6.
Alfred had finished cleaning the manor and rested, and the next day had passed quickly. Bruce was feeling much better and, to Alfred's relief, the others had also returned.
Bruce was suiting up for the night when he glanced over at Alfred. "You know," he said suspiciously, "I had the strangest dream of the Joker being my replacement…"
"Obviously the sickness had quite the hold on you," Alfred stated primly.
"Uh-huh," Bruce said, not buying it for a minute. "Why him?"
"Different reasons," Alfred answered. "But he did well, Bruce. You saw the results yourself." He hadn't told his young master who the first replacement had been and he didn't intend to.
Bruce grunted and finished suiting up for the night. "I'll see you in the morning, Alfred. Get some rest."
Alfred nodded and watched as they left, making sure everything was tidy and taken care of and worrying as always.
A few nights later, things were relatively normal. Bruce had sent criminals back to prison and broken up various gang fights and the like. Tim was still learning under him and Dick had visited for a bit before returning to Bludhaven.
The butler had stopped some petty criminals that attempted to rob the manor. Idiots, truthfully, but it was something to do and it was all in a day's work. The elderly man went inside to sort the news out for Bruce and saw the news report of Joker being back in Arkham.
But on the news report, the man was sneezing and coughing.
Alfred watched it for a few moments before he slowly smiled, planning, and went to the kitchen. When he told Bruce of the plan later, the man protested vehemently.
"Please, Bruce?" Alfred asked quietly, looking at the younger man.
Bruce Wayne, the Batman, the Dark Knight, Protector of Gotham, sighed miserably. How could he deny the man who had raised him?
He didn't have to like it though.
"Fine." He grunted.
Night had fallen once more, with the no-longer-sick Dark Knight back to his normal activities.
Well… mostly.
At the moment, he was barely noticeably in Arkham Asylum, a shadow on the wall as he dropped in front of a cell….
This particular cell happened to hold the Clown Prince of Crime, the Joker. Batman growled at the coughing and sneezing man.
"Batsy!" Joker wheezed, looking quite pleased as he leaped up and clapped his hands. "What a joy! What brings you to my humble current abode?"
The Batman growled more, obviously wanting nothing more than to punch the criminal in the face.
"I don't speak Baaaaaat," Joker sing-sang.
Another growl and Batman shoved a paper bag, still quite warm, through the bars. "For you. Not from me," he snapped, leaving before Joker could reply.
The criminal blinked, actually confused for once, until he opened the bag. His laugh, very unlike his usual maniacal laugh, filled the prison and made the guards rush to the cell to see what Batman could have given the criminal to have caused such a reaction.
But all the criminal held was a bowl of chicken noodle soup that smelled rather delicious and next to him was what seemed like a "Get Well Soon" card. The guards shrugged and let the insane man be.
Joker picked up the card once more, looking over the neat handwriting.
I don't want you to come out and play, but a good caretaker never likes seeing a person sick.
Here is to hoping you feel better soon. And thank you.
Sincerely,
"The Caretaker"
Still chuckling quite softly, the clown placed the card affectionately near the top of his bed, the only personal object in the cell. "Batsy is no fun, but I think I like you, Mr. Caretaker." The criminal nodded to himself at this and began to eat his soup happily.
Above the prison the Batman moved, ready to take care of the city, and in the outskirts, in the manor, behind the scenes, the man that took care of him, was making sure that their home was secure.
All was back to normal. Well, normal for Gotham City
Although a certain butler knew that when another abnormal night occurred… a certain clown would be there to answer the call.
It was insane and confusing, but that was the norm for Gotham.
And quite honestly, aside from the high crime rate, no one would want it any other way.