(*sits down at computer with a drink and logs in to account. Takes a sip and spews it out when I see how many people have reviewed and read it already.* "Holy Crap!")

Chapter Eleven

After half an hour of sitting in the bus, Samantha looked out the window and saw the Joker heading their way. He had his make-up back on. He got on the bus, cast a glance at Samantha, and sat in the seat behind the driver.

The Joker put a hand to his head for a moment and sighed. "The Prewitt Building, make it fast," he told the driver.

Once the vehicle was moving, the Joker put both hands behind his head and leaned back in a relaxed position.

Veronica got up and sat next to Samantha. "Everyone on the bus is beginning to look to you, Samantha," she whispered.

"Why?"

"Because you and the Joker talk, he lets you live. The passengers have begun to think of you as our chance of survival."

Samantha stared at the back of the Joker's head.

Veronica eyed her. "There's something between you and him, isn't there?"

Samantha didn't answer.

"He likes you doesn't he? That's why he's letting you live," Veronica whispered excitedly.

"I'm trying to work that to everyone's advantage," Samantha whispered back.

Veronica inclined her head in the Joker's direction. "Then you better start working."

Samantha raised an eyebrow. "Are you telling me to seduce him?"

"Whatever it takes to make sure we're safe and alive."

"I can't."

"Why not?" Veronica snapped.

"Well, we're not exactly friendly to each other."

"That's not what I saw going on in the back of the bus. He was all over you!"

"You think I wanted him to be?"

"All I know, Samantha, is that we are responsible for all these people's lives and you are the only one here with the power to do something about it."

Samantha glared at Veronica. How dare she dump the responsibility on her? Just because the Joker was…partial to her…didn't mean he was going to release a busload of hostages all because Samantha batted her eyelashes at him. The very thought of batting her eyelashes at him almost made her laugh.

Samantha set her jaw and shook her head. "I'm not seducing him. It's wrong."

Veronica scoffed in disbelief. "Fine time for you to choose what's right and wrong."

"He wouldn't go for it," Samantha insisted.

"If he wants you bad enough he will, and I saw his face, he wants you-."

"That's enough, Veronica!" Samantha snapped.

Veronica glared but said nothing as she turned to face forward in her seat. "If anyone on this bus dies, it's your fault," she said stiffly.

Her remark was like a punch in the gut, leaving Samantha breathless.

She stared at Veronica but the woman did not meet her gaze. Samantha looked down at her shoes before moving two seats in front, away from Veronica. She caught the Joker watching her, his expression curious. He raised an eyebrow at her.

Samantha turned her face away and gazed out the window beside her. She couldn't help but wonder; what if Veronica was right? She quickly shook the thought out of her head, only to have it jump back in.

She was so wrapped up in her thoughts that she didn't realize the Joker had switched seats and was sitting next to her until he let out a loud sigh. Samantha jumped, startled that he had been there without her knowing. Now that he had gotten her attention, the Joker slid further into the seat, nearly crushing Samantha against the window.

She gave an annoyed grunt and used her shoulder to push him away a few inches; which gave her some room to breath.

The Joker let out a low chuckle and moistened his lips. "Why so glum?" he asked.

"Take a wild guess."

He laughed through his nose. "What did that nurse say to make you look like you just got stabbed?"

Samantha avoided his eyes. "Nothing," she replied quickly.

A purple gloved hand grasped her chin and pulled it in the Joker's direction. "Lying doesn't suit you, Samantha."

He stroked her chin with his thumb; waiting for her to answer. He let go after she gave no explanation.

Samantha turned her head away. She felt some tugging on her hair as the Joker pulled the hair band out of Samantha's already loose ponytail. She watched him out of the corner of her eye as he continually wheeled both index fingers inside the band.

"I like your being down," he told her.

He began to amuse himself with the band, stretching it and wheeling it around his fingers. The Joker quickly grew tired of this and glanced up at the seat in front of him.

