I have to say that writing Batman in this way has been interesting, not that how I'm writing him is close to how he is in the various media. We've seen the best and worst that Batman could be in the actual comics and when it comes to Fanfiction, its really hard to nail what needs to be definitive Batman. The way I approach Batman is by his voice:

When he's serious, focused, the mission Batman, I hear the late great Kevin Conroy;

When he's playful, talkative, generally playboy billionaire, I hear George Clooney;

When I need him to be droll, sarcastic, verbally antagonistic, I hear Jensen Ackles.

All three of these amazing people have played Batman, but each of them have a different energy. Although Ackles did play a serious Batman in "The Long Halloween", still can't help but to also Channel a little Dean Winchester in there.

I'm a mess lol

Chapter 2

If one were to visit the House of Bael, one would hear the angry roar of a man throwing a vase into a wall, breaking it. Alaric Bael, currently seated Lord of The House of Bael, was infuriated. It had been five years since that meeting and that blasted Myskia Cimeris was a thorn he couldn't remove at all. Time and time again, the man had not only stopped any attempts at furthering his own power but also started to sway others to his way of thinking. He remembered a time where devils could just take whatever they wanted.

Now? They were weak, and it showed when even the most traditionalist members were agreeing with him.

"Is it weakness, boy, or is your own greed blinding you? Your spirit has been burning orange over these years." Alaric straightened out in fear as his father and the Patriarch of the House of Bael, Zekram Bael, came into the room. "I would hope that ally lessons weren't wasted on you."

"Not at all father. Your wisdom granted me far more than I deserved."

"Save your platitudes for someone who didn't raise you." Zekram grunted annoyed. "I've been sitting in those meetings and I honestly cannot believe my own blood losing to anyone. But there you were, being lectured by a whelp younger than you, in front of your own nephew no less." Alaric gritted his teeth in anger. Being embarrassed and shamed in front of his own kin? His nephew, Sirzechs, was one thing, but in front of his father? There shall be blood.

"I'm going to kill him-" "You will do no such thing." The weight of the power that flooded from Zekram was immeasurable as it slammed Alaric against the wall.

"Our kind is few already and we don't need petulant idiots making things worse!" Zekram snarled. Only when it seemed like his foolish son was chastised properly is when Zekram resigned in his power. Alaric fell to the ground, vomiting blood as he did. His father's power was akin to getting hit by a train at times, just the raw strength could damage the body, not even factoring in the Power of Destruction.

Zekram didn't even bother paying attention to the pitiful apologies falling from his Son's lips. "Get yourself cleaned up, and clean your mess by yourself." The Patriarch ordered before leaving the room.

Zekram entered his own private office before sealing the door. He walked over to his chair, sitting down and swiveling to the mirror behind him. Pressing a button on his chair, the mirror glowed before a person, an elderly woman appeared.

"Zekram Bael, it's so good to see an old face again. How can I help you?"

"My idiot son is failing to procure the Nekoshou as planned so it's high time we enact plan B… Granny Goodness."

Granny Goodness let out a sadistic chuckle. "I do love the sound of Plan B…"

000 House of Cimeris 000

Myskia Cimeris let out an annoyed tsk as he read the latest reports that went across his desk. The lock down from the human world has been partially lifted, however the news from the outside wasn't good.

First and foremost, it would seem that the Fallen Angels had been active, trying to make deals and working with Stray Exorcists to collect Sacred Gears. Everyone knew that Azazel, leader of the Grigori, was a Sacred Gear nut but nobody trusted him nor his subordinates, especially not Kokabiel.

Second, Felix Faust had been seen trying to make deals with less scrupulous Devils for power, mainly strays. Memories of his encounters with Felix Faust flooded his mind. His magic was strong, just as strong as a high-level devil at best. Him running around causing trouble was something he didn't want to deal with.

Finally, Alaric and his group were seen sniffing around the Nekoshou village again. Myskia couldn't understand why he was deadset on getting a few under his corrupted wing.

'Unless it wasn't just for him..' he mused in his head as the Bruce side of him came to the forefront. 'Think, what do I know about the Nekoshou.. they're masters of Senjutsu, formidable fighters…' his thoughts kept swirling around the issue. There was something going on beyond the scope of wanting power but what?

