*J* (the continuation)

Part Thirty-Two: Chapter 241: Voices

Jason sat, his weight leaning back in the chair, all alone in the Joker's office. His eyes focus on the scattered cocaine debris that literally covered the entire surface of the desk. It was on papers that mapped out future plans. It was all over blueprints. Even on photographs. Jason couldn't remember cleaning it off since he became the Joker. How long had it been now? Well over a year, maybe two? He hadn't exactly kept track.

He sits forward and reaches out to a random razorblade. He takes it in his fingers and drags it across the surface of the desk, raking the cocaine remnants into a pile. Then he absent mindedly forms it into lines. He's surprised by the amount that had been spread around the surface. When he's satisfied with his lines he leans over them and starts snorting them up his nose. He sits back in the chair again, head slightly back as he snorts and sniffles, waiting for the asprin-like taste and numbness.

"Slave."

Jason freezes in the chair, his eyes slightly widen. He's unsure if it's due to the cocaine, or the sudden shock. Who said that? His eyes search every area of the room. He was alone. Maybe he only imagined it. That made more sense than a disembodied voice. Then his eyes settle on the cocaine remnants again. Maybe it was the drugs. Lately they seemed to be causing some psychosis. Was it possible for him to slowly become allergic to cocaine? He finds each day that he can achieve his desired level of intoxication with smaller and smaller amounts.

Jason doesn't know that this is due to a pinch of a powdered substance that he injests daily. Nor is he aware that it was Alfred who was giving him his daily doses. Alfred had transferred his duties at Wayne Manor to the Joker's penthouse. He did light cleaning, just enough to not jeopardize the maids job. On occasion, mostly the weekends, he cooked. Both of those things made it easy for Alfred to descretely drug Jason.

Jason shakes his head at himself and leans over another line of cocaine. He snorts it hard, hard enough to break past the hardened mucus. His nose cleared and he could stop breathing through his mouth. However, he does this daily, so he doesn't pay much attention to it anymore. It has become normal.

"Drug Addict."

Jason snaps upright. His eyes are wide with shock and confusion. He has to ask himself if he heard that? Maybe he was hearing the clowns as they roamed through the penthouse. Or maybe it was the cocaine. Perhaps his body says that he's had enough for now. So Jason tries to brush it off.

"You're pathetic."

That was it. Jason jumps to his feet and marches out of the office. He searches for men that were in earshot range of him. But the penthouse is near silent and very dimly lit. Jason looks down at his watch, it was a half past midnight. Nobody was even at the penthouse at this hour except Alfred, Frost, Ace, and two guards outside of the front door.

"Stop tripping. You're acting like a child," Jason says under his breath and swipes a hand through his green hair. "There's nobody even awake."

"Nobody except you and me."

Jason snaps his neck around to look behind him. That was the general direction of the voice he was hearing. But he could find no one. He even tak s the time to investigate further, searching anywhere that one might hide out of sight. Again, he can go be no source of the voice.

"Pull it together stupid. Nobody's there," he sighs and turns the go back to the office.

"Are you so sure kiddo?"

Jason stops dead in his tracks. J used to call him kiddo. Was he now not only seeing his brother's apperition, but hearing him without seeing him? It's actually a good possibility. Especially when the lavyst few months have time and time again suggested that he was seeing and hearing things that no one else heard or saw. Yeah, that had to be what was happening now.