Let the Games Begin

"Ouch! What are trying to do murder me or brush my hair?"

Heather looked apologetically at Abby. "Sorry. You're hair is not the easiest to brush, you know."

Abby rolled her eyes in annoyance. "I know, but you could at least ease up on the brush."

"Or better yet, Heather why don't you let Abby do her own hair?" said Sasha.

Heather shook her head. "No, I let her get away in Homecoming and her dad's birthday party last year. Trust me, Abs, you're hair could've done better. You're just lucky guys like Aaron don't pay attention to that stuff."

"Neither does anybody else," Abby mumbled.

"You'll think differently when I'm done with you."

"That's if I don't go bald first."

Heather and Sasha had been in her room since twelve in the afternoon getting ready for Dent's fundraiser. Everything since then had been about hair, makeup, and the dresses they were going to wear. Both Sasha and Heather spent hours decided on which of the dresses they had brought over to the penthouse that they were going to wear. Abby (who had already picked out her dress) had to help them decide to quicken the process. After they had come down to their final decision, they began to look through magazines for possible hair styles. All Abby wanted to do was put her hair in a bun, but Heather wouldn't have any of it. Now here she was being Heather's doll.

"Are you done yet?" Abby asked impatiently.

Heather tugged on her thick hair once more. "I will be when you stop asking that."

"Ah! This is worse than standing through a whole interrogation."

"At least you got to see history being made in Gotham," said Sasha.

"Yeah some Chinese guy giving up information because he's a coward, such history."

Sasha gasped at Abby's sarcasm. "Haven't you heard what that lead to?"

"A bunch of arrests?"

"Make that five hundred and forty-nine arrests and convictions!"

Abby's stomach nearly landed on the ground. "What?"

"Didn't you hear? Harvey Dent was able to put more than three quarters of the mob behind bars this morning."

"No way."

"Way." Heather put the comb on Abby's dresser and grabbed the curling iron. "That's more than what Batman's put in."

It was. Dent was able to wipe out almost all of the city's criminals without causing any damage or breaking any rules. All Batman had to do was bring Lau back over to Gotham.

Sasha sighed. "Let's just hope he doesn't mess this up. I've seen more than enough people do that."

"He won't," Abby stated. "Dent's clean. He wants to save Gotham just as much as we do."

"I'm surprised you didn't add that he's dating your mom, so he must be good."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"I'm not stupid, Abby. Neither is anybody else. We all know that you don't like Harvey for the prime reason that he's dating your mom."

"Is is that obvious?" she moaned.

"You call the guy by his last name, you literally flee when you have to meet him face to face and I see that uncomfortable look you get when you see your mom and him together."

Abby bit her lip. "So what if I do all of those things? What exactly does that prove besides me not liking him?"

"I guess I'm just telling you to watch out because you're never going to get what you want in this case."

She had already had a similar conversation with Rachel, but it got right down to the point with Sasha. With her parents divorced and her mother now pregnant with her stepfather's child, Sasha seemed to know what kind of dilemma Abby was going through. But Sasha's parents didn't love each other anymore. Bruce and Rachel did. They were just too stubborn to admit it.

"And viola!" Heather smiled with pride at her work.

Abby looked in the mirror. For once her brown hair did not frizz. It flowed down to her shoulder, tied into a low pony tail with a velvet hair tie. Her bangs were curled as was parts of her pony tail. She thanked Heather for her hard work and helped her friends with their hair as well. It wasn't long after that they went to put on their dresses.

Abby wore a simple dark blue spaghetti strap dress that went to her mid-thighs and had a thick silver line wrapped around her waist. Heather's peach colored dress went down to her knees and moved freely through the air as she walked. Sasha's dress a black thick strapped dress that was stiff at her upper body and then flowed freely at her lower body. Although she was back on her feet again, she still had to wear a brace around her ankle which disabled her from wearing any heels like Abby and Heather. Abby looked at the time once they finished putting on their dresses.

It was six O'clock. She grabbed the remote and switched the channel to GCN.

"Hey," said Heather bothered by the channel change. "Gossip Girl was on."

Abby was in no way affected. "Well Chuck and Blair can wait. I need to watch GCN."

