"Dwight McCarthy," Batman said after a few seconds, "You've changed a bit since we last met."

I'm not sure how he recognized me. Maybe it was my voice or maybe he recognized my eyes like Manute did. He's supposed to be a detective, after all. He's a smart guy so there was no use pretending otherwise. Gail was right behind me with her uzi trained on Bats while I had my two Colts. I was more than surprised to see Miho on the ground like that. It was the first time I ever saw anyone last more than a few seconds against her, let get the better of her. Still, she was alive and conscious which was a good thing because I knew I would be needing her help. We had heard a rumor that Bats had gone off the deepend so we weren't taking any chances.

"Good eyes, Bats," I didn't lower my Colts for nothing, "Now do what I said. Stand down."

"No. Put your guns away before I take them."

"You got no right sticking your nose where it don't belong," Gail sneered.

"Final warning."

"Funny. I was about to say the same thing."

Me and Bats both acted at the same time. I threw myself on the ground, shooting off a few rounds as one of those bat-shaped things went right over my head. It ended up hitting Gail, knocking her to the ground. He flipped around, dancing between my gunshots. One gun was kicked out of my hand. I knew I couldn't do much. I was just buying Miho some time.

She grabbed the smaller sword that was stuck in the roof and flew in behind him, slashing madly through the air. He dipped out of the way and I fired my spare rod. He ducked but Miho got the drop on him. She wrapped one arm around his throat while she shoved the tip of her blade under his ribcage. Seemed like she put it in just enough to break the first layer of skin: not fatal but close enough to give him a warning. It seemed like he didn't fully realize the blade was inside of him until he looked down. Miho. You won't feel a thing unless she wants you to.

I took aim right between his eyes and picked up my second gun, sliding it into my coat. Gail picked herself off the ground and took aim again, "Bastard." We had `im but it seemed as though the rumors about him going crazy were false. He wasway too calm. Especially for a guy who was in Miho's clutches like that.

"Kill me and there's nothing saving you from the Joker," he told us.

"We don't want to kill you but if you don't settle down, Miho will give that sword of hers a twist and split you wide open. If she fails somehow, Gail and I got you dead in our sights."

"Then what? Do you have the slightest clue how to deal with this maniac?"

"We've dealt with our own."

"You haven't faced anyone like him. Kidnapping that woman was only the beginning. We don't know where he is right now but I have an idea what he's doing with the woman he captured. I can save her if you let me."

I looked at Gail and she nodded, "Fine. Let him go, Miho."

Miho seemed pretty reluctant but she slid the sword out of him. The two of them exchange glares at one another. Gail rolled her eyes and wanted to get down to business, "So what do you know?" Batman told us about some sort of drug the Joker had injected into a clean cop. Made the guy go nuts; gave me him some sort of moral trip and he tried to take out the entire police precinct. Batman had heard about one of the girls getting kidnapped and figured that since Old Town had its own brand of justice, the Joker was targetting the few people in Sin City with any sense of duty. Apparently, it was all a sick joke for him. Guess his name fit.

"Now tell me what you know," Batman demanded after he was finished.

"The girl was pretty quiet," I told him, "Never said much about herself but I did some snooping and found out that she was from the Projects. She was escaping some trouble out that way so maybe it's a start. Other than that, I only know her name: Chasity."

Those creepy blank eyes of Batman's suddenly widened. Guess he knew her. He didn't say anything more. He just dropped off the side of the roof and glided down with his cape. "What the Hell?," Gail shouted. I turned to Miho and she nodded, leaping off the roof after him. I began to follow but Gail grabbed my coat. "Be careful," she told me and gave me a look that could melt a glacier. I didn't say anything. I just dropped onto the firescape below and lept off, landing in the alley. Luckily, my caddy was nearby and Miho was already in the passenger seat.

I spun out just as Bats flew by in a Porsche. We followed him out of Old Town, halfway across the city, and into the Projects. He drove pretty well. He was trying to lose us but I knew every backalley and sidestreet in the city. I kept my eyes forward, making my way over the pavement until we were both in the center of the Projects. My heart was pumping its way through my ribcage the whole way. The Projects were bad news to begin with. Even by Sin City standards, it wasn't a friendly place. We now had to face one of the most dangerous men in the country on top of it all. We followed Batman to an old apartment building. I was aware of the place as a gang hideout. Somehow, Batman figured Chasity would show up there.

