Chapter one

7 years later

Crime alley lived up to its name. More muggings went on there than on any other street in Gotham.

Perhaps it's most famous mugging was that of renowned surgeon Dr Thomas Wayne and his wife Martha. To make it worse their deaths was witnessed by their young son Bruce Wayne.

However, out of their murder came a small amount of hope. Bruce Wayne vowed to avenge his parents, and worked his body and mind to the peak of physical condition. Finally, years later, he returned to the city as its most famous vigilante: Batman.

No one but a handful of people knew of his true identity, and every year on the anniversary of their death he would come to crime alley and lay two single roses on the spot where they died.

Tonight was no exception. He laid the two roses on the ground, against the wall. Later, after he had finished patrol, he would go to Gotham cemetery and lay two more roses at his parents' grave.

"Batman, they've had a break out at Arkham," a voice echoed in his ear piece.

"Who was it? And how did he or she get out?" Batman got straight to the point.

"It's the Joker; you'll have to talk to my father on how he got out though."

Great; he had a bad feeling that this night was about to get worse; a whole lot worse.

"I'll do that." With that Batman was swinging his way through the streets of Gotham, towards the police headquarters. The blood-red roses that he had left behind were the only sign that he had ever been crime alley that night.

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Twelve-year-old Jessica Redman sat in the Gotham café, clutching a mug of hot chocolate. It was the cheap kind that left a funny taste in the back of her throat, but it was the only hot drink she could afford. She had spent her last money on transport to get here.

She ignored the stares of people who were probably wondering what a girl of her age was doing out alone at night. Some of the customer's eyes were attracted to the table where glinting in the light was a silver sword.

It was quite a thin sword and it didn't look to be that heavy. That wasn't surprising though; it belonged to a child after all. The grip of his was a brass color and had a Latin phrase engraved on it, though the customers were to far away to read what it said.

"Now what's a young girl like you doing out alone at night?" It was the waitress, coming over with another mug of hot chocolate; the more expensive kind.

"I didn't ask for-"

"I know you didn't but it looked like you could use another, sweetie. And this one's on the house."

"Thankyou," Jessica replied, taking the new mug and handing the old one back to the waitress.

"Now tell me, where are your folks?" The waitress smiled kindly at Jessica and sat down opposite her.

Jessica sighed. She didn't really want this lady-no matter how kind she was-to know about her family life. But one look told Jessica that she wasn't leaving without an answer.

"They're dead," Jessica began. "My mum died soon after I was born, and I lost my dad a few weeks ago."

"I'm sorry to hear that. Do you have relatives here?"

"Yeah," Jessica didn't like lying to this kind lady but she didn't want people harassing her about what she was doing, and why she was alone at the same time. "I'm going to meet them at their apartment just across the park in a minute."

The waitress looked up the clock hung on the wall. It was quarter past eleven; much too late for a child of her age to be out alone in a city like Gotham. "Why don't you have them meet you here? It's a bit late for someone your age to out alone at night. I'll ring them if you like."

"Thanks for the offer but I'll be alright," and before the waitress could say another word she was up and out of the door, carrying her precious sword at her side.

"It's not the dark you have to worry about," the waitress whispered. "It's the things that come out of it."

She walked behind the counter and picked up the telephone. The young girl may have been telling the truth about her relations, but she wasn't going to risk it. The waitress pressed the phone to her ear and dialed the Gotham police station.

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Batman, having been joined by Robin, landed on the roof of the police station where Commissioner Gordon was waiting for them.

"I heard about the Joker."

Jim spun around slightly startled by the duo's sudden and silent appearance. Even after all these years he was still trying to get use the dark knight's silent stealth.

"You won't believe how he got out this time. According to a guard the Joker tore out a clump of his own hair and stuffed it in the lock."

"The way children sometimes stuff chewing gum in locks?" Robin asked.

The Commissioner nodded, "Just like that. And when a guard tried to stop him he knocked him out, before sticking pins in his eyes. Don't ask me where he got the pins from though."

"Ouch," Robin winced, "talk about 'stick a needle in your eye'."

Batman eyed his young partner dangerously.

"Sorry."

The dark knight wasn't actually surprised by the Joker's method of escape. He could handcuff the Joker's wrists and ankles, tie him up, wrap him in bandages, toss him a sack, put the sack in a box, and put that box in a bigger box before dropping it in the river, yet the Joker would still find a way to get out. It was just the way he was: insane, yet undeniably intelligent as well.

