, hoping Joker was away from the building and safe. The last thing I remembered before passing out was, "Did he do this to you?"