The next morning, Jack left his trailer and headed outside, where the other circus performers were practicing their routines in the early morning light. Those who weren't practicing were having breakfast around the campfire, talking and laughing, both of which immediately stopped when they noticed Jack approaching.

Jack said nothing, reaching for the ladle and pouring himself out a bowl of oatmeal. Circus folk were generally a tight knit group, but ever since he arrived, Jack had been treated as an outsider. Which was fine by him - he wasn't looking for friends. Although he couldn't help but think that their hostility toward him might have something to do with Mary Grayson's friendliness toward him. Not that anyone knew how far that friendliness had gone, but no family appreciated outsiders coming in and shaking things up.

Mary was sitting across from him with her husband and son, both of whom regarded Jack with an expression of loathing. But she smiled, maintaining her usual friendliness. "Morning, J," she said.

"Morning, Mary," he said.

"Dick, can you say good morning to Mr. Joker?" said Mary to her son.

"I don't want to," muttered Dick Grayson, staring down at his breakfast.

"Now Dick, your father and I raised you to be a polite young man with good manners," said Mary. "And wishing Mr. Joker a good morning is exactly what a polite young man with good manners should do."

"I don't want to," repeated Dick.

"Why not, honey?" asked his mother.

"I don't like him," muttered Dick, glaring up at Jack.

"And why is that, Dick?" asked Mary. "You know you shouldn't dislike people for no good reason. So what reason do you have for disliking Mr. Joker?"

Dick shrugged. "Daddy doesn't like him either," he retorted.

"Well, that's no excuse," retorted Mary. "Just because your father dislikes someone doesn't mean you have to."

"The boy's got good taste at least," muttered John. "Unlike his mother."

"Well, no arguments here – I married you, after all," retorted Mary, coldly.

"I should just…get going," said Jack, standing up so he could leave this increasingly awkward situation.

"No, J, I won't have you driven away because of my family being impolite," snapped Mary. "Now Dick, I want a straight answer from you. Why don't you like Mr. Joker?"

"He's a bad man," snapped Dick.

"Why do you think that?" asked Mary.

"I just…feel it," retorted Dick. "He's a bad man. Something doesn't feel right about him."

"Dick, you can't live your life being controlled by irrational feelings," said his mother. "I want you to apologize to Mr. Joker for calling him a bad man."

"I won't, because it's the truth!" snapped Dick. "I won't apologize for telling the truth!"

"Everything all right over here?" asked Mr. Haly, the leader of the circus, coming over to them.

"Everything's fine, Mr. Haly," said Jack.

"Good," commented Mr. Haly. "I rarely have trouble in my little family, J, but whenever I do, you always seem to be at the center of it. Why is that?"

Jack shrugged. "Never really been a family kinda guy, I guess. At least, kids don't seem to like me," he said, looking at Dick.

"You'll have to forgive him, J – he clearly woke up on the wrong side of the bed this morning," said Mary, glaring at her son.

"Ok, listen up, everyone," said Mr. Haly, beckoning everyone over to the fire. "We're only gonna be performing in Metropolis until the end of the week, and then we're moving on to Gotham City."

Jack had put a spoonful of oatmeal in his mouth, which he suddenly spat out in shock. "Gotham City?" he repeated.

"Yes, J, Gotham City," repeated Mr. Haly. "Maybe you've heard of it? One of the largest cities in America…"

"Yeah, I'm…from Gotham City," said Jack, slowly. "And I ain't looking to go back anytime soon."

"Well, it's not really up to you, is it?" asked Mr. Haly. "We always get good crowds in Gotham – I think the people there really need an escape from their otherwise miserable lives in a crime-infested city."

"Yeah, crime-infested," said Jack, nodding. "Would be kinda stupid to go there and risk being on the receiving end of crime ourselves. You know criminals – they're ruthless."

"Actually, I don't know criminals, J," retorted Mr. Haly. "I don't think I've ever met one, and I certainly don't make a habit of associating with them. Anyway, we've been to Gotham hundreds of times before and never had a problem. So I'll thank you not to call my decisions stupid ever again, unless you're looking to be out of a job. I'll see everyone at five for warm up," he said, heading back toward his trailer.

Jack instantly stood up and stormed back to his own trailer, seething. He was half furious, and half terrified – if he went back to Gotham, there was a chance someone from either his former gang or a rival one would recognize him, and then his life wouldn't be worth a damn. The smart thing to do would be to leave the circus right now, and try and find some work elsewhere. He nodded, resolving to do just that, and he began throwing things into his bag.

"J?" said a voice. He looked up to see Mary standing in the doorway. "What are you doing?"

"I'm leaving," retorted Jack, continuing to pack.

