Darkness falls on the Batman Family.

Gathered at Arkham Asylum, still in ruins after Harley and Joker's escape plan, Gotham's worst villains wait. Batman and his team race to stop the Joker's slaughter of them all, and they're making good time.

But every win comes with a loss. Whether it outweighs the win or not, is up to the hero. They choose whether they succeeded or failed. Dick- Nightwing- was recovering from the shock of Harley's death. She knows what she's doing is right, but betrayal never goes unpunished.

The wind whipped through the crumbled walls, blowing ash and soot in the air. The lights of Gotham below the Asylum were blurred, and rapidly vanishing behind the mist rolling over the city before the coming storm. Tarps flapped in the area where reconstruction had begun, and the small party gathered in the still mostly intact and sheltered, empty atrium was silent and still. The wind and the chill couldn't reach them there, howling outside of the asylum like a madman. Wings fluttered in the dark. A cane tapped sharply on the dusty marble floor. There was a sharp, metallic chink as a coin was flipped into the air.

"I thought the clown would have more sense than to keep us waiting," Two-Face dithered, catching the dollar coin in his hand and then flicking it up again. Lightning flashed in a cloud bank towering to the East over the city, briefly illuminating his gruesome features through the skylights in the atrium. The Riddler looked up at them, pondering how they survived the bombing.

"Sense, he has none. Tact, however, the man prides himself on. If he's late, it may be for a reason," Riddler replied quietly, leaning on his cane, his hat pulled low over his head as he looked down again, the brim hiding his face. As the thunder rumbled up the hill from Gotham, Man-Bat fluttered nervously where he was perched on the overturned reception desk. Bane glanced at him in irritation, Poison Ivy half hidden behind his massive form. Penguin scoffed, his monocle flashing in the sudden light as he flicked a lighter open, guarding the flame with his hand and lighting a cigar.

"Tact. I laugh to think that you credit that man with having any self control at all." He grunted, the glowing tip of his cigar the only pinprick of light amongst the group.

"Then why are you here?" Scarecrow's silky voice hissed from the edge of the group. Ivy glanced in his direction, mild curiosity on her face.

"I could ask you the same question," Penguin retorted. Scarecrow laughed softly.

"Because he asked. When the Joker asks you to do something, it's not a question. It's a command. It's a yes, or you get gassed."

"You'd die with a smile on your face," Riddler chuckled.

"He'd kill anyone who interfered with his thought process." Scarecrow shrugged, stepping closer to them. "Keep your mouth shut when he get's here, Penguin, or he'll kill you."

"And wouldn't that be a shame," Red Hood called as he advanced on them, Catwoman following behind. His helmet was tucked under his arm, his black mask over his eyes.

"Great. Who invited the ex-Robin here?" Two-Face grumbled.

"I thought birds and cats didn't get along?" Riddler quipped.

"You're late," a voice hissed from the darkness. Joker strode into view, his hands gripping the lapels of the fuchsia purple trench coat sweeping around his ankles. A horrible grin reached from ear to ear, his ghastly white face practically luminous in the dark.

"I believe you're late," Penguin grumbled, blowing cigar smoke into the air. Joker's smile wavered a bit, but he held his ground, his green eyes narrowing.

"On the contrary, my flightless frigid friend, I've been observing you since you all arrived. I just love to people watch. Now that we're all…" he trailed off, looking around. "Something is missing."

"Where's your little Harlot?" Penguin teased, and Joker's grin faltered again.

"Her name is Harley, I believe you mispronounced it." He said, a laugh rising in his throat. Lightning flashed across the sky above them.

"Now. You're all gathered here tonight because of one man, and that man isn't me. We all know his name. And we are the ones who rise above the rest of the criminals in this decrepit city because we don't fear that name. 'Imagine the possibilities just through those doors' I thought. Those doors!" He gestured grandly to the front doors of the Asylum at the other end of the atrium, laughing. "They call us insane. You know, one out of every four people is suffering from mental illness. So I say, check three friends; if they're ok, then its you!" He let loose a peal of laughter, echoing with a thunderclap in the large empty room.

