Gordon didn't even bother writing anything down as he pressed with the next question.

"What's the Joker's real name?" She glanced at Jeannie, whose face tightened with simmering anger and regrets, of her whole life that was filled with everything about who Jack was. The tall woman took a deep breath, preparing for the fall out of this answer.

God please help me for what I'm about to do.

"His name is Jack Napier."

Anna knew that God had stopped listening to her pleas a long time ago

"You're positive?" Both women jumped sharply in their spots, Jeannie and Anna startled by the vigilante who stepped away from the shadows and into the light. They continued to give him bewildered looks until Jeannie broke the silence.

"Well shit."

Jeannie gave another harsh laugh, and Anna couldn't help but stare. It was the Batman. The Batman, The. God. Damn. Batman. Her thoughts continued along the same vein of thought, the seriousness of the situation over the face Batman was here to deal with this finally hitting her. Anna couldn't help but briefly think that Jay would have loved this.

"Yes. I've known Jack since freshman year in high school. I uh," Anna paused, throat cracking, and roughly ran one hand over her face. "I most likely know him better than anyone else does." She breathed, the words tainting her tongue like a slick poison. The thoughts and images and sounds about him were getting jumbled in her head like a distorted and horrifying painting that was similar to a burning car wreck she had to look at. It had taken so long to move on, to forget, to try and heal the hole in her heart and mind that was still there, no matter how hard Anna tried; now it was like unleashing the dam she'd built against at even the thought of him, had been brutally torn down and those old, bitter memories came flooding in which a vengeance.

"We thought he was dead. Disappeared one night, never came back." God how pathetic I must sound. Anna briefly wallowed in her own self misery. "It was better for everyone to think that."

"Yeah, well-uh, it seems that the little shit had come back from the dead and crazier than fuck. Fuckin' bastard." Jeannie snapped, the deep scar across her cheek making the sneer seem much more malevolent.

"Jeannie," Anna started softly, but was abruptly cut off by Jeannie. This had been a long time coming, Jeannie never being able to get over what she had done, and what she hadn't done that day he was finally gone.

"No! Ya' know it's true!" She yelled, causing Gordon to jump at the sudden increase of noise. Batman remained still as a statue, unmoving in the corner, carefully analyzing the scarred women. "If I'd a gotten rid of him after what he'd gone to us, none of this would have happened."

Anna scowled, frustration filling her. She knew that Jeannie believed it was her own fault and was saying most of this out of some lost sense of duty.

"It's not your fault. It won't ever be your fault. You didn't hurt me. You didn't hurt Jay." Despite her best efforts to make her voice strong, is still quivered like a shaking leaf desperately holding onto its branch. Jeannie just stared at her, dark eyes squinting in annoyance at her sister-in-law's attempt to try and reason with her. She chewed the inside of her cheek, thinking of something that only she could ever know. Anna looked at Jeannie as she offered a flat smile, all life drained out of her eyes, with a dark promise tainting the corners of her pale lips.

"Well, looks like we don't have Crane to rely on for help this time."

"Jeannie-"

"Crane? As in Doctor Crane?"

It felt as if her already heavy heart fell pulled itself to the floor, bringing even more agony. Anna's grey eyes turned down, staring at her hands that twisted nervously in her lap. While Anna doubted that Jeannie brought it up accidently, it never was, but it was true. Jonathan was just as much a criminal as Jack was. Is. He's back. He's still alive. The two of them, Jonathan and her, had gone to Gotham University together. They had met there and had quite a few classes together. The two of them had become good friends, and he knew of about her situation with her son and didn't judge her for being a young mother. More than once, Jon had complemented her for balancing so much. But those were fresh wounds, still bleeding, protruding at the edges. He was there though that night Jack went wild, went mad. Anna knew very well that she'd probably be dead if Jonathan hadn't taken control of the situation, pulling a gun out on Jack.

