The rain picked up slowly on the way to Jonathan's, until finally Willow had her windshield wipers going on full. She squinted her eyes and leaned up, straining to see out of the tinted windshield and follow Jonathan's Dodge Viper as it weaved in and out of the wet and gloomy city streets. Willow grew more and more weary, and she glanced down at the time. She had been following him for nearly ten minutes now. Before they left he had assured her that it wasn't very far. 'Wasn't very far' was equal to or less than five minutes in Willow's book, especially with Joker watching her every move.
But finally, at around ten forty, they were pulling up to a small house, located in a tiny neighborhood on the outskirts of downtown Gotham. Jonathan pulled into the garage, and he hung his arm out the window, motioning for Willow to do the same. With a nervous swallow she pulled her car up the driveway and parked it next to Jonathan's. Willow took her keys from the ignition and stepped out of the purple vehicle just as the garage door started to go down, separating them from the rain.
"You see, this is just a pretty bad neighborhood, and I figured nice cars shouldn't be at the mercy of some thug on the streets," Jonathan explained as they started towards the garage door that led into the house. He pushed it open, letting Willow step in ahead of him. They had entered a dark living room with a tan, wrap-around couch. Just to her right was a small flight of stairs that led up into the kitchen. She turned around as Jonathan made his way into the house, closing the door behind him, and he flashed her a smile.
"Are you hungry? Thirsty?"
Willow smiled slightly as she shook her head. Her heart had never stopped pounding since the moment she agreed, and she kept reminding herself that she wasn't going to stay long. If everything went according to plan, she'd be leaving in the next hour, and would beat Joey home. And miraculously, Joey would not bring up the fact that she had really left around ten thirty. This way Joker would never have to know, and it would spare her the horribleness that would go with it if he were to find out.
"Aw, c'mon," Jonathan said with a laugh. "I have ice cream. I know you can't resist ice cream."
Willow grinned as she looked down. "Fine," she said. Jonathan smiled and started up the small flight of stairs, taking two at time. Willow followed him, looking around as she took in the dark wood old cabinets and counters. Jonathan motioned to the table, and Willow took a seat while Jonathan went about getting out what she noticed was vanilla ice cream. With his back to her, she watched as best as she could as he scooped it into a bowl until she finally lost interest, and she stared at a living room that was just passed the kitchen, studying the glass design on on the little window on the front door.
"Do you live here alone?" Willow finally broke the silence.
"Well... no," Jonathan said somewhat uneasily. He silently reached into his pocket to bring out a small bag of pills, his pills. He held a capsule between his fingers as he replaced the bag, and over the bowl of ice cream he broke the capsule, letting the white powder fall over the frozen treat. He sprinkled it all around, unable to help the grin that slid that onto his face. Finally he turned around with the bowl of ice cream and he set it down in front of Willow before he placed a silver spoon on the table. "One of my old thugs lives here, to be honest with you." He sat down on the opposite side of the table, trying as hard as he could to keep that psychiatrist poker face as Willow took the first bite of ice cream from the bowl. Poor Willow had no idea...
"I'm really glad I found you, Willow," Jonathan suddenly spoke up. Willow felt her stomach drop upon hearing these words, and she wasn't sure what to say as she continued to look at him, holding the spoon daintily between her fingers. Lucky, she didn't have to say anything. "I mean, I felt like we really connected at Arkham." He paused, waiting for her to say something. When she continued to stay silent, he pushed on. "Don't you?"
"Yeah," Willow said. Thinking about it, she realized she was able to talk to him in ways she knew she never would be able to with Joker. She was able to open up completely with Jonathan and tell him everything. She wasn't sure if it was the doctor in him that enabled him to listen so well and feel what she was feeling, or if he just really cared. It seemed it was turning out more and more that it was because he actually cared. The feeling was nice for her, however. Just simply knowing someone out there cared about her, cared about the person she was, and appreciated her for only being herself and not having to do anything more.
"Is that a 'yeah I agree' or a 'yeah please stop talking'?" Jonathan asked with a small smile, causing Willow to smile back slightly.
"I agree," she said. "Everything I told you I'd been holding in forever. You really helped me out," she added in a small voice unable to help but feel slightly uneasy. Jonathan remained staring at her, his light blue eyes stunning until he finally blinked and looked down.
"Willow I feel like I can be honest with you," he started, and Willow's heart raced as she watched him move around the table to take a seat next to her. He looked back into her eyes, but this time did not grin or smile. "I really, really like you," he said. "I've had so many encounters with other women, but non have been like you. There's just so much to you, and after all you've been through you're still so... sweet."
Willow's lips parted slightly as she listened, and the room spun wildly. She hadn't expected such an open confession, and she honestly had no idea he even felt that way. Suddenly Joker faded out of her mind, leaving Jonathan as her only thought. He was probably the only guy in the universe who saw any good in Willow, other than dancing skills or
distractions'. Here was a guy who just admitted he appreciated her for her, who liked her for who she really was and who she didn't have to pretend to be. She had been a complete wreck in Arkham: constant crying, shouting and breaking completely down, greasy, disgusting hair, chapped lips, bright red naked eyes and a flushed face, and yet Jonathan was still attracted to her. All she had done was complain about everything, she was stubborn when he offered her advice or gave his insights on things. She acted like a depressed brat, and yet he still admired her. It made no sense to her at all, she could even handle Joker or Joey in a bad mood. However, she couldn't help but feel comforted, and above all, special.
"I understand your current condition with the Joker," Jonathan said his name bitterly. "But I can help you Willow," he said as he leaned in closer, his face just a mere few inches away. "I can keep you from him, and appreciate you like he can't."
