You were so embarrassed by your and Joker's conversation that you had considered just skipping the meeting. Maybe hiding under your blankets all day and trying to catch up on some sleep. But, you knew he had expected to see you there, so at around 10:50, you got out of bed and went to the bathroom to assess your appearance one last time.

   Your hair was a little frizzy from laying in bed, so you gently combed through it, careful not to disturb the waves too much. Curiosity was eating at you; what would this meeting be about? Would you finally get to start committing some serious crime? Or was it just plans for drug trafficking or something that you had no interest in?

   You knew there was only one way to find out, which was getting your ass downstairs before 11:00. So, once your hair looked presentable again, you set off for the assembly room, letting your mind wander as you walked.

   Once you got there, it was around 10:55. As you walked into the room, you saw Frost and four other men seated at a singular table in the middle of the room, but no Joker yet. The vibe was dark and businesslike, and the room smelled like old paperwork. You were very thankful that Dennis' body was taken elsewhere to decompose; his decay would have definitely put a damper on the morning.

   Not knowing any of the other men, you sat down next to Frost, who mollified the awkwardness by introducing you to them. The man to Frost's left was Lennon, and the man next to him was Shaun. There was an open seat between Shaun and the next man, whose name was William. Then, next to William, there was Ronnie. Everyone seemed relatively nice, although Ronnie seemed like kind of a wise ass. Lennon was on the shyer side, and Shaun and William seemed to mirror each other in their gregarious personalities. You couldn't help but wonder which of them took part in the conversation about you last night, but it sounded like it had been Ronnie and William.

(I know these are not real people, they're just little characters I've created! Like I said, I don't know much about the DC universe lmao)

   You wondered why there was an empty chair, then realized that that chair had probably belonged to Dennis. You noticed that everyone at the table refused to look at it or acknowledge it, so, out of respect, you did the same.

   Your mind was already abuzz with the new information about who you'd be working with, and you knew that your mental load would only increase. So, you took a deep breath and steadied yourself. You were one of the Joker's goons now, and being overwhelmed was likely something that came with the territory.

Then, at exactly 11:00, Joker walked into the room, carrying a briefcase. You noticed everyone's posture straighten due to his presence, so you did the same.

"Good morning, J," Frost greeted politely, only receiving a curt nod in reply as Joker sat down next to you. You realized that you really couldn't escape that man; he always seemed to sit next to you. First at dinner, now this meeting.

It's not like you minded, but you could've done without the nervous sweat that came with this close proximity.

Everyone was quiet, waiting for Joker to begin as he placed the briefcase on top of the table. He had the whole room in the palm of his hand. Whether that be from admiration or fear, you didn't know. Regardless, he had everyone's respect. And you admired that. You hoped to have everyone's respect soon, and the best way to do that was to be good and follow the crowd, yet stand out where it counted.

"We have a mission on Saturday," Joker said.

You could barely contain the smile from breaking out across your face. Finally! You could finally prove your worth to Joker and show him your skills. And so soon, too! Today was Thursday; all you had to do was get through two more days of anticipation. You didn't know what type of mission you would be embarking on, but it didn't matter. Any opportunity to commit some crime was just as good as any other. At least, it was for now. You were still new, after all. You would take what you could get.

Joker noticed you attempting to stifle a smile. He smiled back. "Excited, princess?"

Embarrassed, you nodded. Frost couldn't help but chuckle at your expression.

"You should be. This isn't like any mission we've ever done before." Joker folded his hands, surveying his crew with a manic excitement in his eyes. "Well, it is in some ways. We will be robbing Gotham Bank, which we have done many times, and we will be armed and ready to kill. But, that's getting a little boring, right? We need to spice it up a little."

You couldn't imagine living a life where robbing Gotham Bank would be considered boring. Sure, you had robbed a couple places, but they were all convenience stores. Places with less than five hundred dollars in the cash register. Definitely nowhere as stocked as Gotham Bank, and nowhere as highly secured, either.

   You couldn't help but feel intimidated, but you were reassured some when you saw that none of your teammates looked worried. They knew what they were doing.

   "And that 'spice' lies in here." Joker gently patted the briefcase. "Something absolutely crazy is in here. Something that nobody would think to use in a robbery. And before you all make any wise cracks, let me explain."

   And with that, Joker unlatched the briefcase and opened it. And once everyone saw what was inside, they looked beyond confused.

   Ronnie opened his mouth, presumably to comment on the item's absurdity, but shut it once Joker narrowed his eyes. He was almost challenging him to make a comment, and Ronnie was most certainly not up to that challenge.

   Joker grabbed the item and held it up for everyone to see.

   It was a water gun. A standard water gun that kids would play with at the pool, being little shits and bothering all the adults within a ten foot radius of them.

   "I assume you all know what this is," Joker chuckled at everyone's stunned expressions, "but not what it will be used for. I bet you don't have the foggiest idea."

   He sharply gestured at Lennon. "Lennon. Guess what this gun will be used for."

   Clearly hating being put on the spot, Lennon turned red. "Uh, maybe a distraction?" he volunteered weakly, not confident in his own answer.

   Joker imitated the noise of an extremely loud incorrect buzzer. "Wrong!" he cackled.

   He whipped around to Shaun. "Got a guess?" he asked.

   "Damaging other people's money?" Shaun replied stupidly.

   William nudged him. "Dude, if we're gonna be close enough to someone's money to damage it, why wouldn't we just take it?"

   Clearly annoyed at Shaun's incompetence, Joker ignored his remark entirely and instead whirled on you. "And what about the newest member of the team? Any guesses?" He looked excited, probably hoping you'd get the answer wrong so he could build himself up.

