Rajir was a humble man. Rescued on his deathbed by his Master, he had pledged his life to servitude to repay the debt he owed. Not once did he ever regret that decision.

Behind him stood the League of Assassins, forming three rows of combat-ready men prepared to lay their lives down for the betterment of mankind. Standing front and center, Rajir glared across a rocky plain at an unwanted and unwelcomed group of savages and vagrants.

They truly were the scum of humanity. They dressed themselves in rags and painted their faces in homage of a psychotic killer. Rajir had heard of them, these Jokerz. Observing their crude weapons, ranging from metal baseball bats, wooden 2x4s, chains, knives, clubs, spears, and torches, he knew this lot were more hoodlum than warrior. A mob of deranged, giggling, taunting punks. Even now they lacked basic organization, preferring a mass of bodies instead of uniformed lines.

They were a blight on this holy ground.

Rajir turned to face his comrades. "These men come to interfere with the plans of the Immortal Demon," he proclaimed loudly. "It is your holy duty to do ensure that nothing and no one disrupt what must be done." Grabbing the sword hilt that extended over his shoulder, he pulled the blade from its sheath, hearing the ringing sound of metal quickly scraping against leather.

As one, the League of Assassins reached to their own hilts and removed their swords, a cacophony of singing blades echoing throughout the night's air.

Spinning around, Rajir faced the Jokerz, seeing many of the clowns oohing and awing him and his fellow assassin, right before they burst into an infectious peal of laughter. The very sound of it caused the ninja to ground his teeth together.

Thrusting his sword high into the air, he shouted, "For the honor and glory of the Demon's Head!"

It took one step for it to begin. Rajir would take pride that that step belonged to him for the rest of his life. As one, each line of ninjas behind him joined him in the charge, the growing sound of stomping footsteps pounding on the ground.

In response, the Jokers let out a loud, collective battle cry, the screams of hundreds echoing throughout the night as they too charged forward. Like two waves, each side raced at each other, the distance between them shrinking until they collided against each other.

The Detective pumped his legs hard as he ran, the angry roar of a machine gun echoing throughout the chamber as bullets pelted anything and everything behind him. Creates and scaffolding were assaulted by the torrent of gunfire, sending splinters of shattered wood flying up into the air in the black-clad man's wake.

And over the gunblasts, he could hear the madman scream at him, "How could you do this to me?! I thought we meant something to each other! That we were special! That I was special!"

The Detective took cover behind the bulldozer just as sparks exploded off the metal surface, the flying pieces of lead bouncing off the machine's side. Quickly, he made his way to the other side, slipping a hand into his belt and pulling out a couple of shuriken.

It had been like this for awhile. This...insane man had spoken to him like they knew each other. But the Detective was sure that if he had ever met this Joker person, he would have remembered. The very evil that radiated off of him was wholly his own and could not be mistaken for another.

"Now there's my Batman."

Batman? What the hell was that? The Detective kept his guard up as he stared down this newcomer. There was something unsettling about him and the black-clad man didn't like it. How had he gotten down here? There were guards throughout the construction site, not to mention the hidden path. He could see conquering the secret to the path, or evading discovery of the positioned ninjas—though that should've been impossible to do—but not both.

"Who are you?" he demanded harshly, slowly straightening out his body as he faced this man, a throwing star held tightly in his hand.

"Oh, don't give me that," the pale man answered, taking a step towards him. "It's me, your old pal Joker. We were quite the pair, you and I. The things we did together, the jokes, the murders, the total destruction. It was like Christmas—with dynamite!"

"Is that a fact?" The Detective stepped to one side, the Joker doing the same as they began to circle each other. It was an instinctual thing the way they moved around each other, like some sort of forgotten dance renewed. It was alarming how familiar he felt doing this.

"It is, it is!" Joker assured him, his voice cheery and delighted. "Why, I remember it like it was yesterday. Those were our glory days! There you were, all dark and tragic-looking with your bat…" he trailed off as he stared at the black-clad man. "Have you...done something to yourself? You look a bit different. Get a new cape? Gotta say, it looks like your old one. Oh wait, it's the helmet! Silly me, it's so obvious now." Joker raised a hand to his chin, rubbing it as he narrowed his eyes in examination. "You know, I kinda like the mask better. Do you still have one lying around? I'll turn around so you can put it on. Scout's honor." When the Detective didn't move, he concluded, "I'm taking that as a no. Oh well then, helmet it is."

