Joker looked up slowly and looked mostly at a large man with a ponytail and large beard/moustache. "Oh, and by the way, the suit, it wasn't cheap. You ought to know, you bought it." He said a little louder, making himself comfortable and fixing his jacket. He was very relaxed in this situation despite the mass of mobsters surrounding us. The man who's 'boy' just got killed began to stand angrily but the chubby man told him to sit. "I want to hear proposition." His English wasn't very good apparently. I noticed that Joker kept licking his lips. Not a nervous habit, more of a normal habit really. The makeup must dry his lips a lot. "Let's wind the clocks back a year. These cops and lawyers wouldn't dare cross any of you. I mean… what happened?" He asked sarcastically, "Did your balls drop off? Hm?" I managed to hold in a snicker and regained my composure. No one noticed. "You see, a guy like me…" He was cut off by the mean man again.
"-A freak." He said nastily.
"Damn right." Another mobster said. Joker seemed a little annoyed at the constant interruptions.
"A guy like me—Look, listen. I know why you choose to have your little, ahem…" He seemed to search for the right word and coughed a little, "… group therapy sessions in broad daylight. I know why you're afraid to go out at night." He licked his lips again for dramatic tension. "The Batman." He finished.

The Mobsters finally seemed to gain interest and looked at him with more curiosity. "See, Batman has shown Gotham your true colours, unfortunately. Dent, he's just the beginning." I frowned for a moment. Dent? Who's Dent? I'd have to ask later. "And as for the television's so-called plan…" He accused with a pointed finger, "Batman has no jurisdiction." The guy on the television looked on offended. "He'll find him and make him squeal. I know the squealers when I see them… and…" He continued to point but didn't finish his sentence; it wasn't needed. The man turned off the camera and the television switched off. Fat guy spoke again. It would appear that he was the leader of the Mob. "What do you propose?" He asked, leaning back in his chair, finally becoming a little more relaxed. Something about Joker's aura seemed to be a little relaxing, even though he's a crazy maniac. "It's simple. We, uh, kill the Batman." He said whilst running a hand through his hair. All of the Mobsters, except the apparent leader, guffawed and scoffed. Another man spoke and I recognised him as a man I had previously read about in a newspaper. "If it's so simple, why haven't you done it already?" He sneered. Joker had a come-back however, and a pretty good one if you ask me.
"If you're good at something, never do it for free." He replied, pointing a finger again. The leader seemed convinced.
"How much you want?" He asked, finally giving in. I hadn't expected Joker's next proposition. Bit silly really. Joker leaned forwards. "Uh, half. A quarter of it for me and a quarter for my partner." I was surprised that Joker had taken to be 'loyal' so quickly. Then again, I was here to stay and I wasn't planning on leaving. I guess he wasn't planning on letting me. After all, I knew where his hideout was now. The mobsters burst out laughing at Joker's claim. I found it pretty stupid as well but laughing at Joker meant laughing at me. I slammed my knife down on the table, just missing one of the Mobster's hands. "Why don't you elaborate on what you find so incredibly funny?" I said loudly. All of the eyes were on me, including Joker's.

A moment of silence passed until Joker spoke again. "She's sexy when she's angry, isn't she?" He said with a sly grin. I smirked. "You don't wanna be on the receiving end of that knife, huh?" He asked the mobsters. Another mobster decided it was time to shut me up. He stood and cricked his knuckles. I heard Joker sigh in annoyance. "Why is it always violence?" He asked irritably. The mobster leaped at me and I slipped under his arms, stabbing the knife in the back of his neck when his weight was a disadvantage. He fell to the ground, above the other man, and died silently. Everyone was in awe, I'm proud to say. I was especially glad that Joker was impressed as well. "Anyone else?" I called out innocently. An audible gulp was all I heard. I smirked and nodded. "What a shame." I said and then went back to being strong and silent.