"What the hell is all of this supposed to mean, Clown!?" Penguin spat, the last word dripping with disdain. One corner of the Joker's mouth dipped down.

"If you want me to get right to the point, the act won't be nearly as fun," he said patiently, folding his hands and nodding as if talking to a child. Penguin stood furiously and put his top hat onto his head.

"I don't have time for this," he snapped, hooking his umbrella on his arm. Joker's hand shot out swiftly, the gun flashing in the lightning streaking the sky. Penguin froze.

"Now nobody likes a spoilsport. Take a seat, the show is about to start." He grinned. Penguin snorted.

"The show goes sour when you know the act. We all know that's your gag gun, funnyman."

"Ha!" Joker cried, pulling the trigger. The flag shot out of the barrel and unfolded, and he began to laugh uncontrollably. Scarecrow chuckled a bit, and Riddler smothered a giggle. Penguin smirked at the Joker as he gasped, wiping away a tear. "Oh, it gets me every time," he sighed happily and then pulled the trigger again. The flag shot out at incredible speed, catching the penguin in the chest and knocking him backward. He gasped and spluttered on the floor as the Joker tossed the gun away, cocking a head to look at him as a few of the others in the group cried out in surprise and anger. "See, you've gone and ruined the show for the other kids. You just lie there quietly and bleed to death while I finish, okay?" he said gently, as if chastising a child. Joker whirled on the rest of the group, answering their horrified stares with a blank smile.

"What the hell?" Two-Face muttered. Joker snorted.

"Trophy hunting, they call it. I think penguins are endangered…" he mumbled to himself. "Where were we. Oh, yes," he grinned as they heard the first raindrops pattering on the glass of the skylights above them. "Harley, Darling!" Joker cried, and on his word, gas exploded from the vents in the room. The group broke up into chaos, villains sprinting for exits and crying out in surprise and terror. The Joker threw back his head and laughed as they began to drop, one by one, to the marble floors. "Oh don't worry you sad little pussycats, you! It's just a little something to help you sleep. Wouldn't want to ruin all the good fun we're about to have by killing you outright, no sir."

The Joker's laughing echoed off of the walls as Red Hood wheezed, struggling to keep his eyes open. He grabbed Catwoman's wrist furiously, but he could already feel the gas taking effect. "Wasn't- part of the- plan-" he choked, before his head dropped down onto the floor and everything went black.

Joker surveyed the area, nodding at his work like some proud artist as Harley joined him, the gas clearing almost as quickly as it had come.

"Well done, dear. Are the chemicals all in place?" He smiled, whipping off his trench coat.

"Of course, Puddin," she beamed at him.

"Good," Joker chuckled, and began tying up the unconscious criminals, gesturing for Harley to do the same. "Heh… Harley Darling, all this reminds me of a joke."

"And what's that?" she asked, immediately complying.

"Well, you see, there was this mental hospital. And one day, a doctor hears that a patient had saved another from a suicide attempt by pulling him out of the bathtub. The rescuer was promptly called into the doctor's office. And the doctor says: 'Sir, your records and your heroic deed indicate that you're ready to go home. I'm only sorry that the man you saved later hung himself in his room.'" Joker giggled, lumping all of the villains next to each other in the center of the atrium. "And then the patient, he says: 'Oh, he didn't kill himself- I hung him up to dry!" The Joker burst into laughter, clapping Harley on the shoulder as he doubled over laughing. Harley let out a breathy laugh.

"Where did you hear that one?"

"Used to tell it to my…" he frowned slightly, his laughter tapering off. He sighed deeply, and then the smile returned to his face. "Never mind that. Let's dose them and get home. Tomorrow it will be You and I against the world-"

"-I don't think so, Joker." Batman snapped from the shadows. Joker's eyes lit up, and he grinned broadly again.

