O.M.G...I am so sorry the update took so long! I realized this morning that I've been so busy I haven't even been on facebook more than once in the past week and a half! That is unheard of!

Shout out to blackcat9517, the one and only person to reveiw last chapter. Blackcat, you are now officially my hero!

ENJOY!

JJ couldn't believe it. He'd done it! He had actually done it! He had delivered his first "punch line". It had been so much easier than he had thought it would be.

Point.

Aim.

Fire.

Just two simple pulls of the trigger, and it had been over! The deed was done!

He was committed now. There was no going back. He shook his head, staring into his own gray blue eyes in the bathroom mirror.

What had happened to him?

Only two months ago, he'd been a somewhat normal teenager, who never would have dreamed of traveling to the great city of Gotham, much less of doing half the things JJ had done!

But he had.

He had gone to Gotham! He had gone on a crime spree with his parents that had blanketed entire city! He had outrun the Batman! He had lured the boy wonder into a trap, and contrary to the plan, had saved his life! He had shot a man!

He had done all of this.

All of this, and so much more...

But are you ready to pay the price? He wondered, looking himself in the eye through the mirror. Because there's gonna be hell to pay when they found out what you've done.

For once, that irritating mini me was silent.

He heard the door to his bedroom open, and he involuntarily braced himself. No. Not again. Please…

"Oh, JAAYYYJaaayyy?" Joker called tauntingly from the bedroom. "It's time for another one of our father son chats!"

Sorry Charley. Mini me laughed maliciously.

JJ watched in the mirror, frozen, as his father stepped into the bathroom behind him. A small, detached corner of his mind noted that a cut from a previous 'chat' had healed and was now nothing more than a scar near his eye.

Unless he was mistaken, he would soon have new scars to add to his growing collection.

Your pooch is completely and utterly screwed!

"Bruce!"

Dick burst into the hospital room, two security guards hot on his tail. He pushed past one of the nurses and fell to his knees beside Bruce, gripping his guardians hands with wide worried eyes.

"Sorry Doctor Keller. We couldn't keep him out." One of the security guards said grimly.

"Well don't just stand there, get him out of here!" The doctor yelled angrily. "We can't have anyone and everyone just barging in whenever they feel like it!"

The guard who had spoken nodded and stepped forward. Stooping, he looped his arm around the boy's slender waist and picked him up, tucking the struggling boy under one arm. He would have carried the small teen right out of the room, were it not for the other security officer.

"Stop."

He grabbed his partner by the arm and whipped him around. "I said stop!" His partner stared at him in surprise.

He gently pulled Dick out of his partners arms, setting him on his feet. "Any fool can see Mr. Wayne's somethin' special t' the boy." He kept his hands on the teens upper arms, looking Dick directly in the eye.

"Now then son, who are you? What's ye name?"

Anxiously stealing a glance at Bruce over the guards shoulder, Dick met the officer's kind brown eyes with his own bright blue. "Richard. Richard Grayson."

The officer smiled and nodded. He knew the boy had looked familiar. He hadn't recognized the young Grayson with the fading bruises and scratches on his face. He vaguely recalled reading in a paper somewhere that Bruce Wayne's ward had been doing some sort of acrobatic routine and had taken a very hard fall earlier that week.

The papers weren't lyin'. He thought. The kid looked like he was healing up from quite a knocking!

His mind darted back to the wild chase down the hall after this boy not moments before, and the very pronounced limp the boy had displayed. He marveled at the boy's strength of will. He was very obviously in some amount of pain, as he was favoring that leg even now, yet he had managed to elude and outrun them!

The officer knew and freely admitted that he was no spring chicken, but he wasn't slow, and his rookie partner was a good sixteen years younger!

"And Bruce Wayne's your guardian, isn't he?" the boy nodded again. He looked up at Dr. Keller.

Keller was a pompous fool, but he knew his job. Which was probably why he'd been called in to see to Bruce Wayne in the first place.

Unfortunately, he seemed to be in the mood to exercise his right to air his "pompous fool" opinion. A mood he was in far to often.

"I think it'd be all right t' let the lad stay." The officer tried anyway.

Dr. Keller's face reddened. "You think…! And you're just going to take this child's word that he is who he says he is? How dare you presume to order a doctor! Why, I should..!"

