Slipping back into the hall Batman glanced side to side waiting for Harley. It had easily been 5 minutes yet she was no where to be found. His instinct was to leave her behind and continue in his heart said otherwise: If they had been followed she would be the easiest target. There was also the possibilities she had run scared or never been trustworthy at all. The whole point of this journey was to put the shattered pieces of his mind together. He would press on without Harley, there was no other choice. As he started to walk down the dark walkway the click of a door knob broke his stride.
"Harley" he whispered running back toward the door.
"I've never seen this place in my life" Harley whispered as she slipped out the door.
"Quinn, what's going on"
Glancing down to her hands he noticed a file and name plate similar to the one he'd found in the room he'd searched.
"It has my name. It's from the asylum. I don't know what its doing here"
"Give it to me" He demands switching to detective mode he takes the plate and examines it thoroughly. "It's not your name Harley. This is a Dr. Green-man"
"No way I saw it with my own eyes!" she exclaimed, stomping her foot.
Handing her the the name plate , he looks back toward the room Harley just came from. Should he check it again considering she was hallucinating? Yet again he wasn't the most reliable source either. He'd been seeing Joker everywhere and it would be any second that he'd be seeing him again.
"It says my name I'm telling ya" she grumbled holding the plate closer than further away.
"How long can you hold your breath?" Batman asked, turning back to face Harley.
"Let's see how long can you stand there looking grumpy like that" she giggled.
Grabbing her hand tightly he lead her back to the room he had just investigated. There had been an oxygen machine in the corner that had still worked.
"Breathe out. Then breathe this in. Hold your breath as long as you possibly can, then read me the name plate." he demanded holding up the end of the tube.
Timidly she let all air out of her lungs and breathed in the pure oxygen, looking to Batman for approval. "Wait about thirty seconds." he mummered. Holding up the name tag it became clear this had been an illusion. The air burst out of her like a popped balloon, she imagined her face must be priceless about now.
"It's not mine" she cheered.
"I know" Batman said flatly "What that does mean is we're being influenced by a airborne form of mind control"
Harley gulped looking around and realizing the feeling of clarity was fading away. She had only heard of the Mad Hatters concoction through stories, that usually involved Batman. Thugs all around the city talked of The Mad Hatter staging a fake cure to put The Dark Knight under its influence. No one knew if it worked, and she knew for a fact Batman was back in action within and hour with no signs of fatigue.
"Mad Hatter?" she asked cocking her head and tugging on her ponytail.
"Most likely"
They had to get to these files and they had gone through to much not to find them. But to continue deeper into the building would mean divulging deeper into there own minds. These two unlikely partners in crime looked at each other, waiting for a verdit.
"This drug,it's not as strong as the one I've experienced. I think it's safe to continue so long as neither of us forget. What we're seeing is in no way real or tangible." he said.
"Yeah! Plus we can take the oxygen tank with us, leave it in the hallway and take a deep breath before each room!"
"Not a bad idea Quinn" he laughed a bit, just a hint of a smile on his dirty face.
These were the moments she loved, when just for a moment the Jokah in him shone through. Though at first she believed that He lived through Batman and would soon take him over. She had to admit she liked the fact Batman was always serious, but just as insane. The laughter they shared was earned, not just a facade to hide there feelings from the world. As they walked out of the room, Harley wheeled the oxygen behind her.