Freak is an Ugly Word

By the time Doc returned to the hotel the sun was dipping below the city line. It all was going according to plan, the citizens of Gotham would be trying to get out of the city as fast as the possibly could. The only option that they would have would be to take the ferries, just as Joker wanted them to. There was nothing on the bridges and nothing in the tunnels, but Joker had found a way to entice them to take the ferries by making them believe that they were the only way out of the city. Whatever. They mattered little to Doc. At the moment, what was important to him was sleeping in a hotel room by herself.
Trying to understand Doc’s quick attachment to Princess would involve having to dig into his past relationships with women, which there were plenty of. Princess just so happened to be the type of woman that he was attracted to. Weak and helpless. The reasoning behind this fact was not that they were easier to dominate. Oh no, Doc did not play the dominance game. It was the fact that he felt the urge and need to take care of them. It was the fact that they needed him and were reliant on him. He needed a woman to be dependant on him.
Strange how men were the total opposite for him. When he chose a man they had to be strong and independent. They absolutely had to be able to take care of themselves. They did not have to take care of him though. Doc was a very independent male and hated to rely on people. It was his belief that people would just let him down, and they had never once proven him wrong. He did not believe there was a person in the world that would be able to prove him wrong. If his own family could not do it, then how could anyone else.
Slipping the keycard into the slot, Doc entered the room quietly. Princess was still asleep on the bed and he did not want to wake her. The two large duffel bags that he had been carrying, he set down next to the door. In them were numerous things that they would need. Some clothes for Princess that included a hat to cover the wound on her head. The clothes were simple and quickly bought at a thrift store along with a pair of slip on shoes. Weapons and ammo he had taken from the now abandoned hideout that he used to reside in with the Joker. The other bag was filled to the brim with money that had been from when Joker had made a withdraw from the mob bank a few days earlier.
Heaving a heavy sigh, Doc made his way to the bed. Once he reached it he climbed on and rolled onto his back. Tired from hauling the two heavy bags all across town he was ready to sleep. His eyes slowly started to close, but he shot up forcing himself awake. There was still one more task that he had to do.
Calling his mother would be a horrid experience. She would be upset of the fact that he had not called her for years. In fact, he had been avoiding her and his sister before he had moved to Gotham. Now, in his greatest time of need, he had to call her. Not that she would care. Olivia Johnson was a very conceited woman. The only reason why she cared about him and his twin sister, Alicia, was only because they were hers. She considered them her property and not her children.
He pulled out the pay as you go phone he had just purchased while he was out and dialed what he remember as the house number. He hoped that his mother had not changed her number. He knew that she did not move. There was no possible way she would have left the extravagant house his father had left her. And his father had left her enough money to live three lifetimes on without working. That was not including the money that he had left both of his children as well. Doc would have been set for life had he not run into trouble with the law. Trouble for something that he did not do. He had done many illegal things, but, until recently, murder was not one of them.
When he had walked into his home that fateful night a few years back, he had found a body. A body of a man that he had known only briefly. The man had been brutally murdered, nearly unrecognizable as a human much less a man. All the signs pointed to him as the murder, and so in fear he had ran away. Ran to the only town that he could think to go with nothing but the close on his back. Gotham. Gotham was filled with murders of all sorts, so finding him would have been like finding a needle in the haystack.
Months past, or maybe it was years, he could not tell, before Joker found him. Time was of no importance when you lived on the street. Finding food and shelter were the only things that had mattered to him at that time. Some nights he went without either and those were the harshest of nights. Having been used to living a life in luxury, he had found it rather difficult to cope without not even the bare necessities one need to live. After a while, he had found a way to cope. That’s all one could do, cope.
The moment Joker had found him, Doc had been digging in a dumpster, scrounging for some food. He had not even realized the man was there until he had ripped him out of the dumpster and threw him to the ground. From his back, Doc glared up at the man.
“You look useful,” Joker stated in his high nasally voice as he leaned against the dumpster. At this point in time, Joker had not had his colorful suit. He was still a two bit criminal with no name. His face had been painted and his greasy hair dyed a bright green, and had not started to fade yet. “What’s your name?”
“Greg,” dully Doc had told him. He was not really interested in what the man was selling and was getting ready to tell him so, but he never got a chance.
“So, Greg, what can ya do in the ways of crime?”
“Nothing. I’ve never fired a gun nor have I ever stolen anything. I was a medical student though.”
