Note: I'm not very familiar with The Magician so forgive me for any mistakes I make.
Disclaimer: The Magician and all related characters belong to Gaumont Multimedia. Batman and all related characters belong to DC Comics and copyright infringement through this story is not intended in any case.
The Joker's Job by Casey Toh
The night was silent and chilly, the cold wind making anyone who was stupid enough to be outside shiver. The lone structure of Arkham Asylum stood imposing in the darkness. The only noises came from inside the building. The usual maniacal laughter, shrieks, screams, pounding and shouting echoed through the dead corridors. At the end of one was a cell with a reinforced steel door.
Three pairs of footsteps stopped outside it. The door was unlocked and two men entered; the guard shutting the heavy door with a clang. "Fifteen minutes, gentlemen. No more." He left to continue his patrol.
The two who had entered huddled closely as they tried to make out the face of the man they had came to see. "M—Mr. Joker?"
"Well, well," a bright voice spoke from the shadows. "Lookie here. Two idiots here to see me." From the unlit portion of the cell, the demon itself came forth. Shocking green hair was set upon a horribly disfigured white face, with a bright red smile that looked as if it was painted on, and which stretched from ear to ear. The fact that he was in prison did not seem to bother him in the least.
In a surprisingly fast change of mood, the Joker's face took on a scowl. "Aren't you going to tell me your names?" he snarled in an animal fashion.
The two men shrank away from him as one stammered, "W—we're Spade and Diamond from Electro City, sent by Mr. Black Jack."
The Joker's face held that happy red smile again as he regarded his visitors with amusement. "What does Jack Malone want with me? Kill someone? Torture him?"
The smaller man called Diamond produced a glossy photograph with a trembling hand. "M—Mr. Jack wants y—you to go to Electro City to kill Ace Cooper. We're t—to free you tonight at midnight." His eyes blinked the perspiration out of his eyes rapidly, the black diamond tattoo over his right eye joining and separating.
Joker snatched the picture to him and gazed at it. "Ace Cooper, hm…" His tone held sadistic pleasure as he visualized how Cooper would die at his hands and what he would do to his family. "You've got a deal, my boys."
Spade rubbed his sweaty palms on his pants as he regarded the Clown Prince of Crime nervously. "All right then, Mr. Joker. We'll be here at midnight exactly."
The same guard who had let them in now ushered them out, anxious to take his break; the Joker's shrill laughter joining the others.
* * *
The cave was damp, and the noises of people hard at work were the only indication that anyone was there. In a section, the Batman sat at a high-powered state-of-the-art CRAY Batcomputer, updating his files on the latest crimes.
Nearby, Dick Grayson and Timothy Drake, both surrogate sons of Batman and crime fighters themselves, were training at a made-shift gym.
All of them were thoroughly immersed in their activity when an alarm went off, surprising them. Dick and Tim joined Batman at his side as the vigilante turned on the one-way video and the audio link. Commissioner James Gordon's face appeared.
"Jim."
"Batman. Someone set off explosives at Arkham. Penguin, Zsasz, Joker, Poison Ivy, Black Mask and some other minors escaped. I need your help."
The Dark Knight glanced at the time. It was 0007 hours. "This is a planned job, Jim. Whoever did that knows that there's minimum patrol at this time. We're heading there. ETA: fifteen minutes." He cut the connection and gave his sons a look. "Let's go."
* * *
0130 Hours
Arkham Asylum
Batman, Nightwing and Robin herded the handcuffed criminals into the circle of police officers. A spotlight was trained on them from above, ensuring that none of them escaped. Gordon did a quick head count, and matched the number to a list he held. Then his heart stopped a beat. "Batman."
The Dark Knight remained in the shadows, forcing Gordon to have no choice but approach his ally. "Joker's missing."
"Joker!" Batman made the name a curse. "How?"
"Give me a minute to ask about." Gordon took really a minute, much to Batman's amazement. "A guard saw two men drove away with the Joker."
Acting on a hunch, Batman got hold of the guar on duty. "Did anyone meet Joker before this?"
Having the Dark Knight glare at him caused the guard's legs to shake uncontrollably. His mind became blank and his eyes widened in fear.
