August 2011 Story Writing Competition ~Clara's Entry~

Chapter 1

“Don’t you think it would be easier to question me from inside the cage?”
Evangeline looked round at the criminal who had spoken. He was watching her curiously from inside his isolated cell.
“You’ll be questioned again later.”
“By you, Chief Inspector?”
“Nope.” She answered cheerfully, turning away from the clown.
“You’ve just got back from leave, so I’m betting you don’t have a clue who I am.”
“I do actually. I read your profile on the database.”
“Bet that told you a lot.”
“Crimes, habits, personality-“
“They got habits and personality after two months? Someone’s got way too much time on their hands.”
“-no name. Do you have one?”
“Not one that I remember.”
“Why did you call yourself the Joker?”
“I don’t remember much from before I became like this, but I vaguely remember having a dog named Joker when I was a kid.” He sighed and looked at her. “If I told you I regretted what I did, would you believe it?”
“If you proved it to me I would.”
“What? I’m in a cage! How can I prove it?!”
“Chief Inspector?” Evangeline looked up at the Commissioner. He beckoned to her from down the hallway.

“Yes, Commissioner?” she said when she reached him.
“What are you doing? Stay away from the Joker. There’s a reason he’s kept apart from the other criminals. He could’ve killed you.”
“I’m fine. I was just talking to him.”
“You were talking to him….I’m guessing he wasn't saying much back.”
Evangeline raised an eyebrow.
“I don’t think that’s why you wanted to talk to me, Commissioner.”
Gordon nodded.
“The Riddler’s been causing a lot of trouble recently. I need to take as many men with me as possible to try and take him in, but the Joker’s too dangerous to be left here alone. I’m leaving Sasuke, Hinata and Hana with you to keep an eye on him. They’ve already been informed. Is that OK?”
“Yeah.”
“Good. We have to go now, but let me know if you run into any trouble.”
Evangeline nodded.
“Sasuke should be here soon to try questioning the Joker again. You shouldn’t have any problems.”
He left.

A few minutes later Sasuke had arrived.
“I’ll go get the clown. You open up the interrogation room for me.” He told her, heading down to the Joker’s cell.
“Be careful.” Evangeline called and went down the corridor, ignoring the calls from the other men that were locked up there.
She reached the interrogation room and waited. A few minutes later Sasuke came through, dragging the Joker roughly by the arm. The Joker wasn’t struggling, but his now shoulder-length hair was hanging in front of his face, making it impossible to see what he was thinking. Evangeline opened the door for them and they went through, and Sasuke roughly pushed the unresisting Joker into his seat and sat across from him.
“Careful Sasuke.” Evangeline muttered. “He’s co-operating.”

A little bit of swearing in this one.

Chapter 2

“At about 3 O’ Clock this morning,” Sasuke started, “someone blew up a fire station, killing 12 people. One thing we know we know for sure is that the Riddler didn’t do it. Did you have anything to do with it?”
“I’m getting tired of all this questioning. I don’t need to be questioned. You’ve had me in custody for two months, there’s nothing I can do from Gordon’s cage. I’m not gonna answer any of your questions, so you can just give up now.”
Sasuke sighed and glanced at where he knew Evangeline to be. Then he calmly reached out and slammed the Joker’s head against the metal desk.
“You answer my questions,” Sasuke demanded, dragging the Joker from his chair and slamming his head against the wall. “The more you don’t, the more I beat you up. Gordon’s not here to stop me from hurting you, so tell me what I need to know!”
“Sasuke!” Evangeline yelled, “Let him go!”
Sasuke ignored her.
“Sasuke!” she yelled again, unlocking the door and running through it, catching it before it shut and locked again, just as Sasuke slammed the Joker’s head against the wall again. “Gordon’s been gone five minutes and you’re already acting like this! Let him go!”
Sasuke glanced at her, then snorted and dropped the Joker, and stormed past her.
“Phone Harou. Ask her if-“
“I’m not phoning that bitch! You can phone her yourself.”
He stormed out. Evangeline caught the door before it slammed shut behind him. She glanced at the Joker, then went out and grabbed her mobile from the desk outside. She was scowling as she dialed Harou’s number. It was a while before the call was answered.

“Hello?”
“Harou, it’s Evangeline.”
“Oh. Hello. Is everything OK?”
“Yeah. Sasuke went a little wild interrogating a prisoner, can you come and check up on him please?”
“Who? Sasuke or the prisoner?”
“Body damage for the prisoner, brain damage for Sasuke.”
Harou laughed.
“Yeah, sure. I’ll be right over.”
“Thanks.” She hung up.

It was Wednesday. Harou’s day off. It took about half an hour to drive from Harou’s house to the station, if you weren’t in any kind of hurry and obeyed the rules of the road. It would probably take closer to an hour for Harou since it sounded like she’d only just woken up.

Evangeline looked at the Joker and hesitated, then unlocked the door and went in, crouching down in front of him.
“Are you all right?” she asked him.
He gave her a shocked look. Clearly he wasn’t used to being asked that question.
“Yeah. I’m fine.”
“What do you remember from….before?”
The Joker lowered his head so that his long hair hid his face from her view.
"Not much. I remember that this is something I never wanted to be." he replied.
Evangeline sat down properly, leaning against a table leg.
"Well, we never really turn into something we wanted to be." she said, smiling.
The Joker looked up at her.
"How much do you trust me?"
Evangeline dropped her smile and cocked her head to the side slightly, thinking about it.
"Enough." she said quietly, taking his handcuffs off of him and putting them in her coat pocket.

