A/N: Accio sev says I'm a genius. Everyone, thank Accio sev, because in honour of my official geniosity, here's chapter 30.

***

He slid between the gathered Marines easily and stopped by the Colonel. "Why so glum?"

The man jerked a bit and frowned more as he turned back to look at the Weston building. "You're a crazy son of a bitch, but Rivard says you're trustworthy. Wonder Woman's getting your family from the roof?" He turned and barked an order at three Marines, who saluted sharply and started unloading battering rams and what looked like smoke grenades.

The Joker nodded while another transport truck dropped off more Marines. The building was surrounded, and there hadn't been any gunfire yet. "My men are letting me in to get them in two minutes. Move in two minutes after that. Terminate with extreme prejudice." He raised his phone and dialled a pre-programmed number. "Move in," was all he said, then twisted at the waist to look up and behind him when the roar of a jet passed overhead. The sky was empty.

***

Rachel had fallen asleep after the Joker had left her. Or maybe she'd dreamt the whole thing. Maybe it didn't matter. She felt the jab of a needle in her arm and was ready to welcome oblivion, but for the small issue of waking up fully for the first time in days. Sanchez was beside her and there was a clown in the doorway, facing away from her as the doctor sat her up and offered her new clothes to put on. She could see Janet and Susie in the main room.

"Please, Mrs. Dawes, put these on."

She looked at the clothing, then at Sanchez and frowned. "What's happening?"

The man looked out the window briefly. There was smoke on the horizon. "We're leaving. Your husband will be here soon."

"What?" She struggled to change her top, ignoring Sanchez even as he turned his face away. "Jack, or the Joker?"

The man shrugged. "Both. Either. Does it matter? Something's been happening all over town for almost an hour. Can you get up?" He had to help her, but soon enough Rachel was on her feet and in the main room, where Janet was finishing loading a pistol. The clown at the door, and the four scattered across the room, were all female.

Janet looked up and handed Susie a quiver of arrows. "I'm going with Jack."

"What are you talking about?" Rachel asked. She had to sit down, panting as her stomach tightened. "How's he getting back up here?"

"Walking in the front door," Raoul said from the main doorway. Rachel jumped and he held both hands out, empty. "We have," and he checked his watch, "ten minutes and thirty seconds to get you to the service elevator at the other end of the building. Are you ready to go?" There were two men behind him in the hallway.

"Janet, shoot him."

"Not a good idea," the man said shortly. "I need you to trust me, Rachel."

"Why should I?" she demanded as she pulled her hair back. "You've been working for the mob the entire time I've known you!"

"Longer, actually. About three years longer than I've been working for Gordon." The man looked at his watch and brushed his bangs back with a scowl. "Look, Maroni helped my family out when I was thirteen. I worked for him, paying off our debt, for three years --- well, it was Gallucci after Maroni died. But after three years I'd had enough and went to Jim. Jim had me stay and feed him information, and when I was a senior in high school, Gallucci wanted me to think about joining the police force. Jim thought it was a great idea." He was shifting from foot to foot, irritated at the time being wasted. Finally Raoul sighed and sat in a chair, his head in his hands. "Look, I didn't . . . I'm sorry, Rachel. Janet, Susie, I'm sorry. I can't do anything to make it better, I know, but . . . Gallucci didn't tell me about anything he was planning for you all. I knew he was up to something, but I didn't know when he was going to try to take you all. I tried to find out. He . . . doesn't trust me as much as he used to. And I don't expect you to ever trust me again," Raoul went on as he stood, "but for now I need you to. The Justice League will be here in eight minutes to get you. All of you."

"I'm going with Jack," Janet repeated firmly. She was glaring at Raoul, who was glaring back as he gestured out the door. "You're not stopping me. He'll need help."

"I'll be with him." He gave her a wide berth as she stalked out of the room with Susie on her heels, then beckoned to the men outside. They came in and stood on either side of Rachel, lifting her gently. "You, too, Doctor."

Rachel couldn't have put up a fight if she'd tried. She just glared at the back of Raoul's head as he walked them quickly down the hallway. The clowns the Joker had left behind spilled out of the room, taking up rear guard positions with two of them up front with Raoul.

"Does Hideki know?"

Raoul turned his head slightly. "No. This way." He ducked around a corner and into an open doorway. "Are you ready?"

