But to Joker's absolute horror, cutting through his desperate pleas, he suddenly saw Death appear again in the corner of his vision. She wore that same expression of deep, sorrowful pity on her pale face as before.
It was in that terrible moment that Joker finally realized, with sickening clarity, why Death had worn that look of pity—because she knew with absolute certainty that she would be seeing Joker many, many times in rapid succession, ferrying him back and forth between life and death over and over again.
The realization horrified Joker to his core, making him understand the true scope of David's plans for him.
"Oh, look at this! My favorite toy is back!" A demon who was completely butt naked cheered enthusiastically upon seeing Joker materialize back in Hell, a hungry, lustful look burning in its inhuman eyes.
The creature had genuinely missed Joker during his brief absence, missed having its plaything. Joker tried desperately to crawl backward, to escape, to get away—but he quickly found that he was surrounded by a vast sea of demons, dozens or maybe hundreds of them.
They all wanted to welcome him back to Hell with an orgy of violence and violation, and yes, to make matters infinitely worse, they were all male demons… with oversized tools, with some shape weird, some having spikes, and other stuff as it came out of a disgusting hentai that should have never seen the light.
So time passed in Hell's distorted way once again. Joker was reduced once more to nothing but a toy, a thing for the demons to use and abuse however they pleased. Now, with the fresh taste of life still on his tongue and the hope burning in his chest that he could actually come back to life again, that this wasn't permanent, the demons had even more fun with Joker than before.
They could break him, knowing he'd be rebuilt, could push further knowing there would be another chance. This cruel hope only increased Joker's suffering exponentially, made every moment worse because he knew it might end, but also might not.
But indeed, just as promised, Joker eventually came back to life once more, pulled from Hell's grip. And to his genuine surprise and joy, when he opened his eyes sputtering in the Lazarus Pit, David actually had food waiting for him nearby—a simple meal laid out on a table.
The seven deadly sins ran wild and chaotically throughout Hell without any control or restraint whatsoever. Joker was forced to endure the overwhelming, insatiable lust of the demons in ways that defied description—his insides violated constantly, whether through his mouth, his rear, or any other opening they could find or create. Even his genitals became targets for their twisted desires. The demons' lust had absolutely no limits, no boundaries or mercy.
His hunger also grew endlessly, expanding into a gnawing void that consumed his entire being. At times, he was forced to consume the demons' waste products—their bodily fluids and excrement and other unspeakable things—just to fill his stomach and quiet the never-ending, soul-deep hunger that screamed through every fiber of his existence. So when he finally returned to life and saw actual food—real, normal food—he was genuinely, desperately happy at the prospect of eating something that wasn't horrific.
Thinking his torment was finally over, that he'd paid whatever price David demanded, Joker immediately fell to his knees before David, thanking him profusely as if David were his god, his savior, the only being in existence who mattered.
But before Joker could even take a single bite of the food laid before him, before his trembling hands could reach the plate, the Joker—who was so desperately hungry that even his very soul screamed and wailed from the deprivation—saw Death appear once more in his peripheral vision.
In that crushing moment, Joker realized with absolute horror what David was actually doing. David was deliberately torturing him with glimpses of the living world, with brief tastes of pleasure and relief and normalcy, only to snatch them away again immediately.
David was genuinely angry with Joker on a level that went beyond reason, beyond mercy, and David wasn't holding back even slightly in his vengeance. He wanted Joker to suffer in the most complete and thorough way possible, because Joker had touched something sacred, something he should have never, ever dared to violate—David's daughter's resting place, her memory, and peace.
Joker returned to Hell once again, and the demons were absolutely delighted with his arrival, greeting him like a beloved toy that had been temporarily misplaced. He was welcomed immediately to an even bigger orgy than before, with more participants and more creativity in their cruelty, resulting in far more suffering than he'd experienced previously.
After an unknowable amount of time—could have been days, could have been centuries in Hell's twisted timeline—he was brought back to life, appearing before David once more. David fed him hope with kind gestures and promised relief, then killed him again and sent him back to Hell.
