DATE: May 2008
AUTHOR: LosingInThemyscirian (aka
Jennifer, LosingInTranslation, losingntrnslatn)
DISCLAIMER: Don’t own anything associated with
the show or DC Comics… I just like playing with the characters in it from time
to time. Dance Monkeys! Dance!
RATING: M - Mature (for very mature subject
matter)
WARNINGS: This story contains very adult
themes.
PAIRINGS: Allusions to BM/WW as the basis
SUMMARY: Batman prepares for a night patrol,
when The Joker shows him his worst fears, in full living color.
A/N: This story came out of an almost
innocent conversation, and somehow, way back in those scary parts of my brain,
it turned incredibly wrong. It is not for the faint of heart, or the easily
offended. It’s dark, and demented, and the product of way too much comic
reading in a short period of time.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS: This story was a test of not only
my sanity, but that of several others who helped to confirm the construction of
my very own circle of hell. Their assistance, hand holding and insanity checks
were priceless, and I am always in their debt for such support.
REVIEWS: Reviews are the way I know if people
are enjoying the work or not. So, if you leave one, THANKS! And if not, I hope
you found at least a little something to brighten your day, and thanks for
taking the time to read.
Wonders Never Cease
In a dark
corner of the cavern, the only light emanated from the panel of computer
monitors currently attended to by a black and ominous figure. Methodically
scanning through the police report database, the alarm logs from Gotham Prime Security, and the various local news feeds,
Batman prepared for another night of patrolling the city of his birth.
As he
carefully reviewed a security report from the Astor, one of the last fine
hotels in the East End of Gotham City, the monitor
displaying the news feeds flickered once and scantly attracted his attention.
When it began to flicker a second time, it gained his undivided attention.
His focus
was solidly on the flickering monitor as he attempted to discern the cause, but
his thoughts were interrupted when the screen suddenly transformed into solid
purple background. When the simulated three dimensional grin
began to appear, Batman knew exactly what was happening. Through gritted teeth,
he spat, “Joker,” just as the villian’s exaggerated
and over exposed face materialized before him and began to laugh with that
insidiously insane cackle.
“Listen up
kiddies! The Joker has a bedtime tale for all the good little bats and birds of
“Once upon
an un-merry time, your fair city was filthy with justice for all. And one sad
and lonely prankster was wondering where all the mischief could be found.” The
screen then zoomed in to show a close up view of the Astor Hotel. He instantly
recognized the historic hotel on the screen. It was a very familiar location to
him.
Before the
show continued, his communicator sounded with a call from Nightwing.
“Are you getting this?” From the sounds of his voice, Batman could tell that
his cohort was otherwise engaged as he spoke.
“Yeah, I’ve
got it.” He distinctly heard the sound of a cheek bone popping over the
communicator. “And recording, so you can finish up without
distraction.”
With the
sounds of Dick’s affirmative barely registering in his ears, Batman watched as
the video moved up along the Astor’s surface until it stopped at the top level;
the Presidential Suite. He could feel the tendons in his fist constrict as he
clenched it even tighter. The video zoomed in on the suite and its inhabitant.
“And then, as if a gift from the gods, a vision appeared and he was once again
a happy fellow.” The camera showed the sheet clad form of Diana as she waved to
something in the distance, not caught in the lens, hiding in the shadows.
“Not
content to let the lady stay in waiting, the happy fellow decided to pay her a
friendly visit.” The next image was not something Batman was prepared to see.
Diana lay upon her bed, sleeping so peacefully, but all around her were the
faint traces of purplish mist. However the most disturbing part of that piece
of footage; The Joker standing beside her bed with that horrific grin plastered
on his face, cackling maniacally into the night air.
“As the
happy fellow introduced himself to the lady,” Batman watched with barely
contained rage as The Joker slowly pulled the sheets away from her naked body,
revealing that which only he had ever seen before. “He had to wonder…” His
cold, barely contained giggles forced the bile to churn in Batman’s stomach, as
The Joker revealed the blade hidden in his jester headed cane and held it
beneath Diana’s chin. “Will the Wonder ever cease?”
The screen
instantly transformed back into the blank purple background, and the words that
appeared in dripping red upon the screen served only to make Batman’s blood
boil. “To Be Continued… Same Bat Time, Same Bat Channel.” With the sounds of
that insane laughter echoing through the cavern and ringing in his ears, the
monitors suddenly exploded into a million sparks and shards as his furious
fists blasted through them in a vain attempt to end the madness that was
rampaging through his mind.
