Down in the depths of Gotham City humanities have become a lost art. People let their demons run their mind to embrace what the world has to offer to each damaged soul. Unable to control themselves in times of weakness, one sees how cruel and unforgiving the truly desperate can be. In a street alley we have a young woman walking through as a shortcut to her dingy apartment on the less than reputable side of the city. With the night sky being the only source of illumination she usually kept a steady pace to get home. Overlooking her shoulder she see's a man walking nonchalantly behind her. Starting to gain speed in her steps, she see's the other end of this dirty alley. Hearing the man snicker snarky and slightly threatening comments she starts to run, heels were not a good choice for this girl tonight. Reaching towards the other end as the sound of the man's footsteps began pounding on the ground she started to feel some relief. In a split second that feeling vanished when the figure of another man appeared to block her exit route. The throbbing of her heart was fearing the possibilities of what can occur from this seemingly destined encounter. Slowing down in her heels she turned to see the man behind her slowly strut to his own enjoyment. As they got close together to surround the woman she only thought one thing tonight, an unpleasant end.

"Please STOP!" The woman screamed.

"Eh shut up will ya? Give us the dam purse and that gold necklace too." The woman couldn't refuse giving the men her purse, it was replaceable, however the necklace was something that couldn't be taken. Handing only the purse made the two men furious. "Hey I didn't exclude that nice little star around your neck.", The mugger said angrily.

"I can't give you that, my bubbe gave me this necklace before she died," she said in an agitated tone. "Please can't the purse be enough?"

The one mugger searched quickly through the purse to find very little. There was only one debit card and ten dollars in one's. "What the hell, you tellin me that your fucking coming up empty." The other mugger tapped his friend. "Hey there is another way she can make up for a lack of green." The two had a hungering look that only the id can provide. That dark and twisted desire to defile a young innocent woman had the muggers move closer to her. She backed up all she could till she touched the wall. Fearing what would happen next she held the star around her neck tight.

"I'm sorry bubbe." Closing her eyes before the horror would begin, she didn't want to see what comes next.

In darkness all she heard was the sound of two loud gunshots. Opening her eyes all she saw in front of her the two muggers both containing a .380 round in their heads. Turning her head to the left she saw a man looking down at her, he lend out a hand to assist her.

"Are you alright?" The tone of his voice was smooth and yet intimidating at the same time. Not being able to see his face the woman hugged the mysterious man for saving his life.

"Thank you for saving me Mistah." Feeling safer now she grabbed her purse to find those ten dollars.

"Please love, you don't have to."

"No no no, I must do something to repay you."

"It was a pleasure itself, I got to save the damsel in distress myself and hell I didn't need a cape, just some lead." She giggled from his remark and placed the cash back in her purse.

"Fine. You wanna say I owe you one."

"Sure, how could I deny the pretty lady?"

"Mind also telling me your name Mistah?"

"As you wish. Allow me to introduce myself." The illumination of the moon set just right for the woman to see the man who saved her life. It's only funny when you see how unpredictable the predictable seem to be. Her eyes widened from the identity she just discovered.

"It's you!" Her shocked tone made him smile wide.

"Guilty as charged, people say you would have to crazy to be alone with someone like me."

"The Joker."

…

"Yes, the one and only. And who might I ask be the damsel I saved?" The woman was still a little startled from everything that just occurred, being saved from a supervillain was unexpected, especially someone of his caliber. She coughed and raised her right hand,

"Harleen...Harleen Quinzel." He grabbed her hand with sincerity.

"What a pretty name, rework it a bit and you get Harley Quinn."

"Yeah I've heard that a lot over the years Mistah Joker."

"Please, Joker was my father's name. Call me J love." His joking manner was reassuring to her.

"Sure thing Mistah J."

"Excellent Harley."

The two conversed down out of the dark alley. They headed to Harleens apartment. Joker was more than happy to assist.

"...so you work at Arkham Asylum huh?"

"Yes, I'm a trained psychiatrist for treating the mentally unbalanced."

