Six

"I can't believe I'm fucking doing this."

The living room was absolutely covered in blankets. Covered. Maddie had made sure that the goons under her control turned the living room into a massive pillow fort complete with anything she and her daddy would need during the five or so hours they would be there watching movies. The goons were too terrified to refuse the girl's requests, afraid of what it would mean for them if their boss found out. She didn't even have to ask aggressively; they darted away to do her bidding the instant she nicely asked if they would help her.

As the Joker entered the room, he saw snacks littered across the blanketed and pillowed floor and a big bowl of popcorn sitting on the couch. There was also a row of DVDs laid out on the floor, assumingely for him to select two movies from. His young ward was nowhere to be seen.

J cautiously sat himself down next to the DVDs and began perusing through the titles. The Little Mermaid, Beauty and the Beast, Frozen, Tangled... Are all of these fucking Disney princess movies?

What other Disney movies do you expect a little girl to watch?

I don't fucking know. Let's see... Lilo and Stitch, Moana, Cinderella, Sleeping Beauty, The Lion King, Maleficent... Which of these would be the least painful to watch?

Ooh! Read the descriptions! That one with the blue alien dog thing looks fun!

You think everything is fun.

Wow. Rude much?

Shut up. I don't fucking care. I'll just pick Lilo and Stitch.

You're gonna listen to that idiot? Pick Maleficent. It's about an evil villain. Right up our alley.

Fine. Whatever. I'll pick both. I have to pick two movies anyway and there is no way in hell I'm watching a Disney princess movie.

"Daddy! Have you picked movies yet? I'm so excited to watch all of these!" Maddie squealed as she ran into the living room.

"Hold up, doll. You know I'm only watching two, right? That was the deal," J growled, nearly panicking at the thought of having to watch all of the movies Madeline had laid out.

"Yes. Duh, Daddy. You only have to watch two, but I'm gonna keep watching more, and you can stay and watch them too," she assured him.

"Trust me, I won't," J muttered.

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"Ohana means family. And family means no one gets left behind."

That's it. I'm gonna lose it. It's so sweet!

Oh my god fucking kill me.

Shut up! I'm trying to hear what's happening.

Joker was intently watching Lilo and Stitch, munching absentmindedly on popcorn as he sat in the pillow fort next to Maddie. Both of their eyes were wide as they watched the plot thicken and unfold on screen.

It's getting good. The alien thing is less evil than I would like, but least he's still a mischievous little shit.

As the movie began to draw to a close, J was alarmed to discover that the movie was making him feel... something. He felt too connected to Stitch and the situation felt too similar to their own. God, that alien police guy is so much like Batman it's fucking ridiculous. He was relieved when it finally ended, letting him continue to escape his feelings.

Maleficent was no better. The movie was also ridiculously similar to his own. A tortured person is turned into a totally evil maniac? Could it be any more similar? Even the three fairies reminded Joker of Frosty, Andy, and Tommy. What made it infinitely worse was that young Aurora looked remarkably similar to Maddie. Like to the point where J did a double take when he saw the girl on screen. J had no idea how similar to the movie their situation would become.

"I love you, Beasty."

When the movie finally ended—God, that took for-fucking-ever—J scrambled out of there so quickly Maddie practically got whiplash watching him exit. Andy and Tommy were quick to stop what they were doing when they saw Joker hurry out, wanting to make sure Maddie was alright.

They came into the room to see the credits of Maleficent rolling on screen and an abandoned bowl of popcorn sitting on the couch. Maddie was sitting looking very confused on the floor, but turned her head to look at the couple when they entered. She almost immediately brightened.

"Andy! Tommy! Come sit! We're gonna watch movies!" She greeted happily.

The pair looked at each other and shrugged, plopping down next to their charge as she took the movie out of the player and replaced it with Frozen, a wild glint in her eye. The trio of friends happily began to watch the movie together.

Meanwhile, Joker was sat in his office with his head in his hands. What the fuck is this girl doing to me?

Just then, his phone rang, interrupting his glooming. He tiredly reached for the receiver and picked it up, demanding, "What?"

"I am just confirming with you that you are sending one of your goons to pick me up tomorrow for this little arrangement of ours," Eddy drawled through the phone.

"Yes, Edward. Why would I change my mind so quickly? I just talked to you last night. Unless, of course, you are having doubts about your ability to complete this task?" J teased.

"Of course not. I am quite capable. Will this be an everyday day thing? What is your schedule?" Ed growled.

"Hold up a minute there, Eddy boy. We better make sure you can handle her before we make a schedule for your appointments with her," Joker grumbled.

"I most certainly can handle a little girl, Joker," Riddler sighed.

"Not this little girl. I can't guarantee that she will even listen to anything you have to say. She doesn't seem to like being bossed around by anyone other than myself. Of course she obeys me, out of fear, but who knows if she'll listen to a genius such as yourself. We'll see how things go tomorrow, and make a schedule from there," J warned, examining the rings on his clenched fist.

"Fine," Edward gritted out.

"Always a pleasure to speak with you Eddy," J chuckled as he hung up.

