Authors Note: Stay tuned for more chapters!!! Review please x

Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters from DC Universe.

Chapter 16

I awoke the next morning with Ace sprawled half way off the bed and Anarchy sleeping just over my head.

Slowly I sat up and placed Anarchy gently on my pillow. Leaving her and Ace where they were, I quickly got dressed and went into the bathroom. I washed my face and brushed my teeth before going into the main part of the warehouse. I saw The Joker sitting alone watching TV about to eat a piece of toast.

"No wait don't do that!" I shouted rushing up to him.

"What? why not?" he eyed the toast warily.

I pulled it from his hand and bit the toast " the toast told me to do it"

Quickly finishing it off I sat down next to him.

" That was my toast" he growled

"And now its gone" I replied with a smirk.

The Joker grabbed me and pulled me closer to him until I was leaning up against his knees which were pulled close to his chest, his arms placed lazily across my stomach. My fingers played with the sleeve of his purple trench coat, a small smile on my lips.

"You know I've be thinking sweet face, you've really surprised me" He said

I looked up at him and said "how?"

"You've gone from petty crimes and a double life to well working with me and blowing up your own parents. I mean I didn't think you had it in you" The Joker grinned.

"Surprise! I guess" I replied smiling.

Things were silent for what seems like ages, the only sound coming from the news on the TV. Nothing interesting, the usual stuff, crime rates, ranting about me. Blah blah blah blah. Until I asked "you know that bad day we talked about, well what happened to you? to make you well. You"

The Joker remained silent, thinking hard about my question.

"My father was....a drinker. And a fiend. And one night he goes off crazier than usual. Mommy gets the kitchen knife to defend herself. He doesn't like that. Not. One. Bit. So, me watching, he takes the knife to her, laughing while he does it. Turns to me and he says "Why so serious?" Comes at me with the knife, "Why so serious?" He sticks the blade in my mouth. "Let's put a smile on that face!" and...That's how I really got these scars" he told me

"So why so many different version?" I asked

" It gets a little hard to remember at times and besides, I prefer multiple choices" The Joker explained

"So that's how you got your scars, was that what made you who you are today?" I asked

Once again, it takes him a few moments to reply.

"No. I had a wife....she was beautiful...like you and she was carrying my unborn child. But you see... we didn't have any money, so I got a job with the mob. Called myself The Red Hood. But that didn't work out too well. The mob. Well they weren't happy; they took her and killed her, left her to die. Everything changed after that, I changed. Wait...what I am saying! I shouldn't be telling you this!"

He stood up pushing me off of him. I stood up and saw him glaring at me.

"Forget I told you any of that. None of it matters anymore" he yelled."What's-" I was punched to the floor. He began to kick repeated in the stomach and pulled me up by the hair before throwing me away from him.

"What's your problem?" I spat out blood and shouted.

"You're my problem!" The Joker shouted before putting his hands at either side of my face and pressing his crimson lips to mine. A kiss. Full of longing and lust. It made my heart beat like a drum. Despite the fact my whole body hurt. I knew I was crazy to be doing this, who was I? Harley? I don't think so. But by now I had already worked it out. I knew now that I wanted him and cared for him. Maybe even loved him. How? I have no idea. I just did.

" What's with all the shouting? Oh erm...sorry...I'll just...erm...be...bye" I heard Ace say incredulous.

I wanted to laugh but didn't want this moment to end. But it did, all too soon and at a price.

I was knocked to the ground and punched and kicked repeatedly. Blood trickled from my lip and from a cut above my head. I cried out in pain as he kicked at my ribs. He stamped down hard on my wrist, I heard a sickening crack.

Instantly I knew it was broken. Tears poured from my eyes. The pain was almost unbearable; it was so bad it made me want to faint.

Suddenly the blows to my body stopped. I lay curled up in a feeble ball on the floor, every inch of my body hurting. After a few minutes The Joker returned and pulled me up by my hair, he dragged me into the bathroom.

It was there I saw one of my worst fears.

The bathtub was filled with water. No I wasn't afraid of taking baths, it was the water that I feared. More precisely being under the water.

" No. Please don't" I begged knowing what he was about to do next.

But The Joker didn't listen, he pushed my head forcefully under the icy water. I couldn't see or breathe. I tried to pull yourself up but he had one hand latched onto my hair and one on my back keeping me securely down. I tried to scream but no sound could be head, only bubbles floated up to the surface where the air lay. Fear pulsated through me. It reminded me of when Crane used his fear toxin. Only this felt a thousand times worse because I knew it was real. I couldn't tell if I was crying or not because my tears were hidden under the freezing water, it wouldn't matter because everything was darkening and my mind became fuzzy due to lack of oxygen and it was hard to think.

I felt my pulse and heart rate slow.

Death was whispering to me.

Beckoning me.

Jinx.....she wasn't there but I felt her presence, she was weak like me.

Slowly fading away. Dying.

I heard a scream and suddenly the pressure was taken from my back and head. Moments later I was pulled above the water.

I gasp for air falling against the cold, hard wall. I tried to see but the light hurt my eyes. I coughed up water, attempting to move proved futile; none of my limbs would work. I felt weak.

