Author's Note: Hello everyone! Welcome to my first Batman fanfiction! Here's a couple of facts about this fic. 1) There probably won't be any hard-core shipping or distinct couples. I'm not really planning on that happening, but then again you never know! This is fanfiction, after all! 2) There are limited original characters in this story. I'm planning on only one named original character, and he's for the plot's sake. No OCXCANON, I swear. 3) There will most definitely be fluff moments, and I can promise you unlikely alliances. 4) There will be almost every major (and a few not-so-major!) Batman villains in this fanficiton! It's gonna be fun!

That's all I've got! I'll try to keep my ANs limited from this point on! Enjoy the story!

Gotham City was completely silent. There was no screaming, no cries for help, no gunshots, no skidding tires, no maniacal laughter, and no ferocious growls. The atmosphere was stifling, as if the city didn't want to be so well-behaved, but it had no choice.

It was making Harley Quinn paranoid.

She shivered a little as she peered out of the doorway of the abandoned apartment she was hiding out in. Her blue eyes turned skyward, and she was disappointed to see the dark clouds overhead barren. No bat-signal or searchlights were dancing along the dismal puffs, broadcasting trouble and excitement.

All was still.

Gotham had been this way for the past few months, ever since that rotten Peace Movement had shown up. They rushed in with their high-tech guns and traps, sweeping all the criminals off of the streets and into Blackgate or Arkham; whichever institution was best suited to their 'needs'.

The Peace Movement, or PM, was bad news. Harley had heard from Edward Nigma, (before he was captured), that their boss had dethroned the Batman, and now ran the city's nightlife. He had eyes and ears all over the city. No place, no one, was safe from him. His name was Anthony Christenson, and he was Commissioner Gordan's new 'secret weapon'.

He was terrifying. Anthony reminded Harley of Lyle Bolton, one of the old heads of security at Arkham. Bolton had used blackmail, torture, physical punishment and harassment on the inmates; anything to instill a deep fear of misbehavior into them. He did anything to keep the inmates in line and quiet. It got to the point where no one even tried to escape anymore out of the pure terror at the thought of what Bolton would do to them if their attempts failed.

But Anthony wasn't confined to just Arkham Asylum, and he wasn't just some run-of-the-mill security guard like Bolton. His jurisdiction, with the approval of Commisioner Gordon, was city-wide. So, in a way, he was more like Batman than he was like Bolton, because Anthony could do whatever he wanted in order to get the criminals off the street. The only reason he was more effective than the Bat was his army of personally hired and trained men that would do whatever he told them to. They'd patrol the streets, the prison, and the asylum, all at the same time. His supply of men seemed to be unlimited. Batman only had his handful of bat-brats.

Currently, Harley was one of the fortunate few who had evaded capture by the Peace Movement. As far as she knew, she was the only person to slip through the patrols' fingers.

She was all alone, and she missed her puddin'. He had been one of the first to get picked up. Being sneaky and slipping under the radar just wasn't the Joker's style, as anyone could tell you.

Harley ducked back inside the apartment, deciding that it was time for her to change locations. She quickly gathered up her few belongings and wrapped herself up in an elegant, long black coat. Looking both ways before exiting, she left through the back exit, trying not to be seen by anyone until she could get onto the main street and blend into the crowd.

She had almost made it down to the street when a bright light was suddenly shining in her face. Harley threw a hand up to shield her eyes and peered around her fingers at the source.

"Evening, ma'am."

Uh-oh. One of the patrols.

Harley smiled as genuinely as she could, with a well-practiced hint of innocent confusion. "Good evening indeed, officer." She disguised her distinct accent as best she could. "Is there a problem?"

"Well that depends. Are we going to have any trouble here, Miss Harleen Quinzel? Or are you going to come along quietly?"

Harley's eyes widened. "Saw right through me, huh?" She immediately dropped her bag and raised her fists, ready to fight her way through him and to the street, where she could disappear in the crowds of people. The officer motioned with his hand, and two more men stepped in from around the corner. Harley wavered, and glumly lowered her arms. "You've got me surrounded, huh?"

"Yes ma'am. Now, get on the ground, Miss, and this'll be over shortly." The officer grabbed Harley by the shoulder and roughly pushed her to the ground before she could even move of her own accord. "Put your arms behind your back, please." Harley moved her hands to comply, but her large coat was getting in the way. "Ah, your coat. Here, let me help you take it off, and get you into these cuffs."

"You creep-!" Harley started, but stopped as the man was suddenly lifted off of her.

