Pen likes the new apartment. It's bigger, she has new walls to draw on (she's got paper, too, but sometimes she wants to do a proper mural), and she doesn't have grit under her feathers anymore.

She gets left alone a lot, though. Cindy is out doing things all the time. He doesn't have as much time to take her to the flying place. (Once, when he is out and she can't even ask, she hops out over the patio balcony onto the neighboring roof, and checks to see if there is anybody around, and flies a little bit, low and owl-quiet. She doesn't think anybody sees.) She builds elaborate structures. She solicits another box of pieces.

He leaves the news on, a lot. Pen mostly ignores it. She knows English, technically, but the pentagon didn't tell her the concepts her upbringing has left her missing.

Author: campanas	Pen likes the new apartment. It's bigger, she has new walls to draw on (she's got paper, too, but sometimes she wants to do a proper mural), and she doesn't have grit under her feathers anymore. She gets left alone a lot, though. Cindy is out doing things all the time. He doesn't have as much time to take her to the flying place. (Once, when he is out and she can't even ask, she hops out over the patio balcony onto the neighboring roof, and checks to see if there is anybody around, and flies a little bit, low and owl-quiet. She doesn't think anybody sees.) She builds elaborate structures. She solicits another box of pieces. He leaves the news on, a lot. Pen mostly ignores it. She knows English, technically, but the pentagon didn't tell her the concepts her upbringing has left her missing.
Author: manofmyword	And then one day Cindy is making lunch and listening to the TV with half an ear, and the news anchor interrupts himself in midsentence. "...of more than—oh my God." The Joker bolts out of the kitchen just in time to catch the replay of the collapsing football field. He watches the screen intently, scrambling onto the closest couch for a better view, and the voiceover notes shakily that this is now coming in live as the camera pans over the flaming ruin that used to be part of the stands. Specifically, he is informed, the part of the stands containing the mayor of Gotham.
Author: campanas	Well, Cindy appears to find this exciting, and it's delaying her lunch. Pen goes and watches when he runs. She frowns at the television.
Author: manofmyword	And out comes a large, powerfully built man wearing a strange mask, and he addresses the people of Gotham in a garbled but comprehensible voice. The Joker hears the words, but he's less interested in them than he is in the person doing the speaking. This has to be the new player in town, the one who's been stirring things up, the source of that strange mood that's been spreading through Gotham's criminal element like a nasty flu. Nobody knew anything, but everybody felt it. And now here he is making his play. He has a sense of theatre, at least, when he brings out that scientist type and has him identify the big round thing as a nuclear bomb. "Who can disarm it?" "Only me." As soon as he hears that, the Joker winces preemptively; half a second later, the masked man breaks the physicist's neck. Of course. How could he do anything else, with a setup like that? Telegraphs the punchline from a mile away. Effective, though, all the same.
Author: campanas	Pen ducks behind the sofa when it's clear someone's going to be hurt onscreen. She peeks. She whimpers, "I not have wishes. Can't make them."
Author: manofmyword	"A little magic sure would be handy right now," he murmurs, eyes locked on the screen as Bane orates about the ultimate nobility of his cause and just how fucked everyone is going to be if they don't toe the line. Part of him is falling a little bit in love, but most of him is going in quite the opposite direction. This Bane guy has a talent for public speaking, but when you look at his actions, it becomes obvious that this is not someone with the best interests of any part of Gotham at heart. This is a con, and it's a con that's going to end with the city of Gotham becoming a glowing hole in the ground - if the part about the nuclear bomb is true, which he has to assume it is.
Author: campanas	"I only - safed. Is all my magic."
Author: manofmyword	"'S all right," he says distractedly. "I'll get this numbnuts sorted any which way." Just as soon as he thinks of a plan.
Author: campanas	"Okay," sighs Pen. She climbs over the back of the sofa to flop half into his lap.
Author: manofmyword	He hugs her and keeps watching. He's going to have to track down reruns of this; he isn't taking in one word in five. The emotions are more important right now, anyway. Bane is calm, controlled, projecting benevolent superiority. And then Bane is leaving. The Joker rubs his face with both hands, hard. A few stray smears of makeup smear further. Now the news people are stuttering some more. He isn't interested. They can't tell him anything he wants to know. He has to think. He has to—mm. Maybe. Not his usual style, but this is not a usual situation. First things first, though. "You get what the guy on TV was saying?" he asks, looking down at Pen.
