4. Circus

During the meeting, the merc quietly listened as the mob boss explained what happened. Apparently, each crime lord in Gotham controlled a particular of the city. It was an unspoken rule that none of them would overstep their bounds. Of course, that wasn't always the case, with one or two gang wars happening every so often. Still, there was a sense of honor even the villains abide by. 

The problem was, someone like the Joker could never be bound by such rules. From what Toji understood, the mad clown had taken a whole school bus hostage, with most of the children coming from families under the Penguin's protection. The mob boss' first plan was to call the Batman for help. However, after realizing who took them, he had eventually given up on the idea and instead decided to call on the so called Hero-for-Hire.

"Look", said the Penguin. "Knowing that maniac, those kids are as good as dead. So instead, I want you to end the Joker. Permanently". 

Toji nods. "I want five million now, another fifteen after the job's done", he said nonchalantly.

"Deal. I'll also give you an extra half a million for each kid you save".

And with that, the merc left.

---

Toji didn't really care about the reason. As long as he got paid and not much trouble came his way, the man would be willing to do anything. Penguin managed to do a couple of things for him which included pointing him to the Joker's current hideout, an abandoned circus. From what he understood, the Penguin also hushed up the kidnapping so no reports have yet to be given to the GCPD. Toji would have a very limited time to complete his mission before the heroes figure out what's going on and get themselves involved. 

He sneaks inside and finds some goons patrolling the area. Toji sneaks behind them, quietly incapacitating each one. Looking at how the thugs are positioned, the merc realizes that they were guarding the entrance to a large haunted mansion and so, he decides to head inside. 

Looking around, the place itself is desolate, covered in dust, furniture, and some broken animatronics stuck to the wall. He looks around for a moment and stands in the middle of the room. Suddenly, a tall fat clown runs at him with a mallet. Toji easily sidesteps the first attack before punching the man in the belly. The clown grins, not bothered by the attack. He swings again but the mallet suddenly stops mid-air. Toji grabs the weapon by the head and pulling it from the clown's grasp. 

Toji takes hold of the wooden mallet and swings it at the large man's face. The man falls, blood beginning to drip from his nose. The clown growl at the merc as he tries to stand up but Toji hits him again. The clown curses at Toji, blood now mixing in with the make up on his face. The merc hits him again, making the other man groan in pain. Toji hits him again. And again. And again. On his final hit, the mallet snaps. The clown lays on the ground, his face bloody and broken. 

The merc looks around and sees the other crooks watching him pummel the man. Toji punches him a few more times for good measure then heads to the next room as the rest of the goons stare at the broken mess that was their comrade.

Toji opens the door and is met by a small petite woman with a mallet. Another blondie, he thinks to himself after seeing the woman.

"Hey there, big boy", says the woman with a squeaky voice."Sorry, no one's allowed to disturb Mista J while he's working on his projects. Even I haven't seen it yet but I bet it's gonna be a doozy. Also, I just saw what you did to Big Dave. Kinda mean, don't ya think?"

Toji remembers seeing this girl in a wanted poster with quite the high bounty. Not remembering the reason for having so, the merc wants to test her and see what she's capable of.

When Toji doesn't respond, the blondie chuckles. "Oh, another one of those brooding type, eh? Alright, let Doctor Harley help you open up".

She runs towards the merc and jumps, her weapon, another mallet, raised high in the air. "Let's start by checking out at your brain", says the woman with a maniacal smile. 

Toji grabs her by the neck before she could even land on the ground. "A bit rough, aren't you?" she says between each gasps. "I'm kinda into that". 

The woman raises a ball and squeezes it, making it squeak before exploding on Toji's face. The man glares at the blondie who giggles at him. Toji tries to pounce her but the woman dodges to the side, but not without leaving another one of those balls behind. The merc quickly kicks the thing away which squeaks as it hits the wall. The ball didn't explode, however, making the woman laugh hysterically. 

"You've got anxiety issues. Better take it easy on the caffeine", she says. 

Toji growls and leaps at the blondie again. Before she could jump to the side, the merc manages to reach her neck. She tries to kick him in the head but Toji easily blocks the attack. he then parries a few more of her desperate strikes before finally slapping the woman. 

"Harder, Daddy", says the woman in a faint voice. 

Toji slaps the woman again, knocking her unconscious. "Harley Quinn", he says, finally remembering the woman's name. "The clown's little side chick". He looks at her one more time before throwing the woman to the side. Well, this blonde isn't not so special. Not like the flying one, at least.

Suddenly, Toji hears a maniacal laughter in the next room. He opens the door and enters a large dark theater. He slowly heads to the center when the stage lights turn on. As his eyes adjust, Toji sees a clown standing in the middle, surrounded by a bunch of dancing mannequins. 

The clown raises his hands, gesturing for applause. "Welcome all to Casa de Joker".

---

A.N.

Hi peeps. Thanks for all the response from last chapter. Don't really know how to react to that. Ill keep writing you some entertaining stuff.

Also, hope you liked this chapter. Cheers!