A.N.: Well, here is the third chapter of the story…Enjoy!

It had been several hours since Bruce had gone to sleep. Since going to her room early that morning, he had not seen the teenager at all. Worrying, he had checked in on her once, only to find her sleeping peacefully. He left her there, not wanting to disturb her slumber. Whilst he was wandering from her room, Alfred bumped into him.

"Master Bruce, the Bat Signal…" That was all the butler had to say. Bruce raced to his secret lair and pulled his infamous costume. The cave door flew up as he jetted out of the lair in his Batmobile.

Alfred stared as Bruce zoomed away. Smiling blandly, he walked back up to the main house. Bloodcurdling screams pierced the usual quiet of Wayne Manor, and cautiously, the butler ran to Raven's room. Not bothering to knock, he forcefully pushed open the door. Expecting to find objects flying at him, he held his head protectively. Wincing his eyes, he looked for the source of the noise.

The teen's cries stopped abruptly. Seeing there was no danger in the room, he called out to her.

"Mistress Raven?" There was no reply; she was not here.

Then he noticed the mess in the room. Her window was wide open, the bed sheets were askew, and there were obvious signs of a struggle. Frantically, he began searching for clues. For anything. His keen eyes noticed the slip of paper lying on the mirror almost immediately. He plucked up the note, and held it with shaking hands. Nervously he began to read the ransom.

Dear Brucie, or shall I say Batman:

Your resident teenager is in the loving care of yours truly, the Jokerman. In order to get her back in one piece, you must reveal your identity to the city….and then let me take you…I suspect that you have already sped off to save the city…Good! Now is when the fun begins!

Love,

The Jokerman

"Damn, how does he know? How does he know?" Alfred began pacing the room, tearing the note into a million pieces.

"That would be a good question, wouldn't it?" The childish voice of the Jokerman sang in his ear. He spun around, face to face with the clown. His lips were curled into an evil grin. Before poor Alfred could do anything, the villain raised a lead pipe and struck the butler across the head.

Alfred lay in his own pool of blood, slipping into darkness. The Jokerman sniggered and jumped out the window into the night.

Batman's autopilot directed him to the heart of the city. Fog laid low to the ground, the moon lay hidden under thick, black clouds making the only source of light light poles. The Batman peered out at his surroundings, expecting one of his archenemies to pop out at any moment.

"WELL, WELL, WELL! The Bat has decided to pay us a visit!" An all too familiar voice rang out from nowhere.

"Where are you Joker? And what do you mean by us? I thought you worked alone!" The caped crusader walked in circles, searching expertly for his nemesis. A cold laugh was heard above him; he looked up at the surrounding rooftops to find the brightly clad Joker.

"I do…but that doesn't mean I can't have company sometimes, does it?" He held a trussed Raven over the edge of the ten-story building. Her eyes were closed, a look of pure terror clouding her face. Several light bulbs shattered. The Bat looked at the frail teen in shock. How did he know?

"Put her down!" He walked a step closer to the two.

"Another step and the bird girl goes splat!" His eyes twinkled happily; he was enjoying this. Sighing, Batman knew what the villain wanted.

"All right, I'll do whatever you want…just don't hurt her!" His voice was wavering slightly; he had grown attached. A hero didn't give up. But here he was giving up. But a hero doesn't put a young girl in danger. And he was trying to keep her out of danger. So his actions were noble, right?

"Goodie!" The Jokerman clapped his hands together in sheer delight. He placed Raven onto safety on the rooftop. "All right, Bat. You come with me, and she's safe. But first drop the belt." Batman did as he was told, hanging his head in shame.

Gripping her tightly, the Joker jumped off the rooftop and placed Raven at Bruce's feet. Then, he tied a glowing rope around the Bat's wrists. Bruce grimaced in pain as the rope sent a shock through his body.

"I've been waiting for an opportunity like this for years!" Jokerman swooned. He cackled shrilly before leading Batman into one of the dark alleys of Gotham.

There you go: Chapter 3! Now, I might change it around a bit, but for the time being I like this. Hope you do too! R&R! NO FLAMES, but constructive criticism is allowed. I know I can approve a lot, so please don't feel bad sending me suggestions on how I can approve! Hope you enjoyed! J