Miah was finally free. It was the best feeling in the world. He had finally escaped from the Joker from another version of Gotham. After several years of being tortured by that madman, Miah didn't quite feel like Miah anymore. And Joker's last 'gift' had been to throw Miah into a chemical vat. So now Miah looked more like Joker. Well, a fifteen year old Joker anyway. Joker had wanted a protégé and he thought who better than a young version of himself? Miah would've been worried he'd come searching for him but Joker was now literally a world away and couldn't get to him. Miah was back home in his own world.
Miah didn't really know what to do next. His only real desire was to go home. And he had come to the conclusion that the only true home he had was anywhere his brother Jerome was. The only thing that had kept him going was thinking about his brother. He came to the decision that he would find Haly's circus and give them a visit. And take his brother away from there. But he knew he couldn't do it right away. He needed to make sure they'd be able to survive on their own. And he needed money for things. So he turned to crime to make money. It was the only thing he really knew how to do anyway. Joker may have been a horrible teacher but Miah was a great student. He had learned a lot. And he found he was pretty good at crime. He didn't try and stand out. Most of the time he wore a mask when he was committing any crimes. He was going to fight his fate as long as he could. Even if it was inevitable that he'd be his world's Joker. He realized that he probably could get medical help to deal with his bleached skin and such but he didn't bother. Even if he fixed it now, sometime down the line, something would happen to make him look like this again. So it was pointless to fix it.
One time when he was making his way through the city he was in, he ran across a couple that seemed to be in a domestic violence situation. The girl was crying as her boyfriend beat her. The asshole didn't even bother hiding the fact that he was doing it. The guy noticed Miah looking and glared at him. "Hey kid, mind your own business."
"How rude. You can't even bother to do something like that in private? What did she do that would deserve a beating?" Miah said.
"None of your business. She was being mouthy. Leave us alone."
"You must feel so strong beating a girl half your size. Maybe you should be the one to leave." Miah said with a dangerous tone.
The guy got angry and went to punch him. But his fist never connected. Because Miah caught his arm and twisted it. The guy cried out in pain. "How does it feel to be on the receiving end? Hmm? Does it feel good?"
The girl stared in shock as Miah dropped the man to the ground and started kicking him. Miah eventually looked down and saw that the man likely wouldn't be getting back up, ever. He hadn't intended to kill the man. Oops. Oh well. He looked up, worried that the girl would tell on him but she looked extremely grateful. "Thank you. You have no idea how long he's been hurting me. And I couldn't leave him. Because he said he'd kill me. And I didn't have anywhere else to go. I'm only seventeen. No one cared. Until you."
"No problem. I can relate a bit I guess." Miah said. "I hope you won't say anything about me killing the guy."
"Don't worry about that. I owe you that. More than that. I owe you my life really. Because I'm pretty sure he'd eventually end up killing me. I just know it. If there's anything I can do to repay you I'll do it." she said smiling.
"What's your name?" Miah asked.
"Its Erica. But I like being called Ecco. My mom called me that. I was her Ecco."
"Well, Ecco, did you say you had nowhere else to go? Do you want a job? I might need a partner in crime and you seem competent." Miah asked. "I'm J by the way. Just J. The full name is Jeremiah Valeska but I don't feel like that guy anymore. So J it is."
"You're offering me a job? How old are you? What would I even be doing?" She asked.
"I just turned sixteen. But that doesn't really matter. I may be young but I am capable and clever." J said. "As for what you would be doing, well, anything that would help me really. I'm not on the right side of the law and I do need help from someone I can count on. If you were willing to set aside your morality, I could use an assistant."
"I'll do it." she said, not even hesitating.
J looked at her surprised. "Really? Just like that? The work wouldn't be stable. Your whole life wouldn't be stable. And I'm not a very nice person. Think very carefully before accepting."
"I accept. I don't need to think about it." she said determined. "You saved my life. I don't care what you do for a living. I owe you. And I don't really have anywhere to go. Until tonight, my life revolved around making sure Greg wasn't pissed off enough at me to hurt me too bad. He wouldn't let me have anything else. Anything else sounds wonderful."
"Well then. You have the job. Currently I have a small place just on the edge of town but its temporary." J explained as they walked away from the corpse. "I plan on moving on at some point. My plan right now is to just get comfortable with being me. My ultimate plan is to reunite with my brother and making up for past mistakes with him. But right now I'm not sure I'd be all that safe to be around. I know I'm not ok. I need to pull myself together a little before I feel my brother is safe with me. I'm getting good practice at my chosen career in the meantime."
Ecco proved to be loyal and very useful. She did whatever she was told without question. J figured it was just what she was used to, doing whatever she was told. At least though this time she wasn't being tortured during it. J vowed not to sink to the level of his older self. He wouldn't hurt someone that relied on him like that. She wasn't even scared away by J's actual pale clownlike looks. She took it in stride.
J and Ecco made quite the splash in the underworld in the city they were in but J wanted to move on. He was now 17 and he felt it was time to reunite with his brother finally. He had a look at the schedule for the circus and found it fitting that around that time they were stopping in Gotham. So he'd be going home in more than one sense of the word.
J smiled as they entered the city. It was just like he remembered it. Dark, gloomy, and chaotic. Something was always happening in Gotham. It never disappointed. He had thought that he would be nervous at being in Gotham again. But this was His Gotham. Not Joker's. Joker couldn't find him here. And even if he did, it wasn't his world. It was J's. He had the home field advantage. So he did feel more at ease. He hoped to stay there with his brother once he took him away from the circus and their awful mother. Nothing could stop the two of them. But when he sent Ecco to investigate the circus, he found that Jerome was no longer with them. And their mother was dead. It only took a little bit of digging to find out that Jerome was in Arkham for murdering their mother. J wasn't surprised that Jerome killed their mother. He was surprised it took him this long to do it. J didn't mourn her. She had deserved it. And Jerome's mug shots really drove home how related they truly were. The deranged grin on Jerome's face was very reminiscent of Joker's. But this situation now presented a bit of a problem. How was he supposed to get Jerome out of Arkham? He knew he would have to plan some elaborate scheme to get him out. But he was up for the challenge.
