Malice & Misery

"Uh, I think I might have to call you, uh back." The Joker smacked his lips before he ended the call and turned on his heels to face Alice, face to face.

"Gooooood uh morning, slee..ping beau..ty!"

***

She continued to stare at him, still panting and struggling to stand, and from the looks of it she her knees would give out soon. The Joker cocked his eyebrow and stared at her grimly, slightly ticked off that she wasn't responding.

"Look, I know that uh you've been knocked out for quite a while, possibly still a little woozy," he smacked his lips as he took a step closer to her with no hesitation, "but I'd ap-preciate a response. Actually no, you better respond, doll." He hissed and glared back at her.

Truth be told he wasn't upset over the fact the she wasn't responding in word form. He was fascinated if anything that she wasn't responding to him in any form. Most people would beg for mercy, ask who he is, where they are, or simply just cower in fear like the weak little things they are. But her? No, none of that. See usually he loved his play toys with a little bit of fight and attitude in em, it turned him on. But with Alice's glare and demeanor, there was something different...it was as if he almost felt...threatened? No, the Joker wasn't scared of anyone or anything. Challenged? If there's one thing Joker hated the most, it was when people tried to take his dominance in a situation from him. And he refuses to let that happen. She was HIS toy and he would make sure to get the message across.

"I should rip off every single one of your limbs right now for your oh so rudeness bu-t, Daddy's gonna be nice and assume maybe your brains not func-tioning well yet since ya just woke up." He licked his lips as he spoke in a menacing tone.

"...gry.."

His cocked his eyebrow as her lips slightly moved, a faint sound coming out. "Uh, what now?" He confidently strode over to her and bet down to level his eyes with hers, staring right into them." You're gonna have to speak a little louder darlin', all these explosions haven't really been so kind on my hearing. Now can you uh re-peat tha-t?" He inched his face closer to hers, close enough to feel her hot breathe on his skin.

"..h--ungry.."

Before he could even respond, she had yanked him towards her and sank her sharp canines into his neck. She dug her nails deep into the skin on the back of his neck as she pulled him closer in, if that was even possible. Blood dripped from his neck onto her bare chest and the tub, the blood mixing with the water and dancing in swirls. The bathroom was silent except for the sounds of her sucking and gulping up the Joker's blood like a wild animal. He simply stood there for a good minute, his face blank, taking in what was happening. Then he burst into laughter, a full on cackle, like he had just heard the best joke in the world, tears beginning to form in his eyes. Alice lifted her head in confusion from his sudden outburst. She slid her hand up from the back of his neck to his hair, grabbed a handful, and yanked his head back to look at him face to face.

"Stop."She growled at him, her lips covered with crimson as it dripped down the side of her lips to her neck. Joker got out one last wheezing laugh before he focused his eyes back on her, suddenly going menacingly grim.

"I.." He began, his voice just a above a whisper and full of venom, "don't like being told what to do. Especially by my toys." He growled back at her as he gripped her chin hard with his hand. She growled at him, it was such an animal like growl that it actually took him a little by surprise, how such a tiny girl could sound so...lethal. He then caught it in the corner of his eye as her hand started rushing towards his face, in attempt to hit him. He quickly and easily grabbed it by the wrist, her eyes widening in response.

The Joker smirked, noticing the change in her face. Finally, she's catching on. She thought she was in control, that she had the Joker vulnerable as she sank her teeth into him and feasted on him. But it was quite the opposite. He was in control since the beginning. He could've easily killed her the second he heard her get up. He had 3 daggers in his pockets, a gun strapped to his ankle, and other various weapons hidden around the bathroom as well. But like always, curiosity took over. He wanted to see what her first move would be. He wanted to study her and observe her. That's one thing about the Joker, he's always alert and his mind is always calculating. People think he's crazy and insane, that he does the things he does because he's lost his mind. But they have it all wrong; the only reason he can do the thing's he does, and a damn good job at it at that, is because his mind always analyzing.

