8- THE SHOW MUST GO ON

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"Word on the street is, you're looking for Scarecrow." The thug said leaning against the railing. He faced the dark knight, attitude overconfident as he stared down the other man. He smoked a cigarette taking a drag after each sentence.

Batman who after hours of trying to find a lead, tracked an ex crim who allegedly worked for Scarecrow. Though it never had been confirmed, it was pain painstakingly clear that he was. Batman had found him where sources said he would be, in a dodgy apartment filled with current or other ex crims.

The two stared each other down, standing on the stairway outside the building, one feeling rather cocky and the other willing to do whatever it took to get answers.

"If you know something, then tell me," Batman growled. The crook grinned, not feeling as scared as he should've been.

"Can't be too sure Batman, I have a bad memory." He chuckled, clearly trying to provoke the hero.

"Don't make this harder for yourself," Batman warned sternly. He was growing tired of the criminal's inflated ego. It was very common for Batman to encounter crooks who thought they were above law, crooks who thought they were immune to law jurisdiction because they worked for a higher power. But despite their confidence they always crumbled under the force of the Dark knight, one way or another they would spill the beans, they always did.

He'll sequel. I always know what squealers sound likes.

"Aw come on, everybody knows you can't hurt people like us, you follow the law just like those police schmucks." He laughed, amused by Batman's glare.

Batman simply glowered at him, waiting for him to say one more thing Come on punk, continue saying things. Batman would have thought, the lack of back up the crook had would at least humble him, or the fact that the Batman had a reputation of taking out criminals. But no, no, no, this crook was feeling particularly overzealous. Perhaps too many cigarettes had gone to his head tonight. Batman fought the urge to grin, soon he would find out why many dreaded the Batman.

"You know what your downfall is batman?" The crook smiled, continuing to taunt him, "You live by a bullshit code of heroism. You wouldn't do anything to me." He took a very long drag, before blowing into Batman's face. He laughed hysterically, watching the smoke cover Batman's face.

Bruce waved the smoke out of his face before smiling at the crook. You're gonna regret that. You're really gonna regret that. The criminal had no time to even question the look on his interrogator's face, before the vigilante grabbed him by the collar, choking his throat aggressively. The cigarette fell out of his hand, he made a gagging noise which was ignored. Batman stepped closer to the railing of the stairs, dangling the now not so confident smoker over the balcony. Fear began to resonate within the criminal, now he was beginning to regret his actions.

"Whaaaat the fuck?" He screamed rather alarmed. He moved his neck, looking down past the railing. It wasn't a long way to fall, it was roughly a height of 10 feet but it would hurt like a bitch and something would break. What was worse a dumpster lay waiting below, not exactly a good way to break a fall.

"Where is Scarecrow and what was he doing in the warehouse?!" Batman growled. The crook shook in his grip, whimpering like a child. His cool and cocky demeanor was long gone.

"I don't know I swear." He yelled a little too calmly for Batman's liking.

He's lying. Bruce concluded, Maybe he just needs more convincing.

Batman loosened his grip on the crook's collar, the crook felt himself slipping out of Batman's hands. Panic quickly ran through him. Shit, shit, shit, shit, shit! I can't die! I don't wanna die. He squeezed his eyes shut and did what Batman knew he would.

"WAIT WAIT! I DON'T KNOW WHERE HE IS BUT I KNOW WHAT HE WAS DOING!" He screamed suddenly. His was tone mixed with terror and desperation. He had squealed, just as Batman thought he would.

"Go on then." The Dark Knight prompted smugly. The crook gulped hardly, opening his eyes. It was a good surprise to see that he wasn't dead.

"Lemme catch my breath." He pleaded.

Batman growled in response. "Perhaps you didn't hear me properly." He reminded. The crook's eye widened, he wasn't in a place to make such demands.

"OK! OK! " He yelled before Batman could decide otherwise, "Look one of my buddies or some shit was hired by Scarecrow to kidnap up the green broad a few weeks ago." He confessed.

Green broad? Kidnap? Batman couldn't see how this correlated to the warehouse explosion.

"I'm failing to see what that has to do with anything." Batman shook the crook, hoping they would take matters seriously.

"I-il-'ll g-g-get to that! So the green board, poison Ivy or whatever you call her, was snatched up by Scarecrow, I was hired in the warehouse to guard her at all times when she wasn't helping with his experiments."

The Dark Knight quickly processed what was just confessed to him. So Ivy and the Scarecrow were working on something but without the Joker's knowledge. He frowned, some things didn't quite add up.

"Why would the Scarecrow need to kidnap Ivy when she's a known affiliate of the Joker?" He knew that the Joker and the Scarecrow had a history of working on plans together, so why would Scarecrow need to kidnap a close friend of the deranged clown when he could've just asked.

