Multiverse: Deathstroke

Chapter 139: Ch.138 Joker Returns

Chapter 139: Ch.138 Joker Returns

Amidst the flashing swords and blades, sparks flew in the space between the two combatants.

The Batman Who Laughs was breathing heavily, not just from the intensity of their battle but also because of the unsettling thoughts stirred by what Su Ming had revealed.

He didn't want to admit that what Su Ming said might be true, but everything this Deathstroke had done could only make sense if he really came from outside the comic world.

However, if the world he believed to be "real" was also under the control of others, then this cycle was indeed unbreakable. No matter how many walls he broke through, no matter which world he entered, he would always be manipulated by an unseen fate.

He just wanted to free everyone from these shackles, from the control of destiny. But if the outside world was the same, what could he do?

Nevertheless, whatever the case, he had to find a way out and see for himself. But first, he had to deal with this Deathstroke—only then could he consider his future options.

With countless thoughts flashing through his mind, the Batman Who Laughs calmed down and decided to exploit the weaknesses he had previously noticed in Su Ming.

This Deathstroke seemed to have a soft spot for the members of the Justice League, so that would be his leverage.

Having made up his mind, he quickly pulled out a few Batarangs from his utility belt and flung them towards the unconscious Barry Allen. The black Batarangs blended seamlessly with the surrounding darkness, almost invisible to the naked eye as they flew towards their target.

Su Ming wasn't about to let him kill Barry right in front of him. He immediately shot at the Batarangs, targeting their balance points to alter their trajectory.

Diana herself was invulnerable to blades, and the Joker obviously had no direct relation to Deathstroke, so the Batman Who Laughs had aimed at the Flash, which turned out to be a surprisingly good choice.

After tossing the Batarangs, the Batman Who Laughs didn't even look to see the result. Instead, he swung his massive sword at Su Ming. Su Ming, preoccupied with shooting down the Batarangs, saw the attack coming but had no way to dodge it significantly. The Batman Who Laughs had thrown the Batarangs with a cunning technique, covering each other's angles and blocking many of Su Ming's potential shooting paths.

His options were limited, but Su Ming had made his decision.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

Clang! Clang! Clang!

The Batarangs were all deflected, embedding themselves deep in the stone pillar around Barry, dangerously close but not hitting him.

Slash!

Su Ming's abdomen was slashed, his Promethium armor cut open. While Nth metal is generally less durable than Promethium, the combination of Hephaestus's craftsmanship and divine power made the weapon different.

The wound wasn't too large, not enough for his intestines to spill out, but it was still an injury.

Su Ming touched his stomach, his hand coming away covered in blood. This kind of wound would take about a minute to heal, but would the Batman Who Laughs give him that minute after discovering his weakness?

Sure enough, the Batman Who Laughs chuckled darkly. He pulled out a few more Batarangs from his belt, but this time, these had blinking red lights on them.

They were Batarang bombs.

He casually tossed them towards Barry and the others, watching with keen interest to see how Deathstroke would respond.

If Su Ming stayed in place to shoot the Batarangs, the Batman Who Laughs would immediately give him another wound. But if Deathstroke backed off and shot from a distance, the Batman Who Laughs would use the opportunity to slip into the shadows and escape.

He had plenty more bombs at his disposal.

He was still Batman after all, with excellent stealth skills. Retreating now could bring more opportunities later, and Deathstroke wouldn't be able to catch him.

The Batman Who Laughs hoped Deathstroke would retreat, so he could make his escape.

However, contrary to his expectations, Deathstroke didn't move away but instead aggressively charged forward, sword in hand.

"What's going on?" The Batman Who Laughs hurriedly raised his sword to block, but the force of Su Ming's attack sent him stumbling back several steps. "Do you no longer care about their lives?"

Su Ming didn't respond. In the next instant, explosions erupted around them, the Batarangs detonating in midair, engulfing them both in a cloud of smoke.

The Batman Who Laughs was protected by dark energy, while Su Ming had his armor. The explosions only made them stagger slightly.

But the unexpected didn't stop there. The Batman Who Laughs turned his head to look at the spot where the three captives had been.

Through the smoke, a figure could be seen convulsing with laughter, holding a gun and pressing his wrist to his forehead, laughing hysterically.

"Hahaha! Oh, it's been such hard work! Hahaha!!!"

Without even seeing the person, the voice alone was enough to identify them.

As the smoke cleared, the Joker could be seen slowly tidying his hair. He sniffed the air, tilting his head.

Somehow, he had shaken off the effects of the sedative and used the Batarangs stuck around Barry to cut the ropes, then pulled out a gun to shoot down all the bombs.

The Joker wasn't particularly good at shooting, but what did that matter? He could always shoot a few more times to make up for it.

And what if he still couldn't hit the flying bombs?

He hadn't thought that far ahead. After all, where's the fun in a game that guarantees victory?

"Joker."

The Batman Who Laughs coldly uttered the name. This madman had indeed brought another unexpected twist.

"Hmm? Is someone calling Uncle Jack?" The Joker joyfully laughed, covering his eyes. "But I can't see you! Are you asking for candy? You've got the wrong guy! Hahaha!"

"How did you wake up?" The Batman Who Laughs warily shifted, keeping both Deathstroke and the Joker in his sights, realizing the situation had turned against him. He was now caught between two adversaries.

The Joker holstered his gun, which didn't fire bullets but rather a small flag with his face on it, like the kind stuck into a giant burger.

He clasped his hands together, pressed his pale face against them, and made a mock-sleeping gesture, all while staring straight at the Batman Who Laughs with his signature huge grin.

They looked like brothers.

"Batman still doesn't have a sense of humor, does he? Haha, friends, when someone is truly asleep, there's always someone else pretending to sleep next to them. Isn't that just common sense? Hahahaha!"

It turns out that hiding in the Batcave, his insane mind never lacked wild ideas. The Batman Who Laughs had never seen the Joker standing, only the unconscious version when he brought the Monitor's brain to the cave.

That's right, the Joker had drugged himself with a sedative to knock himself out. He wanted to play a game with Batman.

The game was called "Every day I come home to find the Joker playing dead."

In the past, the Batman of the main world always locked the Joker up in Arkham, but breaking out was as easy as drinking water for the Joker, so later on, Batman started locking him in the deepest part of the Batcave.

However, during the events of Dark Nights: Metal, Batman was tricked by Dream into searching the world for metal, leaving the Justice League unable to find him. They sent Hal Jordan to check the Batcave.

Batman had left Blue Beetle on guard, so when Hal tried to enter, the two of them ended up fighting.

The commotion was so loud that it accidentally freed the Joker from the lower levels.

Everyone thought the Joker had escaped into the underground river below the Batcave, but he had actually circled back.

He wanted to keep playing with Batman. Being locked in the Batcave was fine by him; he got to see Batman every day. Since Harley had broken up with him, he had nowhere else to go, and everyone else was boring.

The Batcave was perfect. Everyone inside was talented, they spoke well, and he absolutely loved being there.

So, the Batman Who Laughs had basically stumbled upon an unconscious Joker, completely unaware that he had been faking it all along.

The Joker had Bacchus' blood in his veins, filling his mind with madness and excitement, so the sedative had barely affected him.

Originally, the Joker had planned to jump up and give Batman a "surprise" when Batman tried to help him up, but this Batman wasn't the one he was waiting for.

But he wasn't going to miss out on all the fun, so he continued pretending to be unconscious. After all, looking pale was his normal state, and playing dead was one of his basic skills.

However, he was upset to find that the Batman Who Laughs not only wasn't like Batman but actually resembled him more.

This didn't sit well with him.