Hi all, I'm so sorry. Life hasn't been kind and it's taken its toll on me. I had to put writing at the very bottom of the list of things to do, to make sure my own health was improving. I won't lie, I'm still not 100% but I'm better and getting even more so. I apologise with all my being to those who have been waiting so patiently and I hope those that have lost interest will return for the last couple of chapters of the entire Young Gods Universe.
So without further a do...
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Chapter 9
Harley had found Frost and taken the Hyenas, her gun and her bat. She had changed into her hot pants and daddy's little monster top. If she was gonna get hurt, she was going to do it in style. She'd set Bud on the scent of Lucy and Lou on Jack's, she would find her babies if it was the last thing she did. She knew the Hyena's would find them, regardless of where they were in the city, but she had bigger problems. Frost was on his way to get to Joker, she'd seen the Batman, Selina and the rest of the Caped Do-gooders hopping across the city. So she pulled the Hyena's to one of the warehouses that Joker owned and made a phone call.
"What do you want?"
"I'm calling in a favour," Harley said lightly. "I take it you've heard about what's happening in Gotham?"
"I've had a call from your boyfriend already. What do you want me to do about it Quinn?"
"Oh, Mandy, don't be so glum, chum," Harley giggled. "I'm going to find my babies, when I do, I want Flag here with a car to take them away to safety until I can come and get them."
"What do I get in return?" Amanda Waller asked.
"Me."
"Not enough, Quinn," Amanda snarled. "You've been on minimal Task Force X missions, you've caused me more problems than I ever needed to deal with, you've had free reign for years. I want Joker and your daughter."
"Not gonna happen and you're in no place to make demands after that stunt over in Texas," Harley pointed out. "If your blood type had been compatible with mine, Mistah J woulda drained ya and then left ya to die. My daughter would tear apart any containment field or device you and ya geeks could invent, my little prince has a price on his head that would mean all of Gotham's underworld would turn out to fetch him home."
"Like I care," Amanda snorted.
"You had kids once, Amanda," Harley tried, her accent softening and her heart thudded in her chest. "You had people that took them away. My babies… if you coulda protected your babies like I can protect mine, are you sayin' you wouldn't? Are ya sayin' you wouldn't try? Batman and Catwoman are racin' across the city to save their daughter, they got friends with tech, I got brute force and risin' bloodlust. I need my babies safe. I need Flag."
"That's such a shit card to pull, Quinn," Waller said quietly. There was a long pause and every second felt like a day to Harley. She had so much to do and Amanda was wasting her time. She just needed help. She couldn't trust Joker to come through, he was too angry and too vengeful and if he went off on one of his tirades, she'd have to be the one to get in the way. The dynamic with Batman had changed so much since the kids had arrived, Joker didn't really care much for the Dork Knight any more, he enjoyed the odd tango, but priorities were different.
"Get them to the south bridge," Amanda said. "By midnight. Flag will be waiting there with a discreet armed guard. Get them to the bridge. They'll be safe. But you're gonna owe me big time, Harley, I mean… big time."
"I know, I know," Harley sighed. "Thank you, Amanda." She hung up, took the sim card out of the phone and smashed the device under her boot. She crushed the card and threw the pieces to the opposite sides of the room. She rubbed her hands over her face and took a long breath.
"Bud, Lou," she shouted sharply. The two Hyenas came to her and sat at her feet, they whined and wagged their tails excitedly as Harley stroked her hands over their heads and necks. She checked her gun was loaded and she tightened her pig tails. She kept them at heel and walked out of the warehouse. She could see the old fairground in the distance and she smirked. At least the Batman couldn't get involved right now.
"Come on boys," she smiled. "We've gotta find our cubs. I need my babies."
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Jim Gordon led three squad cars into the city to Michaela Franklin's building block. Jim had thought very highly of her after her recovery from the assault on Arkham Asylum so long ago and he hadn't ever doubted her return to the GCPD. She'd always been the first to jump to any case with the Clowns, but he assumed it was normal and his discussions with her doctors had settled him on that. But kidnapping children? He didn't think it was possible.
He stopped outside the block and his armed officers went in first, clearing the hallways up into the apartment itself. They burst through the doorway after giving three warnings and Jim waited for the shouts of clear before he entered. The living room looked quite normal for a single woman, although the amount of empty bottles of wine did worry him. He checked the answer phone and looked through the un-opened mail quickly.
