A/N: I have nothing...
~Well I see my hands, I see my feet
I feel that blood that pumps in beat
But where the hell's my mind going now?
Dead gone now~
~Metallica~
Bruce Wayne had holed himself up in his penthouse. The situation could not have gone worse. He had caved in and gone to save the 12 Hostages. He brought Batman back out, a thing he had sworn he would not do, and it didn't even help. Joker had blown up the 11 hostages he still had with him. The elderly woman that Joker had released had a heart attack on the way to the hospital.
Bruce had been blown back by the explosion and had left in the confusion that had followed. He had made his way back to his penthouse and pulled the Batman suit off. He winced as he found a few pieces of shrapnel dug into his side. He cleaned the wounds as best as he could, and then he had gotten deliriously drunk.
Here he was, 2 full weeks later, and he hadn't left his apartment. He had almost finished his entire bar that had been full of alcohol. Bruce rolled over in his bed, groaning out loud. He smelled of sweat and booze. He pulled himself out of bed and into his bathroom. He didn't recognize the face that looked back at him.
He had dark circles under his eyes, his facial hair grown quite a bit. His skin looked pale and sick. He turned from the image and drug himself into the shower. He washed away the filth he had been lying in for the past two weeks. After he had cleaned himself thoroughly, he shaved his face. Once he looked a bit more acceptable, he left the bathroom and looked at his clothes.
He had spent too much time wallowing in his own feelings. He had part of a business to run and needed to get out of his place. He had locked away the suit he hated to wear. With that put away and safe, he called for a cleaning company to come clean the stale air from the penthouse he called home.
He felt the shame of his reaction wash over him. He knew he was better than this. He couldn't let the Joker win. It would be better to be proactive about this. Instead of finding Joker, Bruce had tucked tail and ran home. He was weak. This would not do. He had to pull himself together.
Joker was getting back into the swing of things. He hated recovery time. Lucky for him, he had the best healthcare around. His wife had been helping him immensely. She was apparently Gotham's best nurse, but he had been getting cabin fever, she hadn't let him out of her sight in the last two weeks.
He was getting bored, and if he didn't get out soon, he might end up hurting his wife. He didn't want to hurt her. Not really. He'd had an easier time breaking out of Arkham, than getting by his wife. He needed to get started on the next big thing. Gotham had had enough time to get back into the swing of normal life. He needed to get it all shook up again. It was more fun that way.
He had been so disappointed in Batman. He had a nagging feeling that he might have to just put the bat out of his misery. Before that happens though, he had bigger things to do. Peach had finally gone out, he assumed to go to work and he figured this was his only chance. He was currently fully dressed and waiting for Ace to pick him up from the house.
The honk of Ace's car horn pulled a smile on his face. He hurried out of the door and into Ace's front seat.
"Boss, you look good."
"Ace, my man, save the flattery for your wife. Just get me to the funhouse."
Ace chuckled and started driving. Joker was getting excited. It was good to be back out in the world. His stitches were out, though he still had pain that shot through him regularly. He could handle pain. Thankfully Ace was silent for the ride, letting Joker run things through his head.
They pulled up to the amusement park and Joker hurried out. He practically skipped his way through it, getting to the funhouse doors. He opened them and moved inside. The building smelled like smoke and stale beer. He made his way over to his desk and grabbed his dead cell phone, plugging it in to charge.
His desk was exactly like he had left it. Joker could hear the men moving around, laughing and cutting up. He needed to start his next big thing. While he had been in the park, waiting for the Bat, Joker had seen the crowd gathered around, they had been excited.
A few of the crowd had their faces painted, Joker had watched with amusement as the police had shoved them back behind the barricade. It had given him a spark of an idea. He had spent the last 14 days going over that spark, fanning it into a small flame of possibility.
He realized, so far he had been thinking on too grand of a scale, he needed to start smaller. The dregs of society. They have been walked over and kicked by the upper class of the city. Joker had seen it all himself. He had tried to help by exposing all of the corruption, but it had been covered up and put to rest by even bigger corruptors.
This time he would do things differently. He had the monetary means to get this new movement started. The city had the downtrodden he would unite in the insanity of revolution. Oh, it felt so good to have a new purpose.
His phone rang. It had startled him.
"Hel-lo?"
"Where are you?"
Joker rolled his eyes as he answered. "Hello dear, how is your day?"
"Where are you?"
"I am at work. Working hard, doing…work things."
"Are you in pain, do you need meds?"
"No, I'm fine." He was not a child. She was getting too attached again. He felt suffocated.
"Whatever, don't overdo it you are still healing."
"I am just perfect, thanks for asking. Busy, busy, busy, kisses." He hung up the phone.
He put the device back on the desk and tried to catch back onto the train of thought he had been on. Peach seemed to have the knack of interrupting at the worst possible time. He pushed her and her mothering to the back of his mind. He was busy, he needed to figure out how to get it going. That would be the most difficult part. The best way would be by word of mouth. Maybe he would get his guys out scouring the Narrows for potential members of his soon to be movement.
