Lanius POV
Location: Abandoned warehouse located somewhere in Gotham City.
'You know, I didn't expect my first target to be a clown of all people,' I deadpanned.
"Why are you complaining? It's an easy kill."
"If it's so easy, how come he ain't dead yet?" I retorted.
As a warrior, I want to be challenged.
An average human with above-average intelligence isn't exactly giving me what I crave.
"Watch the sass, boy. As for why he's not dead, there are specific laws I must follow. If I were to kill directly, my ass would be in deep shit. So, I'm limited to manipulating the probability of a person dying to a finite degree."
I frowned. 'Well, that's bullshit.'
"Yeah, it can be, especially for people like the Joker, but the rules are the rules, I'm afraid."
I sighed. 'Whatever, let's just get this over with. The sooner this fucker dies, the better the world will be.'
I still can't believe a guy like the Joker is still alive after all the death and destruction he caused. From what Death informed me, the Joker has been thrown in and broke out of Arkham over a HUNDRED times! How the absolute fuck does the justice system allow this to happen is beyond me. Well, I guess it doesn't really matter at this point because I'm here to do what they can't and put a stop to him permanently.
'You ready little dude?' Uta telepathically asked.
'Yeah, and who the fuck are you calling little, you walking candy cane? We're the same fucking height!' I exclaimed.
'Fuck you, and did you just call me a candy cane?' she asked amusedly.
'Yeah, what the fuck are you going to do about it, huh?' I taunted.
'You know you're very aggressive and sassy for a twelve-year-old.'
'Blame my sorry excuse of a family for that. Anyways, I'm heading in.'
I teleported inside the warehouse, and once I was in, I summoned a sword and began my onslaught.
Third Person POV
The Joker was currently in his office, making plans to cause more chaos in Gotham and finding ways to piss off his favorite masked vigilante. He thought about robbing a bank but decided against thinking it was unoriginal. Then he thought about blowing up a building, but again, the same thing as the first.
Perhaps...perhaps he could kidnap one of his sidekicks.
He had never attempted it before, but now that he thought about it, it sounded like a wonderful idea! And if he can't get one of the robins or bat girls, he could kidnap a few kids. It wouldn't be as satisfying as the former, but it was better than nothing, he supposed. He was brought out of his musings when he heard guns, and not a moment later, one of his men slammed the door open and had a terrified look on his features.
'Did the Batsy already find me?' he thought with amusement.
"BOSS WHERE UNDER--" Before the man could finish his sentence, his head exploded, causing blood and brain matter to splatter everywhere.
The Joker's eyes widen at the sight, and he instantly realizes that Batman isn't here. It was someone entirely...
When the body of his henchman collapsed, a boy with bi-colored hair and eyes appeared out of thin air.
A child...
A child killed his henchman...
He would've laughed at the absurdity if it weren't for the fact that this boy was making him feel something he hadn't felt in decades.
Fear...
He felt fear for the first time in a long time...
"W-Who are you?" Joker stammered.
The boy didn't answer; he instead favored slowly and menacingly approaching the Clown Prince Of Crime with an equally terrifying blade in his hand, covered in the blood of the clown's henchmen. Joker, panicking, pulled out a gun and fired at the boy, but his attempts to fight back were futile as the child deflected the bullets lazily with his blade. The clown pressed his back against the wall, and before he met his demise, the boy spoke.
"Death," he thrust his sword into the Joker's neck; he then twisted the blade and sliced downward, causing internal organs and blood to spill out.
The Joker's body dropped to the floor. Lanius looked down at the body with disgust and hate in his eyes.
'Good riddance,' he thought. 'So, who's next?' he asked Death.
"Victor Zsasz."
Third Person POV
After killing the Joker, Lanius immediately went after his next target since he wasn't all that tired, and the people Death wanted dead were easy to take care of. His next kill was currently held in the infamous Arkham Asylum. Due to the location barely receiving any funding, it had poor security and was severely understaffed. It was the reason why criminals were able to break out and escape so often.
