*J* (the continuation)

Part Forty-Two: Chapter 310: Everything Comes Out In The Wash

Bruce left Wayne Manor with a kiss as the Joker and Lucy stood in the driveway waving goodbye. Frost approaches as the Joker was walking back inside with Lucy in his arms. In his hand is a folder, which he hands over to the Joker. The Joker transfers Lucy into Frost's arms and opens the folder.

"What am I looking at Johnny?" He asks.

"It's that DNA profile on the chemicals you picked up from that helmet," Frost tells him, "It's not Jester or Harley."

"Well it's not me either," the Joker says, "And I know my darling Lucy hasn't been going out at night. So if it's not me, and it's not Jester, or Harley...that's the only people that could have... No one else would have the..."

"Jason would," Frost says.

"Jason is dead. And so is whoever fucked up this test," the Joker closes the folder with a sigh and stares at Frost.

"Sir," Frost looks down, "I'm not so sure he is dead. We need his DNA to be able to completely rule him out."

The Joker's face goes blank, "And what leads you to suspect that he somehow lived through having his head bashed in with a crowbar Johnny?"

"Well sir, word on the street is that's there's a new player in Gotham. He took out all the number ones of the dope pushers. Forced them into cutting him forty percent of their proceeds. That crime scene you went to with bats was one of his," Frost explains.

The Joker rolls his eyes, "Would you cut to the point already."

"He's going by the name the Red Hood," Frost tells him.

"Red Hood?" Joker looks at him, seemingly paying Frost's words more attention.

"Yes sir," Frost reluctantly nods.

The Joker's eyes grow wide, yet distant. He became so quiet that Frost couldn't even hear him breathing. Finally he speaks to Johnny with a hushed tone, as if someone might have been listening."I need you to keep Jeeves busy for a while."

"Yes sir," Frost nods and heads to the kitchen where he knew Alfred would be.

The Joker sneaks down to the bat cave. He starts searching Bruce's lab for a UV light. When he finds one he shines it on the keyboard for the bat computer. He stares at the most recently pressed letters. With only a few tries he figures out Bruce's password. Bruce was entirely too predictable.

The Joker sees his own file in the bat computer and was so tempted to open up the file. But he hasn't the time for all that right now. He instead looks for Jason. He finds Jason's analyzed DNA and quickly prints out a copy. He then lays the file that Frost had given him next to it. There was no question about it. It was a match. Jason was alive. 

The Joker's teeth gnash and he has to stop himself from destroying the bat cave in a fit of rage. How?! How the hell was he still alive?! The Joker was positive, absolutely positive, that when he walked away from Jason he was dead. Not maybe dead. Not half dead. Fucking dead. He was positive because he made sure you of it. He himself had checked Jason's body for a pulse. There was no pulse! What the hell was going on?

If Jason was alive, why the hell was he making a power play with the kingpin's? What purpose did it serve him? Did Jason have an agenda? A plan? The Joker could feel his chest start pounding. Jason would come for him. For him and everyone he held dear. And he knows that because it's exactly what he would do.

The Joker looks up the long stairs that lead back into the Manor. He needed to get back up there. But his eyes go back to Jason's open file on the bat computers screen. There could be something useful in it. When would he have another chance to hack into Bruce's system? Bruce will probably know the second he gets home that he had been snooping through his database. No. It was now or never.