Chapter 5

I watch as the police pull up to Cornerstone. If I didn't call the police, then who did? I watch from my hiding spot as the officers jump through the broken window of Cornerstone. I look down at the small shards of glass I had to pull off of my jacket and pants after I threw that brick to save Batman. Hopefully he got away. I look up for any signs of the Batwing, but no luck. Nobody's seen the Batwing in years, maybe Batman's discovered a less conspicuous form of fast transportation. And was that, the Joker I saw when I threw the brick? My camera malfunctioned just as it hit the ground, so I resorted to looking through the shop window. In the dark of the store, I couldn't make out all of the details, but a fourth person had definitely entered in from that back door. He was thin, and kind of short, also he slouched awkwardly. His outfit was mostly obscured by a trench coat, but that ridiculously gelled up hair was unmistakable. Witnessing a real Batman Vs. Joker fight? What a time to be alive. As I looked up, I caught two figures moving up on the roof. I got my binoculars out of my satchel and looked into them, pointing them towards the two. Thank goodness I got the night vision binoculars, or I wouldn't have been able to see anything. I watched as Batman attacked Joker, but he dodged and snared him with a pair of his Chattering Teeth attached to a chain. So Joker gets tools but Batman doesn't? That's not fair! I then watched as Batman used the chain to his advantage and flung Joker up and over. Yes! I punched the air in excitement, almost dropping my binoculars. Then Batman crawled over and got himself free of the chain, but Joker was right behind him,

"Look out!" I accidentally yelled out, cupping my mouth right after.

Of course Batman didn't hear me, and Joker got the slip on him, jumped on top of him, landing on top of him in a rather suggestive position. I put down my binoculars and blinked several times, I've seen enough fanfiction to know where this is going. I dared to look back up with my binoculars just in time to see Batman kick the Joker…umm…there, before he shoved him away. I let out a major sigh of relief, thank god. Batman tied the Joker up just before the police cars began arriving. The officers climb the fire escape on the roof but Batman is already getting away and the police's chase is futile. And now they're bringing Joker out, and in the bright lights of the car lights, I could clearly make out that he's the Joker alright, or at least, a guy in the Joker getup. Even though a lot of his makeup and hair dye have been eroded away, I'm too far away to make out an discernable facial features. I can just tell his green hair, is actually a dark brown. Could that be…Brad? He has the same hair color, and he lives above the store. No, no way, the innocent little freshman? Not a chance, maybe that's his dad or a relative maybe. A news van screeches up to the scene and a reporter runs up to Joker. I take out my cell and headphones to look up the channel so I can hear her,

"Mr. Joker, could you tell us, was the figure that the police failed to apprehend Batman?"

The Joker grin, "HAHA HA HA HAHAH HAHAHA HA! Oh that was Batsy all right, ain't she a peach?"

She?

On the way to school, I see police cars and news report vans parked in front of Cornerstone. I was way too tired to stay up and watch the news reports, but I'm sure I'll get to it eventually. As soon as I walk into school, Joker jumps in front of me. I punch him in the face, and he hits the ground. I swear under my breath as I suddenly realize that its just Martin in a Joker mask.

"Martin, oh my god, I'm so sorry! Are you okay?" I apologize, offering to help him up.

He grabs my hand, and I easily pull his thin body up, "Damn Kat, what got into you there? I was just trying to scare you."

"Well, it certainly worked." I admit tiredly, scratching my head.

He puts back on his Joker mask and pulls another one out of his satchel, "People are passing these things out all over school."

I wave the mask away, "Why?"

He looks at me, confused, "Didn't you hear about what happened last night at Cornerstone? Didn't you see all of the cars in front of Cornerstone?"

I blink a bit, before nodding, "Yeah…yeah I did."

His expression hardens into concern, "Hey, you okay? You look, really out of it."

"I'm fine. So, what happened at Cornerstone?"

"You don't know what happened at Cornerstone?" Joey asks, walking over with his own Joker mask.

