Alright, hey there. Sorry it took me forever to spit this out. I've been having a hard time getting interested. Thank you to all that have reviewed so far and everyone else, thank you for reading. I'd really appreciate, however, *hint hint* if you would leave a review. Please guys, it keeps me interested. And by the way, sorry for misspelling Gordon's name before. I'm a ditz at times. Enjoy!

I DISCLAIM everything, including the title, except for Alice, Theresa, and anyone else that isn't in the movie or comic. There, happy?


She was avoiding him. Damn it, why was she doing this? She had never avoided a situation before in her life, let alone a man. Why was she doing it now? Because it wasn't any ordinary man. Because it was the Joker, and he woke something up within her. Something she hadn't felt for years, not since her sister had died. But why did he have to kiss her? She had never felt the urge to touch him in that way, but now she found herself fighting a new desire. She didn't like it. That was why she was avoiding him. She would not be subject to to him. To his needs, no, wants. He didn't need her. He didn't need anybody. Anything he did was for the fun of it. To get a reaction. Well, he wouldn't get one from her. She knew him too well. Mostly. Aside from the fact that he had kissed her. She hadn't expected that, hadn't planned that. But hadn't he said so many times, that he liked to show people who planned, the schemers, how ridiculous there attempts were? It was her turn, apparently.

She sighed from her seat next to the kitchen table. It had been a day since the night he, they, kissed. She didn't know how much longer she could hold out. She could only avoid the Joker for so long. Snapping out of her thoughts, Alice looked up at the clock. She should make dinner soon. Harley couldn't cook worth a damn and she was a little reluctant to let the Joker near the oven, so that left her with the job of cooking. Letting out another heavy sigh, she got up to search for something to make. She chose spaghetti. As she started to boil water, she found her mind drifting back to the man of the hour.

He was just so strange, so different. She'd never seen anyone like him. Ever. Alice knew people. She knew them very well, knew what to expect from them. She knew that they would eat each other alive, if put in a pressing situation. That if a father had to choose between his old frumpy wife and a gorgeous playboy bunny, he would pick the bunny. That a sister would rather hurt her little sibling than look bad in front of her friends. That people were just in it for the money. That there wasn't one incorruptible cop in the city. Alice knew all of this. She got how people worked, but the Joker wasn't like other people. He was unpredictable, unlike anyone Alice had ever known. She had met crafty people, smart people. The Joker was on a whole other level. All the others built plans, the Joker tore those down with a twitch of his thumb. The press of a button.

The water was boiling, so she turned it down and poured the noodles in, getting out another pot for the sauce. She should have made the noodles last, the sauce would take longer. She was getting distracted and this was getting tiring. She needed to stop thinking about him. That horribly intriguing man. She tried to focus on cooking, and she succeeded, for a few moments. A picture of Harley flashed in her mind, of her latching on to Jack with that damn shirt half off. She took a deep breath, steadying herself on the counter. This was going to be harder than she thought.

"Hey, Red? Have you seen Puddin'?" called Harley from the other room. That was another thing. Alice had had to listen to the blonde call him Pudding. Normally that wouldn't bother someone like Alice, but for some reason she found herself resisting the urge to tell Harley off. She even cringed a little at her new nickname. Harley seemed to have a thing for pet names.

"Afraid not, Harley." she answered back. She hadn't seen him all day in fact.

"I've been looking all over for him, but I can't find him anywhere. Hey, what're you making?" The younger woman entered the room.

"Spaghetti, it won't be ready for a while though." She answered as she turned off the noodles and drained them in the sink. Hopefully, Harley would get the hint and leave. No such luck.

"Oh, okay, I'll keep you company."

Alice cringed. It wasn't that she didn't like Harley, but at the moment Alice was experiencing some technical difficulties with her emotions. And Harley wasn't helping. A few minutes ticked by as Alice started on the sauce, adding a few spices, and Harley twirled her hair, absently. The blonde bit her lip, obviously racking her brain for something to talk about.

"So... how did you say you met Puddin'?" Did Alice hear a hint of jealousy spicing her curiosity?

"Oh, you know, I just sort of showed up on his doorstep one day." She decided to play with her a little. "I guess he took a liking to me."

There was a quick pause as Harley's face turned pink. Alice hid her smirk. She was way too easy.

"Kind of like a stray cat." Harley hissed, sweetly. "He felt bad for the little kitty."

"Well, he certainly wanted a pussy." Alice was surprised that she had actually said that, they had started attacking each other so fast. She wasn't one for cat fights. No pun intended.

Harley's face became an even pinker shade. Just as she opened her mouth to spit back a retort, however, she was interrupted by a high pitched snicker. Both women spun to look at the Joker as he clutched his sides. After a moment of his sniggering, he looked up, cocking his smiling face at Alice.

"I told you that the, uh, bunny had claws." he giggled.

