Because I Loved You

Memories forced

There was a ticking in my head. From the back recesses of my mind, I felt a pulling. Laughter was overwhelming me. Only it was inside me. I heard it in my mind. My eyes wouldn't open. There was a bright light and the sound of static before I was sucked down into another world.

I was falling. Looking down, I saw the dark chemicals inside one of the vats Ace Chemicals housed. I looked up and saw Batman staring down at me with a smile on his face. My body struck the surface of the chemical, and I drowned instantly. It filled me. My insides were burning. I couldn't breathe. This was death. I could feel it. I saw the daughter I had. The wife I loved. Where were they? Was Batman going to kill them? No, I had to stop this. This will of hopeless protection caused a change in me. My skin melted away. Bleaching into white the color of bone. I stared at my hands through the thick chemical. Suddenly, a twisting pain surrounded me. I grabbed my head. It was inside me. Gnawing at my brain. I opened my mouth to scream and the chemical poured into my mouth. It flooded down my throat. I was suffocating. The pain was fire. It was driving me crazy. I had to escape. Clawing at the thick chemical, I reached desperately for the surface but not before my mind was altered. As I broke the surface and breathed air, I felt it. I was different. This chemical has driven me crazy. I have to find my wife and daughter....

I bolted into a sitting position. Looking at Harley, I saw that she was fast asleep. Those words clawed at my brain. I have to find them. I have to see them again. Getting out of the bed, I grabbed my jacket and left the hideout. My hope was that in these 5 years they haven't moved out of the house I once lived in. I found it easily. Standing in the yard, I stared at it. It was small, but it held so many memories. Breathing in a deep breath, I walked to the door and knocked. There was the sound of footsteps on the other side, and the sound of the latch being undone. The door opened and my wife stood there. She hasn't changed.

"Can I help you?" She looked at me with a look like she sensed danger.

"Willow, it's me. It's Jack."

Willow's eyes widened. "Jack? What happened to you? Where have you been?"

"I got into an accident, and I haven't come back because I didn't want you to reject me."

Willow put a hand on her mouth as she looked at my face. Tears ran down her face "Oh my God! Jack!"

She hugged me tightly, crying and thanking me for coming back. I heard small footsteps and looked up.

"Mom, who is this?"

Willow let go of me and turned to Eva. "This is your father. He was in an accident."

Eva looked at me. "Dad, you look weird."

I smiled. "Thank you. I'll take that as a compliment."

Willow told me to come inside and closed the door behind me. Maybe now things will make sense.

A/N if you have seen the 1969 Batman movie with the original Joker in it, Jack was the Joker's name before he became the Joker. I decided to use it.