'Through my fingers!' Damien screeched. 'She slipped through my fingers!'

Damien was angry the whole day; he was furious with Bruce, Colin, and himself.

Bruce seemed to bare the brunt of his.

'If everyone hadn't been so busy fawning over billionaire Bruce Wayne, she wouldn't have gotten away!'

'She didn't get away, Damien.' Dick pointed out that night they went on patrol. 'She was kidnapped.'

'Kidnapped?!' Damien scoffed. 'She willingly followed that woman.'

'It was an error in judgment; she's eight. Besides, there's a city-wide Amber Alert; she will be found and have your revenge without spilling blood.'

Damien gave him a sad smile but nodded reluctantly and looked out over the city.

'What's so great about him?'

'Hm?'

'What is extraordinary about Bruce Wayne?'

'He is a billionaire, playboy, and philanthropist. He's done numerous acts of charity-'

'I'm not talking about his charity work! Why does everyone love him?'

'He's a good guy.'

'You've known him since you were my age; why does everyone love him?'

'The history of the Wayne family-'

'Why do you?'

'He saved me; who knows where I'd be if Bruce hadn't adopted me.'

Grayson was enamored with him, too; everyone was.

'Let's go home.'

The Joker just wouldn't fall asleep that night.

He couldn't fall asleep.

He didn't want to lie down.

He didn't want to lay up with Gaggy.

He wanted to go outside.

He wanted to breathe.

He untangled himself from Gabrielle Gagsworth and got dressed.

He just needed a walk to clear his mind...

That was a strange statement. He chuckled to himself.

I need clear my mind...

He wasn't sure what he was doing walking around at night.

He just knew it felt like a prison at the hideout.

He wasn't sure where he was going; he knew he had to leave.

Before he knew it, he was driving a stolen car.

He didn't know where he was driving; he just needed to get there.

When he got there -wherever there was- he got out of the car and walked over to the greenhouse.

Greenhouse?

Where the hell am I?

He snapped himself out of his stupor and studied his surroundings.

Giordano Botanical Gardens...

Just outside Ivy's greenhouse...

Dammit, J...

Better leave before...

"Miss. Ivy?" He heard her voice say.

Josephine.

The thought of her name made his insides... squirm, and her voice froze him in place.

"Yes, Josie?" Ivy responded.

There was a long silence, then her small voice asked, "Does Joker hate me?"

The question made him feel low...

How could she think that he hated her?

There was a long silence, and it made him feel worse.

Does Ivy think I hate her?

"I don't think so." Was Ivy's response.

That made him smile

"Then, why doesn't he talk to me?"

There was another long silence, then Ivy said, "He might not know how..."

"Is it because he's a killer?"

"Maybe, he might think that you hate him."

"I didn't know anything about it until I saw his face on the news. My grandparents never kept up with the Gotham news."

"I see."

"He kept staring at me; why?"

"Curiosity."

"Oh. You think that's why he was always staring at me?"

"Yes, I think."

"He's not going to kill me, is he?"

Once again, there was a long silence, then Ivy said, "Don't worry,

I'll protect you."

Josephine said something, but Joker couldn't hear what it was.

He wasn't sure what compelled him to do it, but he knocked on the door.

He heard footsteps approaching the door, it slowly opened, and Ivy's face peeked out.

"You."

Her surprise was evident, good.

"Hi." Was his response.

"What brings you here? Are you trying to get me arrested?"

The pitter-patter of tiny feet made his heart skip a beat.

There behind Ivy, wide gray eyes eyed him curiously.

"Miss. Ivy, what's going on?" She asked the second her eyes met his.

"Here." He shoved a manila envelope into Ivy's arms. 'I took some pictures of the kid early.'

'Oh.'

Ivy was nervous, maybe even scared, good.

"Oh." The kid smiled nervously. "Thank you."

Rebecca... her eyes shine like her mother's; this is getting weird.

'That was smart of you to disguise yourself.'

'Oh,' the kid's face was the color of Ivy's hair, 'um, thanks, but I didn't think of it.'

"Well, it was you who pulled off.'

'Thank you.'

The kid looked down, clearly embarrassed at the praise she was getting.

'Well, I should-'

"Wait! Um, can you stay?!" The kid rushed to his side. "Maybe we could talk."

Talk?

Does she want to talk to me?

"About?"

"You! My mother! I want to know everything about you!"

"You and me both, honey!"

"Oh..." she tilted her head. "You don't know about yourself?"

"Not really..."

"Maybe you have amnesia..."

"Doubt it."

"What do you want to talk about?" asked the kid as she pulled him inside.

"Whatever floats your boat, kitten..."

"Uh, we could talk about... The Batman?

He stared down at her; she met his gaze with her own.

"A boy called Robin; he threw a star into my shoulder."

"I heard."

"Is he with Batman?"

"Yes." He stared at her bruised eye. 'Nice shiner.'

'What?'

'Did he give you that black eye?'

'Oh, um... no kids at the orphanage did.'

'And what did you do to them?'

Nothing-'

'You didn't hit them back?'

'Grandpa said-'

'Grandpa's not here!'

The kid recoiled at the harshness in his voice and buried her face into Ivy's leg.

'Joker.' Ivy chided.

Joker groaned and rubbed the back of his neck, glancing at the little girl hiding behind Ivy.

'Your mother was like that.' He said quietly; she peeked out at him, feeling confident he went on. 'She didn't like to fight either. I even taught her how to defend herself... but she never wanted to hurt anyone. I can teach you if you want.'

'I don't know...' she mumbled as she looked at her feet and rubbed the back of her neck. 'Who was trying to fight her?'

'Hmm?'

'My mother.' She said with folded arms. 'Who was trying to fight her?'

'Why, you wanna fight 'em or something?'

Her face reddened, and she looked away. 'No, I was just curious...'

'That ain't curiosity in your voice, kitten.'

'So, Batman and Robin are a team?' The kid changed the subject.

'Yep.'

"When I saw him, he was looking for Mr. Zsasz. I saw him beat up a man."

"Mr. Zsasz?"

"No, Robin, he and a big guy were asking about the missing children."

"Oh."

"Are you working with Mr. Zsasz?"

"No."

"Are you working against him?"

"No."

"He's using them in a fighting ring. Like gladiators or The Hunger Games, did you know?"

"I know; I lost six grand three nights ago." Ivy scowled at him, and he laughed. "I'm kidding! Bird boy's been kicking up dirt since I got out of Arkham. And Vick's bringing too much heat on himself."

"So, you're not killing them?" she breathed a sigh of relief. "That's good."

"But I do kill people," he watched her closely, "you do know that, right?"

She looked away but nodded slowly. "Yes, I know... but..." she glanced at him. "I still want to know you."

I still want to know you.

The words struck him like a bullet in the heart.