Chapter 7: Pressure Point Found
So this is the longest chapter so far ad i gives a peek into who Bageera is or was in her life before Gotham. I hope you enjoy it!
Bagheera's heavy lids opened as a searing pain moved through her from her lower abdomen. She lay shirtless with the Joker burning her wound to stop the bleeding with an iron chimney fire poker, his oldest lackey stood behind him like a silent watcher as he began to stitch her broken skin back together again. He chuckled as he watched her sluggish, drugged mind haphazardly try to piece bits of information together. He couldn't help but laugh at her facial movements.
Bagheera's mind was cloudy and she could hear laughter that sounded as if it were coming from miles away. She could taste the distinct flavor of a sedative on her lips and tongue as she lay defenseless in the heart of the Joker's hideout. Her breath came in short bursts as she lay motionless in her drugged state. She could smell old dust floating in the air above her, but her blurred vision kept her from clearly observing the surroundings. Her mind and eye lids were growing heavier as the pain surged through her body that lay atop an old, lumpy mattress. She could feel a cool draft move over her skin as a harsh tug came from her abdomen.
"I need to," Bagheera slurred as she tried to move from the bed. She hissed and let her head fall back against the cool pillow as the pain from her abdomen lurched through her. Tears fell from her eyes as she looked to the ceiling. A blurred ceiling fan slowly faded into focus in her vision and then blurred once again.
"Baggy," the Joker announced as he moved away from his place at her lower stomach to her face. He watched as a drug induced smile came across her face. Her blue eyes sparkled as he stood in her sight.
"Did he send me a clown to cheer me up," she slurred as the clown came into her blurred vision, "He's such a good person."
"Baggy," he informed her as a smile grew across his face as he took in her bright blues and goofy, druggy smile, "Look at me."
Bagheera moved her face in an effort to try and focus at the clown in front of her. Her eyes danced in her head as the bright colors of the clown's clothes came into crystal clear focus. She felt a surge of pain come over her as she realized who was standing in above her exposed body with a pair of sharp scissors in his hands.
The Joker laughed as he watched the detective's eyes roll back into her skull as she fainted from the pain in the wound that he had created from her and from the realization that she was helpless in the murdering clown's bed. His laughter continued through the operation as his large henchman stood tall behind him watching silently. He jerked the last of the old, course sewing string through her flesh and he smiled as her inflamed skin moved at his command effortlessly. He tied the ends together and smiled proudly as he looked at his messy stitch work. The wound was puffy, burned, and beautiful. He had given her a scar that she could talk about to everyone whenever she wanted and it tickled his large funny bone. He pulled himself away from his unconscious plaything and turned to his henchman that stood in front of the door.
"Make sure my," his voice was dark with his warning as he pointed towards Bagheera with his index finger, his other hand touched his own chest as he leaned in close to the man to successfully invade his personal space, "toy stays in here. Get her into that uh…" he smacked his lips, "lovely little dress."
The Joker chuckled and added, "But you don't touch my toys, I won't touch yours," he held his ungloved hand out towards him and smiled, "Deal?"
The man nodded his answer and kept his eyes forward as the Joker left him alone with the broken detective. He didn't make a move to help her out of her horrible situation. He simply pulled the green dress out of its protective bag and moved towards the unconscious woman. He carefully removed her bloodstained pants and shoes and slipped her dress on over her limp legs. He pulled her upper half up and allowed her head to rest on his shoulder as he pulled the zipper up until it fit her snugly. He could hear her moaning softly from the dull pain that zapped through her body from the sudden movement. He gently laid her back down on the pillow and straightened the green dress to make her look more presentable and more comfortable as she laid upon the Joker's half made bed.
...
The sound of 80s techno music pulled Bagheera from a drug induced sleep. Her heavy lids opened slowly as the sound of a man singing in rhymes to the synthesized music entered her ears. She tried to recall the events that led to her forgetfulness but she couldn't recall a single thing other than falling to the ground and holding onto something purple as a black curtain had fallen over her.
