Jonathan heard the voice and he sped off toward the source of it. He'd wondered why the Joker hadn't shown up earlier, he'd have thought that such a man, or beast would've revelled in all of this. Yet here he was, and if he got the chance to end the man once and for all then he was definitely going to take it. As he thought that, the tendrils started crawling through him. Yes, think like that, continue, you cannot escape. He shook his head and kept going. He didn't have a costume or a disguise, he just had himself and his wits. He couldn't allow the nightmares to haunt him. He turned left, and found himself in a deserted area, fields of corn, this wasn't Smallville.
"Come on batsy, I know you're there. I can smell it." The Joker called. Without thinking, Jonathan sped off in the direction of the voice. He got there and then felt a stinging sensation. He gasped. "Ah, good, you're here." Came the voice of the mad man. "I was beginning to think you wouldn't show up. You know you really should have a mask of some sort, it makes things so much more fun."
"What do you want?" Jonathan asked. His breath was coming out in sharp gasps now. God this was painful.
The Joker laughed. "Now, now, I can't tell you that. That would ruin all the fun." Jonathan felt a blow come, and something was removed from his person. "Can't have anyone knowing where to find you. Not now anyway." There was a moment of silence, then Jonathan got hit again. "Harley, be a dear, and put the cuffs on him." He felt something placed around his wrists and grunted with pain. Kryptonite laced his system. He struggled and got punched again, the darkness engulfed him then.
The room was bright; he could hear the radio playing in the background. "Do we have to listen to this song?" He asked.
"What don't you like it?" Caitlin replied, her eyes teasing.
"I mean, it's okay, but the guitar parts are so sloppy." Jonathan replied. It was true, he didn't think Radiohead had done anything decent in twenty years.
Caitlin nudged his shoulder, and he felt happiness bloom inside him. "Well, go on then. Show us what you've got, mister I'm better than Radiohead."
Jonathan grinned, he grabbed the acoustic guitar, and starting playing the chords to Wish You Were Here by Pink Floyd. "For you." He said, grinning.
Caitlin smiled. "It sounded really good, I loved it."
"Yeah?" Jonathan asked, he saw how close Caitlin was, he looked at her lips, and swallowed.
"Yeah." Came the reply, they both leaned forward, but before they could do anything, the door opened and Mum walked in.
"Dinner!" She sang cheerily.
Jonathan groaned. "Mum you could have knocked!"
Belatedly his Mum looked around the room and her eyes took in the scene before her. "Oh, sorry was I interrupting something?" She teased.
Jonathan glowered at his mum but got up, he helped Caitlin up and followed his mum down the stairs and to the dining table. Caitlin sat opposite him, their feet mixing together. His dad was reading the paper. "Anything interesting in the paper, Dad?" Jonathan asked.
His Dad smiled. "Well, there was this story about a certain someone getting nominated for a noble prize for quantum science. Ms Snow, would you know anything about that?"
Caitlin blushed. "Well, my mum always did know how to work very hard, and I guess it rubbed off on me."
Jonathan smiled. "That's great Cait."
Caitlin was about to reply, but before she could water splashed Jonathan's face.
He came awake with a gasp. "Ah good, you're awake. Didn't want you dying on me." Jonathan gasped, the pain wracking his body was beyond anything he'd ever experienced before. It seemed The Joker knew that for he laughed and gestured around them. "We're in a vault filled with Kryptonite." The Joker laughed again. "Oh, you're wondering how I know about that? It's quite easy really, you see unlike these other idiots, I actually pay attention. I saw what happened when your father fought Conduit, and when he fought someone like the world killer. And I made my notes."
"What do you want?" Jonathan gasped.
"Ah, now that? That is an interesting question." The Joker replied. "You see unlike the others, I don't want crime to go on forever, no that would be foolish. And I'm getting old you see; I can't do this forever. I can however, make sure that the crime doesn't stop right now. You see, I know the bat, and I know he will fight your father. Oh, yes I know Superman is your father, I know who he is as well. But that's for another time. You see, I know the Bat, I've been fighting him for twenty years. I know what makes him tick. He needs the thrill of the chase, the fight, the bruises. You see he was broken when he was very young, and he needs to feel alive, to feel whole. That's why he will fight your father. Not because he wants anything to stop that world building nonsense. But because he needs to fight someone."
"So why kidnap me?" Jonathan asked. "Surely you know how stupid that was? Once my dad realises where I am and who took me, he's going to come hunting for you."
The Joker laughed again. It was high pitched, it was very disconcerting. "You see, that's the thing. Your father things I'm gone, hell, the bat things I'm gone as well. I've been away for a long time you see, planning and plotting. I knew Conduit would kill your mother, sorry about that by the way, Lois Lane was a fine reporter. I needed to prepare. Superman thinks I'm gone and that works just fine. But that doesn't mean I can't benefit from this."
