A/N: Jeannie Napier is based on the likeness of Brittany Murphy.

He was losing his mind.

Harley had come to visit him twice a day for the rest of the past week. Each time she offered him pills with her winsome smile and he knew it was because she cared about him. But something was different, something was going wrong and he couldn't place a finger on it.

His mind was racing and he couldn't sleep.

He spent more time retching his guts into the toilet than he had when he'd gone through withdrawal.

His head was dizzy and he felt little pulses, like tiny electric shocks shooting through his body whenever he made a sudden movement.

He'd never felt this way before, and he could swear that he heard her voice.

"Jackie, go to sleep now," a disembodied voice whispered as a nonexistent hand swept through his hair while he lay on his side on the bed.

But sleep would not come.

He blinked and a face stared back at him. Her beautiful face was fixed with a sweet smile as it often had for him. Blue eyes and silken blonde hair and skin so soft he didn't have to touch it to know how it felt.

She had rarely smiled for him in the end, and he couldn't blame her. He'd never been very good to her, and she had deserved better. She'd been a young girl who'd fallen victim to a terrible man. Like any other, he'd used her and she had been the one who'd suffered the most.

On her knees in a blue baby doll dress in stockings and shoeless, she leaned closer and he could almost touch her. Her fingers traced the side of his face and he closed his eyes, pretending he could feel them.

She looked exactly how she had the day she'd died.

"Jeannie," he rasped and swallowed hard.

He didn't want to open his eyes and see her as she'd been when he had found her.

The night he met her she was sitting at the end of the bar talking to a friend. The place was a dive called Mickey's and Jack was there to kill the man that the pretty blonde was sitting by.

Mark O'Neil was just a name given to Jack by his boss in Gotham. He didn't ask questions or get involved any further than doing the job he was given. That was the best policy when you worked for a man like Carmine Falcone; keep your mouth shut and your nose clean.

Jack was good about both, as far as business went. He liked to talk a lot and tell jokes, mostly bad ones. It was one way to get through people's defenses. You make them laugh and just as they clap you on the shoulder to show their appreciation, you hit them in the gut with a bullet or a knife.

He watched Mark try to hit on the girls sting next to him, the forty year-old thinking he had some shot in hell with a couple of pretty young coeds. He'd been following Mark for the past day and a half, looking for an opportunity which would leave him unexposed.

Jack had been working for Falcone for six years, and doing things that society thought he ought not to for longer than that. He didn't have a criminal record because he'd been smart enough to not get caught. A lot of lesser criminals had made that mistake and the sign of an intelligent person was that they could learn from the mistakes of others.

Mark was not a smart guy. He watched the sleaze try to slip a meaty arm around the blonde and then saw her shove him hard enough that he lost his balance and fell off his stool.

Much laughter followed and Jack got up from his seat and walked over to the trio as Mark was shouting expletives and getting to his feet.

"Lissen you little bitch!" Mark said grabbing her arm. The girl cried out and Jack clapped a hand down on Mark's shoulder.

The man looked over his shoulder and up at Jack. Jack patted his shoulder and smiled at him as he pressed the muzzle of his gun into Mark's back.

"Now, now, that's no way to treat a lady." Jack said nodding his head and grinning at Mark.

Mark chuckled nervously and nodded back to him, letting the girl's arm go. Jack put his gun away and slipped his arm around Mark's shoulders and steered him around.

"Why don't we go get you a cab, buddy" Jack said nudging Mark toward the door.

Mark chuckled nervously and then stepped away from Jack and walked outside. They stepped onto the sidewalk and Jack pulled out a cigarette and lit it, then offered one to Mark. Mark waved him away and then glared at the younger man.

"The fuck you think you are?" Mark snapped. Jack laughed quietly and nodded toward the alleyway to the back parking lot.

"You okay to drive?" Jack asked innocently. Mark waved him off and stalked off into the darkness.

