Well, this is my take on what happened that Jack Napier got turned into our beloved Joker. I hope you all enjoy, as this is my first Batman related fanfic. NOTE: This is based off The Batman's Joker, so to all the Joker fans out there, this is a heads up.

Chapter 1: Why Me?

It was like every other day of his life. He was a loner, a man without a family who got along in life by being himself and staying out of the way of others. And now he was busying himself with making breakfast.

Jack gave the pan a little jerk, flipping his pancake over. He sighed, glancing up at the clock to make sure of the time, then dumped his breakfast down onto a plate. Grabbing the maple syrup from the fridge, he walked over to the table and sat down, setting the plate down in front of him. Today was supposed to be his big day, finally. A promotion.

No more pushing papers, no more filing files that needed to be put away, and best of all, to him, he wouldn't have to deal with his current boss breathing down his neck telling him how to do the job right.

He quickly scarfed his breakfast down, downed a cup of coffee sitting on the kitchen counter, then raced off into the living room to grab his briefcase. He paused in front of the mirror, looking at his reflection as he fixed his tie, then hurried out the door, locking it behind him.

Jack hurried down the street, glancing at his watch again. He didn't want to risk losing this big moment by such a thing as being late.

"Hey, watch it!" A big man shoved him abruptly, knocking him out of his thoughts. "Watch where you're going, you idiot!"

"Sorry, sir.." Jack mumbled, lowering his head as the man glared at him.

"That's right, you better be sorry." The man cracked his knuckles and marched off down the street, throwing a dirty look back at Jack.

Jack let out a heavy sigh of relief, then quickly moved off. Can't be late, can't be late... He joined a group of people at the end of the sidewalk, waiting for the light to change. Another glance at his watch.

"So did you hear about the guy that killed that couple last night?" a girl behind him asked her friend.

Jack glanced back to see she was wearing an all-black tanktop with chains on her black jeans and combat boots on."I heard he cut their throats, then shot himself!" She twirled a length of hair in her fingers.

"No way!" the boy beside her yelled, grinning. Her friend was wearing similar clothes, except he had his nose and tongue pierced.

"Yeah, from what I heard, the guy was so crazy he took out his whole family, then took his own life." Smack smack smack.

Jack bit his lip, wincing a little. The girl was smacking a large piece of bubble gum, chewing away on it like there was no tomorrow. He forced himself to block their conversation out, shutting his eyes for a brief moment.

"Yo, dude, get moving! You're screwing everyone up by blocking the way!"

He opened his eyes with a little gasp. The light had changed and the crowd was making their way across the street, and he hurried to catch up. The girl and her friend behind him kept whispering in hushed voices together and he noticed them pointing at him out of the corner of his eye.

As he reached the other side of the street, he suddenly felt a rough push on his back and he tripped over his briefcase, the latches coming open. Papers spilled out onto the sidewalk, scattering as the wind took them.

"No!" Jack's eyes widened as he frantically tried to collect his papers, moving all over the ground on his knees, trying to catch his work before the wind took it all from him. He could hear loud laughter behind him as he picked up a few papers, tucking them back into safety. "Why'd you do that?" he asked back at them, glancing over his shoulder.

A black combat boot stepped down onto another paper near his hand. "Because I felt like it, man. You should've been paying attention to the road. Good way to get yourself run over." It was the gum-smacking girl.

"Dude, you're lucky you didn't get a face-plant on the side or front of a car," the boy beside the girl cawed, laughing. "But I'm sorry, are these yours?" He held out a handful of papers.

Jack reached out to take them, feeling slightly better. At least this girl's friend wasn't so cold-hearted...

"Haha, nice try, dude!" The arrogant boy threw his hand into the air, letting the papers fly as a strong gust of wind blew up the street. The wind caught the papers and they flew high into the air, quickly disappearing out of sight over the buildings.

"Nice one, Jake! C'mon, let's go see what else this city has." The girl slapped the boy named Jake on the shoulder and they walked off down the street, still laughing.

After a few moments of hurt and quick snatching, Jack had the remainder of his papers tucked back safely into his briefcase. He closed the latches, making sure they hadn't broken in the fall, then jogged down the street, heading towards the commuter train. Can't be late.

I I I

Jack threw open the office door and hurried inside, rushing past the crowded lunch room. How anyone could stand to be in that crush of people during break was anyone's guess. He moved down the hall quickly, only wanting to get into his own private room.

