Lex Tower, the alpha and omega of the business community. Fortunes were
made and broken on its back, and competition was crushed under its feet.
Batman and Nightwing made their way through the winding corridors and vast hallways. Being that it was New Years Eve, the place was filled to the brim with security guards. And it was. All along the walls and across the floors were guards, faces wide with smiles and bodies limp. Joker spared no expense.
Nightwing followed Batman's lead, staying close behind, shadowing his every move. Batman came to a door, and, pressing his ear against it, began to open it slowly.
It was a spacious office, large windows providing a luxurious view of the city skyline. Seated at a chair, glass of wine in hand, sat the new CEO of LexCorp, Talia Head. Batman made his way to her position, making just enough noise so that she could hear him. She made no movement.
He touched her arm, moved in front to see her face to face. She was smiling, her eyes like glass marbles, a small dart jammed in the side of her neck. Batman brought his fingertips to her eyelids, and gently shut them and, taking the drink, placed it down beside her.
The two moved on.
*********************
Three bombs were already down as Lobo Empress, and Batgirl made their way through the sewer system. Above them they could hear the rapid pitter patter of Impulse's feet as he took care of the bombs on ground level. The trio crept closer to their next target. Their feet sloshed through the filth and stench of human waste. Lobo didn't seem phased by it. Empress, however, was simply glad that she had a mask to cover most of the stench.
"There," she said pointing down a ways. "It should be just around that corner."
"Can I keep one of `em `Nita? Y'know, as a...uh...souvenir?"
"No Lobo. The LAST thing you need is a..." Before she could finish her sentence she felt the weight of several large men pushing her, face first, into the sewage water, and the sound of Lobo's head being introduced to several lead pipes.
*A trap!* She thought to herself as she struggled to be free. *It was a trap!*
*********************
Superboy and Wonder Girl flew high in the sky. Below them the people, numbering in the THOUSANDS, huddled together, enjoying the lights and festivities. From that high up they all seemed like ants. Ants that were unaware of a giant magnifying glass hovering just above them.
The two settled down on top of the next building.
"If I remember the map correctly," she said, "the bomb should be somewhere up here."
"Great. With this one down, that makes four for us. How do you think the others are doing?"
"Hopefully better than us. Joker was pretty efficient. I wonder what other little tricks he's got in store."
"Relax. It's not like he knew we'd be coming. So what's the worst that could happen?" As if to answer his question, the door burst open, and out poured a wave of vile and wretched villains of every shape and size.
"You HAD to say it, didn't you?" Wonder Girl scolded as the group surrounded them. "You just had to go and say it!" Superboy just shrugged.
*************
*Gottagetthatonecan'tforgetthatbomboopssorrymisstoomanypeopleIwonderwhat'son telev isiontonightgottatrythatnewgameheyIfoundanotherbombthatmakeseightjustgottadi sarmthisredwireorisitbluewireohyeahit'sredbecauseitmatchesmycostumetherethat 'sdoneOWWWheywhatareallthesepeopledoinghereuhohtheydon'tlookfriendlyeep!*
*************
"Secret, did you find anything?" Red Tornado's voice echoed through the building.
"Hang on," she said. Wisps of smoke flowed through various cracks in the floorboards, materializing into the shape of the young woman known as Secret.
"Yeah, there's a bomb down there," she said. "But I don't know how you can get to it. There's no way to get in."
"Then, if you'll pardon me, I'll just proceed to make my own entrance." He held out his palm, a rush of hurricane winds blasting through the boards as though they were toothpicks. The two floated down a ways, and were face to face with a large mechanism of death and destruction.
"How many is this?" Secret asked as Tornado began to disarm the bomb.
"Four for us, unless I missed my count. We should almost be done, then we'll join Batman and Nigh.....Uh, hello gentlemen," Red Tornado and Secret looked up to see a large group of unfriendly fellows looking down on them, weapons in hands and blood in their eyes. "Can we help you?"
The men screamed a war cry, and jumped down, like a school of pirana, fresh for the kill.
***************
Batman and Nightwing scaled the stairways, quiet as church mice, as they made their way to the rooftops.
"Batman?" they heard someone weakly call out.
"Robin," Nightwing said, instantly recognizing the voice.
"You handle it. I'm going to the roof." He nodded, and they parted ways.
Nightwing entered the room as swift as a bolt of lightning, sizing the situation up. His night vision goggles couldn't pick anything up, so he advanced forward, following Robin's weak cries.
"Batman, help," he kept saying. Nightwing made his way, until he reached a broom closet. He put his ear to the door. Breathing.
"Hang on Rob," he said, opening the door. "I'll get ya..."
"BANZAI!!!!" A blur of red, white, and black lunged forth, blade flashing in hand.
"Harley Quinn!!!!"
**************
The wind rushed through his cape as Batman walked out onto the rooftop. The screams from the crowd with the sounds of music and drunken celebration were deafening. He surveyed the area. The lights from the city made it almost as bright as day, making hiding difficult. He gazed up at the giant green ball, hovering above them, shimmering in the neon lights.
His eyes shifted to another sight. Below, strapped to the base, was Robin. His arms were stretched out and chained, his mouth gagged. His body hung limply by the ends of his binds.
"Tim," Batman whispered as he made his way to his partner. He defied his own logic and instead opted to listen to his heart.
"Hang on, Tim," he said as he approached his partner. He was in bad shape, his face left in bloody chunks, pieces of metal hanging off his flesh. He noted a burn in the shape of a hand on this face. His red and green costume was faded, tattered and torn. He could smell the stench of human filth all over his partner, see it stained on his costume, along with his blood, sweat, and tears. The anger inside him swelled, but he held it in check. That anger was to be reserved for the culprit, not the victim. A gust of wind coursed through his veins.
He worked the chains fervently, until his partner was finally free. He slumped to the ground, weak.
"Can you walk?" he asked him. Robin nodded. Batman smiled a bit, then proceeded to help his partner up.
"You get out of here," he said. "I'm going to find the Joker." He was relieved that he found Tim, alive. He was in horrible shape, he could see that. But he was alive, and that's all that mattered.
He turned his back to Robin, expecting his partner to walk away to safety. So it was to some surprise when he felt something clawing at his back, attacking him. Batman turned to see Robin, frothing at the mouth, clutching for any bit of flesh he could grab.
"CONTAGIOUS!!!" He screamed as he beat on Batman's chest like a crazed gorilla. "CONTAGIOUS CONTAGIOUS CONTAGIOUS CONTAGIOUS!!!!" The stench from Robin's breath was enough to knock him unconscious as his saliva was like acid in his eyes. He was loathed to hit his own partner, but he had no choice. With one swift swipe he knocked Robin off of him. The young man skittered on the ground, smacking his head against a concrete slab. He remained limp.