Jack gave him a few minutes before walking down the block and around the back way to the parking lot. He pulled the hood of his dark red jacket over his head as he approached Marks' car and knocked on the window.

"You fallen in love or something, you fucking creep." Mark spat at him. Jack raised his gun and fired twice.

"Hey!" A voice called out from behind Jack as he stood in the bus shelter. He turned and saw the pretty blonde walking toward him. She looked at her friend who stopped walking and acted like she wasn't watching as the girl reached him.

"Hey yourself" Jack smiled at her. Her face broke into a beautiful and genuine smile, the corners of her blue eyes wrinkling.

He went to bed with her. It was the same song and dance he'd done too many times before. When he left it was with the promise he would call, one he never kept.

Life went on. Jack had classes and research to do and a week later received an envelope with cash in it from Gotham City.

That evening he went out for a walk. He never went anywhere in particular and could wander for hours looking for something to do, or nothing at all. Sometimes he would get into a fight for the hell of it. Other times, he'd find someone to spend the night with.

Tonight he found himself standing on a doorstep and wondering why he was there. He saw the blue light from a television in the front room and heaved a sigh before knocking.

He knew she was standing there, deciding whether to pretend she hadn't heard him knock or to answer the door. She opened it and he smiled at her.

"What do you want?" She snapped at him. He could tell from the look in her eyes that she was both surprised and furious with him.

"Thought I'd come by and say hi." He said pleasantly. She eyed him warily over the chain lock between them. She was at least that smart.

"You should have called first." She said sarcastically. He rolled his eyes and leaned against the door jamb.

"You can't hang up on me in person, Jenny." He replied and chuckled at the look on her face.

"It's Jeannie, you asshole!" She shouted and shook her head. "And here I thought you were a nice guy."

"I have no idea what I did to give you that impression." He smirked. "Either let me in or tell me to fuck off."

As the sun began to rise, he curled an arm around her and kissed her shoulder, pulling himself closer to her. She turned slightly and he touched her face as he kissed her. He liked Jeannie. She felt good beside him. She filled an emptiness he felt and he knew it wouldn't last but he wanted to be with her now.

He took her out places and spent a lot of his nights with her. They spent their time together, alone. He didn't have friends and he didn't want to get to know hers. Besides, what was the point of being with someone if you had to share their attention with someone, anyone else?

He would pick his little Kindergarten teacher up from work and take her out to dinner and then take her in the back of his car. Or in a bathroom stall, at a theater, anywhere he tried. Jeannie had a touch of wild in her she only revealed to him and he wouldn't share that with anyone else.

The day that he had to leave her came sooner than he'd expected.

"You're going back to Gotham?" She asked, dropping her fork on the plate. He glanced up at the clattering and nodded at her. She was visibly upset.

"When were you going to tell me?" She asked in a voice on the verge of tears.

"Um, now?" He snorted and took a bite and watched her while he chewed.

She wrung her fingers and wiped a tear from her cheek. He could see she was fighting with herself, the rational side which knew that he was making the right decision lost decisively. She started crying and left the table. He sighed and dropped his fork and followed her to the bedroom before she could lock him out.

He sat beside her and slipped his arms around her waist and she tried to pry them loose. He shushed her and pulled her close, resting his chin on her shoulder.

"I never said you couldn't come with me." He said quietly and kissed her ear.

"Jack! I have a job here, friends and family. I can't just get up any follow you halfway across the Country!" She cried.

"Of course you can." He replied. He didn't say anything else. He wasn't going to beg her or placate her. When she told him to leave, he did so without a word.

Breaking up with her hurt, he wasn't going to pretend that it didn't. He'd never been in a relationship with anyone before. She'd brought him so many highs that he knew the low would be bad. But ending their relationship was for the best. He had no intention of changing his life, or to marry her.

He was surprised when Jeannie showed up at the University two weeks later. Edwards' secretary had let her in.