"Fine trade off a great drama show for some reports on a couple robberies…"

"It's not that bad, Heather. I promise you I'll change it once all of the good stories are out of the way."

Heather didn't answer this time. She only pointed her finger to the screen. Abby turned to the TV screen, her eyes wide. It was footage of Batman hanging down from a cord with the words: BATMAN DEAD? She knew well that he couldn't be her father. This Batman had a bigger built than her father did. But as she looked closer, she saw white painted covered his face with a red Glasgow smile.

The scene then switched to Mike Engel. "Police released footage found concealed on the body. Sensitive viewers beware: the image is disturbing."

Abby sat down on her bed for this. The bad feeling in her gut came back again. The scene cut to one of Batman's Copybats tied to a chair and bruised heavily on his face.

The camera shook as the voice spoke. "Tell them your name."

"Brian…Douglas," the man struggled to say.

The man behind the camera gave a small giggle. "Are you the real Batman?"

"No…"

"No," he laughed even louder. "No! Then why do you dress up like him?" A gloved hand took the mask off of Brian and gleefully waved it in front of the camera. "Woo-Hu-Hoo!"

"He's a symbol…that we don't have to be afraid of scum like you."

The gloved hand cupped the side of his face. "Yeah…you do, Brian. You really do." The hand shook Brian's head forcefully. "Huh? Yeah!"

Brian whimpered.

"Oh, sh-sh," the man's voice soothed. "So you think Batman's made Gotham a better place? Hm? Look at me."

Brian kept his eyes to the ground.

"LOOK AT ME!" the voice growled.

Abby jumped at the sudden change in volume. She couldn't imagine what this guy was after by doing this.

Brian reluctantly glared at the camera. The camera suddenly swooshed away from Brian. If wasn't the voice that scared her, it was definitely the face of the man behind the camera. Her heart pounded and feet wanted to run, but they were too scared to. A man in chalk white makeup with red smeared paint that stretched from his lips to his cheeks, grinned at the camera with his yellow teeth. His curly hair was dyed a light green and his eyes were covered in black paint. With the close up that the man gave, Abby could see the scars under the makeup that made a permanent smile.

"You see this is how crazy Batman's made Gotham," he said. "If you want order in Gotham, Batman must take off his mask and turn himself in. Oh, every day he doesn't, people will die. Starting tonight. I'm a man of my word."

Suddenly the man began to throw fits of hysterical laughter. A chill ran up Abby's spine as he laughed. The last thing heard before the scene was cut was Brian's terrified screams. She turned off the TV at the moment.

Abby took in heavy breaths.

There was no way this was happening. Batman wasn't being forced to reveal his identity to the world. A man dressed as a clown wasn't threatening lives. But there was no way to prove those statements to be true. Abby had remembered seeing that exact clown driving the Allie's school bus the week before. Bruce said that the man that called himself the Joker was no threat. For once, he was actually wrong. She didn't know what to think of the situation. Her father could be gone and she wouldn't have the chance to say goodbye to him.

She knew Bruce though. He would think this through before doing anything else. But the longer he waited, the more lives were lost. Who the Joker was going to kill first she didn't know. Abby only knew that Gotham's population would be slightly lower by next morning.

A hand rested on her shoulder causing her to gasp.

Abby looked up with fear in her eyes and saw that it was only Sasha.

"Are you okay, Abs?" she asked warily. "You don't look so good."

Abby smiled weakly. "I'm fine. Just a little startled."

"Guess that fear of clowns hasn't gone away."

"Guess not…"

Silence plagued the room. Abby couldn't find anything else to say that would cover up for her small panic attack.

Heather was the first the break silence. "Well, I don't know about you, but I think we should get started on makeup. I can guarantee you that we'll do a better job than that guy on TV. I mean he was a walking Lady Gaga disaster."

Abby and Sasha shared a laugh at Heather's remark. She didn't want to put makeup on, but if it got her attention off of what she had just witnessed, Abby was game.

The whole living room floor was cleared in time for the party guests to arrive. Crowds of people had already scattered across the first floor of the penthouse. Abby could bet that she didn't even know ten of the people there. She, Sasha, and Heather searched around the room for Aaron and T.J. to arrive. They weren't late, but they were bound to get lost in the crowd of strangers. People waved and smiled at Abby as she passed by. Abby gave her best grin and waved back.

