** I do not own the characters included in this story**

Hi and welcome reader ! after taking some time away from fanfiction I came back with a totally new mind set and deleted all my previous stories. But in saying that, I have been working endlessly on this new story and I really hope you enjoy it. This story follows the Joker as he remembers some of his biggest and most important memories in his life, this first chapter explores how the Joker came to be, all starting with a man named Jack Napier. I hope you enjoy this story as much as I enjoyed writing it, please if there are any spelling or grammar mistakes please let me know, as this is a learning experience for me ! Thanks !

Present

"I remember the day like no other. Of course it was my birthday after all, so how could I forget? I can even recall making a joke that morning how easy breezy my day was going to be, but that was years ago, when I was such a foolish young man, I was oblivious to what the reality of life had to offer." He paused for a moment to smile inwardly at himself, it was like he had just caught up with an old friend, and was reminiscing about old times.

Leaning forwards in his seat, he took a breath before continuing his explanation. "But you know what? All it takes is just one very bad day."

Past

Jack Napier woke up early that morning, he took a moment to adjust his eyes to the darkness of the early hours of the day, before slipping out of the bed that he was currently sharing with his beautiful wife, Jeannie. Careful not to wake up his sleeping bride, Jack made his way to the bathroom that was adjoining to their shared room. The flickering of the dim yellow lights caught him off guard for a moment, until he wiped his eyes clear of sleep and continued his morning routine which consisted of showering, combing his dark brown hair, brushing his teeth, and putting on old white dress shirt, his worn out suit jacket and brown wool dress pants.

Something felt different that morning, it was like something big was about to happen, but Jack could quite put his finger on it. He brushed off the thought as nervousness for his audition that he had later that day. He was auditioning for a showcase that was specially put together for local talents to broadcast their talents on a local Gotham TV station, and the winner gets a 'HUGE' cash prize if he or she was chosen as the winner of the contest.

Jack felt that he was more than prepared for this audition,he spent countless hours preparing and reciting his routine to Jeannie that last two weeks. Perfecting all of his cues and punchlines, until they were timed exactly as he pictured. Jack knew he had no choice but to make it into the showcase, the bills were piling up and with his poor wife, bless her heart; was currently eight months pregnant with their first child, making her unable to work until after the birth. So all the financial responsibilities fell onto his little scrawny shoulders, but he was the 'man' of the household and was determined to provide for his family at all costs.

Taking one last look into the dirty mirror before exiting the bathroom, Jack stared at his reflection. Something was definitely different, His blue eyes seemed to flash a steel grey when the light hit them in the right spot. That little twinkle in his eyes confused him for a second. 'This is what confident man must look like' He said jokingly to the reflection, but quickly looked away. It's been a long time since Jack has ever felt something positive about himself, but how could he? The future of his wife and unborn child were literally hanging on by a small thread. Glancing back up too his reflection, his eyes still screamed confidence. So instead of wasting this feeling Jack decided to take it as a sign that things were finally going to turn around for him and his family.

Before long Jack was adding the finishing touches to his appearance (A clip on tie and mismatched cuff links), and continued his morning with a newfound pep in his step. Finally Jack was ready to leave the tiny one bedroom apartment in the slums of one of Gotham's less popular neighborhoods. Grabbing his old worn down briefcase from the kitchen table, It was mostly empty besides a few poorly done head shots of himself and a sloppy peanut butter and jelly sandwich for later. Taking one more moment before leaving the apartment, Jack quickly turned on his heel to scribble a short note for his sleeping wife. Not wanting her to worry about his whereabouts when she did finally grace the world with her presences.

My Dearest Jeannie,

Today is the day. I'll see you for dinner

Yours forever,

Jack.

