Full of Laughter

"Are you sure this is safe?"

"We'd be dead if it wasn't. So far it's been holding together. This latest batch is the most impressive yet."

There was some admiration here. To be able to create some abominations out of thin air, from the mind alone…it really brought the academic out.

The girl had been exposed once more and the effects were obvious. Thanks to one essential component, she was contained within the capsule. The most she could do was curling in on her body, her hood shielding her face.

But he had a sharp eye. Needed to. The opened mouth, how the eyes were rolled back into the head, and how pallid the skin had become revealed that her mind was captured and firmly entrapped. An odd energy would flare from the eyes, engulfing them in a hue of black so dark it nearly stole away the light itself.

Whatever was it made of? Could it truly be harnessed? What was its full potential?

So many questions, his curiosity demanded to be sated!

"Are you sure about this? We can try a different route, you know. Mayhap my own travails color my perceptions, but are you sure that you want to go through with this?

Was he sure? Of course he was sure. Mysteries of an as of yet unknown metahuman ability would not dissuade him. This was ascendance. This would be an end to ignominy. Batman would no longer torment. No one would ever do so again.

However, rushing could present too many problems. The unknown element of this girl's powers needed more explanation. Time was of the essence. Another test was needed, to truly push the girl to her limits, see what she could do.

See what she could create. Could it be more than a handful? Perhaps…an army?

He had been thinking about this for some time. Considered how to go about this while risking the least. This trial he was considering could undermine and ruin everything, but there was so much to gain! The knowledge would be priceless! With that in mind, he had formulated a plan, and then had shopped it around.

There was one more colleague that he was consulting with. That one had offered a scheme that was too much to resist. It was perfect and could provide the perfect smokescreen. The set up would be time sensitive, but most if not all the items needed to put it together could be collected in a short amount of time.

In fact, it could be done tonight.

Not answering the query posed to him, he replied, "I need to contact our little friend in the field. The distraction has been effective, but it won't last long. There is only so much you can do with a bunch of miscreants and lost souls, and those will not be enough to keep Batman busy. They're on borrowed time, even if that was the intention in the first place. Despite that, we'll just have to use all the time we do have to make the most of it."

"Oh, it wouldn't happen to involve…?"

"The same, my friend. Batman will not be able to resist the bait. First, we need to get it. Where is that phone…ah, there we are. Merrymaker better pick up."

Cyborg was scowling, and yeah, a lot of it was out of frustration. It wasn't because Batgirl was possessive about her computer; after that alert, her tune had changed quickly. She more likely wanted them out of her Batlair and the data that Spoiler was able to produce was now in his system.

But that wasn't why he was frustrated. He was picking up a lot of chatter on the police frequency. Something big was going down tonight. He had even mentioned as much to Red Robin and that was even after Batgirl's change of heart.

You know what that guy said? They weren't getting involved. At all.

There were people being hurt, you know. Idiots in clown makeup were going off the rails, shooting up the city, and they who had a lot of different ways to put the hurt on them were staying out of it. There was something so wrong about that.

Distantly, the cybernetic teen could hear the sounds of gunfire and there were police sirens all about. Once, there had even been screams that mixed it up.

Why weren't they helping? Why were they ignoring it and continuing the search for Raven? Don't get him wrong, finding Raven was extremely important. This clown business, though, was happening now and were they possible suspects who might be the ones holding their friend? It needed to be checked out, and if it amounted to nothing, then that was one less thing to look into.

Weren't they supposed to be on a clock? One ticking down until they were ejected courtesy of Batman? That was his understanding, at least.

Leave it to Beast Boy to be the one to bring it up, not that Cyborg was going to disagree. His green buddy tended to be very blunt whenever he spoke up and right now some bluntness was what they needed. "Dude, are we not going to do anything? I—those were like a block away!" More gunshots, in case you were wondering. The shapeshifter had some keen hearing. "Let's go beat some bad guys up!"

"We need to keep focused on finding Raven. This has nothing to do with us." Damn, that was cold. Never would have expected such an answer from Red. Wasn't this his hometown? Why wasn't he trying to help out?

"Chill, Red, I can handle it in like two seconds. Five if you want me to be careful," Kid Flash offered.