Gordon chuckled at the effect his ally/friend had on people, and took over. "Did anyone come to see Joker these past few days?"
Reassured that someone was between him and Batman, the guard gave an affirmative nod. "Just now, at about eight. Two men came. They were unusual."
"In what way?" It was Nightwing who spoke.
"I'll show you." The guard directed Gordon and the vigilantes to the control room, and played a tape. Then, with lightning speed, his finger jabbed the, 'Pause,' button and the frame froze. "There. Those two."
Batman zoomed in on the men's features. One was built like a tank, with a squarish face and black hair. The other was of an average built, with green hair like the Joker's and a distinctive black diamond tattoo over his right eye. Both were dressed in red suits with black markings and black pants.
His gloved hand reached out and hit, 'Eject,' slipping the tape into a compartment of his utility belt. To Gordon, he said, "We're on it," and he was gone, followed by his partners; like bad dreams leaving in the presence of light.
* * *
"Oracle, run a check on these two men." Batman's cowl hung limply behind him, revealing the tired face of multi-billionaire Bruce Wayne.
Barbara Gordon, known to the criminal and superhero community as Oracle typed busily at her terminal. "Yeah, yeah," she groused. "Cut me some slack, will ya? I have to sharpen the images as well as check them out, you know?"
Bruce wisely kept his mouth shut. Barbara had a short fuse and a temper as fiery as her red hair. Waking her up in the middle of the night was enough, he didn't want additional wrath from her.
"Got it." She leaned back in her chair, reading from her screen. "Those two are known as Spade and Diamond from Electro City. They work for the crime lord known as Jack Malone, a.k.a. Black Jack."
"Electro City," Bruce echoed. Now why did that sound so familiar? Then the answer came to him in an instant. "Ace Cooper lives there!"
Barbara's face lit up at the mention of the international star of magic. "Hey, I've attended some of his performances. And boy are they great!"
Bruce nodded as Alfred entered the cave with a fresh pot of coffee and a mug on a gleaming silver tray. "Might I interest you in some coffee, sir?" Then seeing Barbara's face on screen, he acknowledged her presence. "Good evening, Ms. Barbara."
The redhead's face brightened even more at the man who had been like a second father to her. "Alfred, good to see you."
"Your sentiment is mirrored."
"Alfred," Bruce interjected. "Dick and Tim are asleep?"
"Yes, Master Bruce."
"All right. Get me three tickets to Electro City. We're leaving in the morning."
* * * End Part One
"And now!" Blue-eyed, blonde haired gossip reporter for SensaNews Duke Paparazzo peered into his anti-gravity camera. "Ace Cooper's newest act!" His cheerful face moved away from the lens to let the audience behind the TV see what was captured on screen."
The audience wowed as Zina, Ace's pet panther and mascot, was raised onto stage on a hidden pedestal. She greeted everyone with a roar.
The Magician waved for the audience to be silent, and the whole theatre became quiet almost instantly, everyone waiting in anticipation for the act.
Ace unhooked his cloak and swung it around for everyone to see, then held it in front of Zina. The black panther gave it a glance, then leapt at it. But instead of hitting the material, she vanished right into it.
The audience's applause was thunderous. Ace then hooked the cloak up by its breadth, and in his gloved palms, produced blue balls of luminous fire. After a few seconds of juggling them, he hurled them at his cloak, setting it on fire.
There was a collective gasp from all around, as everyone wondered about Zina's safety. Ace held his cloak up cautiously, careful to keep it at arm's length away from him. Waiting for a moment to build suspense, the Magician threw the cloak upwards.
The heavy material came floating down in a matter of seconds, enveloping Ace in it. When that happened, some screamed in fear. From under the cloak, a huge form emerged. It was Zina. She gave a proud toss of her head and waited beside the flat material patiently.
Another few seconds passed, and smoke began seeping out from under the cloak, obscuring it from everyone's view. As the accompanying music came to a grand end, so did Ace appear with a grand flourish, whipping his cloak up to return it to its rightful place upon his shoulders.
