Hi everyone, sorry it took so long to update. Life happens and time got away from me...you know the drill. I wish I could say I made this longer for you guys since you waited so long, but it's pretty much the same length as usual. I will try to update sooner this time. Once again I do not own Justice League, DC Universe, or any of it's characters. Reviews are appreciated and I hope you all enjoy.


Alfred drove Dick and I to Gotham General. The ride passed quietly, each of us stuck in our own depressing thoughts. When we arrived I didn't know what to expect. Though I had helped injured civilians get to the hospital, I had never been in one myself. My first impression? White. Everything was spotless and not a thing was out of place. As we made our way to the front desk Alfred took charge. "Hello, Ma'am." The older lady looked up from her computer screen. She didn't look pleased to see us, but she didn't appear offended either. "We are here for a Miss Barbara Gordon. She was brought in earlier this evening with a gunshot wound." The woman pointed a long, manicured nail to the directory on the wall. "Emergency surgery is in corridor four, subsection D. There's a map right there." Without another word she turned back to her computer screen, effectively ignoring us completely.

Alfred's sarcasm went unnoticed as he thanked her for her help and made his way to the said map. Within moments we found the designated waiting room, already occupied by an unstable Jim Gordon. When we entered the room he stood on shaking legs and made his way over to Dick. "I'm sorry, Son, there's no news yet."
"How long has she been in there?" Dick asked in a small voice.

"I don't know...it feels like hours but I'm not the best judge right now." He rubbed his eyes wearily before collapsing into a chair. His slightly graying brown hair was uncombed and standing on edge in a way that you immediately knew he had been running his hands through his hair worriedly. His eyes were haunted. Dick took the seat beside him. "Babs will be all right, Sir. She just has to."

Gordon shifted in his seat. "When Batman told me he informed you and you were on your way, I was relieved. When Barbara gets out she is going to be so happy to see you." Turning away from them so they could keep their privacy, I spoke to Alfred softly. We didn't say much, what could we say at a time like this, but we kept busy. Finally, Bruce burst into the room. It had been at least a few hours since we had come in and when our eyes met I immediately knew that Joker had gotten away.
Gordon once again stood and made his way over to Bruce, shaking his hand. "Thank you, Mr. Wayne, for letting Dick come down here and wait. He's been a big help to me right now."

"I'm sorry I didn't get here sooner, Commissioner. I was out of town, but I returned as soon as I could." Bruce beckoned me over to his side and I quietly joined him. "I take it you've met my girlfriend, Diana Prince?" My jaw about hit the tile floor. I definitely wasn't expecting Bruce to claim me, especially at a time like this.

"We weren't properly introduced, I've had other things on my mind." I shook his hand softly. "That's perfectly understandable, Commissioner. I hope Barbara makes a full recovery. If there is anything I can do, anything at all, let me know." The man nodded, his response interrupted as a doctor in scrubs came bursting through the surgery doors. "Commissioner?" The doctor stood off to the side, waiting for Jim to join him. "It's alright, doctor. They are all friends of Barbara who would like to know the results as much as I." The doctor gave a sharp nod before continuing.

"The bullet lodged in Miss Gordon's vertebrae caused a significant amount of damage to her spinal cord. The next twenty four hours are critical in her recovery. If she doesn't make any progress by morning we may want to talk about other options." Everyone was thunderstruck. Finally Bruce spoke. "What's the best case scenario, Doctor?"
"Best case she wakes up tomorrow and makes a full recovery. Due to the location of the bullet, there is a ninety-five percent chance that she will never walk again." Gordon let out a sob and Dick turned to his adoptive father. "Barbara has to walk again, Bruce! We were supposed to have lunch tomorrow in the school cafeteria. We promised to go to prom together! How are we supposed to go to prom together if she can't dance with me?" This time I didn't have to tell Bruce to hug him. He did it all on his own.


No one obtained much sleep that night. I found out that hospital chairs are very conducive for insomnia. Gordon tried to convince us all to go home, but we all agreed that Gotham General was where we needed to be. Once Gordon fell into a restless sleep Bruce and I finally had a chance to speak, even if it was in hushed whispers. "He got away." It wasn't a question. Like I said, I had read it in his eyes. "Yes. All the leads were cold by the time I reached the Gordons' apartment. I tracked down the few clues I did find and they were dead ends. He really covered his trail this time.

"I'm going to need to speak with Gordon again, but it wasn't the time or the place." I smirked. "Since when does Batman care about the time or place?" He reached for my hand. "I guess you are rubbing off on me then, Princess." He turned serious. "This is hard on all of us, Diana. She wasn't just Dick's girlfriend or just the commissioner's daughter. She was my sidekick. I've fought beside her. I've talked with her, laughed with her...she's as much a daughter to me as Dick is a son."

My heart mourned for him. He was in such agony, but because of this façade he had constructed he couldn't display an ounce of it. Maybe a double life wasn't as grand as it appeared. I leaned over and laid my head on his shoulder. "She's going to be alright, Bruce. I promise you. She will be awake in the morning, off of life support, and ready to begin recovery." I felt his head rest lightly on mine. "How can you be so positive?" "It's better than the alternative." Bruce pulled me closer and for the first time in what felt like days I truly slept, despite those accursed hospital chairs.


