Episode 7 "Snow Fairy"

" I chose this life. I know what I'm doing. And on any given day, I could stop doing it. Today, however, isn't that day. And tomorrow won't be either." - Batman

Lucy finished chugging the entire sweet tea Erza had dared her to drink, slamming the empty cup down in victory.

"Told you I could do it!."

"That was only the first hurdle in my Ultra Sweet Tea Challenge. You'll have to prepare for nine more."

Lucy pouted, "You made that up!" Erza was in bartender clothing, serving out drinks to the rest of the Fairy Tail Guild as the party kept going in full swing. Across the room Lucy could see Natsu and Gray having it out about something or another- Gray had already taken his shirt off. Lucy noticed that Erza had lined up nine more cups for her.

"Not at all, this has always been the Ultimate Sweet Tea Challenge."

"You changed the name! You're making this up as you go!" Lucy pointed an accusing finger at Erza- who remained stone-faced.

"You accepted a challenge that doesn't exist- of course it's a work in progress."

Lucy scowled before she felt someone tugging at her arm, she looked down to see a short man in a delivery outfit. He was holding out a package and a sheet of paper. Lucy signed for it without thinking and the man vanished in a circle of magic. Lucy sat the package on the bar in front of her, puzzled.

"I wasn't expecting a package, I wonder what it is?"

Erza poked it with a champagne glass- "There's no address on it nor name."

Lucy drummed her hands on the table before reaching forward and opening her mail quickly to avoid indecision. Inside was a small metal box and a note. "Might as well read the note first." Lucy picked up the paper and read it aloud for the benefit of Erza.

Greetings to you, my darling girl. You have never met me but I know you would appreciate my charms were you to do so. To that end, I send you the key to my heart in hopes that you could find it in yours to come find me and make me a happy man.

"What an odd message." Erza said.

Lucy was slightly more eloquent, "FAN MAIL- I have fan mail!" She opened the small metal box and found a key inside. "What? An actual key?" Lucy picked it up. It was a small white key with a red flower on it, otherwise unremarkable. Attached to it was a small card, 'Say my name.' I don't know his name? Lucy looked back at the note before she noticed a tiny signature in the bottom left corner. She read it out loud while she held the key, "Joker?"

Suddenly the key exploded into a massive green mist- clouding Lucy's eyes and obscuring her vision. Lucy felt a hand grab her arm and then she felt like she was falling...

Erza quickly dispelled the mist with rapid waving of her hand. She wondered where Lucy had gone? She became distracted by several beams of light flying towards the guild hall. "Master? I think we have some new arrivals- I'll prepare drinks immediately!"


Lucy regained consciousness slowly. What a headache. She tried to reach her hands up to her head to massage the pain away but she couldn't reach upwards. Huh? She opened her eyes to see an unfamiliar place- she was in front of a large window that overlooked a strange city. Rain was pattering against the window- making the city appear very dark and blurry, she could see lights in most of the buildings. Lucy could also see that her hands had been bound to either arm of the wheeled chair she was strapped to. Remain calm, this is far from the first time you've been kidnapped. Lucy martialed her energy and tried to open a celestial gate. Nothing happened. Lucy sighed, whoever kidnapped her had taken her keys.

"Ah you're awake my little dove- brilliant." Lucy's skin crawled as she slowly turned the chair she was in around until she could see her 'fan'. He was sitting with his feet up on a desk and his face was in shadow. She could only make out his suit- an odd shade of purple, and a flower on his lapel. A hand leaned out of the shadows, with her key ring hanging onto one gloved finger. "Although I confess, my love for you was more for the estate you hold rather than- BLEH." The figure stood up and knocked his chair over with a loud crash and started walking towards Lucy.

"I can't keep up this charade anymore, it's killing me!" Lucy was struck by something, she looked down to see a human heart lying on her lap. She screamed and twisted until it fell onto the floor. A flash of lightning lit up the room behind her- exposing the pale white face that stared back at her. "Jigs up!" The Joker laughed, it was like no laugh Lucy had ever heard- it was more than physical sound, it was awesome and dreadful- no sane person could laugh like that. Lucy was determined to not show her fear.

"Give me back my keys."

