"Want to hear a joke?"
The Joker stabbed with a dagger, but Laughing Bat sidestepped to dodge. He wanted to counterattack the Joker, but Su Ming's scimitar immediately arrived, swinging at his fingers.
He could only retract his hand and evade, because although he wouldn't be hurt, the weapon could be knocked away under great force. If Deathstroke took back that black great sword, he would be in danger.
The Joker seemed oblivious to the great sword that almost landed on his head just now and continued his aggressive charge, looking as if he didn't care for his life.
"Not listening? Then Uncle Joker will show you a magic trick? Haha!"
The deranged Joker stumbled, seemingly unable to stand steadily, almost falling under the Laughing Bat's great sword. But as he patted his chest, the yellow flower pinned to his suit squirted out a stream of green liquid.
Somehow, this green liquid hit the Laughing Bat right in his wide-open mouth.
Laughing Bat coughed twice, and his attack inevitably slowed down because the Dark Energy protection weakened significantly after Barbatos' defeat. The strong acid felt like burning coals in his mouth, and his lungs were taking on water.
But the acid, which could normally turn a person to bones and metal to slag, only went this far, causing no substantial harm.
"Heehee... Refill, Master?... How about it? Do I look like your butler?"
The Joker continued his banter, asking these questions, but didn't use the chest flower again. Instead, he directly stabbed with a dagger at Laughing Bat's face.
He hated that face, hated that smile, and hated the way he mimicked Batman and himself.
Everything about this guy he despised...
Laughing Bat brought the great sword across to block the attack, giving Su Ming an opportunity.
He clapped his hands together, and the dual blades instantaneously transformed into a question mark-shaped golden long staff, resembling those held by European shepherdesses, only larger.
While Laughing Bat parried the Joker's offense, Su Ming swung the long staff from the side, hooking Laughing Bat directly.
"Draw!"
The long staff rapidly shortened, and Su Ming jumped, using the handle to accelerate towards the Laughing Bat.
Su Ming was already fast, and Laughing Bat was struggling to deal with him alone. With the Joker continuously using gadgets and words to harass, Su Ming finally seized the opportunity.
Laughing Bat's first reaction was thinking Deathstroke aimed to snatch the weapon, yet this gave him the chance for an accurate strike at Su Ming.
He swung directly at Su Ming with the great sword.
Su Ming didn't dodge, allowing the great sword to slash his shoulder.
The armor shattered, the deltoid partially severed, and several blood vessels were cut.
But the clavicle halted the attack, producing a ding sound.
Then, instead of grabbing for the sword, Su Ming clutched the blade with one hand, making a fist with the other and punching at Laughing Bat's chest.
Laughing Bat didn't bother to dodge. What use was a fist?
He decided to pull back the great sword for another slash.
However, he made a fatal mistake. It was at this moment Su Ming decisively revealed his trump card.
The four knuckles of his fist instantly sprouted four long sharp spikes, piercing through the hand armor, flashing with a silver-white gleam, and plunged into Laughing Bat's chest.
It was X Metal.
If he intended to mimic Wolverine, how could he forget this move? Logan has only three claws per hand, but Su Ming has one more.
And if he wished, he could control the X Metal to sprout spikes from any joint, though his armor would become perforated.
Appearing as if aiming to reclaim the great sword, Laughing Bat mistakenly estimated his other weapons as non-threatening, keeping his focus split between Deathstroke and the Joker.
Because the Joker represented more surprises and uncertainties, and his weird laughter and words were hard to ignore.
Although the Joker was unaware, Su Ming was merely using him as a decoy.
Su Ming seized the opportunity to close in, unveiling his trump card and succeeding in one fell swoop.
Four silver spikes pierced through Laughing Bat's chest from the front, making four holes in the heart and protruding out the back.
Then, upon Su Ming's mental command, the X Metal retracted instantly, black blood gushing from the wound, draining away Laughing Bat's life and strength.
The Dark Power began to flow away, and Laughing Bat collapsed to the ground.
"What an insidious tactic...cough cough, but you made a mistake, a colossal mistake."
The Laughing Bat grabbed Su Ming's armor, staring at the dark top of the Bat Cave, where countless glittering little eyes gazed back at him.
