Jerome was finally home. He could feel that he was home. The air itself seemed to welcome him back like an old friend. He needed to find Miah. He wasn't sure just how he was going to do that though. He knew that Miah was the paranoid type. That he'd probably hole himself up in some mazelike hideout, hiding from the world, from Jerome, and from himself. So it would be a bit of a challenge to find him. But he was up for the challenge. He had all the time in the world now. He had brought enough cash with him to get him by, and thankfully the cash from the other world matched the cash of this world. If he didn't go throwing cash around, he wouldn't have to distract himself from his ultimate goal by having to go get more cash, at least for awhile. He passed a poster advertising Haly's circus and he smiled. So convenient. The circus just happened to be in town at the same time he came back. It was a start. His 'loving' family could tell him where Miah was or at least point him in the right direction to start looking.
Jerome went to the circus in good spirits. It was like coming home in more than one sense of the word. He had hated that place but he was born there. The ticket sales guy didn't even seem to recognize him. Nor did the other carnies he passed. It felt so odd to feel like such a stranger in the place he was born. He bought a ticket and went into the circus grounds to go find his mother. And there she was, dancing with her snake, Sheba, in the sideshow. Time had not been kind to his mother. Wrinkles lined her face.
"Mother."
Lila Valeska looked up startled and stopped dancing. She stared at the redhead in front of her. "Miah? Why are you here? Let's go to my trailer. This must be important if you're here." Jerome followed her silently. He didn't bother to correct her. He realized that with the glasses he might easily be mistaken for Miah. When they got to the trailer, Lila sat down and smiled at him with a very fake looking smile. Still trying to worm her way into getting money from Miah someday, Jerome figured. "What is this about, Miah?"
Jerome stayed standing. He stared at her coldly. "First off, I just want to clarify. I'm not Miah."
"What?" she looked at him confused.
"Did you forget that you had twins? Did I cease to exist in your mind once I ran away years ago?" Jerome asked.
"Jerome." Lila got decidedly less fake kind looking when she realized who he was. "I thought you were dead. I didn't figure you'd last long on the streets. Not in Gotham."
"Wow. And you don't even seem happy to be proven wrong that your other son didn't die alone in a ditch somewhere. Real warm and caring of you, mom." Jerome snarked.
"Well, it's not like you were really ever worth much caring." Lila said, dismissively. "Why are you here? I'm not going to give you money if you're in trouble or something. And you can't come back. I don't want you here."
"I don't fucking need your money, mom. You must be as blind as the circus fortune teller to think I'd need money from you. You'd actually look at a guy who's wearing clothing tailored specifically for him in good quality fabrics and think he'd ask you for money? Do I look poor enough to ask a carny for money? Hmm?"
"You steal the money for those clothes?" she asked him with a sneer. "Obviously you wouldn't have a job that would pay enough for them."
"Wow. Just wow. No. I didn't steal the money. I earned it. I went to college and got a fucking PH.D!"
"You're lying. You'd never be able to go to college." Lila scoffed.
"I did. No thanks to you. No, I had to get adopted by some rich guy who actually cared about me enough to give me the education I needed. You never thought I was capable of it. News flash, mom. Miah and I have the same exact brain even if we had different interests and mental issues. We were both equally as capable of succeeding in life. But you never saw that because you were too distracted by Miah."
"So what. So you succeeded. Big deal. I don't care. Miah was still better than you. He wasn't a psycho." Lila said.
"That again? Guess what. I'll tell you this again even if you still don't believe me. And I'd like to point out I have no reason to lie about it at this point. I never hurt Miah. He lied to you. He hated the circus. He was desperate to get himself a real education. So he came up with a plan to get sent away. And he threw me under the bus to do it. And you all believed him because you are gullible idiots. You played right into his hands. At first I felt resentful of him for what he did, but over the years I realized that he couldn't help it. It was in his nature. But you all, on the other hand, should have known better. Treating your own son like shit because of a lie your other son told is not sane behavior. So I stand by what I said the day I left. You and Uncle Zach are the psychos. Not me."
She stared at him with an ugly look like she didn't want to hear it. But what he said did affect her. He could tell. And that's all that mattered.
"I'm not here to catch up. I would've been fine with never seeing you ever again. I'm just here to ask you where Miah is. Where is he? I know that you must know something." Jerome asked.
"I'm not going to tell you anything. Why would I? So you can go and murder him or something? Leave him alone." Lila said.
"Why would I murder the only person in my biological family that I give a shit about? I could murder you, or Uncle Zach. I wouldn't mind doing that. But not Miah. Miah is my identical twin. He's a part of me. I would never hurt him. I just want to see him."
"See! You just threatened to murder me! And you say you aren't a psycho!" Lila growled.
"I said I could murder you. Not that I would. You aren't worth the trouble of trying to hide what I did. I have things to do and don't have time for that. I don't even want to waste the energy in hating you. You just aren't worth any of the time. No. I think the more satisfying thing would be to leave you with an amusing joke instead. Once upon a time a woman had two sons. Both were intelligent but she only saw the intelligence of one of them. She showered him with attention because she felt that he'd make a good meal ticket later in life when he had done well for himself and made a lot of money. She didn't bother with the other son. The funny part of this joke, the punchline, is that the one she spent so much of her positive attention on would never be her meal ticket. Because he only ever thought of himself. The other son however, if he had gotten the attention and love he wanted and deserved, he might've taken care of his mother later in her life and given her what she had wanted from the other son. But he was treated like shit. So she won't get anything from either one. That's funny, right? A hilarious joke. It's funny to me at least. Because it means that when you are too old to work, you'll die cold and alone with absolutely nothing. And that seems very satisfying to me. You deserve it." He smirked at her with a smug look. "You screwed up. Now live with it, bitch. I think leaving you with that thought is a lot more satisfying than killing you. Don't you think?"
Lila looked like she was starting to realize that Jerome wasn't the destitute screwup that she always thought he'd be. "Jerome, don't be hasty. I admit that I was wrong in treating you that way. Let me make it up to you."
"You want to make it up to me? Fine. Tell me where Miah is." Jerome said, sneering at her pathetic attempt to make nice. Just a little too late.
"I don't know where he is. He didn't keep in contact with me after we sent him away. Zachary knows more. You could ask him. He has a diner in Gotham now." Lila said, pretending to be nice. "I changed my mind. You can stay if you want to. Please stay and let me catch up with you. I'd love to hear about your life since you went away."
"You're pathetic, mom. You only started acting like you care after you realized how much you screwed up. It's too late to make it up to me. After tonight, you will never see me again. You had better hope you can worm your way into the pocketbook of one of your lovers when you get too old to work because otherwise it'll be you dying alone in a ditch somewhere. And with that, I'm leaving. Bye, mom. Go to fucking hell." Jerome said before leaving the trailer and not looking back.