If you're blue and you don't know where to go to
Why don't you go where fashion sits
Puttin' on the Ritz
She groaned as the fuzziness escaped her mind and her vision cleared. Bagheera could see that she was looking up at a white ceiling with a working ceiling fan that circulated musky air around her. She moved to sit up on the bed but a shooting pain moved through her body from her lower abdomen. She groaned and let her head fall back on the pillow that her head had been laying on during her unconscious sleep.
She sucked in a gulp of air in an attempt to ease the throbbing pain. Her fingers ran through her hair as she tried to recall what had happened to her. Stress was building inside of her and her heart was beating because of her unknown status. She could feel the lace of her green dress on her skin and she closed her eyes as her hand moved slowly to where the pain exuded from. She winced as the tips of her fingers graced the top of the wound.
Dressed up like a million dollar trooper
Trying hard to look like Gary Cooper
Super Dooper!
"She's awake," a sing song voice erupted from the door way. She could hear the door slam and the thumps of the man's footfalls echoed in her ears as she recalled who had been the cause of the aching pain in her lower stomach. The music stopped as he entered the room, leaving them both in silence in the cold bedroom. Her heart beat like the pounding hooves of wild horses in her chest as the Joker appeared into her line of view. Memories from their previous interactions rushed into her mind. She could see the glistening silver of his switchblade, she could feel the pain that moved through her and then the sudden warm peace that had come to her as she fell into his arms, and she could feel still feel the brick of the alley wall biting into her palms. She swallowed the fear that had built inside of her like a volcano ready to erupt. She focused her blue eyes on the smiling clown in front of her.
"Where," her voice cracked from the hours of misuse during her drug induced sleep, her voice was soft as she looked at him to her new attire, "Where are my clothes?"
"Well Baggy," he said in a matter of fact tone as he stood above her, " those are your clothes," the Joker informed her with chuckle, "Ya see uh," he licked at his lips as he looked at her, "I found that dress all the way in the back of your closet."
Bagheera closed her eyes at his explanation. She knew he had looked around in her apartment, but she had never thought to check if anything was missing in her closet.
"You are a rather boring dresser," he said in excitement, "so I had to fix that for your TV debut!"
She opened her eyes and shook her head.
"I don't understand," she asked and shook her head, "What do you want from me?"
He chuckled at her question and signaled with his gloved hands for her to stand. She felt woozy as she rolled onto her side; her bare back faced him as she struggled against the pain that was shooting through her body once again. She bit at her chapped lips as she pushed herself up from the bed. Her bare feet touched the cold floor and she shivered, the shiver had been visible to the Joker's eyes and she closed her eyes as the feeling of feeling vulnerable fell over her like cold water.
"Stand up Baggy," Joker demanded as he watched her sit on the side of the bed with her back turned defiantly against him, "You don't have all day."
Those words pierced through Bagheera. She knew that it was rare that anyone survived the Joker's attention. She had dug deep into his files and re-read every case that he had ever been involved in or suspected of being involved in. She knew that the sand in her hour glass was about to run out. With that thought, a new sense of survival came over her. She was not going to let him kill her or mutilate her face. She was going to make him flip her hourglass over; it would only take a little pushing on her part to ensure that she stayed alive and stayed sane in his presence. She smiled softly so he couldn't see, she was thankful that she had personal experience on how to handle a psychopath.
"You could say please," she whispered as she forced herself carefully from the bed. The dress fell around her bare feet gracefully. The captured detective turned to the clown in purple and gave him a small smile as she looked down to the bed that separated the two from each other.
The Joker laughed obnoxiously at her whispered suggestion as he looked over her green gown, "You're funny! I LOVE that in a gal!"
"I'm really not," she informed him as she straightened her back and stood tall in front of his harsh gaze that penetrated into her soul. Adrenaline coursed through her veins as she gazed back into his cold, dark eyes. Her legs wanted to run, but she forced herself to stay still in his presence, to not reveal that she was afraid of a man in a purple suit and Halloween make-up.
