A/N:Well, this is an attempt at a Dark Knight/Batman fic. I needed something to do and this came of it. No idea if I will continue this or not. It really depends on how much time I have free. For the purpose of this story Gotham City has a Winn Dixie. If you don't like it, go read something else. Well, enjoy and review gratuitously. I need the encouragement.
Chapter 1
I ran my fingers through my long, currently bound light brown hair and then fiddled with my earrings as I stood at my register, waiting. I was dressed in my horribly ugly and unflattering work uniform of a white polyester shirt, long black pants and a covering, faded black tied around apron. The last few people were still wandering around the large store I worked in, the Gotham City Winn Dixie. There were all different types of people there at this time of night, including parents with their children, senior citizens and a bunch of other random people just shopping. The annoying small siren bing-bong of the door opening and closing sounded over and over again. The clock was slowly ticking to when my break from the prison would occur. Unfortunately, at the moment, the clock only read seven-thirty. The store didn't close until ten. I sighed and picked up scanner gun from its holster as a little old lady pushed her cart up to the register. "Welcome to Winn Dixie. How can I help you tonight?"
The elderly woman muttered something as she threw her stuff onto the moving conveyor belt. I slowly rang up her order, hearing a beep every time I rang up an item. I finished totaling out her order when I heard a commotion coming from the back of the store. I looked up, across to the other cashier named Steve, a few feet away with nearly shaved head and bright green eyes. Steve nodded and stepped away from his register to get behind mine. I hopped over my register and hurried for the back. The old woman looked a bit confused at the cashiers being changed, and seeing me hurry off to the back of the store, but I ignored it.
I hurried down the middle aisle, racing towards the commotion. I could hear people yelling "Fight, fight, fight!" over and over again. A crowd was forming at the end of the store, just before the entrance to the back room. Two large, tough looking guys were duking it, trying to kill each other very obviously. I pushed throw the crowd, shoving people aside as I went. Many complained at my presence, but I persisted on. Finally I made it to the middle. I grabbed an ear on each man and pulled them apart. Both men looked at me rather incredulously as I pulled them along, up to the front of the store.
People stopped and stared at the sight of a five foot two woman escorting such large guys out of the Winn Dixie. Many gasped, but no one said anything to me. Finally, I pulled them far enough front and tossed them out of the opening 'OUT' doors of the store. Both men took off running as I came out of the store to make sure they left as soon as possible. "If you ever fight in my store again, you'll leave with more than just sore ear lobes! Count on it!" I heard a little bit of chuckling as I went back into my store. The people outside did not look surprised in the least at my outburst. They were used to me making such a fuss at people doing stupid things at my store and then watching me kick them out. It was a sad but true fact that I, a woman, who was not manager or owner of the store was the only thing keeping our store safe and in business.
When I got back to my register, Steve smiled at me, but mostly in a fearful, admiring way. He was new to my store and had only seen me throw maybe three or four people out since being hired the previous week. He was still wary of me, I was sure, but he didn't have any issue with me being the way I was as long I never turned on him. I smiled back gently, and turned back to work. Before I could finish putting the plastic bags in the elderly woman's cart, I heard the P.A. system suddenly bing on. I knew this was probably about me. It normally was. "Andi! Please report to the office! Andi! Please report to the office!" I was right. After finishing the old woman to the door, I shut off my register light and hopped over my register. I walked across the linoleum floor and to a wooden door hidden by the service desk. I knocked on the door softly and glanced around as I waited for the manager to answer the door.
Slowly the door creaked open and I slid inside. My manager on duty, Trevor, sat at his desk. His long, curly hair hung on his shoulders as he stayed at his desk, leaning over something he was writing. He didn't look up until I sat down across from him. He smiled his odd smile and shoved the papers he had scribbled on into a folder. "Andi, Andi, Andi…Want to tell me about what happened today?"
I sighed. "Well Trev, as always, why you were hiding away in your office, there was another fight between two very big guys, and I made all of the male half of human kind look bad again by dragging their two sorry asses out of the store. You can thank me later." I ended with a smile and went to get up from the chair. With any luck, I would have gotten away with that explanation because Trevor was younger, more gullible and liked me in a way that was more than a friend should. However, today I was not so lucky. Trevor put his hand on top of mine as if to stop me as I got up. I sat back down.
"Andi…we've talked about this. You can't keep kicking people out of the store for fighting. Call the police. Call a male employee. Hell, stick you head outside and call for the Batman, but stop trying to be a hero." I rolled my eyes. I knew what was coming. Trevor was giving me the 'stop trying to be a man' speech. This was one of the things I couldn't stand about Trevor. He was very sexist when it came to work. "See, a woman employee should be seen, found cute as she playfully smiles and takes care of the orders and does not go out of her way to break up fights. Andi, you're a good looking girl. Concentrate on always looking like a girl rather than a brute force keeping the store in business. I like you a lot, Andi…and that is the only thing keeping the owner from firing you. He listens to me. Me. So you seriously need to consider doing what I tell you for once."
