Bruce's P.O.V.
I had intercepted a call about a local judge being in danger, so I headed over to investigate and got there at the same time the police did. I waited for a moment outside as the detectives went in, not having to wait long before the Joker came speeding out on a go-cart, dragging a large card behind him. It looked like a person was trapped in it. I sped after him in the batmobile, hot on his tail. I looked over at the card to see it was the judge trapped in the card. Joker abruptly sped down an alley and I skidded to a stop, having to turn to follow him again. I chased him onto Gotham Bay Bridge and he spilled oil on the road, causing the batmobile to skid to the edge. I couldn't gain control, so I opened the top window and shot a grappling hook at one of the beams of the bridge. It wrapped around and I held on tight as the batmobile crashed into the railing and part of it hung over the edge. I let out a breath of relief that it hadn't fallen off, but I glared at the road as Joker managed to escape.
I got the batmobile back on the road and headed for the cave, just as the sun was peeking over the horizon. Ella looked to have woken up not too long ago, a steaming cup of her favorite tea in hand. I asked her to see if there was any recent Joker activity in Arkham.
"According to Arkham, Joker's still locked in his cell," Ella stated. "Has been all night long."
"Perhaps Joker left some manor of decoy in his place," Alfred suggested.
"Could be, Alfred," I said as I paced. "But other things don't add up. Joker abducted judge Winksel, but not before leaving him for the police and me to see."
"You're not actually expecting Joker to make sense, are you?"
"It was Joker's calling card, a way of announcing his plan."
"Do you think there's more to come?" Ella asked.
"Maybe Joker's out to collect a full deck of those who've crossed him."
"Fifty one more victims?" Alfred asked. "Where would you start?"
"One name is sure to be on his hit-list. The Batman."
Ella frowned and stood from her seat, approaching me.
"Be careful," she said.
"I will."
"Bruce, I really mean it. I-I don't want that psycho to get his hands on you."
I saw the genuine fear and concern in her eyes, and I heard it in her voice as well. I cupped her cheek tenderly and leaned down for a passionate kiss, keeping her body close to mine.
"Remember our wedding vows?" I asked as we pulled away.
She smiled softly and nodded. "You promised that no matter where you go in the world, you'll always come back to me."
"And I meant it. So always remember that." She nodded and I felt her relax. "Now, I have to lay bait at Joker's last known house of cards."
I headed to Monarch, an abandoned building Joker had used as a hideout in the past. I walked around, finding a lot of abandoned crates and clown stuff lying about. I felt a presence behind me and turned, but no one was there. I frowned and kept walking, but looked to my side to see a joker-shaped shadow following me. I ducked between some rows of boxed and shot up to the ceiling. Joker laughed as he turned the corner and pointed a gun into the hall, but I jumped down from above and the tube connecting to the gun ripped. Joker went flying back into a junk pile and he grabbed a tube.
"Not too talkative, are you?" I questioned.
He didn't say anything as the tube turned into a pogo stick. He started jumping away and I gave chase. I threw a batarang at a shelf holding up boxed over the exit, knocking them down and blocking Joker's escape route. He bounced back at me and I jumped on a stack of boxes. He followed me down and suddenly took the pogo stick and aimed it at me. The bottom of it opened and an orange energy beam shot at me. I dodged and started running as he fired off more and more shots. I threw a batarang down the center of the gun and he tossed it away before it exploded.
"Where's the judge, Joker?" I asked as I grabbed him by the collar. "How'd you manage to be in two places at once? And why the mime act?"
Something fell from his pocket, a little recorder that played Joker laugh. I crushed it and wiped my hand across his forehead to find the makeup smeared off. The real Joker's makeup didn't come off. This was a decoy.
"You're a fake," I stated. "The real Joker doesn't wear makeup."
The person's contacts fell off and I took off the fake smile and added things from his face.
"D-Don't hurt me!" The man pleaded.
"Who are you?" I asked.
"Nolin! I'm an orderly."
"Arkham?"
"Joker said he'd do me in unless I helped him with his plan. Gave me the keys to his place to bring him stuff."
I threw him across the room. "Who else is Joker after?"
Nolin reached for his broken gun and aimed it at me, but when he fired all that came out was a flag that said 'surprise'.
"Surprise?" I mumbled.
The gun started shaking and a flash of light blinded me. When it finally dimmed down Nolin was encased in a card. I couldn't get much out of him after that.
"I left Joker's understudy in clown storage for the time being," I said to Ella and Alfred from the batmobile. "Joker clearly didn't want him talking."
"Why not chip the fellow out and question him further?" Alfred asked.
"Because I'm through being Joker's fool. I'm gonna get my answers straight from the horse's mouth. At Arkham Asylum. Ella, I need you to call the Arkham physiatrist and distract him while I grab his keys."
"Okay, shouldn't be a problem," she said. "I'll talk with him as long as I can."
"Thank you."
I snuck into Arkham and past the guards, taking the keys from the asylums physiatrist as he was busy praising himself on the phone with Ella. I'd have to thank her again for that later. I quietly made my way into Joker's cell to find he was pacing and muttering to himself. He jumped when he finally saw me.
"The Batman," he said with a smile. "What if I hadn't been decent?"
"You're never 'decent', Joker," I stated. "Why bother adding a stand-in to your collection instead of me?" Joker laughed.
"To drive you batty of course. And look, it's working!" I grabbed him by the collar.
"Answers, Joker."
"You really think I'd send a flunky to eliminate my favorite sparring partner? I reserve that pleasure for me alone."
"Then why-"
"Because I missed your company, Batman." I shoved him away in disgust. "We're two sides of the same card. After all, you knew where I'd send my look alike to find you, and I knew all along that if I left a trail of breadcrumbs you'd gobble them up."
