Joker groaned as he looked at Thor, who narrowed his eyes and began swinging his hammer around. "Well, with this staff's whole Asgardian thing to it, I guess I shouldn't be surprised that you came charging along."

"Give up now, clown. By wielding Asgardian weaponry, you will face justice from us. And it won't be so easy to break out of the great and mighty Asgard, Joker!"

Joker merely chuckled. "Challenge accepted, Blondilocks. But I don't think I'll be –"

Before Joker could finish, he was suddenly bashed in the head by Wonder Woman, who then grabbed him by his green hair and bashed the back of his head. Joker couldn't help but yell in pain, for that hurt like pure and absolute hell.

"Mother of God, Wondy!"

Wonder Woman simply looked at Joker with a glare on her face. "Oh, that was nothing. Hercules would've done worse."

Joker pointed his staff towards Wonder Woman and shot at her, but the Amazon dodged the blast with her shield and caused the green energy to shoot right towards a street lamp, causing said lamp to crumble up into ash and fall to the ground. Joker sighed and shook his head, that smile still glued to his face.

"Well, if I'm stuck fighting you two gods, I might as well have fun with it!" Joker said, before laughing again and charging towards the two.

While Thor and Wonder Woman were off fighting the Joker, Cap went to aid Batman in fighting Harley Quinn. He recognized that he would have no luck fighting against the Joker due to the godlike powers the latter had apparently gotten ahold of. Cap thought about the Joker and Harley for a brief moment as he readied himself to attack Harley. They were among the first names he had heard of upon being thawed out from the ice; they had been active for about as long as Batman, and they had amassed a massive body count.

He found it funny that he was about to fight Joker and Harley now, since he and a couple of his teammates were discussing the duo yesterday. Janet had jokingly suggested that Batman could try to redeem Harley and train her to become a protégé, an idea that the Dark Knight was quite dismissive of.

Harley was trying to bash Batman around with her hammer, but he dodged every time before jumping onto the hood of a car and grabbing out one of his Batrangs towards her. It landed right onto the ground, and Harley smirked.

"Ya missed, Batsy?"

"No. I didn't."

Harley furrowed an eyebrow and looked down at the Batarang, which then exploded and let out a large amount of smoke towards the jester-suited woman. Harley began to cough, and Cap had realized that Batman had given deliberately given the Super Soldier an opportunity to take advantage of. He bashed Harley around with his shield, and she was unable to truly fight back at the moment. Cap kicked her out of the smoke area, but Harley was still coughing; Cap wasn't truly affected, something he could thank the Super Soldier Serum for.

"Jeez, Cap, could you lighten up a little?" Harley pleaded, and that was all she said before proceeding to cough some more.

"You're a fool if you think I'm just gonna give up now." Cap said before punching Harley in the leg and sweeping her towards the ground.

Harley placed her hands on her side and looked up at Cap, who had a determined look on his face. "I can do this all day."

And then he gave Harley a powerful uppercut to the chin, and she fell to the ground, unconscious.

Cap narrowed his eyes at Harley, wondering how she was able to put up with a man as insane as the Joker. But he decided not to worry about that now. He wanted to see if there was anything he and Batman could do to try and help Thor and Wonder Woman battle the Joker.

Meanwhile, Wonder Woman had grabbed Joker by the neck and lunged him towards her Asgardian ally, who began swinging around his hammer with a rather cold look on his face. One could tell from his expression that he was completely done with the Joker not giving him any answers. And so he bashed the Joker in the stomach with his hammer hard enough to send the Clown Prince of Crime crashing onto the ground below.

He then took a look at Wonder Woman. "Thank Odin for your Lasso of Truth. Looks like we're gonna have to use it on that foul creature!"

Wonder Woman nodded and pulled out her lasso, and the two levitated down towards the Joker, while Cap and Batman ran up to the scene as fast as they could.

Joker got up and cupped his chin in pain. But his look of discomfort morphed into a grin when he made eye contact with the Dark Knight. "Ah, there you are, dear Batman. I missed my favorite toy." Then he turned his head to acknowledge Captain America's presence. "And I suppose you can be one of those toys one plays with once or twice and then forget exists."

"You won't be doing any such thing, Joker." Wonder Woman retorted as she began swinging her lasso around.

The Joker tried to run, but his efforts were for naught, and the lasso met his hip. Wonder Woman then began to drag him towards her, and Thor stood there and watched while Cap and Batman walked up to their deity allies.

Wonder Woman stopped dragging the Joker around, and he groaned. And Thor's patience was getting any better, with his rage being made clear when he smashed up the staff that the Joker had been using for his latest reign of terror.

