Farewell #250

Stoic as ever, Batman said nothing as he jumped off the catwalk, latching onto the ledge with his grapple gun and swinging over from the side, putting him right in front of the clown.

The Joker raised the gun in his left and aimed it at the caped crusader's head, only for the latter to deflect his hand with his wrist and knock him on his rear with a kick to the abdomen.

The clown maintained a grin as he quickly raised his gun hand and began firing without bothering to get up, forcing Batman to get on one knee and take cover behind his bulletproof cape.

The Joker fired half of the pistol's clip, loudly laughing as he reached into his inner pocket and retrieved a colorful impact grenade. "Hold on to your socks, Bats," The clown said as he pulled the pin with his teeth, threw the grenade, and tightly gripped the catwalk's railing.

Batman grunted as he quickly got up and grappled away as the grenade hit the catwalk, exploding and snapping it in half, much to the Joker's amusement. He continued shooting, trying and failing to shoot Batman, even as he swung with the catwalk.

The caped crusader finally had enough and let go of the grapple, turning and twisting his body in the air as he retrieved a Batarang from his utility belt and threw it at the clown.

The Batarang hit the Joker's hand, forcing him to let go of the pistol, which promptly fell into the acid vat below. "Awe... I just killed someone for that, you know..." The clown said, wistfully watching the gun sink into the green chemicals.

Still, the Joker didn't spend too much time brooding over his pistol as he swung himself to the safety, but an acrobat he was not as he tripped and fell on the ground next to the acid vat.

"Fucking show of...." The clown grumbled in annoyance as he watched Batman stick his landing with incredible grace, gripping a metal baton he ejected from the Batsuit's sleeves as he charged.

The Joker quickly reclaimed his smile as he gripped a random metal rod on the ground next to him and propelled himself off the ground, and met the caped crusader halfway through.

The two weaponsmet as the Joker and Batman locked gazes, confirming the vicious killing intent in each other's eyes as the clown giggled like one particularly excited child.

"Isn't this nice, Bats? Me, you, and the oh beautiful scent of chemical acids...?" The Joker asked, getting no reply as he let go of the iron rod in his hand and punched Batman in the side of his face.

Batman barely flinched as he brought his baton back and smashed it into the Joker's shoulder, causing the latter to stagger backward. "Isn't this fun...?" He said, his grin growing broader and broader as he held on to his broken shoulder.

"I take no pleasure in this... no..." Batman said as he slowly approached the Joker. "I'm not doing this because I hate you or because I want revenge..." He calmly added, shaking his head.

"Gotham is changing, and I can't let you get in the way of that..." He said as he swung his baton on the Joker's ankle, forcing him to his knees. "All this time... I've been fighting a losing battle, but now there's someone with a chance of succeeding..." He added as he threw the baton and kneeled next to the Joker.

"I won't let you ruin eveything as you always do..." Batman said, sounding eerily calm as he gently put his hands on the Joker's face. "Goodbye, Jack. I'm sorry I couldn't help you..." He said as he forcefully and quickly snapped the clown's neck.

Using the last vestiges of his strength, The Joker didn't reply or try to fight back. Instead, he laughed as he ripped his shirt, revealing a bloody, stitched scar on his chest as the sound of peeping echoed from his chest cavity.

The peeping intensified, and a recorded mocking laugh sounded from the Joker's chest, followed by a brief silence, causing Batman to sigh as he calmly closed his eyes.

BOOM

...

Sometime later

Outside ACE chemicals

The journalists gathered around the ruins of the building, seemingly unfazed by the scorching heat fumes as they badgered the police officers, federal agents, and firefighters, creating a parameter around the plant.

One journalist, Vicky Vale, stood out from the rest as she attempted to get through the yellow tape despite the officer's constant warnings regarding the possibility of chemical hazards and fumes.

It seemed that every piece of juicy news was going to Lois Lane from the Daily Planet as of late, including incidents that happened within Gotham's borders, her territory more or less.

She couldn't accept it.

Luckily for the over-eager journalist, Deborah Tiegel spotted her in time and promptly stopped her. Still, Vicky Vale wasn't bothered as she started barraging the police woman' with questions.

"Capta-- no, commissioner Teigel, have you discovered the reason behind the explosions?" Vicky Vale asked, shooting her next question before Deborah could process the first.

"The Joker has recently escaped custody. Could the incident be related to him?" She asked again, quickly taking out her notebook and pen as she waited for an answer.

"We haven't gained access to the site as we are yet to clear any potential hazards..." Deborah replied, giving the journalist a harsh glare before she sighed and continued.

"A unit has been dispatched to check and deal with possible leaks. Until they arrive, we can't even risk sending the firefighters to put out the flames," The police commissioner added, sighing as she shook her head.

"However, Grayson Whitlock has arrived, and as the GCPD commissioner, I have given him permission to investigate the scene," Deborah concluded, raising an eyebrow as she noticed Vicky Vale looking away from her and into a burning chemical plant.

The police commissioner couldn't help but sigh as she noticed Grayson walking out of the fires with a grim expression, surrounded by a golden barrier as he gripped a tattered black cloth in his hand.

Grayson paused at the plant's exit as he inspected the area, unfazed by the furious flames. He quickly spotted Deborah and approached her, casually putting out the lingering fires that clung to his shirt with his free hand.

Vicky Vale seemed to have forgotten about Deborah's existence as the young man finally arrived, and she immediately jumped at him with a question without a moment's delay.

"Mr. Whitlock, what have you discove--" Vicky said, barely getting half of her question across before Deborah cut her off by raising a hand in front of her face.

"It's ok, commissioner..." Grayson said, sighing as he turned to Deborah and shook his head. "Let her ask her questions," He added as he turned back to Vicky Vale.

"The Joker happened. After escaping custody, he attacked and murdered Batman's partner, Robin, in cold blood..." Grayson explained without waiting for the journalist to ask.

"Since then, every vigilante inside Gotham has been looking for the Joker..." He said, trailing off at the end of his sentence. "Batman was the first to find him..." He added, shaking his head as he watched Vicky Vale's expression rapidly shift.

"No. Batman wasn't out of revenge. The Joker is a disturbed man..." The young man explained, seeing through the journalist's thoughts. "Batman only wished to send him someplace where he can get the help he needs," He added.

"Unfortunately, the Joker was beyond help. He had other ideas," Grayson said, and his expression turned even grimmer. "I managed to salvage bits and pieces from the CTTV system, which I will hand over to the GCPD..." He added, his tone clearly frustrated as he trailed off.

"To make a long story short... the Joker killed himself in the explosion and took down Batman with him..." Grayson concluded as he raised his hand, revealing the tattered black cowl, singed by acid and fire.

The other journalists noticed what was happening and came rushing just in time to hear Grayson's statement, causing everyone to gasp in surprise and horror at the revelation.

The photographers took out their cameras and blinded everyone present with their flashes. Deborah frowned in annoyance at the rowdy reporters defiling her ears with an endless barrage of questions and her eyes with the blinding flashes of their camera.

She quickly ran out of patience and barked orders at her subordinates to deal with the reporters. The police officers obliged as they approached the journalists and forced them to behave.

Grayson didn't seem interested in answering anymore questions or sticking around, for that matter. "Here," He said as he retrieved a USB stick from nowhere and put it in Deborah's hand.

"It has all the evidence and info gathered about the incident..." Grayson said, watching as Deborah put the USB stick in her pocket and nodded gratefully.

"Now, if you'll excuse me..." Grayson said with a sigh. "This has been a long day..." He concluded with a grimace, flying into the air and out of sight before the police commissioner could reply.