He laughed obnoxiously at her words. He grabbed at his ribs as his laugh turned into an uncontrollable giggle. Bagheera watched him in confusion and interest. The Joker's giggled stopped and he hopped onto the bed. His shoes stained the bed sheets with dirt from the streets of Gotham as he made his way towards her in a quick stride. He jumped down in front of her and smiled brightly at her.
"Hello Baggy," he whispered in a husky voice as he closed in on her like a wolf closing in on a lonely, lost sheep.
"Joker," she whispered, her lips quivered and she backed away from him ever so slightly. Anger bubbled inside her that she had once again let him invade her personal space and allowed him to frighten her. She needed to take the upper hand in the situation.
The Joker smiled as his hands grabbed at her waist and jerked her towards him until they were chest to chest. His fingers drew tiny circles into her waist as he held her. He watched as her blue eyes hardened as she glared up at him. He licked at the inside of his cheeks, tracing the scars and slowly gave her some moving room.
Bagheera moved away from him and quickly grabbed his wrist and jerked it behind his back. She ignored the pain that she felt as she moved him around like he was a rag doll. She could hear the clown laughing manically as she manhandled him.
"Good job Bags," he said through chuckles as she shoved him against the wall, his painted cheek collided into the wall and left flakes of his face paint on the walls, "I'm proud of you!"
"You don't get to say another word," she hissed through the pain that buzzed inside of her frail body, "And if anyone comes through that door, you are going to tell-"
"You never start with the head," the Joker informed her while completely ignoring her angry demand, "You always go for the weakest point."
Bagheera felt the Joker come free from her tight hold and turn on her. She felt a scream of pain escape her as she felt a deep pressure inside of her stomach wound. She felt hot tears escape her eyes and she moved away from him in defeat. She could feel her warm blood escaping the stitched wound and she began to feel dizzy. She looked up to the Joker and watched helplessly as he shoved her back onto his bed. Fear bubbled through her as she felt him jumping on top of her. He giggled like a crazed school girl as she tried to wiggle out from under him. The pain was excruciating with each move she made. Tears freely fell from her eyes and she screamed in pain as the clown placed his knee into her wound. She stopped wiggling underneath him and began to punch at his knee in a last ditch effort to remove the pressure that he was exuding onto her open wound. She sobbed and screamed at the pain as she punched at him. He laughed comically at her and dodged each punch like a boxer in a boxing ring.
Bagheera stopped her movement as gazed up at the ceiling as a blackness began to slowly take over her sight. She felt the Joker remove his knee from her wound; she could feel the blood pouring from her it. She could feel the beating of her heart as if it came from the wound itself. The burning sensation moved around her stomach.
"No, no, no Baggy," she heard the Joker demand. Her head moved side to side as she felt the man's hand slap at her cheeks.
"I need my little kitty awake for this fun," he demanded as he grabbed her limp wrists and pinned them above her bed and onto the bed with one hand while the other hand adjusted her so he placed himself between her legs as if they were a loving couple.
"Oh the old familiar places. I could get used to being this uh," he licked his lips, "way with ya Bagheera," he whispered to her as he looked down at her as she lay helplessly underneath him. He could see a fire burning inside her eyes at his perverted comment and the use of her full first name.
She looked at him with cold, dead eyes as anger bubbled inside of her as she felt his free hand caressing absently at her exposed thigh. She swallowed the remaining fear that had filled her before and anger took over her as she glared at him. She watched as the Joker looked away from her angered eyes and to the growing bloodstain on her gown.
"Look what you did," he said in mock anger as if he was her father, "You ruined your pretty dress!"
Bagheera didn't acknowledge him with an answer.
"I'll have to re-stitch that," the Joker informed her as he licked at his lips and looked down harshly at her, "Maybe I'll use some old yarn this time."
