Whoa. Wow. Sudden batjokes. Turns out I can do that too, haha.
A dusty room. A flickering light.
It was obvious it was about to burn out. But either there wasn’t enough funding to replace the miserable bulb, or no one simply wanted to bother. Arkham is not a place people happily run to work. The staff here drag themselves from shift to shift. They constantly watch the clock. They’re just trying to survive the working hours.
The improvised interrogation room was quiet. The police had insisted that Arkham provide a space for her contact with the patients.
Amid the icy air, the dust, and the nervously flickering light sat a man. There was a tag on his orange uniform with a single letter: “J.” Handcuffs circled his wrists. He sat calmly. With a faint smile. Rhythmically tapping his fingers together. His gaze wandered somewhere far away, unfocused.
The door creaked unpleasantly. A tall figure in a cape stepped inside. With a piercing stare, the man looked at the madman in handcuffs.
“Long time no see, Bats,” the clown said briefly, turning his green-haired head toward his guest and stretching his lips into a wide grin.
Batman didn’t answer. He simply walked to the table and sat down.
They were silent. For a long time. Coldly. They didn’t need unnecessary words to understand each other. Or at least to create the illusion of understanding. One glance was enough to say: “Madman.”
Joker was the first to break their silent dialogue. He narrowed his eyes. Tapped a finger against the table once. Then leaned back in his chair. It creaked softly.
“Miss me that much you decided to arrange a date here? You could’ve at least waited until I got out,” the clown sneered.
“What are you trying to achieve?” Batman asked dryly.
“ME?” Joker echoed, sounding almost offended. “Nothing.”
He spread into a satisfied smile.
“Don’t lie to me.” The Dark Knight involuntarily clenched his hand into a fist, his brow clearly furrowing.
“Me? LIE?” The other replied, theatrically twisting his face in mock offense. “I’m just so HAPPY you came. Should I take my PANTS off for you?”
Joker thoughtfully scratched his chin, still watching his opponent. The reaction didn’t take long. Batman slammed his fist into the table.
“Enough.”
The madman snorted, then burst into loud laughter. He theatrically wiped a tear of laughter from his eye, then stretched his lips into another wide smile.
“Oh, Batsy. You’re so NAIVE.” Joker rolled his eyes with bored indifference, then leaned forward toward his interlocutor. “The world is one big joke. A BAD JOKE. Some people see it, and some are blind to the core of their bones. You get it, Bats.”
He paused briefly. Laced his fingers together. Tilted his head to the side and glanced at Batman.
“You’re too sweet for this world. Your ILLUSIONS are truly charming. But utterly delusional. You crave justice. But what kind of justice are we talking about when you can’t even KILL me? Do you really believe you’re capable of MAINTAINING your so-called justice? It even sounds TEDIOUS.”
Batman clenched his jaw. Stood up sharply. The chair he’d been sitting on crashed loudly to the floor. His hands grabbed Joker by the collar, lifting him slightly.
“Shut up. You don’t understand anything,” the Dark Knight growled dully.
“Oh, I DON'T understand anything? Well, whatever you say, PAL,” the clown laughed again. “But look at you – you’re furious. You hate the truth. MY TRUTH. Because you know perfectly well that I'M NOT LYING. Especially to you. And, OH GOD, you hate that. Funny, isn’t it? Ha-ha-ha. Fighting for truth when you despise it so much.”
Batman said nothing. He dropped his opponent back into the chair and walked away. He had crossed the line. And he knew it perfectly well.
“The world is BEYOND FIXING, Batman. And YOU are too,” Joker tossed after the retreating figure, propping his chin on his hands in satisfaction.
[Okay. Well. I genuinely adore this toxic marriage. Give me more of their mutual psychological abuse. If you locked me in a room where these two beat the hell out of each other, I definitely wouldn’t mind, lol.]
[Ooh la la, I love it.]