Harley paused in the wall opening. She stopped to consider for a second before pointing to the left and heading to the section she'd followed Nightwing through. She strolled along the wall, staying in the shadow it cast. Once the opening was out of sight, she stopped and leaned against the wall. She crossed her arms as she waited.
As the time passed, a cat slunk by. She could hear it rattle a trash can lid when it disappeared into an alley. Scuffing boots steadily came closer, and Harley perked up. They turned to continue a patrol into Uptown, and she sank back against the wall in disappointment.
"Waiting on someone?" Nightwing suddenly said, leaning against the wall beside her, his arms crossed. Harley jumped.
"Don't scare me like that," she complained. "Ya need ta put a bell around your neck."
He grinned at her. "Didn't mean to scare you. What are you doing outside of the wall?" he glanced up, his Nightwing mask hiding his eyes.
"Waitin' for someone." She smirked. "What are you doing on this side a the bridge?" she taunted. "Couldn't stay away?"
"Nope. Just making sure the bad guys stay in," he smiled a little. "Who are you waiting for? Should I be jealous?"
"Absolutely." Harley grinned. She walked forward before turning around to look at him. "Ya comin'? I thought ya had a patrol ta do."
"I do," he watched her carefully, before smirking. "Why are you leading me exactly where I need to go? Been keeping an eye on us, have you?" Nightwing walked past her and started on his way towards the water, the same way they had gone last time.
"Every now an' again." She shrugged. It was actually a good chunk of the time she spent on top of the wall watching their patrols. It was the only interesting and helpful thing she could do. She'd pretty well staked down who patrolled when and with whom but couldn't figure out if they switched shifts for some reason when their schedules got swapped around, and she couldn't exactly ask that. "Besides," she grinned at him, "I've been told ta gather intel on youse guys."
"Oh have you? By the Joker himself?" Nightwing was suddenly more wary and guarded, but he smiled. "Is that ugly old geezer still alive?" Harley glared at him.
"Yes he's still alive."
"Yikes, I felt the cold blast off of that look," Dick laughed, holding up his hands in surrender. "Didn't mean to insult your boyfriend."
"Sure," Harley scoffed before letting it go. She was more interested in finding things out than being mad. "So how's it on your side a the river?"
"What do you mean?" Dick glanced at her, his brow furrowed. She was pretty, even with the snow-white skin and two-tone hair. He couldn't help but wonder how a girl like that got mixed up in what she did.
"I mean, is everybody dead? Do you got riots in the streets with Batman martial law?" She gestured dramatically. "I'm not just asking cuz I'm supposed ta, how's it goin' over there?"
"It's… People are surviving," he sighed. "There aren't many riots and not a lot of people die, they're just barely getting by." Dick looked down, kicking a rock along the waterfront. This time he was careless, and Harley caught him glancing up at the hidden camera. She laughed at him.
"It's not like we don't know they're there. We've got one building with power over here, and ya aren't exactly sneaky."
"Well we do try. The whole 'bat' thing? Cover of darkness? Hell, one of us was trained by the League of Assassins, back in the day." Dick glanced up at her. "The cameras are less to keep an eye an you, and more to keep an eye on the riverbanks. Make sure no one gets into Gotham without permission or advance checking…" He trailed off, falling silent as he listened for a moment. A scuffing could be heard down the alleyway and Dick slowly unsheathed an escrima stick, narrowing his eyes.
He cried out when the Infected woman leapt out of the door beside him rather than came down the alley, and Dick dodged quickly before pulling out his tranq gun and firing a dart between her eyes. "Jesus," he panted, glancing at Harley. "Couldn't even hear her- come on, let's get out of here before more show up…" he grabbed her arm and guided her away. Harley glanced back at the zombie's neck. The bloody gash was there; Crane didn't bother to stitch them up when the Infected were usually bleeding from other festering wounds. She glanced suspiciously at the wall.
"So you're still goin' with the whole 'not killin' 'em' thing, huh?" she asked as Nightwing led her along.
"Maybe we-" he hesitated when he noticed that his hand had moved down her arm to her hand, and he let go, reholstering his gun. "Maybe we can save them. We don't want to kill the ones who still have a chance."
"Trust me, none of the ones around here have a chance," she told him.
