ElseWorlds™: Saving James

Chapter 16

By: Christopher W. Blaine

e-mail: darth_yoshi@yahoo.com

DISCLAIMER: Refer to chapter 1 for the disclaimer for this entire story.

No matter what he did, the Joker thought as another gauntleted fist struck him in the stomach, he just couldn't get it right. It didn't matter to what depths of depravity he lowered himself to. It didn't matter how many innocent lives he destroyed. He could kill as many people as the Nazis.

And nobody had the balls to kill him in return.

As he went down, the Batman stepped back and delivered a kick to the Joker's jaw, sending the Clown Prince flying back. Harley was engaged with the Batwoman and, surprise, surprise he thought, Nightwing and the pregnant green chick were taking down his thugs.

On the outside of the apartment complex, police searchlights were shining into the window as some MPD negotiator tried to coax the Joker's gang out peacefully.

The Joker spit out his crown, more dental work would be required for him, and he looked up at the Batman. The Bat was full of rage, but he knew that he would stop himself from killing the Joker. He had failed; he was out of options.

"It's just not fair," he mumbled as he received a blow to the temple. He knew that after the Batman knocked him cold, he would be transported back to Gotham and tossed into his nice padded cell. Harley would probably get one too and then the Joker would have to listen to her pine for him for the rest of his miserable life.

How he wished he could just summon the courage to kill himself.

He accepted the rest of the strikes without further comment; what did he care? It was all over anyway.

The Joker finally fell and Batman whirled to see of his wife needed help. Harley Quinn was no match for the combined tactics of Jade and Batwoman and soon she also dropped to the floor, bloodied and bruised. Nightwing dispatched the last of the thugs with a roundhouse kick that surely would have killed the man had the hero wanted it.

Batman and Nightwing then raced to Barbara who was covering her son with her naked and abused body. Batman pulled off his cape and Nightwing pulled off his mask. As the Caped Crusader covered Barbara, Nightwing reached for the boy. "It's okay, James, it's me, Uncle Dick. Do you remember me?"

The boy, shock in his eyes, nodded and jumped into the awaiting arms. He started crying and Nightwing pulled him close. Barbara was crying as well. She knew that with the four heroes here, she would never be able to murder the Joker.

Several police officers in S.W.A.T. gear entered the apartment and Jade threw up a protective green barrier around them just in case some cop got careless with the firearms. Barbara cast a side-glance at the woman who was now Ms. Richard Grayson and was surprised that she felt no hostility towards the woman. Batman put a reassuring arm around her. "I'm going to get you out of here," he said quietly.

"Alfred…" she started, her mouth trembling. The physical pain she felt was no match for the tearing of her soul as she watched medical technicians shake their heads as they examined the body.

Batwoman stepped up. "Now is not the time," she warned, indicating all of the civilians.

A police captain stepped forward and began asking questions. The Batman stared hard at him, but he wasn't swayed. "I don't give a rat's fucking ass how bad you are in that sicko town you're from, Pointy," the veteran cop started. "In Metropolis, you answer my questions." He emphasized the point by poking Batman in the chest.

The Batman quickly grabbed the man's wrist; his years of inaction had not dulled his reflexes. Several officers drew their weapons and pointed them at the heroes. Before anyone could say anything, another voice begged for reason. "Let's not get carried away, captain," Superman said as he strode in. He nodded to the Batman. "You have my word that Batman is one of the good guys, a personal friend of mine."

The cops lowered their weapons, not willing to go against the say-so of Superman. The captain shook his head and walked off, telling Superman that he still expected a statement. Superman said he would take care of it and then looked down at the Joker. "So, that's the one who destroyed my life."

Barbara looked at Superman and she heard the pain in his voice. "Oh, yeah, he raped you and tortured your son, didn't he you self-righteous son of a bitch!"

Superman gave her a hard look. "You're in distress, Ms. Gordon," he said. Not so long ago, she would have counted the Man of Steel as one of her best friends. That was before she and Lois had fallen in love. "I'll try not to take offense at your comments."

Nightwing intervened. "Both of you shut up," he snapped quickly as Jade waddled over to take James away from earshot. "You're disturbing the boy! He's been through enough."

Superman realized that Nightwing was correct and his better judgment told him to leave. He once again informed the police that Batman was to be given all the respect one would expect from a first-rate crime fighter. Without another word, he turned and left.

Barbara leaned against Batman. "I really don't feel good," she said.

Batwoman called for a medical technician and they wheeled a gurney over. Both Batman and his bride helped to lay her down. One of the techs looked her over. "I think she's bleeding internally," he announced and they hurried her out of the apartment.

Downstairs, a throng of press met them. Lois burst out from behind the police barricade and ran to Barbara's side. Nightwing was quick to come up from behind and explain it was all right to the officers holding the line. With some reluctance, they let Lois hop into the ambulance. The driver, however, would not let Nightwing in. When he protested, the driver gave him the quick lecture. "I'm the captain of this vessel; I say who rides and who don't. Anyone in a costume that doesn't have an 'S' on the front stays the fuck out!"

Nightwing backed away and he suddenly felt sad. This would have been a great chance for him and Barbara to come to terms with the break-up of their relationship, but it was no use now.

As the ambulance pulled away, he wondered why he felt like he would never get the chance to tell her he was sorry.

"What will you do about James?" Bruce Wayne asked. They were all in the study of Wayne Manor, the entire family as it were, with the exception of Dick and Jennie. The night before she had given birth to a fair-skinned boy. They had named him John in memory of Dick's real father.

Jim Gordon sighed and looked over at the boy who was standing alone next to a large window, looking out at the vast expanse of the Wayne Estate. He had attended far too many funerals for such a young man. First they had buried Alfred, next to Bruce's mother and father, in a grave Bruce had expected to put himself in.

