The Joker: confirmed dead as Gotham celebrates!
The headlines blared at me while one of his most famous images glared out at me from the newspaper I held early on July the fifteenth. That previous day had been a complete write off seeing as I had slept all of it away not bothering with meals or using the bathroom which had seemed to fly right over Bellatrix's and Alfred's heads. I suppose Alfred had thought that I was relieved that the entire affair was over and that I was able to get a great deal of sleep while Bellatrix may have been a bit apprehensive about interrupting my sleep. I could not be bothered to think about it really as my main area of concern in my mind was the moment when I had callously used an Unforgivable Curse. I could have rationed with myself that if he had received a just punishment it may very well have not worked seeing as he had escaped all of his previous incarcerations, but the words of reason were squashed when those probing voices insisted that there did exist another magical method of murder or even the gun. What dominated my thoughts, however, was the fact that he had won. Bellatrix insisted that I was the one who had the victory, but I knew that was a whole lot of hogwash when it came to this particular situation; he had repeatedly told me that it was only a matter of pushes until I snapped and became the very monster he wanted me to become. I could have let Bruce sort the mess out as Batman as he was wont to do, yet I had truly lost that little glimmer of light that existed in my soul and set out to murder my creator. Just like my father I had come to fall and I hadn't seen the transformation until it was too late with the news stations and printed press releasing the information of his death. Naturally I swore myself to secrecy and only hoped that my aunt had enough foresight to never mention the event to anyone even if it held a supporter to her case to recruit me as a Death Eater. I was even too terrified of my transformation to attempt a glance at a reflective surface and I most likely would never willingly look to my reflection again. The slamming of a hand hitting the surface of the dining table bought me back into focus of reality to see Bellatrix who wore a frustrated expression.
"Good Merlin! You have been sitting like that for two hours!" she exclaimed and I blinked slowly while setting the paper down. "I would have thought that you would be relieved that the freak is dead."
"I am. His death spells a new era of safety to the people of Gotham now that they don't have to worry about being spontaneously blown up." I started and picked at my hard cold toast.
"Why are you so comatose then?" she demanded.
"I told you, even though he has been taken out, it is he who gets the final laugh," my tepid water was a better option to consume.
"I don't follow. You murdered him; he is out of the picture for good and can't hurt you anymore. How is it possible that he "gets the final laugh"?" her voice came out in a huff.
"He won. He was entirely ecstatic that my father turned into a murderous lunatic, but when he died that conquest fell out of the window and he clearly had some sort of an idea that would happen so a contingency plan was needed. He had deliberately twisted me and pushed me to become the very monster that he is." I decided that the water was far too tepid to be enjoyable so I set that aside as well.
"But you're not a monster and he had to die or bad things would have continued to happen to Gotham," she started her case. "You had no other choice."
"You know what the horrible thing is?" I laughed humorously staring at the grains of the table.
"What?" she looked at her wits end.
"I cannot feel remorseful about it at all," my toast definitely did not look as appetising as it did two hours ago. "When I remember the power of the curse and the rush of it all, all that control and ability, it consumes me. I want to do it again, this monstrous energy of being able to drop anyone I fancy, I feel god like."
"Well don't feel morally torn up about it, embrace that energy, embrace it and be in charge of the situations you are in. I find that I look at it like a gracious gift that this energy comes so naturally to you, your power and skill is far more advanced than anyone I have ever seen at your age apart from the Dark Lord of course, but you, you are a gem to the world." She urged me.
"Perfectly pruned to take on the world," I considered burning the toast as a dry laugh escaped from me.
"Precisely," I banished the toast before I caved into my inner desires as she brightly sat up.
"I take it that you will want to whisk me away to Britain now that I have proven myself to be murderous enough," I looked to her as I said this, my mind focussing on her core reason of being in Gotham in the first place.
"Well that is one of the reasons why I came to you this morning," she started uneasily. "The Dark Lord summoned me this morning and I thought it would be prudent to put off your arrival until August so I can go ahead to put in the necessary preparations. I must leave today, though."
"Oh. Well that does seem fair trade though, I am terribly sad that you have to leave so soon, but it does sound like the most intelligent idea." I said and sent a frown in the direction of my water which had started to irritate me as well.
