Okay, This is the first chapter. There's no Joker as this is pretty much a prologue, it's basically introducing Vivian and giving a few hints as to her origins. I have three or four chapters already typed up and I'll be posting them soon. Enjoy.

CF.

To say it was exhausting would be an understatement. For three days I worked like hell to cut a part of my personality away from myself and hide it in a box in my head. The barriers I put in place to keep it there took hours to construct.

Mostly they consisted of memories. Parts of my past that I didn't want to face or that would remind me of why that little bit of me was no longer aloud out to play. There were also a few riddles and brain teasers thrown in just to slow the whole process down.

But that was the point. I could break the barriers down and retrieve that part of myself and the process would be relatively simple, but it would also take a while. 10-15 minutes if my calculations were correct, which they usually there. The idea was that I couldn't call upon that part of myself by instinct or in panic. She couldn't make an appearance unless I wanted her to.

It'd been five years since I last set foot in this city, something the Gotham police department hadn't failed to notice. Today was the court hearing in which it was assumed I would be declared dead. Fun huh? My brother was in attendance, along with that slime ball that runs his company. I stretched my legs happily. Time to make an entrance.

"I'm sorry Mr Wayne, but your sister has been missing for five years and although you weren't present during the investigation I can assure you that everything possible was done to find her. If she was alive we would have discovered some trace of her. As it is we have nothing."

A police officer was talking nervously at the front of the court room, addressing Bruce who was stood facing him with his fists clenched. William Earle, the CEO of Wayne Enterprises and an absolute dick put a hand on my brother's shoulder and adopted a fake sorrowful expression.

"Look Bruce. I know you loved your sister, but there simply isn't anything to be done that hasn't already tried. We don't want your sister to be gone, I'd give anything to see her walk in here today but that just isn't going to happen."

With an introduction like that how could I resist?

"Really? Anything?" My voice carried across the court room and people turned in shock. As people began to recognise me questions were suddenly shouted from all sides. I could just make out Bruce's shocked voice carrying over the crowd.

"Vivian?" I smiled happily at him. Bruce left two years before I did, to see him again was a breath of fresh air and one of the reasons I'd returned to Gotham at all. He knocked his chair over in his haste to reach me and scooped me up in a bear hug, spinning me around and laughing uncontrollably.

"I think that sort of renders this hearing useless. Court dismissed." The Judge disappeared but the crowd in the court room remained. As soon as Bruce put me down a different set of arms engulfed me.

"Alfred!" I cried out, happy to see the old butler once more.

"Alfred, if you could perhaps bring the car around I think the press may be a little interested in us and I'd like to get Vivian home." Ah my brother. I'd missed him so much.

"Of course Master Wayne, I'll bring it around to the side entrance; there'll probably be a little less press around there." I grinned at him as he turned to go and Bruce and I spent the next few minutes talking to relative strangers who kept acting like we were the best of friends. How irksome.

"Come on Viv, we better get moving." Less press around the side. It sounded like a good plan except that all the reporters recognised Alfred and immediately threw themselves at the side entrance. I was glad I chose to look my best for today because I had my photo taken a couple of hundred times.

I was wearing a casual black dress with a flowing black skirt that reached my knees and heeled strappy black sandals. My hair had dried perfectly into spiralling waves and curls and after being reunited with Bruce my smile was easy and genuine.

Dozens of questions about my whereabouts were thrown at me in that short walk to the car and I knew Bruce would have similar questions as soon as we got home. The car journey mostly consisted of us both repeatedly catching each other's eyes and grinning happily.

"Where are we going? Wayne Manor's that way." I pointed down the turn off that we'd just passed. It was Bruce that answered me.

"Erm yes, about that. It sort of burnt down." I stared at him.

"What? When?"

"Three days ago, but don't worry, I'm rebuilding it I promise and until then Alfred has found me a penthouse apartment. It's got tons of spare bedrooms so pick one and we'll get it redecorated and stuff." I raised an eyebrow at him.

"How exactly did it burn down?"

"It's not exactly obvious at this moment in time what the cause of the fire was." The expression on my face didn't change.

"It wasn't me." He almost squeaked and I laughed at him before looking seriously at him.

"You better had rebuild it Bruce, that home is our heritage. Only this time can there be a swimming pool?" He grinned at me.

"Now we're talking." He told me and I could almost hear Alfred's eyes rolling in the front of the car.

Bruce's apartment was all swank and luxury. I instantly loved it.

"Right, you can pick a room, sleep, watch a movie, shower, anything but tomorrow I want to talk okay Vivian?" I stared at my brother.

