Authors Note: I am very surprised to be back here. I told myself a thousand times that I never wanted to be an author that didn't finish their story, yet that is exactly what I did.

It was strange re-reading everything. I wrote this when I was a kid in middle school, and now here I am. Finally the age of the character when I first wrote this story. Thank you all for reading this in the first place. I appreciate all of you. Batman gave me a reason to write, but you guys are the reason I kept doing it. I love you all from the bottom of my heart! So, lets give this baby an ending!

Raven sat in the parked car, the Scarecrow waiting patiently in the passenger's seat. Or is it Johnathan? Yep, Johnathan Crane. He gave her his award winning smile that could melt even ice cream in December. There was something about the Scarecrows smiles that were slightly unnerving. Maybe it was because they never reached his eyes, or maybe it was because what you could see in his eyes there was a man who was cold and calculating. He was always trying to figure you out. Trying to figure out what makes you tick and, worse, what made you scream. Not even in the good way.

"So he left already?" she asked once again.

"It looks that way," Crane confirmed with a nod.

"Did he at least give you any details on what he was planning?" Raven urged him to give her more.

"Not in the least," he replied.

This man could talk your head of one minute, and make you feel like you were pulling out teeth the next to just try and get some answers.

"So no signal or anything that we are supposed to be watching for?" she continued her line of questions. "Or at least a plan that were are supposed to follow?"

"Nope." He was staring intently out the front window. She wondered what he was thinking about. What was more important than this? Than the Joker? Weren't they all friends? Maybe that was a longshot, but weren't they supposed to stick together?

"Do you think it's safe for us to leave, or should we stay a little longer?" Raven finally asked. It felt like admitting defeat.

"Maybe just a little longer," he replied. He looked over at her again. This time, he reached down and grabbed her hand and placed it in his own. "Who knows what lurks outside this parking deck."

Raven couldn't help but laugh at that. They weren't supposed to be scared of anything. Everyone was supposed to be scared of them! That was how it was supposed to go. Not them waiting in a parked car, waiting for the moment they were caught and thrown in Arkham. Or waiting for the Joker to be put in Arkham in their stead.

"Apparently not us," she continued her laughter. Crane couldn't help but crack a smile. "Can I at least put the radio on?"

"I'm not going to stop you," he answered. He gave her another of his smiles and gently gave her hand a squeeze. After this, Crane went back to staring out the window. Just… staring and thinking.

Raven turned the key once, pushed the knob, and the inside of the car came to life with music.

Panic! At The Disco had really changed over the years, Raven thought. She still hummed along to the song. "High Hopes" was on enough that you couldn't help but learn the lyrics to it over time, or at least sing-along to once it did come on.

Mama said

It's uphill for oddities

The stranger crusaders

Ain't ever wannabes

The weird and the novelties

Don't ever change

We wanted everything, wanted everything

The song continued for a minute, before it finally ended. She laughed, she could remember the days when "I Write Sins Not Tragedies" would come on the radio a thousand times a day. If it wasn't one song, it would be another.

I guess nothing ever truly changes that much, she mused.

"This just in," a woman's voice cut through the silence once the song ended. It was Gotham City Radio. "Chaos as erupted in Gotham. The cause this time is none other than the Joker. Sources have confirmed that bombs have been scattered throughout Gotham in various non-disclosed locations in an attempt to overwhelm Gotham PD. It has come to hour three now of two ferries being held hostage by the bridge leading out of Gotham. Sources have confirmed that the Joker is behind this stunt as well. There has been no information given on what the Joker hopes to gain from this, but we will give you details as soon as we know anything. If anyone has any information on the Joker's whereabouts, please come forward so that he may be brought to Justice."

"In the meantime, we urge that everyone stay calm and remain in doors," a males voice cut in. "Do not let anyone in your home or answer the door for anyone you do not know. Please lock all doors and windows. As soon as we know more about the situation, we will report on it. In the meantime, stay safe Gotham."

The news report ended, leaving Raven with her mouth agape. How had he had enough time to set any of that up?

"Did you know anything about this?" Raven asked Crane. She looked at him angrily, but he seemed just as surprised as her.

"Honestly, no," Crane began. "I knew he was going to do something crazy to cause a distraction, but I had no idea this is what he had in mind. I'm not surprised though. A man like has to be ready for anything. And I guess anything really means anything."

"So, what now? Should we help him? We can't just let him go through with this alone," Raven began. She didn't seem confident in her words. "Can we?"

