Hi Everyone. I'm so sorry it's been so long since I last updated. I was having a major writer's block.
I'm sure people are sort of wondering what Joker is doing in this story. He is very much the antagonist in this piece...well for the moment anyway.
Also another warning is this chapter gets a bit dark so I apologize ahead of time if anyone gets offended.
Anyhoo...I hope you like it and please let me know what you think. :)

"No, I can't. It's not possible." Dr. Crane paced about his office, rubbing his hands through his hair.

"Oh come on Dr. Crane. I used to be a pretty good assistant if you remember," Harley smiled.

Dr. Crane scoffed. "Yeah, look how that turned out."

"I don't recall you complaining at the time." Harley scowled and sank back into her chair. "Is the toxin ready for testing?"

Dr. Crane stood up and moved to the window where rain continued to distort the scenery. "Technically yes, but combining the two compounds together has been unexpectedly difficult."

Harley giggled to herself. "I'm not surprised. Not even Mr. J's chemicals play nicely with others. Don't you have some unruly patients on whom you can test this stuff? I thought that was the whole point of you being here."

Dr. Crane shook his head. "I can't just test new product on anyone. Treating extreme cases of paranoia perfected my fear toxin. When injected, they would have to face every fear that would manifest in their minds. The injections would in a way, burn out the fears of the patient. The vapor I developed later simply drove people into fear-induced comas. It proved incredibly effective when it came to silencing those who simply needed to be settled permanently. This new formula…it can do everything your boss wants, but it's permanent. I have yet to figure out how to make the effect temporary. At this moment, if we were to send this vapor into Gotham, everyone would be rendered a giggling, quivering, vegetable until they all starved to death."

Harley was sitting on the edge of her chair staring wide-eyed at the mad scientist doctor. "Beautiful," she whispered. Dr. Crane turned to meet her gaze and scoffed.

"Beautiful until your boss kills me for not meeting expectations." Harley stood up and moved to the bookshelf. She breathed in the old and musty scent of the volumes that once lined Dr. Crane's office in the university. Her fingers gently caressed the spines.

"So you have tested the toxin?"

Dr. Crane shook his head. "Not on humans thus far. I need a level brain to get an accurate result."

Harley thought for a moment, thumbing through an old textbook on Jungian theory.

"You get called to court quite often don't you Dr. Crane?"

Dr. Crane furrowed his brow. "Yes all the time. Every thug in Gotham is trying to plead insanity to stay out of Blackgate. Why?"

Harley smiled. "Well they're stupid brains, but they're level. Test your toxin on them. If it doesn't work, then they get transferred here to live out their days as a little Arkham artichoke. If it works, then we record the results and they get to rot in Blackgate."

Dr. Crane slammed his hand into the window, knocking raindrops to the ground. "That's genius. Why didn't I think of that? Miss Quinn, you may be just the assistant I needed after all." Harley beamed inside that she had finally done something right. She wanted nothing more than to run home and tell Joker of her triumph, but stared out the window sadly, remembering her banishment.

"Do you remember my working here Dr. Crane?"

The doctor was writing frantic notes in his book, but paused at the sad voice of the unsure blond standing by his window.

"Of course. You found out about your appointment on your convocation day. I was deeply proud. You were one of my top students." Harley gave a small smile.

"Was I any good?" Dr. Crane put his book down and sat back on his desk with crossed arms.

"I thought you were too compassionate, but you were incredibly good at reading people. You always so things that others missed, because you refused to believe in pure evil. Perhaps that's why you fell so hard for the Joker. …I wonder what fears lay in that green haired head of his."

Harley laughed to herself. "I think the only thing Mr. J fears is that one day someone will destroy the Bat before him."

A silence fell between the two, as both were temporarily lost in memory. Harley rubbed her neck and chuckled softly.

"So what do you need to begin testing?" Dr. Crane turned back to his desk and opened his timetable.

"I'm meeting with a fresh convict in two days. I can prepare a new batch of serum, but I need more fear gas from your boss."

"All of Mr. J's supply is in the basement of the Iceberg Lounge. Getting at it shouldn't be a problem. Can you meet me there tonight?"

