Chapter 1: An Unlikely Visitor
As the afternoon died down at stately Wayne Manor, home to billionaire Bruce Wayne, the sole remaining survivor of the Wayne family, Bruce and his faithful butler, Alfred Pennyworth, got ready to set "the plan" in motion. Earlier today, Bruce had found another cave filled to the brim with black bats, which turned out to be the symbol of how his life would change, he had also got his engagement ring returned to him from his fiancée, Andrea Beaumont. Replaying the message in the back of his mind, Wayne recalled them exactly as it was written, "Left with dad… Too young… Need time… Forget about me."
But before "the plan" could be set in motion, that evening, an unlikely visitor arrived at Wayne Manor, answering the door, Alfred spoke to the stranger, "Yes, may I help you?"
"I must speak to Bruce Wayne, it's uh… urgent." said the newcomer.
"What name shall I say?" inquired the butler.
"Just tell him… Jack Napier is here." was the newcomer's reply.
"Very well." Alfred turned his head, "Master Bruce? There's a Mr. Napier is here to see you."
"I'll be right there, Alfred." answered the sole heir, off-screen. Bruce entered the living room, as far as he knew, he knew no Jack Napier. "Who did you say was at the door, Alfred?" He asked. But upon gazing into the foreigner's eyes, Bruce's normal persona faded to one of rage, "You!" he bellowed, pointing a finger at Napier.
Pointing a finger to himself, the latter asked rather sheepishly, "Me?"
"You were at the Beaumont's last night!" Bruce spat, nodding. "Give me one good reason why I shouldn't have you get off my property," Jack stammered to find an answer as Wayne went on, "or for that matter, have you turned over to the police! How'd you find this place?"
It happened all so fast but, the small-time mob member gulped and answered, "What do you know of the Ace Chemical Processing Plant, Mr. Wayne?"
Thinking back on it, but not letting his guard down, Bruce answered, "It's a old chemical plant that used to do business with my family years ago," he inhaled, "they made all sorts of things needed to keep business thriving. Why do you ask, Mr. Napier?"
"What if I told you there was gonna be a robbery planned for that place tonight?" Jack answered. "And…"
"Let me guess," interrupted Bruce, "You were part of said heist?"
"Well, I was." replied Jack nodding, "But not entirely, I think is the right wording?"
"What do you mean by that?" asked Bruce, arching an eyebrow.
"Well, you see…" Jack began. "Can I come in?"
Bruce raised an eyebrow and looked at Jack, then at Alfred, then back at Jack, "This is most irregular, but if you must, please." He turned to let Jack inside and then turned to his butler, "Alfred, would you make a drink for Mr. Napier?"
"Earl Grey tea work for you, Mr. Napier?" asked Pennyworth.
"Actually, could you make it a sugar honey iced tea?" requested Jack.
Raising his own eyebrow, Alfred wasn't sure if Napier was serious, but it's quite clear he was, "Very well, as you wish."
"Now, what's this about you wanting to rob Ace Chemicals, Mr. Napier?" asked Bruce.
"Originally," Jack began as he told his story, "I used to work there when I was younger as lab assistant. But because I was a goofball, they laid me off." He paused. "I was desperate for a job, I had lost so many in the past, so the mob picked me up and hired me. And through this one big score, I was hoping to make a clean living."
"Clean living doesn't come from thievery, Jack, you know this." said Bruce. "Or for that matter, working for a bunch of hired guns."
"I know that now." Jack answered. "But anyway, I wasn't this always down on my luck, working for the mob, doing dirty deeds, all that jazz."
"Oh, what were you before?" questioned Bruce.
The answer was on Jack's tongue as he let loose a hesitant gulp, "I was…" he shrugged, "Nah, you'd only make fun of me."
"I promise you I will not laugh." replied Bruce, still suspicious.
Just then, Alfred entered with Jack's tea, "Your tea, Mr. Napier."
"Thanks, Alfi." said Jack, to which Alfred arched an eyebrow of his own. Taking a drink of his tea, Jack continued his story, "I was a comedian, just to make people laugh. 'Cause when the laugh, they feel good. And when they don't, well, you know. In a nutshell, being a comedian was not the best approach for me. "
"So that's when you joined the mob?" inquired Bruce. "After both failing as a comedian and as a lab assistant?"
"Yes." nodded Jack. "I had a wife who was pregnant. But because of her death, she was testing a baby bottle heater, I, against all odds, decided to join up with the mob in the hopes to start life anew."
"But you didn't, and yet, here you are." examined Bruce. "A member of Gotham's seedy underbelly."
"Guilty as charged." nodded Jack.