Author: campanas	"...Some?" Pen says. "The thing can..." She snuggles up, thinking. "Like thing hurt Shell Bell? Same word, 'nuke'. Wards better now but only me..."
Author: manofmyword	"Mhm," he says. "He said he'll kill everybody in Gotham if anyone tries to leave or take his bomb away, and he wants to show us something tomorrow. I'm pretty sure that whatever he's doing, killing everybody in Gotham is gonna figure into it at some point, even though he didn't say so. So I wanna figure out how to take the bomb away without him setting it off. And I think I'm gonna see if Batman wants to help me with that."
Author: campanas	"The unfriendly man," remembers Pen. "Will he?"
Author: manofmyword	"Don't know yet," he says. "I think I'll have to spend a night at the old place. And I'm gonna have to, mm, make a call first." He glances into the kitchen. "I'll finish lunch first, but then I gotta go. Will you be okay without me? I'll probably be back tomorrow morning. You can talk to me the magic way if you get lonely or run into trouble."
Author: campanas	"What for dinner though?"
Author: manofmyword	"Leftover lunch?" he suggests.
Author: campanas	"Okay," says Pen, in the voice of someone nobly making a great sacrifice.
Author: manofmyword	"Thanks." He hugs her again, then bounces to his feet to finish making lunch. There is plenty to be left over; he barely eats before he scrambles into a hat and jacket and out the front door.
Author: campanas	"Bye!" calls Pen. She eats lunch at a more leisurely pace. She watches some TV.
Author: manofmyword	The Joker makes some arrangements. While the news is mostly occupied with discussion of Bane and his threat, several channels do find time as the afternoon wears on to mention that Wayne Tower has been vandalized again: someone spraypainted CALL ME across the back of the building, in black letters outlined sloppily in red over a background of white scribbles. Although the message is large enough to be seen from a distance, no one has yet come forward to report witnessing the crime.
Author: campanas	Pen doesn't bother to turn the TV off, but she loses interest after a while. She amuses herself as best she can and doesn't bother Cindy. Eventually she goes to bed.
Author: manofmyword	And the Joker goes back to the apartment they vacated only a short while before. He doesn't know how long he'll have to wait. He doesn't know if Batman will even show. Maybe one monster seems as good as another to him. Maybe he crashed his newest mystery vehicle after that rumoured chase a while back, and he's at the bottom of a river right now waiting for some unlucky soul to dredge him up. No telling. So he cleans out the fridge, puts on his makeup from what he left here when they moved, dismantles the deadly traps on the front door, and settles in to see what happens.
Author: pythbox	He does get a visitor, but it's not the visitor he expected. A few hours after sunset, someone knocks on the door.
Author: manofmyword	That is not Batman. He took down the traps because he didn't need them anymore; he didn't expect anyone to actually come in that way. He gets up and peers through the spyhole to see who on Earth it could be.
Author: pythbox	A young man with an unfamiliar face, in plain clothes but still obviously a cop. He isn't carrying his gun openly, but that doesn't mean he's not carrying it, and that is definitely a bulletproof vest under that jacket.
Author: manofmyword	Well, well, well. He opens the door.
Author: pythbox	The stranger doesn't flinch even slightly. No fear, no surprise. "Batman couldn't make it," he says. "My name's John Blake. Can we talk?"
Author: manofmyword	"Curiouser and curiouser," the Joker murmurs. "You come right on in, Johnny." He steps back with an inviting sweep of his arm.
Author: pythbox	He scans the room as he enters, tensely alert; he's not afraid, but he's not stupid, either. All he sees is a lot of beat-up secondhand furniture, an ancient TV, playing cards scattered on the floor, drawings on the walls, and a spotless kitchen. No men in clown masks waiting to ambush him. He's not sure if that's a good thing.
Author: manofmyword	"So what held up Batsy?" he says, locking the front door and sauntering past Blake to plop himself onto the couch.
Author: pythbox	"He went to confront Bane. Didn't come back," John says succinctly. "What do you want?"
Author: manofmyword	"No-o," he says, drawing out the sound as he looks up at Blake. "You first. Why are you here?"
Author: pythbox	"Because I don't think you're connected to - that," he says with a wave at the dark and silent TV. "And I wanted to know what you're after. Just 'Call me'? No dead bodies, no kidnappings, no bomb threats? From you that's practically two doves carrying an olive branch."
Author: manofmyword	He chuckles. "How old were you four years ago?"