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
It was all too easy. Hehehe. Just a little smoke and mirrors, a hop skip and a jump to
the roof, and BAM! Face to nipple with the vision of purity and justice. Who woulda guessed there was so much more to see than that
excuse for a costume allowed?! But oh brother what a sight for my sore eyes to
see!
However, the piece d’resistance?! HAHAHAHA-Seeing
that rubber clad winged rodent slinking off into the shadow with the satisfied
Princess of Piety bidding him adieu! Fortune truly smiled-hehehehe-on the prepared jester
tonight!
Now, I just need to find the right
brand of merry mischief to make Batsy seethe with
jealousy tonight… Hmmm… Whatever will I do with a
naked Amazonian princess completely at my mirthful mercy?
AH-hahahahahaheheheheha-HAHAHA!!!
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
It had
taken him nearly two hours of re-routing communications circuits, and a call to
Lucius, but he finally found out where The Joker was
tapping into his network. He was also able to insure that the next broadcast
would only filter into the Batcave’s communications
uplink. And then only routing to his communicator. He
wanted none of this getting out. There was far too much at stake to allow that
to happen.
Batman had
spent the entire night searching for some trace of The Joker leading away from
the Astor, but to no avail. It was almost as though he had been dropped out of
the sky onto the rooftop and then vanished into thin air; taking Diana with
him.
His fist
gripped tightly around the screwdriver he had been using, until he felt the
plastic handle crumble in his grasp. With a violent burst of rage he hurled the
broken tool into a vacant wall and cursed his inability to find Diana.
Staring at
the remains of the monitor his first burst of anger destroyed, he found himself
in a position he had thought long since corrected. He was once again helpless,
powerless to do anything but wait. Wait, and worry, until The Joker tipped his
hand once again.
Batman had
nothing to chase him with, and chase him he would. There simply had to be
something for him to track from the next broadcast.
He knew
there would be another broadcast, because a colorfully decorated parcel had
been left for him on the balcony of the Astor’s Presidential Suite. Inside the
package was a Joker in the Box (complete with the same diabolical cackling),
reminding him that the next episode would be the following night. And hearing
that damned phrase in The Joker’s own voice made his skin practically crawl.
Everything
was in place. He had the tracers ready to follow the signal back to its origin,
and the recording system was standing by. He would find that hyena of a demon,
and if it was the last thing he did, he would make him pay.
Before his
anger was given the chance to reach a full boil again, the new broadcast feed
monitor flickered once. Batman instantly set the tracers to run and switched on
the recording system. It was only a matter of time now. He only needed to
restrain his rage until the programs did their jobs, and then he could find an
appropriate outlet for his violent lust for revenge.
As the
familiar purple screen faded away, any attempts at controlling his anger
vanished in the furious pounding of his suddenly elevated pulse. His
sensibilities were assaulted with the image before him.
Diana,
obviously under some form of chemical influence from the lack of consciousness
in her drifting eyes and the intermittently giggling convulsions, was
intricately strapped to an enormous clown faced disk. Just as the thought
entered his mind that it looked like a prize wheel from a carnival, it began to
slowly spin around, causing Diana to flop her head with the rotation of the
disk.
With the
hurdy gurdy music spilling out from the speakers,
every nerve ending in his body was alive with dark electricity. He desperately
wanted to end this madness before it got out of hand, but he could do nothing
but watch and wait.
“Round and
round she goes, where she stops… Only Joker Knows! AH-HAHahahahaha.” His laughter filled Batman
with a dark sinister desire to drag the lunatic bastard through town behind the
Batmobile until he was nothing more than a wet spot
on the pavement. Arhkam Asylum was too good for the
likes of The Joker now, he had crossed the line.
The wheel clumsily
slowed to a stall under the strain of her unbalanced weight, finally stopping
with her head at the bottom of the screen. His face became a testimony to the
pain he felt at seeing her exposed body trussed up for the amusement of a
diabolical madman. He forced himself to check the progress of the tracers, in
the hopes they were making their way to the source of these fiendish videos.
“Well now!
Would you look at that? We have an Amazonian Upside Down cupcake!” The Joker
leaned in to the camera until only his ridiculously painted smile could be
seen. “Looks good enough to eat! -heheheheheheheheeeee-”
Batman was
suddenly filled with horror at the implication contained in The Joker’s
fanatical exclamation. Never in his fiercest nightmares had he ever considered
such a thing. But there, with the evidence before him, he knew this was far
worse than any nightmare to plague his dreams.
