Lighthearter
President of the United States
Athers narrowed his eyes at the Joker, clenching his fists.
"What did you have to do to Lincoln to get him to let you leave America?" He snarled.
Joker laughed. "Do to him? Honest Abe let me walk out on first-class transportation if I promised not to come back." He smiled in his inimitable way. "So now I'm here. And I have work to do."
"You'll never get away with what you plan here in Europe." Athers said. "We have people like Ravus and Whosit who will know what you're doing before you even realize it. We have the most astounding group of politicians on Earth."
"That's true!" Joker said cheerily. "But for Ravus, say, to predict what I'm planning - well, that implies I'm actually planning. Hard even for him to figure out what I'm doing when I don't even know!"
"Give up." Athers said, staring at the deranged clown. The man laughed crazily.
"Now, why should I do that?" He asked, still smiling. "First, there's your charming Night Eagles, running around helping the KRF in their little 'freedom fight.' Quite fun stuff, I must say! But there's my Syndicate that they can't do anything about too, you know! And then there's your equally charming lady friend there, the one who knifed one of my thugs and made it look accidental - why the long face, pretty? I can read women, you know!"
Anna's "long face" was actually a mask of rage and loathing. Athers thought that a pretty impressive score for Joker considering that Anna had never met him before. She was very serious about how good she was at her job. To insult her performance . . . .
Anna took a step towards Joker. He swung his pistol over to point at her. Athers immediately stepped in and slammed his elbow down on Joker's wrist, forcing the weapon down. His right fist hit the clown right under the nose, sending him staggering back.
Joker flipped with the impact, hitting the window with both feet and careening through. In a spray of glass he shot into the street, laughing maniacally.
Athers lept after him, a snarl fixed on his face. Joker grinned as the Night Eagle thrust the door to the diner open.
"Come on!" Athers yelled, stalking forward in a fighting stance. "Let's finish this!"
"Why, however do you mean?" Joker asked with that smile still fixed on his face. "End it? It's just getting to the fun part! I mean, don't you think it's a bit funny how I happened to show up right at the diner you and your charming friend were? And if I know where you are, isn't it safe to assume I know more then that?"
"What are you playing at?" Anna demanded from the doorway. Athers felt his heart stop.
"Why simply put, Athers - I know where you've been staying."
The world seemed to tilt for Athers as his eyes automatically widened, then narrowed, his nostrils flaring in fury. "If you've laid a hand on Cathy . . . ."
"Just messin' with ya, homes! Lighten up!" Joker laughed. "Or am I? You never know!"
Athers jumped, flipped in the air, planted his hands on the ground and slammed his feet into Joker's chest as he came back up. Joker slammed into a wall, then ducked under a punch, blocked a kick, and disengaged. He backfisted, was blocked, then slammed his elbow into Athers' face, planted his foot in the commando's chest and shoved hard. Athers staggered away, bracing himself for blows he was sure were coming.
They didn't. He looked up to see Joker skip off down the street and jump into a carriage that pulled over for him. Athers snarled and pulled himself up. Distantly alarm bells began ringing. The call for the constables finally got through, I guess. Athers narrowed his eyes as he stared after Joker, then turned the other way at a dead run, Anna struggling to keep up and calling his name.
Athers tore down the street, turned right, bulldozed through a crowd, ran across the street and ignored all the riders and carriages. He swore as he ran, all sorts of images playing in his mind. At last he took the final turn, heedless of Anna behind him. He came up towards the little house Catherine and he had inhabited and ran up to the front door. On it was pinned a note.
The joke's on you.
Athers shoved the door open. Inside the house seemed normal. Everything was exactly where it should be. Somehow that heightened his fear instead of lessening it.
"Cathy!" He yelled. No response came. "Catherine!" He shouted again. Still no response. Except . . . he thought he heard a muffled yell from the bedroom. He stormed over and shoved the door open.
Inside he saw first that the room looked even neater then when he'd left. It was as though an army of people had come in and cleaned the whole house. But what grabbed him next was in a definite sequence.
First were the barrels of gunpowder stacked across the room. Rather neatly, save that one was open. Above it was hanging a flaming bottle of what appeared to be oil. This oil was held up by a wire that stretched all around the room, past several party items with bells and horns and whistles primed to go off. Third was that a woman with flaming red hair lay on the bed, her hands bound behind her back and a gag across her mouth.
Fourth was that the wire had snapped when he opened the door.
The wire whizzed across the room, setting off the bells and horns in a massive cacophony of noise. Athers knew it was only going to be a second before the bottle fell, so he acted. He moved faster then any mortal and all but a few halflings, seizing the woman from the bed in one hand and bracing his feet against the bed. He enfolded her into a bear hug and shoved backwards, slamming clear through the wall in one fell push.
The bottle dropped.