Author: pythbox	"Not that young," he says, raising his eyebrows.
Author: manofmyword	"Not that old, either. And you weren't a cop."
Author: pythbox	"...Are you going somewhere with this?"
Author: manofmyword	He grins. "Maybe. All right, I'll lay out my cards. I want this new kid and his toy nuke the hell out of Gotham. Last I saw Batsy we managed to talk for five minutes without anybody doing any violence, so I thought I'd see if he wanted to help. Too many people all trying to move on this at once - I'm sure you can imagine." He makes an illustrative blowing-up gesture. "No good. Gotta work together. Less chance of somebody fucking it up that way."
Author: pythbox	He shifts his weight, perhaps uncomfortably. "And I should believe you because...?"
Author: manofmyword	"You already do," the Joker informs him. "The real question is, what're you bringing to the table here? I've got people. Resources. Not a lot, maybe not enough, but something. You? You're a rookie cop with a line to a man who's probably dead, and we can't count on him either way. From where I'm standinnng, you're just one more gun, and I'm not short'a those."
Author: pythbox	"You're not standing anywhere," says John. "You're sitting down."
Author: manofmyword	He declines to dignify that with a response.
Author: pythbox	John sighs. "All right, all right. No, I don't have much right now. But if you're serious about this, I can't believe you'd turn away help just because it doesn't come with a tank."
Author: manofmyword	"Maybe not. But if you're hiding any tanks, I wanna know about 'em. Sooner before later. I'm betting that whatever this guy whips out tomorrow isn't gonna be something I'd want in my Christmas stocking."
Author: pythbox	"No tanks," he says, with a hint of a half-concealed smile.
Author: manofmyword	"Mm, but something," the Joker guesses. "Something worth a little more than your," he grins, "pretty face."
Author: pythbox	Despite himself, John flinches at the combination of that emphasis with the Joker's wide red smile.
Author: manofmyword	"Oooooh, this little piggy's got some squeal in him after all," he says, and laughs. "Don't fret, I'm just teasing."
Author: pythbox	"Ha ha," he says flatly. "Let's be clear about something here. We might be working together on this, and I might not have been with the force in '08, but you're still a terrorist and a cop-killer and if I ever think you're about to seriously hurt someone I don't want seriously hurt, I will shoot you."
Author: manofmyword	The Joker scoffs. "And what makes you think you could shoot me?"
Author: mylegalname	He's a little scared—who wouldn't be—but he's more exasperated. "Are we really gonna do this?"
Author: manofmyword	"You tell me, Johnny." He tugs on the lapels of his suit jacket, straightening them. "'Cause if you're gonna threaten me..." He grins. "Better be sure you mean it!"
Author: mylegalname	"I wasn't threatening you," he says, controlling the urge to raise his hands placatingly; he doubts the Joker would appreciate it. "I was just making sure you know where we stand."
Author: manofmyword	"Suuuure," he says. "I make you uncomfortable, you start talking about when you would hypothetically shoot me." He sniffs and straightens his jacket again. "Typical."
Author: mylegalname	...okay, he can kind of see the Joker's point. That's disturbing. He discards several responses that amount to 'you started it', because that seems like it would be really unhelpful right now, and is left with... "You're right," he says—reluctantly, but he says it. "I was out of line."
Author: manofmyword	"Huh," says the Joker, impressed. "I wouldn't have thought you had that in you."
Author: mylegalname	"Yeah, well, don't expect me to make a habit of it."
Author: manofmyword	He grins. "You know what, Johnny? I think I lllike you."
Author: mylegalname	"Just what I've always wanted," he says dryly. "And could you stop calling me Johnny?"
Author: manofmyword	"Make me," he challenges.
Author: mylegalname	Much to his own surprise, John starts laughing.
Author: manofmyword	The Joker bounces in his seat and claps his hands gleefully.
Author: mylegalname	It's... he feels like 'adorable' should definitely not be the right word, but it kind of is.
Author: manofmyword	"This is going to be funnn," he proclaims.
Author: mylegalname	"Fun. Sure."
Author: manofmyword	"What?" he says, amused. "Don't tell me you were expecting all serious all the time. Not from the Joker."
Author: mylegalname	"Okay, no," John concedes. "That would clearly be too much to ask. You know," he adds, while they're on the subject, "I used to think at least some of it was an act."
Author: manofmyword	"And what do you think nnnow?"
Author: mylegalname	He considers the question for a few seconds. At last: "I've definitely lost all illusions about your sense of humour."
