"The Penguin, huh?" I commented. "Does he look like one?"
The Joker burst with laughter, throwing his head back against the headrest, and I couldn't help but smile.
We were in the back of the Volvo, riding in the back with Dave while Bob and Peter rode in the front. The Joker didn't seem to be holding anything against Dave from earlier, hence why he was there, but my problem was that Dave was so huge; he was taking up some of my seat too so I ended up leaning against the Joker. He didn't seem to mind the situation, since he had his arm draped over my shoulders comfortably.
"I suppose Cobblepot has some simi-lar-ities to a penguin," the Joker said, thoughtfully. "His nose for one thing…and the way he walks. His name is Oswalk Cobblepot, but-ah I like to call him Abner. He doesn't-ah like it, but hey!" He shrugged. "What-ah do I care?"
The Volvo pulled up to the curb, and we climbed out. Peter left the car running, but the Joker stepped up to his front window and told him to shut it off. "No point-ah leaving it running," the Joker told him. "It's not-ah going to be a short visit, as far as I can tell." I just rolled my eyes as Peter turned off the car. "Stay here, Peter," the Joker ordered, "Just in case."
It turned out that we were in the back of another nightclub, which didn't seem to surprise me. Having met the Joker near a nightclub, it seemed that this was where the criminals hung out. Only difference was that this wasn't The Stacked Deck.
Iceberg Lounge, a nightclub owned by the Penguin, Mr. Cobblepot, and his gang. We walked around to the front and entered to find that the place was practically empty, except for a scattered number of men in dark clothing with black bowler hats. I recognized the costume as the same for the men who had robbed the bank at the same time Bozo – aka the Joker – the Joker's men, and I had. These men were the Penguin's henchmen.
Of course, the moment we entered, all of them stood up and trained several different types of guns at us. I could name the rifles and handguns…if I wasn't under pressure. Responding with Dave and Bob, I pulled out two guns and aimed them at two of the bird-men, stepping forward so that I covered the Joker a bit while he looked around, with an amused expression on his white face.
"Well, knock-knock," the Joker remarked.
"Why are you here, Joker?" A short man with an obese problem stepped out from the backroom, appearing behind the counter. He wore spectacles on his beaklike nose, which definitely made him look like a bird. His hair was black and seemed to be coming from only one spot at the very center of his head, leaving a bald circle around it before the side hair started. He stood behind the center, holding a purple umbrella, resting it on the bar.
"There you are, Abner," the Joker greeted. "I think your boys need to, ah, to learn some manners when a friend comes over."
"You're not a friend, Joker," the Penguin stated, wryly.
"If any-thing, we're ac-quaint-ances." The Joker stepped around me, and the Penguin's henchmen aimed directly at him, despite Bob, Dave, and I training on them. "Come on, Abner. A little chat-ah is all I want."
"If it has to do with the other night-."
"You mean the bank? Sure thing, Abner!" the Joker exclaimed. "That's one reason why I came to visit-ah."
"What are your other reasons?" the Penguin asked, narrowing his eyes slightly.
"Ah-ta-ta-ta-tah! One thing at a time, Abner." The Joker waited, giving Cobblepot a look. The other criminal snapped his fingers, and his men lowered themselves back into their chairs, leaving their guns on their tables, warily watching.
The Joker surveyed the room and then grinned as he looked at the Penguin. "Now that-ah everyone's set-tled." He did his strange gait as he sauntered over to the counter, jumping up onto a stool and swinging it around until he leaned forward, placing his hands on the bar.
Mr. Cobblepot seemed taken aback by the Joker's actions, but he recovered, seeming to know that this was what the Joker was like. He placed his umbrella aside and waited, leaning on the bar.
I noticed that Bob and Dave were looking slightly out of place, but I didn't want to stand here in full view. Instinctively, I moved over to the shadows, edging closer to the Joker to keep an eye on the Penguin and his men, to make sure they didn't make any sudden moves.
"How've you been, Abner?" the Joker asked, his green hair falling into his face.
"Let's skip the niceties," Cobblepot said.
"It's been that-ah bad?" The Joker gave Cobblepot a worried look as he pushed back his stray locks. "That worries me. What's been hap-pening?"
"You and your gang for one thing," the Penguin snarled.
The Joker gestured with a hand, to prompt him along. "Let-ah it all out, Abner. Get it off your chest-ah."
"Only one of my men returned from the bank," the Penguin continued. "You were robbing the same bank."
"We don't-ah necessarily tell each other what and when we are going to, ah, to do things."
"I'm talking," Cobblepot snapped, smacking his hand down on the counter. I jumped at the sudden sound, but the Joker didn't even blink. "And even when you got away with the money, you ended up losing it!"
The Joker rubbed the back of his neck. He gave the Penguin a look from underneath his white brow, arching an eyebrow. "Yah finished?" he asked, and the Penguin's face reddened in anger. "Can't-ah say that I knew you were plan-ning on robbing Gotham's Bank. Had a lit-tle sit-u-ation with one of my guys, hence the lost-ah money." The Joker gave the Penguin a sidelook. "Figured some-one would claim it-ah."
"Someone did." The Penguin lit a cigarette and took a long draw from it.
The Joker was frowning – or seemed to be. "Who did?" he asked.
"Batman, as far as I can guess. The police discovered a gray SUV with the bags of money." The Penguin grinned. "Seems like someone's losing his edge."
The Joker stood up, reaching over and grabbing the Penguin by the front of his white shirt. Cobblepot's men aimed their guns at the Joker, but the Penguin motioned for them to lower their weapons.
"Seems like you've got quite a few things on your mind lately, Joker," the Penguin said, sincerely.
"Act-ually, I do." The Joker released him and leaned against the counter, drawing an invisible doodle on the bar with his gloved finger, his eyes down. He murmured something, which the Penguin strained to hear.
"Do you really?" the Penguin asked, seeming to have caught what the Joker had said.
"Sure thing. Thought-ah I'd try something new," the Joker said, still looking at his moving hand. Then, he stopped and looked up at the Penguin suspiciously. "I'm not-ah that kind of guy, Abner."
"I didn't say anything." The Penguin grabbed his umbrella and leaned on it. "If that's all you wanted, Joker-."
"Act-ually, there's one other thing." The Joker straightened, smoothing out his jacket before leaning on the counter again with his chin propped on his hand, elbow on the bar. He dropped his voice as he spoke to the Penguin. Being as far as I was, I couldn't make out what he was saying, and he had his hand close to his mouth, to keep me from reading his lips.
The Penguin seemed reluctant to answer the Joker's question. The Joker gave him a cold stare from underneath his brow with a tilt to his head. Cobblepot gave way. "Here, backroom, two weeks from today," he said, quietly.
The Joker grinned and reached over, clapping him on the shoulder. I think the Joker hit him hard on purpose because as the Penguin almost fall over from the force, the Joker burst out laughing as he turned and walked away from the bar. "C'mon, boys!" he called. Then, he raised his hands up and to the side, clapping them together several times. "Sha-dow!
I glanced at the Penguin to see him scanning the room, but I faded into my shadow state, smirking as I bounded to the Joker's side, being wary of the lit areas since they would reveal my melded form.
As we all headed back to the car where Peter waited in the driver's seat, I solidified beside the Joker and asked, "What did you ask him?"
"A question," the Joker responded, with a straight face.
"Ha-ha, so funny," I said, sarcastically as I rolled my eyes. "You guys have an appointment or something in two weeks, here, at the Lounge?"
Before I could blink, the Joker had me shoved against the outside wall of Iceberg Lounge, his face looming into mine. Bob and Dave continued past us, like we weren't even there, climbing into the car without waiting for us.
"I'll let-ah you know when I want you to know," the Joker growled.
"Sorry," I mumbled, lowering my eyes like a coward.
