Jokers Wild
Disclaimer: Possible TDK spoilers! I do not own "Batman" or anything that has to do with DC comics. I do own my own characters and storylines. Also, I am well aware of Harley Quinn as the Joker's alleged "girlfriend", but I am changing this for the story. Sorry if this offends you. Otherwise, I hope you enjoy! Please R&R!
1. Wayne Enterprises
I, Giada DiMarco, hailing from Boston, had never before been to Gotham City. But I was more than enthused to accept my new job offering at Wayne Enterprises. I had applied to hospitals, small-time offices, and large corporations all throughout New England, but I hadn't heard back from any of them. Being a recent graduate from Northeastern University with a master's degree in Cognitive/Behavioral Neuropsychology, I overtly expected getting a job upon graduating, but I was sorely wrong. Weeks and weeks and week went by, and still nothing. I couldn't understand it. I graduated at the top of my class with a GPA of 3.8. I had internship experience, work experience and the grades all to prove that I was a worthy candidate for any job listing in the psych world.
It wasn't until I got that phone call two weeks ago from Mr. Wayne himself at Wayne Enterprises that I finally had a secure job position, but what I found most interesting, was that I hadn't even applied to Wayne Enterprises. Of course I had heard of the corporation and Mr. Wayne himself, but I was curious how a big time billionaire like him had heard of a small-time, twenty-five year old recent grad from Boston, Massachusetts. I didn't have time to ask questions. I needed a job and I needed one fast. My bills were racking up, my car payment was coming up and the lease on my apartment was coming to an end.
"Well, what do you think, Ms. DiMarco?" Mr. Wayne asked finally. I took a glance around my apartment and at all the bills on the kitchen counter. I took a breath in and spoke.
"I'll take it," I responded as my heart sank into my stomach, which was fluttering with anxious butterflies.
"Wonderful. You start Monday. I'll send a plane to pick you up this Thursday," Mr. Wayne replied.
"This Thursday? But my lease isn't up until the end of the mon—"
"It's already paid for," Mr. Wayne stated.
"But, Mr. Wayne!"
"It's no trouble at all. I'll see you Thursday. It's all taken care of," Mr. Wayne said.
"Well thank you! Thank you very much Mr. Wayne," I retorted, a bit exasperated from this unexpected surprise.
"Oh, and call me Bruce," Mr. Wayne responded.
"Oh, why thank you…uh, Bruce," I replied. There was a click from his end of the phone. I took the receiver from my ear, clicked it off and placed it down on the kitchen counter.
"Well, I better start packing," I said to myself with a sigh. I had never given much thought about living in Gotham. It always seemed to be a bit too far from home for me, but I guess that didn't really matter now that I needed a good paying job and I was done with school. I looked out my bedroom window over the city of Boston.
"I am really going to miss the ocean," I said aloud to myself as I packed.
That night, as I packed up my life, I talked to my mother on the phone. I told her about the weird conversation I had with Mr. Wayne himself and about the job offering. Of course, being from a close Italian family, she was sad to hear of my departure from Boston, but she was also optimistic.
"Giada, I know you're going to love Gotham. I went there once with my friends when I was much younger—there's a large Italian population—you'll feel right at home!" she encouraged me.
"If it's anything like the North End here, I guess I'll be fine," I laughed. It was only Tuesday, but I knew for sure that Thursday would come all too soon.
OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO
It felt like a whirlwind—meeting up with friends and family to say my good-byes before my big departure to Gotham. I was scared but also excited. I couldn't come up with a reasonable excuse as to how Mr. Wayne had found me, but I was sure as hell excited to find out. What on Earth would have made him hire me?
Hopefully he would be using me for what I can do best—analyze people, the brain, behavioral patterns, cognition and therapy. But what on Earth does Mr. Wayne need someone of my educational background at Wayne Enterprises? I just couldn't figure it out.
Mr. Wayne's private jet arrived for me at exactly 8:00 am on Thursday morning. I was informed that another plane would be by to pick up the rest of my things from my apartment—furniture—things of that nature. I was greeted formally by a man called Lucius Fox. I had never been so confused and elated in my entire life.
"Good morning, Miss DiMarco," he smiled as he shook my hand, "I'm Lucius Fox,"
"Good morning, Mr. Fox," I smiled as I shook his hand.
"Please, call me Lucius," he replied as he helped me with my heavily packed bags.
"Yes sir," I responded with a smile.
Before long, we boarded the plane. As the plane took off, I watched as my city grew smaller and smaller below.
"I know you must be sad leaving home," Lucius stated as he observed me intently staring out the window. I merely nodded my head.
