A Cosmic Rendition

"Ahh yes girl, just like that," a manic voice grunted in the darkness of the cell of Arkham, "you've improved so much so quickly, my toxic queen."

Harley Quinn looked up at him in adoration, her pigtails swinging as she deepthroated him. A soft squeal escaped her throat when she felt him thrust forcefully inside her mouth, exploiting her. Her lower lips were gushing after the vicious pounding this madman had delivered to her a few minutes ago, and she was hellbent on coaxing his powerful seed out of his cock.

"Yes, dear, here it comes," The Joker grunted as he shot his load deep inside the oral cavity of the unhinged woman, watching with a wide smirk as she swallowed every drop expertly, showing him his seed on her tongue before taking it all down.

"I hope you got enough energy from that. You will need every bit of it tonight, girl."

Harley Quinn smiled as she got up, covering her naked tits before sliding those tights up her thigh and buttoning it in place. The Joker pulled her close and fondled her tits over her top as the woman moaned lewdly.

"Oh yes, master! Your plan is flawless, as always. I can't wait for them to come. I promise you. He will die tonight."

"That's… the plan," The Joker grinned as he looked out of the cell where several of his co-conspirators had gathered. "Soon, Batman. Soon, you will come here, but you will never go out."

XXXXX

"Mornin'"

Natasha blearily opened her eyes and smiled before leaning up to properly greet him with a kiss.

"Where's Selina?" She asked as she snuggled up to him, smiling when his hand caressed her bare ass under the duvet.

"Must be downstairs somewhere. She's an early riser."

Natasha nodded.

"I'm open to discussing it with Fury, if you can call him over here today."

Natasha shook her head.

"We'll talk about it later. Right now, there's something else I'd rather do," she smirked, before moving under the covers.

"Well, you won't find me complaining," Bruce grunted as the lovely woman took him inside her mouth. There were much worse ways to wake up.

XXXXX

"I've told Fury, and he's open to discussing it with you. He will be coming over in the evening, if that's okay with you?" Natasha asked, a smartphone in one hand held against her ear. Bruce looked over and nodded.

She continued the conversation she was having, leaving Bruce to his devices. The man was busy analyzing the structure of Arkham on a transparent tablet, its blue screen casting his face in a bluish glow as Selina sat beside him and looked on.

"I wonder where that exit might be," he muttered as he zoomed in, before swiping left to look at another corridor.

"There doesn't seem to be any," Selina remarked with a frown as she leaned over. Bruce nodded.

"Doesn't seem. But there must be. There's no way they would be so comfortable going back if they didn't know they could make another escape. And when that madman is involved, you never discount anything."

Selina didn't know much about The Joker, but whenever Bruce talked about him, there was an undercurrent of anger in his voice. It was understandable, since that man was responsible for so much chaos in Gotham, killing numerous people including some very important ones.

"What is it?" Natasha asked as she walked over and sat beside him on the couch, and Bruce shifted slightly so she could get comfortable.

"We received a distress call last evening from a warehouse on the outskirts of the city. Turns out a few pests were creating problem. However, once we dispatched them, something peculiar happened. They were happy going back to Arkham. Now, I know that there have been numerous secret passages created within the prison, including escape routes. However, almost all those routes have been sealed. It doesn't seem there is another one, or at least, the scans don't show any."

"You think there is a secret escape route that you or ARGUS doesn't know about?"

Bruce nodded.

Natasha frowned. "Fury has sent reports over the years whenever a secret passage was discovered and eventually sealed. There have been many. However, he has not reported another one in over a year now, if I'm right."

Bruce sighed. "I think it would be better if we discuss it with him in person. It's possible that he has a hunch that he hasn't disclosed yet."

Natasha chuckled. "Good luck trying to get it out of him then. The man guards his secrets like anything."

"We'll see," Bruce remarked as he shut the tablet off and put it down on the table before picking his phone up.

"Come over with John around 7 today. We have things to discuss," Bruce instructed a few seconds later, before nodding and hanging up.

"Alright then," he looked at the two women, "all we have to do now is wait for Fury and the others to arrive. Until then, how about we have a tour around?"

