1. THE TALK

The city was evacuated three hours ago; the police and press helicopters flew around the city looking to help The Batman, or give their station a good live feed to broadcast of another battle between The Joker and Batman.

One of the helicopters made a nasty turn that almost sent it through a building and the other helicopters followed it down to Crime Alley. The reason the man took such a big risk is because he saw a flash of green running and the only direction he could be going in was Crime Alley.

The man with the green hair was running to Crime Alley for a reason. The Batman had stopped him, it took him a while but he got there, and now he was leading him to where it all began. The Bat did not know where that was, he had a plethora of ideas about where it started but today he was going to see. Today The Joker was going to break The Batman for good. Today Gotham would lose its symbol. Today would be a new day.

The helicopters surrounded The Joker and the spotlight was on him. Noise came in from all around: the police telling him to stop, the journalist shouting questions over the sound of the helicopters and The Batman fast approaching. The green haired man savoured the moment and said nothing.

The batmobile was five minutes out and Batman knew The Joker wanted him to go to Crime Alley but he did not know why. He went anyway, if it were some kind of trap, at least he would be even more on his guard, that's better than walking in blind.

"Penny-One, he's not doing anything," Batman said.

"It appears not, sir." Alfred replied.

"What is he doing? He's acting like he's already won, like he planned every move I made. What's his endgame?" He wasn't sure if he expected an answer.

The Batman got out of the batmobile and went straight for The Joker but he saw it coming and ran into a nearby building. He ran up the stairs to the third floor and ran down the hallway to apartment 3C. The building was abandoned and the walls were dark and the smelled of mold. The Joker stood in the middle of the room and waited for The Bat to burst in, which he did.

Batman was not quick to fight him this time around, he still didn't know what The Joker wanted and what he wanted was to find out what The Joker had planned.

"What are you up to Joker?" Batman tried to be direct.

"I'll tell you Batsss," he started.

The Joker turned around, walked to the window, and looked at a theatre across the street. The theatre was being renovated and turned into a cinema. When Bruce was younger and Crime Alley was called Park Row, the theatre was home to some of the greatest shows, especially operas. Bruce was aware of it, as he always is when he's around it; he had, however, assumed that his encounter with the Joker would have nothing to do with it. So why was he looking at it? Why did Joker care about it? Why was it significant? Did Joker know?

The shock on Batman's face was evident even with the cowl hiding most of it.

"Please have a seat, turn off your mobile phones and enjoy this evenings entertainment: The Clown Prince of Crime – it's based on a true story you know." The Joker started to laugh, the sound cut through the room and some officers claimed to have heard it over the helicopters, the police in Gotham were terrified of The Joker and pretending not to be was a means of coping.

"What is this about?" The Bat tried again.

"Like most stories, this one is a tragic one; one of loss. My dear Bat, it all started when I was a boy living in Gotham, not really Gotham but close enough to say I grew up here. It was an uncharacteristically pleasant day in the city andI had just skipped school to roam around the city and was found by a policeman who took me to the station and called my parents. I sat there, in the belly of the beast, and I waited for them. We were meant to see a show that night and we did. They weren't too upset about me skipping school, in case you were wondering, it was my first time you know?" he paused to walk from one end of the room to another. There was smile on his face that went beyond his usual scary expression, there was more there, satisfaction?

(end of chapter one)