The Last Laugh

I texted The Joker again. This time writing:

'I CAN'T GET OUT OF MY ROOM. 2 MANY GUARDS.'

He didn't have to text me back for me to know he was going to do something about it.

It was the night of the masquerade ball, and I was putting my awesomely awesome costume on. Of course, I had to sneak the bag into the bathroom so that the guards in my room wouldn't see it. It fit perfectly, and made my curves more prominent. I pulled the hat on over my head and shook it from side to side, giggling at the little tinkling that the bells made. I had to admit it; I was one sexy checkerboard. The costume had no shoes, but I managed to find some long black boots at a near-by shoe store. I was all ready to go.

The ball started at 9 o'clock, and it was currently 8:30. It would only take me about fifteen minutes to drive to the place where the event was being held. So I had fifteen minutes to kill. The Joker had about fifteen men to kill. What to do, what to do…

I heard a great 'thud' occur out in the hallway of the hotel room. The two officers that were in my room were gone, most likely out in the hallway bleeding all over the ugly puke-pink carpeting. I slipped my mask onto my face and peered into the hallway. My assumption had been correct. He did an even better job here than he had at my apartment. And, once again, without me hearing a single shriek of terror.

All of the bodies had their throats slit, and The Joker had formed some their bodies into one giant smile. Two men being the eyes, and three were used to make the mouth. The rest were just scattered in a bloody mess. On the wall across from me were two officers, hand-cuffed together to look like they were dancing. One had a tux drawn on his uniform in blood, the other had a dress drawn on him. The one in the tux had both sides of his mouth cut. Something told me it was supposed to be me and him.

It was like a masterpiece that he had sketched out for me. It was so romantic.

I stepped over the bodies carefully, making sure not to step on any of them. I didn't want my costume to get polluted with blood.

I called a taxi and told him the address of where the ball was being held; it was going to be at the Gothamplex, this beautiful and fancy building with a large ballroom. I was surprised that we were able to afford something such as imperial as the Plex.

The driver dropped me off at the front door, and I stared at the three story building and its long white columns. Lovely.

Anticipation was fizzing up inside of me. I could not wait to see him again, and this time without any handcuffs. I could feel sweat starting to form on my forehead underneath my happy clown mask. I knew he had picked this mask out especially for me, because of my attitude. It made me feel smug.

I walked in through the doors and did not care for the long and elegant staircase, the intricate designs of the walls, nor the beauty of the bright chandelier. I had one thing on my mind, and he was no decoration.

"Would you like to dance, beautiful?" a man asked. This was the tenth request of the night, and it had been two hours. I sighed and nodded my head, agreeing only because I was bored.

"Sure," I mumbled. The guy, who was wearing a tux and a full-face tiger mask, didn't even care how my response sounded like, as long as it was a yes. He snaked his little hand behind my back and his little fingers in-between mine and we started to waltz. As long as I was here, I might as well show off a bit. Whenever he went to twirl me, I did a little pirouette, looking elegant and graceful. I knew I was a quite a spectacle.

"Who are you?" he asked me, mesmerized, when I returned from my twirl. I giggled at him.

"You'll find out in fifty minutes!"

He said nothing, but continued dancing for another half hour, when we were both tired and wanted a drink.

"So," he began slyly, putting 'the moves' on me. Cat-face wrapped his little hand around my waist as he handed me my glass. "Are you going to let me kiss you at midnight?"

I smiled at him, even though he couldn't see it. "If you live that long…" I mumbled. When he asked what it was I said, I told him, "Nothing!"

A man came up to the microphone. "Alright, folks! It's five minutes till midnight! Grab your special someone and enjoy the final dance of the night!"

Cat-face tugged on my arm and led me back out to the dance floor. He tried starting up a conversation with me.

"So, do you have a boyfriend?" he asked, visibly trying to be nonchalant and failing.

"WELL," I began, wondering where to start. "I DID have on, but he's in jail now. But there's this guy that I like, and I think he might like me back. Sadly, he's a murdering psychopath. That doesn't bother ME at all, of course. He said he was going to show up tonight, but I haven't seen him. But there are still four minutes left…"

My life-story made him speechless. He still danced with me, but I could tell he felt awkward. Good.

The man was at the mic again. "Let's start the countdown! Ten, nine, eight, seven…"

The ballroom was echoing with the countdown to midnight. Even I joined in chipperly.

"Three, two one-"

The final number was surpassed by a loud gunshot that rang through the air. Cat-face let go of me suddenly, and I turned around just in time to see him fall to the ground. A small hole that wasn't there before was gushing out red blood from his chest. I didn't give him a second thought. The only thing I said was:

"He's here."