Willow instantly started to shake her head. Keep her from him? Yeah right. She knew it would be a matter of days, most likely hours for him to easily find her, where ever she went. But it seemed all logic went out the door for the time being, and all that existed were the words Jonathan was speaking, the words Willow hadn't realized she always wanted to hear.
Jonathan continued to look at her, trying desperately to read her. She remained staring back at him, and he noticed she looked nervous, confused, and slightly uneasy. But he noticed how relaxed her body looked, and he knew his confession was having some sort of positive affect on her. He wasn't lying, he was telling the absolute truth. He had never met anyone like her, and he enjoyed spending as much time as he could with her. And he planned on spending much more time with her, if only she would start eating that ice cream. If his plan went accordingly, Willow would soon forget about any and all warm feelings she had over Joker. But with her mind so corruptible just by itself, it was seeming as if Jonathan didn't even need the help of his newest drug.
Willow was trying to think of something to say, but nothing came to mind. A grin slowly appeared on Jonathan's face and his lips parted before he spoke. "Sorry to bring this up all so, quickly and randomly, but I've been keeping it to myself for a long time. When you left Arkham... I've never felt so alone, to say the least."
"Jon, I really appreciate you telling me all this, but if the circumstances were different then maybe-"
She was interrupted abruptly when Jonathan's lips suddenly touched hers. She couldn't help but gasp and jump back slightly, and her body tensed when Jonathan placed his hands on her upper arms as if holding her still. She wasn't sure if it was because she was so stunned or because she wanted this, either way she found herself frozen as her eyes closed, and as confused as ever. But the moment was so different, so much more gentle than when she kissed Joker, and Jonathan gently placing his hand on the side of her face didn't help matters much. Unlike Joker, his hands were so smooth and soft, his touch light compared to Joker's heavy hand. His lips were warm and soft, and Willow couldn't help but to deepen the kiss herself as she leaned in closer. All too soon, however, he pulled away, opening his eyes, and he stared into hers.
"We'll change the circumstances," he said. "I'd never hurt you Willow," he said easily, though this wasn't entirely true. "All I want is to get to know you." Here was a truth. "And I know you do too."
Willow bit her lip, looking down as Jonathan leaned away slightly, and she looked back to him when he let out a laugh. " I didn't mean to scare you," he explained. "But sometimes actions speak louder than words. Look, I understand if you feel the need to go back. I can wait. I'm a patient person," he added.
Willow nodded, her mind still on that kiss. He'd wait for her? She wasn't exactly sure what he meant by that. She didn't know what to do suddenly. On one hand here was Jonathan just as he had presented himself, but on the other was Joker, and Willow just couldn't shake off feelings for him. She also did not want to know what would happen if she was to just suddenly run away from him. She was not ready to be in Joker's wrath, and she knew she never would. It would be nice to live life finally being able to breath again and not have to be cautious all the time. But the risk of getting this was far too great.
"We'll change the subject," Jonathan offered and he looked down at Willow's melting ice cream. "I'm sorry," he then added.
"Don't be," Willow said quickly. "I liked it," she said honestly. "But I can't just leave. That puts me and you in danger, and it's just... not worth it," she added slowly. "I'm sorry."
Jonathan had heard her, and he pretended to be sympathetic over it, when fact of the matter was Willow was staying with him, regardless of the wrath of the mental clown. If Joker even decided to waste his time with finding her, Jonathan knew he'd be ready...
The minutes passed silently as Willow finished her ice cream, glad Jonathan had understood her point of view. She still wanted to enjoy his friendship, and she wanted to keep around the one person who appreciated her. She was even pretty proud of herself for being so honest so easily. However, the mood was still a little bit awkward, so Willow figured she'd break the silence with a question.
"So what are you gonna do? Like I mean, are you gonna... go back to... what you were doing before?"
"Well I can't be a doctor anymore if that's what you're asking," Jonathan replied quickly, only to suddenly understand the question. "Oh, I see. Well, I would be lying if I said Arkham made me see the error of my ways and that I've been... cured, or whatever you want to call it. But..." he paused, and Willow watched him seem to be recalling something. "Maybe someday I'll finally go back to what I did... but as for now, I figure I should just-" he cleared his throat, "-lay low. At least until the police stop showing up..." He sat back, knowing very well there were no police visits. He continued to watch silently as Willow devoured her ice cream. It was only a matter of time now...
"On the subject," Jonathan finally said as he excitedly leaned in over the table. "Do you want to see my mask?"
Willow slowly removed the spoon from her mouth, emptying on it what contained the last of the ice cream, and she licked her lips. "Mask?" She asked as she raised an eyebrow.
"Yeah," Jonathan said excitedly as he started to get up, his knees bent as he lingered over the chair. "I used to use it in all my experiments! I'll go get it."
Willow smiled slightly as she watched him go, completely clueless as to what was going on. She placed the spoon in the bowl with a clank and sat back in the chair, but once her back hit it, dizziness suddenly washed over her. She quickly sat up as if balancing herself, figuring she had just gotten light-headed, but the problem persisted. She slowly leaned back again, breathing deeply, the humming from the fridge near deafening. She stared at the fridge with wide eyes, the black reflecting all those lights... where were those lights coming from?
What was only a few seconds felt like hours. Her stomach clenched tight, and she leaned forward as she folded her arm over it, squinting her eyes as she doubled over.
"Jonatha-!" Her she trailed off, completely unable to finish the word. Her voice sounded low and deep, and distant, and she tried to take a deep breath in, only to find her mouth dry, her throat feeling as though it had closed up. "Jonath-" She stopped short again, and instantly panic settled in.
Okay, okay, she thought in her head. I'm having a panic attack... that's all. But why was she? She wasn't sure. But this didn't feel like a panic attack, things were different. Colors were vibrant, noises were loud, her stomach hurt her something awful and she could not speak. Had Jonathan drugged her?