"We're not getting involved." Whoa, that was a bit snappish. "Focus, people. Cyborg, what's the first place we can check out right now?"

Cyborg narrowed his one remaining human eye. Crossing his arms, he decided he was going to play hardball here. "Can we get a straight answer from you first?"

"I think he's been plenty straight," Wonder Girl said, standing up for the team leader. Hmm, normally you would expect her to be a bit more abrasive and that abrasiveness would be directed at Red. Now that he was thinking about it, she had been a lot more quiet since they got here.

"We can help," Cyborg retorted. "We're together because we have the abilities and the power to fight shit like this. Like Kid Flash said, it'll only take five seconds."

The sirens were getting louder. Someone was already responding to the nearby gunfire. That didn't mean things wouldn't go very wrong.

Red Robin slowly turned to face him, and while he wouldn't show it, Cyborg was surprised to see how hard the native Gothamite's face looked. Practically granite there. "We're on strict instructions not to get involved. End of story. Cyborg, where are we going?"

The words were so clipped, and there was no friendliness in the masked teen's voice. It was a bit jarring to say the least and even Beast Boy and Kid Flash looked taken aback. Cyborg felt he needed to argue his point further…but then he noticed Red's fists, that they were clenched, and they were trembling from the pressure exerted on them.

It made him pause and really look over the team leader. Red wasn't relaxed in the slightest. He was tense, really tense. The hard as granite expression was him trying to keep it hidden, but there was something under the surface that was roiling.

More gunfire rang out, more rapid this time. It must have been a gunfight now. Cops and most likely clowns shooting at one another. The chatter he was picking up told him that there was a request for backup, shots fired. This was something that wouldn't have been ignored in Jump.

"Give me one good reason why—"

"Orders from Batman himself," Red Robin interrupted harshly. "We're on thin ice just being here. He wants us out as soon as possible and he isn't playing."

"It's just a few seconds! He won't know!" Kid Flash protested.

"My friends, we must remain calm," Starfire interjected, physically moving herself between those who wanted to help and those who insisted they didn't. Her hands were held up as if to ward them all from going at each other's throats. "We mustn't begin fighting amongst ourselves. It will not accomplish anything, and may even lead to our expulsion from this settlement. Red Robin, perhaps if you fully explain your position? It may allow understanding with our friends and teammates."

Nice diffusion there, Starfire. To continue to be mad would mean to get mad at her and who could stay mad with the Tamaranean? When she wanted to, Starfire could have presence and this was one of those times.

While he himself was pulling back, Red didn't for a second lose his tension. His head lowered a bit, but that was all hinted at any standing down. The masked teen didn't speak, not for a bit, and for a while it didn't seem like he would. Wonder Girl moved closer to Red's side, offering silent support it seemed.

When Red finally did speak, "Do you have any idea of who is suspected to be behind…all of this? Even that gunfight over there?"

"Yeah, you mentioned the Joker before we got here," Cyborg confirmed.

"I know it seemed like I was hyping him up. But this is a man that we aren't ready for. May never be ready for, and the last thing we want to do is draw his attention. That will make things worse. It's bad enough Batman is tolerating us being here, but we don't want to ever be in the crossfire between those two. Ever. Unfortunately, the Joker is one of our suspects and I'm praying that he has nothing to do with buying Raven. If that's the case, Batman would be taking over and there would be nothing we could do.

"So much of this hinges on us not drawing the wrong attention. Joker might be obsessed with Batman but who knows what it would take to draw his attention away? One of us could seriously die and there would be nothing any of us could do about it. Think about all we've faced, who we have faced, and how close each of us has come to biting it. The only thing protecting us is that we had no idea who we were going up against because they didn't have a track record anyone knew about. It's different here. I've already seen what happens when you aren't careful, when you go alone, and when you think there's no way it could possibly go wrong.

"I have one friend paralyzed from the waist down. There's one who is dead. I nearly got myself killed because I wasn't thinking, and worse, I put the people closest to me in danger. I was recognized. I had to leave Gotham because staying meant getting them killed. Right now, nothing scares me more than having it happen again, happen to any of you. Remember the last time we were here? How we were lured into a deathtrap and how we nearly died then too? There's something about this city, something that's lying in wait and waiting to catch the first person not paying attention.