Jerome figured he would have to go see his uncle if he wanted the information he needed. Even though he didn't want to see him. He knew that he'd be more likely to lose control and murder his uncle than he would his mom. Because the asshole was even worse than her. But he'd have to take that chance. He was the only one that knew where Miah was. So Jerome looked for his uncle's diner. It didn't take him long to find it. It helped that his uncle was a narcissistic bastard who named the diner after himself. Zach's Diner looked old fashioned and was in a less than nice part of Gotham. Jerome stared at the place with a sneer. If only he could burn it down. He really really wanted to. He was about to cross the street to get to the diner when his attention was drawn to a nearby street performer. The man looked familiar for some reason. Then it hit him. It was Johnny Frost. The man looked identical to the Joker thug named Johnny Frost. He was juggling knives enthusiastically. Jerome snorted in amusement. Really? Was his universe shoving it in his face where his future allies would be? It just seemed fitting that Johnny was a street performer. Since Jerome used to be a carny. It fit. Jerome turned around and walked over to where Johnny was performing and watched the man for a little while.
"Can I help you?" the man asked.
"Huh?" Jerome asked, broken out of his thoughts by the question.
"You're staring at me weirdly. I figured it was for a reason other than watching my act. So, I'll ask again, can I help you?" the man asked.
"Sorry. You just remind me of someone I used to know. You look a lot like him. Though he wasn't a street performer ever that I know of. My name's Jerome. Nice to meetcha."
"Jongleur."
"What?" Jerome asked.
"My name. It's Jongleur. It used to just be my stage name but now all my friends call me that too so it's what I go by. Who are you? There's something about you…"
"I'm just a guy. You hungry? Want some lunch? I was headed to that diner anyway so if you want to join me, you can. My treat." Jerome offered.
The man looked him over like he wasn't sure what to think about the offer. "I never turn down free food. So why not?"
They both headed to the diner and went inside. Jerome went up to the nearby waitress. "Ma'am, is Zachary Trumble here at the moment? I knew him back when he was at Haly's and would like to catch up."
"He's not here. But he'll be here in about an hour or so if you want to wait." The waitress said.
"Perfect. We can eat while we wait. Thank you." Jerome said and went to sit at a booth. Jongleur sat across from him.
"Why did you ask me to lunch?" The man asked, with an intrigued look.
"Like I said, you look a lot like someone I used to know. And it's a stressful time for me. Maybe seeing a familiar face just helps even if it's on an unfamiliar person. Order something. And do it quick. I doubt we'll be welcome here after I have a talk with my uncle so we have about an hour to eat, give or take."
"He not fond of you or something?" Jongleur asked as he glanced at the menu.
"That's an understatement. It's ok. I hate him just about as much. But I need to get some information from him." Jerome said, looking at his own menu dubiously. His uncle wasn't horrible at cooking. He had some great recipes he came up with himself. But after a few beers, his skill at cooking didn't matter anymore. He'd burn things, leave out ingredients, and cut corners. Not that any of that was looked down on when he was the circus cook. They weren't a gourmet establishment. He wondered if it was still habit though. Maybe it would be passible food if the cook they had working before Zach got in was sober. He settled on a burger and fries. Can't screw up something that basic, right? The waitress went over and took their orders and they sat there waiting.
"So, what's your story?" Jongleur asked. "You told me why you invited me here. That's not what I'm asking. You just seem interesting and I'd like to know more."
"The name's Jerome Valeska, like I said. I've been away from here for a long time and just recently got back. I'm trying to find my brother which is why I'm here waiting for my uncle Zach. I wouldn't go near that asshole if I had any other choice. But he's the only one that knows where my little brother is."
"Why you want to see your brother? He being taken care of by assholes?" Jongleur asked.
"He's an adult. We're twins. I just called him my little brother because I came out first. He was sent away when we were only ten. I always wanted to reconnect with him someday. Because he's my twin. Plus, I have something for him. Something to help him. It'll just be hard to drag him out of whatever hole he's hidden himself in." Jerome sighed. "He's a paranoid guy. And left in a way that he probably figures I'd hold a grudge over him for. It's been so long that I've forgiven him. It doesn't matter what he did."
"What do you do for a living?" Jongleur asked, sipping on his soda. "That is one good quality outfit so it must be well paying."
"I don't have a job currently. I used to work as a scientist. And yeah, I made good money doing that. I'll have to figure out something else to do now though. Not that I'm disappointed with that. I only became a scientist to help my brother. It's a long story."
"Fair enough." Jongleur said. Their food came out to them rather quickly and Jongleur dug into his burger with enthusiasm.
After they were mostly done with their lunch, a fat man in an apron walked over with a confused look. "Miah? What the hell? I never really expected to see you again. What do you need?"
"Is it the glasses?" Jerome asked him.
"What?" his Uncle Zach asked in confusion.
"Is it the glasses that make everyone mistake me for Miah?" Jerome asked. "It must be. But I'll bet Miah could never pull off an outfit this fashionable, that poor little nerd."
"Jerome?" Uncle Zach looked at him with a weird cross between a sneer and a look of shock.
"In the flesh. How's it going Uncle Zach?" Jerome smiled at him, with a slightly hostile looking smile.
"You should've stayed in whatever gutter you found yourself." Zach said with an angry look.
"Good to see you too, dear Uncle." Jerome snarked, rolling his eyes. "I wouldn't be in the same space as you if I could help it, trust me. But you're the only one that has the information I need. Where is Miah? Mom already said that you know so don't bother lying about it."
"I'm not telling you shit, brat." Uncle Zach said. "I don't care where you've been all these years. It could be on the fucking moon for all I care. Miah is better off without you. He was terrified of you. I'm not putting him at risk."
"You didn't know Miah at all. Miah wasn't terrified of anything. He can't feel emotions that strong. Paranoia is different. That can be a low hum and still drive him mad over time. I figure it's at a pretty high level by now. Almost as real as terror. He has nothing to fear from me. He's my twin. I'll forgive just about anything if he's the one that does it. All I want is to see him and tell him I don't hate him and I don't hold a grudge for what he did. Tell me. Why do you even care? It must be obvious to you now that he's not giving you a thing for all your loyalty."
"Miah didn't hate me or your mom. You were the one that hated us." Zach said.
"Of course he didn't hate you. He didn't have any feelings for you at all, whether good or bad. You might as well have been mechanized puppets carrying out his will for all he cared about you. It was barely more than that with me either but I never cared. It's just who he is. I was hoping to help him with that. Please. I hate begging. Especially when it's directed at you. But I need to see my brother. He's the only thing in this world I care about. The whole reason I came back. Tell me where he is or point me in the right direction. Please."
"Read my lips. I will never tell you. Now get out. Now!" Uncle Zach yelled.
"Gladly. I find the very air around you disgusting." Jerome said getting up and getting in his uncle's face. "I will find out what I want to know. One way or the other. Just a thought. See you later Unc." he walked out of the diner, Jongleur trailing behind him.
When they were outside and on the other side of the street, Jongleur spoke up. "We didn't pay our bill."
Jerome laughed. "It's on Uncle Zach. I was never intending on paying for that meal anyway. He can kiss my ass." Jerome started walking away from the street performer before changing his mind and walking back over to him. "You know, I wasn't exactly sure at first why I invited you to come along. But now I think I know. He was never going to give me that information that easily. I have to force it out of him. And to that end, would you like to come back here later tonight and join in on a little bit of fun?"
"What kind of fun we talking about here?" Jongleur asked, not completely looking against it.
"The kind that might end in murder and arson depending on how I feel in the moment." Jerome said, with a slightly vicious looking grin.
