A/N: Man, it's been a while but I'm finally done with this. Sorry about the long wait but I finally got my internet fixed on my laptop. And I'd like to say I wasn't happy with my most recent reviews so I'm gonna say this once, if you don't like my story then don't read it. And if you don't like my style of writing lay off, not everyone has the same style nor do they care what proper writing is so if you have a problem with different styles of writing keep it to yourself.

Disclaimer: I don't own anything related to batman, all I own is my characters and ideas.

Chapter 8: Free from Madness

After we left the hospital, Raven and I ran into the forest. We kept running until we could not see the city anymore. Raven was a few feet ahead of me, but I was determined to keep up and get away from my biological parents. My efforts, however, were thwarted when my foot snagged a hidden tree root. I fell flat on my face. When I got to my knees, I noticed my foot was stuck. I tried to get it out, but I was interrupted when I heard an all too familiar chuckle. I turned to see both the Joker and Harley standing just ten feet away from me.

"Stay away from me!" I shout, hoping Raven would hear me.

"SILENCE!" Joker yelled at me in a deep, threatening voice, which effectively shut me up. As I sat there in shock, I didn't notice Harley until I felt my foot come loose. She was smiling at me and from the look in her eyes; she was prepared for any attack I could dish out.

"Now that we have your attention" Joker said, bringing my attention back to him.

"That was a very naughty thing you did" he continued, I opened my mouth to argue, but immediately closed it when he gave me a 'don't-you-dare-interrupt-me' look.

"As I was saying, that was very bad and you are coming home now and I promise that you will NOT be leaving again" he said with that evil smile plastered on his freaky face. However, I was not smiling.

Raven began to feel that something was very wrong and she found that she was correct when she turned around and Joanna was nowhere in sight. She came to screeching halt, kicking up dust and leaves, and turned around and headed in the opposite direction. Raven felt that Joanna was in distress and could not do anything about it.

I didn't know what to do; I was bound, gagged, and strapped in the backseat of my parents' car. I wanted so much to kick the crap out of these lunatics and live a normal life.

"Are you comfortable Joanna?" Harley asked, breaking the silence, I just looked at her showing no emotion what so ever. She took my lack of response as a yes and turned back in her seat. I just turned my head to stare out the window, hoping and praying to God that Raven was coming to save me. I don't know how long I stared because before I knew it, I was asleep.

~Dream~

"Joanna!" I heard Raven's voice calling me.

"Raven?" I answered back.

"Yes, where are you? I can't find you anywhere in the forest" she said, calmly.

"I'm in the backseat of my parents' car, I'm tied up and gagged" I said, equally calm. I heard her say that she was coming and that I should hold on to something, but I didn't understand what she was talking about. All of a sudden my dream began to shake and crumble. Before I had chance to process what was happening, the ground beneath me fell away and I proceeded to fall into a black abyss.

~End Dream~

I woke up when the car came to a sudden, unexpected stop, sending Joker and Harley through the windshield and launching me forward, painfully, but the seatbelt kept me from flying out. Once I recovered, I sat up straight searching for the source of the unplanned stop. I see both Harley and Joker stand up and look around, frantically. I noticed that they both have blood running down their foreheads, but the fact doesn't appear to faze them.

I hear them talking to each other, but I cannot make out what they're saying. I had a feeling that they are trying to figure out what caused us to wreck, but I knew that it was Raven even though I had no idea on how she did it.

"Joanna, I can see the car and your parents look freaked out are you still in the car?" I heard Raven's voice in my head.

"Yes, I'm in the backseat and the seatbelt kept me from flying out the window" I mentally told her. I felt her nod and I prepared for when she took action. I just hoped that I wouldn't have to wait long.

I was brought back to reality when the cars door opened.

"Well, whatever it was it's gone now" Harley said, catching her breath. Joker just nodded and they both got back into the car. They looked at me and checked my bonds to make sure I didn't attempt to escape. Once they were satisfied, they returned to the front seat, I just sighed and leaned back in my seat.

Raven's temper began to reach dangerous levels, she had seen Joanna when they opened the car doors and to say that she was angry wouldn't even be close to an understatement. What Raven was feeling was pure fury; she never liked people who think they can make their children do anything they want, so when she saw Joanna tied up with her mouth duct taped she nearly lost it. 'You people are so lucky that I'm a master at controlling my emotions' Raven thought.

I sat patiently as the car pulled off, but I was getting a little nervous, I hadn't heard from Raven in I a little while, but I pushed the feeling aside and sat back. Harley looked back at me and I just stared at her, "I really hope that you won't try anything like this again Joanna" Harley spoke, with little comfort, I didn't respond. We drove for about two hours before I noticed a fast moving shadow following us,

"Hold on tight, Joanna, it's gonna get bumpy" I heard Raven's voice warn. It was at that moment when something rammed the side of the car, sending it down a ravine and into a tree, near a shallow river. Before we went down the embankment, I managed to grip the handle of the door and I was still holding on after we had stopped.

I snapped out of my shock when I heard Joker groan in obvious pain.

"What the hell just happened?!" he said in shock and anger. After he said that, Harley began to come to. She had a massive bruise forming on her head, but she didn't seem to notice at the time. When they realized where we were they immediately turned around to see if I was still there, I was, unfortunately.

We abandoned the car and proceeded to walk through the thick forest, well they walked while dragging me along. I knew that Raven was closing in and that I didn't want to see what was about to happen. No sooner did I think that did Raven pounce. She moved so fast that I didn't even see what happened, all I saw was the aftermath, which was seeing Joker and Harley lying, unconscious, on the ground. I didn't notice Raven standing next me, or that she untied me, until she spoke up.

"I think we should leave before they wake up" she said. I looked to see her smiling at me, but it was a pleasant smile. After I had regained control of my senses, I looked to Joker and Harley then back to Raven. I slowly tore the tape of my face and smiled at her and she knew I agreed with her.

"I believe you're right, let's go" I said confidently.

"You're not going anywhere" a threatening voice spoke. I and Raven turned to see my father standing a few feet away. Raven was completely calm, but I was on the verge of screaming, why won't he give up?

"Why won't you just leave me alone?!" I start screaming.

"Don't you get it? I DON'T WANT TO GO WITH YOU!" Apparently, he didn't hear a word that came out of my mouth, because he began walking toward us with that, permanent, evil grin. He pulled out a bag of marbles from his coat then looked at us.

"Joanna… I suggest that you surrender and come here, or you'll find that you're going to have a hard time seeing" he said maliciously. I knew that the marbles were actually grenades, because the first rule to learn when dealing with Joker is to expect the unexpected.

None of us moved from our spots, for what seemed like hours, before Harley began to wake up. She groaned and held her head as she sat up.

"Uh… what happened?" she moaned. Joker didn't even turn around to answer her; I guess he wanted to make sure I wasn't going anywhere.

"We just had a little accident is all Harley" he said, not caring that they almost died, twice.

Once Harley got up, she walked over to Joker and looked at me.

"Joanna please… please come home with us" she begged, but I was not going anywhere with them even if I have to run for the rest of my life.

"No, I have had it with you guys!" I start screaming.

"Just because you are my biological parents, it doesn't mean I'm anything like you!" I screamed having enough of their bull. It was at that moment Raven decided to intervene. She pushed me behind her and got into a fighting stance, I knew that she was going to protect me even if it was the last thing she would do.

"Joker I think it would be best if you two leave and never come looking for Joanna again" she said with amazing calmness. I watched in awe as she stared down my parents, completely free of fear.

"She is our daughter and we are taking her home if it's the last thing we do" Harley said, I knew with her as my mother she was especially dangerous when around me. Raven, however, wasn't fazed by Harley's reaction; in fact she seemed to know that Harley would put up a massive fight.

"Joanna, cover your eyes" Raven told me in thought. I nodded and immediately covered my eyes, unsure of what she was about to do. It was only a matter of seconds before I heard something going on in front of me and then I heard an explosion. I was kind of afraid to open my eyes, but I sucked it up and looked. I found that I was alone, but I felt eyes on me. I began to walk into the forest to try and find Raven, but a rustling caught my attention. I turned my head in all directions trying to locate the source of the rustling, but I didn't plan on being grabbed from behind.

"Hello Joanna" I heard Joker announce. I figured it was one of them who grabbed me, but that didn't make it any less frustrating. I struggled hard against his crushing grip, but I couldn't get free. He tightened his grip and proceeded to pull me in the opposite direction from where I had been headed.

After Raven had chased of Joker and Harley she started to head back to where she had left Joanna, but she felt that something wasn't right. Raven stopped and focused her thoughts on Joanna. Her eyes began to glow a beautiful sapphire blue as she saw what Joanna was seeing. What Raven saw, infuriated her; she saw Joanna being pulled back through the forest by her father and Joanna was fighting with all her might.

Raven decided that it was time to show them her true power. She knew it would scare both Joker and Harley into leaving Joanna alone forever, but she had to make sure Joanna knew it was her so she would not be afraid. After her mind came back to her body, Raven set off to where Joanna was being taken.

Joker had dragged me a good three miles before Harley caught up to us. She seemed happy, as usual. I had been quiet through the whole trip, knowing struggling against him would do nothing to help me. I could feel their eyes on me, but I did not acknowledge them even though Joker's grip on my wrists was very painful.

I don't know what possessed me to, but I found myself looking to my right, directly into the woods. I saw a pair of glowing sapphire eyes and for some reason I did not feel afraid. I actually felt safe and I felt that it wanted to protect me, so I stood there, silently, and waited to see what was going to happen.

"Joanna, do not be afraid of what is about to happen. I didn't expect to show you my true power so soon, but drastic times call for drastic measures" I heard Raven say in my head. When she told me not to be afraid, all my fear seemed to disappear and so I just stood there. I felt a tug on my arm, but I did not move. Joker was beginning to get frustrated, so he attempted to pick me up. He got as far as wrapping his arms around my waist and lifting me off the ground, before a very loud roar rung out through the forest.

The next thing I see is a large, black object moving through the trees and out into the open. I remained still, all of my fear gone. My parents on the other hand were scared stiff. The thing approached us and I felt myself being pulled backwards by Joker.

"Stay away from us" Joker said in a deep, threatening tone. By this time I was sitting on the ground, refusing to move any further.

"Release Joanna, Joker" the figure said in a very calm tone. When it said my name I knew that the figure was Raven. She continued to approach us and Joker and Harley continued to back up. I never thought the 'Clown Prince of Crime' would be afraid of something strange, like this.

"I thought I told you to stay away" Joker said. I could tell he was starting to panic by his tone of voice. Apparently, Raven was not intimidated at all by the way she stared down Joker and Harley.

"I heard you, but I'm not going anywhere until you release the girl" she said, still in a calm tone.

"No, the only place my daughter is going is home with us" Joker said confidently, but what happened next was so sudden I don't really know what happened. It was all a blur, Joker and Harley were on the ground, unconscious, and I was free.

The next thing I see is Raven approaching me in her human form. She placed her hand on my shoulder to comfort me. I looked up and gave her a little smile.

"Are you ok Joanna?" Raven asked. I nodded my head to tell her I was fine.

She smiled and we both took off into the forest. She told me that we were heading to Central America, but why we were going there was going to be a surprise until we got there. I was very curious, but I didn't bug her about our destination.

After a few hours, we reached Gotham City limits. I saw a cool looking motorcycle with a woman sitting on it. Raven walked to the strange woman and began to converse with her. I couldn't hear what they were saying, but I figured they knew each other. I stood and waited.

"Joanna, come and meet one of my team mates" Raven called. I walked over and I was surprised when I saw what the woman actually looked like. She had a black leather jacket with spikes on the shoulders, a purple spiked belt with a whip attached to it, black biker pants, and black combat boots. She totally pulled off the biker look, but what amazed me was the fact that her hair was made of fire.

"Joanna, I'd like you to meet Ember one of my team mates. Ember this is Joanna" Raven said. I raised my hand and waved, shyly.

"It's nice to meet you, Joanna, Raven has told me all about you" Ember said. I was about to ask how Raven could have told her about me in such a short conversation, but then I remembered, duh, Raven is telepathic. She was probably telling Ember about me sense she met me.

"Well Joanna, Ember is going to be your ride to Central America, I'll meet up with you as soon as I can" Raven said. She began to turn away, but I had to know why she wasn't coming with us.

"Why aren't you coming with us?" I asked.

She looked at me and smiled.

"Someone else needs me right now and I can't let them down" she said.

I understood and let her be on her way. After Raven left, I hoped on Ember's bike and we were off at impressive speeds. I still didn't know why we were going to Central America, but I didn't question Raven's decision. I just held on to Ember and thought about what I was going to see in Central America.

A/N: What did you think? This is the end of this one, but I may go back and revise it