Sixteen

Joker made it a point to have all of his men in the parking lot or manning the parking lot gates by five am, before any visitors or buses would be arriving. He'd only taken full control of the Magic Kingdom as he assumed it'd be where Madeline would want to spend her time anyway. So while he had full physical control of the Magic Kingdom, shutting the vehicle entrances and visitor gates to outsiders, he had cyber control of the rest of the parks, so if he wanted he could cut off communication between parks and freeze everything via the servers. The point is, Disney was his fort for the day, and he didn't intend to be overthrown or sieged.

Madeline woke up at six am due to her long nap in the car the previous day. She was almost upset until she noticed her surroundings. They were in a hotel. Which meant that they had arrived and she was going to go to Disney World. She was going to see Cinderella's castle and meet Mickey and Minnie and ride all the fun and wonderful rides that she'd been dreaming about ever since she'd seen the sparkling castle in the opening scene of her first Disney film.

This was her dream come true, and all because of her daddy. She'd already forgiven him for hitting her, just like she'd forgive her old daddy after each time he hit her. She knew that she had disappointed him and caused him to look silly, so she accepted it as her consequence for betraying the only man who'd ever given her anything worthwhile, like her own room, and the toys and training and learning that she so valued.

She'd thrown his generosity back in his face by refusing to shoot that man, and Maddie was still ashamed to think that if he should ask her to shoot again, she still wouldn't. She had no right to take away someone else's daddy or sister or brother or baby when she knew how it felt to be alone and how much she loved her own daddy, despite all his flaws and how he frightened her so much when he was angry. Joker was still her daddy, and she wouldn't change that for anything in the world.

So when she woke up in a hotel room with Andy and Tommy, she couldn't help but be excited, overjoyed, at the prospect of spending a day in Disney World with her daddy. Even if he had hit her. Even if he might again.

Feeling bad for screaming in the car ride and annoying her caregivers, Maddie graciously chose not to wake up their peacefully sleeping bodies. She instead got up out of her spot between them in the bed and went over to her little suitcase, quietly unzipping it to pick an outfit for the day.

She chose her sparkling blue Cinderella dress so that she could wear it when meeting the famous princess who was not so unlike her. They were both low and poor maidens swooped out of their dirty lives by a prince and taken to live in his lush castle. Except her prince was her daddy and he killed people.

Madeline hummed Cinderella's song under her breath as she changed into the dress, for the first time feeling like an actual princess.

That was when Joker came knocking at the door.

6:30 is a reasonable wake up time, right?

Now you wanna talk about what's reasonable?

Maddie jumped at the sound of knocking and hurried to zip up the back of the dress, darting towards the door so she could open it, not tall enough to see through the peephole but just naive enough to not be concerned about the possibility of it being a stranger.

It swung back to reveal her father dressed up in a fine black and white tuxedo, smiling down at his charge dashingly.

"While I'm glad you're up, princess, I'd rather you didn't answer the door when you don't know who's behind it," Joker growled between clenched teeth.

"Ok," Maddie replied, shutting the door.

Joker stood flabbergasted on the other side before he angrily started knocking again.

"Who is it?" Maddie sang.

"It's me, doll," J said, or rather snarled.

"Who's me?" She asked, pressing her luck.

"It's Daddy, doll, now open the door," Joker replied.

Madeline didn't want to ruin the day early by angering her daddy, so she quickly opened the door back up.

"Very funny, doll," J deadpanned.

"Let me just wake up Andy and Tommy," she said suddenly, leaping onto the bed with a graceful flip and promptly pouncing the sleeping couple.

"Ah!" Tom yelled as he fell out of bed, landing with a thunk on the carpeted floor. Andy fared better, managing to stay in the bed, but was no more pleased by his wake up call.

"Disney World!" Maddie yelled.

J could only smirk from where he leaned on the door frame as he watched his employees stumble awake and realize that he was there.

"Glad to see you boys are ready to face the day," he chuckled. "We leave in fifteen."

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It was when the gates opened wide to admit Madeline and permit her to see the mythic castle for the first time that she could say was one of the happiest moments of her life.

She was filled with such immense joy and wonder that she could hardly contain herself, despite the altercation they'd had when trying to drive the van into the parking lot. The cars lined up didn't take kindly to a van bypassing all of them and getting in. Much honking had ensued.

But they were past that now. They were at the Happiest Place on Earth.

Maddie squealed happily, startling her three companions. She grabbed the closest hand, which happened to be Joker's, and took off down the street, headed for Cinderella's castle. All J could do was gasp and try to keep up, not wanting to lose her in such a large place, even if nobody else was there. Andy and Tommy soon followed.

Maddie stopped on the walkway to go underneath the castle, since the actual castle itself wasn't open to the public.

"Boss, a bunch of characters are showing up in the tunnels. They came in from some other offshoot. What do you want us to do with them?" A goon asked in Joker's earpiece.

J looked at Madeline's wonder-filled eyes and he had his answer.

"Send them up," he said softly. "Send them to the castle."

"Where's Cinderella, Daddy? And all the other princesses?" Maddie asked as the gay couple finally arrived.

Just as Thomas and Andrew were about to let her down easy, Joker spoke.

"I'm sure that they're on the way doll. Why don't we grab some food from that ice cream vendor while we wait?" He suggested. Drew and Tom were speechless.

"What are you two still hanging around for? Go have fun! Ride rides, whatever. Take a day off or something," Joker ordered with a roll of his eyes.

The pair didn't know what to do. They didn't want to leave Maddie alone with him, especially after the incident, but refusal could mean certain death. So the pair scurried away, separately resigning to sneakily trail the duo as they appeared to ride rides and have fun.

