Jigsaw Puzzle || The Joker x Reader

➟ Chapter Eight

One Month Later

You trudged up the steps of the warehouse in your villainous uniform. You were decked out in some old and new pieces of your mission clothes and weapons you dug out from your family's inventory featuring a few you picked from The Joker's stock room. You felt powerful as you basically carried an arsenal on your body, of which you couldn't wait to use.

For the past month, everything was focused on planning and your getting reacquainted with the business and exactly how Joker ran things. You could honestly say by that point, your relationship with the man was extensively different than what you initially thought it would be. Madness was a matter of understanding and you each had your individual comprehension of the term.

As you sauntered down the walkway with dim evening light streaming in through the cracked windows, you twirled a switchblade in your hand. You twisted the doorknob, and once you tore the door open, you threw the knife with all your force.

"Haha, almost got me that time," Joker said with a demented laugh after the blade embedded itself in the wood next to his ear.

The henchmen stood around the table with nervous expressions because they never knew how far you and Joker would go with your games. It was concerning for them to be under the watchful eye of two humans who could easily explode like bombs and kill everyone in sight without feeling a thing. A couple of the goons had already been killed by either you or The Joker from stepping out of line.

"If I wanted to really hit you, I would have," you replied.

"Then I'd have to kill you," Joker said.

You rolled your eyes and skipped over to the round table where the papers and maps were laid out. You spent almost an hour going over the plans that you and Joker had arranged from the past month; a month in which you both led a handful of smaller crimes as you geared up for something more dangerous.

Wayne Manor was more of a fun activity than anything else to you and Joker, but no one needed to be aware of that fact. They thought you were in it for the money Bruce Wayne had laying around, but as Joker told you when devising this plan, no one ever questioned anything when there was money involved. Humans were greedy when it came to cash.

You helped load the two vans--you would be in charge of one team while Joker directed the other. The plan was set so that you would get the back of the manor and raid it as Joker took up the front.

The goons--with clown masks on their faces--and Joker hopped in the vans and took off to the outer region of the city where the manor was located as you drove your own car. You ran your finger over the machine gun you had resting in the passenger seat of your own car until you arrived at the building where dozens of fancy vehicles resided in the driveway. You cradled the gun to your chest as you soon approached your fellow culprits and stood next to The Joker.

"All right, boys, get in position," Joker ordered with his own gun pointed toward the sky.

The henchmen followed suit and you absentmindedly patted Joker's hand the same time as he did the same to you, basically in a low high-five. You then went your separate ways. Leading your squadron around the manor while Joker barged through the front, you made it to the side where a large balcony was.

You went first as you used the gear on your belt to shoot a grappling hook onto the railing with your men behind you. Your feet landed on the stone and you swung over onto the balcony with swiftness and kicked open the glass doors just as you heard commotion from downstairs, indicating Joker's entrance.

"Do your thing," you commanded.

Destruction ensued as bullets flew into the walls of the room until you spread out across the top floor of the manor and wrecked havoc on anything in sight. You chuckled to yourself as you listened to the screams coming from downstairs and heard Joker's voice travel through the floor.

You finished tearing apart one of the sitting rooms by sticking a knife through the Wayne family's portrait and dragging it down to slice it in half. You jogged out of the room and a black figure flew past your peripheral vision.

"Shit," you cursed. "Everyone out!"

"Why?" one of the more trusted goons who had skills in computer hacking, Vincent Stover, questioned.

"Batman," you said steadily. "I'll handle this. You get Joker and the others and get out of here."

"But--"

"Go!" you growled.

You checked your clip as you heard the receding footsteps, saw that you were out of bullets, and threw the gun on the ground. The doors downstairs slammed shut at the same time and you were relieved as you knew your associates got out in time. You pulled out the switchblade you stole from The Joker out of your pocket as Batman began running in your direction.

Meanwhile, the henchmen were piling into the vans and speeding off back to the warehouse as sirens blared in the distance. Joker slumped in the passenger seat with a sigh and let out a cheerful laugh.

"Great job, boys!" Joker shouted, clapping his hands once.

The goons knew better than to respond. The vans pulled into the warehouse after some time and everyone jumped out to get ready to celebrate. Joker looked around for his ever-so delightful partner, but didn't see her nor her car anywhere. This was especially unusual seeing as you were always one to take charge in any situation.

"Where is she?" Joker asked the group of men that you led as they walked up the stairs.

They stalled on the steps and all nervously turned to their boss, knowing exactly who and what he meant. Joker knew that he wasn't going to like the answer.

"We ran into Batman and she made us leave her, Sir," a henchmen revealed with a wavering voice.

Joker's jaw clenched and he fiercely ripped out the gun from his jacket and shot the man who fell to the ground in agony.

"Stupid, stupid, stupid," Joker chanted repeatedly while waving the gun around. He was livid. "What did I tell you this morning?"

"T-to stay with her no matter what," Charlie stuttered.

"And what did you do?" Joker hissed vehemently.

"Boss, she commanded for us to get you out and leave. We had no choice," Vincent added.

"She--" Joker broke off as he was thrown into confusion at Vincent's statement. You had sacrificed yourself, knowing that you could be thrown into Arkham or Blackgate without a way out.

Joker scratched the gun against his temple and paced across the cement floor, trying to process his mangled thoughts. He didn't enjoy being toyed with or not in control, but you continued to toss wrenches that disturbed his life, yet he oddly liked it.