I'm watching Ghost Hunters to give me a spooky vibe for this chapter (and I love Jason and Grant!).
:)
I hope you enjoy it!
Bruce made his way through the carnival, passing groups of small children gripping cotton candy as if their lives depended on it. As if he was invisible, parents and teenage couples walked on by, not even glancing back to catch a glimpse of the famous billionaire. Passing the carousel, he watched as the toddlers giggled and cried, the painted horses glancing hurriedly at him before disappearing around the circle.
The sun was setting to the right, casting hazy shadows across the pathway. A murky shade of yellow filled the sky, reminding Bruce of thunderstorms approaching. Whimsical melodies filled his ears as he tracked dust onto his black leather shoes. He came to a stop in front of the Masquerade Massacre Fun Palace.
Where the fun's at, Bruce chortled dryly, noticing the particular section of the park he was in sounded dead quiet. All of the twinkling lights and tunes were a faint whisper, brushing across the ears and through the bones. The handle to the entrance was icy underneath his palm and fingers. He pulled the door open slowly, a slight creaking noise erupting, before Bruce Wayne slipped away into the dark.
"Joker!" Bruce shouted as he made his way through the lifeless funhouse. He shoved away plastic ghouls on strings in his way, the sun's rays barely lighting up the interior through the windows near the top of the building. Abruptly, the machines began clanking; the wooden planks Bruce's feet were upon started sliding back and forth.
"Oh, yay! Batman has come to play!" Joker's cackle rang out through the rafters.
"I'm just here to get some answers. And Diana."
"Aww. That's no fun! How about we just… wing it?" An eruption of bats shot past Bruce as he entered the mirror maze. Fingerprint smears grazed most of the mirrors, allowing him to maneuver his way through. Unfortunately, with the lessening sunlight, his mind began to play tricks on him- and without his night vision lenses- and he found himself squinting and feeling along the glass.
"Well, this is quite the sight to see!" The Joker giggled as he dropped down from the ceiling on a wire, "The Batman fumbling? Oh, America's Funniest Home Video's would simply adore this."
"Answers, Joker, before I rip out your throat."
"By all means, go ahead, but I'm not sure if you'd get many answers that way." Bruce glared, grabbing the clown by the collar and slamming him against the glass.
"How did you find out?" Joker licked his lips, a pondering look placed upon his face.
"Hmm… would you please be a bit more descrip-"
"How did you find out that I'm Batman?!" Bruce understood the chances of admitting this to his crazed enemy, but there was nothing he could do about it if the clown had actual proof. If the Joker had figured it out, he wouldn't have gone this bold with his actions- luring Diana away from the League, capturing her and weaseling his way into the Watchtower's security- if he hadn't been a hundred percent sure.
"Let's start with Family Matters."
"The television show?" Bruce deadpanned, raising an eyebrow in alarm.
"No, no! Your family silly," Joker coughed as the grip around his neck tightened, "You see, poor old Joker was sitting around here one day, bored out of his mind, and decided to Google his arch nemesis," He lifted up one finger to point it directly at Bruce's face and winked.
"It's funny, what you can learn online. So, my brain gets to thinking- thinkin' that some things are starting to match up. The Batman has to have some type of income for all of his toys, and since he doesn't rob banks, he's got to have some money coming in from somewhere, right?
"I was also wondering why Batman only hangs around Gotham. I mean, sure, he saves other parts of the world, but Gotham city seems to be his hangout. And, after some consideration, I realized that Bruce Wayne has to be Batman. You have to be Batman, because no one else would protect this god damn city, unless there was a reason." Bruce remained silent, his mind sinking farther into the lava pit that had become his anger. He could do nothing; the Joker had finally figured everything out.
"So, do you think you could let me down and-"
"Why did you bring Diana into this? How did you find out she is Wonder Woman? How did you send those notes to her?" The Joker stared at him for a moment.
"Do you realize how many questions you want me to answer?"
"Just answer them. Now," Bruce ground out, his teeth clenched.
"All right, all right. Always the pushy ones, you superheroes are. How should I begin? Once I figured out you were Batman, I started looking into your precious girlfriend, Diana. First off, the facial similarities between Wonder Woman and herself were uncanny. Also, Diana 'Prince' and Wonder Woman is a princess?" He shook his head, lifting up a hand to place it on his face, "I simply can't believe she thought someone would fall for that."
"And the letter? The pearls?"
"The letter was slipped in by one of your technicians. You realize people will do anything for money, right?" Joker raised an eyebrow at the hero, "And the pearls were… well, I placed them into the scheme just to piss you off, really," He waved his hand around nonchalantly, "I had planned on dripping blood onto them, just for old times sake, but decided against it."
"Blood? Why?"
"From what the death certificate said, your mother was found with bloody pearls around her-" He never finished his sentence, with Bruce hurling him through the glass. Joker landed a couple of feet away, chuckling as he stood to brush himself off. "You always were the over reactive type, Bat. Although this time I would watch yourself, it may get you into some trouble."
"The only trouble I'll be having is shoving your fat mouth in a body bag!" Bruce roared, his fist colliding with Joker's face. He heard the sickening crunch of the clown's jaw and felt a stream of pleasure run up his spine.
"Now, now," Joker spat blood onto Bruce's black suit and picked out one of his front molars with a scraggly fingernail, "I warned you. One more threat and I'll-" His feet disappeared from underneath him as his body was crushed into the computer screen, thick glass plunging into his arms and shredding his purple jacket. Fist raised, Bruce was about to collide it with Joker's face again before he heard a cry behind him. He spun on his heel, racing over to where Diana was strapped to a metal slate, chains wrapped around her around her neck, chest and calves. Her mouth had been roped shut and gagged with some article of clothing.
