Once again I find myself staring at my own reflection. And once again, the face I look at is different from the one I knew. Not entirely mind you, but the changes are still there. The horns that extend from the top of my head, white curves ending in a green point. The green in my eyes filled up the white space that once surrounded it. And when I smile, I can see it arching halfway up my face, threatening to break the skin with its intensity. My teeth are yellowed points, and I can taste something dripping off of them… something familiar. Besides that I'm the same old me. The good old me. And I feel like it too, maybe even a little better.

A cough from behind broke me from my thoughts, and my eyes moved from my reflection to that of a pathetic bat creature that stood behind me.

"S-so you see? I was-wasn't lying. You're dead. W-we all are, and this is h-hell."

I didn't respond at first, taking a little more time to admire my new face. Then I looked away from the shop window I've been staring at and turned to address the bat I've been dragging along. He stood there meekly on the sidewalk, too afraid to even try running. Cars rushed behind him on the road. Even though the sidewalks barely had anyone on them, traffic was as busy as any other part of this city.

"You know what's funny?" I asked him. Bruce, the bat, cringed at this. I could tell he didn't like that question but I continued anyway. "It's my coat! Normally each of these inside pockets has such wonderful toys. But now," I reach into my coat exaggeratedly and rummaged into my pockets, "I can't find anything! However, if I were to say, think of a large bazooka…" my hand suddenly felt a large cylindrical object, and I grabbed it, pulling it out of my coat in one swift motion. Bruce's eyes widened seeing me pull an entire bazooka out of my coat, and he fell back on his rear and scrambled away into the road. This would swiftly come to be a mistake.

Suddenly, I heard a car honking its horn and both me and Bruce turned to see a car barreling down the road, refusing to slow down. Bruce was petrified, he stared at the car like a deer in headlights. The car continued to honk its horn, speeding closer to its unfortunate target. For a moment, I considered letting the car run him down just to see if he would survive. The thought of him tumbling over or under the car was enough to bring a smile to my face. But I didn't want to lug around a near-corpse all day on the chance he did survive, so to avoid that risk I mounted the bazooka onto my shoulder. Aiming at the speeding car, I waited until it was practically on top of Bruce before pulling the trigger; I watched the car burst to flames as the rocket hit it and spiral right over Bruce's head, flinging flaming metal in random directions before crashing down in the middle of the road. It rocked back and forth for a bit before settling, flames crackled around the twisted metal as black smoke twirled up into the pentagram-filled sky. Cars immediately stopped in both directions, unable to pass the wreckage. A couple demons got out of their cars looking for someone to blame while other cars tried to maneuver and drive back the way they came.

Smiling at the sight, I turned my attention back to Bruce, who was hyperventilating on the ground. Still unable to move. My smile left my face and I rolled my eyes. Dropping the now-empty bazooka, I reached down and grabbed Bruce's hand, yanking him back up. He looked at me for a moment, looked down at our hands, then looked back at me. "Wha- what the fuck?"

Leaning down I whispered to him, "Funny isn't it?" My lips curled to a small smile. Releasing his hand, I pivoted away from him, and walked back down the sidewalk. After a second, I could hear Bruce shuffling behind me. Ignoring the fight that had now broken out on the street between the people stuck on either side of the burning car, I spoke to him. "Of course there are limitations it would seem. I can't drag a tank or a minigun out of this coat. Bazookas seem to be the largest item it can handle."

"But who am I to complain, just look at the results!" I exclaimed, stopping and motioning towards the wreckage, proudly displaying my work. From where we stood now, directly across from where the flaming car stopped on the road, we could see the corpses of the ones who drove the car. Their skin crackled and burned along with the car. "Mmm mmm, crispy!" I laughed. Bruce tried not to look at it.

"So anyways, where are we headed tour guide?" I asked the bat sulking next to me.

"The um, the entertainment district. Should be another couple blocks ahead. I- I heard there's a little b-bit of every ring in there," he mumbled.

My eyes widened and I gasped, "Are you implying you've never gone? All this time of eternal torment and you've never gone out on the town?"

Bruce shook his head, "Well I was going to… with my friends… the ones you killed. The problem was though-"

I cut him off, not caring to hear his long tragic backstory, "The problem was you didn't have fun ol' Uncle J. But don't worry, I'm here now, and before the night is done we'll have painted a smile on this town!" I once again wrapped my arm forcefully around Bruce, pulling him in and continuing our walk down the sidewalk. "Think of it like a bachelor party before you get chained down by the binds of holy matrimony. Except instead of marriage, you die! Although really, what's the difference? Eheheheheheheheeeeeh."

