The smell of cold steel filled my nostrils as my cold, blue eyes fluttered open. I gave them a quick rub as I stretched out, yawning. I looked toward the small opening to my right. The sun had gone down about an hour or two ago, judging from the drop in temperature. I could smell a hint of moisture in the air. It was going to rain soon. I dropped from the ceiling and swiftly flew out of the upper exit of the mine, heading towards Gotham. Flying gave me a sense of freedom. It was relaxing. As I flapped my wings, I took a moment to notice the stars in the dark sky, the shrubbery beneath me, and the city lights beyond me. The lights shone like stars, and housed numerous people, and their families. I suddenly felt my heart ache, longing for the feeling of family, of love and belonging. I quickly shook the feeling, focusing on my objective. Supplies. I swooped down into an alley and tucked my large black wings under my black cloak. I then put on my masquerade mask and headed around the corner, into a nearby convenience store. I walked around, grabbing a few bags of chips, a few chocolate bars, a sausage roll and a frozen pizza. As I stuffed the items into my duffel bag, I walked toward the counter, grasping the gun in my bag.
"Hand them here so I can scan them." Said the store owner with a jolly smile. He quickly stroked his short, grey moustache, his cheeks turning a rosy pink.
"I've got a better idea..." I said, whipping out my gun. "Give me-!" I began, but the gun slipped out of my hand and hit the man in the face. "Oh god! I'm so sorry! Are you OK?!" I exclaimed, flailing about. The man looked like he was in pain, but focused on me.
"I'm fine." He said. "You should really practice before you try to rob someone."
"Just... Give me the money and the gun!" I ordered with frustration. The man picked the gun up and handed it to me, starting to take money out of the till.
"You know, there are a lot of jobs you could apply for." He said, handing me bundles of notes.
"I don't think they'd accept me." I replied, stuffing the bundles into my bag.
"Well, I could always use a new assistant." He looked me in the eyes as he handed me the last bundle. "Same time next week?" He smiled cheekily.
"Sure thing." I replied, heading out the door. As soon as I hit the pavement, I unfurled my wings and took off into the night sky.
I sat at the top of an incomplete building, my legs hanging over the edge, as I ate my bag of chips. I'd just finished a mouthful, when I heard a voice behind me.
"Do you come here often?" I whipped around, gun in hand, and was shocked by who I saw. A man, just taller than me, with bright green hair, hideous makeup and a very disturbing smile. I pointed my gun at him, shaking slightly. The man calmly sat down beside me.
"Why aren't you scared? I'll shoot you!" I exclaimed. The man gave a sideway glance, and smiled.
"If you were going to shoot me, you would've done it already." The man replied with a wide, crazed grin. He was right. I slowly lowered the gun and put it beside me.
"What do you want?" I asked, staring at the man, not wanting to take my eyes off of him.
"I simply want to give the life you deserve. A life that gives you power." The man replied. I gave a short chuckle.
"That's impossible... I could never have that kind of life." I looked down at the street below. A few cars were still passing, but it wouldn't be long til people start to go to sleep, and the world would be quiet, the way I liked it.
"What if I told you, there's a way to get that life that you so desperately want?" The man put his cold hand on my shoulder, grinning crazily. I gave him a curious look.
"... How?" I asked. The man gave me a look, as if knowing he'd sparked my interest.
"Join me in a little... Errand I have to run tomorrow night." He suggested. I shrugged my shoulders.
"Sounds good." I replied with a slight smile. "When is it?"
"Nine o'clock, three hours after sunset." He replied. The man gazed down at the street for a moment. I gazed down as well, then looked down the street to the right. I lost myself, mesmerised by the city lights, the cars passing below me. I thought about the people going home to their families, wondering what it was like to have one myself. Someone who loved you for who you were. I wondering what it was like to live in a house. No cold winds on stormy nights, no slight flooding in winter. I wondered what it was like to sleep in a bed. "I know what they did to you." The man said. I snapped back into reality and turned to the man.
"What?" I stuttered.
"I know what they did to you." He repeated. "And I know that you've never had a friend before." I stared at the man, partially wondering how he knew about my past, and partially feeling alone, and isolated. The man held out his right, gloved hand. "Joker." He said with a smile. I smiled back and shook his hand.
"Raven." I replied. Joker reached into his purple jacket and pulled out a joker card, like one you'd find in a deck of cards.
"Here's my card." He said, standing up. "Meet me at the bank tomorrow." He suddenly jumped off of the building. I panicked and looked down. The man came back up, holding onto a ladder, dangling from a helicopter. He laughed maniacally as the helicopter flew down the street. I waved goodbye, laughing. He sure was a character.
The next night, at 8:55pm, I stood out the front of the Gotham bank. I hoped I wasn't too early, but was started to doubt Joker would turn up.
"My my, what a pretty birdie." Came a voice from behind me. I turned to see Joker standing in the dark alley. I smiled.
"It's good to see you again Joker." I replied, walking towards him.
"My men are setting up around the back." He said, gesturing to the back of the building. "Why don't you join us?" I walked with Joker to the back of the building, to see three armed men with mask setting up something on the wall. "All right, are you done?" Joker asked the men.
"Yes boss!" Exclaimed one of the men, tossing Joker a small device and heading towards us.
"Let's blow this thing!" Joker cried, pressing a button on the device. The wall blew open, fragments of rubble being flung everywhere. Before the dust could settle, Joker, his three men, and I dashed into the building. The men carried duffel bags and began to shove the bank's money into them. Joker looked at me. "Go on." He said, throwing me a duffel bag. I hesitated, then smiled and joined the men. Once we'd filled our bags, a black van pulled up in the alley. The back doors flung open and the men piled the bags into the back of the van. As I was about to put my bag in, Joker stopped me, putting his hand over the bag. "Take it." He said, climbing into the van with his men. I smiled as he closed the doors and the van took off. As I heard the faint sound of police sirens down the street, I threw the bag strap over my shoulder and took off into the night sky. I felt excited and was aware of my adrenaline rush. I looked to my right to see a beam of light hitting the clouds above. It looked like the shape of a bat. I shook my head, refocusing on my objective, getting all this cash home!