Patrick Bateman vs Arthur Fleck
We begin by following Patrick Bateman on his way home from work, walking up to his apartment, as he narrates
Patrick (narration): There is an idea of a Patrick Bateman. Some kind of abstraction, but there is no real me. Though I can hide my cold gaze, I simply…
He stops as he enters his apartment and he is instantly hit with the smell of smoke. He cautiously walks in to find Arthur Fleck sitting in his chair, full Joker makeup, smoking a cigarette.
Arthur: I was wondering how long it’d take you to come home, Patrick.
Patrick: why are you in my home?
Arthur ignores him
Arthur: tell me, Patty, you ever heard of Wayne enterprises? You should. They ruined my life, and Pierce & Pierce recently partnered with them.
Patrick: so what? What does that have to do with me?
Arthur puts out his cigarette by crushing it onto the pristine white chair arm, causing it to leave a black char mark. Patrick tightens up in silent rage. Arthur gets up and walks over towards the Stereo.
Arthur: I’ve done my research, Patty. I know who you are. A spoiled son of a rich man, who believes he can do whatever he wants without consequences. I’m here to prove you wrong. Nice music selection, by the way. Huey Lewis and the News.
Patrick begins reaching into his jacket pocket
Patrick: get out of my home. This is your only chance.
Arthur: how about a joke, first? What do you get when you cross a mentally ill loner with a society that abandons him and treats him like TRASH? I’ll tell you what you get-
Patrick pulls out a gun, and Arthur pulls his out. They both aim at each other, and fire.
The two begin firing on each other. Arthur ducks behind the couch fir cover, while Patrick slips into the kitchen.
Patrick: You’re gonna pay for messing up my home you stupid clown!
Arthur begins laughing
Arthur: don’t worry, the bullet holes won’t matter once I burn this bitch down!
Patrick stops to reload, only to find that he’s out of ammo. He looks to the bathroom. He just needs to get in there. Arthur gets out of his hiding place and begins walking towards the entrance to the kitchen
Arthur: Come on out, Patty. I just wanna show you a magic trick.
He rounds the corner to see Patrick gone. On the other side of the apartment, the bathroom door slams shut. Arthur grabs a pair of scissors and walks over to the door, knocking on it
Arthur: knock knock.
The door swings open, and Patrick comes out wearing a raincoat and brandishing an axe. He swings, and Arthur dodges, stabbing Patrick in his leg. Patrick let’s out a yell, elbows Arthur in the face, and kicks him to the floor.
Arthur begins laughing involuntarily as his nose begins bleeding and Patrick limps over to him
Patrick: the hell’s so funny?
Arthur holds out a card with info about his condition. Patrick takes it, skims it, then throws it aside
Patrick: interesting.
He swings the axe down, but Arthur dodges as the axe gets stuck in the floor. Arthur jumps to his feet, kicks the axe out of Patrick’s grasp, before tackling him to the floor. They wrestle for a bit, and eventually Arthur gets up and grabs his gun, before pointing it at Patrick.
Patrick: WAIT! You never got to finish your joke, remember?
Arthur: ….. oh yeah. What do you get when you cross a mentally ill loner with a society that abandons him and treats him like trash?
Patrick eyes the axe a few inches out of his reach.
Patrick: I don’t know, what do you get.
Arthur: You get what what you fucking deserve!
Patrick grabs the axe and swings it into Arthur’s shoulder, causing his aim to waiver as he fires his gun, the bullet ripping through part of Patrick’s face. Patrick falls to the floor holding his face, while Arthur, axe still in his shoulder, stumbles back and trips over the couch.
Arthur bursts into a pained laughter and coughs up blood. He struggles to wrench the axe out of his shoulder. Arthur struggles to his feet, axe in hand, and looks where Patrick should be. Instead, there’s a trail of blood leading down a hallway to the bedroom.
Arthur: Come on, Patty! Running away? I thought you were better than this!
Arthur begins limping down the hallway, containing his laughter. As he nears the door, it bursts open and Patrick is revealed, chainsaw in hand. There’s a bullet wound scarring his face. Teeth are exposed and raw muscles are hanging out.
Patrick: Look what you did to my face you fucking stupid bastard! I’m gonna split you open and play with your guts!
Arthur: Come and try!
The two begin fighting, Arthur swinging his axe forward with Patrick blocking it with the Chainsaw. Patrick thrusts forward, cutting Arthur’s stomach a little. Arthur swung his axe, hitting Patrick in the side. Patrick takes this opportunity to grab the axe head and brings the chainsaw up, cutting the axe head off.
Patrick: now I’ve got you!
He goes to swing down the chainsaw and Arthur blocks with the axe handle. Arthur keeps laughing uncontrollably as the chainsaw cuts through the handle and drops down, cutting into Arthur’s shoulder. Arthur’s laughter becomes a mixture of insane cackles and wails of horror.
The chainsaw continues to carve downward, eventually cutting Arthur in half entirely. The camera pans into Patrick’s scarred face as he slowly transitions from intense rage to calm stoicism, as the narration begins again.
Patrick (narration): There is an idea of a Patrick Bateman. Some kind of abstraction, but there is no real me. Though I can hide my cold gaze, I simply am not there.
The End