Hey guys! Thanks for putting up with my slow. I really apologize. This chap was a tough one to write! I don't know why, either. I tried to stay as true to the movie as I could, which will be a running theme throughout the rest of this story. It was a painstaking process.

The parade and the mayor's speech belong heart and soul to the Nolans. I own none of it, besides Jess and the Lucky Twenty.

Enjoy! Like always, REVIEW!! Spend some time on me, I'll spend some time on this.

It wasn't difficult to secure a roadside position close to the podium. No one seemed to want to argue today--the mood was incredibly solemn; so much so Jess almost laughed out loud--and giving a charming smile to a young man did wonders.

Jess realized that she had to learn how to use this femininity thing. Even though she certainly didn't consider herself a sexy person, she was coming to recognize that it wasn't difficult to make others believe you were, not if you acted like you believed it too.

Anything you do with confidence, people pay attention to. They take it seriously. Even if the action is completely ludicrous. Life lesson #867.

Jess was about forty feet from the edge of the podium and she had just settled into position when a loud wave of bagpipe music started and the parade began.

Immediately, she was surrounded by clicking cameras and watched as no less than five or six news teams started up, ready to document this event.

"…these cops have to be wondering if the Joker will make good on his threat in the obituary column of Gotham Times to kill the mayor."

Jess spun around at the sound of the Joker's name, interested in who this little story belonged to, and saw a man she recognized vaguely from the ARG and online. Engel or something, a glorified reporter with his own news show. She stared at him with interest until she was distracted by the herd of people walking past, horses leading the charge.

The mayor was there, short and unassuming, his black hair greased back, wearing a long, solemn trench coat. Beside him was a woman Jess recognized from the first movie as the cop Ramirez and, to his right, walked a man with blond hair and a strikingly strong jaw line.

Jess froze, her mouth wide open, somewhere between star struck and disbelieving, just as she had felt when she first saw Batman. This guy, as every website had proclaimed before she ever knew that such a place as Gotham truly existed, was none other than the Harvey Dent, new D.A. of Gotham.

Jess had to wonder if the Nolan brothers were going to fulfill Dent's destiny as Two-Face or if that story line would be left out.

She stepped off the curb, into the street, to try to get a better view of him, but he had walked on, completely oblivious of the girl who would have loved to talk to him.

Dent was an important player here.

The Joker wanted him dead for one reason or another and that chick Batman had thrown himself out of the window for was dating him.

Jess closed her eyes, trying to remember anything she had heard about Dent or his politics--beside his hideous slogan "I believe in Harvey Dent"--but drawing a blank.

Looking back to the street, Jess was surprised to find that pretty much every single police officer in Gotham was dressed to the nines and out here today to respect the memory of their fallen leader. The wide thoroughfare was covered end to end in dark blue uniforms, and they all wore melancholy expressions, as befit a funeral, of course. Jess tried to find the Honor Guard among them, but the parade passing now was so thick she could scarcely discern one face from another, much less pick out one of the eight men she knew here today.

"Excuse me, miss," someone said in a low, gentle voice.

Jess looked up quickly, surprised out of her locating, and into the face of a man of medium height and build with the kindest blue eyes she'd ever seen, hidden behind square rimmed glasses. His pale brown hair was flecked with grey and he had a mustache. To Jess he seemed disturbingly familiar, so she assumed he was another important player, though she couldn't quite place him. In one tense hand, he carried a walkie talkie and the corners of his mouth were drawn. He was stressed, always glancing up to something in the windows of the buildings around them.

Jess assumed it was worry about a sniper. Like the Joker would ever do something so mundane.

These people didn't understand him.

Yet.

"Yes, officer?" she asked in her sweetest voice.

The man graced her with a tight smile but his eyes didn't travel away from hers. He was looking for something there, a sign of trust or something. Perhaps he saw she recognized him.

"You'll have to move back onto the curb now," he said lowly, after drawing a slow breath.

She liked his voice. It was hushed but firm and gentle.

He was a father figure, this one. He could be anyone's father figure. He was born for it.

"The police are a little nervous about spectator involvement."

"Why?" Jess faked dumb, wanting to keep him here and figure out who he was.

He frowned.

"Do you watch a lot of news?" he asked.

"No," Jess said truthfully.

He sighed. Jess supposed it was his duty to inform the public about scary stuff going down.

"I'm Jim Gordan, head of Major Crimes," he introduced himself.

Oh! So that's where Jess had seen him! James Gordan, the incorruptible. He'd been in Batman Begins, too.

"Nice to meet you," Jess said. "I'm Jess."