"I'm not even exempting myself from this. I already know I'm on Batman's long list of people he doesn't want here, and that's bad enough as it is. We can't…we can't be like we are in Jump. We know Jump better than any other place, know how to navigate it, how to work with it, and it's our turf. Not Gotham. Never Gotham. Not because I don't think we can't handle it, but because thinking you can handle it never turns out well. I've been away long enough that I can see the differences and right now I want nothing more than to get away from it. Going to Jump, meeting you guys, it's been one of the best things to happen to me.

"And I will be damned if Gotham takes anything more."

Cyborg found himself blinking, but remaining silent. For as much time as he had spent with the younger teen, when it came down to it he knew very little. That didn't mean that Red wasn't an okay guy, but it also meant there was a perpetual wall of mystery about him. Now the wall was down, and the voice of someone who had seen too much had come out.

It was easy to forget that when it came to this, fighting crime and saving the world, Red had the most experience out of all of them. Who knows what kind of monsters he had come across even before they had all come together. There was a reason that Kid Flash had been able to call Red by name upon the first time meeting.

Right now, between the three of them, himself, BB, and Kid Flash, they were now quiet. The word vomit had been very spellbinding. That it kept the two blabbermouths beside him quiet was a feat in and of itself.

The cybernetic teen did understand, to a certain extent. He understood what losing someone important to you was like. He understood the helplessness and wanting to be able to do something about it but not being able to. It was so freaking frustrating.

Wonder Girl was putting her hand on Red's shoulder, siding up next to him. You could visibly see the tension leaving his body. Starfire was regarding him…well, it was sometimes hard to read Starfire. It was as if she had found some new understanding about their leader and was not holding it against him either.

"I get it," Red said softly. The gunfight had not stopped, not for a second. "I want to go too. With every fiber of my being. The risk, for us, is too great. I…we need to know, first, that the Joker isn't involved. Then Batman be damned, we can lay the hurt on those assholes. Until then, Raven has to take precedence if only because…if only because we know better than most what will happen if these constructs she can make keep showing up. She's a time bomb that when she goes off, then even all this," a hand swung out to gesture at the city around them, "won't matter. We help more people by finding Raven. We need to find her."

And he was right. Damn it, he was right. This sucked. It sucked so much and even still, he wanted to go and help.

Kid Flash gave a sigh. "Hey Cy, what's the first place we can check on that list?"

It was going to be the only admission that Kid Flash was willing to drop the matter. Cyborg went along with it, feeling the somber mood settling over them as—

An alert popped up, cutting him off from answering Kid Flash. It was his Raven radar, it was going off again. Damn it, there were more of those constructs. This would have to wait.

"We got to get moving. I just picked up on several of those constructs and they are weaving about the city," Cyborg reported and now the mood was getting serious.

The vulnerability that Red Robin was expressing was gone and in its place was the leader they had come to know. "Where is the nearest one?"

No one may have called them, but trouble was heading their way. This time, they were going to meet it first before it found them.

Before he could say where they needed to go, there was one last question that came from Red. "Cyborg, where you're detecting the constructs, they wouldn't happen to be the same direction as the…" An arm gestured in the direction of the gunfight they had been overhearing.

Cyborg paused, and then figured out the implication. "Why yeah. It just so happens to be that way. If we're just passing by, well…"

It may have been a tough position, told not to get involved but wanting to help. But not even Batman could have too many objections if they happened to stumble upon a situation and helped resolve it along the way.

That was what loopholes were for after all.

The cloth rubbed against the knife's blade, the metal gleamed under the light as it was inspected carefully. The pair of eyes behind the red lens inspected it critically, then the gloved hand continued to polish the weapon.

From the window that he stood next to, the Merrymaker had a clear view of the city outside. More specifically, he had seen his League of Smiles enter into the Thompkins Free Clinic some time ago and he had remained keen to stay and wait.

They were all eager to please, but unpredictable nonetheless. They needed careful guidance and to be watched for any signs of growing pains. Everything tended to start optimally, but as time progressed you would find those who squirmed against their constraints and sought to eventually assert their own views.

Pliability had always been a key element with recruitment. Followers, not leaders. There could only be one leader for the League of Smiles.

Thus he waited, either for his League to emerge or for the police to arrive, whichever came first. Then he would take his leave, and not before.

