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The emergency meeting started a few moments ago and the Department protecting the villains is in complete lockdown, trying the find the perfect solution for the troubling news. The Shadow World can predict the future with alarming precision and it seems that destiny holds nothing but misfortune for The Joker and his family.“So what will happen exactly?” the head of the division requires a detailed briefing since this is a very delicate situation.The entity to his left takes a peek at the paperwork scattered all over the place and informs:“It seems that right when they think they won’t have any children, The Joker and Y/N will have a daughter. She will be killed at the age of 4 as revenge against her father and that will mean the end for her parents: Y/N leaves the Joker because she blames him for what happened and three weeks afterwards she will die in a freak accident. We still can’t tell with certainty if Y/N drives the car over the edge of the cliff on purpose or if it is due to a technical malfunction of the vehicle. But when The Joker finds out she’s gone too, his troubled mind can’t take it anymore: he turns the gun on himself and ends a life that has no meaning without his child and girlfriend.”The Shadows look at each other until their boss speaks again:“That’s a terrible fate! He’s one of the best villains we ever had and we have to avert crisis at any cost. ”“What should we do, sir?” someone asks.The leader thinks of a few possibilities while the others are waiting for a decision in perfect silence; they kind of have an idea where this is going.“We’ll send one of our own to be born as human,” the Shadow in charge concludes after careful consideration. “Any volunteers?”“I’ll go!” the youngest entity immediately offers: merely 100 years old, still in training.“I don’t know about that,” the boss debates. “We need someone with experience that’s not going to fail the mission. You are aware that if you are born as human, you won’t remember who you really are and that makes it harder. Something will have to trigger your awakening in time before disaster strikes.”“I won’t fail, please let me go,” the young Shadow begs because that would score huge points on his training sheet. “I will wake up in time, I swear! I did very good so far in all my assignments,” he points out and that is correct: the entity has a promising future as Guardian of Villains.“Hmmm…” another one deliberates. “He has been doing an excellent job so far,” the young entity’s skills are acknowledged. “What do you think Your Darkness? Can we send him?”The leader analyzes the proposal with the utmost attentiveness and finally utters:“He may go.”*************NewbornYour son wasn’t planned, that’s for sure. Out of nowhere you just got pregnant, a small miracle nevertheless: due to some serious health complications you had when you were younger, you were told it will be very hard to have a baby, almost impossible. And yet, there you are, holding Kase for the first time; the doctor just cleaned him and wrapped him up in a blanket, handing over the precious treasure to an emotional mother.“Hi honey,” you kiss his forehead and the striking blue eyes slowly blink, tired already.“I’ve been delivering babies for a long time,” the doctor moves around the room at the private clinic J rented especially for the birth of his child, “but I’ve never seen such a shade of blue before. His eyes are remarkable!”When Dark Shadows are born as humans, they have a distinctive physical trait: the one born as your son happens to have amazing eyes.The Joker is hovering over you, curiously checking Kase.“Are you sure he’s alright? He didn’t cry at all,” the new father inquires, not knowing what to do with himself yet.That’s because Dark Shadows don’t cry; it’s something that needs to be learned also.“He’s perfectly fine Mister Joker,” the physician reassures. “The preliminary examination showed nothing abnormal. We can run more tests later on if you wish.”“Could you? We want to make sure he’s ok,” you add and caress your son’s face, those hypnotizing eyes staring into your soul. “Do you want to hold him?” you extend your arms and J nods a no. “It’s fine, he won’t break,” you slide up the pillows and hand the baby over to a confused parent.The Joker’s body stiffens; it sure seems he’s holding a grenade about to explode. Son and father examine one another for a few seconds before the newborn closes his eyes, peacefully falling asleep.“Should I feed him?” you wonder, adjusting the straps of your nightgown. You’re so exhausted but you want to make sure the little one is taken care of.