The chaos had faded.
But the pain remained.
Smoke curled from the shattered windows of the Daily Planet like the last breath of a dying beast.
Emergency vehicles ringed the building, their flashing lights painting the streets in strobes of blue and red, as if the city itself was bleeding.
The screaming had stopped.
The laughter had stopped.
Now, there was only silence.
A silence so heavy it pressed down on the chests of the Justice League, crushing the air from their lungs.
Inside the damaged newsroom, Superman knelt on the floor.
In his arms was his beloved wife,
Lois Lane.
The Joker toxin had already done its work.
The involuntary laughter had ceased moments ago.
Her breathing was shallow. Fading. Each inhale weaker than the last.
Around them, the other League members stood frozen, their usual confidence shattered.
Even Wonder Woman, a warrior who had faced gods and monsters, looked away, her jaw clenched, her eyes burning with unshed tears.
Flash, who never stopped moving, stood completely still, his body vibrating with restrained grief.
Superman gently brushed a strand of hair from Lois' face.
His hands, hands that could move continents, stop asteroids, bend steel like paper, trembled.
Helpless.
Lois looked up at him.
Her eyes were unfocused, glazed with the fog of death.
But she still recognized him.
A faint smile touched her lips.
"You're… late."
Her voice was weak. Barely audible. A whisper carried on the edge of the abyss.
Superman tried to smile back.
It looked painful. Broken.
"I'm here now."
She studied him, her gaze soft but knowing.
For a long time, neither spoke.
The world seemed to pause.
Then, with trembling effort, she raised a hand and touched his face.
"Still trying… to save everyone."
Superman placed his hand over hers, his fingers curling around her frail ones.
"I should have been faster."
She shook her head, just slightly.
"No."
A pause. The weight of a lifetime in a single breath.
"You can't blame yourself… for everything."
He wanted to answer.
Wanted to tell her there was another way.
Wanted to lie and say she would recover.
But he could hear her heart.
Its rhythm was failing. Stuttering. Dying.
He knew.
And she knew.
Lois took another shallow breath, her chest rising with effort.
"You know…"
She paused, gathering what little strength she had left.
"I always liked… this look."
Superman blinked, confusion flickering across his face.
"What look?"
She smiled faintly, her eyes crinkling at the corners.
"The grey."
A beat. The ghost of a chuckle in her voice.
"Makes you seem… distinguished."
For a moment, he almost laughed.
Almost.
Instead, his eyes began to water.
Lois watched him, her gaze steady.
"Don't."
He said nothing.
"Don't make that face."
Another pause. The air between them thick with unsaid words.
"You'll make me… cry too."
A weak chuckle escaped her, tinged with pain.
Then she winced, her body shuddering as the poison tightened its grip.
Superman's throat tightened, his vision blurring.
Lois looked at him one last time, her eyes soft but clear.
"I had a good life, Clark."
His voice was a rasp, barely a whisper.
"I know."
She squeezed his hand, her fingers cold.
"And you gave me… most of it."
A long breath. Then another. Smaller.
"I love you."
Superman closed his eyes.
Then opened them.
"I love you too."
Her hand slipped from his cheek.
Her breathing stopped.
And then,
Nothing.
No heartbeat.
No breath.
No movement.
The strongest hearing on Earth detected only silence.
Superman remained perfectly still.
He did not move.
He did not speak.
He did not blink.
He simply stared, his face a mask of stone, as if refusing to accept what his own senses were telling him.
Denial.
Grief.
Rage.
Nearby, Wonder Woman slowly lowered her head, her fist clenched so tight her knuckles turned white.
Flash looked away, his body shaking with restrained sobs.
Green Lantern closed his eyes, his ring dimming as if mourning with him.
No one interrupted.
No one dared.
Minutes seemed to pass.
Then
A weak cough.
Superman's head snapped up.
A few feet away, Jimmy Olsen lay collapsed, his body wracked with pain.
The photographer had somehow remained conscious.
Barely.
His face was pale, his breathing ragged, his lips cracked and dry.
Superman moved beside him instantly, his speed a blur of desperation.
Jimmy managed a weak smile, his eyes half-lidded.
"Hey… chief…"
His voice was almost gone, a rasp on the edge of oblivion.
Superman carefully supported him, his hands gentle as if holding glass.
"Easy."
Jimmy looked toward Lois, his expression softening.
"I guess… she beat me… to the headline."
Silence.
A beat so heavy it crushed the air from the room.
Then Jimmy looked back at Superman, his eyes filled with something like pride.
"You know…"
He swallowed painfully, his throat dry.
"…you were always… my hero."
Superman said nothing. His jaw clenched, his eyes burning.
