deal with the devil! | JOKER X READER ✅

CHAPTER 10: remember the name.

   It was finally the big day. The day where you would officially be put in the public eye as a member of Joker's team. Where you could finally accurately showcase your criminality and skill.

   You were feeling quite zen on the car ride to the bank, which was extremely out of character for you. Of course, you weren't totally at ease, but you weren't bouncing off the walls with nerves like you thought you would've been. You mostly attributed this odd calmness to Joker's tutelage over the last few days. You needed to be confident in yourself, and confident in him. You had been trying to get yourself to achieve the former goal for years, but something in the way that he had demanded it had rewired your brain in two days. Maybe it was because his advice meant so much to you, while your own advice meant jack shit.

   "How ya feeling, (Y/N)?" Frost asked from the driver's seat.

   "I feel pretty good," you replied with a smile. After all, there was little to no physical danger involved in this mission. Joker had provided everyone with bulletproof vests, shirts, and pants. In addition, everyone was given a metal helmet that secured every inch of everyone's heads, as well as bulky gloves. Each of you had uniforms of a different color, that way the team could identify one another. Yours was white, Frost's was black, Lennon's was yellow, Ronnie's was red, William's was blue, Shaun's was purple, and of course, Joker's was green.

   Everybody had their helmets off, since they were rather heavy, but you kept appreciatively studying yours. Its hard, white exterior was only broken by its dark, yet translucent viewport, and you couldn't help but feel like a badass wearing it. Because you would be totally safe from gunfire, you felt as if some of the pressure was taken off. You had known that your chest area would be protected, since William had asked about bulletproof vests. But, you didn't know if the rest of your body would be.

   So, because of this, all you had to worry about was making this mission as easy as possible for Joker, mastering combat, and fleeing from law enforcement if they came. Maybe even Batman.

   So, still a bit to worry about. But, you didn't let it get to you. As Joker had succinctly put it yesterday, you had to trust him. You had to trust that his plan would work, as long as you didn't royally fuck up.

   "Good," Frost replied. "How about everyone else?"

   Everyone murmured their positive feelings for the day ahead.

   Well, that is, everyone except Joker.

   Come to think of it, he had been quiet all morning. The only time you had heard him speak was when he complained that due to how many team members there were, he couldn't take his purple Lamborghini to arrive in style; you had to take Frost's van instead, which had two seats in the front, three in the middle, and three more in the back. You were in the middle next to Lennon and Ronnie. William and Shaun were in the back, and you could feel their excited vibe from where you sat in front of them.

But, why wasn't Joker excited? Didn't he eat, sleep, and breathe crime? His mind was evidently a scary place, and that was enough to discourage you from asking him what was wrong.

Instead, you leaned over and whispered to Lennon, "Why is J so quiet?" He had a naturally quiet voice, so you figured that he would be able to tell you the most without upsetting Joker.

Lennon nervously looked at the back of Joker's seat, assessing any possible movement that he could make. When he didn't see imminent danger, he muttered, "He gets like this sometimes before missions. I think he kinda...gets in the zone, I guess. Like, he has to tap into his crazy and can only do that when he's silent. Watch, when we get there, he's gonna have more energy than ever."