Story Chapter: The of Joker, what happens to Harley

And a new Long Chapter, mostly Story based. The End of the Joker and what will happen to Harley. Ideas and Comments would be welcom

Slowly but surely, his masters' plans were finally taking shape. He didn't understand everything yet, but the pieces of the puzzle were forming a picture. It wasn't one of those short-term, visionless plans he so often had to deal with. Unfortunately, he had to live without Zatanna more and more. She was already gone again in the morning. Barbara was also busy following up on his orders. However, this also gave him time to pursue his own plans. First of all, he had drawn up a list of villains in Gotham who were free at the moment. There were only a few of the big ones, but the gangs were a problem. Some were easier to deal with than others. So, in his weakened state, he concentrated on those groups for now. Since his sources or new assistants could not tell him anything new, he had time to go hunting.

Even compared to his former self, he was now ferocious. Even in the daytime, Batman now struck relentlessly, rooting out one nest of criminals after another. In just three days he had virtually destroyed a large part of Black Mask's forces. The police could hardly keep up with the arrests. The press wrote their fingers to the bone about what they called the great purge. The criminals, on the other hand, were **** to retreat further and further. Bruce, on the other hand, showed no mercy to his opponents. Even though he continued to avoid killing people, he was less merciful with their equipment. Weapons caches exploded, **** warehouses burned down and illegal casinos he took apart so efficiently that reuse was out of the question.

Meanwhile, Barbara was able to provide some initial results. She had found some promising information on Gotham police officers and politicians. Information that would make them **** to ****. His masters had made no further contact, so Batman assumed he should continue that way for now. Meanwhile, he watched with some satisfaction that Raz al Ghul was not meddling in Gotham's internal affairs. His daughter was summarily convicted and sent to a maximum-security prison. As she had no mental disorders, she was not locked up in Arkham, but sat in a private cell in one of the best prisons after Blackgate. But they avoided sending her there, as Bruce suspected, because Amanda Waller was afraid that too many super villains would be released if her father freed her.

But slowly it was time to take care of the important players. One of the least controllable components was the Joker and Harley. One was still in hospital and the other was locked up in Arkham. But this also meant that the two were the easiest to eliminate at the same time. However, he couldn't just go and kill the Joker either, because then Batman would cease to exist. Even if most of the inhabitants would be happy if the Dark Knight would stop sparing his victims, the League would surely have a different opinion.

They would not tolerate vigilante justice. So, he had to find another way. Preferably one where no trace could be traced back to him. Fortunately, the Joker had more than enough enemies in the city. While he was thinking about it, an idea came to him.

Through Barbara, he gained access to the personnel file of every person likely to associate with the Joker. Understandably, all the people were specially selected as no one wanted to risk an escape. The amusing thing about it, however, was the fact that the police therefore increasingly relied on nurses who had suffered personal losses as a result of his atrocities. The idea was not bad in itself, but it also opened up some possibilities for him.

Not yet trusting Barbara enough to confess that he was planning a ****, he waited until dark. He had already chosen the perfect candidate. A nurse who had lost his wife a year ago to the joker. No one would doubt that this man had gone mad. But to incite him to a cold-blooded ****, some preliminary work was needed. A little magic from Zatanna would be quite suitable to get him to do it, but maybe other mages would be able to figure it out. Besides, there was Harley, too.

How to deal with her presented him with a problem. It had nothing to do with pity or doubt, but with cold calculation. Harley was an unpredictable person. Just like the Joker. However, she had useful talents. There was the fact that she was an excellent psychologist, and secondly that she would be perfect bait to lure Poison Ivy out. Not to mention her fighting skills.

Unfortunately, it was completely unpredictable how she would react to Joker's ****. The chance that she would commit suicide was as great as the chance that her mind would heal. He would deal with that later. Now it was time for him to break the last taboo. Not as a test, but in real life.

For hours he pored over the plans of the hospital and the duty rosters of the guards. With such a great danger, the guarding was correspondingly high. Gordon had made sure that only the best watched over the prisoner. But the best of the police was at best a delay for him. When the plan was set, he set out to prepare everything in the laboratory.