Batman slowly got to his feet, when he heard it. He recognized it anywhere. It was a sickening squeal, like someone running their fingers along a chalk board. One would recognize it as just a laugh. But he knew better. It wasn't any laugh.
It was a Joker laugh.
"Hidey-ho there Bats!" he said, sliding down a long pole. His purple and yellow zoot suit pulsed in the flashing lights of the city. Batman stood his ground as Joker primped and sauntered over. He twirled a walking cane in his right hand in an impressive feet of agility. Batman was unimpressed.
Joker approached Batman, standing tall, smile from ear to ear. Batman wore a face chiseled in granite, his finely toned body tensed, fists clenched. They stood face to face, neither saying anything, neither making a move against the other. Around them the wind howled, around them the air throbbed with the lights and sounds of celebrations. Joker stood immersed in the lights and insanity that came with New Years. Batman remained enshrouded by the darkness. Complete opposites in every way, archetypes of ever shape and form.
The Joker smiled wider.
*********************
"FRAGGIN' BASTITCHES!!!" Lobo and Empress were making quick work of their assailants.
"You alright Lobo?" Empress asked, smashing into a pair with her stick.
"Yeah, my head hurts though." He held in the air, with one hand, five burley men. They screamed for him to show them mercy, but Lobo only smiled, and threw them through the wall. "How you handlin' babe? Need help?"
"Nah, I've got it," she said, smashing the heads of the remaining two together, rendering them unconscious. "Batgirl?"
Batgirl tossed her own small group to the ground, barely breaking a sweat.
"Fine," she responded coldly."
"Blech! I'm gonna be tasting raw sewage for a month."
"Haw! Seventeen mooks in seventeen seconds! That's gotta be a record, ya think?"
"I don't know, Lobo. Let's just get this one done and meet Batman back at Lex Tower. Something tells me he's gonna bite off more than he can chew."
***********************
"*Sigh* You guys had NO idea what you were up against, did you?" Superboy held over the side of the building. Wonder Girl stood beside him, arms folded in mild amusement. Behind them lay strewn almost twenty unconscious others who, like him, had no idea what they were up against.
"P...please...don't drop me," he pleaded.
"You signed on with the Joker," Wonder Girl said. "You signed on with a known psychopath, and you're begging US for mercy?"
"Some people, I know," Superboy said, smiling. The man squirmed.
"Please....I was...only doing what I was payed to do....PLEASE?!?"
"You were hired to kill us, and now you're asking for mercy? Geeze Wonder Girl, does this guy sound pathetic or what?"
"`Or what' seems about right. Let's just end this and disarm the bomb."
"WAIT! PLEASE! I..I swear...this is all a mistake. We were just...hired....to protect that thing. It...it's not even a real bomb!"
"WHAT!?!"
*******************
"Do you think we were too hard on them?" Secret asked Tornado as they flew away from the building, leaving behind a pile of unconscious lackeys.
"Sometimes, Secret, you're too gentle for your own good. Besides, they'll be alright. A little sore, and in some desperate need of some aspirin." Secret giggled a bit.
"Look," she said. "Is that Lex Tower?"
"Yes it is. There are a few more bombs around that area, but they shouldn't....Yes Superboy, I read you. WHAT?!?"
"What? What is it?"
"Not good," he said, eyes narrowing to slits. "Not good at ALL!"
*********************
OkayyeahthatwasfunIthinkI'mdonewellmaybetwomoretogoheymyearisbuzzingohyeahmy communicator...
"Impulse here. Hey Red. Yeah, I was just about finished. Have about two more to....WHAT?!? I'm on my way!"
*********************
"Why are you doing this Quinn?" Nightwing said, dodging over some furniture as Harley Quinn slashed at him with a large butcher knife.
"You Bat brats are always ruining Mr. J's fun! All he ever wanted was to make people laugh, but you guys were always too jealous!"
Nightwing nabbed her arm in mid swipe, tossing her into a nearby futon. She was on her feet instantly. Outside the crowd was going crazy.
"You're insane Quinn," he said. "You're both insane!"
"Yeah, so what. In a few more minutes so will everyone else." She smiled. "That is, if they survive the blast."
Nightwing smiled. "I wouldn't count on it Quinn. We already knew about your little bombs. And, if I'm not mistaken, they've already been disarmed."
"Oh no," she said sarcastically. "You have foiled our sinister and hideous plans. Oh woe is us." She spun her heel into his rib cage, knocking him back.
"NOT! You think we're THAT stupid! Mr. J. knew you'd come looking for Bird Brat. So he planted a little diversion."
She leapt on Nightwing's back, knife to his throat. Blood trickled as she bore the blade down on his flesh.
"And you'll never guess where we put the real bombs."
"Where?" Nightwing choked out. She leaned next to his ear, smiling, as she whispered her little secret.
"Right....under....our.....feet."
"NO!" Nightwing grabbed Quinn by her wrist and, with all the might in his upper body, threw him off of his back. She flew through the air, and crashed through the window. Nightwing rushed to catch her, but was too late. He poked his head out, expecting to see her body plummeting. But nothing was there. Nothing but onlookers pointing upward.
"BLAST IT!!!" He swore as he ran out towards the roof. "Nightwing to Batman. It's all been a diversion. The real bomb is inside the building! Batman!" No response. He ran as fast as he could to reach his partner. It would take too long to search for it. And time was running out.
*****************************
"I have half a mind to toss you off this building, clown," Batman said grimly.
"And I have the other half, and BOY is it dull," Joker quipped.
"Your plan won't work," he said. "Right now Young Justice is disarming your bombs. And I've already formulated an antidote for whatever you've got in that ball up there. It's over."
"Oh no, Batsy," He said, his voice full of venom. "It's far from over. In fact, it's just beginning."
He reached down into his breast pocket and whipped out a pistol. Batman dodged just as several bullets whizzed by his head.
"Come on out Bats," Joker said. "There's nowhere to hide."
Batman attempted to maneuver around the building top. Beneath them the crowd was stirred into a fervor, screaming and hollering as the festivities continued.
"WHAT A GREAT SHOW!" Some famous celebrity cried out over the P.A. system. "AND WE DON'T HAVE MUCH LONGER FOLKS! SOON YOU CAN TAKE ALL THOSE CARES FROM THE 2000'S AND KISS `EM ALL GOODBYE!!!"