Dr. Crane raised an eyebrow. "At the Penguin's hideout? Me? Are you serious?"

Harley rolled her eyes. "Do you want the serum or not?"

The doctor's shoulders slumped. "Fine. 10pm?"

Harley settled her itchy wig back onto her head. "It's a date," she smiled, "Meet me at the bar." Just then there was a knock at the door. Dr. Crane straightened his jacket and opened the door to find Aaron Cash standing there nervously. Harley took her leave as Dr. Crane escorted her out.

"Thank you Miss Isley. I will definitely take your advice about Pamela's potting soil into consideration." Harley smiled politely as she left. Cash narrowed his eyes upon seeing Harley, but luckily she skipped down the hall before he had a chance to place her face.

Harley stood outside under her umbrella as Johnny pulled around with the car.

"You know the boss told me to just leave you here. I'm not supposed to pick you up."

-"Take me back to the house John."

"And he definitely said I wasn't to let you within 100 meters of the house."

-"That's great and all John, but I need clothes and supplies. Is he home at the moment?"

"Well, no he's at the club with his blueprints…"

-"…so no problem then. I won't be five minutes." Johnny sighed, knowing he wasn't going to win the argument and turned back into Gotham, making his way to Joker's house. They quietly pulled up to the front.

"Five minutes and that's it." Harley grinned and leapt out of the Bentley. She raced through the front door and bounded up the stairs. Her hyenas jumped at her legs and nibbled on the hem of her dress.

"Not now babies. Momma's on the run." Harley ran into the bedroom, grabbed her suitcase and filled it with whatever clothing and makeup she could fit inside.

By the time Harley emerged from the house with her suitcase, Johnny had driven off, presumably back to the club. Bastard. Harley dragged her case behind her, which luckily had wheels as she made her way down the lonely streets of Gotham to the Gotham Astoria. Bruce Wayne owned the Astoria. Apparently he bought it so he could go swimming or at least that was the story in the tabloids. That guy's crazier than Mr. J. The manager eyed her disheveled appearance, but like most well dressed men, looked the other way when Harley slapped down an envelope full of money on the front desk.

"Room 801 Miss Isley. Please let us know if you will require anything else and welcome to the Gotham Astoria." Harley nodded with a polite smile, took the key gently and made her way to the gold encased elevator. The room was luxurious to the point it made Harley wary of touching anything. She set out her clothes and filled the bathroom with make up and hair appliances. The bathtub was amazingly deep and once filled with hot water and bath oil, Harley's nerves melted into heated bliss. She laughed as the thick foundation she wore slid off her skin and dyed the water a funny shade of peach. There goes my damage deposit. Harley gently scrubbed Harriet off her skin. After draining and refilling the tub with fresh water, Harley laid back and rested her eyes, hoping tonight would go well. A lazy eyebrow was raised when Harley heard her phone buzz.

"Tie or no?" Harley dried her hands before replying.

"Oh definitely tie. Can't lead you around without one." She internally cursed her flirty impulses as she hit send, but the guilt was only a moment.

Harley put the finishing touches to her face. She loved how the dark eye shadow made her blue eyes glow. Her dark red lipstick filled each grin with evil intent. She kept her hair in loose curls, which allowed the red and blue to play together. Harley carefully snapped her netted stockings into her garter and slid her low cut, high rise, red dress over everything. She loved how the satin shimmered in the light. Once she closed the last snaps on her black heels, Harley put her lock picking kit into her clutch, next to her lipstick and made her way downstairs to get a cab.

The Iceberg Lounge would normally never let something so pedestrian as a cab so much as pull up in front of their club, but once Harley stepped out, the doormen straightened up and stared ahead. Harley had to admit, she kind of enjoyed having such an insane reputation. As she stepped into the club, she felt the temperature drop. Cobblepot liked to keep the air cool and the music fast. It was much more upbeat than the chunky rock that often played at The Knife Edge. Harley felt a small amount of pity for the dancers whose costumes seemed to be holding on for dear life. As she took in the blue ice of the walls, Harley smirked when she caught sight of her highly out of place doctor. Dr. Crane was dressed in a well tailored black suit with a dark blue shirt instead of a white shirt, but the same old black tie. Harley walked over, putting one foot directly in front of the other to make her hips sway. When Dr. Crane's gaze finally met Harley's, his mouth and drink nearly hit the floor. Harley quickly caught the tumbler.

