Chapter 10

Streets of Gotham

The sound of gunfire echoed throughout the city. Civilians running left and right, trying to avoid the barrage. Many cars crash into each other as the two armed vehicles sped across down town Gotham.

The Joker laughed manically as he fired several missiles onto the Batmobile, Batman attempted to dodge the missiles, much to the Joker's enjoyment.

The madman pushed several cars out of the way, trying to out run his pursuer.

"Watch where you're going." The bleached man shouted "You're gonna kill someone." He cackled as the chase continued.

Batman noticed a large barricade of crashed cars, no doubt the Joker's work. Looking around, he noticed a flipped car, lying next to the pile. Speeding towards it, he lunged the Batmobile into the air, catching up to the Joker's stolen vehicle.

"Show off" the Joker mumbled as he continued driving, the Batmobile slowly catching up to him. As soon as he was close enough to his target, Batman slammed the Batmobile's hood into the back of the Joker's stolen Vehicle, causing it to spin out of control.

The Joker let out a crazed laughter as his car was flipped over before crashing into a nearby building. The madman crawled out of the vehicle just as it started to catch smoke. He chuckled as the Batmobile stopped mere feet away from the crash site.

The Joker chuckled at seeing the vigilante walk out of the vehicle before running inside the building.

"CATCH ME IF YOU CAN!" he shouted. Batman looked up at the place the Joker ran into and his eyes squinted at the sight of the all too familiar place.

Ace Chemical Plant

Batman traversed through the dark, empty corridors of the Chemical Plant. The sight making him feel uneasy, for it was here that he caught the Riddler several years ago.

"Oh, it's good that you've arrived." The Joker's crazed laughter echoed across the chemical plant. "I see that little brat gave you the little invitation I sent you. I so wanted to see you." Batman continued walking as the Joker kept talking "You see, it doesn't matter if you capture me and send me back to that ugly asylum, though I'm not gonna lie the psychiatrist was pretty attractive, I've already won. I've proven that there's no real difference between me and everyone else. All it takes is one bad day."

Batman turned to the catwalks, noticing a silhouette inside of a room. Carefully he walked towards it. "I mean, just look at you. You had a bad day didn't you? Of course you did! Why else would you be dressing up like a flying rat? Why else would you let a kid tag along with you? You had a bad day and everything changed. What was it? Girlfriend killed by the mob? Brother killed by some mugger? Something like that." There was a pause, inside the office room, the Joker started pacing around.

"Something like that happened to me. But, to be honest, I don't quite remember what it was. Sometimes I remember it one way and sometimes another. If I'm gonna have a past, I'd prefer it to be multiple choice. But my point is I went crazy, once I realized what a big joke it all was. After all, that's all life really is, just one big demented gag. So, why can't you see the funny side?" the bleach-faced man let out a chuckle "Why aren't you laughing?"

The sound of shattering glass caught the Joker's attention, turning he noticed Batman standing there in an intimidating pose.

"Because I've heard it before" he shouted before grabbing the Joker by his suit "And it wasn't funny the first time." The vigilante then through the madman to the other side of the office, the Joker crashing through the window and landing on the catwalk, just above several tanks filled with chemicals. "I talked to Commissioner Gordon before following you here, and he's as sane as ever." The vigilante closed the distance between the two of them "He told me he wanted this done by the book. You know what that means?" once again Batman grabbed the Joker and lifted him up to eye level "It means that despite all your vicious, cruel games, you couldn't break him. So, ordinary people don't crack. Maybe, it's just you."

Furious, the Joker pulled a knife out of his sleeve and cut Batman's leg "NO!" he shouted as his adversary groaned in pain and released him. The madman cackled before plunging the knife into the vigilante's shoulder. The Joker then took the knife and swung it horizontally, aiming for Batman's neck, only for the vigilante to catch it and deliver a knee to the Joker's stomach, causing him to drop the knife. The vigilante then proceeded to pin the Joker to the ground just as the doors to the plant opened and several members of the Gotham PD entered the building, Commissioner Gordon leading them in.

The Joker laughed at the sight of them "You feel it, don't you Batsy?" he mocked him "This is exactly what I was trying to prove. You and I, we are two sides of the same coin."

"We are nothing alike." Batman stated in defiance. As the Police closed in on them, the Joker reached out for the knife and proceeded to cut Batman's leg slightly above the previous cut before pinning him against the railing.

"Let's face it, Bats. We were destined to fight each other." He then threw a punch at Batman's stomach, and then another to his face "We are nothing without the other. Like a joke without a punch line." Just as the Joker threw another punch, Batman ducked out of the way, causing him to trip over the railing. Batman managed to catch him just before he fell off, attempting to pull him back onto the platform.

As the vigilante struggled to pull the madman up, the Joker kept kicking and twisting, making it harder for the caped crusader to help the man who nearly killed a child.

"What's with you?" the Joker asked "Why not just let me fall and be rid of me?"

"No" Batman responded "It doesn't have to end like this, we don't have to end up killing each other. Perhaps it'll be decided here. I don't know what it was that turned you into this, but maybe the same happened to me. Whatever it was, we can figure it out together and fix the part of you that's broken. Let me help you."

Gordon motioned to his men to stop as Batman held the maniac, the Joker looking right into Batman's eyes, a small tear escaping his eye. Then, he started to chuckle.

"Sorry, Bats, but I'll have the last laugh." The Joker then yanked his hand off of Batman's, laughing as he fell down into the chemicals. Batman reached for his grappling hook, but it was too late. The Joker splashed into the chemicals, his laugh echoing across the plant.

Arkham Asylum for the Criminally Insane

Commissioner Gordon looked into the cell previously inhabited by the Joker, seeing the woman who once was the madman's psychiatrist. The police had turned up empty in searching for the Joker's body at the chemical plant.

This lead to one of two possibilities, either the Joker's body was disintegrated by the chemicals or he escaped. And given the fact that many entered using protective gear, the commissioner leaned more towards the later.

He continued looking at the poor woman inside the cell, she was in a daze despite Dr. Graham's best attempt to talk to her. The dark skinned woman wrapped her arms around the psychiatrist before leaving the cell.

"Any progress, Dr. Graham?" the commissioner asked.

"No, whatever the Joker did to her seems to be irreversible." The woman responded "Any sign of the man who did this to her?"

The Commissioner let out a regretful sigh "Sadly, no. He likely escaped."

Inside the cell, Dr. Quinzel's laugh grew louder and louder as she twisted her head around. "I get the joke now." She stated, her laugh echoing around the asylum.