章節 68: Chapter 68 Torture
"Blergh!" The mad clown retched right there and then.
His chest was slightly sunken, his pale face if possible, seemed to grow slightly paler. Unable to stop the flow from his stomach, he spat out blood twice.
Still, that did nothing to make him show a painful grimace.
"Well well, madness isn't all there is to it. He doesn't feel pain... That should be considered a perk right?"
All heroes and villains had a backstory, usually tragic ones. A sort of transformation process before they turned into what they eventually became.
Like Batman spending ten years training with the league of assassin's. After completing the process, they would usually emerge with a special trait they didn't previously have.
Similar to Batman, it was the same with Joker. One might think his transformation was one of the most common ones that existed.
He didn't gain extraordinary strength, nifty superpowers or well honed fighting skills.
Just insanity and a twisted mentality. But there was more to it than that.
Joker was an unstable character and the fact that nothing you did to him could hurt him made him an all the more frustrating character.
Beat him, break his bones, threaten him with his life... Nothing.
A truly remarkable character in an unremarkable way.
"No pain huh?..." I contemplated in deep thought. An idea I considered to be somewhat wonderful lit up in my mind.
"You!...". A pained exclamation brought me out of my inner world.
I turned my gaze to Barbara who was looking at me with wide eyes.
"Why hello redhead. Miss me?"
I could see the look in her eyes. It shifted between me and the now bent crowbar that had stuck against my chest.
"You just... Saved me?"
"You misunderstand. We had a deal remember? If you couldn't arrest him yourself, I'd take over. From the looks of it, you failed".
I tilted my head slightly while putting my hand under my chin.
"And quite frankly, you don't look so good".
"....ugh.... No.... Kidding". Barbara uttered with difficulty.
She closed her eyes trying desperately to stop the tears seeping through them. Looks like she didn't want to be seen so vulnerable.
Still, it wouldn't do her any good. Her current state was now a sight in front of millions of people. And they had seen how it happened first hand.
"Hey!..... Oi, quit the sappy stuff you got going on there. You're leaving me out?"
That raspy voice called out again.
It drew my gaze to the mad clown who was resting his back against the wall in the distance. He held his laser blaster in front of him, pointed towards my direction.
His face wasn't smiling in the slightest anymore. His eyebrows were greatly narrowed eyeing me as if he would eat me alive the following moment.
"Oh, Joker". I said apathetically.
"Haha! So you know who I am? I was starting to think you hadn't heard of me. That's good.... Good". His frown disappeared and burst out into full blown laughter.
I was slightly surprised though it didn't show on my facial expressions. This guy changes faces faster than a supercar on a racetrack.
The urge to look into his head and see what was going in within it was particularly prevalent at his moment. Literally.
"Ok, so why don't you tell me..." Mid-sentence, he raised the weapon in his hand and pointed it towards me with a vicious grin on his face.
".... Who the fuck are you supposed to be?"
Strange, he didn't recognise me? Well, I'm not too famous now, am I? Perhaps for government agencies, I can be called a famous character. Not regular villains though.
A character like The Joker who was fresh out of Arkham would probably not know who I am.
".... Oh wait, don't tell me. You a new guy from Batsie's family? From the way you're familiar, that should be the case...."
"No". That wild guess was way off.
"I'm one of the "unlucky" guys who happened to be in that park at South Gotham you blew up".
I replied and he didn't respond. He spent a few seconds like that. Didn't make a sound.
His expression was frozen as if time had stopped. Freaky when you look at it from a certain perspective. And then....
"Hahahaha!" He just started laughing again. That hyena-like laughter that could make the average person uncomfortable just by listening to it.
Honestly..... It was really annoying. I couldn't help but be curious. I could see it in his eyes, he wasn't faking it, but for some reason was seriously, genuinely amused.
Mind boggling if you see it in a normal person. But then again, Joker wasn't all that normal now, was he?
I let him laugh it out. For a moment, my desire to kill him waned a bit so I could hear his thoughts.
"Hahahaha, hehehe so funny. So let me guess, you're here for revenge? To put me back behind bars? Or what? Kill me?"