Just then the fighting that broke out on either side of the car wreck reached a fever pitch, and turning I looked just in time to see a demon hurtling towards us. Instinctively I ducked, pulling Bruce down with me. The demon sailed over our heads and through the window of the shop next to us, sending alarms blaring throughout the store. Laughing I said, "And I thought I had road rage!" Picking myself up, I dusted off my coat and looked towards the street. In the center, around the still-flaming wreckage, demons of all shapes and sizes were beating the crap out of each other. Demons on one side were slamming the heads of other demons into cars parked in the middle of the road, while demons on the other side were throwing demons into the fire like tinder into a campfire. Amidst the chaos, someone further down the road hopped back in their car and drove through the crowd, sending demons flying as they haphazardly circumvented this chaotic blockade. The sounds of screaming and shouting echoed along the road.

"Never a dull moment!" I quipped. "Normally I'd stick around but this has gotten too lively, even for my tastes. Come along Bruce! If these charming people get their hands on you, I'm not going to waste time picking glass out of your skull!" I shouted as I skipped and sped away towards the center of the city. Bruce watched for a moment before scrambling to his feet and chasing right behind me.

It didn't take long until we reached the entertainment district, the bright colors of the neon signs and tall skyscrapers were a contrast to the outer areas of the city we previously walked through. I greeted the sights with a smile, ideas flooding my head of the possibilities of exploring this new city. Bruce called it Pentagram City, but in a few ways it felt like Gotham. The tall gleaming skyscrapers that stabbed at the blood red sky. The hustle and bustle of the people walking the streets, with the minor change of nobody screaming after looking at me. A mistake I'll have to correct soon enough. But the biggest reason why this reminded me of Gotham was the rampant advertising of… of…

"Hey wait a minute," I said aloud, turning my head to Bruce. In a flash my hands reached out and grabbed him by the suit collar, bringing his already terrified face up to mine. "Is this some kind of joke?!"

"W-W-Wha?" Bruce stammered confused.

"Don't you w-w-wha me!" I said, mocking him. "I asked you to bring me somewhere fun! This isn't fun, this is sex!" I looked up from him and at my immediate surroundings. Everywhere I looked, signs reading "XXX" and "Girls, boys, and more girls" dotted the strip we were in. Posters of various demons making what I assume are risque poses were hung on the sides of multiple buildings. My face turned into a fearfully sad expression. "Unfiltered, unadulterated, unabashed, unclean, ungodly sex! Bruce… how could you do this to me? Did you ever stop to think of the children?" I continued to feign my shock and sadness for a few moments, but not being able to hold it back any longer a smile returned to my face and I burst out laughing. Bruce however kept his sad expression, his eyes twisted shut as I continued to hold him in my grasp.

Noticing Bruce's discomfort I asked, "Awww, did I startle you Brucie?" Releasing my grip I dusted the front of his coat with my hands. His head flinched each time I touched him. "Jokes aside, you did good! Seeing this bright cascade of unrepentant degeneracy reminds me of home." I looked into Bruce's eyes, "That was meant to be a compliment, by the way."

Bruce, still startled and unsure of what to say, squeaked out, "Y-y-you're w-welcome?"

I smiled at him, "Oh please, don't be so modest. Besides, I didn't really need you to take me anywhere! I've always been the type to just go out and make my own fun! If I'm being perfectly honest, and I can be honest with you, can I Brucie?" I raised my eyebrows questioningly and Bruce nodded his head scaredly. "It's just, with the new knowledge that I'm dead I started to feel a little lonely. It's only me here now, none of my old friends are gonna come screaming after me down into eternal damnation. At least not anytime soon. And I may have used the tour guide excuse at first to rope you into following me along but, deep down, I believe we've grown so much closer than that in such a short amount of time. Maybe I'm moving too fast but I don't think I'm being too forward when I call you my… friend?"

I looked at Bruce and his eyes widened, at first he seemed uncertain of what to say. But we both knew there was only one answer keeping me from wringing his tiny neck. So Bruce put on a weak smile and nodded slowly, refusing to speak. My smile grew. "Ah! My first friend in hell, and some would say that's impossible. But that's the Joker for you! I make the impossible possible!" I stretched out my arms and picked up Bruce in a hug. I could feel his tears soak into the fabric of my suit.

"I know, this is such an emotional moment, I can feel myself about to cry too," I lied, my smile still plastered on my face as my eyes burned into the side of the bat's head. Relinquishing him from the embrace, I gesture to an establishment across the street. "I think our newfound friendship deserves a toast, don't you agree?" Before he could answer I continued, "Perfect! Let's head in." Taking Bruce by the hand I dragged him into the bar, the door swung slowly shut behind us.

