I am sosososo sorry about the wait. The chapter was finished two weeks ago but is time consuming when you have to send your chapter to several people to get it looked over. I also had major writers block this week because fight scenes are not my forte. In fact this chapter wouldn't have been finished at all if not for Witch of Erie Knoll who co-wrote this chapter with me. Anything that is remotely actiony is thanks to her. I would also like to thank my beta angelrider13 who had to weed through all my incomprehensible ramblings and pull a story out of it. Next week is college midterms and I have three papers due that I haven't started yet so it is probably going to be another wait for the last chapter but I promise you I wont abandon this story. Thank you so much for understanding and I hope you enjoy the chapter.

The trio landed on the roof of a vacant building darkness movement. Gordon hiding their was on the verge of throwing up. Never before had he moved through the air with such speed with only a small cable keeping him from plunging to the unforgiving concrete. He resolved that after tonight he would leave flying over Gotham city to the Bat clan. Once he composed himself he looked over to their target. From this vantage point they could see the carnival spread out in front of them.

Fingering a Batarang, Batman waited for the Joker to appear. Nightwing was waiting impatiently next to him with a pair of night binoculars, Barbra was out in the open in a cage, obviously the Joker wanted her seen. Knowing it was a trap, Batman knew he had to figure out where the bomb was first. Nightwing couldn't be held back for long so the three made eye contact and they lept into action. Batman let his Batarang fly hitting a goon in the neck. While the henchmen where distracted they made their move. Batman and Nightwing pulled out there glider while Gordon made his way to the roof access so he could sneak in to the carnival covertly.

Gliding out into the middle of the circle of clowns, Batman planted his feet in the chest of a goon before slamming his fist into the jaw of the next, feeling the bones breaking. Ducking and dodging fists, knives, and steel bats Batman grabbed the arm of a goon and flipped him over his shoulder into two others. Joker still hadn't made his grand entrance as the enemy started to fall battered to the floor outside the fun house. Blood rushing, Nightwing breathed heavily as his clubs connected with the abs of the goon closes to him. He had to make sure the goons paid attention to him and let Gordon slip in and free her. The henchman were piling up at his feet as the seconds ticked by, they would all pay for what happened to Barbra. As another bad guy fell the dynamic Duo froze. They both had heard the laughter, the distinctive laugh of the one and only Joker.

As Nightwing turned to look at the Clown Prince of Crime he got a closer look at Barbra in the distance. He couldn't help the breath of relief that escaped him. She was tied up, bruised and sitting in a freak show cage surrounded by three midgets but seemed relatively unharmed considering the circumstances. He noticed Gordon sneaking up behind the cage and knew that she was in good hands. Clearing his thoughts he turned back to the immediate problem.

Barbara's eyes widened as he dad approached the cage lead pipe in hand. She glanced at her guards and was pleased that they seemed to be distracted by the rest of the bat family. They weren't playing as close of attention as they should have been. Gordon pulled out a lock picking kit and got to work. After struggling for thirty seconds he heard the lock give a click and fall open. He gave a pleased cry and went to open it but Barbara, who had been relieved just moments ago, gave a small cry of horror as the midgets who had finally noticed him approached Gordon from behind while he was unaware.

Glancing up at her scream, Jim griped the pipe and bashed in the first and second midget in the back of the head, knocking them out. The commissioner dodged the third midget as he lunged at him and whacked him in the side of the head. The midget fell to the ground with a thump and he went to go untie Barbra. Who was staring at him like a deer in the headlights.

"Dad," She cried out and embraced him tears stinging her eyes "I'm so sorry I didn't tell you."

"Shhh, its ok we will talk about it later. Right now we need to get you out of here. Come on we have to leave."

" Leave?" She asked shocked "No… I have to help"

"Barbara you're hurt."

"Dad I have a few bruises and a cracked rib, I've gotten worse than this from training. It's mostly superficial."

"Barbara please, I can't lose you"

"And I can't lose my friends, their my family too"

Gordon looked at her with a sorrowful expression and gave a small sigh. There was no point in arguing and he knew it. "Then I guess you might need this." He took off a backpack she failed to notice in the shock of seeing him. Reaching inside He pulled out a black and gold costume. "Right after I called Bruce I went into your room and found it underneath your mattress. I figured you might want it at some point."

Words failed her as she looked at her dad and engulfed him in another hug.

"Just be safe" He told her

"Don't worry dad, I always am"

"Then what are you still doing here." He asked wiping a tear from his eye. "I'm going to call this in, go give them hell Babs."

She nodded and without another word disappeared into the night.

As soon as she was changed she slipped closer to where the action. She hadn't exactly been honest with her dad. Every step was a struggle. If she could, she would have broken down in tears but she was needed. She couldn't - no wouldn't - think about all the things the Joker had done to her or she wouldn't be able to function. Bruce and Dick were fighting the Joker's men while he was giving some long monologue about one bad day making any seemingly normal person crazy. To her, it seemed like a justification for all the horrid things he had done, something to divert blame. If everyone was one day away from being crazy how could you blame him? It made her sick.