He hated that woman. For the past couple of weeks she'd kept asking about Jeannie. What did Jeannie think about him going back to Gotham? Were he and Jeannie thinking about getting married? Sometimes he thought about killing her, it would be absurdly easy to do. The meddlesome bitch liked Jeannie though, so she'd let her in.

She was wearing the cute blue baby doll dress he always liked to see her in. Her hair fell around her shoulders and she wore lipstick, but no eye make-up. Jack knew that what meant.

"Why are you here?" He asked dropping a notebook into a file box. Happily, Jeannie had learned long ago that he didn't like it when people beat around the bush.

"I'm pregnant." She said and took a breath to steel herself for his response.

He blinked back at her.

"Damn it!" He said and turned away, shoving the box off the table onto the floor. She started crying and he stood with his back to her and clenched his fists and bit the inside of his lip.

"Is everything okay?" The secretary said, poking her head into the room and looking between them. Jack glared at her and she began to retreat. Jack stalked over to Jeannie and grabbed her by the hand and dragged her out of the tiny office.

In her apartment, Jack sat on the bedroom floor with his back against the wall, knees bent and his arms resting across them. Jeannie sat on the end of the bed before him, staring at her hands and the tiny bits of tissue she tore and dropped to the floor. He had no one to blame but himself. He knew what he was doing with her and what could happen. Babies weren't accidents as much as some people would try to convince you otherwise. He'd asked the question some time ago and still waited for her to answer.

"I want it," she said suddenly looking at him. "I want to have the baby."

Of course she would, he would have been shocked had she said otherwise. Her whole life was taking care of other people's children. She would love to have one of her own. Having the father was a different story.

He licked his lips and nodded at her, unsurprised. She studied his face, waiting for him to give something away. He slowly got up and stepped over to sit on the bed, and then lay back upon it. She turned and looked at him.

"I'm still going back to Gotham." He said, looking at the ceiling. She made a whimpering sound and he held up a finger to silence her. He had already made up his mind.

"Either you come with me and have the baby in Gotham, or I'm signing away my parental rights." He said glancing up at her. Her lips trembled and finally she began bawling. She collapsed upon him, hugging him.

"Jack, I…" She tried to speak through fits of sobs.

"We're not discussing this, Jeannie. I'm going home." He said, and stroked her head gently.

"I never planned on having a family, Jean. But I'm not staying here to play house." He felt her tears through his shirt and wound a finger in her hair. He didn't like doing this, but it was what he had to do. For the first time he regretted ever meeting this woman, if only so he he'd never hurt her this way.

"Okay," she sniffed. "Okay, Jackie." She tried to compose herself and propped herself up to look at him. He slid his hand down the side of her face and wiped the tears from her cheek with his thumb.

"If that's what it takes, I'll come with you." Tears welled in her eyes again and her face screwed into a grimace.

"I love you so much," she said as her voice broke.

Jack unlocked the door to their apartment and then playfully scooped Jeannie up into his arms and carried her inside. Her laughter was like music in his ear as he set her upon the couch. She looked around, surprised.

"It's all our stuff." She said as he closed the door, locking it. He turned back and smiled.

"Of course it is. Why do you think we've been living in a hotel for the past week?" He said and sat beside her, kissing her. She slid her arms around his neck.

"I think I may be impressed with Wayne Enterprises yet." She said against his lips.

He moved her to the bedroom and the couple carried on like the newlyweds they were. Jack had caved to her on that point and they had been married before a Justice of the Peace before leaving Chicago. Her parents had not been impressed.

"If anything happens to my daughter" her father had threatened him. He'd laughed at him. Daddy's little girl had been knocked up by a mob hit man, did it get worse than that?

He'd had reasons both for and against marrying her. He didn't like the institution of marriage for being just that, marriage shouldn't be controlled by the government. Also, it would be easier for her to leave him if they weren't married. She could take the kid and go back to Chicago any time she wanted if she got tired of his crap, no strings attached.

