And here he was again - bored out of his mind and up for a little excursion. Following Harvey had never been hard, and this time he hadn't even been really trying! It was practically an invitation - one he wouldn't turn down.
He decided not to bring up the fact that he was here - no, that would make Harvey angry, and he kind of wanted to see how this worked without him around. So, he stuck to the shadows, slinking along the edge of the wall behind Harvey's back. At one point, he imagined the mobster's eyes on him and so he lifted his finger to his mouth. Shhh.
When the man didn't answer, eyes drifting past him, Harvey nearly growled, moving forward and kicking the man back. "Pay attention." He lifted the coin. "Fine. Heads you live, tails you die
( ... )
The Joker couldn't help but laugh when the gun went off, figuring it didn't really matter now, if Harvey saw him or not.
But when the man started screaming - the back of his head blown off, entrance wound in his forehead - now that was weird.
"Huh."
Abandoning all pretense, he slouched forward in a circular sort of pattern, frowning at the man in question, watching him scream and writhe on the ground. "That is definately new, wouldn't you say, Harv?"
When he heard the laugh Harvey barely blinked, eyes sliding to where the clown had appeared from. He wasn't sure what to believe, the man was screaming and the Joker could be a figment of his damned imagination for all he knew. The voice in his head finally forming a face.
His eyes fell back to the man on the ground, trying to snap himself out of whatever haze he was in. The world's upside down, you're surprised? Remember the thing about chaos-
"Why are you here?" He asked in a low voice, eyes still on the bleeding man.
"Bored, mostly." He walked forward and leaned in to the bleeding, should-be-dead man, poking him with a finger. "Why isn't he dead, Harv? You're not usually a lousy shot."
"I don't know." Harvey growled, walking to the screaming man and stepping on his chest- he was there, it wasn't a hallucination was it?- before shooting another bullet into his skull.
The shouting was senseless now- the guy's grey matter was beginning to leak out the side of his head and hell, what on earth was this- fear toxin? Crane, he was going to kill him. He glanced at the Joker, expression still holding some of the rage though the confusion made it an almost lost look.
The Joker looked up when Harvey shot the man again, blood splattering across his face, cooling off as though it'd been dripping out of him for a while now, instead of through a fresh wound. The look on Harvey's face made him reach into his coat, pulling out a butterfly knife that he took his time in unfolding.
"Can you see me?" he asked the corpse, which looked at him with pain-infused eyes. "Close enough."
He stuck the knife in the man's eye and twisted, but all it earned was a garbled mess of howls. He looked back up at Harvey, an annoyed expression dawning on his face. "This is weird. Spooky, even. But relax. Maybe he's just a slow learner?"
Harvey watched with a morbid sort of apathy, sure enough the man still breathed even as his face began to get unrecognizable between the bullets and the knife. The man's cries were wet now, quieter thankfully though no one glanced down the alley. Gotham knew better.
It took a moment to process the words- calm down- anger unfurling in his chest that was refreshingly familiar. If he was going mad then it was just another fork in the road. A damned lost flip.
"Slit his throat." He said, an order that sounded more like a suggestion and if the man didn't stop screaming soon he'd blow his jaw off with the next hit. "This has to stop."
"Do you one better," he grunted, yanking the knife out of the man's eye and leaning in to look at his throat. "We should find another one," he muttered, stabbing the knife violently into the man's jugular and beginning the slow, arduous process of sawing off his head with what was little more than a jackknife. "Maybe it's just him."
The man gurgled and blood spat out of his throat into the Joker's face - he slapped the man across the jaw. "Don't do that."
Harvey pressed his fingers into the coin in his pocket, eyes never leaving the Joker's work as he pulled it out, flipped. Tails, always tails. Rachel's bitter imprint on his life face up. Sometimes he wondered if he should hate her before the clarity fell away again.
"We're doing this my way." He said, eyes now fixed on the Joker, his blood and grease paint splattered face. He turned the coin over in his fingers - his way - and turned away from the mess that had once been a highly sought mob dealer. "I know where to smoke more out."
He finished his work with a flourish, snapping the spine in two with his hands before lifting the head up to face him. It gurgled and its eyes rolled all around, unable to breathe and unable to feel its heartbeat -
"All right, now I'm getting spooked." He stood and, without thinking, drop-kicked the head away, listening to the gurgling thunks as it bounced into the dark. "Yeah, let's go see - this is eerie. I have a high tolerance, you know that, but - that's a little too gruesome, even for me."
"This seems right up your alley." Harvey walked down the alley, still turning the coin over in his hand, purpose renewed. A pointed sort of calm overtook the panic of before, the feeling of threads snapping at the seams. Whatever this was, it was outward. If he was that warped- well then, ignorance was indeed blissful.
He turned down near a peer, glancing to a man standing by a car, nearly nodding of at his post by the door. Harvey glanced to the Joker, nodding towards the man before pocketing his coin and moving forward. The man's eyes shot open in time for the ex DA to crack him soundly on the head with the butt of his gun, making the mob dealer, most likely nothing but a driver, low level grunt, fall to the ground. Harvey kneeled, taking the gun from his belt as the man groaned and turned over, catching sight of the pair, eyes widening even more so when the infamous clown came into view.