"I'd rather just do it now." He nodded and gestured towards the kitchen table and we sat. Alfred placed a glass of orange juice in front of each of us and a plate of pastries in the middle of the table before making to leave.

"Come back Alfred, you deserve to hear this." I called out to him and he returned and pulled up a chair.

"When I left, I was a stupid twelve year old that thought her life was terrible. I didn't consider what it would do to my loved ones or what the hell I was going to do once I was outside Gotham. It was stupid. My only excuse is that I was 12." I turned to Bruce.

"What was yours?" He simply shrugged at me. I carried on with my story.

"My brother had disappeared, my parents were dead and all I had left was Alfred and Rachel. So being the self absorbed little girl that I was, I ran away. No I wasn't kidnapped, I just left. It was surprisingly easy. I had a little money enough to get a train to the airport. From there it was all luck; I managed to sneak on to a flight to the UK by pretending to be a part of a large family group."

"That worked?" Bruce sounded disbelieving which was a little annoying because this part of my story was actually true.

"Surprisingly, yes. We landed in a city called Liverpool and from there I snuck on board a ferry to Ireland. That was much easier because all I had to do was hide in a car. After that I just ended up wandering for a while until a family took me in. I'd been with them since then when it was announced on the news that billionaire Bruce Wayne had returned to Gotham. At that point I packed my bags and returned home."

"That's hardly the full story Miss Vivian." Alfred's steady voice brought me back to reality.

"I'm sorry Alfred but that's all you're getting. That part of my life is over now. I'm sorry for putting you through such worry over me but I can promise it won't happen again. I'm not going anywhere. Gotham is my home and God knows I've missed it." It was Bruce's turn to speak up.

"Alright, you don't have to tell me anything you don't want to, but know this; there are certain parts of my absence that I won't be sharing with you either. This isn't because I'm petty it's because some parts I just want to keep to myself so I respect your privacy Viv because I feel the same way." I smiled at him in thanks.

"How long have you been back in Gotham?" I decided to answer Bruce's question honestly.

"Maybe four days."

"Maybe four days? Why didn't you return sooner?"

"I was plucking up the courage I guess. It all seemed a little scary."

"Wait, four days? That means you were here when the toxin was spread about the city! Were you okay? What happened?" Bruce suddenly looked really worried.

"I was fine, not much happened where I was." Oops, that was a complete lie. A lot of things happened.

Flashback

Gotham City. The Narrows to be precise, actually I'm not sure if that's technically part of Gotham, being a separate island and all. Anyway, that's not really the point. The point was that I was back. Back home. Almost. I'm not making much sense am I? I do apologise, that's been happening more and more often recently. I had better just get on with the story.

I looked around at the filthy streets and the druggies in the corner and raised an eyebrow. Perhaps it wasn't the best idea to return. There were certainly better places to bury oneself and begin again than Gotham city. But what the hell, home was home and despite the filth and the poverty I was still glad to be back.

I glanced up at Arkham Asylum before hurriedly passing by the gate and covering my face with my hair. For the next few days that was the aim of the game. Don't get noticed, don't get recognised and whatever the hell you do, don't get thrown into Arkham. When you're me that's easier said than done.

I had to lie low for three days tops while I sorted out a few personality traits that would otherwise get me thrown into the loony bin. Simple, then I could go home, start my life again and actually live for once instead of just surviving.

I reached the bridge to central Gotham just as the police decided to raise them up, completely isolating the Narrows. This wasn't good. I whipped around and ran towards an officer that was supervising the operation. I ensured my blonde hair covered my features and caught his attention.

"Excuse me Officer but what's going on?"

He turned to look at me, sweating profusely.

"I'm sorry ma'am that's confidential; I assure you that the situation is completely under cont-"

I cut him off before he could insult my intelligence any further.

"Sir I can plainly see that the situation isn't under control or you wouldn't be raising the bridges. Look at me. I'm not scared, I'm not stupid, I'm calmly asking you what the issue is and I would really appreciate some honesty. I assure you I'm not going to run off in a mad panic."

He looked at me for a moment.

"It's the prisoners of Arkham, they've escaped."

"How many?" I asked.

"All of them ma'am." The man looked like he was about to collapse in fear and I realised I would get nothing more out of him so I walked away quickly, disappearing into the maze of alleys.

I figured I could help. One last bit of fun wasn't going to hurt before I locked that part of me away in my pretty little head. I grinned manically. One more game to win, then I got to retire back to my old life.

One thing about the Narrows is that it really lives up to its name. Narrow alleys lead to narrower alleys in a confusing maze that no one could navigate if they weren't Narrows born and bred. I wasn't familiar with it but luckily I didn't intend to escape the labyrinth in that manner.

