A snow storm raged outside of the Gotham City Police Department, Jim Gordon sat at his desk reviewing criminal dossiers. Clayface, Calendar Man, Ra's Al Ghul, The Riddler, Poison Ivy, Bane, he filed through the names, familiar with all of their most recent escapades. Ra's was deceased now, a somewhat comforting thought as he took a drag from his cigarette. Still can't quit these, he thought. Clayface was currently out there somewhere, his whereabouts were unknown. Calendar Man was locked up in Arkham. Riddler, well, a padded cell was more than enough for him. Poison Ivy was in Arkham too, being seen by female guards. And Bane was on the run. Last reports were he was in Mexico. At least some of these guys are locked up here, Gordon thought sighing.

He picked up a folder marked Joker. He shivered. Joker had been apprehended most recently after Batman stopped him from dumping toxic waste into the river. Something about him was so unsettling, and it wasn't just the fact the man was a homicidal maniac. Gordon scratched his chin thoughtfully. Thank God we have him in Arkham. Batman has been too valuable to us too many times in apprehending him, he knows him so well.

Gordon leaned back in his chair and stared out the window. The snow was falling heavy, just as it had two weeks before. The blizzard that had caught Gotham completely off guard was one of the heaviest and most severe they had ever had. The mayor of Gotham was at least on top of this storm and the road crews were already out plowing the streets. This storm was set to be another big one too. As long as nothing happens to make this another eventful day I'll be happy, he thought. He reached for his remote and turned on the television, might as well see what's on right now.

Flipping through the channels he took another drag of his cigarette. I really need to get off these, my wife is giving me hell for picking them back up, he sighed as he watched the news. Nothing new or interesting had happened, which was good news to him. His phone rang suddenly, taking him out of his thoughts. He picked it up with flourish, "Jim Gordon."

The voice on the other was a bit frantic, it was Bullock, "Commish, I think we might have a problem on our hands."

He rolled his eyes, problems to Bullock were usually of the "we ran out of donuts" variety. He sighed, "What's the problem this time, Bullock?"

His reply was more frantic than before, "We were just at Arkham Asylum."

"And?"

"And three of our most dangerous criminals are out!"

Gordon sat up straight in his chair, he could feel his heart beat harder inside his chest. He prayed that it wasn't who he thought it was. "Who are they?"

Bullock paused as he looked at a piece of paper someone handed him, "Poison Ivy, Scarecrow and...what the hell is this shit? Who authorized this?"

Gordon listened to Bullock bark at someone on the other end of the line for what seemed like five minutes before he finally got answer as to who the third criminal was. "Bullock, who's the last one?"

Bullock gulped, "The Joker. Commish, I don't know what's going on here, but it seems like Scarecrow's lawyers paid off someone here at Arkham to let the three of them go. You don't think they're working together do you?"

Gordon held his forehead in his hand. How could this happen? Why would they have let the most dangerous criminal in Arkham go like that? Why wouldn't they have called him? "I don't know. First thing's first though, we need to figure out where they are. Then we deal with Arkham. I thought the administration had gotten rid of all their ties to organized crime."

"Afraid not, Commish," Bullock replied solemnly.

"Yeah," Gordon wasn't sure what to say, part of him wanted to panic, another part of him wanted to leap out and strangle whoever let them free in the first place. "I'm going to alert everyone to be on the lookout and ready for anything. With three criminals of that caliber out there now, we need to be ready for anything. Especially with Joker."

Bullock mumbled to someone on the other end, "OK, Commish. I'll see what I can dig up here. I'll be in touch."

"Take care Bullock."

Gordon hung up the phone and sat in stunned silence. He couldn't believe that three criminals were released from Arkham under his watch, without his knowledge and one of them was Joker. How could they have let someone like that go? He thought. He pick up a new cigarette and lit it. Looks like I won't be quitting these anytime soon. Sighing, he picked up the phone and called to GNN, guess I better let the media know of what's happening.

