AW, JEEZ !

that's gotta sting !

[dcmultiverse]

The Dark Knight (2008)

[jster]

cwled​:

     THE CAPED CRUSADER was no stranger to utilizing the shadows to his advantage — and it’d certainly come to be useful now, more than ever. The Joker had no business anywhere — let alone City Hall, on one of their monthly congregations. He’s quick to scope out the building — clowns on every end, awaiting the Joker’s further instructions. Batman, for now, controls his rage. To go in guns blazing was exactly what the Joker wanted…and did. If they truly were similar, as the clown claimed they were, then perhaps the Batman’s approach had to take take its own form of brutality. The advantage he had was patience — something the clown never was.

     As he traverses the top of the large reception area, the Dark Knight sees his ally through the window, giving him a silent message: Let me handle this first. I’ll give you the 10-4.

No one dead, so far, he thinks to himself. If I can get him to come to this end, I can lunge at him and get the others safe. The Batman, like the terrified politicians below him, only waits.

Yikes! Everyone in this city was so incredibly touchy. By the way they were reacting, you’d think someone was out to get them which only begs the question of how; there were many ways a person could die after all, it just... depended on the day. Anything quick, such as a swift bullet to the frontal lobe or a slicing of the jugular, weren’t, surprisingly, any indicators of a good day. Most people, normal people, booooring people, would rather have their death be short and sweet so they didn’t have to suffer in their last few moments in excruciating, withering pain. To the Joker, those deaths were just cop outs. Bad. Get out of my way you’re pissing me off type of murders. The kind he’d only commit in a hurry.

But the clown had time. Too much of it, and he was also having an incredibly good day which only meant great news for the lawmakers and law enforcers alike: their deaths wouldn’t just be of the garden variety! Huzzah!

Eyes narrow as he watches the cronies make their rounds; some politicians beg, some spit, some are even brave enough to talk back, and still the Joker keeps them breathing, waving a hand to the goon beside him as an indication to cease fire: not yet. He wasn’t stupid, he knew the Bat would be waiting. The first sound of bullets would tip him off and ruin the whole plan and the clown couldn’t be having that, not when he had a whole display of grandeur waiting especially for the one they call vengeance. 

“ Ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls, ” he speaks into a microphone --- from where? Now that’d be telling, just know that he’s close enough. Close to see everything, not close enough to be caught before he can give the green light.

“ I have a game for you. It’s fairly simple, it’s caaaalllleeeeeddd ------ ” he pauses for dramatic flair though he isn’t quick enough. Interrupting him, one of the many senators speak out:

“ Fuck you! ”

With a click of a finger and a bang from one of the many Jokers that surrounded the people, the man is down, and his wife is surely beside him in hysterics. “ Does anyone have anything else to say? I’m all eyes, ears, and gunpowder, baby! [ ... ] No? Good. Let’s try that again, shall we? ” 

“ Ugh. You’ve ruined it now. Oh well! Throughout this... ghastly building, I’ve hid all sorts. Knives, piano string, yada yada yada. I want you to kill each other. Last man standing wins! ” He hangs up the microphone and turns on his heel, making way for the reception.

[jster]

cwled​:

     HE, THE WATCHFUL GUARDIAN, finds himself a part of another one of the clown’s demented, twisted games. he wasn’t sure what she was trying to prove every time they played it, over and over and over again. maybe she thinks it will be different, he rationalizes. but then, the batman realizes her true purpose: to test him. to see if he’ll break just as easily as she already has. and to take a few lives in the process meant nothing to her. of course, the first thing he does is hold himself back. make sure that the other party was listening in.

     ❛ jesus christ. she’s separated ‘em. it’s worse than we thought…i’ll send backup over. just get her to tell you where they are. ❜ both the bat and the commissioner wish it would be easier for them, for everyone, but they forget that they constantly deal with the wild card. he begins to consider his next move – with jim still on the line, perhaps he can coax it out of her. though batman doesn’t know whether or not the joker is lying to them, so all instincts point to being direct —— that’s it.

     he lurches forward and grabs her by the lapel of her jacket, aggressively holding her over the edge of the roof which they both occupied. her purple gloved hands grip fiercely on his own arm, a sure sign that if he fought, she’d fight harder.

     ❛       where are they, clown? both locations. now. ❜ the aggression in his voice is coupled with the slight movement of his arm, a taunt of his own.

     ❛ TELL ME ! ❜

though  it  is  the  darkness  that  holds  them,  the  jester  can  still  make  out  the  shape  of  his  eyes  and  within  them,  there  is  an  unbridled  rage    ——    it’s  a  rage  that  she  so  desperately  wants  to  set  free.  she  can  see  it  trapped  behind  his  morals,  morals  that  he  would  not  have  been  set  in  place  if  not  for  her,  morals  that  are  only  there  to  protect  the  batman  from  what  he  could  become.  from  what  he  should  be.  let  me  dumb  this  down  for  you:  you  see,  reader,  they’re  just  the  same.  two  sides  of  the  same  coin  and,  just  like  the  ways  of  dusk  and  dawn,  one  could  not  survive  without  the  other.  if  she  died,  then  bye  bye  batsy.

if  he  died,  well  …  gotham  would  be  hers,  but  the  laughter  would  not  be  the  same.  the  choirs  of  angels  simply  would  not  sing  like  they  used  to  and  their  screams  …  

——–    conquering  gotham  just  wouldn’t  be  worth  it  if  not  for  their  tragic  tale  of  love,  lust,  and  loss.  do  you  understand  now,  reader?  you  better.  because  i’m  only  going  to  explain  this  once  and  if  i  find  myself  having  to  go  through  circles  again  to  make  this  make  sense  to  you,  then  heads  will  roll.  i  hope  you  enjoy  the  taste  of  gravel.

craning  her  neck  to  see,  the  joker  spits  in  the  hero’s  face,  smiling  afterwards  as  she  wets  her  lips  with  her  tongue  before  laughing;  and  she  laughs  directly  in  the  face  of  his  demand.  her  grips  tightens  once  more,  making  sure  to  grab  as  much  material  as  she  could  within  her  palms  so  if  she  went  down,  he  would  too.  this  is  how  it  always  played  out.

except  this  time,  she  knows  exactly  who’s  on  the  other  end  of  his  comms.

