A Flash-forward...

5 months after C9 and C10...

Night of Dec. 28th/29th...

A pile of bloodly clothes were tossed carelessly on the floor beside the tub. The sound of the drain bubbling was drowned out by your humming, as you got out of the bath.

'Remember when you kissed me by the sea,
You were saying all the things that I'd like to believe...'

You stepped out, letting the water drip freely as you walked across the heated stone floor. You didn't bother reaching for a towel.

'That you could give me all your love,
You could give me just enough...
And we could live in paradise...
And never have to leave'

Instead, you grabbed one of the fluffy cashmere bathrobes that were hanging in the bathroom. It felt so good as you wrapped it around your naked body, you closed your eyes with enjoyment and continued with your humming:

'But is it true? Whenever I look around, I can always find you. On my side, In the morning and night... You're my can-candy all the time'

You cheerfully bounced out of the bathroom, making your way into a huge bedroom. The fireplace was roaring and crackling, casting a mixture of shadow and light, that danced across the room. A huge four post bed sat right in the middle of the room, you tossed yourself on top of a mountain of pillows, causing them to go flighting. You smiled as your humming became singing:

'My heart's on fire. You light me up, and I can't cool down...Your love is wild...You're dangerous...Dangerous...'

You stopped and snuggled yourself into the pillows and then flipped over. You looked around, suddenly the walkin closet caught your eye. You immediately jumped up and hurried in. Turning on the light, your eyes lit up at the sheer number of clothes. You slowly walked around dragging your fingers against the different luxury fabrics and started softly singing to yourself again:

'I like your style, I like your smile, Everything about you..
When you are on top, I let you take me for a ride, We can go anywhere you want to...'

You stopped in front of a huge floor length mirror. Your eyes traveled up the sides of the mirror, stopping on what looked like pearls set in gold, decorating the frame of the mirror, you snarled your nose up at them.

"Must be nice." You said under your breath.

You looked at yourself in the mirror. Your face was full of color, you no longer looked tried and sick. In fact, you had gained, a much needed, healthy ten pounds. The last five months had been a rollercoaster, there had been no detected pattern in the way Mr. J treated you. In fact, he had been extremely kind to you for a few days after "the night" of mutual sex. Then he turned exceedingly hostile toward you. His behavior became knavish, full of pettiness and over the top harshness that was, even for him, scary. It took a few weeks but once it was out of his system, things became different. He started using you as an extra set of hands to work on his gadgets and bombs, allowing you come out of the crappy apartment room and work on stuff in the main room. However, even then, you couldn't escape from being chained up.

Your meals had improved. Your health started improving. Your mood and mind improved from getting to be active day after day. To his surprise, you'd turned into a diligent little helper. You knew your place and tried to please him. The dynamic between the two of you flowed well, as long as you over looked the occasional smack or shove. He'd grab you by the neck from time to time and for a moment, just a spilt second, it was clear that the spark was still there between the two of you but for whatever reason, neither of you had the courage to act on it. You continued to look in the mirror, your hand caressed over a fresh bruise, you smiled thinking about how you'd gotten and how so much had changed over the past months.

"Pigeon." Mr. J's voice echoed cheerfully into your ears.

You quickly turned and hurried to the closet door. The truth was, you loved the sound of his call. It was literally music to your ears. He was tossing his wide brim purple hat onto the bed and looking at you as you emerged from the walk-in-closet. It delighted you to see him smile when he saw you and you had to admit, the way he wore that grin...you loved it.

"Honey, I'm home." He said in a sarcastic tone as he started to pull off his purple jacket.

You walked toward him and took his jacket from him. He watched you with a snarl on his face as you tossed the jacket on a chair.

He looked you over, "Where's your clothes?"

You walked up to him, took his hand and started pulling him as you walked out of the room.

"I've got a surprise." You glanced over your shoulder as you pulled him down the hall.

He allowed you to lead him out of the bedroom, down a hall and toward a set of double doors. You let his hand go and turned around to look at him before opening the doors. You grinned and pushed the doors open. Behind you were two tied up people, a man and a women. They were gagged with their hands and feet tied, laying on the floor. Mr. J's eyes lit up as he saw them and a grin danced across his face.

"My, my, my." He cupped your chin and gave it a sweet little wiggle of approval.

"I made a mess. I hit him a little too hard." You gestured to the man who clearly had a head injury and was still bleeding some. You leaned against the door frame as he walked in and kneeled down over the couple.

"Unlucky indeed, my friends." He grinned at them. Their eyes were wide and fearful having recognized the Joker.

"I'm afraid...I have some truly terrible news. Your...Oh wait..." He made a puzzled face before reaching into the man's back pocket. Taking out his wallet and opening it, he pulled out each item. Tossing each one separately onto the floor until he came to the man's driver's license.

"Judging from your age and name...aah, Mr. Pollew...Not to mention the ungodly resemblance. I'm going to take a guess and say your father. Hee-he-he-haha." He tossed the wallet at the man's face.

