Tag: batman

Loki pulled back a bit of the cover on one of the paintings, then slowly covered it back up. “…I thought you said that you had examples of the Old Masters, Joker,” he hissed.

“I do!” protested the Joker.

“Then which of the Old Masters is J. Todd?” Loki yanked the cover off to reveal that it was a relatively recently-done abstract painting with the artist’s name on the lower right corner! The Joker had a horrible thought and pulled back the covers to reveal more abstract paintings with artists like D. Grayson, B. Gordon, A. Pennyworth, D. Wayne, and so on! The Joker returned his attention to the phone call.

“YOU CAPED CREEP!” he shouted. “YOU SWITCHED PAINTINGS ON ME! THESE ARE NOTHING MORE THAN KINDERGARTEN DRAWINGS!”

“I’ll have you know,” replied Batman, “those people worked hard on those paintings. Besides, a Kindergartener’s mind could have anticipated you and Loki’s every move. This caper was more obvious than any I’ve had to solve.” Loki overheard that and grabbed the phone.

“You can say that over the phone, Mortal!” snarled the ticked-off Asgardian. “If you weren’t hiding behind this thing, you’d know the wrath of Loki!”

“Then demonstrate it to us!” challenged Batman as he and his group crashed through the window or burst from the door!

“Stay where you are!” called the Doctor. “We have you covered!”

“Lights out!” called the Joker as he hit the light switch, plunging the room into darkness.

“Activate infra-red!” Iron Man called. His suit’s eyes turned red. Batman tapped the side of his cowl and activated night vision. Wolverine had all of his senses enhanced, so his hearing and smell helped him in the darkened fight. Iron Man then deployed drones that shone a light for the Doctor, Tysar, and Wonder Woman. The Joker tried to whack a frying pan on Wolverine’s skull, but it snapped at the handle and only gave Wolverine a minor headache.

“…Huh, you really DO have a hard head,” remarked the Joker.

“Damn straight, bub!” Wolverine decked the Joker with enough force to knock him into Loki. That gave the Doctor enough to jab her pinky finger under Loki’s chin and paralyze him long enough for Batman to deck him! Both tricksters were now in a heap, groaning in pain.

“…That was…remarkably simplistic,” said the Doctor.

The Joker and Loki were handcuffed. Normal handcuffs for the Joker and special Asgardian handcuffs for Loki that Thor had commissioned the Asgardian smiths to make for the Avengers to use on their most powerful villains. “Thor will be coming to take you away and hide the Time Stone,” Iron Man explained to Loki.

“Why you let a lunatic like the Joker learn about the Infinity Stones,” growled Woman, “I’ll never understand. You realize he was going to betray you, yes?”

“How?” asked Loki. “His attempt at betrayal wouldn’t have compared to mine.”

“I don’t know,” remarked the Doctor. “Jokerized Daleks would certainly do it.”

“…I’m sorry, did you say Jokerized DALEKS?” asked Loki.

“He’d snatch them from my time, if you’d care to know,” explained Wonder Woman. Loki then turned on the Joker.

“Then what was the point of the painting theft?!” he shouted.

“A rough idea on where and when to send my Jokerized Daleks to,” replied the Joker. “You have to admit, having cackling squids in tanks causing terror during the Renaissance would have been funny!”

“That’s too severe of a breach of the laws of time!” protested Loki. “And it would make it hard for you to gloat after the event, even with the Time Stone! With Omega running around, I wouldn’t do something that insane!”

“Perhaps you can tell me where you heard about Omega returning,” said the Doctor. “You know that if he regains his full might, he’ll take over all of time and space.”

“I only saw him once as he fled his then-hiding place on Karn,” revealed Loki. “Not out of fear of the Sisterhood, but with intent to go elsewhere to conduct his plans. All the Time Stone could tell me as I retrieved it from Karn was that he went in the direction of Irk. When during its history, I cannot say.”

“The Irken Homeworld, hm?” quizzed the Doctor. “You realize I’ll have to confirm your words.”

“Pah! You’re too wound tight, Doctor!” scoffed the Joker. Batman then approached.

“A SHIELD helicarrier’s coming to collect Loki,” he said. “You, Joker, are going back to Arkham.”

“Yeah, sure, put me in the looney bin like always!” cackled the Joker. “You’ve heard of the definition of insanity, right Bats? Ah, what am I saying?! We’re two of a kind! Of course, you have!” Commissioner Gordon then approached the group.

