The Laughing King

Chapter 1: Darkness and Cold

It was a cold night in Gotham. It seemed even the criminals were too scared to venture into the frigid night. Or so it seemed. BOOM! A bank exploded and two heavily bundled men carrying heavy bags ran from the building. A dark shape flew through the air. The sharp object cut through one of the bags, spilling coins all over the sidewalk. The men turned to look at their assailant. There was no one around. One of the men turned to his partner to make sure he was alright. His accomplice was nowhere to be seen. The remaining criminal dropped his loot and tried to run away. Another dark object swooped through the air, this time with a long cable attached to it. The object wrapped itself around the legs of the escapee. The man was jerked off his feet and through the air. He screamed in terror. He was pulled upright. The villain was overjoyed to be rescued from his flight until he saw his rescuer. The man was muscular, clad in gray armor; he wore black gloves with spikes on the sides. A sleek cape fell around his shoulders. A black mask covered his face. A single word raced through the criminal's head. Batman. Batman looked at the thief with disdain and hatred. The terrified criminal reached for his pistol. "Don't even think it." Batman commanded. "Give up now. While you're still conscious." The crook put his hands up in surrender. "Good choice." Batman stated. Batman used the cable to tie up his prey and left him hanging from a streetlight. Batman had stopped his first victim. Suddenly he heard an almost wheezing like sound coming from behind him.

Chapter 2: Time and Space

The space ship hurtled through time and space. The man inside tried desperately to control it, flipping levers, pushing buttons, and adjusting meters. He took out a small silver object and pointed it at a lever across the console from him. A buzzing sound filled the air as the lever flipped. The machine landed. The man checked a monitor and made sure he was in the right place and time. He then stepped out of the blue box and into downtown Gotham. A man clad in armor strode up to him. "Who are you?" Batman asked in a gravelly voice. "I'm the Doctor. Is this Gotham City?" The man from the blue box inquired. The Dark Knight nodded. "What's the date?" Batman noticed that although the strange man spoke with a Gaelic accent, something about him seemed unearthly. "It's December 31st 2012." "Good. I'm at the right time." Batman was starting to like this stranger less and less. Great. A time traveler. Batman realized. The Doctor looked up and realized who he was. "Ahhh, Batman. Good to see you again! Now come along! We don't have any time to lose." Batman raised an eyebrow. "We've met before?"

"Of course we have, during the Dalek invasion."

"The what?"

"Oh right, that's next year. Anyway we need to get to the asylum now!"

Chapter 3: Madness and Order

"HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!" maniacal laughing filled Arkham Asylum's dimly lit hallways and echoed through the corridors. The sound was so terrifying that it made even the most hardened inmates flinch. This was the sound of evil. Pure evil. This was the sound of the Joker. The authorities could cuff him, tie him up, lock him up, and throw away the key. But true evil such as this can never be truly contained. No matter what they do, he will escape, no matter how long it takes. That is the reason for this laughter that chills the bones of all who hear it. This is the sound that awaited the Cybermen when they arrived. The mechanical men set up Cybermats and began converting the inhabitants into Cybermen. First went the guards. Then they converted the medical staff. Finally, they started to convert the inmates. At first the madness of the inmates affected them negatively, but they adapted quickly and continued their conversions. At least, they did until they converted the final inmate: The Joker. At first everything seemed normal, and Cyber-Joker seemed like any other Cyberman. But suddenly the order of the Cyberman was shattered by one sound. Laughter. The Joker was laughing. And for the first time, the Cybermen new fear.

Chapter 4: Royalty and Insanity

The Batmobile pulled up at Arkham Asylum just in time to hear the Joker begin to laugh. Batman and the Doctor jumped out of the car and ran towards the castle-like prison. They found the door locked, but the Doctor used something called a sonic screwdriver to unlock it. Once inside the two heroes were greeted by a grotesque sight. All around them were Cybermen. Dead ones. But they hadn't died there. Joker had strung them up like gruesome party decorations. Which they might be. Batman thought grimly. But what could he be celebrating? They proceeded onward through the narrow hallways. Eventually they came to the cafeteria and saw a far less macabre celebration. Instead of bodies hanging from the walls, here there hung banners, each one proclaiming LONG LIVE THE KING and boasting a red grin. At the back of the room, seated on a metallic throne, was a Cyberman. It was without a doubt a Cyberman, but unlike any Cyberman seen before. It looked almost like a child's coloring book. The metal man was painted predominately purple. Its hands were painted white, as was its face. The top of the head was green, and sported a golden crown. The mouth of the Cyberman hat been altered to resemble a grin. "Joker." Batman scowled.

