The Joker's Daughter

Chapter 8 ~ Meeting the boy wonder

"Have some fun with your fire crackers?" Lila smirked.

"You don't seem to know me as well as I know you, Tox." I made it a habit to call people by what they were generally refered as depending on their uniform, just in case someone was over hearing. Tox was short for Lady Toxic, almost everyone knew her by Tox however. I took out my fire crackers. They certainly weren't normal fire crackers. They caused much, much larger explosions. Throwing a few of these would kill someone if thrown directly at them, but my plan was to throw them in the air--creating enough smoke from the explosion to fill the entire street and then Lila and I could make a formal entrance. "You wouldn't happen to have a knife on you...?"

"I'm surprised you don't," she handed me a good sized blade. Perfect.

"Get ready," I smirked, Lila was very good at following along. I didn't have to explain anything for her to go along with what I had planned. I lit three fire crackers and threw them into the street. Unbelievably loud crackles erupted in the air, smoke instantly grew from the discharge and filled the avenue. People screamed and I started laughing and jumped gracefully into the street, aiming for the stage. Lila followed me.

As soon as I hit the stage I grabbed onto the coughing mayor's shirt collar from behind him. The smoke started to clear and the people of Gotham saw Lila and I holding a knife to the base of the mayor's throat. Lila had done the kindness of knocking all of the security off the stage and was holding a hostage of her own. I laughed as I held the knife to his throat and caused a small string of blood to travel down his neck.

The people grew silent in shock as they saw us.

"Tox, I believe this honor goes to you!" I laughed and shoved the fat mayor towards Lila, she tossed the city treasurer towards me in trade and I allowed her to take center stage.

"People of Gotham. I fight for the plants, and if you allow the cutting down of any more of the city park the consequences will be dire." Lila warned, I held the treasurers arms behind his back so he couldn't escape and held the blade to him so if he did move, he would pay for it. "I finally have my hands on you," she stared at the mayor and her hand rose above her, following it was a long line of vines ready to attack her hostage on her command. Batman and Robin should have been here by now. Were they too busy for me? Or... the mayor for that matter?

"Poison Ivy Jr!" One of the police officers dared to approach her. I dropped the man I was holding and flipped the police officer over my shoulder before he could touch Lila. Without giving it a second thought I plunged the blade into the man's rib cage and tossed him aside. The surrounding people let out a scream. Little did they know he wasn't actually dead, just badly injured. He'd be fine in a few weeks. If I really wanted to kill him I would have done it much slower.

"If anyone else comes closer I'll just make his death longer," Lila promised as she was about to attack the mayor with her thick vines.

"Don't make promises you can't keep!" A deep voice tossed Lila aside, she screamed in surprise of the action and was torn away from the mayor. The Batman. But where was the boy blunder? Oh who cared, it was a party now!

"I was so afraid you'd miss this!" I chanted and acrobatically made my way over to Lila. I looked around, scanning the area for Robin.

There! on the rooftop, a dark figure racing around us.

"Tox, let's bring this party upstairs." I giggled and darted to the tops of the buildings, where Robin was.

"Why are you doing this?" The Batman demanded, siding with Robin as Lila joined me. Oh good I'd moved the entire party to the tops of the buildings.

"Well she wants the fat bastard dead, and I'm just in it for the fun." I shrugged.

"Killing a man is fun to you?!" Robin darted at me, trying to grab me. Lila and the Batman were doing a little dance of their own, battling each other.

"Don't get all 'superhero' on me. I made it quick. I could have cut him open and torn him from the inside out if you'd prefer that?"

Robin gave me a disgusted look and hesitated for a split second, figuring out his next move after me, giving me a slim opportunity to grab him and throw him over my shoulder, one of my personal favorite moves, and hold him to the ground. His face was so close to mine it was within kissing distance. But I wasn't here for romance, that wasn't exactly my thing. I licked his nose instead, spreading the obvious conclusion that I was insane. I was holding his arms and legs down by my own limbs, so he was having trouble escaping.

"You're certainly fun to play with, you know." I whispered in his ear and then pounced off of him. "This has been fun, but I must be going. I've had my good time. Killed a cop, you know my night has been pretty fun." I said, knowing already that the police officer I'd wounded was not in fact dead. I looked around, Tox and the Batman were no where to be seen. Well, out of sight out of mind.

"You're not going anywhere."

"You see, I think I am. You have a choice. Capture me, or save the cop."

"What are you talking about?"

"He's not actually dead, only injured. If you leave him out there certainly he will die, but if you go to him now perhaps you'll be lucky." I shrugged and giggled. I felt like a different person behind the paint, it was quite refreshing. Robin looked incredibly angry and conflicted, but finally he darted in the opposite direction towards the dying cop. "Bye!" I shouted as he left.



I didn't see Lila again until I was back in the Gotham ghetto. She was erupting plants through the brick walls of a strange, grafittied building. As the plants grew through the walls, the bricks exploded, making a sound similar to shattering glass.

"Is someone upset?" I fake-pouted.

"I was so close!" She shouted and punched the wall with her own fist, and ended up hurting herself. "Ow, damn it!"

"Because punching walls will solve your problems."

"I had him in my hands!"

"You had the opportunity to kill him. Why didn't you?" I sighed and leaned against the wall that had smashing bricks flying out of it, knowing none of them would actually hit me.

"I wanted his ending to be dramatic, god damn it! And then the Batman showed up and ruined everything, and he never lets me have any fun! He's just like my father, I should kill him as well but then I wouldn't have a place to live. I hate being a minor. Perhaps I could end up in Arkham with my mother and we could die together, old and crazy."

"No, you'd end up in a juvenile detention center. I don't think you really have what it takes to be crazy. I, for one, am not insane. I just play a clown."

"You're not insane?"

"No, my father is. He's sent me to school now."

"Does he actually care for your education?" She asked, followed by me giving her a look so she understood immediately that wasn't the case. "Okay... stupid question."

"It's all part of his plan, and Harley might be breaking Ivy out sometime soon."

"I don't particularly care. We're different people, I just happen to like her more than my father."

"My mother is nothing but an incompetent fool. If the Joker killed her tomorrow I would ask him what took so long." I said blankly. And, that was the truth. I felt nothing towards my parents, though for some reason I still wanted the Joker's acceptance and I felt the need to impress him, I did not love him nor did he love me. Harley was just an annoying bimbo that followed him, and happened to be the woman who gave birth to me.

"Harley is pretty annoying," Lila agreed. "But surely she's capable of doing something right. My mother likes her, there must be a reason for it."

"Sure she can do a few things correctly, but she lets her emotions get in the way of her... everything. That is how we differ, that is why she is imcompetent."

"I think you have feelings." Lila said, I gave her a looking daring her to carry on with her words. "You're not as self aware as you think. Feelings are not just something you can turn off, of course my feelings mostly involve rage, I still feel and so do you. Though, you may not like to admit it, you are not the joker."

"Watch your tongue, Lila." I hissed before walking away from her.