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Part Twenty-Two: Chapter 154: Damaged

The Joker was just coming to when he felt his body being lifted out of the back of a SWAT van and dropped down on a gurney. The Joker can't recall any other fight with Batman that left him in this much pain, and it was all above the neck. He knew Bruce would be furious with him for what he believed to be Jason's death. He knew that big black bat would most likely lose control. The Joker had even prepared himself for Bruce to end his life. Now, in so much pain, the Joker really wished Bruce had finished the job.

The Joker could hear himself moaning. It wasn't dignified, but he hurt too much for him to display anything resembling dignity. His head throbbed so much that it was hard to have a clear thought. He wasn't actually sure if it was from the tumor or Bruce's fists. He could taste his own blood, which had a uniqueness all it's own due to the chemicals. The Joker runs his tongue across his teeth and can feel jagged edges.

"M-my smile," he mumbled.

The Joker is wheeled into the medical wing of Arkham Asylum. A bright light comes down over his face, causing more pain to erupt behind his sensitive eyes. He tries to squint and look away but is grabbed by his jaw, sending currents of pain through every exposed nerve in his broken teeth. He draws in a hiss as he feels latex covered fingers raising his upper lip to get a better look at the damages inside his mouth.

"He's going to be needing emergency surgery on this mouth," he can hear the doctor saying as he starts trying to irrigate some of the blood from his mouth. "I can give him something for the pain until an emergency dentist can be brought it."

What should have been a comforting thought, just made the Joker agitated. He knew they wouldn't give him enough drugs to effect the pain in any real significant way. The problem always arose when it came to documentation. Studies had been done and all drugs came with a window in which they could be safely administered. Things like individual tolerance weren't overridden by safety. Anything out of established perimeters was just a lawsuit waiting to happen.

"My smile...my perfect smile," the Joker continues to moan. He wanted to ask for a mirror, so he could see the damages, but he knew it was pretty severe. He couldn't help but notice that when he ran his tongue across what was left of his teeth.

"He can kiss that perfect smile goodbye," huffs a guard as he smirks down into the Joker's face.

The Joker is cuffed in front so he weaves his fingers together and comes up like he's playing volleyball, and hits the smart-mouthed guard. Hands quickly grab his arms and he can feel the leather straps being buckled all over him. But he can't really think about that right now. He's in far too much pain to be moving all around like a flopping fish out of water.

The Joker lay there thinking that they had better restore his smile to its former glory, or he would kill every last one of them. Then, when he had finished with all present, he would find someone else to take his frustrations out on. The Joker had been hurt a lot over the years, but none of the bullet wounds or broken bones could touch the pain in even one of his teeth.

The Joker could then feel hands crudely tying a tourniquet around his arm. He turns his head to look and is just in time to see the nurse spiking his vein. He could feel the cold medication under his skin and patiently waits for the tourniquet to be removed from his arm. Maybe it would at least take the edge off his pain. He can hear the tourniquet snap free and a moment later a metallic taste coats his tongue. It was morphine, but as expected, It was nowhere near enough.

A few hours later a orthodontist was brought in. "Well, let's have a look at that mouth," he says and nervously approaches the Joker. By now the Joker was nearly delirious from the pain, and his eyes were rolling around in his sockets like some of the patients in Arkham do after a dose of Thorazine. He carefully pulls the Joker's lips apart and winced at the sight. "I'll need to put him under," he tells the doctor.