The Joker, Gotham City's most notorious criminal, was dead. It was hard for Barbara Gordon to believe, after all of this time and all of the suffering he'd caused her. While she knew that taking up the monicker of Batgirl would have consequences, she'd never imagined that it would sent a green-haired psycopath after her,

And yet... Now he was gone, and the streets were safer. Even if there was a high price. The woman's lips pursed into a frown as she thought of her father, Commisioner James Gordon. Right now he was in a hospital bedroom, recovering from a particularly nasty surprise the Joker had left.

Barbara was on her way there now, in fact. She'd just finished breaking up the last pockets of the Joker's gang, and it wsa time for her to spend the night by her father's bedside. Of course, the traffic was terrible; so she'd taken to the rooftops, in all her crimefighting garb.

Little did she know that the rooftops were the most dangerous place to be for her, and as she landed on one asphalt-topped roof, it simply crumbled beneath her and sent her spilling to the ground.

"How, how do you catch a bat? People often wonder that, but I? I know how to hunt them. You need to think as they do; react as they do; get inside their minds!" It was a dead man's voice, booming over some hidden loudspeaker. It was the Joker's.

"H-how?" Barbara yelped, looking around herself in a panic and finding only darkness. "I watched you die!"

"One thing at a time, one thing at a time. But for now, you have a date with destiny. HeeHEEHEEheehee!" He cackled loudly, and the floor once again opened beneath Barbara.

This time, she was ready for it. The woman snatched a grappling line from her utility belt and snared it to the ceiling above her, letting herself descent a little more gracefully this time. Unlike the last one, this fall brought her into a bright room, with what looked to be some sort of maze.

Before she could commit any details of the maze to memory, she'd lowered herself into it; just in time for a metal grate to lock itself in place above herself, sealing her in. She scowled and looked around, seeing that the room was made of nothing but spirals.

Every swirl was either black and white or green and purple, and all of them made her head hurt all the same. She tried to look away, but somehow the patterns were oddly captivating, drawing her in as sure as a siren's call.

"Hello, Barbara." Came the Joker's voice, an offensively smug undertone to it. "As you may have known already, you being here means that I am indeed dead. Of course, it also means that my last little plan is proceeding perfectly, eh-HEE! Or did you think that little Brucey-Bruce was the only one who could come up with a contingency plan?"

"What's this about?" Barbara looked around for a speaker, seeing only more and more spirals that were slowly beginning to spin, worming their way into her head. She shook off their influence with a scowl on her face; only to get sucked into their slow swirls once again.

"Well, I could have gone a few ways here. You see, I was thinking about either making my parting gift something to drive Superman insane... Or I could hit even closer to the Bat's home, and find a replacement from among his little band of merry misfits."

"Oh?" Barbara asked, her body moving under the influence of those hypnotic spirals. She was slowly undoing her costume, tossing it to a brightly marked corner of the room along with the catsuit she wore under it, and even her underwear. "What makes you think I'd ever replace you?"

"Oh, hm. I don't know. It could be that I feel you and I are a good deal alike. It could be that I think you're just so much more FUN than his other wards. Or maybe it could be that you're completely and utterly prone to hypnosis."

"Hypnosis? Is that what these spirals are for? I hate to break it to you, but I'm not going to fall for any of that." Barbara called loudly, a smirk on her face as she rolled her eyes. As she did, she tugged off her last bit of clothing, her panties, and tossed them into the same corner as the rest.

The Joker took a second before responding. "Then tell me, my dear. Why are you naked?"

Barbara blinked in surprise as the spirals' spell was broken once more, looking down to find she'd stripped herself bare. A blush crept across her cheeks as she looked up to find her clothing in a corner of the room; then a hidden flamethrower incinerated lot of it, melting even her utility belt to slag.