My head spins as I notice more students walking around with Joker masks, some even jumping out at other people to scare them, "It's…I'm…just getting a really bad feeling in my gut right now." I tell them, bending over, clutching my stomach.

"Hey, you sure you're okay?" Martin asks, timidly placing his hand on my back, attempting something resembling support.

I nod once again, "Yeah, I'm just, really tired."

I walk with them to our lockers, and they slowly forget my stumbling start and they begin talking about the Cornerstone Murder, as they've named it.

"Yeah Katniss, apparently they discovered the couple that runs Cornerstone were murdered by the Joker, and that he's been using their shop as a front for selling a drug called Joker Venom. And guess who came to stop them? Batman! And the police are saying that they suspect that Batman might be a student from our school! How cool is that?! I mean, Gotham High has its own Batman!" Joey explains.

I nervously swallow, "That sounds, pretty cool."

"Pretty cool?! Its awesome! It also confirms those Batman sightings you've been seeing lately Martin."

Martin nods with a smile.

"Hey, have any of you guys seen Brad today?" I ask them.

Martin shakes his head, "No, with what happened with his parents, who can blame him for staying home today?"

I nod and look down while Joey continues the Batman-centric conversation,

"But the real question is, who is Batman? I mean, he has to be athletic, and intelligent, and most of the guys here are either one or the other."

"You know, I'd love to be Robin." Martin admits.

Joey laughs, "No way man, no matter who Batman is, you'd tower over him! And Robin's lame, everyone wants to be Batman, not Robin."

Martin shrinks back a little, "So…I should stop being Robin for Halloween?"

"You still dress up for Halloween?" Joey asks.

He shrugs, "You're never too old for free candy."

During Forensic Sciences, two police officers come in to question all of the students one by one. I nervously grab at my pants, waiting for my turn.

"Katherine Wells?" the officer calls out.

I step off of my stool and walk out the door. The officers pulled out a desk for the student to sit in. I take the seat, while the first officer sits opposite me,

"So Katherine, I assume you've heard about what's happened?"

"Yes."

"Did you go to Cornerstone Drug and Liquor very often?"

"Every now and then."

"Did you know the couple who worked there very well?"

I have to pause and think about that one. I of course knew them, especially during freshmen year when one of them would always be manning the storefront after school. But then Brad starting manning the front everyday after school and…well…now we all know why.

"Yes, I did."

"When was the last time you saw them?"

"Uhm…it was…when I visited Cornerstone right before winter break."

"And you hadn't seen them since?"

"No…after that it was always their son Brad who was working Cornerstone."

"What can you tell us about their…son?"

"Well, his name is Brad. He's a freshman who attends this school, and he's been running the storefront after school for a couple of months now. He's…okay, I mean, he seemed pretty normal, really normal actually. To be honest, he's the last person I'd think of to be caught up in this kind of thing."

The two officers look at each other, exchanging worried glances before the first officer continues, "Katherine, you see, the couple who ran Cornerstone, they never had any children. We suspect that Brad is an outside person who murdered the family and then pretended to be their son as a front for his drug operations."

"So…he's the Joker?"

"We suspect he is the one who was arrested last night, but, the suspect escaped. That's why we're questioning the entire school. Associates of him may be in danger."

I'm clutching my fists so hard my arms begin to shake,

"Katherine, we need to know everything you know about Brad. If necessary you'll be under witness protection by the GCPD, I assure you, nothing will happen to you."

I try my best to keep myself under control, but my eyes are getting misty. I swallow my tears before continuing,

"He was selling a drug called Joker Venom. He offered me some but I never tried it. He also told me that he had two guys bringing it in every night, but he made it sound like it was his parents running the operation, not him. I'd never imagined it was him who was running the entire thing all along."

The officers simultaneously nod, "Thank you Katherine, we'll be in touch if anything new develops. We would have an officer keep watch of you, but the GCPD is stretched pretty thin as it is, and you don't appear to be that connected to Brad that it would be absolutely necessary."