She finally forced herself up. Her legs wobbled and tingled, but she ignored it, and she stumbled around the table, holding it with one hand while her other arm was still held over her stomach. She knew something wasn't right...
She heard footsteps in the distance, growing louder and louder at an alarming rate. Her fuzzy mind didn't allow her to wonder what it was, and it suddenly barely allowed her to concentrate what she was doing. She continued to hold onto the table, until suddenly her stomach churned and her legs gave out, and she toppled to the floor. The room vibrated, spun and shook as she landed, the floor feeling freezing as she tried to hold herself up on her arms. Jonathan had returned, and from behind his trademark mast that resembled a scarecrow, he grinned down at Willow.
"Oh, Wiiillloooww."
Joker? Willow thought to herself, trying hard to concentrate on the word as it echoed in her mind. It was his voice... She lifted her heavy head up, her eyes coming face to face with a very familiar, tan pair of clowny-looking shoes... Her eyes traveled up further, her jaw hanging slack, her eyes wandering over those purple pants, that green vest until finally she stared into the dark, glazed over eyes of the Joker. He wore a small grin on his messy painted face, it seemed as though he had just gotten out of a storm, but Willow wasn't happy to see him. Her eyes immediately fell to the sharp knife he held tight in his gloved hand, his eyes staring straight into her soul.
She let out a terrified scream and instantly clutched into a ball on the floor as Joker lashed out, bringing his knife down with him towards her body, the drug coursing through her system masking the fact that in reality, it was only Jonathan who had slowly bent down, gently placing his hand on her shoulder.
"No!" Willow screamed. "Don't hur– me Joke-" The sentence didn't form as she cowered, her eyes clenched tightly. Why was Joker trying to kill her? What had she done? She had never felt so scared in her entire life.
Jonathan chuckled to himself as he gently lifted Willow's head up. On the other hand, however, Joker had violently forced her head up, his fingers squeezing her jaw, the pressure unbearable. The room spun behind his angry face, and his face blurred about as he gritted his teeth, talking through them, giving her death threats Willow could not hear.
"How interesting is this?" Jonathan asked happily to himself. "Willow's biggest fear seems to be the Joker. Who could have seen this coming?" He placed his hands under her arms, Willow screaming as she tried desperately to get away. It felt as though she was widely thrashing around,when in reality she was merely moving her arms up and down, barely. "Any minute now you're going to go into a deep, deep sleep," Jonathan was saying quietly as he dragged Willow out of the kitchen and toward the stairs that led up to the bedrooms. He started up them backwards, letting Willow's body drag in front of her as he pulled her along. "And that's when all the fun can begin..."
It had been a long night at the club, and all Joey wanted to do was eat the rest of his pizza and pass out on his bed. He had not fired Lydia for he had thought better of it, but she was not happy when he told her he couldn't see her anymore. This resulted in constant, unwanted nagging, leaving Joey seriously considering bringing her home to have his friend do the deed he did not want to be framed with doing. But he had ignored her, instead busying himself with the dealing with the persistent business man who seemed desperate to buy Joey's club. He pushed open the front door with a sigh, instantly glancing up the stairs, noticing that the bathroom light was on, the light shining through the bottom of the door and spilling into the floor. The guestroom door was closed, and he frowned and let out a huff when he noticed the TV on. He instantly looked away from the living room to make a beeline to the fridge, tossing his keys on the breakfast bar and he practically threw the fridge open, only for his eyes to nearly pop out of his head. Where was the pizza box?
He moved all the random items in the fridge around and checked the drawers, even the small ones, but there was no pizza box. Finally he turned his head to the left, where his dark eyes met the open and bare pizza box that sat on the counter by the sink. His felt his teeth clench tightly and he growled deeply before yelling "Jaaaack!"
"What?" Came a voice so flat and so close it startled him. He turned his head to face the noise, and he couldn't help but jump when he saw Joker's head peeking out from atop the couch, the glow from the TV causing his hair to appear a pale blue. His face was bare and he looked bored as he stared at Joey.
"Why'd you eat my pizza man?" Joey asked as he pointed back to the fridge, walking closer to the living room. Joker rolled his eyes lazily as he sat up all the way. He rubbed his eyes as he stood up, and he made his way around the couch. "I thought I told Willow to tell you not to!"
"First of all, Joseph," Joker started as he held up his finger to his friend. "You're freaking out over food. You are acting like a fact girl who received a double cheeseburger rather than a triple. And second, Willow never came back."
"What?" Joey was instantly confused, completely ignoring Joker's remarks over the pizza. "She said she was going home around ten, ten thirty."
"Never came," Joker said slowly as he raised an eyebrow. He wasn't concerned really, rather he was slightly annoyed. "What exactly did she say?" He asked as he followed Joey calmly into the kitchen. Joey opened the fridge, feeling defeated as he looked for a new means of a very late dinner, or very early breakfast.
"She said that it didn't feel right being there and that she was going home. Then I told her to tell you not to eat my damn pizza."
Joker rolled his eyes again. "I can sense your concern," he said sarcastically as he leaned over the breakfast bar.
"Yeah I can see you're pretty worried, too," Joey shot back as he closed the fridge, empty handed.
"Look, she's probably just..." Joker tried to think of where she could have intentionally gone, but nothing turned up in his mind. He knew she had nowhere to go, that she knew nobody. Joey stared at him, sarcastically tilting his head as he waited for Joker to think.
"Just... went for a drive? Took a shopping spree and her car broke down? Or maybe she's visiting her old friend's from high school."