"Nope." The Joker walked around the room, swinging her keys around his finger., he adopted an Italian accent, "I'm afraid I was made an offer I couldn't refuse. He gave me what I needed to make it work- and boom! Shebang! Yowza!" each of the exclamations was followed by a clap of the hands.

A small beam of white light appeared next to the Joker, Lucy could hear a sort of whistling come through it. Joker stuck his hand into it and made sure she was watching as he dropped her keys into it.

"NOOOO!" Lucy screamed and wretched at her bonds, "Those are people! Don't you get it!?"

"Of course, I'm quite intelligent I'll have you know." The Joker removed his hand from the light, now holding a large metal chest. "Oomph, victory is heavier than I thought. No wonder Bats has that stick stuck up his posterior all the time." The Joker set the box on his desk before straightening his suit. "I'd best perform my civil duty and free him from that burden."

Lucy stomped her feet against the floor in anguish, "What's wrong with you?"

"Not a thing little girl." The Joker skipped over to a light and flicked it on, bathing Lucy is light and blinding her. "Not anything at all." He skipped around technology Lucy was unfamiliar with, flashing lights kept striking her in the face. After some time The Joker pressed a button and Lucy saw her image appear in a square behind the light. Joker walked towards her and entered the square. He smoothed back his hair and gave the camera three fingers, followed by two, then one. Must be some sort of magic. Lucy thought while she frantically tried to move her wrists enough to get at her ropes. At that moment, she was fully capable of murdering The Joker if she could get free.

"Hello Batsy- long time no see! I heard about that failure your little group of heroes had- very unfortunate. How many died? All of them right? HAHAHAHA." The Joker doubled over in laughter for a few seconds before regaining his composure. "But listen, since all that progress you had is gone- I figured you could use an old favorite." Joker stepped to the side and waved his arm dramatically at Lucy. "You know this one Batman, I've kidnapped a girl- I'll kill her if you don't find me in time- so do hurry up. TTFN." The lights turned off as The Joker let out a loud exhalation. "Whew! Showbiz is too much for me."

Lucy frowned at the lunatic, "Where did my keys go? You could at least tell me that."

The Joker put his feet back up on his desk before closing his eyes, "Welllll I could but let's be honest little girl- after I kill Bats you're not living much longer either; plus I just don't know."

Lucy felt the ropes give just a little bit, she kept moving her wrists back and forth- trying to get enough give for her hands to escape. The Joker slept on, at peace with the world. Lucy finally freed one hand and quickly moved to undo the other before the box on Joker's desk rang. She put her hand back as the Joker idly pressed a button.

"What is it?"

A voice came out of the box, "Sir, Johnny thought he saw something moving on the roof."

"Johnny? Damn, I had money on Tim getting taken out first." Joker got up out of his chair and started walking towards Lucy again.

"Sir? What does that mean sir?" The voice sounded a bit panicky.

"Oh nothing, see you Tim- you're probably going to be taken out any second now." The voice did not reply. Lucy took the opportunity to punch Joker in the face as hard as she could. He staggered backwards, surprise evident on his face before his smile returned.

"Oh little girl, that wasn't nice." Lucy attempted to swing again, but Joker caught her hand and spun her in place- almost as if dancing with her. The move ended with him on the chair and her over his knees. "Papa spank!"

CRASH- the window behind Joker shattered as a dark shape hurtled into the room, knocking Joker and Lucy over. Lucy got onto her hands and knees and looked to see a terrifying man standing in the room. His face was obscured by a black mask in the shape of a bat- and he wore dark armor with spikes coming out of the gauntlets complete with a cape. Joker had resumed his laughing.

"Hello Bats, nice to see you again!" Joker climbed to his feet and held his hands up in front of him. They were empty. "Wanna see a magic trick Bats?" An little green orb appeared in Joker's hand- it flashed and a surging stream of flame shot out of it at Batman, obscuring him from vision. When the flames cleared Batman could be seen perfectly intact behind his cloak- it had shielded him from the attack

Without a word, Batman rushed and hit Joker with a straight on punch to the face. Joker stumbled backwards, minus a tooth. Batman followed the punch with a kick, then another punch to Joker's gut. Joker staggered back and took out another gem- a flash of light traveled over Joker and he was fully healed- tooth and all. Joker started to laugh.

