Disclaimer:
I lost my family a few weeks ago.
It wasn't supposed to be like this.
This was the last thing that my godfather wanted for the City of Gotham.
No one was supposed to get involved.
No one was supposed to get hurt.
No one was supposed to go mad from all the chaos.
...No one was supposed to die...
It's amazing how one man, just one man alone, is capable of bringing so much sadness into a world that was just recovering from a life of depression.
With one word, he could make you shudder in fear.
With a wave of his hand, he could make you disappear into thin air.
With just a faint laugh...That laugh...That laugh...That laugh...
...I hate it when he laughs...There really is no way to describe it, other than it seems to have been brought to life from an innocent child's nightmare. The first time I heard it, he wasn't even there, and yet I still felt like that any moment, I would be killed. But instead, others were killed when I was spared. And as far as I know, there was always a laugh to go with each death. A chilling laugh. A laugh that could haunt you. A laugh that you could hear when you're all alone in a room. A laugh that could break the promise a friend had made.
A laugh that could kill.
That's how powerful his laugh was to me. Nevertheless, I tried to help my godfather stop him with all the power that I had. It's been a year since my new life began. Even though it started with two gunshots ending the lives' of my parents', this year had been one of the happiest years of my life.
Why did it have to end?
When all the chaos started, my godfather did his best to protect me from this madman who wanted to take over Gotham City. But as more and more people were killed, he never told me, but I saw that he slowly began to realize that no one was safe. Everyone was in danger. Everyone around me was being killed and I was either hearing about it or seeing it.
I wasn't safe anymore. Not even when my godfather was watching me, even when I didn't know he was.
It's a terrible thing to have a child lose their parents to murderous men. I was devastated when mine were killed. As I watched this particular psychopath take the lives of those I loved so dearly, a different side of me was born. With each victim passing through this...clown's...insanity, I grew more fearful that I would lose my godfather to him.
You don't understand. My godfather was my best friend and my protector. If he was killed, I don't know where I would go. I would do anything to protect him, as much as he would do anything to protect me.
I still haven't figured out if that was my downfall. I don't know if that was my weakness: My willingness to keep my godfather's secrets safe with my life.
It's hard to know because I promised him I wouldn't tell, and I've kept that promise with all the strength I had within me.
If anything happened to him, it would kill me. Over the past year, a bond of some sort formed between my godfather and I--A friendship that I would cherish forever. He treated me like his own. Like me, his parents died when he was young. In many ways, we were alike. We both endure whatever Gotham has in store for us together, and it's always been that way. Whatever evil there is out there, we face it together. I've never worried about him when he's fighting crime at night and bring the city's criminal's to justice...Until now, that is.
Look, it's kind of difficult to explain my feelings about all this right now, so I'm gonna take you guys back to the beginning. Everything would make more sense if I do that...hopefully.
My name is Sarah Chante. I'm 13 years old and I live in Gotham City with my godfather, Bruce Wayne, who spends his nights as the masked vigilante known as the Batman...This is my side of the story where the Joker started his reign of anarchy over my whole world and brought chaos to everyone around me...
...Welcome to Gotham City...
One late afternoon, Gotham City almost looked peaceful as it did at night...
...But I'm afraid, in this story, looks can be quite deceiving.
Gotham City, and her citizens, all wear masks.
SMASH!
In the heart of the city, near the financial district, the window on the fourteenth floor of a skyscraper under construction was smashed to pieces from a silenced automatic pistol. Now this was the strange part. The pistol was fired by a man in a clown mask. In fact, there were two men in clown masks in the empty room. The one who shot the window was given the codename Dopey. His partner was called Happy.
While Happy was loading some equipment into a navy duffel bag, Dopey took another gun. This time, it was a spear gun, which he aimed and shot a spear tied to a line of cable to the rooftop of the Gotham National Bank that stood across from their building. He then secured their end of the cable to a naked I-beam they had screwed in by the broken window.
...Something strange was going on in Gotham City...
All of us were out of breath. Our hearts were pounding so hard, we thought we were just going to collapse right then and there. Beads of sweat rolled down our heads from working too hard. I had to continue to run for it, or else I would be an easy target if I stopped to take a breath or two so that exhaustion wouldn't overpower me. Everyone was counting on me to pull us through. Half of my team had already been taken out, and we had practically nothing to throw back at the opposing team...
At Gotham City Private, playing Medic Ball in gym class can get a little intense.
...Something definitely strange was going on in Gotham City...
About three blocks away from where Dopey and Happy were stationed, a man stood at the corner of an intersection. He...had his head down...hiding his face from people who would occasionally pass his way. A dark blue duffel bag was slung over his shoulder...and in his left hand that hung by his side was a clown mask.
Even in a place like Gotham, you do not see this kind of thing everyday.
Suddenly, a van came to a screeching halt in front of this mysterious character's corner. It was a black and white van with black tinted windows and out-of-state licence plates. Quickly, the man donned on his clown mask, giving himself the nickname "Bozo", and climbed in the backseat of the van. As soon as he was in with the other two clowns, Grumpy and Chuckles, the van took off, heading into Gotham City's financial district.
Blue dodge balls whizzed past my head in a colorful blur as I tried to get some of my team members on a small scooter so I could roll them back to the safety line, where they would be allowed to get back in the game. My friends were all on my team, but one of them, Kayla March, was sitting on the floor waiting for me to get them. Ally Farris, my best friend in the whole world, was the other medic on our team, and she was blocking blue dodge balls with her scooter while I was throwing red dodge balls back at the other team. I helped defend ourselves by putting up my scooter next to hers, and making a shield twice as big to help.
During all the shouts and sounds of dodge balls hitting the walls and my classmates, Ally took a peek at our teammates who were out. After doing that, she turned to me as we blocked the dodge balls with our red, square scooters.
"Whose turn is it to get Kayla?" she asked, loud enough for me to hear her.
"Yours," I replied normally as I ducked out of the way.
Even though I was busy trying not to get caught, Ally stopped what she was doing, let the scooter fall with her arm to her side, and looked at me like I had accused her of something.
"I got her last time!" she complained. "Why do I have to get her again?"
"She's your cousin!" I fought back.
