The Batman Who Laughs 

Gotham is my city. A city filled with corruption and crime at its core. An ugly hellhole that seems to be coated in smoke at all times. A city that never sleeps. Gotham is my city to protect at all costs, whatever the cost. 

The low crime rate worried me; it was unsettling. Nothing had happened so far this night. I knew that something big was being planned. I could feel it. The knowledge of my existence was something the people of Gotham questioned. I was a myth. A legend. It needs to be this way. To strike fear into those who break the law. A symbol of terror to those who choose the wrong path. Tonight, the city was darker than usual, almost invisible from up here, crouched on the edge of a building; silence had taken the place of the sounds of the day. The sounds of playing children, talking neighbours, and the sounds of an active community were all gone as the night had come over Gotham. The silence was deafening. I was part of the silence. Watching. The silence was only broken up by the occasional bark or gust of wind.

Gardens grew beyond their fences and began claiming parts of the streets and houses. There were no traces of life in Gotham. The setting was odd, especially for today's date. It was approaching midnight, and light started peering through the dense Gotham mist. I gazed down at my city, scanning for my first victim. The Gotham post office was abandoned, littered with destroyed packages, remnants of forgotten letters, and unpaid bills. The smell of animal shit clung to the air as much as it did to the floor. Right outside, there was a pathetic, desperate hooded man who was approaching a little girl with a gun in his hand. There was no time to waste. I blended into the night sky, being one with my environment. Quickly, making no sound, I made my way down to the street level. I loomed behind him as he approached this girl. Before he could harm this child, I grabbed him and launched him across the street. He had no time to react or pick himself off of the ground. He reeked of terror. I got closer with every blink until I was the only thing he could see. He begged for mercy at my feet, but it was too late; he had done too much. I beat that man. I beat him until blood excreted out of his body, which brought a slight grin to my face. 

Suddenly, I was interrupted by the screech of the Clock Tower bells. It was midnight. It was the 31st. It was Halloween. Would I have stopped if I weren't interrupted? Would I have broken my one rule to some worthless man? That is something I cannot answer. Something I fear. When the bells fell silent, I heard a soft whisper; I couldn't determine what or where it was coming from. The delicate voice got louder and more menacing, almost like a laugh. A maniacal laugh. A sinister laugh, unfriendly, mocking me. The laughter became unbearable. The broken man lying at my feet vanished, leaving no trace of his existence behind. I turned, and the little girl I saved disappeared just as quickly.

Was I set up? Was this some joke? What was going on? Was this real? A figure coated in black appeared across the street, seemingly in arms reach yet still so far. Laughing at me. A still silhouette. Faceless. Just laughing. The laughter became overwhelming, and I fell to my knees. I placed my hands over my ears to try and block it out. My vision became blurred. No, not blurred, darkened. Darkness overshadowed me as if I was closing my eyes. Only one thing was clear, that figure across the street.

It stopped. I looked around me; everything had returned to normal. The girl was gone, but the man's blood body was still rolling and groaning on the ground.

A voice came over the earpiece, 

"Sir," Alfred's voice was full of static and noise, "Sir, are you okay? Your heart rate just spiked, what is going on?" I rose to my feet and looked up and down the street.

"Yeah, I'm fine. I think I saw something that I don't think was really there for a minute, Alfred. It was laughing at me. LAUGHING ALFRED!

"Laughing, sir?" Alfred asked

"Yes," that was all I wanted to offer at the moment. I was as confused as Alfred was. I started moving to the nearest alley to escape the street. I needed to get back out there. I went to the top of another building to stand watch again.

The moon illuminated the city. The cold winter breeze caressed my cheek, and the air was bitter. Winter was coming. The city had been quiet earlier, but the quiet Gotham City didn't last long; crime had started to pop up all over the city after the strike of midnight. It was going to be a long sleepless night. I spotted my victim in Gotham Central Station. He turned, and I saw his face and could mark the evil in his eyes bellowing out to me. The man began to weave his way out of the crowded station, on his way to do something vile, no doubt. I trailed after the man, blending into the night sky. The weather became harsher, the wind showing no compassion; it helped conceal me as I followed him. I was hunting this man. I had eyes in the sky, gazing down at my city. He made his way to the docks, walking along the riverside. He was by the bins, reaching underneath them, pulling something out from underneath. I knew that this was a drop point for weapons and drugs. I dropped down to the docks, he turned and looked at me in fear, and I saw it painted on his face. He threw whatever he had taken from under the bin into the water; it made a small splash as it hit the surface. He quickly reached for his gun and brought it up, firing. But I was quicker. I dodged to the side and felt the projectile rip through my cape. He will pay for that. I closed the distance between us in a second, disarming the man, and I kicked the gun over the side into the water. I threw the man over the railing but grabbed his hand before he could fall into the water. 

His eyes were full of fear as he dangled over the water. 

"No!" He begged.

"Please, I can't swim."

As this man looked up at me, I heard the laughter return, louder than it had been the last time. I looked to the left, and there it was, standing on the dock. Closer than before. More visible than before. The hooded figure, cloaked in black. I felt the urge to drop the man into the water, to let this scum die. No one would know. No one would care. The laughing grew louder and louder. Suddenly, I realised what I was doing and what I was thinking. I pulled him back over the railing and slammed the man onto the dock. The laughing died, and the figure was gone. I left the criminal there on the pier, ashamed of myself. I needed to focus. There are much worse threats to be dealt with tonight. 