"I've got magic now Batman- nothing you can do about that!" Joker's laugh was cut off as Batman grabbed the back of Joker's suit and flung him out the window. Lucy heard Joker scream all the way down, followed by a 'thud' as he landed.

"Miss? Are you okay?" Batman was speaking to her but Lucy was preoccupied, swatting at the carpet where she had seen the light.

"Hang on, he put my keys into this light and I need to find them for- AH!" Batman had grabbed Lucy around the waist and was carrying her from the room at a frightening speed. "Let me go! I need to find them!"

"Your keys aren't here, now be quiet and come with me." Lucy complied. At the sudden end to her struggling, Batman placed her on the stairs and waited for her to nod at him before taking off again. They emerged onto the roof, where half a dozen men were sprawled out, some conscious, some not. Lucy spotted something lying on the roof.

"What's that?"

"Batwing, now get in." Batman clicked a button on his belt and a door opened in the machine in front of Lucy. She uneasily climbed in. I'm not used to this, I like magic more. Batman climbed into the seat more ot the front and the Batwing lifted into the air and took flight. They sat in silence for a few moments before Batman spoke again.

"You're from another world aren't you?"

Lucy was startled, "Yeah, is that so obvious?"

"Very. I'll explain what I know but it isn't much. I think the world is ending."

Lucy was confused, "Do you mean your world or mine?"

Batman turned to look at her, " I mean all of them." he turned to look back at the front of the ship. "My team couldn't take him down, but maybe in the other worlds someone else exists who can defeat him."

Lucy thought she saw a tear go down his face, she leaned forward but it vanished before she could be sure. "Who?"

Batman kept his gaze forwards as he drove through the city. "The Man in White."


One week earlier...

"Yo Bats, do we really ALL have to go deal with this guy?" Flash was running around Bruce in circles, his impatience making him act like an idiot. Again. "Come on, he's not even doing anything- he's just a guy walking along a highway and not paying attention to traffic; why do we have to get involved?"

"Because, Wally, we don't know anything about him. The call just said that the police thought he's strange and they're unwilling to approach him. He could be nothing or he could be something, I'd rather be prepared for nothing than underestimate something."

Flash ran over to Superman, "Did that make any sense to you?"

Superman placed a hand on Flash's shoulder to stop him from running around, annoying Batman was fun- but they had a job to do. "He's paranoid, but he has a point. Most of the time we have some idea of what we're dealing with- this time we've got nothing. Batman hates having nothing." Of course I hate knowing nothing, you can't make a plan out of nothing.

Batman interupted the two, "Are we ready to move out? I want to get back before dawn." They had been called just shy of midnight about this new disturbance- something that no doubt contributed to Flash's sour mood.

After hearing various versions of "Yes" from the League, Batman started his motorcycle and led the way to the massive traffic jam and police lights in the distance. The sooner we deal with him, the sooner we can get back to the Watchtower.

They arrived at the police barricade without incident. Batman noted traffic had piled up as the man was simply walking across the highway with no regard to anyone or anything- the time of night not quite managing to create a deserted highway. Wonderwoman flew up next to Batman.

"He's not walking like he's looking for a battle, there's no fighting posture at all."

"I'll go talk to him." Superman flew over the barricade and landed before walking up to the man. Batman took the time to analyze the man and figure out what he could about him. Vacant expression, simple white robe, no regard for rules of society- maybe a monk? But there'd be record somewhere if that were the case...

Superman had reached the man and was speaking to him, waving for the rest of the League to come forward. "Sir? Do you understand me? Can you tell me who you are and why you're here? Standing in the middle of the highway is making people nervous."

The man didn't answer. Batman took out a scanner and pointed it at the unknown person. He stared at the readings and became annoyed. Is it broken? He pointed it at Flash and saw the device light up and present the expected information.

Flash immediately ran behind Batman to look over his shoulder. "What's wrong Bats?" Batman shrugged Flash off of his shoulder.

"My equipment isn't picking him up. So far as they're concerned, there's nothing there."

