Second Life | Joker x Anomaly! Reader

Chapter 1: Avian Beauty

"Only a pence to feed the mutant!" "Look at it ma! It's so pretty!" "Don't go near it, dear. You don't know where it's been!"

People crowded a voluminous enclosure located in the center of a forgettable East London street. The day was quite dull, as it always was in the streets of the impoverished. Morning smog thickly coated the overhead sky, indicating an impending downpour. The bricks that were laid out years before have crumbled from years of horse and buggy, neglect, and weather. The enclosure in question held a shivering, nude humanoid. Rib cage visibly protruding; she was emaciated. As neglected as the aforementioned street shambles.

Her terror and trepidation were evident as the aggregation of locals handed over their money to throw horrid 'nourishment' into her enclosure. Whatever morsels her captors provided her left her only with a more intense hunger. Almost as if they were jeering at her abnormality, they handed the cruel onlookers bird seed in exchange for the mere pence they handed to them prior. This abnormality in question was peculiar in itself. Between the pitiful female's shoulder blades, a pair of large, black angel-like wings protrude.

Despite the angelic symbolism she adorns on her backside, she is met with a plethora of mockery. Her upbringing and birth cannot be explained to the mortal man. It was as if she came from nowhere. And, unfortunately, was taken into the custody of an example of the cruelest of humanity. Instead of being allowed a chance to make decisions, her decisions are made for her. And that's her life.

Though she sits there in a worn, confining cage most of the day, she still stares beyond the oppressing brass bars. There's a world to be seen and she knows it. She may not know her date of birth, her name, her heritage, or where she came from, she knows of the rolling hills of far away.

"Ready?!" The cage keeper raised his arm to signal the start of the oncoming frenzy of seed flinging. With that motion, the girl inside let her head fall in despair. Children, adults, men, they don't care about freaks. Her world darkens around her as she anticipates the stinging sensation of countless hand fulls of seeds soon to be lugged at her. "SET!!!" Her eyes slowly shut. "THR-" "Woah there!!"

But there was a sudden shift in atmosphere.

"And whatis'all this mess?" A rather cheerful voice rang through the harsh tones of commoners. The avian mutant lifted her head at it. Everyone halted their actions to stare at the newcomer. And she did too. Warmth. For the first time, a warmth tenderly graced her body when she locked eyes with the stranger. It was so familiar, yet so distant. He had a soft gaze that made her feel safe, if not for just a moment. The boy she became so warmly aware of was beautiful. His presence was like a tender touch to her heart. Like a beloved childhood memory. How could she have felt this way when she had never met this boy before?

"Just showin' off the freak to the public, only a pence to feed it bud! Whaddya say?" Her captor offered with a cruel grin. The boy's cheerful smile gently shifted to a soft frown. "I'm sure the lady has a name sir. Why would ye' be so cruel to such a pretty thing?" he said ever so softly, as if he was about to cry. "What're you on about boy? Surely you aint thinkin' that this thing has feelins or something. You wanna feed the animal or not? I'aven't got all day!"

The ginger haired boy only frowned more and turned to stare the caged creature in the eyes again. Doing this, his smile returned, comforting the girl again. Though, she was too weak to move or indicate her comfort in his gaze. "Hello there. Ye' got a name miss? I really like those wings of your's." the ginger stepped closer, only to have a whip snap between him and the bars of the crude enclosure. "Step back, dumbass! If you're not gonna feed the thing, then just leave!" the rest of the crowd mirrored the captor's agitation and began throwing hateful slurs his way.

"Move it, bug!" "Leave, you're in the way!" "Mommy, make him move!"