He burst out laughing again.
"Forgive my amusement. I'm not laughing at you. I just can't help it... You had a front seat for the show, right there in the splash zone. And now, you're here for revenge. Hahaha, how ironic".
"You're off to a great start by the way. That hit.... I'm really in a lot of pain right now. I think my sternum's cracked.... By the way, I'm gonna assume disabling all the bombs was your handiwork? Pretty nice.... I could rate you on the same level as Bats. However...".
The grin on his face widened even more.
"Don't think it will be so easy to kill me. I might just be an insane clown, but I'm a considerable asset to many people. I'll give you a tip buddy, you should be very careful....".
"Oh! You're talking about these guys?" I asked while releasing a chuckle.
I snapped my fingers and the space in front of me cracked open.
Thud!
Thud!
Thud!
Followed by the scene of several bodies falling out of thin air.
Haha! Looking at the Joker's speechless expression, now it was my turn to be amused.
There in front of the cameras laid killer Croc, Clayface and what do you know, Bronze Tiger.
Was it surprising? If you think about it clearly, then no. Apart from the fact that Joker would catch Barbara off guard, this was one of the reasons why I said she would never succeed.
Any of these three would give Batgirl a hard time. Not to mention all three at once.
"So... You got anything else?" I asked with a raised eyebrow. To be honest, I found this whole thing interesting.
How would the Joker react when he realised that he didn't have anymore cards up his sleeve? Or did he still have some?
"My my, aren't you pretty thorough. I'm surprised how you even found them". He replied with his gaze shifting between the three bodies.
"Impressive, I've got to hand it to you. But still, it seems like you missed something". Oh! Was there something else?
He flashed his white teeth before hollering at the top of his lungs.
"Boys, get him over here!" Hearing him, I turned my head to the distance.
A door was pushed open, and two figures stepped out of the room. Two able bodied men, wearing black jackets and clown masks.
No one special. But the person they held in their midst was.
"Da... Mr Commissioner". Barbara let out weakly.
"Ok, now I have to ask. How are you still alive?". The psychotic green eyes immediately fixed on Batgirl. Seeing that despite laying in a puddle of blood, she was still alive, Joker couldn't help but marvel.
With the gaping hole in her waist area, she should have bled to death by now.
"The commissioner? This is your last card?" I asked in slight wonder.
"Oh no no". The Joke shook his head, slight blood seeping from his lips.
"From what I can see, you're a real tough guy. If what you said is true, then I doubt lasers would work on you. And depending on the next course of events, today might be the day I meet my end. So, while I'm still capable..... Why don't I crack my last joke".
His mouth stretched to their limits. The frenzied, demented smirk on his lips was particularly chilling.
"Let's leave it as a goodbye present for Bats when he returns". The laser blaster pointed towards me changed direction, aiming at the unconscious Commissioner in the grasp of his goons.
"Hahahaha!"
Bang!
Blood splattered everywhere. Barbara's pale face grew paler and her eyes widened.
"Ugh!" Joker groaned in pain. This was the best he could do as he stifled whatever scream attempted to escape from his lips.
"Argh... Ha.... You really got me. Hahahaha! Nice one" Drops of sweat appeared on his chalk white skin. Turning his gaze towards his right arm that held the blaster, all that was there was a heavily bleeding stump.
"Jammed blaster? Don't feel bad, it happens sometimes". I remarked indifferently The blaster Joker used to try and kill the commissioner exploded as soon as he pulled the trigger.
No doubt, my doing.
"Still, a jammed blaster taking away half an arm... Now that's rarer".
I stopped it. Not because I wanted Jim Gordon to live but because it would be a disgrace for this guy to kill another living soul when I've decided he no longer needs to exist.
Even my indifference to everything had a limit. Allowing the commissioner to die when time was up wasn't being indifferent, it was just plain cruelty.
I turned my gaze towards the two henchmen who were scared silly due to the fact that they almost died.
Sure the Joker aimed at the commissioner, but who knew if they would get shot instead.
