The Joker spun in circles, waving his hands, frantically waving his coat in front of Bruce, but Bruce didn't respond.
Finding this approach ineffective, the Joker started to use some force. He grabbed Bruce's arm, trying to pull him away, but Bruce's limbs were somewhat stiff, his reactions slowed. The Joker started panting, having only moved Bruce less than ten meters.
But he didn't give up, he was determined to drag Bruce to the side of the hospital building.
Bruce was crippled by some terrifying imagined scene, but that didn't mean he has lost his instinctive responses. He stood up, following the force of the Joker, but as soon as he reached the side of the hospital, he began breathing harder, and then found another step to sit down.
The Joker, gasping for breath, hunched over, clutching his knees, his disheveled hair blocking his view of the surrounding environment.
Seeing Batman didn't react as he had imagined, the Joker suddenly paused, his facial muscles slowly relaxing into a mocking smile.
He pulled a lighter out of his pocket and started twirling it in one hand, the other hand shoved in his pocket, swaggering towards Bruce sitting on the steps.
He sat down next to Bruce and, as he flicked open the lighter, he said, "You know? Batman, fear of pain is inherent in humans, it can break many a disguise…"
With that, he lit the lighter, placing his finger in the flame. After a while, he gasped, shaking the hand, then laughed and looked at Batman, saying, "Actually, I've always wanted to know, if you can feel pain, Batman. Let's give it a try, shall we?"
With that, he put the lighter under Bruce's fingertips, but Bruce still didn't react. With a click, the lighter was closed. The Joker pursed his lips, showing a bored expression.
"It seems our Mr. Batman has finally gone mad. Ha, I knew it. You never showed much interest in bombs and flames. Okay, then why don't you tell me what you are interested in?"
The Joker and Bruce sat side by side on the steps of a small square on the side of the hospital building.
The Joker looked up at the constant flow of people coming and going at the hospital's main entrance. "You know," he said, "people spend a lot of time in hospitals. They'd rather spend a fortune on treating physical diseases than ask themselves why their hearts are so ugly."
"I know one day, you're going to be heartbroken, Batman. You think of yourself as a god, but the world doesn't love God, they only love themselves."
"Do you love them, Batman?" the Joker clutched the lighter in his hand, "Or do you save them simply because you hope to be a savior who can save anyone?"
"Alright, little bat, you wait here. I'll see who has put you in such a lovesick state." The Joker grinned a terrifying smile and said, "I'll make him aware of the consequences."
With that, he stood up, casually flicked the hem of his clothes, put the lighter back in his pocket, whistled and, with a light step, left.
Half an hour later, in the office on the top floor of the Iceberg Restaurant, Cobblepot stepped back and pointed at the Joker: "Stay away! Keep your bombs away from me, you lunatic!"
"Ssh..." The Joker put a finger to his lips, making a hushing gesture. He said to Cobblepot, "Be quiet, you idiot, I heard Batman crying. Can you hear it?"
Cobblepot's face was darker than the bottom of a pot. He looked at the Joker's bombs, feeling a bit wobbly on his feet. He knew something about explosives. If you put together all the things the Joker had, they could probably blast the East District sky high.
He swallowed, saying, "Jack, go find Batman. Don't cause a fuss here, I don't have time to play your childish games, I need to earn money."
The Joker's right cheek twitched, making him look particularly fierce. He stared at Cobblepot and said, "You ruined Batman's reputation, causing him hurt. Now he's insane, suffering from an incurable mental illness. You have to pay for this!"
Cobblepot heard a tremble in the Joker's voice; some words were even being repeated. Clearly, his mental state wasn't great.
Cobblepot and the Joker were worlds apart. He wasn't insane, he was running a restaurant to make money.
Seeing the Joker pull a lighter out of his pocket, he reached out saying, "No! Don't do it, Jack! I didn't want to publish that report. Someone found me, they wanted me to do it!"
"Who was it? Who made you do it?"
"...Shiller." Cobblepot spat out a name.
The Joker buttoned up his suit jacket, adjusted his tie, and walked out with a vengeance.
Ten minutes later, he found himself pinned down by Shiller on the rooftop of a building.
Shiller let go, and the Joker scrambled up from the ground, yelling, "What are you doing?! You're meddling, you've ruined my toy!!!"
"That's no reason for you to run into Gotham University carrying all those explosives."
Looking at the wild eyes of the Joker, Shiller laughed and said, "Don't you feel a bit curious?"
The Joker stared at him silently, and Shiller went on, "Don't you want to know why Batman helps others?"
"Whether his acts of helping others come from his kindness, or because he hopes to gain the identity of a savior, to be the perfect god of Gotham?"
"Now, he can no longer be a perfect god. There must be people in this city who believe in the report. No matter how much he tries to clear his name, it will be a permanent stain."
"The name Batman may always be associated with derision, he is no longer a figure like Jesus. No one expects him to save them. And now, he is in pain because of this. Why do you think that is?"
Shiller saw the Joker's eyes gradually brighten. He was breathing faster, his throat making heaving sounds with each breath. He swallowed and said, "Yes, exactly, because… he can't be a perfect god anymore!"
"He must realize this. No matter how hard he works to mend things, there will always be those who won't believe, always those who will denounce him, and they will be many! This will be a hole in the windshield which is unfixable no matter how hard the wipers work!"
The Joker began to tremble with excitement, "He has to leave his favorite dream, leave the illusion where he is a god, omnipotent, capable of saving anyone, and return to the cruel and pale reality. Just like me, like everyone else in Gotham!!"
"He can only be the Bruce Wayne he hates! He has to return to Bruce's life and can no longer escape from reality! Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha!!!"
Laughing, the Joker began to shed tears. He wiped the corners of his eyes and said,
"God loves the world... God loves the world... It's about time he woke up. God never loved the world, God only loved the perfect self!"