"YA HEAR THAT BATS??? IN A FEW MINUTES YOU CAN KISS IT ALL GOODBYE!!! HAHAHAAAAA!!!"
A pair of boots smashed into Joker's face. Batman rolled to his feet just in time to dodge another hail of bullets. Joker laughed as though it were all a joke.
"That's it Bats! Let's play some more!!!"
"This game ENDS, Joker!" Batman called from the shadows.
"So soon? And we were just starting to have FUN! Don't you want to have fun? Me and Robin were having fun!" Joker pointed the gun at Robin's prone body. "But I think the boy's had enough fun for one life time." A gush of wind blew through as Joker was knocked aside by a wall of blue and black muscle.
"BATMAN!" Nightwing cried out as he held the Joker down. "THE BOMBS!!! THEY WERE A DIVERSION! THE REAL ONE'S STILL IN THE BUILDING!!!"
"Party pooper," Joker said, spraying Nightwing with a cloud of gas from his flower.
"NIGHTWING!" Batman cried out, tackling Joker. His back hit the cold concrete hard, but he kept smiling.
"Oooo....getting a little ROUGH, aren't we?" he teased. "How...SHOCKING!" He touched Batman's arm, a jolt of electricity leaping from his hand. Batman flew back, his body convulsing in pain.
"FIVE MINUTES LEFT! LET'S SEE THE CLOCK!!!" The voice cried on the P.A. The rooftop was awash in bright yellow light as a giant light board was brought to life. Both Batman and Joker were momentarily blinded by its brilliance.
"Oooo...We have a spotlight now Batsy. Good. I want the whole WORLD to see what I do to you."
"You...you'll die too," he said.
"Don't you think I know that," he said, pulling a knife from his coat. "It's called a `swan song' Batsy. End it all in a blaze of glory, and leave them wanting more." He approached Batman, intent on finishing the job. A blast of brilliant blue energy flew just past him, scorching his tie, striking the side of the building in a massive explosion.
"WHO IN THE...?" He looked out. There, flying in, was the cavalry, Young Justice. The team sailed in, guns a blazing, on their Super Cycle, with Lobo and his hog flying close behind.
"Kids today," Joker said, dodging blasts. He reached for something behind him. "If you can't teach `em anything..." he brought up a large rocket launcher, and took aim.
"Then ya gotta BEAT some sense into them."
*FWOOSH!!!*
The rocket sailed outward. The team swerved, trying to dodge, but the rocket moved to fast, was too close, and.....
*KABOOM!!!!*
"OH MY, AND IT LOOKS LIKE FIREWORKS HAVE STARED EARLY!!!!" The voice from below cried gleefully as the Super Cycle, and all its persons, were engulfed in a ball of flame.
Four minutes......
"There, that should take care of that. Now where were....*OOF*!!!" Nightwing slammed into Joker's side, sending him away from Batman, who was still dazed and confused.
"Don't you super types know when to stay DOWN?!?" Joker said, shifting his weight, and thus sending Nightwing over the building's edge.
Three minutes.....
"Now then, let's hope there aren't any more...." Joker looked to find Batman, but he was no longer on the ground. Instead he found him scaling the tower, attempting to cut the wiring that would trigger the bomb.
"Oh no you DON'T!" Joker said. He pointed his gun, pulled the trigger. *Click* Nothing.
"BLAST IT!!!" He tossed the gun aside, and began to scale the pole.
Two minutes.....
"Get down from there," He said, grabbing Batman's heels. Batman tried to kick him away, but his body was still too weak, plus he did not have a good enough grip. He reached down into his utility belt to find something to use against him. Odd...something was missing....
Joker grabbed a rubber chicken from his pants, and, climbing higher, reeled his arm back for the blow.
"I said, get DOWN!!!" He slammed the chicken into Batman's face, the sound of metal around rubber into skull echoing just under the deafening sounds of the party people.
One minute.....
Batman fell to the ground like a lead balloon. He struggled to his feet, his vision fuzzy. He looked around, trying to regain his bearings. Someone was missing....
"HA! I'VE WON BATS!" Joker cried as he stood on top of the ball. " IN THIRTY SECONDS, WE ALL GO UP, AND THE WORLD BECOMES JOKERVANIA!!!"
A pair of headlights flashed into him. The Super Cycle hovered above, its occupants singed, but alive.
.....10.....9.....8......
"HA!!! YOU'RE TOO LATE!!! YOU'RE ALL TOO LATE!!!!
.....7.....6.....5......
"DO SOMETHING!"
"I CAN'T! THE CYCLE WON'T RESPOND! IT'S TOO DAZED!"
.....4....3.....2.....
"I DID IT! I WON!!! I ....." Joker felt someone lightly touch his shoulder. He looked back. Standing there, like an angel of death, was Robin. His costume was in tatters, his body was mangled, but his will, his determination, was all still there. "Here," he said, placing a round metal sphere in Joker's hands. "Hold this." Joker looked down....
.....1.....
A Bat Grenade.
*BOOM!!!!!!*
The sphere burst into a giant fireball mere inches from the trigger, lighting up the sky, turning night into day. The Super Cycle was tossed into the air as the flames engulfed the building top. The crowd ooed and awwed at the sight.
"HAPPY NEW YEARS EVERYBODY!!!! HAPPY NEW YEARS!!!!!"
****************
The building's top was a smoldering pile of rubble. Below, on the ground, the celebration was still going strong, but on top life was still. Debris was strewn about, the metal tower mangled and warped in with the rubble. Sparks of electricity sparked from wires, still live. The only thing that seemed alive. It resembled the surface of an overcooked potato, sulfurous and black. The heroes slowly made it to their feet.
Slowly some of the chunks of concrete began to stir. Slowly, surely, life began to emerge from the wreckage. Human hands poked through, followed by human bodies. They were tired, they were cold, but, most importantly....they were alive.
"Wha...what the frag happened?" Lobo said as he wiggled his way out from underneath the Cycle.
"Someone get the license of that freight train?" Superboy said, rubbing his head, rolling a stone slab from his back.
From the building's edge Nightwing crawled back on to the top.
"*Whew*!" he said as he fell on his stomach. "That's the only time I'll be glad I was thrown from a building.
Secret materialized through various cracks of rock, while Superboy and Lobo dug their fellow members out.
"Wonder Girl?" Superboy cried out, digging through some rocks. "Cassie, where are you?"
"Ugh, right here," she said, her foot wedged under a steel support beam.
"Are you alright?" he asked her, pulling the beam off her foot. She grabbed onto his shoulders as he helped her to her feet.
