"Joker and Riddler, it's time to end this. Harley Quinn—why are you here?"
"That's what you should say!" Harley Quinn retorted, mimicking Batman's tone.
Batman merely glanced at Harley, who had just been roused by the cold water. But Harley ignored him and shouted to the camera, "Hey, is the camera still rolling? I have an announcement to make—Harley Quinn and the Joker are no longer related. We've completely parted ways!"
Batman had come to deal with the Joker, not to watch a show, and he was stunned by her declaration. Then, with two clicks, two spherical covers enveloped Batman and Harley Quinn, suspending them in the air.
"Let's guess, something that is both cold and hot, and will devour you if you drink it, what…" The Riddler pinched the brim of his top hat, threw it aside, and spoke quickly as he approached Harley Quinn and Batman, who hung in the air.
Unfortunately, before he could finish, Harley Quinn and Batman spoke in unison: "Acid."
The Riddler was taken aback. "I haven't finished my words, what…"
"It's acid," Harley Quinn interrupted the Riddler.
"That's right," Batman agreed with Harley.
The Riddler nodded helplessly. "Okay, okay, it's acid… Now, I'm going to throw you into the acid pool." With that, he pressed the button on the crutch in his hand.
With a mechanical sound, the ground beneath Harley Quinn and Batman cracked, revealing two pools filled with acid.
"Wait, this is different from what we agreed…" the Joker said with some surprise. "Our plan is only to lock up Batman, and I will fill the laughing gas into the reservoir."
"Yes, but that's just your plan. But don't worry," the Riddler said to the Joker.
At this time, the camera was still aimed at them, broadcasting live images to the Gotham City TV station.
Bang!
The person behind the camera was shot down by the Joker, who then pointed his gun at another person standing nearby. "You go point the camera at them." He was referring to Batman and Harley Quinn, who hung in the air.
"You've made a big mistake, Riddler, because when my man finds out, he'll definitely rush in."
The Joker laughed so hard he could barely straighten his back. "Are you talking about me? Don't worry, it's still the same this time, 'only death can completely separate us,' hahahaha"—
"No…"
Harley Quinn's voice dropped. She hoped Connors would appear, but so much time had passed, and he still had not shown up. "Maybe I shouldn't have left without saying goodbye and come here alone… With Connors here, there must be a way."
Harley Quinn had followed Connors yesterday and witnessed firsthand how he could move freely in the bombed and heavily surrounded Williams Medical Center.
Even when Connors was writing behind the Joker's poem, Harley Quinn had watched clearly beside him. And yesterday, when no one knew the Joker's plan, Connors had already sent the keyword "reservoir" to Batman via an anonymous email address. Later, the Joker fulfilled it today, and his plan was exactly as Connors had speculated.
In Harley Quinn's mind, Connors' image had completely eclipsed the Joker's. Unfortunately, Harley had been too confident today, thinking she could defeat the Joker alone.
She never expected the Riddler to be there with him. Now she hung in the air and could only think of a way to save herself. She lowered her head and thought for a moment, then put on a pitiful expression.
"Mr. J, you will definitely save me, right? Let the Riddler burn this bat to death and let me out."
The Joker ignored her, the Riddler said nothing, and Batman fiddled with something in his cowl beside him, also remaining silent.
The Riddler's voice gradually grew louder at this time: "How about we play a little game? One person lives and the other dies, and the loser will fall into the acid and burn to death."
"I believe that our Mr. Joker will be able to make a perfect choice, right?"
The Joker nodded repeatedly beside him, looking at Batman and Harley Quinn in the air: "Yes, yes, yes, it looks like a very simple choice, but, Harleen… hahahaha—"
He suddenly burst into laughter, laughing so hard he could barely breathe, and then the corners of his mouth almost stretched to his ears: "But, Harley, I can't let this question mark bastard take the credit for killing Batman, right?"
"Let Batman go, put this bitch down!"
The acid pool under Batman closed, and before the Riddler could open it, Batman opened it first.
Batman chased the Riddler away, while the Joker fled in another direction. He wanted to fulfill his own prophecy: to kill Judge Thomas Lake and the rich Bruce Wayne.
Poor Harley Quinn was left there, abandoned again, even though this time she had not come to find the Joker but to defeat him and prove herself.
Watching the cover that trapped her open and about to fall freely into the acid pool below, Harley Quinn took a deep breath and closed her eyes.
The moment her body was about to fall, Connors arrived just in time, preventing Harley Quinn from falling into the acid.
"Paddy! I knew you would come!"
Harley Quinn realized she was not falling into the cold and hot acid but was held by a pair of arms. She opened her eyes and saw Connors, shouting with heartfelt joy.
"Shh!" Connors gestured for quiet. "Come on, I'll take you for some fun."
The Riddler had run only a short distance when he was caught by weeds on the ground. He fell flat on his face and was hit hard by Batman's punch.
"I have to chase the Joker quickly. He wants to kill Judge Thomas. I can't let him succeed… eh?"
Above where the Riddler fell, Officer Thomas Lake was tightly bound by vines, especially his head, which was almost tied into a giant ball.
If not for his body shape, his badge, and the constant swearing coming from the vines, which proved this was indeed Judge Thomas Lake, Batman would have suspected someone was playing a prank.
"Judge Thomas Lake looks like he doesn't need to worry about being killed by the Joker… Is Poison Ivy helping me? Or some other person who can manipulate plants?" Batman thought for a moment, then quickly chased in the direction the Joker fled.
He was not worried about getting lost because, along the Joker's escape route, there were arrows made of plants guiding the way, like a navigation system.
At this time, the Joker was running toward the reservoir, turning his head to look at the weeds behind him that constantly grew into the shape of an arrow. Even if he used a bomb to blow them up, other plants would soon fill in.
When he ran to the location where the poison was placed in the reservoir, Batman was already waiting there, and he was greeted by Batman's "sandbag-sized" fist.
Not far from Batman and the Joker, Connors carefully explained to the dizzy Harley Quinn: "'Only death can completely separate us.' The Joker didn't say this to you but to Batman."
"Okay, let's enjoy Gotham's traditional show: Batman vs. the Joker."