When it came to the Joker, some feared him, some hated him, some were wary of him—and some worshipped him.
But if his fans were to be ranked, then the one standing before Raymond—Harley Quinn—was without doubt his number one devotee.
Her feelings for Joker were less like love and more like blind worship that had gone far beyond reason.
As Joker's psychiatrist at Arkham Asylum, Harley had once tried to heal him. She studied his past in depth, attempting to enter his heart.
But once she stepped inside, she could never come back out.
She became obsessed, convinced that Joker was the greatest man alive.
She firmly believed that, if he wished, Joker could toy with anyone in the palm of his hand.
Was Joker truly powerful?
No one would question it—not even Batman, his lifelong enemy, would deny how terrifying he was.
Even without real superpowers, Joker achieved his goals through sheer genius and unrestrained madness.
Raymond, of course, wouldn't underestimate Joker just because he once had "Omniscient Reader's Viewpoint".
But not underestimating him didn't mean he feared him.
With the power he now had, and so many sub-personalities drawn from powerful figures across worlds, it would be laughable to fear a Joker without any powers.
To say nothing else, just the John Constantine sub-personality from this same world—when it came to cunning and schemes, he was in no way weaker than the Joker.
Though Constantine and Joker had little chance to clash directly, when it came to feats, Constantine's record utterly outshone Joker's.
Of course, such a comparison wasn't entirely fair.
After all, Constantine was a mage, while Joker had no powers beyond possibly a Bacchus-like factor that made him unnaturally hard to kill.
But Constantine never relied on just magic to succeed. Even without it, his tricks and means would never lose to the Joker's.
Raymond provoking Harley wasn't just because her attitude irked him—it was also because he wanted to make his journey a little more interesting.
Fulfilling Deadshot's wish wasn't actually difficult for him.
How hard could a wish that cost only 300 universal points really be?
Enchantress alone wasn't enough to make him go all out. But if Joker entered the mix? Now that might be a challenge.
Since he was here, he wanted things as exciting as possible.
"Well then, have you decided, Commander Rick?" After making that verbal deal with Harley, Raymond turned back toward Rick, waiting for his answer.
"If you really can save June, then I'll give you my full support!" After a struggle, Rick finally lowered his pride.
That moment when Raymond "died and returned" had convinced him this was no bluff.
Maybe only a monster could defeat the monster inside his girlfriend.
"Very good. You didn't disappoint me," Raymond said with approving admiration.
The praise made Rick uncomfortable, but for the sake of saving June, he swallowed it down.
Raymond smiled, then glanced at Harley again. "Miss Quinn, do you want me to take that bomb out of you?"
"Really? You can do that?"
Harley's eyes lit up instantly, her voice bright with glee, like a little girl spotting candy.
Raymond knew this cheerful act was just another mask—something easy for a former psychiatrist like her.
But he didn't care. Smiling, he pulled her into his arms, and in his right hand, a small knife appeared, moving toward her back.
Using the Livebearer sub-personality's surgical blade technique, Raymond cleanly removed the nano bomb from Harley's neck in an instant, then casually tossed it aside.
"Done." He released her from his arms.
"That's it?" Harley blinked in disbelief.
She hadn't felt any pain—just a slight itch at the back of her neck, like a mosquito bite—and suddenly it was all over.
The sight left the others wide-eyed with amazement.
Especially the rest of the villains. Their hearts began to race.
Captain Boomerang rubbed his palms together and grinned as he walked over. "Think you could maybe help me too…"
Raymond didn't even glance at him.
Boomerang's grin froze, but he tried again, "I can give you my—"
"I said get lost. Didn't you hear me?" Raymond's eyes turned cold.
The man's throat tightened. He had more words on the tip of his tongue, but when his eyes met Raymond's chilling gaze, he swallowed them back down.
"I think I might be interested in you too now, Mister Deadshot," Harley said cheerfully.
Raymond's expression softened again as he looked at her. Then he tossed the nano bomb controller into her hands, smiling. "Their lives and deaths are in your hands now, my lady."
"Hee-hee, that sounds fun," Harley giggled, tossing the controller up and down.
The other villains—everyone except El Diablo—immediately paled, terrified she might press one of the buttons by accident.
Just then, a message alert chimed.
Harley covered her cherry-red lips, embarrassed, and pulled a small button phone from her pocket. "Oops, forgot to put it on silent…"
"Where the hell did you get that phone?!" Rick's face darkened.
He had just been thinking that Raymond and the others had no way of contacting the outside world. Now, his assumption was slapped in the face.
"Don't ask too much. A lady's got to have her secrets." Harley giggled.
She opened her inbox, glanced at the latest message, and her smile froze for a moment. Then she lifted her eyes toward Raymond, hesitating.
"Mhm." She nodded when Raymond guessed, no longer hiding it. "Puddin' says he accepts your challenge. He just hopes you don't die too soon."
Raymond nodded slightly, then turned to Rick. "This plane's bugged, isn't it?"
Rick stiffened. His face grew even uglier.
Snatching up a rifle, he quickly smashed every hidden listening device in the cabin.
Because it was clear—Joker had hacked into the plane and had been listening the whole time.
If Raymond hadn't suddenly provoked Harley, Joker wouldn't have taken the bait and spoken out. Rick would never have realized they were being spied on.
And Joker being able to track them so precisely, listening in on them so casually… there was no way it was just for fun.
Obviously, Joker's next move would be to come rescue Harley.
And in this kind of situation—enemy in the shadows, them in the open—if Joker suddenly struck, Rick wasn't confident they could stop him.
"Have the plane land. It's not safe here anymore," Raymond ordered.
"Yes." This time, Rick didn't hesitate.
Even without Raymond's words, he already had the same thought.
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