"Jim," Harvey Bullock said as he looked in from another room. "You… you gotta come and see this. It's… I'll send Montoya ahead." Jim frowned and followed his friend and colleague into the bedroom. He clenched his jaw and shook his head at the sight in front of him. There was a cork board with pictures, police reports, crime scene evidence and transcripts from all of the crimes with even remote links to Joker and Harley from the last 7 years. There were photos covering the walls, scribbles of potential links and leads, arrest charges and all sorts. Michaela shouldn't have had any of this and it sent alarm bells ringing in his ears.
There were pictures of Joker and Harley from the previous years and also photos of the two children. She had extensive notes on Jack and Lucy, she had tracked their movements closely from the last few months and it was disturbing how much information she'd collected about the children specifically. Then there was a photograph of Selina Kyle holding a small child and Jim knew what she was going to do.
"Bullock!" Jim shouted. "I want all GCPD officers out looking for Michaela Franklin, she's armed, dangerous and is in the midst of a psychotic break. She's teamed up with the Red Hood and currently has three children as a hostage."
"Yes sir!" Harvey replied and grabbed his radio from his pocket. He barked orders down the radio and soon enough the sound of sirens filled the air. Jim saw a photograph of Samantha Drake and Michaela and he picked it up.
"I'm sorry Michaela," he sighed. "But this doesn't make you any better than them." He put the photo back down and took off back down to the cars. As he and Bullock ran down the stairs, his phone started to ring.
"I don't have the time, Bruce," Jim snapped.
"Red Hood's got my daughter, me, Nightwing, Selina and Robin are on our way to the old fair ground," Bruce told him. "Harley is out somewhere looking for Jack and Lucy. Joker won't be far behind."
"I'm sending cars all over Gotham, we'll get them, Bruce," Jim told him.
"Be safe Jim."
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Jonny Frost walked straight into the GCPD, he held his gun firmly in his hand and the henchmen followed him with machine guns and flamethrowers. The police officers didn't know what to do about the Joker's entourage walking into the building like they owned it. Two officers fired at them and Cosplay Batman shot holes in their legs.
"Now, no one has to get hurt," Jonny Frost said. "No one else has to get hurt. I just want my boss outta the locker so we can go and find his kids and his crazy cheer-leading wife. Is someone going to give me the damn key or do I need my colleagues here to start blowing off body parts of you lot?"
One of the female officers grabbed the keys to the cells and almost jogged ahead of Frost to the holding cells. He chuckled as she fumbled with the keys and slung Joker's golden gun over his shoulder. The rest of the henchmen kept the remaining GCPD officers secure and quiet as Jonny released Joker. The Green haired maniac punched the woman in the gut when the door opened and took his gun from Frost.
"Where's Harley?" Joker snapped.
"She's taken the Hyenas to track down Lucy and Jack," Jonny told him. "She's got her gun, bat and those ridiculous heeled boots. I think she's gonna be fine."
"Don't be so stupid," Joker hissed. "We're going to find Red Hood. He'll have the kids and that means he'll have Harley. Round up the Scum, Frost. I want Penguin, Riddler, Ivy… all of them out looking for Red Hood. If Batman's too busy trying to protect his daughter, then I will call all manner of monsters from the depths of hell to find my family."
"Of course, boss."
"Someone's going to die, tonight, Jonny," Joker said lowly. "If it's not Red Hood then it's the Bat."
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Harley peeked through the small window and saw her children huddled together in a cold room. She picked the lock and pulled it open, she couldn't fit through but she could reach her arm in. She saw Jack look round and she grinned at him, he dragged Lucy to her feet and they both ran over to her.
"Oh thank God you're okay," Harley whispered. "Hush, Lucy, hush. Shush, baby girl, shush."
"Momma, they got Helena, I tried to stop them-" Jack started.
"You're such a good boy, cupcake," Harley smiled. "You've both been so brave. I'm gonna bust ya outta here and get ya safe. Or die tryin'. B-man is out gettin' Helena, you don't need to worry about her."
"I tried to stop, her momma," Jack whined. "I tried to hurt her, I bit her, the lady. But she threatened to kill you and Lucy, so I… I had to stop."
"Cupcake, you don't need to apologise, you've done nothin' wrong," Harley said gently. "You protected your sister, you tried to protect Helena and you did the right thing to make sure you and Lucy weren't hurt. Now, stay in the corner and keep quiet, I'll be round in a minute. I'm so proud of you, Jack." She managed to stretch and her fingertips gently ran over his hair. The little boy giggled a little before he bundled Lucy away. Harley took one last look at her children before she scrambled up to her feet and she sent Bud and Lou ahead. The two hyenas wagged their tails excitedly as they followed the children's scents. They reached the front of the building and Harley was pleasantly surprised to see there were two guards. They looked high out of their minds and that meant this was either a trap or Red Hood just liked putting dead bodies in the ground.