"He'll never believe that Batman took me." Jonathan insisted, even as the kryptonite ate his brain.
The Joker clapped his hands. "Oh but he does. You see the bat hasn't appeared to look for you. He's too busy being a government dog."
Jonathan laughed. "What are you on about?" The pain was getting worse; he knew within the next few moments he'd not be able to breathe.
The Joker looked at him and sighed. "You're too young to understand kid, but I remember a time when the bat stood for something. Where he was, an angry punk trying to get revenge on all the bad guys for something that happened to him. He didn't care for anyone but his crusade, and I admired that about him. There was a rawness to our little dance. He had a code, and I had none. And when I killed Jason Todd." The joker breathed in deeply then. "Well, when I killed him, I knew that maybe he would snap, or rather I hoped he would. But he didn't. Even when that freak came with a gun and nearly killed me, wearing bondage gear. Hahaha." Jonathan couldn't do anything more than stare, the Joker was mad, well and truly mad. "He didn't snap and so here I am. I was in Arkham you see, but I got out, I escaped. Didn't I, Harley?"
"You sure did Mistah J." Harley replied, there was a big black bruise on her face.
"I escaped and the dance continued, but then it stopped. And now look. Look at what is happening. Batman, the bat has turned into a government stooge. It is quite sad really." The Joker said. "Which is why this must happen." The Joker clapped his hands and a light turned on somewhere, for the first-time Jonathan could see the other end of the room.
He gasped. "Grandpa, Grandma!" Ma and Pa Kent were tied up facing one another, both looked quite badly beaten. A man dressed in an orange and green suit stepped forward.
"I've done as asked, what more do you want?"
"That's all thank you." Came another voice. This one stayed in the shadows and was light. The orange and green suited man disappeared. "Get on with it."
The Joker sighed. "You see what I have to do now? Now that Superman has started this little thing of his? I have to work for dogs." There was movement and Jonathan craned his neck, a girl no older than he was, was tied up as well, terrified. "Ah, you've met Cassandra as well then? Right well. Let's get this show on the road." The man, was he a man? He pulled out a gun, loaded. He turned back to Jonathan. "You've got a choice here, who do you want to live? Your grandparents or the girl?"
Jonathan could feel his powers going, they were fading very quickly. He wasn't going to be able to do anything. "Please…" he pleaded.
"Please what?" The Joker asked.
"Please…don't…don't do this." Jonathan gasped out. His eyes were burning, his mind stung.
The Joker laughed. "I'm sorry kid, but this is how it is. Who's it going to be?"
Jonathan stared at the man, then turned his head to look at his grandparents, then at the little girl. They were all scared, their hearts were racing, the girl had pissed herself. Jonathan looked back at the Joker. "Just kill me."
"No!" His grandmother said.
The Joker laughed. "Oh, sunshine, that's not happening. You're too much fun."
Jonathan stared at the man, the beast before him and whispered. "You're mad."
The Joker cackled. "Mad? Darling I'm so much more than mad, I am everything that is possible in this world. And now since you seem so unwilling to speak out about who to kill, I shall invite someone to make that choice for you."
Through the pain, he felt the cold, he heard her voice and shivered. "I believe you two have met? If not let me introduce you. Louise, Jonathan, Jonathan, Louise." She was dressed in blue, her hair blue, her eyes blue. The cold tendrils grew then.
Jonathan tried to move, but the restraints and the kryptonite prevented him from moving. She smiled at him, leaned to whisper in his ear. "Time's up." She then got down on her knees, unzipped his pants and the pain grew worse. He felt disgusted with himself as his body reacted, the stiffening, then release, and the loosening. He gritted his teeth, and closed his eyes. He could feel tears coming down his face, and the shame, the shame of it happening again. When it was done, she leaned in and whispered. "You're never going to be part of the movement, Jonathan. That's not how this works. You understand that, don't you? You will never get to say me too."
Sometime later, with his heart pounding in his ears, and his blood going everywhere and nowhere inside of him, his eyes opened. The Joker looked at him and there was sadness in his face, the clown's eyes were downcast. The shadowy person spoke. "Do it." she sounded female.
The Joker sighed. "You didn't make a choice, so now it has been made for you. Sorry kid." He pointed the gun, and fired. Jonathan watched as the girl slumped. The gun then turned to his grandparents. Bang, bang. They both slumped blood coming out of their heads. The Joker sighed. "See you round." Jonathan didn't know how they got away, all he knew was he was screaming, but he couldn't hear it. he looked down and found his pants were still unzipped, but his penis wasn't out, a short relief, but the pain was there.
Next thing he knew he was staring at his father. "I'm sorry." He whispered. "I couldn't save them. I'm sorry."
He saw his mother then, and he reached out. "Mama!" There was something wet on his face, but he couldn't remember crying. "I'm sorry." He whispered, as the world turned black. Maybe this time he could get peace, but the tendrils were there still.