"Bats! I was wondering when the hell you'd get here!" he exclaimed, spreading his arms. "You're just in time. Oh! One of these is yours, isn't it?" He stepped back to show Red Hood tied with the rest. "And last I heard, you were this here Kitty's favorite plaything." Joker tugged on Catwoman's mask and then bent over to look at Red Hood. "Well, he's not exactly a lively kid, but he has your eyes!" He cackled.

"You were never going to form a team," Batman stepped darkly out of the shadows, Robin at his right. Joker glanced at the boy and then grinned broader.

"Very good. A decent show can get cluttered up when there are too many leads. Stick to two, or one is always best. After a while they all start to get in each other's way. Not to mention the fans! Oh, the fans of the show will get all caught up in which character is better and they become divided and confused- It's a nightmare. All great plays, movies, books; they all have one. Good. Character!" He laughed, and then began to pace a bit. "Now as a performer, I get concerned for my fans. I know that they know that I'm the best, but there are so many other distractions. I'm simply seeking to eliminate these distractions. Now I don't want to keep rambling on about these things because that's what usually gets my good friend Nigma caught, so I'll just cut to the chase-" He tilted his head down, glaring at Batman. "-I'm the star here. I'm the celebrity, and your focus should be on me. They-" he gestured to the others tied up behind him- "They are done for. The list is out, and the director has had to make some cuts. Only the best acts go in, now."

"So you'll just slaughter them all?" Batman asked, still not advancing.

The Joker laughed. "Well, yes. Don't ask stupid questions, detective, it makes you seem so dull. Their acts have been cut, and mine will go on to the spotlight." He grinned darkly. "I'm the star. I'm the comedian. This is the joke-" he turned to Harley "-and dear, you're the punchline," he cackled as a heavy stream of acid shot from the lapel on his coat. Harley sighed, and the stream of acid cut off abruptly, falling pitifully at her feet.

"How could you not have realized that I broke all your toys days ago?" She shook her head. "I'm sure poor Oswald was faking until you gassed him." Joker grinned broader suddenly.

"Oh, Harley." He began to laugh again, shaking his head. Harley smiled back.

"Did you really believe I would trust you again?"

"Of course not!" He laughed harder, putting his hands on his knees. "Looks like the joke's- on me-" he gasped and cackled.

"It was harder than I thought," she sighed, "pretending to still love you. But you always did love an act didn't you?"

"Oh Harley- stop-" he howled with laughter. Harley pursed her lips.

"Of course part of me still hoped you wouldn't try to kill me," she admitted, "but you were always one for the dramatic flare weren't you? I guess what's done is done. I just needed to know your plan." She turned to Batman. "I gave instructions to Gordon, so the GCPD should be waiting to come in and round up the criminals if you want to tune in to their frequency."

"I guess I'll just be taking my leave, then. It was good sparring with ya, Harles," Joker laughed as he turned to walk away. "Oh, 'you always did love an act'? I'm writing that down…" Harley raised an eyebrow at Batman.

"Do I need to give you a letter telling you to get him?" she asked. Batman launched after the Joker as he broke into a sprint, cackling as he flew down a hallway toward the construction zone that used to be the west wing. Robin chased after him and Batgirl and Red Robin materialized from the shadows, hurrying to get the tied up unconscious villains out of the Asylum and to the police vehicles tearing up outside. Poison Ivy sat up, shaking off the ropes Harley had pretended to tie.

"Get out of my way, so I can wake Catwoman and the idiot up," she said calmly. Red Robin glanced at her unsurely. Ivy sighed. "My instructions were to bring something to counteract their sedative. Do you really think we'd just let the two of them lie here?"

Nightwing shot past Harley and dragged her into a sprint beside him, following Batman and Robin.

"Damn you for making me go through thinking you'd abandoned me," he snapped, and then smiled. "And sorry for attacking you earlier." They rounded a corner and chased the others down yet another hallway. The singed walls still smelled like ash. The Joker burst into a stairway and headed up, still laughing all the way.

"I'm sorry but I needed to be convincing," she admitted with a blush. "Besides back when I started the plan with Ivy, I thought you hated me. Then you just went and muddled everything up."