While J tried to figure out a plan to break his brother out of Arkham, he continued his criminal exploits as well. He avoided unnecessary dramatics. Maybe when Jerome joined up with him he'll break his little no Joker moments rule, since Jerome was the more dramatic one at times and he wanted to make him happy. But for now, he still wanted to fight his fate as long as possible. He didn't want the Joker that had tortured him for years to win. And just succumbing to his destiny seemed like letting him win. No matter how much he may look like the guy now. He was inspired by the recent news reports of the Red Hood gang. There was just something about the idea of the gang that appealed to him for some reason. He couldn't really say why. He had heard the Red Hood leader had been several of the members over their brief existence in Gotham before they all died but that they had fought over the title. J felt wearing a mask was ideal in his crimes but didn't just want to fade into the background completely. And so he found himself taking the title himself. He made a mask that contained a gas filter inside it but not visible. It looked far more stylish than the cut up red rag that had been the previous Red Hood's mask. He hired a few lackeys that he felt were competent enough to do their jobs and he committed crimes as the Red Hood. He didn't want to just be known as a bank robber. But he didn't shy away from that type of job either. Though it was annoying that people thought he'd act like his predecessors and just give them money. Often he'd just have to, to keep the rabble placated.
While J liked to avoid underworld politics as much as he could, he couldn't completely avoid the huge gang war that broke out in the streets between the mobs. Even though he was known by then to be an efficient and sometimes deadly criminal that could be convinced to work for others if the job was interesting enough, he didn't pick a side. He mostly sat back and waited for who would come out on top. And he had to admit, the one that won did surprise J. It was a true underdog story, a former low level criminal that quickly rose through the ranks but still seemed totally loyal to those at the top. But the guy had been scheming against those at the top that whole time. J was impressed. Penguin seemed very clever and was a master level schemer. J respected that. So he thought Penguin would probably make for a rather entertaining head crime boss. He hardly resembled the squat fat man that J had seen on tv a few times back in the other world. That Penguin was a bit obsessed with birds of any kind for some reason. And often he would steal valuable objects related to birds or even actual rare birds. This world's Penguin had little in common with that man. He was slight and thin and only physically resembled the other Penguin in that they had similar noses and pale and unhealthy looking complexions and slightly gothic old money fancy style. And this Penguin had no real interest in birds despite his nickname. J was kind of glad for the difference. He had thought the other world's Penguin was a bit single minded about things. This one might be a little too but his motivations were more old fashioned. He wanted power and money. The two oldest, most predictable motivations ever.
J realized that since his world was several years behind the one he was stuck in for years, he would likely get to see the birth of several of this world's big name villains before even they realized who they'd end up as. He knew they would not be exactly the same as the ones he had often seen on tv in Joker's lair. The worlds were only parallel, not identical. Not even him and Joker were exactly the same. Joker told him he had never been a red head or a carny. And it was obvious he was an only child. Joker had not had a twin. And had no idea J did either since J was careful not to reveal any real personal information. Joker hadn't even known J's real name but he wouldn't have ever used it anyway. Joker always referred to him as Little J or JJ. It was insulting and he hated it. But anyway it was interesting to see the other villains before they were villains. He knew there was an Edward Nygma working for the GCPD as a forensics expert. What little he saw of the guy seemed nothing like the red headed, green clad, computer nerd he had a lot of respect for in the other world. He even looked older than he should for the time period. But he still seemed intelligent and J guessed that was the important part when it came to a Riddler. Then there was the assistant DA, Harvey Dent. He still looked like a young and idealistic man every time he'd been seen on tv in this world. Nothing like Two-Face. There wasn't even a shadow of the darker side of his personality, although J suspected it was already there, under the surface, just waiting for his disfiguring accident to come out to play. That likely wouldn't happen for years since Batman had been involved in that incident and Batman didn't exist yet.
Batman. J always wondered where he'd come from. From what he's seen of Batman's age in the other world, the Batman in his world would be in his teens at most. Where was he right now? Was he out there already planning out his vigilante persona? Or was he just a normal kid? J suspected that to get to the fighting level Batman was at, you'd have to train most of your life. So it wouldn't surprise J if Batkid was already training right at this moment. He knew that that kid and he would be linked. They'd be enemies. J knew it was inevitable. But it wasn't like there was anything he could do to stop it. So he accepted it and hoped it would be a satisfying relationship.
One day as J was walking, incognito, through the streets of Gotham, he passed by a street performer. A juggler who was juggling knives and doing a pretty good job drawing a crowd. J figured it was because of the man's use of knives. A hint of danger was always popular in an act like that. It made people have a hard time looking away. Even J found himself watching the man's act and smiling. But it wasn't just the man's act that had him smiling. The man's face was very familiar to him. It wasn't this man that J knew though. But the one in the other world. The juggler was a dead ringer for Jon. Jon was the only Joker lackey that had ever treated him with any real kindness. The one that patched him up after whatever torture he endured. He would never admit it, but he hadn't hated the man. He was often the only thing besides his thoughts of Jerome that kept him going. This version of him was young. Late twenties at the most. After the man's performance was over, J stayed as the tourists walked away. The man looked up at him and looked confused why he was still there.
"Can I help you?" said the street performer. He was putting his knives away.
"Is this satisfyingly work for you?" J asked.
The man looked confused at the question. "Well, yeah. If it wasn't, I wouldn't do it. I can make my own hours. No boring 9 to 5. Living the dream."
"But I can imagine it doesn't pay all that much. Oh you probably have your good days. Probably often if your act is anything to go by. But even then, you only really make enough over all for rent and the bare minimum of food."
"That's life. This is my skill set. I'd die in an office. It would suck the life out of me. So if you're trying to mock me for my choice of career you can stop. I've heard it all before and its a little old."
"You misunderstand me. I was not mocking you. I was offering you a job actually." J said. "If you want it."
"A job? Me? A complete stranger? That's not shady at all." the man said sarcastically.
"You remind me of someone. Someone I didn't hate. If you are anything like him, then I know you'd be a good employee. Please think about it."
"What kind of job would this even be? Like I said, I hate the idea of some 9 to 5 job." the street performer asked going to pick up his hat that held his tips.
J stopped him and pulled out a fat roll of bills. He put it in the man's hat. "The kind of job that you'd not only gain respect for, you'd never ever have to worry about making that rent payment again. You are probably a smart person. You seem that way. So I can assume you'd come to the right conclusions as to the nature of this job. Am I right?"
