"Is that that fucking fuck up there on the roof of my Sanctuary?"

Christopher nodded without once taking his gaze off the man leering down at him. "Yes."

Negan released a sigh filled with the same frustration boiling beneath his skin. That steam wasn't pouring off him amazed him. A tidal wave of emotions rolled over him, into him, almost sucking him down into the dark, dangerous depths that waited.

Deep, calming breaths worked to push the tide back, but only for a few seconds. Then the surge returned, stronger, and more demanding than before. Christopher thought he'd drown in the swirling mass. The harder he fought to stay above the surface, the more insistent the undertow became. It took every ounce of his might to not get dragged down into the place of no return.

The only thing that kept going through his mind was how the Joker was within grabbing distance. All it would take was one giant leap into the air and he'd be able to close his hand around that bony throat. One small squeeze and it'd all be over.

There'd be no more boys getting hung on chain link fences.

No more people getting turned into Jokerfied puppets of death.

No more bombs filled with the Joker's laughing gas left in cars or outside the front gates.

No more mercurial games that amused only the man behind them.

One twist of his wrist and there'd simply be no more Clown Prince of Crime.

He couldn't do it, however. He couldn't murder the Joker. Much like his mother, sister, and uncles, he was bound by Batman's no killing rule. Something the damn clown knew and took special delight in lording over him. Just you wait, he promised him silently. We'll get you. Just like we always do.

Only this time, they planned to put the Joker in a cage that he couldn't break out of. No more would the Clown Prince vacation in Arkham or Blackgate. No, his days of bending the legal system were over. The prison that Batman built didn't have the revolving doors Arkham and Blackgate did. The people who'd watch over the Joker were wise to his tricks and impervious to his manipulation. Yup, he thought as the Joker winked. Your days of anarchy and mayhem will be over soon as we get you in custody.

"Are you abso-fucking-lutely sure that is the fucking fuck?"

"That's him," he confirmed as the Joker taunted him further by dancing a little jig and grinning that crimson grin. "That's the Joker."

"Fucking perfect." He felt more than saw Negan turn from him. "Go find Simon. Tell him to get some of the men and go up to the roof and show this sorry shit..."

"No." Christopher flinched at his brusque tone but didn't apologize for it. Way he saw it, the firmer he was with Negan, the better. "You cannot send anyone after the Joker."

Leather creaked as Negan shifted towards him. The glint in his eyes had warning bells going off in Christopher's head. It didn't take a genius to know that the man was nearing the end of his rope. It amazed him the man kept calm this long. He's let me talk to him in ways that he'd have busted others in the mouth for, he realized as he met his gaze.

"And why the fuck can't I?" Murmurs came from the men and women surrounding them. All wanting Negan to do whatever it took to make their Sanctuary safe once more. "He's one sorry shit against dozens with guns. We have the upper fucking hand here."

More murmurs came from the crowd. People wanted to get even with the Joker for what he'd done. Christopher didn't blame him. He wanted to see the Joker punished for all those he hurt, too. However, he knew that it wasn't something they could do without careful planning. Something he tried to impress on them.

"You think that you have the upper hand against the Joker because you have the numbers and you have weapons." Christopher stared at every man and woman. Their fear, their worry, and their anger caused the tides crashing inside of him to swell to even greater heights. He shoved the flood back with a strength of will that would even impress Batman. "I guarantee that you're wrong. You don't."

"Look around you, kid." Negan waved his bat at the people around them. "There are over fifty people here with guns they can use to blast holes in that sorry shit." Nods and soft sounds of agreement accompanied that statement. "He's dog shit. I guaran-fucking-tee it."

"You're thinking numbers equal power." He shook his head. "It doesn't. Not with a man like him. More people just means there are more people for him to kill."

"That so?"

Christopher let his sarcasm roll off him like rain. Reacting to it wouldn't help the situation. Cooler heads needed to prevail if they had any hope whatsoever in surviving whatever the Joker planned to do next. And there is always a next with him.

"And you will just be sending those people to their deaths."

"How the fuck do you know?" People nodded and voiced their agreement. "Huh? What the fucking fuck makes you so goddamn certain that we won't kill this sorry shit?"

