The Joker

"Batman told me you were dead last week."

Jason gnashes his teeth, "Don't mention his name. When I find Joker…"

"You won't have to, I will." Nightwings voice is solemn as he puts his mask back on.

Finally, Jason looks up meeting my eyes, as our eyes meet he lets out a long groan.

"Come on man, I thought this one might be real. You're telling me a murderous Dick Greyson came to get me with a vampire and a man with horns and angel wings?"

Looking up at Nightwing I agree with him, "You know he is right, this is a rather odd situation." Looking back at Jason I put up a hand, "You can call me Lucifer Morningstar, consider this a small gift."

The red aura of Wrath consumes Jason's body causing his eyes to widen. With stiff muscles, he stands on his own getting off Nightwing's shoulder.

He looks down at his hands confused, "You healed me?"

"Oh no, not at all. I gave you some borrowed power, you should be able to run at peak performance for a week or so."

Jason shakes his head seemingly thinking much clearer, "What kind of fucked up hallucination is this? I even feel better…"

I shrug as I lean against the door frame, "Why don't you go greet our guests? One of them looks really familiar."

Out the door are more than fifty men in orange jumpsuits, they are obviously prisoners from the main prison who shouldn't be in this abandoned wing. Above on a bridge connecting the two upper-level decks is a clown in a nice purple suit with a green handkerchief and tie.

A large smile graces his butchered, red-painted lips, "Friends of yours boy wonder?"

I can feel wrath emanating from the two young men next to me but I turn to them as I predict what will happen next. A gust of wind brushes against me as black lighting lights up the dark eerie hallway.

One by one the henchmen fall to the ground with a black haze leaking from their mouths. Driven by anger Nightwing seems to be handling the speed force well. Those around are far too slow to see what is going on, though I do see Morbius's eyes attempting to follow him.

By the time the last henchman falls Nightwing is standing on the railing holding the Joker over the railing with a tight grip on his neck.

"AHAHAHAHAHAA, FANTASTIC, I can't believe bat-fake has grown up so much, it brings a tear to my eye." The clearly mad clown yells with a wicked grin.

"Guh," the clown cringes in pain as Nightwing squeezes his neck harder.

"Wait!" Jason yells stepping out from the doorway past me.

Nightwings eyes flick to Jason waiting for a reason, "Don't let him die so easily…"

I step forward patting his back, "Oh no need to worry about that, I will make sure he is tortured plenty later. I can even put you in charge of it if you like."

Jason turns to me with a serious look, "Are you being serious?"

"Lucifer, no, please, no."

I put my hands up defensively, "He is a grown man, if he wants to vacation to hell to torture someone, who am I to stop him."

"He's seventeen," Nightwing says a bit angry.

"He kept sane after months of torture, he is more than enough of a man."

Joker struggles to move his eyes to me, his mad grin getting bigger as he does, "A-re you the real Lucifer? Big f-an of your work, a bit cliche though." The clown forces out the words with some difficulty.

A wave of disgust washes over me as I look at Jason, "Mind if I kill him?"

As my words fall a bat-shaped throwing blade is stopped by shadows inches from Nightwing's hand, "No one is killing anyone."

Falling from the broken skylight above, a man in a full black suit with a bat symbol on his chest, lands on the catwalk not far from Nightwing.

"BATSY!" The joker yells with joy, "I knew you'd come to save me."

The caped crusader ignores the cries of the mad clown as he stares at Nightwing, "You don't want to do this Dick, you'll regret it."

"You know, I had planned to kill him since the moment I found out he killed Jason. But finding him alive" He pauses as he meets Jason's eyes, "it has only cemented my conviction to kill this bag of oxygen-wasting dirt."

Batman's eyes move to Jason and he physically tenses up, "Surprised I'm alive huh?" Jason's raspy voice cracks a bit as a pained expression crosses his face.

"H-He said you were dead, he sent me a video of him killing you…" Batman's somber voice echos through the near desolate halls.

Jason winces as he looks up at him, "Did you even look for me?"

"I did dammit! For four months I never gave up my search, not until he sent me that video."

"FOUR MONTHS?! He was missing for four months and you didn't tell me?!" Nightwings grip around the Joker's neck tightens as the clown begins to writhe in his hand.

"DICK! Calm down, there is no need to do anything that you'll regret."

Nightwings eyes move to Jason as if asking permission to which he nods.

Looking back at Batman he nods, "You're right… and I won't regret this."

*SNAP*

A clear snapping sound can be heard coming from the Joker's neck. His eyes roll back as his head falls loose and his mouth hangs open leaking a green gas. Black mist quickly devours the green gas before it gets far from the corpse's mouth that's now frothing a green foam.

With clear eyes, he lets go of the corpse dropping it off the balcony.

"NO!" Batman falls to his knees punching the ground with grit teeth, "Dammit…"

Wanting to provoke the small fire I appear next to the broken man and kneel down next to him.

"Come on now, what's there to be upset about? Your lifelong enemy and the worst mass murderer of Gotham is dead, now is the time to rejoice. Be happy, you're free of him now."

I smile as I watch a fist come at my face, with a finger I stop it, "How rude, after I just helped save your boy."

"Did you talk him into this?"

Pushing the fist away lightly I appear again next to Jason who is slowly walking up the stairs, "What are you thinking about? You look angry."

With dark eyes, he doesn't answer and steps up the stairs over the corpses of the henchmen. Batman turns to face us and although his face doesn't show much emotion I can feel a strong sense of regret from him.

I vanish and appear again behind 'Batsy', "Why don't you face your son face to face?" Before he can turn I pull off his mask and vanish again dodging his punch.

Appearing again next to Nightwing I stroke my chin observing the situation, "Why did you do that?"

Giving Nightwing a side-eye and smirk I shrug, "I like father-son disputes, it's entertaining when it's not my own."

*BANG*

Turning back I see a red mark on Batman's cheek and Jason rubbing his fist in pain, "Fuck I missed it."

With a spit, Batman looks at Jason with a fairly tender gaze, I'm sure it is all that he can muster.

"If you can ever find it in your heart to forgive me, you are welcome back at the mansion anytime." Turning to Nightwing he puts his mask back on, "You… Don't contact the cave from now on. You won't get a response."

"AS IF I'D EVER FORGIVE YOU!" Jason yells at batman who only gives him a solemn look as he pulls out a grappling hook and grapples up to the skylight.

"Are you going to let it end like that?" I whisper to Nightwing who is currently balling his fists in anger.

"I'd expect nothing less from Bruce," he says in anger through grit teeth.

I pull back aghast, "Using real names now are we?"

Hearing a long sigh from Jason I look up at him, "You know, if this is a hallucination, this is the best damn hallucination I've ever had."