There was a break out from Arkam Asylum, at exactly 2:28 a.m.; just over 24 hours after Jason Todd had been killed by said mental prison's newest occupant.

The Joker had been there less than 12 hours, but wasn't complaining as the prison's systems shut down for some unexplained, untraceable reason, and over half the occupants bolted, overpowering their sorely outnumbered guards, who, in all honesty, were probably really used to that by now.

Many prisoners found themselves grouped as they were cut off by traffic lanes, cop cars blocking alley ends, and buildings and fences too high to scale, so they couldn't split off in their own directions. That was how the Joker, Harley Quinn, the Penguin, the Riddler, and Poison Ivy all ended up in the same warehouse a couple miles away from Arkam Asylum, panting heavily and totally not impressed with the company they'd been stuck with.

Not that they disliked each other, it was just that they all knew Batman was coming after the Joker first, which probably meant they'd be back in jail by morning.

"You had to follow us!" The Penguin complained, but the Joker just laughed maniacally at him.

"Shut up shuga!" Harley smirked at him. "You's were followin' us, now weren't'chya?"

"Waddling, more like it." Ivy sniffed in distaste at the snooty Penguin-man.

"I resent that." The Penguin grumbled.

"And I was so looking forward to a few weeks of freedom." The Riddler pouted. "Ah well, best we depart and pray Batman's too busy capturing this fool to track us down tonight." He jerked his thumb at Joker and getting up to leave.

"Batman's not coming tonight." A calm voice said and they all spun and faced the shadows as a figure stepped out, revealing his silhouette.

"Oh, and you're sure about that?" Ivy rolled her eyes. "You obviously don't know the Bat!" She scoffed.

"Are you sure about that?" The figure said evenly—too calmly—as he stepped out of the shadows. He wasn't more than fifteen or sixteen, with dark tussled hair, dressed in a pitch black standard-army-looking garb, with a golden belt and a simple domino mask over his eyes.

"Boy Blunder!" The Joker screeched happily, making everyone jump a bit.

"Nice outfit- get tired of color?" The Riddler mocked.

Dick didn't react in any way.

"So what're you doing here out of costume and sans Bat?" The Penguin huffed in annoyance.

"He's come to play!" The joker yelled in some twisted joy, clapping his hands happily. "Ya know, that second Boy Blunder wasn't nearly as fun as this one! He didn't even find my jokes funny!" He laughed like he couldn't stop, and knowing him, he probably couldn't.

"Mista Jay…! This one doesn't seem to find you funny!" Harley complained, getting a slightly worried look on her face as she realized the Boy Wonder wasn't even cracking a smile.

Oddly… Batman-like of him.

Joker waved her off. "He's just put out I hurt Boy Blunder 2! The original's come to play…!" He grinned madly.

"Boy Blunder 2? How many are there?" Ivy cocked her head to the side, watching the original Boy Blunder carefully.

"I'm not Robin anymore, Joker." Dick growled dangerously, in perfect likeness to his father, causing all the villains save Joker to jump and take a few scrambling steps back.

"Geeze! What's got your cape in a twist!" The Riddler cried nervously.

Dick glared his best Batglare at the Joker, smiled back without fear.

Then, his maniac eyes lit up.

"Ooooo….! Oooo, this is too good to be true…! Is it so? Tell me it is! Tell me a finally got that little bird… clipped his wings, didn't I? That's why Bats isn't here, taking care of his poor little lost bir-"

Before Joker could finish Dick pulled a gun out from behind his back in one swift movement. Three shots fired out consecutively and Joker slumped to the floor.

Harley and Ivy screamed, the others blanching in shock and fear.

"MISTA JAY!" Harley screeched, but the Riddler grabbed her and dragged her back from the scene before them.

Joker started to laugh.

He was on his knees, tilted awkwardly to the side, but none of his injuries were fatal, and with his psychosis he probably didn't even feel any pain. One in his shoulder, one in his side, and in his thigh. Painful—for a normal person—but not fatal if treated in the next couple hours.

"Since when do you shoot people?" The Riddler freaked.

"Bats don't kill… doesn't mean we can't." Dick said, way too calmly for the situation as he lowered the gun.

"Well… would you look at that…" Joker taunted through bursts of giggles. "Little Birdy's got a gun…! What would the Bat say?" He chuckled.

'We're not on speaking terms at the moment." Dick said evenly, as if he hadn't just shot the man—scratch that, monster— who killed his brother. "And suffice to say, after letting half the criminals I helped put away out onto the streets, he won't have reason to speak to me again." He said casually, slipping the gun back into the holster behind his back.

"Y-you…you let us out?!" Ivy shrieked.

"No… I let him out." Dick growled, not taking his icy stare off the madman on his knees, laughing even though he was bleeding profusely.

"And why would a goody-two-shoes such as yourself do that?" Penguin demanded.

"Aw, he's just happy to see me! I killed the little Boy Blunder! He wants to thank me for it, riiiiiiight?" Joker laughed at him.

Dick stared impassively at him.

"I should kill you." He deadpanned coldly, causing the other villains to take a step back again. "I should kill you… but I won't. I've toed the line enough tonight, and I'm don't think I'll be crossing it any time soon. Not for you at least."

He pulled up his wrist computer and typed in a code. Almost immediately, Joker went ridged, his face frozen in a maniacal grin.

"What'a'ya doin' to 'im?!" Harley squeaked.

Dick raised one cold eyebrow.

"You didn't think I was shooting bullets, did you? I haven't gone that rogue. It's a tranquilizer gun, modified for my… purposes."

"Sedatives don't work on that freak!" Penguin snapped.

"I know that." Dick said calmly. "It's my own little mix." He walked forward and looked down at Joker, who was still frozen from whatever the drugs were doing to him.

"It's a little mix I put together: adderall, risperidone, lorazapam, and mizdericion. Adderall is what college kids take to keep focused for long periods of time, resperidone is an industrial strength anti-psycotic, lorazapam is a heavy grade depressant and is what doctors give people over dosing from LCD, and mizdericion is my own little invention. It attacks the part of the brain called the ventromedial frontal lobe, or in layman's terms, your funny bone."

Dick leaned down and looked into Joker's maddening gray eyes. His blood red lips were frozen in their forced smile, but for once… for the first time since Dick had known him… there was little humor in the grin. It was so forced it looked painful… that is, if Dick believed the monster of a man before him had any humanity left to even feel the pain.

"Good luck laughing now." Dick snarled at him, straightening up and turning to walk away.

"MISTA JAY!" He heard Harley screech again as she collapsed on the ground next to her partner, shaking him violently. Dick knew it would do no good for at least a week until the drugs finally started to wear off.

One week without a single laugh from Joker.

That might be a Gotham first.

"Y-you broke the Joker…!" Ivy spluttered weakly. Dick turned back to her with one raised eyebrow. "You're… you're supposed to be the good guy!" She cried. The others looked like they agreed.

He let that sink in. "Yes, well, he killed my little brother." Dick said simply, and they all stared at him in shock at that new revelation.

"Hero or no, Joker or not, Batman or no Batman, no one hurts my family and lives happily ever after." Dick said so low they almost didn't hear him.

He turned away again, facing his back to them.

"Goodbye, Uncle J, catch you on the flipside." He said casually, stepping forward and instantly disappearing into the shadows.