Natasha smiled.

XXXXX

"Mr Wayne is finally ready to discuss it?" A bald man clad in a black suit asked Nick Fury as they walked to the helipad of the ARGUS headquarters. Fury nodded.

"Agent Romanoff contacted this morning. Mr Wayne has been open to have a dialogue for a while now. Looks like her approach made him finally decide it was time," Fury answered as they entered the helicopter. Coulson nodded at the pilot, and they took off into the clear and darkened sky.

"I do not think Mr Wayne would be comfortable with joining as an agent."

"He would be joining us as a consultant, similar to someone else we know."

"You mean Mr Stark."

Fury nodded. "The two men are oddly similar. Rich and technologically astute, with tragic pasts, and their fathers being significant contributories to both organizations," he remarked as he looked down at the city that was steadily recovering from the assault, "things will surely get interesting. Let's see how the higher-ups keep things under control."

Coulson smiled at his superior's chuckle as they flew towards their destination.

XXXXX

"Sound the alarm! Sou- GAH!"

The body dropped to the floor, blood gushing all over the dirty white tiles as a few pairs of feet came into focus.

"It is an amusing feeling, is it now? Being hopeless?" The Joker asked with a sick smile as the man at the end of the corridor struggled to scoot back, whimpering in fear. It had started barely fifteen minutes ago. After the breakout of the previous night, the prison had been on high alert. Guard duty had been intensified, with rotations every hour, and even the number of patrol agents had been increased threefold.

Yet, the convicts had somehow escaped. From thugs at the highest level to dangerous criminals that were imprisoned in the basement – every cell had been opened without anyone being the wiser.

A large-scale battle had ensued among the criminals while the guards tried to subdue them, only for their efforts to cease when the criminals started killing them before resuming their battle. All the while, a select group stood at the top of the gallery and kept looking on with sick amusement.

The Joker advanced with a pocket knife, and the man kept on his course. His limbs failed him, terror filling him as he tried to retreat as best he could.

"Do you like stories? I like stories," The Joker smiled, squatting in the distance. The man saw some of the most dangerous criminals in Arkham flanking the madman – the Quinn girl, that big crocodile, the hot redhead who liked her plants and that old man who always seemed to speak in riddles. At the back stood the man who had almost destroyed Gotham a few weeks ago – the one with a metal mask on his face. All these criminals had escaped their cells in the basement a few hours ago.

"Let me tell you a story, my dear man. There was once a boy. A very happy little boy. And he loved playing games. He was very gullible, you know, easily believing whatever someone told him," The Joker nodded, his eyeballs twisting around in those sockets as the man watched in terror.

"One day, his friend told him how he was a weird boy. Do you know why? Because the boy always smiled. The boy did not like it. He became sad. Sad, because he did not want to be weird anymore. No one would be his friend if he was weird, right?

"So, on that day, when he got back from school, he was not smiling. His mother saw his sad face. And she hated it. It reminded her of her abusive husband, you see. He always beat her with a sick look on his face, always frowning. She did not want her boy to be like his father!"

The Joker had been slowly closing the distance between them, and the man kept shifting back on the bloodied floor.

"So… the woman grabbed her kitchen knife. She put that knife in her son's mouth and told him to open wide. The little boy was very gullible, remember? He opened his mouth, and she dragged the knife from one corner to the other! HAHAHAHAHA! Now the boy was always smiling! And so did his mother! His dead father was dead, and he would never become like him!"

The man on the floor was looking on in terror, unable to move an inch as The Joker drew even closer.

"I have a friend too, you know? Yeah. He always shows you the truth. Do you want to meet him? Oh yes you do. Do as I tell you, okay?"

The man and The Joker stared at each other before the latter smiled.

"Look up."

The man hesitantly looked up, and a terrible scream rang throughout the prison as the deformed face of Scarecrow came into view.

"Good luck, my good man. My friend will show you the truth."

The Joker stood up and turned around, walking over to Harley Quinn who latched on to him with a nasty smirk on her face. Squeezing her ass over her tight shorts, The Joker grinned as she pressed the emergency alarm on the pillar to her left.

