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Laughter in the Dark	By : FlameWolf666 Category: DC Verse Movies > The Dark Knight Views: 9317 -:- Recommendations : 1 -:- Currently Reading : 1
Disclaimer: I do not own anything from the Dark Knight or the Batman franchise. This story is just for fun and no profit will be made from it.

Chapter List
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WARNING!!: Severe Psychological Damage.

Author’s Note: Stuff kinda starts to set in. Be prepared for a hard read.

Chapter Twenty: Coming to Terms

    She was back in the warehouse again, Roger looming over her with a sick grin on his too red lips. “You little bitch, you passed out before I came. Guess who you fucking called for?” he snarled, the look in his blue eyes speaking of vindication. Marie could only feel a dip in her stomach as absolute terror began to fill her.

    “No, no! You were fucking dead! I saw Selina cut your throat! I even remember the ride home! This can’t be fucking happening!” the shaking female gasped, her heart racing as she did her best to scoot away with her freed legs. In a flash, the larger, stronger man was pressing her to the cool concrete via her neck; making her struggle to breathe.

    “Well guess what? None of that happened! And guess what else?” he fairly cackled, his voice sounding insane as he leaned in to whisper the rest in her ear, “I’m nowhere near done with you yet you little cunt.”

    Then he was releasing her to take a few steps back, a grin on his face that turned her stomach as he brought up the hunting knife still in his hand. “Let’s start with that face of yours. Give you a set of scars to match your ‘boyfriend’,” he cooed, turning the sharp implement so it glinted in the dim light. Then he was placing the razor sharp weapon against her cheek and slicing it opening, filling her mouth with blood and her world with horrific pain. That was when she began to scream, only getting a sickening laugh from her former lover as he really got to work on her.

    Joker paced one of the empty back rooms of the warehouse, his gloved hands clasped tightly behind his lower back as he moved almost aggressively. His mind was a whirlwind of confusion after Marie’s unthinking confession, the killer simply unable to reconcile the idea that someone that was unbroken loved him. In fact, he normally would have killed her on the spot for daring to have such sentiment. The fact that he hadn’t, along with just how... lost he had felt when she had disappeared, disturbed him greatly. He was supposed to be above such petty feelings, but if that was the case why had his heart skipped a beat during her confession. Growling in frustration, the confused murderer threw one of his knives at a target; the blade hitting home when the gut wrenching screaming began.

    Both he and Crane appeared at the foot of the metal stairs, both wearing identical looks of concern as they rushed up the small flight. Then they were rushing into the room, the clown shoving the former doctor out of the way to take the screaming, writhing Marie into his purple clad arms. “Marie! Wake up!” Joker yelled, shaking her roughly until the blonde eventually regained consciousness; her screams fading for absolute confusion as her gray eyes opened.

    “J-j... wh-where... how?” she gasped in a voice that practically tore his heart from his chest as her frightened orbs searched around the room.

    “Shhhh, shhh. You’re at the hideout. It was just a dream,” the criminal found himself soothing, not even stopping to question what he was doing as the distraught female began to remember what her nightmare had been about.

    “I was back there with Roger. He told me all of this had been the dream. Then he... he... I can still feel every cut he made on my face as if they really happened,” the terrified female gasped out before she remembered where she was and who she was with.

    “Shit, it sounds like she sustained some mental trauma from what that asshole did to her,” Jonathan growled out, a bit of his other half coming out and making his voice a deep rasp. Joker only shot him a glare as he tried to gain control over his emotions. Seeing the blonde so distraught was affecting him far more than he would like and he found himself wanting to be alone with her.

    “No shit Sherlock! I wouldn’t be surprised if she developed some sort of PTSD from what he did to her. If you’re just going to state to obvious, get the fuck out,” the disguised male snarled, his green eyes shimmering with promised violence.