"These staffs are what you refer to as 'a dime a dozen'." Thor clarified to Cap and Batman, who looked a tad confused when the God of Thunder smashed up the staff.

Then he walked up to the Joker, who had given up on trying to break free from Wonder Woman's lasso. "Now," Thor said with barely restrained contempt. "…Now you have no choice but to reveal the location and plans of my brother. So tell me, clown! Where's Loki, and what is he planning?"

No one liked the Joker's answer. "I…don't…know."

Thor sighed. "So Loki merely used you to distract us. …This is what he would do, really…"

"So what's our plan, now?" Cap asked, having absolutely no idea what they were going to do from here.

Thor shook his head. "My brother has always been very unpredictable. Who knows what he could be planning by now. We need to –"

"Oh my!" A voice suddenly shouted out from the crowd of people, and the four heroes turned around to see a morbidly obese man long hair, a smile that showed very poor teeth, and a shirt that was way too small walked up to them. "Wow, this is just amazing."

Wonder Woman let out a groan of irritation. "Sir, please leave. Now. The Vanguard is preoccupied at the moment. See yourself to safety."

"But this is so cool! This is just so cool!"

"We don't want to be rude, Midgardian, but this is not a safe area! Leave us to our work!"

Then all of a sudden, the man smirked. "Midgardian. You still have to call them by that, don't you, brother?"

Thor's eyes widened, as did Diana's. Cap, on the other hand, was completely confused as to what was going on. He soon got an answer, however, when the man morphed into Loki, the God of Mischief.

"Oh, how I've missed our quality time together, Thor."

"I shall have none of this, Loki!" Thot yelled out in rage, before going to swing towards his brother, who phased right through the hammer and let out a smirk.

"Oh, you thought I was actually here? You still underestimate me after all this time? My, oh my, Thor, this is why you are not worthy of Asgard's throne."

Batman had a scowl on his face, one even angrier than his usual look, and he walked up towards the illusion. "Why on Earth did you give the Joker magical abilities?"

Loki let out a sigh, one that Cap noted to sound genuine. "Ah, the Joker. Midgard's most infamous criminal….I don't like the Joker in the slightest, if I'm being honest." Once more, one could tell that Loki spoke the truth in his words. "I hate him, actually. He disgusts me. But he was the perfect man for the job. Two-Face or the Penguin, they would've been craftier, but I knew the Joker would make a scene right away, to attract his precious Batman."

"For what purpose, Loki?!" Batman demanded to know, with Cap being surprised; this was the first time he had heard the Dark Knight raise his voice.

"Why, as a distraction."

"For what purpose?" This time, it was Wonder Woman who began interrogating Loki.

Loki chuckled and shook his head. "Now, why would I tell you that?"

With that, the illusion disappeared.

"No! NO!" Thor yelled out in a fit of rage.

He looked down at the ground, and then slammed Mjlonir into a red Ferrari F60 to the horror of the person in the car. The man got out and looked at the damage.

"My…my CAR! Do you have any idea how much these cars cost?!"

"Worry not, citizen." Wonder Woman said in a calm tone, to try and reassure the man. "We'll pay for the damages. Or get you a new car."

Batman sighed and shook his head, and Cap didn't blame him; either he or Iron Man who would have to pay for the damages.

Thor then turned around and looked at both Cap and Batman. "Alright, you two deal stay put to help finish off the Joker. Diana and I will try to find my brother and stop whatever scheme he's pulling off."

Batman's eyes narrowed. "That will not be happening, Thor."

"But, Bru –"

"First of all, don't refer to me by that in public. Secondly, Loki has helped to terrorize my city and he has used my nemesis. I'm coming along, and I highly doubt Cap will want to miss any of this, either."

Now it was Thor who narrowed his eyes. "You are lucky I have compassion for humanity. The average Asgardian could wipe the floor with you in mere seconds if they so choose."

There was a brief moment of silence, and Batman did not acknowledge Thor's last statement. "Well, I may be a mere mortal man, but there is one way I can help you find your brother."

Batman then proceeded to pull out a tiny metallic object from his utility belt. Cap had no idea what it was; and he knew not to blame being behind by decades, for both Bruce Wayne and Tony Stark had developed technologies that most other humans couldn't have hoped to achieve.

"This is a device I built just a few weeks ago." Batman said, knowing that his comrades would try and ask what exactly that contraption was. "It can track energy signatures of magical and mystical origin." He then showed everyone the device's screen. "It measures the signatures by various shades of red. The deeper the red, the larger the signature."