Samantha saw the mischievous glint in his dark eyes as he stared at the back of a girl's head, sitting in front of him.

It didn't take a mathematician to know what would happen next.

Joker + Stretchy Hair Band =…..

The Joker lifted his arm, stretched the band, aimed, and fired at the back of the teenager's head. The band hit its mark and the teen yelped. She turned in her seat, aggravation clearly evident on her face.

"What the heck is your pro-?" The words died on her lips when she saw who she was yelling at. The expression on her face changed instantly to one of fear and she froze.

The Joker raised an eyebrow, innocently. "Is there a problem?" he asked, his tone holding a slight threat.

"None at all," the girl stuttered and hurriedly faced the front again.

Samantha heard the familiar 'click' of a switchblade opening as the Joker stood and leaned forward. He brought out his knife and held it up for the girl to see. "Good, because to me it sounded like you were about to yell at me," he said menacingly.

The girl began to whimper and he snickered at her discomfort.

Samantha felt heat rushing to her face. "Leave her alone."

The Joker looked at Samantha then back at the girl before finally settling down in his seat. "Then I guess I'll have to amuse myself with you." His right arm slid across the top of Samantha's seat and fell like dead weight onto her shoulders.

He gave her a painful squeeze as he let out a low chuckle. Samantha could feel Veronica's stare drilling into the back of her head. She tried to look over her shoulder at Veronica without attracting the Joker's attention, but he seemed to notice everything she did.

"What'cha lookin' at?" he asked lazily as he too, twisted his neck around. His eyes landed on the nurse and she immediately paled.

"Oh, ho, ho," the Joker said as he ran his tongue along his lips. He turned to face Samantha, who had quickly looked away from Veronica the moment she saw him turn his head.

The Joker sighed as he laid back in his seat; his arm still on Samantha. "She must have said something that tugged on those heart strings of yours."

Samantha remained quiet, but eyed the blade in his left hand as he toyed with it.

"What did she say?"

"Why do you care?"

"I hate seeing my girl upset," he playfully pouted.

Samantha visibly tensed at those words. "I'm not your girl."

The Joker simply wet his bottom lip and stared into her eyes. Samantha stared back, praying she didn't look intimidated. The look he had in his eyes seemed to dare her to prove him wrong. But the longer she held his gaze; she saw that it also would have dangerous consequences if she did.

The Joker smirked and looked ahead; squeezing her shoulder. She could feel other people staring now. Samantha wanted to shove his arm off but was afraid it would only anger him and cause someone to get hurt. Her eyes roamed the bus to see who was looking; quite a few.

A shudder came over her as the Joker tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. He was staring at her so intently, like she was a rare specimen or something. It made her nervous, as always.

His attention was grabbed by two men whispering to each other secretly. He touched the corner of his mouth with his tongue and raised his voice loud enough for all to hear.

"Nurse Reads, do you know how to take care of bullet or knife wounds?"

"Yes."

The Joker hugged her close. "Speak up, honey, I can't hear ya," he goaded.

"Yes," Samantha answered loudly.

"Good to hear. You can never know when someone might decide to do something really stupid." He paused and glared daggers at the two whispering men. "Peeopleee could get hurt-ah."

The two men looked at one another and came to the decision of remaining silent; whatever their plans had been were gone.

The Joker grinned at Samantha. "All a person needs is a little persuasion," he told her.

Samantha frowned and moved her head to look out the window. When he saw she wasn't going to talk to him, he snorted and got up from the seat; searching for someone else to terrify. He sat next to Veronica and tortured her for a few minutes before moving on to other people.

"What's up, doc?" he asked one of the real doctors and went on to tell him how he got his scars. Once again, it was a different story.

Samantha rested her head against the glass and closed her eyes. "Wake up, Samantha! Wake up!" she told herself.

Unfortunately, she was awake. This was real and she had to live with it.

