A/N: Thanks again to all of the people I mentioned in previous chapters as well as SpottedHeart2646 and SmileyEmoGirl for reviewing/subscribing. Whoa! You all are amazing. Remember to review if you like it. It definitely helps get the chapters out quicker and it makes me feel happy :D

Disclaimer: I do not own any Batman characters. I do own Jessica Wayne, any original characters and the plot!

The first thing that was absolutely clear to me upon waking up was the pain currently rushing through my body. I let out a soft groan as I opened my eyes, blinking rapidly to get used to the light. The bruises had dulled down to an achy sort of feeling, which wasn't nearly as bad as they had felt when the beating was taking place. It actually felt like some healing was taking place. Raising myself up with a sore arm to support my weight, I used the other hand to rub some sleep out of my eyes. Now that I was woken up a bit, I felt something strange pressing up against my abdomen. I pulled my shirt up to reveal a bandage that was covering a large area of my stomach. Hesitantly, I grabbed one of the edges and pulled it down slowly, winching as I tore it away from my skin. I gasped at the sight of blood on the inside of the bandage and then examined the wound itself. It was a yellowish-purple color now, but wasn't bleeding like it had before. A strong smell hit my nostrils instantaneously. It smelled like…a strong ointment.

Carefully as not to cause any more damage, I put the band-aid back on and pulled my shirt back down. Bending over slightly and clutching my abdomen, I realized it felt like it did after you'd done a hundred crunches the day before and you hadn't worked out in awhile. With a deep breath, I looked at the other side of the bed to find that it still had an indent in it as if someone had just gotten up. I slowly stood up out of the bed to examine the rest of my body. There were a series of bruises up and down my arms, and a few large ones on my legs. Though they certainly hurt, I was actually expecting much worse. It looked like someone had put ointment on a cut that was about halfway up her arm as well. As I noticed the yellowish tent of the bruises on my arms that matched that of my abdomen, I wondered just how long I had been asleep.

"Well look who decided to bless us with her presence after an impressive thirteen hours," the Joker said from the doorway. I quickly lifted up my head to watch him strut over to me, taking one hesitant step back as the memories from the previous day came flooding back. I gasped as I felt the cold wall come in contact with my back and squeezed my eyes together tightly, bracing myself for the blow. But said blow never came. Opening one of my eyes up slowly, I was shocked to find the Joker towering over me with a triumphant look on his face.

"Only bad girls get beaten, and you were a good girl last night. A very good girl," he said, exaggerating the 'very.'

I allowed his words to sink in as my mind quickly ran through the events from last night. The beating was still fresh in my mind, but then all I could remember was passing out. That image of the Joker hovering over me as I lay helplessly on the bed burst into my thoughts, and my heartbeat picked up significantly, my eyes wide in fear.

"You didn't do anything, did you?" I whispered shakily.

He continued to smile down at me before touching my face lightly, and I quickly jerked away from his touch.

"See, it's that attitude that gets you in these predicaments," he said and licked his lips before laughing.

I checked myself over again, but could see no signs of foul play, minus the bruises that were caused before passing out. I felt…normal. I was still a virgin and, based on what my friends who had had sex told me, I was sure that I would feel some sort of pain if he had done something.

I raised my head to glare at him only to find that he had moved away from in front of me and was now making the bed.

"Why do you even bother?" I thought out loud.

"I have to make it look nice for company like you," he said, faking seriousness.

I sighed in agitation as I realized there was just no getting a straight answer out of this guy.

He then walked back over and took my hand in his. "We're going on another little ride today. I'll think you'll enjoy this even more than yesterday's," he said and walked out of the room, forcing me to follow in toe.

He guided me to the front room where Angela, Bob, Nick and Cole were all standing, watching the TV.

"The Joker strikes yet again. The recently abandoned Hill Apartment complex was struck yesterday at around 3:00 p.m., affecting the surrounding houses and killing an estimated twenty-five people. Analysts say they found the remains of six human bodies among the ashes, telling them that there were indeed people inside at the time of the explosion. Eye witnesses say that the recently kidnapped Bruce Wayne's goddaughter, Jessica Wayne, was seen with them around the time of the incident." I perked up at the sound of my name and my mouth opened slightly when my junior year school picture came onto the screen. I felt the Joker squeeze my hand tighter, and looked up to see what he was doing. His eyes were transfixed on the television screen, wearing a serious expression for once. "If anyone knows anything about her whereabouts, they are asked to call the Gotham Police Department or the DA's office immediately. All calls will be kept anonymous," the newscaster said before Angela turning the TV off.

She whipped around and immediately stalked towards me. "Looks like maybe someone does love you. Don't see why," she said as she walked past me to pick up her pocket knife which was on the coffee table. My eyes stung as I felt tears starting to form at the thought of what Bruce could be going through right now. Knowing him, he was probably feeling extremely guilty. That was just his nature. Even though this whole thing wasn't his fault, he probably felt it was.

"Let's go," the Joker hissed to everyone in the room before tugging me along with him to the van, which was parked in the same place it was always parked.

This time I was forced to sit in the very back with Nick, while the Joker decided to get behind the wheel. Bob was in the front as usual, and Angela and Cole sat in the middle row.