Joker ignored the couple and led Madeline to a nearby shut ice cream cart. He opened the lid to find it about halfway stocked with Mickey bars and other such ice cold treats. Breakfast? Who needs it? Skip straight to ice cream, we're at Disney World for fuck's sake.

Joker whipped his hand out of the cart with a Mickey bar in hand for Madeline, when he noticed her flinch, not unlike she had when they'd been baking cookies. He almost went on another mental tirade about her piece of shit abusive father when he realized that he was the piece of shit abusive father and that she was flinching because of something that he'd done.

Maddie knew that he noticed the flinch, and it only made her more frightened. Will he hit me for acting weak and wimpy?

"Listen, Madeline," J said seriously. "It was fucked up that I hit you at the fair. I shouldn't have—no, I shouldn't hit you. It won't happen again and I'm sorry."

Then he handed her the knock off Dilly bar and nonchalantly walked back towards the castle. No one else was around to have heard what he'd said, not even Andy or Tommy, leaving Madeline to wonder if she'd imagined the whole thing.

She didn't have much time to wonder, however, because as soon as she turned to follow her father she noticed a particular princess emerging from her castle in her signature blue ball gown. Cinderella.

Madeline was awestruck and starstruck all at once. This was her hero, her kindred spirit, her role model. And she was meeting her. Here. Now.

Cinderella (or rather the woman dressed up as her) felt immensely anxious as she approached the well-known psychopath and the little girl with him, but she tried not to let it show purely for her own safety. She felt better when Joker backed off some to allow her and Madeline to properly meet. As Cinderella drew near, she recognized the little girl as the one from the news, the girl who wouldn't shoot. That made her feel slightly safer also, because the girl clearly wasn't crazy enough to kill, but she also felt bad for the poor scrap, especially when she remembered the blow Joker had dealt her for her disobedience.

Cinderella tried to smile serenely, or at least reassuringly as she approached the shocked little girl. It became clear to her that the child was not a threat, and the week after her betrayal hadn't broken her yet, but that didn't quell her sudden urge to get the girl out of there. But the situation was hopeless. Even if they could outrun Joker, where would they go? His men were stationed everywhere: the tunnels, the exits, the parking lots. That knowledge didn't make Cinderella feel any less guilty.

"Hello there," she greeted warmly once she was within five feet of Madeline.

"Hi," Maddie breathed.

"What's your name?" Cinderella asked.

"Um..." Maddie trailed off, unsure. Should she tell this stranger her name, even if it was Cinderella? She looked to Joker for guidance. He shook his head.

The glance did not go unnoticed, though Cinderella never looked away from the young girl.

"I'm sorry, Princess, but I can't tell my name to strangers, even if it is Cinderella," Maddie finally responded.

"That's quite alright, little one. Or should I refer to you as your title as well, Princess?" Cinderella giggled, curtsying as she recognized Madeline's attire.

"Oh no, I'm not—" Maddie moved to correct her.

"Nonsense. All little girls are princesses. We're all brave and strong and compassionate," Cinderella interrupted.

Joker watched their interaction with increasing disinterest. He had nothing to fear from a flouncy fake princess.

"All girls will find their prince someday, little one. Sometimes it may take a bit of magic or wit, but in the end everyone gets their happily ever after," Cinderella assured her.

"My prince has already come," Maddie said simply.

"Oh really?" Cinderella asked, a twinkle in her eye. "Is there some boy out there that tickles your fancy?"

At this remark, Joker tuned back in. What about boys? They better stay the fuck away from my girl.

"No," Madeline smiled. "My daddy is my prince, and he's already saved me."

J was too relieved to take note of the implications of her statement.

"Oh," Cinderella said, second-guessing herself as it became clear that the girl wasn't in distress, nor did she want to leave Joker. But she also wasn't crazy. Yet. The girl was a lost cause, at least to Cinderella. What hope did she have of freeing the girl against all odds if the girl didn't want to be saved?

"I'm sorry to cut our conversation short, Princess, but I do believe my prince requires me back at the castle," Cinderella apologized, ready to dip out and head back to the tunnels where the other characters were imprisoned.

"Alright, it was nice to meet you!" Maddie yelled, giving her a big hug. Cinderella returned the hug a little sadly, but knew that there was really nothing she could do. After giving the girl another hug and holding back tears, she pulled away and strode back to the castle.

Madeline finally opened her melting ice cream and scarfed it down, then taking Joker's hand and tugging him to a random ride, laughing the whole way.

<><><><><><><><><><><>

It was around noon when everyone started to realize what was going on, cameras revealing the presence of the Joker in the Orlando area just as the Magic Kingdom was fully shut down and the rest of the parks were closed due to technological malfunctions.

By that time Maddie had ridden all that she desired to and seen all that her mind could grasp, and was ready to leave if need be, which was a good thing because incoming police helicopters could be seen in the distance.

Joker scooped up Madeline and took to the tunnels with Andy and Tommy close behind as they'd been pretty much stalking Joker and Maddie all day. They all hopped on a golf cart together and rode through the tunnels to a far exit where Frost stood waiting with their luggage in the minivan. Everyone hopped in and the van carefully exited after ensuring that no police were nearby to spot them.

After that Tommy struggled to drive reasonably so as not to draw attention to them. The other SUVs hadn't been able to leave yet besides the one that Frost and most of the techies were in. Joker wanted to make sure that his second-in-command and his nerds were safe. He didn't care so much about all the replaceable brawn. If they make it, great. If not, that's less money for me to have to pay.

He looked at his sleeping daughter happily. She must've been tuckered out after all that activity today.

And though he knew there was a long road ahead of them, he couldn't help but be excited for the journey ahead.