He needed
to turn away, he wanted to shut down the whole thing, but he was forced to look
on as The Joker’s face cleared the camera to reveal the still upturned Diana,
barely conscious. He could only hope her mind would be influenced enough to
never recall the humiliating treatment he was now certain she would endure.
He should
have known. He should have suspected The Joker was capable of such despicable
things after…after Barbara.
After what
he did to Barbara Gordon in order to torture her father, he should have known
what would happen if his one true weakness was ever discovered. He should have
known, and he should have never crossed the line to give The Joker that kind of
power over him. But he simply could not stop himself; she was his weakness.
As the
camera changed focus, his attention was drawn away from the laments of his
failure, and was taken to the image currently occupying the screen. Panning
down from the tip of her toes, Batman helplessly watched a hand of ghostly
white tickling along Diana’s supple ankle until it found her shin. With long
thin fingers fashioned into a claw, the sickly pale hand raked over the once
perfect skin of her leg, raising deep red welts in its path. His own hands
gripping the top of the desk, Batman struggled to keep himself in check as this
brazen madman caused pain to the one vessel of his humanity.
When the
gnarled, bony digits reached her knee, the camera zoomed out a little to show The
Joker’s deviously smirking profile. “There once was a jester from
Once again
the camera zoomed out, and Batman was given a view of Diana’s entire body,
bound to the wheel, hanging upside down, completely naked. As he tried to
visually scan her body for any additional injuries, allowing the coolly
analytical side of his mind to rescue him from the torment of what he knew was to
come, he noticed something red where it should not have been. When the item and
its placement finally clicked in his mind, he practically tore the desktop from
his moorings in the wall. Covering her sex was a small red circle, emblazoned
with the image of a fiendishly smiling pair of lips.
The Joker’s
face suddenly filled the screen once more, and he cackled, “Lips mark the spot,
eh Bat Boy!”
There was
simply no respite from The Joker’s perversity this time. In full, living color,
Batman was forced to wait and watch as something precious to him was defiled
and debased before his very eyes. It was more than any man should ever have to
endure, but he was not just any man. He had to stay calm,
he had to find the source of the video transmissions if he was ever going to
end this nightmare; if he was ever going to save Diana.
Checking
the progress on the tracers, he tried to block out the images, if only for a
moment. But the sounds coming from the speakers turned him away from his task.
It was a quiet, low whimper in a voice he could have picked out from a crowd,
but in the silence of the cavern, it was like a siren in his ears. Batman
turned just in time to see The Joker bite down into Diana’s inner thigh, just
inside from her knee. He saw the crimson pattern of his jagged teeth in her
bare flesh, and winced as a small trickle of blood came out from the surface.
His eyes
riveted to the screen, Batman watched on in horror as The Joker flicked his
discolored and undulating tongue out from his exaggerated lips to slurp and
slobber his way down the inside of Diana’s thigh.
Just when
he thought he had seen enough, The Joker turned to the camera and exclaimed,
“Over the Lips, Past the Gums… Lookout Batsy, Here
She COMES!” With his head thrown back, The Joker’s demon like cackles filled
the air as he ripped the scrap of ribbon holding the red circle away from her
sex.
Those
hideous guffaws pounded at his fierce grip on sanity, and he slammed his eyes
shut just as The Joker whipped forward to dive like a raptor after its prey
into junction of Diana’s thighs. Batman
listened in horror at the perverse and lascivious noises coming from the
computer bank speakers. He wanted it all to go away, to vanish like a dream;
like a hideous, cold sweat drenching, heaving breath, screaming into the
darkness nightmare. But this was all real. So very real, and
so very wrong.
When he was
certain he could take no more of The Joker’s delighted groans and giggles,
accompanied by the cacophony of wet smacks from his lips, there was a signal
from the tracers. It told him they were about to capture the transmission
source. Every tendon in his body became taut and he was ready to strike the
moment he had a location.
Before the
lock could be made, he heard a faint sound from the transmission and The Joker
abruptly stopped his depraved assault. With the evidence of his ministrations
dripping from his chin and chortled in a panic as he said, “Hate to eat and
run, old chum… But we wouldn’t want to end the fun!”
With that,
the screen was instantly returned to the news feed, and the tracer program
bleated out with its failure to make a positive lock. An explosion of sparks
and liquid crystal ended the sound, and another monitor suffered the
consequences.
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
With
carnival music filling the air, The Joker serenades his unwilling companion.
