Chapter 2

Batman disconnected from his conversation with Gordon. He was crouching on a rickety fire escape, peering down at the shadowy alley below him. The dark red bricks of the buildings surrounding the alley were tinged with the faint gold of the one fading street lamp nearby. The feeble rays of light from the street lamp reflected on the rain-dampened pavement. The skyscrapers of Gotham stretched out above him, creating a silhouette of dark buildings speckled with yellow lights that shone from windows. Gothamites never sleep, Batman reflected. And the Joker's no exception.

He also noticed that a faint pale light was starting to shine on the horizon, indicating that morning was coming. This was a problem: Batman didn't like working in the daytime, since he had another identity to keep up and that identity had to sleep and eat and keep up appearances sometime. But since he was on the trail of the Joker, he couldn't give up now. Besides, when it pertained to the Joker and Gotham's safety, he would never give up.

Batman hadn't been chased away by the police the night before. Yes, he had spoken true to Gordon when he had said that he felt like a failure when he looked back at the wake of death his vigilante-ism had left. But, after calming down and talking to Alfred about it, he realized that his Mission was for the greater good. While it was horrible, the few unfortunates who had died were better than a city of possible victims. He still felt horrible about it, but he had to stay and help out. After all, nothing could chase him away from his Mission: to rid the streets of Gotham from scum like Joe Chill, the man who had killed his parents behind the opera house so many years ago. On that day, a young Bruce Wayne's eyes were opened. And not so gently.

A flash of purple caught his peripheral vision. He snapped his head to the left, deeper into the alley. Then he held still, making his body fall back into the shadows.

"If you want me so bad come and get me!" There was that taunting tone; there was that ridiculous laugh.

And there he was, stepping out from around the corner, somehow with a retrieved purple jacket and a retrieved knife in his hand. He was wearing his usual matching purple pinstripe pants and his green vest. Even his gloves and shoes were purple, all custom made. His hair was stringy and dyed a green that was so faded it was now just a sheen. His face was messily painted a deathly white hue with dark circles around his eyes and that red smile that covered the scars that led from the corners of his mouth to the hinges of his jaw. The scars were so bad that there were little bubbles of skin that had bumped up around the ends of them.

Batman jumped down to the ground, black cape streaming out behind him. He landed perfectly balanced on his feet, like he knew he would. With his right hand he took out a Batarang, hoping to be able to knock the Joker out before the madman could get away again.

Batman had been watching near the Joker's cell when he had been in custody, making sure that he would not escape. Batman had even bugged the place and had been listening from the roof behind HQ, waiting for anything. He hadn't been satisfied with the Joker sitting in a cell again, since that had happened once and hadn't worked. So when Batman had started hearing strangled noises from the bug that had sent the sounds to the earpiece in his cowl, he had been instantly on the alert. He had watched as the Joker had gone through a side door, a door that no one had used and people had forgotten about. Easy as that. And Batman had followed him.

About fifteen minutes later the GCPD had finally found out that the Joker was gone and had sent troops out to get him. Gordon was called in. The Joker hadn't known at the time that Batman was following him, so, instead of leading Batman off his trail, the Joker had led the oncoming GCPD off their trails.

Eventually Batman had come to this moment, where he would finally put the Joker back into the custody that he belonged in. Batman's frown got deeper at the thought of the inevitable fight ahead of them.

"Why so serious, Batman?" the Joker asked with a deep mocking tone to his already mocking voice. "Don't think you can get me before the sun comes up?"

The Joker looked dramatically up to the pale pink skyline of the city before looking back at Batman. "Don't you wanna play some more?" Then he let out a hysterical laugh that echoed along the damp brick walls surrounding the alley.

"What I want to do is bring you back to where you belong," Batman responded in his low growl. He held a stance that showed he was ready for any move that the Joker might try.

"Hmm, I don't think so," the Joker responded. "As fun as it was killing those scared little guards, I wouldn't want to be redundant. Let's play another game." And here his voice reached a lower key. "I like games that show me what people are feeling. Let's see if you will respond as well, since I'm not sure you really are human!" The Joker lifted up his knife and tossed back his hair with it, making Batman tense at the sudden action. This did not go unnoticed by the Joker and he laughed again, loud and screeching.

"You thought, yoo hoo! you thought that I would throw my knife at you! Hee hee! Why would I do that?" He was once again calm, his panting from the exertion of his insane laughter ceased. "I don't stab! Who do you think I am? I take my time with pain! What can I say? I'm a romantic: I always like to see who people really are inside..."

Batman frowned. He was done with this game. Time to start finding openings to get this job finished once and for all.

"But don't worry." The Joker had misinterpreted the frown. "I won't ask you to take that mask off. Not now. This isn't dramatic enough. Who will see? Me and...nobody. What fun is that? You always need to have an audience. Always. Remember that." He licked his lips and did what looked like a swallowing motion in this throat. Then his eyes hit the Batarang. "What's that? You think you can hit me with a metal bat? Woo hoo hoo! A metal bat!"

