"Harvey."

Rachel and Harvey looked up, startled, as Rebecca suddenly appeared behind them. Harvey looked briefly annoyed at being interrupted, but that quickly changed when he and Rachel saw Sergeant Dawes before them and not Rachel's little sister, Rebecca.

"I'm sorry Harvey, but I need you to come with me. Rachel, you need to get back to the party." Rebecca ordered, and Harvey protested, "Rachel can come with-"

"Please, Harvey, trust my judgment as an officer." Rebecca cut him off sharply. "And remember that Rachel's my sister when I make this order."

He blinked, but then nodded in defeat, while Rachel glanced between her lover and her sister anxiously.

"You'll keep safe?" Rachel checked, and Rebecca answered, "We'll try, now go. But try to stay as incognito as possible."

Rachel nodded, pressing a quick kiss on Harvey before she hurried back to join the party, while Rebecca took Harvey's arm and led him quickly further into the kitchen.

"Where are we going?" Harvey asked, and Rebecca muttered, "Somewhere safe."

"But the exit's that way-" Harvey began, when suddenly Bruce appeared behind the man, grabbing him around the neck in a sleeper hold and forcing the DA unconscious.

"Sorry, Harvey." Rebecca muttered as Harvey lost consciousness before she looked up at Bruce as her boyfriend held Harvey's neck tightly for a little longer just in case.

"I've got him, you need to go." Rebecca whispered as soon as they were sure Harvey was knocked out.

Bruce nodded, quickly moving out to get to the secret room in the penthouse where his Batsuit was located, while Rebecca quickly hid Harvey in the nearest stock closet. Thankfully, she was well-trained because Harvey was heavy. Tall and fit were all very well on men, until they were dead weights – then, it wasn't quite so nice.

Rebecca managed, however, and forced Harvey into the closet with a grunt. She then sealed the door with a broom, keeping him locked inside, before she quickly slipped back to the penthouse.

She arrived near the main room, just as a gunshot fired.

"Good evening, ladies and gentlemen!"

As soon as she heard the Joker's voice, Rebecca quickly ducked back down, keeping low and staying hidden in the hallway around the corner from the main room.

She peered out carefully to assess the situation, noting the six or so men with guns around the Joker as the madman himself waved a large rifle around, clearly having been the one who'd fired the gun though apparently he'd just shot into the ceiling.

As the Joker's men pointed their own guns at the party guests, the Joker wandered about the natural circular space everyone had given him upon his arrival as he announced, "We are tonight's entertainment."

He picked up a cocktail kebab from a nearby, abandoned table. Chewing off the shrimp at the top, the Joker turned back to the crowd as he stated, "I only have one question – where is Harvey Dent?"

There was only silence in response to his question.

Most of the guests didn't even know where Harvey Dent had gotten to, and a few were also quietly defiant enough that even if they had known they wouldn't have sold Harvey out. After all, Thomas Wayne had been a minority but not alone in his world of the rich and politically powerful.

The Joker continued to walk about the edges of the circle, staring at the crowd of guests. Rebecca tensed when he waved his gun dangerously close to one of Bruce's model dates, but the Joker soon moved on to grab a glass of champagne instead. Taking a sip, he smacked the glass back down on a different table before he tapped the nearest man.

"Do you know where he is?" He queried, acting like a regular thug as he tapped, and lightly slapped each person in turn as he moved along the edge of the crowd, repeating, "Do you know? Do you know where he is?"

Rebecca gripped her gun tightly, ready to use it if necessary. She was hoping the Joker wouldn't actually hurt anyone until the Batman could get there to handle the man, but he was quickly proving to be rather unpredictable – and therefore far more dangerous than they'd even been led to believe before.

It was as the thought passed through her mind, that the Joker stopped beside another gentleman and grabbed the man's face, getting up close as he said impatiently, "Do you know where I can find Harvey? I need to talk to him about something. Just something little."

The man didn't and couldn't answer, and the Joker rolled his eyes as he moved on, muttering, "No."

He stopped before another elderly gentleman as he continued, getting up in the other man's face, "You know, I'll settle for his loved ones."

"We're not intimidated by thugs." The gentleman replied defiantly, and Rebecca grimaced. She really wished the man had just stayed quiet.

