Harley tapped some code into the panel by the cell's door, and it slid open easily.

"Thank you, Harley," The Joker said, stepping out and stretching. Harley took no time in dropping me on the floor and pulling the Joker into a huge hug. The Joker responded by stiffening and pushing her away.

"Now… who is your little victim there, hmm?" He said, his gaze falling on me. I backed away from him instinctively and bumped straight into the wall.

"Oooh! Jumpy, aren't we?" He laughed. I just stared at him, focusing on breathing. "Give me a smile, won't ya?" He asked, his maniacal grin sending my nerves over the edge. I bit my lip and tried, but I think I looked more scared than anything.

"This is my friend Sable, puddin'!" Harley said, her grin growing.

"I do see, Harley. A friend of yours! How devious!" The Joker laughed. He turned to me again, his cold eyes shining brightly. "How do ya like the wild side of life, toots?" I swallowed and inhaled deeply.

"I-I'd p-p-prefer to stick on my own s-side," My voice was shaky and weak, but they were words. I had just spoken to the man I feared most.

The Joker laughed in response, clapping his hands together. "Good show, good show! You pick good friends, Harley!" He found my fear funny. Almost as funny as Scarecrow found it.

Harley again tried to hug him. His grin faltered and he started to look annoyed. I just relaxed against the wall, glad that they were both occupied with other things and weren't paying so much attention to me.

You ARE pretty amusing when you're scared, you know, My little voice commented. I groaned inwardly, not really wanting to put up with it.

Go away.

What if I don't want to? What are you going to do? The voice asked.

Call a therapist. Dr. Crane is a Psychologist. He can help me, I thought.

He WAS a psychologist. Was is a key term here. They revoked his license, remember? The voice told me smugly.

That doesn't mean he won't try to help!I argued. He just may also test on me…

Exactly. You are too frightened of him to seek help.

It was true, sadly. I really was too frightened of him. And somehow, I didn't want to get help from anyone else. I didn't want to be written off as crazy and thrown in the very Asylum that I was being held prisoner in now.

What are you trying to prove? I asked, wanting nothing more than to relieve the headache that was returning. I wasn't sure if it was because of the voice or the painkillers wearing off.

The voice, for once, was silent. It wasn't telling me something.

I demand to know! What do you want?I shouted inwardly. There was still no answer.

I was getting frustrated. I clenched my fists, writhing against the handcuffs in annoyance. I hated not getting answers.

"We have a problem," A static filled voice said coming from Harley's radio. It was Scarecrow.

"What's wrong, Johnny?" Harley asked. "Are you having trouble fitting through the ducts?"

"No. I'm already near the main airway. The problem is that I need another pair of hands to open up this last vent. It's quite... stuck." There was a grunt and the sound of metal grinding against metal.

"I'll see if I can come and help. Come on, Puddin'," Harley sighed grabbing the sleeve of The Joker's jumpsuit.

"You're not going anywhere," A deep voice came from behind. I jumped up, spinning around to find myself face-to-face with Batman. I sighed in relief. He was going to get me out of here.

And then I stiffened, realizing that he wanted to lock my friends into an asylum.

"Why, if it isn't Batsy!" The Joker said, completely unfazed. Batman stepped forward obviously not in any sort of mood for frivolity

"Stop this foolishness now, Joker," Batman said, his voice dangerously low.

The Joker just laughed. "You haven't figured it out yet? I'm all about foolish!" He grabbed my arm and yanked me up and positioned me between himself and the vigilante.

"I wouldn't come any closer, Batsy! We wouldn't want any brain matter on the walls, now would we?" He giggled. Harley took the chance and ran from the room to help Scarecrow.

"Let her go. She isn't of any use to you," Batman commanded, his mouth pressed in a thin line.

"On the contrary, Batsy, she's very useful. I have my getaway all planned out..." He paused. I could feel his fingers pressing into my arms, and could feel his breath on the back of my neck.

"Say, isn't that Killer Croc's pool there?" He asked.

There was, indeed, a large pool of water just a few feet away from where we stood. It was too dark inside for me to see the bottom- or what was in it.

