Chapter One: A Funny Thing Happened On The Way To The Graveyard

Across the country from Gotham City was the small town of Sunnydale, California. The two places were different. Gotham City was a thriving metropolis (small-m metropolis, as its citizen will proudly say) marked by almost thirty years of crime, corruption and disasters of all kinds. Sunnydale was a quiet, almost idyllic town with the lowest property values in the nation. For much of its proud hundred-and-two year history it was the murder capital of the western world. More people died per capita in Sunnydale than in Gotham, or even Cabot Cove. That changed five-and-a-half years ago.

Despite these differences, the city and the town have an important similarity. Each has a dedicated group of protectors devoted to the safety of the people. Each group is officially unrecognized but beloved by the people. In Gotham, that group had no official name and is led by a brooding man in black and grey. In Sunnydale, that group calls itself the Scoobies and is led by a twenty year-old blond that looks amazing in whatever she wears be it black, grey or polka-dotted. That blond was on the hunt that night.

"You are one cagey vamp," Buffy Summers said to herself as she crouched behind a garbage bin. Sticking her head out slightly she saw the vamp she had been tailing for the last hour still standing, looking edgy. It was weird. The vamp was new, and acting weird. Its sire hadn't taken it in hand yet. Unless of course its sire was killed by something even badder, and the vamp had no idea what to do with himself. She had just taken down the "Trio" or the "Triad" or whatever the hell they called themselves, and she didn't want to have to take somebody else down so soon. She hoped that it just had an irresponsible sire, like hers. Easy Summers- now is not the time to brood about Dad.

She had wanted to go to some of the graveyards. There would be more new vamps rising that night, and it was best to get them while they were still disoriented from clawing their ways out of their graves. A part of her wondered if they were less disoriented than she was at that time, but another parts didn't care. They killed people when they arose, so it didn't matter how they felt when they were done clawing.

Fifteen minutes later another vamp emerged and led the first vamp… somewhere. Buffy grinned. This is more like it! She prowled behind them, Mr. Pointy at the ready.

They led her halfway across town. She recognized the building they went into. It used to be a factory, one that Spike, Dru, and Angelus used until Angelus killed Jenny. Giles almost burned the place down to take revenge. Somebody rebuilt it. It was still funny how many people kept buying property in Sunnydale seeing as how half the people that sell are so desperate to get out that they'll sell for rotten peanuts or a crappy song. The other half are dead and the bank or whoever is selling repossessed property, although, the dead people are sometimes the ones selling.

She peered to take a closer look. "What do we have here?"

Buffy whirled to look at the speaker. Despite wearing a really bad suit, her Slayer senses indicated that he wasn't a vamp.

"Oh, I thought I'd go for a walk, you know, take in the night air, see the sights-"

"Follow the vampires?" the man interrupted. "Can't let you do that," he said as he came closer. "The boss has plans."

"Yeah? Well-" Buffy pivoted and kicked him in the face as soon as he came into range. He went down, unmoving.She turned the man over, and checked the human's body for broken bones and made sure that he was breathing.She heard the sound of applause. A figure in a purple suit and a hat pulled down low was clapping and he was surrounded by a group of thugs.

"Who'd have thunk that Paulie has a glass jaw," the figure cackled. "And he keeps saying how tough he is. He can't be too tough if a little girl not wearing a bat costume can lay him out."

The voice made Buffy shiver. She had heard the Master's whispered threats, Angelus' sadistic statements, Adam's monotone proclamations, Glory's self-absorbed rants, but the only thing she had ever heard that even came close to this was Dru's voice, and even Dru wasn't quite this crazy. The speaker's tone was one of utter insanity. There was something else. She knew that voice but couldn't place it.

"Well boys, what we have here is a criminal," the figure went on. "I think we gotta make ourselves a citizen's arrest." Nothing happened. "Get her, you morons," the voice growled.

The mob moved closer. They were all- apparently- human. Damn, damn, damn! she thought.

"Just to make it interesting, no guns. Use your knives."

The closest one rushed her and took a swing with his knife. She dodged it easily and countered with a jab to his solar plexus. As he went down she whirled and kicked the jaw of a thug that tried to sneak up behind her. She heard two thugs charging behind her and saw a third sneaking up on her, or trying to. These guys were starting to get smart. She grabbed the sneak wannabe and whirled him into the charging thugs. All three went down. A heel to face ensured that each stayed down. That was it for the thugs.

"Oh brother," the figure in purple grumbled. "You're worse than a Bat!"

A bat? That's the second- What did-

Buffy's heart stopped. That voice. She remembered where she heard it before on TV. The figure stepped closer into the light and removed its- his- hat.

Skin as white as snow. Hair as green as grass. Bright red lips. And those eyes! The Joker's in Sunnydale!

"You took down quite a few of my boys without even breaking into a sweat," the Joker said, bowing floridly. "I really ought to offer you a job."

Buffy didn't say anything. The Joker. In Sunnydale!

"I should, y'know, I really should, and that's what makes this funny." He squeezed something in his hand, and a spray of greenish gas squirted from the flower on his lapel and into Buffy's face. She dodged most of it but inhaled a little bit. Suddenly, she felt the uncontrollable urge to laugh. She began to laugh so hard that she couldn't breathe but she couldn't stop laughing. She felt her face contort into a smile and no matter how hard she tried, she couldn't stop grinning like a lunatic.

Then again she only had a few seconds to try before she collapsed. The last thing she heard was the Joker's laughter ringing in her ears.