Author's note: Long time since I updated, I know ): Blackadder-style ah-pull-loh-gees all round. And…IT'S THE SECOND-TO-LAST CHAPTER! Waaahh! I was having so much fun writing this too! ): Thank you to everyone for sticking with me so long – I honestly do not deserve you wonderful people! And a very long 'thank you' bow to xTullyx for recommending my humble fic on (; And I love my pimpin' banner. And thank you to RaindropSoup, for recommending ISYM on the LUV'NV blog! Best blog ever? *Nods* (;
Joker
On my signal, Gio cut the feed and turned off the camera.
The craziness that had clouded my mind for the past few hours dissipated slightly, and my body was…empty.
Something within me had been flushed away, like an overgrown pet or an unwanted Christmas present – something had been cleansed.
Was this what it was like to feel…fulfilled?
True fulfilment was something that I came across rarely – in fact, I could only remember truly feeling fulfilled with Isabella.
My eyes went straight to hers without my permission as everything but her began to fade away – the defeated Bruce Wayne ceased to exist, as did the sobbing butler under my hands, and all I could see was Isabella's face glowing with happiness.
She was happy for me.
Unlikely, and completely un-fucking-believable…but completely true – that beauty was mine, that bat-shit crazy woman was mine and she was happy to be so. She was happy to see a city fall to ruins, she was happy to see grown men cry softly for their lost cause, and she was happy to see me stand as the cause of it – she was even happy to be a part of it.
I had never felt so–
Something hit me hard.
It was in the shape of a large, leather-clad fist.
I sighed, my head turned to the side from the force of his hit, "Bats, why couldn't you just lie down and play dead until after I finished havin' my epiphany?"
I laughed as his fist came at me again.
Then she was there.
My tiger was stood in front of me, clutching the Bat's fist in her hand and slowly squeezing it – Bruce Wayne's blue eyes were dark with hate, pain and fury, but I knew Isabella's would be darker.
My hands automatically reached for her slim waist and full hips, pulling her back against me as she crushed another man's hand in hers – my mouth went to her ear as the bones of his wrist snapped and Wayne growled in pain.
"Thank you," I muttered, my lips smearing red across her earlobe. "You're just as helpful as a Girl Scout, aren'tcha?"
Isabella laughed softly, turning slightly so I could see her dark eyes dancing with light, "And I'll bet you were kicked out."
I smirked and kissed her neck, letting my tongue take a swipe at her skin, "Of course – too many rules for me."
Isabella turned back to Wayne, letting his hand with its mangled digits drop as she smiled, "Sorry, I forgot I was crushing every bone in your hand excruciatingly slowly."
It was quiet now, except for the buzzing of the nearest streetlights and the low, pained groans from Bats – I held onto Isabella tightly as my boys went about their business, securing our two captives, clearing up some of our kit and making a few phone calls.
Now my mind was a little clearer, it was difficult to believe that everything would end this way – I'd finished my life's goal, and…I wasn't entirely sure why.
The doc's at Arkham would be pleased – I was actually trying to figure out something about myself.
Because, without really planning it, I'd ended my career.
Unmasking Batman was what I was all about – it was my 'thing'. But I'd never intended to actually go through with it…
Until I met her.
I cocked my head to the left and rested my chin on Isabella's shoulder, "You didn't ask me why I did this."
Her cheek lifted in a small smile, "I thought you wouldn't want to tell me."
I laughed lowly against her ear, speaking only for her, "You knew I was doing it for you?"
"I had an…inkling about ten minutes ago."
"Well, you could have clued me in, sugar," I sighed playfully. "Now I look like I have no idea what I'm doing."
Isabella snorted softly, "You always look that way – you make everything seem effortless."
A few minutes passed, before my hands tightened around her waist and I pressed my face closer to hers, "So now that I've inadvertently created a future for…us…"
My words trailed off – where the hell was I going with any of this? Craziness did that to you – one minute you'd be chasing cars and trying to catch them for the fun of it, and the next you'd realise that actually you were doing it to actually catch it.
It hit me like Bats' fist – something within me had worked against me, letting me think I was just finally going through with unmasking Batman when really it just wanted me to be unshackled; unshackled from Gotham, from caped crusaders…and from the world I had lived and suffered in for far too long.
