When it came to fighting the Joker, Batman always found it shockingly difficult. Now this wasn't due to the clown's unpredictability, that could be dealt with. It wasn't due to the clown's strength or skill, both were incomparable to Batman's. It wasn't his ludicrously high pain tolerance. And though the Joker was shockingly fast with his lean frame, it wasn't the issue Batman had. In the simplest terms, one could have, fighting the Joker was like fighting a coked-up monkey.
He constantly jumped, flipped, or bounced around the room like a rabid animal. The clown never stopped moving, and with his surprising speed, there were moments Batman would blink and suddenly find a knife mere inches from his eye. And like a coked-up monkey, the Joker threw whatever shit he could at Batman—most of it being odd gadgets that paralleled Batman's. Batarangs met razor-sharp playing cards, knockout gas met acid-spewing flowers, shock gloves met joy buzzers, and gauntlet blades met chattering teeth bombs.
This is where Batman found himself diving to the ground, as the Joker chucked one such bomb at him. The wind-up-toy's teeth chattering, before it smashed into the wall and blew up like a grenade. Shrapnel flew in the area, cutting up parts of Batman's cape, while Joker loudly cackled. Before the clown could utter another joke, Batman drew and fired his grappling hook at his chest.
Snagging the clown, he quickly yanked him forward, tripping Joker. Still pulling the clown, Batman leaped to his feet, stuck out his arm, and clotheslined Joker. As the Joker fell back, Batman then slammed him into the ground. The sudden force caused Joker to gasp for air, as the wind was knocked out of him. While he was still down, Batman quickly rushed to punch him in the jaw.
Seeing this, Joker flipped back into the air. Twisting his body around in the air, he soon kicked Batman in the face. Or rather, jumped off his face, as Joker sprung away cackling mad.
"Whoo! Got me all tuckered out here Bats," Joker stated, laughing as Batman recovered and charged him, "Mind if we take a break? You know, to stop and smell the roses!"
Batman jumped to the side, as Joker grabbed the flower on his chest and sprayed acid at him. Swiftly Batman weaved to the side, narrowly dodging the acid. Hearing a loud bubbling hiss, as the acid burned through the floor, Batman ran and threw a punch at Joker. Like a snake the clown ducked under Batman's wist, then his second swing. In response Batman threw a faint punch, tricking the clown to dodge again. Only this time the clown's chest met Batman's boot.
Ribs cracked as Joker was kicked, the clown skidding back slightly. He didn't have time to react before Batman uppercutted him. He had even less time when Batman's right hook struck his jaw. Batman readied himself to strike again, only to duck as Joker flipped over him. The clown landing behind Batman, Joker quickly clicked his shoes together. A small knife popped out of the toe, and swiftly Joker threw a roundhouse kick at Batman. Reacting quickly, Batman held up his arm and blocked the kick.
Joker's shin met Batman's arm, scraping against his gauntlet blades and cutting up his purple pant leg. Moving fast Batman snapped the blade off Joker's shoe with his left hand, while his right arm quickly elbowed Joker's face. The clown again stumbled back. Not letting up, Batman whipped his cape forward, blinding Joker. Disoriented, the clown could do nothing as Batman punched him in the chest. Yet Batman wasn't done. He threw a right hook to Joker's chest, a left hook to his head, a right jab to his stomach, and a left jab at his nose. Batman didn't stop.
With a cruel calm efficiency, his mind ordered, right, left, right, left, right, left, chest, face, stomach. Bones cracked loudly as each hit struck, yet Joker still stood. So Batman didn't stop, the speed of his strike's quickening. Finally, a speck of blood flew from Joker's mouth, as Batman stopped, and side-kicked his jaw. The hit knocked Joker off his feet, the clown flying back before he landed on the ground.
Batman breathed deeply, and so did the clown. Slowly Joker began to laugh, as he tried to force himself back up.
"Ha… ha…" Joker tiredly muttered, his chuckle slowly coming back to him.
"What a night!" Joker exclaimed, clutching his sides "C-couldn't have asked for a better anniversary!"