"I'm informing you of the untimly death of your father..." His cheerful voice turned dark.

"And mother." He faked a frown. "Unfortunately while my charming colleague was restraining the two of you. Uncle Joker had a visit with the folks. And the cause of death...Dreadful, gruesome, just deplorable." He started laughing.

Before turning his attention back to the young couple, he turned and glanced at you. Your face was blank, showing no emotion. Your hands were folded in front of you. You didn't care one way or the other what he'd do to them or what he had done to the other couple, who had been unfortunate enough to answer the door at this wee hour. Apon opening the door, they both had been sprayed in the face with Joker Venom. While Mr. J started dragging the bodies off into another room, he ordered you to go search the rest of the house. That's when you came across these two sleeping soundly, completely unaware of what horrors that were occurring downstairs.

You hit the young man in the head, hard enough to knock him out, unfortunately it had been hard enough that he started bleeding right away too. After rendering the man useless, you focused on the young women. She remained asleep until feeling you covered her mouth with your hand. You'd warned her with a finger over your mouth, to be quite but she immediately freaked out, causing you to gag and restrain her right away. Regardless, of the pleading and tears, she never once fought or tried to help herself. You found it quite pathetic. While you waited for Mr. J to finish up, you had decided to clean up...

So, how did you end up here? How did you go from being chained up to companion? This shift of gravity...had only occurred four days ago.


Christmas Eve Night...

Dec24/25

"Get up. Shit went bad. Real bad." Rocko was shaking you awake.

"What?" You sat up, very startled, still half asleep.

"Shit went sideways the bat got'im...or he's dead." He spoke so fast that you couldn't keep up with him.

Then Rocko popped open the lock on your chain and quickly pulled it from around your ankle.

"Wait. What?" You were trying to get him to slow down.

"Go." Rocko was breathing heavy and excited. "Go. You gotta go, now."

"Wait. What's going on? What do you mean the bat got him. What does that mean?" You were excited now too.

"Look! You ain't listening to me. You have to go. Now. The orders were to kill you if something ever happened to him. You gotta go." Rocko pleaded with you.

You were confused, shocked with terrible news, that you didn't understand, and half-dressed as Rocko literally dragged you out of bed, down the hallway, out of the building and into the cold winter's air.

"Go and don't come back. You're free." He said leaving you right there in the alley way. You stood there bare feet, no pants, no jacket, with no clue.

Your first reaction was to go back in but the door was locked and no one responded to the banging on the door. For a few moments you stood there like a fool. You had just been given your freedom and you didn't know what to do with it. So, you started walking, kind of in a daze. After a block it became apparent that you were in downtown Gotham, the crappy part. It was Christmas time, you hadn't realized it being locked up. You could see Christmas lights and decorations everywhere you looked. There were tears rolling down your face, you didnt know what to do. You debated going to the police but the very next thought was: you'd have to explain too much to them. And you didn't want to get the Joker in trouble. Which then made you tell yourself that you were crazy but the fact remained, you wouldn't go to the cops.

"Miss, miss? Are you OK?" Someones voice broke your train of thought.

You looked up and a young man was standing there with some friends, they all looked very concerned.

"Hey did you get caught the cross fire tonight?" One of them said.

"Yeah, A lot of people died. They've got rescue station setup if in need one."

You knew you looked like an hot mess.

"What happened...what time is it?" You asked as you shivered.

One of the young men gave you his coat, while the other one answered, "It's 1230, ma'am. It's Christmas."

"You look hurt. We can call the cops or someone to come get you?"

"No!" You snapped. "I'm sorry." You immediately felt bad.

"Look, let us help you." One of the guys took out his cell phone and started to make a call.

You quickly grabbed the phone, "Just..." You stopped and then handed the phone back to the guy. "Sorry. Look, can you please just tell me what's going on? What happened tonight?"

"Batman took on the Joker." One of them answered. "They went at it for a couple of hours. You didn't hear the explosion?"

Another one interrupted, "That clown tried to blow up 12 buildings, for the 12 days of Christmas. Some kind of sick joke doing it on Christmas Eve, I guess."

You snickered to yourself, you got the joke. You knew exactly why it was funny...Why he would find it hysterical.

"All those poor people at home with their families." They all looked sadden by the events.

You felt bad for a second before your thoughts immediately went to Mr. J. Suddenly everything Rocko was quickly blurting out, as he literally tossed you out to your freedom, started to make sense. You felt a pain in the pit of your stomach.

"How could he not say anything to me," you thought. "He just left, to go die..."

You were shanking your head no, "Is he dead?"

"No, Batman stopped all but one of the bombs from going off. He's fine." The young man said.

"No!" You snapped. "The Joker, what happened to him?"

"The Joker? Who cares what happened to that crazy clown." He laughed.

"Batman got him." One of them proudly announced.

"No, no the last I heard they couldn't locate his body." One of them interupted excitedly.

You involuntarily grabbed your stomach, feeling the pain grow. One of the young men went to help you.

"Don't touch me." You started to walk off.

