"Got it?" Three young women sat atop a large building, cloaked by the darkness of the night. One was bent over a glass window, busily working on it. The other two watched her; one looking slightly anxious, the other impatient.
Her long red hair fell partially over her face as she looked up and glanced at the one who asked.
"I'm working on it," she hissed to the one with light blue hair. The blue-haired girl sighed and looked at the third member of their group.
"What does he want here, anyway? I feel so generic breaking into a museum. Since when did he start stealing Catwoman's heist ideas? God, he's crazy…."
"He's not crazy!" the purple-haired girl said indignantly. "He wants the precious amethyst stone that was just sent here."
"And stealing a gem, too?! This gets worse by the second… What the hell does he need an amethyst stone for? He doesn't need the money, surely?" the blue-haired girl continued.
"Just because you're too stupid to understand his ingenious plans…" the purple-haired girl replied scathingly. They glared daggers at each other as they heard a soft "Pop!"
"Shut the hell up, you two!" the redhead growled. "I cut the glass, so one of you needs to go down their first while the other watches the monitor up here with me. The blue-haired girl volunteered easily. "Whatever… Climb down the rope, she'll shut off the security systems momentarily, you break the case, grab the stone, and I'll pull your ass back up here. Got it?" She nodded and began to climb down the rope that had been lowered into the museum from the hole in the glass.
"Hello, ladies," a deep voice said above them.
"Shit! It's the Bat!" the redhead cursed. A smoke bomb exploded, blinding the two girls and making them cough. Chick-chick-BOOM! A shotgun bullet rang out, clearing a path in the smoke. The redhead held the shotgun, aiming it in the haze and reloaded it. Chick-chick-
"Agh!" The redhead landed with a thud as a cloaked man brought her to the ground from behind. The purple-haired girl shrieked and shot a series of machine gun bullets that zoomed past the man, barely missing as he jumped and flipped to dodge them.
The blue-haired girl landed softly in the museum and ran quickly to the display case, knowing from the gunshots that she had very little time. Instead of carefully breaking the class like she normally would have, she grabbed a pistol from her side and smashed open the case. WEE-OOH! WEE-OOH! The alarm sounded, just as she knew it would. But it didn't matter; their biggest problem was already on the roof.
"What's the matter?" the purple-haired girl asked, smiling. "Don't you like to dance?" She fired off a few more rounds as the cloaked man tried to avoid them. The redhead was already on her feet, aiming once again. He was certainly outnumbered and it looked as though he had no weapons. Chick-chick-BOOM!
"Shit! Missed!" Chick-chick-BOOM! Chick-chick-BOOM!. More machine rounds came at him and he narrowly avoided the last shotgun bullet that was fired. Fwooh! A grappling gun shot at the redhead and zoomed past her.
"Heh," she smirked and aimed the shotgun again. "'Bye, Bats!" He flew, the grappling gun pulling him towards her, and knocked her off her feet, the shotgun bullet barely missing him.
"Ugh!" he crashed to the floor and rolled on the ground, clutching his shoulder- a machine bullet had gotten him. The redhead took advantage of the wounded man and pounced on him, punching his head violently from side to side.
The blue-haired girl climbed slowly up the rope, cursing the masked man's appearance. It would have been so much easier for her partner to have pulled her up. The large amethyst stone sat safely in her pouch. She just hoped they'd be able to escape before the cops came.
"Oh, shit."
"Drop to the ground, NOW!" A dozen police officers swarmed in and aimed their guns at her warningly.
"But I'm afraid I'll hurt myself if I fall from this height," the girl called mockingly. A warning shot flew past her. "Alright, alright!" she yelled. "Let me climb down. Jesus!" She reached her arm down to grab hold of the rope, but then pulled out a small, round object, clicked a button that made it blink, and hurled it down at the police. The ground below her exploded as the officers tried to move out of the way. The girl climbed hurriedly up the rope and jumped out into the open.
The man kicked the redhead and threw a bat-shaped shuriken at the purple-haired girl, making her drop her machine gun in pain as it hit her hand. He caught sight of a streak of blue hair as the other girl sprinted away, the pouch on her side bouncing lightly upon her thigh. Realizing the she had something of value, he ran at her and aimed a punch. She narrowly dodged it, following through with her own. They exchanged a series of blows as the man hit her jaw, snatching the pouch from her waist.
"No!" The other two ran at him and the three girls teamed up. They fought him, working together flawlessly. He had a difficulty avoiding and blocking them. The purple-haired girl aimed a punch for the cloaked man's face, as he blocked it with his arm, a knife popped out of her sleeve and she sliced his wrist through a small opening between his armored glove and sleeve. Preoccupied with his wound, he was not able to block the elbow to his face from the blue-haired girl. The redhead snatched the pouch from his hands and punched the man, sending him flying.
"Let's go, idiots!" the redhead yelled. They ran towards the edge of the roof and jumped. The man recovered and ran to the edge, looking down. Suddenly a purple helicopter rose into the sky. The three girls sat in it carelessly. The redhead stood against the wall, arms folded, looking both irritated and bored. The blue-haired girl sat on the edge, legs dangling, and smiled at the man. The purple-haired girl sat in the cockpit next to a peculiar man. He had slicked-back, green hair, a white face, and wore a purple and green suit with a wide, red smile. He cackled maniacally, holding the stone in his hand and admiring it.
"Thanks for the amethyst stone, Batman! It matches my suit so well, doesn't it?" he taunted, still laughing as the helicopter took off.
Batman watched it silently as his cape billowed in the wind. The police swarmed on the rooftop behind him.
"Where are they, Batman?!" Batman looked back at the men.
"Gone, Gordon," he replied curtly, frustration well-hidden within his voice. He appeared as calm as ever. He clutched at his shoulder as it throbbed painfully from the bullet.
"Dammit! They escaped again." The commissioner sighed, exhausted, taking off his glasses and putting his fingers to his temple. "We don't even know who they are or who they're affiliated with- if anyone."
"Actually, we know both," Batman replied coolly
"What?" said Gordon, baffled.
"The girls were kind enough to leave a note," he said, handing Commissioner Gordon a playing card. Gordon studied it. It was a Joker card. In the spaces it read:
Thanks from: Flame, Fox, Kitten, and The Joker.
Gordon placed the card in a plastic bag and handed it over to an officer.
"Get this over to forensics immediately and check for prints and DNA." The man nodded and took off. "Not that it's likely we'll find anything…" he muttered. "The Joker has a remarkable knack for not leaving any evidence… and I doubt this time it'll be much different, even with three others included. But one can hope, eh?" Batman stared silently at him. He continued. "Well, this does complicate matters. The Joker is usually known for working alone. If he ever uses associates, they're usually low-level thugs. Just pawns to him. These girls seem like high-class criminals."
"That card makes me think that these girls are more than just pawns to the Joker. They almost seem like… partners. They must have some connection to him. He wouldn't share his power so easily. I'll look into my archive for suspects. If we do end up catching one of them, they could be used to get information on him. He's still our top priority. Keep your eyes out, Gordon." Gordon glanced behind him to the officers.
"Do you think that they could be more dangerous than he is?" He looked back in front of him. Batman had vanished. Gordon sighed. "He's always doing that.."