Jongleur raised an eyebrow at that. He thought about it for a few moments. "I'm down. What do you need me to do?"
"Just like that? Really?" Jerome asked, with an amused snort.
"Just like that. I knew there was something about you when I first saw you. I thought it could be my imagination. But it's not… You are one hundred percent serious about the possibility that you might murder your uncle and burn down his diner, aren't you? Why wouldn't I be down for that?"
"Wow. I'm not sure why I'm surprised given that it's you. But still…" Jerome said, shaking his head.
"You keep talking like you know me. This is more than me just looking like someone you know, isn't it? That sounds insane because I know i've never seen you before. But the way you just walked up to me like you were saying hi to an old friend… Can you explain who you are? I mean who you really are? I don't get you at all." Jongleur said as they waited for the evening back at Jongleur's apartment. "Don't get me wrong. You're not scaring me away. I'm beyond fascinated at this point and would love to see what happens next with you. But I would like to understand it all first."
"You're going to think I'm crazy if I tell you the details. They are hard to believe." Jerome said, sighing.
"Try me. This whole thing is odd. But after all that's happened in Gotham city so far, it's not that different from the norm. We've had people coming back from the dead, weird test subjects escaping a secret lab, some guy with a freeze ray, and a guy that hypnotizes people. We've had it all."
"Hypnotizes people?" Jerome asked, intrigued. "That guy named Jervis Tetch by any chance?"
"I think so. I wasn't really paying attention." Jongleur said.
"Wow. I guess there are going to be a lot of the same people here that there were where I came from. Ok. Getting back on track. You wanted to know what my story is, right? Well, here it is. The whole history of my life. I was born at the circus with my twin brother Jeremiah. When I was ten, Miah lied to our mother that I was hurting him so she would send him away. I never saw him again. I have gotten mostly over that. Now I just want to see him. My life would've been awful after he left and was, but I wasn't there for much longer. When I was twelve and we were in Gotham, I ran away. But I ended up running much farther away than I thought I ever could. Because the Gotham I ended up in wasn't this one. It was one just parallel to ours. And until very recently, I lived there."
"Huh. Well, I have heard weirder." Jongleur said. "Continue."
"You're just going to accept that I just said I went to another world? Without any questions about my sanity?" Jerome looked at him, surprised.
"Like I said, I've heard weirder. I want to hear the rest of it because there's clearly more to the story."
"At least you're enthusiastic about it." Jerome said, just going with it. "I managed to get a rich guy to take care of me. He funded my schooling. I actually managed to do well for myself and part of it was to spite my awful family who always told me I would fail. So I didn't fail. I succeeded. But the other part of the reason I succeeded wasn't because of them. Well, it was but only one of them. My brother. He has a condition where he can't feel strong emotions. I have never seen him look truly happy. And all I wanted was to see a real smile on his face. Not just some smile he put up to fake being normal. A real smile born of some actual positive emotions. I learned all I could so I could find a cure for him. So I could see him happy. I found it. The cure I made. It works. But in order to cure him, I need to see him. So I found a way to come back here. So I could find him. After that...after I've given him his cure, I don't know what I'll do. That's sort of been my end goal for the longest time. It's hard to think about what happens after."
"So this is all some way to help your sibling." Jongleur said. "Makes sense. And it would seem you're willing to do just about anything to reach your end goal. So, the other world thing is how you know me? You met another me?"
"Yeah. I did meet another you. The other world is several years ahead of ours. So the other you was older but the similarities are there. Your birth name is Johnny Frost, isn't it?"
"It is. Wow. So this is real. No one knows my real name anymore. At least not here in Gotham. What was I like? If it was years ahead of here, what was I doing at that point?" Jongleur asked.
Jerome smirked. "You were one of the favored lackeys of one of the most dangerous villains in Gotham city. You were a badass and I didn't actually hate you as much as the guy's other lackeys."
"Wow. So cool…" the man said with a wistful look. "How did you know this villain that I worked for? Was he the rich guy that took you in?"
"No, he wasn't the rich guy. The rich guy was someone different. But the villain and I knew each other rather well. I'm not going to expand on that subject much more than that. So deal with it."
"That's fine. That's one wild story." Jongleur said. "Thanks for telling me about the other me. Maybe I'll be like him in the future."
"I'd say that's a good bet." Jerome said, smiling in amusement. The guy had no idea that by helping him, he was being that guy. Since he was Joker's parallel, the villain that Frost was a lackey for. "Well, we better head out. The diner should be closing up soon. We should get there before he leaves."
"This might be fun." Jongleur said, smiling.
"It should be." Jerome said, smiling right back. "I really do hate him so it would be satisfying to do something awful to him."
When they got to the diner, it was closing. The waitress left just as they wandered up. Perfect. Then he would be the only one there if they were lucky. Uncle Zach was cleaning up for the night by himself when they walked into the diner.
"I'm back. Now what were you saying about not telling me what I wanted to know? You gonna stick with that answer?" Jerome said with a dangerous grin that was more like a snarl.
"Get the fuck out of here! You don't intimidate me, you little shit! I'm not scared of gutter trash!" Zach snarled. He got right up in Jerome's face and Jerome just stood there, smiling at him.
"You should, Unc. You really should be." Jerome said, laughing in his face. "I'm not that helpless kid you tortured anymore. In fact, all that torture may have been a good learning experience in what I could do to you, you think?" Jerome chose that moment to knee him in a private place, making his uncle fall to the floor in pain. "Jongleur, would you mind grabbing hold of him? He's heavy so you might have trouble."
"No problem." Jongleur said, with a deranged grin. He went over and dragged Zach into a sitting position and held him there. Jerome looked around.
"Hmm. What could I do to you? So many possibilities." Jerome said as he went over and had a look at Zach's kitchen knives. His uncle was always meticulous with sharpening his knives. But Jerome didn't want a knife that was too sharp. If it was too sharp it wouldn't hurt as much. He finally found one that seemed slightly dull and went back over to them. Zach was just starting to struggle. "Stop that." Jerome said, kneeling down right in his face with the knife. Zach stopped moving when he had a knife right near his face. "I remember how you grabbed my arm one time to test out how sharp the knife you were sharpening was. You cut me on my arm and it was so sharp I barely felt anything at first. But I'm pretty sure you'll feel this one. You must not have remembered to sharpen it."
"You fucking psycho! This doesn't change anything! I won't tell you a thing!" Zach yelled as Jerome rolled up his uncle's shirt sleeve to get to his skin.
"Oh I hope so. I hope it takes a little while to get you to tell me. Because that means we get to play longer." Jerome laughed and started to make little cuts in his uncle's arm. Nothing too deep. Just deep enough for it to hurt. "Had enough? No? Good. How about this?" He stabbed his uncle in a non vital area. And then did it a few more times. "I'm having fun. Are you having fun?"
"Ok! Ok I'll tell you! Just stop!" Uncle Zach said, in a very pained voice.
"Wow. So soon. You really aren't as tough as you make yourself out to be, are you?" Jerome said laughing. "Ok then, spill. Where is he and what did you change his name to?"
"We sent him to St Ignatious! It's a boarding school just outside of town! And his name is Xander Wilde! Just stop!"
