Joker and his Ace

Anniversary

Joker swallowed hard when he saw the date. It was the day before his least favorite day of the year. He knew tomorrow he would be a drunken mess, and he was not looking forward to it. He turned and faced the mirror before ruffling his already messed up hair. He smeared on some more red paint, completing his smile. After another quick assessment of his face, he waltzed out of the room, plastering a wide, insane smile on his face. As he turned corners, he saw his men snap to attention. He arrived at Essie's room and saw that the guard was fast asleep. Rolling his eyes, Joker took out his knife and stabbed him in the stomach, twisting the knife as he did. The man's eyes opened with a start, and he was soon a writhing, gurgling mess on the floor. Joker laughed and started kicking him in the wound, increasing the pain. He kept laughing and kicking until the man was dead, then walked into her room.

Inside, she was laying on the bed, staring blankly at the ceiling. She didn't move when he walked in, and for a second Joker thought she was dead. He was about to check, when she suddenly sat up and stared at him, still not talking.

Unnerved, he cleared his throat. "So, dollface, what should we do today, hmmmmm? A little maiming, torturing, KILLING?" He asked. She merely stared at him, not moved by an insane clown screaming in her face. He noticed she was staring at his scars. "Wanna know where I got these?" He drawled. Still, she said nothing. "You see, my dad was an abusive drunk, he beat on my mom every day. One day, he comes home, drunker than usual, and decides she's too annoying to deal with and stabs her in the stomach, I was 4. He turned on me with this insane smile on his face and asked "Why so serious?" before slicing open both of my cheeks, leaving me smiling forever." lied Joker. He went up to her and traced the sides of her lips, "You look like you could use a smile doll!" he said jokingly. She shivered, making Joker cackle. As he was turning to leave, she finally spoke.

"Why do you wear a mask," She asked quietly. He turned slowly and stared at her blankly. 

"Oh, this?" he asked gesturing towards his heavily covered face. "Well to hide my identity, of course, can't have anyone knowing who I am now can I?" he said lightly. 

"No, not the make-up. You have so much pain in your eyes, especially when you kill, or when you cut me. That wasn't the look of a man who did it for-"

"Now let me stop you right there sweetheart. You don't know me. I kill because I want to. Because I love it. I love watching that light die in their eyes. I love watching them struggle for their last breath. I LOVE watching them die, just like I watched my-" he suddenly stopped, aware of what he almost let slip. "Mother die." he said carefully. She was staring at him again and quirked an eyebrow, and he knew he had been caught in another lie. "Don't question me," he said before walking out.

He gestured to five random men to follow him and he went down the hall, now in the mood for some chaos. He jumped in his purple Lamborghini and sped off with a van following close behind. "Hmmm, who to kill who to kill," he muttered to himself. Deciding he was in the mood for a nice simple bank robbery, he sped ahead to Gotham City Bank. He skirted into a stop in front of the entrance and got out of his car. "Let's have some fun boys!" he yelled as he pulled out a gun, and with his men following suit, walking in the building.

When he walked in, he was surprised to see how full it was. Smiling, he took his gun and shot four people, laughing maniacally. He ran up to the front and pointed a gun at the teller. "Give me all your money, or... die," he said gleefully. The teller rushed to the back, and came back a minute later, with four bags bursting with money. The Joker nodded his thanks and turned to leave, then, thinking better of it, he whipped around and shot the teller in the face. He skipped back to his car and yelled at his men to take the long way back home. They blended in with the traffic. Joker started to pull out and was cut off by a black, armored car. 

"Where're your manners Batsy?! You coulda scratched my new paint job," he yelled at him before throwing it in reverse and taking off. He laughed as he weaved in and out of traffic, causing some minor pileups in front of him. He slammed on the brakes, and threw it into drive, before taking off again, the bat hot on his heels. He twisted in and out, between cars, people, and buildings alike. Batman was still hot on his trail, and with a huff of annoyance, Joker pressed a button, and a ginormous smoke bomb came out of his car, right towards the bat. He lost sight of him, and made his way back home, satisfied with the amount of killing he had accomplished. He broke out some Scotch, and poured himself a glass, before sitting down beside a t.v. "JOKER STRIKES AGAIN" read the headline of the news, with a chuckle, Joker watching himself on screen. 

"Hey! Look I'm on television!" he yelled at no one in particular. Chucking again, he drained the bottle and passed out on the couch.

He woke at 6:00 the next morning. He glanced at the date and groaned, before sliding out of bed and immediately grabbed the first bottle he came in contact with and popped off the top, chugging it. He walked out of the room and started to walk aimlessly down the halls. When he felt that someone gave him a funny look, he killed them and took another drink. Soon he was out of both bullets and whiskey, so he stumbled towards the kitchen. When he found another bottle, he took the top off with his teeth and decided to visit his guest.

When he walked into the room, she was still sleeping. She woke up when he stumbled in and looked at him with bleary eyes, confused by the state of him. He walked over to her, and sat down on the floor by her bed, where he started to drink.

"Wanna hear a joke?" he asked. She nodded her head tentatively. "A guy walked into a bar, and passed out cold," he said, before laughing uncontrollably. "G-get it, he walked into a metal bar!" he cackled at her. When he glanced up and saw the disgusted look on her face, he grew angry. "SMILE!" he roared at her. She flinched but continued to give him a disdainful look. He jumped to his feet and finished off the bottle, he was now severely drunk. He motioned for one of his goons to tie her down to the bed. He complied and Joker turned to face her. "Let's put a smile on the pretty little face," he said quietly before taking out a knife. 

She finally realized what he was about to do, and started to struggle. It was no use, the goon had tied her down good. He stuck the knife in her mouth and put a finger to his lips, before violently slashing upwards, creating a lopsided, bloody smile. He did the same to the other side of her face, while tears rolled down her cheeks. She refused to give him the satisfaction of screaming. He laughed and caressed her face.

"Why so serious?" He asked. He slapped her across the face, smearing blood on her cheeks, and staining his hand red. "SMILE!" He screamed in her ear. With a sudden burst of anger, he began beating her, adding black and blue bruised to her face. When he had exhausted himself, he whispered, "I just wanted to make her smile." before passing out cold on the floor.

Essie started to cry, she had known he was violent, but this was a whole new level she hadn't known he possessed. She saw a man come in, and lift Joker up, before carrying him off, hopefully far away from her. The man came back in, and she braced herself for the worst. But instead of hurting her, he untied her and gave her some pills.

"Take these, they'll make you sleep. I'll stitch your face once your out," he said in a gruff voice. She obliged and fell into a listless sleep.