Helloooo!! Here is second chapter, revised for your viewing pleasure. Hopefully this all works out!!

Okay. I still don't own Batman or Joker or anything. I just enjoy writing the story.

"talk" is talking.
'talk' is thinking.

Joker/Bruce Wayne

The proceedings went smoothly. The Joker followed his thugs up to the top of a large old office building, hiking up stairwell after stairwell until finally they opened the door to the roof. Wind spun their clothing around and pressed against their backs as they grabbed a few strange looking guns, rushing to the side, crouching down, and firing.

Small hooks were flared out, connected to pieces of long cable wire. They were about 20 floors up… when the Joker landed, he would just have to go up the elevator, or the stairs, should he need to.

He was excited for his little meeting with Mr. Wayne, the mysterious entrepreneur. He was a cold, stiff man, he had heard… handsome to the ladies, successful to the men… in other words, a model citizen and a very good role model for the people with high hopes. The Joker should his head, chuckling under his breath as he listened to the wind, buffeting around his purple trench coat, waving it about.

Another cable was fired and soon there were two long cables suspended over the city. "Oh I love this trick, I love it." The Joker murmured under his breath, walking to the side where the cables were tied. He glanced back at the two men. "Watch the cables… release 'em once I'm in!" He said cheerfully. There seemed to be no thought in his mind about the 20 floor drop from where he was- he felt around in a pocket and pulled out a pair of handcuffs. The best way to go across…

He tossed one cuff over the other and put them on, making sure they were locked, the key in a pocket, all closed up. "A pleasure!" He called to the baffled henchman as he lifted his agile legs, wrapping them around one of the cables and sliding his body across like an inchworm. He kept his head tucked, glancing up at the large building ahead. Mr. Bruce Wayne… Bruce? An interesting name for a billionaire. He was used to the typical 'Edmond', 'Edward', or some sort of ethnic name… he frowned, twisting himself up as he felt his body relaxing. "Oopsies!" He laughed, his whole body swinging back and forth. His henchmen held onto the cables for dear life, watching fearfully. Was this guy crazy!? He would cut off his wrists, using handcuffs!

But the Joker wasn't crazy. He slid himself forward. Halfway there. Traffic sped by beneath him. The clown didn't flinch. He chuckled, humming to himself loudly.

"Mmmm mmm hmm mmm…" The roaring of a siren went by. "mmm MMM mm mm…" He shook his head, greasy blond and green hair tossed about by the wind. "Mmm mmm… hmm mm hmm….mmm mm…" He shrugged his shoulders, feeling his bulky clothing swinging about, and another siren. That was getting annoying. He couldn't concentrate! He chanced a quick look down. Police, ambulance, fire truck? What was it? "Mmm…" He paused on a note of the carnival song he had been humming, seeing a fire truck speed by. He sighed in relief. No police men… well, they had probably started the alarms for his escape now. Maybe Bats was already looking for him…

"Hmm mmm…ooh!" He stopped, wincing as his foot stubbed into something. "Ah!" It was the window. He looking in quickly to make sure it was an abandoned room- and it was, just an empty office room- and he swung himself back precariously, feeling the cables bounce and tighten. His feet pulled together and he slammed forward into the glass, the knife in his shoe coming out to break the glass. It shattered about him and he tumbled in. "Ah he ha!" He jumped to his feet, brushing off his clothing. That had certainly been loud… they would find him soon if he didn't hustle.

Out into the hall he ran, finding the stairs and rushing up them. "Twenty eight… tweeenty eight… eight plus twenty is twenty EIGHT." Joker crashed up the stairs, making sure to listen for any commotion. Surely someone had seen the mess he had made!
"…Twenty eight!" He hopped up, panting a bit as he regained breath. "Dearie me…" He patted his chest and felt his heart thumping. "I need to get on the stairmaster!" He felt around in his pocket and pulled out a neglected apple peeler. Oh, how he'd missed it… he carried it in a purple-gloved hand, stepping to the door and slowly pushing it open. Another hallway… he knew the man's suite was here.