"How does your dad know this many people?" Sasha asked incredulously.

"They run in the same circle I guess," was Abby's only answer to the question.

Her vision suddenly went black as she felt warm hands cover her eyes. "Guess who? I've got an annoying brother, a horrible singing voice and an amazing girlfriend."

A playful smirk climbed onto her lips. "Hm…I'm stumped."

"C'mon, this should be easy. I go to Gotham High with you, we share the hate for stuck up girls, and we always mock chick flicks when we're alone."

"Well if isn't Aaron West."

Abby spun around to face Aaron. "So do I get a prize?"

"Yeah."

Aaron leaned in and crashed his lips onto hers. She wanted to deepen the kiss, but a cough interrupted them.

T.J. looked at them annoyed. "You say I rub in my love life."

"And what love life would that be?" Abby shot back.

"Touché, but I'm working at it."

"You just keep telling yourself that."

He smiled smugly. "I will."

"Hello, Abby."

She turned to see Dent walking up to them without Rachel by his side. Figures, she must've left him hanging.

Abby forced a smile. "Hi, Mr. Dent."

"Please, that's my father. Call me Harvey."

"OK…Harvey."

"I see you invited some friends over."

"Oh yeah, right." Abby gestured towards Aaron. "This is my boyfriend, Aaron and my friends, Sasha, Heather and T.J."

Dent shook hands with each of them. When he finished he looked to Aaron. "Hey, you're Officer Liam West's boy, right?"

Aaron nodded his head. "Yes, sir."

"How's he been?"

"He's been good. My mom just left for Chicago for a couple weeks so he's trying to get home as early as he can to help us around the house. He's even taking a double shift tonight so that he can get home early tomorrow."

"That's good. At least he's giving the effort."

"So where's my mom?" asked Abby.

Dent gave a nervous laugh. "You tell me. She left me to fend for myself."

Dent obviously didn't like the attention that he was about to get from the rich side of town. Abby still found it amusing how he would spit in the face of death and then begin to cringe around the simplest things. An idea then came into her mind.

"Well, we're going to find some food," she told him. "Have fun receiving donations."

Abby led Aaron and her friends away from Dent before he could say anything to stop them.

"Are you really that hungry?" Unlike Dent, Aaron didn't buy the lie at all.

"No. Not yet anyway. I just wanted to see how he handled these people alone," she explained.

Before anyone could respond to Abby's lie, a roar from a landing helicopter came from the helipad outside. From the distance, Abby could see Bruce come out with three women on hand. Her father really got carried away sometimes when he played Prince of Gotham.

"I'm sorry I'm late," he said as he entered the room. "I'm glad to see that you all got started without me. Now, where is Harvey Dent? The man of the hour." Bruce spotted Dent and his eyes began to move around the crowd. "Where is Rachel Dawes? She is my oldest friend." Bruce caught sight of Rachel and gestured for her. "Come here."

Rachel stepped a few feet from the crowd.

"When Rachel first told me that she was dating Harvey Dent," Bruce continued. "I had one thing to say: 'The guy from those God-awful campaign commercials?' 'I Believe in Harvey Dent'. Yeah, nice slogan, Harvey. It got Rachel's attention. Then I started to pay attention to Harvey and all that he's been doing as our new DA and you know what, I believe in Harvey Dent. I believe that under his watch, Gotham can feel a bit safer. A little more optimistic. Look at this face. This is the face of Gotham's bright future. To Harvey Dent, let's hear it for him."

Everyone clapped in appreciation for Dent. Bruce wasn't giving that speech as Bruce Wayne. He was giving it as Batman. Did he not see the news that evening? Was he really just going to hand over the Batman pedestal over to Dent? Abby needed to talk to him. She needed to talk to someone who knew the Batman secret.

"Wow, I didn't know your dad was so passionate about this city's safety," Heather mused.

Abby mumbled. "You have no idea."

"Well, I don't know about you guys, but I'm going to find something I can actually drink in this place."

"I'm right with you," said Sasha.

"You guys go ahead," said Abby. "I'm gonna go talk to my dad really quick."

"OK," Aaron replied. "We'll probably be by the kitchen or something."