The Joker had narrowed his eyes as he examined the older man's face intently, and he commented suddenly, "You know, you remind me of my father."

The Joker suddenly grabbed the old man's head, bringing a knife right up to the other man's mouth before anyone could react as he added darkly, "I hated my father."

"Stop!"

The Joker paused, as did everyone else, before he turned slowly to face Rebecca where she stood pointing her gun right at him.

The Joker's thugs all instantly pointed their guns at her, but the Joker remained unruffled as he asked mockingly, jeering at Rebecca, "Oh, and what do we have here? What's a pretty thing like you doing in a dump like this?"

He gestured at her, and his tone made it clear that contrary to his flowery words, he meant her different state of dress compared to everyone else.

Rebecca, however, remained firm as she ordered, "Release the man now, Joker."

"Or you'll what, shoot me?" The Joker scoffed, gesturing at his men. "You'd be dead in an instant."

"But so would you." Rebecca answered calmly, and the Joker tilted his head so far to the side it was almost comical – except on him, it was downright terrifying,

But Rebecca's hands didn't even shake as she held her gun pointed firmly on the Joker's chest, and the Joker slowly let the elderly gentleman go.

What disturbed Rebecca, however, was how the Joker didn't even seem to care that he'd given up his hostage and thereby only real guarantee she wouldn't shoot him. He didn't even seem to care he might actually die if she pulled the trigger.

Instead the Joker's smile had widened as he said slowly while edging towards Rebecca, "Oh… we have a spit-fire, here, ladies and gentlemen. From Gotham's very own GCPD."

Rebecca's eyes narrowed while the Joker giggled, his dark, manic eyes boring into Rebecca's as he continued, "I'd heard there was a pretty little redhead in the MCU. So I asked, does she have a temper like they say redheads do?"

Rebecca remained stock still, watching the Joker and his men warily as the Joker continued to stalk towards her, while he rambled, "And they said, they didn't know! But that she was good at her job."

Suddenly, the Joker had whipped his knife towards Rebecca, and her hand almost squeezed the trigger in a knee-jerk reaction – almost.

The Joker's smile got wider as he said, "Yes… very good at her job. Too good; you made quite a few people angry, Red."

He giggled while Rebecca continued to watch him, unimpressed and refusing to be distracted by him as she kept her focus solely on the situation while the Joker added, "Not that I really care – people like you, you make it more fun."

He leaned in towards her as he said, suddenly menacing, "It's so much more interesting to break your spirit."

"Okay, that's enough. Leave her alone."

'Why, Rachel, WHY?!' Rebecca asked, in her head, as she watched her sister step out of the crowd to also face off against the Joker.

"Ooh hohoho… Two spitfires." The Joker laughed as he looked between Rachel and Rebecca.

"Except, you're just a cop," he nodded at Rebecca. "Doing your job, etcetera, etcetera. But I'd bet bucks that you are Harvey's squeeze." He pointed his knife towards Rachel as he grinned widely.

So much for Rebecca's concentration.

The second he tried to threaten Rachel Rebecca swiftly kicked at the Joker. His quick reflexes meant he dodged most of the power behind her trained kick, though she still landed a solid hit on his stomach that sent him stumbling back a few paces.

One of his men fired, but Rebecca had already dropped herself low and the bullet hit a light instead, causing a few people to shriek. The Joker waved his cronies back, apparently enjoying himself as Rebecca ignored the bullet that had just missed hitting her to swipe out her legs at the Joker in her lower position.

But he was as quick, leaping over Rebecca's feet as he cackled, "Oh, ho! She has a temper! You've got real fight in you, Red!"

He grinned as he landed back while Rebecca held her gun raised defensively in case his men attacked, and the Joker added as he leered at Rebecca, "I like that."

"Then you're gonna love me."

The Joker looked over instantly at the sound of the dark, deep voice coming from behind him, but this time he wasn't fast enough.

Batman dropped out of nowhere – from their perspectives – and punched the Joker right in the face, sending the man crashing back. Batman swiftly turned to take on the Joker's men before they could fire, and Rebecca scrambled quickly out of the Batman's way as the fighting gravitated toward the masked vigilante.

