A/N: This chapter takes place before Batman experienced his dreams (Justice League: The Last Laugh Chapter 'Disoriented').
Earlier...
On Earth, in a secret facility not known to anyone, not even the government, in Earth, a discreet operation has been done where its operation is fortified by Clone Troopers. This operation was a brain scan on an inmate.
"Think the comic might live to see another day", a Clone Trooper asked, speaking with the other Clone Trooper whom he and himself are making sure nobody breaches here.
"Heatwave, I'd bet the world on him dying. Can't stand with sons of bitches like that maniac on the loose", a Clone Trooper said. "Next thing you notice, I'd be glad if that rogue AI would fry itself".
"Cold, you cold son of a bitch", Heatwave said expressionlessly and mildly.
While the two Clone Troopers are talking about the inmate they're watching over, a prison doctor has set his inmate sliding into a cylindrical container. He has asked his inmate what he wants him to do in order to be ready for the procedure to begin. As soon as the inmate follows, the prison doctor started the process. The screens started materialising the interior side of this inmate's head; the brain.
The inmate remained still but held laughs timed for the right moment to detonate its laughter.
The doctor examines the screen, starting to get the view of the inmate's inner area of the head. For the first number of seconds, the insides seemed fine. The realisation blew his face when he caught sight of an abnormality. This realisation made him stumble away. If the world had known it, they'd give their solemn thanks to this inmate finally meeting his end.
There are some Clone Troopers also protecting this operation that are inside. Their task: protect the prison doctor if their inmate manages to escape. They managed to keep the doctor standing after he almost fell backwards.
"This is relatively astonishing to come this far to suffer this condition", the doctor exclaimed.
"A problem, sir?", a Clone Trooper asked.
"Yes; grappling with comprehension of the results indicating this inmate has a condition that might be newly discovered from its kind", the prison doctor addressed. He turns his head to the Clone Troopers. "Inform Mr. Wayne about this discovery. He needs to know about Jack Napier's condition".
The Joker is out of the tube, eye-lined with the doctor in front of him. "Why the sad faces, doc? Air getting a little chilly for you to curl some big lips?", the Joker said. He glances at two Clone Troopers behind him. "Bunch of machines can't crack a smile".
"Jack, I have some bad news for you", the doctor said sadly.
"Ah, finally someone ready to crack a joker on me!", the Joker exploded in relief. "Better have a punchline. I haven't had a laugh since a few drops with Bats. No neighbours on my cell-".
"Jack", the doctor snaps Joker into making him listen to him. "You're suffering from an unknown condition that may kill you".
The Joker finally frowned in response to that. "Absurd!", he exclaimed, rupturing the smile he kept most of his life. He took away the results the doctor had on his hands, checking on it himself.
The Clone Troopers were about to respond only to stop by the doctor's gesture.
Once the Joker understood his condition inside his brain, he lowered his results down, staring blindly at a wall. "Oh I'm... pooped", the Joker said admittedly. For the first time in his life, he has never come to experience something that would end his long-life cycle. All the fun he had with Batman, the torment he brought to him, the fun and laughter, it's going to end like this.
Wayne Manor, Gotham City
Results have been delivered to Bruce which is what he's examining with Superman in the Batcave.
"What do you reckon this condition might be?", Superman asked.
"Definitely not an earthly condition", Batman addressed. "In the early years of my life, I have never encountered these conditions affecting on an Anodite".
"And I never knew the Joker was housed in a private facility", Superman deemed. Arms crossed, an eyebrow raised, enquiring from Batman about why he wasn't told about where this private facility.
"The Joker was too dangerous to be stowed in Arkham Asylum. Just like all the dangerous superhuman transgressors that proved a danger to Gotham and to themselves, I transferred them to a special facility in a remote island where no one would get hurt", Batman explained.
"How would you figure if Amanda Waller, or worse President Lex Luthor, discovered your facility?", Superman asked.
"They won't", Batman assured Superman. "Facility is surrounded with an energy field that keeps the location of it off their radar. Even if they decide to track every land in their map to find that prison, they wouldn't find that land in there".
"Because the island was constructed discreetly", Superman said, understanding clearly. "So have the doctors deduced what caused this unknown condition".
"No", Batman responded. Not knowing what it is is what worries Bruce. The Joker's going to die because of this condition. "But his condition proved right away the Joker's reaction". He played a video afterwards.
Superman sees the video featuring Joker laughing extremely as though he completely lost a tad part of his mind.
"This was recorded right after Doctor Keaton told him about the brain-scan results", Batman said.
"Getting an ominous feeling about this", Superman said. "He's happy even after knowing there is a chance a cure may not be provided in time...".
"You are right to have that feeling, Clark. He'd be willing to drag the whole world down with him", Batman said.
Suddenly, a beep from the Batcomputer alarms Superman and Batman.
Batman immediately understood what that beep is meant for. "A prison riot", Bruce addressed.
"I'm guessing it's where a particular fellow from your rogues happens to be hanging", Superman strongly presumed.
"You're welcome to tag along", Batman offered.
"Can't ignore it", Superman replied, intending to see Batman's secret facility. He was seconds on the verge of blurrily speeding away from the Batcave; Batman was set on saying something.
"Wait, Clark", Batman said, waving a stop sign. "Not by flight. You'll jeopardize the facility's location".
"Means of teleportation?", Superman guessed confidently.
Batman nodded before elevating a hand straightened to his front-direction. His hands emanate in blue energy, where Bruce readily opens a pathway.
In a remote island...