MEANWHILE

The Joker grinned as the van made it's way through the snowy streets of Gotham. Scarecrow's lawyers were perfect, he thought. They sprung me out, and now I'm free to do whatever I damn well please. If I have to work with Scarecrow for a little while, what difference does it make? At least I'm wasting no time in causing a bit of trouble. The dark blue van drove down the street as he looked out the window at the snow on the ground. It had gotten dirty from the sand that the road crews had set down over the last few weeks to keep the roads treated. The snow on the street was clean and white. Won't be clean for long, he thought.

The driver of the van looked over at Joker and gulped. He had heard stories about how crazy this man was, how unpredictable he was. He knew that one minute he could be your best friend, the next he could have a gun at your head and be ready to kill you, laughing all the while. Since picking him from Arkham that morning, Joker hadn't said much at all. Simply asking him to stop by the bank so he could make a withdrawal. I didn't sign up for this, he thought. He tapped the steering wheel as he weaved his way slowly through the streets. The snow made for treacherous driving, and he didn't dare get into an accident with his passenger in the car. No telling what he might do to me if we were to get into an accident!

Joker started laughing. The driver gripped his steering wheel tighter, he had heard things about what happens to people who hear Joker laugh. None of them were good. He tried to keep his mind focused on getting him to Gotham International Bank. He just hoped that Joker didn't plan on using him for robbery. I'm not getting paid enough for this, he thought. Falcone had told him that he had to do whatever the Joker wanted him to, no questions asked, and he would be paid well. Half a million to cart this madman around Gotham City is not enough, he sighed.

Joker looked over at him and cocked an eyebrow up, "What's the matter boy? Trouble on the front?"

He looked at Joker with weary eyes, "Yu-yes. Well, I guess you could call it that."

The Joker laughed hysterically, "Trouble at home is nothing compared to the trouble we're about to get in. You have the hardware I wanted right?"

The driver pointed to the cargo area of the van. There were several guns laid out. Handguns, semi-automatics and assault rifles. The Joker grinned wider, if that was possible. Looks like this is going to be one of the best bits of work I'll have done in recent memory. He held his hands together and looked at the snow outside. They were almost there, and it was almost time to start having some fun! He looked back over at the driver, "I don't usually do jobs with someone unless I know them. And I mean, know them well."

The man stammered, "Oh-oh really? What do you want to know?"

"Everything. Tell me your life story! I want all the gritty details! Tell me about how you stole a pack of gum when you were five, and how your daddy beat you when you were nine, and your mommy killed herself by on pain medication when you were thirteen! I want to know it all man! I want to know how you decided to become a career criminal with the likes of an animal like Carmine Falcone!"

The driver was stunned. Why would the Joker want to know all of that? It seemed silly, but he wasn't going to not do what Joker asked of him. "Well, I guess the first time I ever did anything wrong, I was about six-"

Joker started laughing, "Shut up! I was kidding around! You really don't know much about me do you? Just tell me your name and that's enough for me. Maybe if you do, I'll let you in on a cut of what I make today!"

He looked at Joker and smiled a bit, maybe this wouldn't be so bad after all. He slowed down as they approached the bank, parking the vehicle, he turned to Joker and said, "My name is Michael, Michael Savonni." He reached out his hand, Joker grasped it his and shook it hard.

"Let's get to work Mikey!"

They climbed out of the van and each grabbed a weapon from the back. Michael grabbed a semi-automatic and some clips of ammo. Not that he expected to use any of it, but not knowing much about how Joker operated, he wanted to make sure he was prepared for anything. Joker grabbed and assault rifle and started walking nonchalantly to the bank entrance, the barrel of the weapon planted firmly on his shoulder. He started to open the door and said, "Looks like my friends are here too."

Michael looked across the street to see another vehicle parking near the bank. Two people climbed out, one was a beautiful woman with red hair, dressed in a very tight and revealing green dress. It almost looked as if it was made of leaves. Is that Poison Ivy? He thought as they approached, the snow obscuring his vision a bit. The other person was a thin lanky looking man. He wore a tattered looking shirt and pants. His face was covered by a mask, it looked like a burlap sack. Scarecrow too? What the hell have I gotten myself into?

"Hiya guys!" Joker called out to them with a wave.

