"Wait. We really just climb the fence and walk in?" you asked, completely and utterly bewildered.

   It was the next day, and you, Joker, and the rest of the team were standing outside Ace Chemicals, prepared to collect your poison. The day prior had been uneventful following your training session, so you spent it thinking about your first outing with your new team. You would finally be a part of something, finally united with a group of people under a common goal. You felt like a real criminal.

   You had been a little worried about looking out of place next to everyone. However, you looked amazing; clad in a golden dress and matching heels, you really fit in well. You had that intimidating, yet elegant vibe that everyone else on the team had. You belonged here, and you started to realize that.

   And now, as you were standing outside, you couldn't believe that entering the chemical plant would be so easy. All that was standing in your way was a chain-link fence. Sure, it was locked with a big, cartoony combination lock, but the fence was so low that it would take no time at all for you to climb it. This was such an official-looking building; abandoned or not, wouldn't the city work harder to secure it?

   "Yeah. I've done it loads of times," giggled William.

   "And there's really no security?" you verified, still unbelieving.

   "Nope."

   "Wow. No wonder this city has so much crime. Everyone's so fucking lazy."

   "Works out for us, though," Shaun chimed in.

   Everyone had their own respective water guns in hand, and everyone chucked them over the fence so they could use two hands when climbing. As you climbed, you felt the cold air hit your face and sighed dreamily. This experience had barely begun, and it was already exhilarating.

   Once everyone landed safely on the other side of the fence, everyone picked up their guns and looked to Joker to lead them inside.

   With a motion to follow him, he did. And, just as everyone had said, the doors to Ace Chemicals were unlocked and accessible to anyone. Joker pushed it open, holding the door for you to enter before him.

   With a thankful nod, you stepped in, and he stepped in after you. This made the door close on Frost, who had been behind you. You couldn't help but chuckle. Joker had killed countless people, yet he was still chivalrous.

   As everyone started to file in, you began to observe the place. There wasn't much in this room, but to your right, there seemed to be an old receptionist's desk with a filing cabinet behind it. You could not even begin to imagine what Ace Chemicals would need a receptionist for, since it was never open to the general public. No one was calling to preorder a vat of acid or to tour the place. The only thing you could think of was that maybe a receptionist would be taking job applications.

   Beyond this room, you couldn't see much, but a weird, unpleasant smell hit your nose. It was sharp, and it felt like the exact type of thing you weren't supposed to be smelling. You figured that must mean some of the chemicals were stored beyond the tacky metal doorframe of this room.

   "Should we wear a mask or something?" you asked stupidly. "Is it...like...safe to be breathing all this shit in? It already stinks in here!"

Frost pinched the bridge of his nose, and you were able to surmise that that must've been a stupid question.

"Pussy," Ronnie remarked with a snicker.

"Hey, piss off, dude. I'm new to this. I would just rather not have lung cancer or some shit. That okay with you?" you asked, your irritation audible in your tone. Ronnie was easily the most insufferable one on the team, and he was proving to be your only gripe with this whole experience.

"Doll, I've swam in some of these chemicals. You need to loosen up," Joker said with a laugh, leading everyone into the room beyond the metal doorframe.

Ashamed at your anxieties, you followed him. You really needed to get your act together and stop worrying. Joker wouldn't put you in unnecessary danger, so you needed to just relax and trust him more.

As you got to the next room, you looked around in wonder.

There were two large, circular vats of chemicals before you. You noticed that the vats themselves were made of metal, but had a thin layer of plastic wrapped around the interior of their containers. You wondered if these chemicals were what you had come for, since you had recalled Joker saying that the only material that could withstand your poison was plastic.

Next to the vat closer to the room's entrance was a black, metal staircase that led to a balcony. This balcony overlooked both vats from a higher angle. As Joker waited for everyone to enter the room, you noticed him look up to that balcony and smile in a...nostalgic way? You couldn't tell, but you knew that something must have happened up there before.

The liquid inside each vat seemed to be identical. It was thick and white, and it seemed to almost be a life form of its own; it would roil and bubble gently, almost resembling something that was breathing.

You were intrigued. What good could this possibly be used for? What could the city possibly do with poison like this?

Maybe nothing. Maybe the real villains were Gotham's leaders themselves.

Joker stood in front of both vats, an elated grin on his face. He looked so excited to be trying something new, and his manic excitement was starting to rub off on you as you started to beam as well.

"Now," he began, his voice strong and echoing. "I haven't been to this room in a very long time. The last time I set foot in this room was with Harley."

