Why did the Joker choose this circus?
Batman decided, for now, not to think about that question.
If every one of the Joker's acts of madness could be traced back to a clear motive, then he—or she—wouldn't be the Joker.
What mattered most now was ensuring that when old Thomas met the Joker, it wouldn't result in more innocent deaths.
"Cyborg, still no luck on their positions?"
"Still working on it. You're in Gotham's outskirts—no surveillance, no cameras. I can't pinpoint them that quickly!"
Just as Superman's x-ray vision is limited by lead, Cyborg couldn't precisely locate someone in an area lacking cameras and network coverage.
Especially since the show hadn't started yet, and there weren't many spectators using their phone cameras.
[ Tonight's performance will be a daring adventure! ]
Fireworks exploded above the distant circus tent, bursting into dazzling light. Strings of lights flickered wildly, illuminating the large words at the top of the sign—The Flying Graysons—flashing on and off.
The grand finale of the night—the Flying Graysons' trapeze act—had begun.
"Damn it!"
Without hesitation, Batman sprinted toward the largest tent at the center of the circus grounds.
"Cyborg, I need all possible backup."
If the Joker intended to cause chaos, then the area with the densest crowd—the trapeze performance—would be the most likely target.
What if he guessed wrong?
At this moment, Batman could only hope he hadn't.
Even if he was wrong, at least he could save this world's Graysons—prevent tonight's brave performance from turning into a tragic disaster.
And besides, he wasn't alone.
"Cyborg, I need—"
Before Batman could finish speaking, a cylindrical beam of white light appeared beside him.
Joey, holding a long-handled hammer, and a sweat-soaked Wonder Woman appeared at the circus.
In Joey's other hand were the fragments of Doctor Fate's helmet, still completely unharmed despite being struck by Hephaestus's forging hammer. A tiny spark flickered and fell from one of the fragments.
"Careful!"
Wonder Woman thrust her sword forward, catching that tiny spark.
This was hellfire—even a speck as small as a firefly could erupt into a devastating inferno if it touched the mortal ground.
With a soft exhale, Joey cooled the metal fragment in his hand completely, then scanned the entire circus.
Honestly, bringing the Justice League's three heavy hitters just to catch the Joker felt like overkill—but they had nothing better to do anyway.
Rather than continuing to struggle with Doctor Fate's helmet fragments, it was better to extinguish the spark of crime before it could grow.
"—"
After scanning the entire circus with his super vision, Joey realized that their presence here might not have been unnecessary after all.
His super vision isn't working here. This outdoor circus has nearly ten tents of various sizes, and he can't see through any of them.
No one would be insane enough to line tent fabric with lead, so the only other thing that could be interfering with my vision… is magic.
"It's Superman! And that Amazon!"
The commotion from the teleportation was too great—before long, the three of them were inevitably noticed by the crowd.
Batman watched as the surrounding people began to gather, more and more pulling out their phones, flashes lighting up as they aimed at them. He frowned slightly.
"Still haven't found the Joker? We need to act immediately. With this many people gathered, it's too dangerous."
There were simply too many people present—if anything went wrong, the number of casualties would be unimaginable.
"There's a problem, Bruce. It's not just the Joker—something else is blocking my vision."
Whether it was Joey or Cyborg, who handled the teleportation, they had originally thought this would be easy: arrive, locate the target, lock them up—done in one go. But things were turning out far more complicated than expected.
"We should've teleported three thousand meters above the target area."
Joey had a very bad feeling about this.
"Fuck you, Wonder Bitch!"
Someone in the crowd suddenly shouted.
No—Joey knew exactly who it was. Almost instantly, he dropped the hammer in his hand, flashed forward, and appeared in front of the man, reaching out to grab him by the collar.
Wonder Woman moved just as quickly, grabbing Joey's arm and stopping him.
"I don't care what these men think. Let them say whatever they want."
The war Diana had fought with Aquaman had resulted in hundreds of thousands of deaths. She had even invaded Britain. Mortal men might be fragile and arrogant, but regardless of the man's motives, Wonder Woman acknowledged his courage—or rather, his recklessness.
Not everyone had the nerve to openly insult one of the figures the media labeled as one of the world's most dangerous butchers.
The Wonder Woman from another world had left a real impact on her. She was now truly beginning to reflect on how to apply mercy and compassion toward mortals.
When Batman saw the man's face clearly, he couldn't help but feel the weight of how much had changed. Today really did feel like a gathering of old acquaintances.
The one shouting was a middle-aged man with sharp features and a sturdy build. From his posture, it was obvious he had a military background.
More importantly, Batman recognized his face—Steve Trevor. In Batman's world, his relationship with Wonder Woman was as close as Robin's was to Batman.
But there were more pressing matters at hand, and Batman had to speak up:
"Cyborg has marked several suspicious locations."
At this moment, Joey had already identified the man through his driver's license and military credentials in his wallet. He hadn't planned to do anything serious—just give him a scare for the insult.
After leaving behind a simple "You're lucky," Joey turned, picked up the hammer he had dropped, slung it over his shoulder, and headed toward one of the locations Cyborg had marked.
The man really was lucky—especially because of Joey.
In the original timeline, Steve Trevor would have been active as part of the British underground resistance on the British Isles.
Even as one of the most elite military operatives, he wouldn't have been able to stand against Amazon warriors, and would eventually have been captured.
After that came his fate—Diana, Queen of Britain and New Themyscira personally strangled him with the Lasso of Truth.
If Joey hadn't intervened in time and pulled Wonder Woman out of Britain, the man wouldn't be here peacefully watching a circus performance.
"Enjoy yourselves, my friends!"
Before leaving, Joey quickly switched to a bright smile, addressing the somewhat subdued crowd:
"It is a carnival after all!"