WARNING: The following article contains spoilers for Future State: Harley Quinn #2 by Stephanie Phillips, Simone DiMeo, Toni Infante, Tamra Bonvillain and ALW's Troy Peteri, on sale now.
Harley Quinn's Future State was not going well at first glance. After being captured by the Magistrate, Harley was hired by Jonathan Crane, the former Scarecrow, to use the psychological skills she developed as Harleen Quinzel to help flush Gotham City's remaining villains out into the open.
And in Future State: Harley Quinn #2. her success leads to her being assigned the difficult task of hunting down Black Mask, but Harley's advice resulted in Crane relapsing back into his Scarecrow persona to capture their quarry.
It was no secret to Harley that Crane had given up being the Scarecrow by the time the Magistrate took over. To him, that was a wasted period of his life and he was infinitely better off using his tactical skills to hunt down Gotham's remaining criminals. His capture of Harley was proof of his effectiveness, but this was not the crown jewel of his captures. Black Mask had been eluding him for months now and Crane theorized that Harley would be his best bet in capturing the crime lord. But Harley, resentful of her imprisonment, saw an opportunity for freedom -- she just had to play a few mind games.
Harley lured Crane into a false sense of security by helping him to capture a few of Gotham's villains. Once her "sincerity" had been proven, Harley began the final phase of her plan to escape the Magistrate. Harley lead the task force to a factory where Black Mask was supposedly getting his source of masks. The raid turned into an ambush, and in his fury, Crane blamed Harley for the debacle. But Harley rightly pointed out that Sionis won't come out into the open because he doesn't fear or respect Crane as he is now. However, the Scarecrow is a different story.
With his worth to the Magistrate was on the line, Crane finally put on his mask once again. Crane followed Harley to where Black Mask was hiding before trying to scare him into surrendering, but before he had the chance to finally capture his long-awaited prey, Harley knocked Crane out from behind and left the Black Mask to the effects of the fear toxin Scarecrow had released earlier. When he next awoke, Crane realized that Harley had manipulated the entire situation just to get away.
That was the genius behind Harley's plan. Even though she was allowed to go on missions, she was under constant watch by the Magistrate's soldiers. The only way she would have a chance of escaping is if that oversight was out of the equation. So she manipulated Crane, a high official in the Magistrate, into breaking the law by putting on his mask. She knew that when it happened, Crane would be forced to sneak around the Magistrate's surveillance lest he be arrested as well. And thus, Harley was given her perfect avenue for escape while simultaneously ruining the life of the man who had captured her in the first place.