"Wakey wakey, little squirrel." Charlie groaned, shaking her head. Her shoulders were in an uncomfortable position but when she tried to move them, she found she couldn't. Her hands were tied behind her back.

"There she is!" Zucco said, spitting in her face while he spoke. She shook her head, cringing away from him.

"Ah, what's the matter? Scared of Uncle Tony?" he asked.

"I'm not scared of you. I'm just disgusted by you." she smarted off at him. He glared, slamming her head into the pillar she was leaning against. She grimaced in pain.

"Charlie! You leave her alone Zucco!" she heard her dad shout from his spot on the chair. She looked up at him, and he didn't look good. Traces of blood here and there that had ran down either side of his face. One of his eyes was already puffing up.

"Maybe I won't. maybe I'll have some fun with the little Garrison." Zucco said, standing up straight and hovering over Charlie. Charlie stayed, leaning against the pillar.

Zucco then pulled out the gun, pointing it at Charlie.

"How about for every time either one of you says something to piss me off, I shoot a limb on your precious baby girl."

"Why? So you can kill her like you did her mother?" Michael snapped.

"What? You're the one that killed my mom!" Charlie glared. Zucco cocked the gun, grinning.

"I didn't like your tone, Garrison." Zucco said aiming at one of her arms. She was angry, suddenly kicking her foot up, knocking the gun from his hand.

She rolled backwards, moving her arms around so they were in front of her. She lunged at Zucco, but he knocked her off of him, considering his hands weren't bound. She got up and went to charge him again, but she was startled by a gunshot. She felt okay, but she turned to look at her dad. He was okay too, a worried expression on his face as he looked at her. They both sighed, relieved to see that the other was okay. She looked in the corner to see... her eyebrows raised in surprise to see the Joker standing in the corner.

His gun was raised in the air. He had just fired a warning shot to quiet them both down.

"Sit down you little brat!" Zucco took her by surprise, knocking her against the pillar again. She slid down it, though now her hands were in front of her.

"I hate it when people fight. We all just need to learn to get along!" the joker said, and Charlie suddenly recognized the voice over the phone.

"You're the one that kidnapped my dad!" she glared.

"Yes, alright. You caught me, skippy."

"Why are you involved?"

"Well, good ol Tony over there wanted to hide in my shadow. I take the heat, while he gets to beat up his old colleague." The Joker explained.

"Of course, I hadn't even realized they were in the same gang back in the day. Who's gang was it, Tony?" The Joker asked, seeming to try to switch to a different subject.

"Uh, Sal's? Sal Maroni." Tony said, confused by the question.

"Ah yes. Good old Sal. So, where is good old Sal hold up these days, Mikey?" The Joker asked, turning his attention back to Charlie's dad.

"I'm not telling the likes of you." Michael snapped, not caring what the Joker did to him.

"Oh yes, I forgot. You don't care what happens to you, so long as your boss stays safe and hidden. But what about your precious daughter?" The Joker asked, almost mockingly as he carelessly pointed the gun in Charlie's direction. Charlie's eyes widened.

"Don't say anything, Dad." Charlie said, not a quiver in her voice.

"You might want to say something, daddy." The Joker said darkly, cocking the gun. "Now where's Sal hold up?" he said. "I'm not going to ask again."

"Joker, this isn't why we brought them here! I just wanna make him pay for what he did to me..." Tony tried, suddenly realizing he made a mistake involving the Joker.

"Quiet down, Zucco!" Joker said, pointing the gun at him. Zucco's eyes widened as the gun went off unexpectedly. Zucco fell, and Charlie wasn't sure exactly where the bullet had struck him, but she could see he was still breathing.

"Now, where's Sal..." The Joker asked again, aiming back at Charlie. Charlie shook her head at her dad.

"Oh, silly me. I almost forgot my manners. Please?" The Joker said. He cocked the gun again.

"Okay, Okay. Sal's warehouse is across town. 1567 Bartholomew Ave." Michael finally said. Charlie shook her head at her father, worry creased in her eyebrows.

"Thanks, Daddy." Joker said. Then, unexpectedly, he turned the gun towards Michael. Michael's eyes widened with surprise.

"No!" Charlie screamed as a shot rang out. The chair Michael was tied to fell over and it broke under his weight as he was suddenly limp on the floor.

"Why! Why you sonofabitch! He told you what you wanted to know! You had no reason!" she screamed at him. The Joker shrugged nonchalantly.

"I can't stand tattle tales." he said, grinning slyly as he aimed the gun back at Charlie.

Charlie straightened up, leaning her head back, ready to take the blow. The Joker smiled, cocking the gun.

"Ready to go out like a hero then, huh?" he said. He went to pull the trigger, but was distracted by glass breaking above him.

In between him and Charlie landed Batman and Robin.

"You're finished Joker!" Batman growled.

"Oh, really? I thought we were just getting started." The Joker said with a cocky grin.

"Harley dear. We may need your giant hammer!" he yelled to the corner. Harley had apparently been sitting back there the whole time.

"No problem, Mr. J." she said, coming from the corner, swinging her mallet. Batman ducked, grabbing the mallet and spinning her around. She lost her balance, landing the crates nearby.

Robin saw that Batman was running after where the Joker had gone and turned his attention to Charlie, who had silent tears running down her face.

"Are you alright?" he asked her, cutting the rope that tied her hands together. She rubbed her wrists and looked up at him.

"I've been better." she muttered. She then turned her attention to the body that lay on the broken chair. "Dad." she breathed out, running over to him. She rolled him over. His eyes were closed, and blood oozed out and over his chest, adding to the already giant puddle of blood he lay in.

"Daddy, no!" she screamed, holding his torso in her arms, not caring that the blood was now running onto her hands.

