So...hey guys and gals.

This is something that I've been working on since December of last year. I've written a good few chapters so far and I have been debating on whether or not I wanted to post it or make some more fine tunings to it. This is my first time writing for this particular set of characters, most of whom I enjoy as a whole, and I hope that you all feel that I do them some justice.

Most of the representations I have made of both Joker and Harley are mainly based off of David Ayer's creations for Suicide Squad, but I mixed in a bit of other Batman work here and there, including some from the Arkham games and a few quotes and speeches you may recognize from the comics.

I hope you all enjoy, I have a good few chapters ready to post and go, which will be going up in the next few days.

"I must say, Miss Quinzel, your resume is nothing short of magnificent."

Smiling, Harleen watched with pride as Dr. Jeremiah Arkham, the administrative director of Arkham Asylum, looked over her resume with a hint of a smile and the wide eyes of a surprised man. She had not thought for a minute that it would be enough for the interview at the Asylum, given everything that she had done during her education. The fact that she had gained her grades through 'unorthodox methods' was a fact only known to herself and her professors and was a fact and a story that she would like to keep under lock and key for a very, very long time.

Closing the brown paper folder and pushing it back in Harleen's direction, Dr. Arkham looked at something on his computer for a few seconds before clasping his hands together and directly addressing his interviewee. Arkham was a lithe, lanky man with a long face. His features were sullen and matched the shape of his head, with multiple frown lines and baggy eyes gracing his appearance. However, the most recognizable feature adorned on his face was his long, crooked nose on which his glasses hung low upon while he read.

Harleen was sure that she had seen a lot about Dr. Arkham prior to her interview with him. She swore that he had lectured at the university that she studied in, but Harleen never paid too much attention to the lecturerers. From what she gathered, he was a well-respected psychiatrist and well-known within the field. The last descendant and great-nephew of Arkham Asylum founder Amadeus Arkham, the renowned Jeremiah was looked upon as the inheritor of his great-uncle's psychiatric prowess and ability to help the criminally insane. She had watched many of the speeches and conferences he had spoken at, including the debates where he spoke at length about his hardline approach to his patients. Dr. Arkham was a firm believer in the use of aversion therapy in order to counteract the mental illnesses that plagued his many patients, but took great care in their well-being and made sure they were treated right in his establishment.

"You have quite an impressive background," Arkham noted, still not breaking a smile despite his obvious enthrallment with Harleen's resume. "In fact, I am positively sure that your education alone could have gotten you a job at many of the institutions in the state."

Trying her best not to blush, Harleen smiled and scratched the back of her neck. She was slightly embarassed by the praise that such a prestigious doctor like Jeremiah Arkham was heaping upon her. Sitting up straight after a few moments, she coughed a little and returned to her original posture.

"But there is one question that comes to mind when I look at all of this." Arkham tapped all the fingers on his left hand, his favoured one as far as Harleen could tell, upon his oak wood desk. "What made you want to work here of all places? We haven't exactly got the best reputation compared to other institutes, as much as I hate to admit it."

A little nervous, Harleen shifted in her seat and moved pieces of her fringe away from her glasses. She had always been interested in criminal psychology, even when she was a young kid in high school all. She wanted to know what it was like to be in the head of some of the most demented people in the world, to work alongside them and see what they were like. If she could cure them, make them decent human beings and send them out into the world, Harleen knew that she would no doubt make a fortune from the notes she would have.

"Mr. Arkham, criminal psychology has always been a passion of mine since high school." Harleen shuflfed nervously in her seat. "I've always wanted to work with some of the more interesting criminals that the world has to offer people like us. I don't want to do this job because it pays well or has a lot of benefits but because it allows me to build up a good reputation and to help the psychologically challenged people of this world. I'm hoping that this institute and its patients will allow me to do just that."

"You certainly have heart, Miss Quinzel." Dr. Arkham slowly nodded his head. "But heart doesn't count for nothing nowadays. What makes you different from another doctor who has more practical experience?"

Once again, Harleen scratched the back of her neck and tried to think of a clever and professional-sounding answer.