She crept forwards and whistled to the Hyenas. They lurched forward and ran at the two guards, their jaws snapped and chewed at the humans, blood ran down the street and Harley walked on by as the animals killed the two men. Her heels were dipped in blood and she left footprints as she walked into the old library.
"Boys!" Harley barked and the two Hyenas left their prey and trotted to her side, yipping eagerly for more blood. She swung her bat in her hands and looked around the rooms. The shelves were empty and pushed either to the wall or on the floor. Books and papers were discarded like so much waste and it made the psychiatrist in her angry. She cracked her bat against one of the old wooden doors and it smashed through.
"Knock, knock!" Harley called with a laugh. She burst into the next room, prepared for battle, but it was empty. She was suspicious and didn't like how quiet this place was. Jack could break out of most places, he could fit into the smallest of spaces, what on earth did they have that was keeping him and Lucy trapped? She grit her teeth together and put her hands on the back of the Hyena's necks. They walked at her side, sniffing the air and slowly made their way through the building. Harley didn't bother to cover her tracks or to creep, she was there to get her kids back, not play games.
Bud and Lou led her to a door down to the basement and she opened it carefully. She told the Hyenas to wait ad she carefully made her way down the steps. She almost held her breath as her footsteps echoed in the dark corridor.
"Mommy?" she heard Lucy's little voice and she jumped down the last few steps. She saw Lucy stood, tears running down her face and she threw herself at her daughter.
"Oh baby girl, my baby, are you okay? Are you hurt?" Harley asked and fell to her knees. She stroked Lucy's hair and kissed her cheeks.
"I'm okay, mommy," Lucy answered and hugged her tightly. "Jack-Jack's still in there."
"Momma no! It's not-"
"Quiet you little pig!" a voice hissed and Harley's blood ran cold. She looked down at Lucy and felt the pit of her stomach drop when she saw a big smile grow over her little face.
"What's wrong, mommy Harley?" the little girl giggled. "Something different about your own flesh and blood? Is there something wrong with you precious little girl?" her laughter grew until it was deep and masculine and the shape of her baby girl grew and twisted into a mountain of a creature.
"Clay Face, I thought you were dead!"
"I have been granted my freedom and my life in return for your head!" the deep guttural voice gurgled as human-sized versions of itself spawned around Harley.
"Good thing my battin' arm's still strong," Harley muttered before she started to fight.
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Catwoman stared up at the top of the Ferris wheel and felt anger coil inside of her. Her daughter was stuck at the very top of the fairground ride, surrounded by all sorts of explosives and devices of torture. The wheel had been painted green and purple, it looked so much like one of Joker's ideas of a laugh, but they all knew that it wasn't. It was worse. Jason had been one of the team, one on their side. But now he was a threat to her family.
"How do we get up there?" Selina asked Bruce. "We've spent all this time getting in with minimal disruptions, now we just need to get Helena out."
"And find Jason," Dick said.
"Screw Jason, he's probably somewhere else causing trouble," Selina snapped. "We can find him later, we need to get Helena and then we need to find Jack, Lucy and Harley. Leave Jason to Joker. They can battle it out-"
"No, Selina, we get Helena, then we get Jason," Bruce said angrily. "Joker and Harley can sort themselves out."
"I am not leaving Harley to deal with this on her own!" Selina shouted. "She's been through enough!"
"Let's just get Helena," Oracle said over the Bat-communication units. "We can think of the others later."
"Tim, you and Dick start on the explosives, Oracle, can you isolate any communications from this area?" Bruce asked. "Selina, you're coming with me. We'll find a way to Helena and get her out safely. Then we can discuss what we do next."
Selina grit her teeth together as Tim and Dick disappeared off to get started on their tasks. She saw Oracle's hologram disappear and Bruce looked up to her. She was angry with him for not wanting to help her friend and her children, she was angry that he wasn't being the Batman she knew, she was even angrier with herself for bringing Helena back. She shouldn't have done it, she should've stayed out of town and just stuck to looting the museums outside of the city. But there was too much Gotham in her blood and it called her back all the time, as it did everyone else.
