No Joking Matter [@GOTHAM LIVE - very open!]

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“..and we will be right back! Stay tuned after these brief messages.” Sending an almost flirtatious wink in the direction of the camera angled directly toward her. Summer couldn’t help but smile as the station’s signature music played before they went off air for a matter of minutes. Instantly, a younger girl rushed up to Summer to help her reapply her makeup, handing her a tube of red lipstick to apply herself. “Okay! That’s enough!” Summer exclaimed as the new intern nearly masked her entire face in powder. “You are supposed to powder my nose, not my entire face.” Slightly agitated, the redhead resisted the urge to roll her eyes as the girl quickly rushed away, leaving a trail of apologies as she left. Dropping it and taking a deep breath, Summer knew from firsthand experience how hard it was to be the new girl around the studio. As frustrating as it was she gave the poor girl a break and adjusted her blouse and pearls with a sigh.

Ready for the camera she practiced several of her face exercises to loosen up the muscles in her face, staking her papers and sending a smile at her favorite camera man. He was actually pretty cute, but she wasn’t going to resort to dating a camera man when she had been with individuals in Gotham who rivaled her own fame. Ever since her previous incident with the Joker, Summer looked at the boy differently. He was completely oblivious that she had almost unintentionally ended his life a couple days ago, though the thought still haunted Summer. She was very fond of him, though as ridiculous as it sounded, her current social standing was incredibly important to her and the last thing she wanted to do was go backwards.

Her producer began to count down before they were live again, causing the familiar adrenaline rush that the redhead craved to flow through her veins and her heart raced. Over the course of the last few day’s Summer’s usually spark had been diminished by the reoccurring pain radiating from the newfound brand on her upper thigh. What she was about to do was something that went against everything she stood for, though the blackmail that held high over her head propelled her to do so. The pain reminded her of what she had to do, and the irritable redhead used a series of defense mechanisms over the past few days to cope with her situation. As of now, she had told no one of her experience at Amusement Mile, fully aware that doing so would result in a list of chaotic misfortune.


Her white, pearly smile graced the main camera while the screen of her prompter began to glow with words. Summer insured her posture was straight and perfect as she waited for the ‘On Air’ sign to flash. “Welcome back…” The redhead began, faintly hearing a bit of commotion coming from the lobby. Assuming someone had simply dropped something she continued with her story. While her fake smile acted as though this was simply out of habit, her eyes said something else as she mindlessly listed what the Joker had demanded of her. Her boss looked at her like she was insane, mouthing obsanities in her direction as she went off script completely. It was too the point where she was not even bothering to look at the prompter anymore, but dead pan at the camera.

“I personally want to apologize for my absence yesterday, but it appeared as though fate had other plans for me. Rather than gracing your television screens with the day’s news, I was kept up in an unexpected interview with Gotham’s self-proclaimed clown Prince himself. In fact, this notorious knave had a great deal of things to express on his expectations for our fine city, as well his personal predictions for the future…”

With that, Summer revealed everything that she had discovered at Amusement Mile that she had been instructed, from the blame of bloodshed, the Jokers opinions on the hierarchy of Gotham, and his plans. Doing his exposé the justice that she didn’t want to give. Summer finished her final sentence defeated, her smile wavering for a moment. “Let’s just hope that Gotham’s finest get to him, before it’s the other way around…In other news, I am starting a petition that has already reached and is being greatly considered by the city council: the demolition of Amusement Mile.” Feeling as though she had to add her own personal jab to her previous captor, Summer felt extremely dizzy as her furious employer signaled the rest of the staff to cue to a commercial.

The redhead stared straight ahead, numb and in complete shock at what she had done for the sake of her loved ones safety. The moment they were off the air, her boss’s loud roar brought her back to reality. “Gleeson! What the hell did you just do? What is wrong with you kid! It ain’t hard, you read the damn prompter. You are supposed to a reassuring face in Gotham, what was that?”

Every pair of eyes in the room were on her, and she quickly got up from her seat. Her chest was tight and she found herself struggling to breathe. Flashbacks of the events the past few days raced through her head. She had done everything she was supposed too, so she would be safe, right? 

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"Well, the shopping spree and all of that with Tempest was fun, but I think I'm ready to let Gotham know I'm here," Leslie Willis, a.k.a., Livewire, said to herself as she moved along power and phonelines like she normally did when she wanted to get somewhere.

With a mischievous grin, she travelled to the nearest broadcasting station, which just happened to be the building of Gotham Live. Once there, she proceeded to override their broadcasts, effectively getting rid of the commercials that were currently being aired. Leslie instantly replaced them with an image of her pretty chalk-white face and electric-blue spiky hair.

