[COLOR=DARKGRAY][INDENT][COLOR=C5A5D0][sup][b]| 2018[/b][/sup][/COLOR]
[INDENT][color=#ed4856]"Barbara! MOVE!"[/color] 

Barbara barely registered that the gunshot came from behind her. Reflex and instinct took over as she shielded her eyes from the exploding splinters coming from the door frame where the shot impacted. The ice in her veins suddenly began to pump again as Barbara scrambled away from the door and down the hallway towards the door frame hiding Harleen. 

Behind her, the door slammed open, nearly sheared from its hinges. Bone-chilling laughter echoed through the narrow corridor causing every hair on Barbara’s body to stand on end. Her eardrums felt like they were going to explode whilst the Joker responded to Harlen by firing several shots into the air. Amused hoots came from the twisted mouth, the scared visage curling up into the Joker’s signature grin, his teeth appearing even more yellowed under the diffused hallway lighting. Continuing forward, he danced through the shower of dust and debris, obviously toying with the pair of young women.  

In all her time as Batgirl, Barbara had never faced the Joker. She had never seen him in person. Bruce had countless files, and the GCPD had enough mugshots to fill a yearbook, but being in front of the Pale Man of Gotham was an entirely new experience. The infamous Clown Prince of Crime truly deserved his reputation.  

Ducking around the door frame, Barbara looked at Harleen. The older grad student had been completing her residency at Arkham. She had often spoken in length about the face-to-face time she had with some of the asylum’s more dangerous inmates. Her thesis had taken a particular interest in the Joker. 

Apparently, the feeling was mutual. 

Harleen was barely holding it together. The gun grasped between her hands was shaking as the Joker pranced down the hallway toward where the two girls were hidden. Poking her head around the corner, Harleen raised the gun again. The deafening sound of a shot rang out, followed by the clattering of metal along the antique hardwood flooring. Laughter briefly filled the space before the Joker called out through the din.  

[color=#6aa84f]“Careful with that thing, you’ll shoot your eye out!”[/color]

A shriek came from Harleen as Barbara realized that the Joker had disarmed the other woman with a single expertly placed shot. The two girls locked eyes for a brief second before Barbara motioned silently with her eyes behind them towards the stairs. A single word was shared telepathically between them.

[i][color=#f37f28]Run.[/color][/i]

Clambering up the stairs, the two women tried to put as much space as possible between them and the madman downstairs. Barbara moved to open her room before she was suddenly pulled by Harleen into hers. 

[i][color=#f37f28]No, Harls. What have you done?[/color][/i]

Trying to formulate a new plan, Barbara fought against the panic bubbling up inside of her, watching as Harleen pulled a bat from her closet.

[i][color=#f37f28]Just how many weapons did she have stashed in here?[/color][/i] 

[color=#6aa84f]"Where's my little harlequin?"[/color] The Joker’s voice echoed down the small hallway. It went quiet for a second before gunshots rang out, the walls and door of Harleen’s room exploding. The girls dropped to the floor and felt the bullets fly over their heads. Poking the gun into the entrance of Harleen’s room, the Joker seemingly hesitated for a moment, turning back into the hallway.

[color=#6aa84f]“Where, oh where, can Harley be?”[/color]

[color=#ed4856]"Right here!”[/color] Harleen suddenly jumped from their cover, smashing the bat down on the Joker’s wrist as she disarmed him. 

[color=#ed4856]“Puddin'!"[/color] She added tauntingly, swinging the baseball bat around and straight into the Joker’s abdomen. The blow barely winded the Joker as he continued to laugh, taking a hold of the bat and tossing Harleen aside like a ragdoll. 

The Joker was a dangerous opponent, he could trade blows with the likes of Bruce and Dick. But Barbara at least had the element of surprise on her hands as she landed a swift kick to the Joker’s jaw. Blood ran from the madman’s lip as his bloodshot eyes suddenly swivelled away from Harleen and onto Barbara. 

[CENTER][img]https://i.imgur.com/eciAIou.png[/img][/CENTER]
What was once malicious laughter suddenly turned to a chilling chuckle. 

The first blow nearly sent Barbara to the floor. Even with blocking it, she was caught off guard by its force of it. The next was so fast she barely had time to raise her other arm. The onslaught continued rapidly wearing down her defenses. Barbara could practically hear her body bruising. 

A loud bang followed by a splatter of blood suddenly caused the Joker to falter in his assault. Barbara stumbled backwards, gasping for breath as she realized the blood wasn’t hers but instead had come from the Joker’s shoulder.  Behind the clown was Harley, the Joker’s own gun in hand, still smoking. She stood there, trembling like a leaf, helpless to prevent what happened next.