"Oh?" He looked at her, eyebrows raised in curiosity, but his voice had a tone of sadness to it. He stopped when they finally made it to the northernmost point of the island, and he looked out at the sunlight glistening on the water.
"Oh?" she mocked him. "Do ya think I'm just gonna tell you? You hafta tell me something first. Isn't that typically how these exchanges work? A truth for a truth? 'More to watch the riverbanks than us.' A lie. A good lie, but a lie." She crossed her arms and smiled at him. "So I'll tell ya what. You tell me something, and I'll tell you something."
"It wasn't a lie," he insisted, narrowing his eyes. "So this is an exchange now? Funny, I thought it was a conversation. What do you expect me to tell you?"
"I don't know." Harley paused to consider it. "How about… Why don't I ever see your girlfriend runnin' around anymore? She isn't on the patrol cycle." She grinned slyly. "Not that I don't mind."
"Girlfriend? Do you mean Batgirl?" Dick laughed. "No, we used to have… something… but we're more in the 'just friends' category right now. She's not on the patrol cycle because she's working on a cure in the labs." He put his hands in his pockets. He didn't see the harm in telling her things, to an extent. Even the people of Gotham knew that they were working on developing a cure.
"That was a boring story," Harley told him seriously. "I mean, do ya wish you were still together? Who broke it off? Does she hate bein' trapped in the labs? Ya had no emotion." She giggled. Dick smiled at her questions, flattered that she could be this interested. He suddenly realized that this could be a trick; that she could be trying to get all of this personal information out of him for her- and the Joker's- selfish ends. He immediately shut his mouth. Harley saw the change in expression.
"Okay. So no more questions. Got it."
"Well I answered your question, even if it was 'boring,' so one more. Why are you… doing this?" he gestured around them. "Why are you here with me, and not attacking me, and quizzing me about my personal life? And this time, you give me a truthful answer," he gave her a sidelong glance, and then started walking again.
"Honestly," she smiled meekly, "because you were the one I thought would be least likely to attack me." She shrugged. "It was my idea to come out here and-" her eyes went wide and she waved her hands- "'gather intel' because… the apocalypse is boring," she finished in a rush. "Never thought it would be, but you try living in there for a year." She pointed her thumb over her shoulder at the wall, still visible from blocks away, looming over the buildings. "With all the crazies killing each other and only making the zombie thing worse. You can't really carry on a conversation with a corpse. And zombies smell. I just want to be away from them for a little while. Ya know?"
Dick watched her, and then smiled lightly. "Yeah, it does get boring, doesn't it?" he sighed, and then continued on. They walked in silence for a while longer, until he finally looked at her and spoke again. "It was a mutual breakup. I don't think there are any hard feelings between us, or even… feelings. We're kind of just friends now. I mean… we still sleep in the same bed when we can, and… I don't know. Not much else goes on, but sometimes I wish we were still together." Dick rubbed the back of his neck and bit his lip, looking down at his boots. "I think I miss the feeling of being in a relationship more than I miss her. You know? Going on dates, watching Netflix together… 'dating' is kind of an obsolete term. No one has time for a relationship anymore."
Harley gave him a kiss on the cheek before he could react and then laughed. "No wonder you bats are so grumpy. You're all sexually frustrated."
Dick stared at her in surprise for a moment, his gloved hand touching his cheek where she'd kissed him. His middle and ring fingers were blue, the stripes running down the hand of his glove and under his coat sleeve. When he'd recovered from his shock, he smiled a little. "Just us bats, huh? Can I ask you something personal? Are you and the Joker… I mean, do you and the Joker…?" he trailed off, hoping she'd understand his implication.
"Sex. The word you are looking for is sex," she mocked him, laughing. "Think about it. I mean, how long did ya date Batgirl? A couple years? And were you two intimate?" She raised an eyebrow. Her eyes were bright blue under the dark black and red eyeshadow. "And how long have I been with Mistah J? Whadaya think? And… I mean, you've met me right?" Dick laughed and then let out a loud sigh, looking up at the sky.
"Batgirl and I were together for about two years, yeah. And yes, we were intimate. As for the Joker?" Dick thought back to when he'd first come up against Harley Quinn with the Joker. "I'd guess five or six years?"
