The world swam back into focus with the sound of laughter. That high-pitched, sickening laugh that could make your skin crawl before you even placed the voice.

“Rise and shine, doll,” Joker sang, crouching low in front of you. His painted grin gleamed beneath the swinging bulb overhead. “Oh, don’t give me that look. You should be thanking me. I did you a favor, sweetheart. Took that boring wedding off your hands and gave you something so much more fun— heartbreak.”

Your head pounded, your wrists ached in their bonds, but your eyes locked on him with nothing but venom. “You ruined my life.”

Joker’s face split into something feral. “No, no, no—you ruined your life. I just handed you the scissors. Photoshopped a few pretty little lies, and you? Snip, snip—cut the Bat right out of your world.” He leaned closer, his whisper sharp enough to slice. “He never touched another woman. Not one. But you never let him explain, did ya? That’s the real punchline.”

Your heart crashed against your ribs. The words struck deeper than any blow.

And then the air changed.

A crash of glass. A roar of wind. The shadows seemed to grow teeth. And before the Joker could turn, a figure exploded from the darkness.

Batman.

The first thug didn’t even see him coming—an armored fist cracked across his jaw, sending teeth flying. Another lunged with a crowbar, but Bruce spun, catching the weapon mid-swing, twisting it free, and smashing the handle into the man’s gut.

Chaos erupted. Men screamed, metal clanged, bone broke. Batman was a storm—every kick, every strike, fueled by something more than duty. Fueled by rage. Fueled by loss. Fueled by you.

“Batsy!” Joker shrieked, delighted, skipping back as his men fell like dominos. “Ohhh, I knew you’d come crawling back for her. Look at you, so predictable! She leaves you at the altar and you’re still her knight in Kevlar armor.”

Batman ignored him. His cape cut through the air like a blade, his gauntlet smashing into another thug’s face, dropping him cold.

“Why so angry, Brucie?” Joker mocked, twirling a knife between his fingers. “I mean, really—don’t be mad at me. Be mad at her. She believed me. She believed the photos. She left you. That’s the funniest part!”

Batman’s voice thundered, deep and raw. “You used her to get to me.”

Joker’s grin widened, eyes glinting with mania. “And it worked. I broke the Bat with a jpeg file! Who knew love was cheaper than bullets?”

Batman lunged. The fight turned savage. Bruce’s fist connected with Joker’s jaw, snapping his head to the side, but Joker only laughed through the blood. He slashed with the knife—Batman dodged, grabbed his wrist, twisted until bone nearly snapped. Joker shrieked, then headbutted him, smearing red across the cowl.

You watched, breathless, the ropes burning into your wrists, as the two of them crashed into each other like titans—brutality against madness. Joker slashed again, the blade nicking Batman’s armor, sparks flying. Batman’s gauntlet smashed down on Joker’s wrist, sending the knife clattering. He followed with a brutal kick that sent Joker sprawling across the floor.

The Clown Prince of Crime coughed blood and laughed louder. “Hit harder, Batsy! She deserves to see the monster you really are!”

Batman loomed over him, fist raised, ready to cave his skull in. His chest heaved, every line of him trembling with barely restrained fury.

And then—his eyes shifted. Away from Joker. To you.

Your blue eyes locked with the only ones that had ever truly seen you. For a second, the room was silent but for the thud of his heart in your ears.

“Hold on,” he growled, softer now, but filled with a desperate edge.

The ropes fell away in seconds under his gauntlet’s blade, and the moment your arms were free, he caught you against his chest, shielding you with his body even as Joker cackled from the floor.

“Reunion time!” Joker jeered, blood staining his teeth. But Joker’s voice barely registered. Not over the sound of Bruce’s heartbeat. Not over the realization that everything you thought you knew had been a lie.