"Let the show begin."

XXXXX

Nick Fury and Phil Coulson were escorted by a maid to the living room of Wayne Manor. The pair walked in to see Natasha Romanoff sitting with Bruce Wayne and another woman who they recognized as Selina Kyle, the Catwoman and a former burglar, now redeemed.

"Please have a seat," Bruce invited after shaking either man's hand and taking his own between the two women. Fury noted their body language and it did not take him long to put the pieces together. He chuckled.

"Something funny?" Bruce asked with a smile. Fury lifted his head and smirked.

"Nothing at all. Should we get to it then?"

Bruce nodded.

"I have agreed to cooperate with S.H.I.E.L.D. and thereby ARGUS, as Natasha informed you this morning."

Fury nodded.

"She mentioned you have certain terms."

Bruce smiled.

"Selina and I will work with you, not for you. We will not be agents. We will enter a strategic alliance with both organizations. You will get our skills and resources while we will get the same. I think you are familiar with the type of arrangement I am proposing. Furthermore, our identities will remain secret. No one apart from those necessary will be aware of who we are. We will be associates, that is all."

Fury nodded. "You are what I expected, Wayne. I believe we have an accord."

"Good. That brings us to the important matter."

"You want something?"

Bruce leaned back and looked at him, before pulling out the tablet and putting it on the desk. He tapped on the screen and a holographic image of Arkham was suspended in the air.

"Information, if you may. As you undoubtedly know, the Riddler and Poison Ivy escaped Arkham yesterday and were causing some chaos in the outskirts of the city."

"You apprehended them quite easily, if my information is correct. Come to think of it, where are the other two associates of yours? I expected you to get them onboard as well."

"They are on their way. We all cannot afford helicopters now, can we?" Bruce smiled, before looking ahead. "And no, they will not be joining S.H.I.E.L.D. or ARGUS. They might join the missions with me, but nothing else. And I would urge you not to approach them behind my back either. Their identities will also stay secret, like how ours will be."

Fury stared at the man who was staring stoically at him before he sighed.

"You do not have to be so threatening."

"Force of habit, I'm afraid. I did not intend to come off as hostile."

Fury nodded. "Go on. You were saying something."

"We managed to send Riddler and Ivy back, but they didn't seem to be fighting too seriously, and were pretty happy with the fact that they were going back to the prison. I expected them to resist, even a little bit. But no. It seems there is at least one more secret passage through which they escaped, and they know they can do it again if they feel like it."

Fury frowned.

"When was the last check conducted?" He asked Coulson, who had stayed silent until now.

"Last night, Director. The agents found none. The entire prison is sealed tight."

"Then how did they escape yesterday?" Natasha asked.

"Believe it or not, Agent Romanoff, they walked out of the main exit. Six guards were found unconscious after being exposed to Henbane. We can guess who managed to do it."

"And how sure are you that there is not another secret escape route?"

"Very sure. However, if it pleases you, I can get another check conducted right now."

Bruce nodded. "Please do."

Coulson immediately pulled out a phone and dialled.

"Dispatch Unit 4 and 5 to Arkham for a thorough check of secret passages. Ask them to exercise extreme diligence."

"Thank you," Bruce smiled when Coulson hung up. The Caucasian man gave him a small smile.

"It never hurts to be more certain, Mr Wayne. The team is stationed in the building nearby. They should be reaching the prison anytime now."

Before anyone could speak further, Bruce's watch and Fury and Coulson's phones blared with emergency sirens. Their eyes widened when the location of Arkham was pinpointed.

Coulson immediately dialled his contact, "Yes. Status?"

His eyes widened at the reply before he hung up.

"The prison is in some sort of lockdown. The teams cannot get in without authorization from the Director."

"Tell them to hold their positions. Mr Wayne, it seems your first assignment of this partnership has come up sooner than you or I expected."

Bruce nodded. "No better way to start than some action. Let us get going then."

XXXXX

The streams of blood flowing on the floor and splashes of red all over the walls greeted them when they entered Arkham prison. The crew of seven slowly went inside, taking in the gruesome sight of bodies littered across the corridor. Chunks of flesh were thrown all over the floor, casting the entire hallway in such grisly light that no one could hold back the grimace on their faces.

