For half a second, Li Jie just stared at her.
Selina didn't hesitate. No dramatic speech. No trembling uncertainty.
She drove the needle into her thigh and emptied it in one smooth motion.
"Are you insane—" he started.
She burst into laughter again before he could finish.
It ripped through her like something alive, bending her forward, fingers digging into the sheets. Tears streamed down her face, but her eyes—sharp, stubborn—stayed locked on him.
"If I wait for you to finish explaining," she choked between fits, "I'll die laughing."
The syringe clattered to the floor.
For a moment, nothing changed.
The laughter continued—shrill, involuntary, violent.
Li Jie stepped closer, ready to catch her if she convulsed.
Then—
It shifted.
The pitch dropped.
Her laughter fractured into uneven gasps.
Her shoulders stopped shaking.
The sound twisted, cracked—
And broke.
Silence didn't come gently. It collapsed in on itself.
Selina's breathing turned ragged. Her face went slack, not with hysteria now—but with something heavy. Her hands loosened, falling limp at her sides.
She blinked once.
Twice.
The manic shine drained from her eyes, replaced by something darker. Quieter.
She looked at him.
And didn't smile.
"I… hate this," she whispered.
Her voice wasn't strained anymore. It wasn't forced.
It was tired.
Li Jie exhaled slowly.
The toxin readings on his wrist display fluctuated sharply, then stabilized. Neural overactivity dampened. Emotional centers suppressed.
The counter-agent was working.
But it wasn't clean.
Selina pressed the back of her hand to her forehead and let out a shaky breath.
"Why does everything feel… pointless?" she murmured.
Li Jie crouched in front of her.
"That's the other poison."
"No kidding."
She swallowed hard. Her usual spark was gone, dulled under a blanket of chemical melancholy.
"I can't even be angry at you," she muttered. "That's how I know this is bad."
He almost smirked.
Almost.
"How's the laughter?"
"Gone."
She closed her eyes briefly.
"And replaced with the overwhelming urge to sit in a corner and question my life choices."
"Acceptable trade."
She gave him a flat look.
"You're unbelievable."
He helped her sit upright.
Her pulse was steady. Pupils normalizing. The Joker toxin had been neutralized—not chemically dismantled, but emotionally overridden.
Poison against poison.
Balance restored through imbalance.
After a minute, her breathing evened out completely.
The heaviness in her expression began to thin—not disappearing, but fading as her metabolism processed both compounds simultaneously.
"You did this in… what, an hour?" she asked quietly.
"Less."
She studied him.
"You're not just pretending anymore."
He didn't respond.
She leaned back against the wall.
"That clown said you're not him."
"I'm aware."
"He's right."
"I'm aware of that too."
She watched him carefully now, her sharpness gradually returning as the melancholic compound diluted.
"You scared him," she said softly.
Li Jie paused.
"That wasn't fear."
"It wasn't amusement either."
He considered that.
Outside the room, Alfred remained rigid at attention, pretending not to listen.
Inside, Selina let out a slow breath.
"Next time," she said, voice steadier now, "warn me before you experiment on me."
"You grabbed the syringe."
"You explained it badly."
"That's subjective."
She rolled her eyes—good sign.
Color was returning to her face. Muscle tone steady. No residual tremors.
Li Jie stood and offered her a hand.
She took it.
When she stood, she swayed slightly—not from toxin, but from exhaustion. He steadied her automatically.
She noticed.
"Still pretending you don't care?"
"Still talking too much?"
She smirked faintly.
There she was.
Not hysterical.
Not sedated.
Selina Kyle—alive and herself.
He unlocked the door.
Alfred straightened immediately.
"Well?" the butler asked carefully.
"She's stable," Li Jie replied.
Selina stepped into view.
"I feel like I just lost a philosophical argument with the universe," she said dryly, "but I'm not laughing anymore."
Alfred's shoulders visibly relaxed.
"Thank heavens."
Li Jie glanced toward the lower containment level.
Through reinforced monitors, the Joker lay strapped to the asylum-grade bed, staring at the ceiling again.
Watching.
Waiting.
"He'll adapt," Alfred said quietly.
"So will I," Li Jie replied.
Selina crossed her arms.
"Please tell me you're not planning to test any more emotional poisons tonight."
"Not unless necessary."
She pointed a finger at him.
"You're getting dangerously comfortable in that suit."
He looked at her evenly.
"Someone has to."
Silence hung for a moment.
Not heavy.
Not tense.
Just aware.
Wayne Tower was secured.
The Joker was contained.
The symbol of Batman had grown stronger tonight.
But something else had changed too.
The line wasn't clearer.
It was thinner.
Alfred folded his hands behind his back again.
"Master Li," he said gently, "genius and recklessness often share the same foundation."
Li Jie looked toward the darkened cave ceiling.
"Good thing I'm both."
Far below them, behind reinforced steel and layered containment fields, the Joker began to laugh again.
Not hysterical.
Not manic.
Measured.
Curious.
And that—
More than anything—
Was dangerous.
....
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