[RL - A Visit at Lisa's Place]

[tntandgasoline]

The Joker had his way with things. It was never hard to do something for him; if he wanted something, he got it. It's just how things were. They'd always been like that.

And right now, he wanted to do two things: intimidate Jackson and check up on that darling Lisa, who just so happened to live in a Miami. How he got there was nobody's business; all that mattered was that it was nightfall, and he was standing in front of the door of (hopefully) Lisa's house, a bottle of decent wine (it's so hard to find a good wine when you're a wanted man) in one hand.

He smirked, smoothed back his hair, leaned against the door way and knocked, three times, against the door. Hello, anybody home?

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[nobaybreezes.livejournal.com]

His argument was valid enough. There was no reason to beat around the bush, but even wolves liked to play with their food. Still, it was reassuring enough for her to open her eyes and observe him moving closer. She tensed, finishing her glass of wine and taking it as an excuse to walk away, back to the kitchen to refill it.

"For some reason, that's not exactly comforting. And, I have a spine." Jackson hadn't quite taken that from her yet. She wondered vaguely if he had, would she be dead? The amusement factor would be eliminated. The very thought made her knees buckle together weakly and she was suddenly thankful she was behind the counter so that the Joker couldn't see that. "I'm not afraid of him. I've just had more than enough of him from this virus that..." Okay, she was afraid of him. Joker didn't need to know, she needed a better excuse. "That I just don't want to hear anymore about it."

[tntandgasoline]

"I suppose you've got more of a spine than some women I've met. Okay, I'll give you that."

He watched her walk away and grinned, moving to follow with vague steps, not really watching where he was going. "All right, then, let's talk about you then. What you want to talk about, I mean."

[nobaybreezes.livejournal.com]

After pulling the corkscrew from her back pocket, she turned it over in her hands for a moment, then leaned forward and rested her forearms on the counter, looking up at him thoughtfully. That seemed too easy, getting him to drop the subject. She had her doubts about his reasons, but was more than happy to accept the offer anyway.

"Tell me something true about you." The suggestion was out before she could even think to stop herself. It was something that had bothered her for some time. He seemed all too eager to be anyone but whoever he was before the paint and scars and knives. Was Joseph a real name? Someone he'd known? Or, was it a whim? "I don't care what it is, anything."

[tntandgasoline]

"Something about me? Flattering, really." He pursed his lips thoughtfully, rolling his eyes in thought. "But how are you gonna know I'm, uh, telling the truth? I mean, I could lie and you'd never know, would you?"

He leaned against the countertop, across from her, smiling blandly in her face. "I'm thirty... six, I think. Give or take a year." And wasn't that true enough? He didn't keep count, but it was close. Probably.

[nobaybreezes.livejournal.com]

"I really have no choice but to believe you, then, do I?" She looked thoughtful for a moment as she considers his response, then straightens up and goes to uncorking the bottle again to pour herself another glass. "Thirty-six? I'll buy that." Lisa nodded and offered him the uncorked bottle, taking a drink from her glass.

[tntandgasoline]

"You could doubt me, but it wouldn't do much good." He takes the bottle from her and reads the label idly, before refilling his glass - more to the top, this time. None of that half-full crap. "So, what did happen to all your little, uh, schoolgirl friends? Nobody ditches everyone they know - unless you're like me. But I don't think that's true."

[nobaybreezes.livejournal.com]

This question brought about an overall change in Lisa's demeanor - subtle, but very noticeable to anyone who was really looking. Her back straightened, her jaw steeled and she folded her arms in front of her chest - a defensive stance, closing herself off. She could easily lie - tell him she'd moved away, that she'd gone to school in Dallas and come back her to be with her dad, something like that, but on the off chance that he'd actually provided her with an honest answer...

"I'm not the same person I was in college. Circumstances change a person. Some for the better, some for the worse. I stopped answering their calls, and eventually, they stopped calling." Her tone was sad. Not many people knew what it felt like to be given up on. Not like Lisa did. "Maybe sometime Jack can tell you the story." She wondered briefly if he really would give the story. No, he wasn't that cruel.

[tntandgasoline]

He only caught bits of the shift, but it piqued his interest. Now, what had happened to her to get such a strong little change? Hmm.

"Aw." It wasn't nearly as patronizing as it probably was supposed to be. "That's not their problem, though, Lisa. You went out of your way to end those relationships, didn't you? And I really gotta wonder why. You seem like such the social butterfly type - well, in your pictures, at least. You have a pretty face, a nice smile, the personality - but something really bugged you." He mulls it over, sipping at the wine before glancing at her. "Was it dear Jackie that caused the change? I mean, you're so defensive about him. And I don't ask other people for gossip unless I can't help it, Lisa."