Author: manofmyword	He cackles.
Author: mylegalname
Author: manofmyword	"You're funny," the Joker accuses, grinning broadly. "On purpose! That is a rare distinction."
Author: mylegalname	Caught up in the interplay, he asks without fully considering the consequences, "Do I get a prize?"
Author: manofmyword	"Don't tempt me, honey."
Author: mylegalname	...well that is not a direction he expected this conversation to go. Although maybe he should have. Unless he's imagining things? No, he is not imagining 'honey', and he's not imagining that smile, either. Should he say something? He probably should have said something several seconds ago.
Author: manofmyword	The Joker just grins at him.
Author: mylegalname	"...We need a way to keep in touch," he says, well aware of certain implications but unable to think of a better way to steer the conversation away from the Joker flirting with him. At least this is a legitimate practical concern. "Graffiti is notoriously insecure."
Author: manofmyword	"Oh, I'll come up with something," he says. "Who else knows I used to live here?"
Author: mylegalname	"In Gotham? Me."
Author: manofmyword	"Then how about we meet back here tomorrow night?"
Author: mylegalname	Well, it's better than meeting at his place. "Sure."
Author: manofmyword	"And you think about your hypothetical tanks, and I'll think about - everything else."
Author: mylegalname	"It's a deal," he says, and (just to see what happens?) holds out his hand.
Author: manofmyword	The Joker stands up and shakes it firmly. No tricks.
Author: mylegalname	He can't decide if that's reassuring. There's a name for cops who turn their backs on the Joker, and it's usually not 'alive and healthy'. But right now he thinks it's more important to make the point. He turns and walks out without a backward glance.
Author: manofmyword	Well, well, well. The next morning, he's back in his new home, asleep on a couch with the news going quietly on the TV close by.
Author: campanas	Pen wakes up. She rummages for breakfast she can handle herself, finds nothing appealing, and sits on Cindy.
Author: manofmyword	He yelps, opens his eyes, and grins at her. "G'morning, sweetheart. Do I need to make breakfast?"
Author: campanas	"Yeah! I hungry."
Author: manofmyword	"Mkay. Lemme up, then."
Author: campanas	She hops off of him. "How things doing?" she asks.
Author: manofmyword	"Well, Batman's probably dead, but I talked to somebody who might be able to help anyway. Your magic brainphone thing, how's it work? Can anybody do it?" He wanders into the kitchen and starts making breakfast while he talks.
Author: campanas	"I can put people brainphoned. Those people not do same thing though. Mommies make it so you put putter people. I put regular people."
Author: manofmyword	"Can you put just anybody? I want to be able to talk to this guy that way. It'll save a lot of trouble."
Author: campanas	"Have to know what anybody. Not know guy."
Author: manofmyword	"How 'bout if you came back to the old place with me tonight and met him?"
Author: campanas	"Then sure." She gets to go someplace!
Author: manofmyword	"All right." Breakfast is served! Breakfast is delicious.
Author: campanas	Om nom nom.
Author: manofmyword	Nom nom! After breakfast, he sits in front of the TV and turns up the news while he does maintenance on all his guns.
Author: campanas	Pen peers at the guns. She has never seen these objects before!
Author: manofmyword	"These're dangerous," he says. "They're some of what I was keeping in that room I told you not to go into. They won't blow anything up, but they could still kill somebody if you mess around with them."
Author: campanas	"Won't," Pen agrees.
Author: manofmyword	He glances up from his work to smile at her.
Author: campanas	She watches from a safe non-tampering distance.
Author: manofmyword	It's not particularly interesting, but it seems to absorb all his attention. Except that when he is most of the way through, a little before lunchtime, the news anchor says the words "...live from the steps of Blackgate Prison" and he puts down the shotgun he was examining and looks up intently at the screen. Bane is there, climbing out of a vehicle with an interestingly familiar silhouette. He'll have to see if John knows anything about that. Maybe it's just a coincidence. Symbol of oppression, yeah, sure. The Dent Act is fucked up from the inside out, but the Joker still isn't buying what Bane is selling. Burn a picture of Dent, yeah, good one. It's a pity there are no pictures of what he looked like with half his face burned off. But what's this? He knows. Bane says 'the truth about Harvey Dent' like someone who understands exactly what he's talking about. "Jimmy's gonna pop," the Joker murmurs when Bane starts quoting from Commissioner Gordon's unpublished, undelivered resignation speech. "If they haven't killed him yet." The speech rolls on, all the way to the end. Bane's delivery is perfect. 'The things we did in Harvey's name brought desperately needed security to our streets... But I can no longer live with my lie. It is time to trust the people of Gotham with the truth, and it is time for me to resign.' And of course Bane asks the crowd, "Do you accept this man's resignation?" And of course they start cheering. He's got them in the palm of his hand now. On he goes, all about taking Gotham back from the wealthy and the corrupt and giving it to the people. Well, that would sure be nice, except for that tiny insignificant problem of the nuclear bomb he's got rolling through the streets. Fat chance of anybody else remembering that now, though. They bust into the prison and let everybody out. Arming them on the way, of course. Bane keeps talking. He's good at that. The Joker watches.
