Bending Steel

Summary: Bruce Wayne, Playboy millionaire is now off the market! Taken by a beautiful blond haired man by the name of Jack Napier the press is going crazy with it. Not only that but it seems Batman has found a new accomplice in Joker himself! While some people are glad to have Joker off the streets, some people are a little sceptical, including the members of the Justice League! But while this entire mess is getting sorted one man still stalks the streets and he has found a friend. Doctor Harish is in and he is waiting for his Patience to come for tea.

Disclaimer: I don't own Batman, DC is amazing and I will love them forever.

AN: Read 'Of Broken Steel' so not to get confused

Dick is 13

Chapter 4: Telling Tales

AN: WARNING! THIS CHAPTER CONSISTS OF RAPE REFERENCES AND ABUSE. DO NOT READ THIS CHAPTER IF THIS TRIGGERS ANYTHING!

Bruce hissed as he touched the cut on his cheek and sighed. He has had worse injuries in the past, most inflicted by the very man who crashed the mug over his head, but this one hurt the most. He sighed and dabbed the open wound with some iodine before he stuck a bandage in place. He sighed again and allowed himself to sink on to the bathroom floor, still dressed in his bat gear and his cape and cowl tossed half hazardly on the shower wrack he didn't know what to do. Bruce could remember upsetting many people, women mostly, in his life but he couldn't remember ever feeling bad about it later, which now made him feel worse. He wasn't known for being emotional, quite the opposite, he was known for making people emotional getting pissed off and then walking away. When it came to family though, the kids, Alfred and now Joker, he could feel his heart ache, but this, this felt like his heart came out from his chest and was blended on ice crush.

"Master Bruce?" Alfred came in with some tea and offered Bruce a small smile, "Here, this should perk you up, I found Master Jack in the guest room in the west wing, he's asleep in the closet but I would assume he would wish to stay there for the night."

"I think so too," Bruce said and took the tea in hand and sipped at it carefully. He could almost picture Joker laying in the closet, spare blanket twisted around his legs, pillow under his neck and arms tucked up against his chest. Jack always slept like he was expecting to be attacked by something the moment he woke up, Bruce now understood why. Joker on the streets was confident and terrifying, even while fighting on the right side of the law he still had this horrible enjoyment out of scaring people to death but behind closed walls he was timid and often jumped at his own shadow. "It's like he's scared of himself these days."

"He might very well be, sir, if you think about it," Alfred said, "But with that crack to the skull I would feel better if you were also in bed." Bruce rolled his eyes and stood, pressing his hand against his skull the moment he moved to quickly, and headed for his room. His bed seemed too cold and Jack too far away once he lay down and it was almost tempting to go and find his lover and bring him to bed himself. Bruce knew that wouldn't bode well and sighed again for the uncountable amount that night.

"Goodnight Jack," Bruce muttered and almost pouted when no response came back. Sleep was rough and lonely that night, and Bruce was determined not to feel like that again.

Jack woke with a groan, the floor had not been the best place to sleep but he had to give himself a pat on the back for actually making it through the night alone in a closet. Running his fingers through tangled hair and stretching out the stiffness in his joined, Jack slowly came to terms with what he had done the night before. He had struck Bruce, he had caused him to bleed and with every fiber of his being he had wanted to do it over and over again until Bruce stopped moving. Before, such an act would have never scared him, in fact he probably would have acted upon it instantly, but this one time he choked. He had felt blood on his hand and the blood in his body froze and he had to run. Now he was sitting in the closet with a serious case of bed head and in need of a shower. Jack sighed and stood, careful not to hit his head before he stepped in to the guest room and headed for the small attached bathroom. He washed, calmed down and dried off. He wasn't surprised when he found cloths waiting for him and slipped in to the jeans and lime green t-shirt, at least Alfred knew how to make him smile. He sighed again and felt like banging his head against a wall, but that would be useless, so instead he headed downstairs and tried to sneak his way in to the kitchens.

