Brace yourselves for this one...
Thanks for reading and reviewing.
Yours truly,
-RK
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I was being yanked along as the Joker led me through a set of alleys behind the Italian-American club. Back in his clown makeup and regular gettup, we were followed closely by his usual group of masked goons.
My thigh had stopped bleeding and the rip in my dress wasn't as noticeable as I thought it would be. I felt relieved. If I ever saw the Kwan's again I hoped I'd be able to return the dress in one piece. That is, if I survived this.
I was the only one amongst the group without a weapon. All I had was my insight - which was not something I was ready to use again. It was hard enough collecting my own thoughts at the moment.
"Why are we going around the back if we could have easily snuck in the front?" I asked, slightly annoyed.
The Joker was humming something to himself, caught up in the excitement of the moment. I resented him for not letting me do what I wanted tonight. I didn't need him to show me how to do things. I wanted to end my father's life and be done with it. Unlike the Joker, I didn't enjoy torture. My whole life had been torture. I just wanted to avenge my mother. I wanted this all to stop.
Once we arrived at the back of the clubhouse, the Joker answered me as if he were quietly talking to himself.
"You're scheming again, Luce... Stop scheming."
As soon as he kicked open the back doors to the club's kitchen, the shooting began. I instinctively covered my head as he yanked me along. I felt humiliated, unprepared. How was I supposed to face my father this way?
As the kitchen staff scattered and we made our way into a hallway connecting the kitchen to the main room, the Joker directed his men to split up and cover the exits.
I needed an edge. A weapon, at least. My strength had dimmed in the shadow of the Joker.
"Show time" he said with a snarl.
I shot a look at his gloved hand. No, I can't resort to that, I thought.
Did I dare use my insight again?
His skin was gloved anyway. I wouldn't be able to get a good grasp on his hand.
"Wait-" I said, nervously.
"Don't tell me you're getting cold feet, beautiful" he said, spinning me towards him. As more shooting began in the ballroom I pulled myself that extra step towards him.
There was only one way to remedy my state of mind. My heart sank into my stomach as I knew this was going to go either crush me or cure me.
"Joker.."
He looked back at me, raising an eyebrow.
I used my free hand to pull his face into mine.
I quickly regretted the decision.
Using his spare hand, he grabbed my neck and bit down hard on my lip. I stifled a scream, instinctively pushing him away. But I was caught in his grasp now. Feeling past the pain, I opened myself up to the insight once more.
There it was, that feeling I was waiting for. Pure, numb, freeing, chaos. The lack of empathy and morality that drove my primal desires to the forefront of my mind.
Growling, he finally pulled away.
"We'll finish this later, beautiful" he said, licking his scar and throwing me in front of him.
As he led me into the ballroom, the jazz music was blaring. The lights were dim, and I felt the familiar madness take over me. I hadn't realized how nervous I had been to see my father. But there was no more fear now. I wiped the red paint from my lips, smearing it across my face. I looked more like one of his clowns.
. . . . . . . . . .
Lucious spoke through the intercom of John's batsuit.
"The Joker and his men are at the back entrance."
CCTV was always coming in handy.
He mentioned Lucy's presence amongst the men, but this was no surprise to John. Jumping across rooftops, John was focusing on one thing, and one thing only: save Lucy… Stop her from crossing the final line into darkness. Stop her from ending a life.
He landed on top of the building just in time to hear shooting from below. Kitchen staff burst through the back door, screaming.
John sprinted towards the rooftop entrance, kicking the door open. Startling an older man who had been in the process of seducing his young date, he paid no attention. John flew down the stairs and into the stairwell.
Muffled Jazz music playing as he entered a hallway behind the ballroom. Making sure the coast was clear, he slipped through the backstage doors and hid behind the shadow of the curtain. There in the darkness, he observed the developing scene.
As one song ended with an applause, and another began. The club was so overcrowded and energetic, that the initial sound of gunshots was almost inaudible. However, the guests caught on quickly. All turning towards the noise, clowns flooded into the ballroom. That's when he finally caught a glimpse of him. The Joker.
Followed by a short-haired woman.
His heart sank.
Lucy.
She looked so different.
Pale, thin, with white and red makeup smeared across her face. His makeup. He almost didn't recognize her.
Was it already too late?
"Ladies and gentle-man" said the Joker. It was chilling to say the least as the clown-faced psychopath walked forward into the crowd, holding Lucy in front of him like a hostage. Surrounding the Joker from all sides, the masked henchmen were making it far too difficult for anyone to get a clean shot at him. Too many relatives, children and wives crowding the target.
The Joker pulled Lucy along like a rag doll as he fired a few shots into the air. Everyone had either fallen to the ground in panic or were frozen in place.
"Sorry to uhh… interrupt the band here …but, we have a very special guest here with us."
The Joker cleared his throat and pulled Lucy closer to him.
"Now… from my understanding, I thought this was a family affair…" He licked his scars, as his eyes scanned the room. There was no hint of humor in words. They were drops of acid. "Not very nice to leave out such an important little lady."
Just then Lucy regained her composure. The Joker released her as she took a gun from a nearby henchman, pointing it at the crowd.
"I have one question- One question only. Where is Carmine Falcone? Where is my father!"
Silence filled the ballroom as the guests began looking frantically around the room for the wanted man. There was a long silence, but Lucy and John spotted him at the same time. Falcone had slowly made his way to the back of the hall, ducking out a side entrance.
