Harvey Bullock raised his hands slightly, shaking his head as he spoke.
"Look, I really want to help, but I'm just an ordinary guy. Nothing about me says I should be anywhere near that mess."
He glanced toward Gordon and added with a tired sigh.
"Chief, didn't you just get superpowers? Why are you suddenly quiet now?"
Gordon kept his eyes on the battlefield for a moment before answering.
"I'm thinking more clearly now."
Harvey raised a brow.
"So you weren't thinking clearly before?"
"Only for a moment," Gordon admitted.
He exhaled slowly.
"Yeah, I did think about stepping in and fighting Homelander. That was before I saw what's actually happening out there."
He gestured toward the destruction unfolding in the distance.
"Now I understand the gap between me and them. My abilities are better suited for street level threats, not alien warfare. Robbers, criminals, things I can actually handle."
Harvey let out a short laugh.
"Smart choice, Chief. If you jumped into that fight, I'd probably lose my partner permanently. And I'm not interested in breaking in a new one."
Gordon didn't respond. His eyes stayed fixed on Adrian in the distance as he slowly lit a cigarette.
Even after all the warnings from doctors, it had become his only form of stability in moments like this.
At the center of the battlefield, Adrian had completely overwhelmed Clark.
Boom, boom, boom.
Each strike landed like a hammer on steel.
Shockwaves rippled through the air as the two clashed at inhuman speed, their movements distorting the space around them.
Adrian pressed forward relentlessly, forcing Clark backward step by step.
Clark's body, despite its Kryptonian durability, was no longer unbreakable in practice.
His face was swollen, blood leaking from his nose, and every impact forced pain deeper into his system.
Yet the pain kept him conscious.
It kept him from blacking out.
Gordon turned away briefly, inhaling from his cigarette before exhaling slowly.
"It's going to happen sooner or later," he muttered. "Might as well get used to it now."
Harvey frowned.
"What does that even mean?"
Gordon didn't answer immediately.
Instead, he reached for his phone.
He tried calling Barbara.
No response.
He tried again.
Still nothing.
His expression changed instantly.
"That's not right," Gordon said quietly.
Harvey noticed the shift immediately.
"What is it?"
"Barbara isn't answering," Gordon replied, tightening his grip on the phone. "We were just talking. There's no reason for her to suddenly go offline."
His expression hardened.
"I don't like this."
He turned slightly.
"I need to go find her."
Harvey looked from Gordon to the battlefield.
"You're serious? Now?"
"I can't ignore it," Gordon said firmly. "I've already made that mistake once. I won't do it again."
He exhaled sharply.
"As for this fight, there's nothing either of us can do. This is beyond human involvement. We can only watch and hope Superman survives."
Harvey didn't argue, but his face showed doubt.
Meanwhile, Barbara sat in front of Wayne Enterprises' satellite feed, watching everything unfold in real time.
The destruction across Gotham was beyond anything she had ever seen.
Buildings collapsing, shockwaves tearing through streets, air bursting from raw force.
And Adrian.
Watching him dominate Clark left her completely silent.
So this was the level they were dealing with.
There was no tactical advantage here. No normal countermeasure.
Just raw overwhelming power.
Her mind raced.
Would the Green Lanterns even be enough?
What kind of weapon would Guy Gardner bring from space that could possibly stop something like this?
Then her phone rang.
She assumed it was Gordon.
But when she answered, what came through was not her father's voice.
It was her mother.
And she was screaming.
Barbara froze.
"Mom?"
Her voice cracked immediately.
"What's happening? What's wrong?"
The sounds on the other end turned chaotic.
Then a sharp crack echoed through the call.
Bone breaking.
Her mother screamed again.
Barbara's breath caught in her throat.
Her hand tightened around the phone so hard her knuckles turned white.
"No… no, stay with me. Mom!"
Her breathing became uneven.
Short.
Rapid.
Her vision blurred slightly as panic surged through her body.
Is this what a panic attack feels like?
Her hand trembled as she pressed the phone closer.
"Please, just answer me…"
Then a voice came through the line.
Calm.
Familiar.
Wrong.
"Hello there, Barbara."
