The walls of the townhouse room Harley rented were wallpapered with newspaper articles, photos, and written notes, all regarding the with a small police scanner, the dresser and small table were covered with scattered knives, Joker cards, and makeup supplies, and the bed and floor were littered with scraps of cloth and thread, while sewing needles stuck out of the bedside lampshade. The television was always on GCN, Gotham's most popular news network, and she had tapes stacked next to the T.V. stand where she had recorded every submitted video by The Joker, Every newscast regarding his latest crime, even the late night comedy show where they parodied his rivalry with the Batman. Harley was idly flipping through an old photo album from before... well, before the scars, before the pain, before the heartache, before the Joker. She stopped and stared at a photo taken on their first date, and sank into memories. It was a nicer restaurant, but not too formal. She was wearing a blue-jean miniskirt and a red tank top, he wore a purple T-shirt, Black sports jacket, and jeans. She remembered afterwards they went to a classic black and white movie, and they ended the night with a romantic walk in the park. That night was when she fell in love. "-I had a vision of a world Without Batman. The mob ground out a little profit, and the police tried to shut them down one block at a time. And it was so... boring." The Joker's voice sounded from the television speakers, and Harley quickly grabbed the remote and pressed the VCR record button. "...But why should I have all the fun? Let's give someone else a chance. If Coleman Reese isn't dead in 60 minutes, then I blow up a Hospital." This was her chance. She may very well find him today, at a hospital... But which one? Quickly moving to the table, she brushed a few knives aside and switched on the scanner. Within seconds, it had keyed into a busy frequency. - Bomb threat on hospitals in Gotham, requesting countywide backup, SWAT, search-and-rescue, school buses for evac. K-9 units if available. Dispatch One unit to GCN headquarters to pick up Coleman Reese. Gotham Central Hospital number 1 priority. Over. - -10-4 - She switched it back off. Gotham Central is priorty, huh? That wasn't too far from here, but if she didn't hurry, she may not make it. As it was, he may be somewhere else altogether, but she was going to take the chance. She needed to hurry, though, or she would miss her window of opportunity, and walking wouldn't get her anywhere. Glancing out the window, she saw a motorcycle across the street, in which the owner had left the keys. Not a smart move in this town, she thought, but she wasn't going to criticize. It was as though fate was giving her the means to accomplish her goal, and if it was just luck, maybe she'd buy a powerball ticket tonight. Laughing joyfully, she quickly ran out the door, grabbing her leather jacket and scarf and donning them as she moved down the townhouse stairs. Bursting out into the sunlight, she paused for a few precious moments, then crossed the street, fired up the bike, and quickly pulled away from the sidewalk, speeding towards Gotham Central. There was a road that ran on a hill past the Hospital, and she sped down it. She had just passed into sight of the building when, suddenly, there was a roadblock. She very agily leapt off the bike, which fell to the side and skidded a few yards before stopping. A police officer quickly rushed over. "Are you alright?" He asked, concerned, helping her up and eyeing her scarf suspiciously. "I'm fine. I'm just trying to get down there," she pointed to the hospital, making up a story quickly,"so I can pick my friend up. She was moved there after a small traffic accident this morning and had to get a few stitches, but none of her family could pick her up until this evening, and when I heard about the threat, I- I just have to get her out of there!" "Ma'am, it's going to be okay. Everyone has been evacuated from Gotham General and are being moved to other hospitals." "Officer, I need to go down there and find her before they leave. If she's on one of those buses..." "But she may have already left." "I need to know! She's my best friend, and i've been worried sick all day about her." The officer looked around, then told her,"Fine, but make it quick, and if anything happens, get yourself out first. Take care. Oh, and next time, wear a Helmet. I'll let you off with a warning this time." Harley went and picked up the motorcycle, and cranked it. The accident hadn't done anything major to it, just some scratches. "Thank you, officer!" she yelled over the engine's roar, then veered off the road, and straight down the hill to the hospital. She was halfway across the parking lot when she was stopped again. "Miss, you can't go any farther." She ignored him and revved the bike, passing him, not glancing back at his shocked expression. She stopped at the third bus from the emergency exit and dismounted. Here, she could walk closer to the hospital, but if things got hairy, she could quickly move back to the bike, which she left running. There were explosions inside the hospital, screams erupted all around her from the school buses, and a rather strange looking nurse walked out. Harley didn't believe that the nurse was really a nurse, however, and her conviction grew stronger when the nurse stopped when the explosions died, and looked very exasperated. Harley looked closer as the nurse pulled a trigger remote device from a pocket, and noticed the strange clown makeup the nurse was wearing... it was him, the Joker! She took a step closer, until there was another chain of even larger explosions, and then He started running toward her. Harley was frozen with anticipation, but instead, he jumped into the back door of the closest school bus, which quickly took off, along with the remaining buses. All hope diminished, she quickly ran back to her bike and attempted to follow the school bus that the Joker had boarded, but it was quickly lost in the confusion of buses and the smoke and debris from the explosion. Despair and desperation swirled around her thicker than the smoke. How would she ever find the Joker now? He could be going anywhere... but probably not a hospital. He'll probably take everyone on that bus hostage and use them in his next introduction of chaos. She suddenly had an epiphany of sorts. She'd been holding on to hope so long, and come so close, why give up now? She'd get another chance, or die trying sooner or later; and the way this town was, sooner was the more likely of choices. She headed back to her townhouse, quickly hiding the bike in the alleyway behind it. Entering her room and locking the door behind her, she sat back on the bed and gazed dispassionately at the television. "- people are still missing, including GCN's own Mike Engel. I'm now being told that we're cutting to a video GCN has just recieved..." Harley sat up straighter, turning the television up. " I'm Mike Engel for Gotham Tonight. What does it take for you people to want to join in? You failed to kill the lawyer. I've gotta get you off the bench -" "-Bench-" the joker interrupted quietly. "-And into the game." "-Game." Joker echoed with a chuckle. "Come nightfall, the city is mine -" "-Mine-" "And anyone left here plays by my rules." "- Rules." "If you don't want to be in the game, Get out Now." "Get. Out. Now." "But the bridge and tunnel crowd are sure in for a surprise. Ha-ha, ha-ha." The screen panned to show the Joker laughing, then cut out. Harley turned off the television, and pulled out her laptop, punching in keys to hack into anything she could use to help her find the Joker. Eventually, she came to a promising file in the Wayne Enterprises computers; a sonar device, recently pieced together in the R & D Department. She hacked access into it and settled down to listen in on all of Gotham's conversations.