She kept her eyes closed and felt herself drifting off to sleep. Something she desperately needed. Maybe she'd get lucky and she wouldn't have any nightmares. Funny, she was worried about having a nightmare while she slept when she was in the middle of a real one.

The harsh noises of the bus' engine and the crying of the patients and co-workers became less noticeable and muffled. Soon the sounds were muted and Samantha slipped into unconsciousness.

"Sweet dreams, Esmeralda…,"

….

Stillness…silence.

Samantha jolted herself awake.

Stillness and silence? On a bus with fifty people or more in it? Something was wrong.

Her emerald, green eyes swept the bus and found it to be empty. Or so she thought. The sound of someone humming reached her ears. It was meant to be cheerful, but the voice had changed it to a creepy, almost haunting tune. It sounded like it was coming from the seat behind her.

Samantha tucked her legs underneath her and used her knees to push up. She peered over the seat's back to find the Joker hunkered down in a lazy slouch, almost hidden, in his seat. His back rested against the window and his long legs were drawn in so they didn't dangle over the edge of the seat. At the moment, his attention was on cleaning a knife and twirling it nimbly with his fingers.

The Joker finally lifted his eyes up and a wide grin spread across his face.

"She lives!"

He dug the heels of his shoes into the seat and pushed himself up till he was sitting straight.

"And how did my Sleeping Beauty sleep, hm?" he asked.

"Don't know, I'll ask her when she shows up," Samantha retorted.

The Joker hooted and slapped his knee. "Oh youuuu," he drawled.

Samantha looked around again to be sure she hadn't missed anyone, but no one else was in the bus.

"Where are they?" she asked.

"Who?"

Samantha's eyes sparked. "Them! The patients, doctors, Engel, Veronica, goons! Where are they?" she shouted while motioning towards the empty spaces with her arms.

"Oooh. Them," he teased with a wolfish grin.

Samantha had half a mind to strangle him with that tacky tie of his.

"What did you do?"

"Why do you care?"

"Just tell me where they are, or so help me-!" She reached out to grab his tie and do just what she had been thinking, but his hands clamped onto her shoulders and pulled her over the top of the seat.

Samantha yelped in surprise and landed in his lap. He snickered at her attempts to pull away from him. He held her for a little bit before finally humoring her and let go.

Samantha jumped to her feet and turned around to look at him. "Where. Are. They?" she hissed.

"Oh, lighten up, Samantha. They're safe, for now at least. It all depends on the cops now."

He got out of the seat and moved past her to the front. "They're disguised as my clown thugs and are perfect targets for snipers at the Prewitt Building. Perhaps you'd like to see?"

He gave the lever to operate the bus doors a violent pull and they flew open. He extended his hand out. "After you, mademoiselle," he chuckled.

She clambered down the stairs and sensed more than she heard him following her. A hand on her waist told her that was as far as she was allowed to go.

Samantha clenched her fists when she felt his thumb stroking her hip. She ignored the urge to elbow him in the gut and looked up at the sky. It had turned to a dull grey as it approached night. Straight ahead was the Prewitt Building, which stood at the edge of river. It was of a monstrous height and was still under construction.

Samantha squinted her eyes to see the tiny human forms lined up at the edge of the floors where the windows had yet to be installed. She slowly shook her head, refusing to look away from them. "You can not do this."

His lips brushed against the shell of her ear, making her quiver. "Watch me."

She jerked away, glaring at the concrete slab that would be a parking lot. He giggled and steered her to an elevator that the construction workers had been so good as to install.

The Joker gave a sharp whistle and three Rottweilers trotted over to them, following closely.

"Where did they come from?"

"Where are we going?" Samantha asked.

They stepped inside and he flashed her a smile before pressing a button to take them up.

When the elevator lurched to a stop, Samantha had not been prepared and grabbed onto the Joker's shoulder to keep from falling. He grinned and slung open the cage like door to reveal the floor they had stopped on.

The dogs tripped over each others paws as they squeezed out of the elevator first.

