A/N: Sorry for the long delay…I've been busier than expected for the past few weeks. But, here's the next chapter now for all of you great reviewers out there!  Also, a couple of replies to you guys:

Jill- I'll try to make them more IC, I'm still trying to get used to writing them, and I'm sort of experimenting with how they would react to certain situations right now. Like Flash being scared- he's the youngest of the bunch, and the most immature. He could very well have a fear of the dark. However, I probably shouldn't have made it so obvious. Also, like I said in the author's note last chapter, I don't remember what Batman's hover thingy was called, so I was just calling it the Batmobile. But thanks for pointing these things out- I'll try to work with them in future chapters.

J- Well, Batman was being sort of sarcastic, sooo…;) I'm glad you thinks it's interesting, though!

And of course, thanks to GeminiCrystal, sexy pancake, doc-trigger, sokerfreek922, Alba Aulbath, Silver Mirror, Surfredia, and Lil' Candy for reviewing as well!

And ya, the title of this chapter is the song 'The Time Warp' from the movie 'The Rocky Horror Picture Show'…only 'cause it seems to fit the Joker's personality. I've never seen the movie, though I want to, however it's a damn good song. So, please enjoy this chapter:D

Clouded Dawn

Chapter 3:

The Time Warp

"My, my, what a surprise! It's so good to see you again, Batty, and your little friend, Speedy," The Joker announced with mirth, clasping his hands together, a wicked grin spread across his white face.

Any fear that Flash had felt previously was forgotten and replaced with confusion. "Wait, you sent the distress call?"

Batman glowered at the Joker. Somehow, he should have seen this coming. He had been so distracted with his annoyance towards Wally that he didn't make the connection that it was very suspicious when a distress call with no video or even audio came from a cave, of all places. He had felt compelled to check it out. Bruce wanted to kick himself; he would never be so foolish on a good day.

"How very observant of you," Joker beamed at the fastest man alive, "Apparently that's the only way to get Catman over here's attention anymore- play damsel in distress and the hero shall come running…but it looks like I've got a two-for-one deal this time!"

Flash frowned. He had always been edgy around the Joker in the few rare occasions he had seen him because he was so unpredictable and loony- but this just downright baffled him. He seemed almost…reasonable, minus the wicked smirk plastered on his power white face. Plus he couldn't make out what he meant by the last thing he said. "What…?"

"In other words, you coming was a bad decision," Bruce snarled, he eyes never leaving the super-villain.

"Aww, why the long face?" Joker cooed, "You look just like an ass! Oh, wait, that's right! You are one!" he barked with laughter.

Bruce refused to give the psychopath the satisfaction of seeing him seething, so instead of growling and tackling down the Joker like he wished, Batman simply pursed his lips and clenched his fists behind his concealing cloak.

Wally, meanwhile, wouldn't stand by and let his teammate be insulted. "Hey, look who's talkin', greasy," he shot back, pointing at the Joker's dark, slicked back hair, "I'd feel like an ass myself if I wore a tacky purple suit like that after Labour Day!"

"Ooh, and this is coming from a kid wearing a spandex suit? That way it grabs at you- you must be popular with the ladies," the super-villain cackled, absolutely thrilled with the prospect of pissing off the superheroes.

And piss off Wally it did. The fastest man alive felt ready to pummel in the Joker's skull. He would have followed through with his notion, too, if Bruce Wayne hadn't had discreetly grabbed Flash's arm with his left hand.

"What do you want, Joker?" Batman questioned dangerously.

"Oh, so many things, Bat-head," the super-villain drawled, "World domination, a stick of fake gum, unlimited joy buzzers- but most of all, to see you utterly suffer."

"So basically you just put us in a room and turn off the lights? Sorry, but we're not afraid of the bogeyman," Flash quipped bravely.

"Oh, so the 'Oh my god, we're going to die!' thing was all an act, Flashy-boy?" Joker inquired, imitating the superhero with uncanny resemblance.

The fire of anger that burned within Flash became brighter, but he held it at bay.

"Anyway, as I was saying before I was so rudely interrupted, I want you to suffer, Batboy. You should know this by the number of times I've attempted at this, and failed or succeeded at a very minimal scale. I'm running out of ideas, as much as I hate to admit it, so I'm trying out one of my first ideas that never made it past the drawing board- simply corner and torture you. But not just physically- mentally as well." The Joker at this point began to cackle uncontrollably, and Flash finally saw a bit of the insanity that bubbled within the super-villain.

