I miss you.

Chapter Two: Reunion

Batman found himself at arkham asylum, pacing the dreadful halls with a nurse by his side. He wasn't sure why he was drawn to this place, but it only seemed natural. In a way, he even missed the place; all his enemies were locked away here, and he hadn't seen them in a while. He could care less about how they were doing, but he had to see if they were still here. He had to keep an eye on these lunatics. If he didn't, the outbreak he'd been expecting would come even sooner than he'd planned.

"Batman! Any particular reason you're here today?" Chirped the cheerful voice from his left. "Anyone you wanted to see?" The man's eyes narrowed.

"You heard news of any breakout attempts lately?" He said in a low voice. "The Riddler? The Penguin maybe?" The nurse cocked her head like a puzzled dog.

"Mr. Nygma and Cobblepot are safe and secure in their rooms. Why do you ask?"

The caped crusader ignored her prying and stared ahead, the worst coming to mind.

"What about...what about Joker?" He cringed. The nurse's expression shifted uncomfortably.

"Well, you know... the Joker is an extremely unstable man, sir. We've been keeping a close watch on him. Nothing out of the ordinary...well, for him, anyway. Except..." The nurse's voice trailed off, and she turned to lead Bruce out from the asylum wing. He grabbed her shoulder and turned her back around to face him.

"Except what?" He growled. The nurse furrowed her brow.

"Hey, who do you think you are, anyway? You come into this asylum without a warrant and then demand to know information about our patients? Just because you dress up like a flying rat and try to act tough, I'm not sacrificing my career to tell you anything confidential unless you've got a damn good reason!"

Batman sighed. This would be harder than he thought, especially with the stubborn woman disregarding his authority as protector of this city. He opened his mouth to object, but he was silenced once again by the nurse's accusations.

"Besides, Bats, you've got no idea what you're doing. These people are sick, not directly evil. You can't keep slapping around our patients like subhuman punching bags! You need one or two lessons on basic empathy!"

Batman cringed again, the anger building inside his chest.

"I'm sorry, nurse, but when your " patients " are shooting people in the streets for laughs, it's my concern, and I'll handle it how I see fit." With that, the Batman turned back to face the nurse, eyes narrowed. "Now... about the Joker. He's been acting normal... except what?" The woman fidgeted, clearly not keen on answering the imposing vigilante. She bit her lip and pulled out her keys, leading Bruce down a maximum security corridor and stopping in front of the clown's door.

"See for yourself," she whispered, unlocking the cell and allowing Batman to step in.

"Mr. Joker? You have a visitor," she said quietly, quickly removing herself from the situation. "You've got forty minutes, sir," she mumbled to Bruce before disappearing down the hall.

There was the bat and the clown, in a padded cell with a heavy locked door behind them. Bruce expected laughter, but he heard none. Instead, the room was silent, just like the city. Bruce immediately felt uneasy, something he didn't usually feel in the presence of the Joker. The way the Joker acted was completely unpredictable, yet, Bruce knew this wasn't normal for him. The vigilante wondered if maybe the nurse had lied, and he wasn't in this room at all. Batman shivered, but called out in a strong, assertive voice.

"Joker!" He growled. "Where are you?" Batman noticed a small movement from the corner of his eye. In the corner, blanketed in shadows, was the Joker, laying almost motionlessly on the ground. Was he...sleeping?

The masked man leaned over the softly breathing man as he slept. Bruce had, of course, never seen the clown sleep before, and it was strange, to say the very least. The clown was usually cackling, killing, and terrorizing. To see him in such a peaceful state was beyond uncanny. Even his signature macabre smile was gone, faded into a soft yawn. Batman kicked the jester in the ribs.

Joker sprung into action, jumping to his feet and launching his pale hands towards the Batman's throat. Of course, he wasn't having that. He came here for answers, not blood. He grabbed Joker's wrist and twisted his thin arms behind his back, grunting. Joker cackled and sputtered, and Bruce sighed deeply. Back to his old self again, he thought.

"Batsy! What a pleasure seeing you here again!" Laughed the green-haired man. That awful, hellish red grin was back on his white face."You came all this way just to see little old me? Careful Bats, you'll make me blush!" Joker laughed loudly and yanked himself away from the brooding bat, throwing a fist in his direction. His hand caught Bruce on the cheek, bruising it. He growled and grabbed his fist in the air before he could strike him again. Batman loomed over the shorter man with a menacing glint in his eyes.

"I came here for information, not for blood," said Bruce with a low grimace.

"Ooooh Batsy, always so intense! No fun at all!" Joker licked his lips thoughtfully and stared down the bat with hateful, spiteful eyes.

"Gotham's been quiet," said Bruce. "You have something to do with it, don't you?" Joker's eyes widened.

"Quiet? Does it bother you, Bats?!" Joker cackled, and Batman threw him to the ground. Yes, it did bother him, only he still couldn't exactly pinpoint why.

Joker chuckled darkly and lifted himself to one knee.

"Oh, Batman! So violent towards me...and this time, for no reason at all! Has something finally snapped inside that brooding little head of yours? Perhaps you'll be spending some time here with me! Hehehehe!" The bat only frowned in response. "Just you and me, Bats! Roomieeess~!" Bruce clutched the clown's mint hair.

"Listen, Joker. I don't need your antics right now... Or ever again. I just want to know if you know anything about the city being so damn quiet suddenly." Joker's eyes lightened up.

"Hehe... Quiet. Well, Bats, isn't it obvious?" Joker smiled slyly. "You just miss me."

Bruce's breath caught, and rage boiled deep inside him. He clenched his fist tighter around Joker's hair, making him let out a childish "ouuchh!"

"Joker," the vigilante seethed, becoming even more confused. "I do not miss you. You are nothing to me." At this, the Joker cackled loudly and uncontrollably.

"Hahahaha!! Wow, ouch. Is that what you really think?!" Joker tore away from him and curled up onto the floor, seized by laughter. "HAHAHAHAHA!! OH GOD, THAT'S GOOD!"

it took a few minutes for the clown to compose himself. The other man waited, thoroughly unamused.

"Batsy, Batsy, Batsy..." He shook his pale finger in a patronizing manner. "Do you really think you'd me able to live without me?" Bruce grunted and narrowed his eyes.

"You're funnier than I thought," said Batman sarcastically.

"Hehehehe, you really think so?" Said Joker. "Heh, typical Bats... Only ever finding amusement in things that are dead serious." The clown chuckled. "You'd be nothing without me. You've proven that just by coming here! The city's been quiet, and you've come here because you were bored. Because without me, you're just a loser like the rest of us!" Joker screamed in laughter. "Pathetic!"

Batman growled. "I came here for information. That's it, clown. Now that I'm sure you have nothing to do with this, you can sit and rot here for all I care."

"Hahaha! You keep telling yourself that, darling! See you soon!"