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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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Author’s Note: I just wanted to take some time to thank my readers and commenters. Without you guys, this story wouldn’t have gotten as popular as it has! I’m just blown away by the amount of people bookmarking or even just reading this. Its truly been humbling in a lot of ways! The only way I have to possibly thank all of you is by continuing to make sure this fic is all it can be. I hope I don’t let you down! :3

CHapter Twenty-Six: Mother of all Bad Timing

    As it turned out, they weren’t doing anything with children. Joker had chosen something a little less repugnant but no less distressing. They were using their costumes to plant explosives in a hospital that dealt specifically with terminally ill people. Even going so far as placing the plastic explosive shapes and letters on the wall under the guise of trying to cheer up the patients. To her horror, the words spelled out ‘Don’t worry, be happy.’ Shuddering at the terrible irony, the disguised blonde found herself wondering if she even wanted to know what Crane was doing on the other end of town.
    Just as she was placing the last spade on the wall, her clown mask wobbling on her head slightly, Jonathan chose that moment to beep her on the walkie. Giving Joker a glance and getting a nod, the former doctor lifted the black object to her face; lifting her mask slightly to press it against her ear. “We’re all set at the Maternity Ward,” he growled, Scarecrow clear in his voice. Then the line clicked closed, leaving Black Spade looking utterly horrified. Shaking her covered head, the still new villain simply motioning to her partner. Joker, who was standing near-by in his own mask, came to her; his almost hidden eyes burning with excitement.
    “He’s ready,” she informed, her voice muffled by the latex disguise she wore. Her companion nodded while chuckling quietly, motioning to the henchmen to move out.
    He was just starting to lead her out as well when a large, black thing crashed through the roof of the building. As it straightened, Spade saw it was none other than Batman. “You know, for someone who’s supposed to save the day, you sure destroy a lot of property yourself,” she quipped as her tux clad lover shoved her behind him. The rubber clad vigilante only stared at them before starting to walk slowly towards them.
    “You used to help people Marie. Look at what you’re doing now! You can’t want this! Come back home, where people want you. You still have the power to help so many and your Uncle is very worried about you. Please, don’t make me treat you like another criminal,” rasped the masked man, the harsh light of the hospital reflecting off the bat cowl as he moved.
    Before she could respond, Joker was shoving her hard toward the door the goons had already run through. “Run, I’ll be right fuckin’ behind ya,” snarled the violent killer as he ripped off his clown mask, revealing his painted visage. Spade pursed her lips before removing her own mask.
    “I don’t believe you Joker. Not one little bit. As for you, Bat Boy, stop acting as if I’m another brainwashed minion. I already told you, the Marie people knew is dead! I’m doing this of my own free will simply because I like it,” she snarled, her unique make-up making her look rather intimidating.
    Her words seemed to stop the dark man in his tracks, his kohl surrounded eyes narrowing behind their corresponding holes. A few seconds after, she was shoved even harder by her lover, a low snarl leaving him as she turned her focus back to him. “I said to fuckin’ run! Now get th’ fuck outta here!” Joker snarled before charging at the ‘Bat’ with his throwing knives drawn. Spade could only watch, all the feelings she had tried hard to bury bursting to the surface. She was torn between rushing to help with her balisong and doing as he had so angrily ordered. As she watched, the purple clad villain slashed at Batman’s face before his gaze briefly shifted to her.
    “Fucking GO!” he screamed, making the decision for her. She had never heard him so furious at her and her need to obey overrode any instinct she had to help him. Soon she found herself in the back of a goon packed van, wondering just how she had gotten there as one of the men hollered at another to start driving.
    “Wait! He’s not back!” Marie screamed, shoving away her persona fully. The brute of a man at the wheel only narrowed his eyes before sneering.
    “He ain’t gonna be! If we stay any longer, the Bat will get us next. We gotta go now!” the thickly muscled henchman growled before cranking the van to life and driving away. The ex-psychologist whimpered before turning to watch the building slowly fade into the distance, hoping against hope that her beloved would return safely.