"Thank you. Was that so hard? I take it you have no idea where he is now. But that's a start. I can go from there." Jerome said, standing up with a satisfied look.
"We done?" Jongleur asked, looking a little disappointed. "Should I let him go?"
"We're done but don't let him go. Let's lock him in the closet over there. And barricade it so he can't break out." Jerome said.
"Ok but why?" Jongleur said as he helped Jerome drag the man to the closet and shove him in. Jerome locked the door, happy to see it only locked on the outside and then went and pushed a heavy cart in front of it.
"I did say arson might be on the menu tonight, didn't I?" Jerome said, smiling at Jongleur. "If I know my uncle, he'll have a gas powered generator out back. Stay here and make sure he stays in there. I'll be back." He walked through the back door and a few minutes later came back with two gas cans full of gasoline. "Bingo. Now take this and spread it around."
Jongleur grinned at him enthusiastically as he took the gas can and went to spread the gas around. Jerome pulled the heavy cart away from the closet door and opened it. Zach rushed out, knocking Jerome's glasses off his face and shattering them, but Jerome shoved him back in. Then he doused him in gasoline before shutting the door and barricading it again. Jerome grinned. "You have no idea how long I've wanted to do something like this to you, Unc. I know I shouldn't feel so enthusiastic about this. It makes me feel way too much like the other older me. But I don't care. You deserve this. Jongleur, time to go. It's about to get rather hot in here." Jerome laughed and strode cheerfully out the door, leaving a trail of gasoline leading out with him. He waited for Jongleur to rush out before he took out a lighter and smiled as he lit the trail of gasoline just outside the door. "Sayonara, Uncle Zach. See you in hell!" They made a run for it and turned around on the other side of the street to watch the diner go up in flames. Jongleur had a big excited smile on his face and Jerome was grinning.
"Wow. I've never seen a building go up that beautifully before." Jongleur said, smiling with stars in his eyes. "Thanks for letting me be a part of this."
"No problem. I'm glad you enjoyed it. Well, I guess I should go find that boarding school now. They should know more about where 'Xander' went off to."
"You have a place to stay?" Jongleur asked.
"Not really. I haven't had the time to find a place yet. Why?" Jerome asked.
"You can stay at my apartment. It's the least I can do." Jongleur said.
"Why not. Thanks." Jerome said.
"No problem. You are so… amazing. If only you had been in our world before now." Jongleur actually looked a bit starstruck.
"Ease up on the praise, dude. It's weird." Jerome said, a little weirded out by the fanboying.
"Sorry. Hey, you left your glasses in the diner." Jongleur said.
"So I did." Jerome said, not bothered. "I barely needed them at this point anyway. So no big loss."
Jerome went on the internet, which he noticed was way behind the technology of the other world annoyingly, and was able to find out where Miah's boarding school was. The next day he headed there.
"Mr. Wilde. It's such a pleasure to see you. Did you get contact lens? You look good." the headmaster said. Clearly Miah had done well for himself if the school officials were so eager to suck up.
"I'm sorry for the confusion, headmaster. But I'm not Xander Wilde. I'm his twin. We're estranged you see, and I hoped that I could somehow track him down. If you could point me in the right direction that would be great, sir." Jerome said being polite. "He likes to isolate himself far too much. So much that I worry for him. I don't want him to be so alone anymore. Please tell me."
"Well, I'm not usually supposed to reveal personal information about a student but...try at Bishop & Hays. They're a Structural Engineering firm. They might be able to help you." the man said. "I hope you can show your brother that there's nothing to fear from the rest of the world. He was so timid. Always worried someone was after him. I always worried for him. I thought maybe he might need to get some therapy. But I didn't dare suggest something like that to a student's face. I can tell that to you though. See that he gets help, Mr. Wilde."
"All I want to do is help him. Don't worry." Jerome said. "Thank you for the information."
So now he had the next breadcrumb. The place where Miah likely worked. He was one step closer to Miah.
"You can take a little break to come with me to a club. Take some time. Your brother isn't going anywhere." Jongleur said the day after Jerome went to St Ignatious. "Please? It'll be fun. I told my friends I could get you to come. They want to meet you."
"Did you tell them what we did? I told you to be discreet." Jerome said, getting tired of Jongleur acting like a fanboy.
"I didn't give any details anyone could use against you. And they're cool. They wouldn't snitch on you." Jongleur said. "Please come."
"Fine. If it will get you off my back then fine." Jerome said, rolling his eyes. What's the worst that could happen anyway? A few of Jongleur's friends act just as weird as Jongleur and he'd have to put up with it? If he could deal with the Joker he could deal with them.
The outside of the club was very unassuming. The bouncer saw Jongleur and let them go in without a word as if Jongleur was a regular. Inside was much different than the outside. It was very punk and the people there were as well but took the punk style a step further than the usual. In Jerome's opinion, they all looked dressed up for an 80s movie about a gritty dystopia. Like the colorful and violent raider gangs in that amusement park dlc in that post apocalyptic game that Jason used to love so much. They looked very out of place in the world they were in. But perhaps that was the point. And honestly, Jerome didn't feel out of place amongst them.
"One of my friends owns the club. And like I said, they want to meet you. So lets head upstairs where they're waiting." Jongleur said.
"Fine." Jerome huffed as he followed the street performer. He had a sinking feeling he was being roped into some weird situation or heist or something. But it wasn't like he had many people he could turn to for help and maybe by making friends, who seemed very likely to not mind the occasional violence, he'd be able to survive the weirdness that was Gotham city.
They headed upstairs and into what looked like private rooms. There were two people there, deep in conversation.
"It's not a theory, Jeri. I know it's true. Stop calling it a theory." said the dark haired man who looked a lot less punk than the rest of the people at the club but still sported a slightly unhinged look.
"Whatever, Dwight." the woman named Jeri said. Jeri was as punk as the rest of the patrons and had makeup that reminded Jerome of Joker. She even sported green hair but hers was obviously dyed. "I gave you free reign of my club. I'm not saying that what you say doesn't make sense. But it's a little hard to find evidence to support your claims so I call it a theory."
"There is evidence! What about that awful feeling that something's missing? That's evidence!" Dwight said.
"Hey, Jongleur. You made it." Jeri said cheerfully. "Is this the guy you said burned down that diner? Fun times. You shoulda video taped it for everyone."
"The name's Jerome. Nice to meet you." Jerome said. "I'm not all that happy that Jongleur told people about my crime but neither of you seem the type to say anything to the authorities so I suppose that makes it slightly less concerning."
The man named Dwight stared at him with an appraising look.
"Got a problem?" Jerome asked the man.
"No. It's just that Jongleur has made claims about you that, If true, could explain a lot about certain things. I'm just wondering if what you told him is true." Dwight said. "Did you spend most of your life in another world parallel to ours? Is that true?"
"Of course it's true." Jerome said. "I'm not the type to lie about something that outlandish. What would be the point? It's not as exciting as it sounds though. The other world looked very similar to ours. It was just several years in the future. And I suppose there were a few other differences too but nothing huge."