He gave me a sidelook as he licked his lips, sucking on the inside of his cheek. The Joker stepped back a few steps, narrowing his eyes at me, but I didn't see any anger in his eyes. "You know what-ah I've noticed," the Joker began. "You seem to have confidence issues."
"What makes you say that?" I asked, pushing myself away from the wall.
He chewed on his cheek, his eyes moving around as he thought of how to put it. When he didn't respond within the usual two seconds, I grew worried.
"Do you want me to be confident at all times?" I asked, to prompt him into coming up with an answer.
"Well, no…maybe it's mood-swings that-ah you have a prob-lem with." He refused to make eye-contract, his eyes to busy darting about the back alley.
That irritated me. That he didn't want to look me in the eyes and tell me. "Do you have a problem with my mood-swings?" I demanded.
The Joker gave me a plain look, and I shut my mouth, becoming solemn. "That's what-ah I mean!" he exclaimed. "It's like…" He waved his hands around, trying to think of the word. "Like you don't have a solid form."
"Solid? As in my shadow form or my flesh and blood form?"
"No!" he growled, and I stepped back. He sauntered over to me, pushing me back into the wall. "I just don't get how you could've survived with the Mob for as many years as you have," he snarled. One after the other, he smashed his palms into the wall on either side of my head, each hit creating a sound loud enough to make me flinch. "It's like you are two sides of, ah, of the same coin!"
With the Joker yelling at me, I winced, cowering against the wall, wishing desperately that I could slip into my shadow state and move backward through the wall to escape.
The Joker blinked, and his quick breathing calmed. "Just like Harvey," he whispered, his eyes wide, his gaze over my head.
"Harvey?" I asked, delicately. I didn't want the Joker to start yelling at me again, but my curiosity had to be satisfied.
"The District Attorney, a year ago," the Joker explained, still making the same expression at the wall. "He had this thing about-ah being called on. Had to flip a coin for every…decision." The Joker suddenly grabbed me by my jacket, and he lifted me from the ground, still pressing me against the wall, lifting me until we were eye level.
His eyes hardened as they met mine, and I squirmed, afraid that he was going to hurt me. "Stop struggling, Shadow!" he barked, and I obeyed. "You gamble with two personalities, Shadow. One I'm guessing is, ah, is from the past, while the other is what-ah your father created." I narrowed my eyes, and his expression lightened up, a grin appearing on his face. "Bringing up your dad makes you angry?"
"Are you testing me?" I asked, coldly. "What's your problem with my duel personalities? They're not personalities; they're called moods, emotions. Even you have them."
"I've got-ah a quick temper now and then," the Joker said, shrugging it off. "Who irritates you the most-ah?"
"You," I replied, harshly.
"Be-sides me, Shadow." He placed me on my feet, but didn't relax his grip on my jacket. "C'mon, Shadow, you can tell me," he said. "Out-ah of my guys, who do you dis-like the most?"
I continued to glare at him as I thought about it. I hadn't gotten to know any of the Joker's men since they didn't last that long anyway. Out of the living guys, I liked Dean, or "Bleak" to the Joker, and Cory from the poker night. Peter, I was too cautious around him since he seemed to dislike me for some reason. Dave hadn't done anything but hold me on my first night with the Joker, to keep me from running away. If I could have a grudge, it'd be against Dave.
No, the one who irritated me the most, or at least the one I disliked, was…
"Bob," I replied, "Since I first laid eyes on him, at The Stacked Deck-."
"Ah, I remember that-ah," the Joker said, dreamily as his eyes moved skyward. "You're first-ah success at es-cap-ing from me." He grinned as he moved away from me, his head tilted back as he searched the sky. For a few seconds, he remained that way before his grin gradually faded. "Shadow, tell Peter to, ah, to start the car," he said, his tone suddenly serious.
Since the Joker wasn't always this serious, I didn't hesitate to question him. I moved over to the car, and when Peter turned his head, seeing me, I jerked my hand in the "starting the engine" gesture. I even added a jerk of my head back in the direction of the Joker to enhance my order. Peter narrowed his eyes, but he obeyed, turning the key in the ignition.
