Author's note: Joker, Batman, Dent, Dawes – they're not mine (shocking! :D ). Nolan TDK Joker. Story takes place during the movie, between scenes. Chaps 1 and 2 are prologues. You can skip to Chap 3 if you'd like, but these parts are background and add dimension to the O/C. Yay for reading! Yay!
"I know someone's there…" The Joker stated, the sing-song words echoing off the dank ally walls. "You've been following me," he continued, his voice deepening. "It's losing its…charm."
There was no response. He listened for footsteps, spinning suddenly when a rat skittered across the pavement.
"Fine!" he yelled, like a child reluctantly going to the corner for time-out. "When you want to play, I'll play."
For days he'd heard footsteps, doors shutting, objects dropping. All things to indicate someone was shadowing him. Maybe it was one of those irritating Batman copycats, he thought. They disgusted him.
"Listen, I'm tired. So," he waved his hand, dismissing the shadow, "go home… and not with me."
J scaled a nearby fire escape. Three stories up, he smashed the butt of his gun through an already-cracking window pane and reached his leather-gloved hand through to unlock the window, forcing it open with his shoulder. Once inside, it was clear the apartment was abandoned. Perfect place to rest for a few hours until daylight. The mob bosses would be meeting, and he wanted a few hours of shut eye before introducing himself to them.
"Mmm, plumbing works," he muttered. Kitchen sink water running, J pulled his gloves off with his teeth and slid out of his overcoat. He rolled up his sleeves and twisted his neck to position his face under the cool stream. Sideways, he opened his mouth, the water running over his tongue as it took off his makeup.
A door inside the apartment opened, startling J. He hit his forehead, hard, on the faucet. "COME ON!" he grunted. "I was enjoooying that." He touched his forehead with two fingers. "And now I'm bleeding. Happy?"
"I could be happier," a voice responded from the hallway.
J turned off the faucet and wiped his face on his sleeve. He stepped towards the hall. "I thought told you not to come home with me."
After a long pause, the stranger spoke. "I know what you're doing."
"Oh, really? You do? Because, I don't even know what I'm doing day to day. So you tell me. What am I doing?"
A figure emerged from the hallway and walked into the pale light that streamed through the broken window. It was a man, early twenties, dressed in black. A suit, three pieces – like J's – but not homemade. His hair was very short on the sides, choppy and longer on top. Pink and black strands fell across the stranger's eyes.
"I know you're setting up the mob." His words were careful. They sounded slightly rehearsed. "And I know it's…not going to be easy for one man alone."
J approached the stranger and circled him, still wiping water from his face. "And I s'pose you wanna saaaaave the day and stop me before I get to them. Mmm? You a hero? Or maybe hoping for some kind of…re-ward…from the gang-sterrrs?"
"Nnnoo," the man said, matching J's mocking tone.
J's slight smile widened. "Well then. Why are you in my penthouse?"
"I can help you."
J took a few steps back from the stranger. "Ohhh no no no. I don't want a fan, like the Batman. Flattering – really – but I'm doing just fine on my own." J returned to the sink, turning on the water and replacing his face beneath it.
The man grabbed J by the back of his vest and pushed him to the opposite wall. He was strong, despite being even thinner than J.
"Ok, now? I'm really annoyed. I'm trying to freshen up."
The man put J between himself and the wall, almost nose-to-nose. "I need to help you."
"This is awkward." J licked water droplets from his lips.
"You're taking on something big. You could use a capable set of helping hands. I've been watching you, and I want to be a part of what you're doing."
"Not a fan of Gotham, I take it?"
The man backed away from J and turned the water off. "I have my reasons."
"You know, kid, you're not really offering to help me. You're asking me to do a favor for you. And I don't do favors. Most importantly – and this is really the key thing here," he said, pushing his hair out of the blood on his forehead, "I work alone. I don't need a partner."
"I didn't even say partners. I said I wanted to help. I can work for you."
"I don't pay."
"I don't care…about money." The man began begging, quietly. Desperately. "I don't care about…anything. Other than doing something to liven up this damned city." He grabbed J by the tie. "And I like what you're doing, and I like where it's going, and I need to be a part of this. I can't just sit in the balcony anymore watching you." They were nose-to-nose again. "Let me be a part of the act," he whispered, "and I promise to please the crowd."
"Well, I'm a sucker for the dramatics."
A flicker of hope danced across the stranger's blue eyes.
"But like I said. I work alone. And the little…peons…I get to help me here and there…well, I typically kill them, too. So unless that's what you're looking for, I have no use for you."
The stranger let go of J's tie and straightened it. "I'll prove you wrong," he said, eyebrows raised. "And when I do, I won't even say 'I told you so'."
J felt a laugh rise from his chest. There was something intriguing about this person in black that stood so close to him without so much as flinching. He wouldn't want to turn away something that could potentially be fun. "Ok then."
"Ok what?"
"Ok, prove me wrong." J clapped in the stranger's face, getting the startle he deserved. "Prove me wrong, prove me wrong, prove me wrong," he repeated, clapping. "Tomorrow. I'll give you one shot to impress me. Doesn't have to be anything fancy, just something…useful to me."
The man nodded.
J walked past him and returned to the sink. "Tomorrow. That's all you get. I don't have much of an attention span to wait longer than that."
Without another word, the man exited through the broken window, making eye contact with J briefly before he hopped onto the fire escape.
Why shouldn't he have one lousy copycat while the Batman got to have dozens? Especially when this one might have a potential to be a little fun.