The man stared at the large roll of cash in his hat with wide eyes. If J had to guess, that was the most money the man had ever seen at one time. "You're a criminal."
"Mmhm." J said simply.
"Why me? I'm just a street performer." the man asked a bit in awe. "I've never broken the law before."
"But you wanted to. I can tell. Even if I hadn't asked you, eventually you would've gone down this path anyway. So...what do you say?"
"I don't know. This is really sudden. I'm still not convinced this isn't all bullshit."
"Don't decide now. Go out now and use that money. Not on your rent. Not on food. On something you enjoy doing. Make a day of it. Don't think about any of your worries. No matter how pressing they might be. And at the end of that day, go home and think about my offer. After that, if you decide to take me up on it, come to this address. Ask for Xander." he handed him an address. Then he smiled at the man and walked away. He knew that this Jon would take him up on his offer. He was destined to be a Joker lackey. It seemed fitting that the man was a street performer in this world. Like the universe was pointing out to him where his allies were. He knew he would eventually gather the same lackeys that had been loyal to Joker in the other world. Even Harley, probably. Though that one he wasn't as enthusiastic about. Ecco was bad enough at times. She resembled Harley in many ways. But was not Harley levels of annoying. He had to hope that she was his Harley and that she was just different from the other world's version. But J wasn't sure he was that lucky.
Sure enough, a day later, Ecco was giving J a call from where she was waiting for Jon. "Hey boss. That guy is here like you said he would be."
"Then why does it sound like there's something wrong, Ecco? I can hear it in your voice." J said.
"Not wrong exactly." Ecco said. "He's not alone. He brought a couple friends. What should I do with them?"
"Friends? How many friends?" J asked intrigued.
"Three extra besides the street performer." she said.
J thought about it for a few minutes.
"Boss? Are you still there?"
"Bring them here. I'll figure out if we can use them once I see them."
"Sure thing, boss."
J waited on the second floor of his lair and looked down at the men that arrived. They couldn't see him but he could see them. They seemed just like Jon. Young twenty somethings with an almost desperate look in their eyes. A desperate look that showed how much they hated the humdrum lives they led. They wanted more. It was a start. Hardly expert criminals. But they had the enthusiasm. There was that.
The young men were standing around waiting. Ecco had left them there with the instruction to wait for their prospective employer. They chatted with each other about who they thought the guy was exactly and what they might do for him.
"Welcome gentlemen. I admit I was surprised when Ecco told me there was more than one of you." J said walking up to them. He hadn't bothered with makeup to hide his pale face. He figured they should see their employer as he really was before they took the job. He had no desire to lie to Jon. Predictably, they looked rather unnerved by his pale face.
"Are you wearing makeup? Why? Jon didn't say he was hired by no clown." one of the men said.
J walked right up to the man and got right up in his face. "Does it look like I'm wearing makeup? This is all me. It's a long story. But the point is, you should probably be careful who you call a clown." he said menacingly. He relished the look of terror on the man's face and laughed a little backing up so the man could relax. "I'm just messing with you. Yeah, this is my face. Yes it does make me look like a clown. I've grown to accept it. I hope that won't scare you away. Because I can always use more employees. I can't exactly take out a help wanted ad, now can I?"
"So you aren't upset I brought a few friends along?" Jon asked nervously.
"Of course not. Don't do any more recruiting on your own though. I like to hire my people myself. Now down to business. I'm guessing the lot of you don't know how to use firearms. Am I right?"
They all shook their heads.
"We'll have to give you a crash course. Ecco can take care of that. As for the other details. You'd be living on site, here. I can't have you coming and going and revealing my location. I have plenty of rooms and Ecco can get you anything you need to be comfortable here. I don't mean that as a euphemism. Keep your hands to yourself around her. It won't go well for you if you try anything. I don't mean this as a threat but as a warning. She killed the last employee of mine that tried something. So just keep that in mind. As for what is expected of you. I expect you to do as I say, without question. It won't be anything you won't enjoy I think. But I am the boss. I am not your friend. Or your mentor. I'm your employer. That's how this works. As long as you can remember that, we'll be peachy. Now do you still want the job? You are free to walk out of here if you think you can't handle it." J lied. If they decided to walk, he'd have to kill them. But there was no point in scaring them with that information.
"We'll get paid a whole lot though, won't we? Jon said we would." asked another of them.
"Of course. If a job or heist goes well, you will all receive a cut of the profit. And it will be a generous amount each time. I see no advantage in stiffing one's employees. It's a bad business practice that only breeds disloyalty. And I can't have that."
"Then why not?" said the third one. "I'm in." The others agreed enthusiastically as well. They opened up to J now that things were more relaxed and they thought they were part of the team. J heard about their boring lives and barely pretended to be interested. But he learned that Jon was known to his friends as Jongleur. It was his stage name.
"That's a great name. I like it. Use it." J said.
J was very surprised when he learned that someone had gone and broken Jerome and several other mental patients out of Arkham. Though it wasn't unwelcome. Now he wouldn't have to go to the trouble. Though, he had no idea where Jerome was now. He assumed that his rescuers had him staying at their place and were going to use him for something. J assumed anything that involved several mental patients had to be something interesting and possibly entertaining. He wasn't disappointed. The mental patients were reported to have teamed up and started calling themselves the Maniax and had literally spelled that out in front of a building owned by a popular newspaper using bodies thrown from another building. J cracked up when he heard about it. He had to give them props for the clever introduction. The next crime they did involved them trying to set a school bus full of cheerleaders on fire. They failed at that. But their next crime they didn't fail. And Jerome showed just how much stage presence he had. J watched the news as they showed the remains of the Maniax and several armed thugs shot up the GCPD. Jerome got in front of a camera and introduced himself and his group. Jerome was cheerful, manic, and deranged. J admitted he had a lot of charisma and likely would get a few fans from his little performance.
