Joker: Chapter 4

It was magnificent, to be standing before him after so much waiting and planning. He was magnificent. The way his cape blew in the wind as if darkness itself took a physical form just to cling to him. The pointed spikes of his helm, the bat across his chest, all of the little tools and toys in his belt, it was all just as Joker had been hoping for. And his eyes, oo-hoo those brooding eyes, oh yes he is absolutely perfect!

Joker stood waiting for the infamous Batman to speak, oh say something you damned, wonderful fool. Batman's stone lips parted as he finally said, "You're insane."

Joker laughed at that, as he often did, "Hahahaha no, I'm not. I'm, not. I'm not mad, I assure you. I simply have a great desire to speak with you."

Batman stood ever stoic. "I have nothing to say to you."

He took a step closer, and Joker drew his knife and pointed it to Lord Tywin's throat. "Ah ah ah, no, no Batman that is not playing by the rules."

Batman gave a small sneer, "I only have one rule."

Oh good this will be easier than I thought. "Than that is the one rule you will have to break. If you have any hopes to beat me that is, Hahaha!"

"You're done Joker, I'm taking you back in chains to Ser Gordon and you will spend the rest of your days in the lowest, darkest cell he can put you in."

How dare he! "Why are you trying to sound like one of them!" Joker pointed out to the crowds below. "You are something greater! You can never be one of them, even if you'd like to. You and I, we're both superior beings, we represent something. Those beasts down there? Pfft, they're but cattle. At the first sign of danger they will eat each other! They are no better than wildlings, but at least those savages accept who they are. They're all only as good as the world allows them to be, but us? No we are as good as we choose to be!"

Batman replied the quickest he had thus far in their conversation, "You're scum that kills for pleasure. I'm nothing like you."

Oh how narrow of mind he is, ugh he still has so much to learn.

Joker's second inner voice then reminded himself, but that's why weeee are here. We will be the light that opens his eyes to the truth!

Joker smiled in agreement with himself as he looked up at the moon. "Well it's almost time for our celebration to begin. Ooooo I am just so joyous with anticipation, it's killing me! Hahaha! Oh come now Batsy it wouldn't hurt you to laugh. May I call you Batsy? Now, you two fools leave us!" He turned to face his two brutes standing off to the side and quickly tilted his head to the wooden door on the stone floor of the turret.

The two thugs followed orders, and clumsily stepped over to the door and climbed down the ladder into the keep. Joker turned back to face Batman and smiled, "Now that we're alone, I have to tell you, I am stranded on an island of competence in a sea of stupidity! Surely you can understand this more than anyone? Day in and day out I must deal with these bumbling fools! It's enough to drive a man mad! Hahahahahaa! Oh come now Batman you could be a hair less brooding and see the lighter side of things!"

Batman took a step closer, and Joker pressed his blade closer to Tywin's neck. "If you are going to try and kill me, do it! And stop hiding behind an unconscious old man," he grunted.

Joker was taken aback, shocked even. "Kill you?! I don't want to kill you! Oh what would I do without you? Return to a meaningless life of killing lord's underlings or stealing from nobles? No, I refuse. We will give each other purpose from this moment forward, you will see."

"No, from now on your purpose is in a cell," Batman said in some gravelly voice to hide his true voice.

Joker laughed once more, "Do you really think I would let myself get caught Batman? Hahahaha! Oh by the Others you have much to learn. Come, look down at the square, they'll be doing it by now."

Batman cautiously walked over to the wall overlooking the square below, his eyes never leaving Joker's. He looked down upon the city square, and his eyes narrowed as he saw it.

"Right now, my men are bringing in three large chests filled with what those dumb sheep down there believe to be gold. What it is actualllly filled with would be a deadly poison that will shoot out in a green cloud of smoke and strangle every last one of them HAHAHA!"

Batman stayed unmoving, watching his thugs move the large chests into place at the opposite end of the square. "Do you know how I did it? How I killed all of those Lannister soldiers at the feast?"