"Jack?" Jack froze and bit his lip when he heard Bruce's voice and turned to face him, "Feeling better?"

"I, uhh, I'm…" Jack found himself sighing again, "No," He muttered softly and looked terribly sheepish as he looked at his bare feet.

"Do you need anything?" Bruce asked and Jack's head snapped up with a look of shock on his face,

"I crack you over the skull with a mug and you're asking me if I need anything?" Jack asked, "You're the one who's hurt!"

"I been hurt before," Bruce said simply "Worse than what you inflicted on me last night, and mostly from you, so don't worry so much." Bruce was so calm, so easy going and forgiving that Jack didn't know if he wanted to hit him again just to prove a point or break down crying because he was right. Tears welled in his eyes and Jack didn't know what to do with himself, so like some kind of beat up puppy he stood there waiting.

Bruce's heart reached out to Jack and finally he stepped forwards and wrapped his arms around the smaller man, tucking the green head under his chin and running his fingers through curly hair, "I'm okay."

"I'm sorry," Jack whispered in to his chest, "I'm sorry for this, and for that and for…everything before, I'm so sorry," Jack choked and broke down, his arms wrapping tightly around Bruce's middle and his face buried in to his chest, Jack forced himself to listen to that powerful heartbeat, a solid, powerful sound that calmed his nerves.

"Shhh," Bruce whispered and rubbed circles at his back, "I'm alright, I'm right here," Bruce felt like he was speaking with Dick when he had been small, when he first became Robin and Bruce would come home beaten and bruised and bloody and Dick would panic. Bruce would do the same thing he did now, hold his little Robin and let him know he was alright, that everything was alright.

Jack's breathing evened out and he pulled back and wiped his eyes, "I spoke…I…" He wanted to tell him what happened, who he had been speaking with and what was going on in his head, but it wasn't easy, sure telling councillors that he talked to himself was one thing, but Bats, it was a little more difficult.

"You spoke…?" Bruce was encouraging and Joker played with the hem of his shirt, much like a child, "Jack I honestly don't care who you're talking to in your head."

"Even if it's Harley?" Jack asked and giggled a little, the look on Bruce's face deserved that much. "She's stuck up here Bats, I can't help whose voices I hear, you know that."

"Yeah, but Harley?" Bruce asked, mostly to see that stupid Joker grin spread over Jack's face,

"Jealous?" Jack cooed and Bruce raised an eyebrow and crossed his arms,

"Wasn't that your problems?" Bruce asked and Jack fell in to a giggling fit, both hands over his mouth and a blush creeping on his face as he remembered the whole ordeal. Bruce wrapped an arm around the slim waist and lead Jack towards the living room and the two of them sat down. Jack making himself comfortable against the larger man's side, feet tucked up against his rear and head resting against broad shoulder. Bruce played with short curls, a little saddened that they were not as long as they had been when he first seen Joker as a mangled mess in an ally way.

Jack grinned a little when he felt the tugging on his curls, he knew how much Bruce liked his longer hair, and although he had enjoyed it too he also knew Bruce had a thing for tugging, pulling and playing with it, so this was his own little form of torture for his Bat, keeping his hair short, at least for now.

"So what did Harley say?" Bruce asked and Joker shifted uncomfortably before settling again,

"To trust you, which I do, but…" Jack scratched at his temple, a scar lay there from electroshock therapy long ago, and looked up at Bruce with those creepy kicked puppy eyes.

"I won't force anything out of you, I learned my lesson," Bruce said and touched the bandage on his head. Jack let out a whimper and touched the wound himself before curling in to Bruce with a sigh.

"It wasn't pleasant Bats," Jack said and Bruce nodded, accepting that right now Jack was Joker and he was Batman and that's what was needed to get the information out of him, how Jack needed to heal. Jack sat up then stood, began pacing nervously before he turned and sat on the floor, facing Bruce and blinking slowly, like a cat measuring up an opponent. Bruce sat still, he knew how to handle a thinking Joker, he knew that if he just let the man think, let him rummage through the files and voices in his head he would pick the one he needed and store the rest away for later.

