Chapter 3: Clowns Suck
Danny eyes traveled over the people as they milled about the street, some pushing and shoving past pedestrians while others slowly and carefully weaved their way through. The crowds were busiest at sunset, many people finally getting off of work, while others moved onto their second jobs. From the fire escape, above the sea of people, Danny could tell just how many there actually were. And it surprised him. After everything that happened in Gotham, why the hell would anyone stay?
The setting sun cast a warm glow on the normally grey city. Instead, there were mixes of reds, yellows and pinks bouncing off of metal poles, glass windows and water puddles. Danny gave a small groan of annoyance as his stomach rumbled. He had been fending off hunger throughout the day, but he noticed it was getting progressively worse.
He glanced down at the bustling crowds. One of those idiots had to have enough on them for at least a hot dog or something. Gripping the rails of the fire escape, Danny hoisted himself off the beam and quickly scurried down the steps.
Flipping the hood of his jacket up, the teen slipped into the bustling crowd with ease, melting into the river of people. Scanning the crowds, the teen narrowed his eyes as he tried to locate an easy target. He finally made out a man in a large coat, phone to his ear, face giving away the fact that the conversation wasn't pleasant.
Feeling a small grin spread onto his face, the teen picked up his pace until he was a few feet from the man. He then tripped up on his feet and stumbled into the man, who gave a grunt of surprise. Danny quickly righted himself and held up his hands, an apologetic look on his face. The man growled at him before shoving past, continuing with the conversation on the phone.
Danny slid past the man and continued to walk, feeling a new weight in his pocket.
Stopping to go get something to eat at a local hot dog stand, the teen quickly scarfed the small meal down, thankful that it was enough to silence the growling in his stomach. He sighed in content, quickly realizing night was falling. The sky was beginning to melt into a dark blue, deep purples and blacks mixed in as well.
He pulled his hood tighter over his head as he felt the temperature beginning to drop. Deciding to head back home, the teen turned and started back from where he came, only to stop as he heard the screech of tires. Whipping his head back around, he watched as a white van sharply turned a corner and sped down the street, stopping in front of the store next to Danny. The back door to the van opened up and a large gun popped out. Danny gasped as he watched different pellets shoot out from the barrel of the gun, the sharp ends sticking into the walls and ground of the store, smashing into the window as well.
Suddenly, a large plume of green smoke began to shoot from the pellets, filling the store and the surrounding area. Locals that were milling around the street took notice of this and let out shrill shrieks of terror as they fled the scene. Soon, people were exiting the store, coughing madly as they tried to clear their lungs. Soon, the coughs began to turn into small giggles, then into chuckles until they morphed into full-blown cackles.
Danny watched as the people around him began to fall to the floor, large grins on their faces as they laughed uncontrollably. He coughed and waved his hand in front of him, trying to clear his vision of the smoke around him.
Through the haze and the laughter, Danny never took notice of the cackling coming from inside the van. There, a certain green-haired, white-skinned man was laughing his butt off as he watched the people outside doing the same. "See? Ain't this so much better, Harls?" He asked, turning to the girl next to him, who wore a black and red jester's outfit.
"Now those sorry sticks in the mud are just as happy as I am!" He said with a sickening grin.
Harley smiled. "It really is, Mista' J! And your new gun works like a charm!" She said, cupping her hands over her heart. Suddenly, she took notice of a shape through the thick green smoke; a shape that wasn't rolling around on the floor in uncontrollable laughter.
"Hey, Mista' J? I think you should see this." She called hesitantly. Joker stopped laughing and sat up in his seat, glancing out the window as the teen finally broke through the smoke, face noticeably concerned, not at all like the people around him. The clown narrowed his eyes before he broke into a smile again. "Oh, well. He just needs a stronger dose!" He cackled, firing another pellet at the teen's feet, the weapon embedding itself into the ground next to him.
There, another plume of smoke began to rise from the pellet, shrouding the teen in green smoke once more. But once again, the teen waved the smoke away, slamming his foot down on the pellet, effectively destroying it.
Harley and the Joker's goons visibly flinched as they watched the weapon be destroyed, slowly turning towards The Joker, who was gripping the gun angrily. Suddenly, his grip disappeared as a new smile formed onto his face. "It seems I've found something interesting. Mo, Lar, Cur!" He shouted, the three men instantly straightening. "Go and fetch him for me." He said sweetly before his face darkened. "I have a few questions for him."
The three men nodded before hopping out of the truck. Danny watched as the truck door opened once more and three men leapt out. He took a reflexive step back as he watched them turn towards him. Great, just what I needed. Attention from the local nuts. He sighed to himself as he watched the three charge towards him.
Slipping into a loose defensive stance, he waited until the first man was a few paces from him before leaping to the side. There, he turned back towards the other two, slipping under the outstretched arms of another while leaping over the last. The three men stared dumbfounded at the teen before snapping back to attention.
Danny watched as one man reared a fist back while another rounded behind him. He smirked and ducked under the fist, hearing it connect with the face of the other man. He leapt underneath the legs of the first and jumped onto his shoulders. There, he rammed his elbow into the top of his head, sending him to the ground. Leaping back off, he faced off against the last man, who threw him a heated glare before charging.
Danny slipped out his stance and stood casually against the back wall as the man charged. At the last second, he stepped to the side and watched as the man rammed head-first into the wall, effectively knocking him out.
He let out a small sigh of relief as he shut his eyes. Years of being on the run had finally begun to pay off. Danny had started to train when he was ten, for he knew it was the only way he would be able to survive. There were times he wondered if it was even worth it. Now, he had finally received his answer.
Unfortunately, he also received an answer when he felt something heavy slam into his side, knocking him backwards where his head met the hard stone of the back wall. He slid down and slumped onto the floor, slowly falling into darkness.
Harley smirked as she placed her mallet onto her shoulder. Joker laughed from the car as he shoved his head through the open window. "Nice shot, Harls! Now tell those slackers to get off their butts and collect the little brat. And make it fast, before our grumpy playmate gets here!" He shouted.
Harley gave a salute before kicking the three men awake. She pointed towards the kid and walked back to the car, the three men glancing at each other for a moment before complying, tossing the teen into the back of the van before quickly disappearing, the only clue they had been there in the first place was the large group of people with pained grins on their faces.
Safe to say, it was a pretty big clue.
Danny woke to the feeling of cold metal slamming against his head, eyes flying open.
"Ooo, look! Our little friend is awake!"
Lifting his gaze, his bright blue eyes met the dark yellow of Joker's. The man was grinning as he tossed a crowbar from hand to hand. Shifting his gaze around the room, Danny noticed he was tied to a chair in the middle of a large building. Around the room, there were different toys and trinkets, some towering higher than the people in the room.
Milling around the room were the three men from before, and standing beside The Joker was a woman with a large mallet, the same mallet Danny bet knocked him out. He glanced around at the decorations around the room before turning back up to the man. "Nice place. Did you decorate it yourself?" He smirked.
The Joker threw a cackle before slamming the crowbar into the teen's shoulder. Danny groaned in pain as he watched the man turn to the others. "Ain't this kid great?!" He grinned. Harley smiled nervously. "Umm..yeah. He's wonderful, puddin'. But maybe we should focus on why we brought him here."
Joker cast a sideways glance at the table behind him. "Oh, yeah." He mumbled to himself.
Walking over, he grabbed a small squirtable flower from the table and brought it back over to the immobilized teen. He kneeled down in front of Danny and smirked. "Now, smile!" He said as he squeezed the flower, a bright green mist floating into the teen's face.
Danny shut his eyes and turned his head away, letting out a cough as he tried to clear himself of the smoke. Joker laughed as he watched the smoke cover the teen, only to stop when the smoke cleared and the teen's face wasn't pulled into a horrid grin. In fact, he held a look of anger.
"Seriously? Was that really necessary?" He growled in annoyance.
The people in the room glanced at each other in confusion at the teen's response. Joker picked up the flower and glanced over it with a keen eye. "I don't understand..." He trailed off as he glanced behind him. Eyeing one of his three goons, he chucked the flower at the man's feet, a large green plume exploding around him.
Harley and the other two boys screamed and backed into the corner of the building as they watched the goon be engulfed in the smoke. Suddenly, a loud cackling could be heard as the smoke cleared, revealing the man on the floor, a large grin plastered onto his face.
Joker rubbed his chin. "Well...it's not the venom..." He glanced down at the teen, who was looking at him with a bored expression. "So...what's so special about you?" He growled out.
Danny sighed in exasperation as he glanced down towards the ground. He would never let it show, but he could feel his heart beating erratically in his chest, screaming to leap out. He knew the clown would only begin to get angrier without an explanation as to why he wasn't being affected, and he couldn't really explain that it was because of his altered chemical makeup. He sighed inwardly. Man, even when my powers save me, they put me in even more danger.
Nevertheless, he hid his discomfort with a devious grin. "I don't know. Some people say it's my brain. Others say it's my unnaturally good looks, and then there are those that say it's my lack of empathy. Personally, I think it's a combination of all three."
Joker and Harley shared a look before the clown lowered the crowbar, placing the point underneath the teen's chin, lifting his head to eye level with him. "Well, let's just test that, shall we?" He said with a sickening grin.
Twenty Minutes Later...
"What the hell's the matter with this kid?!" Joker screamed, curling his fingers around his hair.
Around the entire base, different colored explosives had all been detonated, purple dust clung to the ceiling while red powder sat in the corner of the room, green was covering the table and orange was the most recent color around Danny's chair. The three men that had succumbed to the venom's effects were finally beginning to snap out of it, and Harley was cowering behind her boss.
Danny swung his legs back and forth in the chair, a content smile on his face as he watched the man try and figure him out. He chuckled inwardly. I'm driving a madman insane. Damn, if Sam and Tucker could see me now...
He shrugged his shoulders at the clown's question. "You know, my friends have been asking the same question for a while now, and they're never able to really give a definite answer. But you are welcome to give it a try." He said with a grin.
Harley placed her hands over her ears. "And he won't SHUT UP!" She shrieked.
Danny scoffed. "Please, it's considered a good thing when I'm talking. It's when I stop talking that you have to get nervous. That means I'm probably plotting."
Harley and Joker shared a look. "Plotting what?" Harley asked.
Danny shrugged. "Does it really matter?" He asked with a devious grin, blue eyes sparkling with mischief.
Joker rolled his eyes. "I don't have time for this." He growled, walking back over to the table behind him. He picked up a pile of papers, a grin spreading onto his face once more. "Those little bombs today were just a test run. Now I get to enjoy the main event." He said, Harley smirking beside him as she handed him another piece of paper. Danny narrowed his eyes as he saw the man whispering something to the female clown. Closing his eyes, he steadied his breathing and focused his powers on his hearing.
"...with that venom bomb at the harbor, it will spread my wonderful concoction on all of those shipping containers. Anyone who touches them will become just as wild as me. And those things will be shipped everywhere, meaning people all over will be having laughing fits from here to Chattanooga!"
Danny gasped, thankful the man hadn't heard. He noticed the clown stealing a glance towards him every once in a while before turning back to the papers, he drummed his fingers against the table as he bit his lower lip. Finally, the man let out a shout of frustration as he threw the papers into the air. "But I still don't understand!" He snarled, picking the crowbar up off of the floor. His eyes glowed dangerously as he swung the weapon towards the teen, his head snapping backwards at the force behind the swing.
"Why. Can't. I. Make. You. Laugh?!" He snarled, adding another swing of the crowbar with every word.
Danny felt the tang of copper in his mouth as he spit blood onto the floor. He whipped his head up, anger evident in his eyes. "Maybe it's cause you're not that funny!" He shouted back.
BIG mistake.
Before the teen could blink, the barrel of a gun was pointed between his eyes. He swallowed the lump in his throat before glancing back up to meet the Joker's malicious gaze. He felt another smile form on his face, but it wasn't enough to stop the bead of sweat that rolled down his temple. "Well..." He said, proud when his voice never wavered. "At least now I get to add murder to the list of things I've gotten to experience." He said with a grin.
His muscles tensed when he watched Joker's face morph into a grin even wider than his. "It's only murder if they find a body."
Danny prepared his hands to turn intangible, but before he could, the sharp whiz of a projectile cut through the air. Joker let out a pained shout as something sharp and fast tore through the air, slapping the gun out of his hands. It stuck to the back wall, the metal shining against the light, reflecting the shape perfectly.
A batarang.
Danny watched with wide eyes as a large black shape dropped down from the railings, landing on the ground without making a sound. The people in the room quickly whipped around to face the newcomer, snapping out of their shock.
Joker's goons quickly leapt to their feet and charged the man. The Dark Knight slipped into a defensive stance and leapt into the air, landing square onto the man's shoulders, driving him into the ground with a loud thump. Leaping back onto the floor, he reached behind him and grabbed another batarang, hurling it at another clown. The projectile slammed into the ground before beginning to beep quickly.
Before the goon could react, the device exploded underneath his feet, driving him backwards. Batman let out a grunt of surprise as he felt someone bear-hug him from behind, crushing him in their grip. He struggled and kicked his legs as he tried to break free, only for the grip to hold fast. Finally, he drove his head backwards, slamming it into the man's face. He let the Dark Knight drop back down to the floor as he clutched his face in pain.
Batman reached up and grabbed the man's shoulders, pulling him towards his knee, which he drove upwards, crushing his nose against his kneecap.
He narrowed his eyes and turned around, only to feel something slam into him and send him flying backwards. He grunted and looked up to see Harley running towards him, her mallet swinging in her hands. Batman crouched underneath the swing and swept the girl's legs out from under her, sending her crashing to the ground. Her mallet crushed the ground as it fell, rolling along the warehouse floor.
Harley groaned as she pushed herself up once more, only to feel tight wires wrap around her. She grunted as she tried to break through, only to gasp as she fell to the floor once more.
Batman turned back, noticing the Joker was no longer in the room. He let out a growl of frustration, only to stop when he remembered the hostage-no-when he remembered the kid. Turning around, he noticed the chair was now laying on its side, empty.
He narrowed his eyes as he noticed the blood around the chair. The teen was injured. He clenched his fists in anger. He wanted to go after the kid, make sure he was alright, but he also knew Joker took priority. If the kid was well enough to escape without making a sound, then he should be fine for the time being.
Batman then realized he had another problem. He had no idea where the Joker went.
He let out a sigh of frustration before making his way towards the door.
"Hey, I think I know where he went."
He turned at the voice. Crouched on the roof railings was a teenager with messy raven-black hair and crystalline blue eyes. He had blood dripping out of the corner of his mouth as well as down the side of his head. The teen's arms were crossed over his chest, almost defensively.
He nodded his head towards the door. "He mentioned something about the harbor. Near the shipping pods. I'd check there first if I were you. Said he had a bomb with venom stashed away there." He explained, his voice revealing nothing about him. It seemed...clipped, unattached.
"Wait." Batman called as he watched the teen quickly slip out of the window.
Part of him wanted to go after the teen. But he knew he had to stop the Joker first. Reluctantly, he made his way outside and grappled his way onto the roof. As he moved, his thoughts stayed on the teen. He was bloody and obviously injured, but he acted like nothing was wrong. He narrowed his eyes as he ran through the night.
Something told him it wouldn't be the last time he saw that kid.
Well, there you go. Our favorite ghost boy meets the Dark Knight for the first time. But something tells me it won't be the last those two see of each other.
Thanks to these people for following and/or favoriting: AJMason, Ijustdon'tcare132, KaeterinaRomanov, Mary Elrondile, The Crossover Addict, The Fan of awesome, dennej21, lillilycutie, live4040, AwesomeMan327, ChrisReniets, lordphoenex10
Reviews:
Glacio Koro: Thanks, hope your love lasts till the very end.
YouCanOnlyPretend: Most of these questions will probably be answered later, but just to cease your confusion: Danny met Sam and Tucker on the streets and they communicate through a computer because Danny moves from city to city and he wants to stay in contact with them. Sam and Tucker don't travel with Danny. They live in Gotham, but they moved there from a nearby city, which is where they first met Danny.
DPTTrocks: I know. I have no patience whatsoever when it comes to rude people, so if I were Phillip, I would have thrown down! Anyway, I hope this curbed some of your anticipation.
