Don't Believe Everything You Read On the Internet

Chapter 17

          Barbara sat in her office, angrily pacing. Batman, freaking Batman, was such a player that he had fallen for his greatest enemy. How thirsty can someone possibly be? Barbara had to come up with a way that would either break them up or would convince Joker to become a good guy. Still, the opposite could happen, and Batman could be taken into the bad side. If that was the case, then Barbara would have to split them up as soon as possible, before her friend could be seduced by the dark side or whatever. He meant a lot to her, and she didn't want him to be hurt. The one plan that the police force had ultimately failed, so they had to come up with something else. While she was contemplating what the new plan might be, her dad walked in to visit her at work.

     "Hey honey, how's work?" Jim Gordon asked.

    "Oh, I'm good," Barbara assured her father.

    "Don't you think you've been working a bit too hard?" Jim asked his daughter.

    "What do you mean? You've had this job before, shouldn't you of all people know how much hard work goes into it?" Barbara asked her father in return.

     "Still, it seems like you've been in this office for days. You should take a break."

      "A break? This is the most crime-ridden city in the world, I can't take a break!"

      "There hasn't been a lot of crime in the past week, though."

      "That's because Joker was in the hospital, but now he's escaped. Crime will be rising again, and I need to be here to stop it."

      "What about Batman? Can't he be here to protect Gotham?"

      "Batman will be too busy making googly eyes at the Joker or something. We need someone with a clear mindset to keep Gotham safe."

       "I was the commissioner just about as long as Batman's been protecting the city. During those years, Batman's kept Gotham from becoming overrun with crime."

       "Really? What about the time that Gotham was taken over by all of the villains from the Phantom Zone?"

      "Batman was locked up in Arkham if I remember correctly. By you, no less."

    "He only won because we worked together, and that may be the case if something bad happens in the next week or however long you want this 'break' to be."

     "Please, we can go up to the seaside and rent a cabin like we used to."

    "I only remember going because Mom liked it."

     "Oh, do you have any better ideas?" Jim asked, raising his eyebrow. Barbara thought about the question. It had been so long since she had been to the seaside, and she had so many great memories there. Not only that, but the seaside was right outside Gotham City, so if something terrible happened, she could get back to work very soon.

      "Actually, I'd be willing to go the seaside," Barbara responded, a gentile smile crossing her lips.

.....

       Bruce was laying outside his pool, still drying off from the swimming that he had just done. His phone was laying beside him, a towel placed right next to it in case someone texted or called. Coincidentally, Barbara texted him at that moment. So, Bruce dried off his hands and picked up the phone to see what the text said.

      Dad and I will be taking a break this week, so keep a close eye on Gotham for me, okay? the text read.

    Bruce figured that it was a good idea that Barbara was taking a break. She always seemed fairly stressed out with her duties. Sure, she loved doing her job, but even people who loved doing what they do need to relax from what they're doing once in a while. Even Batman had to become Bruce Wayne once in a while. Suddenly, he heard the faint sound of the doorbell. Bruce figured that Alfred would take it, so he went back to relaxing. When the doorbell rang again, he groaned and got out of his chair, making sure to put on a bathrobe as well. You know, to at least be presentable. Bruce reached the door and opened it, the person on the other end surprising him.

     "Joker, what are you doing here?" Bruce asked, trying hard not to use his Batman voice.

     "Oh, I was hoping that I could talk to Batman," Joker responded, the same amount of surprise on his face.

      "Batman's... uh... going out and grabbing some donuts for us to eat."

    "Okay, I'll just wait then."

     "The donut shop's pretty far away. You might want to tell me what you came to talk to B-man about and I'll just pass it on to him."

    "It's actually pretty embarrassing now that I think about it."

    "Batman already told me about your confession, if that's what you wanted to talk about."

      "Actually, I was going to ask him out on a date," Joker admitted. Bruce blushed, and he hoped that the clown wouldn't notice.

      "Oh, what type of date are you wanting to go on? With Batman, that is..." Bruce asked, finding it harder to hide how red his face was becoming.

      "Well, he wanted to know if I would go out for dinner with him, and I was thinking of this one place on Mulberry Street."

       "The Manor has a pretty good chef, if you wanted to just eat here with Batman."

     "Thanks, but it might be a little awkward with you there as well. Three's a crowd, after all."

     "I could go out and take Richard someplace if that would be easier."

     "You know, I think I should just sort this out with Batman."

     "I understand, when do you want to talk with him?"

     "Maybe... 6:30? On the rooftop of the third biggest skyscraper in the city?"

    "I'll make sure to tell Batsy."

     "He told you about my confession and my nickname for him? I swear, Batman can be such a blabbermouth."

      "Heh, I guess he can."

     "Speaking of Batman, the two of you have very similar eyes."

        "How do you know Batman's eye color?"

      "Sometimes when we're very close to each other I can see his eyes through the mask. Sure, I can't really tell the specific color, but you two have the same shape of eyes. Is there a website for eye shapes that you two met on or something?"

      Bruce started to laugh at the comment. Joker realized that Bruce was kind of cute when he laughed. Sure, he wasn't as cute as Batman, but he was in the top 5. Joker didn't really think that the comment was terribly funny, but it was nice to have an appreciative audience. He decided to turn around and leave.

     "I guess I'll see you around, Brucey," Joker said turning 180 degrees so he was facing his car.

      "Do you want a cup of coffee before you go?" Bruce, signaling for Joker to come indoors.

     "I'm not sure Batman would like it if I went inside his house without him knowing it."

       "It's called Wayne Manor. If anything, it's my house."

      "I guess you're right, but still, I should probably go."

     "I'm a billionaire, you know. I have coffee beans all the way from Africa," Bruce pointed out.

Joker couldn't pass that up, though. He followed the billionaire into Wayne Manor, not caring if Harley would be wondering where he was.

Author's Note:

Just so you know, sometimes I don't look over chapters before I post them, so if you notice any spelling or grammar mistakes, then that's why. Other than that, have a nice day, because I need to get a drink of water.