The final bell rang at Hamilton Hill High, and Terry was among the throng of students that practically stampeded towards the exit, looking forward to a long weekend.
As he stepped through the sliding doors outside behind and obnoxious couple talking loudly about their weekend plans, Terry paused and took a cursory look at the City of Neo Gotham.
Gotham stopped being "Gotham" well before Terry was born, as if the new name and sleek new buildings could replace the ugliness underneath, in the scummy lower levels hidden away from the rest of the world, left forgotten to rot and fester. Sadly, Terry was no stranger to that seedy underbelly. His shoulder still ached when he thought about it….
Terry was snapped out of his musings when he felt a strong arm wrap around his neck, pulling him into a sideways embrace.
"Yo, Terry, daydreaming again?" said Duke teasingly. "Well, dream no more, for I have arrived."
"Yay, it's a dream come true," said Terry jokingly.
Terry's best friend, Duke Thomas, was always bright and cheery spot in a bleak city like Neo Gotham, Though not as bright as that eye-gouging yellow jacket he always wore. Seriously, that coat made him light up like a light signal, Terry thought. Duke wasn't exactly popular like the resident thug, Nash Nelson, but he was very well-liked for his sunny personality and charming charisma that got him on the ballot for student body president. (He turned the offer down, of course.) Duke was one of the few people that still stood by Terry after he had gotten out of Juvie, which made Terry appreciate his best friend all the more.
"So, how'd you do on Mr. Ortiz's physics test?" asked Duke as the pair walked down the steps into the courtyard.
"Ugh, please don't talk about school after we just got out," Terry threw his head back with a groan. "I just wanna turn my brain off for the weekend."
"That bad, huh?" Duke teased.
"I'm think he finds sadistic joy in torturing poor, innocent students," Terry remarked.
"Yeah, innocent," Duke snorted, looking ahead. "Hey, there's Harper. Yo, Harper!"
Harper Row was hard to miss, even in a crowd of high school teenagers, with her blue-and-purple dyed hair and facial piercings. She was one of the smartest people Terry knew – probably the smartest in the entire school behind Max – but unlike Duke, she was not very popular. It was due to a number of reasons, some of them petty thing like her shabby secondhand or being openly bisexual, others despised her for her blunt personality and refusal to take shit from anyone, which often escalated into a fist fight. Terry met Harper after when the latter got corner by the assholes on the hockey team and came to her defense. They'd been friend ever since.
Harper perked up when her name was called and looked around, waving Terry and Duke down with a friendly smile.
"Hey, boys, how was the physics test?" asked Harper with a snarky tone.
"UGH!" Terry groaned.
"That bad, huh?" Harper snickered. "You know, I could tutor you…for a small fee."
"Your 'small fee' could buy me a new vid-phone," Terry remarked.
"Girl's gotta eat," said Harper jokingly.
"Whatcha watching?" asked Duke, noticing the Harper had her vid-pad turned to the Gotham News Channel.
"Just another puff piece about Powers," said Harper, rolling her eyes and holding up the pad. "Here, listen to what these shills have to say about him this time."
She pressed the play button:
"Making news today, as every day, Neo Gotham's own financial czar, Derek Powers, rock the stock market by acquiring several local industrial firms. Everyone loves a winner, right, Kim?"
"That's right, Tom. In the third hostile Wayne-Powers takeover this year, Powers has retained his crown as Neo Gotham's most dynamic corporate kingpin. Insiders fears of downsizing were realized today as Powers personally announced over three hundred layoffs. The handsome CEO may not be making any friends, but he's sure making money."
"Dreg," Terry scoffed in disgust. "Why're you watching this garbage?"
"Derek Powers is a scumbag, but I still plan on working at Wayne-Powers someday," said Harper, frowning.
"Why?" said Duke. "Wayne-Powers isn't exactly known for caring about its employees. You heard the news: three hundred layoffs! God, that company has gone downhill since Bruce Wayne died."
"You mean, since Batman died," remarked Harper.
Batman.
Even though it happened decades before any of them were even born, everyone in Neo Gotham knew the legend of the Batman. How he suddenly appeared one day and singlehanded took down the biggest names in crimes in his crusade for justice. Then there was the Blackgate Riots, the Arkham Asylum Takeover, Archam City, the Great Occupation – all history notes in the Dark Knight's legend.
Then came Halloween night, 2015. The day when the Batman was unmasked by some costumed supervillain whose name history has forgotten. The day the whole world everyone knew that Batman was the infamous billionaire playboy, Bruce Wayne. Bruce Wayne and his butler were found dead later that same night after the Wayne Manor was destroyed in an unexplained bombing.
