Okay, so without even realizing it, I finished it. Yep. This is the last chapter... It's actually kind of bittersweet. I've been writing this since April and now it's done. I hope you all enjoy it :)

Disclaimer: I don't own anything related to Batman... Christopher Nolan is ignoring my emails... ;)

"Harleen!" I say, jumping to my feet only to be knocked down again by the restraints. "How did you get here? Guards! Guards! Help! This woman works with the Joker! Get me out of here! She killed that man! Not me! Her!"

Two guards hold me down, and one moves to remove the restraints, but Harleen stops them.

"No, I'm fine. This is all very interesting." She adjusts her glasses and folds her arms across her desk. "Miss Ryder, I'm afraid I have no idea what you're talking about. I'm a psychiatrist here, not a criminal. Let's talk about you now."

"No. I'm never going to say anything to you, you backstabbing witch! I trusted you! I thought we could both escape! But turns out you're just a psycho like he is!"

"Miss Ryder, you must be confused. I have been on sick leave the past three months. I'll tell you, Mono sure isn't fun, that's for sure…" She chuckles softly.

"You didn't have Mono, you freak! You were trapped with me for weeks! And you killed that man to get rid of me! The Joker told me everything!"

My chest is heaving with my anger and shock, and I just can't believe that Harleen is sitting across the desk from me.

"So you believe that you have had interaction with the Joker? Please explain." She says professionally.

I realize that I'm going to get nowhere. Harleen is here and that means that I'm going to be deemed insane or guilty or whatever she decides is fit. The Joker sent me in here thinking that I was going to get back out, but the truth is painfully obvious now. All he really wanted to do was get rid of me. With Harleen on his side, he could have anything happen to me. His last and final joke.

She waits for my answer, but I press my lips together tightly. We watch each other for a solid five minutes, and finally she adjusts her papers again.

"Well, Miss Ryder, I see we are getting nowhere. I think we are done for today, and I'll see you next time." She smiles pleasantly at me and I scowl at her as she leaves the room. The guards return and almost drag me back to my cell. The door slams and I begin to pace. I need a new plan and I need one fast.

~/~

The next few days are the same. I'm brought to Harleen's office, and she acts clueless as ever, frustrates me and pushes me closer to the edge of my control. I hate every word she says to me, and every time she smirks it sends a tingle of rage through my spine. I take the hour of "therapy" in silence, and finally she dismisses me again. I feel raw energy and pent up aggression buzzing around me like an angry swarm of bees, and I know I can't take it much longer.

If I ever see the Joker again…

About a week later, I sit in the chair and look at Harleen's face. Her blue eyes are lit up with some sort of twisted excitement and I know that today's going to be different. Whatever she has planned is going to be a turning point and there won't be any going back.

"Hello, Doctor." I say sarcastically. "How's the Joker doing? Has he killed anyone lately?"

"Miss Ryder, I'm not sure what you're getting at. Of course you know that I don't know the answer to that. But let's get started shall we? I've discussed it with some of my colleagues, and we have a surprise for you today." She smiles and I see just a trace of dark humor to it.

The door opens behind us, and I turn my head cautiously. There's a woman accompanied by two guards in the same bleak jumpsuit that all of the inmates wear. She has thin greasy brown hair, and holds her hands together nervously while her eyes twitch around the room. The sight of her almost knocks me out of my chair with shock.

"Mom?" I gasp quietly.

Her eyes narrow when she hears my voice, but her head turns and she looks at me. I wish that I could have seen any sort of recognition in them, but they just glance over to Harleen next, and then continue to twitch around the room.

I try to stand, and once again forget about the chains around my ankles. I stumble back into my chair, and she glances at me again, a wary look of simple child-like curiosity on her face.

"Mom, it's me. Melanie." I say with a lump in my throat. She looks at me blankly again, then returns to scanning the room. "Look at me! Please!"

She looks at me, slightly concerned, and makes a noise that sounds like denial. She waves her hands around her a little and begins backing from the room. The guards lead her out and the door closes with a solid click.

"Funny how things happen like this" Harleen says casually. "Mother and daughter end up in the very same Asylum. In fact, the very same Asylum that people like Zsasz, Hugo Strange, and even the man known as "Killer Croc" reside. It would be a shame for either of you to run into one of them now wouldn't it?" She winks at me and her smile turns into a subtle leer.

She just threatened my mother! My mouth pops open with a gasp and her eyes twinkle with the knowledge that she has gotten to me. My hands ball up into fists and my entire frame starts shaking with blinding fury.

"See you tomorrow." She says with an evil grin.

"Don't touch her! Don't you dare do anything to her!" I scream. The guards move quickly and un-restrain my feet and as they stand up I push one down, and kick the other one in the gut. Harleen is my only target, and I jump toward her around the table. My entire focus is on wiping that smile off of her face and I don't see the shock-stick in her hands until it is too late.

It feels like being stabbed with fifty knives, and forks across my side and torso in a pure moment of electrifying intensity. In that one infinite moment, I lose control of everything. My body hits the floor and my muscles spasm with left over bits of electricity. My side burns like a festering fire, and shivers race from my head to my feet. She bends over to me and whispers in my ear so that whatever microphones are recording us don't hear.

"Face it, Lane. There's nothing you can do to stop us. And if we get any hints that you're going to try something, well, you never know what can happen to your mother here. Accidents do happen after all."