"Yeah, and?"
"Look out!"
It was a good thing I had turned my head to look at her because BAM!...I was able to catch a blue dodge ball in my hand from hitting Ally on the side of her face. She just stood there, wide-eyed, and amazed at the fact that I was quick enough to catch it as soon as I had yelled my cry of warning to her...Then she grinned. Haley Kingston's face looked like she had gotten a sunburn from a winter vacation in the Bahamas. Ally laughed a bit.
"All right," she gave in. "You win. But you're covering me,"
"But of course," I said in a "duh" tone, a smile spreading on my face.
With that in agreement, Ally and I got on our scooters, and rolled down to the other side of the gym to meet Kayla as fast as we could.
It was time to get started.
After sending their duffel bags across the zip-line, Dopey and Happy followed close behind, gliding from one building to another in mid-air. If someone were to look up to the sky at that moment, they would find two men in clown masks flying across the air, and think that they were more crazy than the Batman himself. However, no one did. In fact, I don't think anybody did take notice of this strange event taking place.
As soon as Dopey and Happy dropped on top of the graveled rooftop of Gotham National Bank, they headed straight for the security panel.
Ally and I stopped our scooters by Kayla, taking our agreed assignments. While I used my red scooter to block oncoming blue dodge balls, Ally set hers down by her cousin and kept at a low level so she wouldn't get hit.
"OK, come on Kayla," Ally lightly encouraged.
If you have ever played Medic Ball in your gym class, then you probably know that it's practically common sense for the "victim" to just get on the scooters themselves and help the "medic" get all the way back behind the safety line. The problem is that we were playing Medic Ball in gym class with Kayla.
As you probably have figured out by now, Kayla is Ally's cousin. She came from Chicago to live here in Gotham before school started while her parents were trying to sort out custody rights. It was supposed to be for about a week, but...well...Ally's Mom didn't want Kayla to go back to Chicago. She had noticed that they were taking care of custody rights over everything else before they worried about their daughter. There were other issues too, but that was all Ally and Kayla told me. Surprisingly, this new lifestyle didn't seem to affect Kayla. If anything, she grew. When I first met her, I could tell that she would be an interesting character to our group...And by interesting, I mean totally unpredictable.
When Kayla was told to get on the scooter, she just sat there as if she hadn't heard a word we said. I was a bit preoccupied, but I didn't need anyone to tell me that Ally was rolling her eyes in annoyance.
"Kayla!" she groaned.
"Come on, Kayla," I tried to help Ally out. "This isn't funny,"
This time, Kayla looked at us both and smiled brightly.
"Hey guys," she said. "What took you so long?"
"Three of a kind" Grumpy relaxed a bit as he drove through the busy streets. "Let's do this,"
"That's it?" asked a confused Chuckles while he and Bozo, who sat in the backseat, loaded a few compact sub-machine guns. "Three guys?"
"Two guys on the roof," Grumpy cleared it up, holding up two fingers. "Every guy gets a share. Five shares is plenty,"
"Six shares," Chuckles corrected. "Don't forget the guy who planned the job,"
Though his face was covered by an angry clown mask, Grumpy's tone of voice said the he really was frowning: Obviously, he disapproved of whoever planned this bank heist just standing aside and doing nothing that would help them.
"He thinks he can sit it out and still take a slice," Grumpy scoffed. "I know why they call him the Joker,"
"So why do they call him the Joker?" Happy asked as he pulled out a few cables and other electronic devices.
"I hear he wears make-up," declared Dopey, gripping the hammer he had in his hand as he stood up.
SMASH!
Dopey had broken off the lock of the security panel with the hammer to gain access to its controls.
"Make-up?"
"Yeah, to scare people," Dopey quickly opened the security panel. "You know, war paint,"
The game was going well at first, but now that Kayla was back in the game with us, things were going great. Somehow, Ally and I had managed to get all of our teammates back too, and so far, none of them were out. The other team, however, did not look satisfied. Probably because Ally and I never threw any of the dodge balls. The only times we even touched them was to catch one that was coming our way. We figured the best way to not get caught and still get some people on the other team out was to just catch and block rather than throw, while leaving very few teammates to throw the dodge balls.
For as long as I've been playing dodge ball at Gotham City Private, my teammates and I have enforced the same strategy, and its never failed us yet.
Meanwhile, our gym teacher, Coach Williams, monitored the game, looking for any signs of bad behavior. In fact, he had happened to look at our opposing team and frowned. Haley Kingston, my, for lack of a better phrase, "sworn enemy", was sitting on the gym floor putting on enormous amounts of lip gloss, smacking her lips as she stared into a pink, glittery compact mirror in intentional concentration.
"Kingston!" he shouted across the gymnasium. "This is your last warning! Put away the make-up and participate in the game!"
Haley was never one to listen to her superiors. She was a spoiled rich girl that always gets what she wants whenever she wants it, and never takes "No" for an answer. It was people like her that gave people in the Fancy World of Gotham, like Ally, Kayla, and I, a bad name. Fortunately, there was some people in this city who knew us better than what Haley says we appear to be. That's all that mattered.
As long as one person on this Earth knows who you truly are and loves you no matter what, life can be an amazing thing for all to see.
Take Kayla for example. I may have known her for a little under a year, but I still know plenty about her. She's open-minded, out-spoken, confident, and brave. There are times when I think she would be some kind of hero in a fantasy life, like Robin Hood, or Peter Pan. They were rebels who went against any wrong-doings, and she kind of fell into that category.
Ally and I haven't decided if that was a good thing or a bad thing yet, but like I said:
We would still love her, no matter what.
When she saw that Haley was ignoring Coach Williams and went on wasting another tube of lip gloss, Kayla cupped her hands to her mouth and yelled across the gymnasium for everyone to hear.
"Hey Kingston!" she shouted with a hint of laughter growing in her voice. "What's all the make-up for? Are you auditioning for the Ringling Brothers Circus or something? You can be the next Happy the Clown!"
Most of the class busted out laughing, like they always did when Kayla said something funny. Normally, I would try to warn Kayla not to say mean stuff to Haley because it makes us sink a little lower than her...But, I'm kind of both ashamed and proud to admit that...