She kicked out one of Joker's thugs' legs as she went, sending the man crashing down where Batman rammed his foot down swiftly to knock the man unconscious while he fought the other four thugs.

"Rachel!" Rebecca began, intending to grab her sister and move her back to safety with herself, when she spotted the Joker already clambering to his feet and reaching for Rachel.

Rebecca fired a warning shot to the Joker's right, away from everyone, and the Joker flinched back instinctively. Not one to miss an opportunity, Rebecca used the moment to grab her sister.

"Bec-!" Rachel gasped, getting cut off as Rebecca shoved her sister to safety first; an action that cost her.

The Joker used her distraction to eject a hidden knife in his shoe, and he kicked up, swiping the knife across Rebecca's wrist.

She cried out as she dropped her gun instinctively due to the pain, though she dove for it almost immediately afterwards, heedless of the blood she was spilling. Unfortunately, the Joker did the same, and as he swiped at her again with his knife, Rebecca was forced to duck while the Joker grabbed her gun.

It was over in three seconds as the Joker pointed his gun… at Rachel.

The people around Rachel flinched while the brunette gasped as the Joker grabbed Rebecca with his other hand, hauling the redhead up easily now that she went without much fight after seeing where his gun was pointed.

The Joker got her in a deadly grasp just as the Batman turned around, having taken out all of the Joker's other thugs, and Rachel cried in fear, "Becky!"

The Joker had moved to point his gun away from Rachel and at Rebecca now that he'd gained the Batman's attention. Rebecca struggled as soon as the gun was pointed away from her sister, but it was a little too late - the Joker had a far stronger grip than she would have pegged for a man (no matter how mad) who seemed to avoid physical confrontations. His one hand was tight around her neck, his grip so strong it would surely leave bruises, and Batman's eyes narrowed.

"Drop the gun." Batman ordered in his deep voice, while Rebecca kicked at the Joker's feet behind her.

The madman dodged it easily – apparently having expected it – while he countered at the Batman, "Oh sure, you just take off your little mask, and show us all who you really are."

Rebecca shook her head at him urgently, warning him not to give in, and Batman's jaw clenched. The Joker read his defiance, and decided he needed to up the stakes.

With another of his strange dark chuckles, he suddenly fired the gun behind him, shattering the floor-length glass window of the penthouse that had been right behind him. Rebecca choked as the Joker tightened his hold around her neck, while he used his grip to swing her around.

He did end up dropping the gun as he swung Rebecca, but only so that he could catch her by the arm as he let go of her neck. He used his new grip to hold her so that Rebecca ended up leaning precariously out the broken window, held back only by the Joker's grip on her arm while her feet balanced tenuously on the edge of the broken penthouse window.

Several people gasped, while Rachel's hands went over her mouth in terror as Rebecca struggled against the Joker, fear flitting across her face for the first time as she basically dangled over the edge of a skyscraper and Batman's eyes narrowed even further in anger.

"Let her go." Batman warned darkly, his eyes blazing, and the Joker frowned.

"Very poor choice of words." The Joker commented, before he laughed like a maniac yet again as he let go of Rebecca's arm and the redhead fell out of the penthouse.

"BECKY!" Rachel screamed, her body jerking forward a step out of pure instinct. Everyone else seemed too shocked by the Joker's sudden action to move, still processing the fact that he had actually dropped a human being out of the highest floor of one of the tallest buildings in the city.

The Batman, however, had dived passed the Joker and out the window before Rachel had even finished screaming for her sister, reaching instantly for the Rebecca as the redhead dropped out of sight.

Utterly heedless of the criminal he'd left behind, Bruce slid down the glass windows of the floor right below his penthouse, which created a slightly pyramidal shape at the top of the skyscraper building he lived in. He streamlined his body to increase his speed as he raced after Rebecca, his heart pounding in his ears as he kept his eyes only on hers where she was sliding down the glass in front of him.

Rebecca reached for him as well, her blue eyes terrified as she locked onto his desperate gaze as Bruce gained on her. But it wasn't enough; Rebecca was already at the edge, where it then dropped straight down for almost one hundred floors, and she let out an involuntary but piercing scream as she hit that edge and went right on passed it.