He heard her grunt and her legs tightened around his hips. He laughed as he felt her take control over him and dumped him over the side of the bed. He felt her fall on top of him and his arms instinctively wrapped around her shoulders as the both fell to the hard floor on the other side of the bed. He chuckled at her quick defense. He chuckled as he felt her shove her hand into his deep pocket to grasp at his switchblade. He licked his lips as he watched her hair move wildly with her precise movements. She popped the blade open and placed it against his throat.
"You're right," she whispered with a dangerous tone in his ear as she leaned in close to him, "it is all the familiar places with me on top of a psychopath," there was an almost animal like hiss in her voice as she pulled away from his ear and glared down at him, blood was still pouring out of her wound, "but mommy's had enough now."
The Joker groaned as the blade bit into his throat. He kept his eyes on her as she sat on top of him with anger burning bright in her blue eyes. He smiled at her words. If one were listening in, one would say that they were almost flirty. But he knew better of her.
"I don't want to kill you," she informed him, "But I won't hesitate to make you suffer."
"Oh," he said with a chuckle, "I think we are on even ground," he licked his lips again and glanced to her wound and then to his shoulder, "You shot me first. It was only fair."
"You," she said in anger as she pulled herself easily from him. She thought that she would have more trouble trying to get away, but the Joker was letting her leave, "you stay right there."
"You aren't going to take me in," he asked with mock sadness as he watched her pull herself away from him and walk backwards towards the door. He smiled as he watched her limp ever so slightly from the intense pain that she was trying to hide.
She gave him a sharp smile and turned her back on him and opened the door. The Joker laughed loudly as Bagheera looked down the barrel of a shotgun. She closed her eyes as a large, bald man with white supremacy tattoos on his forearms stood in front of her with the gun pointed at her head. She could hear the Joker standing from his place on the floor. She could hear her heartbeat and his footsteps as he moved closer and closer to her. He chuckled as he dangled her own handcuffs beside her ear.
"Tell me," he said with a chuckle, "You ever dance with the devil in the pale moonlight?"
She opened her eyes and looked at him with defeat in her eyes. She looked down at the knife that was now useless in her hand and threw it in the corner. She had been outsmarted by the clown that lived to confuse and torture his victims. Self hatred and disappointment bubbled in her chest at the realization.
"Hands behind your back officer," he demanded as if he were a man of the law.
Bagheera did as he demanded and placed her hands behind her back. She hissed in pain as he pulled her arm up her back as if he were going to break her arm. She could hear him chuckling at her pain as he cuffed her wrists together. The metal was cold and tight against her slim wrists and it bit into her skin as she stood helplessly with her back to the Joker and her eyes to a man that held her at gunpoint.
"Now it's gonna be a lil dark for ya Baggy," he informed her quickly as he shoved a cloth bag over her head and lead her out of the bedroom to another room where she would make her television debut.
She could hear the door opening to another room and she shuddered from the cool air around her. Goose bumps made their way over her exposed flesh as she was forced to walk deeper into the unknown room. The pain from her opened wound ebbed away.
"Sit," the Joker demanded and shoved her down onto an old chair, "Bobby my man tie her up would ya?"
Bagheera felt the course rope tying her already cuffed hands to the back of the chair. She felt a panic come over her from the unknown once again as she listened to the erratic laughter of the Joker. The bag was pulled off her head and she adjusted her eyes to the darkness of the new room. A single television looked down at her and she looked up at it in confusion.
"What's this," she asked as she looked away from the television to the Joker who was hiding his face behind a camera. The Joker smiled as he looked at her through the camera lense, her hair was a mess and the look of confusion on her face that was now absent of fear made his stomach bubble in anxiousness.
She looked back to the television to see her friend Angela standing at her kitchen counter cutting onions for her family's dinner. Bagheera looked over to the Joker who was filming her.
"What are you doing," she asked into the camera.
The Joker pulled the small camera away and fiddled into his pocket while the captured detective watched him in confusion. She watched as fiddled with his vest pockets and clumsily pulled a few index cards out of the pocket. Bagheera watched as he walked towards her and held the index cards in front of her face. She could see the writing scribbled on the card and she shook her head, her hair moved wildly with her movements.