Isabella turned in my hands and grinned up at me, "You think it's time?"
"Time to go–to leave?" I asked sternly.
She just smiled more brightly, "Isn't that what you want?"
A part of me was reluctant, hating her power and the power of whatever resided within me that wanted just her, but then…the rest of me wanted her as well.
I ran my fingers through her long curls and pushed back the hood of her dress, "Where?"
"Somewhere with lots of cars to chase."
"Good answer," I grinned, softening, and then leant down to kiss her, hard…
And then something rocked the city.
The ground beneath us trembled and quaked, and the papers scattered across the sidewalk and the rest of the street were caught by a huge gust of wind and carried away into the sky…
Tanks and choppers.
I sighed and rolled my eyes, "Y'know, these moments keep getting interrupted – I wonder whether–"
My mouth was forcibly slammed shut by a pair of large stone hands – Big Blonde was standing behind me, his hands over my mouth and his eyes trained on the clouds to the west of the city.
"Trouble," Isabella murmured, absentmindedly pulling Big Blonde's hands away from my mouth as I stared at him darkly.
He just nodded.
Bella
The henchmen were scattering, running down the alleys and away from the noise that was slowly getting closer and closer to where Jasper, the Joker and I stood – some of the men were clutching or pulling on their Joker-brand gas-masks and goggles, which had kept them safe from the Joker's Laughing Gas that had swirled through the city not so long ago…
Now it was tear gas and something else, and the henchmen had anticipated its release correctly – I could smell it on the whipping wind.
I picked up a spare fluorescent gas-mask and goggle set at my feet and handed it to my mate at my side, "Keep it with you – just in case. There's not much time."
Jasper had been idly standing by up 'til now, but the threat had kicked him into high gear and his eyes were darting around looking for the best way of getting out of Gotham alive.
"We'll go east for now, but they'll be expectin' it," Jasper murmured, turning to run east.
I turned and smiled at the Joker, who was looking at me with something akin to amusement – he sighed, "You want to carry me – don't you, Tiger?"
I didn't bother with a reply, I simply lifted him into my arms – he felt like a feather practically, and I couldn't help laughing at the absurdity of how it would look for a seemingly-one-hundred-pound teenage girl to carry a fully-grown man in her arms like he weighed nothing whatsoever.
I left like a shot, a metre behind the lightning-like Jasper.
The Joker stretched in my hold as our clothes and hair was whipped back by the wind – his hands found purchase behind his head and he crossed his ankles, smiling at me cheekily.
"You're quite comfortable really," he grinned, making me roll my eyes.
We rocketed east through Gotham in silence, before Jasper and I heard the noise of reinforcements – they were closing in on us; there were a few helicopters, and one of them was definitely a news chopper.
I growled to Jasper, "They'll slow us down – we can't be seen, especially filmed, or the Volturi will be on our backs."
He just turned his head and let his gaze flicker over the Joker and me – when his eyes met mine, I knew what he was going to do.
"No–" I breathed, but it was too late.
With a single parting smile, Jasper leapt onto the closest rooftop and let himself be seen in all his true, natural glory – he gave the cameras one hell of a show.
I saw him leap and fly, twisting in the air at an inhuman speed, out of the corner of my eye which stung with venom.
The Joker said nothing as we turned south, though I felt his gaze burning a hole in the side of my head – my hearing allowed me to find a hole in the circle the helicopters that had been radioed in had created.
I dimly heard the excited noise in the news chopper fade away as they followed Jasper, and most of the other helicopters followed him too – only a couple hovered close by, waiting to see if anything else would surface from the darkened streets of Gotham.
"I have a car, further south," Joker said semi-quietly, breaking the silence surrounding us. "Do you know where Big Rob's Fix 'n' Shine is?"
I just nodded, trying not to feel anything for the brother that had given his life to let me and my mate escape – although Jasper wasn't dead yet, I knew he soon would be.
At least one vampire from the Volturi was probably stationed close by to Gotham – I wasn't so naïve to think that the 'perfect' Cullens wouldn't have called them now – and they would work fast.