"Let it go! Let it go!" He could hear singing from the living room and resigned to stay far, far away. Far away.

But he just couldn't concentrate with all of their screaming and singing and giggling and yelling. He was about to blow a fuse. How the fuck am I supposed to get anything done with that going on?

Joker snarled and stood up from his seat, stomping into the living room, determined to put a stop to the shenanigans going on in there. He froze, speechless, when he encountered the now silent room. On screen, Anna had just jumped in to save Elsa from Hans. In real life, Thomas, Andrew, and Madeline were raptly watching, cuddled together. J only stopped because of how close the three looked in that moment. They looked like a... family.

J didn't know how to handle the situation, and so he resorted to slowly backing out of the room, heart pounding like it did in the height of a chase. He needed... something, something to forget those feelings he had—an outlet. And the only outlet Joker knew was violence. But he couldn't go out, because the sun was setting and it simply wouldn't do to be caught by Batman before he could fully put his plan in motion.

That meant that there was only one place he could go. One place where he could really let himself loose—stop bottling the madness and let it out for once.

The basement.

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"Come on, come on, guys! Let's go play outside!" Maddie squealed to her babysitters before dashing to the front entryway.

Tommy and Andy exchanged a glance before simultaneously chasing after the girl. They both correctly assumed that a post-sunset adventure would not go over well with their boss, who was currently torturing the shit out of Phil.

"Maddie, wait!" Tommy shouted, managing to catch up to the girl and snatch her up before she could open the front door.

"We can't play outside right now, sweetie. It's too dark. Maybe tomorrow after you do your training stuff we can go play outside," Andy explained soothingly.

"But it's not even dark yet!" She protested.

"It's dark enough," Thomas said firmly. "We don't want you to get hurt, Maddie."

She pouted, but Tommy set her down anyway. Then she remembered her training session with her father earlier that day. With a smirk on her little face, she socked Tommy right in the junk. Just as she thought, Andy went to Tommy instead of stopping her. So Maddie quickly turned the handle on the front door and sprinted out. After all, I promised to listen to Daddy; I didn't promise to listen to everyone else, too.

Tommy waved Andrew away, wheezing out an "I'm fine."

Andy quickly took off after receiving assurance from his boyfriend. She couldn't've gotten far, right?

"Madeline! Tommy went to get your daddy! He looked angry and I'm trying to save you and get you inside before he comes out to get you!" Andy shouted into the darkness—totally lying by the way (there was no way Joker would react well to this confession on their parts—they'd be dead).

Maddie heard his cries, and—remembering the wrath of her father the other day—reluctantly headed back the way she came, following the light from the porch and front door, stomping the whole way. But she stopped when she noticed a shining light in the sky.

At this point, Andy could see her, so he ran towards her. Maddie's gaze never left the shining symbol in the sky. When Andy turned to find what she was looking at, he paled almost immediately.

"What's that, Andy?" Madeline asked, pointing to the light in the sky.

"Nothing you need worry about," he replied quickly, ushering her inside. "It's time for you to go to bed."

As Andy led Maddie back indoors,he found Tommy still hunched over, holding his goods. Andy grimaced, but still pulled him upright.

"I thought you said that Tommy got Daddy?" Maddie demanded of Andrew.

"I tricked you, just like you tricked Tommy and I. It wasn't nice, was it?" Andy replied. Madeline shook her head. "Then maybe you shouldn't trick people if you don't want tricks to be played on you."

Just when she grudgingly nodded in agreement, a loud shriek resounded from the basement.

"What was that?" Maddie asked quickly, clinging onto Andy's leg for dear life.

"Nothing, sweetie," assured Tom, straightening up with a wince.

"But I heard a scream," she protested, looking in the direction of the basement doors.

"It was probably just—" Andrew was cut off by another agonized shout coming from the basement.

"What's going on down there? Who's there?" Maddie demanded, hiding behind Andy's leg.

"Your daddy is probably watching a scary movie down there," Tom explained, thinking quickly. "He just has the volume turned up too loud."

"Let's get you to bed now, sugar," Andy jumped in, swooping Maddie up into his arms.

He carried the girl upstairs, his wounded boyfriend a couple of steps behind. The couple were quick to put Maddie to bed, tucking her in and leaning in to give her goodnight kisses.

"I don't remember there being a movie room in the basement," Maddie said quietly, before they could. "If we have a movie room, why didn't Daddy have us watch the movies in there?"

The two men exchanged glances before Andy cautiously replied. "It's not a movie room so much as his private place to be alone. It's got stuff he likes to do in there. He likes to have his personal space. And he doesn't want anyone to mess with his things."

Maddie nodded slowly, accepting this answer for the time being. I'll just have to explore it later.

The caregivers sighed in relief and leaned in to give Maddie goodnight kisses, one on each cheek. The they both left the room, turning off the light and shutting the door softly as they did.

"That was fucking close," Tommy said.

"You can say that again," Andy agreed. -------------------------------------------A/NHello you wonderful people! If you like the new cover, it was done by the lovely Artsygirl5858 for me. So go and check her out, because she is very talented and kind. Love you guys bunches!Gingy