"Jess," he repeated, then took a little breath and looked around, on alert for any trouble. "There's been a threat against our mayor. I'm just here to make sure everything goes okay. If you're nervous in any way, I suggest you go home. I actually suggest you go home in any case."

"I'm not nervous," Jess said, making eye contact, her eyes unwavering.

He frowned a little and leaned back, not liking what he saw there.

"Thanks, though. I hope everything goes smoothly."

Gordan nodded, managed another tight smile, and started to walk away, his walkie talkie immediately up to his mouth again.

"Mr. Gordon?" Jess called him back.

He stopped and turned around, a question in his eyes.

"Yes?"

Jess' breath caught and she almost forgot what she had been about to say. He had melancholy eyes and he looked desperate for some sort of aid and, for a moment, they softened her.

The moment passed. She glanced at his uniform, realized he was a cop, and stiffened.

"What's the threat? Is it that Joker guy?" She didn't know why she was asking him this. She supposed she wanted to see his reaction, wanted to add another brick to the wall that was Gotham, still solidifying itself as reality in her mind.

At the sound of the Joker's name, Jim Gordon turned back around fully and marched up to Jess, his worried eyes still scanning the buildings around them.

"I don't want you to worry about that," he said, his voice soothing. Jess made a note to try to impersonate him next time she was attempting to calm someone. "You just keep yourself out of trouble, okay?"

Jess nodded, impressed. He was already concerned for her.

As she watched him leave, she thought how exhausting it must be to always be looking out for everyone else.

It didn't take long for everyone to reach their positions. Police officers, lined from curb to curb and all the way down the avenue, stood soberly in long columns while the mayor, Dent, Dent's girlfriend (Jess had to admit she felt a pang of hatred towards the woman the Joker had called "beautiful." But she smiled when she remembered how he'd tossed her out that window), Ramirez, a man Jess recognized as Detective Wuertz, and her new friend Jim Gordan all mounted the large stage and sat in seats behind the podium. A flag was raised and people said the pledge of allegiance.

Then, the mayor stood up to speak.

Jess's heart started to pound as she looked around for the Honor Guard to make sure everything was going according to plan.

She trusted her men but she was still anxious and her eyes skimmed too hurriedly over a group of twelve right in front of the stage area, aligned in columns facing each other. She turned her attention back to them, trying to study the faces of each of the men there but she was far away from them and people were in her way.

It wasn't until she caught the eye of one of them--she recognized him as Keith--and he winked that she relaxed slightly. Her fingers still bunched against the fabric of her sleeves in apprehension.

What if the shooting didn't go according to plan? What if they got caught?!

"Commissioner Loeb dedicated his life to law enforcement and to the protection of his community."

The statement from the mayor snapped Jess out of her worries and she looked back to the podium he stood behind. He was delivering his eulogy now. The show of arms in respect for Loeb should be coming soon.

"I remember when I first took office and I asked if he wanted to stay on as commissioner and he said he would, provided I kept my politics out of his office. Clearly he was not a man who minced words. Nor should he have been."

Jess's attention was dwindling. By Garcia's third sentence she was bored and started to look around, finding the crowd of gloomy watchers more entertaining than anything Garcia said.

"A number of policies that he enacted as commissioner were unpopular, policies that flooded my office with angry calls and letters."

Jess found Jim Gordan again, and noticed he looked extremely anxious, forever glancing up at the windows of the buildings. She turned around and looked up as well, seeing a tall cop with a heavy gun staked out on a high fire escape.

It felt like her temperature plummeted suddenly and Jess started to shake as a cold wash of dread swept over her.

They had sentinels from above. They could pick off the Twenty, or the Joker, like scabs.

She looked desperately to the Honor Guard but none of them glanced her way and she couldn't very well risk everything by trying to warn them.

Suddenly, the Joker's calm, hissing voice was in her head.

"Now no fuss, Jesster," it said, consoling her despite being a product of her imagination, because this was what she knew was exactly what he would say. "It's all just peachy."

Jess took a deep breath and forced herself to relax.

"And as we recognize the sacrifice of this man…" Garcia was still talking. Wasn't it time to shoot him yet?!? "We must remember that vigilance is the price of safety."

"Stand by!"

One of the members of the Honor Guard, the man that had told the Joker to get to his position earlier, started barking orders.

Jess sighed, her heart pumping. Finally!

"Honor guard! Attention!"

The men stiffened with their weapons.

"Port arms!"

They brought the guns up and placed a finger on the trigger.

"Ready! Aim!"

