the bathwater was warm and green with jokers brand of bubble bath formula infused with his laugh syrum, the Harlequin costumed woman smiled to herself and looked up the hall for His approval but He was not there. She had hoped she could have convinced him into at least one bubble bath but he refused as usual. Harley tallied off another mark in he corner of he bathroom with an old eye pencil. 17 she counted, but she wouldn't have to worry, next time for sure Mista J will join me in my bubble bath. she drew some more on the wall under their handprints, which she had gotten a few henchmen help her to get, she doodled their faces in face paint, lipstick and eyeliner. "I love ya, Puddin" she said as he kissed her drawing and stripped for her bath. they had a 'big job' planned for Gotham tonight, really big. She giggled and slid into her warm bath and felt the effects of jokers bubbles try to take hold of her as she slid down into the warm water below.
Something was wrong, the Jokers laugh could always be heard during an escape, even from as badly botched plans as this one, it was alway his laughter that led her home but she couldn't hear him tonight. She looked around to see if maybe she was going the wrong way, but all the other henchmen were heading in a similar direction as her, she couldn't see the jokers green hair or red smile among the throng of henchmen. The plan started out well enough, with the zoo animals on the loose the police force had their hands full, so they set out to steal a collection of animal themed jewels across town, and then head back to across from the zoo while police scrambled to the first robbery to steal animal paintings from the art museum. Joker had found a very interested buyer and liked sticking with the animal theme and playing cat and mouse with the police. Only Batsy showed up and ruined the plan while they were still en route to the museum and the car had crashed setting off the ejector seats and springing Harley and Joker to safety, they hid in a warehouse trying to rework some plans and maybe be able to finish the job but the police quickly had them surrounded.
That was when the boiler broke setting off a chain reaction throughout the building and bringing it down. Harley had run, not even thinking about the Joker or the stolen diamonds for the moment and got out to safety when she realized the Joker was not there. She cautiously made her way back to the destroyed building, avoiding the police chasing the henchmen mob easily and found herself a hidden spot from which to look for the joker. The building had collapsed so suddenly that several henchmen didn't make it out in time along with a few of the police officers who had the misfortune of being first on the scene. Harley watched the effort to salvage all the bodies from the wreckage, waiting with baited breath with each removed brick.
A few hours into their cleanup a police officer screamed "the Joker!" and caught everyones immediate attention. Harley almost ran to where he was but fear held her in place. She remembered hearing the ambulance siren, and seeing the Batman swoop down to her Pudding, but she didn't want to remember the black bag they took him away in, or going back to the hideout.
All She remembered the next morning was that she wished Joker didn't have to be up so early to work on his next scheme and leave her to wake up alone every day. She was very confused when Pamela Isley came into the room, normally Poison Ivy and her Puddin didn't get along, she wondered if it were her birthday and she had forgotten, but by the way Pam's face was worried and sad she didn't think that was right. Her memories of the night before came flooding back, 'no' was her only thought. She got up from her bed and tried to run out past Red to find Him he was on vacation and the body had been another hoax, a joke. He was playing possum, get it, animal theme, anything. But the other woman caught her in her arms and held her tight while she cried and screamed for what felt like days.
The next day Pam left to stock up the hideaway with food and essentials because the Harlequin refused to leave yet. Harley tried the TV, and every staton was ecstatic about the end of Jokers reign of terror over gotham, she turned that off and went to the kitchen where she found every newspaper tossed into the waste bin, each headline about Jokers death. Harley carried some upstairs wit her and she passed a few still loyal henchmen on her way. Even they looked sad as they headed down to the basement. She headed on to her and Mista J's bedroom and dressed in her Harley Quinn bodysuit and posing in the mirror. She could almost see him in the bed grumbling about how she always looked like that why did he have to watch her put it on every time. When she turned around though he was still gone.
The phone rang and threw her from her trance staring at his pillow willing him to appear. Harley answered hurriedly incase it was the Joker "Puddin" she asked the phone and was met by a familiar sigh "oh, Red?" she asked this time and Pam told her she was stopping by her apartment to get a few things she would need to stay with Harley for a bit. Harley said that was fine and that she would probably go take a bath before Pam got back. when they hung up Harley realized a bath was probably a good idea and headed to the bathroom.
She stepped out of her mismatched boots by the bed and pulled off her gloves dropping them and the bathroom door. She stripped out of her harlequin bodysuit in front of the bathroom closet when she got to the mirror all she had was her jester hat and her black mask. Then she rummaged under her sink or her joker bubbles and poured most of its contents into her tub before running hot water over it. Harley called out to the bedroom where she had left the door open "Puddin, bathtime!" and sauntered to the room where the face up newspaper reading 'Joker Dead' snapped her back to reality.
Harley spilled over the contents of her makeup drawer to find her black eyeliner she used on the walls to add a large 18th mark. She poured more Joker Bubbles into her bath and threw the container to the ground. she was still angry, she punched the mirror, shattering the glass around her impact and cutting open her knuckles on the shards imbedded in them, she wanted to scream but she couldn't, her voice was stopped in her throat. Then Harley stomped back to her room and grabbed the newspaper and threw it into the bathroom floor kicking it to the tub and turning off the faucet. She unclasped her jester hat and threw it to the mirror she shattered and stepped into the tub.
The usually tickling Joker syrum bubbles would always calm her, but right now she didn't feel them, or he syrum working its happy laughter into her. Instead she wanted to cry so she pulled on one of her blonde pigtails and pulled off her mask and submersed herself beneath the layer of bubbles. when she resurfaced and the syrum still hadn't taken effect she decided to a ctually read the news article. That was how Pam found her, leaning out of the tub of joker bubbles crying and laughing hysterically at the newspaper article on Jokers death.