Holding On

Joker was in no mood for Harley right now, so he sent her off with the Riddler in seprate missons to grab some supplies, a handful of goons, and blow a few buidlings up to start out with until his big plan come to play. He called up his guest and told him to meet him outside the perimeter of the warehouse, and then bring him inside to discus Joker’s plot.

He waited taking a glance up at the boarded window where Melinda’s bedroom would be. He heard a car pull up on the gravel and stop 10 yards away from him. It was a nice black Mazda accord. Must have been stolen. The driver side door opens to reveal the former lawyer.

He was looking at his surroundings as Joker walked towards him with his limp he has. “Awe, you made it! I’m so thrilled!” Joker exclaims with his arms open in a welcoming manner. He turned to reveal the rest of his face. The whole left side was almost completely healed, it was red and deformed with no lips no eyelids so his teeth showed and his eye was wide open and red with irritation. It looked like he wore the same suit when he was severely burned but it was a different suit, dress shirt, pants, and tie he must have ruined more suits to keep the effect and scare people. “How have ya been Mr. Den-T?”

Harvey Dent closed the door and gave a glare at Joker, “I believe it’s, Mr. Two-Face now.”

“My sincere apologies, won’t you come in to my humble home?” he growls at ‘humble’

They walked inside the large room that was empty besides the small area that was the living area and walked towards a smaller room with a table and two chairs. Joker cautiously glances up the stairs to make sure Melinda wasn’t causing any kind of noises. That sat at the small rectangle table across from each other.

“Would you like anything to drink before our discussion?”

“No thank you. But, if you don’t mind…” he pulls out a cigarette from his coat pocket.

Disgusted by the cancer stick, Joker mentally flinched but his face never changed. “Not. At. All…”

“I don’t suppose you smoke.”

“The only thing I smoke is buildings and bombs.” Joker grumbled as Two-Face lit it up and took a drag, and blowing it out of his lungs, though he really didn’t have to blow as it spilled out through his left open cheek. The smoke lifted in the air like dancing ballerinas. Graceful.

“So… Give me a good reason why I should listen what you have to offer?”

The psychotic criminal gave a giggle as he leaned forward on the table, “I assume, you know how I never plan things out. I make it up along as I go. But something came to me one night and told me to… Pull, something together. It told me, to wrap some ropes and round them up.” He licks his lips,

“What are you implying, Joker?”

“It takes more than one man to pull down a heavy creature in the middle of the night.” This had gotten Two-Face’s attention as he sat up straight,

“I’m listening.”

“I already have The Riddler at my side… And ya know, Harley, is wrapped around my finger. But I need… A right hand man.” He grips the air at ‘need’ and smacked his lips together, folding his hands together and laid them on the table. “It takes two to tango, three to conga and four, to square dance. And one to do the robot, but how is that going to work out?!” he smacks his lips together, “Ha…We split up, and cause mischief till we got the BAT right in to our trap. And then we jump him! It would put a title to your name in this society. And I know how much it means to you, what with ol’ Batsy saving you…Instead of her…”

There was a slam on the table, and a broken cigarette in Two-Face’s hand. Joker made no sudden move only watched the emotions crossing Two-Face’s double face. He released his hand and flicked the little tobacco pieces off his fingers and swiped them off the table. He leans across the table closer to Joker and hisses in a deep tone, “Alright Joker…I’ll play.”

Joker starts to giggle and stands, “Excellent, Mr. Two. I knew you warm up to the idea.” He clicks his tongue, giving him a wink while holding out his hand and shacks Two-Face’s hand. Tying up the agreement.

“Don’t flatter yourself.” Two Face gives one hard squeeze before letting go and walking out.

Joker heard the tires from outside squeal and the engine moan, and a smirk appeared on his face. He giggles and walks out of the room and glances upstairs. He stops laughing. His face hardened. He stood there for a while, lost in his own world up inside his mind. His little creative mind. He inhales a deep breath and releases, he rubs his sore neck lets out a long yawn.

…

While Harley robbed a bank and set a time bomb inside, Riddler was on the other side of the city gathering troops in the county jail. After Joker’s encounter with Two-Face, I woke up from another night in hell.

