Must Love Hyenas

20: Tightening Grip

Joker smiled and pointed his lapel flower toward the enraged giant reaching for him. A stream of acid sprayed from the flower and Bane barely dodged to the side in time to keep his face intact, but the corrosive fluid did land on the hose connected to the back of Bane's mask. The hose was eaten through in a second, green fluid spurting out like the rupture of an alien artery.  Bane lost all interest in Joker as he tried to stem the flow.

"No!" Bane shouted. "The Venom!"

As more of the green fluid gushed out of the hose and across the sidewalk, Bane began to reduce in size. His muscles shrank and became less defined, even his height diminished.

"So that's where your power came from," Joker mused as he watched Bane's efforts becoming more frantic. Joker waved a hand. "Alright boys, have at him!"

The goons who'd piled out of the other vans charged Bane and tackled him.

Lacking his artificially enhanced strength, Bane was no match for the numerous members of the Joker gang. He managed to throw off a few of them, but the rest wrapped around him in a tangle of arms and legs, further preventing him from doing anything about the Venom leaking out of his system. In a very short amount of time, Bane was of average height and build, his mask looking overly large and baggy. Shackles were brought in and clamped around his wrists and ankles.

Standing victoriously on the steps of City Hall, Joker proudly looked toward his men before casting an appraising look over the crowd of police. His smile faltered when he saw the damaged police car where Batman had been. The hood had been cratered inward where the vigilante had been smashed down, but he was gone now with no clue as to where.

"Oh well," Joker sighed. "We got Bane. One in the hand is worth two in the asylum."

Clearing his throat, Joker looked for and found the reporters and television cameras behind the police lines. Addressing his comments to the wider audience of Gotham, he began.

"Good citizens of Gotham," he said in a loud and clear voice. "Today you are free from the threat of death issued by Bane. You still have it under me, but I'm a much more agreeable fellow. The bombs Bane placed around the city have been relocated and are now under my control. Any attempt to interfere with me or my people will end in a very gloomy day for Gotham."

Joker paused to glance toward the cloudy skies above before adding, "More gloomy than usual."

He grinned widely.

"I don't want Gotham to be gloomy," Joker went on. "I want a world of fun and merriment, and I'm going to make sure it happens even if it kills us all. At least, we'll die laughing."

Joker was cackling hysterically as he left the steps of City Hall and headed back toward his van with Harley. A few cops tried to halt them, pointing guns in their direction.

"Careful boys," Harley warned. "If you get trigger happy, Mr. J's boys might do the same, and they can make a bigger bang than you. How many of you have family out there? Are you sure no one you care about will be inside the blast radius?"

The cops glanced at each other with wide eyes, sweat glistening on their foreheads before they reluctantly put down their guns.

Joker climbed in behind the wheel and started the engine. Rolling down the window, he offered a final word in parting.

"It's been fun," Joker told them. "We must get together and do this again some time."

Joker's laughter was nearly drowned out by the squealing of tires as the van sped away from City Hall.

"Do you think they'll be able to find the bombs?" Harley asked as Joker drove toward the museum.

"I doubt it," Joker answered. "All the bombs were moved back into the museum."

"What?" Harley questioned.

"This way, we don't have to hide them," Joker explained. "We'll never lose our leverage over the city. The cops and Batman can search all they want, but they'll never be able to find the bombs because there aren't any."

Joker snickered before lapsing into a full-throated laugh.

***

Harley dropped sideways into one of the chairs in Joker's office, legs hooked over one armrest. Her left hand hung down to scratch one of her hyena's between the ears.

"What's next?" Harley asked. "You practically got the city in your pocket, at least the criminal part of it."

"True," Joker agreed while looking at the map of Gotham. "The remaining crime bosses are already sending their kindest regards rather than risk crossing me. They don't want to be enemies, at least not while I'm ready to blow up the city. I'm sure things will change in time, but not before I finish with them."

Joker paused. Crossing his arms over his chest, he absently tapped one finger against the side of his long nose while thinking.

"You said I had the criminal part in my pocket," Joker stated. "What if I went after the legal part as well?"

"You thinking of taking over businesses so the law can't touch you?" Harley asked.

"Why not?" Joker questioned. "It doesn't matter if I seize control illegally; so long as the paperwork is legit, the law can't do a thing about it. We'll take the city from one side to the other. Then, we won't need bombs to keep them in line."

"With banks, you'd have a hold on their homes and businesses through mortgages," Harley reasoned. "Taking over car dealerships would let you repossess their vehicles if the citizens step out of line. Controlling medical companies would insure you could halt needed medication to anyone who didn't obey. In very short order, everyone would follow your lead whether they wanted to or not."

"If we control enough of the people, we'd control their votes too," Joker added. "That would put the government in our pockets too, even without having to bribe them. Gotham is going to be ours."