"Shit! What happened here!?" Barbara asked under her Batgirl costume. Bruce and his companions had met her and Nightwing when they were leaving for Arkham, and the two had joined them instantly.

"These look like some animal bit chunks of their flesh off," Selina muttered. Bruce looked at Fury in an instant.

"Not some animal," he grunted in a deep voice, before nodding towards Fury," you two get outside and keep reinforcements on standby. We will take it from here until then."

Fury nodded and turned around with Coulson. The crew of five watched them leave and turned around.

"This is the work of a creature named Killer Croc. If my hunch is right, we will be facing six to seven highly dangerous criminals," Bruce remarked, "keep your eyes and ears open. It's a good thing that I came prepared."

Natasha snapped her electric batons and handed them over to Selina, who took them with a smirk.

"Thanks. Remind me to repay the favour soon," she replied with a wink behind her mask. Bruce pulled her ponytail, making her hiss.

"Playtime later. Focus. Apprehend them quickly and exercise caution."

Natasha snorted. "You might have your reservations about taking lives, but not everyone, Batman. Girl, follow my lead. You too," she nodded towards Selina, who shrugged. The two men watched the women walk to the side.

"Well, looks like a plan," Nightwing shrugged. Bruce shook his head and started walking forward.

An ominous silence greeted them as they walked further inside the prison. The floor was painted crimson, with bodies thrown haphazardly along the pathway. The slightly darkened hallway ended in the distance, opening to the central gallery around which metal staircases and platforms had been erected to lead way to prison cells on various floors.

Footsteps stopped when sounds of growls became audible, and Bruce nodded before disappearing out of sight. The remaining four started walking forward, beneath the dangling lights which seemed to be sparking at the top where the wire had slightly torn off. They stopped when they took in the sight in front of them, their eyes wide in shock.

"Welcome!" The Joker shouted, before his voice trailed off, "Welcome… This is strange. I did not expect the famed caped crusader to send his underlings! What? All these years took away his balls?"

He slowly walked forward, and his companions gradually revealed themselves. Riddler to the far right, followed by Poison Ivy flanking The Joker, who was followed by a woman smiling wickedly, a large metallic mallet slung over her shoulder. The sight of the next man had three of the four people seething in rage before their eyes fell on the abomination that was Killer Croc.

"I know you are here, Batman! Come on now! Show yourself!"

Nothing but silence prevailed.

"Now do not be like that. I am not even making this tough for you! I sent you two hints yesterday, two! And I even told these wonderful people not to prepare any traps for you! Do not repay my generosity by hiding away, Batman!"

"Now!" Selina shouted, and she and her companions pulled on their masks as large pellets rained down all over the clearing. Immediately, faint smog filled the entire area.

"Some fast-reacting compound. I don't know what this is," Ivy hissed, before throwing some creepers towards Natasha. Her eyes widened when the plants withered away in an instant. She heard a thud to her right, and her eyes widened in surprise when she saw Riddler down, unconscious.

"What!?"

Immediately, the rest engaged with them. Ivy had to dodge under Selina's baton before she tried to throw some seeds, only to seethe when they didn't survive exposure. Even more detrimental was the fact that she seemed to be losing consciousness the more she inhaled the toxic air. It didn't take long for Selina to gain the upper hand and with a quick feint, she shoved the batons under Ivy's armpits, watching in satisfaction as the woman went limp.

Meanwhile, Natasha had engaged Harley Quinn in a one-on-one fight. The maniacal woman stalked forward with a grimace, undoubtedly feeling the effects of the fumes that covered the clearing from the floor to at least two stories.

"You can surrender," Natasha intoned.

"I think not. Whatcha gonna do?"

"You die then."

In an instant, the Black Widow bent her knees slightly and jumped, the momentum carrying her forward and she brought her batons down, which was blocked by the large mallet. A loud clang echoed as she was pushed back before she ducked under an overhead swing and smacked the woman twice on her stomach and back in quick succession.