Suddenly everything was gone, the last thing I felt was a soft hand on my cheek and the cold tile floor beneath me. There were voices shouting and screaming but they soon faded away, so much that they weren't even a ringing in my ears.

When everything was black I saw Jinx lying on the floor of my mind.

Weak and unmoving.

It became even harder to think and finally everything just went.

I couldn't think.

Move or speak.

Everything went blank.

---------

"Ava, please wake up" A gentle female voice whispered.

I heard a quiet mewing sound as soft fur brushed against my hand.

"The doctor said you might be able to hear me, Please wake up, I need you. Your my best friend. He didn't mean it honest. Oh Ava please. I'm afraid without you. Don't leave me" the female voice spoke.

The voice was Ace!

I tried to reply but I couldn't, I couldn't move or speak. I heard a door open and a deep voice snap "Get out"

"Why so you can hurt her again? How could you! What did she do to deserve this! Look at her! LOOK AT HER!" Ace shouted.

"Just go" the deep voice muttered harshly.

I heard Ace leave, I tried to move my fingers but they wouldn't budge.

Someone came and sat beside me.

A warm hand touched my hand and began stroking it gently.

" I tried.... to tell myself over and over again, I didn't care that I had hurt you this bad. I tried to ignore, this strange feeling I felt when I saw Grumpy and Ace take you to the hospital. I watched as those doctors hooked you up to these machines. I heard one of them say to your friend, that you were in a...ugh...coma and that....you probably weren't going to wake up. I didn't mean to hurt you like this. They said that you... you would probably see a lot of your past memories and that when your mind came to the most recent memories, it would be up to you. Don't give up Jinxy...I lost it big time. I'm sorry" The Joker said

I felt a soft kiss on my cheek before the room became silent again and his hand was no longer on my own. I slowly fell asleep and like he had said, I was suddenly looking through the window of my old home.

It was Christmas.

I watched as my parents opened presents whilst I, aged seventeen, cradled my baby brother, love shining in my eyes. Tears filled my eyes as I watched this vision of my old self cradling Joey who was gurgling happily, tugging at my long hair

"I love you so much Joey" I watched the younger me whisper to him.

Next the scene changed.

I was standing in the park holding hands with my first boyfriend; he was also my first love.

"Ava, there's something I have to tell you" He said

I smiled at him and replied "what is it?"

"I've been cheating on you, I don't love you. I'm sorry" he told confessed.

I remember how much it hurt to hear him say that. I watched on as my younger self screamed and cried at him. Suddenly I watched as younger Ava picked up a large rock and hit him over the head with it. Younger Ava bashed him over the head, again and again with it. That was the first time Jinx spoke to me.

She told me to do it.

Pretending she was my friend and that he deserved to die.

"Do it. He's cheated on you. He deserves to die" She had whispered.

The scene once again changed.

I was in Arkham.

I saw Dr. Crane torturing the younger me with his fear toxin.

" Stop it!" I screamed at him.

But he couldn't hear me, no one could, this was a memory and I was like a ghost to him and the me he was torturing, can't be seen or heard.

The scene changed quickly again and again.

Showing me my whole life.

Everything from my birth to the present day.

The last memory I saw was the happiest memory I had, it was from quite a few years ago, I were tucking my little brother into bed and he whispered quietly to me " I wuv you Ava"

"I love you too kid" I said smiling at him before kissing his forehead and turning out the lamp, closing his bedroom door quietly.

The memory disappeared and was replaced with complete blackness.

I saw a body lying on the floor of my mind.

I ran to the body.

Turning it over I saw it was Jinx, her eyes were barely open and her breathing was shallow.

"What happen?" She said weakly

"The Joker happened" I told her

"I told you Ava, I told you he would try to kill you. But you didn't believe me now look! Your brain is so starved of oxygen and weak, your too weak to sustain me" she rasped

" what'd you mean?"

" I am you! When you're weak, I'm weak and right now, your mind is damaged and cant hold it together. I'll disappear forever, Ave and it's all his fault! " she spat

"He didn't mean it Jinx. I heard him " I said with a slight smile.

"Your weak Ava, You always will be...wait, what are you doing?" She cried as she rose into the air

"Locking you away forever. You're wrong Jinx. I'm not weak. Not anymore" I stated closing my eyes.

Suddenly the same beautiful mirror appeared, the same one that I had locked her away in before. But only difference was the glass had been shattered from where she had escaped. Shards of glass appeared and like a jigsaw they fitted into the broken mirror perfectly. Jinx's body rose higher and flew straight into the mirror.

It was done.

Opening my eyes, I approached the beautiful mirror and looked at my reflection.

Jinx appeared and punch at the mirror.

It didn't break or crack.

" Let me out! You can't do this to me. Not again Ava!" she screamed.

"Goodbye Jinx" I murmured.

--------

I opened my eyes.

Finally I was awake!

"Ace! Joker! I did it, she's gone! I'm a little less crazy! " I cried but the scene before I wasn't what I expected to see.

Instead of a hospital ward, I was in a dark room on a table.

A figure stepped out of the shadows and grinned menacingly at me.

" Jack Rider?" I raised an eyebrow.

His skin was tainted yellow, eye sunken and his hair was green. He wore green pants, red boots and gloves and wore a long feather bower almost like a cape.

His stood before me, cackling as he snarled;

"Call me The Creeper"