A/N Thank you to those who have reviewed! I'm sorry for the endless Authors Notes but if I feel something needs to be cleared up I simply have to help readers understand!

Bella's 'toys' were being kept in the ceiling because that's where the Cullens had hidden them from her upon her arrival. Alice felt the need to let Bella in on that once she realized that the only way they were going to get out of there safely was if Bella helped them. To do that, Alice figured she'd need her weapons.

When the Joker sent Bella for the phone, Bella thought it was the perfect opportunity to get her toys from where Alice had said they were.

Amanda will definitely make a reappearance soon! So will other government agents but I wont reveal too much yet. The story is long from finished, even though her confrontation with the Joker is nearing a close.

The focus will still be on Bella's recovery and her relationship with Edward once all this has passed and she comes to a few realizations.

Thank you to Saltycocacola for always asking interesting and relevant questions to help me clear things up for everyone and thank you to everybody who has been reviewing!

Frogman27 has left a review on quite a few chapters as they read them! I noticed and thank you so much! Thank you to everybody else who has been supporting! There's still much more to come!

Bella's POV

I was… confused. Mistah J… had a gun on me?

I stared at him, searching for answers.

Suddenly, he broke into laughter.

"I'm just messing with ya, doll," he chuckled, lowering the gun.

I narrowed my eyes.

"He's lying, Bella," Alice said scathingly. "He was about to shoot you, Bella!"

Mistah J snarled, but kept his eyes on me.

"You know I could never live without you…" he continued.

I know those words. They've been uttered to me before… somehow, after knowing what they should sound like, I doubted him. For the first time in almost three years, I doubted the person who saved me.

Then I felt a throbbing in my head.

"What the…" I pressed my hand to the location of the pain. It felt wet.

I pulled it back and saw my deep red blood. I wasn't even worried about the four vampires in the room. I was worried about myself.

"You… did this?" I asked softly, staring at my hand.

Mistah J walked towards me and squatted before me.

"You needed it. You know you were acting up." He used his finger to lift up my chin. "Daddy'll make it all better."

His lips crushed into mine, moving ferociously and desperately. I melted into the kiss I had craved for so long. His lips were warm and soft and they moved so rhythmically with his.

"Bella, don't fall for this," I heard Carlisle say.

Mistah J's lips became stiff and he slowly rose to his feet.

"Always in the way!" he hissed, raising the gun.

I quickly returned to my senses. This couldn't happen. I couldn't allow this to happen. I thought quickly, grabbing the bat from the floor and standing.

Alice broke into a smile, causing Mistah J to pause, confused. Before he could turn back to me, I struck him on the back of his head.

He dropped the gun and fell to his knees, clutching his skull.

I knew I had to be quick. The two henchmen were already cocking their guns. I deftly dodged their bullets, using my new found grace to grab the gun and keep myself un-shot.

In a swift motion, I shot them both.

"The cameras!" Edward called.

I turned to the two video cameras that were still recording. Now was my chance. Before I could reach them, I felt a hand on my ankle, pulling me to the ground. I landed with a thud.

"You're being very bad, Bella," Mistah J hissed. "You know what happens when you decide to be bad."

I use all the force I could muster and kick him in the face.

"AHH!" he growled, releasing me to lay a hand on his face.

Suddenly, I was overcome with rage. Everything I'd been through… everything he's put me through, it all came flooding back. How was I so stupid?

I shoved the gun into my back pocket and firmly gripped my bat. He had this coming.

I raised it above my head, and brought it down to his back. When they collided, it knocked him flat on his stomach. I couldn't stop.

"You… No… Good… Son… Of… A… BITCH!" I yelled between hits. "I TRUSTED you! I…LOVED you! And you were willing to KILL me?!"

I stopped, realizing how… broken he looked. He lifted himself to his knees. And started laughing.

"You're a fool," he finally said.

I watched with wary eyes as he stood up. The left side of his pale face was covered in blood. He looked like he had a limp. I noticed this as he started stepping towards me, trying to close the distance between us.

With a shaky hand, I grabbed the gun and pointed it right at his forehead. Could I really kill him?

He started laughing again. Then, he grabbed the nozzle. I panicked, but he didn't try to grab it. He placed it gingerly to his head and smiled.

"Go on," he taunted. "Do it. Shoot me."

This reminded me of the night he escaped. It was as if nothing had changed.

He chuckled. "Oh, it would be so easy…" he continued. "The gun is cocked. Everyone is restrained. I've been weakened. Now is your chance…"

"Bella," Alice urged.

"Bella," I heard Edward hiss.

I knew I had to do it. It was the only way any of us would be able to get out of this unscathed. So… why couldn't I bring myself to pull the trigger?

Mistah J saw my hesitation and laughed a booming laugh before settling and peering into my eyes.

"You don't have the balls. I always knew you didn't have it in you."

I was crushed. I felt a giant hole in my heart rip open, as if a band aid had been placed over it many years ago, and it was suddenly ripped away. I blanked.

In my moment of confusion, he grabbed the gun from my hands, just like he had years ago.

He fired.

For a moment, I was stunned.

Then, the pain in my chest was overshadowed by a greater pain in my side. It was a burn I recognized well. A burn I could never get used to.

I looked down at my left side. There it was. Just under my ribcage and a few centimeters away from my waist. A bullet wound.

I thought I could hear people screaming in the back ground, but my mind wouldn't focus on it.

I dropped to my knees, almost feeling the flow of blood. It rushed out of my body like a stream, running down my leg.

For a second, my concern about there being vampires in the room overtook me. There was so much blood. But I fell to my side, my body contorting into a fetal position in an attempt to numb the pain.

One thing was clear to me. Mistah J had shot me.

Alice's POV

My vision… it had just played out right before me. I didn't even see it coming, so to speak.