"How dare I," he laughed. "I need to be punished for loving you." They ran into the staircase and could hear Batman and Robin chasing the Joker above them, and they followed.

"I meant it when I said it would be easier if you hated me," she scolded him, glancing over at his profile as they ran. Nightwing smiled again.

"It's never been about 'easy'," he replied. Harley shook her head but smiled.

"You should be thanking me, Batman! I got them all in one place, tied up in neat little bows for you. Consider it a gift. I know we both have our differences, but let's part as friends for tonight. I'd hate to end on a sour note!" the Joker shouted over his shoulder, yanking a door open and sprinting into the hallway. He tugged his glove off with his teeth as he ran and pulled out a bomb trigger from his pocket.

"I am sorry," Harley whispered just loud enough for Nightwing to hear. He smiled a little as the door banged shut behind Batman and Robin, and he wrenched it open to follow.

"I forgive you."

"You shouldn't," she cried weakly. "All I've done is hurt you and lie to you, and you should hate me. You've been there for me while I was abandoning you to save people who will probably hate me forever because they are going to get locked up," she rambled before stopping herself. "I don't deserve you," she said firmly.

"Harley!" Nightwing reluctantly skidded to a stop in front of her, grabbing her face. Batman and Robin would be fine for a moment. "The past, remember what I said about the past? You did what you thought you had to do to help us and protect us. I see that now. To any woman that would do that for me, I say I don't deserve you. Okay?" He looked her in the eyes, panting slightly.

"I am still so sorry about betraying you," she mumbled, moving close to him so that he wrapped his arms around her, and she buried his face in his shoulder. "I didn't know how else to find out what he was planning, and I knew even if you captured him, he would escape someday and complete it. I'm so sorry."

"I know, Harley. Let's finish this. You with me?" he smiled down at her and stroked her cheek, an arm around her. A door at the other end of the hall splintered off of its hinges and both the door and the Joker hit the opposite wall. He crumpled to the ground, hooting with laughter.

"I'll always be with you," she answered as Batman entered through the broken door. Nightwing followed down the hall and went into the room after them. Batman dragged the Joker to his feet, slamming him violently against the wall.

"Oh, Batman!" Joker giggled uncontrollably, gasping for breath. "How much longer can we do this dance? I almost won, this time," he laughed, pressing the button on the detonator over and over. Nothing happened. Batman slapped it out of his hand, and Joker laughed harder as Batman lifted him off of his feet, his back against the wall.

"Another broken toy?" Batman growled.

"It was supposed to dump gallons upon gallons of the waste that did this to me on those wretched villains in the lobby, but… Well whenever I let her play with my things they seem to come back damaged," Joker cackled, glancing at Nightwing. "She ruins everything. Like your cop friend. I just wanted to kill him. I would have gutted him as he watched- well, he couldn't really watch-" Batman punched him across the face as Nightwing took a furious step forward. Harley wrapped her hands around his wrist.

"Don't," she pleaded. Joker coughed, spitting blood on the floor as Batman lifted him up. Joker looked at Harley and Nightwing.

"Oh. Oh." He grinned, and then threw back his head and laughed as Batman threw him against the wall. He slid to the floor and groaned in pain. "A little romance in the air? I had my suspicions when she kept letting you free, bird boy, I just never guessed I'd be right-" he grinned, blood warping his smile. He laughed and then winced. "I think you broke a rib, Bats-"

"You keep saying you knew all these things," Harley spat, releasing Nightwing to storm toward the Joker in her fury, "but you still couldn't stop them."

"It's better this way!" he laughed darkly and looked at Nightwing. "She's a psychopath's dream. She's a handful, but she's oh so good in bed," he howled with laughter, standing with blinding speed and lunging at Harley, the blade in his hand flashing. Robin and Batman dragged him off of her, and he slipped out of their grasp, dodging and evading them as he ran out into the hall again, screeching at the top of his lungs. "Betrayal never goes unpunished, Darling!" He howled with laughter, and Batman and Robin dove out of the room after him. Nightwing helped Harley to her feet.

