"Bang! Bang! Bang!"
Barbara had just gotten off the phone with Joker when violent knocking shook her apartment door.
Her entire body tensed instantly.
She activated the surveillance monitor beside her desk, and the screen immediately displayed several men standing outside her apartment.
At the front stood a large man wearing a filthy Joker mask. His posture alone made it obvious they were not there for a friendly visit.
The Joker Gang.
Barbara's expression hardened.
Ever since Joker vanished from Gotham, she had assumed most of his followers had scattered across the city or ended up dead. Seeing them gathered again could only mean one thing.
Joker was back.
Taking a slow breath, Barbara rolled her wheelchair toward the storage cabinet beside the wall.
She opened it and retrieved a compact Springfield XDM pistol.
Black Canary had given it to her for protection a long time ago. Back then, Barbara insisted she would never need to use a gun.
Now she silently released the safety.
Holding the pistol tightly in her left hand, Barbara positioned herself behind the apartment entrance and aimed at the metal door.
As she waited, memories surfaced uncontrollably.
The gunshot.
The blood.
The moment Joker destroyed her life.
That day had taken away her ability to walk forever.
Fragments of the hospital returned to her mind. Endless surgeries beneath blinding white lights. The unbearable pain. Her father's devastated expression. Batman's guilt-ridden silence.
Most of those memories had faded over time.
Only the pain remained vivid.
Barbara steadied her breathing and tightened her grip on the pistol.
No matter what happened tonight, she would face it.
Fear was something she refused to surrender to again.
BANG!
A violent impact slammed against the door hard enough to shake the entire apartment.
Dust drifted from the ceiling.
The picture frames hanging on the wall rattled loudly.
Outside, the Joker Gang members cursed as they repeatedly rammed the reinforced metal entrance.
Each hit grew stronger.
The door began bending inward.
Barbara's palms became slick with sweat as her heartbeat pounded in her ears.
She raised the handgun with trembling hands.
She was ready to fight if she had to.
Even if part of her still felt terrified.
Then suddenly, just as the door looked ready to cave in, a series of heavy crashes erupted outside.
Bodies slammed violently against walls.
Men screamed in pain.
Something, or someone, had attacked the Joker Gang.
The chaos lasted only seconds before complete silence returned.
Barbara froze.
Her pistol remained aimed at the doorway while tension locked every muscle in her body.
Then a familiar voice called out.
"Barbara! Are you alright?!"
Commissioner Gordon.
Relief flooded through her immediately.
Barbara lowered the pistol and hurried toward the door, unlocking it.
Several unconscious Joker Gang members were sprawled across the hallway floor outside.
Commissioner Gordon stood among them, breathing heavily.
The moment he saw Barbara unharmed, he stepped forward and wrapped his arms around her tightly.
"Thank God... Barbara, are you hurt?"
"I'm okay, Dad."
Barbara leaned against him quietly, feeling warmth spread through her chest.
For a moment, neither of them spoke.
Then Gordon finally pulled back and glanced toward the unconscious thugs.
"The Joker Gang? Why are they targeting you?"
Barbara's expression darkened.
"It's Joker. This is connected to him."
The moment Gordon heard that name, his face turned grim.
No criminal in Gotham disgusted him more.
Joker had destroyed his daughter's life.
And Gordon had sworn he would one day put him behind bars.
"He contacted you?" Gordon asked carefully.
Barbara nodded.
"He called earlier. He said Mom is with him. If I don't cooperate, he'll kill her."
Gordon's eyes widened instantly.
"He kidnapped your mother?"
Before Barbara could answer, the phone in her hand rang again.
Unknown Caller.
Joker.
Barbara exchanged a quick look with her father before answering.
A distorted laugh echoed through the speaker.
"Excellent performance, Barbara. You and your police commissioner father almost moved me emotionally."
Barbara forced herself to stay composed.
"What do you want?"
"So impatient. You're ruining the fun already."
Barbara's voice sharpened.
"I already told you, I don't know where Batman is."
While speaking, she subtly motioned for Gordon to move toward the kitchen area and block part of the room from view.
She was certain Joker was monitoring them somehow.
The apartment's sunlight angle gave away the possible camera position.
The second Gordon moved into place, Barbara quickly turned toward her computer and began tracing the phone signal.
Unlike combat, this was where her confidence truly existed.
Her fingers flew across the keyboard while she continued speaking calmly to Joker.
The clown prince of crime eventually gave her a final warning.
"Fifteen minutes, Barbara. After that, the show ends."
The call disconnected.
Barbara exhaled sharply.
Then she looked at Gordon.
"I found him."
"Where?"
"Cherry Hill Skating Rink."
Across Gotham City, the Cherry Hill Skating Rink glowed beneath flickering orange neon lights.
Graffiti covered the walls.
Normally, the place stayed crowded with teenagers and young adults thanks to cheap prices and twenty-four-hour operation.
Tonight, however, the front entrance was locked.
A sign hung across the door.