"Yeah something like that." She shrugged. "It doesn't really matter anymore. As far as things go, everything started a year ago."
"You've got that right," he sighed, and then stopped. They'd come to the jagged remains bridge that had been blown up that would have, ages ago, taken him to Wayne Manor. Now the rubble stuck out over the water, reaching for its other half on the bank of the mainland, nothing but empty water between them. Dick walked out to the edge of the concrete where it was broken off and looked across the river. If he squinted, he could almost see the towering building on the cliffs. Wayne Manor, surrounded by lush green, overlooking the city skyline like a watchful guardian. "As of a year ago, these are our lives. There's no sense reminiscing about hazy dreams," Dick said quietly, and then looked away. Harley stood quietly beside him, looking out over the water.
"Okay but ya gotta keep me updated on the Batgirl thing," she burst out. "Cuz as the stories go, the hero gets the girl, and you're definitely a hero, hero. So either make a move or find someone new because you're my new soap opera."
"What?" Dick laughed, turning to her. "That's crazy," he grinned, shaking his head.
"I live in Arkham City." She grinned. "Ya haven't seen crazy."
"True. But I did spend the majority of my life fighting it, and I came out sane. Maybe all it'll take is the apocalypse and I'll end up there with you," he elbowed her teasingly and started walking back off of the bridge toward the streets. Harley skipped up beside him.
"I don't think you'd last long in there. Ya may protect Gotham, but ya arrested Arkham."
"Then I should probably stay out of there, huh?" he smiled a little, watching her. "I don't know how I could, though, now that I've made a friend." Harley stopped in her tracks; she cocked her head to the side.
"Really?"
"What do you mean, 'really?'" he glanced back at her before stopping as well. "Of course. My family says I trust too easily, but I like to think I'm a better judge of character than that. Plus, with most of the world's population turned into zombies, well… we all ought to be friends, shouldn't we?" Dick smiled. He knew that it was a silly, naive way of thinking, but he still believed it with all his heart. Harley squealed and hugged him, and Dick blinked in shock.
"I don't have a lotta friends- most of 'em died, but I do have a roommate who's a zombie, so I don't see why I can't be friends with a hero." She stepped back, grinning. "Cool." She giggled.
He stared at her for a moment and then laughed. "Harley Quinn," he mused. "I don't get you yet, but I'll figure you out. You seem like a sweet girl. How does a girl like you end up- don't hit me for this- with the Joker?" He leaned against the wall of a building as he stopped, watching her.
"Doctor patient romance." She shrugged and smiled a little. "You know the story."
"Just didn't know if that was the actual story," Dick shrugged, imitating her. He laughed. "I thought maybe-" he stopped suddenly, cocking his head, as if listening to something. She spotted the comm in his ear.
"My section has been secured," Damian said. "I've been working to cut down on the Infected population, as well."
"Same here," Dick responded, glancing at her and holding up a finger. "I think we'll stay out until ten or eleven tonight; then head in early and catch a few hours sleep before we switch shifts. Don't strain your arm too much, Robin," he ordered.
"Yes, sir," Damian responded as Dick muted his comm again. "Sorry about that. Where were we?" Harley glanced at the wall.
"We were just about to say goodbye because I gotta go."
Nightwing visibly frowned, his shoulders slumping a bit. "Yeah, I guess you're right. You've probably got… things to do, and such." He smiled gently. "Be careful on your walk back, Harley Quinn."
"Yes Mr. Nightwing, sir." She saluted and laughed. Dick stared at her for a moment. He'd heard that laugh, somewhere, before… Mentally shaking himself, Nightwing smiled.
"Get home safe," she heard him say quietly as she turned and started back towards Arkham City.
"Jeez, you're so bossy," she called over her shoulder before winking and continuing into the loneliness of the abandoned streets. She skipped forward, smiling happily as she hurried back to the opening.
Arkham City had always been a seedy place. When Gotham had sectioned off part of Uptown and left the Blackgate inmates and the Arkham patients to govern themselves, it had slowly receded into madness. With murderers, rapists, con artists, thieves, and the criminally insane free to do as the pleased, the city crumbled, crime spiked, and rioting was common. That was before the Infection. Now things were much worse.
