Broken Ghost (A Danny Phantom, Young Justice, and Batman Crossover)

~3~

          Danny glared coolly at the Joker, who was having another temper tantrum, and taking it out on the boy. The raven-haired teen currently sported a swollen eye, bloody gums, various cuts and scrapes, and numerous purple and dark green bruises. However, Danny could care less about his condition. His healing factor was slowly working on the injuries, and he had endured worse. Much worse. In fact, this whole thing was like a walk in the park to him.

          The mad man finally stopped, settling for staring at the hooded boy. The room the two were in was now painted in oranges, greens, yellows, and reds, all of which were reminders of failed experiments.

          All of a sudden, the Joker lunged at Danny, clutching the sides of his face. "WHAT IS IT?!" he demanded, shaking he boy's head. "TELL ME THE SECRET!"

          Danny's expression remained as it was from the moment he woke up here: cold and hard, with a twinge of anger and irritation. Nothing this nut job could do would be worse than the torture he underwent with the GIW. The teen's messy jet-black bangs drooped over his icy blue eyes as he maintained his stare.

          "STOP GIVING ME THE SILENT TREATMENT, DANNY!" he ranted, a crazy glint in his red eyes. "I MUST KNOW! YOU ARE THE KEY TO A FLAW IN MY GLORIOUS LAUGHING GAS, AND I . . ."

          As the Joker continued to rant, Danny caught a shadow moving in the corner of his eye. About time he showed up, the hooded teen thought bitterly, but continued to stare at the green-haired clown.

          ". . . SO, GOD FORBID THAT HAPPEN! NOW, WHY OH WHY CAN'T I FIGURE YOU OUT?!" The Joker finished, panting slightly as he stared back into Danny's hard glare. Suddenly, a bat-a-rang flew by the Joker's face, planting itself on the concrete floor next to the clown's feet.

          The Joker instantly brightened up at the fact that his favorite sparring partner was here. "Batzie!" he called with joy, smiling maniacally in the direction of the bat-a-rang's point of origin.

          In response, a dark figure dropped from the rafters, landing silently on the pavement below, just across from the mad man. A pair of white lights were all that could be seen in the darkness, glowing menacingly.

          "Joker," replied a deep, masculine monotone voice.    

          The green-haired clown continued to smile, ignoring the fear creeping up his bones. "You're just in time! I-."

          The crazy man was cut off by the floored bat-a-rang, the projectile suddenly unleashing coils of rope that wrapped around him.

          The Joker gave a slight frown. "Hey! I thought we were gonna play fair! At least let me finish what I had to say!" he whined.

          The dark figure strode into the dim light, revealing none other than Batman himself. "You never play fair," he replied simply.

          The Joker smiled guiltily. "My fatal flaw. HARLEY!" he called.

          Almost immediately, the young jester skipped into the room, a decorated bat swinging in her hands. "You need help, Mista J?" she asked, a devilish smirk on her pale face.

          "Hello, Harley Quinn," Batman greeted in his previous cool tone.

          At the sight of the Dark Knight, Harley seemed to snap, her cheery demeanor breaking down into one of fury and . . . jealousy? "YOU!" she screeched, a raging flame roaring in her crystal blue eyes.

          Harley Quinn lunged at Batman, swinging her bat viciously. The Bat dodged every swing, landing a few punches as he moved. Then the dark detective landed a powerful uppercut, promptly knocking Harley unconscious.