As soon as we peeled onto the parking lot, the whole place exploded, sending debris and glass in every direction. The night sky was lit up with a massive orange fireball and I felt a slight tremor through my body as I slammed on the brakes. Chunks of the building fell from the sky. Our cars shook. Flames and smoke were everywhere. The few support beams and walls left standing creaked and groaned as if they were warning us that they wouldn't be standing for long. Miho and I jumped out of the caddy while Batman got out of his ride. I was expecting him to lecture us some more but he was concerned with other matters. The flames roared into the night sky as what was left of the building was consumed, making the air even hotter than what it already was. Wanna know the worst part of all of this? There were apparently some people inside the building before it blew. I'm not even going to begin to describe what I saw there.

I would find out later that Chasity's brother had gotten involved in the gangs in this area. Some guy called Killer Croc, one of Batman's friends from Gotham, had come to town and killed the poor guy. Batman got involved along with Marv of all people. That was what she was running from. She was a nice girl. Had a sense of decency about her. She didn't deserve what happened.

Lit only by the fires raging around us, we could see her approach. She was dressed in a black dominatrix outfit. A black, leather trench coat was drapped around her arms and shoulders, cut at the bottom to look like bat wings. The mask she wore was also leather with driving goggles, a zipper across the mouth, and two small bat ears on top. Needless to say, she had been injected with Joker's drug. She was enacting her revenge against the gang members of the Projects and was doing a helluva job of it. One of the sorry bastards was on the ground, crawling out of the wreckage. He was on fire; his legs crushed to jelly. He only had a few moments to live. Chasity calmly walked over the chunks of concrete and dead bodies, opened her coat, and pulled a bloodied machete. Batman didn't stop her. The guy was practically dead already and in a lot of pain, so if anything, Chasity was showing him mercy by slicing his head off.

"Lovely girl, isn't she?," I heard a snakelike voice coming out of the shadows. I had a good idea who it was and my heart started pumping harder. Then Batman confirmed it for me, "Joker." He came from behind, wearing a long black coat. From the firelight, I could make out a pale, white face. His lips were dark red; stretched out ina chesire grin. His hair was green and unkempt.

"I spent most of my time watching this city," he said, seemingly ignoring me and Miho as he paced around Bats, "It's a perfect place for a guy like me. I mean, I thought Gotham was great, but wow! This town is the proverbial barrel of monkeys! It's a city where every citizen seems to get the joke. I really didn't need to do much here because it was already a laugh riot before I showed up!"

"What've you done to her, Joker?," Batman stormed forward but Chasity jumped across the lot, brandishing her machete menacingly in front of `im.

"Take five, sweetheart," Joker said as he moved behind her, "Well, you already saw the police officer so I'm sure you're aware of what I'm doing here. Y'see, despite the entertainment I received watching Sin City, I became bored by the fact that it needed something," Joker spun around, shoving a finger at Batman, "And of course, that something was you! There was no Batman to right the wrongs so I decided to give it to them. I spied around, finding the perfect specimens for my little experiment. They would be created in your image, of course. Flattering, hm? The cop was first but Sin City's finest turned him into Swiss cheese, unfortunately. My next stop was in prison where I tried to enlist someone who would really make things fun but he wouldn't play along. Then I went to Old Town since those girls are just absolutely adorable. What with their own brand of justice and all."

"But none of this makes any sense," I chimed in, "I mean, what the Hell could you accomplish with all of this?" Normally, I would've just capped the bastard but I seriously wanted some answers before that happened.

"Well, Bats may seem to be a bit boring... and he really is,... but he still makes things interesting. As fun as your city was, having its own version of the Caped Crusader would just make things all the more exciting. You're welcome, by the way," Joker scratched his chin, "And y'know, I made my Batman already and now I have a Batwoman to be the Mommy. It's a nice little family to play house with. It's just too bad we don't have any bat-eared rugrats running around."

I realized what he was really saying. It wasn't just a joke. He was blatantly telling us his next move. "There's an orphanage a few blocks from here," I told Batman. "Go," he said but I was already in my caddy. He had stopped caring about us hanging around. For that one moment, we were on the same wavelength. I left Miho with Bats to handle Chasity and Joker. Whatever that sick bastard was planning needed to be dealt with immediately. I put all my weight on the accelerator and prayed I wouldn't be too late.