"Hey, hey, hey, Gotham City! Say hello to the beautiful, the talented, the fantastic, Livewire!" she said over Gotham Live's airwaves. "I thought I'd stop by for a visit since Metropolis is getting a bit dull. Keep an eye or an ear out, 'cause I'm about to lighten up this dark city! Hahahaha!"

After she announced herself to most of the city, she allowed the commercials to resume before finding an electrical outlet near Summer Gleeson's broadcasting area, and snaking out of it in her living electricity form. In milliseconds, she willed herself to become solid.

"Hi there!" she said to Summer and the room at large, wearing an impish grin. "I couldn't help but overhear about the fiasco with the Joker last night. That sucks. Well, now Miss Gleeson here is gonna have to deal with me, because I intend to steal her spotlight for awhile..."

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Immediately after Livewire resumed broadcast another feed interrupted the station and all the stations of Gotham. There was no sound but a split screen of 2 of the Gotham police precincts. they seemed to be going about business as usual answering calls, taking statements, taking new arrests to the holding cells....eating donuts.

From the vents a purplish gas simply quickly flooded the building and the view was obstructed the gas was so thick. shapes could be seen trashing around some attacking each other as the fog lessened all in the building were laughing uncontrollably their faces stretched in the infamous Joker grin none seemed to be dying either. This continued for a couple minutes then the screen flickered and an image of the Joker appeared to be on a rooftop teeing off with a golf club. A man on the floor was tied up with the golf ball in his mouth.  The Joker swung the iron and missed hitting the man.  he did this over and over and over. Any in city politics would have recognized the man as a member of the City Council. Eventually the man twitched and went limp only then did The Joker hit the ball. he laughed and waved to the camera and the screen went black.

Then broadcast resumed.

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Summer sat from her comfy chair on the set blankly, simply enduring the shouting match that her boss had engaged in. She knew that she was in some serious trouble with the station after this little stunt, but at least it got her partially out of the clear with the Joker. In fact, that was all that she could think about at the moment was whether or not this one-sided debt was settled or if her statement had only buried her deeper. Before she could look into her issue, her thoughts were distracted by a mysterious voice. Summer looked up from her desk, the lights flickering as the woman’s voice seemed to be coming from nowhere. “What is going on?” She asked, looking directly at the crew who seemed to be just as confused as she was.

Before they could look into the problem a woman seemed to materialize out of thin air sporting a spiky, blue hairstyle that caused the redhead to wrinkle her nose. “Is this my punishment? You have got to be kidding me. Do you know how many people tune in just to see me-“ However, the pure confusion and shock on the crew’s faces made her realize that this woman’s arrival hadn’t been planned. Rising from her chair, Summer stood with her arms crossed. “Thanks for the concern,” She replied sickly sweet. “But I have had my share of clowns for the past few days. Security! Get her out of my sight now!” Rubbing her temples, she looked over at the blinking equipment. “You have to stall, more commercials or something. Until this freakshow gets off my set we are not going back on air.”

However, it appeared as though someone else had plans for her segment as well. Summer cringed as all of the screens focuses on her pretty face suddenly went dark. A groan flew from her lips. “What is going on now?” Starting toward one of the monitors, she froze when the screen split in half and provided the screen with a live feed of the Police departments. “W-what’s going on….are we….broadcasting?” She whirled around to have her fears confirmed. “Get this off the screen now!” But there was nothing that could be done. Their system was completely locked, leaving Summer to watch in horror at the scene that unfolded. Was this because of her?

Summer felt like she was going to faint as the purple gas leaked into the picture. “No..” She stood with her eyes wide, helpless. What could she do? The only people she could call were practically laughing themselves to death. “Get this off my station.” She shouted furiously, whirling around to her staff who were continuing to regain control. It wasn’t until the Joker’s face graced the screen did the young reporter cringe. Accompanying him was the councilman that Summer had met with just the other day. The redhead wanted to look away, but her eyes were glued to the screen.

Before she could even realize what was going on, the set was back in their control, the camera fixated on Summer’s stunned face. She opened her mouth to speak, but no words came out. Finally, her boss made the call to cut to commercial. Summer turned toward the woman with spikey blue hair, spewing out assumptions. “You-you are working with him aren’t you? Where is security?” A mix of emotions raced through the redhead’s mind. She wanted to leave for the police station, but she was in the middle of a show! Not to mention this peculiar woman decided to show up and crash her set. What the hell was going on?