The video made J overjoyed. He was relieved at his brother's behavior. J knew he wasn't well. You can't live a large portion of your life trapped and tortured by the Joker and not be well. If Jerome had still been sane like he had been when J left the circus when he was ten, then things wouldn't have worked out. His brother would view him as a monster. But Jerome was a monster now too. J did know why Jerome became that way and wasn't surprised at it. You can only take so much abuse as a child before you snap. J knew this from experience. But it was one thing to be tortured by a madman. It's a whole other thing to be tortured by the woman that gave birth to you. And to have the other adults around you see it all and probably doing nothing to stop it. Jerome had been a normal kid before all of that got bad and it twisted him. But J had never truly been normal himself. He thought he was when he was a child, but he hadn't known any different. But J knew, even back then, that if Jerome stayed the way he was the world would eat him alive. He had been an innocent. Someone who only wanted to make other people happy. Well, mostly just Miah. He wanted to make Miah happy. J had only realized he missed all that after he left the circus far behind him. And it ate at him. That absence. Jerome had been his only light. So he tried to go back. But that hadn't worked out so well. Since he ended up trapped in Joker's Gotham instead.
J noticed how his new employees seemed to really enjoy the video of his brother at the GCPD. They had originally thought it was J that had done it. Even with the pale skin, he still looked so much like Jerome that it wasn't hard to mistake the two. He watched as they gushed about his brother to him and he realized...they might not have been destined to be his lackeys at all originally. They seemed more drawn to his brother's style. Wild, deranged and almost feral. They were drawn to Jerome's way of doing things. But that didn't matter. Jerome wouldn't be apart from him for much longer. They would share lackeys. So who cared who they liked more?
J enjoyed the first part of his evening. He had another successful heist. The Maniax thing was distracting the cops really well and criminals were taking advantage. J was not one to miss out on the fun. And the new hires were learning the ropes rather quickly. Only one died so far in a shoot out with the police. The rest were doing well. He sat down to relax in his lair on the edge of the Narrows, and flipped through a few tv channels. And sat up in shock at what he saw on tv. Or more specifically, who he saw on tv. His brother was on the screen talking into a phone to someone. He was asking for ridiculous ransom demands. J was soon on the edge of his seat in rapt attention. His brother had so much style. He was flamboyant and deranged. It was so much like Joker that J knew then that their universe had two Joker options to choose from. Not just J. If Jerome had been the one to meet Joker, Joker would've had the same exact reaction. And then J thought of something. Identical twins are identical because they share the same genetic code. The egg they started out as was intended to be one person. Until, when it split into several cells in the process of becoming a human, it split apart entirely. Into two people. Maybe Jerome and Jeremiah were both supposed to be the Joker he had seen but they became twins instead. Two halves of a very complex whole. J hoped that Jerome would forgive him. That he would agree to a team up. Because together, they would be unstoppable.
The charity event turned hostage situation was entertaining for awhile. Interrupted only by a brave rich guy going up and threatening Jerome and then getting knocked out. Then it was back to Jerome passing the time. It was like he was waiting for something. Jerome got bored though and threatened a teen boy, named Bruce Wayne. Bruce Wayne? As in the guy that was always in the news in the other world, either donating to charity or in some awkward tabloid scandal? He looked so young. And didn't seem to be as shallow as the media portrayed his adult other world version. Suddenly a detective that the news named Jim Gordon, who J knew as the other world's commissioner, faced Jerome down along with Bruce's very capable looking butler. J wasn't worried. They wouldn't risk shooting Jerome if it would end in the death of the richest kid in Gotham. But things didn't work out how J thought they would go. The rich man, named Theo Galavan, that had been knocked out cold earlier, woke up and stabbed Jerome in the neck. J screamed.
Ecco came running in worried when she heard J scream. She saw that J was flying into a rage and knocking things off tables. "What happened, boss?"
He seethed. "Theo Galavan needs to die in the most painful way imaginable! How dare he take Jerome from me!" he screamed. His normal, almost unnaturally calm façade was gone and he looked just as wild and deranged as his brother.
"What? What happened?"
"I just saw my brother get stabbed to death on the news. I saw it all! My brother died choking on his own blood! I'm going to make sure Theo pays dearly for that."
"What do you need me to do, boss?" Ecco asked, trying to be helpful. "What's the plan?"
J took the time to pull himself together and started thinking. It would do him no good to lose himself right now. He needed to avenge Jerome, and then he could rage, and cry, and mourn, and probably totally lose it. When it was finished, not before. Theo seemed rich. Wealthy usually meant bodyguards. He couldn't just go up to the man and kill him. He would be protected. He would have to observe his target for awhile to see who he was. And then he would figure out how to kill him.
"I think we need to keep a close eye on this Theo Galavan. You stand out the least. So I want you to shadow him. Keep your distance. This one seems clever. Now that I think back, his whole exchange with Jerome seemed rehearsed. If that's the case, then Galavan is scheming something. Schemers should not be underestimated. So be cautious. And report back to me what you find out about him." J said, scheming himself. He couldn't make any definite plans yet. He didn't know the man well enough yet to know how to stop him. Or what would hurt the most to him. Because J wanted it to be personal. He wanted him destroyed. Not just killed.
"I can do that, boss. Whatever you need." Ecco said nervously. She didn't know how to act when J was at his worst. It scared her a little. She quickly left the room after J gave her more detailed instructions.
Ecco was very good at finding information. Shadowing people was her forte. She was a natural. It didn't take her long to find out about Theo's control over the crime boss, Penguin. Apparently, Theo had someone Penguin cared about locked away somewhere. J saw his chance.
Penguin was understandably in a rather bad mood that night. He was drinking heavily and flying off the handle at his lackeys. He definitely didn't want guests. And yet he had one. "Who let you in?" Penguin asked of the red masked and smartly dressed man standing before him.
"I let myself in. Apologies. I am known as Red Hood. I know its rude to enter someone's home without being invited but you wouldn't have given me an audience right now anyway. And I think you'll want to hear what I have to say."
"What you could you possibly have to say that I would want to hear? I'm busy." Penguin said. "Where the hell are my guards?"
"They are sleeping off a mild sleeping agent. It won't have any side effects. Just a mild hangover at most. And I know you're busy. With Theo Galavan I'd wager. Am I right?"
"I don't know what you're talking about." the man said nervously.
"Come now. You can be honest with me. I already know he's holding someone you care about hostage." Red Hood said.
"How do you know about that? Are you working for him too?" Penguin asked.
"Of course not. Galavan killed someone I cared deeply for. My only family. In my effort to find a way to make him suffer, my research led me to you. Someone who is also suffering at his hands. If I had to guess, you'd relish watching that smug bastard die choking on his own blood. Lets work together. We can make him pay and, maybe, save the person you care about."
"I can't go against him. He'll kill her! If he knows I plotted against him..."
