Behind His Mask

His Debut

I entered the newsroom where I worked full time as a reporter. As I drape my coat over my desk chair I sat my purse on the desk. Everyone in the newsroom was in a frenzy. A man who called himself the Joker had made his debut to the city by simultaneously robbing three different banks across the city. His henchmen all wore masks. Joker himself was unmasked but dawned some disturbingly messy face paint similar to a clown.

"(Y/N)! Get over here!" my boss, Henry, barked upon seeing me enter the newsroom. I was still considered new to the station. This job hadn't been easy from the start but it was my dream so I had endured Henry's insufferable personality. It was the first job I was able to land as a reporter. And at none other than Gotham News Central. Although, I had yet to get any screen time and only a small handful of my articles had been printed. I guess everyone had to start somewhere but I yearned for more.

My heels clacked against the tile floor as I hurried towards Henry's side. I smoothed down the front of my blouse and tucked a strand of hair behind my ear. Henry was a stickler for appearances. Everyone was required to look immaculate. Not a hair out of place. Especially the women, according to Henry. Some of my female coworkers had even gone as far as calling him sexist. I had never participated in office gossip but I silently agreed with them.

He and the news team stood before a wall lined with TVs airing an array of Gotham's different news channels. All were reporting on the robberies and this new villain. One station had gotten the name of this new villain from a hostage at one of the robberies. His name was stamped onto every news station on the TVs. Joker. The audio of all the channels bled together but a few words were repeated across them all. Over a dozen killed. Masked men. Disappeared with no trace. My eyes darted from screen to screen. The city was in a panic.

"Gotham is one minute away from starting a riot. The goddamn streets are filling up with idiots trying to figure this out for themselves. These people want answers and we are sitting here on our asses just as clueless as these morons!" Henry shook a finger towards the TVs, talking to no one in particular. He raked his hand through his hair and slammed his hands down on the table. It would be better to hold my tongue right now. I itched to volunteer to take the lead on this, but I knew what Henry's answer would be. What it had been every time I even so much as hinted at reporting on a breaking story. "Don't get ahead of yourself woman. There are a dozen other reporters here who are more experienced than you. Learn your place or get out of my newsrroom", Henry would say. Those words echoed in my head as I bit my lip to stop myself from making a scene out of something that hadn't even happened yet. Henry shook his head and glared at the screens.

There were several other reporters gathered around the TVs. Even a few news anchors stood staring in shock at what was unfolding. A few of my coworkers reacted to Henry's outburst but the majority were too entranced by the story developing on the screens.
My attention was pulled to one of the TVs as a news anchor informed the audience that they had a first look at the security footage from the bank where the Joker made his appearance. "So much for us having the lead on this." I thought. We were falling more and more behind.

"Fuck!" Henry cursed slamming his hands down on a desk. No one, including myself, reacted this time. Everyone seemed to be collectively holding their breath as the bank lobby appeared on the screen.

No audio was available for the footage. It was business as normal for a first few seconds when suddenly the front entrance of the bank exploded. Rubble flew into the lobby as the entrance to the bank crumbled, leaving a huge hole. The customers inside could be seen panicking. I could only image the cries for help and panicked screams that filled the bank. A small group of men stormed in with their guns raised. Dozens of hands raised in the air as the customers surrendered. As the cloud of smoke began to dissipate at the entrance, he entered.