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Batman was standing in partial shadows, and my heart swells with hope.
"Ahhh! Batsy! So glad you could join us! Boys?"
Several of Joker's men start to walk toward Batman, guns pointed forward. Batman points his bat claw up, and fires it. He is lifted forward, and kicks two in the chest, knocking them onto their backs. He then jumps forward, and punches the third before he can register the threat.
"Let the girl go, Joker." He says, walking toward us.
Suddenly, the Joker grabs me from behind, and has a knife to my throat. The metal is cold, and it bites into my neck. I'm sure I'm bleeding, but the cut doesn't feel deep.
"Not another step Bat." Joker says, and it sounding like he's smiling. "You don't want to lose your biggest fan, do you?"
The Joker is betraying me now? I can't trust anyone can I? It seems like everyone I put even an ounce of hope in betrays me in the end.
"Stop this now, Joker." Batman growls. "Why put all the work into it, if you aren't going to give it a chance?"
Did he just call me an 'it?' My respect just keeps going lower and lower.
"You know what will make me let her go? If you can rub your belly and pat your head at the same time! Do it and I'll let her go." Joker laughs.
Batman takes a step forward, and in response, the knife gets pushed deeper into my neck. I cry out in pain, and Batman freezes in response to the sound.
"Ah ah, bats. Not another step." The Jokers voice is a growl, and it seems like his happy mood is once again gone. I can hear his raspy breath behind me, and I think he seems nervous. I'm not sure if he has an escape plan, but with the Joker, you can never truly be sure.
There is nobody in between The Joker and Batman but me, and I'm not sure what I can do. My neck is bleeding because there is a knife being held against it. I'm not sure who's side I'm even on because both people have betrayed me, and it seems like there really isn't a chance of me getting out of this okay.
Suddenly, the door of the van slides open and a gruff voice says, "Alright boss. She's out. What do you wanna-"
I assume he has seen us because he cuts off mid-sentence. I hear him curse to himself, and shuffle out of the van.
A gun goes off loudly from behind me, and I look immediately at Batman to see if he's hurt. As I make eye contact, he lunges. He somersaults forward and comes up firing something in the direction next to me. The Joker cries out, and drops the knife from my neck. I jump forward, and run a few feet away turning around once I think I am out of range to be grabbed again.
My eyes search for the gunshot victim, and I see the henchman that came out of the van on the ground moaning. I don't know how it happened, but I think he must have shot himself.
I see the Joker and Batman fighting hand to hand. The Joker is wielding a knife in each hand, and swinging at Batman repeatedly without a pause. Batman is also trying to punch and kick Joker in between the swings of the knives.
Overall, it doesn't look like either is really winning per se, but it mostly just has the appearance of a dance. They are both partners, but no one is leading. They come together rhythmically, and jump back almost to a beat. The only things reminding me that this is important are Joker's words.
"Come on Bats, just give it up. You can't win, you know."
Batman doesn't answer, so Joker continues, "She's not going to be normal, now. She's bitten the apple. She'll want more." He laughs as his statement is returned with a punch to the face.
Batman takes the moment to advance on Joker to kick him in the ribs. The force knocks him over, and he hits the ground and the wall so he appears to be sitting. Batman hits him in the face again, and blood starts streaming from Joker's nose. The knives drop from Jokers hands, and clang on the asphalt.
Without another word, Batman turns around, and walks up to me. I don't know what to say, because my mind is still trying to process exactly what happened. I can't shake the feeling I have forgotten something important, but Batman distracts me.
"Are you alright?"
"Yeah... I think so."
"That needs to be checked out." He says, pointing to my neck.
I had forgotten I was bleeding, and my hand goes up automatically to feel the wound. Blood is still flowing, and though I don't think its deep enough to damage, it's more than a paper cut.
Suddenly, my view starts to shimmer, and then darken. I feel dizzy, and when I try to regain my balance, the alley tilts sideways... Odd.
I wake up in a large bed. It feels like silk sheets, and the comforter is softer and warmer than I've ever felt in my life. I keep my eyes closed and smile to myself, trying to lock the feel of this bed into my permanent memory.