The interior of the bar was just as lively as the exterior. Booths lined the wall on the left, a dim light hung over each one illuminating figures who sat nursing their drinks and chatting. Tables zigzagged down the middle, and were just as full as the booths. Then my eyes turned to the right where the bar itself arched out from the wall. Stools lined the outside of it with a bartender serving drinks in the middle of it all. I noticed two open stools sitting next to each other and I happily pointed it out to my new friend, then shoved him forward with my free hand. He stiffly trudged along while I skipped past him and hopped onto one of the seats, turning around to watch him as he slowly pulled himself up to the seat beside me. Chuckling to myself I turned back to the bartender, who noticed our arrival. He was a large bull of a man, literally. Complete with large horns that jutted out of his head and a large gold nose ring. He wore a green flannel shirt that was lightly stained by sweat and alcohol and had a small hand towel draped over his shoulder.

He let out a gruff snort before speaking, "Alright make it quick, it's a busy night. What'll it be?"

I smiled and said, "Well it's been a hell of a day for me so far. Just dropped out of the sky, killed a few people, and made a new friend." I grabbed Bruce's shoulder tightly, making him wince. The bartender looked at us silently. "I say these high spirits call for some high spirits!" I chuckled a little, "So make it two shots of the strongest stuff you got my good sir!"

"Sure thing buddy, $60," the bull replied bluntly.

"$60?!" I asked incredulously. The chatter around us stopped for a moment as eyes turned toward my outburst. I looked over at Bruce, who sat sheepishly on the stool next to me.

"Tha-that's the problem I was trying to t-tell you. Things in this a-area are… expensive," Bruce explained, avoiding my eyes.

"I see," I said gruffly. The area around the bar returned to normal, chatter picking up once more, but a few new pairs of eyes continued to watch the show. Turning my attention back to the bull I said, "Regardless, I'm still confused. Usually the transaction comes after the drinks," I say, raising a brow at him.

"Yeah, usually," he responded, "but the turf war's been fucking us worse than usual, making us behind on payments. So all drinks are paid up front until we're caught up. No tabs, no exceptions."

I hummed to myself, this wouldn't do at all. "No, this won't do at all," I repeated out loud. "See like I said, I just got here. New Joker on the block, meaning when it comes to cash," I inverted my pockets to show the bull bartender, "I'm flat broke. And my new friend here was trying to rob me no more than two hours ago, so he's probably in the same situation."

The bull grunted angrily, "So you came here for drinks knowing you had no cash? Fuck off clown, I ain't servin' you or your pet."

"Now now there's no need for that kind of language. No really, Brucie here is the sensitive type," I said pointing to the bat. "Now I'm sure we can come to some understanding, right? I mean I used to be a big cheese up before I kicked the bucket, that's got to be worth something?"

"Yeah, so was I buddy. Now I serve drinks to broke assholes like you and never get payments, leaving me in the shit I'm in now. Whatever you were don't mean shit to me so either you start pullin' $60 out of your ass or you quit taken up my seats."

My smile stuck to my face, but this guy was already getting on my nerves. Two shots for $60 is ridiculous, I can tell he's trying to swindle me. I think now's as good a time as any to start re-making a name for myself.

"Oh you're right of course, I'm sorry," I said, putting a palm to my face, "you're just trying to run a business, I understand. Don't want anyone to bend you over the table, am I right? That's what I meant when I referred to my infamy. I was a bit of a businessman myself in the land of the living. Here," I reached into my coat, "my card."

I produced a standard playing card from my hand, a joker, and flashed it in front of the bull. The bull, deciding for whatever reason to entertain me, leaned closer to get a better look. His face turned to one of confusion as he looked around the card at me. "Is this some kinda joke you loon?" He asked, his confusion turning to slight bemusement. The few patrons that sat beside us who continued to eavesdrop on our interaction let out a few chuckles at the display.

My smile grew as I drew my hand back and then dragged the playing card quickly along the bull's throat, slashing it wide open. Immediately blood sprayed out onto me and Bruce and the bull staggered back, his eyes wide as he reached to close his throat. The onlookers immediately started to panic, drawing the attention of everyone else sitting at the bar. Expletives were thrown and screaming echoed throughout the room. Those further away from the bar noticed the panic erupting and turned their eyes to us, immediately spotting the bull spraying blood all over himself. Many began to file out the door to get away from me and the dying man. Bruce got a look like he was going to be sick again and he immediately fell to the floor to try and avoid any more bloodshed. I watched the bull slam his back into the wall behind him, I responded, "Yes, I'd like to think so." We locked eyes, and I watched the bull gargle on his own blood as he sank down to the ground.

