"Wait! Wait!" Joker shouted madly. "Do you know what you're doing?! You'll blow us all to pieces!!!"
"That's part of my plan too." Batman's cold voice continued. "Did you think I'd really forgiven you damned criminals? You really should've asked the attending doctor at the asylum for more medication... Do you really think Batman would forgive criminals?!"
Joker was left speechless, but Batman continued, "Thank you, you two criminal kingpins, for killing each other... Missile silo preheating complete. Launch safeties disengaged. Prepare for ignition!"
Joker turned to look out the window and saw a black dot streaking toward Gotham Cathedral at incredible speed. Batman wasn't joking. He meant it!
Joker almost fumbled as he lowered Schiller from the rope, then tried to drag him out of Gotham Cathedral.
But at that moment, gunfire suddenly erupted behind Gotham Cathedral, accompanied by several shouted Russian curses. Before Joker Jack could react, a group of fully armed strangers burst in through the church's back door and unleashed a burst of gunfire across the floor.
Joker was certain they weren't locals from Gotham. Their weapons and shooting methods were completely different from anything here. Without any heavy weapons of his own, Joker had no way to deal with them. He could only hide behind cover, pinned down by their firepower and unable to raise his head.
Though Joker's self-healing ability was extremely powerful, he wasn't invulnerable. Even if he had been, heavy-caliber rounds had an obvious knockback effect. Even charging straight into the bullets, he wouldn't have been able to break through.
Under the cover of gunfire, several figures rushed out from around the corner by the back door, lifted the still-prone Schiller, and vanished into the church at astonishing speed.
Joker roared from where he stood, "Batman!!!!!"
Batman had simply exploited the mindset