He managed to get his body between the woman and the blast of fire and heat when it burst from the house, and he felt heat scorch his back. He slammed into the ground on his side, the woman still in his arms. For a moment he just lay there, gasping with the pain of the blast and the fall. Then he really recognized the human form still in his death grip was moving.
Athers rolled up and pulled her gag off. "Are you alright, miss?" He asked.
She coughed. "I don't know. Who are you?"
"About what I was going to ask you just now." Athers said grimly, not yet moving to untie her.
There was a slight rustle behind Athers. He narrowed his eyes and whipped out a knife, whirled around and plunged it forward. A lack-gloved hand blocked the stab and Athers froze at the masked face he was confronted with.
"Bruce?" He finally asked in a half-whisper.
"Listen, Athers - it's good to see you again. More then you know." Bruce Wayne, the Batman, said. "Joker kidnapped Barbara Gordon - the commisioner's daughter - and fled here. I needed to find her and warn you, but I think you got to her first."
"Indeed." Barbara gasped from the ground. "Now if one of you would be so kind, I'm tied up here and would appreciate a little assistance!"
Before Athers or Batman could move, Anna appeared almost from nowhere and cut Barbara's bonds with her knife. She then helped the younger woman to her feet. Batman looked back to Athers.
"He's brought some of my other foes with him too. I don't know exactly who, but he's not alone. I think he's here in New Horizons."
"You. Don't. Say." Athers snarled. "He's here all right. Played with me a bit, and took Catherine."
"Catherine?" Batman asked. "Formerly Princess Catherine of Russia?"
Yes, Bruce is still sharp. Athers thought. "Yes." He said aloud. "It's complicated."
"I understand." Batman narrowed his eyes. "In that case, Barbara and I are staying until he and all his buddies are in custody."
"Barbara too?" Athers asked. "Shouldn't you send her back to Gotham? Speaking of Gotham aren't you worried about leaving it?"
"No to both." Batman said, heedless of the flaming embers falling around him. "Barbara knows who I am, Athers. She's the Batgirl. And I left Dick and Jason in charge over there."
"Dick?" Athers asked. "You mean Robin?"
"No." Batman said. "You've been gone a long time, Athers. Dick's the Nightwing now. Jason Todd is now Robin."
Athers stared at one of the few men who had even understood him completely. "Things work a bit differently here . . . ." He began.
"I know." Batman said. "But if I have to put up with these ignorant politicians to catch Joker and his companions, so be it. You've done it."
Athers nodded sharply. "Let's bring that madman down."
To be continued . . . .
-L
"What did you have to do to Lincoln to get him to let you leave America?" He snarled.
Joker laughed. "Do to him? Honest Abe let me walk out on first-class transportation if I promised not to come back." He smiled in his inimitable way. "So now I'm here. And I have work to do."
"You'll never get away with what you plan here in Europe." Athers said. "We have people like Ravus and Whosit who will know what you're doing before you even realize it. We have the most astounding group of politicians on Earth."
"That's true!" Joker said cheerily. "But for Ravus, say, to predict what I'm planning - well, that implies I'm actually planning. Hard even for him to figure out what I'm doing when I don't even know!"
"Give up." Athers said, staring at the deranged clown. The man laughed crazily.
"Now, why should I do that?" He asked, still smiling. "First, there's your charming Night Eagles, running around helping the KRF in their little 'freedom fight.' Quite fun stuff, I must say! But there's my Syndicate that they can't do anything about too, you know! And then there's your equally charming lady friend there, the one who knifed one of my thugs and made it look accidental - why the long face, pretty? I can read women, you know!"
Anna's "long face" was actually a mask of rage and loathing. Athers thought that a pretty impressive score for Joker considering that Anna had never met him before. She was very serious about how good she was at her job. To insult her performance . . . .
Anna took a step towards Joker. He swung his pistol over to point at her. Athers immediately stepped in and slammed his elbow down on Joker's wrist, forcing the weapon down. His right fist hit the clown right under the nose, sending him staggering back.
Joker flipped with the impact, hitting the window with both feet and careening through. In a spray of glass he shot into the street, laughing maniacally.
Athers lept after him, a snarl fixed on his face. Joker grinned as the Night Eagle thrust the door to the diner open.
"Come on!" Athers yelled, stalking forward in a fighting stance. "Let's finish this!"
"Why, however do you mean?" Joker asked with that smile still fixed on his face. "End it? It's just getting to the fun part! I mean, don't you think it's a bit funny how I happened to show up right at the diner you and your charming friend were? And if I know where you are, isn't it safe to assume I know more then that?"
"What are you playing at?" Anna demanded from the doorway. Athers felt his heart stop.
"Why simply put, Athers - I know where you've been staying."
The world seemed to tilt for Athers as his eyes automatically widened, then narrowed, his nostrils flaring in fury. "If you've laid a hand on Cathy . . . ."