I rolled my eyes again and got up. "All right, Trev. I'll keep that in mind someone is trying to rob the store or shoving someone against the freezers. I just hope you like all the negative publicity and insurance and health charges that will come of all this."
I turned and walked out. I could feel Trevor's eyes checking me out from behind. It made me sick. "That is all I'm asking, Andi. Now be a sweetheart, and check on what Steve keeps beeping about on the intercom." I slammed the door shut and came out from behind the desk. I looked over at Steve's register and saw sure terror upon his face. He was shivering and had his hand reached under the register, obviously pressing the call button in attempt to get help. A group of five men were crowded Steve's register. Slowly I walked over to my register, getting a side view of what was going on. I easily understood why Steve was afraid. All five men were in clown masks and had guns drawn, aiming at Steve's shuddering body. Very obviously it was the Joker's little gang that had been arrested a few months ago, but never had the Joker been known to do such a small crime scandal such as rob a grocery store. In fact, the last I had heard of the Joker, he was still locked up in the Arkham Asylum with all the other weird ones bent on taking over the city and that was months ago.
"Gentlemen? Can I be of some assistance?" I turned the attention of the gunmen to myself and off Steve. Steve still looked like he was about to wet himself, but less so when the attention was off of him. I moved behind the register, at Steve's side. I was doing what my manager had told me to do. "I know I'm not a manager, but maybe I can help. Did you mean to purchase something?"
The men glanced at one another and then back at me. One of the middle clowns spoke up. "We-ah…want to make a with-draw-al. We heard you gave-ah…cash back upon-ah…purchase." His accent and the way he spoke and paused was odd but familiar. I could have sworn I heard it before, but I shrugged it off.
"Well sir, what do you wish to purchase? I would be glad to be of assistance." I smiled gently. All I cared about was getting these crazy people out of my store with everyone alive and safe. I glanced over at Steve. He gave me a nervous smile and kept pressing the button under the register. With any luck, Trevor would get annoyed enough and finally realize he needs to call the police.
The middle clown spoke up again. "Well, since you vol-un-teer-ed-ah, why don't you come on over here-ah?" I hesitated before coming out from the register. I felt my heart race a little and sweat start to pour down my back. What did these men plan to do to me? I glanced over at the customer service desk and saw Trevor glance out of the office door before going back into the office. Finally he was doing something right. He was hopefully calling the police. "Well, well, come on then, sweetie. You did vol-un-teer-ah." I made my way over to the other side of the register. I stood about a foot from the four men. They all stared at me. The middle man who had done all the speaking grabbed me by my ponytail, and pulled me towards them. I felt like the hair was being ripped out of my head.
The man who had grabbed me snickered as he pressed my back against his chest. He moved his hand so his thumb and forefinger held my chin up, as if to make me look up at Steve. Steve now looked more nervous than before. It took me a second to realize why. The man holding me has a knife right below my stomach and a sharp looking one at that. I found it hard to breath upon seeing the knife. The man didn't seem to notice. "Purchase made!" He hissed. "Now give me all the money you have!"
Steve looked at me, looking for an answer. I nodded anxiously. The register dinged as it opened. The drawer opened completely, making it easy for the assumed minions to grab the register from the other side. The largest of the group leaned over and pulled out the drawer, not spilling anything out. He shoved it into a bag that has been hidden behind the counter. I squirmed a little, only making the man's grasp tighter around my stomach. "Hold still-ah. I'm sure you want to keep all your organs-ah." I then felt a pain on my side, a sharp one, as if being cut in half. I winced. I didn't look down when I saw the man holding me move his hand along the same hurting side. I was sure I would find out later.
I saw red and I felt like I was moving. But then I realized I was being dragged from my store. I couldn't pick up my legs. They had gone limp. I could see Steve screaming from his register, but I couldn't hear him. I thought back to one of the medical classes I had taken in college suddenly. I knew that I was probably trying to block out the sight of my own blood because I was extremely squeamish. This was my body reacting naturally. Either that or that man has hit something harder than I thought. I was still breathing, but I could barely feel my chest rising up and down. I then felt a sudden pain in the back of my head. I was looking up. I could feel everything going black, but I stayed conscious long enough just to see something. The man that had been holding me was looking down at me when he pulled off his mask. I saw the face paint and the scars. I blacked out quickly, but I had blacked out with one fact in mind as I did. The Joker was now loose in Gotham City one again.