The car jolted as we suddenly sped off down the road, and I desperately clung to the handle on the side of the van. They must have taken the final row out to have more room to store things, as it appeared that another row of seats used to be back here. My thoughts were interrupted when my head bashed into the side of the van when the Joker made an unexpected turn. I glared at the back of the driver's seat as I rubbed my head with a groan.

I jumped when I felt a hand on my leg and looked down to see it belonged to Nick. I quickly moved out from under his touch and looked up at his face. Instead of seeing a harmful expression, however, I was shocked to see one filled with worry. "Sorry," he muttered.

I smiled at him lightly, still shocked by his gentle demeanor. "'S okay," I replied. Though it seemed rather dumb to think, maybe I finally had an ally in this situation.

Feeling like someone was staring at me, I took a chance and glanced at the front of the van. My breath hitched in my throat when I saw the Joker glaring at the two of us in the rear-view mirror. He wasn't really glaring at me for once, though; his attention was directed solely on Nick.

My companion seemed to notice this and immediately looked down at his hands. I sighed sadly and directed my attention back out the window. So much for that ally theory.

The car came to a sudden stop as we hit a red light. Curious as to what part of town we were in, I looked over at the street sign. 75th Street. I turned away with a sigh as I realized that number meant nothing to me, only to whip my head back around to stare back at the sign again. As if in a movie, I thought back to my first night at Wayne Manor, Tyler's voice echoing in my mind.

"I live on 256 75th Street…It's not a bad place to live, but not the best either."

My heart was full on racing now, and I could not believe I remembered such a seemingly insignificant detail of that conversation. I chanced a look down at the lock on the back door to find it was indeed unlocked. This was my chance, possibly the only chance I'd get for a long time. I looked over at Nick to see he was distracted by his conversation with Angela and Cole. The Joker was cussing about the stupid streetlights in Gotham and Bob was agreeing with them.

Before I had time to even fully think about what I was doing, I had already wrenched the door open and started running as fast as I could. I looked over at one of the houses and saw a black 250 located on the mailbox, and was pleased to see that the next house I'd ran past said 252.

"Hey!" Nick's voice yelled from a ways behind me as he still sat in the van, probably in shock about what was happening. I heard a car door open and footsteps running furiously behind me, signaling that I had to pick up the pace.

"TYLER!" I yelled as loud as possible as I passed 254. "TYLER!"

All of my bruises were cursing me as I pushed my legs to move as quickly as they could, but my brain told me to keep going. Running up the stairs of the house labeled 256, I just about cried tears of joy when Tyler opened the door just in the nick of time. After pushing him in the house, I locked the door as quickly as I could and rushed over to the window. Pushing the curtains out of the way, I saw the Joker looking at the house, a furious expression on his face. The others, including Nick, were standing by the car looking completely helpless. Even from this distance I could see Nick trembling, and felt a twinge of remorse for the trouble he was surely going to get in for allowing me to escape. But more than anything, I felt relief.

"Oh my God, Jessica?" Tyler asked in disbelief from behind me.

I turned around and was immediately engulfed in a hug. "W-what?…How?...Jesus, you're all bruised up," he said, studying me at arm's length before pulling me into another hug. Although I barely knew him, I hugged him back. It was a relief to have someone outside of that forsaken warehouse to see and feel. I barely even felt the tears fall down my face as I hugged him.

"I've got to call Bruce," he said hurriedly and ran to the kitchen. I looked out the window once again and saw the Joker staring at me. At first he looked angry, and I genuinely feared he was going to break through the door and drag me back to the van. Instead, he merely smiled at me. "I'll see you soon," he mouthed and licked his lips.

I watched in awe as he walked around the van and got in. Glancing back down at Nick, it was clear that he had been hit as he was rubbing the side of his face with a look of agony. He met my eyes for a second and I gave him a sympathetic look. "I'm sorry," I whispered, even though he obviously couldn't hear me. He shook his head slightly before climbing into the back. Before he had a chance to fully close the door, the Joker sped off down the street.

Tyler came back out of the kitchen in a rush. "He said he'll be here in five minutes," he said and looked me over again.

"Gosh, Jess…you look horrible," he said bluntly.

"Thanks," she said sarcastically.

"I-I didn't mean to sound cruel…I-"

"It's ok. I know I look really bad," I said with a sigh.

He nodded. "Sit down," he said, indicating a chair. I gladly took him up on his offer as he walked back into the kitchen. He came back out a few seconds later with a bottle of water.

"Thanks," I said and opened it, drinking half of it in one gulp. I hadn't realized until now that I hadn't eaten or drank anything in about three days.

The two of us sat in silence as I finished up the bottle of water. Tyler offered me another, but I declined. There were too many emotions rushing through me at the moment to be able to consume anything else. Tyler appeared to be in complete shock that I was sitting in front of him, but didn't ask any questions, which I was so grateful for.

The silence was broken after about three minutes by a roaring sound from outside. A loud screech was heard as the driver slammed on the brakes. A few seconds later the door was thrown open to reveal a frantic Bruce. He ran over and lifted me off of the chair, giving me the biggest and most needed hug I'd ever received.

"I'm so sorry…I'm so sorry…" he repeated over and over again.

The tears began to pour from my eyes as I hugged him back.

"You're home now. Everything's going to be ok," he whispered comfortingly.

I wanted to believe him so much, and part of me did. The other part kept going back to the Joker just minutes before causing a chill to run down my spine.

"I'll see you soon."

Don't worry, this story is far from over. Please tell me what you think!