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Dreamland
Dreamland is a wonderful place, or so Joker has heard. The delighted smiles on the faces of the children who enter this land of make believe with only a puff of hallucinogenic dust tell him so. Sometimes, when he's alone, or watching the carriage disappear into the night, or staring at their dull, lifeless eyes later on, he wonders when dreamland disappears and they realize their mistake to trust the smiling man with the red hair. He wonders, when he unwillingly presents their deadly tricks to his "Father" if they even know what's happening. He wonders if the dust has done it, made them mindless slaves, or if something is done after they are out of his hands. He doesn't want to wonder, but he does.
The little girl holding his hand -the real one, made of flesh and blood- is no older than six, with curly blonde hair and big brown eyes, full of wonder at things Joker can't see and full of trust for him, a stranger who does magic tricks. Children are so gullible, so innocent, and he wishes they weren't. Wishes he could grab them by the shoulders and shake them, telling them not to listen to him. Don't talk to strangers. The world is not kind.
But he doesn't, only leads the little girl to the carriage. There are no constables around, so no blood has been shed, and Joker sends the others off with a wave of his skeleton hand. This is one of the easier times, and he can handle it.
The little girl needs help up the steps of the carriage, and he does so patiently. She could be anybody. Most certainly a daughter. Perhaps a sister, cousin, niece. A family will miss her. That family will never know what happened to her. He closes his violet eyes a moment as the little girl turns in the carriage to smile at him. He returns it, her's so wide and believable, his fake and plastered on. How can he smile, knowing what he's doing?
The carriage door is closed, and he hops on the back as it races away down the cobblestones. Another child is missing. Another family will wake up and realize this, never knowing what happened to them, never getting them back. But in a workhouse not far away, another child will wake with enough food to eat and clean clothes to wear, and while it is not a fair trade, Joker convinces himself that it is enough.