(Hey guys! I know I'm Sorry! :( But I'm back on track now! I hope... For those of you who are wondering this is basically an alternate backstory. I wanted to play around with it a little bit. Didn't realize it involved this much writers block. In exchange, Quite a bit of stuff gets started in this chapter. ;) I will try my hardest to get better at updating! Enjoy! Please review! it fuels my writing fire.)

Chapter 5

I walked into the apartment at exactly 6:30 am. I plopped onto the nearest chair in the kitchen as I sighed. Walking is hard. My eyes felt heavy as I let them closed. Sleep was the only thing I needed right now. As soon as sleep had consumed me, the kitchen light flicked on. I jolted out of the chair and promptly onto my face. My mother stood in the kitchen doorway.

"You're up early honey." She smiled as she made a beeline for the coffee machine.

"You mind making me a cup, ma?" I mumbled. My mother snorted.

"You're much too young for coffee." She replied as she poured herself a cup of joe. I groaned to myself. Not this again! "I don't want to hear the attitude young lady. Caffeine is a drug!" Little did my mother know I drank caffeine whenever I was at a friends house. Sometimes she could be just so over protective. "At least you won't be late to school for a change." Oh my god was there school today?! That caused me to groan even louder. I forced myself and literally dragged myself to my bedroom. Slamming the door closed behind me. My week was just getting worse and worse. With the bounty on my head I had a feeling my life would only get harder from here. That's when I noticed a note on my bed. My eyes widened. Was it…from him? I carefully approached the note as if it were a bomb. Cautiously I snatched the paper off of my bed and read it closely.

Don't be stupid. This is not a game. Every lunatic in Gotham is hunting you down at this very moment. We can help.

-Robin

I rolled my eyes at the Boy Blunder's note. He's such an idiot. Why does he have to be so annoying? I groaned as I took my sweet time getting ready for school. For once in my life I wasn't late. Thank god I had that time. I was so tired it took me forever to do my hair. Eventually I trudged to the car as mom drove me to school.

"So…..that whole car thing isn't happening huh?" I questioned.

"I figured we could go car shopping when we move." My mother replied. That's when memories from last nights conversation came flooding back.

"Mom!" I replied. "I don't want to move!"

"Why?!" She screeched. "The Joker held you at gunpoint! Why would you want to stay here where he could hurt you?" Tears welled up in her eyes. My heart stopped. That day really affected her. Something in her changed that night. We just stared at each other.

"Gotham is my home." I explained. "I can't explain it. But this is where I need to stay. I feel like I need to be here." She stared at me awestruck. Everything I had just told her was completely true. That was the best I could explain it. I was scared shitless of the countless rogues that were hell bent on kidnapping me and selling me to the Joker. But I just knew. I had to stay in Gotham. Something was keeping me here. Before I knew it the car had pulled up in front of the school. Tears ran down my mother's cheeks. It broke my heart. But there was nothing else I could say. I forced myself out of the car and into first period. I didn't even care that I was 15 minutes late. I didn't even listen to Mrs. Turner lecture me on the necessities of punctuality. But I could feel that something was wrong.

Tim Drake couldn't believe the nerve of Sarina Gibson. He liked her! He really did! But why was she so stupid? She had managed to get herself kidnapped by the Riddler! If it wasn't for him and Batman taking down most of his henchmen that night, Sarina would be dead. She probably thinks that she did it all on her own! What an idiot. Speak of the devil, He looked up from his book in the library and watched the blonde airhead walk by at that very moment. What a spoiled….rotten….Bra- wait? Who's that guy? Tim Drake peeled his eyes as he noticed a peculiar man standing in an aisle of the library. He was holding a book in his hand. Clearly not paying much attention to it since it was upside down. He followed his gaze as he noticed it landed on none other than Sarina Gibson. The blonde air head herself with her low cut pink tank top and her... and her short pencil skirt. That's not the point! What kind of trouble has she gotten herself into now? The man looked to be in his late thirties. Clean cut. Nothing like some ordinary goon. This man was a professional. Well, the book part not so much. He whispered something into his cufflinks. This man was working for someone. Someone high up. Well, he better do something. That girl was gonna get herself killed. He saw Sarina take out a couple books and exit the library as the man left, following closely behind her. Tim sighed as he followed suit.

The man sat in his office reading over his file. Alias: THE JOKER. Birth Name: UNKOWN The file was exploding with criminal records. Hundreds of murders, dozens of assaults and countless more offenses. The clown was the arch rival of the bat. Who and what was he? The man pondered. He had always wanted to pick his brain. See what makes the clown tick. But he was never able to get a one on one session with him. He had always escaped the asylum before he had a chance. The man NEEDED to have this session. His guards had just picked up a report that this man had put out a reward for a teenage girl. Sarina Gibson. This was his bargaining chip. His one way ticket to a meeting with him. But it didn't make sense. Why was he so interested in...her? It didn't add up. The highest hypothesis on his list was the fact that Sarina was the daughter of his psychiatrist. But why now? Why wait all this time? It didn't add up.

