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Chapter Text

The early morning Gotham fog wafted past them as they walked forward; Batman with gritted teeth and grim seriousness in his stride, while a less than upbeat Joker dragged his feet as he followed along, slouching; he had his hands in his pockets, and a pout in place of his usual grin.

The air was eerily cold to the both of them, but neither voiced the thought out loud. They were used to their city, and their city was used to them. But this- this wasn't their city-technically speaking, but it was still Gotham.

Surprisingly, neither made any move to break the heavy silence that had fallen over them. They simply walked on, thinking of the same thing- the moment all of this began. 

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Batman stood near the ferris wheel, looking around to find any evidence of recent activity to see if the clown really did choose Amusement Mile again to be his hide-out. "Did ya miss me, darling?"Joker popped up behind Batman, and narrowly escaped being elbowed in the face.

"Welp! Now you have!" Joker exclaimed happily before he ducked down to avoid a punch aimed at his nose, "Missed me!"

He twirled away from a kick, "Missed me again!" A batarang to the shoulder was narrowly avoided by a sidestep. "Aww I didn't know you missed me this much!" He cooed, both his hands coming up to hold the sides his own face.

"How," He spun around to avoid another batarang "SWEET!!" He pulled out a small blade from his sleeve and lunged at Batman,  Batman caught his arm, but Joker swept a leg under Batman's feet and slipped away with a laugh before he could lock him.

Batman punched his torso, making him drop the blade, "Oh- Come. On!" He staggered back clutching his middle, "You'll be to blame if I puke right now Bats!" He yelled, but Batman only threw a kick his way.

"Seriously, stop! I have a tummy ache!" Batman stopped mid motion, and just stared at Joker with his raised fist. "....What?"

"What?!"Joker yelled back, and for a moment they just stayed like that, staring at eachother. These moments did happen from time to time, but they always end soon.

Right as Joker pulled out a bigger knife from inside his coat, smokebombs were thrown and he got decked square in the face."Gah!!"

He fell back and landed on his butt "Oof!" Before he could recover, he got kneed, in the face again. "Okay, stawp!" a leg on his chest pushed him down on his back; and then almost immediately, the leg stomped on his ribs. 

Joker yelped, clasping both his hands firmly on the leg, seemingly going to twist it, but brought his own legs to wrap around it, then used his whole body to turn the leg and make Batman loose balance.

It worked, Batman fell down beside Joker, but he managed to push his leg harshly onto the clown's already bleeding nose, leaving a footmark on his face. "Can you like STOP going for the FACE too, Damnit!?!"

Joker yelled and tried to bite the kevlar boot off, working his whole body around Batman's leg like a snake. Batman retrieved a Batarang from his belt and threw it at Joker's shoulder, which got lodged perfectly between the clown's shoulderblades this time.

Laughing, the clown let Batman's leg go and clutched at his own shoulder. Batman stood up immediately, but he supposed immediate never seemed to be quick enough with the Clown Prince of Crime.

"Haha! Eat that!" Joker exclaimed, crawling backwards, with one arm pointing the gun in his hand at Batman; who kneeled down now due to the bullet that grazed his knee.

Luckily for the Dark Knight, Joker used his right hand to shoot, so he didn't shoot perfectly on target. Bruce knew Incapacitating Joker's Dominant hand wouldn't be enough to stop him, so he threw more batarangs at him, not letting him nurse his left hand.

He stood up now, ready to fight him on foot again, but that's when a bright light appeared, it was nearly blinding. Both the Bat and the Clown closed their eyes and looked away from the direction of the source; gripping their weapons tighter and shielding their eyes.

After a beat, Batman and Joker crack open their eyes to see the bright light fade and reveal a rainbow colored smoke-screen

Coughing; the pair look on in confusion as it clears to reveal a small figure clad in a rainbow cloak that hid their form, the only thing visible under the shadow of the cloak's hood being red, heart-shaped goggles with rose-tinted lenses.

Jazz music played in the backround as Batman narrowed his eyes at the figure, getting a Batarang ready. "Woah Woah WoahWoahWoah." Joker seemed taken back, but his irritation was more apparent. "Who the Holy Bat-Jaw Do you think You are, Squirt!?"

Joker didn't even get the chance to close his mouth before the colorful confetti popped in the air from out of nowhere; jerking his head back, Joker gaped at the spectacle unfolding before him. 'Damnit! This was supposed to be MY Night with My Knight!' He thought as the little creature twirled and floated above their heads.

