Circus For A Psycho | A Joker Story

Chapter 1

Lisa was woken abruptly from the sound of screeching metal. The door of the warehouse was being pulled open and most likely, somebody was coming inside.

Curious, Lisa crawled out from her little sleeping space and rose to her knees, peeking over the top of the crate. Sure enough, there was somebody in the doorway. It was a man, wearing a weird semi formal outfit, it seemed, with a long coat overtop.

"He has green hair!" A voice chirped excitedly.

Lisa furrowed her brow, confused. Upon closer inspection, she could see that the man did have green hair. The moonlight gave him such a ghostly pallor, making his skin almost seem white. It was hard to tell from a distance, but he looked like he was tall.

"What is he doing?" A voice asked.

"It looks like he's inspecting the place," another voice replied.

  "Do you think he knows we're here?" Another asked.

  "Shut up!" Lisa hissed, unaware that her response was outward instead of mental.

  That got the man's attention. He raised an eyebrow, looking around the place with narrowed eyes. He hadn't seen Lisa. At least, not yet.

  "Is there someone there?" He called out, a playful, yet menacing edge to his voice.

"Well, now he knows we're here," a voice snapped.

Lisa rolled her eyes. She wasn't afraid, despite that several of her voices were insisting she stay hidden. If this guy wanted to know where she was, she wouldn't play shy. Besides, best to let him know that this warehouse was already taken.

"Yeah, there is," Lisa called back, standing up straight.

The man's eyes were on her in an instant, watching as she walked around the crate and approached him. As she grew closer, she could see that the man's skin was literally white, along with blood red lips that were curling up in a smile.

  "Well, well," the man said. "What's a pretty thing like you doing here?"

  "Is he flirting?"

  "I'm pretty sure this guy would kill us sooner than flirt with us."

  "Just taking shelter for the night," Lisa replied flatly. "What's it to you?"

  The man looked surprised for a split second, then let out a chuckle. Lisa raised an eyebrow. Was something she said funny?

  "What's it to me?" The man said, almost as if he was surprised someone had spoken to him in such a way.

  "That's what I said," Lisa said, sticking her hands in her hoodie pockets. "What's it to you? I'm not hurting anybody by staying here."

  The man regarded her with a strange sort of amusement. He chuckled again, starting to circle around Lisa. Lisa watched him with a bored expression.

  "No, you're not hurting anyone," the man agreed, his hands clasped behind his back. "The only one you might be hurting, though...is yourself."

  Lisa furrowed her brow. "What?"

  "You see, I was hoping I could use this warehouse as my, ah...temporary base of operations," the man explained, circling back around behind her. "But it seems I'll have to take care of a little pest problem first."

  Lisa felt something suddenly press into the back of her neck, along with the all too familiar sound of a gun cocking. Nearly all of the voices in her head started freaking out and Lisa winced as their volumes rose to the unbearable level.

  "Please, be quiet..." She whispered to them.

  "What?" She heard the man behind her say.

  "I wasn't talking to you!" She snapped, unconcerned with the fact that this was the man who currently had the barrel of a gun pressed against her neck.

Suddenly, she heard the man burst into laughter. Lisa felt the pressure of the gun disappear from her neck and turned to find the man doubled over in fits of laughter. He sounded closer to the cackling of a hyena than laughter. Suddenly, it was very clear that this guy had a few screws loose.

  "Like you're one to talk," a voice laughed.

  "Insulting her isn't helping anyone," another scolded.

  "Something funny, stranger?" Lisa asked, looking at the man, confused.

  His laughs soon tapered off into chuckles as he seemingly struggled to collect himself. Apparently something had hit his funny bone.

  "Oh, that is hilarious!" He said, smiling widely. "You have no idea who I am, do you?"

  "Um..." Lisa did a quick once over of him. "Should I?"

  "You mean to tell me there's been no chatter on the street?" The man said in disbelief.

  Lisa shrugged. "Maybe, I don't know. I try to stay away from people."

  "Yet you're not alarmed with a gun pressed to your head?"

  "Yeah, well...it takes a lot to scare me."

  The man chuckled, staring at Lisa with interest. "What's your name?" He asked.

  Lisa looked at him suspiciously. "Why do you want to know?"

  "Because," the man started. "I think you're interesting. You have no fear of death and are lacking in the sanity department, just like me." He let out a chuckle.

"Unless you have schizophrenia, we're nothing alike," Lisa said, crossing her arms across her chest. Then after a moment, she added, "And the name's Lisa."

"Well, Lisa, how would you like a job?" The man asked with a grin.

Lisa gave a disinterested hum. "Depends on the job. Besides, I don't even know who you are."

"You can call me the Joker," the man replied with a smile. "And the job you'll be given will be to help me take control of this miserable city."

Lisa narrowed her eyes, watching the strange man called the Joker. There was a very big possibility that the job she could walk into was highly illegal, but...on the other hand, if it paid well, it might be worth it.

Besides, this Joker guy seemed odd. Maybe he'd be entertaining company.

Despite the protests from all the rational voices in her mind, Lisa decided to go for it. It wasn't every day something like this happened.

"Alright, sure," Lisa said with a shrug.

The Joker smiled. "I'm glad to hear it."

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so here's the intro to the joker :D

this chapter felt a little slow to me but hopefully it was okay! i'll try to make things pick up soon

also i hope my characterization of the joker was okay! this is my first time writing this version so be gentle xD

i'll try to update again soon💙