Theme 39: The Last Laugh
Title: The Last Laugh
Universe: DCU
Genre: Dramatic, General
Rating: PG 13
Characters/Pairings: Joker, and some Superman
Word Count: 587
Warnings: None
Summary: Joker has a daughter who is about to find out who her father really is...
"Dad? Dad, are you home?" Jocelyn threw down her backpack and began rummaging through the refrigerator when she heard a crash in the garage. "Anyone there?" she called as she moved towards the garage.
Gently nudging the door open she surveyed the damaged boxes and hole in the roof. In the middle of the garage sat Superman, rubbing his head.
"What's going on here?"
"Sorry," Superman replied "Some new villain. I'm getting too old for this." He flew off with no further explanation.
Jocelyn stared at the ruined room contemplating her next move when something caught her eye. An old trunk had been tipped over and canisters were rolling around on the floor. She picked one up to inspect it. 'Smilex' It had a caricature of a smiling face on it, a sort of tag. That could really come useful, but what was it doing in her garage?
Old, yellowed newspapers were scattered across the floor with damning headlines. One was dated twenty years ago. 'Joker set free from Arkham," ran the headline. Then the byline, 'Residents of Gotham enraged, Batman not available for comment.' And on the page sat a disturbing picture, a man who looked much like her father.
An hour later she was still sorting through all of the knocked over storage containers when her father rain calling her name frantically.
"In here, dad."
He ran into the garage wide-eyed. "What happened in here?"
Jocelyn pointed to a hole in the ceiling. "Superman was here." She tossed her father a can of laughing gas. "I think this is yours."
Her father nervously fumbled to catch the cannister. "This is dangerous, you shouldn't be handling this."
"Of course dad. Joseph. Or should I call you Joker?"
"I haven't been called that in twenty years," he replied trying to hold back his tears.
Jocelyn stared at her father, tears streaming down her eyes. "So you are the Joker?"
"It's not like that princess."
"How is it then?"
"I was the Joker. I did kill people. Then I met your mother, she got pregnant with you. I wanted to raise you, so I moved from Gotham."
"And your face? What happened to your scars?"
"That was expensive, but I had money stored away."
Jocelyn shook her head. "I can't believe this, my father is one of the worst mass killers in history! When were you going to tell me this?"
"I don't know."
Jocelyn stormed out of the garage.
One month later Jocelyn knocked on the door of her father's bedroom.
"Come in."
"Hey dad, I brought you some cocoa."
Joseph quietly took it, staring off into empty space.
"So you are talking to me again?"
"I can't stand to see you like this, you haven't even smiled since we last spoke. I have a peace proposal."
"What is that?"
"Drink your coco, answer one question for me, and we'll never speak of this, you, being who you were again."
"Yes?" Joseph turned to his daughter with a look on his face that could even have melted Batman's heart.
"Why did you keep everything. You know, from your past?"
Her father paused, drinking the coco in a few short gulps, impervious to the heat. "I wanted. I wanted a reminder of where I came from."
Joseph started laughing, for a moment the man he used to be. Laughing over a joke that nobody understood but himself. He collapsed dead on the bed, still smiling.
"Sorry dad," Jocelyn whispered. "I just wanted to see you smile again."