Joker's Janitor (FANFICTION)

XIV

It had now been eight months since their meeting.

Margaret had slowly bought the remaining items to make the hideout a home, using both the money Joker gave her and her stash. They now had a coffee table, rugs, a vacuum, a kettle and more cleaning products than she could find space for, at least that was Margaret's idea of homemaking.

Because she had not tended to her cuts, they had healed open, her teeth visible.
Joker had not mentioned them again, though he did find it funny when she took a gulp of tea and some spilt out the gaps.
It was then she had decided to sew them up for convenience.

Joker sat on the couch, counting out some money into different piles, whilst Margaret cleaned the closet, she usually did it once a month.

She came across the box hidden in the back, and she decided to finally ask what was inside. "Excuse us Mr. Joker?"

"Yes you can sand the wood again. You can do whatever you want here, quit asking." He continued counting.

"Okay." She flipped the small metal latch and gently lifted the top. Inside, she found a small clown toy, meant for a baby. It was filthy, as though he'd had it since birth. She checked it over and worked out luke-warm hand washing would still be safe for it. It had a black substance on it, similar to ash. Setting it down in the box, she began filling her bucket.

"You need to sand it before you wash it. Remember last time?"

"I know, I just need it for the toy. Then we will get back to the closet."

He dropped the money and looked over at her, bucket in hand. "DON'T TOUCH THAT!" His voice menacing as he jumped over the couch and grabbed the box.

"I am sorry. I was going to ask, but you said it was alright." She put the bucket down.

"Never touch this, never clean this!" He had not looked at the toy, closing the latch and holding it against his chest.

"I am sorry, I did not know. We did not know." Holding her head, she crouched down, mumbling to herself.

He looked at the box, it held his sanity, his insanity, his life, his death. Then he looked at Margaret, she would forever be a child, she would never age, like the truth the toy held. She was like the baby girl that was never born, but she was, she was here, and she would never leave.
"It's okay. You didn't know." He opened the box and handed her the toy. "You can have it, Happy Birthday."

She looked up at him with excitement, gently taking the toy. "Really? For me? I can really have it?" Her hands cupped the small clown and pressed it to her chest. "I will never clean it."

-

Joker had been planning something big. He would not tell Margaret, as it was to be a surprise, though he would often come home late with a glint in his eyes.

"Okay Lollipop, today I want you to watch the news all day. There's gonna be something very exciting on and I don't want you to miss a second of it. Got it?"

"So no cleaning?" She asked, slightly disappointed.

"This will be worth it, trust me. It'll go off with a bang, haha haha hahaha!" Joker left, still in fits of laughter.

Margaret did as she was told and sat in front of the TV the whole day, turning it up to full volume when she needed the bathroom or replenishing.

Sure enough, at half past four, 'Breaking News' came up on the screen, followed by Wayne Tower. Joker stood at the top, henchmen on each corner and several with ropes and spray cans.
The ones with ropes swung down half way and began spraying green and purple onto the windows of the building.

'Bruce Wayne sucks! I love lollipops and pizza! Vote for Joker!
The men sprayed pictures to explain, one depicting a man with a penis in his mouth.

Before the men on ropes had a chance to get back to the top, two of the buildings surrounding Wayne tower exploded, spraying glass out onto the street below.

The Joker began laughing into a megaphone.
"I own this city, and I don't want you bat crazy puppets to forget it!"

One of his henchmen handed him a handheld cannon and took his megaphone. The man then put a gas mask on him and stepped back.
Joker aimed the cannon into the sky and fired, just as a big balloon was set loose. The balloon popped, releasing a mass of green gas into the air.

Suddenly, out of nowhere, Batman appeared in a plane of some kind and it dropped a larger amount of blue gas, which seemed to destroy Joker's.
Batman then dived from the aircraft, landed on the building and began taking down the henchman with ease.

Joker and Batman stood face to face now, they seemed to be talking, but it was inaudible to the media. Joker began by slicing the air in front of Batman, sometimes hitting his mark, Batman dodged, then started fighting back.

Margaret was mesmerised, seeing the fight as a dance; graceful, thoughtful, invigorating.

Joker now had two batarrangs imbedded into his torso, a seemingly broken hand and his right leg seemed to be lagging behind a bit.

Batman was in no better condition. Joker had injured him badly with his knife and he was getting worn out, yet neither seemed to want to give up.

Just when Batman seemed to have the upper hand, Joker pushed him over the edge, leaving him hanging on by one hand. He then ran to the other side of the building and grabbed a rope from previously, quickly climbing down it.

Batman finally found his grip and pulled himself off the edge, ran over to the rope Joker was using, and started dragging Joker back up.

Joker realised and pulled out a gun from his pocket, shooting the windows until one finally shattered. He jumped inside, and disappeared, Batman close behind.

Nothing more was shown, they had both disappeared, and after twenty minutes, Margaret walked away from the TV.

She sat on the edge of the river, just outside the hideout's drainage pipe. She was looking up the river, waiting, watching.

About two hours later, something appeared to be floating down the river.
Margaret took off her top and pants, then dived into the water, swimming towards the purple figure.

He did not respond when she grabbed him by the jacket and pulled him to shore, and there was no sign of breathing.

She pushed on his chest and blew air into his mouth, catching a face full of spit and water on the third attempt. He was still unconscious, but breathing nonetheless.

After dragging him inside, undressing him, drying him and getting him onto the bed, she began stitching up his wounds, the batarrangs had been removed before she found him.

"Is he okay?"
'He looks fine, we did well.'
"I do not want to leave him."
'Then we will not.'

Margaret got changed, made a tea and sat by his bedside for around thirteen hours, until she began dozing off.

"Would it be okay?"
'Yes, of course. We can not leave him whilst he is unwell.'

Margaret laid down beside him, feeling how cold his body was. She wrapped her arms around him and hugged him gently, falling asleep with him in her arms.

-

Joker awoke feeling groggy and worn out. He felt something wrapped around him and instantly assumed restraints and sedatives were in use. When he moved, the 'restraints' grew tighter, confusing him.

"Please be okay." A voice whispered sleepily into his ear. "Don't leave like they did."

He opened his eyes and turned to see Margaret's sleeping face, so peaceful and seemingly innocent. He lifted his hand to her cheek and felt her scar, soft against his calloused hand. Laying still for a moment, he debated what to do. His body was cold, Margaret's body heat was the only thing keeping him warm.

Her arms squeezed him lightly, then loosened, her head pressed into his chest, causing a bearable pain.

Joker closed his eyes and went back to sleep.