A/N - This one's longer than usual. Your reviews and alerts pushed me to get this out sooner. Tell me what you think...

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David looked at the television for another brief second before he backed up and turned on his heel, quickly heading towards the door. He glanced over at his Dad as exhaustion and the remains of the sedative caused him to fall back asleep. As he turned into the hallway, he felt a hand rest on his shoulder. David turned, looking down into his Mother's eyes.

"David, wait."

He rolled his eyes, already knowing what she was about to say. "Mom, I can sit here and let the police just do their job. Allison is in obvious trouble and my guess is that Heather isn't safe either. If Dad is right about this being the work of Joker, then I'm not going to sit around and do nothing."

He watched a small smile appear on her face.

"You know, each time I see you it seems that you're not just looking more like your Dad, but you're acting more like him all the time." She sighed. "I'm not telling you to do nothing. I want you to go pick up Heather and bring her here. I'll get Allison from school."

David opened his mouth to protest, but Olivia caught him to the punch.

"Alfred will look after Bruce. Besides, you can't be in two places at once. If there's a bomb threat at the school, chances are that something is happening at the hospital right now as well. If I remember correctly, Joker seems to enjoy these kind of games."

"What about you?"

She smirked, before they quickly walked down the hallway towards the front door. "I'll be fine."

5 Minutes prior

The halls were empty.

Allison peeked around the corner, not willing to look at the body of one of her classmates laying on the floor as a pool of blood slowly grew around him. There was no one there and she let out a sigh of relief before quickly racing down the hallway and pushing open the door to the mezzanine. She made sure to keep herself low to the ground so no one could see her from the gymnasium below. Finally, she took refuge behind a stack of chairs in the corner of the mezzanine. She let out a shaky sigh as she pulled her legs up towards her chest.

After less than a minute, she startled when she heard the loud sound of her cell phone alerting her to an incoming text message. Quickly and quietly, she opened her phone to read it and made certain that she turned the phone to vibrate before she did anything else. The message was from her friend, Jen.

HIDE! They here for u. B told them where u went.

Brandon told them where she was? After she saw him last in the computer class, he promised he'd make sure that he'd find her in the school, only to find out that he betrayed her. But now, the fact that whoever was in the school was looking for her scared the crap out of her.

Allison managed to type in three letters while her fingers shook nervously. WHO?

Her answer came soon after. Clowns.

Allison tried her best to calm her breathing as best as she could as her anxiety level shot up. She quickly regretting leaving her puffers in her locker.

The sound of someone below opening the gymnasium doors echoed in the large room. Allison covered her mouth. She heard footsteps followed by the sound of someone begin whistle a tune before beginning to sing.

"The itsy bitsy spider went up the water spout. Down came the rain and washed that spider out."

Less than second later, gunfire echoed around the gymnasium. Allison covered her ears as water began to pour down from the sprinklers over head.

"No need to hide, my dear," the voice called out again. "We're like old friends, except we've never met. Your Dad and I though, we go way back. I saw him yesterday and he wasn't looking too good."

Allison had to get out of there. She crawled along the floor as fast as she could as the water continued to fall from the ceiling. She heard the man sigh.

"I really don't want to do this, but just remember you gave me no choice," he said. A moment later, she heard the sound of a man begging as he was dragged into the gymnasium. Allison instantly recognized the voice as that of her English Lit. teacher, Mr. Hopkins. She froze, hearing the man beg for his life. Tears came down her face, knowing that he was there because of her. She had to get out of there. She glanced at the door near the end of the mezzanine and quickly stood up and ran for it.

The man must have seen her cause he quickly called out, "There!"

A gunshot rang out behind her as the door closed and Allison screamed while running down the empty hallway. Back in the gymnasium, Mr. Hopkins fell to the ground at the man's feet.

Allison nearly slid to a stop as she rounded a corner while heading towards the front doors, seeing two men with clown masks over their faces. She quickly turned and ran into a body. She felt a cloth being placed over her face, and she kicked and punched as much as she could until everything around her went dark. The man walked up to the others in the masks and looked down at the unconscious girl as she was being held up by her arms.

"Everything is ready," another clown said as he walked up from behind them.

