And so classes have started. It's really fun but I can already tell that this is gonna be hard as hell.. -_-

This chapter took a week I think, and the next one might take longer. Sorry for those following it, but I promise that I will pull through with this fic.

BTW... I do not own these characters.. :p Just the story (Sorry.. forgot to put that in the first ones)

So here we go!

8. Save an 8-Ball Fracture

Something wasn't sitting right. It could be just her being paranoid again, after all it's what her mind regresses to whenever she comes home from work. But Harleen has come to the point where reason and paranoia barely differed from one another, and it's beyond questioning.

Her apartment was a stale and gloomy reflection of her personal life, just as how Arkham (and the Joker) was an exciting and perilous reflection of, well the 'better' side of her life .

She'd turned on the TV once she got to her room, muting out the sound to fill her not-so-much home with black and white shadows and silence. She didn't bother with dinner or a bath or for anything else.

Once she'd realized that she would have to wait another 8 hours to see her patient again, Harleen was tucked in bed with patient files sprawled over her sheets. Well.. just one patient's file.

Despite being given assignments on other patients in Arkham (all of which were very interesting), Harleen only drowned herself in the Joker's files. All of which she'd read over a million times now.

They were the only things that could keep her close to her Mista J whenever she went home. And not see him until the next day. Losing sight of him ruined her and she often thought of horrible scenarios that could happen to him while she wasn't there.

But tonight, as Harleen lay in her bed, cold and unmoving, staring at the rose stem the Joker gave her, a relentless tug in her gut was telling her something. She couldn't name it yet, but it was a bad seething under her skin.

'Keep smiling, dear Harley..."

That's what he said. What he always wants her to do without even saying it. But at the end of the day, when she was all alone, it was impossible for her.

The lines where Harleen stood were getting horribly blurred. She needed to find her place in the cage she put herself in. Otherwise, the man that stands outside of the bars will ruin her completely.

Shifting in place, Harleen faced the TV now, finding that the show was now the late night news. She didn't have much interest at first, even contemplating turning off the machine to end her night.

"This just in..police are currently caught in a shoot-out with the Joker and his crew, right here in downtown Gotham.."

Immediately Harleen sat up, staring at the TV screen before scrambling for the remote control to turn up the volume. But the phone on her nightstand suddenly blared off. Heart racing because she knew who it was, Harleen swiped the phone and jammed it to her ear.

'I'm on my way!"

This was great! It had been a while since he had the chance to let loose and rave around at night and incite havoc in his wake.

The Joker hadn't expected the orderlies to be so easily bribed and tricked. But then again, what would be expected of Gotham's finest? Stupidity, that's what.

Now, somewhere around 1-ish, in this bullet fest between the fuzz and his for-now crew, the Joker felt blessed with the gun firing off in his hand, waking up all who were unfortunate enough to have decided to sleep at this part of the city.

Some of the police who had arrived on the scene were on the ground now, bleeding and crying like a bunch of piglets who couldn't find an extra tit from their mother. More were flooding in from every direction, surrounding his group tightly.

Even the Joker knows that they would be apprehended soon. There wasn't much of a plan after sneaking out of Arkham, and they only had a limited amount of ammunition. They were gonna go down soon.

Not that it bothered him. It wasn't a problem at all. He knew that right from the start when he decided to play around with the orderlies who now stood beside him, wasting bullets. If he was looking to escape the asylum permanently he trusted only Johnny Boy.

No.. He was just here to let some steam off. He was here because he needed a break from that confinig cell, and poisonous meals.. And his psychiatrist Harley.

Just the thought of her name faltered his aim a bit, sending a bullet through one of the cops' head. This seems to enrage the other officers, and the Joker was planning his head-start on ditching his would-be associates.

But a shadow from above shrouded around them.

All bullets stopped, eyes all in the sky. They were all gawking at the dark, but only the Joker knew where he was. He grinned from ear-to-ear, dropping his gun to the ground and turning around to the black figure as he landed down the scene to join them.

"Well.." The Joker started, uncontrollably exhilirated. "You sure took your damn time, Batsy.."

The bat-masked hero of Gotham stood stoffly before him, cladded in his cloak and the night. The stereotype of it all made the Joker cackle out madly.

"I thought you'd learn your lesson after last time.." The Batman said, fists readying themselves.

"I'm a bad student.." The Joker admonished, even giving a small pout. "Which is good because your pet was a bad student too."

"Don't you dare talk about Jason!"

Joker laughed, loving how the night has served him favorably. There were lots of guns and weapons scattered on the ground from his side, most of which they weren't able to use because they only needed guns against the cops. But the Joker had a specific weapon around here. Just for his dear friend.. and it was right by his feet.

He reached down and picked up the lone crowbar, cold and heavy in his dead-white hand. "Wanna see how I killed your pet?"

And that was it. The Batman lunged at him, and the Joker could only hear his mad laughter ringing in his ears as the world faded away.