The fact that he had even mentioned Harley's name in front of you threw you for a loop. Ever since you had gotten there, he had pretended she hadn't existed. She never once came up in any conversation with you, and any trace of her presence in the mansion seemed to have been scrubbed clean. You realized she must have been the cause for his nostalgic stare at the balcony, and, in spite of yourself, you felt a ping of jealousy.

"I do not remember much of that day, unfortunately. However, I do remember this: one of these vats contains the poison we want. One of these contains one we don't. The one we do not want is a relatively harmless chemical. Harley and I went for a swim in this one. Its toxins may alter your brain chemistry a bit—maybe make you more impulsive and less empathetic—but it is not deadly in any sense of the word."

His maniacal grin grew wider. "And, oh, silly me. I can't remember which is which. We will need someone to find out."

Abruptly, Joker grabbed your hand and pulled you to him, causing you to drop your water gun. "And, given the cowardice that (Y/N) has just shown, I think that she would make the perfect volunteer. What do ya think, princess?"

You didn't have a good feeling about this at all. But, still, you had to comply. "Okay. How will I find out?"

"You're gonna stick your hand in one of the two vats. If it's burned off, we'll know. If it remains intact, we'll know."

Your heart dropped. "But—"

"If ya wanna complain, we can just toss your whole body in and let you find out that way."

You swallowed thickly. Joker had been so kind yesterday; he had given you advice and even helped you train. What was happening? Was one comment really worth this crazy mood swing?

You realized then that you had gotten too comfortable. The Joker was still the Joker. He was still unpredictable. Just because he was nice one day didn't mean he was going to be nice the next. Your guard needed to come up again. You needed to sit down, not ask questions, and do what he said.

"Come on, boss, we could literally throw anything else in there!" Frost protested, face full of fear on your behalf. "Does it really have to be (Y/N)'s hand?"

"I'm teaching a lesson, Frosty," Joker said lowly.

"J," mumbled Lennon weakly. "Can't you just—"

"Enough!" Joker slid his hand up your arm, grabbing it tightly as he turned the both of you around.

You were now facing the vat on the right side of the room. You stared down into the white liquid, your heartbeat echoing in your ears. This could literally be your last moment with a functioning hand. You felt tears well up in your eyes as the chemical bubbled, each churn of the poison making your stomach churn in reply. You felt like you were about to hurl, and you clapped your free hand to your mouth in order to prevent doing so.

Before you had a chance to beg Joker for mercy, he plunged your hand into the liquid, earning a preemptive scream from you. It was shrill and fearful, and you couldn't help but start sobbing as you braced for the worst pain of your life. In the fraction of a second you waited, you envisioned every possible scenario of what your hand burning off would feel like. Would it be a white-hot pain? Would it be aching? Would it be quick? Would it last forever?

But, you realized that you were okay once a second or two went by. All you felt was warmth as your hand was engulfed by the chemical. You were okay!

There was an audible exhale from the rest of your team, even Ronnie. They were clearly not prepared for the gruesome sight they could've seen if Joker had picked wrong.

As the relief flowed through you, you couldn't help but laugh. And once you started, you couldn't stop. Escaping bodily harm so narrowly was such a thrilling experience, and you had this strange urge to plunge your arm further into the chemical. You wanted more of this warmth, all over your body. You couldn't explain why, but something in this mysterious, churning liquid was calling your name, and you wanted to just dive down in it and relish in your health and survival. Being faced with the possibility of indescribable pain really makes a person appreciate every other sensation.

And, you doubted that the chemical's brain-altering properties were quelling your strange fascination, either. Even in the moment, you were certain that those properties were partly why you were so tempted to jump in. You were getting some kind of high from the substance, and not an adrenaline high.

You had subconsciously begun submerging more of your arm into the chemical, and that's when Joker pulled you away from the vat. Your laughter stopped shortly after, since you saw everyone looking at you with wide eyes and unsettled expressions. You were so socially self-conscious that even a high as intense as this one could end on the spot, all because of a few stares. You still felt this peculiar fuzzy sensation in your head, and extremely elated at being alive, but you felt as if you could control yourself again.

Still, even in the face of this obvious lucidity, the stares didn't stop. Everyone was looking at you as if you were crazy.

Everyone, that is, except Joker. He was looking at you with...pride? He was exceptionally difficult to read, but he was noticeably feeling more positive than his comrades.

You blushed and awkwardly held out your hand, which was completely glazed over with the white chemical. Because of its thickness, you couldn't just fling it off like water. "Anybody got a napkin?" you asked dumbly.

Shaun began to chuckle at the question. It was so casual, given the weird experience everyone just went through.