Thor, Wonder Woman, and Cap all stopped to take a look at the screen on the device. And it showed a very deep shade of red, in what looked to only be a few miles away.

"Alright, so that's where Loki must be." Cap stated, ready to right. Batman was right: He didn't want to be left out of this, even if Loki was a god; he just wanted to make sure the innocent were properly protected.

"Ideally, yes. But over on this street is mostly woods and a lake…why would Loki be trying to hide there? Unless…unless…"

Then Batman's eyes widened, and he had a face of panic that Cap had never seen on his face before. Thor and Wonder Woman also looked taken aback, indicating that they had never seen Batman like this, either."

"He's found my secret entrance to the Batcave…." Batman almost whispered, as if he didn't want anyone to hear him.

But Cap could hear him fine, and he raised an eyebrow. The Batcave? He had barely come to know the Dark Knight, not really spending any time with him like he had with Hal, Barry, and Carol. Hell, as Cap thought about it, he had yet to have so much as a full conversation with Batman.

"Erm, what's the Batcave?" Cap asked as he raised his eyebrow.

"It's my base of operations. And I have more security measures and protocols than the damn President has. I have no clue how Loki could've broken in. And what would he…."

Batman paused.

"What would he what?"

"…I know what Loki is after."

Wonder Woman, Thor, and Cap all looked at each other. "What exactly is he after?"

"No time to explain right now. We have to get moving. Now!"

Then, finally, the Joker broke his silence. "Oh, what? Forget about old me? I still have a trick or two up my slee –"

Wonder Woman didn't let him finish. She kicked him hard in the face and knocked him out, and then she returned eye contact with Batman, who nodded.

"Let's move!"

The Batcave was truly a sight to see. Built into the cave were several metal floors oThere sat the Batjets, the Batboats, and several backup Batmobiles. At the end of the Batcave was the Batcomputer, and its technological capabilities put Macs and PCs alike to shame. In-between the vehicles and the computers were various trophies of all sorts, from a statue of a green Tyrannosaurus rex to a giant penny, it was a diverse and vast collection.

But Loki didn't care about all that. Alfred Pennyworth, the butler of Bruce Wayne, was tied up in front of one of the backup Batmobiles, and the God of Mischief had his eyes on a crown. This wasn't the golden crown one might initially picture. This crown was a dark skull with gigantic horns on its sides, and Loki needed to have it. He needed it bad.

Which caused some frustration for him when Thor came smashing through the Batcave, glaring at his brother.

Batman and Cap drove in via the Batmobile, while Wonder Woman flew in just as Thor did, albeit without causing any property damage to the Batcave.

Batman and Cap got out of the Batmobile, with the former glaring up at Thor, who levitated in the air. "Damnit, Thor! Every single thing in this cave cost me a fortune!" Batman yelled out.

"…Sorry." Thor replied in an uncharacteristically sheepish tone.

Loki shook his head, still irritated. "Thor, why must you always get in the way of my plans!"

"Can it, Loki!" Cap replied back. "Evil hardly ever triumphs in the face of good."

Thor opened his mouth to speak to his brother, but Batman piped in before he could. "How are you in my cave, and why did you give the Joker magical powers?!"

Loki stood there silent for a moment, and Cap swore that Batman looked like he was about to let out a snarl. But then Loki spoke. "Dear, dear Batman…are you aware that you have the Crown of Surtur in your collection?"

Then Thor's eyes widened. "The…Crown…the Crown of Surtur?!"

Loki let out a smirk. "Yes, brother. Batman has one of the most powerful artifacts in all of the Nine Realms…alongside a giant penny and a dinosaur statue. Fascinating, isn't it?"

Thor turned his head to face Batman, looking at him in the eye with bafflement on his face. "…Batman….how in the name of Odin did you come across the Crown of Surtur?!"

Batman looked down at the ground. "I found it while on a business trip in Norway. Went to stop a massive gang of crooks, and they had that in their warehouse."

Loki began walking up to the four heroes, smirking and smiling about. "I will admit, it took me a long while to find this beauty, but once I did…well, all I had to do was try to get through your security, Bruce." Loki added emphasis on Batman's name to help drive in the point that he had figured out the Caped Crusader's secret identity. "But I will admit, you are rather smart for a human. You, Stark, and Lex Luthor stand out among these barbarians. I figured you'd come by and have some special defense against me. That's why I gave the Joker those powers. To distract you while I came by, outsmarted your security systems, and snatched Surtur's crown."