Harley Quinn grunted, releasing a breath before kicking behind her. Natasha blocked the kick with her arms crossed before lowering herself to the floor and sliding forward, kicking the woman behind her knees. She saw the young girl, Barbara, she recalled, holding her hand out, and she grasped it before nodding at her.

She watched on as Barbara and John took on the mutant crocodile and shook her head, before engaging the pigtail in another melee, keeping her distance from those wild swings and getting hits in between. Her eyes fell to the other side, where she saw Bruce going toe-to-toe with the man who had kept Gotham hostage.

Batman leapt into action, taking the fight to Bane. Using his cape to launch himself high in the air, he threw a tranquillizer at the crocodile, watching in satisfaction as Nightwing delivered a vicious kick to its jaw before Barbara kicked it between the legs. Looking down, he glared before dropkicking Bane, aiming for his head. The man blocked his strike with his arms crossed and ducked before sending Batman flying with a powerful uppercut.

Batman righted himself, working his jaw, before clashing again. He knew he was no match for the sheer physical strength that Bane possessed, so he had to rely on his agility and quick thinking. He discreetly dropped a few pellets on the floor before darting forward. Bane retaliated with a roundhouse kick, which he dodged at the penultimate moment before tripping him on his cape.

Bane dropped to the floor and he felt something attach itself to his prison shirt. Looking to the side, he saw that his back was sticking against the floor. Grunting, he planted his feet on the floor and forcefully pushed himself off. The shirt tore off his frame, and Bane ripped it off him before taking a stance.

"Good idea with these fumes. Unfortunately for you, I too have this mask on."

Batman grunted as Bane tackled him. The masked man bashed his back against the wall, chunks of concrete falling off and he jammed his elbow against the side of Bane's neck. The man's hold loosened around his waist, and Batman kneed him roughly under the chin, smirking under his mask when a crack sounded out. Quickly, he stabbed the man's shoulder. Blood seeped out of the burst vein as Bane staggered back.

Bruce quickly pulled out an electric gun and aimed at him, before a shrill scream made him twist his neck abruptly.

His eyes widened when he saw none other than Scarecrow standing over the convulsing body of Selina, his coat open wide as he stared down at her. Looking to the side, he saw Natasha had already started to move, throwing a baton at Scarecrow who dodged before jumping to the side as she aimed a kick at where he had been. Before he could ensnare her as well, Natasha touched the baton to Selina's finger, shocking her, and jumped back.

Selina slowly came to herself and staggered to her feet, glaring at Scarecrow.

"Bruce told me about you. Lucky that we have this toxin in the air, right? Must mess up with your special fear toxins. Lend me a hand with this one, will you?"

Selina and Natasha took positions side by side, batons in each hand before the two women charged forward.

Meanwhile, Batgirl and Nightwing had been occupied with the Croc, who had been unrelenting. The two utilized their superior agility and reflexes to avoid the Croc's slashes before getting their hits in.

Barbara saw an opening and threw a batarang towards the underbelly, smirking when it lodged deep within the flesh. Her smirk was wiped out when the Croc snarled and pulled it out before throwing it towards her head. It was only thanks to John's quick shove that it missed her head and clattered against the wall.

"Pay attention, idiot. You were done for there," Nightwing chided, before dashing forward, pulling a pair of grappling hooks that were hanging against the metallic frame of Arkham's galleries and jumping over the Croc's sharp nails. A blade stuck out of the front of his shoes, and he snarled before stabbing the Croc in each eye.

Killer Croc roared in pain as he was rendered blind and started to thrash around, slashing the air at random. Bane grunted when he felt his back getting slashed, blood spurting out on the floor as the Batman kicked him right under the chin before slamming his elbow on top of his head.

Harley Quinn had dropped unconscious after her fight against Natasha, and she showed no signs of getting up as the toxin worked its magic. All the while, The Joker who had climbed the steps the moment he had seen the fumes rising watched on with a sick look on his face, laughing and chuckling at intervals. He looked over at Riddler, who remained unconscious alongside Poison Ivy and lapped away at the air, shaking his head.