Author: campanas	Pen watches too. It's unclear how much of it she's following.
Author: manofmyword	Eventually that speech, too, winds down. The Joker stares at the screen for a moment, lost in thought, after they cut away from the prison; then he shakes his head and picks up the shotgun again.
Author: campanas	Pen snuggles under his arm, obstructing him a little but not all that much.
Author: manofmyword	He can work with it. He hugs her and keeps right on going.
Author: campanas	She is quiet and thoughtful.
Author: manofmyword	In only a few more minutes, he finishes the rest. And hugs her properly. "How're you doing?"
Author: campanas	"Want Mommy find me, fix all things."
Author: manofmyword	"Yeah, that'd be nice."
Author: campanas	"Yeah."
Author: manofmyword	In the meantime, there are hugs.
Author: campanas	Yep.
Author: manofmyword	Also lunch. That too.
Author: campanas	Lunch is good.
Author: manofmyword	It is! It is good. He puts all the guns away after lunch and gets out his knives to check those, also in front of the TV. Some time later, he puts those away too. He washes his face. He changes into comfortable clothing: one of his nice blue shirts, unremarkable black pants, and a faded old grey sweater with a band logo on the front and the words THE FREAK SHALL INHERIT THE EARTH on the back. He says, "Still wanna meet this guy?"
Author: campanas	"Sure."
Author: manofmyword	"All right. C'mon." He has the altered minivan again tonight. It makes for a reasonably comfy ride across town to his old apartment, where once again he goes up the tree and in the window.
Author: campanas	Pen flies up and follows him in.
Author: manofmyword	And there they wait, until...
Author: mylegalname	...somebody knocks on the door.
Author: manofmyword	The Joker answers it. Comfy sweater, lack of makeup, and all.
Author: mylegalname	"All right, I'm surprised," says John.
Author: campanas	"YOU!" exclaims Pen. "YOU broke door! You break it and I here!"
Author: mylegalname	He steps in far enough to see her. "...I what?"
Author: manofmyword	"You two know each other already?" inquires the Joker, closing and locking the door.
Author: campanas	"He break door!" exclaims Pen plaintively. "He be in nice bar, and he go, then door break!"
Author: mylegalname	"I broke the door? I did not break the door," says John. "And there's not much I could do about it if I had. I only get them once a year."
Author: campanas	"How door break then?" demands Pen. "Door supposed to home. This not home."
Author: mylegalname	"I don't know! I didn't do anything to it!" he says. "I just went out like I always do."
Author: campanas	"Well, door broke. Now I stuck till Mommy or Daddy or one them finds me. This one not count." She waves at Cindy.
Author: mylegalname	... He looks at the Joker.
Author: manofmyword	"Yep," he says. "Apparently there's a bunch of me and one of 'em has four kids. She's the littlest." He addresses Pen. "Do you still wanna put Johnny on the brainphone even though he maybe broke your magic door?"
Author: campanas	"You get more door?" she asks John suspiciously. "Birthday?"
Author: mylegalname	"Yeah. Every year, since I was a kid."
Author: campanas	"You let me door? So I not stuck years like Uncle Nathaniel."
Author: mylegalname	"Yeah, of course." Assuming they're all still alive by that point, which is not really an assumption he's willing to make, but he doesn't see much point in making that part explicit.
Author: campanas	"Then okay, I brainphone you, if want."
Author: mylegalname	"What's a brainphone?"
Author: manofmyword	"What it sounds like. Handy way to keep in touch, 'cause you can be damn sure nobody's listening," says the Joker.
Author: campanas	[Is this thing!]
Author: mylegalname	He blinks. "...Okay," he says. "And you can only - brainphone - people who have it? And," he looks between Pen and the Joker and settles on Pen, "you're the only one here who can give it to people?"
