The Jazz Fusion

Chapter XXIII: End of the Road ~No Man's Land Part VII~

"Fuck..." said Bruce, as his voice glitched.

"What's wrong?" asked Peter.

Bruce rips out his cowl. "I-..." said Bruce, in his normal voice. "I have to switch to this voice, now," he spoke in his Dark Knight Trilogy voice.

Peter laughs. "You sound weird!"

"You don't sound too good yourself, Parker," said Bruce. "You sound like a Brit trying hard to be American."

"That's... hurtful..." said Peter.

"I'm sorry... I took it too far. Sorry..."

"No... It's... fine..." sighed Peter. "It's fine..." he whispered.

Meanwhile, Joseph sat down with Irene.

"Are you okay?" asked Joseph, smelling blood.

"I'm fine..." said Irene.

"I smell blood!"

"Oh...! Oh! Yeah...! No... That's not... That's... cramps..."

"Oh, shit..." sighed Joseph. "Jesus Christ... What is it with me and my daughters...?"

"Yeah... Yeah... Stop... doing it."

"Well, I... physically can't, y'know?"

"No offense, but I can smell it, too," said Yurielle.

"So can I," said Mercuria.

"Same h-... Why would I respond to that?" Monroe facepalmed.

Bruce turns to Goblin, who sharpens his dagger. "How'd you get your powers back, anyway?"

"Peter failed in... eliminating my personality... So... when Norman lapsed out... I made a new Goblin Serum... Derived from the DNA in Peter's hair that I torn out of his head during our fight... It was much more potent... So Norman could no longer return as easily as he could like before...
You know... If you had my serum... You'd be unstoppable..."

"I'd probably get your crazy," said Bruce, as he sips his coffee.

Peter and MJ stare at The Joker.

"What's wrong... Spider-Man?" asked The Joker.

"You tried to kill me," said MJ.

"Oh, please... I wanted Peter to kill me. Not I, you."

"Why...?" asked Peter.

"Because... Spider-Man..." The Joker drinks his coffee. "There's chaos in you... A storm is about to happen... Imagine something like... revealing your identity to the whole world... That? That would be fun... Because it would make you practically walk on a wire... And it would be so much easier for us to have fun."

"Why should I kill you?" asked Peter.

"Because when you do... You become just as terrible as I am... You'll break... You'll go crazy..." sneered The Joker.

Peter turns to Bruce.

"His mind is broken..." said The Joker. "Like a watch that lost its purpose... He fixed himself... Yes... But any moment now... the gears will get stuck to each other... and KABLAM!!!" he roared. "The Batman is brought down to my level once more... And I want it to stay that way... Because every time he takes out candlelight, it pains him. It's entertaining, really. Watching himself act like he's normal. He's not. He will never be normal. And you're an excuse for him to be what he thinks he is. In the end... It's already a wasteland in his heart... Wolves and jackals in the city clawing each other... and he's the dog that thinks he's domesticated... Instinct..." said The Joker. "Is his... Heart... Because he's already crazy like the rest of us," he sneered. "You remind me... of a man named Harvey Dent... At least... That's what I thought before... But no... You're much more fun... because you're exactly like 'The Batman'."