He had married her because he wanted to. There was a part of him that wanted to play house with Jeannie.

That even loved her.

He guarded that part of himself from everyone including her. It made him weak, and in his life weakness equaled death.

That had been another large check in the 'against' box. Now he had a wife and a kid and Carmine Falcone knew it.

"Jackie, what's wrong?" She asked tracing his brow.

"Nothing" he said quietly and rolled onto his side, burying his face against her neck and pulling her naked body close to his. He slid his hand down and covered her belly with it. It wouldn't be long before there was something tangible there to feel.

"Piece of shit!" Jack yelled as he beat the fitting with a wrench and then slid out from beneath the vehicle and threw the wrench at it. It made a satisfying cracking sound and then clattered to the ground. Then he started kicking it, swearing freely.

A hand clapped down on his shoulder and he hunched forward and turned around to face the older black man.

"Take it easy, Jack." He said. Jack glared back and then looked at the other two guys who were staring back with terrified looks on their faces. He drew a breath and tried to compose himself.

"Sorry Lucius." He said in a low voice as he looked back at his boss. He was the only guy in Applied Sciences who got away with calling him that. He glared at the Tumbler and walked away from it before he started dismantling it. Surely there was a rocket launcher or something around there he could use to just blow up the piece of shit.

"For some reason I think there is something more to this anger than the bridging mechanism." Lucius prodded in his grandfatherly way which annoyed the piss out of Jack.

"Jeannie's having some, complications." Jack replied sinking heavily into his chair.

Jeannie was a fucking lunatic. Pregnancy had not been kind to her and she'd been having mood swings rivaling those of Jack's. Coupling those with the fact that she hated living in Gotham for the fact that it wasn't Chicago and it was safe to say that the Napier home wasn't the happiest one. As a result, Jack had been spending more time at work, at both of his jobs.

Now Jeannie thought he was having an affair.

"I'm sorry to hear that. What did the doctor say?" Fox asked. Jack picked up a pen and began clicking it open and closed.

He didn't know. He had missed all of the appointments Jeannie had gone to. Mostly it was poor scheduling and Jack's inability to take time off since he was new at work. The fucking corporate policy wouldn't give him time away to spend with his wife to take care of their baby. As a result, Jeannie took it out on him and kept certain details to herself.

"Do you need some time off?" Fox asked with what sounded like genuine concern.

"Is that a polite way of saying I'm fired?" Jack asked eyeing him suspiciously. Fox frowned and realization dawned on him.

"I know a few ways to get around things here, Jack. If Jeannie needs you to be with her, then that's where you should be." He replied.

Jack went home and locked himself in the bathroom. Jeannie was out somewhere so he had some time to himself. He pulled his shaving kit from the cabinet and unzipped the case, removing the piece that held his straight razor. From beneath it, he pulled out the piece of rubber tubing, syringe and spoon.

He'd had this bad habit for a long time. It was just one more aspect of himself that he hid from Jeannie. Her suspicions of what he did in his so-called 'free time' made it more complicated.

Jeannie was a smart woman and she would eventually figure out what he was up to. It would be ugly and he didn't know how he would handle the confrontation. He would have to cross that bridge when they came to it.

Jack shot up between his toes. It was a place people didn't think to check when looking for needle marks on someone they suspected was a junkie. By that time, so many of them were so lost in their addiction that they didn't care where they hit, and ended up looking like walking dartboards.

He sat back against the toilet tank and closed his eyes as the drugs took on their effect. Eventually his head sank to his chest and he drifted off.

Jack woke up to the smell of lilac from the candle she burned in the living room. He blinked awake and carefully stood and splashed water in his face and looked at his pale reflection in the mirror. The sad-looking blonde guy stared back at him with dark eyes. He briefly wondered how he'd gotten to this place in his life.

He should be happy. He had a beautiful wife who was an angel in the bedroom and a whore in the kitchen. She had his child inside her. He had a good job and what seemed like a promising life ahead of him.