"Now now Doctor. We don't want to have any accidents our first night out, do we?"

Dr. Crane smirked as he took the glass back from Harley.

"I suppose I don't need to tell you how stunning you look tonight."

Harley giggled and toyed with her doctor's tie. "Tell me anyway," she whispered.

Dr. Crane cleared his throat. "You never dressed like this when you were a student."

Harley's eyes turned to the rest of the club, scouting for enemies. "Maybe I did and you just never noticed."

Dr. Crane took Harley's tie teasing hand and wrapped both of his hands around it.

"Oh I promise I would have noticed." Harley's breath hitched slightly as Dr. Crane placed the softest kiss on her knuckles.

"By the way, your boyfriend is here with Mr. Cobblepot." Harley pretended to get into the music.

"Where?"

Dr. Crane hopped off his barstool and stood behind Harley, holding onto her hips.

"They've been in his office for about an hour now," Dr. Crane breathed against Harley's neck. Harley turned around and once again grabbed Dr. Crane by his tie and pulled him onto the dance floor.

"Harley, what are you…"

"…we'll need to move to the basement soon. The best way to get lost is in the crowd. Besides, I want to see your moves Doctor," Harley smiled as she began to sway to the music. Dr. Crane looked panicked. Harley loved every moment. She took Dr. Crane's hands and placed them on her hips. Then she spun around so her back was to her doctor.

"Pull me close," she whispered. Harley grinned as her hips were violently pulled backwards against Dr. Crane's pelvis. Harley ran her hands through Dr. Crane's hair and as she sank lower, she let her hands roam his body, wondering if it still matched her memory. When Harley straightened up, she slowly circled her doctor, letting her hands slide over his form until they were eye to eye. Dr. Crane turned his head to the balcony that overlooked the club.

"Joker's on the balcony." Harley smiled as she wrapped her leg around Dr. Crane, the good doctor catching her thigh and rubbing intoxicating circles above her stocking with his thumb.

"Don't worry about him. He likes to watch," Harley whispered as she removed Dr. Crane's glasses and placed them neatly in his jacket pocket. His eyes sparkled and Harley was reminded of how easy it was to get lost within them.

Dr. Crane smirked. "That doesn't sound like the Joker. He doesn't strike me as one who shares."

Harley giggled as she led Dr. Crane further along the dance floor. "We call this the last dance. Men usually end up dead when the music ends."

"Usually?"

Harley turned and wrapped her arms around Dr. Crane's neck, dragging her nails across his scalp. "Not this time. This is me making a point." The doctor and his assistant disappeared behind a heavy metal door.

"What point would that be?" Harley knelt before a large vault door and pulled out her lock picking kit, refusing to answer her doctor's question.

Dr. Crane furrowed his brow in mild confusion, but remained silent as Harley picked away at the thick lock. Suddenly a low thud rang out and the vault door opened.

Dr. Crane stood in disbelief. "Cobblepot still has mechanical doors?"

Harley shrugged as she returned her tools to her bag. "What can I say? Ossie's old-school."

The vault door was heavy and opened to a room encased with old brick. Dr. Crane ran his fingers gingerly over the worn walls.

"This looks like an old bootlegger storage room."

Harley nodded. "Ossie comes from old money as it were. His family were bootleggers in Gotham during prohibition and I guess were pretty successful at it too."

Dr. Crane nodded thoughtfully until his eyes landed on the huge stacks of money that sat in the centre of the room. The cubes of bills were the size of dinner tables. Dr. Crane shook his head. "Does the old man not believe in bank deposits?"

Harley giggled as she searched through the plastic bins. "Would you put your money in a Gotham bank right now?" Dr. Crane again nodded and turned to help Harley search the bins.

"AHA. Here they are." Harley removed a cloth satchel that contained a dozen test tubes, all neatly organized in a row. Dr. Crane gently slid one of the tubes out of its cover and held it to the light. Harley wrapped her arms around the doctor's waist and leaned her head on his shoulder to share in the sight of the glowing green liquid.