Despite all the reproach from the crowd, he kept his cheerful smile toward the mutant. "Now come on lass, where's that smile? Surely your's is as lovely as ye' look." the girl's eyes widened slightly at his kind words. Never had she ever been complimented like that. The ginger continued his advance. The captor was fuming by now, as was the crowd. "Listen here you little scoundrel, if you don't want a good beatin' you best leave right now!" but his screams fell upon deaf ears. "Come on, smile!" He laughed so cheerfully that his purple eyes seemed to sparkle. Her heart felt like it was being snugly embraced with otherworldly ministrations.

*SNAP*

The whip had made its second descent upon the jolly male. Her eyes widened in concern. Feeling pounds of guilt for the poor boy about to receive an unjust punishment because of his kindness towards her.

It all happened in a fraction of a second. The crowd cheered on the captor while he was bellowing loudly. All under the dull smog of London's morning sky. There was a flash of white, and a pause as the whip was suddenly halted.

"Gee, you seem like a quick tempered guy there. Here, have some flowers to brighten ye's day!" the boy had brought up an arm. It was then that she noticed its skeletal appearance. It was, too, familiar. The whip had wrapped itself around his prosthetic arm, which then proceeded to eject the hand like a celebratory surprise popper, and a colorful bouquet flowers took its place. The captor reeled back in disgust. "Hey, you're that infernal ringmaster. From that travlin' circus! The likes of your kind disgust me, don't think you's gonna just walk off with my pet now!" He readied his whip again after freeing it from the ginger's arm. Defying compliance, the boy just smiled wider, if even possible, and put two fingers in his mouth, proceeding to whistle loudly. The shrill whine of it caused a few of the bystanders, and even her, to flinch.

Almost immediately after he quit his screech, an earth shattering roar filled the street. "AH! What did ya do you mongrel! Stop this! Stop it now!" but the man's pleads were for naught. Terror filled the eyes of the large crowd as an unnaturally large figure emerged from a nearby alleyway. A very masculine giant, holding a torch of raging flames, stood his ground in the center of the crumbled, decrepit brick path. He seemed to be awaiting a command.

"Y'see, we're just startn' out as a circus troupe, n' well... I's hopin' you'd ave' been a little more cooperative with me here." the ginger's eyes suddenly went dark. With an eerie smirk, he raised his flesh hand in the air. "We don't appreciate such degradin' atrocities toward our kind y'hear?"

*snap*

With the snap of his fingers, the ground had begun to quiver with tremors. The commoners screamed and scattered, dropping the birdseed in the process. The source of their fear was barreling down the path of shambles like an enraged bull. His breath was pure raging flames, eyes sharp with priority. "NO! STAY BACK" The cage keeper stumbled backwards in fear, only to bump into the mobile brass enclosure with his back side. All the while, the winged anomaly lay in silent anxiety at the sheer size of the approaching pursuer.

"JUMBO! HOLD!" The ringmaster shouted. The sprint of the barreling monster-like man came to an abrupt halt. "Works every time, yes it does!" The ginger smiled brightly again. The girls shoulders relaxed at the now serene silence around her, save for the weeping of her captor and the heavy breathing of the supposed 'Jumbo'. Suddenly, her ginger savior took three long strides to the now sitting cage keeper and grabbed him by the collar. He smiled bittersweetly. "I hope we've come to an understandin'."

It wasn't long before the ginger unlocked the cage door and stepped inside to release the shivering mutant from her crude restraints. Just from looking at the damage the heavy cuffs did to her wrists and ankles, he found himself frowning again. She stared at him the whole time, and an annoying nag at the back of her head screamed at her to remember this boy. This boy whom she never met before. Every gentle brush of the fingers as he unchained her felt like he was stimulating every nerve in her body. She couldn't explain it at all. "There, all free. Like a lady should be." He chimed. "We'll bring you to our camp and give you the best meal ye've ever had!"

From that day forward, and through the next couple of weeks since the ginger brought her to his circus, she would never feel more at home. She was properly introduced to her savior, whose name was supposedly 'Joker'. It sounded as familiar as a long lost friend to her.

Her journey has only just begun. My job just got loads more interesting that day.