The first thing that came to me through the veil of sleep was the rumbling sensation of Bruce speaking from where I currently used his shoulder for a pillow. His tone was somber though his words were comforting as he spoke to Dick. With a quick glance as not to alert my companions that I had stirred, I took inventory of the room. Jim had vacated, I assume to either use the facilities or to check on his daughter's condition. Dick sat on Bruce's opposite side, looking as if his world had just ended. "Why would he do this, Bruce? He can't possibly have known that Babs is Batgirl, or he would have come after all of us. Why? Why is she in there fighting for her life?"

His words made my heart squeeze. Dick was far too young for all the pain he had seen in his young life. If anyone could understand him, however, it was Bruce. I subconsciously tightened my grip on Bruce's arm. Like Bruce, Dick had lost his parents at a young age. I did not know all the details, but I knew that the murderer had burst in during the Flying Graysons' final act.

Bruce had yet to tell me more, and I hadn't felt like it was my place to pry. He would tell me when he was ready. He always did. "I wish I could tell you, Dick. I would do anything to change what happened last night. I spoke to Gordon and he told me that Joker had sent him photos of her after he shot her. That's how he knew to look for her. Joker was after Gordon. It had nothing to do with our escapades." Dick nodded once before silently making his way to one of the windows. "He looks like you when he broods like that."

"Well, I did raise him. Any thoughts on our conversation?"
"I think you handled it well, Bruce. There's not much else you can do." Bruce's stomach growled and I laughed. "Stay here with the Commissioner and Dick and Alfred and I will go find us some food." Bruce pulled out his wallet and handed me a couple hundred dollar bills. "Here, go find us some good food. It's bad enough having to be here without eating that sludge they call food."


Alfred had only driven a couple blocks from the hospital when we saw her...a very familiar girl dressed as a jester spray painting 'I love Mr. J' onto a brown brick building. Her multi-colored hair was pulled back in twin pony tails and she proudly sported a zany red and white suit. "Miss Diana!" Alfred was already pulling over to the side of the alley as I leapt from the car. In the blink of an eye my rumpled satin dress from the night before was gone and my normal armored attire was back in place. "Harley Quinn, stop!" Her head swiveled to look at me and her lips formed a perfect O as panic filled her. She began to dash away, but I managed to ensnare one of her booted feet in my lasso. "Wonder Woman, does the great big bat know you are here? He doesn't like it when people mess with his city." Harley shrugged haphazardly, seemingly unbothered by the fact that my lasso was holding her captive.

"Can't say it would make much difference to me if he kills you though. One less problem for me." She fiddled with her pony tail. This girl truly was as insane as she looked. "Batman doesn't kill." Harley let loose a cackle. "But Puddin' does!" Her maniac giggles echoed through the empty alley and the pure madness of it sent shivers down my spine. "Like the Commissioner's stupid daughter. He shot her good." She molded her hands into tiny finger guns and aimed them at me. "Bang! Bang! She's probably sleepin' with the fishes by now." I tightened the lasso and for the first time a look of discomfort made an appearance. "Where is the Joker?"

Harley put up a decent fight, but eventually she told the truth, as did all who fell under my lasso's power. "He's in an abandoned factory down in the Narrows."
"Address." I snarled. She squirmed nervously, tugging at the rope around her ankle, but I merely pulled it taut. "815 Howens Street." Tears began to flow down her face. "Ooh, now you did it. Mr. J is going to be extremely upset." I turned to Alfred. "Can you handle her? I have a clown to find."

I didn't leave the alley until I was positive that Alfred had the girl fully secured in the backseat of the car. She was fully sobbing now, begging me not to go find her precious 'Puddin'. It disgusted me to see a woman this obsessed with a man, whom Bruce informed me, treated her like dirt. I wanted to yank her back out of that car and talk some sense into her. Instead, I decided to try my luck with the other party and took to the skies.


It didn't take long to reach the address, and when I landed I was surprised. I was expecting something big and scary that screamed evil villain lair in neon lights. Rather, I found a factory that looked to be in perfect working condition. The sign across the front said Ethan's Hair Ointment. If it wasn't for the fact that the sign looked like it hadn't been updated since the 1920's I would have rejected Harley's claims that the factory was abandoned, being held under the persuasion of truth or not. The yard and the factory itself was quiet...almost too quiet.

I did a quick sweep of the yard and didn't see a single one of Joker's goons and I couldn't help but wonder why he would be in such an open position without any hired help. Maybe he hadn't broken his cronies out of jail yet. I took a deep breath and made my way to the roof. Joker wasn't expecting an adversary that could fly, and perhaps I could take him by surprise. A split second of indecision filled me as my mind wandered back to Harley's words. Batman wouldn't take me being in his city kindly, especially if I was fighting one of his enemies without his permission or knowledge.

Pride, however, reared it's ugly head. I may now be officially his girlfriend, but I was still an Amazon and no one would tell me how to live my life or which battles were mine to fight. Another deep breath and I burst through the ceiling and into the room below, leaving all thoughts of Bruce behind.


Well that officially ended the burst of writer's block so hopefully the next chapter will be easy to write! Thanks everyone for reading it totally makes my day!