"Joker, you're not making sense. Why convince an orderly to do your dirty work when you could just have him unlock your cell?"
"Because you've always been my ace, Batman. My ace in the hole!" He laughed as he pulled his arms out of his straight jacket, laughing and pulling out a flute.
"What?" I muttered as he started playing it.
Out of the flute shot green smoke, too quickly for me to react and I coughed as I fell to the floor. Joker laughed in triumph.
"I don't need you in my card collection," Joker stated. "I never play with a full deck!"
As I tried to sort myself out Joker took out part of the wall and collected some things.
"Thanks to you I'm right on schedule," he said to me. "Off to the theatre! Ta-ta!"
The door slammed shut and locked, and I felt around to find Joker had taken the keys.
"Alright Joker, dinner time!" I heard a worker call from the hall. "Hey, how about a little mac and-" He paused when he looked into the cell and saw me. "C-Cheese. The Batman! I've gotta call the police!"
He dropped the food and ran. I pulled out my lock picker, but no matter how I turned it, it didn't work. It finally snapped and I groaned.
"The Batman, huh?" I heard Ethan from outside. Sounds like the police are here. I looked at the smiley face on the wall Joker had painted and got an idea.
"Seriously dude, I have no idea how he got in there," the worker said.
"Or what he did with Joker," Detective Yin said.
"Weird."
"We'll take it from here."
I started laughing, having put on the Joker wig and makeup, the abandoned straight jacket, and I hid in the shadows so they couldn't see me as clearly.
"Ugh!" Yin exclaimed.
"You think it's funny wasting police time?" Ethan asked the worker.
"I wasn't kidding!" The worker protested. "The Batman was in there!"
"You're the one who should be in there."
"Come on Bennett, let's get going to Gotham Palace Theatre," Yin said.
They all walked away and I took off the costume pieces, wiping the paint off my face before slipping on my cowl. I jumped up to the pipes above and hid as the worker returned.
"I'm not crazy," The worker mumbled as he walked in. "Where'd you go?" I jumped down and ran out of the room, slamming the door shut so he couldn't call the police. "Hey!"
I didn't have time to waste, I had to get to the theatre. It was an old, abandoned, place at the edge of Gotham.
I made it in time to see a card fall out the back of the building and into the water. I swam down to find it was the judge that had been carded earlier, taking him and swimming him up to the surface.
"Time for my favorite game!" Joker announced as he got his machine ready. "Fifty-two pickup!"
I dropped the curtain so he couldn't fire.
"The reviews are in, Joker," I stated from above. "Your show's a flop."
He aimed his machine at me and I swung down, avoiding the blasts and swinging down to hit him in the chest.
"Can't stay away from me can you, Batman?" Joker asked. "I guess opposites do attract."
He untied a rope holding a weight and let himself be carried up, making me have to dodge the weight. I started to climb up a different rope to catch him.
"I'll chip you out," I heard Ethan say to Yin from below.
"Hmm, chip?" Joker questioned before grinning and taking out a few poker chips. "Good idea! Cash me out!"
He threw the chips at my feet and they exploded, breaking the wood I was standing on. I fell back and caught onto the edge with one hand, Joker laughing as he climbed away. The whole foundation of the wood started to shake and break, so I shot my grappling hook at a different beam and swung up to it as the wood collapsed. I made my way to the roof and tackled Joker before he could make his escape.
"You're going back to Arkham," I stated. "For a long game of solitaire."
"Funny, Batman," Joker giggled. "You're quick with the punchline."
We started fighting on the roof before we fell through it and crashed down to the stage floor. I groaned and came to my knees as Joker walked to the machine.
"Sorry Batman, but Joker always laughs last," Joker said as he aimed the machine at me.
He started it up and I threw a batarang, hitting the edge of it and spinning it until the end pointed at Joker. He smiled as it shot him, and ironically turned him into a Joker card.
"You gambled, Joker," I stated. "You lost."
Since the detectives were getting the rest of the hostages out, I made my leave. I headed to the cave to find Alfred and Ella together.
"Good evening, sir," Alfred greeted. "I trust you resolved matters with the crazy crime-" he cut himself off as I pulled off my cowl and Ella giggled. I must still have face paint on. "-Clown?"
"Bruce, what happened?" Ella asked, gesturing to my face. I sighed.
"I walked a mile in Joker's shoes tonight, and then sum. If I never see another playing card again-" I cut myself off as I looked down to find Alfred had been playing solitaire.
"Oh!" Alfred exclaimed and rushed to clean them up. "Say no more!"
"Wait, Alfred, it's okay," Ella stopped him, taking my hand. "I'm taking Bruce upstairs, so you can finish your game."
"You are?" I challenged with a playful grin.
"Yes, I am. You've been busy all week, and with this Joker nonsense finally put to rest, I would like some time with my husband if, the Batman is okay with that."
I chuckled and grabbed Ella by the waist, bringing her close and leaning down for a kiss.
"I think the Batman can spare a few hours."
"Hours?"
"Yes, just for you, my princess."
Gah, I love Bruce and Ella lovey dovey moments, they're adorable. Too bad things are gonna take a dark turn for this seasons finale (not next week's chapter, but the week after 0_0). Almost done with season one! Do you guys want to see more Bruce and Ella moments?
Also sorry I haven't updated in a while, I'm dealing with some family stuff, and as the temperature in the weather drops, so does my state of mind. I'll try to be more consistent.
Also, you should follow me on twitch if you have it, because I'm going to try streaming there again once I get my background set up :)
Faith Starwalker
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