[Zhongyingmei] The clown is actually me

*The if line where Jack turns into a clown

"I've heard it said before, 'There is no point in being kind based on fear'. It means that if we don't commit crimes because we fear legal punishment, then our kindness is meaningless. The real kindness should be to be a good person , I have also been a bad person,? In the end, I feel the best feeling is to be a good person.”

Batman sat on an iron chair, his limbs were firmly tied to the solid iron bars, and the chair was welded to the ground, making Batman unable to move.

This is the site of the former Arkham Asylum treatment center.

A clown in a purple suit crouched next to him, concentrating on fiddling with the machine in front of him, which was full of plugs and seemed to have been left unused for ten years, with a frighteningly thick dust.Jack pulled the switch, and a bunch of crackling sparks burst out from the machine, along with a few traces of mechanical collisions, like the roaring sound in the throat of a dying old man when he was dying.

Although the thing looked more like a bomb than a medical instrument, and it looked like it might go off at any moment, Batman recognized the instrument's true purpose.

In the early days of Arkham Asylum, special equipment for electroshock therapy was provided to patients.

"Jack." Injected with muscle relaxants,? Batman couldn't even lift his head, that was all he could say.

"Is there a guest? Knock on the door." Jack squinted his golden eyes, bent his fingers and knocked on the electric shock device, "knock,? knock, sorry,? The person you're looking for doesn't seem to be here."

"How did you become like this?" Batman spat out a mouthful of black and red blood.

Jack licked the lipstick on the corner of his mouth, put up a finger, and waved at him: "Wrong,? I didn't 'become like this' at all, I have always been like this, and never changed. It's funny, isn't it? , Bat, you have always known the truth, but you tried to blindfold me and make me believe that he is the evil spirit that devours me and changes me to occupy my body, but the truth is that he is me and he is my soul."

"You obviously can't live like him, you have the ability to control yourself!"

"Yes, I have. But, Bat, why do you think the clown is crazy? And why don't you think I'm crazy?" Jack squatted in front of Batman, a bright red smile painted on his pale face, the scar all the way from The corners of the mouth extended behind the ears, and the wound was covered with red paint before it healed completely. This damn familiar face had golden eyes, which flickered under the dim light, like cat's eyes.Jack lifted his chin, showing the same disgusting smile as the clown many years ago: "I'm not crazy, I just regret it, why should I make myself suffer so much for the sake of others' morality, and take the world's most Lose the person who loves me?"

Batman breathed a sigh of relief: "He lied to you, he lied to you, Jack!"

Jack seemed to smile, and buckled the bowl-shaped metal helmet on Batman's head. He kicked his leather shoes and walked to the sparking machine, and put one hand on the turntable: "I hope he only Just kidding me, Bat. Now, just thinking he really loves me makes me—hate him from the bottom of my heart.”

He snapped the other metal helmet over his head, turned the dial all the way, and pressed the button.An unprecedented huge electric current penetrated the brain, and the melting pain caused the brain to burst open. The current passed through the brain and pierced through the whole body, flowing and jumping in the blood vessels like broken and hot ice slag, like limbs. Muscles are melting, brains are boiling inside the skull, and time has lost its meaning during the healing process, because every minute and every second is stretched out...extremely long, as if you have fallen into hell naked.

It seems to have crossed the Styx, from birth to death.Jack spread his long legs and lay in Batman's arms.If you ignore that Batman is sitting in the electric chair at the moment, maybe people will mistake him for the concubine lying in the arms of the king. through his brain.He stroked Batman's chin, and said in a terribly gentle tone, "Good night, Bat."

One night, all night long.

When the first ray of sunlight in the morning reflected on the floor through the dilapidated walls, Batman had almost forgotten his real name.

Jack was lying on his lap, he was very thin.The cheeks were out of shape, the shape of the cheekbones became more and more obvious, and there was a dark circle of bruises under the eyes. After another whole night of torture, he looked even more haggard.

He wasn't lying, he literally fell asleep on Batman's lap for a while, unconscious even falling asleep.His body hidden under the suit was no longer as thick as he had imagined. Instead, a few protruding bones poked his thighs, as if only bones were covered under a layer of skin.

He's crazy, but he doesn't seem to be crazy.He is immersed in false dreams, in which he chases the shadow of the one he loves.

Suddenly one day, the party that had been maintaining the fragile balance between the three of them suddenly disappeared, but Jack did not find peace. He began to involuntarily pursue the shadow of the clown, as if catching him in this plague that was spreading throughout the city. A morning breeze.