Nobody answered you, though, so you just kneeled down on the ground and wiped your hand with an old tarp on the floor. You could still smell the scent of the substance on you, but it was better than looking like you had plunged your hand into a giant tub of Elmer's glue.

   "Well, that was fun!" Joker exclaimed with a cackle, breaking the awkward silence. "Ya should've heard your scream, doll. Priceless!"

   Your cheeks burned as you picked up your gun. "Yeah, yeah. So fun. So, are we gonna fill up our guns or what?" You were eager to have the spotlight be taken off you, especially after such a weird display of laughter.

   "Of course. Come on, guys. Fill 'em up!"

   And with that, everyone ventured over to the other vat. Because they all knew for sure that this was, in fact, the poison they needed, they were all very careful in scooping it into the water guns. You held the handle of the gun with your thumb and forefinger as you gingerly dunked it, not trying to actually lose a hand this time.

   Once all of your guns were filled, you sighed with relief. This day had proven to be scarier than you had thought, and all you wanted was to get away from Joker and go up to your room. This did not feel like a team you wanted to be on anymore, and it took you everything you had not to run out screaming. You needed Joker, and you needed this team. So, you had to suck it up, even though you were still shaking from fear.

   Joker told everyone that it was time to head back, and head back they did. You stayed to the back of the pack, not really feeling like socializing after the whole ordeal you just went through. Joker noticed, and he fell back with you. You avoided eye contact, very bitter toward him.

   "You're lucky I have an excellent memory after all," he whispered to you.

   This made you look at him, confused. "What do you mean?" You didn't know why he was whispering, but you kept your voice low, too.

   He didn't have eyebrows, yet he still found a way to raise them somehow. "I think ya know what I mean."

   Then, it hit you.

   He knew which vat contained the poison this entire time.

   "You knew the whole time?" you whispered harshly. You were both relieved and pissed off. On one hand, it meant that he wasn't really as heartless as he had come off. But, on the other, he had caused you so much unnecessary stress and anxiety. All to...what? Prove a point? Make himself laugh? Nothing could justify that!

   He nodded, snickering at your expression. "I have my reasons, doll. Don't you worry."

   "What reasons could possibly justify making me go through that?!"

   "Shh, keep your voice down."

   "I'm sorry, I'm just really annoyed."

   "I know. But, this taught you a good lesson, didn't it?"

   "And what lesson is that?"

   "Trust me. Stop questioning everything. Stop looking so scared. Trust. Me. I always know what I'm doing, and I'm never gonna put you in unnecessary danger."

   He grinned, tucking your hair behind your ear. "Even when I seem to be at my cruelest, I'm never gonna harm you like that. We cannot have a working relationship if you can't trust me. Now, normally, I'd just kick a person so scared to the curb. But, I like ya, (Y/N). I know that you'll be worth a lot one day. But, in order for that to happen, I need to work the kinks out, and squash them before they become unfixable. Understand?"

   The way he was speaking... He sounded so sure of himself that you couldn't help but believe him. He wouldn't hurt you. He wouldn't. You knew then that he had everything under control, and a weight you hadn't realized you'd been carrying was lifted. You could just sit back and do your duties. You didn't have to worry about being the brains of the operation like you did today, trying to think of things that nobody else had. You didn't have to worry about being murdered in cold blood like when he had murdered one of his cooks. You didn't have to worry about anything outside of following orders.

   You could feel yourself surrender to that confident, dominant nature. He knew what to do. He was the Joker, for God's sake. He knew what to do.

   Maybe surrendering was what he wanted. Maybe he was trying to use that surrender to manipulate you into complete obedience, regardless of what was asked of you.

   But, you didn't think of it that way. Today really made you believe that he would look out for you, even if it didn't always appear that way.

   "Yes," you answered. "I'll stop doubting you."

   "Glad to hear."

   And with that, you and your team emerged from Ace Chemicals with loaded water guns and a plan to rob Gotham Bank the following morning. You were unsure as to what the exact plan was (who would get the money, and who would fend off the guards? Would you force your way into the vaults or make the tellers open them?), but you knew that you would do whatever Joker asked of you. He knew what you needed to do.

   As you were walking, you felt yourself reach for his arm. You grasped onto it tightly, now viewing him as a sort of protector.

   He smiled wickedly at the gesture, but you didn't notice.

   Maybe it was the chemical forming this attachment, or maybe his lesson was really that effective. Regardless, he knew that this attachment would be beneficial. When and how, he didn't know. But, what was meant to be a genuine lesson for your own good developed into something more, something that he could exploit in the future.

   After everyone clambered into the car, Joker started driving everyone home.

   He cackled the whole way.