Update: I've decided to rewrite this story. There were a lot of typos that bothered me and I've changed a few small things around to make the story flow better. And only after I began rewriting it did I realize how short the first ten chapters are. For this I apologise. I may combine them together at a later date.

Thanks to everyone for reading my story! Reviews are appreciated and I always look forward to hearing your thoughts or opinions.

Breaking the Beast:The Joker's Equal?

Chapter 1

She had had the voice in her head for as long as she could remember. Ann assumed that it was some type of split personality disorder. She never mentioned it to anyone growing up. She was smarter than that. They would have had her committed and she would have ended up in some psych ward somewhere insisting that she be let go. If that had happened, by now she 'would' have been insane.

Granted, she had never considered herself normal either. She had a strange personality. People had called her 'eccentric' and 'morbid', but she also knew how to have fun. With her love for sarcasm and the temper and attitude that came with her red hair it was easy to get offended around her. On top of that she was very chaotic, unpredictable, and untrusting.

Her other personality, Akira, was a bit calmer but had that same craving for excitement and the same chaotic nature.

Ann led the perfect childhood life of a tomboy. But it had never been what she wanted. 'She' didn't even know what she wanted. All she knew was that she had wanted more. Mean while all the other girls were playing dress up with their pretty pink dolls she was wrestling with the boys and winning. This, she came to realize later in life, permanently isolated her from the females of the world and caused her no end of trouble when she was older. In high school all the preppy girls that once played with the dolls hated her and all the boys considered her nothing more than a friend. She found it much easier to be in the company with males than females because of this fact.

In middle school she formed a morbid fascination with knives and slowly started to differentiate herself away from her father. By the time she was in high school her fascination with knives turned into a fascination with swords. Her freshman year she began taking Tae Kwon Do classes and accelerated quickly. By the time she was a senior in high school she had nearly mastered the Martial Art and had been a black belt for some time. The year she turned 18 she packed her things and moved out of her suburban home with her father and left for Gotham.

When she moved her best friend, Misa, moved with her. Misa now held a position as a paralegal assistant to Gotham's new District Attorney, Harvey Dent. Ann worked a steady job at a cigarette manufacturing plant on the other side of town. Since she never did anything and she saved a lot of money and she had plenty to live on. So why did she feel so empty?

Her father had taught her to be smart, and she 'was' smart. Once she had moved to the city she began taking Aikido classes at a local dojo that was only a few blocks away from the small two bedroom apartment that she had rented.

Gawd its so firggin cold in this thrice damned city. Akirah grumbled inside her head.

Ann ignored the feminine voice, determined not to be drawn into an argument. She had long ago learned to recognise when Akira was baiting her.

Ann had just finished her Aikido practice at the dojo and was walking home as usual. It was about 8pm and the streets were deserted.

As she passed by an intersection her head snapped to the right at the sound of a loud crash and gunfire. She could make out a figure running towards her in the fog that seemed to be clinging to the city. She momentarily entertained the thought of backing up around the corner but decided against it. She was just too damn curious. So she stood in her place. When the figure drew nearer she recognized him as the Joker. The man that had recently been terrorizing the city. Ann smiled.

Ann would never admit it, but she had somewhat of a fascination with the man. Everything she had seen of him so far screamed intelligence. But that intelligence walked hand in hand with destruction and anarchy. He foiled the police and Batman at every turn.

Knowing he was dangerous did nothing to help in her current situation. Running would be a mistake. Like any dangerous animal, running would bring out that predatory instinct. So she stood her ground instead.

He stopped beside her as her musings were cut off. He didn't look the slightest bit out of breath which impressed her considering he had just ran about a block in 10 seconds. He looked at her with a mild curiosity and pointed his gun at her head. Ann just stared back down the barrel at him. His stare intensified as he looked her up and down. All the way from her black combat boots, her dark jeans, black tank top, and black leather trench coat that went just below her knees, then back to her eyes. He gave an amused smile. She gave him the same amused smile back.

