Batman pulled a pressurized canister from his belt and sprayed a fine mist on his face and armor, forcing himself to open his eyes and let the neutralizing agent do its work. The mist absorbed every microscopic trace of the Joker's acid spray, cleansing Batman's eyes and suit with no permanent damage.

As his vision cleared, he saw the end result of the confrontation between Harley Quinn and the Joker. Harley stood over the motionless form of her former boyfriend, a smoking gun still held in her hand.

Joker was in bad shape. Sprawled on his back in a growing pool of red, Joker's face was a bloody mask.

"Is he..." Batman started to ask, but Harley interrupted him with her answer.

"He's still alive," Harley told him, her eyes never diverting from the still form of the Joker. "I think he might have broken his nose though."

In the distance, the growing sound of police sirens approached the warehouse.

Harley took a step as if getting ready to leave before the police arrived, but Batman put a firm hand on her shoulder and kept her from departing.

"You don't have to run this time," Batman told her. "You helped bring down a criminal and save countless lives."

Harley smiled at him, pleased with Batman's approval.

The police entered with a crash of the front door being thrown open. Officers in bullet resistant tactical gear entered first, followed by the more mobile and vulnerable street cops. As some of the police began to emerge from the maze of boxes, Batman took a step and drew close to Harley, almost absorbing her in the shadowy confines of his cape.

"It's alright officers," Batman explained. "Joker's down and the threat to the city is over."

"What about her?" a cop asked, gesturing toward Harley with his shotgun.

"She's with me," Batman answered simply. "She helped save the city."

The cop hesitated for a moment then nodded and went to check on the Joker. He called for an ambulance with the portable radio strapped to his chest near the shoulder.

                                                                                             ***

After the police took the Joker away and checked the control panel to be sure the threat to the city had ended, they left the building. They'd taken most of the day checking and cataloging everything for evidence, and it was now nearly evening.

Harley had been bored most of the time waiting for the cops to finish, but it did let her spend some time standing near Batman. He was the strong silent type, but she could get used to it or find a way to bring out his fun side. She didn't know if Batman had a fun side, but she was more than willing to spend time with him while trying to find it.

When Batman and Harley were alone, he asked her a question.

"Now that you've been released, what are you going to do?" he asked.

"I don't know," she admitted. "Maybe look for a job."

"Do you need a ride someplace or some money to get started?" Batman inquired.

"Nah," Harley denied. "I've got a bike around here someplace, and there should be a few dollars stashed in here I can use to get a cheap apartment."

"Stay on the right side of the law and you won't have any further trouble from me," Batman warned before turning in a swirl of his long cape and walking away.

"Don't worry about me, B-man," Harley called after him. "I'll be fine."

Batman vanished into the warehouse maze while Harley started looking through the various crates and boxes, searching for her stuff. She opened a wood box as tall as she was and found several metal suitcases.

"There you are," Harley said happily. She dragged out the first one and flipped the latches open. Tossing the cover back, she gazed lovingly at the stacks of hundred dollar bills neatly arranged inside. "Mr. J. won't mind if I 'borrow' his life savings."

Closing the case, Harley dragged out the other two and piled them together while she continued her search of the warehouse.

Near the automatic doors leading outside, Harley found a crate over six feet in width and four feet in height. Picking up a large wooden hammer leaning against the wall, she used both hands on the long handle to swing the massive hammer and deliver a powerful blow against the side of the crate.

Wood splintered and flew in all directions, but because of an underlying layer of packing foam, the contents of the crate remained untouched. Using the edge of the hammer to push the broken pieces of the crate aside, Harley pulled the release for the straps holding the foam together. The straps fell away, followed immediately afterwards by the foam.

Hidden inside the protective layers of foam was her motorcycle. Painted in alternating square panels of red and black, the powerful bike also had a matching sidecar attached to its right side.

Harley put the hammer back where she'd found it and retrieved the suitcases of money, stacking them in the sidecar. When she was finished, she covered the opening at the top of the sidecar with a flexible rope net to keep her financial resources secure.

She was about ready to leave when she noticed the orange color of her sleeve. Still attired in the jumpsuit for Arkham Asylum, Harley knew she'd stick out on the streets of Gotham, even with all the constant breakouts from the mental facility. She didn't want the cops pursuing her; Harley was saving that particular privilege for Batman.

She disappeared behind a tall stack of boxes. For the next few minutes, items of clothing flew out from behind the boxes as she rummaged through her available choices of apparel and discarded everything she rejected for one reason or another.

After nearly ten minutes, Harley emerged from behind the stack of boxes dressed from the neck down in formfitting leathers. Her right boot was solid black except for bright red heel. Her left boot was the reverse in its color scheme. The rest of her attire was similarly colored with the right side of her pants being red and the left black. The right side of her long sleeved jacket was black, and the left was red. Affixed to the back of her jacket were four gleaming metal diamonds of bright red and arranged in a larger diamond pattern.  Even in the weak light levels of the warehouse, the metal diamonds still sparkled along their edges.

Scooping up the black and red motorcycle helmet off the seat of her bike, Harley loosened her pigtails to put the helmet on. Revving the engine, she pressed a remote control on the bike to automatically open the warehouse doors. While waiting for the doors to open fully, she glanced over her shoulder to where she'd last seen Batman.

"See you soon," she said in a sing-song voice. Flipping down the reflective black visor on her helmet, she sped out of the warehouse and roared off down the street.

                                                                                                  ***

Harley entered the small apartment she's rented, dropping off her suitcases of cash at the foot of her bed and stacking her motorcycle helmet on top of them. Unzipping her leather jacket, she pulled it off the black and red tank top she wore underneath and tossed the jacket over the back of a chair in the corner by a beat up desk.

The apartment had only the single bedroom with a kitchen and bathroom tacked on the side almost as an afterthought. It was night outside, so the two windows leading out onto the rusty fire escape were lightless voids in her wall. The floor was composed of bare wood worn smooth by years of foot traffic.

With the money Harley had retrieved from Joker's warehouse, she could've picked a nicer place, but she didn't really care at the moment. Her thoughts were on Batman.

Kicking off her boots, she flopped onto the bed, staring up at the ceiling as she folded her hands behind her head. Her mind spun with possibilities of her future with Batman in regard to how many kids they should have and what names they might be given, where the couple would live, and the possibility of starting a family based singing group.

Harley giggled with the happy thoughts. She admitted to herself she was indeed in love with Batman. He loved her too, even if he didn't know it yet. She just had to find the right way to make him realize it, and Harley would start her efforts tomorrow.