"Are you okay? Did he get you? Couldn't see in the dark…" he asked frantically, checking her over.

"Dick…" she mumbled, before her knees buckled and she fell into his arms. His heart sank when he saw the stab wound bleeding in the side of her stomach. Taking his gloves off, he pressed them into her side in an attempt to stop the bleeding, and picked her up.

"It'll be okay, I'll get you help. We've got to get you out of here…" he rushed out of the room and to the stairs.

"Dick stop," she whispered, tears streaming down her face. He ignored her. "Dick!" she said more firmly, reaching one hand to weakly cup his face.

"No!" he snapped, hurrying down the staircase. "I will not lose you again!"

"Dick," she begged again before crying out in a wail of agony as he wrenched open the door. She bunched up in his arms, sobbing into his chest. He skidded to a stop in the hall.

"Harley what's wrong!? What's-" he pulled the blood soaked gloves away from her side for a moment. The blood seeping from the wound was bubbling from the acid the knife had been soaked in. The edges of the wound were ragged and burnt. "...oh God…" Nightwing knelt, putting her down gently and digging around in a glove pocket as he pressed them to her side. "I have an antitoxin in here somewhere, Bruce gave it to me, I just-"

"-Dick," Harley wrapped her hands over his, "look at me."

He looked at her desperately. "Harley I can save you, it's what I do! Now let me just-"

"-Stop," she said, a drop of blood forming at the corner of her mouth. Harley raised her hand up to his cheek and stroked it, her hand trembling. "I'm sorry I told you I didn't love you."

"Don't apologize. I've already forgiven you, remember? Don't apologize," he pleaded, his voice determined, but wavering. Her hand fell back by her side.

"I do love you," she breathed, her voice weak. "I was just trying to protect you from-" she broke off in a ragged cough.

"I know you were," Nightwing whispered, and then swallowed hard. "I love you too, Harley." She blinked her eyes, trying to focus on his face…

"You should... you should hate me... Dick," she choked. "You sh'should. And I knew... I knew if I-if I betrayed him... Dick," she coughed. "It's the right moment," she said sadly.

"What-" he began, but then his heart sank as he remembered his letter. He slipped it out of his glove, wrinkled and freshly bloodstained, and tore it open. He pulled out the red stationery.

Dick,

Don't mourn me.

- Harley

"No," he breathed, his jaw clenching. "No, I won't let this happen. Not again." He pressed his comm. "Anyone please- I need help-" He dragged Harley into his arms carefully, pressing his gloves harder to her side. "You'll be okay you'll be okay you'll be okay…" he pleaded. Her hand reached up again, fluttering weakly.

"This… this is how… it was supposed to happen... I'm sorry," she gasped faintly. Her hand fell onto her chest, and her eyes unfocused listlessly past his face.

"No!" he cried, his voice finally cracking as tears spilled from his eyes. He choked back a sob, wrapping his arms around her.

It had taken Red Robin a minute to find Nightwing after his comm had called in. As he sprinted down the hall toward the spot where he knelt, his running slowed.

Oh, no.

He could just barely see Harley in his arms in the dark, and Nightwing sat with his face pressed into her hair as he held her. Red Robin slowly walked towards them. Even in the dark, he could see the blood. Harley Quinn was dead.

"What happened, Dick?" he asked quietly, resting a hand on his shoulder. He gasped through his sobbing and Red Robin closed his eyes.

"'What happened?'" Nightwing repeated, looking up at him brokenly. Red Robin closed his eyes. It was unbearable to see his mentor, his role model, so destroyed at heart.

"Dick… I'm sorry. I'm so sorry." Red Robin replied, resting a hand on his brother's shoulder. Nightwing closed his eyes, unable to believe that this was happening again.

"What?" he breathed weakly, barely even fighting acceptance anymore. Red Robin said the only thing that came to mind.

"She's gone. God's taken her home." He whispered.

"Why is he taking her home alone?" Nightwing choked, tears spilling over his mask and down his bloodied cheek, dripping from his chin and onto the blue stripe across his chest.