"Will this be enough?"

Dr. Crane nodded, slipping his arm around Harley. "Oh yes. I only need a small sample, then I can replicate the rest. This chemical compound is actually incredibly simple and should be easy to reproduce."

"Give me a little credit Doc. You're holding one of my finest concoctions." Dr. Crane and Harley were both caught off guard by the purple suited vision leaning against the vault door.

"It wasn't a slight against your formula Joker," Dr. Crane replied, returning the test tube to its holder.

Joker slowly stepped forward. "I wasn't talking about the toxin." Harley began to rub her neck nervously before obediently stepping over the bins to take her place at Joker's side.

Dr. Crane tucked the satchel into his jacket. "It's simple but effective."

Joker laughed and wrapped a long arm around Harley's waist. "Yeah, she's got her uses." Harley uttered a breathy giggle while Dr. Crane attempted to hide his contempt with indifference.

Harley pretended to pout as she danced her fingers across Joker's chest. "When do I get to come home puddin'? I miss you."

Joker wore a gleeful grin as he turned to Dr. Crane. "Are we ready with the toxin?"

Dr. Crane removed his glasses from his pocket and returned them to his eyes. "We will begin human trials tomorrow."

Joker returned to Harley and gripped her chin roughly between his thumb and forefinger. "Then I'm afraid pooh, you'll just have to stay in that hotel of yours until the good doctor is done."

Joker gently drew the outline of Harley's face with his gloved fingers, tucking stray strands of blond hair behind her ear. "Tell me something Doc," Joker growled low as he positioned Harley in front of him. He wrapped one arm across her hips and one tightly across her shoulders.

"Have you enjoyed playing with my little toy here?"

Dr. Crane couldn't hide his contempt any longer. "Harley is not a toy Joker. She's a person."

Joker threw his head back as a metallic cackle echoed off the bricks. "That's rich coming from you. Your asylum is full of little toys for you to play with. People have the will to make decisions for themselves. Toys simply respond to the buttons you push." Joker proved his point by nipping gently at Harley's neck, causing her to gasp and unconsciously bend her head to the side to give her clown prince additional access. Dr. Crane's face remained expressionless, but his eyes burned with angry fire.

Joker's eyes went wide with feigned innocence. "You mean to tell me Doc, you haven't taken her out of the playpen?" Joker grabbed at one of Harley's breasts and began to harshly massage it. Harley let out a soft moan.

"Push this one's buttons in the right order," Joker's other hand lowered and raised Harley's skirt, where he pressed his fingers hard against her centre, causing Harley to cry out. "And she's like a God damned music box." A single tear rolled down Harley's cheek as her body betrayed her. She thought that she was above embarrassment, but the Joker was the most addicting drug in the world and her body couldn't help but react. Harley gritted her teeth to hide her reaction as Joker easily slid his fingers into her centre. Her cry was a bloodied mixture of ecstasy and hatred.

"That's enough Joker!" The sudden rise in Dr. Crane's voice made Joker stop his torture as a low growl spread across his lips. He smiled as his hands released Harley and he shoved her forward, knocking her off balance on her heels.

"Go ahead Doc. Have a turn with her." Harley ran into the darkest corner of the vault and sank down, drawing her knees to her chin. Dr. Crane wanted nothing more than to flood Joker with his own toxin there and then, but remained motionless.

"Be careful with my music box Doc. She's been played so many times, her notes may be out of tune." Joker turned on his heel and began making his way upstairs.

"I expect to hear of the progress with your toys tomorrow. Bye-bye Dr. Crane."

Dr. Crane listened carefully until he could hear Joker turn the corner at the top of the stairs. He growled lowly in his throat as his nails cut into his hands through clenched fists.

A small noise came from the corner stirring Dr. Crane out of his rage.

"Miss Quinn?" Dr. Crane searched among the boxes and bricks of money until he saw a small figure curled up in the furthest corner. He stood in front of Harley and sat on his knees in front of her.

"Harley…I…," Dr. Crane was lost for words.

Harley looked up at him like a wounded child and flung her arms around his neck. Dr. Crane rubbed her back gently and ran his other hand softly through her hair and she sobbed into his shoulder.