The moment Joker's face appeared on Live TV, my face scrunched up to reveal extreme displeasure.
The previously controllable waves of negative emotions all over the city multiplied by nearly a hundred-fold in an instant. This wasn't an exaggeration.
The clown had that much negative effect on this city's citizens.
"We interrupt your regularly scheduled mayhem, to bring you this... Important announcement".
He uttered while bringing out a knife with the flick of his wrist. Then, he pushed the camera aside to show six other figures.
"From the Injustice League..... Hahaha haha".
"We are responsible for the attacks on your cities. If you wish to save them, a ransom of ten billion American dollars is required. Delivery instructions have been sent to the United Nations".
Count Vertigo stood in the middle of the group.
His face portrayed a clever smirk.
"There is no time limit. But..... The longer your governments wait…".
Those were his last words before the camera was moved back to face the white - faced cameraman.
"The more we get to have our little..... Jollies". The Clown chuckled madly before going into full-blown laughter.
"Hahaha haha hahaha haha".
His face drew closer to the camera before the connection feed cut off. All that remained was static on the TV screen.
'These Guys never learn, do they?' I thought to myself inwardly.
This part of the plot was all too familiar. Last time I saw the team, it was in Bialya. In the short month that had passed, I had missed a lot of things.
The journey to the Amazon where the Proteges fought against Brain and his Cobra venom enhanced animal army was one of them.
This was the continuation of that episode. The reveal of the Injustice League, where they used plant structures laced with a Cobra venom variant to attack cities all over the world, threatening the United Nations to pay a ransom if they wanted them to stop.
Each and every single one of them played a vital role in this.
The Joker included.
Only..... Joker was supposed to be dead. I made sure of that... And yet there he was, quite literally laughing at me through the screen.
"Correct me if I'm wrong, but didn't you kill him?"
The bartender asked me with a curious expression.
"... Don't look at me like that. The video is all over the web".
I looked at her with narrowed eyebrows before responding with a shrug.
"Gotham's a dark place". I pushed the glass away slightly, gesturing for a refill.
"This city is a hellhole. Or to be more precise, has a hole leading to hell in it. Many weird things happen here. The resurrection of the World's Greatest Madman and Mass Murderer isn't unusual, much less impossible".
Despite my monotone voice, a small smile made its way to my lips.
"But regarding death and rebirth, no one should have more say on the matter than the representative of the concept itself, won't you agree?"
As I expected when I stole the power of the Gods, attention would follow in due time.
And here it was.
In the most corrupt city on the planet, strangely, working as a bartender.
My words made the smile on her face to widen. She didn't answer my question, both poured another drink into the glass.
"You didn't seem to recognize me at first".
"Like I said, I had a lot on my mind".
"Oh! Then what gave it away?"
"..... The name tag".
She chuckled and remarked.
"You don't seem surprised".
"No I'm not. But I am curious as to what brings Death Of The Endless herself to the worst city in New Jersey".
"A stone thrown will create numerous ripples. And there will be always be people coming to check it out".
See! What did I just say?
She hadn't finished yet but rested her ass on the stool and continued.
"Plus... In a city that has the highest proportion of deaths, shouldn't my presence be warranted?"
"So you're the first? Strange. Usually, the Small Fry's are the first to make it to the scene before the cosmic bosses show up".
"With what you've done. From this point on, there will be no small fries, only smaller ones and larger ones".
She was right.
Even the smallest fry from now henceforth would be capable of beating the current stage Superman to autism.
"Ok.... So as one of the biggest bosses there is, what's your take here for?"
"Me?" She poured herself a glass, smiled thoughtfully and took a sip.
"I'm not sure. Probably to watch the chaos unfold".
If there was anything noteworthy I could grasp from the sentence, it was the fact that she wasn't leaving anytime soon.
"Although.... I am pretty interested..... In you". And so, she set her eyes, dark as night, on me with a look I was all too familiar with.
One of amusement and genuine interest.
The soft, seductive, even a bit of innocent voice sounded in the building. But at this point, we were the only two people left.
At some point, the scarce number of people in the establishment had used the exit to return to their various lives.
A strange silence enveloped us and lasted for several seconds.
Until..... I broke it.
"I see". Looking at her pale white skin, so pale that it looked unhealthy yet carried no imperfections, and glistening dark eyes, my reply was as apathetic as it could get.
"That's it?" She raised an eyebrow with obvious surprise.
"What did you expect?" I asked rhetorically.
"I expected more of a reaction from you, that's for sure".
"Oh well, guess it was too good to be true that you just happened to be passing by".