"What are you thinking so deeply about?" Said a voice to his side. Myskia didn't bother reacting as he's long grown used to people attempting to startle him and and he's grown used to Serafall Leviathan popping up in his house. Over the last five years, she's made it a point to come over to his home to pick his brain on topics. But that soon gave way to her invading his home to dodge responsibilities. He didn't judge her though. As much as he loved the direction Wayne Tech was going, the paperwork was murder.

"Just some idle speculations. Dodging work again, Sera?"

Serafall groaned as she leaned into the taller devil. "I can't believe I let you and my father talk me into it." She whined. Both Bered and Myskia had convinced her to be the "Minister of Foreign Affairs'' for the devils.

"You know you're the best candidate considering how cute and approachable you are." He said, repeating the words in which he and Bered used to coax her into the position. He heard her huff into his shirt at the comment.

Myskia wasn't bothered by her need for physical contact. That too was something she did often. He wasn't sure why and chalked it up to being a Serafall thing. Despite him being the Lord of House Cimeris and her being the Maou Leviathan, she treated him like an equal, often jesting with him or cuddling up to him while he worked. What bothered him more was the knowing looks Bered would send him whenever Serafall was brought up. Was it something he was missing?

"Oh? So you think I'm cute and approachable?" Sera questioned pulling at his shirt buttons. Well that suddenly started to make sense. Myskia lightly blushed. It wasn't like he didn't notice how alluring Serafall could be. He knew that her "Levi-tan" act was both a front and something she enjoyed doing. This Serafall, the one that threatened to undress him in his own home, was the real one beneath the veneer and cosplay.

Myskia stopped her hand with his own. "I do think you're beautiful but do you think this is appropriate?" He questioned, his voice slightly higher than normal before clearing his own throat. He was used to women flirting and touching him as Batman but the last five years has weakened his stoicism a bit. Not that he didn't slip into it from time to time, but the "mission", his "mission", didn't feel so.. daunting anymore. The longevity of devil-kind had sunk in and the urgency to accomplish everything in one lifetime faded away.

"We're both adults, and you are someone I can see myself with Myskia. And it's not like I'm tied to the Sitri anymore." Which was true. When the four Maou became Maou, they took an oath to separate themselves from their family politically. They were given autonomy from their family but they couldn't sway their family business or dealings, having to be fair and unbiased.

"Your father still speaks of you as his baby girl. Maou or not, I'd like to stay living a bit longer." Myskia replied dryly.

"And if he approved of us?" Sera questioned. "Us" sounded so foreign to him. Still.. if there was no threat of Bered unleashing his ire at him..Still.. there was a part of him that still loved Selena. And he'd never want to give her up.

"Then I don't see a reason why not." He admitted mentally defeated. Selena wasn't even born yet and he couldn't ignore the growing affection he had towards Serafall. He'd have to talk with Kent the next time they meet up. This wasn't something he could bring up to Bered or anyone else really.

000 Ajuka's Labs 000

It was nearly another year after that conversation that Myskia found himself in the company of another Maou, this one Ajuka Beelzebub. Ajuka was the head of Research for the Devil Faction. Every major scientific discovery the Devils had come up with came from him and some considered him the de facto brains of the Four Maou considering his intelligence. Myskia could see the intelligence brimming behind those blue eyes, but he could also see the boredom the man had for his latest project.

"You had some questions about the Devil Pieces, Lord Cimeris?" Ajuka asked as that was the reason why Myskia wanted to speak with him.

"Nothing so invasive as to know how you made them, but rather a burning curiosity that I have been ruminating on." Myskia prefaced his words with honesty. "It's partially the reason why I haven't decided to fill my Peerage yet."

"I see.. And what questions would you have that is preventing you from doing so?" Ajuka asked, his eyes narrowing.

"It all comes down to Genetics. I understand that reincarnating an individual makes them a Devil under their King's rule. However, how much on a genetic level are they changed into a devil?"

Ajuka's eyes gleamed at that question. "You're the first person to really ask that question, Lord Cimeris. Everyone else just accepted that it works without looking into it."

"I've noticed that a lot of our people don't ask about things beyond "how much more power would it bring us"." Myskia deadpanned.

