Bruce hurried back home and almost ran over a fire hydrant when he made a sharp turn. Bursting through the front door, he called for his butler and trusty friend. Alfred called from another room and Bruce followed the sound of his voice. What he saw was enough to make his skin crawl. Alfred was trying to hold a violently shaking Harley down to the floor. Her eyes kept twitching and beads of sweat ran down her forehead, washing away the makeup and revealing the pale skin beneath. "About bloody time," Alfred said, acknowledging his master's return. Bruce disregarded of the irritated tone and went down on his knees to take over. He told Alfred to go get a tranquilizer while he looked after Harley. She didn't even seem to notice someone else was now holding her down. Every now and again, one single word came out of her mouth. Joker. Bruce wondered if she was starting to remember. Three minutes later, Alfred came back and helped Bruce keep Harley's shaking arm steady long enough for him to give her the sedatives. Slowly, her shaking abated and her twitching eyes closed shut. When she relaxed under his touch, Bruce let go of her arms and wiped his brow with a sigh of exhaustion and relief.

"What's happening to her?" Alfred asked and he sounded genuinely concerned for her. Bruce could only take a guess.

"Whatever they injected in her must be working like any other drug. When it starts wearing off, you crave more and if you don't get it…" He gestured to the limp body before them. "This happens," he finished.

"Looks like we have some work to do." They put Harley to bed and started right away.

Anger. She was angry. Angry and desperate. The wind brushed against her face and through her hair. She was on the chase. Chasing after him. He blatantly ignored her. Then she would make him see her. She would force him to confront her. She stopped first. Then him. Her hands slammed down on the hood of the car. "You're not leaving me!" Finally, he stepped out of the car. "I have proved I love you, just accept it!"

"I am not someone who is loved."

"My heart scares you and a gun doesn't?"

"If you weren't so crazy, I'd think you were insane." His last words echoed in her mind.

It was a far way down and looking into the vat of bubbling liquid only made her dizzy. Or maybe the dizziness was his doing? "Would you live for me?"

"Yes."

"Desire becomes surrender, surrender becomes… power." His voice was but a whisper, but still it held such authority. "Do you want this?"

"I do."

I do.

I do.

Warm lips brushed hers and she opened her eyes.

Harley shot up in bed, cold sweat running down her back and forehead. She gasped for air. Where had those images come from? They were so foreign and yet so familiar. He had been in her dream. The one man she absolutely didn't want to have anything to do with. But in her dream, her feelings had been the complete opposite. She wanted him. Craved and desired him. More than anything else. She couldn't recall ever having such an intense and intimate dream before. His touch had been so warm and tender. Nothing like how she saw him now. Cold and cruel. Except for when he looked at her. There were moments when he seemed almost… normal. Like there was something human deep down within. Harley shook her head and put that thought aside. Right now, she was more concerned about her whereabouts. Obviously, she was in a bed, but how had she ended up there? She couldn't remember ever going to bed. In fact, it was hard to remember anything at all. The last thing she could recall was helping Alfred with the dishes. She looked out the window and saw nothing but a starry sky. Contemplating whether she should go back to sleep or not, eventually she decided it was a good idea. It was no doubt in the middle of the night and she shivered from being cold. In her dream, she had felt a warmth like never before. Lying back down and closing her eyes, she hoped she wouldn't wake up again for a long time.

SEVEN DAYS AGO

If it wasn't for the fact that she knew she wasn't pregnant, Harley would have thought she had morning sickness. Feeling lightheaded and queasy, she raised herself up in bed with a groan. Putting the back of her hand against her forehead, she felt it was warm. She shuddered and reached for the quilt, but just as soon as she wrapped it around her bare shoulders, she shrugged it off and moved away from it as if it were vermin of some kind. She felt both warm and cold at the same time. When her feet touched the floor, she was only inches away from stepping on a sandwich. Someone had brought her another breakfast tray while she was asleep. There was also a note on the tray. Harley gingerly picked it up. The handwriting was neat and italicized.

