Damaged Love // A Joker Origin Story

Chapter 1

  Stumbling around my room while trying to get ready is not how I pictured my first day of senior year going. Tardiness seems to run in my family, unfortunately; however, only I seem to be truly bothered by it. As I ran over to my dresser and grabbed my bag and car keys, the sound of shattering glass brought me out of my hurried state of mind. I looked down at the broken picture frame on the hardwood floor of my bedroom.

"Shit." I swore at my clumsiness. Broken glass hit the floor as I bent down and picked up the old frame. Pictured horizontally are my parents, Martha and Thomas Wayne, smiling into the camera. My brother Bruce and I stand in front of them, grinning. We were all dressed up in our finest attire and excited for an evening of celebration. I looked at my younger self, smiling back at me. I remember fighting my mother about wearing the purple ribbon I had tied into my hair. I had thought it made me look too girly, but she said it made me look like a princess from one of the stories she'd read to me before bed. I reluctantly agreed with her that evening, but only because it was a special occasion.

As a child, I had never given much thought to death, but that changed on the night of my eighth birthday. It was a night I will remember until the day I die.

~10 years ago~

"Mommy, can I open my last present now?" I asked at what felt like the millionth time this evening. I was growing impatient by the minute. I had no idea why they wouldn't let me open it; my birthday was almost over!

"Have you eaten all of your dinner?" My mother questioned raising a perfectly curved eyebrow.

"Yes, ma'am." I smiled and nodded with a toothy grin.

"Including your broccoli?" she inquired. I gave her a guilty look and whispered a faint 'no.' She gave me a pointed look while a small smile graced her beautiful features.

"But broccoli is gross! I can't eat it. It's stinky and weird-looking, like Bruce," I groaned out loud. My father laughed but quickly composed himself after my mother shot a glare his way.

"Hey!" My brother defended himself and kicked my leg under the table.

"Ow, that hurt!" I hollered at him and was about to retaliate when our father cut in.

"Bailey, stop it. Your mother is right. You need to eat your vegetables," he paused. "However, I think we can let it slide just this once, don't you think, darling?" He looked at my mother with a smile, and not a minute later she caved. She smiled and gave him a playful eyeroll.

"Alright, yes, you can open your present now, dear," she said, handing me a sealed envelope that had my name written in pretty red ink on the front. I took it from her newly manicured fingers and giddily opened the paper. Inside was a purple satin ribbon and a silver locket necklace with the initials B. W. engraved on the front of it. I gasped and looked up at my parents.

"Now, sweetheart, this is just something your father and I wanted to give to you to remember us whenever you get lonely. Open it up." My mother smiled at me. I opened the front of the necklace to see a small picture of my parents.

"I love it, thank you!" I stood up and ran around the table to hug both of them tightly.

"Can I wear it out tonight? Pretty please?" I begged.

My father laughed. "Of course you can. We also gave you that purple ribbon that you can wear in your hair tonight. I'm sure it will go nicely with your new dress."

"I think so too, dear. Speaking of, we don't want to be late to the performance, so why don't we get you both ready and properly dressed to leave?" My mother agreed. I excitedly nodded my head as my mother followed me upstairs to my bedroom to help me get ready.

~•~•~•~•~•~•~

"I hope the actors do tricks and fly!" I exclaimed to my brother as our parents and I sat together on the newly built subway train on the way to the opera.

"That would be cool, but they can't actually fly. They use a rope," Bruce says. I've seen performances of operas on TV when my parents occasionally watch them, and I was quickly fascinated by how they can sometimes move through the air while singing. My brother doesn't think it's real.

"No! They can fly; I've seen it! Daddy, tell him he's wrong!" I tug on my father's arm urgently.

"I'm sorry to say Bruce, but I think your sister is right," my father smiled, and unbeknownst to me, he winked at my brother. I grinned and stuck my tongue out at Bruce. He huffed and pouted, but a smile quickly crept up on his face.

I had been fascinated with the performing arts and acting ever since I saw an opera on the television screen one night after dinner with my family, so I was thrilled to find out they had bought tickets for us to go see a live performance. My brother had been just as excited as I was when we arrived at the theater, but Bruce has always been the more skeptical one. To my disappointment, we left halfway through the show because my brother decided his newfound fear of bats was too much to handle. I was curious as to where that fear came from, but I was too upset to entertain that thought any longer. My birthday had come to an abrupt halt on behalf of my brother. I had learned very early in life that when Bruce jumped, so did my parents. I wasn't the exception very often.

We exited out of the side entrance of the theater in order for Bruce to get some fresh air. According to my father, this was also the quickest route back to the subway station. The sun had set by now, and the moon had come out to greet us. The alleyway we were walking in was quite dark between the buildings, so I naturally gravitated towards my mother. I swiftly walked in front of her, and I felt her hands rest on my shoulders as we kept a steady pace. Bruce and our father were walking right beside us while we navigated our way to the opening of the alleyway.

We kept walking for a couple more seconds in silence before a shadowy figure stood before us.

"Give me your wallets and jewelry now. Quickly," said the man in a dirty jacket as he pointed a gun at my father's chest. We suddenly stopped walking and stood, staring at the man. I started breathing heavier out of fear of what the man would do to my father.

"That's fine," my father said to the strange man.

"Quicker!" the man said in response.

"Okay, take it easy," my father responded while reaching for something inside his suit jacket. He pulled out his wallet and slowly handed it to the man pointing a gun at my dad. The man reached for my father's wallet when it slipped from his hand and fell to the wet pavement below us. "It's fine," my father reassured while the man picked the wallet off the ground. "Now just take it and go," my dad said.

"I said the jewelry too," the man said, promptly aiming the gun at my mother. Everything happened so quickly that my father moved to stand in front of my mom to shield her from gunpoint when a loud ringing noise erupted in my ears. My hands covered my ears at the loud noise.

A second later, my father fell to the ground, and my mother screamed as loud as she could for him. My mother bent down to my father while the man holding the gun grabbed at the pearl necklace around her neck. He pulled it from her neck, and the loud noise rang in my ears for the second and final time that night. My mother suddenly fell to the ground next to my father. The man turned around and ran in the other direction, away from us and out of the alley.

"Mommy!" I screeched and ran to her side. I felt hot tears stream down my cheeks in waves. I kneeled down next to her and took her hand in my own. I looked to her chest, where there was a dark red spot that was getting increasingly bigger as more seconds passed. I felt a weak grip on my hand and looked toward my mother's face. She looked like she was in a lot of pain, which only caused me to cry harder. Her blue eyes met my own brown ones, and she gave me a small smile, which turned into a wince. "Mommy?" I said. She didn't say anything, which increased my worry. She took a couple more labored breaths before saying, "Be brave, sweetheart. You are so strong, Bailey, just like your brother." I glanced behind my shoulder at my brother, who was kneeling next to my father. Bruce stood up, walked over, and stood behind me when he heard our mother talking. "I love you both so much, and I always will." She whispered to us.
"I love you too," I cry. "Please don't leave me, momma," I plead with her, wrapping my arms around her. I felt a hand on my cheek. It was my mother's.

"It's okay, darling. You will be okay, as long as you have each other," my mother stated while looking between my brother and me. I watched her as she took a few more shaky breaths. It was when her chest stopped moving that I finally realized that both of my parents were dead. They aren't coming back. My brother and I are alone.

I started sobbing after the realization hit me, and I felt arms wrap around my body. I looked up to see my brother's tear-stained face look down at my own. He pulled me into a hug, and we both cried into each other's arms. We stood there a while until we were found by a policeman. It took a while for us to get to the police station, and when we arrived, our butler, Alfred, was waiting for us. As soon as he saw us, he pulled us into his embrace and away from the large crowd gathering at the entrance of the building. After a brief conversation with a police officer named Jim Gordon, Alfred took us home.

~Present Day~

A firm knock sounded on my bedroom door, which startled me from my sorrowful memory. My hand unclasped from the necklace around my neck—the same necklace my mother had gifted me on the night of my eighth birthday, which so happened to be the same night they died.
"Are you alright in there, Miss Wayne? Did you break something? I heard glass shatter," Alfred asked from outside my bedroom door.

"Yes, I'm alright, Alfred. I dropped a picture off my table," I informed him, and I set the frame down in front of the mirror on my vanity table. I made a mental note to buy a new one or find another around the house whenever I had the time later today or during the week. I stood up, walked towards my door, and swung it open to show him that I was okay. He gave me a small smile in return.

"Are you ready for school, Miss Wayne? I wouldn't want you to pick up some of Master Wayne's nasty habits," he stated.

"Yes, I just have to grab a few more things, and I'll be ready." I laughed at Alfred's joke about my brother's bad habits of unprofessionalism in the workplace. Alfred knows my brother and I very well. He practically raised us after our parents died, so I owe him everything, and I am so completely grateful to him for taking on the challenge of raising us at such young ages with no prior experience. Although he is our butler, Alfred is basically our second father. He has given us so much and has been there for us every step of the way after our parents passed. I turned around to grab my book bag and car keys when Alfred called for me again.

"Oh, and Miss Wayne? Breakfast is prepared in the kitchen when you are ready," he said, and I thanked him and continued on. I grabbed my bag off of my chair and headed down the staircase of our family manor. As I reached the bottom of the stairs, I saw my brother briskly walking through the halls in search of something.

"What are you doing? Shouldn't you have left by now?" I asked him. He turned around to glance at me in the middle of his treasure hunt.

"I'm looking for my dress shoes; have you seen them? And yes, I should have already left if I wanted to make it to the Wayne Enterprises meeting on time, but I couldn't leave without my shoes," he stated quickly.

"Have you asked Alfred? He probably knows where they are because he knows where everything in this house is! He's our butler, Bruce," I state in a sarcastic manner. My brother rolls his eyes at me and starts walking away in search of our caretaker and family friend.

I open the front door and walk outside to my matte gray 2004 Lamborghini Gallardo. I climb into the driver's seat, turn on the engine, and prepare for the drive to school. A knock on my window halts my actions. I glance over to see my brother standing there with his arms crossed. I roll down the window and ask him what he wants.

"Can you drop me off at the office on your way to school?" he asks.

"Why can't you drive yourself? You have perfectly good cars that drive, or are you too stuck up to drive yourself?" I tease. He huffs out of breath in response.

"I would, but you can get me there faster, and I'm already running late as it is," he states.

"No, I'd rather not get in the middle of your work drama. I refuse to give myself a bad reputation on behalf of you. If I ever hope to work there after graduation, I need one that doesn't look like yours does now." I replied to him.

"Fine," my brother huffs. "Thanks for the help, sis," he states.

"Anytime, Brucie Boy. Also, good luck today at your meeting; I'm sure you'll need it. They'll probably rip you a new one, because what is it, like your third time being late this month to a meeting of such importance? I'm surprised they haven't fired you yet, if they can even do that." I say.

"Hey, what have I said about calling me that? You know I don't like it. Yes, I'm sure Lucius Fox will have something to say. No, they can't fire me. Though I'd like to see them try, my name is literally the company name. Who would they get to fill in for me? No one is capable, that's for sure." My brother cringed at the thought of someone else running his company other than someone with the last name Wayne.

"Okay, I have to get to school or I'll be late, and if I get another detention, then it won't end well for you, big brother." I give him a pointed look. I start to drive my car down our gravel driveway. "Bye, I love you!" I holler back at him. I hear a faint "love you too" and smile as I leave our family home, speeding down the road to make it to class on time.

Author's Note: For those of you who have read the first four chapters I had published, I am publishing them again with a little bit more added and tweaked to the story. I just didn't like how they were written, so I took out some parts, added to it and edited the chapters to make it all flow better and have it fit more to how I want the story to go. This is only for the first four chapters, all the others that are published after are new to the story!!

If this is your first time reading, disregard this note and happy reading!