Adult-FanFiction.org : Comics

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
- 27
- 28
- 29
Author’s Note: Thanks again to my readers! You guys mean the world to me!

Chapter Twenty-Eight: Butting Heads

    “Jack, I refuse to stay behind when you can use all the extra hands you can,” Marie gritted out, rubbing the bridge of her nose as her lover fumed. Crane, who was merely there to make sure Joker didn’t do anything too rash to the pregnant woman, watched alertly from his seat on their bed.
    “I don’t need you getting in the way or putting yourself in danger! Did you forget you’re six months pregnant?! Not to mention the fact that Bats has the entirety of Gotham P.D. looking for your ass,” the purple clad villain snarled, his green eyes spitting fire as his gloved hands curled into tight fists. The blonde across from him released an exasperated sound before heading into the bathroom to put on her make-up.
    “That never stopped you before. Something tells me you’re just doing this because you’re scared,” she hissed, grabbing the container of white facepaint as her lover and Jonathan came into the room with her.
    “You’re damn right I am! You have a nasty habit of getting kidnapped and almost dying!” Jack exclaimed, raised his arm in frustration Then he was whirling to the man on his right and slightly behind him.
    “Don’t you have anything to say about this Crane? Scarecrow? You two love her just as much as I do,” the infuriated, distraught male snarling at his partner. The calmer man only met his gaze steadily, letting out slow sigh as he crossed his arms over his thin chest.
    “You’re not wrong about that but we both think she’s capable of making her own decisions. It may be dangerous but she has you and us to watch her,” the former doctor replied, a bit of his darker half coloring his voice as his eyes became slightly darker. Joker could only gape at the normally protective chemist, honestly wondering if the other villain had gone even more insane.
    “Are you saying you’re incapable of making sure she’s safe?” the former psychiatrist whispered, raising a brow at the slightly shorter man in front of him. The disguised murderer could only gape before closing his jaw with a click. His scars gave him an even more intimidating appearance as he ground his teeth together.
    Whirling to face his gravid lover, he licked the make-up covered, long healed cuts on his cheeks nervously. Lavender clad hands curled into tight fists before he was throwing them up in defeat. ‘Spade’ only smirked back at him, quirking a brow saucily at him as she put the finishing touches on her ‘mask’. “Just fucking stay by me and keep yer gun and knife ready. I just wish I had your last weapon ready but it needs more time,” he ordered, grabbing her and yanking her behind him once she had finished.
    “I wasn’t planning on trying to be brave. If I don’t stay by you three, how can I make sure you stay safe as well,” the burnished blonde assured, keeping pace with her worried boyfriend easily. Boyfriend... was that truly what he was to her? Even lover didn’t really seem right. Her affection seemed to stretch much deeper than these terms. Sighing, she looked up at the tense, fierce killer.
    All at once, she found herself wondering what life would be like if shit was less complicated. Would he have asked her to marry him by now if things were normal? Shaking her head, she grinned as she brushed the thoughts off. In all honesty, she was starting to reach the point where she just wanted to let go. All hanging onto what could have been would do is bring her stress. Besides, she was more happy than she could recall ever being; even with all the kidnappings and murder. In fact, she was really looking forward to having a little action after nearly a month of quiet. Suddenly all movement stopped and she came back to reality to see she was standing in front of the back of the van.
    Soon they were all in the back, an eerie silence filling the vehicle as they traveled to their destination. Joker was especially on guard, holding her in his lap and bristling at any henchman that wandered just a little too close. It left no doubt in Marie’s mind that he would kill anyone for getting nearer than that. “I don’t like this one little bit,” he hissed, pulling a clown mask over his likewise painted face; his pursed lips briefly visible before it was covering him.
    “I know darling but if you hadn’t taken me, I’d have just snuck out,” she purred, cocking a greasepaint coated brow before putting her own mask on. She barely bit back a gale of laughter at the look in his eyes in response.