“The paintings are back in the museum,” he said to Batman. “Though I gotta admit, the bait paintings might have a place in a museum of modern art.”

“Thank you, Commissioner,” replied Batman.

The heroes returned to the Batcave once Loki and the Joker were sent to their respective destinations. The Doctor led Iron Man, Wolverine, and Wonder Woman into the TARDIS. “Well, this HAS been fun!” said the Doctor. “Time to send you all home. …Diana…”

“Save it, Doctor,” replied Wonder Woman. “I’m going to do what I do best and the Daleks can’t take that from me.” She drew her sword and adopted a warrior’s stance. “Send me back.”

“Coordinates confirmed,” said the Doctor. “Away you go. Good luck.”

“For Themyscira!” called Wonder Woman as she faded.

“As for you boys, you two ready?” asked Tysar.

“Just cut to the chase so I can get back to teaching those brats!” grumbled Wolverine.

“What, no beer waiting for you?” asked Iron Man.

“Mr. Stark, an alcoholic like you has no room to talk,” remarked the Doctor as she started the return process.

“Hey! I’m a RECOVERING alcoholic, thank-!” Iron Man’s protests were cut off as he and Wolverine faded. By then, Batman and Alfred entered the TARDIS.

“They’re gone, then,” stated Batman.

“Yes, back to their times,” said the Doctor. She looked up Wonder Woman’s history. “…She’s helped people escape the concentration camps the Daleks set up, but in the final day of the Daleks’ Occupation, roughly about when their plans went belly-up, she dueled a Dalek and was exterminated just as her sword went through the Dalek’s squishy interior, killing it.”

“…She dies in battle, then,” sighed Batman.

“The last of the Justice League,” said the Doctor. “But she was buried with honor when her body was found a few minutes later. The mourners used the funerary rites of Ancient Greece, even burying her with two drachmas.”

“…Knowing her and the other Amazons, she’s probably in the Isles of the Blessed,” mused Batman.

“Knowing her valor and that of her sisters and mother, most likely,” agreed the Doctor. “Now, we must depart. Loki said that Omega was on the Irken Homeworld and there are signs of chronal surges centered around that planet.”

“Before you go, Doctor,” said Batman as he took off the cowl and revealed his face as Bruce Wayne, “can I have my desk back?”

“Oh, it’ll be back in its proper place once we leave,” assured the Doctor. “I mean, you have to admit,” she pointed at the desk currently in the far corner of the console room, “it doesn’t exactly match the décor.”

“True, it doesn’t,” agreed Bruce.

“All right, unless you wanna take the desk’s place,” said the Doctor, “and subsequently help me and Tysar with the Grouping, you may wish to exit the TARDIS.”

“…I think I’ll pass on a trip,” replied Bruce. “See you sometime.”

“See you sometime, Bruce!” returned the Doctor. Bruce then left the TARDIS. The Doctor pulled the take-off lever and the desk vanished. “There we go!” she said to Tysar.

“…Doctor, concerning what Loki said,” said Tysar, “do you think that he’s lying?”

“…Possible,” replied the Doctor. “But we have to see. I’m having the TARDIS check for any chronal surges and-.” She was interrupted by a beeping noise from the console. “There we go!” She checked the readings. “…Okay, as I said, there ARE three chronal surges centered around Irk,” she reported. “Let’s see…ah, two are from Hyrule, one is from Disney Castle, and the time period on Irk they’re being sent to is…oh.” The Doctor’s face fell. “…Oh dear.”

“Doctor?”

“…Tysar, I need you to promise that you can’t change history,” said the Doctor.

“Doctor, you’re scaring me,” replied Tysar. “What’s so dangerous about that time?”

“…That time period is when Tallest Zim becomes the last Irken alive,” explained the Doctor. “A mighty enemy attacks and slaughters every single Irken, save for Zim. Who that enemy is, I don’t know.”

“…That’s not…a fixed point in time, is it?” asked Tysar. The Doctor sighed and could only nod. “…Then there’s nothing we can do for the Irkens?”

“…Not without breaking time,” sighed the Doctor. Tysar thought for a while.

“…That’s…that’s going to be difficult to promise,” she finally said. “…But I will not interfere.”

“Good. Because we can’t rewrite history, not one line.”

“So we find our Grouping Victims, get them back to their homes, and get out of there before the Irken Genocide.”