The men aimed into the air above each other's heads.

"Fire!"

Scattered shots hit the air and Jess swung to look at Garcia, still standing fine on the platform.

"Come on," she whispered, biting her lower lip so hard she started to bleed. "Just do it." The suspense was absolutely killing her.

"Ready! Aim!" Maybe this was the time… "Fire!"

No dead mayor, but something strange happened. The shots came from the Honor Guard, yes, but there were also shots from above her. Jess craned her neck up, trying to find the source but seeing nothing.

"Ready! Aim!"

This had better be the one. She didn't think she could take another second of this.

Suddenly, eight of the twelve Honor Guards swung around in place and aimed directly for Garcia. In a split second, Gordon was up and throwing himself over the mayor, bringing him to the ground. A bullet hit Gordon square in the back, the spatter of blood visible even from where she stood, and he fell to the stage, unconscious or dead.

What?

WHAT?!?!

This wasn't supposed to happen! Gordon wasn't supposed to die!

Jess stood frozen, horrified by this in a way she hadn't expected. She'd talked to the man for all but twelve seconds but she felt somehow connected with his death, mourning him without even knowing him. He was so good.

Pandemonium had instantly erupted of course. People started to scream and all of the Honor Guard dropped their weapons to the ground, hunched over, and began to run off in different directions.

People pushed past her, almost knocking her to the ground, until Jess pulled herself out of her state of shock, stole one last look at the podium, and decided to try to find the vans, wiping tears from her eyes. She couldn't cry, not now, despite being terrified for everyone in the Twenty and scared that Gordon would die. She had to be strong now.

That was what being a villain was all about, right?

She started to run, blending in with the crowd but suddenly finding herself hopelessly disoriented, confused. People ran past her to the left and right, in arbitrary directions, some yelling. The buildings all looked similar and for the life of her she couldn't remember which street the vans were on.

She stopped in the middle of the sidewalk looking around desperately, trying to find one of the Twenty but knowing she wouldn't due to their uniforms which looked the same as everyone else's. A man pushed her to the side, his eyes panicked. Should Jess have been panicking too? The threat here was the Joker but what if the police somehow recognized her?

She stumbled a few steps forward, turned around to try to get her bearings, and attempted to cross the street between the flow of police men, all running for cover. A few more gunshots split the silence and people screamed and ducked, Jess included even as she kept striding forward, trying with all her might to be brave.

Sirens started up in the distance and more guns sounded, but they didn't surprise her this time. She wasn't being shot at.

Suddenly she was grabbed around the waste and bustled forward, weaving in and out of the people before she could really register who had her.

When she turned to the side, the first thing she saw were the scars.

"J!" she exclaimed, so relieved to see him she could scarcely keep herself from smiling.

"Shh, shh, shh, Jesster," the Joker said, his eyes darting around, hunched low, keeping out of people's way to detract attention from the two of them. "Not now. C'mon."

He was so cool in this situation.

Jess was amazed and couldn't stop beaming at him. His dark eyes flicked over at her only for a second and his mouth twitched as he pulled her up on the curb at the other side of the street. They ran for cover, no one even giving them a second look, and into an alleyway off the beaten road, slowing significantly, finally coming to rest against one of the walls. Jess was glad for this. She was finding it difficult to breath for hyperventilating and had to actually close her eyes to calm herself.

When she looked around again the Joker was a yard away, craning his neck to see around the far corner at the end of the alley. He looked back to her after a moment, his eyes burning.

"Shit," Jess muttered.

She recognized this look.

The man was pissed.

"Hey," she said, her voice taking on a soothing tone, trying to form her words like Gordon had. Maybe she could prevent the explosion. "So, we didn't get the mayor. But we got Gordon! The head of Major Crimes and the Batman's personal friend. That counts for something, right?"

The Joker stared at her for a moment. Then, slowly, he blinked.

"Personal friend, Jesster?" he asked, taking a step towards her, eyebrows raised.

Oh shit.

Jess shrank back against the wall, bashing herself for saying that. He'd want to know how she knew about the friendship--a fact she had learned from Begins--which would lead to questions about her world which would lead to questions about the Batman's identity, which would lead to…

"That light…" The Joker's voice surprised her. He was looking up at the sky now, his eyes pensive and calm, trying to figure something out. "That light on top of MCU…"

"Yeah!" Jess said, seeing a way out of this. "Who else would've put it there if not Gordon?"

She'd never actually seen the bat-light, but she'd heard the men talking about it. And she'd heard Schiff and White talking about it, too. Just like the comic books, a huge spotlight on top of the Major Crimes Unit cast a shadow of a bat into the night sky, striking fear into the hearts of all the criminals of Goth--blah blah blah blah blah.