    At first the twenty-eight year old had been hopeful but, as the days turned into weeks and the weeks into months, she became much less so. On top of that was the fact that neither Harley or Croc had made any moves, making her feel extremely paranoid. Now she found herself in her fifth month of pregnancy with no sign from anyone, not even Joker. It was looking very likely he had been stuck in Arkham and whatever contacts he had before weren’t helping him now. Placing a hand on her steadily growing womb, Marie found herself having to entertain the thought that she would have to give birth without him; possibly even have to learn to live without him period. “Jack, please come back to me... to us,” she whispered, smiling sadly as her unborn child kicked her hand. Over the months, she had truly come to love the unborn child; growing to not care if it was Roger’s. She would love this child no matter what.
    Under the streets, things were a much different story. Harley had been living there while trying to gain the favor of a man that was slowly turning into a mindless beast. At first he refused to acknowledge her, a step up from simply outright eating her on sight. After a few weeks of living in his sewers, however, he began to actually acknowledge her. He even spoke to her on occasion, his voice more of an animalistic growl than anything resembling human speech. After that, it was endless months until she finally got him to consent to do as she wanted. Now all she had to do was sit and wait, ignoring the ever present voice in her head telling her not to do this. She just had to get back Mistah J! Then everything would go back to normal. Just the thought of it made a strange grin curl her lips as she began to laugh, sounding more like she was screaming.
    Marie pretty much made the room she had shared with Joker her sanctuary, preferring to stay in there rather than risk going among the goons. Thankfully Crane kept her company, following her to and from the small office and even sleeping in there with her. Today was no different, his darker half lurking in the background as they watched movies on a tiny T.V./VCR combo. Oddly enough, the movie she had chosen was ‘Fight Club’; a movie that the dual male related to very well. In fact, Jonathan had figured out what was going on in the beginning; having dealt something very similar. Still, that didn’t seem to diminish his enjoyment in the film. The pseudo trio were so relaxed in fact, that it completely took them by surprise when they heard a loud crash downstairs. “Stay here,” the thin male ordered, pulling out a large knife before heading to the locked door.
    “Like Hell I will! Am I supposed to sit here like a damsel awaiting rescue?” she protested as she got to her feet, the extra weight from her child making her sway unsteadily. Jasper only watched the events from under the bed, looking thoroughly unimpressed.
    Crane whirled around to give her a wild glance, his face twisting as the demon that shared his body tried to shove his way forward. “I refuse to allow you to risk your life any more than necessary! You can barely keep your balance as it is. Please, we need to keep you safe,” the former Psychiatrist protested, his voice sounding twinned as his blue eyes turned an inky black.
    “I don’t want to just sit here while whoever is here charges up the stairs! I want to fight by your side! I may be the size of a small whale but I can still fucking fight,” snarled the vehement blonde as she picked up the butterfly knife her imprisoned lover had made for her. Before she could make a move toward the door, she found her shoulders gripped in Scarecrow’s bony hands.
    Ebony eyes met hers as her former patient’s familiar face twisted into something dark and strange. The being looked on the verge of protesting, stopping when he saw something in her gray eyes. “Stay behind me,” rasped the dark thing, waiting until she was by his side to open the door and peek around the corner. Gunshots and screams came from downstairs, punctuated by horrifying growling noises that couldn’t have come from anything in nature.
    “Jesus Christ, is that fucking Croc?” Marie gasped out, her bravado from earlier fleeing for outright terror. Before her companion could answer her, a bone-chilling roar came from the living room; followed quickly by the sound of clawed feet running toward the steel stairs. It wasn’t too much longer before the sandy blonde got her first glimpse of the infamous, mutated villain and what she saw nearly took her breath away.
    The creature could no longer strictly be called a man. His skin had grown more scaly looking, his back had humped up, his neck had shortened, a medium length tail protruded out of the torn, stained jeans on his lower half and small, fleshy bumps had grown up from his back; going from the base of his neck to the tip of his tail. His once human face now looked mostly crocodilian, his nose and lips forming into a small muzzle. His large, muscled hands were webbed as well as tipped with sharp, black claws. Mindless, slitted, green eyes glared up at the pair before the half human thing was galloping up the stairs, his mouth yawning open to reveal teeth that were slowly transforming as well.
    Before Croc could get close, Scarecrow was tackling him; knocking them both down the stairs. Marie could only watch in horror, the hand that wasn’t holding her blade traveling to her stomach unconsciously. The pair landed on the concrete below with a solid thud, making the former Psychologist wince as she unconsciously held her breath. After what seemed like ages, one of the shapes shifted; the one she didn’t want to see moving. Her heart stopped in her chest when his feral gaze landed back on her, his tail flicking as a sickening smile spread across his deformed mouth. “If ya come on down quietly, no one else has to get hurt,” the beast gritted out, his voice sounding like a sack of rocks being rubbed together.
    “Why should I trust you. You could simply kill us both as soon as I got close enough,” she returned, her stormy orbs narrowing as some of ‘Spade’ came to the surface.
    “I don’t think ya have much of a choice darlin’,” he purred, bending down to place his razor sharp claws against Crane’s neck.
    Gasping, the burnished gold haired femme licked her lips before shutting the door so Jasper wouldn’t make a run for it. Croc eating her cat was the last thing she wanted at the moment, along with the monster actually killing her dear friend. Then she was making a show of pulling out her knife and slowly placing it on the floor, a fruitless effort to gain some trust before she made her reluctant way down the metal steps. “I knew ya’d see things my way,” the partial man growled before sweeping her into his arms and running outside. As he headed for the nearest manhole, Marie silently prayed that she would be able to bullshit her way out of this. If she couldn’t, it wouldn’t be just her life in danger.
    Joker ran a shaky hand through his dyed hair as he paced his tiny cell. He had hoped to be out of here long before now but it seemed he had run fresh out of help at Arkham. Also security around him had been tightened since last time, making it much harder for him to steal a bit of toothpaste to make an explosive with. After a month, he finally had to concede defeat and began to work his magic on the staff; even this being surprisingly hard work. The charismatic villain was used to people falling at his feet to do as he said, not this cold distance. After about four more months in lockdown, he was finally beginning to make some progress with one of the doctors but it wasn’t nearly fast enough. He needed to get back to Marie now. He didn’t even know if she was still okay.
    Making a distressed sound, the killer flung himself down on his ratty bed to cradle his head in his bare hands. Had Croc gotten to her? Could she be in his claws and being tortured even now? Could she be dead? Just the possibility made him shudder as his heart clamped tightly in his chest. It felt like he couldn’t breathe and that should have bothered him but all he could think or feel was the extreme need to get the fuck out of here. Punching the wall behind him hard, he relished the pain as it cleared his mind enough to think. He should honestly hate Marie for what she had done to him, for making him vulnerable to feelings like these but he just didn’t have it in him. Being around her, holding her in his arms, sharing himself with her; all of it felt too good after the years of blankness he had felt. “I’ll get out of here and when I do, you had better be safe or heads will roll,” rasped the murderer, jolting slightly when a knock sounded on the metal door of his cell.
    Glaring at the sealed entry, the gray clad male slowly got to his feet and moved to the tiny window that would allow him to speak to his visitor. Sliding open the metal door to the window, Joker was shocked to see an aged guard standing outside. To tell the truth, he had no idea what to expect; not really getting many people coming to his cell besides his doctor and door guards. To see neither of those was quite jarring and he found himself blinking as if to get rid of a hallucination. The old man didn’t disappear, simply continued to look up at him patiently; as if he had the entire night to talk. “What the fuck do ya want? Come to gawp at the, uh, ‘Clown Prince of Crime’?” the crazed prisoner growled, slightly surprised when the guard didn’t so much as blink at the outburst.
    “I ain’t surprised ya don’t remember me. You were just a little thing, so young when I took ya in. Taught ya everything I knew I did, til ya ran away,” sighed, the blue clad man, a nostalgic expression on his wrinkled face. It was then Joker realized he recognized the aged, sagging face in front of his cell.
