March 14, 2015:
Jesana runs into the Joker in Robinson Park… three… not quite Bats arrive to save her. This goes about as might be expected.
Robinson Park, Gotham
Robinson Park is a bit overgrown and not at all safe these days.
Characters
NPCs: Batz: Ricky, Skinny and Albert (emits by Batman)
Mentions:
Plot:
A Dark Hold
Apocalypse: Only the Strong
Blood versus Family
Bones Of The City
Breaking the Universe
Cyberdata War: First Strike
Dangerous Esterikos Wonderous Mystikos
Dark Gods & Times
De Oppresso Liber
Demon Lord of New York
Diaz de Muertos
Don't Tell Thanos The Babysitter's Dead
Empire of Tears
Escape from Sakaar
From the Ashes
Gateway to the Stars
Genosha: Rebirth
God Of The Dead
Hacker, Sass-Mastah, Engineer, Spy
Himmel und Hölle in Bewegung Setzen
Mood Music: [*\# None.]
Fade In…
The Gotham underground was a bit stifling so the Joker figured he'd come out to Robinson Park and… walk the dogs. Dogs, in this case are the viscious mankilling hyenas Snicker and Doodle, and walking in this case means absolutely in no circumstances will they be anything close to leashed. They are, at the moment, gnawing on what used to be the contents of a hot dog stand until they drove the owner off and knocked it over. The Clown Prince of Gotham is currently leaning on a tree nearby, playing with a butterfly knife and… scheming.
***
Jes has caught the scent of the hyenas on the wind. She's never been to a zoo, she isn't sure what the scent is aside from not a dog and dangerous. She's stealthly approaching the hot dog stand in her human form from a direction they won't scent her. She isn't expecting the Joker though and isn't even looking for other people, her eyes are on the hyenas as she nears.
***
The two large beasts are messily eating. So much processed meat everywhere. At least they didn't eat the vendor. One of them looks up at Jes and growls a warning, glaring. The growl gets the attention of the green haired, pale man nearby in the purple pinstripe suit, but he doesn't really think anything of it. Not yet.
***
She still doesn't see him. She backs away a bit, unintintionaly moving towards where the green haired man stands. She's watching the Hyenas with a bemused expression. Seeing them, she knows what they are now. "Did you get out of the zoo?" One hand shifts to her hip. She hates zoos but these guys look way too dangerous to be out running in the park.
***
"In a manner of speaking." Comes a malicious voice behind her. "Did you? People probably should be in Zoo's you know. We can be such… animals." That knife flips once more and the Joker levers off the tree and approaches.
***
Jes darts back and turns so she can watch him and the hyenas. "I think the word you want there is jails. People are animals, most of them just try to hide it." Her eyes widen a little as she takes in his hair and pallid complexion. Her hands instinctivly curl into fists.
***
"I think Zoo's are better. You know, there's lions and tigers and bears - oh my - but nothing so scary as good old Homo Sapiens." The Joker flips the knife in and then out. "Awwwww. Did I frighten you. The critters don't bite." Beat. Much.
***
Jes looks more curious than frightened, though she does keep the defensive stance. "No. Did you mean to?" Her nostrils flare as she tries to catch his scent. Is he human, or other? "Zoos are terrible. Animals don't belong in cages. Some people do, but not animals." She tilts her head to the side. "Why are you here?"
***
"I was walking my dogs." The Joker grins, watching as she takes a stance. "Awwww. Fighting? And here I thought we were going to have a conversation, share a few drinks, get to be good friends." The way he draws out friends is a bit… it makes him sound crazy. "Mmmmm. Why so serious?"
***
Jes is eyeing him warily now, like he's a madman. Her stance relaxes. It's very poor manners to strike the insane. "Are you,..well? Maybe I can call someone for you?" She glances at his "dogs". "They really shouldn't be running where there are people about."
***
"Oh but how else will they get a balanced diet?" The insane clown reaches in and pulls out a … paintball pistol? "Of course, I can't keep them on a strict diet all the time. Maybe I should let them have some…" The young woman gets a pointed glare. "Fast food."
The Joker grins manically and extends his arm out, leveling the paintball pistol at Jesana. "Let's see if you qualify, shall we?"
***
The Clown Prince of Gotham is standing in a park near an overturned hotdog stand. Snicker and Doodle, the Hyenas had been feasting from the contents, but they're now eying Jesana and slinking around and behind her as the pale clown points a weapon at the young Blackfoot woman.