"Oh is that what they're calling me now, did they just assume my mental status?" He pretended to be insulted.

"Hehe not at all Mistah J. It's just a technical term."

"How long have you been employed?"

"Actually tomorrow will be my first day."

"Ah okay, I swear I would have seen you eventually. I wouldn't forget such a pretty face."

"Mistah J are you flirting with me?"

"Is it working?" She leaned to him and whispered in his ear, "It's a start." His smile grew wide with devious thoughts but a quick pause arose when the two reached the townhouse apartment with the cobblestone steps. "Well this is my place." Looking up at it you could see the blue paint chipping with the gutter rusting on the edges but god the roof wasn't better looking much either.

"Not bad for a beginners start. It actually reminds me of when I first started out in Gotham."

"Now that's a story I would like to hear." He gave her a purple card, it had a matte finish and intricate styling. Simply containing a phone number, flipping it over it had a littler white jester with a wide grin.

"Call me. I would love to converse about this sometime, maybe over dinner?" She couldn't have imagine her night ending like this, with almost being a murder victim on the news headlines tomorrow from then being rescued by a charming man who happened to be the most dangerous man in Gotham. However fear was not in the atmosphere, together the two felt calm. She was more comfortable talking to a serial killer than most she talked to on a daily basis. Looking into his emerald eyes, she saw something pulling her in, alluring to know more about the clown in purple. She smiled with sincerity and flattery to his offer, a date could just be what the doctor ordered.

"Sounds just perfect." The Joker took her hand with an excited yet calm approach. Raising the hand up he gave it a firm kiss. A pink tone rose to Harley's cheeks. He took notice and said some last remarks, "It was an honor meeting you Harley, I wish it could have been under certain circumstances but then again I wouldn't have been able to save such an enchanting woman."

"Maybe it was destiny you did. You're such a kind man and without you I wouldn't be standing here with my savior. Having to depend on someone isn't easy but when you find the right person…"

"You can feel free to fall." Stepping closer in front of him she gave the Clown Prince of Crime a full kiss that paused everything around them. The clouds escaped the sky leaving the moon to reflect off the street. With nobody around the possibility of anything ruining this moment was impossible. Minutes taken away the kiss breaks and the two meet at each other's eyes. The height difference was distinguishable but her heels were helping. Her heart was throbbing and brain releasing vast amounts of Oxytocin, she couldn't resist holding him for further comfort. He didn't resist her need for a little affection.

"Thank you so much Mistah J."

"My pleasure sweets." He was astonished by her recent actions, no one was ever this fond of his presence. Usually when people look at him they ran for the hills. This girl however held on tight to his suit jacket. A feeling emerged that was singular to him, entirely foreign, not feared but accepting. She eventually let go of him, the night was only later and she had a big day tomorrow.

"I'll call you after I get off work." She bit her lip to hide the disappointment she was feeling having to go. He could tell and he found her expressions to be cute. Grabbing her soft face all he could say before getting entranced in those azul eyes of her was simply, "I'm looking forward to it." They both smiled and then he began to walk forward on the sidewalk but not before sending a farewell, "Goodnight Harley."

"Goodnight and sweet dreams Mistah J." She felt a little detached with his absence but nevertheless tomorrow is another day, and a date with a clown soon after. The idea is funny to think, being on a date with a homicidal madman. But holding him made her feel safe and secure. And that kiss, she asserted herself fully and he didn't pull back. The desire was mutual on both parties. After no longer seeing him in the far distant she quickly hopped up the stairs and went into her home. Having to get ready for bed she was undressing from her evening attire. Just before putting them in the hamper she inhaled them. It still contained the fragrance he was wearing, Eau de Lacoste L.12.12 Rouge. Such style for a man with a tendency for anarchy. Thinking of him made her pulse beat quicker. To feel a spark of connectivity was rare to see, especially from polar opposites.

