A/N: I've been reading a lot a Batman fics lately and I was compelled to write somethingfrom the Batman universe. So this little one-shot was born.
Gothem was a very dangerous place, always has been. But that didn't stop me and Jack, to our ten-year-old minds, the world was our play ground. So it should be no surprise to anybody, that our favorite place to play, was in the slums of Gothem. But then again, they weren't the slums to us, they were our home.
Jack and I live on the streets mostly, although Jack has a mom, we knew better then to go anywhere near her unless it was an absolute emergency. So, we mostly just slept at any shelter we could find. Jack was very good at cards, so sometimes at night, he would go to the casino, The Black Jack. To make us some money by playing against the people from the- better places in Gothem. I didn't have such luck, but I was good at sowing, so I worked at a little tailor shop whenever I could. Sometimes they would throw away the really ugly cloth that nobody wants, so I would take them home and make cloths for me and Jack- I made him a purple suit once.
Today was Sunday, and the tailor shop never opened on Sunday, and Jack didn't need to go to the casino until late, so we decided to play at the park. When we got there, some rich brats were having a party. I was going to leave, but Jack was frustrated.
He was always frustrated, but I can't blame him, I am too. It wasn't fair, that those chubby brats and their brown nosed parents were throwing a party in the park, when that money could be going to a local charity. Not that that money would ever help anybody, I knew, the money those so called charities were taking in were really going into some rich guys pocket, making him even richer.
So Jack decided to have some fun, I agreed. There was a man cleaning the windows across the street, so we swiped some bleach from his supplies, and made our way back to the party. The birthday brat was unwrapping her presents, so Jack and I poured some of the bleach in the big pitcher of water. We smiled at each other, that would teach them. But we weren't done yet, we knew some of the party guest would come unscathed because they already had their drinks, so we took some of the fireworks the brat's parents had hidden away for the end of the party.
These people were stupid, you didn't stay out after dark in Gothem unless you had too, especially not for fireworks. Jack and I popped the tops of the fireworks open, and screwed thing around a bit in there. Then we put them back. Now our work was done, so we left the park, and found an alleyway to play in.
The next morning Jack swiped a newspaper from the news stand while I was at the tailor's and handed it to me before he went to the casino for the night. We were both smiling, revenge on those rich greedy party attendants felt good, real good.
Next Sunday, we played at the local chemical factory, but we made a mistake. Jack slipped. We couldn't afford a hospital by ourselves, so I took Jack to his mother. Jack got fired for not coming to work for a month.
One day, when I went to go find Jack at his mother's home, my now pale, green-haired friend's was no where to be found. The police had found out Jack was apart of the park episode, so he was in an Asylum for kids right now. It was years before Jack escaped (having by then been transfered to the Arkham Asylum) but when he did, he took fun to a whole new level. He became the Joker.