"Cool, I'll see you around."

Abby pushed her way through the crowd to catch up with her father. She had seen him go out to the balcony with Rachel following behind. This was a serious issue that Abby had to speak to him about. If she could tell Aaron, she would, but opposing forces were stopping her from doing so. As she came closer to the balcony, she saw Dent walking out with Rachel. Abby took this as her opportunity to speak to Bruce alone.

The cold wind brushed on her skin as she went outside. Bruce was standing alone, looking at Gotham.

"Hey," she said.

Bruce looked back to her. "Hey. Having fun?"

She approached the railing of the balcony. "I wish, but what can I do?"

"It's benefiting Harvey, that's all that matters now."

Abby nodded in agreement. "That is the purpose. Look, Dad I need to talk to you about that speech you made about Dent."

"I wasn't lying, Abby. I meant every word of it."

"That's exactly what I want to talk about. Are really just dumping Gotham onto Dent?"

"You and I both know that Harvey Dent is more than capable of taking care of Gotham."

"I know that, but it just doesn't feel right. Especially after I saw tonight's news."

Bruce sighed. "So you did see it."

"I'm not blind, Dad. I can see when your life is being threatened. Ra's was one thing, but this guy is different. He's involving other people. And you just giving the Batman pedestal to Dent seems like you're quitting."

"Batman was never a permanent deal. I thought you could at least figure that out by now. As for the Joker, I'm trying to get to the bottom of that."

Abby looked over the balcony facing the low ground. "Yeah, it sure looks like you are."

"I had to come here tonight. If I want to keep my image of Bruce Wayne up, I need to attend the fundraisers I throw."

"I get that, but I'm worried. I'm worried about what's going to happen next, about Gotham, about my family and friends…and especially you. You're the one putting it on the line for yourself against the mob."

Bruce's warm hand rested on cold shoulder. "You don't need to worry about me. You've got a life of your to worry about. Besides this is probably the mob's doing since I brought the man who ratted them out."

Abby looked at him with wary eyes. "Even if it wasn't, I'd still be worried. People can die in this and I don't even think Batman can handle that. He isn't completely invincible, you know." She let a tear slip as she looked back down at the ground.

Bruce didn't have anything to say to that. He only kept his hand on her shoulder. She observed the activity below to pass the silence. There were still many cars active in the streets. All of them moving in lines parallel to each other. Abby could see the people walking past the building as well. She was about to take her eyes away from the sight when she saw a disruption in the streets. A white van swerved through the streets pulling up past the curb. She squinted her eyes even more to try to get a better look of the people getting out of the van. It was difficult to see their faces, but they seemed to be in a hurry to get inside.

Wait, why where they trying to get inside the building?

Abby looked back up to Bruce. "Did you see that?"

"See what?"

"There was van that pulled up down there and people rushing inside to get into the building."

"Could you see anything specific about these people?"

"No, it's too far. I just know they were rushing in here really fast."

Bruce seemed to freeze for a moment. "I need you to stay here and out of sight."

"Why? What is it?"

"He's here. He's come for Dent."

Bruce didn't have to explain who. Abby already knew. The Joker was going after Harvey Dent first. It would only be moments now when the clown would start his rampage.

Her eyes went wide. "I have to find Aaron and everybody."

She turned to leave, but Bruce gripped her shoulders.

"They'll be fine," he said. "You just stay out here and make sure you're away from the windows."

"Then I should be fine too. I at least want to give them a head start."

"No. You are staying out here."

Abby tried to resist Bruce's hold, but he was too strong. She had to find Aaron and her friends to save them somehow. She didn't want to disobey Bruce, but it was a necessary evil. As was the action she was about to commit. Abby quickly leaned against Bruce, stabbing him in the stomach with her elbow and kicking him in the knee. Bruce let go a moment long enough for Abby to run back into the Penthouse.

She didn't injure him too much (she hoped) it was only enough to get away. Besides he had to worry about getting Dent out of the Penthouse and dealing with the Joker. He couldn't worry about Abby's wellbeing when he was Batman. He had clearly said that himself.