"Hey! Wait!" They were worried.

"She's a loon." One of them added. "Let her go."

"Wait, my jacket." The young man yelled. You continue to walk away.

"Let her have it, dude." The other one said. He moved his finger in a small circular motion beside his head, "crazy."

They all laughed.

You completely ignored them. Your head and heart was racing. You hurried down the street. The streets were almost deserted. You could see smoke belowing up from buildings in the distance. The fight that had occurred between the bat and your Joker must have been major skirmish. The more you thought about what Rocko had said "He's dead" the sicker with worry you felt. Regardless of everything you'd been through. Regardless of everything he put you through, it made you confused that you felt so sadden at the possibility that he might be dead.

Your initial reaction was to turn around and go back, right there. Wait to see if he would show up but you veto that idea. Telling yourself you were foolish to go back. Suddenly, you realized how cold you were, your bare feet and legs were frozen, you had to do something. Wrapping the jacket, the young man had given you, tighter around your body you felt a wallet in the enter pocket. You smiled, reached in and opened it, finding cash. For once, fate was on your side. You made your mind up and went to the nearest motel. The entire way there you had to keep convincing yourself that this was the right choice. You needed to thinking about everything, give yourself some distance before doing something that you might regret forever.

It took an act of god convincing the front desk manager that you were, in fact, alright and not in need of medical assistance. Even after finally getting her to believe you, she still brought you a few toiletries and some clothes to your room, after you had gotten settled in. You thanked her and wished her a Merry Christmas. It felt rude but you rushed her out and immediately turned on the TV to find out any details about the fate of your Joker.

You stayed in the hotel room for two days, only leaving once to go get a few more toiletries that you required. While you were out you stole some clothes that fit you properly. Apart from cleaning yourself up, you did nothing but watch the news.

The showdown between Batman and The Joker had left an unknown number of people dead and injuried. The Joker was only able to blow up one building before the bat stopped him. Two other buildings had burnt down due to the explosing of the first.

"Eyewitnesses reported seeing the Joker fall from the roof of one of the burning buildings. Batman pursued him but was unsuccessful at apprehending The Joker."

Hearing the news reporter say those words made your insides twist. You continued watching as they showed bits and pieces of the fight. Some of the footage had been captured by the news channel's helicopter, while other footage was shot on people's cell phones. Your eyes widen and sparkled as you watched. Seeing Mr. J standing his ground against the Bat of Gotham, made you smile. He was fearless. His suit and hair whipping in the wind as he stood on the ledge of a building confronting the bat, right before blowing up a nearby building. The bat flinched but not your Joker, he laughed and reviled in the destruction. The clip ended and the news report started speaking again.

"Police and rescue workers have still been unable to locate a body of the infamous criminal."

You muted the TV. Instantly feeling nauseated. They had been searching for two days and still hadn't found the Joker's body. There had been incidents in the past where the Joker was thought dead, but turned out to be alive and well. You continued to reminding yourself of that. You had allowed your heart and head to battle it out, coming to the conclusion that you had to know if he was alive or not. The not knowing was killing you. It was eating you up...

So an hour later, there you stood, in front of the old abandoned stripe club that you called home for so many months. Your hands were shanking as you entered the building. You slowly entered, thinking to yourself, "If he's not here, he could still be alive."

There was no sign of life in the main room, so naturally, you slowly walked toward the back of the club. As you quitely made your way to the start of the small hallway, you shined the flashlight around. You slowly turned the corner of the hall, passed the two bathrooms and then stopping in front of the apartment door. You turned the door knob and opened the door with a push. Waiting before actually stepping foot into the room, you shinned the light into the dark. It appeared empty. You were too nervous, maybe even scared to go in.

"How could you be coming back to this place, what the fuck is wrong with you?" Then you'd quickly tell yourself to "shut up!"

You took one step inside of the room and turned around abruptly. You heard someone behind you and quickly went on the defense. With a push and then a small scuffle, you stumbled back as you caught your balance. It was immediate that you knew, it was him. There was suddenly pure happiness coursing through your veins. Then you realized that he had actually fallen down from the run in. You scrambled for the flashlight you'd drop and quickly put the beam of light on him. You gasped under your breath. He was beating and broken. In all the time you'd been with him, he'd never looked like this. You could see he was in discomfort, holding his shoulder.

"Well, get on with it." His voice broke the silence.

You stood there thinking. Inside your head raged a battle of epic proportions. You wanted to rush to him, to help him. While, at the same time, you knew you should want to hate him. Almost like an out of body experience, you could see and hear yourself acting in a manner that you couldn't stop and didn't really want to.

"You're hurt." Your voice softly replied.

At first he did nothing. The look on his face couldn't be read. He only looked up, trying to see pass the light in his eyes.

"Move that blasted light." He ordered hatefully, snarling at you.

You did so immediately.

