Princess' Riches {ON HOLD}

Chapter Fourteen: A Killer Punchline

Gotham 

It was a cold, wet night in Gotham where many officers were working overtime taking care of hostage situations or car chases while the Batman took care of personal business while others took care of business tracking down the Joker let loose in Gotham's amusement park. In the nine years since Batman had bloomed in his prime, he had taken people under his wing. Two of those wards that followed under the Batman were sent on an important mission to apprehend the Clown Prince of Crime after civilians were kidnapped and held hostage at the amusement park in the bay. 

The Seagate Amusement Park was populated with henchmen all donning clown masks or brandishing clothes of the sort as they all patiently waited for further orders to be given or for caped intruders to fire their guns at. Choosing such a location was perfect for criminals as the amusement park had closed when the owner lost their five year-old daughter in a tragic accident that resulted with the oil baron turning to alcohol to suppress his loss. Now, Joker had taken over the amusement park. 

"Where'd he get his name?" One henchman asked his companions. 

"Who?" A second questioned. 

"You know who, the Joker. Where's he get his name?" 

A third goon half-turned to face his companion and said, "You never hear him ramblin'? He always asks, 'Ya wanna know how I got these scars?' He says he stuck a razor in his mouth and disfigured his cheeks so he had a huge smile, but I think he fixed it with all that money he's been stealing. Now he looks better than ever. Despite after what happened at the Asylum. Word's out the Joker's dyin'. But at least he's more goofy and sadistic. My kind of guy." 

"W-What about the B-Batman?" The first stammered. 

The third scoffed and let out a hearty laugh. "The Batman?! He's a myth!" 

"Have you had your head in the sewers lately? He's the Batman," added the second. 

"I ain't scared of no freak in a batsuit." 

"Then you're gonna love me," brooded a feminine voice behind the three men. 

Two goons' heads were slammed together as the third was left to fend for himself as he attempted to fire at his attacker, only to find his gun jammed when the woman body-slammed the Joker henchman to the ground, knocking him unconscious. The vigilante proceeded to sneak past the gate into an open area beyond where the intruder found herself in a trap with another member of the Bat-family. 

The Joker's voice blared through the amusement park's speakers. "Welcome to the ranch, boys and girls. Today is all about earning your wings. Let's see if you can rescue Gotham's finest before it's too late. Tick toc, tick toc. Where's Gordy? I know I may seem tough and overbearing at times, but I'm really doing this for the benefit of the family. Think of me as papa bird lovingly pushing you to the nest. You either spread your wings and fly, or hit the ground and die!" 

Whilst the Joker addressed his guests, the duo laid a smack-down on the Joker's henchmen knowing they would merely stall for the Joker's escape. The long stretch to the end of the amusement park would put the two vigilante's at work if they were to rescue the hostages in time. Eventually, they were able to reach the Joker's location where he stood with his dazzling assistant, Harley Quinn with Commissioner Jim Gordon strung up in a cage whilst the Joker sat on a cannon while his men and assistant kept the vigilante's distracted. 

The brawl that broke out bought no time for the Joker to escape only until he was forced to surrender. But knowing the Joker, he wasn't going to turn himself in quietly. When the GCPD came in to assist the two Bat-dressed vigilantes, the Joker had taken his female companion as a body shield with a magnum pointed at her head, despite Harley Quinn not appearing very afraid nor with the expression of feeling betrayed. One way or another, he would get his Harley back. Redirecting his aim, Joker fired a bullet in the direction of the female vigilante, only for him to miss due to her partner tackling her to the ground. 

"Next one's for you, kiddo," uttered Joker before he made his escape by producing a parachute as he jumped off the platform, using the current of the wind to carry him to Gotham. 

Elsewhere in Gotham, the Prince-Wayne family had disembarked from the jet that automatically flew them back to Wayne Manor where the happy family made their way into the city to their apartment. The stormy weather didn't provide any comfort for the Prince-Wayne family that were hoping to have a quiet sleep that evening. Both (Y/n)'s wife and daughter were in slumber upon their arrival to the apartment building. Diana eventually came about when she felt the car drive slowly through the underground car park. 

(Y/n) noticed his wife stretch and stole a peek at her features that still captivated him to that day before parking the car and settled after turning off the ignition and taking out the key. There, he removed himself from the drivers seat and collected his daughter from the baby seat that which she slept in and carried her to an elevator where his wife followed closely behind him, still tired after the long trip to get back to Gotham, to their home. Once they were inside their apartment, (Y/n) put his daughter to bed as Diana did the same, though at a much lazier pace than that of her husband. 

(Y/n) walked in on his wife lying on her front, stripped of her armour with the quilt covering the lower half of her body. Unaroused by the sight, (Y/n) dragged himself to the bed and carefully sat himself down before he laid down with a gentleness before secluding himself almost immediately back into his dreams. The sound of a ringing phone came as an abrupt interruption to their resting as (Y/n) groaned when he reached for the phone and accepted the call, surprised to hear Jim Gordon asking for himself and Diana as the desperation and sorrow in the Commissioner's voice concerned him immensely. 

"It's Barbara... She's been shot," wept the Commissioner. 

When Diana heard the news, she was distraught. The pair didn't waste any time as they hastily dressed appropriately and took their daughter with them as Diana flew over Gotham to the hospital Jim's daughter was being treated at. The misery in Jim's bones rattled him to his core at seeing his daughter so pale and lifeless in the bed she laid in, hooked up to hospital equipment to keep her stabilised. Diana went through a similar phase upon setting her eyes on Barbara's cold, frail body. After reading the report on her status, she was horrified to hear that after the Joker broke into her apartment and shot her through the spine in cold blood, it flared an unbridled rage at the thought of her own daughter experiencing such pain. 

Despite knowing it was not her battle to get involved in, let alone the decision on the fate of the Joker, Diana reluctantly let it slide now that Batman personally involved himself in the matter that put his best friend's daughter in a coma, wheelchair-bound. When Bruce and Clark arrived, it was practically expected how both would react. Bruce was silent and constantly frowning while Clark was mortified to see Jim's daughter hospitalised by the Joker. Bruce couldn't expect anything less, yet he was silently brooding a vengeful assault on the man who crippled one of his most favoured students. (Y/n) noticed his brother divert his attention to check a text message he received. 

"Bruce?" (Y/n) spoke out, drawing the other's attention onto him. 

"It's Joker. He's got his hands on a nuke and he... he's kidnapped Lois." The brown-haired man spoke in a dead, chilly voice.