"Then let's get out of her before the police arrive," the man said, as the group walked right out the front doors of the private school, leaving 6 dead in their wake, many frightened and trapped students and a call that a fake bomb was in the building.

"Damn it," Olivia exclaimed, hearing Allison's cell phone go directly to her voice mail. The road leading up to the school was blocked with police, newscrews and eager parents wanting to see their children. Olivia decided to pull over along the curb.

She climbed out and walked towards the school just as the police were allowing the students and teachers out of the building. Olivia stood on her toes, trying to see around the crowd of people and looking for that familiar brown haired girl. Her anxiety rose as she watched student after student come out of the school with no sign of Allison. Finally, the last members of the school faculty came out. Olivia pushed her way through the crowd towards the taped line.

Her heart sank as she watched stretchers being pulled out of the building with sheets or plastic covering them.

No! her mind screamed. Without another thought, she pulled up the police tape and walked towards the waiting ambulances.

"Hey! You can't be here!" an officer shouted in her direction. He ran towards her. "You need to leave!"

"I'm looking for my daughter!"

Commissoner Gordon heard the shouts and looked in their direction. He quickly walked towards Olivia and stepped in front of her, before excusing the other officer.

"What are you doing here?" he asked softly.

"I can't find Allison."

This time, it was Gordon who looked worried. "She didn't come out?"

Olivia shook her head.

"Well, I can assure you that she's not one of the fatalities. Did she come to school today? Maybe she's skipping?"

Olivia shook her head once again. "I can assure you that she was brought to school this morning."

He turned and walked with Olivia back towards the police line. "I'll do what I can here to see if I can track her down. In the meantime, I'd suggest keeping this low profile. We wouldn't want this to get out to the media."

Olivia nodded, taking his suggestion. "Of course."

"I'll let you know if I find out anything."

"Thank you Commissioner."

The ER couldn't have been busier that day. Every triage bed was full and the waiting room was finally beginning to dwindle down.

Heather took a moment and rubbed the back of her neck as she leaned over the desk to read up on the chart for the next patient.

Possible bladder infection. Lovely, she thought.

"There's a call for you Heather," the nurse at the desk said.

"Can you tell them that I'm busy?"

"I did," she replied. "He's saying it's urgent."

With a sigh, Heather tucked the chart under her arm and reached for the phone.

"This is Dr. Tamarack."

"Heather!"

"David? Is something wrong? Is it your Dad?"

"No no," he replied. "He's fine. I was just checking on you."

"Me?"

"Yeah, I'm going to come pick you up."

"David, I'm working," she said, surprised.

"I know but this is really important," he said. "You can't stay at the hospital right now."

She chuckled.

"David, I'm busy right now. The ER is over flowing."

"You're in danger."

She paused. "Is this some sort of joke?"

"No joke," he replied. "You need to leave the hospital. I'll be there to pick you up in less than five minutes."

"David, I told you, I can't leave. I'll call you back later."

Before he had a chance to say another word, she hung up. David pressed his foot harder onto the accelerator of the Lamborghini and sped towards the hospital.

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Heather pushed aside a curtain of one of the triage beds and pulled it closed behind her. She looked up at her patient with a smile. When she noticed the man holding a piece of bloody gauze against part of his face, her smile faded. She looked down at her chart, realizing that this was most likely not the one with the bladder infection.

"I'm sorry," she said, looking back at the man in front of her. "I must have the wrong chart. I'll be right back."

She turned to walk back out when the man grabbed her by the arm. She looked back at him, seeing that the gauze was no longer on his face. His face appeared to be fine. But what concerned her the most was that he held a knife in the other hand.

"You have the right chart," the man said softly, as he placed a finger to his lips indicating to her to keep quiet, before he slid off the bed.

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David quickly pulled the car alongside the curb of the ER entrance and raced through the doors. He stood at the desk and waited impatiently for the receptionist to get off the phone. David tapped his fingers nervously on the desk as he glanced around the waiting room. It didn't seem like something dangerous was happening and there was no sign of the Joker. The woman hung up the phone and watched David with annoyance as he continued to tap his fingers.