"What do you plan to do?" The commissioner wanted to know. "The last time this lunatic broke out he held an entire second grade class hostage, and killed ten of them including the teacher. I don't want something like that to happen again. The grandmother of one of the victims' lives across the street from me, and she's heartbroken."

"I'm not going to let something like that happen, Jim. But this is the Joker we're talking about, not the Riddler. He doesn't leave clues to his crimes. I hate to have to say this but we may have to wait until he strikes, or makes some sort of contact."

"We should look at the clump of hair," Robin suggested. "It may provide us with some sort of clue on what the Joker may be up to."

"How is a clump of his hair going to help?"

"Well he may have come into contact with something that might give us a clue on what he's planning, before he was apprehended and brought into Arkham."

"Do you think it will reveal anything?"

"We can't say for sure at this time," Batman began. "But at this point in time we have to look at every detail. Robin is correct when he says that the hair may provide a clue."

"Very well," the Commissioner agreed, "I'll go and get your hair now." He turned and retreated from the roof. A few minutes later he returned carrying the hair in an evidence bag which he handed to Batman.

"Thankyou," Batman gratefully took the bag. "I'll contact you if anything important comes up."

"You do-"

The duo had gone.

"That."

The commissioner sighed. Was there ever a time when he had actually watched Batman disappear into the night? No, he didn't think there was.

"Commissioner?" Detective Bullock appeared beside Jim. "Sorry to disturb you Commish' but police have just brought in a kid wandering the streets….carrying a sword."

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As usual when Batman returned to the Batcave, he got straight to work on trying to figure out what the Joker was planning.

"Do you have any idea what our giggling maniac is up to now, master Bruce?" his butler Alfred asked as he descended the stairs to the cave. He was carrying a mug of coffee for his boss, which he placed on the desk.

Bruce noted the drink but didn't make a move for it. Instead he carried on searching the computer screens for something, anything, which would help him.

"I had Robin study that clump of hair," he began, never taking his eyes of the screen.

"May I enquire if you were successful, sir?" Alfred stood beside Bruce and stared at the screen as well. A digital image which showed a strand of Emerald hair was currently rotating on the screen.

"I don't know yet Alfred, there was a substance found in the Joker's hair: Saccharose; more commonly known as Sucrose."

"Sugar, sir, but where would the Joker get sugar in his hair from?" Alfred asked.

"I think I know Alfred," Bruce replied, printing out a report of his analysis. "After the Joker murdered those second graders he escaped to his carnival. Something tells me that killing those children was just a distraction. He had something bigger planned, but before he was able to engage in the plan I apprehended him. Now he wants to finish what he started."

"And that is?"

"If I knew that Alfred, I'd be one step closer to solving this."

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For most people, children especially, funfairs were usually exciting places filled with laughter and thrills. The sound of the rider's screams of joy on the rollercoaster, the sticky finger's from the cotton candy, and the excited shivers from the riders of the ghost train.

But not this carnival.

The carnival currently standing in the middle of this abandoned field was more like a carnival of horror than a carnival of fun. Oh there were rides alright, but they hadn't been used in years. However tonight that had changed. The famous notes of the carousel seemed to float through the air, as the horses rode on their constant spherical path.

There was only one rider on the ride. A man whose skin bared the hue of white chalk. His hair was a bright emerald green, but the most striking and horrifying thing about him was his smile. It seemed to be permanently carved to his face.

The whole appearance gave him the look of a nightmare clown. His name sent shivers down the spines of all those who heard it, he was the reason the people of Gotham locked their doors at night.

The Joker, first and foremost villain of the dark knight.

The Joker held a newspaper in his hands and was reading an article on his previous apprehending by his archenemy.

"Stupid Bat freak, ruining my fun," the Joker put on a mock pout, but this was instantly replaced by his 'normal' grin. "Oh, but all is not lost, I can still have my fun though."

The psychopath turned the page to be confronted by a picture of Commisioner Gordon, taken after the events of the Joker's last escape.

The Joker's grin-if possible-became even wider. "Jimmy, Jimmy, Jimmy, I failed once in my attempt to drive you insane, but you know what they say: "try, try, and try again." And have I got a game for you, Commisioner! It'll blow your mind-literally, and knock your socks off! Speaking of which, memo to self: buy more socks. I wonder where Batman gets his from. Oh what the heck, another memo to self: steal Batman's socks."

The Joker threw back his head and let out a chilling laugh that echoed through the fairground. "HAAHAHAHAHAHAHAH!"