Gotham's Descent

Chapter Five: No Laughing Matter

[Again special thanks to KitExists for writing Joker here! <333 love ya /p]

Doc had been busy.

While he'd been able to keep the mobs at bay, there were starting to be... unexpected consequences to the Batman. Wannabe mob bosses would try to go after him in the middle of patrol, figuring they'd get some extra attention if they took him down. Good luck with that.

So a breakout at Arkham didn't really surprise him. Who had done it though... that was a bit... odd. Unexpected.

"Jackson... Marshal... Vacan- ... hey- Who's there?" The guard had been doing the usual check-in, when a vacant cell... wasn't as vacant as it should be. Inside was someone just casually sitting in a chair in the middle of the room. "You- You shouldn't be in there-"

The guard sounded more confused and unsure than anything.

"Shouldn't I be?" The inmate spun around, but it was hard to see him in the dark.

"You're- You're not on the list, mister..?" The guard leaned against the door to try seeing the guy better, only to stumble forward as the door opened. "Huh??"

The person inside looked at the guard with a huge smile. His crooked yellow teeth were very visible in the light from the door. The Arkham guard gave a startled yelp at seeing that.

"Wh-What are you!?"

"Y'knowwwww- I was just feeling a little, screw loose." The inmate lumbered forward a little, "Didn't think you would mind if I...checked myself in?" A very creepy laugh followed.

The guard stumbled back, trying to clamber to his feet. "St-Stay back! Don't get any closer!"

The guy didn't listen, lurching up a bit to look at the guard properly without being hunched over. His face was horrific, covered in white clown makeup.

"What? Feeling scared?" He then lifted up an arm, and the long sleeves dropped to reveal something in his hands. "Let me give you a reason to smile."

A horrified scream echoed through Arkham, followed by laughter.

Batman was met by a horde of escaped inmates. 'What a mess...'

He had to eject himself out of the car and send it off with autopilot, before swinging over to the Asylum to investigate what was going on inside.

Inside was absolute chaos. Prisoners were fleeing, the entire power system was off some how, and the security guards were getting overwhelmed with the amount of people running around. Bats swore under his breath, soaring down to tackle two escapees at once, looking up at the guard he'd saved. He may not be in the law's good graces but- hopefully he could get some directions.

"Who started this."

The guard stuttered to respond. Okay, maybe he should tone down the scariness when talking to people he needs to like him more.

"I want to help. Who started this?"

"Woah-hOUOH! Who do we have here!" A voice said from above. Batman looked up, reaching for his weapons. A figure jumped down from near the ceiling, starting to lumper around a bit with a laugh.

"What's with the get up!" He teased, staring at Bats with big creepy eyes. "Bold to walk in here looking like a rejected circus freak!"

'You're one to talk-' Batman just scowled, letting the guard run off in fear while he stood between him and the creep. "Who are you."