CHAPTER 76

The public library was a peaceful haven for Tom, a place where he could escape from the chaos of the outside world. But that peace was shattered when the Joker, Harley Quinn, and their men stormed in, shutting out any way of communication with the outside world and releasing a deadly gas into the atmosphere. 

The Joker's venom was spreading rapidly throughout the room, infecting the unsuspecting victims with a deadly dose of laughter.

"Looks like we've checked out every book in the place," the Joker cackled.

"And now we're overdue for some fun," Harley Quinn added, twirling her bat in her hand.

But their excitement was short-lived when they noticed something strange happening with the gas. Instead of spreading further, it began moving in a circular motion, creating a shield-like barrier around a specific area.

As they watched in confusion, the gas suddenly compressed into a small sphere and hurtled towards the Joker's face.

"Here, you can have this back you sick bastard, why don't you have a complete dose of your own medicine," a voice called out from the back of the room.

"Pudding," Harley remarked, surprised to see that the Joker was unaffected by his own venom. The force threw him against the floor as he stood up dusting his suit, the gas merely made him cough before he turned his attention to the boy responsible for the unexpected turn of events.

Tom's strange features caught their attention immediately, and they walked over to him, curious.

"Well, well, well, what do we have here?" the Joker said, looking Tom up and down. "You're certainly not your average library-goer."

Tom responded calmly, not wanting to engage with the madness of the Joker and Harley Quinn.

"I'm afraid I'm not interested in whatever it is you're selling," Tom said, his tone even.

The Joker and Harley Quinn exchanged a look before bursting into laughter.

"Selling? Oh, no, no, no. We're not selling anything," Harley Quinn said, her smirk widening. "We just wanted to have some fun with the library's newest addition."

Tom rolled his eyes. "I don't have time for your games. Now, if you'll excuse me, I'll be on my way."

But before he could take another step, the Joker had already drawn his gun and aimed it at Tom's head. Time seemed to stand still as the trigger was pulled, and then... nothing. To everyone's surprise, the bullet exploded into a cloud of green gas as it made contact with Tom's face.

"That oughta fix you up real good," the Joker taunted, his henchmen cackling in agreement.

Tom calmly stood still as the Joker's cackle echoed throughout the library. He looked unfazed by the gas that was supposed to make anyone lose their mind. The sound of laughter mellowed down as Joker noticed the gas did not seem to have an effect on Tom. 

"So, that's your game," Tom said, a smile spreading across his face. "You want to turn everyone into your mindless minions with that gas."

The Joker's eyes widened in surprise before breaking out into a grin. "Well, well, well. Looks like we got ourselves an interesting fellow here," the Joker said, still giggling. "How's it possible that the gas has no effect on you kid, huh?"

Tom slowly crooked his head a little to the side as he gave a terrifying look to The Joker, his lips spread wide with a maniacal grin on them, his eyes had a look of a starving predator who's prey had just fallen into his trap. 

The look on Tom's face sent a chill down Joker's spine but he shrugged it off as he was rather amused by his body's response to Tom's stare. 

"Ha! I like this guy. He's got some serious tricks up his sleeves," he said, turning to Harley. "Don't you think so, Harls?"

Harley Quinn nodded vigorously. "Oh yeah, Mistah J. He's pretty cool," she said, twirling her hair with a giggle.

"I was really hoping our paths won't have to cross all through my stay in Gotham, but now you've done it. I could over look you terrorizing people, even your killings, because that's rather Batman's headache and not mine. But now you've made an attempt against my life and it's only fair I teach you a little lesson of mine."

Barbara was in shock, surprised as to how The Joker's gas had no effect on Tom. The look Tom had in the face that moment, terrified her. And yet here he was, talking about teaching a lesson to The Joker of all people. 

"You see that cupcake? This kid gat some spunk in him." The Joker turned to Harley Quinn as he continued. "Let's see if he can…"

*Crash*

Before he could finish his rant, there was a sudden glitch in The Joker's movements. With a sickening crash, he crashed through the library's walls, leaving a gaping hole in his wake.

