Kicking the metal of the GCPD's waiting room chair, Carly glanced up at the jumping picture of the news on a battered little television, that was screwed to the wall. She half wondered why they even bothered having it on, it wasn't as if anybody was actually paying attention to it? Ducking as a shoe was hurled in her direction Carly stared at the picture of the city hall in flames, trying her hardest to ignore the pandemonium going on around her. Her bloody hand clutched her school bag tightly as she attempted to calm the panic bubbling away in the pit of her stomach. She wanted her dad, no she needed her dad, or Batman. Batman would do!

'No, no no! You can't bring him in here!' The receptionist screeched at the shadow that had appeared in the doorway, the stress of the last twenty hours hours or so apparent in every dark circle and line on her face.

'Speak of the devil' Carly muttered under her breath as she turned to see who the receptionist was shouting at this time. She soon regretted her choice of words though when a disgruntled Joker was pushed roughly forwards, his hands firmly cuffed in front of him. Oh fantastic now her dad was going to be even longer until he could see her! Stuffing her head phones into her ears Carly hiked up the volume of her music and tried her best to ignore the psychotic clown as he began one of his monologues describing the reasons for his displeasure

'Can someone please tell me what I am meant to have done? I've been a good boy...oh come on haven't you got rioters to round up? Hang on …' Turning to scowl up at Batman Joker pouted and shook his head in disbelief.

'Are you blaming me for this? The cheek of it! They aren't even rioters they are already de-'

'ENOUGH!' Batman ordered sharply, giving the clown a stern, warning glare but only receiving a mocking grin in response. Letting out a long suffering sigh he returned his attention to the quivering receptionist and shrugged apologetically.

'Custodial entrance is chaos!'

'Fine' The woman moaned wearily, before rolling her eyes and flicking the switch to unlock the doors that lead to the rest of the station. The sound of the chaos the Batman had spoken of filtered through to the waiting room setting off its occupants, who had momentary fallen into a stunned silence in the presence of the clown prince of crime and his dark adversary.

'Also-' Joker bellowed above the din as he was dragged unceremoniously away. ' Why can't we just go to Arkham? Do you honestly hate me this much Bats? I'm hurt, I really am! I thought we had built bridges, begun to really understand one another'

'Shut up!' Came Batman's gruff reply as the door slammed shut behind them.

Looking up from her spot in the corner Carly wondered why the Joker was being kept in the dark about what happened to Arkham?

Oh.

The 'Inmates Slaughtered' headline scrolled across the television screen again.

Oh.

Wincing Carly delved her hand inside her bag to clutch her lilac bear to calm her.

Harley Quinn had been re'-incarcerated mere weeks before this whole mess had kicked off.

Man, Joker was going to be pissed when he eventually finds out!

Squeezing her bear tightly, Carly headed towards the front desk as the thought sent fresh pangs of fear vibrating through her, banging on the bullet proof glass she looked pleading at the frantic receptionist.

'Please? Please, can you get my father?' She begged, hot tears brimming in her eyes when the woman pursed her lips sympathetically.

'I'm sorry Carly. Really I am. Your father will be out as soon as he can I promise.' The woman reassured the teenager, before sighing for the millionth time that day and answering yet another ringing telephone. ' No. Stop. You need to call 911. Well, keep trying!'

Sulking away, Carly rammed the half empty vending machine with her fist in a bid to ease her frustration, which proved to not have been the best idea in the world as she'd now earnt herself an aching hand and a glare being shot at her by the receptionist.

The sound of a gunshot rocketed through from the door leading to the holding cells followed by a by a second and then a third. Exchanging fearful glances with the rest of the waiting room's occupants Carly backed up against the vending machine and squeezed her eyes tightly shut.

'EVERYBODY OUT!' A cop yelled as he flew through the door, deafening screams and what sounded like moaning trickling through after him. The cop was mortally wounded by a deep laceration to his neck, which he cradled whilst trying to shoot at whatever was following him.

