Hold Me, Thrill Me, Kiss Me, Kill Me

Waking up in the morning with the sun blazing through the curtains, Eleanor rolled over and opened her eyes. The spot next to her in the bed was empty and cold. She rubbed the sleep from her eyes and sat up, looking around the room.



Had she really spent at least some of the night in bed with The Joker's arms wrapped around her, or had she dreamt the whole thing? She wasn't even sure any more. But the space on her bedside cabinet told her she hadn't been dreaming. The framed photo of her and Elijah was gone. The Joker must've taken it with him, wherever he had gone. But she was pissed that he had taken off again without telling her. Although she realised that by now, she should've known better. The Joker did what he wanted, when he wanted, and answered to no-one. And she wasn't even sure of the nature of their relationship. Had their previous love been re-kindled, was he getting his kicks out of messing with her mind, was there a hidden agenda, or what? She didn't even know.



Thankfully, Elijah had been oblivious to The Joker spending the night in his mother's bed. But The Joker's latest comings and goings in Eleanor's life had presented another new problem for her. She knew she had to keep The Joker away from his son. She couldn't take that sort of risk. The risk that The Joker may turn on his son, and also that the kid may be traumatised seeing his father's appearance and knowing the evil things he was capable of. Eleanor knew she had to protect her son for his own good, but she didn't know the best way to do that, if The Joker could appear out of nowhere and even let himself into her house in the middle of the night. She knew that even if she told The Joker not to come into her house uninvited, he would probably just do it anyway. That was how he was. No regard for anything or anyone.



Eleanor's car had broken down that day, so she had to walk and take the bus to work and back again. Elijah was staying over at a friend's house for dinner, so after work, she knew she would have a couple of extra hours to herself before taking the bus to pick him up.



After she finished work, she walked the ten minutes to the bus stop, with the rain pounding down around her. She was pissed about the rain and she had no umbrella with her either. She was soaked through to the skin, and her hair was sticking to her neck and her face. "God damn fucking rain." she muttered to herself, seeing the bus pull up. She got on and took a seat among all the other disgruntled wet passengers.

She sat looking out of the window, still pissed at the fact that she had gotten so wet, when she heard her mobile phone chime away in her handbag. She took it from her bag, and noticed that the number on the display said "Unknown". She realised it could only be one person.



"Hello?" she quietly answered, hoping no-one else would catch on to who it was on the other end.



"Hey hey hey, sweet cheeks. I have a little job for you." The Joker said on the other end.



"I'm on a freakin' bus." Eleanor hissed.



"I know you are, but don't let that worry you, little bunny. Now...I'd like you to come and meet me."



"How do you know I'm on the bus? And how am I supposed to do that? I've gotta pick Elijah up in a couple of hours."



"We'll get round that, bunnykins. And as for knowing where you are, let's just say, I've got eyes everywhere. Now now, you must come and meet me."



Eleanor didn't want to cause a scene in front of all the other passengers, but this whole conversation was making her feel uneasy. What did he want with her now? He certainly knew how to manipulate her. But she knew that was only because she let him.



"Why, what do you want?" she said quietly, aware that the bus was full of people who knew The Joker was on the loose.



"Oh bunny, so many questions!" The Joker said, "Come to the old warehouse on La Salle Street. I'm sure you know where it is. Oh, and Ellie. Make sure you're...ALONE."



The line went dead. Eleanor sat staring at her phone for a moment, before putting it back in her bag. This was another "what the fuck?" moment. She realised she was falling for him all over again, but she also knew he was a man not to be trusted. She wasn't stupid. But even so, she was confused. She knew what she had to do...she was going to do as he'd told her to do, and meet him at this warehouse.



Eleanor got off the bus two stops later, and walked in the pouring rain, down to La Salle Street. She knew of the warehouse The Joker told her to go to, although she had never been in it. It was run down, unused, delapitated. She wondered if this was where he'd been hiding out since his escape from prison.



She slowed down as she came to the old warehouse. "Was this really a good idea? Maybe I should just turn back." she thought to herself, taking in the sight of the old, run down building. But as she did, a man appeared in the grounds of the building. He was a rough looking guy in jeans and a leather jacket, with long slicked back hair and a goatee. He had a couple of doberman dogs by his side, who had started to bark furiously. Eleanor's heart began to thump and she went to turn to leave, but the man called after her.



"Hey, lady! The boss is expecting you." The man's accent was thick and sounded possibly of Russian origin.



"The boss?" Eleanor thought. So The Joker wasn't alone in there. He must have had henchmen, goons, minions, whatever they were, with him.



Eleanor swallowed hard, and followed the foreign guy with the dogs across the grounds and into the building. The dogs stopped barking as soon as Eleanor came near them.



"So." the foreign guy said, leading Eleanor through the warehouse. "You the boss's prrretty lady?"



"Uh...well...we used to know each other a while back. Friends..." she said nervously.



The foreign guy laughed. "The boss man says you'rrre his prrretty lady. His - little bunny. Those are his worrrds."



Eleanor rolled her eyes, thinking, "What the hell has been been telling these guys about me?"



The guy with the accent took her to an old store room on the second floor, and put his arm out, indictating to her where to go.



"The boss is in therrre. I will...leave you to it." He winked at her, shouted an order to his dogs to follow him, and left. So now she was on her own, standing outside the door of this storeroom, in this old warehouse. It took her a few seconds to muster the courage to push the door ajar and look round the side. Yes, The Joker was there, standing by a window, looking out. He also knew she was there, even with his back turned.



"Ellie!" he shouted happily, spinning around to face her. "Oh you made it, I'm so thrilled."



Eleanor cautiously stepped into the room, aware that her hair was stuck to her neck with rain, her clothes were almost all wet through, and her mascara had started to run. The Joker, wearing his usual custom attire of suit and long coat, and the facepaint, raised his eyebrows and sucked in his cheeks.



"My, my..." he rasped, stalking up to her confidently. "Look at yoooou. Not a lady who owns an umbrella, are you! Oh, but I'm not really complaining..." He glanced down at her chest, her blouse sticking to her skin under her jacket.



He pulled her sodden hair away from her face, and smiled. "Your mascara is running...I'm pleased you taken your make up tips from me!"



He peeled off one of his gloves and touched her cheek with the back of his hand. "My little bunny must be feeling cold." he said, and removed his purple trenchcoat and slipped it over Eleanor's shoulders.



For a few moments, they just looked at each other in silence, their bodies in close proximity to each other. Eleanor knew her fierce determination to stay out of The Joker's "world" was slipping. She knew that every passing day, her resolve was going, and she was being taken in by him. She couldn't help that she still loved him, after so long. He was dangerous and unpredicatable, but her Jack was under there somewhere, and she held on to that. But even as The Joker, he was somehow strangely captivating, in a twisted, sadistic way.



Eleanor was the one to break the silence. "What do you want me here for, Jack? And what have you been saying about me? That guy with the dogs said I was your "pretty lady". "



"Oh, The Chechen?" The Joker smiled. "Yesss...they know about you, that you're my liiittle bunny. Why not? Why shouldn't a guy like me be proud to have a hottie like you?"



"Y'know what Jack, I don't know what's going on here. We're not "together"! And who's "they"? You mean you have more guys here aswell as that Chechen guy?" Eleanor was confused on so many levels.



"They are my little helpers." The Joker stood back and threw his hands in the air for theatrical effect. "My goons, my henchmen, whatever you wanna call 'em. The Chechen is es-pecially useful. The rest, they're just disposable, really. Oh, and as for uh...us not being to-gether, well, I say we are, so - we are. You don't have a say, sweetheart."



Eleanor hated that last remark. It pissed her off, but what could she do, argue with him over it? Not the best idea. She didn't want the "knife to the face" routine if she dared argue with him.



"But why am I here?" she asked, moving the conversation on. "What do I have to do with any of this? I thought you weren't gonna implicate me in your little games with the police!"



"Oh, but I'm no-t." he shook his head and waved his gloved hand in her face. "The cops know nothing about you, honey. No, you're here because I need you to do something for me. You won't be implicated in anything, I just need you to...throw The Batman off for a while. The cops don't know where I am, but The Chechen has informed me that The Batman is getting close."



