"I can say without a doubt that there are an infinite number of universes. Some are just like our own…but for one or two significant events, exactly the same."

~ Lex Luthor

Prologue, Part I

Imagine a world without crime. Imagine a world without war. Imagine a world in which major conflicts are almost nonexistent. Now open your eyes. Take in the world you dreamed about, wished for your whole life. But there is something wrong. This is not the world of happiness that should be omnipresent in a place such as this. This is not the world in which every nation gets along. There are no nations. This is not a world of being carefree, it is one of fear. This is a world in which crime has not been eliminated through justice, but through injustice, by the gods who walk among us.

Prologue, Part II

Metropolis. A city that was the embodiment of the good side of urban society. A city that proudly displayed what humanity could accomplish. But all that was over. All that was lost. All that lied in ruins. Millions dead. A beacon of hope destroyed. It was not the result of a war, a feud, or any sort of fight. All fault lied in the hands of a single man. A single man so inhuman, so sociopathic, that he showed zero remorse for what he had brought down, delightfully laughing over what he had singlehandedly caused, singlehandedly destroyed. And that man was the Joker.

"The nuke. Where'd you get it!" yelled Batman, pounding his fist on the table. The Joker had just killed an entire city. He was taking none of his usual bullshit.

"What, you want one?" joked the Joker sociopathically. "Cobybat…"

Batman could barely believe it. The man in front of him had just nuked Metropolis and was making puns? In a burst of rage, he grabbed the Joker by the shoulders. But before anything could happen, the wall behind them suddenly collapsed in a burst of red light. Out of the just-made hole came Superman.

"Get away from him," he said, fury in his eyes.

"I'm handling this," responded Batman. Clark had just lost his wife, son, and home. And now he was in the same room with the man responsible for it all. There was no knowing what he could do.

Superman ignored him, keeping his ferocious eyes locked on the Joker. He knocked aside the table separating them effortlessly, and lifted the Joker by his shoulders and held him against the wall. The Joker grunted as the mirror behind him cracked from the pressure of his body.

"You drugged me!" Superman yelled. "Made me… Lois… my son…!"

"First Krypton, now Metropolis," said the Joker, grinning. "People you love tend to blow up, don't they?"

Superman pulled back his fist, preparing a punch that could be fatal.

"Superman, don't!" said Batman.

Superman, still disregarding Batman, attempted the punch anyway. But the Joker turned his head to the right, causing him to only further crack the mirror.

"That's why I like you, Superman," continued the Joker with his sadistic spiel. "You're much more gullible than…"

Joker cocked his head towards Batman, who continued to look worried over the situation. Superman, meanwhile, had heard enough, throwing the Joker to the wall behind them. He pulled himself off the ground, grunting in pain, but all the while still smiling his sadistic grin.

"You think you can have a family. That locking me up will magically reform me. And they'll be safe. So big, so dumb… Now run along so I can break outta here. I've got lots of planning to do to top this!"

Superman had heard more than enough, picking up the Joker by the neck.

"That's enough!" yelled Batman. The situation was bad. Joker had pushed Clark beyond the breaking point, and he was still pushing further. But as he got closer, Superman simply knocked him aside with his free arm.

"I know it's soon, but…" continued the Joker, still grinning and still wanting to push Superman further. "Think you'll ever love again? Maybe you won't kill your next family…"

That was it. The final straw. The final cog had been pushed into place. Superman punched the Joker, bringing his fist into his chest and out the other side, creating a sickening squish. But as the Joker screamed his way to death, he still laughed inside. For he knew he had succeeded in ushering in a new era, one born of death, sorrow, and injustice.