Slowly the clown stood back up, and Batman mentally grumbled.
"Bit disappointed you didn't bring a gift though," Joker soon muttered, before quickly drawing a comically long revolver. The move caused Batman to freeze, but slowly he thought it over. While the Joker's pain tolerance was high, he could still feel pain. And after the beat down he'd given the clown, one more solid punch, and he'd fall over.
"It's over Joker," Batman calmly demanded, watching as Joker slowly limped around the room, "Surrender."
"Surrender!?" Joker replied surprised, the clown tutting him, "Oh Batsy, I've got so many more cards to play-"
As Joker said this his free hand moved to grab something from his coat. Batman didn't have time to see what it was before a beam of energy shot out from the Mother Box. It moved and crackled like lightning. Both he and Joker watched it strike and scorch the ceiling, before the energy slunk back to the box. It left the clown quiet for a moment, his smile strained and eyes wide. Rather slowly the clown began stepping back.
"...On second thought, it's been a blast, Bats!" Joker exclaimed, hobbling toward the penthouse's balcony, "Real glad you could make it!"
More energy shot out from the Mother Box, causing Batman to duck.
"Stop!" Batman demanded, carefully running past the beams of energy. All the while the Joker laughed. Quickly Batman drew and fired his grappling hook, hoping to grab the clown before he could escape. Instead, the Joker sidestepped the hook, grabbed a backpack leaning against a wall, and slammed into the balcony doors. In seconds the clown pulled himself onto the railing and slipped the backpack on.
"But I'm afraid, I have to bail," Joker announced, watching as Batman struggled to reach him, "See you in the next world Batman! Ha ha!"
With that final laugh, the Joker leaned back and fell off the building. Reaching the railing, Batman watched as the Joker pulled a chord on the backpack, a parachute flying out of it. Slowly the clown prince of crime drifted away, his cackle echoing around him. Angrily Batman slammed his fist against the railing before another lightning bolt shot out from the Mother Box. Instantly Batman refocused on the device.
Carefully he rushed toward the alien item, reaching it in a few seconds. Looking over the box, Batman slowly felt dread. It was expected, but there was no off button. Worse though, there were no wires to cut. Nothing he could pull apart to stop the Mother Box. Wordlessly Batman tried his detective vision again, and it didn't turn on. He tried his comms, but they didn't turn on either. Turning back toward the penthouse window, he spotted more buildings shut off. It got worse though. Across the bay, though difficult to see, Batman saw Metropolis' buildings slowly shut off.
He needed to get rid of this thing. With it stealing the energy of everything nearby, the Batwing was a no-go. Justice League comms would be down to, bar one person.
"Could use your help, Superman," Batman muttered, still searching the Mother Box for anything useful. Doubtlessly Superman had to of heard him. Mentally Batman counted the seconds, knowing the Kryptonian's speed. Only, he didn't show up. It confused Batman for a moment before he remembered why. Superman was in Tokyo. At his max speed, he'd reach Gotham in an hour minimum.
No matter. If Superman heard him, then he'd alert the League. The Flash or Kid Flash could then arrive… Batman shot that idea down quickly as another bolt of energy shot out. They'd get here far sooner than Superman, but it'd still be too late. Quietly Batman hoped he was wrong. But slowly, he looked over the Mother Box again. There was no way to disarm it, but at least he could limit the blast radius.
Wordlessly Batman grabbed the nearest cable feeding the Mother Box energy and tore it out. He moved another cable, ripping it clean in half. Cable after cable was removed from the Mother Box, and yet Batman knew it wouldn't be enough. Another bolt of energy struck out, this time singeing part of his cape. Worryingly Batman began feeling wind rush by him, the Mother Box slowly encapsulating itself in light. Tearing out a final cable, Batman watched as a light covered the room.
"You know, you guys are really bad at this," Nightwing commented, hearing the pained groans of a dozen thug's around him, "Ever consider a career change?"