"You had just dropped me and Harley off at the asylum," Joker spoke, and it was Joker, not Jack that was speaking. Bruce leaned in to listen, it was story time, not a conversation, not a Q&A, if he interrupted Joker would get annoyed and he would get nothing out of him. Joker scratched at another scar on his arm and looked up at Bruce and nodded,

"You had just dropped us off and we were processed and placed in our cell, cell, one, they put us together, which was odd for even me…"

Joker blinked and looked out in to the prison, there were whispers sounding from somewhere and he could almost feel the tension within the other cells. Harley giggled from behind him and jumped on to his back. "They put us together Puddin' gettin' out of here should be a snap, right?"

"It's always good fun getting in, see Harley, it's getting out that's the true game," Joker grinned but something just seemed off, "Why is it so quiet?"

"Huh?" Harley asked and jumped off his back. He pressed her ear against the thick transparent door and pulled back, almost confused, "That's weird, it shouldn't be this quiet in here." She shrugged and looked at Joker, "Maybe they installed sound proof glass or somethin',"

"No, I can still hear the pipes," Joker said and Harley listened harder and nodded, "There is a new piece on our chess board Harley my dear."

"Is that what you take this for, Mr. Napier?" Joker felt as if ice water had been poured on his head and he couldn't move. Even the guards didn't call him by his real name, in fact he was sure no one even knew his real name, he barely knew his real name.

"Who the hell do you think you are!?" Joker snapped, ice turning to fire as Harley stuck her tongue out as the voice in their cell seemed to laugh at them. "Show me your face!"

"Oh, don't worry, Mr. Napier, you will get to meet me, you and Miss. Quinzel must learn the rules of our hospital though, and your voices are disturbing the peace, so if you would be so kind as to keep it down, it's after curfew and you should be in bed," The thick voice made Harley's skin crawl and she could see by Joker's stiff appearance that he was less than pleased to be hearing voices outside of his head. "Off to bed now."

"Off with this, you jerk!" Harley said and flipped the bird at one of the walls, convinced there was a camera somewhere in this place and whoever was watching would see it. All their lights suddenly turned out and Harley gave a yelp before running towards where she had last seen Joker.

Joker laughed, watching Harley get so worked up had been funny, when all the lights had gone out, hearing her squeal has been funny, but feeling her shake against him like a child though, not so much. Harley had been scared before, he was the one who scared her, he was the one who made her shake and shiver. He was the nightmares of children and the terror of Gotham, he was the one who scared people. So why was it that he felt a slight itching in the back of his mind, a soft voice screaming at him to get the hell out as fast as he could? Why was it, the Joker, Crime Prince of Gotham, was shaking along with one Harley Quinn?

Joker and Harley had slept on the floor, mostly because their cell didn't have beds and secondly because even Joker had to agree that something was wrong. He was proven right when Harley was ripped from his grasp early in the morning. Harley cried out, screaming his name as she was dragged out of the cell. Joker didn't care that she was yelling, what he cared about was that they were taking away something that was his.

"You think you can just take her and walk out the door, I don't think so," Joker snarled and rushed towards the guard. Joker gave a choked gasp when something sharp pricked at his neck. He felt something cool enter his system and was instantly dizzy and disoriented. Whatever this new drug was, it wasn't fun, most of the narcotics and anti-psychotics were fun, made him see things and made the pain go away. This drug worked quickly though and Joker found himself hitting the floor as the room spun and his vision faded in and out as Harley's voice faded, "Harley…"

Joker woke and his head snapped up and he felt suddenly ill. He looked about his cell, which was now adorned with two beds, himself and nothing more. Joker stood, wavered and walked to the glass door and looked around. Harley was nowhere to be seen, maybe they didn't want to keep couples together? Joker huffed and crossed his arms, well at least there was some silence.

