A/N: A much longer chapter this time, and a change of POV. I hope everyone had a lovely summer, and enjoy!

Bruce Wayne paced up and down the dimly lit corridor on the first floor of his sprawling mansion, his thoughts circling around and around until he felt like he was going out of his mind. He had been informed that the Joker was seen in an old abandoned fairground just 5 miles south of Gotham, but he was sure this would be some sort of trap. The Joker wasn't the type to go for meaningless strolls and be stupid enough to be spotted when he didn't want to be, he was smart. Bruce had to credit him with that... Ever since the Jester had flung his ever-devoted sidekick Harley out of a 2nd floor window, things had turned real weird. No one had seen hide nor hair of him and Harley, well... Something just didn't seem right with her. She claimed to want rid of the Joker completely, but Bruce felt like he was being played like a fiddle. His gut told him not to trust her, and Nightwing had certainly agreed. Bruce had sent him over to her old apartment where they had left her, to talk and to glean information about Robin's death from her, as Bruce was certain she knew something that she wasn't letting on. A sharp pain struck his chest as he though of his old accomplice... So young.

A cough interrupted him from his ponderings. 'Master Bruce, are you alright? You seem to have a lot on your mind, sir,' Alfred appeared, placing a concerned arm on Bruce's shoulder.

'Yes, that's one way of putting it, Alfred. I've heard of a possible Joker lead, but if I'm walking into a trap, I'll need back up...'

Alfred nodded solemnly. 'I see... I trust your judgement on this, consider who you choose very wisely... It definitely seems odd that the Joker would be seen without intending to be, so I believe your gut is right,'

'I know who I'll choose, I could do with someone with a sharp mind, mine seems to be lacking somewhat since Jason...' Bruce trailed off, lost in thought.

Alfred too, looked lost, but he nodded again and stepped in front of Bruce.

'I know how you feel, Master... I feel the same, but you must promise me you will take care of yourself, and not let the past weeks events cloud your head, however hard it may seem... Jason would want you to keep strong, he would hate to see you fall apart,'

'Well Jason's not here!' Bruce suddenly yelled, walking away from Alfred and burying his face in his hands. 'I'm sorry Alfred, I didn't mean to snap... Look, I'll be back late, I'm going to check on Harley and Dick once I've sorted the Jester,' Bruce muttered, placing his hand on Alfred's shoulder. Alfred nodded, concern written all over his face.

x

'I'm flattered you called,' Catwoman grinned as she slid into the passenger seat of Bruce's Batmobile. Bruce nodded as the Batmobile sped into motion, smoothly dodging every car in its path as the dirty, crowded streets of Downtown Gotham whipped past.

'I needed someone I could trust, and you're the next best thing after Jason,' he muttered, never taking his eyes off the road.

'I think I'll take that as a compliment,' she smiled, 'And I'm sorry about Jason, Bruce. Honestly I felt sick when I heard, that demented psychopath is really itching my nerves, I'm more then happy to come and kick his ass with you,' she nodded.

'Thanks, Selina.. Although it usually isn't as easy as that, not with the Joker,' he spoke quietly. 'His cronies on the other hand, should be a piece of cake,'

Selina suddenly guffawed. 'Oh my, you just reminded me, remember that time I caught that guy with a leg lock, and had him calling me a precious pussycat?'

Bruce couldn't help but smile in spite of himself. 'That was classic. You sure do have your moments, Sel,'

She grinned, stretching back against the warm leather of the reclining passenger seat. 'So where is this son of a bitch?' Her eyes traced along the pavements, on the lookout for that manical face, lit up as it always was whenever there was a hint of trouble.

'I got wind of a fairground south the city, Holten's Fair, pretty big, very easy for a trap to be set up which is of course why I called you,' he replied. Suddenly a beep caused them both to jump slightly. Bruce accepted the call, eyes narrowed.

'Bruce. She doesn't know anything,' Nightwing said, 'I've been with her for hours now, and she's convinced me she's innocent, more or less,' he sounded cautious at that last bit, as if waiting for the berating he would get for being so stupid. Bruce sighed, Selina rolled her eyes.

'So she's already got you wrapped around her pinky then?' Selina snarled.

'Is that Selina? What's going on Bruce?' Nightwing asked slowly.