"So then, why are you here?" asked Bruce.
"As I said, I wanted to start life anew." replied Jack.
"Why not bring this up to the police, especially Sergeant Gordon?" inquired Bruce. "I'm sure that with the right due processes and all that, he could give you the clean slate."
"Truth be told, I thought of that," Jack answered honestly, "but I couldn't do it." When Bruce didn't ask his reasoning, Jack continued, "Whether you're aware of it or not, Bruce, may I call you Bruce?" Bruce silently nodded, "The walls have ears, in other words, not all of the cops in the GCPD are clean, there are some cops that are dirty and probably work for the mob. And if they got word of one of them trying to desert them, they'd rub me out."
"I see," Bruce said, stroking his chin. "that still doesn't answer my question, how did you know who I am and where'd you dig up my residence?"
Jack thought for a moment before answering, "I knew you were dating that Beaumont girl for a while, and having found about your residence, I was able to get a hold of your location." He then made a sad frown, "I also read about your tragic… accident." referring to the deaths of Bruce's parents, Dr. Thomas and Martha Wayne. "Well, that, and Joe Chill, the man who killed your parents, was my mentor, before his untimely comeuppance." He took a drink of his sugar honey iced tea.
"And did he want you to finish the job?" asked Bruce.
"At first, yes." answered Jack, clearing his throat. "But I couldn't do it."
"So then, if that the case," Bruce went on, "why didn't you kill me when you had the chance?"
"If I killed you then and there, I knew I'd be in hot water." concluded Jack, "Not to mention you'd have been my first kill."
"So, you've never killed before?" inquired a rather surprised Bruce.
"Yes, I never have." answered Jack, shaking his head. "Luckily."
"What were you hoping to accomplish before your wife's death, if anything?" Bruce asked.
"I was hoping to move a decent city and start a new life." replied Jack. "I may not look it, but deep down, I am very bright. Something the mob frowns upon."
"So, you never considered looking into Metropolis, Star City, Central City, Coast City?" Bruce guessed.
"I did," Jack explained, "but as I said, if the mob found out just how intelligent I was, I'd be kicked out, or worse, killed."
There was a long pause before Bruce spoke again, as the minutes flew by, Jack drank his tea. Gradually, Bruce found his voice, "All right, here's what I'm gonna do, Jack…" The latter nodded, "I'll speak to Gordon on your behalf and pull some strings, and if the courts agree to drop all the charges, you can stay here until the due process happens. Only then and then, can I help you get out of Gotham."
Sighing in relief, Jack beamed, "Oh, thank you, Bruce. You don't know what this means to me."
"And in the meantime," Bruce added, "I'll have security activated around the manor so your former friends don't come looking for you." He turned to Alfred, "Alfred, activate security code number 2."
"Right away, sir." said Alfred.
"If you have to ask, Jack," Bruce explained, "This will activate a weapons protocol security system to ensure your safety."
"Before you do that, can you at least let me get my trunks?" asked Jack.
"I can get that for you, Mr. Napier." suggested Alfred.
"Oh no, I couldn't let you do that." Jack said, "It's my own personal trunks, I never let anyone touch it, except of course, me."
"Very well, Mr. Napier, go ahead." answered Alfred, nodding.
It took several moments for Jack to come back inside as his trunks were heavy, but he soon found his way back inside Wayne Manor, "What do you have in their, Jack? Bricks?" teased Bruce.
"Har-har, very funny, Bruce." retorted Jack, as he opened it up. Inside one trunk were several comedic gag items and the like. He also had clothes in another.
Bruce looked at the clock on the mantle by the fireplace, it was 10:20 sharp, it was 27 minutes before for it was time to set "the plan" in motion. "Well, listen Jack, I have somewhere to be in a few, but if you need anything, Alfred will tend to you."
"Thanks." said Jack.
Getting a closer look at Jack's comedic props trunk, Bruce spoke remembering something, "Wait a minute… Now that you've mentioned and show your stuff, Jack." Jack nodded, "I think I may have seen you before at a performance once years ago. Didn't you wear a navy blue suit or something thereof?"
"I did." Jack nodded, recalling that show himself.
"When did you have time to see that kind of stuff, sir?" Alfred inquired, unsure about the situation himself. "I thought you were not used to comedies."
"You said it yourself, Alfred, I need to keep my horizons open, Alfred." answered Bruce. "I just followed your suggestion."
"Fair enough." a relieved Alfred nodded.
"Before I go, Jack, I have a small request." Bruce requested.
"Name it, Bruce." wondered Jack, pondering where the famous boy billionaire was going with this.
