Birds of a Feather

31

I stopped in my tracks at the sound of her voice. I could hear she was in tears before I even turned to look. When I did, I was stunned to see the woman in front of me. It seemed that Starfire too had the idea of an outfit upgrade and changed her iconic two piece into a leotard like mine. Her hand was reaching out towards me and she had tears rolling silently down her face. We stood there for what felt like an eternity staring at each other, until the sound of gun shots sounded from inside the museum.

I took in a deep breath and broke my gaze, ripping the museum door open and storming in. The room was still covered in a thick green haze. My breathing was still staggered and as I moved my way silently in the building the smoke crept into my lungs. I realized quickly that this was no ordinary smoke bomb, but fear gas.

I slipped in and out of consciousness as I'm sure everyone else in the room was too. Images of my friends in the asylum flashed in the corners of my vision only to disappear when I looked straight at them.

"It's not real." I heard a whisper behind me. I turned to see Jason shaking his head and despite having a mask on I could sense his fear. I walked over carefully hoping to not frighten him.

"Jason, go back outside and take care of Harley." I say quietly. His head jerks up at the sound of my voice as he backs out of my grasp.

"Get away from me you witch." He screamed. He lunged at me, but I was quick enough to move out of the way. His fear had swiftly changed to extreme anger as he reached for the pistol in his jacket. My eyes widened in horror as he aimed at me, despite not moments ago helping me with a bullet wound.

"Please no please. I wish it to stop, she's not real, she's dead." Starfire's cries could be heard even over the sounds of gunshots and the fire alarm. I made a quick glance in her direction and saw her with tears streaming down her face. A rush of panic overwhelmed me even though it wasn't my own. Somewhere behind me Richard could be heard still trying to fight against the fear gas and the Joker, but was clearly being affected by whatever visions he was seeing.

Suddenly I heard it, a low growl and the hum of sonic energy. I phased through the floor before Jason could aim another bullet at me and wound up in another room of the museum. The smoke was so thick in the room all I could see was a green haze that seemed to be centralized in the back of the room. I made my way towards it, pushing images of Cyborg's dismantled body out of my mind as I went, repeating the words "it isn't real" over in my head.

"Don't you dare move."

I stood still as the image spoke. Surely this was just another nightmare, but Cyborg's voice spoke out and was certainly not happy. The growling was also present and if I didn't have heightened senses I would have missed the large green tiger stalking the room.

"You are not welcome here." Cyborg spoke again this time moving closer. The image of his dismantled body morphed into that of his new tech that the Justice League had provided him. He had slimmed down a lot in the years that I had seen him, and I knew this was the real version and not a fake.

"It's fear gas. It's controlling everyone's mind and the Joker is getting away." I stated calmly as I raised my hands in surrender. As I spoke Beast Boy's growls turned into a roar as he pounced. In a moment of panic I crouched down and despite his enhanced reflexes Beast Boy ended up pouncing onto Cyborg. Using the time while they were distracted, I ran out of the room and followed the sounds of the Joker's laughter.

When I rounded the corner into the main room of the museum I watched as Richard was desperately fighting with the Joker. Though every few seconds he'd throw a punch in a random direction, presumably at a vision of something from the fear gas. I scoped the rest of the room and noticed that Jason had disappeared, and Arsenal was currently squatting next to a crying Starfire.

Moving quietly over to the fight it was the Joker who noticed me first. He stopped dead in his tracks which allowed Richard to land a hit with his staff, knocking the Joker to the floor. Pressing my boot firmly in his chest I lean in close to the Joker's face.

"Impossible. The bird lives. And she's not affected by the gas." Joker laughed even though I could tell the force of my boot pressing into his chest was making it a struggle.

"I guess you can say I'm not afraid of anything anymore." My eyes began to burn as they began to glow with power.

"What're you gonna do kill me?" He smirked as his hand was desperately trying to move my foot.

I pressed harder on his chest and allowed my second set of eyes to show. I grew a few feet and when I spoke, my voice echoed through the room. "You deserve much more than death."

I have to give him credit, he didn't flinch at the sound of my voice. Though the fear in my mind told me that Richard definitely had. Removing my foot I reached down to remove the mask that he had been wearing to protect himself from the fear gas. At first he didn't move and for a moment I realized that he too wasn't afraid of anything. Then we made eye contact and I could see the color drain from his already pale face.

"Hello?" His eyes were searching desperately around the room as if he were looking for someone. He stood up and despite the fact that Richard had now joined me by my side the Joker still appeared confused as to where he was.

"Harley you remember me. You remember?" He seemed to be asking the wall. I looked to Richard as he too watched in amazement. "What do you mean no? Bats you remem... no?" He sounded as though he could cry.

"He's afraid of being forgotten. Of being alone." Richard finally spoke. I looked next to me as he was putting his weapons away. His hand reached for mine though he refused to look me in the eye.

"And what do you see?" I asked.

His head tilted down as though he were ashamed. "I can't look at you without seeing you dead. My parents' death keeps playing in the corner of my eye, it's like the worst events of my life are being played out. I know it's not real and I know it's wearing off, but I just can't look at you." He said quietly. I nodded and squeezed his hand reassuringly.

"Go outside and get the police to give about a blocks perimeter. Then start opening all of the doors and let the gas out, it will dissipate into the night and be gone by morning. Just make sure the police are out of the area before the doors open."

"And what about him. I can't let you kill him." I let out a small laugh at the idea. Though killing the Joker would be better for society and feel like a weight off my shoulders, I knew I couldn't.

"I have a better idea for him." I looked as the Joker was still hopelessly searching for anyone who would recognize him.

"I trust you." Richard said as he let go of my hand and made his way to the exit. I walked over to the Joker and placed a hand on his shoulder. He jumped at the contact and looked at me with hope.

"Please pretty bird tell me you remember me." I sensed his relief as a nodded my head yes. With my hand that wasn't on his shoulder I opened a portal and started pushing the Joker forward.

"Oh I remember you and all of the pain and suffering you've caused not only me but my friends and so many other good people. I remember how sadistic you were. I remember how terribly you treat Harley who deserved so much more than this life. I remember everything but soon those nice people out in Gotham, those people's who's lives you've uprooted or destroyed they'll move on and forget a time where you plagued the city. They'll move on and no one will remember you and do you know why?" His eyes went wide as his feet tripped on the sandy surface he was now on.

"I might remember, but with you gone, I can guarantee they won't." He looked around panicked at his new environment as I closed the portal for good. I had placed him on a planet that we had stopped at once long ago on a mission to find Starfire. It had all of the necessities for a human to live, as well as giant spider monsters and slobbery bugs.

I turned and began trying to fix up the museum, placing objects back into their exhibits and returning paintings to the wall. Unfortunately, there's nothing I can fix about broken glass, but seemingly nothing was stolen or broken to the point of no return.

With a hiss I watched as the main doors unlocked and opened, the green fear gas spreading onto the grand staircase.