His arm was tucked under your head. He cradled you gently as the two of you laid face to face. His fingers grazed your temple before dancing through your hair, only stopping once he had a hand full of it. He didn't pull or push, he simply allowed his hand to rest against your head. You snuggled your face into the curve between his neck and shoulder, allowing your lips to brush against his pale skin. His smell intoxicated you. You needed him, wrapping your arm around his neck you coached him into rolling on top of you. Your body longed for his touch. You advocated any reason that allowed it. His weight on top of you was a drug. Nevermind what came after the anticipation, this was your high. He nuzzled his face against your cheek. You turned wanting to find his lips but he wouldn't comply, poignantly lifting his head just enough to keep you deprived. You longed to embrace him in the one way he never allowed: a kiss. The tip of his nose tickled across your face, over your cheek, down your jawline. He nudged your head urging you to till it back, exposing your throat. His lips were warm and soft as he meticulously kissed your neck. Lingering with each one. You moaned passionately. You could feel his smile against your skin.

The Joker sat back in his chair and watched the screen. His elbows perched on the armrest and his fingers pressed together while he studed you. He watch as you gently floundered in your sleep.

He had been at this for nearly 8 months. As far as you aware, the cameras had only been on you for 4 weeks now. The truth was, he had been watching you from the beginning. Of course, he had done the same to others; you weren't the first and probably wouldn't be the last. There had been nothing special about you, until... Breaking you had turned out to be harder and enjoyable for him than expected. The whole thing had started to become an obsession. Finding someone who could see through the games he played, withstand the abuse and not lose their mind was a rare unearthing and he intend on keeping his new playmate around as long as needed. And if you could be broke, well the possibilities were endless, he thought.

His attention peeked. You were awake now, sitting up in the bed. The Joker watched. You pulled at the collar of your shirt before placing your hand against your throat. You rubbed your throat slightly and closed your eyes.

"And whats got you so riled up?" He mumbled under his breath.

Lowing his brow, he zoomed in with the camera. Your hair was unruly and damp with sweat. He could see your chest moving up and down as a result of your heavy breathing. It appeared you had had a nightmare.

Of course, he still had a few tricks up his sleeve but he needed you vulnerable in order for them to make the biggest impact. He needed your psyche to be on the edge. Physical abuse didn't seem to bother you. He had seen first hand that your were a fighter and pain didn't seem to make or break you. In fact, after all this time, when the opportunity presented itself you would still try and fight for your freedom. He smiled as he through about the fight you still had in you.

"Commendable, little bird." He said to himself still watching the screen.

He continued to think to himself: She's clever too. Playing games with Rocko and the other goons to manipulate them into feeling sorry for her, hoping to gain the upper hand. She's patient too, waiting for the right moment.

He looked at the open folder on his desk. Page after page of information on you could be seen. They had been looked through so many times that the edges were starting to wrinkle and curl.

He mumbled to himself as he went through them again. "Born in Gotham. No known family. Mother and father dead. No insufficient other. College drop out. Bank account: 34.65 bucks."

He cringed. "Geez, no wonder she became a thief."

He tossed them cross his desk. "Unless, all of it. There's nothing here to use."

He slammed his hands down on the desk.

"There got's to be something. Anything." He snarled to himself as he got up.

He started pacing back and forth.

"I could let her escape. Let her embrace her freedom. She gets comfy. Nice and cozy. Safe at home. And went she least expects it." He grabbed the air in front of him, mimicking a snatch.

He smiled then stopped and bared his teeth. "The little pigeon."

"No, no. It's just too risky. Can't have her actually getting away." Concern and worry showed on his face as he talked to himself.

"I've tried confinement, solidation, observation, abuse mental, physical and sexual..." His voice dropped off.

He sat back down at his desk. You were laying back down, as he checked the screen. His fingers, one by one, lifted then fell back to the desk as he pondered. He'd find a way to break you.