"Yeah," she said. She added her weight to the leg that was under the beam, expecting a surge of pain. Nothing. "Leg's alright, and I could use a shower." She patted her pants leg, dust flying up with each slap. "How are you?"
"Fine, now that I've found you." They locked eyes.
"`NITA!!!" Lobo screamed, cupping his hands to his mouth, his gravely voice echoing outward. "NIIIIIITAAAAAAAAA!!!!!!"
"I'm right here mon," she said, standing up right behind Lobo. "There's no need to shout." She was barely on her feet when Lobo embraced her, wrapping his arms around her, clinging her as though she were about to fly away.
"Frag, I thought you were crispy fried toots," he said smiling.
"I...I'm okay. Really." She said, reluctantly returning the gesture, unsure of how to take his display of emotions.
"There ya go Reddy," Impulse said, helping his android companion to his feet. "How you feeling?" Tornado looked at his right arm, a chunk of metal sticking through it.
"Well," he said, his voice calm, full of his typical sarcastic wit, "aside from the fact that I have a metal shaft through my pitching arm, I'm alright. Where's Batgirl?"
No sooner did he say this than Batgirl burst though the rubble behind him. She ran across the building's top, maneuvering around and over each protrude.
"Batman," she said as she stealthily scanned for the Dark Knight.
"Here," his voice said as he opened the door which had been blasted on top of him. Pieces of shrapnel stuck to the meat of his leg, but he was able to limp to his worried female partner.
"Are we all here?" Nightwing asked as they gathered together. They all looked at each other, back and forth, taking in the damage. Everyone was there. Everyone except....
"ROBIN!" Secret cried out from the distance. The team rushed to her place.
He was lying on the ground, smoke lifting from his body. He had tried to leap away in time to escape from the blast. He took it head on.
The fabric of his costume had been blasted away, his cape nothing more than slivers. One glove survived the blast, the other was reduced to just the fingertips. His chest was bare, his metal insignia fused to his skin as it sizzled like bacon in the cold winter winds. His hair had been all but burned off in the flames, chunks remaining. His right leg was twisted, contorted, while his left leg, scorched to the beef, twitched involuntarily. Had he not been wearing so much protection he would most likely have been atomized. As it was, he was alive.
"Did....did we...win?" he choked out. His breathing was forced, his words carefully articulated.
"You did it Rob," Superboy said, holding his hand, a smile on his face. "You saved us." His body had suffered excruciating agony, only small bits of his lip remained intact. He was so weak he could barely blink. But he managed to smile. A tired, but relieved, smile.
"Rest," Batman said. "We'll get you to a hospital."
"No..." he coughed, bits of lung, turned black by the smoke, spewing out with his saliva. "I...I'm contagious. The....the....*cough *cough* gas....drives people...."
"Crazy, we know," Wonder Girl said, trying to relax their leader.
"Ya had us worried," Lobo said. "Heck, ya took out that looser like a pro. That makes ya okay in my book." He smiled, giving him a big thumbs up.
"Thanks....that's....." He coughed more violently, his body convulsing.
"We need to get him to a hospital," Nightwing said as he tried to move him. Robin motioned him away, shaking his head.
"No," he said as he regained his composure. "I....wouldn't make it." He looked around at everyone standing above him, tears in their eyes, tears in his eyes. He tried to smile some more, but could not get it any wider than what it was.
"No, please don't leave us," Secret said, tears streaming down her face. "Don't leave me. Please..." He brought his hand up, touched her cheek. She turned solid, holding his hand as he pressed it against her.
He took his free hand and reached for his face, grasping the only part of his costume that was not harmed in any way from the destruction: His mask. Slowly, of as fast as he could, given his condition, he pulled away. The staples snapped through the dead chunks of his skin as he removed the one thing that divided him from them, kept him from truly uniting with them.
The flesh under his mask was intact, pure as it had been when he had first put it on, on that fateful day. The skin was a healthy peach, his eyes the ocean blue they had always been since birth. It was the only unharmed part on him, standing out from his damaged body, making it seem as though he were wearing a mask made from his own skin.
"I'm sorry Tim," Batman said.
"Don't," he responded. "I wanted...this life. Just...don't...." he started to black out, but regained his composure. "Don't revert. Don't become...like you...did...after Jason....."
The clouds rolled in, covering the blackness of the sky with a dreary gray. But all Tim could see was the stars. God, the stars were so beautiful.
He looked back around at everyone; Lobo, Anita, Cassie, Kon, Bart, Red, Suzie, Dick, Bruce, Cassandra. He recalled vividly the events up to then. `World Without Grown-Ups', their first mission, the first time he ever put on the costume, the fights they had, having the girls join the team, watching The Flying Graysons fall from grace, activating Red Tornado, fighting Harm, fighting Joker, deducing Nightwing and Batman's identities, dating Ari, his father and mother, hanging out, `Sins of the Youth', Stephanie, meeting Lil' Lobo, TEAMING with Lil' Lobo, Empress, the Olympics, Cissie leaving, his first mission ever, Cissie kissing. It was funny; as anal retentive as he was, he found it odd that not all his memories were in order. Life was funny like that.
"Tim," Secret wept, holding his hand tighter, her solid flesh warm against his. "I...I...."
"Shhh...I already know." He gazed at her face, taking in her features. Hair, face, skin, eyes...eyes...eyes....
"I...I don't think...I've ever said...this," he said, his voice trailing. "But...but you...have... the most beautiful...eyes." His chest stopped moving, his head fell back, his body went limp.
"No....." Bart said, tears rolling down his face. Cassie buried her head into Kon's chest, weeping uncontrollably. Lobo and Anita, as well as Batgirl, hung their heads low in solemn respect. Secret wailed into the night air, cradling the body of the one person whom she loved, and who loved her back.
"Hehehe..." a noise came from behind them all. They all turned. There, emerging from beneath a chunk of the New Years ball, was The Joker. His arms were missing, and a chunk of his side was blown out. But somehow, someway, he managed to get to his knees.
"Heh, whaddaya know," he said smiling, his face covered in his own blood. "I...guess...I got....the last laugh.....after all. Hehe....hehehee....hehehehaha.....HEHAHAHAHAAA....HAHAHAHAAAAA..."
*CHUT!*
His pupils narrowed, as his body slid down the shaft of a long, wooden arrow, imbedded in his chest and into the ground. The team looked up to see Cissie, standing upon a high pillar, her bow pointed at The Joker's now dead body. Her face was twisted in rage, the tears pouring down to her chin, as she stood there, stationary as a stone gargoyle.
