Circus Initiation
Chapter One.
My ass was going numb..I was sitting on this frozen bus bench for that long. I may not have known a damn thing about Gotham but it wasn't a good sign that my second bus was late. Try half an hour late. The moon was high in the sky and the street was absoutely deserted so I just sat still and clutched my pepper spray can in my jacket pocket. Brushing my long, dark hair behind my shoulders, I looked up and down the still empty street. I jumped out of my skin when a mother and her young daughter rushed past me. The little girl dropped her toy and I bent to pick it up.
"Wait!" I called to them. They were now under the only street light dimly lit on the sidewalk. They paused and I reached them with a smile. "You dropped your doll." I said to the little girl.
"Thank you." The exhausted sounding mom said..until they got a good look at my face. Shit. They took the toy and walked away quickly. I bit my lip but didn't cover the angry red scar on the right side of my face. Don't let it bother you, Alex.
I spun and sat back on the bench running my hands through my hair nervously.
"People fear what they don't understand." Came a throaty growl from the shadows. I tried to hide my scar behind my hair but not before the man in the hat and jacket had gotten an eyeful. He sat next to me on the bench. He was a larger man with wide shoulders most of him was hidden in shadow. I dared a glance at him from behind my protective veil of hair.
"Are you waiting for the bus, too?" I asked kindly.
"I'm waiting for a great many thingss." He..giggled? I inwardly groaned..it would be my to get stuck next to a drunk at almost midnight. I fell silent while cursing the late bus.
"Did I frighten you?" His throaty tone suggested he was teasing me, which I didn't appreciate.
"People fear what they don't understand." I quoted him quietly while never taking my eyes off the concrete. He giggled again.
"True! Headed to Gotham, hmm? Would it have anything to do with your face?" It surprised me that this random stranger would ask me that question so openly. He was bold and straightforward.
"Accident. My uncle lives in Gotham, he's the only family I have left." No need to tell him my Uncle was Bruce Wayne, one of the richest men in the city. "Are you going to Gotham, too?" I asked.
"Afraid I'll..ssitt next to you?" He hissed a little and the sound sent a cold chill down my back.
"Actually, it's nice to talk to someone who won't judge appearance." I answered truthfully. "I'm Alex, by the way."
"Alex." He tried my name out, his voice was still that throaty growl. "I am heading to Gotham..to visit an old friend..start a little chaos."
"Sounds..fun."
The bus came around the corner and I grabbed my bag. Finally...standing I glanced back at him as the bus doors opened.
"Aren't you coming?"
"I'll catch the next one."
What the hell did that mean? But I shrugged it off and sat down at the front. When I looked back..the bench was empty. What a strange man. I didn't even get to get a good look at him. It wasn't until we reached Gotham that I realized he didn't even give me his name...
Uncle Bruce had Alfred come pick me up at the bus station. He was a soft-spoken elderly man who pretty much took care of my uncle..like a bulter or something he had said. He barely glanced at my face and I conciously moved my hair to cover my problem. Uncle Bruce looked like he hadn't aged a day since I saw him last, I noticed his slight limp as he walked forward to hug me, though.
"Alexandria! It's so nice to see you."
"You too, Uncle Bru." I said, trying to make a cheesy rhyme out of it.
"Are you hungry? Alfred can whip up a breakfast for dinner."
"No thanks. I'm just tired."
"Of course. Alfred will show you to your room. Feel free to roam tomorrow and we'll talk about finishing school at dinner." He gave me a peck on the clear side of my face and then I was off with the butler up the stairs. We stepped through polished oak double doors into one of the biggest rooms I'd ever seen. Well..color me impressed..one whole wall was glass going out to the balcony that overlooked the city. The huge bed was up on a raised part of the floor, there was a fireplace opposite the bed with a flat screen TV on the wall above it. A bookshelf and a few bean bag chairs..walk in closet and don't even get me started with my attached bathroom. (Walk in shower, jacuzzi tub). I'd never leave my room.
"If that will be all, Miss Alexandria..,"
"Just..Alex. Thank you." He nodded his head, closing the door so I'd have some privacy. I took a long, hot bath before climbing into bed and fell asleep to some romance movie.
I wasn't a morning person so when a light knock interrupted my sleep, I grumbled. "Just ten more minutes..,"
"It's one in the afternoon, Miss." Came Alfred's chuckle. He held a tray in his hand and I couldn't refuse his hospitality. I saw him glance at my face but instead of covering it I spoke as I ate.
"Did my Uncle tell you how I got it?"
"No."
"It was a car accident. Honestly, I don't remember anything except sitting in the back seat everything find one moment..the next the car was flipping and flipping and all I could hear was the sound of glass breaking. Then I woke up in the hospital a few days later. Now people look at me differently." I crammed the toast in my mouth as though swallowing it would make all my problems go away. Would bring my parents back.. "It happened a month ago. I've been recovering ever since." I paused, looking Alfred in the eyes. "But it's okay because people fear what they don't understand."
