May 2nd 2005
Yorkshire, England
"Alice? Alice? It's time for tea."
She heard her uncle call for her from his place in the garden.
"Coming uncle!" She called back as she ran through the flowers. It was her 8th birthday party and her dear uncle had thrown her an Alice in Wonderland Tea Party in honor of her name. It had been 3 weeks since the terrible car accident that took her parents. But Alice was sure things would be all right, because she was living with her wonderful uncle Jervis in lovely Yorkshire, England.
The English garden had been decorated with whimsy. Ribbons of all colors were hung from the trees and from them dangled flowers, crystals, silverware and colorful teacups. In her blue muslin dress and white pinafore she skipped through the wonder, her long blond curls bouncing.
She had onlt moved from London a week ago, not long enough to make new friends so the guest list included her uncle, her pet white rabbit Hugo, her pet mouse whom she lovingly called Old Chap. Both were gifts from her uncle. Invited as well were any forest creatures that happened upon their celebration.
The table was set with her grandmother's china tea set and the best silver. At the center of the table was a layered cake of all different shapes and colors. She marveled at how such a cake could be assembled.
"Uncle! It's the most wonderful party ever!" She ran into his arms and kissed his cheek. He adjusted his extra large hat as he sat her on his lap. They sang The Mock Turtle song. He was so enthusiastic.
"More! Dear Alice we must sing more!" Next it was the Walrus and the Carpenter. Then, The Queen of Hearts.
Alice was getting tired and she hadn't eaten her cake yet. "Uncle, may we stop a while and eat?"
"Yes my dear, more singing after tea."
Alice could feel her uncle's eyes follow her as she left his lap and took her own seat. She felt deeply uncomfortable all on a sudden. She folded her hands and placed them neatly on her lap as her uncle served the treats. Looking down Alice discovered there was dirt on her hands. She tried to rub it off with her thump only to discover her thumbnail was filthy. She opened her hands and saw there was thick dirt under all her fingernails. The dirt was in her cuticles and in the grooves between her fingers. When she looked up it was no longer day and no longer her birthday party yet the tea party décor still adorned the garden; the moonlight giving the theme a more sinister ambiance. Her birthday cake was now decrepit and rotten.
That was when Alice noticed she was out of breath. She was out of breath because she had been running and was trying to hide from her uncle. Her once clean and bright Alice in Wonderland costume was soiled and torn. It looked exactly how she felt. She began to run again.
A sea of tree roots pulled her back to the earth and her fingers dug into the soil as she tried to regain her pace.
Her uncle was standing over her still in his Mad Hatter costume. As she looked at her small body she realized she was no longer 8 years old. She was her 19-year-old self; still dressed in that dirty Alice in Wonderland costume.
Jarvis tisked 3 times and said, "Dear Alice, You are not the same as you were before. You were much more… muchier. You've lost your muchness…"
Sutton Youth Hostile
November 7th 2016
The Narrows
5:00AM
Jen snapped awake from the nightmare in her own bed back in the hostel. She had no idea how she'd gotten back. It had been years since she dreamed of her uncle back in England. Years since she ran away to America. Years since Alice Genevieve St. Xavier became just Jen. She had no idea if her uncle was still alive but she hoped that if he was, he were in a lot of pain.
She had almost blocked out everything she had gone through when she was someone else. But the events of last night were more than enough to bring horrible memories back to the surface.
Ninja, she thought.
Ninja was dead. She had to be. She said she was wanted. Wanted for what? By whom? Could she have been on the run from the cops? Or Penguin? Daggot maybe? I didn't matter who wanted her now because someone had found her. The Joker.
Anna had stolen and destroyed the Joker's car with Jen in the passenger seat. I should have done more to stop her, Jen chastised herself. I should have held her where she stood till that car was out of sight. She tried to piece together the events after the car crash but bits of it were very fuzzy.
She remembered Ninja trying to free her. Then men came in and took her away. Ninja shouted as they pulled her out of the door. "Tell them it was me!" She had yelled before things got quiet again. Another man stuck a needle in her neck shortly after and that was all she had. Ninja had been telling Jen to blame what happened on her. Thus she would be taking responsibility. Had Ninja really given up her life to save Jen?
