Chapter 9
The Killing Joke
We entered to the Monarch Theater, which had all the chairs removed and an old movie called 'The Terror' was showed, on screen. Batman and I stood in the center as Joker stood on stage with
Talia still restrained and had a 45. magnum aimed at her with. He was also carrying her sword.
"Hurry up and take a seat boys, the show is about to begin." he said as he kicked my sister in the knees I was about to kick his ass when Batman prevented me from doing that.
"Let's just talk about this." He said
"Talk about this? Really, you tryin to reason with this clown freak?" I asked in disbelief, I couldn't believe what i just heard.
"Hh now you want to talk about this." He chuckled as he pressed gun barrel at her head.
"Too late Batman. Now give me cure!"
"You've already got the cure! What are you talking about?" I asked genuinely confused of his demand.
Before he could say anything else, Talia smacked the gun out of his hand and moved around him smoothly. She then pulled her sword out from his belt and held it to his back.
"Talia NO!" Batman and I yelled.
She ran her sword right through his heart. He let out a dying gasp as Talia kicked him to the ground.
"Problem solved." She said as she walked up to us.
"You didn't need to...,"
"Why?" She asked rudely. "You would never do it, you left me no choice."
"There's always a choice."
"Exactly, and that's doesn't include getting kidnapped by an assclown." I agreed.
"I had to save you."
"More like saving your ass in my book." I corrected. Then I let out a sigh. "I've already lost you once, I don't want to lose you again."
"I know, brother." Talia walked over to me and stroked my cheek. "I'll try to give some thought the next time."
I chuckled "I doubt that would happen."
Then she grabbed something from her pocket and it was the cure.
"Harley Quinn stole it from him, I took it back." Talia said as Batman kneeled over joker's body. "It's over." She put hand on his shoulder.
It ain't over until Joker says it's over.
That's when I noticed there were no blood for a blade through his heart, normally there was. Then I remembered the two joker cards, a real and a fake. And how Joker said give him the cure when he was fully healed earlier. His words echoed in my head. Then it dawned on me. This wasn't Joker.
"Talia!" Batman and I shouted but it was too late.
She was shot in her back and fell into Batman's arms and I rushed to her side.
"I'm sorry beloved. I didn't know." She whispered as the final breath escaped her mouth and the cure rolled off her hand to the fake joker corpse while the real Joker was having a blast cheering and laughing his ass out while coughing uncontrollably.
"My dear sister." I whispered as a silent tear escaped my eye.
"Encore, More! Bravo!" the real Joker cheered and clapped. even on the verge of death, he gets the last laugh. Not tonight he won't.
"it was never you." Batman mumbled.
"Not always. Well, sometimes." Joker replied. "Confusing, isn't it? I know I'd want to find out what the hell is going on if I were you. Let just say that at time like this it's important to keep up appearances." He said croakily. He was near the final act of his show. "Now if you be so kind. Give. Me. The. Cure". He said as he aimed his gun at us. Batman was just about to take the cure when fake joker started to transform into his true form.
"Ladies and Gentlemen. For one night only. Standing in for yours truly and doing damn fine job I give you… Clayface!"
"You weren't supposed to be here, Karlo. Why sign up with Joker?" Batman asked, keeping his cool.
"Easy." Clayface sneered as his fist morphed into a rock. "The role of a lifetime!" He attempted to smash us but we evaded easily.
"One. Last. Chance." I warned Clayface but he laughs.
"Oh come on, boys. The final acts just starting and it's a doozy," Joker chuckled as we both pulled out our ice blasts.
"Looks like I'm not the only one talking to Mr. Freeze." Batman noted.
"Amen to that." I agreed.
The fight was on, Clayface started a few swings and we dodged it threw his fist rock at us and we dodged it again. We threw ice blasts at any opportunity we could get. Clayface decided to become a cannonball and charged at me. I rolled out of the way and he ran into an explosive wall. I capitalized on it and threw as many as ice blasts as I could. Eventually we were able to freeze Clayface. Batman got to the top of him and pulled out Talia's sword. I drawn my sword as well and we sliced him up pretty good until he became unfrozen. Round 2!
"Oh, no. Fuck off!" I shouted as I threw ice blasts at him. This time Clayface was ruthless, he hit us with everything he's got. But just when he was about hit me with his rock turned fist, he froze solid again thanks to the ice blasts.
Batman and I took advantage of it and sliced him up again until he was pieces.
"You two are making me late for my spa treatment. I mean, it's not like you got a girl to save anymore." My blood boiled at that sick joke made by the Comedian of chaos. "I'm sorry, too soon? Maybe a change of scenery will help ease the pain."
Joker pulled out a detonator and pressed the red button that caused the floor to explode.
We fell straight into Lazarus Chamber as our swords fell right next to our heads, talk about close calls. We got up battered, tired and grabbed our swords as clayface fell next to the pit. He was weak but he created mud cronies. Time to finish this.
"For Talia." I said.
"For Talia" Batman replied
We started hacking the cronies while clayface despite his weakened state spat out clay at us this guy is relentless. But nothing can stop us tonight, not even Clayface. We threw ice blasts at him whenever we got the chance. Batman landed one last ice blast and Clayface became frozen, finally. Before I knew it Batman jumped in Clayface's mouth and started to cut him apart from the inside. In one final swoop, he cut Clayface up and got out of him. Game over. Batman did a few swings and sheathed the sword to his utility belt.