"So let's see then." Harvey pulled out his coin, glancing at the Joker. "Call it."
"Was that a pun?" the Joker asked, giggling as he followed along complacently. It really was a nice night for a stroll through Gotham's underbelly.
He waved cheerfully enough to the suddenly terrified grunt, waltzing forward to sit on the man's legs, ignoring the grunt of pain as they bent in uncomfortable ways. "Mm, let's try... heads. How's that?" he asked the man, nodding for him. "I think we both like heads."
His funeral. Harvey raised his brow and flipped the coin in the same sort of calm, catching it in his palm with a mildly curious look, oh no would you look at that. Such a shame, really. Such a shame.
His fingers curled again around the coin, pointing his gun at the now horrified man's head. "Trust me pal, you're going to hope this will be death." he said in a deadpan before putting a bullet in his skull.
And again. Harvey lowered his gun, the horror of the initial anomaly now an irate curiosity.
"-the hell is this." He muttered, warring between that frustration and nausea. Some part of him could still be horrified by this, as small as it may be.
"Oh, come on." Joker sat at the man's feet and watched him writhe, reaching up to pinch his mouth shut so his shrieking wouldn't alarm the entire dock. "This is just ridiculous." He sighed and looked up at Harvey. "What do we do now?"
"Make him stop screaming." Harvey answered, frustration warring out. This wasn't right- it wasn't fair or natural. It was throwing everything in a tilt and what the hell had Gotham become now? Hell in concrete and steel.
"Unless it- " He refocused on the Joker. "Do you have a phone?" he asked. He could contact the community- it had to be some trick of theirs. There was no other way.
He decided not to bring up the fact that he was here - no, that would make Harvey angry, and he kind of wanted to see how this worked without him around. So, he stuck to the shadows, slinking along the edge of the wall behind Harvey's back. At one point, he imagined the mobster's eyes on him and so he lifted his finger to his mouth. Shhh.
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But when the man started screaming - the back of his head blown off, entrance wound in his forehead - now that was weird.
"Huh."
Abandoning all pretense, he slouched forward in a circular sort of pattern, frowning at the man in question, watching him scream and writhe on the ground. "That is definately new, wouldn't you say, Harv?"
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His eyes fell back to the man on the ground, trying to snap himself out of whatever haze he was in. The world's upside down, you're surprised? Remember the thing about chaos-
"Why are you here?" He asked in a low voice, eyes still on the bleeding man.
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The shouting was senseless now- the guy's grey matter was beginning to leak out the side of his head and hell, what on earth was this- fear toxin? Crane, he was going to kill him. He glanced at the Joker, expression still holding some of the rage though the confusion made it an almost lost look.
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"Can you see me?" he asked the corpse, which looked at him with pain-infused eyes. "Close enough."
He stuck the knife in the man's eye and twisted, but all it earned was a garbled mess of howls. He looked back up at Harvey, an annoyed expression dawning on his face. "This is weird. Spooky, even. But relax. Maybe he's just a slow learner?"
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It took a moment to process the words- calm down- anger unfurling in his chest that was refreshingly familiar. If he was going mad then it was just another fork in the road. A damned lost flip.
"Slit his throat." He said, an order that sounded more like a suggestion and if the man didn't stop screaming soon he'd blow his jaw off with the next hit. "This has to stop."
Reply
The man gurgled and blood spat out of his throat into the Joker's face - he slapped the man across the jaw. "Don't do that."
Reply
"We're doing this my way." He said, eyes now fixed on the Joker, his blood and grease paint splattered face. He turned the coin over in his fingers - his way - and turned away from the mess that had once been a highly sought mob dealer. "I know where to smoke more out."
Reply
"All right, now I'm getting spooked." He stood and, without thinking, drop-kicked the head away, listening to the gurgling thunks as it bounced into the dark. "Yeah, let's go see - this is eerie. I have a high tolerance, you know that, but - that's a little too gruesome, even for me."
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He turned down near a peer, glancing to a man standing by a car, nearly nodding of at his post by the door. Harvey glanced to the Joker, nodding towards the man before pocketing his coin and moving forward. The man's eyes shot open in time for the ex DA to crack him soundly on the head with the butt of his gun, making the mob dealer, most likely nothing but a driver, low level grunt, fall to the ground. Harvey kneeled, taking the gun from his belt as the man groaned and turned over, catching sight of the pair, eyes widening even more so when the infamous clown came into view.
"So let's see then." Harvey pulled out his coin, glancing at the Joker. "Call it."
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He waved cheerfully enough to the suddenly terrified grunt, waltzing forward to sit on the man's legs, ignoring the grunt of pain as they bent in uncomfortable ways. "Mm, let's try... heads. How's that?" he asked the man, nodding for him. "I think we both like heads."
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His fingers curled again around the coin, pointing his gun at the now horrified man's head. "Trust me pal, you're going to hope this will be death." he said in a deadpan before putting a bullet in his skull.
And again. Harvey lowered his gun, the horror of the initial anomaly now an irate curiosity.
"-the hell is this." He muttered, warring between that frustration and nausea. Some part of him could still be horrified by this, as small as it may be.
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"Unless it- " He refocused on the Joker. "Do you have a phone?" he asked. He could contact the community- it had to be some trick of theirs. There was no other way.
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