Bruce Wayne was buried with honor next to his parent's grave. A city-wide memorial took place at the ruins of Wayne Manor, attended by millions from all over the country including the Justice League. A statue was erected of the Batman in the heart of Gotham itself, where it still stood to this day even as the city changed around it.
Batman had been an irreplaceable part of Gotham that not even other heroes like Nightwing or Robin could replace. And because of that, it allowed dregs like Derek Powers to rise to…well, power. Terry could only imagine that Bruce Wayne would be spinning in his grave if he knew what Powers was doing with his family's legacy.
"Yeah, I have no delusion that it's gonna end well," Harper admitted. "But the kind of pay working at Wayne-Powers would set me and Cullen for life, so I have to try. First, I'll need to apply for the Wayne-Powers Grant to get into Gotham University. Then I'll need to apply for an apprenticeship. Then, it two years, I'll work my way into the Applied Sciences Division."
"Whoa, whoa, slow down, Harp," said Terry, surprised. "You're still a Sophomore. You have plenty of time."
"Not as much as you might think," said Harper. "Time flies, Terry. You need to plan for the future while you can."
"Speaking of future," Duke tapped Terry's arm, his tone laced with humor, which Terry did not like. "Is that the future Mrs. McGinnis I see over there."
Terry already knew who Duke was talking about before he even turned around, but there was no denying that he was staring as Dana Tan walked out the door.
Dana was the full package: beautiful, brilliant, popular, humble, and kind. She wasn't like Nash Nelson or Blade, who used their looks and popularity to rule the school. She was respectful to everyone she met, which made her one of the most beloved people at Hamilton Hill. But best of all, she didn't treat Terry like he was a criminal after he got out of Juvie and was one of the first people to welcome him back with open arms.
So yeah, Terry the underdog had a crush on the popular girl. But hey, it always works out in those trashy romance vids, right?
"You're drooling, McGinnis," Harper teased.
"Very funny, Row," scoffed Terry. He did check that he wasn't actually drooling, though. As Dana came down the steps, Terry waved her down. "Hey, Dana!"
Dana looked up, saw him, then smile with a polite wave. So fa, so good, thought Terry. Dana started walking towards him…when she was suddenly intercepted by best friend, Chelsea Cunningham. Terry glowered; this wasn't the first time Chelsea literally got between them.
"Dana, I'm so glad I found you!" Chelsea said in an unnecessarily loud voice as she pulled her friend in the opposite direction. "There's this new special promotion at Pauli's that I've been dying to check out!"
"Whoa, easy on the arm, chels," said Dana, startled, trying to match her friend's pace. "Since when does Pauli's have a special promotion. For that matter, what have you ever been to Pauli's? You never eat at a diner."
"I just said that to get you away from the McGinnis guy," Chelsea admitted. "You can't talk to thugs like him."
"Terry's not a thug," said Dana, ripping her arm free with a glare. "He was coerced by the real thug, Bigelow. I've known Terry since fourth grade. He's a good guy."
"If people see you talking to him, it could damage your reputation," said Chelsea.
"You ever consider that I don't care about my reputation?" Dana retorted.
"Now you're just talking crazy," Chelsea blew her off, then started pulling Dana's arm again, ignoring her protests.
Terry glared at the back of Chelsea's head, not understanding how a sweet girl like Dana could be best friends with a snobby cheerleader like Chelsea.
"Cucked again, huh?" Harper teased him, leaning against Terry's shoulder with a smug grin. "But seriously, you need to step up, Terry. Dana's a nice girl and not a total jackass like everyone else at school. If you didn't have the hots for her, I'd totally take my chances."
"Does Dana even like girls?" asked Duke curiously.
"I can be very convincing," said Harper jokingly.
"When was the last time you dated anyone?" Terry retorted tauntingly.
"Shut it, McGinnis," Harper grumbled, pinching the man's cheek.
"I'm not interrupting anything, am I?"
The last member of their motley crew had just arrived with a laptop in one hand and her backpack in the other. Maxine Gibson – but if you were smart, you'd call her Max. She was the latest addition to their group after she and Duke were partnered in computer sciences last year and subsequently started dating three months ago. Like pretty much everyone that Terry knew, she was overwhelmingly smart, easily rivaling Harper, but only when it applied to computers. Her bright-pink hair was very distinguishable, which Maxine claimed was natural, but Terry had his doubts.