I always end up laughing in the end.
After pulling up in front of Gotham National Bank, Grumpy, Chuckles, and Bozo jumped out of their truck, masks on, and automatic pistols in hand. Bozo was the only one with a duffel bag as he looked around to make sure people walking around the city were not taking notice of what would soon be a puzzling bank heist to all of Gotham. Grumpy led them into the Bank, running up the steps and into the glass doors.
Gotham National Bank was a beautiful establishment with marble floors and splashes of gold about the lobby. It was more nice than any other common banking service. Unfortunately, its panache appearance turned dark and fearful as soon as Chuckles fired the first warning shots and took out the nearest security guard before he and his fellow criminals could be stopped.
The robbery had begun.
Now, the Bank Manager's Office was just outside the entry way, and the strange criminals happened to have passed by it without glancing or even realizing that the Bank Manager himself was inside. He could even be seen through the glass walls for his clients and bank tellers to see. Upon hearing the gunshots, and the unexpected screams of a frightened female client, the Bank Manager looked up in surprise as he rolled back in his chair away from his desk and papers he had been inspecting, and watched the scene unfold.
Grumpy, Chuckles, and Bozo took action on their assigned jobs. As Chuckles made sure the now helpless security guard didn't try to do anything he would regret, Grumpy started terrorizing the bank tellers and clients.
"All right everybody!" shouted Grumpy. "Hands up! Heads down!"
Some people took cover, ducking underneath the wooden tables that stood in the middle of the lobby. Others cowered to the ground, against the counters. They were all huddled in fear, some hugging their knees to a chest like a child would do in need to comfort oneself.
Cowering. Huddling. Screaming.
It was all they could do as Bozo sat the duffel bag on top of one of the wooden tables.
"I said hands up, heads down!" Grumpy threatened once more, running up to the counter and grabbing a bank teller by the collar. "Let's go, pal! I'm making a withdrawal here!"
"Wait!" protested the male bank teller. "Whoa! Whoa!"
Grumpy pulled the man roughly over the counter by the collar, and let him fall to the hard floor. His co-worker, a female bank teller, watched this fearfully as she discreetly pressed the red button underneath her work station, setting off a silent alarm. But when she looked up, she slightly jumped in surprise, and put both of her hands back up in the air when Grumpy stalked over to her.
"No!" she tried to stop him from grabbing at her.
"Here comes the silent alarm...," Dopey announced as a beeping sound came from a tracking device he was using that was connected to the access panel.
Happy said nothing as he stood behind him, pulling something out of his jacket pocket. Then the beeping sound came to a stop.
"...And there it goes,"
By the time Grumpy had reached the female bank teller, Bozo had finished unzipping the duffel bag revealing about a dozen hand grenades. He swung the strap over his shoulder again, and quickly walked among the clients-turned-hostages who were trying to hide.
"All right, tootsie!" Grumpy fiercely gripped the female bank teller's arm. "You're taking a dive with me!"
"No!" screamed the poor woman. "No!"
Like her co-worker before her, the woman was pulled over the counter as well, knocking a desk lamp that hung over the edge of the counter by its cord, swinging back and forth a little. When she was on the ground with the other hostages, Grumpy pointed his gun at her when she tried to get up.
While all this was happening, Bozo had just started putting grenades into the hostages hands and ripping off the tops.
"I said stay down there!" Grumpy threatened once more.
"Don't hurt me!" the woman fearfully pleaded.
"That's funny," Dopey was confused. "It didn't dial out to 911. It was trying to reach a private number,"
"Is it a problem?" Happy calmly asked.
"No. I'm done here,"
BANG!
Dopey slumped to the ground, instantly dead when Happy shot him in the back with a silenced automatic pistol. As soon as he was down, Happy started the next phase in this robbery. Stuffing the gun back in his inside jacket pocket and grabbing the duffel bag that sat near his feet, he raced toward the emergency staircase and headed down the steps so that he could do his job.
Class and school itself was almost over, but the game seemed like it was only beginning.
Nothing seemed to matter at the moment because my team was winning. Nothing could stop us now.
After I had "rescued" the last of the "victims", I went back out on the gym floor, ready for a little action. When I looked at the opposing team from across, I frowned. Haley Kingston was texting away on her cell phone to one of her drones about who-knows-what. Usually, schools prohibit the use of cell phones during school hours unless it was an emergency. That's basically common sense when it comes to school rules.
But to Haley Kingston, there were no rules for her. It didn't even look like there was an emergency at all...Unless you think discussing her new Prada bag to a girl in another class was an emergency which, in my opinion, is the stupidest thing in the world.
Suddenly, an evil thought came into my mind. Evil, yes, but it wouldn't get me in trouble. The only scolding I would get would be from Haley, anyway. I was lucky she was already out thanks to me, but I decided that there was one more button I had to push. Messing with Haley and her cell phone was a fine line between the craziest or the bravest thing I could possible do...
...Kayla would say its the bravest thing I could do, but that would be an answer I would expect...
Grabbing a red dodge ball that was resting by my feet off the floor, I gripped it in between my hands tightly, breathing out slowly in a sense of relaxation as I surveyed my target. Haley was only a yard or two away from where I stood, still oblivious to the outside world that was all around her, her delicate fingers still texting away on her pink Blackberry. I moved back my arm, took aim, fired...
Direct hit!
Before Haley could even put in one more letter, the dodge ball I threw smacked her Blackberry out of her hands.
"My cell phone!" she shrieked as the expensive phone slid on the smooth hardwood Gym floor.
Suddenly, Coach Williams blew the whistle, catching everyone's attention. Most of us jumped at the shrill sound and watched with interest as our Gym class teacher briskly walk up to where the cell phone laid. It was clear to all the students that Haley's cell phone in class was the straw that broke the camel's back. He picked up the cell phone off the floor and showed it for everyone to see.
"I'm not kidding," he said in a stern voice, loud enough for us to hear. "Unless it's either an extreme emergency or reasonable emergency--" He looked disapprovingly at Haley for a moment before turning back to us. "--I shouldn't see a single cell phone in sight during school hours. Is that understood?"
"Yes sir," our class replied in scattered answers.