"Whoops! HAHAHAhahahaha!" The Joker cackled. "Clumsy me, but I suppose us departed sinners do love our fire. Since that was your only was out, I supose you have no other choice but to run my little maze, hm? It'll be fun, really put a smile on your face."

Barbara narrowed her eyes at his words, but hesitantly began to move to the door leading out from her room. She didn't like this one bit, but he had a point. If she wanted to get out of here, then this was the only way.

She placed her hand on the knob, turning it and pushing her way into a long corridor filled with mirrors and spirals pulsing just beneath them.

The woman snapped her attention from the slowly circling objects, unwilling to fall under their influence again. Then she began to slowly walk forward, following a few twists and turns until she was greeted by another door.

"Ooh, good job making it this far! You know, I told you we think alike, didn't I?" The Joker crooned.

"And here I was, just beginning to miss you." Barbara groaned sarcastically, walking into what would no doubt be a trap of some sort.

Epilogue

Harley Quinn, the Joker's self-proffessed girlfriend, slowed her pace to a crawl. There was a light on in the Joker's room, which was exceptionally odd because he was supposed to be dead.

Instead of assuming there was an intruder like a rational person would, Harley dashed towards the light. Her 'Puddin' had faked his death before, and surely that last time wasn't real; even if they had a rather convincing autopsy.

She reached the room with a pounding heart, catching her breath before flinging the door open with a relieved smile on her face. "Mr. J!" She called happily, seeing someone reclining in his chair.

They had green hair and a purple suit just like he did; and the way they reclined, so calm and powerful, made Harley's heart soar for a second. Then it plummeted as she noticed that this stranger's hair was longer, their frame smaller.

"You're not Mr. J." She growled, reaching for her revolver with a snarl on her lips. If someone wanted to impersonate her Puddin, then they'd die like the trash they were.

To her surprise, the person in the chair simply swiveled it around to face her. It was a woman, her face made up to look just like the Joker's and her eyes as sharp as his had been. She fixed Harley with a glare and pointed to the seat across from her.

"Sit."

In a single word she somehow conveyed a command, a threat, and a promise of future reward. Who was Harley to refuse?

The blond lowered herself into the leather seat a little unsurely, recalling how her former love used to hit her for sitting on his good furniture.

"You look tense. Don't be." The stranger said lowly, leaning forward on her desk with a wicked grin. "Unless, that is, you still intend to pull that trigger."

"Y-you're not Mr. J." Harley said simply, her hands starting to shake. This stranger talked just like him! Who was she, and what was she doing here?

As though the stranger could read Harley's mind, she began to speak once more. "No, I'm Ms. J. I might make that Mrs. at some point, but I feel I'd like to get to know you first. Heheh."

Harley blinked in surprise at the woman's boldness; yet felt herself begin to relax. It was odd; though this woman exhuded the same aura as her Puddin, this new Ms. J was so much... Warmer.

"I might like the sound of that." Harley spoke slowly, chewing on her lip at the thought of betraying her Puddin. And yet... She could almost feel his spirit living on in this newcomer. It couldn't be bad to follow her, just for a little bit. Could it?

"Atta girl, Harley." The woman said simply. "Now, we've got work to do and very, very little time. We need resources, manpower, and influence. So, I'm going to need you..." She trailed off, looking up to see Harley's conflicted face. "What."

"U-Um. It's just... I mean, Ms. J? W-what are we really doin' here? And... Who are you, really?" Harley asked, unable to keep her mouth shut. She didn't know what it was about the woman before her, but she just made her feel safe.

"We're doing crime, my dear Harley. And as for my name... You know what to call me." The woman smirked, reaching into her suit. She withdrew her hand to reveal a lone playing card, which she slid slowly onto the table. "Heh. Heheh. HaHAhaHAHAHA!"

Harley looked down as the woman began to laugh, her eyes widening at the familiar sight. The card was a plain one, with just two noticeable characteristics. One was a court jester, smiling widely. The other was but a single, bold word: JOKER.