“That’s the plan.” The Doctor set the coordinates and the TARDIS spun through the Time Vortex.

“Well, that complicates things!” grumbled Tysar as the Batmobile sped away. She then took in her surroundings. “…Did you upgrade this thing?” she asked Batman.

“Of course,” replied Batman. “Now, my knowledge on the time stone is limited. What is it?”

“One of the six Infinity Stones, Bats,” replied Iron Man. “As advertised, it can control time for the user. Bring it and the other five Infinity Stones together, the whole universe is your playground. That’s what a guy called Thanos wants them for.”

“Thanos didn’t last long against the Daleks,” remarked Wonder Woman.

“I take it I was gunned down by them,” said Batman.

“No, thankfully,” replied Wonder Woman. “It was just old age that took you and our friends.”

“Yes, the invasion that Wonder Woman’s talking about,” said the Doctor, “started in 2157 and lasted a decade. The Daleks used a plague of their own design.”

“A breach of the Geneva Conventions, huh?” remarked Wolverine.

“They don’t consider any laws made by non-Daleks to be superior to their own. …Now what would the Joker want with an Infinity Stone? I mean, aside from the obvious ‘nothing good’, why should that anarchist want the time stone?”

“And how will his deal with the Joker help him fight this Omega guy?” asked Iron Man.

“Questions, questions,” muttered the Doctor. “…Though, admittedly, one of them is minor.”

“Doctor?” asked Tysar.

“How did Loki recognize me? I met him in a previous incarnation. …Then again, the Asgardians know about how Time Lords regenerate, so he probably picked up on context clues.”

“What do we do, then?” asked Wolverine. “We can’t exactly waltz up to them with the time stone.”

“Oracle’s looking into that right now,” replied Batman.

“Oracle? Who’s that?” asked Iron Man.

“My tech person. She can look things up with ease. Perhaps the Joker’s men got sloppy when they had to move.” The console of the Batmobile beeped. Batman pressed a button. “Go ahead.”

“Batman, your hunch was right,” said a woman’s voice. “The Joker’s got his own plans for the time stone.”

“Hey, lady, how do you know about the time stone?!” snarled Wolverine.

“I can hear everything, Logan,” replied Oracle. Wolverine snarled and was ready to unsheathe his claws. “In any event, the Joker’s planning on taking over the plan. That’s why he went after the Gotham City Renaissance Art Collection. He’s using the art pieces as a sort of temporal map and intends to use the time stone to send Daleks into those eras. Before that, though, he intends to inject them with his Joker Venom.”

“I know he’s mad,” said the Doctor, “but Dalek casings have all sorts of defenses to protect the internal creature. He’d need to dissect one in order to figure out how to infect one with his Joker Venom and he’ll lose a lot of men in the attempt.”

“He won’t care,” replied Batman. “All just to build up to the sick punchline.”

“He’s just doing this because he can? That’s his justification?” asked Tysar.

“That’s his justification for anything,” answered Batman.

“Well, even if he succeeds, I’m positive I don’t want to see the results of a Jokerized Dalek,” remarked the Doctor. She then noticed something. “Um, we’re going to-.”

“Yes,” said Batman. They then went through a waterfall beneath Wayne Manor.

“Batman, are you sure-?” asked Wonder Woman as she pointed to Iron Man and Wolverine.

“Oh, we already know each other’s identities,” replied Iron Man. “Tends to happen when you’re genius billionaire playboy philanthropists.” Batman then parked the Batmobile in its usual place in the Batcave. “So, Brucie, what’s the plan?” asked Iron Man.

“Well, Stark Naked,” replied Batman, “there’s another reason why the Joker stole those paintings. Unlike us, money isn’t easy to come by for him, and he needs it until he fulfills his grand design.”

“So he’s gonna sell renaissance art off when he’s done with that map of his?” asked Wolverine.

“It won’t do him any good,” replied the Doctor. “If he sends a Jokerized Dalek into the time period the painting was born in, it will vanish.”

“Well, that WOULD make my part harder,” said Batman as he took off the cowl. Alfred then arrived.

“Master Bruce, I-.” He stopped when he saw the guests. “…Mr. Stark,” he began. “Mr. Howlett. Your Highness. And welcome back, Doctor and Miss Tysar. I would have thought you’d be back home.”

“Not until the Grouping is settled, Alfred,” replied Tysar.