He looked, amused, as that idiot crocodile stumbled around like the moron he was, mindlessly waving his large clawed arms in the air and trying to attack anything, no matter what. Exasperated, he looked to the other side where the two women were fighting together. He had to admit that they moved together quite nicely. Chuckling, he took a seat on the metal railing, legs dangling off as he stared down at the battle.

XXXXX

Natasha ducked under another spray of the fear toxin, feeling very relieved that Bruce had prepared for the battle. The chemical he had gotten developed after his battles with both Scarecrow and Poison Ivy had rendered their toxins practically ineffective. It was also the reason why the Croc's regeneration had slowed down drastically. There was a risk of someone getting affected by skin contact, but all of them had their entire bodies covered. Small parts of their faces were still exposed even with the masks covering them, but so far, they had held firm.

Her left leg lashed out and she kicked at Scarecrow, clicking her tongue when the man blocked the hit. Both she and Selina had been attacking him together. The beast in front of them looked truly horrific, and Selina had told her that he had transformed, which meant he was under significant duress and physical strain. It was a sort of last resort as per their analysis of Scarecrow, and the toxins that were freely being emitted from his body certainly indicated as much.

Realising that melee attacks were not doing much, she nodded at Selina before taking a few steps back. Pulling out her dart guns, she aimed them at the mad crocodile who had been acting like an idiot for a few minutes now and fired the darts towards him. The small syringes hit him in the soft underbelly. Her job done, she looked over at Selina engaged in a melee with Scarecrow, trying to fry him up with the batons, but to no avail.

Over to the side, Nightwing and Batgirl double-teamed the Croc, raining blows with their legs and melee weapons, taking him down quickly. The tranquillizer worked overtime; the Croc's bloodstream flooded with the chemical as its scales turned slightly purple.

"Is that poison?" Barbara asked. John shrugged.

"Do you honestly care right now? Come on, Miss Kyle needs help."

The two quickly darted to the side where Selina was fighting Scarecrow. Natasha had her guns aimed at the latter, waiting for the woman to pin him in one location. Currently, he was moving too much for her liking, and Selina was within range. She smiled when Batgirl threw a batarang that hit Scarecrow on the head. Blood gushed out and Natasha took quick aim, cursing when the idiot moved at the very last moment.

Looking over to the other side, she saw Bruce and Bane still going at it. Bane's mobility had reduced even further after getting his back slashed, and Bruce seemed to take advantage of that fact. She looked at him and smiled before firing twin darts. Bane froze up in an instant before his body went limp and he fell to the floor, unconscious.

On the other side, Barbara leapt up and aimed a kick to Scarecrow's head, intent on delivering the final blow, but he ducked before lashing out with a fist that caught the woman in the abdomen. She went skidding along the floor with a cry. They looked on as he pulled out the batarang and threw it at her. Lucking, Bruce threw a batarang that collided with the bloodied one, sending it off course. The moment he moved to engage scarecrow as well, he jumped to the side as a couple of barrels of oil were thrown over the railing. The barrels burst open, flooding the floor, and splashing flammable oil all over their boots.

Bruce's eyes widened when he saw what was happening, and he looked up at The Joker, who had a manic look on his face. His eyes had a wild look in them, and his butchered mouth curved up in a wide grin as he laughed.

His eyes met Natasha's wide ones and he was already on the move. Sliding along the oily surface, he threw a grappling hook against the highest railing he could reach where it attached itself before doing the same with her. Natasha grabbed the rope when she felt pulled off the floor.

On the ground, Barbara jumped off Scarecrow's shoulder and clasped her hand with John's before throwing her grappling hook towards the railing.

"Miss Kyle!" John shouted as he pulled another rope from Barbara's waist and threw it towards Selina, who quickly grabbed it.

Bruce watched it all in slow motion. The Joker had dropped a flaming lighter while they were moving, and he could only stare at Natasha, eyes wide.

A blazing fireball shot up, engulfing the bodies of their fallen foes and a staggering Scarecrow who could only look on as it burst, illuminating the entirety of Arkham prison with its deadly orange and red hues. The deafening roar of the explosion echoed throughout the halls, blowing some walls around the clearing.

