Give Me a Smile

The smell of plants and dirt was nearly overwhelming. Greenery was everywhere-around chairs, on the sink, across the windows. I wasn’t sure, but I think they moved to watch us. I looked down, careful not to step on any plants.
Poison Ivy was further in, lounging on a throne made of vines. Scarecrow was there too-he knelt at her feet looking grumpy and tired. There was straw peeking out from under his collar. I stared, fascinated and scared by the thought that his alter ego lay just beneath the surface struggling to get out.

Poison Ivy looked at us. “Joker. Smiley.” Joker nodded at her as he pulled off the costume and tossed it aside, revealing his trademark purple suit. He wiped the makeup off quickly, leaving smears behind that made him look like a child who’s found his mother’s lipstick. “Let’s begin,” she said.
“I’ve got a bit of information on the Wolf,” Scarecrow said, scratching at his neck. His eyes glowed in the darkness of Ivy’s house. “The Wolf has no connection to the Bat Pack. I saw Batman himself hold the Wolf over the edge of a building and threaten death if the attacks continue. Clearly he doesn’t want anyone else in his group.”
Joker snorted. “We all saw how long that kept up with Batgirl....” Joker sniggered nastily. “....and then I broke her spine.” They all nodded. Poison Ivy watched me with interest. I was beginning to wonder if Joker was telling the truth about her wanting me as a slave. Maybe she was just lonely, being the only girl. Then her eyes flashed to Joker and narrowed cruelly, making me rethink that idea.
“I met Wolfie yesterday,” Joker said, leaning back on his hands. I sat behind him, where I could hear the plants moving. It made me nervous. “Obviously, I got away, but the thing has claws, and it’s fast. I don’t think I killed it, but I got a few good jabs in. So, now we’re looking for a wounded beastie,” he said, smirking.

“Good, good news,” Poison Ivy murmured, tracing the veins of a giant palm leaf. “The plants have been telling me the Wolf doesn’t live in the gardens. Probably smart enough not to go on my territory.” “We’ll find it in the City, then,” Scarecrow muttered. “Or the Narrows,” Joker put in.
“Important people don’t live in the Narrows,” Scarecrow sneered. He paused and paled when he saw the angry twist of Joker’s mouth. “Uh, I mean...” Joker cracked up and patted his back, almost sending Scarecrow to the ground. “Don’t, aha!, worry, old pal. The, ha!, Narrows has its perks!”

That seemed to end their meeting, because Scarecrow sighed, got up, and left. Straw was coming from his pant legs as well. Joker looked to Poison Ivy, who nodded. He turned to me, waving crooked fingers. “Quinn. Go where you can’t hear us. We have things to talk about.” I nodded.
I didn’t want to talk, because I didn’t want her hearing my weird, gravelly voice. I walked into another room and waited until they started talking again before I crept back. I hid behind a doorway and listened. “You planning on keeping her?” Poison Ivy’s voice was soft now, not as blatantly seductive.

“Yeah. Comes in useful. I like to have her around. Gives me something to look at,” Joker said, and I realized they were talking about me. “You gonna train her into another one of you?” “Nah. I don’t think she has it in her to be a killer. I need her for other stuff,” he said. Then he coughed and grumbled, “All this means you’re not taking her from me.”
Poison Ivy laughed. “You noticed?” “You always want other people’s stuff.” “True. I thought she might be into chicks, cause she doesn’t feel like you. Why haven’t you fucked her yet?” He mumbled something and their voices got softer, than rose again. “You realize she’s going to get a lot of attention from the others, too. A new....player is always big news.”

“I know.” They stopped talking after that, so I rushed to the other room and tried to look innocent. Joker came in with a mad look in his eyes and grabbed me by the throat. “Little eaves-droppers deserve punishment, Quinn,” he growled, taking out his knife. “Don’t think I couldn’t sense you were listening.” He traced the blade along my throat and to my lower lip, pressing deep enough that I yelped.
“Please! I’m...I’m sorry! I was curious!” He kept pressing down until I was screaming, cries slightly muffled by the blade against my tongue. “Joker! Enough. She’s disturbing the plants,” Poison Ivy said, stepping into the room. Her vines were rustling angrily around her arms. Joker looked over his shoulder at her and sneered, but he dropped me.

I looked up at him as he put the disguise back on. I could feel blood dripping off my chin. Poison Ivy walked up to me and kissed my lower lip gently. It felt better immediately. I touched my mouth and realized it was healed.
She smiled and patted my head before leaving the room. I knew she couldn’t hear me, but I leaned over and whispered, “Thank you,” into a plant. Her laughter bubbled from another room.

The way back home passed easily. Joker’s hand was tight on my hip. He practically carried me the last few blocks. When we got inside the apartment he slammed the door and tossed me away from him. His face was furious and I whimpered.
He grabbed my dress by the front and lifted me up. I heard fabric rip. “Don’t you EVER turn to Ivy for help again! Cause if you, ha!, do, I’ll cut you ear to ear again!” I nodded, feeling tears on my face. He crouched in front of me and wrapped a hand around my neck, smiling in a way I might actually call soft. “Quinn,” he crooned. “Don’t cry. A face like that should never know tears. Give me a smile.” I smiled weakly and he grinned, kissing my scars.

After that Joker turned on the TV and sat next to me, folding his legs across my lap. “I, ah, would take you out, Quinnie, but there are cops on my tail,” he said, putting a hand on my shoulder. I shrugged. “You’re not very talkative, eh, Quinn?”
I shrugged and he frowned, pulling out a knife to poke my ribs. “Speak!” “Uh, no. I’m not.” “I only hear your voice when you’re begging,” he mused. “I don’t like my voice. It got damaged in the accident,” I admitted. “I like it.” “T-Thanks.” “Proper villain voice, that is.”
I couldn’t help laughing, and it built until we were rolling on the couch together, his raspy howls making his chest vibrate against my ear. We fell asleep like that, pressed together on the couch with his arm around me.