“As a matter of fact, that’s why these three are here,” said the Doctor as she gestured to Iron Man, Wolverine, and Wonder Woman. “The boys are from 2027 while Wonder Woman’s from 2167. It’s a ghastly future, but it’s a future humanity will overcome.”

“So you can see why we need to find the Doctor’s TARDIS as well as stop the Joker and Loki,” said Wonder Woman.

“Oh, I can easily tell you where the TARDIS is, Doctor,” said Alfred. “It is currently in Master Bruce’s office, but it materialized around his desk whilst I was dusting it. I took the liberty of dusting the console room before I left.”

“Oh, thank you very much!” bid the Doctor. “I’ve been trying to dust it myself, but in my life, one thing leads to another and it’s been two centuries before you finally do it!”

“My pleasure, Ma’am. Now, what’s this about the Joker and the Norse god of fire and mischief?”

“The Joker’s trying to get the time stone from Loki, Alfred,” explained Batman. “One of the six Infinity Stones that can make its user do anything with a literal snap of their fingers if they’re wearing the proper gauntlet.”

“…I’m guessing the time stone is called as such because it controls time,” said Alfred.

“That’s correct, old friend,” replied Diana. “The Joker plans to use it to swipe aliens that invaded at least ten years ago in my time and inject them with Joker Venom, then send them into different points in the Renaissance.”

“Good grief! Send lunatics into a period of rediscovery?! Have them wreak havoc in that period?! Possibly kill the Old Masters?! That would explain why he stole those paintings! You were right to enact that plan, Sir!”

“Plan?” asked the Doctor.

“Over there,” replied Bruce as he pointed at a room adjacent to the main Batcave. Everyone looked inside to paintings with cloths draped over them.

“…The Gotham City Renaissance Art Collection?” asked Wonder Woman.

“Wait, if the Old Masters’ work is here,” said the Doctor, “…then what does the Joker have?”

“Batman, the Joker and Loki have been spotted in a hotel room,” warned Oracle.

“They’re playing chicken with their alliance,” remarked the Doctor.

“Oracle, does your dad know?” asked Bruce.

“He’s ready for the Joker’s inevitable call. Sending you the address and room.” The address and room showed up on the Batcomputer’s screen.

“Perfect,” said Bruce as he lowered the cowl over his eyes. “Let’s go, everyone. The Joker’s got a nasty surprise waiting for him.”

The Joker and Loki arrived in their hotel room, littered with paintings covered by cloths. “I still say we need to get my spear back!” urged Loki.

“In time, my friend. In time,” soothed the Joker. “For now, I have a call to make.” He then dialed a number. The person picked up.

“Commissioner Gordon here.”

“Working late nights, Commissioner?” asked the Joker.

“JOKER!” snarled Commissioner Gordon.

“I thought I’d present you something for all the years we’ve had our relationship!” cackled the Joker.

“If you’re trying to bribe me-!”

“A bribe? Don’t be so gauche! I intend to present you with the entire Gotham City Renaissance Art Collection as a gift!”

“Renaissance Art Collection, huh? I thought it was your calling card at the museum!”

“Well, I can safely say that they’re all safe and sound,” continued the Joker, “so I’ll be giving them back! Now isn’t that nice of me? Of course, there’s a slight delivery charge of 22 million dollars! I’d ordinarily ask for 10 million, but I have a lawyer on retainer. So pay up before 6 AM, or I burn the entire collection!”

“You DO know that Batman’s after you, yeah?” asked Commissioner Gordon.

“Batman! HAH!” laughed the Joker. “That Kooky Kleptomaniac stole a spear from my friend and scurried away to his Batcave, afraid of the power Loki has!”

“Loki? Who’s that?” asked Commissioner Gordon.

“Why, Commissioner! Aren’t you familiar with Norse Mythology?!” At that point, a new voice entered the call.

“Lots of people call themselves Loki,” said the new and familiar raspy voice. “Mainly people Commissioner Gordon’s keeping locked up.”

“Batman! You’re on the line too!” cackled the Joker. “Hiding out in the Commissioner’s office, are we?”

“My friends and I hope you don’t mind,” replied Batman.

“So, that Doctor and the other members of the cape and costume crowd are with you too!” The Joker allowed himself a giggle. “Well, you all had better stay there! Because if I catch any single one of you outside, I’m going to personally pin your pointed ears back, you hear?!”

“Of course,” answered Batman. “So, you have paintings, I hear.”