He pulled the cloak around him tightly, preventing anyone from seeing what he was doing. Then, unexpectedly, his right hand emerged, then hurled four sharp gleaming knives at the audience.
People screamed as they thought they were going to be hurt. But in mid flight, in bursts of light, the knives turned into roses and landed perfectly in eight women's laps. It took them a few seconds to realize it was only a trick by the Magician, and cheers resounded.
Ace and Zina bowed as smoke spurt out of nowhere to envelop them, and they disappeared.
* * *
Spade and Diamond walked behind the skipping and laughing Joker. When they reached the end of the hall, the clown burst right into the room at the other side of the door that was there.
It was an enormous office. Black Jack was in his inverted triangular hover-chair with his back to them, staring at something outside the window. When the crime lord heard them enter, he floated his chair to two rectangular bars jutting out of the floor to form a 'V,' and let his chair rest down.
A blue face and yellow eyes scrutinized a white one, as Black Jack rested his chin on steeple fingers. "So, the famous Joker." His voice was deep and grating, the kind of sound one produced if one consciously constricted one's throat.
The Joker gave a shrill chortle as he bounded over to Black Jack and peered closely at his disfigured face, then threw an arm around his shoulders as if they were old friends. "So what do you want me to do other than kill Ace Cooper?"
"I just want Cooper dead, Joker." The rough voice of Black Jack did not hide his annoyance, but he knew better than to get the Joker worked up.
"Okie dokey." The Joker slapped the hover-chair bound crime lord on the back, sending him into a coughing fit. "Five billion."
When Black Jack regained his composure, his eyes showed murderous intent, but he didn't do anything except smile. "Very well, then. It's a deal."
* * *
The door to a room in Electro City Hotel opened. Bruce, Dick and Tim entered, and locked the door behind them. Tim was the first to notice the blinking light on their answering machine, and played the message.
"Guys," Barbara's voice came out of the speakers, "here's some extra information. Black Jack has a long-standing vendetta against Ace Cooper. Seems that Ace was the one who indirectly caused him to be disfigured. Spot the connection?" The phone went click.
Bruce looked at his sons. "Well?"
"Well, what?" the young men chorused.
"Well, aren't you going to get changed?"
Ten minutes later, three dark forms traveled the rooftops of the city. A quick call to Oracle had provided them with the information they needed about Ace Cooper, but not his home address, which was in the form of a moving bullet train.
* * *
Lieutenant Dereck Vega leaned back in his chair, and crossed his arms behind his head, satisfied that the report was done. He printed it out, and was just about to lock up for the night when a shadow that didn't belong caught his attention.
He whirled around to glare at the intrusive figure. "What do you want?"
"Where is the Magic Express?" Batman demanded, eyes narrowing.
Vega was not in the least intimidated. "Why do you want to know?"
Batman was about to snarl his question again when Oracle's voice came over the earpiece in his cowl. "He's Cooper's friend, Bruce. It won't hurt to state your reason and ask politely."
The vigilante took her advice and released Vega. "All right. I am Batman, guardian of Gotham City. One of the most wanted criminals, the Joker, has escaped here with the help of two men called Spade and Diamond, who works for—
"—Black Jack," Vega finished. "But what would the Joker want with Jack Malone?"
"I have reason to believe Malone's hiring Joker to kill Ace Cooper. So if you would be so kind as to direct me to the Magic Express." Batman's voice had an edge to it.
Vega's eyes widened with concern, as he turned to leave. Seeing Batman remain motionless, he glanced over his shoulder at the vigilante, "Are you coming or not?"
* * *
"That was totally great Ace!" Cosmo punched his friend on the shoulder lightly.
"Thank you, Cosmo." Ace's enthusiasm was more subdued than his younger friend. The two had decided to walk back to the Magic Express from the theatre, Zina bounding ahead of them. They were almost at their home when a gunshot rang out, shattering the deafening silence of the night.
Ace spun around wildly, looking for the source of the shot, when he saw Cosmo looking at his hand in horror. The teen crumpled to the ground without a sound; the yellow portion of his jacket over his right shoulder staining red with alarming speed.