"You're crazy." The bully hissed. Joker peered at him.
"No, I'm not… No, I'm not. If we don't deal with this now… soon little Gambol here won't be able to get a nickel for his grandma." So the bully had a name. Gambol slammed his hand down on the table and looked incredibly pissed off. "Enough from the clown!" He leaped out of his seat and started towards him. I stood so that I was now in front of Joker with my knife at the ready. "Ah, ta-ta-ta. Let's not blow…" He opened one side of his jacket to reveal the bombs that he had asked me to strap in for him. One mobster whispered "Shit!" And Joker continued his sentence.
"…this out of proportion." He said with his hand up, the chord connected to the bomb was attached to his thumb. Gambol was still pissed off though.
"You think you can steal from us and just walk away?"
"Yeah." We both said simultaneously.
"I'm putting the word out. Five hundred grand for this clown dead." He said dramatically, "A million alive, so I can teach him some manners first. Oh, and another five hundred for the little bodyguard. She could do with some fun before I rip her throat out." I didn't like where was this was going and apparently, neither did Joker. He nodded and cleared his throat a little. "All right. So, listen, why don't you give me a call…" He pulled out the playing card I had seen him using in his room, "…when you wanna start taking things a little more seriously? Here's my card." He said and held it up, then placing it on the table. I noticed it was a Joker playing card. How original. He made a few humming noises while accentuating the fact that he could blow everyone up at any time. Of course, I knew that the bomb was inactive. It was an empty threat. Good thing they didn't know. Gambol was seething, his nostrils flaring as well. We began backing away towards a different door to the one we had entered through. I held my dagger at the ready, silently daring anyone to make a move. We came to the door and Joker kicked the door behind him and we exited backwards. That could've gone better.

"So, what's next? Who do we get to kill now?" I asked, albeit a little eagerly as we drove back in a black car. He was driving, obviously, and I was lounging in the back seat. He peered at me in the rear-view mirror. "Well, you remember what the lovely man Gambol said about a bounty for both of us?" I nodded, "In a few days' time, we're going to act on that. We're going to kill him to stop him from acting on any… hard feelings." He replied. I tilted my head a little.
"Is this actually going to help the plot or are you just wanting to kill him for insulting you?"
"Us, Solace, us. We are going to kill him because he insulted us. It'll be easy." He said with a few glances at me in the mirror again. I nodded began chewing on my lip.
"So, basically, we play dead? Cos that sounds like fun." He cackled and moved his hair out of his eyes.
"Yes, we'll be playing dead. And then… the real fun begins." Dramatic or what?

"Ya know, when you said 'playing dead', I didn't expect this." I said while looking at the body bags in contempt. I had always hated them. I could scarcely breathe when I had gotten into one to test how much oxygen I had. "My bad. Now, get in." I sighed and lay back in the body bag. Our three assistants were conversing quietly, speaking about how was the best way to appear casual yet deadly. I rolled my eyes and slipped my arms in beside me. Joker crouched beside me and began zipping up the bag. "If I suffocate, I'll see you in hell, I'm sure." I remarked as the zip came to a stop at the base of my collarbone. He grinned maliciously.
"I'm counting on it." And he put the bag over my head.

"Yo, Gambol, somebody here for you." I heard from the next room, "They say they've just killed the Joker and his partner." Another voice began.
"They brought the bodies." Show time. I felt myself being picked up by one pair of strong arms. I was a bit of a light-weight. They set me down on what felt like a pool table and not long afterwards, I felt Joker being set down beside me. A rustle or two and the bag on me own head came off. I remained still and motionless, not breathing and keeping my eyes shut. Gambol seemed satisfied and moved away to the foot of the table. "So, dead, that's five hundred." I heard him say. That's my cue. I sat up quickly and stabbed the guy on my right as Joker did the guy on his left. Gambol spun around but was met with a knife pressed to his mouth and another knife pressed against his jugular. "How about alive? Hm?" Joker asked sarcastically. Our assistants disarmed the other men in the room and held guns to their heads. Nice and smooth. Joker leaned in to Gambol's ear and whispered: "You wanna know how I got these scars?" He leaned back and seemed to be searching for a memory. His eyes returned to Gambol's as he spoke again. "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." He said menacingly. I swallowed inwardly. "So, me watching… he takes the knife to her, laughing while he does it. He turns to me and he says: 'Why so serious?'" He said the quote in a gruff, slightly evil voice, "He 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…" I was expecting him to say 'Why so serious?' again but no. Instead he turned to me. "Your turn, dollface." I raised an eyebrow at his new pet name for me, "Tell him why you wear the mask all the time." He said, as though curious himself. I smirked and then looked at Gambol, his terrified gaze now trained on me.

