finished - november 11, 2016
Is it possible that the Joker has really finally met his match?
When he meets Adelaide Karson, he starts to think so.
Prequel to 'Falling Apart'!
Three days went by. J spent most of his time in the study, on the phone or scouring through gps and city security camera feeds on the internet.
Adelaide was getting worse. Her wound still hadn't healed and the unhealthy green glow had only worsened. She was getting weaker; it was to the point where it was hard for her to even get down the stairs. She'd set herself up on a couch in the living room so that she could be close if J did find anything. He'd even let her sit in with him a few times, but mostly he just told her to rest. She listened, but mostly just because she was starting to get so weak that she had to stay on the couch.
"Got you, you son of a bitch!" Joker hollered one night, jolting Adelaide awake. His cackle echoed through the house as she did her very best to stand and make her way to him. Her legs were wobbly underneath her and she felt like she might vomit, but she made it eventually.
"Where is he?" she asked him as she entered the study, and his eyes shot up to her and looked her over.
"You don't look good," he said, and she scoffed.
"Tell me something I don't know," she said, noting the concern in his eyes.
"You shouldn't be up," he told her, pulling a chair to where she was standing in the doorway and all but pushing her down into it. "They got him. They're bringing him here."
"I want to be involved," she told him, and it was true. In all honesty, she wanted to beat the shit out of the bastard.
"Not a chance," he said, taking on the more normal tone she'd heard before. It threw her off every time she heard it; sometimes she almost forgot that this was the Joker, the one that everyone was so afraid of. She liked him much more when he allowed himself to be human. She wished it could happen all the time.
"I'm going to be there," she said, hoping that her tone told him there wasn't anything to be questioned. He stared at her for a long moment and then walked back to the desk. She took the movement as somewhat agreement.
They sat there in silence for a long time, waiting. Suddenly, Adelaide was having a hard time holding her head up. Her eyes were heavy and she felt like she was going to pass out.
"J..." she trailed off, unable to finish the sentence. A few unrecognizable words slipped through her lips as she started to slide out of the chair and onto the floor. He was there before she hit the floor, catching her head in the last second before it smacked into the wood. He shook her slightly and listened to her heartbeat. He could barely hear it, but it was there. He picked her up and took her back to the couch in the living room, setting her down and covering her with a blanket.
He pulled out his phone and punched in a number. "Hurry the fuck up," he said into it, hanging up before hearing the response.
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"What did you do to her?" Joker screamed at the bouncer, Lawrence Cooney, an hour later. It wasn't the first time he'd asked, and he was sure it wasn't going to be the last. Adelaide was still unconscious on the couch behind them. He had the modified cattle prod that he'd used on Adelaide in his hand and was hitting Lawrence with it every time he continued to be unhelpful, careful not to knock him out.
"I didn't do nothin' to her," Lawrence said, and Joker dug the prod into his thigh, making him call out in pain.
"What. Did. You. Do?" J thundered, getting right up in Lawrence's face. "You tell me or I'll kill your entire family. I'll kill everyone you've ever met!" he screamed the words frantically, cackling loudly. Lawrence shook his head, and J dug the prod into the other thigh. "I'm about to cut your legs clean off, you know that Larry? That's what you're gonna make me do!" J screeched, his voice getting more and more hysterical by the moment. He walked to the other side of the room and picked a handheld saw up from the table he'd set up. He brandished it theatrically, and then shoved it down into Larry's left leg, making him scream in pain. J laughed at the sound and did exactly what he'd promised; the leg fell onto the floor with a thud.
"You cut off my leg!" Larry screamed, making J laugh harder.
"Tell me what you did to her or your losin' the other one, princess," J told him, holding the saw right above Larry's remaining leg.
"Fine! Fine! It's... a homemade concoction. I don't know where it comes from originally. I buy it off a guy I know. She needs... needs the antidote," Larry said, wincing between each word.
"Where's the antidote, Larry?" J asked, digging the saw in enough to break the skin just slightly.
"I don't have any! You have to get it from this shop on Avalon Street. It fronts as a Korean bakery," Larry yelled, and the Joker pushed the saw into his remaining leg just a little bit more.
"How long does she have?" J asked, and Larry shrugged.
"I have no idea, honest. I've never even used the bullets on anyone before her. I just... I just panicked," he said, and J started laughing again. He pulled out his pistol and shot Larry directly between his eyes.
"I just panicked," he said, cackling and re-holstering the gun. He made his way to Adelaide across the room, checked her heartbeat once more and made his way to the front door. "That better be cleaned up by the time I get back!" he screamed to no one in particular, knowing that one of his men was bound to hear him. He slammed the door behind him and cackled all the way to the garage.
