Fall of Justice

Smile

Sparks trailed behind the '91 Mitsubishi Mirage whose half-fallen bumper scratched the blacktop as Harley weaved around slow motorists and city busses, cackling all the way. Kara held tight, though she knew she couldn't get hurt in a car accident and had flown much faster than this before, she still found it incredibly off-putting.

"You okay hun," Harley began, "...you look like you're about to lose your lunch."

"Just a bit nauseous, I'll be okay."

"You want I should go faster?" Harley asked, pushing her feet down hard on the accelerator.

"Yeah that should help," said Kara sarcastically.

"I like cut of your jib," Harley laughed.

But as much as the movement and jerks weren't her preferred way of driving, Kara knew her nausea wasn't motion sickness. She was growing more and more lethargic by the minute. Something was wrong.

"You wanna postpone it? Joker's not going anywhere. He's a homebody," Harley told her.

"No. I wanna to find him tonight."

Harley's brow furrowed as she studied the girl who seemed to be losing her color. A car honked and swerved as it passed, Harley had drifted into the opposite lane without noticing. "Watch it bozo!" she screamed as she yanked the steering wheel to the right, tires squealing, smoke rising white. "I can't wait to tell Mistah J 'bout our fight with the bat, I saw you kick him down like pow! And then I came in and boom! Down he goes! He's gonna love it! I meant to ask, how does a girl get to get a kick like yours? You eat a lot of spinach, 'Cause I hate spinach."

"I-- it was just luck I guess."

"I'm just messing with you little blue, I know who you are, I may be a little nuts but I'm not stupid. I saw what you did, everyone saw, it was all anyone could talk about. Where you been these last three months?"

"I don't really..." Kara began, then she realized they were taking the bridge. "We're leaving the city?"

"What, you think just because he's the Joker means he can't have nice things?" Harley said. On the other side of the bridge, the buildings gave way to trees, condos became two-story homes with lush green yards. "People make all their money in the city then invest it all outside of it, leaving nothing for the rest. That's Crest Hill," Harley pointed to a beautiful green hill lined with mansions. "Bruce Wayne lives there, another aristocrat who makes all his money in town then comes here to the safety of his mansion."

"Is that where we're going?" Kara asked, her heart starting to race.

"Why would we go there? No, no, Mistah J's a modest fellow, he wanted something comfortable but not flashy..." she began as they pulled in front of a well cared for colonial residence. "...something homey."

"The joker lives here?" Kara asked, surprised.

"He's subletting."

They tapped out of the car and moved to the front door, Harley bent over and picked up a key from beneath a potted plant on the porch and walked inside. Kara was still feeling weak but she knew she could beat the Joker, he was only a man. She had decided she wouldn't give him a chance to speak. Everyone he could use as leverage against her was already gone and the others were safe. She followed Harley to the foryer but stopped before entering. The house was entirely black and her powers were too diminished for her to be able to see more than a few inches through the walls.

"What's the matter hun?" Harley asked as she disappeared in the black.

"Turn the lights on."

"Afraid of the dark?" Harley asked. Silence followed. The house lit up. Harley stood in the hall. "Well?"