The Joke is on Gotham... {Harley, party-goers}

[The Joker]

It almost made him laugh, the way they failed to notice. The black stretch limo drove along the conjested Gotham streets; everyone was coming to this party. This was the party of the year; the dedication ceremony after-party...Gotham's finest would be here. The Mayor, that stupid Bruce Wayne, and Helena. Helena, Helena, Helena...

"Helena. Helena, Helena, Helena." he whispered lowly, tapping his fingers on his leg. "Go! Drive! Drive faster!" He fingered the cuff of his sleeve, wishing that it was a knife that he was playing with instead of the cloth of his sleeve. He stared straight ahead at the back of the Driver's head, thinking of all the ways he could kill him. Sure, he was one of his boys, but that still didn't quell the urge to cause some violence.

"Sir--"

The driver spoke, and the Joker blinked, focusing his eyes from the back of the man's head, to his eyes in the rearview mirror. "I didn't ask you to talk, did I? I asked you...to drive. So do it before I use this ash tray back here to slice your throat open."

The large gothic building came into sight as the Joker looked out of the window of the limo. As did all of the flashing lights. His tongue darted out, tasting make-up, licking at his lips as he looked out of the window, almost hungrily. So many people...this was going to be a very, very fun night.

"Now, my little Harley Quinn," the Joker said, as if talking to a small child or a dog. "If you mess this up, I'll personally send a peice of you to every news station in Gotham. I'll send your head to the Mayor's desk, and I'll send the rest of your pretty little body to...Bruce Wayne. I'm sure he'd enjoy the gesture."

He cleared his throat, tongue darting out to lick his lips as the limo came to a stop. "So," he said, his voice changing an octive lower, a light hint of an accent. "Tell me. Are you going to make sure this goes smoothly?"

For all everyone knew...he was just another one of Gotham's foreign visitors. For all they knew, he and Harley Quinn were married and had seventy children in some large mansion on a green-covered coast. How wrong, they were. Thinking about it made him giddy, and a smile stretched on his face.

[Harley Quinn]

She rested her chin in her hands, staring out the window as she sat beside the Joker. She was excited - Harley loved parties, especially the ones where she got to dress up. She reached up and brushed a curl of hair off her shoulder. She had spent plenty of time getting ready, and getting the Joker ready. He was harder than she had first realized, as he seemed to complain at whatever she did to make him look nice.

She looked out of the corner of her eye as he began to chant something. She couldn't help but roll her eyes, thinking just how insane this man was sometimes. Hopefully he wouldn't be too crazy tonight and ruin everything - but knowing things, Harley would be the one to wreck things.

Such a great mood, Harley thought to herself as he threatened to slice the man's throat. She smiled brightly though as the building came into view, and smoothed the folds of the black and red dress she wore - it had taken her almost the entire day to find the halter dress, but it was perfect.

She looked over at him when he spoke to her. She winced slightly, but nodded. "You got it Mistah J. I'm not going to wreck things, promise." She told him in a quiet tone. She didn't want to have to go through the pain of being ripped to pieces. The Joker would probably enjoy it way too much anyway.

"Yes, everything will go perfectly smooth and according to your plans." Harley continued as he questioned her again. She pulled a compact mirror from her purse, using it to check her make-up and hair, to make sure the brown curls were still piled perfectly on the crown of her head. Once assured, she placed it back away.

"How do you plan to get the little princess anyway? I mean, she's not going to exactly walk right out the door with you."

[The Joker]

"I've got my options."

Just as before, the people of Gotham had been easily swayed. A few choice replacements of waiters here, a security guard there, and he had this party under his thumb. It didn't even bother him, really, that he wasn't able to take any knives into the party. They were waiting for him inside.

As the limo stopped and the door opened, he stepped out of the car, holding his hand out for Harley. "Gotham's never going to expect this. All these people laughing and smiling...by the end of the night, each one of them is going to blame themselves. Each one of them is going to be saying 'why didn't I look just a little bit harder? Why didn't I pay attention just a little bit more instead of stuffing my face with finger foods and downing gallons and gallons of champagine?' Everyone will blame themselves...and then, they'll start to blame each other."

[Harley Quinn]

"Of course you do." She said with a small giggle as the limo stopped and the door opened. She slid across the seat and took the offered hand with another dazzling smile as she listened to him speak.

"And when they start blaming each other, this city will be tearing itself apart." Harley stated, repeating a line the Joker had said before to her. And she had replied with how much she would love to see that. A smirk crossed her lips.

"This party's going to be quite fun, isn't it Mist -." Harley caught herself, knowing that if she let slip to the wrong person or someone overheard her, it could ruin the whole thing. "Oops, sorry. But it is going to be a fun party."

