They went through a list over the next few weeks. Their second visit was Nigma, who had stared directly at Harleen with a curious gaze but didn't say anything. He had done the same thing as Two-face, thrown her in Batman's face just to see how he would react and adding in some odd, incomprehensible riddle to do with fated lovers. Scarecrow was after that and Harleen had tried to remain in the background, if anyone could make her it would be him.

Tracking him down hadn't been easy, he had been laying low, hauled up in a rundown apartment used by drug addicts who he had been testing a new mixture of chemicals on. Batman had gone in first and he had done the opposite of what he had told her. He was growing desperate and in a lapse of judgement, Scarecrow had got the upper hand, injecting him with a large dose of his venom. Batman hadn't gone down but he didn't look like he was alright either.

Harleen hid behind the side of the door frame, holding a tear gas canister in her hand and a batarang in the other. She hoped like hell this worked because she didn't know the first thing about throwing the red piece of metal. She closed her eyes and threw the canister, listening for Scarecrows shout before sneaking in. She followed through with the batarang, only for it to hit the wall limply and fall down. Harleen swore under her breath, that wasn't how she had wanted it to go.

She crouched down next to Batman who was kneeing on the ground, his chest heaving with laboured breathing as he tried to fight off the horrors the venom was inflicting on his mind. Harleen knew he could fight it off, she had seen him do it before but she had a feeling Scarecrow had been waiting for him and he had other plans than to just torment Batman. She tried to help him to his feet, looking around the room and keeping an eye on Scarecrow who was just standing back, watching from behind his mask. Harleen wanted to smack herself, of course tear gas wouldn't affect him with that thing on.

"Jezz you're heavy," Harleen huffed, slinging Batman's arm over her shoulders to prop him up. She yelled out when he pushed her back and into the wall beside them. Her head hit first and she crumpled slightly from the force, groaning in pain.

"Get away from me," he growled out. Scarecrow made his move as Batman crashed back down to one knee. He crouched down, his hands between his legs as he grabbed the top of Batmans mask and lifted it up.

"I wonder what's going on in that head of yours right now," Scarecrows distorted voice cracked out, "Are you seeing your worst fear or is the world melting away in front of your very eyes?"

"Where is she?" Batman growled out, "What have you done with her?"

"With who?" Scarecrow pondered, "You'll have to be more specific."

"I'm here," Harleen groaned out, "I'm over here!" Batman turned his head in her direction but there was no recognition in his eyes, just pure anger, "B! I'm right here!"

"Where is she Joker!" he forced himself to his feet and Scarecrow backed away again.

"I'm not Joker!" Harleen freaked out, panicking as he lunged for her and pinned her to the wall by her neck. She hit his arm with her elbow, trying to break his hold but it wasn't working, "B-, P-please, s-stop!"

"If you've hurt her, if you're hurt Harleen!" His grip became deathly and Harleen could barely breath now. Her feet were dangling and her smaller hands were gripped on his wrists, trying desperately to pull them off, "I swear Joker, this time I won't leave you alive."

"Isn't this an interesting turn of events," Scarecrow came over to them and looked between them from the side, "I wonder what would happen to his mental state if he killed Batgirl with his own hands."

"S-scarecrow, H-help!" her vision was blurring and she reached out one of her hands towards him. Any moment now she swore a bone would break.

"Why would I do anything to help you? That won't benefit my research...," her hand fell limply to her side and she didn't have a choice.

"C-Crane, It's me!" her voice was hoarse and barley a whisper now, "H-Harley!"

Scarecrow took of his mask, his hair dishevelled and his eyes scrutinised her before he lifted a finger and used his nail to scratch some of her foundation off. A streak of white skin showed through and in a second he had reached into his coat. By this time Harleens head had flopped forward and her chest was rising in shallow, delayed movements.

Harleen was dropped to the floor and she fell to the side, her arms out awkwardly in front of her and she stared off blankly towards Batman, her vision slowly coming back into focus as her fingers twitched. Scarecrow ignored the masked vigilante, stepping past his fallen form with an empty syringe sticking out of his leather protected neck. He propped her up against the wall, cupping her face with one hand as he clicked fingers together on the other.