“Yes, you can. Once he wakes up you can start breastfeeding,” the doctor advises before stacking a bunch of diapers in the top drawers of the cabinet.***************1 month oldYou opted to stay at the beach house rather than the penthouse simply because you don’t want to be trapped inside a building all day long. Having the ocean close and being outdoors anytime you step out on the porch is the best thing for a couple with a new baby. That includes The King of Gotham and his girlfriend.“I like what you did with your mom,” The Joker whispers to his son. ”Things are a bit plumper and daddy loves it,” he glares at your fuller curves showing from under the bathing suit. “Good job!”Kase wiggles on his father’s chest, stretching his tiny arms and legs.“Is he hungry?” you approach the inflatable mattress under the canopy where the two men in your life took refuge from the sun.“I’m not sure,” J replies, actually wondering the same thing.Kase doesn’t cry at all and it’s hard to tell if he’s hungry or if he needs to be changed. You simply follow a set schedule and have weekly doctor visits to make sure he’s not sick; your son wouldn’t alert you if something was wrong like any other baby would.“Com’ere love bug,” you take him from his dad and try to breastfeed. “Awww, he doesn’t want his milk,” you kiss the tiny nose and cover yourself up again. “I guess he’s not hungry yet.”“Why isn’t he crying?” The Joker scrunches up his face, gently pinching his son’s soft skin.“Hey, don’t do that!” you slap his fingers away. “Stop trying to make him cry, that’s uncalled for!” the annoyance in your voice makes The Clown Prince of Crime roll his eyes.“Calm down, Y/N. It doesn’t even hurt, otherwise he would cry.”“Don’t do this to my toothless angel,” you squeeze Kase in your arms, feeling extra protective.“You pay too much attention to him. We have people that can help with this stuff, you don’t have to overwork yourself,” J finds a stupid reason to justify his jealousy and you are completely done with his insinuations.“This stuff is our son and I like taking care of him! I know you think I’m not paying enough attention to you and that’s totally unfair. Am I not supposed to take care of our baby??!!” you raise your voice and stomp out of the canopy, taking the infant inside the house with you.J growls, irritated with your speech: he can’t stand it when you put him on the spot.*************Four months oldKase is napping in your arms, holding The Joker’s index finger. As soon as his father takes his finger away, the baby opens his eyes.“Go to sleep,” the finger is offered again and your son’s eyes gradually close again. “Why is he doing this?” J frowns and you explain the obvious:“He wants his daddy,” you yawn and reposition your body in bed, getting ready to doze off.The Joker bends over to kiss your tummy, purring in the process.“Princess, I’m horny as hell. I wanna have some fun, yes?” he rests his chin on your thigh, pouting.“5 minutes,” you negotiate, worn out from motherhood. J is not doing any better, but apparently he wants you so he’s going to find the extra energy for his plan.Suddenly, some strenuous sounds come from the diaper and you burst out laughing.“What is that?” The Joker puckers his lips even if he already has an answer.“Gas,” you keep on giggling and more sounds emerge.“Ugghhhh,” the displeased father protests, yet he still won’t remove his finger because he doesn’t want Kase to wake up. “Keep your gassy baby away from me,” J hides his head under the pillows and you cuddle to him, amused. “I still want to have sex though,” the muffled voice announces.“10 minutes,” you kiss his shoulder and J glides back to your tummy, calculating.“Didn’t you say 5 earlier?”You don’t reply, already half gone. Your boyfriend is determined to stay awake but he passes out shortly after, way too comfortable.Who knew that being a father can drain you so much?**************Six months oldThe waves crush on the sand, splashing water close to the towel where J is relaxing with his eyes closed, listening to the seagulls cawing in the distance.“Da-ddyyyyy,” you sing the word and crawl under the umbrella, having a surprise for him. “Da-ddyyyy, look how cute I am,” you speak for Kase and J gasps when you place the baby on his abs.“Oh my God!” he opens one eye, then the other, his son’s mesmerizing gaze making the whole ensemble stand out even more: the baby is wearing a toxic green onesie matching his father’s hair with the embroidery “Mini—Joker” and a mini purple coat that you custom order last week.The perfect replica of The Joker’s famous purple coat. “Daddy approves,” J squeezes the chubby cheeks together and smirks at the resemblance.The King of Gotham liked your outfit idea so much he took Kase to the one of the clubs for a while even if he basically had nothing going on business wise. The girls working there went crazy! How could they not?!The Joker was sitting in the VIP room on his gold armchair, wearing the purple coat while holding the baby in his lap, pretty much dressed the same.