[Barbara Gordon]

Even though this wasn't entirely a happy occasion -- a happy occasion would have meant that the hospital wouldn't have needed a new wing to replace the one which had been blown up -- Barbara was glad for the chance to mingle with the dashing and the dazzling of Gotham, even if she often felt quite inferior when standing next to them. (After all, she was just a librarian!) Her father, however, seemed glad to have her there with him, and she knew that she would know at least a few people in attendance. And so, in the grand banquet facility of the Rosa de Chanterelle, Barbara Gordon stood with a genial smile on her face, greeting those who had, in turn, come up to speak to her father.

Dressed in a simple navy blue cocktail dress heavily inspired by the styles of the 1950s, Barbara watched as the room slowly filled up with more and more people; the ceremony had been a success, and it was obvious that the partygoers were very comfortable because of that. There had been no trouble like there had been on the afternoon she’d thought her father had been murdered, though there had been much speculation that there would be. Truth be told, the redhead had been very afraid that there would have been a repeat performance, and so, she was just as happy as the rest of the citizens in attendance to just sit back and relax, and enjoy a pretty star-studded night. So far, she’d spotted a couple of prominent businessmen from around Gotham, the fire chief, and of course, her father, and the mayor, and she’d heard that Bruce Wayne would be gracing them with his presence, too.

As she scanned the crowd, her attention was diverted by one of the detectives under her father’s command, requesting a dance. Excusing herself from her father’s side, she flashed a smile at the older man to whom he was speaking, and slipped her hand into the detective’s outstretched one. Her heels clicking on the polished wooden floor, she smiled up at her dance partner, and began following in his steps. There was nothing, even in her genius mind, that gave any inkling to the fact that there was something very wrong brewing outside.

[The Joker]

Arm looped in Harley's, the Joker walked up to the door-men, watching as they leaned down as one in a slight bow. The younger one on the left was one of his men. Boys. Whatever.

"Sir. Maam."

The Joker flashed them a smile as he watched them wand both he and Harley for weapons. Of course the Joker wouldn't have any on him; they were all waiting inside at his disposal. As the older doorman, the one that WASN'T one of his boys waved them through, the smile only got wider. He could barely contain a giggle as they stepped through and into the throngs of people.

He could almost feel the excitement boiling inside of him. He wanted to do it now, wanted to find Helena, grab her and saw off her pretty little head right then and there in front of everyone. Of course, that would lead to getting him arrested...but it would be so FUN!

His eyes scanned the growing crowd, until he saw the brown-haired girl that he had seen on TV. Of course, it wasn't Helena, but Barbara Gordon, that little adopted daughter of that police officer Gordon. A slow smile spread on his lips; of course, he was counting his chickens, sure, thinking of ways to take Barbara AND Helena at the same time...but she would do, for the moment, until he saw his TRUE prize. Or the Bat Man made his entrence. Either way.

He silently wondered if he could lure the brunette out back, or to another room, and silently murder her there. The thoughts were dizzying, making him giddy, and as he watched Barbara detach herself from some random Gotham sheep, he let go of Harley's arm and started walking towards her.

Oh yes, she would do until the Princess made her entrence. Until then...

"Do I know you?"

[Barbara Gordon]

The small orchestra that had been hired for the banquet was surprisingly good – Barbara hadn’t been so sure that there were extremely capable musicians in Gotham City; it would have seemed that, with their proximity to New York, most of the truly talented people would have gravitated to Manhattan to pursue their careers. But, she should have known that with Helena pretty much in charge, there was nothing to worry about. She’d spent some time with the older girl in the past, and she’d liked her well enough – it had been nice to have someone near her own age at the various events which had required the presence of both her father and the Mayor, events which often just resulted in lots of smiling, shaking hands, and sitting alone at a table while her father socialized with those who trusted him to keep them safe.

As the song came to an end, she parted from her dance partner with a warm smile on her face. He inclined his head to her with a smile of his own, and excused himself to go and fetch a drink from the bar. Offering to bring her something, too, he nodded as she requested a plain club soda with a couple of maraschino cherries, and made his way towards the bar, which already seemed to be the most popular gathering spot of the evening so far. She began to move from the dance floor back to the table, but was stopped in her tracks by the sound of a voice not far behind her. Turning, her brown eyes landed on a man she didn’t quite recognize, and she tilted her head thoughtfully. “No, I don’t think so,” she replied with a small smile on her face. “And, if we’ve met, I apologize, I don’t really recall it.” If there was anything Barbara hated, it was forgetting someone’s face, because she inevitably felt bad about forgetting.