"Would you mind telling a joke, just for old-times sake?" asked Bruce, to which Jack arched an eyebrow. "Just to refresh my memory if that indeed was you all those nights ago."
"Okay, let me see, one of my jokes…" pondered Jack, as he took of his derby. It soon hit him, as he remembered one. "I think I got one."
"Very well, Jack, whenever you're ready." said Bruce.
"This should be most interesting." added Alfred to his master, who nodded.
Jack began to tell his joke, "See, there were two guys locked away in a lunatic asylum and one night, one night they decided they didn't like living there anymore. So they decided that they're going to escape." he paused to build up the moment, Bruce and Alfred nodded, indicating they were listening, "So, they made it up to the roof, right then and there, just across the narrow gap, they see rooftops stretching across town, which was the indication for their freedom." Jack went on after a brief pause, "Now, the first guy, he jumps right across with no problem. But his friend, decided that there was no way to accomplish such a feat, for you see, he was afraid of falling." Jack inhaled, "So, the first guy, he has an idea… He says, 'Hey, I got this flashlight with me. I'll shine it across the gap between the buildings and you can walk across the beam and join me.'." Jack made a nervous frown as he finished his joke, "But the second guy says, 'What do you think I am, crazy? You'd just turn it off when I'm halfway across!'."
There was a long pause, Jack held his breath nervously… Eventually, Bruce and Alfred started bursting into laughter. "Okay, that was actually pretty good, Jack." commented Bruce. "And I'm not just saying that. You're definitely as funny as I remember."
"Indeed, that was surprisingly deep." Alfred concurred with a smile and nod.
"Thanks, guys." Jack beamed back.
"And incidentally, we're sorry to hear about your wife…" Bruce added, speaking sympathetically, "What did you say her name was?"
"I didn't." replied Jack, thinking about the memories he made with her. "Jeannie." He then put a shoulder on Bruce, "And I'm sorry about you and Ms. Beaumont."
"Andrea." Bruce corrected, "But thanks, Jack." He looked at the clock, it was 10:35, time to work. "I'll see you when I get back."
"You too, Bruce. And thanks…" sighed a happy Jack.
Minutes later, in what would become christened as the Batcave, Bruce and Alfred were all alone as Bruce had donned an outfit: Grey tights, black combat boots, black briefs, black gloves with fins, a yellow utility belt and a black cape with cut edges to resemble bat wings, all with blue highlights, and in the center of the outfit a black bat. Two minutes left to go… All that remained left was one thing, Bruce held out his hand, "The cowl, Alfred."
The butler hesitated for a moment as he walked up, "But, sir, surely you can't expect to keep this a secret forever?" Alfred inquired, "Especially after you found a new acquaintance?"
"The cowl!" Bruce yelled, repeating himself.
Alfred did he was told and handed the cowl to Bruce, looking at it for a brief moment, Bruce spoke to himself, 'Well, here goes nothing.' 10:47 PM, the time of his parents murder, he put the bat ear shaped cowl on, it was perfect fit. Alfred jumped scared stiff at the soulless white lenses gazing at him. "Well, Alfred," Bruce said deepening his voice, "how do I look?"
But all that Alfred could say was, "My god." A while ago, Bruce had told him that the only problem with the criminals had during Bruce's first night out was the fact none of them were afraid of him, but now that the transformation was complete, things were going to get serious for Gotham. Clearing his throat Alfred regained his composure, "You look absolutely terrifying, sir."
"Good." Bruce commented. "And uh…" he cleared his throat, "Sorry about my despicable behavior earlier, I just wanted this to work, that's all."
"Of course, sir." nodded Alfred. "Apology accepted, master Bruce."
"Well, I got work to do. See to it that you caterer to Jack's requests." Bruce said as he hopped in his car.
"Will do, and good hunting, sir." Alfred nodded.
With that, the car drove away.
Author's notes:
* So there we have it, Bruce getting to know Jack before the latter became the famous clown we all know and love.
* For those of you who have to ask, I drew inspiration on the opening story from the Batman: The Animated Series movie Batman: Mask of the Phantasm, you can see the hints with Andrea Beaumont being mentioned, Jack working for the mob, etc.
* Other hints of Batman related stories where I draw inspiration for this story come from The Killing Joke, best known for its story that shows what like life was like for The Joker before he was finally, in his own words 'finally driven off the deep end' and had that so called 'bad day'.
* I also drew on inspiration from the 1989 Batman film in the moment when Bruce asks for the cowl from Alfred, kinda similar to how The Joker asked for a mirror from his plastic surgeon.
* Bruce Wayne/Batman, Jack Napier and Alfred Pennyworth owned by DC Comics and is © by Bill Finger and Bob Kane.