"Puddin'!" Harley squealed, jumping over to him and clamping on to his side. She shot Alice a sharp look, but it was wasted. Alice had locked eyes with the Joker and neither was letting go. "Where'd you run off to? Puddin'?"

He didn't look away from Alice as he spoke. "I was out calling the boys. You see, lovelies, we're going to be going on a job in a few days. We have to make up for lost time." He was cut off by soft protest from Alice. She tore her hand away from the stove and placed it under the sink, washing away the hot spaghetti sauce that had splashed on her hand. She motioned for the Joker to continue as she turned the heat down.

"But, uh, first we'll be going on a shopping spree." He wet his lips. "We're going to need some material for your, uh, ensembles."

Harley's face lit up. "New clothes?"

"Costumes." Alice corrected, a smile lifting one side of her mouth. "Trying to bring us down to your level?" she asked.

The Joker just smirked.


She glanced up at the sky, shielding her eyes from the bright sun. A large mansion stretched out in the distance behind her.

"It's a good thing we came today. Nice and sunny out, not like the past few days." Bennett, her partner for the Wayne manor assignment, mentioned to Wayne's elderly butler. "So, what part of England did you say you were from?"

She rolled her eyes, tuning him out. Charles had just recently arrived back from a trip to London and he had become obsessed with letting people know. He had even picked up a few of their slang terms, using them at the wrong times, of course. He had only been there for a week and now he thought he was a native. Old Alfred was in for an earful. She looked around the garden and spotted a large fountain, the granite modified to look old. Glancing over at the prattling man and his patient listener, Theresa slipped over to take a few pictures. The sun was coming down at just the right angle, so that if she crouched down and shot upwards, she would get some good prints.

Her camera clacked a few times and she leaned back on her hands to examine her work. Not bad, but Hopkins probably wouldn't like it. She liked to take more abstract pictures, where he liked the more 'straight to the cut' style. How she ever ended up working for him, she didn't know.

"Those are good."

Startled, Theresa jerked to the side, brunette hair splaying out, and fell on her butt. She blew her bangs out of her eyes as she looked up. A tall man with short, dark brown hair was standing just beside her, smiling, laughter filling his eyes. Bruce Wayne.

"I'm sorry," he chuckled, offering her a hand, "I didn't mean to startle you."

"Oh, um, that's alright. " He hoisted her up and she muttered a quick thank you. "I'm Theresa Juniper."

He nodded his head, still smiling. "The photographer."

"Yeah, I'm, uh, guessing you're Bruce Wayne?"

"Your guess would be correct. Nice to meet you, Miss Juniper." He extended his hand again, reaching out and placing a polite kiss on hers.

She felt a blush creep onto her cheeks. It wasn't everyday her hand was kissed by a prince. Laughing under her breath, she smiled back at him. "You too, Mr. Wayne."

"Please, call me Bruce. Mr. Wayne sounds too professional."

"Alright then, Bruce." she confirmed.

He motioned towards her camera, still clutched tightly in her hand. "I do like your pictures, though. You're very talented."

"Nah, these things are nothing compared to my friend Sarah's. She can actually take them on purpose." she laughed.

"No really, these are brilliant." He leaned over, showing her one of the pictures she had taken of the inside of the house. "The way you caught the gleam on the stairs here is wonderful. I'd never be able to make something as boring as a staircase look so interesting."

She chuckled. "No?"

"Nope, I don't have a creative bone in my body. I was the one that drew stick figures in art class."

They laughed, flicking through a few more of the snapshots, stopping here and there to comment on one. "I can't believe you got Alfred to pose for one. Normally I'd have to threaten him with a vacation."

"He didn't really have a choice. I kind of pounced on him." she said.

"As long as you stay for dinner, I'm sure he'll forgive you."

She started. "Oh, no, I couldn't."

"Do you have plans?" he asked.

"Well, no..." she trailed off, unsure of what to say. Bruce was known for being a man who liked his women, flittering from one girl to another. She didn't want this to end up in bed.

"Then, please, I insist. Bennett, too." He gestured to the darkening sky. "It's already pretty late and it would be a hassle to make anything after the drive home."

"I'd just end up ordering out." she mumbled.

Bruce smiled. "Please, I feel bad for making you stay out here and listen to me gab away." He pleaded with his eyes. She'd always been a sucker for the puppy dog look.

"Alright, we'll have dinner." She shook her head, grinning back. "Thank you."

"Not at all."


So we finally see Bruce. I'm sure you all can tell where I'm going with this, but I always thought Bruce had a thing for brunettes. Not a lot happened in this, but I just thought I'd get it out there. I've got some ideas for upcoming chapters so hopefully I'll keep on writing. They might be coming a little slower, though. I find myself losing the will to write in this more and more. But a big shout out for AlexaJ who has been awesome and left tons of reviews. Thank you so much! They always make me feel like my writing isn't completely bogus. They keep me going! To everyone else, thanks for reading and please follow by example and review for me. Thanks.