Well, the Jack Napier Jeannie knew did.

He'd made a lot of choices long ago which had shaped a different path for himself. He'd gotten involved with some bad people because of what he really was inside. On his nights away from Jeannie he could be that man who enjoyed beating the shit out of other people for kicks. He could relish the terror in the eyes of a mark as he slowly cut them while they begged and cried for mercy.

He could be the Chaos Variable which centered itself in most of his work, and he loved it.

He turned off the water and dried his hands before venturing out into the apartment. He saw Jeannie sitting on the couch with her back to him and smiled as he approached his lovely bride.

He stopped dead in his tracks when he saw what was laid out on the coffee table before her. She sat looking at it with a vacant expression, her hands neatly folded in her lap around her pregnant belly. She'd gotten into his case.

Lined out in a neat row were his guns and knives, from largest to smallest.

She looked at him and moved aside on the couch, clearing a spot for him. He carefully sat down beside her and slipped a hand over hers. He felt her hands clench together tightly and she flinched at his touch.

"I think I liked it better when I thought you were having an affair." She said in a small, little girl voice.

"There's still time." He said and laughed, covering his eyes with his free hand. She turned toward him and pulled his hand away from his face.

"I suppose you realize now why I was willing to walk away." He said and chuckled without mirth. She looked at him stoically; there were no tears for him this time.

"You killed that man, the one at the bar who tried to rough me up." She said. He nodded and she looked away.

"Did you do it for me?" She asked.

"No, I was paid to do it. Meeting you was just a happy coincidence." He said and squeezed her hands.

"That's why you didn't call me. Like I'm sure you never called anyone else you were with. They were all happy coincidences, bonuses." She said. He closed his eyes. He wished she would cry and hit him.

"Why did you really come back here?" She asked. "It wasn't homesickness; you've never introduced me to your family. You don't have any friends. Are you just here to kill people?"

"I'm supposed to be here." He said quietly. "And I'm supposed to be with you." He wrapped his arm around her waist and slid his hand over her belly.

"Do you love me?" She asked. He looked at her for a long moment and squeezed her.

"Yeah" he said. She laid her head on his shoulder and looked up at him with her beautiful blue eyes.

"I love you, Jackie. I'll never understand you, but I love you." She said quietly and leaned toward him. Their lips brushed and he pulled her to him, as close as their child would allow.

Jack had finished prying open the large crate with a crowbar and was standing back, taking in the initial prototype of the Microwave Emitter. This machine was what had gotten him the job at Wayne Enterprises under a government contract once he'd submitted his patent claim.

It had all started with a cup of ramen Jack had been heating in his crappy microwave while the television reported on a story about the droughts in the Midwest. There he was vaporizing water while so many other people were in dire need for it.

Inspiration struck and he soon forgot about the noodles cooling in his microwave as he began furiously scribbling away in his notebook. He ignored calls from his girlfriend and didn't go to work. Four days later he had a diagram drawn up on a dry erase board in his apartment.

He chuckled darkly at his invention. The fucking terrorists had used technology against them and killed so many people in Manhattan. They'd killed his mother in the name of a God he didn't believe in. He could use technology to take away a substance of such scarcity and vital importance to them. They would panic and suffer like so many people had in his Country. Like his mother had in the eighteen hours she'd spent trapped under the debris of the towers.

He shook the memory away and examined the machine before him, touching the smooth metal and wires and studying the connections. It was smaller than the final design, but was sufficient for testing. It was probably a good thing he'd already conceived a child, as he didn't know what kind of effect the device would have on the individuals who worked with it.

He heard a familiar whistling as Fox stepped into the work area.

"It's beautiful, huh?" Jack said smiling at his toy.

"Your wife is beautiful, this thing is dangerous." Fox replied, sounding a little disturbed. Jack chuckled and patted the case.