You laid there staring at the ceiling, with your hand still touching your neck. The dream lingered. It felt so real. You could still feel his lips against your neck. How could I dream such things about a person...a person so vile? You tried to tell yourself it was your mind harmlessly making stuff up. Naturally, The Joker would be on your mind, you were caught up in a battle with him for your life. That's all it was. That's. All. It. Was.


A few days later...

The water wasn't hot but it was warm enough. You soaked in the old, stained up cast iron tub. Stretched out. Your feet casually tossed over the edge, allowing the chain to hang down the side of the tub. Your pants were tangled in the chain. The only way to get them off was to slip them though the chain and let them hang there. Your head was rested up against the side, with the water level just under your chin. For once you were actually relaxed with your throughs far, far away. At least for a while. When you heard the door being opened, you crouched yourself into the tub.

You pulled all your limbs up close to you, cringing as the chain clanted again the iron tub as some of it fell into the water with you. You stretched your neck over the edge of the tub, peeking, only seeing so far. Your eyes caught a glance of purple and you immediately tucked your head back into the tub like a turtle. The sound of the door slaming shut made you cringingly close your eyes. You were "hiding". Knowing good and well you couldn't. However, at that moment, it made you feel better. You listened. You waited. You didn't hear anything. Opening your eyes, there he was. Standing over the tub. He was peering down at you.

You felt sleezy the second your saw him. Suddenly, the dream, no, the nightmare from a few nights ago popped into your mind. You quickly sat up in the tub, pulling your knees up to your chest. It was like all of your modesty had returned that very second. With one arm wrapped around the top of your knees, the other fidgeted with the chain under the water. Your eyes bounced to him then around the room in a nervous fashion.

Your discomfort stroked his ego. He grinned then spun around and used the edge of the tub as stool. One of his jacket tails landed on top of the water. Floating near you knee. You watched it. Allowing it to pacify your mind from having to actually thinking about the situation momentarily. His body was barely hutched over. His hands on either side of him, holding on to the edge. His fingers curled towards the inside of the tub. He stared ahead.

"I have a surprise for you, Pigeon." It rolled out cheerful. You cringed at hearing 'pigeon'. Some how your pet name had gone from 'jail bird' to 'little bird' to 'pigeon'.

"Want to see?" He paused, waiting for you to actually answer. He had recently started forcing you to participate in actually conversation.

You moved your eyes from the slowly sinking coat tail, to him. His eyes still ahead of him.

You wanted to scream but knew better. You didn't feel like being slapped or violently dragged from the tub today.

You hesitated, "W-what's is it?"

He didn't respond right away. It was eerily quiet. Allowing your tiniest movements in the water to be heard.

"Just imagine my disappointment...finding out allllll about your life and who you really are. " He sounded somber as he called out your full name.

"No family left to kill...or kidnap. A real disappointment."

You remained quiet, staring down at the water.

"Then I thought." He snapped his fingers once.

"Pigeons' a looker. I bet she's beating the boys off with a stick." He turned his head enough to shift his eye toward you. He was looking to see if your expression changed. "Imagine my surprise when I couldn't even find a romeo. Not the dating type, I suppose."

You kept your eye lowered and did nothing.

"Until." He reached into the enter pocket of his jacket.

"One of my boys, Rocko, I believe...brought me this wonderful little treasure, from a store window." Unfolding a piece of paper.

He casually tossed it onto top of the water to float. "It appears, someone does care."

You picked the paper up quickly. There was a photo of you with missing wrote under it. There was a phone number. You knew the number. Your eyes widen. Your hands started to trimble a little. The Joker shifted his body to look at you and rested his bent knee on the edge of the tub. He was grinning as he watched you read.

"At first, of course, I assumed it was Falcone. Angry at the possibility that you made have skipped town with his...No, wait, my goodies. You know, the ones he wanted you to steal for him." He was still grinning smugly.

"But, to my surprise, the young fellow who answered the phone wasn't connected to Falcone."

He started to pull at his glove, finger by finger he removed it.

"And do you know who it was, Pigeon?" His bare fingers were dipped into your bathwater. He was moving his hand around slowly, the way one would do to check the temperature.

