Strange Love, Chapter 7
by Sunflare2k5

The Joker, considerably the worse for wear, was dragged into Arkham
by Batman that afternoon. By the time that Medical had finished taping
him up, it was suppertime. And since his wounds were tended, they
were supposed to send him out to the cafeteria.

He had to skip his normal grand entrance; the guards were too alert,
and besides his arms were too sore to fling open the double doors.
The Joker did spot Harley; as he expected, she was sitting next to Ivy.
What he didn't expect was that scrawny geek Scarecrow sitting at
Harley's other side?

"HARLEY!" Joker bellowed, snapping his fingers at her then pointing to
the floor next to him. How else would he summon his dog, after all?
"Get over here!"

Harley looked up from her meatloaf, then ever-so-slowly turned to face
the Joker. "No." she stated firmly.

Most of the talk had already been interrupted by the Joker; the sound
of Harley's defiance silenced the rest. The soft whirr of Two-Face's Coin
as he flipped it was heard, though he showed no signs of what it had
told him to do.

Joker's eyes narrowed. "What do you mean -- 'no'?" he grated. "You
can't tell me 'no'!"

"Why not?" Harley stood up, looking him right in the eyes. "I don't need
you anymore -- I don't want you anymore!" She smiled, though it was as
cruel a smile as he'd ever worn. "I've traded up!" With that, she slipped
her arm around Scarecrow's waist, just as he stood to offer her support.

The guards quietly called for reinforcements. They knew the Joker was
wounded -- then again, wounded animals were the most dangerous?

"That's not funny, Harley!" Joker took a step forward, pointing accusingly
at her. "There's nothing that sad sack of straw can give yo--"

Harley interrupted him. "Oh, Johnathan's given me plenty already! He's
given me love, and trust, and caring, and devotion..."

"And any puppy can do that." Joker sneered. "It's not like he's much of
a man, right?"

"Oh, you want to go there, do you?" She gave him a shark's grin. "You
claimed it was because you were busy with your plans to take down
the Bat, but you hadn't been able to rev up this Harley for years!"

Two-Face sniggered, not bothering to hide it; more joined in the mocking
laughter. Joker's fists clenched; he wasn't supposed to be the punchline!

"But no wonder; who could be made happy from such a--" Harley shot a
withering gaze below Joker's waistline, "short routine?"

Killer Croc fell off his bench, roaring with laughter. The Mad Hatter was
reduced to peeping sounds, torn between amusement and embarrasment.
Scarecrow just smiled smugly, his hand gliding up and down Harley's side
as he held her. And Poison Ivy was literally dancing with glee, seeing Harley
finally tear the Joker up by the roots!

With that, the Joker charged -- only to be met by a barrage of stun-darts
from the guards. Each of them was a one-shot taser, as several of the
inmates were too resistant to chemicals for tranqs to always be effective.
He hit the floor twitching, as the guards yelled for everyone to stand down.
"You had yer fun -- so we're doing lockdown now. Back to your cells!" And
for once, no-one resisted the guards or even complained.

Seeing Harley tear down the Joker, was well worth the price...

(to be continued)