"I too am distressed by our short amount of time together, but I will be seeing you later so that compensates enough," she said this as if the time in August would be any amount of relaxed.
"True," my water was the next thing to be banished.
"Right, but now is the time I need to go as it would be unwise to test the Dark Lord's patience any further," she rose from her seat as I looked to her. "Try not to get into any trouble and send my regards to those who are concerned."
"Can't make any promises on the trouble part, but the latter will happen." I grinned up to her. "Be safe and be cunning."
"Am I anything but?" were her final words before she disappeared with a crack.
I let my expression fall as my breath rushed out in a huge sigh to the empty space around me. I felt indisposed to get up so I summoned my school work and set to examining and perfecting my holiday home work as I felt that I wouldn't have much time and space to do so in the near future. Once the work was completed and my muscles felt cramped enough I stood and made my way to my room to deposit my belongings on my bed before setting to the grounds edging towards the perimeters. In my previous term of studying the Dark Arts I had come across Wards and I was set on securing the property with some of them to rival the protection of Hogwarts. Of course I wasn't able to make the place completely hidden, but I made sure that they were able to keep any ne'er do wells' thinking patterns far from the location and I set alarms to alert me if anyone had managed to posses any ill intention towards Wayne Manor. My day was spent throwing my attention into this activity while parts of my thoughts were focussed on making plans to keep the city safe through magic. The Statue of Secrecy would definitely be having words with me on that topic, but in those moments I entertained the fantasies of never having to have that gut wrenching sense of worry for the city which I would die to protect.
The very next day Bruce was due to arrive back in a rejoicing Gotham so I accompanied Alfred to the airport to joyfully receive a surprised looking Bruce who had only found out about the demise of our enemy by glancing at a newspaper stand. The papers and the media were doing a great job of continuously reminding the city of a new light which had come about by doing thorough run downs of the event and secret revelations found on the scene. I had insisted that I knew nothing about the event and that it had taken me by great surprise that it had come to be, but I was still equally relieved and happy by it all the same. I had kept my magic to a minimum for the remaining month and decided that it would be a good idea to eat my food when I had received it instead of getting irritated by it. My sleep had come and gone in phases in that time as well; I would sometimes receive entire evenings of I while at other times I would become overwhelmed by my old sleep phobia and sit up reading all the books I could. My science books were easy enough to get a coherent grasp on while the book that Bellatrix had given me had me scratching my head over the obscurity of it. The book seemed to be a complete fable on how war had set the infrastructure of Gotham while a demon-bat had been summoned by the founders in an occult ritual to settle and spread its influence around the city. There was also some hogwash about some evil being which had been sleeping under the city for over forty thousand years and that some vague prophecy had stated that the being and the demon-bat's spirits would merge to be reborn in a powerful and corrupted sorcerer. The book was better for laughs than anything else and I reminded myself to ask Bellatrix about this practical joke when I saw her next.
I had relished myself in Bruce's company while I still had the chance to and whenever he went to Wayne Enterprises I had followed intent on learning all I could about the running of the business. He was a bit surprised in the beginning, but mainly happy that I had taken such an intense interest in my future and even went so far as to tell me of possible directions that could be taken and gave me a thorough lecture of the extent of the business's influence which I found most enlightening. We did not talk much of the media's current vapid interest out of respect for each other's past conflicts with the man which made both of us glad. During the remaining days of the month I had received a letter from Bellatrix stating a meeting time and place and I had relayed this to Bruce in the form of a question about seeing a friend which made him look as if a ton had been taken off of his shoulders. He had said that he was only too glad that I had friends who I could see and would organise a flight to England for the first week of August promising my unsure expression that he would be perfectly at ease with Alfred and that our once a week letters would still stand as fine. I still could not help, but feel apprehensive about what was to transpire with Bellatrix's plans still floating around my head and setting me on edge. I had made sure that all of my possessions were in order so that the day of my departure would not feel that much more stressed.