"Leave". As if granted amnesty, the two goons dropped Gordon hastily on the floor before fleeing for their lives. I watched them leave with an indifferent expression.
"I'll assume that's the best you can do. In that case, we can end it".
"Haha... Well, I guess my time on Earth's up". Joker grinned without an ounce of fear.
The fact that his possible death didn't scare him was an admirable quality no matter what kind of person Joker was. But what else would you expect from a madman?
"Say goodbye to Batman for me".
Looking at his smiling face, I felt something. The previous thoughts of delaying his death, curing his insanity and making him experience everything he had ever done to everyone else quietly disappeared.
I wanted to torture him..... At least I did at first.
The idea built up on the character that was Joker was really intriguing.
My thoughts were quite simple. Instill in him everything he never had to experience the moment he turned into the Joker.
Pain, Fear, Sanity, Regret.
Let him experience everything at once before sending him off.
Because his laugh even in the face of pain could annoy even the toughest of the bunch. So amplify his pain receptors, see if I could get a good squeal out of him, maybe record it for future uses.
No reason for this, purely my bad taste.
Maybe I wouldn't even kill him.
I could just imprison his mind in an endless space of torture, turn him into a mental retard, permanently paralyse him, put him in a coma, hack off all of his limbs, throw him into the Kamui space..... The options were endless.
After all, there were things much worse than death.
These were what I wanted to do the moment that park blew up with me in it. So, it made me wonder.
Am I really as emotionless as I think I am?
The newfound discovery waned any interest I had in making the Joker feel pain.
I just took one last look at his face. And then.... The Joker's body was suddenly caught with black flames, spreading everywhere.
With the power of Amaterasu, Jack Oswald White, ignited like a bonfire. The flames melted his skin, his hair and his bones, devouring him whole.
"HAHAHAHAHA HAHAHA!" Even on the face of his impending death, experiencing the feeling of having his entire body roasted. The mad clown never stopped laughing.
"Oh Batsie, I can't believe we'll never be able to see each other again. Too bad... I do hope you will break even if I'm not the one to do it".
This was the last thought he had before his consciousness was snuffed out.
Silence crashed into the building. Amari looked at the ashes symbolizing all that remained of the mad clown.
....
Meanwhile, everyone in Gotham watched the scene with eyes wide and mouths opened.
Their expressions of shock, disbelief and occasional delight was particularly eye-catching as the scene of the Joke getting roasted to death was played out in front of them.
"Is this... really happening?"
"This should be fake right?"
"Who is this guy?"
"..... He just killed the Joker..."
People still found it hard to believe at first, but everything they had experienced tonight was clear facts that this wasn't a hallucination.
Then, when it finally began to settle in, the commotion it brought about was unimaginable.
"He's dead".
"He's dead".
"Holy shit! The Joker is dead".
"Good riddance bastard...."
"..... hahahahaha".
"The last huzzah, performed by yours truly, Joker.
Hundreds of voices soon turned to thousands and tens of thousands.
"The Deviant just killed the Joker".
"Heaven be praised, Gotham is finally saved".
While all of Gotham began to rejoice, I turned my gaze back to the fallen commissioner and Barbara who due to my actions, hadn't died despite losing so much blood.
"Seriously, your group of heroes are always late.....". I stopped my words halfway as my ears twitched.
It happened then, the sound of something coming rapidly in this direction fell in my ears.
"..... You can't be serious".
Bang!
Something crashed through the ceiling, causing debris to fall to the floor in the distance.
A stray rock was caught in my palm as it headed in my direction.
I took a good look at the stone in my palm before moving my gaze forward.
"... Honestly..... This is getting old". If there was one thing that really got on my nerves, then this would be it.
Clark fully decked out in his super suit, swept his super vision around the place. Looking at the situation of Barbara, Gordon and a pile of ashes, his expression was particularly grave.
In the end, Clark took a deep breath.
"Ok, how about we have that talk?"
. .....
Extra Chapter.
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End of Joker's arc. More MC time after this.
Expect new chapters by Wednesday.
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