"I-i-i d-dunno boss never told us, he's weird like that. Anyway, they worked on whatever science shit that they working on until one day boss threw her in a slammer and told us to get lost." The crook rambled, half of it made no sense.

"That's it. You don't expect me to believe that?" Batman questioned.

How do I know it's not such half-cocked story you just made up?

The crook sobbed, tears streaming down his face. "It's true dammit, he was doing something in that warehouse before it exploded, but I just don't know what." He cried, he was on the verge of peeing himself.

Bruce remained silent, it didn't sound like the criminal was lying but if this was the truth that would mean Joker wasn't the one committing a crime, well at least not for now.

"Please! Believe me!" The crook continued to cry heavily, believing Batman's silence was a sign of his demise.

Batman scowled. I'm back at square one. He opened his mouth about to break the silence but a loud shrill "beep, beep, beep!" beat him to it. With one hand he reached for his utility belt, pulling out his bat device that was beeping loudly. He allowed the message to play.

ROBOT VOICE: "Scarecrow, spotted in the metropolitan of Gotham, very close to the mayor's office and city hall, Joker was also spotted in the area not long after with henchman and other notorious criminals like Poison Ivy and Harley Quinn."

That's strangely perfect timing! Batman thought. That's not far from here, if I'm quick I can stop whatever they're about to do. Though he had just wasted time interrogating a criminal, he had come out with some valuable information, the information he was sure that would be of some use later. He put away his bat device and glared at the criminal once more.

The crook flinched almost immediately. "See?" he sniffed, "You have what you need and you know where the freaks are headed, so can you please let me go?" He pleaded.

Let him go? Batman thought the idea was almost laughable. Batman let a known criminal just roam the streets again? I know something better actually. An idea crossed the Dark Knight's mind.

Let me humor him.

"Yeah, I suppose I should." Batman bought him back to his side of the railing, liberating his collar and throwing him on the ground. The crook coughed violently, gasping for air. He looked up at the hero with a look of utter gratefulness, before he could thank the Dark Knight, Batman pulled out one of his self-tying ropes gadgets, throwing at the criminal. it wrapped itself around him, Immobilising and tying him up, he lay on the apartment step.

"Hey, what the fuck? I gave you all the info you needed!" The tied-up thug yelled, fuming at being double-crossed.

Trust me punk, it's better that you go to jail then your boss finds out you snitched. Batman set a reminder to alert Commissioner Gordon of the thug that lay there, before gilding off the roof and to his Batmobile where he had stashed elsewhere. He quickly got in, turning on the car.

"Set coordinates for Gotham's metropolitan." He spoke, setting his car GPS. And with that the Batman sped off into the night, ready to bust three criminals and ready for answers.

However not ready or aware of the many events he had set in motion by driving to Gotham's metropolitan.

*******🐧🐧🐧

2 hours ago

The Joker was fuming, utterly raging. Ivy and Harley were convinced this was the maddest they had ever seen the clown. When the doctor had diagnosed the Joker as just a normal teenager, Joker nearly tore up the entire apartment.

"What do you mean I'm just a normal teenager?" The Joker yelled running up to the female doctor. The doctor leaned back, rather fearful. She didn't know what was scarier, the fact that two known villains had just snatched her away from her shift or a boy she had never met was enraged by her calling him a teenager.

"You're a healthy teenager, I would have thought you knew this unless there's something else you want me to diagnose you with?" She said treading lightly. The Joker snorted, walking away from her, he paced around the apartment still not accepting the medical professional verdict.

This can't end well. The doctor motioned. She knew no good can come of being in the same room as Harley Quinn and Poison Ivy. But still, there she sat, not saying a word unless she was spoken to. She had heard about the deranged capacity of the rouge psychologist and the mesmerizing power of Poison Ivy. But surprisingly they hadn't done anything to her, she had a free will since she had gotten here. All they had asked to do was run a test on a boy called J, who was somehow in denial about his age. They haven't done anything to me that bad. She thought though she wasn't willing to test them.

"So he's fine?" Ivy said, sitting on the couch next t Harley and across from the doctor. The doctor shook a little from being addressed by the Poison Ivy, she gulped but found the courage to speak.

"Y-y-ses," she stuttered, "he seems to a normal teenage boy, he maybe bordering on the side of underweight and dehydrated but he's healthy none the less."

"I see, but what about his vomiting, headaches, memory loss," Ivy asked. The doctor fiddled with her fingers before speaking.

"Strangely in his system, I found a lot of drugs and harmful chemicals. They probably caused such symptoms, I believe they're not harmful. The sickness should pass." The doctor confirmed. Ivy and Harley both sighed.

