A/N: To any new readers: welcome. I started this years ago and abandoned it, but I've recently decided to re-do it all and finish it. I really hope you like the updated version!

Chapter 1: Poison Ivy

"I want to come."

"No."

"Look at this as a chance for me to learn!"

"No."

"It'll make me a better crimefighter."

"No."

"Please."

Bruce stopped putting his suit on for a moment and raised an eyebrow at Tim. "Contrary to what Alfred tells you, manners won't get you everywhere in life."

"Nonsense, Master Wayne," Alfred rebuffed, scowling up at the squealing bats over their heads. "A man can come from nothing and still make himself into something, as long as he is polite." He huffed at the deadpan look Bruce gave him.

Tim nodded eagerly. "See? Come on, it's only Poison Ivy."

"No, it's not." Bruce turned to face his son, trying to express the seriousness of the situation. "We're looking for Quinn and the Joker, Tim – you know how dangerous they are."

The teenager's face drained of any of his previous excitement. "Bruce, I've been Robin for two years. If I can't track the Joker with you, can I at least visit Ivy?" He touched the older man's arm gently. "I know you're scared after what happened, but I can handle this."

Bruce forced his face to remain impassive at the reminder of Jason. When he saw Alfred looking at him expectantly, he finally conceded with a nod. "Fine, you can come to Arkham." He paused for a moment, unsure whether to speak more. "I'll… give the other part a think, okay?"

Tim smiled and nodded, before bouncing off to get changed. Bruce turned to Alfred wearily, who merely smiled nostalgically. "Master Bruce, I really must tell you – you were far worse."

The drive to the asylum was quiet; Tim seemed to be deep in thought, and Bruce had never been one to break any silences between the two of them. However, a few minutes before they arrived, Tim decided to speak. "So, Dick came back last night."

This was obviously not news to Bruce, so he didn't look at Tim as he continued to drive, staring at the empty road instead. "He's staying at the manor, Tim – I did notice. What about it?"

"How are things between you two?"

Bruce's jaw clenched slightly, the only sign that he was uncomfortable with the direction of the conversation. "I don't know what you mean." It was a blatant lie, and he made no pretence of hiding it.

Tim snorted disbelievingly. "Okay, Bruce." He threw him a disapproving look, but thankfully said nothing more on the subject as the asylum came into view.

It was unusually quiet when they arrived at Arkham; unlike most days Bruce visited, the halls were not filled with shouting, threats and laughter from the more disturbed patients. Most likely planning ways to escape, Bruce thought tiredly as they followed a guard to Poison Ivy's room. Any successful escape, especially from a maximum-security prisoner, always inspired more plots to break out at the next possible opportunity, and today seemed to be no different.

Dr Joan Leland waited for the two of them at the end of the corridor. "Batman, Robin," she greeted professionally yet warmly. At this point, she was used to silence and blank stares and continued without expecting any kind of response. "She's inside – we sedated her, but it wore off a few hours ago. She should be up to talking to you. I was wondering if we could speak privately for a moment?" Tim nodded and Bruce simply stared at her, which she took as confirmation to continue. "Charlie, you can leave us." The guard looked at her in surprise but left without questioning her. Once he had disappeared, Dr Leland turned back to the two superheroes, slightly more nervous than before. "What I'm about to say breaks confidentiality rules."

While those sorts of things weren't important to Bruce, he understood that, to a respected and caring psychiatrist like Leland, her patients' trust was everything. He nodded once, silently impressed by her morals.

She took the nod as confirmation that her words wouldn't be repeated and continued. "I'm sure both of you know that Harleen and Pamela have been known to… cross the boundaries of friendship?" It was a fair judgement, since no one had a clue if the two were ever in a relationship or simply sleeping together. "Well, before Harleen was arrested, she promised Pamela that she was finished with the Joker and wanted to be her own person. Pamela takes those things to heart, please don't upset her more than necessary when you question her."

Bruce nodded again and saw Tim do the same. Harley and Ivy's relationship had been a strange yet persisting one over the years; despite Harley's almost guaranteed return to the clown, the two still spent lots of their time living, and causing chaos, together. The thought of the Joker filled Bruce with an anger he hadn't quite been prepared for and hadn't felt for a long time. He forced it down as he entered the interrogation room.

Pamela Isley was a beautiful woman; even Bruce, looking past all the times she had attempted to kill him, could appreciate the fact. Even with the deadly glare she gave the two of them, her hair messy and wearing Arkham's unflattering patient uniform, it was easy to see why so many men fell for her tricks. He kept his face stoic as he and Robin stood in front of the table, her scowl intensifying as she stared up at them. Apparently, today was not going to be a day of trickery and seduction.

"Where are they?" His voice was quiet, but she heard it well enough.

"And why exactly would I tell you that?" She asked mockingly.

"Ivy." Batman warned her.