"Hey, babe," said Max, pecking Duke on the cheek. "What'd I miss?"
"Terry's too chickenshit to ask Dana out," said Harper.
"So business as usual," Max snickered.
"Ha-ha," Terry laughed sarcastically. "Very funny."
"I got the results from yesterday like you asked," said Max, reaching into her backpack and pulling out a sheet of paper, handing it to Terry. "The Gotham Knights got steamrolled by the Metropolis Metros 35-6 and the Fawcett City Tigers beat the Bludhaven Brawlers 42-27.
"Slag!" Terry cursed, crushing the paper in his hand.
"Since when do you care about football scores?" asked Duke curiously.
"I made a few bets, thinking it was a sure thing," Terry admitted, scratching the back of his neck. "Dammit, I'm so screwed."
"How much money did you bet?" asked Harper.
"…fifty-thousand creds," answered Terry meekly.
"Fifty-thou – where did you get that kind of money?" said Duke, flabbergasted.
"Terry, please tell me you didn't take out a loan," Harper grimaced.
"I got good intel from Vander!" Terry shouted defensively.
"Vander doesn't know crap about football!" Duke snapped.
"Who did you take out the loan from?" asked Max. "The T's? The Great Whites? Please tell me you didn't get the cred from the Penguin. Ignatius Ogilvy is not someone to mess around with."
"Of course, I didn't take creds from the Penguin – you think I'm an idiot?" Terry reassured them. Everyone let out a sigh of relief…until…. "I got 'em from the False Facers."
"Oh my god!" Harper cried.
"You stupid boy!" yelled Max.
"You're dead, man!" Duke panicked.
"Thanks for the unwavering confidence, you guys," said Terry sarcastically.
"Why would you take out a loan from the Black Mask?" said Duke. "You know what happens to people who pay off their debts to the Black Mask?"
"No," said Terry.
"Exactly!" Duke screamed. "No one knows because they're never seen again!"
"Okay, okay, maybe this isn't as bad as we think," said Harper, trying to remain calm. "Maybe we could offer the Black Mask a few favors. She's the most reasonable of Gotham's crime bosses. We're all pretty smart, after all. Except for Terry."
"Hey!"
"Not sure how I feel about using my talents for criminals," said Duke.
"Better than seeing Terry be fitted for cement shoes," said Max.
Terry was annoyed that his friends were making a big fuss over this. Yes, Black Mask was a notorious women with a habit of making people disappear, but Terry could handle himself. As he rolled his eyes, Terry noticed something across the street. A gaggle of clowns were standing across the street, staring at the high school from a distance.
Jokerz. A group of street punks who idolized that psychopathic madman from half a century ago. Terry couldn't understand how anyone could admire a giggling mass murder, let alone form an entire gang around them. And unfortunately, Terry knew the names of this specific group of Jokerz.
Chucko the fat jester. Ghoul the Halloween reject. Bonk the pasty muscle. Woof the Splicer pet. The ragdoll twins, Delia and Deirdre, conjointly known as the Dee-Dees. And their leader, the only face-painted megalomaniac that wore a straightjacket like a fashion statement: Terminal.
Terry had a history with this group – three of its members in particular – but he had seen them in months. If they weren't here to bother him, then….
Terminal suddenly crossed the street, his giggling gang following close behind. Terry followed the direction they were heading. A mousy redheaded girl had just come out of the school and, upon seeing the Jokerz made a quick beeline down the street. She wasn't going to get far – half the gang had broken off to intercept. Terry furrowed his brow and started walking.
"Hey, Terry, where're you going?" asked Duke, which Terry ignored. "We to talk about – oh no, Jokerz."
"He's going to play hero again," Max groaned.
"C'mon, we better help him," said Harper.
The redheaded girl was approaching the street corner when she looked back and shivered, seeing Terminal following her at a leisurely pace, flanked by the Dee-Dees. But because she wasn't looking where she was going, she ran into a someone. Someone large and bulky. She took a step back and gasped up at Bonk, who grinned menacingly, joined by Chucko, Ghoul and Woof. The girl took a step back in fear, then tensed up when Terminal threw his arm over her shoulder.
"Hey, Duela," Terminal greeted her like an old friend, making her tremble. "Where've you been? You never call, never write. I'M starting to think you're avoiding us."
"J-Just leave me alone, Terminal," Duela muttered weakly.
"Now, now, there's no need for that," said Terminal with a creepy tone. He grabbed Duela by the chin, forcing her to face him. "I thought we were friends."
"It's not nice to run away from friends, right, Dee-Dee?" Delia giggled.
