Flying Without a Net

Chapter Eighteen: When the Clown Smiles

The alert came through at 2:47 a.m.

Every screen in the Batcave flickered. Monitors blinked black, rebooted, and then lit up with a grainy, static-heavy image. A white screen. Then-slowly-smudged red lips stretched across the center.

And the laugh.

Not loud, not shrill. But unmistakable. Low and curling, like rot creeping under the door.

Jason froze mid-step, every muscle in his body going rigid. He didn't need to see the full image. He knew that voice better than anyone.

Tim paled. "No. No, he's locked down. Arkham-"

"It's a joke," Jason snapped, already moving toward the weapons vault.

Dick stood dead still in front of the largest screen, fists clenched at his sides.

The grainy image resolved-just for a second.

The Joker's face, painted and cracked, smiling so wide it split through the static.

"Hello, Bats," the voice drawled. "I've missed our little gatherings. But tonight's not about you. No, no-it's about the pretty one. The new one."

The video glitched, cut out.

Marinette stared at the dark screen, her mouth dry.

The silence that followed felt like a live wire.

"No," Dick said suddenly, voice sharp. "Absolutely not."

"She's not safe here," Bruce said, already activating the emergency lockdown protocol.

"She's not safe anywhere if he's watching," Jason muttered. His voice shook with rage-not fear, not this time. Rage.

He turned to Marinette. "You're not leaving my sight."

Marinette opened her mouth to argue-but stopped when she saw the look in his eyes. It wasn't just protective. It was haunted.

Jason didn't beg. Ever. But he was begging her now, silently.

She nodded.

Damian stepped forward, something unreadable passing over his face. "I'll double Titus's patrol routes. She won't be left alone for even a second."

Everyone turned to look at him.

Damian shrugged. "She gave me a gift. That makes her mine now."

Jason blinked. "We're gonna unpack that later."

But Marinette smiled. Just a little.

Dick hadn't moved. He was still staring at the screen, the imprint of Joker's smile burned into his vision.

Bruce approached slowly. "He's fixating. We've seen this pattern before."

Dick finally turned. "He's not getting near her. I swear to god-"

"We'll protect her," Bruce said calmly. "All of us."

Dick shook his head. "That's not enough. This is Joker. He doesn't come after people randomly. He must've seen her at the gala. He chose her."

Marinette stepped beside him, placing a hand against his chest. "Then let him see who he's dealing with."

He looked down at her, panic flickering behind his eyes. "You don't know him, Mari. He doesn't fight fair. He finds your softest places and rips."

"I've spent my whole life being underestimated," she said softly. "Let him try."

Jason leaned against the vault wall, arms crossed. "Still think she's soft?"

Damian snorted. "She's terrifying."

But Dick didn't smile.

He wrapped an arm around her, pulling her against his chest like he could hide her in his heartbeat.

"I'm not losing anyone else to him," he whispered into her hair.

"You won't," she murmured.

And as the manor fell under full lockdown-steel barriers humming to life, cameras resetting, comms lines opening-Marinette stood at the center of it all. No mask. No powers. No training.

But her spine didn't bend.

And this time, the Joker hadn't picked a victim.

He'd picked a spark.

And the whole family was ready to burn him for it.