It’s been 5 days and still Joker hasn’t laid a hand on me. My feet were better, a little sensitive but fine. I could walk, but I’m not sure about running just yet. I see the door cracked open and got a chilling feeling about it. Cautiously I walked towards it and looked through the gap. There was no one there. No strings or small triggers that would set something off and kill me. Only a pair of slippers. I had no shoes and decent clothing. A flannel shirt and boxers. I could have sworn I’ve seen this shirt before.

I decided to slide through the door and slip on the slippers. The halls were cold and the paint was grey and chipping off. I felt like I was in Silent Hill, in the school. I hate the movie, it’s so creepy! I really hope they don’t start to feel off and become dark and red like blood and small little creatures screaming and attack me. I came to the stairs, and I can see below me. The whole place was cold and empty. It was so quiet you could hear a pin drop. I climbed down slowly, sticking close to the wall as my footsteps echoed throughout warehouse. There was no sign of the Joker or anyone. At the last step I see a large door across the room. It seems so easy and suspicious. The bedroom door was open, and no one was around. Or so I thought. I took a jog towards the door till I stop abruptly when I heard his voice.

“Doors locked!” I spun around over at the corner where there was a couch, coffee table, and a small TV on top of a milk crate. That’s when I notice the brown shoes hanging off the edge of the couch. “No way out.” He finishes.

I huffed, running a hand through my greasy hair. It’s been forever since I’ve taken a shower. I need to shave, I need shampoo; I feel like Sasquatch!

“My door was unlocked this morning.”

“I know…I let you out.”

“May I ask why?”

“Thought you could use the exercise, Miss...” he sits up, staring at me with his dark eyes like he was looking through my soul. His eyes flickered in a different emotion but I couldn’t catch what it was. “Anderson…” I didn’t move. I was frozen stiff. “After you’re little… Exodus diversion. I thought, maybe I should let you stretch out you’re legs.”

“Why? Are we planning for a trip?” I asked, crossing my arms and leaning my weight on one leg.

“I haven’t quite figured that out yet.” I rolled my eyes. “Oh! I almost forgot! You made front page!” he leaps upright and grabbed the Gotham Times from the coffee table and lifted it up so I can see, me on the front page. “Well you and I did.” He giggles.

I swiped it from him to get a closer look. ‘KIDNAPPED’ well this was definitely déjà vu. The picture of me was at the bar in New York with my friend Ally. I was working and she came to visit (and have a little fun drinking). Half of Ally’s face was cut off by Joker’s mug shot. His face lowered and dark with his smile looking more hair-raising and bigger.

“Lovely photo.” I mocked him.

“Why thank you, I believe it’s one of my best out of all the other paper’s I’ve been on.” He cackles brushing his hair back and adjusting his vest before lying back down. “Behave yourself. You never know how long you’ll get to be out and about like this again, An-Melinda!”

I wiped my head up with confusion as he cleared his throat. I headed towards the stairs, not wanting to spend another moment with the Joker, yet wanting to ask him questions. I brushed off his last sentence and walked past my room into another where it was empty only with a single chair. I tested it before actually sitting down so it wasn’t going to break on me. I started to read the article about me.

It said about my name, age, where I lived, how I was kidnapped by The Joker. Then it said something about Ally that she refuses to return home. I miss her. I miss her crazy self, and her pride on herself. She was my best friend. And if I would ever get the chance to see her again, I would let her know how much of a true friend she is to me. I hope Bruce is taking care of her. She must be a mess. I remember one time her long-time boyfriend broke up with her, no reason why, it was just out of the blue. I can’t imagine how she’s doing now. I flipped through the rest of the paper; it was same old things in other papers in New York Times. I set it back on the ground and made my way over to the boarded up window. I wanted to look outside. I grabbed a plank and ripped it off giving me just enough to look out. It was sunny, and I could feel some of the heat. I love the warm feeling of the sun against my skin. It always made my day light up. I ripped another off to give more light into the room and grabbed the chair and brought it closer to the window. I just sat there and watched the sky pass by. From the situation I’m in…I don’t know when I’ll be able to see this again.