I'm Not a Monster, I'm Just Ahead of the Curve

I made it back to my apartment a bloody mess. Pain filled every inch of my body, blood decorated my skin and clothes. As I noticed that the Joker had moved from the warehouse that was next to my house, I felt just a little bit safer. Opening the door to my apartment, I felt fatigue catch up with me. I had to drag myself to the bathroom to clean myself up. Every scar, every wound inflicted on me by the Joker was showing. My wrists were bruised, my head and face covered in blood, everything was a constant reminder of him. I turned on the radio and was graced by the sounds of 'Iris', which calmed me down. "I don't want the world to see me. Because I don't think that they'd understand. When everything's made to be broken, I just want you to know who I am" I sung as I cleaned the wounds. This song suited me at the moment, for I wanted nothing better than to hideaway from the world. I was scarred, beaten, marked for life, yet my will was still strong. 'I won't let him break that. He can do whatever he wants, but I will not let him break me' I thought.

After cleaning up, I put on my pajamas and laid in bed. I was so tired but so nervous, that I couldn't sleep. Reaching for my cell phone, I noticed that I had many missed calls and numerous text messages. I erased all of them, except for one that was oddly suspicious. I didn't know the number but I kept it. After hours of restless sleep, I finally managed to sleep. The next morning, I woke up with a smile. Something inside of me was missing the Joker though. 'His voice, his laugh, everything. It's so odd to not be around him' I thought, not even caring anymore. 'He's starting to get to me' I thought as I got dressed and headed down to the water. My cousin, who had lived in Gotham for years but moved out to live closer, said that there was an abandoned beach in Gotham.

As I headed down to the beach, my thoughts were plagued by the Joker. 'Why haven't I been killed?' I thought as I made my way down to the beach. Once I got there, I saw a rock breaker that I headed over to. Once I sat down, I smiled as I felt the wind brush past me. "I dig my toes into the sand. The ocean looks like a bunch of diamonds strewn across a blue blanket. I lean against the wind and pretend that I am weightless. And in this moment I am happy…happy" I sung softly. "You sing beautifully" came a voice next to me. I turned and saw a good looking man next to me. "Oh, I didn't know anyone else was here" I said, blushing due to being embarrassed. "No need to be embarrassed, you have a beautiful voice" said the man. "Thank you" I said. "What's your name?" he asked. "My name is Keira Winters" I said. "Oh the girl that the Joker supposedly took as a hostage?" asked the man. "Yes, that would be me" I said, laughing. "What's your name?" I asked the man. "My name is Jack. It's a pleasure to meet you" he said.

I smiled at Jack and then turned back to the ocean. "What was the Joker like?" asked Jack. "He was…like how you saw him in the video" I said. "These scars, are they from him?" he asked. "Yes. He branded me, so that Gotham and everyone else would know who I belonged to. The bruises are from him too. Sometimes I wonder, what did I ever do to him? I mean, I know I snooped around his property, and I know curiosity kills the cat, but why me?" I said. Jack was quite for a moment before putting a comforting hand on my shoulder. "Maybe he wanted to show you that even the best of people could be broken?" suggested Jack. "You don't get it. Even though he hurt me, something in me can't hate him. In fact, it's quite the opposite" I said. Jack removed his hand from my shoulder. He seemed stunned by what I said. I sighed and stood up. "Jack, I know it seems weird to have some type of feelings for a person society has deemed crazy, but something about him makes me believe that he isn't crazy. He's just…different" I said. I heard Jack stand up and lean close to my ear. The whole situation seemed so familiar to me. "I don't think it's weird" he said, before disappearing.

I looked around and his last words echoed in my mind. 'His voice, it's familiar' I thought as I headed back home. I was in my own little world, trying to figure out how I knew the voice when a semi-truck pulled up in front of me. "Well hello beautiful!" called the wiry voice I knew all to well. "Joker?" I asked, picking up my head. "Beautiful, what's wrong? You don't look happy to see me" he said, jumping out of the truck. I couldn't help it and I laughed as I went up to him and hugged him. 'I'm losing it, I must be' I thought as the Joker laughed ."Aw beautiful, I missed you to" he said. I smiled and jumped into the van. 'I'm selling my soul to devil, but I can not go back to my boring life, not now, not after meeting the Joker' I thought as the Joker got in and sat next to me. "Where to?" I asked. "We're going after a convoy. Har-vey has decided to come out as the Batman" said the Joker. It was at that moment I realized what the guns were for. "Can I man the RPG?" I asked, causing the guys and the Joker to be shocked. "Beautiful, I like how you think" he said, smiling. 'She's going to break soon' thought the Joker as he smiled his cruel smile.