Placing the note on the counter so it would be easy for her to find when she woke. Jack peeped into the bedroom to look at Jeannie once more before he left for the day. With a sigh he turned around and left their home, locking the door behind him, unknowingly that this would be his last time seeing his precious wife and their rundown apartment building. 'Everything is going almost too smoothly' Jack thought to himself as he stepped out into the quiet city street, walking in the direction of his destination, happy to be avoiding the morning rush that the morning time usually brings. Who knew that in a total of thirteen hours Jack's life could go from such a positive beginning to a complete disaster, his newfound confidence should have been an omen for him.

Later that day

'Nothing good ever happens to men like me.' He whispered as he picked up the whiskey glass and poured the remainder of the liquor down his throat. The audition fell through the moment he got to the location, his nerves got the best of him, so when it was Jack's turn to go on stage he choked. Punchlines were botched and timed horribly, and he ended up becoming faint near the end of his humiliation and the stagehands had to help in assisting him off of the stage with a glass of water and a bucket near by.

Unable to face his wife after yet another failure of his dreams,and not even a dime to show for it, Jack headed to the one place he thought he would have a moment alone. Here at Lou's Tavern he was able to blend in with other low lives, drink cheap liquor and sit in his self-pity with his head down on the bar counter. Usually no one bothered him besides the bartender Steven, but that was only to top off his glass. Other than that, all that he could hear was the many different groups of people chatting among themselves, the occasional break of the pool balls, and blaring sirens of the fire department in the far distance. By the time his second glass was empty, Jack was in the middle of his pity party, until an older gentlemen wearing a suit, followed by a giant man behind him approached the bar, and exchanged a nod with Jack.

"Two Gin and tonics, and a refill of whatever this guy is having beside me. Looks like he needs a break." The shorter and more wider man said to Steven, who just smiled and walked away to retrieve the beverages. The man took another moment before sitting down, joining Jack at the bar. The larger man followed his actions almost like a shadow, or a dog following its master's orders. Jack could tell it came natural for Jerry to act according to Big Tony's word, it was the typical case of brains and brawn.

"You can say that again" Jack chimed in as he picked his head up off the bar counter, to face the men beside him. "The names Jack Napier, and you gentlemen are?" Jack said to the short man as he extended out his right hand in a friendly manner.

"Big Tony, and this here is Jerry." The man said grabbing Jack's hand in a firm handshake, then continued to motioned to the taller man beside him "Why the long face there pal?" Big Tony asked just as Steven returned with the three drinks, setting each glass down in front of it's designated owners.

"Well fellas, let's just say that if being this poor was a joke, I would be one rich motherfucker." Jack said with a smile as he picked up the glass of whisky, downing the contents without even a slight flinch of the harsh aftertaste, the only reaction was from Big Tony who howled out in laughter.

"I like you kid, you make me feel young, unlike the giant idiot here" Big Tony said to Jack as he slapped his shoulder, Jerry only rolled his eyes and sipped at his Gin and Tonic. The men shared a few words together and another round of drinks before Big Tony dug into his jacket, fishing out a carton of cigarettes.

"Come join me for a quick puff there Jack, and maybe Big Tony can shine a little light onto your situation." Tony said as he rose from the barstool, heading towards the back door. Unable to refuse the offer as Jerry wrapped his arm around Jack shoulders, more or less herding him out of the bar, into the back alley.

Wrapping his tattered suit coat more tightly around his body as the cold air whipped around him. Jack stood beside Jerry as big Tony passed around cigarettes, followed by passing the silver zippo lighter only after he lit his own. Sticking the butt end of the cigarette into his mouth, and taking the lighter from Tony when he was done. Jack quickly sparked up the cigarette, inhaling slightly until it burned nice cherry red on the end, he then passed the lighter to Jerry. The smell of butane and tobacco infected their way into his nose, but he calmed him.

The silence was lifted when Big Tony cleared his throat to speak and looked Jack up and down, clearly sizing him up. "Now Jack my boy, don't take this the wrong way, But it's easy to see that you're in a….. Predicament." Tony said calmly, taking another drag of his cigarette before continuing his point.

"How would you feel if I told you that you could be going home to that pretty little wife of yours with a couple thousands in your pocket tonight?"