"Fret not, My Dear Sourpatch! You'll get so much more than just a single night with him If I have anything to say about it!" They said, perplexing both the clown and the bat; but for different reasons.

"And I know what you're probably thinking too, Brucie boy!" It proudly proclaimed once more, and Batman quickly became mortified.

"Chilllllll. He knows. Isn't that Right, you cute lil' green-haired Gremlin?" They cooed, and Joker simply nodded with a pleased smile, then his eyes narrowed "Hey-! wait a second- the hell did you just call mwmhh-!?" The creature had floated quickly towards the clown to put a finger to his lips, effectively shushing him for a few seconds.

But still, Joker was far too dumbfounded to react; "I am Shipper! Captain Shipper!" They announced, floating back to hover over the pair of ' enemies', arms proudly outstretched.

"And I'm here to get my ship to sail!" They floated down, hovering between the Bat and the Clown. "The docks are on the other side of Gotham, pal. You've got the wrong address. We don't have any ships here." Joker Deadpanned.

"Awww how Cute!!!!" They crooned, petting Joker's head. Batman was very still as he observed what was going on.

Joker's jaw was nearly touching the floor from how much he was gaping, but that's when Batman noticed the reddish color to his face; Joker sputters then, and Batman realises that the Joker is Flustered.

Joker. The Clown who never shuts up and always has something to say. Was Flustered. Wow.

"Hm, Well, As I was Saying; I'm what is called an imp. I'm from the 5th dimension. And I'm here on behalf of a part of your fandom." They raised their hands towards the two, "And I suppose you might not like this at first, but trust me. You'll thank me later. After you find what you're supposed to!"

Before Bruce could even process all of that information, the Bright Light came back again, blinding.

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Joker suddenly halted his steps, and called out to Batman "Wait- Batsy! C'mon, stop!" Joker clutched at his stomach and stayed where he stood. "I'm starving!!"

Batman glared, and Joker pouted at him. Batman sighed,  "Fine. It has been a while since we last ate. " He finishes.

"Hm, really? I mean, we're travelling between alternate realities here, how do we even know? Unless you have some sort of multiversal-" Joker wasn't allowed to speak any further. Batman will fight him to the death at this point.

"Hmmmmm what's gotten into you, Batsy Darling? You're even more grumpier than usual! I mean, Just what did you see back there? Why'd you-?" Joker was slammed onto the wall, caged there by Batman's strong arms on eaither side. "Do Not. Ask. me. about this. If you do, I will leave you behind." Bruce Growled, their faces mere inches apart from eachother.

"Well, no promises!" Joker chirped and ran off. "Fooooodddd!!!!!' Batman ran after him. "Joker!"

Chapter Text

Bruce still couldn't believe this was happening. He looked down at the stolen Burger in his hands, still feeling guilty about letting Joker get his way. But they needed food to regain their energy, and Batman couldn't pay for anything; since they were not in their own world anymore.

"You gon' eat that?" pointing a finger at Bruce's Burger, Joker called out from where he sat on the opposite edge of the building, dangling his feet in the air as he licked his fingers.

Batman only gave a grunt and glared, "Okay! Okay! Jeez! I was just asking!" Joker folded his arms and turned away with a pout, muttering things Bruce couldn't properly hear. 

His nose was still bleeding from Batman's punch, a consequence of attacking a poor civilian for McDonalds. Or WcDonalds, in this world.

Batman sighed and ate his own Burger; the uneasy feeling still lingering from the previous world they'd been in.

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When they opened their eyes, they found themselves in an alley, definitely nowhere close to Amusement Mile though; both of them knew the place and the area around it as much as they knew the backs of their own hands.

Batman noticed that there were two, small, glowing stones lying between them; He reached for them while Joker was too busy rubbing his eyes and complaining. "Ooooookay! What the ever-loving Bananas just happened!?"

Bruce pocketted the stones, storing them away for later. "You saw that too, right? Batsy?" Joker fumed, "That little shit! Ruining our date!" Batman stood up, looking around; trying to recognise their location, since they seemed to still be in Gotham. "I mean- can you Imagine!? The Fucking AUDACITY!"

Batman turned on his comms, trying to contact Alfred; but it didn't work. "We were just getting to the good part, too!"

Batman pressed a button on his gauntlet to display a holographic image of the city's map, but there was no red dot to indicate where they were.