Ace stared on in horror. His mind was a blank. His throat constricted until he couldn't breathe, then with a forceful mental shove from himself, he went into action, calling the ambulance and trying to stop the bleeding.
"Cosmo, hang on." Ace cradled the teen's head in his hands.
A high-pitched laughter filled the air as evil watched Cosmo fight for his life.
* * *
A car pulled up at the Magic Express and Vega and Batman exited. The Dark Knight caught sight of his sons vigilant over the train, and nodded slightly in their direction. The door to the train slid open with a whoosh as Vega identified himself to Angel, the train's AI.
The whole Magic Express was silent, containing none of Cosmo's usual excited voice at the virtual racer, or Zina's growls of content at Ace's pats. "Angel, where's Ace and Cosmo?"
An ever shrinking and expanding crystal of violet light formed in the air. "Cosmo was shot just thirty minutes ago. Ace is with him at the hospital."
"What?" Vega very nearly screamed.
"The Joker got to them first," Batman stated the obvious.
"Let's get going already!" Vega shouted, dashing for Ace's motorcycle. "We'll take the Magic Bike. It's faster."
The turbocharged bike shot out, heading for the hospital, as Batman ordered his partners to continue their watch on Ace Cooper's home.
* * *
Thirty minutes later
Batman had got off the Magic Bike five minutes ago and was on the building opposite Cosmo's ward. He adjusted the focus of the night-vision binoculars he held, and looked in on the teen.
The boy known only as Cosmo to him was in a typical hospital bed, quilt pulled up to beneath his chin. From where he stood, the labored breathing was visible even in the dim light.
Batman felt a fury he had not felt in a long time. The boy was just about Tim's age, and he had already been hurt by the Joker. It was not justified. Damn you, Joker! Batman snarled to an image of the clown in his mind. When I get you, you'll wish you had never been born!
Knowing he had to explain things to Cooper, he left his position he had been keeping for the past ten minutes and shot a line out, preparing to enter Cosmo's ward.
* * *
The door to Cosmo's ward slid open. The teen's right shoulder was heavily bandaged; the bump formed by the material visible on the quilt, but he seemed to be in stable condition. Ace was at the small balcony, chin rested on his steeple fingers.
"Ace," Vega called out tentatively.
The good- looking magician turned, and with a sigh, approached his friend. "Vega."
"Is Cosmo all right?"
"Yes, he's stable." Ace glanced at the redheaded teen who had been like a younger brother to him, and anger welled up. "Who did that, Vega? I'll make whoever did that to Cosmo pay," he snarled.
A soft thud behind him made him whirl around, to see a man in a bat suit; an imposing figure in the room. He recognized the well-known but mysterious vigilante. "Batman."
"Mr. Cooper," the Dark Knight began, "the person who shot your friend is the Joker. I believe that a certain crime lord named Jack Malone hired him to kill you."
"This was meant for me?" Ace's eyes were ice cold. "Then that Joker is a bad shot." His tone held furious sarcasm.
"Not very likely, Mr. Cooper." Batman's eyes narrowed as memories of Joker's sadistic acts flooded his mind. "The Joker revels in pain, hurt and torture. This was just a warm-up to give you pain."
"He is a madman!" Vega exclaimed.
"No, he is not. The Joker is evil itself, through and
through. Unlike a madman who kills for no purpose, he does it for the
pleasure."
"Black Jack hired him to kill me?"
"Yes. Two men named Spade and Diamond helped him escape from prison." The dark Knight turned to leave, cloak swishing at his heels. "I'll track Joker down, Mr. Cooper."
But before Batman could go, Ace spoke up. "I want to help. Cosmo is like my brother, Batman. I'm taking Joker down one way or another."
The Dark Knight gazed deeply into Ace's blue eyes, and saw the resolve, anger and love there. Scenes flashed through his mind, and he recalled seeing the exact same look in Dick's eyes the time Tim was hurt by the Joker. It was the same look in his own eyes.
What right did he have to deny another the right for a justified revenge? None. "All right, Mr. Cooper. I'll call you when I need help."
A smile that was only half forced formed on Ace's face. "Thank you."