"Harley," he panicked, "Can you hear me?"

"Y-yeah," she croaked out dazed. It hurt to talk and she tried to swallow at an attempt to lubricate her wind pipe, which she wasn't entirely sure was in one piece anymore.

"Thank god," Scarecrow sat down in front of her, his hand rubbing the back of his head as he stared at the floor, "What the hell do you think you're doing Harley? Running around with the Bat dressed up like that?"

"I thought…," she forced a weak smile through her pain, "I thought I'd give this hero thing a shot, see what all the fuss was about."

"Are you insane?" he groaned out, "I nearly got you killed!"

"W-wouldn't be the first time s-somebody has tried," She coughed and pressed her hand on the ground for support as she attempted to stand. Her legs were wobbly and Scarecrow jumped up alarmed as she fell towards him.

"Of course you would find this funny," he growled out, "Joker's going to kill me if he finds out."

"What Mistah J doesn't know won't hurt him," Harleen chuckled, only causing her to start a coughing fit and she rubbed her neck to ease the pain, "Just…Just tell em the truth, You got Batman to strangle his new Batgirl."

"If I had known…," Scarecrow looked down ashamed he had hurt one of his only friends.

"You didn't, that would defeat the purpose of a secret identity," Harleen prodded him in the side and eventually got her footing back, "What did you give B-man?"

"The antidote," he sighed, "My last one to."

"Thanks for that, better get out of here before he comes to properly," Harleen slowly made her way to her partner and bit her lip. She was slightly disturbed at how far he had gone for her. The Joker was chipping away at him and he nearly had him breaking his own no killing rule. It would thrill the clown prince once he found out but Harleen was more convinced than ever they hadn't reached the final act yet. Joker was testing his theory and he was using Batman's own adversaries to do it; the ones that knew how to push and pull him especially. He had told Harleen to stay away from Joker but maybe it was him that actually needed to.

It wasn't long really, shorter than what Harleen was expecting. Twenty minutes later, a few glasses of slightly discoloured water and a short batarang practice, Batman finally stirred. Harleen wasn't sure if Scarecrows venom had an after kick, it had never worked on her thanks to Ivy's concoction she had given her when they first met, but by the way he was holding his head Harleen figured he had one hell of a headache.

"How long was I out?" he asked, rubbing his temple gently, "Where's Scarecrow?"

"A short while and he's gone," Batman hit the ground in frustration, angry that he had let the ex-psychologist get away without gaining any information, "Hey, don't beat yourself up."

"Did he hurt you?" Harleen clasped her hands behind her back and shuffled from foot to foot, she wasn't exactly sure how to tell him what happened, "Joker was here, did he hurt you?"

"He wasn't here," Harleen rubbed her neck, flinching as she did, "It was just Scarecrows venom making you see things…"

"But I-," his eyes travelled to where her hand was and she saw the skin around his mouth pale, "Don't tell me…"

"Don't sweat it, I've had worse," she brushed it off. Harleen knew it wasn't her he had tried to hurt so she wasn't going to hold it against him. He was still giving her that look though and she felt the urge to knock him around the head, "Don't you go blaming yourself B."

"I'll take you to the hospital," he stood up, shaking off the after effects quiet well. Harleen nodded and walked to the wall where her batarangs were stuck.

"Had to practice, it's not as easy as it looks," she shrugged, placing them back in her belt, "We can skip the hospital, I'll be fine."

"No, we're getting you checked out," Harleen went to protest but he shut her down quickly, "You said you would follow my rules."

"Your rules said nothing about healthcare," she pouted, "I'm fine, I've taken worse beatings in the past and I drink a lot of milk."

"Don't joke about something like that," Batman held his wrist up and pushed a button on his compact. A familiar roar echoed down the street.