“Mister J, can I please hold him?” the ladies insist since he won’t budge.“No, make your own! Go back to work!” he snarls at the employees; they all forgot they’re afraid of him because the six month old is just too precious for words. But suddenly J smells something in the air and it’s not exciting: Kase needs his diaper changed.Might as well use the groupies to his advantage.“My son needs to be changed though; I guess you guys can do that,” he nonchalantly mentions, almost as he will be deprived of the awesome privilege and he’s doing them a favor.“Oh, I can do that!” a girl immediately snatches Kase and another one jumps up and down:“I’ll help!””Me too!!!” they all giggle and take the baby to the next room, melting when your son baby talks and smiles. The laughter and numerous “awwww” coming from the area are a clear sign that Kase has a lot of new fans.Suckers, The Joker snickers, happy he skipped diaper duty again.Such a nice bonus!*************2 years oldYou keep on stashing things in the trunk while Kase clings to you, scared.“What are you doing?” J gets out of his car, approaching your SUV; he just returned from New York and knew something was wrong the moment he drove up the alley leading to the beach house. His son would usually run towards the gates as soon as he would hear them open.Not today.“What is this?” The Joker points towards the boxes stashed in the trunk.“Are you having an affair?” you sniffle and he can tell you had a sleepless night.“A what?” J pretends to be deaf, the crabby attitude not helping with the present situation.“Do you have somebody else?” you get more and more upset, trying to pile up boxes in the back of the car. They don’t fit anymore and it makes you so frustrated you just slam them on the pavement.“Mommy…” Kase whimpers, not understanding why you are mad.“It’s OK, honey,” you attempt to calm him down. The little boy is frightened and none of the adults notice how badly, too caught up in their feud.“Are you accusing me of something?” J raises his voice and intensifies the conflict the second after: “I had no idea I’m having an affair!!! Who’s the lucky girl, hm?”You can’t hold in the frustration and scream:“DON’T MOCK ME!!! I’m not stupid, I know you’re cheating!”The Joker has a venomous remark prepared for his reply but he doesn’t have a chance to get it out because out of the blue Kase starts bawling his eyes out for the first time in his life, terrified his parents are fighting and yelling at each other like that.For a few moments, you and J watched him shocked: your son never cried before. J is the first one to snap out of it and lifts him in his arms, wiping the tears that won’t stop rolling down the cheeks.“It’s OK pest, don’t cry.”“My little man, “ you kiss his hands, alarmed by his behavior. “I’m not upset, OK? I’m not; daddy’s not either. Please don’t cry,” you soothe the child, heartbroken when he won’t quit sobbing.“Hey,” J hugs his son tighter, furrowing his nonexistent eye brows. “It’s all good, alright? You and mom are not going anywhere.”Takes 15 more minutes before you manage to make him stop crying and now he’s sulking, nuzzling to his father’s neck.“Now that the show is over, I would like to go inside and rest since I’ve been driving for hours,” J hisses at his Y/N, fed up with the circus.“Not yet,” you take a deep breath and sprint towards the house, explaining as you go: “I have to disarm the bomb first.”“You rigged the house?!” you hear his exasperated voice as you step in.“Yes,” the answer makes J cringe.“Can you believe this?! Your mother was trying to blow me up to pieces!” he complains to his son. “And for what?! I’m not even having an affair! She has some insane concepts inside that head, I’m telling you! Do I have the energy to put up with another woman? Nope! I have two pains in my butt, I don’t need a third!” the tirade continues.Kase lifts his head from J’s shoulder, rubbing his eyes:“Butt da’yy?”The Joker snorts, amused by his son’s innocence:“A-ha,” he sprints towards the door since you are signaling it’s safe to go inside.