'We think we know where the Joker is, so we're checking it out, I brought Selina along for back up,' he replied. 'What happened with Harley, Dick?'

'Well when I first got there she had her guard up, and wouldn't tell me anything, but as we talked I could tell she was relaxing slightly, and she proved to me she was at her apartment at the time it happened,' he paused, 'she was feeling unwell though, I've just left her now to let her sleep,'

'Awww, did you read her a story too, Dick? Fetch her a nice mug of coco?' Selina remarked Wow, for a minute back there, I actually forgot how irritating you were,' Nightwing replied coolly. Bruce remained silent, too lost in his thoughts to know what to say. He still didn't trust Harley, but he did trust Dick's judgement. He guessed he would just have to play this by ear and keep a very close watch on her. He heard Selina hiss but ignored her.

'Thanks, Dick. I appreciate you spending the time to try and figure her out, it can't have been easy,' Bruce finally spoke. 'Go and rest, you deserve it,'

'No way, I'm coming to help you Bruce,' Nightwing replied strongly, 'Where am I meeting you?'

x

15 minutes later, Batman, Catwoman and Nightwing were at the front of Holten's Fair. It was a ginormous long since abandoned fairground, and it looked as if it hadn't been cleaned in years, as paper bags and drink bottles littered all over the decaying grass. It was a cool night, and as the wind blew through the deserted rides it made an eerie whistling noise. If the Joker was hiding here, he was hiding pretty well, because there was no sign of any movement from any direction, not even a shadow amongst the trees. All three glanced at each other uneasily. Selina was the first to break the silence.

'How about we split up and take different routes? I'll go check out that area over there, I'm certain I heard a movement... I can almost feel him laughing at us,' she gritted her teeth.

'Are you sure it wasn't the wind laughing at us?' Nightwing muttered.

'Right, I'm going,' Selina glared and turned on her heel but Bruce grabbed her arm.

'Don't be stupid Sel, if he has cronies here all it takes is one of them to hold us as hostage to get what they want... we stick together,' he said firmly. She rolled her eyes but agreed.

All three of them were silent as they walked slowly through the rides, ignoring the whistling noises and trying to listen for any laughter, or footsteps. Suddenly a slight rustling noise behind them caused them all to snap around.

'The Joker would like to see you Batman,' a large, rough looking man emerged from a large tent that they had somehow missed when they walked in. Man, I am really losing my touch, Bruce thought. He approached this man, instantly recognising him as one of the Joker's henchmen.

'Oh he would, would he?' and suddenly red hot anger and adrenaline was searing through Bruce's veins as his fists pummelled into the cronies' face, again, again and again, his knuckles throbbing with the pressure. Catwoman and Nightwing both grabbed at each of his arms but the tears that had formed in his eyes only pushed him to fight more, and before he knew it, the thug was passed out on the floor, blood streaming out of his nostrils.

'He's not the one you need to direct your anger at, Batman, remember the real reason we came,' Nightwing spoke softly, as if he understood all the same.

Selina nodded. 'Let's shift our focus onto the piece of dirt we came here for,' Although she didn't want to show it, she was extremely worried about Bruce. Looking at him now, he looked broken. He was kneeling over the thug, a steely but vacant look in his eyes, and she knew he was thinking of Jason's last moments...

'Ooooh what do we have here, eh? I was wondering when you'd show up, Bats,' The Jester appeared suddenly out of the tent, walking forwards towards the trio. He eyed each of them in turn, but didn't take much interest in Catwoman or Nightwing, his eyes rested on Batman's. He smiled.

That was all it took for Batman to fire back up and charge straight at the clown, aiming as many punches to the head and sharp kicks to the stomach that he could muster but the clown was dodging them with ease. Batman was not one to give up and he continued, avoiding the clown's fists and returning the punch right to the temple, causing the Jester to stumble slightly, but he quickly regained composure and let out a piercing laugh as his punch connected to Batman's stomach, knocking the wind out of him. Batman leaned forwards, stunned. He fell forwards onto his knees, taking deep breaths. Selina ran up to him. 'Are you okay?' she whispered, looking into his eyes and willing the vacant look away. She couldn't stand to see it, it made her want to cry but she had to be strong for Bruce.