"I'm giving you a warning. Get your hands off of her and step away." Jonathan demanded sharply, voice as cold as his bright blue eyes. Jack gave off another piercing, hysterical laugh, tightening his hands around Anna's bruised neck once more before shoving her out of the way. Anna fell to the ground, gasping wetly, much needed air filling her lungs, crying in shock, in rage, before fear began to fill her body as Jack began to advance onto Jonathan like a predator.

"And you must be the little scarecrow she's told me all about." He dragged out the l, smile sickly wide. "So, you uh think that you're gonna play the hero? I'm not afraid of guns Johnny boy." Jack's words were harsh, grating like gravel and sharp as razor blades on her ringing ears. Jeannie stood in the corner, in a similar state of shock, but was holding Jay safely away, or as safe as he could get, from the madness before her.

"Get away from her."

"Once upon a time, Jonathan wasn't insane. He was brilliant. He was my friend and knew of what was going on. He, he helped get Jack away from me." The whisper seemed loud in the quiet room, the silence weighing down as neither Gordon nor Batman said a single word. Anna shifted in the chair, unsure as what to say next, for she was just this strange little woman who somehow held knowledge and involved with some of Gotham's most infamous criminals.

"We pulled up his file. It's practically empty. No photo ID, medical records gone, hell not even a workplace. Nothing at all except for a date of birth and an old address." Gordon spoke slowly, breaking the quiet tension in the room. Anna nodded her head, knowing very well he had done everything he could to erase his past. Completely.

"Jack- He knew a lot of well-connected people. Was one of them himself. Don't ask me who because he would never speak of it, and I would never ask. Jack was-is crafty and clever whenever he got involved with mobsters or gangs." Anna replied, gritting her teeth hard. Part of her desperately wanted nothing more than to go down and strangle the life out of him, as he once tried to do to her. The other side simply wanted to ask why. Why he changed. Why he left and was gone for so long. Where he had hidden himself away during those long six years. Anna's mouth began to spill words before her brain caught up to what she was saying.

"Let me speak to him."

"Why the fuck would you want to do that!?" Jeannie snarled furiously, voice rough on her ears. Anna ignored her, dark eyes pointedly staring at Gordon silently. She turned and looked at the Batman, who still said nothing and remained unmoving. "He's still my husband. I just want to know why." Her voice sounded broken, pitiful. Appearing as a woman who had lost everything and couldn't even turn to some higher up divine to plead and beg for mercy in their sad little life.

Gordon remained speechless for a second, face blank while he tried to process the request he was hearing from the woman before him. Jeannie sighed, leaning back against the wall, muttering insults and curses in every language she possibly knew. But before Gordon had a chance to deny her the time to speak to him, Batman spoke.

"Let her talk. I'll be there. She'll be safe."

"We can't allow her to go and speak to him." Gordon shot back strongly, but Batman didn't even bother to reply, which for some reason amused Anna. You can really argue with the Batman. Gordon gave an irritated squint at Batman and then just gave a sigh in defeat, shaking his head.

"This is highly, well is, unethical what we are going to do. Though, this isn't exactly a normal situation." Anna quietly nodded once again, knowing damn well if this was any other situation she would never have gained the balls to go and talk with him. She didn't speak, not trusting her voice in the slightest, and Jeannie gave a huge scoff, throwing her hands up in defeat.

"Well thank heaven hallelujah. Ya' just got yourself a big ol' bat to watch your ass. Isn't this just fantastic." Jeannie glowered at her, but she brushed it off with little thought.

Anna swore she saw the corner of Batman's mouth curve upward into a smirk, but said nothing of it. Looks like tha' man can actually smile after all. Gordon inhaled, turning his gaze to the ceiling, hoping God will give him mercy to deal with this, and Anna gave a small smile back to Batman.

"Let's get this over with."

"Jack."

Anna muttered his name softly against his neck, lean arms wrapped around her shoulders. Her body was still racked with shivers from the cold winter storm outside, but the warm blanket draped over their legs helped warm her up. The apartment's heating was absolute shit, like always the landlady refused to spend the money to improve it. Best the two of them could do in the run down Narrow's apartment was bundle up in front of a small heater that half way worked. Even then, it sometimes didn't help.

