Disclaimer: I do not own DC Comics.
In a warehouse on the docks in Gotham city, Joker and Harley and six of their hired goons, stand waiting for The Batman. The other ten were placed at different points around the outside of the warehouse. They had been waiting for almost an hour when it happened.
When Joker and Harley had been fighting with Batman for as long as they have, they had gained a sort of sixth sense for when Batman, or anyone else for that matter, was sneaking up on them.
Joker casually swaggered over to the middle of the warehouse and said, "I'm glad that you could drop in Bats. Come on down, have some punch. I made it special for you."
"No thanks. I'm good." Said a voice that was definitely male, but was most definitely NOT Batman.
Goon #2 grabbed a large flashlight, and shined it up in the rafters where the voice was coming from. When the light found the source, they saw a man standing up on the rafters. He had short blond hair, and was wearing a tan t-shirt, blue jeans, and tennis shoes. There was something written on the front of the t-shirt, but none of them could make it out.
But the unnerving part was the fact that he was just standing there.
T-posing.
He was standing up on the beam, arms outstretched, as he stared down at Joker, unblinkingly.
'Creepy.' Shuddered Harley.
Joker, staring up at the man, pulled out his pistol and shot blindly at the man.
The bullet just barely missed the man's head. Instead, it just brushed his hair as it went by.
The man didn't even blink.
Harley picked up her giant hammer, ran over to one of the support columns that held up that particular beam that he was standing on, and gave it one good hard WACK!
The pillar the Harley hit came down, along with the side of the beam that the man is standing on. The other side stayed connected to the rafters.
And he still didn't fall.
He stood on the beam, having not moved an inch, still staring at the Joker. T-posing. Standing diagonally to the ground. He didn't even slip an inch.
It would have been impressive, if it wasn't so creepy.
"Okay," Joker said finally, "I gotta ask, what are you doing?"
"Establishing dominance." He said plainly.
Joker, for the first time, was rendered speechless. He had nothing to say to that.
They stared at each other, until finally, Batman and Robin FINALLY showed up.
They came bursting into the warehouse, fists and weapons at the ready. They came in fully expecting a fight. It's obvious that they just finished fighting the thugs outside the warehouse.
They stopped when they saw that Joker and Harley hadn't even reacted to them. Batman and Robin turned towards where Joker was looking, and they saw the mysterious man in the rafters.
Robin climbs up to the rafters, and approaches the man slowly, not knowing what dangers this man possesses. While Batman stayed on the ground near Joker.
Just in case.
"What are you doing?" Came the gruff voice of Batman.
"Establishing dominance." The man said, without looking away from Joker.
Batman looked at Joker and Harley. And he saw how uncomfortable they looked.
"I think it's working."
"I know."
"That looks kind of fun." Robin said, looking down at Joker. He moved to stand beside the man, T-posing and staring at Joker unblinkingly, just like the man beside him.
Batman stood off to the side and watched the battle of wills take place. Hey he was tired, and this way he got to at the very least have a breather before he had to fight again. And he had to admit, even if only to himself, this was pretty entertaining.
After ten or so minutes of the two groups staring at each other, Joker and Harley walked over to Batman. He got ready, just in case they were coming over to fight. Only to be surprised.
Joker and Harley held out their wrists, and said in complete defeat, "Just take us to jail."
Batman, while a little surprised, was not going to look this particular gifted horse in the mouth. So he reached into his utility belt, and pulled out a couple restraints, and placed them on the villains. The six hired gangsters went willingly, if only to get away from the creepy unknown man.
Robin and the T-poser stayed where they were staring down all of the criminals as they were led away. It wasn't until after, when Batman and Gordon went back inside the warehouse after placing the last of the criminals in the police trucks. Just outside of the building. They went looking for him, to ask him some questions.
He was gone.
They turned their backs for a couple seconds, and he disappeared.
Robin looked around himself, as he realized that the other man had vanished, but didn't find him. He never even realized that he was slipping away, so focused on T-posing over the criminals was he.
"So that's how that feels." Gordon heard Batman muttering to himself.
Gordon allowed himself a small smile.
The End