"I've seen what the Joker is capable of." His fingers flexed at his sides. "I've seen him murder an entire room of people just for the sheer hilarity of it. He's turned Gotham upside down just to get a rise out of the police, the rest of the crazies roaming around Gotham, and especially Batman." Excited twitters went up at the mention of the Dark Knight. People didn't tend to believe that Batman existed. Mr. Grimes didn't think he did, either. Like him, they'd find out how wrong they were. "I know sending a lot of people after him just means there are more people for him to torture, hurt, and kill."

"He's played enough fucking games and hurt too many fucking people with his bullshit."

His growl reminded him of Batman's. It brought a small smile to his face despite the danger perched above them and watching them like a hawk. I'm starting to see what Mom sees, he thought as he stared into Negan's face. He's not just some bully with a baseball bat.

No, there was more to Negan than met the eye. Little things that help blunt the less than savory elements of his personality, he realized as a few pops came from the still burning vehicles. Mom taught them to look for the little things. 'They're what mean the most,' she told them often. 'Actions might speak louder than words but words show what our actions will be.'

Negan's words told him loud and clear that he'd kill the Joker if he ever got his hands on him. He'd kill the Clown Prince to protect Mom, Jordan, him, Rose, and the people here at the Sanctuary. And he'd do it to get justice for the boys the Joker killed.

That, he realized as the Joker's high-pitched laugh floated down to him, is who Negan is. Was he like Batman? Definitely not. He lacked the Dark Knight's moral fiber for one thing and didn't care about social niceties. He possessed his own code of conduct, though. 'Negan's not a monster,' his mother told them right before the incident at the Satellite Depot. 'He wants to stop the Joker as much as we do.'

He just didn't realize what it'd take to put an end to the Joker and his brand of anarchy.

"You have no idea how many bodies he's left in his wake," he said. "The boys? The other missing Saviors? They'd barely take up half a page in his criminal history."

"That shit is over." He aimed Lucille up at the madman perched like a vulture on the edge of the roof of his Sanctuary. "You hear that, asshole? Your bullshit games end today."

A wide grin was the Joker's response. Not that Christopher believed he actually heard what Negan had to say. Not with the distance between them and the roar of the fire behind them.

"The Joker lives for his games." His fists bunched at his sides and his eyes narrowed into thin slits as he stared up at the wildly cackling clown. "That's why playing games with him are so dangerous."

"Yeah, well, I'm gonna play rock, paper, knives, and bat with his bony fucking ass." Negan swung Lucille in a wide arc to embellish his point. "And guess fucking what, fuckwad? Bat. Smashes. Knives. Every fucking time."

Christopher found himself tempted to let Negan learn for himself about how dangerous playing games with the Clown Prince could be. Even Batman lost to the Joker a few times during the course of their long and extremely complicated relationship. Logic won out, however. Especially since Mom will expect me to do everything I can to keep him from getting hurt.

"If you try to play rock, paper, knives, and bat with him, I assure you that the last thing he'll pick to use is a knife."

"And what do you think he'll use?"

He indicated the bat Negan set against his shoulder with a nod of his head.

"He'll use Lucille." Something his mother feared happening with every fiber of her being. Not that Negan had any clue about that. Far as Negan was aware, the nightmare keeping her awake at night was from the night her mom got murdered. Time to give him a little dose of truth, he decided as he folded his arms across his chest. "He'd see using her as poetic justice. Beating you to death with the very bat you've used on others." He cut a look at the Joker. "And knowing him? He'd make sure to take you somewhere that would be symbolic to Mom. Like the Estate where her mother was killed."

"Fuck that." The hard edge to Negan's tone warned Christopher his temper was hanging by a thread. One wrong word or move and the man would explode. He was more volatile than his uncle Jason and Damian combined. And that's saying something. "He can suck my left nut and tickle the right before that shit will ever happen."

"That's why we have to stop playing his game and start playing our own." He looked back at Negan. "Fight smarter, not harder."

He saw by the thinning of Negan's lips that he heard those words before. Gee, no clue who might have said them to him, he thought, hiding a smile.

"I'm not playing that fuckers fucking game."

"We've been playing his game ever since he left the first boy hanging on your fence."

"That was his first move?"

