A/N: I would like to thank Something Not So Normal, eyeluv2d, Piratestorm, Lovely Hime, OktoberBlues, KB Kerns, Amaya the Winged Fox, White Trash Beautiful, bellaswanbg, sweetlouie678 and Cry Blood Tears for reviewing, adding this to their favorite stories/story alert and/or adding me to their author alert. You guys are amazing! Remember to review and tell me what all you wonderful readers think :D

Disclaimer: I still do not own any of the Batman characters, nor will I ever. I do own Jessica Wayne, all original characters and the plot. Now on with the story!

EDIT: I deleted the original copy of this chapter for reasons expressed in previous chapters.

My head felt like it was going to explode as the worst headache I'd ever had began to set in. A rush of voices hit my ears, though I dared not open my eyes. I knew I was still in the van and I didn't want to draw any attention to myself quite yet.

Maybe I could jump out of the car. I was right by the door after all. What if they shot me, though and then captured me yet again? I was still in the traumatized stage and I wasn't completely sure that my legs would be able to carry me in this state. It seemed a lot easier to lie on the seat, faking unconsciousness, for the time being. Once we got to wherever it was they were taking me, I would strategize an escape plan. My thoughts were suddenly interrupted by the only female in the car.

"What are we going to do with her, J?" the young woman asked.

"Play a few games with her. Figure out what exactly she was doing at the fancy-smancy Wayne Manor," the Joker replied, the mere sound of his voice making me cringe. "As soon as her pretty head wakes up, the games will beg-in," he said, putting an extra emphasis on the last syllable.

I couldn't suppress the shiver that ran down my back at the sound of his cold voice and cruel intentions.

"Looks like she's finally movin', boss," said a man who seemed to be seated beside me.

A stream of obscenities ran through my brain as the realization that I could no longer lie here pretending to be knocked out hit me. Taking in a deep breath to brace myself for whatever was to come, I slowly opened my eyes.

"Yup, she's awake," said the same deep voice as before.

Before I could even comprehend what was happening, I was forcefully thrown out of my fetal position and onto the floor as the van came to a sudden halt.

"Home sweet home, fellas," said the Joker before breaking into his crazy laughter. I looked up to my right to see just who had rated me out; it was the man whom was referred to as Bob in the parking garage. He opened the sliding door of the van and jumped out. Just as I was about to lift myself up off of the dirty floor, Bob's hand grasped my hair and pulled me roughly out of the van.

I was no longer able to hold my tongue. "Oww, you asshole!" I stated rather loudly. A man should know never to mess with a girl's hair in the first place.

"You're in no position to be talking to me like that, little missy," he replied icily into my ear, tugging at my hair once more for emphasis.

"Now, now, play nicely you two," said the Joker who had just walked around the side of the car. "Take her to my room," he commanded before walking towards the back of the van.

My heart slammed into my chest as his words sank in: what could he possibly want me in his room for? As a number of terrifying scenarios began to play out in my mind, the girl from earlier stepped out of the passenger side door. When her eyes landed on me, a disgusted look came upon her face and she immediately began to glare at me. I racked my brain to try and remember what I could have possibly done to her as two other men climbed out of the very back of the van. I looked up to the sky to see if I could get any indication of what time it was: the sun was just beginning to rise. That had to have meant we'd been driving all night. I shivered once more as I realized they'd probably stopped at various locations throughout the drive to commit more horrendous crimes while I'd been passed out. I quickly looked over myself to make sure I was still in one piece. There was a rip in the knee of my now scuffed up jeans, and a bruise in the shape of a hand on my left forearm. I thanked God that that was all it was, because I knew it definitely could have been much worse.

Suddenly, I found myself being pulled in the direction of an old warehouse. I frantically looked around to see if I could pinpoint any landmark to get some sort of an indication of where we were located, but we were simply in one of the many beat-up alleyways in Gotham. Someone who was very familiar with the city may have been able to figure out where they were, but I still had an untrained eye for the city.

Bob led me into the building and down a creaky hallway. He opened a door on the right side and threw me in, causing me to land harshly on my knees.

"Stay here, and don't even think about trying to leave," he said angrily before slamming the door. I could hear his heavy footsteps heading back down the hall and didn't get up until they were gone. I shakily rose up from the floor, and began surveying the room. There was an old looking mattress resting on a bed frame that looked as if it had been sitting outside by a dumpster for a few weeks. On the mattress was a purple-colored sheet that was lying nicely on the bed, as if someone had recently made it. I shook my head in confusion at this act of tidiness, wondering why he would even bother. It was probably just the way the Joker's crazy mind worked.

My eyes rose up above the mattress where a window was framed in the wall. As if by some miracle, it appeared just big enough for me to fit through. Without any hesitation, I quickly jumped up onto the bed and peered out of the window. The only thing visible was the brick building across the street. I turned my head to the right and saw the white van we'd arrived in parked by the curb. There was no one in sight. I began fumbling with the old lock on the window which looked like it hadn't been touched in years, causing it to stick slightly. With a bit of force, I finally managed to push it to the left, successfully loosening the window. I pulled it up quickly and stepped up on the headboard to give myself some leverage. Pushing up and over, my upper torso was now outside of the window, the taste of freedom fresh on my tongue. I gasped in fear as I felt a strong hand grasp my ankle and pull me mercilessly right back through. I landed on the bed with a harsh 'plop' before two hands gripped my sides and flipped me over onto my back. Less than a second later the Joker was straddling my hips. I glared up into his dark eyes, now angry at myself for having come so close to freedom, only to have it ripped away from me.

