Okay, so this is our very first collab story between FreddyJasonV and Nitemarebat. Only a handful of the characters belong to us. The world in which we created this is based off a very long lasting and still going rpg, but the city itself is a mix of The Batman and Nolanverse. Joker and Harley Quinn from The Batman, Batman and everyone else in Gotham from Nolanverse.

Joker, Batman, and all other Batman related characters (c) DC Comics

All other characters copyright their respective owners.

If you don't like a little fantasy thrown in for the fun of it, shoo, we don't need flames just because you don't like it. There's not much of it, but still. We don't want to hear your complaints just because it's not strictly Batman.

Prologue

Yvonne doodled in her notes, bored, impatiently waiting for the last bell to ring. It was the last day of school and the whole day was dragging out. Why was it that the last days always dragged out?

The shrill ringing of the bell snapped her out of her thoughts and she gathered up her books, quickly moving around the crowd and out into the hall.

She raced over to the lockers and waited for her friend to show up, glancing around. The students pushed through the halls, blocking her view.

"Yo!"

Yvonne turned, grinning when she spotted her friend. "About time. I was starting to think you wanted to stay in that art room for the whole summer."

Chels gave her a good-natured punch, laughing. "As if I'd want to spend the summer in school. That's only for the people who flunked."

Vonny grinned, turning and heading towards the doors, Chels following her.

"So what's the plans for summer again? That waterpark on the other side of the city?" she asked, moving around a teacher.

Chels nodded, looking at her. "I heard they have a new water roller coaster there."

Her friend pumped her fist, grinning. "Yes! We've been waiting for months for it." She reached into her pocket, pulling out her iPod. Pulling out a headphone for each of them, she handed the other to Chels, then put hers in her ear.

"What's that coming over the hill, is it a monster? Is it a monster?" they sang together, uncaring if anyone saw them. It was the end of school, kids were acting crazy anyway. Who cared if they sang aloud to one of their favorite songs?

They made their way through the streets, finally coming upon a series of apartments. Chels pulled the key from her pocket, unlocking the door and stepping inside. Vonny followed her, shutting the door and locking it behind her. Looking around, they noticed that their apartment need to be cleaned up a bit. Books were strewn across the living room floor, small feathers twirled gently in the hall, stirred by the breeze from the door, and a few snack bags lay open on the kitchen table.

The girls quickly picked up anything they needed to, stuffing the now-grounded feathers into a bag and throwing it into the trash. After a couple minutes, they headed into the room and flopped onto the couch, stretching out.

Yvonne yawned after a moment, then stood, heading into the kitchen. She grabbed a box of macaroni and cheese from the pantry, heading over to the microwave. Chels clicked on the tv, flipping through the channels, trying to find something good. Vonny flopped back down next to her as soon as her mac and cheese was ready, shoving the spoon in her mouth.

"Just another day in Gotham City," she said, smirking.

"Yeah," Chels agreed, stopping on a news channel, "some days more fortunate than others, though."

"Poor guy," Vonny winced.

"Sometimes I hate this city. There can be some extreme danger sometimes."

"Me too. Why'd we come here again?"

Chels sighed, then gave her a look. "Because there was no other city for miles."

Vonny frowned, sighing. "Oh, yeah. Ah well, this city is fairly decent."

A shadow loomed on the wall behind them, getting closer by the second. Dorsal spines jutted from its back, a spined tail whipping out behind it as its long skull moved in between the girls.

"Hey, Shriek," Vonny said, looking at the Alien as it hopped in between them, nearly crushing them. He was nearly as tall as the girls standing and nearly twice as long.

Shriek chattered and tilted his head, lashing his tail in greeting. He was perfectly tame and quite the guard dog when it came to defending the girls. Yvonne turned, grabbing a piece of leftover chicken from last nights dinner, then held it up to him. He snapped his jaws hungrily, looking at it, waiting patiently. Vonny grinned, then tossed it into the air for him, watching it disappear into the double set of jaws.

"That's enough," Chels said, watching them. "We need to save our food."

Vonny frowned and Shriek lowered his head, but they all knew it was true. It was hard to find a decent job in Gotham, not to mention one that wasn't in an area where much trouble happened. Chels had been lucky enough to get one, but even then it wasn't paying much.

"Sorry, guys. We just can't waste much."

"It's fine," Vonny nodded, looking at her. "Just nice to give him a tidbit every so often." She stood, picking her bowl up and heading out onto the porch. Chels rubbed Shriek's snout, then followed her out.

Dark clouds were rolling in as they sat down on the chairs, thunder rumbling in the distance. They watched in silence, listening as the thunder got closer, lightning arcing across the dark sky. Vonny finished with her snack, then sighed, pushing the bowl away.

"Looks like we're in for a big one," she said, wincing as thunder rumbled overhead.

Chels nodded, looking up as it started to rain, quickly drenching anything that wasn't under shelter. She pulled out one of her sketchbooks and a pencil, putting a finishing line on one of her drawings.

"So what do you wanna do, since it's raining?" Vonny asked, looking at her.

"I dunno," her friend shrugged back, glancing up. "We can't go for a walk now."

"Wanna play a game?"

"You sound like Jigsaw."

"Not that kind of game!"

Both girls lapsed into giggles, looking at each other, then the storm. They froze as thunder crashed nearby, startling them. Shriek barked out the window at them, staying below where anyone could see him, warning them to come inside.

Both girls pouted. "I bet everything's closed by now," Yvonne said, looking at her. "We'd get soaked anyway."

Chels shook her head. "I wouldn't want to go anywhere in a storm like this. We might get lost and then where would we be?"

Vonny stared at her, then frowned. "You're right. One of those troublemakers might get us too. I'm just so bored."

"So read a book or something."

"We don't have any new books."

A loud growl came from behind them as Shriek peered out the window behind them, staring off into the storm. Both girls looked at him, then glanced out at the dark street. They could see something moving in the alley on the far street, but it wasn't close enough for them to tell what it was.

A chill ran down their backs and they quickly gathered up whatever they'd brought out with them, moving inside.

Chels pulled the blinds down, looking at her. "I'm getting a bad feeling about this...Shriek doesn't normally growl unless he knows something's wrong."

Vonny nodded, glancing through two of the blinds. Whatever had been over in the alley was gone now.

They ran around the apartment, making sure the windows and doors were locked. There was no way they were going to take a chance if something was really out there. After a few minutes, they huddled on the couch, flashlights in hand, ready in case the power went out. With a storm like this, you could never be too careful.

The girls waited for over an hour, slowly relaxing when they heard the storm starting to pass. The lightning and thunder weren't as bad now, but the rain was still going strong.

Yvonne was the first to get off the couch and check through the window. Chels watched as her friend pulled two of the blinds apart, keeping her flashlight close.

"I don't see anything..." Vonny said, glancing around outside. "But it's too dark to see. All I see is-" Lightning lit up the entire street and she screamed, falling back from the window and landing on the floor.

Chels and Shriek leapt to their feet, alarmed, not sure what she saw.

"What, what was it?" Chels demanded, clutching her flashlight like a weapon.

Vonny stumbled to her feet, backing away from the window, pointing a shaky finger at the glass. "There's something out there. Whatever it was had the freakiest eyes and it was looking through the window at me."

Both girls stayed on the couch for another ten minutes, keeping their eyes on all the windows. Shriek stayed behind them, tensed up, listening hard for any noises.

Minutes slowly ticked by, the girls still on edge, but relaxing a bit.

"You think maybe its gone, whatever it was?" Chels asked, glancing at her.

"I've no idea. It almost looked like a clown, but what kind of nutcase runs around like that?" Vonny shrugged, eyeing the door.

"Ugh, I hate clowns," Chels shuddered. "They're really creepy."

Vonny stared at her, grinning. "Then how come you like the demonic clowns you see in the clothing stores and stuff?"

Chels gave her a flat look, pointing her flashlight at her. "I don't have a problem with those clowns. I just don't like the real ones you see at the circus."

They stopped suddenly as the doorknob rattled, startling them. Both girls tensed up, watching fearfully, not sure what would happen.

"Maybe it's one of those maniacs you see on the news?" Vonny whispered, keeping her eyes on the door. Chels stayed quiet beside her, too scared to say anything. Behind them, Shriek growled threateningly, ready to pounce on whatever dared to scare the girls.

There was a soft noise at the window behind all three of them and a sudden shattering of glass as an orb crashed through and rolled across the floor. Both girls screamed, startled, watching the orb as it knocked against a chair and broke apart, green gas spurting into the air.

Shriek screamed in alarm as the gas quickly filled the apartment room, not sure what was going on. The girls started coughing, rolling off the couch and landing on the floor, heads swimming. He chattered, nudging them urgently, unaffected by the knockout gas, then turned, fleeing into the shadows as more noises came from outside. He'd be ready to pounce on whoever was hurting his girls and whoever it was would sorely regret it...

As soon as enough of the knockout gas had vented from the room, a clown leaped through the broken window, not minding the glass digging into his feet as he stood. He glanced idly around the room, taking in the small surroundings, then turned his attention to the girls out cold before him. A smirk played on his lips as he stepped closer, studying them. They looked to be in their early twenties, if not younger. Perfect subjects.

Grinning, the harlequin, picked the girls up, throwing each one over a broad shoulder, then turned, hopping up onto the windowsill. A suddenly snarling behind him made him pause, but then he was gone, glancing back to find the Alien charging out the window after him. Startled, he threw the girls into the back of a purple race car, jumping in front himself and starting it up. Shriek gave chase as the bizarre car took off down the road, trying to keep up. He quickly gave up as the car shot ahead of him, disappearing into the night. Shriek sat down in the middle of the road, whining, listening as the powerful engine faded away. The girls had been kidnapped by a clown.