And so it came to pass that at midnight on the dot, he looked through the bars of the vent at the break room. It had been quite easy to get here through the ventilation system. Now it was time to wait. Fortunately, it didn't take long for his target to enter the room. Finally, it was time to act. According to the plan, he had 15 minutes until the break ended. Silently, he opened the valve of the small container and let the gas flow into the room. It was exactly the same gas that was used by Scarecrow. He gave the gas five minutes before it began its show.

Sebastian Miller had been looking forward to finally having a break, but as he drank his coffee, he felt more uncomfortable watching. It was as if the room started to get smaller. His heart began to beat faster when a maniacal giggle startled him. A sound that scared him to ****.

"The Joker!" he shouted in panic and ran to the door, but it was locked. Panic-stricken, he banged on the door and screamed for help. Then suddenly the laughter stopped, and he heard the Joker's voice.

"Sebastian. Sebastian. My dear little Sebastian. How is your wife? Oh, silly me. She's dead. How could I forget. But we had so much fun together! She was really good in bed! AND SO TONGUE-TIED! Funny she never called your name? All she ever did was... JOKER MORE! MORE JOKER! ONE MORE JOKER! I would have let her live! but she wanted to be fucked to **** for once! I did her a favor!"

Bruce might not like what he was doing here, but it was necessary. He was playing the role of the joker to panic the orderly. The gas was just the catalyst for the panic, but it was the voice that set the panic in place. Under the poison, Bruce managed to bring the poor man close to the brink of a nervous breakdown. To make him feel massive guilt and fill him with self-loathing. Just enough to goad him on. Then he just waited for his plan to work. Half an hour later, he left the hospital satisfied. Surely Gotham would be upside down in the morning and he was right.

The news the next day was full of it.

The Joker was dead.

Although similar reports were nothing new for Gotham, this time the facts were different. Police Chief Gordon himself stood before the reporters and fielded their questions.

"Today at 0:11, a male nurse named Sebastian Millers entered the Joker's room. Mr. Miller is one of the authorized staff who was entrusted with the patient's care. In the room, he then used a knife he had with him to kill the comatose Joker with a total of 74 stabs and then attempted to decapitate him. The suspect confessed and allowed himself to be arrested without resistance. The reason he gave was **** for his wife, who was killed by the Joker during a robbery years ago. For security reasons, Mr. Millers, who appears to have had a nervous breakdown, was taken into medical care," Gordon said calmly and we his usual matter-of-fact manner.

"By my count, this is the ninth report of his ****. Why should we believe it today?" one of the reporters asked skeptically, but Gordon was prepared for that too.

"I can understand the skepticism and please believe me. No one has been more skeptical than me. However, we have a different situation here. It is not one of his sick escapes plans this time, but he was the victim of a **** man. Before I came before you today, we ran every test we could think of. We even... even checked with the League of our test. The League of Justice came to the same conclusion we did. The victim is clearly the Joker."

"Then why is the Bat-signal active."

"Well. To be honest... I want him to look at everything. To see if there's anything we should have missed. I just need to have any doubt removed."

And so it came to pass that the man responsible for Joker's **** was led by the police to the scene of the crime. The entire floor was hermetically sealed and everything in the room had been left as they found it. Batman did not take this lightly. He examined everything only to look for clues that might connect him to this. He took blood samples from the body and made measurements. He also took samples from the victim, something that puzzled the cops.

But all this was part of his plan. He informed the police that the nurse had been the victim of a nerve agent that bore a strong resemblance to the Scarecrow's Fear toxin. It was known that the two were not the best of friends and had often fought rivalries. For the police, it quickly became clear that Scarecrow had taken the opportunity to eliminate his enemy. That was the final straw. The Joker was indeed dead. Disappointed, he waited for a reward from his masters, but in vain. No reaction. No message. Simply nothing.

But many others contacted him. Asked how he was now, how he felt. Most he simply ignored, the others he lied to where necessary. And as the sun set, he made his way to Arkham Asylum. At the gates of the asylum, he got out and walked through the dark corridors of the asylum. No one dared to stop him or even speak to him. Even the inmates backed away from the cells as the dark figure passed them.

"Is it true?" asked Harley, distraught, as her door opened safely. She didn't even have to look to know who had just walked in.