"Oh, I know you do." He lightly splashed some water at you. You kept a straight face.

"He was more than helpful." He grinned. "Told me everything. Who he was. Where you were the last time anyone saw you." His movements stop.

You were still holding the paper but no longer looking at it. Your eyes were focused on The Joker. Rage was starting to fill you. Suddenly, he grabbed your chin with his wet hand and pulled your face up. He stared at you for a moment before smiling.

"You're going to really enjoy this..." He let your chin go.

He laughed maniacly.

"Oh boys, bring in our guest of honor." He ordered.

The door swung open. A young man was kicked through the door, landing on his hands and knees. He was badly beaten.

Your gasp was somewhere between sadden and terror. You froze.

"Please. I don't know what I've done." The young man lifted his head to looked around.

The Joker laughed loudly, causing the man to look over in his direction.

The man's eyes looked pass The Joker. Your eye's met his. Water splashed out into the floor. The sound of it hitting the tub walls forcefully was drowned out by you yelling 'no'. The Joker stopped you from jumping out of the tub by grabbing the hair on the top of your head and holding you down. Your eyes teared up as you looked back at the young man who was now looking at you. He blinked like he didn't believe what he was seeing.

"W-what's happening?" He said in a shaky voice. He slowly pushed him self up to two feet. The Joker's goon were standing on top of him.

You held on to The Joker's hand trying to reduce the pain of his hand tangling and pulling at your hair. He was still sitting causuly on the edge of the tub, almost like nothing was happening. You through fast.

"W-who is that?" You turned your head, as much as you could, toward The Joker to address him.

He laughed, "Oh, that old trick won't work. Don't play daft."

"Or if you prefer, Pigeon. I'll narrate the ending." The Joker laughed again.

"Y/n, you're alive. I looked everywhere." The young man said, trying to explain.

The Joker snarled, "Obviously not everywhere." He howled with laughter.

"I-I d-don't understand." The man said.

"No." The Joker was being snooty. "No, you wouldn't...would you?"

He then turned and smiled at you. He let go of your hair but kept his hand rested on your head. A threat.

"What's the meaning of..." Rocko gagged the young man and hit him. You grabbed the side of the tub wanting to help him.

"He's not completely on board yet." The Joker patted your head, "but you are, aren't you, Pigeon?"

Tears were still filling your eyes. You tried with all your might not to show any feelings. It was the only thing that might spare his life. You knew Cal Kelley. He was the closest thing to family you had, even when you had actually family. The only person who had been a constant in your life for the past 15 years. Cal was the bastard son of your father's best friend. When his own family shunned him, your mother had taken pity on him. A relationship between you two had continued long after he left the haven of your mother's home. In fact, he had been the one to give you the tip about the robbery job. The very job that had gotten you in this mess.

"Cal. I'm sorry." You mouthed the words to him. He looked at you. He didn't completely understand. The Joker was still laughing.

Without warning, a gun shot rang out. Cal fell back. You grabbed at the bottom of The Joker's jacket as a reflex reaction from what was happening. A controlled gasped escaped from your lips. Your eyes were on Cal laying in the floor. He struggled for air, blood spewing from his mouth as he gasped. Another gun shots rang out. Everything seemed to be in slow motion. The shot surprised you, causing you to jump. You let go of the jacket and pushed yourself up on the edge of the tub. You stood there dripping wet. The Joker remained seated.

"Oh, he did have brains after all. Ha!" Punchline delivered, he laughed hysterically.

For a second you didn't do anything. Your eyes drifted slowly from the bloodly mess, that was Cal's injured abdominal area, to the laughing man beside you. All that rage and anger that was there bubbled over. You threw yourself against him, pushing him off the edgeof the tub. You felt The Joker's weight shift, as gravity took over, dragging him to the floor. His butt hit the floor, no different if he had slipped off the tub's edge himself. His laughter hadn't even been interrupted. Your hands tightened around the collar of his jacket but he was ready for you. Lifting one arm up to push you away, his laughter lessened.