"Just be quiet." His voice was strangely soft spoken, his dark eyes were half closed in either thought or exhaustion, most likely both. Anna said nothing in response, only pulling up the blanket closer to her and shifted closer to Jack. A loud rumble began to echo through the apartment as the city's monorail train came rushing by, and as quick as it came it was gone. Noise from the train was a normal occurrence at all hours of the day for them.

Oh how she wanted to say something to calm Jack's nerves, but it would be like adding gunpowder to fire. She didn't know what to say. Jeannie had been missing since last night, and neither of them knew where she could possibly be. Even though Jack wouldn't tell her, Anna could tell that he was checking every possible place where Jeannie 'worked', but it seemed pointless. No one had seen her or had a clue at where she could possibly be at. It was like Jeannie simply disappeared off the face of the earth, no trace left behind. The worst part of all of this was that they couldn't take it to the police. Jeannie was a suspect in so many cases that sending the dogs after her would likely end up exposing something that would have never been found.

"We're gonna find her Jack. She knows how to take care of herself."

"I know that Anna." He muttered, and she didn't press any harder about it. Jack's face had pinched together in concentration, licked the corner of his scars, eyes dark as he started at the wall. He began to open his mouth, but closed it just as quick, as if he wasn't sure what to say. But when he opened his mouth and finally spoke, Anna almost wanted to cry.

"I'll never let them do anythin' to you Ann. I'll kill em' first."

"I know Jack."

Anna gave a warm smile as she gently pulled him down for a soft kis-

"Are you still sure that you want to do this?" Anna jerked at the voice suddenly speaking next to her, mind ripping away the cobwebs of the old memory that lingered in the edges of her brain. Why that memory she suddenly recalled, she didn't know why. Those were the days when she thought it would just be him and her against the world, smiling and laughing loudly. But days like those were long gone; there was no going back to when Jack still loved her and had a gentle touch. Anna swallowed, throat painfully dry and too shy to ask for a drink. She stared into the dark, empty room where he was casually sitting in front of the metal table, knuckled rapping a random tune. It seemed so different, so strange being this close to him after six years. His curly sandy hair was utterly distorted by an acidic green dye, the grotesque face makeup causing his face to look like a demented clown. All she could do was watch. I have to do this.

"And Batman's already in there?"

"Yes, he was brought in before the Joker. If anything should happen, he'll be right on it." Many of the cops milling around them were trying to nonchalantly stare at Gordon and her, and Anna didn't blame them. Those cops were probably thinking it was crazy to allow this little defenseless woman to go and have a chat of all things with an insane murderer. Small shivers racked her, nerves a frenzied mess and the hand Gordon placed on her thin shoulders helped, the man saying nothing.

"Well if shithead even tries anything, I'll come on in there and beat his ass to a pulp again." Jeannie groused from her left, which did give Anna a reason to smile a little. There was no doubt that Jeannie would go through with her word and do it. She was just aching for a reason to get in there and cause some serious damage to every inch of that man's body. To get permanent revenge on the man who ruined their lives.

"We will do this whenever you're ready Mrs. Napier."

Go. Do it. Go ahead. Just take the steps. Left foot right foot, there you go keep going. Anna followed Gordon away from the one way windows, and he led her around to a tall metal door that loomed in front of them. He pulled on the handle, and a sharp loud buzz sounded above them and the door unlocked. Gordon pulled it open, and she wanted to scream for him to close it. As the door swung wide open, her heart began to hammer like a violent drum inside her rib cage. Hands quickly grew clammy, and Anna felt as if she was going to start hyperventilating and collapse into hysterics. Lips pressed together, she said nothing to Gordon as he stepped aside for her to walk through into what felt like an entrance into Hell.

He can't hurt you. He can't hurt you. Anna chanted the words over and over again in a pointless mantra as she stepped into the interrogation room.

The door sharply slammed close behind her, a breeze rushing by her. Once again, just like how it had all started in the beginning, it was just her and Jack.