"Still...the possibilities that raises are just... " Dwight said, excitedly. "I suppose I should explain myself. For a few years now, I've felt like there was something…missing. That something or someone that was supposed to be important to me wasn't here. I could never figure out what that was and thought at first it was just my imagination. But then I met other people who felt the same. So many other people. It just felt right to rally together, like it was what we were supposed to do, but we had no idea what we were rallying together in support of. There was a missing piece to it all and it nagged at us constantly. We started searching for it but never found it. Until you showed up and went up to Jongleur like you knew him. You told him you knew another version of him in another world and that he was the trusted lackey of a villain. But you never told him how you knew that villain. How did you know that villain? Please tell me."
Jerome sighed. Were these guys supposed to be his lackeys? They certainly seemed to dress that way, well, except for Dwight. He supposed there was no point in lying to them. "I knew that villain because he was an older version of myself. Is that what you wanted to know?"
"Yes. Yes it is." Dwight grinned. "It's really you. You're what we've been looking for. Our missing piece. We were supposed to follow you but you weren't here. Until now."
Jerome just rolled his eyes. "I'm not the person I would've been had I stayed. So I'm not the guy you would've clearly fanboyed over. Sorry to disappoint you."
"But you are. You might not be as bad as you would've been and I would've loved to see you at your worst but you tortured someone and burned down their diner with them still in it. So it's all still there. You are still worth rallying behind I think." Dwight said, smiling. "Please. Please lead us. We need this. We've been waiting for so long for this. We will be loyal to you. I swear."
Jerome sighed in annoyance. He realized that a large group of maniacs willing and begging to follow the Joker, or him in this case, was not something that could go without leadership. If he didn't agree to lead them then there was nothing stopping them from doing something that Gotham couldn't recover from. He could be the lesser evil here if it meant stopping a worse evil. "As long as you realize that I won't be down for any big plans at the moment, then fine. We do things my way. If we do horrible things to people, we do them to people that deserve it. And if I say to do something or not to do something, you listen to me, no matter what it is."
"Thank you!" Dwight said, grinning in happiness. "You won't regret this. I swear."
"I really hope I don't." Jerome said, not really feeling all that great about now having an entire army of crazies probably wanting him to be just as crazy. Joker would be laughing his head off if he could see him now.
Dwight was practically vibrating in excitement as they went back down to the main area of the club and Dwight went up and addressed the crowd. "Fellow crazies. Fellow Outcasts! Fellow enlightened! I brought you here today, not just for a party. It is an occasion to celebrate, true. But I brought you here because Jongleur has found proof of what we've been missing this whole time. Our missing piece! The thing that ties all this together. We despaired at times. Thought that the feelings we all had were some mass psychosis. People tried to tell us this! They were wrong! We found what ties us all together! Finally! It's a person, like I thought. Someone we were destined to look up to but couldn't because he wasn't here. He's here now. He's here now!" Dwight handed the mic to Jerome and Jerome sighed again in annoyance. The things he had to do for his city. Out of all the countless things he thought he'd end up doing once he returned to his own world, becoming the messiah of a cult of crazies was not even on the list of out there possibilities. It boggled the mind. But he figured, given who he was supposed to end up as, that was kinda par for the course. He should stop thinking that his life was ever going to be normal or sane. Because it was never going to happen.
Jerome took the mic and got up on stage. "Hey. I'm Jerome. This whole thing was a big surprise to me. I can only imagine what would have happened in my life if I had stayed in this world that would've attracted a bunch of people to me like this. But I didn't get to find out. When I was a kid, I ended up in a world just parallel to ours but years in the future. I'd say that would be difficult to believe but I think this whole situation is difficult to believe and you all seem like the type to keep an open mind. Maybe a bit too much of an open mind actually but who am I to judge? What Dwight claims is that, had I stayed, you would all be somehow inspired by me. By the things that I did. I don't know if that's true. Maybe it is. Honestly, I don't know what the fuck I'm doing up here. My parallel self would be laughing his ass off at me right now."
The crowd didn't know what to think. They didn't know this redheaded guy. There was something about him but they just didn't know if it was all bullshit.
Jongleur got up on stage. "Listen to me. I watched him torture a man he hated for years and then torch the diner the man owned with the man still inside it! He's the real deal. You all saw the news about that diner! Some of you have walked past the wreckage. I was there! I helped it happen! And he knew me. The me from the other world. The older me. My other me was loyal to a madman. A madman just like Jerome. Jerome's own parallel. I believe it. I believe it! And even if you don't, what else do we have to lose by choosing to believe it? This will be good for us. No more waiting for something to happen! If we ignore the opportunity nothing will ever happen!" He handed the mic back to Jerome.
"Thanks." Jerome said, not sure what to say next. He might as well give them what they want. "This world needs someone to shake things up. So why not us? We could own part of the city if we tried. And no one could stop us! So why not have a little fun, huh? Why not be the people we want to be deep down? What else do we have in a world like this?"
That got them going. Jerome was amazed it took so little. And some of it was just bullshit. The crowd cheered and chanted his name anyway. He really hoped he wasn't going to regret all of this.
"Only a few little things I should say first. If you are agreeing for me to be your leader, then what I say goes. If you don't do as I say, I'll find some interesting way to kill you as a reminder to all the rest of you. And it won't be painless. Secondly, I have reasons I'm back here in this world and if this whole thing with all of you gets in the way of that, then I'll get real irritated. And people tend to die when I'm irritated. Listen to me and don't get in my way, and we'll be peachy, ok?"
They loudly agreed and continued to chant his name. He grinned at them, channeling his inner Joker. That was what they seemed to want after all.
The group of crazies that insisted on following Jerome didn't have a formal name. They never knew what to call themselves. When Jerome heard what the group of crazies that shot up the GCPD were called, he thought it was perfect. The Maniax. So they became a gang of very unstable and violent people known as the Maniax. The other gangs in the area soon began to fear them because they had no rules. They were unpredictable. So the Maniax soon had control of a sizable chunk of territory and the other gangs were too scared of them to do anything about it. Life was good.
Jerome and a small group of Maniax that he didn't find annoying were out wandering the city. Jerome was stalling, he knew. He realized that he was not fond of the idea that maybe seeing Miah wouldn't go well. And so he was procrastinating. His new gang of crazies was great for that. Jerome didn't really know what he felt like doing that day but it didn't matter. Maybe beat up some random gang members that strayed into his territory? Who knows what the day would bring? And then he saw a group of teenagers and young men that were beating up a rather well dressed teenage boy. And the boy was holding his own somewhat despite being outnumbered.
"Hey!" Jerome yelled at them. "Come on. Pay attention when I talk to you. Don't be rude." The group of young thugs stopped what they were doing and got a little nervous when they saw who was walking up to them with a bat over his shoulders and a grin on his face. "This is my territory, kiddos. So we are the ones that get to have that kind of fun. Not you." Jerome looked over at the teen they had been beating up and felt like he'd seen the kid before somewhere. "You look familiar. Have I threatened you before?"
"I'm Bruce Wayne." the kid said, looking way braver than any normal kid his age would be in his situation.
"Bruce Wayne, huh?" Jerome said, now knowing where he'd seen the kid before. In old photos of Bruce's childhood back in the other world. "A bit out of place here, aren't you?"
"I was looking for a friend of mine." Bruce said.
