The courtroom was jam-packed. Cameras and reporters were packed into the media area, and nearly half of the city had turned up. It had taken a small miracle to get a jury assembled; those originally selected had refused, scared of the consequences. In the end, the jury was a hodgepodge of people who either had nothing to lose, or who were curious enough or stupid enough to agree to sentence the most notorious criminal that Gotham had ever seen.

The Ace of Knaves was sitting at the defendants' table, his makeup as immaculate as it had ever been. His lips were quirked in a small and amused smile, as though the whole trial was inconsequential. Tanya believed that to him it was. His capture had been far too easy to assuage her fears. Only a few people had been injured in the effort. He had been in the midst of another scheme of sorts, trying to blow up Wayne Enterprises. Batman and the police had brought him down before any major damage had been done. It was too simple, too clean cut. Gordon knew this as well, and had made sure that he had no contact with anyone from his cell. Tanya was not surprised that he made no attempt to escape. She was sure he had a reason for it. She was trying to figure out what it was. There was not too much time to dwell on it; she had been asked by the prosecution to testify against him. Though he had countless victims, few were willing to stand in front of him in order to put him away. Tanya readily agreed; their deal insured that she and her family would be safe if she did so. A few others agreed as well, Mike Engel and Jim, and a few police officers, firefighters and other miscellaneous victims. Most of the others were either dead, or had long since vacated the city.

Tanya nervously smoothed her skirt and straightened her blouse. She was decked in appropriate court apparel, unlike many others crammed into the narrow space. The trial was taking place in the largest courtroom available in the city, and it still looked as though its occupants were sardines in a can. Most were concentrated along the walls in the back, nearest to the door and convenient for a quick exit. Tanya flicked her eyes through the crowd, recognizing the faces of many of Gotham's most notorious criminals, but none that looked like the Joker's henchmen. They were already in prison, their trials short and to the point. The Joker's had dragged on. It was now the fifth day of a trial that should have been short, and witnesses and evidence was still being presented. The evidence against the Joker should have been irrefutable. But his lawyers had played the only card they had: an insanity plea.

Tanya, and Batman, did not believe for a moment that the Joker was insane. He obviously knew and understood all of his actions but the reasoning behind his actions was known only to himself. He was deranged, calculating and showed a total lack of regard for humanity. But he was not insane. An insane man would not sit there as though the whole thing was amusing, occasionally smirking and winking at various people in attendance. His lawyers pointedly avoided his gaze, enveloped in paperwork and briefs. She wondered who on Earth had been persuaded to take that job. It was probably a team of mob lawyers. Her train of thought was interrupted when she spotted Bruce Wayne, notorious playboy and multimillionaire, standing in the back corner of the courtroom looking inconspicuous. What was he doing here? Perhaps the last attack had struck close enough to home to get him to pay attention to what was actually going on in Gotham instead of the reconstruction of his mansion. Or maybe it had something to do with Rachel Dawes, who she knew had been his best friend before she fell to one of the Joker's plots. The scene now was strikingly similar to one of the first stories she had covered, the trial of the man who had murdered Wayne's parents. She felt a pang of sympathy for him. His face was the picture of collectedness, but something in the crease of his brow suggested that even Bruce Wayne could be hurt.

The judge banged his gavel loudly, trying to silence the loud buzz in the courtroom. After several minutes, and some shouts from the 15 or so bailiffs in the room, the room fell silent.

"This is day five of the trial against the Joker. Will the prosecutors please present their next witness?"

One of the lawyers , Gilbert Tompkins, a man in the running to be the new D.A., stood up.

"Your honor, the prosecution would like to call journalist Tanya Heathrow to the stand." Tanya's heart skipped in her breast. She had known the moment would come, but she was not entirely prepared. She felt hundreds of pairs of eyes flicker over to her in one moment. The only sounds were the scratching of pen on paper, the click of the typewriter and the occasional sounds of someone shifting in their seats. She stood steadily, smoothing her hair and skirt. The Joker smiled pleasantly at her. He was dressed in his normal costume, forgoing the suggestion from his lawyers to look presentable. He lifted his handcuffed hands and finger waved at her.

"Hey, gorgeous," he mouthed. She ignored him and strode to the stand. She sat down in the small booth and looked out over the courtroom. It was a curious thing to see so many of her colleagues and competitors furiously writing. She was the news right now, the last major Joker victim. She knew that many of the people out in the audience had turned up to hear her testimony. She prayed it would be good. Bruce Wayne was studying her with intense scrutiny. The look was somewhat familiar. Where had she seen it before?