They were bats.
He was unwilling; there were things he hadn't accomplished yet.
"I don't know what mistake I made, but you certainly made a big one." Su Ming brushed his hand aside, picked up his Nightfall Greatsword, and without acknowledging the Joker weeping like a cat mourning a rat nearby, said coolly to the Laughing Bat, "I once told a lackey something, and now I'll say it to you again... Do not! Mess with! Deathstroke!"
Without waiting for any rebuttal from the Laughing Bat, Su Ming swung his sword, decapitating him.
"Yikes, good, good! Hahaha!" The Joker clapped nearby, tears streaming down his face from laughter: "A perfect work of art, I want it, I want it! Deathstroke, sell it to me!"
"What do you want? The dagger?"
Su Ming frowned; the Joker's whims were unpredictable, but the dagger was not for sale—it was a souvenir from Earth -11.
"The dagger? Oh, you mean this—no, take it back. Compared to little birds, I prefer bats." The Joker nonchalantly tossed the Promethium Dagger back to Su Ming, not caring for its sharpness: "I want this, I want to preserve it, and talk to it every day."
He bent down decisively, picked up the Laughing Bat's head from the floor, ignoring the black blood staining it, and cradled it in his arms.
The purple suit was instantly stained black in a large area.
He then placed the head on his shoulder, beside his own head, pulling the Laughing Bat's face into a grin, saying joyfully to Su Ming:
"Look, I can now laugh with two mouths at once."
Turning his head to look at the spiked-helmet-wearing head, and then at the flopping headless body like a dead fish, the Joker burst into laughter.
He had ultimately won; the one who laughs last laughs best, once again proving that chaos and madness are the real victors.
They made his laughter... unique.
As for this imitator, when Batman next came to play, he'd make sure this head watched from a dark corner.
Make it envious of him, yet helpless.
Haha!
The head was of no use to Su Ming; he didn't need such bloody evidence when settling accounts with the Justice League; after all, this was the Bat Cave, and Bruce would definitely review the security footage upon his return.
Sometimes hired assassins needed to leave some evidence, like an ear, a hand, or a head—something to prove a task's completion, facilitating identity verification.
Only with these could one collect their commission; it was a professional necessity.
However, firstly, Batman wouldn't default on payments—he didn't know what money was, nor was he interested in it; secondly, since the Joker wanted the head, Joker's money was still money, and selling to two parties wasn't an issue.
There were such examples in the mercenary world, where many people simultaneously placed bounties on a target, allowing one to accept all these tasks and claim all the rewards upon completion.
"Oh? How much are you offering?"
The major event was over, and it was time for Su Ming to prepare for future life—a little extra money was always good.
"Money... can I owe you first? Haha, no, that's still not okay..." The Joker held the head tightly, looking at Su Ming warily, as if afraid he'd snatch it away: "How about this, I'll give you something good, in exchange, hehe."
Something good?
What good thing could the Joker have? His blood?
Indeed, his blood contained the Dionysus Factor, capable of enhancing Su Ming's self-healing ability, but its side effects were too significant—it could truly drive someone insane.
Moreover, the Joker himself was unaware of the Dionysus Factor; he only used his blood to create the Joker Virus.
Laughing Gas?
Its inhalers would laugh themselves to death; it was powerful indeed but not as versatile as Fear Gas; the Scarecrow's gas had higher production, readily available everywhere.
Su Ming pondered for a while, realizing the Joker did indeed have something he fancied—his purple, smiley-face-painted Joker car.
Though its appearance was somewhat bizarre, it was originally a good car that had been modified, complete with a super engine, nitrous oxide propulsion, and on-board weapons.
It was essentially an altered 007 vehicle; though not as good as the Batmobile, it was still impressive.
If the Joker intended to trade it, this deal would be hugely profitable.
"Come, stretch out your hand, close your eyes, and I'll give you the treasure, hehe..."
The Joker reached into the pocket of his suit, fiddling for a long time, and mysteriously held something in his hand.
Su Ming squinted his eyes like Batman, thinking this wouldn't be an electric shock button, right? Was the Joker planning to pull that trick?