First Site

"Welcome to Gotham Miss Woods."

"Indeed, welcome Lara."

I sighed. That was all anyone ever did here; greet me. No one would say anything else, they would just move on past, after saying their traditional "Hello, and welcome to the dullest town on earth!" Well, dull a few months ago. After Batman had disappeared, things had only gotten worse. Especially since the Joker had gotten loose. After almost three months in captivity, he had just recently escaped. That was why I was here. I had just finished my course in university to become a detective, or cop. I was hoping to get the case of the Joker, so I could learn more about him. It seemed he had no alias, and there were no records of his past; no clue as to who he was and where he came from. This was what I was hoping to find out. I wanted to know everything about him. Since I had heard about him back in Chicago, it had become my dream to crack the case that was the Joker.

I walked down the street, and turned a corner in time to see a large crowd of people standing around something. I could hear curses and screaming from somewhere within the mob. I pushed my way through the crowd of people, until I came upon the source of all the commotion.

There, pinned to the ground by three officers, was the Joker. He was writhing uncontrollably, trying to get free from his captors. He threw his head from side to side, screaming all the while. I was horrified; all I could do was stand there. His face was chalk white, and his eyes were black, much like mine, surrounded by black makeup. However, it was his mouth that scared me the most. He had horrible scars that ran up to his cheekbones on either side, and they were red, the color of blood, as were his lips. It looked as though he was always smiling, even though he was screaming curse words at the cops to let him go. I could hardly stand it, watching him yell like that. I was about to turn away, when someone caught my shoulder. I looked up into the face of an aged police officer. I recognized him as Jim Gordon, the commissioner. He smiled tiredly at me.

"Evening Lara, it's nice to see you got here safely. I'm sorry you had to see, well, this." He gestured to the Joker, who was still struggling, only weakly this time. Then his head smacked the pavement, and he began to groan in annoyance.

I looked back at Gordon. "It's no problem Sir, really. I was actually hoping to see him in person. Do you remember that e-mail I sent you a few weeks ago? Asking about the case?"



Gordon sighed, "Yes, I remember. I think it's too dangerous Lara. I don't want you getting hurt. I've seen your grades from your university, and we can't afford someone as intelligent as yourself to be harmed by someone by the likes of him."

I nodded, "I appreciate your concern commissioner, but I really want this case! I want to know why the Hell he's so insane!"

He put his hand on my shoulder again. "We've all tried already Lara, trust me, he's too difficult to read."

I pulled away, "At least give me one shot! I'll prove to you I can do it! I'll be fine. Just keep him in a barred cell, and I can sit outside of it, and talk to him through there! Please!?"

Gordon sighed, "Fine. You have one week. That's all you get."

I stared at him. "What if that isn't enough time?"

"If you get enough information out of him in a week, you'll get more time, okay?"

I sighed, "Okay, that's agreeable. I'll do it!"

We shook hands. "Okay Lara, we're going to get him back to headquarters now. I'll give you a ride there, and we'll discuss your plans. Your case can start tomorrow, if that's alright?"

I grinned, "That's perfect, thank you!" I then turned to look at the Joker again, and felt my blood freeze. He was looking right at me, with eyes so similar to mine. He held my gaze for a moment, and then a twisted smile formed on his lips, he threw his green haired head back and he began to giggle, then the giggle turned into a laugh, then a cackle, and finally a howl of mirth. I took a step backwards in fear. Gordon signalled one of the men, who promptly clubbed the Joker over the back of the head, and he went out like a light.

I watched as they loaded him into the back of their van, and felt a slight stab of pity. I didn't know if I was going to be able to get any information out of him, but maybe, just perhaps, I could get a look at his heart…