I knew where to find Big Rob's – Rosalie's love for all things mechanical meant that I knew every mechanic's, garage and odd parts store in town; Big Rob's was a dubious one.
It took hardly any time at all to clear the brighter and wider streets and enter the seedy slum on the outskirts of Gotham in which Big Rob's was planted – the alleys and the tightly pressed together businesses and buildings made it easier to hide from the two slowly searching helicopters overhead.
The bright beams of searchlights flashed over us a couple of times in the darkness as I ran, but we were like smoke in the shadows to the pilots above.
"Listen, Tiger," Joker suddenly murmured, as we neared Big Rob's. "I'm… I knew you liked the guy."
The Joker was trying to be sympathetic in his own way, but I didn't want to hear it – an irrational part of me thought that if he began speaking about Jasper like he was already gone it would make it so, even though I already knew that my brother was so close to death.
My heart ached violently, but my mind closed off the subject, "We're here."
The Joker's brown-green eyes flickered over my face and then to the peeling sign of Big Rob's – he stayed silent, jumping out of my hold.
His coat snapped and swished behind him as he jogged into the large warehouse-type building through the open, metal sliding doors – I flitted behind him silently, contemplating our escape…and a possible way to save Jasper. But I dismissed those ideas immediately – the Joker was far more important, no matter who else put their life on the line.
But my eyes still stung with venom.
The inside of Big Rob's was completely deserted, just like the rest of the city; not a heartbeat in the place – there were half-cranked up cars above the concrete mechanic pits, and metal tables with all kinds of tools and paperwork all over them…and then there was a door.
The Joker went straight for it.
As soon as he pushed open the rivet-outlined metal door, he reached up and I heard him grab a set of keys – he jangled them at me and crooked his finger.
"Time to bust outta here, Tiger," he grinned, his ruby lips shining.
He was beautiful – he had to know how much I...
I went to him silently as he walked up to a dark BMW – before he opened the door and got in, I caught his arm; he turned to me with a twinkle in his eye.
"Jay…" I breathed, losing the words I wanted to say as the Joker smiled at me knowingly.
"I know," he replied, tipping my face up so he could steal a deep kiss – my lips pressed back against his with hunger, my body trilling with the knowledge that he knew.
He knew I loved him.
I didn't need to hear it back – I didn't need him to love me as long as he still wanted me with him.
I pulled back, opened the car door behind him with a smile and then went to the passenger's side and got in – when I sat down and shut the door behind me, he was still standing where I had left him. It took him a moment to follow my example and get in – when he did, his eyes didn't stray near me and his brow was deeply furrowed.
He slammed his door, turned the key in the ignition and flew through the large, open, garage backdoor with the wheels squealing shrilly.
The ride was silent apart from the purr of the engine as we slipped down dark street after dark street, towards the forest roads at the edge of Gotham – lights were unneeded, and the closest helicopters were searching away from us: everything was perfect.
The Joker's hands tightened on the steering wheel spasmodically, drawing my eye – he rolled his head to the side, clicking his neck, and ran his pink tongue over his bright teeth.
He wanted to say something.
I waited.
It wasn't until we reached the edge of Gotham, driving under the first few leaves of the continuous canopy that covered the roads away from the city, that his shoulders dropped in a loss of tension and he turned his head towards me slightly.
"You're mine," the Joker stated simply.
He said nothing else.
"Wh–" I began to ask, but the dark look in his eyes silenced me.
"Don't question me, Tiger – that's all I'm going to say."
I nodded softly, flicking the hood of my dress up and leaning back into it…to hide my smile – I looked at the reflection of the Joker in the window on my side and bit my lip as I watched him turn towards me with a mixed look, a mix of extreme control, yearning, and softness.
I was his…
He loved me too.
The Joker's eyes caught mine in the reflection of the window and a moment passed between us that nothing could break.
Not even the large vampire that suddenly ghosted alongside my side of the car and slammed against it to knock us off the road.
No, not even that.
My eyes never left the Joker's as I sent my fist flying through the window, shattering the glass into thousands of sparkling pieces and knocking half of the vampire's face off in a grinding of metal and a splatter of venom.
The bulky vampire's body dropped instantly, his remaining red eye flashing with surprise and darkening with unconsciousness as he hit the road in a flutter of black.
