Chapter 1

The sound of a doorbell reached Lilith's ears as a new customer walked into her shop. Since her shop was also her house she simply rolled out of her bed wearing black boyleg undies and a long-sleeved shirt that went down to her thighs. She looked over at the clock sitting on her bedside table to see it read:'23:00'. She groaned annoyed at being woken up as she tied up her long dark purple hair into a messy bun. She walked down stairs and into the front of her shop to see an unknown male standing there with a black bag hanging from his shoulder. He was wearing purple suit pants and light purple button up shirt but that wasn't what was weird about him, what stood out the most was his pale white skin and bright green hair.

"Can I help you?" Lilith asked rubbing her eyes tiredly as she watched the strange man warily. The man turned around and looked her up and down before grinning widely.

"Hel-lo beautiful, I'm looking for the uh, person who did this work" The man asked holding out a photo. Lilith rolled her light blue eyes since she couldn't see the photo from that far away and he knew it. She moved towards the strange man, her eyes never leaving his before looking at the photo. It was a photo of a low-level mobster of the Riley Crime Family who was in the shop a few months earlier except now, he was dead.

"Yeah, that's my work but if you are looking for information on the man than you are out of luck" Lilith explained looking at the tattoo of the giant dragon on the dead man's back. The strange man watched as Lilith's face showed no sign of horror or disgust about seeing the dead man he had killed only hours earlier before chuckling at Lilith's response.

"No, no, no, you misunderstand me, doll-face" The strange man said putting the photo away. Lilith leant against her workbench confused. She motioned for him to continue with a simple wave of her hand. The strange man reached into his bag and Lilith quickly prepared herself for a gun or knife but instead it was a bright purple folder. He tossed it to Lilith, who caught it easily and opened the folder to reveal designs… lots of tattoo designs.

"You want me to tattoo you?" Lilith asked shocked making the man chuckle and look around the room.

"You are a tattooist, aren't you?" The man mocked making Lilith glare at him unamused.

"You want all these tattoos?" Lilith asked flipping through the folder and the strange man made a noise of approval. Lilith looked up at this man with a raised eyebrow and clicked her tongue. She looked back down at the folder and turned to the front page to see the word 'Joker' in large, comic-like font.

"The Joker?" Lilith said amused, quietly to herself.

"That's my name, don't wear it out doll-face" The man, apparently named The Joker chuckled. Lilith rolled her eyes and closed the folder. She placed the folder on the bench and folded her arms across her chest.

"First things first Jo…" Lilith started to say before sighing and shaking her head.

"Yeah, I'm not calling you Joker. So, first things first J. When I do tattoos for people like you, I get the money first" Lilith explained simply. The Joker growled before stepping menacingly toward Lilith, who didn't move or show any sign of fear.

"There is no one like me, doll-face" Joker growled annoyed. Lilith smirked amused by the whole situation but as she looked this 'Joker' guy up and down she realized that he wasn't like anyone else to come to Gotham City.

"Either way… payment first" Lilith said simply. The Joker looked Lilith up and down, noticing that even though she was wearing only her underwear and a long t-shirt she was as comfortable as if she was fully clothed. From the lack of pants, The Joker saw that Lilith had a large tattoo on her right thigh of a wolf stalking towards the person looking at the tattoo. He was certain she had more but the long-sleeved shirt was covering them.

"This isn't optional J. Payment first or you can find yourself a new tattooist" Lilith added firmly. The Joker cracked his neck angrily before reaching into his bag and pulling out a large roll of hundred dollar bills wrapped in an elastic band. There was at least two thousand dollars there. He slammed it onto the table trying to intimidate Lilith but she simply picked up the roll of hundreds and grinned happily at him.

"Well then, let me put some pants on and we'll get started on your first tattoo" Lilith said making The Joker look Lilith up and down grinning as she turned around and started walking to the door that lead to her house.

"Oh, no, no, no. You don't need to do that… what's your name, doll-face?" The Joker asked as Lilith turned halfway around looking The Joker up and down as well.