"Let's take this baby out and see what it can do." He said excitedly, jumping to his feet.

Relations at home had improved since Jeannie had uncovered some of Jack's secrets; in particular, the sexual kind. Jack had gone to the O.B. with Jeannie for her check-ups and the doctor had brought up Jeannie's concerns about their relationship.

Jeannie was suffering from depression and it was suggested to them that they seek counseling in the matter. They went to a couple of sessions, Jack not really caring for the whole ordeal.

He preferred to speak with Jeannie privately. He didn't want anyone else to know how hurt she felt and how much of it was because of him. She opened up to him, telling him how she felt rejected, isolated and so very lonely.

He dismissed a lot of what she said in his mind as the ramblings of a hormonal pregnant woman who was feeling homesick. All she needed was him and their baby. They didn't need anyone else in their life. Soon enough she would be too busy taking care of the kid, and she would forget about these little 'feelings.'

They had taken up the doctor's suggestion that they nurture their sexual relationship. It was beneficial to Jeannie for the pregnancy and made her feel better about herself, and them. It was beneficial to Jack for the obvious reasons.

Pregnant sex presented its own obstacles which the couple worked through in their own unique ways. Soon Jeannie was happier and a pleasant atmosphere returned to the Napier home.

Jeannie was in labor for thirty-seven hours. Jack stayed by her side the entire time and allowed her to bite and scratch him all she wanted too when the nurses weren't around. Mutual benefits came in all sorts of ways.

She delivered a healthy, seven pound girl that was initially the most horrifying thing Jack had ever seen. The whole process was brutal and the baby looked like a creature from another dimension. He'd seen and done a lot of terrible things in his time, but the birth of their child ranked the highest among them.

People made videos of this act, and watched them, sometimes with friends and family. Jack began to wonder about the sanity of the general population that they could enjoy, even relish something like this.

Jeannie thought his reaction was hilarious.

After his lovely wife fell asleep, Jack wandered down the hall to the glass walled nursery. He gazed at his little alien baby who now took the form of a cute, sleeping newborn. He knew better though, that was his kid and he'd seen her true form.

He laughed at himself and leaned over to get a better look at little Alice Napier who was dressed in pink. They'd named her for his mother after he'd spilled his guts to Jeannie about the woman. Jeannie had loved the name and said it was much better than her first choice.

A longtime joke between them, Jeannie was Jeannie Harlowe, named after the blonde bombshell sex-goddess movie star. It had always amused Jack and he often made jokes about her 'other' career, citing titles and quotes.

"Her real name was Harlean." Jeannie said one afternoon as they talked about what they would name their child. Jack had been coming up with anagrams of their names and other silly suggestions.

"Harlean Harlow? That's ridiculous!" Jack had laughed.

Alice opened her eyes and her little hands moved about in the tiny gloves which covered them. The gloves were a necessity as newborns tended to scratch the hell out of themselves. Jack couldn't blame them, who wouldn't want to tear their eyes out upon seeing the reality of the world they were born into.

"I see Congratulations are in order, Jack." The familiar voice spoke as a hand clapped down on his shoulder.

So engrossed was he in his new baby that he failed to notice the fat pig of a mob boss approaching him from behind. He felt a chill run through him as he glanced up at Carmine Falcone. He didn't want that wop bastard anywhere near his daughter.

"You should come down to the club for a cigar; they frown on those celebrations in hospitals these days." Falcone said and patted Jack on the back before leaning over to look at Alice.

"Cute girl, looks like her mother." Falcone grinned at Jack. Jack moved to stand between Falcone and the glass.

"What do you want?" Jack asked, narrowing his eyes and folded his arms, hunching his shoulders. Falcone beamed, showing all of his bad teeth.

"I just wanted to see the newest addition to the family." He said slyly. "Don't forget where you came from, Jack. I know you've been trying to distance yourself from us and I don't like it."

"I have my own family now." Jack said darkly.

