Scott opened the tube of burn gel, squeezing out some of the clear contents onto his index finger. Sitting beside Harley on the sofa, he cupped her neck with his free hand, gently applying pressure to the edge of her jaw with his thumb to tilt her head to the side in order to see her injured ear better.

Harley's pale skin was warm and soft under his fingertips, and it made him briefly wonder about the softness of her lips. Scott caught himself, clenching his jaw as he dragged his mental processes back to where they should be. He was here to tend to her injury, nothing more, and he couldn't allow himself to be distracted by her.

There was no denying her beauty. Harley's jester outfit hugged her athletic form snuggly, showing off her lean muscles and graceful curves. Her smile, the few times he'd seen it, was infectious. No matter what her appearance, Harley was with the Joker, and even if the Joker wasn't around, her devotion might not waver. Scott suddenly realized he was doing it again. His attempts to avoid thinking about Harley by reminding himself about why she was unavailable, had led him right back to thinking about her again.

Scott concentrated on the task at hand, applying the burn gel to the angry red welt left behind from when Joker had pressed the barrel of his gun against her skin. When he finished, Scott placed a bandage pad over the spot and secured it with medical tape.

"All done," Scott announced.

"Can't hear you," Harley giggled.

"I'm sorry I got you into trouble," he apologized.

"You didn't," she denied. "I volunteered the fireworks."

"But, you wouldn't have suggested it if you hadn't been trying to help me," Scott pointed out. "You didn't have to help me, but you did anyway. Thank you."

"Gotta keep good people around," Harley told him. "Otherwise, there wouldn't be anyone left but the crazies like me."

Scott smiled, returning the cap to the tube of burn gel.

"I wonder where we'll be going from here," Scott thought out loud. "Penguin's demise shifts the balance of power in Gotham's underworld."

"Since Penguin ran most of the black market smuggling in the city," Harley explained, "Joker will know what everyone else is doing, and he can assist or hamper their efforts by choosing who gets supplied and who doesn't. Furthermore, Joker will have more territory and people."

"Minus those killed on both sides during the attack," Scott added. "I suppose there will be a few more who will defect to other crime bosses rather than serve the one responsible for killing their previous employer."

"Joker won't give them much time," Harley said. "Once he's distributed to his people the weapons collected in the raid, he'll hit the other bosses. Soon, there will only be the Joker."

"How far do you think he'll get before the cops interfere?" Scott questioned.

"Far enough they won't be able to stop him," Harley replied. "Mr. J now has more guns, rocket launchers, and grenades. If the cops interfere, he'll start blowing things up until they decide to back off."

"I'm not sure that strategy would work," Scott countered. "It might simply bring greater attention from larger government agencies with superior resources."

"We've had this conversation before," Harley reminded.

"Right," Scott said as he remembered. "So much has happened recently, I forgot."

"I'm reminded of Joker's upcoming victory every single day," Harley said in a whisper. "Each time he advances and the governments hesitates, he comes closer to winning. It reminds me how hopeless this world is becoming. No one's gonna stop him, and this world is gonna burn."

"Maybe not," Scott countered. "Don't forget, there are a great number of superheroes in this world. Even with the Joker causing trouble in other cities to keep them tied down, it only takes one getting involved here to overturn Joker's plans."

"Don't be too sure," Harley replied. "Let me remind you of the differences between Batman and the other heroes. The Justice League tries to uphold the law, but Batman cared more about justice. Do you realize the number of laws broken by the Bat every single night? Breaking and entering, trespassing, destruction of property, illegal search and seizure, assault and battery, just to name a few. The law never stopped the Bat, but it does stop the heroes of the Justice League. Let's say Superman got involved, ripped the roof off this place, grabbed the Joker and hauled him off to jail. Superman would eventually have to leave and attend to other matters, and that's the moment Joker's forces would bomb the prison and get him out, and he'd go right back to doing what he'd been doing before."

"How is that any different from the times Batman dumped him back in Arkham Asylum?" Scott asked.

"B-man would put Mr. J in the medical section of the Asylum with enough broken bones to keep him out of commission for a time," Harley explained. "While the Joker was contained, Batman would take apart Joker's organization, breaking them to the point where any plans they'd formed would be reduced to square one."

"So, the reason a stalemate existed in Gotham was because Batman kept things from getting out of hand," Scott reasoned. "With Batman absent, the stalemate is broken, and there isn't anyone to hold the line like he did."