Joker, Joker,
Wonder-eater,
Had a super and
couldn't keep her;
He put her in a
Dungeon Cell,
And there he ate her
very well.
-AhHahahahahahahahahahooheeheehee- Brilliant! Pure T certifiable Brilliance! All the little cyber bats
chasing ole Joker all over the world only to come up EMPTY! Brilliant!
Just a total gas, I tell you. Of
course, I guess I don’t have to tell you, do I? You know all about the gas.
You’re just silly with it!
Good thing I found a nice quiet, out
of the way, completely sadistic dentist’s office to take over for my own
purposes. I just love dentists! -heheeheeheheehee- Only people
I know enjoy laughing gas as much as I do.
And makes for a great trick when
trying to keep certain princesses in an agreeable mood.
Now, just what mischief can I find
to really push the Bat Bore over the edge this time? The wheel of misfortune,
that was fun, but I need something BIG… Something Ffffffla-shy…
Something… -heheehoohooheehahahaha-
Electricfying!
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
Batman’s
face showed not only his frustration and pain, but also the nearly complete
lack of sleep from the previous fourty-eight hours.
Not because he had not tried, but as disturbed as he was by the videos
themselves, having them replayed in his subconscious while he dreamed, they
were far worse.
Trying to
take his energy and direct it into something useful, Batman struggled to make
some sense from the data collected by his tracer program. He needed to
concentrate on something other than those images. Those images were burned into
his mind, but if he could just focus on putting the pieces together, he might
just be able to forget them for a little while.
Entering
the data from one trace into the analyzer program, his mind zeroed in on a
location name, and it sent him down an unwelcome path.
Wagon Wheel,
Wheels spinning in his mind.
Wheel of Fortune.
Diana lashed to the wheel.
Her creamy thighs open and waiting.
His black gloved hand sliding over
her bare skin.
The Joker’s moistened face sneering
at him through the camera.
Feeling the
stirrings of excitement once again, he slammed his eyes shut and clenched his
fists in anger. The perspiration forming on his brow spoke volumes about the
horror he felt at his subconscious reactions to the images and connections
forming in his mind. And a new emotion came into the mix; shame.
Batman felt
the most unbelievable shame of his life when he woke from the dream that forced
him to abandon any hopes for sleep. He awoke from a nightmare showcasing the
horrors of that diabolical video, only to find himself
in a state of arousal. Shock and dismay immediately filled his entire being as
he realized that the images causing him so much pain in the waking hours, were filling his dreams with twisted erotic
fantasies. And he felt a shame like he had never known before, to discover that
such darkness lived within him.
Perhaps The
Joker was right, and within every man lived that dark perverse insanity only
waiting to be unleashed by nothing more than an unfortunate chain of events.
Would this be his chain? Could his fate be sealed by these sadistic acts meant
to torment him? The constant assault on his heart with the pain and death of
those he held most dear; would that be his breaking point?
Every
reason he had ever given for pushing others away appeared to be mocking him in
that moment. He wanted to shut out the images, but more than that, he wanted to
stop the sounds. Every groan, moan, slurp and whimper echoed in his head over
and over again until he wanted to drive a spike through the bone to stop them.
Instead, he blared the police dispatch and news feed
uplinks to an intolerable volume, hoping to drown out the rest. It was not
working.
His only
hope by that point was to find and punish The Joker, and take Diana far, far
away from all of this madness. When one of his tracer programs automatically activated
on the screen in front of him, he had to focus in more closely to make sure it
was not an illusion. Batman checked the chronometer to verify the time and
shook his head. “It’s not time… I should have another four h-” He was stopped
from any further comment when the tracer began to blast an alert telling him it
had gotten a lock on the transmission signal.
Immediately
killing the other feeds, Batman paid exclusive attention to the monitor showing
the tracing programs at work. The first tracer glowed in red, showing a full
lock on the signal link into his news feed uplink. Within seconds, he watched
as a second lock was made on the relay signal. It was like watching an
intricate pattern of dominoes quickly knocking over to reveal another design
beneath the falls.
With each
lock, his pulse quickened. He was certain that at any moment the brief link to
the transmission source could terminate, and his breath was held firmly in
place hoping that it would last just long enough for the tracers to finish
their path. The only thing on his mind at that moment, other than ending the
sadistic torture of the one that held his heart, was the fact that he was
infinitely grateful for the gifted programmer that created the smart code.
Normally tracing systems were limited by the amount of time of a transmission
lasted, but these tracers were able to pick up where they left off and then
completed the task.
