Prologue

The battlefield was soaked with rain and blood. Both sides had been fighting for days and everyone knew it would only be a matter of time before one of them buckled.

Inside of his tent Lex Luthor, self-styled King of the Lowlands. was pacing slowly, his eyes fixated on a hastily drawn map of the battlefield. He walked over to the low table the map had been placed on and scrutinized it closely.

The flap to his tent was thrown open and in swaggered a man that gave even Luthor pause. He was dressed in garish colours and always smiled, that was what made him so unnerving. This man could watch a thousand of his fellows die and he would still belaughing at the end of the day.

His name was unknown to even king Luthor, but the man's reputation spoke for itself. He had squashed down many a rebellion in Luthor's name, never asking for anything but a next assignment. Luthor had came to call the man by the banner that he would carry into battle.

"Joker," he said, turning around "what news do you bring?" Joker grinned and seated himself in Luthor's most luxurious chair, his legs dangling over the side as he reclined sideways. "Nothing much," he answered, " Kent is still keeping your forces occupied well enough and Wayne and his ward are trouncing your rear guard trying to reach him."

Luthor glared at his map, moving some pieces about as he listened to the Joker. "Solomon Grundy?" he asked.

"Is caught up trying to keep your men from routing to be of much use. Face it Lex, your losing this battle."

Lex clenched his fists choosing to ignore his subordinates' forgetting his royal title. His eyes roamed over the map where his forces, represented by a large green L on the map where fighting against Lord Clark Kent, represented on the map by a large red S in a yellow field. This would have been a cut and dry battle, where Luthor's superior forces eventually trounced the unprepared and peace-loving Lord Kent's army.

But the Lord of Metropolis had asked for assistance from the neighbouring Duchy of Gotham. And lo and behold the reclusive Duke Bruce Wayne had offered a sympathetic ear to Lord Kent's cause. He did not only send troops, he and his young ward Richard Grayson had both rode out themselves to lead their men as they raced to surround Luthor's forces.

Fighting a two pronged battle was proving to be too much for Luthor, more so because he had not counted on either Lord Kent's zeal in leading his man and his utter refusal to die or Lord Wayne's inventiveness in harassing Luthor's troops. The duke's ward had been a thorn in his side as well, a charismatic young leader Grayson had fought back numerous assaults from Luthor's men earning him a reputation far beyond his years.

Luthor frowned. His men were quickly losing morale and he needed something to turn the tide of this engagement. He looked over at the Joker, his frown deepening as he saw the man take a bite out of one of his freshly picked apples. Why did the man insist on covering himself with that ludicrous war paint? He was getting paint all over his King's apples.

"Drop the apple Joker, you are in my employ...act like it." The Joker giggled, a high pitched warble of a laugh that send a shiver of discomfort down Luthor's spine.

"What's an apple to you Chief? I thought you were after the world here." He grinned again and Luthor realized that seeing that face grin at you from across the battlefield might be enough to give a lesser man pause. Joker continued "Besides I have come bearing gifts!"

Luthor raised an eyebrow in question. "The gift of knowledge, the gift of the rift!" He giggled again "Oh you should be paying me for these rhymes Lexy."

Luthor stalked forwards to loom over the Joker, that stopped him laughing at least. "You see boss, we merely need to get the bats off our back so we can take out Lord Kent right?" Luthor nodded slowly, again surprised by the man's utter lack of decorum. Calling the Duke of Gotham a bat would have been classified as a gross lack of respect by even his greatest enemies. But, he mused, the man did have a fondness for black capes.

Joker smiled, thin lipped and leering, as he continued. "Well now there is nothing the old bat loves more than his city of Gotham and its people, don't know why most of the buggers wouldn't know a good joke if it hit them in the face. So all we have to do is send a small force to attack Gotham and he'll turn around as quick as a top." Luthor blinked at him, letting the plan sink in.

"What about his ward?" he asked.

"That's the beauty of it. Wayne doesn't allow his ward to travel without him. They would both be forced to head back to Gotham and you would be free to squash Lord Kent."

Luthor glanced at his map again, losing the pressure from the two...bats would be good for morale and Kent was brave but not foolish, the only reason he was fighting so valiantly was because he had backup. This...could work.

"I'll make you a knight for this Joker, mark my words." He said, feeling generous. But the Joker merely blew a raspberry.

"Knights are boring," he said,"I'd rather you make me a rook!" Luthor looked at him in disgust as the man dissolved into another fit off laughter over one of his own jokes.

"You must want something." He said, trying and failing to keep annoyance from lacing his words.

"Oh but I do," Joker rebutted, "I want to be the one sent to Gotham, there are children there who need their little hearts to explode in joy."

Luthor kept the surprise from showing. The man surely knew that he would be dead by sunup if he was the one raiding Gotham. But, he mused, if it would keep him satisfied and off of the future king's back.

"Fine Joker, carry out your plan. You have my blessing." Joker stood up from the chair and bowed low. "It's all I ever hoped for oh great...king...Lexy." He righted himself with the speed of a whiplash gave a little salute and was out the tent before Luthor could reply.

Maybe having him die against Wayne wouldn't be such a great loss, Luthor thought as he turned back to his map.