Thor then narrowed his eyes. "What good is the Crown of Surtur to you, Loki? I know it has great power, but how does that power suit you in any way?"

"….I have my reasons." Loki then let out a sigh. "Alright, let's get this battle over with, Thor. This is what, the twelth time we've battled each other now?"

Now Thor was the one smirking. "Yeah, that sounds about right. But this one won't take long –"

"You speak too soon, Odinson!" Loki yelled, before sending out yellow mystical blasts that sent the four heroes flying.

He then created fifteen copies of himself, meaning there were four Lokis for each one of the heroes. Cap tried to punch one of the Lokis in the face, but it went right through the illusion, and then the other three by him overwhelmed him and began punching and kicking him in the face, chest, and stomach multiple times. He was only able to try and bash one of them with his shield once before the four began pummeling him again – he could not understand why he couldn't hurt the illusions, but the illusions could hurt him. He could see that the same was happening with Batman – Batman tried to throw a batarang at one of the illusions, but it went right through him, and Batman was overwhelmed in the same way as Cap was. Then all of the Lokis let out the same unanimous and maniacal laughter.

One of the Lokis grabbed Wonder Woman's sword and tried to slash her with it, but she was able to dodge each time. She could not harm any of the Lokis either, however – all she could do was fly away from them and try to find the real one. Four of the Lokis were attacking Thor. Cap realized that he had to take a chance here, and he saw that one of the Lokis attacking Thor was beginning to tire. He threw his shield at that Loki, and it struck him.

"I found the real Loki!" Cap yelled.

The other heroes followed suit. Batman threw a batarang that, while missing Loki, distracted him so that Wonder Woman could deck him in the face, punch him in the stomach, and then knee him in the stomach. Finally, Thor swung his hammer and sent a massive bolt of lightning against Loki, sending him flying.

"Diana, give me your sword," Thor said, with Wonder Woman having managed to reclaim her sword.

Wonder Woman raised an eyebrow. "Erm…alright…" she said, before handing him her sword. As Loki tried to get up, Thor took the sword and stabbed Loki in the kneecap with it.

"Arrrrrrgh! What the hell was that, brother?!" Loki yelled, and Cap, Batman, and Wonder Woman all had their mouths go agape.

"It's so you can't think of doing anything else, brother,"

"But right in the kneecap?" Wonder Woman asked.

Thor turned around and faced Wonder Woman. "It was the first thing that came to mind," he replied with as his answer. "And besides, I have more important matters to worry about on my mind…like the fact that Batman had the Crown of Surtur –"

Cap raised his finger. "Okay, sorry for interrupting, but who the heck is Surtur?"

Thor turned to face Cap, taking a moment to swing his hammer. "Well, for basic context, there are nine realms connected by this thing called Yggdrassil, the Tree of Life. Earth is one of these realms, albeit we call it Midgard, and so is my world of Asgard…and one of these realms is Muspelheim. It is a realm of fire, and it is ruled by a being known as Surtur. Surtur is one of the most powerful and feared beings in all the nine realms. No one would think to mess with him." Then there was a brief pause. "Well, except Darkseid and Thanos…"

"Darkseid and Thanos are other stories entirely," Wonder Woman interjected, her arms crossed.

"I know what you're going to ask, Thor," Batman piped in, as it was clear that Thor had finished, "And I just want you to know that I was aware of the being of Surtur. I read up on Norse mythology the day you first popped up in New Mexico."

"Fair enough," Thor stated. "…But now we're going to need a new place to keep this Crown. Excuse me a moment."

Thor then proceeded to slam Loki right in the face with Mjlonir, knocking him out. "There. Now he won't hear. But now Surtur is on the priority list, my fellow Vanguardians. We can take Loki to a special prison and interrogate him on why he came for the Crown – and what it means for all of the Nine Realms."

Cap felt a tad daunted, but his determination would eclipse that in a heartbeat. He would be ready for this Surtur, no matter what.

Then they heard murming, and they all turned their attention to one of the backup Batmobiles. Batman ran to it and opened the door, seeing Alfred tied up inside. He lifted his butler out of there and cut the ropes with his batarangs.

Alfred breathed heavily. "Why thank you, Master Bruce. I was worried you'd forget about me."

"Alfred, when have I ever been forgettable?"

"When was the last time you remembered to make your own lunch whenever I go on vacation?"

Batman threw his arms up. "Alfred, this is different –"

"Relax, relax, Master Bruce," Alfred interrupted, his face completely deadpan. I was trying to lighten things up before you brood and work yourself to death again trying to upgrade our security."

And to that, Cap couldn't help but smile.