There was a moment of silence between them, but it didn't seem this Joker guy wasn't much for introspection. "Now that I think about it, that's not all that's changed. You've gone out and made some friends, haven't you? The weird guys in the bad latex bodysuits, where did you even find those guys? I might need some of them when I'm done with my current crew. I know they mean well, but there's only so much you can do with juvenile delinquents and addicts."

"How did you get past them?" the Detective demanded, continuing his circle.

"Oh, you know how it is. They looked like rather bored fellows, what with their patrolling and all. So I brought my friends along to keep them company. I think they'll get along with each other, don't you?"

For a moment, the black-clad man hesitated as he strained his ears. Though they were underground, if any sound reached the hidden path, it would bounce off the walls long enough to reach this place. He focused and focused for several seconds, even as he restarted his dance with Joker.

Nothing, he couldn't pick anything out aside from the careful steps of himself and his opponent. Knowing Rajir though, he would protect this place with his life.

Which would explain how Joker had managed to slip by the guards. With all their attention on an external force, that left them blinded to what was going on behind them.

"But I'm sure you know by now that it was never about them, right? It's always been about us, just you and me. Everyone else, from the police commissioner to the mayor to those fancy rich guys at Wayne Enterprises, are just spectators in our lovely dance." Joker paused as he swallowed deeply. "Without you around, I have to admit, I've been rather lonely. There hasn't been anyone quite like you."

"If that's what you think," the Detective said neutrally.

That caused Joker to stop in his tracks, which the Detective did as well. "Huh, you know if I didn't know any better, I'd say you'd forgotten our trip through Hell. But that would be ridiculous! Why, there we were, up on the catwalk, you beating the piss out of me, and me laying out the punchlines. It was all so glorious!"

The Detective didn't respond, staying silent.

Joker's confidence faltered. "Hey, quit playing around. That's my part, not yours. You're supposed to be the serious one, remember?"

Again, no reply.

The pale man's face dropped it's smile. "You...don't remember," he spoke softly as comprehension dawned on him.

About time this guy got the clue. The Detective set his feet, ready to throw his shuriken.

"You don't remember," Joker repeated as if he were trying to make it fit inside his head. That caused the black-clad man to hesitate. Something within him was beginning to shout that something wasn't right here.

That was when Joker's eyes lit up with fury, proving his instincts right. "You don't remember!"

Which led up to their current stand-off. The Detective had tried hitting the psycho with his shuriken shortly after the shooting had started, but to his surprise Joker had simply sidestepped the throwing star, the projectile embedding itself into a wooden board that was leaning up against one of the scaffolding poles.

After that, he'd been running for his life. Now that he had some stable cover though, it was time to turn the tables on this clown. Peaking around the bulldozer, the Detective caught sight of Joker removing the ammo clip from his assault rifle while pulling out another to replace it.

This was his chance! Leaping out from behind his cover, the Detective threw the projectiles, watching them arc through the air as they flew towards their target. To his amazement, Joker pointed the barrel of his gun to the ground, turning it to a side. A moment later, the throwing stars hit the side of the rifle's stock and sticking their points into the weapon's surface.

Insane rage poured from the Joker's face. "I thought you loved me!" he screamed as he twisted and turned the assault rifle, pointing it right at the black-clad man. However, instead of firing bullets, the lower attachment let out a loud boom! and cloud of smoke, a grenade sailing through the air. Eyes widening, the Detective dove to a side, just as the grenade flew by where he stood, hitting the ground right by some scaffolding. An explosion erupted, destroying the support of the scaffolding and causing that section to crumble and crash down to the ground.

Hiding behind a crate, the Detective watched as wooden planks and metal pipes rained down on the ground, creating an echoing clash of banging metal, which filled the chamber.

Once it quieted down, Joker began speaking again. "My mother always warned me about guys like you, but did I listen? Noooooo!" Suddenly, he began firing his gun, though surprisingly it wasn't at the man. Instead it was in a different part of the chamber; still, Joker's side was towards him, which meant he could—

Instantly, Joker turned to face him, firing a short burst of bullets at his crate. The Detective jerked his head away from the edge of his cover, feeling splinters of wood beat on his shoulder and the side of his helmet.

"I thought I was different, that I could change you. I could've been the light to your darkness! Why won't you let my light into your darkness?!"

Then he fired his gun again, but no where near the Detective. Befuddled, he peaked out from his cover and was surprised to find Joker looking in a completely different direction. What the hell was going on here?

