"All right," Harley Quinn said to the seemingly absent guards, "Which one of you numskulls stole my espresso machine?" One moment the treasured caffeine inducer sat silently in her cell; the next, a large mirror had taken its place. This had happened in the blink of an eye, which puzzled Harley. Never before had a visitor gone unnoticed.
Springing to her feet with cat-like reflexes, Harley sauntered over to inspect her new toy. It appeared to be an antique, covered in layers of dust and complete with a wrought iron frame (she grinned as she noticed the pointy edges… clearly the guards had forgotten her lock-picking skills). Brimming with anticipation, she stopped short when she realized who had taken the place of what should have been her reflection.
Dr. Harleen Quinzel.
"No…" Harley took a step forward as her former self remained stationary, "…way," The doctors had forced medication upon Harley as soon as she was brought back to Belle Reve, so she knew this wasn't a figment of her imagination. Deciding this was either a dream or the work of a metahuman, Harley decided to play along.
"Why hello there!" Harley saluted Dr. Quinzel. "Long time no see. How're ya doin' doc?"
Dr. Quinzel folded her arms in disapproval. "I could ask you the same thing,"
"Well, I'm better than you must be," Harley said, swinging back and forth from the prison bars. "At least I'm not trapped in a mirror,"
"I'm not the prisoner here," Dr. Quinzel said sternly. "You are,"
"Pssssh," Harley dismissed her reflection with a wave of the hand. "These bars can only hold me for so long,"
"And then what?" Dr. Quinzel asked. "What do you plan on doing once you've made your escape?"
Harley gave an over exaggerated shrug. "The world's my oyster then. Maybe I'll open an espresso bar in Gotham. Speaking of which," Harley pouted, "Did you happen to see who took my espresso machine?"
Dr. Quinzel sighed. Harley was even harder to communicate with than the Joker. Perhaps it was best if she jumped right to the point.
"How much do you remember of your former life?"
Harley gave a playful grin and stuck out her tongue. "Doctor says I shouldn't think about bad things,"
"You cannot deny your past," Dr. Quinzel said. "Like it or not, I will always be a part of you,"
Harley rolled her eyes. "Yeah right. You died the moment my body immersed in the chemicals. I made sure of that,"
"You were not born this way," Dr. Quinzel reminded her. "If it were not for the Joker, the city of Gotham would still hold you in high esteem,"
"The Joker freed me," Harley twirled one of her pigtails. "He showed me how colorful the world can be,"
"If you really believed that," Dr. Quinzel said, "Then why did the enchantress show you a world where you and the Joker lived normal lives?"
For the first time since meeting her alter ego, Harley had no response.
"You love the man," Dr. Quinzel said. "You traded all that you were for him. But now, every so often, you wonder if the price you paid was higher than you could afford,"
"Now who's talkin' crazy talk?" Harley asked quietly. "You speak about the past like it's the present. What the enchantress showed me is impossible. The man I love is dead,"
"But is he really?" Dr. Quinzel walked forward so her body engulfed the full frame of the glass. "You've seen the Joker survive far worse situations,"
Suddenly tired of playing games, Harley snapped, "Who do you think you are, coming in here acting like you know me?" Harley gripped the frame, pressing her face against the glass as she stared into the sane eyes of the doctor. "I'm the strong one," she hissed. "I'm the one who killed you!"
Dr. Quinzel smiled. "Then I'll be the ghost that will haunt you the rest of your life,"
Letting out a shriek, Harley balled her hand into a fist, smacked the glass as hard as she could…and woke up.
Dazed, Harley carefully pulled herself into a sitting position and looked where the mirror sat in her dream. In its place was the dutiful espresso machine.
"That's it," Harley shook her head, "I'm never drinking coffee before I fall asleep again,"
[Thank you all for the feedback, I'm glad you enjoyed "The Verge of Reality"! Harley's story continues in the sequel, "Beyond These Walls".]