After 120 000 words and 47 chapters...the Joker finally makes an appearance! :) *cheers* Unlike Checkmate, this story will progress very quickly.
On a slightly different but still related topic, how many of you are excited for The Dark Knight Rises? I cannot wait for it, personally!
As soon as Jeannie got home, she turned on the news, half-expecting to hear that the Joker had been revealed as Anthony Garcia, who had gone insane with the stress of being the mayor. She couldn't help but laugh at the thought.
But she instantly sobered up when she saw the announcer's worried expression. His voice was wavering as he spoke. "…very disturbing video that was sent to the GCN, Gotham City's news station, earlier today. Viewer discretion is advised."
Jeannie turned up the volume as the scene cut to a shaky, grainy image of what appeared to be some sort of slaughterhouse. She could see the bloody carcass of a large animal in the background.
"Tell them your name…" a male voice began. It was nasally, high-pitched, and made Jeannie cringe.
"B—Brian…D—Douglas," came the terrified answer. Jeannie's eyes widened in astonishment—Brian Douglas was Miranda Parker's one-time boyfriend and the father of her eight-year-old son, Alexander. She hadn't seen Miranda in years, but she would never have guessed Brian moved to Gotham and became a policeman. Now he was reduced to a sick-looking man dressed in a batsuit and cowering on the floor.
The first voice gave a sinister snicker. "Are you the real Batman?" it whispered.
"No," Brian Douglas gulped.
"No?" the Joker repeated, sounding amused. He laughed again, but this time it was louder, more disturbing. Jeannie's eyes narrowed; she had the frustrating sensation of déjà vu. She had heard that laugh before.
"Mommy, what are you watching?" Lily asked, skipping into the room with cupcake splattered over her face.
"Go to your room and play, sweetie," Jeannie ordered, not taking her eyes off the television.
Her daughter's lip quivered. "But I wanna see—"
"Lily, go!" Jeannie ordered. With a hurt look on her face, Lily ran out of the room and stormed upstairs.
Back on the screen, the image tilted dizzyingly as the camera was rotated sideways."…Then why do you dress up like him?" the Joker asked. He giggled, waving a black object in front of the camera. Jeannie caught a glimpse of his gloved hand and the sleeve of a purple jacket.
"He's a symbol," Brian Douglas whispered, sounding as if he was about to faint, "…That we don't have to be afraid of scum like you."
"But you do, Brian," the Joker countered, "You really do." He sounded like he was speaking through clenched teeth. Jeannie stared at the television, now utterly horrified but unable to look away.
"Look at me," he ordered. When Brian didn't respond, he roared, "Look at me!"
The remote fell from Jeannie's hand and clattered loudly onto the floor, but she didn't react.
On screen, the Joker swung around the camera to face the viewer. He had two long, jagged scars that split each half of his face open. They were covered in bright red paint that gave him the bizarre, nightmarish appearance of a permanent smile. His face was smeared in white makeup and his greasy hair held a green tinge. Even with black paint smudged around his eyes like a demented panda bear, Jeannie knew that they were the same eyes she saw reflected in her daughter every day.
"You see, this is how crazy Batman's made Gotham," the Joker snarled. "You want order in Gotham, then Batman must take off his mask and turn himself in. Oh, and every day he doesn't, people will die. Starting tonight. I'm a man of my word." Then he started laughing—the most terrifying laugh Jeannie had ever heard.
With trembling hands, she grabbed the phone and dialed Emily's number. When her friend answered, she whispered, "Help me."
"I knew who he was as soon as I saw the tape," Emily said worriedly. "I haven't told Anthony about it yet. He says that the Joker robbed a bank a few days ago and then supposedly crashed a mob meeting."
Jeannie choked on her next words. "Em…but how…"
"I have a theory," Emily began. "Oliver used to work for the mob, right? They wanted to get rid of you for some reason. So they tell him to burn down your apartment, but of course, Oliver can't bear to kill you, so what does he do? He tells you Jack is dead to make sure you'll never come back to Gotham. Then he tells Jack that you're dead so he won't go looking for you." Emily said this all in a rush. "At least, that's what I think happened."
"Emily…I can't…I can't…oh God—" Jeannie clapped a hand over her mouth so Lily couldn't hear her breakdown. "If it really is him…Jack, I mean—"
"Shhh, calm down," Emily said. "I'll find out as much as I can and keep you updated."
"There's no point," Jeannie replied firmly. "I'm flying to Gotham tonight."
"What?" she gasped. "Jeannie, no! If Jack finds out you're still alive—"
"He's my husband! You can't expect me to just sit here and wait for news—"
"He's a psychopathic clown!" Emily screeched. "Who knows what he'll do to you?"
"But I know him—"
"Not anymore. People change. Imagine the psychological damage that was inflicted when he thought he lost you. He might have been Jack once, but now he's the Joker. Jack is gone."
Jeannie took a step back, as if physically hit by the words. "Fine," she said in a small voice. "I'll fly out tomorrow morning."
"What are you planning to do?" Emily asked harshly. "Stand out in the street and wait for him?"
"Like it or not, Em, I'll be there by tomorrow. The police or Batman will catch him soon enough and I'll visit him when he's safely behind bars. It's not like he hadn't killed anyone when I knew him," Jeannie said darkly.
"You don't know what you're getting yourself into," Emily protested. "Gotham is not the same place—"
"Emily."
"All right, I can't stop you," her friend muttered. "But it's your funeral."