"I believe I have a certain way of helping these people overcome their troubles." Harleen smiled. "I want to know what makes these people tick, why they do the things they do and what events have led up to them becoming who they are now. I believe I have the right amount of desire and determination to put my theory to the test."

Rather proud of herself, Harleen sat tall in her chair and clasped her hands together.

"You have a very bold and intriguing theory, Miss Quinzel." Dr. Arkham noted. "But I cannot simply hire you because you have a desire to succeed. The people you will be working with are some of the worst criminals that have been put on this Earth. Many of the untrained psychiatrists have employed in the past have either ran away or turned up dead after brushing with some of our worst patients. Why should I risk taxpayer money and your life on a hunch and a desire?"

"Mr. Arkham, all I am asking for is one chance to show you what I can do." Harleen sighed. "I believe I can succeed where others have failed."

Chuckling a little, Dr. Arkham shook his head and smiled. "I don't think I have encountered someone who has wanted this job as much as you, Dr. Quinzel. Your desire excites me, as much as it could possibly be your downfall. I am willing to bring you on at first as an intern and assign you a doctor to shadow and help. Should you make enough progress within that time I will bring you on as a permanent part of the Arkham staff."

Harleen's eyes widened and a smile stretched across her lips. She couldn't believe it, everything she had worked for had finally paid off for her. A job at Arkham Asylum could be the break she needed to become the famous doctor she wanted to be and she had taken the first step to achieving it.

"Thank you, Mr. Arkham." Harleen grinned. "You won't regret it."

"Please, call me Jeremiah." Dr. Arkham rose from his seat and moved away from his desk, heading towards his door.

"Well, in that case call me Harleen." Harleen rose from her chair and tucked it under his desk, before joining Jeremiah near the door to his office. "Everyone does."

Smiling, Jeremiah opened the door for Harleen and watched with a smile as she walked through, before standing in the doorframe and holding his hand out.

"Harleen, I have a hunch that you could become one of the very best of us." Jeremiah smiled. "Welcome to Arkham Asylum."

"Thank you, Jeremiah." Harleen shook his hand and nodded gleefully. "I'm looking forward to working under someone with as much talent and experience as you."

"I'm flattered." Jeremiah smiled. "But hard work and determination to succeed gain you experience in my book. Have a good night's rest and I'll see you at the start of the week to sort out which doctor you shall be shadowing."

Without another word, Jeremiah bowed his head and walked back into his office, gently closing the oak wooden door behind him. Harleen sighed and walked over towards the window to her left, looking out towards the asylum grounds. She smiled and leant on the windowsill, watching the afternoon breeze rustle through the trees. It was a beautiful sight to behold, the calmness and tranquility of nature. Harleen could stay there and watch the sights for a lifetime, calm and without a care in the world.

After what felt like a lifetime in her world, Harleen was brought back to reality by a quick tap on her shoulder. Spinning around quickly in defence, Harleen was instead face-to-face with a security guard. He was a young man, little older than his early twenties. He had a clean shaven face and his helmet barely fit his head but he seemed determined and eager to get on with his job. He wore the outfit of a typical Arkham security guard, with the only thing that separating him from the rest of the grunts working at the institute was the name on his ID card, which was pinned onto a pocket above his heart. Upon quick inspection, Harleen quickly found that this man was called Eddie Burlow.

"Miss Quinzel?" Burlow asked, folding his arms. "I think your taxi has arrived outside. I've been told to escort you to the entrance."

With a smile, Harleen nodded and followed Burlow through the twisting, never-ending corridors of Arkham Asylum, passing numerous doctors wearing lab coats that she would be wearing soon and scanning an ID card which she would have. Eventually, they reached the main entrance and Harleen was sent on her way.

The sky had gone completely dark by the time the taxi had brought Harleen back to her apartment, so much that the stars and the moon had appeared between the skyscrapers. The evening was fully upon the city and the streetlights had been turned on, albeit the streets were mostly illuminated by the neon lights of the buildings. Stepping out of the taxi, Harleen paid the driver and stood on the sidewalk, looking out onto the long street that looked like it lead to nowhere. As she looked around, Harleen saw many homeless people and others that had been driven into the ground by the higher-ups.