"Damn, is the whole place rigged!?" Nightwing shouted, and instantly, Natasha went to work.

"Romanoff here! Immediate evac!" She shouted on the comms.

Fury didn't hesitate for even a second. Her voice was urgent, and if they needed evacuation immediately, the questions could come later. He quickly shouted out for the evac team to get on with it.

"Get to the top gallery and blow that ceiling up. A chopper would be waiting for the five of you. We will follow up later," he commanded.

"Come on then, a few more throws required," Bruce grunted as they landed on the platform that made the second floor before he bent down and helped pull John and Selina up.

"Come on, we don't have much time. This place could blow up any moment now! Get to the top gallery. Here, take this!"

Selina took the grappling gun from Bruce and nodded, before firing it. The others also fired the hooks and latched on as they had previously done. Bruce watched on as the lower levels were engulfed in fire, the metallic platforms and stairs melting off under the heat as The Joker stared at them jumping from one lower platform to the higher.

"Fuck him," Natasha snarled as she held on to him, before taking out her gun and firing relentlessly at the madman. Bruce quickly batted the gun away from her hand, earning a furious look from the redhead.

"There's no need of dirtying your hand. He's going to die anyway," he replied as they reached the highest floor.

"Back up slightly," Bruce told her, before pulling out a large gun and firing a shot against the ceiling. Natasha took a few steps back and helped Barbara and John up as another explosion rocked the place. The ceiling came undone as concrete fell to the burning floor. The metallic platform they were standing on started to shake.

"Shit. This is gonna fall off soon!" John shouted. However, their evacuation came clutch as a few ladders were dropped through the hole in the ceiling.

"Come on, be quick!" Bruce grunted as he quickly started to usher everyone. Natasha and Selina climbed first, before pulling Barbara and Bruce behind them.

Suddenly, the ground shook as a massive blaze went up, and the entire gallery came crashing down. They watched in slow motion as the metal floor under John gave away and he plunged into the abyss of inferno, his eyes wide open in shock.

The zip of a grappling hook was barely heard over the roar of fire as it latched on to John, stopping his descent mid-air. They looked as Barbara held on to him, a terrified look on her face and Bruce quickly fired another one that held John suspended in the air firmly.

"Pull us up!" Natasha shouted upwards, and the ladders started to withdraw with them. The last thing Bruce saw as they flew away from Arkham was the sight of a burning prison in the darkness as it came crashing down from the middle.

XXXXX

A soft sigh filled the apartment as John shut the door behind him. He dropped his bag on the floor, threw the keys in the tray and shrugged his shoes off before falling on the couch.

After that serious encounter that saw the Arkham prison destroyed along with everything that was contained therein, the briefing with the bald pirate took a whooping four hours. It was almost 2 AM when he reached home, and John was knackered.

The only thing he craved right now was his bed, and with a grunt, he stood up. However, before he could even take a step towards his bedroom, a knock on the front door stopped him. Frowning, he palmed his gun and walked over to the door, peeping through the keyhole.

A sigh escaped his lips and he opened the door.

"What are you doing here in the middle of the night?"

Barbara didn't bother to reply and walked in. John sighed and closed the door.

"So wha- "

He didn't have time to get the words out as the moment he turned around, the woman pounced on him, her lips locking with his with ravenous enthusiasm. His brain went haywire and he stood unresponsive as she continued to kiss him furiously.

Slowly, he came back to his senses and realised what was happening. He brought his arms around her waist, pulling her closer and kissing her back. Barbara gripped his hair tighter.

He lifted her and she promptly wrapped her legs around his waist as he walked forward before dropping on the couch, bringing her down with him on his lap. Their lips moved excitedly, and it seemed months of pent-up frustration between them had finally been unleashed.

He had been madly attracted to her ever since he had first met her in the nightclub Mr Wayne owned. There she had been with her friends, swaying to the music, her lovely purple dress shining under the club's lights, and he had been hooked. When Mr Wayne had introduced them to each other, he had been shocked. He could never have guessed that this woman would have such mad skills.

