Harleen

Mad World

J Man sits in front of a mirror applying the last set of clown makeup, his face is already covered in pale white and all that is left is to darken his eyes. After what he called a once in a lifetime meeting with Arthur Fleck, gaining his idol's approval of starting The Jokerz gang and getting some much-needed inspiration, J Man decided to alter his makeup look from Arthur in order to stand out a bit more

He starts by tracing one circle around his left eye before darkening the color with black makeup before ultimately placing a medium-size slash going downwards over the eye. While the ambitious leader of the Jokerz concentrates on his new look, he listens to news about the recent murder of Ted Wilson playing over the radio on the left side of the small desk in front of him and the mirror

" Ted Wilson, a former orderly working at Arkham State Hosptial was found brutally murdered last night by a resident who was returning home after a night out with friends. Ted received multiple stab wounds to the stomach, not only losing a lot of blood but the cuts were so deep, parts of his organs and intestines can be visible. If that wasn't bad enough, Ted's face was also mutilated where his lips have been carved into a smile. While no one saw or heard the brutal murder taking place, some have speculated that the degenerate street gang known as The Jokerz could be possible suspects due their trademark smiles through spray paint when vandalizing public property......"

J Man smiled with pride when he heard the reporter mention his group as the suspects for the murder of Ted. He wanted the people of Gotham to either believe they were responsible or at least get them talking about it. After branching out from the usual armed robbery, mugging and vandalizing, J Man decided if his group were to be successful in making a name for themselves like Arthur, they would need to step up their game big time

And step up the game they did when they went to the joint tombstones of Thomas and Martha Wayne by spray painting the group's name, having the words ha ha ha and put smiley faces over it. Sure, it still was nothing compared to what Arthur had done in the past but it was a step in the right direction nonetheless

Truth be told, during J Man's meeting with Arthur at Arkham when discussing how The Jokerz can be a household name and really honor what their idol started, Arthur didn't really give J Man any ideas on how to terrorize the city and create anarchy

The only thing that Arthur did say to J Man that will forever stick with him was If you want to be like me. You have to think outside the box. Be creative with yourself and your group. It's time to stop playing in the minor leagues, kid

J Man immediately understood what Arthur meant by being creative, which is why not only did he went out of his way to murder Ted as payback for the abuse his idol received, but to also carve a smile into Ted's lips. For now on, whoever J Man and his group murders or even brutally beats to a bloody pulp, they will leave their mark by placing smiley faces on their victims

Although with their name firmly in the spotlight because of this murder, J Man is going to have to think more methodically if he wants to lead his team to greatness and ensure neither he or anyone else will be going to prison. However, he wasn't worried too much about that either considering he has unnamed allies working for him in the police department

Still. It's better to be safe than sorry, thought J Man as he finishes placing the line coming down his left eye and proceeds to work on his right eye. While his clown makeup is slightly altered, the rest of his attire will remain intact with the dark purple jacket over his dark green shirt, dark purple pants, black and white boots, red lips and dark green hair

Pretty soon everyone is going to fear and respect The Jokerz, when I'm through with Gotham City. Who knows, maybe we might even be bigger than Joker himself. After all, it's been a year and while his name is mentioned from time to time, it seems everyone else has now forgotten about Joker and carried on with their dull and pathetic lives