Batman walked down the hallways, searching through the rooms, trying to find out where the Joker was hiding. He finally ended up at the end of the hallway. The final door led to a large room that, amazingly enough, was lit. Batman cautiously stepped into the room, the cape of the old suit flowing freely behind him. He was still looming about in the shadows when he heard the unmistakable laughter echoing through the room.

"Well, well, well......I see you managed to single-handedly take down my gang. No matter! Your time is almost up, Batfake! In a few short minutes, my virus will have infected the entire state! After that, no force on this Earth will be able to stop me! I'll have complete control and will use this city as my starting point to rule the entire world!"

"That's not going to happen. Not as long as I'm around."

"Oh really? Do you think you're Bat-MAN enough to stop me?"

"I'll stop you Joker. Just like I've done before."

"Hmph. I'm not impressed. WOOF!"

Suddenly, Woof jumped onto Batman's back. Batman took Woof by the hair and threw him over his body, sending Woof into some crates.

Woof got up quickly and lunged at Batman again. This time, Woof clawed at Batman. Batman just took Woof's hands and held them together. He then kicked Woof in the stomach, sending Woof backwards into more crates.

Woof, still unwilling to give up, got up again. He raced towards Batman, building up speed. Batman flung out his foot, trying to trip Woof. Woof jumped, however, and landed on top of Batman. Woof then bit Batman's left shoulder hard. Batman punched Woof across the face. Woof loosened his hold on Batman. Batman pulled up his legs into Woof and thrust them into his stomach. With his hands, Batman hurled Woof over his body again, sending Woof crashing through a window.

Batman got up and looked out of the window, seeing an unconscious Woof amidst the broken shards of glass that littered the pavement outside. The battle was far from over however. As he turned, he saw the Deedee twins running up to him, Dee #1 kicking him across the face.

Dee #2 grabbed Batman from behind, holding his arms. Batman kicked Dee #1 back. As she fell backwards, Batman twisted his body around in hopes of Dee #2 losing her grip. It succeeded, sending her up against the wall. She slumped down into unconsciousness.

"Two down, one to go...." Batman said lowly.

"Thanks for keeping score Batman. I don't know what we'd do without you," said Dee #1.

She cart wheeled backwards toward the Joker. Batman glared and followed her, hoping to tackle her before she got to her boss. She was too far out of his reach however. She stopped next to the Joker. He handed her a gun.

"The clock is ticking, Batman. It looks like you're going to lose this fight."

Dee pointed the gun at Batman. He threw a batarang at her. It connected with her hand, sending the gun flying. She cried out in pain. She shook her hand a little and then charged after Batman.
He took out his grappling hook, fired it, and began his ascent into the upper level of the warehouse.

"Oh no you don't...." said the Joker.

He took out a card from his sleeve and flung it above Batman. It cut through the rope, bringing Batman back down to the ground.
Batman landed on Dee #1, knocking her out cold.

"Well, it really IS hard to find good help these days! I guess if I want something done right, I'll just have to do it myself!"

"Perhaps you should change your name to Captain Cliché."

"Ha - ha - ha. Very funny, Bats."

The Joker simply smiled back at Batman. Batman knew something was up. He heard the sound of a gunshot.


::meanwhile, outside the building::


An ominous cloud formed along the gate at the far end of the parking lot for the warehouse. It disappeared, revealing the figure it carried inside. Phantasm walked towards the building's entrance. He was a little surprised to see all of the Jokerz that were outside. Some of them were totally knocked out; others were trying to break free. He walked up to one that was awake.

He stood in front of the Jokerz known as Happy. Now, Happy was a big, strong man and could take care of himself, but seeing this ominous looking figure standing before him was sending chills up and down his spine. The figure stared at him for about a minute. Happy was getting more fearful as time slowly went by. Finally the figure spoke.

"Who did this to you?" Phantasm asked, already knowing the answer.

"I-i---it-t--t w--w-was B-b--bat-mm--mm-man," Happy replied.

"Well, it looks like the fun started with out me!"

Phantasm began to raise a fist to the tied up Jokerz. Happy cowered, not wanting to be hit. He held his hands in front of him defensively. After about a minute of sitting there like that, Happy looked up. Phantasm was gone.


::back inside::


Batman turned to see Dee #2 holding the same gun that he had knocked out of her twin's hand just moments ago. It fired, releasing a ribbon, which wrapped around Batman, holding him secure. Batman fell to the ground.

