Chapter 48

-Minutes after Batman infiltrated the Jokerz hideout-

"Hey! Isn't that Cedric with Don's whole division?" A member of the mutant gang said as he pointed at a group of bikers ripping through the street

"You're right. What should we do? Should we follow them?" Another member of the gang replied.

"I think we should. Our division leader said to be wary of those guys. They were the only ones that didn't vote for Red Hood to be appointed as leader while the mutant leader is gone."

And so, they followed them and stopped meters away from where Cedric and Don's division stopped.

"What are they looking for?" One of them asked as they observed the unsuspecting party.

Suddenly, Cedric's party hid when they sensed someone was coming.

Men wearing clown masks and colorful clothes came out of a tunnel that led to an abandoned subway station. Once they came out, Cedric and the others jumped them.

The members of the mutant gang that saw this looked at each other and started calling the other members to come to where they were.

"...yeah. I think they found out where the Jokerz's hideout is." One of them said as he talked near his wrist where his smartwatch was.

They observed Cedric's party drag the unconscious Jokerz into an alley and wore their clown masks.

----

"Wow." Don wearing a clown mask said as he walked with his whole team and Cedric in the Jokerz' hideout. "They weren't even a little bit suspicious when we said that we're a new team."

They infiltrated the Jokerz' base by posing as a new team of the Jokerz and mentioned Terminal, Doug, and J-man recruiting them.

"That's how you know they just need numbers to fill up. They don't need to trust anybody or have the same principles as them. If we could have known earlier that this is how they operate, turning them against each other would be easy." Cedric said.

Ironically, as he said that, two ranked members of the Jokerz gang were fighting to the death somewhere in there.

"Where do you think they're keeping the leader?" Don said as they continued to walk forward and tried to not act suspiciously, pretending that they're familiar with the place.

"They won't be able to contain him normally...it has to be somewhere cold."

"...What is with that? Is he a meta-human?"

"...something like that."

As they walked, Cedric suddenly stopped.

"You felt it too?" Don stopped too and asked Cedric.

"Yeah." Cedric replied as he turned his head towards a direction where he felt an ice-cold breeze was coming from.

They started walking in that direction and the air got colder as they went further.

"Look! There he is!" Don exclaimed as he finally saw a cell with a single man sitting in the middle and his head dropped down.

They began to ran towards the jail cell.

The man tied to a chair had his white collared shirt ripped and bloodied. His trench coat and hat that he was always wearing was on the floor.

His signature silver white hair caused by albinism confirmed it.

It was the mutant leader.

"Leader!" Cedric raised his voice as he gripped the iron bars.

The mutant leader slowly lifted up his head revealing his bruised and cut up face. He looked at their faces covered by clown masks but he instantly recognized them because of Cedric's voice.

"Ced...ric...Don..."

Cedric, Don and the others were saddened by his appearance but there is no time for sentimentality. They needed to get the mutant leader out of there fast to gain back control of the mutant gang from the dangerous Red Hood and defeat the Jokerz afterwards.

"Shit. How do we get this thing open?" Don said, but right after he said that...

"What are you guys doing here? The Boss had strict orders to not come near his plaything." It was a member of the Jokerz. He is pertaining to the Joker as their Boss.

Cedric and Don were enraged by the word "plaything" but they calmed themselves down.

"We didn't know because we're new. We were just curious about who's in here that the Joker would be interested enough to keep him."

"Yeah? Well, now you know. You should leave." He said.

Then...

"It's an attack! We're being invaded by the mutant gang!" Another member of the Jokerz came running to inform the other.

They didn't know that the mutant gang is no more and they are now facing the Sons of Batman.

"What?! How did they know we're here?"

"I don't know, but our orders were to defend the base."

The member of the Jokerz turned around. "You heard him. We have our orders. Let's go." He started walking as if to lead Cedric's party towards the front line of the battle. When he turned around again, Cedric and Don's division were still standing there. "What are you guys doing? Are you afraid of those bastards?"

But they just stood there looking at each other without replying for a while.

"?" The member of the Jokerz gang tilted his head at them in confusion.

"...How do I say this?" Cedric finally broke his silence. He removed his mask and the people that were with him also did so. "We're part of the mutant gang." Cedric smiled as he cocked his right hand and threw a chair that happened to be near him.

It instantly knocked out the unaware Jokerz member, simultaneously, Don kicked the ground and launched an attack on the other one to knock him out.

"Shit! Somebody must have followed us." Don said.

"They were probably keeping tabs on us because we were the only ones against the temporary turnover of the gang to Red Hood."

"We should get this thing open fast." Don said as he glanced at the jail cell that the mutant leader was in. "Don't worry, boss. We'll get you out of here..."

The mutant leader just looked at them in worry. They were in enemy territory, surrounded by enemies on all sides and so, he couldn't help but worry about them instead of his own wellfare.