Abby searched desperately for Aaron or any of her other friends. She rushed through the crowd of people to get to the kitchen. Her heart was pounding and her adrenaline was rising. It was as if the room stretched on for miles, making it not possible for her to reach her friends in time. Her mind was so focused on getting to the kitchen that she didn't even realize that she had collided with someone.

"In a hurry somewhere?"

Abby smiled at the person staring at her. "Aaron! Oh thank God! We need to find everyone else."

She gripped Aaron's arm and pulled him along with her. "Where are they?"

"They're right behind me. Why are you being so jumpy?"

"No reason. I just need everyone together."

"What's wrong, Abby?"

"Just trust me, okay?"

Abby had caught sight of Sasha, Heather and T.J. heading their direction, but it was already too late. Bang! A gunshot ran through the room. Everyone in the room fell silent and froze. Abby used all of the energy that she could find to turn around with Aaron. Although they weren't that far back into the crowd, Abby could see everything that was going on. A clearing had been made in the center of the room, allowing the Joker and his thugs to roam freely. He looked different in person. More terrifying. He was taller than she was, his scars were more pronounced, and he wore a purple suit. No one dared to say a word as they stared at the menacing man.

"Good evening, ladies and gentlemen." The Joker lowered his gun. "We are…tonight's entertainment. I only have one question: where is Harvey Dent?"

He scanned around the room for anybody to answer. No one did. The Joker took a glass of champagne, spilling more than half of it, and went around the room asking people if they knew where Dent was.

Abby whispered in the lowest voice that she could. "Just stay calm…If he doesn't know we're here then he won't bother us."

"Not that he would care," Aaron whispered back. "He only seems to be interested in Dent. Do you know where he is?"

"No. I haven't seen him since my dad's speech."

"You know, I'll settle for his loved ones," the Joker said to an older gentleman.

"We're not intimidated by thugs," the man spat.

The Joker looked at him thoughtfully. "You remind me of my father." He suddenly grabbed the back of the man's neck and brought his knife to his face. "I hated my father."

"Okay, stop."

Abby's heart nearly stopped when she heard the voice. She knew who it was, but she didn't want to believe it. Turning her head, she realized it was true. Rachel had stepped out of the crowd and asked a madman to pause.

The Joker pushed the man away and began to stride towards Rachel. "Well hello beautiful." He pushed back his hair with his knife. "You must be Harvey's squeeze. And you are beautiful."

Abby watched nervously as the Joker circled around Rachel. Rachel tried to keep her brave stance, but she flinched away every time the Joker got close to her.

"You look nervous. Is it the scars? Wanna know how I got 'em?" His hands went to grab her face.

Rachel tried to avoid them, but it was no use. He clasped her face with his knife still on hand and Rachel struggling. Abby didn't know what she was doing when it happened, but her feet began to move towards her mother. Aaron's hand had gripped her arm to stop her. She wanted nothing more than to move further and save her mother. With the knife pressed to Rachel's cheek, anything could happen.

"Come here, hey. Look at me," the Joker tried to ease in his low voice.

Rachel reluctantly looked at him.

"So I had a wife," he began. "Beautiful, like you, who tells me I worry too much…who tells me I oughta smile more…who gambles and gets in deep with the sharks." Rachel struggled once again. "One day they carve her face. We have no money for surgeries. She can't take it. I just want to see her smile again, hm. I just want her to know that I don't care about the scars."

Abby could sense the pain in his voice. It must've been the pain that drove him crazy.

"So, I stick a razor into my mouth and do this," the Joker showed the scars on his face, "to myself. And you know what? She can't stand the sight of me! She leaves. Now I see the funny side: now I'm always smiling."

The Joker hand let go of Rachel giving her the chance to punch him in the stomach.

He only laughed at this action. "A little fight in you. I like that."

"Then you're gonna love me."

And just like that, all of Abby's fears were gone. The one man who had saved her countless times had finally arrived.

The Joker turned just in time for Batman to punch him in the face sending him across the room. Batman then grabbed two of the thugs and knocked them out. Unfortunately the Joker had recovered from Batman's blow and ordered one of the thugs to hit him from behind. Batman was taken off guard. The thug grabbed him and held him to the ground. The Joker kicked him the stomach far harder than Abby had hit him. The thug forcefully brought him to his feet. Abby heard a click as the Joker kicked him once more in the stomach. When the Joker brought his foot to the ground, she saw the shine of the blade at the tip of his shoe. She flinched at the sight.