"Keller!"

All turned. The doctor from the masquerade party had entered the room somewhere during all of this hubbub. He was now dressed in the white coat that befitted a doctor, and an absolutely livid look was on his face.

"Keller, I have known for years that you were quite the arrogant, bombastic individual, but I never thought you to be a fool! I've tolerated your lording it over the staff of this hospital long enough, and this is the last straw! Please, do us all a service and limit your speech to medical terms only, or I will see these two gentlemen remove you to my office to await my displeasure!" He stormed forward and turned Dick to look at him.

"Are you all right Richard?" He waited for the teen's nod then turned back to Keller. Snatching the clipboard from the now totally cowed Dr. Keller, he calmly flipped the pages, reading his colleague's findings.

Being one of the hospital board members meant that Keller wouldn't dare cross him. It was perfectly within his capabilities to see Keller fired, something he was half tempted to do. If Keller didn't turn over a new leaf in the very near future, he would!

"Incredible." He muttered. He smiled at Dick. "Don't worry Richard. He'll be all right. He should be waking up shortly."A low groan from the bed informed them that he wasn't far off the mark. "Well. Speak of the devil."

"Dick…?" Bruce blinked owlishly, wincing at the pain in his chest and leg.

Dick whooped and threw his arms around his guardian, hurriedly pulling back at Bruce's cry of pain. Bruce didn't let him get far, catching Dick by the arms and crushing the small boy to his chest.

Dick fervently returned the hug. "You scared me." He whispered, unshed tears shining in his eyes.

Bruce smiled. "Scared myself for a minute there." He answered, stroking his wards hair. "I'm all right. I promise." He looked up at the doctor, having heard his earlier comment. "And I'm hardly a devil Adam. Devilishly handsome I've been told on occasion, but hardly a devil."

The doctor smiled. "Glad to see you alive and kicking Bruce. You gave us all quite a scare back there at the party." He held up the clipboard. "Quite a unique bullet the Joker's son uses. It seems to create the slightest of surface wounds, just enough to draw blood really, and injects some sort of fast acting sedative. Quite ingenious really, though I don't believe the police have been able to find either bullet."

Bruce looked nervously down at his bandaged chest. "You're sure it's not…?"

"Oh, most certainly not! Dr. Keller saw to your injuries personally, and there was nothing in your wounds. For my part, I'm of the opinion that they were kicked about in the scuffle after the Joker fled."

Bruce nodded. "Thank you. Both of you." He added, including Keller in his thanks. "Dick, you remember Dr. Adam Masters?"

Dick nodded. "Yes. We met at a party I think." Dick smiled, remembering. "It was his grandson's birthday, and I did a tumbling routine for them."

Dr. Masters smiled warmly. "And I don't know how we're going to top that performance next year! Always a pleasure to see you too Richard." He answered. He patted Bruce's shoulder. "Take it easy Bruce. You should be able to go home as soon as someone can come for you. I'll put in a call to Alfred for you."

"Thank you." Bruce called after the two doctors and the security officers.

"You looked dead." Dick said grimly once the door closed behind them, his face still showing the worry.

Bruce's face became serious. "I was supposed to look dead." He answered grimly. He motioned to his clothing, neatly folded and piled on a nearby chair. "Both bullets are in the hilt of the sword."

Dick nodded, quickly moving to retrieve them. He carefully tipped the two normal looking bullets into an empty sandwich bag from his pocket.

He always kept two or three on hand, just in case.

"There's a herd of reporters camped out around the hospital." He said. "Waiting to find out if Bruce Wayne kicked the bucket. And if they can get a picture." He snorted. "One guy actually tried to offer me money to sneak a picture of you for him!"

"It'd almost be better if we could fake me being dead, or at least critical." Bruce answered.

Dick cocked his eyebrow, confused. "What? Why?"

"JJ knew exactly what he was doing when he shot me." Bruce said grimly, his eyes hard. "And when news of my condition gets back to the Joker, JJ's going to pay very dearly for his botched 'punch line'."

Mwahahahah! I enjoy torturing my characters way to much! But then again it is very therapeutic...

Review please! Virtual cookies to those who press the little blue button down there on the botttom of their screen!

Until next time...