“A, uh, doctor, huh? Well, you might be more useful than I, uh, originally thought.” Doc watched as the man’s tongue flicked across his lower lip. The action at the time had reminded him of a lizard. “I’ll give ya food, a place ta live, and money if ya work for me.”
Doc had readily agreed. He had had him at food. Three days had gone since he had a morsel to eat and food was the only thing on his mind at the time. It had been the reasoning behind him riffling through the dumpster that sat behind an Italian restaurant. There had been nothing in that large green dumpster except curdled milk. He may have been starving but he still knew better than to make himself sick. Being sick was something that could kill him a lot faster than starving.
Over a year later, he was sitting on a phone in a nice hotel room waiting for his mother to pick up on the other end. After the fifth ring, he sort of got his wish. “Johnson residence,” an older male voice called to him. Doc recognized the voice as James, the family butler, well, one of them.
“Hey James, it’s Greg,” he spoke quietly into the receiver. A quick glance at Princess told him that she was still asleep.
“Mister Greg!” James exclaimed in astonishment. “It’s been so long since we have heard from you. Is everything alright?”
“Yes, everything is fine. I just wanted to speak with my mother. Is she home?”
“Yes, she is. I’ll go get her for you right away, sir.”
“Thank you.”
James made no reply. He had already gone to get Doc’s mother. Running his fingers through his hair, Doc sighed once again. This was not a conversation he was looking forward to. The first thing that would be out of his mother’s lips would be “Why did you leave me?” Five words he dreaded to hear. She was so vain she would believe that he had left because of her, even though she knew full well what had happened for he had explained it to her.
He heard muttering. Then, to his delight, “Why did you leave me?” his mother’s voice called to him in mock hysterics.
“Nice to hear from you, too, Mother,” he answered snidely. “I can just feel the motherly warmth flow right off of you. No wonder Dad shot himself,” he mumbled under his breath.
It was a known fact that his father did not marry his mother out of love, but for her looks. In her younger years, Olivia had been a very attractive young woman that attracted the eyes of many a man around her. The only one that she had eyes for was Stephen Johnson, and the reasoning was for his money. Out of all of her suitors, he had been the wealthiest and still collected a good amount of wealth from his career as a doctor. Stephen Johnson had been born rich just like his father before him and his father before him and so on and so forth.
“I will not take blame for your father’s death. I did nothing wrong. I was a wonderful wife and mother.”
Doc could not help but scoff. She had been a cold and distant mother, the opposite of his father. His father had taken great lengths to make sure that he spent quality time with his children. Besides her looks, the only thing Stephen had wanted out of Olivia was children. After Doc and Alicia were born, she had refused to have anymore. That had been fine with Doc’s father. In fact, he had avoided all contact with the woman. He had not even left her a note when he killed himself, just to his children. As far as he was concerned, she had done her duties and was not worth his time.
“Yeah, Mother, keep telling yourself that.”
“Now, listen here you little brat,” Olivia hissed. “I was a very good mother and I’m a very good person. I don’t need your little snide comments to tell me otherwise. You’re just like your father.”
Sighing, Doc rolled his eyes. Now, he had upset her and she would not listen to what he had to say. There was only one thing to do that could repair what he had done. Apologize. However much he hated to do so, he swallowed his pride and did so. “I’m sorry, Mother. You’re right. You were the perfect mother and the perfect person.” Might as well stroke her ego as well.
He could practically hear her smile. “You were always such a lovely boy, Greg. Now, what did you call for, Sweetie?”
“I’m in a bit of a bind.”
“Again! First the whole murder thing, now something else. You really need to watch yourself Greg. You’re making my image look horrible! Your name has been cleared of the murder charge, but you running away made me look guilty.”
“Wait!” Doc called. “What do you mean my name has been cleared?”
“Just what I said. It’s been cleared. They found the real murders shortly after you left.”
“Murders? Who were they?”
“I don’t know and I don’t care. All I know is that your name is clear and my image is once again picture perfect.” Doc growled. Of course, that would be all that she cared about. Her ego was larger than the multimillion dollar house she resided in. “Your sister would know. Why don’t you give her a call?”
Doc stiffened. That was another thing he did not want to do. He and Alicia had a falling out a few years before. He had done something that he was not proud of. Well, at least, he thought he did it. That night he could not recall anything. All he could remember is waking up naked next to his sister’s husband, Erik, and her walking into the room. The look on her face had crushed him. His sister was the single most important thing to him and he had done the most scandalous of things to her. He would never forgive himself for it.
“I don’t think that’s such a good idea.”
