Chapter 17

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Vin POV

    I was walking home from school when it happened. It was so sudden I couldn't even fight back. It all went dark. When I woke up I was here, in a dark warehouse filled with clown and circus décor. My stomach dropped when I realized where I was. Then I heard that laughter. That horrible friggin' laughter. I begin struggling against the restraints around my arms and legs. His laughter gets louder with each passing second and I dread the moment he finally gets close to me. That horrid laughter rang throughout the whole building.

       When he walks through the door he grins wickedly at me. "Hey Vinny, long time no see." He gets into my face and I spit right between his eyes. "Glad to see you've grown a spine since last time we met. "

    "How in the hell did you get out of whatever looney bin they were holding you in." I sneer pulling against the restraints once more.

     "You're wasting your time. Not even Batsy could get out of those." He circles around me and comes back to my face. "I think I'm gonna enjoy this." A switchblade is filled from his pocket and opened. He lightly pulls it across the skin of my arm. Then trails it down slowly to my abdomen before slamming it straight through. I scream in pain and he covers my mouth. The greasiness of his hands makes me sick to my stomach but I was too focused on the pain. He lifts my head to look at my tear filled eyes. "You've got your mother's eyes."

   I squirm at his gaze and words. "How would you know? No one knows who my birth mother is." I say with pain in my voice.

   "Oh but don't you know. You live with her and you have for most of your life. I'm surprised they never told you. Now to think of it I'm not all that surprised. They just didn't want to admit the truth about your family. Maybe they're afraid you'll turn out like your father. Like me."

    Any color I might have had left in my face is gone.  "No. No that  can't be true. They would have told me. You can't be my father." I feel my tears stream down my face.

     He walks up right back into my face. "Do you want to know your real name? Of course you do!" He moves to whisper in my ear. "Violet Harlequin Napier."

     "No my name is Vin Isley-Quinzel you raging lunatic." I say breathing heavily and beginning to feel light headed.

      "Don't you get it? They don't love you. Especially Harley she's the one who wanted to get rid of you in the first place. I wanted to keep you but she dropped you off at that orphanage. I love you and I always did."

      "If you really loved me you'd leave me alone to live my life. Not to mention you just stabbed me!"

      "But I didn't kill you." He smiles wagging his finger in my face.

    I feel myself begin to lose consciousness and I let it happen. Hoping to let it all end. His figure slowly fades into the blackness.


     I wake up in a hospital bed with Ma sitting in the chair next to me. When I see her I move away from her ignoring the pain in my abdomen.

"Go away." I say quietly and trying to get her away.

"What?" She looks at me with a mixture of confusion and sadness.

"Are you deaf get out!" I yell and Mom comes running in as Ma runs out in tears. She sits on the end of my bed and hugs me. " how could he be my father. He can't be. Anyone but him. Why didn't you tell me?"

    "We were going to tell you when we thought it was a good time. We probably should have told you sooner but we didn't think you would be able to handle it. I'm sorry. I'm so sorry. We didn't realize who you were until he came after you the first time. Then it clicked. Harley was both overjoyed and terrified. What did he tell you? What was so bad that you yelled at Harley the way you did?"

     "He told me the only one who would ever love me was him. He said that you guys hated me. He said Harley was the one who abandoned me at the orphanage." I collapse into her. Tears flowing freely from my eyes. "How could you love me? Nobody loves me. Not if I'm his daughter. I'm the Joker's daughter."

    "Listen to me. I love you. Harley loves you, Selina loves you. Not to mention Barb, Canary, Arrow, and Diana. Nothing is different now. We all love you and we always will. It doesn't matter if he is the man who got your Ma pregnant, he is not anything to you. You are nothing like him. You are a good person who is loved." She holds me for a few minutes until I calm back down. "Do you want to let her explain?" I nod as she begins to stand. I cling to her. "You have to let me go. I'll be right here." I nod and let go.

    Mom walks out and says something to Ma before she comes in with dried tears staining her cheeks. I look at her scared and ashamed of myself. "I'm sorry." She sits on the end of the bed. " The only reason I gave you up was because of him. He was gonna kill ya and I couldn't let him." She lifts her shirt to show a scar on her abdomen near where my own is. "When he found out he stabbed me. It sent me to the hospital and then back to Arkham. But even after that I still went back to him. For two years after that I still felt like I had to go back to him, like he was the only good thing in my life. But in the back of my mind I knew he was the worst thing to ever happen to me and I didn't know how to leave him. When I saw you again there at the asylum with Ivy, I knew I had a second chance to make up for what I had done before. I knew everything would be alright then, when we went home and you loved us and we loved you. Everything was gonna be okay. I love you. No matter what that psychopathic clown told you, I really do love you and nothing will ever change that."

   "I love you too Ma." I say and hug her. I cling to her and I don't let go. "I'm sorry, I'm so sorry I yelled at you. You must hate me."

         "No. Look at me Vin. I love you. I could never hate you. Never."

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