He mentally shook himself. He needed to find himself some better cover instead of this crate. It wouldn't last a second barrage whenever that came. Making sure the pale man was focused elsewhere, still firing his rifle wildly, the Detective dashed away from his cover, taking refuge behind the bulldozer once more.

"I can't believe I fell for your lies. Did those sweet nothings mean nothing to you?!"

The black-clad man gritted his teeth. He just about had enough of this clown's complaining, whatever the hell he was getting at. Hiding wasn't going to end this, so he needed to go on the offensive. The sporadic shooting posed a problem, but from what he'd seen, Joker was keeping his fire at ground level. So that meant if he could get to higher ground…

Back towards the bulldozer, the Detective looked towards the scaffolding. It was several stories up, so that would definitely provide him with the vantage point he needed. Pausing to listen for the next round of gunfire, he heard it roar out, none of the bullets heading towards his location.

And he was off. Dashing to the scaffolding, the Detective climbed up the piping until he was on the next floor. Boots touching down on wooden board, the black-clad man glanced out to his opponent, finding him facing his direction while reloading his weapon.

Not wanting a repeat of his previous shuriken attack, the Detective crept along the boards, his view of the clown slowly shifting to a side. The audible click of the Joker slamming in his fresh magazine and cocking back the bullet chamber rang out, informing him the pale man was ready to begin his frenzy again.

And then he looked right at him.

A nasty smile appeared on his red lips, his sunken eyes glowing with malice. "I want a divorce!"

"Oh hell," the Detective growled before he launched himself along the scaffolding level, the eruption of bullets ringing out. The stone of the wall broke as the bullets sent pieces of it flying into the air, occasional bursts of sparks launching out as well. The wooden planks shook and bounce with every footstep he made, causing the frame around him to shake from the resulting vibrations.

"How do you like that, huh? Can you feel your heart crumbling into a thousand piece, just like mine when you forgot?!"

Sparks erupted as a few bullets connected with the metal poles, though they were of no concern. Arms pumping, legs burning from exertion, the Detective's biggest problem was his endurance, which was starting to make itself known.

"You broke my heart!"

Suddenly, the gunfire appeared in front of the Detective, causing him to slide to a stop, arms thrown to his sides to help keep him balanced. His back foot jumped back, landing hard on the plank, which caused a prolonged snapping sound. Jerking his head down, the black-clad man saw the wooden board he stood on was damaged, evidence of bulletholes in it. Somehow he had stepped over them when he'd been running, but now that he was stuck, he was in the thick of them.

The Detective's head snapped up as realization dawned on him. The clown, he hadn't been firing his gun randomly. He knew the Detective would eventually seek higher ground and had been weakening the scaffolding with every shot he took.

"Now, I'll break your everything."

The sound of another grenade firing reached his ears, causing the black-clad man to jerk his head towards the Joker. He was just in time to catch the tail end of the grenade flipping end over end high above his head and land on one of the higher levels. The resulting explosion shook the scaffolding, causing the Detective to grab onto one of the metal poles for stability.

That was when he heard wood snapping, the bar he held rattling in his hand. The Detective had no time to react as the wooden plank above him suddenly shattered and raining stones crashed on top of him. The board beneath him broke just as easily as it predecessor and he was plunged to the ground below. Landing on the ground hard, he was soon covered by broken wood and large pieces of rock. Not for the first time was he glad he wore his helmet as more than once he felt a stone clang against it.

However, this left him pinned to the ground, his arms, head, and shoulders the only parts of him not covered by debris. Helpless, he could only lie there until Joker strolled up to him, coming to a stop right in front of him. Tilting his head to a side, the Detective saw the barrel of the assault rifle pointed right at him, a mere squeeze of the trigger the only thing keeping him from being Swiss cheese.

"It would be so easy, you know," Joker spoke then, his voice a low growl. "One squeeze and bam! Bat-brains all over my nice, polished shoes." He then kneeled down, his knees pointing out on either side of the black-clad man's head.

"But that isn't enough. After all we've been through, you...forgot. You forgot! That insult cannot be forgiven with a simple bullet. No, no, no, this calls for something much more punishing."

The barrel of the gun was swept away then, Joker leaning his head down towards him. He then whispered, "Just watch me. Last time I was only playing; this time, I promise you, Gotham will burn, and everyone will burn with it."

The Detective's lips twisted in a snarl. "You monster."