"Okay, thank you." I reply.

I traipse back into the classroom, and as soon as I get back up on my stool, I let out a major sigh of relief.

"Those guys try anything?" Winifred, sitting next to me, asks.

I shake my head, "No, but they sure drilled me like hell."

I spend the rest of my morning classes freaking out. The Joker's escaped? What if he finds out who I am, and starts going after my friends and family? I'd never thought I'd ever get them involved when I started dawning the costume. I just…why did I become a crime fighter? I guess it was because I was pissed off at my parents for shipping me off to Auntie Jennie's while they sort out their divorce. Why did they need to send me away in the first place? And why, after that, do they both never come to visit? I haven't seen either of them in several months, and the only reason Auntie Jennie can get a hold of my dad is because she borderline harasses him over when the dispute will be settled. Even when my parents were around, they were always out or working, so I guess this isn't much of a change to begin with.

I turn my thoughts away from family as I walk down into the locker room to change for cheerleading practice. Our big game against Disco Tech is tomorrow, so every practice is crucial. I walk up to the gym changed to find the entire team in their street clothes sprawled out on the bleachers.

"Hey Kathy." Tara groans, falling off one of the steps of the bleachers.

"What happened to all of you?" I ask.

Tara slowly picks herself up, "We're all just…really tired right now."

Her eyes are bloodshot, and her hair lacks the usual sheen. She also didn't bother to apply her makeup, and for Tara, that's code red.

"Brad's gone!" Sydney yells out, raising one of her pom-poms.

I cross my arms and let out a sigh. So they're experiencing withdrawal symptoms after one day? How much Joker Venom were they using?

"And he still has my cell!" Tara complains to the ceiling.

"Well, I'm gonna practice." I tell them, giving them the hand. I seriously don't want to deal with them right now.

I'm on my third round-off when Tara speaks again, "Hey, you did give Brad my cell phone, right?"

I jolt at the sudden sound, shifting to the left midair and landing on my posterior, "Uhm…yeah, I did."

"That would make you, like, the last person to have seen him, right?"

I shrug, "I don't know."

"Maybe Batman saw him." Sydney interjects.

Tara blows a couple of strands of hair out of her face, "Pfft! Screw Batman, he's always got his stand-up, moral high ground, "I'm always right" thing going on, and yet he gets to punch as many people as he wants."

I bite my lip, sure she's kind of out of it right now, but she's right, why do I get away with hurting people? I shake it away, no, they deserve what was coming to them, it's a means to an end, and besides, they attack first…usually…

"Isn't that more like, Superman's thing?" Tara asks.

Sydney laughs, "Its what every superhero is like!"

She gets a chuckle out of the rest of the girls. I return to stretching, while the other girls talk on the bleachers.

"Hey, don't freak out Tara, we can get our fix somewhere else." Sydney reassures her.

Tara shrugs, "I'm more concerned about my phone, my parents are gonna find out eventually. Hah…do you think Batman does mercenary work? I might be able to convince him to get it for me."

I purse my lips and roll my eyes, feeling a laugh well up in my throat. No way I'd ever accept her "favors". But then again, maybe if I run into the Joker again, and a sickening feeling in my stomach tells me I will, then maybe I could get it back for her. But still…could I get her phone back from him and still make it out alive? And would he even still have it? You know…maybe its still in the shop…