It began to snow......
Batman and Nightwing made their way through the winding corridors and vast hallways. Being that it was New Years Eve, the place was filled to the brim with security guards. And it was. All along the walls and across the floors were guards, faces wide with smiles and bodies limp. Joker spared no expense.
Nightwing followed Batman's lead, staying close behind, shadowing his every move. Batman came to a door, and, pressing his ear against it, began to open it slowly.
It was a spacious office, large windows providing a luxurious view of the city skyline. Seated at a chair, glass of wine in hand, sat the new CEO of LexCorp, Talia Head. Batman made his way to her position, making just enough noise so that she could hear him. She made no movement.
He touched her arm, moved in front to see her face to face. She was smiling, her eyes like glass marbles, a small dart jammed in the side of her neck. Batman brought his fingertips to her eyelids, and gently shut them and, taking the drink, placed it down beside her.
The two moved on.
*********************
Three bombs were already down as Lobo Empress, and Batgirl made their way through the sewer system. Above them they could hear the rapid pitter patter of Impulse's feet as he took care of the bombs on ground level. The trio crept closer to their next target. Their feet sloshed through the filth and stench of human waste. Lobo didn't seem phased by it. Empress, however, was simply glad that she had a mask to cover most of the stench.
"There," she said pointing down a ways. "It should be just around that corner."
"Can I keep one of `em `Nita? Y'know, as a...uh...souvenir?"
"No Lobo. The LAST thing you need is a..." Before she could finish her sentence she felt the weight of several large men pushing her, face first, into the sewage water, and the sound of Lobo's head being introduced to several lead pipes.
*A trap!* She thought to herself as she struggled to be free. *It was a trap!*
*********************
Superboy and Wonder Girl flew high in the sky. Below them the people, numbering in the THOUSANDS, huddled together, enjoying the lights and festivities. From that high up they all seemed like ants. Ants that were unaware of a giant magnifying glass hovering just above them.
The two settled down on top of the next building.
"If I remember the map correctly," she said, "the bomb should be somewhere up here."
"Great. With this one down, that makes four for us. How do you think the others are doing?"
"Hopefully better than us. Joker was pretty efficient. I wonder what other little tricks he's got in store."
"Relax. It's not like he knew we'd be coming. So what's the worst that could happen?" As if to answer his question, the door burst open, and out poured a wave of vile and wretched villains of every shape and size.
"You HAD to say it, didn't you?" Wonder Girl scolded as the group surrounded them. "You just had to go and say it!" Superboy just shrugged.
*************
*Gottagetthatonecan'tforgetthatbomboopssorrymisstoomanypeopleIwonderwhat'son telev isiontonightgottatrythatnewgameheyIfoundanotherbombthatmakeseightjustgottadi sarmthisredwireorisitbluewireohyeahit'sredbecauseitmatchesmycostumetherethat 'sdoneOWWWheywhatareallthesepeopledoinghereuhohtheydon'tlookfriendlyeep!*
*************
"Secret, did you find anything?" Red Tornado's voice echoed through the building.
"Hang on," she said. Wisps of smoke flowed through various cracks in the floorboards, materializing into the shape of the young woman known as Secret.
"Yeah, there's a bomb down there," she said. "But I don't know how you can get to it. There's no way to get in."
"Then, if you'll pardon me, I'll just proceed to make my own entrance." He held out his palm, a rush of hurricane winds blasting through the boards as though they were toothpicks. The two floated down a ways, and were face to face with a large mechanism of death and destruction.
"How many is this?" Secret asked as Tornado began to disarm the bomb.
"Four for us, unless I missed my count. We should almost be done, then we'll join Batman and Nigh.....Uh, hello gentlemen," Red Tornado and Secret looked up to see a large group of unfriendly fellows looking down on them, weapons in hands and blood in their eyes. "Can we help you?"
The men screamed a war cry, and jumped down, like a school of pirana, fresh for the kill.
***************
Batman and Nightwing scaled the stairways, quiet as church mice, as they made their way to the rooftops.
"Batman?" they heard someone weakly call out.
"Robin," Nightwing said, instantly recognizing the voice.
"You handle it. I'm going to the roof." He nodded, and they parted ways.
Nightwing entered the room as swift as a bolt of lightning, sizing the situation up. His night vision goggles couldn't pick anything up, so he advanced forward, following Robin's weak cries.
"Batman, help," he kept saying. Nightwing made his way, until he reached a broom closet. He put his ear to the door. Breathing.
"Hang on Rob," he said, opening the door. "I'll get ya..."
"BANZAI!!!!" A blur of red, white, and black lunged forth, blade flashing in hand.
"Harley Quinn!!!!"
**************
The wind rushed through his cape as Batman walked out onto the rooftop. The screams from the crowd with the sounds of music and drunken celebration were deafening. He surveyed the area. The lights from the city made it almost as bright as day, making hiding difficult. He gazed up at the giant green ball, hovering above them, shimmering in the neon lights.
His eyes shifted to another sight. Below, strapped to the base, was Robin. His arms were stretched out and chained, his mouth gagged. His body hung limply by the ends of his binds.
"Tim," Batman whispered as he made his way to his partner. He defied his own logic and instead opted to listen to his heart.
"Hang on, Tim," he said as he approached his partner. He was in bad shape, his face left in bloody chunks, pieces of metal hanging off his flesh. He noted a burn in the shape of a hand on this face. His red and green costume was faded, tattered and torn. He could smell the stench of human filth all over his partner, see it stained on his costume, along with his blood, sweat, and tears. The anger inside him swelled, but he held it in check. That anger was to be reserved for the culprit, not the victim. A gust of wind coursed through his veins.
He worked the chains fervently, until his partner was finally free. He slumped to the ground, weak.
"Can you walk?" he asked him. Robin nodded. Batman smiled a bit, then proceeded to help his partner up.
"You get out of here," he said. "I'm going to find the Joker." He was relieved that he found Tim, alive. He was in horrible shape, he could see that. But he was alive, and that's all that mattered.
He turned his back to Robin, expecting his partner to walk away to safety. So it was to some surprise when he felt something clawing at his back, attacking him. Batman turned to see Robin, frothing at the mouth, clutching for any bit of flesh he could grab.
"CONTAGIOUS!!!" He screamed as he beat on Batman's chest like a crazed gorilla. "CONTAGIOUS CONTAGIOUS CONTAGIOUS CONTAGIOUS!!!!" The stench from Robin's breath was enough to knock him unconscious as his saliva was like acid in his eyes. He was loathed to hit his own partner, but he had no choice. With one swift swipe he knocked Robin off of him. The young man skittered on the ground, smacking his head against a concrete slab. He remained limp.