Chapter 3

"You shouldn't have any problems." Harou said after checking over the Joker for any signs of concussion. "Headaches are likely, but tell the Chief Inspector if they get too bad or if you start feeling dizzy or anything."
"Harou, can I talk to you for a moment please?" Evangeline asked quietly from the open door. Sasuke, who worked the night shift, had already gone home.
Harou nodded and followed her out of the room, allowing the door to shut and lock behind them.
"What?" she asked.
Evangeline went over to the window so she could keep an eye on the Joker.
"You know you said that when I was 'ready to stop being such a geek and just throw the rule book out the window', you'd be willing to help me, as long as it didn't get Neji into trouble?"
"Yeah." Harou said slowly.
Evangeline hesitated, wondering how best to put her request.
"I need your help."
Harou raised an eyebrow.
"Yeah?"
"You can't tell Neji or the kids or anyone else."
"I won't....depends what it is."
Evangeline rolled her eyes and looked around, making sure there was no-one around that could hear them. She gestured to the Joker, who was sitting oblivious to their conversation.
"I wanna break him out." she said quietly.
Harou gave her a shocked look.
"You've known him for about 2 hours....haven't you?"
"You'd known Neji for about 2 minutes when something in your head decided you wanted to spend the rest of your life with him."
"That was the only little wise thing I've got in my head." Harou laughed. She looked at the Joker, serious again. "What makes you think he won't start killing people again?"
"He told me he regretted what he's done. He said he never wanted to turn into this."
"And you believe him?"
"Yep."
"....Why?"
"I don't know. I just....trust him."
Harou was looking at the wall opposite, a strange expression on her face.
"Of course." she muttered, as if to herself.
"Er....What?" Evangeline asked, confused.
Harou blinked, and seemed back to normal.
"So you want my help to break out the man who seems to be the most dangerous criminal our world has ever seen, despite the obvious threat to our lives and the rest of the world?"
"Yep."
"Sounds like fun. I'll do it."
Evangeline grinned.
"Thanks!"
Harou smiled.
"It gets better: I've got an idea."

Chapter 4

It was dark. Late. Sasuke had arrived a little while early for his shift.
"Hey, Sasuke." Evangeline called as he came in. "Harou left the Joker some paracetamol to help with his headaches. Could you go and check on the other prisoners while I give them to him, please?"
"Yeah, sure." he hesitated. "Why don't you want me anywhere near the Joker?"
"Because I'm scared you'll try beating him up again."
Sasuke rolled his eyes.
"Whatever." he disappeared round the corner.
Evangeline went down to the Joker's cell and gave him the tablet and a bottle of water, watching down the corridor as he took it. A few seconds later she heard the bottle hit the floor. The Joker was unconscious, the bottle rolling into a corner of the cell.
"SASUKE!" Evangeline yelled, opening the cell door and kneeling down next to him. She could hear Sasuke running down the corridor towards them. She put her hand to the Joker's neck.
"He doesn't have a pulse." she said as Sasuke reached the cell. Even though she knew what was going on, and that he was still alive, it was really disturbing.
"What happened?" Sasuke was asking.
"I don't know." Evangeline replied, "I just came to give him his tablet, and I found him like this!"
"We've got to get him to the prison hospital," Sasuke suggested. "They'll be able to help."
Evangeline nodded and dashed out of the cell to the prison's built-in hospital, which was specially reserved for injured prisoners and officers.

About 10 minutes later Evangeline and Sasuke were standing in the hospital, at a corner of two corridors. The Joker's room was at the end of one of those corridors, the other led to the morgue and the exit. There weren't any doctors in the Joker's room - there weren't many around at this time of night, and those that were were in another room, trying to figure out what was wrong with him. The doctors in this hospital, with the possible exception of Harou, weren't very bright, and, with the definite exception of Harou, weren't any good at their jobs. Sasuke was looking at his watch.
"Evangeline, your shift's finished. Go home. I'll be able to take care of everything on my own."
She nodded and wandered off down the corridor, relieved. As she turned a corner at the end of the corridor, leading her out of Sasuke's sight, a nurse with her face covered caught up with her. She was pushing a trolley, but whoever was on it was hidden under a sheet, on their way to the morgue.
"If anyone found out I was doing this, I would be fired and Neji would kill me." Harou muttered through her mask, glancing around nervously. "You really owe me for this."
Evangeline grinned as they came into the car park. It was deserted, and there weren't any windows looking out onto it, so there was no chance of them being seen.
"Are you sure you want him in your house?" Harou asked as they approached Evangeline's car.
"Yeah. Don't worry, I'll be fine."
"Yeah, I know." Harou muttered. She looked around nervously. "Won't there be CCTV or something?"
"No, not here. Only cops are allowed to park here. It's not needed." Evangeline glanced back at the building. "Hurry before they find out he's missing and raise the alarm."
Harou pulled the unconscious Joker off of the trolley and put him in the passenger seat, strapping him in as Evangeline climbed in the driver's side and started the engine.
"Good luck." Harou muttered.
"You too."
Harou shut the door and hurried back to the hospital with the trolley. Evangeline pulled out of the car park and headed home.

Bad language.

Chapter 5

As soon as she got home, Evangeline hauled the Joker's unconscious body upstairs and put him on the bed in the 'spare' room. Harou had said he'd be unconscious for about an hour after he was given the drugs, give or take. Still half an hour left. Evangeline was tired, but she didn't really want to leave him and go to sleep. She wasn't sure how his mind worked, but she knew she wouldn't want to wake up in a strange room with nobody around and the door locked. She gently washed the clown make-up off of his face as he slept. He wasn't bad looking, actually. His face was strangely familiar. She checked his neck for a pulse. It was faint, but it was there. That was good. It meant the effects of the drug were starting to wear off.

Evangeline was starting to nod off when she caught a flicker of movement out of the corner of her eye. She rubbed her eyes and yawned. She was sure she'd seen the Joker's hand twitch, but she might've just been imagining things. She checked the Joker's pulse again. It was back fully now. He would be waking up soon.
"Wha....What are you doing? Where am I?"
Evangeline almost had a heart attack. She hadn't expected him to wake up that soon.
"Are you all right?" she asked him.
He looked at her.
"I'm fine....Where am I?"
Evangeline cocked her head to the side, watching his reactions carefully.
"My house."
He raised an eyebrow.
"Is that even legal?"
"Considering I had to break you out of prison to get you here....no."
The Joker sat up straight, rubbing his head.
"So you risked your job to break me out of prison, knowing that I could easily try to kill you afterwards. Why?"
"I don't know," Evangeline replied, standing up. "It just seemed like a good idea at the time. You hungry?"
"Huh? Oh, no. Thanks."
"Let me know if you need anything."
She left, locking the door behind her.

