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Chapter 11: The Whole of Gotham Got High That Day
🕑 Added 2025-04-15 09:08:56 +0000 UTCMax was heading toward the ruins of his rental house.
The new base was just an empty shell, needing a ton of work to make it livable. At the end of the day, it all came down to one thing: money.
And Max… he was just a broke twelve-year-old kid.
Sigh, a long road ahead.
"Ugh, I've been walking for almost three hours. How far is Gotham City?!"
After all, Max was still just a kid. The car ride had taken two hours to get to the suburbs, and now, walking back on his own two legs was going to take a lot of time.
Why didn't he just transform?
Well… the truth was, Max had a bit of a psychological block when it came to the Omnitrix. There had been no water on the way, and he wasn't daring enough to change.
What if he turned into a fish again?
Not every fish had the kind of survival skills that a Magikarp had, being able to flop around on dry land for an hour without dying.
"Walking's slow, but at least it's better than drying up like fish food. Man, if there was just a puddle around, I'd transform already!"
...
Meanwhile, at the Talon Factory in the suburbs…
"Hahaha, hahahaha, hahaha…"
The Joker was looking at the stitched-up, stiff smiles on the Talon assassins' faces, and he couldn't be happier.
Those Talon assassins he had decapitated? He'd reassembled them. But he had sliced their mouths into permanent smiles, then stitched them up. Once the "Dionysus Factor" healed them, their lifeless faces had now become twisted Joker-like grins.
Using the factory's brainwashing equipment, he was reprogramming their loyalty from the Court of Owls to the Joker!
"Oh, too bad you guys can't laugh out loud. Otherwise, you'd be the perfect Jokers! Hahaha…"
"Boss, we've got the buses ready. They're parked outside the factory now."
The brainwashed factory executives excitedly ran into the morgue, where the Joker's Talon army was, their eyes gleaming with fanaticism as they looked at the Joker!
"Great, great! We're about to start our party in Gotham! You excited? Hee-hee!"
The executive nodded so fast, he looked like a bobblehead. He was now a true Joker disciple, willing to give up anything for him.
The other surviving executives were the same, all brainwashed into loyal followers of the Joker. If the Joker told them to die, they'd smile all the way to their deaths.
"Go-go-go! Move out! Each of you gets three Joker toxin grenades. Our goal is clear—make Gotham laugh! Hahaha, hahahaha…"
Every bus was packed with Joker Talons. The Joker didn't care if they were overloading. The more, the merrier!
Five buses were packed to the brim.
The engines roared to life, and the buses started their journey to Gotham…
...
The Court of Owls had noticed something was wrong. One of their Talon factories had gone off the radar, but it was still receiving bodies.
So, the Owl Meeting was called again.
"Talon Factory No. 7 has turned?" a member sitting in the third seat on the left asked.
"We're not sure yet. I've sent someone to check it out. We'll know soon enough," the fifth seat replied.
"Well, let's put that aside for now. Penguin's gone missing. Anyone have a lead?"
"No. I've been monitoring his assets, but I haven't seen him."
"His supply routes haven't shown any signs of him either."
"Looks like he's given up on working with us. How did the Cobblepot family end up with such an idiot?"
"Doesn't matter. We'll just train someone else. Since Penguin's stepping out, let's make sure he never comes back!"
"Agreed!"
"Agreed."
"...Agreed."
...
The buses spread out across Gotham.
Wherever the Joker went, he had his Talon minions hide, waiting for the final command.
"We've arrived at the Twin Towers in Gotham. Passengers, please disembark.
Good, remember your Joker toxin grenades. Yes, each person gets three—don't take more.
Here you go. The one leading, keep an eye on your phone. Once the countdown ends, charge toward the target!
Got it? Got it? Good, now go!"
At this point, the Joker wasn't laughing maniacally like usual. Instead, he was acting more like a battlefield commander. The Talon Jokers who got off the bus coldly nodded in acknowledgment.
Each Joker Talon was wearing a baseball cap and a mask. They wouldn't remove their disguises until the time was right.
The timer was set by the Joker. He had calculated everything to ensure that the majority of Gotham would be laughing at the exact same time.