"I bet you're wondering what I did while you were sleeping and I was deprived of your lovely presence, hm?" he asked with a quick rise and fall of his eyebrows.

"I am curious," Samantha admitted.

He entwined his fingers with hers. "Wanna see?"

She glanced down at his hand and quickly lifted her eyes back to his. She gave a slight nod.

The Joker led her over to a window overlooking the river. He used his free hand to point out two ferries at the docks.

"In a few minutes those ferries will be moseying their way across the river, thinking they're about to be safe. But they'll be caught up in the middle of it."

"That's your plan?"

"I don't plan, Samantha, I just…," he chuckled, "do things."

"That's a load of crap. You know you plan things!"

The Joker faced her and slid his other arm around her waist.

"I didn't plan on this," he thought to himself.

He let go of her hand and joined it with the other around her waist.

"You think you know how my mind…uh, processes things?" he asked.

Samantha turned her eyes to the ferries outside.

"Hey, look at me!"

He felt her jump as she looked back at him. He grabbed her chin and held it tight as he drew his face closer to Samantha's.

"The only way you'd be able to know how I think would be if you were 'mentally unstable,'" he spat the words out with scorn, "yourself. Even then, I doubt you'd be able to keep up."

Samantha reached up and took the hand holding her chin, without breaking eye contact. She held onto his hand and searched his eyes for a shred of sanity….for a little bit of Allan.

"Please…stop this. I'm begging you. Let these people go, let the people on the ferries go."

The Joker's gaze went to his hand and how tightly she held it.

"Don't go through with this."

His eyes snapped up to her face and they suddenly grew black. "It's too late for that," he said, jerking his hand away.

"No, it's not!" Samantha shouted.

"When you see what I have set up for this town…this city will be eating out of the palm of my hand," he told her in a dark voice.

"You're crazy!"

She began to walk away from him, just to get some space, not to run away. Her arm was nearly jerked out of its socket and she crashed into him.

The Joker spun Samantha around to face him and clamped both hands onto her shoulders. A low, guttural, growl emitted from his throat as he said, "No, I'm not-ah. I'm not crazy." His tongue flicked over his lips and his grip tightened on her.

"Prove it," Samantha said, wincing.

The Joker glared; staring into her eyes, and breathing heavily with rage.

"Prove it!" she repeated.

He grunted and released her with a rough shove as he turned away. Samantha knew she was pushing her luck, but she was fed up with him and afraid for the patients, which fueled her anger and gave her the courage to speak.

"You can't prove it! You're demented; a psychopath, a lunatic who decided to play Armageddon with a city when playing with his toys got boring!"

The Joker snarled and whirled around and pushed her down driving her to the floor. He straddled her and pressed a knife to her throat.

The three Rottweilers he brought with him tensed and watched them closely. The Joker pointed at her with the knife.

"Don't push it-ah, Esmeralda! Because, like you said…I'm psychotic! And I could snap," he snapped his fingers, "like that."

He lowered his arm and licked his lips as he held her eyes with his own. "Samantha," he leaned in and their noses nearly touched, "don't make me hurt you."

Samantha narrowed her eyes, a fire burning inside of them. "I'm going to push my luck over the edge if it means locking you up and ending this lunacy."

They stared at each other in silence until the Joker let out a chuckle. "You see?...That's why I love you," he said and gave the tip of her nose a light tap before jumping to his feet.

Samantha lay on the cold, concrete, slab of a floor, in shock.

Did he really just say that? Did he really say he loved her? No, of course not! Sure he said it, but not that way. Never that way! He couldn't have meant it that way. He was just joking.

She sat up and was hesitant to accept the hand held out to her. She didn't want to go through another one of his outbursts, so she let him help her to stand. She winced from the pain in her spine.

"Did he even realize what he said? Probably not."

A low growl was heard from one of the dogs.

"Easy, boys," the Joker told them.

The dogs loosened up and lay down as one, still being watchful.