'I said everyone out! NOW!' He repeated before collapsing to the ground at the feet of receptionist who let out a high pitched screech. Nobody needed telling thrice.

The room exploded in a whirlwind of panic and desperation as everyone fought to get to the the exit first, just as what looked like drunken rioters piled in over the top of the bleeding cop. Carly watched in horror as they sank their teeth into the people desperately trying to escape, ripping them apart like rabid dogs as they screamed and tried to get away. There was no way out. There were too many bodies trying to get through the same door.

Her eyes fell to the cop lying forgotten on the floor and she screamed in terror before diving beneath he crowd to reach him.

'Father?' Carly wailed, tears poring down her cheeks she clutched his hand tightly.

'Carly?' Graham coughed, struggling for breath as his daughter looked on helplessly. 'N-no Carly g-go home.'

Ignoring her father pleas Carly hooked her hands beneath his arms and hauled him to a cleaning cupboard just behind the receptionists desk.

'Hold on , please, hold on' She repeated over and over again unsure exactly who she was coaxing her father or herself as she kicked the door in and both of them tumbled into a heap amongst the buckets and brooms.

'No, C-Carly listen to me! Find... find your ma!' Graham slurred struggling against the black that threatened to envelop him. He watched his daughter's face cloud over in grief, she pressed her hand firmly against his neck, her tears plopping down onto his cheek.

'She's dead father. I- I killed her! I'm so sorry. I didn't mean to, I didn't mean to' She rasped not daring to look into his eyes for fear for what she might find there. Her ma was dead and it was all her fault.

'Shh, shh it's okay. I love you.'

Carly blinked in surprise at his reaction before realizing that he had fallen silent. Looking down sharply she tapped his cheek lightly only to receive no response.

'N-n-no no please no'

Icy fingers coiled around her heart as she stared down at her father's face. They always said the dead looked like they were sleeping but he was still, nothing, empty whatever made her father who he was had gone. Sitting back against her haunches Carly ran a shaky hand down her face and looked back towards the door, a weight fell heavily against it, she didn't care.

Her parents were dead, the world was ending and she was completely and utterly alone in it.

Graham's eyes twitched

'Daddy? ..' She whispered trying hard to ignore the hope that crept through in her voice.

Groaning his eyes locked on to hers.

Eyes that were cloudy and glazed over.

'Oh shit!'

Gasping she pushed back against the tile floor with her heels as the corpse of her father crawled towards her, his teeth gnashing furiously together as he clawed his way up her body, pinning her to the floor.

The weight fell against the door yet again, causing a background thumping as Carly's thoughts spaced out. Closing her eyes she waited to die, to be devoured like the people in the waiting room.

A warm liquid splatter against her face before a crushing lump fell down on top of her. Prising open a wary eye, Carly gaped at the hole in her now thoroughly deceased father's head. Swallowing the urge to vomit at the horrific sight, she tried to edge herself out from beneath him. Blindly clutching something firm she pulled against it in attempt to release herself only for the object to stamp down hard on her hand, crushing her fingers beneath its weight. Crying out Carly tried to move her hand away as the weight of her father's corpse was finally lifted off her.

'Oh your alive? Hello!'

Throwing the body to one side Joker beamed down at the teenage girl and waved as if this sort of thing happened everyday before lifting his foot from on top of the girls fingers. He watched silently as the girl blinked up at him in confusion before she realised who her saviour was and screamed at the top of her lungs. Cursing, Joker flew his cuffed hands over her head and clasped a hand over her mouth, pulling the girl tightly against his chest he manoeuvred his legs so she could sit between them and waited for her hysterics to subside.

'Unless you want to be their next meal you'd better shut your trap!' Joker hissed into her ear, nodding towards the commotion beyond the door to emphasise his point.

'Now, I am going to lift my hand from your mouth and you are going to keep quiet got it?'

Releasing the kid as she nodded slowly Joker watched in quiet amusement as the girl's gaze flitted from himself to the cops corpse as if confused as to who she was meant to be hiding behind. This decision seemed to be troubling her very much indeed, as the girl only managed to scoot slightly forwards before looking back at him fearfully, her eyes falling to the blood seeping through the torn arm of his jacket.