"Nice, did you get the cure back?" I asked
He nodded and drank the cure. Finally he was healed from the Titan poison.
"Get out of my way, Bats!" Joker gasped as we turned around to see him on the top of the Lazarus pit. "I got a date with immortality." Batman yanked out his sword and threw it to the pit, causing the structure to fall apart. It dragged clayface into the pit and it exploded big time, knocking us both out.
A few moments later, I got up slowly. My head was killing me, but I was still alive. I saw Batman too and I walked to him helping him up, he still has that cure in his hand and also Joker is here somewhere in the shadows.
"Quick, the cure!" Joker demanded coughing, should we give him the cure or not? That's the question of day.
"What are you waiting for, come on! I've killed your girlfriend. Poisoned Gotham, and hell, It's not even breakfast." He laughed. "So what, we all know that you'll save me." That was my cue.
"Batman, you don't have to do this. Let it go, he did this to himself. You won't be held responsible for it. Just let it go. Remember what my sister said to you, in order to save the world, you must sacrifice a life." I said to him and I could tell he was considering that option. He had doubt of saving Joker. It hasn't bothered him before.
"Every decision you ever made ends with death misery, people die. I'll stop you, you just break out and do it again." He said.
"Think of it as running gag." Joker stated as he came from behind and stabbed Batman in the shoulder, causing him to drop the cure. It shattered into pieces.
"No!" Joker shouted as Batman flipped him off him and pulled out the knife. Joker crawled over to the cure and tried to pick it up but it was in vein. He knew it too.
"Are you happy now?"
"Not really but as they say, karma is a bitch." I said casually which he gave a death glare.
"You wanna know something funny?" I glanced at Batman with a surprised look. Was he about to tell a joke? "Even after everything you done, I would saved you" that caused Joker to laugh.
"That actually is.. pretty funny." He laughed at the irony in Batman's joke. Then the laughter turned into gasps for air. He let out a dying moan as he went limp with a smile on his face.
Joker was dead, the Titan poison in his body had come to an end in its fast motion journey.
I let out a sigh. "It's all over."
"It's all over" Batman replied as he picked Joker's corpse up.
Then I remembered. Talia. As if He read my mind, Batman gave a nod, telling me to go resurrect her. Encouraged, I got the syringe filled with a small amount of the Lazarus. I went back to theatre, walking up to her body, kneeling down in front of her. It was time to wake my sister from her beauty sleep.
"And shepherds we shall be, For Thee, my Lord, for Thee. Power hath descended forth from Thy hand, That our feet mayswiftly carry out Thy command. So we shall flow a river forth to Thee and teeming with souls shall it ever be. In nominePatris et Filii" I raised the syringe high "et Spiritus Sancti." I stabbed the heart and injected it with the Lazarus chemical. I waited for a few minutes then she came back form the dead. Her eyes burst open and she gasped for air, she coughed a while. She slowly rose looking around confused at the carnage and then she saw me and Batman who was heading out to the exit with The Joker's corpse.
"It worked." Talia breathed out a sigh of relief that her beloved was still alive. "I take it the Joker is dead."
I nodded.
"Good."
Outside the building, thugs were cheering waiting to see Joker the Immortal. But they went silent as they saw us two exiting the Monarch Theatre. Talia went the back door seeing as she was still wanted by Interpol.
Joker's corpse was on full display. Harley gasped. Her pudding was dead. Gotham had lost the Clown Prince of Crime. We walked right out of Arkham City. The cops surrounded the place with Commissioner Gordon leading the Charge.
"All units coordinate... what the?" To say that the cops were shocked to see us was an understatement.
"What the hell happened in there?" Batman didn't answer he just left joker's body on the top of a cop car and started walking, I stayed behind knowing that he need some time alone now.
"Batman! What happened?" Batman ignored Commissioner's question and kept on walking. Gordon turned to me for answers he wanted.
"The Gag ran its course." I told him simply and left.
I stood on the top of the old Ace Chemicals Building looking to the sun rise, promoting a new dawn. A new Day. A new Era. It's the end of Joker's reign of terror on Gotham. Gotham is heading into Uncharted territory. Hopefully it won't be as bad as the last one after the end of organized mafia.
"I can see why you've came back to Gotham. it's real charming." Sara mused as she joined me. I chuckled. Gotham has it's quirks despite the dark cloud surrounding the city
"Isn't it?" I added. I glanced at Sara. "Hey, I got some friends in the Cauldron. You can stay there for the night."
"The Cauldron." She repeated the name bemused. I shrugged.
"I didn't pick it."
In the howling wind comes a stinging rain
See it driving nails
Into the souls on the tree of pain
From the firefly, a red orange glow
See the face of fear
Running scared in the valley below
Bullet the blue sky
Bullet the blue sky
Bullet the blue
Bullet the blue
In the locust wind comes a rattle and hum
Jacob wrestled the angel
And the angel was overcome
You plant a demon seed
You raise a flower of fire
See them burning crosses
See the flames higher and higher
Bullet the blue sky
Bullet the blue sky
Bullet the blue
Bullet the blue
Bullet the Blue Sky by U2
AN: One more Chapter and it's a wrap. I'm considering a sequel to this, what do you think? Leave a comment on the review page