She's Sunshine, She's Grace, She'll Punch You in the Face

Chapter 105: Captured

"Wakey wakey, Dear."

Ladybird slowly opened her eyes to see the Joker smiling at her a foot from her face.

"Ugh..." She tried to back away but quickly found that she was strapped to a chair.

"Finally, you're awake." He began to laugh maniacally. "I think those goons used too much tranq on you."

Ladybird chose to ignore whatever Joker was saying and looked around at her surroundings. All she could see was a metal table full of what she could only assume was torture devices. Other than that, she was in what appeared to be a brick building with large industrial windows that were pained over with an absurd amount a graffiti. Only small amounts of moonlight could be seen peeking in here and there.

"Are you even listening to me?" Joker got directly in front of her face again. "That's very rude. And after all the trouble it took to get you here. Look, Dear... I already chucked that fancy little yoyo of yours into a dumpster along with the ear piece you had in. They are never going to find you."

"Your lack of faith in them is disrespectful." She glared at him. "Where is Robin and Catwoman?"

"There's that snarky attitude I was looking for." Joker began to laugh again. "And don't worry about them. I left them on the floor of that dump. After all, I need them alive so they can see how this all unfolds."

"You disgust me." She says before trying to look behind her.

"That's fine. And go ahead! Look around!" The Joker cackles again as he grabs ahold of the chair and slowly spins it around for her. The chair itself makes an awful screeching sound against the floor as he does this.

The only thing Ladybird gathers from this is that there are rather large garage type doors that are shut behind her and she thinks that they are most likely used to load and unload big rigs.

"You enjoying the place?" The Joker steps back and gestures widely to the room. "Cozy, isn't it?"

"What exactly do you plan on doing, Joker?" She asked. She knew she needed to buy time.

"Oh, you know... Maybe practice my stand up. Order some pizza now that I'm out of that join. Boy have I missed pizza... And who knows?" He started laughing again. "We might even have a little bit of fun!"

"I have the feeling that your kind of fun and my kind of fun are two totally different things."

"HA HA HA HA! You might just be right.... But we can change that."

"Yeah, well good luck with that. You're going to need it." As she spoke, she tried to see if she could move her hands or feet any to break free but she found that the Joker was more than thorough when it came to making sure she was secure.

"Oh, Deary. I know I can have you laughing before the end of the hour." He said as he walked over to the table to pick up what looked to be a small oxygen tank with bright red 'HA! HA! HA!' written on it.

"Death by laughter, huh?" She asked. "Very original."

"Death? No, no Ladybird. This is a special little concoction I made just for you! I didn't bring you here to kill you." He said with a creepy smile.

"Oh? Should I feel special?" She asked sarcastically.

"HA! HA! HA!" He clapped excitedly. "You are a whole lot more fun than the others." He walked around her for a moment before suddenly grabbing the back of her chair and leaning it back, just barely holding it an inch above the ground as he looked down at her. "But you know what I'm looking for, don't you?"

"Someone who can tolerate the sight of your ugly mug?" She said without skipping a beat as she looked directly into his crazed eyes.

Joker just stares at her for a moment before bursting out into maniacal laughter again. "It just keeps getting better and better." He says before snapping the chair in its upright position.

If it wasn't for the fact the Ladybird was used to sudden and fast movements, the Joker flinging her chair around would have really disorientated her. She was thankful that she could keep a straight face this whole time. She knew that cracking would result in something bad.

"But no, that isn't what I want from you. I'm looking for that smile that suits you oh so well." He pulls a part of a news paper out of his pants and showed the news article of her in front of the museum smiling widely at the camera. "That right there!" He points to her face on the newspaper. "Is a Joker worthy smile. So, come on... Show it to me. Show it to me!"

"I'd rather smile at dead puppies then smile at you." She gave him a dirty look.

"Oh, good idea!" He begins to clap again. "Do you want me to kill a puppy for you?"

"You're disgusting." She shakes her head at him.

"Come on! That was a joke." He laughs. "Just smile already. If you don't then I will just make you." He holds up the tank of his laughing gas. "You can do this the easy way or the hard way."

"I see that you have no faith in your own jokes then. That's almost pitiful."

"You're trying to get a rise out of me, aren't you?" He grins widely at her. "But I can't waste all my good jokes on you now." He steps up to her and brings the tank close to her face. "My stand-up routine isn't for another hour." He slowly begins to release the valve of the tank to let the gas out.

Ladybird begins to hold her breath once she realizes what's happening.

"Oh, come on Deary. You can't hold your breath forever."

Ladybird tries her best to back away from the tank and just as she does, an overwhelming sense of worry comes over her.

"Angel, are you okay?" She hears Damian from inside her head.