Chapter 252 I, the Clown (Part 1) (Patreon)

In DC World With Marvel Chat Group : Table of Content/Chapter List

XXX-----XXX-----XXX-----XXX

The golden liquid poured into the glass, with white foam floating at the edges. Illuminated by the light, the whiskey resembled a piece of gold wrapped in ice, shining brightly.

Schiller spun the vinyl record and flipped the switch. A low blues music filled the room. Jack leaned on the table, intoxicated, and said, "So, I don't like bars, especially that Golden Cup Bar. The bartender there loves jazz, those old clichéd rotten music..."

"Are you sure you like blues because it sounds like 'Bruce' and Bruce's name sounds somewhat similar?"

"Don't mention him to me..." Jack put down his glass, and Schiller sat back across from him. Jack rested his two fingers under his eye sockets and hoarsely said, "The tires produced by Wayne Industries are all rotten. I've spent almost 60 bucks this week just to fix a tire..."

"They are unwilling to make adaptations to the terrain. Gotham's roads have become so rotten, yet they still produce those unreliable lightweight tires. Bruce is an idiot, a huge idiot..."

Jack tilted his head to one side and ran his hand through his messy hair. He faced a dilemma that every dyed-haired person faced: the green color still lingered on his head, but the newly grown part had turned black. He couldn't remove all the green or dye the roots back to green, so he looked somewhat disheveled and ridiculous.

He seemed very dissatisfied with the state of his hair but had no other options, so he aggressively tugged at it.

Jack took another sip of his drink, and Schiller moved his chair forward, pouring himself a glass of alcohol.

Jack reached out his hand and clinked glasses with him, sounding a bit desolate. "The whole world has become terribly boring recently. What is Batman up to? Oh... he's flying around with his beloved one!"

He lowered his head sharply, his green hair blocking his eyes deeply set in their sockets. The corners of Jack's mouth drooped, and anyone could tell he was imitating Batman.

"Oh! My dear lady! I've brought you the most beautiful gem in the world. Do you love me? Yes! I love you! Mwah, mwah, mwah..." He puckered his lips, imitating a kissing sound, but it was clear that he had never kissed anyone, making it appear very clumsy.

Suddenly, he slammed the glass on the table and forcefully lifted his head, throwing his hair back to reveal his forehead and eyes. In a sharp voice, he said, "What does he want to do? Does he still want to marry her?? Even have a child?? He's gone mad!!"

Then he froze in that position, staring blankly, and slowly returned his head to its original position. He took a sip of his drink and sadly said, "But he doesn't even want to invite me to the wedding..."

"Why doesn't he understand that I love him more than anyone else in this world, without expecting anything in return? I just want to see him smile."

"Perhaps he does understand."

"Then tell me, why doesn't he want to smile?"

"If he smiles, would you still exist?"

Jack lowered his head, then raised his eyes to look at Schiller. There was anticipation and excitement in his eyes as he said, "Are you saying that he doesn't smile because he doesn't want me to disappear? He loves me too, right?"

He began to tremble all over, and the golden liquid in the cup foamed even more. A sharp, mocking laughter emerged from his chest, sounding like metal scraping against glass.

"I always say that you two are so similar, but if he really became like you, would you be happy?"

"He becomes me?... No, he can't, he mustn't be like that. It would be the most boring world, even more boring than a non-smiling Batman. Oh my God! I can't imagine it! It's absolutely disgusting!" Jack covered his throat and started to retch.

"A grinning Batman? Oh God, how can such a monster exist in this world? If that ever happens, you must shoot me, please, Professor!"

Jack's arm trembled uncontrollably. He pointed to the bottle beside him with trembling fingertips, and Schiller poured him a little more alcohol. Jack picked up the cup and drank it fiercely, as if trying to drown his fears.

He forcefully turned the corners of his mouth downward, his eyes drooped, forming a crying face.

"If Batman laughs louder than me..."

As he spoke, he slowly lifted the corners of his mouth. His expression transformed from the familiar coldness and seriousness of Batman into madness and mockery. His mouth curved more and more, widening until his iconic crazed smile appeared. He said, "Like this..."

"Then I'll kill him! Kill them all and let this world perish! Bastards, go to hell!" Jack fiercely tore at the hem of his clothes as if tearing a piece of paper. He became agitated and trembled uncontrollably while sitting there.

Suddenly, his body stiffened like a startled owl, maintaining that posture. He turned his head with a stiff neck and stared blankly at the doorway. He said, "You're here? Do you really think such a day will come? W-w-w, I'm scared..."

Standing at the door was another Joker. He was tall and handsome, with a face smeared with various paints. He had a pair of beautiful blue eyes, which were now fixed on Jack as he said, "No, you don't have to be afraid. You know it better than anyone else..."

"Every night, you park your car and walk back to your home. It's filled with railings, and you grab them every day and shout, 'Batman, let me out!'"

"You know where that is. It's Batman's mind. You were born from there."

"He locked you inside his own mind and refused to open the doors of the prison. So you said, let's try a different approach, let's find another way to make him open the door..."

"So you came here, wanting to send the key from the outside."

"But you didn't succeed. However, that was just the first attempt. There will be many more opportunities in the future. If you don't want to be locked away forever, keep trying."

"How do you know?" Jack asked the Joker.