Batman slowly got to his feet, when he heard it. He recognized it anywhere. It was a sickening squeal, like someone running their fingers along a chalk board. One would recognize it as just a laugh. But he knew better. It wasn't any laugh.
It was a Joker laugh.
"Hidey-ho there Bats!" he said, sliding down a long pole. His purple and yellow zoot suit pulsed in the flashing lights of the city. Batman stood his ground as Joker primped and sauntered over. He twirled a walking cane in his right hand in an impressive feet of agility. Batman was unimpressed.
Joker approached Batman, standing tall, smile from ear to ear. Batman wore a face chiseled in granite, his finely toned body tensed, fists clenched. They stood face to face, neither saying anything, neither making a move against the other. Around them the wind howled, around them the air throbbed with the lights and sounds of celebrations. Joker stood immersed in the lights and insanity that came with New Years. Batman remained enshrouded by the darkness. Complete opposites in every way, archetypes of ever shape and form.
The Joker smiled wider.
*********************
"FRAGGIN' BASTITCHES!!!" Lobo and Empress were making quick work of their assailants.
"You alright Lobo?" Empress asked, smashing into a pair with her stick.
"Yeah, my head hurts though." He held in the air, with one hand, five burley men. They screamed for him to show them mercy, but Lobo only smiled, and threw them through the wall. "How you handlin' babe? Need help?"
"Nah, I've got it," she said, smashing the heads of the remaining two together, rendering them unconscious. "Batgirl?"
Batgirl tossed her own small group to the ground, barely breaking a sweat.
"Fine," she responded coldly."
"Blech! I'm gonna be tasting raw sewage for a month."
"Haw! Seventeen mooks in seventeen seconds! That's gotta be a record, ya think?"
"I don't know, Lobo. Let's just get this one done and meet Batman back at Lex Tower. Something tells me he's gonna bite off more than he can chew."
***********************
"*Sigh* You guys had NO idea what you were up against, did you?" Superboy held over the side of the building. Wonder Girl stood beside him, arms folded in mild amusement. Behind them lay strewn almost twenty unconscious others who, like him, had no idea what they were up against.
"P...please...don't drop me," he pleaded.
"You signed on with the Joker," Wonder Girl said. "You signed on with a known psychopath, and you're begging US for mercy?"
"Some people, I know," Superboy said, smiling. The man squirmed.
"Please....I was...only doing what I was payed to do....PLEASE?!?"
"You were hired to kill us, and now you're asking for mercy? Geeze Wonder Girl, does this guy sound pathetic or what?"
"`Or what' seems about right. Let's just end this and disarm the bomb."
"WAIT! PLEASE! I..I swear...this is all a mistake. We were just...hired....to protect that thing. It...it's not even a real bomb!"
"WHAT!?!"
*******************
"Do you think we were too hard on them?" Secret asked Tornado as they flew away from the building, leaving behind a pile of unconscious lackeys.
"Sometimes, Secret, you're too gentle for your own good. Besides, they'll be alright. A little sore, and in some desperate need of some aspirin." Secret giggled a bit.
"Look," she said. "Is that Lex Tower?"
"Yes it is. There are a few more bombs around that area, but they shouldn't....Yes Superboy, I read you. WHAT?!?"
"What? What is it?"
"Not good," he said, eyes narrowing to slits. "Not good at ALL!"
*********************
OkayyeahthatwasfunIthinkI'mdonewellmaybetwomoretogoheymyearisbuzzingohyeahmy communicator...
"Impulse here. Hey Red. Yeah, I was just about finished. Have about two more to....WHAT?!? I'm on my way!"
*********************
"Why are you doing this Quinn?" Nightwing said, dodging over some furniture as Harley Quinn slashed at him with a large butcher knife.
"You Bat brats are always ruining Mr. J's fun! All he ever wanted was to make people laugh, but you guys were always too jealous!"
Nightwing nabbed her arm in mid swipe, tossing her into a nearby futon. She was on her feet instantly. Outside the crowd was going crazy.
"You're insane Quinn," he said. "You're both insane!"
"Yeah, so what. In a few more minutes so will everyone else." She smiled. "That is, if they survive the blast."
Nightwing smiled. "I wouldn't count on it Quinn. We already knew about your little bombs. And, if I'm not mistaken, they've already been disarmed."
"Oh no," she said sarcastically. "You have foiled our sinister and hideous plans. Oh woe is us." She spun her heel into his rib cage, knocking him back.
"NOT! You think we're THAT stupid! Mr. J. knew you'd come looking for Bird Brat. So he planted a little diversion."
She leapt on Nightwing's back, knife to his throat. Blood trickled as she bore the blade down on his flesh.
"And you'll never guess where we put the real bombs."
"Where?" Nightwing choked out. She leaned next to his ear, smiling, as she whispered her little secret.
"Right....under....our.....feet."
"NO!" Nightwing grabbed Quinn by her wrist and, with all the might in his upper body, threw him off of his back. She flew through the air, and crashed through the window. Nightwing rushed to catch her, but was too late. He poked his head out, expecting to see her body plummeting. But nothing was there. Nothing but onlookers pointing upward.
"BLAST IT!!!" He swore as he ran out towards the roof. "Nightwing to Batman. It's all been a diversion. The real bomb is inside the building! Batman!" No response. He ran as fast as he could to reach his partner. It would take too long to search for it. And time was running out.
*****************************
"I have half a mind to toss you off this building, clown," Batman said grimly.
"And I have the other half, and BOY is it dull," Joker quipped.
"Your plan won't work," he said. "Right now Young Justice is disarming your bombs. And I've already formulated an antidote for whatever you've got in that ball up there. It's over."
"Oh no, Batsy," He said, his voice full of venom. "It's far from over. In fact, it's just beginning."
He reached down into his breast pocket and whipped out a pistol. Batman dodged just as several bullets whizzed by his head.
"Come on out Bats," Joker said. "There's nowhere to hide."
Batman attempted to maneuver around the building top. Beneath them the crowd was stirred into a fervor, screaming and hollering as the festivities continued.
"WHAT A GREAT SHOW!" Some famous celebrity cried out over the P.A. system. "AND WE DON'T HAVE MUCH LONGER FOLKS! SOON YOU CAN TAKE ALL THOSE CARES FROM THE 2000'S AND KISS `EM ALL GOODBYE!!!"
