Things that go 'bump' in the night.
It was the night before Halloween, when all through the asylum, not a inmate was stirring, not even a siren. The inmates were all tucked away, snug in their beds, with images of murders dancing around their heads. The guards marched the halls on a mission, stopping the inmates from leaving for a jail break session.
With some in their straight jackets and others in their caps, they'd all settled down (for once) for a long hallows eve nap.
But what was this, running through the halls, all white was his skin and green was his hair, no it was not St Nicholous, why on earth would he be there?
It was, who else but the crown prince of crime, but how was he here, surly he had died.
Peering in through the cells he saw all his fellow inmates fast asleep, so he slipped in through the cell to sneak a quick peep.
Nigma was sleeping, for once it seemed. No noise to disturb him so he was able to dream.
"Eddie, my boy!" Joker cackled, causing the young man to awake with a fright, seeing the ghostly figure of a man who had died, how was he here?
Edward began to panic and he shuffled backwards in a fright.
"Joker?!" he spluttered and stared at him. No he couldn't be here that was impossible. The man was dead, dead and burnt to a crisp and the ashes were buried along with him. "How… what… why are you here?"
"Oh!" the dead man grinned, looking more alive then ever. "I simply wanted to make sure non of you would be forgetting about little old me," the man explained as he took a seat at the end of Edward's bed. "And you of all people would know how much I'd hate to be forgotten, right Eddie?"
"Ah.. but why me?" Edward tilted his head to the side. "Why did you visit me?"
"Ah hold your horses there four eyes!" Joker grinned and stood up. "I'm just getting started. Going to see everyone I know in here. But do answer me this, Eddie, do you miss your dearly departed uncle J?"
Edward simply stared. This was just a hallucination, nothing more. So he couldn't hurt him right?
"You're… you're not real!"
"Eddie, I'm offended! I'm as real as Jervis's cheshire cat!" Joker cackled and laughed, grabbing the wall to keep himself upright because of how much he was laughing.
"You're making jokes again…" Edward whispered. "But you always made jokes."
"Yes.. yes I did," Joker grinned up at him. "It's good to be telling jokes again, then again, it's good to be doing anything again!"
A chorus of laughter filled Edward's cell and he could only stare in slight horror as he realised that he was awake and this wasn't a dream. Joker was here. He was here and he was in Edward's cell making jokes and scaring the living day lights out of him.
Nothing new there then.
"Now Eddie, it's been fun but I really gotta run and see the others, wish them a happy Halloween! Give them the best trick of their lives, what do you think?" he span around to allow Edward to see all of him, standing with his arms out he grinned at Edward even wider. "It's a good one isn't it?"
Riddler didn't say anything. All he could do was stare as he felt himself going paler and paler at the realisation that Joker's ghost was actually haunting him.
Joker rolled his eyes and walked up to the silent man. "No need to be speechless about it, Eddie. I'm simply here to share around some spooky cheer, also, I have a bone to pick with old straw man. I always meant to make Jonny scream in terror at some point and now I'm an actual ghost, I have the perfect means to do it by," Joker tapped his chin for a moment before he suddenly was in Edward's face. "You wouldn't happen to have a camera would you, I really wanna get this on film."
Edward blinked a few times. "I… you… what…?"
"Oh for the love of," Joker rolled his eyes and face palmed. "Ugh, Eddie! You know I'd slap you if I could actually touch you with my hand!" Joker swung his hand around and actually managed to strike Edward across the face.
Edward yelped and Joker blinked before he grinned as the man of riddles stared in terror.
"Oh," Joker giggled as he stood up. "This certainly puts things at a different angle. Time to give you a real show stopper Eddie, or maybe it'll be a heart stopper…" the man trailed off before he grinned and shrugged, holding both of his hands out. "Oh well, we'll find out soon enough, won't we," he paused and wrapped an arm around Edward's shoulders. "Incase this is a heart stopper, I just wanted you to know, it's nothing personal, it's just in the name of good comedy I'm gonna have to stop your heart is that okay with you? It is? Good, great even, now just hold still this won't hurt a bit."
Suddenly, Joker wrapped his hands around Edward's throat and began to squeeze. Oh he had missed this, he'd missed the feel of someone struggling to live the feel as their pulse sped up as they wasted more breath and more energy in trying to stop him. It was good. Great even.
He lost consciousness, his arms had gone limp and he wasn't moving, but he was still alive.
"Don't worry Eddie," Joker snarled, his grin never leaving his face. "I've saved a nice little spot in hell for you, you'll love it there trust me! And Firefly, wowza, is he gonna love it down there!"
He was almost finished, he'd almost killed him, almost over and then his hands fazed through and he couldn't touch him again.
"What?!" Joker shrieked as he stared before rolling his eyes. "Oh don't tell me a ghost can't kill the living, what's the point in being a ghost if I can't kill people, blah, boring!" he grabbed Edward shook him slightly. "That's real boring isn't Eddie?!" Edward didn't say anything. "Oh right, I forgot, you're unconscious because I tried to strangle you. Must of slipped my mind," he let him go and Edward slammed back into the bed not moving, but still breathing.
Joker paced the cell before he grinned and floated through the walls, ending up in the Mad Hatter's cell, Jervis was sitting reading.
An idea popped into his head and Joker slowly floated underneath the book before he quickly burst from the pages giggling.
"TRICK'R'TREAT, JERVIS!"
Jervis, gave his best woman like scream and through the book away to the other side of the room.
The passing Guard rolled his eyes and glared at him. "Keep it down Tetch!" he snarled before he carried on walking.
"Yes," Joker agreed as he floated up in front of Jervis, smiling that smile that haunted everyone's dreams. "Keep it down Tetch… or does he mean, keep it up? One can never tell with the people in here, I hear they're quite insane."