The sound
of leather stretching over his tightened knuckles as he waited for that last
lock to be made filled his ears. He no longer heard the bleating alarms as each
tracer found a new connection; only the taut leather, the strained tendons in
his arms, and the grinding of his jaw. Before the final alarm could sound, he
was already on his way. The madness had to end.
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
I've been binding up
the Wonder Broad,
All the live long day.
I've been binding up
the Wonder Broad,
Just to drive the Bat
insane!
Whoopsie daisy! Mustn’t lose our party mask, My Dear! We’ll just have to fasten
this a little tighter now won’t we? -heeehehehoohoohahahaheeheehee-
Now… Where was I? Oh Yes! -hehehehahahaheeeheeehohoha-
Electrodes and other party favors. I do so love my work.
I've been binding up
the Wonder Broad,
All the live long day.
I've been binding up
the Wonder Broad,
Just to drive the Bat
insane!
Don't you see my
whistle growing?
Rise up so early in
the morn.
Don't you hear The
Joker shouting
"Diana, blow my
horn"?
-teeheeheeho- This is just too
good. I’ve really outdone myself this time. Or should I say, I’ve really outdone
good ole Batsy and the Wanton Woman? What say you, my
sweet? Hmmm? Oh nevermind.
Only problem with gas, really…the complete lack of idle conversation.
Hmmmmmmmm… Now, I think this wire goes here... Oh wait, maybe
that one goes here. -heeheeheehahahahaha- Ah yes, watch her wiggle,
see her jiggle! -HAHAHOHOHEEhehehe-
That’s the spot, indeed. But I should probably turn the juice down until the showtime. Wouldn’t want the little Bat Toy passing out
before the fun begins. -heheheeheehee-
Let’s see, this switch is the power
for the current… Or was it this one? Nope, must the little green one with the
lightning bolt. There we are! Damn inconvenient of Harley to be committed
again. She’s always so much better with all these devices.
All for the best though, my helpless
little leaguer. She’s got a wicked jealous streak, and I just don’t think she’d
understand this game. No, -heeheeheehohohee- She just doesn’t understand these
games we play; the Bat and I. But how could she, really? She wasn’t there, she doesn’t know THE
PAIN THAT RODENT IS RESPONSIBLE FOR!!!
Oh my! Would you just look at the
time, sweet? We should really get this show back on the air, don’t you think?
Wouldn’t want to disappoint my old pal, now would we? -HAHAHOHEEheheheheehee- Now, we’ve got
some more strings to hook up if this puppet is going to make it to the show.
The red and the black go here, the blue and the yellow go on this one. But the
green and the white will go all the way up… -HAHAHAHAHEEHEEHEEHAHAHAHOHOHO-
I've been binding up
the Wonder Broad,
All the live long day.
I've been binding up
the Wonder Broad,
Just to drive the Bat
insane!
Don't you see my
whistle growing?
Rise up so early in
the morn.
Don't you hear The
Joker shouting
"Diana, blow my
horn"?
Diana, won't you blow,
Diana, won't you blow,
Diana, won't you blow,
my horn?
Diana, won't you blow,
Diana, won't you blow,
Diana, won't you blow,
my horn?
Joker's in the middle
of Diana.
Joker's in the middle,
I know.
Joker's in the middle
of Diana
Stroking in that hot Amazon.
Fee, fie, fiddle-e-i-o.
Fee, fie, fiddle-e-i-o.
Fee, fie, fiddle-e-i-o.
Stroking in that hot Amazon.
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
As it
coursed through his veins, Batman’s blood continued to boil and burn. His rage
and need for revenge propelled him through the lower levels of
The tracer
program reported to his heads up display that the transmission had once again
been terminated, but the lock had already been made. His need to move quickly
had never been more important than it was this night. For all he knew, The
Joker may have been preparing to change locations, and the brief transmission
was meant only as a tease. With his jaws grinding fiercely together, he could
only hope he made it there in time.
He was
driving completely on adrenaline and will. There was no real thought involved
in the act, and he merely focused on the GPS coordinates being fed into his
visual display. Taking corners at insane speeds, he rocketed through the city
without a single thought about anyone that might have stood in his path. He was
incapable of thinking any longer, and it was his instincts that took over his
actions. The only thing he knew for certain was that he had to reach Diana. He
had to end the nightmarish torture and get her far away from the insidious lunatic
holding her hostage for his benefit.