“Oh, I have dozens of them!” confirmed the Joker. “And each one, an Old Master!”

“You don’t say,” said Batman.

“…Yes, I DO say,” replied the Joker, now concerned about the tone in Batman’s voice. Loki got suspicious and went to remove the cover of one of the paintings.

“…So we’re in the future, huh?” asked Iron Man. “Looks kinda sucky.”

“She also said we’re in Gotham, Tin Man,” replied Wolverine. “Remember how much of a hellhole it is?”

“You’re not questioning how you got here?” asked Tysar.

“Lady, this ain’t our first time travel rodeo,” retorted Wolverine.

“Well, the method might be new to you,” said the Doctor. “It was an energy wave called a chronal surge. That kind of energy wave takes random people and plops them into points of space and time that are foreign to them. Right now, there’s a series of chronal surges, creating an event known as the Grouping. Tysar and I have been tracking the chronal surges and followed you two and a third person from the future…a very ghastly future. …Unfortunately, my arrival point could have been chosen better as I landed in a warehouse held by Gotham’s greatest criminal, the Joker. My TARDIS had to choose a safer place to rest, so it vanished on me temporarily. I’m going to need your help, gentlemen, and the help of the person from the future and Batman in order to find the TARDIS. With it returned to me, I can get you all home.”

“…Fair deal to me,” remarked Iron Man.

“Same,” agreed Wolverine.

“Excellent!” cheered the Doctor. “Batman went that way towards the warehouse, so he’ll be busy with the Joker.”

The Doctor was right. Batman had already taken out the Joker’s thugs and was going after him, dodging or deflecting all the Joker’s tricks. Acid boutonniere, razor playing cards, giant hammer, gun, they paled in comparison to Batman’s bag of tricks. “Come on, Batsy!” taunted the Joker. “Do you really think you have time to stop me?! Don’t you have a gala to host at Wayne Manor?!”

“There’s always room in my schedule for stopping criminals,” replied Batman. As he prepared to throw a batarang at the Joker, a glowing, golden rope wrapped around the Joker’s wrist.

“Hey, who invited little miss bondage?!” cackled the Joker.

“Little?” asked Batman. Little was NOT a word Batman would use with the owner of the rope. The Joker was then launched through the roof of the warehouse as the rope untied itself from his wrist. Batman looked up through the hole. “…You know, Diana,” he remarked, “you didn’t give it that Joker shape. He would have-.” He stopped when he saw his friend. She…looked haggard, wore black and gray armor instead of her usual red, blue, and gold outfit, and carried a sword and shield. “…Wonder Woman?” asked Batman. “What happened to you?”

“What happened to me?” asked Wonder Woman. “Apparently I was sent back in time to when you were alive, Bruce.”

“…So you’re from the future,” remarked Batman. “A chronal surge?”

“I have no idea what that is, but an energy wave plucked me from 2167 and put me here. …When is this?”

“2029,” called the Doctor as she stepped into the warehouse. “And that energy wave is called a chronal surge.

“Doctor?” asked Batman. “So the Grouping’s still going on.”

“Sadly, yes,” said the Doctor. “And, in order to fix time, I have to send Iron Man, Wolverine, and Wonder Woman back to their proper times. …Therein lies the problem. Before you arrived, the Joker attacked in a way that made my TARDIS think the area wasn’t safe for it, so it moved itself, so I’ll need everyone’s help to find it so Iron Man and Wolverine can live to the end of their days and Wonder Woman can see the end of the Dalek Occupation in 2167.”

“The end? …Doctor, there IS no end to their occupation,” sighed Wonder Woman. Everyone could tell that her spirit was broken somehow and she was just focused on survival.

“…What happened?” asked Batman.

“Diana…does Themyscira-?” asked the Doctor.

“It’s all gone, Doctor,” replied Wonder Woman. “The island, my sisters, my mother, all of it! The Daleks just killed them all! And not just them! The Avengers, the Justice League, the X-men, the Teen Titans, for Hera’s sake! …They all died defending the planet. The Daleks succeeded where Darkseid failed. Even his Parademons couldn’t destroy them. They somehow even immunized themselves against his Omega Effect! I don’t even know what their mission is!”

“To mine Earth’s core and replace it with an interstellar engine,” said the Doctor. “The primary mineshaft is in England, Bedfordshire to be precise.”

“…How on Earth do you-?”

