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                     Dr. Harleen Quinzel was once a successful psychiatrist at Gotham City’s Arkham Asylum. But everything changed when she met The Joker. As the Clown Prince of Crime shared his heartbreaking—yet fake—story of a troubled childhood, Harleen’s heart melted. She soon helped The Joker escape and joined him as a jolly jester with a calling for crime. Now she clowns around Gotham City, and these are… HARLEY QUINN’S MADCAP CAPERS!       CHAPTER 1 Party Time! A bright, full moon looked down on Gotham City. The face of the man in the moon seemed to have an extra-wide smile that night. It almost looked like a joker’s grin. Even though it was nearly midnight, the city was still awake. Traffic clogged the streets. People dined in restaurants. Night-shift workers headed to their jobs. Criminals hid in the shadows. Down by the Gotham River, an old warehouse sat in darkness. All the nearby streetlights were broken. Taller buildings blocked the moonlight. This was exactly the way The Joker liked it. He did not want his hideout to be noticed. The outside of The Joker’s lair was gloomy, but the inside was as bright as the midway at a state fair. The huge warehouse was an abandoned storage space for carnival rides. The rides didn’t work anymore, but their multicolored lights did. BLINK! BLINK! BLINK! Red, yellow, and blue bulbs flashed on and off around Harley Quinn. She sat on a tattered Ferris wheel seat and stared at a big alarm clock. “Any minute now, Mister J!” Harley shouted. “It’s almost midnight!” The Joker sat hunched over a worktable on the other side of the giant space. He and Harley were the only ones in the hideout. “Ten more seconds!” Harley said. She grabbed the alarm clock and jumped up on the seat. “Five, four, three, two, one… midnight! Woo-hoo!” RIIIINGGG! The clock went off. Harley tossed it into the air and didn’t bother to catch it as she leaped from the seat. The clock landed on the floor. RIIING! CRASH! DING. “It’s my birthday! It’s my birthday!” Harley sang. Harley cartwheeled across the room toward The Joker. She danced and bounced around him.     “I’m so happy!” Harley said. “This is going to be the best birthday ever!” The Joker didn’t look up from his pile of plans. “Yes,” he replied, “this is going to be my best Bat-trap ever.” “Not Bat-trap! Birthday!” Harley repeated. “I haven’t had a real birthday in years. I’ve always been locked up in Arkham Asylum. They never let me have a party. But now I’m going to have a real blowout. The works!” The Joker sighed, tore up his plans, and tossed the paper into the air. “Ooooh! Confetti! That’s a great idea, Mister J,” Harley said. Harley leaped onto the metal bar of a carnival ride and hung upside down by her knees. She swung back and forth as she counted on her fingers. “I’m going to have cake, ice cream, and lots of presents!” Harley said. “And I want fireworks. I mean, who needs plain, old birthday candles when I can have fireworks?” “Fireworks? My trap doesn’t need fireworks,” The Joker said. He finally looked up. “What are you talking about, Harley?” “My birthday, Mister J!” Harley replied. “I’m planning the most perfect, fantabulous party.” “Well, go plan it somewhere else. I’m busy!” The Joker snapped. Harley stopped swinging from the metal bar and dropped to the floor. Her shoulders slumped. Her smile turned sad. “But… but… I thought we could have a party.” Harley sniffed. “You like parties.” “Not now,” The Joker grumbled. Harley hung her head as she walked back across the hideout. She couldn’t believe that her Puddin’ didn’t want to celebrate. “Well, I’ll just find someone else to have fun with,” Harley said. Harley reached for her phone. She opened the contacts and scrolled through her friend list. There weren’t many entries. She stopped at the one for Poison Ivy. “Ivy will want to party,” Harley said. She tapped the number. “I’m sorry, but I can’t answer the phone right now,” Ivy’s voice said. Harley sighed. “Aw, voice mail.” “I’m on a mission in the Amazon rain forest,” Ivy’s voice continued. “Leave a message, and I’ll get back to you as soon as I can.” BEEEEP! Harley hung up without leaving a message. It was no use. Ivy wouldn’t be able to get back to Gotham City in time. “Maybe Catwoman is free,” Harley said. She tapped the number. “I’m sorry, but I can’t answer the phone right now,” Catwoman’s voice purred. “Awwww!” Harley moaned and hung up. Harley was disappointed. But that didn’t mean she wasn’t going to celebrate. “This just means more fun for me!” Harley said. “I’m going to have the all-time best birthday anyone has ever seen!” Harley opened the web browser on her phone. She knew exactly what she wanted to do on her birthday. She had a list. “First, the cake,” Harley said. She typed birthday cakes into the search bar. A page of results popped up. Harley was dazzled by the colorful photos. There were big cakes, little cakes, cakes dripping in chocolate, and cakes covered in decorations. “Hmm. Picking out a birthday cake is harder than I thought it’d be. I can’t choose,” Harley said. She scrolled through the pictures. Then she stopped. One cake stood out from all the rest. It looked like her harlequin costume—but in sugar form! The cake was five tiers tall with black diamond-shaped decorations. Red icing lined the edge of each tier. The cake was partially cut open to show a treasure trove of candy gemstones spilling out from the center. “Winner-winner!” Harley said.     She tapped the image to find the bakery. The shop was named Crazy Cakes. It was only a few blocks