Summary: Everything burns eventually. Some people just help it happen sooner rather than later. / This is a new story about a girl who set out to Gotham to find her father, but found a Clown in his place and a Bat desprate to keep her away from him.

Disclaimer: I do not own Batman or the Joker or the DC universe. I only own my OFC, Kida Novak.

Warnings: mentions of sex, strong language, Joker's demented mind, and sporadic updates

Author's Note: This is just a preview chapter. All other chapters will be far longer and contain more action. I just had to get this up today. Kida, the character, has been haunting me for weeks now and I haven't found a true place for her until today. I hope that she is happy here, where the spotlight will always be on her.

All the World is a Stage: Scene 0: Five Things
by Vaughn Tyler

I know five things for certain when I got off the bus in Gotham City:

Number one, Lisa Novak, my mother, almost named me Jill to match my father's name. At the last moment she changed her mind, and as a result I was christened Kida after some distant Aunt who still lives in Europe.

Fact number two, my mother was born in Gotham City, and she never left the (hellish) place until about a month before I was born.

Three, I look nothing like my mother or her round faced Czech family. Therefore I can reasonably draw the conclusion I must look like my father, or at least similar to him. If this is true he'll probably be tall, skinny, boney, light haired, dark eyed, and pale skinned.

Number four, my charisma, over active imagination, and inability to sit still may also be traits I share with my father. The majority of the members of the Novak family are level headed, easy going, and patient people. I am not. This is nurture vs. nature speculation though, so it might have to be disregarded.

And lastly, fact number five (probably the most important one), I may not live long enough to complete my quest to find my father.

In summary I am in one of the most dangerous cities in the world looking for my father for whom I only have a small clue about his first name and the assumption that I may look like him. Yeah, I thought taking my first few steps onto one of Gotham's sidewalks. I'm beginning to question my sanity too. After all, I'm 18 years old and I was connived in this city 19 years ago. My father might not even be here anymore.