The bull's eyes furrowed in anger as he swallowed and spat his own blood. Then with a few defiant huffs he shouted as best he could. "What the hell do I pay you assholes for? Kill this motherfucker!"

I let out a sound of confusion, and I looked up from the bull man to see another demon sneaking up behind me from the mirror behind the bar. "Oh!" was all I said before I twisted around to the side, nearly avoiding the axe coming down onto the bar. The impact sent splinters of wood in all directions and the axe was left embedded into the bar.

"My, that was a close one!" I exclaimed, looking at the burly demon wielding the axe. His eyes glowed a deep red amidst his purple skin, narrowing as he sneered at me. Quickly he pulled the axe back out of the bar, but I was quicker. Before he could swing again, I leaned forward pointing my wilted flower towards his face. Pressing the button on the inside of the flower I released a stream of bright green liquid that hit him directly in the eye. The effects were immediate as the man dropped the axe and began screaming, feeling the acid burn through his eye and into his brain. I laughed as the man inevitably dropped to the floor, still holding his face. His screaming turned to pained gasps until he eventually stopped moving, the acid having completely burned through his cranium. Lifting the flower to my face I inhaled the acidic aroma deeply.

"Ah, nothing like the smell of chemicals. Reminds me of Harvey," I said wistfully. Looking around the bar I noticed three more demons of different varieties poised to kill me next. All of them different shades of red, and with sizes ranging from half my height to slightly above half my height. Two of them twirled bats in their hands, and the tallest one had a gun. "Really? This is your security?" I asked the bull behind me rhetorically. "I've beaten children to death that have looked scarier than these bozos. Well come on don't keep me waiting," I lifted my hands up into fists and started to jog in place. "I'll warn you though, I learned how to get my ass kicked by the same man for decades. So whatever you do to me, just know, I've had worse!"

One of the small red demons charged at me with his bat held high. He jumped into the air, the bat slowly arced above him as he swung it down towards my head. Smirking, I stepped sideways, grabbing an empty glass mug left behind on the bar. Before the bat could connect with my face I swung up hard with the mug and shattered it into the demon's face. This caused him to flip back in the air and he landed hard onto the ground, the bat cluttering onto the ground beside him. With a chuckle, I picked up the dazed demon. Pieces of glass were embedded in his face. I turned around and slammed his head into the bar, pushing the glass deeper into his face. This snapped him out of his dazed state as pain coursed through his face and he began screaming. With one hand on his back and another gripping his hair I shoved his face deeper into the bar, then dragged it along to the left. Blood smeared across the wood top, along with pieces of red skin until I reached the end of the bar and I threw the demon onto the floor. He rolled a couple times before coming to a stop on his back, unconscious. Looking at his face it was mostly exposed muscle with only bits of flesh still left hanging on.

Before I could even get a chance to laugh at the sight, a gunshot rang out and I felt something pierce through my body. I staggered a bit from the force of impact before looking towards my right shoulder, finding a hole where blood started to trickle out. My face turned to a dark scowl. "God dammit," I said darkly, "dry cleaning won't be able to get this out."

Slowly I turned to face the shooter, "Do you have any IDEA how much this suit costed?" I asked angrily, drawing surprised looks from the two demons left standing. "I can't tell you, but the guy I killed for it said it was very, very, expensive."

The two demons looked at each other, then snickered loudly. The shorter demon started knocking the bat in his palm, while the taller one pointed the gun back at me again. "Sorry boss, I was aiming for your face, try not to move this time." He closed one eye and squeezed the trigger, sending another bullet firing out of the gun and directly across my cheek, narrowly avoiding me. I could feel blood starting to drool from the cut.

The demon once again wore a look of confusion. "Aw what the fuck?! I aimed right at him! The fuck is wrong with this thing?" He hit the side of the gun a couple times in frustration. The shorter demon still hung back, not looking like he wanted to get near me.

Seeing this pathetic display my smile returned. "Oh do I have to do everything myself?" I asked aloud, drawing the attention of the demons once more. "Here, I'll show you how to fire a gun."

I pulled my revolver back out of my coat and pointed it at the demon gunman. "I'm going to say a body part, and when this gun fires, it's going to hit it. I got six shots gentleman, so if you want to place any bets now... I say you have good odds if you bet on yourselves. Ready?"

The gun-wielding demon's eyes widened and he tried aiming his gun once more. Before he could react I shouted, "Right leg!" and pulled the trigger. A loud gunshot resounded and the demon cried out in pain, dropping to the floor on his right knee as the bullet tore through his leg.