At least, that had been the plan when he felt a vibration against his leg. Putting aside both knife and cloth into one hand, Merrymaker reached into a pocket with his free hand and removed a phone. There was only one number programmed into it, a deliberate action, so he knew that this was an intentional call.

He answered.

His colleague was quick to speak, explaining a…

"A change in plans?" Merrymaker asked aloud. Then testily, "Things are going quite adequately. Why make a change now?"

He received a response. From behind red lens, eyes narrowed and a brow furrowed. A hand tightened its grip on the phone but not enough to cause any damage.

"You want an escalation? What kind of escalation?" A pause. "Enough to draw the attention of Batman? Deliberately? Is this necessary?"

Absolutely, he was told. Something was coming down the pipeline, but it could be undermined by the infamous vigilante's interference. Thus he needed to provide the necessary diversion that would prevent this. And how fortunate, his colleague had a "suggestion."

Merrymaker listened to the plan, and naturally expressed his skepticism. "This seems to be too elaborate. Too many moving parts. The League of Smiles is already up to the task. No, I have been indisposed, but I am more than willing to believe that the vast majority will return…" He was interrupted. "Those children? Underaged minors professing to be working with Batman are hardly a threat. Yes, they captured one. It made no difference. There is nothing to be… Others?"

Other allies? Batman had his own followers? Since when? Those children from the previous night couldn't be…

The first signs that perhaps he had too much confidence in his League came running out of the free clinic. Even from here, he could make out the garish fashion choice of the individual. There were only two reasons he could think of for that kind of action. The first was that the depravity occurring within the clinic was too great for this pawn. The other…someone was interfering and putting up enough of a fight to scare him off.

If indeed the Batman had allies, ones who were of a similar skill level…then maybe the League of Smiles was outclassed. Yes, there were those who wouldn't be intimidated, but that bravado would only last until the first and last encounter with the vigilante and apparently his allies. The overwhelming force would undoubtedly break resolves and then it would all fall apart.

If he was to achieve his own aims, then continuing with his present course of action would be folly. No, perhaps his colleague was correct and there needed to be a change in tactics.

"Very well, what is your plan?" he asked.

Huntress hated clowns, just like any self-respecting Gothamite would. Everyone knew the reason why, so there was little point in elaborating. Still, knowing this completely explained the satisfaction she felt as she slammed a fist into a painted face, cartilage snapping in the nose as blood shot through nostrils.

The clown cried out as they stumbled backwards, their hands clutching at their face. Huntress didn't let them get too far as she shot a hand out, grabbing onto their garish shirt and pulled them back towards her. She swung a leg up, ramming her knee into their gut, causing them to bend over. Letting go of the shirt, she raised her arm up and then swung it back down, her elbow striking the back of their head. The clown slumped to the ground the moment she drew her leg back.

That was another one down, joining a whole hallway full of beaten clowns. The purple-clad vigilante, as much as she wanted to go hunt down more clowns, held her ground. Leslie Thompkins was in a closet at the end of the hallway, barricaded in hopefully. There was no telling with that doc since she had a tendency to show very little concern for her being. These clowns, these League of Smiles guys, wanted to hurt her and no way in hell was Huntress going to let that happen.

A new challenger emerged then. Her eyes focused on the clown, this one bare-chested, swinging a chain over their head as they screamed and shouted. They were making what they must have thought was scary kung-fu shouts, you know, the ones from those cheesy kung fu movies? Yeah, that. It wasn't intimidating at all.

"How do you like that, bitch?!" the clown shouted at her, still swinging their chain. "I'm gonna–"

He never got the chance to finish what he was going to say. Pulling out her crossbow, Huntress fired a bolt, one that pierced right through the man's thigh. The clown's taunt turned into a scream as he let go of his chain, sending it flying straight into a wall. Both of his hands grabbed onto his leg before he tilted backwards, falling onto the floor as he held his injured leg up into the air.

Huntress sauntered up to the clown, who was screaming over and over. "Ahhhhh! Ahhhhh! Ahhhhh!" He then took notice of her. "You shot me! I can't believe you—"

Casually, Huntress planted a foot next to him and then swung her other, delivering a kick straight to his face, one that snapped his head to a side, and then he went limp.

