Met Your Match

J got the antidote pretty easily, with minimal killing of "Korean bakery" workers. He got it home and plunged the syringe directly into Adelaide's heart. There were no immediate effects; she didn't even respond in any noticeable way. He peeked at her wound and realized that it had stopped glowing green. He watched as the skin started to look less infected and began closing itself up. Soon, there was no trace of the wound at all other than the stitches that he himself had sewn into it.

He watched her for another twenty minutes before she finally began to stir. It was just small twitches at first, and then her eyes fluttered open and she lifted her head slightly, looking dazed. She stared at him for a moment, like she was trying to figure out who he was. She seemed to remember, and then plopped her head back down into the couch.

"How do you feel?" he asked, and she made a small noise in the back of her throat and shut her eyes.

"Like I died and came back to life," she whispered, her voice hoarse.

"You basically did," he told her, and she didn't bother to even open her eyes. "Rest now, little one," he said, picking her up gently and carrying her up the stairs.



When her eyes finally opened again, she was safe in her bed. She had no idea how long she'd been asleep, but it felt like days. Her entire body was sore, but she was relieved to see that the wound on her stomach had healed. Someone -Mister J, she assumed- had even removed the stitches, so there was no trace that anything had ever happened. She stood and stretched her limbs, feeling like she'd never done so before. She changed and made her way downstairs.

J was in the study. His eyes snapped up to meet hers when she entered, and she couldn't help but smile at him. She lifted her shirt slightly to show the lack of wound and he looked at her with bright eyes.

"How long was I out?" she asked, and he thought about it for a minute.

"Almost two days," he said, and her eyes went wide in surprise.

"Well, good as new at least," she told him, and he smiled.

"I'm glad to hear it. It was close," he said, and she nodded, moving across the room and stepping behind the desk. He looked at her expectantly, his face telling her that he was wondering what the hell she was doing.

"Thank you, J," she said, leaning down closer to his face. She hovered there for a second before kissing his lips just lightly.

"What did you do that for?" he asked her, and she laughed.

"Because you saved my life," she said, and he shook his head.

"I'm also the reason you almost lost it," he said, giving her an intense look.

"But you went out of your way to save it. I heard you while I was out. I know you went and got the antidote yourself. I felt it when you gave me the shot."

"Don't let this change your opinion of me, kitten. I'm still big bad Mister J," he said, an air of sarcasm thick in his voice.

"I don't think you're all that bad at all. Maybe you used to be, but from where I'm standing it seems maybe you've gone a little soft," she said, mentally bracing for impact. She'd mostly said the words to get a reaction out of him, but he just stared at her.

"Don't think for a second that I'm not still that guy. Just because I reign him in sometimes now doesn't mean he's not here," he whispered, digging a finger into his temple. She was surprised at his words. She'd expected him to scream at her or tell her to get away from him; anything but speak rationally.

His eyes shined as she looked into them and suddenly she wanted to kiss him again, so she did. He kissed her back, putting his hands stiffly on her shoulders, and then standing and putting them around her waist.

"No," he whispered a moment later, pulling his arms back and stepping away from her. "This can't happen," he told her, knowing full well that he was hurting her feelings. "You have to... get out of here," he said, wiping at his smeared lipstick and smearing it more.

"I don't want to," she said, and his eyes met hers. She couldn't tell what he was thinking.

"Why?" he roared the word at her, startling her. She took a step toward him, and he matched her with a backwards one.

"Because you saved my life. Because I'm not scared of you. Because I think I might... love you," she whispered, surprising even herself with the admission.

"No, you don't," he growled, every bit the Joker once more. His eyes filled with rage and he started to cackle. "You don't love me, stupid girl. Haven't you heard that I'm positively unlovable? Go ask anyone and they'll tell you," he shouted at her, getting right up in her face.

"You know what? Fine. I'll leave you alone, dick," she spat the words at him, instantly furious.

She knew she'd been stupid to tell him those things, she'd known it the moment she'd said them. She guessed that part of her had just expected to maybe be able to get through to him somehow. She knew that there was a real person in there somewhere; she'd seen it just a few minutes before, in fact.

She stormed out of the study and up the stairs, slamming the door to her bedroom. He continued to cackle downstairs, and she threw a pillow at the door.