Chapter 56: 56: Joker’s Carnival

The shambling horde of Joker zombies ran straight at them. Their claws dug into the ground as they propelled themselves forward. The ghouls and monstrosities bull rushed forward plowing through their lesser kin with reckless abandonment. A inhuman screech rang out across the field then before it could finish its call for slaughter a neon green train crashed into the horde. Chooo! Chooo! The train tore straight down the middle and sitting in the train conductors cabin was a ten foot tall Saurian with his Wraith disguise wrapped around him, with one exception he had a train conductor hat on and a huge grin. Trains are fun!

A rainstorm of bullets, arrows, energy blasts, and a few spells fell from the heavens as the League along with the Amazons, Wardens, and two pilots called destruction onto the horde. Saurian jumped out of the train mid way through the horde and grew in size to twenty by forty feet. He did a barrel roll and made them all into paste. Martian Manhunter changed into a giant armored spider and killed them with his legs. Arrow, and Arsenal shot with precision in the joints of the ghouls to prevent their fast movements. Flash, and Kid zipped through, tripped, pushed, and broke through. Superman flew into the air and exhaled onto the crowd turning the horde into ice statues. Aquaman, Aquawoman, and Wonder Woman waded into the field with their melee weapons as Hawkman and Hawkwoman flew over head and dive bombed into the crowd with earth shattering effect. Nyx, and Zatanna shot arcane arrows into the crowd, each one a tiny grenade of mystical power. Miss Martian took on the guise of a armored gorilla and slammed any zombie into paste. Shazam shot out lighting bolts to electrifying effect. Soon the battle was over!

Saurian reverted his size down to eight by sixteen. The Wraith Shroud wrapped around him like a living thing as the black and gray cloth danced around the edges ripped and tattered. His snout, hands, feet, and mid section of his tail looked like it was dipped in pure darkness that dripped onto the ground. He raised his hands into the air and cast Unburden on the residual energy of the zombies. Then cast Panacea to remove the disease. Soon the green noxious fumes faded from sight. The storm raged on above them as water rained down, and lighting cracked across the sky.

“We need to decide who is going in.” Saurian called over to the collection of people besides the League.

“Do we know what to expect inside?” Arrow asked.

“Nyx give them a run down on what could happen.” Saurian said as he picked Dia out from the crowd. Nyx looked a little sheepish at suddenly having everyone look at her.

“Expect reality warping as you can see with the bubble around the Carnival. Hallucinations that will trick all senses will be used. You'll fall into a dream like state that you will have a hard time separating from reality.” Nyx began to explain the situation to everyone. Even created a few examples that surprised a few people.

It was only a few minutes in when Manhunter asked Wonder Woman if Nyx was talking about magic. Turned out Mars did have a mystical academy. Though those with the talent were few and far between. After that Manhunter looked at Wraith differently. It was both surprise and a little more reverence. Magic casters were rare on Mars and were given respect. Saurian stepped off to the side and created a simple work bench and started to combine and craft rings, bracelets, anything that could be slipped on and not obstructive to movement.

“Agent Wraith....What should we do?” flight officer Lance asked. Lance and Hanna came over to the work table. Lance was about 5'10”, and Hanna was 5' 8”. They both had on tactical operations gray and black gear on. With the mag rail rifles Saurian had made them in hand with safeties on. Smart.

“That is up to you. We don't know what we'll find in there. We may get separated, we may get killed. You can stay out here and watch our backs. That is a viable option or you can come in with us. The both of you have been useful. But we have been pushing ourselves for nearly eight hours.” Saurian said to them. He glanced up a few times during his monologue but continued to make items.

Lance and Hanna both looked conflicted. They clearly wanted to continue on and help but this was so clearly beyond them. They were fighter pilots not boots on the ground soldiers. They had seen over a dozen impossible things in the past ten hours alone then most would see in a life time. Hanna looked at Lance, and he at her. They both wanted to help...But.

“Fine, I'll make it easier. Both of you are ordered to hold this ground until helps arrives. You may only join the Carnival operation if ordered by a superior officer. Or leave the grounds unless your lives are in danger or ordered to. Understood?” Saurian said to them softly. They both nodded and offered up their rifles.

“Keep them...For now. We don't know what else is out here. Also be aware that the combat boost I gave you both will last another six hours. Then you'll be in desperate need of food and sleep. Side effects. Just remember what I told you about the rifles.” Saurian said to them as he continued to work on a ring. They both stood at attention and saluted. Saurian took a moment and saluted back in near perfect attention to detail.

“I have to say I'm impressed by you, Wraith. I spoke to Shazam and Zatanna. You taught them a few things about operations and always having a plan before you run in.” John Stewart Green Lantern said as he walked over after Lance and Hanna walked off to check the perimeter.

“Thank you Sergeant. Though I get the feeling we may need to train some of the League members on what its like to work as a team. The zombie fight was great indication. Everyone has their strengths and weaknesses, but if we were not linked together we would be a chaotic mess.” Saurian said to John who took a surprised step back at his Marine Core rank.

“What is that link by the way? I heard Manhunter talk about it.” John replied quickly to change the subject.

“The official name for it is, temporary pack bond. Anyone that is designated as 'Friendly' with me can be connected into a telepathic network. The telepathy is only surface communication so don't worry about inner thoughts. It has a twenty five mile radius from the central hub aka me. It auto translates language, gives a general location of those around you, and as long as you don't encounter a material or energy barrier capable of blocking telepathy the effect works through obstructions. The shared mental connection also increases every ones overall stats by approximately 10%” Saurian said to John as he finished another ring. He set it off to the side with a few others he had finished.

“Hot damn, that's useful! Manhunter's link has a longer range but that increased buff is a great benefit. What are you making?” John walked over and checked the rings out.

“Put it on and look at the bubble.” Saurian said to him. John complied and smiled as the ring auto sized to fit him. John turned around to look at the warp. He blinked and rubbed his eyes.

With the ring on he could see past the bubble. Inside was a twisted Joker twist carnival city with rides, games, and hordes of clowns. It odd had Gotham feel to it, almost as if it was a mirror city. John took the ring off, the ring expanded to its default size. Saurian finished another ring and placed it to the side.

“You got enough material for everyone?” John asked as he pocketed the ring at Saurian's permission.

“I should have enough. Do we know who is all going?” Saurian replied.

Nth metal, and Orichalcum ring.

Rating: B-

Effect: Durable.

Effect: Physiology Adaptation.

Effect: 10% resistance to negative magical effects.

Effect: 10% increase to positive magical effects.

Effect: Reality Recognition 20%

Effect: Mental Resistance 20%

Effect: Soul Resistance 20%

Effect: Transmutation Domain Spell, Reduce/Enlarge auto fits for the user with in five sizes, Plus or Minus.

Comments: You've discovered how to make a semi auto size item! The item will also help those peer through the warp of reality and resist the damage it causes.

It was decided that the entire League including their side kicks would come. An Amazon unit would stay behind with the Wardens/UNWS team along with Lance and Hanna. Saurian handed out the rings to the rescue team. He did make extra for Batman, Robin, and Batgirl. Manhunter, and Miss Martian were surprised to find out the ring shifted with them when they used Density Shift, and Shape Shift.

“Do you think you can make us a few things after the mission?” Miss Martian asked with a smile!

“Sure, We can make something to help with fire and heat resistance if you like?” Saurian replied. Both Manhunter and Miss Martian eyes lit up at that idea.

“Everyone, the rings will help you resist and peer through the illusions you see. But it is not guaranteed! So please use caution! Also, my telepathic link is only twenty five miles. Though the entire bubble only has a fifteen mile radius that may not be the same inside.” Saurian said, every one nodded and prepared to head in. Saurian handed three remaining rings to the Amazon unit outside. They looked at him confused.

“In case anything or any one comes out that claims to be us.” Saurian said.

“We understand, brother! Good luck!” The Amazon guard said to him and placed a ring on her finger. Wonder Woman walked over with Nyx.

“Thank you for the enchanted items, Wraith. I don't suppose you'll be able to track them once we are inside?” Wonder Woman asked.

“I'll try, but Nyx can tell you that reality warping tends to warp everything.” Saurian replied. Nyx nodded her head in agreement.

“Alright everyone listen up! We are missing three of our people. Batman, Robin, and Batgirl. We can also assume that insane man named Joker is inside. Let's do our best to stick together! Find our people! End this threat! Anyone have anything to say before we go?” John said as he stood up front. He looked around and stopped at Wraith who had his clawed hand up.

“I'm told that I am pretty good cook. So after this is done we should all sit down with some good food, drink, and get to know each other. Agreed?” Saurian said in his reptilian voice.

“AGREED!” The League replied with a smile. John smiled at Saurian for breaking the tension. Good to be cold, but not so cold you break.

“Lets move!” John said, he floated into the air by the power of his Green Lantern ring and flew through the carnival gates.

One by one everyone stepped through. Saurian was last, he insisted because he had a bad feeling. The gate had a clear soap bubble like film that covered it. As soon as anyone stepped through they would fade from sight. When Saurian stepped through he found himself in a giant twisted and gnarled forest. Tall hedge maze bushes on either side that grew into the sky itself he looked around and snarled in frustration. He was alone! The gate had separated everyone.

“Welcome to the Carnival....” Saurian said under his breath and stepped forward.

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Batgirl groaned in pain as she opened her eyes. She looked around and felt a sharp pain behind her eyes. A concussion was an easy deduction, her hands were tied up above her, as were her ankles. She was tied to a long wooden pole that was nailed into the ground. She looked around and saw that several more people were staked into the ground. However one of them was currently on fire and screaming! A crowd of clowns laughed and danced around the pyre. There were dozens of burnt pyres beyond that one. She had eight more people before it was her turn. Many of the people tied to the stakes were detached, their eyes empty. But a few struggled and attempted to break free.

“Time to put my training to good use!” Batgirl said as she shifted and pulled on her hands until....POP! Her left thumb dislocated. She grit her teeth and slowly began to wiggle out of the restraints.

After a few more minutes she pulled her left hand free of the rope, and her right hand soon followed. She popped her thumb back in and quickly got free. She pulled out a Bat-a-rang and began to cut the other people down. The party clowns hadn't seem to notice them yet. She helped every surviving individual down then together they slowly crept into the s...

“Whaaaaa! Party favor is gone! Hhahahaha! Hahahahaahahaah! Look! Look there they are! Hhahahahaahah!” One of the larger clowns had discovered their disappearance.

“Run!” Batgirl yelled at the survivors who ran into a twisted forest. Batgirl threw flash bang pellets at the clowns that rushed to them and then chased after her survivors. She ran through the forest went around a tree trunk and found a house of mirrors in front of her.

“Where am I?” Batgirl asked...

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“Step right up! Step right up! See if you can shoot the bouncing Bird!” A giant clown shouted towards the crowd of clowns. Several of them paid, picked up rifles and attempted to shoot a bounding Robin as he danced around in the arena trying to avoid getting shot.

Robin had woken up in a cage! The last thing he remembered was getting a call from Batman to help him with something in the east district. When he landed the Bat-Wing jet he was attacked from behind and then was here. BANG! A shot went through the air and grazed past Robins arm. Focus! He had to focus now he could reminisce about his troubles later. He took out his grapple gun, shot it towards a corner in a maze he ran through. Thunk! The grapple went taut and he went flying into the air.

Robin was in a giant maze made out of fun house buildings. Like a toy jungle gym for parkour runners. But very real bullets hailed down from a balcony above him, clowns shot down at him. Why did it have to be clowns! The problem was he was not the only one in the maze, though it was clear he was the main prize. Dozens of people ran around and tried to hide behind cover. While dozens more bled out on the ground, some had their heads blown off. Brain matter scattered across the ground.

Robin reached into his utility belt and pulled out a few smoke pellets and threw them into the street. The smoke billowed and covered the retreat and hiding place of a few people. But that didn't last long as a small alarm went out. Then rabid hyena's were released into the maze. Robin landed on the street and extended his metal quarter staff.

“Where am I?” Robin asked...

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Batman sprinted through the carnival at full speed as a horde of clowns chased after him. He had chased Edward Nygma into the carnival. But failed to rescue him as the clowns had torn him apart limb from limb. Nygma seemed just as surprised as Batman was, because the zombies had allowed Nygma to pass through them at the entrance. But the clowns seem to have different orders. Edward Nygma had died and now Batman was trapped inside the Carnival.

Joker's Carnival didn't make any sense! In Gotham's east district there was an old abandoned carnival that Joker had used in the past for a hide out. But this was something else! This carnival went on for miles in every direction. It was almost like it was a twisted version of Gotham City it self. Towering sky scrapers of fun houses. Clowns of every shape, size, color, and type walked the streets. Some worked the carnival, others played, but every single one of them would react and attack when ever they saw any one or anything that wasn't a clown.

“Testing! Testing! 1....2....3! King Joker here! To all my loyal subjects! The end game is here! The 'Juice us League' has entered the Carnival! Please do your best to make them comfortable, and show them a good time! And remember! Slaughter is the best medicine! King Joker says joke, laugh, and kill! Ta Ta for now!” Jokers twisted voice rang over the cities intercom system. The clowns cheered and burst into action.

“Where is everyone?” Batman asked...

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Hundreds of clowns ran out of the carnivals forest! They hooted, jeered, told jokes, but all of them continued to run out of the forest as fast as possible. But the forest seemed to gain on them, as the giant twisted and gnarled trees took massive steps towards the city the clowns seem to inhabit. Emergency response sirens wailed and came to a stop at an intersection. In carnival fashion one car showed up but dozens of clowns came out of the car. They set up barricades and took out their comically large or small super soakers and began to fire into the forest. The tree's groaned but the bark soon took on a green glow and healed over. Behind the army of tree's walked a reptilian wraith.

“Yaaaa...Sticking the Druid inside the hedge maze. Not a good idea.” Saurian said out loud.

Saurian practiced his Plant Control spell/skill as he animated the army of trees with his Parallel Minds, and Virtual Intelligence. The army of trees crashed through the clown police line, picked up the clowns and dropped them into their toothy and wooden maws. The sickening sound of bones being crushed, flesh ripped, and the hysterical laughter as the clowns joked and cheered as if it was the funniest thing in the world. Saurian stepped out of the forest onto the solid concrete of the warped reality. He raised his clawed hands into the air and brought them down into the ground with the force of a tank shot! The shock wave burst from the center of the crash sending debris flying into the air. Then the warping in reality abruptly twisted and began to break.

Illusion Domain Spell, Disillusion: Shatter an illusion into pieces. As the pieces break apart the mirror or reality breaks apart and returns to normal. Since illusions are copies or reflections of something else you may use this spell to break them apart. Careful you don't get seven years of bad luck!

The twisted reality of the Carnival city shrunk by hundreds of feet in a single blink of the eye. Inside of the bubble the city was far larger then it was on the outside. As a small piece of it as broken the surrounding area shrunk. The 'civilian' clowns continued to run away in fright as dozens of clown cars raced around the corner. Covered in circus colors and clown faces the armored police cars shot water colors, threw water balloons, and shot fire works towards Saurian. The trees moved to cover him as roots and branches came to life and started to string them up the clowns like pinatas.

“You are all going to die!” Saurian snarled and walked into the city every step he took in the twisted city he cast Disillusion.

Saurian's foot steps herald the destruction of the city as buildings shrunk, and streets collapsed. The army of trees continued to guard him as clown military vehicles raced towards him. Soldier clowns with colorful wigs, giant red shoes ran towards him. This entire situation was starting to get ridiculous and Saurian even caught himself laughing a few times. His Damage Resistance kept sending prompts at him for mental resistance, and soul resistance. He wasn't even sure he was fighting clowns right now. Joker could have sent him to the middle of actual Gotham! He could be killing people. But every step he took did shrink the area down, every clone popped into Illusion particles.

“Dawn my Familiar do you have access to the Trickery Domain? Or can you tell me if I am lost in a dream?” Saurian asked the necklace around his neck. Dawn became animated and flew around him looking at the clown city.

“I do not have Trickery, Master. But I can assure you. You are with in his Carnival and you are shrinking it with every step you take.” Dawn the baby mystic dragon said.

Almost to emphasize that point one of the towering sky scrapers that had looked like a giant circus tent shrunk down and turned into a small carnival out door tent. A giant tree fell with a scream near by as it had been covered in water balloon shots. Saurian reached out and cast Renew and added a bit of Orichalcum into the tree. The tree snapped back to life and grew several hundred feet, it took on a golden gleam. It let out an ear piercing screech and stormed towards the water balloon tank launcher.

“Master....Don't you think that was a little much?” Dawn asked, then squeaked in surprise as Saurian added Orichalcum to the rest of the trees. Soon his army was dozens of golden trees, with hundreds of bushes, and shrubs. Each one slightly golden as they raced into the town.

“No.... It would be to much if I added Nth metal to them.” Saurian replied with a malicious smile.

Saurian and Dawn then walked into town. Every step he took he would shatter and break the twisted reality. It was clear he had gotten the attention of the whole city as more and more police, and military clowns showed up. Then he knew for a fact that Joker knew about him as even the civilian clowns stopped acting and raced towards him. Dawn came back to him and returned to being his necklace. Saurian altered his size to be twenty by forty feet then loose a roar of challenge and raced into the sea of clowns like a lion loose at the circus.

Saurian looked like a carnosaur on four legs. He trotted through the streets barreling through the sea of clowns. Fluffy wigs, colorful clothes, and annoying laughter as every clown would laugh and laugh as he ripped them apart. One by one the giant trees did eventually fall. The bushes and shrubs put up a valiant fight but soon were pulled apart by the clowns. Balloon shot, and spritzer spray rained towards Saurian. He soon realized he couldn't manipulate the machines in the city because they technically weren't real. The trees came from a small park on the carnival grounds that was why he could control them.

Saurian stomped towards the tanks, moving past or stepping on the civilian clowns. He touched the tanks with Disillusion and they popped out of existence. That is what he needed to do, he just needed to shatter the city. Saurian raised his arms into the air and brought them down! He increased his overall weight with Gravity Stride and the impact crater sent structural cracks for several city blocks. The resulting kinetic force blew the sea of clowns into the air and they all popped like party balloons!

“This is fucking pathetic, Joker! You should have made an actual army! Not these party freaks!” Saurian called out across the ruined intersection he was in.

The earth rumbled and shook, then it happened again....and again. Something was coming. Then around a circus roller coast came a slow moving giant clown. Easily hundred feet tall, with a colorful green and blue wig, clown white skin, red button nose, and a colorful jump suit. It dragged behind a long bloody wood cutters axe. The clown grinned at the sight of Saurian, its teeth stained yellow.

“Ahahahahaahahaha! Want to play!?” The clown shouted then picked up the pace and sprinted towards Saurian down the street. Each step it took cracked and cratered the pavement.

“That is more like it!” Saurian roared and raced towards the giant clown!

The clown brought the axe down hard and Saurian jumped to the side. The force percussion of the axe into the ground created a shock wave that shattered every glass pane in the area. Saurian sprinted under and past the giant clown and slashed at his achilles tendons! Bright rainbow colored blood gushed out and the clown screamed in agony as it dropped the axe and flopped across the street like a fish out of water...Wait? It screamed? Saurian grinned and jumped onto the clowns neck and ripped into its tender flesh.

“Gggguururragggllllll......” The clown tried to scream but it choked on its rainbow colored blood and died. It soon evaporated into particles. Boom!....Booom!.....Booom! Saurian turned around and saw eight more building sized clowns headed his way.

“Let's play!” Saurian grinned and raced towards them.

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“J'onn have you seen any of the others?” John asked when he met up with the Martian Manhunter and his niece.

“No.... I fear in this twisted reality that they may be alone. We have both tried to send our minds out in search but it seems this.. 'Reality Warp' prevents us. It's almost as if this place is both overwhelmingly large but also small.” J'onn replied, as he set his hand on his Me'ghan's shoulder. She looked apologetic that she couldn't do more.

“It is odd though...I still feel Wraiths influence on us. Though we can't speak across the link the 'pack bond' he spoke of seems to still be in place.” Me'ghan said, and J'onn agreed with her.

“Well that is comforting. At least we know he is alive. The link wouldn't be up otherwise.” John said as he floated up with his ring.

The 'Carnival' was huge! Just as big if not bigger than Gotham City. He had been alone for hours before he found J'onn and Me'ghan. John was almost afraid he was in Gotham and that all the clowns he saw were actual civilians. Because of that he didn't harm any of them and just flew away. Rrrriinnnnnnggggggg....An ear piercing screech rang out into the air. John, J'onn, and Me'ghan all held their heads and yelled in pain. Then the silver and gold rings on their hands all shinned brightly. The sound subsided and the light of the rings dimmed.

“We'll definitely have to thank Wraith. I have felt that intrusion on my mind more then once. Each time the ring glows with brilliance and the sound stops. I fear what would have happened had we entered with out them.” J'onn said once he stopped wincing.

“I think I know what would happen...Look!” John said as he pointed up at a sky scraper.

There at the top stood the Dark Clown. The colorful jester! The circus crusader! Bat-Clown! Bat-Clown extended his cape and glided down towards them. He came to a stop a few dozen feet from and took a pose. He took out a clown-a-rang and pointed at Lantern, Manhunter, and Miss Martian.

“Stop! In the name of King Joker!” The clowns voice was clearly Bruce Wayne's.

“Wraith gave me an extra ring! We have to get it on his finger! Hold him down!” John shouted and raced towards Bat-Clown!

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A circus skyscraper exploded outwards as armored and ghost like creature was flung through the building after it had gone through three others. It crashed into the city streets and created a massive impact crater. The explosion shot debris in every direction and killed dozens of clowns. But despite the carnage the nearby civilian clowns rushed into the hole with balloon animals, rubber chickens, and blue berry pies. They began to beat on the ghostly armored creature.

Saurian whipped his tail out and around him in a circle and knocked them all away. He windmilled his left arm until it popped back into place. He let out a snarl as his body began to heal quickly. He stomped into the ground and cast Disillusion the area twisted and contorted and returned to 'normal' as the near by area shrunk by several hundred feet. Nearby buildings collided with one another glass shattered, concrete broke, and hundreds of clowns fell out of the buildings all of them laughed on the way down before they popped into confetti.

“I am really starting to dislike this place.” Saurian said in a growling tone.

He heard insane laughter above him, he looked up and saw several of the giant clowns had climbed the buildings. They jumped down from above in an attempt to do a doggy pile. Saurian sprinted out of his hole and just made it out of their shadow as they impacted the ground. He felt like a group of children were playing in a giant diorama set of the city as they chased their pet lizard through it.

“Ahahahaah! Wanna play!?” A clown said.

“Where you going!? I thought you wanted to play! Ahahahahaha!” Said another.

“Ahahahahaahah! Hide and go S....ggagaaaaaaaa!” That clown tried to laugh only to have a hole dug into his chest.

Saurian tackled and dug through the clowns chest cavity with in a few seconds. Despite their incredibly huge size they had the same average abilities of a standard human. They were just a bigger. His claws easily ripped through their skin, muscle, and bone. He burrowed through and popped out of the clowns back covered in rainbow colored blood. His Wraith shroud was now an assortment of colors.

“Wanna play!?” Saurian howled in rage and jumped at the next one!

The next clown tried to crawl away only to have Saurian jump onto his leg and dig into and burrow his way through the body of the clown like some sort of parasite under the skin. Saurian had been fighting the giant clowns for a few hours, but about an hour ago he noticed something. The giant clowns stopped coming...These were the last two. When Saurian had ripped apart enough internal organs the clown fell over and died. Saurian burst out of the clowns chest and screeched into the night air!

“Re in act the scene from, Aliens. Check!” Saurian said and began to laugh! He laughed and laughed! He cackled at the moon in the sky, and then turned his eyes at the last giant clown that was currently doing his best to run away.

“Where you going!? Don't you want to play!?” Saurian yelled, then chased after the giant clown.

Saurian chased after the giant clown through the distorted carnival version of Gotham. Every step he took in the warped reality he cast Disillusion and broke it down from the inside. Like a virus in a healthy body it crumbled and spread the infection. Cracks spread like roots, the roots crawled up walls of buildings, down the streets, and turned any carnival object or person into particles. The clowns no longer chased after Saurian. No, they went back to what they did before. They ran! Crriiiaaaaeeeekkkk! Like the sound of ice across a frozen lake a giant crack appeared in the sky. It was as if the Carnival was a snow glob and the glass container had developed a crack.

“NOOOOOOOOO! What are you doing to my city you fucking lizard!” Joker screamed, but the origin of his voice couldn't be pin pointed.

Saurian jumped and hit the giant clown straight in the lower back. They both hit the ground hard but Saurian quickly began to dig through the skin and flesh of the clown. It screamed in panic and attempted to do a barrel roll. But Saurian held on and only dug faster. The clown screamed, and screamed! It then bashed his own head into the ground repeatedly as if it wanted to die faster. After a few resounding cracks! The clown caved its own skull in. Saurian popped his head out of the original hole he hand made. He looked a little confused.

“Wow.... Personal best for terrifying an insane clown made from the twisted machinations of Joker!” Saurian said as he crawled up and out of the hole. Crriieeeaaaakkkkk! The crack in the sky continued to grow.

“Each clown big or small must act like an anchor. Of course the stronger the clown the more damage is done. Ah! That means I should just hunt them down! Time to hunt the clowns!” Saurian yelled out! He raised his hands into the air and laughed hysterically!

Saurian spent the next two hours systematically tracking, hunting, and killing any clown he came across. All the while he broke the warp as he went. Then he saw something he didn't consider, clowns with giant paint brushes, and water colors attempted to paint and fill in the cracks he had caused. The clowns were trying to paint, and remake the carnival.

Saurian had used Size Alteration, and Reduce on his armor. He found being a giant carnosaur in the city made it harder to hunt the clowns. So he was eight by sixteen feet again. But every step he took he continued to break the twisted reality apart. He felt like a multi dimensional hunter here to destroy the world. In a lot of ways he was! Despite how it was done, Joker had created a living city inside the dome. Saurian prowled through an alleyway as he watched the paint brush clown team try to repair the damaged cracks. Bang! A flash bang went off in front of him. His eyes quickly adjusted as he looked up and saw a Bat-Clown glide down from the roof above him. Saurian tilted his head, his yellow and green reptilian eyes peered out from the dark shroud around his head.

Bat-Clown stood at 5'7”, with auburn hair, blue eyes, her bat uniform had gone through a clown car wash and was a variety of colors. She held up hand and was about to shout, 'stop' before Saurian reached out and snagged her entire head. She let out muffled scream and attempted to break out of his hold. Saurian picked her up off the ground, he created an area of darkness and shadow with Phantasm. not all of his Domains had worked in the warped reality but the Illusion Domain seemed to be on crack! Batgirl continued to struggle, she jammed her clown-a-rang into his arm and didn't even leave a scratch.

“Hold on Batgirl I'll fix you.” Saurian said softly as he cast Disillusion on her. Almost as if an electrical current went through her whole body she twitched, struggled, and went into a seizure like stutter. Saurian cast a simple noise cancellation with his passive Illusion.

“AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!” Batgirl screamed, but only Saurian heard her.

Batgirl's costume returned to the traditional black with gray. A combination of leather, kevlar, and hard plastic the uniform was form fitting and revealed her athletic figure. Her skin went from clown white to sickly pale, her eyes lost their focus and she fainted. Saurian pulled her glove off and put one of the rings on. It shinned brilliantly for several minutes before it's glow dimmed. He replaced her glove picked her up and carried her to a 'safe' location out of sight.

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“Hold him down! I have a ring!” Mera shouted.

Arthur held the Robin-Clown as he flailed and hailed to King Joker over and over again. Kid Flash had Robins legs and tried his best to hold on. Despite his incredible speed he wasn't super strong! Arthur grit his teeth as he had the opposite problem, he could easily snap Robin like a twig. If he held to loose Robin would wiggle free like he had done it before. The little shit was slippery. Then Robin started to scream and convulse, a silver and gold light came from his hand. One of Wraith's rings was on his hand.

“Holy fuck! I am happy he made more of those for all of us.” Arthur said as he set Robin down on the ground after he finished screaming.

“Totally! Now if only I could take one apart. I bet the micro chips inside bust be insanely small!” Wally West said. Arthur and Mera looked at one another.

“Right.... Kid have you seen Flash?” Arthur asked, they glossed over the fact that the ring was clearly magical but Flash and Kid still didn't seem to buy it.

“Ya...Like an hour ago though. He said he was going to run the breath of the city to see how big it was. We got separated when a giant ball of cotton candy tumbled down the road. Then...oh hay!” Wally ran off but only a few hundred feet. Then he returned once....then twice. With Green Arrow and Arsenal.

You are reading story Dream Engine: Beta Tester…. D.C. Comics at novel35.com

“You found Robin, find anyone else?” Oliver asked as he assessed the situation.

“No we haven't. Are any of you injured?” Mera asked. Arrow looked at Arsenal who hand several cuts in his leather armor.

“Only a few cuts, I'll be fine.” Roy said, Mera walked over and stood in front of him. Roy shrunk his neck in as the stunningly beautiful red head in a skin tight wet suit peered at him.

“I mean...if its not to much trouble....” Roy mumbled.... Arthur laughed at the one hundred and eighty degree turn.

Mera took a small water canteen from her hip belt and manipulated the water to clean, and heal the wounds. The water glowed blue and floated through the air under the astonished eyes of the group except Arthur who had seen it before. Wally smiled wide as he always found the hydrokinesis of Mera's 'Meta-Gene' ability fascinating. Soon after a few minutes Roy's wounds were cleaned and looked better but were not completely healed.

“We'll have to find Wraith for you to get a complete check up....Speaking of which have either of you?” Mera said to them.

“Not...really.....” Oliver said with an bemused expression.

“What do you mean?” Arthur asked....

The group went through the city as quietly as possible towards what could only be described as a huge battle scene. Oliver and Roy had thought Superman had been there until they saw clear signs of dinosaur foot prints, claw marks, and an impact crater cartoon animation style in the road. They also found a lot of distorted sections of the 'town'. The area's looked like they had been reverted back to what ever they were before.

“Well we know he is alive because of the 'pack bond' ability J'onn told us about. We just can't do the telepathy ability. Unfortunately there is just to much destruction for me to track him.” Oliver said as he gestured to the destroyed environment.

Crrrrrriiieeeeaaaaaaakkkkkk! A sizable crack grew up along the sky and rain from the outside fell into the Carnival city. The group heard Joker scream in panic. Then the crack got bigger and bigger. The group saw something that they had never seen before. All the clowns in the area started to head to north-east.

“Well! Looks like Wraith is having enough fun that even Joker is getting pissed.” Arthur said with a grin.

“How much do you want to bet the clowns are heading the opposite direction Wraith is?” Roy said.

“I would say the odds are good... Kid feel like a bit of recon? Not to far!” Oliver asked.

“Will do! Be back in a bit!” Wally shouted and took off to south-west.

===============================================================

Saurian....Was tired. He dragged his tail across the ground in exhaustion as he carried Batgirl up a wall. Thanks to Gravity Stride the wall was his ground. But they soon came to the top of the building he set her down and rested. He guessed that he had been in control for nearly twenty four hours. He needed to swap out with Lash. He took a deep breath and used Shape Shift.

Lash exhaled slowly, he adjusted his Warden/Daemonic armor with Reduce/Enlarge, recast his Wraith disguise. He activated Transformation and became a were-lizard hybrid. He was seven by fourteen feet, with only a small skull crest. He looked like a tiny version of Saurian...Ah! A Saurus Warrior, just with a few more human like features. He didn't hunch over when he stood up, and was a natural biped unless he used Adaptation to alter his form. His scales were a dark forest green, along with the tribal tattoos that existed no matter the form. Even Saurian had them.

“Ggggggggnnnnnn....” Batgirl groaned next to him.

Lash cast Sooth, Nature's Supplement, Soul Heal, Curse Break, and Panacea on himself and Batgirl. He was a little surprised that Soul Heal activated but with the amount of experience prompts his soul resistance gave him it made sense. Color returned to the lower half of Batgirls pale face. Her breathing became slow and relaxed, she turned on her side and nestled closer to Lash subconsciously. Red and yellow lighting danced in front of him and Kid Flash appeared.

“Aha! You found Batgirl! Wait here I'll get the rest!” Wally disappeared before Lash could respond.

“Right....” Lash's human reptilian voice said softly.

His tail wrapped around Batgirl protectively. A bit of a curse and a blessing as his tail was warm, but the armor both from his gear and his natural hard scales did not make the best pillow for her. He still wrapped around her then one by one in a flash of lighting Wally West deposited everyone on the roof of the building. Lash raised a hand and cast the same set of spells on the group as he did on himself and Batgirl.

“So.... How is everyone liking the Carnival? Good time right?” Lash said softly, but this voice still sounded harsh on the ears.

“A lot better with these on!” Arthur sat down next to him, he gestured towards the ring. Lash then cast Immaculate on the whole group. After the green and blue energy bubbles cleaned everyone they all smiled in thanks.

“Do you think we can keep these?” Mera asked, Lash nodded his head yes. She smiled and sat down next to and leaned up against him so she could rest. A couple of the guys looked confused and looked at Arthur who didn't make any move as if it was normal.

“Nice to see you too, Mera.” Lash said, she let out a hmm noise and kept her eyes closed.

“So, where do you think the clowns are headed too?” Wally asked.

“To the Carnival...The actual Carnival. This whole town is a twisted form of Gotham. So that means in the east district is a twisted carnival. Full of fun houses, games, and prizes. We can assume that if we haven't found the rest of our team they are most likely there.” Lash said...

“You'd be right....Fuck my head is killing me.” Barbara said as she slowly sat up with the assistance of Lash. She leaned against his other shoulder just like Mera.

“Thanks for getting Robin. Batman should be at the Carnival. I saw Superman, Wonder Woman, and Shazam in cages. I don't remember seeing the rest of the group. But the cages were like prize pieces on a ticket collection wall.” Barbara said to them all.

“Batman isn't there we both went out on 'patrol' to apprehend the criminals in town. We got separated... Hello Wraith, long time.” Robin said as he came to.

The group continued to compare notes of what they had seen in the twisted Gotham. Lash was surprised to find out that he was the only one that had been killing the clowns. None of them had seen the clowns pop into in confetti or bleed rainbows when one died. They had seen them turn into common civilians. It wasn't until Lash caught a clown and cast Disillusion on it that they understood. Barbara said she had found several normal people in the carnival grounds. Mera and Lash believed those people had a natural resistance to the warp. Some people are different then others.

Lash used Fabrication, Alteration, and Renew to help restock and repair the group. Lash then realized that he was actually one of the heavy hitters in the group. When did that happen? They climbed down from the rooftop, he cast Disillusion on their temporary base and they moved towards the carnival which didn't take as long as it should have given that Lash kept shortening the distance with every step. The crack above them got larger and larger, even pieces of the 'glass' fell into the twisted city below. They eventually met up with J'onn, Me'ghan, John, and Bruce along the way.

“You look good, I actually saw you smile for a bit when you saw Batgirl, and Robin.” Lash said to Bruce. Bruce looked at him with his legendary mask of indifference.

“I was happy to see everyone was alright. A good time as any to smile.” Bruce replied in a cold tone.

“Yes indeed....” Lash replied with a smile of his own. Anyone who knew anything about the comics knew that Batman only ever gave small grins when something happened. A full open tooth smile? He must be under a spell, joker venom, something!

“So, are we just going to walk towards the carnival in the east district of this twisted city?” Me'ghan asked.

The whole group looked at her then looked back at the ruined and crumbling clown city they left behind. The twisted reality was crumbling now and no amount of paint from the clown construction crew would fix it. Roller coasters that spread from building to building had toppled and fallen over. Ferris wheels and crumbled to ash along with bouncy castles. The cracks in the warped reality continued to spread and even grew past the group. This was place was rotting from the inside now. The giant 'glass' bubble over head was broken in several places with the true Gotham sky out above. The rain continued to fall and it didn't appear to be letting up any time soon.

“Yes, the carnival will be Jokers place of power. I wouldn't be surprised if my ability to tear apart of the city didn't work in there. Then we'll hav....Gaaaaaaeehhh!” Lash said before he was sent flying backwards by a pink, purple, and red blur.

Two clown hawks flew down from the sky, a valiant clown in Amazon gear brought her sword down to attack Green Lantern. A blue and pink polka dot flash ran into the crowd and used his speed punches to brutalize everyone. While Superman used his brawler skills to beat Lash into the ground. Unlike the Grand Arena in Themyscira where Superman held back, this time he did not. Lash's entire skull caved in! His spell/skill Lingering activated! He should have died!

Lash whipped around and slashed out with his claws across Superman's neck! Blood gushed out for a brief moment. The clown of steel stepped back in shock as he held his hands up to his neck. The wound slowly closed up but it took a few seconds. Long enough for Lash to reach into his storage space and pull out a single ingot of pure green kryptonite. It had been twenty four hours since the last time. When Lash hadn't seen the big boy scout flying around the city he assumed the worse and made a single ingot. The 99.9% pure green kryptonite actually melted Superman's skin. Wow! Lash was so surprised he dropped the ingot on the ground rushed over and shoved one of the resist reality warping rings on to Clark. Then shoved the ingot back into his storage space.

Lash collapsed on the ground next to Clark, he wasn't sure why he wasn't reeling in pain. He then cast Nature's Kiss on himself and felt his bones snap back into place and reconnect. He let out a scream as he held his head and rolled around on the ground. Now he was in pain! The sounds of battle continued to rage on around him. He screamed and rolled around on the ground as his bones continued to reconnect.

“Wraith!? Oh god! Wraith fuck your face! I. What...I?” Oliver called to him as he was normally so cool in a crisis couldn't understand how Wraith who had his face caved in and was still alive.

Lash reached into one of his pockets and pulled out a few more rings and forced them into Oliver's hands. He screamed at him to get them to the others and went back to convulsing on the ground. Lash received dozens of prompts about different skills that gained experience from the short battle between him and Clark. On top of the incredible pain of his skull being remade. Then he blacked out....

Lash felt the sooth sensation of a hand on his scaled face. Even in unconscious his Transformation held. He let out a soft groan, reached up and touched his face. It had mended and popped back into alignment while he was blacked out. The one that had stroked his face squeezed his hand. He opened his eyes and saw Diana's face above him. His head was on her lap which couldn't have been comfortable for her. But she still smiled down at him.

“Hello brother...” She said softly.

“Hello sister... Did we win?” Lash asked her.

“The battle was won but the war rages on. We didn't want to leave with out you.” Diana replied.

“Is everyone alive?” Lash asked in return as he tried to sit up. Diana reached out and helped him up.

“Alive yes, but injured. We hoped you could help with that?” Diana replied and showed him the scene.

The rest of the League was present, and severely injured. Except for Zatanna, and Nyx who were still missing, both were spell casters. That had to mean something, Lash assumed so since the giant crack in the sky was slowly being rebuilt. Shit. He a had a feeling they were being used as batteries. Diana looked at the same crack he did and turned to him. They shared a brief message with their eyes, she assumed the same as him. Lash chuckled lightly at her.

“What?” Diana asked a little smile on her face.

“I understood a woman eye communication. Lizzy would be so proud of me!” Lash said to her. Diana gave him a brilliant smile and laughed as well.

“We'll have to tell her when we leave.” Diana said and brought him back to the present.

Lash cast Nature's Kiss on the whole group, along with Sooth, Nature's Supplement, Restoration, Curse Break, Regrowth, Soul Heal, Immaculate, and Panacea. Then used Fabrication, Renew, and Alteration to re equip the whole team. Lash was a walking supply depot. Everyone looked mostly recovered, cleaned, and supplied.

“What did you all do when I wasn't here?” Lash asked, honestly curious about the answer.

“This is the longest operation we've ever been in. Also this is our first united League mission. So what we did was finish it before it got bad. Then we would go home and heal on our own time. Question though, can make any more like these rings to do any of what you just did?” John the Green Lantern said.

“Yes.... Takes time to...Oh I am so fucking stupid!” Lash belittled himself. Everyone looked at him in surprise. Then understood...Lash took out Orichalcum items he had made for the League. He had completely forgotten about them!

Everyone got a similar item to what Diana had gotten on Themyscira. A few specifics for specific people. J'onn, and Me'ghan got a fire and heat resistance by 20%, along with a physiology adaptation. Oliver, Roy, Barbara, Richard, and Bruce got a Cat's Grace spell on the item. Clark got a Daylight enchantment on his. All the pieces were either rings, bracelets, or necklaces. Since Lash had done it in front of Diana he had assumed the 50/50 romance option would go down...It did not! 60/40 romance being the former. Diana liked that he had made items for everyone.

“So..... This can not only bring us back from the brink of death? But can restore life to some one else as long as their bodies are intact and its with in twenty minutes?” Barry asked as he looked at his lighting ring that had a Compression Transformation on it. It could fit his suit in it just like his normal ring.

“Yes, with a six month recharge rate. I am sorry everyone. I had wanted to give them all to you one by one. Or at some sort of meet and greet. It was...Important to me. So I just forgot about it! Like I said. I am fucking stupid!” Lash shoulders drooped. The sight of a reptilian Wraith creature drooping his shoulders was comical.

“Wraith....These are worth a fortune! I understand why you wanted to make it a special occasion. At least you remembered before we went into the carnival” Mera said delighted as the necklace she had was a combination of Atlantis and Xebel family crests combined. A wedding present!

“When you say a fortune...Like how much are we talking about here?” Wally asked, he also had a lighting ring on.

“That ring alone could be the entire STAR labs in Central City, Starling City, and Gotham. Just that ring.” Bruce said in a clear voice. He had slipped his necklace on under his uniform. After his confirmation everyone looked at theirs.

“Are you sure we should have these on?” Me'ghan said nervously...Though she made no move to take her necklace off.

“Despite their extreme value, yes please wear them! But try to not loose them. They were hard to make...” Lash said....He felt kinda bad cause he could actually make better ones now with a combination of Nth meta. That could come later!

“Wraith....I” Clark had kept quiet the whole time. He when Lash had given him the house of El necklace.

“Its ok boy scout. I'm not dead! So how about we call it even since I gave your future wife jewelry as well.” Lash replied with a laugh.

“Wait! Does her necklace..” Clark was about to ask before Lash burst into laughter and shook his head.

“No...No. I like your girl. But I don't think she gets in that much....hmmmm. Maybe I should make her one.” Lash stopped to think, as Clark laughed at the thought of Lois getting in trouble.

“Alright! I hate to say it but we are still missing two people. If everyone is recovered lets move.” Bruce said. Everyone agreed and started to move towards the Carnival.

The League moved towards the Carnival with all due haste after they had recovered, received late gifts, and smoothed out a bit of tension. Just as it was located in real Gotham the Carnival was in the same place. A towering green hedge that traveled all the way to the sky blocked all sight or fly overs. They had to go through the front gate which had a ticket booth. A clown operated the booth and smiled wide as the group walked up. Lash walked up and tried to use Disillusion on it. A massive crack appeared but the booth didn't disappear.

“Great....” Lash growled at the clown.

“Hello! Hello! Welcome to Joker's Carnival! You.... You Mr. Wraith have been a very naughty criminal in our kings land. You are not allowed to enter!” The clown said with a laugh. Sure enough a barrier prevented Lash from going in. While the rest stepped through with out issue.

“Go! Find our people and end this. I'll keep looking for a way in.” Lash handed a few newly created rings to several people in case they all got separated again. One by one they entered after they said good bye to Lash.

“So.... Joker? Where did you get your powers from?” Lash asked the ticket counter clown. The clown looked at him for a bit before his smile wilted and he stared daggers at Lash.

“I thought she was as crazy as me when I first saw her. But no... She changed from a little girl to a full grown woman! Had fangs, and drank blood! Surprise! Surprise! Vampires are real! Who had thought! Not me! I thought the craziest thing in the world was a man in a Bat costume!” The clown in the ticket counter said. His overall appearance didn't change but his voice did. Puppeteer spell.

“Then she told me about you! About how she had planned it all! Brought the whole city to its knees only to kill you! I don't know what you did to that woman but damn! Her rage was intoxicating! She offered me a little stone idol of some god. Then BAM! I could twist reality and make it in my image! Magic powers! Combined with my stunning intellect! Can you imagine!” The clown laughed and laughed for nearly ten minutes.

“Ya....Your reality is as flimsy as a house of cards. Tell me, Joker. What's the Vampires name?” Lash said... The ticket clown stopped laughing and stared daggers at Lash again.

“She called herself, Valenthia of house Sex'Ilia.” The Joker puppet said.

“Thank you, Mr. Napier!” Lash said loudly at him. Foresight activated for a brief moment. The Joker puppet lost all emotion and his face went stone cold.

“What did you just call me?” A crack went straight up the puppets face as the Trickery Domain nearly tore the puppet apart.

“Jack Napier... Husband to Jeannie Napier. Father to Edward Napier.” Lash said as he tilted his head to the side. A sinister grin went up his reptilian face.

“Th...That isn't my name!....I....That isn't my name! Ho...The FUCK DO YOU KNOW THAT NAME!?” The puppet cracked in half in a flash of blinding purple light. The ticked booth fell to pieces with out the ticket clown in it.

“Got you!” Lash said as he raced through the gate into the carnival.

==============================================================

The carnival was oddly peaceful? Me'ghan had never been to an Earth carnival and had hoped to go to an actual one. Maybe one day with some earth friends. She stayed closed to her Uncle J'onn as she played with her golden necklace Wraith had given her. The carnival was filled to the brim with normal people! At a carnival! However all the people had huge joker grins on their faces and their skin slowly turned clown white. More then once Me'ghan had seen several people laugh themselves to death. These people were turning into zombies like the ones they had fought outside.

“Here Me'ghan try and throw the rings onto the bottles.” J'onn said to her.

“Do we get tickets if we win?” Me'ghan asked. J'onn nodded.

They needed tickets to rescue Zatanna and Nyx from the ticket prize wall. Superman had tried to break the barrier but couldn't. No one could snap the magical barrier, not even Shazam. If Wraith was able to get in then maybe they could. So they had to play the games to win their team back. They hadn't been going for long before an earthquake shook the whole carnival. All of the people fell to the ground, but the clowns all screamed in agony as many of them burst into purple light. The ground split apart! The energy barriers separating the ticket prize wall fell. Superman and Flash zipped over in a few seconds and pulled Zatanna and Nyx down.

“Uncle! What's going on!?” Me'ghan shouted then they saw Wraith on all fours sprint through the carnival towards Joker's castle.

===============================================================

Lash used Adaptation to alter himself so he could run faster on all fours. He sprinted through the gate into the carnival grounds. He ran past the guards, the clowns, and the spell bound civilians who all tried to reach out to stop him. Along the way he shattered and broke the illusion with every step he took. The whole carnival was falling apart and the energy barrier that stood before the gates to the Joker castle fell.

Lash jumped and threw himself through the giant wooden drawbridge with Gravity Stride to increase his overall weight. He shattered the bridge and went through the gate. He hit the ground and rolled to off set the weight. He ran through the castle as clowns in armor raced over with swords and spears. He raced through the castle as fast as possible, he knew where Jack was. He had caught his scent when he blew the ticket clown up. His claws dug into the ground to propel himself faster and faster up to the tallest portion of the castle. Not the throne room! Not the kings bedroom though he did pass those along the way. He slid to a stop at the massive door that stood in front of him. He stood up on his two feet. His bones and muscles tore and reset back to his default up right position. There in front of the door was a familiar all be it clown white face.

“Hello Doctor Quinzel...Been while.” Lash said.

Harleen Frances Quinzel, or Harley Quinn stood at 5'7” with rich blond hair, and blue eyes. She wore a skin tight harlequin red and black dress. The dress had a slit up her left leg to her hip, it was sleeveless, with a turtle neck collar, an diamond shape opening to reveal her cleavage. Dress looked amazing on her, but her tears streaked her mascara down her cheeks. She had several bruises, and several of her teeth had been knocked out. She trembled at the sight of Lash, there was a trade mark wooden hammer in front of her but she didn't move to pick it up.