“I’m Barbara,” she introduced herself, extending her hand to the stranger. It was something her father had taught her – always greet people with a smile, and be polite. If you were nice to someone, you could at least say that you had been nice, even if the nicety wasn’t returned. Oh, too bad the Commissioner’s daughter was completely oblivious to the fact that this was probably one of the last people with whom she should be attempting to schmooze. If only the tell-tale makeup had been in place upon his face, she obviously would have known, and she would have gotten herself right out of there. “Are you enjoying yourself so far, sir?” she queried, tilting her head once more. Taking a quick glance around, it seemed that Detective Kearsey was still stuck in line at the bar – though she quickly realized that it could have seemed rude to be distracted while talking. “It’s a lovely party,” she added, returning her attention to the stranger.

“It’s just too bad that we needed this party at all.” She shook her head slowly, a sad sort of expression ghosting over her face briefly before her socializing expression re-appeared.

[The Joker]

"Jack."

Was that even his real name? He had used so many names, told so many lies that, sure, he'd believe, for now, that Jack Napier was his real name. It worked for them, at least. If he had a name, a normal everyday name, no one would wonder. No one would put two and two together and come up with that magic number. He felt her hand slip into his, and he squeezed it, wanting to grab her, pull him to her, and slice her throat. But with what, though? Oh, he'd find something, he surmised.

"No, no, I don't think you've met me, no, I've seen you. On the television. Your the police-man's daughter." Barbara spoke that it was a lovely party, and when she turned away, he found his eyes rolling heavenward. THIS was the reason why he didn't talk to people. They were so...boring!

But as she turned back, he put on a fake smile again. "Oh yes. Lovely party." he said, nodding. But as her smile faded slightly, and she said it was sad that they needed a party at all, he feigned innocence. He wanted to hear her talk about it. "Yeah, I had--well, what happened, huh? What happened to the hospital? I'm new, here, see. I don't--what happened?"

[Barbara Gordon]

“It’s nice to meet you, Jack,” she replied easily, just as her father had always taught her. Even spending ridiculous amounts of time in the stacks of the library and behind a computer hadn’t really affected her ability to be polite and charming – mostly because sometimes, dealing with people in the library required the utmost patience and the sweetest smile she could muster. At any rate, as he spoke, she nodded slightly, the answer seeming normal enough. After all, it was likely that lots of people had seen her with her father, considering everything that occurred. Just like people knew Helena from seeing her with her father.

It was obvious that he wasn’t from the area, though Barbara had thought that even people who weren’t directly from the Gotham area had heard about the terror that had maligned the city. “Ohh,” she began, shaking her head gently. “It was bad. There was this man, he escaped from Arkham – that’s the asylum here – and he went on a rampage, robbing banks and killing anyone who got in his way. He killed a couple of known Mob agents, and a bunch of other people, like the Assistant District Attorney, and he tried to kill Mayor Garcia, my Dad, and Batman.” Even in such general terms, the thought of what the Joker had done sent her stomach rolling.

“And he blew up the hospital. That’s why it had to be restored, and the new wing built. It’s named after the District Attorney, who died, too. But the Joker didn’t kill him…it was some kind of accident with Batman, I guess. My dad wasn’t too keen to talk about what happened.” The redhead glanced at the ground, shrugging her slim shoulders marginally, before looking back up at him. “Be glad you just got here…what brings you to Gotham, anyway, if you don’t mind my asking?”

[Donovan McGregory]

"Are you ready to go, darling?"



Donovan smiled at her breathy sigh and he kissed her cheek, gripping her hand and leading her out of her bedroom.

"'Course I am, baby." he said softly. He let her take the time to get her purse, her keys and whatever else she decided to take with her, before escorting her outside to his car. He opened her door, and shut it once she entered, making sure that the train of her dress wasn't caught in anything, and he got in the driver's side and buckled himself in. Donovan may have been a thug, but he was a safe and careful driver. He waited patiently for Elizabeth to buckle herself in, and only then, did he pull away from the curb and begin his drive to the Chanterelle.

He pulled up, and a valet opened Elizabeth's door first, and Donovan let himself out, handing his keys to the valet, and taking his ticket. He eyed the number, and tucked it in his inner breast pocket, before taking Elizabeth's hand and smiling at the crowd of paparazzi and reporters. Pictures snapped and people were laughing and shouting.

"Well, I hope you enjoy our picture in the paper tomorrow morning." he whispered, as he leaned in and kissed her cheek gently, giving the people a bright smile.

[Bruce Wayne]

"So, what do you do when you're not enjoying the limelight at these functions?"