Chapter 5: Soldiers and Knights

"Bats!" Joker responded, "I wasn't sure you were going to make it! Welcome to my coronation! I've been made Cyber-Emperor or something. These tin cans don't speak clearly enough for me to understand them." The Joker noticed the Doctor. "Oh and you've brought a friend for me to play with! How nice! Is this your new Robin? He's a little older than the brats you usually recruit but I guess times are hard for everyone. Everyone that is, except me! HAHAHAHAHA!" Joker broke off laughing. "well' actually, I'm the Doctor." The Doctor stated. This statement made the Cybermen back off, while simultaneously leaving the Joker confused. "Doctor who?" he inquired, just as Batman leaped at Joker. Joker's strength and reflexes must have been enhanced by his new form as he was able to swat Batman aside like a fly. Batman hit the wall hard and crumpled to the floor. "Tut, tut, Batbrain, you're usually smarter than that. And as for you…" Joker turned to the Doctor. "I'm afraid I'll have to get rid of you mister Doctor." Joker raised his arm cannon and prepared to fire. He glanced at the cannon and did a double take. There was a Batarang embedded in the nozzle. "oh, poo." Joker said. BOOM! an explosion rocked the asylum. When the smoke cleared, Joker was still standing, only he had been disarmed. One of his arms was entirely missing and his new paintjob was badly damaged. Batman was back on his feet, although it was obvious he was badly hurt. "GUARDS!" Joker yelled. "SIEZE THEM!" The Cybermen guards apprehended Batman and the Doctor. "Take them to some cells and lock them up." Joker ordered. The Cybermen dragged the two heroes to the cell block that used to house Joker himself. They were thrown into the cells hard.

Chapter 6: Prisons and Kingdoms

The Doctor got to his feet almost immediately, only to find that Batman was already working on the lock. "Arkham has changed its security measures. Of course they didn't think to clear them with me." Batman grumbled. "Allow me." The Doctor pulled out his screwdriver and pointed it at the locks. The doors opened and the heroes stepped out of their cells. "Show off." Batman stated and started going down the corridor. "I try my best." The Doctor said to himself, as he hurried after the Caped Crusader. The Doctor was about to enter the cafeteria when Batman pulled him back. "Joker's giving a speech to his troops."

"Friends, Romans, Cybermen, lend me your ears! I came to bury Gotham, not to convert it. But convert it I, Joker, the Cyber-Sultan, shall. For that shall extend my reign across the Earth!"

"LONG LIVE JOKER!" The Cybermen responded.

"This is bad," The Doctor stated. "I've seen worse." Batman replied. "I have too, but this is still bad." The Doctor argued. The Cybermen heard the commotion and walked over to investigate. "The prisoners have esca-" is all the guards had time to say, as Batman blew them up with batarangs. Hearing the noise, Joker turned to see the two heroes stride into the room. "I should have killed you the last time. This time I shall not make the same mistake! Guards! Save your Cyber-Commander " The Cybermen started to march towards the two heroes. "I'll take the ones coming towards us." Batman commanded. "They're all coming towards us." The Doctor pointed out. Batman smirked as he said "Exactly."

Chapter 7: Endings and Beginnings

Batman leaped forward, hurling explosive batarangs, yanking heads off Cybermen, and causing destruction amongst the Cybermen's ranks. The Doctor watched as in a matter of minutes, almost all of the soldiers had been either destroyed or disabled. Batman was obviously worn out, but there was still Joker to deal with. "NO! I cannot be defeated! I am the Cyber-Chief!" The Doctor pointed his sonic screwdriver at Joker and said simply, "it's Cyber-King, and you've been dethroned." At that, the Doctor activated the screwdriver, causing the Joker's Cyber-form to explode. "Batman turned to the Doctor and said, "It's over?" The Doctor nodded. "Good." Batman responded. A metal object rolled up against Batman's leg. Batman glanced down and picked it up. It was Joker's Helmet. "Another trophy for your Batcave?" Now it was Batman's turn to nod. As the two heroes drove back to Gotham, they heard a loud cheering. Batman checked the time on the dashboard. "it's New Year's Day. A new year." Batman stated. A year without Joker, Two-Face, or Penguin. A year where my promise to my parents might be finally within reach. "One thing still bothers me," Batman said, "How did you know to come here, today?" "You told me to." The Doctor responded. The Batmobile pulled up in front of the TARDIS. The Doctor got out. "Until next time Bruce." And with that, the doctor strolled into his space ship and vanished from Gotham City, leaving Batman to ponder, and wait.