Batman managed to escape the grip of a thug who was holding him captive...only to be caught off-guard when Joker clocked him in the noggin with a champagne bucket full of ice.

"Don't drink and drive, kids." Lady Gothika said in a cheesy 80's cartoon fashion.

"Batman!" Robin yelped as he hopped off the thug he was fighting to aid him, before he got grabbed by the cape.

"Poor Bats, that champagne just went right to your head!" Joker cackled evilly, as he took the bottle from the bucket. The bell began to rise higher up the tower. "Now you're gonna miss the big countdown!"

Lady Gothika looked like she was about to do something as she looked up to the bell. The Joker laughed as this looked like the end so far. Lady Gothika soon bit her lip and concentrated before her eyes seemed to glow white before the bell broke and came crashing down and she tried to make it aim for the Joker. The Joker laughed as he was about to slam the bottle down...until he looked up and saw the bell right before it crashed on top of him.

"Happy New Year!" The people of Gotham cheered before throwing off their Joker masks once the clock struck midnight.

"Ow..." Joker groaned, seeing that his left wrist had been crushed by the bell.

"Now that's one way to ring in the New Year," Bat-Mite remarked. "Happy New Year, L.G."

"Happy New Year, BM," Lady Gothika replied. "...I regret that already."

"Yeah, only your name works in both full and initials." Bat-Mite replied.

"Sorry about that," Lady Gothika replied. "Guess I'm still a little off-balance from mid-terms."

"Likewise," Bat-Mite replied. "Figure I'll go get something to eat. You coming with?"

"Yeah... I am pretty hungry..." Lady Gothika agreed once she held her stomach.

"C'mon then. I know a place where they make an awesome cheese-steak." Bat-Mite remarked.

Lady Gothika gave a small smile before going to join him.

"You two get home before it's too late now." Batman warned.

"We will!" Lady Gothika replied. "Hmm..." she then frowned softly. "Now I'm gonna miss out on the pork and sauerkraut..."

"Don't sweat it, I can zap us to the place and back again in a flash." Bat-Mite explained.

Lady Gothika gave a small half-smile on the way.

Eventually, the both of them returned to Wayne Manor. Cherry sat at the bar, but she was drinking a milkshake as Alfred made one just for her to help her cope with any pain she was feeling from being a college student away from home. Lionel was eating the cheesesteak that he'd purchased earlier.

"Feeling any better, Miss Cherry?" Alfred asked.

"The milkshake is great as always," Cherry replied. "The food's okay. Not like Mom's though."

"I just don't understand why you wouldn't go home to your own family during your time off from classes," Alfred said. "Master Bruce is happy to see you, though."

"I just thought coming here might be nice to test my independence." Cherry replied.

"Yeah," Lionel replied in between bites. "Ev'ryone needs a little time off from the hustle-n-bustle of the daily grind."

"Well, all right then, let me know if you need anything else." Alfred soon said.

"Of course, Alfred." Cherry replied.

"Right!" Lionel gave a thumbs-up.

Alfred soon left the two of them alone as Cherry finished up her milkshake.

And Lionel polished off his cheese-steak. "Not bad, not bad at all..." he remarked.

"This was pretty nice." Cherry commented.

"I couldn't agree more." Lionel replied as he wiped his face off.

Cherry soon let out a small burp once she finished her milkshake. "'Scuse me."

"You're excused." Lionel replied casually.

Cherry checked her phone to see a lot of Happy New Year messages from the others, especially her parents.

"You're lucky to have people who care about ya like that." Lionel remarked.

"Yeah..." Cherry said softly. "I just didn't feel like coming home this year though."

"Sorry if I sound repetitive, but least you GOT a home." Lionel replied.

"Rough life, huh?" Cherry said to him.

"You got no idea." Lionel replied.

"Sorry," Cherry said. "Guess it's tough when you come from another dimension with no family, and everyone just wants you gone."

"Yeah, ya hit the nail on the head." Lionel nodded.

Cherry gave a sheepish face from that because she felt like she added salt into the metaphorical wound.

"Ah, but I consider my exile a blessing in disguise." Lionel continued.

"Because you wanted to get out?" Cherry guessed.

"Those guys were total sticks-in-the-mud! Plus they wanted me gone from the get-go," Lionel replied. "So I say good riddance! Plus, I got to meet you."

"Well, I might not be from another dimension, but I've often felt like an outsider in this world," Cherry said. "The next thing I knew, I was going on strange adventures... I often wondered why I had to go on them... What made me so special?"

"Well... For what it's worth, the universe couldn't have made a better choice," Lionel replied. "A couple a' outcasts. A goth and a geek."

"Eh, I think Atticus is more of my geek." Cherry smirked.

"Fine then: a goth, a geek, and a goofball." Lionel shrugged.

"That works," Cherry teased with a small smirk. "Well, at least we met, I guess. My life sure is interesting sometimes, especially when I first met The Dark Knight himself."

