The immortal moment of Batman cutting off the Joker's nuts and shaft passed, and the rapid exchange of battle resumed once more.
Although I didn't really have the mind to watch the magnificent martial arts display. Seeing the weeping, screaming form of the Joker on the ground had my full attention.
Red Hood had recovered from his hysterical laughter and was now just staring at the screen, snickering at the Joker's suffering. Not that I didn't find the situation funny, but what I felt was closer to vindictive satisfaction at seeing the miserable form of the Joker laid out like that.
I'd never personally suffered at the madman's hands, but plenty of friends and coworkers had, to varying degrees. Some had lost their homes. Others had been accosted by the Joker's particular breed of crazy followers. A few had been unlucky enough to get caught up in one of his sick schemes. And God forbid the ones who ran into his gas.
It was almost quaint that the Joker might lose his life because of a joke. I sent another silent thanks to whoever had given me this luck.
It was a downright poetic way for the Joker to die.
Unfortunately, Gotham always got the last laugh.
Almost as if the city itself had said fuck you, a van screamed down the street, its side door sliding open for barely a second. It was hard to make out, but some sort of red-and-black whip shot out, wrapped around the Joker, and yanked him into the van.
"NO!" Red Hood screamed. "Intergang, you fucking pieces of shit—"
The few other costumed combatants didn't seem too keen on the interference either. I saw the hockey-mask guy throw some sort of black spear at the van. It exploded on impact, but it didn't do much as a shimmering red barrier snapped into existence and blocked the blast.
Batman and Deathstroke both launched their own attacks.
Unfortunately, the result was the same.
The van tore down the street as energy coalesced around it, and in the next moment the vehicle simply vanished.
I didn't know if it had teleported or turned invisible. The drone we were watching from swept the area, but it seemed like a lost cause.
The various combatants resumed the fight, although most of them seemed to be pulling back even as Batman continued to press the attack.
I didn't bother watching anymore.
Red Hood, on the other hand, did not take the interference well.
I briefly considered trying to calm him down, but—
"FUUUUU—!" He grabbed one of the knives and hurled it across the room. His foot smashed into the leg of the table hard enough to make it crack. "INTERGANG! WHEN I GET MY HANDS ON YOU—!"
Yeah. I'd let him get it out of his system first.
After several minutes of Red Hood angrily destroying parts of his apartment, the man was huffing and puffing from the exertion. I heard him mutter under his breath, "So close… just a few more damn moments and it would've been perfect."
"I'm assuming you know the guys who took the Joker?" I said, segueing into the question. I didn't comment on his rather personal reaction to the Joker's escape. This was Gotham. Everyone had a story.
Red Hood twitched when he heard my voice before grabbing a chair, dragging it over, and dropping into it roughly.
"Intergang," he said. "A national criminal syndicate that does everything from bank robberies to smuggling. They've got some sort of alien connection that gave them access to advanced tech."
"I see. Did Joker have ties with them or…?" I wasn't very familiar with the criminal scene outside of Gotham.
"Not that I know of." He shook his head. "I wouldn't put it past that bastard either, though… What a way to ruin the night." He sighed.
"If it's any consolation prize…" I leaned forward and pressed the key to rewind the feed. The video screen jumped back to the moment the Joker was being dragged away. "They didn't leave with all of him."
The footage played again. As the van rapidly pulled the Joker inside, they had clearly failed to account for his junk and well…
"Oh." Red Hood started giggling. "He's never getting that back."
"Nope." I chuckled along as we watched it become veritable roadkill.
"Ahh… still, while it wasn't exactly what I wanted…" Red Hood stood up and stretched. "I'm going to go rip into an old friend of mine. Thanks for the drinks, man." He held out his hand toward me.
I shook it.
"No problem." Then a devilishly wonderful idea crossed my mind. "Hey… do you think you could send me this as a recording?"
—
[Rolling Silver Gacha Ticket]
[Pacifism]
|Uncommon Trait|
With pacifism, you are able to turn off your killing potential; even if you hit a medieval serf with a final flash, he will still be alive, albeit barely.
Huh. Neat… I could imagine that having some pretty funny applications. I'd have to test it later.
"Gyahahaha!" Harvey leaned back in his chair. "The Bat really fucking did it now!"
"The clown deserved it." Oswald had a wide grin as he drank from his glass. "Ha! I'm going to frame that moment on my fireplace."
"So what do you think about my plan after seeing it?" I asked while lying on the couch, flipping through the various papers for the grand project.
Both of them quieted down and exchanged a look.
"It's a bold plan, I'll give you that," Oswald said slowly. "But… well, it'll be like throwing down the gauntlet against the Clown."
"Not just him," Harvey grunted. "His little cult following has gotten offended over smaller things before. Even if the bastard himself doesn't react, his little coterie probably will. Even knowing all that, you're still set on it?"
"Yep." I stood up and looked both of them in the eye. "It hits multiple objectives. First, it enhances our reputation to host something this big. Second, defaming those lunatics helps us grow as an organization. And third, shitting on the Joker is simply a must."
"I mean…" Cobblepot looked torn. "I would probably make a lot of money from it…"
Harvey just frowned and flipped his coin. I didn't see the result, but he shook his head a moment later. "Fuck… I guess this is happening."
"Great!" I straightened up. "Then let's begin planning the festival celebrating Joker getting his nuts sacked."
I chuckled to myself.
"The name's still patent pending, but maybe something like The Bat's Best Joke?"
***
Comments and Thoughts would be greatly appreciated. Likes are like a drug to me and boost my creative juices.
I have advanced chapters on Pa tre on/daisyberry if you wanna read ahead.