I placed my hand on the door handle and half-turned, watching the Joker as he took several steps back, still looking overhead.
Abruptly, the Joker broke into a run toward the car. Seeing him, I opened the door, and he yelled at me, "Get in! Get in!" I jumped in, and he dived in after me. Peter slammed on the gas before the door close, and the Joker would have been thrown back out if I hadn't grabbed him around the waist, digging my feet underneath the front seats to anchor us.
Peter swerved to the left, throwing the Joker into the car, over me and Dave, causing the Joker to swear. I had to free my arm from underneath the Joker's weight before reaching over and pulling the door closed. The Joker righted himself by gripping the handle over the door, and he twisted his neck violently so that he could look out the back. Curious, I too looked back, but I only saw a black form drop from the sky, landing heavily on the street before Peter drove around a corner and away.
"Who was that?" I asked, my pitch a little higher than usual.
"I have two guesses," the Joker said. He looked at me with a curious expression. "Are you all right-ah?"
"I'm fine, why?"
"You sounded…high-pitched for a, ah, a sec."
"It happens sometimes, when I get excited," I said quickly. "What are your two guesses?"
"Don't-ah you have a guess?" the Joker asked.
"Yeah."
"You first-ah."
I rolled my eyes and said, "The flying rodent."
"That's one of my guesses."
"What's the other?"
The Joker looked behind again before saying, "Your bird friend."
I gave a dry laugh. "Yeah, the Penguin's so heavy that he can't flap his wings hard or fast enough to get him off the ground."
The Joker cuffed me, sharply. "Not him," he growled, but when I looked up at him, his expression revealed his amusement. "But-ah that's a good one." He looked out the back for a few moments before giggling, which I thought was a delayed reaction to my sly remark about Cobblepot's obesity.
The Joker settled himself into his seat, still holding onto the handle. "Take a round-ah-bout route," he told Peter. "Just in case." He looked at me, grinning. "How 'bout a gamble, Shadow? Your guess against-ah mine. You win, you get-ah a day off from me. I win…you owe me a question answered truthfully and fully."
I looked at him, suspiciously. "Fifty-fifty chance?" I asked. He nodded, and we shook on it.
Our roundabout route consisted of driving around the East End. Whenever we passed a location that had some significance to the Joker, he would point it out to me. He wouldn't give me an explanation, even when I asked for one, but instead, he would give me a look and then his eyes were dart about the car before returning to me. It seemed like he wanted to keep my "education" a secret.
After half an hour of driving around for no particular reason – the Joker claimed it was to lose whoever was following us, but I doubted it – we returned to the apartment. Bob and Dave got out immediately and headed inside while the Joker took his time stepping out.
His head whipped around as he scanned the surrounding area, acting like a watch dog, and he waited in the cardoor, leaning on it so that I had to climb through to the other side to get out. For some unknown reason, I ducked down as I climbed out, closing the door and sneaking around the car until I was on the Joker's side; then I straightened. Peter, who was waiting by the apartment backdoor, looked at me strangely, confused by my ducking around the car, but I just gave him a look, making him look away.
Suddenly, I had a loud thud and a grunt beside me, and I turned my head. The Joker was up against the car with both of his hands behind his back, his arms up high in what would be an armlock…if there was a person standing behind him. It looked like some invisible force was holding him captive, the way his head was smashed into the car.
Instantly, I tweaked on my shadow vision, and through the purple haze, I recognized a bluish outline of Raven holding the Joker in a painful double armlock. I moved forward and yanked her off him, throwing her to the ground. Raven caught herself in a rolling handstand, and she twisted as she pushed off the ground, coming back to her feet, facing me.
I placed myself between her and the Joker who had quickly regained his composure. Holding up both hands defensively, I said, "Raven, what's this all about?"
She didn't speak, only glanced over her shoulder toward Peter, who held his gun aimed in our general direction.
A gunshot ricocheted off the alley's walls, and the Joker barked, "Get inside, Peter!" Watching over Raven's shoulder, I saw Peter duck inside like a frightened rabbit.