"No," she said in anger and disgust, "I won't say that. You can't make me say that!"
"Well uh," he popped his tongue to the roof of his mouth, "I think that ya will!"
"No," she said as tears filled her eyes as she re-read what the card directed her to say, the horrible words were tearing at her heart, "No. No. I won't," she shook her head as she looked up at him with pleading eyes, tears fell down her face, "Please."
"So you don't care about lil ol' Angie," he asked as he pointed at the television screen behind him. He chuckled as he watched Bagheera's blue eyes move back to the TV set, "What about Jonathon?"
The recording of Angela disappeared and video footage of Jonathon Crane came into her view. She could hear him muttering the name 'Scarecrow' over and over again. Her face hardened as she watched Jonathon shaking in his seat with his straight jacket tied on tight. Her lips quivered as she watched a male nurse inject a green liquid into his leg. Anger flooded through her body as she watched Crane fall to the floor and convulse like a grounded fish. Tears flooded her eyes as she watched him struggle as the nurse walked around him observing the once good doctor's movements. She could still hear Jonathon Crane saying 'Scarecrow' as his convulsions slowed.
"You son of a bitch," she spat as anger fueled her forward. The rope held her back as she struggled against the binds. Her cheeks were red and her eyes burned bright in anger as she looked from her cousin to the clown in front of her.
"What did you do to him?!"
"HAHAHAHAHAHA," the Joker laughed and slapped his hand upon his knee cap as he zoomed the camera in on the detective, "I can have our uh little friend there blown into little pieces with one phone call," he smiled at her as he edged closer to her and reached to fix her messy hair, "it all depends on if the little kitty tells Gotham her side of the uh story."
"Don't," she whispered and shook her head. She bit at her bottom lip as she watched the Joker shake his head in disappointment, "Don't make me do this."
"Bob-o," the Joker announced happily as he looked away from her and to his henchman, "Ya don't mind makin' a little phone call do ya?"
"Fuck," Bagheera hissed as panic came over her. Her mind raced to understand how the Joker could have known about her connection to Jonathon. She had made sure to sneak away. There were only two people that knew her connection to the Joker and her blood ran cold as she thought of them.
"Yes sir," Bob answered, his voice was deep. He dug into his pants pocket and pulled out a cheap reloadable cell phone.
"No," Bagheera cried to him, "No," she looked up to the screen of Jonathon Crane and shook her head, "I'll do it. Please," her voice fell to a whisper, "don't hurt my cousin. He's all I have left. Please."
The Joker smiled and jumped in giddiness. He pointed to his henchman and then to Bagheera and demanded, "Make it look like she's had a really bad day."
Bagheera watched as Bob placed his phone back into his pocket and walked over to her slowly. He was taller than her and he held himself like a bodyguard. She felt like a tiny dog that was about to be beaten by its drunken owner as he moved towards her.
The first blow almost knocked her out of the chair. She let a small yelp out from the harsh pain that moved over her face. She could feel the blood falling freely from her left nostril. The second blow found her cheek bone and she knew that it would be bruised for a week. The third blow busted her lip and she spit out bloody spit. Her mind seemed like it was about to break from the few blows that Bob the henchman had delivered upon her face.
"It's not personal Baggy," the Joker informed her with a fake apologetic tone, "It's for television."
...
Bruce Wayne looked up at the television as he dressed for his morning routine at Wayne Enterprises. The words breaking news filled his large bedroom as Alfred walked in as he buttoned his shirt.
"Breaking news," the anchor man announced, "this just in. Detective Bagheera Lewis has been confirmed to be taken by the Joker. We've just received footage only moments ago for our viewing audience to see first here on GCN."
"We must warn you," the female co-anchor warned, "what you are about to see may be deeply disturbing to some viewers."