PRIVATE PARTY, NO ENTRY.
Inside the rink, Joker slowly rolled across the floor in bright pink roller skates.
"Do you know what I love most about Gotham?" he asked cheerfully.
Tied to a chair nearby, Mrs. Gordon trembled violently.
Joker leaned closer to her with a horrifying grin.
"People."
His face barely resembled a human face anymore.
After cutting it off months ago, Joker had crudely stapled the skin back into place.
The stretched flesh pulled permanently into a twisted smile.
Blood stains still lingered around the seams.
Mrs. Gordon could smell the rot and dried blood every time he approached.
Around the skating rink sat dozens of corpses.
Families.
Couples.
Teenagers.
All dead.
Every single one wore the same grotesque smile frozen across their faces.
Joker spun casually across the rink.
"People in Gotham are full of life," he continued happily. "Every death feels like fireworks."
He skated in circles before eventually stopping beside Mrs. Gordon again.
Tonight's victim looked exhausted.
Her right hand had been mutilated, four fingers severed and wrapped with bloodied bandages.
Even so, she had still tried to free herself moments ago.
Joker grabbed her face roughly.
"You're ruining my magical evening, Mrs. Gordon."
Suddenly, the front glass doors exploded inward.
CRASH!
A figure burst into the rink.
Commissioner Gordon.
Using the enhanced serum that strengthened his body beyond normal human limits, Gordon attacked instantly.
His fists slammed into the nearest Joker Gang members with brutal force.
One thug crashed into the rink barrier.
Another flew backward into the seating area.
Within seconds, the entire gang was unconscious.
Joker merely smiled.
"I knew this would bring you here, Commissioner Gordon."
Gordon stared at him coldly.
"It's over, Joker."
"Oh, don't say that. I thought we were building something special."
"Release the hostage."
Joker sighed dramatically.
"Hostage? Such an ugly word. I simply wanted your ex-wife to feel appreciated. Neglected women become bitter, Commissioner."
Gordon's fists clenched tightly.
Every instinct screamed at him to tear Joker apart.
But he controlled himself.
"You're insane."
Joker's grin widened.
"That's not very romantic."
Then his voice darkened slightly.
"There's a bomb beneath her chair, by the way. Try anything reckless and your ex-wife becomes confetti."
Gordon immediately stopped moving.
Joker slowly approached him.
"Batman is the true king of Gotham," Joker whispered. "Without him, the city loses its meaning. So let's bring him back together."
Meanwhile, high above Gotham City Hall, another battle had reached its breaking point.
The rooftop was practically destroyed.
Concrete slabs hung over collapsed sections of the building.
Steel beams twisted from the impact of repeated collisions.
Clark Kent lay on the shattered rooftop, blood covering the side of his face.
Every muscle in his body screamed in agony.
He could barely move.
Adrian stood several feet away, calm and composed despite the devastation surrounding them.
Unlike Clark, Adrian looked almost untouched.
His eyes remained cold.
"Why do you keep resisting me, Clark?" Adrian asked. "You've seen this world. Corruption. Violence. Chaos. Politicians create suffering while pretending to care about humanity."
Clark struggled to breathe.
Adrian continued walking toward him.
"I can end all of it. I can create order. Why fight against that?"
Clark forced himself to look up at him.
"You'll never control the world your way."
Adrian's expression turned darker.
"No one lives only for themselves, Clark. No one dies only for themselves either."
He stopped directly in front of him.
"Compared to your timid heroism, I prefer ugly truth."
"You won't always win, Adrian."
The response earned him a brutal punch.
BOOM!
Clark's body flew off the rooftop like a missile.
The force shattered the sound barrier.
He crashed directly into a massive electrical support tower nearby, snapping the structure in half.
Power lines exploded with sparks.
Metal debris rained across the street below.
Adrian descended slowly toward the wreckage.
"I lost my father once too," Adrian said coldly. "Pain changes people. You keep pretending humanity is good despite being betrayed over and over again."
Clark remained buried beneath twisted steel and broken concrete.
Adrian ripped him out by the throat.
"You're weak because you refuse to embrace reality."
Even barely conscious, Clark still swung at him.
His fist slammed harmlessly against Adrian's arm.
Adrian kicked him away instantly.
Clark crashed across the ruined rooftop again.
"This world doesn't need your version of salvation," Adrian said. "Only mine."
He looked down at Clark emotionlessly.
"Join me, or die."
Clark spat blood onto the ground.
"Never."
Another devastating punch sent Clark crashing straight through the upper levels of Gotham City Hall.
Adrian immediately flew after him.
He was finished dragging this battle out.
Tonight, it would end.
But the moment Adrian entered the building, his instincts screamed.
BOOM!
A catastrophic explosion erupted inside Gotham City Hall.
Flames consumed entire floors instantly.
Shockwaves tore through the structure.
Adrian's eyes narrowed sharply as the blast swallowed the building.
Someone had planted explosives throughout City Hall.
===
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