"Good. And as for you, Miss Kingston..."
Coach Williams returned to disciplining Haley.
"If you want this cell phone back, I suggest you inform your parents to schedule a parent/teacher conference so I can explain to them what happened,"
As Coach Williams started to walk away, I heard stifles of laughter from Ally and Kayla. I bit back a smile. The look on Haley's face was priceless as she kept glancing back and forth at me and Coach Williams.
Oh yeah.
She was definitely mad.
"That is so not fair!" she protested in front of the class, which was now turned into an captured audience, taken by her little dramatic scene. "Why isn't the Princess getting punished? She's the one who hit me with a dodge ball!"
Ally, Kayla, and I looked at each other for a second with raised eyebrows.
...Um...We seemed to be thinking the same thing. That's kind of the whole idea of dodge ball.
"You mean Miss Chante?" Coach Williams didn't like the deragatory use of my nickname.
"Uh" Haley said in a "duh" tone, thinking that her teacher had to be stupid. "What other princess is there?"
"Well," Kayla spoke up in a cheery voice. "I see a spoiled, bratty princess. And she's standing about three yards away from where I am,"
I glanced nervously at Ally with pursed lips before lowering my eyes. Kayla can speak her mind a little too much sometimes too much for her own good. But she did make a true statement. It was almost common knowledge in Gotham City's teenage population that Haley Kingston was, and is, a spoiled brat.
Her little comment earned a low "ooh" from the class and a disapproving look from Coach Williams. Thankfully that was all she received.
"Did the ball hit you in the head?" he asked Haley.
I knew the answer to that question immediately. No. I didn't hit Haley in the head with a dodge ball. It was against the rules of the game and the last thing I would do is hit someone, with fist or thrown object, unless it was in self-defense. Besides...I don't even know how to punch.
"No," Haley answered in an angry tone, showing the back of her hand. "The ball. Broke. A nail!"
When this was said, my friends and I had to hold onto each other for support to keep from laughing out loud.
"Well, in that case--" Coach Williams turned to our whole gym class. "Game over. Chante's team wins. Class dismissed. Have a good weekend everybody"
The Bank Manager looked calmly out the window of his office, watching the clowns terrorize his clients and employees. Removing his reading glasses, he mentally prepared himself.
He knew what he had to do.
Everything was going according to plan. This was exactly the way it was supposed to go. Bozo was satisfied of all this.
Yes... he thought to himself as he gave another hostage a grenade. Everything is going just fine.
Finally!
Happy had made it down to the bank vault. Pushing open the swinging doors, he gazed upon the steel door that had millions of cash stored inside.
He tried to imagine how much money there was behind the vault.
We're gonna be filthy rich Happy thought with wonder.
Ally, Kayla, and I hung back a little as the crowd of girls moved toward the girls gym locker room to change into our uniforms. We were silent and walked slowly behind our classmates. Before we entered the locker room, I placed my hands on the shoulders of my friends: One on Ally and one on Kayla. I lowered my eyes to the ground, trying to hide my growing smile.
"...OK..."I said in a calm, slow tone. "On the count of three...One...Two...Three!"
Instantly, my friends and I released the laughter we held in. Giggles and chuckles tickled our throats. Our faces turned to shades of pink and red. It was only about a minute before we calmed down, but our smiles never left our lips.
"Oh my gosh!" Kayla took a huge breath, as a giggle escaped from her mouth. "How lame of an excuse was that?"
She then started to pretend she was Haley, flipping her red hair with her fingers before looking at her hand.
"I broke a nail," she mimicked in a high girly voice.
Ally and I lightly chuckled as wee made our way into the locker room.
"Come on," I guided my friends. "Enough of that. Let's go get changed,"
"Obviously," Grumpy rambled on to the hostages. "We don't want you doing anything with your hands other than holding on for dear life,"
The innocent people inside Gotham National Bank were absolutely terrified. Bozo had just given away the last of the hand grenades. The hostages clasped them tightly between their sweaty and trembling hands, pressing their thumbs over the tops as if to stop the explosion from each individual grenade.
It might have done very little, but what else could they do?
Time was running out.
Happy hoisted a huge electric drill to his shoulder, and set it up against the vault. A few cranks later, and the drill started cutting its way through the door.
"So what are you doing over the weekend?" I asked as I put on the vest of my green and black plaid school uniform.
Ally looked up from brushing her hair and gave me a look that told me that I should know.
"Did you forget about tomorrow night's dance at the park?" she asked me, staring in unbelief.
Wincing a little, I could have smacked myself on the forehead for forgetting about that. Gathering my books, I kept that wincing look on my face as I turned to Ally.
"Sorry," I apologized, closing my gym locker. "It totally slipped my mind. But don't worry, I'll still be able to go. Bruce and Alfred already know I've got plans to hang out, so we're still good,"
Letting out a sigh of relief, Ally put a hand to her chest and closed her eyes for a second.
"Good," she stated as we started to head out of the girls locker room. "Because I have nothing new to wear,"
"Neither do I," I related to her. "Hence our little shopping trip,"
Suddenly, I noticed something. Looking around Ally and I, I saw that Kayla wasn't with us.
"Hey," I started suspiciously. "Where's Kayla? She's usually the first one out of gym class,"
Despite the mention of her cousin's unusual absence in our lives at the moment, Ally shrugged.
"She's probbably still changing," she replied.
Come on, Ally I thought to myself. This is Kayla we're talking about here.
Before we made it out of the front door of the girls locker room, Haley stepped in front of us, blocking our way out as if she was waiting for us. It probably was the case considering she didn't change into her uniform yet. Her sudden and unexpected appearance made Ally jump a little in surprise, but I stayed calm as if it never happened. Haley did not look very happy, to say the least.
"I just bought that cell phone yesterday, Princess," she almost spat venomously.
I closed my eyes for a moment so that Haley wouldn't see me rolling them in annoyance. You have no idea how much I despise that nickname...
"Haley," I said before opening my eyes, staring at my enemy in a small glare. "Lighten up. You should know that you don't get special treatment when it comes to following school rules. And besides, whatever happened to the Blackberry you had last week? The one with the 10-carat diamond rhinestones that had your initials on the front? Did you get tired of it and ask your daddy to buy you a new one already?"