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Leslie laughed at Gleeson's cry for security. She would fry her little guards before they could even touch her. Her laughing ceased, however, the moment another feed cut in showing what Leslie assumed were two of Gotham's police stations. She watched with both interest and irritation as the gas leaked into those buildings, causing the people there to start laughing, a Joker grin forming on their faces. When the screen cut to the Joker himself and some important-looking guy, Leslie cringed a bit as the clown beat the guy with a golf club. Even though she found this a bit disturbing, it also made her angry. The Joker had just stolen her spotlight! When Miss Gleeson accused her of being associated with said maniacal clown, Leslie scowled at her.

"Puh-lease! That clown just ruined my entrance!" she said to the red-head in annoyance.

Just as she finished her sentence, a couple of burly security guards came into the room. Before they had a chance to do anything, Leslie generated some high voltage electricity and proved her earlier thoughts true. She fried them on the spot before they had a chance to touch her. After a moment of shocking them with her electrical blast, she stopped. The two guards, now burnt to a near crisp, fell lifelessly to the floor. Leslie turned back to Summer with a curious look upon her pretty, chalk-white face.

"Does homicide make my butt look big?" she quipped before going on seriously. "Look, Miss Gleeson. I'm here in Gotham to play, and I want this city to know I'm here. Besides, I can do way better on this show than you. Now, get out of my way, or you'll end up like your pathetic little security guards!"

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Despite the series of unfortunate events that had occurred back to back over the past hour, Summer was still surprisingly standing her ground. Heels planted firmly to the floor with her hands on her hips, she had about had it. Watching with a smirk as several of her security guards rushed into the room, resisted the urge to roll her eyes. “Finally you all get here! Get her out of my sight and off my set!” She ordered, pleased that they began to react accordingly. “I’m sorry sweetie, but we are not hiring right now unless you want to be the person that gets me Starbucks-“

Her eyes grew wide as the woman literally fried her staff before they could even come toward her. A noise of shock flew from Summer’s red lips and she took several small steps away from the woman. Shaking, Summer’s green eyes looked to the security that now lay lifelessly on her floor before she looked back up to meet the woman’s gaze. “What are you?” You would think that after her experiences the past couple of days that she wouldn't be so surprised at this point, though Gotham continued to attract the most unusual characters.

If she weren’t so stubborn, she might have complied. Frightened, the crew filed chaotically out of the room, leaving the two women. However, Summer wasn’t leaving and she wasn’t backing down, especially seeing as she felt she could do better than herself. “Oh please!” Summer scoffed, looking for someone to laugh along with her when she realized that she was alone with simply her equipment. “I’m not going anywhere. This is my show and I have earned it. I’m not going to let you steal even a segment of it.” With that she started toward her desk where all the cameras were angled, perching herself against it stubbornly. She was not going anywhere.

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"What am I? I'll be your worst nightmare if you don't at least let me do a segment with you," Livewire said with a dangerous edge in her slightly high-pitched voice.

Really, she could just fry the cocky bitch and get it over with, but killing too many people right from the start probably wouldn't be too conducive. She'd already murdered two security guards, so that would be added to her already pretty heavy record. Oh well. They shouldn't have tried to stop her.

"Look, Miss Gleeson. I don't want to hurt you like I had to hurt your guards. So whaddya say? Let me do one segment with you, and then I'll leave you alone."

She then moved to stand next to Summer, practically mimicking her movement to stubbornly put herself against another part of the reporter's desk. Leslie wasn't going to budge, either. Honestly, she could just override the broadcasting system like she did earlier, but doing a show with one of Gotham's famous reporters would be much more fun.

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Getting several feet of distance between the blue haired woman for security purposes, she tried to keep her confidence together the best of her ability. This woman stormed onto her set, fried her security and now was demanding a spot on her show? Who did she think she was? Summer was not the person who allowed people to walk all over her, in fact she was the one that typically did the walking in the first place.

Summer scoffed at her request as if it were completely unreasonable. “You have got to be kidding me. It’s Gotham Live with Summer Gleeson for a reason, there is no plus one.” However, the threats to place her into a positon that would match her fallen security did worry her slightly. Nose still in the air, she stopped herself from rolling her eyes as she honestly considered the woman’s request. After several seconds of deliberation, she finally sighed and massaged her temples.

“Why can’t you just leave me alone to begin with.” Her eyes narrowed as the woman closed in the distance between them and stood even closer. Dramatically, Summer shoved the desk forcefully in the woman’s direction, hoping that the woman might lose her footing or fall victim to the large, glass-topped desk.