"Can I help you?" the woman finally asked, catching David's attention.

"Yes," he said. "I'm here to see Dr. Tamarack."

"Do you have an appointment?"

"No, she's a friend of mine. I was coming by to see her."

The woman sighed and told him that it would be a minute as she picked up the phone to call the ER triage room.

Once again, David waited anxiously for Heather to walk through the double doors. He waited, and he waited. Finally, he went back to the receptionist.

"Where is she?"

"I called down and they said they'd give her the message."

David sighed, knowing that she was most likely ignoring his suggestion to leave the hospital. Instead of waiting, he pushed through the double doors, hearing the protest of the receptionist behind him as he walked into the busy triage room. He looked around, seeing at least a half dozen doctors walking around, but couldn't see Heather at all. He finally stopped one of the doctors.

"Where's Heather Tamarack?"

"Heather?" the young doctor replied, as the receptionist came up to them.

"You can't be in here, sir," the receptionist said.

David looked from the doctor to the receptionist. "I'm just looking for Dr. Tamarack. Where is she?"

"She was here a few minutes ago, checking on a patient on bed four," the doctor said, looking in that direction. The curtain was closed, yet no feet could be seen from beneath. He walked up to the curtain and pulled it wide open, revealing an empty bed and an abandonned chart on the table beside it.

Just as confused, the doctor turned to a nurse as she walked by. "Where did Heather go?"

"She left the ER with her patient," the nurse replied. "She said that she had to get blood work done for the guy. She took him with her."

The doctor shook his head. "Why didn't she just have a lab tech come down here?"

The nurse shrugged.

"She was very insistent on doing it herself. The poor man looked like a mess with the gauze on his face."

David turned to the doctor. "Where is the lab?"

"Down the hall, and second door to the right."

David quickly walked down there, feeling the pit in his stomach grow with each step. He saw the sign on the door marked for the lab and pushed it open, finding it empty. He backed up and ran his hand over his face. Heather was missing.

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3 Hours later

The smell was nauseating. The room was damp.

It was the first thing that Allison noticed when she woke up. Next was the cold metal that held her wrists together as it was entwined with the steel pipe that ran along the side of the wall. She strained to see in the dimly lit room and noticed a body sitting a few feet away from her, bound the same way as herself. It took a moment for Allison to recognize who she was as it wasn't very often that she saw Heather in scrubs. Her hair was also no longer in the loose pony tail she usually had and instead it fell around her face. Stretching as far as she could with her feet, Allison nudged Heather's leg.

"Heather! Wake up!" she whispered, her voice echoing slightly in the room.

When Heather didn't move, she did it again. This time, Heather startled as she woke. She looked up, seeing the familiar young girl in front of her before noticing the metal cuffs around her wrists.

"What the hell is going on here?"

Allison shrugged. "I have no idea but I'm not liking this."

"Neither am I," Heather agreed.

Both of them jumped and turned towards the large metal door as it slowly squeaked open and let in the light from outside the room. Heather squinted against the bright light as a figure walked into the room. She could just make out the outline of his body. She watched as the figure looked at each of them before letting out an audible, "hmm".

He clapped his hand once as he walked further into the room.

"It's about time you two woke up," the man said. "Now it's time to have a little fun."

Heather's face paled as she realized the voice she was hearing was the same as she had heard in the parking lot of the store. He motioned to the men behind him to unlock Allison's restraints before pulling her to her feet before turning and working on those around Heather's wrists. Once she was pulled to stand, she got a glimse of the man in front of her for the first time. On all accounts, he was supposed to be dead. She was just a young girl when the newspapers and televisions reported it those many years ago, but there was no denying that the man in front of her was the Joker.

"We meet again, my dear," Joker said, lightly tracing his knife along her cheek. "And you never kept up your end of the bargain. You went ahead and told the Wayne's about our little encounter."

"I didn't," Heather said boldly, yet quietly.

Joker stepped back and squinted. "I might be getting a little old but I can still know a lier when I see them and you're it." He glanced over at Allison. "But it seems like you've been in good company when it comes to lying. That's something the Wayne's are good at. Am I right?"