"Sarah..." Ally cautioned me through her teeth.
When it comes to arguments between me and Haley, it can go one of two ways. I would make a little comment to her about how stuck-up she was and walk away; the other, however, has me going a little too far. Ally's always been there to tell me if I was heading in that direction, and right now, I apparently went farther than I should. Haley's eyes darkened, and we said nothing back.
"If I were you," she threatened quietly. "I'd watch myself tomorrow night,"
Without another word, Haley pushed Ally and I out of her way, nose stuck up in the air, as she went in to get changed into her uniform. I freely rolled my eyes before turning to Ally when we started walking around the gymnasium.
"If she were me," I referred to Haley. "Bruce would put me up for adoption,"
"Don't underestimate Haley, Sarah," Ally warned me carefully. "She may have the I.Q. and the attention span of a goat, but she can get back at you and humiliate you in front of everybody if she wanted,"
"Ally, relax," I tried to reassure my friend. "What's the worse that can happen?"
Right on cue, Kayla came up to us with a big, triumphant smile on her bright face.
"Hey guys," she happily greeted us. "How's it going?"
Ally and I carefully studied Kayla's strange and happy mood...After a moment, our eyes got a little bit wide with anxiety. Slowly pointing a finger at her cousin, accusing her quietly, Ally said the first word.
"I know that look," she said in a low voice. "That look means trouble. Nothing good ever comes after that look...Kayla--"
"What did you do?" I demanded in a small scold.
Chuckles hit the security guard he was watching on the back of the head with his gun. As soon as the poor man was on the floor, unconscious, Chuckles aimed his gun at the hostages.
"On the ground!" he shouted. "Stay on the ground! Nobody make a move! Nobody! Stay down!"
BANG!
"AAAAAGH! My hair!"
Kayla , Ally, and I turned our attention to where the locker room was, our expressions filled with disbelief, shock, or pride.
That did not sound good.
I guess Ally was right.
Maybe I shouldn't underestimate Haley if she sounded that angry.
Ally turned back to Kayla, anger hinting in her eyes.
"Do you realize how dead we are when Mom and Dad hear about this?" she asked in a panicked tone.
"Just run for it!" I pushed my friends with me out of the gym.
"But the bell didn't go off yet," Kayla protested, raising an eyebrow at me.
"Move!"
It was almost a surprise to see the Bank Manager armed with a shotgun after he had shot Chuckles through his office window. Bozo immediately took cover behind one of the wooden tables, while hostages fearfully held onto one another, confused as to what in the world was going on. Of course! How could the criminals have been so stupid? They should have known something like this would have happened.
After all, they were robbing a mob bank.
Meanwhile, Happy was busy concentrating on getting the vault cracked open with his electric drill.
ZAP!
Shocked with a small amount of electricity, Happy was blasted away from the door thanks to the jolt.
They have this thing wired! he thought in amazement.
...This was going to be a little harder than he thought.
BANG!
The bank manager shot at where Bozo was hiding, but he only managed to hit the pile of papers that was on the wooden table. But the clown-masked robber knew that he couldn't stay in one place for long. Making sure to stay down as low as he possibly could, Bozo moved to take cover at another wooden table.
However, this didn't stop the bank manager. He loaded his gun again.
BANG!
The bullet hit the wooden table Bozo was crawling by. Load the gun again.
BANG!
It was a close one this time. A small spark of fire told Bozo that he had almost been hit.
"Yeah!" the bank manager shouted.
He knew that he had almost caught the freaks who were robbing the place.
BANG!
Bozo kept crawling, eventually hiding with Grumpy behind yet another wooden table, pressing his back against it.
"You have any idea who you're stealing from?!" shouted the bank manager, taking a few steps closer before stopping about a foot away from where Bozo and Grumpy were. "You and your friends are dead!"
"He's out, right?" Grumpy asked Bozo.
Grumpy was talking about how many bullets the bank manager had left in his shotgun. Bozo looked up a bit, thinking to himself for a moment. Shotguns usually had six bullet chambers. After a second, Bozo turned to Grumpy and nodded a bit vigorously, confirming that the man with the shotgun had used all six bullets. Taking his word for it, Grumpy stood up and out of his hiding place, and took aim on the bank manager.
The bank manager was quicker on the draw. He shot at Grumpy as soon as he was able to see him.
BANG!
"What--?!"Grumpy shouted furiously to himself as he went down on the ground.
By the time Bozo himself had come out of hiding after Grumpy had been shot, he found that the bank manager was angrily trying to reload his gun. It was the perfect distraction. Taking no hesitation whatsoever, Bozo shot his automatic pistol at him.
BANG!
The bullet sunk into his stomach, and the bank manager stumbled to the ground, dropping his shotgun, defeated.
Bozo lowered his gun, breathing heavily through his clown mask, knowing that everything was all under control now.
Grumpy got up off the ground, a hand to his left shoulder as he inspected it.
"Where did you learn to count?!" he asked Bozo angrily, looking back and forth at him and his shoulder.
Bozo watched as Grumpy headed toward the bank vault to meet up with Dopey, taking a duffel bag with him.
...Guess he didn't run out of bullets...he thought mischievously.
"You what?!" I almost shouted in disbelief as we ran down the hallway.
"Kayla!" Ally turned to face Kayla in shock when we neared our lockers. "Why would you do that?!"
"Oh, come on!" Kayla looked at both of us, acting as if we didn't get the point. "The hairspray bottle was lying right there in front of me. And besides..." The red-head grinned mischievously. "She always complained how much she wanted new highlights,"
"Kayla," I said through gritted teeth. "I am pretty sure Haley Kingston would not want green highlights,"
"Oh, this is bad," Ally started to worry. "This is really bad,"
I couldn't have agreed with Ally more on that note as we finally reached our lockers.
"You really did it this time, Kayla," I spun my lock furiously.
"You'll thank me later," Kayla replied in a sing-song voice, calmly getting her stuff.