    Crane only glared at his partner, his own nerves frayed to their breaking point due to how close they had come to losing Marie. If she had died... just thinking about it made the thin male shudder with absolute dread. There would have been no stopping ‘Scarecrow’. The dark entity that shared his body would have just unleashed all his rage and pain onto Gotham. Not even the clown in front of him would have been safe, no one would have been with the only thing the crazed darkness cared about gone. Taking a deep breath, he shifted his cerulean gaze to the shaking Psychologist and forcing himself into a role he hadn’t played in many years. “Marie,” he whispered in a gentle voice, ignoring the warning growl from Joker as he placed a gentle hand on her upper arm.

    The female jerked before turning her terror filled gaze to her former patient. Then she was flinging herself into his arms and sobbing loudly, the gaunt male comforting her in a way that the ‘Clown Prince’ hadn’t allowed himself to. Immediately his arms were wrapping tight around her and his lips were at her ear, murmuring comforting things as he rocked her gently. One of his bony hands played with her sandy locks as her tears wet his shoulder, both of them ignoring the pure rage and jealousy practically rolling off the killer watching them. “Easy hun. Just let it all out. You’re safe,” the lithe man murmured, his voice sounding like two people talking at once as his other half used his body to offer its own brand of comfort.

    Soon her sobs were tapering off as she calmed, the twenty-eight year old releasing a watery sigh as she wiped tears from her eyes. “I’m sorry, I must seem like an absolute fool,” Marie murmured in a soft voice, a purpled nailed hand moving a lock of her slightly curled hair behind her ear.

    “No Marie. It’s understandable that you would have such a bad reaction to such a nightmare,” Jonathan assured, slipping back into his Psychiatrist role easily. His fellow doctor only shook her head before wiping her eyes.

    “Maybe for someone not in my position...,” she whispered quietly, her stormy gaze fixed on the concrete floor as Jasper slowly came out from under the bed to assess the situation. Silence filled the room after her declaration, Crane shooting Joker a glare.

    The painted criminal only glared back, not willing to leave despite the clear message. Despite his reputation, he had never used her moments of weakness against her. He had many opportunities but the thought never crossed his mind. Besides, he wasn’t going anywhere while she was still so distraught. “Bon Jovi,” he whispered in a soft voice, drawing her reluctant eyes.

    “You’ve already trusted me with so much. Why not trust me to take care of you during your times of weakness?” he continued, the scars on his cheeks giving him an abnormally solemn expression. The ex-Psychologist could only open her mouth before shutting it again, a thoughtful expression crossing her white face.

    “I... I don’t... After what happened...,” she murmured her voice growing more and more quiet as her eyes lowered, making it clear she was talking about her confession and his reaction to it. Only Jonathan wasn’t aware of what she was talking about, his azure eyes moving from the woman in his lap to Joker and back again as he tried to figure it out.

    The colorful villain only pursed his ruby lips before his green eyes moved to Crane. The look in those orbs clearly told the taller man to get out but he seemed to ignore it, only tightening his arms around Marie as she continued to snuggle against him. Joker lifted his upper lip in response, a gloved hand palming one of his throwing knives as he released a very quiet growl. The chemist on the floor only narrowed his eyes in response, making a gesture with his head towards the pajama clad female who was practically buried in his bony chest. The tux clad murderer only stiffened more before heaving a sigh and putting the knife back, running his now free hand through his dyed hair. “Marie... I... I need to talk to you... alone,” he bit out, hating the fact that he was asking for anything. He was used to just taking and having to actually consider someone’s feelings felt foreign to him.

    Releasing a watery sigh, the still distraught woman gave a small nod before pulling herself out of her former patient’s lap. Clearing her throat as she picked up her overweight cat, the blonde gave Crane a grateful smile before giving a small nod. “Thanks Jonathan. I should be okay now,” she whispered before turning to face the criminal on the bed. Sighing, the rail thin male pulled himself up before simply giving a nod and leaving. As soon as the door clicked shut, Joker was pulling her into his lap and wrapping his arms around her as his chin came to rest on the top of her head.

    Just smelling his scent helped soothe something inside her and Marie found herself relaxing against the unpredictable male despite herself. The thought that he could easily kill her and not bat an eye briefly crossed her mind but she tossed it aside. The man holding her wasn’t known for his patience or compassion. If he had wanted her dead or broken, he would have done so long ago. Instead he had shared his past and name with her, even went to look for her when she had been kidnapped. There was also the fact that he didn’t kill her for her unwanted declaration, something that still kinda shocked her. “Did you mean it?” came a rasped whisper, nearly making the high strung woman jump out of her skin.