A sudden, blood curdling scream ripped through the hall and Joker's head snapped and he pressed himself up against the glass. He could see Scarecrow across the hall trying to see what was going on, with him was Riddler who had ducked in to a corner. Another scream ripped through the halls and Joker tried to pin point the voice, it was masculine and high pitched so he assumed it was one of the smaller residents. He went through his mental files and came up with nothing as he heard actual words coming out from an open door way down the hall.

"Please, stop, I promise, I won't do it anymore!" The voice cried and Joker could hear the choking tears.

Joker laughed, the sound of begging was always pathetic and amusing. He saw Scarecrow look at him with pity and Joker flipped him off without a second though. The look deepened, usually something that would cause Scarecrow to flip his wit was making him somber and sympathetic. Joker huffed and crossed his arms until another throat tearing scream drowned out even the voices in his head. "Wow, they are really giving it to him."

The sounds then suddenly stopped, almost instantly and Joker tilted his head. Curious, screams didn't stop dead unless, well, someone was dead. Joker could feel the silence against his skin, making goose flesh appear and the hairs on his neck stand up. Joker twitched as he saw a gurney come out from the room down the hall, in the arms of one guard was a puppet and on the gurney was one Arnold Wesker, AKA the Ventriloquist. Joker backed away from the door as they wheeled him down the halls. Joker could see the blood on the man's pants and he smelt like piss, even threw the closed door. Joker shook himself, this was not the Asylum, this was not how Arkham was run, this could not be his cell, in his prison in his city, they didn't kill the inmates! This was wrong, he was asleep, somewhere in the city having a nightmare, yes, that was it, his mind was playing tricks on him, he was asleep, all he had to do was lay down and wake up and everything would be fine. Joker headed over to his bed and lay down and closed his eyes. For long moments all he heard was silence and for a long time all he knew was his own mental jabbering.

"Hey!" Someone banged on his door and Joker woke up, confused and dizzy and looked up at a guard who had woken him, "Breakfast, meds, shower and back in your cell," He said and walked away. Joker blinked stupidly and tilted his head, alright, awkward dream but he would like something in his stomach. He got up and stretched before he paused, there was that silence again, running through the asylum like some thick fog that made his skin tickle. The prison shouldn't be so quiet, shouldn't be so choked. He waited by the door as it slid open and watched as the men filed out one by one, several of the smaller men had grouped together as the larger boys almost stalked down the halls like some kind of starved lions.

"Well now, this looks like an interesting game," Joker giggled as he came forwards and stepped down the halls, hands in his pants band like pockets. He watched as Scarecrow and Riddler almost rushed down the hall, penguin was actually running.

"Hey there," The thick drawl of TwoFace made Joker tilt his head and turn to face the man. TwoFace grinned, his eyes were dark and without any hair to speak of the man just looked odd. Joker covered his mouth to stop from all out laughing at the man.

"TwoFace old boy, you don't look half bad," Joker laughed and watched as many of the inmates covered their ears and scurried away. What was going on? TwoFace's grin became an all-out smile and the look in his eyes was murderous. Joker never thought in his life he would want to take any kind of comment back but in that moment even the crazed voices in his head were telling him to keep his trap shut.

TwoFace draped his arm around Joker's shoulder and started pulling up towards a group of men. Joker felt his heart leap in to his throat at the look of the group, every single one of them had a look of predators looking for prey and Joker was smart enough to deduct that he wasn't being pulled in for a welcome home greeting. Joker did a quick movement of ducks and slides and danced his way out from TwoFace's grip.

"Sorry Harvey! I have another Lunch date with myself, can't keep cancelling you know," Joker smiled and rushed away, understanding now why Riddler and Scarecrow had taken off down the hall like bats out of hell. Joker ducked another grab and skidded in to line with the rest of the inmates and took a breath of relief, seemed he was safe here for now. The food was served, some kind of porridge and some stale toast with a cup of water, nothing had taste and Joker stuck his tongue out as he moved. He watched as many of the men ate quickly, almost choking on their food before rushing off again. Joker's head snapped around like a rabbit looking for wolves, the fear in this room was thick and he pulled giggles from his lips as he smiled. He wanted to jump up and yell boo to the next man who came walking over.

