"I'm not going to graduate, mom."
Jack gazes down at the grave, thoughtful.
"I'm tired of thinking about everything all the time. Tired of pretending to be normal. I've never really been normal, anyway, and you always knew that, didn't you?" He twists the stem of an orange rose between his gloved fingers. "I don't want to remember anymore. I just came to say goodbye, because… I've decided to forget. You, dad, Amelia, school… everything. It doesn't matter anymore."
His eyes flicker over to the grave beside his mother's: Amelia's. Her headstone is cream-grey, etched with a single gold rose.
"I'm sorry. I just can't handle it anymore. The voices…" he swallows. "The hallucinations. The pain. I'm going to stop trying to deal with it. I mean, I used to… I used to think I could handle anything, but I was wrong. So I'm going to start over. New name, new place, new identity."
Trembling, he crouches down and places the rose next to the dark grey stone.
"I just want you to know… both of you… that I…" he closes his eyes and breathes deeply. "I loved you. And I wanted to thank you both for being there for me, always."
Still shaking, he stands up, walks over to Amelia's headstone, and kisses it softly. Then he straightens and walks away, ignoring the stares and awkward glances from the people around him.
So he has scars.
So what?
Everybody does. Just not everybody's are visible.
(change scene) * * *
Jack turns into an alley that's a shortcut to his old home. His plan is to get there, pack all his most insane suits, and leave the country. Maybe he'll go to Britain. Somewhere in Europe would be nice.
"Dude, what're you doing here?"
"Walking."
"And who said you could walk here?"
Jack pauses and gazes ahead for a moment, then turns slowly and fixes the man with a look that could kill. "Who said I couldn't?"
He flicks a cigarette out of his mouth and struts up to Jack with something that should maybe? be interpreted as swagger. "Obviously, me. What'd you think, you little twerp?"
Idly, Jack tugs a playing card out of his pocket and examines it. "I think you're trying to intimidate the wrong twerp."
"Oh yeah? Give me your best shot."
Almost carelessly, Jack flicks the card out of his finger. Razorblades shoot out of the edges and impale the man's throat. Jack watches as he falls to the ground, gagging on his own blood. The card didn't cut very deep, but the wound is fatal.
"Who… the hell… are you?" the man chokes, jerking the card out of his throat.
"I'm the Joker," Jack responds easily, and walks away.
(change scene) * * *
The police appear at his door later that night.
"Jack Napier?"
"Not really," Jack responds.
"Come with us."
"Is this about the guy in the alley? Because if you're wondering, I killed him. Guess I shouldn't have left the card there. You probably fingerprinted it, yeah?" Jack sighs. "I've got to remember to wear gloves while making those things."
"Yeah, probably," the officer says, cuffing Jack's wrists.
They drag him to prison and keep him there overnight, even though Jack's only sixteen – still a minor. The next day they drag him to court and throw him down in a chair in front of a tired-looking judge.
"You killed a man," the judge says. "You do not deny it?"
"Yes and no."
"Excuse me?"
"Yes to your first question, no to your second. Christ, are you all idiots?"
The judge gives him a long-suffering stare. "Tell me why you killed him."
"What, to prove whether I'm worthy of juvy or jail? You know, if you're going to lock me up, I'd suggest Arkham. I think it's a better fit for my condition." He starts laughing. "Yes, send me away to Arkham, old man, because I'm completely insane and there's no point trying to cure me."
"So you plead insanity?"
"No, I know what I did and I was very aware of what I was doing. I killed him because he was annoying. What I'm saying is that I'm insane."
The judge seems somewhat baffled, and this only makes Jack laugh harder.
"What…" Jack gasps around his laughter, "what's the same about a measuring stick and a judge?"
"Insanity," the judge rules flatly. "Take him to Arkham."