"You're late."

"Rachel's stubborn. Janet's not much better."

The Joker was standing in front of a row of men, all tied to chairs and gagged, when Rachel was brought into the room. He turned to her with a grin. His outfit was clean, for once, and his face was almost devoid of paint, what was left only smeared streaks as he sweated.

"Glad you could join us. Come in, come in! We have just enough time. Look who came to visit, Gallucci," he said in a sing-song voice. He grabbed one of the men by the hair and forced his head up. "This is my family, remember? You promised me you wouldn't let them get hurt, and look at them now."

"I gave orders to leave them alone," the man gasped.

The Joker shot him between the eyes. "Yeah, I don't have time to monologue right now. Janet, come here. Do you recognise these men?" The girl was shaking as she nodded. He took her hands and tightened her grip on her pistol as he brushed hair out of her face. She looked up at him with tears in her eyes. "I can't take back what I let them do to you," he whispered. "I'll never forgive myself for not keeping a closer watch on you. I'm sorry, Janet. Bu-ut," he snarled as he turned back to the terrified men, "I've always felt that killing the people who hurt you is wonderfully therapeutic. Don't you agree?" This was said to the men, who looked at the shaking and terrified Janet and relaxed a little. The Joker's voice softened. "They hurt you, Janet. You can make sure they never hurt anyone else again."

"Janet, no," Rachel pleaded softly. Everyone looked at her. "You don't have to kill them, Janet. Joker, don't make her do this! She's not a kill---"

An arrow whizzed by and struck one of the men in the chest. He jerked, gurgling, as the rest of the men started yelling against the ropes in their mouths.

"You're bad people," Susie said as the small group turned to her in shock. She had another arrow knocked and let it fly, striking another man square in the chest. "You hurt my sister. You hurt Miss Rachel. You hurt Ava. You hurt me." She was crying, now, as the Joker smiled. "You took my Daddy away from me! I hate you all!"

"Go outside, Susie," Janet said sharply. She knelt by her sister and hugged her tightly. "Go with Rachel. I'll be fine, Susie, I promise. I need to help Jack, all right? You help Rachel."

"I want Daddy back," the child demanded as she glared at the Joker.

He'd just slit a man's throat and looked at her with raised eyebrows. "And you can have him back, sugar, just as soon as I'm done here. Now get out." He went back to work, methodically slitting throats, and looked to the side after a moment. "I meant all of you. You're not a killer, Janet." She pressed her gun to the last man's temple and fired as she looked at the Joker. He jumped; he hadn't been expecting her to actually kill a man.

"I feel better," was all she said. Then she leaned to the side and threw up. "Where are we going now?" she asked as the Joker moved her hair out of her way.

"What's this 'we' business?" he asked lightly. He was grinning when she looked up at him. He offered her some gum. "We need to find Anita and Maury. They haven't left the building; I've got all the exits covered, and then some, but there are a lot of places to hide."

"Where do we start?" Janet asked quietly. She was following close behind him, still trembling, but for the most part steady.

They'd come upon several bodies that were still breathing, and the Joker frowned. "Follow the trail," he murmured. And follow it they did, Raoul finding them a few minutes later and confirming that Rachel and Susie were on their way to Metropolis General.

"What the hell is this?" the young man asked as he toed at an unconscious gangster.

"Beats me," the Joker murmured back. The faint sounds of a fight drifted to them and as they rounded a corner, Raoul grabbed Janet and pulled her to the side when a body went flying past. It hit the wall and crumpled with a moan, and the trio stared at the man in black who was delivering a roundhouse kick to another thug's jaw. The kick lifted him up in a sideways spin, during which he managed to land two more kicks on two more men before hitting the ground in a crouch and popping back up. He surveyed the bodies littered around him with satisfaction before turning to his dumb-founded audience.

"What?" Hideki asked innocently. He followed their gazes to the floor and shrugged. "What? I'm Asian. All Asians know martial arts." Then he jogged up to Raoul and punched him in the jaw. "You could have told me you were working both sides," he growled as he lifted Raoul up by the collar and shook him. "I was so fucking worried about you!"

"I'm sorry!" his husband gasped out.

"Fight later; where are Anita and Maury?"