Joker glared at Joey now. Thinking about it further, it seemed very unlikely that she would just go somewhere by herself, without even asking him. He knew she was smarter than that, anyway. But he couldn't shake off the weird feeling he got as he thought of her being in trouble. He closed his eyes and shook his head before speaking, refusing to feel that way. "Look she's probably fine," Joker said in a firm voice. "If she's not back by tomorrow afternoon, then you can start to worry."
"Right. I'll start to worry," Joey said as he rolled his eyes. "I have a theory, would you like to know it?"
"I have a gun. Would you like me to use it?" Joker asked sarcastically as he titled his head with a toothy grin, his eyes wide. Joey ignored him, grinning instead.
"I think you would be terrible with pets."
Joker's face fell into a frown as he brought his head back up and he stared at Joey. He squinted his eyes as he leaned in, thrown off by Joey's theory.
"Think about it," Joey said. "Willow is like... your cat. Your cute, but curious cat. And one day, curious kitty wandered off right under her owner's –that's you- nose and he didn't even notice or care. And you know what they say curiosity did to the cat..."
"You what they say the Joker did to his friend who talked too much?" Joker asked flatly as he watched Joey walk out of the kitchen, standing his ground at the counter.
"Bought him a new pizza?" Joey asked over his shoulder sarcastically, grinning slightly.
"They say he stapled his mouth shut."
Joey stopped walking as he frowned, and he turned around. Joker looked dead serious, a grin not even threatening to crack his face. For a second the image of his mouth being stapled shut came to mind, until he finally shrugged it off. "And you know what they say the friend did to the Joker?"
"Dropped the subject?" Joker asked as he started to follow Joey to the stairs, his strides long and slow as he grinned at him. Joey let out a low laugh as he started up the stairs. Without another word he headed to his room, leaving Joker to go into the guest room. The room was empty once he snapped on the lights, and again he couldn't help but wonder where Willow had gone to. She always acted so cautious around him and seemed to wait for Joker's word to do anything. Surely she would not just up and leave without him in her thoughts. He tried to erase the thoughts from his mind as he plopped down into the bed, bouncing slightly as he pulled the sheets up. It felt odd being alone in bed for once, and he idly turned his head to Willow's empty side of the bed. On the surface he had pushed the thought away as he closed his eyes, though deep down he had to wonder if his distraction was okay, where ever she was...
Rampage's rattle woke Joker up the following morning. With a groan he clenched his eyes tight as he rolled from his side onto his back, and he slowly opened his eyes. The bed was empty in front of him, and he absentmindedly let out a groan at this new and somewhat startling information as he eyes slid shut again. Across the room Rampage continued to rattle his tail, prompting Joker to look at him as he pressed his nose to glass, glaring at the beast in bed. Joker opened one eye to glance at him, and he watched as the snake stared at him until finally, with yet another groan, he rolled back onto his side to face his edge of the bed. He kicked the sheet off of him and slowly sat up, running his fingernails through his tangled hair as he glanced at the clock.
With the time reading just about ten forty in the morning, Joker finally stood up. He leaned back as far as he could to stretch, rotating his neck around once he stood up straight. The house was quiet as he stepped onto the landing, Joey's door closed. With a yawn he headed to the bathroom, deciding it best to go ahead and put his greasepaint on now. More than likely he'd have to go out and find where Willow had gotten to. One half of him had been expecting to do this, while the other half had to wonder if she was okay, and when he found her if she'd even be alive...
After rubbing his eyes he stared at himself in the mirror for a good minute, blankly looking into his own eyes until finally he opened his square container of white paint. With a yawn he used his fingers to smear the paint around his face, going around his eyes and mouth. After his black and red portions had been sloppily finished, he calmly opened the door and lazily headed back to the guest room. After getting dressed in a pair of gray, pinstripe baggy pants and a black button down long sleeved shirt, Joker headed out of the room to find something to eat.
Joey was sitting at the table, a freshly peeled orange sitting in front of him in a small bowl as he perused the newspaper. Neither man said anything as Joker headed to fridge, knowing very well he was not going to find anything suitable for a makeshift breakfast. Settling on a glass of orange juice, he leaned against the counter, looking passed the breakfast bar at Joey.
"Going to look for Willow?" Joey asked, able to see Joker's painted face from the corner of his eye.
"Eventually," Joker said with a sigh as he took a sip from his glass. "I'll give it another hour or two. Or three."
Joey rolled his eyes as he folded the paper and placed it down. "Man you know damn well you're going to end up going as soon as possible." Joey stared at Joker blankly, studying his face for his natural reaction. But Joker remained staring back until he rolled his eyes to the side and he titled his head as if in thought.
"Nah," Joker said as he finally shook his head. He barely had to fight to keep on a straight, bored face, but the longer Willow was gone, the more he had to wonder where she had gone. In all honesty he was starting to believe it wasn't actually her who had gone somewhere. Perhaps she had gone somewhere against her will...
"Nah," Joey mimicked Joker with a grin as he raised his eyebrows. He laughed to himself as he shook his head, standing from the table. "It's funny how you pretend not to care about her."
"I don't have to pretend, Joey," Joker bitterly said back as he followed Joey with his eyes. Joey simply smiling and shaking his head again irritated Joker further, not because it was annoying, but rather because Joker knew he was right.
"Whatever man," Joey said. "I can see right though it."
With Joey behind him at the sink now, Joker stared at the floor, deicing it best to just drop the subject, for both his and mainly Joey's sake. "Was her car still at the club?" Joker asked instead.
"No," Joey replied.
"Good," Joker said simply. Without another word he headed towards the stairs, Joey silently watching him go.