The pattern repeated again and again and again, an endless cycle of brief resurrection followed by swift death, hope dangled and then crushed, over and over in a loop that seemed like it might never end.
The cycle continued relentlessly until finally, eventually, Joker came back to life with his eyes completely and utterly dead—empty, hollow, devoid of anything remotely resembling the manic spark that had once defined him.
There was nothing behind those eyes anymore, no personality, no fight, not even madness. It was at precisely that point, seeing Joker's spirit finally and completely broken, that David grabbed the broken shell of the Joker and teleported back to Gotham City. Without ceremony, he threw Joker roughly to the ground in a dark alley.
"If I hear that you've committed even one more crime, even the smallest infraction, I will kill you and send you right back to Hell permanently," David said, his voice carrying absolute conviction and promise.
"So enjoy life while you have it. Remember what's so beautiful about laughing—real laughter, not the hollow kind you've been doing. And fear death, fear it deeply, because both you and I both know exactly where you're fated to go each and every time you die, whether from old age or whatever else takes you." With those final words hanging in the air, David teleported away, leaving the Joker on his hands and knees, his entire body shaking uncontrollably with trauma and terror.
Joker's mind raced with desperate thoughts. He could change, yes, he absolutely could change everything about himself! He could work tirelessly toward reaching Heaven instead, could reform completely, and could become a good person. He would do absolutely whatever it takes to reach Heaven and avoid Hell—anything at all, no price too high, no effort too great!
The entire world was fundamentally shaken to its core by what they'd witnessed, because today they had pretty much gained definitive proof of the afterlife's existence. Seeing how Joker came back to life each and every time, each resurrection leaving him visibly more broken and traumatized than the last—it was the concrete proof that many people needed to truly understand and accept that there was genuine life after death, that the soul continued beyond the body's end.
And David had been ruthless enough, angry enough, to use that cosmic truth as a weapon to break the Joker's mind and spirit. This revelation and David's methods, of course, caused an enormous amount of backlash and controversy for David from various groups.
At the same time, people across the globe began looking seriously into religion out of pure fear, suddenly very interested in theology and morality, desperately not wanting to end up in Hell themselves after seeing what it had done to Joker.
"That was way too far, David. Way over any reasonable line," Superman said with his arms crossed firmly while sitting opposite David in what had clearly been arranged as some kind of intervention. Batman was also present, sitting nearby and looking at David with a deep, disapproving frown etched into his features.
"I let my emotions get the absolute best of me, I'll admit that freely," David said with surprising calmness, showing no real remorse in his tone. "But I'm not apologizing for what I did, not to you or anyone else. As strong as I am, as powerful as I've become, I'm human… plus, I thought it was a rule, family is off-limits. If you have a problem with me, I'm here. I'm not running form anything or anymore."
"You killed him 18 times, David. 18 separate times," Batman stated flatly, his voice heavy with the weight of that number.
"I will accept and take whatever punishment comes with those actions, legal or otherwise," David replied with a slight shrug.
"Plus, look at the bright side—I gave the entire world definitive proof that Hell actually exists as a real place. I'm absolutely sure that no one would dare to sin going forward after seeing that evidence." David said this last part with a genuinely cheerful smile, as if he truly believed it. Surely humans wouldn't see concrete proof of an afterlife and its consequences and still reject it or ignore it, right? Surely people would change their behavior now?
David was indeed punished for his actions by the authorities and the international community. He had been just two weeks away from finally being legally authorized to take lives in his vigilante work, from gaining official sanction for lethal force when necessary.
But due to his emotionally driven actions with the Joker, the world was understandably scared and hesitant. Sure, the proven existence of Hell was one earth-shattering revelation that changed everything about human understanding.
But to actually watch someone be killed over and over again in brutal fashion, to witness that cycle of death and resurrection used as torture—well, many people across the globe grew genuinely fearful of David and what he might do if angered, what lines he might cross if someone hurt him deeply enough.