In just a few minutes, the tide had turned from total dominance to complete annihilation.
…
After the Federal Bureau's field team and officers from the Gotham Police Department located Vice-Director Jack Lawson's kidnapped son in an abandoned factory in southern Gotham, they rushed straight to Arkham Asylum without stopping.
James Gordon, as the top field commander of the police department, led everyone through the gates of the asylum. The scene before him left him utterly confused; his expression of concern quickly shifted to shock.
Among the scattered Joker Gang members, the most prominent figures were a man in a suit of Iron armor and Batman.
Before he could speak, a hand patted his shoulder. Turning around, he saw an ID card held up in front of him.
"World Federal Bureau, Level 7 Agent, Ethan Hunter?"
"That's correct. The joint rescue operation between the Gotham Police Department and the Bureau's field team was ordered by me."
"So, you took care of the Joker and his gang?"
"Don't trust me?" Ethan smiled. Even in this alternate world, the Bureau maintained a cautious relationship with local law enforcement. "Even if you don't trust the Bureau, surely you trust that bat, right?"
He gestured toward Batman, who was conversing with a helmet-off Tony Stark.
Gordon pursed his lips, glancing at the overly young Level 7 agent. As a seasoned detective and the effective head of the Gotham PD, soon-to-be commissioner, he understood the Bureau's ranking system better than most. Ethan Hunter, as a Level 7 agent, had full authority to command the Gotham PD across units.
Waving his hand, Gordon signaled the police to act, rounding up the incapacitated thugs lying on the ground. They didn't even need to be transported to the precinct—immediate confinement in Arkham was far superior to a jail.
"And this guy too." Ethan, seeing the police in motion, grabbed the trembling, cowardly Vice-Director Jack Lawson. "The Joker Gang can stay in Arkham, but this guy doesn't need to be locked up with these lunatics."
"But he can't stay as vice-director… wait, is that… Harley Quinn?"
Gordon's heart skipped a beat. Instinctively, he reached for his gun again.
"Harley Quinn was originally a Bureau trainee agent, and now she's fully recovered. I've been ordered to discharge her from confinement and reinstate her."
Recovered?! That's quite a claim!
Seeing the still slightly unhinged Joker Girl, Gordon wiped the sweat from his brow, cuffed the traitorous Lawson, and escorted him to a police vehicle.
Better to leave this place quickly than linger with these… unusual people. The strange, tight-fitting uniforms weren't his style.
"First time meeting you, Mr. Stark. Weren't you supposed to be in New York? How did you get to Arkham so quickly?"
"Ah, you must be the Ethan Hunter agent Fury always talks about. Pleasure to meet you," Tony Stark said without any airs. "I just happened to be in Metropolis recently, so I could get here quickly."
As everyone knew, Metropolis was just across the river from Gotham.
But how did he even get to Metropolis…?
Ethan suddenly remembered the tabloid news he saw earlier.
"Don't tell me you went to Metropolis just to court Lois Lane?"
"Miss Lane was the first woman to treat me without pretense—she was remarkably different."
"Mr. Stark, are you some old-school romance novel CEO… oh wait, you really are a CEO-type," Ethan rubbed his forehead. "But didn't anyone tell you your words just now sounded super slick?"
"They did, Miss Lane also said that," Stark laughed heartily, then extended his right hand to Ethan. "Just call me Tony from now on."