"Really? What happened to the man that brought Gotham's underworld to its knees?" Red Hood asked. "Galavan is just going to kill her when he's through with you anyway. You know that right? There is no scenario where you comply with him and he gives her back to you still breathing. If you want her back, you will have to go take her back yourself. But you needn't do it alone."
"I had plans..." Penguin said. "I'm not putting her at risk more than I have to."
"You really sure about that spy of yours? Sources tell me that that sister of Theo's knocked some sense into your lackey. I'd watch out for him if I were you."
"Lies. Butch can't not be obedient." Penguin said, not sure if he really believed it himself. "You have proof this happened?"
"Of course not. You'll have to take me at my word. Take some time to think about a team up. But don't take too long to decide. Galavan needs to die now. Not later. And your loved one doesn't have long, I expect." Red Hood left.
J wasn't surprised when Penguin refused his help. Penguin also trusted his lackey which proved to be fatal for Penguin's mom. He was double-crossed like J predicted. When Penguin came back to his lair in tears, the bird was torn between the desire to throw himself into bed and weep or rage at the world and kill all those responsible for his rage.
"Probably should've taken me up on my offer. I did warn you." Red Hood said sitting at Penguin's table.
Penguin sneered at him, not even asking how he got in a second time. "What was I supposed to do? I don't even know you! Just leave me alone. You don't need to rub it in."
"I'm not trying to rub it in. I need an ally. Galavan is clever. And you have just as much reason as me now to want him dead." Red Hood said calmly.
"Ok. You're right. We both want him dead. We should both have the chance to kill him. Do you have a plan?" Penguin asked as he sat down and tried not to cry.
"I have a few ideas. But first I'd like to hear what your plan would be." Red Hood said. "Impress me."
Penguin looked annoyed for a minute or so until he shook his head and thought about it. Then he thought of what he would do. "I have an idea. Its not conventional. But would confuse a lot of people."
"Oh? Do tell." Red Hood asked, very interested to hear this plan.
"Galavan's lackeys are expecting me to come after him in a rage and not thinking straight. They'll shoot me as soon as they see me. A frontal assault would be suicide for me. They would aim directly at me. But what if there was more than one of me?"
"Go on." Red Hood said, curious to hear more.
"I could have my lackeys dress up like me. Put them in wigs or style their hair like mine as well. From a distance, they wouldn't know which was which. It would cause confusion. Make people hesitate. I could use that to get in closer."
"Clever. I would've suggested replacing the waiters with our lackeys but that's good too." Red Hood said.
"We could do that too. I could follow my plan and you could sneak your lackeys into the party. We would come at him from both sides." Penguin said.
"Now, comes the big question. Who gets to kill him?" Red Hood asked.
"I thought we were both going to make him suffer." Penguin said.
"Well, yes. But one of us will make the killing blow. It would be prudent to decide now rather than argue about it later when we are pressed for time."
"That's fair. I suppose you have more claim to the kill. It was Theo that killed the person you cared about, right? Not his sister. He may have ordered it done, but Tabitha Galavan killed my mother directly. Not him. So I won't argue about that. I only want to be able to watch as it happens and I ask you to make it hurt." Penguin said.
"Thank you. That's very reasonable of you." Red Hood said. "And you can be sure I will make it hurt as much as is possible. I have some ideas of what I could do if I had enough time alone with him. So many ideas..." he shook his head to get back on track. "Anyway, your frontal assault can be a distraction. Galavan will be on guard from that direction. And while everyone is focused on your lackeys, we come in from the back and take Galavan. I have a location that will be hard to trace us back to. If we do this, we will have as long as we want with the new mayor. And no one will come after us."
"How will we slip your people in as waiters? Galavan might be looking for that." Penguin asked.
"He won't be expecting my people. Only yours." Red Hood said. "I have ways of getting what I want. It won't be any trouble to sneak them in. Just make sure to be there near the back entrance during the party and one of my men will let you in. At the same time, have your people rush the building. This should be relatively simple. Here is my number if you need to call me."
That evening, J had his men pose as waiters. He bribed one of the managers to ignore the fact they weren't usual staff. He had to forbid Jongleur and his two remaining friends from actually going out and acting like waiters since they were not very good actors. They stayed in the back with J as the rest of his men posed quite effectively as waiters. Penguin arrived at the back door and Jongleur let him in.
Penguin's people started limping forward towards the building looking very much like Penguin. The guy went all out with their clothing. From far away they all looked exactly like Penguin. A few were taken out with a sniper. At the same time, Red Hood made his move. Galavan was surrounded with highly trained bodyguards. That would not be an issue though. Because they were currently distracted by all the Penguin lackeys rushing into the building. So they were too distracted to notice the waiters get close.
"Mr. Mayor! You're in danger. Come out through the back so we can get you to safety." said one of the waiters.
Theo Galavan didn't think it odd for the wait staff to be concerned for the mayor they just elected. He let them lead him through the kitchen area. Only two of his bodyguards followed. When they got to the back entrance the bodyguards were easily taken out by Jongleur and his friends. They grinned madly as they killed the men, very much in their element amongst violence.
"Mr. Mayor. It's a pleasure to meet you in person." Red Hood said standing in the doorway, smirking beneath his mask. Penguin appeared at his side with a smug smile on his face.
Theo started to realize the situation he had found himself in and tried to run but was easily caught by Red Hood's men. They grabbed him and dragged him out through the back door where a van was waiting. Jongleur took a lot of pleasure from shoving the new mayor in the back and closing the door. They knocked Galavan out so he would stop struggling.
About twenty minutes later, when they were sure they weren't followed, they stopped in the alley behind J's lair. They dragged the unconscious Galavan into the building and put him in a small room, tying him securely to a chair.
When Galavan woke up he saw both Red Hood and Penguin staring at him, Penguin with a vicious look on his face.
"Whatever Penguin is paying you, I can triple it. And get you out of any hot water with the authorities. Think about this all carefully. Penguin is a fugitive. Do you really want to go down with him when he's caught?" Theo said trying to reason with Red Hood.
Red Hood laughed in a way that unnerved both Theo and Penguin a little. "He didn't hire me. Our team up was my idea. You took something from each of us. This is equally as personal for me. So trying to talk me down is pointless."
"Look, whatever I did, I don't even know you. So it wasn't personal. Is there anything I can do for you that will convince you to let me go?" Theo asked, still trying to tallk his way out of of his situation.
