All of Gotham stood aghast at the sight of the Clown Prince of Crime, standing before them at the Mayoral podium, having revealed himself to be masquerading as Congressman John Hunter the entire time. Joker himself was grinning at the stunned crowd before him, laughing in amusement at their expressions. He quietly raised an old polaroid camera and snapped their picture, giggling as he pocketed the photograph.

"This one's going in the scrapbook! Surprised, Gotham? I hope so! You know I've really gotta give you guys points! I said you'd be voting you'd most want dead and here I am!" Joker laughed as the GCPD and Security Personnel scrambled for the stage but the security around Joker revealed themselves to be the Joker's own goons as they removed their Officer's caps and donned clown masks, armed with SMGs and assault rifles, forcing the legitimate security back.

"So then, Gotham! Here I am, your new Mayor! You know, when you think about it, you'd have to be crazy to enter politics! Luckily I already am looney toons! I'd be perfect for the job! So whaddya say, Gotham? Give me a try?" Joker asked with a grin, putting a hand behind his ear to listen to the audience's reaction.

"What's that? No you say? Why? I won didn't I? Oh! I know, you want me to keep my campaign promise and kill John K. Hunter!" Joker said, pulling a remote device from inside his jacket pocket.

"Unlike most politicians who don't keep their promises, I keep mine! See?" Joker asked with a dark grin as he pressed the button on the remote, causing a trap door in the ceiling to open, causing the grinning corpse of Congressman Hunter to drop down and dangle above them, a rope tied around his neck. The audience immediately started screaming as the Joker started cackling.

"Oh he looks quite happy to be up there. He could use some company though! Oh I know, how about his campaign staff?!" Joker laughed, pressing a button and causing about a dozen more doors to open, causing the Congressman's entire staff, all dead and grinning, to drop down, dangling over the audience, causing the crowd to scream even more. The Joker was laughing incessantly at the crowd's reactions before a pair of batarangs flew in and knocked the guns from the hands of two of the Joker's goons. Joker looked and saw Batman, Blackbat, and Robin drop down from above the stage on the far ends, disarming the goons in their path.

"Whoops! Sorry folks! Looks like I've been recalled!" Joker chortled before he turned and ran into the hallway behind him, Batman breaking free of the goons and chasing after him. Joker's laughter echoed through the halls as Batman, snarling with anger, charged after the Clown Prince of Crime. As Batman chased after the Joker, Oracle came on over the radio.

"Batman! Anarky's making another broadcast, and he's not happy!" Oracle said before patching in Anarky's Broadcast.

"Joker! You cheater! This wasn't the deal!" Anarky yelled. Batman had come to a rotunda in the center of City Hall and Joker was nowhere in sight.

"Why whatever do you mean, A-Train?! Ol' Hunty is dead! That is what you wanted, wasn't it?!" Joker asked coyly.

"You know what I'm talking about! It wasn't supposed to be like this! The winner was supposed to be assassinated live! Shock the world!" Anarky argued. Batman switched to detective mode and saw an orange haze moving up the stairwell towards the roof. He immediately tore off, chasing after him.

"Oh please! How was that not a shocker?! Were you even watching?!" Joker argued back.

"It was all about you, Joker! It was supposed to be about the assassination, the death of another corporate pawn! You've ruined my vision!" Anarky yelled.

"Oh why the long face, Anarchasm? It was one of my greatest jokes yet! Who cares about your vision?!" Joker laughed as Batman reached the rooftop but didn't find any sign of the Joker. His survival instincts quickly kicked in and he quickly rolled forward just narrowly dodging a swing of the Joker's crowbar. Batman turned to see his arch nemesis grinning towards him, having abandoned the blue jacket.

"So what did you think, Bats? Enjoy my joke?! Funny wasn't it?!" Joker asked, taking a swing at Batman but the Dark Knight ducked the swing and belted Joker across the face, causing the Joker to laugh whilst staggering back.

"What did you hope to accomplish, Joker?!" Batman snarled as Joker laughed even more.

