Escape (Musing_Way Prompt)
Title: Escape
Fandom: Batman (Comics)
Characters: Jason Todd, Batman, Joker
Word Count: 893
Warnings: Character Death
Disclaimer: Not mine, mores the pity.
A/N: Mirrors the events of Mad Dash
Jason will be the first to acknowledge that he's been through a lot of shit. Even before he died. And after, well that was a fucking gong show. It has taken a long time for him to get his head back together, and root out all the shit others had whispered to him, not to mention the shit he’s told himself. It has taken even longer to come to terms with who he was, relative to who others wanted him to be.
He's justifiably proud of the progress he's made, but there are still some large stumbling blocks in his way. So when the Arkham escape alarm sounded earlier--via one of the batsystems he hacked--he didn't think, he just went. Menacing a frazzled guard got him an answer to who broke out and had a 20 minute head start. And once he knew who he was looking for, things should have been relatively easy, but the fucking Clown is so goddamn unpredictable.
So why was he being predictable now? Back at the dilapidated tenement building Jason has claimed as his own, he watches the readouts on the computer and a pattern to the Joker's movements emerges. Damn it all!
Getting up so hard that his chair topples over backwards, Jason sprints down the stairs to the sub-basement he’s converted into a garage and grabs his bike. There is a squeal of rubber on cement and he's out though the old subway tunnel before the smell of his peel out can register.
Amusement Mile. That dump Dick bought and has worked so fucking hard to turn around. He’s even been successful. Which means it'll be full of people, ripe for whatever depravity the Joker has planned. With a sinking heart, Jason knows he can't get there fast enough, but he's got to try.
He never had a lot of dealings with the Joker as Robin, not before the last time. When the Clown had been around, that was mostly Bruce's thing. If Jason was involved, he was taking care of the henchmen. But honestly, he never paid attention to where the Clown was based or how he choose his hideouts. Such is no longer the case. One of the first things Jason did upon his return to Gotham was to compile a complete history of the fucker and his habits. So Jason is well aware that the fun-house at Amusement Mile has been used on more than a few occasions. And the bodies Joker left in his wake all suggest that it’s where he’s heading now.
The bike isn't a subtle vehicle to be taking though a theme park, not that Jason cares. Especially not when people are screaming and panicking. Faced with the human stampede, he unceremoniously dumps the bike on its side and pushes his way to the edge of the swarming mass. Free to move, mostly, he makes his way around the side of the funhouse. Why go through the maze when he can just use the access hatches and alcoves? He memorized those the first time he found the Clown here.
It takes far too fucking long, even though he knows it's the fastest way to the center stage. For all that he's not a rookie, his heart is hammering in his chest. It's the Clown. He's had his chances to kill the fucker before and, for one reason or another, he hasn't done it. Can he do it this time? Can he end the nightmare?
And it is a nightmare, once more, as he comes out at his destination, as he sees the pleading woman and the child. And the knife. He knows Joker is talking, he even knows that Bruce is there. None of it matters. It's not about revenge. It's not about making the world a better, safer place. It's about one terrified little girl. He doesn't say a word as he pulls out his gun and squeezes the trigger of one of the glocks.
The crack of it seems deafening, and yet, oddly removed. Everything slows as the bullet hits and the Clown falls backwards. He can see the hands losing their grip on the child, the girl screaming as a few droplets of blood spray her right cheek. Then she's running to her mom. Good girl, good girl.
Time resumes as he looks at the spreading pool of blood seeping from under Joker's head on the stage. The gun is still out. It has to be. Nothing says the psycho is alone here. Over his shoulder, he yells to Bruce, “Get them out of here!” He doesn't wait; he goes about the room, clearing the corners, looking for-there. Someone could have taken that access hatch. Or there-three doors that lead back into the fun-house. Too many damned choices. He picks one and goes. He has to go. The Joker is dead. Finally. And Bruce saw it.
He could have picked the wrong way, but he doesn't run into Harley, or any henchmen. He doesn't run into anyone. Though he can hear the sirens when he exits the fun-house. Gordon's people are on their way. Good enough. It has to be good enough.
The gun stays in hand until he makes his way back to his bike, picking it up from where he'd let it fall. It's time to go.
This entry was originally posted at http://aiyokusama.dreamwidth.org/24511.html. Please comment there using OpenID.