I found a small corner and stripped down to my underwear before tugging open my bag and strapping Kevlar pads to my torso and thighs. Next I pulled out a simple black t-shirt and black high waisted jeans which quickly covered the pads. I laced up my military boots and pulled on a pair of simple black leather gloves. I hadn't gone to all the trouble of concealing my identity only to leave my prints at what would become one massive crime scene.

Finally I set about concealing knives and the odd small gun upon my person before I zipped up the almost empty bag and threw it over my shoulder. I looked up at the night sky and let that manic grin cover my face once again. Game on.

I jumped high, my fingertips catching a thin ledge in one of the walls surrounding me. I pulled my legs up high and using said wall as leverage, somersaulted backwards onto the opposite roof. I let out a ringing peal of laughter at the joy of such an action and began running in the direction of Arkham, jumping from roof to roof enjoying the wind in my hair.

My euphoria was short lived as I noticed a gas creeping towards me and the moment I smelt the sickly scent I knew we were in trouble. The double bloomed blue poppy grew on the slopes of the Himalayas and when burnt produced a hallucinogenic gas. I'd been inoculated a few years back but the population of the Narrows was about to get a little crazy. I doubled my speed, the manic laughter silenced as I pushed forward, desperate to help.

Finally I jumped down and landed in front of a guy in an orange jumpsuit. Judging by the previously mentioned jumpsuit, the manic look in his eyes and the knife in his hand I think it was fair to guess this guy was one of Arkham's fine residents. He lunged at me but it was simple to sidestep him, break his arm and knock him out with a quick hit to the base of his skull.

I moved on, running steadily towards the source of the gas. It appeared to be coming from the water supply which confused me greatly. I swung around a corner only to swing right back again eyes wide.

I had not just seen that. That was not Ra's Al Ghul, that couldn't be Ra's Al Ghul. I peeked around the corner. Crap, it was actually him. Like the real him. Not that pawn he pretends is him. I looked again, this time my attention drawn to a machine he was in the process of moving. My blood ran cold.

Ra's Al Ghul at somehow got his hands on a microwave emitter. When placed on the right frequency I'd seen what that could do to human flesh. It wasn't pretty. As it was he appeared to be using it to vaporise the water supply so I could probably assume the toxin was in the water supply. Brilliant.

I debated my options. If that spread to the city the people would be driven mad by fear. I couldn't let that happen. My brother was there. The only family I had left. So I had to stop them. How? With all the bridges cut off his only option was the monorail so I had to get on that train. But he was surrounded by men. I could take maybe three of the League of Shadows on my own but with Ra's Al Ghul there I didn't have a chance.

The answer to my problem arrived in the form of an idiot wearing a bat suit. Don't ask. I'd heard of the Batman, who hadn't? But to see him in the flesh I was struck by how idiotic he looked. I shrugged it off. Help was help; I had no time to be choosey.

He took care of the lackeys so I rain flat out towards the train, not bothering with the League of Shadows ridiculous pulley system I leapt up one of the supports and climbed quickly up to the train. I slipped in through an open window and found myself in a carriage behind the microwave emitter and the self righteous assassin.

Remembering that this was my last chance for a bit of fun I pulled my iPod out of my bag, led on one of the benches with my head dangling off the edge and my legs going up the wall and picked out Greenday's 'Boulevard of Broken Dreams' As I felt the train began to move I began to sing along happily.

"My shadow's only one that walks beside me, my shallow heart's the only thing that's beat-" I stopped as the assassin stepped into my view and barely suppressed a giggle at the image he must be seeing.

A beautiful 17 year old girl, with unruly blonde curls and deep blue eyes, dark makeup, black form fitting clothes and a killer smile. Led almost upside down on a train, singing as the world went to hell around her. I imagine I was quite a riddle.

I pulled an earphone from my ear.

"Yes?" I asked him in my most innocent voice. He looked startled.

"What are you doing here? How did you get on here?" He was getting angrier but I figured I had time for one last dig before he pulled a gun on me.

"This is public transport pal. Public. As in anyone can use it." I flashed him a grin and went to replace my earphone; I'd forgotten how much I loved this song. He pulled a gun and I knew without a shadow of a doubt that he was about to pull the trigger.

I twisted sideways as the shot rang out and the bullet buried itself in the chair where my head had been a fraction of a second ago. Straightening up I hit the catch on his gun causing the magazine to fall out and I kicked it away quickly. The look of surprise on his face was priceless.

"Now honey, that wasn't very nice. And it's only the first date, tut tut."

