Title: Just Another Day
Author: Rae Street
Summary: It's just another day here in lovely downtown Gotham City... or is it? Who's that lurking in the shadows of our fair city... and will Batman be able to stop him in time?
Rating: PG-13 for violence
Status: WiP
Disclaimer: All Batman characters belong to DC Comics, and whomever else they belong to. Used without permission. All non-DC characters are my own creations. No money is being made off of this story. Please don't sue me... I ain't got no munny, just a lil' plot bunny. Sue him instead. ;-)

=Just Another Day=
Chapter Two:

It was a chilly Spring morning... The sun had just risen, and the tall buildings cast long, dark shadows across the near-deserted streets of Gotham City. The only people seen walking down the streets at that hour of the morning were the shopkeepers, on their way to open their various shops. They walked quickly, practically running to their establishments in their eagerness to get out of the chill.

None of them noticed the stranger watching from out of the shadows of an alley, next to the electronics store. He wore a long dark trench coat, and a wide brimmed hat which cast his face in shadow... hiding his features from view. He heard footsteps coming, and stepped further back into the shadows, watching and waiting.

A balding, stocky man in his mid 50's was rushing up the sidewalk. He owned the small electronics store, and wanted to get a jump on the day's business. He struggled with the rusty lock on the heavy metal gate, cursing under his breath when he dropped the keys. The gate was necessary to protect his store from some of the crime in the city, but he really hated having to wrestle with it every morning. As he bent over to pick up the keys, he didn't hear the small, sinister chuckle which came from the alley.

The mysterious man in the alley watched with ghoulish glee, as the store owner struggled to lift the heavy gate. Anyone who saw the flash of fiendish humor in his cold green eyes would have run with fear.

The store owner, red-faced and puffing heavily, finally finished the task of opening the store. From out of the shadows of the alleyway, a cold, freakish laugh was heard... causing the store owner to jump with fear, and the hair on the back of his neck to stand on end. He rushed as fast as he could inside the shop, slamming the glass door with almost disastrous results.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

A young woman in her early twenties walked briskly down the street. Her hair was pulled back in a bun, and she wore a long dark jacket over a light-pink blouse and skirt combination; her uniform. Her name was Becky Ferris, and she worked as a waitress in a small café, just a few doors down from the electronics store.

Becky shivered, and pulled her jacket closer about her. Her shivering wasn't just from the cold, and her eyes darted cautiously around... The city seemed gloomy and surreal at that hour of the morning; you never knew who might be lurking, just around the corner.

She shook her head, trying to dismiss the morbid thoughts which the darkness inspired, and quickened her pace. Becky turned a corner, and sighed in relief. Her destination was within view... surely nothing could happen in these next few steps to prevent it from being 'just another day'...

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Though the young woman was in a hurry to get to her job, her pace slowed as she reached the electronics store. She came to a stop in front of the big window, where televisions had been set up inside. They were tuned to the early morning news, and she watched with some concern as the female newscaster related the head news story.

~"It has been three weeks since Jack Napier, alias The Joker, escaped from Gotham's Arkham Asylum for the criminally insane. No sightings have been reported, and the Joker's whereabouts are as of yet unknown. Possibly armed, this Criminal is very dangerous. All citizens are urged to contact the police if any contact with this criminal is made."~

"Aack... just what I needed at this hour of the morning... news about the Joker," Becky muttered under her breath. "Now there's a man I wouldn't want to meet in a dark alley... or in broad daylight, for that matter."

A strange noise, like a small chuckle, sounded from behind the woman. She whipped around, but didn't see anything. Straining her ears she listened carefully, but didn't hear another sound except for the newswoman on the television, talking with her fellow newscaster. She turned back to finish watching the broadcast.

The news broadcast paused for a commercial break, but was back on after only a few moments. The newscasters, expecting a longer pause, were caught on the air, telling jokes about the Joker.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

"I think the old man must really be slipping," the newswoman was saying. "I mean, come on... three weeks without a single prank, a single robbery, no clever attempts whatsoever to terrorize the public... has the self-proclaimed King of Jesters finally emptied his bag of tricks? I think when this all finally comes to an end, the Joker will simply prove himself to be no more clever than the April Fool." she smiled at her own supposed cleverness.

Her fellow newscaster looked up just then, noticing that they were on the air. With a horrified expression, he turned to the newswoman.

"Sue!" he hissed, pointing at the camera. "We're on the air!"

Sue looked up at the camera, surprised. She quickly plastered a professional smile on her face.

"Welcome back. In other news..." she continued the broadcast, as though nothing had occurred.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Becky's jaw dropped in amazement. She didn't hear the short, angry growl which erupted from the alley.

"Telling jokes about the Joker, on live television... Is she crazy?!" Becky said to herself. "And if the Joker caught wind of that... what would he do?"

"An excellent question, my dear... an excellent question." said a voice, just behind Becky.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Becky's blood ran cold in her veins, and her breath caught in her throat. She turned with wide eyes in the direction of the voice. There stood a tall imposing figure, wearing a dark trench coat and wide-brimmed hat. Becky couldn't see his face at first; the hat was tilted at such an angle as to hide his features from view.

The man reached up with one gloved hand, tilting his hat up away from his face. Then he grinned, a wide creepy grin which filled Becky's heart with ice. She gasped in fear, for she was standing face-to-face with none other than the Joker himself.

"Aaaah!" Becky cried out, and swung around, intent on running down the street.

She got as far as the lamp post, which she had the misfortune of not seeing in time, and smacked face-first into it. She fell into an unconscious heap at the Joker's feet.

The Joker stared in amazement at the girl, then threw his head back, letting out a terrible string of laughter. He stopped almost as soon as he started, and looked down at the girl with a grim, thoughtful expression.

"Well, aren't you just a barrel of laughs..." he said, still looking down at her. His eyes narrowed, and he continued, "I may have a use for you."

A movement inside the Electronics store caught the Joker's attention. He walked over and pressed his face up against the glass to get a better look.

The store owner was hunkered down behind the counter, his beady brown eyes peering worriedly at the Joker just over the edge. He had a phone pressed tightly to his ear, and was speaking quickly into it.

The Joker could hear a faint siren, and he knew it wouldn't be long before the police would be here. He grinned fiercely at the store owner, who ducked down further behind the store counter.

The Joker turned away from the window, and looked down the street in mock fear.

"Jiggers, it's the cops!" he said sarcastically. "Whatever will I do?"

The Joker let out a shrill whistle; almost immediately, a long black hearse pulled up in front of the Electronics store. A man in a black suit got out, and held the door open for the Joker. The Joker got inside, and motioned for the man to pick the girl up off of the street. The man complied, and stuffed the girl in alongside the Joker. He then got into the front passenger seat, and the driver took off, racing away from the scene.

Becky was just starting to come to, but when she saw who she was sitting next to, she let out a muffled scream and passed out cold.

The Joker's wild eyes danced with ghoulish glee. He loved getting this response from people. It always made his day. The only thing which would make his day even more wonderful, would be if he could get this response of fear from one other person. The only person alive whom the Joker never seemed to phase. Batman.

"Well, Batman," The Joker said to himself. "This time I have something Positively Ingenious up my sleeve, which even you can't fail to appreciate." He looked down at the girl. "And this young lady has just volunteered to assist me." And the Joker let out a terrible laugh, which echoed and reverberated throughout the streets of Gotham.

TBC...