He nodded, and tried to stand. He wondered why the Clown hadn't taken advantage of his weakness and turned his head to see Nightwing holding him in a tight neck lock, but the clown didn't seem fazed, he was guffawing, a loud, raspy laugh like he was being tickled, even as his face began to slowly turn purple. Then Nightwing looked up as Batman approached and that was all it took for the clown to aim a swift kick at his head and escape from the submission hold. His laughter quietened down and he fixed his tie.

'Right, now that's out of our systems, I would appreciate it if you two sidekicks ran off and left me and Bats to the adult stuff,' The Jester grinned, wiping his bloody nose. Nightwing glared and went to approach him but Bruce held him back, shaking his head.

'It's fine, you two, wait for me outside. Keep a lookout, make sure he has no one else with him,' Bruce said, ignoring their incredulous expressions.

'What?! Are you out of your mind?! We're not leaving you with him, forget it!' Nightwing shouted furiously, and Selina hissed. 'You're crazy Batman,'

'Oh this is sweet, you are so loved, Bats,' The Jester purred, giggling. Bruce ignored him.

'I'll be fine... don't worry about me, I know what I'm doing. Now please go, I need you two to trust me on this,' They both shook their heads, but reluctantly left, Nightwing through the right entrance and Catwoman through the left. Bruce turned to the Jester, who's giggling had ceased. They locked eyes.

'I've always admired you, Batman... I've hated myself for it, but I truly do,' the clown said, smiling as he started to pace up and down. Batman stared at him.

'You know, you love people, you care about people, you fight like a champion when you need to, you are hard as nails when you want to be but you still keep that look in your eye, the one you're giving me now,' he sniggered.

'What did you do with Robin?' Batman sneered. 'Because I swear to God Joker, if you don't bring me to him I will end you,'

The Joker grinned. 'Oh didn't you hear? I killed him, whoopsies! No trace of him left on this hell-ish Earth, quite lucky he is really,'

'WHERE IS HE?' Batman roared, and grabbed the Jester by his neck and shoved him down onto the grass. 'I want to see his body,' he growled.

'Wow Bats, this is really quite morbid, even for me,' The clown laughed. 'I will tell you everything, but first, you must do one teeny little thing for me,'

'And what is that?' The Batman asked coldly.

'Bring me my Harley Quinn, Bats, that's all I ask,' he giggled. 'I really quite miss her... And I know you must be keeping her somewhere, knight in shining armour and all that,'

Batman shook his head. 'Why? You don't even care about her, she is a prop to you, a replaceable piece of meat,'

The Jester feigned outrage. 'Now now Bats, that's no way to speak about a lady, your mother must have taught you that,' he giggled. 'Harley is my everything, and I really do want her by my side again, we're a great team... Not quite like you and me though,' he grinned.

The Batman sneered. 'You are seriously messed up, beyond all forms of help,'

The Joker nodded. 'Ahh yes, I realised that myself a long long time ago, but see Bats, me and you, we're not that different... We are both broken, just in different ways,'

'I'm nothing like you!' Batman yelled, his fist itching again.

'And yet here you are, standing opposite me, talking like friends... you could easily have killed me right here and now, after all, I killed your precious bird... Why havn't you killed me, Batman?' The Jester asked, although he for once wasn't laughing or smirking.

Batman shook his head. 'I don't kill,' he muttered feebly. 'I won't,'

The Joker nodded. 'I am an exception though, you have my permission to kill me,'

Batman scrutinised the man before him. He didn't know how, but somehow, as always, the Jester had found a way to get inside his head and completely throw him off his path. His fist yearned to punch and strangle the man before him until he never breathed again, and he knew he deserved it, far more than any of the others. This would be for the greater good; so many lives would be saved. But The Jester's words rang in his ears, 'We are both broken, just in different ways,' He hated himself for even considering it, but a small part of him knew there was some truth in what he had said. Of course the Joker was broken, he was broken beyond all repair and help, a psychopathic sociopath with no life, love, friendships or meaning. Life was just one big carnival for him, and Bruce reasoned that that was no life at all. But on the other hand, he too was broken. How could he not be? His parents had died right before his eyes, he could still his mothers screams...

'Your time will come,' Batman murmured darkly. Although he waited for it, no laugh followed.

x