In the Mind of Madness

Plunk…plunk…plunk…plunk…

Kenna put her head in her hands, groaning into her palms. Darla continued what she was doing; slamming her knife into the wood of the table and then taking it out before repeating the process. After the bank Kenna had been trapped in that stupid house for nearly a week, having nothing to do with herself but mope and try to stay away from The Joker. That was difficult when she shared a bed with him, but he was rarely around during the day.

“Getting cabin fever?”

Nodding, Kenna peeked around her fingers at Darla. She was getting used to Darla constantly being around, fairly sure The Joker had put her on babysitting duty. Kenna was trying to overlook the fact that Darla had assisted in her kidnapping, because she was her only company, but it was difficult. Occasionally she would catch herself snapping at the red-head, and honestly she wasn’t that sorry.

“If I could get out of here I would, but the boss was very specific. Nobody in or out of the house unless he gives the order.” shrugged Darla, brushing a few stray wood shavings off the blade.

Kenna pursed her lips surreptitiously. “He wouldn’t know if we just went for a walk around the block.”

Darla smirked and shook her head. “Nice try, but I’m not taking any risks. I know what I get if I mess up.”

Kenna watched curiously as Darla shivered, her fingertips tracing a jagged scar on her forearm. “He did that to you?”

“Yeah. I had it coming though. The boss told me not to do something, and I did it anyway.” said Darla softly, closing her palm over the scar.

“I don’t understand. He did that just because you disobeyed him? I’ve done that and he hasn’t really hurt me…Yet.” Kenna added the last part with a bit of a cringe.

Darla stared hard at Kenna, somewhere between anger and curiosity. “That’s because he doesn’t treat you like he treats us. I’ve seen him around you, and it’s really different.”

“What do you mean?”

When she opened her mouth there was a bang, causing Darla to get up and run out of the kitchen. Kenna frowned after her, though she didn’t quite believe what Darla was saying. The Joker got some kind of sick satisfaction out of messing with her, and that was that. Kenna was beginning to think that she was only there until he could break her, and then he would kill her. Well, he would have to wait then. Kenna Archer would not break.

The noises of movement got closer, and Kenna stood to peek around the doorway of the kitchen. The Joker was stomping up the stairs, smiling menacingly. Kenna frowned, wondering why he was making so much noise. He looked up and saw her, letting out a harsh laugh. His purple-gloved finger pointed at the couch.

“Sit down, Kenna.”

“No.” she replied automatically.

The Joker rolled his eyes at her as he came to the top of the stairs, grabbing her roughly by her arm and flinging her at the sofa. Kenna banged her hip on the hard arm, sitting down with a pained hiss. This made The Joker laugh as he sat next to her and put his arm around her shoulders. She leaned away from him, crossing her arms and legs tightly.

“Don’t be so cold, snookums.” purred The Joker, slithering an arm around her shoulders and forcing her closer to him.

Kenna made a noise of disgust and shoved it away, scooting down again. “What do you want?”

The Joker picked up the remote and clicked the TV on, putting it on a news channel. “We’re on television!”

Kenna’s eyes widened as she saw herself on the TV. It must have been a security tape from the bank. She was pointing a gun at the teller. Kenna’s chest tightened when she saw how angry she looked. At the time she had felt terrified and confused, but it must have manifested itself as irate on her face. The text under the video said ’Hostage Gone Partner In Crime?’. A growl rose in Kenna’s throat, and The Joker started to chuckle.

“You bastard!” she said through clenched teeth as she watched her onscreen self go all-too-willingly with The Joker.

“I won’t take responsibility for your sudden attraction to a life of crime. While it does amuse me, I didn’t leak the tape to the press.” Kenna tried to get up and storm away, but The Joker held her down by her shirt. “Aw, don’t be upset with me, toots. It doesn‘t do us any good to argue.”

“Would you quit that? Let me go!”

Kenna tried to get away again, managing to get into a standing position before The Joker yanked her backwards again. This time she landed hard in his lap, grabbing The Joker’s knee reflexively to catch herself. When she noticed where she was Kenna jumped up again, getting far enough away from The Joker where he couldn’t reach her from the couch. She tried to keep a blush from creeping onto her cheeks upon realizing what a compromising position she had just been in. The Joker whistled at her and patted the couch cushion next to him.

“Cooperating makes this easier on both of us.” he told her matter-of-factly. Then he held out his hands, beckoning at her with his fingers. “Kiss and make up.”

Kenna wanted to snap back about his tendency to treat her like a dog, but instead she sat as far as possible from him on the couch and glared at the television. She sighed in defeat when The Joker’s arm hooked around her waist pulled her back to his side securely.

“Round two.” mumbled The Joker under his breath.

Kenna had to hold back a laugh.