Author: campanas	Pen nods. "Mommies can make more giving people. I only make regular people."
Author: mylegalname	"O...kay. Well. Thanks." He looks at the Joker again, then at Pen. Pen, Joker. Joker, Pen.
Author: campanas	"What?" asks Pen.
Author: mylegalname	"Uh..." He decides after a final look that the chance of the Joker not knowing what he's thinking is negligible. "...I'm wondering if you're okay with him or if I should find somebody else to take care of you," he says.
Author: campanas	"I find him. On purpose. He one Daddy, here hasn't one Mommy, checked that." says Pen. "Makes waffles!"
Author: mylegalname	"Okay," says John. "So... now what?"
Author: manofmyword	"Mmm... d'you know if they've strung up Jim Gordon yet?"
Author: mylegalname	He hesitates for a moment, unsure how much he should be revealing, and then realizes that his hesitation signals that he has something to hide and there's really only one thing he could be hiding about the answer to that question, so he probably just gave it all away. Good work, rookie.
Author: manofmyword	Indeed: the Joker grins. "He your tank? Mm?"
Author: mylegalname	"Maybe," he says, more for form's sake than anything. Trying to keep things from the Joker seems to be a losing battle.
Author: manofmyword	"Well, we could've used him before Blackgate," he says. "Now... well, he can probably get more cops on his side than I can, but most of the cops in this city are down a hole right now." He thinks for a second, then adds, "He'd make good traitor bait, at least."
Author: mylegalname	John follows the logic—tell someone where he is, wait to see if they turn him in—and then is ashamed of himself for considering it, and then wonders if they can afford not to. Maybe he'll suggest it to Gordon. He still hasn't mentioned the Joker to Gordon. Maybe he'll explain who he's been meeting at night and Gordon will shoot him. But who is he to talk? Wasn't he just saying that someday John would be grateful to have somebody around to dirty their hands for him? There can't be many people more qualified for the job.
Author: campanas	"I more brainphoning?" inquires Pen.
Author: mylegalname	"...I don't know," says John.
Author: manofmyword	"You'd have a hell of a time convincing Gordon to work with me," the Joker says thoughtfully. "But we need more help than we've got. My boys are good to have around, but I wouldn't count on 'em not to be taken in by Bane's savior-of-the-people line."
Author: mylegalname	"So you think it's just a line?"
Author: manofmyword	"Watch one of his little speeches sometime. Tune out the words and watch how he says 'em. Very inspiring, right? Now think about what he's doing. Truck a nuclear bomb into Gotham and tell us he'll let it off if anybody tries to walk. Get people fired up about Dent, then let everybody out of Blackgate, arm 'em up, and turn 'em loose." His hands sketch the result in the air, a dispersal of violence through the streets of the city; he shakes his head. "I think a lot of people believe in what Bane's selling, but I don't think he does. 'Cause take it from me, what he's done so far is a great plan if you want a lot of people killing each other and feeling good about it. If you start out thinking about freedom and equality, you don't come up with this."
Author: mylegalname	"And you'd know."
Author: manofmyword	"Well, yeah."
Author: campanas	Pen, sober-faced, hugs Cindy. Arms and wings both.
Author: manofmyword	He hugs her back, although he has fewer available limbs to do it with.
Author: campanas	"Is complicated," she mutters.
Author: manofmyword	"No kidding, sweetheart."
Author: mylegalname	Well, that's... touching? Is that touching? That might be touching. John wonders what he's gotten himself into.
Author: campanas	"What?" Pen asks. "Keep look funny at us."
Author: mylegalname	"I'm just... thinking," he says, after a pause. "Don't worry about it. It's not important."
Author: campanas	Pen thinks, then nods. Then she thinks some more and nudges Cindy. "You maybe friend help doing things?" she asks.
Author: manofmyword	"Thaaat depends," the Joker says musingly. "Could be. Could be he won't bite. But I don't think we'll lose much by asking. Hey, Johnny, wanna do me a favour?"
Author: mylegalname	"Sure," he says, after a somewhat longer pause.
Author: manofmyword	He giggles. "Not even a 'depends on the favour'? Don't tempt me." But he flaps a hand, dismissing this subject. "No good playing tricks when we should be working, though. Nah, there's a couple people I want you to find. Nothing too dangerous. Not even too shady. Well... comparatively."
Author: mylegalname	"...I'm listening."