"Subject appears to be in a state of semi-consciousness with difficulty breathing correctly. Eyes are bloodshot and sagging, mouth is dry... the skin is pale, clammy and cold, with an overall body temperature of about ninety-five degrees." Jonathan let his finger off the red button on his small recorder as he leaned over in his chair towards the small cot-like bench Willow laid on, face up. He waved his hand over her face, only for her to gasp and close her eyes tightly and turn her head away. "Subject seems to still be experiencing mild hallucinations and reacts heavily to any sort of rapid movement. Sweat has not receded from the back of the neck or forehead. The time is now eleven in the morning, subject has been under the influence for just over twelve hours now." He removed his thumb from the button once again and set the black recorder on the desk just next to him. He turned back to Willow as he pushed his glasses up, and he glanced up to Spade, the 'thug' he had mentioned to Willow who shared the house with him.
"When are these affects going to start to go away?" Spade asked as he looked from Willow up to Jonathan, who sat on the other side of the bench. He watched as Jonathan prepared some sort of syringe, taking off the cap before he leaned in towards Willow.
"They should have worn off a while ago," Jonathan answered. "Preferably, a good eight hours ago." He pressed the needle to her arm, Willow not even feeling the sting from it as she kept her eyes closed, slowly swaying her head side to side. She was aware of the voices around her and she could understand them, though she could not comprehend what their words meant. Joker had gone away, leaving Jonathan and a giant, muscular man with frizzy black hair and a long goatee to remain. Every time Willow looked at him all she could see was the Devil, so in her fuzzy state of mind she did everything she could not to look at him.
"What's that stuff?" Spade went onto ask. Jonathan glanced up at him with a frown, but didn't let his patience ware off. Spade had been with him for a while, but didn't prove intelligent enough for Jonathan's tastes, thus making him only the man for the heavy lifting. "This should speed up the process of ridding the drug from her system," Jonathan said calmly. "We're going to need some more test subjects," he then added as he sat back in his chair, folding his hands on his lap.
A small whimper escaped Willow, causing Spade to glance down at her before he looked back up to Jonathan. "Who is this girl anyway?"
"She was at Arkham," Jonathan said simply with a sigh. "Once this wares off she'll be pretty confused," he went on now as he stood up. "If the drug worked correctly, she won't remember any of this. And if not, well have Robert and Company to blame for that one. Let's go."
Spade followed his boss out of the tiny, dark room, and he gently closed the door behind him. He had never understood anything Jonathan did. He never understood the medication he created or half of the words he spoke, but Jonathan had been the only one in his life who seemed to appreciate him for something, even if that was being an errand boy and doing all his heavy lifting. The two men headed downstairs, and Jonathan immediately turned to Spade once he had just reached the bottom of the stairs.
"I need you to head into town and meet a Carl Richards at the warehouse on 5th and Dark Street and tell him I'm unable to make the meeting. I'll call you in precisely an hour if things with Ms. Willow Fox do not improve, in which case we will be having a long talk with Robert. Understand?"
"Yes boss."
Spade immediately turned to the front door, his keys already in his pocket. Jonathan headed towards the kitchen, and he looked out of the window that faced the city. He knew once he perfected his newest drug of fear, Gotham would be under his surrender. All he needed were a few more test subjects to use and later throw away. Willow, however, he planned on keeping around. She would eventually prove to be an exceptional partner in his operation. Jonathan hadn't been lying about all that he had said to her the night before. Maybe one day Willow would become something more, but as for right now, love was not what he was looking for.
He wondered in the back of his mind how Joker was reacting to this situation. Probably doesn't even care, he thought to himself. Probably doesn't even notice. Surely if Joker cared, even just a little, he would have sprung to action a long time ago to find her. But just like when Willow had gone to Arkham, he did nothing about it. Jonathan knew it would have been easy for him to have broke Willow out, Joker had broken himself out plenty of times. He figured he had nothing to worry about...
–
Confusion overcame Joey after watching Joker head into his office with a small square contraption with a wire hanging off the end of it. After a few minutes to trying to ignore it, he finally forced himself off of the couch and entered his office, where he found Joker sitting in front of his computer, staring at the monitor with a bored expression, his fist under his chin, holding his head up. Joey noticed that small contraption had been plugged into the computer, and as he advanced towards the desk he noticed a blinking green light on it.
"What's that?" Joey asked as he stepped around the desk to stand behind he chair Joker sat in. The computer showed a fuzzy picture of what appeared to be some sort of map, the word 'processing, one minute please' in white lettering over the blurry picture.
"DPS," Joker answered simply with a flat voice as he leaned back in the chair.
"You mean GPS?" Joey asked.
"No," Joker said. "It's my own little twist. Stands for Distraction Positioning System, because as we all know, Willow is a distraction. I had a tracker installed in the Audi before I picked it up. Once it decides to work, I'll know exactly where she is."
"Why couldn't you have done this last night?" Joey asked casually. Joker paused, instantly feeling angry. Unfortunately, that was a good question, why hadn't he?
"Don't you have some place to be?" Joker asked rudely as he turned his head to glare up at his friend.
"Not 'till ten," Joey answered with a grin. Joker rolled his eyes as he looked back to the monitor, the map finally deciding to load. He watched as it finished processing, and finally it showed a red dot over a house located on Jay Street. Joker raised an eyebrow while Joey leaned in.
"Who the fuck lives there?" Joey wondered, his face just near Joker's ear but he ignored it for the time being and instead clicked on the small picture of the house, enlarging it. He studied the white house with the dingy black trim and two car garage without saying a word, thinking of all the possible people that could be there.
"I don't know," Joker finally said. "Guess I'm going to find out." He memorized the numbers on the house before he pushed the chair away from the desk, exiting the room. He headed upstairs, quickly grabbing a small hand gun, his favorite knife and purple coat before he left the house, slamming the door shut behind him.
