"You can't do this!" exclaimed Dr. Leland, as she faced down the Justice League in her office. Or most of the Justice League anyway - Batman was noticeably absent. "It's a human rights violation! I will not allow you to break the law like this while I'm in charge of this asylum!"
"These orders come from the president, who respectfully outranks you, Dr. Leland," retorted Superman. "It's a federal mandate, and there's nothing you can do to appeal it without taking it to the Supreme Court."
"And you'd better believe I'll do that!" snapped Dr. Leland.
"I do believe that," said Superman, nodding. "But until they strike it down, we have the authority to implant these chips into the inmates."
"But that could be irreversible!" exclaimed Dr. Leland. "Even if it's appealed, the damage will already be done!"
"There's not going to be any damage," said Superman. "And it's very likely that some time spent in this alternate reality will help cure them. We're going to show them how wonderful their lives could be if they hadn't become costumed supercriminals. Isn't curing them what you've always wanted? I know you have great compassion toward them, and so do I. This is for their own good, and the good of society. They won't be insane anymore – they'll be safe and happy in a perfect world."
"They won't be themselves anymore either!" snapped Dr. Leland. "And their perfect world will be a lie! If you let them live there, and then wake them up to bleak reality again, it will break their minds even more than they already are! There are no quick fixes with insanity! It's a long and complicated recovery process that the inmates have to accomplish themselves! They can't cheat with microchips – it won't work long term!"
"You can't know that – this has never been tried long term," replied Superman. "And anything's worth trying at this point, isn't it? Don't you want the madness to end? Don't you want innocent people to stop being hurt? You're not a monster – you don't want people to keep dying, do you?"
"Of course I don't!" snapped Dr. Leland. "But I also don't want you to implant my patients with experimental technology invented by a lunatic in the hopes that that will somehow magically cure them! There's a chance they could be permanently damaged by it…"
"And they're already permanently damaging society," interrupted Superman. "Surely this temporary solution, even with the miniscule risk, is better than that? Think about the greater good, Dr. Leland."
Dr. Leland glared at him. "The greater good has been used to excuse the worst atrocities mankind ever thought up," she muttered. "Not by lunatics either – by rational, sane, caring people like yourselves. People who just wanted to help, who were motivated by kindness and compassion, and reasoned they had to do something to protect themselves and others. They reasoned their way into horrors, but it's not something you can reason yourself out of. You need to think very carefully before you decide what the greater good is, and if you should be the one to implement it."
"We have," said Superman, nodding. "So thank you for your compliance, Dr. Leland."
The Justice League headed out of her office and toward the cell block. Dr. Leland followed them, but not before pressing the button that unlocked the cell doors.
"Huh, that's odd," commented Harley, as the lock on her door clicked off. She opened it tentatively and stuck her head into the cell block. "Is anyone else unlocked in here?"
"I think we all are," said Ivy, opening her door.
"Curioser and curioser," commented Tetch, looking around. "It's very odd for us to be provided with such an easy escape opportunity. It seems like nonsense without good reason..."
He got his reason when the door to the cell block opened, and the Justice League stood there. And without knowing exactly why they were there, Harley suddenly knew they were all in very real danger just by the look in their eyes. She noticed Dr. Leland standing behind them, who met her gaze and whispered, "Run."
Harley obeyed, seeing the urgency in her eyes. She raced toward Wonder Woman, who reached out to grab her...and then Harley dived to the ground, sliding under her legs on her stomach. She ran down the hall hearing shouts behind her, but she kept going until she reached the door to the basement. She threw it open and pelted down the stairs, trying to conceal herself in the shadows. She knew she couldn't outrun Superman or Flash, who were faster than a speeding bullet, and she couldn't really hide from someone with x-ray vision. But she had to try.
"Kid!" hissed a voice, and Harley looked up to see Joker's face at the window above her.
"Mr. J!" she gasped. "You've come to rescue me! I knew you cared!"
"Yeah, yeah, quit with all the mushy stuff!" he whispered, wrenching the bars off the window. "Just give me your hand!"
Harley tried, reaching up as high as she could, but she couldn't reach the window. Joker kneeled down, trying to extend his arm as far as it could go. "You're gonna have to jump for it, kid!" he hissed.
