"In your world, it might be called Joker, but here, she's known as the 'Jester'. Of course, we all know who we're talking about."
Cindy stretched her neck and exhaled a puff of smoke, the white mist with a hint of nicotine dispersed in the rain:
"That's how it is, for the past few days, Batman has disappeared, so she's feeling very lonely and wants Batman to play with her."
"What new tricks has she come up with? Wait... maybe for my world, it's an old trick after all."
Su Ming took a deep puff on his cigar; if there are some clues, he's possibly seen the relevant comics, but Earth -11 is uncertain for him.
"Who knows? I have no interest in her tricks. I just want to get paid. So this mission is to find Batman and pass along a message, tell him that the Jester is waiting for him in Arkham with a big, big good news."
Cindy stubbed out the cigar on the wall and put the rest back into the pack.
"Word for word?" Su Ming raised an eyebrow.
"Of course, her exact words were 'big, big good news'. As mercenaries, if we're passing a message, it needs to be accurate. That's the task."
Cindy shrugged, answering with a blank expression:
"Honestly, I really don't want to work for the Jester; she's too crazy. I doubt what this good news really is, maybe there's a huge nuclear warhead in Gotham."
Su Ming sighed. Joker's money is, of course, still money, but he never described the task well.
Cindy put on her helmet and fastened the clasp: "Thinking too much is pointless, better to think about where Briss Vane went? Before coming here, I went to her house, the Bat Cave, the top of the police building, couldn't find her, and now the company can be ruled out too."
"When she played Batwoman, she loved to overlook her city from the gargoyle at the top of Vayne Mansion." Su Ming added while putting on his helmet.
"Yes, and then I found you. Apparently, it's not my luckiest day."
She picked up a short stick from the ground and tossed it to Su Ming, then picked up her own.
Su Ming folded the long stick and tucked it into the holder on his back, moved his neck to ensure it wouldn't affect his movement:
"Apparently, it's not mine either because I'm here for no reason. I was clearly in my world, doing my own thing, then, whoosh! I'm here."
"Well, looking at it this way, you're worse off than me. You could consider saving some money and hire me to help find a way back."
Cindy led the way downstairs, moving quickly.
"That's a decent suggestion, but right now, I must confirm what Joker was talking about. If things are as I think, we'll both be in big trouble."
Su Ming sighed and followed her.
"Oh? Is there something I don't know?" She pushed the door open, walked down, with a half-smile, her voice sounded muffled inside the helmet.
"It's not about the task, it's about this world."
Incessant rain and Batman's disappearance seemed more like the prelude to an apocalypse to Su Ming. If possible, he still wanted to live, so he had to find Batman quickly.
"Do you know what I hate?" She turned her head and poked his chest with her finger: "I hope we can be honest with each other. I told you my mission, but you're hiding something now."
"I can't be sure yet, but I can tell you, though you can only listen, don't ask, because I can't explain how I know."
Su Ming gently pushed aside her finger, quickly bypassed her to walk ahead, and while descending the stairs, he roughly told her about what would happen on Earth -11.
This news made her stiffen for a moment but quickly returned to normal, she held her head and shook it.
"What should we do next?"
"Do you trust me now?" Su Ming was pleased; he didn't want to explain that he got this information from comic books, that would sound crazy.
"It's because we're mercenaries. If I were to cross worlds to spread such an exaggerated false story, no amount of money would convince me. Our abilities determine our position in the mercenary realm, and top mercenaries don't engage in such boring activities."
Cindy quickly overtook him and walked ahead: "Then the only possibility is that it's true, our world is heading towards destruction."
Su Ming didn't quite understand. The Jester asking for Batman at this point suggests she knows something, and she should be aware of Batwoman's whereabouts. So why go to the trouble of hiring Deathstroke to find someone and not explain?
"If you're willing to join me in preventing world destruction, that would be great. If not, then I'll act alone."
To stop a flood from drowning the Earth, there aren't many effective methods, the most efficient being stopping Briss from killing the Sea Queen. The Amazon Council won't help, as he's a nobody to them, they wouldn't believe him. The Atlanteans also won't work because they hate all land creatures.
Behind this event, there's also Earth -22's Batman infected by the Joker's blood—the Laughing Bat as the commander, and the true mastermind, the final dragon of the Dark Multiverse, Barbatos.
They are the true culprits, hiding somewhere observing the developments.
"I have to be part of the self-rescue operation, don't I? I don't want to die either. Although I don't know what Joker is like in your world, our Jester is a completely bonkers madman. This mission came to me as a recording tape analyzed through instruments from over ten minutes of hysterical laughter."
Cindy shook her head, explaining more specifically.
"Jester is in Arkham now, but she's completely crazy. She's not seeing anyone except Batman."
"It seems the good news is that the Joker I know and your Jester are exactly the same, that's worth a drink... Since she isn't approachable, how about we find her gal?"
Su Ming reconsidered. If anyone else might know Batman's whereabouts, aside from her, there are a few others.
Like Catwoman, Talia from the Shadow Dancer Alliance, and Harley Quinn.
Among them, Catwoman is a total stray cat, no one knows where she is now.
As for Talia, the Assassin Alliance's base is in faraway Nandabart.
Of these, Harley is actually the easiest to find. Although she's quite mad, she understands right from wrong in certain situations.
Cindy was silent for a while: "Alright, let's go find Harley, but she's not her gal, according to Harley, their relationship is called..."
"Gal pals?" Under the mask, Su Ming rolled his eyes.
"Something like that? Her exact words were Little Pumpkin and Little Pudding... I find you have a knack for insane language."
Her voice, although husky through the mask, sounded a bit exasperated.
Exasperation is normal; anyone dealing with the Joker is either terrified or in awe, but people like Deathstroke are mostly just exasperated.
The Joker knows this and therefore enjoys people showing other emotions, like anger or curiosity. Of course, he especially likes it when people laugh.
He constantly provokes Batman's anger in the comics. Outsiders see it as courting death, but he just wants to know why Batman...
Is so serious?