"Yes." Christopher nodded. "And this?" He indicated the burning SUVs with a wave of his hand. "This is his second move."

"And what the fucking fuck about the sorry shit who tried to put a bullet in my brain?"

"That was the Joker trying to push Mom into doing what he wants her to do. He reckons that killing you will push her over the edge."

"Won't fucking happen." A shadow passed over Negan's face so quickly that Christopher wondered if he actually had seen it. "I guaran-fucking-tee it."

That, Christopher realized, surprise mixing with the anxiety and anger in his veins. That's what Mom sees. That's why she believes in him. Why she stays with him despite Uncle Paul's reservations. The little things. The ones that tell her he cares.

His musings got cut short when he spied Roy Harper making his way through the crowd towards where he stood with Negan. A nod was all it took for him to know he got Mr. Dixon away from here. He can help Mom handle things at Alexandria.

He caught Harper's eye and slowly looked up towards the top of the building. Harper got his hint. The blood drained from his face when he saw the Joker standing there larger than life above them.

"Well, kid?"

He looked at Negan, one brow raised. "Well, what?"

"Who the fuck tried to shoot me?"

"I can't be one hundred percent positive. He breathed out a sigh. "But I suspect her name is Mictlan."

"Mic-Lan?" He scoffed. "Hell kinda name is that?"

"Mictlan," he corrected. "Her name is Mictlan."

"And?"

"And in Aztec mythology, it's the underworld."

"Hell?"

"Their version of it, yes."

"And I'm supposed to fucking care..." He sent him a small, tight smile. "Why?"

"Because Mictlan believes she serves Mictlantecuhtli, the King of the underworld. He is the ruler of the dead. The Grim Reaper if you want to break it down simply."

People gasped, cursed, and made signs of the cross. As if that was going to protect them. Negan remained unimpressed, however.

"Again I ask... why the fuck am I supposed to care?"

"Mictlan honors Mictlantecuhtli by offering up the bones of her kills." He acknowledged Harper reaching his side with a nod. "She failed to kill you. She failed to honor Mictlantecuhtli."

"Her fucking mistake."

"And one the Joker is now going to correct."

"Gotta tell you, kid." Negan chuckled. "That shit jingles my balls."

"Why?"

"Because he can try his damndest but I'm like a cat." A grin spread across his face. "I've got nine fucking lives."

"The Joker doesn't try." He exchanged a look with Harper, who nodded in silent agreement. "He just does."

"And when he does..." Negan aimed Lucille like one of the assault rifles the men behind him carried. "The stupid fuck will get fucking fucked." He returned Lucille to his shoulder. "You may think she is an inanimate object. An inconsequential piece of wood wrapped with barbed wire." His lips tilted at the corners. "You'd be dead fucking wrong, kid. See, Lucille's saved my life more times than I can remember. She's gotten me through more shit than you can fucking imagine. She's my can of motherfucking spinach. You fuck with me and you get fucking fucked."

Murmurs and nods accompanied his speech. Christopher understood why Negan spoke so brashly. It wasn't because he was an egotist who believed his own hype. People were scared. They needed something to believe in. A leader that they could trust. He gives them that, he realized. He gives them what they need so they can believe they'll be okay.

"Look," he said quietly. "I get why you're doing this. They're scared. They're looking to you as their leader. This is the Joker, though. Going after him now is just a bad idea."

"And why the fuck is it such a bad idea? Hm?"

"Because he has planted bombs all around your Sanctuary."

"What the shit?"

"I did not stutter." Slade pushed through the throng to stand beside Harper. "There are ten bombs planted in total throughout your Sanctuary."

"Where?" To Negan's credit, he didn't growl it. Well, Christopher amended with a grimace. He didn't growl it much. "Where the fuck are they?"

"Two by the furnace, two beneath the stairs, one by the door leading onto the roof, one by the three doors that lead out of the Sanctuary, two in trash cans by the doors behind us, one in your wives bedroom, one in the bedroom beside Negan's, and the last one is inside the boy laid out in the bastard's bed."

Fear blanked his mind, rolled sick in his belly. "He..." He shook his head. "He, what?"

Slade didn't get a chance to answer as Negan took a menacing step forward.

"He put a fucking bomb inside a kid?" Rage vibrated in every syllable. "That what you're fucking telling me?"

"Yes." Slade went face-to-face with Negan. "That's exactly what I'm telling you."

Christopher felt the start of a headache behind his eyes as the two held a stare-down contest. The things I do... he thought, sighing.

"Fighting among each other isn't going to help anything." He looked at the two men. "He wants us fighting among ourselves. He's finding it amusing."

"I'll amuse the fucking fuck..."

"By letting him blow up your Sanctuary?" Slade chuckled softly. "Gotta tell you, mate, I took you for a much smarter man."

Negan released a stream of words that Christopher imagined even his uncle Jason wouldn't dare use. He could understand his frustration, however. The man responsible for killing so many people was within reach and there wasn't anything they could do to bring him to justice. Not without causing harm to dozens of other innocent people.

And that includes Jordan, he realized as the Joker's laughter filled his auditory canals. Jordan was who could be hurt the worst if he wasn't careful. I have to think of Jordan, Christopher realized as the Joker blew a kiss at him before disappearing, likely to find a place where he could wait for the right moment to detonate the bombs. I'm the oldest. Jordan's safety and well-being is my responsibility. Much like he, Rose, Damian, and Jordan were their uncles' responsibility when Mom wasn't there to take care of them.

Killing women, children, the sick, and infirm was all the same to a man like the Joker. Nobody was safe from his machinations. The number of bodies the clown left in his wake proved how little he valued life. Bombs were also one of the Clown Prince's preferred methods of annihilation.

Creating the biggest, loudest, grandest spectacle was what he lived for. It didn't surprise him to discover there was a minimum of ten bombs scattered around the Sanctuary. What exactly the Joker was waiting for was the only thing he couldn't figure out. Is he waiting for Mom? Grandpa Bruce? Or Negan to do something before detonating the bombs?

The answer came when Christopher heard the familiar droning of hunger and bloodlust. It wasn't coming from the yard, he realized, stomach clenching. No, that chorus was coming from multiple directions. He slowly turned towards the buildings across from the Sanctuary. Through the smoke and flames, he could just make out a few rambling figures. Instinct told him that a few were more like hundreds.

All heading right for the Sanctuary.

He's going to trap everyone inside and then detonate the bombs, he realized as Rose materialized at his side with Jordan.

"We need to evacuate the Sanctuary." He ignored the look of warning that Negan sent him. "Now. Get everyone out of the building."

"Look, kid..."

"No, you look." He pointed to the road outside the Sanctuary. "There's a horde coming this way. A very big one."

"And?"

"And they're not the average undead that you're used to dealing with."

"What the fuck does that mean?"

"These undead are capable of opening doors, climbing fences, and even smashing through windows."

Negan's face didn't betray anything. Yet Christopher could tell by the change in his heart rate that he understood the danger they were all in. Not that he wouldn't go down without a fight. That's why he stepped towards him and dropped his voice an octave to impress on him how stupid fighting at that moment would be.

"You can probably take down the first few dozen without breaking a sweat. That horde is gonna get inside the Sanctuary one way or another. And that," he said grimly, "is when he plans to detonate his bombs."

"That explains why they're not timer bombs." Slade flicked a look up at the roof. "He's waiting for you to pull everyone back inside before he remotely detonates them."

"Symbolism," Rose murmured. "That's what the Joker lives for. Reliving his greatest moments."

"I don't remember him pulling this before." Christopher frowned. "Has he?"

"He has," she confirmed, nodding. "When he tried to recreate his greatest achievement."

Greatest achievement? His frown deepened as he thought back over all the games the Joker had played. Only one night stuck out in his mind that even remotely could count as his greatest achievement. He looked at her. "You mean the might he...?"

"Yes."

"We need to get everyone out of here and quickly."

"Where the fuck do we go?" Negan stared at Christopher. Well, glare was more like it, he realized, sighing. "Where the fucking fuck do we take this many people? Huh? Answer me that one, kid."

There was only one place that Christopher could think of but to take them there he needed the permission of the one person not at the Sanctuary.

"Alexandria," Christopher said. "We take everyone to Alexandria."

A/N: Hello, all! Hope this finds you well!