Prologue
"In recent news, the criminal allegedly dubbed 'The Joker' is once again on the move in Gotham city. Authorities believe the Joker to be behind several major bank robberies that have taken place over the past three months. They believe him to be the mastermind behind the elaborate heists. As of this morning, the Joker has…" Emma was only vaguely tuned into the evening news as she secured the laces on her sneakers in a tight, double knot. The Joker, as they were now calling the deranged clown, had been wreaking massive havoc on the already troubled city of Gotham. He had been plastered all over the newspapers and was the only thing that any of the local news stations could talk about. Prior to four months ago the Joker hadn't even been a thought, then all of a sudden, his popularity in the local news had blown up around the time that the bank robberies had started. Officials had warned citizens against going to the bank as often as they could. Emma was a cautious person by nature, and so she took the police's warning to heart. Being raised in a criminal capital like Gotham had instilled a great deal of that cautiousness. A corrupt police department and the even more corrupt politicians of the city had long since turned a blind eye to the criminal activity in Gotham. The lack of interference from the government allowed the mob and their thugs to run rampant through the city.
Emma eyed the pile of bills on the worn coffee table in front of her. She had thought about moving away from Gotham plenty of times. She knew it would be safer to get out of her home city, but those bills are what made her stay put. She was barely able to make rent for her tiny, one-room apartment, let alone afford the expenses that would come with moving. Her situation was a hopeless one. She was drowning in outrageous student loans that she had taken out for her medical degree. A degree that she had yet to complete. As of the beginning of this year, she had just secured a position as a surgical intern in Gotham General. But internships practically paid next to nothing, and so she struggled from one paycheck to another. The theme of the news channel drew her from her thoughts, and she glanced at the small, glass screen "This just ended. The Joker has released a statement to authorities about his next heist…" Emma pressed the red power button on her remote and watched as the screen turned dark.
She wasn't a bit interested in the Joker's latest heist. She had been avoiding her regular bank for weeks, so she did not fear any dangerous encounters with him or his creepy clown mask-wearing henchmen. Not to mention she had her own worries. Tonight, she would be working Dr. Nolan's rounds, which Emma suspected would make for one hell of a night. Dr. Nolan was the head of the general surgical wing. He had been there since the hospital had been built, and was burnt out on the chaotic schedule of a general surgeon. Emma's resident friends had advised her not to call him unless a patient was actually dying. Apparently, he was prone to making an intern's life hell for interrupting his alone time. With a sigh, Emma smoothed the leg of her plum colored scrubs over her white sneakers. She knew she needed to go now. Dr. Nolan would be pissed if she was late for her shift.
Stepping through the doors of Gotham General Emma allowed herself to be enveloped by the scent of rubbing alcohol and sterile cleanliness. Sometime in the last three months, she had begun associating this smell with comfort. Inhaling deeply, Emma exhaled with a sigh. Come on Emma, let's give Nolan a run for his money. She cheered herself on as she rode the elevator to the general surgery recovery floor. It was no secret that Emma Hart was at the top of her class at Gotham Medical. Despite her deepening poverty, Emma was a gifted medical student. Many times, her professors had thought her to be a surgical protegee. Her success hadn't ended at the doors of the university either. She was the first intern of her class to perform a solo surgery. It was a simple surgery, an appendectomy, but it had made her a Rockstar among her intern colleagues.
The elevator doors slid apart, and Emma quickly noticed that Dr. Nolan was waiting for her at the nurse's station with a stack of medical files in hand. She stepped out of the elevator with a brilliant smile. Dr. Nolan frowned back at her "What are you smiling about Dr. Hart? Does a floor filled with ill recovering patients amuse you?" He asked rhetorically, his flat tone daring her to supply him with an answer.
Emma's smile faltered "I'm sorry." She apologized, stroking his nasty ego.
He regarded her smugly "Un-huh that's what I thought." Dr. Nolan replied, pleased that he had wiped that cheerful smile from her face. Nolan was a miserable human being "Now then," He practically shoved the files he was holding into her arms. Emma had to scramble to keep from dropping the entire stack onto the yellow stained tiled floor "I expect you to have those memorized by tomorrow morning." He told her starting off toward the elevator. Emma chased after him "Tonight we have a VIP patient. You may know him as the infamous lawyer Mr. Harvey Dent. I am expecting you to provide exceptional care for Mr. Dent." Dr. Nolan pressed the button on the wall, and it lit up a bright green.
"Harvey Dent?" Emma asked, barely able to suppress her shock. Harvey Dent had become something of a hero to the City of Gotham. Ever since he had come to the city, he had been working on exposing the corruption in its public political systems. He was the only lawyer in years to make a case against the mob, and not just any tiny, insignificant case. He had ambitiously taken on the top bosses, and won. With the exception of the vigilante known as "Batman", Harvey Dent was the best thing that had happened to this city in years.
