The Mechanic and The Clown (Robert Downey Jr/The Joker)

Chapter 13

"No more games it's just good old fashioned revenge," my fist clenched around the phone I had pressed to my ear. Nothing was going to calm me down, I had every intention of making The Joker pay. Regardless what anyone said.

I'm gonna kill him.

Like I should have done before.

And that was when he spoke for the first time in that conversation. As if the mad clown prince of crime was calculating, trying to study me through my words. "Well you're going to have to play my little game if you want to save one of them."

But he had already targeted me by focusing on my one and only weakness. Pepper. What else did he have to use against me ? And what did he mean by them?

"You're going down buddy! Wait until he gets here," a voice I could recognise in an instant sounded on the phone, I felt my heart beating in my throat as I tried to get a word out. Had I just been betrayed by someone close to me? One I trusted and actually thought of as a friend? No. It didn't sound that way at all. He was trying to be brave, like he always did. It nearly killed him the last time. Not that it wasn't a risk this time either.

So that's Pep and the baby to rescue and now..

Happy.

"Hogun? What the hell are doing there?" This was not happening to me! I didn't need this stress. I never asked for this to happen to me! Was it too much to ask for things to go right for me for a change? My way? Seemingly yes. Welcome to my life.

It's wierd how The Joker's laugh gets to me. Like it is literally THE most aggravating sound I have ever heard and always makes me cringe, making me wanting to kill guy. And I wanted to do that more than ever. I was going to get Pep back even if it was the last thing I ever did.

I'm coming for you honey..

I'll be there

No one else matters but you.

But to do that I had to lay everything on line and be wiling to lose it all just to have my wife, my love, back in my arms and safe. Was I willing to do that? For her? Of course, you don't even have to ask me twice.

"He's enjoying the company of the party... although he would need someone to pick him up because it doesn't look good," his sadistic humour was enough to make retch. I don't know why I let him get to me the way he did. Maybe because he took away Pepper from me, my better half. "And the girl's looking worse for wear." That sparked more anger inside me, he had Pepper for certain. In what state? She could be dying for all I knew and I wasn't there! Why did I leave her at the hospital? I should have stayed by her.

Don't worry baby

Our love story isn't over yet.

"Let them go, both of them," I demanded, my heart feeling as if butterflies had Invaded it, making it flutter nervously.

Tony Stark don't do this! Not now!

He's not worth getting all nervous about!

"It's me you want not them," though the likelihood of him actually complying with my request was zero to none. No wonder the people of Gotham and Wayne couldn't stop him. He always had one unexpected trick up his sleeve. Well I'm sorry I was not going to let him walk all over me and pull me down with the rest of them. Because I don't do that!

My assumptions unfortunately as always had to have been proven one hundred percent absolutely and completely correct didn't they? I wasn't planning on losing and by the looks of things neither was he. "You didn't think id come into this to lose in a fist fight with you did you?" He challenged. "See, I always like to come prepared and believe me Anthony I'm ready to face you. So what's taking you so long?"