Chapter Three- Jack

Jack had known the Joker wasn't trustworthy long before he met him. He would have never usually forged whatever rotten alliance they had now, but the circumstances were somewhat extreme. Ever since the Joker had busted the both of them out, Jack had been sleeping with one eye open. (Not that he usually didn't.) He'd been compiling evidence of sorts, and had learned a few things so far: for one, the Joker was communicating with another outside source, whom Jack had yet to discover the name of. Two, he had Harley Quinn prepare the warehouse for him, so he had obviously had this plan in the making for some reason, and three, every time Jack tried to do some digging around- physically or technologically, he always showed up and Jack was forced to drop whatever he was doing.

Jack was convinced the Joker was trying to sell him out, but he needed to figure out to whom. He had enough enemies that it didn't necessarily mean it was Him, but there was still a chance. So when his plan to kidnap Nightwing was set in motion- and succeeded, Jack set in motion a plan of his own.

The Joker had hired him to build him something- a device or gadget that could essentially 'hack' into someone's mind and give him full control of their actions. It was easy enough to build, and he made sure Jack had access to all the materials he needed. What he was presented with was a small, silver nail-shaped spike. He would have to carefully insert it into the back of Nightwing's neck, perfectly positioned so it would rest on the base of his spinal cord. Then, by remote transmission, a small electric current would be administered, shutting down his brain's ability to control his body and putting him in a hypnosis-parallel state, and at which point the Joker would give him orders that he would have no choice but to fill out. The remote, voice-activated and pre-programmed with commands, would direct the current to the necessary parts of the brain, forcing the body to obey.

But what the Joker didn't know is that the device had a time limit. It would activate, and do exactly what it was programmed to, for fifteen minutes. Then it would shut down, rendering Nightwing completely unconscious, but if Batman and his entourage showed up, and they were expected to within the hour, then Nightwing would be well-protected, the Joker would be caught unawares, and Jack could slip out in all the mess.

It seemed like a good plan, but he hadn't expected the Joker to figure out he was up to something. He'd known he suspected him, but Jack thought he'd put it down to an assassin's paranoia. He didn't think he'd place his men around the building. That undoubtedly made it harder for Jack to get out, since he couldn't know the exact location of any of them without actively looking, and the Joker wouldn't let him do any looking.

So Jack had to employ a last-minute change of plans. Very last minute. Nightwing was tied up in the middle of the building, slumped against one of the support beams with thick rope looped around his torso. The skylight was directly above him, giving an almost spotlight effect to the scene. Everything was in place, they were just waiting for Batman and his little Batlings to show up.

Joker was pacing around where the unconscious figure of Nightwing was tethered- asleep until the Joker activated the remote he was fiddling with. Jack was leaning against the wall of the building, suit on, mask and hood up. The darkened corner did its job in hiding him from the view of the rest of the warehouse.

Jack glanced up at the skylight. That was the most obvious entrance for Batman to take, and he was due to arrive soon. Nightwing having hinted at their location wasn't part of the plan, and as a consequence, they were less prepared- the Joker had wanted to test the device first to make sure it worked, but now that their time had been cut short, he just had to trust Jack's word. Fifteen minutes, Jack thought to himself. He just had to stay alive for fifteen minutes, that was all. He would be in danger once the Joker realised what he'd done, and Jack wasn't sure how much faith he could put in his shaky plan, but he had no other option. The glint of a sniper on the opposite roof- one of Joker's men- reminded him of that fact enough.

Sure enough, after a few more minutes of waiting, there was the loud crash of shattering glass and what remained of the broken skylight rained down in pieces, followed by the Dark Knight himself, Robin hot on his heels. Jack didn't move, preferring to just observe for now.

The Joker laughed, and if Jack hadn't already known, he would have thought that everything had gone exactly according to plan, given how confident the clown was. Clearly, the dynamic duo had their own plan, because with very little preamble, Batman charged right for the Joker, and Robin for Nightwing.

Jack stayed where he was leaning against the wall, observing the way the Joker- using what looked like a steak knife he'd pulled from God knows where (his ass, probably) to try and stab Batman, who moved around the villain like a ninja, landing his own non-lethal blows. Meanwhile, Robin had severed the rope holding Nightwing to the beam, and was trying to revive him. Jack figured now was the time for him to reveal himself- after all, it was probably better if they kept Nightwing tied up until the fifteen minutes were out, or until Jack could manually deactivate the device.

Jack moved forward, pulling himself out of the shadows and making his way discreetly towards Robin, who was tapping Nightwing's cheek. All the Joker needed was a single moment where Batman was distracted to activate Nightwing, and Jack could hold him off, but he knew Robin couldn't- not on his own, at least.

But before Jack could reach the two, the loud 'bang' of a gun filled the warehouse, and he felt a bullet graze the side of his calf. It would have gone right through his knee if he hadn't dodged. The shot attracted the attention of everyone else for a moment, and the fight between Batman and the Joker paused, and that was all the Joker needed. He slipped his hand into his pocket and pulled out the little remote, grinning like the madman he was.

"Wakey wakey, little bluebird!"

"Son of a bitch!" Jack swore, turning to come face-to-face with Red Hood, standing with his handgun levelled at Jack's face. His leg throbbed, and he could feel the wet tickling sensation of blood dripping down his leg, but he ignored it as Red Hood fired off another shot. Behind them, Jack could hear Robin shout as Nightwing attacked him. Jack would have to take down Hood if he wanted to get to Nightwing and Robin.

Jack dodged every shot fired at him, until the red-clad man swore, out of bullets in the one gun, and instead pulled out a combat knife, the blade a little longer than his hand from wrist to fingertip. Jack pulled two of his own combat knives in answer, and the two men clashed. "What the hell have you and pasty-face done to him?" Red Hood growled as he swiped straight for Jack's jugular. Jack twisted away and jabbed for his shoulder.

"He's under temporary mind control. It will only last for the next fifteen minutes, but he will not hold back. Your little robin will not be able to hold him off for long. I can help."

"You? You were the one who did this to him, why should we trust you?" Hood tried to trip Jack, but he leaped clean over the antihero, kicking his back on the way and levelling his knives against Hood's neck, pinning him to the ground.

"Because I am your only option, and you are my only option." Jack hit the man under him on the side of the neck, and he fell limp, unconscious for the time being. He would wake up in about ten minutes, sore but alive. Jack turned to find Nightwing, seeing him beating the smaller Robin into a corner relentlessly. Batman was too busy with the Joker, his distraction with the fight between his sidekick and ex-sidekick costing him in blows.

Jack looked between the two fights. He knew he could hold his own against Nightwing, but if Batman continued to be so distracted, it could cost him his life if the Joker got lucky, serious injury at least. Jack might not hold many positive feelings for the man, but he didn't want Batman to end up dead.

He ran for the Joker, scaling a stack of dusty crates pushed against the wall and dropping onto the man from above, executing a perfect take down, ending with the Joker on the ground, disoriented for a moment. Jack turned to Batman, who had dropped into a ready stance, wary of this new threat. "Go!" Jack shouted at him. "I can handle this maniac. You need to help Robin. The control will only last for about ten more minutes before it deactivates."

Batman hesitated for barely a second before he darted over to help his sidekick. Behind Jack, the Joker rose, cracking his neck and laughing darkly. Jack took a breath and turned to face his new opponent. He'd never fought the Joker before, but if he'd been an even match for Batman, there was a chance Jack could end up dead by that steak knife.

And he couldn't say whether he especially cared anymore.