Two Hearts to Make a Maniac

[[Third Person POV]]

The Joker and Ebby stood stoically on the half built building. All of the people in the city were running around frantically trying to get away. The ferries were just beginning to fill up. One filled with innocent citizens, and the other filled hardened criminals.

Harvey Dent, aka Two-Face now, was prowling the streets, killing all those who had planned. This was exactly what the Joker wanted. He knew he couldn't corrupt the Batman, but Gotham's White Light was a different story. The Joker had twisted his mind, changed it so he no longer could think properly. Now he could live the respectable way, with no rules.

A grin spread across his face, as he walked away from the edge of the building. Ebby stayed, sitting down and beginning to watch the sun set. The Joker hovered over a table, messing with a detonator, a walky-talky, and a small control board..

He turned his head and examined Ebby. Her shoulders were hunched and her body was tense. She was always like this before they did something bad. It was also why he loved her. His grin spread further, wider.

Ebby had put her hands behind her and was leaning back. Her eyes were strained out onto the landscape before her. Millions upon thousands of thoughts rampaged through her head. She had no idea if this was their last stunt, she never knew. All of this exciting and terrifying at the same moment. But what was the most wonderful thing of all, she knew his name. He, himself, had told her his name. It was simply a name but it meant so much more than it should. All of this relationship was wrong yet, still right. Both of them love that.

"Lets get this party started." The Joker cackled, Ebby following eager to see the plan. Strutting back over to the edge, control board in hand, he pressed several buttons, waiting for the effect. From the building, they could see the bays. The ferries bright lights shining onto the waters surface. Suddenly, one of the two ferries stopped, its lights flickering. "One down, one to go." He chuckled pressing multiple buttons. The other ferries lights flickered, stopping as well.

Looking down at Ebby, he smiled. A lopsided smirk had sprung onto her face, making her features come to life. Her shining green eyes seeming to pop out in contrast to her hair. As her skin seemed to glow majestically with the night. All of her seemed beautiful.

The Joker grinned down at her, and she grinned back. Grabbing the walky-talky he began to speak: "Tonight your all going to be part of a social experiment." He started, his voice strangely calm. "If you haven't noticed your all sitting on gas cans, and I'm ready to blow you all sky high. Anyone attempts to get off their boat, you all die." Ebby laughed at this standing up and facing the Joker as He spoke. A brief smile flickered across his face before he continued. "Each of you has the remote to the other's boat. At midnight, I'll blow you all up! If how ever one of you presses the button I'll let that boat live. So whose it going to be? Harvey Dent's group of most wanted criminals? Or the sweet, innocent civilians? Oh! And you might want to decide quickly, the people on the other boat might not be so noble." With that, he turned the walky-talky off and threw it somewhere.

"So what now?" Ebby asked, a wide grin slapped onto her face.

The Joker grinned back at her. "We wait till they blow each other up. You see, underneath pressure people can snap! When death is dangling before them they'll do anything to get past it. They'll even become-Just. Like. Us. They go crazy, do crazy things. Now we just have to see who goes crazy first." He explained grinning.

Ebby turned her face towards the city, a thoughtful look overtaking her features. "And if Batman comes? What about that?" She countered.

"Well that's what we want. We want Baty to come. And if he does, we'll show him how messed up this world really is." He grinned, making Ebby shake her head laughing lightly.

Unbeknownst to the couple, a group of police were gathering on the building opposite. All of them armed and ready to take out the "clowns" holding the hostages. The clowns, they were actually the patients from the hospital. The so called doctors, those were the real captors. They were armed and ever vigilant.

Gordon paced the roof top anxiously getting ready to shoot a few of the clowns. Just as he was ready to shoot, the masked vigilantly swooped down.

"Don't." Batman warned the Commissioner. "Give me five minutes." He ordered walking over to the edge of the building.

"I have a clear shot! You can't do this!" Gordon hollered aiming his gun at Batman. Without hesitation, Batman flew off the building, onto the other. "Give him two minutes." Gordon growled to a gunman.

Ebby scanned the horizon carefully. A large dark figure swooped by, catching her attention. Immediately, she turned heel, leaving the Joker standing at the edge. He watched curiously as she walked over to the table, grabbing a gun and loading it.

"What are you doing?" He asked squinting his eyes.

"I'm stalling. Where are the dogs?" She asked facing him again. He pointed casually to a corner of the large room. Ebby jogged quickly over to the whining, caged dogs. "Hey poochy-poochies." She cooed opening the cages and rubbing the dogs' heads. They lapped at her hands, their tongues lolling out. "Now, be good doggies and attack the Batman when he comes." The dogs somehow seemed to understand because they yipped in response.

Ebby swept from the room, down to the lower levels. She could already here commotion from the floors below. Taking her gun off safety she waited. Her breathing stayed calm even though she was beginning to twitch. She was eager to fight the Batman, hand to hand combat, long range, anything. All of it was exciting.

Boom

The floor shook below her, causing her to slam into a pillar. Seconds later, a dark figure walked onto the floor. Without a thought, she darted out behind the pillar and shot at the figure.

Batman dodged the shots, barely. He searched carefully for the shooter, and saw the feminine silhouette of Ebby. Before he could move, she shot at him again. Her aim was extremely precise and grazed the caped crusaders' suit.

Time was running out, he couldn't waste his time with her. Silently, he seemingly disappeared and reappeared behind her back. He swung his arm behind his head then brought it down on Ebby's back. She tumbled forwards with a shriek. Swiftly, he picked her up by her collar.

"Why do you do this? Why do you go along with these plans?!" He asked his husky voice rising. "Why do you do these things?"

Ebby's eyes darted back and forth. Her reason for doing what she did was shot down by the Joker, she had to really think why. Suddenly, her eyes brightened and she looked back up at the Batman, fearlessly.

"Because," She began, "I'd rather be free then trapped by the rules of society like you. There's freedom in being a killer." She spat.

Batman narrowed his eyes then threw her across the room. Ebby's head made contact with a pillar, painfully. Slowly, she began to fade into unconsciousness, hearing the yells of Batman and the Joker. Her eyes became heavy, and heart beat began to slow down as she drifted off. But she at least knew now why she did the things she did, freedom.

The Freedom of a Killer.