This Time, He Pulls The Trigger

Epilogue: The Batstalkers Club

If we shadows have offended,

Think but this, and all is mended,

That you have but slumber’d here

While these visions did appear

Joker comes to groggily. It takes him a moment to realize that he's tied tightly to a chair in a dark room he doesn't recognize. This would normally be cause for concern, but all Joker can think about in this moment is that he's not dead why isn't he dead, he's not even in any pain, what–

"He's awaaaake!" a familiar voice calls out. Joker spots Eddie nearby, tied to a chair just like he is and looking very put out indeed. "Let's get a move on already. This has taken up enough of my very valuable time as it is."

"Honestly, you're acting like you have no respect for dramatics, and we both know that's not true," a distorted voice responds from the darkness. A still-basically-pajamas clad figure steps into the circle of dim light that surrounds the two chairs, though this time his mask and wig are gone, replaced with a yellow domino. He turns to Joker, smirking. "The punchline is that it's a stun gun!" Ol' Trip declares cheerfully, waving said gun in the air with a beaming grin.

Joker stares blankly at him for a full minute while his mind reboots. "A stun gun?" he repeats softly.

"Yep, I made it myself," Goodfellow tells him proudly. "'The fool doth think he is wise, but the wise man knows himself to be a fool!' And what a fool I am, ha! Told you I was good at pranks." He giggles. "Did you like my little joke?"

And Joker, he just... just...

A Robin with a new face and a new name cuts loose, knocking on Joker's door. Well, he doesn't really knock and probably didn't use the door, but that's beside the point because he shoots the clown in the heart–

–with a Stun Gun.

...he just starts laughing. He knocks his chair over from the force of it, wheezing and out of breath by the time the kid rushes over to pull him back up.

"Good laughter or bad laughter?" he whispers. And, awww, not many ever think to ask him that.

"Very good, liddle Birdie," Joker cackles. "How can it not be aftah such a great joke?!"

"Glad that someone liked it," Goodfellow mutters, glaring sideways at Eddie with a childish pout.

"Yes yes, very funny." Eddie-boy rolls his eyes. "Can someone please untie me now?!"

"Ah, ah, ah," Goodfellow tuts, shaking a finger at him. "Not quite yet, my good sir." He pulls the Joker's chair back up and taps some button on his wrist that turns on more lights in the room. He spins on his heel and flits over to a desk set up across from the chairs. "Now, gentlemen, I know you're wondering why I brought you here."

"I certainly am," Edward grumbles, pulling at his restraints with the air of someone that knows their actions will be fruitless but feels the need to try anyways. As if he's been trying at this for a while. As if he really can't escape and isn't just playing along.

Now, sneaking up on and shooting Joker while his guard's down and he's not actually trying to fight back is one thing. But Joker has seen Eddie get out of a lot of constraints, Bat-level ones even, and yet Trip has apparently succeeded in kidnapping and effectively restraining The Riddler himself. So maybe Joker should be feeling just a little bit uneasy about this whole thing.

But a Robin just kidnapped two Rogues while laughing like a lunatic and dressed up like a pseudo-Shakespearan goblin/nightmare/thingy going to a pajama party, and if that isn't just some of the funniest shit Joker's experienced in a while!

"I know we all love a certain Bat. 'Under love's heavy burden do we sink'," Goodfellow continues, pulling down a screen filled with strings and thumbtacks and so many photos of Batsy. It looks like a stalker board that can rival Ed's and can almost rival Joker's own.

The little Birdy turns to them, steepling his fingers together like Lexie does when he's being overdramatic about Supes. His grin is about as sharp and obsessive as Lexie's, too, when he asks, "But I was wondering how you gentlemen feel about photography?"

Oh yeah, The Joker thinks, this is definitely worth a little bit of kidnapping.