After cleverly obtaining the Ocean Sapphire diamond, the Joker had to give praise to his two blonde-headed partners in crime. The two girls were absolutely giddy to receive positive words from him, and they could hardly stand it. Sophie definitely wasn't used to the Joker saying a nice word about her, so she was especially pleased. She felt that finally she really felt like part of their gang.

One evening, the Joker dragged them all down to an old abandoned warehouse. Harley and Sophie stood anxiously beside him. Sophie gripped tightly to Harley's arm, a place she seemed to be stuck permanently (greatly amusing Harley.) Neither Harley nor Sophie had any idea just who they were meeting, but they waited in anticipation. As Bugs and Rock wheeled carts of huge metal containers inside, Sophie gasped loudly, her eyes lighting up with excitement.

"Hey, Mister Joker, are those things for blowing up balloons? Are we gonna have a party? I love parties!" Sophie cried, happily. "Can we get cupcakes? Huh? Can we?"

The Joker laughed as Bugs and Rock wheeled more carts into the building. "Oh, we're gonna have a party, alright, Sweets. Just not the kind you're thinking of, I'm afraid. There's no helium in those babies!"

Bugs and Rock finished their duty, and Joker all but kicked them out of the warehouse. It was bad enough he was stuck with Harley and Sophie, and he didn't want any other annoying distractions.

"What do ya think Mister Joker's gonna do, Harley?" Sophie whispered quietly. "I don't like it here, y'know. It's so... dark."

Harley smiled a little. "Aw, c'mon, sweetie. There's nothing scary around here. Except maybe Bugs and Rock's breath. Yuk!"

Sophie giggled loudly at Harley's joke, making the Joker glare angrily at her. She gasped and covered her mouth with her hand, trying to suppress her laughter, but she couldn't help it. She was still laughing as the front door of the building opened slowly. Dr. Jonathan Crane stepped inside as if he had materialized out of the thick, gray fog which lingered outside. Even the Joker knew calling such fiend "Jonathan Crane" was almost an insult to his current frightening appearance. Even someone as menacing as the Joker had to respect Scarecrow's persona. Harley gasped, happily, her smile widening to see a familiar face. Sophie gasped too, but out of pure shock at seeing a creature like the Scarecrow. It was like he stepped out of every nightmare she'd ever had, and she felt completely sick from fear just looking at him.

"Oh, hiya, Scarecrow!" Harley said, giving him a happy little wave. "Long time no see, huh? I shoulda known you were involved if we're in creepy freaky place like this!"

"Nice to see you as well, Harley," said Scarecrow, glancing her way. He noticed Sophie holding on for dear life to Harley's arm. She was someone new he'd never met before. He liked meeting new people...especially ones who were as afraid as Sophie so clearly was. "Oh? And who is this adorable little cherub you have here? Since when are you into babysitting sweet little children, Joker?" He asked, chuckling a little at the very idea of Joker as a doting father-figure.

"Oh, we're not babysitting, silly! She's part of the gang now," said Harley, proudly, squeezing Sophie's cheek with her free hand. "Our little sweetie pie is really useful!"

Scarecrow laughed again, laying his eyes onto Sophie. He loved that she was so terrified. He loved terror. "Useful, eh?"

Sophie looked in Scarecrow's black eyes, and felt all the color drain from her face. She knew had her face not already been painted, it would have been the same color it was at that time - completely white. Her heart beat wildly in her chest, and she held Harley so tightly she thought she'd pull her arm completely off. Scarecrow merely took one step towards them, and Sophie gasped in fear, moving away from him as fast as she could. She found herself running to the Joker, and even she didn't know why. The Joker would just assume (and probably enjoy) put Sophie in danger than protect her from it. Yet, with the Joker being a big, strong man, Sophie figured she'd try her chances at his heart being soft on a rare occasion. She hid behind him, eyes shut, holding his coat-tail. She wanted to shield herself from looking at the horrible thing known as Scarecrow.

The Joker laughed loudly, quite amused at the situation he was seeing. He'd never seen Sophie so terrified of anything before, and he quite enjoyed it. "Look at this, Scarecrow! You don't even have to poison her and she's already trembling in her tights!" He grabbed Sophie by her arm and thrust her in front of him. "Come on, Sweets. We don't have time for this! Quit fooling around!"

Joker angrily threw Sophie aside like a sack of potatoes. Luckily, Harley was able to catch her in her arms just before she crashed into heavy crates and boxes. Sophie wasted no time in running behind Harley this time, her eyes wide, and gasping in fear. She figured hiding behind someone was the safest place to be, even if she was still near the terrifying creature.