   But, you were determined to be smarter than everyone else. You wanted to be valued for whatever you could, so you really thought hard about what those stupid fucking guns could be used for. You knew they had to tie into something lethal; otherwise, Joker wouldn't waste his time with them.

   How the fuck could water guns be lethal? you asked yourself, brow furrowed in confusion.

   You then thought of something. It probably wasn't the best guess, but better than the stupid ones that Lennon and Shaun made.

   "Well, maybe they could be used to shoot poison?" you said, your statement sounding more like a question. You were not sure of yourself at all, and it showed. You made a mental note to fix that.

   By the impressed expression on Joker's face, you figured that you had somehow gotten the question right. "Exactly," he said. He winked at you. "Don't be so unsure of yourself, doll. Say things with your chest, and own them. You're a smart girl, so you'll probably be right more than you'll be wrong."

   Ronnie huffed from his chair, obviously upset that he didn't get praised. You straightened a little with pride; you wanted people to be jealous of you.

   "We will be using these to shoot poison," Joker reiterated, turning the water gun in his hands. "And the reason for that is because we have all gotten too comfortable with guns and other modern weaponry. We haven't needed to master close combat; we can just pick our opponents off from a distance. With these guns, we will be forced to get close, forced to dodge, and forced to fight. These skills are necessities for a true criminal lifestyle."

   Joker's reasoning was extremely valid, yet you couldn't help but wish you had joined the team sooner. This was a hell of a first mission; being absent of real guns or any effective weaponry was not an easy task for experienced criminals, let alone yourself.

   Still, you were eager to get this experience, and show Joker what you could do.

   "Will we at least have some bulletproof vests or something?" asked William. "If we don't, we'll be at a clear disadvantage. The guards at the bank are always armed."

   "With real guns," Shaun added, as if that wasn't obvious.

   "Of course. I'm not a fool," Joker replied, seeming offended at the question. "That would just be unfair. I want to make things challenging for us, not impossible."

   Satisfied with that answer, William nodded and settled further back in his chair. He was grinning, obviously excited for this change of pace. His confidence was a little intimidating; you would have to work alongside his experience with your utter lack of experience. You hoped you could hold your own.

   "So, we will be retrieving our poison tomorrow," Joker continued. "We will be making a little field trip to Ace Chemicals. They have these big vats of thick, white poison. I couldn't even tell you what it is. But, I've seen it in action. It dissolves pretty much anything it touches, save for plastic, oddly enough. Something in its composition, I suppose. We will fill our guns with it, and that will be your only ammo for Saturday. So, use it sparingly."

"Is Ace Chemicals guarded?" asked Lennon quietly.

"No, it's been abandoned for quite some time. The city was just too stupid to properly dispose of some of the poison," Joker responded with a toothy grin.

You had only been mentally preparing for the one mission on Saturday, so hearing that the poison in Ace Chemicals was pretty much yours for the taking eased your mind some.

   "What time?" Ronnie asked.

   "Preferably early, that way we're not scrambling to get it done later. Maybe 10:00 AM?"

   Everyone nodded their assent, clearly content with that arrangement.

   "I look forward to it," you decided to add.

"Perfect," said Joker as his eyes scanned his team, lingering on you just a moment longer. He placed the water gun back in his briefcase, closing and latching it. "Well, I think that just about concludes our meeting. There's nothing on the docket for the rest of today, so feel free to do whatever it is you idiots wanna do."

Ronnie looked a little offended at the name-calling, while everyone else just chuckled. Joker rose from his seat, and everyone else did, too. You followed suit as Joker bid everyone a goodbye, walking out of the room afterward.

You could feel your excitement about Saturday switch to anxiety. This was a huge moment for you, and the consequences of fucking it up would be deadly. You couldn't even start with something easy; you had to fight trained guards with nothing but a water gun full of goop. This was a make it or break it moment for your reputation, and also your life in general.

Your worry must have seeped into your expression, for Frost's hand gently touched your shoulder. "You alright, (Y/N)?"

You looked up at him with an embarrassed smile. "Yeah."

You watched everyone else leave as you debated on whether or not to admit to your nerves. But, Frost seemed to be the one you could trust the most on this team. He was a calm, reasonable guy, with no motive to make your life harder. In fact, he was the one who had allowed this little gig to be possible for you.

So, when everyone left, you sighed and continued, "Just a little nervous is all. I'm a little less confident with close combat than with shooting."

Frost nodded sympathetically. "I understand that. Hell, I feel the same. And I've had way more practice than you."

He thought for a second, then offered with a smile, "Hey, how about we train together today? Work on our combat?"

That offer warmed your heart; it felt like something a friend would say. And you needed friends on this team. After all, you had already caused the murder of one of your teammates. So, you weren't exactly in great shape in that regard.

"Yeah, sure!" you agreed enthusiastically. You hoped you didn't sound too excited; you didn't want to scare off the one friend you had made.

But, by the way he smiled at you, you hadn't scared him at all. "Cool. How about we meet up after lunch?"

"Sounds good."

And with that, you and Frost exited the assembly room. You were still nervous for Saturday, but with Frost in your corner, urging you to get better, you felt a little better about the situation.

As you walked, you envisioned yourself absolutely destroying the guards at Gotham Bank with whatever poison Ace Chemicals had to offer, dodging all their blows and deflecting all their gunfire.

You envisioned Joker looking on with pride.

You were gonna be a rockstar, and you were gonna prove that during your training with Frost.