My eyes flash open. How did I get here? Where is here? I sit up, and my head gets dizzy for a second with the rush of blood.
The room around me is extravagant. The comforter on the bed is jet black with blood-red stitching. Blood? I remember seeing it somewhere...
Was it on my hands? I try to remember, and realize that, yes. Blood was on my hands!
I look down frantically, and don't see any... I flip my hands over and both sides are clean.
I take a deep breath and tell myself it must have been a dream. I look again around me. The carpet is a rich cream color, and it almost looks as soft as this bed. There are elegant black nightstands on either side of the bed, with a small red lamp on each.
The room doesn't look familiar at all. It still doesn't answer the question of how I got here.
I get out of the bed quietly, and stand still. I take a moment to try and listen to see if someone else is home, but all I hear is my own breathing, and my heartbeat.
The room has windows on two of its walls, and on one, there is a glass door, leading to a balcony. I walk over to the door quietly, and open it. I step outside into the morning air, with the hope that maybe I could figure out where I am by looking around.
I walk to the edge, when a voice from behind me says,
"Be careful."
I turn around and my hand flies to my chest in surprise. Batman is standing on the balcony next to the house.
"Batman?" I ask confused.
"Yes. Melanie, listen. Do you know why your here?"
"No... Do you know me?"
"In a way. Listen, this is very important. Last night, I rescued you from the Joker. He had abducted you several nights before, and I spent those nights trying to find you. Do you remember anything?"
"No, I..." I look at my hands, trying to figure out whether the blood was a dream or not. My neck twinges with the movement, and my memory comes flying back. I reach up to touch my neck, and find stiches over the place that the Joker had cut me.
"I do!" I say, looking back at Batman, "And you! You left me!"
"No I didn't. I've just rescued you." Batman says, sounding confused.
"Yes! You did! I escaped the Joker, and you gave me my phone, and just led me back! You said it was 'for the best!' You're just as bad as he is!"
"Melanie. I didn't give you your phone. If I had found you, I would have saved you like I did last night."
I pull my phone out of the pocket, and find the messages.
"See?" I say, handing the phone to him, "Right there!"
"Melanie, I would never send someone back to the Joker. Especially if they were ordinary people like you. And I would never text someone to tell them they should."
He flips my phone open, and dials a number. He clicks a button, putting it on speaker.
It rings several moments, and a voice answers that drops my heart to the floor.
"Hello? Batman speaking." Joker says happily.
"You're done, Joker." Batman says darkly.
"Oh on the contrary, Batman, I'm just starting!"
Batman closes the phone, cutting off Joker's laugh, and I want to cry. I was so close to escaping, and the Joker had tricked me again. He knew the only way I would ever do what he wanted me to do, was if 'Batman' had told me.
"You're going to be okay now, Melanie."
"Okay? How am I supposed to be okay? I can't go home, I don't even know where I am, and what am I supposed to do now?"
"Listen. I took you to the hospital last night. They stitched you up, and were going to release you to the police for questioning, but someone had an idea. Taking you to the police would be extremely predictable, and the Joker would show up there quickly. So why not just hide you somewhere he wouldn't look that was still well protected."
"I'm in some sort of safe house?"
"More like a penthouse. You are staying with Bruce Wayne for a few days. I don't know what you know about him, but he is the last person that the Joker would expect you to be with."
"Bruce Wayne? Why would he be okay with me staying here? Isn't he some millionaire that wouldn't want me to dirty anything?"
"I've talked to him, and he's fine with you staying here. He doesn't mind you staying in his home because he wants the Joker gone as much as anyone else."
I turn around for a second to figure out where in Gotham we are.
"When did you talk to him?" I ask, turning back only to find that I am alone on the balcony.
"Never mind, I guess."
I know this one is a little shorter, but I'm trying to update regularly, and this chapter as you can tell is kind of a transition. Did anyone notice something missing? What do you think is going to happen to that piece of the puzzle?