Who You Really Are - Batjokes

III

After that night, neither Batman nor the Joker were spotted on Gotham's surface for a while. It took three days for the Police Commissioner to successfully call for the Vigilante, gritting his teeth as he did so. He still wasn't over what happened that night at the bank but tonight's matter was serious and he couldn't deny the fact many of his men would die if he didn't at least try to swallow his pride this once. So, he threw the bright bat signal at the dark, seething sky of another time of hopelessness. After the past two times his calls had remained unanswered, Jim had feared the worst for Gotham's bravest protector but after what had happened at the bank, he didn't quite know what to believe or what to even hope. So he just stood there, lighting himself a cigarette, trying to blow away the feeling he'd receive another rejection with every cloud of smoke he let into the icy air.
"Even up here, it seems like Freeze already has his damn ice cream waffle claws around us all", he muttered while staring at the skyline in front of him. Gotham's space reaching skyscrapers and magnificent landscapes actually made it an almost picturesque city if you refrained from all the crime, corruption and poverty.
Jim remembered the times before all of this, before Joker's arrival marked the awakening of the world's worse villains of which not few decided to let themselves down right here.
When the mailman didn't have to carry a gun for self protection, when you didn't have to fear the plants in your yard would scrag you any second, when laughter was just a sign of pure joy and not insanity, when-
"Jim", a deep voice from behind the Commissioner suddenly interrupted his trip down memory lane.
Jim had almost swallowed his cigarette, now realising how much he had actually expected for himself to leave this rooftop without any backup.
"I thought you wouldn't show after you didn't the last times. Or have you just come to abduct another one of my suspects?", he snarled without turning to face the bat.
"I've been.. busy these past days and I haven't abducted anyone."
"Oh yeah? So you were just taking the clown for a walk and going to bring him back after a few days?"
Now he did turn around with his eyes flickering coldly. He knew Batman always had his reasons to handle things the way he did but normally Jim could see the logic of it. Just this time he could not and that bugged the hell out of him.
Batman sighed.
"I know what it must have looked like but I promise I have not handled him incautiously. I've made a deal with him and he agreed to the terms, that's what happened".
Jim took a long drag this time, letting his mind process what he's just heard as he tried making up his mind about how far to trust the Vigilante.
"What deal?", he eventually asked and the man in dark armour lowered his head a little as if he couldn't believe it himself.
"I want to try and cure him, rehabilitate him. He's not a lost cause and I know it".
"Know it? So you mean he's locked away somewhere in your hideout where a bunch of doctors are taking tests on him, am I right?".
"Not quite"
"I can't believe this, you know for one second I even considered trusting you with this! What has gotten into you? You used to be the most reasonable, rational man I've ever known and suddenly you abduct a prime suspect, psychopath and murderer from the crime scene, claim to try and cure him and don't even take any precautions! Batman, tell me where exactly the part in your story is that makes me agree with what you're doing? Because I really want to but this? This is crazy, you're crazy."
"Jim, I promise if you just let me start from the beginning and explain it all to you, you will understand why I'm doing this but first we'll need to focus. I heard Freeze is on the run, what happened?"
Even if the cowl hid it, Jim felt the man underneath look at him with big, expectant eyes and knew he'd have to listen to all of this either way. If not for the sake of agreement, then at least to ease his curiosity towards all of this.
"Fine", he sighed eventually and released the last bit of smoked that had rumoured within his lungs for the past thirty seconds in which he had held his breath indecisively.
"He robbed a pharmacy and killed- well rather iced the cashier, we've got two casualties and another two hostages. He demands-"
"It won't come this far", the man in black answered as he already jumped off the building and headed towards the given location.