Before Jack could even get his question and concerns out on the table, Jerry opened his coat and dug into the interior pocket, taking out a couple stacks of hundreds or thousands of dollars, Jack wasn't entirely sure of the amount present.

"I don't think I've seen that many bills since… well ever." Jack said as he started to imagine going home to Jeannie that night with that kind of dough, all of their problems would solved. Shaking his head before getting too carried away with the images of all the gifts he would shower his wife in, Jack asked;

"With money like that, there has to be a catch."

"Well Jack I'll be honest with you, we found out about you from a little bird. We were told that you used to work at the old chemical factory just outside of town." Tony said looking over at Jerry to confirm his statement, only making Jack more uncomfortable, how did he always attach the wrong crowd? And how the hell did they find out about his old Job?

"So what? ACE Chemicals shut their doors down two years ago and cleaned out the facility. And besides, I-I was only an engineer, I wasn't even apart of the reason why they shut it down." Jack managed to spit out, hoping that his uneasiness wasn't showing. ACE Chemicals shut down after a few of the higher ups were found guilty of fraud and unsafe working conditions for their employees.

"Nothing to worry about my boy. All we need from you is to get us inside, point us in the direction we need, then get us out. Simple." Tony said as he took his finale drag from his cigarette before throwing it to the ground and stomping on it, extinguishing the embers.

"And where exactly is it that you want to go?" Jack asked as he too disposed of his finished cigarette on the ground.

"That my friend is a 'need to know' basis. So if you decided to help us out, you will find out then." Tony said as he began to make his way into the backdoor of the bar.

"Do I have time to think about this… umm offer?" Jack asked unsure of what he should do.

"For sure Jackie ole boy, If you're in, just meet us at the gate by… i dunno 11:30 tonight?" Big Tony said as he rubbed his pudgy hands over his mouth as if he was thinking of a time right off the top of his head, which was complete and utter bullshit and Jack knew that, but the offer was too good to be true.

"We look forward to seeing you tonight Jack, I know you won't let us down." Tony said waving as he returned inside the bar once again, with Jerry not far behind him. Sighing once the heavy metal door shut behind the two men, signaling that he was alone, Jack slipped out a few curse words as he tried to think of the most logical thing to do in his situation.

Resting his back against the cold brick wall, Jack let his head fall into his hands in frustration as he sank to the ground, was he honestly considering doing this job with two sketchy men he just met that day? Trying to think of reasons why he shouldn't do it, Jeannie's face came to his mind. How tired she must be carrying around his child, especially since early on in the pregnancy they thought they lost their child after Jeannie slipped and fell down the stairs of their apartment, but the doctors said that they were lucky and for Jeannie to be put on bed rest until the arrival of the baby. This money could take so much stress away from his wife, and from him. This money could help carry them for a few months while Jack searched for a new job, sure he was giving up his dream, but his family needed him more. He decided that this was a one time deal, and he would do it, for Jeannie.

Taking another minute to himself, Jack picked himself up from the ground, shaking off the dirt that littered all over his pants. Jack turned and entered the bar from the door Big Tony and Jerry used. Once inside he looked around for the two men but they were no wheres to be found, so instead of sticking around Jack made his way to the front door to head home to his wife to tell her that he figured out a better solution for their problems.

"Hey Jack" Steven called from over at the bar, waving Jack over to him. " The Sheriff called, he wants you to come down to the station right away." Steven said as Jack got closer.

Raising a brow in question, Steven shrugged his shoulders. "He said that there was an accident, that's all he told me." Jack heart stopped, before he could even pay for his tab from that evening, Jack left the bar in a hurry, sprinting to the police station with only one thought on his mind:

Jeannie.

Authors Note:

And that ladies and gents is the first installment of this story, I really hope you enjoyed it ! Please review and let me know if you think I should continue this story, and if you have any NICE and RESPECTFUL input I will gladly take it, as I am a very sensitive being who is very nervous about posting this. Until next time you crazy critters - JOY