Bruce didn't think much of it when the woman didn't respond to the letter immediately. From what little Barbara had been able to gather, he was able to learn that Juno didn't seem suspicious at all; at least not in a way that would require him to suit up to investigate. She had had run-ins with the police every now and then for meager things like trespassing, or breaking curfew but he'd deemed all of the places she'd wandered into harmless.

She'd been given up for adoption almost as soon as she'd been birthed; he speculated that her mother hadn't had the heart to terminate the child when she found out she was pregnant. Juno seemed to have stayed in the system for nearly 5 years until an older couple took her in. Bruce flipped through the notes Barbara had compiled for him, finding nothing else particularly important in the years leading up to now. She'd mentioned something about a few friends she was frequently seen with as well; Bruce wondered idly if they could be useful sources of information later.

The ringing of a phone interrupted his musings, and he answered to a somber sounding Barbara.

"You might want to switch on the news, Bruce. There's something you might be interested in."

He thanked her and did as she asked, brows furrowing as the news reporter stood in front of a vaguely familiar location. Bruce recognized the place as the strange girl's home, though it looked much different in daylight. He had little time to ponder this as the scene changed and they were inside Juno's bedroom. The police were inspecting what looked to be a Joker card inside a plastic bag; his lips set into a grim line. How did that girl always manage to find the worst kind of trouble?

He switched off the TV as Juno's mother came on, begging the monster who had taken her daughter to bring her back safely. He knew now, what he had to do.

Aveline bit her nails anxiously; she'd tried calling her best friend Juno so many times, she'd lost count. Text messages and voice mails went unanswered, and it put her more on edge than she already was. If it weren't for Jay (their other best friend), she'd probably be out on the streets looking for her, and inadvertently getting herself into dangerous situations. He was always the most rational of the three, and though she was much better than Juno at keeping her emotions in check, the thought of her friends in any sort of trouble always set her off easily.

"Jay, we have to do something, I can't just sit here! She's trapped with that clown freak somewhere, probably being tortured, or killed, or-"

"Shut up for a minute, Lin, I can't think," Jay growled back, equally as frustrated with the situation, but he knew they weren't in a position where they could easily find her and just storm the place. Getting killed wouldn't do Juno any good either. He continued,

"Listen, what can we do that the GPD can't? Besides, if the Joker is involved, Batman's gonna be all over this, alright? That being said... I can't just sit around like you said, so let's go."

He rose to his feet from Aveline's sinfully comfortable couch, wincing as it aggravated his sore muscles. Unlike the brunette, who had ditched school on the day of the explosion because she'd felt ill, he was present and sustained some minor injuries. It was troublesome, but he counted himself lucky. Nothing was broken and he only had a few scrapes, currently covered by gauze, a black long sleeve, and a comfortable pair of jeans. He was fortunate, compared to… to all of the classmates that were crushed underneath the rubble, or killed immediately by the explosion. It's not that he was particularly fond of anyone beyond Aveline and Juno, but being surrounded by the anguished screams of so many people…

Aveline nudged him, concerned by his troubled expression. He shook his head and composed himself, glancing over the beautiful dark-skinned woman's face for a moment with a small smile to reassure her.

"Sorry, I'm fine. Just sore as hell."

She returned the smile belatedly and took his arm, all but dragging him out of the house despite his protests to slow down. Aveline hoped everything would return to normalcy soon.

It wasn't until several hours later that she and Jay found themselves in front of a convenience store, sipping drinks from a nearby vending machine. They'd covered a lot of ground, despite Jay's injuries. Aveline had suggested they split up to cover more, but Jay had refused vehemently. He'd already lost one, and the blonde wasn't about to risk the other.

He was startled as Aveline dropped her drink abruptly, and bolted, practically jumping on some poor raven haired girl, who squawked ungracefully as she nearly lost her balance.

"Oi, Lin, you can't just-!" He was interrupted by the brunette's cries of happiness,

"You idiot! It's Juno! How dare you get kidnapped?! Don't just know how worried I was!"

Said girl was gaping at her friend, speechless. She didn't even notice Jay until he came up behind them both, and slung his arms around them.

"More importantly, how did you get out? Man, you must've kicked so much ass!"

Juno shook her head, and stepped away from them quickly, horrified. Of all the people she could've possibly run into..!

"This is bad. Okay, listen, you two have to leave right now. It's not safe for you to be around me right now, I didn't exactly escape, okay? Please just trust me, the police will catch up to us eventually."

Aveline frowned, not understanding why Juno was acting so strangely, why she was willingly going back to her captor. She stepped forward and took her friend's hand, attempting to tug her in the direction from which they'd come.

"He probably hit your head and brainwashed you or something, c'mon we have to get you to a hospital, and then the poli-"

"No!" The raven haired girl wretched her hand free, retreating a couple steps. She hated seeing Aveline's wounded expression, but it was necessary.

"I'm trying to protect you! You have to understand, I'd love nothing more than to get away from that bastard, but your lives are on the line here!"

In the midst of her desperate explanation, Jay had taken a good look at her face, and noticed several things. She didn't look haggard, and those clothes were new; she was still being fed and taken care of as far as he could see. However…

"Why are your lips swollen?"

She froze.

Sirens wailed in the distance.

(I'm so sorry for the lateness, I've had a lot on my plate. It's a little short, but I hope you like it! There'll be more Joker/Juno/Batman action next chapter. Thoughts?)