Silver and Crimson (One Shot)

Untitled Part 1

The sickly pale white skin and smile forced by the work of bungee cords that pierced his cheeks made Damian reel in disgust, though the effect was kind of lost as he was strung up by his arms with rusty old chains, but the intent was definitely there. The Joker just cackled at the young vigilante's reaction. "Oh Batbrat, you will be the undoing of your father. Perhaps I'll just save you all the trouble and kill you right here like I did with... I think it was Brat number 2... Ah well. Memory is not what it used to be at my old age."

The crazy criminal who had previously been pacing a good couple of feet away redirected his path towards Damian who growled a warning. "And /your/ undoing was thinking this will hold me! When I get free I will /kill/ you!"

The Joker gave him a look suggesting he pitied the boy, but it was clearly fake. He traced a dry finger along Damian's cheek that made him inwardly shudder. Damian tried to bite him, but missed by a mere fraction of a second. A swift kick followed but was easily dodged by the tall man. "So delusional." He clucked his tongue and walked around to his backside where he delivered a kick of his own to Damian's back. Damian only grunted. "I'm doing you all a favour." Damian twisted his head to look at him, but regretted it when he received a hit to the jaw. "Even your own comrades call you 'Demon spawn'. What does that tell you? How do you think you are helping?" Each statement was followed by another strike, but Damian refused to acknowledge the blows. He needed to save his strength for the moment the Joker got too close. "You create mess after mess. You always get in the way. As surely as I am looney, you are a nuisance! In fact, you might be as bad as I am!"

Damian snarled and twisted to look Joker in the eye, pupils pinpricks of fury. "That's not true! I will never be as bad as you! I don't set bombs to kill random people for 'fun'! I don't poison their minds or beat up helpless little boys!"

His echoing cackles infuriated Damian. "I admit, the bombs are more a me thing. But do you deny finding pleasure in death?" Damian winced at that. Taking his silence as confirmation, Joker continued. "You've convinced your favourites that you're not so bad. But we both know the truth don't we?"

"No! I'm skilled! I was trained from the earliest possible point! I've redirected my skills to save lives! I'm changing!" Damian yelled, but he couldn't hide the edge of uncertainty that lingered in his tone.

"Is that was you tell yourself to help you sleep with the screams of your victims?"

Damian clenched his teeth together. He had no response for that because the Joker had hit the nail on the hammer. "What makes you think you know me?" He made his time low and threatening.

"I've seen it all! Sanity is what holds everyone back! I knew Bats could be better if he learned to let go. I intend to help him with that." Joker removed a gun and pointed it at Damian's chest. He grinned at the fear that flickered across the young boy's face, eyes wide, blood draining from his face, but he was quick to mask his emotions. Instead he fixed him with a glare as his heart erratically jumped. Feeling the need to reestablish his stance, he spit in the Joker's direction, daring him to do it. "Demons belong in hell. Allow me to return you to your home." Joker burst out laughing as the safety clicked off. Damian was trembling slightly, but he hoped it wasn't noticeable. This was the end.

"No!" And there it was. The bang of the gun and a blur of black as Batman seemly appeared out of nowhere to take the hit.

Damian's eyes widened once more as the figure hit the ground, the bullet having seemed to strike a weak spot of the armour. "FATHER!" Damian cried out, feeling an overwhelming sense of guilt that it was all his fault. When he stumbled to his feet, Damian felt a temporary relief that at least the wound wasn't instantly fatal. He would rather die than be the cause of it, though based on the way his father was clutching his side, it wasn't light either.