Okay so here is an udpate! Can't tell you how it is going to go cause I really don't know. Thank you Sam I am for your lovely update. Ahahahahha! Oh yea I forgot about that I had to go back and read it. She is a little crazy isn't she.
Anyway here is your chapter ladies and gents!
Chapter 3
Artemis was practically being dragged out the back of the school and was almost thrown into the back of a black van. The Joker jumped in behind her and the doors where shut. The van shot out of the back of the school like a bat out of hell. The driver was a terrible driver. Artemis, Joker, and one other henchmen where being thrown back and forth in the truck.
"Chuckles," snarled Joker, "what, may I ask, do you think you are doing!-" He didn't get to finish what he was saying though. He and the other two where thrown to the back of the van. The henchmen hit the doors first, then Artemis, then the Joker. The three struggled to climb to the front but, with the van swerving left and right with several random items as obstacles, it was really difficult. The three climbed over each other to reach the insane driver to try and save their very lives.
The Joker kicked the henchman back toward the door and struggled to catch up with Artemis, last thing he needed was for his little princess to get a hold of the wheel. Artemis didn't really want to drive, though, she just wanted someone with a bit more common sense behind the wheel even if that meant giving it to the Joker. She finally reached the front and heard the Joker yelling behind her "Open the door, sweethear-t!" She looked back at him like he had lost his mind. He gave her the biggest smile he could manage. "Unless you want us to die, hmm?" He chuckled a bit. She turned her attention back to the driver who was now trying to shove her out of the way. She reached over and opened the door.
Behind her, the Joker shot forward and shoved her over. He then pushed the driver out of the door and climbed over the seat. He grabbed the back of Artemis's coat and pulled her up into the passengers seat. He looked over at her and back at the road. She just watched him carefully. "Sorry about that, good help can be so hard for me to find." Artemis turned her attention to the road. Right ahead of them where a row of police cars trying to stop them. Artemis paled and pointed at them. She opened her mouth to speak but only a few pathetic sounding noises came out. Joker turned his attention at what she was pointing at and starting laughing like a maniac. He pushed down on the gas peddle and jumped from 80 to 100 and was speeding right into the police. Artemis ducked her head just before the impact. Joker bounced up and down in his seat with absolute delight. God he loved his work.
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Commissioner Jim Gordon, a man that had practically become legend among the Gotham Police Department, one of the few officers to help in the capture of the Joker the first time, one of the few who talked to batman regularly, a man with a horrible mustache and a serious caffeine addiction. He stood outside of Jessica Napier's house, stress aged his face, it was like a sick game that never ended. Except this time the Joker left no clues of his next victims. It was even more stressful then the first time he was on the loose. How in God's name had that bastard escaped!
Gordon looked over at the two teenagers who had called the police. "Can you tell me anything about Jessica Napier that could help us out," he asked.
"Yes," said the one named Damian, "he kidnapped her daughter Artemis Napier." The one named Joey just looked down at the ground and seemed to fidget a bit every time Gordon tried to talk to him. Damian was the only help Gordon had. Poor paranoid kid thought Gordon was going to arrest him right there, but Gordon had better things to do, he had a murdering clown to catch….again.
"Do you have any idea why he would kidnap her?"
"He has this weird idea that Artemis is his daughter."
"Do you know where her real father is located? We can ask him to give a DNA test and hopefully get her back." Damian now casted his eyes to the ground in silence. It was Joey this time who spoke up.
"We never learned her real father's name," he said sadly, "Jessica said he was a nobody and a criminal for the mob, said his name was of no importance and that she didn't need him or to here his name." Gordon gave a sigh of frustration.
"That's not good," he said, "are you sure there are no pictures or birth certificates or anything?"
"There are pictures, nothing with him in it, and there is a birth certificate, but his name is not on it."
The commissioner turned to an officer. "We will need to close the area off for 24 hours for survaliance, tomorrow, if we don't find anything, we need to have the area cleaned up." The officer nodded and went to do his job and Gordon turned to the two boys. "You two head on home, we will call if we find anything."
