The Jester/ Jokers Sister

Chapter 2

"Oh girls," J calls, "we're back!"

Hadley and Harley come running through the doors of the funhouse, and almost tackle us into a hug.

I wince at the sharp pain in my shoulder, and breath out through my clenched teeth.

Hadley doesn't notice, however, so she continues to squeeze the air out of my lungs.

"I swear you were gone for more than a day, sugar," Hadley's says almost breathlessly. "I missed you so much."

I pull away, kissing her cheek.

"Well I'm here now, doll face."

Hadley stops all of a sudden, studying my face.

Her eyebrows knot together, and she looks over at J, too.

I notice Harley's doing the same.

"What?" We say, more forcefully than intended.

The girls startle back to the present.

"Sorry," Harley says sheepishly, looking back at J.

"It's just," Hadley starts, "what happened? You're bleeding."

She's staring at me with worry, and I fight the urge to roll my eyes, and ultimately fail.

"Darlin', when you rob a bank, there might be some bloodshed. Good thing most of it wasn't ours, but we got stopped by an old friend," I say bitterly.

She seems upset, her eyes narrow, nostrils fuming.

"Batsy." She spits the word. "He hurt you puddin?"

I shake my head slightly, closing my eyes momentarily.

"Oh no no no, doll face, nothin for you to worry about."

She bites her lip, nods.

"Now," J says loudly, clapping his hands once. "Should we get going?"

The girls nod at the same time, and with that, we head out the door.

I walk over to my car, which I left here over the course of the job.

I open the door, just as I hear my name get called, and glance over at J.

I give him a look that says 'go on'.

"I have to stop by Neon Lights to collect
our—earnings." He says with a smile. "I need you to take Harley with you."

"What, why can't I come with you puddin'?" Harley cuts in with a frown.

J sighs, turning to face her.

"Because Kitten, this is a special pick up. Okay?"

She nods after a moments hesitation, then wipes the long look off her face, kisses J on the cheek, and bounces over to my car.

The girls have gotten used to fitting into the same seat, typically whenever one of us has something to do.

I slide into the drivers seat, closing the door, and starting the car.

I lift my arms to place on the steering wheel but stop short by the twisting pain in my right shoulder. "Fuck," I breath.

I squeeze my eyes shut, gripping the wheel with my good hand so tight I can feel my fingers turning white.

"Baby whats wrong?" I hear Hadley's concerned voice.

I shush her, sharply.

I let out an inaudible breath.
Slowly open my eyes.

"Are you okay?" Hadley asks quietly.

"I'm fine, kitten. Nothing I can't handle."

I rest my bad arm on the small table in the middle of the seats, and begin to drive on the now dirt covered street of the funhouse.

Before I know it, we're speeding down the lit up streets of Gotham city once more.

Even with the throbbing in my shoulder, there's nothing like a robbin a bank to get your adrenaline up.

I start laughing slightly. Which only grows louder and louder until I'm nearly swerving off the road, hysterical.

At this point, the girls have joined in, and I just think to myself—why can't it always be like this? Why is everyone so serious? So stuck on one, singular view of what the world is supposed to look like and it's occupants?

Don't they know? It's all just one, demented gag. It's all a joke. So why is no one ever laughing?

This was just a filler chapter, and I haven't written anything in forever because of school and finals, which are finally over in a few days! I'm going to start writing a lot more in this book over summer. Please remember to comment and vote ;)