"No. I don't think there is anything you could say or do to get out of this. Do you want me to explain your situation in a way you will truly understand?" J slowly pulled off his mask, revealing his face beneath. He did not have makeup on so his pale face was fully visible. But even though his face was pale, it still looked clearly identical to Jerome's. Penguin stared at him unnerved but he ignored the bird and focused on Galavan with a small smile.
"Jerome? How?" Galavan asked in confusion and a little bit of fear.
J sneered at him. "No. Not Jerome. You stabbed him in the neck, remember? I'm his twin brother. You know the old cliché of a good twin and an evil twin when talking about identical twins?" J got right in his face and stared at him menacingly. "Jerome was the good twin." He grinned, madly at him. Penguin was looking very uncomfortable. And Theo, he was nearly soiling himself in terror. He held himself together rather well but one could tell he realized how deadly a situation he was in. J looked back at Penguin and smiled a little less menacingly. "I would prefer it if you did not reveal my little secret. I don't feel like stealing my brother's thunder at the moment. And revealing myself would do just that. I am Red Hood. Nothing more."
"I will keep your secret." Penguin said, pulling himself together. "May I ask why you look like that?"
"You can. It's a chemical burn. And it's one of the reasons I wear a mask. Someday I'll accept the way I look. But not right now." J said. "Anyway, we are getting a little sidetracked. Can we get back on track? I do believe you had some fun things planned for our guest? You can go first."
"Thank you." Penguin turned around to smirk at Galavan as he took out a knife. He grabbed Theo to hold him still while he cut into the man. Theo wasn't screaming yet but J could tell he was having a hard time holding it back. Penguin looked like he thought of something clever and smirked at the man. "This is for my mother." He brought a bigger and sharper knife over and immediately chopped Theo's hand off. That had the man screaming. "You're just like your ancestor now." Penguin said amused.
"I like your enthusiasm. But now he's losing consciousness from blood lose. He won't even feel half the stuff we do to him." J said going over to see if Theo was dying or not.
"Apologies. I guess I got caught up in the moment." Penguin said cheerfully.
They took the time to wrap up Theo's bleeding nub and gave him something to make him more alert. Then Penguin decided to beat the man senseless.
J stood back and smiled as he watched the Penguin work. He definitely liked this Penguin better than the one from the other world. He had a lot more style. Penguin seemed to be in a very good mood as he tortured Theo. So J guessed that he must've been pretty close to that mom of his.
"I do believe I deserve a turn now." J said.
"Oh. Of course. Where are my manners? Go ahead." Penguin said stepping back.
J stepped forward. Theo was not doing very well at this point. "Now what could I do to you that would be truly personal? You took my brother from me. I'd say that taking your sister from you would be a fair trade but I get the feeling you wouldn't even care. What is it you love most of all? I know. You love your image most of all. I have a surprise for you, my dear mayor." He flipped open his phone. "Come in here please."
A few minutes later Ecco walked into the room and smiled at Theo. Theo stared at her in shock. J laughed at the look.
"Surprised? You have no idea how easy it was to get you to hire my loyal little Ecco as your new secretary. The things you said while in front of her...naughty naughty. You really should realize that just because someone is your subordinate, it doesn't mean they can't understand the secrets you say in front of them. Perhaps you thought you had her sufficiently frightened into not revealing anything. Pity your goons aren't all that intimidating to mine. All those secrets and schemes? Your crusade against a teenage boy? My dear Ecco has sent proof of it all to the proper authorities. Even in the unlikely event that you escape from here, you are done, Mr. Mayor. People know the truth now."
Theo did not look happy with that information. He sagged a little in his binds.
"When I take revenge on someone, I destroy them. Its not enough to just hurt you. I have to show you the depths of despair. Gotham knows the truth now. You are a villain just like the rest of us. You sent my brother and his friends out there to cause chaos all so you could swoop in like a hero. But you are no hero. Honestly, if you hadn't involved my brother, I would have respect for all you've managed to do so far. But you had to go and stab him on tv where I could watch as my brother died! I am not going to forgive that. So I have a little gift for you."
J pulled out a syringe and showed it to him. "It's a heavily modified form of a drug I learned how to make as a child. I had...a rather unconventional education. This one is just about as flashy as my mentor's favorite toxin. That one I actively try to avoid making myself. But this one? Its rather entertaining. Well, entertaining for those watching, not the one its injected into. I've been injected with it and the closest thing to describe it would be to say its living Hell. Its not actually a formula that my mentor came up with himself. He just knew how to make it. I'll bet his sometimes colleague wouldn't have been all that happy he knew how to make it. It plays on your deepest fears. In the original formula you just have a bad trip. In this one you'll have one hell of a trip, and then you'll die. And the death will likely be rather painful. And since we are here, no one will get to you in time to give you the antidote." J went over to Theo and slid the needle into the man's arm. "Say hello to Jerome in Hell for me, would you?" He injected him. It took a moment or two to work.
"Is it supposed to do something?" Penguin asked underwhelmed.
"Wait for it to kick in. Have a little patience. My modifications make it slow to start but no less intense." J said. He smiled satisfied when he saw Theo shake his head trying to clear it, getting less and less coherent as time went on. Soon he was staring into space and twitching with a terrified look on his face.
Theo started screaming. "No! No! Please go away!"
Penguin stared in amazement as Theo was reduced to a screaming terrified mess. "Who designed this?"
"I really shouldn't say. Here they haven't really started their career yet. I really hope they don't mind I borrowed their formula. I did try to make it different enough that it won't be traced back to them. But I couldn't think of a better way to show Theo true despair." They watched as Theo started violently twitching and then just flopped over not moving. "Ah. I do believe that is it." J went over and checked the man's pulse. Theo was dead. J laughed. "So long Mr. Mayor."
Penguin stared at the corpse of Theo Galavan. "I actually got to see him die. I wasn't sure I'd ever get to." he looked over at J. "Thank you for your help. I couldn't have done this without you."
"Don't mention it. No seriously. Don't mention this. I don't want people to know how any of this happened. You are a professional so I trust you can be discreet."
"Of course." Penguin said. "I'm not an idiot. This never happened. You weren't here. I wasn't here."
"Thank you."
"So what are we doing with his body?" Penguin asked.
