After Joker exposed her identity, Mystique stopped pretending.
Her skin shimmered, shifting with a ripple of blue scales as she transformed back into her original form: a curvaceous figure entirely in vibrant blue skin.
Bang!
But before she could speak, or even react, Joker pulled out a gun and shot her in the leg.
"Ah!" Mystique cried out, stumbling back in shock.
Pain tore through her thigh, but it was nothing compared to the confusion that followed; even someone as experienced as her couldn't make sense of what had just happened. Everyone in this base was under their control. Why would Joker dare to attack her here?
Clearly, she didn't understand how he thought. That was exactly why she was now in danger.
Mystique gritted her teeth, anger and disbelief flashing across her face. But before she could command the Joker Gang members to retaliate, she felt the cold steel of a gun barrel press against her forehead.
Joker's eyes gleamed with manic fury, his voice low and venomous. "I was having so much fun playing with my bat…and then you bastards showed up and ruined my game, didn't you?"
In this world, both Joker and Batman were creations of Reid. Their interactions had always been part of a carefully crafted performance. And for Joker, whether now or in the comics, Batman wasn't a nemesis. He was a partner. A friend, in the only way Joker could understand friendship.
But the moment that dynamic shifted—when the Joker stopped seeing Batman as a fellow performer and started viewing him as a true enemy—then even Batman, no matter how many gadgets or strategies he had, would be dragged into oblivion right alongside him.
People like Mystique, outsiders to that bond, weren't participants in the game. They were obstacles. Disruptions. And Joker didn't play with obstacles.
Just like that, Raven, who had been in a position of power just seconds ago, was thrown into a life-threatening crisis. And this time, it looked like there was no way out.
"Joker," she said sharply, "you better understand, if you pull that trigger, you'll be gunned down by your own gang."
Right on cue, the mind-controlled Joker Gang raised their weapons, aiming them at him without hesitation.
As Raven warned, the second he pulled the trigger, he'd be torn apart by a hail of bullets. Even if Joker had been born from a role-play card, his death here would mean the card was destroyed.
"You're threatening me with this?" Joker sneered, motioning toward the gang. "Something so boring?"
Raven said nothing. She simply stared into his eyes, unblinking. Her message was clear.
This was the only shot she had at surviving.
"Too bad," Joker whispered, his ever-present grin widening. "You never had a chance."
Her expression changed when she saw his finger move toward the trigger. She tried to jerk her head to the side, but at this distance, with Joker being who he was, there was no way she'd escape.
Bang!
The bullet ripped through Raven's skull.
The mutant who had once walked alongside Magneto and Charles Xavier was dead.
Her ability to mimic anyone's appearance hadn't helped her against a bullet. All that battle experience she'd gained in countless firefights, and her pride as a mutant, only made her underestimate the danger. In the end, they were her biggest weaknesses.
Mystique died alone in Gotham's sewers, never getting the chance to show the world how dangerous she truly was.
And the chaos wasn't over yet.
As soon as the shot rang out, it was like some command had been triggered. The gang members, still under someone else's control, pulled their triggers all at once. In an instant, Joker was riddled with bullets and collapsed in a pool of blood.
"Sweetie! I'll come dig you up later!" Harley shouted from a distance, having retreated the moment Joker first opened fire on Raven.
But her words made the mutant controlling the gang from the shadows pause in confusion.
'Dig him up? Wait... does that mean...'
From the shadows, the one behind it all—the Great Illusionist, Jason Stryker—slowly stood up, frowning as he pondered Harley's words.
Beside him, Riptide was already panicking.
He knew about the connection between Raven and Erik. If Erik found out she had died right under their watch, he would tear them apart.
"Jason, what the hell are you thinking?!" he hissed. "If Erik finds out about this, we're finished!"
"Janos, I know this is bad," Jason muttered. "But something about what Harley said caught my attention. She seemed to think Joker could survive even after being shot like that. Maybe... maybe there's something in Gotham that can bring the dead back to life."
As he spoke, he used his ability to give the Joker Gang a new order.
"Bring Joker's body here. I want to see how he plans to survive this."
The gang members, still under his control, moved quickly to carry out his command. But just as they got close to Joker's corpse, the underground base suddenly shook.
"What was that?!"
Jason and Riptide were both alarmed. At the same time, the surveillance monitors lit up. Multiple entrances to the base were now swarming with heavily armed mercenaries.
"Mercenaries? It can't be Batman. Gordon and Harvey wouldn't use a force like this. Who else would hire mercenaries to raid a Joker Gang base?"
They couldn't figure it out. But there was no time left to investigate Joker's body. The enemy was already upon them.
With no choice, the two quickly grabbed Raven's body and escaped through a hidden passage.
Moments after they fled, a squad of mercenaries armed with cutting-edge Stark Industries weapons stormed into the base. A brutal firefight broke out between them and the remaining gang members.
With superior training and more advanced weapons, the battle didn't last long. The mercenaries quickly overwhelmed the Joker Gang, leaving no survivors.
And the one who had hired these mercenaries was none other than Tony Stark, who had decided it was time to involve himself in Gotham's chaos.
Under heavy protection, Tony made his way deeper into the base. He had also uncovered the truth behind tonight's events.
Alfred… wasn't Alfred.
He was the Joker in disguise—not merely a puppetmaster behind the scenes, but the Joker himself, hiding in plain sight.
Tony had come because of a mysterious email sent directly to his personal computer. It was signed by "Alfred" and included detailed locations of every Joker Gang base.
At first, he thought it was a taunt. A challenge from the Joker. So he said nothing to anyone and instead hired an army of mercenaries to wipe the gang out.
Now, crouching beside Joker's body, Tony gently closed the villain's eyes and smoothed the twisted grin frozen on his lifeless face.
"...I get it now. I know why you sent that message." His voice was soft.
"Why? Someone like you… you shouldn't have ended up like this." He let out a breath and shook his head slowly.
"You deserved a better life."
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