Spider-Man nodded in agreement, affirming his statement, prompting the Joker to elaborate, "You must find it peculiar that I pleaded guilty only to later break out of jail. But I must say, none of it is to my advantage."
"Though I'm insane and will eventually end up in a mental hospital, escaping during questioning would only prompt the nurses to up my meds. That's not exactly what I would call beneficial."
Spider-Man nodded once again, agreeing with what Joker had to say. At least from his perspective, Joker's actions weren't marred by any discrepancies. After all, he didn't have the same level of understanding of Joker as Batman did.
In Spider-Man's eyes, if Joker didn't want to go to jail, there would have been no need for him to turn himself in. But now that he had confessed and escaped, didn't that make his confession pointless?
"My escape has underlying reasons. There are matters that only I can address, and Batman merely observes from the sidelines, with absolutely no response towards the imminent crisis. Bro, I'm not just pulling this out of nowhere."
Joker purposefully altered his tone, making his vocabulary and intonation sound more youthful, fully showcasing his ability to blend into the crowd.
As expected, Spider-Man was intrigued. He showed an interest in listening, so Joker didn't keep him in suspense and continued, "As I mentioned before, a group intends to implement the mob rule here. They have gotten their hands on a large bomb manufactured by the former Soviet Union, a super-yield nuclear warhead. They have likely modified this warhead. You understand how dangerous this is, right?"
The mention of "modification" caused Spider-Man to widen his eyes, he questioned, "Modify a nuclear warhead? How did they manage that? Did they set up a production line or what?"
"That's precisely the problem. This bunch of lunatics, emboldened by what they learned from Batman—well, I'm not saying it's his fault. It's possible Batman wasn't aware of their audacity. But, you should know how insane and radical your peers can be."
Spider-Man's expression showed a hint of hesitation, and Joker quickly added, "It's safe to say they don't have the professional skills or resources to modify the warhead, but they've been bold enough to get their hands dirty. So the bomb could explode any minute."
"Listen up, Spider-Man, I'm not doing this for Gotham or for justice, it's for my own hide. I don't wish to be blown sky-high by a nuclear bomb when I'm casually watching TV in the mental hospital."
These self-centered remarks were very much in line with Joker's character. If he had espoused empty sentiments about saving Gotham or justice, Spider-Man would have seen right through him. Instead, his current stance left Spider-Man guessing what was true and what wasn't.
After all, as far as Spider-Man was concerned, didn't everyone want to survive? Even the vilest of criminals had a chance of redemption. The Joker's line of reasoning made sense.
"Although I'd quite like to see you throw yourself into the line of fire, you alone can't stop a nuclear explosion. I won't ask you to do anything complex. You just have to figure out where they're hiding the damn thing," Joker looked into Spider-Man's eyes as he spoke earnestly.
"If that's the case, then I…"
"I mean, we should find it together."
"But I alone could…"
"No way, buddy," Joker smirked, revealing a slightly sinister grin, "The outcome would be the same regardless of whether it's them or you who gets the bomb. How would I know if you might, on a whim, press the button? I don't trust anyone. I need to personally ensure this thing doesn't endanger me!"
A typical scoundrelish facade of selfishness and self-interest. His grin and arched eyebrow were flawless, and Spider-Man couldn't spot anything amiss. Hesitating for a moment, he finally agreed, "Alright, under certain extreme circumstances, I may collaborate with super criminals. But once this is over, I will get you behind bars again, so you'd better not get your hopes up."
"We'll see about that." Joker feigned an "I definitely won't comply" look. Everything he said and did was logically sound and consistent with his character portrayal. As Spider-Man didn't know him well, he saw nothing wrong.
And thus, Joker managed to pull one over on Spider-Man, convincing him to help find the bomb. On the one hand, it was to solve the impending crisis in Gotham, and on the other, he needed a witness to confirm that Robin and his crazy antics weren't his doing.
However, Joker soon realized that Spider-Man's method of searching for anything in Gotham was the Exhaustion Method.
There was no deduction, logic, or even wild guessing. It was just a brute force approach. Checking each street one by one would eventually yield what he was looking for.
For an ordinary person, this method might be too time-consuming, especially when dealing with an impending nuclear explosion. But Spider-Man could get by, as his long days gave him ample time.
But it was eventually Joker who ran out of patience first. After all, both he and Batman were similar – they preferred brains over brash charging.
Spider-Man, on the other hand, was still the street hero at this point, not seen to exert much effort in thinking. The Dark Source Elixir that Joker injected him heightened his paranoid side.
Joker might advise him that a certain street was safe, but Spider-Man had to check it out for himself. In his words, "If there is an oversight in judgment, wouldn't Gotham be doomed? Wouldn't first-hand experience be more reliable?"
Spider-Man's meddling was just as effective as rules itself. From helping a fallen cyclist up, assisting with heavy lifting, fixing a leaky pipe, each investigation had to stop for these events to unfold.
The Joker had tried to reason with him that focusing on the main issue was crucial given the pressing matter at hand, though the response remained, "Don't worry, I'm quick, wouldn't take too long."
The truth was, it didn't take too long. But if it continued in this manner, the construction progress in Gotham would indeed skyrocket.
By then, if the Good Neighbor award was given to Spider-Man, it was only right that Joker, the face appearing behind Spider-Man, would also have to step on stage to receive it.
Worse still, the award presenter would be none other than Bruce Wayne himself.