He really has lost it, Batman thought.

"I'd like to see you block this," Batman growled as he prepared for his throw.

As quick as lightning, Batman threw the Batarang at the Joker. But the Joker was quick, as well. The immovable object had met the unstoppable force. With another laugh, the Joker tumbled to the side, got up quickly, and, purple coat flashing, he ran around the corner, his laughter echoing off the sides of the alley while the Batarang hit the edge of the walls.

"I didn't even start my game yet! But if you wanna play your little game first, then let's go! Hoo hoo hoo! Hee hee! Hoo hoo!" The Joker was panting and laughing as he ran down the alley, Batman in quick pursuit.

As Batman ran around the corner, he pulled out his grapple gun, hoping to somehow get in front of the Joker. Before Batman could do anything, the Joker started throwing a small bomb behind him, which exploded and sent out some type of gas that made Batman slightly disoriented and dizzy. But he quickly remembered to hold his breath before he took action. He squeezed the trigger of the grapple gun and the line shot out, the end of it connecting to another fire escape ahead of him. Then he squeezed the trigger again and was pulled up and toward the fire escape as the line was pulled back into the grapple gun.

Once Batman got onto the slightly precarious fire escape, he didn't hesitate long. He quickly calculated how long he should wait before he could jump down to overcome the Joker.

The Joker kept running, his laughter ceasing from his being out of breath. He reached into the pocket of his purple jacket again for more of the small bombs that he was using to keep Batman away. Before he threw one over his shoulder, he looked back for aim and realized that Batman had disappeared. Then he stopped, made an irritated sound in the back of his throat, and completely turned around.

He lifted his hands from his sides in irritation, as if wondering why Batman had cheated at his game.

"'You can't play fairly, then don't play at all," the Joker said, clearly annoyed.

"I'm not playing any games," a low voice said right behind the Joker, practically into his left ear.

He spun around to see the dark figure of Batman right behind him, another Batarang in his hand. The Joker laughed with glee to see his twisted game resumed.

While the Joker had stopped and turned around, the Dark Knight had silently spread the wings to his costume, glided down, and had landed right behind the Joker, all the while without a noise. He pulled out a Batarang and held it ready.

Sirens were getting louder. The GCPD had finally caught on. The Joker was done with his little game.

But the unexpected caught Batman by surprise. Right after he had said his words to the Joker, he heard a scream in a nearby alleyway, the scream of what sounded like a girl.

"Help!" someone screamed. "Stop! Help me!"

It was early morning and some of the civilians had started going to work. Maybe someone had been assaulted on the way. Batman stood now facing the Joker, not knowing what to do. It definitely sounded like someone was in distress and needed help and was practically calling his name, but the Joker still needed to be captured.

Quickly, Batman made his decision. The police cars were just around the corner and would be there any minute. They would once again bring the Joker into custody. They wouldn't be nearing the alley that held another problem. Besides, if Batman stayed, the GCPD would attempt to arrest him again, which would only make things more complicated than they should be.

So, right as the police cars and SWAT vans came to a screeching halt behind him, Batman took out his grapple gun again, aimed, and shot it toward the roof of the building at his side. Taking one last look at the Joker—red and blue lights of the SWAT vans dancing over his grinning face—he squeezed the trigger to make himself fly up to the top of the building and he landed there with a thud.

"What, running away? Scared of the cops?" the Joker's taunting voice reached Batman's ears, along with the sound of the telltale hysterical laughter echoing inside the alley.

But Batman didn't have time to wait. The screams were getting louder, Someone needed his help. This was his job. There was always more crime to fight in Gotham City. Now that the GCPD was here, they would take care of the Joker.

He shoved his hands into the pockets of his cape and unfurled it, waiting a second for the molecules in the veins of the cape to realign so that he could fly with his "wings". When they were ready, Batman leaped off of the building and caught the wind of the dive, gliding down toward the source of the screams. He angled to the left a bit and then, when he was almost on top of the alley, he pulled his arms in so that his hands were directly in front of him and facing down; this made his wings lose momentum on the wind and therefore let him fall into the alley. The alley was more of a deserted, dark street, really, than an alley. But what difference did it make? Someone could become a victim anywhere.

Batman momentarily thought about how the GCPD would be handling the Joker right then. But Batman was good at going from one issue to the next without getting confused, so he abandoned the thought and focused on what was happening in front of him.

There was a woman in front of him, young and attractive, who had seemed to be going to work. It was probably about six in the morning now, so this would be understandable. She was surrounded by three tough-looking men who were pushing her and harassing her. She looked scared and clutched her purse to herself like the small bag would protect her.

One of the men had a dagger in his hand and was pointing it right at her. This seemed to be the object of most of the girl's fear. She was staring at it with terror in her eyes, like she could hardly believe what was happening.