Bruce stood motionless in the doorway, looking at the woman cowering in the corner who had torn the room apart. He let the moment sink in before answering. "It is."

Only now did she turn to him, and he could see her reddened eyes. "How sure are you?"

"He's dead, Harley. I'm here to find out from you how you're doing." he said calmly and matter-of-factly.

"I'm going to take this guy down Mr. B. I'm going to avenge Mr. J. I will not allow a stupid, impotent, snot-nosed idiot of an attendant to kill my Puddin! Only you may!!!" she said threateningly, playing with her hair. Something she always did when she was plotting.

"Then you would be killing a victim!" he said calmly and saw Harley preparing to pounce. So, he hastened to add. "Scarecrow."

Immediately Harley relaxed a little and tried to understand what Batman meant. Fortunately for him, she asked exactly the reasoning he had hoped for.

"That peckerhead got that nurse to kill my Puddin'? Not even you will be able to protect him from me."

"We'll see about that." he says before leaving the room. As you might expect, she manages to break out of her cell that very night. With a Mac Donald’s bag on his lap, he waited on the bonnet of the car until Barbara radioed him about the escape.

While listening to Barbara, he switched on the car's headlights. Directly in front of him, a half-naked Harley Quinn just jumped over the wall. She stood rooted to the spot as the headlights came on out of nowhere. Then, as the lung shadow of Batman fell over her, knowing she could not escape him, she assumed a fighting pose.

"You won't always be there, Batsy," she grumbled as something landed on the ground directly in front of her. Curious and cautious, she looked to see what he had thrown at her. "Oh, Mr. B. Just what I wished for. Have I been a good girl?" she asked, giggling as she threw her shirt away and then held the red latex suit in front of her chest.

She immediately put on her branded clothes and watched as the hatches of the car opened and Batman got in. Astonished, she raised her eyebrow when she noticed that the hatch remained open. Irritated, she approached and then got in. It was her first time in the Bat-mobile and she stared curiously at the colorful buttons in front of her before looking at Batman.

"What... Is this going to happen?"

"You know where Scarecrow is. It'll go faster if you lead me there. I promise you he'll get his comeuppance. Besides, now you have another chance."

Harley looked at the -face- of Batman long and skeptically. She was trying to figure out what he was up to. Batman never did anything without a plan. He was probably planning to capture Scarecrow and lock him in a cell, but that would also give her a chance to kill him. Most likely, Batman would expect her to do that. But since she knew he knew what she knew.... Laughing, she shook her head and looked sadly out the window as the car drove off.

"I can't believe he's gone, Mister B. What am I supposed to do now. I have nothing left." when Batman didn't respond she continued. " We always wanted to steal your car together. Nothing special. Just take it for a spin. Did he ever tell you that?"

"No." he replied.

"We hadn't put a scratch in it either, honest." she sighed.

This was the sort of thing Bruce had been hoping for. Harley Quinn's psyche had been completely destroyed and without the Joker, she was panicked, lost and looking for footing. And that's where he would come in. It was clear to him that she was only helping him to secretly kill Scarecrow. And of course, she assumed he would stop her. How could she have known that this was exactly what was planned? If Harley was going to kill Scarecrow, then no one would doubt why Harley had done it. Because he had long since informed Gordon that he had found spores of the toxin in Miller's blood. At the same time, he would manipulate Harley's psyche the way the Joker had. She would be bound to him by her own madness, just as she had been with the Joker.

As he thought about it, he realized what he had achieved in just 2 days. The Joker dead, Scarecrow as good as dead and Harley soon to be his new loyal sidekick. His masters would be so proud. Rewarding him!

As always, when he thought about it, his cock stiffened. The horniness grew even greater when he thought of him being even crazier than Joker.

"Scratch maybe not, but I can imagine what you two would have been up to here." so he said a little more suggestively than might have been expected of him. Something that could not have escaped the trained psychologist. Harley Quinn may have been mentally ill, but she hadn't lost any of her old self. The knowledge was still there, just distorted.

Therefore, these words, or rather the tone of voice, attracted her attention. She turned her head away from the window and looked at the dark knight. Something was suddenly different about him. Something she could not grasp. His breathing was a little more labored, but that was it.