Jimmy managed another weak smile, his breath shallow.
"You'll still be… theirs too."
His eyes slowly closed.
One final breath escaped him.
Then
He, too, was gone.
The room became silent once again
This time, even the city outside seemed quieter, as if Metropolis itself was holding its breath.
Superman knelt between them, his body shaking with grief.
Two people.
No powers.
No invulnerability.
No cosmic abilities.
Just humans..
Yet their absence suddenly made the entire world feel smaller. Darker. Empty.
Elsewhere
Gotham Airspace
Far above the city, a heavily armored aircraft cut through the night like a knife through flesh.
Inside, The Joker sat strapped to a reinforced chair, his wrists and ankles restrained in steel cuffs lined with electrified plating.
A damaged grin still twisted his face, his eyes wild with amusement.
Opposite him, Batman stood, his cape draped like a shroud, his expression unreadable.
Neither spoke for a long while.
The only sound was the hum of the engines, the distant static of the radio, and the Joker's ragged breathing.
Then
Joker started laughing.
Not from toxin.
Not from madness.
Just… himself.
A sound like breaking glass.
"Ohhhh… Batsy."
He leaned forward, his chains rattling.
"He'll never forgive himself, you know."
Batman remained silent, his gaze fixed on the clown's face.
Joker grinned wider, his teeth stained with blood.
"Ohhh, I know that look."
He tilted his head, his eyes gleaming with sick delight.
"I've seen it before."
Silence.
Joker laughed again, the sound echoing off the metal walls.
"You know what's funny?"
Batman's expression did not change. His voice was a blade.
"Nothing you say is funny."
Joker grinned, undeterred.
"I didn't kill Superman."
He leaned in, his voice dropping to a conspiratorial whisper.
"He'll do that… all by himself."
Batman's fingers twitched, but his face remained stone.
"You're going to answer some questions."
Joker laughed, the sound sharp and mocking.
"Ooooh, questions? Are we bonding, Bats?"
He wriggled in his restraints, his grinning face twisting with glee.
"About the new guy?"
Batman said nothing, but his eyes flickered, just for a second.
Joker caught it.
His grin widened, teeth glinting in the dim light.
"Ohoho… so you noticed him too."
The cabin became quiet, the air thick with tension.
Joker tilted his head, his voice suddenly soft, almost thoughtful.
"He's… strange."
Batman watched him, unblinking.
"Strange how?"
Joker chuckled, his fingers tapping against the armrest.
"He didn't try to save everyone."
A beat. The weight of the words hanging between them.
"He came… for me."
Batman's jaw tightened.
"And?"
Joker's smile faded, his expression turning oddly serious.
"He looked at me… like I was an equation."
A pause. The sound of the engines fading into the background.
"Not a man. Not a monster."
He leaned back, his chains clinking.
"An equation."
Batman did not react, but his mind raced.
Joker grinned suddenly, his madness returning.
"I don't know what he is, Bats…"
He chuckled softly, his eyes gleaming.
"…but he doesn't laugh."
Batman stepped closer, his voice a growl.
"What else?"
Joker laughed, the sound echoing through the cabin.
"Ohhh, Batsy… always so serious."
He twisted in his seat, his grinning face inches from Batman's mask.
"You want to know what he is?"
Batman did not move.
"I'll tell you…"
Joker's voice dropped to a whisper, his breath hot against the cowl.
"He's the first thing… that's ever scared me."
A beat. The words hanging in the air like a curse.
Batman's fists clenched.
"Explain."
Joker laughed, throwing his head back, his voice ringing off the metal walls.
"Ohhh, Batman…"
He leaned in again, his voice a rasp.
"I like fear. I thrive on it. I bathe in it."
His grinning face twisted, his eyes wild.
"But him…?"
A shudder ran through his body, his laughter dying for the first time.
"He doesn't feel it. He doesn't fear it."
He stared at Batman, his voice suddenly cold.
"He is it."
Silence.
Batman did not speak. Did not move.
But his mind was a storm.
Joker grinned, his madness returning.
"So tell me, Bats…"
He wriggled in his chains, his voice a taunt.
"How do you fight… something that doesn't… bleed?"
Batman turned away, his cape swirling as he moved toward the cockpit.
"We'll see."
Joker laughed behind him, the sound following him like a shadow.
"Ohhh, you will, Batsy…"
His voice dropped, mocking, knowing.
"You will."
And as the aircraft droned on through the night, the two men, the detective and the clown, remained locked in a silent war of will and wits.
Outside, the city of Gotham slept, unaware of the storm that was coming.
And in the distance, somewhere in the Watchtower, Derrick stood, his eyes cold, his mind calculating.
Waiting.