Eat up. You'll be needing it.

No signature was provided, so she couldn't tell who it was from, but that did not concern her much. What did concern her was how she was going to force that sandwich down her throat. Her appetite was long lost.

And it would only get worse from here.

PRESENT DAY

At the break of dawn, two wayward souls were wide awake in the city. Actually, they had both been awake for the entirety of the night. The first one had been searching for answers that seemed far out of reach and the second one had been planning his long overdue revenge. The son of Gotham headed to his master suite to finally catch some sleep while the Clown Prince of Crime simultaneously let his eyelids close shut. He fell asleep with a smile covering his features, knowing that when he woke up, it would be time to play. He purred in his sleep, dreaming of a black skull served on a silver platter.

Harley had her wish granted and remained fast asleep until late in the morning. When she woke, she desired nothing more than to take a shower. Tired and a little lightheaded, it took a while to get herself out of bed and into the shower. The water was warm and refreshing. As she stood there under the stream, it was hard not to look down at her naked body and observe the permanent ink. No matter how long she let the water run, it never washed away. One tattoo in particular caught her attention. It was placed high up on her left thigh. I'll wait forever. Images flashed before her eyes and emotions welled up inside.

All around her there were bars and even beyond those bars, there was a fence. She was a bird in a cage. There was no one in the room but her. She didn't mind being alone. She relished in the loneliness. When it came to this place, being alone was far better than having company. In this place, company meant torture. Still, that didn't mean she wanted to be alone forever. She couldn't imagine a life without him. Etching the words into her thigh, she took pleasure in the pain, knowing that it would all be over soon. He would come for her and she could wait a lifetime.

Suddenly the shower felt so small. Like a cage. She turned the water off and wrapped the towel around her, desperate to get out. She was met by her own reflection in the mirror and her face was once more white. All these images made her so confused. They all led back to him one way or another. Everyone kept saying that he meant something to her and she was beginning to think that maybe they were right.

Bruce had his breakfast well after noon. According to Alfred, Harley had come down about an hour ago to have some herself and fortunately, she seemed to feel a little better. But she was far from well. "I stayed up all night and I've still got nothing," Bruce said and sipped his coffee. The newspaper laid spread open by his propped up elbow. He skimmed through an article about an apartment building which had been blown up last night in central Gotham. Terrible things happened all the time in the city, but not everyone was capable of performing such deeds. He did know someone who had a penchant for blowing things up though and that's when he made his mind up. Harley's only chance was if he found Black Mask and the Joker was looking for him right now. Bruce had to get to the apartment.

The area had been closed off by the GCPD, but that had never stopped the Batman before and it certainly didn't keep the rest of the residents in the area from living there. The people he confronted had been terrified as he'd stepped out of the shadows to reveal himself, but they were more than willing to help. It didn't take long for him to find out who had lived in the apartment and where they worked. No one could give him a specified location, but East End was a start at least and he knew someone who was well familiar with the area.

Selina Kyle watched from the rooftops near Cape Carmine as strangers below went about their business. She waited for something to happen. She'd take anything, really. A simple mugging would do. She was bored and hungry for some excitement, but thus far, the night had nothing to offer. Nothing to dig her claws in. What a shame. Then, her ears caught the sound of tires against asphalt. A black SUV followed by a van pulled up on the street right below her and parked next to the sidewalk. The driver of the SUV got out and it was hard to tell from this high above, but he seemed familiar somehow. It was when the passenger in the front seat got out that everything clicked. There was only one man in town who had green hair. Naturally, Selena got curious and gracefully made her way down the fire escape.

