(Upload) Psych_30 prompt 17) Group Think (Hierarchy)
I wrote this last week, and T did the beta. I have a couple of stories that I should post but haven't re-read to give myself some distance and figure out if they make sense or not. I've had this idea in my head since I started on the challenge.This finally took shape while talking to comicastaway about groups and how people who are not from Gotham don’t really understand it. The team up is slightly weird, maybe Penguin should have been here instead of Eddie, but meh. Huzzah for Eddie!
Fandom: DC animated
Title: Hierarchy
Characters: Joker, Harley Quinn, The Riddler, Two Face, Toyman.
Rating: PG
Prompt: 17 - Group think
Word Count: 693
Spoilers: Not really
Warnings: None
Summary: The importance of proper class divisions.
Disclaimer: I don't own the rogues, but I could probably use a holiday in Arkham
A/N: The table is here. Beta by awesome tmelange.
Hierarchy
Meet with Mr. Luthor - Check
Fly to Gotham - Check
Leave false trail of clues - Check
Find a suitable warehouse - Check
Set up the trap - Check
Capture Batman - Check
Off the vigilante - …
“Pay attention, sonny boy, school is about to start!”
Toyman stared wildly at the colorful group surrounding him, standing between him and his target. He couldn’t let these people interfere with his job; Mr. Luthor had given him everything -money, intel, a sound plan- to kill Batman. If LexCorp’s various activities were to succed in Gotham, Batman had to go. And it all had worked flawlessly until the wackos showed up.
“What do you want, you clowns?”
“Ah-ah, my doll-sized friend. I would rather not be called a clown,” the man dressed in green and question marks said, fiddling with his cane. “You’ll do good to attend to Joker’s explanation, it will save us all a lot of pain.”
“Bring it, Harley!” Joker bellowed, and a projector started running, a big picture of Batman fighting Joker displaying over the wall.
“You’re an outsider, Toyman, pal. We’re willing to forgive you this time, if you can get this around your biiiiig, round head,” the clown gave him what was supposed to be a reassuring smile, and Winslow took a step back.
“Gotham’s hierarchy,” Joker continued with a scholarly voice, putting glassless frames over his nose. “On the top: Batsy and the senior rogues. That’s me, Ozzy, and Harv,” pictures of different battles against (Toyman recognized these ones) Joker, The Penguin and Two Face showed in the projection.
“Next,” the man in green intervened, “junior Bats and associates, and the first class rogues. That’s me, Mr. Freeze, Clayface and the others, along with the sidekicks, like Harley here.” Riddler pointed to the catwalk over their heads, and a female figure clad in red waved at him, her tassels ringing. Toyman started to fear that maybe Luthor’s plan hadn’t considered this contingency.
“Then come the second class rogues, like Roxy Rocket and Catman, then the third class, like Calendar Man and Zodiac Master,” Two Face picked up with the lesson, his trademark silver dollar jumping from knuckle to knuckle on his scarred hand. “Also, the crime bosses. Then the henchmen, and on the bottom, petty thieves and common criminals.” Prison row photos ended the projection of the rogues fighting Batman, and the light went off.
“Finally,” Joker took a step closer to him, taking off the glass frames and leering. “The lowest of all low, the outsiders. Now, do you see your problem, Dollface?”
Toyman tried to step back, and bumped against a pile of boxes. Riddler, Two Face and Joker closed in on him, and he heard the sound of guns being cocked as their henchmen stepped out from the dark.
“If I were you, I would answer,” Riddler prodded amicably, giving him a contemptuous smile.
“My…” Toyman cleared his throat. “My problem?”
“How do you think it looks like when a bottom feeder, an outsider, comes in to off our Bat? It makes us look bad, upstart.”
“Harv is right! If you wanna kill yourself a bat, you’re gonna have to wait in line, bucko.”
Toyman saw the red clad harlequin working on Batman’s restrains. “Hey! What is she doing?”
“Sending him home, silly,” Harley chirped.
“You…!” Toyman looked at his supposed peers in disbelief. “You kill him, then! He’s all yours!”
Riddler clicked his tongue. “Kill him? While he’s unconscious? What are we, vultures? No challenge in that.”
Two Face flipped his coin and caught it in the air, never looking at the result. “Today is the 17th. No killing on uneven numbers,” he said, tiredly, like he was explaining the most basic of notions.
“No one but me,” Joker snarled, much less calmly than the other two men, “knows how to properly set a goodbye party. Tonight, he lives.” The clown smiled. “Tomorrow, he dies! He-he-ha-HA-HA!”