"You know me, Bats! I wanted to show Gotham how crazy life is! To show them just how crazy everything about the political system is! That behind every speech and political ploy lurks a man wearing his underwear on his head and singing Al Jolson melodies!" Joker explained with an insane grin and a wild look in his eyes as he kept just out of Batman's reach. Batman took a swing but Joker sidestepped him and managed to smack Batman in the back with the crowbar, causing the Dark Knight to fall to the ground. Joker giggled as he raised the crowbar overhead.

"Politics are a joke, Batman! Who emerges from a political career with their mind intact?! Nobody! Just by announcing a campaign for political office, they're admitting they're crazy!" Joker yelled, striking Batman a couple of times in the back before Batman caught the crowbar mid swing with his right hand and then belting the Joker in the crotch with his left, causing Joker to stagger backwards.

"Not funny, Bats!" he snarled, pulling a semi-automatic pistol and pointing it at the Batman, opening fire and forcing Batman into cover.

"Why target Congressman Hunter?! Why him?!" Batman asked from behind his cover.

"Oh please, Bats! You hurt me! It was in front of you the whole time! Take out both Hs, both Ns, the U, and the T from Mister John K. Hunter's name and what do you get?! J-O-K-E-R!" the Joker chortled as Batman snarled. He had missed the clue because Congressman Hunter had been established long ago and the Joker did enjoy using aliases that, in some way, spelled out Joker.

"That was it?! That was the only reason?!" Batman asked, quickly rolling to cover as Joker fired at him.

"Pretty much!" Joker replied with a shrug.

"Why?!" Batman asked.

"Why?! Why do I do anything, Batman?! I'm crazy that's why!" Joker laughed as a spotlight from the bottom of a chopper lit up the roof, bathing the Joker in light. Batman looked, expecting to see a Police Chopper overhead but instead saw the same Joker Colored Chopper hovering overhead that Harley and Wild Card had escaped in only a couple nights ago, Harley at the controls and Wild Card throwing a rope ladder down to the Joker while sitting in the back with an AK-47. The Joker grabbed onto the ladder, picking up his crowbar in the process before waving at Batman.

"So long, Bats! Maybe next electoral season, it'll run for President! Won't even need a disguise and I'd still be a sure thing!" Joker laughed. Batman tried to go after him but Wild Card opened fire with the AK, forcing Batman to take cover again, prepping a batarang. The Joker was making his way up the ladder, the chopper turning away, when Batman popped out and hurled the batarang towards the chopper, the batarang sticking to the bottom of the hull as he pulled out his grapple gun, grappling onto the chopper's left landing strut, riding it off the roof. This didn't go unnoticed by the Joker who was only halfway up the ladder as Batman came swinging in and made a swing at the Clown Prince of Crime but missed.

"Harley! We need a look at the exit polls! Find a few would you?!" Joker yelled, grinning as he swung at the Batman with his crowbar but also missed.

"Sure thing Mista' J!" she replied as the helicopter started to veer towards one of the nearby Gotham Hotels which had a long row of flagpoles along the side of the third story. Batman quickly retracted his grappler closer towards the chopper, just narrowly missing the flagpoles. While flying, Batman pressed a couple buttons on his utility belt, remotely signaling the Batmobile. Batman looked up just as Wild Card emerged from the left side of the chopper with her AK, aiming at Batman while holding onto the chopper.

"Say goodbye, Bats!" She chortled, opening fire but Batman disengaged the grappler, narrowly avoiding Wild Card's gunfire, gliding towards the ground as the Batmobile roared into view ahead of him, driving along in the same direction and matching his speed so he would land safely in the batmobile's driver's seat. As soon as he was inside, the Joker Chopper flying just ahead of him, Oracle came on over the radio.

"Batman! I've triangulated Anarky's location! He's working out of the old U.S.S. Gotham at the Gotham Dockyards! I'm picking up an energy spike of some kind!" Oracle reported as Batman scowled.

"The U.S.S. Gotham is an old Nuclear Submarine scheduled for decommissioning! He's bringing its reactor online! He's attempting to overload it!" Batman said as he turned the Batmobile around.

"Batman…if that thing blows, it could take out all of Gotham!" Oracle exclaimed.

"Oracle, there's a tracer on the Joker's chopper! Track it and relay its location to the GCPD! Batman to all points, converge on the Gotham Dockyards!" Batman ordered as the Batmobile rocketed through the streets, heading for the dockyards.

