Title: Control

Fandom: The Dark Knight

Rating: M

Pairing: OC/Joker/Harley

Genre: Drama/Angst

Disclaimer: Unfortunately I don't own the Joker or Batman.

A/N: Enjoy!

Chapter Thirty-Five

"So what just happened here?" Vincent asked. He had only heard Lacy's part of the conversation and it left some questions in his mind. She had said Bruce and he figured that she was talking about Bruce Wayne.

He knew that those two had some kind of relationship in the past but he wondered if they were still close. She hadn't said anything about him until now, but from the look on her face he could see that she cared about him.

"The Joker's made his move towards me." Lacy explained, her mind racing. "I have to meet him at the docks where he tried to kill me at eight tonight. I'm going to need your help."

"What do you need?" Vincent asked, willingly to help her in any way he could.

"I'll need the use of your men. I don't know an exact number yet. When I figure that out I'll let you know." She explained. "But right now I have to go take care of something."

"Where are you going?" He questioned. It was one in the afternoon right now, leaving them with only seven hours before she had to meet with the Joker. They should be strategizing and coordinating their moves.

"Out." She replied curtly. "I'll be back soon."

The Joker sat in the back of his van as they headed back to his safe house. True to his word he hadn't hurt Bruce or his butler. But he did tie Alfred to a chair before he left. He left Bruce alone because he figured that Bruce wouldn't be able to get up anyway so tying him to the bed seemed redundant. He also figured Lacy would be coming by to check on them shortly and had considered leaving a listening device so he could know what they talked about, but decided against it.

Tonight he was going to end this thing with Lacy once and for all. While a part of him did still want her around, a larger part of him was angry over her betrayal. Going to the police and helping them try to take him down was probably the worst kind of betrayal he could imagine her committing—even worse than when she cheated on him with Bruce.

She had to be taught a lesson and although a part of him would miss her, she was too much of a liability to leave her alive anymore.

He had plans for her death, plans that would be even more devastating than the first attempt. This time, there would be no way for her to escape her fate. This time, there would be no Batman to save her life. This time, he was going to watch as the last bit of life left her body.

And he was going to enjoy it.

Lacy made her way over to Bruce's penthouse, carefully going into the secret entrance and making sure no one was following her. Before going to the elevator she headed to the command center. There were several cameras placed in the penthouse which could be monitored from here. Alfred had told her all about it when he first told her about the secret entrance. She remembered the password to enter the system and started scanning the cameras.

She wanted to make sure that the Joker and his men weren't in the penthouse before going up there. She wanted to know what she was facing. Coming to see Bruce so soon after the Joker was there was dangerous and she just wanted to make sure that there were no surprises.

She scanned the penthouse and didn't see any of the Joker's men; however, what she saw in Bruce's room surprised her greatly. She had to do a double-take because at first she didn't believe her eyes. But it was all there on the screen in a clear picture.

Bruce was walking!

He seemed to be walking from his bed over to the chair that Alfred was tied to, and although he wasn't walking fast he was steady on his feet. She couldn't believe it. Since when did Bruce discover that he could feel his legs? How long had he been up walking around? Why was he lying to her about it?

She couldn't help but be slightly angry and hurt by his omissions. By the look of his strides, this wasn't the first time he had gotten out of that bed. So why didn't he say anything? Why keep it a secret? Didn't he know how much she worried about him and how overjoyed she would be to know that he wasn't going to be permanently paralyzed?

She sighed, unsure of what to do. Obviously he hadn't told her for a reason. Although she didn't know what the reason could possibly be, she decided to let it go. She wouldn't let him know that she knew about the progress he was making in his recovery.

She waited until she saw Alfred help Bruce back into his bed before switching off the monitors and heading upstairs.

"I can't let her go tonight." Bruce told Alfred as he got back into bed. "He'll kill her. That's what he wants to do. That's the reason why he wants to see her."

"Probably." Alfred nodded. "And you know that I want to help Lacy just as much as you do but there is nothing you can do about this. You aren't well enough to put the Batman suit back on and go out tonight. If you go off trying to save Lacy you'll probably end up hurting her more than helping."

"I don't agree…" Bruce argued, stopping when he saw Lacy appear in the doorway. "What are you doing here?"

