The man stepped out of the sphere and looked around. Everything felt different here - brighter, perhaps. Maybe that was because he was used to being out at night. How ironic, he thought, that everything should look so happy on the day the world went to Hell.
A smile crept across the Joker's face. Good, he thought. They'll never know what hit them.
One dead guard. Two. Three. Batman didn't like the look of this. Dead bodies were never a good sign. Especially in a high-tech facility. And especially when that facility was part of Wayne Enterprises.
Wait. All the guards were smiling.
Perhaps it was gullible of him to think that Arkham could hold the Joker for more than a month. How expensive would it be to found an asylum himself? Perhaps not much, but it was more the thought of incorruptible staff that Batman was interested in. And that was something that money couldn't buy.
Perhaps when Dick could finally manage Gotham alone he could settle down and play the money games. That would be at least ten years though, maybe more. If only Dick wasn't such a playboy.
That door wasn't supposed to be open.
No signs anywhere of forced entry. He turned on his built-in infrared scanner. Nothing. According to the Wayne Enterprises database, the last entry was...Michael Tyler. A high level scientist. Bruce had spoken to him only last Wednesday. Batman pushed the door open. A solitary light flickered on and off.
There. What was that glint on the floor? It was...blood. And a body. Tyler. At least, that was what his badge said. The face didn't even look like a human anymore.
What was in here that the Joker would want? Wait...if this was that room, then...but how could he have known?
Someone was coming.
Batman dragged the door closed and stepped backwards to merge with the shadows. By the time the mess was found, he would be long gone.
The Joker stepped over a rock and surveyed the massive destruction before him. Really, he thought, this much destruction should at least come with a body or two.
Now, if those records of that Wayne fellow were worth anything, it should be here in around five minutes or so. Good thing he brought a packed lunch.
Four minutes.
Three.
Two.
One.
The silence was split with the sound of a sonic boom as a pink blur flashed past. The Joker barely had time to put his hands over his ears to avoid serious damage. Not that it would matter if the plan worked.
There was a growl from behind him. He turned to see two red eyes staring at him from what looked like a mass of pink clay. This must be him. The Joker smiled. "Hello," he said. "I have a proposition for you."
"I could eat you," said the thing. He was trying intimidation. How cute.
"Ah, yes," said the Joker, smiling. "I'd hoped you'd catch on. I should warn you though, I may taste...well...funny." He doubled over in laughter at his own joke. "Seriously though, I really would like to introduce myself first. I never go to dinner with people I don't know. You may call me the Joker. Everyone else does, anyway. And you!" He took grasped the pink creature's hand. "We haven't been introduced but I've heard about you. I believe your name is Buu?"