Enough For Me (batjokes)

Bruce's Secret

The boys split up to see what they could find. It was beginning to get darker outside.
Joker went with Bruce, and Edward followed Oswald. They peeked into house after house, but literally nothing cool or sellable was inside.

Joker and Bruce ran into an elderly woman just walking outside. Joker almost tripped her on purpose, but Bruce have him such a glare that he didn't dare.
"Hello." She said in her crackly old voice kindly as she passed them.
"Hi." Joker smiled, and immediately regretted it because as soon as he did, the lady had a heart attack and screamed bloody murder.

"You're a criminal!" She shouted, pointing a finger and trying to get away. "I see your ugly grin! You are the Joker!"
Bruce saw Joker's smile fade.
How did she tell so quickly??

"Ugly! Get away! Get away right now!!" She shouted hoarsely.

Bruce pulled down his scarf. "You're mistaken, ma'am." He smiled nicely. "This is Jeremiah. My name is Thomas. We aren't criminals."
The elder squinted.
"Are you sure you're just boys?" She asked, placing a hand on her chest in obvious fear. "I saw that smirk!"

Joker didn't smile.
Ugly grin.
He nodded.

"Oh, I am so sorry." She said, reaching out to lay a hand on Joker's arm. "My eyes are deceiving me."
Joker didn't know what he wanted to do.
Kill the old woman, or leave her be?

He could tell Bruce was watching to see what he would do.

"That's all right, ma'am." He said, not daring to smile again.
Bruce let out a slight exhale. He smiled at the lady, and pulled his scarf back over his mouth.
"Have a nice day, boys." She said, and continued her walk happily.

Bruce and Joker shared a look and kept moving in silence.
Joker sneakily peered into a mansion.
Lame. All he saw was a giant piano in a blank room. 
He turned around to walk to the next house.

"Are you okay?" Bruce suddenly asked him.
"Never better." Joker didn't grin, and pushed past him.
Bruce didn't push.
The next house the Joker looked into, he came face to face with someone.
He fell onto the ground, covering his mouth in shock.

Bruce ran over to him and helped him up.
"Edward!" Screamed Joker angrily, and went around to the other side of the house to spot Nygma creeping around.
"You just gave me a heart attack." Joker hissed.
"This house is empty." Riddler pointed. "Oswald went inside."

"Perfect." Joker almost laughed, but then he thought about the "ugly smile" he had, and became serious.
"What?" Bruce asked, coming up behind him.
"We have a new clubhouse. Don't tell Batman." He told Bruce.
Bruce silently stared at the abandoned house.
"Has anyone bought it yet?" He asked Nygma.

"No." Said Ed. "We can all hang out here! And have villain parties and terrorize neighbors- won't it be fun?" He laughed, and looked up to the second floor.
Bruce didn't say anything. Joker looked up too.
He saw Penguin's shadow limping around, scouting out the upstairs.
They saw a thumbs up appear in the window.

Edward and Joker ran to the front door, and went inside, Bruce close behind. Oswald hobbled downstairs one at a time.
"Is it empty?" Asked Joker.
'Yeah, there's no furniture or pictures on the wall or anything. It's a good hideout." He said, reaching the bottom step. "Batman can't find this one. He'll never expect us to find a place in the Diamond District."
"Good." Edward said. He closed the front door. "Give me my glasses, please, Bruce." He held his hand out for them. Bruce handed them over.

"Whoever comes to buy it, we can kill them. Problem solved." Said Oswald, limping over to stand next to the Riddler.
"Me and Bruce ran into an old lady outside, and she could tell I was the Joker." Joker told the others.
"We managed to convince her that he wasn't, but the fact an elderly woman can tell even when he's not wearing makeup is uncanny." Said Bruce.
"How did she know?" Asked Nygma, trying to piece it together.