Harley obeyed, backing up and taking a running jump toward the window. She leaped into the air, her fingers brushed the Joker's…and then she was seized from behind by Superman. She screamed, "Mr. J!" as she was pulled away from the Joker's face framed in the light of the window, and then down, down, down into darkness…
"Harley!" exclaimed a voice suddenly. She opened her eyes to reveal her roommate, Pamela Isley, shaking her. "Are you ok?" she asked, concerned. "You were lashing out and screaming in your sleep."
"Yeah, I'm…fine," stammered Harley, sitting up and blinking as she looked around her bedroom, her mind adjusting to reality again. "Just…a nightmare."
"Sounded pretty rough. You wanna talk about it?" asked Pamela. "If you do, make it quick, because I'm gonna be late for work, and so are you."
"I…uh…no," said Harley, slowly. "No, it was just…stupid. Didn't mean anything – dreams never do."
"That's not what a shrink should be saying!" laughed Pamela, as she left Harley's room and returned to the kitchen, where she was making a salad for lunch. "Better not tell Dr. Crane, or he'll revoke your degree! You're having lunch with him today, aren't you?"
"Yeah, I…I am," said Harley, rubbing her eyes. She entered the kitchen and helped herself to a cup of coffee, which she assured herself would help clear the cobwebs from her mind. But she still felt spooked and unsettled by the dream. It was funny how dreams could influence emotions in reality, when one was real, and one wasn't. "It's been a recurring nightmare for a while now, actually," she murmured. "I…that is, we, because you're there too…are trapped in some kinda prison or something."
"What do you think you got sent to prison for?" asked Pamela, laughing. "You haven't even jaywalked as long as I've known you! I guess some of my environmental and feminist activism in college was kinda controversial, but I was never involved in a protest violent enough to get me arrested."
"Dreams aren't usually realistic, Pam," retorted Harley. "They're all about symbolism. We're in this room, like a cell or something. And there are these weird figures everywhere, like this scarecrow, and this guy with two faces…and you had green skin…"
"I don't think I could ever eat enough salad to make that happen, although I do love it," said Pamela, tossing the salad into her bag.
"And there was a clown," murmured Harley. "He's always there. Always."
She put a hand to her head, shutting her eyes and seeing the reflection of the clown's face in the shadows of her vision, its grinning, red-lipped smile whispering her name.
"Why don't you ask Dr. Crane about this nightmare at lunch?" suggested Pamela, breaking in on her thoughts. "He might have some expertise in dream analysis. It's worth a shot – if you can figure out what it means, maybe it'll go away."
"Yeah, maybe," agreed Harley, nodding. "I'll do that."
"Great – let me know what he says," said Pamela, grabbing her bag and heading for the door. "And remember, you have to help me shop for wedding flowers after work. I can't show up at the church and face Harvey without a nice bouquet."
"I thought you had decided on roses," replied Harley. "Red and white, to match the dress."
"I thought I had too," said Pamela, nodding. "But I changed my mind."
"Hope you haven't changed your mind about the wedding," retorted Harley with a smile.
"No way," retorted Pamela, smiling back. "He's the one, Harley."
"How are you so sure about that?" asked Harley. "You've only been dating a couple months, and he asked you to marry him after about a week, didn't he?"
"When you know, you know," replied Pamela. "You'll find that someday, Harley."
"I hope so," agreed Harley. "Clearly I can do better than my last boyfriend."
"I've told you, the best way to get over Ricky dumping you is to let me take you out on the town," said Pamela. "We'll plan a totally hedonistic girl's night out for my bachelorette party, how does that sound?"
"It sounds like fun," said Harley. "Anyway, I won't forget about flower shopping. I'd be a pretty sorry excuse for a maid of honor if I did," she added, grinning.
"Yeah, I can still revoke that offer, you know," retorted Pamela, with a smile. "I'll meet you at the flower shop after work. Have a good day!"
"Yeah, you too," said Harley, as Pamela shut the door. She sighed, checking the clock. "No time for breakfast – guess I'll just have to have a big lunch with Dr. Crane," she said, draining her coffee, and then heading to the shower.
The running water helped clear her mind, and she dressed feeling refreshed and silly for being so disturbed by a stupid dream. She drove to work, pulling up in front of a modern, clean, and whitewashed building, with a sign out front that read: Welcome to Arkham Asylum! Our staff are here to help you! She entered through the automatic door, and cheerfully greeted the smiling guards as she headed for her office, where a sign on the door read: Dr. Harleen Quinzel – Head Doctor.