"I came to check up on you two." She told them, stepping into the room. "Are you guys ok? Did he hurt you at all?"

"No."Alfred shook his head.

"He's too focused on killing you to worry about us yet." Bruce noted. "Tell me you aren't really going to meet him tonight."

"I can't do that." She shook her head and saw the disapproving look on his face. "I'm sorry Bruce, but this is something I have to do."

"No you don't!" He argued. "You still have time. You can still fly far, far away from here and never come back."

"It would never work, especially now that he knows I'm alive." She pointed out. "Besides, this is what I've been waiting for. This is what I've been planning for. All this time I have prepared myself for this confrontation. I'm not going to run away like I'm scared, because I'm not. I'm no longer afraid of him."

"You should be." Bruce sighed. "Who knows what he has planned for you."

"Who says I don't have things planned for him?" She countered. "I know you disapprove of this and would like nothing more than for me to disappear and live the rest of my life away from here and him, but it's not going to happen. I have to face my destiny. It's time I end this once and for all."

She sighed. "Look, I just came by to make sure you two were ok. I have other things I need to do before tonight." She turned to leave but Bruce grabbed a hold of her wrist. She turned around. "What?"

"Please." He softly said. "Please don't go tonight." He knew that she was committed to killing the Joker at all cost and realized this might be the last time he saw her alive.

"I'm sorry." She shook her head. "I have to." She turned to face Alfred. "Can I talk to you for a moment out in the hall?"

"Of course." Alfred nodded, following her out to the hallway.

She pulled two envelopes out and handed them to him. "Here are two letters. One is to you and the other is to Bruce. Please don't read them until tomorrow."

"I understand." Alfred replied, putting the notes in his jacket pocket. Then he pulled her into a hug. "Don't do anything foolish, ok? Cause there are people here who care about you."

Now she felt guilty about what she was going to do, but had to keep reminding herself that this was all for the best. "I won't." She lied, pulling away from the hug. Softly, she added, "And please try to keep Bruce here. Don't let him follow me tonight."

He looked at her face. "You know he's able to walk around, don't you?"

She nodded. "Yeah and I couldn't be happier about it. But I'm not going to need to be rescued tonight. Try to make him understand that."

"I'll do my best, but I can't promise anything." Alfred smiled sadly.

"You're the best." She smiled back. "Goodbye Alfred." She walked away quickly so that she wouldn't be tempted to stick around. She also didn't say goodbye to Bruce because she wasn't sure how to. Besides, everything she needed to say to him was written in the letter anyway.

"Goodbye Lacy." He whispered as he watched her walk away.

"So what is the plan for tonight?" Vincent asked when Lacy came back to his office several hours later. She had apparently changed her clothes while away because now she was wearing a pair of tight blue jeans and a fitted leather jacket with what looked like a red halter top underneath.

"I think I'm going to need about two dozen guys." Lacy replied. She had just gotten off the phone with Dale, who had informed her of the Joker's plans as well as where he was going to have men placed around the docks.

She unrolled a blueprint of the docks and spread it across Vincent's desk, motioning for him to come over and look at it with her.

When he joined her he got a glimpse of the gun she had holstered in her jeans. He wondered if that was her only weapon for her meeting the Joker or if she had more hidden elsewhere.

"Here is where we'll be meeting." She pointed to the blueprint and marked a big X with a permanent marker. "According to my source he's going to have his men stationed on all sides of this, except for in the water." She marked the places where Dale told her the Joker's men were going to be.

"He's really going to have you surrounded." Vincent commented.

"That's what he's going to think." Lacy nodded. "But your men are going to overpower the Joker's men. Now they need to do this quickly, but most importantly quietly. The last thing I need is for the Joker to realize what's happening. I need him to be surprised. So make sure to tell your men several times that they need to dispose of the Joker's men quietly."

"I'll make sure they know the importance of it." Vincent assured her.

"Good." She nodded. "So the warehouse is ready, right?"

"Yes." He nodded. "Everything is set up exactly as you requested."

"Wonderful." She let out a deep breath as she looked at the clock. She only had two hours left until she met with the Joker. "Let's go over the plan. I want to make sure that everyone knows what they have to do."