Yeah, this was almost too easy. It was a great stress reliever though. Faintly, she wondered how the other Birds were doing.

"Slash! Slash! Slash!" the large, woman clown chanted, stabbing her knives back and forth. Black Canary just continued to backpedal, not looking forward to getting cut, thank you very much.

This was Annie. Annie the Butcher according to said clown and the one that was dressed like a doctor about to do surgery. Annie was in the process of trying to live up to her name and butcher a canary.

It was quickly apparent that Annie had no real training with knives and was going with the old-fashioned tactic of "pointed end goes into the other guy."

So Canary was waiting for the right moment to counter, which was coming up soon. The further away she pulled away, the more Annie here was going to reach further out, right until she overreached.

And that time was now.

As Annie stretched out as far as she could, the blonde vigilante went to work. She darted to one side, avoiding the stabbing knife, then quickly wrapped an arm around the large clown's forearm. Her other hand shot up into Annie's armpit, pushing upward as she pulled down on the extended arm. This allowed her to leverage her opponent off of the floor, flipping her, and sending her tumbling to the ground, where she landed hard on her back.

Keeping her arms up defensively, Canary stared at her foe, who seemed to lay there for a moment before groaning, rolling to one side so that she could push herself up. She was slow, sore, which meant she would be completely vulnerable.

Taking a step forward, the vigilante put her whole weight on that leg as she drew her other leg up. She then sent out a side kick, one that landed right against Annie's chest.

Such a kick normally would knock its target over, but surprisingly not Annie. Oh, she grunted, even flinched backwards, but she didn't collapse. She did let out a malicious smile, one that was not all that pretty to see. "Please, Sir, may I have another?"

As Canary drew her leg back, she couldn't help but narrow her eyes. It was pretty apparent that Annie here didn't have much in the way of fighting training. She didn't really have the body type for it, and she certainly didn't have the muscle mass from what she had seen. Yet, her foot had struck something quite solid when it landed the kick. Unless Annie's clothes were hiding something—which was entirely possible—then something else was afoot.

There was certainly one way to find out.

Annie hauled herself up onto her feet, still clutching her knives. It was only a matter of time before she went on the offensive. So, Black Canary darted forward, rushing towards the clown. Annie took this challenge head up, stabbing once more with her knife.

In response, Canary ducked the blade and then shot towards one side of her foe. Her hand grabbed onto the gown she wore and she pulled on it even as she moved around the clown woman.

There was a ripping sound and soon Canary was on the other side of Annie, holding a fistful of cloth in hand. Turning her head to look, she saw Annie staring down at her chest before she turned around, fury on her face. As for her chest, the place where the gown had torn revealed a black kevlar vest.

Well, that made some sense. Annie here was protecting herself with that vest, probably more for bullets if she had to deal with the cops. Incidentally, that vest had helped diffuse the force of her kick since it was specifically designed to diffuse the force of bullets. No matter how hard she could hit, she didn't stand a chance at delivering the same sort of damage as a bullet.

"This was my favorite gown," Annie intoned lowly. "I'll kill you for this."

How about no? "Lady, if I told you about the number of fishnets I've ruined while fighting, then you'd have a conniption."

"I'll show you a—"

Canary was done though. Breathing in, she then opened her mouth and let out a Canary Cry, a short one, but even those felt too long to the people hearing it. The shrill cry cut Annie off, the large woman freezing in place for a moment before she dropped her knives, her hands shooting up to clutch at her ears.

Abruptly, Canary stopped her scream, taking off running towards her foe. She angled herself towards the wall next to her, which she leapt towards at the last moment. One foot pressing down against the wall, the blonde woman angled her body towards Annie just before she sprung towards her. One hand shot out, grabbing onto the side of the clown's face. Her momentum allowed her to force Annie to one side, tilting her off-balance.

And subsequently ramming the other side of her head into the wall next to them.

There was a loud BANG! from the collision, and it ended the way Canary had hoped. As she landed back on the floor on her feet, Annie slumped down to the ground, her upper body propped up against the wall. Her cheek that was against the wall was pulled upwards, opening her mouth partially.

And that was Black Canary's answer to fighting people wearing Kevlar armor.

The bat had been something out of the Walking Dead. You know the one, with the barbed wire wrapped around it? Yeah, what remained of that that was trying to become acquainted with Manhunter's head.