Stressed it felt, indeed. It was a relaxed and familiar sensation of leaving the Manor arriving at the airport to the usual fanfare which followed us around as if it did not have anything better to do with one million questions shouted in our direction. I had settled into the private security flight, Bruce was still rather paranoid as was evident by our heartfelt goodbye, and had taken a nap to kill any potential jet lag which loved to cause more stress and discontent. My landing was smooth and with my shrunken trunk inside my school bag I had passed through the countless questions thrown in my direction while my sunglasses shaded my eyes from the flashing cameras. I had hailed a cab and gave it directions to the street which was a block away from the Leaky Cauldron and walked the rest of the way with my heart hammering away in my chest. On my arrival I had noticed that I had about four hours to spare so having received my requirements list with my eleven Os from the O. I had set to replacing worn utensils with a few extra pairs of robes and purchasing the new text books needed. I spent some time lingering at the book shop while contemplating the need for extra books which the Room of Requirements could bring up when I would skim through them in record time with the information sticking forever negating the need to refer back to them. I shook my head at my internal crisis while leaving the shop with only the necessary books and made my careful way up a bleak looking Diagon Alley to the pub. Once there I quickly used the lavatories to pack my purchases appropriately enough and after my task was complete I sat at the bar with a glass of water twiddling my fingers while waiting anxiously for my pick up. I did not have to wait much longer as the door opened with my nervous glance sending my head in the direction of a searching Narcissa and a pale looking Draco. I did not have the patience to wait for the shamed Malfoys to find me so I jumped from my seat making sure that all was neat and orderly before walking up to them and smirked at their surprise when I seemingly Apparated in front of them.
"Hello!" I said brightly disguising my nerves and flung them into an awkward group hug. "Hugs are to be sent all around for the happy family!"
"Mother, people are staring," Draco whined and I immediately let go of them.
"Well there is much to be done so let us depart quickly," my voice was high pitched as I bounced slightly on my toes.
"That's a little eager," Draco muttered darkly, but was scolded by Narcissa.
"Are you feeling well?" The woman had asked me and I saw something flicker through her eyes which reminded me horribly of pity.
"Oh just chipper, couldn't be better!" My eyes had taken to flying around the room. "Shouldn't we be getting on with our journey?"
"Yes, we should," my aunt had sighed. "We are going by Side-Along Apparition so we need to get to an Apparition point. Follow me."
I nervously stuck by her side while Draco trailed along behind us and soon we came to a place which did not look very different from anything else, but who was I to point out anything? Draco and I had taken hold of an arm each and we prepared for the unpleasant sensation of having our entire body squeezed out in a vacuum. I stumbled a bit at our landing and after making sure I still had all faculties in order I followed my relatives up an unusually large drive way for people who were not in possession of auto-mobiles while ogling at the white peacocks on the grounds.
"Um, Aunt Narcissa," I hurried closer to the two.
"Yes Emily," she replied with that light pitying tone which made me wince.
"What exactly is going to be happening?" I asked while the mansion started coming into view.
"Bella will be here to greet us and after dinner you will be taken to the Dark Lord for a most gracious audience," she answered and I gulped silently.
"So, uh, is everyone still super serious about the next generation Death Eater formation?" I nervously laughed and Draco made a scoffing noise at the back of his throat.
"Those answers will come with the Dark Lord's decision tonight," she responded rather ominously.
"Can't hurt to be a little over prepared, might need to know if I should conceal any disfigurements on my arm," I joked lightly.
"What disfigurements on your arm?" she asked sharply.
"Uh, I had a little, um, accident in my past, there was a lot of burning and smoking flesh, crazy times, but they were all the greatest for character building," I rambled on as the mansion seemed to be getting closer faster. "Wow that came rather quick."