He sped down the Gotham streets, staring blankly out of the windshield. The faster he drove, it seemed, the more worried he couldn't help but be. He tapped his fingers on his leg anxiously as he thought of every bad possible image that could have happened to Willow. Now that he wasn't near Joey all the true emotions he felt over the matter were starting to show, and he no longer had to hide the fact that yes, he was worried. Who ever lived at this house was surely going to regret leading Willow away from him...
Twenty long minutes went past until finally Joker turned his Tahoe onto Jay Street. He slowly drove by all the houses that looked alike until he came to the last house in the row: 5565 Jay Street. Breathing in deeply and quickly through his nose he drove the car around the row of houses, turning onto an adjacent street to park the car on the side of the house. With a small black picket fence as the backyard's only barrier, he quickly pulled the keys from the ignition and opened the car door. He didn't bother to see if anybody was around as he crept up the small grass hill to the fence. He easily hopped over it and headed straight to the glass backdoor.
Jonathan had just sat down in his chair next to Willow, ready to take a few more observations. A good hour had gone by since giving her the shot, and it seemed it had barely worked. Willow was still jumpy and laid motionless, however she could finally open her eyes all the way.
"Now that the drug has started to fade from the body, subject seems a little more alert, though still jumpy and not capable of much movement."
"Jonathan...?" Willow mumbled in a small voice as she stared at him. "Wha-?"
Jonathan set down the recorder as he leaned over to Willow, ready to see if her memory had been wiped of the experience. "Hey," he said in a false, happy and near clueless tone of voice.
Joker followed the very familiar sounding voice up the stairs, and he crept up them stealthily, anticipating what he would find. He clenched his fingers in a tight fist before he releasing them, and he waggled them all about, preparing himself. Inside the room just near the top of the stairs he heard Willow's small voice, the tone telling him all was not right.
Jonathan smiled as he looked down at Willow and he grabbed her hand. "How are you feeling?"
Joker paused just before the door, listening, finally clarifying who was in the room. He closed his eyes tightly and clenched his teeth down as he listened further. He should have known...
"What happened?" Willow went on to ask.
"You fell down," Jonathan lied. "Right down the stairs," he added with a laugh. But Willow frowned as she shook her head.
"No," she said, barely comprehending anything, but she was almost positive Jon had just lied to her. "Joker was here," she went on. "H-he..." she looked away as she closed her eyes. "He tried to kill me..."
Jonathan's eyes narrowed as he stared at her, his lips thin as he breathed deeply though his nose. Oh, Robert... he thought in his mind. Can never follow a simple recipe... Much to his displeasure, the more the drug wore off the more Willow was able to remember what had happened. This was not the after affect he had wanted. Without a word he stood from his chair, a headache starting to form. With a deep sigh he turned towards the door, deciding it time to go call Spade and tell him the news and what he was to do next. However, just as he stepped though the frame of the door, Joker lunged forward, quickly clenching his fingers around Jonathan's scrawny neck. With wide eyes Jonathan stared at Joker, completely thrown off as he gasped for air. Joker kept his teeth clenched and his eyes focused solely on Jon's, suddenly at a loss for words. He felt furious suddenly, furious that Jonathan had obviously done something to Willow.
"Well, well," Joker said finally in a clowny voice as he tried to stay calm. "What do we. Have. Here?"
Jonathan continued to gasp for breath as Joker squeezed his neck tighter, his face going purple. Without warning Joker suddenly slammed Jon against the wall, and he held him there by his neck, Jon desperately trying to push him away but he was took weak as dizziness overcame him. Joker leaned in close to Jonathan and he tilted his head up slightly as he continued to look into his blue eyes
"I'm going to go in that room," Joker started in a raspy voice. "And if I find anything wrong with Willow, I will make sure you die for it."
Jon's eyes widened and he started to shake his head, trying to speak, but Joker ignored this and instead pulled him along with him as he stepped foot into the room. Willow immediately screamed the loudest scream Joker had ever heard as she quickly tensed up upon seeing him. She closed her eyes and tried to get off the cot, only to start shaking uncontrollably and freeze where she laid in fear. Joker's eyebrows met in the middle as he wondered what the fuck had caused her to do that. On the desk he saw a syringe, the cap off, in front of a recorder and some sort of a chart on a clip board. He immediately pushed Jonathan to the wall, letting go of his neck and pushed hard on his bony shoulders.
"Running your little experiments, Dr. Crane?" Joker asked with a grin. "I'm a fan of science myself, but let me tell you, you've picked the wrong test subject." He grabbed two hand fulls of Jonathan's dress shirt and he pulled him away from wall before he stepped out of the room, and with a hard shove Jonathan went toppling backwards down the small flight of stairs, hitting his head on the wall a few feet from them. Joker didn't bother to go after him to see what the outcome of Jonathan's fall was, and instead he headed straight for Willow. She closed her eyes tightly again as she let out a yelp, her body tense as Joker reached out.
"Willow," he said calmly as he placed his hands on her shoulders, only for her to scream.
"No! Get away!"
Joker's eyebrows met in the middle again as he wondered what Jonathan had done to her specifically. "Willow I'm not trying to hurt you, dammit!" He yelled, annoyed with how badly she was resisting him. Not having the time, he quickly pulled her up, forcing her on her feet. She wobbled, barely unable to stand, but she continued to struggle against, crying out 'no!' over and over again. It was silent downstairs, leading Joker to believe Jonathan had temporarily been knocked out, which gave him just a little bit of time to try and get Willow to cooperate.
"Willow," Joker said her name again as a tear slid down her cheek.
"Please don't kill me," she sobbed.