Morning came. Evangeline got dressed and ready for work and unlocked the door to the Joker's room. This was the part where he proved he could be trusted.
There was a single police car following her as she pulled into her usual space in the deserted car park and turned off the engine. As she climbed out it pulled up next to her and Gordon got out.
"I take it you haven't found the Riddler yet, Commissioner?" Evangeline called to him.
"No, not yet." he shook his head. "I just came to check up on how you're doing. How's the Joker?"
"I don't know." Evangeline replied nervously, "When I left last night he was in the prison hospital without a pulse."
"What?" Gordon ran into the police station, Evangeline followed.
Sasuke was siting on the front desk, arguing with Harou.
"And you think that I had something to do with it?!" Harou was asking angrily.
"What's going on?" Evangeline asked.
Sasuke sighed and looked at Gordon nervously.
"The Joker's gone missing."
"WHAT?!" Gordon yelled angrily.
"The doctors went back into his room to try and figure out what was wrong with him, and he was gone. His room was empty."
"Shit." Gordon muttered, looking at the floor. "Why are you arguing with Harou?"
"She gave him some headache tablets, I'm sure she put something in them to knock him out, so she could help him escape."
"I didn't!" Harou protested.
"She can't have." Evangeline cut in. "I told you last night, Sasuke. I found him like that, I didn't even get a chance to give him the tablets. You're more to blame than Harou, you probably killed him from beating him up during questioning."
"This arguing isn't getting us anywhere." Gordon said angrily. "At the moment our main priority is to get the Joker back. Argue when that becomes reality." He turned to Evangeline. "You'll be getting a new member of your team. You're gonna love him."
Evangeline raised an eyebrow.
"I doubt it."
Gordon led her down a corridor. Harou was going back through to the hospital, where she worked, and Sasuke was leaving. Evangeline usually avoided going down this corridor at all costs; it was where the dogs were kept, and she hated dogs.
"This guy's gonna be living with you until you find the Joker." Gordon was saying.
"Woah. Hold up. I'm in a bit of an emergency situation at the moment, I can't have anyone living with me."
"Don't worry, I'm sure you'll be able to accommodate this one." He turned into a room. "I'd like you to meet the Joker, V2." he nodded to one of the kennels that lined the walls. Inside was s German Shepherd, about 2 years old. Watching them from inside his kennel with his head cocked to the side.
"No way."
"We called him Joker because of the antics he used to pull when he was a puppy. He's grown to be very loyal. When the Joker was arrested we used him to train the dog, so that in the, as we thought, 'unlikely', event that the Joker would escape, the dog would be able to find him. He's got the Joker's scent memorized."
"I can't take him though. I have a....friend....staying with me, he's....allergic to dogs."
Gordon raised an eyebrow.
"All right. I'll give him to Hana to look after. She and Hinata are good at tracking, so I'll have them out looking for the Joker rather than helping you and Sasuke look after the other criminals." he smiled a worried smile. "Hana has so many dogs already, I'm sure she wouldn't mind looking after one more."

Boring chapter is boring.

Chapter 6

"You sound angry." The Joker called from the living room as Evangeline stormed in, the wind slamming the door shut behind her. She ignored him, locking the door behind her and heading upstairs. Tomorrow was Friday. Last day of work, then she had the week-end off. She'd finished half an hour early today, since there wasn't much to do.
She wasn't angry. She was actually in a good mood. It was just really cold and windy outside. She dropped her bag on her bed and glanced in at the Joker's room. It was actually....tidy. The only signs that the Joker had even been in there were that the dust had disappeared and the wardrobe door was open. She frowned and went back into her room. She was putting her bag away properly when the Joker came in. He'd cut his hair to the length it had been back when he was arrested. He was wearing a T-shirt and jeans that belonged to her brother, so they were a little too big for him.
"Do you live here alone?" he asked curiously.
"Most of the time, yeah." she replied. "My brother's in the navy. He alternates between a year in Afghanistan and half a year here." she smiled. "I'm forbidden from going in his room while he's gone, which is why it was so dusty in there."
"When's he due back? It looks like he's been gone a while."
"He should be back in about a month now."
"What does he do while he's here?"
"He just takes on little jobs around the city."
The Joker nodded falling silent. Evangeline headed downstairs and into her office, to fill out some paperwork. The Joker followed.
"Taking work home with you?"
Evangeline rolled her eyes. Did this guy ever run out of questions?
"Your disappearance got Gordon freaked out. He's making sure we're all doing everything we can to get you back behind bars." Evangeline replied, not looking up from her work.
"Do you work weekends?"
"....Why do you want to know?"
"Just wondering." The Joker shrugged. "I wanna know if I'm gonna get company at weekends."
"You're lonely?" Evangeline laughed. "No, I don't work weekends."
The Joker smiled and was silent for a few minutes.
"So why did you break me out of prison?"
"Didn't I answer that question yesterday?"
"Yeah but....I don't think you were being completely....honest about it."
Evangeline rolled her eyes again and ignored him, bored of all of this.
Another few minutes passed.
"Evangeline?"
"How did you find out my name?"
"You have your Facebook profile as your homepage." The Joker shrugged. "How long do you think I'll be stuck indoors? I prefer being outside."
Evangeline frowned and glanced at him. He was staring wistfully out of the window.
"Stay quiet for long enough and Gordon and the others might forget about you....eventually. Gordon's trying to keep your escape quiet so as long as nobody finds out about it, you can go outside as soon as he loosens security."
The Joker nodded and fell silent again. Evangeline finished off her paperwork and left him there.