"Oh a lucky shot to be sure, but I still have five shots, time for the next round! Left leg!" I pulled the trigger, another gunshot, and the demon fell on his hands and knees. Blood pooled on the ground beneath him from wounds in both of his thighs. He cried out in pain, breathing hard as shock started to set in. His companion looked at me, then at him, hesitant on what to do. Looking at him I smiled, and moved the gun slightly to the left.

"Right arm!" I shouted, not breaking eye contact. Another gunshot. The demon dropped onto his right shoulder, his arm now rendered useless. He screamed out again, now choking back sobs as pain wracked his entire body. His other arm gripped the now-dead arm as he tried to stop the blood flow. The smaller demon stepped back, the bat in his hand shaking in fear.

"Left arm," I said in a dark voice, my eyes still locked onto his. Another trigger pull. More crying. The other demon laid crumpled on the floor, completely immobilized. His eyes were wide as pain and shock mixed through his system, he gasped for air. Blood seeped out faster now, the pool spread around him on the floor. A bat dropped onto the floor.

"Head." One final pull. And the demon stopped his crying. Stopped his shuddering. Stopped being. I chuckled once more, letting the humor of the act grow and grow inside of me, until I burst out into spectacular laughter. Now there was only one more demon left. Well… two actually.

As I returned from my jovial outburst I noticed the small demon backing away more and more, trying to reach the exit behind him. Only to trip over the meek form of a familiar bat friend and fall onto the ground.

"Brucie! There you are!" I sauntered over to where he lay hunched, his arms covering his head. "Great work on tripping up the criminal chum! He would've gotten away if it weren't for you!" I crouched down and patted his back, feeling him shudder in fear. Looking past him, the small demon was quickly crawling towards the door, panting hysterically.

I gasped, "Oh no Bruce, he's still getting away! After him!" I shouted, reeling my foot back then kicking Bruce, sending him flying through the air until he landed directly on top of the small demon. Frantically he struggled against the giant bat but it was no use, he was pinned in place. "Great work yet again! He nearly got out!" I commended the shivering bat, who was currently clutching his stomach in pain.

Leaning down I rolled the bat over to the side. "Alright my friend you can rest now, I'll take it from here." I crouched over the now exposed demon and pointed my gun at his head. His eyes went cross as he looked at the end of the barrel, then back up at me. He didn't bother trying to put up a fight, just looked at me as his breathing grew more haggard with each passing moment. This was… pathetic.

"What the hell am I doing?" I asked aloud to no one. "I'll tell you what I'm doing, I'm wasting my time." I nodded at the demon below me. "Honestly, every person who's tried to kill me so far either ends up dead or pissing themselves, like you! Or him!" I gestured to Bruce, who was also still too scared to move. "Now in Gotham it made sense, they're ordinary people, they don't know how to deal with these kinds of situations. I mean come on, they think someone who wears a question mark is scary! But this is supposed to be hell! You're demons! Where's the terror? The torture? The pure… fun!? Honestly," I sighed, "I'm not impressed. Now, if anything, I'm more homesick than I was before. I don't even know if you're worth the one bullet this gun has left."

I eyed the gun in my hand, shaking my head solemnly. Then I looked back at the demon, who looked up at me with fearful eyes. Smiling, pointed the gun back at him and pulled the trigger, blowing his brains out all over the floor. His eyes rolled back leaving only the whites exposed, his mouth hung limp. "Ok it was worth it," I said with a laugh, before it died back down to a sigh.

"Oh but what's the use? These temporary joys can never compare to what I had when I was alive." The body lay on the ground unresponsive. "No no, I know what you're going to say. It's going to take time! Rome wasn't built in a day! Yes I see your argument but you don't understand, it's hard to see a future when all you can think about is the past." Blood began to pool around the demon's head. "I suppose you have a point, I don't have a choice here. I'm dead and nothing is going to change that. If I don't roll with the punches, the punches are going to roll over me." I could see Bruce from the corner of my eye looking at me from his curled state.

"You know you're a good listener, unlike some friends I know," I look at Bruce, causing his head to retreat back into his fetal ball state. "Before I put the past behind me though, I feel I should share it one more time. I think it could help me find some closure on my death," my gaze returned to the corpse below me.

Smiling, I laughed and said, "Oh you're too kind sir! I promise you won't be disappointed, my story won't be a short one to tell." I picked up what remained of the small demon and wrapped his arm over my shoulder. "Come along with me to the bar and I'll tell you my tale."