"What… you… but good sir you're dead."
"You're dealing with this a lot better then Eddie did, let me tell ya, Jerv."
"Dormouse? Is he alright?"
"Oh he's fine," Joker waved him off. "Once he wakes up of course, I really wanted to strangle that stupid little nerd, oh he just has a neck that's so.. strangle-able, it would be so easy and I would love to do it, just to watch the life leave his eyes as he slowly realises that I am then going to not only kill him but kill his little mystery as well, before parading around town asking stupid questions just like he!" Joker paused in his rant and smiled at Jervis who held a look of complete shock on his face. "But I digress," the clown giggled. "I really did wanna kill him though, well maybe not kill Eddie but kill something. Turns out I can't, being dead and all. Ironic that isn't it?"
Jervis swallowed and had a look of worry at the mention of his friend's not quite well being. "Quite," Jervis whispered as he looked the Joker up and down. "How is that you are here?"
"Well.. wouldn't you like to know that Jervis.. as a matter of fact so would I, but oh well!" Joker stalked up to him and smirked. "Guess we can't know everything in life… or death, right?" he chuckled before laughing once more and then he jumped through the wall and disappeared, scaring the other cell's occupants on the way around and finally landing in Drury and Garfield's cell.
"Well if it isn't my two favourite bugs!" Joker grinned as the two shot up awake in their beds and stared at the green haired clown in front of them. "Don't worry boys, I left my pesticide in hell, you're all safe."
The two didn't say anything, just stared.
"Well I didn't expect a standing ovation, but something better then this at least!" Joker threw his arms up before smirking. "Something bugging you?"
"You're dead," Gar deadpanned as he stared at him. "You can't be here."
"Yes, I seem to be getting that a lot recently," Joker grinned as he walked over to their beds. "But boy golly would you look at that I'm here."
"I'm surprised you're even here," Gar whispered.
"By the looks of Drury's face so is he!"the clown grinned and looked down at Drury. "Hey Drury," he wiggled his eyebrows at him. "Catching my good side are we? Hell.. what am I talking about they're all good!"
"Ghost…" Drury whispered.
"You're reacting like Eddie did and I strangled him," Joker leaned down to glare at the moth. "You may wish to change your tactics or else I'll give you a nice new necklace," he said wiggling his fingers.
"Leave him alone… Ghost… Joker?"
"Think of me as the Ghost of Chaos past," Joker giggled as he slowly walked over to the door smirking at the two of them. "And now for my next trick!" he snapped his fingers and went through the floor, landing himself in the very cell he was looking for, but this was strange.
The cell had changed a great deal. There were messages scrawled on the wall, all of which held words about fear on them.
The occupants of the cell hadn't even noticed him, too engross with the Legend of Sleepy Hollow to be paying any real attention to anything else around him.
Joker slowly pulled his head off, finding that you could do all sorts with your body once you were dead, it was really quite fascinating.
He tossed his head into Jonathan's lap and the man caught it, his eyes widening as the face grinned up at him.
"Love what you've done with the place, Jonny boy!"
Jonathan would openly deny what happened next, he had a reputation and if the others found out he'd screamed like a girl and jumped up running to the other end of the cell as he watched the body pick up and laughing head, quite frankly shaking in terror.. well he wouldn't have much of a rep left.
"Standing ovation? Was not expecting that, but I'll take it! After all it was my best performance by far."
"How are you here?!"
"I really wish people would stop asking me that, it's getting rather boring."
"Well.." Jonathan thought for words. "Forgive me for being so boring but having a head landing on my lap of someone who has been dead for three years now is really not something I'm expecting for a Tuesday night!"
"Oh Jonny," Joker chuckled as he walked up to the older man. "I forgot how funny you are sometimes. Say, nice face by the way. Did you have some work done?"
"If you weren't already dead I'd of killed you myself for that comment."
"Always leading to violence with you," Joker tisked. "That really isn't anyway to welcome a guest."
"You are no guest," Jonathan shook before he sighed and shook his head. "Why don't you go and bother Harley, I'm sure she'd love to see you again."
"As tempting as that sounds, no," Joker smirked slightly. "Besides… if you get Harley hopped up on enough meds, she sees me anyway… though I'm not too sure I like the unicorn."
"You're mad!"
"I'm pretty certain I'm a Vergo.. or was I a Leo? Ah, I can never remember."
"Well… what do you want with me?"
"I wanted to scare you, mission completed," Joker grinned at him as he flipped backwards and landed on Jonathan's bed. "Of course, I would kill you just for kicks but.. ah you can't make anyone else dead, once you're dead it seems. Which is… dead irritating!" more laughter echoed off the walls as the Clown stood there and studied the Scarecrow who was still trying to deal with this.
"But I can hurt you," Joker grinned.
Jonathan blinked. "What?"
In a flash the man was on him, hitting him in the face over and over again.
"Terribly sorry about this Jonny boy, but I gotta kick of some steam, being dead is real boring and I may not be able to kill you," he yanked the Doctor up and grinned as the man tried to struggle against him. "But you'd be surprised by what you can live through."
He slammed his head back down against the concrete making him fall unconscious and Joker smirked as he stood up and left the Doctor lying on the floor, walking up to the glass that separated him from the outside world.
"It's been a pleasure like always, Jonny. Lets do this again some time," with that the clown vanished into the night.
THE END.
Note: Ah, Joker, who doesn't love Joker? But a ghost Joker, even better! I hope you guys enjoyed this and I hope it captured the Joker's personality, I hope anyway.
Also, my many followers, HAPPY NEW YEAR! A year of crazy and new stories will be popping up shortly, and this one will still be active since I still have requests to do and I bet there will be more on the way.
Next one is a special, but it doesn't take away any space for your requests, so I hope you enjoy it! :D