Chapter 7

The next morning Evangeline got to the station at the same time as Hana and the mutt. As soon as Joker saw her he jumped up at her, straining at his lead to get at her, barking manically. Evangeline's eyes widened and she jumped back.
"Hana!"
"Sorry Chief Inspector." Hana said, "Joker, leave her alone! Sit!" The dog sat, but continued to growl at Evangeline, who was trying to recover from her heart attack. "I'm really sorry about that, Chief Inspector." Hana apologized. "But you know, you really do smell a lot like the Joker. I've got a good sense of smell. I could smell his stench all over his cell, and I can smell him on you as well."
"What are you doing here? You only work weekends."
"Yeah, but Gordon asked me to work overtime to help catch the Joker quickly, before someone finds out." she looked at Evangeline suspiciously and hesitated, "You haven't been in contact with him recently, have you?"
"With who? Gordon?"
"No, the Joker."
Evangeline frowned at her.
"Don't you think I would've told you if I had?"
"Of course. Sorry, Chief Inspector."
The rest of the day passed without incident, but she noticed Hana giving her some strange looks. The few times Evangeline saw Harou, she seemed uncharacteristically quiet, keeping her head down and not meeting her eye, not saying anything.

Evangeline was starting to feel confused and worried by the time she got home. The Joker, on the other hand, seemed quite cheerful. She'd been back for all of 2 minutes when the doorbell rang. The Joker looked from her to the door and back again, then made a break for the kitchen, which was at the back of the house. Evangeline went and answered the door, wondering what all the barking was about.
"Hana?"
"Chief Inspector?"
"You cannot seriously tell me you still think I had something to do with the Joker's disappearance."
"I never said I did! I didn't know this was your house, Joker led me here!"
"Hana, it's obvious you suspect me. You asked me this morning if I'd been in contact with the Joker at all, remember? Then you were giving me funny looks all day." Evangeline winced as Joker kept barking. "Hana, you know I hate dogs. Please make it shut up."
"Right. Sorry for the disturbance, Chief Inspector." Hana said slowly, like she wasn't convinced.
"That's all right." Evangeline replied, pretending she didn't notice it. "See you Monday."
"See you, Chief Inspector." Hana left.
Evangeline shut the door as soon as Hana and Joker were out of sight. That mutt was still straining on his lead, trying to get back to her, still barking like a mad thing. She went back through to the living room.
"They're starting to suspect you?" The Joker asked her.
"Hana is. Hinata doesn't want anything to do with it, and Sasuke's blaming Harou."
"Harou? The doctor?"
Evangeline nodded. The Joker sat down next to her.
"Thankyou." he muttered.
"For what?"
"Breaking me out. I....realized I hadn't thanked you yet."
"You're welcome." Evangeline smiled.
At that moment the doorbell rang again. Evangeline went to answer it and the Joker decided to stay where he was this time. It wasn't like anyone could see him from the door.
A very upset Harou was standing outside. In the rain. Evangeline let her in.

"Sasuke turned up, looking for me." Harou said, once Evangeline had got a cup of coffee in her hands. She was staring into it, her face emotionless. "He wanted to have a go at me for helping break him out." she nodded at the Joker. "Poor Tommy answered the door, so he ended up getting an earful. Hannya and Daana volunteered to look after everyone, told me to go and clear my head for a while. I'm just thankful Neji wasn't around, else Sasuke would be going back to work headless on Monday. I have enough problems without worrying about him getting into trouble."
Evangeline nodded.
"I'm sorry. I shouldn't have got you involved. You and the kids don't deserve any of this."
"Hey, I didn't come here to make you feel guilty," Harou laughed, "I came 'cos Hannya kicked me out of the house!"
Evangeline rolled her eyes, smiling. Harou looked at her watch.
"Right. I've been gone half an hour. I don't trust Hannya alone with the kids any longer than that. She's too hyper, and it puts ideas in Myu's head."
Evangeline followed her to the door. Just before they reached it, the doorbell rang again. Evangeline rolled her eyes, opened the door and blinked.
"Jonathan?"

Chapter 8

"I did tell you I was coming home early."
"WHEN?! When did you tell me that?"
"On Facebook. Yesterday."
"Jonathan, I haven't been on Facebook at all in at least two weeks."
Jonathan blinked.
"Ah. That explains why you didn't reply." he turned to Harou. "Hi Harou. How are you?"
"Happy as long as you don't start flirting with me again."
"What's wrong with flirting with you?"
"I'm married with 9 kids, I don't want you flirting with me." she glanced at Evangeline. "Er, I was just leaving." she muttered, going outside, "See you later Evangeline."
"See you."
"She seemed in a hurry." Jonathan said, coming inside and looking at her. "Is she OK?"
"Harou's fine." Evangeline said, going through to the living room and sitting down next to the Joker. There was no point in hiding him. Jonathan would find out he was there.
"Oh. It's you. Wormed your way back again have you?" Jonathan said coldly when he came in and saw him.
"You two....know each other?" Evangeline looked between the two men curiously. The Joker was looking confused.
"I've never seen you before in my life. You must be thinking of someone else." he said.
"If that's the case the person I'm thinking of looks exactly like you. What are you doing here....And why are you wearing my clothes?"
"Leave him alone, Jonathan, he's staying with us for a while, OK?"
"Fine. Whatever. But that means he's sleeping on the couch." Jonathan turned and headed upstairs.
"Sorry about him." Evangeline muttered, "He's just-"
"It's OK. You don't have to apologize for him."
"You can have my bed if you want. I don't mind sleeping on the couch."
The Joker smiled at her.
"It's fine. Your couch is more comfortable than the prison beds, you know?"
Evangeline laughed and started upstairs.