* * *
Two nights later.
The Magic Express was situated just outside Electro City, at the starting of the desert. Hair whipped about some faces and dust kicked up as a fighter plane in the shape of a bat landed by the VTOL engines.
The engine was cut off and the Batwing landed smoothly. Nightwing had flown the high-tech plane from Gotham to their present location by a remote. "Cool!" he grinned.
Batman then turned to Ace, looking into his cool, blue eyes. "Mr. Cooper, I will have to borrow your vehicle. The Batwing is too conspicuous."
"Right," Ace agreed. "But I'll go with you."
"Agreed." Batman turned to his sons. "Nightwing, to the rooftops. Robin, stay watch over the Magic Express. If you're in any danger you can't handle, contact me immediately. Understood?"
The younger of the crime-fighters snapped off a salute. "Yeah!"
"Then let's go." Batman's jaw was set. "We have a clown to catch."
* * *
A figure bounded energetically in the darkness. He held two conical flasks in either hand, and proceeded to pour the contents into a rectangular plastic case, setting a timer and hooking some wires onto it.
With a wide grin, he headed to the top of the building to carry out his plan.
* * *
After driving around the city a couple of times and seeing no trace of the Joker, Ace was ready to attack the problem from another angle. He looked to Batman for consultation. "What do you think we should do next?"
The Dark Knight's face showed no emotion as his mind raced through what he knew of the Joker and his MO. Usually sadistic killing or mass murder via his Joker gas, the Batman thought. His eyes narrowed. Joker gas! That's it! "Do you have any labs here? Big ones."
Ace ran a hand through his unusual hair—black with two white stripes starting at his temples and met at the back of his head, and a small tuff of white on his forehead. "The largest lab we have is Surge's lab. Why?"
Batman gave him a hard look. "The Joker loves to kill people with his laughing gas, to get the thrill. After that, he'll kill you."
The look on Ace's face mirrored that of Batman's as he stepped on the accelerator. "Then we have to stop him."
For good this time, Batman added silently.
* * *
It was thirty minutes to midnight. God, Ace thought, why does everything always happen at midnight?
"Mr. Cooper, are we there yet?" the gruff voice of Batman cut into his thoughts.
"Yes. There it is." There could be no mistake identifying it, for Surge Lab stood a mere two stories high, compared to the buildings around it.
The Joker could not be seen anywhere, but Batman was confident that the clown was there—he knew him like the back of his gauntleted hand. After a minute of surveying the building from the outside and memorizing the floor plan, the two men stole to the lab.
The scent of freshly mixed chemicals hung in the air, confirming Batman's suspicions. He headed right for the roof of the lab, Ace following in confusion. Batman seemed to know the Joker better than anyone.
The roof access door flew outward and hit the cemented floor with a loud crack as a powerful kick connected with it. Right in front of them, for the entire world to see, was the Joker; eyes glinting and red smile even wider in the bright moonlight. He gave a crackle. "Ah, my old friend Batman." His eyes narrowed ever so little, though the friendly tone never left his voice. "And dear Ace Cooper."
Staring at the Clown Prince of Crime, Ace had to concur with Batman's earlier statement that the Joker was pure evil. The green eyes held no hint of a soul, and that big red smile seemed to promise pain. Ace gave an involuntary shiver.
Batman, for his part, had a mirthless smile on his face. His demeanor was the total opposite of Joker's, but under that facade, Ace could feel something bubbling, something dark, something that was who Joker was, something…demonic.
"Up to your old tricks again, Jack?" Batman's tone held a trace of mockery.
That bright red grin faltered and became a line; the white face of the Joker trembled with barely concealed fury. "Do not call me Jack!" he snarled. "Jack Napier is dead! I am the Joker now!" Then, the corners of his lips turned upwards again. "Now for our party, Bats!"
Batman felt something rise to the surface of him; of his very soul. It was not a thing he wanted to acknowledge; was a thing he had tried to keep at bay, to surpass, but had always returned, sometimes almost causing him to change.