She stands up and brushes herself off as the guards pull me to my feet and drag me out into the hallway. They take me down an unfamiliar hallway and through several security gates. Wherever we're going, it's not my cell. As the third security gate closes, we are in a holding ward that has thick clear plastic instead of bars covering the cells. I can see the shrouded figures of some of the inmates, and some just stand right behind the glass as they watch me. One man stands out as he watches me from behind the plastic, and I find myself returning his dark smile.

I finally found Doctor Crane.

His bright blue eyes seem to ask me again, "Want to escape this?" and I don't need to think about the answer. I nod my head and his smile grows wider with the thrill of the new challenge.

As luck would have it, my cell is directly across from his, and they shove me in roughly. When they leave, I sit on the concrete bench and watch across at the man. I tap my wrist and raise my eyebrows at him for fear that our voices are still being recorded. He doesn't appear to have the same fear because he clearly mouths,

"Tomorrow."

I nod back at him and lay down. The concrete isn't comfortable, but it doesn't bother me. To think that a few months ago I was plain old Melanie Ryder, the struggling journalist in a crappy part of Gotham City. The Joker took me away from everything I knew and turned it inside out in his psychopathic way of trying to prove something, but because I wouldn't cooperate, he decided to try with someone else. Now I'm here in the Asylum about to attempt an escape with another known criminal who strangely, I trust. I'm not a criminal nor do I plan to become one, but I know my shot at a "normal" and boring life is gone. I can't change the past, and all I can do is move forward from it.

The Joker is a piece of work. He thrives on destruction and proving his twisted point. He has stripped me of everything I once thought of myself and turned me into a new person who deserves her revenge. But like I said, I'm not going to be a criminal.

But going after the Joker wouldn't really be breaking the law, right?

I'm not on Batman's side. Although he wants to catch the Joker he always seems to let him "slip out" of his grasp. The two of them have something going that I'm not sure anyone could ever understand fully. I believe in the law, but I don't believe in the way Batman is upholding it. I need my own justice. I want the Joker to fear me. And I have the right person to help me achieve those goals.

~/~

The next morning I wake and watch as the guards open Crane's cell. He gives me a wink before they shove him roughly and lead him away. When they disappear, I'm surprised because two guards come for me. Usually my therapy is in the afternoon, so I'm clueless as to why they are taking me out now. They lead me through the many security clearances, and for a moment, one of the guards catches my eye.

The look in his eyes is repressed terror. He averts his gaze as soon as we make eye contact and I don't understand how a guard at Arkham Asylum could be afraid of me… I haven't done anything!

He leads me through a new set of hallways, and I end up just feeling lost and confused. Finally we get to a set of double doors, and into a room filled with big metal tanks that make a lot of noise. I've seen places like this in old movies and make the connection. This is the boiler room where the entire Asylum's heating is powered.

They lead me around the machines and along the back wall and a thought oozes into my mind that makes me alert. Two men have brought me back to an isolated part of the asylum. The thought of them taking advantage of me makes my hands shake in angry nervousness.

But fortunately, they don't make a move toward me and only lead me further back. We make it to a small vent that's cover is removed.

They let go of me and unlock my restraints quickly, pushing me toward the hole in the wall. I'm confused but I don't hesitate. I crawl through the hole quickly and along the metal tube. It's cold and musty, but big enough for me to fit comfortably as I crawl along.

After a few minutes, I begin to hear the sound of the wind and smile. I soon actually feel the breeze coming through and turn the final corner. Someone has removed the outside cover as well, and I crawl through it eagerly. I stand up and brush the dust off my pants and look around.

"Good job. I'm impressed for a first timer." A voice says.

I swivel around but don't see anyone.

"The only question I have," The voice continues, "is why you went so quickly. What made you change your mind, Melanie?" He steps out into the partial light and I can see the piercing blue of his eyes.

"My mind was already made up, Crane. I just needed the proper motivation."

"I see." He sounds amused. "And now what's your plan? To run back to the Joker and become his little puppet again?"

"No. I want the Joker to feel every ounce of the fear he put in my heart."

He grins. "Interesting. And how do you plan on doing that?"

"I need your help."

"Excellent." He breathes.

Without another word, we walk into the shrubs and head toward the city, keeping to the shadows. A few hours later, we make it to a run-down apartment that he seems to be familiar with. Inside are bottles and bottles of various liquids and various scientific looking instruments. We change out of our Arkham garb and into some less conspicuous clothing.

He gets to work immediately, messing around with beakers and such, so I wander toward the window. I watch the streets of Gotham below me, wondering where it's all headed. I pledge to not harm another citizen and to rid the city of its self-proclaimed prince of crime. Crane can do whatever he wants as far as I'm concerned, but I have my own goals.

A short time later has calls my attention and I wander back over. As he holds up the mask for my inspection, a smile grows on my face. It's made of the same material as his, but has a purple painted smile over the mouth.

There's no question that when I find the Joker, I will make him fear me. He wanted me to be this way, and now I am. Sure it's not exactly what he wanted, but I don't care…

He tried to control me, but now I've realized something that should have been obvious from the beginning…

You can't control chaos.

Sooooo, did I end it okay? I have contemplated writing a sequel, but I'm not sure if you all would be interested in that... So let me know please! :D Thanks to everyone that has reviewed/favorited... You guys are amazing and I would have never finished this story without you. So hear's a toast to the best fans out there.

Thanks guys. Really :)

~Crazylanie93