Everything inside her froze.
That voice.
It was burned into her memory.
Every nightmare.
Every moment she tried to forget.
Her breath hitched.
"You…"
Her voice shook.
"Who are you?"
A soft chuckle came through the line.
"Someone very familiar to you. Someone connected to you in ways you can't escape."
A pause.
"Don't you recognize me?"
Barbara's eyes widened slightly as her mind forced the memory forward.
No.
Not possible.
But it was.
The Joker.
And suddenly, she wasn't in the present anymore.
She was back in that room.
Darkness.
A hood over her head.
Bound to a chair.
Her voice breaking as she screamed for help.
"Dad… please…"
Fragments of memory returned in broken flashes.
Then clarity.
The hood ripped off.
Blood on her face.
The Joker standing in front of her, smiling as if this was entertainment.
Green hair, pale skin, purple coat, eyes filled with amusement at suffering.
"You know," he had said softly, leaning close, "Batman won't come for you."
Her voice had shaken even then.
"He will."
The Joker had only smiled wider.
"Sweet girl, reality is harsh."
And then the knife.
The pain.
The madness disguised as philosophy.
A smile carved into suffering.
Barbara's breathing in the present became unstable.
Her fingers dug into the edge of her desk.
Then the memory shifted again.
The gunshot.
The explosion of pain in her spine.
The collapse of everything after.
Her life split in two.
Before.
And after.
Back in the present, the Joker's voice continued.
"I see you remember now."
Barbara swallowed hard.
"What do you want?"
The Joker laughed softly.
"Oh, so many things."
Then his tone shifted.
"You're watching a fight right now, aren't you? Two monsters tearing your city apart."
Barbara didn't answer.
"But you can't help," he continued. "That's the funny part. You always think you can do something."
Her grip tightened.
"What do you want from me?"
A pause.
"Simple," he said. "Don't warn anyone. Don't interfere. And behave."
Barbara's eyes narrowed.
"You think I'll listen to you?"
The Joker's voice lowered slightly.
"Your mother is sitting under something interesting right now."
Silence.
"A small explosive device. Five pounds of pressure sensitivity."
Barbara's blood ran cold.
"If you disobey me," he continued casually, "she stops being your problem. And becomes a puzzle you'll never finish."
Her breathing shook.
"You're insane."
"I prefer creative," he corrected.
Then, almost casually.
"Go to the kitchen. Make yourself a sandwich."
Barbara blinked.
"What?"
"I said make a sandwich," he repeated. "Calm yourself down. Think clearly. We're going to have a conversation."
Her jaw tightened.
"You're mocking me."
"No," the Joker replied softly. "I'm guiding you."
Barbara forced herself to move.
Not because she wanted to.
Because she had no choice.
Her wheelchair rolled slowly into the kitchen.
Her hands trembled as she prepared the sandwich, her mind still racing.
Every ingredient felt unreal.
Every second felt monitored.
Then his voice returned.
"Good. Now milk. Drink it."
She paused.
"You're watching me."
"I always am."
Barbara closed her eyes briefly, then picked up the glass and drank.
"Very good," the Joker said. "Now tell me something important."
Her grip tightened.
"Batman."
Barbara froze slightly at the name.
"He's dead," she said flatly. "Homelander killed him."
A pause.
Then a soft laugh.
"No," the Joker replied. "I don't believe that."
His voice sharpened slightly.
"I came back to Gotham for a reason. Batman doesn't disappear that easily."
Barbara's eyes narrowed.
"And one more thing," he added.
Her stomach dropped instantly.
"There's a bomb under your mother's chair."
Silence.
"If you lie to me," he continued, "she won't be alive long enough for you to regret it."
Barbara's voice turned cold.
"You came back here knowing Homelander is here?"
The Joker laughed again.
"Of course I know."
"He and Superman are currently putting on quite the show outside City Hall."
Then his tone turned almost amused.
"Either way, it's beautiful. Chaos always is."
Barbara's grip tightened so hard the glass nearly cracked.
"What do you want from this city?"
The Joker paused.
Then spoke softly.
"Entertainment."
"And I think I just found my next performance."