He flung open the door leading into his office and slammed the briefcase down onto his desk. Tears burned his eyes as he stumbled around his desk and took his seat, burying his face in his hands. He wasn't a bad guy, why did everyone think he deserved to be treated as one?

"Jackie?" A knock at his open door made him look up.

A man with short brown hair stood at the doorway, removing the glasses from his nose and holding them at his side. "This a bad time?"

"No, no, you just caught me off-guard, is all." Jack picked his briefcase up off the desk and set it down beside him on the floor. "I've had a rough morning."

The man stepped into his office, giving him a pained look. "Again? Man, you need to watch out for those jerks. People can be so cruel."

"Yeah, I know, Jon. But hey, I'm here, right?" Jack smiled up at his friend, resting his chin on his hand. "And I got here on time, despite what happened this time."

Jon bit his lip hard, coming over and leaning against Jack's desk, resting his hands on the wood. "Well...actually, Jack, you're twenty minutes late." He looked up at his friend's face.

"...what?" Jack looked down at his watch, alarmed to see the glass was broken. His briefcase must've smashed against the watch glass and busted it open. He looked back up at Jon. "What did..." He swallowed hard. "What did Mr. Bollinger say?"

His friend sighed and put his glasses back on, looking him in the eye. "Man, you know I care about you. I'm not even sure why he tolerates my visits, even though I don't work here, you know that. But..."

Jack leaned towards him, all ears now. "Please, Jon. Tell me straight."

His friend sighed, looking around the dingy office once before returning his gaze to his friend again. "He told me that you'd been fired."

That was it then. Jack slumped back into his seat, unable to believe what he was hearing. Mr. Bollinger had said he'd been granted a promotion, and those ignorant teens at the traffic light had made him late, they'd cost him his job...

"I'm sorry, Jack, really, I am. But you know, there's a spot open at the factory down the road." Jon kneeled down beside the desk, watching his friend closely. "I know it's sudden, but I'm sure they'll give you a job there." He stood back up, rapping his knuckles on the wood, then turned to walk out. Instead, he turned back to his friend. "I know you only did this for your father, but you should really do what you want to do. I mean, you just want to be a comedian, right?"

Jack nodded numbly, still in a state of shock. "I just want to make people laugh."

Jon sighed, rubbing his temples with two fingers, then headed for the door. He stopped at the doorway, looking back at him. "And Jackie?"

Jack swallowed hard, slowly looking up at him. "Yeah?"

Jon gave him a sympathetic smile, pulling out a deck of cards. "Don't let this get you down. You need to keep your spirits up and have a smile on your face. Don't look so downcast." He smacked the deck of cards onto the front of his friend's desk and breezed out the door.

Jack stared at the cards, then reached out and picked them up. A joker card grinned back at him, and he sighed, slipping the deck into his pocket.

I I I

Jack returned home late that night. He let the door swing open, trudging inside, letting his briefcase drop to the floor with a bang. His clothes were rumpled and his tie was undone, but he didn't care. He made his way over to the chair in the living room and collapsed in it.

"Fired..." he mumbled to himself. He ran his hands down over his face, still in disbelief. After working at the office for nearly fifteen years, he'd been fired. All because of some ignorant teens.

His black German shepherd came running at the sound of his voice, tail wagging, tongue hanging out and panting.

He picked up a photo sitting on the stand beside the chair, studying it, scratching the dog behind the ears. A young Jon was busy laughing as a young Jack showed him stupid card tricks. Jack smiled faintly. Those were the days.

He set the photo back down and sighed heavily, glancing over at the phone. Maybe Jon could put in a good word for him down at the chemical plant.

Instead of making supper like he did every night on daily routine, he leaned over, picked up the phone and called his friend. No one answered, so he left a message, then hung up.

"All I want to do is make people laugh. Is that really so much to ask for?" he asked no one in particular, staring around the living room. He looked at his dog; the black ears perked up and the loveable face tilted to the side. "I didn't think so."

He leaned back in the chair, putting his hands behind his head, staring up at the ceiling fan as it spun. "All I want to do is make people laugh..." His eyes closed and within ten minutes, he was fast asleep, supper forgotten.

I I I

So how you guys think of this so far? I'm hoping to have another chapter up soon, maybe a bit longer. Poor Jack just cannot get a break....