"Hello, police? I need to report something! Joker's at City Hall! Hurry, someone's dead!" Liu A'dou pinched his nose while using the City Hall phone to make the call, his exaggerated performance enough to make anyone laugh.
Then he dragged Joker down to the main lobby. While in the elevator, he took the chance to strip Joker of all the knives hidden on him—what a collection of weird little blades. Now they were his trophies.
He tied Joker to a pillar in the lobby and looked at him, muttering, "I should get a Good Citizen Award for this."
"Unless you take off your disguise, you'll never get a Good Citizen Award, Kaitou Kid."
Familiar voice. Familiar tone. The same ghost-like arrival.
Liu A'dou was really getting fed up with Batman. In the detective world, he was the one sneaking up behind others, now the tables had turned. This was the third time already. "Third time, Batman bro. Can't you just show up in front of me for once?"
"You'll get used to it." Batman actually teased a little, seeing that Kaitou Kid had taken down Joker. "You caught him."
"More or less."
"How did you find him?" Batman had followed Kaitou's white motorcycle here. Otherwise, he wouldn't have even known Joker was there. Judging by Joker's condition, Batman could tell he'd been knocked out with tranquilizers, definitely Kaitou's doing. But he was still curious—how did Kaitou find Joker?
"I'm a thief. I have my ways." Kaitou replied. "Revealing the trick ruins the magic."
So Kaitou wasn't going to spill. Fine, change the topic. "You painted my bike white."
Wait, was Batman here to settle that score? But Liu A'dou wasn't giving the bike back. He loved it. Silent, fast, slick design—it was every guy's dream. "Now it's my Kaitou Bike. Yours was black, mine's white. Simple as that."
"You stole it from me!" Batman said flatly.
"You can report me." Liu A'dou grinned.
Two masked 'weirdos' bickering in City Hall—just another day in Gotham.
But Liu A'dou was ready to go. He'd been out long enough tonight. "If you don't mind, I'm heading out. Joker's all yours."
Batman didn't stop him this time. Not because he didn't want to catch Kaitou, but because watching Joker was more important.
"You're welcome!"
Batman paused at those words, looking at Kaitou Kid strangely. He hadn't even said thank you. He chuckled to himself—this Kaitou Kid really was something else. Batman did owe him, though. First, he saved Rachel, then he captured Joker. Batman felt grateful, but he kept it to himself. Kaitou seemed to see right through him, saying 'You're welcome' like he could read his mind.
Batman could only smile wryly.
At last, it was over. On his way home, Liu A'dou heard the sirens blaring behind him. Joker was in custody—mission accomplished.
What a long night. It was already past 2 AM, and all Liu A'dou wanted now was to go home and sleep.
But he didn't know the night wasn't over yet.
Too many people hadn't rested. Too many things were still happening.
First, Joker had gone to Gotham Hotel looking for Harvey Dent but failed. Kaitou swooped in to save Rachel, and the police later took Harvey and Rachel into protection. Then Joker went to City Hall, trying to poison a councilman, only to be caught by Kaitou Kid.
After Kaitou left, more things unraveled—Rachel and Harvey suddenly went missing, and by dawn, Joker had escaped from police custody.
One shocking event after another left Liu A'dou dumbfounded at work. After all that effort to catch Joker, the police couldn't even keep him locked up for a few hours. In the movie, at least Joker stayed in jail for a day or two. But this world wasn't like the movies.
"Harley Quinn?" Liu A'dou stared in disbelief at Thomas, who had dark circles under his eyes. Thomas hadn't slept all night chasing this story. His success definitely came from hard work—he'd followed the police closely and managed to capture the footage of Harley Quinn leading Joker's gang in an assault on the police station to break Joker out.
The footage was shaky, of course. Bullets were flying everywhere at the time, and Thomas took a big risk to get it.
There was actually a Harley Quinn now. Liu A'dou was speechless. Sure, he knew about Harley from the comics, but she wasn't in the movie. "Joker, Harley Quinn; Batman, Batgirl; Superman, Supergirl; Hulk, She-Hulk; Thor, Lady Thor; Spider-Man, Spider-Woman." Every hero in this world seemed to have a female counterpart. Harley showing up wasn't completely unexpected, but not now, right?
Liu A'dou realized he had taken too much for granted. Rachel and Harvey were missing, which meant the cops who were supposed to protect them last night were in on it. Joker had escaped, which meant they were in real danger. Liu A'dou was kicking himself.
Thomas's footage aired on the morning news.
The screen shook, showing the front doors of Gotham City Police Department, with smoke billowing from inside.
"Just moments ago, a group of armed men stormed the police station. They're heavily armed. I can still hear gunfire from where I'm hiding." Thomas was clearly behind a car, his breathing ragged as voices shouted off-camera. "They've been inside for about two minutes now. The gunfire hasn't stopped. We don't yet know their motive."
Boom—
The screen jolted. The explosion startled everyone. Even though they were just watching this on TV, the sudden blast made viewers jump.
A timid employee near Liu A'dou covered their mouth to stifle a cry of "Oh my God!"
This was terrifying—an open firefight inside the police station, the symbol of law and order. It was like Gotham's entire reality was flipped upside down. Sure, the police had always had shady dealings with the mob, but even the worst of them would only surround the station—they'd never dared attack it outright.
The gunfire didn't stop. The screen tilted as Thomas stayed hidden behind the car, his handheld camera still recording, barely aimed at anything.
Boom—
Another explosion. Smoke poured from the station. Flames licked through the windows.
Then the crowd saw six figures walk out of the police station, led by Joker and Harley Quinn. Both wore terrifying clown makeup, both carrying weapons.
While their goons went to hijack a police car, Joker and Harley turned back and kept firing into the station, spraying bullets wildly. Shell casings clattered to the ground.
Finally, the police car rolled up. Joker and Harley exchanged a glance, tossed a string of grenades inside, then jumped into the car and drove off. Moments later, the station was rocked by more explosions. The stone pillars at the entrance cracked under the shockwaves. Chunks of rubble crashed down at the doors.
"…" Liu A'dou was stunned. Was this Gotham or a war zone? This city's people were something else. Attacking a police station to break someone out? And Harley—she was just as crazy as Joker.
That girl was one tough piece of work. Liu A'dou couldn't think of a better way to describe her. But the crazier Joker got, the more terrified everyone became. Gotham was now in a state of emergency.