This was supposed to be his chance.
A couple of hours ago, there was a reunion between the gangs that worked under him, that's where he found out that one of the bodyguards used to work for HIM, after the reunion he followed the man and trapped him in an alley so they could have a little talk.
After a few broken bones the man said where HE would be, at the old carnival at Gotham bay, after that he put a bullet between the man's eyes and grappled to the top of a building and started to run as fast as he could to the carnival, he and Bruce had an agreement, he would get the south of the city with the condition of not trespassing his limits without previous notice, this wasn't the case, HE was on his side of town, he definitely wasn't going to call Bruce, no, and he wasn't going to make a forced "sit-down" either, this was his chance to finally end it.
When he reached the carnival he crouched down on the roof of a nearby building and observed the scene, he put his finger on the side of his helmet and activated his binocular vision, he began scanning the area in case there were any traps, because the last thing he wanted was to fall again and die a second time because of his naivety, that's when he saw HIM, he was sitting on a chair at the entrance of a big tent and he was alone, just him in his purple suit, white gloves, green hair and a disgusting smile on his face, he then put a leg over the other and clapped his hands together and put them to his lips, like he was thinking, the Joker was actually thinking.
Every move he made just made Jason angrier and angrier, this was the monster that caused so much pain and suffering to everyone he cared about, along with taking his life and the lives of thousands, and here he was like a sitting duck, this was too easy.
He didn't care if this meant he was going to Arkham, this was his chance to finally kill the clown, the chips were on his side and there was no going back.
He laid on his stomach and pulled his sniper rifle, he made sure no part was defective, he put the scope as the last piece, it looked like a ceremony of sacrifice, an eye for an eye is what he told himself as he readied his weapon and he looked through the scope one last time, the rifle was pointed at the clown's head and now it was just breathing and taking the moment before pulling the trigger.
"See if you can get out of this one you bastard" he practically snarled as he was about to take the shot. That's when the clown rolled his eyes to meet his, and his grin got impossibly wider, like he was expecting him to come and take the chance or that he was expecting him to come, and fall into his trap.
Then suddenly a high-pitched voice called behind him "oh HOODIEEEEEEE" he turned too late and just saw the mallet coming on top of his head, the helmet could only protect so much and for extra misfortune his head was leaning against the edge of the roof so there was a violent clash against the cement and then it all went black.
He woke up in a dark room with only a light bulb and he was strapped on a table, he felt the cold breeze hit his face and he realized that he wasn't wearing his helmet, he tried to remain calm while he looked around for any ways to escape, but he couldn't see anything and then he proceeded to tug at his restraints but the straps were screwed down, great, he thought to himself, once again he was too reckless and careless that he got himself trapped and with the monster that killed him no less, he was going to swallow his pride and try to get the beacon that he carried around to warn Bruce, being somewhat happy that it was just him and not Grayson, Barbie or the replacement who were all running around with the mini justice league of sidekicks along with a constantly PMS-y superman clone, a socially awkward girl from Mars, a really annoying speedster, though that is not saying much, and other superhero understudies.
"Oh good you're up, I feared that if you kept sleeping I was going to have to kiss you awake"
Jason turns his head to look at the figure that has haunted his dreams endlessly, the man whose blood he desired to draw every day since he came back, The Joker.
"Try getting closer, clown, and see what that gets you" he says through gritted teeth but he knows that the situation is still in the clown's favor, the Joker just shakes his head in a gesture of fake disappointment "just woke up and already making threats, aren't you little bird? Someone would say you'd learn to respect your elders after our last family party, hehehe"
The Joker starts to walk closer to the table and his smile gets wider with every step "besides, as you can see, you don't have any toys to get yourself out of this therapy session, you see, after we got you, we made sure that you were presentable for this occasion, Harley made sure of that, although I won't be held responsible for any UNOFFICIAL CHECKINGS, if you catch my drift" and as he finishes speaking he leans down to see Jason's face.
Jason just smirks, but his eyes hold rage and hate "Really? Your little psycho girlfriend is so fed up with you that she has to feel up unconscious people to get off? How the mighty have fallen, or should I say had never risen?
The Joker seemed to be not amused at the joke before he broke into maniacal laughter; all the while Jason is trying to get free but not getting any strap loose, "that was a good one, I'll give you that but we're not here to talk about girls, my boy, that's a conversation for another day, and preferably with Bats present because as willing as I am, I may not be suitable to give the talk about bees and flowers" he then snickers before he continues " but I need to get to the point of this therapy session" , Jason just snarls at the clown "STOP saying therapy session, what do you fucking want" he is greeted with a harsh slap to his right cheek, but he puts on a smile while he glares at the clown as to look unfazed by the strike.