"Hey! Who do you think you are?! Do you have any idea who my uncle is?" the plump leader of the young thugs said, not really looking like he recognized who Jerome was.
Jerome went up to him and grinned before hitting him in the gut with his bat. "I don't care who your uncle is. He could be a fucking Falcone for all I care and me and my crew would still give you a beat down. Boys, leave the rich boy alone but otherwise have fun." They made quick work of the young thugs, leaving them badly beaten on the pavement.
Bruce hadn't run off during the fight. "Thank you for helping me but I could've taken care of them on my own."
"I didn't do it to help you. That was just a bonus." Jerome said. "I'm Jerome. Nice to meet ya, Bruce. Don't worry about my little crazies when you're out here. They won't mess with you. But I can't be everywhere so exercise a little more caution. You are a rich kid in a city filled top to bottom with violent criminals."
"Like I said, I was looking for my friend. And I can take care of myself." Bruce said.
"Oh I have no doubt, Bruce." Jerome grinned. "It was really great to meetcha. I hope we get to see each other again sometime."
Jerome was thrilled that he met his world's version of Bruce Wayne. He knew that it wasn't his Bruce. And that chances were good they would be at odds someday, if Jerome eventually said fuck it and took the Joker title. But he didn't care. It was still Bruce. And Bruce was like family to him. His Bruce was as close to a father as he'd ever get. He figured he'd have to let the Maniax know that Bruce Wayne was off limits. He had a feeling that Bruce often wandered the city like that. It made sense. He was slowly training himself up to be Batman someday. Even if at that point Bruce didn't know that was the reason. That meant he would end up running into a few Maniax at times. So Jerome would have to make damn sure that they knew if they hurt Bruce Wayne, he would skin them or something.
Jerome stared at the tv as he saw the news report on an Edward Nygma gassing a whole graduating class of police officers and calling himself the Riddler. The Riddler then made someone solve his riddles to get the antidote which turned out to be fake. The gas turned out to be just plain ol knock out gas. Jerome was really entertained to see the Riddler in his world claim his title. And he remembered his promise to the other Riddler about finding out more about the man. So he did some research on this Edward Nygma. As it turned out, the man was a former forensics expert who worked for the GCPD. He tried to frame James Gordon for murder of a cop to cover up his own murder of a girlfriend. It worked for awhile until Gordon broke out of Blackgate and made Riddler reveal the truth. Then Riddler was put in Arkham. Jerome had a good laugh when he found out that he was released from Arkham by Penguin and became Penguin's chief of staff after the bird became mayor. Penguin becoming mayor was hilarious to Jerome. The bird was clearly a criminal even in this world and didn't even try to hide it and yet people voted for him anyway. But then Penguin and Riddler had a falling out for some reason and Jerome got the feeling that Riddler had a hand in Penguin's recent public disgrace and disappearance. And not long after that, Ed revealed himself as the Riddler. Which was odd, to be honest. This Riddler started his career way earlier than the one in the other world, and seemed older than he should be. Maybe he was going to have a younger nerd take up the title after he retired and that would be the redheaded Riddler Jerome knew so well?
Several days after Jerome met Bruce Wayne in his territory, he saw him again. The kid was headed for the street kid, Selina Kyle's place. Jerome had to chuckle that even this early in this Bruce's life, he still had a thing for this world's Catwoman. He caught up with the kid to say hello.
"Hey Bruce. How's it going?" Jerome said, walking over to him with a big smile on his face. Bruce looked at him and the nearby Maniax members warily. "Easy. I don't mean any harm. I just saw you here and wanted to say hi."
"Hello." Bruce said, not looking like he knew how to respond. "I'm sorry but I don't really have time to chat right now. I'm going to see Selina."
"Oh of course. Don't want to stop you from seeing the lovely lady." Jerome said, smiling at him. But then Jerome's smile slipped into a frown as he took a good long hard look at Bruce's face. "Who are you? You're not Bruce Wayne. I know Bruce when I see him." Jerome got in the boy's face threateningly. "Where is Bruce Wayne?!"
"I don't know what you're talking about. I am Bruce Wayne!" the kid who looked just like Bruce Wayne but clearly wasn't.
Jerome motioned for his lackeys to surround the kid as he stared at the doppelganger with a snarl on his face. Then he grinned menacingly at him. "Is that your final answer? Gonna stick to that story?"
"I am Bruce Wayne." the boy said.
"Wrong answer. Boys and girls, what do we do to people that lie to us?" Jerome asked enthusiastically.
"We cut them into little tiny pieces." Jongleur said, grinning and getting out his knives.
"Love the enthusiasm but one step at a time. We beat them up and then cut them into little tiny pieces." Jerome said grinning. "Now let's get started."
Jerome's lackeys beat the boy that looked like Bruce and the boy didn't even seem to flinch. If Jerome didn't know better, he'd think the kid couldn't even feel pain.
"Hey! Stop!" yelled a young female voice. Jerome turned around and saw the curly haired young Selina Kyle run up. "Stop hurting Bruce!"
"Normally I would share your sentiment, trust me, but this isn't Bruce." Jerome said. He walked over to where his lackeys were holding the kid up and stood behind him. "This isn't Bruce. Does Bruce feel pain? Because this one doesn't. Want proof?" He turned the kid around and Selina saw the knife Jerome just put in a non vital area. The kid hadn't even reacted to it.
Selina's eyes widened in shock. She glared at the doppelganger. "You're wearing his clothes. Why are you trying to be Bruce? Where's Bruce?!"
The boy stopped trying to pretend to be Bruce. "Bruce is fulfilling his destiny right now."
"Wow, that doesn't explain anything at all. I just love cryptic bullshit." Jerome said sarcastically, and knocked the boy unconscious.
"We need to take him back to Wayne manor. Maybe Bruce is safe at home. If he is, then he needs to know this guy is out pretending to be him. But what if Bruce is missing? Alfred needs to know. Maybe he knows more about where Bruce could be. I shouldn't have refused to see him. Maybe if I didn't stay away, this wouldn't have happened." Selina said, feeling guilty.
"Let's figure out where he is before we assign blame." Jerome said. "Maniacs, go ahead and go home. Except for Jongleur. We'll need help dragging this sorry ass back to Wayne manor but I don't want the butler to get the wrong idea." They got in a borrowed car and headed to Wayne manor.
When they got to Wayne manor, they idled in the front entrance. Selina looked worried. "I don't know if Alfred is going to believe us."
"Just show him what I showed you. Bruce feels pain. It's kinda weird this guy doesn't. Kinda made beating him up unsatisfying." Jerome said, looking over at the unconscious Bruce doppelganger.
"How do you know Bruce anyway?" Selina asked, as they got out of the car.
"It's a long story. And not really the time for it. Just know that I care about him. I swear. If he's in trouble I will kill every single one of his captors until I find him." Jerome said with a deadly serious look on his face.
Jongleur dragged the doppelganger out of the car. A very irate looking man that could only be a younger looking Alfred came rushing out of the front door.
"What the hell have you done to my boy?!" Alfred asked with a worried look on his face.
"He's not Bruce, Alfred. It's that clone. He doesn't feel pain!" Selina said.
"I found him claiming to be Bruce Wayne when he was clearly not Bruce." Jerome said. "I figured Bruce was in trouble so I beat this guy up to learn more but the guy just doesn't feel anything. He didn't even flinch."
