ElseWorlds™: Saving James

Chapter 10

By: Christopher W. Blaine

e-mail: darth_yoshi@yahoo.com

DISCLAIMER: Refer to chapter 1 for the disclaimer for this entire story.

"In the matter of the minor child James Gordon, I have listened to witness testimony as well as statements offered by both parties. I have hundreds of pages of scientific data and doctors reports regarding the mental state of both the Petitioner and the Respondent." Judge Wankerhan patted the stack of papers next to him for effect. Barbara's new lawyer, a middle-aged woman who had complained loudly that she had not been permitted enough time to get acquainted with the case, shook her head slightly. All of this seemed so wrong.

The judge appeared ignorant of her silent dissent. "For the record, I do not feel that Mr. Napier has recovered sufficiently to be awarded joint custody of the child. Despite the leaps and bounds he appears to be making in his treatment, it does not overshadow the fact that he has, at times in the past, committed several terrible crimes."

The Joker kept his head straight and remained fixated on the judge, acting like a small boy in church. Barbara knew it was an act, but there was no way she could prove it. In the two months since Dick's outburst had ended their initial hearing as well as their relationship for the time being, the Joker had continued to be the model inmate at Arkham. Her lawyer had even tried to find something on Dr. Quinzel to try and prove she was a quack of some sort, maybe even one of those serial killer groupies.

The fact was that despite her age, Quinzel received nothing but high compliments from all of the other doctors at Arkham. They praised her as a breath of fresh air, full of the optimism of youth. They were sure it was that "can-do" attitude that she exuberated that was helping the Joker along. Barbara thought it was all bullshit. Quinzel was as nuts as the Joker, but because she didn't have the proper degree, Barbara could not testify to that.

She was prevented from testifying about her time as Batgirl and the things she witnessed the Joker involve himself in. That part of her life had to remain a secret because super-heroes in Gotham City, expect for the members of the Oracle Group, which had just added Deathstroke as a new member, were vigilantes. As such, they were accused of stepping on civil liberties and certainly not the type of person to have custody of a child. She was just lucky that the Joker had not mentioned it or else she would have had to admit to it under oath.

Once she put her faith in God after her rape, Barbara was determined not to ever turn her back on Him. It was He that had blessed her with a normal, healthy child and it was He who was going to see her through this.

She briefly returned to the present as the judge continued. "However, I have before me an overwhelming preponderance of evidence that suggests that Mr. Napier would like to try and contribute something positive to his son's life. If Mr. Napier has been found not guilty of his many crimes in the past because of something that is beyond his control, do I have the right to deny him his basic rights as a parent? Good or bad, a parent still has rights until the state chooses to remove them. In this particular case, the Respondent has never made any attempt to have the Petitioner's rights terminated, and until competent authority moves to do so, they must be considered intact."

He shook his head as he considered it. "Because of that, and because there is no direct evidence that Mr. Napier poses a threat to his child, I am granting limited visitation rights."

Barbara stumbled as her knees gave out and Alfred was quick to catch her. The judge seemed unimpressed and kept speaking. "These visitations will be supervised under the direction of Mr. Napier's doctor, his lawyer and representatives of the state Department of Corrections. It will be limited to one visitation every month for fours hours, to be reevaluated by this court every six months."

The judge then turned his full attention to the Joker, who was wiping away a tear from his eye. "Let me remind you Mr. Napier that any infraction, no matter how small, will result in this court rescinding this order and I will personally begin the process of having your rights vacated. Is that clear?"

"Oh, yes, your honor; thank you! Thank you! God bless you, sir," the Joker said, now in a full cry. Barbara joined him, wailing as she realized that she had just lost not just the battle, but also the war.

Bruce Wayne had offered to fly her anywhere in the world, including out to the small island he now lived on with Selina, and oddly enough, Aquaman and several island women, but Barbara had refused. Dick had made the same offer, but it was moot; a court had frozen most of his personal assets as soon as the lawsuits hit the society page. Luckily, Bruce had removed most of the Wayne fortune from the United States and had it tucked away in various banks throughout the world. The lawyers could try for Dick's inheritance, but they would never find it.

In the back of the courtroom, Lois Lane typed furiously at her laptop, not believing what she was hearing. There was something wrong here as Vicki Vale, a reporter for the Gotham Gazette had confided in her earlier that day.

Lois had come to like Barbara very much and was surprised when Clark revealed the Batgirl secret. To Lois, it only made her fall even more tragic. The rape of Barbara Gordon was bad enough, but now the Joker was raping the entire criminal and civil justice system in Gotham County as well. Everywhere Lois looked in this dark place, she was reminded of a chalk-white penis penetrating everything. As Dick Grayson had put it several months before, "Gotham is fucked."

Well, she thought to herself as she saved the story for later upload to the Daily Planet, she wasn't going to be going anywhere until she found a way to get some sort of giant condom for this city! It wasn't that she loved Gotham, but she had to admit the place grew on you. Having been an army brat, Lois had moved around the country from place to place until she had settled in Metropolis.

Metropolis, the city of the sun itself it seemed, had flash and personality, but Gotham had a dark side that appealed to her inner self. As much as she loved Clark, she had to admit a passion for the dangerous life. She, like most women, had her fantasies of dark alleyways and urban intrigue. What bothered her most was the way corruption could eat its way into the heart of a city so quickly.

Metropolis had is corruption, of course, starting with Lex Luthor. The difference between Luthor and Gotham's scum was that Lex truly did love Metropolis. Sure, he wanted to rule it like an ancient city-state, but he still loved it nevertheless. The criminal element of Gotham wanted nothing more than to tear down this place and reduce it to ash and cinder.

In the 1940's, this place had been protected by the original Green Lantern and Black Canary, but even their good-nature and supreme willpower could not stop the dark cloud that continually hung over the city. Eventually, they gave up and moved elsewhere it seemed. Then came James Gordon and the Batman and it seemed like that the war could finally be won.

Of course, all of that changed when Barbara had gotten pregnant. How one life could affect an entire town fascinated Lois. When she had first met Barbara, she thought her to be a sweet girl; now her respect for the scarlet-haired beauty was growing every day with each new piece of information. She bravely stood up to her father, a man she practically worshipped, in order to keep her baby. Now she was facing down the man who had raped her, violated her in her own home!

She couldn't do it alone, though, and that was why Lois was here. Clark wanted to help, but even Superman couldn't do it all. James Gordon had abandoned his daughter when she refused to bend to his will. The Batman had given up for his own reasons but Lois couldn't help but think there was a lot of guilt there. Dick didn't want to give up, but he had no choice; his rage was too all consuming. He was hurt and embarrassed and spiraling down that dark tunnel of despair. Hopefully he would get himself out if it soon because it was obvious that Barbara was very much in love with him.

Barbara's lawyer made a valiant protest, but the judge reminded her that he had ruled and she was dangerously close to contempt.

She told him to fuck off.

"I did well, then?" Judge Wankerhan asked, his voice like a small boy waiting for praise. He had already dismissed his clerk and was removing his black robes. Underneath he wore a blue shirt and tie and slacks, which he began to remove as well.

He waited for a response, but did not receive one. He understood that he was not in his "speaking" uniform yet and hurried to comply. Taking off the shirt, he revealed nipples pierces several times with needles and pins, some adorned with colorful little flags. Some said, "bitch" and others said "milk maid".  Once he had taken off his trousers, he unzipped his leather panties to allow his privates to hang out.

He stood at full attention, like a recruit in basic training. "I did well?" he asked again.

Harleen Quinzel stood up from where she had been sitting, in the massive leather chair the judge kept behind his desk. She was dressed in a plaid miniskirt and long white socks, her hair in long blonde pigtails. Slowly, she began to unbutton her white blouse, teasing him with glimpses of her ample cleavage. "Oh, daddy, you did really well. I think you were just hard enough on Mr. J!"

"I like being hard," he stammered as one of her breasts fell out.

"Oh, I know, daddy, that's why us little girls come to you when we have problems," she said in an innocent voice. "Aren't you glad I've come to help you be hard?"

He nodded. "Daddy likes it."

"Should daddy's little girl spank daddy?"

His face reddened. "Yes, please."

"If I spank you real good will you spank me? If I spank you extra good, what will daddy give me?" she asked as she stepped next to him. He was on the verge of losing control, but he wouldn't because that control was hers to do with as she pleased. Her first meeting with the judge had told her everything she needed to know, plus a little research from a professional computer hacker.

"What else do you want?" he asked, his voice now seemingly calm. The question had pushed a little too much reality back into his brain. That didn't bother her; his mind was her plaything, a lump of clay waiting to be sculpted.

"I guess me and my little puss-puss will have to leave. Daddy is upset," she said, returning to the desk and picking up a stuffed kitty cat.

"No! No! Don't go, daddy is sorry," he said, reaching for her. Inwardly, Harleen smiled at the ease in which the judge was manipulated. Give a little, take a little away. Her only regret was that the fat bastard was probably going to want to spend the whole night plugging every orifice on the both of them.

She longed for the days when she could do that with her beloved Mr. J. As it stood right now she had to be satisfied servicing the Joker during their closed sessions. She didn't mind it so much, especially when he looked at her with those wild green eyes and told her how much he like to kill someone just for her. She could imagine him writing their names in blood, inside a heart, on the walls of his cell.

She sighed and then jumped a little when the judge reached up her skirt. "I guess daddy wants to play after all," she said, keeping up the act. More than anything, she wanted to commit this jerk. She couldn't abide sick people like him; perverts lacked any imagination, while killers were artists.

There was something special in the way the Joker killed, it was almost as if every body was a love gift to her. "Daddy, do you know about that case against bad old Dick?"

He was breathing heavy as his hands roamed her backside. "You mean Grayson?"

"Mr. J wants you to throw the book at him!"

He stopped. "I can arrange it," he said, trying to sound like a big man. She almost laughed, but realized that he probably did have a few powerful judge friends. "What does daddy get?"

Harleen dropped the skirt and removed her shirt and then handed over the stuffed cat. "Daddy gets to smack my puss-puss!"

The judge smiled and started throttling the little fake animal. Harleen made a mental note because she hadn't really considered he would beat the toy, not when something she felt was more desirable was offered. Maybe he was trying to reach inside and find his primal hunter. Maybe he was just a fruit loop!

This judge was more crazy than most of her patients. It was funny in a sad way and later when she told the Joker, he had a great laugh about it as well. "A judge in leather panties beating the stuffing out of a toy cat," the Joker had giggled. "Now that, my good doctor, is art! That is theater!"

They had laughed about it well into the night and then later had called in Two-Face to discuss their next legal strategy. The former district attorney could not believe what he was seeing. Not only had the Joker been able to get a doctor on his side, but now he had a judge firmly in his pocket.

He bowed his head slightly to the Clown Prince. "I think I'm starting to see your genius," Two-Face said.

"Oh, but there is much more, good sir, much more," the Joker said as an orderly brought him a cup of tea. This was supposed to be group therapy not a planning session, but Harleen had control of many of the orderlies. It was the Joker's private in-house army.

"What's you beef with this Grayson guy?" Two-Face asked. "I know he punched you, but what do you expect?"

"Oh, well, I suppose he got on my bad side is all. Now…"

"Just a second, sport," Two-Face started as he began flipping his coin in the air. It had two faces, one of them purposely ruined so that the coin matched his own warped visage. "You're not going to hurt this little baby are you?"

"It's my baby!" the Joker said.

"I don't go for hurting kids," Two-Face said. "You want to slaughter adults, then fine, but you leave the kids alone."

The Joker shrugged. "Then I suppose our little business arrangement is done with. Nobody tells me what to do."

Two-Face started to stand up but a large orderly pushed his down. "What the hell?" Two-Face asked.

"I really appreciate your legal advice over the past few years, Harvey, but you have gotten to bossy." The Joker turned to Harleen, who was seated next to him at the circular table. "You better hide your eyes, baby."

Harleen gave Two-Face a little good-bye wave and then promptly got up and walked out. "Now, everybody hum!"

The other orderlies and inmates obeyed, each one humming a favorite tune as the large worker strangled Two-Face. As Harvey Dent passed from this world, it was to an opera of the national anthem and movie themes, as well as the cackling laughter of the Joker, sending him straight to hell.