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"Because it's much more fun to bother you," Leslie retorted before Summer roughly shoved her glass-topped desk at her.

Not expecting this, she lost her footing a little, causing her to stumble backwards. She managed to stay upright, but her temper flared. Leslie growled.

"You'll pay for that!" she yelled at the red-head, summoning up a small charge of electricity, and then throwing it towards Miss Gleeson's mid-section.

This particular blast was strong enough to knock her out, but not strong enough to kill her. Again, Leslie really didn't want to murder the woman. She just wanted to steal, or at least share, some of her limelight for awhile.

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Summer couldn’t resist but roll her eyes at the woman’s comment. “I do not have time for this right now.” She complained quietly, though not bothering to hide the annoyance in her tone. She assumed that her next move –while it was foolish – might show the woman that she was serious and wanted the spiky blue-haired freak out of her hair. Summer allowed herself to lose control for a moment

A simple smirk graced her features as she watched the woman stumble backward. The redhead only pouted when the woman didn’t fall over completely. While extremely childish and unlike her, she hoped that it would be enough to make her point that she was willing to go to any drastic level to keep her show hers.

Before she could even spit out another snide comment, she was hit square in the abdomen with a powerful jolt of the electricity that the woman seemed to conjure. With a mild convulsion, Summer fell backwards, landing in a pile on the floor, loosing consciousness completely. Before the room began to fade to black, a gasp flew from her lips and her eyes closed almost peaceful as she lost control of the situation surrounding her.

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Leslie grinned as her electric blast hit Summer directly in the stomach, causing her to convulse lightly before crumpling to the floor in an unconscious heap. Now that the snotty red-head was out of the way, it was time for "Livewire TV" to air. Honestly? The real reason Leslie didn't just fry the reporter like she did to the security is because, well...she realized that she and Miss Gleeson have a little bit in common. At least, that's what Leslie had gathered from what the red-headed reporter had said to her. It seemed that both women had worked to gain status at their respective jobs, and neither were willing to just hand that over.

The problem that Leslie had was Superman. He was the one who ruined her radio show in Metropolis. Well, now, she was going to try and get at least some of her fame and glory back by messing with the people who watch or listen to Gotham Live for a little bit. Oh, she could easily interrupt all of Gotham's airwaves, but this news station seemed to get most of the people's attention. Miss Gleeson's pretty face plastered all over the city basically told her so; therefore, there was no point in wasting her energy on every station in the city when she can take over a single station and still most likely get the reactions she's looking for.

Walking back over to Gleeson's glass-topped desk, Leslie positioned herself behind it and attempted to lay her spiky blue hair down a little bit. When it didn't want to cooperate, she let out a frustrated huff before flopping down into the chair. She looked over at the knocked-out red-head lying on the floor just feet from her own desk. With an impish grin, she tapped into the electromagnetic side of her abilities and used it to point one of the cameras directly at herself. Then, she picked up the pile of notes in front of her and skimmed through them real quick. If she was going to do her shock-jock stuff, then she needed to know a bit about what was actually happening in Gotham; otherwise, she'd make a complete fool out of herself. After about a minute of looking through the news reports, she was ready to start her segment. With the snap of her fingers, the lights, cameras, and everything else needed to make a good show came on. Leslie put on a bright, wide smile.

"Hello, Gotham! Welcome back to Gotham Live's spur of the moment segment, Livewire TV! I am your host, the lovely, the talented, the fantastic, LIVEWIRE! I apologize for the technical difficulties a little earlier, but Miss Gleeson was being a little uncooperative."

Once Leslie said this last part, she made a motion with her forefinger, and the camera cut to a view of Summer passed out on the floor.

"Don't worry!" she went on, making the camera cut back to herself. "Your precious Summer Gleeson is still alive. Now, let's get on with the news!"

She then threw the news reports into the air so they scattered all over the desk and floor, dramatically cleared her throat, and continued, "So how about those Gotham Knights, huh? Losing to the Metropolis Meteors ten to thirty-one! Are the Knights morons, or are they really just football wannabes? Film at eleven!"

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A moan flew from the redhead’s lips as her long eyelashes fluttered open momentarily. The room spun around her, and her body was completely exhausted of all its former energy. The familiar ceiling tiles informed her that she was in her studio still, though the voice that seemed in the distance was unfamiliar. Summer lay there, attempting to gather the effort to get up, unsure of what was going on around her. The last thing she could remember was the spikey-blued woman that hat rudely invaded her set. Was she still there? Yes, in fact, it was her voice that Summer could make out. Just with the realization, she had nearly slipped black into unconsciousness when she had processed what she was doing.

