Joker spits out a mouthful of blood. His chest heaving, he gives a shuddering cackle of mad laughter.

"How much longer do you think you can keep it up, kid?"

"Long enough."

Jason's words are sparing, choosing instead to direct his energy into beating the living hell out of the monster at his feet.

Snarling, he crushes his foot onto Joker's throat, holding it there for ten torturous seconds before slamming the heel of his foot into his side, sending him into the peeling wall. Even at the sound of his sharp, pain filled gasp, he doesn't hesitate before stabbing the crowbar into Joker's side in a vicious sweep, snapping a rib. Joker inhales sharply and the sound is filled with so much agony, it almost makes Jason smile.

"Had enough yet?"

"I-" wheeze "-underestimated-" cough "-you."

Jason's hand shoots forward and he yanks on Joker's hair, bringing him closer. "Why's that?"

"Trained by Batman. Who would've known you turned out the way you did?"

His lips curve into a sick twisted grin and he gives a weak chuckle, howling at the pain that it takes to muster up a laugh as he does so. Jason drops him in disgust and turns away, careful to step on his fingers.

There was a short silence before Joker speaks again in a broken voice. "Are you going to kill me?"

"Piss me off enough and maybe I will."

"Haven't I done enough already?"

Jason reels around and shoves Joker's broken body up against a wall, looking him in the eye as he digs his fingers into either side of his neck. "More than enough."

He drops Joker's body in a crumpled heap again. Then, without warning, Jason rams the crowbar into Joker's jaw with all the force in his hand and at the sharp snapping sound, grins mercilessly. Broken jaw. He knows how that feels.

Taking a second to massage his wrist which he might very well have sprained with the force of his blows, he crashes the crowbar onto what he believes is one of three broken ribs and by the Joker's explosive screams, punctures a lung.

He knows how that feels too.

He knows how it feels to be broken, to be beaten to the point of death, and even then, refusing to believe that Batman won't save him until the very last second. Batman, who had found him and raised him. Batman, whom he had loved and thought had loved him. For the first time in his life, he had thought he had love and someone who cared for him. Ironic, how he felt safest when he was running around in twenty degree weather in tights, dodging bullets along rooftops, performing Olympic-level gymnastics and martial arts maneuvers to arrest pimps and drug dealers.

Even while Joker had beaten him, Jason had held onto the belief that Batman would bust down the door and save him and everything would be alright again. Even once Joker had placed the bomb, right up to the second that he saw the timer read 00:00, he still believed with all of his soul that Batman would somehow save him.

But he hadn't. And even that, Jason could forgive. He wasn't even angry that Batman hadn't saved him. No, what he could barely believe was that even when he was dead, Joker was still alive.

Why?

The one man who had ever given a damn about him had turned out not to. It was too much on top of coming back to life. It was too much. But no matter. He can do this himself.

Inhale.

Exhale.

"You told me once," Jason hisses into Joker's ear, "that it only hurts when you laugh. Why aren't you laughing?"

"Kid," Joker croaks weakly. "You're a goddamned riot."

Jason hurls him away, flinging him into a wall and watching as he crashes onto the ground. He knows exactly how many injuries he has caused at this point to Joker. One broken jaw, three broken ribs, a broken arm, three torn ligament, one punctured lung, a broken nose, and a shattered collarbone.

He isn't done by long shot.

Not until Joker can't muster up a single ha.

As if on cue, he starts cackling, a laugh that starts off quiet and low and builds up into an echoing roar.

"Enough. If you can't stop laughing," Jason crouches beside Joker and speaks directly into his ear, "I'll cut out your tongue."

The insane laughter continues.

"Fine. I'm going to enjoy this anyway."

"It'll be interesting to see whether or not you've actually got the guts to do what Batman never could."

Jason pauses. "I think I've already proved that."

"How long is this going to keep up," the Joker wheezes. "It's been what? A week?"

"Four days." Jason kneels beside him. "Time goes by faster when you're being tortured, doesn't it?"

Without waiting for an answer, he takes the Joker's chin his hand and wrenches his mouth open.

The sound that Joker makes at the handling of his broken jaw is inhuman. How fitting, Jason thinks fleetingly.

"No!"

Both of them whip their heads around, Jason staring, eyes narrowed, at the cracked dirty window into the night.

"Oh, hell," he murmurs. He steps back hurriedly, not bothering to move Joker and shields his face with his arms in preparation for what he knows is about to happen.

As he expects, the window shatters in an ear splitting crash as Nightwing in all his glory sails in.

"I swear, if you ever once used a door, I never saw it," Jason grumbles irritably.

"You can't," Nightwing said.

"Oh, can't I?"

"Look-"

"Try to stop me. Just you try."

"I don't want to do this."

"Well, in that case, enjoy the show," Jason replies, turning back to Joker, knife in hand.

"Stop!"

Looking slightly desperate, Nightwing slowly unsheathes his Eskrima sticks and adjusts his grip on them.

"Let's get this over with," Jason says.

They both assume fighting stances, Nightwing looking regretful all the while.

Inhale.

Exhale.