Chapter 48: Struggle

This is impossible, Bruce thought, absolutely impossible.

In such a short time, the Joker had no time to plant the bomb elsewhere, let alone hang Jason up.

"You're lying," he said.

"Hmm, maybe." The Joker smiled nonchalantly, his face beaming. "You're so self-righteous, Batman. Want to try a gamble? Do you think this is something I can't do?"

The Joker raised the remote, his eyes fixed on Bruce's face, as if waiting for his response.

Bruce looked at him silently.

He didn't dare to gamble.

Maybe, as he said, this was a carefully prepared conspiracy by the Joker, who had actually planned this performance for a long time, just to defeat him here today -

his mind was working frantically, trying to capture every detail of the Joker's movements. He couldn't choose, this was simply not a choice -

"I don't want to choose either one," he said.

At the same time, he threw the batarang hidden in his palm and pounced towards the Joker like lightning.

A black batarang pierced the air, hurtling towards the remote, but the Joker, as if anticipating it, jerked sideways in that instant, the batarang grazing his fingers and lodging into a nearby iron ornament.

A metal-on-metal clashed with a resounding "bang."

A second later, Bruce lunged, punching the Joker in the face.

The Joker screamed in surprise, but in an instant, he grabbed Bruce's wrist and dodged the blow with the agility of a slippery loach.

The immense force sent both of them crashing to the stage.

"You have to follow the rules, Bat!" the Joker yelled, kicking Bruce hard in the chest. As

Bruce parried the blow, a thought struck him:

even though they were the same body, the Joker's resistance was now far greater than Jack's.

He rolled over, pinning the Joker to the ground with his knee, and reached for the remote.

But at that moment, he felt something tear the skin on his side, bringing a sharp pain—

blood gushed out. Bruce grunted, his movements slowing down.

The remote brushed past his fingertips—

his eyes widened, as time seemed to slow down.

He saw—

the Joker pressed the button hard.

"Click, click, click!"

The sound of gears turned in the distance, and the rope snapped free.

Bruce looked up sharply—

Jason was falling from a great height at a breakneck speed!

"No!!!"

Bruce leaped up in an instant, trying to rush over and catch him. Adrenaline was surging, and he had no time to think, only knowing that he must not lose Jason—no!!

But the Joker held his legs

tightly. He watched Jason fall, like a fledgling without wings.

No… no no!!

Jason fell to the back of the stage, his current condition unseen from this angle—

he'd fallen about eighteen stories… his chances of survival…

Bruce's mind went blank…

his eyes bloodshot, he could barely breathe.

The Joker's laughter robbed him of his last shred of sanity.

That soft, staccato laugh.

"I said, follow the rules, Batsy."

Bruce jerked free of the Joker's grasp and punched him in the jaw. The man screamed and fell into the stage decorations behind him.

Bruce quickly followed, pinning the Joker to the wooden floor and pounding his fist into his face.

"What have you done?!" he roared, a roar like a wild animal, more terrifying than ever.

The Joker's face was bloodied and swollen, but that smile remained etched on his face.

"I love the look on your face right now, Bat!" he gasped. "This is what I've always wanted you to experience! Pain, despair, so beautiful! So beautiful—"

Bruce lifted him up and slammed him into the floor. The sound of splintering wood echoed throughout the circus.

The clown screamed as splinters of wood pierced his back, staining his clothes with blood.

But he continued to smile, his mouth wide open, his gums bared.

"Keep going, Bat, you're turning me on! Are you trying to kill me—"

"You lunatic!" Bruce roared, his rage completely consuming his reason. He swung his fist down, one punch, two, with a force that seemed to crush the clown.

The clown stopped resisting, his laughter intermittent, blood pouring from his nose, mouth, and eyes.

"Ha...haha...hahaha...kill me, Bat!"

Bruce grabbed his hair, and the clown spat out blood.

"Kill me...haha...I know you want to do this...revenge for your robin..."

He couldn't finish because Bruce pried his jaw open and grabbed his tongue.

"Shut up! Shut up!"

Bruce's fingers trembled. He wanted to tear open the Joker's red lips, pull out his tongue, and make him unable to speak again -

he was serious, he wanted to do this...

This is what the Joker deserved -

at this moment, an angry and familiar shout came from behind.

"What are you two doing?!"