AN: I felt bad about not updating sooner so I'm going to go ahead and give you 9 :)
Chapter Nine: The Grand Tour
Tim woke up feeling what he always has the last several days: nothing. The memories from yesterdays training tried to flood into his brain, but he pushed them down. There is no use in remembering anything at this point. Its not very amusing anyways. He left the training room and traveled the hallway like he did every morning, ignoring the sharp pains and dull throbs of his body. Wait, what pain? Its only been a little over a week, but to Tim, its been a lifetime. This is all he knows now.
He padded barefoot into the dining area and sat in his place. It was right beside his dad. "Good morning, dad." He said like a robot forcing himself to smile up at the man with the powdered face and slicked-back, green hair.
"And a good morning to you, Tim!" The Joker cackled. They ate breakfast with little conversation. Tim remembering to drink all of his coffee. The Joker made comments about work and the stupidity of everyone; Tim tensely agreed with whatever he said. They were sharing a small laugh when a hot liquid was poured in Robin's lap. A beefy goon was trying to refill his coffee but had completely missed.
"Hahahahaha" Tims laugh turned mechanical like he does in training whenever he feels pain. Blacking out, he reached out and grabbed a nearby knife stabbing it through the goon's hand and into the table. His eyes were glazed over and he couldn't stop laughing. Even as blood was gushing out of the mans hand and being soaked up by the napkins he couldn't control himself.
After a minute, Tim finally calmed down. He ripped out the knife making the man scream which brought him back.
"Shut up!" Tim ran a hand through his hair. The man quieted down to a whimper. "Leave." Tim ordered.
The Joker, who was only sitting the with a twisted grin on his face through the entire show, spoke up. "Well, what are you waiting for?" He demanded. "Do as he says! Leave!" Everyone scurried out leaving them alone.
The Joker clapped a hand onto Tim's shoulder and said, "I'm proud of you, son." Tim who was staring at his bloody knife in his hand looked up at the Joker blankly. "Say 'thanks, dad'." He pressed the button to Tims shock collar.
"T-thanks, dad." He said through the jolt automatically pasting a smile on his face.
"Alright kid. Let's go." Tim nodded and quickly put the knife on his plate before followed him out.
Tim just assumed that they were going to do some new training, but when they passed the training room, he asked, "Are we not going to train today?"
"No, were going to do something a little different." The Joker cackled.
They walked out of the small hallway and entered a huge room. The ceiling was at least 35 feet tall. With an elegant and expensive chandelier dangling down from it.
"Woah!" Tim breathed. It seemed like the entire place dwarfed him sheerly by size itself. There was a large staircase that didn't even fill up half of the room right in front of them. It went up then evened out into a platform that had an expensive looking set of glass doors. The staircase continued onto either side of the door and disappeared into the walls. Behind them was a very tall set of thick wooden doors. They must be the front doors to the mansion. (Pretty much you can fit an entire house in just the entryway)
"This is the foyer." The Joker said after a few minutes. He waved to their left "That is the kitchen and where we came from is the servants quarters."
He pointed at the door to the left of the large staircase. "That is the dining area where we will have all our meals at from now on." He point to the door on the right of the staircase. "And that is the study. You may use that room for whatever recreational purpose you'd like. Reading, playing games, etcetera." Tim could only nod. "The library is adjacent to the study. As is the kitchen to the dining room. The foyer is used as a ballroom for parties, but if it a small gathering we will be in the sitting room just up the stairs here."
They climbed the first set of stairs and he held opened the glass doors. Tim hesitantly poked his head into the spacious yet cozy room. There was a bar on the far wall with stools to sit on. In the back of the room was a fireplace and several leather sitting chairs. There were more glass doors in the back but Tim's head was almost squished in as the door was violently closed. The Joker guided him up the left staircase as if nothing had happened.
"This staircase leads up to the west wing. Where your bedroom is."
"What's up the right staircase?" Tim asked forgetting himself. He received a short zap from his collar.
"Do not interrupt me. That's the East wing. Where your mother and I sleep." Tim wondered who his mother was, but he knew asking would earn him another couple volts. He also wondered if he'd need training to call her mom like he did to call the Joker his dad. But he only nodded and they continued. The Joker pointed out the extra bedrooms and a playroom for the electronic or noisy activities.
Tim was only half paying attention. He couldn't help but think about his mom. She has to be nice. All moms are nice, right? I bet she's the most beautiful person in the world. And for a moment, Tim could imagine a world where he's happy and cared for. He yearned for a kind hand to guide him, to softly caress him, and to protect him from harm. After all, that's what mothers do, right? ...right?