The Son of Joker and His Queen: chap 1

News Broadcast #One

“I am standing here today in front of Arkham asylum. Where there was a report of an escape that happened early this morning.” The report for GCN said as hundreds watch her on the tv. “the doctors have yet to give us a name or an image of the escapee. So please don’t stay out too late and keep an eye on your children. Back to you, Stephanie.” “Thank you, Jane.” Stephanie said as the image of the news studio showed on the tv. “In more pleasant news, the Wayne benefit is tonight. We are all excited to see Bruce Wayne and his daughter, Jade Wayne.”

Chapter One

Today was a very important day for me and my dad. It’s Wayne’s annual charity ball and this time my dad was allowing me to be the head decorator. If you don’t know who I am, my name is Jade Wayne. I’m Bruce Wayne’s adopted daughter. He adopted me after Jason Todd was brutally beaten and blown to pieces. Alfred thought it would be a good way to cope. It's been thirteen years since he adopted me, and I grew to love him so much.

Bruce never lost his dark side and I knew all about him being Batman. He told me when I turned twelve and that day he gave me a necklace that looked like the bat signal. He told me to press it whenever I was in trouble. I loved that my dad was fighting crime and keeping the city safe; so when I found out, I made sure all the charity funds from then on went to hospitals, homeless shelters, adoption agencies, and foster homes. That was my way of making sure the city was safe.

I went to the banquet hall where we were holding the ball. I was there before the guests to make sure everything was the way I wanted it. The hall was white and gold. The Guests would enter from the front through a gold curtain and straight ahead was a medium-sized stage for my speech. In the middle, there was a space for people to dance with the tables surrounding it in a square shape. The circle table was decorated with a white silk table cloth trimmed in gold. The centerpiece is a bouquet of fake white roses. You would never find real flowers at an event like this because of the chance of someone having allergies. I was dressed in an elegant pink and silver sleeveless dress with pockets. The bodice was decorated in pale pink flowers, the straps had pink silk bows sitting on top. My jet black hair was pulled back into a low bun with a pearl pin, and I left a few strands out to frame my caramel face.

Few hours after making sure everything was in order, the ballroom was filled with the richest of Gotham. I waited by the gold curtain entrance waiting for my dad to make his overdramatic, very late appearance. I may or may not have been illegally drinking a glass of my dad’s favorite Rosé. “Aren’t you a little young to be drinking?” A voice said behind me. I turned around and everything around me seemed to pause for a moment. The voice behind me was that of a man. I was eye level with the top of his chest. Even with my five-inch heels, he was four inches taller than me. He was wearing a faux dark blue Armani suit with a white dress shirt and shiny black shoes. A brand I didn’t know, and I knew most of them. Even with his dress shirt and suit jacket I could tell he had a well-defined body. But want really caught my eye was his electric blue eyes that stood out against his very pale body. It was like he never been in the sun before, which is only possible if you’re a deadly insane patient at Arkham Asylum. And his hair was a bleached blonde, long enough to run your hands through it be not long enough to curl. “aren’t you going to answer my question, baby girl?” The mystery man said. “First of all, I am not your ‘baby girl’, and second you don’t even know how old I am.” I said putting air quotes around baby girl. “so you’re not Jade Wayne, 18-year-old going to Gotham’s best private college closest to Wayne manor. The same 18-year-old who planned this whole event.” I would be freaked out if my life wasn’t always on the front page of every newspaper in Gotham.

“So I see someone did their research.” I said sticking out my hand towards him. “but I think it’s better to meet people in person, not on a page. Nice to meet you my name’s Jade.” He looked at my hand and then looked back up at my face. He took my hand in his and brought it to his lips. “it’s nice to meet you, baby girl.” He said lightly kissing the top of my hand. Our eyes connected, and my face flushed but it wasn’t noticeable, at least not to anyone around us. And the smirk on his face didn’t go unnoticed. “Jade” I heard my dad say behind me. “it’s time for your speech.” The mystery man in front of me dropped my hand and walked away leaving me with my curious father. “who was that?” My dad asked as I put my arm in his, so he could lead me to the stage. “He’s not important, I promise.” I said. I probably won’t see him again, but I didn’t need to think about that right now. I was nervous enough without thinking about the man that captured my attention.

This is my first speech in front of a live audience. And that alone makes me nervous, big events like this are usually ruined by crooks, villains, and the insane of Gotham. My dad tried to keep me from all the crazy but sometimes it’s inevitable. My dad leads me up the stairs as Commissioner Gordon introduce me to the crowd. I started to breathe heavily, and my palms became sweaty. I was scared and nervous all together. I felt a little tug on my arm, I looked back at my dad. “remember to breathe and everything will be okay.” He whispered smiling just a little. I walked to the podium in the middle of the stage and closed my eyes. I took a deep breath and remembered what my dad told me all the time. Situations are only as bad as we make them. I slowly exhaled and opened my eyes. I scanned the crowd and instantly found those unforgettable electric blue eyes. My mystery man’s face screamed mischief. He ran his hands through his luscious hair and winked at me. “Welcome everyone to Wayne’s charity ball.” I started as the words showed up on the teleprompter in front of me. “I would like to thank you all for helping me raise money for the foster homes around Gotham city. I would also like to thank my dad for giving me an amazing life for these past thirteen years. I couldn’t ask for a better dad. I remember this time when my dad was completely clueless on how to raise me. It had already been three months since he adopted me, and I was scared of the dark because at my foster home the trees outside reminded me of claws. Be mindful I was only five. I was crying in my new huge four-poster bed, and my room was right next to his. He rushed into my room thinking that I was hurt. I hopped off the bed and wrapped myself around his leg.” I chuckled and continued. “he was so confused. He didn’t know what to do with the crying five-year-old girl on his leg. He picked me up in his arms and walked into his room. He never said a word as he laid us in the bed and put the covers over us. And that night was the most peaceful sleep I had in a while. So while I was writing this a few days ago, I asked my dad ‘why that was his first instinct to wrap me in his arms.’ He told me ‘That his mom, my grandma, Martha Wayne would lay in the bed with him when he had a bad dream. I’ve always known that my father had a soft side to that hard exterior you guys see. And I always knew from that night forward, no matter what, my father will always be there when the darkness comes.” I wiped a stray tear. “ok no more tears. Let’s get to the real reason we’re here. Tonight marks…”

I stopped abruptly when the teleprompter screens became staticky. An image of a hypnotizing wheel spinning appeared. I wanted so badly to look away, but I couldn’t. As the coordinator of this event, I was wearing an earpiece just in case something went wrong with catering or something like that. I started hearing static in my ear, but I wouldn’t pull it out my ear, no matter how hard I tried. “Listen carefully sweetheart, I want you to read the new speech that I wrote myself. Nod if you understand.” I nodded along to the very familiar voice in my ear. “Good girl.” I looked out to a very confused crowd. “You all have forgotten about the legends. Joker, Harley Quinn, Poison Ivy, Catwoman, and Mad Hatter to name a few.” I said as the words appeared on the screen, but my voice didn’t sound right. “Just because you sent them to the electric chair doesn’t mean they didn’t leave something behind to make sure their legacy lives on. Their children, that you didn’t even know they had, will bring about the new era. Just wait, Gotham won’t be the same.” I broke out of the hypnotic spell, sweating and hyperventilating. Everything was blurry, every noise muffled. I couldn’t grasp reality. I heard my name being called in the distance, but I wasn’t sure who was calling it. Black dots clouded my vision, I was slowly losing consciousness. “You did good, Baby girl.” The voice said in my ear. That was the last thing I heard before the world went black.