It had become a well-known fact that Gotham City was controlled by the members of the organized crime families. The mob had ran people into the ground, taken their jobs and made the city bow to them. People like Carmine "The Roman" Falcone and Sal "The Boss" Maroni had become some of the most powerful people in the city, all because of their corrupt dealings with the underbelly of the city. Even the Batman couldn't stop the Falcone and Maroni crime families, despite taking down small-time mobsters like Warren White and Mickey Sullivan. The police force were known for being mostly all corrupt along with the entire of the mayoral office due to the rumours floating around of both Police Commissioner Gillian Loeb and even Mayor Aubrey James being in-league and in the back pocket of Falcone.

Gotham had been run into the ground like it's citizens. The only saving grace was that the mob allowed the police to take down some of the small-time gangsters and wannabe mobsters who wanted to run the city. People like Oswald Cobblepot, Roman Sionis and Maximilian Zeus had all either been brought in by the police or the Batman and were now residing in the deepest, darkest holes of Blackgate Penitentiary.

According to the Gotham Gazette, there were few honest men in this city. People like police captain James Gordon, billionaire philanthropist Bruce Wayne and district attorney Harvey Dent were all the honest people could rely on for a decent future, despite all the good it would do. Of course, all of this was what Harleen had learned from news reports and online sources and didn't know whether or not to take it seriously and all to heart.

Ignoring her thoughts as the current moment, Harleen sighed and began the slow stairs climb towards her apartment. It wasn't the most tedious thing to do, but nevertheless it wasn't something Harleen enjoyed. The balcony was the only thing in Harleen's mind that made up for the long staircase, but there was no such thing as a beautiful sight from a balcony in Gotham City.

By the time she had reached the door to her apartment, Harleen was ready for a relaxing night ahead. She quickly walked down the corridor and tried not to alert her neighbours to her presence, just in case some of them were bored and in need of a chat with someone they got along with. Harleen instead quickly opened her door and shut herself inside, breathing a sigh of relief as her body came to the realization that she was finally alone to her thoughts.

Settling down for the night, Harleen spent the next hour or so doing whatever she needed in order to get ready. From changing into her pyjamas, filing away the documents in her resume and ordering a pizza for her dinner, Harleen did her best to try and get herself comfortable in the apartment she had most recently rented. She had obtained it from a friend of a friend whom she had studied with at university, who wanted someone to rent it in order to get it off of his hands. The rent had been lowered due to the connection between the two, but Harleen couldn't help but think that the monthly amount was a little steep for her liking.

After her pizza had arrived, Harleen smiled and got herself comfortable on her sofa with her laptop and the pizza itself, before flicking on the TV with the remote. After flicking through a few channels featuring shows that didn't interest her, including the highly-televised and promoted fight between "The Wildcat" Ted Grant and somebody else who's name Harleen didn't manage to see. Eventually, she found a stupid romantic film that she was certain she had seen before and sat down with her food, occasionally looking at the laptop that was sat nearby on the coffee table.

During her alone time, however, Harleen was interrupted by the sound of her phone vibrating. With a smile, Harleen noticed that her Mom was calling to check how things were going. Without a second glance, Harleen accepted the call and placed the phone to her ear, waiting for a response.

"Harleen?" A voice came through from the other end. "How did it go, sweetie?"

"It went well, Mom." Harleen cheered. "I start on Monday."

"That's great, sweetie!" Her mom's voice was ecstatic. "I'm so proud of you!"

For the next few minutes, Harleen and her Mom talked about everything that was important to the pair of them, from everything back home, her brother's troubles at high school, job-related shenanigans and other things in general. Eventually, the pair ran out of subjects and decided to end their conversation, promising to call each other within the next few days to see how things were going in Gotham.

With the weight of phoning her Mother off of her shoulders, Harleen sighed and sat back on her sofa, taking up a piece of pizza and biting into it happily as she got ready for the next few days of preparation for her new job.