"Pffff! Cum stains come out with soap! Besides, he didn't fuck me as much as you'd think. Far too infrequently! " She finally laughed. However, she did not get the reaction she had hoped for. Namely... none at all. In accordance with their agreement, she then led him to a hiding place that Batman had not known until then.

"You stay in the car. I'm going to get him. Then he'll be punished for what he did at the hospital," Bruce said and got out of the car. Immediately afterwards he ignited the grappling gun and pulled himself to one of the rooftops.

"But of course, Mr. B!" giggled Harley as she got out. "Let's see who finds him sooner!" laughing, she jumped out of the car and looked back. "Nah! way too uncomfortable! I wonder if Mr. B fucks that little too. Mhm. I'll have to check with Cat-Woman to see what her experience is like." she laughed again and then headed for the main entrance.

The way she saw Batman, he would scout the area first and look for the perfect way. But such things took time. Picking the lock was child's play for her and so she pranced through the dark, fearsome halls seemingly in good spirits. It was a lair perfectly suited to a weirdo like Scarecrow. Dark, full of spider webs and flickering lights. On her way, she finally found a metal pipe that could be used as a bat. With a maniacal grin, she kicked a door and then stepped into the large room behind it. There it already looked different. There were large glass containers everywhere with a greenish gas wafting around.

"HUHUUU! Is anyone home?" she called out in a good mood and saw Scarecrow step forward from behind a wall. The ugly mask was just a sign of his insecurity, as it was for Harley. on his right hand he had several needles connected to fine wires on capsule on his wrist.

"Hey... Harley... what brings you here?" she heard his voice distort. Probably meant to sound scary but made little impression on Harley. All she saw was that this worm had sneakily killed her Puddin. Not that it was a bad thing, but it was just that only her Puddin had the right to do such a thing. Amused by his overdramatic behavior, she swung her bat, which she had called Mr. Pipe, onto her shoulder and walked towards Scarecrow, grinning. As she did so, she swung her are exaggeratedly and then bent the briefly down in front of him and placed a finger on his chin.

"Hey... Harley... what brings you here?" she heard his distorted voice. It was supposed to sound scary, but it made little impression on Harley. All she saw was that this worm had sneakily killed her Puddin. Not that it was a bad thing, but it was just that only her Puddin had the right to do such a thing. Amused by his overdramatic behavior, she swung her bat, which she had called Mr. Pipe, onto her shoulder and walked towards Scarecrow, grinning. As she did so, she swung her Ass exaggeratedly and then bent the briefly down in front of him and placed a finger on his chin.

"Hey!" she laughed shrilly and good-humoredly. "Scarecrow, my old favorite straw doll! Wanted to see how you were doing! Just got out and thought I'd visit some old friends now that I'm sooooo alone!"

But just as Scarecrow, who was still unaware of the accusations against his person, was about to reply, Harley swung the club with all his might between his legs. His eyes widened under the mask and a long-drawn-out groan escaped him as he slowly sank to his knees.

"Upsiii! did I hit you by accident? I'm sooooo sorry! But I was in the mood for scrambled eggs! And I thought... Harley... it's about time you smash some eggs!" Harley laughed softly and whirled around him in a graceful pirouette, picking up momentum and smashing the iron bar against his right arm. She could clearly hear the bones in his arm breaking. Satisfied, she looked down at Scarecrow and enjoyed watching him writhe in pain. But alas, she couldn't fully enjoy it. Batman would soon appear as a spoilsport. So, she had to hurry now. But simply crushing his skull was too quick and too merciful. Then she looked at the hypodermic needles on his hand, giggling. "You killed Mr. J and now you're going to have a taste of your own medicine."

"What are you talking about, your crazy weirdo?" he managed to ask before Harley bent his broken arms so she could ram 4 of the 5 needles down his throat. It took only seconds before he started to tremble. Harley now used everything she had ever learned to give him the horror trip of his life. After a minute of her smashing several of his bones, he suddenly stopped screaming. When she pulled the mask off his head, she saw blood flowing from his nose and eyes. Somehow, he was still alive... But there was nothing left of his mind. He was completely catatonic. Time to end it. "This is for my Puddin!!!" she roared as she drove Mr. Pipe right through his right eye and into his brain!