“Because the Daleks fail in that regard, thanks her first incarnation,” explained Tysar.

“…Don’t give me hope, child,” sighed Wonder Woman. “Hope died a long time ago.”

“That’s what the humans thought too, at least the general population,” said the Doctor. “But…there ARE resistance groups.”

“…You’re sure?” asked Wonder Woman.

“They helped me defeat the Daleks in that time,” confirmed the Doctor. “When I send you back, you must promise me you’ll find a resistance group. Give them the hope they need to fight back! You’ll see the end of the occupation! You’ll avenge the Amazons by defying the Daleks and saying to them ‘No! Earth will NOT be exterminated!’ …Now, I can’t say that the pain of being the last will go away. It never does. …But you CAN prevent others from suffering that fate!” Wonder Woman looked at the Doctor…and saw genuine understanding in her eyes. …The Amazon then clenched her fist.

“…You’re right, Doctor!” she said. “My friends would not give up…neither will I!” There was a ferocity in her voice, a ferocity she had forgotten so long ago.

“First things first, Wondy,” said Wolverine. “We gotta find her box.”

“It’s still in Gotham, probably near here,” explained the Doctor.

“…Hey, didn’t someone go through the roof?” asked Iron Man.

“…You’re right, the Joker should have come back by now.” A portal then appeared above their heads and the Joker fell out of it, landing face first on the ground. He picked himself up and snarled.

“…I HAVE BEEN FALLING…FOR THIRTY MINUTES!” he shouted.

“Whoever cast that portal must have slowed down time in that hole,” remarked the Doctor.

“I thought it would amuse me, Doctor,” replied a voice the Doctor hadn’t heard in a long time. Stepping into the warehouse with divine swagger reserved for those that were so sure of their power was a man with black hair in a green outfit with gold trim and a gold helmet with horns on it. He carried a spear with a green stone in it.

“…Loki Laufeyson,” greeted the Doctor.

“The Norse god of trickery and fire?” asked Wonder Woman.

“Hey, just a second!” protested the Joker. “I didn’t get my prize yet!” He pointed at the stone in the spear.

“Oh yes, the deal we made,” said Loki. “My apologies.”

“Loki, what are you talking about?” asked Iron Man. “And why do you have the Time Stone?”

“It’s my best weapon of keeping Omega at bay,” replied Loki. The Doctor flinched at that. “…Ah, you know of whom I speak, don’t you, Doctor?”

“…Doc, you wanna shed some light?” asked Wolverine.

“…Omega was one of the founders of Time Lord society,” explained the Doctor. “He was a brilliant stellar engineer and learned how to harness a singularity to become a rich source of power for my people. …But his experiments sent him to an anti-matter universe and he went mad with revenge against the universe for thinking the Time Lords had abandoned him in favor of Rassilon. This current Grouping crisis is the result of him trying to escape once again.”

“Trying to, Doctor?” chuckled Loki. “No. Omega IS free and walks our universe. He’s developed a full body for himself. With the Time Stone, I can track him down and slay him!”

“No, Loki, you can’t!” replied the Doctor. “His power is too much, even for you or Darkseid! Even all six Infinity Stones and the Omega Effect can’t stop him!”

“I’m willing to put that to the test,” dismissed Loki. “But first, a little test. Wonder Woman, you came from 2167, is that right?”

“That’s correct,” replied Wonder Woman.

“Then I think you know who I will summon.” The wicked grin revealed his intentions! Wonder Woman used her lasso to grab the spear and pull it towards her.

“Never!” she snarled with Amazonian zeal! “No one in this century will suffer those monsters!”

“Give that back, you primitive!” snarled Loki as he prepared his magic.

“I went to a lot of trouble getting that thing,” said the Joker as he aimed his gun, “and I intend to keep it!”

“I’m sorry, 2029 is closed to evil today!” retorted Iron Man as he fired a repulsor beam at the Joker. The clown was knocked back as Loki fired his own magic blast, but Wonder Woman deflected it with her shield. Batman then got up close and kneed Loki in the stomach, winding the Asgardian.

“Quick! Into the Batmobile!” called Batman. He led everyone to his car and they all jumped in. The Joker shot at the car and Loki fired magic blasts, but it sped away, taking its passengers to safety.

