[ WP ] A horrified Batman bares witness to the Joker coming into possession of a yellow lantern ring .

The summer night brought an unusual cool wind through the streets. Normally the warmer weather stirred the city up more, but tonight it seemed quiet, almost still. From atop Wayne Tower, the entirety of the city could be seen. From that perspective there was no crime or pain, only sparkling lights and car horns echoing. 
 
 He shifted his weight. He was uneasy that it had been over two hours since he started tonight ’ s patrol and there was nothing on his scanners. The police networks buzzed with petty crimes that the GCPD were fully capable of dealing with. There was nothing about any of the major players of Gotham and that troubled Batman. 
 
 The Dark Knight readied his grapple gun, about to change his position and continue his patrol elsewhere when a golden streak in the night sky appeared in the corner of his vision. His oculars instantly locked in on the unknown anomaly and enhanced it, zooming in. Batman squinted under his cowl trying to make out the tiny yellow object when he suddenly recognized it. 
 
 One very similar to it had once appeared to him many years ago during a cosmic event labeled as the ‘ Sinestro Corps War ’. Just as it was now, the tiny golden jewel had streaked into Gotham and found him almost instantly. The ring seemed to speak telepathically to him and even knew his identity as it spoke; “ Bruce Wayne of Earth, you have to ability to instill great fear. Welcome to the Sinestro Corps ”. At the time he knew what it was, a powerful weapon similar to Green Lantern ’ s only based off fear instead of will. For a split second he considered accepting the ring, hoping to use it against the other yellow lanterns. After thinking it through though, he refused, turning the ring away as it jettisoned back into the sky to find someone else. 
 
 Now he watched as another ring descended on his city. As it got closer he noted that by the ring ’ s trajectory, it was not heading for him this time. Leaping from the building, he maintained his lock on the ring as he folded out his cape and glided in the direction it was heading. Using his grapple gun, he expertly switched back and forth between gliding and zipping to maintain visual contact on the glowing jewel. 
 
 His mind began to race as to who the ring was heading towards. No doubt the city was full of criminals who inspired fear on a daily basis, but why now? If the ring knew not to find himself again, who was it looking for now? 
 
 Arching himself up high into the sky with a grapple line he noticed that the ring was not heading towards Arkham Asylum, which housed the most violent and dangerous of the city ’ s criminals. That put Batman ’ s mind partly at ease, because it was only last week that he had apprehended Dr. Jonathan Crane, also known as The Scarecrow. He knew that Crane was still at Arkham and that there was no way he had escaped so soon. 
 
 “ Dent? Penguin? They are insane, but hardly inspire great fear to anyone. Maybe Ivy is spreading a new toxin? ” His thoughts went over the profiles of all his foes as he continued to follow the ring into the old part of town, gradually reaching the street level. “ None of them inspire great fear. If not Crane, I ’ d think the second…no ”. 
 
 The thought occurred as the golden ring flew under the old, broken down entrance into the carnival. It had been abandoned for years and was to be renovated in the next year. Batman reached the ground and rolled into a sprint as he strained to keep up with the ring. “ Not him ” he cursed as he followed the yellow trail of the ring. It zipped around the deserted funland and crashed right through the rotten wooden doors of the house of mirrors. 
 
 Batman stopped in front of the door and slowly opened the doors as they creaked. His night vision automatically engaged as he peered through the darkness and saw numerous images of his reflection. He scanned the entire area and noted several dozen mirrors in all different sizes and shapes set up, creating a maze. Stepping carefully as to not make a sound, he attempted to trace the ring using an already known energy source from Green Lantern, hoping they were similar. 
 
 He was halfway through the maze when his tracker picked up a faint signal in a basement area below the mirror maze. Batman moved skillfully through the maze when the floor under him began to shake. He froze, gauging the situation as the mirrors began to wobble and floor around him began to crack. Through the cracks, golden streaks of light began to shine upwards, causing Batman to squint due to the night vision. 
 
 The rumble grew as Batman started to step back the way he came. Before he reached the entrance the entire wooden floor erupted in yellow energy, sending splinters and glass in every direction. Batman raised his arms to protect himself as he was thrown back and crashed into an old food cart. His night vision disengaged due to the intense light that was coming from where the mirror house used to be. The explosion had echoed through the night air, but now it was silent again as Batman slowly sat up. He could hear nothing but the softest laugh begin to arise from the epicenter of the detonation. 
 
 “ Hello Bats ” 
 
 The all too familiar tone caused him to grit his teeth. He tilted his head upwards, tracing where the voice came from and hovering above the destruction was the Clown Prince of Crime, sporting a new suit of purple and yellow. His greasy green hair shined from the yellow light his body was giving off. The glow made his skin look even paler than usual. 
 
 Batman got to his feet, assessing his strategy against one of the most powerful weapons in the galaxy on the hand of the most sadistic individual on the planet. As much as he thought about it, he could only look in horror as the Joker laughed hysterically, sending chills up Batman ’ s spine. 