Cheerleading practice ends with the sound of the lunch bell. I go down to the locker room to change while the rest of the girls sulk out of the gym. As I grab my street clothes and my backpack from my locker, I stop for a second. The general sounds of the locker room, the hissing and steaming of the pipes, the creeks and snaps of the old building, they all seem just a little too loud right now. I speed up my changing tenfold as I hear steps echoing throughout the locker room. I close my locker as slowly as possible, but I can't help the old rusty metal from making a scratching noise as it clasps shut. The minute the alarmingly loud noise is made, I bolt behind one of the endless rows of lockers and duck under one of the changing benches. I curl up into the tightest spot under the bench and squeeze my eyes shut. The footsteps splash against the collecting moisture on the concrete locker room floor. The florescent lights protected by metal cages flicker slightly in intensity every couple of seconds, illuminating the shadows cast by the lockers and benches. I dare to look up, and I see a small window leading out to the courtyard just outside the gym. Maybe if I'm fast enough, I could climb up and out. I listen to try to determine where the footsteps are, but the sound echoes throughout the locker room, making it nearly impossible. I decide on a gut feeling to make a run for it. At a breakneck pace, I slide from out of the bench, swinging out my left leg for support. From that leg, I throw myself into a sprint as I approach the window.

"Katherine Wells, what are you doing?!" a female voice asks.

I turn around and see that it's Ms. Erikson, the cheerleading coach.

"Oh! Ms. Erikson, you're back from surgery." I realize, sliding across the wet concrete floor to make a complete stop.

She crosses her arms, "I can see the discipline standards have dropped considerably in my absence. Where are the other girls? Where's Tara?"

I bite my lip, shoot, what should I say?

"Uhm…they already left. I'm just here because…we found a mouse, and I'm hunting it down."

She raises her eyebrow, "Hmm…well, how about I help you?"

I swallow, "Alright. Thanks."

My stomach drops as we look around for that "mouse". Is she gonna let me off the hook or am I in big trouble when we don't find it?

"Katherine! Come over here!" Ms. Erikson yells out for another part of the locker room.

I trace her voice to the entrance, connecting the girl's locker room to the boy's. The minute I push open the heavy door, I jump, almost backing back into the door. The entire wall has been decorated with messily applied green question marks made by spray paint. The moisture of the locker rooms has caused the paint to drip considerably, but the message is still legible.

Riddle me this Caped Crusader! What can you lose, but still start again and again?

"Katherine, go get the principal." Ms. Erikson tells me.

I nod, and race up the stairs. Who put that there? And how did he spray that out so quickly? I came that way when I went to change, so the guy must have come in and put it there while I was changing. That must have been the noises I heard, but, the noises were clearly coming from inside the locker room…I don't know, maybe I was just imagining things.

I walk into the main office, where the first thing that catches my eye are the large flat screen TV's that show the various security cameras around the school. Hmm…

"Katherine, what're you doing here?" it's Martin, looking over the modem connected to the TV screens.

"I'm looking for the principal." I tell him.

Martin looks around, "Uhm…he should be in his office."

"Thanks, hey, what're you doing?" I ask.

"Adjusting the connection to the monitors and the cameras. The connection's been kind of weird lately."

I nod, before walking over to the door leading to the principal's office. I knock on the door, before pushing it open, "Mr. McDowall?"

An elder, slender man with a pair of large, circular glasses looks up from his book, "Yes, Ms. Wells?"

"Mr. McDowall, there's some graffiti down by the locker rooms." I tell him.

He places his book on his desk, and adjusts his glasses, "Again? Oh alright, I'm coming."

He slowly reaches up to slowly push himself up from his desk while I go and grab his brown fedora from the coat rack.

"Thank you Ms. Wells." he says, accepting the hat and putting it on top of his nearly bald head.

The principal follows me out of his office, slowly shambling his way down the short, narrow hallway connecting his office to the main office.

"Mr. McDowall, another story for me to cover?" Martin asks, looking up from his work.

He nods, "Another graffiti incident apparently."

Martin returns his nod, and jogs over to follow us, bringing out his iPhone.

"So, Mr. McDowall, do you think there's some sort of pattern popping up with these graffiti cases?" Martin asks, setting his phone to record his voice.

"Of course. Anyone can see that this person is clearly trying to imitate the Riddler, a popular member of the Batman's rogue's gallery. What with the green question marks as his calling card, I predict that an actual riddle is soon to follow."

I pause, before speaking, "Actually, Mr. McDowall, the newest graffiti marks also include a riddle."