Screams were rebounding off of the walls, and a stampede of people were running to the doors. But, unfortunately for them, they were being blocked off by men wearing eerie clown masks.

"Ladies and gentlemen!" A voice rang out from the speakers. Everyone's head turned to the stage where The Joker, wearing his usual attire, was holding the microphone. "No need to be alarmed! I'm just here to party like the rest of you. Now," he licked his lips. "I'm looking for someone, maybe you could help me. She's wearing a jester's costume? Black and red checkerboard with a little jingly hat. Anyone?" He walked out into the crowd, stepping close to people as he asked the questions. Everyone leaped away from him as if he were a cockroach. A cockroach wearing clown make-up.

His eyes finally landed on me, but his expression didn't change.

"You look like someone with answers!" he bellowed out to me. He dragged his finger down the side of my face all the way to my shoulder. The places where his gloved fingers touched left a trail of goose bumps. He pulled out a flower from his coat pocket, the same one that I had found in my suitcase, and handed it to me, making sure to step on cat-face.

I took it daintily, and my heart thudded away in my chest.

"It's midnight," he told me quietly, getting dangerously close. "Why're you still wearing your mask? I want to see those pretty blue eyes of yours."

I shook my head slowly, teasing him.

"You kinda killed the person I was dancing with."

He gazed down at the man he was stepping on and then back up to me. He held his hand out expectantly.

"You're dancing with ME, now," he told me. His voice was so menacing, so fearful, it made my heart flutter. I accepted his hand and he pulled me to the center of the room. Everyone backed away from us like we were a couple of freaks.

"I missed you," he mumbled to me, and I shivered.

"You always do," I replied in a dream-like tone.

In his arms, I felt like a cloud. I floated across the floor, never once taking my eyes off of him. He lifted the hand he was holding gently and kissed it, licking his lips afterwards. Was it normal to be jealous of my hand?

Police sirens began to ring through the air. Neither of us seemed to notice.

"Aw, I guess our fun is over!" I griped sadly. He shook his index finger from side to side.

"Not when I'm in control," The Joker sang. He pulled out some sort of remote from a jacket pocket, the opposite one that had my flower in it. The remote had two buttons on it. In his other hand there was a knife, and he walked back over to cat-face and ripped his shirt open with the knife. Taped to cat-face's body was a bomb, and more screams arose from the surrounding viewers. He picked up the microphone again.

"You get out of here if I get out of here," he told his spectators. He pressed the bottom button, and the wall behind him exploded, sending debris everywhere. I was standing ten feet away from him. He made no gesture for me to come.

When all the dust had cleared, there was a helicopter ladder hanging down from somewhere up high. All of The Joker's goons hitched a ride on it, and then finally The Joker himself. He didn't climb up to the helicopter, but held onto the bottom rung.

Was he leaving me? Again? Without saying good-bye?

I ran up to him and yelled over the sound of the helicopter. "What about me?"

He didn't say anything, but slowly took off my mask and grinned at my hopeful face.

"Keep on smiling," he said, and the helicopter took off, leaving me standing and disappointed. I could hear his distinct laughter ringing throughout the night sky.

The police wrapped me up in a dark brown blanket and sat me in an ambulance. Not like I was hurt or anything. They said it was just, 'precaution,' because I had been so near the explosion. Lieutenant Gordon was questioning me…again.

"Have you had contact with The Joker after his escape?" he asked me wearily, rubbing his temples.

"Yep," I told him honestly.

"Then why didn't you report that?"

"Not like you guys could've done anything." I mumbled.

"We could've traced it," he informed me angrily. "This WOULD explain the messages he left on the wall at your apartment. What else has he said to you?"

"Just that he'd see me here, and stuff like that," I told him, trying to play dumb. "I had no idea what he was talking about."

"Your cell phone says otherwise."

"I didn't know that it was REALLY The Joker!" I tried to explain. "I thought it was just a joke."

"Either way, we're going to have to hide you again," Gordon said with a sigh. "Did you know that he slaughtered your guards again?"

"What?!" I shrieked. Oh, I was such a good little actress! "I had no idea! I just slipped out the window. They wouldn't let me come here."

He looked at me suspiciously, and I looked at him innocently. I knew that he was onto me.

"The guests said you danced with him," he told me. "Is this true?"

"Yes," I said. "Only because he threatened to kill me like he killed cat-face."

"You mean the man that was shot?"

"Ahuh. I didn't want to dance with him. He made me."

He let out a breath.

There was suddenly a huge explosion from behind. We all whipped our heads around to see the Gothamplex collapsing into a fiery inferno. Large clouds of smoke were billowing in the air, and flames were reaching out to us. The beautiful white columns were falling onto police cars and the fire engine, adding screaming crashes into the already violent atmosphere.

I was the only one that laughed.