Now it was time for Batman to leave the hiding place from which he had been watching for some time. From the moment she treated him with his own toxin, his **** was a fact.

With an impressive landing directly between Haley and Scarecrow, he separated the two. A quick pulse test showed that he was indeed dead, how could he have survived such a thing. Even before the final blow with the iron bar he had been doomed. The plan had gone perfectly so far. Harley's DNA was everywhere, making it easy for the police to put one and one together.

"What are you doing?" he asked after he had stood up, but Harley's only reaction was to crush her skull with the iron bar. Batman quickly took the bar away from her and prepared to fight her, but nothing happened. Harley just stood there and started to cry. She had gotten her **** and now felt she had nothing left. The Joker was gone and so was she. Her mind could find no way out. Her whole life seemed empty without him. Without the slightest resistance, she let him lead her out and put her in the car. Only when the roof hatch closed over her did she look up, startled.

"Are you taking me home? To my cell?" she asked quietly as she drew her legs up and clasped them with her hands. At that, her voice lacked all life. Slowly Batman drove off and looked to her. She was completely helpless.

"No." he replied simply, driving slower than usual through Gotham.

"I've been a bad girl." she said softly.

"'Weren't you always?"

"Maybe, but it's all over now. I've lost everything."

That was the moment Bruce played his trump card, taking advantage of her unstable situation.

"Do you know that he often worried about what would happen to you if I killed him?"

"But you would never have done that, would you?" she asks, sniffling. "You would never have killed Puddin and done that to me, Mr. B."

"No, but that never stopped him from trying, did it? Taking me this far."

"Yes. He used to talk about how nice it would have been if he had died by your hand. He always thought it was very funny. He called it the final joke! But at the same time, it always made him all wistful. Because then it would be over. And he felt sorry for you. Because he knew that you would have been lost too."

"I see. I need to know this now. What is he planning?" asked Bruce, even though it was clear to him that there was no plan.

"Nothing. " She said softly. "Nothing that I know of. Actually, we were going to rob the bank next month. As a celebration of our first bank robbery. Rather, I could ask you. How sure are you that he's dead? Well, dead. I mean... It wouldn't be the first time...."

"Absolutely sure. I examined him myself."

"And what will become of me now? Will you take me back to Arkham?" asked Haley calmly, without a trace of fear in her voice.

"I don't know yet. I'm thinking about helping you. He told me to keep you after he died," Batman answered without looking away from the road. Everything now depended on this moment. If she was as broken as he thought, it would be very easy to use her talents. But there was also the possibility that, now that the Joker was dead, her mind would heal.

"0h? That's what he said?" she asked, raising a brow skeptically. At that, she eyed him closely. Her mind rattled, "And why would he say something like that to you."

"He probably assumed I would kill him and then go just as crazy as he did. He probably saw you as a prize that should go to the victor." Batman continued.

"Arghhh." Sighed Harley happily. In her twisted mind, it all made perfect sense. Curious, she looked at Batman's energetic chin. He was indeed the best choice her sweetheart could have made. In his own way, he was just as crazy as the Joker. And it makes perfect sense that she was you winning trophy that should belong to the victor. "That's true love, don't you think. He's giving his favorite toy to his best friend!" she laughed.

Bruce just growled at this statement, which would have been called laughter in anyone else. His masters would surely be pleased. In just one week, not only had two of the Major Players been put out of commission, but they had also gained a new servant. No matter what others wanted to say about Harley she was more than an insane fan girl. She was an excellent fighter, skilled thief and even better psychologist. In some ways she was even more dangerous than the Joker. The latter was easily distracted, but Harley was clearly more determined.

Her first reaction was promising. She would leave this car in only one of two ways. As the newest member of his troupe or as a corpse. he had already come up with a plan in case he had to kill her. But he was already beginning to make plans for the other way as well. Because even if it hurt to admit it, she was a better profiler than he was. With all the options, he also felt the pleasant tingling between his legs.