"Oh bloody hell. Wake that bastard up and believe you me, I will have him feeling something if something's happened to Bruce." Alfred said with a snarl.
They brought the clone into the house and Alfred got the clone awake. "Where is my boy?! What have you done with him?"
"Like I told them, he's fulfilling his destiny. I won't tell you more." the clone said. "And you can't torture me into revealing anything."
"Yeah, but I could kill you." Jerome pointed out.
"I'm dying anyway. I don't have long." the clone said smugly.
"Fuck." Jerome said, before knocking the clone out again.. "Dead end with him I guess. Do you have any idea who could have taken Bruce?" he looked at Alfred.
"The Court of Owls maybe? We were investigating them. Maybe they got nervous." Alfred said.
"The who? I've never heard of them." Jerome said. He hadn't. There was never a Court of Owls in the other world that he knew of.
"Well, they are a secret organization. They don't go advertising themselves, do they?" Alfred said, looking very worried.
"Look, if the clone said that Bruce is 'fulfilling his destiny' then it's got to be more than just them being nervous at his snooping." Selina said. "Right? I mean, that sounds like this was all planned from the beginning."
"You're right. They even made a clone probably just for this so no one would notice he was gone." Jerome said. "This sounds a lot bigger than them keeping their secrets. It sounds like they want Bruce for something. Which means at least that he's probably still alive."
"We need to go to Gordon and see if he can help." Alfred said.
"I suppose if any cop could help it would be him." Jerome agreed with him. "Jongleur, take this little shit and make sure he can't warn whoever he's working for. And then you can take the rest of the day off, unless I call of course."
"What is he going to do with him?" Alfred asked as Jongleur gleefully dragged the unconscious clone out of the room.
"Probably best not to ask." Jerome said, grinning. "You probably don't want to know. But at least the clone won't be a problem anymore."
"Who exactly are you? And why are you interested in helping us?" Alfred asked, not looking like he trusted Jerome. "Why should we trust you?"
"It's true I'm probably not the most trustworthy person." Jerome said, smiling. "But rest assured that all I want is to see that Bruce is alive and unharmed. It's a little hard to explain the details in a way that will be believable. And we don't have time for that, do we? Let's find Bruce and then you can ask me the all the whys you want, ok?"
Alfred, Jerome, and Selina all went to the GCPD to talk to Gordon.
"Gordon. I need to talk to Gordon. Where is he?" Alfred went up to one of the detectives.
"Alfred, what's wrong?" Gordon said, walking up. The young James Gordon was just a detective at that point. He looked to have the same sort of look that Jerome saw in the older Bruce's eyes. The look of a hero.
"Bruce has been kidnapped." Alfred said, eyes full of worry.
"What's happened? Who's taken him?" Gordon said, with concern in his eyes.
"Can we talk about this somewhere more private? We don't know who we can trust in this situation." Jerome pointed out.
"Fine. Harvey, I'm borrowing your office." Gordon said, going into the captain's office.
Another detective who looked vaguely similar to the detective Harvey Bullock in the other world only slightly younger, walked into the room behind them. "What's up?"
"Bruce is missing." Gordon said. "What happened? How long has he been gone?"
"I don't know." Alfred said, slightly embarrassed.
"You don't know how long Bruce has been missing?" Bullock said, exasperated. "That's like your one job."
"I know this is going to sound unbelievable but I think this secret organization called the Court of Owls took him. We've been investigating them ever since Bruce learned they controlled his company. Plus he thinks they had a hand in his parents' murder. They switched Bruce out for a clone of him." Alfred said frustrated.
"Are you fucking kinding me? Clones?" Bullock asked. Jerome thought it was amusing that the cop just seemed to accept it begrudgingly like weird stuff like this happened all the time.
"I've heard of the Court of Owls. I've been working undercover inside their organization. They didn't say anything about Bruce." Gordon said. "But I think they're planning something that will kill a lot of people in the city if we don't stop them. I have to find out what they're planning and stop it."
"Holy shit. This seems so familiar. This whole scenario." Jerome said. He knew that a big name villain had done something like this before but he couldn't quite think of who.
"Who's the redhead?" Bullock asked, confused.
"I'm Jerome Valeska. And who I am is probably not very believable."
"So you keep saying. Why don't you try me, mate?" Alfred said. "I would really like to know who I'm trusting with Bruce's secrets. How do I know you aren't working with the Court in the first place?"
"Do I look like I work for a secret organization? I mean, really? I don't even know who the Court is. Funny thing is, this seems so familiar. I mean, not exactly. The exact thing didn't happen. But something similar I think. I'm just trying to think of what." Jerome said.
"What the hell are you talking about?" Bullock asked.
Jerome's eyes widened when he thought of the similar scenario. "I know what this all sounds like now. Look, I know this will be hard to believe but now you need to hear me out. When I was a kid, I got stuck in another version of Gotham city for several years. It was several years ahead of this one. So I know what happens here overall. Even though the details will likely be different."
"Another world?" Gordon didn't look like he believed him.
"Yeah. Like I said, it's difficult to believe." Jerome said. "The person this sounds like, his parallel version has done something similar to all of this. The threat to the city, the secret organization that are probably just puppets, even the interest in Bruce, it all sounds like one man. A man known as Ra's Al Ghul. He threatened the other Gotham with a plague several years ago and part of it was to convince Bruce to become his successor. He thought that he could kill two birds with one stone. Create a situation that would test Bruce and wipe out a large portion of a city that he considered beyond hope of redemption. At least that's what I heard. This sounds so similar that I wouldn't be surprised if it's him. But stopping him will be hard. Like really really hard. We probably can't kill the guy but we could figure out how to stop what he's planning and save Bruce."
"Look, we don't really have time for crazy stories. If Bruce is missing then we need to focus on the facts." Gordon said.
"It's not a crazy story. It's true." Jerome said, frustrated. "You think I'm not risking something by even having this sort of foreknowledge? He'll probably come after me because of it. Because I guarantee you that he probably already knows how much I know. We could use that. Lure him out or something. If he's the one that took Bruce that's how we could find him."
None of them seemed to believe him. He shook his head in disgust. "Fine. Don't believe me. I'll look for Bruce on my own then." Jerome left the office and walked through the station looking irritated. He didn't know what else he expected. He passed a very familiar looking cop near the entrance and stopped by him.
"Hey, Dove. Just a heads up. I might be gone for a few days because of...reasons. It's safer if no one else knows why but just tell the others I'm probably fine. But if I'm gone for longer than a few days, start looking for me."
"No problem. I'll let everyone know, Jerome." the cop gave him an almost deranged smile before walking away.
Jerome wasn't surprised when as he was walking down the street, a fancy car stopped beside him. A very severe looking woman looked out of the passenger window. "Get in the car, Mr. Valeska."
"I'm guessing you're with the Court. I mean, you don't look like a ninja so you must be. Your boss tell you to pick me up?" Jerome asked.
"Indeed. It would be in your best interest to do as I say and come quietly." the woman said. A man in a mask got out of the car and stood there silently but threatenly.
