Danny had heard good things about working for The Joker. His buddy Felix had been working for him for about 3 months. Danny met the requirements to become a henchman and if Felix vouched for him, The Joker agreed, but it would be Felix's head if Danny screwed up.

Felix drove Danny to the old theater where they stayed. It looked like it had been abandoned for years. There were no lights on the outside and no cars out front. Felix pulled into the rear and turned to Danny. "Listen, this guy is a psycho. He pays good and treats us good if we don't mess up. But if you do, he won't hesitate to blow your brains out. He's moody and and he's brutal. Don't speak unless you're spoken too. Don't correct him. Do not ask questions. Don't ever mention Batman. Don't touch his stuff, especially his girl.", Felix warned as he pointed a finger in his face.

"This freak has a girl?", Danny asked as he wondered what kind of chick would want to be with this monster of a man. The Joker was a known mass murderer who had the city of Gotham on its knees.

"Yeah and she's a freak too.", nodded Felix. "She's just as brutal, but he keeps her locked up in the house most of the time. He's insanely possessive of her. He don't even like when we look at her. But if she asks you to do somethin', you better do it. Alright, let's go and don't forget what I told ya."

The two men walked together to the backstage entrance. It was dark and there was junk everywhere, old props, set pieces, and tattered costumes. As they meandered through the halls it became a little brighter and they heard the sound of men arguing and laughing. As they made it to the lobby of the theater Danny saw four guys sitting around a card table smoking and playing poker. Felix led him to the men and introduced Danny. The men nodded and went back to their game. New guys didn't last long so they didn't put much effort into greetings.

Danny followed Felix down the hall to the men's quarters. They passed a set of double doors where he heard a man and woman going at it. High pitched screaming came from the room and Danny raised an eyebrow. "The Boss and Harley Quinn", Felix shrugged. "This is typical, you'll get used to it. Come on."

"Sounds like she's being tortured.", Danny said with slight concern as he followed Felix.

"That sounds like foreplay around here.", Felix said nonchalantly. "It could honestly be going either way in there."

They opened the door across the way and there were about 10 beds scattered around the room. Felix showed Danny which was his and pointed to the bathroom across the hall. "And that's about it. The rest of this place belongs to The Boss and Harley. Don't ever go into their bedroom unless he tells you to. Harley has her own bathroom next to ours. Don't ever go in there either." Danny thought that there seemed to be a lot of rules for a guy who thrives on chaos.

Just then one of the doors to The Joker's bedroom opened just enough for him to slide his body through without showing the room. He was straightening the collar to his green button up and buckling his belt before he lit a cigarette. As he put the lighter in his pocket he stared down Danny. "Boss, this is Danny, the new guy you hired.", he gestured toward him. "Nice to meet you sir, I've heard good things!" Felix nudged Danny in the ribs to tell him to shut up. The Joker grunted and blew smoke in their direction. His green hair was wild and his scars were more intimidating on his unpainted face than when he wore a mask in his mugshots. He turned on his heel to head towards the lobby.

"You're lucky he was in a good mood, man", Felix said with relief.

"How could you tell?"

"He didn't blow a hole in your face."

The two followed their leader to the lobby where the rest of the men were listening intently to The Joker's plans for the evening as he secured his holster over his shoulders with his cigarette hanging out of the side of his mouth. His voice was nasally, but deep with authority. He had a strange way of forming his words and put emphasis on the wrong syllables making him sound eerie.

He pointed directly at Danny and spoke, "You, stay here with Marty and learn the ropes. I don't wanna babysit tonight." He extinguished his cigarette in the glass tray. "If no one told you already-", he glanced at Felix, "-don't touch what doesn't belong to you. Let's go fellas." The men all stood obediently to follow their leader out the back. Felix waved to Danny as he exited.

Marty stood from the table and started cleaning up the cards. "So, now what?", Danny asked. "Now we secure the place until The Boss comes back. Make sure no one takes advantage of his absence. And don't get lazy, we ain't alone right now.", he glanced nervously towards the hallway with the bedrooms. "Miss Quinn is here. Hopefully she'll stay in her hole till he comes back.", he muttered. "What's with this broad? Why is everyone so nervous about a little woman?", Danny asked naively and little too loudly. Marty smacked his own face and then shushed him, "Shut UP, she'll hear you." Danny snorted, "Yeah okay." Marty shook his head. "Anyway, you sit here," he led him behind what used to be a concession stand where there were several monitors all hooked up crudely to a security system. The images were grainy, but you would be able to see if a figure was in the picture. "If you see anyone that isn't The Boss and the boys coming home, call me on the radio.", he nodded to the charging walkie talkie. He grabbed its twin and hooked it on his belt. "I'll take the boys and walk the perimeter for a while." Danny looked confused, "I thought all the guys left." Marty smirked and pointed at one of the monitors that showed two strange animals pacing impatiently. "What the-", he started surprised. "Miss Quinn's 'babies', freaking hyenas", he chuckled. "They protect her like she's their mom or something. Call if you need anything.", and Marty walked towards the back of the building. Danny saw him leash up the cackling hyenas and lead them out the back door.

