Note – Hello all, welcome to my new story. This one has been bugging me for a few weeks and I've started reading some other fan fictions again, after a while of being away. This is a JokerxOC story. This is the first chapter so I shall see what the response is from you lovely people and then will go from there.

Let me know what you think! 3

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Prologue

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I stood there in the empty lobby of the Gotham City Police Department. There was no sound but the occasional soft drips of the water that fell from my coat onto the tiled floor beneath my feet. The rain outside blasted against the windows, demanding to get in; a wild torrent to match the turmoil that I was feeling in that very moment. I shivered, drenched and cold. My clothes clung to me as I stared around the area, not a person was in sight save the guy at the main desk who watched me with something in his eyes...

Uncertainty. Mistrust... But most of all pity.

Why was I here? I glanced around the area, seeing but not really believing I had brought myself to do this. What madness drove me here was beyond me, and yet here I stood. My anxiety was rocket high through the ceiling. I tried to make myself looks small, huddling back against the nearby wall. Hoping to just get this task over and done with. I didn't want to be here. I shouldn't be here. I wanted to go home!

''Miss Page.'' A voice, masculine and gentle drew my attention from my reverie.

Through the dripping rat tails that were my fringe I turned as the familiar face of Jim Gordon appeared at a nearby doorway to my right.

I nodded to him, barely finding my voice as I shuddered both with chills and unease.

'' Commissioner.''

The newly appointed Commissioner of Gotham City held open the door and indicated for me to follow him.

''Come this way.''

I followed him into the room. It was sparse but elegant, consisting of a desk, a file cabinet, a couple of chairs and the odd framed award hanging on the wall. I took it all in, not daring to bring my eyes to his wise grey ones, knowing that they followed me. Assessed every move I made. He wanted answers from me.

He gestured towards a chair before the desk. ''Take a seat. Can I get you anything? A coffee?''

I shook my head. '' No thank you.''

I slowly slid into the offered chair, grasping my arms to me for warmth. I stared at the floor, but then a hand appeared offering me a towel. I looked up at the Commissioner and took it with a small smile.

He lowered into his own seat, his focus on me, his eyes somewhat shadowed with worry, ''You understand why you are here. Yes?'' He asked me gently.

I nodded, my hands beginning to tremble around the towel I held. I drew it up to my hair, dabbing at it lightly, giving my hands something to do. What I really wanted to do was go home, but that line had been crossed now. There was no turning back.

The Commissioner must have noticed my inner struggle, because he leaned forward slightly, placing his clasped hands before him on the table.

'' I can understand this is difficult for you. Trust me, if there was any alternative we could have done that did not include your involvement, then we would have done it. But unfortunately, there is no one else who can help us. Only you... '' his voice trailed off, expectant.

''I know.'' I whispered to him, my eyes closing for a brief moment. Preparing myself for what I was about to do, but also about what would soon follow after. Every action had a reaction. Every decision had a price to pay.

'' Miss Page, before we start, Whatever information you tell us will be of great use.'' My silence urged him on to say, ''Know that we will help you in whatever way we can. We can place you under surveillance...protect you.''

My eyes dropped again at that and I felt a lump rise in my throat, heavy with emotion. My lips lifted into an empty smile.

Protect me? No one could protect me. Not from him. Not now.

A hand gently reached over and grasped mine, the warmth of his fingers wrapping around mine gave me the courage to look up into his wise aged face. His kind features that only showed gentleness and encouragement.

''But you must be certain you wish to do this, if we need to prosecute we will need you to stand up in court. Do you understand?'' He said.

Did I understand? Did I fully understand the meaning of what I was about to do? Of who I was about to betray? I wanted to tell Gordon I'd changed my mind. I wanted to get up and leave this building and the whole situation behind me.

But it was too late... far too late now for that. If I didn't do this now, others would suffer. I could not stand by and watch. Feelings must be pushed aside, I knew that. I must do what is right. This was not just about me. I had to do something.

''Yes.'' I lifted my chin, determination setting into my body causing me to sit up straight in my seat.

The Commissioner nodded slowly, a sparkle of admiration in his gaze from behind his spectacles.

''Very well... ''He reached into a brown folder and pulled something out from inside of it. A photograph. He slid a picture over towards me, and I instantly recognized the image on it, even before it reached me half way across the table.

A painted grinning face. Red on white. Black dangerous eyes staring out at me, surrounded by a mass of unruly green tinted hair.

'' What can you tell us about the man we arrested today?'' Gordon asked, encouraging me to start my tale.

I was far away in another place, staring at the photograph intently. Just looking at it made both my skin crawl and my chest ache with emotions I could not acknowledge. I felt an array of feelings, from anger to confusion, and pity and then finally devastating sadness.

Gordon shifted in his seat, ''He goes by the alias 'the joker'. He's the one we've been trying to find for a long time. We can find little information on him, our sources are few and minimal; which makes our job in convicting him harder work. What we do know, however, is that he is extremely dangerous, Miss Page. We must know all we can about him. I'm sure you understand.''

I nodded, still looking at the picture in my hands. Oh yes, I'd seen the carnage and horrors this one man had caused Gotham City. Unthinkable, terrible things. Things that could, and should never be forgiven. Not ever.

Yet there was an in my chest, demanding to be heard above the logical thoughts in my head.

''It's clear you are familiar with him.'' There was a slight pause before Gordon asked quietly to me, ''Who is he?''

The Joker. It was a fitting alias, almost ironic in a tragic sense. I hated it. I wanted to never hear it again. That wasn't his name. That wasn't who he was. But I knew him. I knew him like my own self and being.

'' Jack.'' I whispered it out before I could stop myself.

'' What was that?'' Commissioner Gordon leaned closer to hear me, his eyes searching me closely as I lifted my head up to finally meet his gaze.

'' His name...'' I began my story, ''...is Jack."