Bruce hurtled after her, grabbing her just as they both flew off the glass and started to free-fall down.

Rebecca screamed bloody murder, unable to help herself as she clung onto Bruce in utter terror as they fell through empty space and down towards the road below. Bruce thankfully managed to keep his head as he swung them around so that his arms were wrapped around Rebecca as he cradled her against his chest while he lay horizontally and spread his cloak out beneath his back.

It opened, catching the air and slowing their descent somewhat as they plunged down towards the Earth, before they finally landed with a crash atop a parked car, Bruce landing underneath Rebecca.

They dented the roof, shattering the glass of the car windows, but the stranger's car was the least of Bruce's worry.

He gasped for one second, catching his breath, before he turned to Rebecca.

"Are you all right?" Bruce demanded, turning her slightly so he could see her face, his eyes searching for any sign of pain.

Rebecca was gasping to get her breath back and her face was still deathly pale, but her eyes were filled with relief as she answered a little shakily, "Yeah."

Bruce relaxed slightly, though his eyes moved to check the rest of her for any signs of injuries. Rebecca, however, felt the burning in her arm instantly now that the adrenaline was settling down, and she winced as she subconsciously reached for her wrist. "Ow."

Bruce instantly zeroed in on the movement and his eyes scanned the knife wound on her wrist, which was bleeding rather heavily.

"We need to get you treated." He ordered, but Rebecca shook her head weakly.

"You need to get after the Joker, and check on Harvey." She reminded, looking and sounding exhausted after her near death experience, now that the adrenaline rush was wearing off. "I can take care of myself – go."

He hesitated, but she insisted, "Go!"

Bruce struggled up, glancing back at Rebecca once more before he moved to disappear into the shadows as people crowded around their crash site. Rebecca lay for another moment, needing it to get her breath back and calm her racing heart.

Unfortunately, her heart rate refused to slow and Rebecca began to become aware of the fact that she was feeling light-headed and weak; and she didn't think it was because of her brush with death. Rebecca glanced at her wrist before wincing as she realized it was much deeper than she'd thought – no wonder Bruce had panicked (as much as he allowed himself to whilst he was Batman, that is) when he saw it.

'Damn it.' Rebecca thought, before she looked up as she heard police sirens.

"Thank God." She muttered as she dropped her head back down on the crushed car roof as Gordon basically leapt out of his car, the first to arrive.

"Becky!" He shouted, running up to her as Ramirez and Wuertz followed. "What happ- sh*t!"

He swore when he saw her wound, and instantly started calling the medics, while Rebecca said tiredly, "Harvey should be safe; our friend's got him. Not sure about Joker, though."

"All right, now keep quiet and save your strength." Gordon ordered. "You're losing more blood than I'd like, Becky."

"Yeah." She agreed. The world was already starting to spin around her slightly, but Rebecca forced herself to remain conscious as the medics started moving her into an ambulance.

Back in the penthouse, Rachel's heart hammered in her chest as she stared at the open window where her sister – and Batman – had disappeared through.

The Joker had run as soon as Batman was gone; something she didn't quite understand, but she'd try and reason it out later. For now, almost every cell in her body was screaming with worry for her little sister, terrified that she'd just seen her only remaining family member killed right before her eyes.

A tiny part of her that was still somewhat sane prayed fervently that Batman had saved Rebecca, no matter the odds – after all, he had defied odds before. Surely, hopefully, he'd done it again.

And then an even tinier part of her remained bewildered by something she'd caught in very brief passing as Batman had leapt after her sister. With most of her attention having been on Rebecca, Rachel had almost missed it herself; but now that she had repeated the image in her mind several hundred times (though that had been mostly out of fear for her sister), that tiny part of her realized something distinctly odd.

Batman had leapt after her sister – not jumped, leapt. As though his body had reacted instinctively, the way a mother might react to save her child.

And his eyes, though Rachel had barely noticed and even now remained mostly unconscious about, had been filled with an absolute dread and panic akin to that of a man fearing for the life of someone he desperately cared about if not loved.

An amplification of an emotion she had seen somewhere before.

And that tiny part of Rachel would soon realize what it was that had been niggling at her since earlier that evening; something, she realized, she should have seen much sooner.