Part Six

"I was buying some sliced bread when I had an epiphany." The Joker's voice echoed out through the P.A. reaching every corner of the funhouse. "Would you like to know what it was?"

Bruce remained silent, keeping his senses trained on any possible movement. The walls were littered with mirrors, each one contorting the image of the world in whatever way it seemed fit.

"The world has brandished me a madman, a sociopath and worse. But it is only to hide its own madness. To an insane man surely a sane man would appear quite insane. I think you understand this, Batman, we both were masks in protest to society, to its failure."

The sound of laughter echoed down a passageway, attracting Bruce's attention. He cautiously moved towards it while trying to drown out the Joker's corrupting voice.

"You're getting closer, Batman, you're getting closer." A chuckle seemed to spew out in between his words, "So very close are you."

Bruce entered a clearing away from the maze of mirrors and emerged in some hideous nightmare. The Joker had recreated a kitchen and populated it with the mangled corpses of the hostages. A woman was suspended over the table while what seemed to be a lifeless young boy sat in his seat with a single grim sentence scribbled onto his forehead with a red marker: I'm a little brat.

"Look, Batman, take a nice long look." The Joker ordered sternly, "Are you afraid? Is this too much for you to handle?" He began to cackle madly in anticipation, "They're not all dead." Joker's voice was replaced by the crying of a young infant, terrified at the sights it had witnessed. "This baby girl still lives and I'll gladly hand her to you, safe and sound, as soon as you get here. Just keep following my laughter." He said breaking down uncontrollably, "You're almost there!"

Suddenly, the lights went out only for a select few to have their power restored, illuminating a lonely path into the darkness. Bruce traversed it, the lights shutting down as soon as he had passed it. Eventually, he reached the end of the path only for the final light to shut down.

A minute passed, every instant becoming increasingly tense than the last. Finally as Bruce finally took a blind step forward the funhouse was illuminated again, revealing the carnage. Less than three yards ahead lay the hostages, bound and gagged; each one dead from a shot to the back of the skull.

There was a door directly ahead, lights seeping through from the cracks. It was the control center, the dark heart of the Joker's lair. He wasted no time in kicking the door down and rushing in only to find the Joker sitting beside a control panel with the child in his arms.

"Hello, Bats, would you like to meet the child, his name is Mike?" The Joker said holding the alive and well baby forward, "Her mother relayed the name to me before I put one in her head." He stated with a smirk.

"Mike? I thought it was a girl." Bruce demanded.

The maniacal clown grinned, "Silly me." He recklessly threw the baby forward, "Catch, Bats!"

Bruce could see it was only a doll but that hardly meant it wasn't dangerous. He flung a boomerang which knocked the doll away moments before a low-yield bomb exploded. Emerging from the dust the Joker immediately tackled Batman.

The Joker was reaching towards his face with buzzer-hand. Bruce applied only a moderate amount of force in the proper locations but the damage was done before his opponent could make contact.

"Ah! My arm, you broke my arm!" The Joker exclaimed shielding his right elbow. "You jerk!" Bruce approached pulling his arm back. "No! Wait, I surrender!"

Bruce sent a punch straight across the Joker's face. The latter tumbled against a control panel and coughed blood onto it. "You don't deserve to live." Bruce said standing over his defeated foe.

"You're probably right." The Joker exclaimed and spun around. In his good arm was a knife that he dove in to Bruce's shoulder before he could react. Stumbling back in agony, Bruce began to pull out the blade, only to be knocked across the head with a steel pipe. "I'm no Babe Ruth, but I'm pretty damned good I'd say." The Joker exclaimed knocking Batman's skull with the pipe again. "Don't you agree?" He asked landing another shot to the ribs. The Joker readied another swing and thrust forward only for Batman to grab it mere inches from making contact.

"That's enough." He said blood dripping down onto his lips from the gums. Bruce elbowed the Joker in the nose and tossed the maniac against the wall. Moving forward faster than seemed possible for a man in what appeared to be a simple rubber suit, the Joker was unprepared for Bruce.

Batman landed two solid blows to the ribs. The Joker spotted the knife still in Bruce's shoulder and twisted it furiously. "Having fun?" He cackled gripping the knife tightly in his hands, "I know I am!"