Zombie outbreaks were common, disease expected, and crime a fact of life. With Gotham cut off from them, the inmates were starving and rioted as a result. The Joker watched over it all from the Warden Tower and kept them in line with a simple method: the Infected.
The disease victims were kept in the old Arkham Asylum and not many people were willing to live on that island with them. As long as the Joker controlled Arkham, he had the city, but there wasn't much of a city left.
Harley didn't pay attention to the grimy city as she passed through it. Because of her relationship with the Joker, she was untouchable. Not that that would stop many of the people hiding in the darkness, but she'd proved early on what a mistake it would be to provoke her. Instead, she thought about the conversation she'd just had.
She'd taken to watching some of the patrols around the Arkham walls a couple of months ago. It had been easy to figure out their pattern, methods, and potential weaknesses. She'd dutifully relayed the information to the Joker but had kept going back to the wall. It was the communication that had interested her the most. Even in the shortest cycles of their patrols, they'd talk- what appeared to be randomly into the air- over the comms to each other. She'd only be able to hear one end of the conversation, but the endless discussions engrossed her.
There weren't many people in Arkham City left who Harley could talk to, and even those she could, weren't around that often. The Joker didn't notice when she left for long periods of time and was usually too distracted with what he was working on. Harley had decided to amuse herself.
The hard part had been who to approach. Most of the GCPD officers would panic and attack, and she'd never been on that great of terms with any of the bats. She'd chosen Nightwing. Her new friend.
Harley grinned to herself, feeling like she had a new secret as she made it into the Warden's Tower. She knew she should have tried to find out more information about what was going on in Gotham and the cure research, but she didn't think Joker would ask. She was still smiling when the elevator jerked to a stop at the top floor.
"Sorry I'm late!" she cried as she skipped out of the elevator.
"Late is late is late, no need to be sorry about it," Jonathan Crane said quietly as she walked into the large open room. He was strapping a black Arkham Asylum bulletproof vest to his chest. They'd stolen most of the riot gear from the asylum when it had shut down.
"Hiya, Harley Quinn," Harvey Dent looked up, the right corner of his mouth pulling up in a smile, the left remaining pulled back over his teeth, charred and burned. His black hair fell over his forehead to the right. "How've you been?"
"We don't have time," Crane muttered under his breath, pulling his mask on. Two Face was one of the few people Harley considered a 'friend' anymore because he'd occasionally stop by the tower to talk to her, and she'd been about to say hello when Crane distracted her.
"Don't have time to what? Tell me what we're doing?" Harley sat cross legged on the couch. "Because apparently I'm not need ta know yet." Nygma was frantically straining against his chain with all the people in the room.
"He means we don't have time for niceties like saying hello." Harvey shook her hand, smiling in his gruesome way again.
"Get your protective gear on," Scarecrow told her quietly through his mask.
"We're going to Midtown," Harvey explained, ignoring Crane. "The people here are starving, and your boyfriend's orders are to go steal some food. We have an Arkham transport van and one full gas tank, let's get there and back without incident, shall we?" He smiled yet again, and Harley would have found it disturbing had she not grown used to his gruesome features long ago.
"What's the plan for gettin' past the bridge guards?" Harley asked as she jumped up. She ignored the bulletproof vest and checked to make sure she was loaded up on ammo.
Scarecrow hefted a gun into his hands and loaded it with canisters of fear toxin.
"Dose them and drive through them," Harvey replied. "I'm loading the food, you're driving, Quinn, and Crane is in passenger clearing the way." Harley paused and cocked her head.
"Don't people scream when they're dosed with fear toxin? As in alert everyone through comms?"
"Not this one," he said quietly. "I upped the acidity so upon inhalation they're still dosed with fear toxin- still hallucinate, still feel the terror- but the gas will fry their throats. They'll either choke to death or the over excitement and fear and adrenaline will kill them. Either way, it's lethal. They won't make a sound," he shrugged, holstering the gun at his side. "You'll need this." He tossed her a gas mask.
"We've got four hours till dawn. Joker said this shouldn't take us more than an hour. We can't afford to take much longer either. Batman..." He stopped suddenly, his hand twitching. Crane watched him.
"We can't afford any slip ups either, Two-Face," Scarecrow emphasized every word, making sure he heard him. Harvey looked up.