The only answer he got was a tired "fuck you" from a broken thug. A rather productive day, Nightwing thought to himself. He'd been busy tracking down an underground drug ring for weeks, and it all culminated in this little raid. If he was right, the Bludhaven's finest should be arriving right about now, Nightwing thought. Right as he thought it, cops began breaking down the doors to the warehouse.
With his work now done, Nightwing wasted no time grappling up and out of the warehouse. Walking over the roof Nightwing took a moment to pull out his phone. Quietly he began scrolling through messages, marking them by importance. Naturally, one message was at the top of the list. Without a second though, Nightwing began dialing his wife. It took Kori so little time to pick up, it was sweet. Yet when she answered, all he got was static. Instinctively Nightwing tore the phone away from his ear.
"What in the world," Nightwing muttered, as he looked over his phone worriedly. It was brand new, so it shouldn't be broken already. Unless someone's been tampering with it, but Nightwing didn't know who would get ahold of it. Eventually, he heard Kori's voice filter through the static.
"D-di-ic-c-c-k!" she exclaimed, with Nightwing quickly turning down the volume. Note to self, stop answering on speaker, Nightwing mentally muttered.
"Kori? Kori, what's happening?" Nightwing tried to inquire, yet he was unsure what was getting through. Yet when Kori replied, Nightwing slowly turned pale.
"W-o-ord from the L-e-e-ague! So-omthing's happen-i-i-n-g in G-gotham!" Kori managed to tell him, yet the rest of the message was soon lost. Before he could even get another word, his phone shut down completely. It confused Nightwing, horribly so. Last he checked it still had a full battery. But he couldn't question that for long, his brain deadset on the word Gotham. He heard Batman was dealing with the Joker again, but couldn't get the specifics.
Business, as usual, was Nightwing's main train of thought. What was Joker up to exactly- why is it getting brighter, Nightwing thought confused. It was the dead of night, yet the world around him was getting brighter. Turning around, he found the answer to his question. Coming out of Gotham, was what looked like a second sun. It glowed so bright it seemed like daytime. Suddenly lights around Bludhaven began shutting off one by one. The bigger the ball of light grew, the more electronics shut down in the city.
Then with a loud thunderous clap, and the rushing of wind, the ball of light disappeared. And along with it, was Gotham. Nightwing stared on in silence for a moment. Though difficult to see, there was now a gaping hole in Gotham Bay. One the size of Gotham. The entire city, even the ground it stood on was gone. Nightwing couldn't even see the extent of the damage, but he was horrified none the less.
Millions of people, all gone in an instant. Barbara, Tim, Alfred, even… even…
"Bruce," Nightwing muttered, the vigilante quietly staring out at where Gotham was before.
If Cole was being honest with himself, he should have quit his job years ago. Being a security guard for Arkham Asylum, it was a miracle he'd even lived this long. Especially when his main post, was right next to Killer Croc's cell. The things he heard from that freak, haunted his dreams. Hearing the crocodile man growl something in his cell, Cole quietly peeked through the cell door's peephole.
As it stood, Croc's arms and legs were chained to the wall. His mouth was gagged with a large steel muzzle, and around his neck was a shock collar with a bright green light. On top of what Croc was restrained with, Arkham Security had been gifted a few M82 Barrets and drones, should the crocodile ever escape. None of this provided Cole a semblance of peace though. The only thing keeping Croc docile was the shock collar. Without it, nothing would stop the freak from ripping off his chains, and smashing open his titanium cell door.
The Asylum's staff were supposed to add in anesthetic gas dispensers and automated gun turrets years ago, but upper management always claimed they hit delays. Again, Cole should have quit his job a long time ago. Every day this place was less like an Asylum, and more like a prison. Looking at Croc, Cole could have sworn he heard Croc lick his lips under the muzzle. Cole mentally shuddered in response, as he backed away from the peephole. After a few minutes, a patrol of guards would slowly walk toward him. One let out a low whistle as he spotted Croc's cell.
"How's ugly?" one of the guards asked, with Cole thinking over his words carefully. The last thing he needed was the freak hearing him.
"Manageable," Cole eventually replied with a shrug, before hearing Croc growl behind the door. Again Cole shuddered, causing one of the guards to laugh.