"Not nice at all, Dee-Dee," said Deirdre.
"P-Please, just let me go," Deula pleaded, looking close to crying.
"Shh, shh, it's gonna be okay," Terminal murmured like he was speaking to an infant. "Nobody's gonna hurt you…as long as you get us into you get us your dad's access card."
"W-Why do you want it?" Duela trembled.
"Uh, duh, to get into the bank," said Chucko. "This dumb bitch can't even figure that out – "
"Shut it, Chucko!" Terminal snapped at his flunky, who smartly went silent. "Here's the deal, Duela. You're gonna get us into the bank and help make…little withdraw. If you don't…well, it's be a shame if your psych eval got blasted all over the internet."
"How did you – "
"Ghoul here's pretty good with computers," said Terminal, gesturing to the Halloween man. "Who would've imagined that unassuming Duela would have such twisted thought bouncing around in her little head. Even I was impressed when I saw it. Just imagine what everyone will think once it gets out."
"No…please, don't…," Duela whimpered.
"Back off, Terminal!"
Terminal's wicked smile immediately fell into an annoyed frown. He knew that voice anywhere….
He turned around to face Terry, who looked ready for a fight, flanked by his friends.
"Stay out of this, McGinnis," Terminal spat. "This isn't any of your business."
"I'm making it my business," said Terry. "Now back off."
"Hey, there, Ter-Ter," Delia greeted playfully.
"It's been a while," said Deirdre.
"Not long enough, Dee-Dee," Terry spat.
"Now that was rude," Delia huffed.
"Is that any way to treat your childhood friends?" Deirdre scoffed.
"He has better friends now," said Duke defensively.
"I'm only going to say this one more time," said Terry, clenching his fists. "Back – off!"
"You know, you'd make a great Joker, McGinnis," Terminal chuckled menacingly. He shoved Duela to the side, smacking her into a wall, and let her slump to the floor. "You're always cracking jokes…even if they aren't funny."
"Guess that's something we have in common, Conrad," said Terry.
"Don't call me that!" Terminal lost his composure. "My name is Terminal!"
"Yeah, how does a Joker name themselves 'Terminal' anyway?" asked Max. "It's not a joke, or a pun, or even remotely clown related. It sounds like a dying patient."
"Oh, funny," Terminal sneered.
"Funnier than you," Harper retorted.
"You won't be laughing for much longer when we're done with you," Terminal growled. His crew flanked him from both sides, cracking their knuckles and raising their fists; Woof was literally foaming at the mouth. "Boy, let's put a smile on their faces. The hard way."
Duke pushed his girlfriend behind him and joined Harper and Terry as they raised their fists. All three of them were no strangers to fighting. In Neo Gotham, you needed to learn to defend yourself or you ended up dead in a gutter. Harper and Terry in particular were involved in a lot of street fights and physically well-built. But Terminal had the advantage of number. Terry was confident they could take half of them, but the outcome wasn't looking pretty good…
Thankfully, the first punch was never thrown when a siren wail made everyone jump. A black car with a polite light came to a stop on the side of the road next to them. The door was kicked open and a familiar bald head poked his head out, his hand reaching for his gun, but kept it holstered.
Terry groaned. Why did it have to be him of all people.
"Is there a problem here, kids?" Detective Ethan Bennett asked rhetorically, his eyes more focused on the Jokerz than Terry and his friends.
"Uh, no problem here, right, Dee-Dee?" Delia sputtered nervously.
"Yeah, no problem at all, Dee-Dee," said Deirdre, sweating.
"Uh-huh," said Ethan, his tone and expression one of disbelief. "Then I guess you should move along. School's out and they don't take kindly to loiterers."
"..Of course, officer," said Terminal reluctantly. He snapped his fingers, making his flunkies fall in line, and walked away. Before they turned the corner, he glared at Duela on the ground. "We'll discuss this later…."
Duela whimpered.
Terry waited until Terminal and his goon disappeared around the corner before walking over to Duela, offering his hand.
"Hey, you okay?" Terry asked kindly. "They didn't hurt you, did they?"
To his surprise, Duela slapped the hand away ad scrambled to her feet, glaring up at Terry.
"You shouldn't have done that!" yelled Duela. "Now Terminal's gonna be even more upset and he'll take it out on me!"
"Hey, I'm sorry," Terry apologized, raising his hands defensively. "I was trying to help."
"Well, don't!" said Duela. "You only make things worse! Do me a favor and stay out of it!"
