1/30/1996

Ten years ago, a comedian died in New York. Around the same time, one of my comrades fell and our team dissolved. Ten years ago today, I wrote in this journal regarding what I had been up to since our team faded. For the most part, I told the truth, but what I lied about was that I was continuing to fight crime. I actually wasn't. Well, at least, not as the Nite-Owl II, my alter ego. I was just doing basic things, like helping cops with certain crimes, and basically just handling crimes like a normal person in a calm manner without acting like a superhero. In 1986, when the supers were all outlawed, that was what prompted me to NOT be a superhero. The government made that very clear; anyone who broke that law would be met with all necessary force. However, in the years that passed, supers became so rare that people just started to care less and less about the possibilities of supers coming out of the shadows. Even the Presidents never acknowledged them. I still have yet to find out what Silk Spectre II, Ozymandias, and Dr. Manhattan (the only remaining Watchmen) are, but I really could've used them today, because a string of crimes started happening recently that prompted me to come out of retirement, regardless of what the government would say.

Tonight was quite an interesting night. Not just because of who I ran into and fought with, but because of the backstory. But I'll get into that later. Before I do, let me explain what happened.

For a few weeks now, I'd been attempting to keep watch for a specific vigilante often referred to as the Joker. And a joker he was, a purple suit, clown makeup, unique weapons with some sort of silly twist added. I didn't know too much of his backstory when I finally got a hold of him, but at first, I knew that I had to get this guy. He was committing several acts of homicide more than just one day of the week. It was insane how many killings this guy committed so quickly. You knew it was him when a crime happened and it was followed by a maniacal laugh. Needless to say, the circus wouldn't come to town for a long time. Luckily, the Joker wasn't on the run like Ozymandias was. He seemed to restrict himself to fighting in his own hometown, Gotham City. The exact location of the state is undisclosed for the safety of this entry.

If you know about the Joker, you might be thinking to yourself, Where was Batman during all this? That's also for later.

I took a cab or two to Gotham City and spent most of my time hiding in the shadows, all while waiting for a crime to happen involving the Joker. For some reason I thought it'd be best to wait for a crime to happen rather than just go for him. You never know when there's an imposter. It was roughly around 10:00 at night and I was just wandering through alleyways of several buildings. By now, Gotham City might be used to seeing a guy in a bizarre outfit with a cape and mask combo, but I tried to avoid the public eye in case some 10-year-old kid saw me and wanted my autograph, or better yet, thought I was Batman. At roughly 10:06 PM, I heard a gunshot, followed by screaming. I tried to follow the sounds, running as fast as I could. But when I got to the crime scene, I was too late. A dead body, somebody roughly 35 years old, lying down on the sidewalk, bleeding all over. People were panicking, sobbing, staring, all while the police were trying to stop anyone from getting closer. One of the cops eventually saw me and asked me what I was doing here. I simply replied, "I heard the screams and I am here to find out who did this." I really couldn't think of anything else to say, other than "I'm the Nite Owl," which, psssh, too unoriginal.

"Do we know if the Joker is behind this?"

"He might as well be," replied the officer, "it seems as though the person was impaled by a bang flag, and I know only one person who'd do this."

There was a flag reading "BANG!" impaling the poor soul. It probably came out of the gun when I heard it being shot.

"Where did he go?" I asked.

The officer shook his head as if to say he didn't know. I ran away from the crime scene and eventually came across an alleyway I had explored early this morning…and there he was…the Joker himself.

He was spray-painting the wall with some sort of abstract art form. There was graffiti on the wall already, but he added more to it. The preexisting graffiti was of the Batman symbol, but the Joker was spraying a red face all over. Surrounding it were the words, "Ha ha ha," "Why so serious?"

Joker turned and looked over at me, and he seemed legitimately shocked.

"Batman, what's happened to you?" he said mockingly. "You've upgraded your suit!"

"Batman is gone!" I shouted.

"So it's going to be the hard way, isn't it?"