He smiled sadistically at Allison. She merely glared at the man in front of him. He chuckled. "I can tell which side of the family your knack for lack of conversation comes from. Your old man was never a talker. How is he doing anyways?"

Heather was confused with the conversation, but was too afraid to even attempt to try to make the Joker's words make sense in her mind. Before they knew it, they were being led down a maze of dark, wet hallways. The occasional screach of a rodent made it's way to their ears. Finally, they stopped and one of Joker's men opened up a large metal grate off the floor which covered a hole in the ground.

"In you go!"

Heather didn't even have a chance to catch her balance when she was pushed towards the hole. She felt her stomach do a loop as she fell in the darkness, not sure when she would hit the bottom or what she'd hit. As quickly as he pushed her, she splashed onto the floor. A moment later, Allison fell in, landing on her bottom with a splash. The sound of laughter echoed it's way into the space they now stood. With a loud crash, the grate fell back down followed swiftly by the sound of a drill.

"HEY!" Heather called out. "Let us out of here!"

The footsteps slowly quieted until they could no longer hear them. They couldn't see a thing. Heather could hear splashing as Allison stood up awkwardly with her hands still bound in front of her. They both felt for the walls of their confined space.

"Where are we?" Allison finally asked, her voice soft.

Heather sighed, feeling the cold cement walls around them. They were standing in a good foot of water and the sound of drips could be heard in the small room. "I have no idea."

Allison leaned against the wall and felt something hit her from behind. She gasped when she realized what it was.

"My cellphone!" she exclaimed. "I have my cell phone on me still. I assumed they took it."

"Where is it?"

"My back pocket. But I can't reach it like this."

Heather felt along the wall until she came up beside Allison. She quickly felt her back until she found the small cell phone. Being careful to not drop it, she pulled it out of her pocket and handed it to Allison. The young girl quickly turned it on, the light illuminating the room.

"It works!"

Bruce wasn't in bed.

David sighed as he turned to leave the room. His Mom had obviously returned from the school as her car was in the garage, but neither she, nor Alfred or Bruce could be found. Knowing the situation they were in, he knew where they were.

He jogged down the stairs and quickly walked towards the grand piano to press the odd chords to open the hidden passage.

He could hear their voices long before he even made it down to the ground level of the cave. There was his Dad, sitting in his robe in the chair in front of his two computer monitors with his arm in a sling. His Mom and Alfred stood directly behind him, interested in the information he had found ont he computer.

"Heather's missing," he announced, causing the three to turn towards him.

Bruce let out a sigh. "So is Allison. The Joker must have them."

"You said the Joker. Did you actually see him?"

"I saw him like I'm seeing you right now," Bruce replied. "It was no ghost that shot me in the shoulder at point blank." He turned back to the computer monitors. "And according to the report on the Joker's alleged death seventeen years ago, his body was so mangled and his face so tattered that they only had clothing, and eyewitness accounts to base their assumptions that the body was infact that of the Joker."

"And you're thinking it's not," David concluded as Bruce nodded. "Where does that leave Allison and Heather? You said that he was going to kill them."

Bruce looked to Alfred who reached for an envelope. "This was delivered to the house earlier today."

David pulled it out and read the crudely written letter.

"'The maker makes it but doesn't use it. The buyer buys it but doesn't need it. The two who'll needs it will never know it.
What is it?'" He paused for a moment as the answer came to his mind and he shook his head. "That's sick."

"You figured it out?" Olivia asked, astonishly.

He shrugged. "It's a coffin. It wasn't too hard."

"It took us a few minutes to figure it out."

David looked up at the monitors. "Any idea where they might be?"

"No clue," Bruce said. "But I have a few ideas on where you can start looking. With night coming, it's better that you find them sooner than later."

David wasn't sure if he heard his Dad correctly. "Me? You want me to go out looking for them?"

Bruce grinned and glanced down at his arm as it was held close to his chest in a sling. "Well, I'm not going to be going out anytime soon. And from what Alfred tells me, you fit the suit quite well."

David looked suspiciously from Bruce to Olivia and then to Alfred behind them. "Is he still medicated right now?"

Bruce chuckled. "I'm serious. You're the only one who can find them. You proved it to me when you came after me."

