"Of course you can. You did very well."
Bruce looked at the girl before him, so powerful yet so pure of heart. His gaze settled on her slightly tired but utterly sincere face, and his voice softened a little. "But Harley's illusion is different from mine. It will take more preparation, and it will be harder."
Miaomiao nodded, her expression serious. "What do I need to do?"
"We need the real Joker in this illusion..."
Gotham's winter wind cut to the bone. Only a few days had passed since Christmas, and traces of the holiday still lingered in Robinson Park.
Christmas lights that hadn't all been taken down hung from bare branches, swaying faintly in the wind. Decorative Christmas gift boxes and red-and-green balloons were piled in corners of the lawn, and now and then, the lingering strains of Christmas music drifted by on the breeze. Even the cold air seemed to carry a trace of cinnamon and mulled wine that hadn't quite faded.
Ever since her last sudden mental breakdown, Harley Quinn had fallen into a strange state.
She still clung to her bestie, Poison Ivy, Pamela Isley, just as she always had, wandering around the park with Catwoman, Selina Kyle. She played on swings woven from Pamela's vines, huddled with them to admire Selina's newly bought sequined winter coat, and chattered at the limited-edition makeup in store windows. "I want it, I want it! Buy it for me, pretty please, Ivy!"
Sometimes, when the mood struck and she spotted a family visiting the park, Harley would mischievously snatch the warm roasted chestnuts from a child's hands and make faces at the stunned child. Then, just as the child's lips began to pout and tears threatened to spill, she would conjure a huge bunch of rainbow-colored lollipops with a