"I'm going to see Lou-Lou." Jonathan announced at breakfast the next morning. "Unlike you, she saw my Facebook post about coming home early and invited me over for the day." Evangeline rolled her eyes. "You coming?" he asked her.
"Are you kidding? She hates me! Besides, she's your girlfriend, not mine."
"All right. I'll be back around 8." He grabbed a slice of toast. "I would stay overnight, but her dad kicks me out at 7:40."
"Shocking." Evangeline muttered. "She's 26 and she still lives with her parents."
Jonathan rolled his eyes and left. When he was gone, the Joker looked up from his couch.
"What were you planning on doing today?"
"Paperwork."
"You bury yourself in the stuff."
"What are you trying to say?"
"I'm saying all you ever seem to do while you're at home is paperwork. Take a day off. Do it tomorrow."
"Or I could just do it all today and take a day off tomorrow."
"If you do that you'll just end up getting more paperwork tomorrow, and you won't get your day off."
"Maybe, but if I do it your way, it'll all build up and I'll end up wasting 3 weeks of my life just trying to get on top of it again, and that's not including the amount of time I'll have to spend at work, which will make it about 3 months."
Evangeline stood up and went upstairs, and the Joker followed.
"You know, I'm pretty good at figuring out the kind of person someone is."
Evangeline was sitting on her bed, looking through her drawers for something.
"What's that supposed to mean?" she asked him, not really interested.
He sat down next to her.
"It means I've already figured out the type of person you are."
"Really." Evangeline said sceptically.
"Yep. You're the same type of person I am."
"I've got to hear this." she shut the drawer and turned to face him.
"You're the kind of person who would've been considered an outcast at school, so you wear a mask. You act like you don't care about anything, to hide your pain. But inside, you're wondering what it is about you that makes everyone dislike you so much. Inside, you just want someone to love you...."
He tailed off. Evangeline was looking at him, her expression unreadable. The Joker cocked his head to the side and looked at her for a moment. Then he kissed her.

Chapter 9

Evangeline frowned slightly in her sleep and woke up. It was morning already. She picked up her dressing gown and put it on, careful not to disturb the Joker, who was asleep next to her. Quietly, she went into the bathroom, got dressed, and surveyed herself in the mirror.
"I really need to lose weight." she whispered to herself.
She went down to make some breakfast. Jonathan was already there. He raised an eyebrow when he saw her.
"Don't you think the two of you could've kept it down last night? I couldn't sleep!"
Evangeline blushed and hit him playfully.
"Seriously though, I'm surprised you're up so early."
Evangeline rolled her eyes, but her brother moved out of the way before she could even try to hit him again. It didn't stop her from trying though. All she gained from that was a painful hand.
"What are you doing today then?" he asked her.
"I promised Harou I'd visit her and the kids today."
"What? Poor Neji left out?"
"'Poor Neji' is currently helping Gordon track down the Riddler."
"Who's the Riddler?"
"The new big criminal in town. He's quickly turning into the second worst criminal Gotham's ever seen."
"Who's the worst?"
Evangeline hesitated.
"The Joker."
"Shouldn't they be concentrating on catching him then?"
Evangeline grabbed a slice of toast.
"No. He's already been arrested." she glanced at her watch. "I'm just gonna go check something then I'm heading over to Harou's."

Half an hour later Evangeline was storming up the path to Harou's front door.
"Can you tell me how this is possible?!" she demanded as soon as Harou answered the door, thrusting something into the older woman's hand. Harou picked up the small device and peered at the tiny screen.
"Wow. You're 3 months pregnant. Congrats."
Evangeline rolled her eyes.
"It's wrong! It has to be!"
"Trust me, being pregnant is nothing to be scared of. It's the teenage years you've got to be worried about."
"No, it's not that. The date has to be wrong. I've never slept with anyone before last night."
Harou pulled a face and didn't reply. Evangeline looked at her suspiciously, but she was refusing to meet her eye.
"All right, Harou. It's time for you to tell me what you've been hiding since Wednesday."
"Not since Wednesday. For 2 and a half months now." Harou gave her a desperate look. "I can't tell you."
"Why? Why can't you tell me?"
"The man said that if I told you he'd kill the children."
"Who did?"
Harou gave her a shocked look.
"I don't know, do I? He had his face covered!"
"All right. I promise I'll protect the children. I'll go to Gordon and tell him what's going on, but I need to know what he doesn't want you to tell me."
"The accident, he caused it. He did it on purpose."
"What accident?"
"You don't remember, do you?"
"Remember what?"
"It's the Joker."
"What about the Joker?"
"It's always been about the Joker. He's the one the man's after."
"What?"
"You were making the Joker happy, so he tried to dispose of you. He tried to kill you, but it didn't work. You just forgot everything. That's why the Joker doesn't remember anything."
"Harou, I don't have a clue what you're talking about."
Harou thought for a moment.
"Guess I'll have to start at the beginning. You've known the Joker since secondary school." She pulled something out of her pocket. "You got engaged a couple of days after you found out you were pregnant. But that man.... I don't know why, but for some reason all he really wants is to make the Joker's life hell. He knew you were happy together, so he caused an accident to try and kill you. His car ended up slamming into the Joker's side of your car, so he got the worst of it. You forgot him, he forgot his whole life." Harou was talking fast, looking round nervously as if she expected the man to burst through the front door at any minute.
"So that's why I trusted him so easily...." Evangeline murmured.
Harou nodded.
"Part of your mind remembered that he was someone you trusted and cared for, which was why you found that you wanted to break him out so badly."
Evangeline looked at her friend.
"I promise I'll help you."
Harou nodded and smiled, and Evangeline was gone.

Evangeline was able to get home in 10 minutes, running as fast as she could the whole way. She ran through the front door and slammed into the Joker, throwing them both to the floor, hard.
"What are you doing?" she asked him quietly.
He was wearing his clown makeup and purple suit again, and he wasn't looking at her.
"I'm guessing you haven't seen the news then."
"What?"
"Someone sent in a letter, posing as me, saying that I escaped, that I'm hiding down this street and that I'm gonna blow up the nearest orphanage to here."
"What?!"
"Everyone believes that I sent the letter. I have to go, before they find me here. I'll stop them blowing up the orphanage." he stood up and helped her to her feet. "Er....What's the nearest orphanage?"
Evangeline hugged him, unable to hold back her tears anymore.
"Goodwin." she whispered.
"I promise I'll be back." he wiped away her tears and kissed her. Then he was gone.
"JONATHAN!" she yelled as soon as he was out of sight.
"Evangeline?"
Evangeline spun round and went back outside when she heard her brother call out her name.
"Could you explain to me why I just saw your boyfriend running down the street wearing clown makeup and a stupid purple suit?"