The stunned hostages gazed at each other in disbelief, struggling to comprehend what had just happened. And then, they noticed that the pale, looking boy was nowhere to be seen.

Barbara took another look at her phone, and to her surprise, there was a signal. She seized the opportunity to contact Robin and alert him to the situation.

Meanwhile, Harley Quinn rushed to the hole in the wall, peering through it in disbelief. But there was no sign of Tom or The Joker anywhere.

"Where is my pudding?" she screamed, her voice echoing through the empty library.

One of The Joker's men ran over to investigate, but he too was stunned to find no trace of his boss.

As the group tried to make sense of the chaos, a sense of foreboding settled over them. What had just happened, and where had The Joker and Tom disappeared to?

There was a sudden crash of shattering glass that reverberated through the stacks. Harley Quin turned, wondering what could have caused such a commotion. Her question was quickly answered as Robin burst through the window, executing a perfect roll on the floor to soften his landing. He threw a bag over to the side and launched himself at the men who had engaged him, fighting with fierce determination.

Meanwhile, Barbara, aka Batgirl, had been hiding behind a shelf, waiting for her opportunity to strike. She quietly pulled the bag to her side and dodged behind a stack of books. She checked to make sure no one was watching before opening the bag and quickly changing into her hero costume. She sent word to the police, alerting them to the situation at the Library.

The hostages were her top priority, and she knew she needed to act quickly. The only available exits were the window Robin had used to enter and the hole in the wall. The window was too high to use as an escape route, so they had to go through the hole in the wall that Harley Quin was currently guarding.

Batgirl needed to get the hostages ready to move as soon as possible. She quietly approached one of the hostages who was hiding behind some books.

"Hey," she whispered.

The man turned quickly, clearly frightened by the situation. "Batgirl," he said in relief.

"Don't worry, we'll get you out of here in no time," she reassured him. "Just whisper to the others and tell them to look over at the hole in the wall. Get ready to move on my signal."

The man nodded and moved on to the next hostage, repeating her instructions.

As Batgirl charged towards Harley Quinn, she delivered a swift drop kick to her side, sending her crashing into a nearby shelf in the library. The books tumbled down with a loud crash, creating a chaotic mess.

Harley quickly got up, dusted herself off, and smirked at Batgirl. "Nice move, little girl. But it's gonna take more than that to take me down," she said, swinging her bat menacingly.

Batgirl kept her cool and replied, "I don't plan on taking you down, just buying some time for the hostages to escape."

Harley snickered, "How noble of you. But I'm not gonna let you have all the fun," she said as she charged towards Batgirl, ready to strike with her bat.

Batgirl dodged Harley's attack and delivered a series of punches and kicks. Harley managed to block most of them with her bat, but Batgirl managed to land a few blows.

Meanwhile, Robin was taking on The Joker's henchmen. He leapt from one henchman to another, throwing punches and kicks with precision. His acrobatic skills proved to be too much for the henchmen to handle.

"Go, now!" she yelled to the hostages, gesturing towards the hole. With the coast clear, the hostages began to move toward their escape route, their fate now in the hands of the masked vigilantes.

"Here, use this to climb down. The police will be here shortly." Batgirl handed it over to the man as he directed the masses down the rope. 

The hostages quickly scrambled towards the opening while Batgirl quickly turned her attention to Harley, ready for another round of fighting. "You shouldn't be surprised, Harley. We're heroes, we protect the innocent," she retorted. 

Robin, who had just finished taking down the last of the attackers, joined Batgirl in facing off against Harley. "Give it up, Harley. You're outnumbered and outmatched," he said, gripping his staff tightly.

Harley just grinned, twirling her bat. "I always love a good challenge," she replied, charging towards the two heroes.

The three of them engaged in a fierce battle, each one trading blows and dodging attacks. Harley's agility and unpredictability made it a little difficult to subdue her,  but her defeat was evident. 

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