Harley Quinn meandered around the old penthouse suite which was her and Mista J's new hideout. It wasn't as dilapidated as some of their other lairs- the building had only been abandoned for a few years, after all, so most of the structure was still all right. The furnishings were a bit spare and ratty, and the place as a whole was filthy, but that wasn't anything she couldn't fix. A little dusting, some redecorating, maybe a controlled fire here and there, and the place'd be a real home. Lost in a haze of domestic bliss, Harley wandered into the main room, to find the Joker sitting in an armchair before the window. The Crown Prince of Crime had a look of deep sadness on his usually merry face, which caused Harley to race to his side.

"Puddin'! What's wrong?! Are ya okay?!" She cried, bringing a hand up to the Joker's forehead. Even as she did it, she realized it was a bad idea. The Joker did not like being touched, and wasn't hesitant about reminding her of that fact. She braced herself for the blow… which never came. Instead the Joker let out a deep sigh.

"I've got Villains Block, Harl. I'm out of ideas. I've been wracking my brain ever since we bribed our way out of Arkham, and I just can't think of anything new to do to this dreadful town, My muse is GONE!" the clown sighed again. "Maybe I really am sane. Maybe it's time to retire, and let younger hands take up the reins of villainy. We could get a nice place in Florida, and spend my golden years quietly killing tourists."

Harley gasped at that- she remembered too well the last time the Joker had given up crime, and how horrible it had been for her. With a shudder, she vowed to keep that from happening again. Moving around behind the chair, she put her hands on his shoulders and began to gently massage him. "Don't talk silly, Mista J. I bet there's lotsa stuff ya can do! Ya could poison the water supply; give everyone a terminal case of the giggles."

The Joker shook his head. "Already tried that once. Batman stopped me before I could even begin dumping the toxin. He's such a killjoy."

"Oh. Okay, ya could try explosives- blow up Gotham Stadium during a Knights game!"

"Tried that too. Batman again."

"Well, ya could always kidnap-"

"Tried it. Batman."

Harley scowled. "Ya didn't even here who I think we should snatch!"

Joker sighed. "It doesn't matter, Harl; I've kidnapped everyone of importance in this town at least once. The mayor, the city council members, the police chief, the commissioner… Everyone but the Postmaster! Batman stopped me each and every time. Face it Harl, I'm in a rut. There just isn't anything NEW for me to do!"

Hesitantly, she decided to risk an opinion- always a danger with the Joker. "Puddin? Why don't ya try one of yer old plans again? Maybe fix it so that this time, ol' Butt-man CAN'T stop us? I mean, it ain't really repeating yourself if it didn't work the first time, right?"

The Joker rose from his seat and spun around to glare angrily down at his moll. With a squeak, Harley started to back away, but the Joker moved forward with her.

"Now you listen here, my sweet- the Joker does NOT do reruns! Any idiot can keep trying the same thing over and over until he gets it right! Killer Moth, Firefly, Lockdown- they all have ONE shtick they keep doing, over and over again ad nauseum! Only a true criminal genius is capable of coming up with NEW schemes each and every time, the way I do!" At this point, the Joker seemed to just run out of steam. HE sat down on a nearby crate and let his shoulders sag. "Or at least, I used to."

Harley thought frantically, trying to find some way to cheer her Puddin' up. Despite appearances, Harley wasn't a stupid woman- childish, yes, but far from stupid. But creative planning was not her strong point and never had been. Instead, she fell back on something she'd learned in school.

Sitting down on the Joker's lap, she gently cradled his head against her chest. "Puddin', ya wanna hear something I picked up in University? When I was in the third year of my Bachelor's, I hadda take an art class. It was real basic, Art 101, y'know? Anyway, the professor a this class was this snooty European type- had this real snarky voice, too, and kept sayin' how much better Europe was than America. But he said one thing that really stuck with me"

Joker looked up at his girl curiously. She rarely spoke about her university days (or any time before meeting him) and he wondered what it was that prompted this trip down memory lane. Sensing his interest, Harley continued with her anecdote.

"He said that the essence of artistic genius was to see old things through new eyes. That all great art begins when someone looks at the world in a new way. Maybe that's what you really need- a change of perspective ta kick start the old creative juices."

The Joker looked at her dubiously. "You think so?"

"Sure!" Harley enthused "Look at ol' Mista Freeze! He's tried that whole Freeze-Gotham-Solid thing a dozen times or more, right? But tonight he's tryin again, only this time, he's gonna do it in some new way up at Gotham Observatory. He said he got the idea when he looked at aerial photos of the city- said looking at Gotham that way gave him an idea."

The Joker was silent for a moment. Then, he slowly rose to his feet, taking care to set Harley gently onto hers. He bent down, and kissed her on the cheek. "Harley" he said quietly, "You're the best. Go gas up the Jokermobile- Daddy has an idea."

A/N
I know, I should finish my other stories before I start another one, but this idea was just crying out for immediate attention. Anyway, it shouldn't take too long.