Re: Batman/Maria
"No." It was a flat, unapologetic statement. Not that he hadn't thought about it, but that he hadn't considered doing so an option. "It wouldn't have made a difference." And she knew he was right, so there was no use arguing. Besides, none of them had really had time to work the case anyway, and he'd sure as hell tried. Batman still wasn't all that keen on letting SHIELD in at all, but it wasn't his choice. He just hoped he could find the proof he needed before they officially closed the books on it and branded Clark a killer, no matter what the reason.
"He's safe now," Batman said. "Just not himself. He isn't a danger to anyone anymore, though."
Shaking his head as well, he insisted. "I'm not sure he did," he said. "I don't know what happened yet, but I do know that he's not dead. I've seen him survive an exploding helicopter, and a fall of a thousand feet into a river. Explosions, beatings - the man thrives on pain; derives some degree of sexual pleasure from it, even. He may be out there recovering somewhere, but he's out there."
Batman knew that Joker would sacrifice himself - it was too easy. He enjoyed himself too much to commit suicide for any reason. Challenging Superman, baiting him, torturing him, and not expecting retaliation was not smart; Joker was always prepared.
"He killed one of my partners," Batman said quietly. "Beat him nearly to death with a crowbar, then blew him up; he was fifteen. He paralyzed the daughter of a good friend when she was nineteen - took pictures of her naked body, used them to torture her father - all to get to me. He even managed to capture a girl once who meant..." He was silent for a moment. Batman didn't like to talk about Jason and Barbara especially to people he didn't know well, but this was different. She needed to understand why he was so sure he was right. "The girl was fine, but he knew. As soon as he saw me with her, he knew."
"Joker wants me to kill him," he said. "Not to end the game, but to prove we're the same. He's pushing me, causing pain and chaos so that I'll eventually snap and do it. He must have seen Kal and I together at some point and determined that we were friends. Good enough friends that striking at him would be far more painful than any attempt to hurt me would be. Either Kal dies, or everyone thinks he's a killer. Either way, I watch my friend suffer, and I suffer, too. It's funnier that way, especially if I'm unable to prove Kal's innocence afterward."
Batman smirked, giving a little laugh. "That's what Kal said - that his reputation for being more peaceful made Joker think he could keep pushing without Superman lashing out." He shook his head. "Joker is smart. Not just smart - brilliant. I'm a genius, and he keeps me on my toes. The man is unstable, but that only works to his benefit. if he doesn't have everything planned out in advance, he's playing it by ear, and it all has the same effect - you can't predict what he's going to do, but he clearly knows what you are.
"Joker knew exactly what was going to happen when he hit Kal with those three poisons; he wanted it to happen. He had a friend of Kal's held hostage and was taunting him about it. Joker held back nothing. He did everything except wave a red cape in front of his face."