"Miss Heathrow?" a bailiff interrupted her thoughts. "Place your right hand on the Bible and repeat after me please." Tanya did as she was told. She saw Tompkins stride toward her. She took a deep breath.

"Miss Heathrow, could you repeat your name for the record please?" she did so. "Miss Heathrow, is it true that the Joker kidnapped you on November 17th of last year?"

"Yes it is." So far so good.

"Could you describe it please?" Tanya had prepared for this. She recited the well thought out story just as it had been practiced over and over in her head.

"And how long were you kept in captivity?"

"I'm not sure how many days passed, but it was at least a week or more before the incident involving the banks."

"And did the Joker force you to read his terrorist demands?"

"He did."

"How so?"

"He had made it clear previous to the incident that if I did not comply, my family, who he knew a lot about, would be threatened."

"I see," Tompkins paced in front of her. The questions and answers continued onward very routinely. She could sense that they were losing the interest of the crowd. Tanya was relieved. The only two people whose eyes never left hers were Wayne and the Joker.

"No further questions, your honor." Tompkins concluded. The Judge nodded.

"Your honor?" the leader of the team of defendants rose. "We request that the witness be left on the stand. The defendant would like to cross-examine Miss Heathrow."

Tanya's eyebrows rose ever so slightly. She noticed that Wayne's expression mirrored her own. She glanced at the Joker. His face was the same as ever, but a corner of his lips twitched ever so slightly. Tanya felt her stomach flip. What was he going to do?

"Miss Heathrow," the lawyer, Richard Heartz, began, "We would just like to question you about one incident in particular. What happened on January 26, 2009?"

The day at the grocery store. The Joker's mouth twitched again. Tanya felt her heart drop. "Would you like me to describe the whole day?" she stalled.

"Just from the moment you supposedly encountered the defendant at the grocery store will do." Heartz said in a condescending tone.

"Well, I arrived at the grocery store and after shopping I was standing in the checkout line. The temperature was rather warm because of how many people were there. And I turned around to take the jacket off without hitting anyone, and I saw the Joker."

"And what was the Joker wearing?"

"Normal looking winter clothes. He had a beanie on over his hair and a scarf covering most of his face."

"Any makeup?"

"No."

"Was his hair visible?"

"No, but-"

"Well then, how are you sure it was him?"

Tanya bristled. "When you've been kidnapped and stalked by the same person for weeks and weeks, you tend to recognize them, makeup or not." The spectators stirred. The Joker's smile increased.

"Very well, Miss Heathrow, what happened after that?"

"I went to him."

"On your own?"

"Yes."

"Why?"

"I had enough experience to assume that if I didn't, he would do something detrimental to the others in the store."

"Did he do anything?"

"No."

"Did the defendant actually attempt to ever kill you?"

"He kidnapped me. He threatened me and my family, he blew up a bank and multiple other buildings. I would think that the answer to that question is inconsequential in comparison to the multitude of other sins he has committed." The crowd burst into applause. It took the judge several minutes to calm them.

"Heartz, that's enough," he admonished. "Miss Heathrow, you may leave the stand, you have supplied more than enough evidence." Tanya stood up quickly and retook her allotted seat. The Joker's eyes followed her the entire time. He winked at her. She pointedly avoided his glance. Something told her that she had narrowly escaped having her troubled sex-life broadcast to the entire city.

"The prosecution may call their next witness to the stand."

Tompkins was up. "We call the Joker to the stand." A collective gasp went up through the room and there was a flurry of motion. This was a bold move on the prosecutions part. It could either prove that he was guilty, or lend evidence to the claim that he was insane. Tanya had a sinking feeling. A look of panic flitted over her face, Gordon's face, and if anyone had bothered to look at Bruce Wayne, they would have saw it flicker across his as well. It was over. There were only three people in the city that could even begin to understand the supposed madness of the Joker. The Jury would be sure to think he was insane.

And insanity meant Arkham Asylum, not prison or the death sentence.

Tanya knew in her heart that the Asylum did not mean the end of it. It was just a break before his next 'performance.'

The Joker stood up, his hands still handcuffed in front of him. When told to place his hands on the Bible and asked to swear the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth he looked amused.

"Of course. All I tell is the truth," had been his reply. The room was silent. The Joker sat innocently, popping his lips and swaying slightly to a tune only he knew. Tompkins adjusted his tie tensely, trying to disguise his nervousness.

"Do you have a name?"

"You already know it," the Joker responded calmly.

"So you are unaware of any other name that might identify you?" The Joker's eyebrows lifted in mirth.