"Touché," Harleen teased, "If I can't laugh about it what am I supposed to do? Mope around like some kind of victim?" she snapped, crossing her arms over her chest, "Hate to break it to you B-man but I ain't no victim and I can take a hit."

"That isn't a hit," his reply was monotone, "You're getting checked out and that's final."

"Is this how it's going to be?" she spat out, "You say jump and I say how high?"

"You're injured and may need treatment," he headed towards the window and hopped onto the rusted fire escape. Harleen sighed, there was no point in arguing with him. He had already decided the outcome and no matter how much she protested the discussion was over before it had even started.

He helped her into the car, making sure she didn't hit her neck on anything before hoping in himself. If it was anyone else she probably would have thought it was a gentlemanly act but she was beyond pissed to think that of Batman. She hated how he was treating her like a child. Harleen had known the job description when she had signed up, injury was just part of the jobs hazards. She rolled her eyes as she looked out the window, if he was going to overreact every time she got hurt she may as well not even bother helping the prick out.

They pulled up to the hospital and she noticed people staring. It must be an odd sight to see Batman pull up, surely he had his own secret doctor locked away somewhere. He slid the top up and Harleen peeled out, waiting for him to follow. She hadn't expected him to so when he did she bit the remark that was on the tip of her tongue. People moved out of their way quickly and the whispers followed just as fast. Harleen held her head high, she was Batgirl right now and she wouldn't let them think a little scratch would knock her for six so easily.

The woman at the reception froze bug eyed as Batman stopped in front of her. They exchanged a few words and the nurse ran off before coming back with an elderly doctor in toe. They didn't bother with forms, who exactly were they going to put in the name slot. Harleen let out a snort at the thought. Name: Batgirl, DOB: N/A, Address: N/A, Cause of accident: strangulation by an overgrown bat under the influence of a fear inducing chemical compound. Yeah, that would go over great for those who had to file that shit.

They were lead to a private room and Harleen swung herself up onto the bed, tapping her fingers on it as she kicked her legs back and forth. The doctor asked her to move her head in a number of directions, left, right, up, now touch your chin to your collar bone. It was slightly painful but nothing she couldn't handle. The doctor frowned and wrote a few notes down before grabbing a disposable flannel.

"I'm going to have to wipe this make up off to see the full extent of the bruising," He looked to Batman rather than addressing her, it was annoying but she understood why.

"Speak a word of it to no one," Batman replied. Harleen leaned her neck to the side, allowing the doctor to wipe off the thick layer. She heard the doctor suck in his breath through his teeth.

"She needs an x-ray, there's potential for a fracture with this kind of bruising," The doctor called the nurse back in and whispered something in her ear, "Just give me a minute to clear X-ray for you."

"I don't need no damn x-ray," Harleen growled out, "I know what a fracture feels like and this isn't one."

"I insist Batgirl," the doctor finally addressed her and Harleen blinked. It took her a few seconds to process someone other than a villain or Batman had called her that, "It's just a precaution."

"If you insist," she grumbled, appreciating that all he wanted to do was help her.

They waited for a few minutes and Harleen jumped off the bed and poked around in a desk that a computer sat on. Batman didn't say a word, he just stood by the door keeping a close eye on her. Inside the first draw was typical medical supplies, a cover for the bed that they replaced with each patient, thermometer covers and pregnancy tests; nothing new that she hadn't seen before. The second draw had a few wound dressing kits and she pulled one out, placing it on the bed and opening it carefully so that she didn't touch the sterile components.

"Does that neck bit come up?" she asked, pulling her gloves off and walking over to the sink in the corner.

"A bit," he finally replied, "I'm fine."

"If I have to get looked at you can at least let me clean that needle wound," she stated sternly, "We're supposed to look out for each other right?"

"Will it make you feel better if I let you?" Harleen nodded as she dried her hands and grabbed a small set of latex gloves. She pointed to the seat next to the bed and he sat down, lifting the bottom of his hood up enough for her to see. It was actually a set of holes, one from the initial dosing and the second from the antidote. Due to the force Scarecrow had used the area was slightly inflamed and swollen.