"Sounds like lizard man has you scared," the guard mocked, with Cole grumbling. Thankfully the guard's partner slapped him upside the head.
"Oh piss off," the second guard muttered, "I'd rather the ten-foot cannibal not have a grudge against us."
The first guard simply grumbled to himself while rubbing his head. At the same time, both Cole and the second guard shook their heads slowly.
"He an Iron Heights transfer?" Cole inquired, with the second guard nodding.
"Yep," the second guard replied tiredly. Of course, the dude was from Iron Heights. Cole didn't particularly have anything against Central City. The Flash, both of them, were good heroes. Central City was a nice place. But when it came to the city's prison, Iron Heights, they had a bit of a reputation. Having Star Labs so close by meant Iron Heights got all the good toys early. When metahumans started popping up they were the first to get metacuffs.
So this gave them a bit of… arrogance if you will. A thought that they were invincible. Any time there was a breakout, it was dealt with easily. Or the Flash showed up and everything was over. Most guards transferring from Iron Heights tended to keep that attitude. Forgetting that Arkham and Blackgate sure as hell did not have the same gear as Iron Heights. And while Cole would be very grateful, the Flash was not coming to their aid in case of a breakout. Though all that said, Cole would take a guard from Iron Heights over Belle Reve any day.
"Better keep an eye on him," Cole muttered with the second guard quietly agreeing. Slowly the patrol began to walk off before they stopped. Cole didn't get why until the first guard spoke up again.
"Hey, is it a bit bright in here?" the first guard asked, with Cole ready to wave the question off. But then he stopped. The room was brighter. But it shouldn't have been, as Cole's eyes reached the ceiling. All the lights in the room were off. Yet the hallway filled with cells, was as bright as day. Then light began leaking from the walls.
"Holy shit!" Cole yelled, watching as the hallway was engulfed in a white void. The prisoners locked up yelled out in shock, as they covered them. It lingered there for a minute before the void began to dissipate. When it was gone, the hallway was plunged into darkness. Cole didn't dare move. He waited three seconds, staring up at the ceiling's lights. Soon the hallway turned red, the asylum's emergency generator quickly kicking in.
"What… was that?" the second guard asked, with Cole unsure how to answer. His mouth opened, ready to speak, but the words failed to come out. The guard instantly turned pale though, as Croc again growled in his cell. Then the buckling and crack of metal. Swiftly Cole gazed through the cell door's peephole and saw Croc's shock collar sitting on the floor. Inside the crocodile man tugged at his chains, tearing them off the walls.
"Croc's collar is off," Cole muttered, stepping away from the door, "His collar is off!"
Loudly Croc roared, the noise echoing through the asylum's halls. In seconds dozens of other guards began filing into the hallway. Most took up defensive positions to the side of Croc's cell. Wordlessly Cole booked it, to join the formation of guards, before noticing Croc's cell door had a large dent. Looking around, Cole couldn't help but panic.
Arkham Security had two M82s aimed down the hall ready, and a dozen other M4s. But that was it. Where the hell was the rest of their equipment, Cole mentally screamed. Where were their automated drones!? Where were their gun turrets!? He knew Wayne Tech gave the Asylum a prototype mech suit, so where was it!? This question was never answered, as the cell door bent outwards.
Croc again roared, and hundreds of prisoners cheered in response. A bead of sweat trickled down Cole's face, as the seconds ticked by. For a moment, Croc was quiet. The monster stopped hitting the cell door. Maybe… maybe his collar was back on, Cole reasoned. Maybe they did get the anesthetic gas dispensers installed. Yet his hope was then crushed, as Croc's cell door was torn off its hinges. Out lumbered the giant lizard man, who took one second to look out of his cell.
"I smell fresh meat," Croc growled, licking his lips with an animalistic gaze. Frozen in fear, Cole barely heard a guard yell out, "Open fire!"