I would have said something back, but I didn't want to waste time and running energy. The door to my locker swung open as I gathered my things that I needed for the weekend. Homework, jacket (Alfred's always telling me to carry one around, no matter how warm it is outside), and my cell phone that Bruce gave me so that I would be able to reach him if I was in any trouble...Right now, he's at a meeting with Lucius Fox at Wayne Enterprises. I don't think he would be very happy if I called him right now, saying that I'm trying to help a friend escape an angry Haley Kingston and that I needed his help. It was a good thing I had my roller-blades with me. I looked on the clock on the wall as I zipped my backpack up. Only one minute left until the bell rang...
"Shouldn't you girls be in class?"
Instantly, Ally, Kayla and I stopped what we were doing and turned around as our lockers closed.
"Miss Rose," I said in quiet surprise.
Miss Rose was the headmistress at Gotham City Private. She's really nice if you make a good first impression. But considering the situation, my friends and I were at risk of getting kicked off of her good side. She looked like she was waiting for us to answer her, so I took up the courage to say something.
"Miss Rose," I chose my words carefully. "There is a reason why Kayla, Ally, and I are out of class without a hall pass, but I--I don't know if its a good one..."
"Oh?" Miss Rose raised her eyebrows in a sort of interest. "Would you care to explain that reason, Miss Chante?"
Nervously, I bit my lip. Should I lie?...No. Beisdes, other than lying to people about what I know about the Batman, my godfather can easily tell whether I'm lying or not. I was absolutely the worst liar in the world. Taking a deep breath, I spoke again.
"I'd rather not, Miss Rose," I said in a small voice. "I think guilt is the worse feeling I can get right now,"
I felt Ally and Kayla nod behind me in agreement, looking at our school principal with hopeful eyes. After a long pause, Miss Rose spoke.
"Well," she started. "...I must say, Miss Chante, that it amazes me that a student your age didn't make up a fairy tale in an attempt to not be disciplined. Obviously, you are mature enough to say that you feel guilty about whatever it is that led you girls to this situation. Now, since we do not have much time at school left, I will let you off with a warning and ask you girls to not do whatever it is you did again. But the next time I see either of you out in the hallways without a pass or roller blades out when they shouldn't be--"
Miss Rose glanced at me with a warning expression on her face as I sheepishly tucked my roller-blades behind my back before she continued.
"--I will be calling your parents and you will recieve detention. Is that clear?"
"Yes, Miss Rose," Ally, Kayla and I said in unison.
That was when the bell rang, ending school for the week. As students came out of the classrooms surrounding us, Miss Rose gave us a small smile.
"Have a pleasant weekend," she said before going on her way.
As soon as her back was turned, my friends and I let out are breaths that we held in and looked at each other.
"That was close," I commented.
"Yeah, no kidding," Kayla agreed.
"CHANTE!"
I jumped at the sound of my name being angrily called out by Haley. She really did not sound too happy...
"Come on, let's get out of here!" I urged Ally and Kayla to start running again.
And in the middle of the crowded hallways of Gotham City Private, we pushed students younger and older than us out of our way to get outside faster. Pretty soon, about a short minute later, we were out on the front school grounds, where expensive cars and limos were picking up the wealthy students after a long school day.
"Go, go, go, go, go," I said quickly.
"Wait!Wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait," Ally stopped, speaking in a similar manner. "I forgot to get Nathan,"
"He's nine years old, Ally," Kayla protested. "I say we leave the squirt,"
"Kayla, we are not leaving without my brother!"
"All right! Which one of you did it?"
Ally and Kayla stopped arguing instantly. I sighed, closing my eyes a bit.
"Hi Haley," I managed to throw up the words.
Happy looked up from what he was doing to the bank vault to find Grumpy rushing in through the double doors, and kneeling on the floor behind him, taking out the pile of duffel bags out of the one he carried in.
"They wired this thing up with like 5,000 volts," Happy explained. "What kind of bank does that?"
"A Mob bank," Grumpy answered. "I guess the Joker's as crazy as they say. Where's the alarm guy?"
"Boss told me when the guy was done, I should take him out," Happy took off the padded gloves he used to protect his hands, sure that he would not recieve any more electric shocks. "One less share, right?"
Happy spun the big metal wheel on the door, starting to unlock the safe.
"Funny--" Grumpy said.
Happy spun the other metal wheel, and the door slightly moved forward. The safe was finally open.
"--He told me something similar"
"He what--?" Happy then realized what was going to happen. "No. No!"
BANG!
Bozo wandered a bit around the lobby, looking around at the bank that they were robbing, glancing once or twice at the cowering hostages.
Yes.
Everything was going perfect.
And the best part about it was this:
This was only the beginning.
Grumpy pushed open the door to the vault, stepped over Happy's body, and rushed into the safe, where he found himself gazing at the huge piles of cash on top of metal tables. Underneath those tables were bags of even more money.
And it all belonged to him and the other clown now.
Throwing aside the spare duffel bag he had with him, Grumpy immediately started filling up the other one with cash, pushing in as much as he could carry and more.
"That's a lot of money," Grumpy commented a few minutes later.
He was back in the lobby with Bozo. In the short amount of time that they had left, Grumpy and Bozo had managed to fill up eight duffel bags full of cash. Bozo dragged the last two to the pile they had going before looking back at the hostages, making sure that they weren't going to do anything stupid at the last minute
"If this Joker guy was so smart," Grumpy continued. "He'd have us bring a bigger car,"
Suddenly, Bozo heard the safety of a gun being turned off, and slowly turned back to find Grumpy with a gun pointed straight at him.
...Of course...He should have known this guy wouldn't be as dim-witted as the others...But was he as clever as Bozo was?...
"I'm betting the Joker told you to kill me soon as we loaded the cash," Grumpy accused, thinking he out-smarted this Joker they kept talking about.
Bozo sighed, almost in disgust as he looked at his watch, checking the time in a casual way.
"No, no, no, no," he spoke for the first time ever. "I kill the bus driver,"
And with that, Bozo took one step to his right, getting himself away from Grumpy's gun.
"Bus driver?" Grumpy was confused.
He took one step to his left, keeping his aim on the guy.
Bozo merely tilted his head to the side a little bit as he took another step away from Grumpy. This time, Grumpy did not keep his aim on Bozo, almost frustrated with this little game.
