The chemical plant's main gate exploded inward with a deafening bang.
Outside, Nightwing and Zatanna had been relentlessly pressuring the entrance, forcing the Joker Gang into a defensive scramble. With their focus locked on the main gate, they failed to properly guard the side entries, allowing Cyborg and Black Canary to slip in through the broken windows and strike from within.
Harley Quinn quickly found herself caught between multiple fronts.
Despite the pressure, she showed no fear.
She had come prepared.
After emptying her submachine gun, Harley reached into her coat and pulled out a grenade, immediately hurling it toward Black Canary.
"Careful, this is a gift from Mr. J, try not to get blown apart!"
She laughed wildly as the grenade flew.
A split second later, Cyborg reacted.
A shockwave burst from his mechanical arm mid-air, intercepting the grenade before it could reach its target.
The explosion detonated early, erupting in the air instead of near Black Canary. The blast rippled outward violently, shaking the interior of the chemical plant and scattering debris across the floor.
Black Canary was still caught in the shockwave's residual force. The impact sent her flying backward, slamming hard into the ground as a metallic taste rose in her throat.
She had underestimated Harley's unpredictability, and it cost her the opening exchange.
"Ha, direct hit!"
Harley clapped her hands in excitement, watching Black Canary go down.
Cyborg did not waste time. He turned his arm toward the main gate and fired a concentrated blast of energy.
The reinforced entrance shattered instantly.
Gordon, Nightwing, and Zatanna rushed inside through the opening, immediately engaging the Joker Gang members in close combat.
The battlefield inside the plant descended into chaos.
Harley, instead of retreating, looked more thrilled as the room filled with enemies.
"I did not expect so many guests for Mr. J's ceremony."
She had already run out of firearms, but her expression did not change.
Instead, she pulled out a deck of playing cards from her pocket.
Acid-coated playing cards.
She had used them before during a televised robbery at a broadcast station. Back then, she had walked onto the stage promising a magic show, only for things to spiral into panic when her cards released toxic gas that incapacitated the host and forced the entire studio to evacuate.
That memory made her grin widen.
Without hesitation, she flicked the cards toward the incoming group.
The cards exploded mid-air, releasing a dense cloud of corrosive toxic gas that spread rapidly across the room.
Gordon immediately covered his mouth and nose as the smell hit him.
Nightwing, charging in front, was not as fortunate. He inhaled a significant portion of the gas before realizing what it was, staggering as irritation burned through his lungs.
Zatanna reacted instantly.
She raised her hand and cast a wind spell, dispersing the gas before it could spread further.
"Everyone move, clear the air!" she said sharply.
The toxic cloud thinned rapidly under her magic, restoring visibility inside the plant.
Gordon exhaled in relief, but his attention shifted immediately downward.
The floor beneath them was wrong.
Water was pooling across the concrete, but it shimmered faintly with blue electrical currents.
His eyes narrowed.
Before he could warn anyone, the trap activated.
Electricity surged through the water in a violent crackle.
Zzzzt.
A high voltage discharge rippled through the flooded floor, striking Gordon, Nightwing, and Zatanna simultaneously.
Gordon dropped instantly, his enhanced serum offering resistance but not immunity. His body locked up under the current.
Nightwing, already weakened by the toxic gas, collapsed forward with a curse, barely conscious.
Zatanna tried to respond with reverse incantation, but the electric shock disrupted her concentration mid-spell. The backlash hit her hard, forcing blood to spill from her lips as she fell to one knee before collapsing.
Three of them were down within seconds.
Harley tilted her head, pleased.
"Great, three down already. That leaves just a couple more."
Black Canary, still recovering from the earlier blast, pushed herself back to her feet despite the pain.
She muttered under her breath in frustration, then charged straight at Harley again.
At the same time, Cyborg fired another energy blast toward Harley, forcing her to dodge backward with a sharp leap.
She landed lightly on a crate, spinning mid-air with exaggerated flair.
"I think my performance is going pretty well," she said, looking between them. "As a female magician in fishnets, I feel like I should be getting better feedback. Maybe a yes so I can move to the next round?"
Black Canary glared at her.
"Go perform your tricks in hell."
She threw a straight punch forward.
Harley leaned back just in time, narrowly avoiding the strike.
Cyborg was forced to split his attention between Harley and the remaining Joker Gang members still rushing him.
Harley tilted her head again, almost playfully.
"You know, Canary, I once tried doing magic on television. I thought I might become famous. I was really into it. Same way I used to think about joining Mr. J's crew. Being part of something like that, feared across Gotham, it feels…"
She clasped her hands together, eyes bright with excitement.
"Kind of amazing."
Black Canary's expression hardened further.
"You are completely insane."
"I prefer passionate," Harley replied quickly.
That was enough.
Black Canary lunged again, unleashing a furious combination of strikes, but her earlier injuries slowed her down. Harley easily evaded, weaving around her attacks with unnatural agility.
Cyborg finally finished dealing with the remaining Joker Gang members. His mechanical body crackled with residual energy, building up pressure as if preparing for a larger blast.
But he hesitated.
Black Canary was still inside the blast radius.
Harley noticed the opening.
She slipped behind Canary in a single movement.
"Gotcha."
Her hammer came down in a wide arc.
Cyborg immediately reacted, rushing in to intercept. He pushed Black Canary out of the way and redirected a weaker energy blast toward Harley to avoid collateral damage.
The reduced power compromised accuracy.
The blast missed Harley directly, striking the wall instead and blowing a massive hole through it. Concrete shattered outward as smoke filled the space.
Harley lost balance mid-air from her evasive movement and crashed to the ground awkwardly, landing face-first with her legs flipping upward.
She groaned lightly from the impact.
"Sorry," she called out, muffled by the floor. "I thought that landing would look cooler."
Black Canary wiped blood from her face, eyes burning with anger.
"That is it."
She stepped forward again, preparing to finish the fight.
Cyborg had already reached the electrified floor's control switch and shut it down, cutting the current running through the water.
Silence returned briefly, broken only by the settling dust.
Then Cyborg froze.
A new presence had appeared near the broken wall.
At first, he thought it was a visual distortion caused by the smoke.
But the figure moved again.
Instantly.
Now standing directly in front of him.
Cyborg's sensors locked onto the presence, and for the first time in the entire fight, a clear sense of alarm flashed across his systems.
"You…"
His voice lowered.