Hello readers. In case you didn't catch it on my other story, this fanfic is a companion story to I Started a Joke. This story will detail the events of Lucy's life from other character's perspectives. By popular request I began the first chapter with Harley. Hope you enjoy this new experiment.
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Harley Quinn
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"No, no, no. They can't be dead. They can't." I choked back tears as I repeated my new mantra over and over in my head.
They're not dead. Mistah J and Lucy are alive.
"My Puddin and Puddin Pop can survive anything." I reassured myself, pushing my hair out of my face and standing up. Slowly, I walked away from the ledge where I saw the helicopter go down.
They're not dead. Mistah J and Lucy are alive. I gotta find them. This is just an elaborate game of hide and seek. Puddin and Puddin Pop are just hiding and its my job to seek them out. Those two are such children. They love playing games, it's adorable.
"Like father, like daughter, I guess." I giggled and pushed the button for the elevator. The machine dinged and opened. I skipped inside and hit the button for the ground floor. When the doors shut I caught a glimpse of my reflection. My makeup is smudged all over and my hair is tangled. I look a mess.
"You're a mess because you just lost your boyfriend and daughter, Harley." A familiar voice whispered. I saw my reflection replaced with a blonde doctor wearing thick glasses and her Arkham Asylum badge displayed on her lab coat. "You're in the process of grieving."
"Shut up you quack! My Mistah J and Lucy are alive!" I shouted at Dr. Harleen Quinzel.
Harleen shook her head. "You're in the denial stage of your grief, Harley. Denying reality will not make the pain go away. It only makes it worse." Harleen gently smiled. I snarled and smashed the button for the next floor.
"I said shut up, Harleen! I don't need you psychoanalyzing me. And I definitely don't need your pity." I kicked at the elevator door, hoping to rid myself of Harleen's nonsense. I don't want to hear her complaints or disappointments about my life choices.
"I don't pity you. I feel your sadness too. My heart's just as broken. I lost Joker and Lucy just like you did." Harleen's voice wavered. Her face lost its clinical look and became broken and sad. "I lost my family."
"No, no, no!" I screamed and raced out of the elevator. I won't listen to her. She's lying to me.
They're not dead. Mistah J and Lucy are alive. They're hiding out in the city, waiting for me to find them.
"Harley stop lying to yourself. You know the Joker never liked it when we lied. You need to accept the truth." Harleen's image walked alongside me on the windows. I hiccuped when Harleen mentioned Mistah J.
"It ain't a lie cause my Puddin is immortal and he'd never let anything happen to our baby girl." I picked up a chair and threw it at Harleen's image. The window shattered. I fought back the tears and resumed walking to the staircase.
Harleen is a liar, she's always been one. She lied for years about who she really was. Only Mistah J could see past her phony act and see hidden inside the good psychiatrist. Liar, liar, pants on fire. I won't believe anything she says.
They're not dead. Mistah J and Lucy are alive.
"Don't worry you two. I'm coming to find you." I took a moment to catch my breath before exiting the building. I stepped forward to push the door open.
"Stop." Harleen appeared in the glass. I jumped back.
"Why won't you leave me alone?! Get out of my head!"
"I can't. It's my duty to help you." Harleen said in that obnoxiously professional tone of hers.
"Well you're doing a crap job. Your lies aren't doing shit for me." I glared the image of my old self.
"I'm not lying, you're just in denial. You're denying the facts same as you did when you lost our son." Harleen's words cut through me like one of Mistah J's knives. Hot tears gathered in my eyes.
"Shut up, shut up, shut up!" I furiously rubbed the tears away.
"Joker, Lucy, and Jay are all dead, Harley. Stop disrespecting their deaths by pretending like they didn't happen." Harleen kept assaulting me with her harsh words. "They're dead. Now own it!"
I broke down. Tears freely cascaded down my cheeks. My strength left me and I crumpled down to the floor. Harleen's image mirrored my own. She was crying and rubbing her face, much like I was. We both felt the pain of losing our family.
They're dead. Mistah J and Lucy are dead. I lost the only people that mattered to me. I'll never get to marry Mistah J. I'll never get to see him kill Batman. I'll never get to see Mistah J take over Gotham. I'll never kiss him or hold him again. I'll never be able to tell Mistah J I love him again. My Puddin. My Mistah J….And I'll never get to see Lucy grow up and give me grandkids. I'll never see her take my place one day. I'll never curl up in bed with her again. I'll never be able to tell my daughter I love her again.
It's not fair! Why were they taken from me?! My baby girl. My soulmate. They're gone….
"What am I supposed to do now? I've got nothing left to live for." I mumbled miserably.
"Yes you do." Harleen sniffled. She fixed her glasses, switching back to doctor mode. "There's a group of criminals that could use your help."
I chuckled. "Those ding-dongs probably do miss my hot bod. And I know things must be boring without me there to spice things up." I stood up and dusted myself off. The tears continued to fall even as I laughed and exited the building. Harleen's image faded and I was left with only my misery for company. Rain drops hit my skin, soaking my clothes. I panicked and reached inside my shirt for my bra. I felt what I was looking for and sadly moaned.
"I don't even get to keep the last memento of my baby girl, huh?" I pulled the soggy drawings out of my bra. The entire stack was ruined. I sobbed and let the drawings slip from my grasp. I continued on to, shivering from the cold and wet weather. I reached my destination and climbed on top of a car to wait for the squad of misfits to show up.
This is not how things were supposed to go. How did my world come crashing down so quick?
I reached behind my neck and unclasped the choker. I stared at it before sobbing and tossing the choker away. Heavy footsteps and breaking glass drew me out of my sadness. I brushed my wet hair back and smiled for the group of men approaching. "Hey guys. I'm back!" I waved. "I missed you all so much."
Focus on the squad now. The pain will go away.
Deadshot was the first to approach me. He attempted to smile but it came out as a pained grimace. "We're glad you could make it." His understanding eyes almost made me break down again. Deadshot came closer and held his arm out to help me down. I slid off the car and let him dip his arm under my legs. He carried me away from the car and over to the squad.
"Hey Craziness." Boomerang greeted me with a crooked smile after Deadshot set me down. The dirty thief threw my bat at me. I caught it and rolled it around my in fists, willing my heart to piece itself back together. My weak smile was returned with nods and soft pats on the shoulder as each of the boys passed me.
"Here Harley." A jacket was dropped around my shoulders. Diablo gently pulled in the direction of the moving soldiers. "I'm sorry for your loss."
I couldn't muster the energy to reply.
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"Whatcha having KC?" I called to the crocodile observing the fish. I moved around the bar getting glasses and bottles ready for the bad guys craving a little pick-me-up.
Seems like we've all all hit rock bottom tonight. This whole mission was a bad joke.
"Bloody Mary right? Emphasis on the blood and a whole side of Mary." Deadshot joked, tapping his fingers on the bar.
KC growled. "Drink dulls the mind." He kept his back to the group, following some blue fish in the mini aquarium.
"KC, it's the end of the world." I implored. "Have a drink with us." I winked at KC when he finally stopped watching the fish.
"Beer." KC said after a dew seconds.
"There he is. A man after my own heart." Boomerang paused and then redacted his statement. "Don't take that literally." He took a sip of his drink and then smacked his hand on the table. "Sweet-lips, pour the man a beer."
I pulled a beer from under the counter and passed it to KC. I turned toDiablo next. "How bout you hotstuff?"
"Water." Diablo replied.
I nodded my head in agreement. "Says the guy who can set the world on fire. That's a good idea, honey." I pulled a glass out and filled it with water. As the glass filled, I spotted Katana lurking in the corner like a shadow. "Ninja? You want some saki?" I passed Diablo his drink while Katana deliberated.
"Whiskey." The ninja muttered. I smiled and got to work on her drink.
"What am I, twelve?" Deadshot complained, holding his small, empty, shot glass up for me to see. I chuckled and slid Katana her drink. I refilled Deadshot's glass.