"What bus driver?!" he shouted at Bozo.
A large noise drew Grumpy's attention, and before he knew it, the rear end of a school bus had backed up and crashed through the front doors of the Gotham National Bank. With full force, it hit Grumpy, immediately killing him with the impact and knocking him to the floor next to the duffel bags full of money.
Bozo watched this from the side where he stood, seeming numb to what he had just seen.
Oh no. Grumpy was not as clever and smart as he had thought himself to be.
"You are so going to pay for this, Princess," Haley spat at me.
I would have said something back, but I was afraid that if I tried to speak, nothing but laughter would come out. Kayla's little trick was impressive, I have to admit. Ally thought the same as well. There were vibrant green streaks in Haley Kingston's blonde hair. While Ally and Kayla stood behind me, trying to restrain their laughter, I spoke to Haley.
"I don't know what this has to do with me, Ally, or Kayla, Haley," I hid my growing smile well. "But why should I pay for something I didn't do?"
"Oh please!" Haley rolled her eyes. "This obviously has your name written all over it!"
Truth be told, I don't know how Haley came to the conclusion that I was behind all this. But something in my gut told me that Bruce, being my godfather and all, was a good enough reason for her as she pointed a finger at me, accusing me in front of students who were interested enough to see what was going on. Luckily, there were not so many.
"You think you can get away with this, don't you?" she sneered. "All because Bruce Wayne is your godfather and he can get you out of trouble just by paying your way out!"
I rolled my eyes.
"You're one to talk..."I muttered quietly under my breath.
Other than that, I said nothing to argue about what Haley said. What good would it do to say that she was wrong? She would still have it in her head that she was right and it would just be a waste of breath to rebuttal.
Actually, when my godfather was not pulling his billionaire playboy antics or donning the mask of a dark vigilante, whenever I would get in trouble, he would have me deal with the consequences with whatever it was that I did. So far, he has never had to ground me for anything, but there were little warnings such as not putting my roller-blades in the right place and leaving them in the middle of the floor in the living room, when Bruce catches me staying up too late, or when I refuse to get up and out of bed on weekends because Alfred doesn't want me sleeping in past 9:30 in the morning. If something happened at school, and I was involved in a situation like the one my friends and I were in, what usually happens is that Bruce or Alfred (usually Alfred) would find out first, Bruce would sit on the bed with me in my room, and talk to me about it after he would hear me explain what I would have to say. From the moment I laid eyes on Kayla's trouble-making grin back at the Gymnasium, I knew it would only be just a mere hour or less before Bruce would find out.
"But let me tell you something," Haley continued. "You better not be stupid enough to show up at tomorrow night's dance or I'll--"
"Hey guys! Wait up!"
Ally, Kayla, Hayley, and I turned to see a crowd of 3rd grade students coming off a bus, Nathan Farris, Ally's little brother, being among them with a huge smile on his flushed face. The 1st, 2nd, and 3rd grade students at Gotham City Private had a field trip to a carnival just outside city limits and spent the whole school day there. For the past several weeks, Nathan would not contain his excitement about this trip, and right now he looked overjoyed as he ran as fast as he could toward us.
Wait a minute...What was he holding between his hands?...
It looked like one of those round mini personal birthday cakes with white frosting and colorful sprinkles on top. Nathan must have won it at the carnival. Why a carnival would give away a cake, I have absolutely no idea, but that was the only explanation I had as to how he had it.
"Look what I--!Whoa!" he exclaimed in an excited voice.
...What happened next was probably enough to make a volcano erupt from the top of Haley's head...
Kayla still laughs about it to this day, as do Ally and I. Poor Nathan was embarrassed and a little bit scared. In a haste to show us his little prize, Nathan had tripped over his own two feet. I was able to catch him from up front, but the small cake had already flown out of his hands and right into Haley Kingston's face!
My friends and I were still as statues while we stared at Haley. Though it was covered with thick frosting, I knew that Haley's face was a shade of red that would make her head look like an apple...had it not been for the green hair dye and the cake...
"...Well, um..." Why was my voice so shaky? I didn't do anything. "Would you look at the time? We better get home before our parents worry. Right, you guys?"
In my nervous chuckles and between the innocent smile on my lips, I turned to my friends, hinting that we should start running. They got the message right away.
"Right," Ally smiled broadly in the same innocent manner as she took Nathan's wrist, pulling him away from Haley. "Let's go Nathan. See you tomorrow Haley!"
Haley said nothing, but glared at Ally as she and Nathan sped away to their limo that was waiting for them. I had hastily put on my roller-blades earlier to make a quick escape, but then I stopped. Kayla was still standing there, staring at Haley as she tried to control the burst of giggles that threatened to escape her mouth.
"Oh-oh-oh-oh *gasp* Wow," Kayla sounded proud of herself through her giggling throat.
"Kayla. Run," Was all I said.
After giving a small wave to the angry Haley Kingston, Kayla skipped after her cousins to go home. Shaking my head with a bit of a smile, I turned back to my enemy. Still smiling a little, I started to roller-blade backwards, with arms folded.
"See you tomorrow night at the dance, Haley," my smile grew more smug. "...Good luck with the hair,"
And with that, I roller-bladed away from Gotham City Private and headed towards home.
The emergency exit door on the back of the school bus swung open, and another man with a clown mask jumped out. Apparently, he was the bus driver.
"School's out," he told Bozo. "Time to go,"
As Bozo went toward the duffel bags, the bus driver glanced around the bank and at Grumpy's body.
"That guy's not getting up, is he?" he joked a little.
Bozo didn't answer as he tossed a duffel bag to the bus driver, who threw it in the back of the school bus. The bus driver grunted, feeling the weight of the prize they had taken.
"That's a lot of money," he said as he was tossed a second bag.
After loading the last of the bags, Bozo started to walk away a bit, and that's when the bus driver realized that they were the only two clowns left alive in the bank.
"What happened to the rest of the guys?" he asked Bozo, curious.
Bozo said nothing as he turned to him for one second and aimed his gun at the bus driver.
BANG!