"Bruce, Bruce… Brucey Bruce. Wayne. Bruce Wayne. Hmm." He mumbled to himself, coming to a door and frowning.

DO NOT DISTURB.

"Ha!" He looked at the knob. Of course, locked. He leaned down to be eye-to-knob with it, pushing the very edge of his apple peeler's blade in and twisting it about. "Mmhmm. Mm… there we go." He pulled back his weapon, jiggling the handle as gently as he could. If the man wasn't there, he could always wait for him… he slowly pushed the door open, glancing in.

"Oooh!" The Joker's already scratched in smile grew as he stepped into a large suite. A dining table sat near one of the windows, with four chairs that probably were never all occupied. A small kitchenette was placed nearby for easy access on-the-go, along with a large wide screen television hanging on a mantle, with a lush, leather couch. "So many toys…" Joker was used to seeing such luxuries- mostly from the mob bosses he had 'associated' with, and robbing so many houses.

He enjoyed the view from these windows… the whole town at the disposal of this Wayne character. Speaking of…

The Joker glanced about, seeing a large, king sized bed sitting near the far wall. He walked on his toes right over, brow raised as he realized that indeed, someone was sleeping in the bed.

"Hmm." Joker stepped closer, yellow teeth showing in a large grin as he tenderly sat on the side of the bed. The man was a bit tan, head tilted to one side, body lying over on one angle on the bed. He seemed to be wearing a button down shirt, but it was loose and undone, and the man's hair was tousled, dark brown.

The clown contemplated how to do this. Obviously he couldn't just kill the man; he had things to ask, and he needed some intimidation. He smirked, licking his tongue over the faded red makeup over his lips and cheeks.

'Got it.'

Reaching one hand over, he placed it over the man's mouth suddenly, covering it harshly. The man jolted awake, eyes bleary, but suddenly alert. The murderous Joker smiled down at him.

"Wake up, sleepyhead! I have some questions to ask you!" The man thrashed and the Joker leaned over the bed so he pressed the other man down, the knife at his cheek. "Aww, don't be like that… Mr. Wayne, is it? Bruce, right? Well, listen, I heard from a very reliable source that you just might have some info. And guess who needs it? Well, there's certainly not anyone else in this room!" The clown reveled in the man's confusion and sudden anger in his eyes.

"What's wrong, Bruce? Unhappy about something? Maybe I should have let you sleep longer… but really, I have things to do. So let's cut to the chase." He murmured, grinning, his eyes wild with mischief, the black make up around them blotched and blurry.
Bruce stared back at him, mumbling something into his captor's hand.

"Hmm? Sorry, Brucey, I can't hear you." He kept the knife near his cheek, slowly letting his hand pull from the other's mouth.

"Disgusting piece of-"

"Now, now, Bruce. I'm trying to be civil! I have a couple questions for you. You answer and go back to sleep! Easy as that. Now, let me see here…" The Joker tapped his own scarred, scratched cheek with his knife in contemplation. "…Ahh yes. The Batman."
The man beneath him stiffened, staring up at the Joker. Had he found out? Did he know the secret? How had he found it out?

"I am hearing that you might know his identity… or where Bats' little cave is. Where he's hiding… is he on vacation? I heard he hung up his wings when I got taken into custody! Silly, huh? He thought he could contain me in there! How funny!" He smirked, leaning down to regard the man. Why did his quite angular jaw seem so familiar? "Now, you can answer. I won't slice you up."
Bruce's hands shot out and pushed the murderer from his bed, making him tumble off and onto the floor. Bruce jumped off hurriedly, fixing his black pants and grabbing into the drawer of his bedside table.