Joker flipped his weapon around, holding the butt of the rifle over his head. "Remember that the next time you consider forgetting about me." The rifle butt dropped down, slamming down on his head and blacking out his sight.

Yet, before he fell unconscious, his ears were still able to hear, "Or next time, it'll be the world."

The flash of steel reflected moonlight for just an instant. As the ninja stepped into his swing, his sword sliced through air until it tore through cloth and bit into unsuspecting flesh. In a single swipe, the sword cut through skin and muscle until it exited the Joker's body, leaving a gaping wound in its wake.

The Jokerz member squealed in pain as blood sprayed out, dropping to the ground as he let go of his club and clutched at his chest, hands painted in blood as he fruitlessly tried to shut the wound. That allowed the ninja to close in and drive the end of his sword right into the Jokerz' throat, separating his windpipe and effectively ending his life.

Not too far away from that, another Jokerz member came swinging his 2x4 at another ninja, who struck with his sword. When the two weapons collided, the sword cleanly sliced through the piece of wood, shortening it to the Jokerz' amazement. Predictably, the ninja struck again, decapitating the man in one stroke, the painted head flying through the air as a torrent of blood launched high into the sky.

As the headless body fell, a band of Jokerz attacked one of the ninjas together, two of them tackling the masked man as a third jumped on top of them, tipping them over and making all four men collapse to the ground. A fourth Joker was at their side in an instant, swinging his baseball bat down and smashing it into the ninja's face. That left the man at best dazed, leaving him wide open for all four Jokerz to beat him to death with their crude weapons.

"My God," John Stewart swore as he watched the battle beneath him. This had been the sight he, Hawkgirl, and the Martian Manhunter had come across after they had received more precise directions for the Batcave. Though the Jokerz outnumbered the ninjas by a considerable margin, it was pretty clear they were getting slaughtered by the trained killers.

"This is a massacre," Hawkgirl added, though she was much less taken back than the Green Lantern was. It was something he was going to have to ask her about later, when they weren't staring down upon human slaughtered human.

"We must stop this," J'onn declared adamantly, perhaps the most emotional the Lantern had ever heard the Martian. He at least had a more similar reaction to John when they had first arrived. In fact, these had been the first words he had spoken the moment they spotted the fight.

"Damn right we do," John agreed, his green aura brightening. "Spread out and take 'em out, all of them. We'll sort out what to do with them later."

In answer, Hawkgirl and J'onn drifted away, leaving John alone. Lifting up higher into the air, he then flipped upside down and plummeted towards the ground, drawing his right fist back as his ring glowed with energy. Letting out a war cry, he thrust his arm down, firing a blast of green energy down into the middle of the fight. The blast hit the ground and detonated, the explosion throwing Jokerz and assassins alike off their feet and into the air.

When the smoke cleared, a empty patch revealed itself, allow John to slow his descent and right himself up. Touching down, he took a quick glance around, noting all of the Jokerz and ninjas staring at him. Gathering his will, he poured it into his ring and fired out a beam, the light expanding out into a large brick wall. "Ha!" he cried out as he sent the wall crashing into the combatants, knocking them off their feet and clearing another swath of ground.

Approaching footsteps caught John's ear, causing him to spin around, ending his wall construct. In it's place, a long broadsword extended from his ring, just in time to clash with two katanas, the blades clanging loudly against his green construct. Due to length of his green blade, he was able to stop the two ninjas' strikes, then swung his arm out, pushing off his attackers with one swipe.

Dissolving that construct, John then leapt backwards, putting some distance between him and the ninjas, extending his arms out and firing a blast of green energy, one that caught one of his opponents in the chest and sent him flying out of control through the air. Quickly shifting his arm, he fired another one, knocking the second ninja through the air as well.

It was around then that John caught something falling from the sky from the corner of his eye. Sparing a look, the Green Lantern noticed what looked like a giant green monster dropping to the ground, its landing sending a violent tremor through the earth. It stood an easy fifteen feet, large and bulky with arms the size of tree trunks. Letting out a roar, it swung one of its arms out, slamming it into a group of ninjas and Jokerz, sending them crashing to the ground.

The dark-skinned man had to admit, he was caught off guard by the monster, but once he got a look at its gaping maw and its orange eyes, he soon realize that it was J'onn, taking on some sort of creature either from his own imagination, or perhaps Mars. Regardless, he made a mental note that the Martian was a shapeshifter for future reference. That just left Hawkgi—

"Haaaa!"

