The Joker's Magic Mayhem

By J.E Bright, Laurie S. Sutton and Luciano Vecchio

When Bruce Wayne and Dick Grayson attend a charity magic performance, they discover an archenemy has a few tricks up his sleeve! The Joker hypnotizes the entire audience, and only Batman is immune to his mesmerizing powers. As the Joker's twists on classic magic tricks become more terrifying, the Dark Knight must stop him before he hurts anyone—or saws Robin in half!

• Language: English
• Publisher: Capstone Young Readers
• Release date: Jan 1, 2016
• ISBN: 9781496532879

J.E Bright

J. E. Bright is the author of many novels, novelizations, non-fiction books, and novelty books for children and young adults including Walking with Dinosaurs: Patchi's Big Adventure and Walking with Dinosaurs: The Great Migration. He lives in a sunny apartment in the Washington Heights neighborhood of Manhattan, with his difficult but soft cat, Mabel, and his sweet kitten, Bernard.

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CHAPTER 1

MAGIC AND MAYHEM

"Santoro is a master of mesmerism, said Tim Drake as he followed Bruce Wayne down the aisle of the newly renovated Monarch Theater. He can hypnotize and control anyone. He does all the classic tricks, too."

For once, Tim — the secret identity of crime fighter Robin — wasn’t talking about a super-villain’s nefarious powers. He and Bruce were attending a charity performance by the Magnificent Santoro. The world-famous magician was part of the celebration for the grand re-opening of the theater.

Bruce shook hands with local celebrities and business people he knew as they moved toward their seats. The elite of Gotham City would be surprised if they knew that he was actually Batman! They only knew Bruce as the billionaire benefactor, who had given nearly a million dollars to the Monarch’s renovation.

Beautiful work fixing this theater, Mayor Grange told Bruce as they passed by her. "It’s truly a fitting memorial to your parents now."

Thank you, Mayor, replied Bruce. It was unfortunate that it had fallen into disrepair.

Fixing the theater helps the whole neighborhood, added Tim.

Bruce’s parents had been murdered when he was a little boy, right outside this theater. The traumatic event had led Bruce to swear revenge on all criminals and ultimately become Batman.

Enjoy the show, Mayor Grange said, and she sat down after Bruce and Tim shuffled past her.

And we couldn’t let this location be a hideout for criminals anymore, Tim whispered to Bruce as they sat down in the front row. Imagine the Joker’s nerve setting up his headquarters in here for a while.

If there’s anything the Joker has, replied Bruce, it’s nerve.

They both fell silent as the lights dimmed. The audience settled down behind them, and everyone applauded as the curtains opened.

A young woman in a sparkly silver gown pushed a tall, fancy cabinet onto the stage. She smiled as she opened the wooden cabinet, showing that it was empty inside. Then she shut the door and began to spin the whole cabinet, faster and faster.

The woman hopped up on the foot of the cabinet and twirled with it, her dress glittering as the box spun to a blur. Then she put down her foot. STOMP! The cabinet stopped abruptly. The door swung open with an outpouring of dry ice vapor, and out stepped the Magnificent Santoro.

The audience applauded as the thin man in a tuxedo took a deep bow. He