Spinning through a dimension of swirling temporal energy, a blue box journeyed with purpose. Its lamp, flashing as it spun, was pointed forward like the prow of a ship. It looked like a London Police Box of the 1960’s but inside was a technological marvel of dimensional engineering! When one steps into the box, the first room they enter is the main control room, the first clue that the box is actually bigger on the inside! The control room, as it stood now, was a red room with gold trim. A hexagonal console with a cylinder going up and down as the machine went through the Time Vortex was placed in the center of the room. Underneath one of the panels, a woman with long, platinum blonde hair was fiddling with something and singing a tune in her native language. Oddly enough, this wasn’t the owner of the machine, but their current companion, Tysar, a Thal from New Davius. “…There we go!” she said. She then closed the panel. “That should do it!”

“Um, Tysar,” came another woman’s voice, “what are you doing?” A woman with African features and a burgundy skirt with roses hemming it and a gold headband with a large rose on its left side had entered the room. This was the owner of the machine.

“Running repairs,” replied Tysar. The owner of the machine, the Time Lord known as the Doctor, flinched at that.

“Erm, Tysar,” said the Doctor, “I don’t want you to take umbrage, but might I suggest that you leave repairs of the TARDIS console to me? I know you Thals are brilliant technicians-.”

“That’s very patronizing of you, Doctor!” protested Tysar.

“Well, the TARDIS is dimensionally temperamental, and temporal engineering isn’t exactly something Thals are studying in your native time zone, is it?”

“No, but-.”

“All right then. Well, I’m glad we got that settled.”

“There’s no need to panic!” chuckled Tysar. “I was only improving the efficiency of the components that are currently helping the TARDIS track chronal surges.”

“The wha-?” The Doctor arched an eyebrow. “Why?”

“So that we can get ahead of them and fix the problem as quickly as possible, given that the Grouping’s getting worse,” explained Tysar.

“…Ah, yes,” realized the Doctor. “Gallifrey DID say that, didn’t they? Erm, well done, Tysar.” Just then, the console beeped. “All right, yes, there’s no need to test those components.”

“I’m not,” replied Tysar. “The TARDIS has detected multiple chronal surges. And we have a reading on where their victims came from and where they’re going.”

“Excellent!” praised the Doctor. “Let’s see. …There’s three! Two of them are from 2027 and one’s from…well, how about that?”

“What?” asked Tysar.

“The last one’s from 2167,” explained the Doctor.

“2167?” asked Tysar. “Isn’t that when the Daleks were occupying Earth?”

“Yes, the last year of their occupation, and all three of our victims are from Earth,” replied the Doctor. “It looks like they’re heading to…2029, Earth, United States Eastern Seaboard…Gotham!”

“Oh no!” complained Tysar, remembering when a chronal surge plucked her from New Davius and plopped her into Gotham.

“Yes, well, you don’t have to step outside, you know,” remarked the Doctor.

“No, no,” dismissed Tysar. “We have a job to do. Let’s get to it.”

“Right!” declared the Doctor as she set the coordinates.

Gotham, a hellhole of a city in the USA, where criminals were as talked about as any public figure like an actor or a politician. Even politics weren’t safe from the crime bosses’ grasp. But the criminal underworld was NOT unopposed there. While there were police officers…there were also those of the vigilante persuasion. Right now, two criminals with clown makeup on them were outside a warehouse, guarding their boss’s newest acquisition. “…So, the boss’s partner,” said one, “you sure he’s a god?”

“I was there when the guy attacked New York,” replied the other. “He’s got the right stuff to be a god. Especially the Norse God he says he is. Although, I thought he was blonde…and supposed to still be bound with Jörmungandr’s fangs dripping venom into his eyes.”

“How do you know so much about gods?” asked the first.

“Dude, when I was a kid, it wasn’t just the Greek myths that were my hyperfixation,” answered the other. The first simply nodded, then looked around. “…What’s the matter with you?” asked the other.

“Dude, we’re guarding a rock!” protested the first. “No way will the Bat wanna waste time over a rock!”

“Yeah, but it’s the boss that has that rock,” said the other, “and ain’t no way the Bat’s gonna leave him alone. There’s too much history for that. So keep watch.”

“Yeah, well, my ma always said that idle hands were the devil’s workshop.”

“Hey, I resent that! We worked damn hard on this and so did the boss!”

“True, very true!” came a cackling voice, startling the two men. “But his mother is right in this particular instance. We’ve been idle for too long!” The speaker stepped out of the shadows to reveal a man with chalk-white skin, ruby lips, green hair, and a purple suit with coattails and a rose boutonniere. This was the Clown Prince of Crime himself, the Joker! “Pack up, boys! Our divine friend is coming to Miagani Island!”