"Problem is, where do I start?"

Allison fumbled with the cell phone between her cuffed hands, trying to press the appropriate buttons without having the device slip through her fingers. Heather looked down at her feet, now that they could see a little with the light from the cell phone. The water was cold and was nearly to their knees.

"Is it my imagination or is the water level rising?"

Allison paused for a moment and glanced down, with a sigh and nodded. Heather joined her.

"That's what I thought."

"I think I got it," Allison said, awkwardly putting her phone to her ear. They both waited, anticipating an answer.

"Dad!" she finally exclaimed. Heather couldn't believe it. She was shocked.

"Your Dad?! You called your Dad?! What about calling 911, huh?"

Allison glared at Heather and shushed her before listening over the phone.

"I'm fine. Heather is here too. I don't know where we are."

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David turned, hearing the phone line come alive in the cave. There were a few people who had access to that number and there was only one person missing who had that number. Bruce leaned forward quicker than he should have and grimaced as he answered the call.

"Allison?" he said aloud just as his daughter's voice came from the computers in front of them. "Are you all right? Where are you?"

Bruce reached across the computer. "I'm going to find you through your cell phone signal."

"You're going to have to hurry," she said. "My battery is low."

"Can you give me an idea of where you might be then?"

"Definietely underground," she replied. "A sewer maybe. It's slowly filling with water."

Olivia could hear the anxiety in the young girls voice as she spoke about the water. She kept her own fears in check as she spoke aloud.

"Everything will be all right sweetheart," she said. "David's here and your Dad will find out where you are and then he'll have David find you."

"David?"

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Heather looked up from where she leaned against the wall. Was he there? She looked at Allison and silently asked, to which Allison nodded. Heather held out her bound hands and asked to talk to him. With a slight grin, Allison nodded and handed the phone to Heather.

"David?"

Her voice was weak. She wasn't sure if it was knowing the prospect that she was about to drown in this underground cellar or knowing that she would never see him again without telling him the truth.

"I'm here," he said.

"I know that it must sound silly, but I just had to hear your voice one last time."

She heard David chuckle. "Don't talk like that. We're going to get you help. There is probably a bunch of police officers not too far right now and they'll be there before you know it."

It was her turn to chuckle. "David; always the optomist. That's what I love about you." She paused for a moment, feeling tears come to her eyes. "And I do love you."

David looked at the computer in front of him as he listened to her voice. The computers were close to finding their exact location. He stood up straight and ooked back up at the cave wall when he heard her tell him that she loved him. He smiled.

"I love you too."

The cell phone beeped as water began to rush into the small confined space. Heather and Allison gasped as the cold water rose to their waist before calming down.

Bruce, Olivia, David and Alfred became increasingly concerned, when they heard Allison cry out and Heather's voice disappear for a moment from the cell phone. David could feel his heart begin to race, as he began to slowly panic not knowing what was going on.

"Heather? Heather?!"

Nothing. And then suddenly, she was back.

"I'm here," she said, out of breath. "Damn it! This water is cold and it seems that the cell phone battery is on it's final lag. But I have to tell you something before that happens." She took an unsteady breath as she tried to keep her voice from wavering in the cold. "I've been so stupid."

"You're not stupid."

"For someone to reject a perfectly good marriage proposal would have to be stupid, or crazy," she said, with a scoff. "That night has been playing over in my mind since that day and if I could go back, I wouldn't have refused. If I ever get the chance to hear you say those words again, I'd accept."

Davis stared blankly at the computer as it found the location of where Allison and Heather were trapped. It didn't register to him. All he heard was Heather's voice.

A smile came to his face.

"All right then," he said, loudly. "Marry me!"

He could hear Heather chuckle. "Is that your idea of a marriage proposal?"

"Well, I'd get down on one knee, but since I can't see you, that will have to wait."

The phone clicked before the dial tone was heard. David turned on his heel, and raced to change into the suit.

"Remember," Bruce began as he called out from the chair. "Don't do anything stupid!"

David smiled over his shoulder as he climbed into the Tumbler. "Don't you mean, don't do anything that you do?"