Gotham General Hospital, Robinson Park, Grant Park, Gotham Zoo, Wayne Enterprises, Gotham Broadcasting Company, Gotham Public Library, Wayne Plaza…
Wherever there were crowds, the Joker had planned for his minions to be there. He had practically covered every public space in Gotham.
5...4...3...2...1...0...
Ding-a-ling-a-ling...
The alarm bell rang, and the sound was jarring, drawing the attention and hatred of passersby.
"Hey! You freaks! Turn off that damn bell, or we'll shoot you!"
"That's right! Turn it off, or I'll open fire!" Another person pulled out a gun.
Bang!
Clearly, someone was faster with their gun and shot into the air.
"You idiot who fired! Are you looking for death?"
"Stop whining and shoot!"
And just like that, the square erupted into a random gunfight.
The Joker's Talons: "…"
They hadn't even made a move yet, and these people had already started fighting. This was Gotham for you.
But, it didn't matter.
Shhhh x8
Eight green smoke grenades were tossed onto the ground by the Joker Talons, targeting areas with the most people.
The people in the gunfight just saw some smoke bombs. The colors were a bit strange, but they didn't have any lethal effect, so they didn't pay them much mind.
But they were too happy, too soon!
As the Joker's toxin spread, the citizens' mouths involuntarily curved into smiles, their throats began to itch more and more. The only way to alleviate it, besides coughing, was to laugh—laugh uncontrollably.
The seasoned old Gotham residents immediately recognized what was happening. This was the Joker's toxin, a terrifying gas that would make people laugh until they suffocated!
"Hahaha, the Joker! Hahaha, the Joker's out! Hahaha…"
"Hahaha, help me, hahaha…"
"Haha, haha…"
"Batman, hahaha, save me, hahaha…"
The horrific scene erupted in several public locations. The citizens trapped at the scene had no escape!
But that wasn't even the worst part. The Joker's Talons removed their hats and masks, and those poor souls who were already infected with the toxin suddenly realized—they were surrounded by the Joker!
In an instant, their minds snapped…
...
The GCPD's phone lines were completely overwhelmed, and Commissioner Gordon, along with his entire force, set out to deal with the Joker.
They split into several teams. At each scene, the most they could spare was about 3 to 4 patrol cars—at most 12 officers.
But clearly, their intel wasn't good enough. By the time they arrived at the chaotic disaster zones, they saw a large group of Joker Talons, herding the infected citizens like ducks, pushing them toward one spot, trying to corral the crowd together.
However, when the infected citizens saw the GCPD officers, the ones who were laughing uncontrollably rushed toward them.
To the officers, the sight was eerie.
A group of unstable, laughing "bombs" were charging toward them. They knew these people were innocent civilians, so they couldn't just shoot them.
The officers were in a tough spot!
And some of the more seasoned officers began to realize something was off. Could the Joker be mixed in among these people? If he slipped behind their lines, they were really in trouble.
These veteran officers had a clear understanding—they would never mess with an enemy who wasn't their own. The Joker, one of the craziest of the crazies, had always been Batman's problem!
"Commissioner Gordon, have you reached Batman yet? The civilians are breaching our defenses, and we're about to lose our position!"
"Damn it, can't you see I've been trying to call? Where the hell is Batman? Why isn't he picking up?!"
Meanwhile, a CEO trapped in Wayne Enterprises was frowning as he watched the Joker Talons. These madmen were tossing Joker toxin grenades on every floor with the most people.
Now the entire building was suffused with the Joker's gas.
Bruce Wayne, who had rare work to do today, was stuck in his office!
...
At Wayne Manor, Alfred received his master's distress call and immediately began preparing the antidote to the Joker toxin. (It was actually a small amount of fear toxin. While the Joker's laughing gas made people laugh to the point of suffocation, fear toxin forced the inhaler to take deep breaths, supplying their brain with oxygen, causing them to start hallucinating in fear.)
Once he had everything ready, Jason Todd, the second Robin, suited up in his Red Robin gear and made a dramatic appearance.
He was about to fly the Batwing, carrying Batman's gear and the antidote to the Joker toxin, to rescue Bruce Wayne!