Bad language

Chapter 10

"Evangeline, could you please tell me what's going on?! You're driving like a maniac!"
They almost crashed into the police station. Evangeline got out and ran inside, Jonathan following. Gordon and Neji were the only people there, Neji trying to hold onto a struggling Riddler. They both looked up when she ran in.
"Evangeline!" Gordon exclaimed, shocked. "What are you doing here?"
"Where is everyone?" she asked, panting.
"They all went to stop the Joker blowing up Goodwin."
"What? No! It's not him!"
"Evangeline, he's already been spotted on the scene."
"He's trying to stop it!"
"I thought the Joker had been arrested." Jonathan said, frowning.
"He escaped on Wednesday night." Gordon turned back to Evangeline. "So you came all this way just to ask us not to arrest the Joker?"
"No!" Evangeline suddenly remembered why she had come. She turned to Neji. "Harou and the kids are in danger."
"WHAT?!" Neji's pale eyes widened.
"Long story." Evangeline panted.
Neji was already gone. Jonathan grabbed the Riddler as he made a last desperate bid for freedom.
"Let's put the Riddler away then we'll go and help Neji." Gordon said, helping Jonathan drag the Riddler to an empty cell.
Evangeline got outside and climbed in, starting the engine as Gordon and Jonathan ran outside and got in. Then they were out of the car park.

The only sign of Neji when they got to his house was his car, which had been hurriedly 'parked' in the garden. The door was only hanging on its hinges.
"Please tell me Neji did that trying to get in." Jonathan muttered.
They went inside. Everything was a mess. Some really big struggle had obviously taken place in there.
Neji was kneeling on the floor holding Harou, who was in tears.
"He took the children." Neji said quietly, not looking at them.
"Did you see what he looked like?" Jonathan asked.
Harou shook her head.
"Was it the same man as before?" Evangeline asked.
"What do you mean?" Neji asked her as Harou nodded.
"Then we really need the Joker." Evangeline muttered, going outside.
"Er....what?" Gordon asked.
"Trust me." Evangeline assured him. "The Joker can help us."
Gordon looked at her for a minute as the other 3 came out.
"Evangeline, I don't trust him."
"But I do, Commissioner. So trust me."
Gordon sighed.
"All right, we'll do this your way." he replied eventually. "Since you suddenly seem to know him so well, what can we give the Joker so that he'll help us in return."
"His freedom."
"We can't let him go out on the streets!"
"He's already been out on the streets, and he hasn't done anything. He's trying to stop whoever's blowing up the orphanage."
Gordon sighed and thought for a moment.
"All right, but if he goes back on his word he'll be locked up for the rest of his life."
Evangeline nodded and climbed into her car. When Gordon and Jonathan were in as well, she started back to the police station.

By the time they got back to the station, it was full again. They'd got the Joker, but the orphanage had still been blown up. They went straight through to the interrogation room, where the Joker was.
"All right," Gordon said, going in to him. "Evangeline said you could help us, and that's exactly what you're going to do."
The Joker looked around the group in the room.
"Where is Evangeline?" he asked.
"She was right there a second ago." Jonathan said, looking around. "I'm gonna go find her." he left.
Gordon turned to the Joker.
"Someone's kidnapped Neji and Harou's children, and Evangeline says you'll be able to help us get them back." he hesitated. "If you help us find out who's kidnapped them and to get them back, we'll give you your freedom."
At that moment Jonathan stormed back into the room. He picked up the Joker by the front of his shirt and slammed him against the wall.
"That is it!" he yelled. "You are going to help us get Evangeline and those kids back, and then you can have your fucking freedom back, you son of a bitch."

Bad Language

Chapter 11

"They got Evangeline?" the Joker asked quietly.
"Yes they fucking did." Jonathan replied angrily.
"Well how can I help when I'm being crushed against a wall?"
Jonathan released him and turned to the others.
"This guy isn't the one who took the kids. The kidnapper gave him Hannya to try and throw us off the scent."
"So he definitely isn't the kidnapper?" Gordon asked.
"Definitely not. He's just got Hannya and Evangeline."
"All right. What does the guy look like?"
"Short and fat. Top hat. Umbrella."
"The Penguin." Joker cut in. "I've met him, I know what he's like. Sure I can help you."
Gordon nodded.
"All right, tell us everything you know about this Penguin person."
"It's rare for him to take hostages. He doesn't really demand things, he just gets them himself, or, most of the time, uses his henchmen to get them for him." he glanced at Neji and Harou and lowered his head. "If we don't hurry and get Evangeline and Hannya back, he'll eventually get bored and kill them both, just to entertain himself a little, even if this kidnapper wants them alive for a while. He won't care."
Gordon paled.
"How long do we have until that happens?"
"When was Hannya kidnapped?"
"About 20 minutes ago." Harou answered.
"So the Penguin would've got hold of her about 10, 15 minutes ago at most. She has about a day left. The Penguin would expect us to go and save her as soon as possible, so the best thing to do is go at night."
"Why?" Jonathan asked.
"Because I'm the only one that mental enough to go to that place at night. He doesn't know I'm helping you, so he wouldn't expect you to go at night."
"'Mental enough'?" Jonathan asked. "Doesn't really inspire much confidence."
"I'm not known for being confidence-inspiring."
"Are you saying that you actually know where this man is?" Gordon asked, leaning forward.
"I know where he's most likely to be. What's the time?"
Jonathan checked his watch.
"2pm."
"So if I'm wrong, we'll have all night and then till about 1pm tomorrow to find them."
"All right, so we have to prepare." Jonathan muttered.
The Joker smiled.
"Could I have access to a computer?"