“None sense, she would love to hear from you. She’s been worried sick about you ever since you left. Give her a call. Besides, I’m sick of talking to you anyways. I have more important things to worry about at the moment. I’ll give you back to James and he’ll give you her number.”
Without so much as a good-bye or I love you, she was off of the phone and James was informing Doc of his sister’s number, which was the same cell phone number she had before he had left. As soon as he had converted the number to memory, he said his thank you to James and hung up. Before he started to dial the number, he quickly glanced over at Princess who was still sleeping. He would wake her up eventually so that she could take a shower and change into something clean, but for now, she would sleep.
After dialing the number, he hit the send button and placed the phone against his ear. It rang a few times, and then Alicia’s sweet voice came through the speaker. “Hello?”
Doc cleared his throat, a sudden bout of nervousness hitting him. “Hey, Alicia. It’s me, Greg.”
“Greg!” she screamed so loudly he had to hold the phone away from his ear. “Oh my God, how have you been? I’ve been so worried about you! Where are you? Are you safe? You haven’t gotten yourself into trouble again?”
He lightly chuckled. “No, I’m fine. Everything’s fine. Olivia told me that my name has been cleared. Is that true?”
“Yes, it is. I can’t believe you called her before me.”
“I thought you were still mad at me.”
“I wasn’t ever mad at you, just a little upset. Besides, Erik told me what happened. The only thing you two did in that bed was sleep, nothing more. He said that you guys were pretty smashed that night and you kind of freaked out. Saying something about the government listening to you guys through your clothes. You know how you get when you’re drunk.” Yes, he does know. He get’s very paranoid. “Anyways, you somehow convinced him to burn his clothes along with yours and then passed out on the bed.”
“I’m shocked he can remember that. I don’t remember a damn thing from that night.”
Alicia laughed. “He didn’t really remember it. For some reason, you guys video taped the whole night. I still have the tape if you want to watch it. It’s hilarious!”
“I bet. Are you still living in the house?”
“Hell no! We moved. We’re living in Gotham now.”
“Seriously?”
“Yes, why?”
“That’s where I’m at. Though, I’m sure I’m not living as comforting as you are.”
“Well, that’s about to change. Now that you’re name has been cleared, you get your money back. All of it. I never realized how rich Dad was. He was a sick sadistic bastard, but he was loaded. Collectively, we have almost as much money as Bruce Wayne does.”
“There’s no fucking way we have that much money.”
“Well, we do. I learned something while you were gone. Not only was Dad a famous doctor, but he did some shady deals with the mob as well. I don’t know the whole story behind it, but he’s got a lot of money stashed away in some private account only you can open.”
Doc sat on top of the bed confused. Why would his father leave him as the only benefactor to that account? He had always shown favoritism to his sister, so why him. He was hoping it was a question his sister had an answer to. “Why me? Dad always liked you best, so why me?”
“I don’t know!” Alicia exclaimed. “I wasn’t privy to that information. You’ll have to talk to Norman. He’ll explain everything to you.”
Norman Jamison was the family lawyer and best friend of Stephen Johnson that was until Stephen blew his brains all over his white walls of his hospital office. There was no man in this world that Doc’s father had trusted more and he could understand that. Norman was a man that knew when to keep his mouth shut. And, being a lawyer, he had his ways of getting his father off of the many criminal charges that he had faced. He would have been Doc’s lawyer in the murder trial had Doc not run away. He would have gotten him off as well. But none of that mattered at the moment.
“I’ll have to pay him a visit sooner or later. I don’t really want to return home.”
“You won’t have to. He’s coming over tomorrow for dinner. I’ll call him and let him know you’re going to be there and we’ll set everything up here. He can come over early and bring the papers along. You can finally have your life back.” The smile that she wore was evident in her voice. “What are you going to do?”
For a moment, Doc thought about it. What was he going to do? At that moment, he had no idea. He would just think about it later. There were more important things for him to worry about. “I don’t know. I’ll worry about that later. Where do you live?”
Alicia gave her twin brother directions to her house. Her home resided just on the outskirts of Gotham and pretty close to Wayne Manor. The Palisades. Doc knew where it was, everyone did. There would be no problem of him finding it. A small smile crept on his face at the thought of seeing his sister once again. Not just her, Erik and their five year old son Trevor.
He had not seen Trevor in so long, and wondered just how much the boy had grown. The only memory Doc had of the boy was him as a chubby little baby. Shortly after he had been born, Doc had waken up next to Erik naked. In his shame he had left and avoided all contact with his sister and her family. He had not even visited them during the normal family holidays. At least his sister had forgiven him for that. But that had come easy for her considering nothing had happened between the two males.