    “Wh-what?” gasped the stunned doctor, shifting so she could look up into his hazel eyes. What she saw there nearly made her heart stop in her chest from fear.

    His vibrant eyes were hard and cold as ever, holding a deep rage that faintly made her skin tingle. “Did you mean it,” he repeated, his voice holding a slight edge as he enunciated each word clearly, making them feel like individual gunshots as he spat them out. Flinching, Marie lowered her gaze as tears threatened to fall once more. With the remnants of her dream still haunting her, his ire was just too much for her to handle.

    “Please... I’m sorry,” she found herself whispering, her voice mirroring how she once sounded with Roger and causing the killer beneath her to jolt in place.

    In seconds her chin was grabbed in a leather covered grip and yanked upward as she was forced to meet Joker’s cold, dead eyes. As she stared into those empty orbs, she felt herself slowly relax. “Answer the question,” he insisted, his voice oddly soft despite the anger still present in his tone; his fingers moving slightly on her skin.

    “Y-yes. I... I love you Jack. Heaven help me, I fucking love you,” she whispered, her eyes slipping closed as she waited for his reaction.

    Instead of whatever she was expecting, the mercurial male was lifting her off his lap and placing her on his bed as he got to his feet. Opening her stormcloud eyes, Marie saw the purple wearing murderer pacing the floor with an absolutely livid expression on his painted face. His lipstick coated lips were pulled up into a vicious snarl that was accentuated by his scars. “You love me,” he hissed in a mocking, bitter manner, his leather covered hands knotting in his curly, green hair and tugging.

    Then he was turning and charging toward her, scaring the ever skittish Jasper back under the bed when he slammed his open palms down on the mattress on either side on her. The tip of his nose was touching hers as he sneered down at her, his purple and green clad chest heaving as his eyes locked on hers. “How can you fucking love me? What is love anyway but an ideal created by a society trying to make sexual slavery okay! You end up being with one person only to find out they haven’t been as faithful! You tie yourselves to another in the hopes of making your filthy selves feel whole! Love is nothing but a fucking lie!” he screamed, his spit hitting her face due to how close he was.

    “Whatever it is, it’s all I have to define just how I feel about you,” she whispered in a soft, but broken voice, her eyes meeting his even as he glowered down at her.

    “And how would you say you feel about me,” he snarled in a semi-taunting voice, only serving to add to her distress. Yet she found it somewhere within herself to answer, honestly praying at this point that he would just leave her alone after. Right now she needed a good cry and with how he was acting, she didn’t feel comfortable doing it in Joker’s presence.

    “I want to protect you, take care of you. As unpredictable as you can be, I don’t want to leave here. Being with you and Crane has felt more like a home than my apartment ever did. When you leave... I feel lonely. I... I honestly can’t see my life without you in it anymore,” she whispered softly, bracing herself for the inevitable rage.

    So when Joker shoved himself away from her with a disgusted expression, Marie wasn’t surprised. Swallowing the tears clogging her throat, the blonde fought against the vice clamping around her heart. If she could just last until he left, she could sob herself into another nightmare and start the cycle over. Just the thought of it brought a semi-hysterical giggle from her lips as the room began to sway and waver before her. This seemed to draw the killer’s attention back to her but the overwrought female was beyond caring. Her heart a sore in her chest, she felt her body collapsing as she lost consciousness; the feeling of Joker’s arms catching her the last thing she was aware of.

    Marie slipped into what seemed like an eternity of darkness, the only sound a very muffled voice saying something. She was faintly aware of the feeling of shaking but she was reluctant to leave this quiet darkness. Outside of this was a reality where she had been raped by her boyfriend and her lover didn’t want anything to do with her love. It was much easier to stay here, much more comfortable. Here there was no pain, no nightmares, no broken heart. Here was just peace and a feeling of safety. Still, that feeling of shaking was getting very persistent. Then there was a sudden explosion of pain in the injured side of her face, forcing her out of her purgatory against her will.