“You people are crazy!!” Toyman yelled, almost in a panic.
The rogues straightened up, looking at each other. Two Face and Riddler joined Joker’s laugh, Harley and the henchmen shortly following.
Two Face sobered up, flipping the coin again. “So we’ve heard.”
Fandom: DC animated
Title: Hierarchy
Characters: Joker, Harley Quinn, The Riddler, Two Face, Toyman.
Rating: PG
Prompt: 17 - Group think
Word Count: 693
Spoilers: Not really
Warnings: None
Summary: The importance of proper class divisions.
Disclaimer: I don't own the rogues, but I could probably use a holiday in Arkham
A/N: The table is here. Beta by awesome tmelange.
Hierarchy
Meet with Mr. Luthor - Check
Fly to Gotham - Check
Leave false trail of clues - Check
Find a suitable warehouse - Check
Set up the trap - Check
Capture Batman - Check
Off the vigilante - …
“Pay attention, sonny boy, school is about to start!”
Toyman stared wildly at the colorful group surrounding him, standing between him and his target. He couldn’t let these people interfere with his job; Mr. Luthor had given him everything -money, intel, a sound plan- to kill Batman. If LexCorp’s various activities were to succed in Gotham, Batman had to go. And it all had worked flawlessly until the wackos showed up.
“What do you want, you clowns?”
“Ah-ah, my doll-sized friend. I would rather not be called a clown,” the man dressed in green and question marks said, fiddling with his cane. “You’ll do good to attend to Joker’s explanation, it will save us all a lot of pain.”
“Bring it, Harley!” Joker bellowed, and a projector started running, a big picture of Batman fighting Joker displaying over the wall.
“You’re an outsider, Toyman, pal. We’re willing to forgive you this time, if you can get this around your biiiiig, round head,” the clown gave him what was supposed to be a reassuring smile, and Winslow took a step back.
“Gotham’s hierarchy,” Joker continued with a scholarly voice, putting glassless frames over his nose. “On the top: Batsy and the senior rogues. That’s me, Ozzy, and Harv,” pictures of different battles against (Toyman recognized these ones) Joker, The Penguin and Two Face showed in the projection.
“Next,” the man in green intervened, “junior Bats and associates, and the first class rogues. That’s me, Mr. Freeze, Clayface and the others, along with the sidekicks, like Harley here.” Riddler pointed to the catwalk over their heads, and a female figure clad in red waved at him, her tassels ringing. Toyman started to fear that maybe Luthor’s plan hadn’t considered this contingency.
“Then come the second class rogues, like Roxy Rocket and Catman, then the third class, like Calendar Man and Zodiac Master,” Two Face picked up with the lesson, his trademark silver dollar jumping from knuckle to knuckle on his scarred hand. “Also, the crime bosses. Then the henchmen, and on the bottom, petty thieves and common criminals.” Prison row photos ended the projection of the rogues fighting Batman, and the light went off.
“Finally,” Joker took a step closer to him, taking off the glass frames and leering. “The lowest of all low, the outsiders. Now, do you see your problem, Dollface?”
Toyman tried to step back, and bumped against a pile of boxes. Riddler, Two Face and Joker closed in on him, and he heard the sound of guns being cocked as their henchmen stepped out from the dark.
“If I were you, I would answer,” Riddler prodded amicably, giving him a contemptuous smile.
“My…” Toyman cleared his throat. “My problem?”
“How do you think it looks like when a bottom feeder, an outsider, comes in to off our Bat? It makes us look bad, upstart.”
“Harv is right! If you wanna kill yourself a bat, you’re gonna have to wait in line, bucko.”
Toyman saw the red clad harlequin working on Batman’s restrains. “Hey! What is she doing?”
“Sending him home, silly,” Harley chirped.
“You…!” Toyman looked at his supposed peers in disbelief. “You kill him, then! He’s all yours!”
Riddler clicked his tongue. “Kill him? While he’s unconscious? What are we, vultures? No challenge in that.”
Two Face flipped his coin and caught it in the air, never looking at the result. “Today is the 17th. No killing on uneven numbers,” he said, tiredly, like he was explaining the most basic of notions.
“No one but me,” Joker snarled, much less calmly than the other two men, “knows how to properly set a goodbye party. Tonight, he lives.” The clown smiled. “Tomorrow, he dies! He-he-ha-HA-HA!”
“You people are crazy!!” Toyman yelled, almost in a panic.
The rogues straightened up, looking at each other. Two Face and Riddler joined Joker’s laugh, Harley and the henchmen shortly following.
Two Face sobered up, flipping the coin again. “So we’ve heard.”