Fortunately, she had a staff that blocked each swing of the once crudely-modified weapon, its end a bouquet of splinters after her earlier shot had done a number on it.

As much as she didn't want to admit it, the brunette vigilante was bored. This Happy guy, despite wearing the sad clown makeup, was entirely predictable. He just kept swinging his bat at her over and over, and didn't look like he'd be giving it up any time soon.

Blocking yet another swing, she faintly wondered if she should try giving this guy some tips to make this more interesting.

Happy drew his bat back, promptly holding it over his head. Oh, she knew what was coming. Happy swung the bat over head, aiming to hit her on top of her head with it. Easily, Manhunter held her staff up, intercepting the bat as the two weapons cracked against each other.

Suddenly, the sad clown picked a leg up and kicked at her. If he actually knew how to fight, that would have actually hurt her. Without the training, instead of solidly landing the kick to her midsection, he instead clipped her flank. Don't get her wrong, it hurt a little and certainly got her attention. In fact, Manhunter flinched back from the clipped blow.

She then found herself twisting herself to one side, leaning as far as she could as Happy then thrust the head of his bat at her face, the jagged end a different kind of threat. It passed right in front of her nose, the bits of splintered wood nearly brushing against the tip of her nose. Well, that had certainly come close!

Now it was her turn.

As Happy drew his bat back, Manhunter held her staff in front of her, level with her waist. She then jabbed it towards her opponent, the end of it ramming right into his stomach. This caused Happy to jerk back, leaning down to wrap an arm around his belly.

Immediately, she swung her staff up, nailing the man's face with the upward swing, causing his head to snap backwards. Hopping—yes, she hopped—towards him while keeping her profile to him, Manhunter planted one foot on the floor and raised up her other, sending a side kick that nailed Happy's chest. The force of her kick sent him stumbling backwards, nearly tripping over the limbs of his fallen friends in the clown get-ups.

See, that was how you hit someone.

Now she needed to finish him off.

Springing forward, she planted one end of her staff on the floor, using it to vault herself up into the air. Happy was still trying to recover himself from her previous combo, so he was helpless as she flew towards him, her body horizontal in the air. This allowed her to swing a leg, landing a kick to the side of his head, snapping his head to one side and sending him stumbling face-first into a wall.

Letting go of her staff as she landed, the weapon falling to the floor, Manhunter clasped both hands together, holding them up by her shoulder. She then swung her jackhammer blow, one that collided with the back of Happy's skull. His head bashed up against the wall again, but this time he dropped into a heap on the floor.

Alright, time to go see who else she could beat up.

As she turned to retrieve her staff, Manhunter spotted Katana approaching her, sheathing her sword as she did so. "Hey, seen anymore clowns that rightly deserve our fists?" she called out.

The Asian woman nodded. "They are fleeing now," she informed her. "They seem to have seen enough of our fists."

"Well, that's the best decision they made all night. Do you know about the others?"

"Huntress is keeping Leslie safe. Canary is going to help. I can't seem to find their leader, however, the one in the white coat."

"Then I say we search this clinic and make certain he isn't hiding anywhere. The last thing we need is for him to do a last second jump scare on someone here."

He had managed to slip away, but Philip's successful escape was bitter on his tongue. Once more he had failed and he couldn't be more frustrated with himself. The only solace was that he wasn't the only one, at least three others tagging along though neither of them were Annie or Happy. They must still be in there…

If he were a braver man, he would have gone back in, or better yet remained inside. He hadn't. He just…hadn't. How was this supposed to prove anything? How was this supposed to prove that he was worthy of the Joker, to follow in his footsteps and unleash his inner demons on the world and prove that it was all just one big stupid joke?

It was as if the middle-aged man had learned nothing. Nothing at all. He couldn't go back to the Merrymaker empty handed like this! What would he think? That man had entrusted him with improving this pathetic excuse of a clinic, and somehow he had messed it up.

Nevertheless, he led the flight away, ducking into an alley to get out of sight in case any of those women decided to chase after him. Them. Chase after…them. Just two punks in leather jackets and one trying out the jester look complete with a ruffled collar. So generic, they didn't stand out. Where was the flair? The individuality? Sticking out like a sore thumb!