"I'm not going to kill you," Joker said loudly. Without thinking he quickly placed his thumb under her chin and he titled her head up, instantly bringing his lips down on hers. Her body tensed but she held still. She continued to feel dizzy but even more confused as ever. Joker had just been trying to kill her however long ago, now here he was kissing her? He pulled away just as quickly as he had kissed her, and he studied her face. Her lips still parted. Willow looked at him with teary eyes. Without a word Joker grabbed her wrist and tugged her along with him out of the room. He could feel how unsteady she was, and not wanting to waste any time he picked her up and threw her over his shoulder before he descended the stairs. Jonathan had crawled into the kitchen, big bruises on his neck and he opened a drawer, reaching in slowly for a knife.
Without panic Joker set Willow down at the foot of the stairs. "Wait here lovey, okay?" He said as he bent down to her level, his hands rested heavily on her shoulders. He looked into her glazed green eyes, and much to his pleasure she nodded with a sniffle, though she still felt frightened. Like a confused child, Willow watched as Joker stormed into the kitchen, and she let out a terrified yell as Joker picked up Jonathan by his shirt. He hoisted him onto his feet, the steak knife falling from Jonathan's hand as Joker forced his head onto the counter. He pushed down on one side of it while the other was against the cool wood, Jonathan starting to go into a panic as he struggled to lean up. Where was Spade when he needed him?
"I don't have much to say to you," Joker hissed as he leaned in towards Jonathan's squished face. "I don't know if I should call you brave or stupid for messing with my girl. What do you think?"
Jonathan opened his mouth to talk but Joker didn't give him a chance to answer, and instead forced him up again. He turned to the wall opposite of the fridge and bashed his head, nose first, into the wall, and he let him fall onto his back, blood going everywhere. It pained him to hear Willow scream at this but he had no time to pay attention to it. Right now all he wanted to do was put Jonathan in as much pain as he possibly could to assure both himself and Jonathan that this sort of thing was not going to happen again.
His glasses laid broken on the floor as Jonathan panted, spitting out blood from his mouth, his nose completely numb. He tried to turn on to his stomach but a swift kick in his ribs only caused him to roll onto his side and clench into a ball. With gritted teeth Joker kicked him once in the back of his head, watching as blood splattered onto the floor in front of Jonathan before he picked up him again. A few feet away from and directly in front of Willow, Joker lifted his foot and placed it on Jonathan's lower back and pushed, forcing him onto his knees directly in front of him. Joker placed his gloved and bloodied hands on either side of Jonathan's head, gripping tightly.
"I'm gonna enjoy this just as much as you," Joker said with a slight laugh. "In fact, I do believe I'm doing you a favor..." The sound of Jonathan's neck cracking seemed to echo though the house, and his limp body fell in front of Joker. Breathing as though he had just ran a marathon he leaned up to his full height, his eyes resting on a very terrified looking Willow as she leaned against the wall by the stairs. With a large frown he stepped on Jonathan's back as he headed towards Willow, and he came to stand in front of her. He placed his hands on either side of her face, and he wiped a tear away with his thumb, leaving a faint blood trail under her eye. Her body was tense as she shook, and she tried hard to speak, but all that came out were quiet squeaking noises.
"What... h-happened?" Willow finally said in a shaking voice, and she finally raised her eyes to stare at Joker. He appeared just how he did to her before, his make-up so sloppily done and his hair as wild as ever. "Why did you try to... k-kill m-"
"I didn't, Willow," Joker said as he pushed a strand of hair away from her face and behind her ear. "Jonathan drugged you," he went on to say in a quiet voice. More tears burned from behind her eyes and they spilled onto her cheeks, and without even thinking she lurched forward, burying her face in his chest as she clenched on the sleeves of his purple coat, sobbing. Instantly Joker wrapped his arms around her tighter than he ever had, and he lowered his head, resting his forehead on the top of her head. Finally he realized how sick he was of having all these bad things happen to Willow. He couldn't deny it: every time he saw her in some sort of pain not caused by him it made him angry and upset, and he found himself constantly blaming himself with it. Hugging her so tightly, however, seemed to help ease his anger over himself and the situation, and he couldn't help but be relieved that she was okay and finally so close to him again.
The minutes lingered on as he continued to hold her, staring at the bottom step, until finally he loosened his arms. He placed his hands on her shoulders and gently brought her off of him. Willow wiped her eyes with her hands, smearing the blood underneath as she sniffled, still not able to understand why Joker was suddenly being so nice after trying to hurt her, and she wondered why he continued to deny it She knew what she saw.
"Can you tell me what happened?" Joker asked in a low and gentle voice as he looked down into her pained eyes. Willow tried hard to think, her head starting to pound in pain.
"I-I saw him at the club," she said, absentmindedly looking to his body that lay motionless on the floor just beyond Joker. She swallowed, feeling sick as she looked at it, and she jumped when Joker gently turned her head back up to look at him. "A-and he wanted me to go back to his house, to talk..."
Joker was frowning all the while he was listening. "And that's why we don't go with strangers," he said, speaking to her as if she was child, when in this instance, it seemed like she was.
"I know," she whined. "And then you came and tried to-"
"Willow it wasn't me," Joker stressed again. "Jonathan drugged you with some sort of hallucinogen. You only hallucinated that. I was not there, and I did not try to kill you. What purpose do I have with killing you-" Joker stopped short, feeling stupid over what he had just said. Had they really gotten that far? Had things gotten to a point where Joker really, seriously had no need to kill her anymore? Perhaps distraction had not been the correct label...
Willow continued to stare at him with parted lips, feeling light-headed as she processed what Joker had just said. She couldn't help but believe him, the further she thought about it and the more the drug wore off the more sense it started to make. She swallowed the lump in her throat and looked down, unsure of what to say.
"Okay, here's what we're going to do," Joker started. "I'm going to look around for a second, and I need you to wait right over..." he slowly guided her along with him and he sat her down gently on the couch near the closed front door. "Here. Okay?" He had a feeling that looking around Jonathan's house quickly would prove to be a good idea and beneficial. There was no need to leave important things wasted when he knew he could use them to his advantage.
