The Joker And The Fool

4.(2) Who is afraid of the big black bat?

4.2

There was a period of three weeks in which Diana would lend the Joker much of her loyalty and of her presence. And in that time, for it seemed, that Roman Sionis would follow her around often. For some particular reason he was always at the same place the same time she was. He expressed to her that he wanted them to be friends. But merely because he could see that she was indeed loyal to the Joker. Though, he could not truly see that what lay behind her acts and her forced smiles. For the question of her loyalty had been long on her mind. After she had told Bruce about the Joker and his supposed plans, she had felt some strange form of guilt. She did not know why she had reached out to Bruce, nor why she had dared to betray the Joker. But as time passed it seemed that nothing had changed. Joker had not made any progress with these plans, nor had Bruce seemed to alerted anyone of it. It seemed almost as if both men tried their best to ignore her. Now she was allowed to sit with, walk with and even sometimes talk to the Joker. But for some reason it seemed almost as if he just wanted her to disappear. He did not ask her to leave, nor did he speak about leaving her himself. But he showed a certain disinterest, maybe even disliking to her. Everything she did, even if tasked to do so was wrong in his opinion.

She used to have this simple task to search out certain people and to intimidate or liquidate them. He knew that she had some kind of obsession with killing and harming others. Though, she had never explained for what she thought to be the nature of this need. He had respected it. She did not know if he coped with the same addiction, or if he just did not care. But it had always been that way. He allowed her some kind of satisfaction in carrying out these tasks. It was his gift to her. It was her freedom. However, for several months all Diana had done was cook, clean, and entertain poorly. She did not mind, not having to kill people. She did not think it was something good to begin with. But what did frustrate her, was that it seemed as if he was actively trying to stop her from doing such things. Maybe it was because he wanted her to stop, for mental health issues. Maybe he wanted to show that he ultimately controlled her. Or perhaps he just wanted to take away something she had needed and actually lived into. A by-product of this was that she would come to long for another way to achieve power. Which was why she suddenly became interested in Roman's occupation and that of his friends. And another by-product of that interest was that she suddenly did not feel the need to be so 'loyal' anymore.

She had created this belief that the person whom she supported and even 'loved' was another person than the Joker himself. She did not believe that he had some sort of split personality. But she could agree: Joker was but an idea, not a person. John was a man, her man. Joker was nothing to her anymore. She hated the character which he so desperately tried to be. She hated that he needed to be above human. Thus, she had set her mind on a goal. She thought it a terrible and mean goal. She would promise herself to attempt to reach John, she would attempt to make him abandon his life as they knew it. That, or she would completely destroy the idea that was the Joker.

Though he would have thought that she did owe him her allegiance. He felt that he had created her, that he had shaped her to his needs, thus earned the right to command over her. And though she did not disappoint, for she had become everything that Joker had wished for her to become, perhaps in a way she had become too much alike him. To the point where he realised that she could not be trusted anymore. For he knew what he would do if he would possess the information that he himself possessed. He knew that Diana would grow tired of him and their life. He would not be able to keep her by his side.

He had indeed made no to little progress on his deal with Roman. He did not intend to work by his deadlines. He agreed that they had the same purpose, eventually, however he would do it by his means. He would get paid by Roman eventually. But up until that moment they shared much agreement about whether that payment would be made in advance, or after the deed was done. And all the while Diana was watching him. For if he would strike, she would bring him down. It had led up to this moment so far. It was strange how they seemed so close to one another yet were so far apart. It was what Joker had created when he had forced Diana to bend and break. She felt no sympathy towards the man who had murdered her, she felt that he deserved everything that he had coming towards him. She was to avenge herself, and everyone whom he had cursed with his philosophies. She wanted to destroy the Joker. But not John, John was her man. She had created the illusion in her mind, that they lived together, loved together all normally. But reality had become much less necessary to sustain that fantasy. Whatever happened to Joker, she thought, could not happen to John.