************7 years oldYou and The Joker come out of the elevator quite in need for some fresh air since things got steamy on the way up to the terrace of your favorite restaurant. The place is rented for the night because The King and Queen want some time for themselves. Odd enough, the elevator had a sudden malfunction between the 5th and 6th floor; had nothing to do with you pressing the emergency button.You fix your dress and J runs his fingers through his hair, adjusting a few rebel, green strands.“My hair is a mess, Pumpkin,” he brings it to your attention.“It’s your fault for being handsome,” you grab his arm and walk in the same rhythm with his fast pacing.“I suppose that’s a valid reason,” The Joker admits and intertwines his fingers with yours.Once the appetizers are brought over, you start eating.Sort of…You keep on playing with your food and he taps his fork on the table, bored.Something is missing.“You know what?” J takes the cell out of his jacket, “I’m gonna ask Frost to bring Kase over.”The huge smile on your face hints towards the fact that you were contemplating the same idea.Your son gets there after half an hour and he gets to sit in between his parents, enjoying some delicious food because you ordered his favorites.“And the train went like this and I thought it’s broken,” the boy goes on and on about the new toy he’s infatuated with: a train set built around his room, a surprise for his birthday last week.You and J don’t interrupt the enthusiastic child, completely immersed in his happiness.“Eat honey,” you encourage him since he won’t stop talking.Kase takes a bite and bounces his legs, impatient to get home and play with his toy again.“Oh, and you know what’s funny?” he crinkles his nose the same way J does. “Uncle Frost got scared when I hid in the closet; he couldn’t find me,” the little boy laughs and his father keeps on grinning, proud of the offspring’s achievement.You reach over to wipe a few crumbs from Kase’s chin and realize the simple truth:Nothing is missing.**************10 years oldThe Joker and your son are sick, both stuck in bed with a cold. You’ve been taking care of them for the past 2 days and as usually, the oldest patient is worse than the younger one.Kase is sleeping in the master bedroom tonight, whiny and uncomfortable from the bitter medications that were given to him again.“Mooommy, I’m hot,” he wiggles under the comforter.“I’m cold,” J mumbles and pulls the thick cover over his head, shivering.“Daaaadyyy, it’s too hot,” Kase protests and cuddles by you, wincing when you cover him with your blanket.“Sssttt, go to sleep honey, you have a fever that’s why you’re hot.”A little bit of fake crying, then he finally dozes off. Who knows what he’s dreaming about because he starts kicking J minutes after.“Brat,” The Joker opens one eye, woken up by the sudden movement. “Y/N, I think I’m burning up,” he tosses and turns, begging for attention.“You want water?” you extend your arm so you can feel his forehead.“No, I want orange juice,” your boyfriend demands and you lie without any problem:“We’re out of orange juice.”J already sent you for a bunch of stuff since you came to the bedroom and you’re not in the mood to get out of bed again. The bottle of water is on the night stand and it’s a better, easier option.“Don’t think I don’t know you’re bullshitting,” he growls. “I’m The King of Gotham and if I want orange juice, I’m gonna get it!”You don’t show any signs of compliance.“Give me that water!” he barks and when he’s about to drink, Kase starts kicking him again. “Brat!!” The Joker almost chokes and places the lid back on the bottle, handing it back to you. “I think I’m dying,” he announces before disappearing under the comforter again.He’s about to fall asleep when you sneak out of the bed and go on his side, snuggling with the other fussy child you have for the moment.“My poor baby,” you peck his face, whispering so you won’t wake your son. The Joker purrs, pleased he’s finally pampered. “I want orange juice,” he puckers his lips and you kiss him, turning off the lamp and shamelessly lie again:“We don’t have any.”“Bullshit!” J mumbles and makes himself cozy in your arms. Kase kicks him once more. “Brat!!!” he kicks back this time and you slap his hand.“Cut it out!”*************14 years oldYou were stunned when you found out you were pregnant! I mean, you have a teenager son already and it’s crazy that you’ll have another baby since you’re not that young anymore. It was a miracle you had Kase so having a second addition to the family seems more than surreal.When you told your son, he was silent for a while, then he just pressed his ear against your tummy and carefully listened.Who knows if The Dark Shadow dormant inside of him had something to do with what he said, but Kase closed his eyes and promised:“Don’t worry, I won’t let anything happen to you.”To be continued