“Get-“ She started, only to notice that the camera was rolling. Summer glared daggers at the woman as she eventually got to her feet, her legs wobbling as she grabbed the nearby wall to steady herself. Taking a quick moment to smooth her red curls and smooth the wrinkles from her dress, she straightened up refusing to make a complete scene and spectacle of now that the cameras were up and running. After all, it was her job to reassure and inform the citizens of Gotham, and she was positive that her unconscious state had hardly done that. The young news anchor silently hoped that the image of her in a pile on the floor had not been displayed to her viewers

She looked at the cameras, which were unmistakingly controlling themselves and recording live feed at the very moment. Rather than resorting to her insults and desk-shoving now that they were on air, she looked at the woman with her jaw clenched as she had perched herself on Summer’s designated seat. “What do you think you are doing?” The redhead mouthed from her spot against the wall, her body so weak she felt as though she could barely stand.

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As Leslie continued to poke fun at Gotham's new reports, she saw Summer, who had obviously come to, mouth something at her.

"...and I just want to say that I think Bruce Wayne is a Closet Queen. We'll be right back after this commercial break!" she said, using her abilities to cut to the commercials that were pre-programmed into the show.

Looking at Summer, she grinned broadly and answered the woman's silent question, "I'm having fun! That's what I'm doing. I've always felt that the news could use a bit of spice, and that's what I'm giving it! It's so boring when the broadcasters are serious."

Leslie then leaned back in Summer's chair and proceeded to rest her kitten-heeled boots on top of the desk. God, she missed having her own show. Perhaps one day, she could acquire another one. She definitely didn't want a news show like the one she's temporarily taking over, but maybe another radio show similar to the one that she used to host, or even a talk show would be cool.

"C'mon, Miss Gleeson. I'm sure you've got snide comments to make on some of the things that go on in this city. Just like I did when I was hosting my radio show in Metropolis."

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"Aaah” Summer winced in pain, clutching the spot where the source of the shock seemed to have impact her the most. Once it appeared they were off the air, the young news anchor struggled toward the blue-haired woman, clutching onto the wall for a little of support. “You can’t say that kind of thing! Bruce Wayne is one of our sponsors!” She demanded, slowly making her way back toward her glass-topped desk.

“You are making stuff up. What you just said wasn’t even news. I pride on my reports being credible, not a bunch of silly opinions. How would you even know my show is boring. I highly doubt until today you even knew who I was. You just marched into my studio, thinking you were invincible with your freakish powers and were going to take over. Get your shoes off my desk! Where you raised in a barn?”

“Ohh, ow” Summer whimpered as she finally made it to the set, sitting in the chair that was typically used for guests to appear on her show that was positioned adjacent to her desk. It was awkward to be sitting in the ‘hot spot’ having never as much as sampled the seating before. “I don’t make snide comments. I state facts.” She insisted once more, but in reality she kind of did both, whether or not she admitted or not.

sorry for the wait <3 you are a complete doll.

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"Oh, he is, is he?" Leslie asked, raising a thin blue eyebrow impishly at the young news anchor. "Then I'll be sure to apologize to him if I ever run into him."

She proceeded to eye Summer as she clutched at her side and slowly made her way towards the set. Honestly, Leslie didn't think that she'd hurt the woman that bad, but who knows? Maybe she'd accidentally used a bit more juice than she'd originally planned. It happens sometimes.

As she listened to the reporter ramble on, Leslie frowned, and then responded, "No, I wasn't rasied in a barn! Your desk is comfortable to rest the feet on. You should try it sometime."

She then proceeded to take her feet off the desk just to shut the red-head up. "You're right, though. I really don't know much about your show. I just got to Gotham late this afternoon, as a matter of fact. Saw your face all over the place, however, and couldn't help but come and check it out! I used to have my own radio show in Metropolis, ya know. I was considered quite the popular 'shock-jock' until Superman ruined my career."

Grinning as Summer placed herself in the seat apparently reserved for guests and said her final piece, Leslie replied, "Oh, come on! You might state facts, but you can't tell me that you haven't at least thought about saying something snarky about whatever it is you talk about! I bet between the two of us, we can really liven this show up. I can be your special guest, or something. Think about it. Summer Glesson, live with the Man of Steel's feminine menance, Livewire! After the show, I promise to leave you alone. Whaddya say?"