The Killing Joke

Part One: Old Enemy Chapter One

Rain drops hit the pavement causing a large puddle to form. Each drop causing splashes and ripples in the puddle. Two lights reflect in the water as a leaf slowly falls from an old oak tree. The leaf lands in the puddle beside a a brick post. The lines of light grow larger and brighter as a dark peculiar vehicle drives slowly beside an iron rod fence which connected to the brick post. As the black car that looked like a crazy race car from a movie drives through the puddle splashing it everywhere. There was a sign on the post. A silver engraving that said "Arkham Asylum," and in smaller writing bellow it, it read, "for the criminally insane."

The vehicle parks and a shadowy figure emerges from it. A caped man in a black costume with spikes on his forearm. The gates of the institution open as the caped man known as Batman and unknown as Bruce Wayne approaches them. The rain still pouring as his cape flows in the wind and his narrow-shouldered shadow grew larger and larger. The gate closed behind him and he walked at a faster pace toward an old grey building that Batman has visited many times before. Light shining through the barred windows.

There are two individuals standing by the front door and had been expecting Batman's arrival. The two men were standing in front of a police car. One was a police officer in a blue uniform with his hat on and everything. He had a short regular black moustache and a small dimple in his chin. The officers hand were behind his back and he was slightly leaning on his car.

The other man was wearing a beige trench coat that was very worn out and had turned almost yellow. He was also wearing a fedora that was almost the same colour as the coat. Underneath the coat was a grey suit and pink tie with black diagonal lines, he was also wearing horn rim glasses. The man was using one hand to drink his coffee and the other was behind his back.

As Batman got closer, the second man handed the police officer his coffee revealing the rest of this mans face, he had a slightly larger white moustache with tiny grey hairs. The man wasn't old but he was older, maybe in his early fifties. Batman walked past the two men hardly acknowledging that they were present. Rain water was dripping from Batman's narrow and bold chin. The second man was Commissioner Gordon and he followed behind Batman as he entered the Asylum.

When Gordon had entered the asylum Batman had already asked the woman at the front desk who had short blond hair and librarian glasses. She was sorting through old files and typing something on the computer before Batman interrupted her work. She pointed down the hall and Batman walked to where she was pointing and Jim Gordon followed closely behind him.

They walked down the hall and Gordon was having trouble keeping up with him, he had to hold his hat when he started walking faster to catch up. Inside on of the cells an inmate saw the shadow of Batman on his wall. He got up and went to peek out his barred window into the hall. He grabbed the bars and light revealed his face. The right side of his face was normal and he had brown hair that was combed back and brown eyes. The left side was not so much normal. It was chemically burned very badly, his skin was a sickly green, his face looked as if it were rotting. His left eye bloodshot red and hair burned black. The I.D. Tag on his door said "Dent, H." and underneath it was his cell number "0751".

Batman and Gordon passed by his cell, Gordon looked back and saw the face of the infamous criminal, Two-Face. The two of them walked further and further down the hall until they came to a corner. They turned around the corner and saw a security guard standing by the second cell on the left side of the hallway. The guard had his arms crossed and seemed as if he was also expecting the arrival of Batman. The dark shadow of Batman moved slowly in front of the large, muscular, caped man. They finally arrived at where they wanted to go. The guard opened the cell and saluted both The Dark Knight himself and Commissioner Gordon.

The door creaked open and Batman stepped into the large and almost pitch black cell. The door closed behind him and he walked toward a table with a hanging dim light hovering over top of it. There were playing cards laid out on the table. A skinny and narrow man was playing solitaire by himself. He flipped a 2 of clubs on a pile of cards and next to it were 4 more piles. Closer to him was the rest of the deck of cards and he had the jokers set aside from the rest of the cards. Batman pulled a chair up to the table and sat down beside the skinny man.

The skinny man had very pale skin and moss green hair. That's all that could be seen of him other then the silhouette of the man. He snapped down another card as Batman sat down in front of him.
"Hello." Batman greeted him breaking the silence, "I came to talk."
The Joker stayed silent and snapped another card down. Batman put both of his fists up on the table and took a deep breath before he continued to speak. "I've been thinking lately. About you and me," he paused and stared at what he could see of his old foe, "About what's going to happen to us, in the end."

Still only silence from The Joker, so Batman continued, "We're going to kill each other, aren't we?"
He asked a question but got no response. The Joker was being strangely quiet, only making the sound of cards flipping. He snapped another card.
"Perhaps you'll kill me. Perhaps I'll kill you. Perhaps sooner. Perhaps later," still only got silence, he was unsure if The Joker was listening or ignoring him, "Look, I just wanted to know that I made a genuine attempt to talk things over and avert that outcome.... Just once."

Again no words from The Joker, just snapped a card down and then this started to irritate Batman. "Are you listening to me? It's life and death that I'm trying to discuss here... Maybe my death... Maybe yours."
The Joker snapped down another card and Batman stopped him by touching his hand. The Joker pulled away and started rubbing the back of his hand.
"I don't fully understand why ours should be such a fatal relationship, but I don't want your murder on my hands."

No response at all from The Joker and this struck anger into Batman. Batman got up from his chair, knocking it backwards and reached over the table and grabbed him by the collar. The Joker finally spoke, "H-hey..."
He pulled The Jokers face into the light, "Hey! Wait a minute! Don't you touch me! I got rights! You're not allowed to..."
The light revealed that the man was not The Joker, he was just a man in make up and costume.
Batman cut the blubbering wimp off and screamed viciously at him, "WHERE IS HE!?!?"

The man screeched, "AAAAAAH! Oh god, no..."
Batman pulled back his fist and punched the man really hard but didn't break his nose or knock him out, just punched him hard enough to scare him. "Do you realize? Do you realize what kind of monster you have set free? Where Is He!?!?!"
The man screamed for dear life, "EEEEEEEGH! Get him of of me!"

Outside the cell Commissioner Gordon tapped the security guard on the should and told him, "Dead God, he's gone berserk. Open the door!"
The security guard quickly opened the cell door and Jim Gordon emerged into the cell and saw Batman holding the man dressed as The Joker by his dyed green hair.
Gordon screams to Batman, "Okay, that's enough! You know the laws regarding mistreatment of inmates as well as I do! If you harm one hair on his head..."
Batman cut off the Commissioner to reveal that this wasn't a The Joker, "Commissioner, if you're concerned about it, it's yours. Take care of it."

Batman threw the man to his knees and squatted down in front of him, "Now, you whimpering little smear of slime, I'm going to ask you politely just one more time... Where Is That Son of A Bitch!?!? Where Is THE JOKER!?!?!?!"