He struggled to get up. Offering him a hand, he slapped it away. Once on his feet he towered over you, even slumped over. He made no effort to harm you, he only looked you over and pushed you out of the way. You hit the door frame and watched as he went into the crappy apartment. You continued to stand against the door frame in a dazed state of confusion about being so happy to see him. It then dawned on you that he had left the door wide open, that he hadn't tried killing you or told you to scram. This made you smile.

At first, you only went into the room a few steps. You watched as he slowly sat down. You took a few more steps toward him. You were so nervous, you jumped when the TV came on. He immediately started flipping through the new stations, randomly picking one. You scanned over the room, using your flashlight. It was apparent that he'd come back not to long after the fight between him and the bat. It looked like a bomb had went off. He had taken out his anger around the place, breaking furniture and making a mess. Without warning, he threw the remote at the TV, hitting it hard and causing you to jump again.

"Batman!" His anger quickly went to defeat. "Bat-man. Bat. Man."

You quitely watched him. He rested his bent elbow on the arm of the chair and then rested his head against his hand. Suddenly, he lifted his head up and relaxed his arms over the chair rest, while the sound of your name left his lips.

"Pigeon." The innocent tone he used when calling you, caused your heart to flutter and a shiver to go up your spine.

"I suppose you're here to kill me." You could tell he was grinning by the way his voice sounded.

"I-i." You stuttered.

"Well, speak up, my dear. You're not the shy type." He barked.

"I don't know why I'm here." You cringed after saying it. You knew damn well why you were there.

"Who let you go? Rocko?" He snarled. "I suppose I have to kill him now."

"I came back to see if you were alive or not." You blurred out.

He listened, raising one eyebrow and slightly turning his head. You started taking slow steps toward him as you spoke.

"I guess I needed to know if one day you'd show up." You half-way lied about your true intentions of wanting to know. You continued moving toward him.

His tone was somber, "And now you know. Mister J's alive and kickin'."

He turned back and stared ahead, not bother by your presence, "So what's your move? What's the strategy? Offensive. Defensive."

You were standing beside him now, but still keeping your distance. You could see him wincing, from time to time, as he moved the wrong way, making his body hurt.

"I know you've thought about this moment." He turned and looked at you again.

"I certainly have." He grinned. "But, of course, you know that."

"Come, come. Out of the shadows with you." He gestured for you to come closer, "If you were going to try and kill me, Pigeon. You would have already done it. Besides, we both know why you really came back." He started to laugh but cringed with pain, which made him laugh again.

He was right. There was no changing it. You were never going to really run from him, he had made sure of that. He had broken you, whether you knew it or not. You felt everything for him: hate, fear, respect, admiration, lust, but in the end, you dreaded it just might be love.

You cautiously approached him, still keeping enough distance between you and him, that you felt you could run, if needed. He didn't make any sudden movements, only tapping his fingers on the arm of the chair as his eyes followed you. You watched him for a while. He cringed as he adjusted himself in the chair. You could see from the dim light casted by the TV that he was sporting a black eye, scrapes and cuts decorated his face and neck. His nose had a huge open gash across the bridge, it was red and festered, and in need of stitches. His clothes had been changed but you could see bloodly spots where he'd bleed through. For the first time every, you felt sorry for this man. Deep down you knew it was a fictitious, he was no more in need of being felt sorry for than a dismembered rattlesnake head, still deadly and full of venom.

"The bat did this." You didn't ask, you stated the obvious. "I watched it on the news."

He grinned and laughed with his whole body. Then immediately cringed, grabbing his left shoulder.

"It was all in good, clean fun." He smirked then grinned. "Batsy loves it when I titillate him with a rousing challenge."

He laughed loudy then cringed, then laughed, "Ooo, oo-hee" Then moaned, grabbing his shoulder again.

He chuckled, "He's such a tease with his little love taps."

"Is it broke? Here, let me see." You stepped right up to him, not hesitating.

He glared at you, lips curled.

"It's. Fine." He snapped and then scoured at you.

Then the look suddenly melted off his face, as he looked up toward you. He could see you were genuine; you wanted to make his pain go away. His eyes studed your face before moving down your body and back up to your face and hair. You were in actually clothes: jeans, leather jacket, tall boots. Your hair had been forced into submission. Did he see the same girl he'd locked up over a year ago? Did he see someone who wanted to help him? Or did just see his pet, doing as trained?

He made a pouty face as he answered. "It's only dislocated. It'll be fine."

He turned his head back to the muted TV, diverting his attention elsewhere.

"You're going to have to hold your arm out and bend your elbow at a 90 degree angle." You went to reach for his arm but stopped as he lowered his brow, giving you another dirty look. Suddenly, you returned his dirty look with one of your own.

"Do it." You mimiced the making a muscle position with your own arm. "Like this."

"Yes, yes. And lift it over your head. I've already tried it, a numbers of times." He snapped.

"Then stick it out, like this." You stretched your arm out straight.

"I can pull and push it back into its correct position. It'll hurt like hell for a second but once it's back in place, the pain will almost immediately be eliminated." You were close enough to him now, that your leg brushed against him.

