You Ought to Smile More

Ever since we relocated again and Joker saw the riddle on the news, he’s constantly been in a bad mood. I don’t understand what exactly is going on, but someone is obviously trying to mess with him.

Because The Joker has been crazy doing work and various attacks against Gotham, I’ve been spending most of my time with Doc. We don’t talk to each other, but he’s one of the only henchmen I can stand the presence of. He doesn’t try to start a conversation with me and neither do I.

We were sitting on the couch and watching the news in case another important happened.

“Our hearts go out to the families of the victims that were killed this morning in the subway explosion. The police believe it was once again The Joker. A construction crew is now working on clearing out the subway tunnel and rebuilding it. When will The Joker’s evil reign of power come to an end?”

The anchor woman began to sound desperate near the end. Who wouldn’t though? Her job is to report all this horrible crap to everyone else. I know I wouldn’t be able to do it.

“Man, the boss is somethin’ else, ain’t he?” Doc and I turned around to see Happy watching the TV with a small smile and his hands in his pockets.

Happy…

I don’t like him. It’s plain and simple. Normally, I would think that he would be the one I that I get along with, but I don’t. He’s wayyyy too happy and it’s to the point where it’s creepy. I’ll see him just break out in a smile when no one else is around him…

“Hm,” Doc replied and turned back around to face the TV. I looked at Happy for a few more seconds before following Doc’s lead and turning around. Hopefully The Joker will stop whoever is after him and take a break from killing so many people. It’s making me uncomfortable…

~*~

The Joker took in a deep breath and looked around him grinning. He had Grumpy and Bashful with him while they installed bombs under the main highway. He wanted a huge explosion that would cause the highway to collapse during 5 o’clock traffic.

He smiled at the thought and began to whistle while he watched his men work.

“You sound pretty happy,” a high pitched voice said behind him. The Joker stopped whistling and narrowed his eyes. He knew exactly who spoke to him.

“What are you doing here, Riddler?” he growled and finally turned to look at his ex-partner. Yes, at one time the two of them had teamed up and brought Gotham to its knees, but that was a few years ago. Now the two hated each other and became rivals.

“Hm, I just wanted to see how you were holding up. I’m guessing you saw my latest gift to the media,” The Riddler replied resting his hands on his cane.

The Joker didn’t answer him, but instead calmed himself down and tried to decipher The Riddler’s movements.

“It’s odd don’t you think?” The Riddler asked.

“...What’s odd?” The Joker asked giving into the question.

“I didn’t think you would get so attached. I mean when we worked together, you treated everyone mercilessly. No one could escape your wrath, not even a woman…” The Riddler trailed off and waited for The Joker’s reaction.

“It’s not odd at all because I’m not attached to her. I’m only keeping the girl around for a reason and I’m bet you already know why that is,” The Joker added with a small laugh.

He was finding the whole situation funny. Here he was, standing in front of his enemy, and they were calmly talking about Caprice. And The Riddler thought he was attached. The mere thought caused him to giggle. No, The Joker does not get attached to anyone. No matter how interesting he may find them, they’re all just pawns in his giant game of chess. And Caprice was no exception… right?

The Joker shook his lightly to clear his mind. The Riddler watched him closely and chuckled while tapping his cane against the ground.

“Even I can see your inner turmoil. How would you feel if something were to happen to the girl? Would you be forced to feel those emotions that you tried so hard to get rid of?” The Riddler asked watching him again. The Joker’s face hardened and he wanted to snap a quick retort back at the man, but stopped himself.

He knew better than to act recklessly around him. The Riddle would use anything he saw against The Joker and that would inevitably end with Caprice’s death. The Joker calmed down and replied.

“I don’t seem to remember what emotions you’re referring to. And as for what happens to the girl, I’ve already almost killed her on several occasions. As soon as I no longer need her, she’ll be buried six feet under,” The Joker replied with a surprisingly steady voice.

The Riddler raised an eyebrow and tipped his bowler hat further back to get a good look at the Clown Prince.

“I guess I’ll just have to wait and see how you really feel when the time comes.” With that, The Riddler turned on his heel and strode away from The Joker.

The clown watched him leave and decided that his good mood was officially ruined.

~*~

Bruce rubbed his eyes again and felt the sting. He wanted to groan and throw a miniature fit, but held it back. Alfred was on his way with medicine and a wet rag.

Why would Caprice turn against him? Didn’t she want to get away from The Joker? So many questions were running through the playboy’s mind. Maybe The Joker was forcing her to comply, but then again she could have easily just run away with him instead of spraying him with mace and running to The Joker…

“Master Wayne, I’ve brought what you wanted,” Alfred said as he walked into the room. He set the silver tray down and started wiping Bruce’s eyes. It looked like Bruce had rubbed the skin so much that it became raw.

“Why would she do that, Alfred?” Bruce asked softly. The old butler sighed and tried to think of an answer.

“Maybe she has developed some kind of feelings for her kidnapper. It may sound cliché, Master Wayne, but she could have a case of Stockholm Syndrome,” Alfred replied and put Neosporin around Bruce’s eyes.

“No, I don’t think it’s that. She would have been a lot more attached and would have behaved differently. There has to be something that I’m missing.”

~*~

I was in the kitchen getting a drink when I heard the front door open and close. I caught myself about to smile and forced myself not to. Why should I get happy if The Joker returns?

Maybe because I’m bored to death when he’s gone…

“Caprice. I need to talk to you.” I turned and saw The Joker already walking into our room. He didn’t sound happy. I sighed and took another sip of my water before setting it down and going into our room.

The Joker was standing in the middle of the room with his back turned to me. I shifted uneasily from foot to foot not really sure why I was in here. Maybe something happened with The Batman again.

“Jo—“ Before I could react, The Joker was on me. He grabbed me and threw me back so I would fall onto the bed. I tried to sit up, but he shoved me back down and hovered above me.

“You truly piss me off.”