"Dee, get your sister out of here and go take care of that little chore I told you about. I want a little quality time alone with Batsy."

"Sure thing, Joker," Dee replied.

She picked up her sister off the floor, put her arm over her shoulder and dragged her out of the warehouse. Together they went back to their grandmother's house.

The Joker picked Batman up and sat him in a chair.

"Come now; let's talk about this like civilized adults."

"There's nothing civilized about you."

"Was that a joke? My, my! Two in a row! Maybe you should look into becoming a comedian."

Batman glared at him. The Joker smiled before continuing.

"Well, Terry, I must congratulate you. You did a heck of a job! However, the time is up," said the Joker, pointing to the vidscreen that held the virtual face of the sadistic clown.

"The countdown has expired. Destruction will now begin." said the virtual voice of the Joker.

"Destruction? I don't get it. How can you think to rule the world from a city that you're going to level?"

"HAHAHAHAHAHAHA! You just don't get it, do you? You're more like the old man than I thought," said the Joker smiling as he talked.

"Get what?"

"I'm dying."

"So?"

"So? SO??? Fine. I guess I'll have to explain everything to you. Remember what I said to you last year? In the candy factory?"

"How could I forget. You were threatening the city back then too."

"Ah, but not JUST the city! Your loved ones as well! How's your mom anyway?"

Batman glared at him again.

"O.....k.....moving right along. I said that I thought it adds residence to a hero's mission to have some defining element of tragedy in his background. Now your father is dead, but I just didn't think that was enough. So, I took it upon myself to provide one for you, and help myself out at the same time!"

"So you kidnapped my family and tortured them. Where's my brother?"

"Patience, I'm not through with my speech. Now where was I? Oh yes! While you were out chasing the ghosts of Bruce's past, I did kidnap your little brother. He'll make a fine addition to the gang. Why, someday, he may just become the leader! Then we'll have both McGuiness carrying on both legacies! HAHAHAHAHAHAHA!"

"I know my brother. He wouldn't even think of joining your gang, let alone lead it!"

"I know, believe me, I know. But when I said that he would carry on my legacy, what I REALLY meant was that he would BECOME my legacy! HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!"

"No," Batman said barely above a whisper.

"Oh yes indeedy-do! I've already encoded my DNA into his brain. What took me weeks the last time, only took me days to complete! You see, it was never about the city! The virus was just an elaborate rouse to distract you long enough for me to complete my dirty work! This time you can't stop me! And you won't want to either, because the next time you see me, we'll be family! HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!"

"No......No.......NO!!!!!!!!!!!!" Batman shouted as he ripped apart the ribbon that was tying him up. He lunged for the Joker who was completely caught off guard. He slammed the Joker against the wall hard. Then, he put his hands around the Joker's throat, raising him off of his feet.

The Joker grasped Batman's arms, trying to break free, but to no avail. Batman had too strong of a grip on him. Joker began to smile. Then he began to laugh and cough at the same time. When he finally stopped, he told Batman one more thing.

"Well, one thing is for sure," Joker coughed out. "You're not Batman."

"And why is that?" Batman spoke through gritted teeth.

"Simple. The Batman, the REAL Batman doesn't kill," Joker spat out taking one last breath.

Batman angrily threw Joker across the room. Joker landed against the computer equipment that stored the virus. A thin line of blood started to flow from his lip. The Joker staggered to his feet, catching his breath. Batman quickly ran up to him.

"WHERE'S MY BROTHER?!?!?" he yelled.

The Joker shrugged his shoulders and threw a punch at Batman. Batman blocked it. Joker threw his other hand at Batman. Batman caught him at the wrist, turned the Joker around and pushed him into the computers.

"I'll ask one more time....."

Joker kicked Batman in between his legs. This caused Batman to loosen his grip. Batman was doubled over when the Joker turned around. The Joker pulled Batman's head into his knee. He then kicked Batman in the side, sending Batman to the ground. The Joker turned Batman over onto his back. He then picked up a nearby table and smashed it onto Batman. He then sat on top of it and began to strangle Batman.

"Felling a little deja vú, Batsy? You know, it's too bad you won't ever get to see your brother wreaking havoc on this city! I'm sure that he'll make me proud. HAHAHAHAHAHA....GAHHHHH!"