Batman decided that there was no immediate danger, so he fell back into the shadows made by a couple of garbage cans, hoping to assess the situation and wait for the perfect moment to jump out.

"We're just askin' for the purse and a little love. Just a kiss," the man with the dagger said.

"I'm not stupid," the girl retorted, voice quavering. "You want more than that." She flinched back toward the wall of a building laden with advertisements painted onto the brown brick and worn by weather and age.

"Don't be that way, sweets," another one said. The third one just grinned.

This was enough waiting. In that time Batman had grapple-gunned himself back up onto the building behind the men and in front of the girl, all the while making sure that he made a faint swishing sound with his cape.

The sound was enough for the third man to turn and look for the noise. When his eyes led him up the wall of the building and toward the paling sky, he saw a terrifying silhouette standing on the roof of the building, staring at them. At once his fears overcame him as the rumors of the Bat that he had heard from other gangsters came into his head. He jumped back in fright.

"Yo, man, it's the Bat!" He pointed up at Batman.

"What you talkin' about?" the man with the dagger said, not taking his eyes off the girl.

Before anyone could answer, Batman unfurled his wings again and flew down to the scene of the assault. When he touched the ground, he crouched and prepared to leap at them. His eyes looked dark and menacing to the criminals, the furrowed brow of his cowl making his intentions known. The three men leaped back and the dagger turned from the girl to Batman.

Just my intent, Batman thought. When I fight the Joker, I miss predictable criminals.

Suddenly, Batman leaped at them, his black cape surrounding the second man. There was a muffled yell and then the thug was out cold, unconscious on the ground. The third man was smart and had quickly learned from the first attack: he pulled out a small gun that was hidden inside of his jacket and squeezed the trigger at the black form of the Bat. The bullet was stopped dead by the tough lining of Batman's gear and Batman swiftly kicked the man in the chest, which knocked him out as well. Batman grabbed the gun and dismantled it so that the man with the dagger couldn't try anything with it.

The girl clutched her purse and continued to cower against the wall.

Then Batman looked toward the man with the dagger. The man held it out threateningly.

"I'm warnin' you, Bat, you come anywhere near me, this won't feel good in your side," he said, voice wary.

Batman decided to respond by getting the job over with and he jumped forward at the man despite the warning.

True to his word, the man tried to plunge the dagger into Batman's suit, but the work of Lucius Fox was excellent and the dagger only scratched the suit before bouncing away, blade slightly bent to the side.

Batman quickly overcame this man as well, all the while not killing a single one of them. Killing was against the rules. The Batman was not a murderer.

Then Batman turned to the girl, who was now crouching against the wall, purse held firmly against her head. He always had to make sure that the victims were okay.

"Are you alright?" Batman asked with his rough voice.

"Never better," she said quietly, putting her purse down slowly. "So you are real," she said, visibly trying to calculate what had happened.

"I thought that everyone knew that by know," Batman said, voice gentler to keep her from being too scared of him.

"Well, you must realize it's hard to believe. I mean, the whole bat idea and everything..." she looked him over.

Batman looked at the sky. It was now a pale pink shade.

"Where do you work?" he asked her.

"Three blocks down, at Wayne Enterprises," she answered. "I think I'll drive from now on. I thought that walking was better for the environment and all, and that it would be better, personally, because of the economy, but if my safety is at risk..." She looked at her purse again, her thoughts starting to drift.

She's in shock, Batman thought, watching her vacant and worried expression.

"Maybe you should take the day off," he suggested. "I don't think that Bruce Wayne would mind."

"I don't think that he would ever know or care, personally," she replied. The statement hit the Bruce side of Batman a bit hard, but he understood where she was coming from.

Well, I'm done for this night, Batman thought. While he was the Batman—the superhero of Gotham—he was also human. He was tired and needed to go home. The Joker's no longer a threat, the sun is coming out, which means crime will diminish…He had nothing to lose. He would make an anonymous call to the police department about the thugs in the street, who, Batman knew, would be out for a while. "I'll watch over you on your way home," he said. "Get some rest and try not to walk around in this city when it's still dark," he said. She nodded and thanked him.

"By the way, my name is Kate," she said. "Kate Lowell." She turned and headed down the street.

Lowell, Batman thought. I've heard of Lowell before, but I don't think it's from work...He decided to do some research when he got back to his penthouse.

Batman watched Kate on her way home, making sure that she did not run into any more trouble. He went from roof to roof, watching intently. But the sun was coming up and the time for crime was ending, making her journey home swift and easy.

By the time Kate got safely home, she looked up at the roofs of the buildings around her and at the quickly fading shadows, hoping that she would have the chance to wave a quick thank you and good-bye to him. She had sensed his guardian-angel-like presence the whole way home. If she hadn't been so shocked from what had just happened, she would be exhilarated that the almost legendary Batman had just rescued her. But the sun was already up and Batman was gone.