The Joker took out a cell phone from his coat and walked up to the window, gazing out at the two ferries. Samantha noticed that they had stopped in the middle of the river. "Watch this," he said and dialed a number on the cell phone. He cleared his throat as he pulled out a small notebook with notes scribbled on the paper.

"Tonight, you're all gonna be part of a social experiment. Through the magic of diesel fuel and ammonium nitrate, I'm ready right now to blow you all sky high. If anyone attempts to get off their boat, you all die. Each of you has a remote to blow up the other boat. At midnight, I blow you all up. If, however, one of you presses the button, I'll let that boat live. Sooo, who's it gonna be? Harvey Dent's most-wanted scumbag collection or the sweet and innocent civilians? You choose. Oh, and you might want to decide quickly because the people on the other boat may. Not. Be. Quite. So. Noble."

He hung up the phone and continued to watch the ferries. The Joker licked his lips and chuckled as Samantha made her way to his side. He could faintly make out the look of horror on her face from the reflection on the window glass.

"Are you joking? You're not really going to kill all those people, are you?" she asked, even though she already knew the answer.

He merely glanced at her and went back to staring out the widow. After a minute, he began to pace the floor impatiently.

Samantha realized that all of his attention was focused on the ferries and not her. She slowly began to step away and shuffle towards the elevator. She was half way there when one of the dogs let out a growl.

The Joker looked over his shoulder sharply and smirked. The dogs tensed and growled more at Samantha.

"I suggest you get back over here," the Joker said.

Samantha carefully took one step and the growls became louder. The Joker whistled and they backed off. Samantha made her way back to him.

"They won't do it, Joker."

He looked at her briefly and continued watching the boats.

"They won't blow each other up."

"Then I will," he answered and fished out a detonator from a coat pocket and showed it to her before thrusting it back in. He began pacing again, his eyes wre fixed on the two boats.

"What did you do to Dent?"

"You're mighty talkative tonight."

"I'm curious."

"Curiosity killed the cat."

"But satisfaction brought it back."

The Joker chuckled at her response and briefly made eye contact with her before returning his attention to the ferries.

"I opened his eyes to what's really going on in Gotham City…and now he's out there fixing it." The Joker laughed at what he knew and moistened his lips.

Samantha frowned. "Fixing it?"

He waved his right hand around, motioning towards the city. "He's probably killing the people responsible for what happened to him and his little bunny, Rachel."

"But you're the one responsible."

The Joker scoffed. "After listening to me, he's convinced it was the fault of every single cop in Gotham."

"So you lied to him?"

"No, no, no, no, no, I didn't lie exactly…I just didn't tell him. Every. Little. Detail," the Joker giggled. "You know what's really funny? I gave him the opportunity to kill me. I put a gun in his hand and held it up to my head. You know what he did? He flipped a coin to see whether he should kill me or not! I twisted his mind so much that he had to flip a coin to decide what he should do!" The Joker exploded into hysterics.

Samantha felt her blood boil. "Was that the surprise? Turning one of the few people in Gotham who could actually help this city, who truly cared about this town, against it? Making him turn his back on everything he stood for?" Samantha exclaimed.

The Joker slowly ran his tongue over his bottom lip. His brown eyes were glowing with insanity. "Yeah…and it turned out better than I hoped." His mouth stretched into a smirk.

She turned away and hugged herself. She wanted to shut her eyes and open them to find that this was just another nightmare, but she knew it was all real.

What if she had befriended him in high school? Would he still have turned into the monster before her? Would all this have still happened? How many people would still be alive?

A small pain was beginning to develop in her head. She squeezed her eyes shut and waited for the discomfort to leave. A laugh made her open them again to see he had his attention focused on the ferries again.

"They've probably worked themselves into a frenzy by now. I wish I had installed cameras! But that's what happens when you don't have too much time on your hands and so many ideas bouncing in your head."

Samantha was glad he hadn't installed cameras, she wasn't sure if she would have been able to handle watching the images.