[nobaybreezes.livejournal.com]

He sounded just like Jackson and it was maddening. She shifted her weight to her right side - the one furthest from him, trying to gain some distance. As if that would help her come up with a better answer to his question. His assessment, his probing questions and assumptions. Hadn't she just gotten away from this?

She didn't want to talk about it. "I don't want to talk about it," she had been repeating it over and over in her mind - practically screaming it to herself - before it actually came out. "It had nothing to do with Jackson," though he'd like to insert himself into the situation as best he can. Continuously bringing it up... as if it was something she wanted to talk about. No amount of months in therapy had helped, why would Jackson's cold, calculating demeanor? "I've talked about it and I've talked about it and I've been to more therapists than I'd care to admit about it. I'm done talking. It's behind me."

[tntandgasoline]

Hmm.

"All right." He shrugs, holding out his hands and turning to go back towards the living room - give her some space. She needed it, she wanted it, and he was smart enough to know that her being defensive would only hinder their little conversation. "No more about that, then! What isn't off topic, Lisa?"

[nobaybreezes.livejournal.com]

His response was more than a little shocking to her, but Lisa felt relief wash over her first. Had he just dropped the subject? No questions asked, let it slide? Maybe he really wasn't that bad. Her surprise was evident on her face, but moreso interest. She wasn't going to ask. No, that would only drag the matter out and the last thing she needed to think about was that day.

"...Thank you," Her voice was quiet, passive. "I don't know. Plenty of things; the weather? How's work? Actually, I'm pretty sure I don't want to know considering what your work is."

[tntandgasoline]

He didn't need to ask about it - not now, at least. Let her take the idea of him being a decent human being with her, spread that to a couple choice people - it all worked out.

"Work, unfortunately, is slow," he said, ignoring the last comment in favor for a more... interesting topic. Something level. "Most of it is just, uh, wordsmithing, really." He turned to face her, leaning against the back of the couch. "And what about your work, Lisa? A hotel, right?"

[nobaybreezes.livejournal.com]

"What do you mean by wordsmithing?" Lisa inquired, not waiting for an answer before she went on to give one of her own. "Yeah, I'm the manager of the Lux Atlantic." A recent promotion, really, but one that she'd easily transitioned into. "It's... also, slow. But, you know how the economy is." It felt so strange, to be sitting there speaking casually with the Joker.

[tntandgasoline]

"Writing editorials, notes, little things like that." Orders, like executive ones given out to his main group of Bobo's and Giggles'. Those weren't important, though. "The economy in Gotham has always been shitty - can't say I've really noticed, to be honest. At least you don't have to worry about the mob taking over your economy, right?" He chuckled. "And how is it, working in a hotel? I bet you get some, uh, real unsavory people in there." The Lux may be a nice place, but people rarely fit their surroundings.

[nobaybreezes.livejournal.com]

"There are no customers who are assholes," Lisa recited, "only customers with special needs." She didn't even sound like she meant it - she couldn't even manage that much. This virus had pushed her to the breaking point and it was a damn good thing she didn't do much work at the front desk anymore. "It can be trying, in terms of patience, but you also get the opportunity to meet a lot of people. Guests aside, there are conventions and events held in the ballrooms that need to be coordinated." He wasn't really interested - or at least, she assumed he wasn't. Hell, she wasn't sure she was really interested. It was just... what she did. So, she shut up.

[tntandgasoline]

He took a swig - not how you're supposed to drink wine, but he was never one for the norm, right? - and eyed her. "That kind of rhetoric will eat you alive, sweetheart." Mm, no, that wasn't the right petname, really. He needed something more mature than that. Doll, but that would be too close to Crane, who was too close to Jackson - hm.

"Is that what you wanted to do, Lisa? Run a big, fancy hotel?"

[nobaybreezes.livejournal.com]

A question that he had asked all too recently. And gotten the answer to. She still felt bitter about it. But, as she'd learned, there was no better way to frustrate her stalker than to make the information he thought only he was privy to into public knowledge. So, that was exactly what she did.

"No, not at all. I wanted to be - God, this sounds silly - I wanted to be a politician. You know, senate, president, the whole thing. But, after college, I wasn't at the age minimum for congressional work, and I was never interested in local government so... I took a job at the hotel in the meantime. I just... never wound up leaving." She shrugged it off. "It's fun, I like the people there, I've made some good friends."

[tntandgasoline]

"Never go into politics. It's... messy." And they lied - and he figured Lisa was too honest for that kind of thing.

He looked her over, trying to think of something to say to that, but it was just so out of his depth. He didn't have friends, or a steady 9-to-5, nor did he want to. "Mm, I'm a little - uh, out of my league, here, Lisa. Usually, I'd be more willing to intimidate you, but that's not what I'm really here for, so... I can't ask anything that won't get a rise out of you."