In an instant, every guard began firing their weapons. Most rounds struck Croc's hide but failed to penetrate his skin. Only the Barrets seemed to scratch him, as .50 BMG rounds struck Croc. One round grazed into the beast's arm, giving him a wound no worse than a paper cut. Hissing at the small pain, Croc grabbed his cell door and held it like a shield. With the thick titanium door in his claws, he quickly began charging the security guards.
The closer he got the faster the guards backed away. Yet the lumbering giant was faster than all of them. Within a second Cole felt the cell door slam into his face. Every security guard present was knocked off their feet, with the impact breaking bones and killing others. In excruciating pain, Cole watched as Croc threw the cell door away. The titanium slab crashed into a nearby cell, breaking it open and freeing its inmates.
Cheering took hold of the hallway, and through Croc's rampage, the Asylum's prisoners slowly became free. The cheering was overshadowed though, as Cole heard the terrified screams of his coworkers.
"No! No! Please!" a guard begged, while Cole watched Croc grab the man. His cries were ended swiftly, once Croc tore the guard in half. Ravenously the monster feasted on the guard, blood staining his mouth. To Cole's worry though, Croc spat out the guard.
"Too much fat," Croc muttered, before his gaze turned toward Cole, "You'll taste better!"
Cole's eyes widened in terror, and he desperately tried to crawl away. Yet Croc was faster. He hoisted Cole up easily, and before the guard could yell, tore his head off.
As another building's lights went out, Gordon could only grumble. The city streets were now plunged into darkness, lit up only by the fires raging around them, and the flash of gunfire. GCPD protocol was supposed to account for this, as most squad cars were given night vision goggles in case of a blackout. Yet not one pair seemed to be working, not even a flashlight would turn on.
With how dark everything was, it became nearly impossible to evacuate people easily. So they went to the emergency backup, glow sticks. Of course, the sticks were only used by paramedics, firefighters, and officers farther away from the fighting. Those up close near the hotel kept their glow sticks intact, not wanting the small shred of light, to result in some clown blowing their head off.
It was in this situation that Gordon desperately tried to maintain order, the man clutching a radio as it refused to turn on.
"Come on, work!" Gordon exclaimed, nearly slamming the device into his car door. Furiously he fiddled with the thing, remembering the last thing he'd been told over the radio. The evacuation order had just been given, long after he called the mayor. They were supposed to start evacuating an hour ago. Instead, the call had just been sent out, right as the entire damn city began losing power. It was doubtful anyone even heard the evacuation notice. Which only caused Gordon to grumble, while Montoya watched a nearby building burn down.
It was a recent flame, started up by a police helicopter crashing into it. After it occurred Gordon ordered all helicopters to land immediately, before another one slammed into the ground. The order was nearly impossible to give, but they managed with some emergency flares. Still…
"What is happening?" Montoya couldn't help but mutter, with Gordon in quiet agreement. Out of the corner of his eye, he spotted something approaching him. His weapon was quickly raised, but Gordon stopped himself as Bullock got closer.
"Bullock, how's the right flank?" Gordon asked, watching the detective try to catch his breath. With the loss of radio, Gordon had to resort to sending officers on foot to dispatch messages.
"It's… holding up for now," Bullock replied, with a final gasp for air. As he said this though, an explosion went off loudly in the distance. For a brief few seconds, the street was lit up, a large fireball drifting up above them.
"Ah crap," Bullock muttered tiredly, the detective looking ready to collapse, "This goes on any longer and the block is toast!"
More than the block, Gordon mentally commented, before shaking his head. Looking down at his mechanical watch, Gordon counted down the minutes.
"Bennett was supposed to be here thirty minutes ago," Gordon grumbled tiredly, before turning and looking down the street. Why he was late, Gordon didn't know. With power going out so quickly it could be a million different reasons. Slowly Gordon shook his head, as Cash shuffled up next to him.
"We'll have to do it without him," Cash commented, looking toward Gordon calmly, "Just give us the word boss."
Gordon thought over his words carefully. Without Bennett and his abilities, SWAT was guaranteed to take more casualties. But time was very clearly running out, and waiting any longer would risk more lives. Slowly Gordon nodded his head, ready to give the order. That was until he noticed something. The street seemed… brighter. The darkness it was once plunged into was beginning to fade.