Danny leaned back in the chair and looked around the large open space. It was obviously once a huge theater, very elegant. The floors were tiled white and black, large marble pillars reached to the tall ceiling, the glass doors that lined the front of the building were now boarded up. He yawned and looked back at the monitors. He would have to get his sleep schedule straightened out if he was expected to stay up at all hours of the night. It was approaching midnight and he already felt exhausted. Something caught his attention on one of the small screens. He watched intently as he saw a small figure of a woman exit The Joker's bedroom and head into what he found out to be the kitchen on another screen. He couldn't see any details on the black and white monitors, but she appeared to move gracefully and had light hair. She made herself a cup of tea and then headed back to the bedroom. He heard the door click closed down the hall. He looked, but there were obviously no cameras in their bedroom. How could anyone be so afraid of a petite blonde chick who likes a cup of tea before bed. He couldn't be sure but it almost looked like she was wearing bunny slippers in the image. He snorted to himself and continued to look at the screens as his eyes felt heavy.

He was jolted awake by the echo of the back door closing. He looked to the camera and saw that Marty had just come back in and was unleashing the hyenas. "It's starting to rain outside.", he said as he rejoined Danny at the security station. He took off his wet jacket as they heard a roll of thunder. "All's well?", Danny asked trying to sound as if he hadn't just woken up. His eyes skimmed the cameras and noticed that The Joker's door was ajar. Miss Quinn must have come back out while he was sleeping. Just then a bright flash of lightning shown through the boarded up windows and as the thunder boomed the power went out. "Aw, crap!", Marty said, but just as soon as it was out, it came back on. "Phew, The Boss woulda been ticked if the power was out when he got back." Danny looked down at the blank monitor screens, "Hey, everything went black, the system didn't reboot." Marty walked around the desk and sure enough everything was offline. He sighed in frustration, "This is bad. Well you're gonna have to walk the place and make sure everything is a-okay. Here take this.", he handed Danny a nightstick. "No gun?", Danny asked offended. "Not till the boss gives you one. Now hurry along, double check all the doors are locked too. I'm gonna have to figure this out.", Marty headed towards the basement to find the fuse box.

Danny gripped the nightstick and rocked back and forth on his heels before heading down the main hall. The first door on the left was The Joker's bedroom. It was still cracked open a few inches. He wasn't sure if Miss Quinn was inside, but then he heard the squeaky shower knobs turn and water start to run in the ladies restroom. She must be taking a shower, he assumed. He nudged the door open a little further with his nightstick, just enough to poke his head in. The room smelled like cigarettes and vanilla and it was a complete mess. The four poster king size bed was in the middle of the room and the purple silk sheets were tossed halfway off the bed. "JxHQ" was spray painted on the wall above the bed. There were knives littering the mattress. Rolls of duct tape were scattered on the floor next to the bed. On one nightstand lied what looked like a chemistry book with an ashtray on top and half a bottle of scotch while the other nightstand had a lamp and a small dish with a line of powdery substance. The mirror above the dresser had a large red painted smile and make up containers littered the top. Lingerie and argyle socks spilled out of the drawers. There were bullet holes and what looked like red paint splatters along the walls. He had enough of the bedroom and continued down the hall. His curiosity about the mysterious woman was growing as he heard a sweet voice singing from the ladies bathroom. She sounded like an angel as she sang:

I put a spell on you

Because you're mine

You better stop the things you do

I tell ya I ain't lyin' I ain't lyin'

You know I can't stand it

You're runnin' around

You know better daddy

I can't stand it 'cause you put me down

Oh no

I put a spell on you

Because you're mine

You know I love you I love you I love you I love you anyhow

And I don't care if you don't want me

I'm yours right now

I put a spell on you

Because you're mine

You know…

He stared in awe as he slowly propped the door open a few inches and listened to this sweet thing sing like a bird. Her pink bunny slippers sat on the bath mat and matching pink silk robe was hanging from a nearby hook. The shower curtain was clear, but steamy. He could see her figure, she was a small woman, but curvy. She had long blonde hair. Her song ended and she turned the water off. Her hand gripped the curtain and she pulled it open, but immediately turned her back to the room as she started applying lotion to her legs. Danny took a step back at first, but his eyes were glued to the poor woman's body. She wasn't his girlfriend, she was his torture victim. Not a single inch of the back of her body wasn't covered in scars - new or old. Pink flesh stood elevated as he began to read the words, PROPERTY OF JOKER, took up the entirety of her milky white back. Other words that littered her body were 'MINE', 'HA HA', and 'J'. She had lashes like she had been hit with a belt over and over. Bruises formed on her hips. He couldn't look away, how could he rescue this woman? She turned to face him and his eyes raked her body from bottom to top. More pink scars stood out, large letters raised across her stomach, 'Puddin''. His eyes made it to her face and he realized she saw him. He knew he should back away, but her own Glasgow smile was splayed across her face. Her eyes narrowed at him as she tutted and wagged her finger in front of her body. "Now we're both gonna get it.", and she cackled. His nightstick fell to the floor.

Just then a hand reached around him and pulled the door shut with force. The woman still laughed hysterically from the other side. The Joker wrapped his long fingers around Danny's neck and held him inches off the ground against the wall. "Can't you read?", he spit in his face through clenched teeth. His eyes appeared black and dilated. His breath smelled of alcohol and cigarettes. His painted face was melted and smeared off which made him appear crazier. The Joker looked down as Danny's urine spilled onto his custom leather shoes.