Fandom: Batman (Comics)
Characters: Jason Todd, Batman, Joker
Word Count: 893
Warnings: Character Death
Disclaimer: Not mine, mores the pity.
A/N: Mirrors the events of Mad Dash
Jason will be the first to acknowledge that he's been through a lot of shit. Even before he died. And after, well that was a fucking gong show. It has taken a long time for him to get his head back together, and root out all the shit others had whispered to him, not to mention the shit he’s told himself. It has taken even longer to come to terms with who he was, relative to who others wanted him to be.
He's justifiably proud of the progress he's made, but there are still some large stumbling blocks in his way. So when the Arkham escape alarm sounded earlier--via one of the batsystems he hacked--he didn't think, he just went. Menacing a frazzled guard got him an answer to who broke out and had a 20 minute head start. And once he knew who he was looking for, things should have been relatively easy, but the fucking Clown is so goddamn unpredictable.
So why was he being predictable now? Back at the dilapidated tenement building Jason has claimed as his own, he watches the readouts on the computer and a pattern to the Joker's movements emerges. Damn it all!
Getting up so hard that his chair topples over backwards, Jason sprints down the stairs to the sub-basement he’s converted into a garage and grabs his bike. There is a squeal of rubber on cement and he's out though the old subway tunnel before the smell of his peel out can register.
Amusement Mile. That dump Dick bought and has worked so fucking hard to turn around. He’s even been successful. Which means it'll be full of people, ripe for whatever depravity the Joker has planned. With a sinking heart, Jason knows he can't get there fast enough, but he's got to try.
He never had a lot of dealings with the Joker as Robin, not before the last time. When the Clown had been around, that was mostly Bruce's thing. If Jason was involved, he was taking care of the henchmen. But honestly, he never paid attention to where the Clown was based or how he choose his hideouts. Such is no longer the case. One of the first things Jason did upon his return to Gotham was to compile a complete history of the fucker and his habits. So Jason is well aware that the fun-house at Amusement Mile has been used on more than a few occasions. And the bodies Joker left in his wake all suggest that it’s where he’s heading now.
The bike isn't a subtle vehicle to be taking though a theme park, not that Jason cares. Especially not when people are screaming and panicking. Faced with the human stampede, he unceremoniously dumps the bike on its side and pushes his way to the edge of the swarming mass. Free to move, mostly, he makes his way around the side of the funhouse. Why go through the maze when he can just use the access hatches and alcoves? He memorized those the first time he found the Clown here.
It takes far too fucking long, even though he knows it's the fastest way to the center stage. For all that he's not a rookie, his heart is hammering in his chest. It's the Clown. He's had his chances to kill the fucker before and, for one reason or another, he hasn't done it. Can he do it this time? Can he end the nightmare?
And it is a nightmare, once more, as he comes out at his destination, as he sees the pleading woman and the child. And the knife. He knows Joker is talking, he even knows that Bruce is there. None of it matters. It's not about revenge. It's not about making the world a better, safer place. It's about one terrified little girl. He doesn't say a word as he pulls out his gun and squeezes the trigger of one of the glocks.
The crack of it seems deafening, and yet, oddly removed. Everything slows as the bullet hits and the Clown falls backwards. He can see the hands losing their grip on the child, the girl screaming as a few droplets of blood spray her right cheek. Then she's running to her mom. Good girl, good girl.
Time resumes as he looks at the spreading pool of blood seeping from under Joker's head on the stage. The gun is still out. It has to be. Nothing says the psycho is alone here. Over his shoulder, he yells to Bruce, “Get them out of here!” He doesn't wait; he goes about the room, clearing the corners, looking for-there. Someone could have taken that access hatch. Or there-three doors that lead back into the fun-house. Too many damned choices. He picks one and goes. He has to go. The Joker is dead. Finally. And Bruce saw it.
He could have picked the wrong way, but he doesn't run into Harley, or any henchmen. He doesn't run into anyone. Though he can hear the sirens when he exits the fun-house. Gordon's people are on their way. Good enough. It has to be good enough.
The gun stays in hand until he makes his way back to his bike, picking it up from where he'd let it fall. It's time to go.
This entry was originally posted at http://aiyokusama.dreamwidth.org/24511.html. Please comment there using OpenID.