Hideki lowered Raoul and glared at the Joker. "Safe. Somebody needs to go on trial for this, Jack. Trust me, with all the dirt you gave the DA's office, they'll be in jail for the rest of their lives. By the way, all your packages were delivered. They've renamed you the Jokester."

"Great, I'm a fucking superhero, now." The man in purple growled and kicked at the floor, then took a deep breath and looked to the right. The sounds of approaching Marines were now clearly audible. "Hideki, get out of here. Raoul, shoot me."

"What?!"

"I'll do it!" Before the Joker could turn, Janet had shot him in the side and he went down with a startled yell.

"Damn it!" he cursed at her. "You bitch!"

"I feel lots better," was all she said, smug as Hideki took off running. "Why'd I shoot you?"

"Because you're a bitch," the man gasped. "They'll need to take me to the hospital."

"I'll make sure it's Met Gen," Raoul promised. He took Janet's gun from her and wiped it clean, then wrapped it in the hands of the nearest unconscious man. "Man down!" he called out, moments before the first Marine rounded the corner. "Sergeant Raoul Gillespie, Gotham PD!"

"Kneel down and put your hands on your heads!" the lead Marine barked. Raoul complied and tugged at Janet, who was frozen to the spot. "Now!"

"Janet, get down," he hissed at her.

"She's one of the civilians," Batgirl interrupted as she broke through the group of Marines. She took Janet by the arm and peered up at her intently. "Janet?"

"Charles?" the girl asked in confusion.

That got a smile. "Yeah, it's me. Keep it to yourself. Where are Rachel and Susie? Did Wonder Woman get them?"

"Ten minutes ago," Raoul confirmed as he was relieved of all his weapons.

"Who shot the Jokester?"

"Uhm . . . I did . . ." That brought a howl of laughter as Batman rounded a corner with Anita in one hand and Maury in the other.

"What's so funny?" he snarled.

"Janet shot the Jokester," Batgirl chortled.

She got an impressed look. "Well, thank God somebody finally shot the bastard."

"I hate you all," the bastard moaned. A medic knelt by him and started calling out orders. "Oh, fuck . . ."

"Met Gen's the safest hospital right now," Batman went on, ignoring his friend's pain. "The other civilians are on their way there. Come on." The group split up, Batgirl staying with the bulk of her Marines while two medics picked up the Jokester and followed Batman, Raoul, and Janet. "They've cleared the rest of the building." He didn't seem to notice his captives, or the way they were dragging along the floor. "We're going out the front, hands up, nice and slow. Jokester's managed to not only hand over almost all the mob's information to the police, but to give away almost all of their money. Public support's on his side. Doctor Morgenson's outside with Gordon."

"Oh, fuck no," the Jokester gasped out. "Not Doc. He'll kill me. No, he won't. He'll look at me. He'll just . . . look at me."

"I'm counting on it," Batman said, finally cracking a smile.

"Fucking hate you all . . . How's Rachel? Is Ava all right?"

"We won't know until they get to Metropolis." Bruce looked down at the man and reached out to touch his shoulder. "We'll get you there as soon as we can."

"Want my family," the Jokester mumbled, eyes rolling back in his head. "Bitch shot me . . ."

"You wanted me to."

"Wanted him to." One hand tried to gesture at Raoul as the elevator they'd piled into came to a stop. The Marines were talking to their commanding officer, letting him and the police know the group was coming out. "Feel better, bunny?"

Janet wiped at her eyes and took his hand, squeezing it. "You're an asshole."

"Take that as a yes, then." The Jokester smiled painfully up at her. "I'm so sorry . . ."

"Shut up before I shoot you again."

"Do it," Batman urged.

"You got two women after you and you're still mad I got Rachel. Selfish pussy."

"Shut up," Raoul told the two men as the group was hustled out the broken front doors. Police rifles came up, then lowered after a moment, and then Gordon and Morgenson pushed through the barricade. Raoul saluted Gordon. "Commissioner Gordon, sir."

Gordon saluted him back with a smile. "Sergeant Gillespie. Good work. Who shot him?"

"Janet did, sir."

Gordon laughed. "Finally. We've all wanted to shoot him for years."

"Fuck you!" the Jokester cried out shrilly. "See if I help ever again! Ow, damn it! That fucking hurts!"