She hadn't even connected Gordon with it until right now.

"Good thinking, Jesster," the Joker muttered, his smile returning.

He glanced back out to the street, where the occasional person still sprinted by, away from whatever threat they thought there still was, and his smile widened.

"But we didn't get the mayor…" The last word came out in a sing-song tone and Jess tensed again. He wouldn't forget this one so easily.

"Next time," she said. "We'll get him next time. Who is the mayor, anyway? What does he have to do with the Batman? Take out the people close to him, and…"

The Joker's head turned so fast it startled her, and within a few seconds he was right in front of her, his gloved hand pressing against the wall beside her head as he leaned in and grinned. His face without makeup was no less startling, but for different reasons.

She found she couldn't really meet his eyes like this.

"Now you're thinking like you should be," he whispered, his other hand traveling up to brush a strand of hair out of her face.

She was sure he wasn't deliberately trying to be gentle, but his motion softened her all the same.

She was such a girl. A complement and a soft touch and she melted like butter, right into the Joker's arms.

Did he know the affect he had on her, she wondered again.

Probably.

Her lips curved into a smile as she looked up at him and saw that his eyes were no longer dangerous. He pressed her back into the wall, his body long and lean against her, the most significantly intimate touch Jess had experienced from him thus far.

He really let himself feel her this time, his hands traveling from her neck down her shoulders, over her arms and sliding firmly around her waist. He was warm and easy for the moment, and Jess loved it like this. She still couldn't be sure, though, whether she preferred him rough and needy or soft and casual.

She liked him both ways.

This was so sick.

So utterly sick.

"Y'know, you're good for me," the Joker said, his lips brushing the skin on her cheeks and mouth. "You tell me what I wanna hear. I think I oughta keep you. See how that turns out."

"Was there a possibility of me leaving?" Jess asked breathlessly.

He hadn't even really kissed her yet and she was still finding it difficult to breath!

"Good question." She felt his smile against her face and his hands tapped on her hips. "See, where there's chaos--where I am--nothing's for sure, Jesster."

Jess looked up, meeting his eyes boldly.

"I know," she said.

He leaned down and kissed her then, really kissed her. Jess could almost feel the need wash off of him as his hands clenched, his fingers dug into her skin and he pressed closer. She hooked her arms around his neck, never wanting to let go of this, and shivered as he deepened the kiss quickly, taking her for his.

And she was his, that much she knew. Despite wanting to fight it, Jess was the Joker's through and through.

Perhaps deciding to fight had sealed her fate to lose. If she had given up, he'd want nothing to do with her but in resisting she'd hooked him. She'd made him want her.

And what the Joker wanted, he got. No one had ever argued with that.

She just didn't know why exactly he'd want her... But she'd take it where she could get it.

The Joker inhaled sharply and forced her head back to deepen the kiss further. Jess wondered where he'd learned to do this so well. The way his tongue and lips worked together was almost cause for ovation, even more so because it came from such a startling source. She couldn't imagine him doing this too often, but he must have, at least when he was a little younger.

How old was he anyway?

Did it matter?

Did anything matter besides his mouth and body and the way his breath stole hers?

No, Jess didn't think so.

How much she had changed!

When had she changed?!

She certainly didn't remember deciding this was okay.

Funny how that worked out sometimes, huh?

His whole weight was settled against her now, one of his legs pressed between hers; half to keep her in place, half to add to the sex appeal of this situation. Jess had totally forgotten where they were. She vaguely felt the brick at her back but the softness of his lips kept overriding her brain and his teeth, when he bit down on her lower lip or scraped them along her jaw line, were startling, sexy flashes of pain.

His hands crept down from her hips, sliding along her dress to its hem, pressing close against her skin until they came to rest right at her upper thighs. He slid his fingers beneath the skirt and bunched it up slightly, shifting and pressing Jess further back into the wall.

Her breath caught as the familiar ache of desire flamed through her. Those hands… His hands… Streaks of fire on her cold thighs, feeling and squeezing. She moaned and arched against him, which, in turn, caused him to groan and squeeze her legs again.

Jess was at the point of total abandonment, convinced that she was about to give into him completely, here and now, in this cold, secluded alleyway. And she honestly couldn't think of a better way to do it.

Her hands came down quickly, starting to unbutton his official jacket, wanting only the body underneath, until, suddenly…

"Uh, hey boss?"