If he can do this, he truly is worthy. Batman looked Joker in the eye, before calmly saying, "The wine served only to the Lannister men had the poison in it, but the poison is dormant until it reacts with something. The drink everyone had for the toast held the catalyst, but only those that drank the poison would be affected."

He's perfect, Joker dropped his knife to the ground, "Yes, exactly right! Ohh hoo! I knew you were the right man for the job! Now I present to you Batman a choice, you may either beat me to a bloody pulp and take me to Gordon as you said OR glide down there now and save another few thousand from dying a painful and very drawn out death. Your choice Batman."

Batman took a small, one-handed crossbow from his belt and shot it down, hitting the wall directly above where the chests were being set down. A second bolt flew behind him and buried itself into the turret wall behind him. He withdrew a metal hook from his belt as well, looped it over the metal wire, and dove down off the tower. Joker watched from his high viewpoint as he glided down along the wire with his cape flying behind him black fire. Oh he's so perfect I almost can't contain my joy for when I will tear him down.

Bruce: Chapter 16

Bruce flew down over the crowd as he grinded along the metal line on his hook. Below he heard the crowd go from anxious chatter to shock and cries of terror. Some even shouted out in fear as Bruce's shadow fell on the ground thrice its original size. His cape flew behind him, widening in the wind and appearing almost like large wings fluttering behind him.

"It's a direbat!" One frightened man shouted from below. A woman screamed, a few even wailed. City folk below him started to run in multiple directions thinking they were likely to be plucked from the ground in a giant claw. As he neared the opposite end of the square and came into sight, the cries of terror grew into a silent awe.

Then, one older man shouted, "No, it's Batman!" The crowd remained quiet for a moment, before it erupted into a wave of applause as thousands of people began cheering in unison.

Bruce was thirty feet out from the wall and coming in too fast. He let go of the hook and crashed into one of Joker's thugs standing guard over the crowd. As Bruce stood up, he heard the familiar sound of heavy boots shuffling against stone. He looked around, to see he was surrounded by twenty or so armed henchmen. They wielded swords, daggers, maces, two had morning stars, one larger one wielded a great sword, and another scrawnier one held a whip with a bladed tip. The people cheered him on, just as they had when he found Deathstroke. The people's savior had returned. Whether they cheered him on for his return, or because they thought he was clearing the way for them to claim Tywin's stolen gold Bruce was not sure.

Two dagger wielding young men charged Bruce from either side. He waited until a moment before the blades were about to make contact with his neck and ducked. He grabbed both arms and pulled, making the two men collide skull against skull into each other. Now three men with swords charged, Bruce sidestepped the first one, gave the second an elbow to his nose, and then brought the other two together and delivered a swift kick to their jaws.

Bruce quickly reeled back as the bladed end of the whip came whipping at his face, and then followed up with a flurry of punches and kicks that left at least ten of the thugs lying in pain on the street. The whip came nipping at his face once more, but this time Bruce was prepared and grabbed hold of it. He gave it a quick tug, pulling its wielder off balance and a few steps closer as Bruce finished him with a knee to the groin.

The rest of them all charged him at once. Bruce threw a smoke bomb to the floor and disappeared in a cloud of gray fog. The men charged through the smoke to the other side, seemingly running through Bruce as if he were an apparition. Then a hard first came to the right-most's jaw as Bruce reappeared and took three more to the ground. The great sword swung down, but slowly and clumsily. After fighting Deathstroke this is child's play.

Bruce gave a rapid flurry of punches to the large man's torso and finished with a kick to the man's gut. The man flew off his feet, back into a pile of crates, and collapsed on his back. Bruce finished off the remaining thugs and finally turned to face the crowd. They lay quiet for a few moments before bursting out into cheering as they had after Batman defeated Deathstroke. Bruce looked around the crowd, and saw City Watch guards lead by Ser Gordon emerge from the masses of people. He walked up to where Bruce stood, and gave him a small nod. "I told my men to stay at the perimeter. After what happened at the feast…I didn't know what Joker planned to do."