Joker pointed at something on the map he had found.
"That's where the Penguin is most likely to be."
Gordon peered at it.
"It's a warehouse."
"It's abandoned and it's in the middle of nowhere. It's perfect for him. He's set up loads of traps around the place, which is why nobody goes during the night, when it's impossible to see anything." the Joker hesitated. "You're gonna have to leave all your torches and things behind, else his sentries will know we're there."
"'We'?" Gordon shook his head. "You're not coming with us."
"I've been there a couple of times, I know my way around, and I know where all the traps are. You would step into a lot of them if I wasn't around."
"All right, you can come." Gordon muttered.
The Joker pulled another couple of sheets out from underneath the map.
"These are the blueprints of both levels of the warehouse." he said. "There aren't any traps inside, but the lower lever will be crawling with sentries and explosives." he pointed to a corner of the room's blueprints. "That's where we'll get in. It's a small little service entrance, but last time I was there they didn't seem to know it was there."
"So how did you find it?"
"Accident. Old flippers got really annoyed with me last time I was there and threw me out the window. I literally landed right in front of it." he looked at the blueprints again. "Only problem is that the stairs to the upper level, which is where flippers hangs out, is over here, across the other side of the room." he pointed to it.
"So how do we get there without being seen?" Harou asked.
"Er, Harou, you're not coming." Neji said quietly.
"Like hell I'm staying behind."
The Joker rolled his eyes and looked at the blueprints again.
"There are loads of crates lining the walls from when it was a working warehouse. The henchmen couldn't be bothered to move them and flippers didn't care either way. There's just enough space between them and the wall for us to fit through, and they're the reason no one knows about the door. It's hidden by hedges on the other side. If we get to the door without being spotted we can use the crates to hide us until we get to here." he pointed to a corner near the stairs. "There aren't any more crates between there and the stairs, so we'll have to do our best to get there without being seen."
"Sounds good." Gordon said. "Any threats other than the sentries?"
"The explosives. They're made to resemble penguins and they waddle around randomly until they come across someone who isn't supposed to be there. As soon as a penguin touches you you'll be blown to bits. They sometimes end up behind the crates. They'll be a problem if we run into them round there."
"How would we get past them?"
"Jump over them?" Joker suggested, shrugging.
Gordon rolled his eyes.
"Great. And that's the only plan we've got."
"Actually, I have a plan B." the Joker suggested. "I can get you to the back door, then go round to the front and lure out all the sentries and penguins. That'll give you a clear shot to the stairs, and flippers is all yours."
Jonathan nodded.
"That's a good plan. Much better. Let's do that."
"How do we know you won't try and run off?" Gordon asked.
"I'm free now, remember? Besides, I want to come back just for the sake of laughing at flippers while you arrest him."

Chapter 12

The Joker looked out over the top of the bush, across the field to the warehouse. Surprisingly, there weren't many sentries around. A lot less than he'd expected. He hoped it was just the Penguin trying to throw them off the scent.
"All right." he muttered to Gordon. "This way."
He made sure none of the sentries were looking in their direction and broke cover. He went a couple of meters and stopped, crouching down so Gordon and the others wouldn't crash into him. He prodded the ground in front of him and it started caving in a little bit.
"Trap." he muttered. "I'd almost forgotten about that one."
This was the closest they got to falling into any of the Penguin's traps. The Joker was true to his word about knowing where all of them were. The sentries were concentrating more on the front and sides of the building; they weren't expecting anyone to come round the back."
The Joker got them all safely to the back door. He could hear Gordon and Jonathan talking about something quietly the whole time.
He opened the door and checked inside.
"All clear." he said. "Wait just inside the door, don't move until I clear the room."
Gordon nodded and went in. Harou gave him a grateful smile, Neji a nod. Jonathan pulled him aside.
"As long as you help us, you won't go back to prison, but you have to be punished somehow."
"I understand that." The Joker said, nodding.
"When all this is over," Jonathan said, "You can never go anywhere near Evangeline again."
The Joker frowned and looked at the floor.
"I just....want her to be happy."
"And she'll be a hell of a lot happier without you, Jeremy."
"Wait, what did you call me?"
But Jonathan was already in, shutting the door behind him.
The Joker froze, hearing an engine and, a few seconds later, a rasping noise, getting louder. He went round the corner to look, and his eyes widened.

Jonathan looked at Gordon.
"When do we go?" he asked.
"As soon as the Joker gets the room cleared." Gordon whispered back.
"How will we know?"
Gordon pointed. Harou was sitting on Neji's shoulders, so she could see over the crates and watch the sentries and penguins in the room.
She watched as the door opened and the Joker walked in, along with a girl who looked to be about 18. The sentries and penguins froze and stared at them, and for about a minute the room was completely silent. The sentries started letting out battle cries and running at the door, the penguins waddling along behind them as fast as they could without touching any of the sentries. After a few minutes they did, eventually, all disappear through the door, which slammed shut behind the last penguin, and it all went silent again. Harou blinked.
"OK, they're all gone."
She got off of Neji's shoulders.
"The Joker's good." Gordon said, sounding impressed.
"Come on," Harou said, heading off, "We've got to go, before they come back."
The 4 of them ran down the small corridor made between the crates and the wall.
They reached the end of the crates and looked around. The Joker and the girl, whoever she was, were doing a good job of holding of all the sentries; there wasn't any sign of anyone.
They hurried over to the stairs and cautiously went up.
There was a short fat man with an umbrella and a top hat up there. He had his back to them, looking out of a window.
Evangeline and Hannya were sitting tied up at his feet, their mouths masking taped shut. Evangeline spotted them instantly.
"I knew you were here." the Penguin said suddenly, turning to face them. "Why don't you come up here and....introduce yourself properly?"

Bad Language
Everyone starts coming now. :D

Chapter 13

"You know, Evangeline here has a lot of very good friends. All willing to come and help her at a moments notice. They're turning out to be more than a match for my men. Which of you was the one who told them all that Evangeline is in trouble?"
The four looked around at each other.
"Did any of you tell anyone?" Gordon asked.
They shook their heads.
"It must've been the Joker." Harou said, shrugging.
The Penguin snorted with laughter, shaking his head.
"The Joker?" he laughed. "You honestly think that the Joker cares about this girl - about anyone - enough, that he would raise an army to come and save them?"
Gordon thought about it for a moment.
"Good point."
"I'll ask you one more time, or the cop dies." the Penguin threatened.
"Which of you called all these....abominations, to come and fight for her?"
"That would be me." an unfamiliar voice said. "Trust me when I say, you don't want to hurt her."
They all looked round to see....the Riddler?
"Oh, and the only abomination around here is you." the Riddler said, taking off his mask.
The Penguin frowned.
"You're not the Riddler - you're an imposter!"
"I didn't get a chance to get changed on the way here." the man replied. "What with rounding everyone up and getting them all here. Wasn't an easy job I assure you."
Evangeline was rolling her eyes.
"Why would you raise an army to save her? What is she to you?"
"I didn't raise an army. I found people who owe Evangeline debts, or just wanted to help, and I gave them their chance." the man replied, seeming angry that the Penguin was suggesting he was raising an army. "After all of this you'll find that all of your men are still alive. I've lived a very long time, and I've had to watch a lot of close friends die. I don't intend to let it happen again." the man smiled at Evangeline.
"Who the fuck are you?" the Penguin asked.
"I'm the Doctor." the man said. "Let these 2 go, and I won't hurt you. If you don't, I won't even try to stop Clara. Not that I could, even if I did try."
"You think that'll scare me off?!" he yelled, grabbing Evangeline by the collar of her coat and dragging her to her feet.
"Don't." the Doctor warned him. "let her go, don't!"
The Penguin dragged Evangeline over to the wide open window.
"DON'T!" The Doctor yelled.
"Too late!" the Penguin yelled back, and shoved her out. "What was that about not letting another close friend die?"
The Doctor looked at the space where Evangeline had just been and swallowed.
At that moment a dark skinned man with a sword came running up the stairs screaming, running away from several of the Penguin's henchmen. They stopped at the top of the stairs, giving up and kneeling down to pant. The pirate stopped and turned to grin at them when he reached the window.
"Oh no." the Doctor muttered.
"This is the day," the pirate began, "that you will always remember as the day you almost caught-" he overbalanced and fell out of the window.
"Right." the Doctor said, "Optimus is there, I think," he pointed at the wall the wall opposite the window. "I think Clara is somewhere over there." he pointed at the wall with the window. "Clara did you catch Jack and Evangeline?"
"I caught Evangeline." a woman's voice called from outside the window. "Unfortunately Katherine convinced Mewtwo to catch Jack."
"You got lucky once, but it won't happen again." he looked out of the window. "Nobody there now." he grabbed Hannya and dragged her over to the window, ignoring Neji and Harou's yells.
"Penguin! Don't do it!" the Doctor yelled.
The Penguin grinned and dropped her out. There was the sound of something large hitting the ground, hard, shaking the whole warehouse. The Penguin looked out the window and winced.
"That's gotta hurt."
"If you throw one more person out that window!" the woman threatened.
The Penguin gestured to one of his men outside and the woman started screaming.
"Clara!" the Doctor yelled, running over to the window.
At that moment a giant robotic hand burst through the wall next to the Penguin, grabbing him and dragging him, screaming, out of the hole. A few seconds lated the woman's screams stopped.
The Doctor gave a sigh of relief and turned to the others.
"Come on." he said. "They've finished out there."

Bad language

Chapter 14

Once she'd recovered enough to move again, Clara put Hannya and Evangeline down and went to find Optimus. Hannya went round the front of the warehouse to find her parents. Evangeline went straight to the Joker, who hugged her tightly. The Joker glanced up as Jonathan came round the corner and gave him a pointed look. He sighed and pulled away, looking at Evangeline.
"You know....one day," he swallowed and blinked back tears, and hugged her again. "One day, you're going to....to meet a nice guy, who is actually good enough for you."
"What? No! Please, don't do this."
"I'm sorry Evangeline. Be hapy for me." he hesitated. "I love you." then he was gone.
Evangeline was frozen to the spot, not even trying to stop the tears. She felt Jonathan come up beside her and her grief and shock gave way to a sudden surge of anger.
"What did you do?" she asked, her voice low and dangerous, "WHAT THE FUCK DID YOU DO?!"
"I didn't do anything." Jonathan said quietly.
Evangeline wiped her tears away and tried to swallow past the lump in her throat, trying to compose herself as the Doctor and everyone else came round the corner.
"Right!" the Doctor said happily, prancing over and giving her a hug. "Got to get everyone home. Jack to whenever he's from, I can never remember. Toboe and Karen have got to get back to their world, Katherine and Mewtwo to theirs. Optimus and Clara live here, and they've volunteered to give you all a lift back to Gotham, since you don't appear to have brought any form of transport with you."
"That's the Joker's fault." Jonathan muttered.
"Not sure what to make of him." the Doctor said, rolling his eyes. "I saw Optimus talking to him earlier, but I couldn't hear what they were saying. Sure he'll be back though." he hugged her again. "I'll be back as soon as I've dropped everyone off, so long as the TARDIS puts me down in the right dimension." he winked at her.
"See you later, Doctor." she watched him count everyone into the TARDIS, thankfully not missing anyone out, before giving them a cheerful wave and going in himself.
Evangeline waited until the TARDIS had faded out of existence before turning to her brother.
"I'm not getting in the same truck as you."
Optimus and Clara had already transformed. Evangeline climbed into Clara, where she was joined by Neji, Harou and Hannya. Everyone else piled into Optimus, with the Penguin and his henchmen tied up in his trailer.
Soon they were out on the open road. Clara wasn't going very fast, after being hurt in the fight. Optimus was going slowly so that she wouldn't be left behind.
Hannya had fallen asleep. Neji was staring out of the window, his face expressionless. Harou was staring at the floor. Her waist length red hair was hiding her face, but Evangeline was willing to bet that she was thinking about her other 8 children.
"I promise you I'll do everything I can to help you get everyone back unharmed." she muttered under her breath.