This could mean that they were no longer in Gotham, or- "Batsy?? Are you even listening??? Batsy!"

Batman sighed, "Can you shut. The. Hell. Up?" he gritted out, irritated at having to deal with the clown's spiel when he was trying to figure out the status of their current situation.

"Yes. Yes, I can." Joker looked at him from where he sat cross-legged on the ground with eyes blown wide and a face splitting grin, "But I don't think I will." Bruce stifled the urge to groan and clenched his teeth as the clown cackled with his head thrown back.

Batman simply turned around and began walking away, knowing full well that the annoying idiot will scramble to follow after him like a puppy when he got far enough away.

Getting out of the alley, Bruce found that this place was indeed Gotham. The architecture, the sky, everything.

But something felt not quite right. "Darling!" Ah. There he is. "There you are!"

Joker huffed, "You could've waited up for me, y'know?" Batman didn't even spare him a glance. "You took too long."

"Oh come on, Bats! It wasn't my fault! I got a little lost at the split." Bruce tuned him out. Other than the nonsense machine beside him, there wasn't much noise. It was completely quiet.

So if this really was Gotham, then why couldn't he contact Alfred? What happened to the map? And the quiet. It was too quiet.

Batman looked around to see that he was standing alone now. No self-proclaimed clown in sight.

Groaning, Batman took out his grappling hook and swung onto a roof. He turned on the thermal vision of the cowl and looked around, trying to pick out the familiar form.

Thin arms wrapped around Bruce's neck in a not-quite-chokehold. "Surprise!" Bruce controlled his reflex to punch the asshole in the face again. "You should really pay more attention to me, honeypie. I could've run away so easily if I'd wanted to~" Joker's smile was apparent in his voice, Bruce ignored him.

Joker can't keep hanging from his shoulders forever. "Bats. Baaaaats. Batsbatsbatsbatsbats-" Bruce grabbed him by the arms and slammed him down into the roof. "Oof!"

"Shut up." Batman glared down at the pleased clown beaming up at him. "Nahhhh, I'm good." He grinned, much to Bruce's annoyance.

"I have to get to the cave." Batman turned around, shooting his grappling hook. "Behave yourself." His free hand was extended to Joker; who looked at him confused, before letting out a very loud gasp.

"Oh my Bat-cheeks! You're taking me with you!" The clown squealed. Bruce could've sworn he saw stars in his eyes for a split second.

"Fuck, I love you!" Joker ecstatically took Batman's hand and wrapped all of his limbs around Bruce's body as they swung off.

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"BAAAAAAAATTTMAAAAAAANNNNNNNNNN!!!!!!" Joker yelled in his ear, pulling Bruce out of his trance.

"What?" Batman snapped as he stepped away from Joker, "Fucking Finally! Took you long e-nyeaoouw-gh!" Joker yawned.

"How long has it been since you've slept?" Batman asked, "Wouldn't you like to know, Batty boy?" Joker stretched his arms above his head. "Joker." Batman pressed.

"Fine, I'll tell you if you tell me." The clown shrugged. Batman glared at him.

"What? You don't get to pretend like I'm the only sleep deprieved, irresponsible A-hole here!"

Batman sighed. He was exhausted. "Let's just sleep, we need it." He decided to say instead. "I saw a rundown warehouse 'round the corner, we can use-" Joker didn't let him finish. "Ha! Look at you avoiding the- wait, did you just say we?-" Batman groaned.

"-As in, we're sleeping, together?" Bruce could swear there were sparkles flying around the clown's face, but it could just be that he was just that tired.

"Let's just go, Joker." He turned around to launch his grappling hook, "But you're not Denying it!!!!"

Joker latched onto Batman, giggling as they swung away.

Chapter Text

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Batman glared at Joker who was squealing through the hands clasped over his mouth, then turned to let his retinas be scanned.

The entrance to the Batcave opened, and they stepped inside; the door closing behind them. "Holy shi-!" Batman clasped his own hand onto Joker's mouth, "What about the word quiet did you Not understand?" Batman whisper-yelled, exasperated already.

Joker leaned into the hand and closed his eyes, inhaling the smell; Batman quickly snatched his hand away. "Joker". Batman ground out, anger evident in his voice. "oh fine."  Joker mumbled, making an action of zipping his mouth and when Batman turned away, pocketted the non-existent key.