The Joker giggled and roughly pushed me closer to the pool of water. I stumbled a few steps, not having the use of my arms to steady myself, breathing heavily before I fell in with a screech.

I panicked as soon as the cold water hit my face. Without the use of my arms, I couldn't swim very well. I was sinking like a rock. And Killer Croc was in here, undoubtedly.

Killer Croc… the name suited him.

He was going to eat me. I struggled to reach the surface, desperate for another breath of fresh air. My clothes were waterlogged and heavy... my lungs were burning… My legs were struggling to tote my weight all the way up to the surface.

I needed one last breath of sweet air before I died.

I was close enough to see the fluorescent lights shining through the dark water when a hand reached down, grabbing my arm and pulling me all the way up. I gasped up the cool air as soon as my face broke the surface, Batman keeping me from collapsing on the spot.

"Th-thank you!" I gasped out, shaking half from fright and half from cold. "I thought that I was going to die!"

"Killer Croc wasn't even there. He escaped last week," Batman said coldly.

"Then.. why? Why aren't you chasing after the joker? You didn't have to…" I trailed off, biting my lip.

"There was no way for you to climb out. You would have drowned otherwise." Batman stopped and placed a hand to his ear. "Any leads on The Riddler?" He was talking to Robin, as far as I could tell. I couldn't hear the other end of the conversation, but it seemed to be bad news for the duo.

"Quinn and Joker both got away. Scarecrow is somewhere in the building, and that means fear toxin. I have the hostage here, and I'm bringing her to you. Keep watch on the security cameras until I get there." He pulled his hand down from his earpiece and turned to me.

"I'm taking you to Robin. He'll escort you out of the building and into police custody while I try to catch The Joker.." My stomach turned at the mention of the police. Would they find out about my connection to these people?

I just nodded and shivered. Batman rushed me down the hallways at a quick pace. He was obviously in a hurry. I just stumbled along behind him, my waterlogged clothes weighing me down.

"We'll be there in just a minute," Batman said, breaking the heavy silence. I just nodded and kept walking, my vision blurring at the edges.

We walked through the door and Robin was sitting there, typing furiously on the keyboard.

"He's erased any evidence that he was even on here," He said, obviously frustrated.

"I expected as much," Batman said. "I'm going after The Joker. You take the hostage and evacuate the building."

"I saw Harley Quinn on a camera just a minute ago. She's in the ventilation."

Batman just sighed and turned away. "Get out of here, fast," he instructed as he rushed back out of the room. Robin sighed, slammed his hand on the keyboard, and stood up.

"Let's go. Wherever Scarecrow goes, fear gas follows." He gave one last lingering glare at the computer before grabbing my arm and running out.

"Why do I need an escort?" I asked, trying to keep up with him. He looked back and smiled a little.

"Just making sure that some criminal doesn't take you hostage again and use you against us," Robin said, shrugging. "The last thing we need is another problem."

"I see…" I glanced up, watching as a vent rushed by as we ran. I realized that the whole asylum would be flooded with hallucinogens soon.

"Is everyone safe from the fear gas?" I asked. Robin laughed.

"While I couldn't trace anything that The Riddler did, I did turn off the ventilation to the cells, so the inmates will be okay. The doctors have already been evacuated. You don't need to worry about anything," he said. I nodded and sighed in relief as we ran into the lobby, the familiar barricade of chairs collapsed beneath the wide-open doors.

"The police are right outside. I'm going to go help Batman," Robin said, pushing me gently towards the door.

"Thank you," I said, nodding to him. He smiled, waved and rushed off again, leaving me alone.

I walked into the open sunlight cautiously, immediately put into the care of the police.

"Are you okay?" One officer asked as he picked the lock on my handcuffs. "Were you hurt?"

"No… I'm okay," I said, absentmindedly as I stared off towards Arkham. The building looked so foreboding. I knew that I batman was inside, trying to do good. I also knew that my friends… my friends, were inside, trying to do something wrong.

I couldn't pick a side, no matter how much I wanted to.

Author's Note: Well, here is the next part. Hpe you enjoy! I'll try to update again soon.