## Chapter 53: Batman and the Joker
On the way here, the Joker had imagined countless times what kind of trap Batman would set.
He knew that once he arrived at the address on the paper, Batman might be waiting for him.
And him? He had prepared nothing.
No hostages, no giggling piranhas, not even a bomb ready to explode.
He hadn’t even killed anyone for the Bat!
He should have been standing in the midst of dozens of corpses grinning wildly, clapping to welcome the late-arriving Batman, offering his dearest darling the daily greetings from Gotham, then spraying him with acid boutonnières or throwing Joker’s explosives, like a lovesick maiden offering her lover a fragrant kiss.
Then his Bat would give him a taste of his favorite big slap, like a lover caressing a maiden’s delicate nose, and then send him to Arkham in a comfortable beating.
He might get some roses (beaten to the point of vomiting blood), a few love bites (a few ribs broken), or even a peak almost choked to death.
But now, none of that, no explosives, no hostages, like a night before a beautiful night, without a movie, a candlelit dinner, a romantic date, and a fireworks display, and it’s simply and brutally fast-forwarding to the two sitting on the bed facing each other.
But it doesn’t matter, does it?
Because this is what Batman wants.
Mayor Caro was just a tattered garment, no matter how he (or she?) wore it or flaunted it, he couldn’t seduce Batman.
So this garment was a rotten garment.
The girl’s heart was filled with anxiety, she felt her lover’s love fading, but she didn’t know how to win him back.
Even the Mayor Caro’s lacy black silk rabbit ear short skirt couldn’t seduce her lover, so things like hostages or explosives, a candlelit dinner and a toast, could they win the favor of her lover?
But it was too late to plan a fireworks display like releasing laughing gas in the city center or by the reservoir, or blowing up a few buildings.
Oh, and Bane, that little bitch, huh? The hateful third party, but she was a big-hearted person, she wouldn’t rush over to scratch her face, she restrained herself, it would ruin her lover’s mood.
Oh, so now the pale-skinned girl is a little conflicted, she feels like she’s a little cheap, like those people waiting for business on the street, Batman waves his hand and she rushes up, without any self-control and shame.
But who told her to hate Batman?
He couldn’t bear Batman ignoring him, he couldn’t bear Gordon or those boring cops defiling him.
So… if Batman won’t come.
Then he’ll just go to him, even if he’s considered stupid.
Even a cruel defilement is better than the gentlest indifference.
And then… now is the time.
“No.”
The Joker stumbled back.
It wasn’t supposed to be like this.
“No… no no no no!”
The Joker suddenly lunged at Bruce Wayne, who didn’t dodge, he could see that this wasn’t a hysterical attack, but a touch of disbelief.
“Who are you? What are you, you… you… give me back my Bat!”
“Ha-hahaha ah hah…”
“Don’t you understand? I am Batman.”
The silvery particles vibrated, the Joker saw Batman’s face suddenly appear, then vanish into thin air in a blink.
“You…”
The Joker felt like he had been hit hard in the face, he saw the pale freak in front of him with purple hair raise his crowbar high and beat him one after another.
There was no sweet affection from Batman, only cold malice and cruelty that struck the soul directly.
The comfortable feeling was gone, only a deep, bone-chilling pain.
He felt Batman grab his collar and lift him up, he was dragged by Batman to the corner of the room.
The Joker saw Batman, no, the pale monster that Batman had become, open the wooden box in the corner.
“A Batman suit?” the Joker said, “Oh, my God.”
His tone was normal and calm, his mouth drooped, even though the cut at the corner of his mouth made him look both bizarre and terrifying when he made this calm expression, but the Joker didn’t care at all, he heard Batman let out a strange laugh.
“Ha ah ha ha ha…”
The Joker felt a chill run down his spine, he had never thought that his familiar laugh would sound so terrifying.
“I’ve been thinking, Joker.”
“Tell me, what is winning?”
The Joker heard the pale monster Batman was laughing crazily, “Let’s just get to the heart of the matter, shall we? Black little heart, beat beat beat beat, why didn’t I kill you?”
Then his head turned back into Batman’s head in a flash of silver, the beautiful bat head with pointy ears, just like that, simply and brutally installed on the purple suit body, mocking everyone.
In the deepest nightmares of Gotham, even in the twisted mind of the Joker, they had never seen such a terrifying sight.
“Because then you win.”
Batman’s voice was low and dark, the lover’s call was soft and hoarse, he lowered his head, his face full of pity.
“Batman, it’s you! What the hell is going on, what’s all this…”
“I, I can’t control myself…”
“No, no! Darling, I’m here… Batman, you can never be defeated, you won’t…”
The Joker tremblingly stretched out his hand, his fingers twisted in the intense beating, like a twisted pretzel.
But the Joker didn’t feel any pain. As long as Batman was there, as long as Batman was still there, no matter what predicament Batman was in, Batman would always win, Batman would always defeat him, defeat anyone!
He trembled, wanting to caress Batman’s cheek, but only touched the high-raised corner of his mouth.
Batman’s voice turned into a hysterical laugh the next second.
“Ha ha, ha, hehehe ah ha ha ha ha ha ha…”
The hoarse laughter gradually deformed, gradually increased, he seemed to choke from laughing, the Joker saw the corner of Batman’s mouth split, the face under the bat cowl was pale, like his own reflection.
“No! No!”
The Joker screamed hysterically, almost vomiting his throat out of his mouth.
The pale monster began to dress him in Batman’s clothes, the lower half of the face under the mask was already a pale Batman, still talking, the upper half of his face turned pale in the silver light:
“Ha ha ha, I love this answer! That’s how you win, I win! But it’s different, you know? It’s different, this is how I win, little Bat, I’m persistent.”
“You just said you didn’t do that because it would make me win, that’s what you told yourself and others, because you don’t want to admit the truth—and the old slippery slope excuse, am I right?”
“Batman killed the Joker, and then suddenly, who knows, what could stop Batman from killing all those Joker bad guys, going completely crazy?”
The Joker watched helplessly as the pale monster smiled and said, “But I think that’s nonsense, old friend.”
The Joker’s whole body was slowly being put on a Batman suit by the pale monster, his half-pale face was hidden under Batman’s dark mask.
With a flash of silver light, the monster turned back into Batman’s appearance, a Batman suit, pointy ears—oh no, rightly, the face under the mask was still pale, his mouth split to his ears.
Okay, now they are almost exactly alike—the pale one wearing Batman’s clothes.
“I mean, do you really think you can’t just kill me, the Joker, and stop there? No one would know, you could find a secluded place, do it in the dark, you can handle it, right? Afterwards, say something like, ‘Oh, poor Joker, I knew him’?”
“No!” the Joker said, “I would never do that!”
His Bat suit and pointy ears shimmered in the night.
Then in an instant, it all disappeared.
The hysterical laughter, the high-raised corner of the mouth, the red teeth, and the venomous eyes.
The Joker heard Batman say to him, “You… you have to help me… I can’t hold him back for too long.”
The Joker’s neck was released, he staggered, standing on the ground in a daze.
He touched his Batman mask and cape.
“On the side… in the deep red cabinet around the corner… you have to go in, crawl inside!”
He heard Batman say to him, “You have to go in, that’s the only way to turn me back!”
(End)
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