"You should not harass a woman in this manner, filth." The officer was thrown to the side, hitting his head hard against one of the buildings, and immediately losing consciousness.

"It is disrespectful."

Harley quickly jumped to her feet and whirled around to face her rescuer before they were set upon by the surrounding officers. Her eyes widened.

It was Bane.

Bane?

One of the most dangerous men in Gotham City, the man who broke Batman's spine, was rescuing her? He hadn't been caught already? Harley thought that he would have been number two on the Peace Movement's most-wanted list, behind her puddin', of course.

Harley didn't understand his sudden appearance one bit, but decided not to think about it too much. He was helping her out of a sticky situation, and that was all that mattered at the moment. She grinned widely up at the large man. "Thanks!"

He nodded once, and she jumped back around to face the incoming PM officers. She kicked, punched, bobbed, weaved, jumped, spun, kart-wheeled; she pulled out all the stops, literally fighting for life as she knew it. Harley made it a point to try and always have her back to Bane, and he was doing the same to her.

The two fought well together. She would distract multiple officers with her graceful and swift movements as Bane efficiently took out patrolmen left and right with his devastating blows. Their work was done in a matter of minutes. Harley sent a kick smartly to the side of an officer's head, sending him into unconsciousness with the rest of his troop.

Harley leaned against one of the alley walls and took a few deep breaths, admiring their work. She looked over at Bane after she regained her composure, but was shocked to find he was lumbering down the alley.

Without her.

Hastily, Harley grabbed up her belongings and dashed after him. She matched his pace, and then looked up at him, a small pout on her face.

He looked down at her, and raised his eyebrows slightly. The blonde broke into a grin. "You ain't leavin' me alone, buddy."

Bane looked ahead, impassive. "You are incapable of taking care of yourself?"

Harley frowned, offended. "Of course I can! But, you're the first friendly face I've seen around, and we were a pretty good team back there."

The large man looked at her again. "'Friendly'?"

"Friendly, meaning not PM, Batman, or the police."

"Ah." Bane grabbed Harley by the wrist and tugged her into a small alcove. She opened her mouth to protest, but Bane put a finger to his lips. Suddenly, a bright searchlight lit up the alley from above them and the air was filled with loud whirring.

It was a patrol helicopter.

The two remained motionless as the copter passed overhead, looking for its downed officers and/or the elusive convicts. After a few minutes, when they deemed movement was safe once again, they bolted out of the alcove and down the alley. Harley didn't know where they were going, but Bane seemed to have a destination in mind, so she just followed him as closely as possible.

Within a few short minutes, Bane ducked into a hat shop, and Harley bolted in after him. They didn't turn any lights on, in order to keep the shop inconspicuous, but Harley recognized it almost immediately.

"Isn't this Jervis' shop?" she asked with a small smile on her face.

Bane nodded once as he sat down heavily on the counter. "He was captured. I am sure he does not mind us using it."

Harley walked over to one of the racks of hats and began to idly try them on. Bane watched her for a moment, collecting his thoughts, and then spoke up.

"What do you know?"

Harley smiled at him from under a wide-brimmed hat covered in fruit. "I was going to ask you that!" She removed the hat and began selecting another. "I don't know much. You're honestly the first one of us I've seen since Mistah Jay was locked up."

Bane frowned slightly. "You don't know what's happened at all?"

Harley turned toward him, more serious. "What?"

"That Anthony Christenson's out to get Batman as well?"

Harley's mouth fell open. "Is he an idiot?"

"It would seem so."

Harley shoved a top hat on her head. "Did Batsy get captured?"

Bane shook his head. "Not as far as I can tell." He stood and wandered into the back room. "I have been trying to track the Batman down," he called from the other room. "But no luck yet."

Harley put another top hat over the one she was wearing. "Why would you want to do something like that?" she called.

"He can help us." came the response.

Harley scoffed. "The guy who's been beatin' the crap outta us all these years is gonna help us out? Gimme a break."

Bane returned with two cups of water and handed one to her. "You do not know him as I do." He smiled slightly. "He does not take kindly to those who muscle in on his city."

"I know you speak from experience." Harley took a long gulp from the cup.

"Are you so against the idea of the Batman aiding us that you will not help me track him? If so, you will be a liability, and we should just part ways now."

Harley laughed. "At this point, I think anything is a better plan than what I was doing."

Bane raised an eyebrow. "Sitting around waiting to get caught?"

Harley nodded. "Sitting around waiting to get caught." She polished off her water and slammed the cup down on the counter triumphantly. "Alright, Bane, me ol' chum! Where do you propose we start?"