And because Harley was even better than he thought, she didn't miss the brief twitch in his face. But she still had no idea what was really going on in his head. "And Mr. B? Am I your trophy now? I'm a really great toy" somehow, she liked the thought. The main thing was that she wasn't alone. She needed someone to whom she would be important. Only now did she realize that only Batman could really understand what she needed. That only he would treat her right. Briefly, she let her gaze slide over his body. He was a more than imposing figure even when seated. It had been a long time since she and Mr. J had had any real fun and even though she had a certain reputation, she had been celibate all these months. Breakout sex was still the best. After every breakout, she and the Joker had had a hot fuck. Something that happened far too rarely if she had her way.

"I'm not the Joker." he answered first.

"What, you're not? So that's not a Batman mask? Too bad. It looked so good. You were a big hit at a cosplay party." she laughed and leaned over to him. "Should I buy a Cat Woman costume! Then we could party together! Or would you prefer to be Batgirl?"

Batman didn't allow himself to stifle a brief grin at the thought of such a thing.

"What, I don't think I've ever seen you smile before. But you dodged my question. Are you taking me to strangers who will lock me up or are you keeping me. I could help you. I'm very well behaved, and who knows... maybe it's fun to be good."

"Who says you have to be good?"

"Oh?" escaped Harley. These were entirely new tones. That didn't sound like the Batman way at all. On the other hand, she'd never spoken to him like that before either. Spent so much time with him without wanting to kill him. Or the loss of the Joker had affected him too. Batman had fought many enemies, many battles, but their relationship had always been unique. Such a loss was surely felt by him as well."

"Black certainly looks good on you." he replied, adding. "Definitely better than red latex."

"Oh? You didn't like my outfit? Mr. J always thought it was great. He thought it accentuated my tits and ass so nicely! Unfortunately, he NEVER played with it as much as I would have liked! It feels so great when you're fucked in latex.... Oh, I'm getting off topic. Sorry. We usually fuck whenever we're free! I miss it already!" Harley grumbled and bit her lips. Somehow, she was glad Batman was there for her, as he always was. Despite everything, he had always been good to her. They had fought many times and more than once she had almost killed him, but he had never stopped sparing her. On the contrary. He had always believed in the good in her. And now she was here, by his side, seeing a whole new side of him.

"I didn't say that. Only that I think black would suit you better." he said and slowly left the city with the car.

"And what should I be called then? Harley Bat? or maybe Redder Wing?! Red bat!" she laughed good-humoredly, wiping away her tears. "And do I get a belt like that?" she asked, tapping a finger on the gold belt on his pants. As she did so, she noticed that there was a bulge in his pants that his suit hadn't usually had. Curious, she pricked it with her finger. "Is that a new gear? What is it?"

AS he didn't answer she leaned closer and looked at the bulge curiously, pricked it a few more times and then looked at him innocently. "Mr. B? I had no idea! From a psychological point of view, you should be worried! I'm a widow, so to speak! Or did you always get a hard-on when you enforced justice? A sexual driving spring I would have now really not expected. But I like it!"

"I don't know what you're talking about!" he said quietly, then winced slightly as she gripped almost painfully tight between his legs. He wasn't wearing any genital protection today, so she was able to grab his crotch pretty hard.

" DON'T!" she laughed good-humoredly. "I'd say yes you're going to keep me! And not only that! You also want to show me that there is a better life than the one I had so far! But you'll have to use this jewel for that, too! YES! Because Mr. J was also unbeatable in bed! So, I have high expectations! But if it pleases you and makes you hot you may also like to arrest me first. Catch me in the act and then I fuck for freedom, yes?" she grinned good-humoredly. "I am Harley Quinn. I'm your gift from Puddin! I'm your trophy! That's what you want, isn't it? A reminder of how you outlasted the Joker. That you won't forget him, right? That you never forget why you put on that mask every night. That you always remember what you're fighting for. That you never again have to be the little boy in the alley who watched mommy and daddy get killed. That you never again have to go through the grief and PTSD of seeing the double murders in the alley. That's the reason for all of this, isn't it, Bruce?"