Hawkgirl spoke up, "Is he perhaps a ghost? Or an illusion?"

J'onn spoke up. "I can attempt to read his mind, perhaps he cannot communicate the way you do."

"Just be careful, I'd like to go one week without a global disaster." Green Lantern warned the Martian Manhunter as he placed his hand on the man's head. The man immediately responded, jerking his head away. A reaction? But that was the extent of his movement, the man simply took a step away and then ceased moving.

"Don't worry, we just want to help you." Wonderwoman spoke to the man in a reassuring voice. The next time J'onn reached out to him- the man didn't move away.

Then J'onn started screaming. He held his head in his hands, twisting and writhing, changing between forms quickly. A nearby police officer fired a taser at the man, the discharge of electricity was heard and the man staggered before he turned and looked at the policeman. For the first time since they had arrived, Batman saw focus in the eyes of the man- or what should have been his eyes- there were no pupils there, they were pure white. The man raised his hand towards the officer almost as if he were waving.

And the Light of Entropy flew forth. A beam of nothingness, larger than the mouth of the Batcave- it slammed through the barricade, the force sending officers and vehicles flying through the air- cars rusted into scraps, concrete shattered and fell to pieces, people collapsed as skeletons and were dust before they hit the ground. The beam continued into the cars behind the barrier- going straight through the police officer and however many cars it reached before ending.

"You need to calm down!" John yelled as he struck at the enemy with a hammer forged of green light smashed into the man, knocking him down. He reshaped his construct into a cage, hoping to imprison the man.

Superman meanwhile was trying to stop J'onn, grabbing him firmy by the shoulders to get his attention. "J'onn? What's the matter? Tell me!" J'onn responded by reaching back and punching Superman, causing the man of steel to be launched backwards and through a nearby building before J'onn flew after him, still screaming.

Meanwhile, the man in white placed a hand onto the cage- causing the green light to flash white and return to John's ring. The light reached the Green Lantern- eclipsing him in white light before he turned into dust.

"NO!" Hawkgirl screamed with fury as she flew forwards and brought her mace across the back of the man's head. She held back not at all in her rage, and his head exploded into chunks of blood and bone. Hawkgirl was stunned, "No- I- I didn't mean to- I thought he'd be stronger!"

Even as his body fell the man suddenly reappeared behind Hawkgirl, grabbing her around the neck as she flew off into the air, struggling to throw him off. Wonderwoman flew upwards with them, easily keeping up.

"Let go of her right now!"

Hawkgirl accentuated Diana's command with a headbutt to crack the man across the bridge of the nose. Far below, Batman could only watch in horror. The man grabbed one of Hawkgirl's wings in either hand and placed his feet on her back as he spoke for the first time; the world seemed to pause as sound emerged from his mouth.

"Stronger?" Then he ripped Shayera's wings off. She screamed as she plummeted to the earth- streams of blood racing her to the ground. Flash caught her before she hit the ground.

"Flash, take her to the hospital, now!" Batman commanded in a voice that allowed no argument. Flash vanished from sight to reappear a second later.

"Done, now what do we do?" Both Batman and Flash flinched as Superman and Martian Manhunter's battle emerged from one building and carried them through others, causing a chain reaction of falling structures. People had been screaming before, but it reached a new height as skyscrapers began to crash into the ground.

High above, Wonderwoman lasso'd the enemy- using herself as a pivot, she quickly spun around before slamming him into the road. She flew down immediately and tied his hands behind his back while keeping him pinned to the ground. "Do you yield?!"

The man smiled. A shadow eclipsed the both of them as well as the general area. Alarms began going off on Batman's belt before he comprehended what happened- he could only stare in shock and call out. "DIANA!" Wonderwoman looked up just in time to see Justice League HQ directly above her before it impacted at the center of the highway, shattering the concrete and launching Batman and Flash into the air. Batman was clipped in the shoulder by a shard of concrete, his armor absorbed most of the hit but he still felt warmth that indicated it had drawn blood. He landed and rolled to his feet amidst the buckling ground.

"Barry!" Batman called out amidst the dust and debris.

