Afraid of the Dark Title: Afraid of the Dark
Author: Celia Tracy (aka Rae Street, aka Rainfall)
Summary: Kami's in the clutches of the Joker, and things are getting a bit strange.
Rating: PG-13 for violence
Status: WiP
Disclaimer: All Batman characters belong to DC Comics, and whoever else they belong to. Kami and all other non-DC characters are my own creations. Please don't sue me... I ain't got no munny, just a lil' plot bunny. Sue him instead. ;-)
=Chapter Four: Breakfast at Joker's= I spent a long, miserable night in that concrete cell... one made even worse by the ever-present darkness surrounding me. As a young child, I had been terrified of the dark; always burying my head deep beneath the covers as though they could protect me, until daylight finally shone through my bedroom window. After some time, I finally managed to convince myself that the threat in the dark was only imaginary... that I wasn't in any danger. After that, I wasn't afraid any longer. Not until now, that is. For here, in this darkness, the threat is only too real. And I don't just mean the two hungry hyenas I hear panting and salivating less than five feet away. No, the threat I'm talking about is the Joker. He is the darkness that I'm so afraid of... The personification of every nightmare I've ever had. And I am now at his mercy... Shivering, aching, and terrified, no force on earth could have prevented my tears then. I curled up into a tighter ball, buried my head in my knees, and cried. ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~ Time passed, and my tears finally subsided. I was spent, exhausted. Resting my forehead on my knees, I listened to the heavy breathing of the hyenas who had finally fallen asleep; my eyelids were heavy, and I briefly contemplated taking a small catnap... at least until a sound in the darkness made me jump. I couldn't see the hyenas, but I could imagine them twitching their ears in the direction of the sound. The sound turned out to be a metal bolt scraping back from the doorway. I realized this when the heavy metal door swung open, spilling welcome light into my dark prison once more. My heart leapt in joy at the light, but nearly shuddered to a halt at the sight of the grinning Joker, who was now looming in the doorway. "Wakey, wakey! Time to rise and shine!" he called out cheerfully to me. The two hyenas jumped into action at his exclamation, lunging desperately for the door. Joker took a step back in alarm, but quickly regained his composure. He smiled complacently and walked nonchalantly into the room, coming to a stop next to me. "And how are we feeling this fine day?" Joker asked, with all of the aplomb of a good host. *Katchu!* a muffled sneeze was my only reply. Great... at this rate, I wouldn't be surprised if I came down with a bad case of pneumonia. I blearily stared up at him, wondering what he was going to do next. In the half light, I could see his face take on an almost comical expression of concern. He shook his head in sympathy, clicked his tongue, and crouched down next to me. "Oh, dear," he said, "it sounds as though you're coming down with a bit of a cold. We'll have to do something about that, won't we?" he said soothingly. To my great alarm, Joker scooped me up and carried me out of the room. I blinked rapidly in the brighter light and tried to take a look around; but my eyes focused on the giant fish tank at one end of the room, and I could no longer see my other surroundings. We were headed straight for it... Oh no! He's going to dunk me again! I thought wildly. Panic filled me, and my heart crashed against my chest. I cringed in terror as we came up to the tank, and then... walked past it?! My eyes grew big and round in shock. I was so sure... but apparently, I was wrong... where was he taking me then? I had my answer soon, when we came to a door in the wall behind the tank... a door which was clearly marked, "Bathroom". He opened the door and carried me in. ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~ Setting me down gently next to the tub, the Joker himself untied the ropes which still bound my wrists and ankles, and took the gag out of my mouth. I immediately began rubbing my hands and feet, trying to get some circulation back in them. Oh my heck, it hurt so much... like a million fiery needles being stabbed into my skin at the same time. Tears blurred my vision, but I blinked them back. There was no way I was going to cry in front of the Joker. "A nice soak in a hot bath should take care of those pesky sniffles," the Joker said, to my utter surprise. "And a dry change of clothes will also do you good," he finished, gesturing to a pile of clothes stacked on a chair across the room. "What?! But, I... I thought... Aren't you going to... I don't understand..." my words fell out in a jumble. What was going on? I thought he'd kidnapped me so he could torture and kill me... not that I wanted to be tortured and killed. I just wanted to know what was going on! "You don't understand? Why, it's very simple!" Joker said, smiling. "You're going to take a nice, hot bath to get rid of that nasty cold, and then we're going to have a little talk." "And if I don't cooperate?" I asked cautiously. Joker's eyes narrowed, and his smile turned menacing. "If you choose not to cooperate on your own, I'm sure the boys will be only too happy to help you... unfortunately, I cannot guarantee your safety with them." he said ominously. "The choice is yours." He watched me, waiting to see what my move would be. Given the fact that my only two choices were to either cooperate, or have to face "the boys", I felt that my only true course of action in that moment would be to cooperate. So I heaved a silent sigh, reached into the tub, and turned the water on. "Now, there's a good girl," Joker said patronizingly, smiling sweetly once again. Well, sweetly for him, anyway. He patted me on the head, then turned and walked out of the bathroom. As the door swung shut behind him, I balled my hands into fists. It had taken everything I had not to punch him again... Even knowing the danger I was in. He just made me so mad. And as chilled as I was, I really didn't want to cooperate at all with the Joker by stepping into that tub... but I knew he would make good on his threat if I didn't. I sighed heavily, and forced my hands to uncurl. With a heavy heart I slid out of my dirty clothes, stepped into the tub, and sank down into the warm, swirling water. ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~ After my bath, I wrapped a towel around me and went over to the stack of clothes lying on the chair... but a closer inspection revealed the stack to be a costume, not pants and a shirt as I had hoped. And it was a rather atrocious costume at that. A spandex harlequin ensemble, like Harley's... only instead of red and black, the colors of this one were light-pink and hot-pink. Let me guess... Harley had bought it especially for Valentines Day. I knew I was right when I found the mask that went with it... it was made from two hot pink hearts attached at the points. What had Harley been thinking? Um... never mind... I don't want to know. I held the costume up to me and turned toward the mirror. I winced at the reflection. Oh no... no way... there was absolutely NO WAY I was going to set foot outside the bathroom wearing this! I crumpled the costume into a ball and tossed it into a corner. Sighing, I sank down on the chair and rested my forehead in my hands. I was going to have to wear the costume... I knew that. The Joker was not going to let me put my own clothes back on. And after seeing the condition they were in, I wasn't so sure I wanted to wear them. A knock on the door startled me out of my introspection. I looked at the door warily, expecting someone to come bursting through at any moment. But to my surprise, the door remained closed, and the knock was repeated again. "Uh, what?" I called at the door. "Are you almost finished in there?" the Joker spoke through the door. His voice was a forced calm... but I could hear the underlying growl in it. Oops... guess I was taking longer than I thought... not a good idea when you're someone's prisoner, and you've already stretched their patience to the limit. "Um, can I have a couple more minutes, Please?" I asked quickly. "You've got two minutes, no more," Joker's voice was curt. "She takes longer than Harley..." I heard him say under his breath. Asking for something else to wear would only have caused more trouble then it was worth; so I leapt up from the chair, dashed across the room, and scooped up the costume. After shaking out the wrinkles as best I could, I quickly pulled it on, sans mask and hat. I hoped I'd get away with not wearing them. Finally dressed, I dashed for the door; pulling it open just as the Joker was reaching for the doorknob. The Joker looked me up and down, and frowned. Shaking his head, he stepped into the bathroom, causing me to step back. Joker closed the door, and taking me by the hand he led me over to the sink. I watched him warily as he rummaged through the contents of the sink drawer, wondering what he was up to. I didn't have to wonder for long. He smiled triumphantly as he pulled a small black bag from inside, and held it up for me to see. "It's makeup... you're going to need it to cover up those unsightly bruises on your face." Joker said as he held it out to me. He frowned when I didn't automatically take the bag from him. Leaning over until he was eye to eye with me, he said, "Would you like me to put it on for you? Or perhaps, one of the boys?" Horrified at the thought, I snatched the bag from his fingers. He stood there watching me as I put the makeup on, chuckling to himself. The foundation was thick, and paste white. It hid all of my purple bruises perfectly; I wondered if maybe that was why Harley wore it, to cover up bruises... and I shuddered inwardly at the thought. Poor Harley. I'd heard that she was back in Arkham again, and was glad that she had a chance to be away from the Joker for a while... though I doubt she'd see it that way. She was totally stuck on the guy, and I couldn't figure out why. When I finished putting the makeup on, Joker handed the mask and hat to me. The look in his eyes told me I'd better take them, so I did. Gritting my teeth, I put the mask and hat on, then stood back to let the Joker see. He looked me up and down, then motioned for me to twirl around, which I did with still clenched teeth. After a few moments, he smiled. "Much better," he said, taking me by the elbow. "Come along then, your breakfast is getting cold." and he led me out of the bathroom. Breakfast? You mean he's actually going to let me eat? What's the catch? Is he going to try some new poison or something on me? I wondered suspiciously, as he led me over to a table. He pulled a chair out and motioned for me to sit in it. I gingerly sat down, expecting him to pull the chair out from under me... but to my surprise, he didn't. Instead, he scooted me in closer to the table, then reached for a couple of covered plates that were on the counter behind him. He put one plate in front of me, and then he sat down across the table from me with the other plate. I sat there stunned, not moving a muscle, watching as he took the cover off his plate and began eating his waffles and syrup. It was a very strange moment for me, sitting down to breakfast with the Joker. Isn't this the kind of thing that's only supposed to happen when pigs fly? And the fact that he was treating me more like a guest than a prisoner... why? What is he up to? After a moment or two, he realized I wasn't eating. Frowning, he reached over and took the cover off of my plate, then pointed to my food... also waffles and syrup. "Dig in," he ordered. He stared at me until I picked up the fork and took a bite of the waffle. Then he resumed his own meal. I chewed the morsel carefully and swallowed, then waited for a few seconds for something to happen. Nothing. Absolutely no reaction... so I figured the food wasn't poisoned or drugged. Even though the food seemed safe, I briefly thought about going on a hunger strike... but I was kind of afraid to provoke the Joker any further. The only person such a thing would effect is me, in a bad way. Besides, I was already hungry... very hungry. So I swallowed my pride and fear, and began eating my waffles.
TBC in Chapter Five
