Chapter Two

Ready, Set, Go

Finally the day I had been waiting for came. It seemed like during my absence Gotham had found its way back into the swing of things. Perhaps they thought me dead, I'm not sure I like that. Things would be changing soon enough, of that much I was sure. My men from Blackgate were no doubt being boarded into trucks at that very moment, unknowingly tipping the domino at the top of the line. It was time to get a jump start on phase two.

"Wait, so how did you know that Blackgate was going to be put under construction, and your men moved to Arkham?" A dark figure sitting across from a man in an orange Arkham jumpsuit leans forward. They sit together in a small room, walls lined with men wearing guard uniforms. A bright light shines down on the man in the jumpsuit as he stares at the dark figure sitting in the chair before him.

"Well if you would just listen to the story perhaps you would find out." The man in orange snaps back, the grimace on his face slowly turning back into smile. "Think you can do that batsy?" He asks with a smirk.

"Just say what you have to say Joker, I don't have all night." The figure sighs as he checked the time.

"Of course you do bats," The man in orange says with a grin. "Now quiet, I'm not finished."

It was time to get a jump start on Phase two. I had been sitting silently in the parking garage outside of the Gotham Memorial Hospital for several hours at this point, watching the road, waiting to see the trucks hauling my men go by. I was starting to get worried, until I heard word from Waylon that the trucks had made their way to Arkham safely. I suppose I must have dosed off at some point, missing their arrival. At any rate I was satisfied that they had made it there without any problems, and that was enough to motivate me to continue.

I straightened up in my seat and and opened the car door, taking in some air. Gotham wouldn't think me dead much longer. My makeup had melted in heat and had began to run down my face leaving streaks of black trailing from my eyes. For some reason that didn't bother me as much as the wrinkles that had formed in my pants, from the hours of sitting I had been doing in such a dreadfully hot environment. Regardless I made my way through the parking garage in record time. Surely someone must have seen me coming, for it was only a matter of minutes before the sound of sirens was filling the surrounding city blocks.

"Now that was quick." I said looking around trying to find the direction the noise was coming from. I continued walking at a fast but steady pace until I made my way to the front of the hospital. It was obvious everyone there was none to thrilled to see me. Maybe it was the way they got up and ran past me in a moment of fear, or the way mothers covered the eyes of their children as they swooped them up into their arms and ran through the door. It did my heart good to see I hadn't lost my touch. For a short time there, I had been worried.

"Now then, I understand you are all scared," I raised my knife into the air slowly, smiling with a shaky hand. "Rightfully so too." I laughed loudly as I threw it across the room, watching it speed forward only stopping once it found itself embedded in the eye socket of the receptionist behind the desk. "Oops, my hand slipped." I said as I smirked, watching her fall from her chair, and out of view behind the desk. "I'll be more careful next time."

I was starting to wonder what was taking the cops so long. Had Gordon stopped for a burger on the way over? Just as I was beginning to wonder what was causing the hold up, I heard a familiar voice outside. "Joker we know you're in there, come out with your hands up, or we will be forced to take extreme measures."

"Ah, there he was, not so late after all. A smile appeared on my face as I looked around curiously, waiting for someone to make the first move. "Oh, he must of been talking to me then." I said with a smirk as I raised my hands calmly and took a step outside. "Ah you caught me Gordon, well done." I said slowly, raising my hands higher. The look in his eye told me he was confused, that was exactly what I wanted.

"So I was right to think that you wanted to be caught?" The dark figure on the other side of the table slams his fist down, making the room shake.

"Well of course you were Batsy Boo, I never said you weren't." The man in orange smiles, as the figure stands and begins to breath out, now pacing the room. "Oh ho, someone looks anxious," Sweeping his cuffed hands through his hair, the man in orange stretches his back.

"Shut up and finish your story, It's getting late." The figure growls.

"You might as well sit back down," The man in orange says quietly. "The story has only just begun."