I turned my earpiece on, 

"Alfred," I said, 

"I'm coming back for a bit."

"Yes sir, very good sir," he said. 

There was an uneasiness to his voice. Was that because of me? He had seen what I had done. Did he fear me? Should he fear me? 

"I will be there soon."

I returned to my home, fuelled with rage. Halloween has always been one of Gotham's worst days of the year. The 31st has the highest crime rate Gotham has ever seen; that is why I must stay vigilant. I walked over to one of the many monitors and watched the screen. It showed various security cameras throughout the city. Alfred came over to where I was and gave me a look. At first, he didn't say anything to me. He had seen everything I did that night. 

In the last few months, I had become increasingly irritable with the scum of the streets as well as Alfred. I had become more brutal and hostile, beating criminals to the cusp of death. I was aware of this, yet I didn't change. Alfred had brought this up to me a few times; he asked about my mission, my sanity. Was my mission really worth it if I lost myself in the process, he asked? That is a good question. Was I losing my mind? Was that the cost of protecting my city? In the past, Alfred had always been able to keep me in line, had been able to keep me from going too far. But now, things were different. I was changing, and he knew it; I could see he knew it by looking at him. This darker version of me that had emerged over the last few months scared Alfred; I could see it in his eyes and how he spoke to me. 

"Master Wayne," Alfred started.

"I know Alfred," I cut him off, turning to face him, 

"I know, I went too far." "I keep going too far."

Alfred looked concerned, 

"Sir, respectfully, I don't know what has gotten into you recently. You have been getting rougher, but tonight. Tonight was something different, something dark."

I nodded.

"Sir, maybe you need to take some time off."

"No," I said, harsher than I meant, "I need to be here for my city. If I don't protect the people of Gotham, who will?"

"But, sir, how can you be expected to…." Alfred's voice trailed off, and my vision became dark. I placed my hand on the console in front of me to steady myself. I suddenly felt angry, like I needed to hurt something, hurt someone. I looked back to Alfred; his face was shadowed, a menacing smile painted on beneath the shadow. Then the laughter returned, louder than before; I couldn't ignore it. It was unbearable. I asked Alfred if he could hear it, but he also laughed. He was laughing maniacally, unable to stop. I shook him, begging him to stop. 

Alfred cried out and asked me to stop shaking him as if nothing had happened. I took my hands off him and took a step back. His face was back to normal, the shadow was gone, and he was full of concern. "Are you sure you are okay? What just happened?" He asked, "Can I get you anything? Tea?"

"I'm fine, Alfred. Just feel a bit off today," I lied. Something was wrong. I knew it, and so did Alfred. 

"That is a normal thing to feel, Bruce; remember that at the end of the day, you are human." I nodded.

I turned my attention to the monitor as a breaking news alert suddenly appeared. The report announced loudly that the Joker was on the loose terrorising Gotham. I knew he was trying to send me a message, trying to mess with me. But there were lives on the line, as always, when the Joker was involved. The time has come. I had to be in control. I had people to protect. I quickly gathered my gear and left Alfred and my home behind. 

The city was darker than usual, fires laminating the city through the dense mist. Above, a bright light beamed through the fog, almost like someone was trying to signal me. I felt it in my stomach. Someone wanted me to go there. I followed it, but it just seemed to get further and further away from me the closer I got. When I reached the Gotham chemical factory, the light suddenly was extinguished. This is where someone wanted me to be. The Joker must be inside. The chemical plant was pitch black with no signs of life. The walls were damp with moss all over them. The air was thick upon entering the building; I could taste every bit of dust with each breath. It was quiet, almost too quiet. I looked around the interior, not knowing what I was looking for. Something wasn't right. The silence was suddenly interrupted by that same maniacal laugh. The laugh of a man? Or maybe A Creature? I still don't know. That same laugh, THAT THING! Haunting me. Its dark face appeared before me, with only its deranged smile clear as day. The rest of him was cloaked in shadow. It laughed and laughed at me. But then it vanished. The room became dark again. The eery silence returned.

Feeling angry, I started exploring the building. Someone was messing with me, throwing me off my game. I could sense it, but I could do nothing about it. The laugh reappeared, accompanied by the shadowy face, figure, and grin. This time it was closer to me. It began to move towards me, footsteps slapping against the ground; the laugh was getting louder as it approached- it was overwhelming. Was this the Joker? Or something more dangerous? I didn't have time to find out. The shadowy figure reached me, and we engaged. We fought, landing punches back and forth, but the laughter increased with every blow. I wasn't affecting him. This was fun to him, a sick joke. The fight was evenly matched. Every move I made, he would counter, his dark cloak billowing around him. I became more violent, impatient, and erratic as the fighting continued. I fought harder and harder, trying to gain an advantage, any way to get ahead of this creature. Right as I felt myself faltering, I knocked it to the floor. Then, my hands were around its neck. I was overwhelmed by the feeling of victory. I won. I began to laugh as I choked it. I had finally beaten it. I will be free from it. I saw its life draining in front of my eyes. I laughed and laughed. I couldn't help it. The body became limp beneath me as laughter bounced off the walls, but this time it was my laughter that filled the room. I enjoyed it. My worst fear had become a reality, and I had broken my one rule, my only rule. The Batman no longer remained; this was something else. I had become something else. A Batman with no limits, a Batman with no rules, a Batman with no control,

A Batman who laughs.