"Of course. Let's go."
"Cheer up, Crane." Harley skipped to his side. "We're goin' into Gotham. How fun is that?"
"Terrific if none of us get tranqued and dragged back to Wayne Tower for questioning."
"We have a noble cause for our own people," Harvey pointed out as they all got onto the elevator.
"Screw noble, let's see what kinda food they've got stashed away." Harley grinned.
"And just think, Quinn, after a year; you get to drive a van and run people down again," Harvey smirked, his good half facing her.
"Yeah, don't get us killed," Crane muttered.
"No promises!" She laughed. "Come on, ya guys have to be a little excited. Whaddya say, Dent? Are ya at least halfway excited?"
Harvey paused for a moment, and then laughed loudly. Crane jumped and glared at him through his burlap mask. "'Halfway'? Oh, that's a good one, we like that, we do." He chuckled, shaking his head. They emerged at the bottom of the tower and went out, making their way behind the building to a half-concealed armored prison transport truck. Harvey tossed her the keys and swung his rifle onto his back with the other, flashing her a half-grin before climbing into the back. Scarecrow got into the passenger seat and buckled up.
"Everyone please fasten your seatbelts and keep your seats in tha upright position." Harley revved the engine. "I haven't renewed my licence recently."
"Hold on, Dent," Crane called over his shoulder. Harvey buckled up and grabbed the bar above him with a grin.
"Okay here's the sitch," Harley practically yelled in excitement over the roar of the engine as she raced toward the wall. "This thing ain't exactly quiet, so they'll hear it comin' from a mile away." She raced through the opening with a foot gap on either side of the mirrors. "So I'm gonna get enough speed I can shift it inta neutral and roll up on 'em." She laughed as she raced through the dark streets. "So hold on tight because I don't wanna see your lunches."
"That's a terrible idea-!" Harvey laughed maniacally in the back of the van. "Too bad you're with the Joker, Quinn, you're a hell of a woman-" he cut off when she swerved sharply around a corner and Scarecrow let out a strangled cry, hitting the door with the inertia.
"Ah, Harvey! Ya always know how to get on a person's good side." Harley giggled wildly before grabbing her gasmask. "Here we go." She pulled it on, shifting the car into neutral and cutting the engine. The headlights cut out, and it was instantly quiet as the car sped forward off of its momentum.
Harvey slid his gas mask over his mouth as Crane unbuckled and rolled his window down, sliding easily out the window. He sat on the edge of it and rested his elbow on the top of the van, taking aim. In two quick shots he fired canisters on either side of the bridge, where the guard posts were. A couple of the policemen had run out of the small buildings to try to stop the truck, and immediately began choking on the gas cloud enveloping them.
"Woo!" Harley cheered as she restarted the engine. "What did I tell ya? We're in like burglars." The headlights illuminated the gaseous cloud in front of them. Scarecrow ducked back into the car as a policeman tumbled over the hood and he rolled his window up.
"Keep your masks on, the gas is designed to dissipate completely after a minute," he instructed. "They keep the food in the slaughterhouse by Colgate Park, on the river. Remember, we're only about fifteen, twenty minutes away from both the Bat's new perch and the Station that the GCPD are using, so move your asses. When we get there, I want you to reverse through the loading doors on the south side, got that, Harley?" he asked, glancing at her.
"Oh go stand in a pumpkin patch you old spoil sport," Harley muttered. "You ruin all the fun."
"We have to get out of here fast," he said angrily, his eyes flashing under his mask. "What happens if we're captured will be nothing compared to what happens if we get caught and somehow make it home. The Joker wants this done discreetly."
"Doesn't want Batman to know that he literally has to steal from him to survive, I bet," Harvey muttered, looking at the walkie talkie in his hands.
"Come on. It'll be a piece of cake." Harley rolled her eyes. "Ooo! Maybe they have cake!"
"Doubt it," Crane said distractedly, and then pointed out the windshield. "There. Turn around and back in there. Straight through the door." Harley reversed the van into position.
"As in through the door. Like, I getta crash this van through that door?" she asked hopefully. "Or am I misinterpreting ya?"
"Through the door, Harley!" he commanded in exasperation. "Smash it in!"