“I’ll see you tomorrow then.” There was a long pause. “Where are you living?”
“Nowhere at the moment. I’m staying in a hotel room,” Doc explained to her.
“Well, that’s no place for a Johnson to be staying. You can stay here until I find you an apartment. There are many on the market.” Alicia was a real estate agent. A very good one at that. She had not once failed to sell even the poorest of homes. She just had a way with words that could convince anyone to buy from her. The talent did not just fall to selling homes. She could convince anyone, even strangers, to give her anything she wanted. Doc remembered a time when she convinced an older gentlemen to give her his overly expensive watch, which she broke before his eyes.
Looking at the still sleeping Princess, Doc reached a decision. “What about a house?”
Alicia was taken aback. Long ago, Doc had told her the only time he was going to get a house was when he planned on settling down. She never thought that day would happen. He was just not the type to stick with one person. There had always been multiple lovers in his life. For him to say such a thing was a huge leap. “Don’t tell me the great heartbreaker Greg is planning on settling down.”
“Sort of. It’s complicated.”
“With you it always is. Nothing can ever be simple. Is this complication male or female?”
“Female.”
Another shocker. “Really? Wow. I thought you would never turn back to another woman since that bitch Michelle betrayed you with your best friend. What made you change your mind?”
A long sigh left Doc. “Like I said, it’s complicated. I’ll explain everything to you tomorrow. It’s not something I want to discuss over the phone.”
“Fine, I won’t pry.” Another long pause. Doc could practically hear Alicia chewing on her bottom lip. “It was her, you know. Michelle. She’s the one that murdered that guy and set you up. Her and the prick. Both of them are in jail now. They won’t ever live a life past the bars they are behind now.”
Doc had figured it had been the pair to set him up. What he did not understand was why. Why did they do it? He had cared deeply for both of them. Michelle, he thought, was the love of his life. He had even asked her to marry him only to be shot down. Twice. Each time had broken a little more of his heart. That never made him give up on her. He had been so young and stupid. It had been obvious even to him that she was screwing around on him. Love makes you blind, among other things.
“Karma’s a bitch.” Was all he had to say in the matter. It earned him a giggle from his sister. Hearing her laugh put a smile on his face as it always did. When they were growing up, it had been his goal in life to forever keep her smiling. The heartbroken look he had received from her when she caught him naked in bed with her husband had made it hard for him to look at himself in the mirror. He had hated himself for so long after that, but no longer. There was no reasoning behind it anymore. Nothing had happened. He had more self control than he previously thought.
After her fit of giggles died down, she said, “I can’t wait for tomorrow now. I miss you so much! It’s felt like forever since I’ve last seen you. I can’t wait to see that little complication of yours as well. She must be a pretty little thing to catch your attention.”
Doc smiled. He could not wait to see his younger sister of two minutes. “What time do you want me to come over?”
“Early. I want to spend the entire day with you. I’ll even make Erik call off of work.”
The bed shifted as Princess rolled over. “I’ll see you tomorrow then. Love you.”
“Love you, too. Bye.” Her voice nearly squealed with the excitement that she felt.
Before Doc could pass on his farewells as well, Alicia hung up. Chuckling lightly, Doc removed the phone from his ear. “Who was that?” asked Princess. She had woken up near the end of his conversation and heard very little. What she did hear, she did not like. Hearing “Love you” come from Doc’s lips had sent a pang of jealous through her. Princess did not understand the feeling. Never once had she been jealous before. There had never been the need for that emotion in her life. She just knew she did not like it.
“My sister,” Doc told her. “We’re going to go see her tomorrow. I hope you don’t mind.”
Shock was written on Princess’ face. She had never met someone’s family before. Sure, she had met Selina’s sister Holly, but that did not count. Selina was her friend. Doc was her friend as well, but he was male. “I don’t mind.” Her already wide eyes widened even more and she quickly sat up. “What am I supposed to wear?!”
“Don’t worry about that,” Doc told her laughing. “We’ll get you some clothes tomorrow. I already bought you some, but I don’t think they’ll be appropriate for the occasion. They’re a little plain and not flattering at all.”
“How are you going to buy anything? We don’t have any money.”
“I took some money from the hideout. Joker won’t miss any of it. He never cared for it anyways.”
At the mention of Joker, Princess shifted uncomfortably on the bed. Hearing his name reminded her of the man that she thought she killed. Her knees automatically came to her chest and she cradled them in her arms. “I never killed anyone before,” she said more to herself than Doc.
