Princess' Riches {ON HOLD}

Chapter Eighteen: You Haven't Lost Your Touch

A few months ago...

In the heat of confrontation, Bruce stared down his opponent who steadily held a gun in his hand, pointed at the Dark Knight. 

"... think this is about - that you let me die? - I don't know what clouds your judgement worse: your guilt or your antiquated sense of morality?" The gunman scowled. 

Bruce hardened his expression even though his cowl concealed almost his entire face but his face below his nose. After believing his own pupil, his own son, dead for many, many years, it pained Bruce to have a stand-off with his own Jason Todd who kicked open a closet door. 

"Bruce, I forgive you for not saving me. But why... why on God's Earth, is he still alive?!" 

In the closet sat the Joker bound to a chair with rope. His appearance was untidy and his top two buttons were undone, his tie loosened and his bottom lip cut where dry blood had seeped from the wound. The Clown Prince of Crime broke into a mad cackle when he began to hop out of the closet as he addressed his company. 

"Gotta give the boy points! He came all the way back from teh dead to make this shindig happen. So, who's got a camera? Ooh, ooh! Get one of me and the kid first. Then you and me, then the three of us. And then one with the crowbar... then--Aagh!" 

Jason spun around, his leg kicked the villain in the back of the head which knocked him onto the ground on his side. The hammer of Jason's gun clicked as the barrel rested on Joker's temple. 

"You be as quiet as possible. Or I'll put one in your lap first." 

"Party pooper. No cake for you." 

"Ignoring what he's done in the past - blindly, stupidly disregarding the entire graveyards he's filled: the thousands who have suffered, the friends he's crippled!" Jason barked at his former mentor until his emotion ran deeply with pain. "You know, I thought... I thought I would be the past person you'd ever let him hurt. If it had been you that he'd beat to a bloody pulp, if he had taken you from this world, I would have done nothing but search the planet for this pathetic pile of evil, death-worshipping garbage! AND SEND HIM OFF TO HELL!" 

Bruce stood in silence as Jason changed his aim onto the Caped Crusader who still had to explain exactly why he would never, ever dare cross that line. A few too many times Bruce had been tempted to give in but he always knew better even if killing would be better for the world without one less scum in it. Wrong. 

The rogue Robin reached his hand behind his back and tossed something at Bruce's chest. The object bounced off his symbol and fell into the palms of his hands where he was able to examine what Jason wanted from him. Bruce looked up at Jason with a shocked expression on his face where he was called out to finish Jason off or he would kill the Joker once and for all. 

"I'M GONNA BLOW HIS DERANGED BRAINS OUT! AND IF YOU WANT TO STOP IT, YOU ARE GOING TO HAVE TO SHOOT ME! RIGHT IN MY FACE!!" Jason screamed in anger mixed with angst. 

Joker chuckled. "This is turning out better than I'd hoped!" 

"IT'S HIM OR ME! YOU HAVE TO DECIDE! DECIDE NOW! DO IT! HIM, OR ME! DECIDE!!" 

It was at this point where Bruce had dropped Jason's gun and turned his back on him to walk out of the room. But Bruce dawdled as he walked away, his ears honed on Jason's gun in anticipation of hearing the mechanism of the gun trigger click. With such quick reflexes, Bruce spun around and hurled a miniature Batarang at Jason's gun. 

The second Jason's gun had emptied a cartridge out of the barrel, the gun exploded in Jason's hand. Agonising pain pricked Jason's hand which had become bloodied from the gun exploding as he was forced to let go of the Joker whom he held hostage and clutched the wrist of his wounded hand. 

"I can't believe you got him! You expert rootin'-tootin', eagle-eyed, goth-loving marksman! I LOVE IT! You managed to find a way to win, and everybody still loses!" Joker exclaimed in sadistic joy. 

With his good hand, Jason produced a detonator and triggered explosives stuffed in the chimney of the apartment they were in to count down. In an attempt to disarm the bombs, the Joker pounced onto the Batman, pinning him to the ground by clutching his hands over the Dark Knight's throat. 

"No! Don't spoil it, this is better! I'm the only one who's gonna get what he wants tonight! Yes! Bing, bang, boom! We all go out together! DONT YOU JUST LOVE A HAPPY ENDING?!" 

With only a few seconds remaining, Bruce punched the Joker off of him and tackled Jason when the bomb went off. The explosion was massive that alarms half a mile away wailed. Minutes after the explosion, Bruce pulled himself out of the rubble where he found only himself and the Joker still at the scene of the crime with only himself conscious. 

Raising his left arm up, Bruce activated the device on his gauntlet to contact Alfred. "I found Jason." 

"Excuse me, sir. I must have misheard you. For a moment I thought that you said you... found Master Todd?" 

"You heard right." 

"My God! Is he alright?" 

"No. No he's not... I'm taking the Joker back to the GCPD for transfer to Arkham Asylum. If I put up a fight, maybe he won't get thrown into Arkham City." 

"Very good, sir." 

Bruce managed to pull himself up to his feet before making his way over to the Joker's body and lifted him up to take him away to be locked up for the umpteenth time.