A single playing card. A Joker.
He recognized the calling card. He'd seen it in history cubes. To the more respectable citizens of Gotham, it was an omen.
To Ghoul, it was a sign.
Woof, his best (and so far only) friend, crept closer, staring inquisitively at the card. Ghoul turned it over, staring at his name scrawled in red felt-tip on the back.
"This might be our big chance, Woof." He said, turning the card over and over. "This might be our chance."
The abandoned factory loomed above them menacingly. Woof gave him a look that seemed to say, Are you sure?
Truth be told, he wasn't, but he was stubborn. He wasn't about to turn back now. Instead, he walked up to the smaller door beside the delivery doors and, trying to stop his hand from shaking, opened it.
Everyone turned to look at them.
There was a big guy with grey skin and a mean look on his face, a stout man wearing what looked to be a pink leotard and a clown mask, and twin girls with heavy makeup covering their faces and red hair (or were they wigs? He couldn't tell).
Willing himself not to vomit, Ghoul strode forward with as much confidence as he could muster, Woof following at a cautious pace. As he closed in on the group, he held his basket tightly, ready to go for one of his many 'treats' if one of them tried to start something. None of them did, which was a relief, and they stopped staring at him. He exhaled the breath he'd been holding in.
"Well, we've got quite the party here."
Everyone turned to look at the shadowed figure, unnoticed in his stillness until now, sitting at the end of the lone table in the room. Ghoul got a horrible chill at the sound of his voice. He was glad to see he wasn't the only one.
"Hm? What's this? 1, 2, 3...I count 6 guests, but I only sent out 5 invitations." The figure said. "One of us here is a party crasher. Now, who could it be? Eenie, meanie, miney, mo!"
A long white finger landed on Woof.
Everyone turned to look at the hyena-hybrid, who, in fear, yelped and jumped behind Ghoul. Ghoul gulped as everyone looked at him. His hand darted for his pumpkin, because he knew there was no way he could win in a fair fight and he wasn't about to let anyone get at Woof. He realized now that bringing him was a bad idea, but it didn't feel right to leave him behind. All they had at this point was each other.
As his hand closed around a smoke grenade, a peal of laughter broke the silence. Laughter that could melt flesh. Everyone turned back towards the shadowed figure, a new fear reflected in their eyes.
Ghoul recognized the laugh from the same history cubes as the card. It was credited as the laughter that brought Gotham to its knees almost half a century ago.
He'd been invited here by the Joker, a man who'd been dead since before his parents had been born.
"Don't fret, kiddies. A few party crashers can make it all the more fun." The Joker said. "So, Ghoul m'boy, who's your interesting looking friend?" Ghoul suppressed a chill as the Joker's attention fell on him.
"This is Woof." was the only introduction he gave. The Joker seemed to accept that, and no one else asked any questions, though he could tell they wanted to.
Ghoul didn't know what was going to happen next, but he had a feeling that he had gotten himself and Woof into a lot of trouble. After all, they were working for the Joker. But what else could they do? It was either this, or back to living on the streets.
Ghoul sighed, and he and Woof took their places with their new teammates.