Not for the faint of heart. If you are triggered by violence of any kind then this isn't for you. If you are triggered by shows like criminal minds, Law and order, NCIS, or even like Game of Thrones (especially Game of Thrones) then this is not for you. This will be the first and last trigger warning. This is a dark story.
Mr. Js Joker Quote of the Day
"No one ever made a difference by being like everyone else."- The Greatest Showman
Song Suggestions: Car Crash by Three Days and Crawling Linkin Park, the Happy Song by Bring Me the Horizon
Joker Suggestion: Mark Hamill. That Laugh.
Chapter 2
Act 1: Scene 0
"How boring," The Joker said as he replayed the video.
He sat in his newest hidey-hole, watching recordings of the young teen titans fighting their villains. It was a drag. Those kiddos had no idea how to make a fight interesting. It was all punches and energy beams then boom, the villain was down.
Boring.
That's why they needed him, that's why they needed the Joker. He would bring some life to their boring quarrels. From what he had been told by Slade Dickman and the Hive brats, the Titans were boring. They fought to defeat but never to kill, must have been taught by Batsy.
Nightwing, the original boy blunder, and red-haired alien with the big knockers were around but as mentors. Yawn.
The black and blue kid was sassy but not important really. Just a kid. Blah.
The green one was a little livelier but oozed with self-pity and insecurity. Snooze.
The bluebird was basically the daughter of the devil trying to be good. Cliché.
The newest boy wonder was basically the apple from the tree. As serious as good old Batsy,so that made him boring. Joker knew he would need to bring some fun to this kids life. After all, if he could bring life to Batsy then he could bring it to Batsy Jr. too.
This would be fun.
...
Raven sat in her bath trying to make a migraine go away. It had been three days since the joker had shot her and it had been three days of pain. Today it was a never-ending migraine.
And she could still hear the laugh.
She had tried to meditate, she had tried to sleep it off. Both attempts lead to visions of terror filled with that laugh.
"Raven," she heard from outside her room.
It was Richard. He had come to their aid as soon as he could. To help them face the Joker.
She got out of the porcelain tub and quickly put on her bathrobe. She walked to her room and opened her door to let Richard in.
Her relationship with the man dubbed Nightwing was something Raven hoped to keep forever. He was her older brother in everything but blood.
Richard had been the one to find her and bring her to the teen titans after the justice league refused her. She had been a scared 10 year old child and she had just been denied help by the earth's strongest heroes. She thought she would be left to suffer on earth, all alone. Richard had seen more in her than the Justice League had. He had talked to her, brought her out her shell. When her father attacked, he and Damian had risked all to save her. He was the first person to care about her.
"Hey Rae," he said as he walked in. "How are you?"
"I have a migraine," she said simply as she sat on her bed. "It won't go away."
"Sorry to hear," he said putting a calming hand on the shoulder. "What caused it?"
"The Joker," Raven replied earning a wince from Richard.
"I know how you feel," Richard said. "Thinking about the Joker gives me headaches too."
Raven shook her head.
"It's more than that for me," she continued. "I'm an empath, I feel people emotions. Some people I can even see into their emotions. When he slinked out of the shadows it was like someone started shooting off cannons and banshee where popping out of nowhere to start screaming in my ears. None of it made sense, it was convoluted and loud. Yet I didn't know what it was until I realized my empathic powers had linked onto him, the joker. His mind is terrifying Richard. And I can't shake it off."
Richard looked at his young friend in shock.
"I...I'm sorry, I hadn't realized."
"You don't have to apologize Richard. It's the curse of being an empath."
"What can I do to help?"
"Make him go away. Ensure Damian's protected? Not much to be honest.".
Richard nodded.
"We'll get him soon, I swear. He won't lay a finger on Damian."
Raven nodded back and prayed to Azar he would be right.
...
"Are you sure this plan is foolproof Jynx?" The small high tech-loving Gizmo asked his pink haired leader.
"Yes," she replied. "I wouldn't have told that nut job if it wasn't."
"Our lives depend on this," Angel said.
The room became somber. They all knew why Angel had said was true. Hell even if the plan worked 200% they weren't guaranteed survival. They may have been kids but even they knew what the joker was capable of. How he was known to go back on deals. Even the ones he initiated. Even with young teenagers. He could and probably would kill them.
"I've taken every titan into account, even red and night boy."
Jynx looked at her team. She knew this had to work and they had to run and hide as soon as the joker had Robin in his grasp.