"Here's to honor among thieves." Deadshot raised his glass for a toast.
"I'm not a thief." Katana interrupted. She went back to her corner.
Deadshot brushed off the interruption and turned to me. "She's not a thief." He stage-whispered. I smiled and clinked my drink with his. Deadshot swiveled around to raise his glass to KC and Diablo.
Boomerang leaned over. "No, not thieves." His glass clinked against Deadshot's and mine. "I actually prefer to think of myself as an asset relocation specialist."
Deadshot hummed at the answer. I gingerly sipped my tropical blue mixture while Deadshot lowered his drink to talk. "We almost pulled it off despite what everybody thought."
"We weren't picked to succeed, you know that right? We were all chosen to fail." Diablo pointed out.
"Yeah, I know that." Deadshot's voice went grave. "You know they're going to blame us for the whole thing. They can't have people knowing the truth. We're the patsies. The cover up." Deadshot mockingly smiled, swishing his drink around. "Don't forget. We're the bad guys."
Croc jumped into the conversation. "To the bad guys. You know, I never think of myself as a bad guy. I just got needs that others don't always agree with."
"You got it, Wally Gator." I laughed. "Good and bad, they change depending on who's writing the history books." I glanced at a despondent Deadshot. I set my drink down and pulled one of the umbrellas out to play with. "So you gonna tell us now, what your big deal with Flag was? What were you gonna get out of this?"
"Same thing Waller offered me to kill you, sweetheart." Deadshot hesitated to say the next part. "A chance to be a father. A chance at a life outside the shadows." I bit off apart of the toothpick.
No. Don't think about them right now.
"I trusted Flag." Deadshot darkly chuckled.
Diablo suddenly slapped his hand on the table, knocking over some napkins. "Flag had you chasing a carrot on a stick, homie! You don't know that?!"
I chuckled and pointed at a fiery Diablo. "I love this guy." I covered my mouth after Deadshot glared at me before sending an incredulous look Diablo's way.
"You played yourself, dog." Diablo dialed his anger back notch.
"Bitch, I'm having a drink." Deadshot snapped. He downed the rest of his shot. "I'm breathing fresh air and for two sweet seconds, I had hope."
Diablo snorted. "You had hope, huh?" He shook his head. "Hope don't stop the wheel form turning, my brother."
It was Deadshot's turn to snort. "You preaching?"
"It's coming back around for you. So how many people you killed, man?" Diablo pressed. Deadshot stared and then turned to me, tapping his glass. "Doll face, you got any more back there?" I rummaged through the bottles and grabbed a bottle of bourbon.
"The last one." I hummed and poured him another shot. "Savor it, honey."
"You're a street guy. You know, you don't ask nobody no question like that, ese." Deadshot heatedly answered Diablo's question.
"You ain't never whacked down no women, no kids." Diablo's voice hitched. My heart started feeling like it was cracking again.
"I don't kill women or children." Deadshot said.
"I do." Diablo whispered. He used his flames to tell the story of how he lost his family. My heart shattered and I felt the pain I buried coming back to the surface.
They're dead. Mistah J and Lucy are dead. My two reasons for living are gone. I'm all alone now. I lost my lover. I lost my daughter. I lost my Puddin and Puddin Pop.
It hurts!
"And the kids?" Boomerang muttered in shock, not understanding what he'd seen in the flames.
"He killed them." I whispered back. Boomerang's eyes glazed with water as he looked at me. I couldn't stand to look at his pitying eyes. My own eyes stung. "Didn't you?" I focused all my hurt on Diablo, the one who made the pain resurface.
"I lost them to my own hands." Diablo's voice cracked. His eyes became wet and red with grief.
I leaned over. "Own that shit." I repeated Harleen's words to him. "Own it!" I shouted when Diablo wiped at his eyes.
How dare he make me relive the pain I felt on the roof. I wanted to suppress those thoughts. Now there all coming back, along with the crippling emotions.
Mistah J. Lucy.