He glared up at you from his hunched over position in the chair. Then he gave you a nod, letting you know you could do whatever needed to be done. You nervously reached out and lifted his arm to the position it needed to be in and told him to turn sligthly sideways in the chair. He moaned a little as he turned, while you held his arm out straight. Your hands were slightly trembling. You closed your eyes and took a deep breath to calm yourself. Placing your hand on his shoulder, you used your thumb to feel for the lowest tip of his shoulder blade.

You warned, "I'm going to apply-"

He interupted you, "Oh, get on with it." He snapped hatefully.

You shifted your eyes toward him and gave him a blank look.

"Fine, be that way" you thought.

You zealously pulled and roughly lifted, at the same time, until you heard the pop of his shoulder going into its socket. You stopped and held his arm for a moment, waiting for his reaction. He quickly moved his arm, testing it out. A grin slowly creeped across his face.

"Use it like normal but be mindful of it." You watched as he moved it around.

He seemed pretty impressed and pleased by the outcome.

He became charming, "Bravo. Braav-ooo, Pigeon."

You started to back away from him. Joker grabbed your wrist and jerked you toward him a little, keeping you from stepping away from him.

"Nuh-uh. First, tell me why shouldn't I kill you now?" He relaxed back into the chair, keeping his grip on you.

He slightly rubbed his fingers against your wrist. You didn't pull away, instead you leaned down closer to him.

"Death would be a welcome friend, at this point, now wouldn't it?" You took your other hand and used it to pry his hand from around your wrist.

You shoved his hand away. "Besides, at this point, you would have killed me already...if that's what you really wanted to do," you lifted your eyebrow smugly. You were mocking him.

His eyes followed your face as you stood up straight. He wasn't amused at the bumptious comment you had decided to taunt him with. He glared up at you spitefully. You ignored his dirty looks and smirked.

You started to reached up to touch him, "Your nose is going to rot off, if you don't-."

He stopped you by grabbing your hand again, "I've had worse."

He didn't let your hand go again this time either. Instead he squeezed it, as you slowly pull it back toward yourself. Your eyes bounced between his face and his hand. You gently twisted your hand, while he gripped it, so your palm met his. He quickly jerked his hand away as you started to push your fingers between his and gestured for you to move back. You pulled your hand back, crossing your arms as you stepped back.

The sound of the back door being kicked in was loud. Your eyes widen and you immediately looked at the Joker. He wasn't fazed by it at the slightest. He made no movement at all, only casually maintaining his seat. You could hear the low tone of men's voices in the hallway. They suddenly kicked in one of storage closet doors on the other side, right across the hall.

"No, no. It's that one." A voice rang out.

The sound of the apartment door being kicked in caused you to hide. The Joker only sat there. You watched as the door was completely kicked in and three guys poured into the room. Followed by one more, who you and Mr. J, both recognized. It was Rocko's brother and as of that moment, former goon of The Joker's, Francis. Apparently, his loyalty went to the highest bidder.

"Look at this, he's not even gonna put up a fight." One of the men said.

"You watch him. He dangerous." Francis warned.

"Hands up!" Francis ordered, "slowly."

Joker threw his hands up with a twist. He was very flamboyant about it. It was pure flattery, he was simply toiling with these boys.

"Gentlemen." His voice was smooth, fearless.

You could hear the change in his voice. He was all business. This was going to end badly...for them. You saw his eyes shift to where you were hiding, then he shifted his gaze to beside you. Your eyes moved to where he'd looked. There beside you, laid a gun. You didn't move, instead you remained still, waiting and watching.

"The whole city is looking for you, clown. And here you are." Francis sounded smug. "There's a nice, fat price on your head to get proof that you're actually dead this time."

"And who's paying premium for the goods?" Joker smiled.

"Ha. What does it matter to you?" Francis chuckled.

"Well, after I've killed all of you..." Joker was still being cheerful. "I'm going to need to know who to pay a visit to. Gotta collect my prize money."

"I-I say w-we kill him now. No-o risk." One of the guys was already very spooked.

"Barlowe will-" The other goon started to speak but was interupted.

"Barlowe!" Joker viciously barked out, "Oohh, that deplorable piece of dirt-"

"Shut up, you!" The same guy yelled for him to hush. "He'll pay more if the clown is alive. And just our luck, he is."

"Get up." Francis poked Joker in the back of the shoulder.

Joker slowly started to get up, "Say, Francis. Rocko's not with you, he is? I've got a bone to pick with him." He grinned.

He was standing now, keeping his hands up. He slowly turned around as ordered. Francis nodded for the guys to get him. Two of them complied, while the other one kept close to the door.

"Check if for any and everything. Leave nothing on him." Francis warned.

Joker grinned at one of the guys as he moved closer to pat him down. The other guy grabbed one of his hands and went for the other one with the intention to cuff him. Then it happened. With a head butt and a hard kick the first guy went down. The second guy somehow ended up in a head lock, struggling for air. It all happened so fast, they didn't know it was too late for them.

"Let him go!" Francis warned, pointing the gun at the Joker.