Bruce watched as they changed over to a recording that he knew the Joker had sent in to them. The footage was shaky at first and the Joker giggled as Bagheera came into clear view. The camera was zoomed out to show how beaten and bruised she was. He could see the large blood stain that was growing across her once lavish green dress. Blood dripped down her chin in an almost animalistic way. Her blue eyes were weak as she looked into the camera. Her cheeks were bruised from the beating that she had received at the hands of the Joker.
"So tell them your name," the Joker demanded like a parent to a shy child.
Bagheera looked directly into the camera and then passed the Joker to something that was off camera. Her eyes filled with hot tears.
"Ugh into the camera now Bags," the Joker chided as small chuckles of enjoyment escaped him. The camera shook from his giddiness.
Bruce watched as Bagheera's attention moved away from whatever was behind the Joker to the camera that was now zoomed in to capture the depth of her blue eyes.
"What do you suppose she's looking at," Alfred asked.
"Crane," Bruce answered as he kept his eyes on the television screen.
"You mean Scarecrow sir," Alfred asked as he looked over to the man that had once been the boy that he had raised.
"He's her cousin," Bruce said, "Harvey Dent let Batman in on that tidbit last night."
"Right," Alfred said as he looked back to the television, "I guess it's true that everyone has something to hide in this town."
"My name," she took an audible deep breath, "is Bagheera Ann Lewis."
"And tell them what needs to be said," the Joker demanded in a sing song voice.
Bruce watched as Bagheera looked up behind the camera once again for only a moment, but in that moment he could see fear clearly in her glassy eyes.
"I was asked to come back to Gotham to help aid in the capture of the," she stopped and looked to the Joker with disbelief on her face, "to help capture the amazing Clown Prince of Crime that has been," she shook her head as she read what the Joker had told her to read aloud to the public, "cleaning these filthy streets and giving the city of Gotham the villain that they deserve. But the Joker isn't happy about the lies that are being spewed about the detective that has been assigned to end his career. He finds it offensive and rude."
Bruce watched her swallow her fear as she began the second half of the speech that the Joker had no doubt written out for her to read.
"That's why he captured me," Bagheera said and moaned softly as a quick pain radiated through her body, "He wants the stories to be set straight," she paused and shook her head, "My parents were murdered in our home when I was very young," tears burned at the corners of her eyes but she held them back courageously, "The man that shot them to death was never found and I was sent to live with another family member."
"And how many people have you killed," the Joker chuckled as the camera zoomed in on her.
"Just one," she answered.
"Are you a good cop Baggy? Or are you one of the bad apples that Gordon had working with him," the Joker's voice was becoming dark as his chuckles faded.
"I'm a good cop," she admitted as she looked passed the camera.
"You hear that Gotham? Just because she is related to a man that tried to poison you all doesn't mean she's a bad cop," the Joker announced happily as he pulled the camera away from her and focused it on himself, "we have ourselves a good cop," he chuckled darkly as he added, "oh and I have a reminder to this city. People are still going to die. Maybe the Bat will end this by coming to save the little detective?"
The Joker chuckled loudly and dropped the camera. Bruce Wayne and Alfred watched in horror as the camera recorded the Joker shoving Bagheera's chair to ground. They could see the silver of his knife and they could hear Bagheera's screams and the Joker's manic laughter combined together like a hellish opera just before the footage ran to its end.
"Alfred," Bruce said as he turned to his loyal butler, "He's trying to distract me from Dent."
"Have you made up your mind then," Alfred asked.
"Gordon's gone," Bruce said as he looked back to the television to look up at the television screen where the anchors were talking about the battered detective, "Rachel and Dent are now targets."
"And the detective," Alfred asked as he watched Bruce hurrying out of the bedroom.
"I'm taking the car," Alfred heard Bruce yell to him from further down the hall.
Will Batman get to her in time?
What do you think about Bagheera and Joker's encounter? I wanted it to be different than most Joker/OC stories so I hope I did well in that department.
So obviously she is protective over Crane, but why?
Reviews are always great! I love them :)