"Here!" the hindrance to Batman's vision was blown away as Flash fanned his arm rapidly. Batman noted the unknown assailant was again standing still further down the road- away from Diana's still body- though he no longer wore a vacant expression. He was looking around at the screaming and devastation he had caused.

"We need to retreat!" John's gone, Hawkgirl's almost certainly dead, Diana is down. CRASH. And J'onn and Superman are going to destroy half the city!

"No, I've had enough of this guy Batman." Flash was ignoring him and running towards the enemy. He punched him once, then twice, the man could barely react. Flash ran faster and faster, running around the block to punch the man and then doing it again in the next second.

"Speed..." the man mumbled as he was relentlessly pummeled by Flash.

"That's right buddy," Flash chatted as he stepped it up, now running around the entire city between punches- buffeting the area with high winds, "How're those powers working for you slowpoke?" The man was flung along the road by Barry's latest punch, he slowly got to his feet to look at Flash cockily standing in front of him.

"Speed... Force?" The man's voice had a sort of echo-effect that made him seem further away than he was, Batman felt a jolt of fear go down his spine.

"BARRY GET AWAY FROM HIM!"

"Not until he pays for what he's done!" Flash began to strike the man in a rapid frenzy, going at higher and higher speeds and causing a shrieking sound to emerge from the air, but Batman heard the man's words all the same.

"Speed Force- no more." as the man stated this the pavement turned red around him and Barry vanished. Batman couldn't comprehend what had happened- and then it did. He took away the Speed Force- he removed Barry's protection! He ran so fast he smeared himself along the ground! Batman ran to Diana's body and checked her pulse, fighting to not vomit as he walked over what had formerly been Flash. She's still alive!

CRASH. J'onn was slammed into the ground by Clark a final time, the impact causing cars and pieces of building in the area to briefly lift off the ground and then fall back. Superman turned and raced at the man. Before he reached him- the man looked at Batman and smiled.

Batman's vision turned white, with a gut-wrenching spin of confusion, pain, and nausea, Batman found himself back in his Batcave with Diana still in his arms. He quickly placed her against a wall and activated the Batcave computer to find the news. A reporter came onscreen amidst a background of the destruction of the Justice League HQ, the camera was shaking wildly and her voice was hard to hear over the howling winds.

"Officers near the scene reported Superman and the Man in White have both flown off into space mere moments after the Justice League Headquarters crashed into Metropolis. Shockwaves from the battle continue to bombard the city and- OH MY GOD!"

The camera panned skywards just in time for the moon to shatter into pieces.


Present...

"Oh no... I'm so sorry." Lucy told Batman. She looked out the window to see that there was indeed no moon in the sky."

"As if the loss of the Justice League wasn't bad enough, the Moon's destruction has caused unmatched amounts of devastation around the globe, and most of the people who can help deal with it are dead. I'm facing a villain greater than anything I've come across and my allies have been vanquished. I don't believe in coincidences, Lucy- that light means he's still out there. If Superman couldn't beat him-"

"You don't know that! He could still be alive!" Lucy tried to reassure the Dark Knight.

"He hasn't contacted me in the week since the battle. If he's alive, he's not able to help." He's so cold. Lucy realized. It's probably what lets him do his job- dealing with people like The Joker all of the time would stretch anyone's mind out. "My only concern right now is to get you to the Batcave and then go back for The Joker."

"But you threw him out a building?!" Lucy was terrified of the idea that The Joker wasn't lying dead on the ground.

"Whatever that little orb was gave him access to magic that I haven't seen before. I can't make any assumptions right now- magic doesn't play by the rules."

Suddenly The Joker's laugh reverberated through the Batwing, "HAAAAA-HAHAHAHAHA." Batman quickly drove downwards, no doubt trying to lose the signal by flying around buildings.

That was when the dragon appeared. Lucy had not seen it until it was there, as if it had been produced from thin air. It was larger than the Batwing by far- with fierce red eyes in a head surrounded by pale bone. It sent a flaring ball of blue fire at the Batwing. Batman yanked on the wheel, jerking the ship to the side as the blast raced past them and impacted a building- destroying several floors in the process. Joker's voice continued to fill the Batwing.