"Oh, sweetheart, don't be like that!" Joker stood with a small groan, cracking his back. "Ahh that felt good. Anyways, back to the Batman. I really need to know where he is. You see, he's one of the reasons I was locked up! Imagine it. I can't be contained in such a small cell. It's like clipping a bird's wings! I need room to… to fly, if you will. Now." He fixed his stance, still holding the apple cutter as the man rummaged in the table's drawer for something to use. "Any information? Anything whatsoever?"

Bruce cursed. He had thought he might have a gun stowed away… nothing. He pulled out an old Time magazine and the Joker smirked. "What's wrong? Listen, I don't have all day. So if we could hurry this along, Bruce… it would be very helpful." He smiled, lunging forward and grabbing the other, pushing him down against the floor. Bruce kicked, his strong body thrashing beneath the other who kept him down.

"Hmm. An entrepreneur who works out? How funny. Now please… information would be appreciated!" Joker clicked his tongue against the top of his mouth, watching the other below him. The man felt trapped, and he stared up at the strangely dressed man.

"…What… do you want to know?" Bruce asked. He would have to lie… or avoid the truth. But what if the other realized who he was? If he got too close…

"What do I… what do I want to know? Ha! He ha ha!" The clown shook his head as he tried to regain his breath. He exclaimed, "Anything! Any information! His real name, where he lives, where his little cave happens to be… license plate number? Social security, how many girlfriends, I could care less! BUT…" The knife caressed the side of Bruce's face, who cringed a tiny bit, glancing up at the other, confused. "I need the truth, Brucey. I don't want to go on a wild goose chase… that wouldn't be very nice, huh?"
The Joker's voice was so taunting to the trapped man. He was good at throwing things off him… but with no weapons, he wasn't as strong. He couldn't lever himself off without cutting his throat on that knife… it seemed hopeless. But he couldn't say. He shut his mouth, staring up at the other. The staring battle started. Neither said anything- the Joker's black outlined eyes stared back at the vigilante's dark ones, and they both stayed silent.

"…Want to know how I got these scars?" The Joker asked in a conversational voice, the knife tracing the others lips, his eyes absently watching them move a tiny bit in protest. When the businessman beneath him didn't say a word, he continued on his little story. "You see… I was big into baseball, when I was a little kid. And Mommy took me out ALL the way into the downtown area to watch the local teams duke it out… ahh, those were the days. BUT one day, one team went over the edge and a fight broke out. The men were angry- someone was cheating, ya see? So they started an all out brawl. I had been waiting in line for a signature from my favorite player… but an army knife slipped by and just happened to slice me up! But it's okay, ya see? Not so bad, huh?" He touched his own scars with one hand, stroking the spots.

"…You're crazy!" Bruce spat out at him. The Joker stopped, frowning down at him, confusion in his eyes.

"Crazy? Ah, no, no, no, Brucey, you got me all wrong! See? I'm not crazy. I'm not the masked stranger beating people with his bare fists in the middle of the night, like your little friend Bats. No, I'm a man of simple tastes! All I need is some explosives and a knife. I don't need such bravado… just me!"

"What about… your stupid makeup?" Bruce challenged, chest heaving. Stupid Joker was stronger than he appeared, and having him sit, straddling his chest was just too much. He couldn't get up.

"You don't like it? Well I guess it's a bit wild for some. But it's only to help compliment my scars. See, they look nice like this!" His knife came back down within inches of the vigilante's face. "But enough about me… let's hear about YOU, Mr. Wayne! Big entrepreneur, huh? I hear you help out a whole lot down at Arkham… thanks for all that extra security, by the way." He winked, leaning on one arm comfortably, as if they had been old friends. Bruce glared up at him, mentally cursing himself. He should have bought them an electric fence or something…

Screw it, this mastermind could probably break through ANYTHING. "… Why are you here?" Bruce asked, buying time. Perhaps Alfred would see what had happened… but what could Alfred do? Call the police? The Joker would just kill him.