"Angel, I made sure to put you in the spot I know red will go to."
Angel nodded.
"Mammoth you've got the green bean, and Giz you've got bug boy."
The two men nodded.
"Kydd you've got the goth and I'll be handling Nightwing. Leaving Robin for the joker."
Jynx took one more look at her plan.
"If anything goes wrong you run okay, you get the hell out. The bombs are real, understand that. We cannot trust the Joker. You get out of town, out of the dimension if you can. Understood. "
Her team nodded in understanding
"Hive five...be careful."
...
"Hahahahaha ehehehhahahah."
It was all around her. The laugh.
She was in the abyss. Surrounded by nothing but the laugh. She could see nothing but she could feel only pain. Like something kept beating her.
Raven shot from her bed with the sounds of alarms going off. She got up and tried to shake off the nightmares.
"I am disappointed in you, daughter," her father's voice rang in her head. "Afraid of a measly mortal clown."
Raven ignored her horrid fathers scolding. He had been a menace since she trapped him in her jewel always sticking his opinion where it was unwanted. However, today he had a point.
The Joker was a measly human man that much was true. So why was she so afraid?
Why was she suffering from such horrid nightmares? Why was he still in her head?
Because they weren't nightmares, she suddenly thought. They were premonitions.
Something awful was about to happen.
...
Everyone in the tower was in the meeting room waiting for Nightwing to give directions. The team was on edge due to the recent occurrences. They were all glad their original leader was here.
"Looks like the high five," Nightwing told his team.
"They have set up 6 locations," Kori continued. "So we must assume they know Richard and I are I'm attendance."
The group nodded.
"We must assume they are working with the Joker," Robin chimed in.
"Yes," Nightwing said. "The locations are obvious traps. They think we will all go to the spots best suited to us."
Raven looked at each place on the screen.
A park meant for Beastboy. Open space for an animal to run.
A rooftop in the populated downtown area. That gave Star the freedom to fly and fire her starbolts.
A high tech security building for Blue Beetle.
An old abandoned building in the poor side of the city, that was for Raven. Creepy building for a creepy girl.
The city bank full of hostages to appeal to Nightwings savior complex.
The giant city library for Damian. The huge bookshelves were like mazes. They would confuse Damian and give the Joker many places to hide.
"We need to be smarter," Nightwing continued. "Robin and I will switch areas, everyone else will go to where is expected."
"What are we fighting against?" Beetle asked.
"Bombs and the Hive." Robin said. "Take down your hive member as fast as you can and disable or get rid of the bomb quickly."
"We must all stay safe," Star said.
Everyone nodded.
"Titans go."
...
Robin was nervous. He hadn't liked the idea of splitting up. He hadn't liked the idea of Raven going off on her own after having been shot only days before. He didn't like that the Joker was here, in his city.
It all felt wrong. Like everything was going to go wrong.
He made it to the bank. Police cars surrounded the building. Onlookers were taking pictures. No one had yet to be hurt but Robin knew he had to get the people out and dismantle the bomb. He couldn't let the Joker win.
He pushed his way past the police and guards and crashed through the window. He wasn't expecting to see the Joker just yet, he was expecting some henchmen, maybe a hive member. He wasn't expecting to burst in and the first thing he would see would be a shocked and terrified Jinx.
She shook her head, her eyes were full of horror. The utter horror which only meant one thing.
"You aren't supposed to be here," she said with a shaking voice. "No, you can't be here. He's gonna kill us now."
Before Robin could even question her she pressed a button on her collar and then in a burst of pink smoke she disappeared. The bomb in her place.
It was ticking.
4:59
4:58
4:57
"Everyone get out of here," Robin yelled as he ran towards the bomb.
Things were going wrong.
...
Nightwing entered the library cautiously. He knew the Joker could pop out of any crook or crevice in this old library.
He knew that Joker would be amused and would put up a fight. He knew that after having his fun the Joker would get bored, try to escape and attack another day. He had to play his game and get him today. At that moment he got bored, Nightwing knew he had to keep him occupied.
Suddenly a voice brought him out of his thoughts.
"You are in the wrong place," the voice said above him.
"Kydd," Nightwing said, dread filling his body. "Where's the Joker?"
This was bad. If kyd was here then he sent someone to the wrong place. He may have sent Robin to the Joker. He had to get out fast.
"He is not here," Kydd Wykdd said popping out of a portal. "And you should not have been here. I was expecting the demon."