The Joker donned his favorite purple coat over his bare chest and black, skin tight leather pants. He could smell the scent of the water that carried itself in the air. How he despised it. He couldn't wait to get this all over with. The rest of his crew assembled, waiting for his orders. A purring sound was heard, but it didn't come from their boss. Everyone's heads turned to see a slender figure coming their way. Her black cat suit licked her feminine curves and the majority of the gathering could not keep their eyes from wandering down to her generously exposed cleavage. Selina spread her feet apart and rested her hands on her hips. "How nice of you to drop by," she said, looking directly at Joker. He was the only one that mattered to her. "What brings me the honor?" His mouth widened into a grin and faint laughter was heard.

"That's hardly any of your business, kitty cat," he said, still smiling at her. "I wouldn't be so curious if I were you." Selina didn't know whether to take that as a warning or not. In response, she merely shrugged.

"What can I say? It's in my nature." She took the opportunity to scan through the crowd and frowned when there was no Harley in sight. "And where's your precious queen?" she asked and Joker mistook her sincere interest for mocking. Instantly, his smile was gone and in a flash, his hand had wrapped around her throat. Selina was unprepared and furrowed a brow at the expression on his face. Had she said something wrong?

"If you know where he is, you tell me right now!" he barked into her face and Selina was reminded of why she didn't like him. Cats and dogs did not see eye to eye. Selina shook her head as much as she was able underneath his grip.

"I have no idea what you're talking about," she said truthfully. Joker tightened his grip for a second before letting go of her and taking a step back. Selina thought he was actually going to strangle her, but she was thankful he didn't. "Who is 'he'?" she asked. "Who are you looking for? And where's Harley? I thought she made it home." Joker froze and turned to face her once more. Clearly the Cat knew more than he did.

"What do you mean 'made it home'? Was she with you?" Selina nodded.

"Yeah, she came to my apartment after your… fight."

"Then the weed was telling the truth," Joker said, more to himself than anyone else, and thought back to when he had paid Ivy a visit. "You said you thought she made it home. When did she leave your place?" Selina's concern grew with every passing minute. Something was clearly not right and if the Joker didn't know what had happened, then it was bad.

"We went to a party the night after she came to me and at one point she told me she had to go to the bathroom. But she never came back." Joker snorted.

"What, so you assumed that she had gone back home?" Selina rolled her eyes.

"Of course not! I got worried and I started looking for her, but I couldn't find her. I tried calling, but she didn't answer and then I texted her. It wasn't until the day after that I got a reply. She said that she was back with you and I asked about her suitcase and the espresso machine, since they were still at my place. And still are," she added with some annoyance. "She said she would come back and get them soon."

"Soon," Joker repeated. "It's been, what, over a week since then. Is that your definition of 'soon'?"

"In all honesty," Selina said, "when it comes to Harley, there can be multiple definitions." She was right. Joker pursed his painted lips and sighed.

"Point taken." There was a pause before Selina spoke up again.

"So who is it that you're looking for?"

"Why, the man who kidnapped Harley of course!" Joker said and was growing tired of this conversation. Selina in turn was growing tired of not getting any straight answers.

"If you know who it is, please go ahead and share with me and maybe I can help you." Joker knew that this was the Cat's home turf. She would undoubtedly make a good ally.

"Black Mask." As soon as the words left his mouth, her eyes sparked to life.

"Oh yeah, I know where to find him." Joker was about to answer, but someone else beat him to it.

"I was hoping you'd say that," a dark voice spoke from behind them.

A/N: I am laughing right now at how many horizontal lines I added in this chapter. But I felt it was necessary as to make the reading easier. Also, yay for a longer chapter and for the fact that I'm actually pleased with this one! I think it's one of my personal favorites, so I hope you'll like it too. Thank you all once again for your reviews! It gives me motivation to write new chapters so you can enjoy the story. I know I don't update as often as I used to, but that depends on a lot of things. College is the main thing, but focusing on my studies has seemed to pay off, because I'm doing good and now I have much less workload, so I should be able to write more often. Another reason for the late updates is lack of inspiration and the fact that I haven't got the rest of the story perfectly pieced together as I had in the beginning, so I need more time to really think through what the next step will be. Hope you understand that! After all, I don't want this story to end up as a let-down. :)