"Very wise words." He said.
From a very strange man, I thought. After I ate I walked out into the afternoon sunshine on my balcony. The view took my breath away even in the daytime. I dressed and went down the stairs to see a man talking with Alfred at the door. He wore a suit, has soft brown hair, wrinkles and glasses.
"Ah, Alex. This is Mr. Gordon. He works for Gotham police. Why was Gotham's 'police' here at my Uncles? The man shook my hand politely before being led to an office off to the side. I zipped my black hoodie up against the outside cold. Uncle Bruce never said I couldn't spend the day walking around. My scar was mostly covered by foundation to make it less noticeable. There was a newspaper stand outside the coffee shop with big, bold headlines flashing in my face.
'Mass Arkham Asylum breakout!'
I'd never heard of Arkham Asylum or any of these guy's alias names..Joker, Scarecrow, Two-face? I looked at each of their pictures and then tossed it back on the shelf. I wasn't going to let that ruin my trip to a few local bookstores, which weren't hard to find. I went to a few boutiques for perfume and lotions, some new winter clothes. To my extreme happiness barely anyone noticed my face long enough to take a second look. Before I knew it the sun was disappearing and I hurried back to my uncles to drop off my stuff.
"Alex!" My uncle called from the stairs as i made my way down. "I won't be able to attend dinner tonight, I apologize. I have a business meeting."
"That's alright. I was gonna go catch a movie then grab late night Chinese."
"Let Alfred drive you." Jeeze, did the butler do everything around here?
"It's fine. I've learned my way around for the most part."
The movie wasn't so bad it was eleven p.m. when I left the theater. The chinese place was a few streets over and I made my way to it. It felt cold enough to have snow already and it was September. I slowed about a block away from the door to therestaraunt when aman walked out..if that's what I could call him. His blonde hiar had aslight greenish tint to it, his purple suit stuck out but that's not what stopped me inmy tracks. It was the makeup or paint on his face. The black sunken eyes, white face and the sinister red of his overstretched smile..clownish in its own nature. He was talking to a thinner less bulky man with a..burlap sack over his head. I barely got a thought when a few gunshots and screams echoed from inside. Those were two of the Arkham escapees..Joker and Scarecrow. I stepped back into the shadows of an already closed down store's doorway, hoping my dark clothes and hair would hide me.
I heard a male shout, a few grunts of pain and I peeked around the concrete corner in time to see a knife flick out from Joker's boot then that boot colliding with Scarecrow's chest. The man went down wheezing and bleeding. I looked from him to the culprit and felt my stomach drop. Those bottomless black eyes stared right through me. There was another shot from inside and finally he turned from me and ran into the restaraunt. I let out a breath I hadn't realized I'd been holding. I have to get home..I backtracked and jolted down a side street, hoping to cut the distance to my destination in half. I herd a few shouts and barks at the end of the alley and I haulted where I stood. Pulling up my hood, I attempted to slink into the shadows when Iwas suddenly hauled off my feet and behind the dumpster.
A gloved hand covered my mouth, I struggled but a mouth breathed behind my hoodie close to my ear.
"Shh, believe me when I saw we don't want to be disscovered-uh." A shiver went through me at the throaty growl and I froze, willing my eyes to focus on the man's sleeve instead..it was purple. He had a strange way of speaking.."Sooo nice to see you, again." He giggled madly but a deathly quiet fell over us and a quiet growling took its place. I thought it was him growling at me until I saw the eyes of the huge dog staring back at us. The joker moaned in pleasure as a click reached my ears..he had fliped a knife open! I began to tremble.." Shh..Alex." He cooed in my ear making me tremble even harder..that voice..the way he said my name..
"Se ya soon, Doll." He let out a booming maniacal laugh and I didn't dare to look up or even move as he jumped up and hauled ass down the alley with the dog close on his heels. I jumped up only glancing at him long enough to see him kick the dog in the face and then I was running as fast as I could towards uncle Bruce's place. I managed to get to my room without being seen. I started the fireplace and turned on the TV hoping to calm down. But his gravelly voice saying my name just wouldn't stop repeating itself in my head. He had been the guy at the bus bench the night before. I had had a conversation at midnight on a deserted bus bench with Gotham's most wanted criminals..before I even knew he existed. If that wasn't enough to send a shiver down your spine then I didn't know what was. He had saved me tonight..whether it was unintentionally to run and save his own skin he had led the dog away...
"People fear what they don't understand." I whispered. He had said 'See you soon.' that gravelly sound raised the hairs on my body. Could he find me in such a big city? Should I tell Alfred? Or uncle Bruce? The psychopath was wanted..I'd come up with an answer in the morning for now I wanted a shower and my bed.