“And you didn’t. When I went on the bus, he was still alive. I killed him,” Doc informed her. He was trying to comfort her with those words and it worked.
Princess smiled up at him. “Thank you.” Her voice was lost but the gratitude was not. The thanks was not just for him killing the man but for everything he had done for her since and before.
Doc understood full well what she was thanking him for. “It was nothing.” An ironic smile found itself on his face. “I have a thing for women in need.”
Princess had no reply for that. A woman in need she definetly was, that she was sure of. Doc would find out later just how needy she was. Not that it would bother him. He liked having someone that was dependent on him. Something he craved more than anything was someone to take care of. It had been the reasoning behind him wanting to become a doctor, along with the pressure from his father. Taking care of someone gave his life a purpose and he needed a reason to stay on this planet. Princess would prove to be just the person that he needed. Until her dying day she would be reliant upon him.
Just as much as she needed him he needed her. “Come here,” he commanded while waving her over with his hand. Without question she crawled over to him. Brushing her hair out of the way he checked the wound on her head. Besides being a little red, nothing was wrong with it. There was no sign of infection, something he was very grateful. “Your poor little head took a beating,” he stated solemnly.
Princess shrugged her shoulders. “Nothing that hasn’t happened before.”
“Any pain in your arm or hand?”
Princess shook her head. “Not anymore. I thought I broke my hand though. I punched the guy that did this.” She gestured to her right temple. “I never hit anyone before.”
“You must have done it right if you didn’t break your hand. Glad to hear that you stuck up for yourself.”
Before she could stop herself, Princess blurted out everything about the voice in her head. She placed it as the reasoning behind her that little bit of newfound strength she had. Told him it had been the reasoning why she had broken the mirror and why she had so violently attacked the man on the bus. How she only hears it when she was upset in some way. Never once did he interrupt her even when she explained it was, also, behind her change in speech. Just sat and listened to her spill out what had been troubling her for days. “I think I’m going crazy.” Was what she ended her confession with.
Doc shook his head. “I don’t think so. I think it’s always been there. Everything. The anger, the hate, and the strength. You just pushed it away so that you could survive what you’ve been through. It’s really you thinking those thoughts, feeling those feelings, and your mind is just projecting it as another individual as another way to save itself. Once you come to terms with it, you’ll be fine.” With all actuality he was not certain. Maybe she really was going crazy, but, to him, that was understandable. Her mind had gone through a lot over the past few years and shattering.
Even if it was a lie, Princess felt much better. She rested her head on his shoulder and his arm instantly wrapped around her small frame. “I don’t want to be Princess anymore,” she confessed. The name reminded her too much of Joker and Andy. Though a man she cared deeply about had given it to her, it was now tainted. Tainted by the evils of others.
“Who do you want to be?”
“I want to go back to being Jessica. I like that name better now anyways.”
“If you’re going back to being Jessica, then I’ll go back to being Greg.”
Princess nodded her head in confirmation. Once again, she was turning over a new leaf, starting a new life. No longer was she going to be Princess, but Jessica. She was going to try her best in becoming more than the prostitute that she once was. Her new life would not be as bad. There would be no more abuse or rapes that had come with being Pricness. Well, she hoped. Hoped with every fiber of her being.
At least she would not be alone. Greg would be there with her every step of the way. He would help her, and she would need a lot of help. She did not even know if she could function normally in society. For five years she had been confined to the Narrows and the horrors of that part of town. Life was so much different there than anywhere else in Gotham. She knew that. Somehow she knew she would manage. As long as Greg was with her.
Greg would stick by her no matter what. He needed her just as much as she needed him. His life had found a purpose again and he was not going to let it go willingly. Taking care of Jessica would be hard, but it would be satisfying. With her by his side his life would no longer be empty. That fact made him a very happy man.
Greg informed Jessica it was time to sleep. Though she did not feel that tired, Jessica complied. She could tell that he was tired and needed to rest. They had a long day ahead of them and he and she would need all the rest that they could accumulate. Meeting his sister would be a strange thing to her, but Jessica believed she would be able to survive through it. With him beside her, she could survive through any ordeal thrown at her. It was comforting to know that there was someone who would stand next to her and take care of her.
Minutes later she fell asleep with his arms around her. That night she had the fittest sleep she had ever had. For the first time in a while, she felt truly safe.

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Well, there you guys go. Another chapter for you all. I just realized I don't have nearly as much smut as I thought I was going to. Sorry. Well, if any of you have any suggestions and such, just let me know. Review and rate please and thank you!