All along,
he had known it would come to this, that someone would seek that which he cared
about and use it to bring him down. He struggled to close himself off from any
attachments, and fought against everything that might have given him pleasure,
that brought some form of peace to his soul. He never wanted them to have
anything to hold over him that way. If there was nothing for them to use,
nothing that he cared about, then they would never get the upper hand, and he
would never have to feel the pain of loss ever again. But then there was her.
No matter
how hard he fought, no matter how much he swore there was nothing there, she
was always there, and she always knew. He wanted to prove that he was able to
transcend that part of his humanity; that he was above such foolish things. But
she was always there, and she always knew. She knew him on a level that he had
been sure never existed, but she knew. She knew, and she still cared for him
just as deeply. She knew all the darkness, all the rage, all the pain, and
still she was always there.
And how did
he repay her for her loyalty, for her caring, for her compassion, for her
companionship? He left her to be stolen away by a madman with sadistic theories
and a penchant for wanting to make him pay for some perceived wrong and the sin
of sanity.
As his
hands clawed into the steering wheel with a vice-like grip, he could hear The
Joker’s hideous cackling laughter in his head and it taunted him mercilessly
with its maniacal melody. His stomach churned with torrents of fresh acid, as he listened to that brainsick villain inhabit every
vacant hollow in his mind.
The
darkened pit forming in his gut only fueled his desire to pluck The Joker from
existence itself and cast him out into limitless and unending pain. And so, he
continued to hurtle through
When the
audio from the Cave feed began to crackle in his ear, Batman clenched the
steering wheel and cursed under his breath as he fought to maintain his
control. His time was running out.
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
Dancing
around the stark room, The Joker went about preparing for his next broadcast
amidst the hanging wires and cables. A short hop carried him over the canisters
of laughing gas that continued to whisper through the room. Between his dance
and humming along with the eerily perverse nickelodeon music filling the air,
his choice of dress seemed almost normal.
Deciding to
opt for a costume befitting the mischief he was about to set in motion, The Joker
looked ever the part of a British Officer riding upon the Sahara in his jodhpurs,
paddock boots and a striking pith helmet. Except…for the fact that his jodhpurs
and jacket were bright purple with red piping; his boots were white with
barbershop pole, green, sparkling stripes; his white pith helmet had a big
yellow flower on the side of it and his green string bowtie appeared to be
glowing in time with the music. And for the coup de grâce,
he had wisely chosen to go shirtless beneath his desert style utility jacket,
exposing his ghostly pallor to the harsh lights hung from every wall in the
room.
In his day
to day life, The Joker was an assault to the eyes, but in preparation for a big
show, he pulled out all the stops and barreled that train straight through the
boundaries of taste and eye strain. He was a joke of fashion, unto himself, and
he obviously liked it that way.
In between
the delighted humming, there was the sprinkling of bone chilling giggles and
disturbed bouts of merriment, setting a twisted and surreal scene for his dazed
audience of one. If he had any indication that she was more than a pawn in his
carefully crafted game with Batman, he might have been more careful with his actions.
But as things remained, Wonder Woman was completely at his whim and mercy under
the influence of a triple strength concentration of first rate laughing gas.
With the quantity of gas he was pumping into her body at a constant rate, he
was fairly certain that she would have been hard pressed to name herself
animal, vegetable or mineral.
Most would
have considered a double strength concentration suitable for making a compliant
plaything, but he knew her Amazon physiology would have given her the ability
to process the lower dosage of nitrous-oxide. No, he was going to play this
game on the safe side, because the stakes were just too high to gamble with the
outcome. If it was the last thing he did, he was going to prove his theories,
and all the better to break the Batman in the process.
He had come
close with his experiment on Commissioner Gordon, but the Batman showed up
before the man had completely released his hold on sanity. Once again, Batman
foiled his carefully crafted plans and forced him back into exile. But this
time, he would prove beyond a shadow of a doubt that every man contained within
him the darkness of insanity and depravity, and given the chance, he would
embrace its vile machinations with all his might. All it took was the right
circumstances, and every man would succumb to the ravages of insanity, he was
absolutely certain of it.
Looking
over his shoulder when the whimpers began again, a sinister sneer formed on his
lips, making his face appear even more devious and wanton. “Don’t fuss, my dear
Princess… We should be back on the air shortly, and then you can dance with the
current. -HEEHEEHEEHEEhahahaha-
High Voltage current that is!” His wicked cackling filled every corner of the
room and drowned out all other sound as he galloped about in another merry
dance of decadence.