Bruce's brow furrowed when Helena pulled her hand away from his. He was rather enjoying and getting used to the feeling of her smooth skin. She seemed a little apprehensive about sitting with her friend Selina. Perhaps she was a busy body? Bruce chuckled softly, as they neared the Banquet, and he straightened himself up. Alfred stayed silent on the ride over, knowing that his ever present wisdom probably wasn't needed, but he would give Master Bruce an earful when he could.

His stern look told Bruce to be careful, and that he would be waiting at the penthouse in case anything were to happen.

"Thank You, Alfred." Bruce said, watching a valet near the Bentley.

"You're welcome Master Bruce. You have a wonderful night, Miss. Garcia." Alfred bid her farewell, and the door opened. Bruce made sure Helena was out first, and cameras perked up, when he exited. He shut the door and smiled brightly at everyone, giving a slight wave.

"Believe it or not, I like to read." he smiled at her, a sly, playful smile. He was being serious, however. He waved and knew they would be stopped to answer questions, Helena on her part about the Banquet and Bruce about how and why he helped her, most of all their memories of Harvey Dent. Bruce answered honestly, he remembered eating dinner with Harvey and Rachel, and the fundraiser he held to help him. He hadn't known Dent very well, but Bruce confirmed that he was sure they would have been great friends, and been apart of the quest to make Gotham a better place.

All lies, of course...Bruce thought, darkly....

[Selina Kyle]

"It's okay, Officer Constantine." Selina murmured, cutting her eyes at him. She shifted her leg slightly, so her dress parted and he got a better look at the thickness of her thighs.

"You'll find out how busy my body is at the end of the night. If...you're a good boy." she promised, she smiled a little and looked at La Rosa De Canterelle. A lovely place for a banquet, she thought. The car slowed and Selina opened her own door, not needing nor wanting a man to do this for her. She spotted Helena entering, but couldn't make out the man she was with. No worries, she'd fine out soon. Roman stepped to her side and she looped her arm through the camera.

"Smile pretty, Roman." she said, standing on her toes to kiss his cheek. Cameras snapped at her, and immediately asked her questions. Was she with her new boyfriend? Yes. Did she appreciate what Helena has done for the Hospital? Of course she did. Where did she get her dress made? Gucci. Was Randolf Industries supporting the PETA Campaign against fur this year? You bet your sweet ass, it was. Had the sexy man she brought with her proposed? Not yet, but here's hoping.

She was smirking by the time they actually made it into the Chanterelle, and she patted Roman's hand gently.

"You okay?" she asked, smiling up at him. "Not too bad for a busy body?"

[The Joker]

As she spoke, the Joker's fingers moved, fingering the cuff of his sleeve as his arm rested at his side. The bombs, the explosions, the people screaming and dying...oh, just the memory of it was so wonderful! So FUN. It took everything in him not to smile at her words, but to frown, making it seem like he was shocked and appaled at the story. But inside, he was laughing. Giggling and bouncing around that it took all of him to not let it show. "Oh...oh that's horrible!" he said, eyes going slightly wide. "Your--your dad, yeah." The Joker said, nodding surely. "He's good to keep you in the dark. There's things...things in this town that--well, they aren't a laughing matter." The Joker said, letting himself laugh at his own ironic joke.

"Batman. Batman." The word rolled off of his tongue in almost a question. "So what is the Bat Man doing these days? I've heard he's--retired? Is that right? Everyone's got such a hard-on for this guy, lynch's at the ready, huh?"

She asked why he was in Gotham, and he lifted a shoulder in a drug, grabbing a champagine glass as it passed. "I'm here..." he started, trailing off as he thought, before gulping down the champagine. "I'm here to see a very, very dear friend that...that I havn't seen in some time. We've been away from each other for so long that--that it'll be like the first time seeing each other! It'll be wonderful."

Harley. Remember Harley.

"And--and my dear over there." he said, motioning to Harley, who was across the room. "She, uh...she likes the parties, so I figured I'd take her out, show her a good time. You only get one chance to make an entrence, right?"

He remembered the true reason why he was there, and he started to get imaptient. "Tell me, uh, have you seen Helena? Helena Garcia, I've--I'm looking for her. I just wanna talk to her for a second."

[Mayor Anthony Garcia]

The woman that sat next to him in the limo smiled a toothy smile as he looked over, at it was these times that Anthony was reminded how much he missed his wife. The woman took another sip of champagne, and the Mayor looked out the window, seeing the large, gothic building come closer and closer to them. The amount of press standing out there wasn't surprising to him.

