Use Your Words

1

"I don't get it," the lithe figure, clad in purples and greens, paced the floor. His nervous energy carried through the room like a living thing, and the men seated at the nearby table all shifted a bit restlessly.

"I, ah, set off three explosions last, ah, week," the man muttered, hands making the motions of explosions, "I hijacked a bus of tourists and I held them hostage - on the ah, Metro-Narrows bridge - for two days. I, ah, painted a heart on the, uh, side of Wayne Tower with his name inside it. Still he ignores me!"

A knife flew from the man's limber fingers and planted into the wall. The men at the table all jumped, both startled and relieved that it hadn't ended up in one of them this time.

"Um, sir?" A large man they all called Knuckles for both his large fists and his penchant for hitting things ventured to speak. The man by the window turned his head the slightest bit, sharp green eyes falling on them. Knuckles swallowed hard before continuing bravely,

"Have you - have you tried talking to him, sir?"

The Joker turned from the window and strode to the table. "Explain," his voice was low, almost a growl, as he leaned forward, hands resting on the table and his eyes locked on Knuckles. For a creature that was constantly in motion - twitching hands, eyes shifting constantly, body practically vibrating energy - it was somewhat eerie to see him so.. still.

Knuckles swallowed again, glanced at his cohorts for support. He cleared his throat as several of them nodded, urging him to continue, "Have you tried, y'know, telling him how you feel?"

That red-painted mouth shifted into a slight frown and fingers twitched against the table-top. "Why -- why would I do that?"

"Well," the big man spoke slowly, trying to put his thoughts into words, "So he'll know how ya feel about him."

"Yeah boss," an equally large man called Vinnie chimed in, "It breaks our hearts to see ya's so upset like this." Green eyes locked onto him, and he swallowed but held the assessing, if a bit manic, gaze.

"Tell - " A split second's pause, "Tell him how I, ah, feel. That - that works? I, ah, gave him my best explosions, I thought I, ah, made it - " A hand fluttered in the air as the Joker motioned, "obvious."

"Maybe he just misread your message," it was Rocco speaking now, leaning forward on large, muscled arms, "The guys are right, boss, we hates to see you like this. Maybe you should try conversatin' wit' the Bat."

"Hmm," the smaller but far more deadly man straightened, tongue shooting out to lick red-painted lips, "Maybeee." He turned to the window again before instructing,

"Out, all of you."

The group of men stood and left the table without hesitation, then cleared the room.

Two nights later, Batman cleared an office building of the last of the employees. Small explosions had gone off in several locations, but nothing serious enough to take the building down, or even harm anything. He was beginning to think this was some ruse of the Joker's, to throw him off the scent of a much larger explosive.

He was heading for the building's exit, making his way through smoke and dust from a small explosion nearby, when he saw it: Painted on the wall near the front entrance was what he assumed a picture of him. It looked like it had been drawn by a child - paint dripped down the wall and splattered the floor, and it had that cartoonish-stick man appearance. A figure in black with a cape and what was unmistakingly a cowl, pointed bat ears and all. Opposite that figure was one drawn in purple, with green hair and a red mouth and black around the eyes. Between the two was a large, red heart.

Batman turned, startled and prepared to fight, as a voice behind him drawled,

"My, um, my guys told me I should -" a hand motioned and a low giggle escaped the green-haired man standing now in front of him, "- They told me to, ah, talk to you."

"So start talking," the Bat growled, eyes scouring the doorways and hall nearby for the Joker's henchmen.

"I -" the smaller man paused, brushed his hair from his face in a nervous gesture. Was that a blush touching his features behind the white make-up? Batman raised a brow behind his cowl, head tilted slightly. He watched as the Joker motioned toward the art on the wall behind them, turned his head slightly to glance at it again.

"Gee Bats," the other man rolled his green eyes and half sighed, half growled, "It's not, ah, obvious? You complete me."