Roaring in pain, Bruce landed a strike to the Joker's neck that had him gasping for air and backed away feverishly. He braced himself and pulled the knife from his shoulder and threw it safely away from either one of them.

"Why'd you come here, Bats? You knew I'd kill the hostages, you knew." The Joker rubbed his forearm, break visible behind the crimson stained tux. He waited for a moment but Bruce remained utterly silent, his only movement came from the motion of his breathing. The Joker's expression suddenly became scornful, "You might think I'm some punk kid, trying a stupid trick like that on me, but that bloody wound on your shoulder says more than you ever could." He pulled a gun from his hand, "Here let me give it a twin."

Bruce lurched hard to the right, only narrowing dodging the bullet as it zipped by. He wasted no time in throwing a boomerang that knocked the gun out of the Joker's hands and charged forward.

With a violent cracking sound, the Joker reached out with his broken arm and with the buzzer connected to his palm pressed it against Bruce's shoulder as they made contact.

The electrical charge was almost too much for Bruce to handle sending him reeling. The Joker then slammed the heel of his shoe into the side of the dark knight's face. Bruce fell onto his back even as the Joker pressed his foot against his skull. A cackle began to slip out of Joker's lips becoming more uncontrolled every second.

"Why'd you come inside, Bats, or is it you don't know?" The Joker laughed beginning to twist his boot on Bruce's face, "I'll tell you why. You entered because deep down we're both the same. Look at us dressed up like clowns and bats. We're both lunatics in the eyes of society; the sooner you admit that the better you'll feel."

"Joker." Bruce said struggling for air, "That broken arm you have says more than you ever could."

The clown prince of crime grimaced, "What? You're stealing my lines? That's rich, Bats, you wouldn't know a punch-line if I beat you over the head with one."

"Here." He started like a cobra ready to strike, "Let me give it a twin." Bruce grabbed the Joker's leg and in a nanosecond of extreme pressure and adrenaline broke it.

"Ah!" The clown screamed hopping away, "My leg!" His face dropped as Batman slowly rose up, torn up, but alive, and angry. "Please show me mercy."

Bruce's eyes widened in shock, "You want mercy?" He grabbed the Joker by his collar and slammed him against the wall, "You want mercy after everything you've done?" He punched him across the jaw with blood splattering against his suit, "You have five seconds to give me one good reason why I shouldn't snap your neck right now."

The Joker's eyes darted across his head as he sought for a suitable response. Eventually a grin crept across his face, "Because I'm funny." He declared proudly before laughing wickedly in Batman's face.

As Bruce readied himself to put the Joker down for good the sound of footsteps echoed out throughout the funhouse accompanied by men barking orders. "What?"

"Looks like the police decided not to sit this one out." The Joker responded, "They'll most likely put us both away. Of course I can help you. Just put me down."

"Why should I?" Bruce demanded.

"Because if you don't then I'm sure we'll both get nice cells, right next to each other." The Joker grinned knowing that Gotham PD had given him just the ace card he needed. Bruce complied and took a step away; the wound on his shoulder was becoming sore now that the adrenaline in his system was thinning out. "Good. Now there's a backdoor that way that leads outside where you parked your car. Behind the dunking booth is a service road. The police don't even know it exist, those idiots. Now I suggest you get going."

Bruce closed his fist, "They should put you in their darkest deepest cell out of my reach, for your sake, Joker." He said moving towards the back door.

"Ciao, Bats, I trust you won't forget me." The Joker said as Batman vanished behind the door leaving him to tidy up while SWAT made their way into the funhouse. After about a minute had passed which during the Joker lay against a wall impatiently waiting, they finally entered the control room, horrified at the needless death they had seen.

Bullock, in charge of the operation, finally came face-to-face with the ruthless but now bloodied serial killer. "Jack Napier, you are under arrest."

"I told him not to attack me. I told him that doing so would bring about their deaths, but he didn't listen. He said that he didn't care what happened to them." The Joker declared.

"Get that scumbag up." Bullock ordered while the members of his SWAT team approached and put the sociopath into cuffs.

The Joker began to chuckle madly, "Don't worry officers; it'll take more than a few broken bones and sore muscles to put me out of action. Besides, things are just starting to get interesting in this two-bit town; I can hardly wait to see what happens."