He smiled, "No." Then planted a knife right into the man's chest, stabbing his heart.

Joker was already laughing by the time the man hit the floor.

Then a gun shot rang out.

Francis stood their for a few seconds before falling to his knees. The Joker walked behind him, slit his throat and kicked him over onto floor, face first. The last guy had already dropped his gun. He was terrified. The Joker stood there with his head back, reveling in the joy of a kill. He slowly put head down, fixing his eyes on you. The sight of you standing there, holding the gun that he had pointed out to you, made him grin. You waved the gun once toward the guy near the door. He still hadn't ran. He had completely shut down.

He trembled as the Joker approached him.

"Where will I find Mr. Barlowe?" Joker put his arm around his shoulder and wiped the knife blade clean on the young man's coat.

The poor boy could hardly speak a clear word, "h-h-e-e s-sup-po-pose t-to..." He stopped and swallowed hard.

"Yes. That's it. He's suppose to what?" The Joker was patiently coaxing it out of him.

"T-te-xt wi-t-th a lo-o-ca-tion." He could barely keep his whole arm from shaking as he pointed to the Francis's dead body. "H-he's g-go-t th-the ph-phon-ne."

"Good man." The Joker patted the young man on his back before stinking the knife right into the side of his throat.

You watched, almost mesmerised. You had seen violence from the Joker, first hand but never anything like this. It was almost beautiful the way he moved. He was elegant. He kneeled down and dug the phone out of Francis's coat. He opened it, and looked at it for a moment then closed it and put it in his pocket.

The one guy who had been knocked out started coming around. You could hear him moan. The Joker glanced at him then to you. He nodded at the guy while he stared at you, waiting to see what you'd do. You knew exactly what he wanted from you. You felt your heart skip a beat as you took a step toward the man. Another step closer and your heart raced faster, another one and then another one. You were breathing rapidly as you stood over him and pulled the trigger. The sound of the shot made you jump. The Joker proudly grinned at you, admiring the monster he had created.

"The effort was well worth the wait," he thought.

He walked around the room, gathering a few things and putting them into his pockets. He slipped on a long purple trenchcoat and threw on a wide brimed hat that matched the coat. Then he walked up to you. He reached out his hand and you immediately placed the gun into it. He grinned, took it in his hand and semi-pointed it at you as he talked.

"My, my." He stood close and looked down into your face.

You were still breathing heavy.

"I'd congratulate you." He took the gun and used the barrel to move the hair out of your face. "But we both know this isn't your first kill...Not really. You've got blood on your hands, little Pigeon." He let out a laugh.

You were unaware that you had started moving backwards, out of a pure reflex, until you bumped into the wall, you had cornered yourself. He remained right on top of you, grinning. Your hands flat palmed the wall and your finger tips were pressed so firmly against it that they were turning white. You turned your head out of nervousness. What he would do next was anybody's guess. You felt his hand wrap around you upper arm and he started to pull you along with him as he left. His stride was a lot longer than yours and with every three or fours steps he'd have to tug at you to keep up. Finally you jerked, pulling your arm free from his grip.

He looked offended as he turned to face you.

"You don't have to drag me, I'll follow." You pleded.

His pressed his lips together and lowered his brow, "keep up." He ordered, as he walked out into the street.

You did. He never once turned to see if you had actually followed him. At least not that you saw. When he finally came to a stop, the two of you had gone in and out of alley ways and ended up across from a parking garage.

He didn't look at you, instead he looked down the street one way and then the other way as he spoke, "Go theif us a ride." He laughed to himself.

Once he'd finish laughing he paused and turned to look at you with a curled lip.

"You're still here." He lifted his eyebrow. "Move!" He snapped hatefully.

You quickly did as he wanted, walking past a few cars until you came across an older model. It was the only way to be sure it wouldn't have an alarm and even then it wasn't a 100% failproof. You needed to make this fast. You looked around and spotted a fire extinguisher. You grabbed it, held your breath for luck and busted the window. No alarm. You quickly pushed the broken glass aside and hoped in. Laying down in the seat, you started pulling the panel under the steering wheel off so you could reach the wires needed to hotwire it the car. It took less than five minutes to start the car. You hadn't stolen a car in years but you still had it.

Creeping out of the car garage you flashed the headlights once. Then pulled out and stopped in the alley way where you had left him at. You did the see him.

"Move over." You jumped.

He was standing on the driver's side, looking into the window and it surprised you. You scooted over into the passenger seat, while he got into the driver's seat. You sat still, looking out the window. Hearing him cringe, you glanced over at him. He hid his discomfort well but he was still sore from the beating the bat had given him and the small scuffle with Francis hadn't helped. He took off his hat and tossed it between the two of you. Then he rested the gun into the hat. He didn't seem to fear the idea of you getting ahold of it and using it on him. It was like he knew something you didn't.