"I'll call you when I get there, okay?" Jeannie asked. There was no reply except for a click on the other end, and she was left with the dial tone buzzing in her ear.
Jeannie didn't sleep at all that night; she could do nothing but stare up at the ceiling with her mind working a mile a minute. Alternating images of Jack and the Joker flashed into her mind. She tried to connect Jack with the maniacal laughter of the clown wearing greasepaint, and found it was unfortunately all too easy.
"Oh, Jack," she said into the darkness. "What have you done to yourself?"
As soon as the faintest hint of light streaked the horizon the next morning, Jeannie rose and woke her daughter. "Are we going to see Grandma?" Lily asked innocently as Jeannie carried her out to the car.
Mrs. Kerr was currently in the hospital recovering from a hip operation. "No, honey. We're going to visit Uncle Liam," Jeannie replied.
Liam and Susan still lived in the city, with nearly-eight-year-old David and their two daughters, three-year-old Joanna and one-year-old Fiona.
Jeannie made the mistake of turning on the radio during the drive, right in the middle of the announcer saying, "The Joker crashed billionaire Bruce Wayne's party last night at his—"
Shaking madly, Jeannie smashed the off button so hard it nearly broke right in two. She looked around to make sure Lily hadn't heard, but her daughter was busy staring out the window and singing the Barney theme song to herself. Jeannie had an irrational urge to burst out into nervous laughter.
When they arrived at the Kerrs', Liam was already outside dressed in a business suit and looking as if he was about to leave for work. "Is there anything wrong, Jeannie?" he asked, but his words were drowned out by Lily's excited shriek as she spotted David and Joanna playing outside.
"Look, Jo!" David cried. "It's our four-year-old cousin!"
"I'm five now!" Lily retorted indignantly.
"Four!"
"Five!" She chased him into the house and Joanna immediately followed, leaving Jeannie alone with her elder brother.
"I'm going back to Gotham," Jeannie said in response to her brother's questioning look. "I wanted to know if you could take care of Lily for a while."
Liam looked taken aback. "Gotham? Haven't you heard what's going on there now?"
"I have," Jeannie replied. "It's a personal matter, and I can't bring Lily along with me. Please, Liam?"
He sighed, rubbing his beard. "All right. I just hope you know what you're getting yourself into."
"Why is everyone telling me that?" Jeannie mumbled to herself, but gave her brother a thank-you hug all the same.
She went to say goodbye to Lily and found her daughter playing house with Joanna and Fiona while David pretended to run over the dolls with his toy trucks. "Honey, can I talk to you for a second?" she asked, gently taking Lily's hand and leading her into the hallway.
"I don't wanna go home yet, Mommy!" Lily protested, trying to pull away.
"You aren't, sweetheart. Listen…I have to go away for a while, but I'll be back as soon as I can."
Lily suddenly looked scared. "Where are you going?"
"A city called Gotham. Do you remember what I told you about it?"
"It's where you lived with Daddy before I was born!" Lily burst out, proud of herself for remembering such an important piece of information.
Jeannie nodded. "Well, I'm going back there for a couple of weeks. Can you be a big girl and stay here while I'm gone?"
Lily's lower lip began to tremble and she hugged Jeannie's waist. "I wanna go with you!"
"No, honey. I have to go alone," Jeannie said, stroking her hair. "But I'll be back. I promise."
"Wait!" exclaimed Lily. She ran back into the room and came out with Thumper, the stuffed rabbit Jeannie had given her when she was a baby. "Keep him so you don't forget me."
Jeannie nearly caved in and decided to bring her along right there, but it would be far too dangerous, not to mention selfish, so she forced herself to take the rabbit instead. "Of course I won't forget you!" she said. "I love you, sweetie."
"I love you too, Mommy!" Lily replied. Jeannie knelt down and kissed her, trying to blink away tears. She had never been away from her daughter for more than a day before, and had no idea how she would able to take it.
Liam drove her to the airport, shooting her dubious glances the entire time, and when they arrived Jeannie was all too happy to bid him goodbye. She stood at the gate and gave him a quick hug. "I'll be all right," she tried to assure him.
He looked at her doubtfully. "Don't convince me, convince yourself."
There were very few people on Jeannie's flight—it wasn't surprising in the least, considering Gotham wasn't a tourist-friendly city at the best of times. She soon felt herself drifting off to sleep as her body tried to make up for the sleepless night before. Jeannie gladly welcomed the brief oblivion—that way she didn't have to think any more about the sheer ridiculousness of what she was setting out to do.
Emily was waiting for her at the arrivals gate when the plane landed. "I'm an idiot for letting you come here," she said by way of a greeting. She jabbed a pair of sunglasses at Jeannie and yanked her hood up over her face.
"Em, you're being paranoid," Jeannie protested, but her friend held firm.
"The Joker made a threat on Anthony's life," she muttered as they hurried outside to where a sleek Rolls-Royce waited at the curb. "I'm booking you a room in the Ritz. It's not safe for you to stay at our house."
During the drive downtown, Jeannie half-expected to see a building explode or for there to be mass pandemonium in the streets, but everything seemed remarkably quiet, like the city was in a momentary slumber.
"There's a funeral later today," Emily told her. "The police commissioner was killed last night."
"By who?" Jeannie asked, almost not wanting to know the answer.
"It was a poisoned drink," replied Emily. "But everyone knows who did it."
Although it was warm in the car, Jeannie couldn't stop the chill that enveloped her entire body at the words. She now realized that it had been pure stupidity to come back.