"Why?" she asked. "Because of what Dick said? I promise, he won't speak to you like that again…"

"It's not that," interrupted Jack. "I just can't stay. I can't go back to Gotham."

"Why not?" she asked.

"It's complicated," he said. "You wouldn't understand. But there are people there…who might be looking for me, and I can't give them the opportunity to find me."

"Are you…in trouble with the law?" asked Mary.

"It ain't the law I'm worried about," retorted Jack.

"Well…why don't you tell me, and I'll see if I can help…" began Mary.

"You can't help," retorted Jack. "I just gotta leave. That's all there is to it. I'm sure Mr. Haly can find another clown in Gotham – there are a lotta them there."

"J, wait," she said, taking his hand. "You're really gonna…leave me?" she asked, gazing at him.

"Look, Mary, what we have…it was nice, but it was gonna end eventually anyway," he said. "You got your husband and your kid, and there's no way you were gonna give them up for me, and I wouldn't want you to. It's probably best that it ends now, before it can get too serious, or the guilt sets in…"

She stared at him. "How can you say that?" she whispered. "You think…what we have ain't serious? You think I'm just some…casual fling that you're just gonna toss aside? Don't you care for me at all, J?"

"Baby, I don't want to have this conversation," he said, taking her by the shoulders. "Believe me, it's not you. But I gotta look out for myself. You wouldn't want me to risk my life just to stay here with you, would you?"

"If you loved me, you would," retorted Mary. "Don't you love me, J?"

Jack stared at her. He wasn't the kinda man who had ever really loved anyone – he had always considered himself far too selfish for that. And honestly, he didn't love Mary – she was a very pleasing companion in many ways, but he didn't think about her when she wasn't there, he didn't feel the need to be with her all the time, and he didn't want any kind of future with her unless their relationship was to remain exactly the same – a casual fling.

But you couldn't tell a woman that and expect her to stay in that kinda relationship with you. So he lied.

"Baby, of course I do," he said. "But it's best that I go, for me and for your family…"

"You don't know what things are like with my family," murmured Mary. "John and I…haven't been very happy together in a long time. If you left me now, I…I wouldn't be able to cope. I'd go crazy, I'd be depressed, I think I might die from the crushing despair of my life without you. You're my one source of happiness, J. Please don't take that away from me."

"Mary, there's no other way," retorted Jack, taking his bag. "I'm sorry."

He headed toward the door. "I'll jump," whispered Mary.

"What?" he asked, turning back around.

"If you go…I'll jump," she murmured. "Off that high wire, without a harness, in front of an audience. I'll kill myself, J."

"Don't talk like that…" he began.

"It's the truth," she interrupted. "I'll do it. You don't want me to do that, do you, J? So you'll stay, won't you?"

"Mary…" he began.

"Oh God, J, please stay!" she sobbed, throwing herself into his arms and bursting into tears.

Jack held her, feeling conflicted. On the one hand, he didn't want to drive a woman to suicide. But on the other, he would be risking his own life if he stayed. And self-preservation was one of Jack's strongest instincts. Honestly, what was one more death on his hands? But he wasn't sure he'd like feeling responsible for this woman's death – it took a special kind of callousness to be intimate with someone and then feel nothing if they died, and Jack hadn't reached that point of callousness yet. Besides, she would be leaving behind her husband and child, even if they both were jerks…they didn't deserve that.

And there was always a chance he wouldn't be recognized behind his clown makeup, if he made it extra thick. And what were the chances of criminals going to the circus anyway? It wasn't exactly a popular past-time for the mob. The circus probably wouldn't even be in Gotham that long – a few weeks, a month at most. There were a lot of variables that had to go wrong before Jack had to truly worry about being in danger. As long as he kept to the camp in Gotham, and didn't go out into the streets, he would probably be fine.

Anyway, the more he thought about it, the more foolish the idea of leaving seemed. This was a good, paying gig, and if he quit, Mr. Haly would probably see to it that he wouldn't be employed as a clown again anywhere – all circus folk knew each other. And then he'd be out of a job again, with no more employable skills, starving slowly to death on the streets…depending on the type of mob hit, that was probably preferable.

But mostly, Jack resented having to take the coward's way out, having to run away again. He had hated it when he left Gotham the first time, and he hated it now. His conscience wouldn't let him do it a second time – it was time to stop running and be a man.

Jack sighed. Against his better judgment, he tilted Mary's chin up and wiped her tears away, smiling. "All right, baby, you win," he murmured. "You're lucky I can't resist a crying dame. Just triggers the protective instinct in me."

Mary sobbed in relief, kissing him desperately. "Thank you, J!" she sobbed. "Thank you! Oh God, I can't tell you how much this means to me! You won't regret it, I promise!"

Jack held her, sincerely hoping that he wouldn't.