He had the Batman on the roof with him now, and the violent tremble of nearby explosions punctuated his riotous laughter. He licked his lips, "Your little friends in the police are occupied. It's just you and me now."
"Stop this Joker," Batman growled, stepping forward menacingly, a dark blot against the angry red of distant flames.
He stepped backward, giggling and holding up the detonator in his gloved hand, "Ah ah ah Batsy," he tisked, "Don't get to close. Wouldn't want this to accidentally go off and kill us both."
Batman took another step forward, "You won't."
The anarchist clown's lips curled and his eyebrow raised, "Oh really?" he asked dryly, "And why is that?" He took another tiny step back, almost as an afterthought.
"Because that would be the end of your game." Batman snarled, stepping forward decisively, "And you still haven't proven your point to the world."
The Joker's eyes glittered with rage as he took another step back, "Well maybe I-" his foot hit only air and his eyes widened in realization as he tipped off the edge of the roof. His open mouth curled into a smirk 'Good one' as Batman's silhouette receded away from him at great speed. He hit the ground before a single laugh could escape.
"Oh look, another copy cat," a sullen voice drifted out of the fog in his head. As it cleared he opened his eyes to find himself looking up at the dingy, water damaged ceiling of a dimly lit room. A sharp and sudden ache in his temples made him giggle. "Do that again!" he said, turning his head to watch the shoe move out of his line of sight. The shoe was old fashioned with a strong heel and polished to a warm brown glow. It was topped by pinstriped purple pants, and as he followed the line of the pants upwards he caught sight of the scowling white face with red lips pinched into a frown. 'He's dressed like me…' the Joker blinked and licked his lips, 'well, not quite like me. More of a dandy.' "Who are you?" he asked, enjoying the way the cold floor felt through his clothes.
The ghostly white face above him contorted into a haughty sneer, "I'm the original."
The Joker sat up, rubbing the back of his head then straightening his sleeves. He kept his face studiously blank but inside his mind was racing in circles like a dog chasing its tail. He ran his tongue in comforting lines back and forth across the inside of his scars. Falling off a roof and waking up in a mysterious place was not part of the plan. Not that he ever made plans. He wasn't a schemer like so called 'normal' people. Nope, not at all.
The man standing above him hissed, "Don't ignore me you makeup-wearing fake!"
The Joker rolled his eyes, pulling his knees up and leaning up into a crouch. "You're so serious," he licked his lips, dusting the knees of his pants as he stood, "We've only just met. There's no need for such anger-" He finally got a close look at the other man and gaped for a moment at the fair skin, red lips, and green hair. "My what a handsome fellow you are," the Joker purred.
The Original stared blankly into the Joker's eyes for a moment, then turned away and sat at a card table nearby. It had four chairs around it, with the first one occupied there were three empty spots remaining. "Sit down," he ordered, waving toward the seat at his right, "I can already tell that you will be a better conversationalist than either the other two. The one goes on and on about art, and the other is a giggling idiot."
The Joker looked over the room as he neared the table. It was small and dingy, with flickering dim lighting over head and cracked concrete beneath his feet. There was no door, no windows, no way in or out. 'Go figure.' He sat down, the threadbare chair creaked under his weight. "So, where-where are we?" he asked, sucking on his bottom lip and resting his chin on his fist.
"Where do you think we are?" the Original shot back, drumming his gloved hands on the table impatiently.
"A… room?" he cringed playfully at the glare that answer received.
"This is the space between spaces," the Original said. "At one time I had the power to change this space at will. Oh the fun I had with our mutual friend-" He gave the Joker a critical look, "You do know of the Batman, correct?"
The Joker giggled, "Know of?" he rolled his tongue around his mouth, "How could I overlook him?"
The Original grinned fiercely, "He is very persistent, isn't he?" He adjusted his cufflinks, "Well to make a long story short I lost my cosmic abilities to a very stubborn alien. When I'm not here I forget, but when I'm here I remember."
The room dimmed. The Joker put his hand to his head as everything began to tilt slightly to the left, "That's odd-" He slurred, just before everything went black.
The laughter echoing down the dank Arkham corridor made nurses and orderlies alike stiffen, their steps quicker, their movements sharper. The Joker had lain unconscious since Batman had dumped him one their doorstep an hour before, but now he had awakened.
To Be Continued-