There were a few reasons why the Joker had decided to become an adventurer and comedian extraordinaire. One was because he was very good at that job, having an innate sense of danger and a flair for excitement, while also being incredibly funny. And another reason was that it was easier than any real job, and that was because real jobs involved a lot of hard work and tedious drudgery. He was reminded of this as he and Dr. Quinzel continued to excavate the site, she attending to every detail with her little brush, and he trying to shovel clumps of sand out of her way so she could examine what she found.
"I gotta say, this wasn't what I had in mind when I got my doctorate in archaehistology," commented Joker, wiping the sweat from his forehead. "I thought it would be more tomb raiding type stuff, and less digging in the dirt."
"Why would you think that?" asked Harley, looking up at him in confusion.
"I dunno – I guess popular culture gives a distorted view of the profession," said Joker. "Makes it look more glamorous than it is. I guess it serves me right for confusing popular culture with reality, but there's a lot of that going around these days."
"I think there's an element of glamor to this," said Harley. "I mean, it's not flashy, but there's definitely something to be said for a hard day's work done well."
"Sure," sighed Joker. "If you like that kinda thing."
He reached for the canteen by his side and took a swig of water. "You're very hot," commented Harley suddenly.
"What?" he asked, looking down to see her staring at him.
"I mean…you must be...very hot…temperature wise," she stammered, flushing. "Of course, since it's hot out here, it's natural you'd be…hot. Your…your shirt is sticking to your chest…not that I've been staring at your chest," she added, gluing her eyes to her work again.
"Aren't you hot?" he asked.
She smiled shyly up at him. "What do you think?" she asked.
He smiled back. "Personally, I think you're exceptionally hot," he murmured. "I don't know how you stand it."
She said nothing else, but continued to blush as she focused on her work. Joker resumed his digging, which certainly wasn't a fun activity in the intense heat. He was just about to resign himself to the fact that he wasn't getting any further with Dr. Quinzel, so he might as well leave her to it, when his shovel suddenly struck something hard.
He bent down, wiping the sand off what he had found. "Uh…Harley, I think you'll wanna see this," he said.
"What is it?" she asked, racing over to see a piece of stone with a bat carved onto it.
She gasped in excitement. "Get Dr. Crane!" she said, brushing away the sand carefully. "Hurry! He needs to see this!"
Joker dashed back to Crane's tent, where he and Tetch were talking over tea. "What is it?" demanded Crane, as Joker raced inside.
"Found something…bat-related...Harley wants you to see!" he gasped, out of breath. Crane and Tetch leapt to their feet and followed him hurriedly back to the dig site, where Harley was carefully brushing away at what they had found. It was a long, flat slab of rock, whose edges were still hidden by the sand.
"God in heaven!" gasped Crane, kneeling down next to her to examine it. "I do believe it's the roof of the Batman's temple."
"Temple?" repeated Tetch. "Not tomb?"
"What's the difference?" asked Joker.
"As you well know, being an expert on the Batman, Dr. Joker, the temple of Batman was built by the citizens of Gotham to appease him," retorted Crane. "It's where all his sacrifices were performed. The tomb is where he was imprisoned by his fellow gods, and where he supposedly still lives to this day."
"So this thing won't have an immortal bloodthirsty god in it," said Joker, nodding. "Good to know."
"No, but it might have ghosts or something," suggested Tetch. "If there were human sacrifices who died in agony there."
"Jervis, ghosts don't exist," snapped Crane.
"But blood-drinking gods do?" demanded Tetch.
"Oh yeah, they do, trust me," agreed Joker, nodding. "Jury's still out on the ghosts though."
"This is going to be a huge project to excavate," Crane said, carefully examining the structure. "If this is the roof, we have quite a ways to dig before we reach the floor. But we should be able to find a gap where the roof ends, and maybe clear out a hole big enough to drop into the temple from above. Harley, please get the workers over here, and tell them we've found Gotham."
Just after the sun set that night, the hard work of the hired hands and an annoyed Joker had managed to clear a gap in the temple roof just big enough for someone to fit through. "We'll have to wait until daylight to go in," said Crane, holding a lantern over the hole and trying to see into the temple below. "It's far too dark now – even with the lantern, we'd be unlikely to see much."
"And who knows what's down there?" asked Tetch, as he stared at the black hole below. "I certainly won't be the one risking my life by venturing inside."
"I will," volunteered Joker.
"And why do you think you deserve that honor?" demanded Crane.
"Well, I did most of the digging, for one," retorted Joker. "And since Harley and I did most of the work, by rights we should be the first ones to enter the temple."
"I don't wanna go down there," said Harley, shivering as she glanced into the hole. "I'm a little claustrophobic."
"I have no phobias, so I'll be going down there as soon as it's light," said Crane. "You can hold the rope that lowers me down, Dr. Joker."
"Yeah, you better hope I don't drop it," retorted Joker. "And you better hope there aren't any snakes or spiders or scorpions down there that might try to kill you. Or bats, of course."
"I thought you did have a bat phobia, Jonathan," commented Tetch. "Has that been resolved?"
"It's not a serious phobia!" snapped Crane.
"Really? You're looking for this Batman guy and you're terrified of bats?" asked Joker. "That's almost a funny joke."
"I believe in facing one's fears, Dr. Joker," retorted Crane. "Rather than allowing them to master us. Which is why I think it would be a good idea if Harley were to accompany me when I go down there tomorrow – facing her claustrophobia will help her overcome it."
"Yeah, but maybe start off small in a safe environment rather than plunging her into a dark, confined space with things that could legitimately kill her," retorted Joker.
"I'll make my own decision about going down there, thanks," spoke up Harley. "I'll let you know tomorrow. But for now, I think we should all go to bed. We've got a busy day ahead of us, and we need our rest, although I don't think I'll be able to sleep a wink."
Everyone reluctantly dispersed to their separate tents, except for Joker, who took up his post guarding the artifact tent. It was a pretty dull job – the camp was silent and still, and completely dark. Joker smoked thoughtfully - the light from the end of his cigarette was the only light for miles, except for the vast carpet of stars covering the sky above.
And then he saw another flash of light, over by the temple dig site. He thought he might have imagined it for a moment, as it was gone as quickly as it had appeared. But then there was another brief flash, as if someone was adjusting a flashlight, and Joker stood up, heading over to the site with his gun drawn.
There was indeed a figure bent over the hole, shining a flashlight down into the temple. "Stand up and hands up," demanded Joker.
The figure turned, and Joker stared at it, stunned. "Harley?" he asked. "What are you doing creeping around the site like this?"
"I…uh…" she stammered, looking panicked. "I…that is…I couldn't sleep, so I wanted…to…uh…check out the site."
"Ok, but why were you sneaking around in the dark?" asked Joker.
"Um…I…didn't want to disturb anyone," she said. "They need their sleep for tomorrow."
"What are you looking for down there?" asked Joker, approaching the hole and staring down into the darkness.
"N…nothing," she stammered.
"I wish you wouldn't lie to me, Harley," he said. "I like you, and I want to trust you. But you have to start telling me the truth. Why did you remove those objects from the tent? And why are you out here under cover of darkness?"
Harley stared at him with panic in her eyes. "I…uh…" she stammered.
Suddenly, Joker sensed a movement behind him. He turned, but was too late to prevent the shovel colliding with his head, and knocking him unconscious.