"Very bossy, aren't you, Joker?" Raven asked, appearing solidly, and I switched off my shadow vision to see her a bit more clearly.
"Speak for, ah, yourself," the Joker snapped as he lowered the semiautomatic he had used to frighten Peter. "What's with the attacking from, ah, from be-hind, Raven? Did you turn coward overnight-ah?"
"I could ask you the same thing," Raven retorted. "You ran away from me earlier."
I groaned out loud as the Joker jumped up, punching the air with a 'YES!'. Raven gave us a confused look. "We were betting on who was chasing him," I explained, "And I lost the bet." And I believed deeply that I was going to regret it, since now the Joker could ask a question – any type of question – that I had to answer truthfully, and in detail.
"What-ah do you want, Raven?" the Joker asked, stealing her attention.
Raven glared at him as she placed a hand on her hip. "You still own me a favor, Joker," she said, coldly.
The Joker rolled his eyes as he leaned back against the car, crossing his arms across his chest. He even crossed his ankles to make him look more at ease. "And I'm guessing you've de-ci-ded on what-ah I was going to do for your favor," he stated, calmly.
"I thought of it the moment I told you that you owed me one for giving you directions to Shadow." She glanced at me for a second, but I only shrugged, to show her my indifference to the fact that she had aided the Joker in finding me, despite how I still felt hurt from her betrayal before we had even become friends. "You're aware that the meeting's in two weeks time, correct?"
"Got it-ah from Ab-Penguin," he corrected himself. "Good to know that-ah he didn't lie to me."
"I figured you'd ask him, especially after dealing with the unsuccessful bank robbery."
The Joker narrowed his eyes. "Raven, I wouldn't've labeled you as a stalker, but-ah it seems like I'm gonna have to, ah, to add that to the list-ah."
"I wasn't stalking," Raven snapped, insulted. "I was watching out for Shadow here." She gestured in my direction, making the Joker's attention turn to me before returning to her. "I've never really trusted you, especially when it comes to Shadow."
"Being pro-tec-tive?" the Joker asked, arching an eyebrow, his mouth twitching with amusement.
Raven's struggle to contain her anger was subtle, but from the tightening of her fists, I could read her frustration. "Joker, you know it's been a few months since my boss was free."
"Don't-ah play with the 'boss' word. I'm aware of, ah, of your real relationship with him." The Joker snickered at Raven's cold glare. "State your 'favor'."
"I want you to help me break him out of the asylum."
The Joker was overcome by a fit of hysterical laughter. He laughed so hard that he doubled over, his hands on his knees to keep him from falling. His entire frame shook with his giggles, and he took sharp intakes of breaths, only to burst with another fit of laughter. Raven and I stood there, looking at one another; her with a confused look and me shrugging and shaking my head.
Finally, the Joker straightened, regaining his composure, and he smoothed down his shirt and vest underneath his jacket. He heaved a deep sigh, his eyes turned skyward. Then, he lowered his head and jerked it to the side, cracking his neck loudly, rolling his hunched shoulders before he turned his attention to Raven, grinning widely.
"When do you want-ah me?" the Joker asked, seriously.
Raven blinked, taken aback by his sudden mood change, but she said, "Before the meeting."
The Joker snapped his fingers in my direction, motioning me forward, and I stepped toward him. "Give me a week," he told Raven. "Shadow's going to, ah, to be my equivalent to what-ah you are."
Raven smiled. "Interesting," she said. "A week."
"At least-ah," he insisted, and she nodded, reaching out her hand. The Joker took it, and they sealed the deal. "C'mon, Shadow," he said, walking past Raven, toward the apartment door.
"Mind if I talk to Raven for a few minutes?" I asked. He stopped, half-turned, and gave me a look before nodding and heading back to the apartment.
"Call me when you're ready!" Raven called after him, which he seemed to have caught but made no attempt to give any notion that he had heard her. Raven and I watched him as he hopped up the back steps and walked inside without a glance back at me.