One of the punks panted out, "I think we lost them."

Philip was tempted to punch him. Deck him. Bash his skull open. He didn't. What would be the point? It would be best to lay low, get back to base, and then knock the punk's teeth out. Repress the urge, just for a little while, like how Dr. Merideth had taught him. Now was not the time. Not the time.

The dentist peeked around the corner, looking for any sign of pursuit. Nothing. Nothing at all. Pausing, he carefully looked up. And…nothing. Alright. Alright, they were safe for now.

As much as he would like to issue out orders, he wasn't in the mood. They could either follow him, or—

Just as Philip had been turning his back to the alley exit, he found that they weren't alone. Further down in, he stood as if he had been waiting for them.

The Merrymaker.

It seemed his moment of shame would not wait any longer.

"You seem to be having a bad night," Merrymaker remarked, not moving from where he stood.

With trembling shoulders, Philip looked down. "They…they ruined everything. We were just livening everything up, making the saps inside smile, and then these women showed up—"

"I know," Merrymaker interrupted, and the trembling man flinched. Would he hold this second failure against him? "It should have been expected that the Batman's acolytes would interfere. As do we follow the Joker, others follow his nemesis. They are better at keeping to the shadows than we are."

"Did you know?" the other jacket wearing punk demanded.

"I did not know they would show up here. The League is spread out tonight; they were bound to find some of us and interfere," Merrymaker admitted. "However, there is still a chance to redeem ourselves this night."

Philip blinked, hardly believing his ears. Was…was he being offered a second chance? No, a third chance? He almost felt like laughing at that, and a short giggle did escape him.

"It has come to my attention that there is one soul in this city who has no reason to smile," Merrymaker continued. Lifting a hand up, he curled his fingers in, gesturing for them to follow after him. "I would like to brighten up his life, that is, if you will join me. The night is not yet over, and while the clinic is a lost cause, this poor soul isn't. Will you join me?"

Philip lifted his head up, gazed into the dark red mask, and smiled.

The sounds of the riot were becoming noticeably less and less. Much of that had to do with many of the clowns that caused it lying on the ground in various states of unconsciousness. Now, there were some that were still awake, writhing around in pain from injured limbs, primarily broken bones.

There was property damage present, but all-in-all the riot was being subdued. As a clown dropped to her feet, Batgirl only gazed at them long enough to ensure they wouldn't be getting back up before looking for the next threat.

The closest one was currently taking a batarang to the face, dropping them to the ground like a sack of potatoes, courtesy of Spoiler. So, scratch that one off. Batgirl then turned her attention further down the street, where she noticed a few more clowns, but they were clearly fleeing the area. While it wasn't right that these people were escaping justice for the crimes they committed, considering it helped dwindle their numbers, it could be overlooked. Hunting them down would be next.

"You know, I think we just about wrapped this up," Bluebird declared as she approached the dark-clad girl. "These guys definitely didn't expect to get punched in the face when they got here, and we certainly proved them wrong."

That was quite accurate. "We should start restraining them," Batgirl said. "The police should be here soon if any of these homeowners have called them."

"An anonymous tip to the cops will fix that," the blue-haired girl pointed out. "Though we should drag our feet on that since we got a lot of people to tie up. We don't want to be here in mid-knot when they show up."

"Uhhh, guys?" Spoiler called out.

The two turned their attention to the third member of their team. The lavender-clad vigilante was facing away from them, focused on something. As Batgirl tried to figure out what it was, she suddenly noticed something, well, weird.

There appeared to be this swirling of darkness. Shadows from the nearby houses were stretching out before they met at some pre-ordained center. It was here they began to circle in on one another, joining each other. The darkness was growing as well, rising into the air.

"Okay, what's this fresh hell?" Bluebird asked as she watched the sight of whatever this was.

A body began to take form then. Thick legs that stood on hooves formed, a bulky, muscular torso extending upward from them. Similar, muscular arms grew out, sharp claws eventually curling out from the extremities. Then came the head, something resembling a wolf appeared, only with small spikes jutting up its face. Red eyes glowed, seemingly staring right at the three girls, its sharp fangs snarling at them as its mouth snapped.

"So, any idea what that is?" Bluebird questioned after awhile.

As if in response, the creature roared and attacked.