Harley reached around and took Sophie's arm, pulling her into a comforting hug. She felt awful seeing just how afraid her little Sophie was. "Oh, sweetie. Don't worry, okay? Don't worry," Harley said quietly, gently pushing Sophie's hair behind her ears. "He's on our side, remember?"

Sophie couldn't stop her entire body from trembling, even as she watched the Scarecrow turn his back and sit at the table with the Joker, paying her no attention. Just the fact he was in the same room as she was made her blood run cold.

"Oh, Harley," Sophie whispered, her voice shaking."Can we get outta here, please? H-he's the scariest thing I've ever seen! I don't wanna be here anymore! Mister Joker can shoot me for all I care. I-I'm so scared!"

Harley bit her lip and looked at the Joker, who was whispering quietly with Scarecrow. Sophie continued to plead in whispers until Harley gently shushed her. "Oh, I'm sorry, cutie. I think we gotta stay put. The last thing we want is for B-Man to see us and come crashing this party. Actually, we should probably be on the lookout for more pint-sized spies on the roof, hm?"

Harley grinned and poked Sophie in her side, trying to get her to laugh. But Sophie was too afraid to feel a thing other than fear, and she just hugged tighter onto Harley. Harley smiled a little and began to stroke Sophie's hair, comfortingly.

"Look, sweetie, Scarecrow's in a costume, just like we are." Harley spoke gently and soothingly, much like a mother. "He's one of the good guys...well, you know what I mean. He's not gonna do anything to you, I promise! He's just doing some business talk with Mister J, that's all!" Harley tried to reassure Sophie as best she could, but she could tell Sophie was already much too afraid to listen to reason.

Suddenly, the Joker's quiet whispering turned louder and angrier. "You can't be serious! Do you have any idea how many jobs we already had to do just to get enough money for your fancy new toxin?" Joker cried out, angrily. "We got exactly how much you told me!"

Scarecrow tapped his wooden stick on the ground, impatiently. "Joker, my friend. As you know, my products aren't exactly what you'd call, cheap. Especially not this latest one, which I'm very, very proud of, even if it is untested. If we're going to make this thing work to the degree in which you're talking, we've got to be realistic, here."

The Joker stood up from the table so fast, he knocked his chair over. "Are you trying to pull a fast one on me, Crane? This isn't the price we talked about!" He spat, boiling mad. "Do not mess with me, or you'll be sorry!"

Scarecrow calmly stood up from the table as well, making Sophie flinch even from a distance. "I'll be sorry? Oh, I believe it is you who would be the most sorry, my dear Joker. After all, combining both my toxin and yours is a very complicated chemical mixing, which requires complicated chemical mixers. If you want this plan to work, you shall play by my rules, and my rules alone."

Joker bawled up his fists in anger, gritting his teeth. "Don't be forgetting that it was my brilliant idea to start with, Crow, and it was my brilliant idea to pollute the subways and water supply with it!"

Harley gasped, loudly. She couldn't believe what she was hearing. "Oh, really, Puddin'? So, that was your plan all along? How totally awesome!"

Scarecrow chuckled and walked towards them. Sophie's heart began beating faster, and she shut her eyes as tight as she could, knowing there was nowhere she could run to escape the man she obviously feared the most.

"Oh yes, really," Scarecrow said, grinning, still amused at Sophie's reaction. "Why, with the combination of the Joker's laughing toxin and my new and improved fear toxin polluting the air and waterways of Gotham City, the entire population will be scared...silly. They'll all be absolutely driven mad by the mix. It actually is quite genius, if you ask me...which is why I was so surprised that the Joker thought it up in the first place."

Harley frowned a little after hearing such an insult. Scarecrow should have known better than to insult the Joker in the presence of Harley Quinn. "Hey, now wait just a minute, Scarecrow. Mister J is a really clever guy. He's got lots of great ideas. Probably better than some of yours, even,'' she said, defensively. "I mean, 'cause aren't scarecrows supposed to be brainless anyway?"

Sophie wasn't sure if it was the fact she was so afraid and it impaired her judgement...or if Harley was just that funny, but she found herself giggling at the "brainless" joke. As long as she was holding onto Harley, Sophie felt just a little braver. She was able to open her eyes, breathe a little easier, and even laugh, apparently.

Harley grinned after realizing the brilliance of her comedy. "Yeah, that was a good one, huh?"

Sophie giggled again, this time a little louder. She stopped laughing though, when she noticed Scarecrow glaring directly at her. It felt like his glare was burning a hole right inside of her chest.