"He seems to trust you enough," Raven remarked.
"I'm not worthy of any kind of trust," I said. "I backstab too often."
"Not with the Joker," she said, turning to me. I looked at her curiously, and she gave me an encouraging look. "The Joker most likely to see you come from a mile away, and he'll get you before you get him." She smiled easily. "So, the Joker's taking on an apprentice," she stated, frivolously. "How exciting. You want to be his partner-in-crime?"
I grinned sheepishly as I shrugged. "We've only know each other for eight days, yet it seems like…we've known one another for longer." I shrugged again. "I don't mind him. I haven't even worked for him, besides the bank robbery, and I think he'll be my top boss out of all the Mobsters I've worked for."
"He's killed the top Mobsters in Gotham," Raven said.
"I know. One reason why I like him the most."
Raven nodded. "I won't keep him waiting," she said as she reached behind her with a hand. She took out a sheath, which surprised me until I recognized the hilt of a certain dagger I had seen on my first night in Gotham. "I thought I'd give it to you, as a memory from the first time we met." Raven winked and held it out.
I took it carefully. "The Joker likes knives…"
"And longer knives seem to fit your personality, once it's formed."
I looked at her, confused. "The Joker seems to have been trying to tell me something like that. He claimed I didn't have a solid form."
"Sometimes I wonder if he secretly idolizes the Riddler, the way he talks gibberish," Raven said, rolling her eyes. "When I first met you, I could sense uncertainty. I don't mean to sound like some old wise woman, but I'm only being honest. It could have to do with whatever happened in your past. As a criminal, I think you've come to the right city in order to find yourself." She laughed at herself. "I really do sound like an old woman." She reached over and patted my shoulder. "I've got business to attend to so I better run."
"Are you sure you're not just running away?" I asked, teasingly. She laughed and hugged me. I was so surprised that it took me a few moments before I returned the hug. Then, she released me and started running out of the alley, disappearing into invisibility before she left.
I smiled and after slamming closed the door that had been open throughout the entire scene, I turned and walked into the apartment.
I couldn't help but cry out in fright as I entered. The light from outside lit up the hallway toward the front of the apartment building, and the Joker happened to be standing at the edge of that light, his white face glowing in the dark. Catching my reaction, the Joker started giggling as he sauntered toward me.
"Scared yah, didn't I?" he chuckled as he wrapped an arm around my waist. He brought his mouth close to my ear, and he whispered, "We're two of a kind, Shadow, yet-ah we're diff-erent in how we react-ah to the world."
"How's that?" I asked, curiously.
"I find the world's faults laughable. People try to control their little worlds with their 'plans'. They take things too seriously. You, on the other hand, simply toy with the world's faults. You're aware of them, but-ah you don't do much to change them. Even though you're not a 'guardian' like Batman, you're just. As. Serious."
He tightened his hold on me, and I winced, worried that he was going to hurt me. But he was only toying with me.
"You obviously have a problem with that," I told him, and he laughed. "Such a funny man, can't stand a serious woman."
"Har-dly," the Joker chuckled, "You just-ah don't know how to let go and laugh." I stared at him in disbelief. Even though I knew I had told him my past, it made me angry that he was stating the obvious in such a bold statement. He had to be aware that he was walking the edge; he simply didn't care.
Lordlink13: I just want you guys to know that I have nothing against fat people. I read Garfield and I laugh at his jokes about skinny people so don't think I don't like fat people. If I offended anyone, I'm sorry; I didn't intend to offend you. Now that that's settled…hope you guys enjoyed this chapter. Sorry it was a day late; my older sister had taken the laptop and I couldn't access another computer with Internet. And I was recovering from almost drowning on Saturday while White Water Rafting. It was fun, until I went in. I'm okay, just sore and tired. So yeah, anyway, this chapter wasn't as hard as I thought it would be…merely because I decided to make the story changer the next chapter. Go figure, there's me procrastinating. Well, until next chapter, leave a review…adiós amigos! And no, I've never taken Spanish…