"What'd you think was gonna happen, huh?" I hissed at the unresponsive Diablo.
"Hey, Harley, come on…I know you're hurting about Lucy and your guy." Deadshot reached over to touch my elbow. I moved away from his gesture.
"What, you were just…" I snorted, unable to control the maelstrom of emotions riling me up. "You gonna have a happy family and coach little leagues and make a car payments? Normal's a setting on the dryer. People like us, we don't get normal."
Boomerang loudly interrupted my rant. "Why's it always a knife fight every single time you open your mouth?" I scowled at Boomerang, reaching for my drink and getting ready to smash the glass in the Australian's eyes. "You know outside, you're amazing." He smirked and then sneered. "Inside, you're ugly."
I slid down the bar, maliciously smiling at Boomerang. "We are all." I softly uttered. "We all are!" I said louder. I cocked my head in KC's direction. "Except him. He;s ugly on the outside too."
"Not me, shorty." Croc rumbled and pulled his hoodie off. "I'm beautiful."
I chuckled and coyly smiled. The tightness in my chest lightened. "Yeah you are." Croc growled and rolled his eyes at me. The door to the bar opened. In came Colonel Flag, the useless damsel in distress.
"We don't want you here." I said as Flag took a seat next to Deadshot. The others glared at him in agreement with me.
Flag is lucky I didn't kill him when he stepped out the building. If it weren't for the fact that he's another lap dog, I'd have killed him. Waller is the one in charge. She's the one who used me. The one who endangered my baby. The one who had my family killed.
"You get to the part in that binder saying I was sleeping with her?" Flag questioned.
"Yeah." Deadshot nodded. "I've never been with a witch before. What's that like?" Flag blankly stared at Deadshot. The gunman moved on without Flag's answer. "That's why the creatures chase after him all the time. He's got a connection with part of her. Cause'a that, the witch is scared of him."
"The only woman I've ever loved is trapped inside that monster. If I can wake her up, I can end this. But if I don't stop the witch, it's over. Everything's over. Everything." Flag spoke with weary honesty. He pulled the detonator out his pocket and tapped on the screen. Everyone tensed as Flag messed with the device. "You're free to go." He smashed the detonator against the bar and tossed the broken remains to the ground. Boomerang shot out of his seat and left the bar. I rushed over to the mirror at the back of the bar, inspecting my neck. I saw a glowing green light.
Is it really turned off?
"Your daughter writes to you every day, Lawton. Every single day."
I turned around and saw Deadshot looking at a stack of colorful letters. My eyes watered.
Lucy drew pictures and gave them to me. Those pictures helped me get through the monotonous days of being imprisoned….The rain soaked them and I threw them away. I threw my baby girl's drawings away…..Oh, Lucy.
"You had this the whole time?!" Deadshot shoved Flag back and angrily waved the letters in the man's face. "You had letters from my daughter the whole time?!" Deadshot struggled to keep himself from striking Flag down. I could hear his heavy breathing from all the way behind the bar. "I'm gonna get you there. And you're gonna end this. Imm'a carry you if I have to. This shit is gonna be like a chapter in the bible and everybody's gonna know what we did. My daughter is gonna know that her Daddy is not a piece of shit." Deadshot finished his tirade and stormed out the bar. The others stared, contemplating their next moves.
"Harley." Flag called, but wouldn't meet my eyes. I tipped my head for him to go on. "I tried to stop Waller from shooting down the helo. I couldn't stomach killing Lucia. Especially not after I lived with her….She didn't deserve that end."
Don't think. I don't want to think. I wan to act.
"I'll come." I walked around the bar. Flag sent me a grateful look and left the bar. "What? You got something better to do? C'mon." I posed the question to the remaining squad members. I grabbed my bat.
I literally have nothing else to do without my Puddin or Puddin Pop here. Better I use my time to duke it out with the greatest evil to walk this Earth. Killing something will make me feel better.
"Pussies." I taunted when no one else moved to follow me out.
I'll put on a good show for Mistah J and Lucy.