A/N: Hey guys! I'm back! I swear this story hates me. I'll be going for a while and then hit a brick wall. But I'm close to the end and from now on it'll be full steam ahead!

Hear Me

Something brushed against Batman's foot. He looked down. An empty hypodermic syringe rested at the toe of his left boot. There was a small trace of green liquid clinging to the plunger and a stained needle. Was it the Smilex Joker injected into Tessie? Batman picked it up, putting it into an empty canister on his belt.

He could use the leftover Smilex to formulate an antidote for Tessie.

There was a distant wail of sirens.

Batman jumped into the Batmobile. He was gone long before they arrived.

Bruce yawned as he watched the process bar on the computer screen tick. It was only fifty percent filled. Only halfway to making an antidote for Tessie. What time was it? He thought as he looked at his watch. It was close to four in the morning.

He was exhausted but didn't want to close his eyes. He was scared of the nightmares he might have.

Besides, he needed to come up with a plan. Joker needed to be stopped. Tessie needed to be found. He had no idea how long it would take for the poison to take effect.

Maybe she was already…

A blanket draped over his shoulders and he smelled the faint traces of perfume. He looked up and saw Vicki there, her long blonde hair falling over her shoulders. "Can't sleep either?" She asked.

"Yeah." Bruce said, looking back at the screen. Her long fingers rubbed his shoulders. "Thank you." He said, touching her hand. Something about her here reminded him of something… "Vicki, what gave me away?"

She sighed. "Remember the press conference earlier today? You didn't get down but stood like a statue. I got curious and asked Allie to go into the back issues and find out what happened. Maybe deep down I've always known but when I learned what happened to your folks in that alley…it all clicked. That's why you took Tessie in, isn't it?" She asked.

Bruce nodded, remembering the image of the little girl dangling from his hand. "It was her eyes. I had seen them before."

"In you?" She asked.

"My parents." He said before telling Vicki everything that happened the day he and Tessie met. "…it was supposed to be a short term thing. Once the list had been found, she'd go and live with other relatives. But one thing led to another and the next thing I knew…I was asking her if she wanted to stay with me for good."

"She's that special to you, isn't she?" Vicki asked, a smile crossing her face.

Bruce found himself returning her smile. "You can say that." His tone turned serious. "I'll be up for a while yet. Get to bed."

"You're one to talk." She said, a stern look crossing her face. "Bruce, you won't do Tessie or Gotham any good if you don't get any rest. Besides, it's not like the antidote will grow legs and walk away if you get some sleep."

"I know and I appreciate you telling me that. But I need to come up with a plan." Bruce said.

Vicki's face turned thoughtful. "I don't know what help I can be but if I can help you come up with something, will you promise to try and sleep? You know I'm not going to stop until you get some sleep, even if I have to drag you to bed."

Bruce smiled. "Deal."

The light from the setting sun burned through the open archways of the bell tower. It landing on Tessie, making her eyes hurt. She winced and tried turning her head away. But the knots tying her to the chair refused to budge.

A cold wind blew into the room, making the bells swing. Tessie shuddered, wishing she had her coat nearby.

Her stomach tightened like somebody was squeezing it like a bicycle horn. Pain radiated through her tiny body. Tessie groaned, the sound muffled by the tape that covered her mouth. Her eyes were red from all the crying she did last night.

In any case, she wasn't sure if she could cry anymore.

The memories of Mom, Dad and Bruce haunted her fitful exhaustion. Nightmares that were so intense that she dreaded going to sleep. She could smell the blood and gunpowder. Uncle Jay's laugh always rang in her ears.

Instead, she spent that time trying to get away. She tugged, yanked and pulled as hard as she could. But it didn't work.

If anything, the knots seemed to get tighter.

Guilt tore at the little girl. If she hadn't run away, then Bruce wouldn't have gotten…

She wanted to die.

All of her loved ones were gone now.

Don't think that way. Tessie told herself. She still had Alfred and Vicki. Uncle Jay would've told her if he had hurt them. He did brag nonstop of how Bruce didn't get up.

Somebody was walking closer. The footsteps echoed in her head and she winced at the loud sound. There was a snapping noise and Tessie felt the ropes tying her hands to the chair fall away but her ankles were still tied. Blood throbbed into her fingers, making them tingle. Was this a trap? She wondered, stiffening. "Lunchtime." The man said, pulling the tape away from her mouth.

"Ouch!" She yelped, feeling her skin sting and she rubbed her fingers to get the feeling back in them. She looked up to see the rat faced man with greasy blonde hair. What did Uncle Jay call him? Began with a B…

"Hurry up and eat." B said, shoving a ham and cheese sandwich and a bottled water into Tessie's hands. He turned around and walked away. There was a thump and he paused for a moment before continuing.

Hunger gnawed at Tessie, stronger than the pain. She was so hungry that she could've eaten the chair. Mom's voice rang in her head.

Never take anything from strangers.

Did they slip something into her food?

But she hadn't eaten since the day before. Mom always suggested she eat something when she wasn't feeling good.

Before she could stop herself, Tessie devoured the sandwich with large bites and downed half the water. She was still hungry but her stomach didn't hurt as much now.

She looked down and happened to see a cellphone. B must've dropped it.