She shook her head and focused on the fighting. She looked up and gasped. Dick had left his right flank open and a goon was approaching him while he was unaware.

Running over to Nightwing as fast as her injuries allowed, she used the pipe her father had use to take down a goon who had been trying to slice Nightwing with a rusty blade. Then put on a brave face to face Dick.

Nightwing turned shocked and then met her gaze with a smile "Well, well, well, look who finally decided to show up! I was beginning to think I would have to have all the fun myself," he told her sarcastically.

"Cram it 'wing, you know I never miss a good party," she said. They both laughed and, almost as if they read each other's mind, punched the goon who and been sneaking up on them trying to take advantage of their distracted bantering.

They heard a fresh laugh and saw the Joker had pulled out a large object covered with a red and white stripped cloth, they knew that was the bomb. Batman went after him.

Barbara knew what she had to do. She nodded to Nightwing, knowing he could handle the rest of the henchman and set off to dismantle the bomb while the joker was distracted by Batman. Staying near the edges of the brawl going on she slinked towards the bomb, still clutching her pipe. Any goons who approached her fell to the mercy of her pipe. It seemed to take forever to get to her goal. Making it to the bomb she quickly went to work as the digital timer kept moving down. Thirty seconds left, as she pried the control panel off staring into the mess of wires, praying Joker would have set this up like a normal bomb. Her fingers trembled as she hurriedly followed the wires from the timer to charger as fast as she could. Mind working in a haste as she tried to remember all Bruce had taught her about disarming a bomb, and she yanked a blue wire and held her breath.

The timer went dead, and the bomb had been deactivated giving Barbara a moment to breathe and see that Nightwing had most of the goons down. The goons who were down had bruises starting to form all over there body, half of them groaned in pain and some looked close to death, she knew Nightwing had been harsher than necessary when he was fighting. Barbara just hoped Batman was having better luck.

Batman had followed Joker into the fun house that was booby trapped. Diving over pits full of spikes, and dodging swing pendulum blades, he followed the laughter. After entering the hall of mirrors, the Joker had gone quiet; he had to find Joker and end this. The mirrors showed his reflection, and then quickly he saw a flash of the Joker as he ran laughing out of the room. Back on the chase he quickly followed him out to find Joker approaching Barbara.
She heard him come busting out of the fun house, and she remained still, seemly unaffected. She waited as the footsteps approached her. Thump, thump, thump, she heard him slowly cocking the hammer back on the gun and as soon as she heard it clicked in place she whirled around and the pipe connected with the side of Joker's face. The stunned Joker dropped the gun which she quickly snatched and the Joker was now staring up at the barrel of his own gun.

"Hello Barbara," he smirked

She stared him down and he started laughing. That damn laugh again! She couldn't stop the images from running through her mind. The first time she had faced the Joker and he shoved a razor sharp playing card in an innocent bystander's throat, killing him instantly. Right in front of her. The time he had gassed an entire movie theater killing hundreds of people who had just wanted a day of entertainment. Maybe the Joker was right after all, maybe all it took was one bad day. Was today that day for her, she wondered as she cocked the gun and heard it click into place. After everything he had done to her, he deserved this. Every kick, every bruise, every scratch seemed to tingle. Ever since he found out her identity she had felt naked. He had destroyed that layer of protection that she relied on and that hurt more than any physical wound could. After all the atrocities he had committed, no one would blame her. In fact, they would probably give her an award. It was justifiable homicide if she had ever heard it.

She was enraged when she looked into his eyes and saw he was still smiling. He was having the freaking time of his life, almost as if he was daring her to do it.

"Don't do it," Nightwing's voice broke through her morbid thoughts bringing her back to the present.

"Why not? Why do we keep capturing him and sending him to Arkham just to have his escape the next week. Why not just end it? Think of all the people who would be spared!"

"Because were not God, Barbara, we don't get to choose who lives or who dies. If we walked around in capes killing whomever we choose, how are we any different than him? We are better than that, YOU are better than that. I know how easy it would be, but this is what he wants, to prove his sick point."

"He's right, you know," a voice said from behind her and Batman stepped forward.

Sirens pierced the silence that followed. The Calvary had arrived. She had to make her choice now. Tears fell down her face as she dropped the gun, kicking it out of temptations way. Nightwing came up and embraced her and she sobbed unabashedly into his chest. "It's okay, he told her, "Everything's going to be okay."

She gave him a small, tearful smile and leaned forward. When their lips met she could feel everything else just disappear. He was the only person in the world who could make her feel like this. She had no idea how she had gotten so lucky to deserve him. They probably would have stayed like that forever if Jim Gordon's voice hadn't interrupted. "Well now," He walked out of the shadows with a jokingly mocking glare at the lovebirds "What's going on here?"