Disclaimer: I do not own Batman, The Joker, or any of it's affiliations.

Grace retrieved the bobby pin from her mouth and placed it in her hair, holding back a loose tundril of black locks. "There." She said, smiling into the dirty mirror. This was it, the day she had been waiting for for three months. Her release from Juvi. The Security Guard had handed her the bag she arrived with, and Gracie wasted no time in changing from her bright red jump suit.

She shivered free of the garment that would haunt her forever, and quickly threw on her baggy camo pants and black speghetti strap tank top. The black hoodie, she tied at her waist. Gracie sniffed the sleeve of the hoodie. Well, at least they had bothered to wash them.

Shoving her hand into the mouth of the bag, she pulled out one last item. A sigh of releif was heard. At least they hadn't taken her necklace, she thought, like they had the earings and pair of jeans. Gracie bowed her head and slipped on the chain, dog tags dangeling at her chest.

She scrutanized herself in the mirror. A pair of haunted violet eyes stared back. She was broken, she knew it the moment hand cuffs were slapped onto her wrists. Gracie pulled back the rest of her long curly hair back into a pony tail and ran a splash of cool water over her face.

Looking down at her hands she noticed they shook. Today was too much of a dream come true. Gracie almost counted on the security guard turning to her and saying "Oops, mistake, go back to your cell."

A loud rapping sounded from the door. Grace jumped, startled by the noise. Quickly she gathered her things and walked the whole two feet to the door. Turning to look over her shoulder, she gave one last look over to the cage that she had called home for the past three months. Gracie took a deep breath, inhaling through her nostrils, and opened the door, leaving behind what was perhaps the most horrific part of her past.

Grace Saunders had no home to speak of. Mostly she stayed with friends and numerous one night stands. The purpose of staying the night with those men was to get a meal, a bed or a floor to sleep on instead of the hard concrete of the city. Things she would otherwise find impossible to obtain.

The wind was at her back, as if pushing Gracie forward. The day of November 30th was a cool one. A weak glow was cast by the sun, which was otherwise deterred by the shade of tall buildings and trees.

Gracie made her way from Dickerson Dr, where the Juvi was located, to 23rd street. Scott Anderson lived there, a fairly nice guy that she had several rondevues with that would be kind enough to give her lunch and a bed for a few nights. The walk would take the rest of the morning and most of the afternoon. She had closed her eyes and swallowed down all she could at breakfast. Who knew when her next meal would be?

Thoughts of the past few months swarmed in Gracie's head. Iron bars, cold nights, no sun. One week was enough to make most people go completely insane. But three months? It was a wonder Grace could think. Especially coming from a Juvi such as GCJDF. And the worst part of it all, was that Juvi was the only home she had ever had. Or at least the only one she could remember.

Six months prior to Grace's sentence in Juvi, she awoke on a bench in Gotham City Park, the Dog Tags in her hand. Gracie had no memory of anything prior to that night. She awoke in a panic, not knowing what to do, no memories to help her. For a few days she contimplated going to the police. But they'd just find her insane, or put her in some hospital. The streets, Gracie decided, would be her home.

And it was until the day four of Gotham's finest busted through the home of one of her numerous one night stands, arresting them all for posession of illegal drugs. Of which Gracie had no knowledge of.

And being seventeen, she was hauled off to Juvi. She gave the police the name that was on her dog tags. "Gracie Saunders." It was the only identidy she had. The other tag had a name on it as well, but it had been scratched out.

So as for the comfort of good memories to help keep the nights less cold, Grace had none. Just herself and the sleek metal of the dog tags which she never took off. That was perhaps the hardest thing about being locked up. No memories, good or bad, to distract herself from surrendoring to insanity. No identidy. She was reduced to the numbers 341598. Inmate Grace Saunders.

But at least she had three meals a day, and some sort of bed to sleep in at night. Still, something called to her from outside the walls of Gotham City Juvinelle Detention Facility. It was a dull aching in the pit of her being, as if she was being called to softly by a sweet haunting voice.

22nd street. Gracie was close. She began to speed up, the anticipation of reaching her destination causing her heart to pump faster. Gracie turned the corner to 23rd street and came to a sudden hault.

Infront of the house that was Grace's destination, was three cop cars. The sight of red and blue lights startled Gracie, and sent her mind into override. To turn back and run would be too suspicous. She had to continue moving forward towards the cop cars, even though every fiber of her being screamed to turn tail and run.

An anamalistic growl rose from Grace's throat as she caught sight of the two police officers standing outside the small house. It was time to move, her instincts told her. Gracie quickly side stepped into the ally next to the house.

A wary glance over her shoulder revlealed no one was following behind her. Gracie breathed a sigh of relief and kept walking, her grip tightening on her backpack strap.

Slowly, Gracie's heart began to beat normally. She walked with her head down, deep in thought. The ally was long, about ten feet wide, covered in a thin layer of dirt. Once upon a time there might have been grass that growed inbetween the two fences, but it was long worn away by the trampling of hurried feet.

Grace wished she had a watch. A loud growling sounded. It had come from her empty stomach. "Damn." She cursed, wrapping her arms around her midriff. It was going to be dark in a few hours. Grace began to think. Sence her previous plans were so obviously not going to work, she had to think of a way to get a meal at the very least.

It would be so very easy to steal something to eat, but Grace considered such acts beneath her, and only did so when it was drastically needed. The sky above was quiet, cloudless. A sharp gust of wind startled Grace's sences. Carried with the wind came a scent. It went right through Grace and straight to her heart.

It was at that moment that Grace heard the foot steps approaching from behind. 'No, not this time. Not again!' She screamed in her head, one hundred percent sure it was the cops chasing after her. Grace kicked her legs high, breaking into a fast run. The sun began to set above her, sending splashes of orange and red into the November sky.

Grace turned her head to glance at her chasers, and stopped. There was no one there. She looked around confused. A whooshing sound was heard from above her and everything went black.

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