***
Jes looks distinctly unamused by this development. She eyes the gun. "I'm really starting to rethink my no guns policy. Put that away, and fight me like a man!" Her hands move to her hips and she gives the hyenas a glance and growls.
***
The Batz, the Batboys, the Batfans, they go by many names, countless ones and when Batman disappeared a while back on his extended hiatus they only became more popular as if they were filling some void. They weren't. They are amateurs and in no official capacity are the Bat Imposters sanctoned by the Batman or his real family what-so-ever.
The generally try to replicate the Batman with makeshift gear, clothing and vigilante tools. Like Ricky the leader of this 'on patrol' Batz trio. He is wearing a kevlar helmet painted black with floppy yet pointy ears attached to it, a black and yellow wind breaker with the Bat symbol on the front and sweat pants that have pieces of molded possibly trashcan metal tied to his thighs and calves. He's a big guy that obviously works out but does have a paunch of a belly. Goggle cover his eyes and in one hand is a baseball bat.
Ricky's two companions are physically less imposing and dressed in the same ramshackle style of garb. The weapons in question what appears to be a crossbow held in the hands of the darker kid and knives strapped to what looks like a replica shield for the other.
"Hey! Clown!" Ricky doesn't seem to know this is actually the Joker, "You causing mischief in the Batz city?"
The thin man with the shield swallows and whispers, "I think… I think thats the real one, thats really him."
"Him who?" The crossbowman inquires.
"The Lord of Misrule… the actual Clown Prince of Crime."
"Nah, that ain't him. He is shorter than that and those Hyenas are obviously fake. Plus she looks nothing like Harley Quinn."
"Shut up you two. You're making us look bad. Lady, are you in need of help?" Ricky is shouting at Jesana now and talking slow (as if she was simple or hard of hearing like people tend to do). Welcome to Gotham at odd hours.
***
To be fair to the Batz, there are a lot of imitation Jokers around and some of them are pretty decent knock offs. The Joker himself alternates between being amused and offended by them. The properly insane ones he actually approves of, if they can be original in their mayhem. Most can't. Copycats are driven to copy. But it still makes for a confusing scene. There have been gang fights with nothing but imitation Jokerz and Batz with not a genuine article to be seen on either side.
The cops hate it.
The Clown Prince glances up with a smirk. "Snicker. Doodle. Sic." He turns that paintball pistol on the Batz and fires off several rounds… which burst in front of them a few feet away into clouds of purplish LSD laced smoke. One of his favorites.
"Now, where was I." The Joker muses. "Ah yes. Balanced diets. For the mind as well as the body. I think you need… a bit of laughter in your life." That converted gas pistol swings back onto Jes and the clown pulls the trigger.
***
Jes had heard something approaching but this..this is..she doesn't what the hell this is. "Is this entire city insane? Is the water drugged?" She asks bewilderedly. Great an amateur with a cross bow. Yeah, this situation has totally improved. These dumbasses are gonna be eaten. Or shot…Oh shit he's shooting at her! Jes blinks and dives to the side the moment he begins swinging. "Coward!"
***
"What the shit!? Paintballs? Takes more than that to keep a bat down!" Ricky bellows and rushes the Joker that baseball bat being swung hard enough to cuff a Hyena hard. Very hard.
The Bat with the crossbow is shakily pointing it at the Joker, "What do I do!?"
Skinny is covering himself as he is pelted with paintballs, his finger dipping in the puddle to lift it and sniff, "Smells funny…" Then, it hits and his eyes turn in to large Os. "Uh oh…" Apparently he is smart enough to know whats coming.
"Run lady! Run!" Ricky shouts once more.
***
The Joker cackles and mimics Ricky. "Run lady! Run." His voice dips lower and he starts to approach with the knife. "Run if you dare…" So he missed with the gasballs. No big deal. Knives are more fun.
Ignoring the bat kids for now. Well, not actually. He's paying a lot of attention to these Bat fanatics. He wants to get the girl and show them just exactly what he's always wanted to show the real thing. Just how USELESS it all is in the end!
Well, that's the plan. This plan does not account for charging hyenas. Which there are. They're going to be on the Batz any moment. And then they are. The bat connects with a crack and Snicker goes down with a yelp, at least for the moment. Doodle leaps at Skinny with a snarl.
***
Jes isn't feeling very sorry for the costumed men. They rather brought this on themselves. She ignores them as she scrambles away from the gas and unsheathes her dagger. She also drops her jacket and harness to the ground and kicks off her sandals. She moves to circle the Joker, growling. He's clearly nuts but he's also dangerous. Its either fight or flee and she's obviously settled on fight at the moment.