"Sir..." A voice crackled over his radio. "Target spotted, I repeat, target spotted." The man smiled to himself.

"Good. Pursue and capture." The man replied, leaning back in his chair, adjusting his glasses.

"Right away Mr. Strange."

I held the books tightly in my hands. "The Mystery of the Clown." and "Joker Card." Were securely against my chest. Those were the only two texts on the Joker and his life I could find. Why only two? Here's a hint, both of the authors were deceased. I briefly skimmed through the chapters. Dozens of them on his countless villainous acts. However, every chapter on his backstory wasn't even a half page long. Literally no one knew about how he became who he is. How was I supposed to beat this guy if I didn't know anything about him? It was lunch now and I had decided to spend my time learning as much as I can. However, I had the strangest feeling that someone was following me. I glanced behind me and saw a strange man walking directly behind me. That guy just gave me the willies as I quickened my pace. The man behind me quickened his pace as well. This wasn't good. Not at all. I decided to try an shake him off by making various twists and turns. he continued his pursuit as my quickened pace turned into a run. And my run turned into a full on sprint. The man did the same. I sped up and turned the next corner. There I ran into the first building I saw before the man rounded the corner. No way I was going to be kidnapped a second time. I slammed the door behind me as I took a deep sigh of relief. I did it! I made it passed the bad guy! Woohoo! My mood instantly changed when I saw what establishment I ran into.

Women in skimpy outfits shook what they got up and down the pole. Other woman in slutty outfits brought drinks to the horny dogs sitting at the edge of their seats. Watching the show. Oh god no. I was about to leave when I saw the man outside the room, intently scanning the area. I ducked under the window. None of this was going well at all.

"You must be the new girl." A gruff voice asked. My eyes snapped up to the oversized man in the bouncer t-shirt. I didn't fully process his question as I was too busy hiding from the man trying to kidnap me.

"Uh, yeah sure." I replied halfheartedly. Before I knew it the man pulled me up to my feet. I noticed a red beeping light in the corner of my eye. Security cameras. Of course. Some skeezball was sitting up there watching the show. I rolled my eyes as I turned back to the bouncer. He was intently listening to a conversation on his bluetooth earbud.

"It's your lucky day. The boss requested you personally." The bouncer replied. My eyes widened.

"Uh, Actually, there's been a mistake...I..." I stuttered and rambled on.

"Don't be nervous doll." He assured. "As long as you don't piss him off you'll get out of here alive."

"Alive?!" I shrieked. The man held my hand tightly as he maneuvered through the skeezballs and scumbags. He lead me backstage behind the girl with the fire engine red hair rubbing her butt against the pole. The bouncer held a tight grip as he we climbed into an elevator. The ride up was terrifying as I tried to convince the bouncer that this was a big mistake. He didn't believe me. The elevator stopped as the bouncer pulled out a key card and inserted it into the slot. The elevator doors opened to reveal a hallway lined with bouncers. The floor was covered in a soft carpet. There was one door at the end of the hall with a bright red light on it. How the hell did I get myself in this situation again? We made it to the end of the hall as the bouncer knocked on the door.

"I brought the new girl up, boss." The bouncer said. After a moments pause, the red light turned green as a buzz was heard. "Go on. He's ready for you." The man slapped my butt, shoving me forward.

"Ouch!" I yelped. I took a deep breath as I reluctantly grabbed the handle. Alright. This was simple. I'd just explain to this boss that there was a misunderstanding. I'm sure he'll understand! We'll have a good laugh about it! That thought gave me confidence as I entered the room.

I hadn't realized how high up we were. The whole back wall of the room was a window overlooking the city. Since it was only an hour after school it was still daytime. However heavy clouds had covered the sun. Giving the town a dark gloomy look about it. It looked like it was going to rain. Sounds like a normal day in Gotham. There was a burning fireplace in the corner of the room. Next to it, was a bear skin rug. Whoever this guy was, he was rich. In front of me was a large mahogany desk. A chair was facing outwards, but you could clearly tell a man in a business suit was sitting in the chair.

"Champagne?" He questioned. Still facing the window, he picked up a bottle and poured two glasses.

"I'm sorry to trouble you, but you see...there's-" I stuttered. I was interrupted by a deep chuckle that made me freeze.

"Nervous doll?" His deep voice inquired. "It's the mask isn't it?"

Mask?

The man turned around in his chair, revealing himself. My eyes widened as I nearly collapsed in fright.

Black Mask leaned back in his chair with a dark grin.