"Well first I want you to bite your tongue with that sailor's mouth, I should wash your tongue with soap….. or acid…. or whatever gets it more nonexistent, but before you interrupted me, I was going to explain why I needed my favorite bird for this"
Jason glares at the clown but doesn't respond so the Joker goes on "You see…you and I have a history my boy, you were supposed to be my masterpiece, my ultimate joke on Bats, I thought if I killed you I could finally prove my point to him and he could see through my eyes, 'cause shooting the commissioner's daughter and torturing poor jimmy-boy was weak in my repertoire, I admit"
Jason's scowl grows deeper as he remembers the time he found out about Barbara's shooting, Bruce made him stay at the manor but that didn't stop him from thrashing his room in anger, the joker hurt someone he cared about and someone he admired and here he was, still breathing and still thinking like it was something to be proud of, he doesn't expect any less of such a low form of life.
"But then the third brat showed up and it seemed that he soothed little batsy when he was crying over his little bird, but to no avail because you would haunt him for the rest of his life… and then you came back and ruined everything" by that time the Joker wasn't smiling anymore and he was frowning like he was angered by Jason's return, something shivered inside of Jason at the sight, because when the joker isn't smiling is when he is at his most lethal.
"You did something that although I found funny at the time of our reunion in that warehouse, it has made me very uncomfortable during the last few months, and that is…that you stole MY joke"
Jason just smirks again in challenge "oh boo-hoo, I'm so sorry about not giving a fuck about it" but the Joker just grabs his face and presses his thumb and middle finger to Jason's cheeks, forcing him to look him in the eye "oh no, my little bird, you screwed up big time because not only did you steal my joke but turned it on me, you made my joke seem tamed in comparison and that's something I can't have. Because there can be only one one-man joke show and that's me"
Jason just take the chance to spit at the joker's face and growl at him "well what are you gonna do, Uh? Kill me? Cause that won't make your show any fresher, you pathetic excuse for a clown" he knows it's not a wise decision when he can't move and he's at the mercy of the clown but he has conquered death before and he can sure do it again.
The Joker just pulls out a cloth and wipes his face before he pulls out a knife and jams it into Jason's arm, Jason lets out a small grunt in pain but doesn't scream, Joker just starts to roll the blade drawing a line of blood across Jason's arm "Oh believe me I've thought about it, I've thought about bringing a crowbar and reenact our happy memories together, but no that would be repeating the same joke and that's something I don't do", Joker then pulls out the knife and jams it into his other arm and then proceeds to make holes around Jason's entire body, his body screaming in pain but he doesn't give the clown the satisfaction and just grunts and curses while the Joker laughs and stabs and after a few more painful minutes he stops and drops the knife on the floor, his face covered in Jason's blood "but then an IDEA came to me, and I couldn't help but jump from excitement" Joker starts to jump and fling his arms around and spins "YOU could be the one thing that I need to prove my point and this time bats would be able to see things my way. And I'm not talking about killing you, oh no way José, I'm talking about giving you your own BAD DAY, so I started thinking about how would I achieve that, well obviously you were pretty loco when you came back thanks to that old ninja Grandpa and his magic Tempur-Pedic youth shower, so I thought to myself, maybe I don't have to kill anyone, bet you didn't expect that did you? No, maybe the tools are in here" Joker presses his index finger on Jason's temple "I just have to make them work for me and PUM….I have my own Monalisa"
The Joker then claps his hands and then a light appears behind him, and shadows begin to appear and after that Harley Quinn arrives with a smile on her face and the mallet resting on her shoulder "yes, Mistah J? She asks as joker keeps looking at Jason's body, losing blood but not from any important spots "it's time Harley" the girl nods and she puts her mallet on the floor before she shouts "GET YOUR ASSES IN HERE MUDBAGS", suddenly several shadows appear and various henchmen walk up to Jason's table with needles, tubes and bags with various chemicals and then four henchmen show up carrying a big machine and they set it in front of Jason's table.
The men start to inject the needles through Jason's injuries and connect the tubes to the machine while they pour the bags of chemicals on the top of the machine which starts to light up and make noises, after a few minutes they all step away from Jason but don't get out of the tent. Joker leans and stares at Jason before his wicked smile appears once again "I've asked a lot of favors and used a lot of connections to make sure this goes well….oh and don't worry about bats not getting in time" he starts to walk away and then he turns and raises his hand showing Jason's communicator and his beacon "because I'm counting on his arrival, HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAH" He then turns around and starts to walk away, Harley Quinn following behind "Do we really have to do this mistah J? She pouts as she gets her mallet and catches up to the Joker "OH yes Harley, this is really necessary and think of all the fun that we're going to have from now on" that seems to cheer her up as she takes the joker's hand and starts skipping but he stops her to say to his men "Wait an hour boys, get rid of the stuff, and then you can have your fun" the men chuckle as the machine starts to pump a violet liquid and Jason's body begins to spasm and thrash around, and he starts to scream as his eyes begin to redden.
And that's the last image inside the tent before it closes and the Joker and Harley Quinn stand at the entrance of the carnival, Harley just leans her head on the Joker's shoulder and he just gives a final glance to the tent before he activates the beacon and puts his finger on the communicator.
"HELLO…BATS…hehehehehehhahahahahahahHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAAAAAAAAAH"