050. Joker

"Nicholson."

"Ohhh come ON, are you serious?!"

"It's the definitive interpretation, Raph!"

"Yeah, if you're a million years old."

"Okay, the movie may be slightly dated, but -

"Slightly?"

"Buuuut, the performance absolutely still holds up. It's as fresh today as it was then."

"Denied."

"Okay, who's yours, then?"

"Heath Ledger! You kiddin' me? He was amazing."

"Pffft, everybody says that."

"No duh, cuz he was amazing."

"Yes, okay, that was an excellent performance, but that doesn't detract from Nicholson's either. Besides, Nicholson had subtlety. Ledger was totally chewing the scenery."

"What the heck does that mean?!"

"Overacting."

"You're out of your mind! Leo, settle this, would you? Which one is better?"

"Cesar Romero."

"WHAT?!" Raph and Don chorused in horrified unison.

"Not everything has to be so grim!dark," Leo replied, lowering his martial arts magazine, "I actually like the Adam West Batman. It's fun."

"You would," Raph replied, shaking his head in disgust, "Nerd."

"Mmm," Leo sighed dreamily into the middle distance, suddenly distracted, "Eartha Kitt. R-r-r-r-rowr."

"Gross. Mikey, come on. You like Ledger's Joker the best, right?"

"Nope."

"Nicholson?"

"Nope!"

"Romero?" Leo asked, hopefully.

"Nope aaaaand nope!"

"So who's your favorite, then?"

"Mark Hamill, Animated Series."

"Oooooo," Raph, Don and Leo chorused together.

"Totally forgot about him," Leo admitted.

"Are we really counting voice actors, though?" Raph asked, wrinkling his nose, "I mean the animators do all the work…"

"Well, he definitely had the best laugh," Donnie admitted, stroking his chin thoughtfully.

"Gives ya goosebumps," Mikey grinned, "'Specially Batman Beyond, Return of the Joker?"

"Ooo, that arc with Tim Drake," Donnie agreed, excitedly.

"That was messed up," Raph agreed, nodding his approval.

"Batman Beyond doesn't get nearly enough respect," Leo swore fervently, lifting his magazine, "There, I said it."

"It was cool how they tied it into JLU in the - "

"The final episode, with Amanda Waller, YES that was RAD!" Mikey grinned, pointing at Donnie emphatically and finishing his sentence for him.

"I just wanna say," Casey said, turning the volume up on the hockey game, "That all four of you are enormous dorks."

"Have," Donnie corrected, "Have enormous dorks."

Raph snorted and bestowed him with a rare high three.

"Ewwww," April said, throwing popcorn back over her head at them, "Can we not?"

"How 'bout you, April?" Donnie asked, leaning on the back of the couch, "Favorite Joker?"

"Nope," April said, throwing some kernels in her mouth, "I'm a Marvel girl."

"Blasphemy!" Raph said, dismissively.

"Marvel's way more progressive. More diversity, routinely passes the Bechdel test…"

"DC's got Wonder Woman," Donnie pointed out.

"And Black Canary, and Vixen, and plenty of other great heroines," April admitted, "But they've got them parading around in bathing suits. Have you seen the new design for Miss Marvel?"

"You know, I did see that?" Donnie said, animatedly, "It looks really - "

"GAAAAH!"

Casey threw the remote down on the couch in exasperation and reached dramatically towards Raph like a drowning man.

"SPORTS! BEER! WRESTLING! SLIM JIMMMMMS!"

"Okay, tough guy, let's go lift some weights," Raph smirked.

"THANK YOU!"

"Yoink!"

April purloined the remote as soon as Casey stood, and flipped it to Dancing With the Stars.

"Eesh, really?!" Leo cringed.

"SH-YESS!" Mikey crowed, abandoning his comics and scrabbling up off the floor to take Casey's vacated spot, "I forgot, it's Disney week!"

Leo sighed and returned to his magazine.

"Deeeeeeee? If you love me you'll make us nachooooos," Mikey begged, flopping his head back over the couch to make puppy eyes at Donatello.

"I'm not making you nachos, Mikey."

"Pleeeeeeease?" April begged, flopping her head back, also. Don began to grin involuntarily as their upside-down freckled faces wibbled pleadingly.

"Do you really want nachos, or do you just want me to make them because Mikey wants them?"

"Does it matter?" April asked, fluttering her eyelashes winningly.

Don smirked, rolling his eyes, and walked over to the kitchen.

"Wh-pssh," Leo muttered softly, turning a page.

"A-hah, haha, zip it, Adam Worst."

"Thaaaaaaanks Deeeeeeee," Mikey chorused as he and April tickled each others' palms in triumph and then snuggled together to watch.

A/N: I had no ideas for this one. -_-; LOL. I know they wanted me to do something crazy with Mikey being a practical joker, and I just felt like "ehhhh it's been done to death," so I decided to do something referencing their upcoming team-up with Batman, and it kind of turned into a directionless, "hanging out in the lair" thing. OH WELL, they can't all be winners. XD Also, holy cow, I'm officially half-way done with this challenge!