So it was just the age thing now. They both thought.

"See J, the symptoms will pass," Ivy reassured. Joker turned to scowl at her.

"Forget that, I don't want to be trapped like this!" He gestured to his smaller physic. The doctor raised an eyebrow, curiosity got the better of her, she had wondered why this boy was so adamant to change himself. Without thinking she blurted out a question.

"Trapped like what exactly?" She wondered.

"None of your fucking business!" Joker yelled defensively.

The doctor didn't need to be told twice, her eyes sank back down, she was quiet again. Next time don't be so dumb! She reminded herself. Ivy facepalmed, upon hearing Joker swear again, it was becoming a growing problem. Harley shot the clown a stink eye.

"J! Watch your profanity" She scolded. Joker merely began to pace around again, ignoring Harley's disdain. Whilst The two villainess scolded the teen named J, a worried doctor pondered her fate.

Are they gonna kill me? I've done their work know so will the get rid of me? The idea of death severely scared her, she knew people in Gotham were often killed for seeing things at the wrong time, whether she would meet that fate or not was up to her kidnappers.

I need to ask, at least. She was hesitant at first, the first time she had talked the teen boy had yelled at her. But still, she swallowed her fear and decided to ask.

"I know I should be grateful to be alive," She began, all eyes in the room was no on her. Ivy sighed feeling sympathy for the woman.

"But what are you gonna do to me? Please don't kil-" Her sentence was cut short, Ivy had thrown a vine at her, a long vine with green leaves that wrapped around the doctor's face. It released a gas that caused the woman to pass out, she fell on the floor.

"What did you to her?"Joker asked, glancing at her lifelessly body.

"Golden Pothos, sleeping agent. She'll wake up in the hospital thinking she fell asleep on the job." Ivy confirmed. It's better than killing her.

(Yeah I got real lazy here and couldn't be stuffed to elaborate so enjoy this plot convenience)

Harley who had been staring at her phone when a news bulletin alerted on certain man's whereabouts. Her eyes widened as she read the warning to civilians. Scarecrow was on the loose.

"GUYS!" Harley yelled. "Speaking of on the Job, Scarecrow's been spotted," Harley announced. Joker's gaze turned Harley.

"What where?" The clown asked desperately, he ran up to her, trying to read off her phone. Harley read the report again.

"Metropolitan, city hall district." She confirmed. Joker jumped up in the air, feeling rather ecstatic.

"What are we waiting for let's go!" He ordered bossily. Ivy and Harley stole quick glances each other, subconsciously thinking the same thoughts.

"Wait do you think you can handle it, as in psychically do you feel better?" Ivy asked, she wasn't really on board with the idea of taking a kid somewhere dangerous, even if the kid was the mad clown. Joker rolled his eyes at the question.

"You heard the medic the sickness will pass." Ivy scoffed at the comment, she scrunched up her nose. Does he understand how serious this? Does he think that it'll be easy to get Scarecrow?

"You'll pass alright if you think it's a good idea charging in all hotheaded while you're still like this." Harley reminded. Joker rolled his eyes again, he was becoming tired of them using his "condition." to call him weak.

"Ughhh, what are you, my mom?" The clown sneered, "you can't control what I do." He said snarkily in such a teenage way. Harley felt her eyebrow twitch in slight annoyance.

"At this point I practically am genius! you're stuck as a teen and I have to do my best to protect you!" She yelled. Is it teenage hormones or is he being such an asshole? She thought. Joker shuddered at her tone, Harley rarely yelled but she did it was very scary. God, she's like a scary big sister. He made a mental note not piss her off again.

Joker pouted and folded his arms. "Ok, oK, I'm sorry," He apologized quickly, trying not to anger Harley But I have to go with you, it's not a party if the three of us aren't there."

Harley and Ivy sighed, they figured Joker wouldn't budge. It was futile to argue against him, his normal sense of pride was higher now since his testosterone was.

"Alright," Ivy huffed, "but me and Harley are leading this one, for your own safety stay behind us." Ivy commanded firmly. Joker didn't protest, he found that deal quite fair.

"Fine as long as I get to bash that creeps head in."

"That can be arranged." Harley smiled, she wasn't overly fond of the Scarecrow either. Ivy didn't smile though, she was deep in thought. She snapped her fingers, getting the attention of her two friends.

"Wait J I think it's best if you wear a mask, to avoid suspicion and try not to talk too much the henchman might suspect something."She suggested. Ivy thought Joker's loyal henchman wouldn't follow or understand the sudden change in their boss. Joker fell silent, thinking about it. It would be compromising for them to see him like this. He agreed with Ivy, he wouldn't too much attention to himself today.

"Good idea, the show must go on after all."

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