The next morning she woke up in her bed. Turning to the side she see's the empty space of the bed. Taking a second to recapture the moments that occurred last night she simply smiled to the thought of talking to him again. The card was on the dresser and catching a glimpse of the clock she knew it was time to get ready for her first day. Heading out the door in a Karen Kane Dress with black wedges to go with it, she swiftly entered her car with a bagel in her mouth. Hopefully it wouldn't smudge the lipstick. The old Honda Prelude her parents bought spewed out some carbon and sparked the ignition and down the road she went.

Off on the way to the Arkham she couldn't help but be excited for her first day. The interview process went well with Dr. Arkham and the past internships were a success to say the least. The references she had were stellar, Dr. Langstrom was more than happy to help. And with being the valedictorian in her class at Gotham University with a doctorate in clinical psychiatry, who could deny her?

Entering through the gates of this esteemed residence, in the back of her head Arkham Asylum is the right fit for her than all the other institutions. To be able to treat the mentally disturbed was a passion that grew with age. To give hope to her previous patients, it allowed the patients to establish trust and open up more which then lead to better treatments and eventually discharge. And with high profiles the facility holds, she can be able to treat the extremely altered.

"Hello Harley." Dr. Leland greeted her when she entered the doctor's entrance of the Arkham Mansion.

"Hello Joan." The two shook hands and began walking around the manor for Harley's introduction tour.

"This facility has been in full capacity since the opening of the hospital in 1809. Originally being built by for the Arkham family in 1764, the owners allowed their home to be the home to those who were disturbed and unstable."

"Yeah, what happened to the family?" Joan swallowed with some discomfort.

"When Dr. Amadeus Arkham, the founder of the manor and hospital first began treatment for the unfortunate, let's just say he held some demons of his own." This peaked Harley's curiosity.

"What would Jeremiah Arkham say?"

"He probably wouldn't respond to your questions."

"I'm sorry for being intrusive, I just like to know the history of old buildings such as this." The gothic beams that went through the halls had such intricate designs it would cost millions just to replicate the craftsmanship. Granted it was a little dark in certain areas of the building but maybe originally the Arkham's wanted some privacy, who knows.

"It's perfectly fine, if this building could talk god there wouldn't be enough time in the day to hear the stories of what they've seen."

"That's exactly true." After touring through the cafeteria, rec room, the courtyard, intensive treatment, and more we finally stop in front of Harley's new office.

"Well I will leave you here for now Harley. Through this done is where you will be conducting most of your sessions. If you have any questions please don't hesitate to ask." Harley could tell that Joan means well and wants to make friends, she shook Leland's hand and thanked her for being helpful and showing hospitality. Opening the heavy Oak-polished door with the orginal refurbished metal hinges, she couldn't help but gasp at the decor of her new office. A well sizable room that had a cobblestone fireplace next to a mahogany colored leather couch that seemed to be scotch-guarded against the backwall close to the entrance door. A rosewood bookcase was in the left side cornering a ficus from the previous tenant. A decent sized window giving a view to the Kane River which lead into Gotham Bay. But not just the river but the forest that surrounded it but with specks of land open to see nature in it's original order. And of course the right and left side wall was empty and was available for frames of family and friends. The birch desk facing the patient couch had to be over 150 years old if it was a day. It had carvings of what seemed to be wines going in unspecified directions. Something however pulled her away from the craftsmanship, she noticed what seemed to be a gift on the top of her new desk. A red rose in a skinny blue vase. It had a note attached to it. Flipping the card over she the message that came with it.

"Welcome to the nuthouse, you'll fit in here just fine." - J

Harley felt comfort from his joke. A ringing noise was heard from her desk phone.

"Hello." She was hoping that he was on the other line.

"Ah yes Dr. Quinzel we have your 10:30 appointment ready for you." The receptionist triggered Harley's mind from her mild moment of forgetfulness. 'Shit' was the word that entered Harley's head. She accidently forgot the patient folder in her Prelude. The first day on the job doesn't always begin smoothly.

"Yes thank you, please wait a couple minutes, I have something to get first."