"But don't worry—it's only a short plane ride from Boston to Gotham," he continued.
"How long is it?" I asked.
"Just under two hours," he responded.
I nodded my head and glanced back out the window. After a few more moments of silence I spoke.
"Lucius, do you know why Mr. Wayne offered me this job—I don't even know what my job position is," I asked while chuckling. Lucius merely smiled.
"Mr. Wayne will explain everything to you when you meet him today. But I assure you not to worry. Mr. Wayne is, well, I think you'll take to working for Mr. Wayne just fine," Lucius explained.
"Okay," I answered, not really knowing what else to say. I leaned back in my chair and closed my eyes. We would arrive in Gotham in no time.
OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO
The plane landed with a jolt. I immediately awoke.
"We're here, Miss DiMarco," Lucius stated with a smile.
"I hadn't planned on falling asleep for the whole flight!" I laughed as I stood up from my seat.
"Right this way. Mr. Wayne has requested to meet you as soon as we arrived," Lucius explained.
"What about my bags?" I asked, looking around for my bags.
"They will be unloaded for you," Lucius stated.
"Where am I to live? I haven't found an apartment yet," I responded.
"Leave all of that to Mr. Wayne," Lucius said as he gestured for me to exit the plane, "this way," I exited the plane and followed Lucius to a black limousine. The drive from Mr. Wayne's private airport to Wayne Enterprises was much shorter than I had anticipated. But what I hadn't expected was the newspaper that Lucius handed to me as we drove through Gothma's city streets.
"What's this?" I asked, looking at the Gotham Daily News sitting on my lap.
"Mr. Wayne will explain all to you. I just want you to look at the front page news," he replied. I nodded and looked at the headline: Gotham Crime Rate Higher than Ever!
"Well that makes me want to live here!" I laughed as I looked over at Lucius.
"Don't we all, Miss DiMarco!" Lucius retorted with a chuckle. "Well, here we are," The limo stopped outside the tall city building. Lucius opened the door and we both exited the limo and walked up and into Wayne Enterprises. It was on the twenty-second floor that we stopped to meet Mr. Wayne. I could feel my nerves tingling inside as we stepped out of the elevator. I was about to meet one of the richest men in the world—my employer…who had only been a voice on the phone just two days earlier. Mr. Bruce Wayne—a name you only read about in the papers or magazines.
"Miss DiMarco, this is Mr. Bruce Wayne," Lucius introduced me suddenly. I hadn't been paying attention. I had been lost in my mind's eye. I quickly looked up at the handsome man before me. I quickly stuck out my hand.
"A pleasure to meet you finally, Mr. Wayne," I said as professionally as possible.
"The pleasure is all mine," he responded as he shook my hand with his strong hand. I smiled and he smiled back at me. He glanced down and saw the newspaper in my hand.
"I see you've seen the Gotham Daily," he responded.
"Yes. Lucius gave it to me on the way here in the limo," I replied.
"Perfect. Come right this way. Lucius, please join us as well," he said as he motioned for us to go into his office.
"Welcome to Wayne Enterprises. Have a seat," Bruce said as he took a seat across from me. Lucius sat beside Mr. Wayne. I sat down and placed the newspaper on my lap.
"Miss DiMarco, I am well aware of your highly experienced educated background. That was what initially drew me to your resume. It was impressive to see so much internship and research work you've done on human cognition and behavior," Mr. Wayne explained.
"I'm glad you think so, Mr. Wayne. I'm very flattered," I responded.
"Bruce. Call me Bruce," he retorted.
"Thank you, Bruce," I said with a deep breath. "You can call me Giada,"
"Giada. That's a nice name, what is it?" Bruce asked.
"Giada is Italian for Jade. My whole family is very Italian," I replied with a smile. "So I guess if you want, you can call me Jade,"
"Well, Giada, I hope you don't mind, but I also took the liberty of reading your thesis and I was also impressed. In fact, it was your thesis work that really made me decide to hire you," Bruce explained.
"Thank you, Bruce. But again, as I was asking Lucius, what is my job position?" I asked. Bruce chuckled and glanced over at Lucius.
"I want you to help me in doing psych analyses—behavioral and cognitive psych analyses for the criminals in this town," Bruce explained.
"Excuse me?" I asked as my jaw dropped.
"Oh Mr. Wayne, there is so much she still doesn't know," Lucius stated. I glanced down at the paper on my lap and saw a headline titled: The Batman: Outlaw or Hero?
"About Gotham? Batman? The crime rates?" Bruce asked.
"All of it." Lucius replied. I looked up at the two of them finally.
"What is the Batman?" I asked.