With a laugh, Bruce waved at David telling him to go. He stood back and watched the Tumbler race out of the cave, leaving him alone with the sound of the waterfall and bats. He was worried for his son going out into the darkness of Gotham. Now he knew what Alfred felt like all those nights.

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"Damn this is cold!" Allison exclaimed as the water settled around her chest.

Heather smiled, despite the situation. "Just close your eyes and imagine it as a nice, warm bath."

"Baths never smelled this horrid," Allison countered.

Heather shrugged, just as they heard a click of a valve and more water pour into the space. The level was now high enough that they could either touch with their toes or tread water. The cieling was still another five feet above them. Allison looked up at the steel grate and waited for a familiar face to come into view.

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The Tumbler skidded around the corner as it accelerated towards the green dot on the monitor. He had to look at it twice.

"Is that directly under the river?"

"It is," Bruce's voice replied. "They're inside a compartment that runs alongside the tunnel. It's to be used by maintenance men and as a kind of bulk head for if the tunnel ever became flooded."

"How do I get in there?"

"There are a series of tunnels that run above the tunnel," Bruce replied. "You can access it by the tunnel entrance."

David pulled the Tumbler directly beside the tunnel entrance. He jumped out and raced for the door. After a few moments, he had it open.

"I'm in," he said softly, touching his temple to turn on the night vision so that both he and his Dad could see what was in front of him.

"Follow this tunnel and turn right in about fifty feet," Bruce said, watching the both the map on the monitor and the screen above it showing David's view of the tunnel.

As soon as he found the junction, a man's arm came up and hit him in the face. David momentarily backed up from the impact, but quickly recovered. He swung his arm forward, taking the man by the wrist and swiftly bringing him down to the ground. The man was unconscious.

"I'm impressed," Bruce said, causing David to smile slightly. David turned down that hallway. "They should be right in front of you."

"There's nobody here," David replied softly, before hearing the sound of water rushing followed by gasps and uninteligible words. "Hold on a sec." He continued on, listening carefully.

"Hey!" he heard Allison cry out. "There's someone up there!"

"Hey!" Heather called out. David looked down and saw fingers poking through a metal grate in the floor. He quickly ran towards it and reached his own fingers between the spaces and pulled up on it, finding it was secured to the floor. He looked down, meeting the eyes of his sister, floating just a foot beneath the grate. He glanced at Heather for a brief moment in fear that she would recognize him behind the cowl. Knowing that he didn't want to speak, Allison spoke up.

"Get us out of here," she said. "The water is rising."

David reached onto his belt and pulled out the small torch. After successfully getting two bolts undone, he was quickly realizing how long it was taking him to open the grate. He could feel his hands shake under the stress and nerves of knowing that Heather and Allison were moments away from drowning. His Father's voice spoke calmly in his ear as he continued to burn off the bolts as the third one popped off.

"Hurry," Heather begged as they struggled to catch their breaths through the grates. Another rush of water suddenly filled the space as the two girls took a deep breath. Instead of continuing to torch the forth and final bolt, David stood up and pulled on the grate with all his might. He let out a loud yell as he pushed the grate to the side. It moved. He pushed it further and further away on the remaining bolt. When the space was large enough, he reached into the water and pulled up the first thing he felt. Allison let out the breath she was holding as David pulled her onto the concrete. Her mouth chattered as one word came out of her mouth. "Heather."

David quickly turned and reached down in the water.

"Damn it!! No!"

He slid into the water and sank beneath the surface searching for that one woman. He reached around himself in the darkness, praying that he would find her. He was beginning to panic when he felt something brush against his back. David quickly spun around and wrapped his arm around Heather and pulled her to the surface. He pushed her through the opening first before climbing out beside her. David looked down at her, seeing the blue tinge to her lips and fingers on her lifeless body. He crawled up next to her, not willing for her to give up. David quickly leaned over her, opened her mouth and breathed air into her lungs before pumping her chest with his fists. Allison watched in fear as she watched her older brother, looking more like her father as he begged for Heather to wake up. He continued this pattern over and over for what seemed like an eternity.

"David, let her go."

Bruce's voice in his ear was soft and solemn, while he heard his son breath deeply in sadness.