Broken Can Be Beautiful (Jared Leto's Joker Fanfiction)

At What Cost?

Lisbeth felt the tears leak down her cheeks as she waited for the gun to go off, for the bullet to hit her, the pain to take her over and the blackness to engulf her.

She flinched when she heard the gun go off, but surprisingly she felt nothing-no pain, no blackness. All she heard was the wild laughter of J.

She cautiously opened her eyes, her jaw dropping at the sight in front of her.

J sat on the ground, the gun thrown to the side as blood rushed from a wound to his arm.

"Daddy!" She yelled, hurrying up off the bed and rushing to his side. "What did you do?"

"I shot myself princess! What does it look like." J hollered out, still laughing. "See what you do to me???" See it?? "

Lisbeth half listened to him while she ran to the bed and took off one of the pillowcases. She hurried back over to J, knotting the fabric tightly around the wound on his arm.

He grabbed her chin with the unwounded arm forcing her to look him in the ice cold blue eyes. "You make me weak." He said somberly before pulling her face to his and crashing his lips against hers.

Lisbeth gently pulled away, not wanting to upset him but worried about his gun wound. She wrapped the pillowcase tighter, trying to stop the bleeding.

J was looking at the ground, mumbling to himself. "The voices say to hurt you, to punish you, but I can't anymore. I had to shoot someone, to give them blood, but I would rather hurt myself than hurt my princess anymore."

Lisbeth felt the tears well in her eyes as the words washed over her. He cared for her; he really cared for her. But at what cost to himself? The emotions were making him crumble.

"J" she said loudly, trying to get his attention. "J, please look at me."

He looked up at her with glazed over eyes.

"I need you to hold this to your wound. I am going to go get Jonny."

"Not here."

Lisbeth gave him a confused look. "Well...I'll get Hatter."

"Not here either."

Lisbeth sighed, not having the time to figure out where the men went. "Ok, I need to go find someone, Daddy. I need to get the doctor for you."

J just nodded as she placed his hand over the wound.

"I will be right back." She rushed to the door and opened it.

"Panda!" She yelled to the man standing outside the door. "Go get Doc right away. J has been shot."

Panda hurried away as Lisbeth rushed back to J, putting one hand on the wound and the other hand around his neck, pulling home close to her; never wanting to let go.

~~~~Downtown Gotham~~~~

Jonny and Ana sat on a bench in the shadows of the trees.

"This is dangerous, Jonny!" We shouldn't be seen talking to each other.

"I'm sorry, Ana. It is important."

Ana sighed and turned away. "How much did you see back there?"

Jonny slightly grinned. "Ana; I really don't care who you are meeting behind tinted windows this late at night, but..." Jonny couldn't help but laugh. "Since you care so much; I am guessing it is someone you don't want your husband to know about and I am glad to know you are sneaking around behind Dig's back."

Ana turned to Jonny, a glare on her face. "Why are you so glad about that?"

"First, you betray your husband by getting Boss his Nursey back and now you are going behind your husband's back meeting people he would most likely not want you to meet. I am glad about that because now you are going to help Boss kill your husband."

Ana jerked back at his words. "What??"

"Don't worry, Ana. We won't make you participate....unless, of course, you want to."

Ana looked down at her hands. She had wanted her husband gone for a long time and she had even fantasized about doing it herself. He treated her like a queen and their kids like little princes and princesses, but to everyone else he was the devil. Whenever she had to stitch up a new girl, or watch her husband kill and torture some man for an innocent mistake, she felt that killing him would be a gift to society.

And then there was Bruce. He was so angry at her. He had never been angry like that at her before. She could finally be with him. If she was finally able to give herself body and soul to him, maybe he could forgive her.

She sighed deeply before looking up at the man before her. She couldn't help but smile when she saw the hopeful look in his eyes.

"Okay, Mr. Frost. Tell me what I need to do."