The playboy had simply never conceived of outliving the man who had raised him.

Earlier that morning they had buried Barbara.

Helena, sitting next to Jim, squeezed his arm as the older man returned his attention to the man who was the Batman. "I don't know." He smiled. "I don't suppose that you'd be interested…"

"No. God, no, I can't do it again."

"I'm not sure…" the broken-hearted man said and he again fell into a spasm of tears and sniffles. Selina came in with a tray of cold drinks and sandwiches and set it down on a table. She moved over to stand next to her husband.

"If it's a money thing," Bruce started, but Jim said it wasn't and then excused himself. Instead of going to the boy, though, they heard him leave out the front door. Bruce started to go after him but Helena suggested that he didn't. "He's my friend," Bruce said. He felt as if he had failed too many of those in recent years.

The point was made moot when they heard Jim's car pull away from the house.

The Joker had read about Barbara's death but otherwise didn't think much about it. Maybe it was better that she was gone he mused; maybe it wasn't. He just didn't care anymore.

The new, more conservative judges that had been appointed to the local family court would not even entertain the Joker's motions concerning his son. As far as they reckoned, he had about as much right to see James as he did to being set free.

Harleen was in a cell in another part of the Asylum; the new staff thought it better to isolate her from the rest of the population. For that small token, the Joker was eternally thankful. He didn't care if he ever got laid again and that's all she was good for anyway.

"Got a visitor, Joker," a burly attendant said. All that had been under the Joker's control were now doing hard time a various penal institutions, far from the Joker's influence. Again, he didn't mind it so much because at least he had some quiet time with the voices in his head now.

The orderly led the Joker through a series of tunnels; there was no chance the Joker would try to escape. He wasn't interested anymore in pursuing his dreams of death by Batman, but was instead content to live out his days here, being the lab-rat for the doctors.

He had gotten as close to dying as he figured he was ever going to. He had failed. It was ironic that the first real emotion the Joker had felt since his turning was shame.

Jim Gordon sat behind a large pane of two-inch thick Lexan. The Joker sat down and the orderly left them alone. The Joker was simply no longer a danger as far as the staff was concerned, so long as he was kept within the Asylum. "You win," Jim said.

"I'm sorry, Jimmy, but I don't think I get the game," the Joker responded. He supposed that the old man would spout off now, releasing the anger inside of him on the person whom he saw as responsible for his daughter's death. The Joker, of course, denied that charge because he didn't actually kill her. He had just raped her.

Twice.

"I remember once that you said that you wanted to make me think just the way you do, and I always assumed that you wanted me to become as insane as you appear to be." He shook his head. "I vowed never to step over that line, that I would stick to my principles no matter what. I enforced the law…"

"Please, Jimmy, your Oracle Group killed the Riddler and God knows how many other bad guys," the Joker responded with a snort.

"Those were legal; I never got the chance to put a bullet in you in the line of duty," Jim pointed out. "Then Barbara got pregnant with your boy and I begged her to have an abortion."

"They are tasty," the Joker said.

"But she wouldn't and I hated her for that and I hated the boy for what he represented and soon, I didn't just hate, I was numb. I had a beautiful younger woman in my bed, but I felt nothing. I had a grandson and I couldn't, no matter what I did, feel the love or joy I needed to feel. Somewhere along the line, you took my soul." He pulled his glasses off so he couldn't focus on the Joker's smirking face. "I was lost, I had nobody I could talk to…I couldn't even talk to God. Even when I got off the booze and the smokes and visited my daughter, I could not summon the love. Without love there is no salvation, no redemption. That's what its like for you, isn't it?"

The Joker said nothing, but was visibly uncomfortable. James replaced his glasses and saw that the smirk was gone. "I want to hate you, but I can't. I cry tears because I want to feel something, but I don't. There is no pity. There is no hate. No anger. No despair. There's just nothing. I guess somewhere along the line the line everybody sort of forgot about me; everybody was so interested in helping Barbara, they forgot about saving James."

He laughed gently. "I don't blame them. I don't blame you. I'm just weary of the emptiness. So, I came to tell you that you win. I'm just like you, you poor son of a bitch. If I was younger, hell, and feeling like this, I'd probably try to get Batman to kill me too." He reached into his raincoat and pulled out his pistol, a reminder of his days as police commissioner.

In that instant, the Joker felt joy. Emotion poured into him as he realized it was about to end. Death was on hand and he almost pissed himself. "Yes," he whispered, narrowing his eyes. He wanted to see the bullet coming. He wanted to greet death with a smile and a handshake.

Jim turned the gun of his own chest and pulled the trigger.

The Joker screamed in pure primal fury. "No! God damn you! No!"

He jumped at the glass and pounded it with all of his might, screaming curses as Jim Gordon fell back and onto the floor. Blood was pooling around his body and the small of charred meat filled the air. So intense on his tirade, the Joker did not hear the orderlies as they rushed in to restrain him.

Hours later, the Joker was allowed to go into the exercise yard to let go the pent up energy within him. An orderly with a snapped neck found him.

An official investigation was announced to the super-hero community by members of the Justice Society into the death of the Joker. Several people were brought in to be questioned, including both Batman and Superman. The Man of Steel denied that he had committed the murder and his word was accepted without question.

Batman was grilled for several days but remained absolute that he had not done it. It finally took a mind probe by the Martian Manhunter to clear his name. After Nightwing was also cleared when his wife testified that he had been in Canada with her at the time of the Joker's death, he was given the assignment of finding out who the culprit was.

It was a mission he swore would be completed.