Using the handles on the ceiling as leverage I kicked him hard with both legs, one hitting him in the centre of the chest the other in the neck. He went flying backwards but grabbed my ankle as he went causing my arm to wrench out of its socket as I attempted to maintain my hold.

I gritted my teeth against the pain and while he struggled for breath I concentrated on pushing my shoulder back into the joint. I let out a scream of pain then a sigh of relief as my arm became functional again.

Unfortunately he was quicker than me; grabbing me by the hair he hoisted me to my feet before placing his hands around my neck. This man was a professional; he wasn't going to waste time strangling me when it was much quicker and easier to break my neck. I moved fast, flipping backwards, breaking his hold and forcing his arms out wide. I yanked a knife from its hiding place beneath my waist band and thrust it towards his unprotected chest.

He blocked it though and the knife caught his arm, drawing blood and causing him to curse.

"Who are you? Why are you here?" He looked at me with a furious expression and I backed up a few paces before answering him.

"I'm Lola, I guess. But I won't be for long. And as to why I'm here I'm just passing through. How about you? What's your beef with Gotham?" He looked confused. In his defence I hadn't really made much sense.

"My beef?"

"Your problem, what's your problem with Gotham?" He looked at me warily.

"The city is corrupt; the people here have no life. There system is irreparable and the people irredeemable. It must be allowed to die." I stared at him for a moment before I began laughing manically.

"Did you consider, in all your wisdom that perhaps that was simply not your decision to make? People chose to live here my friend, if they don't like it they can always leave."

"What those people down there lead aren't lives. They'd be better off dead."

"That's probably not the way they'd see it mate. If it was they'd probably have jumped off a building already. Gotham has a surprisingly low suicide rate. Why? Because we like it here. We're all seduced by the dark city, my question is, how does this affect you?" the look of shock on his face was laughable.

"I cannot sit by and let innocents suffer."

"Oh yeah, because forcing them to tear each other to pieces won't make them suffer at all." Note the sarcasm here. I knew before we engaged in this argument that I wasn't going to change his mind but it was fun to rile him up and challenge his views. His response went straight over my head as I concentrated on the microwave emitter behind him.

"Hmm. I prefer peanut butter personally." It was a distraction technique I'd picked up a while back. You say something random and they get confused, then you kill them, or in this case, vault over them and examine the deadly machine behind them.

I had seconds before he pulled me away but it was enough for me to determine that there was no actual way of stopping the machine. Not without me going inside it which didn't seem likely considering that I didn't bring a saw with me.

I was debating my options and he was almost within punching distance when Gotham's resident bat decided to make an appearance. I admired his dramatic entrance of smashing through a window before deciding to make myself scarce. I highly doubted my morals and those of the Batman were compatible. Besides, there was obviously something wrong with the man's head.

I pulled a gun and shot the window behind me before turning to the Batman, face still hidden by my hair and giving him a mock salute.

"Good luck!" I shouted at him before flipping backwards out of the window and catching the rail just beneath it. A few more elaborate jumps and catches later my feet hit solid ground and I straightened up. What can I say? Free running has its perks.

Looking around myself I realised I wasn't actually sure of my location. I shrugged. What did it matter? I pointed my finger in a random direction.

"That way looks fun." My manic grin made a final appearance as I bounded off.

"Hey Vivian! Hey! You with us? You sort of spaced out on us." Bruce was clicking his fingers in front of my face,

"Sorry, just thinking about stuff. Can I get that bed I was offered now?"

"It's just down the hall on your right." I thanked Alfred and wandered off.

Unknown to me in the room I'd just left the conversation continued.

"I'm not even sure I want her in Gotham Alfred, it's just not safe here. Gordon gave me this to follow up a few nights ago. There's a psychopath that leaves these as calling cards. He calls himself the Joker and from what I've seen of his work he's not going to stop at robbing a few banks."

"Look Master Wayne, as much as I hate to sound snobby, this is highly unlikely to affect her. She moves in the highest social circles and this man and other men like him are unlikely to get anywhere near her. That's just the way the world works."

"I know, but I can't help but worry. What's she been doing for the past five years Alfred? Do I even know her anymore?"

"Maybe not, but she's here to stay and you might find it more beneficial to stop worrying about the past and start thinking about the future. You may not know her anymore Master Wayne but you've got all the time in the world to befriend her again. Once you do you may find that she's not as different as you thought."

By the time my brother and Alfred had finished their conversation I was already fast asleep in a king size bed. Like I said, the past few days had been exhausting.

-xCFx-

Aaah, aren't prologues beautiful. Actually they're a little boring to write so I threw in some batman begins to spice things up. Have fun.

CF.