"Batman," she mimicked him, the playfulness underlined with malice.

While normally he wasn't willing to lie to any of the criminals quite so quickly, an escape by the Joker allowed a different set of rules. "We think Harley is in danger." He was lying though his teeth and felt the slightest twinge of guilt in his gut as Ivy's skin paled to a sickly green. She answered immediately, fear for her friend and lover clear in her voice.

"If he's kicked her out, she either goes to the one of trailers by the theme park or the abandoned apartment block on 76th street. Unless…" Her gaze drifted into space for a moment as she thought, before her eyes snapped back to Batman's. "Was she Harley or Harleen when she left?"

"What are you talking about?" Bruce asked sharply; beside him, Tim's eyebrows were rising behind his Robin mask.

"Have you even looked at her file? Dissociative identity disorder – right at the top. I thought everyone knew." She glanced at him slyly. "Maybe you're not as good a detective as you're made out to be."

Bruce ignored her half-hearted attempts to provoke him. "What difference does the diagnosis mean?" He pushed down the slightest feeling of embarrassment at asking her to explain.

Ivy, on the other hand, barely batted an eyelid at the question. "Harleen is… odd." Her voice was low and thoughtful when she spoke; it was clear she had been thinking about this before. "She likes to avoid us on the rare times she takes over. She was staying with me once when she switched – let's just say it wasn't pretty." She snapped out of her daze, as if only just aware the two superheroes were listening, and carried on hastily. "Like I said, depending on who's in control, she could be in a different place."

"What about the Joker?"

"Oh, I don't even want to think about where he could be," Ivy said with an exaggerated sigh. "He could be anywhere in Gotham. After they escape he normally kicks her out for a few days – don't expect them to be in the same place."

If Bruce could have rubbed his temples at that moment while remaining stoic, he definitely would have. "And where would Harleen be?"

"Remember that old elementary school Killer Croc destroyed a few years back?" He didn't respond, but she continued anyway. "Harley was a student there. She still stays there sometimes. Only if she's really hurt though." Concern seeped into her voice at the thought, and her eyes became wider when she spoke again. "You won't find Joker – Harley is your best bet."

In her desperation to have her friend found safely, her powers of persuasion were weak, especially to Bruce, who it had never worked exceptionally well on to begin with; Tim, who he had almost forgotten was still standing there, was similarly unaffected. However, as the two shared a look, Bruce knew he wasn't the only one who found the situation odd. Ivy was never this cooperative; the only other time he had been was just before Harley had been found in an alley, covered in blood with some cracked ribs. The thought that history could repeat itself filled Bruce with dread, something he hadn't been expecting and didn't even want to try to understand for the time being. He pushed the feeling down and turned to leave, Tim close behind him.

"Batman." Ivy called, and he turned around to face her once again. "Harley loves the Joker more than anything. But Harleen? She hates the guy – I reckon she'd leave him if she got enough control, probably for someone else." She looked at him pointedly.

Bruce only stared at her, unwilling to show his confusion, and she groaned quietly. "This is why I hate men," she grumbled. "If I say anything she'll kill me, but I will tell you that she's always paid a little bit too much attention to you on the news." Though her tone remained annoyed, Bruce could clearly hear the undercurrent of pain in her tone. He swallowed down his sympathy for her, trying hard not to recall the time he felt a very similar way regarding Selina.

That's more than I needed to know for a night, he thought, his head so preoccupied he barely registered that he had left the room until he was standing outside with Robin. Leland nodded to them both. "I hope you got the information you needed?"

The two superheroes nodded once back and continued down the corridors. The shouting was beginning to start again as more patients realised Batman and Robin were in their midst, and both men remained in silence until they left the asylum and were back in the Batmobile.

"Where are we headed to first?" Tim asked as they set off.

"76th Street is closer, so we'll look there and then go to the trailer park." Bruce replied – it was earlier than he would've liked for them to be looking for Harley Quinn, but it was a bad idea to leave her alone on the streets of Gotham. Even without the Joker, she was more than slightly dangerous.

"And if she's not there?"

"Then we go to the school Ivy told us about." The thought was grim, and Bruce tried to ignore the sinking feeling that Ivy's cooperation was an omen. "Let Dick know what's happening, and ask him to look through the city's security cameras for Harley." The teenager nodded and pulled out his phone. They sat in silence for a few minutes as the car sped towards the city, before Tim spoke up again.

"Wouldn't have pegged Harley Quinn to be a secret Batman fan." He threw out offhandedly, but Bruce didn't miss the sly glance his son gave him.

"You've been spending too much time with Dick." His voice was flat, and Tim only gave a laugh in return.

They drove almost silently out of the gates of Arkham and towards the lights of the city. Tim seemed happy enough to sit in silence, and Bruce was far too concerned with wondering why exactly he cared what Harleen Quinzel thought of him when he was on the news.

A/N: Let me know what you think so far!