"This city is mine, they just don't know it yet, but I'll show 'em. They're all the same; every single one of them. Thieves, whores, liars, murders, scam artists, drug dealers, immoral; looking out for numero uno. They think they're different from me, but what's the difference? Sure, I dress up like a clown and wear make-up, but take that away and I'm a guy with scars and a talent for killing people.

"Sooo, what sets them apart from me? Hm? Nothing! And this, uh, this little game is going to prove that! Everyone will realize that we're the same! They'll cross the line and-!"

"Shut up!" Samantha shouted, unable to hear anymore of his logic.

The Joker turned to look at her.

She shook her head in disbelief at how different he was from Allan Jordan. "Just…stop it," She said breathlessly.

The Joker grinned and strolled over to her. "Aaaw, don't be upset, Samantha."

He grasped her chin and titled her head up to look at him. "Smile for me…"

There was the sound of a commotion coming from the floors below them. He grabbed Samantha by the arm and led her over to a large tool closet. He opened the door and gestured for her to get inside.

"Get in," he told her as he looked over his shoulder.

"Do what?"

"Get in!" he repeated urgently.

The Joker put his hand on the small of her back and pushed her inside the closet. "Stay put," he ordered.

The Joker quickly shut the door and hurried back to where they had been standing at the windows only a moment ago. Soon Samantha heard the dogs begin to growl. She opened the door a crack and peeked out. She saw the Joker wasn't alone anymore. He turned around to face Batman.

"Ah, you made it, I'm so thrilled," he said sarcastically.

"Where's the detonator?" Batman asked immediately.

The Joker cocked his head slightly to the left, not answering. That's when Samantha noticed the water pipe in his hand. "Go get 'im!" he suddenly commanded the dogs.

They took off and headed for Batman, their teeth barred. Batman readied himself. One dog leaped into the air, only to be thrown to the side by Batman. The remaining two tackled him and began to try sinking their teeth into him. Batman blocked a pair of jaws with the armor on his arm.

The Joker quickly paced back and forth, bouncing on his toes impatiently. He wanted to do this himself, he wanted in on the action. The Joker let out a growl and sprinted towards Batman, pipe raised. He leapt onto the Batman and began to eat him over and over with the pipe; deep growls escaping his throat with every impact. He balled up his fist and drove it into Batman's chin.

At that moment, Batman had gotten one leg free and kicked the Joker off of him. He skidded across the floor, air completely gone fro his lungs after the blow. One of the dogs went to attack Batman while he was still down. The dog was thrown over the edge of the floor down to the ground below. Batman picked himself up as quickly as possible.

The Joker had recovered and took two running leaps before launching into the air towards Batman while the vigilante's back was turned. He brought the pipe down onto Batman's back, sending him forward and running through some netting. Batman struggled to disentangle himself as the Joker ran after him. He swung the pipe like a baseball bat and brought Batman down again. He kicked him in the side and pulled out his knife.

The Joker's knee came down on Batman's abdomen, pinning him to the floor. "All the old familiar places," he sang and brought his knife down to pierce his heart.

Batman jerked to the side, receiving the blade in his shoulder instead. He pushed the Joker off and jumped to his feet, quickly throwing the netting to the side.

Batman scanned the area and turned just in time to see the Joker rush at him and deliver another bone-jarring blow with the pipe. The impact sent Batman through a glass window not yet set up like the others and fall onto his back, very close to the edge of the building.

The Joker lost no time in hopping over and pulling the metal setting down onto the Batman's chest, restricting his movements. The Joker straddled him and leaned in close.

"We really should stop this fighting, otherwise we'll miss the fireworks," he sing-songed.

"There won't be any fireworks," Batman choked, struggling to free himself but failing. The clown was stronger than he looked.

The Joker raised his free hand and moved it like he was directing an orchestra. "And. Here. We…Go."

They both fell silent.

Samantha held her breath, listening for the explosion that was sure to come.

Nothing came.