The mansion's doors had seemed to slam into view while pulling me roughly into the building before slamming shut in an ominously final way. I seemed at a loss of what to do and was desperately itching to turn tail and flee the despairing situation while screaming my head off. I suddenly wanted to be back in Gotham making plans to secure the Manor and attempting to realise my fantasies for making the city a safer place. Don't you wish you could? I jumped at the echo in my mind and knocked my head around kicking the voice to the back of it. I followed Narcissa to the guest room which I supposed was mine for the stay and she left me to get comfortable while telling me that dinner was in an hour and that a house elf would show me to the dining hall. After the door had been gently shut I collapsed onto the bed and stared at the ceiling contemplating my existence in Britain; my becoming a Death Eater sounded really unintelligent if my place was in an entirely different country. I sighed and let a few homesick tears linger in my eyes before blinking them away scolding my weakness over being such a child in this situation and told myself to grow up. I sat up casting my gaze around the room and was glad that the mirrors were angled in such a way that I could not see my reflection letting the relief flow through me before placing a concealment charm on it. I figured that my audience with Voldemort might be of some significance so I pulled out my newest set of robes and covered my muggle clothes with them. I had pulled up my left sleeve on a second thought that had come to me and wistfully looked at the marred flesh wincing at the remembered traces of pain while wondering if the branding would terribly hurt. A knocking was heard at the door bringing me out of my revere while increasing my nerves. The House Elf which had been sent to retrieve me was friendly enough chatting away about how Narcissa was so excited that I would finally be coming to stay and how Draco could finally have someone his age to talk to. I had listened with my mind jumping around the place considering the possibilities and feasibilities of jumping out of the windows and making a break for it while memorising the path that the Elf was taking me along. The dining hall had revealed that there were only Narcissa, Bellatrix and Draco present and I was sure that everyone who had looked up to my arrival had seen my shoulders drop. I was seated next to Draco while my aunts were on the opposite side of the long table with the head notably empty.
"Emily!" Bellatrix had delightfully started. "How has your city been fairing in my absence?"
"Oh, the usual spate of petty theft and murder which the media is covering up in order to favour the thirteenth," my voice was clear and calculated while the other two in the room breathed in audibly. "It is nothing consequential really."
"You have to love your fans," she stated somewhat sarcastically. "Are you still feeling morally torn up about murder?"
"I haven't really thought about it too much," the food had arrived so I had picked at the contents on my plate too nervous to full myself too much.
"So what have you been doing?" she asked as she viciously stabbed into the roast.
"Immersing my interests into my father's business and reading, oh, and I need to ask you about the book you gave me, it raised quite a few questions with me," the roast tasted fair enough, but I still had that strange desire to vanish my food.
"So you read it, was it informative?" she took a gulp of her wine.
"It was informative as any fable goes, my history classes had a very different version on how Gotham was built," my ears had caught the slight gasp from the other two when I had mentioned my city's name.
"Fable; that is no fable my dear, that text is the most supported on how the city came to be," she had started on her vegetables while I shifted mine around on my plate.
"Um, Bella, no one really knows how that place came to be." Narcissa had placed herself into the conversation. "In fact many don't know about its whereabouts or existence."
"Well to those who know of its location and existence that piece is about as text book as it gets," Bellatrix had shot back.
"Which raises the question," I had started not bothering with my beverage after the food had started to become troublesome. "How come magical folk don't know anything about the place?"
"Legend says that there is a curse, most wicked and vile, that was born with it and that this curse deters all who wish to come," Bellatrix reverently said in a low voice.
"That doesn't make sense though," I continued shifting around my food. "How come my mother and every other person were able to get there?"
"That is where the "Gotham effect" comes into play," that had me looking up in her direction with a sceptical expression written clearly on my face. "Those who manage to find out about the existence and location become enchanted by the city so much that they will do as much as possible to move there."
"So what of the many people bent on its destruction?" I said remembering the legendary Terror Night a few years back in the Narrows.
"Those are the people who are aware of its danger and wish to eliminate it," a nervous tapping was heard from the door way and we all looked up to see a cloaked man who cleared his throat.
"The Dark Lord had arrived and wishes to have a private audience with Emily Black in the drawing room," he stated with his voice wobbling slightly.
"It's Wayne." I stood up noisily and banished the food out of habit before walking to the man. "Wish me luck."
"Now Emily," Bellatrix stood and made her way to me her intent on showing the directions evident in the way she had dismissed the man. "Remember when you address the Dark Lord, you may only call him "my Lord" and only speak when spoken to. Bow to his presence and be courteous in every way possible. Have you got that?"
"Right as rain, clearer than bottled water, straight as a bullet," I followed her along the corridors which would lead to my doom. "Anything else I need to be made aware about?"
"Everything he does is for a greater reason than we could ever comprehend," she reverently stated and finally stopped outside a door. "This is it; keep a clear head and you should do well."
"Thanks," she left me standing by the door and I sucked in a deep breath before knocking timidly at the smooth wood.