'Y-you've been bit!' Carly squealed before backing away slowly, noting where Joker's gun lay discarded on the floor.

'Well aren't we observational!' Joker replied sarcastically before looking at the wound in dismay.

'and it was my favourite jacket too'

'You've been bit, your going to turn!' Carly repeated, bending down she swiped the gun and aimed it at the Joker's head. Chuckling darkly the clown lifted his eyes to meet hers before shaking his head mournfully.

'Go ahead kid you'd be doing me a favour! Although I would suggest racking the slide first' He explained with a half smile tutting as the girl stared down at the weapon in bemusement.

'Pull the top of the gun back! Sheesh you're a right princess aren't you!'

Motioning his cuffed hands in a forwards and backwards motion, he chuckled as the girl scowled at him in defiance.

'I ain't no princess!' She spat, racking the slide she took her aim again, her shaking hands betraying her fear.

Closing his eyes, Joker shook his head with a soft chuckle and waited for the inevitable, the clunk of the gun being dropped to the floor and the barrage of tears and insults that would follow, it was oh so predictable, a game that after so many years was getting quite tiresome.

A gunshot rocketed through the tiny cleaning cupboard.

Opening an eye in shock Joker glanced down at his heavily bleeding arm and moved it, yup that still hurt like hell so he could safely assume he wasn't dead. Next his eyes travelled to a bullet hole just to the right of his head before eventually looking across at the teenager who had fallen back into a pile of cleaning products.

'You did it!' Joker exclaimed flabbergasted, as the girls lip began to wobble. 'Terribly I might add but the little princess actually went to shoot me! My, my what a day this is turning out to be.'

The smile on his face soon diminished though as the girl began to cry, the gun falling down to the ground with a heavy clang. Glancing at the door Joker figured that he had better shut the kid up if he didn't want to volunteer any more body parts to the walking dead out there.

'Shhh shhh it's OK kiddo. Come here, let me take a look at that hand for ya hmm?'

Letting out a small sigh of relief when the girl immediately stopped her tears, he took her small hand in his and clucked over the damage. He ran a thumb along the graze left by the gun tutting as she hissed and tried to pull her hand away, he noted the bruising from where he had stamped on it earlier and snorted in amusement.

'Just a few cuts and bruises you'll live. Next time you shoot me be aware of the recoil, honestly where did you grow up under a rock? Also don't use an injured hand when you can't shoot to begin with!'

Nodding quietly to Joker's scolding tone, Carly tried in vain to figure out what she was being told off for, the act of trying to shoot him or for not doing it properly? She supposed it didn't overly matter. Her eyes fell to his injured arm again before studying the clowns purple eyes, inhaling sharply she boldly placed her free hand against his cool forehead and smiled slightly.

'Well, you ain't turning yet sir' She offered her observation to Joker who cocked an unbelieving eyebrow at her and released her hand.

'No really sir your not. My – my Ma turned you see, I nursed her right up until the end and then'

Trailing off Carly shut her eyes tightly in a attempt to blot out the terrifying memories that came back to her in ferocious waves.

'-and then?' Joker enquired genuinely becoming quite intrigued by the young lady he has trodden on there was something more to her, something he wasn't getting, something he should remember.

'And then I bashed her head in with the iron.' She said turning her face her expression void of any emotion it was quite unnerving in one so young, to him it was quite beautiful to see.

'I bashed my Ma's head in with an iron and then watched my father die right in front of me. So yes sir I think I know when someone is turning and become what the officials claim are 'rioters' '

For a moment the pair sat in an awkward silence, screams, bangs and crashing rang out around them . Coughing slightly, Carly shifted her weight to relive a leg that was slowly going dead and studied the cuffs binding the Joker's hands together with curiosity.

'What you looking at?'

'Nothing!' Carly shrieked instantaneously before laughing slightly. 'I mean the cuffs are they like, you know, the regular ones?'