Abruptly, the heavy-ton vehicle slowed completely as Bruce slammed on the brakes. A little firmer and he would have slammed the pedal into the asphalt. Even the sophisticated car literally screamed as the brakes tried to stop the vehicle. The tires squealed and the rear end broke slightly before the car came to a stop in the middle of the road. That her words had hit him like a sledgehammer was clear from the fact that he looked at her stunned. Harley, on the other hand, was half hanging on the windshield because she hadn't fastened her seatbelt and the braking had taken her completely by surprise.

"Heyyyy!!!" she hissed and scrambled back onto the seat. Then she grinned broadly at him, enjoying Batman's stunned face. In all her years, she had never seen him so upset. Amused, she sat cross-legged on the sport seat and rocked back and forth happily. "WHAT, did you really think I didn't know that Bruce? Come on! It was as clear as day! I mean ... It wasn't that hard to guess. I never understood why Mr. J didn't recognize it right away. It was obvious to me!" she nodded, as if it was the easiest and most logical thing in the world that Bruce Wayne was Batman.

"How..." he simply asked after a few seconds.

"How did I come up with that? Let's think about it... What man in Gotham had enough money to afford all these toys? A few! Which one of them has a physique that matches yours? A handful. So, let's get to the prize question. Which one of them would have a reason to do something like this? To go out hunting every night?" she said in a calm and analytical voice. Then she looked over at him and wrinkled her nose. "Bruce Wayne has the only profile and the capabilities and the resources to be Batman. And once you know that everything else is easy. But it would have broken Mr. J's heart if I had revealed to him that his great Batman was just a simple playboy with Post Traumatic Stress Syndrome and a disturbed impulse for ****. To him you were always an ideal, the second side of the coin." Batman looked at her calmly, by now again with his usual cold facial expression. So that was it? She had seen through him from the beginning. The only reason she had kept his secret was so she wouldn't spoil her lover's fun. She had succeeded where some of the best intelligence agencies had failed. But suddenly Bruce had doubts about that. What if it was the same with others? Lex Luthor was one of the smartest people. Amanda Waller had enough resources and was ruthless enough. What if it wasn't a secret at all?

"But I won't tell anyone. Thick Indian word of honor!" her words snapped him out of his thoughts. "Honest! I've kept this secret for years now, even to you! After all, I can keep my mouth shut too!" she laughed happily, nodding eagerly. "So! Where are we going? Wayne Tower or Wayne Manor?"

Knowing that further denial had been ridiculous he looked back at the road and pressed the gas pedal. Slowly the screeching turbine accelerated the car and silently he drove through the dark roads outside Gotham. "Wayne Manor!" he said reluctantly.

"AHHHH Wayne Manor! Did you know that Mr. J once tried to kidnap you? So, he could then trap Batman."

"As I recall, you didn't just plan it!" said Batman quietly. He remembered very well how the two of them had kidnapped him in the middle of a meeting. At that time, he had had the choice to show the world that Bruce Wayne could fight or to be kidnapped. He had decided against a fight and trusted that Bat Girl and the first Robin would save him.

"That's right, and then Batman saved you. That's when I was briefly unsure if I wasn't wrong... but then I noticed something about Batman. He suddenly didn't bother making all that theatrical show. To attack from the shadows but attacked us directly and openly. In a way, he was even more terrifying than when he ripped the door out of the anchors that time... But he lacked that aura that makes you so special!"

"That was Superman in my outfit!" Admitted Bruce, and Harley started laughing out loud.

"Black suits him! But as Batman, he's a pip!"

"Right!" he admitted just as he left the road and turned off the headlights and it abruptly went dark. Harley suddenly didn't seem so confident as she suddenly saw nothing. Only the lighting of the cockpit illuminated the area as she now and then saw shadows flying past the car. Nevertheless, Bruce did not let up. On the contrary. She clearly felt the car accelerating. It was impossible that he could see anything, and she didn't see any night vision or anything like that. More and more she pressed herself into the fabric of the seat and searched for the seat belt. But she didn't dare to say anything, she was afraid that the slightest word from me would distract him. She knew he knew what he was doing, but that didn't make it any easier for her. She was crazy, she knew that, but she was only suicidal to a limited extent. Then a steep cliff rose up in front of her. She could only see it because the moon was just coming out from behind the clouds. Without slowing down, the car shot toward her. She knew it was too late to brake. They were going to crash into that wall. Batman was going to commit suicide! Without the Joker, he was going to end them both! With a loud screech, she threw her hands in front of her face, expecting the end, but when she opened her eyes, she no longer saw the rock wall. In its place was now a kind of tunnel that was sparsely lit. Only now did the acceleration slow down and at a slower speed Bruce drove slowly through this tunnel before stopping in the Bat Cave. Like a little child she looked out of the window and as soon as the car stopped, she jumped out and ran. But she did not get far. As soon as she ran off the landing platform of the car, she braked and threw up her arms.

