This one might be a bit rushed and might even get a little weird at the end. A tad OoC if you will. Which I apologize greatly for. I don't like forcing my characters into situations and I feel like I just did with the ending. So, you don't have to tell me it feels out of place because trust me, I'm beating myself up about it as we speak (er, type). Plus, there's really not much that goes on until the end.

Nerves

Chapter Ten - My Nerves on the Water

The Joker slung his arm around Bonnie's shoulders and directed her to the back emergency exit of the bus. He swung open the door and pushed her out. She landed on her feet and glared up at him as he jumped down.

"You see," he said. "I'm about to send a message to Gotham." He drew out a wad of papers and handed them to Bonnie.

She unfolded the papers and read through them quickly. "This is your message? You're going to blow up the bridges?"

"We're playing by my rules now."

"We've been playing by your rules this whole fucking time! You got me out of jail, you threw Rachel out the window, you blew up the jail to get out, you blew up Gotham General, and now you're rigging up boats and bridges! It's been you the whole time!"

The Joker waited a second before asking, "Are you done with your little rant because I have a message to send."

He walked away from her and got back on the bus where he grabbed the news reporter Engel and dragged him to the bottom floor of the building. Bonnie sighed in frustration, angry that she was going to follow him regardless of how mad he made her.

"What the fuck are we doing with him?" she asked about Engel.

"Hanging him from the rafters," was her answer.

"What?"

"You know, your voice gets really annoying after a while."

Bonnie shut her mouth and tried hard not to sulk from the insult. The Joker noticed her forlornness and sighed in frustration. "I'm hanging him upside from the rafters and filming as he reads from this script." He snatched back the papers and held them up for emphasis.

The Joker shoved Engel down onto the ground and began tying him up. He threw one end of the rope across a beam and pulled it until the news reporter was hanging by his ankles. A henchman showed up with a sheet and they secured it upside down behind the man. On it was written "Breaking News" in red paint. Another henchman handed the Joker a video camera.

"Alright," he addressed the news reporter. "You're going to read off this little script here while I film, okay?" It sounded like he was talking to a child.

Engel nodded as best he could and took hold of the papers. The Joker started up the camera and Bonnie and the two henchmen backed up out of the shot.

"And action."

"I'm Mike Engel, from Gotham Tonight," he introduced and then began to read the script. "'What do I have to do to make you people want to join in? You failed to kill the lawyer, I've got to get you off the bench and into the game. Come nightfall, the city is mine. And anyone left here plays by my rules. If you don't want to be in the game, get out now. But the bridge and tunnel crowd are sure in for a surprise. Ha ha, ha ha."

The Joker burst out laughing and turned the camera off. He took out the tape and threw it to Bonnie.

"Deliver that for me will you Bon-Bon?"

Bonnie caught the tape and looked at it warily. "Sure, where to?"

"The news station. And after that, get rid of the school bus."

"Any specific way?"

The Joker turned to her. "Use your imagination."

Bonnie nodded and ran out to the bus. She ordered everyone off. Once all the thugs had all the patients and nurses unloaded, Bonnie started up the large, yellow vehicle and made her way to the news station. It was difficult navigating the small streets in a bus but Bonnie figured that the cops would be too busy worrying about Gotham General than a crappy driver. She pulled off to the side of the street near the news station. Bonnie grabbed a red pen and wrote "Breaking News" on the front. She slipped out of the bus and placed the video on the steps of the news station. The door opened as someone was about to walk out.

"What is this?" It was one of the anchors.

Bonnie looked up slowly, caught in the act. What would the Joker say? She stood up fully and proudly. "It's a message," she stated simply before walking away. Short, sweet, and to the point. The Joker would have been proud.

The news anchor called after her but Bonnie ignored him. She jumped back on the bus and started it up again, taking off down the street. She made her way to the docks where she put the bus in neutral and pushed it into the waters. She sat for a moment to collect her thoughts. Night was already falling on Gotham and soon, whatever was the rest of the Joker's plan would be played out. She figured by now she had pretty much sold her soul to the devil by joining the clown's ranks. No wonder she couldn't bring herself to call her mother, she felt guilty for having turned into this, a monster. From the first time she killed someone ten years ago and up to the Chechen, she had been slowly losing her humanity. Bonnie worried that maybe her cat wouldn't be enough to save her, not from the Joker.

Sighing, Bonnie stood and began walking back to the busy streets. She figured that by now the tape had been received and played for the entire city, hopefully. She hailed a taxi and gave him the address of the old, abandoned building. When they got there, she didn't wait for the taxi to drive away before running towards the building. There was a SWAT team swarming the place. Bonnie hid behind a wall and looked around, there must have been at least ten on the ground, meaning the rest were inside. She snuck inside and looked around for a weapon. She found an automatic gun waiting for her by the far wall with a note written on top. She unfolded the paper and read "For Bon-Bon" inside. She smiled and pocketed the small letter. She ducked behind one of the windows and began picking off the men one at a time. She couldn't tell how many she had left to go so she took her chances and exited the building.

Bonnie looked around and noticed that the two boats were still intact. Then, she looked up and saw the Joker descending towards her, leg wrapped up in some wire. Bonnie hid behind a brush as two SWAT members ran up and began tugging the Joker out of the line. Jumping out from the bush, she shot down the two men. Bonnie jogged up to the Joker to find him beaming.

"You seem happy," she noted as she began to undo the wire from his ankles.

"I'm just wonderful, Bon-Bon. It's not every day I get to see my favorite girl."

"Joe, please, you're making me blush," she said sarcastically.

Finally freeing his legs, Bonnie stood and realized just how close she was to the man. Having not been with a man in ten years, her frustration bubbled over and she grabbed him by the neck roughly and pulled him down.

"Uh, what are you doing Bonnie?"

She smiled genuinely for the first time in what felt like years. "Adding a little chaos into the equation."

And then, she kissed him. It wasn't romantic, dreamy, pretty, and heck there weren't even any fireworks. It was just a kiss that seemed to seal her fate with the madman. She was his Bonnie and that was all, nothing more. Bonnie didn't want romance or passion. She just wanted to kiss a good looking man who had both saved her and destroyed her. Period.

Or maybe she was trying a little too hard to convince herself that.

Like I said, a bit OoC if you ask me. But anyways, as always thanks to my two favorite reviewers: LaBellaMorta, and Emily Hargreaves. I'd also like to thank all those who favorited and subscribed. And I'd also like to ask you rearders a questions: Should I make a sequel? You see, I hadn't planned on it and there are only four chapters left but then I started throwing the idea around. Of course if I did do a sequel it would be shorter and it would be a while until I got it out. But what do you guys think? Anyways, please review and I hope you enjoyed despite the rushing and out-of-characterness. :D