Little Miss Gotham

Chapter Nine

It was no surprise that both of my parents were gone before either Olivia, Luke, and I woke up. But as usual, I continued on with my daily schedule except today, I would be helping Olivia pack for campus since she'd leave on Friday. 

"This is crazy. What does the Joker have against Dad?" Luke asked, biting into his french toast. I took small bites, a fork in one hand and my phone in the other. I was reading an email from the hospital in Metropolis that I interned at. 

"It's not dad, it's the city." I answered. "You know how the Joker and Batman are always going out of it. Ever since what happened with Superman, Batman hasn't exactly been on retirement like he planned. I'm not surprised the Joker is starting things back up again."

I was too busy eating and reading to realize the words that came out of my mouth. When I raised my head to look at my siblings, they looked at me with furrowed eyebrows.

"Sorry, just pointing out the obvious." I said, trying to act nothing but normal. To avoid suspicion, I quickly finished up my french toast and placed the plate in our sink. 

"I'm going to the gym with Kayla. I'll be back in a couple hours." I said, leaving the two sitting in the living room. With one glance at the TV, I thought back to last night. That was...crazy. I shook my head and left the apartment and headed to the elevator. Every morning, I'd wake up and think this is it. This is the day I'm going to be thrown into Arkham. 

The lingering fear would carry on throughout the day but I've grown used to it. 

In the lobby, Kayla's petite frame stood by the door with her blonde hair in a ponytail and two iced coffees in her hand. Unlike me, Kayla was already in shape. The only reason I asked her to join me in this daily gym visit was because she was a fitness fanatic and also, she's been my friend since pre-k. 

"Good morning." I said, taking the iced coffee in my hands. 
"Morning." she replied, walking out the door with me. 

Both of us wore Nike's colorful workout gear but I was leaning more towards black and white while she was leaning more towards pink. We may have been best friends but even best friends have their polar opposite traits. As we walked, I felt everyone's eyes on me and again, the fear of people recognizing me at Gotham's newest villain surfaced. 

"Crazy about what happened to City Hall. I never think I'd see Joker do something like that." Kayla said, shaking her head as we approached the one block mark before we passed the burnt building that was still standing. Deep down, it pleased me knowing that the building was still standing but every day my father would have to see the scars Joker and I left on it. It was much more exciting than just burning it all down only to build a new one.

"I don't understand why everyone's surprised. Am I the only one who was expecting worse than this once the Joker got out? Not to mention half of Arkham's criminals." I replied, sipping the cookie dough iced coffee. 

We passed City Hall and my eyes never left the building. Not even twenty four hours ago, I stood on those steps that were now crowded with policemen and detectives, Officer Gordon standing there as well. I would have waved if he were paying attention. 

Kayla and I reached the gym moments later and we started on arms together. After three weeks of doing all of this, I noticed my arms looked more toned and when I headed over to the punching bags, I noticed my punch get stronger over time. I did legs too to prepare myself for sticky situations that might involve running. The whole time, the TV's set up in the gym were playing the news and what was the news playing? Ding! Ding! Ding! 

They were talking about City Hall. 

Kayla and I were gradually finishing up on the treadmills and at this point in the day, my arms glowed with sweat and I occasionally had to wipe my face. My muscles were tired but I knew it'd be beneficial in the long run. My own family was surprised at my motivation to go to the gym. Did they really think I was that lazy?