"That's exactly what we are going to do," Crane sighed. "When has the Joker not been okay? He got himself into this mess, and he can get out of it on his own just fine. He didn't need us before all this, and he still doesn't need us now. He just wants us to get out of here."

"Did he tell you that?" she asked angrily. "He would have told me. He tells me… stuff. Maybe not everything, but he tells me stuff."

"Do you really want to know what he said," Crane finally said. "He said that he was over you. He had fun, but that he didn't want you. He cares more about the Bats than he does you. He never wanted to leave Gotham. But he wants you to. And he wants me to go with you. Is that what you want to hear?"

"Not really," she angrily replied. She huffed and removed her hand from his, and crossed her arms over her chest. "If that's the way he feels, then why did he never tell me?"

"He knew you would want to follow him, but," Crane started and paused. "But, he doesn't want you to. Raven, he just wants us to leave. He was probably sick of us ages ago."

She sat in silence. He was probably telling the truth, but damn does the truth hurt like a bitch. A bitch who sucker punches you in the face with brass knuckles, stabs you in the heart with a rusted blade, and jams her hand into your wound as you scream uncle. That kind of hurt.

She couldn't help but think of their first encounter. It felt like it had been years ago, but it had really only been just a month prior. She had been going out of her apartment for the first time in days, just to go get some stupid frozen yogurt. She had been living in that apartment for a week and it took almost all of that time before she finally felt brave enough to leave it by herself. Her mom and called her crazy for moving out here in the first place, but who was crazy now?

Her. She was still the crazy one.

"You look funny," he had said with a smile. He was still sat on the ground, face covered in melting frozen yogurt. She didn't know if she would have approached the man to begin with if she had known it was the Joker she had tried to comfort. Yet, here she was. A woman who had been scared to leave her apartment was actually talking to the most feared man in Gotham. The Joker. He jumped to his feet, almost causing her to fall flat on her ass. "I like you."

She was shocked.

"Oh uh, I don't get that often," she smiled still squatting on the floor. "I usually get people telling me to piss off."

She didn't know why she had confessed that. It was true. She felt unwanted in this city. She didn't know what she had expected in coming here. Though she knew it wasn't the loneliness that met her. This city was supposed to be for everyone. For any freak to come to feel like they had a safe haven. But she never felt welcomed here. Not until now, at least.

She had been half listening to him, and half stuck in her thoughts, until a card landed in her lap.

"Here's my card. We'll be in touch."

And that was the beginning of her amazing adventure. An adventure that seemed to be coming to a close after all this time.

A tear fell from her eyes, as she continued to sit in silence. Crane leaned over and gingerly wiped it away. The touch only made it worse, causing her to let the floodgates loose.

"It's okay," Crane whispered. He was trying to be comforting, but it was only making it worse. He was sweet and caring. But the Joker still lingered on her mind.

"I just thought that things would have ended differently," Raven was finally able to get out. She really had, and oh how naive that had been. She should have known this is how it would have ended. In the parking deck of some barely held together building that she was surprised hadn't collapsed already from the weight of their car, listening to the escapades of a man who clearly would choose Batman over her anyday, and with the Scarecrow who seemed to genuinely care about her. This is the exact scenario that life had intended from the get-go.

"That's what we all like to think, but this is exactly how it should be," Crane responded. "He did the same thing to Harley, you know?"

"He left her in an abandoned parking garage with the Scarecrow and told him that he no longer wanted he, and he could have her instead?" Raven laughed out. She had finally stopped crying, but she still felt the hurt.

"Maybe not this exact scenario," Crane laughed out. He put his arm around her shoulders. "He always chose the Batman over her. He pushed her over the brink of madness, and left her crying about it while she still remained madly in love with him. You don't have to go down that same path, you know?"

"Yeah," Raven sighed. "I know. But it still hurts."

"Yeah, I know."

They sat in silence for a few more minutes, until she turned the key fully. This time causing the engine to roar to life.

"Want to get out of here?" she asked. She wiped her face once more and gave him a smile.

"I thought you would never ask."

With that, they drove out of the parking deck and into the sunset. Never to be seen again in Gotham ever again.

Years would pass, and the two of them would eventually settle down. They found their happiness in each other, spending their lives working around each others traumas and becoming new people. Reinventing themselves to fit in where they had taken root. And yet, the Joker never once left her thoughts.

Oh how we can find happiness in the darkest recesses of our minds, with even the most dangerous of people bringing us comfort. Humans really are strange creatures.

Authors Note: I know this isn't how I had intended to end this when I first wrote the first chapter 11 years ago. Either way, I'm glad I was able to give it an ending. And I'm glad I could take this journey with you all!