I saw gold flash on his chest as we sped away – Volturi.
As I drew my still-curled, and venom-dappled, hand back through the window, I murmured, "Felix…"
The Joker's eyes slid towards me, a smirk curling his lips, "Old lover?"
"He 'dibbed' my blood once upon a time – I guess he'll just have to settle for my fist."
"I'm the only one around here who does any dibbing, sugar," he said lowly, darkly, his voice full of promise as if I had slid my hand up his thigh instead of slammed my fist into another vampire's face.
I leaned over the centre console and licked my lips obscenely, "Shall we stop soon for a spot of 'dibbing'?"
The Joker growled, his irises dilating and his blood rushing south, "Say the word."
"Now," I grinned, just needing him.
The Joker braked and the car spun – it skidded a few metres and then to a halt under thicker cover off the road.
I practically leapt from my side of the car as the Joker swiftly removed himself from his – he pulled me over the hood, pressing me against the shining metal that was hot from the still-running engine; its purring sent shivers through my highly-sensitive body.
In the dim purpleness, his mouth came down on mine – a force to be reckoned with.
His heat overwhelmed me, his heartbeat rang in my ears, and his blood thrummed beneath my fingertips – he was so beautiful, but so achingly fragile.
If finally losing Jasper, my brother, was even a thousandth of the pain of losing my mate…then I didn't want to consider the thought of losing the Joker – I wanted him like me.
A vampire.
I gasped as his hot hands roughly pushed up the hem of my dress over my thighs and bunched it around my hips – his fingers ran down the inside of my knees, his nails trying to score my skin as he growled deeply in his chest for me.
How could I ever live without this, now?
I grasped his neck, digging my fingertips into the back of it as I pulled his face impossibly closer to mine to kiss him more deeply.
He grinned against my lips and nudged me to tell me to flip over – I did so swiftly, my hands pressing against the hood of the car and denting the metal as he bucked his clothed hips against my bare ones.
I moaned as I felt the hard length of him pressed against my aching core – the friction from the semi-rough material of his pants as he ground against me had me burning for him.
The scrap of lace that covered my sex was ripped to shreds by his powerful hands and I cried out when I felt him shift down behind me so his tongue could explore my soft folds.
His growling increased, sending my body into spasms as his sounds vibrated against my throbbing bundle of nerves…
But I absolutely shattered when I felt his teeth softly biting at me.
That wave of pleasure crashed over me and left me shaking and panting on the hood of the car – my fingers were curved, piercing the metal as I tried to gain my unnecessary breath back.
But before I could, there was a soft jangle and woosh of something hitting the ground and then the Joker was inside me.
I moaned and growled as he curved his body to mine, pushing my feet further apart so he could nestle his hips against mine better. His hot hardness throbbed within me, sending waves of tingles rushing under my skin and through my body.
His lips caressed the shell of my ear, "You may be hurt by his sacrifice, sugar, but it means that we can be like this…"
His hips thrust forward firmly, punctuating his statement and making me gasp as he hit some deep spot within me.
"Blondie's given us the chance to have our life," Joker growled. "And you're sadly mistaken if you think I'm not abso-fucking-lutely pleased about that."
I pressed my cheek to the warm metal of the car as he moved within me, grasping my hips and making me shake and shiver.
"But I'm not making any promises…" He muttered over and over, as we climbed our high – I knew he was trying to tell himself he could still leave if he wanted to, because I knew a part of him would always want to escape.
But we both knew he couldn't.
He needed me now.
He needed me more than his knives, or his fear, or his city to torment – it was why we were here in the first place.
When the Joker reached down to pinch my pulsing button, I crashed like a wave – he wasn't far behind, my release inducing his own.
We stayed that way for a while, just listening to the engine hum and the wind rush through the trees – it was…almost peaceful.
Then he turned my chin so my lips could meet his in a small kiss, pulled back and murmured, "Chasing cars is what we do…"
"And, occasionally, we'll catch some," I smiled back softly.
"We'll bite the tyres until the wheels come off…"
"And dance around the twisted, burning wreck?" I finished with a suggestion, laughing softly.
"Exactly," he growled, pressing his mouth to mine, and I never wanted peace again.
Author's note: