Okay so this chapter is kinda shorter than what I normally post, but it just seemed like a logical place to stop the story. Don't worry, I have a much longer chapter in mind for the next one :) To all my new readers, reviewers, and to everyone who put my story on their favorites/alerts list, THANK YOU! Haha it always brightens my day. Special shout outs to Silent, xX6Jenny-Bean9Xx, Avis11, Evesgreenleaf, and Operating Under a Codename! Your reviews made my day! And to answer some of your questions about whether or not this is a Bruce/OC fic or Joker/OC, I haven't really decided. It's definitely not going to be romantic between the Joker and LJ (But as you can already tell it's kind of a one sided obsession on the Joker's part). Tell me what you guys think about a possible relationship between LJ and another character in your reviews! Sorry about the long note :/ And thanks for reading!
"I need you to take me to the MCU." LJ didn't waste any time as Batman led her to the Tumbler again. She didn't want to go anywhere with Batman if she didn't need to. And Gordon needs to know what happened anyways.
LJ studied Batman's face as he stared at the road in front of him. His jaw seemed to clench in frustration, but he didn't say anything for a few minutes, as if he was thinking hard.
"You can't go back to your apartment." His gravelly voice ricocheted through the tank as Logan rolled her eyes.
"Yeah I know that. I'm going to stay at the MCU, I have a couch in my office." Batman didn't say anything in protest, but she could tell that he didn't think she should stay there.
"Look," she continued. "Where else are you going to take me? Right now, the best place for me to be is the MCU. You need to be out there saving damsels in distress and getting cats out of trees. Don't worry about the Joker tonight. We already know where he'll be tomorrow." LJ's argument seemed to make Batman's decision easier. He nodded and unclenched his jaw.
Minutes passes by in complete silence before Batman said anything. "I've never liked cats very much," Batman said, breaking the silence. LJ didn't know whether it was the stress of the night getting to her, or how absurd Batman sounded, but she suddenly burst into laughter. Though the masked vigilante didn't laugh along with her, LJ could have sworn she caught him smirking.
As the tank approached the MCU, Batman cut her laughter off. "I know you resent me for saying this, but be careful. Sure you can take care of yourself, but that doesn't mean you can't get hurt."
"I know I can be stubborn sometimes, so I just want you to know how grateful I am that you were there tonight." LJ grimaced as she thought of the abduction attempt. She masked her anxiety with a nervous laugh and tried to lighten the mood. "And if you ever mention this conversation, I will deny it ever happened." She gave Batman a weak smile before continuing. "Just . . . Thanks. Gotham is lucky to have you."
With that, LJ stumbled out of the tank and into the MCU as quickly as possible. She had a lot to do before the funeral procession tomorrow.
...
"LJ, I don't think you should come to the funeral tomorrow. We already know the Joker will be there, and I'm not risking your safety again," Gordon said with a stoic tone after she explained what had happened.
"No way in hell Gordon. I have more motivation than ever to catch the clown now. I've worked too hard to be taken out of the game. We're going to get him soon. I can feel it." Gordon ran his hand through his hair in frustration. He knew she was right. Even though her boss didn't say anything, LJ knew she had won the argument. Without waiting any longer, LJ began to plan their defensive strategy before Gordon could change his mind.
...
The time for the funeral came quicker than LJ would have liked. Luckily, she had a pair of black dress pants in her backpack. She quickly took a shower and fixed her hair and makeup in the gym bathroom in the basement of the MCU. Fortunately, nobody else was there to ask her why she was there so early. Gordon decided that it would be better to keep her story out of the news for the time-being. He didn't want Gotham's new hero to look vulnerable, especially right after the deaths of so many public figures.
Once dressed, LJ went upstairs to meet the others who were going to be standing on the stage with the Mayor as he gave his speech. From the force, it would just be her and Gordon and a couple of uniforms. They each would be armed, wearing bullet-proof vests, and hooked up to a communication system that connected them to the snipers on the roofs. LJ rode to the procession in Gordon's car, since he insisted she did for some unknown reason to her. Gordon didn't want the Joker getting his painted hands on her before the funeral. The ride there was chaotic because there were so many people in the streets waiting to pay their last respects to Commissioner Loeb. But they eventually made it through and assembled themselves on either side of the elevated podium.
LJ looked out into the sea of people, half expecting to see the Joker's signature purple suit, but everyone was dressed in mournful-black. A voice from the coms-unit in her ear snapped her out of her thoughts. It was a sniper from the roof saying that it was all clear. She wished they had picked a better spot to hold the procession. There were way too many windows above them. Though the rooms were evacuated, it still made her uneasy.
As the marching band approached, the street was filled with a haunting funeral ballad. Once people filled their seats, the Mayor stepped up to the podium to begin his speech. LJ barely paid attention, instead, she kept scanning the crowd for the Joker.
The Mayor was able to get through his speech easily, with no disturbances. LJ thought the Joker would have attacked sooner. Why did he wait? What made him wait? The obituary definitely said he was shot during his speech. All there was left was the Honor Guard's routine. With guns. Guns. Of course! LJ's eyes immediately shot toward the line of identical officers with weapons. She inspected each face from afar, though she didn't even see an inch of greasepaint. The guards turned in formation, coincidentally turning right toward the podium. And that's when it happened. LJ saw the scars. It's him. She made eye contact with the man and shivers went down her back as he winked at her. It was definitely him.
LJ instinctively turned toward the man she was supposed to be protecting, and tackled him as a number of things happened. All three people on the podium hit the ground. Gun shots. Pandemonium.
LJ's mind was spinning as she pushed herself up. The Mayor was also stirring; he was safe. Gordon, however, was not. Before she could reach him to check his pulse, Detective Stevens was pulling her off the stage, and Gordon was being transferred to an ambulance.
"Let me go," she hissed angrily though her teeth. If she wasn't going to see how Gordon was, then she was definitely going after the Joker.
She scanned the crowd once again, but she knew what she was looking for this time. Almost instantly, she met the cold glare of the Joker again. There were panicked civilians between the two of them, so neither of them could really do anything. LJ didn't dare break eye contact with him, just in case. She didn't want to lost him in the crowd. LJ took a decisive step toward him as he raised his empty hand, pointing to her with his index and middle fingers, his thumb sticking perpendicular to the other fingers. She cocked her head in confusion, but realized that it was a childish representation of a gun. He's threatening me. That didn't stop LJ from reaching behind her for her own real gun, without taking her eyes from him. He shook his head and smiled sinisterly as he pulled the trigger of his fake gun.
A very real shot rang out from behind her and a very real, unimaginably painful stabbing sensation ripped through her bicep. The force of the shot knocked her forward as she clenched her teeth to stop her from crying out. Her hand instinctively grabbed onto the source of the pain. Blood gushed through her fingers as she held on tighter. The gaping wound had already started to throb and swell. her breathing was ragged. Any movement made her arm explode with pain. She tried to ignore it as she looked up to find the Joker in the same spot as before. A mischievous smile spread across his face as he bowed slightly, as if saying "That's what you get." He blew a kiss before turning and sauntering away.
Why can't anyone else stop him? LJ yelled in her mind furiously. She looked around and easily got her answer. People were staring at her. She was the distraction. And all the other officers were chasing after her shooter.
LJ could feel her mind starting to blur as the movements of the people around her slowed. The pain wasn't worse than anything she was used to, but the blood loss was making her body betray her mind and make her see stars. She looked around wildly for help and sighed in relief as she saw two medics with a stretcher running toward her. Just breath. You've gotten shot before. This is no different. LJ kept repeating that to herself to make sure she didn't black out before she got into the ambulance. Though, she did keep her eyes closed to stop the external stimuli from making her head hurt more. She could tell that people were taking her picture. The flashes from the camera still broke through the walls of her eyelids and made her head burst in more stabbing pain.
"Detective Johnson, what happened?" One of the EMT's asked her as another pried her hand away from her wound.
"Shot. I was shot." And that's when everything went dark.
Sorry about the kind-of-cliff-hanger. And don't worry, you'll be seeing a lot more of the Joker next chapter! Please review and tell me what you think! I really want to improve my story as best as I can :)