Calming
down to an insidious giggle, The Joker went back to making sure everything was
in place for his next big performance. He just knew that this time the Batman
would surely lose his grip on any remaining semblance of sanity he might have
had left. To see the object of his affections and humanity defiled before his
very eyes, powerless to do anything other than watch another man, a madman,
take that which had only belonged to him would be more than he could endure.
Booting up
the transmission scrambler system, he had to wait until all the lights flashed
green before he could begin his next broadcast. As he waited for the little
flashing beacons of electronic wizardry to activate, The Joker went back to
center stage to check on his co-star.
Once he was
sure that each wire was well connected to the strategically positioned electrodes
and every accessory was suitably attached, he cocked an eyebrow and mused to
himself, “Perhaps a technical rehearsal is in order. I’d hate for you to miss
your big break, my dear Princess. -heeheeheehahahohohehehehehe-
Or maybe should I say, your Bat breaking.
-HAHAHAHAHAHA-”
In the
midst of laughing at his own joke, The Joker reached for the control box to
turn on the sadistic wiring harness that was the crowning achievement of his
prank. Upon closer inspection, the control box was nothing more than a toggle
switch, but it had been fashioned into a giant pair of lips, and the toggle was
in the image of a grotesque tongue.
It was his
weakness; his desire to inflict pain and warp the sane. He wanted to see her
wriggle and whine at the power of his maniacal tortures. He needed to see her
suffer, as her body betrayed her mind and experienced the pleasure with the
pain.
When he
flipped the switch, Wonder Woman began to writhe and convulse with the current
of electricity coursing through her body. He turned the dial on the side of the
box to lessen the current and she merely twitched and moaned against the
reduced flow. His laughter at seeing the display before him was
incomprehensible, and it was only stopped by the audible alert informing him
that the scrambler was ready to go. And as he looked down, so was he.
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
Punching at
the controls, Batman brought the GPS tracking display exclusively into his HUD
and then routed the video feed into the vehicle’s display screen. It was still
showing the full time news reports, but he knew it was only a matter of time
before the display began to flicker as it prepared to switch over to The
Joker’s next broadcast. He certainly had no desire to see what sadistic circus
of degeneracy he managed to cook up this time, but he did need to know what he
was about to break into.
He was
nearing the location marked on the GPS system, but not before the video feed
started to flicker. Throwing the throttle into maximum thrust, he pushed the
vehicle’s limits as he ploughed through the underworld streets of
The
distance was closing fast, but not before the video display began to fade back
into that all too familiar blank purple screen. From
the corner of his eye he watched intently to see what was next on Joker’s
psychotic agenda.
As the
melody from a calliope began to slowly start up in the audio feed, he saw an
animation come to life on the screen. It was a carousel, but no ordinary
carousel. The creatures rising and falling around the screen were hideous
mutations of the time honored horses, swans and unicorns. The music never
seemed to totally speed up to the happy rhythm of a traditional calliope, instead it felt as though the scroll wheel was
just as warped as the man behind the crank. It only added to the surreality of the scene before him.
Eventually,
a cartoon rendering of The Joker’s face faded into view over the demented
carousel and began to laugh; the insidious laugh of a complete lunatic that he
knew all too well. As the screen dissolved into a live image of The Joker,
Batman decided the twisted caricature was the better option.
He giggled
and twirled to the misfiring calliope music in his ridiculous riding getup,
prancing about the room like an hysterical pony, but the one thing missing was
the one thing he needed to see the most; Diana. He dared not look away from the
road without risking imminent peril, but he still tried to find her in the
diabolical circus act before him.
“Welcome
one and… Well, just one, I suppose. Eh, Batsy? -heheeheehee-
Still trying to keep her all to yourself, I see. Tsk tsk tsk, my old chum. Didn’t your
Mommy teach you how to share?” His laughter filled the audio feed to an
unbearable volume, but Batman barely even registered it. He was waiting for the
other shoe to drop, and to finally get the drop on him.
“Oh well,
back to the show! You know how I do love to put on a good show, Ratman. But tonight… OOOOOOH
Tonight! I have simply outdone myself, old boy!” Joker spun around in a
flourish and when he stopped on a dime, his pith helmet was tucked under his
arm, and Batman could finally make out a draped form behind the madman.
“For your
viewing displeasure, and my mouth-watering amusement, I have prepared for you a
feast for the eyes, and the ride of a lifetime! -HAHAHAHOHEEEHEEEHEE-” He placed the hat firmly on top of his head
and pulled down the chin strap before striking a pose meant for a ringmaster.
