VIOLET'S POV

The first thing I noticed when I regained consciousness was the throbbing pain in my head and I let out a small groan. I squinted as I opened my eyes and let them adjust to my dim surroundings; I was in a warehouse which for the most part seemed abandoned. I felt the cold metal on my wrists and then realised that I was in fact, one hand was handcuffed to a piece of thick metal piping. Shit. I looked around, trying not to panic, where was Jason? Was he dead? Why was I still alive? These questions flooded in to my mind as I tugged at the handcuffs, trying in vain to free myself from them.

A sudden bang of a door slamming shut got my attention though and my head snapped in the direction of the noise. There, only metres from my was the Joker himself, followed by at least ten other henchmen. Shit, I was definitely in trouble. I glared at him as his gaze turned to me, his permanent smile somehow becoming even wider. Glee sparkled in his eyes, causing a shiver to run down my back.

"Look here boys, the Hoody's side kick has woken, looks like the funs about to begin." The joker chuckled, that's when I noticed the long metal object he held in his hand. A crowbar. I shrank back, Jason had mentioned a run in with the Joker he had which involved a Joker, it didn't sound pleasant. I began to wish that Jason had finished that story and told me how he got out of that situation because I sure needed some advice.

"Aww look the mask is scared." Snickered one of the henchmen.

"Where's the Red Hood?" I spat at the Joker, it took everything I had to prevent my voice from shaking.

"Dead." The Joker laughed, "I killed the Hoody and now you get to join him." He was now laughing in fits as if he had made the funniest joke ever. Dread flooded through me. If Jason was dead then no-one was coming for me. I had no chance. I was dead.

Well I guess I was always meant to die and Jason had tricked faith when he had rescued me from Two-Face and now fate was here to claim my life. I swallowed my fear and gathered up my dignity, I would not cry, I would not be afraid.

The Joker seemed to notice my recovery and looked at me curiously. For a second I though he was going to ask me something, however, the next thing I knew, the crowbar was hitting me. I cried out in pain as it hit me on the side of the face. Laughter filled my ears as the blows continued to come, agony filling me, unable to escape the pain I lay there in the foetal position waiting to die.

Finally after what seemed like forever, the beating stopped and I heard the Joker bend down next to me, he whispered in my ear;

"What does it feel like, to lose all hope, to know you will never be saved?" Pure glee was present in his voice and it disgusted, gathering some remaining strength I spat at him. A mixture of blood and spit hit his powdered face and he recoiled.

"He he, this one's just like Hoody…. And now she'll die just like him!" He giggled maniacally.

I managed to push myself up into a sitting position, my many broken bones screamed in protest and I bit my lip, drawing blood, to prevent myself from crying out, one of my lungs must have collapsed because I was struggling to even get a breathe in. My eyes had trouble focusing but I saw Joker dance over to what looked like a stack of explosives. After a minute a count-down started. Five minutes. The Joker smiled over at me before ushering the other henchmen to follow him out of the room.

"Oh and say hello to the Hoody for me!" He called over his shoulder as he exited the warehouse.

Five minutes. Well I could see myself either just staying here alone waiting to die, or think of some way to escape the warehouse. The odds of actually escaping were rather poor. I looked around frantically looking for something to help me rid myself of the handcuffs. After a precious minute an idea came into my head, hope threatening to dawn in myself. With my free hand I pulled a bobby pin from my blood matted hair and set to work on unlocking the handcuffs. Sweat poured down my forehead and my heart beated painfully in my chest as I tried to unlock the handcuffs. Finally like a sound from heaven I heard a satisfying click and the handcuffs opened up.

I whipped my head to the bomb. I had two minutes. I pulled myself off the ground to stand unsteadily, the pain was excruciating and I let out a cry as I fell back to the ground. Crawling it was then. I pulled myself across the ground, my body crying out in protest. All I had to do was get to the door in time and I would live. I slowly got closer to the door but when I looked back to the bomb I found that I only had a minute remaining as a reflex I tried to crawl faster but my body spasmed and I was no longer able to move. I screamed in frustration. I had come so close to escaping, to living but it wasn't to be. I looked at the clock, forty seconds and counting. My last blossom of hope faded into oblivion and I closed my eyes, accepting my fate.

It happened in a matter of moments. Glass suddenly shattered, opening my eyes I watched as a figure jumped through the window followed by another two others. The largest of the three who arrived first ran over to the bomb and started to play with the wires. One of the others ran towards me and I squinted to see who it was.

"Violet?" Jason's voice shouted, worry and fear mixed in his voice. I must have looked pretty dead because he gave a huge sigh of relief when he got closer seeing my chest rise and fall as I struggled to breathe. He carefully examined me being more delicate than I had ever seen him be.

"You're alive." I said, followed by a fit of coughs which made my whole body fill with agony. "Fuck!" I muttered through clenched teeth.

"Batman has disarmed the bomb and the Joker's gone. I'm here for you now." Jason said, he tried to keep his composure, his voice however cracked a little, betraying him. Behind him I saw Robin looking around where I had been handcuffed, he picked up the discarded crowbar and turned to us.

"Uh… Red Hood?" He looked a little cautious of Jason.

Jason looked away from me towards Robin and I saw his body tense up.

"Fuck. No fucking way. I'll kill him!" Jason shouted and stood up in his rage, seeming to forget me, he headed for the door. Batman was there in a flash, having disarmed the bomb, he grabbed Jason's arm.

"Jason, we need to get her back to the manor, Alfred needs to look at her or she will die." Batman's said in a gentler tone than usual, obviously trying to calm Jason down. It worked, Jason froze and looked back at Batman and then to me. His face hidden by the red mask he wore but I imagined that the anger was now gone.

"Back to the manor?" Jason asked confused, "You would allow us to stay there?"

"Jason, you've always been welcome back, it is your home." Said Batman, staring intently at Jason who squirmed under his gaze.

"Fine, but as soon as Violet recovers, we're leaving. It's not my home; I'm not that child I was anymore." Batman nodded at Jason's statement before moving over to me. He assessed my injuries and then looked at me.

"It would too painful to move you whilst you are awake due to your many broken bones so I am going to give you an injection that will make you lose consciousness." He said to me, removing a needle from his utility belt.

"Okay." I whispered as he injected it into me, the world immediately falling into blackness.

AN: Please Review... it motivates really motivates me to write another chapter soon! thanks! :)