"Is she going to be okay," asked Damian. Gordon's face fell. He hated that question, there was no deffinant answer, unless they were talking about freaks like the Joker, then there was only one answer he was sure of. In this case, however, he just didn't know how to answer.
"I will call," he said. Damian could tell, though, that he was doubtful. Joey motioned to his friend for the two of them to leave for his place. Damian gave one last look toward Gordon before turning to leave.
The two walked down the street to Joey's house. There was not much about Joey to tell. His mother was lost in a car accident, his father was a workaholic but he really loved his son, he had no brothers or sisters, he was a smoker, a painter, a guitar player, a writer, he loved to draw, and he was brilliant at writing music. He was the laziest future multibillionaire in their class. He had be recognized by several universities and had even gotten a few free college rides he denied on. He didn't want a huge future, all he wanted was to sell his art, play his guitar, and smoke his weed. A simple life, that was his dream, and his father supported him all the way.
Damian had thought it was a bit strange, but who was he to judge. They walked up to Joey's room and Damian collapsed on the bed. He was tired but he couldn't sleep, he wanted so bad to find his best friend. Joey sat on the bean bag chair next to the bed and pulled out his favorite piece and turned on the radio.
"So," he said, "if you where the Joker, where would you hide? Want a hit?"
"Sure, why not," said Damian taking the pipe rightfully named Monster Dream for the color and the harsh hit, "as far as where is the Joker hiding, I would hide in a warehouse."
"Okay, why?"
"Because (cough choke cough water) think about it. Warehouses come in huge groups, especially by the ocean, there are so many to hide in how would anyone know which one you where in?"
"But wouldn't they predict something like that," asked Joey, "I would hide somewhere under their noses, like an apartment building."
"But you don't want anyone to find where you are," argued Damian, passing Monster Dream, "if you stay in an apartment what's to stop someone from following you?"
"Simple, you loose them," said Joey.
"What if you didn't know you where being followed?"
"Then it would defeat the purpose of a warehouse, wouldn't it?" Damian gave a sigh of defeat. Joey was right and it was back to square one. "What if she really is his daughter," asked Joey quietly.
"I don't know," said Damian, "I don't think it would change who she was as a person would it?"
"Naw, she would still be cool with me, I wouldn't mind being seen with her in public."
"What do we do, I mean, if she is the Joker's daughter how can we still hang out with her?"
"Go with the flow," said Joey, shrugging his shoulders.
"Go with the flow?"
"Yea, man, go with the flow, don't fight what is going to be."
"What if the Joker kills us?"
"We all gotta die some time."
"What if we are forced to do something we don't want to?"
"What's life without a little excitement? Look man, just go with the flow and everything will fall into place," said Joey, answering his own question. Some how, it worked for Damian.
"Let the peace fall to chaos so we can build again," said Damian accepting Monster again.
"Exactly man, now let's get back to thinking of where to start looking for Artemis."
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Artemis felt the police cars hit the van. There was craziness all around. Police dodging the van, cars flying through the air, the Joker laughing like a kid jacked up on Mountain Dew. Artemis looked up and saw they were headed strait for the lake. "You, ah, might wanna take your seatbelt off," said the Joker with a look of seriousness, "you don't wanna drowned, do ya?" Artemis slowly shook her head in disbelief, he can't be serious! She looked on as the lake came closer. Before she could do anything the Joker reached over and unhooked her seatbelt and they went strait into the river. She felt him grab her around the waist. "Hold your breath, doll," he said. She did as she was told and held her breath.
He kicked the front windshield in and water hit them both. He forced himself and Artemis out of the car and swam for shore. (Note: I don't know if that actually works so please for the sake of all that is good, DO NOT ATTEMPT! If you do you need to video tape it and send it to me via email cause I wanna see that shit!) The Joker picked her up and ran for a cave that had two henchmen waiting for them. He quickly ran inside and put Artemis down. He grabbed her fore arm and they ran deep into the cave.
There were all kinds of twists and turns, corners, caverns, and finally they reached the end. They walked through and Artemis noticed a sewer entrance. The one with the orange wig opened it and jumped in, Artemis was shoved in after, Joker followed, and the other two henchmen came in last.
"Where the fuck are we," demanded Artemis, disgusted by the smell of the sewers.