"So does Maroni." Falcone said narrowing his eyes. Jack laughed.

"Maroni" he said rolling the name over his tongue. "You think I'd walk away from you and go to work for that piece of shit?" He shook his head. "No, no" he laughed. "I'm working for Jeannie and Alice now."

"And Wayne Enterprises" Falcone said waving his finger as if admonishing Jack. "It's good to have a man around like you with so much talent and so many resources."

"And you wouldn't want to piss off someone like me." Jack said straightening and poking two fingers hard against Falcone's chest.

"Are you threatening me, Jack?" Falcone said with amusement. "I could bury you alive with all you've done and little Alice will grow up without her father."

"And I could just bury you alive." Jack said chuckling darkly.

"Come down for that cigar, Jack." Falcone smiled patting Jack on the arm. Jack watched him retreat and then returned to Jeannie's room.

"You want to go back to Chicago?" Jeannie asked in amazement.

Jack lay on their bed and held Alice in his arms. He looked up at Jeannie and her hands were planted firmly on her hips. He shrugged.

"Or any other place of your choice. I figured you'd want to go back home, you know so Grandma can dote over Alice and spoil her rotten." He replied and she stared at him skeptically.

"What about your job?" She asked sarcastically. "Isn't that the whole reason we're here?"

"Fox said he could probably recommend another position for me elsewhere. Maybe transfer me to some Wayne affiliate." He said and poked his little girls' nose.

"What happened?" She asked, not moving. "What are you running away from?"

"I'm not running away from anything." He glared at her. "You hate it here, and now you're cutting yourself." He motioned at her forearm which she quickly folded across her chest.

"This isn't about me" she said.

"No, you don't know how wrong you are about that." He shook his head and kissed Alice's tiny forehead.

She walked over and lay down beside him, smoothing their daughters' hair. She looked at him, searching his eyes with her penetrating blue ones.

"Well, I guess I have little choice since when you have your mind made up, that's the way things go." She said. "I'm sure mom will be thrilled to see Alice."

A week later Jack came home to the sound of Alice's screaming cries from within the apartment. He hurriedly put his keys in the lock only to find that the door was already unlocked. His heart pounded as he threw the door open and raced inside.

"Jeannie!" He called and walked over to the baby crying in her bassinet in the living room. He touched the infant's face and turned to look down the hall.

"Jeannie!" He yelled, as his steps became more hurried toward their bedroom. He threw the door open and came to a halt, his breath catching in his chest.

Jeannie lay on the bed dressed in his favored blue baby doll dress. The dress was hitched up about her waist and her torn panties lay on the bed beside her. Her stockings were knotted around her throat. Her lips were parted slightly and her eyes were open and staring at nothingness.

Jack felt as if the wind was knocked out of him and he stumbled backward against the doorframe. He felt dizzy and he reached a hand out toward her as he began taking a step forward.

"Lovely work, isn't it, Jack?" A voice crooned in a British accent behind him.

Jack turned in time to see an object falling toward him, crashing into his head. The other man hit him several times, laughing and dancing a bit as he kicked Jack in the side, stomach and ribs.

"Jack be nimble, Jack be quick!" He chimed. "My ass, look at you! Perhaps you should start crying, I do love it when they cry." The man taunted. Jack tried to get to his feet only to be kicked squarely in the chin by his assailant.

The man crouched over him, straddling him. He delivered a few more blows and laughed heartily as he did. Jack saw the glint of a knife by his eye.

"I love it more when they scream." The man giggled and tore into Jack's face.

Joker woke with a start and leapt up from his bed only to fall on the floor, his legs entangled in the sheets. He kicked them away and backed himself into the corner and looked around, wild-eyed.

He breathed hard and touched his face, feeling the scars on his cheeks, licking them with his tongue. He knelt forward and laid his head against the cold, hard floor. A wave of nausea and a racing of those shock pulses coursed through him.

What is happening to me?