"Just messin' with ya, homes! Lighten up!" Joker laughed. "Or am I? You never know!"
Athers jumped, flipped in the air, planted his hands on the ground and slammed his feet into Joker's chest as he came back up. Joker slammed into a wall, then ducked under a punch, blocked a kick, and disengaged. He backfisted, was blocked, then slammed his elbow into Athers' face, planted his foot in the commando's chest and shoved hard. Athers staggered away, bracing himself for blows he was sure were coming.
They didn't. He looked up to see Joker skip off down the street and jump into a carriage that pulled over for him. Athers snarled and pulled himself up. Distantly alarm bells began ringing. The call for the constables finally got through, I guess. Athers narrowed his eyes as he stared after Joker, then turned the other way at a dead run, Anna struggling to keep up and calling his name.
Athers tore down the street, turned right, bulldozed through a crowd, ran across the street and ignored all the riders and carriages. He swore as he ran, all sorts of images playing in his mind. At last he took the final turn, heedless of Anna behind him. He came up towards the little house Catherine and he had inhabited and ran up to the front door. On it was pinned a note.
The joke's on you.
Athers shoved the door open. Inside the house seemed normal. Everything was exactly where it should be. Somehow that heightened his fear instead of lessening it.
"Cathy!" He yelled. No response came. "Catherine!" He shouted again. Still no response. Except . . . he thought he heard a muffled yell from the bedroom. He stormed over and shoved the door open.
Inside he saw first that the room looked even neater then when he'd left. It was as though an army of people had come in and cleaned the whole house. But what grabbed him next was in a definite sequence.
First were the barrels of gunpowder stacked across the room. Rather neatly, save that one was open. Above it was hanging a flaming bottle of what appeared to be oil. This oil was held up by a wire that stretched all around the room, past several party items with bells and horns and whistles primed to go off. Third was that a woman with flaming red hair lay on the bed, her hands bound behind her back and a gag across her mouth.
Fourth was that the wire had snapped when he opened the door.
The wire whizzed across the room, setting off the bells and horns in a massive cacophony of noise. Athers knew it was only going to be a second before the bottle fell, so he acted. He moved faster then any mortal and all but a few halflings, seizing the woman from the bed in one hand and bracing his feet against the bed. He enfolded her into a bear hug and shoved backwards, slamming clear through the wall in one fell push.
The bottle dropped.
He managed to get his body between the woman and the blast of fire and heat when it burst from the house, and he felt heat scorch his back. He slammed into the ground on his side, the woman still in his arms. For a moment he just lay there, gasping with the pain of the blast and the fall. Then he really recognized the human form still in his death grip was moving.
Athers rolled up and pulled her gag off. "Are you alright, miss?" He asked.
She coughed. "I don't know. Who are you?"
"About what I was going to ask you just now." Athers said grimly, not yet moving to untie her.
There was a slight rustle behind Athers. He narrowed his eyes and whipped out a knife, whirled around and plunged it forward. A lack-gloved hand blocked the stab and Athers froze at the masked face he was confronted with.
"Bruce?" He finally asked in a half-whisper.
"Listen, Athers - it's good to see you again. More then you know." Bruce Wayne, the Batman, said. "Joker kidnapped Barbara Gordon - the commisioner's daughter - and fled here. I needed to find her and warn you, but I think you got to her first."
"Indeed." Barbara gasped from the ground. "Now if one of you would be so kind, I'm tied up here and would appreciate a little assistance!"
Before Athers or Batman could move, Anna appeared almost from nowhere and cut Barbara's bonds with her knife. She then helped the younger woman to her feet. Batman looked back to Athers.
"He's brought some of my other foes with him too. I don't know exactly who, but he's not alone. I think he's here in New Horizons."
"You. Don't. Say." Athers snarled. "He's here all right. Played with me a bit, and took Catherine."
"Catherine?" Batman asked. "Formerly Princess Catherine of Russia?"
Yes, Bruce is still sharp. Athers thought. "Yes." He said aloud. "It's complicated."
"I understand." Batman narrowed his eyes. "In that case, Barbara and I are staying until he and all his buddies are in custody."
"Barbara too?" Athers asked. "Shouldn't you send her back to Gotham? Speaking of Gotham aren't you worried about leaving it?"
"No to both." Batman said, heedless of the flaming embers falling around him. "Barbara knows who I am, Athers. She's the Batgirl. And I left Dick and Jason in charge over there."
"Dick?" Athers asked. "You mean Robin?"
"No." Batman said. "You've been gone a long time, Athers. Dick's the Nightwing now. Jason Todd is now Robin."
Athers stared at one of the few men who had even understood him completely. "Things work a bit differently here . . . ." He began.
"I know." Batman said. "But if I have to put up with these ignorant politicians to catch Joker and his companions, so be it. You've done it."
Athers nodded sharply. "Let's bring that madman down."
To be continued . . . .
-L