The bus driver fell to the ground dead next to Grumpy's body. Bozo continued to get his duffel bag full of guns that they had brought along with them for the heist. He was the last clown left, and had the money all to himself now. As he dragged his duffel bag toward the school bus and tossed it in the back, he was about to climb in and leave when a voice stopped him.
"Think you're smart, huh?" it said.
Bozo turned back to find the bank manager, still on the ground, wounded from the gunshot he had given him. Knowing what had to be done, Bozo dug into his back pocket for a spare grenade as he walked toward the bank manager that dared to taunt him.
"The guy that hired youse..."the bank manager tried to laugh in disbelief, although it was quite painful. "...He'll just do the same to you...Oh, criminals in this town used to believe in things. Honor...Respect...Look at you. What do you believe in, huh?" His voice was rising to the point where he was yelling in anger at the clown. "What do you believe in?!"
At this time, Bozo had reached to where the bank manager laid, knelt down next to him, grabbed the back of his head and stuck the grenade he had into his mouth to shut him up.
"I believe," he answered in a calm voice. "Whatever doesn't kill you simply makes you..."
Bozo took off his clown mask, revealing his face. The bank manager gazed at it in horror.
...This was not a face...
Blotches of white make-up had been poorly applied to this man's whole face. His eyes seemed to have no color except for the color black, courtesy of the black make-up that was caked around his eyes. Strands of greasy, green colored hair shone off the rays of sunshine that dared to shine on that particular spot.
But I think that the most horrifying feature that haunts the bank manager to this day, and any hostage who was foolish enough to take a glance at this man, was this:
At both corners of his lips...which were red as blood...there were these scars that ran all along this man's cheeks...making it look like he had this mangled and terrifying smile on his face all the time.
"...Stranger,"
...Indeed he was strange. And not only was he strange...
...He was the Joker.
The bank manager still stared at this man, wide-eyed with horror. The Joker just flashed a quick grin at him, jumped to his feet, and walked toward the back of the school bus that was to help him get away, all while the bank manager stared after him, still not believing his eyes, and the grenade still stuck in his mouth.
Then something caught the bank manager's eye. A strand of the purple suit-jacket that this green-haired villain was wearing had been tied to the key of his grenade, to the end of his coat. The Joker climbed into the back of the school bus, tossing his gun in with him, closed the emergency door, locked it, and hopped over to the front of the bus, before giving the purple strand a small tug.
The other end that was tied to the key of the bank manager's grenade was pulled off as the bus started to drive out of Gotham National Bank.
In dead silence, the bank manager waited for an explosion...
...As red smoke slowly rose out of the end of the grenade, the bank manager's muffled a sigh of relief that it was a mere smoke bomb.
And so, the Joker's school bus had made it just in time to pull in with other school buses, ones filled with Gotham's children that went to the public schools, blending in and driving past two squad cars of the Gotham City Police Department that were headed for the bank.
And the only things they would find were a demolished entrance to the bank scared hostages holding grenades, a wounded bank manager with a smoke bomb stuck in his mouth, five clowns dead, and 68 million dollars stolen out of the vault.
13 year old Celia Henderson sat at the back of the school bus with the headphones of her iPod stuck in her ears, staring at the busy streets of Gotham City in the late afternoon out her window. Her bus had just pulled out of Ferguson Middle School only two minutes ago, and Celia couldn't wait to hang out with her friends over the weekend. In her honest opinion, she deserved it after a long week of school. Now, you should know something about Celia: She usually tends to shut out the rest of the world when she's listening to her iPod. If a car crash happened right outside her window on the bus, she wouldn't notice it at all.
Today was different.
The school buses that come from Ferguson Middle School always pass by the Gotham National Bank. Celia knew her bus' route like the back of her hand...The only new thing about her trip home from school today was when she caught sight of some guy who looked like a clown driving a school bus straight out of the bank and pulling in right behind hers!
I had only rollerbladed for about five minutes around Gotham City, and was just a block away from the Penthouse where Bruce, Alfred, and I lived, when my cell-phone made a small noise, saying I had received a text message. Stopping at the curb for a moment, I sighed as I dug it out of my vest pocket.
"Please don't let it be Bruce," I chanted quietly. "Please don't let it be Bruce..."
Despite the fact that my chanted pleas wouldn't do me any good, I knew that Bruce was going to find out about what happened at school. Thankfully, it was only a text message from one of my friends: Celia Henderson, a girl I had met at the Gotham City Community Center about a year ago. She knew my cousin, Josh Mason, who now lives with my Aunt Elaina Mason in Chicago. When I saw the message she sent me, I raised an eyebrow.
i just saw a clown driv a skoolbus outta the bank!
Shaking my head, a smile tugging at my lips, I texted Celia back quickly.
"Yeah...right," I said my text out loud as I wrote them.
Right when I started to roller-blade again, a school bus sped past me on the street. I looked at it, thinking about what Celia said for a moment...That's funny...That bus was going faster than normal buses did...And...Didn't the driver look a little bit like a clown?...
...I exhaled a breath, almost laughing at myself as I neared home.
You know what?
It was probably all my imagination.
(A/N: Dear Readers, I thank you all for your patience as I prepared the sequel to my first story "Friend of the Knight". I know a little over 7 months is a long time to wait, but...let's just say I experienced "The Dark Knight" in real life, have a unique perspective on the plot now, and that Sarah Chante will be made a much more stronger character than she was when you last saw her.
I'd like to dedicate this to my family: Thanks for helping me learn to pick myself up when I fall.
To my friends, especially Kirsten and Kayla, for inspiring the characters of Celia Henderson and Kayla March. I'll miss you guys when I'm off to college in September.
In memory of my friend Christian R. . I know you're up there in heaven keeping an eye on all your girls. Even though I've already graduated and won't be at school with them next year, I'm sure they'll still keep an empty seat open for you at the lunch table.
To my faithful readers and reviewers for encouraging me to make this sequel happen. You guys are awesome!
And to the Jokers and Two-Faces to my Batman that I've encountered these past 2 1/2 years. Thanks for showing me how far people will go to ruin other people, especially me...Too bad you didn't go far enough...You didn't win...You never have...
Ladies and Gentlemen, I give you "The Dark Knight's Friend". Enjoy)