Grabbing it, she found the keypad. What number should she call?

There was a number for the police. Tessie tried to remember.

But there was no time.

Then a number came to mind…Vicki made her memorize it in case something happened and Tessie didn't have access to a cell phone.

Tessie dialed the number, her eyes darting around the room as she did so. Her shoulders felt heavy. A faint prayer repeated itself over and over in her mind.

Please don't let anybody come in here. Please don't let anyone come in here.

The phone clicked and a familiar man's voice answered. "Hello?"

Tessie began crying. "Allie?" She asked.

"Tessie?!" Allie asked. "Good God, are you ok?!"

"I think so. Where's Vicki?" She asked.

"She's coming now." Allie said over the sound of somebody running on the other end of the phone. "It's going to be ok, Tess. We're going to get you out of there, ok?"

Vicki's voice joined on the phone. "Tessie? Where are you?" She was calm.

"I don't know." Tessie said, her relief turning back to anxiety. Her vision spun and her stomach began hurting again.

"Take slow deep breaths Tessie. It's going to be ok." Vicki said. "Just breathe." Tessie did as Vicki said. "Now describe the room you're in."

A door slammed nearby. Tessie jumped. "I'm in a big stone room with arches and lots of big bells." She rushed her words, looking for the door. "It's really dusty and cold here."

"Can you go outside?" Vicki asked.

Tessie looked down at her still tied feet. At once she could see how much rope they used to tie her down. "No, they've tied me with so much rope, I look like a cartoon character."

A memory returned to her. Of sitting with Dad and watching a silly cartoon about a skeleton wanting to take over Christmas. He was dancing around, singing a song about how awesome Christmas was…before walking face first into a pole and collapsing into the snow where he disappeared.

How Dad laughed with his deep belly laugh. He fell down, his face red and tears running down his cheeks.

Tessie found herself giggling. Like an itch, the giggles got stronger as she continued laughing, feeling unable to breathe. Her heart pounded and she wanted to breathe. But she couldn't stop. Just like when Bruce tickled her. That made her laugh harder.

"Tessie! Calm down!" Vicki's calm voice turned into a mean bark. "If you laugh, you'll die!"

Something in Vicki's voice made all the humor go away and Tessie stopped. She gasped for air. "I'm sorry." She said, crying. "I couldn't help it."

"It's ok, sweetie and I'm sorry for shouting." Vicki said. "We've got a good idea where you are. Batman is coming for you."

A large hand clapped on Tessie's shoulder. She shrieked, dropping the phone. Whipping around, she saw Uncle Jay standing there, his big red grin threatening to eat up his face.

"It's time to get ready, Tessie, honey." Uncle Jay said.

Tessie's blood turned cold and she shook. Her scream had caught in her throat like a fly in a spider web. A sharp prick hit her other arm and something hot pumped in. Turning her head, she saw Bob injecting something into her arm, looking at the dirty floorboards.

After a moment, Tessie's eyes grew heavy and she slumped over. If it weren't for the ropes holding her down, she would've fallen on the floor. Her vision began fading out.

"Tessie?! Tessie?!" Vicki's voice sounded far away. "Answer me, Tessie!"

Uncle Jay picked up the phone. "Tessie is a little…tied up…at the moment." He giggled before holding the phone away. Tessie couldn't hear what Vicki was saying but she knew it was angry. After a moment, Uncle Jay held the phone back to his ear. "Don't shout, Ms. Vale. Otherwise, you'll wake up the baby. I just gave her another dose of Smilex. Don't forget to tell Tessie's Daddy that the deal is still on. The smile is growing on her face as we speak…"

Tessie slipped into darkness.

It was sundown. Everything was set. Bruce thought as Knox straightened out his tie and looking at the garbage bags they had stashed in the trunk of the car. The parade was set to start in twenty minutes. The vials of antidote were ready and the plan made. But Bruce felt a twinge of guilt for putting Knox in this position. "You ok doing this, Knox?" Bruce asked.

Knox nodded. "If it means getting the scoop on Batman, then so be it."

Of course he had no idea Batman was right there. He'd be standing at Bruce's place on the float, passing out the money. The two men had the same build and hair gave Vicki the idea to have him pretend to be Bruce. It would mean that Batman would be face to face with Knox…but it would be worth it if it meant saving Gotham and Tessie.

Bruce smiled. "Thank you." He said, squeezing Knox's shoulder.

"You're welcome." Knox said, a faint smile crossing his face.

Bruce turned to Vicki, her face still red. She and Allie had run from City Hall where they had studied the parade route, telling them that Tessie had called. But thanks to that once phone call, Batman knew where Joker was holding Tessie.

"And are you ok?" Bruce asked, squeezing Vicki's hand. "It's not too late to back out."

She shook her head. "You know what Batman ordered for us. Don't worry. Allie will keep an eye on me."

"Thanks for the vote of confidence." Knox said before getting into the car.

Vicki looked at Bruce one last time before forcing a smile on her face. "You be careful."

Bruce kissed her, trying to savor each moment before pulling away and looking at her. "Always."

Tonight, he had to be.

It was the only way he could save Tessie and avenge his parents.

A/N: The final chapters are closing in. I hope this was worth the wait and that I'll get this story done before the third anniversary.