    Dearly wishing she could see his expression, she shifted her focus to ensuring her many guns were loaded and her knives were at the ready. She had two pistols that would be strapped to her denim covered thighs, one sub-machine gun, two balisongs that would be strapped to her wrists, and a few of Joker’s throwing knives hidden in strategic locations through the tux she wore. With her lover and former patients protecting her, she wasn’t all that worried about being caught in a situation she couldn’t handle. In fact, some part of her was very excited about what they were going to be doing. Today’s activity happened to be just wanton terrorism. An activity that filled ‘Spade’ with glee. “You lil bitch, you’ve been getting more brazen without telling me,” accused the villain holding her, drawing a cackled from her as the van pulled into place.
    “Learned from the best didn’t I?” she chirped as the men poured out of the vehicle. Then her lover was setting her down to drag her behind him, Crane close on their heels.
    She briefly caught a glimpse of the mansion they were here to invade before she was shoved along into the darkness. As far as she knew, they were here to crash some party thrown by a guy named Bruce Wayne. She had heard of him of course, what single female in Gotham hadn’t? The billionaire playboy just hadn’t held much appeal to her, what with her hands full with Roger as well as her job. Also, she was far from impressed with his record with women. Even the men in front and behind her had been more loyal, the irony of that nearly making her laugh out loud again. Forcing away her giddiness for the cold indifference she would need to get through this unscathed, Spade flipped one of her balisongs into her hand and got ready as they entered the mansion through a tiny, unguarded door.
    The inside of the mansion both awed her and made her itch to destroy everything this pompous asshole held dear. If Marie had been fully in charge, she would have more than likely taken the time to at least admire some of the opulence around her. Crystal chandeliers hung from the ceiling every few feet. Long, carved, marble pillars reached up to the arched ceiling like something out of a Greek odyssey. Rich, embroidered carpet covered the floor. Even what looked like real artwork littered the darkly painted walls. It was almost enough to make her revert to the polite, submissive person she was used to being.
    A large, warm hand brought her attention to Jonathan, bringing her back into her persona with a slam. She wasn’t here to impress anyone or to make anyone feel better about themselves through her own inferiority. No, she was here to do something else entirely and a grin replaced the previously nervous expression she had under her mask. Then they were moving forward, everyone around them dismissing them as part of the entertainment for the charity event. This only tickled her funny bone harder, making her wonder how dumb the average person really was Maybe it was just a rich person thing. After all the times these masks had been in the news, someone here should recognize them.
    Soon they were in a huge ball room, large groups of masked goons easily spread out in the mass of the upper crust. “Keep close. I have a strange feeling about Wayne here. He has a strange habit of disappearing whenever Batsy is around, making me wonder just where tall, dark and gruesome gets his funding,” hissed a midtone in her left ear while a low growl came from her right. She only nodded silently, replacing the balisong in her right hand with one of her pistols. Then there were a few moments of endless stillness, silence pressing in on the masked female until a silent signal was sent and all Hell broke loose at once.
    The air was filled with the sounds of guns firing and the panicked voices of the suits, her own pistol joining them and soon her sub-machine gun. This gun had been well hidden under her tux coat and she cocked it as she smiled behind the latex disguise she wore. Then a seas of bullets was flying and the mob of people ducked as one, as if their brains were connected through one entity. It was enough to make her release another gale of laughter, sounding eerily like her lover and drawing the attention of the men flanking her. Unknown to her, the green haired killer was caught somewhere between feeling proud and feeling an odd sense of loss.
    When he had met her, he had ached to have another person that enjoyed this as much as he did. Someone that understood what he was trying to accomplish. Over time, however, he had come to love the small amount of softness and naivete that she held. She had kept it for so long, that he sincerely believed she would never be rid of it. Now that she had lost it, he felt a blade of pain spear his heart and twist. It was almost as if she had lost something beautiful. Shaking himself of his dark thoughts, he ripped his mask off to glower at the cowering masses of rich people on the floor. “All right! Listen up! You all are going to hand over any valuables you have and we might let some of ya live! If ya aren’t quick about it, well I can’t be held responsible if my men get impatient,” he ordered, watching as his beautiful woman took off her own mask; a cruel grin on her black lips.
    “You heard the man! Hop to it! If we get out of here quick enough, we might not even take a hostage to play with,” she declared, spreading her purple clad arms to point her pistol and sub-machine gun in opposite directions. One of the women as her feet dared to make a disgusted sound, earning a hard kick right to the face. Then the crazed, former doctor was bending down, her nose nearly touching the other female’s as she smiled fit to split her cheeks like her partner’s.
    “Pardon ma’am? I don’t believe I heard ya properly,” she hissed in falsely friendly voice, her tone dripping with venomous sweetness. The woman who had made the disapproving noise made the mistake of allowing her gaze to travel to the swell of ‘Spade’s’ stomach, doing her best to staunch the bleeding of her nose with her hand.
    This made black rage rise thickly within the villainess, replacing any rational thought that would have come from the part of her that was currently in the background. “You think you have something to say about my choice of activity in my condition? When you’re kissing the floor and praying to God I won’t simply shoot your face off?” she hissed, hatred dripping off her every syllable as she pressed the muzzle of her sub-machine gun in the bitch’s nose. Just as she was about to pull the trigger and spray the cunt’s brains into a gruesome rainbow, there was the sound of breaking glass. Looking up, she saw Batboy crashing the party through a huge window that faced the front yard.
    “Lover boy was right, the flying rat sure does know how to make an entrance,” hissed the dirty blonde as she nimbly sidestepped a couple bat-shaped boomerangs that were thrown her way.
    “Yeesh, and I thought Joker was bad,” she whispered, rolled her stormy eyes as she eyed the rubber covered vigilante as he got to his feet.
    Batman’s head turned to her and the mood shifted from danger to one of utter shock. She could feel his hidden eyes on the dome of her stomach and she fought the urge to shield it from his vision. Instead, she leveled him with a sneer as she raised her large gun. To her shock, Jonathan and Joker came to shield her in an instant; their actions seeming to further confuse the would-be hero. Peeking over the shoulder of her lover, she wished she could see the black clad man’s expression as he tried to work out just what was happening here.
    Used to always being the savior, he now found himself in a situation that required him to restrain a heavily pregnant female. A female who was currently being protected by two of his worst enemies. Two people he had seen beyond redemption or any sort of human emotion. To see Joker, let alone Crane coming to rescue her from him must be blowing a few fuses in the hard coding in his head. He even swayed slightly, all the intimidation going out of his stance as he began to back away. It was as if what he was seeing was too much for him to compute, making the doctor hidden deep inside her sympathize. Outwardly, she sneered at his weakness.
    Suddenly, an already tense situation exploded when Selena crashed through the same window Batsy had used; her green eyes landing on Marie instantly. Time seemed to freeze for the two women who had been friends before this encounter. Just looking in the catsuit wearing female’s eyes, the former Psychologist was able to see the other female was trying to play an angle. Giving a brief wink to show she was going to play along, ‘Spade’ came back forward to give her a harsh sneer. Thankfully the silent communication had worked and Catwoman gave a subtle nod before pulling out her weapon and aiming it at the two men who comprised her entire world.
    Closing her eyes, Spade silently pleaded that Crane and Joker would understand too before grabbing both men’s arms and yanking hard. This was enough to throw them off balance enough for the bullet to miss them. Then they were running, their henchmen as well as the rubber covered duo close on their heels. The blonde cackled, excitement racing through her veins as she ducked into a side passage during the confusion. Due to how many goons were following them, Batboy and his female accomplice were easily lost. “Hoooo, I would have given my eyeteeth to see his face when you and Jonathan stepped up to protect me,” ‘Spade’ whispered as she led them down a long, winding hall. Thankfully it ended up at a door and they were running out into the night.
    Things became tense some time after they entered the back of the van, heading to a new hideout the ‘Clown Prince’ had picked out. Whatever men that had been left behind were considered lost but there were always more where they came from. The only people Joker seemed to care about were her, Crane and Franz. A jolt of the van brought her out of her musings and she looked up at the two men she had accompanied on this job. Her lover was raising a brow at her while her closest friend removed his mask. Opening her mouth to explain her actions, Marie found it quickly snapping shut. In all honesty, she had no clue where on Earth any of that had come from.
    She remembered everything that happened as well as how she had felt about the events as they unfolded. Most of all, she remembered the adrenaline rush and empty laughter leaving her lips. Laughter that had sounded like... Moving her gray eyes to the villain beside her again, she gave him a smile before leaning into him. “I was acting a lot like a certain someone back there,” came a breathy whisper that sounded like her but didn’t feel like her voice. A soft, half relieved chuckle was the killer’s response as the dual chemist beside him huffed.
    “A bit too much. We thought we had lost you for a bit there,” snarled Scarecrow, using his host’s consciousness to improve his speech. The hint of blue in his ebony orbs told her Jonathan shared the creature’s sentiment.
    “No, I was still there. Spade is me, she’s just more... She just...,” the ex-doctor struggled, trying to find any way to quantify what that part of her was.
    “She doesn’t give as much of a shit about what others think of her actions. She’s what you would have been if you had been given my upbringing. Living on Gotham’s streets is no way to be a teenager learning to be an adult,” the suit donned villain sighed, understanding in his cold tone as a bitter smile quirked his scarred lips.
    “I guess you could say she is but... she will always be me. Just a more dark, demented part I suppose,” the Psychologist agreed, rubbing the back of her head as she internally examined her feelings about what had happened. Strangely enough, all she found was an odd sense of peace. She wasn’t at all worried about any of the people they had potentially hurt or Selena.
    Instead of distressing, Marie found this revelation freeing. Honestly, why should she care about anyone that had been caught up in that. Let alone the infamous Catwoman. If she knew anything about the thief, the woman could take care of herself and then some. The baby sleeping in her womb seemed to kick in agreement, making her giggle as a strange elation filled her. It felt a lot like earlier and the only thing that snapped her out of it was a hand on her stomach. An action that was met with a low hiss from Joker as she looked up to see it was only Jonathan.
    The ex-Psychiatrist had a look of wonder on his gaunt, pale features, joy clearly shining in his cerulean orbs when the baby turned under his palm. The clown cradling her in his arms, on the other hand, was the very picture of rage. His white and red painted cheeks were tense, a muscle twitching as the blonde carefully placed a staying hand on his upper arm. His green eyes switched to her rapidly and he relaxed briefly before continuing to simply bristle at the killer beside him. After a few moments of this, Crane’s eyes went bottomless black as his back suddenly arched upward.
    Her friend and former patient released a sound full of pain that sounded mixed with the cry of a thing straight from Hell. Then he was slumping forward, panting heavily as his hands twitched heavily; Joker shielding her with his body as he watched the chemist uneasily. It was then Scarecrow let loose an unnatural, evil, guttural laughter that chilled the very marrow of her bones. It had been a long while since any of them had seen the entity in such a pure form and it was frankly unsettling. The thing wearing Jonathan’s skin heaved in a strange, head hurting manner before lurching forward to rest an ice cold cheek against her domed stomach.
    It was a very near thing to her lover having a knife at the creature’s throat, only her urgent whisper of ‘don’t’ staying his gloved hand. The oblivious abomination only nuzzled the swell, letting out a coo that made her skin crawl subconsciously. She knew the thing meant no harm but that didn’t stop her instincts from screaming at her to get away from it. It was a hellish being wearing her friend’s skin and its full presence let her senses know exactly what it’s nature was. Despite her inborn aversion, however, she reached forward to rub it’s dark haired head affectionately; inwardly shuddering at the sound it made. “You must stay home,” it rasped in a voice that sounded primitive and gruff, its order making her blood prickle with indignation.
- 27
- 28
- 29
You need to be logged in to leave a review for this story.
Report Story

Laughter in the Dark