"Yeah we might have a problem there! Joker left a couple of lame-ducks! We found Smile-X bombs hidden in the roof of the meeting hall! Blackbat and I are working to defuse them now!" Robin replied.

"Keep working! I'll deal with Anarky!" Batman replied as the Batmobile raced through the streets of Gotham.

9:11 PM
Gotham Dockyards – U.S.S. Gotham
Reactor Room

Anarky was stood hunched over the controls of the old Cold War Era Nuclear Submarine, working to bring the reactor back online. Alarms were already going off that the safeguards had been taken off and that the core temperature was starting to rise. Anarky heard a noise come from behind him, causing him to spin around towards the back, raising a detonator switch that was connected by a length of cable to something inside his jacket.

"Batman?! I know you're there! Show yourself!" Anarky yelled into the darkened corridors of the old submarine. He started to walk towards the corridor, detonator in hand.

"You can't stop Anarky, Batman! We will bring an end to the pollution of corporate influence over Gotham! We will cleanse this city and raise it anew, free of corruption and live in a truly democratic society! A society that we have always dreamed of!" Anarky yelled.

"You mean the society you and your father dreamed of, Weems?!" Batman's voice echoed through the sub, causing Anarky to pause.

"You don't know me, Batman! Don't pretend you do!" Anarky yelled.

"It was your idea to make yourself a martyr all those years ago, Weems. You faked your death at the dockyard riots years ago and let your father believe you were dead, knowing he would escalate matters." Batman explained, his voice still echoing through the corridors as Anarky made his way to the bridge.

"Peter Weems was weak! He wasn't willing to do what needed to be done to get the people of Gotham to listen! To free them of the oppression of the fascists! I am the savior of the masses, Batman! You cannot stop the Anarchy!" Anarky explained before a batarang suddenly flew in from the shadows, slicing through the detonator cable.

"What?!" he yelped before suddenly getting tackled to the ground by Batman. He tried to get up but was punched hard across the face, knocking him out.

…

Anarky came to, dangling by the ankles from a streetlamp outside near the docked U.S.S. Gotham. His polar suit had been opened and an explosive vest that he had been wearing was floating in the water. Batman stood nearby, a hand to his headset.

"Oracle, Anarky's been apprehended, what about the Joker?" Batman asked.

"Police found the chopper downed under the C.P. Memorial Bridge. Unsurprisingly no bodies have been found but there is evidence that there was a boat waiting for them. Looks like he's escaped." Oracle reported with a sigh of disappointment.

"For now. He'll show up again. What about the bombs at City Hall?" Batman asked.

"Taken care of. We did a scan of the building but it looks like we got them all. The GCPD Bomb Squad disabled all of Anarky's bombs too. We're heading over to rendezvous with you now, Batman." Robin replied.

"Good work. What of Candidate Ronson?" Batman asked.

"FBI has him and his family in protective custody." Oracle replied.

"Good. Send my current coordinates to Commissioner Gordon. Let him know to expect Anarky. Batman out." Batman replied, turning towards the terrorist.

"You think you've won Batman! You've only stopped one Anarky! Another will rise in my place! We will liberate Gotham from the fascist government one day!" Anarky spat as Batman approached and removed Anarky's mask, revealing the face of a young man in his mid-twenties.

"Karl Weems. Was this all about avenging your father's death? Getting revenge for the injustices he suffered?" Batman asked as Karl Weems, the son of the late Peter Weems, scowled at him.

"Had the Joker not messed everything up, we would have sent a message to the world. But the Joker made it all about him! Our message fell on deaf ears! Instead of killing those corrupt bastards as a statement, he made it just about mindless killing, completely undermining the message we were trying to send!" Weems spat as Batman started to walk away but paused.

"The sad part of it is, Weems, is that had it gone your way, the people still wouldn't have seen it as anything other than mindless killing." Batman replied before walking on towards the Batmobile, leaving Anarky to dangle as the sound of approaching police cars got louder.

10:55 PM
Joker's Lair – Undisclosed Location

The Joker Family had arrived at the abandoned warehouse some time ago and the Joker was just straightening his bowtie after changing back into his usual purple suit.

