Chapter 1

2.5K 79 25
                                    

The sound of peaceful chatting and glasses clinging echoed through the museum. Some laughs over here and a few amazed people over there. Nothing Bruce Wayne hadn't seen before. He had come to this charity fundraiser to support a local orphanage. Being an orphan himself, he felt the need to help and donated a huge sum of money. The event manager nearly fainted when he saw the amount and kept thanking Bruce for his generosity. Bruce only laughed it off and told him it was the least he could do to help the poor orphans.

Bruce walked to the table with drinks when a man approached him. Bruce turned around and saw the man dressed semi-formal with a light blue shirt, red tie, black pants and glasses. In his hands were a notepad and a pen. A journalist, thought Bruce. Bruce himself was only wearing a black suit with a red tie. It was Alfred's choice and Bruce liked it. "It's better than that old costume of yours," was his direct words.

"Mr. Wayne, could I have a word with you?" the journalist voice sounded deep but was kind and sweet.
"Please, call me Bruce. And I don't mind a question or two," Bruce said with a soft smile.
"Very well then, Bruce, what is your latest developments in Wayne Enterprises?" Clark asked.
"Mr...?"
"Clark Kent."
"Mr Kent, the recent project Wayne Enterprises has taken on was to find a way to decrease the crime rate. Those thieves and thugs should be kept off the streets but not killed," Bruce said.
"Agreed Mr Wayne- I mean, Bruce. I only have one more question," Clark said scribbling down some notes.
"Go ahead," Bruce said.
"What's your thoughts on Batman?"
"He's a mysterious guy. I haven't personally met him or anything but he appears to disappear without a trace whenever he has completed his random acts of kindness. The police are starting to think he's maybe dangerous but at least he keeps the streets of Gotham safe." Bruce said and took a sip of champagne.
"Well, that's all I wanted to ask. Thank you for your time Mr Wayne." Clark said and he walked away.

Bruce stood there watching him walk away when all of a sudden there was the sound of glass breaking and a woman screaming. The sound of guns being fired filled the room and everyone ducked for cover. Bruce crouched down behind a table and pressed against the tiny wireless earpiece in his ear to communicate with Alfred.
"Alfred,"
"Master Bruce?"
"I'm going to need the car ready. Something came up," Bruce said.
"Of course, sir. It should be parked behind the building in the alleyway. There is a fire exit door in the next room to your right." Alfred said.
"Thank you Alfred," Bruce said and clicked off.

"Get down on the ground!" One of the masked gunman yelled. Two more followed behind him as they entered the room. 
Bruce peeked from behind the table to see how far away the gunned men was from him. He tried rushing to the door when something made him freeze in his tracks.
"Naughty, naughty. You can't leave yet, the party is only starting!" A familiar voice said behind Bruce. Bruce turned around and saw a white faced, green haired man staring at him. The Joker picked him up by his collar and threw him to the rest of the crowd. Bruce groaned and looked up to see a barrel of a gun pointed at his head.
"Hey, isn't it Bruce Wayne? Isn't he like, crazy rich?" One of the gunned men asked.
"Yeah! I bet he's worth millions," Another gunned man said.
"Don't get too hasty boys. We're only here for that strange artifact. If you can get it from me, the rest is yours." Joker said.
"What artifact?" Bruce asked and it was answered by a hit to the head with the gun's barrel.
"Sheesh, you guys are rough. The poor guy was just asking a question." Joker said and sat down on one of the tables, crossing one leg over the other. "Questions he shouldn't be asking. I don't want to rot in jail again," One of the gunmen said, who Bruce assumed was the leader of the two other gunmen. Bruce groaned again and looked up towards the men. He could already feel a bump forming on the side of his head and he'll have a headache in the morning.

"I wonder if Batbreath will show up. He's probably already forgotten about me," Joker said looking around with a frown on his face.
"Hey! Don't say stuff like that you crazy psycho!" One of the gunmen said and started walking around, looking at all the museums relics. Some were paintings, others were stuffed animals. A few of the animals were from the Ice Age but there was three things that stood out. They were from Egypt, during the Cleopatra era. A snake sceptre, a dagger with some jewels engraved into the handle and some bones dug up from an old Pharaoh's tomb.
"Which one are we here to steal, Joker?" The leader asked.
"I've told you a hundred times! We're here to steal the Sceptre." Joker said jumping off the table. He started walked towards Bruce.

 
"Say, do I know you?" Joker asked with his hands on his hips. Bruce remained quiet and only stared at the Joker. The Joker crouched down and grabbed Bruce's collar.
"Are you even listening to me?" The Joker said slapping Bruce on the cheek lightly a few times.
Bruce frowned and with one quick motion, he head-butted the Joker causing him to stumble back. The Joker groaned and wiped his now bleeding nose.
"That's not funny." He said and stood up, holding his nose.

Bruce could easily have just stood up and defeated Joker, but the Joker was smart. He'd make the connections and then discover his identity. Bruce needed to act dumb even if it meant he'd get injured. The Joker walked over and stood in front of Bruce.
"That was not funny at all. Maybe this will be funny!" Joker said and kicked Bruce in the ribs. Bruce had to submit to the pain and yelled out in agony. Joker liked the sound he was making and continued kicking him a few more times. After that he crouched down, looking at Bruce as he was breathing heavily and grunting between breaths.
"You know, you rich folk always think you can do what you want because you have so much money!" Joker said and grabbed Bruce's black hair. "My friend Batbreath has a lot of money too. Only he uses if on his gadgets and his fancy Batmobile. But you common folks use it to get fat and lazy." Joker said and pushed Bruce's face into the ground. Joker stood up and walked towards his gunmen.

"Mr. Wayne! Are you okay?" One of the ladies asked crouching down behind the table with the drinks. Mascara ran down her cheeks and her eyes puffy from crying.
"I'm fine. Nothing I can't handle," he said with a slight smile before groaning as he held his now injured ribs.

"Hurry up you sloths! I need this sceptre and the boy in the underpants will be here any minute!" Joker yelled.
"Too late, Joker," a deep voice said.
Bruce looked up and saw a man dressed in red and blue, with a red cape, hovering a few inches of the ground in front of Joker. His back was towards Bruce, thus Bruce could not see his face.
"Don't you have your own city to terrorize?" The man with the cape said.
"Superman! I-I was only window shopping, that's all!" Joker said holding his hands up in defence with a huge grin plastered on his face.
"It's time for you to get back into your cell back in Arkham Asylum. I can hear your bed calling you," Superman said.
"Tell her that she's not my type," Joker said and crosses his arms.
"Come on Joker, let's get you out of here." Superman said.
"I brought backup!" Joker said ran away. The  gunmen started shooting Superman but the bullets all bounced off his chest, falling effortlessly to the ground.
"This guy's bulletproof! We need to get out of here!" The leader said and ran out, his men following in pursuit. Superman flew behind them and caught all three before punching them all unconscious. He then stood with his hands on his hips, with a huge smile.
"Don't worry folks! You are now safe," he said with a thumbs up.

"Oh yeah?" Bruce said struggling to stand up. He held his torso and walked towards Superman. "What about the Joker? He's the one we should all be worried about. Now he's on the loose and we don't know how many people he'll kill before we even have a lead on his hideout," Bruce said angrily. He should tone it down, before he becomes too suspicious.
"Mr. Wayne, was it? Don't worry, we'll track him down before he can kill anyone," Superman said and placed a hand on Bruce's shoulder. Bruce stared at Superman before he dubbled over in pain and started groaning.
"Mr. Wayne?" Superman said and caught him just in time before he collapsed.

Sun And MoonWhere stories live. Discover now