Gotham: Contagious Laughter (Book 2)

The Magicians

The stage lights gleamed brightly as Serena stepped upon the stage, her fingers dancing upon the ends of her dress as she stared out into the crowd. Her eyes landed on Bruce instantly as a smile formed upon her face, taking a deep breath as she stood next to Lee. Exchanging a glance, Lee's expression brightened as she gently squeezed Serena's hand. Then in a sudden motion, the raven haired woman turned towards the crowd, straightening her posture as she prepared to speak.

The young girl did her best to focus, yet her thoughts kept eating at her. It was if ever since she had played a role in Barbara's games, she had something plaguing her mind, tainting it with the same insanity that swept through the rest of Gotham City. Glancing back at the curtains, Serena narrowed her gaze as she studied the shadows. The stage lights made it almost impossible to see anything behind them, however the girl could see two shadows waiting eagerly by the stagehand. If anything, Serena knew it had to be someone apart of Jerome's crew, the only problem was, she had no clue why they were there. 

Snapping out of her thoughts, Serena forced a smile onto her face as she looked back at Lee. She had to hide her grief for as long as she could, who knows what Lee would do if she knew Serena had been in contact with Barbara of all people. Lee's fingers gently curved around the microphone as the crowd grew quiet.

"Welcome everyone, we're incredibly thankful that all of you could join us tonight," Lee began as her eyes scanned the crowd.

"Thanks to all of your donations, we're able to make Gotham a better place for the children who reside here, and to make sure all their needs are aided in the hospitals." 

Applause began to erupt throughout the crowd, and Serena found herself clapping along with them. As she studied each seat, she knew that none of these people truly cared, besides a selected few. They were of extreme wealth, why would they care of the children of Gotham? They simply cared about their reputation. Looking around, Serena's gaze landed on a familiar face. Theo Galavan. She had seen him in various newspapers, however his smile seemed, too sincere. Serena raised a brow before turning her attention back to Lee. 

Lee smiled softly at Serena as she held out the microphone to her. 

"Will you do the honors?" the woman asked.

Serena anxiously smiled as she grabbed the microphone gently. She turned towards the crowd carefully, and took a deep breath as she forced her expression to light up. 

"As a token of appreciation, we'd like to welcome none of than some lovely magicians as tonight's entertainment." Serena exclaimed, holding her arms up contently as the crowd excitedly perked up. 

With the cue of her voice, the magicians waltzed onto the stage, their costumes incredibly daring as they bowed. Serena clapped as she turned her attention to the duo, her eyes widening as soon as she made eye contact.

It was them. It was Jerome and Barbara. 

Serena's smiled quickly vanished as she gripped the microphone, her mind screaming at her to tell the crowd to run, to do anything to get away. However, fear and loyalty kept the girl frozen in her spot as Barbara lifted her head from her curtsey, giving Serena a subtle wink as she began performing with Jerome.

 Lee gently grabbed Serena's hand as they walked off, pulling her close as they stood by Alfred and Bruce. 

"Isn't this exciting?" she asked, raising a brow contently.

Serena meekly nodded.

"Very..." 

Bruce raised a brow as he stood next to Serena, nudging her quietly in the shoulder with a small smile.

"Not that into magic acts? Me either," he whispered, giving the girl a comforting smile.

Serena hesitated in her response. Grabbing his arm, she torn her gaze from the stage as she pulled Bruce close, her face inches from his own. 

"Bruce, there's something I need to tell you, it's about those magicians. They aren't tru-" Serena began but was cut off by Jerome's request for an assistant. 

Bruce gained a confused expression as the two of them turned their attention to the stage, noticing that Barbara and Jerome stared directly at the two of them, the ginger's finger pointing directly to the boy. Letting go of his arm, Serena took a deep breath as she glanced over at Bruce.

"Just, be careful, okay?" she whispered.

Bruce nodded as Barbara appeared before them, holding out her hand as she raised a brow at Serena. The young girl simply shrugged as Bruce took the blonde's hand. Glancing back at Jerome, Barbara hummed as she dramatically held her hand out to Serena. 

"Shall we bring up another guest of honor as well?" she announced, a fake accent disguising her voice. 

Serena's eyes widened as she felt her heart began to pick up speed. She knew she shouldn't have been surprised, of course Barbara would have attempted to get her to join in. 

Jerome smirked in response.

"Of course we should!" he replied viciously, earning the applause of the crowd as Serena took Barbara's gloved hand. 

Holding her hand gave Serena comfort despite the situation, as each step felt as if Barbara was leading her into some sort of trap. 

A trap that would be performed for all to see.