Bruce watched the snow form in the sky from behind the windows of his penthouse. The towering sky scrapers of Gotham city only added to the spectacular sight before him. It would've been breathtaking, if Mr. Wayne had actually been paying any attention. He was in a sort of trance really, painful thoughts, recollections of the past few month had begun to rot in his mind.
Rachel, Harvey Dent, the Joker. He didn't know where to go from here. Rachel and Harvey were dead, and the Joker had been put away; not in a cell, but a padded room with a straight jacket. As if that would hold him. Bruce knew it wouldn't.
"What's next for me Alfred?" He said aloud as the distinct sounds of his faithful Butlers footsteps were noticed. "Scarecrow. The Joker. What's next for me? What else does Gotham have to offer?"
Alfred set Bruce's breakfast on the table in front of him. "You talk like Gotham is always under attack."
"There's always something out there. But this times, I don't know what I'm looking for." He looked down at his mask. Always.
"I don't know either, sir. But I think that you should enjoy the peace and quiet while you can, before something new comes along." Alfred gave his opinions and left the room without another word.
Bruce stared out the window with a look of annoyance on his face. He would have to go hunting. He needed to find someone. There had to be some villain out there, willing to strike now that they had the opportunity.
Gotham needed protecting, and not even the Batman knew what from.
"Ms. Quinzel-" the voice was muffled and went unnoticed by Harleen as she daydreamed about escaping her personal prison; often referred by school staff, other upperclassmen, and "mature" adults, as "school".
"Ms. Quin-" The seventeen-year-old yawned, staring absent-mindedly out the window at her friends ditching. She tugged on the strings of her hat and glanced up at the clock. 1:20. "Jesus, hurry up." Harleen shook herself out of her daze, noticing the vein bulging out of her teachers left temple.
"Uhm…" She tried to explain.
"Save it, " Mr. Jansen muttered with a small sigh, and then in a louder voice he said, "Hand in your tests, class." His voice boomed as he looked down at her with a glare. She's finished her test 10 minutes before, she chose to ignore him.
The remaining 20 minutes of class were spent planning out the way to spent the remainder of her day.
Seeping
Eating
Her needs would be easily met.
Later...
As she rummaged through her locker after class, she overheard random bits of conversations.
"How long do you think it'll be before the Joker makes a break for it?"
"Jake, you're sick."
"The news said there's another killer on the loose-"
Harleen rolled her eyes, shoving her chemistry textbook In her locker.
"They call her… uh…"
"I can't remember,"
"It was poison… something."
"Poison Ivy, that's it!"
The conversation consisted of eight different people repeating what they'd heard on the news.
"Are you sure Ivy was the killer? The news was also talking about someone else, like, the… the Riddler or… something."
"That's dumb."
"Yeah, he's just a Joker wannabe."
Harleen slammed her locker shut and retreated to the busses.