And what analysis did he get from Alice? His analysis was that as a vampire and immortal, she's probably used to being feared, being in control, and not worrying about her actions. She's probably had her fair share of manipulating people just like him. Because that's what people who have the power to manipulate do. And he loved it, he loved ever bit of it, every bit of her. But he'd have to fill Alice in on one little thing. He's not like other people.

He's the Clown Prince of Terror.

"Release me, human." She hissed at him with venom as she clawed at his hand, her nails ripping into his skin as small speckles of blood formed. He simply watched in amusement as she struggled against his hold on her chin, her attempted attacks not effecting him at all. "Are you deaf or simply senile, human, I said release me immediately!" She continued, this time bearing her fangs. He could sense her anger and frustration increasing due to his lack of fear towards her and it made him smirk. She growled at him, trying to hide her disbelief and frustration. She's never in all her years of living on this Earth, met someone so...unaffected by her.

"RELEASE M-"

Before she could finish, he grabbed her by the neck and cut off circulation as he chocked her.

"Time to shut up and listen, d-oll. I'm sure you've lived your whole life doing things your way but I have uh- news for ya." He smacked his lips as he inched his red painted lips to her ear. "That's not how things work around here." He suddenly pushed her head into the water, her body flailing in protest as he started drowning her. He kept her head under water for a good 5 minutes, pretending to look at his nonexistent watch on his wrist then bringing her head back up. Her long hair was splayed wildly about her face again as she gasped for air and tried to reach out to attack the Joker with her nails again. She managed to slash her hand against his face and scratch his cheek. He frowned as he took his hand, the other grabbing onto her neck still, and felt the warm liquid emerge from the cut.

"Such a bad girl, you're hurting Daddy." He faked a sad sniffle as she watched him. He could tell her body was ready to give out soon. "You know what happens to bad girls? They get punished!" He grinned before he dunked her head back into the tub. He continued his punishment for a bit, bringing her head back up and then into the water again, her fighting spirit dying more and more with each dunk. His spine chilling laughter grew louder and louder, echoing in the bathroom with the sounds of splashing water.

"Now, have you learned your lesson? Will you be a good girl and listen to Daddy? All this and I still haven't even gotten to introduce myself to you darlin'." He pouted as he brought her up by yanking a handful of her wet tangled hair. He was basically holding her up, as she no longer had the strength to hold herself up. All the blood she had taken from the Joker was now washed from her mouth and body and mixed with the water in the tub. Her fangs had also disappeared. Her eyes were drooping, as if she were sleepy.

"You've got quite a uh, fighting spirit, huh. " He cocked his head to the as he licked his lips. "I like it, although I'm gonna have to continue to punish and teach you when to back down and obey daddy like a good girl." He giggled with his head thrown back in excitement, thinking of all the different ways he'd ruin her and make her his.

"I'm not scared of you."

He snapped his head back and stared at her. "..What..was that?" He asked in a slightly curious tone. Her head was hanging low and her eyes were closed before she opened them and looked straight into his.

"Just wait...till I'm fully awake. They'll come find me...and I'll make you regret."

Her eyes shut for good and her body went limp again; she was back into her familiar unconscious state. The Joker continued to hold her up by her hair, staring at her blankly. He was trying to take in what just happened.

Everything she just said to him now...she didn't say it. As in it didn't come out of her mouth. In fact her mouth was perfectly still, like the rest of her body. But as she stared at him with those violet eyes full of so many emotions the Joker couldn't make out, he heard her words in his head. And she knew exactly what she was doing.

The Joker broke into a chuckle as he carefully laid her body in the tub, resting her head against the end of it. He began draining the water, which was a light pink from mixing with blood, to fill it up with fresh water for her bath. He stared at her as he ran his hand across the wound on his neck, admiring it almost as his mouth broke into a smile.

"You're just as entertaining as I thought you'd be, my lovely little Alice." He giggled to himself as he began to fill the tub with fresh water, his mind replaying all the fun he just had with his new toy. Then he recalled the last thing she said to him before she returned to her slumber and that's when it hit him.

"Just wait...till I'm fully awake. They'll come find me...and I'll make you regret."

What does she mean by "fully" awake? And more importantly...

Who is "they"?