You grabbed his sleeved and shook his arm, as he pushed you back. He allowed you to do so, the whole act was pathetic and pointless to him, it caused another wave of laughter to erupt from him. However, it only took a matter of seconds for him to quickly become annoyed. In a flash, he was turned around, on his knees and manhandling you. He wrapped an arm around your upper legs and forcefully lifted and pulled you out of the tub. One of your shin bones smacked loudly against the tub as he used his whole body to toss you onto the floor next to Cal's dead body. Your weight landed on your hip as you hit the floor. You were no more than a pile of wet, emotional heap. He waited to see what your next move was going to be. To his surprise, you remained where you were.

Your eyes traveled to pool of blood that was forming around Cal's body. You followed the outline of it until you saw his hand. Lifeless. Naturally, your eyes traveled up his arm, pass his shoulder, to his face. You closed your eyes. You found yourself thinking that this was the easy way out for Cal, his fate could have been much worse, knowing The Joker. You would mourn but never so The Joker would have satisfaction from it. Never. The few tears that had swelled in your eyes had already rolled now your cheeks. There would be no more.

There was a disappointing sigh that came from The Joker.

"My jacket." It rolled out of his mouth as if it was the only thing of improtance.

"You got water all over it." He pouted. He peeled out of it. Rocko took the jacket from him.

You cut your eyes but kept your head down. He was standing over you. Studying. Critiquing. He quietly gestured to him men to leave.

"Boss, you want that we should clean this mess up?" Rocko asked.

"Yes, yes. But later." He again waved them out the room.

The Joker's shoes clicked on the wooden floor as he walked around the body. After making a full circle he stopped next to you. You stared at his white spats and black wingtips, watching as the puddle of Cal's blood reached them. He took a step back, causing you to realize how close to the puddle of blood you were too. You pushed yourself back in a bit of a panic. Your body was still hunched over and your head down. You couldn't bring yourself to look at Cal again. As much as you wanted to hide your saddness, you were having a hard time.

"My, my." The Joker's voice broke the deafing silence.

He was kneeled down beside you, but you were unaware of it until he spoke.

"I dare say, has Pigeon's wings finally been clipped?" There was a slight frown on his face. He paused for a moment.

You felt his fingers in your hair, then he tucked some of it behind your ear. He followed your jawline with his finger down to your chin and pulled your face toward him. Your eyes remained turned away, staring at anything but him. He could feel your jaw muscles tense up. A smile slowly appeared across his face.

"No." He let go of you. "I don't think they have. There's still fight left in the ole girl."

It was then that something dawned on you, he wanted the fight. A challenge. A quest. And you had been giving it to him, the whole time. I don't...I don't have to give him what he craves. So there you were, on the floor, naked, still dipping wet from the bath, beside the dead body of Cal. You pushed yourself up onto your hands and knees. You started laughing softly.

"Do tell." The Joker snapped.

You continued to laugh as you stood yourself up. Still squatted, he looked up at you. The laughing turned to just a smirk as you stared down at him. You studed the look on his face. He was confused and trying to figure out your intentions. You moved. Walking pass him, he grabbed the chain. You stopped and looked down at him. Everything in you wanted to gouge his eyes out, but you did nothing. You stood there. He was expecting you to, at least, put up a small fight. When you didn't he tried to instagate a reaction out of you by moving his hand from the chain to your leg. He slid his fingers up pass your calf, pass your knee and stopped around your mid thigh. His touch gave you goosebumps. However, you only stood there staring ahead. Finally, he let go of your leg. As soon as he did, you continued to walk away from him. He turned and watched. You picked up your shirt, turned your back to him and slipped it on. When your head popped out, you turned your head just enough to see where and what he was doing. Still standing there, he was watching you with his brow lowered. He was quick to catch on.

You left your head turned so you could see what he was doing.

"A new game, Pigeon?" He walked toward you.

"Let's see just how long you can surpress that temper of yours." He whispered it into your ear.