"You all seem to be lacking manners, Harley. You should teach the little one that it's not polite to laugh at someone like me." Scarecrow reached his bony finger out and caressed Sophie's cheeks, gently. She gasped loudly, feeling light-headed the moment his terrible fingers touched her face. He then ran his fingers down Sophie's hair, twirling one of her little pigtails around his finger. Sophie was completely frozen with fear, and could do nothing. Scarecrow fixed his gaze upon Sophie. ''I'm waiting for an apology, little angel."

"I...I..." Sophie gasped, barely able to breathe. Her tongue felt like it was completely coated in sawdust. Scarecrow stood, staring at her with his soulless eyes, and she felt faint. "I..I.." Sophie tried to speak, but her intense feeling of fear finally overcame her, and her eyes spilled over. She buried her face in Harley's shoulder, shaking, whimpering and crying softly.

"We're not finished talking, yet, sweetheart," Scarecrow said, his voice eerie, reaching out towards them.

Harley's heart couldn't take seeing Sophie so upset. She held her as tight as she could and shoved Scarecrow's hands away from them, the anger inside of her building. "Just lay off the kid already, ya jerk!"

In an instant, Scarecrow angrily grabbed Sophie by her tiny pigtails and jerked her head around to face him. Her eyes were wide with fear, and she was unable to move or speak. He touched her cheek again, staring directly at Harley while he did it...almost daring her to continue speaking. "You had better watch yourself, Harley. Don't forget with whom you've been insulting. Disrespect towards me is not tolerated."

"You think I'm afraid of you, pal? You can't do a thing to me. Thanks to Ivy, I'm immune to any kinda crazy toxins you could come up with," said Harley, removing his hands off of Sophie once more. "Your stupid scare toxins would be nothing but a spray of warm ocean water to me. So, if you think I'm even the least bit scared of your little medicines, you really are just as dumb as you look!"

Scarecrow chuckled, which sent more shivers down Sophie's spine. Harley hadn't let up her grip around her, and she was thankful for it.

"Oh Harley, my dear, sweet little fool. My fear toxin isn't the only thing I know how to use to make someone suffer, you know," said Scarecrow. "So if I were you, I would fear who needs to be feared before it's too late."

Harley glared at him, furiously, her fists clenched in anger. "Oh yeah? Is that some kind of a threat, Puppet-Head?"

Scarecrow chuckled again. "Oh, I don't make threats, Miss Quinn. I make promises." He winked at Sophie, laughing again as she gasped and shut her eyes tightly. He turned his attention back to the Joker, who was still fuming beside them, too angry to breathe a word. "Now, back to the original plans, Joker. Are you in or out? I will not wait any longer for your decision."

Joker snapped the briefcase closed in a huff. "You only pretend to be sane, my stuffed friend, but it has to be a lie. Only a crazy person would dare change their price on me at the last minute. What if I told you that I'm taking our...my money and leaving?"

"I'd say you're a bigger fool than I imagined. Don't you realize the power of this plan?" Scarecrow said. "The only way your plan will work is with my new toxic gas fluid, and the only way to get my new toxic gas fluid is to give me all the money I request."

Joker calmly walked towards the exit and waved his hand at Sophie and Harley. "I'm not paying this silly little sock puppet for anything. Forget my big plan. I've got a million more. Come on, girlies! We're outta here!"

Sophie was more than willing to get out, and all but dragged Harley out by her arm. "Hey, we're right behind ya, Mister Joker!"

Scarecrow really lost his temper, then, and he slammed his staff down as hard as he could. "You can't walk out on a deal with me! No one has ever walked out on a deal with me! Do you hear me? No one!"

Harley turned around to face the angered Scarecrow, and mockingly blew a kiss at him. "Well, so it looks like we're gonna be the first ones to walk out on a deal with you, huh?" She was having a ball teasing him."Are we gonna get some kinda trophy or something? I think we should! Maybe I'll even get it engraved! Anyway, it's your loss, you poor, stuffed dummy. I guess what they say is true. Ya snooze, ya loose!" She laughed and stuck her tongue out at him, like a little child. "See ya sooner or later, Puppet-Head!"

Harley burst into giggles then, and Sophie, relieved to be getting out, laughed just as loudly as Harley. Unfortunately, Sophie was in such a hurry to leave, that she tripped over her own feet. She gasped, glancing once more at Scarecrow before scrambling to her feet and sprinting out the door. Scarecrow had watched it all, and he had stared after the gang for a moment. A slow smile came across his face, and he chuckled as evilly as anything.

"Don't worry, Miss Quinn. I have a good feeling we'll see each other much sooner than you think," Scarecrow said, quietly, the rage inside building. "You can count on it."