... This chapter... is weird...

I do not own Artemis Fowl or Batman.

Darkness consumed Artemis.
For what seemed like an endless time, that had been all he had seen. The only sounds he heard was occasional screaming, insane laughter, and eerie singing from right outside the door.
The boy genius was sure that if he had to spend much more time in the room, he would go insane.
That is, if he was not yet insane. He couldn't even tell what was real or fake in the room anymore. There was no light to say either way. The floating smile right in front of him could easily actually be there; what was there to prove otherwise? The grin floated around his head, words taunting him in the voice of the psychotic that held him there.
"Little Arty can't get out. Little Arty can't get out. Little Arty can't get out."
Over and over again, the words repeated. Artemis's crystal blue eyes (well... one of them was merely a contact, but that was of no importance) followed the grin with dread.
Then they were suddenly everywhere. Hundreds, maybe thousands of wide, wicked smiles. All repeating the same words, over and over again.
"Little Arty can't get out. Little Arty can't get out. Little Arty can't get out."
He tried to cover his ears to block out the words, but they somehow managed to leak through, wrapping around his mind and draining all hope.
Just as he started to give up, the words changed.
"Why so serious, Arty? Why so serious? Why so serious? Why so serious?"
Why was he so upset about everything? Insanity couldn't be that bad... Why was he so serious?
Before Artemis even fully understood what he was thinking, laughter started to force itself out of his mouth. It did not sound like his normal quite, intelligent chuckles; instead, it was insane giggles and full out psychotic laughter.
When the genius attempted to stop the laughter, he realized he couldn't. He could physically feel his mind slipping into insanity that was as strong as the substance found in the forced laughter.
It was in this state that Butler found his charge when he slammed the door open, a bound and gagged Harley Quinn laying behind him. At first, the man stood in the doorway, soaking in the sight of his charge on the ground, giggling crazily, but pure fear easily seen in the boy's eyes.
"B-Butl-HAHAHAHA!" Artemis attempted to call out to his old friend, but the laughter interrupted his words.
Butler may have had no idea what was going on with Artemis. All he knew was that the boy was in danger, and that it was his job to save him.
Scooping up the laughing form of his charge, the bodyguard ran from the room. Right outside the door, Harley had managed to get her gag off, yelling after Butler just loud enough for him to hear.
"Mr J. will stop you, hear that you big bully! He'll put you in your place, just like what he'll do for Batsy!"
Butler choose to ignore the villainess, instead focusing running until the high-pitched voice was faded in the distance.
Meanwhile, much nearer to the exit that Butler was running towards, Batman faced a huge dilemma.
That was truly the only way to accurately describe him holding the dying body of his son firmly to his chest while the only way to safety was blocked by the monster that put the boy in this position. That is, the only way to describe without at least ten swears.
"You know what, Bats? I think I win! Your little birdy will be dead in minutes, and there is nothing to stop me from killing you here... Except that would end the game..."
The clown stopped to think about his own words, before grinning wickedly.
"Well, it will back to only us playing again soon, won't it Bats?"
The Dark Knight ignored the maniac's words, already predicting what they were going to be about. The Joker saw life as only a game. A game that the psychotic enjoyed ending for many.
Instead of listening, Bruce felt the heartbeat of the boy he was clutching rapidly slow. Robin- Dick- was running out of time.
"Move out of the way, Joker. I will not hesitate to disable you if you don't."
The only response was laughter.
"Ohhh, threats now. You sound almost like you'd actually go through with them!"
The clown burst into laughter.
"Like that would ever happen!"
Looking down, Bruce saw sweat coating Dick's face. He also couldn't help but notice the boy's ragged breathing, rattling his chest. Every few seconds, Robin coughed, causing more stains on his costume.
Looking at Dick's arms, Bruce felt his stomach churn. Blood coated his son's arms like a second skin.
Dick had to return to the cave right away, or he wasn't going to make it.
"Joker, I am not bluffing. MOVE!"
A cruel, wicked grin spread across the clown's features.
"I will- once I know your little bird is lost forever!"
There was no way to keep Robin from slipping away and get the Joker to move. There was far to little time.
"Hold on, my son." he whispered, holding back the tears. This could not be happening. He had almost lost Dick once, but he had managed to save him then. Why couldn't he stop the Joker like he had with Two-Face?
Simple. Because the Joker would never be easy to defeat. The monster would always be there, laughing, taunting him.
Hope had almost completely left Bruce when a crash could be heard behind them.
Turning, Batman saw Butler crashing through the door on the opposite side of the room, breathing heavily.
Slung across the bodyguard's back was Artemis, laughing hysterically.
Dick was nearly dead, and Artemis was exposed to laughing gas. This was absolutely brilliant.
The Joker started laughing more when he saw the young genius. This was a bit of a mistake on his part, as it only brought Butler's attention to him. Or, more specifically, how he was blocking the only exit.
The clown was on the ground unconscious in seconds.
Sighing in relief, Bruce ran through the door towards the Batmobile, desperately clutching his bleeding son to his chest, not caring that the deep crimson liquid was staining his costume. Butler followed the hero, trying to keep his hold on the shaking Artemis.
As they both jumped into the car and carefully put their cargo in the back seats, the giant of a man turned towards Bruce.
"How do I stop him from laughing?!"
Without even thinking, Batman grabbed the antidote for the laughing gas from his belt, throwing it at the bodyguard. Seconds later, the laughing resonating throughout the vehicle stopped slowly.
Now that one of the two problems were solved, the car raced through the streets of Gotham.
There was no way Bruce was going to lose Dick to that homicidal maniac. His son deserved a peaceful death, when he was old enough to tell stories to his grandchildren about his adventures of his youth.
Dick was going to live through this night. Bruce was going to make sure of that.