Frowning Joker looked down and gave a non-committal shrug before travelling back to wherever his mind had taken him to.

'The key? Do they take the same key sir?' Carly tried again shaking his good shoulder slightly in an attempt to grab the clowns attention.

'Hmm what? Oh right … the cuffs. I dunno toots I've never been given the key to test it out believe it or not' Joker eventually replied with a playful wink, which to his surprise earned him a slight smile as a response. He liked it, he mused silently to himself how the girl must have a very pretty smile when it was in it's full glory.

Nodding slightly Carly bit her lip and turned to crawl over to her fathers corpse. She took in every detail of his features putting them all to memory, she archived every smile he gave her, all the good times, the pride in his face, trying hard to ignore the millions of other times she had failed him, the disappointment. She couldn't say his death had been an awakening to mend her ways, to set the world to rights, no, no in fact she was about to commit the worst betrayal she could possibly come up with. Letting a tear roll down her cheek she bent over to kiss his cheek a final time.

'I'm so sorry. I don't know what else to do.' She whispered into his un-hearing ear.

'Oy kid! What are you doing over there?' Joker's voice carried through pulling her abruptly back to reality.

'Surviving.' Carly answered simply before delving her hand into her father's pockets to retrieve a large ring of keys.

It did not take her long to find the correct one before darting back to Joker's side and ramming the key into the lock, not daring to pause or look at his face for fear of losing her bottle and changing her mind. The cuffs clicked open with ease and fell to the ground with a clatter, the sound echoing about them as the clown sat in stunned silence before shaking his head violently.

'No no no no NO! Can you not do anything right? Are you really this incompetent or are you seriously trying to get on my nerves?' Joker spat angrily, completely at a loss in regards to her actions and not feeling at all comfortable or happy about it.'You just set me free? Just like that! Not one word of manipulation needed, no little white lies not even a 'Please don't kill me Mister Joker' This is not how we do things girl!'

'I can put the cuffs back on?'

Throwing her a warning glare Joker scowled in reply to her remark and shifted his weight with a 'humph'.

'I need to get out of the station. If I leave you cuffed then the corpses will find us and we'll both die, if I let you go, I stand at least a small chance of seeing the sunrise again. So I am sorry Joker, sir, if me not begging for my life offends you!'

Opening his mouth to argue her point Joker promptly closed it again with a chuckle. The girl was right. He really was the better option, dear god the world really had gone bonkers! Shaking his head in amusement Joker summoned up the remainder of his strength and hauled himself up to his feet.

Clumsily he fumbled about until his hand clasped around his pistol once more. He stumbled over to the cop and searched his cooling body for more ammunition and anything else he deemed of use.

'Hey get off him!' Carly yelled anger suddenly boiling in the pit of her stomach as she watched the clown loot her father's body.

'Calm down I need bullets more than this fellow will princess.' Joker mocked as he straightened to look at her with a boyish grin.

'You think your so big and clever but guess what ass hole you've lost just as much as the rest of us! Your little puppet is dead too!'

Carly heard the words escape her lips, she fought to contain them but yet again her fury set this red screen around her as if she were watching the entire thing on a TV set, powerless to stop the words that were surly her death sentence from passing her lips. She watched as Joker pushed bullets into his gun clearly listening to her outburst but his features remained expressionless. He moved silently over to the door before pausing and bowing his head just ever so slightly.

'If I were you I'd get something to defend yourself with. I'll get you out the station but you fall behind you die got it?' He instructed his voice thick yet monotone.

'Yes sir' Carly replied sharply before moving over to her father one final time and unfastening his Baton, her hand hovered over his police badge. Unfastening that too she pinned it to her shirt, she would never forget, never.

'Ready sir' Carly piped up her head still buzzing with confusion at Joker's lack of, well, anything to the news of his fallen lover.

'A Night Stick? Really?'

'It's electric, duh!'

Giving her a shrug that Carly took to be of approval Joker flew open the door and finally turned to face her with a wink.

'Let's go get'em kiddo'.