The Backstory

The Joker

Tiffany gripped the grocery bags tightly as she walked down the street. The whole way to the store she felt as if she was being followed so she was slightly on edge. She watched her surroundings carefully and stopped when she saw two men standing in an ally.

She quickly hid behind a wall and tried to stay quiet as they walked passed. She listened carefully to their conversation, "So why do you think the Joker wants this chick?" She tried to slow her breathing down and the other one responded, "Probably to piss off Black Mask. Everyone knows he's pretty much in love with her." She peaked around the corner and waited until they were far enough away.

The Joker.

That was a new name she'd never heard before. Were they talking about her? They had to have been. She quickly made her way back to the apartment building and made her way inside. Once she got into the elevator she let out a breath of relief. She pushed the button and waited for the elevator to move.

Once she was safely inside the apartment she sat the bags down in the kitchen and pulled out her phone. She clicked Roman's name and sent him a text.

Please hurry. I'm a little scared.

She set her phone on the counter and chewed her thumbnail while she waited for a response. When she heard her phone vibrate she quickly picked it up.

On my way.

She sighed and thought for a moment. She wanted to see if Roman had ever heard of this person.

Who is the Joker?

It didn't take long for Roman to respond.

No one that matters.

She nodded her head and sat down her phone on the counter. Just as she was about to start putting up groceries, someone had grabbed the back of her head and slammed it into the counter, knocking her unconscious.

Roman called Tiffany on his way out of the bar. How did she even find out who the Joker was? He hadn't mentioned anything to her. He didn't want her to worry. He knew that the Joker was this new villain in town and he knew that he was the one coming after them.

That's who Harvey was trying to work for. That's who Victor went to. He groaned as the ring on the phone stopped and went to voicemail. He hung up and tried to call her again as he got into the car. After the second time getting sent to voicemail, he knew something was wrong.

Roman turned the car in and quickly sped throw Gotham. He called his body double.

Giovanni Luchese.

Strictly used to fool people into believing he's Roman. Roman was always paranoid that everyone was after him. That's the only reason he hired Giovanni. As the phone rang, Roman anxiously tapped his fingers on the wheel. "Hello." Roman picked up the speed of the car, "Meet me at Lacey Towers. Now." Without another word he hung up.

He pulled up to the building and met Giovanni in the back. The two quickly worked out a plan and Roman warned Giovanni that he wasn't sure exactly what this Joker was capable of. He just knew that he had to get Tiffany out.

The plan was for Roman to sneak in through the air vents while Giovanni went straight through the front door. Being used as an easy distraction for Roman to attack. The two men went over the plan one more time and nodded at each other before going on their way.

Roman made his way up to the vent system. He crawled in and eventually made his way to the apartment. He slowed down and was careful to not make any noise. He looked all around the room for any sign of Tiffany but, couldn't see her. However, he did see the Joker sitting at the dining room table with his feet up.

Suddenly, the front door burst open and Roman watched as Giovanni made his way towards the Joker. Giovanni tilted his head, "Who the fuck do you think you are?" The Joker laughed, "I'm the new owner of Gotham City! I just wanted to make sure we were all on the same page here!"

Giovanni carefully reached into his coat pocket, "You need to leave." The Joker laughed once again and quickly pulled out a gun and pointed it at Giovanni. "Well I would, but you aren't the right guy I'm looking for." Then, he pulled the trigger without a second guess.

In order to catch him off his guard, Roman decided he needed to make his move now. He kicked out the bottom of the vent and fell down onto the Joker. He tried to grab the gun from his hand. The Joker quickly flipped them over and was suddenly on top of Roman.

He brought the gun back and repeatedly hit Roman over the head with it. The Joker laughed and stood up. He grabbed Roman by the collar and dragged him into the living area. Roman groaned in pain and tried to stand.

The Joker kicked him back down and walked over to the kitchen counter. He grabbed a makeshift Molotov and walked back over to Roman. He grabbed Roman's face and positioned it to look at the chandelier above them.

The Joker laughed, "I figured this place could use an Angel in honor of Christmas! But I decided to make my own." Hanging from the chandelier, tied up by her wrists in a bright white dress, was Tiffany. She had dried blood on the side of her head.

Roman quickly struggled to get up but the Joker held him down. He lit the Molotov and threw it into the living room, "Have to clean up loose ends." He laughed loudly and was suddenly knocked down by Roman.

Roman struggled but eventually grabbed the gun out of the Jokers grasp. The Joker didn't give up though. He continued to fight Roman, avoiding the gun as much as possible.

Tiffany's eyes slowly opened as she felt a pounding in her head. She smelt smoke so she took a moment to look around. She realized she was tied up on the chandelier. She looked down and saw a fire starting beneath her and saw Roman fighting with... a clown?

It took her a moment but then, she saw the gun. She quickly tried to pull on the ties to drop down. She felt tears run down her cheeks as she felt helpless. She looked over and cried out, "Roman! Roman!" The two men stopped and looked over at her.

The Joker looked back at Roman and laughed. He took Roman's hand that had the gun in it and pointed it up at Tiffany. Roman struggled against him, but it was too late. He pulled the trigger for him.

The world seemed to stop as Roman watched the bullet fly up and hit Tiffany in the chest. He watched her face as tears fell down and she looked at him with fear in her eyes. Roman threw the gun and screamed, "NO! NO NO NO!"

Tiffany struggled to breathe as she heard the laughter of the Joker. She looked at Roman as his eyes filled with tears. She tried her best to speak out, "R-Romy... I-I... love.. y-you." He watched as she tried to take one more deep breath.

She was dead.

It was his fault. He had killed her. He was suddenly being pulled back once again by his collar. He realized the fire had started to grow quickly. He turned and looked at the Joker. He had no words to say. The hatred filled his body as the two ran out of the apartment.

Roman tried to run after him, but he was gone by the time the two made it out of the building.

Gone.

She was gone.

Roman made his way back to his car. He got inside and sat still in silence. The tears fell down his cheeks as her words replayed in his head.

He pulled out his wallet and looked at the picture he kept of her.

"I love you too doll. I'm so sorry."