The Joker went to kick him again, but Batman pushed him to the ground knocking the thug behind him to the ground in the process. Suddenly, he froze. For moment Abby wondered why he frozen until she heard the click of the gun. She turned to see the Joker holding a gun to Rachel.

Abby tried to struggle against Aaron's grip. He didn't budge one bit. It was true that he knew her too well sometimes.

"Drop the gun," said Batman.

"Oh, sure. You just take off your mask and show us all who you really are. Hm?" The Joker pointed the gun higher up in the air.

Rachel shook her head at Batman.

The Joker shot the gun to the window behind causing it to shatter into pieces. Then he did something that Abby had somewhat expected, but didn't want. He held her out the window.

Batman kept his frozen position. "Let her go."

"Very poor choice of words."

The next thing that he did shocked everyone in the penthouse. Even Batman himself. The Joker released Rachel from his grasp while laughing hysterically. He let her go…but out of the window. Aaron seemed to be shocked by this as well. So shocked in fact, that he had let Abby go. There was nothing to stop her from attempting to help her mother. She ran as fast as she could to the shattered window.

"MOM!" Abby screamed.

She was just behind Batman as he jumped out the window to Rachel's rescue. Abby nearly fell off the edge of the window in her attempt to stop. Her head peered down to see what she could. Rachel slid off the incline of the roof with Batman following behind. Before they were completely off the ledge though, Batman had grasped her hand. Abby sighed in relief. Rachel was safe. Granted, they still had many stories to go, Batman would still keep her safe from harm.

"Hm, that worked out better than I thought," a voice mused.

Abby's heart had officially stopped. When she had sprinted for Rachel, it didn't occur to her that the Joker would still be standing there.

With all of her unfrozen muscles in her body, she turned her head to the Joker.

The Joker focused his attention on Abby. "Well, well, well, what do we have here?"

Abby didn't answer.

"Wait, don't tell me…you're, uh, daddy's little princess. Is that right?"

She slowly nodded. She wanted to speak. She wanted to show him that she wasn't afraid. But it wasn't possible for some reason. His face alone had made her body tense up.

"You look scared. Is it the scars?"

Again, she couldn't find herself to answer him. Why was she being this way? Abby never acted like this around Crane or Ra's, why was this guy so different?

"Here, come here."

The Joker's hands reached for her. She tried to flinch away, but he was too quick. Abby struggled as Rachel did. The difference this time: when he had brought her to look at him, she struggled no more. Her breathing had become slow and everything else when numb.

He licked his lips. "I've seen you plenty of times in the newspaper, but I could never really remember your name. I'm never good with names. People have to tell me what they're name is so that I can remember it. So tell me, what's your name, Princess?"

Abby opened her mouth to answer, but no words came out.

Groaning, he held up his knife in front of her face. "Don't make this harder than this has to be, Sweetheart."

She tried to use her voice, but it became mute.

"Maybe you need a little bit of encouragement…"

A sudden sharp pain occurred at her neck. Warm blood streamed down. She gasped a scream.

"I would do this to your pretty face, but I need you to tell me your name."

"Abby," she gasped out.

The Joker pressed his knife deeper into her neck. Abby screamed. "I already told you!"

"I need a full name," he growled.

She held back the tears that were rushing to her eyes. "Abigail Rachel Dawes Wayne."

"There, there, now was that so hard." The Joker took the knife off of her neck. "Hm, you look a little too serious right now. It's a party, isn't it? Why aren't you smiling?" He gave her a light slap on the cheek. "Smile for me now."

Abby's face didn't change shape. Tears began to stream down as she continued to feel the pain on her neck.

The Joker suddenly pressed his knife onto her mouth. "If you don't show me a smile, I'll have to carve one."

Slowly, Abby gave a forced smile. The Joker was about to say something, but police sirens in the distance distracted him.

"I guess this is where I get off," the Joker released her from her grasp. "See you around, Princess."