He needed to get back to his apartment and get started.
Peach was furious. She had to leave her husband a home and drive into the city for a doctor appointment. She had her 16 week checkup and he used the excuse to leave. He needed to take it easy for a bit longer, but short of beating him over the head, she couldn't make him stay in the house. She considered herself lucky he had let her nurse him this far. Two weeks was a long time to keep a man like her husband down.
She was at her appointment and trying to calm herself down. Last thing she needed was for her blood pressure to be too high. She was taking long deep breathes to relax herself when her name was called.
"Mrs. Napier?"
She looked up and smiled at the nurse. She stood and followed her back into the office.
"How are you feeling today?" The nurse asked as she took Peach's temperature.
"Fine."
"Good, and complaints or concerns?"
"No."
"Blood pressure is a bit high." She said.
"Yea just got off the phone with my husband."
The nurse laughed. "That'll do it."
"The doc will be in in a few minutes."
Peach watched the nurse leave and leaned back onto the little bed. She looked around the familiar room. The growth charts, and other diagrams lined the walls. She sat up as the doctor knocked on the door.
"Good morning, how are we today?"
Peach put on the best fake smile she had. "Fine."
Joker was back at his place, the atmosphere better than the funhouse. You blow up a few of your own men and everyone looks at you like you've gone crazy. He was too busy setting up a few different things, he had no time for employee issues.
He had the established order to ruin, a city to break, and a wife to keep happy. Busy, busy, busy. He laughed to himself. He was losing it. He started to type furiously on his laptop. He would have his guys out, spreading word of open recruitment for his big movement. He would put out a few messages on the internet as well.
This would be his greatest plan yet. He was trying to rally the average Joe the last time. That was all wrong. He needed to start at the bottom. The forgotten many. The streets of Gotham were filled with the dregs of society. He would welcome them with open arms.
Within a few hours, he had already had used one of his many alias' to purchase a rundown elementary school in the worst part of the narrows. The school had closed down from lack of funds and lack of students. It was a nasty, decrepit looking building, but it would do.
He had his guys there now cleaning the building out. He would head there in a while, he had a fun idea that would boost morale, hopefully.
He finished his cryptic posts online posting in random forums. That should pull a bit of attention. He closed the laptop and moved to get freshened up. He had lots to do.
Peach was on her way home from the doctor appointment. She had an ultrasound scheduled in two weeks. She might get to find out the sex of her baby. The thought was strange to her. She wondered if Joker would want to know. He had already made it known he cared.
She fought the urge to call him, tightening her hand on the steering wheel. She concentrated on getting home. She had no time to worry about him. She was happy she had the 2 weeks to be with him, but this was reason enough to get back into the swing of work. She would go home shower and get ready for a busy night.
She wasn't wrong. It was like the city new that Joker was back out on the streets. She had to have security break up two fights. One between two customers, the other between to dancers. She was sitting in her office now, rubbing her temples. Maybe she should hire someone to run the place and go back to working with Joker. It seemed more fun.
She seriously considered it, running the idea through her head a few times, not seeing a down side to it. He palms almost itched with the want to call Joker. She had her phone in her hand, she pressed her thumb to the reader to unlock it and hit her husband's contact. It was ringing.
Joker sat in his apartment, getting ready to leave to see how many people his men had talked into his latest venture. He moved to leave his office, his hand about to pick up his phone when it rang. He froze, Peach's face in the screen. He contemplated not answering. They had talked earlier and he had rushed her off of the line.
His mind flashed a disturbing thought. What if it was an emergency? Was she hurt? Fuck. He grabbed the phone and answered.
"Hello?"
"I'm quitting." She said.
He rolled his eyes. "Quitting? Quitting what? You will have to be more specific."
She let out a strange giggle. "I'm going to hire someone to run the club."
"Mhm, and what will you be doing?" he felt like he already knew her answer.
"I want to help you." She was quiet. "I know you always have some scheme going, I want to help you. I miss the fun of the old days."
He was quiet. On one hand, he wanted her and the little jelly bean to be safe, but he did miss the old days, and where would she be safest? With him.
"You want to come work for me?" he asked, letting his tone sound surprised.
"With you." She clarified.
He let the air whistle through his teeth. "Not looking for a partner."
"Too bad, you already have one." She dropped her voice a bit lower. "Don't worry, all your flunkies will think you are completely in charge. I will behave." She paused, "In front of them." She added as an afterthought.
Joker laughed. He knew that was the best offer he would get from her. "Oh no, they will know you are high above them."
"If you insist." She laughed.
"I do. I would hate to have to kill them off for a misunderstanding."
"See you soon?"
"Yea Peach, see you soon."
He hung up the phone and left. The night was young and he still had so much to do.