Willow nodded as her eyes fell to Jonathan's dead body again. She had mixed feelings over the situation, but the vibrant picture of Joker killing him would not leave her mind. Frowning still, Joker leaned away from the couch, picking up a blanket that was tossed lazily on the loveseat adjacent of the couch. He headed over to Jonathan and placed the blanket over him completely, hiding it from sight of Willow. Not bothering to look back at her and slightly agitated with himself for doing that act of kindness. he headed back upstairs to the room Jonathan had been keeping Willow in. On the couch Willow rubbed her hands along her cold arms, looking away from the blue blanket on the ground as she tried to deal with all that was happening.
Upstairs. Joker pocketed Jonathan's recorder and went through the few drawers on the desk. Finding nothing of interest, he walked out of the room, and after looking inside the bathroom, he opened up the last door upstairs that appeared to be Jonathan's bedroom. He stepped inside the tiny room, furnished with nothing more than a bed, small TV, dresser and desk, and he started to go through everything he could. Located inside the desk he found a paper with a list of names in a vertical column, a job title listed next to it. He arched an eyebrow before he placed that in his coat pocket as well. He continued to poke around until he noticed a few transparent blue bottles on the dresser. The labels both read 'Fear Medication Trials' one label reading 'mild dosage' the other 'full dosage'. He smirked at them before he placed both bottles in his pocket, deciding the room was clear enough to finally leave.
Downstairs Willow was still slightly shaking on the couch, and he headed right over to her. "Ready to go, kiddo?" He asked in his normal voice as he helped her up. Willow didn't say anything and instead walked ahead of Joker as he led her towards the open back door just beyond the kitchen. She stepped into the cool air outside, goosebumps instantly rising on her skin while Joker quickly grabbed her keys he had recognized off of the table, and he continued to lead her towards the fence. He climbed over it himself before he easily lifted Willow over it, leading her along towards the Tahoe. He opened the door for her, waiting for her to climb inside as he pocketed the Audi keys, figuring he'd come back with Joey later to retrieve the car. Once safely inside, Joker quickly rounded the truck and got inside himself, finally out of view behind the tinted windows. He glanced over to Willow, who was silently staring blankly out the window. He finally started the car and pulled away from the curb.
–
"Where was she?" Joey was quick to ask right when Joker and Willow got in the front door. He watched as Joker helped her inside, Willow in front of him while he held on to either of her arms behind her to help keep her steady. Her legs wobbled and she stumbled inside, her hair falling into her tear streaked face, sticking to her cheeks. The house smelled and looked so familiar, luckily causing her to calm done some.
"Apparently," Joker started as he continued to pant slightly. Joey noticed all the blood stains on Joker's gloves that had been passed on to Willow's arms. "Mister Jonathan Crane thought it would be a good idea to test his new product on her."
"What?" Joey's face squinted in confusion as the pair walked past him, Joker closing the door with his foot. He turned his body and watched as Joker reached into his pocket, grabbing one of the bottles, and he tossed it to Joey before he continued towards the sliding glass door just beyond the table. Joker grabbed a pack of cigarettes off the breakfast bar along with a lighter and opened the door for Willow, letting her step out slowly ahead of him.
"How are you feeling doll?" Joker asked as he sat her down on a chair next to the door.
"I don't know..." Willow trailed off as she stared out into the forest just beyond the deck. Joker pulled out a cigarette from the pack before placing it on the deck's railing, and he placed it in between Willow's lips.
"Here," he said. "Smoke this." He held the lighter up, lighting the cigarette, Willow sucking in as he did so, Joker somewhat relieved to see she was starting to be capable of doing things and recognizing gestures for what they really were. Willow reached up and took the cigarette from her mouth, shakily exhaling the smoke, though already she started to feel more relaxed the further she was assisted. She didn't say anything and sunk further into the chair as she looked through the wooden bars of the railing. Joker headed back inside and stopped at the counter while Joey joined him the kitchen. He had been watching Joker the entire time, but knew it best not to say anything about him lighting her cigarette and seemingly being so kind. Joker slid the door shut before he sighed, turning to Joey as he leaned over the breakfast bar, Joey leaning on the counter opposite of it.
"Her car is still there," Joker said as he looked up to Joey. "We need to go get it tonight."
"What happened?" Joey asked. "What are these?" He held up the bottle as he looked to his friend, waiting for an answer.
"Jonathan drugged her with those most likely," he said as he loosely pointed to the bottle. "Which caused her to hallucinate that I was going to kill her."
"Damn," Joey said as put the bottle down. "Crazy shit. She gonna be okay?"
"Yeah," Joker said as he looked out of the glass door, watching the cigarette burn as she held it between her fingers, her arm hanging from the arm of the chair. He assumed she had only taken one drag from it. "It's starting to ware off."
"Did you kill him?" Joey asked finally.
"Of course," Joker said, rather offended by that question as he looked back to his friend with a large scowl. "No Joey I gave him a warning. I told him he had one more chance. What the fuck do you think?" Joker glared at him with a frown, his response causing Joey to grin. He placed the bottle on the counter before he started around it. It was so tempting to comment on Joker's behavior, but Joey knew better than to say anything, and instead asked, "when are we getting the car?"
"Tonight." Joker didn't bother looking at him and instead continued to lean against the counter, his fingers linked together in front of him, his elbows on the bar. Joey turned around and headed upstairs, leaving the house perfectly silent.
a/n: thanks for all the reviews guys! please please pleasee keep it up! i'd like to give some credit to gool ol' queenofmean for helping me get outta my my writers block, and for coming up with the big ideas in this chapter. :) hope you enjoyed it, lemme know what ya thought!