"Interesting." She said as if to herself. "I just love your choice of colors."

He tilted his head slightly as the amused smile grew a bit wider. "I could say the same for you." He stepped to his left which put him slightly behind her and to the right. He was about 4 paces away. She shifted her weight and turned as he stepped while keeping her eyes on his and keeping close attention to his shoulders. (You can tell how someone is going to move if you watch their shoulders)

"Black is a pigment." She said barely loud enough for him to hear. He laughed that maniacal laugh that he was famous for. Just then a police man came running from the same direction as where the Joker came from. He was clearly out of breath.

'Gotham's police at their finest." She said letting the sarcasm drip.

"Get back!" The winded cop yelled at her while he pulled his gun up to aim at the Joker who stepped slightly behind her more and made an emphasis on the gun in his hand.

He thinks your just a useless hostage!

He thinks wrong. Ann stated.

Ann flicked the train of her coat behind her as she stepped in the direct path of the cop's gun and calmly walked towards him. She could feel the Joker's eyes burning holes in her back as she stopped two feet in front of the cop.

Ann tilted her head to the side. "What? Are you going to shoot a helpless civilian?" She said in a mocking tone of voice. "What the hell are you doing?" He screamed "Get out of the way!" She just smiled.

He made a move like he was going to hit her with the butt of his gun. Ann's training sprung into action as she instinctively ducked and brought her left hand up under the gun. Her other hand balled into a fist and punched him in the throat as her feet sprang beneath her. At the same time she twisted her left hand and claimed the gun as her own as the disoriented cop stumbled backward. Ann shifted the gun from her left to right hand and pulled the clip to inspect the bullets, completely ignoring the presence of both men.

Just as she thought, 3 bullets were missing. That was the three gun shots she had heard from before. Curious that the Joker didn't fire back though. She slammed the clip back into the gun as the cop seemed to catch his breath. "What the fuck!" he yelled at her.

Ann held the gun a bit closer to her face and it was pointed strait up. "Awe. You didn't even have it cocked." She said as her left hand went to the gun and began pulling back the firing pin. She then turned her gaze to him. "Oh. You should be running." There was a sharp –click- as she cocked the pistol. He simply stammered and took off in the other direction.

Ann turned her gaze back to the man in purple, who immediately burst out laughing in hysterics. It stopped as quickly as his laughter started and he looked at Ann more seriously. The gun that had previously been in his hands had disappeared.

"How would you like a job?" He asked in a very serious tone of voice.

Ann calmly walked past him and stopped when they were adjacent from each other. "No thank you. I have a 'job' already." She said as she began to put the gun into her coat pocket. Only then did she notice his stance. He had no openings or weaknesses that she could see. Ann smiled because it was a similar stance as the one she carried herself in. "Nice to meet you Mr. Joker." She said and began to walk on her previous route home.

"Stop." She heard him say behind her. Ann did and shifted slightly and turned her head so that she could look over her shoulder at him. "What about the gun?" he asked. The question caught her slightly off guard, but she didn't let it show. Ann pulled the gun from her pocket. "What this?" She asked. "I was just going to file off the numbers and add it to my collection. I've never been overly fond of 9mm though." She paused and turned more to almost face him again. "Why? Do you want it?"

No response. His smile seemed to get slightly brighter as his gaze intensified again.

Smiling, she slowly bent over and placed the gun on the ground then stood back up. With the edge of her toe she lightly kicked it in his direction. It slid across the pavement to come to a stop at his feet. He looked down at the gun then back up at Ann.

"I still don't know your name." he said with a hint of curiosity in his voice.

Ann smiled. "You can call me Shadow." She replied with a slight bow, giving him the nickname that Misa favored for her, as she liked the darkness and could come and go as she liked.

She could tell the answer pleased him as he nodded to her. It was an obvious sign of respect in Japan. Ann did the same and turned to make her way home.

We'll be seeing him again.

Yes. And soon.