Shooting into the air, Lucy ran towards him as the crowds erupted into screams.
"Lucious, now. Do it now." John whispered into the intercom.
In a moment's notice, the electricity was cut.
. . . . . . . . . .
I almost tripped over a chair. The room was instantly engulfed in darkness. Full-on panic erupted as guests ran blindly in every direction. Through the chaos, I kept firing above me, creating a path forward.
Stumbling into the staircase, I heard a door slam above me. Only one way out, but up, I thought. The clowns were at all the exits. This was my chance.
Climbing upwards to the roof, my heart pumped with foreign adrenaline.
As I pushed open a final set of doors, a gust of icy cold wind bit through my exposed skin. I shielded my face from the stinging wind.
Caught off guard, I hadn't expected him to ambush me from behind. I stumbled forward as a can of paint hit the back of my head. Quickly firing the gun from behind me, I turned to see my father limping towards the front of the building. Droplets of blood trailing behind, glimmering in the dim street light.
As I stalked after him, my body was shaking. I could hear him laughing.
"Oh Lucille, Did you finally come to finish me off?" he said bitterly.
The Joker's words lingering in my mind:
"Death only happens once Luce… but suffering… oh, suffering can last so much longer…."
Yes, I had suffered long enough. I didn't care about my father's suffering. I didn't care. I wanted my suffering to end. No more delays. No more waiting. It was my time to stop suffering.
He was panting heavily as he met the edge of the roof. It was about 2 stories down and the red and blue police lights of GCPD had already begun to surround the building.
Leaning now against the edge, he met my gaze.
"Before you pull that trigger, there's something you should know."
Shoot him, I told myself, do it now.
"Your mother kept many secrets… Locked away in the back of her mind. She protected you all that time."
"Shut up, I don't want to hear your bullshit excuses."
"I thought you could be of some use to us.. I was wrong. I should have killed the both of you."
You have the shot. SHOOT. SHOOT HIM.
"-But you're not like me, Lucille. You never could be…
That's because you're not my daughter."
….
…
..
.
Thick silence enveloped me as I felt my legs ready to collapse. I felt the world beginning to crumble underneath my feet.
"I would have known that if it was true!"
I was shaking with emotions, doing my best to keep the gun steady. To hold my tears back.
"You know deep down you're not my daughter. You never have been. You must know."
Had I known all along, blocked it out of my mind? No… I would have remembered. My mother hid this secret from me all this time... Why…
A single tear rolled down my cheek as I fired a single bullet.
The sound rang in my ears as milliseconds extended into what seemed like an eternity.
The bullet flew through the air and hit a target.
A moving target.
A black blur.
Staring blankly at what I was seeing, I lowered my gun.
There was John. Nightwing. Taking a bullet for my… for that man.
A moment of shock ended in a scream of frustration. Tears were now rolling steadily down my face.
"Just let me do it! Let me kill him! LET ME BE FREE OF THIS!"
John stood with a hand over his stomach. His armor had taken most of the damage, but he'd have a nasty bruise and maybe a few broken ribs. He stood his ground, looking fericily at me. With a masked, low growl, he spoke:
"Lucy, Killing Falcone won't bring your mother back."
"You don't know what it's like to live like this! Don't fucking tell me how to live my life!"
I noticed Falcone preparing himself to jump to the safety of the GCPD. I had one last chance to do this. Quickly positioning the gun for one last shot, I aimed to the right of John.
Yelping, a bat shuriken grazed my hand and knocked the gun to the floor. Falcone jumped over the edge to safety.
"You fucking bastard!" I screamed.
Running at him, I threw a few heavy punches. Easily dodging them, he used a foot to kick my legs out from under me. I fell forward, rolling over only to be pinned down my shoulders. I had lost the last bit of sanity I had.
"Lucy…"
"GET THE FUCK OFF OF ME!"
I was screaming and crying.
"Lucy…"
"LEAVE ME ALONE!"
I fought him with the last of my strength, wanting to kill him for ruining this for me.
"I can't Lucy…
"I HATE YOU, JOHN."
"I know you won't believe it now, but I love you, Lucy."
My body was shaking uncontrollably, on the verge of a wild panic attack.
But sofly, a female voice gently repeated the phrase back to me.
That faraway voice that gave me strength while I was drowning in the harbor.
My mother's voice.
I stopped struggling and closed my eyes as my body shook with a thousand emotions. I felt stuck between multiple worlds, multiple realities of existence.
"I can't let you throw your life away! You deserve more than this, Lucy. Remember who you are, how much you have to live for… I need you too, Luce." John whispered to me. I felt him put something in my hand. It was small and cool to the touch... My mother's necklace.
A pool of tears had collected on the ground below my face. John placed a hand on my cheek wiping away the tears and clown makeup.
"How very touching" said a voice from the stairwell.
Clapping slowly, the figure approached us as John stood to meet him. Now that the adrenaline had worn off, my head was throbbing from the impact of the heavy paint can. I wanted to vomit and pass out, but I remained conscious. All I could do now was lie there, listening, feeling the impending intensity of what was yet to come.
The two men met each other, only feet remaining between them.
"Joker" John growled.
"Officer Blake" the Joker responded, grinning darkly. His clowns emerged from the stairwell behind him.