The clown will not die, Batman watched him sleepwalking in front of the mirror, scratched the corner of his mouth, muttering this sentence dreamily, the clown will not die.He will be killed, but he will always come back.This idea is deeply rooted in Jack's heart, which cannot be destroyed or defeated. Even though Batman told him countless times that the Joker is just an ordinary person, this thought still burns like a fire.

Jack opened his eyes and stared at him with those sweet golden pupils: "Bat, I just thought of some new fun, maybe I can kidnap your Robin and Batgirl and put them in two different places, Tie the bomb/bomb to them, and I will give them the detonator, and tell them to detonate the other party's bomb/bomb to survive—"

Batman didn't speak.

"Bat, don't just answer, you know why the clown doesn't lay hands on your friends? It's the kids you brought out mentally ill to fly trapeze over the city in fancy costumes, because it's not fun, he can't Killing you all at the beginning, good food is always saved for last, they are the cards that the clown left me to use to torture you-but, Bat, you know what I mean."

"I don't know."

"No, you understand." Jack was lying on his lap, a rare tired expression on his face, just like he had never been consciously lying in Batman's arms, "ever From now on, I will not keep my hand, I will kill them, peel off their skin, and throw their corpses in front of you."

"You wouldn't do that."

"I will. Because he will."

The shadow falling outside the skylight enveloped them, Batman's allies finally found his trace, the sound of glass shattering came, Jack jumped off Batman's knee reflexively, and took out the left/wheel/hand/gun And the letter opener, and before he could swing it, a blow to the face knocked him into the brick pile.Jason untied the rope on Batman's body. After being electrocuted for so long, Batman was trained so hard that his figure was wobbly when he stood up.

Jason took a step forward, but Jack hadn't stood up yet, as if he had broken his spine.He stepped on the letter opener that slid out, looked at Jack's red, white and green face, gritted his teeth for a long time, and finally squeezed out a voice through his teeth: "Jack, don't think that you can become a fool just by pretending to be crazy. Be like a clown!"

Jack sat up slowly, with the corners of his mouth raised, revealing the sneer he had seen on the clown's face: "Little Red Bird, my bones supported you to stand up, is it for you to talk to me like this?"

"I thank you for giving me a spine, but that's not a reason to let me watch you go crazy." Jason stepped on his dark purple tuxedo, and stuffed the barrel of the gun into his mouth: "Don't tell me you Painting your face like an impression painting, just to meet that scumbag, the Jack I know doesn't think like that."

Jack burst out laughing, he deliberately stuck out his tongue and licked the muzzle of the gun, and there was a strange sense of sexual desire in his movements: "Do you dare to shoot, my red knight?"

Jason's heart skipped a beat, and he pulled the corners of his eyes down again, and said in a low voice, "Actually, I didn't want to do this either. I can't wake up, and someone has to force me. Little Honghong, come closer."

Jason subconsciously took a step forward, and Batman pushed him aside abruptly. Jack lifted the corsage instantly, and a light green acid spouted from the center of the corsage. The strong acid was almost sticky. Looking at Jason's side face, a drop of acid fell on Jason's face, burning his skin sorely.They looked back, Jack was still laughing, the laughter seemed to be breathing in: "Poker, acid corsage, what a classic! The clown has only been away for so long, and you have completely forgotten his favorite tricks! Hahahaha ——!”

Jason grabbed him by the collar and dragged him off the ground, fists clenched tightly.Jack stared at him, there was a will-o'-the-wisp in his golden eyes, but the color was different, and that was the eyes of the clown, no fear, no panic, nothing, just blank.Jack licked the blood all over his face, and said with a smile: "Do you dare to do it, Little Wing? If you punch me again, I might really faint. Then you can lift me up with your bat daddy." To Arkham, but will you do it? Or shall we put it another way, will you do it?"

Jason stared at his face, and raised his fist again. After a long time, a low growl came out of his throat, and he put his fist down as if resigned to his fate, but the other hand holding his collar was so With force, he almost tore his shirt: "Do you have to be like this?! Pretend to be crazy, talk like a clown, cut your own face, and wear yellow and green... The clown, that damned trash, human Scum, a lunatic who is full of lies, we can give you what he can give you, and we can give what he can't. Because he said a few words that he loves you, he has become so important, more important than me and Batman? !"

Jack grinned: "Jason, when you came, you saw the corpses that died from laughing gas, right?"

Jason fell silent.

"I used to say no to too many things because I thought it would make me evil, but I was wrong, people are just chasing fun, and there is nothing in the world like sensual stimulation. Being happy because you are morally high, and being free The joy of killing is all the same, it’s all joy.” Jack raised his eyebrows, “I’m sorry, but I’m a mouse who only pressed the button, and there is no other ending except pressing it until I die.”

"You can overcome..."