"Haven't we been over this?" The Joker shifted his body a bit, staring down at the other. "Listen, I know you might not exactly trust in me… but I'm not gonna TELL anyone, I swear! I just want to find out where Bats is… I got to talk to him about something. See, he suddenly disappeared! And I can't live my life without Bats coming after me! Without him, what am I? Just a guy stealing and killing. But WITH him, I am a scary guy! I like that! I want that back. SO all I need… is information."

"…I don't know where he is." Bruce mumbled under his breath. In a way, it was true. He had no motivation to be Batman at the moment… and he wasn't going to start dressing up again, just so he could keep up with the Joker's little game.

"See… if I don't HAVE the Batman back, what am I gonna do? I'll just kill some more people. He seems okay with it- hasn't been doing much to stop."

Bruce grit his teeth. "You've been in JAIL." He growled out. Joker raised his brow with a chuckle.

"Mmm, why so serious, Bruce?" He asked, letting the knife trace down the other's chest. "You seem very familiar, Mr. Wayne." The Joker watched the other's breath hitch when the knife cut a tiny bit into his flesh, right near his stomach. "Oops! I hope my hand doesn't slip again…"

"Listen… Joker." Bruce said quickly. He didn't want the other to do anything rash… though rashness was the clown's specialty. "I think he hung up his cloak. He's done. He's gone. Batman's gone." He murmured tiredly, watching the Joker. The clown's face contorted in what looked like confusion.

"You must be mistaken, Mr. Wayne." The Joker leaned in real close, watching the other with dark eyes. "I'm sure he's willing to appear… for a friend like you, hmm?" He glanced down at the other, who stared up at him hatefully, before reaching into his pockets. "Lesse… where did they GO?" He made a small triumphant noise and pulled out the handcuffs he had used earlier. "Ta da! Field trip!" He turned the other around easily beneath him, his chest pressed into the small of the slightly taller man's back as he cuffed him.

"He's not going to-"

"Aww, hush now. Don't ruin my fun." Joker grasped the man's arms, pushing him up. "Stand, come on now… there we are. Now, let me see. How to get back?" He pulled the other along with him. "You have a rocket launcher around here?" Bruce stared back at the Joker, not amused. "…Well gee, so much for a sense of humor. Alright, maybe I can just…" He dug about in his pockets and finally pulled out an old looking cell phone. He dialed a number and held it up to his ear. "Hiya… yeaaah but see, it's the twenty eighth floor… no. Yeah, that would be GREAT. Really? Okay, just aim high. Mmhmm… we'll stand back." He turned off the phone and slid it into a pocket, leading Bruce along with him backwards, away from the windows.

"What're you-"

"You'll see, sweetheart. Watch!" The Joker watched the windows, seeing a small speck on the roof of a lower building, and then a sudden shot of fire. One whole panel of glass exploded and shattered into pieces. "Oh, how wonderful. Now let's be on our way! This might be a bit harder than it was arriving, though!" He looked at the quite steep zip line leading down to the building. He couldn't carry the larger, more muscular man, and now he was handcuffed… "Ooo, I got it!" He grabbed the phone again, having another short conversation.

A few seconds later, some clown-masked henchmen were climbing up the zip lines into the building. Bruce stayed where he was- the handcuffs were too tight and he had nothing to pick the lock with. He sighed, mind thinking hard. Was Lucius nearby? Maybe he could do something…

The men climbed in, grabbing Bruce and each connecting themselves to harnesses and sliding down the zip line. Bruce's eyes went wide as he felt the very distinct possibility that he could indeed drop, if one man lost his grip. But he was thrown over onto the roof without a hitch, and the Joker slid across easy as pie.

The Joker smirked, glancing over at Bruce, who the henchmen had tied up a bit better, making sure his arms couldn't move from behind his body. "Oh boy, everything's going just fine! Now, back to the headquarters, hop to it!"

Okay, so here it is! Chapter 2, all fixed. I hope it's easier to read like this. The third chapter is, I suppose the most exciting. SO keep reading, please! And R & R if you enjoyed!

See you next chapter!!