You watched as he relaxed in the car seat, throwing his arm over the wheel and driving with his wrist drapped over it, barely using his hand. You could see about an inch or so of his pale skin between his sleeve and glove. Your eyes discreetly moved up his arm and to his neck. It was toned. For some reason it made you wonder how old he was. It was hard to put a cap on it. His pale, milky skin hid any signs of aging quite well. You started to think back, trying to remember the age you were when you had first heard about The Joker.

You quickly got side tracked as you continued to study him. His poor nose had been through hell, having been busted open even more from the headbutt he'd given the guy early. It was swollen and had given him two black eyes instead of one. He glanced over at you and then quickly looked back at the road.

"What?" He coldly asked.

"Your poor little nose and eyes." You cut your eyes back over towards him as you answered. "You've now got two black eyes, instead of the one."

"I didn't know I had the first one." He said it with a straight face.

You couldn't help but smile and tilted your head toward him, "You need ice or all of this..."

You gestured toward your own noses and eyes, "...will be so stollen you won't be able to open your eyes in a few hours."

He lowered his brow at you and brushed your comment off with a shrug of his shoulders.

"Suit yourself then." You looked out the window of the car.

You watched as the city passed by. After a few minutes you started recognizing the area he was driving the two of you towards.

"We're going to the warehouse, aren't we?" You asked timidly.

He didn't speak, instead he only nodded his head 'yes' once.

It made you nervous and fidgety, knowing where you were headed. Afterall, you didn't have the best memories of the warehouse. He smirked, noticing how bothered you were. In fact, you were so beside yourself, you didn't notice when he stretched his arm out toward you, resting it across the back of the car seat. You shifted in your seat and hit his hand, making you jump.

"Geez." He lifted one side of his lip and an eyebrow at you.

"You're wound up like a spring." He threw his voice to sound like a 30s gangster, "See here, ya makin' me nervous, kid, myeah."

You couldn't help but smile, defusing some of the apprehension you felt. He playfully wiggled his fingers, letting the back of them tap against your shoulder. The two of you relaxed the rest of the way. The short trip across town was over before it even started.

You didn't follow him, instead you watched as he disappeared into the warehouse, while you sat in the car. This is where it all started, you had very mixed feeling about his place. You finally got up the courage and walked inside. It was a large place and you didn't quite know exactly which way to go, so you began to explore your once prison. It was dark, dank and cold, the sound of your foot steps echoed through out the huge storage space. The further from the docking door you walked the creepier it got, the emptiness didn't help. Then in a blink of an eye, all the empty space disappeared.

Crates, boxes, storage containers and miscellaneous materials filled the place, stacked high. You continued to walk pass crate after crate, passing walkways made from leaving space between the boxes and stuff. It all looked the same until the sudden brightness of multicolour lights, coming on, caught your eye. You froze for a second. Toward your left about 100 or so feet away, you could see the twinkling of those..."goddamn lights", you thought. They made you shutter yet you had no choice, it was a matter of prevailing pride, you started walking toward them. Weaving in and out of the crates and boxes until finally the space opened up again .Your eyes immediately landed on the cage you had been forced to live in. You felt nothing seeing it. You were good at putting stuff behind you, rationalizing what matter and what didn't. Never letting your past haunt your future.

It all looked the same, you walked up to the cage and put your hands on the bar. You closed your eyes to reflect. Suddenly, you smiled. Turning your head as you heard him walking up behind you.

Leaving your hands holding the bars, you spoke, "You were always able to sneak up on me."

You watched, over your shoulder, as he moved closer to you, until he was finally right behind you. He reached his arms out, keeping you between them and placed his hands on top of yours, as he also took hold of the bars.

He tickled your ear with his voice, "I know."

You tensed up alittle as he pushed closer into you, "Seeing this. Being here. Does it make you hate me more?"

He wasn't whispering but his voice was somber, doting even.

You tilted your head up to look at him, "No."

He continued to look forward, not acknowledging you, "No pinned up rage, an unstoppable longing to do me in, hang me up by my toes, skin me alive, bash my head while I sleep?" That's when he glanced down at you with a lowered brow.

You turned your head back to stare into the cage. He slightly tightened his grip around your hands and the bars, "How do I trust you?"

"Trust." You paused for moment, "Trust isn't what you want."

"Loyalty." You spoke slowly, "Complete allegiance. Unwavering obedience."

You felt him press his whole body against you, "Go on." There was a hint of excitement in his voice.

"You want blind faith. Someone who will admire and relish your every action, devote themselves to your success and satisfaction." You suddenly gasped as he rolled his hips against you.

You pushed back against him, "Someone who'll...submit."

He immediately grabbed your arms and forcefully turned you around so you were facing him. His hands wrapped around your throat and up over your jawline, tilting your head up. You stared at him, his two black eyes and busted nose...It made you want him more.

Your breathing was heavy as you continued, "Someone who'll pamper and indulge you... Fullfil any desire that belongs to you."

His red lips slowly formed a beautiful grin as he listened to your confession of devotion. He rubbed the tip of his nose against your face making you crave grabbed his open jacket and pulled his body to yours.

He lowered his head, keeping your face cupped in his hands and whispered into your ear, "And I suppose you're the one who can fill my needs?"