Duela picked up her things and shuffled across the street, trying to to get as far away from him as possible. Terry sighed dishearteningly. Even when he tries to do the right thing, he always screws up.
"Don't her get you down, Terry," said Ethan, clapping the boy's shoulder like a kindly uncle. "You did a good thing, standing up for her."
"Thanks, Ethan," said Terry gratefully.
"Though next time, leave it to the police," Ethan warned. "Those Jokerz are seriously bad news. The last thing you need is to get tangled up in that mess."
"You're not gonna tell my dad, are you?" asked Terry.
"I'm not your parole officers anymore, Terry," Ethan reassured him. "We'll keep this between us. As long as you promise to stay away from those Jokerz."
"But you were the one who said I shouldn't lie," said Terry jokingly.
"Don't get smart with me," said Ethan with a good-natured chuckle before getting back in his car. "Stay safe, kids."
Terry watched Ethan drive away before looking back at the direction where Duela had went. But by that time, she was already long gone…..
Warren McGinnis stared out at the city from the landing of the Wayne-Powers central headquarters with uncomfortable feeling in his stomach. He had been doing his job like any other day – researching chemical formulas that could be used for medicine to cure diseases things like the D-Virus or Venom addiction. Then, out of nowhere, his old college friend Harry Tully called him up and asked to meet right away. His voice was trembling the whole time, like he was desperately afraid. Warren couldn't ignore it.
He had waited almost five minutes before he heard a series of hurried footsteps come up behind him. He turned around and came face-to-face with his old friend. Warren was surprised by how pale he was. He had only seen Harry last week and now he looked like he was about to keel over.
"Harry?" said Warren worriedly. "You look slagged."
"Never mind that," said Harry hurriedly. His eyes were twitchy, constantly looking left and right. "Here, keep this for me."
He pulled out something from his pocket and laid it in Warren's palm. It was a data chip – the kind used for storing sensitive information Wayne-Powers wouldn't want getting out. That worried Warren, as Harry was in data management and knew that taking this chip would get him into serious trouble. Though he wasn't as worried as what he saw on Harry's arm.
Black bruises covered Harrys pale skin like scabs and he was literally sweating buckets, like his body was trying to fight off a serious infection.
"What's wrong with your hand?" asked Warren.
"Nothing!" said Harry, quickly concealing the bruises. "Warren, if anything should happen to me – "
"There you are, Mr. Telly."
Harry's breath hitched with fright. He and Harry turned around and noticed three men standing on the other end of the landing. Two of them were Wayne-Powers security guards, fully equipped in body armor. But the third man standing in the middle towered over them, his shock-white hair a thin strip on his otherwise bald head and a deep scar tearing across the right side of his face. His right eye was white and milky, indicating blindness, but that did nothing to diminish his imposing figure.
Warren knew him. Charles Butchinsky – former US soldier turned Derek Powers personal bodyguard. Warren had heard a lot of rumors about him, but none of them were good.
"Mr. Telly, you're late for your meeting with Mr. Powers," said Butchinky, his voice low and gravely, his one good eye leering down at the shivering man.
Harry was afraid of Butchinsky – any reasonable man would be. He tried to make a run for it, but the two guards pursued him and tackled Harry to the ground.
"Hold still, you little weasel!" one of the guards yelled.
But Harry wasn't listening. He flailed his arms, scratching at their helmets, trying to fight them off. Eventually, one of the guards pulled out a syringe filled with red liquid and stabbed him in the neck. The effects were almost immediate: Harry's body went limb and his babbled incoherently until he finally passed out.
The guards finally got off of him and Warren noticed that Harry's shirt had come up during the scuffle. There were more black bruises on his back, these twice as large with sickly black veins stretching out like spider webs.
Warren jumped when he felt Butchinsky's large, callous hand rest on his shoulder. He gave the researcher a sideways look, almost daring him to say something, but Warren held his tongue. Not out of fear, but self-preservation. He remained silent even as the guards dragged his old friend across the ground, leading him back inside the building. Butchinsky waited several moments in silence before finally letting Warren go and walked away.
Warren didn't dare breath until Butchinsky disappeared through the sliding doors. He looked down at the data chip still in his hand. That uncomfortable feeling in his stomach had morphed into full-blown dread.
"Harry, what did you do…?" Warren muttered to himself.
Just by the name, you already known that "Charles Butchinsky" is related to the biggest joke character in the Arkhamverse. This version is the grandson of Lester's older brother (the first Electrocutioner in the comics) and is modeled after the version in the animated movie, Bad Blood.