Motley

Joker tosses a knife to Motley, laughing when he fumbles and almost drops it. “C’mon, kid. You gotta go better than that.”

Motley frowns, brows furrowing. He flips the blade open and stands there, eyeing J. “It's a knife, J.” Joker sighs and rolls his eyes.

“Obviously. I want to teach your, ha, how to fight. How to be, ah, my delightful little sidekick.”

Motley turns the blade over and over in his hands. “I like knives, J.”

Joker smirks and steps closer to pat his head with approval. “Good boy. I just, haha, want you to get used to it, for now.”
He kneels in front of Motley and wraps his hands around the hilt, noting how tiny Motley is compared to him. He looks Motley in the eyes, telling him, “Don’t put the knife down, Motley. I need you to, ha, make it another part of yourself.”

Motley nods, face very serious. There’s an intense look in his green eyes, slightly ruined by the ice cream smeared across his cheek. Joker reaches over to rub it away, not thinking. Motley grins and wraps his arms around J. “I love you, J.”

Joker pushes him away with a snarl. “Stop fucking throwing yourself all over me, Motley. I’m not, hah, gonna baby you.”

Motley’s lower lip quivers as he quickly wipes tears away. He will not cry in front of J. “S-Sorry.”

Joker groans angrily and reaches down to stretch Motley’s mouth into a grin. “Don’t be so sad, kiddo! And make sure you’re aware of, haha, the knife.”

Motley perks up and nods, already swinging the knife casually. “Okay!”

He gathers up Harley’s blanket and stands in front of Joker, waiting expectantly. “What do you, ah, want, kid?”

Motley grips the knife hard enough that his knuckles turn white before speaking. “Where’s Leen? I miss Leen.”

Joker sighs loudly and shrugs. “Dunno, Mot. Somewhere, probably.”

It is, of course, a bad time for one of his henchmen to come inside carrying a body bag. “Boss, we found her.” The man unzips the bag and dumps its contents out before Joker can speak. It’s Harley Quinn, or what used to be her. Joker shuts his eyes and hisses through his teeth when Motley wails, running over to touch her mottled skin.

Her blue eyes are wide and unseeing. She reeks of sewer water, not the comforting scent Motley remembers. Her skin is ice cold, slightly damp. “Leen?” Motley’s hands flutter across her face, knife forgotten on the floor behind him. “Leen!” Motley sprawls himself across her body, head on her chest. His mother is dead, and he can’t understand that.

Joker turns to his henchman, who shudders at the look in his eyes. “We, ah, we found her in the sewers. She drowned. I think it’s, uh, s-suicide,” the man stammers.

“So, you brought her, ah, in HERE, where we eat, and you, haha, thought it’d be a good idea to dump the body in front of a little kid,” Joker says slowly, grinning like a shark.

Motley sobs quietly behind them, fist stuffed in his mouth to hide the noise. “That was stupid of you,” Joker snarls as he kills the man.

“Leen is cold,” Motley says softly, draping his blanket over her face. “I'm scared, J.”

Joker rubs his face. He does not want to deal with the kid falling into pieces.
“Look, Motley...she’s, ah, she’s not gonna wake up, okay? She’s dead. Not coming, haha, back.” Something in Motley’s face hardens, giving him an expression that’s far too old for a kid. Motley nods once and climbs off her, pulling the blanket off her and around himself. He walks slowly from the room, only stopping to pick up his knife.

It will stay by his side for the next few weeks, becoming as much a part of him as his fingers. Joker bends and takes Harley into his arms, pushing blonde hair away from her face. He'll bury her body in Arkham's cemetery; she probably would've ended up there anyway. He tells Poison Ivy, because she was fond of Harley and someone has to mourn her. Joker knows he won’t. He doesn’t tell Motley. They never talk of Harley again.
+++
Joker brings Motley out with him on a job two weeks later. Motley is hollow-eyed and thin, mouth a hard line. He hasn’t been the same since Leen’s death. The knife is kept clenched in his fist. Joker doesn’t like it. He wants smiles, not the quiet sobs he hears from Motley late at night. Joker can sense that Motley is crazy like him, behind those wide green eyes.

He wonders if Motley will like what he likes, too-chaos, death, pain. So he brings Motley out on a job. Simple enough, murdering two henchmen who just didn’t know how to be QUIET. And, maybe, stealing a thing or ten. “Watch and learn, Mot,” Joker says, holding the first man down and opening his mouth. He gives his infamous cackle.

“Not so, haha, clever now, are you? How’d you, hee, like a brand new, bea-u-ti-ful, grin!” The man whimpers, trying to squirm away. Motley watches with fascinated eyes. He passes the knife from hand to hand without noticing. Joker slits the man’s face open, enjoys his scream for a moment, and kills him.

He glances back to see that Motley doesn’t appear disturbed. “C’mere, kid.” Motley inches closer to sit by Joker.

He reaches a hand to touch the man’s neck, soaking his fingers in blood. “He's dead, J.” Joker’s laugh is cut off by the arrival of Batman.

Motley doesn’t like this big, dark man, so different from his laughing father. He moves closer to J. “Batman. I’m, haha, so glad you showed up! I’ve missed you.”

Batman crosses his arms over his chest. “Put the knife down, Joker. Arkham is waiting.” His eyes flick to Motley, cowering behind Joker.

“Who is this boy? What have you done, Joker?” His horrified eyes note Motley’s starved face, the blood on his fingers. “Even you haven’t sunk so low as to steal children.”

Joker giggles and pats Motley’s blond head. “I, haha, I didn’t steal him. He’s mine. Mine mine mine mine MINE. Well, mine and Harley’s. But I don’t have to share, cause, ah, she’s dead now.” His worried sidelong glance at Motley goes unnoticed.

“Give him up, Joker. Let him go back to his family.”

Joker chuckles and wraps an arm around Motley’s shoulders. “I am his family, Bats. Can’t you see the resemblance? Well, except for the scars. Of course, those could be added....” He pinches Motley’s smooth cheek and winks. Batman growls and reaches for Joker, who laughs, dancing away. All Batman manages to do is snag a few strands of Motley’s hair before he and the Joker disappear.
++
It’s late. Batman’s been up for too long, down in the Batcave. Alfred has breakfast waiting upstairs, but this is more important. He’s running Motley’s hair through the computer, trying to find out his DNA. He’s got some cells from the Joker, too, and it....matches. Motley is related to Joker and Harley Quinn. Batman swallows his disgust and sighs, slipping the cowl off. He laughs bitterly to himself, wondering why he still gives his all to this damn city.