"The Batman?" Eleanor repeated. "I knew it. I'm not surprised by that, Jack. Everyone knows he's after you. You knew he was after you. He'll do what he did before if he catches you."



The Joker put his gloved index finger in the air. "And that, is where my sweet dear Ellie comes in!"



Eleanor shook her head. "I don't like this...I don't want..."



"Oh, all these I don'ts!" The Joker sighed sarcastically. "You don't even know what it is yet, doll. It's simple. You are going to seduce The Batman."



Eleanor laughed. "You've gotta be kidding me!"



The Joker paced around the room, shaking his head. "No no no, I'm not kidding. The Batman needs a little lovin' anyway, I mean, look at him! I need you to get that flying fucking rodent off the scent. I've got plaaans. Gotham hasn't seen the last of me yet, sweetheart. I need to cause a liiittle more chaos, before they catch me. It's just too much fun!"



The Joker's eyes glinted wildly. He was completely serious about his plan to get The Batman off his back. What better way to distract The Batman, than to offer up his own woman as a whore for The Batman's needs? Talk about twisted logic.



"I'm not a fucking prostitute!" Eleanor shouted, shaking her head in disbelief. "Who the fuck do you think you are, my fucking pimp?"



The Joker frowned and gave her a sideways look. "I'm sensing a little hostility here, bunny."



Eleanor laughed sarcastically. "Oh - you think? Yeah, well you can stick your sick little plan to pimp me out, up your damn ass Jack! I'm not a whore!"



The Joker stormed up to her, his brow furrowed angrily. He grabbed her arm roughly, and pulled her to him, so that his arm was around her back tightly.



"You'll be a whore for me." he rasped in her face.



"Wh-what does that mean?" she asked, confused. Did he mean, a whore for his needs, or he would make her become Batman's plaything?



"It means, bunny - you'll do as I say. In every way." His face was so close to hers that she could feel his warm breath right on her skin, making her cheeks flush.



"What if I say no?" she hissed back in his face. "What are you gonna do, take your knife to my face? Slash me up? Turn your gun on me? I thought I meant something to you. You wouldn't even think of pimping me out if you cared for me! Remember what you said last night, Jack? I'm the only person in the world you've ever cared for. Those were your words, Jack - your words!"



The Joker blinked. Well...no woman had ever really hit back like that before. Everyone else would've been too scared. Eleanor's feisty attitude, that was very attractive to him. She was certainly different to how she used to be.



"Little Ellie, taking no shit, hmm?" he mused in a husky tone, sliding his hand up her face. "I like that." He rested his thumb on her lips. "Yeah...I do like that."



Eleanor tingled at the touch of his thumb on her lips. Surely this was not the time to start feeling aroused. She turned her head, forcing his thumb to slide off her lips.



"I'm not quite the dumb bitch I used to be, Jack." she said. "I'm not gonna be a slut for you to hand over to The Batman, just so the heat is off you."



"Hmm, I do like this new found feistiness in you, sweetheart. It's a turn on."

The Joker loosened his grip around her and stood back. "But I was expecting you to act, not to really fuck The Batman. Jesus, why would I want you to do that? You're mine. No, I want you to pretend to seduce him. I thought that would've been obvious, bunny. I mean, if you really did fuck The Batman, I'd be...pissed. Very, very pissed. Oh...and the other good thing about you seducing The Batman? You might get to see him without his mask, then we'd all know who he really is! You know how much that appeals to me, Ellie!"



"So, you wanna just use me as a pawn in little your game, right?" Eleanor said, folding her arms and giving The Joker her best 'pissed off' stare.



The Joker shrugged but didn't look too fussed. "Yeah." he said.



Eleanor shook her head, and pulled The Joker's coat off. She handed it to him and turned on her heels. "No." she said firmly. "I'm not doing this. I'll see you around, Jack."



She marched towards the door, still smarting from The Joker's ridiculous game plan. The Joker ran to the door and slammed it shut before she got to it, bolting it at the top where she couldn't reach. He stood in front of it, and hummed in a mocking manner, "Hmm hmm! You're not going anywhere yet, sweetheart!" The Joker put his coat back on and crossed his legs casually, blocking her way.