Batman sighed, leading the way; he noticed that the cave was slightly different from how it usually was; older, quieter, dustier- something felt off.

He held an arm out in front of Joker, who turned to him with confusion; "Stay." Joker grinned, "With you? Forever." Bruce clenched his hands and teeth, squeezing his eyes shut.

Exhaling slowly through his nose, he pinched the bridge of his nose; "Stay here. As in, right where you are. And Don't move until I say so." Joker saluted him, "Your Wish is My Command!" he whisper-yelled. 

Batman sighed again and went further into the cave; calculating the variables in his head.

He found a door that didn't exist before, or perhaps, didn't exist in his cave... ' Maybe this is all a kind of illusion, or a pocket dimension meant to resemble reality-' He thought as he moved past the door using his fingerprints.

'But if this isn't an exact replica, and it's fairly easy to figure out that this isn't the real world, then why would they bother?' Then he remembered the stones, 'What could they be? They definitely seemed like they were magic-'

He heard a muffled voice from below a staircase that most likey lead to the actual ' bat cave ' . He didn't have a staircase like this, so this wasn't the real world. Or at least, not their world, as they knew it.

Could this be the future? he knew time-travel was a thing, though he'd never personally met any of the time-travellers; he knew they existed and that they were there.

When he got closer to the bottom of the staircase, he stopped. That voice.

Now that he had gotten closer, it wasn't as muffled anymore. It was his own voice. "-ut even then, None of them could ever hope to reach you. You were far more intelligent, witty and even more dangerous." He heard his own voice say, though it was rougher and a little hoarser.

"No one does it like you. No one." The voice went on, "I don't think anyone ever could." Then, there was a pause.

"The GCPD found Oswald today. " A pause, "They called in an ambulance for him." Penguin? What does- "It's barely been a week since Edward's Funeral." Funeral-? "I tried to save him."  What is this? Some kind of- "But he- He was old," Wait, Old? Cobblepot? But he- "He said there was nothing more to do- nothing left to fight for- that he'd lived his life." There was a choked sound, and Bruce decided to concentrate on the words, so he could figure out after he knew the whole information if anything was relevant at all.

" He told me to give it up already. That this was never going to end. An Endless Cycle-" There was that sound again, almost like a sob-

"That goes on Forever. Hah. Forever..." Then there was a Laugh- scratchy, broken, chilling. It was an eery sound, especially since he rarely got to hear his own laugh. "Most of my children are dead-" Children? "Even the ones who're alive, might as well be-" 

There was a grunt, and a sound of a fist hitting something, but nothing seemed to have been broken, "Alfred's been dead for years-" Alfred? Bruce felt a sudden panic surge through him, "I thought I could make this world a better place- that I could make Gotham a better place- for everyone," There was more sobbing.

"For people like My parents and Alfred, My kids, For people like Oswald, Edward, Selina, Harvey-" Bruce felt a pang in his chest, but he couldn't find Why- "For Us." there was the sound of the fist again, louder this time, stronger- until there was the sound of a body hitting the ground.

Bruce risked peeking in to find an older, disheveled himself- crying on his knees in the batsuit; next to what seemed to be a freezer box. Bruce felt strange, witnessing something like this; maybe that's what this person- ' Imp '(?) wanted- But just then, the cowl came off to show a mostly silver haired Bruce Wayne's face.

"What happened to 'Never getting rid of you'?" The other Bruce said to the box, or whoever's inside it. Bruce's heart raced as he thought of who it could be- "You told me we'd do this forever- You promised me that you'd-" If it wasn't Alfred, or any of his ' kids ' or- "That in the end, it was going to be You and Me-"

Other Bruce punched the box, once, twice, thrice, "Fuck! I'm not even completely alone- But it sure feels like it!" He sobbed again, "You were supposed to be here. You were supposed to be my other half- the other side of the coin-" Bruce momentarily forgot how to breathe.

"We are Yin and Yang, Two halfs of a whole- We need eachother- I need You- Joker..." No. No, this- this isn't real." There! I SAID IT!" Other Bruce seemed angry now, "ARE YOU HAPPY NOW, YOU SICK BASTARD!?" The other Bruce screamed, "ISN'T THIS WHAT YOU WANTED!? TO BREAK ME!? WELL, HERE I AM! ALL YOURS." He stood up, grabbed the box and shook it.