"You can call me whatever you want J… except doll-face" Lilith said simply. Joker chuckled to himself as Lilith disappeared upstairs. The Joker took this time to look around the small tattoo shop. He quickly noticed that there was only one bench set up in the shop which means that Lilith was the only person who worked here. There was no photos of friends or family which means she was pretty much a loner. There were a lot of photos of her designs hanging in frames which The Joker recognized as tattoos on several of the low-level mobsters that he had killed in the last few weeks since coming to Gotham City.

"Now, why do Riley's men come to you for tattoos?" The Joker asked himself curiously.

"Because I'm the best… and I'm willing to work at night." Lilith replied walking back into the store wearing black jeans and the long-sleeved shirt but now the sleeves were rolled up to her elbows. The Joker could see a large phoenix tattoo on her left forearm that disappeared under the shirt. The Joker was impressed that she had managed to sneak up on him without even trying.

"Now, I don't know which Crime Family you are involved in, or even if you are involved in any of Gotham's Crime Family but in my store, it's a mutual zone. If you have a problem with someone, you deal with it outside of this store. Am I clear?" Lilith asked seriously. The Joker watched her curiously before grinning.

"Crystal clear toots" The Joker said chuckling as Lilith rolled her eyes at her new 'name'. She picked up the folder and flipped through it curiously.

"Skull with a jester hat… a large toothy smile… a set of playing cards…. the letter J… which tattoo do you want first?" Lilith asked as she looked at the designs, slightly impressed. The Joker's white hand slammed down next to hers and flipped to the first page of the folder.

"They are in order, toots" The Joker said grinning as they looked down at the first tattoo, which was the word 'Joker' in large comic-like letters. Lilith grabbed her ink and needle gun.

"Where do you want it?" Lilith asked as she poured some ink into a container. The Joker slowly unbuttoned his light purple shirt revealing his slim, but very toned body. Lilith watched him as he folded the shirt carefully and placed it over the chair.

"I want it… right here" The Joker said as he traced a line along his stomach above his belly button. Lilith nodded and started drawing the design on the carbon paper. The Joker took a seat and waited patiently watching the strange woman in front of her curiously.

"So… why is this your first tattoo?" Lilith asked conversationally as she continued to draw. The Joker watched Lilith and tapped his white fingers on his knee thinking about how to answer her.

"So people know my name…" The Joker replied simply. Lilith raised an eyebrow and looked up at him.

"I have a feeling that people are going to know your name whether you get it tattooed on your stomach or not" Lilith muttered making The Joker start laughing hysterically.

"Oh, you are a funny one toots" The Joker said wiping the tears from his eyes. Lilith smiled to herself before sitting back and looking at the finished design. She picked up the carbon paper and motioned for The Joker to stand up. He did so and Lilith knelt in front of The Joker and cleaned the skin where he wanted the tattoo.

"While you're down there…" The Joker joked wiggling his eyebrows. Lilith placed the carbon paper over the cleaned skin leaving a copy of the design on his skin.

"Is this your first tattoo?" Lilith asked standing back up and putting the carbon paper on the table.

"Yeah, but I have a high tolerance for pain so don't worry about hurting me" The Joker explained chuckling. Lilith motioned for The Joker to lie down as she went over and grabbed her tattoo gun.

"I was actually going to say that you shouldn't piss off the person who is about to tattoo you" Lilith explained sarcastically making The Joker laugh loudly. Lilith waited patiently until his laughter subsided before starting the tattoo. The few hours were spent in a comfortable silence. Lilith was aware that The Joker was watching her every movement but Lilith remained focused on the tattoo until it was finished.

"Alright J, this one is all done. Since you've paid for most of the tattoos in this folder already you can just drop by whenever you want and we will do the next one" Lilith explained packing up her kit while The Joker admired the tattoo in the mirror.

"You do good work, toots. I'll be seeing you… real soon" He cackled before disappearing out the front door.

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