"And why would they? For all our intricacies, we are still simple beings. We're defined by the seven sins, some sins stronger than others in ways that make sense only to us." Ajuka replied. "Lust is the strongest sin for a reason."

Lust is such a broad sin. Most people think of Lust as a sexual thing but really Lust can be defined simply as an "strong, powerful desire". Ajuka lusted after knowledge, spending his time unraveling the threads of the universe while the average Devil lusted after power, prestige, anything that could make them better in the shortest amount of time.

"Not arguing with you there." Myskia replied. Even as Bruce, one could say he lusted over his "mission", to bring justice to Gotham by his own rules.

"But I digress, any being reincarnated as a Devil by the Evil Pieces are genetically Pure Devils." Ajuka revealed. Seeing the shocked look on Myskia's face, he continued. "Let me ask you something: what do you think is the difference between Angels, Fallen Angels, Devils and Humans visually?"

Myskia thought about it. "From a visual standpoint, nothing. Discounting our wings, all of us just look human."

"Exactly! And genetically speaking it's the same. Other than one component, we're genetically the same but that one component is the key to everything."

"How so?"

"To simplify things, imagine in our DNA there is a Negative Charge that binds our DNA together. That Negative Charge is what makes us a Devil. The same goes for Angels, they possess a Positive Charge that makes them holy."

"By that logic, a Fallen Angel is an Angel that has a Negative Charge." Myskia replied, reaching an understanding.

"Correct and Humans don't have that Charge at all. They're Neutral in every sense of the word. It's why all three sides can influence them easily."

"I see.. and I'm guessing that the Evil Pieces gives the recipient the Negative Charge to become a Devil?"

"Well yes, it binds not only to their Soul but also their genetics by taking a portion from their King." Ajuka replied. "It's enough to bind them to their King's family and turn them into Devils. But it doesn't change their Genetic compatibility with other beings."

"So.. what you're saying is that Reincarnated Devils not only bring numbers to our overall forces but also could bolster our numbers through childbirth?"

"Exactly! Any child born this way will be genetically a Pure Born Devil plus the traits of their reincarnated Parent."

Myskia looked amazed by this while internalizing this bit of information. 'This information feels like it'll come in handy for the future.' he silently mused. He and Ajuka then spoke more on scientific topics late into the evening, Ajuka even proclaiming that he now considered Myskia a good friend at the end of it all.

Myskia himself accepted the declaration of Friendship and silently wondered if people felt that way when he as Batman was kind and gentle.

000 The Present 000

Green eyes smoldered in anger at the two men across from him. Of course the owner of said eyes wasn't in the position to do anything about the situation he found himself in.

A cell, a glass cell suspended by wires, surrounded by every monitoring system known and unknown to man.

A sneer grew on his face. "Why Lexy old boy, if you wanted to Role Play, you could have asked!"

"This isn't a laughing matter, Joker." Lex Luthor said, crossing his arms. "This cell is not only for the world's protection, but yours as well."

"Aww you do care!" The Joker said, swooning. "But don't worry, Lex, Supes, you two aren't even on my list yet."

"What do you mean?" Superman questioned.

"That wretched Rock-faced wannabe killed the Bat. He killed the one thing that let crime have such a sweet punchline. And so the first one to die will be Darkseid. I'm going to kill that God and wear his face as a Holiday Mask!" The Joker then began to laugh maniacally at the prospect of killing Darkseid. But to the surprise of both men, the Joker was crying as he laughed.

"...For what it's worth Superman.. I'll miss him too." The Joker finally said quietly. "It took one bad day to make Batman.. I know it did. The Bat was as broken as I was. That's why I kept coming back, just to see which one of us would break first. But seeing him die right in front of me and I wasn't the cause.."

He turned bloodshot eyes towards both Lex and Superman, startling them both with how empty they were. "It broke me first."

Both Superman and Lex swore to each other not to admit that they were terrified at the sight of a Joker who had nothing to lose, and wanted nothing more but violence and death.

The Joker Who Stopped Laughing.

End of Chapter 2

The Joker Who Stopped Laughing or as he'll be called later "Null Joker" is the psychotic inverse of the "Batman Who Laughs", a colder, more violent Joker who no longer sees the funny side of the world and uses his intellect to silence the world.

Obviously such a dangerous variant of Joker won't get out somehow, right? right?!