❛    you  know,  you’re  a  smart  one,    ❜    she  takes  a  breath,    ❛    wrong  answer.    ❜  

with  her  words  come  a  blast:  in  the  distance,  a  building  crumbles.  it’s  not  where  she’s  housing  her  current  cherubs    —-    t’was  only  a  construction  worker  or  two  doing  overtime.  poor  things.  they’d  never  see  that  paycheque.  oh  well!

❛    try  again.    ❜  

[jster]

cwled​:

     THERE WAS ALWAYS SOMETHING DIFFERENT ABOUT HER. something dark, something evil, something disturbing. no matter how many plans he’d foiled, how many people she’d killed — one thing remained certain, and it was that the joker was absolute. there was no hope for someone like her to be reformed, even look at things a little differently. and for the batman, while that fact remained the same, another followed. she was dangerous. for everyone’s sake — she had to be placed where she couldn’t hurt anyone.

     ❛       you’ve been causing mayhem for one night too many, joker. it’s time to give it up. ❜

 his words are as cold as the air surrounding them, on top of one of the many gotham skyscrapers where she’d found herself executing her terrifying plans. this time, however, the batman wants it to be different.

     ❛ before i send you back to arkham myself — i’ll ask you again. where are the people you’ve taken ? what have you done to them ? ❜

when  morality  has  become  nothing  more  than  a  sophistry  to  deliver  the  most  basic  primitive  wants  of  the  human  psyche,  the  devil  has  the  reigns.  she  is  now  in  control  with  the  world  in  her  hands  ready  for  the  reckoning  of  judgement  day  to  which  she  will  slam  her  hand  down  with  the  force  of  the  divine,  ripping  society  apart  from  the  seams.  she  will  take  children  from  their  mothers.  there  will  be  blood.  her  appraisal  will  call  for  the  bat,  he  who  watches  over  them  with  a  silver  tongue,  a  saviour  in  the  shape  of  a  knight.  

she  chuckles;  this  is  all  she  had  ever  wanted.  facing  him  fills  her  with  such  an  erotic  gratification  within  that  maybe  she’s  able  to  trick  you  into  thinking  she  has  any  semblance  of  a  heart.  it’s  quite  funny,  really,  how  gotham’s  residents  rely  on  the  batman  yet  they  pray  and  plead  at  the  joker’s  feet  for  a  chance  to  go  home  one  last  time,  knowing  their  fate  had  been  decided  before  they  finished  their  9  -  5.  she  laughs  at  him,  how  ridiculous  to  think  she  would  give  up  her  little  angels  that  easily.  tut  tut,  bats.  

❛    thaaaaaaaaaaat  depends,    ❜    her  smile  tastes  like  blood  and  her  response  is  slow.  this  is  how  she  gets  under  your  skin,  batman,  better  luck  next  time.    ❛    are  you  referring  to  the  adults?  ooooooooooor  the  children?  ha!  you  can  only  pick  one,  as  a  treat.    ❜

[jster]

in  the  distance,  a  child  sings:  one,  two,  joker’s  coming  for  you    —–

and  there  she  stood,  the  creator  of  chaos,  gotham’s  “co  -  founder,”  batman’s  formidable  foe.  she  was  everything  but  also  nothing;  his  beginning  and  his  end.  she  was  the  one  who  haunted  his  dreams,  whose  image  sat  comfortably  in  his  head  and  heart  during  every  moment  that  pitiful  organ  beat.  she  was  the  one  who  created  him  just  as  much  as  he  returned  the  pleasure;  the  bat  -  family  was  hers,  too,  in  some  sick  and  twisted  way  of  a  parental  custody  battle  gone  wrong.  between  her  feet,  a  nameless  victim,  nobody  too  important  but  enough  to  garner  the  presence  of  his  batmobile    ——    it  was  a  pity,  really,  that  the  famous  dark  knight  couldn’t  be  here  for  their  death  but  the  joker  had  to  punish  them,  you  see:  they  simply  were  not  laughing  enough  and,  when  they  refused  to  so  much  as  chortle  at  her  jokes,  she  sliced  them.  

three,  four,  she’s  at  your  door    —–

the  struggle  was  apparent  by  the  way  some  of  the  blood  managed  to  splatter  across  her  suit  (  a  new  one,  too!  she  would  have  to  have  it  dry  cleaned  …  perhaps,  she  should  send  their  next  of  kin  the  bill?  )  and  she  only  sliced  them  deeper  because  of  it  with  a  few  guts  spilling  out  of  them  here  and  there,  for  decoration.  

❛    what’s  the  hurry,  bats?    ❜

she  ran  the  knife  over  her  own  mouth,  the  red  paint  now  dry,  mimicking  the  expression  she  had  so  carefully  carved  into  the  limp  body  before  her.    ❛    why  not  stop  and  smell  the  flowers?    ❜    the  ghost  of  batman  chuckles.  she  presses  the  knife  further  into  her  own  skin,  the  blood  drips.    ❛    c’mooooooooooooon,  you  can  laugh    ——–    HA!  or  don’t  you  care  for  my  acid  wit?    ❜

@cwled​.