Looking around she saw a pile of money on the desk. It was the money they'd earned last night. Jen counted the cash $3,500. This is too much. She and Ninja chad cleared $1,000 each but there was and Oz had given her a $500 tip. The bills were still damp from the river. Behind them were 2 stacks of brand new $100 bills and a note. The words on the note were typed, each letter making a deep indentation on the paper.
LAST NIGHT NEVER HAPPENED. YOU'VE BEEN WARNED.
Jen's hands trembled. She dropped the note on the desk and lit a cigarette. Ninja had really done it. She kept her word and got Jen out of there. They killed her friend. Jen put the stacks of money in her bag and hid the bag under her bed. With her black bic lighter she burned the note.
Trying to collect herself she pulled hard on her fag. She'd been killing her accent since she first arrived in Gotham but right now she was too tired and sad.
"I need a fucking drink"
November 8th 2016
Wayne Manor
The Palisades
Dick and Damien sparred on the grass in one of the manor's garden's They wore no shirts, no shoes and no gear. The only thing you were allowed to wear for these sparring matches was a groin cup and Jujitsu shorts. They started these sparring matches when Damien turned 12 and did them once every month. It was how they caught up with each other. Apparently they both spoke more freely and thought more clearly when engaged in combat. It had been one of the things that bonded them as brothers, not just brothers in arms.
While they fought they'd talk about life and cases they were working on. About Dick's love life and Damien's fake social status. There would be some ranking out and a lot of trash talk but all of it was all out of love. Today however, Damien had another topic he needed to talk about. It was something he knew Dick would never let him live down but it was making him crazy. It had been 3 days and Ninja still hadn't called him.
"Wake up numb nuts!" Dick said as he landed a roundhouse kick on the left side of Damien's face. "You're dropping your hands. What's the matter with you today?"
"Just got shit on my mind." Damien said throwing inside crescent, turning hook kick combo.
"Ah I get it, What's her name?" Dick asked ducking low and swiping Damien's standing leg. Damien fell frustrated to the grass and growled.
"She calls herself Ninja. I gave her my number on Friday night but nothing. Not even a text." Damien popped up and went right into a superman punch, which Dick dodged and followed up with a kick in Damien's ass. He fell again.
"Ninja? She any good?"
"Actually ya, we got held up but some lowlife around the block from Frostbite and she handled herself great. We kinda fucked him up together. It was awesome."
"Odd first date. How'd you meet her?"
Damien got up again and threw a scissor kick takedown that Dick wasn't ready for. They both landed in the grass and struggled for control of the other. "Swear not to tell dad?"
"I'll make you a deal, You tap me out and I wont tell."
"Deal" Damien said flipping Dick on his back, taking his hand and swiveling his body around Dicks arm getting him in an arm bar. The same hold Ninja used to break the mugger's arm Friday night. Dick tapped. "Nice job, ok talk." He said to Damien as he reached for a bottle of water.
Damien began, "She kind of a dealer for the Scare Crow."
"You're kidding me right?"
"I know how it sounds but she was different. Cool, smart, funny, tough, hot as hell. And she didn't try to impress me once. She was just herself like she didn't give a shit what anyone else thought. She also busted me not really using."
"Wait she busted you? And she didn't out you?"
"Exactly, she told me straight up she knew I was sober and that she'd keep the secret." He left out the part about her asking for a passport and that she might have been wanted. Dick didn't need to know everything.
"Why didn't you get her number?"
"No phone."
"Then there you have it. Maybe she just hasn't gotten one yet."
"Maybe who hasn't gotten what yet?" Asked Bruce as he walked towards the boys.
"Damien's girlfriend."
"A girl I met at the club who's a connection to Crow. That's it."
"I see, just be careful with girls like that. Women in general are nothing but trouble. Ones that are tied to the madness on the streets are even more so. Don't get too personally involved." Bruce advised his son.
"Yes Sir but isn't that a little hypocritical coming from you? Considering the other half of my parentage that is."
Bruce tilted his head at his son's attempt to hold him accountable. "Not hypocritical at all, just speaking from experience. I've gotten entwined with my share of women I though I could help but it never ends well."