Bruce looked at this battle-hardened man from years of fighting and never backing down and asked, "What would happen if Joker killed them?"

Gordon gave a small smile. "I had a feeling in my gut that he wouldn't. Because I knew, somehow, you would come. The Lannister men died yes, but when Gotham is under siege, I knew I could count on you to protect its people, and you did."

"The chests are filled with some kind of poison gas, or so Joker said. He said if we opened them then all of these people would die. Filled with open glass jars I figure. Take them out to sea on an abandoned boat and sink it, leagues out so that we know it will be safe. Don't let anyone but your most trusted men touch them."

James nodded, "Alright, and what are you going to do?"

Bruce pointed up to the turret, "Lord Tywin's chained to a chair up at the top of the first turret. Joker was there, it was either save these people or take him down. I need to find him and quickly, before he has time to plan another mass slaughtering."

Bruce grabbed on to the bolt-head from the wall and hit the small lever at its base just as Lucius had shown him making the three small arms withdraw from their puncture wounds in the stone. As he wound the metal line quickly he began walking from the well-lit, and rather loud square. He stopped a moment and turned back as Gordon called out from behind him.

"I forgot to say thank you, for the Half-Mask, not giving up on me or the city through Lord Tywin's self-imposed reign, and tonight. I just, I never said thank you," James Gordon said while looking at the ground in shame. When finished, he looked up to see if Bruce had heard what he had said.

Bruce looked Gordon in the eye. "And you'll never have to." He turned and disappeared into the shadows of the nearest alley. City folk crowded into the alley to see where he had gone, but by that time he had disappeared and was climbing back up to the top of the turret where he had left Tywin.

By this time Lord Tywin had regained consciousness, and when he saw Batman appear he sneered in disgust. Bruce pulled the second bolt head from the wall as Tywin cleared his throat to speak. "I suppose I should thank you for saving me. Not that that will do my men any good."

Bruce turned to face him and aggressively paced forward until his face was inches from the balding lord's. "I warned you to leave my city. You were the one that stayed; you cannot place the blame for your men's deaths on my head. That weight stands solely on your shoulders for being a pompous, arrogant fool. Now for the second time, leave my city and do not return. Or the Joker will be the least of your concerns."

Before Tywin could respond Bruce had disappeared back into the night, leaving the old man to sit alone, bound by his pride to his sins.

James: Chapter 12

Lord Tywin mounted his horse and gazed out over the crowd that had gathered. Ever since the Joker's upstaging two nights ago, the people had been in a constant state of unease. Lord Tywin had lost most of his forces, down to but a mere fifty if that. No city folk had been killed, but watching a few centuries of men die in an instant had certainly taken its toll. The city seemed to have a darker cloud of gloom over it than usual. They weren't my men…but they very well soon could be.

They had been scouring the city day and night these past two days looking for any sign of the Joker, but once again he had disappeared. Even the men the Batman had captured two nights ago new nothing of the Joker's plan or location. It worried James greatly, but at least he had one thing to look forward to. Lord Tywin was leaving the city today, after his prolonged visit. His proud tail between his legs and a shadow of his former strength at his back. James smirked, the powerful lord of Casterly Rock, beaten by a clown and a man dressed as a bat.

Tywin rode up to Gordon and the dozen or so guards at his back, his face solemn and weary from his last few days in Gotham. "Ser Gordon, if you would, I would care to give my thanks to your lord for his hospitality. I would also like to give you my thanks for helping me in my fight to save this city. It simply pains me to say that we have failed."

James looked up at the now-powerless lord before him, and smiled. "I will tell him, and the city hasn't been lost yet my lord. It just needs a different protector I suppose. Have a safe ride back to your rock my lord. "

Before Tywin could respond James rounded on his heels and began walking in the opposite direction, a smirk on his face. Lord Tywin called out behind him, "This isn't over Ser. By the Seven I have not given up on winning this war!"

James turned to face the lord briefly and gave a light chuckle, "My lord, I think this city has already shown you that outsiders are not welcome."