"Really now?" Lionel asked.

"It's a bit of a long story about how he and I met and I became a regular visitor to Gotham City." Cherry replied.

"Cool," Lionel replied. "I suppose I'd like to hear it."

Cherry gave a small smile. "Well, if you're sure... Even if some of my misadventures sound strange to you?" she then replied.

"Sure. Besides, I've lived through stranger." Lionel nodded.

"Well... Okay," Cherry replied. "It was sometime after I visited a chocolate factory owned by the one and only Willy Wonka with my friend Katie. I won a golden ticket after we met up in person after writing letters together for a while and she let me try a Wonka Bar for the first time. Eventually, after I won the ticket, I decided to take Katie with me, and then, we met Willy Wonka and saw his factory. Willy and Katie soon fell in love, and we were getting ready to go home on the Wonkavator. It was going well so far, but eventually, the Wonkavator ran out of gas, so we had to stop, and we ended up in Gotham City."

"Alright..." Lionel nodded, intently listening.

"Katie and Willy soon decided to go home, but I wanted to see Gotham City up close after hearing so many stories," Cherry said. "I have to admit, that was kind of stupid of me. It was amazing to see it up close as I walked around. Eventually, I heard someone laughing and I went to go check it out, and the next thing I know, I got knocked out by a certain giant mallet."

"Lemme guess, Laughing Boy's Crazy Gunmoll?" Lionel replied.

"Mm-hmm..." Cherry nodded. "I woke up with a giant headache, and I woke up, finding myself face-to-face with The Joker."

"Not exactly the best part of waking up, I imagine." Lionel replied.

"Not the best wake up call I was given," Cherry nodded. "Eventually, Batman came down and saved me. He said I was a little hurt, and he soon took me with him... He saw something in me... I soon fell asleep, and I woke up in Wayne Manor. I woke up to see Alfred, he gave me some aspirin and told me that Bruce wanted to have breakfast with me."

"Oh, cool." Lionel remarked.

"We bonded a while... Got to know each other..." Cherry said. "He really enjoyed my company. After I met him, I decided that I should make a name for myself for my next visits to Gotham City. After my next visit, I eventually became Lady Gothika... Affectionately called 'Baby Bat' by villains."

"Oh..." Lionel replied. "Awesome."

"Yeah," Cherry replied. "Though Lady Gothika was born the same time when Atticus said he had to visit his Uncle Clark in Metropolis. Funny story, Bruce and I had to go to Metropolis for something going on at the time, and then we ran into Atticus and Clark."

"That was around when Joker and Lex Luthor started working together, right?" Lionel asked.

"Yep," Cherry replied. "It was pretty messed up when we ran into each other like that..." she then looked sick to her stomach. "Then Bruce started banging Lois Lane."

"Awkward..." Lionel remarked. "But at least it wasn't The Killing Joke 2016..."

"Yeah, I suppose," Cherry replied. "Atticus and I also nearly lost our friendship because of that. Clark got super jealous and even told Atticus to not be my friend anymore."

Lionel sucked in air through his teeth. "Sheesh! That's harsh." he remarked.

"Tell me about it..." Cherry said. "Atticus had one of his moments over it. I had no idea I meant so much to him."

"Well, you two are practically siblings," Lionel replied. "Makes sense he'd be so pissed about not gettin' ta hang out with ya anymore."

"Tell me about it..." Cherry shuddered. "I love that jerk, but not in that way."

"I understand completely." Lionel nodded.

Cherry nodded back before she finished up and went to put away her dishes. Lionel came over to help her out with dish duty. Cherry took out her phone, about to play some music before looking to see that she now had company.

Lionel shrugged. "Hey, any music is fine by me as long as it's none of that pop music crud. Other than that, I'm not too picky when it comes to music."

"Would you mind 1980's pop?" Cherry replied as she put on a certain playlist.

"Hmm... Not really." Lionel replied.

Cherry then put her phone down, playing some Michael Jackson as she began to do the dishes with Lionel.

"Hmm... This is alright." Lionel nodded as he began bobbing his head to the music while he pitched in with the dishes.

"Helps me with stress and anxiety... Especially Man in the Mirror..." Cherry sighed softly.

"The song is nice, and its message is pretty great too." Lionel replied.

Cherry gave a small half-smile as they washed the dishes together during the music.

Eventually, they both got done washing dishes. Cherry soon went to go to her room.

"She's probably going to sleep," Alfred said to Lionel. "I'll bring you to your room."

"Fine by me," Lionel replied. "Righteous new year, Mr. Alfred."

"Yes, well, Happy New Year to you too." Alfred nodded as he went to get Lionel into his room for the night as it was late enough as it was.

So Lionel went into his new room and flopped onto the bed with a sigh of relief. Alfred soon let Cherry and Lionel get some sleep since they had a long night. And so, the old year had ended and the new year had commenced. Who knows what foes that this team will encounter this time around?