"Okay Doctor Quinzel buzz me when you're ready." The receptionist said with a snarky tone. She couldn't really focus on that, she needed to get her patient folders. Exiting her office in a flash, the urge not to foul up was increasing as she raced down the hall. Reaching her car she quickly grabbed the folders and then zipped back down into the asylum. When she arrived back into her office, the next immediate action was phoning in the less than pleased receptionist.

"I'm ready now.", said with little breath left.

"About time doctor, we haven't got all day." Boy did she want to scream but her throat was to dry to retaliate. Patience was the key and eventually the kill will just be that much sweeter. Before the orderly entered in with her first patient Harley made a quick glimpse into the folder, well this won't be the most memorable client but it's a start. The door opened, man this is going to be a long day.

The patient sat on the couch and began twiddling his thumbs.

"So Jason Spisak what brings you in today?"

"I have an interest in moths."

"Oy vey."

...

After her first session she felt a little stagnant. The man was obviously suffering from obsession compulsion disorder with this notion of the "mighty moth".This behavior could easily be sedated with an SSRI and some sound counseling from a trained social worker. This wasn't exactly the challenge she was looking for, something a little more complex would be suited for her.

BUZZZ..BUZZZ.

Pressing the speaker for the receptionist she felt unwilling to talk to the rude woman. "Dr. Quinzel there's a package here for you at the front desk." A package? She couldn't imagine whom it would be from. Looking at the clock it appeared to be her lunch break so at least the timing worked. When she headed downstairs to the front desk in the lobby she noticed a well dressed man standing there a holding a black box with a red bow on top. Seeing the blonde doctor he muttered, "Nice choice boss."

"I'm sorry I didn't hear what you said." Harley was curious to what the man wanted. He handed her the pretty box and nodded with a quick message before walking out the lobby entrance.

"Dr. Quinzel this is from a Mr. White, enjoy miss." Before she could ask any further questions the man was already gone.

"I wish a man would bring me boxes to my workplace." Harley smirked, the was the opportunity to befriend the bitch. A handshake was a good start.

"Hello I'm Doctor Quinzel."

"Yeah I know, I called you down here." Man was she a smart alec. Her name tag however said she was Sarah.

"Sarah I feel like we somehow got on the wrong foot and I want to fix that."

"Oh really how?" Harley had to think of something quick to offer, something rational. I believe a number from one of her classmates in grad school would do. Bart was a cute guy but in a platonic way. Last time she checked out on him he was treating people at the free clinic down on Snyder Street. He was also single with a string of bad relationships with some less than reputable characters so a seemingly nice receptionist would be a change of pace in a positive manner. Harley took a sticky note from Sarah's desk and clicked her special session pen. When handing Sarah Bart's name and digits and putting her pen away all she would say before leaving to her office to check her gift was a notion of good intention, "He's a doctor." And with that she speed walked out of the lobby to the elevator as fast as her heels would let her. "Hopefully that will work." said to herself as the elevator went up to the second floor.

Shaking the box a little there was some rattling but it wasn't distinguishable to identify the object or objects. Closing her office door she insisted on rapidly tearing off the top and checking what treats laid inside. The first item she took out was a silver canister with no labeling but an easy to screw lid. Inside there was a little green vial of god knows what. Putting it to the side there was a handmade chicken parm panini with a traveler's mug of red wine. And at the bottom of the little box there was a dark paper note,

"Consider this another welcoming gift, oh and please don't open the vial love, that's for emergencies only, catch ya soon." - J

She felt so appreciated by her clown. Just thinking about him was making her dream. The work day was past the halfway point and thanks to being private sector in a mental institution, Arkham has very lenient hours and short durations. There was only one session scheduled for today so besides finishing the patient evaluation for Mr. Spisak, there wasn't exactly a lot left to do. This wasn't bad for the first day. One thing that she still wondered was what the hell is in that green vial? "I guess we'll have to see when the time is necessary."

After she finished her patient evaluation sheet, thus began another long walk to the executive building of the manor. The building held the board meetings, contain the main heads of Arkham, and kept stockholders at bay when money is temporarily at a risk of loss when a patient begins an overturn of the asylum. Well that happened last month from a devilish man with a cynical grin.