"Well kiddos, I'd say we mixed things up a bit for the election cycle! Don't know about you, but I think I'll stay out of politics in future. I mean I'm crazy but you'd have to be even crazier to run for office!" Joker commented with a chuckle, propping his feet up on a table.

"We really made Gotham squirm, didn't we, Uncle Joker?" Wild Card asked as Joker smiled towards her.

"That we did! You see, Willy, didn't I tell you we'd make the Batman pay for what he did to you?" Joker asked but Wild Card was confused.

"But Batman hasn't paid! He's still breathing! He's still sane!" she argued as Joker sat forward, taking his feet off the table and grinned towards her.

"Oh but he'll eventually snap. Every little joke I make, every little punchline I tell, brings old Bat-brain closer and closer to snapping. And when he does, I'll be an even happier clown than I am today. So just like with any good joke, it's all about timing. Sometimes the payoff for a good joke doesn't come right away, but when it does, that's when the results are the most gratifying. It's those moments when you don't get the joke right off, but over time, the joke suddenly makes sense. Batman will snap eventually, believe me, he will." Joker explained with a dark grin as Harley entered, putting her arms around Joker from behind.

"So what's the next plan, Uncle Joker?" Card asked.

"Well the Batfreaks will be out looking for us for sure so we'll need to stay low for now. Cozy up, kiddo. We're going to be here for a while." Joker said before running a hand through Harley's hair.

"As for you, Harl' how about a game of poker, Harley's rules?" Joker asked as Harley smiled seductively.

"Ooh Mista' J!" Harley squealed as Joker picked her up but paused when he noticed the coy smile Wild Card was shooting them.

"Hit the movies, kiddo. I might be a lunatic but I'm no perv. So no peeking. But since you're still low woman on the totem pole, go be a good girl and feed the hyenas will you?" Joker commented as he carried Harley off to a side room bridal style, leaving a not particularly disappointed Wild Card behind.

November 4th
8:02 AM
Batcave

"In the aftermath of the horrendous events of last night's election, the United States Government has officially declared the results null and void and a special election will be held in its place. However, with the revelation that Congressman John Hunter was murdered by the Joker and with a formal statement from the Ronson camp declaring that Candidate Ronson will not attempt a second run, it looks as if incumbent Mayor Hamilton Hill will be facing a no contest bid for reelection. In related news, the GCPD have apprehended domestic terrorist Karl Weems, the son of the late radical union representative Peter Weems. Karl Weems has been positively identified as the terrorist Anarky and was handed over to the FBI on charges of domestic terrorism. As for the perpetrator of the heinous murder of Congressman Hunter and his campaign staff, the Joker, Harleen Quinzel also known as Harley Quinn, and their accomplice Wilhelmina Carde, alias the Slender Woman or Wild Card, evaded police capture and remain at large." Vicki Vale reported on the morning news before Bruce closed the feed. Bruce scowled at the monitor for a moment before turning away just as Barbara came rolling in.

"Thought you'd want to know, FBI found Congressman Hunter's wife and family. They were in D.C. the entire time making the final arrangements for their move back to Gotham. They hadn't seen the Congressman for about two weeks. Autopsy reports that Hunter was killed a week ago so Joker must've gotten to him within that timeframe." Barbara said as Bruce got up from his chair.

"And the Joker gets away." Bruce said, scowling.

"We did all we could. Between Anarky and the Joker, we're lucky the casualty rate didn't get past twenty." Barbara said, earning a glare from Bruce, causing her to flinch slightly.

"As long as Joker is free. We can't assume the city is safe. Keep searching. Keep me apprised if the GCPD finds any traces of the Joker's whereabouts." Bruce ordered, Barbara giving a silent nod. She watched him as he headed up the stairs.

"You voted for Hunter too, didn't you?" she asked as Bruce paused for a moment before continuing up the stairs back into the manor.

In Bruce's mind he knew it was only a matter of time until Joker reared his acid-bleached head again but he privately wondered how badly Gotham would suffer for it.

To Be Continued…

Well this was a fun story to write! Hopefully you enjoyed the story and will come back for more. Until then…

Keep R&Ring…

STT