What-what-WHAT are you doing?
Who: Lois Lane and The Joker
Where: Just outside the Capes' safe house
When: Forward dated to late thursday evening
Summary: Superman's the only one who'll play Joker's little games anymore, and Joker's worried that the other heroes might be an influence in the wrong direction in that regard. So once a lever shows up, Joker decides it's time she gets ( Read more... )
Where: Just outside the Capes' safe house
When: Forward dated to late thursday evening
Summary: Superman's the only one who'll play Joker's little games anymore, and Joker's worried that the other heroes might be an influence in the wrong direction in that regard. So once a lever shows up, Joker decides it's time she gets ( Read more... )
Ok so she's partly on the right track, and she's telling him straight up, that might not be so good of a call. But she sighed.
"The truth is that I don't know word one about this place, and I don't know what you want. But I don't know what anyone here wants. I trust Superman, with my life."
But he could be too trusting of others, too willing to believe that everyone was as good and kind and noble as he was. He was good to a fault...could that fault be her own death? Her brow furrowed with this obvious line of thought, ok so now she was getting concerned. She was known to be someone important to him, which in turn made her a potential weakness, weaknesses are exploitable by anyone. Even Joker. Especially Joker.
Oh, yeah that little remark about the Man of Steel's bedroom, that stung too, and her sour face passed quickly but it did make an appearance.
"Good thing I'm a light sleeper then. If powers go haywire here and people go randomly crazy then I wouldn't be safe no matter who I knew."
Given what he'd said about Midnighter's powers once going crazy* what did that mean for anyone's safety really? But it was the video, that was what made her jump back from her chair, kicking it over in the process. She gasped and her hand covered her mouth as cold blooded murder played out in front of her. It was Bucky, the one who had told her to avoid Joker in the first place. Was this why? Was he afraid Joker would show her something like this?
Worst of all...Superman had to have known! He knew and yet he still trusted the man. Lois felt violently ill, not just at the gore but at the idea that somehow this was made alright with Superman, that her one bright and shining spot of truth, justice and goodness had condoned murder.
The foundations of Lois' world were just shaken.
*(Due to OOC info crossover the reveal of the exact nature of Midnighter's powers are did not happen,it was just stated that they were dangerous enough to make people stay away from him, implied extreme violence)
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Joker smiled, a little lopsided.
"I kill people. I know what I am, and how that puts me in the perspective of the world. But see, it's not people like me that really do the damage.
It's the people who become like me, and don't realize it. It's the people that decide they're going to wipe someone's mind and put back the parts they like, the people who're going to actually destroy somebody in a place where they can't do that by killing them."
Joker reaches up to pat her on the shoulder comfortingly, but backs off, giving her a little apologetic gesture with his non-knife hand.
"And I know how this looks, ok? Big bad Joker's just out to get something, you know, I am, I'll be honest. But it's not what you think. See, I'm not in this to kill people. I mean, sure, it's part of the game, but that's the thing. I just want to go back to how it used to be, you know, me and Batman. He wouldn't kill me because he was too good to kill me, and I wouldn't kill him because I was just having too much fun. In here, Superman's really all I get for that. I don't wanna see him become like the others, really. Funny as life is, looks like I'm on your side here.
But thing is, muscleboy isn't going to listen to me. Or anyone but....well....maybe..."
He pauses, and points at her, a little questioningly. He's not sure, Lois, could you change Superman's mind?
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He was being so reasonable, but that was what they always said about the devil right? Silver tongue and all charm. While she couldn't accuse the Joker of being charming she surely was not dead.
"So you'll let me walk out of here, unharmed. Because you want me to convince Superman that the other heroes are dangerous people? I'm not sure I can, not sure I can believe it. I know what you've shown me and I admit I have my doubts. But I'm not going to say anything I don't feel is right."
But she was questioning things already, he'd planted the seed.
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"It's right there, if you're feeling antsy. I mean, it's not like the storm's going anywhere, I'm actually thinking of sticking around for a little dinner if you want to join me.
If it's a comfort, try not to think about how easy it was for Valerie to supply me with this."
He tilts back his neck, tugging down his suit's unusually high collar.
Underneath is the thin band of metal that all people wear in the facility, though his isn't red...or black... but bears a hint of a distinctive green.
Yeah.
She recognizes that.
"Just one little favor. Val makes people into weapons, it's what she does, it's what this place is for. Maybe it'll be collateral, just a tool for the job, for...well, whatever people like that want, I guess. Freedom to go home? Loved ones dangled in front of their noses like a carrot on a stick?
That's the plan for you, you know. A pretty little carrot for Val and whoever else to use against him. Unless, of course, you were planning on doing something about that."
Joker waves with the fingers of one hand.
"ta."
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She tensed when he pulled at his collar, who knew what he had hidden under there. What she was was the last thing she expected. Lois shook her head, her mind screaming that it couldn't be. Even without Dr. Klein to confirm it she knew that was Kryptonite. Nothing else had that look, that texture, that glow. He had enough in that collar to kill Superman outright.
But, he hadn't. Was that further proof of what he said? Just because the psychotic had not chose to use a weapon yet did that me he might never?
"I won't be used. And I will never let myself be a pawn to hurt him." Ahh the nobility of love, and the stupidity of a strong will.
Lois needed to leave, she needed to be away from him, she needed to think. Forgoing the usual pleasantries she grabbed her scarf and opened the door. If he made no move to stop her she would be out the door in a moment.
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When the door shut, Joker sat there for a moment, one leg folded over another, in the relative silence of the building. There wasn't much light from outdoors, and what little did exist just made the shadows in the room longer, the rattling from outside more eerie, like some beast clawing to get in.
It started out low, as all his favorite laughing fits tended to, just a little chuckle, a titter even, gurgling wet in the back of his throat, but eventually it built itself up until it just wasn't getting out of him fast enough, the relentless cackling pouring out of his mouth and into the repressive, muffled silence of the deserted building. He tipped his head back, not caring about the twinging pops of the stitching in his throat, hardly even minding as his throat grew raw and a small trickle of blood dribbled down the side of his mouth.
Oh, it'd been a long time since it had been like this. Whatever Sasha'd done in there...it certainly hadn't dulled the comedian in him.
This particular laugh went on for nearly three quarters of an hour, before trailing off into a satisfied, hoarse little noise. At that point, Joker licked his lips and set about making dinner for himself, as if nothing had happened at all.
If you'd asked, he might not have even remembered the episode.
Funny old world.
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