Chapter 8: "The Hunter and the Gargoyle"
The night sky over the ancient fortress was thick with mist, shrouding the towering stone gargoyles that lined the battlements. High above the world, Goliath stood still as a statue, his stone wings folded behind him as he stared out into the distance. His instincts told him something was coming—something dangerous. And Goliath was rarely wrong.
Emerging from the swirling fog below, the Joker grinned up at the looming figure above him, his eyes gleaming with twisted delight. The Doom Blade hummed on his back, eager for blood. "Well, well, well," Joker said, his voice echoing through the night. "Look at you, big guy! I've been sent to fetch you, and I have to say, this is going to be a *scream*."
Goliath's eyes snapped open, glowing red as he unfurled his wings, leaping down from the ledge. He landed with a thunderous crash, towering over Joker. "I don't know who you are," Goliath growled, his voice deep and resonant, "but you've come to the wrong place."
Joker's grin widened as he drew the Doom Blade, its dark energy crackling in the air. "Oh, but I'm exactly where I need to be, gargoyle. Doctor Doom wants you, and I've never been one to disappoint the good doctor." He twirled the blade, its sinister glow illuminating his pale face. "So, what do you say? Care to play?"
Goliath snarled, flexing his claws. "I'll give you one chance to leave. Take it, or I'll crush you where you stand."
Joker cackled, his eyes wild with glee. "Oh, please! I live for this!" Without warning, he lunged forward, swinging the Doom Blade with unnatural speed.
Goliath reacted quickly, blocking the strike with his forearm, but the blade cut deep, dark energy searing into his stone skin. Goliath roared in pain, retaliating with a massive swipe that sent Joker flying back across the stone courtyard. But the clown only laughed, wiping blood from his mouth as he rose to his feet.
"Not bad, big guy!" Joker sneered. "But I've got a secret weapon!" He raised the Doom Blade high, and the ground beneath them rumbled. Dark tendrils of energy erupted from the earth, snaking toward Goliath, trying to bind him. The gargoyle leaped into the air, dodging the attack, but the tendrils followed, wrapping around his wings and dragging him back to the ground.
Joker approached slowly, his eyes gleaming. "Looks like you're all tied up."
Goliath strained against the tendrils, his muscles bulging as he fought to break free. But Joker's laughter echoed in his ears as the tendrils tightened their grip. "You won't—win," Goliath snarled through gritted teeth.
"Oh, I've already won!" Joker sang. "Now it's just a matter of—"
Before he could finish, Goliath let out a deafening roar, shattering the tendrils with a burst of raw strength. He lunged at Joker, faster than the clown could react, grabbing him by the throat and slamming him against the stone wall.
Joker's smile never wavered, even as he struggled to breathe. "Not bad... but you'll have to do better than that to stop me!"
---
Meanwhile, back at The Lone Wolf, McFly and his newly assembled team of heroes—Spawn, Hellboy, and Moon Knight—gathered around a worn-out map spread across the bar. The air was thick with tension as they worked out their plan to save Jim Gordon from the clutches of Professor Menace, Trunks, and Earth-5 Superman.
"We need to move fast," McFly said, pointing to the location of Doom's lair on the map. "Trunks isn't going to wait much longer before he finishes Gordon off."
Spawn, his eyes glowing faintly beneath his hood, nodded in agreement. "If we're going to stand a chance against Doom's forces, we'll need to hit them hard and fast. Distraction and precision."
Hellboy grunted, cracking his massive stone fist. "I say we go in guns blazing. Smash our way through."
Moon Knight, ever the strategist, shook his head. "That'll get us killed. We need to be smart about this. Take out key players first. If we can distract Earth-5 Superman, McFly and I can focus on freeing Gordon."
McFly nodded. "Right. We split up. I'll go for Gordon with Moon Knight. Spawn, Hellboy, you two handle the heavy hitters—especially Superman."
Spawn's voice was low and serious. "I've faced gods before. He won't be a problem."
As they finalized their plan, McFly couldn't shake the feeling that time was running out. The longer they waited, the closer Jim was to his doom. And with Joker hunting Goliath, there was no telling what chaos lay ahead.
The mission was set. They had one shot at saving Jim—and failure wasn't an option.