"Uh, we're in the sewers, sweethear-t," said the Joker.
"I can see that," she mumbled, "look I really think you have me confused with someone else."
"You're mother is Jessica Napier, right," he asked.
"Well yea, but-" Before she could finish, a marriage certificate was put in front of her face. Artemis took it and read it carefully. Then a copy of a birth certificate was put in front of it, stamped and approved, it was the original copy of her birth certificate only it had Jack Napier stamped across it. Then a picture was put in front of her. It was Artemis on her first tricycle. Artemis didn't know what to say so responded in the only way she knew how. With sarcasm.
"Do you carry those around with you everywhere you go?"
"Just today," he responded with a chuckle. Ugh, that laugh, it sent goose bumps down her spine.
"So what do you want with me," she demanded.
"Oh, I just want our happy little family reunited," said the Joker with mock compassion. Artemis rolled her eyes.
"I would rather you just left me alone."
"Well, you aren't the grown up, I am."
"Hardly," she said before thinking. She felt a sharp pain behind her head and felt to the sewer ground. She hissed in pain in a fetal position holding the back of her head.
"You should, uh, really not talk to your dear father in that tone, doll," he said darkly. Artemis looked up at him, his eyes were dark and empty. She pulled her self up off the ground blinking a few times to clear the fuzziness from her vision. She was roughly shoved forward to signal for her to keep walking. It was a bit harder after the blow to the head but she managed.
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Damian and Joey were blown away. Three bowls and a joint later they still had no conclusion. "Dude," said Joey, "I don't fuckin' know."
"Know what," asked Damian.
"I don't know if I have any food, man," he whined.
"Food? Man, we need to find out where Artemis is," said Damian, "food should be the last thing on our minds." His convictions were set but his stomach betrayed him. It growled loudly, they never did eat lunch, and he had the munchies BAD. He sighed in defeat. "Okay," he said, "quick snack and it's back to thinking about what to do. We need to be focused and need to be thinking," said Damian, "we can't waist to much time." Of course, if you have ever been high you know that memory loss is, unfortunately, a side affect, distraction is easy, and thinking is keen on anything else but what is important at the time.
They ended up tearing the kitchen upside down. They cooked anything and everything with in reach. After creating an amazing snack of bomb dot com cookies, freaking awesome vanilla ice cream, and a tall glass of strawberry chocolate milk, they decided that Dr. Tran episodes on youtube was the entertainment.
Joey suddenly came up with a great idea. "Hey man, let's invite Artemis over! She would love to hang out and smoke with us! We can give her some of the cookies we made."
"I thought Artemis got kidnapped by the Joker," said Damian.
"Oh my God!"
"What!? What happened!? What's going on!?"
"We need to save Artemis man!"
"Holy shit dude, where is she!"
"I don't know. Where haven't we looked?"
"We haven't looked. We were going to try and think up places to look, remember!"
"No!"
"Dude, we haven't tried her house yet," suggested Joey.
"Why would she be at her house," asked Damian.
"Well, where else would the Joker take her?"
"Gotham maybe?"
"What if he has her in a sewer like right below us right now. What if he is hiding out there until the police go away so they can move by night to go to Gotham City where he is going to keep her somewhere secret where no one can find her?"
"Dude, slow down on the weed, your brain is fried."
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Right below Damian and Joey, the Joker had decided it was time to stop. He pushed Artemis down on the ground and order for her to stay. She was not willing to move from that spot, she had already made him mad, she didn't need him killing her or anything. She had to live long enough to be found and rescued and the best way to do that is to do what you are told.
He sat across from her and pulled out a cellphone. He put in the number and put it to his ear. "Okay, we are staying here until dark, when the sun goes down we are coming up, make sure you are wai-ting for us, hmm?" Whoever was on the other line must have said something to make him happy because his look went from dark to evil and happy again. After hanging up he turned on the one with the orange wig.
"What kind of driver did you hire for me you moron," he shouted. The man in the orange wig just scratched the back of his head.
"My brother," he said.
"Your, uh, brother had a misfortunate accident. He will no longer be joining us and neither will you." With that he took out his blade and sliced the orange wigged man until he was a bleeding mess on the ground that was almost unidentifiable.