The Joker spun around, snatching the gun from her hands and pulling the blonde-haired woman into his arms, seemingly unphased by the open wound. Squeezing her tightly, the Joker looked almost adoringly upon her. A single tear rolled down Harley’s face as he eyes widened, her mouth opening, but no words came out.

[color=#6aa84f]“There, there, it’s over now, Harley. I forgive you.”[/color]

[color=#f37f28]"Harls-"[/color] 

[color=#6aa84f]"Shut up!"[/color] The gunshot was deafening. Searing pain suddenly shot through Barbara, only air came out of her mouth. 

[color=#6aa84f]"Can't you see we're having a moment? You have yourself one rude roommate, Harley."[/color] The Joker's sneer echoed in Barbara's ears as though he was a world away. Her vision slowly faded to black as she helplessly watched the Joker disappear with Harleen. Her knees buckled beneath her as she fell to the wooden floor, slumping over to her side, hands clutched futilely attempting to stop the flow of blood as a warm pool formed around her.[/INDENT][/INDENT][CENTER][COLOR=73608D][sup]________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________[/sup][/COLOR][img]https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-E7Sz5JTTNV8/YOHc9Y8JKOI/AAAAAAAAKYg/dDz3m0Q4BIsk6UK4MABvnOjogjyXsEGwACLcBGAsYHQ/s960/Fear-State-Batgirl-Suit-Header.jpg[/img][/CENTER][indent][sub][COLOR=C5A5D0][B]Location:[/B][/COLOR] [I]Seattle,[/I] - [I]Washington, United States of America[/I][/sub][sup][right][COLOR=C5A5D0][b]Inside of Gotham's Walls #1.02:[/b][/COLOR] [I]Coast to Coast[/I][/right][/sup][/indent][COLOR=73608D][SUP][sub]____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________[/sub][/SUP][/COLOR][INDENT][sub][color=C5A5D0][B]Interaction(s):[/B][/COLOR] [I]None[/I][/sub][SUP][RIGHT][COLOR=C5A5D0][b]Previously:[/b][/COLOR] [I]"That haunting laugh..."[/I][/right][/SUP]
[INDENT]Waking with a start, Barbara clutched her hands to her side. Beads of cold sweat clung to her forehead as she struggled to separate nightmare from reality. The memories of that night continued to haunt her, even now, more than four years later. 

Gotham hadn’t changed in the past two decades, let alone in the past four years. No matter how hard she had fought, how hard [i]they[/i] all had fought, it felt like the city was determined to remain stagnant. It was rotten to the core. During Batman’s early years, Firefly unleashed a catastrophic fire across Burnley. The borough had gained the name ‘Burnside’ as a result and in light of the damage and destruction, had become the perfect candidate for the Mayor’s ‘Project Renewal’. A thinly disguised attempt to gentrify poorer neighbourhoods in Gotham. 

It was working. Starting with the Gotham City University Campus, Burnley had slowly been updated, becoming a rival to even the Diamond District in Uptown Gotham. Now, Burnside was considered to be one of the trending neighbourhoods in Gotham, fast-growing in both population and new developments alike. Particularly in the younger demographic, lending increased enrollment at GCU.

But this was still Gotham, and with all that growth came the increase in crime, among other complications. The fire had revealed hidden passages built into many of Gotham’s oldest buildings and even similar construction in other builds from the turn of the decade. Passages that shed new light on several cold cases in the GCPD archives. To make matters worse, Burnside also had a serial killer on the loose, and one that had cultivated at least one copycat killer. 

That’s what actually brought Barbara to Seattle. 

Criminals from Gotham had moved West to carve out a share in a notably less competitive market. Among them was Eduardo Flamingo, a mob enforcer and specialist who was originally Barbara’s top suspect as Burnside’s own ‘Faceless Killer’. Among the underground and unsavoury sorts who employed the Flamingo, he was known as ‘the eater of faces’ due to his cannibalistic tendency to remove his victim's face and subsequently eat it. However, the killings continued even after Flamingo had gone west which made Barbara believe he might be a copycat himself. 

Before spending time in Gotham, the Flamingo had a career in South America and a resume a mile long. Somewhere along the lines, however, Eduardo Flamingo’s behaviour showed a marked change. The hitman went from careful, methodical and cunning to impulsive, uninhibited and chaotic. They were dangerous traits, ones that Barbara was all too familiar with. 

A shiver of dread crawled down her spine as a familiar pair of bloodshot eyes haunted her memory.

All evidence pointed to an invasive procedure, likely a lobotomy that caused the change in behaviour. It was who gave him the lobotomy that she needed to uncover, however, and for that, she was going to need an audience with him.

Or at least [i]Batgirl[/i] was.[/INDENT][/INDENT]
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