Jester's POV:

My eyes darted from face to face of the people sitting before me. There was only one lady among them, her skin was tinted a strange shade of green and her clothes looked like they were made of vines and leaves. They were an odd bunch, that was for sure.

Harley took a seat next to the green looking woman and Joker sat beside Harley. I stood behind both of them.

“Do continue” Joker said with a sneer. It looked like everyone in the room was slightly intimidated by his presence, although they pretended not to be.

Smoke filled the room as a short, chubby man sitting across the table pulled a cigar out of his mouth. His outfit was a high class tuxedo with a purple top hat and a yellow bow tie. The suit made him look like a penguin.

“As I was saying…” the penguin man began to speak, his voice raspy from smoking so much.

“How is this little pipsqueak—” He pointed a short, stubby finger at me. “—supposed to be able to take down the bat, when our best couldn’t do it?”

I was slightly shocked as I realized that the meeting had been adjourned to discuss my task of getting revenge on the Batman. All these people were apparently here to help me. But this penguin guy, I didn’t like his tone. I made a mental note to teach him a lesson.

“Oh you’d be surprised what my spores can be compelled to do once they’ve suppressed the neurotoxins in the brain” the green lady said, her voice acted like a magnet, drawing my eyes to make contact with hers. They glowed green just like mine.

Her voice sounded almost as amazing as the Jokers…almost. Something about her seemed bizarre, like I knew I shouldn’t trust her or like she was going to take Joker and Harley away. I broke eye contact and looked at the floor boards of the lower deck of the ship.

“Look at ‘er!” The Penguin exclaimed, “She’s barely over five feet tall!”

“So are you!” Harley responded to my defense. It was nice to have someone go to bat for you, even though I didn’t need it.

“Listen bitch!” the Penguin exclaimed, he was clearly offended.

I decided now was the time to teach him his lesson; no one insults me or my family.

I shot my hand across the table, snatching him by the wrist. He glared at me through his monocle, like he was going to make me regret what I had just done. He tugged on his wrist, expecting it to break free from my grasp; it didn’t. I grinned, smugly. I was stronger than him, I watched as this realization appeared on his face.

Still grinning, I picked up his burning cigar from its place in an ashtray on the table. The Penguin began to squirm as he realized what was coming next. I let out a slightly demonic chuckle and smashed the burning end of the cigar into the back of his hand. He let out a loud wail of pain.

Weakling.

Swiftly, I spun his wrist around so it was bending the wrong way. Penguin started bawling for mercy, in his own way.

“Let go, you stupid bitch!” he screamed.

I only pulled it harder, causing his breathing rate to increase significantly.

“Apologize to Harley…and me” I demanded, making it clear that I was in control. The others sitting around the table just watched, their faces carefully concealing their expressions.

After several refusals, Penguin finally muttered “s’rry” and I released him.

I resumed my place, leaning against the wall, and began twirling the braids that Harley had put in my hair.

“Now that you had to go and make her mad” Joker began to speak. “I arranged for a little test to take place and let’s just say she passed with flying colors.”

I lifted my eyes up from the ends of my braids to Joker.

What is he talking about? What test?

“What do you mean?”said an electronic voice. It came from a man in some sort of blue robotic suit. Waves of cold air radiated out from the suit he was wearing.

“Well Mistah Freeze” Harley said, answering my question. “Puddin led Batman and Birdbrains to Jester to see if she could handle the job. And let’s just say within seconds, she had Bratboy begging for mercy.”

“So?” asked a man with rippling muscles and a face mask. “I can easily break the boy; the bat is not so easy. Even after being broken, he always rises.”

I knew from somewhere that this was Bane; I guessed I had heard it on the news or something.

“That’s not what her job is” Joker said, he looked like he was losing his patience.

I guessed everyone was sensing how Joker was losing his patience because they all laid off asking questions and doubting my abilities.

The green lady, whom I realized was the Poison Ivy that Harley often talked about, then spoke.

“where’s Selina?” she asked.

Harley looked around the room and then to Joker as if she was worried for some reason.

Joker answered the question. “Cat-women has appeared to be questioning her allegiances, so I gave her an all expenses not paid trip to Gotham Memorial!” He laughed whole-heartily as he said this.

Harley frowned with concern, as did Poison Ivy. I had no idea who this Catwoman was so I decided not to care.

“and Riddler?” asked a shadow in the corner of the room. I blinked, adjusting my eyes trying to see the mysterious figure. His face was dark, and then I realized he was wearing a mask. It was the mask of…a scarecrow.

Joker spoke; everyone else remained silent and held their eyes to the ground. It seemed like they were trying to pretend the man in the scarecrow mask wasn’t there.

“He’s running an errand for me” Joker replied to the Scarecrow man as he sulked back into the shadows.

My eyes scanned the rest of the villainous crew. There was a man with half of his face completely scarred. It took me a moment to realize I was staring and before I could look away, the man made eye contact with me. He grunted, angry that I was staring. I looked away awkwardly.

There was another man who looked like he was part crocodile—which was weird.

 Another was mumbling to himself, whilst playing with his hands. He wore a large hat that was much too big for him and a fancy orange suit. By reading his lips, I could figure out that he was whispering the word “Alice” over and over again. Then it occurred to me that he was dressed as the Mad Hatter from the book Alice in Wonderland.

Another person, sitting in the opposite corner as the Scarecrow man and rather close to me, caught my attention.

At first glimpse, he was a man in his mid-twenties with freckles and orange hair. After looking again, he had black hair and was pale. Then when I looked again, it was an elderly female. Whoever it was, they seemed to become aware that I was watching them. Their appearance shifted again but this time—it matched me.

I was taken back. It was just like staring in the mirror at the old theater building. The same emerald green eyes, the same harlequin face, the same long dark brown hair, the same outfit and the same iconic smirk—it was all there. I picked up my hand, reaching it out to my clone. The other Jester did the same. Our finger tips touched but the feeling was not what I had expected. Instead of feeling skin on skin, I felt a strange sort of gooey substance—clay.

The figure morphed from matching mine back into the original man with orange hair and freckles. He smirked at me, I watched him with my jaw still gaping open. He put his fingers to his lips, as if we were bound together by some sort of secret.

I shook myself out of my trance and regained focus to the various voices ringing about the room in squabbles.

“We need to stick together, that is the only way this will work” the electric voice of Mr. Freeze buzzed out.

“I just want what I joined for!” yelled the man with the skin of a crocodile in response.

“And what is that?” snapped Poison Ivy, her patience clearly growing thin due to the lack of plant life on the dingy boat.

“Batman, broken and out of my way!” The vicious crocodile man fired back.

“And that is just what you will get” Joker said, hauling the arguments to a stop.

“How exactly is that dingbat going to do it?!” Penguin yelled, viciously glaring at me. I glared back fiercely and for a slight second, I could see the fear on his face.

Joker began to explain.

“The only thing that Batman cares about more than Gotham’s purity is his sidekick. Due to raging hormones and teenage lust, the only thing that Bratboy cares about right now is her.”

Joker pointed to me.  I just listened, entranced by his voice.

“So when push comes to shove, Batman will do anything to protect his precious Birdie, whether good ole Robby wants it or not.” Joker continued before being interrupted.

“What does this have to do with anything?” the Killer Croc said impatiently.

“Because…”Joker started again, frustrated. “This is how we get to Batman. We get him to break his one rule.”

Everyone still looked confused.

Joker sighed and pointed at me again.

 “We get him to kill her.”