He let out a loud laugh as he ran out of the room with the rest of his thugs. Abby continued to stay still. Had that just happened? Was her life on thread just moments before? Most of all, had she really done nothing about it? She remembered her experiences with Crane and Ra's and not once did she let them take control of her. What was it with this Joker character that made her freeze just by looking into his eyes?

Aaron's voice had taken her out of her trance. "Abby!"

Aaron took Abby into an embrace, holding her tight. "Are you all right?"

"I…don't…know," she struggled to say.

"Your neck is bleeding." With one swift movement, he ripped piece of cloth from his white undershirt and pressed it against her neck. "Your hands are shaking too."

"Were they doing that the whole time?"

"I don't know. I was too far back, but I saw enough. He could have killed you."

"I know."

There was sudden common in the penthouse as the police entered inside. Liam was the first to enter with his gun on hand. He headed towards Aaron once he caught sight of Abby and Aaron.

"What happened here?" Liam demanded. "Where did the Joker go?"

"He's gone, but Dad, could please put a pause to the questions now?"

Although disappointed by Aaron's news, Liam looked to Abby. "Are you okay?"

Abby nodded.

"Did he do anything to hurt you?"

"He cut my neck when I didn't say what my name was and he nearly cut my mouth for not smiling," she said.

"Let me get a good look at that cut."

Aaron lifted the cloth off of Abby's neck. Liam examined the cut.

"It looks like it's not bleeding as much as it did before, but this might call for some stitches." He said. "You might want to go to the hospital."

Abby shook her head. "No, it's okay. Alfred knows enough about stitching people up."

"Well just get that fixed up. I'm gonna go question the witnesses around here. In the meantime, Aaron, you stay with Abby and the rest of your friends. I'll take all of you home once I'm done here."

"OK, Dad," said Aaron, placing the cloth back on Abby's cut.

Aaron gently guided Abby through the living room with the crowd of people still staring at her. He took her up the stairs and led her to her room. Without a single knock, Sasha and Heather came rushing in with T.J. tagging along.

"What the heck happened out there, Abby?" Sasha immediately questioned. "You just stood there like some wallflower."

"I really don't know," she groaned in response.

"I guess that clown fear is a lot serious than we thought…"

T.J. quirked an eyebrow. "And what clown fear may this be?"

"She's had it ever since our school took a fieldtrip to the carnival. Some clown jumped in front of Abby and it's scarred her for life."

"So she's always been like this around clowns?"

"She used to be a lot worse," Heather added. "She used to run and scream. We kind of helped her through it though. But I think we didn't really work on the freezing to death part yet."

"Forget her phobia of clowns for minute and concentrate on the fact that she actually survived," Aaron nearly snapped.

"Sorry I asked, man," T.J. mumbled.

Aaron did not once leave Abby's side. When she went to sit down on her bed, he followed the exact movement.

"I talked to Alfred," Sasha informed them. "He's on his way with the first aid kit."

"Abby, are you okay?" T.J. asked with concern written on his face.

"Would everyone stop asking me that?" she said, annoyed.

"Sorry, it's that you haven't said a word for a while and you look really pale."

"Then maybe I'm turning into a vampire then."

Aaron put a hand up before anyone else could say anything else. "Look, let's just not mention it for now. It'll probably make it easier for Abby to get over."

Heather sighed. "All right then, did you guys see that last episode of Gossip Girl before it was rudely interrupted."

"You're seriously asking Aaron and me that?" T.J. looked at her in disbelief.

"Yep."

Abby tried to stay focused in their conversation about the drama show, but her mind kept coming back to her encounter with the Joker. She wanted nothing more than to cry at that moment. Her stubbornness not to do so had stopped her though. Abby already had shown enough weakness in front of the Joker, she didn't want to show anymore in front of her friends. Her paranoia was quickly fading away while she was in Aaron's arms. But there was still one part of it left when she remembered the Joker's last words to her: "See you around, Princess." If Abby didn't know any better this was just only the beginning. And that alone scared her even more than the Joker did.


Well that was my attempt at portraying the Joker. Hopefully I did okay. I don't know when the next chapter will be up though. I started on it, but school is still a pain in the butt. Plus I'm planning to join the water polo team so I don't know. Thankfully I have everything planned out so it will mostly likely not take as long as it did when I wrote this stuff off of the top of my head.

~Emyrox567