"You got it." Harley beamed, flooring the van in reverse. It smashed through, and she stomped on the break and looked around tentatively. "Are we alive?"
"It worked," Harvey assured her, throwing the back doors open. A guard rushed toward him to try to stop him, and Harvey hit him with the butt of his gun, kneeling down. Scarecrow got out of the passenger seat.
"Load whatever we can get in five minutes. Maybe ten. Just start throwing things in-" He walked to a table. The slaughterhouse was lined with shelves and tables with piles of non-perishable foods on them, and he grabbed an armful, heaving it into the back of the truck. Harley joined in, tossing boxes in.
"If anyone sees any cake, grab it," she called.
They worked as quickly as they could, filling the back of the van up to the seats. Scarecrow finally stopped and looked at the piles of cans and bags and boxes.
"Well it's not much, but it's a fair amount for now. Let's get out of here." He walked towards the front of the van, but Harvey stopped by the unconscious police officer. Crane stopped and looked back.
"Two-Face, what are you doing," he said cautiously, watching him. Harvey didn't move, before looking up at them.
"That's not my name."
"Shit," Scarecrow drew his gun, but he wasn't fast enough. Harvey fired a shot and the gun went spinning out of Crane's hand, and Harvey dropped to his knees beside the officer, grabbing the radio on his shoulder.
"Gordon, Batman- anyone- help- It's me, it's Harvey- your food's being stolen you have to-" he was cut off as Scarecrow tackled him to the ground.
"God damn you, Dent!" he shouted, his hands on the other man's throat.
"Not- right- we can't take their food-" he choked. Harley stepped between them, pulling Scarecrow off of him.
"Stop it the both of ya. Get in the van," she glared at them and pushed Harvey to the van, "and someone tell me why we named this stupid thing a raid. It's a robbery. Or am I missing something?"
"You're missing something," Batman growled behind her.
"Oh sweet Jesus!" Harley cried, jumping and spinning around. "Bells, I tell ya. The whole lotta ya need bells."
Batman tried to grab her, but Crane caught her arm and threw her into the running van.
"Drive!" he screamed, leaping into the back and barely closing the doors as she tore out of the slaughterhouse. She could see Harvey scrambling after them in the rearview mirror, but Batman took him down and watched them go.
"Damn it," Harley muttered as she shifted into drive and floored it. "We shouldn't abandon him." She glanced in the rearview mirror before swerving around a corner. "He couldn't help it."
"I know," Crane sighed. "But there's no way we can take down the Batman and keep what we got. I'd hoped that his dual personality wouldn't get in the way, but part of me figured that it probably would."
"Ugh," Harley groaned. "Who named this stupid thing a 'raid' anyway?"
"Harvey," Scarecrow took his mask off as they drove across the bridge in silence. Harley glanced at him before refocusing on where she was driving, her hands tight on the wheel.
"Well you're all stupid, and the Joker was right; I didn't need ta know."
"We needed you to know, though," Scarecrow pointed out. He gestured for her to turn left up ahead. "He wants you to stop outside of the tower, he's going to give them the food there…"
A small crowd was gathering in the spot that he had indicated, murmuring anxiously among themselves. Harley honked to get them out of the way, and then she stopped the van near the base of the tower, in front of the door. As she tried to get out, Jonathan caught her wrist.
"No. A mob of criminals is a dangerous thing on it's own, but starving, caged criminals? We wait," he said simply, and Harley shut her door again.
There was a sudden thump on the top of the van, and moments later the Joker's head looked down at them through the windshield. He grinned and jerked a thumb to urge them to come out of Crane's door, and they did so quickly and quietly; the Joker beamed at them and caught Harley's hand, helping her up onto the top of the vehicle with him, and Crane followed.
"Where's Two-Face?" he asked, looking around in confusion. Scarecrow glanced at Harley and then busied himself with his mask, pulling it back on.
"The Batman got him, Puddin," Harley said quietly.
Joker's face fell and he looked down. Scarecrow glanced at Harley, wondering why she wouldn't mention that he was a traitor, but he kept silent.
"I was hoping we could get in and out without incident, but he's too damn fast." His fists clenched, and he looked down. "No matter. Let's get this food to the starving masses, eh?" he grinned again, ruffling Harley's hair. "You did good."