The Joker made a small growl in the back of his throat and broke away quickly, turning to look to the end of the alley where Blake and Austin stood, appearing extremely uncomfortable.

He rolled his eyes at them and glanced quickly at Jess as though to make sure she hadn't disappeared. She licked her swollen lips and smiled, extremely flattered that he had enjoyed kissing her enough to be this irritated when interrupted.

"Well, it's just…" Austin started, wringing his hands and avoiding Jess's eye.

"The vans are loaded and we've gotta get out of here while the getting's good." There was Blake, always so forward.

The Joker backed away from Jess slowly, his gloved hands disappeared into the pockets of his coat and she wished he hadn't moved as the warmth of his body gave way to the cold breeze blowing down between the buildings.

She reached out and clung to his arm as he started to walk forward, but as he continued to move without even glancing at her, she got the hint and let go, regaining her dignity and hurrying after the three men. She hoped Blake and Austin wouldn't talk about this. Their word would be so much worse than the actual thing.

But she knew they would.

As much as they loved and protected her, they still considered each other family and there was an unspoken loyalty there, too. She just wished they wouldn't whisper about her behind her back, too afraid to ask questions.

Women always got the bad rep for gossiping. What people never talked about is how men could gossip just as well.

Ah well. She couldn't blame them for being curious about her and the Joker. It was… a bit odd, to say the least.

But what in the Joker's life wasn't? Had he ever done a normal thing?

Had he ever been with a normal girl?

Suddenly, Jess was feeling weirdly jealous at the thought of him with another woman. Was Harley a thing of the past or had they ever met? Had he actually ever had a wife? He seemed a bit young but you never knew…

Jess sighed. She'd have to be content with the fact that, right now, he wanted her and no other women was in the picture. At least, she hoped so.

Oh God. This was tough.

Blake and Austin led them back the way they'd come, across the main arterial, now mostly deserted, and between the buildings along it. A feeling of ecstasy, of freedom and abandonment had been creeping into Jess all day and, as she walked briskly behind the Joker, seeing the ends of his green hair peeking out from underneath his hat and knowing who he was, the feeling continued to rise, filling her up.

She found herself beaming without knowing why.

They'd almost reached the vans--Jess could see them at the end of the long street they were on. Safety was so close. But, like always, nothing went according to plan.

"Hey!" A shout from behind caused the four of them to turn around.

Two cops stood about three yards, feet set apart, arms raised in defense, gazing at the group. The Joker tilted his head as he regarded these men and made no move to hide his scars. Obviously, he wasn't tough to recognize.

"Hey, that's… That's him!" one of the men exclaimed.

The response from Blake and Austin to this was instantaneous. While the cops were still fumbling for their guns, startled that they had actually found who they'd been looking for, the two men turned on their heels and sprinted off, expecting the Joker and Jess to be close behind.

Jess tensed and looked back at the boss, not sure what to do. Of course, she didn't want to get shot but the Joker wasn't moving and these two young officers were obviously rookies with little experience. Their faces showed just how frightened they were.

The officers stared at the two of them for a moment, eyes flicking back and forth between the Joker and Jess, focusing mostly on the clown who, they knew, was the real danger here, but wary of his girl all the same.

Jess's breath caught in her throat as she realized the relevance of this fact. They were scared of her.

Once again, a feeling of great power washed over her and she smiled.

All of this looking and fearing happened in less than five seconds.

Then, the Joker tilted his head to the other side and, as his grin widened, he stealthily grabbed Jess's arm.

In a moment, they were off, running for dear life, Jess being pulled one step behind the Joker. The shots didn't come until a few moments later and Jess heard bullets bouncing off walls but didn't feel the sting of a wound. The two cops were surprised enough that their aim was affected and they started yelling for backup. This part of the roads was deserted, however, and their cries lost hope as they gave chase on foot.

As the wind burned through her lungs and her hand grew sweaty in the Joker's, Jess gave into the feeling of ecstasy. She started to laugh as she ran, not knowing from where she drew the breath but unable to stop. Her laughter seemed to slow the police officers and when she looked back they stumbled a few steps, looked at each other questioningly, and resumed the chase.

Jess laughed harder still.

It took only a matter of seconds to reach the vans. The Joker pushed Jess into the back and climbed in himself, peeking his head one last time out at the pursuing cops. Still laughing, Jess watched as her laughter carried into his. His body started to shake as the vans started up and by the time they were driving, racing away from the officers, he had exploded into crazy peals of laughter which melded with Jess's giggles. After a moment, he withdrew his head, turned to smile at Jess, and slammed the heavy metal door.

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