    As the former Psychologist came to, she was greeted with a black, red and white blur very close to her face.   “That’s it. There ya go. Keep comin’ back,” urged a familiar voice, a voice that made pain squeeze around her heart in a tight band. Moaning softly, the sandy haired female blinked to clear her vision to see Joker giving her a look that switched between worried and disgusted.

    “There you are. There you are,” he murmured in a quiet, worried voice, a complete contrast to the look in his eyes.

    Then he was wrapping her into a tight hug, rocking her gently as his lips met her ear; mirroring what Crane had done earlier and confusing the shit out of a very emotionally worn out Marie. “Joker, you can’t keep flip-flopping like this. You can’t act like you can’t stand me one minute and comforting the next,” she requested softly, unable to take the contradiction he was presenting her. His hands only pulsed on her back before he seemed to go completely still. This was followed by a silence so thick that it only served to exacerbate her torn nerves.

    “Please, I really need some quiet right now,” she whispered, bracing herself for his rage at her audacity at asking him to leave.

    Instead of going into a rage and slamming the door like she thought, the killer only sighed before nodding slightly. “Okay,” he conceded before releasing her to reach for one of her books on the near-by dresser and began to read it. Marie could only blink at him before clearing her throat. Once his eyes were again focused on her, she gave him a confused look.

    “Your actions aren’t exactly helping,” she pointed out cautiously, stunned when the make-up wearing man rolled his eyes at her.

    “If you think I’m leaving you again after hearing you scream like that, you have another thing coming,” he bit out, his eyes still holding faint disgust as they locked onto hers.

    “Joker...,” she began, only to be stopped by the crazed clown holding up a gloved hand.

    “That’s the second time you’ve called me that since Crane left. I could forgive the first time as a mistake but now I’m starting to think it deliberate. I believe I told you my real name and asked you to use it when we’re alone,” he whispered, his calm voice holding a steely edge as he glared at her expectantly.

    “Jack then! Please! I can’t... I can’t handle you looking at me like that after exposing my heart to you not once but twice. I need you to leave,” Marie begged in a shaky voice, flinching when he sat up and set the book aside. His eyes flashed in response before he was roughly taking her into his arms and forcing her to lay beside him.

    “Just... shut up and stop, uh, thinkin’ so much,” he growled before picking up the book and beginning to read once more.

    At first Marie tried to squirm away, exceedingly confused by his actions. She only stopped when he shot her a warning glare, eventually settling her head on his chest. Said position allowed his scent to fill her nose and she found herself relaxing despite the confusion and outright hurt she currently felt. Even with what he said, he was acting very much like a concerned, albeit rough boyfriend and it was frankly making her head throb. Heaving an aggravated sigh, the former doctor decided to do what her lover suggested and simply let the recent events go. All hanging onto them would do would be to cause undue confusion and heartache. Righ now, she just had to focus on his actions and not his words.

    The dirty blonde came to with a gasp, pain licking fire all over her face where her ex had cut her. “Tsk, tsk. If you keep passing out like that we’ll never get to the best part,” a dreaded voice chided as a sick feeling filled her gullet. No, no this wasn’t fucking possible! Not again! Unknowingly screaming out ‘no’ over and over, the bleeding female began to back away from her attacker; only to earn laughter that churned her stomach.

    “Sorry sweetheart, this is more real than you’ll ever want,” her ex hissed as he followed her, the blade glinting in the ambient light thrown off by the light bulb hanging from the ceiling.

    Suddenly she felt a rough shaking as she was once again rising upward as if through molasses, a painted face slowly coming into view. The feeling of deja-vu didn’t help her terror and Marie began to fight, only to be held in place by strong hands as a voice whispered in her ear. “No matter what he says, you’re safe Marie. No matter what you see, you’re really in the warehouse with me. Roger is dead and no one will ever harm you again,” the mid-tone voice assured, the soothing tones following her back into sleep. She never saw the concerned look in Joker’s eyes.
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Laughter in the Dark