"Tsk, you're going to have to keep an eye on that, maybe get tested for any diseases as I can't exactly say if Scarecrows needles are the cleanest," She poured a little bit of saline in the white tray within the packaging and with one hand used a pair of plastic tweezers to drip a bit of gauze in. She wiped it down wards before throwing it in the bin then repeated the action with a second bit to get any dried blood off, "I use to do this for Joker all the time when you beat him to a bloody pulp."

"You sound pleased with that," he commented, keeping still while she fussed over getting a small, waxed fibre out and cut it.

"He was such a baby sometimes," she laughed, "I think he put it on ya know, he knew I liked looking after him so he indulged me when it came to fixing him up."

"He was lucky to have you around," the comment threw her slightly, "I always wondered who he went to when he needed medical treatment."

"There," she stood back with her hands on her hips, happy with the neat little, white square, "You can put your neck piece thing back down now."

"Thanks," the shared a look and Harleen blushed slightly before looking away as the tension grew uncomfortable.

"We're ready for you Batgirl," the doctor came back in, holding the door open. Batman walked beside her in silence, their brief moment from before forgotten. They were taken to the staff lift and the doctor ushered them down a number of hallways before taking her into a separate room, "Please remove all items that may contain any metal, to the side there is a gown you can use if needed."

Harleen sighed, the only thing she could keep on was her underwear and mask since she wasn't sure how the machine would act with Kevlar. She stripped down and put the unflattering garment on, thankful it wasn't one of those horrible backless ones and she stepped into the hallway where the nurse was waiting.

"Follow me," she didn't blame the nurse for staring, it wasn't every day you saw someone with bleached skin.

"You can ask if you want, I know a freak like me would probably be interesting to someone like you," The nurse blushed and opened the door to a room, "Come on, you know you want to."

"What happened to you?" the nurse blurted out, Harleen let out a soft, strained laugh.

"Got thrown into some chemical waste," The nurse looked horrified and Harleen chuckled, it was always fun messing with the professionals.

"How are you even alive?" she eventually whispered. Harleen shrugged, she didn't really understand it much herself.

"Who knows, I never really thought about how or why," the nurse was trembling and her eyes turned glassy, "Don't go crying on me! I'm Batgirl so I'm tougher than I look."

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to," Harleen brushed past her and propped herself onto a table in the centre of the room.

"How do you want me?" The nurse gave her a couple of positions to lie in and told her to hold her breath as she moved the machine over each time carefully. Fifteen minutes later Harleen was back in her Batgirl outfit and in the room where Batman and the doctor were peering over the black and blue slides under a light, "So…am I in the clear?"

"Surprisingly yes," the doctor breathed out a sigh of relief, "There is a bit a swelling so I'll prescribe you some NSAIDS to help with that and some painkillers."

"Prescribe?" Harleen laughed throatily, "What chemist is going to believe a prescription with Batgirl on it?"

"Do you have any other name we could use?" the doctor asked slowly. It went against everything he was taught but they didn't really have a choice.

"Holly Chance," the doctor nodded and scribbled on his prescription pad, ripping it off and handing it to her.

"There's a chemist at the entrance of the hospital, give them this, they probably won't ask questions so I wouldn't worry too much," Harleen took it. He had prescribed her a few sleeping pills on top of the anti-inflammatory and the codeine.

"Sleeping pills?" she looked up.

"It's natural to have trouble sleeping after someone has suffered a traumatic incident, I thought it was best to cover our bases," Harleen nodded and looked over to the nurse who had her phone out slyly.

"Delete it," Batman stated, staring the woman down, "Now."

"S-sorry," she handed Batman her phone for him to check and the doctor apologised profusely.

"Tell anyone why we were here and I'll have you stripped of your credentials…both of you," The comment was more directed at the nurse who was now just as pale as Harleen was under her outfit. She almost felt sorry for her but that's what you got when you messed with B-man.