"Diana!" Bruce shouted, slipping a knife out to cut the rope apart and alleviate her of the gag.
"Bruce," She wheezed, taking in a deep breath, "You've got to-"
"I know, I know. Let me grab the key to the locks and you'll be-"
A loud thud awoke Bruce from his relief and ecstasy, watching as the Joker fumbled out from the broken computer parts. He flipped open a box to reveal a button within and gave Bruce a leery grin.
"Lights," The clown stepped back, enjoying the flash of surprise spreading across his enemy's face, "Camera," Bruce shouted something and ran headlong towards the Joker, who slipped away at the last second and slammed his thumb onto the red button, "Action!"
The explosion tore the roof off of the funhouse, blasting the mirrored glass every direction and tossing Bruce and Joker back thirty feet or so. Dust hung in the air like the white-sheeted ghouls had, though now they rested, scattered on the floor, faces up and grinning at Death. Bruce choked as he drew in a breath, moving along the floor, his palms crushing the glass. His eyes moved from his hands, scanning the area in front of him. Bits of glass lay sparkling on the metal ground, casting tiny beacons of light.
"Diana…" Bruce called out, his hands finally reaching her high-heeled foot, fingers gripping her side as he steadied himself and stood, "Diana?" He waved the dust away from her, squinting at her face. She gave him no response as he placed his hand on to her shoulder. Giving his princess a shake, he heard more glass fall to the floor and shatter.
"Bruce," Her voice croaked, suffocating with the filthy dirt that floated up her nostrils.
"Yeah, I'm here," He whispered, feeling around the back of the chains trapping her, hoping for an area loose enough to crack the links. She winced, glanced down and gave out a little yelp of shock.
"What? What is it?" He turned back to her as she let out a sob- of pain or fright, he didn't know.
"The glass," She panted and gulped in another breath, "The glass, Bruce."
He followed her eyes to her torso, the rips in her dress and bits of sparkles trailing down to the glass shards that seemed to erupt from her stomach.
"Oh, God," He murmured and fell down onto his knees, checking the wounds. The glass from the mirror had embedded itself into Diana's abdomen, small streams of blood pooling down to her feet.
"Bruce, get these damn chains off of me, now. I won't die strapped to a table," She moaned and tried to stay still. Maybe, maybe Bruce could save her. Maybe they could travel to the… maybe…. Her eyes blinked hard, waking her mind from the fog it was trapped in. The chains gave way, after Bruce had simply broken them with his hands, his adrenaline and heart pumping as he raced around to catch Diana.
"Contact the Watchtower. J'onn should be," She swallowed a thick amount of oxygen, "He should be there." As Bruce made the connection and told J'onn of the accident, Diana shifted in his arms and collapsed to the floor.
"Diana!" Bruce let out a panicked shout as he fell to the ground beside her, placing her head in his lap. She reached up, tugging off the wig and practically yanking out the contacts, wincing as every movement wedged the glass in deeper.
"It's all right, Bruce," She smiled hazily up at him, running a hand down his arm, "It's all right." Diana watched Bruce continue with J'onn.
"No, I have no idea. He slipped my mind once I saw Diana's injuries. How long? A couple of minutes won't cut it, J'onn," He growled, one arm tightening around his lover's side, "Well, then hurry up. Make sure to have the medic bay ready and waiting. Batman out."
He dropped his arm and gathered Diana next to his chest, kissing her forehead as her heartbeat quickened.
"Hey, don't think just because you saved me, you get off scot-free," She grinned, blinking heavily as tiny spots danced across her vision.
"From what?" He raised an eyebrow mischievously.
"We never did get to finish our dance," She whispered. He chuckled in response, kissing her lips lightly.
"That's right. Well, Princess, I can't say that we'll finish it anytime soon, but once you're all bandaged up and-" She gasped, fingers gripping his like vices, and her head crumpled to the side, eyelids fluttering, "-Diana!?" Bruce exclaimed, shaking her feverently. She made no sound, no movement, her lips not replying to his demands. Something shattered inside of him- his heart, suddenly made of glass- and trickled down to settle at the bottom of his stomach. He noticed the shiny pearls around her neck then, so bright and cheerful against the stark complex of her skin. One quick tug and the ocean beauties tumbled onto the remains of the mirrors, rolling in odd circles before settling, glowing among the blood and debris.
With a burst of light, he found himself in the Watchtower, all eyes on him, as he cradled his love. J'onn, Clark, John, and Flash gasped in unison, watching as Bruce lifted her into his arms and stumbled to the infirmary, leaving the body on the gurney- after all, it truly wasn't his Diana anymore. He had killed Wonder Woman and Diana Prince. He had killed everything he held dear in this world- everything. Silently, Bruce made his way to the room in the Watchtower he hardly ever used, collapsing onto the hard mattress and hearing the tidbits of his heart rattle. There was no use going back to Gotham, not right now. He quickly contacted Nightwing and ordered him to take over his watch and no, he couldn't talk right now. His eyes fell shut, even though he would gain no sleep. He couldn't do anything right now. Nothing, nothing. Nothing.
And they had never gotten to finish their dance.
I've got the feeling that this will never cease
Living in these pictures
It never comes with easeI swear that if I could make this right
You'd be back by now…
I wish I could hear your voice
Don't leave me alone in this bed
I wish I could touch you once more
Don't leave me alone in this bed
AN: This is NOT the end. I repeat: This is not the end! I must say, I had a fun time writing the descriptive parts of this chapter.
The song lyrics where from one of my favorite songs, "Alone In This Bed (Capeside)" by Framing Hanley.
You know the drill.