In front of her stood Alfred with a shotgun in his hand and pointed it directly at her head. Even though he was no longer in his prime, she could immediately see that this butler knew exactly how to handle such a weapon. And judging by his face, he was more than willing to defend the cave at any cost.

"Alfred. Why do you still have a gun in my house? How many times do I have to take it away from you?" said Bruce, slowly getting out of the car.

"Forgive me Mr. Wayne, but so far you haven't even found half of the ones I have in the house, sir."

"You know how I feel about that?"

"Of course Master Wayne. May I ask why Doctor Quinzel is here, sir?"

Harley raised an eyebrow. There was something heartfelt about this man, even if he was pointing a gun at her right now. That he had addressed her by her real name was a very surprising gesture. It had been a long time since she had heard him. And the way he pronounced it had something fatherly about it. He was protecting Bruce. Alfred Pennyworth. The man who had raised young Bruce Wayne back when his parents were killed. He was a legend in the city. A symbol of loyalty and fidelity. Only now did she truly understand what that meant.

"It's all right Alfred. She'll stay here for now." Said Bruce only in passing and took the gun from him. But then something strange happened. She saw his gaze change briefly, almost aimlessly as he answered.

"Of course master Wayne. They already know what they're doing. I trust them."

Somehow this response struck her as odd. Unnatural and not in keeping with his nature. Something she would keep a closer eye on. For now, she was glad that they were no longer pointing a gun at her. Immediately she ran along the narrow corridor and went on a discovery tour through this undiscovered land. Batman didn't seem to spy on her, but she saw him go to a massive computer. It was a veritable monster of monitors and devices that she had no idea what they were for. But all of that was suddenly unimportant. She saw a giant Tyrannosaurus Rex standing there along with other memorabilia from its previous battles. Happily, she ran from one to the next until she arrived at a chamber where his suits were stored. Each of them had its own storage device and each of these suits seemed special in a different way.

While she was still looking, she heard Batman approaching her. When she turned around, she saw him without his mask for the first time. Bruce had always been a good-looking guy and was considered a heartthrob and lady-killer. But his face now had a hardness, a ruthlessness, that he never had on TV. A ruthless determination that reminded her of the Joker. He had always had an expression like that, too. When she looked into that face, it was finally clear to her without the slightest doubt. Batman and Joker were one and the same. They were completely insane, fixated on only one thing and would sacrifice everything and everyone for this cause in an emergency. Even a little woman named Harley Quinn.

Even his oldest friend and surrogate father.

"Finally... so will you show me your mask?" she asked him, looking into those eyes that were tougher than Superman would ever be and then he smiled. A smile that came from the heart. Harley liked that smile. It wasn't a maniacal grin, a crazy grimace, but the smile of a man who had been seen for the first time. Maybe the others thought that Batman was a mask, but that was a lie. Bruce Wayne had died in the alley that day. Together with his parents. All that was left was retribution. That night, Bruce's life ended and from the ashes of that fire, Batman was born.

"So far, only a handful of people have ever understood." He said calmly and continued to smile. "From now on, you're going to stay here. You're going to help me achieve my goals! You have a lot to learn!"

"Are you going to brainwash me too like you did your butler?" she guessed into the blue, but it would fit him so well. Now that she understood it all, it finally made sense.

"I don't have to. Not with you! But together we'll change the world!"

If anyone else had said it, no matter who, she would have thought him a megalomaniac. But from his mouth, it wasn't bravado...just simple, total conviction. With a leap, she landed in his arms and gave him a long kiss.

"But of course Mr. B! I am yours! “