"Are you going to have to make a speech or something? And how do I look? They're going to blind me with those flashbulbs."

"I really hope not, and you look perfect." Anthony said as the limo stopped, and the door opened. "Smile, sweetheart. It's show time." he told her as he stepped out of the limo, holding a hand out for her to take to help her out.

"Mr. Mayor! Mr. Mayor, what do you have to say about the recent events at Arkham?"

"Mr. Mayor! Tell us what the city is planning on doing about the Joker?"

The Mayor smiled a big smile, watching as flashbulbs went off around him. If marrying into the mob had done him anything, it had made him one of the best actors in the city. His wife had told him once that he could blind people with his smile, even if it was the most fake smile he had ever given. And right now, it was pretty fake, he thought. "Hey, c'mon guys. Can't you leave that stuff for tomorrow? I'm here to have a good time."

"But aren't you worried?"

"I'm not worried, because I'm confident in our police system. I'm confident in Gotham; we're in a new era, gentlemen. This dedication proves it; whatever happens, the people of Gotham will rebound from it with force." He told the reporters, walking up the steps with the woman on his arms. "Now, c'mon guys. Why don't you go in and have a drink on me, okay?" he asked with a laugh. "Try not to hassle my daughter while your in there, if you don't mind. She's put alot of effort into this party."

"It's a good party, Mr. Mayor. Helena sure does know how to make a place look good."

"I really hope that's not a come on, Henry. I may have to get offended." The Mayor said with a smirk. "I'd be careful, though. Helena has a fierce mean streak."

"Dually noted, Mr. Mayor. Can you at least give us a statement about the Joker?"

"Look, I'll give you whatever you want AFTER the party. Now drink up, boys. I've got to check in on my daughter."

The Mayor stepped into the party, grabbing two glasses of champagne, handing one to the woman on his arm. She moved, leaning to his ear, whispering something before he nodded. The woman moved off, and Anthony scanned the crowd for his daughter.

[Helena Garcia]

The sight of all the paparazzi shut out behind the lines, the light from the cameras flashing like strobe lights at everyone that was making their way inside the building. It almost reminded her of a movie premiere red carpet, or something similar, with everyone that was going inside looking their absolute best, fashionable and sleek. Helena fought back the slight uncomfortable feeling, mostly because she hated being in the spotlight, asked billions of redundant questions. Some of which she hated not having answers to.

Though, she wasn't going to let it get to her, she would just go in the place, holding her chin up, like nothing was bothering her. Because she wouldn't let it get to her, she thought as the car stopped and the opened the door. "Thank you, you too," Helena replied back to his chauffeur. Ever carefully, she stepped out, her heels meeting pavement, the cameras immediately turning to her and then Bruce as they emerged. Questions were hurriedly shouted out then, and Helena clasped one of her hands onto his arm as they started walking and stopped to answer just a few.

"What are your thoughts on the wing?"

"Is the Joker really dead?"

"Are you and Bruce Wayne dating?"

"Do you think the hospital is in danger of another 'incident'?"

"What are your thoughts on Harvey's death?"

"Did you know him?"

Yet, there were so many being thrown out, Helena wasn't sure where to begin. So she figured she'd start with a simple one. "I knew Harvey," she confirmed, with a nod of her head. "He was a good friend of mine. I met him back right when he started to to have thoughts about becoming district attorney, when he was still in Internal Affairs." That was part of the reason she wanted everything to go without hitch, to be perfect. She wasn't around when Harvey died, and she wished she had been around... to do something. She wasn't sure what exactly she could have done, but something. Though in the least, she could do something in his honor, and that was most important.

"Had he.. lived you do think he would have done more to help the city?"

"I have no doubt about that. He had big plans on what he wanted to do to help clean up the streets, I know he would have done everything in his power to ensure a better tomorrow for everyone in this city. That's all he wanted to do." Until Batman stopped him, she supposed, but she still didn't want to believe that. There was too much mist wrapped around that little so called fact. Too much mystery... too much contradicting evidence. She wasn't sure what had let to Dent's death, but it didn't seem to fit that after everything Batman did, he'd go after Dent.. and a few other police officers.

A few more minutes later, followed with a bucket load of questions, Helena lent in near Bruce's ear. "Why don't we go inside," she suggested, feeling a bit questioned out, as they started moving finally towards the entrance. It felt as thought a weight was lifted off her shoulders, and she relaxed a bit. Well, the hardest part was pretty much over, just leaving it to a night of speeches and other festivities. She actually didn't mind much about standing in front of a room of people to give a speech. "So you like to read, huh?" she then finally pressed on the subject again, once out of the camera's eye.