I let out a battle cry as I rushed towards Joker as he quickly whipped out his gun and shot me right in the chest. Luckily, it has yet to kill me. The bullet went into my left pec. I fell over, as expected, groaning and grunting in pain, but I was able to quickly take out the Joker with my grappling hook, tripping him with it and pulling him over. I tried to get back up and I punched him in the face. Eventually, cops showed up behind my back and saw me beating the Joker single-handedly, literally, that is. My other hand was trying to hold my gunshot wound. I turned around and saw the cops holding their guns out at us.

"Well," I said. "I found him."

Long story short, the Joker was apprehended, and taken to a place called Arkham Asylum. Supposedly, that's where some of the most dangerous criminals are kept, including the Joker. The cops went through a whole investigation as to who I am and what I was doing and whatnot. I'm almost glad I got shot in the long run; if it hadn't been for my visible wound, the cops would've just assumed I was the criminal, and I was getting my sick kicks by beating up someone, even if the person really deserved it. The law makes no sense anymore in this world. But it was the further research regarding the Joker that made me realize this.

Apparently, the Joker has been to prison several times, each time having a different alter ego. No one seems to know what his real name is, as every mugshot was given a different name. Some say his name was Jack or John Napier, others said it was Arthur Fleck, or other times, Joe Chill. Don't ask me where they got these names from; I still don't know. But apparently, he shot and killed a couple known as Thomas and Martha Wayne, who were the parents of Bruce Wayne, aka, Batman. Batman was the biggest defender in Gotham City, but after the whole incident with the Watchmen in 1986, when superheroes pretty much became untrustworthy, Batman went into hiding. Much like me, he imagined that being a superhero in this day and age would be enough to get incarcerated.

His longtime sidekick, however, Robin, has whereabouts still unknown. I'm just glad Joker is in jail right now. But there's no telling when he's gonna escape. I should also point out that I wasn't wearing my Nite Owl costume at the time of fighting him. I wouldn't have had enough time to put it on and fight Joker. Also, I probably would've gotten in trouble. But then again, what if I DID have my Nite Owl costume on? What if they saw me fighting the Joker whilst wearing the costume? Would they have incarcerated me for being a quote-unquote super? Would they have seen me as a hero and officially declared superheroes legal again? Who knows? In the meantime, I better stop writing and let my wound recover. I probably won't write again for awhile. I really need to figure this whole super thing out before I put the cowl back on.

On a side note, I remembered hearing about a former fighter, Edward Blake (the Comedian they called him), killed a thug would was allegedly affiliated with the Joker. I wish I could tell you more, but his name was never revealed. I still have no idea where he is or was, but assuming that he was affiliated, I guess I can safely say that this is the one redeemable quality of the Comedian.

Author's notes

Well, I'm finally back! Miss me? Okay, I'll stop...

So, it took me awhile to finish this chapter not because I had writer's block, but because of school, jobs, and other real-world crap. Also, I kind of forgot about this story. I did, however, get an email from a user who was very intrigued and made several suggestions (and pointed out a few mistakes from the last chapter). This chapter is actually the second draft; I added more to it based on what was suggested and I corrected a few of my own flaws from the last chapter. I also gave him permission to rewrite the first chapter of this whole story his way. This user was Celestial Glowhead, go check out his content! And if you're reading, Celestial Glowhead, thanks for all your help and support! Same to you, reader. Same to you.

Oh, and I'd also like to point out a few things. I wanted to toy with the idea of Gotham City existing without Batman, yet having a villain like the Joker running amok. I know none of this happened in the comics, but hey, it's fanfiction! It's an alternate reality story of an alternate reality story. I originally wasn't going to mention Batman, but I figured it'd be impossible to NOT include him, especially when I have other characters in mind to appear.

Joker's multiple identities are all references. Jack/John Napier is Joker's real name in the basic lore, but in most recent adaptations, that has been omitted for whatever reason. The name Arthur Fleck is Joker's real name in the upcoming Joker movie starring Joaquin Phoenix. Consider that hype! Also, the name "Joe Chill," is the guy who killed Batman's parents in the Dark Knight trilogy. I know he's not the Joker, but I combined Chill with the Joker since the Joker DID kill Batman's parents in the 1989 Batman film, so really, this is mixed continuity. Deal with it.

Thumbs up if you read all this! Stay tuned for the next chapter! :D