Eleanor stopped and shook her head. "Okay - what're you gonna do now? Shoot me, knife me, or rape me? Huh? Whichever one it is, Jack, just fucking do it. Your games piss me off. If you're gonna fuck around with me, just do it and get it over with!"



The Joker was not used to this! The few people who had stood up to him in the past, hadn't survived to see the next day. This was something else. Eleanor standing up to him, calling him out, hitting back at him? This was new!



"I like this, I like it!" he chirped, acknowledging she was challenging him. "This is turning me on, I could really get off on this feisty new you, Ellie!"



Eleanor put her hands on her hips. "Then...why don't you?"



The Joker laughed. "Ooh, and she's challenging me again!"



Eleanor walked forward, right up to The Joker, and pressed him up against the door with her hands on his chest. The Joker grinned widely, letting her do it.



"Oh you know I like this, you know I do. Oh yesss, this is exciting." he said, with his voice sounding husky and wanting.



Eleanor kept her eyes on his, as she reached down to his pants and opened his zipper. She slipped her hand inside, on top of the tight boxers he was wearing. She felt him start to stiffen immediately. She brushed her fingers over his hard on in his boxers.



The Joker shuddered, giving a gentle sigh. "Oh yeah...you can do aaaanything you want, Ellie."



Keeping eye contact with him, she slipped her hand inside his boxers, grasped his hard on and slowly started to massage it. For the first time, probably ever, she had power over him. And she loved seeing him melt.



The Joker giggled, almost deleriously. "It's been a long time!" he smiled, starting to get a little breathless. Eleanor moved her hand faster, the wetness of pre-sex fluid dripping down, making it easier for her to slide her hand up and down faster.



"Oh yesss...just keep doing that..." The Joker closed his eyes, breathing heavier and heavier. Eleanor's hand went as fast as she could, and she suddenly felt his hard on spasm and his warm fluid drip down over her thumb and fingers. She slowed down and stopped, her hand still around his manhood, his fluid dripping down her wrist. The Joker was trembling after his climax. "Oh, sweet jesus!" he laughed, opening his eyes and looking down at her.



Eleanor pulled her hand from his pants, and looked at it, still sticky and wet from his ejaculation. She casually wiped the stickiness off her hand, onto his coat.



For once, The Joker was quite speechless. His breathing was still heavy, but slowing down to normal now. Eleanor looked up into his eyes and said, "It's nice being the one in control, for a change."



The Joker shook his head, but smiled. "Well well well. This is a new side to you, isn't it bunny? And I'm likin' what I see. This is fun, bunny! Wouldn't you agree?"



Eleanor was really pleased with herself, she hadn't even believed she had it in her to melt The Joker and make him putty in her hands. But she had done it, right there. Maybe this could work. Maybe, just maybe, she could have some sort of 'workable' relationship with The Joker. If he was up for the challenge of reliquishing his need for control even just once in a while, maybe they could be together. Maybe she could also convince him to "cut down" on the needless killings. She realised that was a big, big long shot. Sex was one thing, but killing was another.



The Joker zipped up his pants, then reached up to the top of the door and unbolted it. He stepped away from the door to let Eleanor past. "If my lady wants to leave now, then she may." he said, ever so politely.



Eleanor opened the door and turned to The Joker. "I need to pick up Elijah now. I'll think about what you said. But I'm not promising anything. You want me to do that for you, then I want you to do something in return. Quid pro quo, Jack."



The Joker nodded. "We'll see if we can sort somethin' out, huh?"



Eleanor smiled. "Maybe."



She walked out of the storeroom, smiling, and daringly called out over her shoulder, "I love you!"



Walking across to the stairs to leave, she felt two strong arms grab her around her waist from behind, and saw those purple leather gloves as she looked down. The Joker's hair hung down into the side of her face from behind. He squeezed her tight, nuzzling his face in her wet hair. Now she was the one who was melting. He may have been a mad, cold blooded psychopath. But he was her mad, cold blooded psychopath. And she was hopelessy, stupidly, unwisely, in love with him.