Batman didn't call on her until her bruising had gone and when he did he had shown up with a damn mask that fitted half way down her face and had, of course those damn pointed ears. She snatched it and shoved it on, pouting to show her displeasure but she wasn't going to risk being kick off this gig. She had been incredibly bored since getting a taste of going out and getting her hands dirty again. The only thing that really kept her sane in that time was Bruce, who seemed to be putting a bit more effort into their relationship and had barely left her alone longer than a day or two. While it was sweet it didn't leave her a lot of options to have some free time.

"Do I still look cute with the plats?" She mused, tugging one down.

"Yes," Batman's lips quirked to the side, "You do."

"Naw B, you missed me didn't you," she leant forward, poking him in the chest, "Admit it."

"Never," Harleen dropped her head in an over exaggerated manner.

"You really know how to flatter a girl B," she stood up straight and place a hand on her hip, "Who is it tonight?"

"Paris Franz," his tone was clipped and Harleen waited for him to explain, "He had an unhealthy obsession with the previous Batgirl, she quit not long after he showed."

"Haven't heard of him," Harleen stated, "What's he into?"

"Head of a crime family, has his fingers in a couple of pies, mainly drug and gun trafficking…," he trailed off, "Don't engage him unless I say."

"Why? He doesn't sound too tough," Harleen leant on the side of the roof.

"He's a sociopath with an obsession, remind you of anyone?" her mind went to the Joker immediately.

"A knock off Mistah J, won't be the first and won't be the last," she sighed, not catching her slip off words.

"You've been thinking about him again," Batman scolded, "Do you need more time off?"

"No! I'm fine, it's just a force of habit that's hard to kill," she explained, "I used to be involved with plans like this with him so it just comes out naturally."

"You let me know if it ever gets too much," Harleen nodded, "We're heading to the docks, he's got a shipment coming in and we need to make sure it doesn't hit the streets."

"What kind of shipment? Good quality?" she queried, "I bet its gun's, boy's like them love their toys."

"Harleen," Batman warned, pulling her up on her overthinking and tiptoeing a line she shouldn't cross.

"My bad, none of my business," she raised her hands, "Lead the way B."

It didn't take long to get to the docks; from hers it was only a ten-minute drive and she had situated herself on one of the loading cranes, binoculars in one hand and mouth to her com on the other. She watched Batman move swiftly amongst the containers while keeping an eye of the men unloading a crate and into a van.

"Paris hasn't shown yet, only his thugs so far," she commentated, "You sure this guy is going to show?"

"Positive," he replied. No sooner than he had clicked off Harleen noticed something to the far left of Batman and she let out a low whistle. Boys and their toys.

"Rocket launcher eight o clock," she put the binoculars on her belt and pulled out her small grappling gun. She pointed it at the container and let loose. It hit just by the man's head and he looked towards her in surprise. Harleen zipped down, closing her eyes as she enjoyed the sensation of freedom it gave her. Batman had disappeared, probably to regain the advantage.

"Get out of there," she heard from her ear piece. Harleen ignored him, wanting to meet this wannabe and see how he stacked up.

"Batgirl!" the man held the rocket launcher on his shoulder lazily, "Long time no see."

"Wrong Batgirl," Harleen quipped, "She retired."

"Doesn't matter to me," Paris replied. Harleen stepped forward and placed her palm on the front of his top, tiptoeing her fingers up his chest. He wasn't bad looking she concluded, a bit on the pretty boy side and he had a nice Italian tan to him.

"Disappointing," she sighed, "You're nothing special."

"Ha! Don't underestimate me," he dropped the rocket launcher and before Harleen could do anything he had his arm around her waist, "I've got some tricks up my sleeve."

"Not interested," Harleen elbowed him in the gut only to hit a Kevlar vest, "What's the point in doing all this if you can't even take the proper risks!"

"What are you on about, I got you out here didn't I?" she pushed him away harshly, her lips pulling into a feral sneer.

"Pathetic, C-grade wannabe, you're just a waste of my time," she turned around, not wanting to bother with him. There wasn't anything great about this kid, just a rich brat with an elitism complex. Batman had him pegged wrong, he wouldn't even get himself thrown into Arkham.