"See Batman? You're not the only one with toys anymore! How do you like mine? Again! Knock him from the sky!" The dragon obliged, firing at the Batwing again and again- each time the flares were narrowly avoided by Batman, at the cost of civilian lives.

Batman yelled to Lucy, "Just hold on tight!"

Lucy had covered her head with her hands in an attempt to protect herself from the jolts the blasts were giving the Batwing. "I wish I had my keys- I'd show that dragon!"

Joker was apparently able to hear the conversation from however he was hacking into the Batwing. "'Show that dragon?' This magnificent specimen is known as Bahamut SIN young lady! And people call me a monster- alas- alack! Still, I'm surprised Batso," another shockwave bashed into the ship as they evaded another fireball- the building it struck fell into the street below, "I would've thought you valued the lives of the people you swore to protect? It's my civil duty to stop a tyrant like you- and if it's a whooping you're wanting- a whooping shall you get!"

Lucy noticed a different sort of light shine from Bahamut SIN, The Joker was riding it and had another crystal in his hand. A lightning bolt sprang from the orb and struck the Batwing squarely, immediately filling the cockpit with alarms.

"Lucy- we're going down- hang on tight!" The Batwing slammed into the top of one building, momentum carrying it up and over and clear through the next one before coming to a shuddering halt on another roof. Batman immediately opened the door. "Come on!" The two of them leapt out, Lucy turned to see Bahamut flying right above them. The Joker dismounted, landing smoothly on the roof. He brushed his suit off before pointing at Batman.

"Mono-a-mono eh Batman? You have your toys, I have mine? What a heroic send-off, the climactic conclusion to our final battle! Oh I admit, I'll be bored without someone like you to torment, perhaps I'll track down that wayward Boy Wonder and teach him a thing or- EARK!" Batman has whipped out a boomerang, catching Joker right in the throat. Joker staggered and fell over. A flash of light surrounded him and he leaped back up completely unharmed. Batman raised his fists.

"I'll kill you as many times as I have to- there's too much at stake for me to let you live free."

Joker laughed, the sound drilling into Lucy's ears, "This stuff is fantastic, 'materia' I think it was called? No wonder you have so many gadgets Batshit, they're fun!" The Joker whipped out another materia and a flash of light spread over his body. Joker then beckoned Batman forward as if he were inviting him to dance.

Batman lunged forwards, kicking Joker square in the chest and knocking him back. He followed with an uppercut straight to Joker's jaw and then spun around, using his momentum to kick Joker face-first into a nearby metal door hard enough to dent it.

Then Joker laughed, he hadn't felt a thing. Batman went all-out, a flurry of attacks Lucy could barely follow- each one landing onto the Joker. Punches, kicks, a headbutt; Joker was being veritably flung around the roof by the power and speed of Batman's attacks- and the Joker laughed. Batman picked up a convenient 2x4 and bashed Joker across the head with it- and the Joker laughed. Batman extended his arm and brought the spurs of his gauntlets across Joker's throat- and still the Joker laughed. It was only as Batman tried to throw Joker off the roof that Joker actually started to fight back, with magic as well as horrible puns.

"Cool off Batman." a flash of green light and Batman staggered backwards, his face covered in a thick coating of ice. He whipped out a tool and broke the icy prison- gasping for air. Joker continued his assault alongside his puns. "Don't be blown away Batman!" A gust of wind picked Batman up and hurled him into the wreckage of the Batwing. Batman recovered and leaped at The Joker- intending to bear them both over the side of the building. But The Joker wasn't finished. "Stop." A flash of light and Batman ceased to move, he hung in the air, frozen in time- and the Joker laughed. He walked forward and pushed Batman towards the edge. "So long Batso- wait wait wait!" Joker hurriedly pulled a marker out of his pocket and drew a mustache on Batman's face. "There we go- bye bye!" Joker pushed Batman off the roof- and the Joker laughed.

Lucy impacted him just below the small of his back, putting all of her effort and strength into shoving Joker off the building. She succeeded too well, they both were carried over by her attack. Flailing through the air at the pavement far below. Lucy managed to hear Joker as she fell. "So long toots!" She looked to the side as Bahamut scooped Joker out of the air and soared away, leaving only his laughter behind- along with Lucy following Batman to his grave.