Chapter 16: The Joker
"A lion doesn't pass judgement on a gazelle. Cancer doesn't pass judgement on a brain. I've been saying this all along. Evil doesn't exist. There are only actions. We got to the same place--the top of the food chain--just on different paths. Mine was more fun."
— The Joker
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The wild tiger, boasting the strongest physique, was sent flying with a punch, a testament to the formidable power of the claws combined with incredible speed. This opponent proved to be a formidable challenge.
After launching the wild tiger, the claws elbowed the bat with a muffled bang, dealing a heavy blow to its head, causing it to fall to the ground.
Then, the sharp claws rotated, twisted his hips, took off, and threw his legs out in one swift motion. The whirlwind leg swept across the neck of the firefly, a blow heavier and fiercer than the previous one.
Considering the relatively small size of the firefly, a direct hit would instantly break the cervical spine. However, the claws were lightning-fast, and the firefly hadn't reacted yet.
In the midst of the battle, Grandpa Rick's battle memory manipulated Jude to speed up and crash into Claw's side ribs.
The sharp claws seemed to hit an invisible barrier and fell to the ground with a plop, while Jude was thrown three meters away by the impact.
But Sharp Claw reacted quickly, rolling on the spot and pulling away. Looking around with some doubt, it was obvious that there were other people hidden there. As a seasoned fighter, he could distinguish between hitting a person and hitting a wall.
Jude rubbed his arms and got up. He first checked Ivy, who had been thrown, and found that she was breathing smoothly and unharmed.
Firefly quickly inquired about the well-being of her companions. The wild tiger, with a robust physique, stood up while rubbing his chest, while the bat had lost consciousness.
Throughout the process, Jude and Firefly maintained silence, understanding that secrecy was crucial to maintaining an edge over their opponent.
Sharp Claw looked left and right for a moment but found no abnormalities, so he could only improve his concentration and rush towards the enemy again.
"You shouldn't mess with me; I will turn you into a piece of coke!"
The firefly yelled, took off her gloves, and waved her hands forward. Fire spewed out from her palms like a flamethrower, forming a fire dragon five or six meters long.
Sharp Claws were shocked, burned upright by the flames; his black clothes instantly turned into fly ash; his bare skin cracked, and the burnt skin broke into flesh in a few seconds.
Firefly laughed upon seeing this: "Look at my festering hands; now we are all the same, burned, hahaha."
But then, the skin of Sharp Claws slowly healed under the astonished gazes of a few people. The burned flesh began to fall off, and new granulation shoots continued to grow out, making the scalp numb.
Firefly shouted, "He has a strong self-healing ability, and he is offensive; don't let up!"
The wild tiger stamped heavily on the ground, his hands transforming into tiger claws, creating a powerful wind.
Before Sharp Claws could recover, he dared not engage in hand-to-hand combat, moving back. However, he immediately felt a strong wind as the tiger's tail slammed into his leg.
A crisp sound followed as the thigh bone of Sharp Claw's left leg was dislocated, causing him to stagger back a few steps.
The wild tiger lunged again; Sharp Claws sidestepped and then received a punch to the chin. Subsequently, the punches rained down like a storm, instantly stunning the opponent, with a right hand thrust directly into the wild tiger's eyes.
At a crucial moment, Jude shot again, and the laser gun fired continuously. Although many shots missed, one managed to penetrate Sharp Claw's right arm.
Jude's laser gun could melt even a steel plate in an instant, surpassing the human body's limits.
Sharp Claw's right arm fell to the ground a few centimeters from the wild tiger's eye.
Firefly yelled, "Dodge!"
She spewed fiery flames again, turning the opponent into a fireball within moments. The pungent scent of barbecue spread along with the sizzling oily sound.
Jude and the wild tiger retreated, while Firefly continued to set the fire. Despite being unable to see her expression under the mask, she radiated a sense of savagery and perversion.
The flame burned for a full three minutes, and then Sharp Claws struggled before collapsing. There was no groan, suggesting that life had left him.
"Huh, is he dead?"
"It's all burned into coke, and the internal organs are destroyed. He shouldn't survive."
"Then let's go quickly; we don't know what other monsters are lurking here."
The term "monster" uttered by the wild tiger carried an eerie feeling. It seemed that Sharp Claws had made a lasting impression on him.
Firefly raised her head toward the surveillance camera and, with a middle finger, declared, "I will come back and kill all of you bastards!" She then mimicked wiping her neck.