A hand slapped down on his shoulder and Joker looked up and blinked up at Clayface who was grinning down at him.

"Hey there Joker," He growled and Joker was sure he was turning ashen at this point. He wasn't one to scare easy but he was starting to feel rather ill.

"Aren't I popular today, Towface just came to say hello," Joker plastered on his smile and moved down the line where he was given his medication.

"Better swallow those quick else they won't let ya leave," Clayface grinned and Joker twitched, something told him that the mass of clay was dependent on Joker taking those medications, good thing he knew how to get rid of them easy. He tipped the cup back and chased them with water before he let the nurse look inside his mouth and headed for a table. Another hand grabbed him and Joker almost choked as he was forced to sit with none other than Riddler and Scarecrow.

"Fellas, I was just…."

"You do not want to sit alone," Riddler whispered and Joker blanched at the blond who was looking around like a cornered rabbit.

"Don't upchuck your meds either, the docs don't take to kindly to that," Scarecrow whispered and ducked his head as a medical officer stepped by. Joker felt the need to duck himself closer to the table with the other two himself, "And the showers, claim a corner, and stay there."

"What are you two nut cases talking about, showers are private," Joker huffed and crossed his arms and watched as both men shook their heads, "No?"

"Not anymore Jokes, they changed it, easier to keep an eye on all of us if we're all in one place, they are communal now, and you have been the talk of the prison for weeks." Scarecrow hissed and Joker felt his ears go pink, "All these men here, they are layin' a claim on you kid, and trust me, it ain't fun."

Joker felt dizzy all of a sudden and he giggled lightly and shook his head, looked like they switched the meds to the fun kind all over again, "You boys worry too much, no one here is stupid enough to come after the Joker."

"Would you listen to us you crazy fuck, those men are going to tear you to bits and if they don't the doctors will, you are a favorite here Joker, and you don't want to be," Riddler hissed, "They will turn you in to a crawling, drooling dog by the end of the day."

"You boys are worried over nothing," Joker crossed his arms over his chest but still ducked his head when Twoface came walking by, eyeing him up and down. Joker responded with a glare and his tongue, almost hissing like some pissed off cat.

"Suit yourself, we tried to warn you," Riddler said, "But you're too stupid or too full of yourself to listen to someone for once in your pathetic life." A banging came from above and everyone's heads snapped up.

"Showers!" A guard called and Joker watched as the inmates groups together almost instantly, smaller men gathering in groups of two or three, larger men grouping in groups of five or six. Joker stood in the middle of the room all alone. He shivered, feeling eyes on him and he turned to face Twoface and his group of men, all grinning wickedly at him. He felt another pair of eyes and turned to face Clayface, he himself would not be in the showers, but his group of men looked just as nasty as Twoface and his gang.

"Move it!" Another guard ordered and the smaller of the inmates were now cowering in the back while the larger men took the lead. Joker huffed, like he said, no one was stupid enough to attack the Joker.

"I was so wrong," Joker whispered and shivered and felt Bruce placed a hand on his head. "I got to the showers, I should have listened to Riddler, to Scarecrow, hell even Penguin tried to pull me off towards the edge of the showers, but no, the water is warmer in the middle." Joker shivered again and ducked his head against his knees. Bruce sat and wrapped his arms around Joker who was shaking but he continued his story.

Joker lay in his cell, perfectly still on his floor with his eyes half-mast and his hair a tangled mess of green curls. He had just wanted warm water, the closer you got to the middle of the shower the warmer the water was, but it was also harder to see in the middle. Joker may be a smaller man compared to TwoFace but he hadn't expected to be grabbed and then completely violated.