The Joker sat back down and looked Artemis up and down. "Sorry about. that. Job security is not that great in this line of work," he said as if he was talking about laying someone off. Artemis looked around the sewer nervously.
"Are you going to kill me," she asked, barely above a whisper.
"What? You think I would go through all that just to kill you?"
"Yes," she said shortly.
"And to what reason?"
"I don't know, just to have something to do," she suggested. He gave another high pitched chuckle.
"I don't want to kill you. Oh no, sweetheart, I plan on keeping you around for a long time."
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"Look, let's just look, just to be safe," pushed Joey.
"I'm not looking for her in a sewer," said Damian.
"Oh, come on, if she isn't there you get to pick the next place," he begged.
"Fine, but let's roll a couple just in case. If she is there she is probably going to want one, and if isn't we will want one."
"Okay," said Joey. They prepared themselves with basic provisions; fruit rollups, koolaid, two joints, two flashlights, three lighters, and a couple jackets incase it was cold. They were ready!
They walked outside and lifted the nearest manhole.
……………………..
Artemis, the Joker, and the two henchmen looked up as the manhole above them started moving over. They quickly got up and out of the way to see who was coming in. A couple of teenage boys with black hoodies, a box of fruit by the foot, and a bottle of red liquid came down the stairs arguing with each other.
"Dude, it fucking stinks," said the first. Artemis felt her heart lift, she recognized that voice, it was Damian.
"Uh, ya! It's the sewers, duh," said the second boy. It was Joey! They both jumped down and turned to the others.
"What are you guys doing," asked Artemis.
"We're totally rescuing you," said Joey. The Joker acted immediately, he grabbed hold of his daughter and put a knife to her neck holding her in front.
"Yea, and we decided that if you are the Joker's daughter, its all good in the hood yo," said Damian.
"Now we are going to save you from the sewer before the Joker can drag you out of here when it get's dark and put you in a van and drive you off to Gotham city," said Joey who was way to happy for the moment.
"And how," interrupted the Joker, "may I ask did you figure that out?"
"Dude! I totally called that shit," said Joey, "I so told you that was going to happen." Joey and Damian did a high five shouting YES really loud.
"Oh my God," said Artemis in a small voice, "your not?"
"We are," said Damian.
"What are we," asked Joey.
"I don't know but let's play along."
"You guys are so fucking high right now!"
"No we aren't," said Joey, now switching to panic mode.
"Yes you are, your eyes are red and swollen, you brought fruit by the foot and koolaid, you found out the Jokers get away plan, you guys are higher then a couple of kites!"
The Joker relaxed a bit, those two were no threat, they probably had no idea what was going on right now. He removed the blade from Artemis's neck and advanced on the two. They both stepped back and maneuvered around to stand next to Artemis. Joey pulled something out from behind his ear.
"Here you go," he said handing the item to Artemis, "we thought you might need this." Artemis took it and saw she was handed a joint and a lighter. She closed her eyes and prayed that when she woke up she would be in her bed. She lit the joint figuring, what the hell, and anxiously smoked it. This was so wrong, so wrong it was actually….kind of funny. She started giggling to herself and fought the urge to burst out laughing. It was kind of hard though.
The Joker wasn't sure what to think. But before he could say anything he heard voices from up top. He quickly climbed up and shut the manhole. Oh well, two more passengers, the more the merrier.
"Um, we kind of where not planning on staying,' said Joey. He took a step forward but the Joker turned around and stuck him in the side with a blade. Joey fell to the ground with his hand over the wound. The only thing going threw his mind was it was a good thing he was high or that would have hurt a lot more.
Artemis and Damian both bent down to help him. Artemis ripped a piece of Joey's shirt and tried to stop the bleeding. Damian applied pressure to the wound to help.
"Now," said the Joker, "let's all sit tight and wait for nightfall, hmm?"
They exchanged looks, they didn't have any choice in the matter. Joey needed help and the sewer was the worst place to look for it.
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Next time: The Joker takes them on a joy ride and leaves Joey and Damian in the middle of the Narrows.