The wild tiger picked up the bat and Ivy, while Jude pressed the elevator code. The group quickly entered the elevator.
In the command room,
observing the scorched claws, the man's expression soured.
He asked in a low voice, "Sir, what shall we do now?"
The man suddenly shouted, "Notify the ground and be defensive. Do I still need to spell it out?"
He hurriedly began contacting the ground asylum but encountered no response on the telephone device.
"Sir, no one is answering."
The man's face darkened further. Losing contact with Arkham Asylum was not a good sign. Could things have spiraled out of control?
With this realization, the man abandoned the idea of single-handedly quelling the riot. He took a solemn breath and dialed a secret phone number.
Arkham Asylum, half an hour earlier.
After sending Jude underground, the Riddler returned to the asylum, refraining from escaping as he had claimed.
Nigma, being a clever man, understood that even if he managed to escape Arkham Asylum on his own, Gotham City still awaited him. Batman, the Dark Knight, would undoubtedly track him down soon. Therefore, he needed more people to share the impending consequences.
So, the Riddler made his way to the control center of Arkham Asylum. As the switch closed and prison doors opened, Arkham descended into a chaotic carnival of villains.
The incarcerated villains fled one after another—Scarecrow, Two-Face, Ventriloquist, Mad Hatter, Clayface, and even the Clown Prince of Crime himself, the Joker, held in the deepest cell.
Unlike others, the Joker's prison was isolated, surrounded by a high-voltage power grid and sealed in a tight plastic bag with his hands and feet tied, leaving only his head exposed.
Even with these precautions, Arkham remained apprehensive because the Joker was too dangerous. While other villains committed crimes with some purpose, the Joker represented senseless chaos and evil. His aim was to plunge the world into chaos without any purpose or reason—just pure chaos.
Upon his appearance, not only did the Bat-family feel a headache, but even the villains in Gotham City were fearful. They knew they possessed some humanity and had certain principles deep within, but the Joker lacked all that; he had nothing but chaos.
It was this unpredictability that
caused the Joker to have no allies. Although there were many villains, none were willing to save him, except for Harley Quinn.
"Mr. J, I'm here to save you!"
Harley Quinn enthusiastically opened and closed the cell containing the Joker, throwing herself onto him for a hug.
The Joker, displaying a look of disgust, silently remarked, "Harley, take your face away, and quickly untie the damn rope."
Harley Quinn wasn't bothered by the Joker's scolding. Seeing Mr. J filled her with joy, and in her head, she began envisioning a church wedding scene.
"Mr. J., I saved you again; when will we get married?"
The Joker responded perfunctorily, "Tomorrow."
As he broke free from the ropes, he laughed and declared, "Batman, I'm back!"
Meanwhile, in the command room of Arkham Asylum, the man's phone call echoed with a sense of urgency.
"We've got a situation here, and it's worse than we thought. We need assistance immediately. Yes, it's reached that point. Send whoever you can, and fast. Arkham is falling apart."
The man hung up, a troubled expression etched on his face. The asylum, once a fortress holding Gotham's most dangerous criminals, was now a battleground. The Joker, the embodiment of chaos, had been unleashed, and the repercussions were echoing through the entire city.
As the man issued orders for the asylum's defenses, the news spread. Gotham City, already a hotbed of crime, was now teetering on the brink of anarchy.
Back in the depths of Arkham, the Riddler observed the chaos he had set in motion. His plan had worked, unraveling the carefully woven fabric of security within the asylum. The time for answers was approaching, and he relished the impending chaos.
The Joker, freed from his confinement, reveled in the unfolding mayhem. Harley Quinn, his devoted companion, eagerly followed him, and the pair became a whirlwind of madness sweeping through Arkham's corridors.
The inmates, now released from their cells, joined the chaos with varying degrees of enthusiasm. Some sought freedom, others reveled in the anarchy, and a few retreated to darker corners to bide their time.
As the Joker and Harley Quinn made their way through the asylum, a sinister laughter echoed, setting the stage for a night of madness that would leave an indelible mark on Gotham City. The Dark Knight, Batman, was yet to be aware of the storm brewing within the walls of Arkham, and the city stood on the precipice of a chaotic night.
The Joker's words lingered in the air: "Evil doesn't exist. There are only actions." And in Gotham's heart, actions were about to unfold, each more unpredictable and chaotic than the last.
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