Joker shivered, he had been raped in the showers, completely surrounded by others and by guards and no one had stopped it. Joker could still feel hands on him, he hadn't been sure who had got him, who had touched him, there had been more than one and he was damn sure TwoFace had been one of them because he could still feel rough skin against his own. He hadn't told the guards, who would believe him, he had been dragged out of the showers after he had collapsed and been let go, actually it was Riddler who had scooped him up and brought him in to a dark corner, dried him off and helped him dress.

"They don't care," He had whispered, "The men, the guards, so long as no one dies they don't care." Joker had wanted to ask why the hell Riddler didn't help, why he didn't come in and save him but the answer was clear on his face, he hadn't wanted to be attacked himself. This place had become dog eat dog and he was a Terroir against Danes. Joker had giggled stupidly at this which got a look from Riddler.

"I pictured us as a group of terroir dogs," Joker had slurred out through medication and shock,

"More like Chihuahua," Riddler muttered which made Joker laugh harder as the blond pulled him down the halls and lay him in his cell. Joker had laughed himself silent until he realized what had happened and then simply lay there, completely stupid to the world around him.

He had been raped

The shock was wearing off and now he was beginning to hurt in places that shouldn't hurt. He choked and squeezed his eyes tight, the Joker didn't cry, the Joker has been near death before, broken and bruised and bleeding until he barely breathed and never once had he cried.

He had never been taken advantage of before either.

"Hey!" A bang against his cell door caused Joker to scurry under his bed on all fours without a word. The guard didn't respond, just moved forwards as if he only came to check that Joker was still breathing. The green haired man lay still under his bed and giggled to himself. Had he not called himself a child's nightmare, a boogieman? Now here he was laying under his bed like a monster that lay in wait for a child. Only his time Joker wasn't the monster, he was the victim, the little boy who crawled under the bed to risk the monster that lay there so he didn't have to deal with other, much more real monsters.

'Jackie!' a voice yelled in his head and Joker curled so tight about himself that his body seemed to form a perfect ball, 'Jackie!'

"Shut up, shut up, shut up," Joker hissed as his vision began to swim as the drugs in his system began to take their ultimate effect

'Where are you Jack!?' That voice echoed in his head like walls of a cave and Joker was stuck in the middle of them. 'Are you under the bed!?' Joker gave a shriek and clawed out from under his bed and crashed in to the glass door, almost bouncing off before looking around frantically, hide, he had to hide. He hurt, everything hurt, why was he hurt he couldn't remember. He was just a little boy, why did he hurt him?

Joker was sporadic in his movements as he rushed around his cell trying to find a place to hide from the voices in his head all of them calling to him, calling him by a name he couldn't remember. He finally flipped the bed on his side in to a corner and scrambled behind it so there was the bed in front of him and the walls closed in around him like a triangle. He tugged the sheets over his little fort so he was hidden away in the dark so no one saw him, no one could get to him here. He covered his ears and ducked his head, willing those voices in his head to be quiet, if they were quiet no one could hear him and if no one could hear him no one would find him.

"I slept there in my little fort all night," Joker whispered and looked at Batman with a broken look on his face. "They brought Clayface in that afternoon and he shoved his hand down my throat, tried to kill me with his own body, that's why they switched cells, I never told you that they put Twoface in that cell with me."

"Oh no…"Bruce hushed and watched as Jack's eyes found a far off place, somewhere soft and kind, away from the hurt and pain that he had been through in that cell with his rapist. "You don't need to tell me Jack."

"Thank you," Jack hushed and crawled over to Bruce and lay his head on his knees like a dog asking for attention. Something more happened in that cell that Joker wasn't saying, a reason as to why Joker became Jack and why Jack was so terrified that even telling this story he had to return to his Joker mentality. Bruce brushed his hand gently through those curls and felt a shiver run through the other man's body. A rape victim, a torture victim and experiment it was a wonder Jack was actually still here unless.

"Jack, I think we need to talk about other things tonight too," Bruce whispered and Jack looked up at him, and this time it was Jack, not Joker, not even that broken, tormented creature that was Joker, it was Jack, a broken child who had been beaten and abused all his life.