“W...Who's Jeannie, and Edward?” Harley asked....Her voice soft as a mouse.

“His wife, and son...Did he never tell you about them? Oh no....Harley did you think he was single?” Lash said to her. He got several experience prompts for Acting. Harley slid down to her knees and started to sob!

“No! No!...I....I'm the other woman!? I....I can't be that way!” Harley wailed!

Depending on the comic origin Harley did not have a good child hood in most of them. What ended it in a lot of them was Harley's mother had an affair and her father killed her mother. Despite all the horrible things Harley did in her life there was one line she swore she would never cross. She would never be...the other woman in a man's life. Lash walked over to her and pushed the hammer out of the way. He knelt down and pulled Harley into his arms. She cried and beat her hands against his chest plate. Her punches grew weaker and weaker as more time passed. The sounds of battle raged in the floors below. The League had entered the castle...

“Harley... Where is the idol that Joker is using to control the twisted reality?” Lash asked her... She continued to sob for a few more minutes then whispered softly.

“Its inside of him... He said it was the safest place! Because Batman would have to kill him to get it out...” Harley said between sobs.

“Harley. I'm going to kill him....Is that ok?” Lash said to her softly. There was a brief moment where it looked like Harley wanted to say, 'No don't!' But then she gritted her teeth and snarled.

“Yes! Kill that fucker! Make it hurt!” Harley said to him.

Lash cast a Sooth, Nature's Supplement, and Regrowth so she could get her teeth back. He told her to go down stairs to the league and turn herself in. Tell them he was going on ahead to end the fight. Then he promised that Joker would not live to see another day. She hugged him one last time and kissed him on the cheek. She bounced back to her charming, bubbly, and seductive self to hide her pain.

“Your not married are you?” Harley asked. Lash shook his head no, then shooed her away when she winked at him. Once Harley had left the floor Lash walked up to the door and banged on it.

“Open up, Jack!” Lash shouted. The door opened by a crack and Lash walked in through it. The door slammed closed behind him. He could feel a spell barrier erect to keep the League out. The room was pitch black, even with his skill Night Eye he couldn't see anything.

“It had been a long time since I heard that name....Heard their names.” Joker's voice was disconnected, distant, as if he was talking about some one else in a text book.

A single pin point light appeared above in the pitch black room. It created a spot light on a man who wore a purple and black full dress tail tuxedo suit. Clown white skin, red cherry lips, emerald green hair, and yellow eyes. His hands clenched into fists as he stared with blood shot eyes at Lash. His yellow stained teeth ground and cracked under his clenched jaws.

“You think saying their names means anything to me!? They are gone! They are dead!” Joker screamed.

“No they are not! Jeannie lives in Central City with your son Edward. He's in high school now. He has a scholarship to the state university. Gymnastics!” Lash interrupted him the information stopped Joker's villain monologue dead in their tracks.

Joker's eye twitched as the pitch black room cracked and shattered like a mirror. The shards fell to the ground and burst into Trickery Domain particles. They stood in an observatory with a giant glass dome above them. Then Joker started to laugh! He laughed and laughed as he clawed his hands through his hair, his nails left long cuts all down his face. Then along his skin cracks appeared like a dried pottery. Divine energy danced and burst from the wound. That as all the invitation Lash needed as he sprinted towards Joker. BAM! Joker back handed Lash and he spring boarded straight into the door.

Lash left a clear imprint on the door, and felt nearly half of his life went down in a single hit. Fuck! Joker continued to laugh as he reached out with his hands, his fingers jagged. Reality warped around him as giant claws appeared as reality it self twisted. Lash pulled himself out of the door, cast Death Ward on himself. Then went straight back towards Joker again!

“You think it matters! You think I care! It doesn't matter if they are alive now! Because they will be dead soon! Then nothing of Jack will be left! Beat me now! Beat me later! I'll go to prison! I'll go to Arkham! Because you fucking heroes never have the balls to go all the way!” Joker screamed at him, his giant clawed hands raked through the observatory!

Trickery Domain Spell, Bending: Bend the fabric of reality to your will if only a little! Why tell a lie! When you can just bend the truth!

Lash activated a spell he didn't know he had and suddenly he was in front of Joker as if he had always been there. Joker's eyes went wide as he tried to take a step back. Lash extended the claws on his hands and stabbed straight into Joker, right where he the divine spark was....The stone idol had replaced Joker's heart so Lash yanked it out and held the stone idol of the Norse God Loki into the air.

“KAAAALLLIIIMMMMMAAAAAA!” Lash shouted to the sky! Joker flopped to the ground with a gaping hole in his chest. But he had a shit eating grin on his face.

“Y.....You hahahahaahaahahaha! You killed me! With an Indiana Jones reference? Ahahahahaaha!” Joker laughed as the divine energy that resided in him slowly drained out. The observatory started to crack and fall apart.. No it was the standard bad guy cliché the whole carnival was falling apart.

“I thought you would like to go out with a joke...” Lash said to him...

“Eheheheehheheheheeheh! You....your right! Hhahahahahahahahaa....” Joker laughed...He reached into his pocket and flipped a coin at Lash who caught it. He looked at it, it was a house Sex'Illia family token. Proof...

Joker continued to laugh for another ten minutes as the castle continued to crumble. The castle wasn't the only one. With out the idol to contain the power Joker's body crumbled apart like a piece of paper set aflame. Even until the very end he had a smile on his face. Lash put the coin away into a safe place and looked at the stone idol of Loki. He could feel the divine spark on it.

“Should I find you another host?” Lash asked.

Attention User! Your Cosmic Patron has requested you with finding a suitable host the ancient God Loki's divine spark. Do you accept? Yes/No

Yes...

Quest accepted!

The stone idol cracked and burst apart into pieces. The pieces flew around Lash, then turned into a small tattoo on his right forearm. Like someone had pressed the pause button on the crumbling castle the whole scene froze in time. Then a flash of divine light swallowed the whole area! When it pulled away, Lash along with the entire League and hundreds of still alive civilians were transported just outside the crumbling carnival. A small thank you from Loki. As everyone looked around in confusion the first rays of sunlight came from the clouds above. Lash stood in the sun with his Wraith disguise still wrapped around him. The sounds of fighter jets flew by, along with helicopters of news stations. It was in this moment that the world saw the Justice League for the first time together as a team. Next to them stood Agent Wraith of the United Nations World Security. The Siege of Gotham was over....

================================================================

A giant room filled over two dozens rows of computers and people sitting in therapeutic chairs for long hours of remaining stationary. Every single person had their heads in black boxes... Dream Engine Cubes! Several technicians walked down the paths checking on the Developers health, and safety. A computer beeped at a passing technician who walked over. Checked the logs...

“Hmmm.... User #00012 has completed the Gotham Siege. Everyone lived? Impressive... Lets kick the difficulty up a few points for the next character arc.... Meta-Human Crisis! Good luck User #00012 you are going to need it.” The technician logged the change in their records.

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