"Hey! Where's the food!?" a gruff voice shouted from the crowd. It looked like nearly every prisoner and inmate in the city had gathered. There weren't many of them left, a couple hundred, maybe, but Scarecrow quickly realized that they may not have enough food for everyone.
"Harley," he whispered nervously, but the Joker cut him off.
"It's all right here, stolen from the Batman himself," he called to the audience, beaming. "And you'll get your shares soon enough." Harley clung onto the Joker's sleeve as she watched the agitated crowd.
"Puddin?" she said unsurely.
"It's alright," he glanced at her. "I have it under control."
"What if there's not enough to go around?" she whispered.
"There may not be enough for everyone," he cried, and Crane's eyes widened. The crowd stirred even more, angry voices growing louder. The Joker held up his hand and they quieted a bit, but only a bit. "But this is just the first 'shipment.' We'll get more, of course. In due time. What we have now, however, is this- not to mention what little we have in storage- and the river. We'll get more-"
"-we don't want the Batman's charity!" Someone in the crowd hollered, and there were shouts of agreement. The Joker's hand froze in the air and his grin grew darker, his face twisting in fury.
"Puddin," Harley grabbed his arm more tightly, "he just doesn't have to eat it."
"It's not charity when it's been robbed," he hissed under his breath. "Stupid pack of…" he raised his voice again over the agitated crowd, none of the light jesting in it that there had been before. "Then starve," he barked, his gruff voice carrying over the gathered masses and silencing them as they listened. "If you'd rather starve than eat what little table scraps we can drag away from the Bat like a beaten dog- then do so." he grinned horribly. "More for the rest of us."
"That's not fair!" a woman whined, and the Joker turned, his eyes flashing.
"Did no one ever tell you not to bite the hand that feeds you!?" he shouted, and on his words four clown-masked thugs emerged from the watchtower with zombies on dog-catcher's poles. The crowd backed up in a hurry, the sounds of frantic wailing and desperate shouts for mercy crescendoing in the dark, the Joker's laughter rising above it. Towards the back a few people screamed, only raising the panic.
Scarecrow and Harley cried out as the Joker fired a gun into the air, the shot silencing every man and woman standing around the truck.
"Listen. To. Me," he hissed, glaring down at the crowd, his hand still raised in the air where he'd fired the gun. "Before the end of the world, it was Batman who'd put you here. In our own utopia, our little Arkham City. He caged us like animals!" he screamed in the silence, looking around at the faces watching him. "We were labeled- freaks, lowlifes, murderers, criminals, psychopaths- hell, when the apocalypse came, they threw in zombie as well!" He let out a hysterical laugh, grinning down at them. "He considers us garbage! Inhuman! Well we freaks have got to stick together, right?"
There were murmurs of hesitant agreement from the crowd.
"We're human! We have as much a right to live as the useless, docile Gothamites that he keeps subdued on the other side of town, right?!" Joker shouted, waving his gun in the air. The sounds of agreement grew louder as his words sank in.
"So we will take these scraps- whatever we can- and survive! We have to survive, because in a time like this- our humanity is all we have!" He laughed at his own words. "We have to steal food, like common criminals-" another laugh- "because Batman doesn't see fit to feed us! If we die, we're checking off a few things on his to-do list!" Joker looked around at the crowd. "Why fight each other? Why not take what we can get- survive- Because we all know who the real enemy is!"
"Batman!" someone shouted from the center, and a roar rose from the gathered criminals and lunatics.
"Kill the Batman!"
"Live to fight him!"
They shouted and cheered, the rebellious agitation subdued- for now. Joker looked around, his eyes narrowed as he smiled darkly around him. He turned his head to Harley a bit, not taking his eyes off of the gathered crowd. "Give them what they want. Make sure everyone gets an equal share, including myself and you and Crane- however small they may be. Did they have any cake?"
"Not that I could find," Harley muttered. "It was a lot of canned fruit." She stuck her tongue out.
"Yuck. Maybe they can have it all," he sighed as Scarecrow jumped down and began divvying up small portions of the food to everyone. The crowd quieted and dispersed a bit as he did, little by little. Joker grinned. "Perfectly according to plan," he whispered, and then turned on his heel to jump down from the truck. "Perfectly."