Now that she was in his arms, her lips joined with his, he knew he wouldn't let her go. Their lust was mounting with every second their kiss went on, and slowly, John pulled back. Barbara seemed to protest if the sound she released was anything to go by, but he quickly turned it into a moan by latching to her neck, kissing and sucking the fair skin. His lips peppered her neck and upper chest with wet kisses, his tongue licking along the skin before he reached the top of her dress and pulled back to look her in the eyes.

She was breathing heavily, and so was he. Her hand came up to caress his face, and she whispered, "I thought I lost you today…"

John's eyes softened before he softly kissed her. No way he would be doing this when she was so vulnerable and under such stress.

Wrapping his arms around her, he stood up and carried her over to his bedroom. Slowly, he lowered her onto his bed and looked at her.

"It's been a very hectic day. Let's sleep and we'll talk tomorrow, hmm?"

Barbara smiled and nodded, before looking down. "I didn't bring anything to sleep in."

John looked at her and chuckled, before pulling out a pair of t-shirts from his cupboard and throwing one towards her.

"Make do with that one then. I'll be over in a minute. You can change in here."

With a smile, he turned and walked over to the bathroom, leaving a lovely brunette staring at his retreating back with a small smile. Inside the bathroom, he discarded his clothes and splashed some cold water over his face, staring at his swollen lips before he shook his head and donned his t-shirt.

Clad in a t-shirt and boxers, he walked out and saw Barbara already lying under the covers. Smiling at her, he got into the bed and pulled the covers over him, chuckling when she scooted closer and cuddled with him. Exhausted both physically and mentally, it did not take them long to drift into a much-needed sleep.

XXXXX

High up at the North Pole, a contingent of S.H.I.E.L.D. agents arrived at the designated location, accompanied by none other than Wonder Woman and Superman.

A few hours ago, a Russian oil rig reported that they had found a massive plane that appeared to have crashed on the glacier a long time ago. For years, S.H.I.E.L.D. had sent several expedition teams to the Arctic to discover the Valkyrie, Johann Schmidt's bomber plane that had crashed during the Second World War with the entire world unaware of its location.

The moment S.H.I.E.L.D. became aware of the information that a plane had been discovered, the Kents had wasted no time in ordering another expedition, personally accompanying their agents.

Clark smiled encouragingly at Diana when they came across the wreckage, who tried to return it the best she could.

"How did no one find this until now?" She asked.

The Search Team Leader smiled at her. "The landscape is entirely frozen, ma'am. It keeps changing every few hours, so it is not surprising that no one found this wreckage. We were very lucky, and you did a good thing by organizing this expedition so quickly. A few hours more and we would have had to dig through several feet of snow before reaching this."

Diana nodded. Looking around at the heavy snowfall, she had to concede the point. It was in the early hours of the morning where they were, and the snowstorm was only intensifying.

"Let's see what we can find," Clark commanded, and fired a beam of laser, burning a pathway through. "Careful with your steps. I'd hate to dive into this frozen water to save someone," he smiled. A few chuckles rang out as the agents poured in one by one.

It took them a little while to make it to the cockpit, and Clark had to hold his wife firmly as she staggered when she saw her two dear friends, frozen together in the ice that covered everything in sight.

Clark immediately strode forward with Diana hot on his heels. He fired a concentrated beam of laser, slowly separating as much ice as he could from their bodies.

"They're alive," the Search Team Leader whispered, staring at them with wide eyes.

Looking up, Clark's eyes met the hopeful ones of his wife, and he smiled. Diana breathed back a sob as she clutched her husband tightly, who stroked her back lovingly.

"They're alive," she whispered in disbelief. Clark chuckled before instructing the agents to secure their bodies for transportation.

"Yeah. They are. Come on, let the agents do their work now. We must be on our way back with them. The sooner we reach the hospital, the sooner you can see them awake again."

With his arm wrapped around her waist, Clark led her towards the jet that would take all of them back to the S.H.I.E.L.D. headquarters as the agents secured the bodies of their rediscovered friends while a few started to harvest everything of importance from the Valkyrie.

As their jet took off towards their destination, Clark looked at his wife sitting beside the bed occupied by the other couple and smiled.

To be continued…

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