The hybrid couldn't understand why such a place existed or at least received a renovation. Lanius also couldn't figure out how the asylum still received funding and how people could be willing to work there, knowing the possibility of getting killed by its occupants was incredibly high.
He may not know how human society works, but he was pretty sure if this were any other city, Arkham Asylum would've been shut down in favor of creating a new one. It goes to show how terrible Gotham really is.
The city was filled with parasites that continued to leech off the innocent. They grew in strength and cruelty every second they were allowed to breathe and spread their influence.
Lanius couldn't allow that. He knew he couldn't completely clean the city of its filth, but he could at least cleanse a good portion of it.
"How are you holding up?" Uta asked, looking at the boy with concern.
Lanius may be the descendant of several legendary figures, but he was still a child at the end of the day.
"I'm alright."
"You sure?"
"Yeah, why wouldn't I be?" he asked, looking at her with a raised eyebrow.
"You killed someone," she reminded him.
"And? It's not my first time killing someone," he revealed, surprising the singer.
"Seriously?"
"Yeah, Dad and Grandpa didn't want me growing soft like the children of the Four Great Satans, so they trained me to be the perfect warrior and had me kill enemies of the Old Satan faction," he revealed further, shocking Uta.
"I see...you had one hell of a childhood," Uta said, making the pre-teen snort.
"That's putting it lightly. Alright, I'm heading inside," Uta nodded.
"Alright, don't take too long, and be sure to avoid being seen by the staff."
"Got it," he then teleported into Arkham Asylum.
Once in the Asylum, he cast a spell to make him invisible and began roaming the area.
'While im in here, is there anyone else you want me to eliminate?' Lanius asked Death.
"No, but there are people I believe you should recruit."
'You want me to recruit a couple of nutcases?' Lanius quirked an eyebrow. 'Why the fuck would you want me to do that?'
"Because these individuals are known for their incredibly fierce loyalty and abilities. Why let them rot away in a place like this and not use them for your goals?"
Lanius had a feeling that Death wasn't telling him the entire truth but decided not to call her out on it yet.
'Alright, what are their names and cell numbers?'
"Harleen Frances Quinzel and Pamela Lillian Isley. Their numbers are 102 and 104."
'Victor is literally in between them. What a fucking confidence,' the boy chuckled.
After several moments of searching, he found their cells and decided to deal with Victor before talking to his potential recruits. Before he put Victor on a T-shirt, he cast a large barrier that prevented any sounds from being heard and disabled the cameras. Once that was done, he tore the door from its hinges.
"W-What the fuck?!" Victor exclaimed when he saw the door get ripped off. "W-Who the--"
Before he could finish his sentence, Lanius grabbed the serial killer by the face and smashed the back of his against the wall, causing blood to splatter everywhere.
"You sure do love making a mess," Death commented with an amused tone.
'I was never one to care about making clean kills.'
"Wow, really, I couldn't tell. So you ready to meet your recruits?"
'I guess. I don't know how I'll convince the two to join me, though.'
"Oh, don't worry about that. BIG DEATH has your back on that," she then explained everything Lanius needed to know about Harleen and Pamela and how to recruit them.
'Alright, let's start with the plant lover first, then.'
Third Person POV
"Who are you?" Poison asked Lanius cautiously with narrowed eyes.
It wasn't hard to figure out that the boy in front of her was no ordinary child, seeing that he effortlessly ripped her cell door off its hinges. It was natural to be wary of him.
"Lanius Monkey D. Lucifer, it's a pleasure to meet you, Pamela," he introduced himself with a genuine smile.
She narrowed her eyes further. "How do you know my name?"
"My employer informed me of who you are and told me to recruit you into our cause," he replied, keeping the details vague.
Poison Ivy quirked an eyebrow at that. Who would employ a boy who looked barely old enough to attend middle school?
"And what's this cause of yours?"
"In short, kill people who've evaded death for too long."
She frowned. "Why should I help you and not just kill you now and escape?"
"Because you'll just get caught again and be put back in here because of a certain little bat," he retorted, making the woman grimace. "However, if you work for us, that won't be an issue anymore, and I'll give you these and more."
Lanius shows his palm and a unique-looking flower forms in his hand. The head of the plant was red and shaped like a star, with three white marks at the ends of the petals. Its stem was white, with two red leaves.
Pamela's eyes widened in shock, and she took it from the boy's hand gently. She looked at the planet in awe, admiring its beauty and unique look and coloration.
She looked at Lanius. "Are you like me?"
"I mean sorta. I'm definitely a hybrid, just not a plant one. Let's just say creating plant life is one of my many abilities," he explained.
"I see...and you can create plants similar to this?" he nodded.
"Yeah, and more a lot. I can even give you the ability to create them...if you join me. Not only will your plants be even more beautiful and have more variety, but you and them will be stronger than ever."
Poison Ivy perked up but was still cautious and skeptical of him and his offer. "How do I know you're not lying?"
Lanius snapped his fingers. "Go ahead and try to recreate that flower."
The redhead did what she was told and created the same flower, shocking her. "Ok...so if I come with you, you'll let me keep this power?" she asked, now persuaded into joining Lanius.
"Yup, so what do you say?"
After a moment of silence, she said. "...I'll join, but only if my friend can too."
"You mean Harley?" the redhead's eyes widened at that.
"How did you--"
"Like I said, my employer informed me of you," he smirked. "But yeah, she can come with. I was going to recruit her anyways," he revealed, further surprising the plant lover.
"...Ok, I'll join you."
"Great," he summoned a strange skull-shaped object. "Press this to the center of your chest."
"What is it?" she asked, inspecting the item.
"It's a Death Piece; it'll drastically increase your capabilities and give you new abilities. It's also a tracker, so if you're ever in danger, I know where you'll be."
"I see," she pressed the Death Piece into her chest, and the object absorbed into her.
"How do you feel?"
"Amazing..." a beautiful smile formed on her lips.
He turned around. "Thats good. Now let's go get your friend."
"Wait."
"What is--" The moment he turned around, a soft pair of lips met his, and Lanius's eyes bulged out of their sockets.
Poison Ivy kissed him.
"Oh~ Well, this is quite the development. I wonder how Uta would feel about this," Deathsinisterly chuckled.
'Shut it.'
"What was that for?" Lanius quirked an eyebrow at the redhead, who looked surprised that the boy wasn't a blushing mess.
"It was just a thank you," she smiled.
"Ah, ok. Well, let's go get your friend," he ripped the door off its hinges and was greeted by an attack he saw a mile away and effortlessly blocked. "You know it quite rude to attack someone breaking you out of Arkham," he said, looking at the blonde in amusement.
Harley's eyes went wide, and she saw that Poison Ivy was behind him. "Hehe, sorry about that little man," she rubbed the back of her head sheepishly. "Hey, Red, how you doin'?"
Poison Ivy chuckled. "Pretty well, I suppose, thanks to our little savior."
Harley looked at the boy, and her eyes shined. "You know, now that I got a better look at ya, you're really adorable, and I love how your hair and eyes are different colors!" she squealed in delight.
The boy chuckled. "Thanks. Anyways, I have an offer for you that you might like."
Harley grinned. "Alright, let's hear it."
Lanes explained everything to the blonde beauty and asked. "So what do you say?"
She grinned. "Hell yeah, I'll join ya, but I have a demand."
"Of course," he grinned as he knew what she was going to ask.
"Ever heard of a scumbag named the Joker?" she asked with a bitter tone.
"Yeah, I killed him not too long ago," he revealed, shocking both the beauties.
Before he could react, he was bombarded with kisses all across his face by both older women.
"Thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you!" Harley said, hugging the boy with enough strength to snap an ordinary human's spine.
"I can't wait until you're older to show how thankful I really am~" Ivy purred into his ear and squished her face against his.
'Why do I feel like I'm in danger?' Lanius asked Death.
"Who knows~"
The boy internally sighed and didn't bother asking any more questions. 'Oh well, I'll find out soon enough.'
End.