"Go and say to the victim's family, 'Forgive the murderer, because he is our friend' and see if they will tear you alive. You know I will never repent of this, and I will in the future Do more horrible things, I will be locked in Arkham Asylum, and then escape again and again, I will do what the clown did, I will do more and more terrible than him." Jack used He tapped his temple and made a pistol gesture: "Seriously, Jason, why don't you kill me. I don't want to be like this, but there is no other way, there must be a clown in Gotham , either he or me, now that he is gone, I can only take this blow. You give me a bullet, just to set me free—”

"Don't believe what he said." Batman coughed up the blood from his throat and patted Jason on the shoulder, "He's tricking you into doing it to him."

"Oh, have you been discovered? That's really bad. You deserve to be the greatest detective in the world!"

Batman ignored him, grabbed Jason's hand that was holding his collar, and whispered, "We've got to take him back to Arkham. Let go, Jason. — let go."

As if the lingering breath in his throat finally let it out, Jason loosened Jack's shirt dejectedly. It is really rare to see a "depressed" look on Jason's face.Jack fell to the ground. He loved the feeling of hurting his former friend. It won't be long before their friendship will be wiped out in the flames of war and blood. The warmth of the past can only be remembered sporadically when dreaming back at midnight, as if in a lifetime .

After being happy, he felt a little annoyed, why didn't he force the little red bird to kill him?What fun it would be if it worked out, and the memories Jason would live with forever!He thought so in his mind, until Batman handcuffed his hands, he licked the corners of his mouth and said with a smile: "I can't bear to let your son take his life at a young age, so the executioner is replaced by you huh, big bat?"

"I'll send you back to Arkham Asylum."

"Then wait for me to escape and continue to kill?" Jack pointed his finger at his heart, "Bruce, you are just taking sides with me. Although I have done a lot of bad things, you still don't want me to die, you want to wait for me Repent, but how many people will I kill during this time? You don't care. They are not as important as me, and you can't even count the victims."

Batman didn't speak, he asked Jason to leave first, and dragged Jack back to the Batmobile. This time, no one robbed him, and Jack sat alone in the passenger seat of the Batmobile.The searchlight tore through the night like a snow-white sword, illuminating the drizzle in the depths of the night, the roar of the engine was like the roar of a tiger, and the faint smell of sea salt perfume filled the car.No one spoke along the way. Jack closed his eyes and pressed his forehead against the window, as if he had fallen asleep.

"I never thought we would end up like this." After a long silence, it was Batman who spoke first.

"You thought about it, Bat, from the time you did the termination procedure, you thought about coming to this point with me. The only thing you didn't predict was that the termination procedure took the clown, not me." Jack sneered : "The reason why you want to kill me in his mind is because you can't touch my friend's body/body, and you can't look at me in deep danger and ignore it. So from the bottom of your heart I hope I die in a certain corner, where you can't see, die quietly, rot..."

"I hadn't thought about it that way, swear to God."

"No, you hate me, you hated me from the moment I showed up, you hated me for showing up too late, hated you for no reason to kill the clown anymore. You hated me far more than you hated him."

"Jack, you should understand that this is not what I really think. You forced yourself to think this way. You miss him too much."

Jack seemed to be stunned. He opened his eyes and stared out of the window silently. His shadow was reflected on the dark glass window. The face that was exactly the same as the clown showed the expression that belonged to Jack, like a cracked mask. a seam.He stared at his reflection and whispered, "I regret it."

I regret doubting him, treating him badly, leaving him in the dark and letting him rot in the depths of my memory.I shouldn't treat him like this, he gave me his life, his memory, his life, he loves me far more than he loves the world.Since his death, no one has loved me like him.no more.

"You shouldn't miss him by forcing yourself to be like him."

At the gate of Arkham Asylum, Batman opens the door of the Batmobile.Jack came down, wiped his face with his hands, and said with his head down, "You can say that because you're lucky, Bat, you didn't fall in love with someone you can only see in the mirror."

After he finished speaking, he walked forward without looking back, like a long sword piercing through the thick fog.Batman hugged him violently from behind. This hug only lasted for a very short time. Soon, his arms were released, and neither of them spoke. This time it became the hug of Batman and the Joker. Only the thick dark clouds overhead and the moon behind the clouds have been seen.Batman put a hand on his shoulder and pushed him through the gates of Arkham Asylum.Like years ago, he took the Joker back to Arkham Asylum like this.Going around, working hard for several years, except for the clown's body on the verge of being broken, and the messy past between them, nothing has changed. Fate is like a cycle.

In the end, all that was left was the wind and rain between the sky and the earth, faithfully following behind the two of them, their shadows walking side by side were stretched infinitely long by the light, and the heavy rain was rustling.