"How could you say that?" I cried indignantly. "You don't even know him. Gordon, I can't believe you!"

"Then tell me who the Joker is, Crystal. If it's not Jack, it must be someone else, right? And you'd be the person to tell me who." Gordon crossed his arms over his chest and exhaled slowly. He was calm, collected. He'd planned out everything he was going to say. He'd known about Jack before this whole incident. "This is important. We've gotta nail this guy down before he kills more people or causes more trouble. Don't you worry about your own safety, Crystal? Has he got you brain washed or something?"

"All the crimes he's committed in the past year are because he was protecting me! He killed the mobsters because they threatened to take me away from him and therefore away from his protection, and then your bad cops, and you've got to see that he's not a bad man. Jack isn't the Joker." Tears welled up in my eyes.

"Why'd he do it? Jack Napier was a successful business man before he fell off of the face of the earth and the Joker started coming around with these crazy schemes." Gordon shrugged and shook his head. "Crystal, we know Jack's secret. I'm not asking you to verify. I'm asking you to try and explain."

I looked at the ground, thinking. "He can't control it. Jack's sweet and honest, and sometimes the Joker just takes control. Jack doesn't remember that the Joker does, he can just guess." An idea struck. "Please, I'll make a deal with you. Just listen. Okay?" I took a deep breath and continued. "Just let me find Jack. If he's okay, just let him walk free. Let me just watch over him. The first time the Joker does something, or even the first time someone sees him walking down the street, well, you'll know where to find him." I begged. "Please, please let him go. Jack Napier is an innocent man."

Gordon took a few deep breaths and stared at my feet. He stroked his chin thoughtfully. "Innocent until proven guilty," he sighed in defeat. "The next time we see the Joker, we're coming for Jack." He chuckled, and after a moment, laughed, "Your father is going to kill me. I'll be dead before tomorrow morning. You owe me one, kid."

"So do you know where he is? Someone said they've taken the injured people to the hospitals," I asked.

Gordon paused and stared at me. "Everyone was evacuated. There are very few injured parties, and we've got them all listed right here," he slowly said as he pulled a piece of paper out of his pocket. "The last man taken to the hospital was a man identified as Dominic Dawson. At least, the last time they handed me an updated set of victims."

"Jack's not on there anywhere?" I exclaimed, peeking over the top of the paper.

After scanning the list, Gordon shook his head. "No. Are you sure he was here?"

"You saw the tape with your own eyes! He was in the basement of that building with Dominic and a few of those bad guys, I, I don't know, Dom wasn't in the basement, I, I," I said, tugging at my hair in anxiety.

"Crystal, I hate to have to be the one to tell you this, but all of those scientists were killed. We found them all together. The ceiling caved in and they were all crushed to death. It's a miracle that Mr. Dawson escaped."

"Jack was right next to Dom, not even two feet away." My stomach tied itself into knots. "There's no way that he's still in there, is there?"

Gordon opened his mouth to speak, but let it shut promptly. A weak shrug was all that was needed to answer my question.

"How many dead, Gordon?" a rough voice came.

I turned around. It was Batman.

"Thirteen," Gordon said, sighing heavily. "Five of Surtoff's team, three custodians, two professors, and three students." He ran a hand through his hair in grief. "We got everyone else out." He handed the list of injured people to Batman. "Missing is one,"

"Jack Napier," Batman said before Gordon could finish. "I know."

I looked back at him. "Father?"

"Don't worry. You don't need his protection anymore. Surtoff is in jail and all of his team are dead. You're safe." He touched my shoulder. "Even if he's managed to sneak away, you'll never have to see him again."