Coffee Republic

The heat was becoming unbearable, the light grey cardigan she was wearing soaking it up and suffocating her. Gotham was usually so dreary and grey, so whenever this type of weather popped up she wasn't prepared for it at all. Avery shrugged off the cardigan impatiently, still wriggling her way through the crowd with the smell of sweat and body odour thick in the air.

That flicker of purple caught her eye again, and she whipped around, a middle-aged man stumbling backwards as she accidentally elbowed him in the stomach. He muttered darkly, but obviously felt too lazy to start up a proper argument. That's what the heat did to you; made all your movements languid, your thoughts drawled and slow. She was beginning to feel the effects of it herself; the word 'sorry' dripped thickly off of her tongue like honey, and with a dazed expression on her face she disappeared into the crowd, leaving the man's view.

She felt like a child, chasing some foolish fantasy. Maybe the small flash of colour was just a trick of the light - the heat was probably effecting her sight, as well.

Somehow she didn't seem to believe that excuse.

It's not him. Batman's been gone for two years. Without Batman, there isn't a Joker.

Her phone buzzed violently, but she ignored it, zipping her black bag shut and drowning out the noise. It was probably her mother, demanding to know where she had run off to.

It didn't matter, anyway; Avery was going to miss the Parade.



Avery didn't know how long she spent, chasing mindlessly after the streak of purple. She had definitely wandered far away. Even when magnified with a microphone, the Mayor's voice had completely deterioated by the time she had slowed, feet aching and on the verge of giving up. It had been a trick of the light, no doubt. She had wasted all this time. It was odd, but she felt this crushing sense of disappointment, and her breath caught in her throat painfully, eyes shifting from the sky, to the lampost, to her red converse; as if unsure what to do next.

The pavement underneath her shoes was narrow and cracked, surrounded on all sides by towering buildings that blocked out the sunlight that had been harrassing her a few minutes previous.

Despite the heavy weight on her chest, she breathed a sigh of relief at the shade, turning on her heel and shuffling down the pavement, in no hurry to return to her mother. Her phone was still vibrating as if its life depended on it, and she sighed, plucking it out of her bag and trying to dredge up a reasonable excuse in her head. Oh, I was just chasing a colour and got lost. No worries.

Thank god her phone was on silent, as just when she was contemplating whether or not to answer, a soft hiss rattled out from the side-road that she had just passed, and the brunette froze.

"Boss, do you hear that? I think someone's here."

Her lips parted in shock as a chillingly familiar voice drawled; "Who cares?"

Avery could have done a number of things in that moment. She could have dialled 911. She could have called her mother. She could have run away. But no, she decided to do the most idiotic thing, even if it wasn't entirely purposeful. She dropped her little blue phone, wincing as it clattered against the road, the glass cracking and the battery skidding across the pavement.

She inhaled harshly, fingers still frozen in that claw-like position and head turned slightly to the side, staring at the side-road that the sound had come from.

A few agonizing moments later, a lanky-looking man staggered out of the road opening, and Avery's eyes widened at the realisation he was wearing a clown mask. If she had been frozen before, she was on fire now. Her muscles twitched and in a blink she was racing down the small road, breathing laboured and lungs burning. Her breathing was so loud that she couldn't even hear the footsteps of her pursuer. Another not-intentional-but-stupid mistake.

She didn't get very far; a hand fisted in her dark hair and tugged, and before she could even scream she was being dragged back into the little side-road. Avery's scream was cut off as she was shoved against a wall, the air escaping her lips in a pathetic whimper. Her sight blurred and doubled, two orange smiles and four heart-shaped black eyes floating across her vision before blending back together.

"Boss, she was going to call the cops. But her phone's broken-"

"That was my mother on the phone." It came out as a whisper, so the cackle that broke out once she spoke sounded deafening in comparison. Avery craned her neck, trying to see over the large bulk of henchmen so that she could link the cackle to the face.

"That's unlucky for you."

He was a only a few meters away from her, but because of that goddamn goon blocking her way he was still only an infuriating flicker of purple in the corner of her eye. She wanted to hit the man in front of her, more so than she had ever wanted to hit anything before. Barely-repressed anger was writhing under her skin, and it caught her off guard. She never had anger issues before.

The goon hovered uncertainly over Avery, head tilted to the side as if thinking.

"Wh- what do I do with her?"

She couldn't see anything over 'Smiley's' broad shoulder, but she could hear thumps and shuffling, as if he was carrying something heavy. Finally it stopped.

"Kill her." His voice was so calm while he said it.

"N-no, no no!" Avery blurted out hysterically, shaking her head violently when the smiling mask drew a gun out of his pocket and aimed it at her forehead. Her knees were trembling, the only thing keeping her from crumbling to the ground was the goon's free hand pinning her shoulder to the wall. If only Batman was here.

It was frightening, but as soon as that thought flittered past her head the Joker echoed it in his words; "Shame Batman's not here to save you, huh? I wonder where he's run off to."

"It's been two years since - maybe he's dead." She frowned as the words left her lips. Batman had killed Dent, but the idea of him being dead still saddened her somewhat.

The Joker burst into an uproar of laughter at that, clutching his stomach as the tremors shook his body. He choked out one word in between giggles; "D-dead?"

"Yes. Dead." Her voice sounded slightly offended, and that only made the Joker laugh harder.

"No, no. Not dead." His laughter died down, leaving an amused hint to his voice. "Just hiding."

The gun was still pressed against her forehead, and Avery squirmed uncomfortably, clenching her eyes shut and trying to stop the shivers rolling down her spine. The goon tightened his hold on her shoulder, bunching up her shirt in his fist.

"So, Citizen of Gotham-"

"Avery."

"Avery." He stretched out the word in a displeased tone, as if he couldn't care less what her name was. "What's the time?"

Avery glanced up anxiously at the gun aimed at her, before lifting up her right arm and announcing quietly; "Uh- one twenty three."

"Well, I have a parade to catch. Smiley, help me with this gasoline. We're late for the party."

"But, Boss -" He gestured to the brunette in front of him.

"I have better things to do." The Joker rolled his eyes. "And she won't tell anyone, will you doll?" He snickered as Avery frantically mumbled; "I won't tell anyone."

In the area they were in, she would probably be dead by the time they reached the parade. Maybe Batman will save her. He grinned to himself.

"That's settled then." The clown clapped his hands together, and she grimaced at the loud sound. "Let's go."

Smiley let go of her then, and without anything to hold her up her knees buckled and she slid down the wall, onto the cold, damp floor of the road. She was staring at her bag and cardigan with an incredulous expression, wondering whether or not the heat was causing her to have delusions as well.

"Happy Harvey Dent Day, Avery." The clown drawled sarcastically, barely looking at her shocked figure before he strolled down the street, swinging a red can of gasoline in each hand. "Be sure to check out the parade, I heard it's going to be a blast!"

"Wha-" She cut off at the realisation that he was already gone, body shaking as she pushed a hand through her bangs.

Her legs were still weak from fright, but after a few seconds of staring blankly at the spot he had left from she propped herself up, snatching her bag and cardigan from the floor and stumbling in the opposite direction. She was a stupid girl, but thankfully also a lucky one.

After all that, she still hadn't properly seen his face.