"Walk it off, Marine," Colonel Rogers told him cheerfully. "Drink some water; you'll be fine."

"Not a goddamn Marine," was the Jokester's petulant reply as he was loaded into a waiting helicopter.

"With the kind of tactical ability you have, you ought to have been. You need medical attention, miss?" he asked Janet. Batgirl nodded and ushered her in after the Jokester, climbing in after her. "Get them to Met Gen," Rogers ordered the pilot. He got and returned a salute.

"I'd like to go, too, if I may. Jack is a patient of mine."

The Colonel looked like he was about to protest until the Jokester started moaning protests and Batman grinned. Then he relented, waving Morgenson inside. "Report back once you get there."

"Sir," Charles replied.

"Now, let's clean this mess up. Who the hell are they?"

The helicopter taking off muffled the rest of the conversation and the Jokester scowled when he smelled Morgenson's cologne, but he didn't open his eyes.

"I think you have a lot to tell me."

"Want my family."

Jim Morgenson looked down at the man he'd come to see as a sort of son and let his breath out slowly. "And if you play your cards right, you can see them again. I need you to tell me what happened, why you brought the Joker back."

"Don't call us that," he was begged. "Keep Janet safe. They ---"

He'd stopped himself, but the look on Janet's face was enough and Morgenson nodded. "Janet, I'm Jim Morgenson," he said evenly.

"You're Jack's doctor." He nodded. Janet looked down at the Jokester. "Jack told me once that . . . he wishes you were his father." She got a groan of protest from the wounded man, but he didn't deny her words.

"I'm honoured," the older man said simply.

***

After the initial rush when she'd been admitted, the hospital room that Rachel and Susie had been placed in was eerily quiet. The little girl had almost been lost in the shuffle, except for one nurse recognizing her and keeping her with Rachel. There was a soft tap at the door.

"Rachel? Are you awake?"

"Come in," she called out weakly. The plane ride had been terrifying, not least because it had been invisible. Diana, who had insisted on being called by her given name, had assured Rachel that the plane was not only perfectly safe, but perfectly sentient and capable of changing shape into anything it wanted; they were in no danger of crashing or falling out.

Not the most comforting choice of words.

"I've brought you two some soup. Do you think you can keep it down?" Noelle asked as she came into the room.

"I'm hungry," Susie said from under the bed. She wasn't there out of fear, but to surprise anyone coming into the room who shouldn't be there. She didn't seem to care that her bow and arrows had been taken away from her; her teeth worked just fine.

"Of course you are, dear. Come on out and have a bite." The older woman busied herself making sure Rachel was comfortable as Susie inched into view, struggling a little. "That doctor you had with you took good care of you, Rachel. You won't . . . Ava will be premature," and Noelle covered Rachel's hand when the younger woman closed her eyes, tears falling out of them, "but the doctors are sure she'll survive. You're not going to lose her, Rachel."

Rachel shook her head. "But, Jack ---"

"Was brought in an hour ago, along with Janet. They're stitching him up now and Janet was being examined, the last I heard. I came up as soon as I could to tell you." She kissed Rachel's forehead and smiled at Susie. "They're both all right. Alive."

"Why did he need stitches?"

"Janet shot him in the side, apparently."

Rachel sighed and let Noelle feed her. "Probably did it to get sent here," she muttered between mouthfuls.

"I wouldn't be surprised."

"I called him Brandon. I'm sorry, Noelle."

That made Jack's mother laugh. "Dearest, I'm resigned to knowing Jack doesn't want anything to do with me. I don't blame him. I spent years trying to convince myself that I'd saved him, when I should have gone to the police and gotten him back." She wiped at Rachel's mouth a bit before sitting back and letting Susie crawl into her lap. "I'm sure he'll be screaming for you as soon as he's out of surgery. I'll see if I can arrange a visit. But you need to rest, now. You're safe."

"I helped," Susie said, not wanting to be left out.

Noelle kissed her forehead. "Of course you did, Susie; you were very brave. I convinced Superman to keep an eye on you; he won't spy, but he'll be around."

"Before or after he files a harassment lawsuit against you for grabbing his rear?" Rachel wanted to know.

That brought laughter that had clearly been passed on to Jack. "Oh, I went for the front, this time."

"Ew," Susie gasped.

The older women laughed before Noelle got up to finish her rounds.