"Yep," Harley agreed. "The cops certainly won't. The corrupt ones straightened up because they were afraid of what Batman might do to them. The money they received and benefits gained weren't worth drawing Batman's attention, but he's gone and so is their fear. They slid right back into their old habits, and you can imagine what happened with the judges, court officers, and politicians the moment they realized they wouldn't be called to account."

"Gotham's circling the drain worse than I thought," Scott lamented.

"It's not circling the drain," Harley denied. "Gotham's halfway down the pipe to the sewer. It brings new meaning to getting wasted."

"There has to be someone who could," Scott began.

"Could do what?" Harley interrupted sharply. "What good will a bunch of law abiding citizens do when the one they obey is in the Joker's pocket? How many self-serving politicians will see which way the wind is blowing and sign up just to court favor with Joker before he takes power? And, what about the good people like you who join simply out of desperation because the only other option is to die? Joker will collect those who follow, for whatever reason they choose to do so, and kill the rest to leave no opposition. There was only one way to stop the Joker, and he hasn't been seen in a year."

Harley crossed her arms and stared hard at the floor.

"Batman is gone, and the hope and life of Gotham vanished with him," she went on grimly.  "Face it, Joker is going to take the city and the world, and not even the Justice League will be able to stop him or even slow him down."

Scott realized no hero abiding by the law could take out Joker, but someone outside the law might if they could get close enough. Joker was constantly surrounded by a small army, many of them fanatically loyal. Even if someone managed to get past the goons on the way in, after Joker was eliminated, the one responsible would never make it out alive.

Recalling the goon in the demon clown mask trying to murder Scott during the attack on the Iceberg Lounge, he considered using a similar tactic on Joker. He'd need to wait for a particularly heavy skirmish when Joker would be involved. If Scott was careful not to let anyone see him actually pull the trigger, he might be able to have an opposing criminal organization take the blame.

Getting close enough to Joker would be an issue as anyone with access would instantly become a suspect when the clown died. Scott decided his best course of action would be to become Joker's best thug, accomplishing everything put before him without hesitation. He had to be able to fool everyone in to thinking his loyalty was unquestioning, so when the day of Joker's death came, no one would even think of looking in Scott's direction. Criminals didn't need proof of guilt, only suspicions. His cover had to be perfect because if anyone did suspect him, Scott was sure his death would follow Joker's in very short order.

Scott left the sofa to return the first aid kit back to the shelf where Harley had been keeping it recently. Before he reached the shelf, a knock sounded at the door, causing him to turn around and see who was there. Dressed in black leathers with a long-nosed clown mask hanging around his neck like a bizarre pendant, one of Joker's goons stood in the doorway.

"Boss wants to see you, now," the man said gruffly.

Scott tossed the kit the remainder of the way onto the shelf and followed the man out of the room and down the hallway toward the manager's office for the abandoned comedy club where Joker was headquartered.

"There you are!" Joker cheered excitedly, jumping out of his chair and rushing over to greet Scott. Remembering what had happened to Harley because of her offering Scott use of Joker's fireworks without permission, Scott was on high alert, waiting for the attack he suspected was coming.

"You managed to pull off quite a job," Joker praised, wrapping an arm around Scott's shoulders. "If anyone around here gives you any trouble, you just let me know, and I'll deal with them."

Scott was about to thank him when the Joker unexpectedly punched him in the stomach. With the wind knocked out of him, Scott dropped to his knees while gasping for air.

"Normally, anyone takes my stuff, and I'd kill 'em," Joker said. "However, since you did such a good job and I'm feeling generous, I'll let you work it off. How's that sound?"

"Thanks, Boss," Scott wheezed.

"Don't mention it," Joker dismissed. "I guess I just have a forgiving nature."

Joker reached down and grabbed Scott by the back of the neck, hauling him off the floor and dragging him over to a large map table where a diagram of Gotham was on display. The location of the Iceberg Lounge had been crossed off with an X. Two other locations were circled in red.

"Two-Face has two different locations he operates from, surprise, surprise," Joker explained, pointing to the two red circles on the map. "Secure both locations and bring me Two-Face. Do this and all is forgiven."

"Sure thing, Boss," Scott agreed. He wasn't sure he could take on the troops of the former district attorney as Two- Face had one of the largest gangs in Gotham. Breaking through his defenses would be even harder than the Iceberg Lounge, but the order had been given, and if Scott wanted to be seen as unquestioning in his loyalty, he needed to accomplish any task the Joker gave him. "I'll take care of it."

"Good," Joker accepted. "Don't come back until you do."