Like a missile, the Thanagarian came charging through the air, ramming herself through bodies upon bodies of the fighting mob. A glint of moonlight reflecting off an object in her hands alerted him to some type of blunt weapon, a club or a mace of some kind. As long as she didn't smash someone's head in, she'd be fine. John took a moment to watch as Hawkgirl rose back up into the air, looping around before plunging down again with another war cry.

The Green Lantern shook himself. Get it in gear, Stewart, this isn't the time to get distracted. Leaping off the ground, he put some distance between him and the battle below to try and determine which part of the battlefield required his presence. From there he was able to see some of the Jokerz drop their crude weapons and begin fleeing towards Gotham. John was guessing that was because of J'onn's rampaging creature more than anything. That just left the rest of the Society of Assassins to deal with as they were more than likely willing to try their luck at killing the Martian.

It was because he was up in the air that he was able to see it. Tearing his eyes away from the fight, John spotted movement towards the construction site. What the heck was that? Narrowing his eyes, he quickly looked down to see his comrades handling the fight, before looking back to the unfinished building. Green aura flaring, he flew towards the movement, soon seeing a man in a trench coat striding out of it.

"Hold it right there," John demanded as he landed near this new guy. Now that he got a look at him, he noticed the pale white skin and gangly green hair. At his words, the man turned to face him, revealing a scarring on one side of his face and red lips.

Ah, so this was another Jokerz member. At least that's what John thought until he noticed the large assault rifle in his hand. "Drop your weapon down and put your hands over your head," the dark-skinned man ordered sternly.

The pale man stared at him through sunken eyes, giving him a once-over. "Love the color. Who's your tailor? I was thinking about putting in a little more green into my wardrobe."

"Excuse me?" John responded, slightly taken back by the response. He had to shove the reaction aside as most Earthlings weren't familiar with the Green Lantern Corps, unlike the rest of the universe.

The Jokerz member turned around to regard him, fulling facing him. "So who are you supposed to be? Glowing Man? Nuclear Waste Guy?"

John aimed his ring at this crazed man, a bright green light glowing from his hand. "I said drop your weapon."

The man narrowed his eyes, tilting his head to a side. "You know, you sound just like a cop. Is that what you are? Well in that case, I know how to deal with you."

Then, despite his words, he dropped his rifle to the ground, the gun kicking up a small cloud of dust. "What was that other thing you said? Put my hand's where?"

"You heard me, behind your head."

"Right, right," the green-haired man said blandly before his eyes shot wide open. "Oh wait! Don't you need to see my identification? You know, we've got so many illegals running around, you never know just who belongs in society."

Instead of his hands going to his head, the man reached into his jacket. "Don't move!" John demanded, the glow from his ring becoming brighter. In response, the pale man completely ignored him, pulling out a small handheld device.

Raising it high into the air, the guy smiled and said, "Here's my identification, Officer."

It became quickly apparent to John that the man held a detonator in his hand the moment his thumb pressed down on a button. Instantaneously, several booms! rang out from the battlefield, coupled with geysers of green gas rocketing up into the air. Jerking his head, the Green Lantern stared as the gas began to fall back to the ground.

From where he stood, the sources of each geyser were Jokerz. Alarmingly, every single one of those punks were frantically fleeing as fast as they could, their more unfortunate comrades begging for help as they tried in vain to drag themselves across the ground. Even the ninjas seemed taken back by the reaction, each one looking up to the sky as the green cloud descended onto them.

"What the hell is that?!" John demanded as he swung himself back to face the mysterious Jokerz member, only to see that he had vanished. Eyes shooting around, it became quickly apparent to him that the man had ducked out while he had been distracted. Growling, John launched himself into the air to see if he could get a better vantage point of this.

That's when he heard it. It started low but escalated at a frightening pace. Laughter, uncontrollable peals of laughter began ringing out. Stunned, the Lantern swept the field with his eyes, seeing everyone within the gas cloud falling to the ground in laughing fits. That included Hawkgirl as she dropped her weapon, falling to her knees as her body shook from the laughing. The monster J'onn had become had disappeared as well, replaced by the Martian who was also laughing just as hard as the people around him.

All the while, John got the feeling something about this wasn't right. In fact, just looking at the green cloud made something inside of him scream not to go near it. Who was he to ignore such a response?

Reaching to his ear, he activated the earpiece there and immediately began speaking, "Cave, this is Lantern; I've got a situation."