One of them started to try and pick the locks. "...Don't know how they got this, but this lock is the most advanced lock I have ever seen."

"Can you pick it?" Cedric asked.

"Of course...but it will take too much time. We need a key or something to destroy the bars."

"Do you think those guys have the key with them?" Don pointed at the distance where a large group of Jokerz is heading their way.

"Only one way to find out." Cedric said as he cracked his knuckles.

They waited patiently until the Jokerz finally reached them. The fight finally ensued.

Cedric and Don did their best to handle most of their opponents because they were the better fighters among the group but they won't be able to hold out for very long unless they get back up.

"Kuh!" Don grunted as got punched in the face, but he didn't stop and dodged a baseball bat being swung at him and grabbed his opponent's arm before elbowing him on the neck. "We just need to hold out until they reach this area!"

It hurt them to admit that the new and brutal mutant gang is their only hope of surviving now...

That was until Batman finally arrived.

"Gah!"

"Gugh!"

"Gegh!"

The Jokerz were dropping like flies every time Batman made a move.

With more leisure, Don smiled and said. "I thought you'd already be here when we arrive."

"...I had to deal with the kidnapped girl first." Batman replied.

Don furrowed his brows. He's still burdened by the fact that Dana got kidnapped just because he was there at the party. "Is she safe?"

"Yes."

Cedric finished off the remaining Jokerz that were attacking them before he turned to the Batman. "Do you have anything to open this cell with?"

Batman didn't reply and just took out a gadget from his belt and started to melt the bars of the prison cell with a laser.

As soon as he was finished, Cedric and the other ran inside the cold storage and untied the mutat leader.

Cedric looked at his friend and leader with remorse. "I'm sorry that I didn't get to protect you that time."

"It's...okay.." The mutant leader struggled to reply.

"Let's get him out of here so he can fully recover." Batman said.

The cold was hindering the mutant leader's regeneration and making him lose his strength. If they get him to warm up, he'd instantly regain his full health.

Cedric picked up the mutant leader and they started running. They have one more thing to do before they get out of here. That is to bring the mutant gang again together by presenting the mutant leader, their anchor.

As they ran towards the battle between the mutant gang and the Jokerz, they could hear screams of rage, pain, and agony in the distance.

What's worse is the sound of actual gunfire.

Bang! Bang! Bang! Ratatatatata!

All of their faces showed uncomfortable expressions as they imagined what they would see once they reach the stage of the fight.

When they were finally close enough to recognize the faces in the distance, they could see that the fight is already ending.

Of course, the mutant gang are on the winning side. They had the advantage of numbers before and now that they have adapted the cruel methods of the Jokerz, they are more dangerous than ever.

"We're too late..." Cedric said.

This was what they were trying to prevent their gang to become. Murderers.

"It's never too late..." Batman said. "We can still save the ones that are still alive. We should hurry and present the mutant leader to your gang."

"Put me down..." The mutant leader uttered.

Cedric furrowed his brows upon hearing this. He didn't want to make their leader more exhausted than he already is.

"It's okay, Cedric. I can feel that I've recovered a little bit." The mutant leader faintly smiled.

Hesitantly, he finally let the mutant leader down gently feet first. They escorted them until they reached the fight.

"STOP!!!" Cedric shouted to grab everyone's attention. "We've already rescued the mutant leader! You should stop this now and pay respect to him!"

Everyone stopped moving. Even the Jokerz that were left took a deep breath in relief.

The mutant leader had a stern look on his face as he stepped forward.

He may look all beaten up but everyone could feel his strength with just his gaze.

"...I did not want for this to happen." The mutant leader started speaking. "I know all of you came for me. To get revenge that you would even be willing to dirty your hands...but this is not what I have envisioned for us-"

BANG!

Everyone's eyes widened because of the sudden gunfire. Blood began to spurt out of the mutant leader's chest as he collapsed. He got shot.

BANG!

Another one fired from the same direction but it wasn't aimed at the mutant leader this time.

It appeared that the Red Hood fired the second shot as he had his gun pointed at Terminal who is now lying on the ground lifeless.

"Fletch!!!!" Batman erupted from where he was standing as Cedric, Don and himself rushed to the mutant leader's side.

Everyone else in the mutant gang were too shocked of what happened to even move.

"He was outnumbered and he still shot him! Motherf-!" Red Hood shouted and kicked Terminal's lifeless body. "Kill them all! Don't let a single one of them alive!" He shouted as he pointed at the remaining Jokerz.

"Aaaaaah!!!!" A division leader of the mutant gang swung his knife at someone in front of him. Blood began spurting from the unsuspecting individual who thought the fight was over.

Soon right after that, everyone pointed their weapons again at the remaining Jokerz.

While all this was happening, Cedric, Don and Batman formed a huddle around the mutant leader who is now lying on the ground while the others stood by behind them.