"LOOK AT WHAT YOU'VE DONE! What you've done to Me-" He sobbed again, "Just- Just look at me, please-" That was barely a whisper- "You were Right, God, you were right-" 

Bruce stepped back quietly, a strange feeling overtaking his body, "You can have what you've always wanted- but you're not here-" Bruce turned around, cautiously climbing back up the stairs, "YOU TOLD ME YOU'D STAY IN MY LIFE FOREVER EVEN IF I WANTED YOU GONE-!" Bruce stopped mid-step.

' 

"Stay."

"With you? Forever."

'

"Now I actually want you here, so- So why...Why do you always do this!? What do you gain by making me suffer like this? Why, when you can't even see it for yourself!?" Bruce felt like throwing up.

It was only when he got back to where he'd left his Joker and found him making faces and cursing at the bats above them that he started to calm down.

There he sat, his legs crossed; turning his head away from the tiny bats above to the large bat now beside him- extremely tense; like he was fresh from a fight. 

"Darling-!" Bruce shut his mouth with his own hand again, pulling him into his chest; he felt the clown immediately lean into it.

Keeping him close, he walked out of there. "Batsy!" He didn't look down at the clown, but instead; held him tighter as he dragged him along. "Baaatsss!" Bruce still had his hand on Joker's mouth, so he wondered how he spoke so clearly, without sounding muffled.

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"Wake. UP. Damnit!" Joker groaned. Bruce's eyes shot open then- A dream? "Ugh, finally." Bruce looked around, and found himself in the same warehouse where he'd taken Joker to sleep. Great. ' Not entirely a dream then. ' 

Oh how he wished it were that simple-

Joker giggled, and it was only when Bruce looked down that he saw that he had been holding the Joker. In his sleep. And he still hadn't let go.

Immediately Batman withdrew himself from his clown; much to said clown's dismay. " Aw dang-it!"

"Shut up. We are to never speak of this again " Batman stated. "Ha! Ya wish!" Bruce shook his head and stood up. "Hey, the fuck's gotten you so worked up?" Joker stood too, standing close to Bruce. "You've been actin' wierd since you came back from that cave from the other earth- what did you-" Bruce tensed again. " Just Drop it. You'll get nothing out of me." Joker pouted.

Chapter Text

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Joker leaned his back casually on a tree, arms folded across his chest and looking at Batman with a bemused expression.

They stood in the forest near Wayne Manor, Batman had quite literally dragged him out there as fast as he could while also being quiet; as soon as he had gotten back to where he'd left Joker in the path to the Batcave.

Batman refused to look at Joker since then, even after Joker had done exactly as he was told. And the lack of appreciation, or even acknowledgement? it was kinda getting to him.

Joker pouted, but said nothing. He was mad at his Bat. Although he knew he wouldn't be- couldn't be for long, he still made a show of it; frowning, kicking trees, 'hmpf'-ing and side-eye-ing. All in vain, however; because Batman wasn't even paying attention- staring into the distance instead with his brooding face on.

Joker kicked at the ground, puffing his cheeks; he marched up to Batman, and he was sure that the stupid flying rat didn't even notice.

Joker scowled, smile flipped right over into a frown; he opened his mouth to yell at his vigilante, to get the attention he was entitled to, but before he could, that bright light from before appeared again.

Batman immediately pulled Joker behind himself, keeping him close; and Joker, in turn, clung to his cape.

The light cleared to once again reveal the little creature- ' 'imp', was it? ' Joker snorted, recalling their name. "Why, if it isn't-" Batman clasped his hand over Joker's mouth again, muffling his words.

"It's You." Batman growled, "You sent us here."  he clenched his fist in Joker's clothes. "And Bingo was his name-o!" They greeted the pair cheerfully, clapping their tiny hands together. "Wouldn't expect anything less from the ' world's greatest detective '! Or should I say, Your world's greates detective." They grinned wide, almost rivaling Joker's own Smile™. Almost.

"Our world?" Batman questioned, still not letting go of Joker. "Yep! You are no longer in your own world, but on a different one that resembles yours." They talked how a salesperson would about your car's extended warranty.

"...What?" Batman cautiously asked, " We don't want insurance. In fact, I don't even own a lawnmower!" Joker piped in.

The Bat and the imp both turned to him, faces blank now; "What? I actually don't." The creature started laughing, and Batman's face became the embodiment of exasperation.