And the daydreaming was starting again but before that could pursue any further, she had to turn in the patient evaluation. She exited the intensive treatment ward and headed to the courtyard to save some time going around. The environment was quite calm, it was in a way that you still knew most of the people here are clinically insane but the sound of near nothingness muted the previous presence of white noise in an abnormal society. As she entered the Executive Office her nerves felt uneasy. Granted it was mostly the smell of too much febreze but never the less the area was a little more empty than expected. She went up the stairs to the Arkham's main conference room, there was where the board would meet to decide important decisions for typical financial situations. Entering the conference room she saw two men conversing. One was the head honcho Dr. Jeremiah Arkham and the other was not someone she was familiar with. The man had a nice navy three piece and a little too much product in his hair but had a decent build, not a bad looking individual but she was taken more to her jester.

"Oh Dr. Quinzel I'm glad you're here." Jeremiah turned to shake her hand.

"Dr. Arkham I came here to give you the patient evaluation but I can come at another time if your…"

"No no Dr. Quinzel your timing was perfect. I'd like you to meet our new chief board member Mr. Bruce Wayne."

"Well I wouldn't flaunt that title around much Jeremiah. My company is happy to donate to the betterment of the patients here. I decided to take a more personal involvement in this venture." In Harley's mind she was thinking of how this really would just boost the morale for his company and holding a more caring image, not bad for presentation and reputation. She noticed he was staring at her. "I'm sorry for the impoliteness, I must have left it in my car."

"Yeah probably in the Aston Martin." Harley's comment wasn't received well to Dr. Arkham.

"Harleen can I see you in my office?"

"Sure." She followed Jeremiah to his pristine office. "It was nice meeting you Mr. Wayne." The door closed before Bruce could respond to her.

"You too, I guess."

In the office of Jeremiah Arkham there was tension from Harley's snarky remark. He didn't appreciate her taking jabs at the board, especially the chief of the board.

"What the hell was that?"

"It wasn't meant to be serious, it was just a joke."

"Well I wasn't laughing." In her head: "Heh, you wouldn't know humor if it hit you in the face."

"Sir with all due respect, I see that the asylum will benefit to the donations of Wayne Industries but those checks come with ties."

"Yes and the board will look into all options for future considerations of latter involvement with Wayne Industries. Bruce himself is donating time out of his schedule to be apart of the asylum board."

"What else does he have to do, a billionaire doesn't exactly need the money."

"Harleen I'm not discussing this any further, you bring these issues up at the next board election but until then I don't want there to be any issues understood?"

"Yes sir."

"Go home Harleen, you've done your job exceptionally for your first day. If you cut out the end it would have been perfect. Thank you for the patient evaluation, I do appreciate you sending it to me personally but we have a mail lady for future reference. You are destined for great things Dr. Quinzel. See you tomorrow."

"Thank you sir. See you tomorrow."

And with that Harley left Arkham's office and exited the Executive Building. She was upset and angry with Arkham. She knew he had to be gaining some personal incentives for having Wayne Industries involved with the asylum. The best thing was to just keep moving and not let this ruin the rest of her day. She had other plans to attend. Returning to her office she packed up for the day and began walking out to the walkway which lead to the parking lot. She took out her phone and noticed it was 1:00 p.m., time to go home and enjoy some much needed company. In her purse she flipped the purple card and dialed the number as she headed to her Honda.

"Hellooo." Hearing his smooth voice calmed her down and returned a smile on her face.

"Hi Mistah J, I've been thinking about you."

"I've been thinking of you too love. Wanna have some fun?"

"Yes please Mistah J."

"Excellent, I'll pick you up at your home."

"I'm looking forward to it." The call ended, having a kick in her step she zoomed to her car and pressed the gas peedle down to get home quickly and spend some much needed time with her clown. "I'm coming J."

...

Thank you all for reading my first installment to my new tale. I'll soon add more chapters and make wonder of this new universe.