Night had fallen over Gotham City. Each time it had, the Batman would be out to hold up anyone who committed crime. Tonight was no different. Batman was out again but this time it would be far different from usual nights. Though there were the usual thugs from Black Mask and Penguin that were doing illegal weapon trades and Twoface was holding the bank up the night would change but not with him. It would change with a doctor.
Strange sat looking over his plans again. A portal with which he would open the gateway to a new dimension. He would get help. Help for himself. They would be thankful that he did get them out here. It had taken him days to search the most depraved and hopeless dimension and now he had found it. A smile spread on his face as one of the workers approached him from behind. "Sir, the portal is complete and we've calibrated it just as you wanted it." He said to the Doctor. Strange turned around slowly as he nodded to the man. "Thank you. I bid your leave now." He said to the worker who quickly nodded and hurried off.
This night had taken a long time to get here. Ever since Hugo Strange had found out who the Batman was he had become obsessed with him. Trying to become the Batman, trying to eliminate him, trying to make people forget him, trying to show the world that he was their solution… it all ended in the same way. In a failure. Strange, however, was a man of science. He wouldn't rest until the solution would finally come to him. Having made several alliances with the Penguin and Black Mask and even asking the Joker for help for his newest experiment had all culminated into what would happen tonight. He took one last glance over his plans and then hurried towards the main room.
The room was empty. All the workers had now left, with exception of a small guard that Strange had bribed to keep intruders out. He knew that the Batman might have been on his trail but he had very carefully created diversions around the city. He had gathered the materials he needed from Black Mask, he had gathered the money he needed by double-crossing Penguin, he had now the Joker as his main distraction to keep Batman occupied should the experiment take too much time. But it wouldn't take much time. He had the perfect plan and the perfect way to do it.
He would open a rift into dimensions to one that was blasted. A complete wasteland, far different from the several earths theories that had come to him. No, this was different. Not a rift to a world that was the same but different but to a complete new world that was battle torn and had hardened warriors who would be willing to escape. In exchange for their freedom, Strange would recruit them as his ultimate soldiers, his perfect pieces against Batman and once the Dark Knight faltered he would reverse the process and take victory. There was nothing left to chance. Nothing left to fate. Everything would go as planned.
Getting to the command portal he first took out a small device. He would have to alert the Joker first to make sure that the distraction was in place. He had hoped Joker would've kept it simple but with him you would never know. He was not a reliable part of the plan but when Strange offered him the chance to finally witness the death of Batman he jumped right up and was filled with curiosity. Keeping most of it secret to him was hard but he thought he had succeeded. As if on par, right after the pressing a loud explosion could be heard. The distraction was in place and now the time was there to begin.
Pressing several buttons upon the panel Strange activated the portal with success. The rift, a small one, appeared as he began to feed it power. It grew slowly in size until finally it was big enough to let one person out into the world. With the rift big enough it was now time to begin with the location. How Strange had possibly been able to pin point this location was a very dark secret he carried with him. It was intelligence he had obtained from a man that had cheated death more times than any other man alive. He had told it that he had seen it once when he was in the middle of a resurrection. Now, it was the good doctor that would use this information to the fullest and use it for his own gain.
The rift cracked and buckled under its own power. Strange started to laugh. The moment was there. On the panel he saw that something or someone was coming to him. Success. Success was his. Then suddenly the rift began to glow. From a peaceful blue to a aggravating red. He quickly stopped laughing looking over at the panel. What was coming through was definitely out of this world and far more powerful than he had anticipated. Trying to stabilize the rift it suddenly expanded. First slowly but then suddenly it started to fill the room. Strange took cover behind the panel hoping that it would shield him but then it started to shrink again as the rift started to disappear. When Strange finally looked behind his cover he saw a man where once the rift had been.
This man, if it was a man at all, looked like he had seen far better times. Strange slowly approached him as his eyebrows raised. The man had complete white skin, his blonde hair had turned to a far more grayer and deader color. The feather he carried in his hair hang down, most of it being torn as if it was a statement to hate everything once beautiful. The clothes he carried, though looking like the garbs of a jester, had been torn and bloodied. As Strange looked at the man he suddenly stood up and looked around. "Well, well, well… who has been so rotten as to remove me of my playground?" he asked as his green eyes pierced into the doctor.
Strange was taken instantly by fear. He had hoped to bring a magician or a warrior but this… this was just another Joker. Even if he didn't look quite the same it was clear to him that he was definitely the same thinking. As Strange stumbled back the man suddenly turned his head to look at him and a vile smile spread on his face. "Was it you grandpa?!" he yelled at him stepping angrily at him. The doctor wanted to turn and flee but knew if he did that he would be killed instantly. Instead he reformed himself and looked at his unwanted guest. "Yes, I did. I am in need of your help." Strange said looking at him trying to remove the fear from his face. "Help?! You brought me here for HELP?!" The man yelled as he suddenly let out a hysterical laugh.
Strange was completely unsure what the man was. Delighted, angry, happy, embittered… all these options filled his mind but he was unable to pick one feeling that he felt was right. Turning back to him though the man suddenly glared at him, his mouth bearing suddenly a dozen fangs that blinked and shone brightly. Stepping quickly to Strange he grabbed him at his throat and held him up in the air. "WHAT HELP YOU NEED FROM ME?!" He yelled at Strange angry. The doctor tried to gasp for air as he was lifted from his feet, his attacker trying to choke him in the air. "B-batman…" he whispered trying to get his words across. The man only looked as if it was unclear what Strange had just said. Trying again only slightly louder Hugo was pressed hard trying to catch his breath and keep himself from being chocked.
As if on par with his answer the man threw his violently into the wall. Feeling a strong pain shoot in his back Hugo knew that he couldn't run away anymore as the man approached him again. Laying on the floor, the doctor looked up to him and saw a vicious smile on his face. He wouldn't survive this. How had it come that in the end his plan had ended in failure. Not only a failure but also his own inevitable death. It seemed unfair to die at the hands of this stranger but he would take a powerful lesson down to his grave. As the man placed his boot on his head Strange suddenly noticed the awful smell that came from them as he looked at the caked blood on it. A flurry of kicks followed that broke his jaw, his glasses and his nose as he tried to cry out in pain. Blood was quickly escaping from him as his mouth began to fill with it. Picking him up again the man suddenly let out another wicked laughter as he began to slam Hugo's head into the wall, over and over again. Having already lost conscious, death was following as the man slammed him back on the floor, blood escaping from the back of his head. Dipping his fingers into the doctor's blood the man painted a smile on his face as he suddenly turned his attention quickly from the corpse to the portal that still stood into the room. It was time to call out some friends.
Violently thrown into his cell, Joker giggled hysterically. It had been a fine run with Batsie. Sad that he hadn't had time to kill his hostages that he took inside the mayor's office but glad that he could've helped in the death of his arch nemesis. Joker looked at the ceiling trying to move his arms in his straightjacket trying to get the knife out he had smuggled in before they had hoisted him into it. They had planned that he would stay here and though the Joker was indeed back in his own cell in Arkham, he had no intention to stay. Waiting for a while he suddenly heard wild panicking, screaming and shouting followed by what seemed the slit of a knife as silence ruled again. Then the door of his cell was opened. In it stood perhaps the only one he had feelings for though he seemingly ruled that out. Harley grinned at the Joker taking her knife and cutting open the straightjacket. Complaining that she was later then he had expected they walked over the corpses of the security guards as Joker took one of their guns for himself. The night had only just begun.