[nobaybreezes.livejournal.com]

His honesty stunned her. And so she just simply nodded dumbly, taking a long drink from her wine glass to mull this over. He not only had no intentions of intimidating her, but he was now walking on eggshells to make sure that he didn't? The Joker, clown prince of Gotham, was being... nice? Kind? Considerate? She cleared her throat as she set the wine glass down.

"Well. ...Thank you. I. You really aren't here to scare me, are you?" It was as if she had just accepted this fact now. "I'm a little surprised, but... I'm glad? I didn't really... think you had it in you."

[tntandgasoline]

"No, no tricks, no double-dealings, no lies. I may be a lot of things but one thing I'm not is a liar. At least, not when it comes to things like this." His past, his scars, his motives were all up in the air, but when he said he wasn't going to kill someone, he meant it. "I'm only here because Jackson was bluffing and I'm here to up the ante. All there is. I mean, if I thought it would help to hurt you, to, uh, get into your personal space and harass you, I would - but I think just being here alone will be enough to rile him up."

He grinned. "And isn't that the fun part? When they get so flustered, so confused - why was I wrong, I thought I knew them, knew myself - I know his type, I've seen him all over the place. He's nothing special and I don't think he realizes it. Too bad, too bad, but we're teaching him a lesson right now, as we speak."

[nobaybreezes.livejournal.com]

Did he want her to agree? Share his hope that Jackson could be taught a lesson? Did she want that? No, it seemed too pedantic of a goal. She just wanted things back to normal and helping Joker frustrate Jackson didn't seem to be doing that. She'd already seen Rippner acting strangely since the virus, the idea of it worsening was... off-putting. She pursed her lips.

"I don't want to teach him a lesson, I just want him to leave me alone. I don't think... provoking him will do anything to help that." Her explanation was quiet, and she punctuated it with a drink. "And, I certainly don't think any of this is fun." I'm not like you. How many times had she been saying that lately? Like a broken record. It was absurd, really. "But, I guess I have no room to complain when you're really... not hurting anyone." And, I'd rather you be here drinking wine and talking than burning down buildings or torturing people on a webcam.

[tntandgasoline]

"Ah, but here's the rub - no offense, Lisa, but I'm doing this for me, not you." He gestured to himself with his glass, resisting the urge to spill his wine everywhere. "You understand, don't you? You're stuck in the middle and I'm sorry for that, I really am," he nodded empathically, "But there's just nothing I can do about it! He irritated me, and I'm here to irritate him back."

Nobody tells the Joker he can't do something, or that something he'd do wouldn't matter. It all mattered.

"But at least you're being such a good sport about this. Playing along, letting me ask my little questions and always coming back to Jackson, did you notice that by the by? That I'm still asking about him, but you're more relaxed about it now because you know I'm only curious, I'm not really trying to get into your noggin." He laughed, "And I know if Jackie is anything like my dear doctor, he just loves getting into your space, making you have to answer the really tough questions. But no no no, I won't do that to you. Don't worry."

He could wait until a more opportune moment.

[nobaybreezes.livejournal.com]

No, she hadn't noticed. Suddenly, Lisa was aware again of how out of her league she was. In a pool of anarchists, hitmen and superheroes, she was just Lisa Reisert. Ordinary, unimpressive Lis'. All she would ever be was a pawn in this game - one to be sacrificed when the time was right. And it was that threat that really got under her skin.

"Relaxed isn't exactly a word I'd use," it was the only verbal response she could muster, really. What did one say to that? Worse, she had essentially told him that a great way to bother Jackson would be to kill her - what if that inadvertently incited it? "But, nothing I say is going to stop you or make you change your mind, so... what's the point?"

[tntandgasoline]

"Now that's no attitude a gal like you should have!" The Joker pursed his lips in dissatisfaction, shaking his head. "You've gotten under a guy like Jackson's skin and here you are, playing the damsel in distress? No no no, that won't do."

He downed his wine in a few quick gulps and slouched over to the counter, setting the glass down firmly. "You, Lisa," he said, pointing at her, "Need to stop pretending to be so weak. C'mon, level with me - what did you do to get Jackson so keen on you? It had to have been good."

[nobaybreezes.livejournal.com]

Should have seen that one coming - who didn't want that story? Maggie, Clint, and now Joker. She wondered vaguely if it would get any easier to tell. It wasn't something she was proud of, exactly, especially with the way things had gone at her father's house. A man was dead and it was her fault, and everyone kept asking about it. Really, couldn't bygones be bygones?

"...I stabbed him with," She looked thoughtful, "a pen. The heel of my shoe. I think I hit him with the fire extinguisher... a vase, my field hockey stick..." Wow. She'd never really thought to list the objects out, but now it sounded pretty ridiculous. Still, it was a little comforting to know she was able to find that many possible weapons handy. "And, I shot him. And, then my dad shot him again." He must be seven kinds of indestructible to still survive that, but then, hospital time did wonders these days. Another drink, this time more prolonged. "And, I ruined his job. I guess it was a first."