He gives an almost approving nod, "Hmm…well, tell m-actually, don't. I don't want to ruin the suspense."

"Mr. McDowall, it's widely known around the school that you were there during the reign of the original Batman, tell me, could you give us a retrospective on the Riddler?"

He chuckles, tilting his fedora up just a bit, "Oh yes, I remember Edward, he started out as just E. Nigma, doing petty crimes before picking up the name the Prince of Puzzles, the Riddler. He'd always leave clues to solving his crimes for the Batman and Robin the Boy Wonder to solve. I actually remember one time when he tried to not leave notes for the crime, and he couldn't do it!"

Wow, I'd almost forgotten that Mr. McDowall was there during the first emergence of Batman. No wonder people ask him about it so often, where else could you hear a first hand account of living in the golden age of Batman? The question is, shouldn't he have retired by now?

We arrive at the locker room entrance to find Ms. Erikson there with a bucket of water and a couple of rags,

"Principal McDowall! Good to see you again." she greets him with a firm handshake.

He chuckles, "Patty, its good to see you back on the job, I apologize for not being able to see you sooner, but I assume the operation was a success?"
She nods, "Yes sir, it was."

He then looks over to the graffiti, "Hmm…riddle me this huh…mhmm…Caped Crusader, hmm, haven't heard that one in a while. But the riddle itself is…well it clearly isn't from Edward, I can tell you that."

"What do you think it means?" Ms. Erikson asks.

Mr. McDowall chuckles, "Now, where's the fun in that? Besides, I'm sure it doesn't mean anything. Martin, did you get your pictures?"

"Yes sir."

He nods, "Good, now help Katherine clean this up."

Martin leans back a bit in surprise, "Oh, uhm, okay sir."

Mr. McDowall and Ms. Erikson leave us to go check the security cameras in the main office. I look behind me and notice the black circular security camera peaking out from the ceiling. The footage is broadcasted on the TV's in the main office, I wonder…

"Can they rewind the security footage on those TV's?" I ask.

Martin stops scrubbing for a second, "Not just that. We have all of the security footage stored on USB drives in the main office. I think the footage goes back about ten years. Don't know why they bother keeping all the footage though. Why do you ask?"

I shrug, "Just curious. Wonder what the riddle means though…"

"That's easy. Something you can lose, but start again, and again…it's a game!" Martin cries out. "And that means, the Riddler must be planning something for the big game tomorrow!"

"How'd you figure that out so quickly Martin?" I ask.

He shrugs, "I don't know…logic, I guess?"

"Well, then why don't we go and tell Mr. McDowall so he can do something about it?" I suggest, ringing out my towel and watching the diluted green water pour into the bucket.

Martin pauses, "…do you think they'll believe me? I mean, what're they gonna do? The game's tomorrow, and from what I've heard it's a big game. Do you think that the school will be willing to alter the game because of this?"

I look up at the now somewhat smudged message on the wall. Martin is usually pretty confident in himself, what's gotten into him?

"Personally, I think the students' safety should be the school's top priority, not their rivalry with Disco Tech. If you think this is a warning, then you should tell them."

Martin looks down, and then forms a smile, "Hey, Kat, how long have we known each other?"

I pause, "Uhm…I think it's been five years now."

He chuckles, "Heh, that's right, middle school. We were totally different back then, weren't we?"

I nod, "Well, for one thing, back then, I was the taller one."

We both laugh a little, and I end up turning and looking at Martin. Now that I think of it, he was a lot shyer when he were younger, and Joey was the outgoing one who introduced us. Now I guess you could say they're more on the same level. He hasn't grown just physically…

"Hey, you should probably go to Mr. McDowall. I'll finish up here." I offer.

Martin looks up at me, still smiling brightly, "Alright. See you later, Katniss."

"Aw c'mon, not you too." I protest lightly.

"Hey, you gotta admit, it does suit you."

I shrug and roll my eyes. Despite Joey's tendency towards lame references, I'll admit…I guess it kind of, sort of suits me.