"J-just how do you plan on managing that?" quavered Flash, feeling some of his nerve evaporate when he looked into the crazed face of the clown.

"Now, what would be the fun in telling you that? Why don't you wait and see for yourself, after all, I'm sure you'll play a major part in this, since you so stupidly got caught up in this affair…"

Then, action took place. The fastest man alive was shocked by the speed of Batman, as well as surprised that he had beaten him to the punch. Bruce had pulled out one of his trusty batarangs from his utility belt, and swiftly shot it at the Joker in mid-rant, pinning part of his purple coat to a rocky wall.

The comedian was taken by surprise and the only thing he could think to do was attempt to tug himself free. But when he finally did get free, it wasn't by his own accord, rather when the dark knight gave him a swift kick in the face, knocking him back and tearing a large hole in his tacky jacket. As all of these events took place, the flashlight Bruce had been holding clattered to the ground, lighting up the shadows of the pair.

But the Joker recovered quite quickly and began to formally sparring with the billionaire. The mortal enemies exchanged punch after punch, kick after kick, but found that no matter what, they were evenly matched.

Between punches, Batman glanced at Flash, who was staring in awe at the fight, hesitant to interrupt. Wally knew that if he got involved in the one-on-one battle, he would very likely end up loosing an important body part. "Don't just stand there, find us an exit!" Bruce shouted to his teammate.

That was when the super-villain decided to play dirty. After stumbling back purposely from a punch he could have easily blocked, he discreetly stuck his hand into his coat pocket, and put his electrocuting joy-buzzer on his middle finger. With an evil smirk, he jabbed Batman in the jaw with his jolting 'toy'.

The dark knight's lungs constricted, threatening to suffocate him, as electricity coursed through his body. It was very quick, he barely had time to scream, but the pain was so searing that it froze his brain. When he finally landed from soaring due to the electric punch, Batman struggled to sit up, still shaky from the aftershock.

This seemed to snap Wally out of his stupor. His eyes wide, he realized that he had to act, and fast. With a sudden coy grin, he thought to himself, Well, that's what I do best- 'act quickly'. Besides, why look for an exit when I can just make one?

With that, the young hero began zipping around, feeling the walls at rapid speed to find the weakest spot. When he did, he backed up, rubbed his hands together eagerly, and began twirling his arms around and around, faster and faster, until it blurred like a propeller of a helicopter. In fact, the fastest man alive was spinning his arms so fast you could hear a high pitched whine and the wind that had suddenly come to life became enormous.

Meanwhile, the Joker hadn't given Batman any leisure time; the super-villain came running up with a brisk kick. Bruce was able to recover enough and just in time to grab his leg before it collided with his head, and flipped the clown off his feet, sending him into a face-plant.

With a growl, the super-villain lifted by his dirt-covered face and looked up. He could see Wally in front of the wall, which had slowly begun to crack like an egg. The Joker glowered at this, even with his mouth stuck in a permanent grin. He pushed himself off of the ground, wiping soil from his snow-white cheek. "You're not going anywhere," he rumbled lowly.

Batman, who had now stood up to his full height, saw the Joker pull something else out of his pocket in the shadow of the small amount of light from the flashlight, and tackled the clown down, attempting to wrestle it out of his hands to prevent any further damage. The super-villain, however, had other plans. Bruce was on top of the Joker, so he simply kicked him off.

The dark knight recovered quickly, but not quick enough. While Flash was trying to create a hole in the wall, rocks were flying everywhere and it was becoming hard to see even his outstretched arm, but nothing could stop Bruce from seeing the Joker throw a bomb high up in the air towards them.

It hit the ceiling undeviatingly above them, and a supernova occurred. Rock exploded, and a bright orange light filled the air. The Flash stopped his arms, the wall in front weakening with the ceiling, and he knew he had to get out of there fast before the cave fell on them.

Wally West zipped away from the wall, and desperately tried to find Bruce. However, the bright orange light from the explosion blinded him. "Bats!" he yelled out helplessly.

Then, the cave, fell, and darkness enveloped Wally.

Bruce had heard his teammate's call, but was unable to react since he as well felt his state of mind fade away as the boulders fell on him.

To Be Continued…

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