"YA HEAR THAT BATS??? IN A FEW MINUTES YOU CAN KISS IT ALL GOODBYE!!! HAHAHAAAAA!!!"
A pair of boots smashed into Joker's face. Batman rolled to his feet just in time to dodge another hail of bullets. Joker laughed as though it were all a joke.
"That's it Bats! Let's play some more!!!"
"This game ENDS, Joker!" Batman called from the shadows.
"So soon? And we were just starting to have FUN! Don't you want to have fun? Me and Robin were having fun!" Joker pointed the gun at Robin's prone body. "But I think the boy's had enough fun for one life time." A gush of wind blew through as Joker was knocked aside by a wall of blue and black muscle.
"BATMAN!" Nightwing cried out as he held the Joker down. "THE BOMBS!!! THEY WERE A DIVERSION! THE REAL ONE'S STILL IN THE BUILDING!!!"
"Party pooper," Joker said, spraying Nightwing with a cloud of gas from his flower.
"NIGHTWING!" Batman cried out, tackling Joker. His back hit the cold concrete hard, but he kept smiling.
"Oooo....getting a little ROUGH, aren't we?" he teased. "How...SHOCKING!" He touched Batman's arm, a jolt of electricity leaping from his hand. Batman flew back, his body convulsing in pain.
"FIVE MINUTES LEFT! LET'S SEE THE CLOCK!!!" The voice cried on the P.A. The rooftop was awash in bright yellow light as a giant light board was brought to life. Both Batman and Joker were momentarily blinded by its brilliance.
"Oooo...We have a spotlight now Batsy. Good. I want the whole WORLD to see what I do to you."
"You...you'll die too," he said.
"Don't you think I know that," he said, pulling a knife from his coat. "It's called a `swan song' Batsy. End it all in a blaze of glory, and leave them wanting more." He approached Batman, intent on finishing the job. A blast of brilliant blue energy flew just past him, scorching his tie, striking the side of the building in a massive explosion.
"WHO IN THE...?" He looked out. There, flying in, was the cavalry, Young Justice. The team sailed in, guns a blazing, on their Super Cycle, with Lobo and his hog flying close behind.
"Kids today," Joker said, dodging blasts. He reached for something behind him. "If you can't teach `em anything..." he brought up a large rocket launcher, and took aim.
"Then ya gotta BEAT some sense into them."
*FWOOSH!!!*
The rocket sailed outward. The team swerved, trying to dodge, but the rocket moved to fast, was too close, and.....
*KABOOM!!!!*
"OH MY, AND IT LOOKS LIKE FIREWORKS HAVE STARED EARLY!!!!" The voice from below cried gleefully as the Super Cycle, and all its persons, were engulfed in a ball of flame.
Four minutes......
"There, that should take care of that. Now where were....*OOF*!!!" Nightwing slammed into Joker's side, sending him away from Batman, who was still dazed and confused.
"Don't you super types know when to stay DOWN?!?" Joker said, shifting his weight, and thus sending Nightwing over the building's edge.
Three minutes.....
"Now then, let's hope there aren't any more...." Joker looked to find Batman, but he was no longer on the ground. Instead he found him scaling the tower, attempting to cut the wiring that would trigger the bomb.
"Oh no you DON'T!" Joker said. He pointed his gun, pulled the trigger. *Click* Nothing.
"BLAST IT!!!" He tossed the gun aside, and began to scale the pole.
Two minutes.....
"Get down from there," He said, grabbing Batman's heels. Batman tried to kick him away, but his body was still too weak, plus he did not have a good enough grip. He reached down into his utility belt to find something to use against him. Odd...something was missing....
Joker grabbed a rubber chicken from his pants, and, climbing higher, reeled his arm back for the blow.
"I said, get DOWN!!!" He slammed the chicken into Batman's face, the sound of metal around rubber into skull echoing just under the deafening sounds of the party people.
One minute.....
Batman fell to the ground like a lead balloon. He struggled to his feet, his vision fuzzy. He looked around, trying to regain his bearings. Someone was missing....
"HA! I'VE WON BATS!" Joker cried as he stood on top of the ball. " IN THIRTY SECONDS, WE ALL GO UP, AND THE WORLD BECOMES JOKERVANIA!!!"
A pair of headlights flashed into him. The Super Cycle hovered above, its occupants singed, but alive.
.....10.....9.....8......
"HA!!! YOU'RE TOO LATE!!! YOU'RE ALL TOO LATE!!!!
.....7.....6.....5......
"DO SOMETHING!"
"I CAN'T! THE CYCLE WON'T RESPOND! IT'S TOO DAZED!"
.....4....3.....2.....
"I DID IT! I WON!!! I ....." Joker felt someone lightly touch his shoulder. He looked back. Standing there, like an angel of death, was Robin. His costume was in tatters, his body was mangled, but his will, his determination, was all still there. "Here," he said, placing a round metal sphere in Joker's hands. "Hold this." Joker looked down....
.....1.....
A Bat Grenade.
*BOOM!!!!!!*
The sphere burst into a giant fireball mere inches from the trigger, lighting up the sky, turning night into day. The Super Cycle was tossed into the air as the flames engulfed the building top. The crowd ooed and awwed at the sight.
"HAPPY NEW YEARS EVERYBODY!!!! HAPPY NEW YEARS!!!!!"
****************
The building's top was a smoldering pile of rubble. Below, on the ground, the celebration was still going strong, but on top life was still. Debris was strewn about, the metal tower mangled and warped in with the rubble. Sparks of electricity sparked from wires, still live. The only thing that seemed alive. It resembled the surface of an overcooked potato, sulfurous and black. The heroes slowly made it to their feet.
Slowly some of the chunks of concrete began to stir. Slowly, surely, life began to emerge from the wreckage. Human hands poked through, followed by human bodies. They were tired, they were cold, but, most importantly....they were alive.
"Wha...what the frag happened?" Lobo said as he wiggled his way out from underneath the Cycle.
"Someone get the license of that freight train?" Superboy said, rubbing his head, rolling a stone slab from his back.
From the building's edge Nightwing crawled back on to the top.
"*Whew*!" he said as he fell on his stomach. "That's the only time I'll be glad I was thrown from a building.
Secret materialized through various cracks of rock, while Superboy and Lobo dug their fellow members out.
"Wonder Girl?" Superboy cried out, digging through some rocks. "Cassie, where are you?"
"Ugh, right here," she said, her foot wedged under a steel support beam.
"Are you alright?" he asked her, pulling the beam off her foot. She grabbed onto his shoulders as he helped her to her feet.