"That was So Random, WHAT?!" The imp exclaimed, laughter unceasing. Joker smiled wide at Batman, "See? I am funny!" Batman scowled, "How in hell was that suppposed to be funny?" Joker chuckled, ' And at last, I have his attention! ' Joker celeberated in his head.

The imp finally calmed down, " Oh yeah, getting back to the topic at hand," Batman now payed close attention. "There are multiple realities, where anything and everything is possible, and exists simultaniously!" Joker frankly didn't give a shit; that is, until a certain thought crosses his mind .

"That means that there's Multiple Batmans! Batmen? Bat...people?" Joker perked right back up. "That's right!" The imp replied, "So what you're saying is... Heaven is real!!!!! WOOOOO!!!!" Batman glared at him, and the imp laughed.

"So, The multiverse is real?" Batman asked, serious as ever. "Pretty much, yeah!" Batman seemed to take a moment to digest it, but he eventually spoke again. "What are we doing here then? If this isn't ' our world '?"

"Ah yes, of course. The main plot!" The creature grinned, "You're here, because I want you to be!" Batman glared, and something stirred in Joker's eyes. "There's something I want you to do. You will be free to go after I have what I want. And you will not be harmed, at least not by me.

"And why should we do this for you?" Joker grinned threateningly, "I don't have much experience being an errand boy. And nor would I ever be reduced to being one." He said with a warning etched into his voice.

"Well, that doesn't really matter to me. And trust me, it's in your best interest." Batman interjected, "How is ' kidnapping us to a different universe to do something for you ' in our best interest?" The creature smiled.

"Oh just Trust me. You'll know when you get there." The pair had no choice but to play along, they realised. Locking eyes with eachother for a second, they turned to the imp, "What do you want us to do?" Batman frowned, "Yeah, how do we do this if we don't know what we're supposed to be doing?" Joker agreed with him.

"The rocks. The ones you have, Bat, are meant for the both of you." Batman remembered, he had them in his utility belt. "They will glow bright when you get closer to achieveing your goal, and turn darker should you be closer to failure." The two Gothamites narrow their eyes.

"Byeeeeee!" 

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"UGH!! COME the FUCK on!" Joker yelled in Batman's face, "HOW LONG WILL YOU JUST- Stand And STARE at that godforsaken wall!?" Batman sighed, "What else is there to do?" He asked Joker, openly dejected.

"Hey, c'mon. The little pipsqueak sent us here to find something- we could at least try to find it! For boredom's sake!" Joker tilted his head, pouting; Batman sighed.

He looked down at where he kept the rocks, "Alright, fine. But you'll have to listen to what I say." Joker saluted him, "Yup! Got it!"

Chapter Text

By the time they'd woken up, the sun was already setting- they'd slept through the whole day and had awoken at dusk. And when they finally got out of the warehouse, only small traces of the sunset were left in the sky.

This Gotham was so much quiter than their own; there were barely any people outside, and even those who were seemed to cower in fear.

This is why Batman needed to exist; To put the fear out of the hearts of the people, and to help those in need- even those that don't deserve it.

"I need you- Joker"

Batman shook his head, 'Focus, Bruce.' He told himself. 'That wasn't Us. That wasn't him.'

He subtly moved closer to the clown as they walked quietly in the shadows; where the streetlights couldn't hope to reach.

"Batsy," Joker leaned into Batman's personal space, an annoyed smile apparent on his face. "Where are we going?" Joker asked him for the 7th time already.

They could still see the warehouse in the distance; which meant that they hadn't even walked that far yet. Bruce frowned.

"..." After a little consideration, if only to stop Joker from asking again, Batman spoke. "We're going to the Batcave." Joker looked confused.

"Again? Why??" Joker asked him. Maybe he just wanted to make sure this world wasn't like the last one, or simply just wanted to go home. Right now, even he couldn't tell.

Joker frowned at the lack of response from his Bat; He didn't like being ignored. "If you wanna go there, go ahead. I'm not coming." He pouted.

Batman's attention snapped to Joker, and the clown basked in it. "What? You can't expect me to just- follow you wherever you go!" He smiled, his yellowish-teeth on display.

"Joker-" Bruce didn't get to say anything before Joker took off running. "I'm not a Lovesick Puppy, Batman!" He laughed, already having put much distance between them when Batman was caught off gaurd.

Bruce cursed under his breath, swinging off after the maniac. He sighed, knowing it'd just fall on deaf ears, but still called out to the clown. "Get back here, you idiot!"