    “Joe, Jesus I thought you were long dead. What are you doing in a pit like this?” Joker whispered, unbidden tears filling his green eyes as memories slammed into him.
    After he had run away from his latest foster home, Joe had been one of the first to take him in. He had also kept him around the longest, teaching him the finer points of living on the streets. He had even been taught how to make explosives by this man, feeling more like his son than he had ever felt around his own father. This man alone had been a huge influence in how he had become the person he was today. “I thought I’d run into ya one day while workin’ here. Sorta seemed like an inevitability given who ya became,” the grizzled guard replied, pride shining in his faded, blue eyes.
    “I also thought the day would come when you would be needin’ my help again. Just so happens I have the keys to your cell. I’m gonna let ya out so you can be with that pretty lil doctor of yours. She’s always strived to treat us and the patients with respect and I think she’s been good for ya. Something’s changed in ya since you kidnapped her,” Joe continued, unlocking the door with a loud click and swinging it open.
    Marie found herself sequestered in what she could only call Croc’s nest. She had been set on a huge pile of clothing he had stolen before her captor had simply left the huge chamber, closing the makeshift door behind him. Sighing, the gravid female flopped backwards on the pseudo-bed; placing both hands on the sizeable swell of her stomach. She had no idea what the beast was going to do to her but the bones littered around the circular room gave her a very good idea. Still, she knew she didn’t stand much of a chance of escaping. Sewers were notoriously maze-like and the bigger the city, the bigger the system needed. It was probably in her best interest to stay where she was, the danger she knew she was in much better than getting lost in Gotham’s giant toilet.
    The sound of the door opening brought her back to reality and she sat up as her captor came in with a strange expression on his monstrous face. “You didn’t even try to run away. You know I’m going to kill you and your child but you didn’t try to escape. Why?” he growled, his gravelly voice making it hard to discern his words.
    “I would have only gotten myself lost. I see no point in making my fate worse on myself,” she replied, feeling a surprising lack of anxiety. She didn’t want to die but she would much rather not spend what time she had in a blind panic. She had spent far too much of her life in a state of fear.
    Croc only stared at her, mulling over her response as his tail flicked in a thoughtful manner. “You’re very strange. Almost everyone made a run for it, the ones that didn’t at least trying to make a weapon. You seem to be accepting it,” the creature rumbled, looking perplexed. Then he was slowly walking toward her, his lizard-like eyes locked on her unmoving form. When she didn’t give the reaction he expected, he stopped in his tracks; tilting his bald, scaly head to the right.
    “You aren’t even all that afraid of my appearance. Just what has Joker put you through?” the deformed man whispered, sounding stunned as he waited for her response. When she simply laughed, he looked even more shocked.
    “It wasn’t his fault, at least not all of it. There’s something seriously wrong with this city. Can’t you see that? People don’t normally act like this or change into monsters. The fact that there’s so many strange people here, there has to be something sick at the heart of Gotham. Something that drives its citizens insane. Even its heroes have neuroses, dressing in their own costumes,” she replied, a strange smile curling her lips as Spade slowly came forward.
    “Even I’m becoming a victim of it,” she whispered, her smile turning painful and full of insanity as a small giggle bubbled past her lips. She could feel the cold fingers of her persona’s indifference spreading over her brain and she fought to hang onto herself, unsure of just what would happen if she lost this battle.
    Joker slipped through the alleyways, winding his way home as his heart pounding against his ribs. His anxious need to see that Marie was okay made it very hard for him to focus on anything else and he ended up giving himself a sharp slap to clear his head. He would do her no good in this state and he closed his eyes as he took several deep breaths in an effort to center himself. Then he was moving again, rushing into the warehouse to be greeted with a sight that made his heart drop into his stomach. Several of his henchmen had been torn into bloody pieces, the ones that hadn’t been lying knocked out on the floor. His feet moved him to Crane, his voice trying to wake the psychotic male up and he felt himself disengaging from his body. Fear slowly filled his numb body, the need to find her quickly becoming unbearable. Soon he was dropping Jonathan, heading out of the building and to the nearest manhole; a black expression on his painted face.
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Laughter in the Dark