I should not have to put a disclaimer becuase it is obvious I do not own any part of the Batman franchise.
I scrapped my other story cause I did not like it. Too many Joker/Harley Quinn stories out there.
Not that it is a bad thing. But I like variety.
This is just a story for my own amusement, if you like it too . . . Hooray for you.
An explosion shook the night. Windows rattled and awnings thrummed as pressure waves traveled through it. A second blast was occuring across town at the exact same time. Rachel felt the shock of the blast in the blacktop under her feet, as if a fossilized Tyrannosaurus rex in the deep rock strata were stirring in its eternal sleep, and saw the dragon's breath of fire in the east -southeast, just around the corner.
"Show time," the clown with the gun shoved Rachel into the front passengers seat before crawling into the back seat to sit behind her. The other clown slid behind the wheel.
Tears streamed down her face as she thought of Harvey. Did Harvey make it out in time? Things were taking a strange turn of events. She should have been inside the building when it exploded, but apparently the Joker had changed his mind. Two of his masked goons had come and dragged her out of the building after slapping a piece of tape over her mouth.
She looked to the clown driving. A big burly fellow with red diamonds painted over his eyes. Hands encased in black, fingerless gloves gripped the steering wheel tight as the car tore through back alleyways with the headlights off. Clearly the clown knew the back ways and was not using the lights to avoid detection by the cops. The police and fire departments were focused on putting out the fires.
Then there was the clown in the backseat. Smaller than the others, thinner too. The mask was white with a blue five o'clock shadow, red circles on the cheeks and the tip of the nose.
"Here's the deal Rachel. You are dead. Done with. Gone. Pushing daisies." The clown driving glanced at her briefly. "Get the hell out of Gotham and don't look back. This is a one time thing. You contact anyone and let them know otherwise, we'll find you. We'll kill you. Permanently. And we'll kill everyone who comes into contact with you. Do you understand?"
Rachel sat in silence.
Once they were sufficiently far enough outside of Gotham, he slammed the brakes which caused Rachel to slam into the dashboard. Leaving her momentarily stunned. There was the sharp burning pain as the tape was ripped off of her mouth. Then the barrel of a gun pressed against the side of her head painfully.
"Take it or we shoot you here and leave your body to rot beside the road."
"Why are you doing this to me?" Rachel's voice was tear-strained and weary.
"Its nothing personal." The driver answered her. There was a soft click as the hammer was drawn back on the gun. "Make your choice Rachel. Give up Harvey and Bruce and Gotham. Or my friend splatter your brains all over the dash. Tick tock, think fast."
"Times up." The clown in the backseat suddenly shifted, bringing the gun around, there was a loud explosion inside the car as the trigger was pulled. Rachel screamed. The driver never had time to register that the gun had been turned on him. Gore, little bits of bone and gray matter coated the driver's door. He slumped forward onto the steering wheel, setting off the horn.
Rachel sobbed as she clawed at the door handle only to find that there wasn't one.
"Shut up already!" The backseat clown slapped her. The voice behind the mask was distinctively female. Then the clown leaned forward, over the seat and across the dead man's lap. The door was opened and the dead man was shoved out of the vehicle as the other clown took his place. She rolled down the window after shutting the door again. "Woman-to-woman, that guy was an asshole. Just talk, talk, talk. All the time. Its annoying."
"What do you want from me?" Rachel sniffled.
"A smile and a few kind words." They were on the road again, heading back in to Gotham.
"Where are you taking me?"
"Some where safe. The one place no one will look for you. And even if you told them who you were, no one would believe you." The clown seemed very amused. "You should thank me. Everyone else wants you dead. The cops were never coming for you. Batman wasn't coming for you either."
Rachel felt a sense of dread forming in the pit of her stomach.
"Poor little Rachel. No one seems to care if you live or die. But I care."
"Why are you doing this to me? Why me?" Rachel wanted to scream.
"Why me?" The clown answered in a mocking tone. "Call it my good deed for the year."
Rachel went to say something, but pain blossomed across the left side of her face and all she knew was darkness. A heavy darkness that stretched on for what seemed like an eternity. Rachel would have stayed in the darkness. While it seemed like only moments had past since she closed her eyes, clearly it had been longer. Her body felt so heavy. Weighed down. She couldn't move.
She struggled to open her eyes.
Icy terror gripped her heart as she took in her situation. She was strapped facedown on a cot. The room she was in was small. The walls lightly padded. Off in the distance she could hear howls and screams. So far away and yet so close. There was the clanking of metal against metal. Heavy doors and bars. So familiar and alien at the same time.
Arkham Asylum.
Rachel closed her eyes and began to scream.