Bruce knew Joker just wanted more attention, but he chose the wrong time to play games and be difficult. But it was on brand, so he really shouldn't be surprised.

The deeper they went into the city, the colder it got; colder than it had been when they first got there. 

Both missed the other's warmth already, but knew they'd be locked in battle- feeling the other close- in no time.

Joker wished he could've stayed in the sleeping Bat's arms for longer, but what can he say? He was in the mood for a good old fashioned Fight of Passion.

And as soon as he got what he wanted, he'd behave. Like a good boy. He wondered if he could get Batman to call him that if he did.

Probably not- but it was a nice thought. It made him feel all giddy inside as he sprinted. He blushed, giggling.

And as they went on, they took notice of the few people in the alleys, hiding and fearful. Maybe too fearful. But before Batman could take the time to figure out why, he heard a scream.

He went immediately to investigate, since it seemed to have come from very close by. So he couldn't just- wait for this world's Batman to show up.

A mugging. Now that  sounded more like Gotham. But the brief familiarity vanished as soon as it had arrived. 

He'd beat up and tied the criminal up for the police to find and had returned the purse to the scared man, who was very surprised to see him.

"B-Batman?! You're b-back!?!?" Batman had tilted his head questioningly at the man, but spoke no further. He simply nodded at the man once and left to chase Joker again.

Chapter Text

Batman grappled from building to building, finding it eerie that there wasn't the bustling of the city around him.

He was getting frustrated now. 'When I get my hands on him-' his thought process stopped.

On a nearby building's small balcony, he saw the green hair and lanky figure. "There you are." he growled, all his anger bubbling to the surface.

Landing there with full force, he seems to have startled the clown; "I swear if you try that again-" Batman tried to warn, expecting a pout or the like in response (Not because he liked it when Joker got like that, of course. No, he definitely didn't like or enjoy Joker's whining. He didn't provoke or remain unresponsive to Joker for the purpose of getting him to be pouty. No way.) But the look on the shorter man's face was not what Bruce had expected at all; something seemed- off. 

The smudged make-up that he'd spent nearly 25 minutes salvaging- gone; his hair was somehow longer, tangled and dissheveled; and he wasn't even wearing the same clothes anymore.

He now wore a wrinkled and stained lime shirt that was missing the top four buttons and dirty maroon dress-pants instead.

It was impossible to get such a transformation so fast, even for Joker. The shock Bruce found on his face when he looked up seemed to point to this man not being his Joker.

In the previous reality they'd been in, they hadn't gotten into a situation like this; they'd left without having... met- ' themselves '.

But now, confronted with a joker and not his Joker, he didn't really know how to go about this. So, he settled on clearing his throat loudly instead.

The joker in front of him- seeminly frozen since the moment he saw Batman- Blinked slowly, face morphing into delight and then- was that anger? Bruce doesn't remember a time where His Joker had looked at him with so much spite. Out of all the evidence, this confirms it for him that this really wasn't His clown.

With a nasty snarl, he lunged at Batman- who dodged with ease. Faceplanting on the concrete of the balcony, the man groaned; turning his head towards Batman. If looks could kill- Bruce had to dodge this joker again as he pounced once more; not unlike a rabid dog, and not unlike His own clown.

Batman side-stepped, grabbed him; twisted his arms behind his back, and pushed him down, letting his own weight rest on the bony clown stuck underneath him.

This joker made a painful sound, coughing at having his lungs almost crushed. Looking up at the Bat on top of him from the corner of his eye, he scowled and bared his teeth, glaring.

Bruce was kind of confused now, but fortunately for him; his clown had come looking for him. "Batsy Darling!" Bruce's clown gasped from where he stood on the balcony's less-than-safe-or-sturdy railings.

"Get down from there before you break it and fall down." Bruce side-eyed him. "Oh please!" The clown made a hand motion, "You know I'm not that heavy." He rolled his eyes. "'Sides, you won't let me fall." He grinned, eyes crinkling. 

Bruce huffed before looking back down at the other joker, who had an honestly hilarious look on his face. He wasn't sure if his clown would be Ecstatic at a Joker making him laugh, or Enraged that it wouldn't actually be him who did it.

He got up, holding the joker's hands together so he doesn't try anything; and looks to His Joker who dangled his legs in the air from where he sat on the railings.

"Sooooooo," He drawled, eyes sharp but smile barely there, "You're supposed to be Me?"