The Joker's smile slowly melted away as he stared at the two ferries out on the water. He turned his head around to look at the clock nearby. It was exactly mid-night, but nothing had happened.

"What were you trying to prove? That deep down, everyone's as ugly as you?" Batman sneered.

The Joker's head snapped back to the ferries, seeming to not have heard him. The Joker threw the pipe behind him with a snarl.

"You're alone," Batman told him.

A minute passed and still no explosion. Samantha breathed a prayer of thanks. She knew they would never bring themselves to do it.

The Joker continued to stare out into the distance. "Can't rely on anyone these days, you gotta do everything yourself; don't we?" the Joker muttered and dug into his coat's inside pocket, pulling out the detonator. "That's okay, I came prepared."

He leaned down on the metal bar across Batman's chest, the remote right in front of his face, taunting him. He pressed the button to ready the device. "It's a funny world we live in. Speaking of which," he finally looked down at Batman and pointed the remote's antenna at his scarred face, "you know how I got these scars?" he asked, smiling.

"No, but I know how you got these!" Batman's gauntlet spikes detached and flew towards the Joker, digging into his shoulder and skimming past his face.

The Joker grunted and leaned back, letting off enough of his weight for the Batman to grab him by his green vest and pull him over the edge of the building. The Joker let out rolls of wild laughter as he fell to certain death.

Samantha's emerald eyes widened and she covered her mouth in shock.

Batman quickly lifted the metal bar off of him, turned to his side, and pulled out a grapple gun. He pulled the trigger, sending a wire down to the Joker and catch around his leg.

The Joker lurched to a stop and his laughs were cut short when he realized he had quit moving. He twisted his thin body around to look up and see the small figure of Batman pulling on the cord.

Samantha sighed in relief as Batman gave one final tug and the Joker came into view.

His purple coat looked like wings as he hung upside down and his pocket watch's golden chain dangled from his pants.

"Oh, youuuu," he drawled. "You just couldn't let me go, could you?"

Batman tied the cord to the metal beams beside him, breathing heavily and thoroughly exhausted.

"This is what happens when an unstoppable force meet an immovable object." He grunted as he tried to keep his body from turning in circles on the wire and to stay facing Batman.

"You truly are incorruptible, aren't you?" He licked his lips and went on. "Huh? You won't kill me out of some misplaced sense of self-righteousness. And I won't kill you, because you're just too much fun."

The Joker ran his tongue over his lips again and grunted out a laugh. "I think you and I are destined to do this forever."

"You'll be in a padded cell forever," Batman hissed.

"Maybe we could share one? You know, they'll be doubling up the rate this city's inhabitants are losing their minds."

"This city just showed you that's it's full of people ready to believe in good."

The Joker pointed at Batman. "Until their spirit breaks completely. Until they get a good look at the real Harvey Dent, huh, and all the heroic things he's done."

The Joker wheezed out a laugh at the puzzled expression on the visible parts of Batman's face. "You didn't think I'd risk losing the battle for Gotham's soul in a fist fight with you?" He wet his lips and continued smiling. "Nooo, you need an ace-in-the-hole. Mine's Harvey."

Batman narrowed his eyes. "What did you do?"

"I took Gotham's white knight and I brought him down to our level. It wasn't hard, see, madness as you know is like gravity. All it takes is a little push!" The Joker thrust his arms out in front of him, causing him to swing back and forth. He started laughing hysterically.

Batman stood and swiftly walked away just as the S.W.A.T team started to climb up the stairs.

The Joker's cackling rang in Samantha's ears. He laughed and laughed and laughed until it sounded like he was in pain, but he kept laughing.

Two S.W.A.T members grabbed him when he swung towards them and pulled him back to the safety of the building. He never stopped laughing as the team pinned him to the floor on his chest and cuffed him. They jerked the Joker to his feet as one of the members scanned the area with his eyes.

The man turned to the Joker. "Where's Nurse Reads? She's the only one we didn't find with the others hostages?" he asked.