"You weren't trying to leave me were you?" he asked with a disappointed look on his face. "I didn't think you were that STUPID!" he said, yelling the last word. I uncontrollably jumped at his sudden outburst - he definitely had some anger issues. "Now, you're gonna tell me what exactly you were doing at Brucey Wayne's-a," he said, still straddling my waist. My head began to pound as he took out a knife and pressed it against my throat.

"I-I'm his cousin. I moved here a w-week ago," I replied, silently cursing myself for stuttering. It wasn't easy to talk when you had a knife pressed to your throat. I didn't like having to tell him any information, but I didn't see any other way out of this situation.

"Interesting. Where's your mommy and daddy?" he asked, throwing me back a bit. I hadn't mentioned that Bruce was my godfather as well. As far as he knew I could have been attending Gotham University and decided to move here to be closer to the campus. I couldn't push back the thought that there was something in his eyes that was taunting me. That somehow he knew my parents were gone…but there was no way that was possible.

"They're dead," I said angrily, my voice involuntarily cracking on the last syllable.

"Aww, how tragic," he said, though there was no sympathy in his voice whatsoever. I tried to hold back the tears that were beginning to form, hoping that they wouldn't cascade over. Just when I thought I was beginning to cope…

He gently rubbed my face with his leather glove as if trying to soothe me, while the other was still pressing the knife against my throat. I hissed in pain as he pushed his weapon down hard enough to create a cut on the left side of my neck, though it wasn't deep enough to cause any true harm. As I felt the blood sliding down my skin and onto the mattress, a single tear slide down my right cheek.

"You think that hurts? If you try and escape again I won't be so kind-ah," he said before pulling my head up and kissing my forehead roughly. After what seemed like an eternity, although it was only about five seconds, he threw my head back down on the mattress, causing it to bounce back up due to the sheer force of the blow. Seeming to be finished with me, he pushed himself off of the mattress and began striding towards the door.

Feeling angry about the effect he had on me moments before, I found myself unable to hold my tongue for the second time. "Bruce's going to find me you know. He won't stop until he does. You'll be locked up in Arkham again in no time," I said defiantly, sitting up on the bed and facing him with a new-found confidence.

He turned around slowly, his sheer posture making me wish I hadn't said anything. "Just keep telling yourself that, doll. Brucey doesn't care about you. If he did, don't you think he would have visited you sometime in the past five years? You're just a burden to him," he said, taking a step closer, "a stray dog that showed up on the front steps of his lavish home. He's probably throwing one of his bachelor parties or fucking some chick as we speak-ah," he said, now standing directly in front of me.

"You're wrong. You're just a crazy psychopath," I said shaking my head. His words, however, proved to have some sort of an effect on my emotions as more tears began to run down my red cheeks. "And how did you know he hadn't seen me in five years?" I asked curiously, hate dripping with every word.

"I know a lot more about you than you think," he said and licked his lips. There was a huge smile on his face now, showing off his yellow teeth. "And as for the crazy part, maybe I do have a few nuts and bolts loose," he said. He laughed loudly before stalking out of the room, slamming the door behind him.

This couldn't have been some random kidnapping. To know this much information about me…no, he must have been planning this since I got in the city. He probably saw me walking around town with Bruce, and, realizing that I was an easy target – a young woman in a new city – decided that I was the best way to get some money from Bruce. He'll probably put some sort of ransom on me, though that didn't sound at all like the Joker I'd seen on the news or in the papers. Money never seemed play any part in his crimes. Whatever role I may play in all this, it has to be a part of a bigger scheme. He couldn't have just kidnapped me for the sake of kidnapping me…could he?

With all of these disturbing thoughts running around in my mind, I took a seat on the edge of the bed and waited.

Bruce Wayne's POV

Bruce was currently sitting in Gordon's office, his head in his hands. It was six in the morning and he hadn't slept a wink all night. 'How could this happen? I was supposed to take care of her?' he thought to himself for the hundredth time since he first found Jessica's purse and belongings on the ground at the parking garage. Seeing that picture on her phone made him sick to his stomach. The police department had found the dead body of a thirty-nine year old security guard in his office and collected all of the surveillance footage. The team and Bruce watched the tape over and over again, a professional lip reader on hand, trying to see if they could find any motive to this kidnapping. Sure, Bruce Wayne was the richest man in Gotham, but that was still no reason to kidnap a girl no one else even knew existed. They all came to the conclusion that the Joker had had his men watching the manor for God knows how long. That was the only way they could've known about Jessica unless they seen the two of them strolling around the city together.

Bruce had sent some officers down to the manor to stand guard and search the perimeter, but they found no trace of anything. Just some tire tracks that could have very well been made by him. He was currently having Alfred go through the security footage as well to see if he could find anything out of place, but he wouldn't find out the outcome of that search for a few hours.

Gordon then stepped into the room with a packet of papers in his hand. "We have some possible locations of the Joker's hideout. I'm sending my men out tonight when it's dark to about ten places in the city. Old warehouses, abandoned homes, alleyway pubs, everything," he said as he opened a file. "I had this faxed in from Reston County Police Department. It's Jessica's file. Has her picture, age, height, weight, all of the information we'll need to send out to the news stations. We'll have her picture up in the evening news tonight as well as tomorrow's paper," he said and handed her file to Bruce.

Bruce looked down at her face: it was last year's yearbook picture. She was wearing a huge smile, her brown hair parted to the side, falling just past her shoulder. Not a lot of make-up, but just enough to make her look like she truly took care of herself. He sighed, thinking about what she could be going through at that moment, all of the emotions that she must be feeling. How much of a failure she thought he was…

There was no way he was going to wait for the police to find her. No, it was his job to protect this city from people like the Joker. More importantly, it was his job to protect Jessica. He would have to go out tonight. Not as Bruce Wayne, though - as the Batman.