Suddenly Appearing Joker

Gotham City, Iceberg Lounge.

Penguin opened his Bulgarian Umbrella and pressed one of its switches. The ribs shot out like bullets, instantly riddling the Talon before him with holes.

That still was not enough. He had seen these monsters' terrifying regenerative abilities. He rushed forward several steps, aimed the umbrella tip at the Talon's head, and turned the Bulgarian Umbrella into a shotgun. With a bang, he blasted the other man's head into a rotten watermelon.

"Phew... phew... You can't come back to life now, can you?"

Penguin held the umbrella in one hand as he panted heavily and looked around. Corpses covered the ground.

More than fifty gun-wielding underlings he had stationed in ambush had all died. The three Talons had also been taken out, while the enormous corpses of a Tyrannosaurus and two Triceratops lay nearby.

After this battle, the entire Iceberg Lounge would need to be renovated. But to Penguin, anything that money could solve was not a problem. What puzzled him was where these dinosaurs had come from.

On top of a skyscraper, the situation was no better. A giant gorilla five or six meters tall crashed to the ground, making the earth tremble.

Of the seven Talons originally dispatched, only two remained standing. The other five had either been torn to pieces by suddenly appearing beasts or thrown off the high-rise and smashed into pulp. Even the remaining two were covered in wounds.

"Are we still going to kill Bruce Wayne?"

"Of course. The Court of Owls' mission must be completed. Only a Talon capable of completing missions is a true Talon."

"Good. That is what I think too. Then let's continue onward and wash away our humiliation with the blood of the Wayne Family."

In the darkness, the two Talons dragged their battered bodies toward Wayne Manor.

At Ace Chemical Factory, Jude regained consciousness when he hit the ground. But all he could do was stare wide-eyed at Bruce. It was definitely too late to give chase now.

"Uh... although I failed to help you stop this crisis, our deal should still stand, right? I mean, can I ask Lucius for some rare materials?"

Bruce glared at him without saying a word. Jude could give up easily because he had never had much attachment to Gotham.

But Bruce could not. Until the very last moment, his mind would not stop thinking. There had to be a way. Think carefully—there had to be one.

Watching the airship fly higher and higher as it advanced toward the city center, Shredder burst into unrestrained laughter.

"Hahaha... Batman, do you feel despair? You can't stop it. No one can stop it."

But amid his wild laughter, he suddenly sensed that something was wrong. The airship was slowing down, and it was getting slower and slower.

"What is going on? Did you fail to refuel it?" Shredder roared at Stockman Fly.

Stockman Fly, whose face had been kicked bloody by Jude, aggrievedly pressed his fingertips together. "I checked, my lord. There is absolutely nothing wrong with the airship. I even checked it three times."

"Then tell me why this is happening!"

"Th-this... I don't know either."

Jude suddenly laughed. "You two idiots, isn't it obvious? If there is nothing wrong with the airship, then there must be something wrong with the person piloting it. Whoever he is, he has done us a huge favor."

"That is impossible! The pilots are all Foot Clan members. No one would dare defy my orders!" Shredder roared furiously.

"I call you an idiot, and you still refuse to admit it. Your Foot Clan members cover their faces all day long. Any stranger could impersonate one of them. How do you know no one slipped in among them?"

Reality seemed to confirm Jude's conclusion. Rather than continuing forward, the airship began to turn around and head back.

At this moment, Ra's al Ghul also regained consciousness. His plan had ultimately failed. Bruce's willpower was stronger than he had imagined.

But even if he could not destroy Bruce's creed, he would still destroy Gotham City. He clearly remembered that the airship had already launched before he lost consciousness, which meant the situation was beyond saving.

But when he opened his eyes, Ra's al Ghul was shocked to discover that the airship was not moving farther away. Instead, it was getting closer and closer to him.

"Shredder, what is going on?"

"Don't ask me. I don't know either."

Soon, the airship returned above them. The giant screen on its exterior lit up, instantly illuminating the dark sky around them.

After a burst of static, the screen cleared, revealing two Foot Clan ninjas, one blue and one red.

Then, arrogant laughter rang across the heavens through the airship's loudspeakers.

"Hahahahaha... hahahahahaha..."

"This is simply too entertaining. Watching you slaughter each other down there is like watching two packs of wild dogs tear into one another. It hurts, doesn't it? But it feels so good to me. Hahahahaha..."

"That laugh..." Bruce frowned.

Then, beneath the scrutinizing gazes of the four men, the two ninjas yanked off their hoods. Green hair, bright red lips, pale faces—it was Joker and Harley Quinn.

"FUCK!"

All four cursed inwardly at the same time.

When Ra's al Ghul had planned this operation, he had looked for Joker. It was not because he wanted to recruit him into his team, but because he feared Joker would cause trouble for him. That madman was an enormous unstable factor.

Yet despite all the effort he had spent, he still had not found Joker, so he could only let the matter go. He had never expected Joker to seize control of the airship without anyone noticing and hold the trump card in his hand.

Jude glanced at Bruce. "I warned you. You always have to watch out for Joker. See? This is why. He always appears and disappears without a trace. But this time, it should be a good thing."

"What do you want to do, Joker?" Bruce shouted.

Joker scratched his greasy green hair. "What do I want to do? No, I don't want to do anything. I only want to watch you dogs bite each other. Keep going. Don't stop."

"Yeah! If you don't want to watch us spray the mutagen all over Gotham, then you need to make Mr. J happy." Harley Quinn made a face at Bruce.

Bruce could not quite figure out Joker's intentions. He thought it would be best to placate him for now. Once the Batplane arrived, he would be confident.

With that in mind, he walked toward Shredder.

"Don't rush. Joker is just joking with you." Jude grabbed him.

Seeing that no one was making a move, Joker snapped, "Why aren't you fighting yet? Are you testing my limits, Batman?"

Jude looked speechless. "Oh, come on, Joker. Didn't you come here specifically to save him? Why pretend you're some mastermind boss? This time, you're a cute and charming villain."

Joker froze for a moment before bursting into loud laughter. Laughing, he pointed at Jude and said, "Very good psychology, Batman. This time, you owe me."

Then his expression changed from comical to serious. He tied on a pilot's scarf and issued orders like a general.

"Soldier Harley, I order you to turn the helm immediately. Destination: Browns Mountain. Forward!"

"Yes, Colonel!"

Harley Quinn saluted excitedly, then trotted away with her twin ponytails swaying.

Fucking hell, I woke up and couldn't find my home. I fell asleep sitting on the ground outside the hotel, and I even lost my glasses.