"Alfred..." ‘Batman’ murmured as he looked down at the fallen old man.

  "No, no, no, Bat. I’d much rather you call me Joker!"

  The clown pushed himself up from the ground slowly, a wide grin splitting his face as he spread his arms like a showman taking center stage.

  "How does it feel, Bats? Ever since you came back to Gotham, you’ve been trying to clean up this filthy city. But all this time, right under your nose, a crazy clown was living right beside you. Isn’t that hirious?"

  "You bastard!"

  Whatever ‘hesitation’ ‘Batman’ was feeling vanished in an instant. He lunged forward and swung a fist—only for Joker to catch it with his bare hand.

  "What..."

  "Don’t forget what I used to do when I was younger, Batsy," Joker said, shoving the punch aside with surprising force. "I’m not that easy to deal with."

  He followed up with a hard punch to ‘Batman’s’ face, the blow knocking him back a step.

  "See? I told you. I’m not that easy."

  ‘Batman’ wiped a thin trickle of blood from the corner of his mouth, his expression darkening as he stared ‘coldly’ at the man before him.

  "Alfred. Come back with me. I don’t care what you did for the Wayne family. None of that matters. Just come home. Come back to the Manor."

  "Keep dreaming, Bat!" Joker snapped. "I’ve been too far gone for a long time now! I’m not your loyal butler anymore; I’m the living face of everything you hate about Gotham!”

  He screamed the st words as he whipped out a handgun and instantly pulled the trigger.

  ‘Batman’ dodged on instinct. But instead of a bullet, a small triangur fg popped out of the barrel, fluttering in the air with Joker’s grinning face printed on it.

  "You always fall for it. How many times has it been now, Bats?”

  Before ‘Batman’ could react, Joker shed out with a kick. ‘Batman’ rolled away to avoid the strike, nding in a crouch.

  "Bruce!" Kate shouted.

  By now, she was back on her feet. Once she confirmed nothing was broken, she immediately joined the fight.

  Compared to ‘Batman,’ Kate's combat skills came from military training. Her style was rougher and more aggressive. In some ways, she hit harder than him—because unlike him, she couldn’t always control the force behind her blows.

  ‘Batman’ could break a bone without leaving a scratch anywhere else. Kate didn’t have that kind of precision.

  But Joker wasn’t like the ordinary thugs she was used to overwhelming.

  Despite her strength and training, the Clown Prince of Crime outcssed her completely. His speed, his unpredictability—he overwhelmed her in seconds.

  After just two exchanges, he locked her in a hold. A syringe filled with liquid ughing gas was already pressed against the artery in her neck.

  "Thanks, Bat-girl. You remembered I wanted to run that experiment."

  Kate froze. Joker’s sudden speed and strength had completely caught her off guard, and now her life was in danger.

  But while she was still stunned, ‘Batman’ wasn’t.

  "Kate, move your head!" He shouted the command as he flung a Batarang.

  Kate snapped out of it just in time. She tilted her head slightly, and the projectile zipped past her cheek, shattering the syringe in Joker’s hand.

  In that same moment, ‘Batman’ lunged forward and tackled Joker, forcing him to release her.

  "Bruce, I was just off my game for a second."

  Now that she was safe, Kate tried to justify how she got taken down by a seventy-year-old man. But ‘Batman’ wasn’t the type to be swayed by excuses.

  "Alfred's skills are top-notch. He used to be an MI6 agent. If we’re talking pure combat, he’s way better than you. Even for me, beating him one-on-one wouldn’t be easy."

  Kate’s face turned slightly red. She knew it was true, but hearing it spelled out like that still hurt her pride.

  Still, she quickly turned her focus back to the Joker. "One of us alone might not be enough. But together, we can take him down. Knock Alfred out, bring him back. Eventually, he’ll remember who he is.”

  ‘Batman’ nodded, ready to strike again. But before they could move, the b’s main door exploded open with a thunderous bst.

  Harley stepped inside, one hand gripping a rocket uncher, the other swinging a baseball bat zily over her shoulder.

  "Sweetie—Oh? Two Bats? No wonder the boys outside are gettin’ wrecked."

  To pull off this rescue, ‘Batman’ had arranged for Deathstroke to unch a frontal assault on the Joker Gang's hideout as a distraction. Harley had come to report the sudden attack to the Joker.

  "Kate, time to retreat."

  "But…"

  She didn’t want to leave. Whether it was pride or a deep desire to bring Alfred home, Kate wanted to keep fighting.

  In her mind, sure, she couldn’t beat Joker, but ‘Batman’ could. And handling Harley Quinn? That was something she felt more than capable of.

  "You want Deathstroke to fight the entire Joker Gang alone? He’s only been in Gotham for a few hours. He’s not fully prepared. He won’t st long. And these people…"

  As he spoke, ‘Batman’ gnced toward Harley, then at the flickering muzzle fshes coming from beyond the b’s entrance. Finally, his eyes nded on Joker.

  "...they’re all lunatics."

  With that, two special smoke pellets dropped from beneath his cape. Almost instantly, the room was flooded with thick smoke.

  Using the cover, ‘Batman’ didn’t bother asking if Kate agreed. He grabbed her arm and leapt into the ventition shaft, retreating the same way he had come.

  ……

  Meanwhile, outside the base, Deathstroke was locked in battle. Despite all the heavy weapons he had prepared ahead of time, things weren’t going well. Not at all.

  Because standing in his way was the hulking figure of Solomon Grundy.

  "Of course," Deathstroke muttered, gritting his teeth as he popped his dislocated arm back into pce with a sickening crack. "If Joker’s got a base here, Grundy was bound to show up."

  He locked eyes with the massive undead brute.

  "What I didn’t expect… is that you’d be acting on your own, without Joker giving the order."

  By any normal logic, someone like Solomon—barely capable of thinking—would still be kept under strict watch, even by an ally. That’s how Deathstroke had pnned it. He assumed he wouldn’t get involved until after Batman and Kate had escaped. But Grundy moved on his own.

  "My friend never tells Solomon what to do. Solomon gets a whole week to do whatever he wants!”

  “That so?” Deathstroke smiled under the mask. “Sounds like a job a lot of people would kill for.”

  With a swift motion, he reached behind his back and drew his twin bdes.

  “In that case, I guess I’ll stop holding back.”

  Hearing that, Solomon readied himself for the attack.

  But before they cshed, Deathstroke smmed his twin bdes together. And instead of sparks, a thick burst of bck smoke exploded outward, covering the battlefield and cutting off visibility for all the Joker Gang members nearby.

  “What the—!”

  **

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