Damien's frustration was palpable as he muttered, "She slipped through my fingers!"

His anger simmered all day, directed at Bruce, Colin, and himself.

It seemed that Bruce bore the brunt of Damien's resentment.

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

However, Dick intervened and corrected Damien's misconception. "She didn't get away, Damien. She was kidnapped."

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

Dick gently reminded Damien, "It was an error in judgment; she's only eight. Besides, there's a city-wide Amber Alert; she will be found, and you can have your revenge without spilling blood."

Reluctantly, Damien nodded in agreement and gazed out over the city. "What's so great about him?"

"Hm?" Dick, somewhat taken aback, responded.

"What is extraordinary about Bruce Wayne?" Damien pressed on.

"He is a billionaire, playboy, and a philanthropist. He's done numerous acts of charity-" Dick started to explain.

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

"He's a good guy," Dick replied.

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

"The history of the Wayne family-" Dick tried to answer.

"Why do you?" Damien persisted.

"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.'


As the night deepened, the Joker found himself unable to sleep. Restlessness gnawed at him, and the need for a breath of fresh air consumed his mind.

Grainy-eyed and feeble-minded, he slipped away from Gabrielle Gagsworth and dressed hastily.

The need to clear his mind drove him out into the cool,

moonlit night. Mind clouded with strange thoughts, he wandered aimlessly, oblivious to his destination.

Before he knew it, he found himself behind the wheel of a stolen car, careening through the deserted streets. When the stolen ride came to a stop, he found himself standing in front of a greenhouse, the fragrance of roses assaulting his senses.

The sudden awareness of his surroundings jolted him—Giordano Botanical Gardens, just outside Ivy's greenhouse.

"Dammit, J..." he muttered under his breath, his mind racing with the implications of his unexpected arrival.

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, and her tiny 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, and Ivy said, "He might not know how..."

"Is it because he's a killer?"

"Maybe he thinks 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."

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

Once again, there was a long silence, and 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.