"My twin sister… She was a murderer." I started with the same sort of beginning as Joker, "We were only 10 when she killed our younger sister, Kayleigh. We were 11 when my parents began to deny me as a daughter. We were 12 when she killed our family." I leaned in a little closer, "Tell me how that isn't scarring." He said nothing and I felt Joker glance at me quite a few times. "That's only the emotional scarring. I was a criminal from then on. Robbing small-time shops, et cetera. I had a cousin who looked out for me. When she… disappeared, let's say… Everything went from bad… to shit. I met the Batman a few times. That was annoying. Eventually, I decided to get a job." I continued, tilting my head as I remembered just a few months ago when this had happened to me. "I worked in a quaint little tea shop of all places. Disgusting, I know. I was on the second floor when the fire broke out." Now Joker's gaze was constantly on me as I glared at Gambol. "Batman came and saved everyone. Everyone except me. Oh, he-he saw me alright. But he saved someone else instead. The building collapsed mere seconds after he leaped out. My face, particularly the space around my eyes, is marred with scars. Just like the rest of my body and mind. Now, tell me how that isn't scarring." I whispered the last bit lowly. Gambol whimpered and Joker's gaze finally returned to his. He then looked at one of the men on the floor with a gun to his head. I looked at the other man. We both said simultaneously: "Why so serious?" and "Tell me how that isn't scarring?" And with that, we sliced the man's mouth and neck open.

The man crumpled and we pulled the bags off of us. Joker was wearing a different suit but it was still purple. I was wearing a similar outfit; an aubergine shirt with trousers and boots. I was also wearing a black satin waistcoat. "No, our operation is small but there is a lot of potential for aggressive expansion." He said as he strode around the table, looking at the other pool tables in the bar. He grabbed a pool cue and then returned to stand beside me. "So, which of you fine gentlemen would like to join our team?" I asked. Joker continued my sentence. "Oh, there's only one spot open right now, so we're gonna have…" He snapped the pool cue in half, inspecting the sharpness, "…tryouts." He looked at both of the cues and then dropped one in between the three men still on their knees. He nodded to me and we walked out of the room between them. As we exited the room, Joker whispered: "Make it fast." And the three men were released.

"You're right… That was fun." I said with a smile as we got into the car again. I got in the back again and he returned to the steering wheel. "Of course it was fun. Killing people and getting what you want is fun." He remarked and put the car into gear. I began chewing on my lip again.
"Why do you chew on your lip all of the time?" I peered again at the mirror and found him watching me intensely.
"Why do you lick your lips all of the time?" I countered. He pursed his lips and then licked them again. "I blame the makeup." He replied, "What's your come-back?" I pursed my lip as well, searching for a good one. Nothing came to mind.
"Got nothing?" He asked with a little smirk an eyebrow raised, "What a shame. I was looking forward to the excuse." I rolled my eyes and lay down in the seat.
"Wake me when we get home?" I said with my eyes already closed, only realizing I said 'home' when I woke.
"Sure thing, dollface."

Nothing in the cupboards. Nothing! I rolled my eyes and closed the fridge after a search there as well. I was craving ice cream and I didn't care who knew it. "Joker! We don't have any ice cream!" I shouted.
"Not my problem." I heard him call from the next room. I rolled my eyes again and walked in.
"I really need some ice cream!" I whined. He looked up from the bomb he was making. I saw that was made from an ice cream tub. I cocked an eyebrow. He just looked at me sheepishly and continued to work on the tub-bomb. I sighed dramatically and went to my own room. It had originally been the 'torture' room. I was just about to open the door when Joker shouted at me.
"No! Do… not open that door." He said as he quickly blocked it with his body. I raised an eyebrow.
"… Why not? That's my room now." I reasoned. He shook his head.
"It's not your room at the moment." He said with a little grunt. I narrowed my eyes.
"Who has my room?" I asked threateningly. He chuckled nervously.
"Just… a friend." Blatant lie. I grabbed his shoulders and moved him out of the way. He wasn't that heavy but he didn't move very far. I slammed open the door and I found a man in a batman suit tied to a chair. My furniture, or what little I had, had been moved to the corner closest to the door. I looked back at now guilty Joker. "You gave my room to him?"

So, I'm pretty happy with this. I'm trying to make things a little more casual between them. Also, did you guys notice the little bits of anger from Joker when people gawped at Solace and when they threatened her? Good good. ;) I liked the bit where he said she was sexy when she was mad. It won't be as citrus as my Sherlock fic, obviously, but it'll be a little flirty; not too much. Anywho, hope you enjoyed. Cheers folks.
Luna