A massive riot happening in a prison; inmates bursting out of their cells, caused by the Joker.
Joker casually strolls in the dinning halls, getting a strong scent of rust, which marks a pleasant feeling for the Clown Prince of Gotham. He enjoys the view too; watching Clone Troopers battling escaped creatures. Despite their increasing numbers, the Clone Troopers are clearly overpowered by them.
Continuing to stroll more over the crowd of fighters, Joker spots a little eye at a creature with thin, almost twig-like limbs, a small, triangular head atop slender shoulders, and two narrowed back-curved large floppy years. "Now why does that monkey-lizard look so familiar?", Joker wondered.
He finally stopped, looking down at the floor. He lifts his hand over his head, readily charging up a crimson ball. He swiftly threw that energy ball down at the targeted spot. The blast gusted every inmate and Clone Trooper away, except Joker.
The Clone Troopers were unfortunately knocked out by the blast, but the inmates managed to recover in due time to note a hole Joker created i.e. their alternative route out of the dining hall.
"Ahhhh, smells like bacon", the Joker said in a pleasant manner prior to looking at everyone. "Speak of the devil". He elevates his hand shrouded in crimson energy. Its energy emanates the collars that restrained every inmate's powers. Joker ruptures the collars
In a secured room where a great deal of Clone Troopers are with its Warden observing via live footages of the Joker and the other inmates finally free, everyone finds this discovery crucially disturbing.
"Prepare the inhibitor", the Warden said, slightly turning to the Clone Troopers. "If they get into that room, we gas them".
The soldiers responded with readying to activate the gas.
The inmates move their way one floor down, entering to the next room. As soon as they did, they presence in here unknowingly summoned the spread of gas.
"The gas!"
"The metagene negator!"
"It'll negate power powers once he breathe that gas in"
"You think I know already, short stuff"
"We're in deep shit"
All these comments summoned a great deal of doubt for the Joker, which amused him. "Wotta buncha nancies", the Joker remarked derisively. He isn't really surprised by the appearing gas. "Relax... I anticipated this".
All the inmate turned heads to the Joker.
"See, the chemical compounds of the puke gas combine with the active ingredients in the metagene whacker...", the Joker said, watching the inmates engulfed by gas. "...which I'm told is a frothy little gumbo mixing all our D.N.A. signatures like some meta-melting pot".
The gas slowly closes in on his face. "Stir 'em up and they create a third formula. One I know something about", the Joker said. He then heard the thunderstorm of roaring laughter. It's not from his mouth, not from his body, not even from a voice similar to his. It's an intentional idea Joker setup this whole time since starting the big riot. "It's our ace in the hole".
Clone Troopers are readied in stances with their weapons set on their targeted direction. They heard the extreme laughs coming from that passage metres away in which connects to a room where the gases were activated.
"Don't like the sound of that", a Clone Trooper said.
"Nobody's that happy for a good reason", another Clone Trooper remarked.
Every Clone Trooper heard clatters of footsteps exploding from that room, quickly prompting everyone to engage the second a finger unfurls on the corner of that wall distances away from them; they will take that shot.
Second after second of waiting, their expectations turned into expectations; a wall beside them ruptured, causing majority of the soldiers to smash against a wall, slowly losing conscious.
Claws struck some soldiers, muscle crushes some soldiers, beams incinerate some soldiers. Lot of screaming getting as far out like earsplitting echoes.
One Clone Trooper tried contacting the others that are supposed to stop or bottom-line slow their rioters down from escaping.
"Getting no response from all officers", a Clone Trooper proclaimed. "We lost contact".
"Power's down", another Clone Troop disclosed to the Waren.
"We still have staff inside", another Clone Trooper proclaimed.
"Prisoners are amped up and out of control", a Clone Trooper said.
"We're cut off, outnumbered and outgunned", a Clone Trooper said.
"Have you at least managed to contact Mr. Wayne before the communications were cut off?", the Warden asked.
"Considering the damage, it's hard to say, Sir", the Clone Trooper replied.
"So what we do?", the Clone Trooper asked.
The Warden looked at the questioning Clone Trooper. "We stop reacting and start anticipating their moves. They're gonna look to break out soon", the Warden said. "It's up to us to contain them. It's going to be a fight for our lives. We're on our own for now with no help in sight".
Words can spoke in its truest way, they would never know the cavalry had already arrived for them; Batman and Superman, both teleported by Bruce to be here.
Superman inspected the facility. It's displeasure he gets out of there. "Explosions. Giggles. Screaming. If hell had a soundtrack...", Superman said. "...that's the kind of sound it would make".
"Any survivors?", Batman enquired.
"A few soldiers. I see the Warden", Superman responded. "Whoever killed all the other troops, this army of superhumans might require the entire Justice League to respond this riot".
"No", Batman said.
"No?!", Superman exclaimed in a strong sign of frustration. "You'd rather let-".
"There's no point", Batman said before point a finger at where he wants Superman to view. "Look".
As Superman turned eyes, he became shocked when he saw inmates escaping from the prison, and getting into materialised portals.
"The Justice League will have to respond to these problems", Batman said. "The Joker anticipated we'd send Leaguers. He wasn't planning on sending a wave of armies on one city. Rather split it to divide and invade multiple cities".
Superman already knew the threat is prime. He turns his glance over to the skies, preparing to contact all Justice Leaguers.
Before Superman could contact the Justice League, both Batman and Superman are engulfed in a shaft of red light; what might come from them, they are unprepared, and hadn't noticed. The red light swallows them completely, with Batman and Superman unsure what they got into.