“In the course of this performance, we shall test the will and mettle of my
noble steed, as I proceed to take her through the Hurdles of Hell!” With that,
he ripped away the white drape covering Diana and exposed the torment to his
eyes once more.
Suspended
from the ceiling and trussed up like so much meat, Batman cringed at the image
he beheld and cursed himself once more for his failures. If he could have
willed anymore speed into the vehicle he would already be at the building
containing this sickening play, but instead he clenched his jaw hard enough
that he was certain his teeth were cracking from the pressure, and raced on.
The music
changed to something akin to an organ grinder’s box, and The Joker once again
pranced around the room. However, this time he had another little rhyme to
share, and began to speak in a sing-song manner:
Ride a cock horse to Joker’s
Double Cross
To see a fine Wonder impaled
on a white horse
With rings on her nipples
and wires on those
She shall have sparks
wherever she goes
And with
the last words from his lips, Batman watched in horror as Diana began to
convulse and wriggle in time with the music. Tearing his eyes from her and the
road, he found The Joker with a perverse red box in his hands, controlling her
movements with the wires he now saw running all over her naked and battered
body.
His
attention left the road for just enough time that his back end slammed solidly
into a wall and went careening off into the other side. It was only through
brute force that he was able to right the vehicle again and continue hurtling
through the city. As fast as he was gaining on the blip in his field of view,
he was running out of time just as quickly.
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
With rings on her
nipples and wires on those
She shall have sparks
wherever she goes
With every
crank on the toggle, Joker’s laughter became more robust and maniacal. The more
he laughed, the more sinister his lascivious grin grew. He was enjoying the
convulsive little dance his newest puppet was performing for him, and his
pleasure with the sight was beginning to get away from him. He could feel his
excitement growing and pulsing, until it could no longer be ignored.
Tossing the
control box to the side, he leapt back into full view of the camera and
pirouetted onto the scene. “And now, for the main attraction.
Step right up! Ladies and Gentlemen! Here before your very eyes, I shall
perform a death defying feat of skill and perversity, heretofore unheard of,
except in the deepest, darkest corners of a certain Bat Brain! -heheheeheeheehahahohohahaha-”
His next
twirl had him wrapping the sheet which once covered Wonder Woman from view
around his body. He continued to spin and laugh with a blood curdling lunacy,
and the when drape finally began to float away on his last spin, he suddenly
exposed to the camera the real reason for the drape. During his spinning, he
managed to remove a key piece of his costume, and there for the full glory of
the camera stood the Joker, no longer in regular riding breeches, but chaps
made to look like jodhpurs. “Now THAT’s
entertainment!”
With
another repetition of that depraved nursery rhyme, he trotted toward his target
like a strutting pony, only it was not the nose that was leading the dance. “To see a fine Wonder impaled on a white h-”
The cinder
blocks being pulverized into dust, and the ceiling fixtures flying through the
room stopped anymore of the fiendish little ditty. When he turned to find the
source of the disturbance, he found his face exploding in much the same manner
as the wall. It sent him careening into the transmitters and sparks flew around
him in a brilliant flash of light and fire.
He tried to
free himself from the tangled web of wires and exposed electronics, but he was
instantly shoved back into the shower of sparks and broken circuit boards. His
face felt another crushing blow, like he had been hit with a sledgehammer.
There was no doubt his jaw was broken; the crunching and grinding with each
successive strike told him that much.
His next
movement came when he was suddenly lifted from the transmitter remains and
violently launched across the room like so much rubbish. The fall was broken by
the wheel of misfortune as it shattered into numerous easily manageable pieces,
one of which he found being slammed into the side of his head at the end of a
very dark, and very powerful arm. Thankfully, that
piece was disintegrated beyond any further use by the impact with his head.
Through the
eye that was not completely swollen over, he was barely able to make out a dark
form with a large cylinder raised over its head, and The Joker knew that he was
about to meet his end, with the business end of a nitrous-oxide tank. He was comforted
in his impending death with one simple thought; his theory was right. The
Batman had been broken.
Just when
he was beginning to find a trembling smile at the corners of his mouth as he
accepted his fate, there was a faint, but soft sound from somewhere else in the
room. The form turned and then tossed the tank off to the side and left The
Joker’s limited field of view.
When one
voice became two, and both bore the gentle tones of
familiarity and caring, a sorrowful and lonely tear formed in The Joker’s eye
just before he finally succumbed to the unconsciousness of ultimate failure.
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