Henchman (JOKER X READER) ✅

chapter 36: midnight

do i know better than this? you're a word that i can't forget, though the thought rattles my brain. will you fold, or will you remain?

—-

You leaned out of the back of the helicopter, feeling the wind in your hair as the pilot took you, Joker, Frost, and a few other guys to Midway. Jonny was behind you, glaring down at a iPad and occasionally glancing up to make sure you hadn't fallen out while his attention was elsewhere.

You heard footsteps behind you as Joker moved to stand next to you and Jonny slipped away, back to the cockpit to give you some space.

"Like what you see, doll?" he asked. He was close enough that you could feel his body heat.

"Yeah," you breathed, looking down at the ruins of Midway. "It's just a little weird with the lights out. They've really destroyed it."

"They certainly have," he said with a chuckle.

You turned to face him. "You like it, don't you." It wasn't a question- you already knew.

Joker's smile was wide. "It is missing lights," he said by way of an answer. "Not... showy enough."

"Oh, of course. How could I forget your flair for the dramatic?"

"They don't say 'burn down the world' for no reason, darlin'," he crooned, slipping an arm around your waist and tugging you closer. You relaxed against his chest, letting your head tip back against his shoulder.

"No, they don't."

It didn't take long to reach the heart of Midway, where, surprisingly, some of the lights had stayed on. You thought of it as life persevering, which you found the tiniest bit heartwarming. There was nothing worse than an empty city.

The rooftop where Task Force X was wasn't hard to spot, either. Joker pulled out his phone and sent a message to Harley while you deactivated her nanite bomb. Then you joined Jonny in firing down on the SEALs guarding the Task Force, carefully keeping an eye on Joker as he shot at them, too. He was cackling, and you could barely hear it over the sounds of gunfire, but you kept an ear out for it anyway. Something about it had started becoming startlingly familiar over time.

You exchanged shots with the SEALs for a good minute or so. Then Joker tossed a rope out of the back of the helicopter, and you watched as Harley ran for it. She leaped off the rooftop without an ounce of fear, graceful as an acrobat, and grasped onto the rope. Jonny shouted something back towards the pilot, and the chopper began to move again, away from the scene.

As soon as you were out of firing range, you flicked the safety on your gun and tossed it aside, going to help Joker haul Harley into the helicopter. He accepted your help without a word.

You were the one to help her in. She stretched out a hand and, without thinking twice, you grabbed her wrist. She clasped yours in return, and in the process, your eyes met for a single second.

If you let go now, she'd fall. She knew it as well as you did, her blue eyes burning into yours as she waited for your decision.

You made your choice. Hand over hand, you pulled Harley up the rest of the way and into the copter.

As soon as she was safe, she rushed over to Joker, leaving you crouched at the back of the helicopter. You stayed there for a moment, not wanting to look back and see whatever was going on with Joker and Harley. Would he keep his promise?

You were about to find out when you heard a boom and the chopper lurched. You hit the floor, almost falling out of the copter. At the last second, you grabbed onto a handrail nearby and clung to it for dear life.

Then, heat. You ducked your head and made yourself as small as possible as what felt like fire rushed over your head. It devolved into a blaze in the cockpit in seconds, but the chopper was already plummeting downwards.

You looked up and around you- Joker was still in the copter, and so was Jonny. Then you heard a shriek, and watched as Harley was blown backwards and out of the helicopter. Despite the insurmountable distance between you, you reached out a hand as she reached out hers.

But there was nothing you could do. She disappeared into the darkness, and then the helicopter shook as it fell faster. Then another deafening crash, and your vision went black.