As the king of Gotham, the Joker had an unspoken all access pass to the city's most notorious venues. This meant that the queen, who was almost always by the king's side, held the same privileges. The one thing they did not share, however, was their taste for the Iceberg Lounge.
Whether he was rubbing shoulders with comrades or harassing others, the Joker always had a good time. While Harley also participated in these activities, it was harder to enjoy herself when the temperatures were below the freezing mark. Yes, the aesthetics of the frozen sculptures and live penguins were majestic, but teetering on the verge of frostbite wasn't her idea of a fun night out. Besides, it was much harder to mingle with others while wearing three layers of clothes as opposed to one.
The things we do for love, Harley thought as she and the Joker entered the Iceberg Lounge together.
"First things first," the Joker ran his hand down Harley's spine. "After I speak with some of these buffoons how about you and I enjoy some of the champagne?"
"I love that idea!" Harley grasped the Joker's hand and gave it an enthusiastic squeeze.
"Now," the Joker purred as he began to walk away, "Try not to tear this place apart in my absence,"
Harley gave a playful grin. "Puddin', you know I can't make that promise,"
Once the Joker disappeared from view, Harley began to scan the crowd in search of familiar faces. As far as she knew, none of her friends were coming out that night. Still, Harley was the queen of Gotham, and if she wanted to be entertained anyone and everyone would willingly oblige.
The first person Harley spotted was the Penguin himself, though he appeared deep in conversation (from the looks of it, he was introducing guests to his precious feathered penguins in their red and blue bowties). Perhaps it was best to leave that conversation be; besides, Harley didn't particularly feel like carrying the stench of fish-eating animals that night anyways.
Harley continued weighing her options when a flash of gold hair caught her eye. Intrigued, Harley tried to find this elusive guest, but the person disappeared just as quickly as he or she appeared.
"So you want to play hide and seek?" Harley made her way into the crowd, determined to satisfy her curiosity by finding out who the mystery person was. It was like a game of cat and mouse, and Harley was more than willing to take the bait.
"Looking for me?" Harleen stood in the middle of the mingling mass, standing out like a sore thumb in jeans and a three-quarter-length blouse… not even close to the type of mouse Harley expected to catch.
Harley wouldn't dignify the illusion with an answer; instead, she made her way straight to the bar. The champagne could wait for the Joker, but Harley decided she needed a cocktail now.
"You know you can't just walk away from me," Harleen said as Harley ordered a grape concoction.
"Don't care," Harley took a sip of her drink, trying not to shiver as the cold liquid pierced her throat. "I can't have you interfering with my social life,"
"Social life?" Harleen turned to look at the crowd. "I'd hardly call these people your friends,"
"This has nothing to do with you or my past, so you have no business here," Harley said. "It's part of my world, not yours. So you may as well leave and haunt me some other time,"
"Excuse me?" the bartender asked as he eyed Harley suspiciously.
"Shove off!" Harley barked, becoming suddenly aware that her conversation could be overheard. Harleen gave a bemused smile as the bartender shrugged and walked away to serve the other patrons.
"Now look what you made me do," Harley whispered.
"I wouldn't worry about it too much," Harleen said. "After all, you're the infamous Harley Quinn. You're supposed to be unpredictable,"
Harley took another sip. That wasn't the point. "What's your end game anyway?" Harley asked. "If you're expecting me to clean up my act, it's not gonna happen. Just remember I have something you don't: the love of my life, my Mr. J!"
A look of genuine pity overcame Harleen's face. "You don't know love," she said.
"And you do?" Harley scoffed. "I certainly don't remember Harleen having many friends,"
"No," Harleen admitted. "But I was respected, dependable, and could be counted on. And maybe I wasn't the flashy girl in town, but I was smart enough to know that someone like the Joker wasn't showing anyone love," Harleen tilted her head to the side, as if she were contemplating something. "Once upon a time you thought love involved flowers, chocolates, and romantic dates. What ever happened to that ideology?"
"I am on a date," Harley said.
Harleen looked left and right. "Then where's the Joker? Oh yeah, he's out doing shady business that you're not allowed to attend,"
Harley looked down at the purple liquid before her. "We all have our private business to attend to,"
Harleen slammed her hand on the table, making a loud THUD that only Harley could hear. "How long are you going to defend that monster?" she asked, "After everything you've seen him do? Do you really want to spend the rest of your life living in his shadow?"
"There is no shadow!" Some of the patrons began to stare as Harley's voice began to rise. "He and I are one in the same!"
"If that were true, then why did the Enchantress show you a normal life? And, more importantly, why do you hold on to that image so dearly every night before you fall asleep?" Harleen didn't give Harley time to answer. "You're spoiled and used to getting whatever you want, but you know this is the one thing you cannot have. And this realization is slowly destroying you from the inside out, just as much as your sick, twisted life with the Joker is,"
Somewhere in the deep recesses of Harley's emotions, a bubble burst. Nobody told her what to do or how to feel. And to have this lecture playing out before her…it felt all too real.
Gripping her drink, Harley hurled the frozen glass straight at Harleen's face. The glass passed seamlessly through the illusion, shattering in a million pieces on the floor.
"WHY WON'T YOU LEAVE ME ALONE?!" Harley screamed as she garnered the full attention of everyone in the vicinity.
"What's going on here?" the authoritative voice of the Joker cut through the crowd as he reemerged from a side room. Some flinched in fear, for they knew what the Joker was capable of; others straightened their backs, showing nothing but respect for the king.
The Joker's gaze hardened as he laid his eyes on his trembling girlfriend. "Who did this?" the Joker spoke in a deathly whisper. "Who did this to my Harley?"
Silence. Nobody was to blame, and nobody wanted to tell the Joker he was wrong when he had that crazed look in his eyes. Harley wanted to say something, to tell them that nobody there was at fault, but the words tangled in her throat. Even she didn't want to shame the Joker in front of a crowd by telling him he was mistaken.
Harleen would have. She wouldn't have been afraid to confront the Joker. He was a disturbed man who needed help, and Harleen would never have let him run the show like this.
"You," The Joker's voice softened as he put his arm around one of the men who'd shrunken back in fear. "You must have witnessed something. Tell me, what did you see?"
"I…I…" the poor man stammered.
"Speak up so I can hear you," the Joker hissed in his ear.
"Nobody did nothin'," the man said. "She just threw her drink at the crowd for no reason,"
The Joker slammed the man's head onto the bar counter. "That's a lie," he snarled as the man slumped unconsciously to the ground. "My girl doesn't act like that unless she's been provoked,"
Harley felt numb, and it wasn't just because of the temperature. She'd always viewed life with the Joker as some sort of surreal lucid dream, full of laughter and madness and unexpected turns. But in that moment, fueled by anger for Harleen and unable to speak in the presence of the man she loved, Harley felt like she'd slipped into some sort of uncontrollable nightmare.
Eventually Harley found the words to end the dreadful scene. "Let's go Puddin'," she said. Under normal circumstances Harley would have reveled at being the center of attention, particularly among such a large crowd. But these people were not looking at her with amusement; they were looking at her with contempt for ruining their night out, not to mention the judgmental speculations regarding her outburst.
The queen of Gotham had stumbled that night, and now she needed to make a get away before she fell.
The Joker straightened his jacket. "I agree," he said, the crazed darkness in his eyes beginning to fade. "No need to waste any more of our precious time here,"
[To be continued in "A Failed Task"...]