"Bella!" Esme and I shouted out in unison.

Her knees hit the tiles.

The scent of fresh blood filled the room. I felt Esme and Edward both stiffen beside me.

What now?

The Joker erupted into laughter.

"That was just too easy," he laughed.

I saw red. This thing, this monster… was proud.

"You piece of shit!" I yelled, a dry sob building in my chest. "She may have been the one person on the planet that truly loved you!"

"She was a fool," he said simply.

What would we do? What could we do?

Bella's heartbeat was faint, but it was there. If we thought of a way out of this quickly, she may survive.

"Bella…" Edward moaned from beside me. "Alice, I don't care anymore…"

"What?" I hissed.

"I can't let Bella die over our secret."

"The Volturi…" I reminded him. "Our family… We cannot do that Edward. We have some time; we just need to think of something."

"If I hear Bella's heart faltering," Esme whispered, "I will save her. We cannot sit here and do nothing, Alice."

I sighed. No. This couldn't happen. Not to us.

Suddenly, there was a change. Bella's heartbeat was quickening.

My head shot back to her, and she was slowly getting to her feet.

Bella's POV

The pain was there, it shot through my entire body like a stinging ache that wouldn't subside. But if I didn't get up, I knew what would come. If I was dying either way, I would die knowing I did something right in my life.

I was losing so much blood, I felt dizzy, but I found the strength. I gripped the bat that was lying beside me and lifted myself to my feet.

"Joker," I said softly, raising the bat. He turned. "We're over."

Before he could react, I brought the bat down on his shoulder. He cried out on pain and dropped the gun. I kicked it away from him, out of his reach.

I didn't stop. I kept going, this time feeling no remorse.

I was breaking bones; that much I knew. One final knock to the head, and I knew he was done for. He fell to his stomach, whatever strength he had leaving his body. He slumped into a very still position. No movement. I didn't want to stop, but I forced myself.

The dizziness overcame me, and I dropped to my knees once again.

"Is… is he dead?" I wheezed out, my eyes not leaving his unmoving body.

"No." It was Carlisle who answered.

I only nodded. I wouldn't kill him. Deep down, I knew it would kill me too.

"The cameras, Bella," Alice reminded me. "We're going to help you but you need to put the cameras off."

I didn't have the strength to pull myself back to my feet. I laid my body flush against the cool tiles, and reached out my hand until I grabbed the gun.

I had good aim, even half dead. I managed to shoot them down and off their tripods with one shot each.

The red recording light stopped blinking. The Joker was out cold. It was over.

Finally.

The last thing I felt before I accepted death was a pair of icy cold hands, flying me out of the room. The wind suddenly stopped.

I was floating.

Carlisle's POV

As soon as the cameras were out, we broke free of our restraints.

"Edward, tied that thing up," I said, gesturing to the Joker before I ran to Bella who was now lying limp on the floor.

"I'm going to kill him," Edward said.

"No, son," I insisted. "He will be going back to prison. Without Bella, he has no hope of escape. For a psychopath like him, death is too easy a punishment. He needs to face his failure."

Edward didn't look satisfied.

He raced to my side and let out a pained sob.

"Carlisle…"

"Bella will be fine, but I need to stitch her up and get some blood into her immediately. Her heartbeat is faint, but it's there."

"I'll tie it up," Alice said grudgingly. "You go with Bella."

We nod and I lift Bella into my arms as gently as I could and rushed her into my study.

Edward cleared the table and I laid her down flat.

"I cannot do anything until I have an x-ray," I said, wiping away the copious amount of blood.

Edward was back in an instant with the x-ray machine from my downstairs office.

I threw out the third blood-soaked rag and as it hit the floor, I saw Edward grimace.

"Edward, if you can't handle this-"

"Just get on with it!" he snapped.

Within a few moments, I was assessing the x-ray results.

The bullet isn't lodged into any major arteries or veins or organs, I think directly at Edward. It's safe to remove it. Get the transfusion drip-holder, some pipes, my needles and one bag of donated blood from downstairs, please Edward.

He was gone. I started with the stitches. I wished I would have used morphine, but she seemed too far gone to notice the pain and this was too urgent a matter.

Once Edward came back I was already done stitching. I set everything up and hooked her to the IV.

"She's… so still…" Edward noted.

"Her heart is strong," I say comfortingly. "All that's left to do is wait."

"I love her, Carlisle," he sobbed, falling to his knees. "I did not choose to, but I can't stop. And I can't let her go!"

"I know, son."

"She was willing to risk her life… to protect our secret… and even though she caused the situation…"

"She came to her senses," I said. "Better late than never."

Alice tapped on the open door. I could sense that she wasn't ready to enter; the smell of blood was becoming overwhelming.

"Bella's going to be okay," she said sadly. "I just saw it."

I nodded.

She continued. "The Joker is restrained, extremely so. Doesn't look like he'll be waking up any time soon either. I've called Jasper and asked them to come home early."

I nod again. "Thank you, Alice."

She flitted away from the door and I helped Edward to his feet.

"Let's get going. We need to clean up that mess of blood and glass from the front room before Jasper gets here."

He didn't move. He only stared at Bella's seemingly lifeless body.

"Edward, it's over. She will be okay."

He seemed to accept this for now, but I knew as soon as we were done he would be back in that study and wouldn't leave her side until her eyes opened.

My phone rang just then. I looked at the caller ID. Private Number.

There's only one person that could be. I decided not to answer. I knew some decision would have to be made about Bella… it just wasn't something anyone was prepared to deal with just yet.

A/N SO, what do you guys think should happen? Should Bella go back to the loony bin with supervised visits or should she be permitted to stay with the Cullens to continue her recovery.

I'm interested to hear which direction I should go.

Please, do vote!

And let me know what you think.