***
Skinny screams a high-pitched sound that comes out of someone caught up in the thrall of absolute terror not only are the LSD pellets coating him he is also now being assaulted by a hyena. "Someone help!"
Ricky's swinging bat carries him forward and he dead rushes the Joker, "Imma break your head open!" He shouts in his brutish-manner. He'd have made a great Joker Gang.
Scared the crowssbow kid is fumbling to knock back his bolt and aims at the animal assaulting his friend, "Oh god, oh god, oh god."
*TWANG*
It snaps off, does it hit? He isn't sure yet. His aim was way off with the shakey hands.
"NOT IN MY CITY CLOWN!" The Rickster tries to sound imposing and tries to use Jesana as a distraction (kind of? he is yelling a lot) to close in on the man and start flailing that bludgeon.
***
The glint of steel is what the Joker sees and he grins manically. Yes. Fight. That's good. That's the spirit. Life is a hateful collection of rules. Cut them all. Then there's a Bat wannabe with a baseball bat trying to save the girl. Well you know what heroes who save girls get?
The Joker turns suddenly to take the rush, stepping in to force RIcky over his leg and trip him, then send him sprawling with a steel-plated toe kick right at Jesana. They get Kisses from the damsel!
Yes, the Joker is wearing tap shoes. Call him on it. See what happens. "Your city?! Hah! That's the best joke I've heard all week."
The crossbow hits, sinking into Doodle's leg. The hyena yelps and leaps off it's prey, landing in a limp. Snicker is just getting back up and moves to herd the other Hyena away. Stupid humans. With stupid crossbows.
***
Jes drops to one knee on the dirt, letting her dagger fall to the grass and then catches and leverages Ricky over her shoulder and into a heap behind her. She picks it back up as she stands and snarls. She'd very much like to throw it right at his face and this time she's pretty sure he isn't one of Zee's friends. But he still has the pistol and a blade and on the slight chance that she'd miss..not worth the risk. So she just stalks toward him with rage lighting her mismatched eyes.
***
Great Christian Bale impression for Ricky at least as he slobber-growls, "YES MY CITY!" Then he is going over Jesana and in to the ground with a grunt that exhales a puff of wind from him.
"Ricky we got to go! They tore up Albert real bad… he is bleeding allover!" The crowssbow kid is yelling at their fearless and possibly crazy leader as he drops the weapon and begins to tug on Skinny who is delerious and losing blood. Plenty as he has just been gored by a savage predator named Doodle of all things. "It hurts real bad!"
"No pain no gain! Crime doesn't slow and neither do we." Ricky laments from his backside before struggling up, "The clown fool is gonna die… git out of my way witch!"
***
The Joker cackles aloud. CRY HAVOC! AND SEND IN THE CLOWNS! Okay. Shakespeare and Stephen Sondheim both are rolling over in their graves. He dances back. One of the Joker's biggest advantages is how unpredictable he is. And right now, he's quite happy to let Ricky-boy and Knife-Girl trip all over eachother. The Hyena's are gone in the way that animals vanish.
In the distance, sirens blare. The cops are on the way.
***
Jes makes a rude gesture to the man behind her. "I'm a bitch! Not a witch you crazy m-" She cuts off and her eyes widen. Sirens. Great. She dances forward a few paces. Greenhaired physcho already backing up, the hyenas gone. She debates a moment but the sirens are only getting closer. "Ahh! I swear to Fenris I'm going to kick your ass if I ever see you again! She whirls and shouts at Ricky. Time to go! Jes darts to her jacket and sandals and then grabs the pendulum beneath her tunic and uses the nearest ley line to get the hell out of Gotham. She's not dumb enough to swear an oath for the joker..she doubts it'd turn out well for her but the next time she sees that guy….its so on.
***
Ricky is on his feet again the sirens have him looking around worriedly, "Your day is upon you soon Clown! You will be pounded very soon! Your ass is mine! I will pound it!" His voice drops from a deep baritone, "Geezus, fuck off bitch. I was trying to help you. No thanks or nothing… "
"Guys back me up here!" Ricky carries on. "Guys!?" No one is there only him and the Joker.
"You will rue the day, Joker… " His voice lowers again and he fades backwards in to the bushes of the park. Which isn't really stealthy at all, the Joker can see his big form stepping back. The man is insane. The Joker might even hear him whispering, "Stealth mode engaged."