"That's right," Nolan replied, "and if I come back tomorrow and hear of anything less than exceptional care for Mr. Dent, then you can kiss your pathetic internship goodbye. Do you understand me, Hart?" Dr. Nolan looked down at her with a menacing glare. Emma subconsciously pressed the stack of files closer to her chest "Do you understand?" He repeated impatiently. Emma nodded her head in affirmation "Good." The doors to the elevator opened and he walked through them "Oh, and one more thing." He whirled around on his heel "Don't call me unless someone is dying." Before Emma could make any form of protest, the steel doors slid shut, and Dr. Nolan was gone.
For a few prolonged moments, she stared blankly at the cold, metal grey doors. Maybe it was the shock that kept her rooted to the floor beneath her… Or maybe it was the nerves that were churning in her stomach. The prospect of losing her internship if she was unable to provide, what Dr. Nolan considered to be, 'Exceptional Care' was nerve-wracking. Either way, Emma snapped herself out of the dumbfounded trance, reminding herself that her current frozen state was unproductive. She had fought for every second of her education and she wasn't about to let a grouchy old man like Nolan rattle her now. Gathering herself Emma released a heavy sigh and headed past the nearly empty nurses' station and to the end of the hallway. She ran through her rounds in no time. Charting each of her patient's stats for Dr. Nolan to review in the morning. Finally, she came to the door with the large plastic numbers 302 nailed in the center of it. Shuffling through her stack of files Emma located the patient name that belonged to room 302. She tapped Harvey Dent's name from the medical sheet and swallowed hard. Of course, he would have to be the last patient of the night.
Breathe… Relax, you can do this. Medical Rockstar, remember? She told herself as she softly knocked on the door before turning the handle and entering the room. Mr. Dent glanced at her from the corner of his eye but didn't bother in turning his head to look at her. Emma smiled sweetly, disregarding his lack of interest in her "Good evening Mr. Dent. My name is Dr. Hart. I..." Before she could finish her sentence, the heavy wooden door slammed behind her. Emma's sparkly powder blue eyes widened, and she turned sharply on her heel to face the only exit in the room.
"Well good evening Dr. Hart, how nice of you to join us." Emma's blood flowed icy cold within her veins as she took in the jagged, marred scars forming a grizzly smile. The lips in which those scars extended from curved into a wicked grin, the puckered edges of scar tissue stiffly responding to the movement. Emma could feel her heart pounding against her rib cage, the sound of it resonating loudly in her ears. Pure, unfiltered fear filled her as she recognized the oily red, black, and white paint that was messily applied to that disfigured face. She had seen that face so many times in the news. She had memorized it. That face was the reason that she had been so carefully avoiding her bank for weeks. Now here he was, the notorious Joker in the flesh, standing before her with that nightmarish smile on his crimson red lips. After a few seconds that smile faded into a deep frown, and it was only then that Emma realized he had been talking to her. The Joker tilted his head to the side, his wet wavy green hair falling away from his face "You weren't listening, were you?" He asked bluntly, clicking his tongue in disapproval "Uh-huh well let's see if I can't do a better job at keeping your attention shall we?" He advanced a few steps in her direction, finally triggering some sort of fight or flight response in Emma.
It would seem that she had a fight response. She glanced at her surroundings, quickly assessing what she could use for protection. Without thinking Emma grabbed a pair of medical scissors from the tray on the nightstand, knocking the tin tray to the floor in her haste. She held the scissors out in front of her and leveled them with the Joker's chest "Don't come any closer." Emma warned him, her voice coming out more confident than she currently was "Mr. Dent, go get help. I'll hold him off." She yelled. The Joker paused for a second. Just a second. Then he glanced between Harvey Dent and the scissors that she was clinging to.
He chuckled darkly "Oh Harve! Are ya going to get help?" The Joker asked. Emma glanced over her shoulder at Mr. Dent. He simply looked away from her, abandoning their chance of escape. She couldn't believe it. The Joker inhaled sharply "It seems Harve isn't going to help. Now, I must ask, what exactly do you plan to do with those?" He asked mockingly as he took a step closer. Emma's hand began to tremble. She was losing her nerve with each step he took. Suddenly he was in front of her. A wicked grin played at the gruesome edges of his mouth and he clicked his tongue "Took that oath a little too seriously huh doctor?" He sneered as he gripped her wrist tightly in his hand. Currently, the oath she took about preserving life was the farthest thing from her mind. The Joker pulled her closer and used her hand to trail the tip of the scissors along his throat "I assume that you uh know what would happen if you, let's say, you uh jam the tip of these scissors through my throat right about uh... let's see..." He slid the finely sharpened steel tip over his jugular vein "Here." The tremor that had started in her fingertips had traveled down her arms and into her shoulders. His grip on her wrist tightened painfully. It would probably leave a nasty bruise if she should live through this horrifying encounter "Go ahead, doctor. Sink those puppies into my throat. Take a life to save your own." He laughed madly "Ah! I got it. How about I give ya a little help?" Before he could plunge the pair of scissors into his neck, Emma released her hold on them and they clattered to the floor. The Joker grimaced and wagged his finger in front of her face "That was uh probably the wrong choice."
"What?" Emma's lips formed the word but it was barely audible.
Before she had time to process what his words meant he pulled a gun from his stolen nurse's uniform "Sleep tight doc." He cackled as he cracked the butt of his pistol against her head. It was the last thing she could remember before her whole world went black.