"Hey Joker," Ivy said wistfully, "who's this?" she asked as she ran a finger across Michael's shoulder. He could feel himself get excited by her touch, guess everything I've heard about her were true, he thought.

"Joker," Scarecrow said seriously, "I hope he's trustworthy."

"I trust him just enough," Joker replied winking. "He's from Falcone, so I don't think we have much to worry about. So, ready to do a bit of work?"

They nodded as Joker pushed his way into the bank. He fired his weapon into the air startling the people inside. Some ducked under desks others screamed and tried to run, but stopped when they saw the door covered by the criminals. Joker smiled and called out to them, "I hope you fine people don't mind if my friends and I make a tiny withdrawal today."

Scarecrow called out, "If anyone has any problem with this, let me show you what might happen."

He grabbed a man in a suit who was cowering in the corner. He pulled him by the hair and said to him, "I'll give you something to really be scared of!"

He released some gas in the man's face. His eyes widened as he inhaled the fear toxin. The man began screaming and writhing around uncontrollably, trying to rip scorpions off his body. Some bystanders gasped as the man began ripping chunks of hair from his scalp. Blood stained the marbled floor as the man rolled on the floor screaming. Someone shouted something about calling 911, but it was already too late for him. He had taken a pen and stabbed his own neck with it. Scarecrow regarded everyone who was watching, "So, as you can see, if you don't cooperate, you might end up like him."

"Ivy," Joker said, "let's go meet the manager. I'm sure you can get him to open the safe for us."

They strode across the room to the offices across from the entrance. Joker again fired his gun, making people jump out of their shoes. He and Ivy entered the office of the manager and saw him huddled in the corner talking on the phone frantically. Trying to get the police there as soon as they could make it. Joker looked over at Ivy. She knew what to do. She slinked over to him and pulled him up by his tie. Her pheromones were already hard at work. The man dropped the phone as he could feel overwhelming pleasure wash over him. She leaned in and kissed him deeply on the lips. What am I supposed to do? He thought. He couldn't remember what he was in the middle of doing for this beautiful young woman.

"What can I do for you ma'am?" He asked, he couldn't believe how gorgeous she was! He was aching for her, and would do anything to get her!

Ivy said in a very husky tone, "I need you to open the vault for me. I need to make a withdrawal."

He nodded and made his way out of the office and over to the vault which was situated behind the bank tellers. They watched in amazement as he opened it and let them walk right in. He ached for another kiss, anything, even just a touch from her. He leaned in to plant his lips on her. She kissed him and he went limp. "Sorry honey," she said, "but I only give one kiss. The second one is deadly."

She and Joker entered into the vault and started filling duffel bags with the stacks of money that lay within. Michael watched them as they worked quickly. He could feel his heart racing. This was such a rush! How could he not want to be a part of this? He was going to make a lot of money for just picking up the Joker and bringing him here. He could feel his luck changing. Scarecrow stood next to him, tapping his foot. Michael shivered, he did not want to get anywhere near Scarecrow. From what he had just seen, the man was dangerous. And that was more than enough reason to keep away. Joker and Ivy were nearly finished. Michael looked outside the bank to see that the police were nowhere to be seen. How was that even possible? Where were they?

Joker and Ivy walked back over to them, duffel bags filled to capacity with cash. He said, "Into the van! Let's get out of here!"

They ran out into the falling snow and quickly clambered into the van. Michael hopped into the driver seat and sped away as quickly as the snow covered streets would allow. He was in amazement at what they had just pulled off. They robbed the biggest bank in Gotham and it only took them about fifteen minutes to do it! Everything went smooth, from getting in to breaking into the vault to the escape. It was almost too easy, he thought. Joker was laughing as he sat in the back of the van with Ivy and Scarecrow. Scarecrow had taken his mask off and was now counting some of the cash. Ivy fingered a stack of bills and smiled. Michael turned his attention back to the road, and called back to Joker, "Where to now boss?"

Joker looked up at him and said excitedly, "I've got the most beautiful place near the docks. It's the perfect safehouse. Take us there!"

Michael nodded, "Will do!" The van drove off towards Gotham City Docks, and he knew that life was going to change for him. This was only the first step. I just wish it wasn't snowing so heavily, he thought.