Why So Serious? (Heath Ledger)

Prologue

I stood at the back of the large echoing room, looking around as best I could for John. He'd been the first person I'd met after moving here a couple weeks ago, and had invited me to a special event party... hosted by a fellow named Bruce Wayne.

Hmm maybe he's just running late.

I texted John several times but he hadn't replied. I sighed and took a quick glance up from my phone to see the front doors fly open. Several men wearing... clown masks? They rushed right in, quickly surrounding exists and throwing people to the floor. I swallowed as I started to feel my heart beat faster and faster, my chest heaving in panic. Survival instincts were beginning to kick in and all I could think was that I had to escape. This was not happening.

The leader of the group, I'm assuming, was in fact the only member not wearing a mask... he didn't need one. He wore makeup on his face.. like that of a clown. He had red paint over scars on his face that went out from the ends of his lips... making it look as if he were smiling. I shivered warily at the sight of him. He turned to the people.

"Good evening ladies and gentlemen! We are... tonight's entertainment! I just have one question! Who.. is going to save you?"

He sauntered around the room ranting about the batman and waving his gun at people carelessly. He took someones wine out of their hands, causing a slight whimper from the crowd, and drank it. As he stopped, an old man next to him spoke up.

"We're not intimidated by thugs like you."

The leader viciously slammed his drink down on the table. The crowd gasped in terror.

"You know, you remind me of my father..." He quickly grabbed the man's face and held a knife to it,"I hated my father."

I watched in horror as a woman came out of the crowd, interrupting the leader. Was she insane?

"Ok, stop." She said sternly.

The stranger gracefully let go of the man and began strolling on over towards her, pointing his knife at her while he did.

"Well, hello beautiful you must be Harveys' squeeze. And my, you are beautiful," He said, slicking his hair back and licking his lips. Her face held an expression of disgust.

He came up to the woman and started circling around her, as if he were a predator and she were his prey.

Luckily the crowd blocked the... strangers view of me. I desparately looked around for a way out. About ten yards to my left there was an exit door. I glanced at the leader hesitantly, deciding what the best option was. There's no telling what his people would do to us if the police didn't arrive in time. I wasn't ready to die, not now, and certainly not here.

I quietly made my way through the frozen people and to the door...... I was right there.

That is, until a gunshot went off. I heard a few people scream and I stopped in my tracks, still facing the door. I could easily tell that the crowd behind me was dispersed, had split apart because everything had gone dead silent... The whispering had stopped and so had my heart. I heard heavy boots approaching behind me.

"Well well, aren't you a brave one. You know, if you were smart, you wouldn't be touching that door right now." He was so close, I could feel his warm breath against the crook of my neck. I glanced down at my hands, both on the exit door handle. I quietly and gently put them at my sides. I was shaking uncontrollably... it was hard to breathe.

Suddenly a hand grabbed me; I was flipped around and pinned up against the door. His scars so close, so visible.

"What's wrong? You look nervous? Is it the scars?" He pointed to his mouth,"Wanna know how I gottem?" He said so nonchalantly.

He took a small blade and stuck it in between my lips, ever so lightly, leaned in towards my ear, and began to whisper, just loud enough to where I could hear him. But quiet enough so that no one else could.

"You see... my father was a drinker and a fiend. And one night he goes off crazier than usual. Mommy gets the kitchen knife to defend herself. He doesn't like that. Not. One. Bit. So, me watching, he takes the knife to her. Laughing while he does it. He turns to me and says, Why so serious son? He comes at me with the knife. Why so serious son? Sticks the blade in my mouth. Let's put a smile on that face."

I kicked the man hard in the bowels with my knee, and he backed away laughing like a maniac. And now I could see clearly that white chalk blanketed his face, and black grease surrounded his eyes. He stepped forward.

"You have a little fight in you. I like that," He paused a moment,
"You know, it's a funny world we live in isn't it, huh? Oh, and I didn't catch your name sweetheart?" He said waving the knife a me.

I cringed at him calling me sweetheart. But I stood silently.

"Hmm, I see."

He slowly started to turn around his body to face the crowd, and his head even slower, grinning at me as he did.

"Let this woman be an example to all others who wish to escape." He began to turn back towards me with the knife, but I didn't care to find out what he was planning to do next.

I kicked the door that I was still leaning against, open and ran outside into the dark night.. right into the alleyway. I ran as fast as I could and I looked back to see if the man was still following me.... he was. I turned my head to run even faster but I ran right into someone.

Surely my life was over, it had to be one of his men. But it wasn't, I looked up instead to see another man... with a black suit on, a cape, and mask...... it was without a doubt.. the Batman.

I quickly ran behind him, he looked at me, and then turned to the other man. He spoke.. but his voice was so unnaturally deep and scruffy.

"Joker, I thought you'd be long gone by now after last time." So that was his name? The Joker?

"Hehehe, you really think that losing in a fist fight with you would run me away? Like I've told you before, me and you. We're destined to do this forever."

The Batman jolted towards him full speed, but the joker was quicker. I watched in agonizing horror as he pulled out a gun from his long purple coat and shot the Batman six times....

"Ha, defeated by a gun? I thought you were better than that, Batsy!" The joker put away his gun and took out a knife. He bent over towards the batman's mask, but then looked up at me.

"Ah yes, I forgot about you."

He caringly looked back down at the batman... patting his face. "We'll have to take a rain check on our little date. Maybe next time old friend."

I took this time to quickly grab a peice of broken glass on the ground and hold it in my right hand behind my back. He slowly started to skip towards me, his knife still in his hand.

He walked right up to me and grabbed my face with his right hand. Knife in his left. He grinned as he put the blade up to my face.

"Why so serious?" He said as I quickly kicked him off and held my fist up with the glass to stab him in the shoulder. But then a hand grabbed my arm mid air, and then another. Then someone placed a cold, wet, alcohol covered rag over my mouth.

And as my vision began to fade, I could see the Joker, bending forward just slightly... tilting his head and staring at me, a confused thinking look on his face. The look didn't last long though because he quickly started to laugh with this insane, creepy, loud maniac laugh..... that was the last thing I saw as my vision faded to black.