You quickly turned your head forward and tightly closed your eyes, preparing yourself for whatever he was planning. His body was almost completely pressed against your back. You could hear him breathing in your ear. You thought, what's the worst he could do? There's nothing left. Still, you let out a sigh of relief when you felt him move and heard him walking away for you. It made you nevous at the same time. He was a dangerous man and he was up to something. The loud bang on the door caused you to jump.

Rocko busted in. "Boss. The cops! Someone must have report the gun shots."

"Goddamnit." The Joker didn't seem fearful just really, really annoyed.

Your eyes widen. You couldn't stop yourself.

"HELP! Help. HEEELLP!" You ran as close to the open door as the chain would allow. "Help me! HELP!"

"Rocko, shut her up." He ordered it calmly.

"Help please! Heell-" You went down grabbing your stomach.

Rocko punched you hard; harder than you would have ever betted on. Your breath was gone. You immediately felt nauseated. While you regained your composter, the two goons shut the door. The Joker walked over to Cal's dead body and tore a piece of cloth from his sleeve. He came up behind you and gagged you with it. You struggled very little. Only reaching back to grab at his hands as he tied a knot. By now distance voices could barely be heard yelling stuff like 'hello' and 'police'.

"Don't be foolish." He whispered to you as he tightened the gag.

Rocko and the other guy stood on either side of the door, guns out and ready. The Joker was behind you with a gun. The cops got closer and closer. They were only calling out and looking for anyone in distress. They were clueless about how close they were to the notorious Clown Prince of Crime. You were waiting for them to get as close as possible. It was like, he knew what you were thinking. The Joker quietly wrapped his arm around your chest and put the gun to your head.

He whispered, "shhhh."

"Anybody hurt? Police!" You heard it loud and clear.

You tried to moan loudly and stomped your foot. The Joker immediately lifted you off the floor. The two of you struggled as you tried to make as much noise as possible. The gun was no threat to you. You were almost certain he wasn't going to kill his favorite pet. You kicked your legs around causing the chain to bang around on the floor. He was now having to use both arms to hold on to you.

"Boss." One of they guys whispered, "shut'er up. They're gonna hear us."

"Hey! Someone there?" The cops were almost in front of the door.

"You heard that, right?" One cop asked the other.

"It's an abandoned building, it could be anything." The other one responded.

The goons prepared for the cops, aiming their guns at the door.

The Joker wesltled you down to the floor, as quitely as he could. Using his body weight and strength to keep you from kicking your legs around. He had one of your arms pinned down to your chest and was fighting to get a hold of the other one. You continued to make sounds causing him to fully cover your mouth with his hand. You suddenly stopped all movement. The sound of the cops banging on the door caused to to freeze. The grin on The Joker's face turned sinister. He stared at you. The cops continued to knock. The goons waited for a que from the boss.

The Joker lifted his hand from your gagged mouth. You were smiling, what little you could. He lifted himself off of you. He cocked his gun.

"Well, Pigeon, you just killed them." He grinned.

"Hey, in here!" He yelled, baiting the cops.

As they came through the door, they met with gun fire. They stood no chance. Once it was over the Joker gave the immediate orders to clear the room. Your hands were tied behind your back. Your feet were also tied together. Leaving the gag on, he covered your head with a bag. You sat there. You could hear them walking around the room. A hand grabbed your ankle and you heard a click. Chain was off. It felt so good that you smiled about it. You wiggled your ankle, what little you could.

After a few moments someone hoisted you over their shoulder and started carrying you. You knew exactly who it was. You knew his smell. You knew it from the tiny little sound he made when he lifted you. You knew it from the feel of his touch, the way his hands felt when they wrapped around parts of your body. You could tell by the way he moved and walked, it was The Joker carrying you.

Unlike months ago when he wouldn't have dare done any of the grunt work like carrying you somewhere, this was different. It was like he wanted to make sure his pet was safe and sound. He trusted no one else with the job. You found yourself being put in the back of a van instead of a truck of a car. You could hear the sound of the van door sliding open, then closed. You curled your legs up close to you after being put down. Afterall, all you had on a oversized shirt barely long enough to cover all your important bits. The van started moving.

"Boss, where we going with her?" Rocko asked...