The Joker continued to laugh while sneaking an unnoticed glance at the tool closet.

"Where is she?" the officer repeated.

Samantha pushed open the door and ran out. "I'm here!"

Everyone turned to face her. Two officers rushed over and asked if she needed medical attention. She waved them away. "I'm fine."

The Joker was still chuckling softly to himself as the S.W.A.T team led him and Samantha to the elevator and to the ground floor.

Samantha was surprised to see so many police officers, snipers, and S.W. all around her. So much was happening.

The Joker looked up at the moon and a wide grin spread across his face as he chuckled. Some of the officers around him glanced at the moon to see what was so funny but found nothing. His laughing soon grew silent.

Samantha watched as the team led the Joker to a van. He looked over at her and paused. He flashed her a grin before an officer shoved him along. He winked at her and let them put him in the vehicle; locking the doors behind him.

"Sammy!" a voice called.

Samantha turned and was surprised to see Harleen and Alice coming towards her.

"What did I tell you about jumping on buses?" Alice scolded, trying to not let her see the tears in her eyes. She hugged Samantha tightly.

"When we heard that you weren't accounted for with the rest of the staff…." Harleen started then trailed off when she saw the Joker's figure in the van. "Who is this guy? Who's the Joker?" she asked.

Samantha bit her lip. "I don't know," she answered.

And to be honest, she didn't know, because Allan Jordan had never existed. It wasn't his name.

"He didn't hurt you, did he?" Alice asked.

"He, uh, he…" Samantha remembered he had hit her only once. All the other times were him slinging her around roughly and threatening her with a knife. "He slapped me once," she said to herself out loud.

"I'll kill 'em!" Harleen exclaimed and acted tough as she took a few steps towards the van. Samantha laughed while she took her by the arm and pulled her back.

"No need, Harley. He'll be sent to Arkham for sure."

"That's perfect timing! I'm going to be going to Arkham Asylum a week from now for an internship! If I could become his psychologist I could be really respected and just think of what all that could bring…" Harleen mused.

Samantha remembered how Harleen had blushed and giggled when 'Allan' had talked to her in high school.

"Maybe you shouldn't," she said uneasily.

"Are you joking?" Harley asked. Samantha gave her a look.

"Sorry, wrong word to use, but come on! I'll be famous if I get him as a patient. I could write a book!"

"Yeah, you could call it, 'I Survived the Joker," Alice teased.

"Nah, Sammy should write a book about this! Her experience with the Joker would be a top seller!" Harleen squealed.

Samantha shook her head.

"No, I'd rather not. I want to put this behind me."

"But you can't ignore it. Ignoring this event could cause major mental disorders and impact-."

"Harley! I'm not ignoring it, so you don't have to give me a lecture. I just don't want to dwell on it for long."

Harley looked uncertainly at her friend. "I don't know, Sammy. I think it wouldn't hurt to see somebody-."

"Harley, I'll be fine."

Harleen sighed and shrugged. "Okie-dokie."

Samantha and her friends began to walk away from the construction site and to Alice's car. Samantha glanced over her shoulder and saw the van holding the Joker, was driving away.

The Joker was out of her life for good….or so she thought. Not even a year would go by before the media and newspapers would announce that the Joker had escaped from Arkham Asylum. And he was nowhere close to being finished with Gotham, Batman….or Samantha Reads.

(Phew! Well, that chapter's over. On to the last one…. Wait… that was the last one! *leaps into air* I finished! I finished the story! Yes! *Joker walks in* "What are you so happy for?" "I finished the book!" "Well then, that means you can start on the next one…..right now." "But-!" "I'll sing." *grumbles as I start working on the next story*)

Yeah, my faithful readers, this one is done. The next one 'Love and Chaos' will have its first chapter up some time soon, so keep an eye open for it. I hope you enjoyed this as much as I did. Let me know what ya thought of this last chapter please, by giving me some reviews. Till we meet again!