"Big words aren't going to get you a different answer," he smiled. "Now come on, Gil, ask me that question that'll get you elected D.A. Hopefully you'll last longer than the last one." His eyes were shining.

"Alright then, if that's how you want to play." Tompkins hardened his voice, trying to gain the upper hand. Tanya felt sorry for him; he was playing right into the Joker's hands. He stood no chance. "What do you have against Gotham?"

"Ah, now we get to it," he leaned back, "I have nothing against Gotham personally. Oh no, no. It's more a problem with the world as a whole. Gotham is just a starting point. You're by far the most interesting city I've come across. Not many others have their own superheroes. No it's nothing against Gotham personally. Once I prove my point here, I'll move on to easier cities. But Gotham is my masterpiece." he waved his hands as though brushing paint on a canvas.

"And what point are you trying to prove?" Tompkins looked a little shaken.

"That you guys, all of you sitting there judging, you're all just like me. Look at you. So quick to pin blame on me. I didn't make you loot the city into oblivion. I didn't make your cops and city officials crooked. I didn't make Gotham the place it is. I just gave it a little nudge. You did that all on your own."

"Are you insane?" Tompkins was practically screaming over the uproar that the Joker was causing.

"No more insane than any of you." He swept his eyes over the room pointedly. The occupants were jumping about, yelling and screaming. Some were trying to get to the Joker. One burly man managed to break down the barriers the bailiffs and police had created. He leapt onto the stand and cracked the Joker in the face with one softball sized fist. The Joker's cheek split and blood gushed forth, staining his white makeup pink. An officer tackled the man knocking him backward over the stand. The journalists were jostling, fighting to get the best pictures and angles. The jury was up and out of the room, lead away by a group of policemen. Commissioner Gordon was bellowing instructions at his men, who were trying to force the journalist out of the room, evacuate witnesses, keep the crowd from losing their mind and making sure that the Joker did not escape all at the same time.

Through the whole ordeal, the Joker laughed hysterically, by far the loudest sound echoing in the acoustics of the room. The Judge was banging his gavel and the Joker's lawyers were trying to restrain him. It was to no avail. It took a half hour to calm the chaos and evacuate the entire courtroom. The Joker was taken to another area within the building and the media were forced out, as were the witnesses. The only people remaining were the Jury, the Judge, Gordon and the prosecutors and defense team. It was time for the sentencing.

Tanya paced nervously in the room she had been placed in, alone. She needed to know what was going on. Her ignorance was driving her insane. A knock on the door startled her out of her frenzy. She swung the door open to come face-to-face with Bruce Wayne.

"May I join you?" he asked politely. He was like an advertisement out of GQ in his tailored suit. Wayne was a few inches taller than her, and his hair was brushed back in a chic coif. She nodded and stepped aside for him to enter.

"That was a brave thing you did, getting up on the stand like that." he had a deeper baritone than she would have imagined.

"Not really. It needed to be done."

"And yet you were one of the few who stepped up to do it," he was scrutinizing her again.

"Like I said, it needed to be done." Wayne smiled at her.

"Brave and beautiful," he shook his head as thought it were a rare phenomena. Tanya realized with annoyance that she may have just become the playboy's next target. He was leaning on a desk now, obviously debating saying something.

"You know, that's the first trial I've been to since the one where my parent's murder got off. I'm not sure which one is worse." A stab of sympathy shot through her. She made her way toward him and gently rested her hand on his couture-clad arm. She could think of nothing to say, so she smiled at him. He seemed to understand. Her phone buzzed in her purse, breaking the moment. She looked at him apologetically and fished it out of her bag. Gordon's number was blinking on the screen.

"I have to take this," she said. He nodded.

"No problem," he kissed her hand. "Stay strong, this city needs someone like you." with that he was gone. Tanya didn't have time to ponder the sensitive side of Bruce Wayne as she picked up the phone.

"What happened?" she sounded out of breath.

"Found guilty," Tanya opened her mouth to exclaim relief but was cut off, "Guilty, but insane."

"Oh…" so the game continued, "What does that mean?"

"It means Arkham. With extra security of course."

"That will be enough. Right?"

"I hope so." Gordon sounded tired. "At least it's over," he left off the unspoken 'for now.'

"Right," Tanya agreed too enthusiastically. "It's over."

The empty room echoed as Tanya hung up her phone and left the room, clicking the door shut behind her.

A/N: Oh man, I could keep going indefinitely, but school is starting up again and so this story must come to an end. Please, please, please review and let me know what you think of it. Don't make me withhold the epilogue! (just kidding…or am I?)