Damien took in his father's words. It was nothing he hadn't thought of himself already but still. There was something about Ninja he couldn't get out of his head.
Bruce continued, "Besides, with how sloppy both of you looked from the window I'm pretty sure she'd just kick you in the shin, take your wallet and run."
A moment passed where Damien and Dick looked at Bruce then at each other. They both jumped on Bruce at the same time tacking him into the grass, the three of them laughing and issuing comebacks as the boys tried to make Bruce say uncle.
Damien respected what his father told him but he really wanted to see Ninja again. He had made another party order with Crow and requested that she and Jen be the ones to deliver. Hopefully she'd call before then though.
November 6th
The Joker's Privet Plane
7:00pm
The Joker, Harley Quinn and Anna boarded the plane that would fly them to Paris. As they took off Harley poured them all a glass of Champagne. Anna looked at her father as she took the glass from Harley. He's ok with me drinking? Most parents were against things like that. But he nodded his head as she took a sip.
The Joker didn't stop with a sip; he downed the whole glass then set it aside. "So, now that we are all together I think a serious talk is in order." A moment of awkward silence passed as Anna looked between her father and stepmother. Then his sick laughter broke the taciturnity. "You see Anna dear, it all comes down to trust. I don't wish to keep anything form you. I'm sure you've seen your share of the world and it's horrors. All things I want to hear about over time. So I don't intend to be a hover parent. But I need to know that Daddy can trust you not to hurt our family. It would break me heart to have to punish you for that."
"I wouldn't betray you. I'm a loyal person if my loyalty if returned." Anna answered.
"That's good enough for me, for now. Secondly, there are many morally subjective activities myself and your stepmother are a part of. How strong is your stomach?"
"What do you mean?"
"Are you squeamish?" he asked emphasizing the E in the word. "Do you swoon at the sigh of retribution or cower when confronted with violence?"
"I think you already know the answer to that." She answered and sipped her champagne not breaking eye contact again.
He smiled widely, "That's my girl. Here are the rules of the family: 1, The only good pig is bacon. 2, The only good bat is a dead bat. 3, If our private business is discussed with anyone I will brake you face. 4, Drinking and smoking is permitted whenever but the hard stuff is only on special occasions. 5, When we are in lock down there is no communication outside the three of us and I decide when it's safe to come out of it. 6, Boys, girls it doesn't matter. But they have to get through me first. If I say 'No' they are no more. Understood?"
"Yes Sir," It felt good having rules she could respect.
"Good, now be a darling and finish your champagne." Anna did as she was told. When her glass was empty she started to feel sleepy. The events from the night before didn't leave her with any rest. She yawned and stretched. "I'm sorry, I'm so tired. She rested her head on the armrest of her seat.
"Sleep sweetie, we'll wake you when we land." Harley said covering Anna with a blanket.
With Anna passed out the Joker and Harley could finally talk. "How long will it last?" He asked Harley.
"It'll keep her out till we get to Paris."
"Good, I can't believe she's here Harley. My daughter, is alive and she's here." He crossed the plane and sat next to a passed out Anna. He stroked her hair still not totally believing she was real.
Harley smiled "You're so gentle with her. You should be like this with her when she's conscious too."
"Not ready yet. It's easier when she's like this." Unconscious she couldn't reject him.
"I think she'll take to us being her family really well Puddin."
He didn't respond just kept stroking her hair. She was so beautiful. He'd do whatever it took to right the wrongs she'd lived through. Back in the penthouse Anna told him not many people had been good to her. He would find every person who mistreated her and make them pay. Then a thought as loud as thunder burned into his head. He would give his daughter the education of a lifetime. He wouldn't right the wrongs for her. He'd teach her how to right them for herself. Content with this new intention he leaned over and kissed her head whispering in her ear, "Daddy's here now princess. You never have to worry again."
Hello! I know this one wasn't that long but i wanted to close up a few open ends with Anna leaving town and Jen being allowed to live. I want to try and post Chapter 10 by late tonight or early tomorrow. We'll see how it pan's out.
Hope you enjoy it!
~SL