"I can use the grapple to get to the top, but we'd have to wait until Dick and Tim have finished disarming the bombs," Bruce told her.
"I shouldn't have brought her here," Selina hissed. "I should've left her at home, come to say hello, robbed a couple of galleries and been gone. I shouldn't have bought Helena."
"Selina-"
"No, Bruce, you don't get it. Once every one knows whose daughter she is, they will all be out to kill her," Selina said furiously. "She has a huge target over her head, every single one of your enemies will be there to snatch her up and take her away, use her as a ransom for your identity and your head on a pike. Bringing her here to live will just get her killed and you slaughtered by the highest bidder."
"You don't get to keep her from me, I am her father!"
"You are also Batman," Selina told him, her voice shaking with withheld emotions. "You're not just Bruce Wayne. I knew what I was getting into when we first started this… thing, but she doesn't have a choice and I will protect her from this world of ours."
"We both grew up without our parents, Selina," Bruce said gently. "I adopted Tim and made Dick and Jason my wards, but… she's my actual daughter. She's blood and genetics and flesh. Helena is my daughter and I need to know her, I deserve to know her. I was so angry when you told me, not because I didn't want a child, but because you'd kept her from me. Harley Quinn and Poison Ivy knew more about my daughter than I did and there I was being told to keep her safe from some new vigilante that turns out to be the one Robin I couldn't save. Can you understand why I haven't been jumping from the rooftops with joy?"
Selina just nodded and she looked up to the top of the Ferris Wheel, she let out a long shuddered breath and touched her hand to Bruce's chest quickly. She knew what he was saying, but she still felt like it would've been better if he'd never known about Helena. She took her whip from her belt and eyed the frame work of the ride.
"I'll take a direct approach," Selina said.
"I'll go the scenic route," Bruce smirked.
"We get Helena and we get the hell out of here," Selina told him.
"Yes boss."
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Joker walked into his club and smiled at the gathering of people inside of it. The leaders of all the gang families, Penguin, Riddler, Ivy, Scarecrow, Two Face and many others. It had taken an hour for them all to turn up and with no word back from Harley yet, Joker was getting concerned that she either hadn't found their children or she'd been captured herself. He wasn't going to wait any longer to hear from her, he wanted the city swept through and his family brought back to him.
And Red Hood dead.
"What's the meaning of this, Joker?" Two Face asked. "You've called us all here for what? Cheap booze?"
"Red Hood is a thorn in my ass and he's got three very important things of mine," Joker said lowly. He had the entire rooms attention, everyone was on edge and waiting for someone to kick off. "The Red Hood and some bitch of a cop have got Harley and my two children. Whoever brings them home alive, there's five million dollars in it. Cash. No questions asked. Red Hood stays alive. I want him all too myself."
"Do you have any idea where she is?" Ivy asked.
"She took off with the Hyenas, follow the piles of shit and you should find them," Joker shrugged. "Anyone that turns out to be helping Red Hood is dead. Anyone tries to kidnap Harley or my children to get more money out of me, is going to die."
There was a silence as the villains of Gotham considered their next actions. Eventually Two Face and Penguin led the charge with Riddler to their aid. Ivy took her own route and the crime families started calling in favours and began to search with everyone else. They'd never worked together like this, but the money Joker offered and the knowledge that all of them would die if Harley wasn't found, was enough motivation for them to put aside their normal squabbles. Half an hour later, his cell phone started to ring and he looked at the screen.
Harley.
"Princess, where are you? Have you got Jack and Lucy?" Joker asked, relief washing through him.
"Y-yes, p-puddin'," Harley stammered. "I… I have them. I'm sorry."
"Harley? Harley!"
"I'm sorry, Joker, but Harley can't really speak right now," Michaela Franklin chuckled. "I've got her, the children and Red Hood is on his way to us right now. He's given me orders to tell you to meet us on the roof of the old Monarch Theatre. Bring no one. Call off your hordes of criminals and let the GCPD round them up and lock them away."
"I don't take orders from you, bitch," Joker snarled. "What have you done to Harley?"
"She took a pummelling from Clay face," Michaela laughed. "If you want your wife or your children back alive, you'll do as I ask. Monarch Theatre roof. Do not bring company and do not tell anyone where you're going. I have a gun at Harley's head and Clay Face is ready to suffocate the two children. Red Hood will be waiting for you."
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A/N: Once again, I'm sorry for the long wait and I hope you'll join me for these last few chapters. Thank you so much for your endless patience and support! I love you all!
