With her gaze now fixated on the man whom patrolled Gotham's streets by night, she couldn't help but feel a rush of both relief and anxiety (for more reasons than one). Even though she recognized the gravity of the situation, her stupid hormonal teen body couldn't ignore the foreign feeling of being held so closely. The Joker's arm was curled just under her bust in an iron grip that betrayed his true strength, despite his lanky build. The teen squeezed her eyes shut for a brief moment, forcing herself to think past the warm breath fanning out near her ear every few seconds. Her internal struggle went largely unnoticed by either party, though the Joker did feel her stiffen further against him.
"Nice of you to join us Bats, I was just about to teach this little minx here a few manners. Kids these days, am I right?" He cackled, excitement twinkling in his crazed green eyes.
Though that was something an old geezer might say, the Joker managed the words with a sort of sarcastic finesse. Juno didn't know if she should laugh or cry, because he still had that damn knife pressed dangerously close to cutting her previously unmarred visage. Again. She was never a big fan of pain.
The dark knight narrowed his eyes in warning, catching her panicked expression. Usually, he'd be able to handle a hostage situation with cool, almost clinical detachment; yet, as he watched a thin trickle of crimson flow down her cheek, he couldn't find it in himself to remain completely distant. The connection between his mind and body seemed nearly nonexistent for a moment as one of his gloved hands reached back quickly for a batarang. But he was not swift enough.
"A-ta-ta-ta, it'd reaaaally be a shame if you tried that," the madman sing-songed, and another soft whimper escaped the teen as he cut into her delicate flesh once more. Juno bit her lip as she felt the stinging pain at the side of her neck; was the Joker going to slit her throat despite anything Batman might do? She shot the caped crusader another pleading look; this son of a bitch was just crazy enough to do it.
"Well it's been real fun with you Bats, but I've got bigger fish to fry if ya catch my drift. CATCH!"
One moment she was pressed securely against the Joker's chest, and the next she felt herself crashing through a window in what felt to be like slow motion. Her pink-tinted lips opened in a silent scream, too shocked to even make a sound as she tried to reach for the black-clad vigilante.
'He's too far,' Juno thought, and her heart skipped a beat as she fell past the third story. Batman was running, launching himself from the shattered window but her frenzied mind could register only the howling wind in her ears. Right as she squeezed her hazel eyes shut for the second time that day, she felt his strong forearm curl around her familiarly. The wind ceased slapping her dark hair against her face violently, and her descent slowed.
The teen held onto the dark knight's neck, breathing out in relief. Somehow her glasses had managed to stay on her face despite everything. As soon as they hit the ground, he released Juno and she did the same, albeit a bit awkwardly.
"I…guess that's two times no- …. Er, right."
He'd hardly spared her a glance before taking off after the Joker, who had presumably escaped during the chaos. She wrapped her arms around herself, feeling prickles of pain coming from her right shoulder and most of her back. Ah, that's right. That bastard had shoved her through a fucking third story window. Juno took in the scene around her somewhat blearily, still disoriented from what had transpired in the span of a mere 15 minutes.
It seemed like hours before the paramedics cleared her to go home, and the police had finished their questioning. In reality it'd only taken about an hour or so, but her weary body safe needed a place to rest. Namely, her home. Thankfully, she'd been driven home by one of the nicer police officers. He was gracious enough to let her think in silence. Making her way inside, she found it eerily quiet… her parents were probably still out working or something. She'd explain herself tomorrow. Heaving a deep sigh, Juno trudged up to her room and peeled off her light cardigan. The teen's brows furrowed as something fell out of the garment's pocket. She kneeled down to pick it up, finding it to be a single card; a Joker card.
No.
She dropped it immediately, stumbling a step back.
"What.. what the hell is this supposed to mean..?!" she whispered furiously to herself, kicking the damn thing under her desk. Was this a game? She didn't understand. What did the Joker want from her? More importantly, why were all these strange things happening to her? One time, she could live with. Twice seemed a little suspicious to be a coincidence.
Shaking her head, she dismissed the thoughts before upsetting her headache too much and finished undressing. Juno slipped an oversized shirt on, pulling the fluffy comforter over herself once she was in bed. Despite how physically fatigued she felt from the day's events, the teen couldn't get her mind to calm enough for her to sleep. She rolled over, mulling over everything.
She felt ashamed, dirty for even harboring thoughts such as the ones floating through her mind that very moment. Perhaps being pressed flush against the madman's firm chest hadn't been all bad. Recalling the different ways those two men had held her over the past few days had her feeling hot all over again. Juno made a distressed sound, cursing everything for the incredibly sinful thoughts tormenting her mind.
Hours passed before she was finally able to lull herself to sleep, and in her distracted state she never once took notice of the crisp white envelope sitting on her desk.
It was addressed from Wayne Enterprises.
(So that was our heroine's first interaction with the Joker! What do you think? Sorry for the delay, again, I've just started school again so I'm a bit busy. This was actually written up already, but my computer crashed and I had to rewrite everything. Don't forget to review!)