The Joker's New Toy { Wattys 2016}

Her Clown Lover

**

Flashback...

The Joker grumbled under his breath as this fourteen year old boy led him through the dark streets on the lower east side of Gotham. If one had never experienced the modern hell that was Gotham, they would assume that this was the worst part of the city. Unfortunately for the citizens, most of Gotham was like this with the exception of the palisades. Still, the lower east side was one of the poorer parts.

Prostitutes waved down cars on street corners, and drug dealers were busy making transactions in alleyways. The Joker and Marcus heard a couple having a shouting match in an apartment above a discount shoe store. The sounds of shattering glass soon followed, though no one in the other apartments bothered to call the police. The people in this town knew to mind their own business and to take care of themselves. The Joker fiddled with his knife, prepared for anyone to sneak up behind him and stab him in the back. The Joker could almost smirk at the thought of anyone trying to rob him. They would quickly find out that he was far more dangerous than any crack dealer on these streets. Even with the voice of Jack still lingering within his mind, he would be any brainless thug's worst nightmare.

The Joker couldn't believe he had agreed to follow this kid. What was with him anyway? He should have been scared shitless when he saw this deranged clown. Instead he almost behaved like he was a fan. The Joker watched the shorter young man trotting ahead of him and let out an exasperated sigh. "Alright kid. We've been walking for well over an hour now. Where are you taking me? Not to your little clubhouse I hope? I don't have time for this crap. I've got work to do!"

Marcus had mentioned something to him about there being 'others.' He hadn't said much about them. The Joker worried that he was leading him to his tree house where a bunch of his little friends were waiting dressed in war paint they bought from the Halloween store, and with plans that had been mapped out with crayons. "Don't worry, we're almost there!" Marcus chirped excitedly.

Finally when they reached an entrance that led underground, Marcus stopped and looked around, making sure that no one was watching. There was a sign above the stairs that read 'Eastside Amtrack' and another sign had been pasted over those words that read 'This Station is Closed.' Marcus motioned for the Joker to follow him down the stairs. The Joker, his face still set in a grumpy scowl, shrugged and complied.

Marcus led the Joker down the dark underground tunnels, and the Joker grimaced when he saw some rather large rats scurrying across the floor. They passed by a couple of sleeping homeless men who had taken refuge in the abandoned tunnels. There had long been rumors in Gotham about an entire society that had been formed underneath the city. The possible inhabitants of that society were nicknamed 'mole people' by the surface folk. Many claimed it was an urban legend, though some insisted it to be true.

Gotham's economy had gone down the tubes within the last ten years. There wasn't enough money to even bother fixing many of the abandoned underground stations and now the main public transport system was the Gotham Central subway station that they had recently built. The Eastside Amtrack was left to whatever homeless people wanted to use it. This included drug addicts, escaped convicts, ex inmates who had recently been released with no money, and mentally disabled people who had been thrown on the streets by homes that could no longer house them.

"So is this what you do on your free time kid? Play in sewers and abandoned subway stations?" The Joker grumbled as he followed Marcus through the dark tunnel. "Where are your parents anyway?"