"How do I know? Of course, I know..."

As he spoke, Jack's mouth hung open in astonishment, and then he began to tremble in fear. The Joker approached closer, casting his shadow on Jack as the light illuminated him. Jack curled up his body.

He looked up and saw Bruce Wayne, with Joker makeup, grinning at him, tears filling his eyes.

Jack forcefully extended his arm and swung it wildly, as if trying to shatter the terrifying figure.

A gunshot rang out, and Joker-Bruce fell to the ground. Jack stood there in a daze. Standing over the fallen Joker-Bruce was another Joker holding a gun, with cigarette smoke slowly rising from the barrel.

"He's lying to you, Jack. He's making up stories. Can't you see it?"

Jack, dazed and confused, looked at the fallen Joker-Bruce and asked in a bewildered voice, "If he lied to me, then what is the truth?"

He said with great disappointment, "If I didn't escape from Batman's cage, then where did I come from?"

"Perhaps you should come from someone more like you..."

The person put down the gun in his hand, and Jack looked at him. He was also a clown, but he wore a long black coat and held an umbrella.

"Who are you?" Jack asked him.

"I am you, Jack. Haven't you seen me before? Or rather..."

"...Aren't you facing me right now?"

Jack stiffly turned back, let out a piercing scream, and threw the glass away.

"Don't come closer! Don't come closer! You monster, I hate you! Get out of here!"

"Don't be like this, Jack..."

The voice sounded deep and gentle, as if trying to calm him down. He said, "Have you forgotten? You lived there for a long time, in a spacious and beautiful house with over 330 floors..."

"The building was connected in the middle by a magnificent rotating staircase. You lived on the 190th floor, in a room with a soft double bed covered with a dark green blanket, and there was even a bat pillow that you loved..."

Jack seemed captivated by his description. He followed the figure as they walked outside the door. The light bulb at the entrance lit up and grew brighter, and the lights floated and transformed into a magnificent chandelier.

Jack stepped out of the door, his eyes stinging from the dazzling light. He found himself in a splendid corridor, with black floors and walls that seemed to flow, interspersed with golden threads that shimmered like rays of light.

Going out from the corridor, there was a deep well and a spiral staircase at the edge of the well.

The well was bottomless, and when he stood by the railing and looked down, he could only see a faint golden light emanating from the bottom. Besides the spiral staircase spiraling downward, there were entrances to one corridor after another at the edge of the well.

The sound of their footsteps echoed on the quiet staircase, sounding somewhat abrupt.

They walked for a long time and then entered a corridor. There was only one room on the long corridor. They pushed the door open and entered. A man with gray eyes sat in the midst of a pile of documents. When he saw someone coming, he said, "Why is it you... and you brought a guest?... Need to use the elevator? Alright, 190th floor, go ahead."

As soon as he finished speaking, the floor beneath their feet disappeared, and their consciousness began to freefall. The two of them quickly plummeted and fell to the ground. After Jack looked around, he realized that this place was different from the grand and mysterious corridor they had just arrived from; instead, it resembled an ordinary hotel floor. The floor was covered in deep red, the ceiling was somewhat low, and the air was humid.

After twisting and turning, they finally arrived at the door with a smiling face, and the man with gray eyes looked at Jack. The calm and gentleness inside fascinated him.

"See, isn't this place great? Open the door, let's go home..."

Jack mechanically raised his arm, but suddenly his movement stopped, and he revealed a wicked smile.

A knocking sound came from the end of the corridor, and the blue-eyed Joker, Bruce, appeared again.

The Joker with gray eyes shivered, facing the blue-eyed Joker in the corridor. The Joker with gray eyes said, "Bruce, go back! This isn't where you're supposed to be!"

"You are seducing him, Professor. You want to deceive him and lure him in, but I won't allow it..."

"What right do you have to say that, Bruce? You

want to eliminate all the criminals in this world, including this poor Joker. All he wants is to make you smile, he hasn't done anything wrong, but you want to cruelly kill him..."

Swoosh, swoosh, followed by a bang. Jack hid in the corner and saw the Joker with gray eyes take out an umbrella and block two bat-shaped throwing darts.

The entire space began to collapse, golden fragments turned into a shower of light raining down on the ground, and then the wall bricks of the dark alley began to fly, constructing another scene.

Jack saw that the puddle on the ground was like a mercury mirror, reminding him of the autumn leaves that were not taken away the previous year.

The blue-eyed Joker suddenly roared and turned into a black mist, with teeth and claws, incredibly ferocious. The gray-eyed Joker turned into a gray mist.

The two misty figures tore and bit each other, emitting silent roars, entangled and fought in the sky of hell, while Jack stood below, looking up, and started to laugh silently, until the cold rain soaked him through.

"Oh, damn it!" Jack hurriedly stood up from the chair, patting off the spilled drink on his pants. He said, "I've been driving for too long recently, my arm is killing me."

"It's okay, go to the cupboard and get a cup, I'll pour you another one."

Schiller picked up the bottle of liquor and said, as Jack turned around, the gray eyes of Schiller reflected a golden gleam in the light.

[Read at www.patreon.com/shanefreak, without ads and support the work.]

XXX-----XXX-----XXX-----XXX

Next Chapter>>Chapter 253 I, The Clown (Part 3)