I replied without much emotion.
"Your interest, however, is a bit misguided. I doubt I'd be able to interest you in any way".
"Hehehehe".
Her sweet chuckle fell into my ears.
"Sweetie, I'm death. When the first living thing existed, I was there. And when the last living thing dies, I will also be there. But when you came into this world, I was not aware. I can give life and I can also take it, but.....". She swirled the drink in the glass.
".... My authority as Death itself..... Has no effect on you. Unlike almost everything else, I can't kill you with a thought, even if I wanted to".
Didi had lived for a long, long time. She had seen everything this universe and the multiverse had to offer and then some. Yet, this..... What was before her was something so very intriguing.
"Misguided? I don't think so. And neither will they".
With that smile still plastered on her dark lips, she raised a glass filled with alcohol and said.
"See, I'm not sure even you realize how special you are yet. So special that a group of powerful individuals had to seal your memories away to curb your possible actions all because there was no way to put a certain end to your life".
Her words made me freeze, and my eyes narrowed to form a sharp glare.
She didn't seem to notice my expression and continued.
"And if you think that a soul from beyond the source wall with no connection to the source itself is not enough to garner their attention, then you are the one who is misguided".
I tapped my fingers on the counter.
"Forgive me..... But I still don't see how their interest is my problem".
"You don't need to see it". She replied, her tone turning moderately bland.
"They'll show it to you. The multiverse has a lot of..... Establishments. There will be those who want to join you, those who want to use you, and those who would like to find out what's so special about you".
And so, she leaned forward.
"They'll offer you an invitation to join them. Some won't ask too nicely. The different forces are numerous. You could join one and make yourself a target for the rest, or join none and make yourself a target for all of them. Do you now understand?"
"You my dear... hold the answer. An answer to a question they want to know so badly. A question that has propelled many to travel to the edge of the universe yet fail miserably and be forgotten with the passage of time. What is on the other side of that wall".
"I'm just the first. The rest probably won't be as chatty as I am". She finished with a smile.
"So... You're in a lot of trouble".
"I figured. Thanks for pointing that out".
I responded indifferently and turned towards the static television.
"Playback". I uttered while staring at the television. The static screen disappeared, and the video moved backwards like it had been put on rewind before stopping firmly on the picture of Joker himself.
"Do you find their attempts interesting?" The female bartender asked with her chin resting on her palm.
"Not really, no". I replied blandly.
Focusing my eyes on the screen, my vision was altered and everything I could see changed rapidly.
Joker's outer image was gone. What remained was a broken, chaotic mess of dark yellow taking human shape.
This, was the Mad Clown's soul.
"I do have interest in how he's still alive despite the fact that I roasted his ashes to ashes".
Examining the sight before me with the utmost scrutiny, I soon found exactly what I was looking for.
"I see. Another clone".
The Joker that had appeared on TV wasn't the real deal. Just a piece of regrown DNA lex had gotten from The Joker.
Unlike Superboy with Kryptonian bloodline who took sixteen weeks to grow, The Joker was much simpler.
In less than forty-eight hours, the Mad clown had been reborn.
"Ugh!" I placed my palm on my head and groaned slightly.
Joker's reappearance had caused a spike in negative energy.
I looked at the picture of the grinning clown. He's going to wish he stayed dead.
And so, I stood to my feet, obviously preparing to leave.
"Wow!" Seeing me get up, she exclaimed with bright eyes.
"Tough guy, aren't you? Knowing that so many powerful beings were coming for him, someone else would have shown even a bit of fear".
"Ever since I took that step a moment ago, I've felt many things. Fear isn't one of them".
I was being honest. I didn't feel the slightest bit afraid of what might happen.
Honestly, I was a bit excited.
"Interesting.... Why don't we make a deal". She said as she licked her lips and said in a teasing tone.
"It's simple really. You become mine, and I promise to take very good care of you".
"Generous offer, but I think I'll pass".
She raised an eyebrow.
"Don't you want to know who is responsible for what happened to you?"
"I do..... But something tells me you won't tell me even if I ask".
Those were my last words before I turned around and walks towards the exit.
She didn't do anything to stop me, just watched me leave with those dark eyes that seemed to be filled with endless night.
"Hehehehe.... Things are going to get interesting".
She honestly couldn't wait to watch the show.
Her curiosity for this strange anomaly was soaring at an exponential rate.
The forces were stirring and soon, she would witness a thrilling battle.
"The Pantheon's will certainly put up a good show. And the New God's.... He did open a hole to the dark multiverse. I wonder how he will feel when he realises.
....
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