Surrounded by Bruce Wayne's party guests at a fundraiser for Harvey Dent the Joker walked closer to Rachel Dawes, knife in hand. He slicked his green-sprayed hair back and as he arrived close enough, he asked his signature question.
"You wanna know how I got these scars?"
Of course, he wasn't expecting an answer, but he got one.
For the first time since he'd asked that question, someone told the true story.
"Bellatrix Lestrange."
The Joker whirled around, eyes darting around wildly, it was a name he hadn't heard in a long time.
"It was one of those social dinners Walburga loved to arrange, you were... six I believe. You had sneaked off from the table, not wanting to spend a second with your excuses for relatives. Bellatrix followed you, she was fourteen. She'd taken a knife with her. In the tapestry room, she cornered you, stuck the knife in your mouth and said "Why so serious, cousin? Let's put a smile on that face." and sliced through first one cheek then the other. For years you kept them hidden until you told two friends, they thought of you no differently. Years after that, you told someone else, he didn't care either. 18 June, 1996, you fell and were thought dead. Now, twelve years later, here you are, alive and certainly madder than last time I saw you."
The speaker had still yet to appear and not only the Joker but the party guests were getting freaked out. Then someone tapped the Joker on the shoulder. Once the man turned around he got a fist in the face, which laid him out flat on the floor, his knife flying into the air and being caught by the very same person who punched him. A 27-year-old man with jet black hair, emerald green eyes, round glasses and a lightning-bolt shaped scar on his forehead. The man flipped the knife closed and tucked it into his pocket.
"Greatest prank ever, I'd say, you fooled everyone. Declared dead, no one looking for you, people mourning you... me inheriting that godawful house of yours. You fooled everyone. Bravo, mischief managed." the man said sarcastically, his eyes watering. "Mooney lasted two years before he died, last one of you, we thought. He had a son, I'm a godfather now. He married Tonks, y'know, he's just like them, smart, bubbly, angry during set periods of time, but what can you do with his condition? I think I've managed well. I tell him stories about you guys, how brave all of you were. And what do I find? You're alive and gone 'round the bend!" he yelled, tears finally falling.
The guests are shocked, and so is the Joker. The man slowly sat up, not looking his godson in the eyes, not looking anywhere, afraid he'll break down. After a moment of silence there's a chuckle from the Joker, but it sounds nothing like the crazy giggles he's had so far, no this is a broken sound from a man who's lived too long.
"I kinda wish I'd died that day. I woke up in an alley here. I had no way of getting back to you, the media had already labeled me as an unstable escaped convict, I couldn't get my hands on make-up to cover the scars, people started looking, all it took was one bad day. I heard about the attacks, how Privet Drive had gone up in flames... I thought you were gone, I snapped, nothing mattered anymore. I'm not even sure what I've done these past ten years, it's all a sort of blur. I guess I hoped that someone would kill me sooner or later so that I could join Prongs, Moony and you. I wonder if James wants to kick my ass." the Joker spoke as he painstakingly got up to his feet and wiped at the facepaint, for the first time in years showing his face "You know, you got that right hook from Lily, she laid your father flat out on his back when he made a comment about her looking fat while she was pregnant with you."
His godson smiled and shook his head, before starting to lead the man out "C'mon, let's go get you arrested and put you in jail, I'll come visit with my son, he's five now."
"Oh really, what's his name?" the Joker asked.
"James Sirius." was the man's answer.
Right before the elevator doors shut a few people could hear "You named him after me?"
That was how the Joker's terror was stopped before it truly started. Sirius Black was brought to the surface and the Joker was slowly taken apart by the man as his sanity returned little by little. He would never be able to function in normal society, but he would get to know his godson and his family and at the age of 70 joined his fellow Marauders, feeling happier than ever. People of Gotham would tell the sad story of Sirius Black and even though people hated him for his time as the Joker, there were people who understood on some level. Harry Potter didn't step foot in Gotham ever again, his business there had been done. Harvey Dent helped clean Gotham City and after some years, Batman was never seen again, for he wasn't needed. Bruce Wayne turned into a likeable man instead of a known playboy. Things became less chaotic without the agent of Chaos prowling the streets of Gotham City and the past of some people was finally put to rest.