"Leave that to me and my lackeys. I have something special planned." J said pulling his mask back on. "Now I do believe our business is concluded. I have a body to deal with. If you need my help with something I wouldn't be against helping you again. Within reason of course. And again, I do hope you will remember not to ever reveal my true identity. To anyone."
"I won't reveal it. I don't even really care. So you're Jerome's brother. That doesn't effect me." Penguin said. "I'm going to go see my mother has a decent funeral now. If only we had grabbed Tabitha Galavan as well and then my mother would finally be at peace. But there's still time. Goodbye my friend. It has been an...interesting experience."
J had his lackeys set up a special treat for the citizens of Gotham to wake up to the next morning. Right in front of the capital building Theo Galavan's body was set out dramatically. A banner with the words 'Jerome Has Been Avenged' was hanging above it. It was set up as if for a political speech. As if the mayor were going to address a crowd of no one. Theo's body was horribly mangled. The police were baffled as to who could have done it. They investigated but never found out who did it, since the perp seemed meticulous about lack of evidence. People all over the city had wild theories as to who could've done it. None of them seemed likely though.
After J was done with his revenge, he wasn't sure what to do next. His plans had long revolved around the idea that he would reunite with his brother. But his brother was dead. And now Theo was dead too. What else was there? He didn't know.
Just as he was growing despondent, Jongleur came to him with some interesting news. Apparently, the people that Jongleur often spent time with all seemed smitten with Jerome. And it wasn't just them. Jongleur told him that people all over the city seemed to love Jerome. He had a fan club now and J found that touching. He had them keep an eye on the fans for him. He wasn't all that enthusiastic about the symbol that the fans had developed to honor Jerome. It was a grinning face with the words ha ha ha as teeth. It was far too much like a Joker grin for comfort. But other than that, he had no issues with the fans. He thought Jerome would've appreciated all the love. He even joined some of their parties, in a mask of course.
Penguin was arrested for the crimes he committed while working for Theo. He managed to plead insanity and got sent to Arkham. If it were any other mental institution, J thought that wouldn't be such a bad move. But this was Arkham. Penguin wasn't likely to have a very good time.
Life went on. Odd things happened and J was enjoying watching as villains started establishing themselves. He watched as Victor Fries terrorized Gotham with his freeze gun before seemingly dying. J knew he wasn't dead. Mr. Freeze wouldn't die before facing Batman years from now. He was sure of it.
It was rather fascinating when J heard about how the police were dealing with a criminal that left clues. It was clearly the work of the Riddler, but Edward Nygma still worked at the GCPD. J laughed when he realized the riddle obsessed villain was playing them. Or playing someone in particular, likely a specific cop. J managed to get one of his lackeys to snap a few photos of the crime scenes. J had loved hearing about the green suited puzzle master when he was in the other world. The man was the ultimate schemer and J was overjoyed he could watch this Edward Nygma find himself. J watched as Jim Gordon was charged with the murder of an officer. For some reason it all seemed to lead back to the schemes of Nygma.
It wasn't surprising when Jim Gordon managed to escape Blackgate and then proceed to outsmart Nygma, tricking him into confessing to the murder of the officer. This Jim Gordon was very clever. He was a problem solver. And so Nygma was sent to Arkham.
Penguin was released from Arkham. He went to J's building to ask for help but was acting strange.
"They really messed with your head in there, didn't they?" J said, a little disappointed. He hoped the bird would find his way out of this docile state he was in.
"I'm cured. They could help you too."
"They didn't cure you. They brainwashed you. I suppose I should expect nothing less from Hugo Strange of all people. I wish you luck in breaking through this. I really do. But you are a little unnerving, even to me. So I have to ask you to leave."
Penguin left with a slightly disappointed look.
J was livid when he saw Theo Galavan on tv. Alive! How had he come back? He didn't deserve to come back. J sent his lackeys out to find out where he could be and then paced his room for hours trying to think of ways he could kill the man a second time. But a few days later, he learned he wouldn't have to bother killing him a second time. Penguin had done it for him. He shot Galavan with a rocket launcher so there wasn't much left of Theo when it was over. J found the information very entertaining. Penguin had managed to slip his programing and had gone back to his old ways. And had killed Theo in a stylish manner. Good for him. He'd have to send the bird a fruit basket or something to thank him.
The next entertaining thing to happen to Gotham city was the escape of several test subjects from a secret underground lab under Arkham. That one was a doozy. J never heard that story on the news back in the other world. But he recognized several of the test subjects to be future Gotham villains of note. One had bat wings. An obvious ManBat. He heard rumors of a man who's face was like clay. He might be Clayface. There was a large almost reptilian man on the news. Killer Croc perhaps? So many possible future villains. It was fascinating. He immediately offered the test subjects help if they needed it. The police and city officials were not likely to help them. They'd probably lock them in some dark hole if they found them. Those people didn't ask to be test subjects. And not all of them were criminals before they were taken. The public only saw them as monsters. But J would be considered a monster too if they saw his face. If they knew what he would be someday. J had been a victim at one point too, so he supposed he had a bit of a thing for helping other victims. Plus it was super entertaining and he had nothing else to do at the time.
.
J had been asked to be an official part of the organized criminal underworld as Red Hood. He suspected that Penguin would rather have him where he could see him as a probable ally rather than the great big unnerving unknown of what Red Hood would do otherwise. He knew he made the bird uncomfortable. He probably intended to keep him like he kept Victor Zsasz, a dangerous man capable of anything but on his side and on his payroll. Only, Red Hood had no intention of being on his payroll. He was an independent entity. He may not be Joker yet, but he was no lackey. Frankly, J was surprised the tally marked psychopath, Zsasz, stood being formally employed. In the other world he had been a serial killer. He hadn't worked for anyone and merely killed because he wanted to. Maybe this world's version figured that if he could get paid to do what he loved, it would be a nice bonus. He didn't hate the man, and Zsasz didn't miss how unnerved his boss was around Red Hood. So there was an extra level of respect the assassin had for the sometime mercenary. Not everyone could ruffle Penguin's feathers like that. J played along with the criminals playing at being organized. But it was boring to him. He merely did it for his friends sake. You couldn't torture and murder someone in a violent manner and not grow a bit close to the man that helped. J did respect the bird's scheming abilities. And life with Penguin was usually guaranteed to be a bit entertaining with all the drama that seemed to happen.