"I'm sorry." Robin muttered, placing a hand on her shoulder. She let her dad's body drop as she burried her head into Robin's chest. He wrapped his arms around her comfortingly as she squeezed into him tighter.

"Oh my god. Is that Zucco?" Robin asked, looking over.

"Joker shot him before he shot my dad." she sniffed. Robin got up, leaving her there. He walked over and rolled Tony over. He was unconcious but still alive, for now. It would be so easy to leave him there. Leave him to bleed out. But, he wasn't made that way. No matter the bad that Zucco had done in his life, they had to make a valiant attempt to save him. Robin called the commissioner.

"Commissioner."

"Robin, where's Batman?" The commissioner asked, surprised to get a call from the sidekick.

"He's got his hands full with Joker. Listen, we're over at 322 Beckington Street. And you might want to bring a couple of ambulances. It doesn't look too good over here."

"Oh boy. Alright, we're on our way." The commissioner said before hanging up. He looked back to where Charlie had been hovering over her dad's body. She wasn't there anymore. He looked at the door that Batman had chased Joker out of. The crates where Harley had fell shifted.

"Mr. J!" Harley screamed, suddenly coming to. His attention turned back to her.

"oh no, you're staying right here." he said, cuffing her to a pipe.

"ugh. What's a girl to do." she muttered, sitting down and accepting her fate.

The rain was coming down hard outside. Charlie looked ahead of her and saw Batman trying to apprehend the Joker, right beside the canal. The Joker fired one stray shot, then another before Batman kicked the gun out of his hand.

"It's over, Joker! You're going back to Arkham!" Batman growled.

"Oh, am I!" The Joker said, his eyes wide and bloodshot. As batman got close to him to apprehend him, Joker whipped out a knife, slicing his arm.

Batman grunted, grabbing the cut. His eyes widened as he dodged another blow from the dagger. He lost his footing and fell, the Joker landing on top of him.

At this point, Robin ran out, seeing Charlie ahead of him. The he saw the Joker sitting on top of Batman.

"Ready to meet your maker, Batman!" The Joker yelled, holding the dagger up high.

"Batman!" Robin yelled, realizing he wasn't going to get to his aid in time.

Joker went to plunge the dagger down into Batman's chest but was suddenly knocked off of him. Charlie sat on top of the Joker, the knife having been knocked free of his hands. She punched him over and over again. When she finally stopped, she glared down at him. His eye was beginning to puff up.

"Charlie, stop." she heard Batman behind her, but she didn't care.

"Don't stop Charlie. Keep going. Kill me! And then realize how good it feels to take a life!" he said, a chuckle behind his words. She glared, punching him again. She stopped and stood up, taking a few steps back from the clown.

"Are you alright?" Batman asked, placing a hand on her shoulder. She turned to face him.

"Physically, yes." she muttered, still looking down. He tilted her chin up to look at him.

He rested both hands on either shoulder as he looked at her sincerely.

"I'm sorry about all this, Charlie." he said. She smiled at him, knowing he was at least attempting to make her feel better. Suddenly, her eyes went wide as she gasped in pain.

"no!" Robin shouted, running towards them.

"Shouldn't have stopped, Charlie." The Joker whispered in her ear as he twisted the blade around in her back. Batman moved Charlie out of the way and head butted the Joker. The Joker fell back from the blow, and the Batman laid another punch into him. The Joker fell to the ground. Batman then took Joker and turned him around so he was on his stomach. He put his hands together and handcuffed him.

He turned back to see Robin holding Charlie in his arms.

"Charlie, stay with us! You're going to be alright."

Charlie's eyes were wide as she struggled for breath. Sirens were getting closer to their location. A puddle of blood was beginning to form around her and Robin, and Robin's normally green gloves were beginning to stain red.

"Charlie!" he said, shaking her when her eyes began to close. "You're not giving up! You hear me?" Robin commanded.

Suddenly, the commissioner ran up to them.

"Oh my god." he said, seeing who Robin was holding. His attention then turned to the Joker, laying on the ground. He went over, jerking the scum up and forcing him to walk to the armored car.

"Oh, come on, Jimmy. Learn to take a joke!" Joker said, letting a laugh escape.

"Joke's on you, Joker! You're going back to Arkham!" Jim said, shoving him into the armored vehicle and shutting the door behind him. He turned back to see the paramedics were already rushing Charlie into an ambulance on the stretcher.

"What happened?" Gordon asked. Batman ignored him for a moment, turning his attention to another set of paramedics.

"Come on, there's more in here." he said, leading them into the warehouse.

"Oh god." The commissioner said, having followed them. The paramedics check Charlie's dad first and lowered their heads, knowing they couldn't do anything for him. They laid a sheet over his body. They then moved to Zucco.

"He's not conscious, but he's still alive! Let's get him out of here!" said the paramedic who seemed to be in charge.

"What happened, Batman?" Jim asked, turning his attention to him.

"I'm not sure what happened to Zucco or Garrison. They were... the Joker shot them before we got here." Batman explained. "Charlie saved me from the Joker. She could have killed him from the beating she laid into him, but she didn't." Gordon could tell Batman was actually very emotional about this. He was grateful towards her for saving him. "When she stopped and gained control, he took his chance and... he stabbed her in the back. Like a coward." Batman was actually slightly choking up at this.

Robin stood silent behind him, not able to mutter a word.

"I suppose I should call Bruce. He might find his attendant is missing." Gordon muttered.

"Bruce who?" Batman asked. The commissioner turned away from him.

"She was staying with Bruce Wayne. I suppose she probably waited for them to fall asleep before leaving. I hope they won't mind getting a phone call this late at night."

He turned back around when Batman didn't reply to see that both Batman and Robin and disappeared.

"Happens every time." Gordon muttered, shoving his hands into his pockets. He had quite the mess to clean up here.