Cat and Mouse

Chapter 11

A/N: friendly reminder when I mention Red Hood, I am referring to the Joker, AKA Jack Napier, Joe Kerr (or whatever his real name is). Even though his origin/ real name is never truly revealed, I'm going with the version where he makes a deal to help a heist and falls into a vat of chemicals because of Batman (from Batman: Under the Red Hood). If this confuses you at all, just know when i mention the Red Hood I am not talking about Jason Todd.

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Robin's P.O.V.

There were a lot of insane psychopaths lurking in Gotham: Poison Ivy, Scarecrow, Catwoman, Bane and so on. But none were as notorious as the Joker.

Batman and the Joker had been rivals since before I took on the mantle of Robin. Batman had told me his whole origin story. Once. He never liked to delve deep into the story of the Red Hood, maybe because it reminded him of a failure that led to an innocent scapegoat's psychotic break.

Not a soul in Gotham didn't know of the Joker. Everyone knew him and he loved it. He loved the fear in his victim's eyes with the contradictory smile on their face. He loved the pleas of mercy and the thrill of the kill. But what he loved most was not Harley Quinn-- it was the Batman.

It was an obsession that Batman himself had long since grown accustomed to. The Joker loved Batman's inability to smile, the fact that he never laughed and the fact that he was the total opposite of the Joker. Maybe that was why he was so hellbent on bringing him down.

Of course a hostage situation was enough to lure the Batman to an old warehouse at the end of Crime Alley. Who the hostage was, it didn't matter. All that mattered to Batman was that an innocent life was in danger and he had to stop the maniacal monster.

I followed him blindly like a good sidekick should, keeping a wary eye behind my domino mask. The lights were out in the old warehouse and the only sound was the soft thud as our shoes met the hard surface of the ground. Darkness was never a problem for either of us, it gave us cover and with Batman's black suit he blended in like a shadow on a stormy day-- almost nonexistant. Unfortunately the blanket of black led to a two way street as the enemies blended in almost as well as we did.

Right as my eyes were beginning to adjust to the darkness, blinding lights flickered on from the top of the warehouse. I squinted under the harsh light as my eyes traversed the room. It was covered in weathered and old crates that held unknown objects. The concrete walls held cracks and the walls were discolored in many places. The trademarked purple suit and white face stood out of the gray surroundings like a sore thumb. The painted red lips curled upwards in that eerie Glasgow smile that never ceased to send shivers crawling down my spine as the Joker himself stood no more than ten feet in front of me.

"Ahh Batbrat and Birdbrain, nice of you to pay me a visit" Joker sang in his voice that always bordered on hysteria. I clenched my fists in preparation as my eyes followed the henchman that circled around us like a pack of wolves ready to pounce.

"Joker." Batman said in his usual scolding tone that would stop any sane man in his tracks. Unfortunately, the Joker was as insane as they came.

"That's my name, don't wear it out!" Joker said with his signature cackle that echoed and multiplied the eerie sound. 

"Where's the hostage?" Batman said in a steely voice, but the Joker's smile never once faltered.

"Oh, her? Harley's taking good care of her don't you worry that ugly little head of yours! But I can't say the same about you" Joker said, his green eyebrows creasing downwards. Immediately the henchman around us pull out stylized guns, painted a green or purple to personify the Joker. The Joker laughs as he himself pulls out a staff with a Joker head at the end. He presses a button and both Batman and I dodge to separate sides as the figurine at the end launches at us. Gunshots are heard and I immediately pull out a batarang, tossing it expertly as it hits the hands of two henchman, disarming them both. I run up to meet them, doing a handspring and launching up to kick them both down. Over the dying gunfire I can hear Batman's orders.

"Robin, get the hostage!" he yells at he knocks down a nameless henchman before going to fight off Punch and Judy. Knowing not to go against his orders, I kick down a final hired helper and slide past a cackling Joker and towards the steel door. I yank on it but find it locked.

"Not so fast, Robin. You see, believe it or not I've learned a thing or two after having these lovely meetups. Unlock that door and a bomb is triggered from the inside, killing the hostage in a not-so-lovely manner. Don't unlock the door and a hidden bomb in here goes off. Either way..." Joker says, his eyes turning an murky black as he was already gloating over his victory. "Someone's gonna die." He finishes with a cackle that's cut off as Batman comes up behind the villain and knocks him out.  I turn to him with slightly panicked eyes as the information turns in his head.

"Try to find the bomb, I'll--" he's cut off as the door behind me swings open with a creak. I whip around in astonishment in time to see Harley Quinn fall to the ground at my feet, unconscious. Confused, I glance up, taking in the orange boots and black spandex.

"Fox?" I ask, confused as the young heroine stands over the villainess, a playful smile igniting her lips.

"Thought you could have all the fun without me?" She teases.

"How'd you know we were here?" Batman interrupts, his hard voice cutting through the joking air.

"Calm down. I listen to the news" she says with a sly smirk. All three of us knew she had hacked into the police radio's frequency to obtain the address.

"What about the bomb?" I ask, raising an eyebrow.

"You mean this?" Fox asks, holding up a small bomb. The numbers were frozen on 56 seconds, proving that she had disarmed it "Joker had rigged the whole thing so both sides would explode five minutes after you entered. Didn't realize there are more than one entryways here" she said and I cracked a smile at how well she had interpretted the Joker.

"I'm impressed, but who are you?" Batman asks, taking a threatening step forward. To Fox's credit she didn't falter, keeping her happy-go-lucky grin plastered on her face.

"That's not how the game works" she says in a teasing tone, holding her own.
"Sorry, but not taking that as an answer." Batman says. Fox's eyes narrow in protest as she crosses her arms.

"Sorry Bats, but at least you know how it feels" she says before throwing a smoke grenade on the floor. I instinctively use my cape to cover my body as it detonates and blankets the room in fog. Batman and I both realize pursuing the girl would be useless and abandon the issue for another day, knowing that securing both the Joker and Harley Quinn in Arkham was a bigger priority. 

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It hasn't even been 3 days and I'm updating! Why? Because I reached 100 votes. *cue party*

Anyways, I reached it about the night i published the last chapter so I wanna thank you all for getting me this far! I wanted to wait a little while because I only have one other chapter pre-written and I'm sort of on a writer's block for this story. I'll probably update when I have a basis for Chapter 13 down. I haven't updated Things Change in a while so I may try that again. My writing's been slipping since school started so I'm trying to keep it up. I think this is the first chapter I wrote post-hiatus (when I was writing Things Change) so tell me which style you liked better :P