Branded

I was a quiet, dark evening. The sky was painted a deep purple, blood colored streaks running deep into the sunset. Appropriate, the Joker mused, since Harley's blood was soon gonna match it. He threw her against the wall as hard as he could, and when she hit it there was a heavy thud. He smiled at that. Then he waited for Harley to say her line, for her to threaten to leave. Once she threatened to leave him he would beat her to a bloody pulp. But she didn't threaten to leave. Instead she dragged herself from the ground and shot him a glare. Then she stood up, and stormed off down the hall. One thing was on her mind, this time it is gonna be different. This time, she was leaving permanently, never coming back. She reached the small bedroom at the end of the hall and swung open the blue door. She silently wished that there was a window she could slip out of when she was done, but they had gotten rid of the only window in this room so that batman couldn't suddenly break in. She pulled a suitcase out of her side of the closet and began throwing clothes in it. She prayed he wouldn't come after her and know what she was doing. But the Joker had followed Harley down the hall, knowing this was different. Harley never packed her things before she left, she always just left. She was trying to leave permanently. Not allowed, he hated people playing with his toys. It was enough that other people got to beat up Batman, but Harley was purely his. If he could, he wouldn't allow other people to so much as see her. But that was unimportant, it was time to allow his presence to be known.

"What are you doing?" His sharp, cold voice seemed to freeze the air for a moment so that Harley couldn't breathe. She then turned and looked at him, attempting to hide what she was doing by shoving the suitcase into the closet. But it was too late, he had seen. She felt like a little kid saying they hadn't ate the chocolate cake while their mouths were covered with chocolate. And Joker felt like the dad who had just caught the little kid. He smiled, and in the dim lighting Harley could only see the shine of his teeth and his piercing green eyes. But something else caught the light as he took a step towards her, that something making Harley scream and tumble over her feet. A knife, shining in the dim lighting, a knife that was soon going to help her meet her maker. The Joker, who had been moving towards her slowly, suddenly leaped onto Harley, pinning her to the ground in a quick, abrupt motion. She screamed as his left hand gripped both her hands in his own, leaving him free to use the knife wherever he wanted. He happily watched the panic in her eyes, smiling as he pulled up her shirt, studying his canvas. It took only a second for him to know what he was going to do. No matter how she squirmed she couldn't find a way to bend that would allow her to break free. She was going to die. Tears slipped down her face and she wished that things could have ended differently. But the Joker had other things in mind as he chose his place. Right beneath her left breast, over her heart that was beating so fast in her chest. Like a cornered animal. She screamed as the knife got closer to her skin, the smile stretched so feverishly across his face. Then she felt the knife plunge deep into her skin, she screamed this time in a mixture of both pain and fear. The tears sliding down her face increased as her fear rose. The Joker slid the knife in a straight, slightly jagged line. He did so slowly so that he could enjoy every scream, soaking every pain-filled look up with delight. He plunged the knife into another mark, curving it at the end. He leaned back and admired his work as Harley continued sobbing, her eyes sealed shut. The jagged, deep wound was shaped as a J. The scar it would leave would be her reminder that she would always be his. Without exception. He smiled and slipped the shirt back down before he stood and left the room, locking the door behind him. When she stopped sobbing he would let her out. Harley slowly realized he had left the room, her whole body shaking with her sobs and the intense panic that filled every part of her. She was curious, though, as to what her puddin had done to her. She pulled up her shirt to see the deep cuts of a J on her pale, bloody skin. She gasped as she realized what he had done. He had branded her, branded her so she could never leave. She pulled her knees to her, forgetting herself in her tears. Suddenly, it was as if her brain rebooted. she couldn't remember who had done this to her, all she knew was that she wanted comfort from her...

"Puddin!" She yelled before she scrambled across the floor. She banged the door until it opened, the smiling face staring back at her. She leaped into his arms, snuggling against him, a smile traced across her face.

"Let's go to bed, Harls."

"Anything ya say, Mistah J!"