The test subjects started getting hunted down. Many were caught by the once cop, turned bounty hunter, Jim Gordon. But he wasn't the one that killed many of the test subjects when they tried to find Hugo Strange for some reason. An angry mob of 'normal' citizens killed them. J was not really pleased to see that Penguin of all people was the one to lead them. He must have something planned.
At first, J didn't know who the man was that walked though his door one day. But the rather dapper manner of dress intrigued him so he let the man speak when he showed up. "Pardon me for bothering you. But I heard that you were helping the test subjects. I was wondering if you could help me find my sister."
"We aren't really in the habit of finding lost relatives. I'm not a PI." Red Hood said, face hidden behind his mask.
"You misunderstand. My sister was one of Hugo Strange's captives. I have missed her so much. If you know where she may be hiding and could tell me, I would be very grateful. Her name is Alice. Alice Tetch. This is her photo." the man got out a dog eared photo of a pretty blond girl.
"Did you say Tetch?" Red Hood said, very glad he could hide his surprised look at the name. Was this the Mad Hatter? "What's your name by the way?"
"It's Jervis Tetch. Why? Do you know my sister? Please, you have to help me."
"I know of her. But we aren't close. I can tell you what I do know. I do understand that feeling of not being able to be around a loved one. I spent several years desperately wishing I would see my brother again. So I can sympathize. I can give you a few leads, but might I suggest hiring someone that does this sort of thing for a living?"
"Any information you could give me would be very helpful." Jervis said.
"I heard she worked at the Narrows bar. I'm not sure where she lives. She was very careful with that information. But I do know its in the Narrows. She seems a timid one, your sister. She wasn't one I spoke with much. She didn't really trust me. Said I reminded her of someone." J said amused. J knew who that someone likely was now. Jervis and him were similar levels of psychotic after all. If he had to guess, Alice had no desire to see her brother ever again. But he felt it would be rude to point that out.
"The Narrows bar? That's a start. Thank you. You said you spent a long period away from your brother. I'm curious, did you ever reunite?" Jervis asked.
"No. He died. But I did make sure that the one responsible died screaming in terror. So there is that. At least I got to have that." Red Hood said a bit madly.
"My apologies. That's awful. If Alice were to die...I don't know what I would do. I'm glad you were able to get your revenge." Jervis said sincerely.
"Thanks. Out of curiosity, what do you do for a living?" Red Hood asked.
"I'm a hypnotist. I do shows. And various other things. It pays my way." Jervis said.
"A hypnotist, huh." Red Hood said fascinated. So Jervis's mind control gimmick in this world was all home grown it would seem. No need for mind control devices when your brain was your device. He was thrilled. This guy would be loads more entertaining than his parallel. He could tell. "I'll bet those shows are amazing."
"I try. They do pay the bills after all. Anyway, I won't keep you any longer. Thank you for the information."
J watched as the top hatted man left and grinned underneath his mask. He hoped he had more interactions with that one. He figured that telling the man about his own family troubles had prevented a possible incident. He didn't want to kill any future big name villains, at least until they became said villain and met Batman. He wanted them to get that and wanted to see the epic battle that followed. But, that said, he wouldn't hesitate to shoot a man if he tried to hypnotize him. He knew all about being helpless and had no desire to revisit that. But Jervis seemed to feel a kinship. They were both probably a bit more obsessed with their siblings than was healthy. And both had spent several years away from their siblings. He hoped Jervis would find Alice. He hoped it worked out. But he doubted it. Since this was Jervis Tetch after all. The one in the other world never stopped trying to find his Alice, even though he never had a sibling. Alice was just someone he wanted to spend time with in that world. But no Alice ever measured up and so he never stopped looking. If he had to guess, this Jervis would have a similar situation. Alice Tetch was probably going to die. And he'd delude himself that she could still be out there. But never find her.
It hadn't even been that long after Red Hood unofficially joined up with Team Penguin, that the bird decided to run for mayor. J thought it was the funniest thing ever. What made it even funnier is that he won in a landslide. So nearly the whole city voted for a villain as mayor. But as far as mayors went, he was rather decent so far. He hired Edward Nygma as his aid. They met in Arkham and grew close. Whenever J saw them on tv he saw the romantic tension in the air around them. Though Nygma seemed a bit clueless of it. What a pair.
Around this same time, J learned through Jongleur that a Jerome fan was claiming he could bring Jerome back to life. That he had observed as Hugo Strange brought people back and thought he could do it to Jerome as well. Jerome's body was currently in a preservation tube in a warehouse somewhere. Intact and just waiting for them to wake him up. J was intrigued. Could he really see his brother again? So he decided to pay this, Dwight, a visit.
Dwight got home from a long shift at the morgue, tired and just ready to crash. He jumped about a mile when he saw the man in the red mask sitting casually on his couch.
"Who the hell are you?" Dwight asked unnerved. "How did you get into my apartment?"
"The more important question is, how can I help you? I have heard intriguing things about you, Mr. Pollard. I suppose the main reason I came was to ask how confident you feel in accomplishing the things you claim." Red Hood asked calmly.
"Do you...are you a Jerome fan?" Dwight asked confused.
"I suppose in a way, you could say I am. But I am not one of your rabble if that's what you are asking."
"I know you. I've heard of you. You're the Red Hood, aren't you?" Dwight asked in a bit of awe.
"I am. Pleased to meet you and yada yada." Red Hood said dismissively.
"But you're a real criminal. One of Penguin's bunch of organized criminals. Why would you care about Jerome?" Dwight asked.
"I am not really part of Oswald's bunch. We simply enjoyed killing Theo together. Torture sessions can bring people together. I am not on his payroll and have little interest in organized crime. It pays the bills, nothing more. I have a personal reason for wanting Jerome back. I'm not sure I want to share it just yet. Perhaps once I am confident you can pull this off. And that you won't go blabbing at the first chance you get if I reveal something. My question is, can you pull it off? Can you bring him back?"
"I can. Absolutely. I watched Strange. I can do it. I just need time and equipment. And manpower. I've been trying to rally together the fans. Anything to get to see him." Dwight said determined.
"Well, then. I do believe you may need some help. I can provide some of that." Red Hood said.
"But why? What's the catch? What do you get out of it?" Dwight asked.
"I get plenty out of it, don't worry. Here is my number. I will keep in touch." Red Hood said handing him a card with his number before leaving.