You slowly nodded 'yes'.

"We'll see, my dear." He cooed into your ear before abruptly slammed your head back against the bars, causing you to wince.

You tighten the grip you had on his jacket, balling it up in your fist. He smiled and snickered. Suddenly, his tongue plunged into your mouth causing yours to dance with his. You hands grabbed his forearms, squeezing them. He was harsh and unrefined about the kiss. Demanding and vicious as he pushed your body against the bars, you loved every second of it. You licked your bottom lip when it was over and smirked.

He maintain his grip on your face and stared you in the eye, "If you fail me, I'll killl you. You're no longer my locked up little pet... The training is over and if the show animal can't perform it's tricks...Hee-he-he-haa-haha" His laughing became sinister.

He let go your your face and gripped his hands on top of your shoulders.

"You shoot it and move on to the next." His words were so appalling but his smile, so handsome.

"But you're not going to let me down. I have faith...In you, Pigeon." He leaned down and kissed your forehead.

He grinned and walked away, gesturing for you to follow . You happily pursued him, closely trailing him as he made his way back through the maze of boxes and crates. Once out of the storage area, he headed into the small office area. He stopped at the door and allowed you to go in first. There were a few guns and what looked like explosives, out on a table. Staying close behind you, he guided you over to the table where he looked over your shoulder and then rested his chin on it. He pointed to one of the explosives and waited for you to hand it to him. He reached around from behind you, keeping his chin positioned on your shoulder, as he took the explosive out of your hand.

His arms hugged you as he held the bomb out in front of you and explained, "It's very simple. The white wire connects to the black one, you press here and boom." He grinned as the word boom rolled off his tongue.

He sat it back down on the table, lifted his chin off your shoulder and standing up straight behind you. He playfully spun you around so you were facing him, causing you to softly snicker. You were pinned between him and the table as you listened to him divulge the plan he had.

"You're going bring me to Barlowe and collect the money." He was cheerfully smiling.

As he explained, he started to remove your jacket.

"He'll assume you got lucky some how..." Tossing your jacket onto the floor, he started unbuttoning your shirt. You had no refusals.

"Stumbled apon me or something." He stopped unbuttoning your shirt for a second and gestured with his hand as he said 'or something'.

"I'll think of a convincing tale." He continued undressing you.

"You'll drop a name or two. Some local criminals he's sure to know..." Your shirt was open now, so he spun you back around to face the table. With your back against him, he wrapped his arms around you and started groping your body, making you moan with delight.

"...making him think you heard about the price on my head through the grapevine." He gently kneeled one of your breast, while he reached up and grabbed your neck.

He tilted your head to the side, "And...Voila."

He immediately leaned down and bit your neck, making you melt. He nipped and nibbled at your neck, while he let his hand explore its way down your body, until finding its way to your belt buckle.

"Wait. If it were me, I'd still be suspicious." You spoke up, having a question. Afterall you could enjoy yourself and listen at the same time.

"And regardless..." You continued but Mr. J didn't stop unbuckling your belt and pants, he only slow down, giving you time to express your concerns.

"...what's to keep him from just killing us both, right there? He gets you and doesn't have to part ways with any cash." Your concerns were ligetme and that made him grin.

You gasped loudly as his hand slipped into your underwear, firmly cupping his hand between your thighs. He held you, not moving his hand more than only little, teasing you.

"You'll have these on your person." He nodded to the explosives on the table. "They won't harm a hair on your beautiful little head, if it means they die." He chuckled softly.

You pushed your hips against him, surprisingly he was very aroused, no violence needed.

"Alright." Your voice was very airy and lustful, "So I get the money, *moan* then what?"

"Then you leave." He pulled his hand out of your pants and pushed you face down onto the table. Immediately, he unfasten his belt and pants, then slipped your pants down enough to allow him to enter you. The both of you moaned with pleasure as he mounted you from behind.

He continued to talk as he rolled his hips, thrusting in and out of you, "Give me five minutes with Barlowe and then...I want you to start blowing up stuff, my dear. I'll make my way out and off we'll go." You felt him mimiced walking with his fingers up your back until he got to your hair and took a handful of it.

You laid there, enjoying every second of him having his way with you. It only lasted a few minutes, it was over. He didn't waste anytime getting to his climax. Once he was done, he stepped away from you. You didn't mind being neglected of your needs, you were happy to have pleased him. You went to the restroom and cleaned up quickly. By the time you reemerged, he was done tucking his shirt and adjusting his clothes. It was as if nothing had ever happened.

You returned back to the table, where he was standing. Immediately, he turned to you and handed you a pistol. He placed it in your hand, keeping his hand on top of it.

"Of course, you'll have to kill a few of them...If things get out of hand." He reached up, gently pinched your chin and gave you a charming gaze, "That won't be a problem, will it?"

"No, not at all, Mr. J." You really meant it too, as you smiled at him.

He let go of your chin and lifted one eyebrow. He studied you for a moment before grinning...