"He should've sent a ninja. Not a puppet. I'm not interested. So, bye now." Jerome said, starting to walk away. This was not confirmation that it was Ra's Al Ghul, but it was close. No one could have known what they were talking about in that office. Unless it was bugged maybe? But then why would they be interested in him for talking about Ra's? He was almost ninety percent certain now that Ra's Al Ghul was behind things. Suddenly, another man with the same type of mask was in front of him. They didn't look like ninjas. But likely had similar training. He had no chance. The other one that came out of the car managed to knock him out when he was focused on the second one.
Jerome woke up with a start. "Oww." He definitely had a bump on his head and it was giving him a bit of a headache. He looked around and found himself in a cage like cell. And he wasn't alone in the room. There were two other cells in the room and they had occupants too.
"Who the hell are you?" asked the short thin man that looked like that world's Penguin. The other guy was the Riddler.
Jerome grinned at them from the floor. Well this day just got even more interesting, he thought to himself. "I'm Jerome Valeska."
"Who?" Penguin asked.
"You're that gang leader that Barbara's been annoyed with lately. The one with the rather unhinged gang members. She wants you dead, you realize." Riddler said.
"I'm more than a gang leader but I'm not annoyed by you calling me that. I can see how you would come to that conclusion." Jerome said, sitting up and rubbing his sore head. "And if no one wants you dead you aren't doing your job right. At least in this business, am I right?"
"Why are you here?" Riddler asked.
Jerome smiled at them. "Because I know too much. I probably know more than those birds that think they run things. They're just puppets. And the one pulling the strings doesn't want me spoiling anything by my foreknowledge. So he had his little birds capture me."
"What do you know? Who's running things?" Riddler asked, looking like he very much wanted to know.
"Probably best if you don't know. It's safer for you that way. And I'm not completely sure I'm right. Though this is pretty big evidence that I'm right. Why else would they capture me?" Jerome said.
"I don't care about the danger! Just tell me. I want to know!" Riddler said, very irritated.
"Of course you do. You're the Riddler. You crave to learn every little detail and every little secret. And this is one juicy secret. Which is why I'm not surprised you're here in a cell alongside me. Penguin, I assume, was after you." Jerome said. "But learning who runs it all isn't going to help any of us right now. Right now, a better use of our time would be to find a way out. And look, we have the Riddler with us. The guy who lives to solve things. So solve this."
"You think I haven't tried? Every time I try to get out, Oswald ruins it for me!" Riddler snarled.
Jerome rolled his eyes. "Then why don't we all work together for a little while? You both might hate each other but neither can kill the other in here. So stop being petty and call a temporary truce. Then, when we are all out of here, you can kill each other to your heart's content. And that juicy little secret will likely reveal itself on its own."
"He's right. None of us is benefiting from being at odds with each other in here. We should work together to escape." Penguin said before looking over at Riddler. "And then, when we have left this place behind us. I can murder you as slowly as I want to."
"You can try." Riddler said, smirking. "Alright. We work together. But no murdering while we are in here. Also there needs to be a six hour window, post-escape. If I get outside and I'm worrying about you stabbing me in the back, I won't be able to concentrate, and that's not good."
"Agreed, reluctantly." Penguin said.
"Agreed. I have no desire to kill either of you at the moment, anyway." Jerome said cheerfully. "So do you have a plan, genius?"
"I think I might." Riddler said, smiling.
The Court of Owls lackeys rushed into the room when they heard the yelling.
"Help!" Penguin screamed, being held against the cage by Riddler with a shiv to his throat.
Jerome was standing near Penguins side of his cage and looking very amused with the whole thing.
"Let me out of here! Or I kill him! Now!" Riddler yelled. They rushed to open Penguin's cage and aimed their weapons at Riddler. "What are you doing? Open my cell!"
"Shoot him! What are you waiting for?!" Penguin cried out. Jerome was just laughing at this point.
"Never mind." Riddler said before appearing to slit Penguin's throat. Penguin fell to the floor, appearing to die.
"Oh nice one, egghead." Jerome said, looking very entertained.
"Back. Get back!" said one of the guards, backing up so Riddler couldn't reach him while the other one checked on Penguin.
"Wait. Is that Jello?" the guard checking on the seemingly dead Penguin and seeing the 'blood' up close.
"Surprise." Penguin said, grabbing the man. At the same time Jerome reached over and grabbed the guard that had strayed too close to his own cell and choked him until he was out cold. Penguin slit the throat of the other guard.
"I'm surprised. I assumed the guard would stay near my cell so I would be able to grab his gun when he was distracted by Penguin bleeding out." Riddler said.
"Well that's why you have me. Jerome said.
Penguin grabbed the keys and opened his cell and then Jerome's cell too. He hesitated for a few moments before opening Riddler's cell.
They all breathed a sigh of relief when they were finally outside again. Penguin screamed at some random homeless people to scare him and then he turned to Riddler in a threatening manner.
"Our agreement still holds for five hours." Riddler said.
"I am aware." Penguin said. They both made a show of dropping the weapons they had used to break out so they knew they wouldn't use them against each other.
"How do you expect to win, Oswald?" Riddler asked, smirking at Penguin. "Barbara Kean runs the underworld. We have the gangs, well, except for the weirdo's gang. You have...yourself."
"Actually. I have an army of Hugo Strange's monsters at my command. But even if I were alone, you wouldn't stand a chance." Penguin said, smirking right back at him.
"I suppose we'll see." Riddler said.
"Good god you guys are the most dramatic people ever and I hang out with a bunch of theatrical crazies." Jerome said, rolling his eyes. "You two should just kiss and make up or something because clearly neither of you is over each other. Or whatever is going on here."
"It's none of your business!" Penguin said, irritated.
"Whatever. I don't care. You do you." Jerome said, shrugging.
"Actually, is your gang for hire, by any chance? I wouldn't mind having more people at my back." Penguin asked. "And Ed did say you weren't working for them."
"As tempting as an army full of monsters sounds, I'm not interested in getting involved in this lovers tiff. You two can work out your problems on your own." Jerome said. "I have things to do. But good luck. I look forward to the news programs about all this. I hope it's bloody."
Jerome walked away from the two villains. If he had to guess, one or both of them had a thing for the other and things ended badly. That wasn't a thing in the other world. In the other world they usually didn't bother with each other since Penguin was all about organized crime and Riddler was more interested in secrets and information and messing with Batman than he was the underworld. He was looking forward to seeing what these versions of the villains would do next.
Jerome walked and tried to think of how he could find Bruce. He felt he had to. But couldn't think of how he could do it. How does one stop ninjas led by an ancient sorcerer? At least he got out of that cage. The Court must be falling apart if they couldn't even get enough guards to watch them. If he had to guess, Ra's was having the Court eliminated one by one to tie up loose ends. They weren't going to be needed soon anyway. Jerome sighed. He was glad they didn't change his clothes to whatever Penguin and Riddler were wearing. Which further cemented the idea that they were just holding him until Ra's could get his hands on him.
Suddenly, two figures in dark clothing and masks dropped in front of him, brandishing swords. These guys were clearly ninjas.
"You've got to be kidding me." Jerome said nervously, backing up from the ninjas. "I guess this confirms everything."
Jerome doesn't even have time to swear when he's knocked out from behind...again.