“That ain’t far, Boss,” remarked the first as he and his friend started packing.

“Hey, Boss, do we want the Bat to know right now?” asked the other. “Because if not, we’re gonna have to take the long way.”

“So be it,” replied the Joker. “Besides, it’s good to build up anticipation!”

“…Fair enough,” agreed the other. Then…a noise filled the air. “…Hey, anyone-?”

“I hear it too,” remarked the first. “What is that? A new toy from the Bat?” The TARDIS then materialized. “…Never mind, too blue.” The other gasped.

“That’s the box those doctors appeared in during that mugging in 2027!” he explained. “They’re friends of the Bat! I say we ice them!”

“I’m not Mr. Freeze, but that sounds like a splendid idea!” agreed the Joker as he pulled out a pistol. The Doctor and Tysar then stepped out and everyone froze for a second.

“All right toots, where are them doctors?!” snarled the other.

“…Hang on, we met before,” remarked the Doctor. “I flipped you over after you wanted to have your way with that poor woman. That was before Batman knocked your leader out.”

“…Lady, you weren’t there!” snapped the other. “How could you-?”

“Maybe she’s heard about that from those other doctors,” said the first.

“No, I just changed my face,” replied the Doctor. “Now, Doctor in the house here, and-.”

“Doctor, it hurts when I do THIS!” The Joker leveled his gun at the Doctor and fired, but the Doctor twirled out of the way and poked the Joker in the eyes!

“Don’t do that,” she replied as the Joker rubbed his eyes. He recovered his vision.

“SHOOT HER! SHOOT HER!” he shouted.

“You have unbelievably thin skin, Joker,” chuckled the Doctor. She dashed to the other side of the warehouse and found a good stack of boxes. She then made it wobble.

“HEY! HEY! HEY!” protested the Joker. “BE CAREFUL WITH THAT!”

“Oh, I’m being very careful,” assured the Doctor. “See, I’m on this side and it’s all going to fall…THAT WAY!” The Doctor pushed the stack so it toppled towards the Joker and his goons. As the three criminals ran, the Doctor grabbed Tysar’s hand and fled the warehouse.

“Doctor, the TARDIS-!” argued Tysar. She then heard the TARDIS take off!

“And that’s the HADS kicking in,” said the Doctor.

“The wha-?”

“Hostile Action Displacement System,” explained the Doctor. “The TARDIS moves to a relatively safer location.”

“…And where is that?” asked Tysar.

“…Well, if I…um…” The Doctor’s eyes went wide. “…You know, there are moments where I loathe the HADS.”

“YOU DON’T KNOW WHERE THE TARDIS IS?!” yelped Tysar. Her berating was interrupted by a vehicle approaching. A streak of black with a bat motif zoomed by.

“…There we go!” said the Doctor. “Problem solved! He’s the world’s greatest detective, he can find the TARDIS!”

“Doctor, if the TARDIS vanished from this point in space-time-!”

“No, no, no, the HADS does not engage anything related to temporal navigation,” soothed the Doctor. “It only changes its point in space, not time. And even then, it’s a relatively short hop. It will still be in Gotham. And no one can get in without the key. So we’ll just wait for him to finish up his business with the Joker and-.”

“Doc?” asked a rough man’s voice. The Doctor could smell cigars and booze behind her and turned to see a short, muscular man with his hair and sideburns pulled into points.

“…Logan?!” she spluttered. “…I don’t think I was conscious after I regenerated in the school, how did you know-?”

“Apparently your scent’s still the same,” remarked Logan, the mutant known as Wolverine. “What’s going on here?”

“I’d like to know that myself,” said another voice. A metal suit then landed with gold and red colors and a blue light in its chest.

“Oh god, Stark,” groaned Wolverine.

“Hey there, Skunk Bear,” remarked the armored person, Tony Stark as Iron Man. He then saw the Doctor. “…William told me you changed into that, Doctor. Some natural cosmetic surgery?”

“Regeneration is NOT cosmetic surgery, Mr. Stark!” hissed the Doctor. “…All right, that’s two of you from 2027, now…”

“You know what’s going on?” asked Wolverine.

“You two are in Gotham of 2029,” explained Tysar. Iron Man stepped back in surprised and Wolverine looked…well, bemused.