Jason snarled and kicked him to the floor. "You made nothing. You’re a punchline. And tonight, the joke ends."
He pulled a pistol from his holster and pressed it to the Joker’s temple. The Joker began to giggle through the gag. batman under the red hood
"You chose him. Next time, I won’t give you a choice." Jason snarled and kicked him to the floor
"You’re right," Batman finally said. His voice cracked. "I failed you. I should have been faster. Smarter. I should have… I should have killed him that night. But I didn’t. And I can’t go back. I can’t become what he is, Jason. If I cross that line—if I let you do this—then the Joker wins. Not because he lives. Because he would have finally proven that we are the same. That anyone can be broken into a killer." And tonight, the joke ends
Batman stood amid the flames, silhouetted like a fallen angel.
He pressed the detonator. But Batman was already moving. He didn’t go for Jason. He went for the Joker—not to save him, but to throw him through a window into the river below. The crate exploded, sending a shockwave that knocked Jason off his feet.
Batman stood in the smoke, his fists clenched. For a long moment, he didn’t move. The entire weight of his mission—the vow made over his parents’ graves, the endless night—hung in the balance.