"Yeah," she said. She added her weight to the leg that was under the beam, expecting a surge of pain. Nothing. "Leg's alright, and I could use a shower." She patted her pants leg, dust flying up with each slap. "How are you?"
"Fine, now that I've found you." They locked eyes.
"`NITA!!!" Lobo screamed, cupping his hands to his mouth, his gravely voice echoing outward. "NIIIIIITAAAAAAAAA!!!!!!"
"I'm right here mon," she said, standing up right behind Lobo. "There's no need to shout." She was barely on her feet when Lobo embraced her, wrapping his arms around her, clinging her as though she were about to fly away.
"Frag, I thought you were crispy fried toots," he said smiling.
"I...I'm okay. Really." She said, reluctantly returning the gesture, unsure of how to take his display of emotions.
"There ya go Reddy," Impulse said, helping his android companion to his feet. "How you feeling?" Tornado looked at his right arm, a chunk of metal sticking through it.
"Well," he said, his voice calm, full of his typical sarcastic wit, "aside from the fact that I have a metal shaft through my pitching arm, I'm alright. Where's Batgirl?"
No sooner did he say this than Batgirl burst though the rubble behind him. She ran across the building's top, maneuvering around and over each protrude.
"Batman," she said as she stealthily scanned for the Dark Knight.
"Here," his voice said as he opened the door which had been blasted on top of him. Pieces of shrapnel stuck to the meat of his leg, but he was able to limp to his worried female partner.
"Are we all here?" Nightwing asked as they gathered together. They all looked at each other, back and forth, taking in the damage. Everyone was there. Everyone except....
"ROBIN!" Secret cried out from the distance. The team rushed to her place.
He was lying on the ground, smoke lifting from his body. He had tried to leap away in time to escape from the blast. He took it head on.
The fabric of his costume had been blasted away, his cape nothing more than slivers. One glove survived the blast, the other was reduced to just the fingertips. His chest was bare, his metal insignia fused to his skin as it sizzled like bacon in the cold winter winds. His hair had been all but burned off in the flames, chunks remaining. His right leg was twisted, contorted, while his left leg, scorched to the beef, twitched involuntarily. Had he not been wearing so much protection he would most likely have been atomized. As it was, he was alive.
"Did....did we...win?" he choked out. His breathing was forced, his words carefully articulated.
"You did it Rob," Superboy said, holding his hand, a smile on his face. "You saved us." His body had suffered excruciating agony, only small bits of his lip remained intact. He was so weak he could barely blink. But he managed to smile. A tired, but relieved, smile.
"Rest," Batman said. "We'll get you to a hospital."
"No..." he coughed, bits of lung, turned black by the smoke, spewing out with his saliva. "I...I'm contagious. The....the....*cough *cough* gas....drives people...."
"Crazy, we know," Wonder Girl said, trying to relax their leader.
"Ya had us worried," Lobo said. "Heck, ya took out that looser like a pro. That makes ya okay in my book." He smiled, giving him a big thumbs up.
"Thanks....that's....." He coughed more violently, his body convulsing.
"We need to get him to a hospital," Nightwing said as he tried to move him. Robin motioned him away, shaking his head.
"No," he said as he regained his composure. "I....wouldn't make it." He looked around at everyone standing above him, tears in their eyes, tears in his eyes. He tried to smile some more, but could not get it any wider than what it was.
"No, please don't leave us," Secret said, tears streaming down her face. "Don't leave me. Please..." He brought his hand up, touched her cheek. She turned solid, holding his hand as he pressed it against her.
He took his free hand and reached for his face, grasping the only part of his costume that was not harmed in any way from the destruction: His mask. Slowly, of as fast as he could, given his condition, he pulled away. The staples snapped through the dead chunks of his skin as he removed the one thing that divided him from them, kept him from truly uniting with them.
The flesh under his mask was intact, pure as it had been when he had first put it on, on that fateful day. The skin was a healthy peach, his eyes the ocean blue they had always been since birth. It was the only unharmed part on him, standing out from his damaged body, making it seem as though he were wearing a mask made from his own skin.
"I'm sorry Tim," Batman said.
"Don't," he responded. "I wanted...this life. Just...don't...." he started to black out, but regained his composure. "Don't revert. Don't become...like you...did...after Jason....."
The clouds rolled in, covering the blackness of the sky with a dreary gray. But all Tim could see was the stars. God, the stars were so beautiful.
He looked back around at everyone; Lobo, Anita, Cassie, Kon, Bart, Red, Suzie, Dick, Bruce, Cassandra. He recalled vividly the events up to then. `World Without Grown-Ups', their first mission, the first time he ever put on the costume, the fights they had, having the girls join the team, watching The Flying Graysons fall from grace, activating Red Tornado, fighting Harm, fighting Joker, deducing Nightwing and Batman's identities, dating Ari, his father and mother, hanging out, `Sins of the Youth', Stephanie, meeting Lil' Lobo, TEAMING with Lil' Lobo, Empress, the Olympics, Cissie leaving, his first mission ever, Cissie kissing. It was funny; as anal retentive as he was, he found it odd that not all his memories were in order. Life was funny like that.
"Tim," Secret wept, holding his hand tighter, her solid flesh warm against his. "I...I...."
"Shhh...I already know." He gazed at her face, taking in her features. Hair, face, skin, eyes...eyes...eyes....
"I...I don't think...I've ever said...this," he said, his voice trailing. "But...but you...have... the most beautiful...eyes." His chest stopped moving, his head fell back, his body went limp.
"No....." Bart said, tears rolling down his face. Cassie buried her head into Kon's chest, weeping uncontrollably. Lobo and Anita, as well as Batgirl, hung their heads low in solemn respect. Secret wailed into the night air, cradling the body of the one person whom she loved, and who loved her back.
"Hehehe..." a noise came from behind them all. They all turned. There, emerging from beneath a chunk of the New Years ball, was The Joker. His arms were missing, and a chunk of his side was blown out. But somehow, someway, he managed to get to his knees.
"Heh, whaddaya know," he said smiling, his face covered in his own blood. "I...guess...I got....the last laugh.....after all. Hehe....hehehee....hehehehaha.....HEHAHAHAHAAA....HAHAHAHAAAAA..."
*CHUT!*
His pupils narrowed, as his body slid down the shaft of a long, wooden arrow, imbedded in his chest and into the ground. The team looked up to see Cissie, standing upon a high pillar, her bow pointed at The Joker's now dead body. Her face was twisted in rage, the tears pouring down to her chin, as she stood there, stationary as a stone gargoyle.
It began to snow......