Tywin's face twisted in anger, "Do you find this funny Ser?"

James smiled again, "Well my lord, it damn sure isn't sad." He turned and headed back to the City Watch's keep, not caring to listen to the Lion Lord's retort. There was the faintest bounce in his step, something that had not been present since James' youth as a knight. His men fell in line behind him, and as he rounded the corner putting Lord Tywin out of sight a feminine voice called out his name.

"Ser Gordon!" the voice shouted. As James turned back to face his caller, he was surprised with the sight he was met with. She was a rather beautiful woman, taller than James by a few inches. She had blonde hair down past her shoulders and had the lightest green eyes James had ever seen. She had a narrowed chin, and was wearing a green velvet tunic with a brown leather riding vest and matching breeches. Hardly regular woman's wear, James thought to himself.

"Uhh, yes my lady? How can I assist you?" James managed to say while his mind grappled with forming the simple phrase.

"I do hope that outsider remark you made to Lord Tywin does not apply to all visitors Ser," she said with a sly smile.

James felt his cheeks grow warmer, surely they were reddening, "Oh no my lady. Just a suggestion to those who try to come into this city thinking they can change it how they see fit."

"So only those who live in this city can change it as they see fit?"

She's smart, I will give her that. "Ha, I am not trying to change the city, for that is an impossibility."

She raised an eyebrow, "Oh really? Then what would you call what you try to do in this city, if not attempting to control and change it?"

"This city is unable to be controlled, and it has not changed all that much in my many years here. No, this city is a storm that is unavoidable and unforgiving. Trying to control this city would be like a sea captain attempting to rule the waves and storms of the ocean."

The woman scrunched her brow in thought, James thought she somehow looked even more attractive as her eyebrows bent inwards and her eyes looked through the street as if gazing upon the earth's center. "So what would you be?"

James smiled, "I'm a ship captain, but I'm not trying to control the waves and tides and storms. Merely guide my ship full of innocent smallfolk safely through the treacherous tidings of the sea as safely as I can."

"I like that answer Ser Gordon," she nodded her head in agreement and looked forward. The three spires of the City Watch's main keep loomed ahead, the turrets rising up into the sky. The crowd was following James and his litter, returning home after seeing Lord Tywin off.

"I don't recall hearing your name my lady," James inquired.

"Essen, Ser, Sarah Essen. My father was and continues to be the leader of Highgarden's city guard, and after the recent developments here…Lord Tyrell thought it best if there were a friendly face to see how you and your men were faring."

James could smell lies like a hunting hound smelled a deer in the woods. "You mean to check on us and see if Gotham will cause your Lord any problems should my men and I lose control you mean? Everyone around Gotham feels the need to try and tame the beast of this city it seems, and Tyrell sends a woman no less."

"Well Ser, you do have a murderous clown running loose on the streets. Tales have also spread through the streets of Highgarden of a large direbat, or man, or some combination of both flying through the night and plucking up criminals as if they were flies. Also Ser, I am a woman yes, but a woman that could easily best with you a sword in hand," she replied curtly as they reached the keep's steps.

"Oh I highly doubt that my lady. I pray you do not take offense, but I am quite capable with a sword. As for our "bat" problem, leave that to Gotham to handle. We haven't had…pleasant experiences with visitors coming into our city trying to handle our problems for us, so I'm unsure of what form of welcome you'll receive," James politely warned, standing on the stairs between her and the keep's entrance.

Sarah smiled politely, "Ohh I am well aware of your prowess with a sword, Fiery Blade, but that doesn't mean your blade hasn't rusted with age. And I wouldn't worry about my welcome if I were you, I have an uncanny skill to take care of myself." Before James could respond or move, she was walking past him and up into the keep. James turned, thinking over the brash woman he had just met, and followed her up and inside.

And so Lord Tywin leaves Gotham with his tail between his legs, but how long will he suffer this shame? What does Joker have up his sleeve next? And what does Highgarden's involvement spell for Gotham? Any reviews would be appreciated!