Terror, regret, anger, fear. All negative emotions suddenly infiltrated his mind.
"No," Nightwing cried.
If he had sent Robin in his place and he was where Raven should have been, then Raven….
A jewel on Kyd Wykkyd cowl began to beep.
"You have messed up," he said stoically. "Now you have put us all in danger. I can tell from how loud your heartbeat is that you have endangered your team as well. I must go, Jynx has given us the "run for your life "signal. However, I do not wish whatever the Joker is planning on anyone. I'll take the bomb and get rid of it for you. Go to the demons rescue as if she's not here and Jynx said she is fighting Robin, then she's with the Joker."
Nightwing didn't doubt Kyd's word, he quickly ran to his Motorcycle.
"Calling all Titans," he said as he sped to the abandoned building. "Status report all titans!"
"Dude," the voice of Beastboy said. "I was fighting mammoth when suddenly he hightailed it out of here. I had like a minute left on the bomb, I flew it out of reach."
"Same occurred with me," Starfire said. "I was fighting Angel and then she suddenly stopped and ran away. I let the bomb explode in the air."
"Beetle here," Beetle said. "Gizmo ran but told me how to dismantle the bomb. He wasn't lying."
"Raven," the voice of Robin yelled. "Where is Raven?"
"I mixed up where she was supposed to be with you," Nightwing said as he dodged and swerved past cars. "We need to get to her coordinates fast. She's the one with the Joker."
"Why isn't she answering?" Robin said. "Raven please, let us know something."
Nothing.
"Just get there fast," Nightwing said.
...
Raven made it to the coordinates and scanned for the bomb. There wasn't one. Red bells immediately rang off in her head and she knew she had to get out of here. However, before she could move the sudden and excruciating pain of an intense migraine hit her.
The pain was so intense that she fell to her knees. It was the laughing, the chaotic mind of the Joker. He was here.
She got up quickly but before she could barely sense a thing her own mind was clogged up with the chilling storm that was the Joker's mind.
Suddenly there was a hand on her shoulder. His voice was right in her ear.
"Look what the cat dragged in," he said. His voice like nails on a chalkboard.
"She dragged in the wrong little bird! Bad kitty, no wonder she ran away."
Before Raven could comprehend anything she was hit square in the back of her head by something metallic, landing on the floor with a small inaudible oof. The pain adding to her already throbbing head.
"Oh, you took that well," the Joker laughed.
He had a crowbar in his hand and he was raising it to strike again. It came down right at her temple. It hurt but she tried to scramble away. She tried to focus on her using her powers but before she could do anything the crowbar rained down on her in multiple, agonizing strikes.
"You don't even grunt in pain, must be your demon blood," he said as he continued to hit the girl. "The last bird I beat with a crowbar grunted each time I hit him. Good times, good times."
He continued to hit and hit and hit and hit her. She couldn't get away.
"This puts a delay in the show," he said as he finally stopped his assault.
Raven was in a horrible amount of agony but she continued to try to scramble away and use her powers. She could not focus long enough to get them to work. She was a sitting duck.
"Unless," the Joker said as caught up to the girl crawling away.
He stepped on her back with immense force. He was a tall 200 lb. man on a small 5'0 125 lb. girl. She could feel a rib break.
"Unless!" he continued with a laugh. "We take the show in a different direction, we recast the main character! Yes, yes! That's it."
He bent down to grab her but she had finally managed to conjure some power into her small hands. She struck the man and he flew back.
She tried to stand up but a migraine, the injuries, and the jokers' insane mind continued to bring her down.
Another blow hit her but in the back bring her back to the floor. Blood was dripping down her head and she could feel an internal injury.
"Now," the Joker said. "Don't be rude, I'm offering to make you a big star!"
He grabbed her by the face and for the first time she got a direct look at his face.
His eyes displayed something chaotic, insane, and something evil. His grin was wide and unnatural.
"You are the new star," he said raising the crowbar in his other hand.
Raven's eyes widened. She could see his crazed expression of joy in his face.
"The new star," he said as brought down the crowbar with tremendous force. "Of the greatest show."
It all went black for the half demon.
She could still hear his laughter. Clearer than ever. His laugh. His cruel, gruesome, demented laugh.
...
End
Authors note
That was dark. I think I am truly bordering that M rating.
I have art to this on Tumblr as B The Crazy Slytherin and on DeviantArt as Wolfeternity