But not tonight. He will not hold back tonight. He had seen a boy got hurt by that idiot; a boy who was part of someone's family. He was all right though, and recovering, and Batman would allow Joker for that one accomplishment. Now, the fate of a man rested on him, and he would do anything to assure that he lived.
"No more, Joker." Batman moved forward, the demon in him partially taking over. "It ends tonight."
The criminal pressed a button to set the timer off. "Fifteen minutes, and boom!" His laughter filled the air as he squared off with his nemesis. The Joker's face lost its typical 'friendly' look, as an evil deep within himself replaced him. "Prepare to die, Bats!"
Ace crouched down by the made-shift bomb Joker had thrown together, and proceeded to make himself useful by disabling it. This is very simple really, he tried to convince himself. Red, blue, green. Cut the green. The Joker's a chemist, not a bomb expert. He produced his magic staff and a small blade shot out from one end. He hesitated.
The Joker whipped out a large-muzzled revolver. Its appearance had been altered so much Batman couldn't identify its make, but he was absolutely certain that its contents could kill. It was more of a small missile than a bullet, and Batman had to hurl a Batarang at it to denote it before any harm could be done.
Joker threw the weapon to one side, and calmly waited for Batman to approach. The Dark Knight was not so clueless though. He understood the Joker too well and knew it was only a trap. He stopped, and beckoned for the Joker to come to him.
Growling softly, the clown charged forward till he was close enough to reach up to his acid containing flower pinned on his coat, and squeezed it.
Batman recognized that trick and dodged the spray of acid, taking the chance to connect with an uppercut, and flipped Joker to the ground, keeping his arm in a lock. Fully letting his emotions guide him, Batman prepared to stamp down and break his enemy's neck.
"Batman, no!" Ace screamed. The Dark Knight faltered only momentarily, as he prepared to finish the criminal off. "No!" Ace ran to stop him, ignoring the bomb for the moment. He stared directly into Batman's eyes. 'You cannot fight evil with evil."
A light seemed to come on in Batman's eyes, for he released the Joker and stepped back, heading to the bomb and letting Ace take care of the Joker. "You're right."
Just as Ace was about the check if the criminal was all right, the clown opened his eyes and gave a, "Boo!" Startled, Ace jumped backward as the Joker got to his feet. "Now you die, Cooper!" Joker held another gun in his hand and squeezed off many shots.
Hearing his voice, Batman whirled around s his hand reached reflexively for his Batarangs. But he could see it was too late to throw.
As the Dark Knight's eyes widened in shock, he saw Ace wrap his cloak around himself and go into a wild spin, encased in violet light. He heard a, "Magic Force, reveal the power within!" Then, the man disappeared completely. The bullets passed right through the space where Ace had been before, and embedded themselves in the wall, sending bits of gravel flying.
Like the Joker, the Dark Knight was confused. He had seen magic in his life, had even trained in them, but this was ridiculous. How could a man just disappear right into thin air? But neither the Batman nor the Joker were given the chance to think as Ace appeared behind the clown, and telescoped his magic staff, hitting the criminal in the neck and sending him sprawling to the ground.
Taking the chance before Joker recovered completely, Batman crossed the space between them in four large strides, and executed a knife-hand strike to the clown, sending him to dreamland.
The two vigilantes looked at each other. Their job was finished.
* * *
The engine of the Batwing rumbled softly in the silence of the desert; kicking up a mini sandstorm. Inside it, the Joker was chained up, and a cloth stuffed in his mouth to prevent him from talking and annoying the crime fighters on the trip back—courtesy of Cosmo. Zina had rolled the clown around, giving him some nasty bruises—her way of warning him never to mess with her cub.
Now, the two teams stood together, shaking hands. Nightwing and Robin entered the Batwing. Batman was about to follow when a gentle hand fell on his shoulder. He turned to face Ace.
"Remember, Batman. You can never fight evil with evil." He took his hand off.
The Dark Knight offered the Magician a rare smile. "Thank you."
* * *
The Batwing rose and shot off into the distance, becoming at last a small black dot against the lightening sky.
Ace Cooper stood in the shadow cast by the magic Express. "May you find the real Magic Force within you, Batman."
He turned and walked off; cloak billowing in the wind.
THE END