The other officers with him noticed as well, and Gordon turned toward the light's source. There, at the top of the Royal Hotel, was a ball of light. It expanded outward slowly, before picking up a quick pace. In seconds the entire hotel was covered in light, as Gordon took a cautious step back.
"Back! Everyone back!" Gordon yelled out, but it was no use. There wasn't even time to run before the light engulfed Gordon. For a full minute, all Gordon could see, was a bright white void. Even when he closed his eyes, he could still see the light. He didn't realize it, but he was yelling at the empty void. And after what felt like an eternity, the void began to fade. Gordon's breath was ragged, as the world slowly came back to him.
Wordlessly Gordon placed a hand on his chest, trying to show his mind he was still there. Looking around, he found all his officers were still present. And whatever had happened, had created a lull in the fighting. Some of Joker's thugs stood about, confused as to what had happened. This was the opportunity Gordon needed.
"Go! Go!" Gordon quickly ordered Cash, the SWAT officer soon sprinted toward the building. Others followed behind him, while Gordon motioned more to join them.
"I want every officer, securing that building! Move it, people!" Gordon loudly ordered, watching every cop present book it toward the hotel. A hundred-plus officers broke down the building's doors, with a hundred more running through them. What remained of Joker's gang had little time to react, as doors were broken down and SWAT charged in. Not one to be left behind, Gordon rushed toward the hotel, with Bullock and Montoya accompanying him.
Running through the building, Gordon spotted officers moving about, arresting clowns, and escorting hostages. Floor by floor they went, as more clowns were dragged out of the hotel in cuffs or body bags. Finally, Gordon watched as Bullock broke down the door, to the penthouse floor. Dozens of officers ran out of the fire escape, all moving to secure the penthouse.
As Gordon walked into the room, he quickly spotted the Mother Box resting in the room. He didn't know how the thing worked, but it seemed inactive. Yet as he looked at the device, a worrying realization met Gordon's mind. The Joker wasn't here. He should have been restrained somewhere in the building. But there was no sight of the clown. With that annoyance, Gordon waited for Batman to pop out of the shadows with answers. But as time passed, Gordon gained a new thought.
Batman was at the epicenter of… whatever the hell just happened. Only reinforcing this thought, were the dozens of scorch marks lining the roof, floor, and walls.
"My word," he heard Cash mutter, the officer's eyes falling on one such scorch mark. It was here that dread began to set in. Gordon quietly waited to be proven wrong, for Batman to emerge from the darkness, for the vigilante to have an explanation for everything, and for the Joker to be cuffed and in the room. Yet none of that happened.
"Does anyone have eyes on Batman?" Gordon cautiously asked, knowing the answer would be no. Sure enough, he was right, as officers slowly shook their heads.
"Then did anyone see him leave the building?" Gordon inquired, hoping someone spotted the hero's cape soaring through the air. Again, everyone answered no. Wordlessly everyone spread out, quietly searching for any kind of clue. It didn't take long for Montoya to pipe up.
"Wait, I've got something!" her voice exclaimed, echoing through the penthouse. When Gordon reached her, his heart sank. Laying on the floor, was a few singed clumps of Batman's cape. No other trace of the vigilante remained. This… this couldn't be right, Gordon thought. There was more, there had to be more. Batman's fought through worse before, so for him to be… dead, Gordon couldn't fathom it.
He wasn't dead. He couldn't be, Gordon reasoned to himself, taking a small deep breath. Right as Gordon thought this, he heard Bullock call out to him from the balcony.
"Uh… Gordon! I think we've got bigger problems!" Bullock shouted, as Gordon quickly approached the detective. Confusion took hold of Gordon as he got closer before Bullock continued.
"Where the hell are we!?" the detective asked dumbstruck. The question confused Gordon even more before he looked over the balcony. Surrounding the entire city, was nothing but ocean. Where one would have spotted the faint hints of Metropolis, now would only see water stretching out for miles. Any semblance of land, bar Gotham's main islands and small plots of the mainland, was gone.