"C-grade! The last one thought I wasn't worth her time either," Paris grabbed her wrist and Harleen tried to tug out of it, "You've got more spunk than her, I like it."

"You couldn't handle me kid," Harleen spun around, pulling her hand back and whacking him straight in the nose. Paris didn't move, even when it gave a sickening crunch, "Let go already,"

"Decent hitter to," a smile grew on his face and Harleen shivered, now she saw it and she no longer thought this was any fun, "What's your hurry baby?"

"Let go!" she struggled against him, panicking when there was no sign of Batman and she could hear the sounds of gunshots in the distance.

"Don't worry about him, he can't stand between us any longer," he was surprisingly stronger than he looked and Harleen had no choice but to slam him against the container behind him, she grabbed his hand that had her wrist and she smashed it frantically against the metal, "So you like it rough, I can work with that."

"I've faced worse than you," she growled out, "I've seen the face of the devil and trust me, you're just a small fry compared to him."

"You've got it all wrong Batgirl," he grabbed her other wrist and pulled her against him, "I'm just a man hopelessly in love."

"What would you know about love you twisted, low life, C-grade impersonator," she sneered out, "You think you could go toe to toe with Joker huh? Try it and see if you live and then maybe I'll consider seeing you as someone worth my time."

"Joker ae? Got a thing for the clown prince of crime?" he let go of her and she stumbled backwards, rubbing her wrists, "I might have to take you up on that offer."

"I'd like to see you try," she smirked, "Go on, you succeed and I'll make sure I'm in your bed ready an waitin'."

"You're a bit twisted yourself, doesn't bother me," he pulled out a cigarette packet and offered one to her. She shook her head and he popped one in his mouth, lighting it before inhaling deeply, "Where'd Batman find you?"

"Who said he found me? Maybe I had a stunnin' resume," she joked, suddenly enjoying Paris's company, "And you can't exactly talk, it ain't me you're interested in, it's this suit and what it stands for."

"Possibly, keep talking and it may turn into more," he eyed her up before tugging on one of her plats, "Red heads are more my thing but I think I can make an exception."

"Survive Joker first," Harleen laughed, "And then we'll talk," In the distance the gunfire had stopped and Harleen looked around for Batman.

"That's my cue, be seeing you Batgirl," He jumped down from the container and Harleen watched him go, she knew she should apprehend him but she honestly wanted to see if he could pull it off. It would certainly solve a lot of her problems.

"You let him go," Batman landed behind her, "Why?"

"He's harmless, C-grade and loaded, he'll be out in the morning and besides we got his shipment which was the main target," Harleen jumped down from the container herself and over to the van that had been left behind, "Coke, what a surprise."

"Gordon's on his way, best to make ourselves scarce," he was angry, it didn't take a genius to figure that out.

"You think I messed up," she asked as she picked up one of the bound packages, "I did the right thing, you would have tried to send him to Arkham because you see similarities to Joker."

"He's insane," Batman grabbed the coke off her and threw it back into the truck, "I told you not to engage him."

"He's not insane, he has a fetish and throwing him in Arkham will feed those Joker like tenancies. He's a mobster, let's not turn him into a monster," She knew she was right, "Let's just call it a job well done and move on."

"You honestly think throwing him in Arkham will twist him?" Harleen nodded and she knew it wasn't something he hadn't thought of before. He had seen him as a madman already, "Are you prepared to take on the consequences of letting someone like him walk free?"

"A C-grade nobody who deals in petty crime? Yeah, I think I can handle it," she finally turned to Batman to reassure him that she had done what was right, even though she had sent him on his path to death which she would happily keep to herself.

"Alright, he's your responsibility from now on," Harleen blinked, "If he acts up, it's your job to keep him in line, if you don't I'll throw him in Arkham myself."

"Deal," Harleen held out her hand, happy that he had finally given her a job of her own, "Won't let you down B."