Give Me a Smile

I’m not sure how long we walked. Time kind of blurred after a while. When Joker finally removed the blindfold I still felt lost. We were on the streets of Gotham, but nowhere I’d ever been. I couldn’t see Poison Ivy or Scarecrow and I only recognized Joker cause he was holding my hand. He wore a disguise.
“Where is everyone?” I whispered. He looked down and gave me a mad smile, clearly getting amped up. “Ivy’s up there, in the cloak thing.” I saw finally-she wore a long, loose green dress. Scarecrow had to be the lurching, hooded man next to her.
“Oh. I see. Are we almost there?” He laughed softly and nodded. “We’re close, so, ha!, close I can taste Wolfie’s blood.” I shivered. “Oh.”
Gotham Apartments was in an older part of town, wealthier. It made me think of a movie from the 20s. Poison Ivy stopped before the building and put her hands to her chest, closing her eyes. “I sense it. The flower is here.”
“Well, let’s go then!” Joker said, tugging me forward. She looked back and gave him a deadly smile. “Patience, Joker. We don’t want Wolf to know we’re here.” He settled back and watched while she swayed inside, bent over the counter, and enchanted the guard in seconds. His eyes were glassy and glowing green.
She turned from him and waved us in. The place was very quiet, hushed. The floors were marble and everything seemed to be gold or velvet. I felt intensely out of place. “It’s up higher,” Poison Ivy whispered. We took the elevator, which was kind of funny. Three villains and me in an elevator, waiting patiently.
When we reached the tenth floor she stopped us and stepped out. “This. Yes. This is where we’ll find Wolf.” I was getting a bit creeped out-her eyes shone and her hair was waving behind her, without wind. She pressed her palms to a door and smiled. “Here.”
Joker grinned. “Good. Stand back.” I shut my eyes as he placed a round, smiling bomb in front of the door. It was only a second before the thing exploded. Someone shrieked inside the room, and they ran in.
I stayed against the wall, unwilling and unable to join them. I had no idea why Joker would choose to bring me along. The room was spartan, empty except for a TV. It looked like she used the room for practicing. I think there were a few other rooms branching off from there.

She had weights lying all around. And it was definitely a she. Young, probably around my age. She had large, dark eyes and blonde hair that was cropped short. She was small and slim, but standing in a way that suggested ferocity and strength. She looked somehow soft, though. Surprised and scared, having her home invaded.
“It’s her,” Joker hissed. “I’d, ha!, recognize her anywhere.” The girl stood up straight, but her mouth was shaking. “Get out of here! I don’t know what you’re talking about!” Joker laughed, his long, infamous cackle. “Oh dear, what a liar you are,” Poison Ivy murmured, stepping towards her. That’s when everything seemed to happen.
Scarecrow leapt forward and stuck a needle into her stomach. I could hear it go into her. She screamed and dropped to her knees, eyes rolling back in her head. It made me want to puke, remembering the effect of his toxins.
Poison Ivy wrapped a vine around her throat, squeezing tight. I closed my eyes and turned away, but not before I saw Joker kneel over her, grinning. “No, no! You can’t make noise! Guess I’ll have to cut out your tongue.” There was a wet sound and a howl that made me jump, then just muffled screams.

I wanted to run away, leave, never look back at what was happening to this girl. It seemed like hours before Poison Ivy stopped them, saying, “Alright. We’ve made our point. No one will disrespect us again. Kill her.”
Her voice was cold, but a wave of warmth ran through me when she walked from the room, stroking her nails down my face. She held a flower, large and dark blue with purple specks. The Wolf’s flower. “Buh-bye, Smiley. See you later.” I whimpered and curled further up.
There were more soft, chopping sounds. I knew what they were, and it made me sick. The Wolf wasn’t screaming anymore. She wasn’t making any noise, but I still didn’t hear Joker walk over to me. He put a hand on my shoulder and I shrieked. “Quinn. Shh, shh. Shut up.”
There was blood on his hands, splattered up his sleeves. “Get up. I want you to see this.” I closed my eyes again, shaking my head. “N...no...No. C-Can’t.” He pulled me up by the hair. I squealed and tried to push him away, but he pressed a knife to my lips. His voice was flat, quiet. “Go, Quinn. Or I’ll cut your tongue out too. I don’t need it.”
I swallowed and obeyed. I regretted it immediately. The Wolf...the girl....was collapsed on the floor. Scarecrow was crouched by her body, taking a sample of something. I preferred not to think why. Blood was everywhere, pooled underneath her corpse, on what was left of her clothes and skin. Even her blonde hair was stained red.
One of them had found her ‘claws’ and stuck them through her throat, which still had Poison Ivy’s vine around it. Joker had carved a smile on her face. I stepped on something squishy and looked down. Her tongue. I’d stepped on her tongue.
It was then that I vomited, running to a corner of the room and losing everything I had. Joker and Scarecrow were moving behind me, opening something. I turned to see them shoving her out the window. Joker tossed a handful of playing cards after her and laughed, laughed until he was half out the window, pointing below.

Scarecrow left then. We were alone in an apartment that reeked of blood and puke. Joker stood up and walked over to me, making me take his hands. When I did he left go and grabbed my chin, holding my head still. I could feel the tears on my face.
“Quinnie, did you, did you, ha!, see that? Did you see what happened to that girl?” I nodded, trying to get away from him. He slapped me until I stopped moving. “That’s, ha!, that’s what happens to people who disrespect me, who make me angry.” He licked a tear from my cheek and whispered, “That’s why you need to listen, what’ll happen if you leave me and try to go back to a normal life. Do you understand?”
I tore my head from his hands and tried to run, but he grabbed me again, squeezing my jaw so tightly it crunched. “DO YOU UNDERSTAND, GIRL?” I nodded and he grinned. “Good, GOOD! Now, let’s go home and celebrate.” Joker began to walk away, but then he turned back and embraced me.

“Honest, Quinn, everything is okay. You’re mine, Quinnie. It’s okay. I’ll keep you safe. I wouldn’t really cut out your tongue. I like your tongue. C’mon, give me a smile.” I smiled weakly against his shoulder, trying to memorize his words and this rare kindness. When he let go I willingly took his hand, and we went home. I barely noticed the Wolf’s battered body on the pavement outside.